By Aisha Carter, Tue, May 13, 2014 A large part of the appeal of New York City is the historical nature of the buildings. However, how many buildings can boast that they were once own by not one, but two mayors? Well, the 4-story townhome at 405 Clinton Avenue has those bragging rights, and it’s on the market for a new owner.
The townhouse was initially designed in 1889 by William Bunker Tubby, the architect responsible for Pratt Institute’s library. He designed it for Charles A. Schieren, one of Brooklyn’s last mayors. It’s rumored that the home was also the residence of Brooklyn’s jazz-Age mayor Jimmy Walker, many decades before its current owners purchased it in 2009. After paying $1.75 million for the landmarked building, owner Sean Wilsey and his wife Daphne Beal gutted the entire place, adding roughly 100 new windows and a patio among other things.
Check out more photos of this gorgeous renovation here
By Diane Pham, Tue, May 13, 2014 It’s going to be a noisy summer for those living in the BAM Cultural District. Works have started on not one, but two of the glassy towers planned for the area.
The two towers will be located at 286 Ashland Place and 590 Fulton Street, and are designed by Ten Arquitectos and FXFOWLE, respectively. Heavy machinery was recently delivered to the sites and excavation has begun. The two projects are part of a major re-haul of the area around BAM into a new cultural hub for Brooklyn.
More on the two towers here
By Dana Schulz, Tue, May 13, 2014 A beautiful, Italianate brownstone at 37 Remsen Street in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District sold for $7 million through a listing held by Brown Harris Stevens. It was originally listed for $6.2 million when it went on the market in January. The buyer is Jeremiah T. Healey, former Jersey City Mayor from 2004-2013, and his wife Megan McKee Healey, a tax law professor at NYU.
Built in 1899, the 25-foot-wide, 7,000-square-foot home retains a wealth of historic details including fanlight windows, cast iron vent covers, etched pocket doors, and wood-paneled chair rails. The decorative elements such as ceiling medallions, painted borders, and fancy ceiling moldings were likely to the taste of the previous owner, but they certainly add a bit of whimsy to the classical home.
More photos of the five-story regal brownstone this way
By Patty Lee, Thu, May 8, 2014 When Coney Island was torn up in 2010 to make way for the glitzy new Luna Park, a part of its history was ripped out: the weathered, decades-old planks of the beach’s iconic boardwalk. Luckily, two Red Hook-based designers — Jason Horvath and Bill Hilgendorf of Uhuru Design — took in the landfill-destined wood and used them to build functional pieces for the home.
Check out more of the cool pieces
By Dana Schulz, Wed, May 7, 2014 The polished, Italianate rowhouse at 354 10th Street in Park Slope sold for $2.3 million, according to city records filed yesterday evening. The listing was held by Corcoran Group.
Built in 1899, the two-family home has a modest façade with carved window lintels and an intact cornice. One in a row of three similar houses, it’s basement level is brownstone and the upper two stories are brick.
Inside, the refined details continue with decorative picture moldings and original tin ceilings.
rowhouse eye candy this way
By Stephanie Hoina, Wed, May 7, 2014 Considering GFI Capital Resources‘ recent acquisition of several Bond Street parcels at the corner of Schermerhorn Street, downtown Brooklyn continues to be ripe for development in the vicinity of the Barclays Center.
According to sources close to the deal, hotel developer Allen Gross, president and CEO of GFI, may be looking to bring Ace Hotel’s unique brand of lodging to the location, joining a growing list of hotels already planned for the area.
Read on for possible plans for the site
By Andrew Cotto, Mon, May 5, 2014 David Foster Wallace is credited with predicting way back in the mid-90s that excessive irony would lead to the ruin of our culture. Around that same time, Alanis Morissette had her own far less erudite and flawed take on irony, which went a little something like this:
“It’s like rain on your wedding day
A free ride when you already paid
Some good advice that you just didn’t take…”
With all due respect to the prescience of DFW, life for me — at least these days in my Brooklyn neighborhood of Carroll Gardens — far more resembles Alanis Morissette’s screwy version of irony.
6sqft’s Andrew Cotto — an author of two novels and a journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Men’s Journal, and Salon.com — will be sharing his experiences as he makes his way around New York City. This week, he describes life in Carroll Gardens.
Carroll Gardens. Isn’t it Ironic?
By Dana Schulz, Mon, May 5, 2014 For some longtime Williamsburg residents, the neighborhood already exhibits twilight-zone-like traits—the massive gentrification, glass waterfront towers, and skyrocketing rents—but the new Level Hotel planned for 55 Wythe Avenue is a literal translation of these possible feelings with its space-ship-looking design.
More photos this way
By Annie Doge, Fri, May 2, 2014 It looks like documentary filmmaker Ken Burns is moving his family into Pritzker Prize winning architect Richard Meier’s On Prospect Park. The Burns family dropped $2.75 million on the home, which is located in one of Brooklyn’s most beautiful (and active) corners — just steps away from Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, and the incredible Brooklyn Museum and Public Library.
It’s reported that the Mamma and Papa Burns spend most their time in New Hampshire, so it’s likely that the 2,107-square-foot, 3BR/2.5BA modern abode will become the love nest of his daughter Lily (who was also listed on city records) and her fiance Tony Hernandez, both of whom are producers.
A look inside the on prospect park apartment here
By Diane Pham, Tue, April 29, 2014 Fort Greene is easily one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in all of Brooklyn. With tree-lined streets and plenty of historic homes and churches throughout, just strolling its blocks will usually send you into a state of architectural splendor.
This weekend is your chance to take a look inside these incredible spaces. Sponsored by the Fort Greene Association, this ambitious self-guided walking tour offers unique insights into the neighborhood’s thriving new cultural district, as well as its coveted homes. See an assortment of townhouses and private residences, including a quirky brownstone featured in an episode of HBO’s hit series Girls!
Find out where to get tickets here
