Brooklyn

Brooklyn brownstone dreams often involve transforming historic properties into 21st-century dream homes. Adding sustainable features and luxurious amenities means lots of work and a big investment. The classic 20-foot-wide townhouse at 508 Madison Street in Bed-Stuy, asking $3,495,000, offers the end result, complete with solar panels for sustainable energy, a garden apartment for rental income, and lots of outdoor space, in a move-in-ready package. Built in 1931, the 4,000-square-foot home even has a finished basement, for five stories of living space.
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Distinctive Homes

City moves forward with scaled-back McGuinness Boulevard redesign

McGuinness Boulevard. Courtesy of NYC DOT

August 21, 2024

City moves forward with scaled-back McGuinness Boulevard redesign

A plan to take away lanes of traffic and add protected bike lanes on busy McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint will be scaled back. The Department of Transportation shared its plan with elected officials on Tuesday for the street's redesign, which will extend a bike lane to the southern half of McGuinness but not reduce the number of traffic lanes or create a protected bike path as originally proposed, The City reported. According to reports, Mayor Eric Adams' administration pushed for the watered-down redesign, citing community concerns over the plan.
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This $1.5M Ansonia Court co-op is an old-school classic loft in prime Park Slope

Photo credit: Romy Rodiek, RARE Photography

August 20, 2024

This $1.5M Ansonia Court co-op is an old-school classic loft in prime Park Slope

Whenever an apartment in Park Slope's coveted Ansonia Court at 420 12th Street pops up on the market, it gets noticed. The former Ansonia Clock Company factory is a favorite in the idyllic Brooklyn neighborhood, with its industrial buildings arranged around a verdant courtyard. The charming co-op apartments within offer rustic 11-foot beamed ceilings, exposed brick walls, and arched loft windows; this two-bedroom residence–a one-flight walk-up asking $1,495,000–is a fine example.
Brooklyn loft goodness, this way

Distinctive Homes

New signs along Flatbush Avenue honor Brooklyn’s African heritage

Photo courtesy of the NYC Department of Transportation on Flickr

August 19, 2024

New signs along Flatbush Avenue honor Brooklyn’s African heritage

New cultural signs honoring Brooklyn's rich African heritage have been installed along Flatbush Avenue. The signs mark the beginning of the Black History + Heritage Corridors project, which connects the Lefferts Historic House and the Flatbush African Burial Ground and celebrates the history and culture of Brooklynites of African descent.
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Architecture And Design

This $3M Ditmas Park Victorian surprises with bold and delightful interiors

Photos courtesy of Joel Pitra of DD Reps and Douglas Elliman

August 15, 2024

This $3M Ditmas Park Victorian surprises with bold and delightful interiors

From the outside, the dove-gray Victorian house at 231 Argyle Road in Ditmas Park has all the historic charm for which the Brooklyn neighborhood is known. A wraparound porch shaded by a roof and vines, a verdant front yard with trees and flowering bushes, and a driveway and garage make it an enviable urban refuge even from the curb. Inside, the single-family home, asking $3,000,000, continues to impress, but with a clever and colorful modern design that elegantly complements the historic architecture.
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Distinctive Homes

Brooklyn Children’s Museum begins $15 million garden makeover

The Brooklyn Children’s Museum’s terrace, courtyard, and outdoor spaces will be modernized under the project. Rendering courtesy of Gans and Company / NYC DDC

August 14, 2024

Brooklyn Children’s Museum begins $15 million garden makeover

Work has begun on the $15 million revitalization of outdoor space at the Brooklyn Children's Museum. The city's Departments of Cultural Affairs and Design and Construction this week broke ground on the project to beautify the Crown Heights museum's courtyards and terraces and create 20,000 square feet of accessible outdoor programming space for young New Yorkers and their families. The project is being funded by the Mayor's Office, City Council, and the Brooklyn Borough President's office.
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Architecture And Design

Converted 19th-century St. John’s College building in Bed-Stuy opens lottery, from $2,495/month

All renderings courtesy of Woods Bagot

August 13, 2024

Converted 19th-century St. John’s College building in Bed-Stuy opens lottery, from $2,495/month

A 19th-century Romanesque Revival building in Bed-Stuy originally home to St. John's College is now a luxury rental building. The Hartby, located on the corner of Willoughby and Lewis Avenues, is an adaptive reuse conversion of the former school, designed in the 1870s by Patrick Keely, a prolific architect for the Catholic Church. Developed by Property Resources Corporation and designed by Woods Bagot, the Hartby opened a housing lottery for 62 rent-stabilized apartments this week. New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the residences, priced from $2,495/month for studios, $2,795/month for one-bedroom units, and $3,939/month for two-bedroom units.
find out if you qualify

Photo credit: Oleg Davidoff for The Corcoran Group

August 7, 2024

This $2.2M Bed-Stuy townhouse is a 19th-century beauty seeking a 21st-century life

Unspoiled 19th-century brownstones with intact period details are becoming rare in the 21st century, as sweeping renovations render many of the city's historic homes luxurious and livable–often at the expense of vintage character. Built in 1893, this elegant white-painted townhouse at 102 Decatur Street on a landmarked Bed-Stuy block is a treasure trove of architectural details on each of its four floors, ready for restoration or transformation. Asking $2,200,000, the home has an equally storied cultural pedigree: Former tenants include Brooklyn Dodgers baseball legend Joe Black; notable neighbors and visitors gathered here during its years as an artistic, musical, and intellectual salon.
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Distinctive Homes

Brooklyn’s greenest block is in Crown Heights

Lincoln Place. Photo by Artchan Nadura

August 6, 2024

Brooklyn’s greenest block is in Crown Heights

The greenest block in Brooklyn is in Crown Heights. And so is the second-greenest block. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden on Tuesday crowned Lincoln Place between New York and Nostrand Avenues as the winner of its Greenest Block competition, an annual contest open to all blocks and community gardens in the borough. Another win for the neighborhood, the garden awarded Eastern Parkway between Bedford and Franklin Avenues second place.
and the winners are

Architect-designed Bushwick carriage house with a yard and private garage asks $2.4M

Photo credit: Oleg March

August 1, 2024

Architect-designed Bushwick carriage house with a yard and private garage asks $2.4M

Dubbed "Red Spiral House" for the distinctive tomato-red steel staircase that anchors the space from top to bottom, this architect-designed converted Bushwick carriage house at 290 Bleecker Street is a standout. The colorful home was created within a narrow, rectangular space–albeit one with a private yard and garage. Previously featured in Architectural Digest, its industrial proportions are highlighted by high ceilings, skylights, and steel-framed glass walls that offer a loft vibe and an eyeful of the outdoors. Asking $2,390,000, the home is for sale by the current owner, who also listed it as a rental for $9,900 a month.
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Distinctive Homes

For $1.99M, this just-right co-op is on the parlor floor of a pretty Brooklyn Heights townhouse

Photo credit: Yale Wagner

July 31, 2024

For $1.99M, this just-right co-op is on the parlor floor of a pretty Brooklyn Heights townhouse

On a postcard-worthy brownstone-lined Brooklyn Heights street, this two-bedroom parlor-floor co-op at 283 Hicks Street, asking $1,990,000, embodies townhouse living in a manageable size. Beneath ceilings of nearly 12 feet, the apartment's 19th-century details like crown moldings, exposed brick, and a wood-burning fireplace frame a renovated, elegant interior that needs no updates or additions.
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Distinctive Homes

July 30, 2024

Controversial Clinton Hill migrant shelter may become 600+ apartments

A controversial migrant center in Clinton Hill could be converted into a new mixed-use complex with hundreds of apartments and commercial space. RXR Realty on Friday filed plans with the Department of City Planning (DCP) to transform a block-long campus of 10 former manufacturing buildings at 47 Hall Street into a mixed-use campus with 611 apartments as Crain's New York first reported. Since last July, portions of the site have served as a temporary humanitarian emergency response and relief center, currently home to around 3,000 asylum seekers.
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56 affordable apartments available at luxury Williamsburg rental, from $1,757/month

Renderings courtesy of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

July 26, 2024

56 affordable apartments available at luxury Williamsburg rental, from $1,757/month

Applications are being accepted for 56 below-market-rate apartments at a new luxury rental in Williamsburg. The nine-story building at 597 Grand Street offers residents spacious units with modern amenities, like a fitness center and rooftop terrace. New Yorkers earning 80 and 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, priced from $1,757/month for studios to $3,963/month for two bedrooms.
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Affordable Housing

$1.5M Clinton Hill co-op is a modern home base in a classic loft space

Photos courtesy of Rachel Kuzma/Real Estate Productions for The Corcoran Group

July 24, 2024

$1.5M Clinton Hill co-op is a modern home base in a classic loft space

The boutique co-op building at 110 Clifton Place in Clinton Hill was once a ping-pong table factory, giving it plenty of loft conversion authenticity. This two-bedroom home has the 12-foot ceilings, exposed beams and pre-war feel you'd expect from a New York City loft, with 21st-century interior details for easy–and easy-on-the-eyes–living. Asking $1,500,000, the loft has an elevated bonus space for extra storage or a cozy playroom nook.
Tour the brooklyn loft

Distinctive Homes

NYC announces pedestrian safety upgrades for Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue

New vehicle travel lane markings at Atlantic Avenue and Court Street. Image courtesy of the Department of Transportation

July 24, 2024

NYC announces pedestrian safety upgrades for Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue

New York City is kicking off a series of key upgrades to Atlantic Avenue to improve pedestrian safety. Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez on Tuesday announced the start of pedestrian safety improvements along the western section of Atlantic Avenue that runs between Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill, a corridor infamous for traffic-related incidents. The enhancements include expanded pedestrian space, new mid-block crossings, upgraded traffic signals, vehicle travel lane markings, and more.
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41-story tower on Greenpoint waterfront opens lottery for 115 apartments, from $1,782/month

Rendering courtesy of NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

July 22, 2024

41-story tower on Greenpoint waterfront opens lottery for 115 apartments, from $1,782/month

A lottery opened this week for 115 middle-income apartments in a 41-story luxury rental on the Greenpoint waterfront. Developed by Park Tower Group and Rockefeller Group, the company's first project in Brooklyn, The Dupont will offer 381 apartments, a vast majority of which will have incredible East River and Manhattan skyline views. New Yorkers earning 80 and 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, priced from $1,782/month for studios to $4,001/month for two-bedrooms.
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Affordable Housing

First project under Gowanus rezoning launches leasing for luxury apartments

Renderings courtesy of VUW

July 22, 2024

First project under Gowanus rezoning launches leasing for luxury apartments

The first project developed under the Gowanus rezoning has launched leasing. Developed by Domain Companies and VOREA Group, 420 Carroll consists of a 21-story tower and a 16-story tower connected by an underground tunnel. Situated on the Gowanus Canal, the development includes 360 apartments, with market-rate rentals currently priced from $3,925/month for studios to $9,600/month for three bedrooms. Approved by the city in 2021, the rezoning upzoned 82 blocks of the neighborhood to create 8,500 units of housing and new open space.
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New Developments

For $3.85M, a designer’s Williamsburg townhouse offers eclectic interiors and flexible spaces

Photo credit: Shannon Dupre/DD-reps

July 18, 2024

For $3.85M, a designer’s Williamsburg townhouse offers eclectic interiors and flexible spaces

After a complete renovation by designer Garrow Kedigian, this contemporary Williamsburg townhouse at 512 Lorimer Street is an eclectic urban mix of colorful design, flexible living spaces, and modern amenities. The two-family townhouse, asking $3,850,000, consists of a garden apartment and an upper duplex–with a backyard and terrace–in the heart of the north Brooklyn neighborhood's vibrant cultural streetscape.
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Distinctive Homes

Brooklyn Heights townhouse closes for $22.1M, second priciest single-family home sale in the borough

Photo credit: Matthew Williams

July 17, 2024

Brooklyn Heights townhouse closes for $22.1M, second priciest single-family home sale in the borough

The second priciest single-family home ever sold in Brooklyn has officially closed. The Anglo-Italianate five-bedroom townhouse at 1 Sidney Place in Brooklyn Heights sold for $22.1 million in April; Glossier founder Emily Weiss was identified as the buyer. About a half mile away, the borough's most expensive single-family sale remains 8 Montague Terrace, which sold for $25.5 million in 2020.
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Real Estate Trends

This $2.5M Bed-Stuy home is a reimagined vision of the classic 19th-century townhouse

Photo credit: Hayley Ellen Day

July 17, 2024

This $2.5M Bed-Stuy home is a reimagined vision of the classic 19th-century townhouse

Set among the historic brownstones of Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, this compact three-story townhouse at 647 Macon Street is a fetching combination of history and modern living. Built in 1899, the two-family townhouse has been renovated from top to bottom, making it a turnkey dwelling with rental income opportunity in the form of a garden flat. Asking $2,495,000, the charming townhouse has the clean, classic vibe of a country home, with five bedrooms and plenty of 21st-century necessities and luxuries.
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Distinctive Homes

Rental at historic Crown Heights site opens lottery for 48 apartments, from $3,128/month

All renderings courtesy of Morris Adjmi Architects

July 16, 2024

Rental at historic Crown Heights site opens lottery for 48 apartments, from $3,128/month

A lottery opened this week at a new luxury rental building on a historic site in Crown Heights. Designed by Morris Adjmi Architects, Mason Gray is a mixed-use development at 959 Sterling Place consisting of a seven-story brick building with 158 apartments. Landmarked as part of the Crown Heights Historic District, the property is home to a 19th-century Romanesque Revival complex currently occupied by the Hebron Seventh Day Adventist Church and School. Qualifying New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the apartments, priced at $3,128/month for studios, $3,345/month for one-bedrooms, and $4,000/month for two-bedrooms.
how to apply

Affordable Housing

This $8.25M Cobble Hill brownstone is move-in ready, inside and out

Photo credit: Oleg Davidoff for The Corcoran Group

July 15, 2024

This $8.25M Cobble Hill brownstone is move-in ready, inside and out

For buyers who dream of a Brooklyn brownstone with well-preserved historic details, open sun-filled rooms, and verdant gardens and terraces, this $8,250,000 townhouse at 224 Clinton Street in Cobble Hill checks all the boxes. At 4,800 square feet–25 feet wide and 48 feet deep–no compromise is needed on living space; the two-family home already has a separate living space on the garden floor that requires only minor construction to be an income-producing one-bedroom flat.
Brooklyn townhouse tour, this way

Distinctive Homes

The ferry is a breezy way to get to NYC’s summer destinations — and maybe even see dolphins

Photo courtesy of Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photography Office on Flickr

July 8, 2024

The ferry is a breezy way to get to NYC’s summer destinations — and maybe even see dolphins

By Lidia Ryan

It’s in his blood, NYC Ferry Captain Vincent Ardolino says. His father was a captain, his grandfather was a captain, and his uncles, too. Growing up in the Rockaways, his typical ferry route from Wall Street to Brooklyn to Rockaway Beach is a natural one for him – and his favorite.
all aboard

For $1.4M, this full-floor Park Slope co-op comes with a private rooftop oasis

Photo credit: Shannon Dupré, DD Reps

July 3, 2024

For $1.4M, this full-floor Park Slope co-op comes with a private rooftop oasis

Asking $1,375,000, this two-bedroom co-op at 144 Park Place at the border between Park Slope and Prospect Heights is a sunny top-floor home with a fresh renovation, clean lines, and inspiring city views. But the full-floor walk-up shows its best advantage in summertime: Just upstairs, a full private roof deck offers space for dining, gardening, and entertaining in enviable Brooklyn style.
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Distinctive Homes

Silverstein takes control over Brooklyn Tower in $672M deal

Photo by Evan Joseph

July 2, 2024

Silverstein takes control over Brooklyn Tower in $672M deal

The real estate drama surrounding the Brooklyn Tower may be over. As first reported by Pincus Co, Silverstein Properties has taken over the tower's rental, retail, and unsold condo units from JDS Development in a $672 million deal. Silverstein had provided a $240 million loan for the tower, which JDS defaulted on in 2019, leading to a foreclosure auction scheduled for June 1. The auction was delayed and eventually avoided after Michael Stern of JDS transferred a preferred equity piece in the tower to Silverstein in order to restructure his debt, according to The Real Deal.
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Real Estate Trends

Sustainable cafe with coffee and cocktails opening at Prospect Park Boathouse terrace

Photo courtesy of the Prospect Park Alliance on Flickr

June 28, 2024

Sustainable cafe with coffee and cocktails opening at Prospect Park Boathouse terrace