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2011 Building Brooklyn Awards

2011 Building Brooklyn Awards published on

Last night the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce honored 13 construction and renovation projects that “enrich Brooklyn’s neighborhoods and economy”. Since Hubby works on the “Newtown Creek Waste Water Facility” Skanska project that won in the Civic and Institutional category, I got to attend the 2011 Building Brooklyn Awards.

There were two honorees of the evening. Deb Howard, Executive Director of Pratt Area Community Council and Jed Walentas, Principal of Two Trees Management Company were recognized for their achievements.

Winners were rewarded not only for design and building but for completing projects within or under budget and bringing jobs to communities. Architects, Engineers, Developers, Builders and Contractors were all recognized as integral parts of each project.

Some interesting winners:

184 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg won for Adaptive Reuse. The 1915 Cass Gilbert building was headquarters of Wild Turkey bourbon manufacturing. The redesign of the 340 unit now-residential building was redesigned by SLCE and SLADE Architects and features an interior courtyard .

The winner of the Education category went to Pratt Institute-Myrtle Hall. This is Brooklyn’s first LEED gold certified academic building.

Erasmus Hall High School won for Historic Preservation. (My dad’s high school: Woot!) This NYC landmark is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Architect Charles B.J. Snyder increased light and air to the interiors of the Gothic structure.

Mixed Use winner was Brooklyn Ecopolis on Warren Street in Cobble Hill. The acceptance speech was most interesting to me because it wasn’t a bunch of industry people standing up there, it was a female nurse. Ecopolis is a family owned, built and operated project. The building houses a sustainable cafe on ground level and a non-profit sustainable resource center on the second floor. The owners live on the residential floors above. This is a LEED Gold project.

If you’re a Brooklynite, you can probably guess the Open Space winner. Brooklyn Bridge Park, of course! Piers 1 & 6 represent 18 acres of the 85 acre East River park. 6,000 to 8,000 people visit on weekdays with up to 12,000 on weekends. When there’s an event, the number rises to something like a gazillion. (author’s guestimate)

The Affordable Housing win went to The Domenech in Brownsville. Common Ground Community developed a 72 unit LEED silver-certified building devoted exclusively to the needs of the chronically homeless and low-income seniors. The complex features a courtyard, natural light and central heating and cooling systems.

Please check out the other wonderful winners and nominees on the Chamber’s website.

My New Favorite Coffee House

My New Favorite Coffee House published on

Daily Press has been open for months now and I finally got a moment to visit even though I live like 2 (avenue) blocks away. It’s not hard to miss this little Bedford Corners (Ok, ok: Bed Stuy!) hideaway as the only signage is on the window.

So, here’s the deal….

Daily Press located on Franklin just north of Fulton,  is a French Press and espresso bar. WTF is French press? It’s that plunger type device you see at your mother in law’s house (or at least MY Old-Country MIL). The coffee they serve is Intelligentsia. Pastries and bread from Balthazar. Terrace bagels. Good stuff, good stuff. My hummus-on-a-heated-croissant sandwich was yummy and the peanut butter cookie I had for dessert was amazing!

But what I really loved about the place was the reclaimed materials used in the renovation (Design by Draft Bench). The air conditioning was blasting to my satisfaction on the thousand degree day and I was able to relax on the upcycled furnishings whilst taking advantage of the wifi. There is a lovely backyard, but did I mention it was a thousand degrees?

What I love most about my neighborhood? After hanging in this hipster-yuppy paradise, I get to cross the street and buy an entire bag full of clothes at Goodwill that costs the same price as my lunch (pound of coffee included).

Bed Stuy Blog‘s write up.

Monday Night Fever at Coney!

Monday Night Fever at Coney! published on

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach kicks off tonight with none other than the quintessential Brooklyn movie, Saturday Night Fever.

1970’s Brooklyn was a divided place between the Tony Manero types and the Disco Sucks burn outs. I was a kid who listened to disco but cringed at the “cuisines” who were taking over my borough. So much so, that I refused to see Saturday Night Fever until the mid eighties when it was on TV one night.

Now I love the movie! And I miss old Brooklyn so much that those Jersey Shore kids make me smile.

Anyhoo, the festivities start at 7pm and the film begins at 8:45.

Grand Entrance

Grand Entrance published on

Before: hallway

I was just looking back on some old Flickr photos of my Bed Stuy renovation and realized that I never blogged about my fabulous parlor floor hallway. (Nor various other little projects)

That’s the before shot you see above. The previous owners “renovated” the house. Oh please, don’t get me started. Everything in the hallway was painted a glossy shit brown…the bannister, the newel post, the doors and the molding.

After: Hallway

We took the double doors down and stripped and repaired them. They were in pretty bad shape and needed some fill in material. The back door with that badly home made transom was switched out for an antique door that actually fit into the frame.

Ah, but my pride and joy is that newel post! The one that was there when we bought the house consisted of four pieces of plywood boxed together with a Home Depot doodad on top. We found a gorgeous salvaged newel post that would have been original to a brownstone of this era and replaced it with that. The post was stripped and stained to match everything else.

The Victorian light fixture and ornate radiator were also salvaged finds.

This stuff doesn’t really take much design skill. It’s kind of just like putting back what was taken out.

Modernizing Raised Ranch Exteriors

Modernizing Raised Ranch Exteriors published on

The problem with raised ranches is that they look dated. Those 1970’s-1980’s models are about as stylish as that old Flock of Seagulls haircut. The good news is there’s always a way to change the look of any house. The bad news? It’s hard on the pocketbook. The good news? It’s less expensive than buying a new/old dream home.

The house above is actually a renovated raised ranch. I’m no architect, but this completely modern look probably means lifting the roof. Forget the deck thang because it’s not compatible with most split levels. Just picture the upper story with all windows.

Instead of going with contemporary, how about stepping back in time? This raised ranch was built in the 1950’s but that doesn’t mean your 1980’s home can’t rock the mid-century look.

Howdy! How about “barn style”? Paint it red, slap a front deck on it and yee-haw, you’ve got yourself a rustic abode in the burbs.

No, this isn’t a raised ranch but it’s the closest image I could find to a stucco home. Stucco comes in any color, so you can have a pretty pink stucco ranch if your heart so desires.

Fine Homebuilding did an article on how to get rid of that raised ranch overhang. Think about it, without that, the house could take on any look you want. With some recycled brick, it can look like the house below.

I didn’t find any Victorian splanch photos, but with some wood siding, a porch and detailed trim, you got yourself a Painted Lady Victorian!

Click on the images to get more info on each house.

Updating Raised Ranches. Part I

Hey Eco-Geeks!Solar Wireless Chargers

Hey Eco-Geeks!Solar Wireless Chargers published on

Guest Post

So there’s this most recent direction running along side our attraction with the most desirable wire-less accessories [1], and it’s how to best maintain their battery packs 100 %. With lots of the modern pads and tablet pcs, mobile handsets, and lap tops the only typical headache is the most handy alternative to have them charged up. I began wondering what normally I would undoubtedly undoubtedly do with some of these various units and now I ask myself what I’d do without them. I even worry every night whether I have all of them on their proper wires and charging up for the day ahead.Continue reading Hey Eco-Geeks!Solar Wireless Chargers

Brooklyn Summer Concert Series!

Brooklyn Summer Concert Series! published on 1 Comment on Brooklyn Summer Concert Series!

I swear, I’ve been going on the seaside concert website almost every day, waiting for them to post the shows. Finally, it’s up!

Here’s what we’ve got. The new location is Surf Ave @ 21st St. because the kvetches at the synagogue across the street complained about the noise. Whatev.

July 14th. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

July 21st: The Monkees! Looks like only Davy, Mickey and Peter. Who cares about you, Mike? You were the uncutest anyway.

July 28th: Mary Wilson of the Supremes and The Spinners.

August 18th: Cheap Trick.

The Wingate Concerts open with Maze featuring Frankie Beverly on July 11th.

August 8th: Jeffrey Osborne/Peabo Bryson/Freddie Jackson for some smooth easy listening.

August 15th: Queen Latifah!

These are just my middle aged music picks. There are more dates and some still say “To Be Announced”, so keep your eyes and ears open for more info!

Public Real Estate Auctions

Public Real Estate Auctions published on

Hubby and I hit our first real estate auction in the County of Kings earlier this week. We know folks who’ve bought at auction before, but we were always suckers for paying market value.

So, here’s the rundown. The auctions of real property are run by the Public Administrator of Kings County. Go to the government website to see when the next auction is and which properties are listed. There’s a preview the weekend prior to bidding, or at least that was the case with the June auction.

If you want to bid you’ll need a certified or bank check for 10% of the opening bid. Bring a blank check to pay the rest of the deposit because chances are the opening bid is not the final price. If you win the bidding that means you go into contract immediately. This is NOT contingent upon inspection or mortgage. You must have all of your little ducks in a row before bidding or else you stand to lose your deposit. No joke.

Auctions are not for the faint of heart. It’s a risky business and you may be bidding against investors and developers whom have been around the corner before. Know what you’re getting yourself into….

You may inherit tenants. The property may even be an SRO. The two places we looked at in Bed Stuy had senior women living there for 30-40 years. Who wants to kick them out? Not me!

Who knows what’s up with the previous owner? Some of these are estate sales of folks who didn’t have wills. Family members sometimes expect something. I’m sure they chill once the property is sold, but I’ve heard some crazy stories about what happens leading up to the auction.

Take your time with the previews because you don’t get an inspection. If you don’t know what you’re looking at, it might be a wise choice to hire an inspector for the day of previews. Or a contractor or architect. Or a friend who knows something about houses. This will cost a good few hundred bucks (not the friend-buy them pizza) so be sure you’re serious about bidding.

If you end up buying at auction, don’t expect the place to be broom swept. The city and the tenants will probably leave a bunch of crap behind. I’d also imagine it’s a safe bet to go the legal renovation route by filing with the DOB as the city will know you just purchased a fixer upper. Am I being paranoid? I dunno.

So, why do it? Here’s a partial list of properties and what they sold for.

582 Bainbridge St. Sort of east Bed Stuy/Ocean Hill/Bushwick. Opening bid: $290k. Sold: $300k

163A Halsey St. Bed Stuy, right around the corner from moi! House needed updating and restoration but had some fabulous detail! Partial SRO status was a bit off putting. Opening bid: $325k. Sold: $400k.

2633 Hubbard St. Sheepshead Bay single family. Opening bid: $300k. Sold: $390k.

1130 Brighton Beach Ave. 1 BR coop apartment. I really wanted to preview this one because the opening bid was $65k, but we just couldn’t make it out to Brighton over the weekend. It ended up selling for $130k. A studio coop apartment on Brighton 1st went for $155k. That was a more modern building (1960’s/70’s?). A 1BR in Bay Ridge didn’t sell at $180k. With coops, you have to deal with the board and then there may be flip taxes and transfer fees.

174 Lincoln Place. Opening bid: $1.75. Sold: $ 2.675. The highest priced “sold” property of the day. An Albee Square property that was going for $3.6 did not sell. Oooh, there were lots of bidders on this prime Slope mixed use building! Four ground floor commercial units and up to 6 residential units upstairs with only a single tenant remaining. Property taxes on this baby? $28k. Ouch! Rent roll? A gazillion dollars.

69 Sterling St. I believe this is Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Opening bid: $499k. Sold: $499k. Looks like someone got a sweet deal, although I didn’t see the interior.

4628 Beach 46th St. This place was getting bid up and we were like “Where the F is that?” I thought it was Dyker Heights or somewhere near there. Looking at the map, it seems to be Sea Gate, a gated community at the tip of Coney Island. Interesting. Opening bid: $$320k. Sold: $425k.

331A Stuyvesant Ave. This was the other house we actually previewed. A 2 family with older tenants that kept the house in decent shape. Some details remain, but the house needs updating and restoration. Really, not major work. A friend of a friend wanted this but got outbid. 🙁 Opening bid: $315k. Sold: $350k.

151 Prospect Ave. Interesting, I thought there would be some crazy bidding on this house because people are going gaga for the South Slope these days. (Yeah, I know…it’s really Gowanus over here.) Starting bid: $250k. Sold: $350k. I’m thinking the buyer could probably do NOTHING and turn around and flip it for $500k.

155 Berry St. First photo above. I saved this one for last because had us floored until we figured out just how much Williamsburg property is worth to developers. Opening bid: $695k. There were maaannnnyyy bidders going nuts. This little shack actually went for $1million and change. Surely, it’s a tear down.

Fascinating, no? Oh, and the nicest thing? Everybody applauds each time someone wins a bid.

Gay Wedding Planning in New York

Gay Wedding Planning in New York published on

I’d love to be able to say “We’re #1!”, but we arrived a little late to the party. We’ll forever be behind the Massholes. Ok, the superfabulous news is that we’re here now.

2011 is gonna be the Year of the Gay Wedding in New York. Surely, it will add a big boost for New York’s economy and a million and one new gay wedding businesses will pop up. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Back when wedding photography was my full time job I shot some same sex ceremonies. I just want to call your attention to some sites that always did cater to the LGBT community. Before it was cool. Or legal.

Purple Unions is a national wedding directory that’s been going for about eight years. It all started with Purple Roofs, a gay travel guide that features inns and destinations. Want to buy real estate from a gay friendly agent? Gay Realty Network has been around forever. Same folks.

Rainbow Wedding Network is another old school directory. Plan your wedding from engagement to honeymoon.

Liberty View Farm in Highland, NY was purchased by Billiam van Roestenberg in 1999. Although not listed as a “gay wedding venue”, Billiam is an activist and was one half of the first gay couple to be married in New York by Mayor Jason West of New Paltz back in 2004.

Bed Stuy. Do or Goodbye

Bed Stuy. Do or Goodbye published on 3 Comments on Bed Stuy. Do or Goodbye

Well, this just sucks. After 4.5 years, Petra (aka The Changeling) has decided to terminate Bed Stuy Blog. Guess she wants to have a life or something.

Bed Stuy Blog launched shortly after I moved into the neighborhood and about six months before I started my own blog. Petra alerted us to retail openings, events and even crime warnings. She feels the blog is no longer necessary because Bed Stuy is being represented by other blogs now in a way that it wasn’t 4.5 years ago.

I disagree, but what what are ya gonna do? Petra and her small team of writers (Where the F is MY team?) put a personal face on the blog. Posts and comments were always friendly and never snarky like you might see on other sites. The blog was a microcosm of the neighborhood. A place where everyone looks out for one another and says good morning.

Guess this site is going to have to get more neighborhoody to pick up some slack.

On a bright note, we still have Bed Stuy Patch and Bed Stuy Gateway.

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