• J. Crew for the Bagel Shop?

    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.

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  • TONIGHT: Sunset Cocktail Armada

    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.

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  • As Brooklyn Gentrifies, Some Neighborhoods are Left Behind

    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.

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  • 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.

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  • Brawl Shuts Down McCarren Pool

    Really people?

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  • Everybody in the Pool

    Pool

    I’m not prone to hyperbole, so trust me when I say that the refurbished McCarren Park pool is a thing of beauty. Kudos to the NYC Parks, architects Rogers Marvel and restoration architects Jan Hird Pokorny Associates on an amazing renovation.

    The pool opens to the public for actual swimming Thursday afternoon. Believe me, you want to check it out.


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  • Greenpoint’s Boathouse on Troubled Waters

    Beautiful pictures and nice synopsis of the Greenpoint Boathouse project at Brooklyn Based:

    Community advocates want to reclaim Newtown Creek by constructing a boathouse in the ground floor of the Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center (GMDC). The project would also include a repaired bulkhead and an esplanade along the waterfront. For boaters and the kayak-curious, it will mean storage space for non-motorized watercrafts and a training center for recreational boating. For all other visitors, it will provide a place to enjoy the waterfront, as the development would create a public gathering spot that is more of a park than a club.

    If all goes according to plan, Greenpoint will have this new waterfront park by 2014.

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  • Once a Staple, Aluminum Awnings Are Losing Their Appeal

    Despite being a character-defining feature of north Brooklyn, aluminum awnings on row houses are not well loved. At least in this case, the Times was not able to find journalistic balance.

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  • R.I.P. Rainbow Theatre

    rainbow.jpg

    Rainbow Theatre
    167 Graham Avenue
    Photo: Laguardia Archives via Cinema Treasures

    This was what the entrance to the Rainbow Theatre on Graham Avenue looked like in 1939. According to Brownstoner, the building is in mid-gut as part of a condo conversion.

    The 1,746-seat house of the theatre was back along Meserole Street. Like many movie houses of the day, the public face of the establishment was a small structure with a big presence on a prominent retail strip. The house was on a side street, where real estate was presumably cheaper.

    One wonders whether the Rainbow was a conversion of older residential structure such as that seen to the left of the theatre. Based on historic maps (which show a 4-story brick store and tenement at this location as late as 1929), that would seem to be the case.


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  • A Skirmish in the War Brunch

    This is a week or so old, but the brunch kerfuffle has now received the New Yorker treatment.

    At the Swinging 60s Senior Citizens Center in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, in a room filled with cafeteria tables veiled in plastic, a sign hanging from the wall says, “Old ladies never die. They just play bingo,” and another below it reads, “LUNCH will be served 12 noon to 12:30 P.M.” When the local community board gathered there for a meeting the other night, concerned citizens chimed in on a dispute over exactly when Sunday brunch is served. Certainly, it’s meant to come before lunchtime—though they may overlap—and ideally, if rarely, brunch belongs in the sweet spot of a late, lazy weekend afternoon. But the timing is a hotly contested issue, among sleepy relatives and New York bureaucrats alike. The official answer, according to a rarely enforced city law for sidewalk cafés, is not before noon. But this week, three New York City Council members set out to legislate in favor of morning brunching.

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