Archives

Update Following Tragic July Accidental Death At Cobble Hill’s Christ Church

August 11, 2012

Following the tragic death of 61-year-old Richard Schwartz July 26, after lightning struck Clinton Street’s Christ Church steeple and dislodged stones, the Cobble Hill Association has posted an update from Father Ron Lau. The entire surrounding block is currently closed to traffic.

He says: “The tower is being partially dismantled and the stones stored until the engineer deems it safe to open the street and our buildings. All four pinnacles are down now. This was the slow part, as they are round and the basket is rectangular. Now that that is done, they have commenced dismantling the walls and buttresses, probably down to just below the bell chamber louvers, or perhaps the clock faces, [which] depends on what they find as they work. The tower is massive (walls are approximately 8 feet thick at buttress base and 4 feet at the bell louvers and 3 feet up top).”

The long range plan from the engineer’s point of view, Lau says, is that once the tower is stable and safe, the Parish House offices and preschool will be reopened, followed by repairs to the roof and northeast corner walls, removal of rubble from inside the church, repairing the organ (now full of grit), and then addressing tower restoration. He adds, “I have been asked to refer all questions in the future to The Rev. Canon Shawn P. Duncan, Canon for Media and Mission, who serves as Chief Information Officer for the Diocese of Long Island”: sduncan@dioceseli.org


Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7740

From the Web

Food

Kittery’s Seafood Coming To Smith Street In Carroll Gardens

August 11, 2012

A spanking new seafood restaurant is moving into 305 Smith Street at Union in Carroll Gardens. Brownstoner reminds us that the space housed Diego for a short time, and before that, Union Smith Cafe.

Kittery is a small fishing town in Maine, which includes the touristy seaside areas of Badger’s Island and Kittery Point. Mmm, mmm, good!

(Photo: Brownstoner)


Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7735

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights

Hallmark Closes, Following Eammon’s Bye Bye At 172-174 Montague Street

August 11, 2012

As previously reported by BHB, the two-story commercial building and its air rights at 172-174 Montague Street were sold in June, with plans to turn it into a highrise condo development. As we also noted, Irish pub & restaurant Emmonn’s In Brooklyn at 174 shuttered June 17.

As expected, the Hallmark store next door at 172 Montague has now officially closed its doors, as well. The shop opened in 1991. Here’s some gruesome trivia: In 2003, 37-year-old co-owner Barry Curwin killed himself with a handgun inside the Hallmark store.

The 8,150-square-foot property at 172-174 Montague sold for $12 million, according to the New York Observer. The building has a C5-2/DB zoning designation, giving it air rights of up to 60,000 square feet. Residential rental building The Archstone next door at 180 Montague Street, built for $101 million in 2000, is 33 stories. Its 186 units range from $2,497-$3,037/month for 1 bedrooms, and $3,903-$4,128/month for 2 bedrooms.


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45475

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights

Clamorous Construction Continues Messing Up Montague

August 11, 2012

After crews spent a month widening the corners of Montague Street at Henry Street and another few weeks digging a sizable hole for telephone work in front of the Bossert Hotel—and separately replacing pipes & cables there—now the cacophonous construction mayhem has moved across the street in front of 200 Hicks Street.

You can’t escape the irony that some residents of that residential building are already fuming over potential noise from the Bossert Hotel’s conversion to a hotel… They must be loving this.

On Saturday, a gaping hole had been dug in front of 200 Hicks, as a yellow hydraulic bucket excavator darted with daunting speed about Montague & Hicks. Meanwhile, the majority of Montague Street is beginning to resemble a pastiche of paved patchwork. What a damn mess. (More photos below)

(Photos: Chuck Taylor)


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45440

From the Web

Real Estate

Vacant Lot At Henry & Kane Approved For New Townhouse Build

August 10, 2012

The Landmarks Preservation Commission has approved the design for a new townhouse to be built on an empty lot at 437 Henry Street at Kane Street. Brownstoner reports that the plans include a carriage house and modification of the fence along Kane. The lot is next to the double-wide mansion at 439-441 Henry Street.

The entire 100-by-200-foot property was purchased in January 2011 for $5.4 million by the current owners of 439-441 Henry. The existing Henry Street property will be subdivided into apartments, with CWB Architects overseeing plans—the same firm that is designing the Strong Place Townhouses next door on Kane Street. Work on the new townhouse isn’t expected to begin until next spring or summer.


Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7730

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Events, Police Blotter

84th Precinct: Crime Down 78% In Past Two Decades, 10% Over Past Year

August 10, 2012

Crime has caved 78% in the 84th Precinct over the last two decades and 10% over the past year, according to the 84th Precinct Community Council—comprising the neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Boerum Hill, DUMBO and Vinegar Hill. An all-out celebration of safety was held Tuesday at Borough Hall for the 29th-annual “National Night Out Against Crime,” which builds relationships between cops and the communities they police.

Leslie Lewis, president of the 84th Precinct Council for 22 years, told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, “We’re here to celebrate the success of the partnership between the community and the police. When this all started, it was too dangerous to walk around at night; nobody was on the streets. Now there are people on the streets, development everywhere. It’s a very different world. Because of the success of the partnership, developers started to spend money and encourage people to move here. It’s directly related.”

Cops from the 84th precinct grilled up hundreds of burgers and hotdogs at Tuesday’s celebration, with Deputy Inspector Mark Di Paolo serving as ringleader. He told the Eagle, “When it first began in 1984, this was a night where the community came out to feel safe, not victimized. Now, 29 years later, it’s more to celebrate how this partnership brought safety to the community.”

Crime is down 10% in the 84th Precinct overall this year, and down 5% in robberies, 22% in felony assault, and 60% in stolen cars.

Judy Stanton, executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association, told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle that the 84th Precinct “is very responsive to local community needs as well as keeping a handle on the bigger issues in the precinct—terror targets, the bridge, etc. They give equal attention to big and little stuff.”


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45411

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights

Underground Thrift Hosts Semi-Annual Stuff-A-Sack This Sunday, August 12

August 10, 2012

This Sunday, August 12, the Underground Thrift Store at Plymouth Church, will hold its Semi-Annual Stuff-a-Sack summer clearance sale on men’s, women’s and children’s clothing. Shoppers can purchase a $25 tote and stuff it with as much clothing as they can muster. In addition, you can purchase individual items at 50% off. The sale runs from 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., with 25% of proceeds supporting anti-slavery and human trafficking causes.

Address: 65 Hicks Street between Orange & Cranberry streets in Brooklyn Heights.


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45404

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights

Yassky Zapskys Cabsky Appsky

August 10, 2012

Not so fast there. A new smartphone app hailed as a tech-savvy way to find a taxi could be a major boon for illegal gypsy cabs.

The ZabKab app, released Wednesday, allows anyone with an iPhone to register free as a driver—even if they’re not licensed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission, according to a story in the New York Daily News.

Livery and gypsy-cab drivers who aren’t legally allowed to pick up street hails could easily apply the same business savvy, which creates “a dangerous situation,” says Ira Goldstein, spokesman for a trade association of drivers & buses that cater to corporate clients.

Brooklyn Heights resident and TLC Chairman David Yassky agrees that ZabKab is problematic: “I have definite concerns about the potential for people to be misled by the app, and for it to encourage illegal hustlers,” he says. The TLC has scheduled a meeting with creator Flatiron Apps to discuss its concerns. Continue Reading…


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45397

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights

Residents Of 200 Hicks Street Concerned Bossert Hotel Conversion Will Create Noise, Safety Issues

August 10, 2012

A group of concerned residents who reside at 200 Hicks Street are taking to task the new owners of the Bossert Hotel at 98 Montague Street. Brooklyn Heights rez Elizabeth Bailey and her comrades believe the conversion plan currently before the Bureau of Standard and Appeals could create serious noise, traffic and safety issues in the area.

She writes to the Brooklyn Heights Blog: “Although residents of Brooklyn are happy, mostly, about our borough’s resurgence, or rather, emergence, those of us who live here because it is a quiet, safe place to live and bring up children, are worried that these developers are showing little regard to neighborhood concerns.”

New owners David Bistricer and Joseph Chetrit are seeking a variance to convert the hotel to a “commercial transient facility,” from its status as visitor housing for previous owner Jehovah’s Witnesses. The BSA has scheduled a hearing on the application September 11.

The group of residents at 200 Hicks, located at the northwest corner of Montague, say that the plan could deter the Heights’ peaceful persona “if it is done without regard to the nature and character of our residential community.” Bailey points to a New York Times feature on the Bossert from November 2011, in which Brooklyn Heights Association executive director Judy Stanton notes concerns about upkeep, “since Watchtower society placed a premium on maintenance, including the surrounding sidewalks and parks.” Stanton also intimates that the neighborhood may become livelier if the Bossert is converted into a high-end hotel.

Bailey writes, “The developers are proposing to increase the number of rooms from 224 to 302. Although they speak of creating a boutique hotel, over 300 rooms is a pretty big boutique. They also have plans to build a ground floor restaurant, event spaces (weddings and bar mitzvahs, etc.) and a bar on the rooftop. The developers contend that the increase in traffic on the busy corner of Montague and Hicks from their proposed hotel will be negligible.” She finds this “hard to believe.”

“There have been many articles in the New York press about the negative impact of noisy bars—particularly rooftop bars—on residential neighborhoods,” Bailey adds, citing Times’ stories here and here.

“We understand from press reports that both Chetrit and Bistricer have been publicly criticized for various aspects of their past real estate ventures. Among other controversial matters, Chetrit is one of the investors in the Empire Hotel near Lincoln Center, which has been the subject of a three-year battle that a West 62nd Street coop had to wage in the courts over ‘torment’ from the noise from its rooftop bar well after midnight,” Bailey says. “The developers are also involved with the Chelsea Hotel, which has been the subject of recent controversy. Noise and traffic: That’s what Brooklyn Heights residents are worried about.”

The 200 Hicks Street group proposes that restrictions be put in place on the proposed hotel/bar: “The aim is to limit the increase in noise and traffic that would compromise the safety and the character of this neighborhood.” Bailey invites public discourse of the issue, and is available via email at Elizaabailey@mac.com.

Comments from the BHB community?


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45367

From the Web

Events

Car On Congress Walks Itself Across The Street?

August 10, 2012

A Cobble Hill Blog tipster who has lived in the neighborhood for a decade sent us the following mysterious quandary, which we shall file under the WTF category: “On Sunday we parked our car on Congress Street between Clinton and Henry on the north side, in a spot that would expire Thursday morning. When I dutifully went to move it last night, it was now on the south side of the street. The north side was covered in fresh tar and marked with saw horses, so clearly it was moved for road/utility work.”

She adds, “I am grateful the city did not tow the car (when we left it there Sunday we saw no warnings), but the car was in reverse with the emergency brake still on and locked, just as we left it. How in the world did they physically move it, and are there any regulations about this?”

Any ideas, out there?


Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7725

From the Web