Top 10 Stories on Brownstoner This Week: Home Sales, Renovations, and a Dead Landlord

This week, Brownstoner readers learned what not to do if their landlord dies, how much it costs to to buy a gorgeous townhouse on a gorgeous Bed Stuy block, and why the owners of the famed Bushwick mural house are cashing in. There was also the matter of Letitia James joining the opposition against the Pier 6 development plan in Brooklyn Bridge Park, and the curious case of the Boerum Hill Taqueria that may or may not have been paying rent for the past seven years.

All that and more in the week’s top 10 posts.

Sold! Lavish Bed Stuy Townhouse With All the Mod Cons Goes for $2.95 Million
The luxurious, Neo-Grec townhouse at 126 Hancock Street in Bed Stuy was snapped up for $2,950,000 on Monday. The broker, Peter Gordenstein, told Brownstoner: “This is the highest price for a townhouse in Bed Stuy to date!” It actually falls just short of that title, but is still a swoon-worthy home.

Landlord Died? Don’t Do What This Couple Did
If your landlady dies without a clear heir to the building, don’t do what this couple did: just stop paying rent. The former Greenpoint resident’s advice: “Don’t pay anyone who can’t legally collect the rent. And if there isn’t anyone, put it in escrow.”

Designer Battles Termites and Neglect to Renovate Narrow Carroll Gardens Home
After this Carroll Gardens home’s first bidders got scared off by water damage, sagging floors and a termite infestation, designer Jessica Siegel and her husband took up the challenge of renovating the 11-foot-wide building.

Bushwick Mural House to Be Razed for Apartments as Sellers Close Nearby Cafe
Bushwick’s mural-covered house at 104 Central Avenue — which seems to have launched a trend of colorful facades in Bushwick — has been sold as a development site and will be razed. The house’s owners also decided to close their cafe in the neighborhood, Cafeteria La Mejor.

The Insider: “Transformative Moves” Light Up a Park Slope Kitchen
A few years back, when this 1910 limestone on an elegant park block changed hands, the house was in such a state of preservation that it still retained at least one working gaslight and a winding back stair, once used by service staff, from the kitchen on the parlor level to the floor below. Cara Greenberg talks with architect Gerry Smith about how he brought it back to life and then some.

Cobble Hill Taqueria Building for Sale, Eatery Allegedly Owes Seven Years’ Rent
Cobble Hill’s Original California Taqueria is known by locals for its nachos and namesake California-style burritos — and for allegedly not paying rent in seven years. While business remains active at the 25-year-old Mexican restaurant, its future is in question, as the building was recently listed for sale.

Public Advocate and Possible Mayoral Hopeful Letitia James Joins Fight Against Pier 6 Housing
Public Advocate and potential mayoral hopeful Letitia James has joined the fight against Mayor de Blasio’s plan to add affordable housing in two towers on Pier 6. The controversial plan is currently going through an official public review process to alter the park’s General Project Plan to allow affordable housing in the park.

School Rezoning to Assuage Overcrowding Surprises Dumbo and Vinegar Hill Parents
A summertime school switch-up has Dumbo and Vinegar Hill parents reeling. New boundaries have been drawn for the overcrowded, but high-achieving P.S. 8, rezoning many students to the less crowded, albeit less elite P.S. 307, school officials revealed this week. Here’s how the schools’ student demographics might change.

Building of the Day: 2307 Beverley Road, Flatbush’s Art Deco Sears Store
Montrose Morris goes in on the fascinating history of the art deco Sears in Flatbush, which has been a neighborhood institution for over 80 years.

Rental of the Day: One-Bedroom With Garden in Boerum Hill
Brownstoner takes a look at a garden apartment in a Boerum Hill brownstone, with some charm and a nice landscaped garden out back. Or, as the listing puts it, “enough space for separate living and dining rooms.” One commenters suggests the $2,900 rent means there has to be a hitch somewhere.