Brooklyn

What's a Kinko House you may ask? First off, the name comes from the developer--Kings and Westchester Land Company--who built them in the northern section of Crown Heights between 1905 and 1912, according to Brownstoner. Designed by architecture firm Mann & MacNeille, the two-family houses are unique in that each unit has its own front door, stairway, porch, and cellar. Each group of six houses also has its own architectural style, and 1040 Sterling Place, which just hit the market for $1,625,000, was done in a brick Arts and Crafts style. This home is being sold with both duplex units, so a new owner could potentially combine them for one large residence.
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Photo. of the Ample Hills Factory © Kate Glicksberg for 6sqft

March 16, 2020

Brooklyn’s Ample Hills Creamery files for bankruptcy

Popular Brooklyn-based ice cream purveyor Ample Hills Creamery has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Real Deal reported. The filing will enable the company to restructure its debt and organizations while keeping its 13 New York stores open. In a statement to the website, Ample Hills said the filing was not as a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic, but instead allows for the business to "course correct."
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Food & Dining

The outdoor kitchen and garden at this $1.9M Boerum Hill condo make for a true urban oasis

Photo credit: DDReps, courtesy of Compass

March 12, 2020

The outdoor kitchen and garden at this $1.9M Boerum Hill condo make for a true urban oasis

This two-bedroom-plus-office condo at 440 Atlantic Avenue, asking 1.85 million, offers the promise of tranquility and outdoor living in Brooklyn's bustling Boerum Hill. Situated at the back of the building with no adjoining neighbors is a private outdoor oasis complete with verdant landscaping and an outdoor kitchen.
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Distinctive Homes

Photo Credit: Al Siedman of VHT, courtesy The Corcoran Group

March 12, 2020

In a former church, $2.75M Brooklyn Heights co-op has cathedral ceilings and stained glass windows

Original stained glass windows, 23-foot vaulted ceilings, and cathedral-like arches--this incredible Brooklyn Heights c0-op has all the heavenly features you'd hope for in a church conversion. Located at 99 Clinton Street, the 1850 church was turned into residences in 1980, and this $2,750,000 unit is perhaps its most spectacular.
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Distinctive Homes

March 10, 2020

City seeks ideas for two 100 percent affordable senior complexes on NYCHA land

The city is looking to construct two affordable senior complexes with between 150 and 200 housing units each. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development on Friday released a request for proposals for two underused city-owned sites, one in the Bronx's Morrisania neighborhood and the other in Crown Heights in Brooklyn. The developments fall under Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration's "Seniors First" housing program, which aims to serve 30,000 senior households by 2026 through the creation and preservation of affordable housing.
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$5M north Slope townhouse on Prospect Park has original woodwork and deeded parking

Photo credit: Allyson Lubow courtesy of The Corcoran Group.

March 6, 2020

$5M north Slope townhouse on Prospect Park has original woodwork and deeded parking

Though the neighborhood may be lovely and its amenities many, it's not for nothing that Park Slope is known as "no place to park Slope." This gracious 23.5-foot-wide four-story home at 559 1st Street, asking $4,995 million, is in a prime spot right on the park; even better, deeded parking is available for trade with the sale. The two-family home is being used as a single-family townhouse, but the opportunity for rental income exists if the new owner wants to change the configuration.
House tour, this way

Distinctive Homes

After four months, Norah Jones sells historic Cobble Hill townhouse

Photo by Christian Harder for Nest Seekers International

March 5, 2020

After four months, Norah Jones sells historic Cobble Hill townhouse

In early November, Grammy Award-winner Norah Jones listed her Greek Revival Cobble Hill townhouse for $8 million. She had purchased it for $4.9 million in 2009. Located at 166 Amity Street, the four-story, five-bedroom brick home boasts beautiful interiors with preserved 1800s details like wooden ceiling beams, marble mantles, and classical moldings, as well as a disappearing heated pool and hot tub in the lovely backyard. The sale, which was first reported by the Post, has not hit public records yet, so the exact sales price is unknown.
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From sea hospitals to sanatoriums: How NYC has contained contagious diseases over the last century

Sea Breeze Hospital in Coney Island via Library of Congress

March 5, 2020

From sea hospitals to sanatoriums: How NYC has contained contagious diseases over the last century

By Cait Etherington

At a press conference on Monday about the recent coronavirus cases confirmed in New York City and State, Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio emphasized that this is not New York's "first rodeo" when it comes to pandemics. They pointed to the recent Ebola scare, as well as the 1968 Hong Kong flu and the 2009 Swine Flu, which closed 200 schools across the state. But even long before that, New York has had a gold standard for handling outbreaks of contagious diseases. From managing the flu pandemic of 1918 to the tuberculosis surge at the turn of the 19th century, the city’s public health officials have been containing outbreaks for well over a century. Ahead, we look at some of the ways this done, from quarantines to sea hospitals.
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History

Photo credit: Drew Dies of Rise Media courtesy of The Corcoran Group.

March 5, 2020

188-year-old Brooklyn Heights home with trophy-townhouse renovation wants $9.5M

This landmarked 188-year-old wood-clad house at 59 Middagh Street in historic and lovely north Brooklyn Heights is among the borough’s oldest homes. But behind its iconic facade–now fortified with block and steel, the listing tells us–is just about every turn-key 21st-century perk imaginable, from an elevator and "penthouse" rooftop to a ground floor guest suite, yoga room and sauna, central air, two wet bars, two laundry rooms, an additional kitchen and five outdoor spaces. It's asking $9,496,000.
Take the new-old townhouse tour

Prospect Park Picnic House will get a food and beverage concession

The second-floor entrance to the Picnic House, photo by Prospect Park Alliance via Flickr cc

March 3, 2020

Prospect Park Picnic House will get a food and beverage concession

The 10 million visitors who walk through Prospect Park each year will have a new place to stop for food and drink very soon. The Prospect Park Alliance has issued an RFP for "the sale of food and beverage items from the ground floor Picnic House concession space." Currently, the Picnic House's second floor is a popular event and wedding venue, but the first floor is mainly unused.
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Food & Dining

Cultural diversity and nature informed this Brooklyn photo series by two longtime residents

Alex Webb, Park Slope, 2018. Chromogenic development print. Courtesy of the artist

March 3, 2020

Cultural diversity and nature informed this Brooklyn photo series by two longtime residents

Photographer couple Alex Webb and Rebecca Norris Webb have lived in Park Slope for some 20 years and for just as long, they've been documenting the borough they call home. In 2014, the duo embarked on a collaborative series of photographs that show typically unseen corners of Brooklyn and tell the layered stories of its multicultural neighborhoods. A collection of 30 images from that series will be on view at the Museum of the City of New York beginning on March 11 in an exhibition titled The City Within.
More images, this way

Events & Things To Do

Listing photos courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

February 28, 2020

Consider this $1.4M Windsor Terrace townhouse a condo alternative with a garden and parking

As an alternative to a co-op or condo, this three-story townhouse at 550 20th Street in Brooklyn's Windsor Terrace neighborhood, asking $1,368,000 has a lot going for it. First, a gated private parking space is a rare New York City convenience. A sun-dappled bluestone-paved garden with a covered patio is ready for summer entertaining. And a tranquil, laid-back style and a thoroughly livable layout make the most of the petite townhouse's available interior space.
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Distinctive Homes

The Brooklyn Public Library is joining forces with the Brooklyn Historical Society

Photo of the Brooklyn Public Library flagship by Ajay Suresh via Flickr

February 28, 2020

The Brooklyn Public Library is joining forces with the Brooklyn Historical Society

Two Brooklyn institutions are joining forces to broaden their impact and create “the premiere collection” of archival materials related to the history of the borough. The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) and Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) have announced a plan to unify their resources, which was approved by the boards of both organizations this week. The library will serve as the parent institution and the partnership is expected to bring greater financial stability to both while expanding the historical society’s reach through the library’s 59 branches.
More details

Events & Things To Do

February 24, 2020

Public gardens revealed at former Jehovah’s Witnesses HQ in Brooklyn Heights

As the former Jehovah's Witnesses headquarters continues its transformation into a modern, five-building mixed-use complex in Brooklyn Heights, photos of the project's first phase have been revealed. Designed by landscape architecture firm terrain, the former Watchtower complex, now known as Panorama, features three public gardens at grade level, as well as an architectural staircase. An open-air courtyard facing Furman Street will serve as a landscaped pocket park steps from the Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge Park.
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Architecture And Design

In Brooklyn Heights’ Eagle Warehouse, live behind a 19th-century industrial clock for $2.35M

Listing photos by Donna Dotan, Courtesy of Compass

February 21, 2020

In Brooklyn Heights’ Eagle Warehouse, live behind a 19th-century industrial clock for $2.35M

The lucky new resident of this Brooklyn Heights loft will never have an excuse to be late again. As the listing correctly describes it, this is a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to live behind the historic clock on the top floor of the Eagle Warehouse & Storage Company building at 28 Old Futon Street. The co-op is made even more incredible by its 17-foot ceilings, two huge skylights, exposed brick and millwork, and views of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline.
Lots more to see

Distinctive Homes

A hydroponic farm, mini golf, and rock climbing: Inside Bushwick’s sprawling Denizen development

Images by Eric Laigel and Imagen Subliminal, Courtesy of ODA

February 20, 2020

A hydroponic farm, mini golf, and rock climbing: Inside Bushwick’s sprawling Denizen development

Five years in the making, the sprawling Denizen Bushwick is now complete. The 1.2 million-square-foot complex designed by ODA New York and developed by All Year Management stands on part of the former Rheingold Brewery Site and covers two city blocks with addresses at 54 Noll Street and 123 Melrose Street. Perceived as a monolith from the street, the complex’s interior features a series of interconnected courtyards and a green promenade. Also of note are 15 large-scale murals painted throughout the building’s circulation corridors by local artists. With an extensive amenities package that seems to include everything under the sun, it’s no wonder the project has been described as a “city within the city.”
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Leasing launches for Greenpoint Landing’s 40-story second tower

Image by QuallsBenson

February 18, 2020

Leasing launches for Greenpoint Landing’s 40-story second tower

The second tower at Greenpoint Landing, the master plan transforming 22 acres of the north Brooklyn neighborhood, has officially opened. Designed by Handel Architects, Two Blue Slip rises 40 stories and contains 421 rental units, with 30 percent of them income-restricted. While pricing has not been released yet, the neighboring building One Blue Slip, which opened in August 2018, most recently listed a three-bedroom unit for $7,892/month, according to CityRealty.
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See more of the historic residences inside 111 West 57th Street’s landmarked Steinway Building

Listing images courtesy of 111 West 57th Street

February 18, 2020

See more of the historic residences inside 111 West 57th Street’s landmarked Steinway Building

Two more listings inside Midtown’s historic Steinway Hall have just hit the market: a two-bedroom with a private terrace for $8,750,000 and a four-bedroom duplex seeking $17,995,000. The landmarked building at 111 West 57th Street was designed by renowned firm Warren & Wetmore and finished in 1925. The longtime home of the Steinway & Sons piano company was acquired by developers JDS Development, Property Markets Group, and Spruce Capital Partners in 2013 for $217.5 million and has since become incorporated into SHoP Architects’ super-slender supertall tower rising next to it. The Beaux-Arts structure serves as the project’s grand entryway and will hold the amenity spaces and a small handful of residences designed by Studio Sofield. We previously got a look inside the striking duplex penthouse that hit the market for $21 million last November—a price it still holds.
Get a look around

City seeks historic boat concession at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 6

Photo by Lukas Schlagenhauf on Flickr

February 18, 2020

City seeks historic boat concession at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 6

A historic vessel could soon permanently dock at Brooklyn Heights' waterfront park. The Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation this month issued a request for proposals (RFP) seeking operators for the long-term docking of a ship with historical significance to serve as an educational or cultural center at the park's Pier 6. Historic boats have previously operated at the pier on a seasonal basis, but the group is looking for a more permanent amenity, as the Wall Street Journal first reported.
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Uncategorized

See inside The Wing’s fifth NYC location in Williamsburg

Photos by Tory Williams; courtesy of The Wing

February 14, 2020

See inside The Wing’s fifth NYC location in Williamsburg

Female-focused coworking space The Wing has opened another gorgeous outpost for its growing membership, this time in trendy Williamsburg. Located in a new building at 71 North 7th Street, the space spans two floors and 12,000 square feet (with just under half of that being outdoor space). It's The Wing's fifth location in New York City and second in Brooklyn.
Have a look around

Fascinating photos show the 20th-century construction of NYC’s subway system

Lexington Avenue, between 105th and 106th Streets, Manhattan, 1913. Photograph by Pierre P. Pullis, Lundin Collection, Courtesy of the New York Transit Museum

February 13, 2020

Fascinating photos show the 20th-century construction of NYC’s subway system

A new photo exhibit at the New York Transit Museum provides a unique look at the construction of the city's subway system, as well as its enduring impact. Opening Thursday, Streetscapes & Subways: Photographs by Pierre P. and Granville W. Pullis shows what it was like before and after the subway system was constructed, as well as the architectural and cultural changes occurring simultaneously above ground.
See the photos here

Image courtesy of Douglas Elliman.

February 13, 2020

This little blue house in Bushwick is a tastefully designed two-unit home, asking $1.5M

Immediately recognizable by its chic cadet blue facade, this three-story house in Bushwick is comprised of two residential units. Asking a not-unreasonable $1,499,000, the wood-clad home at 27 Bleecker Street has been given a contemporary redesign with good looks, quality, design trends, and comfort in mind. Fortuitously situated between burgeoning sections of Bushwick and Stuyvesant Heights, the best destinations in both neighborhoods are within blocks.
Bushwick townhouse tour, this way

Distinctive Homes

City launches design competition to fix Brooklyn Bridge congestion problem

Image by Ali Vidler from Pixabay

February 11, 2020

City launches design competition to fix Brooklyn Bridge congestion problem

The city is looking for ideas to fix the jam-packed promenade of the Brooklyn Bridge. City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and the Van Alen Institute on Tuesday launched a design competition seeking creative improvements to the 137-year-old structure's narrow walkway, where thousands of pedestrians and cyclists fight for space each day. The overcrowded conditions have made the number of cyclists crossing the bridge drop to about 3,000 daily riders, compared to 3,600 two years prior, the Wall Street Journal reported.
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Billionaires’ Row property taxes would dramatically increase under proposed system overhaul

Image courtesy of Vornado Realty Trust and Robert A.M. Stern Architects

February 11, 2020

Billionaires’ Row property taxes would dramatically increase under proposed system overhaul

Last month, the city's Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform revealed a report outlining sweeping changes to the property tax code that would essentially raise the same amount of money but substantially redistribute where it comes from. Under the current system, property owners pay taxes based on assessed value rather than market value, so working-class homeowners often pay a higher tax rate than those who can afford the city's multimillion-dollar luxury condos. Mansion Global took a closer look at the numbers and found that property taxes along Billionaires' Row could increase up to five times their current rate under the proposed system.
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Policy

You can have a sleepover at IKEA in Red Hook next month

Photo by Eden, Janine and Jim on Flickr

February 10, 2020

You can have a sleepover at IKEA in Red Hook next month

Lull yourself to sleep surrounded by ready-to-assemble furniture and Swedish meatballs during a sleepover at Ikea's showroom in Brooklyn next month. The home goods store is launching a raffle to give shoppers a chance to spend the night at its Red Hook store on March 13. Coinciding with World Sleep Day, the "Swede Dreams" event aims to help the "tired, weary and sleep-deprived fans" of the store, according to a press release.
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Events & Things To Do

For $799K, this well-outfitted Bed-Stuy condo is set up for easy living

Image credit: Rise Media courtesy of the Corcoran Group.

February 10, 2020

For $799K, this well-outfitted Bed-Stuy condo is set up for easy living