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Condo of the Day: 360 Furman Street, #643



You can still get an apartment at One Brooklyn Bridge Park for $1,000 a foot — just don’t expect it to come with water views. This 1,394-square-foot unit on the sixth floor is a beautiful lofty space with attractive modern finishes in the kitchen and bathrooms. The living area is large, as are both bedrooms. Asking price: $1,395,000. Any reason to think they won’t get it?
360 Furman Street, #643 [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark

Categories: Brooklyn Heights, Condos
By Brownstoner | 06/12/2013 12:58 PM | Comment

Rental of the Day: 182 India Street



This duplex apartment at 182 India Street, in Greenpoint, received a top-to-bottom renovation. If the reno looks bland, maybe all the space will make up for it: This unit comes with three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, and a large private backyard. It’s asking $5,500 a month, a hefty sum indeed for an apartment in Greenpoint.
182 India Street [The LeBlanc Organization] GMAP P*Shark

Categories: Greenpoint, Rentals
By Emily | 06/12/2013 12:30 PM | Comment

Seating, Bike Racks for Jay Street This Summer



A pop up plaza is coming to the western end of Jay Street, in Dumbo, near the East River inlet and the fenced-in Con Ed station. The Dumbo Improvement District will bring in seating, umbrellas, planters and bike lanes to the space. It will be installed sometime this summer. Alexandria Sica, the executive director of the Dumbo Improvement District, says “It’s a very simple intervention and one that will brighten up the end of Dumbo’s Jay Street retail stretch.” The space will complement the commercial activity near the temporary St. Ann’s Warehouse, the Brooklyn Roasting Company, and 10 Jay Street. Community Board Two’s Transportation Committee recently approved the plans, and the DOT has endorsed them as well. Check out a sketch of the proposed plans here.
Rendering via Dumbo.is

Categories: Brooklyn, DUMBO, Streets
By Emily | 06/12/2013 12:00 PM | Comment

Open and Shut



Park Slope
Le Pain Quotidien opened in the Moutarde space on Tuesday and Here’s Park Slope got a sneak peak. Photo via Here’s Park Slope. The beauty salon Union Beauty plans to open in June at 849A Union Street right off of 7th Avenue. And Italian restaurant/raw bar Mezini is open on 5th Avenue between 11th and 12th streets. The chef is preparing a light, French influenced style of Italian food.

Cobble Hill
Cobble Hill does not want a J.Crew! They started a petition to keep the current tenant, Pacific Green grocer, in the space on Court Street. The small juice shop Nectar closed up shop on Court, between Congress and Warren. And the new Smith Street coffee house Roogla is serving its own version of rugala alongside its coffee menu.

North Brooklyn
The Shop Brooklyn, which is a bar operating inside of a motorcycle shop, will open in Bushwick this summer. The 5,000-square-foot space, located off the Jefferson stop, will feature dinner service, a late night menu, barbecue, live music, and DJs. Eater checks out new Mediterranean restaurant Glasserie, open at 95 Commercial Street in Greenpoint. According to them, “The menu includes a lot of vegetable dishes, as well as things like lamb tartare, flatiron steak with trout roe, and a whole rabbit for two.”

Elsewhere
Fort Greene favorite Lulu and Po is now open for brunch on Sundays from 10am to 2:30 pm. The menu features vanilla & bourbon french toast, eggs with lamb pastrami, and a pani frattau. Ditmas Park Corner attends the soft opening of Milk and Honey, a new coffee spot at 1119 Newkirk Avenue. Della Pietra’s Gourmet Meats is under construction between Sahadi’s and Damascus on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn Heights. The upscale butcher should open by the end of the month. And in Coney Island, Lola Star Boutique has reopened since shuttering due to Hurricane Sandy. The reopening took extra long because the store is located inside the Stillwell Avenue subway station, which had to be thoroughly cleaned out after the storm.

Categories: Commercial Real Estate, Food and Drink, Streetlevel
By Emily | 06/12/2013 11:30 AM | Comment

Carriage Houses of Brooklyn Heights


Hunts-Lane-060813

We love carriage houses for their charm and aesthetic appeal, and also for their evocation of old New York. They allude to a now-gone city of cobblestone streets and horse drawn carriages. Brooklyn Heights, along with Clinton Hill and Cobble Hill, has quite a few. Above, Hunts Lane. Click through to the jump to see more. (more…)

Categories: Architecture, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights, Photos
By Megan | 06/12/2013 11:00 AM | Comment

Community Garden to Make Way for Affordable Housing



Affordable housing will replace a community garden at 346 Bergen Street, between 3rd and 4th avenues, in Boerum Hill. It’s not a surprise, though, to the organizers of the community garden, which has always been temporary. The building plans call for 24 rental units and six stories, with studios, one-bedrooms, two-bedrooms, and three-bedrooms. The design will blend in with neighboring buildings. Rents will run between $1,850 to $2,200 a month and tenants will be selected through the city’s affordable housing lottery. According to the most recent minutes of the Community Board Two Land Use Committee, this project has been in the works for awhile but only recently acquired financing from the HPD. (The DOB first approved the developer’s building application back in 2005.) The garden, Feedback Farms, has tentative plans to move elsewhere once construction begins. Here’s what they said in February:

Our tenancy at 346 Bergen has, from the beginning of this project, been temporary. The lot we use, as well as the one on the west side of the space, is owned by the city and has Greenthumb Community Garden status. But the middle lot is privately owned, and the owner has always planned to build on all three lots. He has generously allowed us to use it until he secures the permits and financing he needs to build. We’ve heard from him that the earliest he’ll begin building is August or September of this year, and we have decided to go ahead with our growing season full-steam, with the understanding that even if we have to leave in the late summer, our work will have been well worth the effort for even a truncated season’s worth of fun and fresh produce. Hurray! He’ll give us 30 days notice if he needs us to vacate, and we will decide then what the best way forward will be should that happen.

Apparently the developers already have the permits in place to begin construction, but we hope they hold off until the fall. New building permits haven’t come through yet with the Department of Buildings. GMAP

Categories: Affordable Housing, Boerum Hill, Development, Gardening
By Emily | 06/12/2013 10:30 AM | Comment

North Brooklyn Rents Fell 3 Percent in May



The median rental price in north and northwest Brooklyn fell by 3 percent in May compared to the prior year, according to a report released today by Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel Inc. The median rent was $2,579, or $36.08 per square foot, compared to $2,658 in May 2012. It was the second month in a row that median rent declined, following a 1 percent drop in April. However, Brooklyn rents have increased steadily since late 2010, based on a 90-day moving average. “The market seems to be taking a bit of a breath,” Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, told Brownstoner. “I’m not sure if this is a continuing trend.” Some New Yorkers choose to rent because they are unable to secure a mortgage, which has dampened the sales market. “The conditions that are driving rents, which are rising employment and tight credit, still haven’t changed,” said Miller. “I think the pressure is going to remain on the market.” Meanwhile, Manhattan rents continued to increase, with the median rental price rising 3.5 percent to $3,200, up from $3,093 in May 2012. “I think the beneficiary of this rental growth and sales growth is going to be Queens, especially markets like Long Island City,” said Miller. “In many ways, the commute is simpler if you work in Manhattan.”
Photo by carryboo

Categories: Brooklyn, Rentals
By Cate | 06/12/2013 10:00 AM | Comment

Mayor Announces $20 Billion Storm Plan



Yesterday Mayor Bloomberg outlined an ambitious $20 billion plan to protect the waterfront from future storms like Hurricane Sandy. He spoke at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which was flooded with four-and-a-half feet of water during the storm. The Times broke down Bloomberg’s 438-page report on the proposals, which would not be implemented until well after the mayor leaves office later this year. The plan calls for a system of barriers, permanent levees, dunes, portable flood walls, bulkheads, tide gates, and offshore breakwaters all around New York City. Portable flood walls and offshore breakwaters made of rocks would protect Red Hook. Movable gates would be installed in Gowanus. In the Bay Ridge flats and other shore areas in southern Brooklyn, the city would foster wetlands. Bloomberg emphasized that these changes must be enacted sooner, rather than later — waterfront development is showing no signs of slowing, although sea levels are expected to rise 12 to 29 inches higher by 2050. This $20 billion price tag, a price likely to grow, will come from federal and city money already allocated, aid from Congress, and an additional $5 billion from the City itself. Do you think this is a wise way to spend taxpayer money? And will it work?
Bloomberg Outlines $20 Billion Storm Protection Plan [NY Times]
Photo by lazzo51

Categories: Environmental, Flooding
By Emily | 06/12/2013 9:30 AM | Comment

Will Two Trees’ BAM Project Go Forward?


The big BAM South development planned for Fort Greene might not get built after all, now that Council Member Letitia James is calling for changes to the plan. She wants an increase in the number of affordable units and union-level wages for construction workers, Crain’s reported. After an unusually brief public review period, the issue is coming up for a vote by the City Council today. Previously James backed the project; critics said her flip-flop is to please unions because she’s running for public advocate. For its part, Two Trees said it cannot afford to build the project with higher wages. If the development — which has space for cultural non-profits, a library, and other amenities in addition to affordable housing — is shot down, Two Trees will simply build “as of right” on the site. It is located in a parking lot at the corner of Flatbush and Lafayette avenues.
Fate of Big BAM Expansion Is a Cliff-Hanger [Crain's]

Categories: BAM Cultural District, Brooklyn, Development, Fort Greene, Politicians
By Cate | 06/12/2013 9:00 AM | Comment

Please Welcome Our Summer Intern


Please welcome our summer intern, Megan Cerullo. She has written for Elle.com and The Martha’s Vineyard Times and has worked as a photography assistant and location scout. She lives in Brooklyn Heights.

Categories: Announcement, Brooklyn
By Cate | 06/12/2013 8:45 AM | Comment

Wednesday Links



Bike-Share Effort Draws Riders and Hits Snags [NY Times]
Ethics Panel Fines Lopez $330,000 in Harassment Case [NY Times]
Thrilling New Chance to Get Queasy Is Planned for Coney Island [NY Times]
USPS Repaints Mailboxes Only After “Captain Cleanup” Covers Graffiti [NY Post]
Williamsburg Residents Protest Booze-Serving Hair Salon [NY Daily News]
Dozens of Cash-Strapped Brooklyn Library Branches Are in Disrepair [NY Daily News]
Haters of the Plastic Bag Will Converge in Park Slope [NY Daily News]
Ridge Street Will Finally Be Repaved [NY Daily News]
Measles Outbreak Worsens in Borough Park and Williamsburg [DNAinfo]

Categories: Daily Links
By Cate | 06/12/2013 8:30 AM | Comment

Tuesday Blogwrap



Notes From the CB14 Monthly Meeting [Ditmas Park Corner]
Rowing on the Radioactive Riviera [Brooklyn Based]
Greenpointers Guide to Northside Festival 2013! [Greenpointers]
Your Ultimate Guide to Volunteering in Brooklyn [South Slope News]
McCarren Park Paths Get Repaved, “Hipster Lake” Gets Drained [Gothamist]
A Small-Scale Food Revolution at Brooklyn’s Pfizer Plant [Village Voice]
Warehouse to Theater Conversion Wins Landmarks Endorsement [City Land]
Photo by Several seconds

Categories: Blogwrap
By Emily | 06/11/2013 4:30 PM | Comment

Closing Bell: North Brooklyn Parks Forum Tomorrow



Tomorrow, the Open Space Alliance is hosting a public forum on parks in North Brooklyn. Here’s your chance to share ideas for maintaining and improving your favorite parks in Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Bushwick with neighbors, the Parks Department and OSA. The Parks Department will also provide updates on its work in North Brooklyn. The forum is scheduled for Wednesday, June 12, at The Warsaw in Greenpoint at 7:00 pm. Details and directions here.

Categories: Closing Bell, Greenpoint, Parks, Williamsburg
By Emily | 06/11/2013 4:00 PM | Comment

Building of the Day: 143 South 8th Street


Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Long Island Business College, now condominiums
Address: 143 South 8th Street
Cross Streets: Bedford and Driggs Avenues
Neighborhood: Williamsburg
Year Built: 1890-1892
Architectural Style: Romanesque Revival
Architect: probably James W. Naughton
Other Work by Architect: Boys High School, Girls High School, PS 9 Annex, and many other school buildings in Brooklyn
Landmarked: Recently calendared by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (2013)

The story: An advertisement for the Long Island Business College, published in the early 20th century, reads: “An institution developed exclusively to the proper and thorough training of young people for business pursuits. Its principal is a certified public accountant and is familiar, from practical experience, with the needs of the business world.” That principal was Henry C. Wright, and he founded a school that educated thousands of men and women, ushering them into the world of business and office work; fast growing fields in an increasingly white collar New York.

Henry Wright was Canadian, and came here in 1870, after years of teaching in Ontario. He founded his school, called Wright’s Business College, in 1873, with 23 pupils. The first school was a storefront on Broadway. He then grew to rooms at the Kings County Savings Bank building at Bedford and Broadway. By 1890, he had enough pupils, and enough profit to build this new building a few blocks away. A new building called for a new name, so the school became the Long Island Business College. By 1899, the College had an enrollment of over 700 students, both male and female. (more…)

Categories: BOTD, Williamsburg
By Montrose Morris | 06/11/2013 3:30 PM | Comment

Scaffolding Going up on Klitgord Building



Scaffolding is starting to go up at City Tech’s Klitgord Building, on the corner of Jay and Tillary streets. That means demolition is coming soon, as anticipated. A new eight-story education facility, which will look like this, is going up in its place.
Demo Soon for City Tech’s Klitgord Building [Brownstoner]
Interior Demo Starts at City Tech Site [Brownstoner] GMAP

Categories: Demolition, Downtown Brooklyn
By Emily | 06/11/2013 2:40 PM | Comment

A Cafe Open, a Bar Coming to Putnam Avenue



A cute, tiny bakery called Cinnamon Girl just opened on Putnam Avenue. It sells pastries, croissants, vegan muffins and scones, fresh juice, and La Colombe Coffee. It’s right next door to the Greene Hill Food Coop at No. 18, between Grand Avenue and Downing Street. And we received a tip that the old tea cafe at 14 Putnam Avenue, now shuttered, will be replaced with an Italian bar called Schiano Di Cola. Not many more details beyond that. We’ll keep you posted on an opening… GMAP

Categories: Clinton Hill, Streetlevel
By Emily | 06/11/2013 2:00 PM | Comment

You’ve Never Seen a Church Like This


This Russian Orthodox Church in Queens is a sight to behold.

Categories: Queens
By Brownstoner | 06/11/2013 1:51 PM | Comment

House of the Day: 837 Eastern Parkway



This late-Victorian Crown Heights limestone seems to have all the trimmings, including a stained glass skylight, elaborate screen (are those dragons we see?), built-ins, five-panel pocket doors, pier mirror, and on and on. All the mechanicals were replaced in 2007, but the listing has no photos of kitchens or baths. Currently set up as a three family, though it’s a two. What do you think of the property and the $1,250,000 ask?
837 Eastern Parkway [Town Residential] GMAP P*Shark

Categories: Brooklyn, Crown Heights, HOTD
By Cate | 06/11/2013 1:30 PM | Comment

Co-op of the Day: 235 Lincoln Place, #6C



We’re really liking the look of this new listing at 235 Lincoln Place in Park Slope. The 1,300-square-foot co-op has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and tons o’ prewar charm. It’s hard to believe we’ve gotten to this point, but for some reason the $1,400,000 price tag doesn’t even make us flinch. Nice, right?
235 Lincoln Place, #6C [Betancourt] GMAP P*Shark

Categories: Co-ops, Park Slope
By Brownstoner | 06/11/2013 12:58 PM | Comment


northside-next-060713

Categories: Advertisement
By Cate | 06/11/2013 12:31 PM | Comment