lisa's Profile
- Lisa
- 1993
- 2005
- Brooklyn
- Park Slope
- Rental
- writer
- Female
- http://www.lisaselindavis.com
Author's Posts
December 2, 2008
Closing Bell: Gassing it Up in Brooklyn
It's practically free! Go out and drive around in circles! The NY Daily News reported today that the cheapest gas in the city is right here in the borough of Kings. "Brooklyn had the lowest gas prices in the city for 17 out of the 30 days from mid-October to mid-November, even though the average prices from Aug. 18 to Nov. 18 were the same in Brooklyn and Queens: $3.38 per gallon," they write. Last week, you could catch a gallon for $2.19 in Williamsburg.
Photo by peechaspeechas.
Development Watch: 195 Flatbush
Not so much to watch here at 195 Flatbush, a Forest City Ratner-owned property between Dean and 5th Avenue that is to become B2, an Atlantic Yards residential building. No Land Grab reports that a stop work order was issued on October 15, though it appears the complaint — a failure "to comply with site safety plan program" — has been resolved. Clearly, plenty of other issues are in the way of progress here. GMAP DOB
Streetlevel: Salon for South Slope
430 7th Avenue, formerly home to Bird's South Slope boutique, will house a nail salon and spa, according to the sign in the window. Bird, meanwhile, moved to a busier spot on 316 5th Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Streets, not to mention opening the new Grand Street shop any day. GMAP
Co-op Success Story in Bushwick
The story of 246 Cornelia Street comes to us from photographer and filmmaker Willow Robin. Proud of her building and what's become of it, she told us the building "is claimed to be the only co-op apartment complex in the Bushwick area." "Well after its trolleys stopped running, the Bushwick neighborhood was one of the areas hardest hit by the city-wide struggle during the 1970s. As parts of Brooklyn, like the Bronx, historically burned around this time, the landlord abandoned this building, leaving tenants to legally obtain it from the city. Seen as one of the city's experiments in handing over control to tenants, its success has been proven by time; the 246 Cornelia board has met weekly ever sense." As apartments become available for sale, she says, younger folks are snatching up the properties at what she calls "jaw-dropping prices" — $210,000 for one-bedrooms (that's for the renovated ones) with $256 a month maintenance. "Those opting out of condo-life have afforded to move here without draining their savings, and learning valuable lessons in hard-work and community building along the way."
Interiors: Modernizing a Row House in the Slope
The folks from Coburn Architecture, based in Dumbo, have taken on the task of updating, and adding to, a row house in Park Slope. If you have interior projects large or small, amateur or professional you'd like to share, please contact us.
This mid 19th century row house on a quiet street in Park Slope was in relatively poor condition when purchased by the client. The house next door had burned down many years before, leaving the lot vacant and overgrown, and the new owners wanted to build a structure in its place that would connect to the existing house.
The client’s ambitious program for the new structure required a new master suite with a spacious bath and dressing room, a dining room, a garage with a driveway (a luxury for city dwellers), and some outdoor living space. To avoid having to move to temporary quarters, the client elected to complete the project in two architectural phases, followed by an interior design phase.
UPDATE: Brendan Coburn just dropped us a note to clear up a couple of things: 1) The house is only a combined 3,400 square feet, as the addition is just two stories high; 2) The construction and renovation took place in four phases over eight years.
Different Prices for Similar Spaces at The Edge
New York magazine took a look at two three-bed, three-bath condos for sale in The Edge. They're very similar, except in price: there's a $265,000 difference between them. So what allows for such monetary discrepancy? It ain't size. The cheaper one, the 1,785-square-foot 20G (on the left), goes for $1.75 million. 26KL, on the other hand, is 1,707 square feet and $2.01 million. The shift in price is due to layout, turns out. "Apartment 20GH’s layout is fairly straightforward, with a slim kitchen separating the living and dining rooms with views of Brooklyn. In 26KL, however, the combined living-dining spans 30 feet and is bookended by terraces, with views of Manhattan." 26KL, they say, is for folks who want to entertain.
Same Space, Different Place [NY Magazine]
Economy Makes Strange Officefellows
Brooklyn office space has been looking better and better since the economy turned. Last month, we reported that nine new companies had spurned Manhattan for cheaper digs in downtown Brooklyn. But turns out the big winner in the office market is shared office space: renting a desk or cubicle, or even a share of one, in a group space. The NY Daily News reports that "as the economic crisis lingers, laid-off workers and small businesses in Brooklyn are turning to communal office spaces to save money and kick-start dream careers." They cite Dumbo's 155 Water Street (photo), aka the Green Desk Building, the 3rd Ward in East Williamsburg and the Park Slope Writers' Space in the Slope, places seeing a boom in membership since so many folks are getting laid off and starting over. Rent can range from less than $100 to over $3,200, and owners of such spaces say the need is perpetual, even if the recession is giving them a bump. "I think it had something to do with the economic climate, but it serves an obvious need no matter what the climate," said 3rd Ward's Nikki Bagli. "Artists are always in need of affordable space, and I think it's even more vital right now."
Economic Crisis Has Brooklynites Turning to Communal Offices [NY Daily News]
The Dance of Preservation and Progress
The fourth article in the NY Times series on the Landmarks Preservation Commission's trials and triumphs appears today, this one investigating how they've "repeatedly played dance partner to a potent mix of preservationists, developers and city politicians. It must strike a balance between protecting architecture and accepting economic realities, between a responsibility to history and a knowledge that the city must evolve." Some folks feel the developers are "leading the dance" as they write, letting city landmarks fall prey to the call for bigger and newer buildings. Not all developers feel they've got the upper hand. Take Jed Walentas, aka Mr. Dumbo. “Landmarking is one of the best tools that anti-development people have in this city — it’s a very long, political process,” he told the Times. Among the buildings elsewhere in Brooklyn that evaded landmarking: 184 Kent, the Cass Gilbert-designed warehouse in Williamsburg currently being remade into a residential building with some modifications to the exterior. The designation was vetoed by the City Council. Then there's Ward's Bakery, one of the buildings razed to make way for the Atlantic Yards towers. Despite having won a listing in 2003 on the National Register of Historic Places, LPC nixed it for designation in 2006 and Forest City Ratner started tearing it down last year.
Preservation and Development, Engaged in a Delicate Dance [NY Times]
Photo of Ward's Bakery Demolition by Tracy Collins.
Tuesday Links
Park Slope. Photo by kittytaurus from the Brownstoner Flickr pool.
Schumer Seeks Protection for Apartment Buildings Facing Default [NY Times]
Report Cites Problems in Elevator Where Boy Died [NY Times]
New York City Bus Driver Stabbed to Death in Brooklyn [NY Daily News]
Park Slope Rally Keeps The Pressure on MTA [Brooklyn Eagle]
Gibson, Citron and Beal Handle 29,600 s/f Lease for H&M [NY Real Estate Journal]
December 1, 2008
Closing Bell: Hanging Out on the Stoop
For most of us, it's getting too cold to partake in that great Brooklyn activity known as hangin' out on the stoop. Not so at this sweet, freestanding home in South Slope where someone has parked their doll with the big-ole-head in their stead. Might it stay there 'til spring?
Author's Comments
Thank god you guys double as copy editors. Still drunk on cranberry sauce over here.
Posted by: lisa at December 1, 2008 11:35 AM in response to Update on 20 Henry
hey, congratulations!
Posted by: lisa at November 25, 2008 1:02 PM in response to The Final Day Arrives, Phase One Complete!
lisa wrote a review about The Farm on Adderley on November 24, 2008 12:04 PM
huge fan.
ok, ok, south slope. i'll change it!
Posted by: lisa at November 21, 2008 11:15 AM in response to Yes, Virginia, There Are Parrots in South Slope
Thanks, Slices. The folks we spoke to at CPEX said it went through to Pacific. We'll double check and make sure.
Posted by: lisa at November 20, 2008 2:51 PM in response to Development Watch: 240 Atlantic Avenue Rising
Go to the meeting and tell them to call it the Kensington rezoning!
Posted by: lisa at November 19, 2008 11:53 AM in response to The Rezoning of Windsor Terrace
well, you'd be wrong to take it that way, cause it ain't him!
Posted by: lisa at November 18, 2008 3:22 PM in response to LPC Approves Underground Garage at Riverside Apartments
you're right--last part should have been edited out. my apologies.
Posted by: lisa at November 18, 2008 3:10 PM in response to LPC Approves Underground Garage at Riverside Apartments
ok, pete. we'll keep this in mind in the future. thanks for your diligence!
Posted by: lisa at November 18, 2008 10:46 AM in response to Newest Residents of Desirable Nabes Have Tails
But DIBS is an Obama republican!
Posted by: lisa at November 18, 2008 10:45 AM in response to Union-Free One Hanson Place: the Web Site
Dave, it says right there that they don't have what they deem affordable health care for their families; they say it's a raw deal compared to union workers (any union workers out there, please weigh in!). Many of us, it's true, pay a lot more than they will have to.
Posted by: lisa at November 18, 2008 10:27 AM in response to Union-Free One Hanson Place: the Web Site
You're lucky, cobblehiller. Mr. B made the rat smaller. Pete, how is more crime in South Brooklyn and less in North Brooklyn different from what we have here?
Posted by: lisa at November 18, 2008 10:17 AM in response to Newest Residents of Desirable Nabes Have Tails
Thanks, Action Jackson. We did call. Response will be posted momentarily.
Posted by: lisa at November 17, 2008 12:31 PM in response to Don't Blame the DOB: It's Architects, Not Archetects
you're right, pete--some reports say crime is down. others say crime was up in south brooklyn. http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2008/10/north_brooklyn_1.php. several articles described the administration's attitude/actions as a reversal. hope that helps.
Posted by: lisa at November 17, 2008 11:23 AM in response to HOD Re-Opens for Business
Thanks for the typo alert! Readers perhaps more alert than bloggers...
Posted by: lisa at November 17, 2008 9:37 AM in response to Park Slope Can't Measure Up to Marine Park
that does seem to be the case. balcony-ettes.
Posted by: lisa at November 14, 2008 10:12 AM in response to 375 and 377 Baltic All Filled Up
benson, per pmfa: they met in the Old First Reformed Church in Park Slope.
Posted by: lisa at November 13, 2008 10:33 AM in response to CB6 Says Full-on Yes to Toll Brothers Rezoning
we do love our commenters, even grumps. keep 'em coming.
Posted by: lisa at November 12, 2008 4:46 PM in response to Streetlevel: Center of Light on Smith
Biff, I'm glad you asked for my views on comments. I would like it if you were all really nice to each other, never said anything unkind about me (or anything at all), gently corrected me when I was wrong, sent a thousand fantastic tips and story ideas every day and had long, worthwhile discussions with one another. Or, you know, 50 posts that have nothing whatsoever to do with the story--that'll do, too. Also, I'd like Dr. Wayne Dyer to tell me how to attract anything I want in 30 days. Oh, that last thing is actually possible!
Posted by: lisa at November 12, 2008 4:22 PM in response to Streetlevel: Center of Light on Smith
oh my lordy. you guys gonna make a blogger blush. fyi, i have the power to delete comments if they concern my undergarments. or my sweat.
Posted by: lisa at November 12, 2008 3:45 PM in response to Streetlevel: Center of Light on Smith
And the lord sayeth: "Erecteth thou a brick building on Smith street, that it might sport offices for those dedicated to my teachings. Also, giveth it big windows on one side, and little tiny ones on the other."
I nominate this for second QOTD.
Posted by: lisa at November 12, 2008 3:36 PM in response to Streetlevel: Center of Light on Smith
can't be freudian slip if i didn't know what it meant, fellas. on the other hand, i have been educated and will no longer refer to erect buildings as sporting--especially those with devout spiritual businesses inside them.
Posted by: lisa at November 12, 2008 2:51 PM in response to Streetlevel: Center of Light on Smith
i don't see what's so risque about "sporting"... but maybe i've been shacked up too long. dave, thanks for not revealing all those incredibly juicy details. phew.
Posted by: lisa at November 12, 2008 2:24 PM in response to Streetlevel: Center of Light on Smith
custserv@whiteflowerfarm.com
Dear Gardening Friend:
Thank you for sending White Flower Farm a photograph of a plant for identification. The plant is a Mandevilla, a tropical plant usually grown in containers in cold areas.
We hope this information is helpful. Thank you for thinking of White Flower Farm.
Posted by: lisa at November 12, 2008 9:28 AM in response to Closing Bell: Late Bloomers
don't blame it on Mr. B. I'm still new-ish here. I do appreciate your schooling me, DIBS.
Posted by: lisa at November 7, 2008 5:39 PM in response to Development Watch: 277 19th Street
My mother the gardener says it's Pandora's Vine. I'm still not convinced.
Posted by: lisa at November 7, 2008 9:23 AM in response to Closing Bell: Late Bloomers
Hey, Shoots and Leaves--if you get a chance, send us a photo of the day care center. Thanks.
Posted by: lisa at November 6, 2008 3:33 PM in response to Streetlevel: New Café on Smith Street
Thanks for the correction, prodigal son.
Posted by: lisa at November 5, 2008 9:47 AM in response to Fourth Avenue: Gentrification or Ghettoization?
I was at John Jay by 6:20 (so as to get back in time for Brownstoner-ing). We waited an hour, and it must be worse now. Anybody hear reports from other lands? Red states? Purple states? Let us know.
Posted by: lisa at November 4, 2008 9:43 AM in response to Long Lines, Everywhere
Patience, troll. A reblog of that article is on its way.
Posted by: lisa at November 3, 2008 8:58 AM in response to Monday Links
we'd love a photo if anyone goes by there...
Posted by: lisa at October 30, 2008 1:47 PM in response to TOH House Revealed
i have this little problem where sometimes i forget how to read. 400 it is.
Posted by: lisa at October 30, 2008 12:42 PM in response to TOH House Revealed
DIBS, you got my vote.
Posted by: lisa at October 30, 2008 11:17 AM in response to One Hanson Place Goes Non-Union
I admit I fell for the marketing. True, no fumes, and didn't seem to need primer. Got a high-gloss for the kitchen which was like painting with mud, but the matte (their fancy word for flat finish) worked great. Nice colors, too, but seriously pricey.
Posted by: lisa at October 29, 2008 10:00 AM in response to Aura paint
sorry, carol, it came to us as a press release. they might not have it on the apartments.com site. Maybe it will show up here later today: http://www.apartments.com/PressRoom/pressroom08.htm
Posted by: lisa at October 28, 2008 12:20 PM in response to Renters Love Obama
okay, here's another image. now you guys can talk about the story instead of the photos from Flickr.
Posted by: lisa at October 28, 2008 9:19 AM in response to Mortgages More Elusive for Some Minorities
Having just attended Fifth Avenue Committee's demystifying zoning workshop (which I highly recommend), I understand at least one aspect of the opposition: rezoning for residential, which yields much more profit for landlords, endangers manufacturing. Seems like a big concern to weigh.
Posted by: lisa at October 24, 2008 10:19 AM in response to CB6 Okays Toll Brothers' Spot Rezoning
will you send us a photo, spnder?
Posted by: lisa at October 21, 2008 12:26 PM in response to Greenpoint riverfront property mystery
i think you will never forgive me for mixing up bensonhurst with bay ridge, bayridgegirl.
Posted by: lisa at October 20, 2008 10:33 AM in response to North Brooklyn Safer Than South Brooklyn?
the siding is really more of a burnt orange, with red trim--blame my camera
Posted by: lisa at October 17, 2008 2:37 PM in response to Brooklyn's Own Tiny House Movement
more promoting my own resume (sorry), but, yeah, here's a story on the bungalows at rockaway from a few years back:
http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2005/story-of-the-week/crowded-houses.html
Posted by: lisa at October 17, 2008 12:13 PM in response to Brooklyn's Own Tiny House Movement
i wrote about this house in the south slope a couple of years ago--it's great-looking, and the next door neighbor's built a replica of it:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/06/garden/06brooklyn.html
Posted by: lisa at October 16, 2008 3:03 PM in response to Front Page Forum: Modern in Carroll Gardens
great name for a rapper. i think you regulars should form a band called The Asshats and put out your first album called "The What."
Posted by: lisa at October 14, 2008 2:16 PM in response to Brownstoner Book Club Reads In the Country of Brooklyn
hey, i disagree: can you send us a photo of the chess shop? maybe we can do a post about it? thanks.
Posted by: lisa at October 14, 2008 11:39 AM in response to Brooklyn Solves Retail Puzzle
you're right--what we mean is: we wish them the best and we hope they do really well!
Posted by: lisa at October 7, 2008 2:12 PM in response to Streetlevel: New Boutique in South Slope
hey wasder. if you want to send me the photos i can put them up on the main blog. lisa at brownstoner dot com.
Posted by: lisa at October 6, 2008 11:34 AM in response to The great experiment 2008
Actually, I think we could use a fabric store. I miss Sew Brooklyn.
Posted by: lisa at October 1, 2008 3:10 PM in response to Streetlevel: New Realty Office on 7th Avenue?
you're right--thanks for the correction.
Posted by: lisa at September 26, 2008 3:24 PM in response to Streetlevel: Bakery in Bed Stuy Crown Heights
oops, you're right. mailer it is.
Posted by: lisa at September 24, 2008 10:08 AM in response to New Bed-Stuy More Like Old Bed-Stuy?
link should be working now...
Posted by: lisa at September 18, 2008 5:32 PM in response to Thursday Blogwrap
that's the photographer's name for the photo.
Posted by: lisa at August 27, 2008 8:09 AM in response to Tuesday Blogwrap
good idea. done.
Posted by: lisa at August 21, 2008 9:09 AM in response to Thursday Links
can you send us a picture of it? we'll get some info for you.
Posted by: lisa at August 18, 2008 1:15 PM in response to 129 Congress Street
here are links to some other crown heights photos--i chose the above one because I thought it was a lovely photograph, but i completely understand the objections. will think about this in the future.
http://flickr.com/photos/ilaria_papini/365472002/
http://flickr.com/photos/42369197@N00/2358845897/
http://flickr.com/photos/nrvlowdown/2068714281/
http://flickr.com/photos/nrvlowdown/2068715289/
Posted by: lisa at August 15, 2008 10:46 AM in response to What’s it Like in Crown Heights?
That price is also for the fixed-up ones. She didn't disclose "jaw-dropping" but it must have been much less.
Posted by: lisa at December 2, 2008 11:30 AM in response to Co-op Success Story in Bushwick