Adrian Kinloch of Brit in Brooklyn and Tracy Collins of Not Another F*cking Blog talk about photo blogging and the Web Cam that is documenting the demolition at the Atlantic Yards site.Via A Walk Around The Blog
Posts categoriezed as Brooklyn
Flea Finds and Rain. Lots of Rain
A bit of a chaotic day yesterday at the Brooklyn Flea, but it could have been worse. I actually made a few bucks. I’m telling ya…I do so much better in the rain than in nice weather!
We were running late in the morning. When we got to the storage space, the 24 hour access code wasn’t working. I was 1 week late with my bill (They don’t send invoices, so I forget.) so I knew it was probably that. But I needed my stuff so we climbed the fence prepared to throw things over. Well, they padlocked my unit! 1 week….no courtesy call or nuthin’. So, we go to the market to set out our 5 items and waited until they opened. At 10am I let the chick behind the counter know my thoughts on the matter, but didn’t have time to go all Brooklyn (old school) on her ass. Got back to the market. Set up by noon (normally 9:30am). Got drenched twice by the end of the day, which was early due to rain. On a positive note, I entered into the vendor’s wet t-shirt contest and won!
Futopia was a cool/retro/funky store located in Greenpoint. The store no longer exists but you can now find them at the Brooklyn Flea on Sundays. Owner Futaba makes her own creations and sells other artists as well. Photographer Michelle Levante partnered up with Futaba for the flea market. She sells decoupage objects displaying her own photography. The booth is eclectic and best of all….inexpensive! To give you an example, the antique glass eyeball below was only $20. I meant to go back for it, but I forgot. Dammit! I really NEEDED an antique eyeball. Space W-37.
It’s difficult to see from the photo, but that white fireplace insert bottom left is perhaps the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. I was tempted to splurge on the $350 piece, but it’s something that needs to be measured and my husband would kill me if I paid that much for something that didn’t fit. BTW, $350 is a good price for something like that. It’s just that….I’m poor. Or cheap. Or both. Anyway, Red Barn Antiques had some great stuff in their booth. The guy (didn’t catch his name) was supposed to come and give me a card later on, but he forgot. Then I forgot. Now I’ve got nothing for ya. But it’s Red Barn, no website. They are at the flea most weekends, but I can’t find them on the layout. Is it me or are they not there?
Reclaimed Duplex Available August!
Our duplex roommates are moving out! They are parting ways with each other so they’ll be looking for smaller apartments. The beautiful thing is that we weren’t going to renew their lease anyway. They are just too YOUNG! The first year was fine, but they had one too many loud, late parties this year. We’re old and kvetchy. We don’t go for that.
Anyway, they’re leaving early August and we’ll be in a mad rush to get some new blood in there by the middle of the month. I’m sure there will be some things to take care of after four 20 somethings lived there for 2 years, but two weeks oughta do it.
I gave “The Duplex” it’s own page. I tried to do it as a “listing” but I’ve been neglecting that for so long I forgot how to do it. Please feel free to send the link on to friends, friends of friends, post it on your blog, etc….
3BR/Bed Stuy/Pets welcome/$2600
Preferably NO MORE ROOMMATES!
Flea Finds
Entertainment pour moi? Oh, you shouldn’t have!
Yeah, so we got rained on a little at yesterday’s Brooklyn Flea. Beats standing there all day in the sweltering heat. Not such a bad day considering. We got rid of a few larger pieces, creating some much needed storage space. And Elvis has left the building! After 2 weeks at the flea, the crocheted king went to a good, loving home. I’ll miss him.
I wandered around the market, but I was loving the gals right next door. Bleecker Street Antiques came from Sag Harbor (not Greenwich Village) with their small collectibles. I fell in love with the stone and terracotta corbels they brought, but alas they were too rich for my blood. Still, at $350 and $400, the price wasn’t crazy town. They come across lots of these babies as someone’s father (Or some such relative. I forget.) was in the salvage biz. The architectural artifacts are off of NYC buildings, but most of their inventory comes out of homes in and around The Hamptons.
I also took great interest in Local Labels. They were just setting up, so I didn’t want to bother them too much, but here’s their website. If you haven’t figured it out yet, they represent local businesses. The items range from baby goods to housewares to specialty food products. The website is really user friendly. You can search by price or item. Love to search by price! Always a happy thing, no?
Contractors: Go Green Workshop!
Kingsborough Community College has partnered with The Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation to to provide a low cost training workshop for Green Building Certification.
The one day workshop takes place on June 21st from 8am-5pm with exam on June 26th. The cost is $450.
Call 718-368-5050 for registration or contact
Ikea Brooklyn Giveaways
A Walk Around Williamsburg
Williamsburg Is Dead has it’s spotlight on A Walk Around the Blog.
Schvitzing at the Brooklyn Flea
“It’s friggen hot, man.” Emilia and I traveled around Italy about 20 years ago. In the afternoon it would get too hot to do anything. Every day, after trying to tour around, we would say “Let’s just get some gelato and go home.” This is our “Let’s just get some gelato and go home” look.
Ah, it seems like only yesterday I was bitchin’ about the cold weather at Brooklyn Flea. I knew the day would come when I’d long for the good old days of chilly, wet weather. That day arrived on Sunday.
My husband picked a great day to abandon me sans van to pick up his family. My man with van showed up only 15 minutes late and was a great help. No A/C, but luckily it was only a short distance. The brother in law stayed behind to watch some soccer matches at a local bar.
I was too hot to go looking for new discoveries, so enjoy the photos I took of Reclaimed Home and nearby booths.
How awesome is that crochet Elvis? Please note the jacket flung over chair. The brother in law felt the need to carry it with him yesterday. And it’s kind of heavy!
The brother in law purchased this guitar at the flea. His second since he arrived in the states last Thursday.
This little guy found a friend in our booth.
Jason Townsend’s partner flaked on him, so he only brought as much as he can carry on his back. He sold most of it, but the great shag rug did not sell. Nor did those fabulous shoes he modeled for us.
I spotted this from clear across the field. Mike from Mohawk Studios gets the “Best Butt Crack of the Day” award. S-E-X-Y!
Back To The Flea
After living through the hell that is Florida for the last 2 weeks I was eager to jump back into work. Returned on Saturday and did the Brooklyn Flea on Sunday. Too bad I was voted “Lamest Booth” (by me) since I didn’t have a chance to refresh inventory. Shoppers weren’t exactly chomping at the bit to purchase my leftovers and I ended up having my worst day ever. To add insult to injury, we got stuck in a 2.5 hour traffic jam on Rt 17 heading back upstate. New Jersey sucks more than Florida! The cops were just sitting by the side of the road eating donuts and scratching their balls.
Foundation Coffee Table: $750
Anyway, I digress. This week’s flea find is furniture maker George Beland. He came all the way from New Hampshire with his line of sleek, modern designs. We chatted a bit about lumber. He uses only local North Eastern woods from small, responsible companies and tries to utilize every bit of it. He’ll be at the flea again, but hasn’t worked out his schedule yet.
Marine Park and Madison: An Update
Author: Brett
When last my house-hunting anecdotes graced the screen, we had been off to take a gander at homes in Marine Park. In the past, we had not been too interested in the neighborhood because it is a bit further from public transportation (think: bus to subway) but now that we have been living in Madison with Andrew’s parents for over a year, we were rethinking the area.
Row houses in Marine Park are priced in the 500s and a semi-detached might be in the mid-600k or even lower, but many need refreshing. One semi we saw was in decent shape. It was big and bright and didn’t even seem like “half a house” from the inside, but it only had one bathroom, which was a deal-breaker for Andrew who has his heart set on a detached single family. There was also a shared drive, which we were wary about. I mean, the whole point of buying a house is to have one’s own space, so why share a driveway when you don’t have to?
Still, I thought that it was worth buying this semi-detached, but then we took a look at the schools. The public schools are not rated so well. The elementary school in the heart of Marine Park is praiseworthy, but all but one of the middle schools is downright scary. When the neighborhood nannies and grannies tell you that they are afraid to bring their toddlers to the playground in the afternoon when the kids at I.S. 278 get out for the day, then you listen.
Prices in this neighborhood as well as in neighboring Madison are starting to drop, but they are still too steep for us both to buy AND to renovate. One detached single-family we looked at on East 28th St. between Avenues R and Quentin Road was asking $825K even though it had probably not been updated in 30 years. Another semi-detached with an apartment in the basement on East 23rd between Avenues R and S is currently asking 750K by owner. This home has a new kitchen, but that was probably the only update.
As for new constructions, there are many so-called luxury condos being slapped together all over Ocean Avenue and the streets surrounding the B & Q trains at the Kings Highway subway stop. None look particularly noteworthy or attractive, but I researched them anyway. One building on 17th Street between Quentin Road and Avenue R is asking $760k for a 3 bedroom; another on Ocean Avenue and Avenues R and S is $780k. Again, both are well above our budget.
Even if we could find an affordable, livable home in Marine Park or Madison in a pocket of the area that is zoned for a well-rated school, we have to admit that there is still the question of both neighborhoods having gone from communities with a varied mix of families to more insular ethnic and religious enclaves. It is obvious that this demand to stay within one’s close-knit community is what drives up the price of homes in these areas.
While we were wasting more precious time on our futile hunt in Brooklyn, a new listing came up in Port Washington, NY. It was priced higher than our budget allowed, but we made plans with our realtor extraordinaire to see it anyway….
What I Love About Brooklyn
Just in case yesterday’s Park Slope Hating post was too negative for some tender souls, here’s a more positive interview I did earlier this month. From Creative Times. Scroll the main page for what others had to say.
Why I Hate Park Slope: Let’s Clarify
Oy. That’s the last time I give an interview. I spoke to writer Lynn Harris months ago for an article she was doing on Park Slope. “Where Is the Love” appeared in yesterday’s NY Time’s style section. Now I’m getting emails from friends asking me why I lied.
I didn’t lie so much as I was coerced into confession and creative editing was used. My whole paragraph from the article: “Many locals, and ex-locals, I talked to swore that something else has also changed. Phyllis Bobb, 42, lived here from 1990 to 2002, when she moved to Bed-Stuy because, she said, “there were too many yuppies moving in.” People on her block stopped sitting on stoops; a guy in the park kicked her dog. “It wasn’t a community anymore,” she said, and she’s still steamed. “I feel like a jilted lover.”
Still steamed? Nah, it just saddens me that a neighborhood I once loved has become unrecognizable to me. I never said I hated Park Slope. I just choose to ignore it these days. It’s no longer my cup of tea. The jilted lover comment is meant to describe the way we (Park Slope and myself) have both changed and grown apart. We’ve both moved on and we’re in different relationships now. There was a time I loved Park Slope, that was probably mid 80’s-2000. But I look at it now and I can’t believe I lived there for so long.
I did not move from Park Slope to Bed Stuy in 2002. That was some careless editing! I moved upstate and then partially returned to Brooklyn (Bed Stuy) in 2005.
Yes! Someone really did kick my dog. That happened ages ago, so I don’t know how she got that out of me when I was talking about the recent changes in the Slope. But it happened and I hope the guy read the article and knows he will go down in history as “the dog kicker of Park Slope”. The incident occured in Prospect Park one morning during off leash hours. This schmuck walks right through the “doggy circle” and gets knocked down by a running pack of dogs. Ok, gets knocked down by MY dog. I tried to help him up, apologized, etc….and then he kicks my dog! That would never happen in Bed Stuy! Because people are terrified of my dogs there.
Neighbors on my old PS block didn’t STOP sitting on their stoops. The new people moving in didn’t take part in the stoop festivities. It was getting less friendly.
And let me just squash this whole jealousy theory (elsewhere in the article). See, that’s the reason I hate….I mean choose to ignore Park Slope. Not everyone wants to live in a suburbanized, homogenized community overrun with kiddies. It’s not because we can’t afford to, it’s because we simply don’t want to!
Fact: My marriage to Park Slope from 1994 to 2002? I bought my house for under $200k. I could’ve stayed forever if I was still in love with the neighborhood. But I wanted out of the relationship. And the financial settlement was just fine, thank you.
Wallpaper, Vintage Goodies and Rain
Neighbor Stacey of Amazulu was prepared for rain
We experienced sun yesterday morning for the very first time at the Brooklyn Flea. The double wide experiment was doing quite well and we were on a roll. And then the heavens opened up. And the afternoon was a wash out. At least we got rid of some big pieces so we didn’t have much to load up in the rain.
I did get to walk around while the weather was nice. FDR to JFK (no website), booth B14 had some very cool, kitsch vintage wares. Colorful, fun little goodies. They are there every week.
Designer Jill Malek was there with her beautiful-and-not-extremely-expensive hand screened wallpaper. Although they use virgin paper, the inks are recycled! Hey, it’s something. Looks great on the website, but wallpaper is one of those things you have to see in person to appreciate.
7 Strangers Picked To Live in Brooklyn
Hello. My name is Phyllis and I’m a 42 year old Real World junkie. Yeah, that’s right, I love to hate those nutty kids. They get worse as the years go on….those modely looking, self absorbed little twits. But it keeps me coming back.
So how excited was I when I heard the news that season 21 of the series will be filmed in Brooklyn? Ooh, I can’t wait! Shooting starts this summer and the one hour episodes will air in early 2009.
No decision yet as to what neighborhood. Hey Bunim-Murray, my tenants are leaving in August if you want a Bed Stuy brownstone! Better yet, would you be willing to audition a 42 year old? I can be the token native!
Bklyn Designs: Robert Martin
Ok, so Robert Martin Designs doesn’t use reclaimed materials for their furniture, but they are damn cool anyway! Pieces are made from hardwoods and enhanced with metals and composites.
The dining room table pictured above folds up completely. Designs for the home, garden and office have an industrial yet delicate look.
Robert Martin Designs has a 6500 showroom and production facility based in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. They do custom and architectural landscape work as well.