The post is tongue in cheek, as Williamsburg's first smash hit restaurant was Planet Thai, an offshoot of Thai Cafe in Greenpoint. These places begat more thai restaurants than I care to think about. So they are creeping out on the L train.

If Northeast Kingdom is Bushwick's L Cafe, I guess this place is its Planet Thai. Maybe Life Cafe counts more but that is pushing into the fabled "East Williamsburg"

Posted by: WillBklyn at February 19, 2008 3:23 PM in response to A Sign That Bushwick Has Officially Arrived?

"Agreed on the finishes too nice to see that people are finally taking the Brooklyn buyer seriously and delivering highend and chic product"

Yeah - FINALLY ! Next thing you know Brooklyn properties will be selling for more than a million dollars!

Posted by: WillBklyn at February 19, 2008 3:25 PM in response to Condos of the Day: Price Cuts at 95 Lexington Avenue

Biscuit just wasn't that great.
As for hollywood video that seems like a good opportunity to tear down something ugly and build something ... less ugly. Or at least some new housing.

Posted by: WillBklyn at February 20, 2008 12:33 PM in response to Closing Time on 5th Avenue

"...and the Parks Dept. will take care of tree maintenance after plantings."

Of course they will.

Posted by: WillBklyn at March 26, 2008 12:59 PM in response to Better Homes and Gardens, City Planning-Style

I think it's terrible. The entire area went through a major rezoning only a few years ago. Grand St. is a wide street (I live (rent) on it, a few blocks farther East) Most of it isn't very distinguished, and the apartment buildings that caused the NIMBY freakout are only like 14 stories high! Many buildings in Williamsburg (especially east williamsburg) are crap and in a better world would be TORN DOWN and replaced with more up-to-date housing.

The J train is NOT overcrowded and is only about 2 blocks longer of a walk than the L train. The L train is no picnic but the reason it's crowded is people prefer the crowds to the slightly less convenient J train, or G to E train. Most people in NYC should have it so bad, riding a crowded L train 4 stops to Union Square! Like everyone else, I choose the crowds over the extra 5 minutes the J would cost me.

Now is the time to start hoarding VINTAGE SIDING! It's inevitable - 10 years from now, VINTAGE SIDING will be all the rage! I have a dozen different colors of plastic Cedar Shake Shingles in my basement already! The nostalgia is coming! Oh how I miss all that Williamsburg Siding !

Posted by: WillBklyn at March 27, 2008 1:35 PM in response to Council Green-Lights Grand Street Rezoning

Battery Park City has no convenient, overcrowded subways.

Posted by: WillBklyn at March 27, 2008 2:31 PM in response to Council Green-Lights Grand Street Rezoning

They made a mistake with that rendering - obviously - because that's all people have to complain about.
The trees are there because - they are there, in real life. (google street view). The building is brown - like a brownstone. The developer screwed up by not spending more time on the rendering but really, would people rather have white brick, or beige brick like the lovely apple bank building next door? or gray metal plate boredom like in so much of Williamsburg ?

Next time they should remember to add some rainbows & unicorns to the facade to cheer things up.

Posted by: WillBklyn at April 4, 2008 3:16 PM in response to Gloomy Reception for 340 Court Plans

This story was just that - some interesting stories, without enough information to really know what is going on. A bunch of anecdotes, but how big were the apartments, and how much do comparable places rent for? A broker saying properties are "flying off the shelves" and another broker / buyer who we should pay attention to because she "checked out the neighborhood" before she moved in! Sometimes I think these pieces are written to make people who are looking for real information grind their teeth.

Posted by: WillBklyn at April 7, 2008 2:30 PM in response to Brooklyn's Varied Real Estate Market

The BQE view takes the cake as most unrealistic rendering since Thor Equities put out those perspective challenged views of their Coney Island development ...

Posted by: WillBklyn at April 8, 2008 10:38 AM in response to Behold 'Sunset Marketplace,' Time Equities' S. Park Plan

I would say hold on also, but if they are really going to pay your next 8 months rent, that should save you more than 10K, which translates into 20K in the bank ... I find it telling that they are willing to do this, it allows them to claim a higher sales price. I'm curious how much the rental subsidy would add up to and also how much of the closing costs they would cover?
There is a lot more inventory coming down the pipeline, but how much are you now paying in rent?

The NYTimes has a great calculator to help with the rent vs. buy:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/business/2007_BUYRENT_GRAPHIC.html
you can customize it ... if you haven't seen this I suggest playing around with it!

Posted by: WillBklyn at April 9, 2008 2:09 PM in response to Goob Buy