Brooklyn

Though it's a fourth-floor walk-up, this easy-on-the-eyes apartment at 567 8th Street on a quaint south Park Slope block has lots of advantages, even beyond its colorful good looks. For $1,575,000 Prospect Park is half a block away and with at least three potential bedrooms, a dining room, and an eat-in kitchen, there's space for everyone. The top floor comes with light and views, and charming pre-war details abound. What's more, this seems to be the rare townhouse apartment that actually offers its residents a gym (we'd love to see it).
Have a look

Distinctive Homes

September 4, 2018

Brooklyn Heights’ oldest home returns to the market after a $2M price chop

Owning a piece of New York City history just got a little cheaper. The oldest home in Brooklyn Heights, located at 24 Middagh Street, has hit the market again, this time asking $4.5 million, a price drop of over $2 million from when it was listed last year. The five-bedroom Federal-style home boasts a private, landscaped courtyard and a separate two-bedroom carriage house.
Enough of a discount?

Our 1,100sqft: A move to the Bay Ridge waterfront gave this couple serenity and space

6sqft’s series “My sqft” checks out the homes of New Yorkers across all the boroughs. Our latest interior adventure brings us to Daniel and Kyle’s Bay Ridge co-op. Want to see your home featured here? Get in touch!

September 4, 2018

Our 1,100sqft: A move to the Bay Ridge waterfront gave this couple serenity and space

Bay Ridge may not be on your list of top Brooklyn 'nabes, and that's exactly why it's such a peaceful enclave for those in the know. After living in a cramped West Village apartment, Daniel Saponaro and Kyle Hutchison set four must-haves in a new place to live--a bright and spacious home, green streets, proximity to transit, and great nearby restaurants. They found all of this and more in a beautiful pre-war apartment building on Bay Ridge's waterfront Shore Road. When they rented their 1,000-square-foot home in 2008, the couple always had a renovation in their back of their minds, and two years ago, when they were given the opportunity to purchase, these makeover dreams became a reality. Daniel, a fashion designer and women's clothing company owner, knew that it would take some work to sell his husband, a VP at a higher education consulting firm, on some of his remodeling ideas, from knocking down walls to coming up with creative ways to display their contemporary art and pottery collections. With the help of online decorating service Modsy, Daniel and Kyle created their perfect slice of serenity and learned a bit about their styles on the way. Ahead, hear more about the process and take a tour of this fun and functional home.
Take the tour

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

Images (L to R): Atelier Apartments, The Drake, 223 Fourth Avenue and 125 Borinquen Place

September 1, 2018

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

By Ondel Hylton

Images (L to R): Atelier Apartments, The Drake, 223 Fourth Avenue and 125 Borinquen Place Live at Atelier Apartments in Williamsburg: No Fee Rentals from $2,485/Month with $1,000 Deposits [link] Leasing Launches at No. 223; Park Slope’s Newest Rentals Start at $2,521/Month [link] Live in Rego Park at The Drake’s Spacious No Fee Renovated Rentals […]

Real Estate Trends

Study recommends creating a High Line-style park along Brooklyn’s Prospect Expressway

Rendering via BHA

August 31, 2018

Study recommends creating a High Line-style park along Brooklyn’s Prospect Expressway

A new study recommends building a cantilevered linear park to run along the Prospect Expressway in Brooklyn, akin to the High Line. Developed by students from NYU Wagner's capstone program, PX Forward proposes ways to reimagine the 2.3-mile-long corridor, whose construction was led by Robert Moses between 1953 and 1962. As it stands today, the expressway cuts through neighborhoods like South Slope, Windsor Terrace, Greenwood Heights and Kensington, exposing residents to unsafe conditions due to high traffic and noise pollution.
More here

Architecture And Design

August 30, 2018

For $1.5M, this Bay Ridge colonial offers suburban living without giving up the subway

If there was ever a time to invest in Bay Ridge, now is it. The charming suburban neighborhood in the southwest corner of Brooklyn has always been served by the R train, but as of last year, it's also accessible via the NYC Ferry's South Brooklyn line. And average sales prices in the area rose 10 percent from 2016 to 2017. Take this charming colonial home at 150 78th Street, for example. It last sold in 2013 for $900,000, and it's now asking $1.5 million. Not only does the three-bedroom, freestanding house have a real backyard and detached garage, but it's just two blocks from the beautiful Shore Road Park and Narrows Botanical Garden and the quickly-expanding list of restaurants on Third Avenue.
Have a look around

Distinctive Homes

In the 1890s, New Yorkers took a bicycle railroad to Brooklyn’s beaches

Boynton’s Bicycle Railroad, via Wiki Commons

August 28, 2018

In the 1890s, New Yorkers took a bicycle railroad to Brooklyn’s beaches

By Lucie Levine

As Labor Day draws near and New Yorkers run to squeeze a few more beach days into the end of the summer, packed trains and ferries carry crowds to the city’s sandy shores. But, beachgoers of yore weren’t simply piling onto the Q train to get out to Coney Island. They reached the southern tip of Brooklyn via a much more zany (or visionary?) mode of conveyance: Boynton’s Bicycle Railroad. In the summer of 1890, Boynton’s Bicycle, so named because it featured two rails, one beneath the train and one above it, shuttled passengers between Gravesend and Coney Island via an abandoned section of the Sea Beach and Brighton Railroad.
The Story Rolls on This Way

August 28, 2018

Take a tour of Dead Horse Bay, Brooklyn’s hidden trove of trash and treasures

By James and Karla Murray

Dead Horse Bay is a small body of water in Brooklyn that got its name from the horse rendering plants that were on the former Barren Island in Jamaica Bay near the shoreline of Flatlands. In the late 1850s, Barren Island was the site of the largest dump in New York City, fed by barges carrying garbage and animal remains. Factories on the island used the carcasses of horses, which were put in large vats and boiled until the fat could be removed, for use in fertilizer, glue, and oils. The bones of the horses were then chopped up and dumped into the water. Starting in 1930, the island also became the site of the first municipal airport (Floyd Bennett) after the city filled in marshland to connect it to the mainland. The last horse rendering factory on the island closed in 1935 and in 1936, the island’s final 400 residents were evicted to make way for the creation of the Belt Parkway. The City continued using the area as a garbage dump until 1953 when the landfill was capped. Since 1972, the area surrounding Dead Horse Bay has been part of the Jamaica Bay Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area. We joined Robin Nagle, NYC Department of Sanitation’s Anthropologist-in-Residence for an exclusive exploration of Dead Horse Bay earlier this year with the City Reliquary Museum and had a chance to speak with her about this mysterious area, which is strewn with glass bottles, fragments of centuries-old horse bones, and mounds of trash.
Have a look around

1,000 new affordable homes for NYCHA seniors coming to Central Brooklyn

Photo of Bed-Stuy via Wikimedia

August 27, 2018

1,000 new affordable homes for NYCHA seniors coming to Central Brooklyn

New York State will finance 1,000 affordable homes for seniors who are residents of the city's public housing system, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Sunday. The 100 percent affordable units will be constructed on underutilized land in Central Brooklyn that is owned by NYCHA. The $15 million plan falls under the governor's $1.4 billion Vital Brooklyn initiative, which aims to bring affordable housing, open space and recreation, new jobs and better healthcare services to the area, which includes the neighborhoods of Bed-Stuy, Brownsville, Ocean-Hill, Bushwick, Crown Heights and East New York.
More here

Affordable Housing

August 27, 2018

Behind the scenes at Williamsburg’s abandoned Bayside Oil Depot, set to be NYC’s next public park

We first learned about the proposal to turn Williamsburg's former Bayside Oil Depot into a public park nearly two years ago. Since then, co-founders Karen Zabarsky and Stacey Anderson have been working tirelessly with a team of designers and environmentalists to refine their plans to be something both true to the site's history and representative of where the neighborhood is heading. Part of the larger Bushwick Inlet Park, a 28-acre open space along an unused waterfront industrial stretch, the plan is unique in that it plans to adaptively reuse the 10, 50-foot decommissioned fuel containers, transforming them into everything from performance spaces to greenhouses. With a fresh name--THE TANKS at Bushwick Inlet Park--Karen and Stacey recently took 6sqft on an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of the abandoned site, giving us a glimpse into how this incredible industrial relic is poised to become NYC's next anticipated park. Get a rare, up-close look at the tanks, hear what these powerhouse women have been up to, and learn what we can expect in the near future.
You won't believe these photos

August 27, 2018

Six middle-income units up for grabs across from Crown Heights’ Lincoln Terrace park and tennis courts

Just 10 days ago, an affordable housing lottery opened across from the Lincoln Terrace/ Arthur S. Somers Park in Crown Heights. These units are available to households earning 60 percent of the area median income, but a new lottery right around the corner will provide middle-income New Yorkers the opportunity to get into the neighborhood, too. As of today, those earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for six apartments at 1764 Union Street, a new, boutique rental building just two blocks from the 3, 4, and 5 trains at Utica Avenue. The units up for grabs range from an $1,800/month studio to $2,500/month two-bedrooms, and residents will have easy access to the park's two tennis courts, two playgrounds, basketball and handball courts, baseball field, and beautiful wooded lawns.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

Images (L to R): The Rheingold, The Colorado, The Niko and The Ashland

August 25, 2018

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

By Ondel Hylton

Images (L to R): The Rheingold, The Colorado, The Niko and The Ashland The Top 10 Rental Concessions of August 2018 [link] Leasing Launches at The Rheingold; Bushwick Rentals Offer 9 Months Free Amenity Access [link] Live at The Colorado: No-Fee Upper East Side Rentals with 1 Month Free [link] Live at Gotham West: New […]

Real Estate Trends

‘Affordable’ middle-income apartments in Bushwick are only $150 cheaper

682 Chauncey Street via Alley Property Management

August 24, 2018

‘Affordable’ middle-income apartments in Bushwick are only $150 cheaper

Sure, you can do a lot with $150 a month, but does that level of savings really constitute as "affordable?" According to the city, yes. The latest housing lottery to come online, reserved for households earning $130 percent of the area median income, is for three $2,450/month two-bedrooms at Bushwick's 682 Chauncey Street. By comparison, market-rate two-bedroom units in the new, 10-unit building go for $2,599 or $2,650.
What's the deal?

Affordable Housing

August 24, 2018

After five years and a $20M discount, outrageous Mill Basin mansion finds a buyer

Apparently, 257 feet of waterfront, two boat slips, a 1,000-square-foot pool, a “circular meditation room,” and an outdoor pavilion/kitchen with seating for 40 was not enough to make this over-the-top Mill Basin mansion a hot seller. We'll blame it on the Miami Vice-meets-Star Strek design. But for one daring buyer, this made for quite the deal, as The Real Deal reports that after five years on the market, the home at 2458 National Drive has sold for $10, a whopping $20 million less than its original asking price.
Get a look around

Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza to undergo a $9M restoration

Via Wally Gobetz/Flickr

August 24, 2018

Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza to undergo a $9M restoration

The historic entrance to Brooklyn's Prospect Park is getting a makeover. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Friday a plan to restore Grand Army Plaza and its iconic Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch located in Prospect Heights. The $8.9 million project, overseen by the Prospect Park Alliance and the city's Parks Department, includes replacing the roof of the arch, cleaning and repointing the brick and stone structure, repairing the iron staircases, and updating the lighting. Plus, the plaza-framing landscaped berms will be replanted.
Find out more

Uncategorized

The Battle of Brooklyn 242 years later: Where the fighting played out in present day

Battle of Long Island, 1858 by Alonzo Chappel

August 24, 2018

The Battle of Brooklyn 242 years later: Where the fighting played out in present day

By Emily Nonko

242 years ago on August 27th, less than two months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the largest battle of the Revolutionary War played out across Brooklyn. What was first known as the Battle of Long Island (Brooklyn was still just a small town at the time of the attack) was later dubbed the Battle of Brooklyn. On this summer day in 1776, The British took their troops from Staten Island to stealthily attack George Washington and his Continental Army at their Brooklyn camp. Greatly outnumbered in size and skill, Washington sent many of his soldiers on an escape route through Brooklyn Heights and across the foggy East River to Manhattan. To distract the British and buy the rest of the troops time, Washington also sent the entire 1st Maryland Regiment, known as the Maryland 400, on a suicide mission. All 400 soldiers from the regiment were killed in battle with the British, but the Continental Army made its escape and went on to win the war. Not surprising since these harrowing events played out across a good portion of the borough, there are monuments, a museum, and plaques to commemorate it. And then there are popular Brooklyn locales—from Prospect Park to Green-Wood Cemetery—that you might not realize were former battlefields. After the jump, 6sqft rounds up the modern-day locations once crucial to the Battle of Brooklyn, with some tips on how to commemorate the event this weekend.
Keep reading

History

Image: Luca Vanzella via Flickr

August 23, 2018

New rides and a boutique hotel to help reawaken Coney Island

On the heels of news that Coney Island will be getting its first new hotel in 50 years, plans have surfaced for a 150,000-square-foot expansion of Luna Park that will bring new rides, food and arcade games. The faded but beloved seaside icon has been in the news recently for a renewed pace of development that many see as new promise for the area. A log flume ride, zip lines and a ropes course are coming to the block between Surf Avenue and the boardwalk and between West 15th and West 16th streets, with food, arcade games and seating planned for two more streets nearby. And according to NY1, developer PYE Properties has proposed a boutique hotel in the historic Shore Theater, a 1920s landmark that has fallen into disrepair and has been vacant since 1978, attracting the homeless and graffiti but little attention.
Find out more

Apply for 6 middle-income units on the Bushwick-Ridgewood border, from $1,988/month

Image via Mike Sinko on Flickr

August 22, 2018

Apply for 6 middle-income units on the Bushwick-Ridgewood border, from $1,988/month

Located in Bushwick at 387 Bleecker Street, a brand new building is accepting applications for six middle-income units. The rental is near the Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenue subway station, right by the quirky Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood. New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the three $1,988/month one-bedroom and three $2,436/month two-bedroom apartments.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

August 22, 2018

Middle-income lotto opens at Bushwick’s glass factory-turned-trendy rental

Two months after leasing kicked off at Glassworks Bushwick, the affordable housing lottery is opening for 19 middle-income units, ranging from $2,098/month studios to $2,715/month two-bedrooms. If this doesn't seem so "affordable," keep in mind that these market-rate apartments are going for $2,500 and $3,100. Plus, the trendy new rental, a cool conversion of the former Dannenhoffer Opalescent Glassworks stained glass factory at 336 Himrod Street, offers a fitness center, lounge, laundry room, book-share library, and, best of all, a landscaped roof deck with a barbeque area.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

New city-sponsored ‘freelancers hub’ will open in Dumbo

Image via Pexels

August 22, 2018

New city-sponsored ‘freelancers hub’ will open in Dumbo

In a city where two out of five workers is a freelancer, a significant workforce doesn't always have ready access to health care or even a tranquil space to work. The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment hopes to address those needs, among others, with a new freelancer's hub, the first government-backed initiative to help media freelancers across NYC with networking, legal and business assistance and advice on projects. Plans for the new hub, which will be located at the Made in NY Media Center in Dumbo, Brooklyn, were announced this morning by Made in NY Commissioner Julie Menin. The mayor's office is partnering with The Freelancers Union and Independent Filmmaker Project to create and operate the space, which will open in October.
Find out more

Music fan behind ‘Aretha’ signs at Franklin Ave subway aims for permanent tribute mural

Images: Aretha Franklin, Franklin Avenue subway station via Wikimedia.

August 21, 2018

Music fan behind ‘Aretha’ signs at Franklin Ave subway aims for permanent tribute mural

Upon hearing of the death of Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin last week, music enthusiast and location manager LeRoy McCarthy corralled a street artist friend and got to work on a fitting sendoff–"Aretha," stenciled in magenta sprayable chalk lettering above each sign that identified the Franklin Avenue subway station in Brooklyn. Curbed reports that McCarthy, who was responsible for efforts to name streets for Notorious B.I.G. in Clinton Hill, Phife Dawg in Queens and the Beastie Boys in the Lower East Side, among others, hopes to create a more permanent tribute. The plan is to create the word R-E-S-P-E-C-T in large black letters on a blank wall just south of Fulton Street on the west side of Franklin Avenue.
more than a little respect, hopefully

New plans unveiled for creative and industrial office space in Greenpoint

Image: FXCollaborative/Bezier

August 20, 2018

New plans unveiled for creative and industrial office space in Greenpoint

Simon Baron Development has announced plans for a seven-story office building at 12 Franklin Street on the Greenpoint/North Williamsburg border. The project, designed by FXCollaborative, will rise in an area bristling with residential development, dining and entertainment choices but with a shortage, according to the developer, of Class A office space geared toward small businesses. The building's 134,000 square feet of office, retail and rooftop amenity space will include 23,000 square feet of manufacturing space–the building's design was intended to reinforce the industrial character of the neighborhood. The project is scheduled for public review today.
Find out more

New Developments

Images (L to R): The Addition, Yorkshire Towers, The Crescendo and 555Ten

August 18, 2018

FREE RENT: This week’s roundup of NYC rental news

By Ondel Hylton

Images (L to R): The Addition, Yorkshire Towers, The Crescendo and 555Ten Rockrose’s Eagle Lofts Launches with 1 Month Free; Long Island City Rentals from $2,557/Month [link] Take a Tour of The Crescendo, The Bronx’s Revolutionary New Rental Building [link] Greenpoint Landing’s One Blue Slip Launches Leasing; 90% of Apartments Have Water Views [link] Elegant […]

Real Estate Trends

August 17, 2018

Lottery launches for affordable units across from Lincoln Terrace in Crown Heights, from $938/month

Located across from the Lincoln Terrace/ Arthur S. Somers Park in Crown Heights, a newly constructed building has 10 affordable apartments up for grabs. New Yorkers earning 60 percent of the area median income can apply for the apartments, which include $938/month studios, $1,080/month one-bedrooms and $1,223/month two-bedrooms. In addition to being across from 21 acres of public park, the rental at 24 Ford Street also features a fitness center, lounge, a bike room, and parking.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

August 16, 2018

Apply for 35 affordable apartments in Bed-Stuy, from $745/month

A six-story building in Bed-Stuy launched a lottery this week for 35 affordable apartments. Developed in collaboration between Comunilife and NYC Health + Hospitals, the Woodhull Residence at 179 Throop Avenue contains 89 studio apartments, designed as supportive and affordable housing. The apartments up for grabs through the lottery are set aside for individual New Yorkers earning 50 and 60 percent of the area median income, or between $27,463 and $43,860 annually, and include $746/month and $903/month studios.
Find out if you qualify

Affordable Housing

August 16, 2018

From Rheingold Brewery to the Denizen: Inside Bushwick’s most unique rental