Montrose Morris digs up an 1892 Brooklyn Eagle article praising Brooklyn’s then-new small parks. On the list are Monsignor McGolrick (née Winthrop), Bushwick, Sunset, Ridgewood and Brower (née Bedford) Parks.
1892: In Praise of Small Parks
Lincoln Restler Brings Out the Troops
The district leader position might be unpaid and little-noticed, but Lincoln Restler continued to prove it can be transformed into a noticeable political force…
Which is precisely why he deserves to be reelected.
Outside of Restler’s 50th Assembly District, you’d be hard pressed to find one in 10,000 New Yorkers who could name their District Leader (either one – you have two). In northern Brooklyn, that percentage is a bit higher.
Residents Plan to Sue to Block Greenpoint Shelter
The lawsuit backed by the [unnamed] grass roots organization will argue that the city’s Department of Homeless Services illegally circumvented the stringent “fair share” approval process by converting the four-story industrial warehouse without formal Community Board or City Council approval.
20 beds in the facility will be set aside for Greenpoint residents – nowhere near enough to begin to address the local homeless population or their needs.
Williamsburg J. Crew Employee Manual Leaked
It appears that my initial skepticism about J. Crew’s imminent arrival on Bedford Avenue was misplaced…
For the Williamsburg location, we have adopted some practices that, while a bit unconventional, will reflect our new community and its values.
J. Crew for the Bagel Shop?
07/17/2012 |
Comment
In an article that is sure to be gasoline to the ever-smoldering Williamsburg-is-over fire, The Real Deal is reporting that “upscale clothier J.Crew is among the prospective tenants of a retail space coming online”.
But before everyone gets too worked up over this, it is worth emphasizing the squishiness of The Real Deal’s lede – “among the prospective tenants” – whose prospective tenants? A wish list put together by the broker? Remember that Bedford Avenue (and this site in particular) has had a long history of “prospective” tenants floated for it (including the perennial Bedford bogeyman Starbucks). Further down in the article, the broker says that they “are in talks with and interested in signing [more squishiness, ed.] restaurants as well as fashion and home furnishings retailers”. (Assuming all this is just primping up the property, let’s give the broker some credit for not saying that they are talking to Apple – as a rumor, J. Crew is at least creative.)
In terms of actual news, look further down in the article at what is said and not said. First, and not surprisingly, the broker has a rosy picture of the retail market on Bedford Avenue, noting that retail rents on the avenue are between $185 and $200 psf (that’s at least 50% higher than what a previous tenant was asked to pay less than two years ago – Bedford Avenue is hot, retail-wise, but that hot?).
The broker says that they “are also willing to re-sign tenants currently located at 247 Bedford, which include the bagel purveyor the Bagel Store and the health food shop Millennium Health”. That statement would indicate that the broker has a rather loose grip on the reality of current retail on Bedford Avenue – both the Bagel Store and the Millenium Health have long-since left the building and are happily ensconced in new digs further south on Bedford.
The big question here (and what is not said in the article) is what happens to King’s Pharmacy? They occupy a third to half the retail space in this building, and their lease is probably among those that are up in the next “six to 18 months”. Judging by the mooderific rendering provided by the broker (complete with a Shelby GT parked in front of King’s), I’m guessing that renewing the local pharmacy’s lease is not a high priority.
As for J. Crew, they actually might be a good fit for the neighborhood (their design aesthetic certainly fits in with – or even draws from – local fashion trends, and I seem to recall that their chief designer even lives here). But I bet that they’d go for a smaller, boutique space (a la the Liquor Store or their Soho spot) rather than a shopping center like this. And, if nothing else, a J. Crew at this location would lay to rest (once again) the 15-year old recurring Starbucks-is-coming-to-Bedford-Avenue rumor. We can’t kill it, but we can put another fork in it.
TONIGHT: Sunset Cocktail Armada
07/12/2012 |
Comment
This evening, there is a cocktail boat cruise on the East River Ferry to benefit the Northside Town Hall and a local bar and restaurant owners’ group. Tickets are $125 for three hour cruise (nothing ominous about that!) featuring food and booze from local establishments*, all for a good cause. Details on the event can be found here (and I hear that discount tickets may be available).
*Hotel Delmano, The Richardson, The Drink, Manhattan Inn, The Shanty, Nitehawk, Cubana Social, The Counting Room, Bellwether, Maison Premiere, Dram, Nita Nita, Dressler, Diner, Cafe Collete, El Almacen, Urban Rustic, Hotel Delmano, D.O.C. Wine Bar, The Drink, Bakeri, Cafe Mogador, Teddy’s Bar and Grill, Nitehawk, Mast Brothers, Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn Winery & Brooklyn Roasting Co.
As Brooklyn Gentrifies, Some Neighborhoods are Left Behind
07/09/2012 |
Comment
In its continues discovery of this place called Brooklyn, the Times learns that this is a big, diverse borough that (contra Brian Williams) does not have artisinal cheese on every street.
“Here, everything remains the same,” [said Theresa Scavo, chairwoman of CB15 in southern Brooklyn]. “They don’t want Trader Joe’s. They don’t want sidewalks crowded with cafes. They want a residential, suburban lifestyle. We’re not looking for innovative ways to do things. I have a hard time setting up a DVR.”
Here’s another story angle for the Times – even among the “gentrified” neighborhoods of Brooklyn, there is tremendous diversity. Just as Brownsville and Sheepshead Bay are very different from Park Slope and DUMBO, so too are these neighborhoods of northern and western Brooklyn different from one another. And did you know that there are neighborhoods in Manhattan that are still – in the 21st century – not Business Class? Strange, but true.
Albest Site Marketed for $27 Million
The former Albest Metal Stamping building at 9 Kent Avenue is being marketed as a potential hotel or office building – but notably not for any sort of “industrial” use. It is becoming very clear that the industrial-retention part of the 2005 rezoning – which included reserving a big area around Bushwick Inlet for traditional manufacturing use – was a big missed opportunity. Given the transformation of industry in Brooklyn over the past decade, the opportunity for a new kind of mixed-use zoning – lighter impact industry below with residential above (something the city refused to consider at Bushwick Inlet or anywhere else) could be a big promoter of local jobs.
Instead, we are manufacturing hotels, bars and bowling alleys.