Feed

The Mysteries of Brooklyn

By Matt Chaban 10/30/12 3:39pm

The Mysteries of Brooklyn

4094703957_fb84400a83_z

For Brownstoners Suffering Cabin Fever, the Brooklyn Heights Cinema Is Open Throughout Hurricane Sandy

“We all live in the area, I’m 10 minutes away, so it just seemed like why not,” Kenn Lowy said yesterday afternoon, sitting inside the small lobby of the Brooklyn Heights Cinema. This reporter had happened by two-screen indie theater in search of a sandwich while waiting out the storm at OEM HQ. Not even the bars were open, though the Chinese Restaurant and the Gristedes further up Henry Street were. The cinema had been showing movies there since 1971, and Mr. Lowy was not about to let something like a hurricane shut him down.

“We were open last year, for Hurricane Irene, and we got a lot of people in, so we figured we would do it again,” he explained. “People get cooped up inside their houses, they get cabin fever, I think it’s good to get out if you can. It’s all locals, though, everybody’s walking. We’re not getting anybody from Park Slope. Nobody wants to get stranded.” Read More

By Matt Chaban 9/05/12 10:42am

The Mysteries of Brooklyn

So long, dear friend. (Crown Heights North/Flickr)

Goodbye Montrose Morris, Brooklyn Will Not Be the Same Without You

There was a time when the comments on Brownstoner approached those of the Brooklyn turf wars of yore. New York magazine even wrote an entire feature about it.

But lovely surprises were buried in there, and one blossomed into a beauty to rival the entire Brownstoner enterprise (all respect to the blog itself). That would be the thoughtful work of Montrose Morris, an anonymous longtime resident of Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights who knew the neighborhoods, their history and architecture, better than just about anybody.

Regular columns ensued, and they will continue. But they will not be the same. Montrose Morris is leaving Brooklyn. Read More

8/01/12 5:12pm

The Mysteries of Brooklyn

Back from the toxic dead.

A Lighthouse on the Gowanus: New Developer Taking Over Toll’s Abandoned Superfund Site

In 2004, just as Brooklyn was becoming a thing, McMansion developers Toll Brothers set their sites on an unusual location in the middle of the borough: the banks of the Gowanus Canal, one of the most heavily polluted corners of the city. After the public review process concluded, the plan was impeded by an unprecedented obstacle: the EPA announced it was adding the Gowanus canal to its Superfund list. And that’s when the Toll Brothers decided to scrap the plans.

But yesterday, Browstoner revealed a new development in the story, hearing that a rather unknown firm, The Lightstone Group, has intentions to take over the Toll Brothers site and build 700 new apartments there. Read More

By Kim Velsey 2:22pm

The Mysteries of Brooklyn

Can this house be saved?

Broken Angel House’s Last Bid To Avoid Foreclosure

The saga of Broken Angel House, the hand-crafted Clinton Hill mansion of bizarre angles and strange art, has taken a somewhat odd, though not altogether unexpected twist.

Christopher Wood, the son of artists, house-crafters and erstwhile owners Arthur and Cynthia Wood, has launched a kickstarter campaign to transform the house into a museum, thus staving off the last stages of foreclosure proceedings, Curbed reports. Read More

By Matt Chaban 7/12/12 9:00am

The Mysteries of Brooklyn

It’s tech-nical. (Streetsblog)

Rounding Out the Brooklyn Tech Triangle by Connecting Dumbo, the Navy Yards and Downtown Brooklyn

New York’s tech boom has been a boon for the city’s commercial real estate market, as well, especially unusual spaces not typically associated with Class-A office space—look no further than Google’s astronomical purchase of 111 Eighth Avenue and the swells in Midtown South.

Downtown Brooklyn is looking to capitalize on the growing demand for a certain type of office not typically found on the avenues while also providing a bridge to techies as they begin to mature and their needs evolve. A team of local business groups hopes to create the Brooklyn Tech Triangle. The idea is to tap into the successes of Dumbo (Silicon Beach!) and the Brooklyn Navy Yard (dozen of firms are on the wait-list to get in) to create a whole new alleyway for Silicon Alley that connects these hot hoods with the still somewhat dowdy (Shake Shack!)

“We’ve seen an explosion of tech gather along the waterfront,” Tucker Reed, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, told The Observer, “so much so that they’ve run out of space.” Read More

By Matt Chaban 7/12/12 9:00am

The Mysteries of Brooklyn

It's tech-nical. (Streetsblog)

Rounding Out the Brooklyn Tech Triangle by Connecting Dumbo, the Navy Yards and Downtown Brooklyn

New York’s tech boom has been a boon for the city’s commercial real estate market, as well, especially unusual spaces not typically associated with Class-A office space—look no further than Google’s astronomical purchase of 111 Eighth Avenue and the swells in Midtown South.

Downtown Brooklyn is looking to capitalize on the growing demand for a certain type of office not typically found on the avenues while also providing a bridge to techies as they begin to mature and their needs evolve. A team of local business groups hopes to create the Brooklyn Tech Triangle. The idea is to tap into the successes of Dumbo (Silicon Beach!) and the Brooklyn Navy Yard (dozen of firms are on the wait-list to get in) to create a whole new alleyway for Silicon Alley that connects these hot hoods with the still somewhat dowdy (Shake Shack!)

“We’ve seen an explosion of tech gather along the waterfront,” Tucker Reed, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, told The Observer, “so much so that they’ve run out of space.” Read More

By Matt Chaban 5/18/12 12:34pm

The Mysteries of Brooklyn

4 Photos

Girls in Greenpoint

Would Girls Be Filming on My Block If It Weren’t for Steiner Studios?

Probably. The show is so much about New York (read:Brooklyn) it would be nearly impossible, or at least far more expensive, to shoot it in L.A. This was not always the case (see: NYPD Blue, Seinfeld) but since the city cleaned up, everything from Sex and the City to Law and Order has called the city home.

Still, more studio space certainly makes things easier. Read More

By Matt Chaban 4/24/12 6:00am

The Mysteries of Brooklyn

8 Photos

bureau-v-architecture-original-music-workshop-4

Is an Unconventional Music Venue with a Jagged Design the Last Hope for Williamsburg’s Art Scene?

If Bedford Avenue is the main street of modern day Williamsburg, North Sixth Street is the hipster haven’s Broadway. Home to the first proper grocery store (Tops), concert venue (Northsix), swap meet (Artists and Fleas) and grotesque theme restaurant (Sea), North Sixth Street has long been the grand stage of Williamsburg.

Now performing on North Sixth Street (even if Northsix is long gone, replaced by a Manhattan concert conglomerate) is the Original Music Workshop.

Conceived by Kevin Dolan, a former tax attorney who also happens to be an organ virtuoso, the Original Music Workshop seeks to provide a venue bridging new and old Williamsburg, sustaining music of all types for all ages. As the rest of the neighborhood continues its inexorable gentrification, Mr. Dolan hopes to preserve a tiny corner of Williamsburg cultural past, as well as one of its historic industrial buildings.

“It’s amazing you can knock down anything and build whatever you want,” Mr. Dolan said in an interview. “I’m hopeful that at least the south side of this block will still maintain its feel into the future.” Read More