Search Results for: brooklyn history

December 10, 2018

Live in this fully-furnished designer Brooklyn Heights studio for $2,450/month

On a quiet block in the heart of Brooklyn Heights, this charming studio at 38 Livingston Street doesn't offer a ton of square footage but the thoughtful design details make it worth a look. The fully-furnished unit is outfitted with chic, just-trendy-enough pieces that make a bold statement, and it's asking the semi-reasonable rent of $2,450 a month.
See the whole petite place

Distinctive Homes

50 years at Co-op City: The history of the world’s largest co-operative housing development

All photos included in this post were taken at Co-op City in the early 1970s and are courtesy of Co-op City

December 10, 2018

50 years at Co-op City: The history of the world’s largest co-operative housing development

By Lucie Levine

When Governor Rockefeller, Robert Moses, Jacob Potofsky of the United Housing Foundation, and Abraham Kazan, known as “the father of US cooperative housing,” broke ground on Co-op City in the Baychester section of the Bronx on May 14, 1966, they were doing something truly groundbreaking. In fact, Rockefeller called it a “completely sound investment in a better society.” Co-op City is the world’s largest co-operative housing development. Built on 320 acres just north of Freedomland, the sprawling, self-contained development provides homes for over 15,000 families across 35 buildings, and supports its own schools, weekly newspaper, power plant, and planetarium. Originally built by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and the United Housing Foundation as cooperative, affordable, middle-income workers’ housing, Co-op city has remained dedicated to open membership, democratic control, distribution of surplus, and diversity for half a century.
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History

From Mark Twain and the Lovin’ Spoonful to Tech Hub: The overlooked history of Union Square South

Photo of 801 Broadway by Jim Henderson via Wikimedia Commons

December 7, 2018

From Mark Twain and the Lovin’ Spoonful to Tech Hub: The overlooked history of Union Square South

By Andrew Berman of Village Preservation

Straddling Greenwich Village and the East Village, the neighborhood south of Union Square between Fifth and Third Avenues was once a center of groundbreaking commercial innovations, radical leftist politics, and the artistic avant-garde. With the city’s recent decision to allow an upzoning for a "Tech Hub" on the neighborhood’s doorstep on 14th Street, there are concerns that the resilient and architecturally intact neighborhood may face irreversible change. While they’re still here, take a tour of some of the many sites of remarkable cultural history, nestled in this compact neighborhood just south of one of our city’s busiest hubs.
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History

The 25-year history of the Union Square Holiday Market

Photo via Flickr cc

November 16, 2018

The 25-year history of the Union Square Holiday Market

By Dana Schulz

Today, flea markets, pop-up shops, and food halls are an everyday part of city life, but 25 years ago, this wasn't the case. In 1993, after working for several years at Urban Space Management in the UK, Eldon Scott arrived in NYC with the goal of opening a holiday market similar to those he'd worked on developing in London. He quickly set up the Grand Central Holiday Fair and shortly thereafter the Union Square Holiday Market. Modeled loosely on Christkindlmarkts, traditional holiday street markets held during advent that began in Germany, the Union Square market is now a holiday tradition for New Yorkers and out-of-towners alike, with 150+ vendors.
More history and info about this year's market

Events & Things To Do

November 13, 2018

Cannoli, cheesecake, and an East Village icon: See history in action at 125-year-old Veniero’s Pastry

By James and Karla Murray

Ask a group of New Yorkers where to find the best cannolis or cheesecake, and without a doubt, you'll hear Veniero Pasticceria and Caffé. An East Village institution, Veniero's is a family-owned and operated Italian pastry shop that was established by Italian immigrant Antonio Veniero in 1894. Veniero, who lived with his family next door, started the business as a candy shop. He then started serving Italian espresso and biscotti and by the 1920s, he had brought in master bakers from Sicily to run the kitchen. A century later, Veniero's is still family-owned and is celebrating is 125th anniversary next year. We had the chance to tour the caffé and bakery with Robert Zerilli, the fourth-generation current owner and great-nephew of founder Antonio Veniero. Today, Veniero's serves more than 150 desserts, from traditional Italian butter cookies and cannolis to some more modern offerings such as red velvet cake and oreo cheesecake. Ahead, go behind the scenes to see how all these tasty treats are made, tour the historic interiors, and learn all about Veniero's history from Robert.
Hear Robert tell Veniero's story

Replacement approved for iconic Watchtower sign in Brooklyn Heights

Via Wikimedia

November 9, 2018

Replacement approved for iconic Watchtower sign in Brooklyn Heights

By Devin Gannon

The city's Board of Standards and Appeals voted on Thursday to allow for a replacement of the iconic 'Watchtower' sign in Brooklyn Heights, which was taken down last December. The 15-foot-tall red sign had sat atop the building, which served as the headquarters for the Jehovah's Witnesses, for nearly 50 years. The religious group sold the site at 25-30 Columbia Heights to the Columbia Heights Associates in 2016 and soon after the letters were removed, leaving its framework intact. While originally the Department of Buildings said the sign could not be replaced, the group of developers filed an appeal and won the right to put up new signage in the Brooklyn skyline, as the New York Post reported.
More here

Policy

$20M Brooklyn Heights penthouse could be the borough’s priciest sale ever

Via Moso Studio

October 10, 2018

$20M Brooklyn Heights penthouse could be the borough’s priciest sale ever

By Devin Gannon

A combination penthouse at Quay Tower, a brand new luxury condo building on the Brooklyn Heights waterfront, went into contract this week for over $20 million. If closed, the deal would become the most expensive residential sale in Brooklyn history, breaking the previous record of $16.645 million for a penthouse picked up by actor Matt Damon last year. And before that, a $15.5 million brick carriage house in Cobble Hill held the record for most expensive single residence sale in Brooklyn, which was purchased by photographer Jay Maisel in 2015.
More on the deal this way

Real Estate Trends

Campaign launches to rename a Brooklyn building after Flatbush native Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Via Borough President Eric Adams Change.org petition

September 28, 2018

Campaign launches to rename a Brooklyn building after Flatbush native Ruth Bader Ginsburg

By Devin Gannon

In some not-terrible Supreme Court news, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg could be getting a Brooklyn Building named after her. Borough President Eric Adams launched a campaign on Thursday calling on City Hall to rename the Brooklyn Municipal Building after Ginsburg, a native of Flatbush. This past August marked Ginsburg's 25th year as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, as only the second woman to sit on the court.
More here

Uncategorized

September 26, 2018

First look at interiors and private park at Jeanne Gang’s Downtown Brooklyn condo

By Dana Schulz

To coincide with the sales launch at Downtown Brooklyn's 57-story tower at 11 Hoyt Street, Tishman Speyer has released a slew of new renderings of the Jeanne Gang-designed condo. Previous views have shown how Gang's signature metallic rippling effect will be applied to the facade, but the new batch gives us a better look at the nearly 27,000-square-foot private park and the first glimpse of the interiors and amenity spaces.
All the renderings and details this way

Apply for three middle-income units in Brooklyn’s historic Weeksville

Weeksville’s historic Hunterfly Road Houses via Wiki Commons

September 17, 2018

Apply for three middle-income units in Brooklyn’s historic Weeksville

By Dana Schulz

After the state of New York State abolished slavery in 1827, the country's second-largest free black community was established in Brooklyn. Known as Weeksville, today the neighborhood falls a bit under the radar, surrounded by more sought-after neighborhoods like Crown Heights and Bed Stuy. But it's a charming little enclave, lined with many two-family homes and small brick rowhouses, that has done well to preserve its history. And just down the street from the Weeksville Heritage Center is a new 10-unit rental building at 1520 Prospect Place that just opened an affordable housing lottery for three $2,098/month one-bedrooms.
See the qualifications

Affordable Housing

September 4, 2018

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

By Devin Gannon

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?

Inside the worst train wreck in NYC history; Lower East Side ferry route launches today

A photo of the Malbone Street Wreck on Nov. 1, 1918, courtesy of the New York Transit Museum (L); Via NYC Ferry (R)

August 29, 2018

Inside the worst train wreck in NYC history; Lower East Side ferry route launches today

By 6sqft

On Nov. 1, 1918, 100 lives were lost when a Brooklyn Rapid Transit employee lost control of a train at the Prospect Park station. The event was so horrific that the name of the street was changed so New Yorkers would not be reminded of it. [NYP] Eight unique ways to celebrate Labor Day weekend in […]

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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

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.
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History

July 30, 2018

This 1946 map shows how Native American trails became the streets of Brooklyn

By Michelle Cohen

While we take for granted the paths and roads we use on a daily basis, it's interesting to find out how they came to be. It's not a new concept that paths worn by the comings and goings of early dwellers and subsequent settlers in a particular area became roads, streets and thoroughfares, often with names that reflect their beginnings. Brooklyn Heights Blog (via Viewing NYC) shares some insight into Brooklyn's familiar roads that began as Native American trails on a 1946 map titled "Indian Villages, Paths, Ponds and Places in Kings County."
Peruse the map

History

Men of steel: How Brooklyn’s Native American ironworkers built New York

Roger Horne, a Mohawk Ironworker in the Raising Gang, ca. 1970 via the Smithsonian

July 25, 2018

Men of steel: How Brooklyn’s Native American ironworkers built New York

By Lucie Levine

The Empire State Building. The George Washington Bridge. The United Nations. The Woolworth Building. 30 Rock. The Seagram Building. Lincoln Center. The Waldorf Astoria. Virtually all of New York’s most iconic structures were raised in part by Mohawk Native American ironworkers. Since 1916, when Mohawk men made their way to New York to work on the Hell Gate Bridge, ironworkers from two Native communities, Akwesasne (which straddles Ontario, Quebec, and New York State) and Kahnawake (near Montreal), have been “walking iron” across the city.
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The history of Weeksville: When Crown Heights had the second-largest free black community in the U.S.

Historic Hunterfly Road Houses via the Brooklyn Historical Society

July 18, 2018

The history of Weeksville: When Crown Heights had the second-largest free black community in the U.S.

By Lucie Levine

It’s a mighty sounding moniker, but the name “King’s County” also speaks to Brooklyn’s less-than-democratic origins. At the turn of the 19th century, the city of Brooklyn was known as the “slaveholding capital” of New York State and was home to the highest concentration of enslaved people north of the Mason-Dixon Line. But, after New York State abolished slavery in 1827, free black professionals bought land in what is now Crown Heights and founded Weeksville, a self-supporting community of African American Freedman, which grew to become the second-largest free black community in Antebellum America. By 1855, over 520 free African Americans lived in Weeksville, including some of the leading activists in the Abolitionist and Equal Suffrage movements.
More about free black Brooklyn

History

Brooklyn Bridge Park’s five-acre Pier 3 opens with an interactive labyrinth and moveable furniture

Photo by Nicholas Sella

July 11, 2018

Brooklyn Bridge Park’s five-acre Pier 3 opens with an interactive labyrinth and moveable furniture

By Devin Gannon

With the opening of five lush waterfront acres of park at Pier 3 on Tuesday, Brooklyn Bridge Park is now 90 percent complete. Designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, it's the final pier to be converted into parkland and features two lawns surrounded by shrubs and trees, which will offer both shade and protection from gusts of wind. "Brooklyn Bridge Park is a gem that gleams brighter with each exciting acre it adds, building on our borough’s commitment to offer high-quality open space that brings people together from all walks of life," Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said.
Plan your visit

Architecture And Design

June 15, 2018

Remembering the worst disaster in NYC maritime history: The sinking of the General Slocum ferry

By Andrew Berman of Village Preservation

PS General Slocum; photo via Wikimedia On June 15, 1904, a disaster of unprecedented proportions took place in New York City, resulting in the loss of over 1,000 lives, mostly women and children. This largely forgotten event was the greatest peacetime loss of life in New York City history prior to the September 11th attacks, forever changing our city and the ethnic composition of today’s East Village. It was on that day that the ferry General Slocum headed out from the East 3rd Street pier for an excursion on Long Island, filled with residents of what was then called Kleindeutschland, or Little Germany. This German-American enclave in today’s East Village was then the largest German-speaking community in the world outside of Berlin and Vienna.
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History

June 8, 2018

From the ‘Queens Riviera’ to Robert Moses: The history of Rockaway Beach

By Lucie Levine

Eleven blocks of Rockaway Beach will be closed this summer due to erosion, but that’s just one setback in a long history of resilience on the peninsula. Four-and-a-half miles of the beach are open right now, with every block steeped in history. The Rockaways ushered Henry Hudson into the New World; Walt Whitman into paradise; Hog Island into oblivion; and the Transatlantic Flight into existence. As “the brightest jewel within the diadem of imperial Manhattan,” the pristine beaches of the “Queens Riviera” became the preferred summer locale for New York’s most illustrious citizens. Later, the “people’s beach” at Riis Park helped make the Rockaways accessible to more New Yorkers. From, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, to Patti Smith to Robert Mosses, everybody wanted to be at Rockaway Beach.
Get the full history here

History

May 30, 2018

8 things you didn’t know about LGBT history in NYC

By NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project

This Saturday, 6sqft is excited to sponsor "The Hunt: NYC LGBT Sites." Put on by our friends at Urban Archive and the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, the three-hour historic scavenger hunt will mark Pride Week by focusing on the history of the LGBT community in NYC. To give 6sqft readers an idea of what to expect, the Historic Sites Project has put together eight things you probably don't know about LGBT history in New York, from the four remaining lesbian bars in the city to the first LGBT activist organization.
All this and more history!

One week after the Brooklyn Bridge opened, a rumor of its collapse caused a fatal stampede

Drawing by a staff artist at Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper

May 30, 2018

One week after the Brooklyn Bridge opened, a rumor of its collapse caused a fatal stampede

By Devin Gannon

On May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge officially opened, with roughly 1,800 vehicles and over 150,000 people crossing what was then the only passageway between Brooklyn and Manhattan. Less than a week later, 12 people were killed and over 35 others injured in a violent stampede. On that fateful day, the bridge was brimming with people celebrating the Memorial Day holiday and checking out the new overpass, which was considered the longest bridge in the world at the time. A woman had tripped and fallen down the wooden stairs headed toward Manhattan, which caused another woman to scream. In a grand misinterpretation, a rumor was started that the bridge was about to collapse, sending the crowd into complete hysteria. Pedestrians ran to get off the bridge, stampeding their way to the entrance and pushing others to the ground.
Get the scoop

History

Reading between the lions: A history of the New York Public Library

Photo via Jeffrey Zeldman/Flickr

May 23, 2018

Reading between the lions: A history of the New York Public Library

By Lucie Levine

The New York Public Library first roared into existence on May 23, 1895, educating and inspiring countless millions, free of charge. The Library’s 92 locations include four research divisions and hold over 51 million items. Out of all these tomes, the greatest tale might be Library’s own history: Founded by immigrants and industrialists, it was equally admired by William Howard Taft and Vladimir Lenin; open to all, it has counted among its staff American Olympians and Soviet spies; dedicated to intellectual exploration and civic responsibility, it has made its map collection available to buried treasure hunters and Allied Commanders; evolving with the city itself, it has made branch locations out of a prison, a movie theater, and most recently, a chocolate factory. The history of the New York Public Library is as vital and various New York itself, so get ready to read between the lions.
The 123-year-old history of the NYPL

History

‘Little Haiti’ district will come to Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood

Photo via Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams on Twitter

May 22, 2018

‘Little Haiti’ district will come to Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood

By Devin Gannon

To celebrate the thousands of Haitian-Americans who have called Flatbush home for decades, city officials revealed last week plans to designate the "Little Haiti Business and Cultural District" in the Brooklyn neighborhood. The borough boasts one of the largest communities of Haitian-Americans in the country, with more than 90,000 individuals of Haitian descent living in Brooklyn. Once the City Council passes a resolution, an official Little Haiti district would be able to request funding earmarked for cultural initiatives, obtain permits easier, create a museum and build monuments, the Observer reported Monday. Marking the new district, lawmakers and locals on Friday unveiled a new street sign for Nostrand Avenue, where it meets Newkirk Avenue, which will now be co-named "Toussaint L'Ouverture Boulevard," to honor a leader of the Haitian Revolution.
More details here

Uncategorized

May 15, 2018

The buzz on Boerum Hill: How an iconic Brooklyn neighborhood blends old and new

By Michelle Sinclair Colman

Shelly Place, an agent with Triplemint, describes Boerum Hill as “the perfect blend of old and new. Geographically, it is smack dab in the middle of Brooklyn, convenient to downtown [Manhattan], and close enough without being in the middle of the hustle and bustle. You can go days or weeks without ever leaving Boerum Hill but, if you want, you have the rest Brooklyn right there.” Known for tree-lined streets filled with historic brownstones, Boerum Hill is one of those unique neighborhoods that has successfully blended past and present in a way few communities have been able to. There are a ton of great restaurants and creative cocktail lounges and independent specialty stores alongside the big brands, like Apple, Whole Foods’ 365, and Lululemon, lining Smith Street and Atlantic Avenue. And with a slew of new contextual developments springing up, it's time to turn your attention to the buzz on Boerum Hill.
Everything you need to know about Boerum Hill

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