Brownstoner is Brooklyn's most read
website about real estate, renovation
and neighborhood news. Read More»
The Outsider: Perennial Power in Windsor Terrace
Welcome to The Outsider, Brownstoner’s new garden column by Cara Greenberg, here every Sunday at 8AM.
JOY MAKON’S BACKYARD measures all of 17×24 shady square feet, but that hasn’t stopped her from making the most of her gardening opportunities. There’s also a small, sunnier front bed, and a long, narrow deck in back, which she brightens up with container plantings.
When Joy and her husband Sol began their garden planning back in 1996, they had help from garden designer Glenn Smith. Smith built the wood lattice fence and stone central patio, and recommended the major landscape shrubs — arborvitae, chamaecyparis (conifers or evergreens in the cypress family), holly, rhododendrons, Japanese azaleas, cotoneaster, and enkianthus.
Excessive shade is the main challenge, one Joy has learned to work around. “My garden gets a lot of shade from a Norway maple between my house and the one next door. I’ve learned that green is a wonderful color. I build interest with textures from grasses, ferns, and chamaecyparis shrubs, and use pots of annuals to brighten up dark areas.”
Ninety percent of Joy’s plantings are perennials (hardy plants that survive winter in the ground and re-emerge each spring). Every couple of years, in the fall, she adds flowering bulbs, mostly muscari (grape hyacinth). Because of the Norway maple’s roots, she says, “it’s impossible to dig. I literally go out with a drill bit.”
See and read more after the jump.
Photos: Joy Makon
05/13/2012 8:00 AM
Comment
Soul-Destroying B61 Bus Line Will Get Real-Time Tracking
Overdue. Today pols sent out an press release saying that the B61 will get the “BusTime System.” From the release: “Council Member Brad Lander, Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and Council Member Sara M. González cheered the announcement by the MTA that the B61 will be the second bus in Brooklyn to get BusTime — a system that provides real-time bus arrival and location information. The MTA has committed to installing BusTime on the B61 no later than June 2012. The system uses GPS devices on buses which let transit riders use their cell phones and computers to find out where the next buses to arrive on a route actually are. The MTA first implemented this system in 2011 on the B63 bus which runs along Fifth and Atlantic Avenues in Brooklyn and recently expanded it in Staten Island. The elected officials restated their hopes that the next steps in improving this often delayed line would be more frequent bus service and “countdown clocks” at bus stops similar to those currently in use in some subway stations.” In November Lander’s office released a report saying that only 43 percent of B61 buses come within 1 to 3 minutes of when they’re scheduled to arrive during peak hours, and a whopping 42 percent of northbound buses skip the stop at Columbia and Union streets between 8 and 9 a.m. because they’re too full.
Report: B61 is Often Late and Way Too Crowded [Brownstoner]
Photo by diacritical
04/12/2012 12:00 PM
Comment
Open House Picks
Boerum Hill
109 Wyckoff Street
Corcoran
Sunday, 1:00-2:30
$2,195,000
GMAP P*Shark
Park Slope
222 14th Street
Brown Harris Stevens
Sunday, 1:00-3:00
$1,575,000
GMAP P*Shark
Windsor Terrace
502 Prospect Avenue
Betancourt
Sunday, 2:45-4:15
$1,485,000
GMAP P*Shark
Prospect Heights
463 St. Johns Place
Marjorie Thompson
Sunday, 12:00-2:00
$1,300,000
GMAP P*Shark
03/30/2012 1:03 PM
Comment
More Muscle Behind Fight to Save G Train Extension
On Friday Public Advocate Bill de Blasio announced that he had created a G Train 5-Stop Fan Club on Facebook to try to convince the MTA to retain the G line’s extension. The extension, which began in 2009 along with the Culver Viaduct rehab work, started serving five extra stations in Park Slope, Windsor Terrace and Kensington. Before that, the line terminated at Smith-9th. Capital New York quoted the public advocate’s statement about the creation of the fan page: “These extra five stops are a lifeline that Brooklyn residents and small businesses have come to depend on,” said de Blasio, who is running for mayor in 2013. …Ending this service will have a profound effect on the community and the mom and pop stores along these five stops. I encourage every New Yorker who wants to see the G train service preserved to join the 5 Stop Fan Club and let your voices be heard.” The Working Families Party also has an online petition residents can sign to try to save the extension.
Bill de Blasio Jumps on the G-Train Issue [Capital NY]
G Train Issue Gains Momentum [Eagle]
G Train 5-Stop Fan Club [Facebook]
03/19/2012 9:30 AM
Comment
Last Week’s Biggest Sales
1. GRAVESEND $6,052,000
409 Avenue T GMAP P*Shark
A one-family, 2,780-sqaure-foot home. Oddly sold in May 2011 for $370,000, according to Streeteasy. Entered into contract on 1/18/12; closed on 2/10/12; deed recorded on 2/28/2012.
2. CARROLL GARDENS $2,325,000
122 Carroll Street GMAP P*Shark
A HOTD in October 2010. We wrote: “This house at 122 Carroll Street in Carroll Gardens just hit the market with the absurd asking price of $3,500,000. Clearly part of the reason for the big ask is that the owner recently spent some dough on a renovation either the pictures aren’t very good or the renovation itself doesn’t have much of a wow factor. Could this place even fetch $2 million?” The price dropped to $2,350,000 in October 2011. Entered into contract on 11/1/11; closed on 2/1/12; deed recorded on 2/29/2012.
3. COBBLE HILL $1,600,000
318 Sackett Street GMAP P*Shark
No listing for this three-family home. Entered into contract on 11/17/11; closed on 2/15/12; deed recorded on 3/1/2012.
4. GRAVESEND $1,500,000
2109 Ocean Parkway GMAP P*Shark
Here’s what the listing says: “Situated on beautiful Ocean Parkway, this well-maintained home sits on a 26.5×130 lot with a private multi-car driveway, as well as a detached garage.” Asking $1,695,000. Entered into contract on 12/8/11; closed on 2/13/12; deed recorded on 2/27/2012.
5. WINDSOR TERRACE $1,405,000
238 Windsor Place GMAP P*Shark
A HOTD way back in November 2009. We opined, “This two-family house at 238 Windsor Place in Windsor Terrace may have a slightly odd mix of old-school and 80s-contemporary aesthetics going on, but at its core it looks like a lovely old house and given that it’s got over 3,000 square feet of living space, the price tag of $1,125,000 looks reasonable to us as well.” Entered into contract on 12/2/11; closed on 2/9/12; deed recorded on 2/27/2012.
03/06/2012 11:30 AM
Comment
Rental of the Day: 583 17th Street
This two-bedroom apartment at 583 17th Street in Windsor Terrace is quite nice. There’s plenty of space, a renovated kitchen, and a private little patio. However, the rent, $2,500, seems pretty high for a pad this far south. What do you think?
1640 11th Avenue [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP P*Shark
02/23/2012 12:30 PM
Comment
City Has Spent $140K Defending the PPW Bike Lane
Here’s a sad stat, via the Brooklyn Paper: The city has already spent $140,000 in legal fees defending the Prospect Park West bike lane, and that amount is sure to rise as the city defends the lane in an appeal that was recently filed by residents who are against it. Quote from cycling advocate: “It’s an outrage. …[The appeal] is not going to change the outcome; they’re just trying to make more noise.” Quote from Jim Walden, the lawyer representing the group that’s filed the appeal, on questioning the validity of the appeal: “This is America. Get real.”
Defending the Prospect Park West Bike Lane Isn’t Cheap [BK Paper]
02/21/2012 9:30 AM
Comment
Open House Picks
Park Slope
725 President Street
Brownstone Real Estate
Sunday, 12:30-2:30
$1,688,000
GMAP P*Shark
Windsor Terrace
502 Prospect Avenue
Betancourt
Sunday, 1:00-3:00
$1,495,000
GMAP P*Shark
Prospect Lefferts Gardens
119 Clarkson Avenue
Brown Harris Stevens
Sunday, 2:00-4:00
$775,000
GMAP P*Shark
02/17/2012 1:00 PM
Comment
Prospect Park West Bike Lane Foes Appeal
Opponents of the Prospect Park West bike lane are appealing a judge’s ruling last summer about the path, once again arguing that the lane was installed on a temporary basis. A judge dismissed the earlier lawsuit on the grounds that it wasn’t filed soon enough after the lane had been installed. Georgia Winston, the attorney representing the lane’s opponents, had the following to say in a press release that’s quoted in the Observer: “We filed our suit well within the appropriate time frame. The lawsuit clock started running only after the Department of Transportation made a final decision to permanently install the lane, in January 2011. Before that—throughout the summer and fall of 2011—the lane was repeatedly described as a ‘trial,’ including by the lane’s most fervent supporters.” The city maintains that it will be victorious in the latest legal challenge against the lane, and a spokesman for Transportation Alternatives says the timing of the appeal exploits the slow mid-winter news cycle, just as the original filing did last winter: “It’s like complaining about the cost of a school cafeteria in July. It’s clearly a well-oiled publicity machine they’ve got going on, but it’s become a sad joke at this point.”
Bike Lane Opponents Appeal Prospect Park West Ruling [BK Paper]
Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes Appeal PPW Suit [NY Observer]
02/14/2012 9:30 AM
Comment
Will the Windsor Place Cafe Ever Open?
It’s been almost a year since the Windsor Terrace blog spotted signs of life in a long-vacant space in Windsor Terrace. When we passed by 199 Windsor Place on Sunday it didn’t look like the storefront was much further along, save for some plywood over one section. In fact, it looks a bit like the space has been split in two. Can area residents shed any light on the situation? Do tell. Speaking of the Windsor Terrace retail scene, did you notice that the former Lonelyville space (which closed in 2008) at 154 Prospect Park Southwest is for rent for $4,000 a month? GMAP
02/08/2012 2:00 PM
Comment
Rental of the Day: 28 Prospect Park Southwest
This one-and-a-half bedroom apartment at 28 Prospect Park SW in Windsor Terrace is in a nice-looking building right off the park. The interior appears like it’s in decent shape, but it also looks quite cozy. If the apartment was a true two bedroom then the rent of $2,550/month wouldn’t sound all that bad, but it feels high with only the one true bedroom and a tiny office. What do you think?
26 Prospect Park Southwest [Triumph Property] GMAP P*Shark
02/01/2012 12:30 PM
Comment
House of the Day: 50 Prospect Park Southwest
This new listing at 50 Prospect Park Southwest is an unusual one. Located in Windsor Terrace, this 25-foot-wide property includes a rear house in addition to the one fronting on the park. That’s right, two houses. The listing plays this up, urging people to “Buy with your BFF’s.” The exterior of the front house has an unusual double cornice look going on and the interior is attractive but fairly modest in its detail. Asking price: $1,800,000, which is a lot for this side of the park but you are getting an extra house in the whole deal.
50 Prospect Park Southwest [Brooklyn Properties] GMAP P*Shark
01/16/2012 1:27 PM
Comment
Open House Picks
Park Slope
587 5th Street
Halstead
Sunday, 11:30-1:00
$2,795,000
GMAP P*Shark
Fort Greene
404 Clermont Avenue
Corcoran
Sunday, 11:00-12:00
$1,500,000
GMAP P*Shark
Windsor Terrace
502 Prospect Avenue
Betancourt
Sunday, 1:00-3:00
$1,495,000
GMAP P*Shark
Bed Stuy
397 Bainbridge Street
Fillmore
Sunday, 3:00-4:00
$599,000
GMAP P*Shark
01/13/2012 1:07 PM
Comment
House of the Day: 61 Sherman Street
For some reason it feels like it’s been ages since we’ve seen a house on one of the nicer townhouse blocks of Windsor Terrace hit the market. This new listing at 61 Sherman Street ends the dry spell, and in pretty nice way. While it definitely has some nice original detail, it doesn’t have as much as some other houses on this block that we’ve seen. The set-up is a little sub-optimal for most buyers as well. Right now it’s configured as two floor-through units plus an unfinished English basement. The exterior is very handsome, though, and this is a nice block so we’ll see how they do on that asking price of $1,189,000.
408 10th Street [Betancourt] GMAP P*Shark
01/10/2012 1:28 PM
Comment
Open House Picks
Cobble Hill
319 Degraw Street
Brooklyn Bridge Realty
Sunday, 2:00-4:00
$2,595,000
GMAP P*Shark
Windsor Terrace
490 16th Street
Fillmore
Sunday, 3:00-4:30
$1,299,000
GMAP P*Shark
Bed Stuy
101 Halsey Street
Halstead Property
Sunday, 2:00-3:30
$959,000
GMAP P*Shark
Bed Stuy
172 Herkimer Street
Corcoran
Sunday, 1:00-2:30
$699,000
GMAP P*Shark
01/06/2012 1:06 PM
Comment
Report: B61 is Often Late and Way Too Crowded
Councilman Brad Lander is holding a press conference this morning to release the findings of a report that are likely to surprise no one who has to rely on the B61—namely, that the bus rarely comes when it’s supposed to and is frequently packed to the gills. The report on the bus, which serves Park Slope, Red Hook and Downtown Brooklyn, is based on data collected on 700 individual bus runs earlier this year. Among the findings: Only 43 percent of buses come within 1 to 3 minutes of when they’re scheduled to arrive during peak hours, and a whopping 42 percent of northbound buses skip the stop at Columbia and Union streets between 8 and 9 a.m. because they’re too full. The report points to a variety of reasons for the line’s sub-par performance, including the temporary closure of the Smith-9th subway stop. Suggested fixes include running more buses during peak hours; running a limited bus during peak hours; installing countdown clocks at some stops; and extending the B57 into Red Hook.
Next Bus Please: Improving the B61 Bus [Report]
12/05/2011 9:30 AM
Comment
Italian Restaurant for 8th Ave and Prospect
A restaurant called Giovanni’s Brooklyn Eats has opened on 8th and Prospect avenues. As Here’s Park Slope reported, its owners ran the recently shuttered Sette, on 7th Avenue and 3rd Street. There are a couple of glowing Yelp reviews for Giovanni’s so far, with one raving about the $16.95 prix fixe brunch with unlimited mimosas or bloody marys. GMAP
Photo by Denton Taylor
11/21/2011 12:00 PM
Comment
Temporary Closures on the F, G Line Starting Monday
Windsor Terrace and Kensington commuters once again have to contend with subway hassles starting next week, when southbound F and G trains start skipping Fort Hamilton and 15th St/Prospect Park until spring. The closures are happening because of the Culver Viaduct rehabilitation work, which was also responsible for northbound trains skipping the stations for about five months earlier this year. According to the Brooklyn Paper, the closures affect about 11,000 commuters. Meanwhile, Kensington Prospect reports that Brad Lander’s office is saying the NYPD is going to increase its presence in the area, “particularly during the darker evening hours,” because of the recent rash of sexual attacks.
Windsor Terrace Gets F-d (and G’d)! [BK Paper]
F Train Troubles Begin This Weekend, Continue Through Winter [Kensington Prospect]
Photo by beigeinside
11/11/2011 10:00 AM
Comment
Rental of the Day: 14 Prospect Park SW
We’re really smitten with this two bedroom in the co-op building at 14 Prospect Park Southwest. The location, on the park and steps away from the subway, is unbeatable, and the apartment itself is charming. The kitchen setup is a bit awkward, but on the other hand it has a washer/dryer. Co-op approval is required to rent, and it’s listed for $2,400 a month. Think that’s realistic?
14 Prospect Park SW [Garfield] GMAP P*Shark
11/02/2011 12:30 PM
Comment
Bad Subway News for Slope and Terrace
[blackbirdpie url="http://twitter.com/#!/amandawaas/status/129555383189651457"]
10/27/2011 10:06 AM
Comment
deancollins
May 21, 2012 | 02:16 PM