240 Bedford Bankruptcy Fight

08/13/2011 | Comment

The hulking steel skeleton of stalled development at Bedford and North 4th is back in play at bankruptcy court, as two developers fight for control of the property. The property had been tied up with urban renewal restrictions through 2009, though the current owner had proposed a deal to get out of those restrictions back in ’07 or ’08.

City Shutters Bronx School for Elevated TCE Levels

08/09/2011 | Comment

City closes a Bronx school after it finds elevated levels of trichloroethylene, a legacy of the industrial uses that occupied the property before it was a school.

11 Broadway Update

08/09/2011 | Comment

From Curbed, 11 Broadway gets a new (tan) facade. The building is about halfway up, and Curbed reports that it is slated to open (possibly with a grocery store) towards the end of 2012.

11broadwayrefresh

Catholic Church Extinguishes Arts Community at St. Cecilia’s

A sad end to what was a great rebirth. St. Cecilia’s has an amazing collection of buildings, and it was nice to see some of them used for the benefit of the community.

[via Brownstoner]

Wooden House Project

08/04/2011 | Comment

The Wooden House Project is a new blog by Elizabeth Finkelstein that deals with Brooklyn’s wood-frame row houses. The site is well-designed and content-rich, and it’s a subject that is very near to my heart, so I am looking forward to some good things. If this post is any indication, this site has a lot of promise.

[via @Brooklynology]

Motorino Shuttered

By the DOB (their building is in danger of falling over):

‘The stupidity of our landlord is a force we were not able to overcome. While this setback is unfortunate, we promise to soon re-open in a new location,’ chef/owner Matieu Palombino told Eater.

Friends Ask Friends to Join Weed Day

07/28/2011 | Comment

Friends of East River State Park is looking for volunteers to join them Saturday morning to weed the park (sorry, there will be no actual weed).

Monthly Office Suites at 33 Nassau

07/27/2011 | Comment

Also from the Real Deal, 33 Nassau Avenue (you probably know it as the Spritzenhaus Building) is leasing monthly office space on its second floor.

175 Kent Fully Leased

07/27/2011 | Comment

The Real Deal reports that 175 Kent Avenue – a 112-unit building at the corner of North 3rd Street – is now full leased.

What really caught my eye, though, was some of the broker babble:

The 112-unit rental conversion at 175 Kent Avenue…

Conversion from what? This is a new building. Never lived in. Doesn’t a building have to have some sort of prior use to be a conversion?

…the Williamsburg waterfront property…

The waterfront is a block away. Now either side of Kent Avenue is “waterfront”.

Don Draper Was NOT in Williamsburg

The heat must be getting to the Brooklyn Paper:

Yep, that was Don Draper taking in the summer breeze from one of the best places around — a Williamsburg stoop.

Technically, it was Jon Hamm, who was not filming for Mad Men. And the stoop was at 365 Grand Avenue (at Gates), which most Brooklynites know is not in Williamsburg (that would be Grand Street).

Don Draper, being a Manhattanite, probably wouldn’t know the difference. But you’d think the Brooklyn Paper would.