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Theater for a New Audience Is Getting Its Facade



The facade is going up at the Theater for a New Audience in the BAM Cultural District! You can see renderings of the finished project right here. Construction is planned through April of next year, and the first season should begin that spring. Click through for one more construction shot…
Progress at Theater for a New Audience Build [Brownstoner] (more…)

Categories: Architecture, Arts, BAM Cultural District, Development
By Emily | 10/16/2012 2:40 PM | Comment

Australian Bike Company Settles Down in Red Hook



The Australian bike company Papillionaire is the newest tenant at 390 Van Brunt Street in Red Hook. This is the first store based in the States. They’ve got a wide selection of vintage-style bikes which you can browse here. The showroom is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon to six. They expect to fill the shop with more bicycles and accessories in the coming months. Our neighborhood tipster notes, “It seems like Red Hook is becoming somewhat of a ‘bike district’; there are now more than a few bicycle companies headquartered down there.”
The Papillionaire Shop in Brooklyn Is Now Open! [Papillionaire] GMAP

Categories: Red Hook, Retail, Streetlevel
By Emily | 10/16/2012 2:00 PM | Comment

House of the Day: 396 Grand Avenue



We’d happily buy this huge, 26-foot-wide single family house at 396 Grand Avenue in Clinton Hill just for the butler’s pantry alone, but the formal rooms are lovely too. The layout is also less cramped than in a typical city row house. Perhaps the size and width explains the ask of $2,925,000. Do you think they’ll get it?
396 Grand Avenue [Corcoran] GMAP P*Shark

Categories: Clinton Hill, HOTD
By Cate | 10/16/2012 1:30 PM | Comment

Co-op of the Day: 225 Park Place #3EF



This gigantic co-op at 225 Park Place in Prospect Heights just hit the market and, boy, is it nice. The three-bedroom pad has three exposures, an eat-in kitchen and, as far as we can figure, about 1,800 square feet of space. It’s got prewar charm along with recently renovated kitchen and bathrooms. Asking price: $1,150,000.
225 Park Place #3EF [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP P*Shark

Categories: Co-ops, Prospect Heights
By Brownstoner | 10/16/2012 12:58 PM | Comment

Rental of the Day: 143 23rd Street



Although these are renovation photos of this one-bedroom apartment in Greenwood Heights, it looks like the space has some good bones. It also has a private backyard, which should appeal to renters. Less appealing is the apartment’s proximity to the Gowanus Expressway. What do you make of the $2,100 a month price tag? It was just raised from $2,050, so we assume there’s some interest here.
143 23rd Street [Nevo Realty Corp] GMAP P*Shark

Categories: Greenwood Heights, Rentals
By Emily | 10/16/2012 12:30 PM | Comment

Last Week’s Biggest Sales



1. WILLIAMSBURG $2,840,917.50
22 North 6th Street, #PH3B GMAP P*Shark
The listing was pulled for this penthouse unit at the Edge. Entered into contract on 7/3/12; closed on 9/25/12; deed recorded on 10/11/2012.

2. CARROLL GARDENS $2,440,000
45 3rd Place GMAP P*Shark
45 3rd Place (aka the Carroll Gardens Atrocity) has gotten a lot of ink from us before. The first attempt to sell was more than five years ago, when it was marketed as two duplex units. Then there were the open houses. And no bites from buyers. The whole building went on the market last year, first priced at $2,995,000. (It was an OHP when it was asking $2,895,000.) Then it hit the market again this year for $2,695,000, then $2,495,000. Entered into contract on 7/3/12; closed on 9/25/12; deed recorded on 10/10/2012.

3. GRAVESEND $2,415,000
400 Avenue U, #PH5F GMAP P*Shark
Although this shows up as a condo sale on ACRIS, we can’t find the building listing on Streeteasy. Entered into contract on 6/12/12; closed on 6/12/12; deed recorded on 10/12/2012.

4. CARROLL GARDENS $2,100,000
29 2nd Place GMAP P*Shark
A four family home, listing pulled. Entered into contract on 4/26/12; closed on 8/9/12; deed recorded on 10/12/2012.

5. WILLIAMSBURG $2,061,956.25
2 Northside Piers, #PH3 GMAP P*Shark
A three-bed, three-and-a-half bath condo unit. Asking $2,237,990. Entered into contract on 8/3/12; closed on 9/27/12; deed recorded on 10/10/2012.

Categories: Carroll Gardens, Gravesend, Williamsburg
By Emily | 10/16/2012 12:00 PM | Comment

A One-Way Street for Waverly Avenue?



At last week’s Community Board Two meeting, the Transportation Committee chairman told the board about a petition going around to convert Waverly Avenue to a one-way street. Currently Waverly is a south-bound one-way street until it hits Gates, and then becomes a two-way street to Atlantic Avenue. A parent with the First Endeavor Charter School (which is on the block, between Fulton Street and Atlantic Avenue) is spearheading the petition. She thinks the conversion would benefit the narrow street, which is not only home to the school but other commercial businesses. Community Board Two recommended that the DOT conduct a feasibility study. The school is in touch with DOT so if they decide the street change makes sense, they will come back to the transportation committee to present their proposal.

Categories: Clinton Hill, Streets
By Emily | 10/16/2012 11:30 AM | Comment

Brooklyn Historical Society’s Brooklyn Bounty 2012



We’re proud to be a sponsor and honoree at next week’s Brooklyn Bounty party at the Brooklyn Brewery. The annual fundraiser for the Brooklyn Historical Society is a great occasion to celebrate the Brooklyn food scene–old and new–while supporting one of the borough’s most important cultural institutions. You can learn more about it here and purchase tix here. The event starts at 7 pm on Thursday, October 26 at the Brooklyn Brewery. See you there.

Categories: Events
By Brownstoner | 10/16/2012 11:23 AM | Comment

Old House Links


What we are reading this week about decorating and renovating old houses:

 

An Afternoon With profiles two illustrators, Nora and Steven, and their serene yet vibrant Brooklyn digs. The traditional townhouse interior is painted white and warmed up with an eclectic mixture of vintage furniture from all eras and colorful textiles from around the world. Click through for many more photos. Also check out September’s post on Mengly Hernandez’s Manhattan apt, where she makes the most of an awkwardly shaped and potentially impersonal space that is so typical of New York real estate. (more…)

Categories: Brooklyn, Historical, Interiors, Renovation
By Cate | 10/16/2012 11:00 AM | Comment

Walkabout: The Gloucester Family of Brooklyn, Part 3


Elizabeth Gloucester of Remsen House, Brooklyn, died in August of 1883. She was lauded in the world’s press as being the wealthiest colored woman in America, a rags-to-riches story in a country that had ended the enslavement of her people only twenty-five years earlier. Elizabeth and her husband, the Reverend Doctor James Gloucester, had also been activists in the Abolitionist movement: proud supporters of John Brown, the Underground Railroad, and leaders in Brooklyn’s anti-slavery crusade. James Gloucester was pastor and founder of Siloam Baptist Church, one of the many new independent African American churches being organized in Brooklyn in the first half of the 19th century. Elizabeth was a very successful entrepreneur, a rarity in all ways; not only as a person of color operating her businesses, at a time when slavery was still alive and well in the Southern United States, but as a woman, as well versed in real estate and financial matters as any man. For more on the Gloucester back story, please read Part One and Part Two. (more…)

Categories: Brooklyn, Walkabout
By Cate | 10/16/2012 10:30 AM | Comment

Astoria Reno Blog: A Rear Facade to Rival Any Front



Construction is dragging along slowly thanks to the DOB inspection schedule, so today the Astoria Renovation Blog shares with us their amazing rethinking of the rear facade. The totally generic back of the house looked like any typical New York row house, even though the front had cute Tudor details. Inspired by the early 20th century Tudors in Forest Hills, Queens, they and their architect designed an amazing rear facade with sunrooms, porches, tiny-paned windows, and a strong connection to the garden (right). It gives the front a run for its money. Click here to see the before shot and all the details.

Categories: Astoria Reno, Brooklyn
By Cate | 10/16/2012 10:15 AM | Comment

Short-Term Improvements Coming to Flatbush Avenue



This week, the Department of Transportation will install temporary improvements along Flatbush Avenue, in anticipation of the major improvements that are part of the Flatbush Avenue Capital Project. According to the North Flatbush BID, the immediate plans call for reducing the speed of turning vehicles; painting sidewalk extensions at five Flatbush Avenue intersections on Bergen Street, St. Marks Avenue, Prospect Place, Sterling Place and St. Johns Place; expanding pedestrian space at the intersection of Carlton Avenue and Park Place; and adding plastic bollards to define pedestrian space. The full capital project, which includes expanding curb lines and sidewalks, as well as upgrades for all the Flatbush Avenue “triangles” at at 6th, 7th and 8th avenues, will not be complete until 2014.
Delays for the Flatbush Avenue Streetscape Project [Brownstoner]
Flatbush Triangles to Get Made Over [Brownstoner]
Photo via the North Flatbush Avenue BID

Categories: Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Streets
By Emily | 10/16/2012 10:00 AM | Comment

A Few Interesting Landmark Votes Today



Today the Landmarks Preservation Commission is holding a public meeting, where the LPC will discuss or vote on items not yet decided at previous public hearings. There are two Brooklyn-based items worth noting. First on the agenda, plans to develop five new townhouses along 122-128 Congress Street, along with refurbishing the four existing Italianate townhomes. We spoke with the project architect Morris Adjmi recently, who also worked on the Wythe Hotel. He said that the existing townhouses will be restored to their original design, while the new ones will be slightly more modern, while remaining contextual. He’s said that they’ve worked closely with Landmarks on the new design and the response so far has been positive. The second LPC item is for a new building at 67 Greene Avenue, between Clermont and Adelphi (pictured). Plans for a three-family build have been in place here since 2007, but a rendering never emerged.
New Three-Family for 67 Greene Avenue [Brownstoner]
More Details on Cobble Hill Townhouse Project [Brownstoner]

Categories: Cobble Hill, Fort Greene, Landmark
By Emily | 10/16/2012 9:30 AM | Comment

Pushback on Planned Carroll Gardens Shelter



Regarding the plans revealed last week to locate a homeless shelter at 165 West 9th Street in Carroll Gardens, local residents have posted a petition on change.org asking for the chance to meet with local pols and discuss the proposal. Community Board Six has already said it plans to set up a public meeting to learn more about the plans. Columnist Andrew Rice of Capital New York charges the shelter is ”something of an inside job, as D.H.S. prepares to award a no-bid contract worth millions of dollars to the agency’s recently departed commissioner, who appears, in turn, to be renting the building that will house the shelter from one of his newly established nonprofit’s own board members.” The proposed site is an apartment building self-certified by architect Robert Scarano, who is no longer permitted to file applications with the city, that has sat mostly empty for the last ten years because of construction issues, according to Curbed. It has no certificate of occupancy, according to the Department of Buildings. It does have four open complaints and one active violation.
New Homeless Shelter Built on Old Relationships [Capital NY]
Homeless Shelter Proposed for Scarano Building [Brownstoner]
Photo by Pardon Me For Asking

Categories: Brooklyn, Carroll Gardens, Homeless
By Cate | 10/16/2012 9:00 AM | Comment

Tuesday Links



Two Officers Being Investigated After Video Shows Them Beating a Man[NY Times]
Proposals to Redraw School Lines Raise Alarm [NY Times]
Brooklyn District Attorney Has a New Rival [NY Times]
Rescued Owl Is Getting “Cage Rest” [NY Times]
Guilty Cop: I Don’t Know Why I Didn’t Commit Suicide Yet [NY Daily News]
East New York’s Shutterbug’s Pic Picked as Finalist in Contest [NY Daily News]
Brooklyn Cablevision Customers Getting 25% Slower Service [NY Daily News]
Brooklyn HIV Centers Lose Federal Funding [NY Daily News]
Domino Site Heads for Next Chapter [WSJ]
Israeli Ambassador Speaks at Park Slope Synagogue [NY Observer]
New Medical Practices Take Root in Brooklyn [TRD]
Haunted House Prides Itself on Fainting, Crying Customers [DNAinfo]
Off-Duty Cop Arrested for Assault [DNAinfo]

Categories: Brooklyn, Daily Links
By Cate | 10/16/2012 8:30 AM | Comment

Monday Blogwrap



Letter From Little Pakistan [The BK Ink]
Top Most Iconic Foods in Brooklyn [Patch]
The Basset Hound Meetup Happened in Prospect Park [FIPS]
5th Avenue Open for Parking Again [South Slope News]
Prospect Park to Dedicate First Phase of “Lakeside” [Brooklyn Eagle]
For Subway and Bus Riders, Four Paths to a Higher Fare [City Room]
Police Beat Man Resisting Arrest in Crown Heights Synagogue [Gothamist]
“Angel of Music” Unveiled at the Green-Wood Cemetery [CC of Greenwood Heights]
Photo by Anywhere, I don’t care !

Categories: Blogwrap
By Emily | 10/15/2012 4:30 PM | Comment

Closing Bell: Impale Your Pumpkins in Cobble Hill



Here’s a note from Jane Greengold, the Cobble Hill-based artist who has been covering her fence with pumpkins every Halloween for the past ten years. “For more than ten years I have been impaling 100 individually carved pumpkins on a spiked iron fence in Cobble Hill for Halloween, and then leaving the pumpkins to rot into gruesome, gnarly shapes. This year, we are inviting others to join in, adding to the number. There are 274 spikes on the fence, so there is lots of room for participation.” They are looking for pumpkins around five inches in diameter, taller than they are round, and soft enough to carve. Cut a 3/4-inch square hole in the bottom of the pumpkin, and carve a face. Remove the insides of the pumpkin through the face. Then bring your carved pumpkin to the corner of Kane and Strong between 3 pm and 7 pm on October 31st. The pumpkin will be impaled for you! See pictures of previous pumpkin projects here.

Categories: Arts, Closing Bell, Cobble Hill
By Emily | 10/15/2012 4:00 PM | Comment

Building of the Day: 200 Linwood Street


Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Public School 108
Address: 200 Linwood Street
Cross Streets: Corner Arlington Avenue
Neighborhood: Cypress Hills
Year Built: 1895
Architectural Style: Romanesque Revival
Architect: James W. Naughton
Other buildings by architect: Girls High School, Boys High School, both in Bed Stuy; P.S. 9 Annex in Prospect Heights; many other schools in Brooklyn
Landmarked: Yes, individual landmark (1981)

The story: It’s not very often that an architect can shape an entire portion of a city, but that’s what James W. Naughton did with the Brooklyn Public School system between the years 1879 and 1898. In those nineteen years, he was the sole architect of hundreds of school buildings in the City of Brooklyn, all the result of his position as Superintendent of Buildings for the Board of Education of the City of Brooklyn.

As Brooklyn was growing in leaps and bounds at the end of the 19th century, so too was the need for more public schools. Immigration, the influx of people from Manhattan and the rest of the country; all contributed to an ever-growing number of children who needed to be educated. As an independent city, Brooklyn led the region in educational innovation, having established the first high schools in the New York City area. Naughton was there when it happened, and designed some of Brooklyn’s most iconic schools. (more…)

Categories: BOTD, Cypress Hills
By Montrose Morris | 10/15/2012 3:30 PM | Comment

Two Trees Closes on Domino Site



Last week, the Domino lawsuit was thrown out and Two Trees was cleared to proceed with the purchase of the massive Williamsburg site. A press release out today confirms that the Community Preservation Corporation and Two Trees have closed on the $185 million deal. Here’s the statement today from Two Trees Management: “Over the coming months, Two Trees will be spending significant time in Williamsburg, listening to and learning from the local residents and community leaders who will be our new neighbors. This dialogue will help inform our decision whether to build the approved plan under the existing zoning, or to seek to improve upon it through a new public process. We are very excited about the tremendous potential to re-connect this long-dormant waterfront site to the rest of this vibrant neighborhood, bringing additional housing, jobs, open space and neighborhood amenities with it. Two Trees is committed to delivering on that promise.”
Domino Lawsuit Kaput, Sale Can Proceed [Brownstoner]

Categories: Development, Sales, Williamsburg
By Emily | 10/15/2012 2:40 PM | Comment

Bar and Steamed Buns Coming to Rope Space



Looks like the owner of Pete’s Candy Store, a bar in Williamsburg, is opening up a new bar in the Rope space on Myrtle Avenue. The new place, called Splitty, will serve Chinese steamed buns. They plan to expand hours to include breakfast and brunch, but upon opening it will just be a bar. They’ll also keep the backyard open. Community Board Two approved the liquor licence last month, but we don’t have an official opening date.
Rope on Myrtle Is Closing up Shop [Brownstoner] GMAP Update: the full board actually took no position on the liquor licence.

Categories: Clinton Hill, Streetlevel
By Emily | 10/15/2012 2:00 PM | Comment
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