All renderings courtesy of RXR Realty

Ahead of its opening this fall, a sleek new rental building in Brooklyn has launched leasing. Located where Fort Greene and Downtown Brooklyn converge, The Willoughby rises 34 stories and houses 476 rental units. Developed by RXR Realty and designed by Perkins Eastman, the 435-foot-tall building sits within the Long Island University campus and overlooks a new athletic field funded by the project. Starting rents are $2,870/month for studios, $3,840/month for one-bedrooms, and $5,660/month for two-bedrooms.

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Renderings courtesy of Alloy

After securing $240 million in financing, Alloy Development announced construction will kick off this month on its huge mixed-use, multi-building project in Downtown Brooklyn. Formerly known as 80 Flatbush, Alloy Block includes five buildings with 850 apartments, 200,000 square feet of office space, 40,000 square feet of retail, and two public schools designed to meet Passive House standards. Since first announcing the project roughly four years ago, developers have cut the height of the residential towers, swapped out planned office space for additional residences, and pushed back the expected completion date.

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Photo by Evan Joseph

After several years of rendering-peeping, we finally have the full reveal of Brooklyn Point‘s rooftop infinity pool, situated 680 feet above the ground. This makes it the highest such pool in the Western Hemisphere, surpassing the famous Marina Bay Sands Hotel pool in Singapore. The condo tower from Extell also has the distinction of being the borough’s tallest tower and offers other amazing amenities such as a stargazing observatory, 65-foot indoor saltwater swimming pool, a rock-climbing wall, and a squash/basketball court.

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All renderings courtesy of NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development

Just this week, leasing launched at the splashy new Downtown Brooklyn rental 1 Boerum Place, with units including a $4,385/month one-bedroom and a $6,646/month two-bedroom. But if you earn 130 percent of the median income and are one of the 42 lucky applicants chosen, you can live in this luxury building for a lot less. A middle-income affordable housing lottery opened today and the available apartments range from $2,000/month studios to $3,120/month two-bedrooms. In addition to beautiful homes, the centrally located building offers a high-end amenity package that includes a rooftop terrace (complete with a “stargazing lawn”), an indoor swimming pool, sauna, and automated parking.

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“Arrivals + Departures” by YARA + DAVINA. Photo © Sam Polcer

Outside the main entrance to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, there’s a new public art installation that “offers a meditation on birth, life, and death through the simple, yet powerful act of naming.” Created by UK-based social practice artists YARA+DAVINA, the memorial called “Arrivals + Departures” takes the shape of a traditional train station arrivals and departures board, listing the names of those who have been born (“arrived”) or passed (“departed”).

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Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray deliver remarks at the renaming ceremony of the Brooklyn Municipal Building in honor of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. March 15, 2021. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

The Brooklyn Municipal Building on Monday was officially renamed after late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The idea to honor the Brooklyn native was introduced three years ago by Borough President Eric Adams, who launched a campaign in 2018 calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to sign off on the name change. Following Ginsburg’s death in September, the mayor agreed to rename the building located at 210 Joralemon Street.

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Map data © 2020 Google

New York City has officially purchased the property at 227 Duffield Street, a 19th-century rowhouse in Downtown Brooklyn recently designated as a landmark for its ties to the abolitionist movement. The Landmarks Preservation Commission last month granted landmark status to the home, occupied by known abolitionists Harriet and Thomas Truesdell from 1851 to 1863, after years of advocacy and a threat by a developer to raze it and build a mixed-use building in its place. First Lady Chirlane McCray, who has been a vocal advocate for the preservation of the site, announced the purchase during Mayor Bill de Blasio’s briefing on Monday and said the deal ensures the property will be “protected and celebrated for a very long time.”

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Rendering courtesy of Gillie and Marc

A statue of late United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was unveiled in Downtown Brooklyn on Friday. Created by artists Gillie and Marc Schattner, the six-foot bronze statue is located inside the Flatbush Avenue entrance of the mixed-use development City Point. Visitors can “Stand with Ruth” and take photos with the statue, but a timed reservation is required to maintain social distancing, according to City Point.

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227 Duffield Street; Map data © 2020 Google

The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to designate a Brooklyn property that was home to known abolitionists, likely saving it from demolition. Harriet and Thomas Truesdell, members of the anti-slavery movement before the Civil War, lived at the Greek-Revival row house at 227 Duffield Street from 1851 to 1863. The commission recommended 227 Duffield for designation because it represents a rare surviving home to known abolitionists and marks Brooklyn’s pre-Civil War abolitionist movement. The push for landmarking the site was accelerated in 2019 when a developer filed permits to raze the three-story structure and replace it with a much taller mixed-use building.

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Renderings by Hargreaves Jones, courtesy of NYCEDC

After being in the works for nearly two decades, plans to build a public park in Downtown Brooklyn with a memorial to the neighborhood’s abolitionist history are delayed once again. The Public Design Commission last week tabled a conceptual proposal from artist Kameelah Janan Rasheed after preservationists and community members during an intense public hearing criticized both the design for missing details and the city’s lack of transparency.

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