This guy might be serious.

The new president effectively reversed a post-9/11 Bush administration policy making it easier for government agencies to deny requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act, and effectively repealed a Bush executive order that allowed former presidents or their heirs to claim executive privilege in an effort to keep records secret…

In what ethics-in-government advocates described as a particularly far-reaching move, Mr. Obama barred officials of his administration from lobbying their former colleagues “for as long as I am president.”

Via Brownstoner, things are looking up for Williamsburg’s overdevelopment poster child. Now that BSA has cleared the way, all that stands between the new owner and hefty profits is the economy.

The rendering makes the proportions of the building appear a lot more elegant than they look to be in real life.

Via Gowanus Lounge, an update on the rehab of 44 Berry (the former N.Y. Quinine Works).

Be not afraid [about Fedderization of the facade], the developer says the AC vents will be disguised so that we’ll hardly know the building has been altered.

I’ll go on the record as skeptical on this one.

From Justin Farrow, a slide of Brooklyn buildings (mainly around here) that, well, don’t exist.

As a public service, here’s a listing of inauguration events in and near 11211. Its a three-day weekend, so feel free to get an early start.

Williamsburg’s first historic district takes its first steps.

(The Fillmore part is at the end of the article. I’m sure the Hubbard designation is a good thing as well.)

“This is the fifth consecutive quarter where the median sales price has declined in Brooklyn,” said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel…

Greenpoint and Williamsburg are considered the strongholds of the borough. The median sales price there rose to $596,125, up 3.7% compared to the last quarter of 2007. However, the number of sales plunged there as well, dropping 42% year-over-year to 142 transactions, according to the Prudential report.

I suspect that 42% drop is a lot more significant than the 3.7% median sales price increase. 142 transactions in a market that is slated to add hundreds of new units in the next year or two is not a healthy sign. All signs point to more rentals.

One thing that the owners of the Austin, Nichols & Company warehouse at 184 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, were firm about throughout the long battle over the building’s fate three years ago was that it was not historically valuable.

[Shameless self-promotion link.]