Archives

Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO

First Look At Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Hotel/Rez Complex

June 15, 2012

The Brooklyn Bridge Park Corp. is expected to vote Tuesday June 19 on which developer will be awarded the contract to build the controversial BBP hotel and residential complex next to Pier 1 near DUMBO, as mandated by NYC Mayor Bloomberg to fund the future of the park.

Curbed refers to reports in The New York Times and Crain’s that favor Toll Brothers and Starwood Capital Group. Those companies have combined forces to offer a hotel comprising 200 rooms, with a 160-unit condo complex. There will also be 32,000 square feet of restaurant & banquet space, a 6,000-square-foot spa and 300 parking spaces. Under the development guidelines for the park, the hotel and connecting residences cannot exceed 100 feet in height, while a separate residential building can’t be more than 55 feet tall.

In addition, three more apartment buildings—one at John Street and two next to Pier 6—are planned for the park. The project, which would begin construction in 2013 and open in 2015, claims that it will generate $119.7 million in rent and other payments. It is conceivable that the multi-use residential and commercial complex will be complete long before the park itself.


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42452

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights, Real Estate

Candy Factory Hits Sweet Spot: 20 Henry Street Two-Thirds Sold

June 14, 2012

When the condo project at 20 Henry Street hit the marketplace in February after years of delays & drama, asking prices at the former Peaks Mason Mints building (known as the Candy Factory) were between $450,000 and $2.56 million. That comprised studios up to 4 bedrooms, including 24 lofts (among them, six $2M+ penthouse units) and an additional 14 units in the adjacent modern structure on Poplar Street scheduled to wrap this summer.

Brokerage Stribling & Associates claimed then that 20 Henry had an 800-applicant waiting list—and it turns out they weren’t sugar-coating the building’s appeal. Brownstoner now reports that it is two-thirds sold, with 25 of 38 units spoken for.

Among them, four of the six penthouses are in contract. The largest and most expensive unit in the building, a 4-bedroom in the original factory building, is priced at $2,895,000. Closings should begin later this summer.

More history on the well-traveled build-out was featured in a Wall Street Journal article in February: The former industrial space was built in 1885 as the base of candy makers Mason Mints & Mason Dots. In the 1970s, it became housing for artists under the state’s Mitchell-Lama subsidized-housing program until the program ended in 2004.

Developers Urban Realty Partners bought the site in 2007, but weren’t able to finish a condo conversion after the imminent economic collapse. Los Angeles-based Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund stepped in and took over the project in 2010, alongside plenty of legal drama…

(Photo: Brownstoner)


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42369

From the Web

Arts and Entertainment, Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Events, Food

Saturday: Atlantic Ave. Extravaganza For Shoppers, Foodies & Families

June 14, 2012

Coming this Saturday, June 16, is the Atlantic Avenue Extravaganza, 1-5 p.m., from the BQE entrance to Fourth Avenue. The event is designed to draw shoppers, foodies, families and art lovers to the sidewalks of the thoroughfare with a lineup of special events, performances, tastings and games in the name of making all more aware of Atlantic Ave’s burgeoning commerce, culture and community.

More details on our sister Cobble Hill Blog here. The Extravaganza is sponsored by the Atlantic Ave. Business Improvement District.


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42352

From the Web

Arts and Entertainment, Events, Food

Saturday: Atlantic Avenue Extravaganza For Shoppers, Foodies & Families

June 14, 2012

Coming this Saturday, June 16, is the Atlantic Avenue Extravaganza, 1-5 p.m., all the way from the BQE entrance to Fourth Avenue. The neighborhood event is designed to draw shoppers, foodies, families and art lovers to the sidewalks of the thoroughfare with a lineup of special events, performances, demonstrations, tastings, tours and games in the name of making all more aware of Atlantic Avenue’s burgeoning commerce, culture and community.

Festivities will include a ribbon cutting ceremony led by the Brooklyn Steppers Marching Band on the sidewalk in front of the Atlantic Avenue BID office in Cobble Hill at 340 Atlantic Avenue, between Smith and Hoyt Streets, a sidewalk parade and the “Sanitation Dance,” a choreographed piece by the Modern Dance Awareness Society.

Other performers include stilt walkers, acrobats, the Bindlestiff Cavalcade of Youth All-Stars, the Balkan sounds of Raya Bass Band, an all-female percussion band, and Underground Horns. Artists from Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC) will also participate.

Businesses along Atlantic Avenue will also host special events and tastings throughout the day. The Extravaganza is sponsored by the Atlantic Ave. Business Improvement District. See all the details here.


Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7355

From the Web

Events

Cobble Hill Health Center Offers ‘Caring For Our Parents’ Thursday, June 14

June 14, 2012

The Cobble Hill Health Center and Heights & Hills will present “Caring for Our Parents… and Ourselves,” a conversation with Paula Span, author & New York Times blogger on aging issues and caregiving. The discussion takes place Thursday, June 14 at 7 p.m. at 380 Henry Street, between Congress & Warren streets. RSVP and for more information: events@globalvisionpr.com.


Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7352

From the Web

Real Estate

Reminder: Montague Street BID Annual Meeting Is Today

June 14, 2012

A reminder that the 15th-annual meeting of the Montague Street District Management Assn., part of the Montague Street Business Improvement District, convenes today, Thursday June 14, 4-6 p.m., on the second floor of Eamonn’s of Brooklyn at 174 Montague Street. Addressing the group will be keynoter Seth Pinsky, President of the NYC Economic Development Corp., and guest speaker Tucker Reed, President of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.

To vote and actively participate in BID-related matters, members must register here. The Montague Street District Management Assn. comprises commercial property owners, commercial tenants, residential renters and/or owners and all interested non-voting interested Board members and attendees.

At the meeting, members will vote to elect Directors and on revised by-laws and policies, while bidding a fond farewell to Eamonn’s, which closes June 17.

Members may request electronic copies of information at info@MontagueBID.com or by calling 718-522-3649. For more information on the organization, contact Executive Director Brigit Pinnell at bpinnell@MontagueBID.com.


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42349

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights

Open Thread: Wednesday, June 13, 2012

June 13, 2012

Hello Wednesday. Cheers, BHB readers. Greetings to another Open Thread. Please… share what’s on your mind and talk freely, albeit courteously, amongst yourselves. (Photo: Chuck Taylor)


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42306

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights, Real Estate

Heights Deal Of The Day: 204 Columbia Heights, $7 A Week! (In 1902, That Is)

June 12, 2012

With summer just around the corner, this is the ideal time to reserve your summer space here in Brooklyn Heights. And have I got a deal for you: 204 Columbia Heights, The Berkshire. Overlooking the Harbor. “Why put up with country inconveniences when you can find all the comforts and coolest of sea breezes at home? Unobstructed view of entire bay, elevator, electric light, telephone, one minute from Wall St. Ferry, 5 minutes from Bridge or Fulton Ferry, second & fourth floor suites, single & double rooms, including superior board & attendance.” The price: $7 and up: per week.

Of course, you would have to transport yourself back 110 years, as per an advert in today’s Brooklyn Eagle… from June 13, 1903. In addition, the Berkshire of the early 20th Century unfortunately no longer exists. The current six-story 204 Columbia Heights (pictured above & below) was built in 1925, which today, as a coop, maintains 16 units. Looks like it’s too late, after all. Sigh…


(Advert: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 13, 1902/Photos: Chuck Taylor)


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42256

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights, Celebrity Residents

HBO ‘Girls’ Creator Lena Dunham: You Can Come Home Again

June 12, 2012

Lena Dunham, creator, producer, director, writer & star of HBO’s freshman hit “Girls,” who grew up in Brooklyn Heights—and as we reported was planning a return to the nabe—purchased her Heights 1-bedroom, 800 sf digs on Hicks Street in mid-March, according to a frisky Q&A in The New York Times Sunday magazine and a post on RealEstalker.

In the NYT interview, writer Andrew Gold asks, “Are you moving to cool, young Williamsburg or established, family-oriented Brooklyn Heights?” Dunham’s typically dry, tongue-in-cheek response: “Brooklyn Heights. We lived there all through my high-school career, so I have an intense attachment to it. Other people think of Brooklyn Heights as where you become elderly, but I think of it as where you try pot for the first time.”

Gold also queries: “I was shocked to learn you were living with your parents [during] the first season of ‘Girls.’ Moving back in with Mom and Dad after school is one reason that Gen Xers like myself privately disparage people of your generation.”

Dunham replies, “When I was graduating, I remember my parents’ surprise. They were like, ‘Do you realize that none of us would have accepted help from our parents?’ They were shocked by what my friends were settling for. But I really love living with my parents. Few people who aren’t in my family understand it. This is my next to last night at my parents’ house. I just got back from my new apartment in Brooklyn, where I’m doing some vague remodeling and painting of dank walls.”

Interested in exactly where Dunham has purchased her apartment? See The RealEstalker post here.

The 25 year old was raised in Soho, Brooklyn Heights and Tribeca, and attended St. Ann’s School in the Heights (with co-star Jemima Kirke). Her mother is photographer and artist Laurie Simmons and her father is renowned painter Carroll Dunham, who also live in Brooklyn Heights.

“Girls” has been renewed for a second season on HBO, while Dunham is also drafting a screenplay of “Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares,” commissioned by producer Scott Rudin. Her rising star has also been noted by Forbes magazine, which recently included her in the entertainment category of its “30 under 30″ list of young people whose careers are worth watching.


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42205

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights

Reflections On 1974 Brooklyn Heights From A BHB Reader

June 12, 2012

We’re plucking this endearing reader comment from the June 10 BHB post “Montague Street Is Stirring As It Hasn’t In Years,” which was contributed by Richard Grayson, whose musings on growing up in the borough are published in his multi-series e-book “The Brooklyn Diaries,” available on amazon.com here. Grayson was born in Brownsville in 1951 and now lives in Williamsburg. He has kept a daily diary entry—without missing a day—since August 1969, when he was an 18-year-old preparing to enter Brooklyn College.

He previews his journal entry from June 15, 1974: “Back in 1969 and throughout the early 70s, Montague Street was a wonderland for kids like me from the hinterlands of Brooklyn (Mill Basin). There were so many places to hang out and eat and cool stores. In my diaries I have lots of references to days and evenings spent on Montague Street. To me, it was the best street in Brooklyn, maybe in the city.”

And here are his innocent 20-something observations, coming to you live from 1974…

Ronna and I decided to go to Brooklyn Heights. It was still daylight at 8 p.m. I parked on Remsen Street, by Shelley Wouk’s old office, now adorned with a sign that says ‘Somebody, M.S.W., Primal Therapy.’ We took in the shops around Montague Street. There was a beautiful sign in a florist’s window, a sort of essay called ‘Diversity, Thy Name is Life,’ talking about how wonderful the differences between people are and how they should not lead to hate but love.

There were trendy stores, tea shoppes, cheese places and sidewalk cafes. Children were playing and people were walking their dogs. We strolled the length of the Promenade, holding hands and staring at the river and the Manhattan skyline. We walked along Willow Street, looking for Norman Mailer, and Ronna pointed out Mona’s old apartment on Pierrepont: She and Ivan broke up there one night when they baby-sat for his niece. We got root beer ice cream at Baskin-Robbins, and it started to get dark so we went back to Canarsie.”

You can sample more of Grayson’s everyman’s perspective on growing up in Brooklyn via the amazon.com link here… although with a Kindle price of 99 cents, why not indulge in the entire collective, right?

Postscript: BHB reader Andrew Porter adds: “Richard, the florist shop with the giant hand-written philosophical signs in the window was the old James Weir Florist shop on the south side of Montague. Although the store continues on the north side, the owner is, I believe, Weir’s son, and not given to philosophy.”

Please keep this kind of Heights history coming. These reflections trump historical photos any day.


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42239

From the Web