Author: Halden

DOE Says School Will Be Built Near Greenpoint Toxic Site

The Department of Education has told Laura Hanrahan at the Greenpoint Post that they are moving ahead with plans to construct a K-5 school at part of the Greenpoint Landing site that sits next to a Superfund spill at the NuHart Plastics factory. This comes as news to CM Steve Levin and local advocates who have working to find a less potentially toxic place for a grade school.

What the article doesn’t make clear is that the developer of the NuHart site has no plans to clean up the part of the spill that sits under the intersection of Franklin Street and Dupont Street. That part of the plume has been slowly migrating towards the school site, and based on the most recent data is now within a few feet of the school site.

McCarren Park Track Reopens

Looks great, and ahead of schedule, I think. (But not sure if this opening includes the soccer field, which was the major focus of the renovations.)

335 Grand Street

01/29/2019 | Comment

I’ve always been curious about 335 Grand Street – one of the buildings involved in a partial collapse that I linked to earlier today. It’s design is – odd. Clearly Italianate in design, but the unibrow swag lintels are unique, and the relationship of the lintels to the undersized windows is awkward at best.

Looking at the 1940s tax photo, it does appear that something changed on the facade. The brickwork at the front appears to be toothed in, and the windows have a brick enframement, all of which may be an indication of alterations.

335 Grand 1940

335 Grand Street
(NYC Municipal Archives)


Retail Vacancies Abound near the Bedford Avenue L Stop

Does “L-mageddon already has a prime span of Williamsburg’s Bedford Avenue in its grip”?

A lot of the examples shown around Bedford and North 7th have been vacant or under-rented for ages. Add to this the long-standing shittyness of this stretch of Bedford and the insanely high rents, and I’m a bit skeptical that this is all about the L train. But it sure doesn’t help.

(Special bonus for long-time Northside denizens – a cameo appearance by Kenn Firpo!)

Domino Sugar Refinery

04/11/2018 | Comment

Domino 1905

Domino Sugar Refinery, 1905

In 2006, Williamsburg Greenpoint Preservation Association did a very in-depth report on the history and architecture of the Domino Sugar Refinery, parts of which were incorporated into the Landmarks designation report for the Processing House and into the very detailed and comprehensive report that was prepared for the Historic American Engineering Record. Novelty Theater has recently updated the 2006 WGPA report with new information and has collected a host of images, historical and more recent.