Most community gardens don't plant corn because it attracts rats.

Posted by: 16Street at October 8, 2009 3:56 PM in response to Corn Porn in BoCoCa

Here’s a theory on why you see so much exposed brick in brownstone apartments (garden-level apartments, anyway). These houses’ kitchens were usually in the basement or garden level at the rear. The fireplace or hearth was built to accommodate a cast-iron stove. The fireplace and the surrounding wall were brick, presumably for fire-proofing. (Take a look at the Merchant’s House kitchen here: http://www.212panos.com/MerchantsHouse/Kitchen.html.) When we moved into our 1888 house, the stove wall had been covered with ersatz paneling and, under the paneling, a crumbling coat of plaster. We restored the brick (many of our neighbors had the brick intact). Ultimately, we decided we didn’t like the look either, and installed wallboard, but the brick (and, in this situation at least, it is an “original detail”) in still behind the wall.

Posted by: 16Street at October 1, 2009 11:34 AM in response to Exposed Brick Blues

Brooklyn Mercantile
335 Fifth Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215
718 788 1233
brooklynmercantile.com
brooklynmercantile@yahoo.com

Posted by: 16Street at September 17, 2009 1:07 PM in response to Custom Made Slip Covers

Between 1939 and 1941, and again in the mid-1980s, the city photographed every house and building in the five boroughs. You need the block and lot number of the house to look up the photo (at the Municipal Archives) or you can order a print (prices start at $30). See http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/taxphotos/home.shtml for more ino.

Posted by: 16Street at July 8, 2009 6:15 PM in response to Aluminum Siding Removal

The athletic facility's primary users during the day/school year are to be public schools (for P.E. and for team sports -- many of the area's schools, including PS 107 across the street, lack gyms)and youth sports groups. Community access is to be worked in around those users' schedules. The model for this Armory development was the 168th St/Manhattan Armory.

Posted by: 16Street at June 29, 2009 12:29 PM in response to Slope Armory on Track to Open in September

For people in the South Slope, Butterfly Garden at 18th Street and 7th Avenue (near the Prospect Expressway) is also participating in IMP Day. Same springtime focus: clean-up, mulching, planting annuals. 10:00 a.m. to noon. If the weather's not cooperating tomorrow, our "friends of the park" group, HomeGrown, will be there every Saturday through June, same time. You can reach us at homegrown@nyc.rr.com.

Posted by: 16Street at May 15, 2009 2:08 PM in response to Weekend Events

About 2 years ago, I ordered a Bosche dishwasher online from Sears. Delivery and installation cost $130.00. The 2 installers were on time and did a good job (and they took the old one away).

Posted by: 16Street at April 29, 2009 10:58 AM in response to Dishwasher installation

When I was about 5 years old, I was run over by a bicyclist on the sidewalk who didn't see me. As an adult a few years ago, I was almost run over in a crosswalk by a bicyclist turning against the light, the wrong way on a one-way street. Fortunately, I had just enough room and time to sidestep the front wheel, grab the handle bars and bring him to a stop (he told me I should have looked where I was going!) As I tell my kids, look both ways before you cross, even if it is a one-way street; don't ever assume all the traffic will stop just because there's a red light (forget about stop signs). I don't "hate" bicyclists. I just recognize them as one more hazard I've got to be alert to when I'm walking around this city.

Posted by: 16Street at March 25, 2009 12:46 PM in response to City Planning Pushing New Bike-Friendly Rules

The Macy's occupies the A&S building on Fulton Street. Federated Departments Stores owned both Macy's and A&S; changed its name to Macy's Inc. ... and changed the names of all its department stores, including A&S, to Macy's. The merchandise available at the Fulton Street Macy's is much like the merchandise available at the 34th Street Macy's.

Posted by: 16Street at February 27, 2009 11:14 AM in response to Fulton Mall Appears To Be Bucking Retail Downturn

Here's a link to population density maps by census tract for New York City's five boroughs: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/census/mappl1.pdf (based on the 2000 census). Manhattan is the most densely populated county in the U.S.; Brooklyn is the second most densely populated.

Posted by: 16Street at February 10, 2009 7:18 PM in response to Local Groups Hit Atlantic Station to Push Ravitch Plan

Our South Slope backyard also had a few dozen of those cobblestones when we moved in. (And we re-used them too.) We were told that they were used as ballast on ships coming in from Europe and free to the dockworkers for the taking. We also found a couple of the dockworkers' grappling hooks (think On the Waterfront) in the cellar.

Today's garden is beautiful. I especially like the swath of green.

Posted by: 16Street at August 15, 2008 1:41 PM in response to Garden of the Day: A Decade in Coming

The concert wasn't in the Celebrate Brooklyn line-up -- it was a benefit to fund Celebrate Brooklyn.

Posted by: 16Street at August 13, 2008 9:49 AM in response to Fencing In Bob Dylan

October 29, 1929, was Black Tuesday, the day of the market crash that kicked off the Great Depression.

Posted by: 16Street at August 4, 2008 2:23 PM in response to Monday Links

Redevelopment, or change of any kind, is usually “not so good” for someone.

Fulton used to be called the Fifth Avenue of Brooklyn … that was not a reference to Park Slope’s nor Bay Ridge’s Fifth, but Manhattan’s.

It was “anchored” by several department stores, serving down-, mid- and up-market clienteles, including:

Loeser’s, which closed in 1952 (opened in 1860; tradename purchased by neighboring Namm’s),
Namm’s (Fulton & Hoyt) closed late ’50s,
Martin’s closed 1979 after 70 years on Fulton,
Korvette’s closed early ’80s,
Mays closed 1988,
… and, the last of them all, A&S which became (a very understaffed) Macy’s in 1995.

Keep in mind each of these closings meant the loss of hundreds of jobs, not replaced by today’s ground-floor cell-phone operations.

In 1979, when the Albee Square Mall was being built on the site of a movie theater, the NYTimes report noted the nearby “seven blocks along Fulton Street where Abraham & Strauss, Mays, Korvette’s and 60 smaller stores do about $420 million of business a year.” Compare that to today’s $100 million in sales.

Posted by: 16Street at August 1, 2008 6:34 PM in response to DoBro Redevelopment Not So Great for Everyone

Smokychimp, I'd be interested -- though I'm not sure how you might post pictures here. Question: would it be any more practical if your aim was to cool only one floor (say, for instance, you wanted to cool the basement floor in a brownstone with air pulled up from the cellar)?

Posted by: 16Street at July 18, 2008 2:58 PM in response to Cooling with air from basement

If you do buy the place and decide to take down the aluminum siding I'd love to salvage it. I use it for radiant floor heating. Much better than sending it off the the scrap yard IMO. Gennaro 347 244 3016.

Posted by: gennaro at July 9, 2009 5:57 PM in response to Aluminum Siding Removal

Annual maintenance costs will be determined by the condition of the house when you buy it and how much work you plan to do immediately you gain possession. In our initial reno, we chose to focus on structural work and systems: roof, windows, plastering, beam/joist repairs, plumbing and electric. We've done the aesthetic work (kitchens, bathrooms, decorating, refinishing woodwork etc) over the course of almost 10 years. Yes, we've had a few unanticipated expenses but not as many as if we'd ignored the "bones" of the house at the get-go and gone straight for the glamor projects. Prudently, you should always have at least $25,000 liquid for a major emmergency repair but IMHO Sam is too pessimistic. Coop maintenance fees can easily run $1-2,000 a month. Most years, we spend about $5,000 on necessary repairs and upgrades (ie. not including optional projects like installing a laundry room or creating a workshop in the cellar etc). Hope this helps.

Posted by: grand army at July 9, 2009 8:47 PM in response to Aluminum Siding Removal

I love my push button switches. Nothing to do with restoration - I just prefer how they look. What is wrong with that?

Posted by: MrsLimestone at October 1, 2009 12:10 PM in response to Exposed Brick Blues

No idea why people get into such a state over exposed brick. Depending on your style and what you like, I think exposed brick can look wonderful. I love old houses and all their detail but if there were a room where i thought exposed brick worked, I am not emotionally so attached to plaster that I would say no. I wouldn't remove plaster wals with detail- but plain plaster. It depends. I find old brick to be beautiful and warm.

Posted by: bxgrl at October 1, 2009 1:31 PM in response to Exposed Brick Blues

Exposed brick may be the party wall separating your brownstone from the next door neighbor's. During my plumbing repairs the party wall was exposed and I could hear shockingly clearly into my neighbor's house (dining room). The plaster keeps dust, noise, and drafts out of your living space.

I also used reproduction push-button switches in the public areas of my house. Original (1919) push-button and old rocker switches were in place when I bought the house but I replaced all the switches on the electrician's advice and because they wouldn't guarantee the functioning of any old parts. The repro switches work much better than the originals, some of which you had to really push fairly hard, perhaps because they were old and heavily used. I'm really happy with the new ones and the brass switch plate covers I used.

Posted by: BHS at October 1, 2009 1:47 PM in response to Exposed Brick Blues

During the 70's and 80's, exposed brick was the cool thing to do with a restoration. I bought a coop and lived with an exposed brick wall in my Brooklyn Heights coop for 15 years and I kept thinking about plastering it over. I was really aggravated by it after a while. I used to talk about it all the time. This one liked it, that one agreed with me. In the end, I did nothing but no way did I want to have any of that in my brownstone. I didn't "restore" my place either -- just kept the pretty Victorian stuff like plastered floral designed molding on the ceiling, big molded doors, put back fireplaces, and other stuff which fits with the brownstone but works for modern life. There is light everywhere. I made a big deal about adding nice light fixtures, which give lots of light. I HATE dark and dreary and for that reason, I don't like true "restorations".

Posted by: donatella at October 1, 2009 3:19 PM in response to Exposed Brick Blues