Montero's? Seriously?

Posted by: tscola at December 14, 2009 10:37 AM in response to Are These the 10 Best Bars in Brooklyn?

Is there a category for "thatcher" in the Brownstoner Directory?

Posted by: tscola at November 3, 2009 10:52 AM in response to The Gingerbread House Hits the Market

This was on the Brooklyn Heights House tour in 2008, along with recent HOTDs on Grace Court Alley and on Jouralemon.

And @more4less, when I went on the tour, there was lots of Packer memorabilia in the house.

Posted by: tscola at October 27, 2009 2:28 PM in response to House of the Day: 42 Grace Court

A new subway line to Red Hook.

Posted by: tscola at September 21, 2009 12:20 PM in response to What to Do with the BQE Ditch

@TD, are you saying that it doesn't clash with the building next to it in the picture above? Or for that matter, all the other masonry buildings in the vicinity?

Posted by: tscola at February 19, 2009 11:41 AM in response to Toren All Glassed Over

In my head, I imagine that if you were at the headquarters of SOM, and you shouted the word "contextualism!", all the architects would start giggling, as if you just said the silliest thing possible.

Posted by: tscola at February 19, 2009 11:09 AM in response to Toren All Glassed Over

Whoops, sorry. Clinton and Remsen.

Posted by: tscola at February 13, 2009 10:06 AM in response to High Winds the Last Straw for 194 Columbia Heights

A slab of concrete fell off of the ugly building on the corner of Clinton and Henry and crushed a car yesterday.

Posted by: tscola at February 13, 2009 9:59 AM in response to High Winds the Last Straw for 194 Columbia Heights

The story on Gothamist has more details:

Jeff Gorlechen from Sixpoint just got back to us and says, "This whole thing has gotten blown out of proportion." He clarifies that the Hop Obama brew ran afoul of the law not because it was named after the President, but because it was named after a celebrity, which is illegal since it can be misinterpreted as an endorsement. Gorlechen says, "We wouldn't have been able to name it after Scarlett Johansson, either." However, since the limited edition Hop Obama proved so popular, Sixpoint has not ruled out bringing it back. "We just need a new name," he tells us.

Posted by: tscola at February 12, 2009 2:02 PM in response to The Feds Ordered Sixpoint to Shut Down 'Hop Obama'

Is that the facade, or is it a vapor barrier waiting to be covered over? I can't tell.

Posted by: tscola at February 10, 2009 10:06 AM in response to Scaffolding Down, Listings Imminent at 93 Nevins

@bess, Kodak released the Brownie camera in 1900. It sold for $1 and was the first camera that made it practical to carry around and take snapshots.

Posted by: tscola at December 12, 2008 5:47 PM in response to I.D. This Photo, Win a Book

@Jebby, not according to Google Street View; all the lots on that street are much wider.

Posted by: tscola at December 12, 2008 11:10 AM in response to I.D. This Photo, Win a Book

There are also fewer jobs in San Francisco proper. Commuting via mass transit from SF to Silicon Valley is problematic, to say the least, and living with a car in SF isn't a very good option either.

Posted by: tscola at October 9, 2008 9:58 AM in response to New Yorkers: Look to San Fran for Inspiration

Unfortunately, preventing foreclosure would have the effect prolonging the housing downturn for everyone.

I would, however support something along the lines of eviction relief: allowing homeowners who have been foreclosed to stay in their homes at fair market rent if they can afford it.

This could, hopefully, help preserve neighborhood vibrancy, and help stabilize neighboring property values.

Posted by: tscola at September 23, 2008 10:14 AM in response to Pop Quiz: Including Homeowners in the Bailout?

If they don't think that property values in Buffalo are ever going to appreciate, then maybe they have better things to do with their money.

Posted by: tscola at August 26, 2008 10:19 AM in response to Can't Cut It In Brooklyn? Try Buffalo.

@slopedoglover, check out this article: "Why is crime rising in so many American cities? The answer implicates one of the most celebrated antipoverty programs of recent decades."

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/memphis-crime

Posted by: tscola at August 11, 2008 10:25 AM in response to The Other Side of Demographic Inversion

It sounds as though there ought to be some sort of tax penalty for vacant store fronts, if landlords are deliberately depriving the city of sales and income tax revenue.

Posted by: tscola at July 25, 2008 12:11 PM in response to The Tea Lounge Bids Adieu

State St. in Brooklyn Heights was recently stripped.

Posted by: tscola at July 24, 2008 4:26 PM in response to Closing Bell: Repaving Everywhere!

I was hearing rumors this weekend that they were moving to Red Hook.

Posted by: tscola at July 14, 2008 9:38 AM in response to Belltel/Real World Marriage on the Rocks?

Thank you for finally making this change.

Posted by: tscola at July 10, 2008 10:46 AM in response to Moving Forward

There are lots and lots of things that are profitable to do, but just happen to be illegal.

If the building in question is a money pit, then Penson should have done their due diligence before hand. The cost of the building should have reflected the rental income they could have expected, along with the capital costs of any required renovations.

If they could not get a decent ROI on the building WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF THE LAW, then they have negotiated a lower price, or walked away from the deal altogether.

Posted by: tscola at May 27, 2008 10:25 AM in response to Emergency Demo at 100 Clark Clears Tenants

"If the law makes it profitable for a landlord to destroy their building, that law should be changed."

If it weren't profitable to own the building, then Penson should not have purchased it in the first place. They overpaid for the building with the full intention of illegally evicting the tenants.

Posted by: tscola at May 27, 2008 9:53 AM in response to Emergency Demo at 100 Clark Clears Tenants

Is this still going to be in the Brooklyn Heights House Tour this weekend?

Posted by: tscola at May 5, 2008 12:38 PM in response to The Bossert Finds a Buyer

The front entrance was recently covered with black plywood, because of the tenacious homeless people who have been using the vestibule as a sleeping area.

I also saw an outreach group talking to one of the said homeless persons yesterday on my way home from work.

Posted by: tscola at April 1, 2008 10:45 AM in response to What Will Become of the Remsen Wallflower?

Why are z and newsouthsloper so eager to argue for a false dichotomy? Just because a building is modern doesn't mean that it has to be ugly. Nobody in this thread is saying that.

This particular building, however, has got plenty of ugly. It's also got a distinct lack of subtlety, which explains the ugly more than building materials or construction methods do.

Posted by: tscola at February 11, 2008 2:27 PM in response to Development Watch: 196 South 2nd Street

"Mayor Accuses Realty Firms of Seeking Undue Influence"

And in other news, Captain Renault is shocked — SHOCKED! — to discover that there is gambling at Rick's Café Américain.

Posted by: tscola at February 8, 2008 8:46 AM in response to Friday Links

Who except building residents would actually go to the market? Do they expect people to carry their groceries up the steep hill on Joralemon, especially when there will be a Trader Joes nearby?

Posted by: tscola at January 11, 2008 10:14 AM in response to Latest BBP Brouhaha: A Supermarket in the Park

I got a cheap, fixed-rated mortgage when rates were rock-bottom in 2003. If the Fed continues this inflationary policy, I'll have a negative interest rate on my home.

Posted by: tscola at January 11, 2008 10:02 AM in response to Impending Rate Cuts: Good News for Real Estate Market?

It has a 1950s SOM vibe to it. It looks like a third of an office building.

Posted by: tscola at November 13, 2007 1:02 PM in response to Development Watch: 234 Greene Avenue

I never understood the appeal of an all-glass facade for a residential building.

Posted by: tscola at October 16, 2007 10:44 AM in response to 4th Avenue Condos: The Next Generation?

How tall is 125 Court St., "The Court House", across the street?

Posted by: tscola at October 10, 2007 11:14 AM in response to 10 Feet for Trader Joe's Building Preservation: A Fair Trade?