Gentrification, High Prices, Beautiful Spaces and Celebs: 2016's Top Stories on Brownstoner

Brownstoner’s top 10 most-read stories of the year focused on housing prices and beautiful spaces. As prices rose throughout the borough, readers sought guidance on finding affordable housing and the difference in price between “prime” and Central Brooklyn shrunk. Celebrities increasingly call Brooklyn home too, and stories about what they are buying in the borough drew readers.

10. Brooklyn’s First Apple Store Opening Soon and Is Hiring

Apple is gearing up to open its first store in Brooklyn, help-wanted ads reveal. The likely location, at 247 Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, which has been in the works since 2014, was tightly under wraps when Brownstoner stopped by this morning.

9 Brooklyn Design Duo Gives Catskills Bungalow Colony a Second Life as Vacation Rentals

Back in the early 20th century, co-operative Catskills bungalows and resort communities were the destination for Brooklyn families looking to pack up and spend the summer upstate, commuting back to the city for work during the week. During its heyday, more than a million people would participate in this fun communal summer tradition. Owners and renters of closely spaced bungalows returned every year to share meals, entertainment and childcare — it was summer camp for families.

8. Guess Which Brooklyn Sleeper Neighborhoods Outpriced Dumbo in the First Quarter

Which part of Brooklyn is the most expensive? A report ranking median sales prices in the first quarter in Brooklyn neighborhoods, released Monday by PropertyShark, reveals that some unexpected neighborhoods have begun outpacing the typical contenders. The results show “prime” and “emerging” Brooklyn moving closer in price per square foot.

7. Your Complete Guide to Applying for Affordable Housing in NYC

Affordable housing does not have to be a pipe dream — many potential contenders don’t realize they’re eligible and, even more frequently, don’t know how to apply.

Affordable housing lotteries represent New Yorkers’ path to scoring a subsidized unit in what are frequently new, amenity-rich buildings.

6. How Much Will My Home Renovation Cost, Anyway?

Renovating a house can be one of those bank-account-draining experiences that make a designer shoe habit or dining in three-star restaurants look cheap in comparison. But how much does it cost — or should it cost — to renovate a home? Some believe a top-shelf Brooklyn townhouse renovation costs at least $1 million. But there’s also a vocal subset who hold fast to the idea that almost any house can be renovated for $200,000 — or less.

5. Author and Journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates Buys Stunning Prospect Lefferts Gardens Brownstone

Ta-Nehisi Coates — the MacArthur Genius Grant winner, longtime Atlantic writer, author of the National Book Award–winning Between the World and Me, and author of the recent Marvel comic series Black Panther — has bought a former House of the Day at 207 Lincoln Road in Prospect Lefferts Gardens.

4. Here’s What Trump’s Son-in-Law Jared Kushner Owns in Brooklyn

While president-elect Donald Trump doesn’t currently have business dealings in Brooklyn, his son-in-law does.

Ivanka Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner, is on Trump’s transition team and is the head of Kushner Companies. The real estate firm owns a number of prominent Brooklyn properties. They were acquired recently, many from the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who have moved upstate and are selling off their sizable Brooklyn holdings.

3. What Is Gentrification, Anyway?

Gentrification. It’s one of those words that gets thrown around in the media and casual conversation. It’s a diagnosis slapped onto the opening of a funky coffee shop or the closing of a well-loved store. It can mean whole communities displaced, significant racial change, and increased homelessness.

2. Actors Alexis Bledel and Vincent Kartheiser Sell Brooklyn Heights Penthouse for $1.32 Million

Gilmore Girls star Alexis Bledel and her Mad Men husband Vincent Kartheiser, who met on the set of Mad Men, have sold their penthouse duplex at the Montague in Brooklyn Heights.

1.Yes, the MTA Might Close L Train Tunnel for Years — But Wait, There’s Hope

Don’t freak out yet. You may have heard that the MTA is considering closing the L Train tunnel — aka the Canarsie Tube — for a couple of years while it completes much-needed repairs.

But not all hope is lost. Read on for details.

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