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DIY: A Green Roof Grows In Brooklyn

DIY: A Green Roof Grows In Brooklyn published on 8 Comments on DIY: A Green Roof Grows In Brooklyn

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I found Yeshwant’s “DIY Green Roof” post on the Brownstoner forum and asked if he would be kind enough to give me some info to pass along to my ECO/DIY readers. Well, he went above and beyond my expectations! Thank you, Yeshwant!

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Here are our reasons for wanting a green roof:

We bought an 1840s Federal brick rowhouse in Red Hook three years ago. Our top floor bedroom, with an uninsulated tar flat roof over it, sizzled in the summer heat. Finding a way to cool it was the main incentive to want to green the rooftop.

I also liked that green roofs prevent rapid heating and cooling of the roof membrane and are therefore supposed to more than double its life. The growth media and plants are supposed to help insulate the roof in the winter, which we hope will warm the usually chilly upper floor.

Red Hook is a flood zone and the storm drains often fail to carry away rainwater, especially during heavy summer storms. Many homes have storm water backing up into the drains. So, the mitigation of storm water volume could only help the community.

On summer mornings, we’ve also noticed that butterflies and bees seem to like sedum flowers. As do we.

Here is the process: Continue reading DIY: A Green Roof Grows In Brooklyn

Sterling Place: Vintage Finds

Sterling Place: Vintage Finds published on 2 Comments on Sterling Place: Vintage Finds

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The NY Times featured an article on the couple behind the Sterling Place shops this weekend. The article was titled “The Ultimate Recyclers“, so they had me at “The”.

First of all, check out the pictures of this couple’s house! I damaged my keyboard from all the drool. Ms. Cromwell lets us know they haven’t changed any of the detail in the house and the craftspeople who created stuff like this no longer exist. It’s funny….Eddie said the exact same thing. Someone told him that over 30 years ago. Sad, but true.

Mr. Wilson on his introduction to collecting: “My parents were always going to auctions and buying unusual pieces. Their house just became more and more filled until they literally had boxes and boxes and boxes of stuff. They kind of lost control of the house.” I shouldn’t let my husband see this. We’ve already lost control of a number of rooms in 2 homes, the garage, driveway and basement.

Sterling Place has 2 locations, in Park Slope and Boerum Hill, as well as the online store.

Affordable NYC: Bushwick

Affordable NYC: Bushwick published on 2 Comments on Affordable NYC: Bushwick

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Bushwick was among the possibilities when we decided to return to Brooklyn. We explored a bit, but realized we’re too old for that hipster meshugas. We wanted the lovely brownstone on a quiet tree lined street (Yes, I know there are brownstones in Bushwick). But being that I was once a hipster myself (albeit over 20 years ago in the East Village), I get it.Continue reading Affordable NYC: Bushwick

Bed Stuy House Tour

Bed Stuy House Tour published on

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The 29th Annual Bed Stuy House Tour is taking place this Saturday, October 20th. Brownstoners of Bedford-Stuyvesant, the group behind the tour, has been doing this since the 70’s, when NYC had “bad neighborhoods” and Bed Stuy was near the top of the list.

29 years ago, the BBS’s goal was to keep folks from leaving by educating them on home ownership and creating a strong community. These days, they want to spread the message that it’s not an impossible dream to own a home in the rediscovered area.

The day kicks off with a 9am home buyers workshop. The tour begins at 11am at 832 Marcy and tickets are $20. Visit website for more info on where to buy advanced tickets.

NY Daily News
Bed Stuy Blog

Brooklyn Vegetarian Week

Brooklyn Vegetarian Week published on

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Sunday, October 21 through Saturday, October 27: Participating Brooklyn vegetarian restaurants are offering discounts.

The event is being sponsored by Brooklyn Goes Veg, a one woman show. That woman is Melissa D. Haile, director of the Black Vegetarian Society of New York.

BGV has a list of participating restaurants. Among them, Red Bamboo in Fort Greeen and 4 Course Vegan in Williamsburg.

Bed Stuy Foot Soldiers

Bed Stuy Foot Soldiers published on

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Project Re-Generation is a non profit which strives to eliminate teenage after school idleness in Bed-Stuy and similar communities through educational programs.

Founded in 2001 by Barnabas Shakur after a friend’s life sentence to a maximum security prison, PRG sets out to give teens value and self worth.

So what does this have to do with a home blog? I’m getting to that! For the homeowner, PRG offers member services for as low as $3.99 per week. Foot Soldiers will sweep, shovel snow and do front yard maintenance, depending on which package is chosen.

Seems like a win/win situation to me. Please check out their website for more info on this fabulous organization.

Bed Stuy Blog

Bargains In Brooklyn

Bargains In Brooklyn published on 3 Comments on Bargains In Brooklyn

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No Sleep Till….

This Sunday’s NY Times reported that there are bargains in Brooklyn! This just after Crains reported that home prices in the borough were up. Ah, to be fair, although prices have risen, the article states that fewer homes have sold.

So what does this mean for you if you’re looking to buy? It means you may be able to grab that $1.1 million brownstone in Bed Stuy for $950k like Josh and Mary Dennis did. Or nab a new condo in Greenwood Heights for 5% below ask, which would be a million for a 1915 square foot duplex.

The areas you’ll find the most bargains are those that are hurting due to foreclosure, such as Bed Stuy, Bushwick and East New York. There are also condo bargains to be had in neighborhoods that have been overbuilt, such as Williamsburg and Greenwood Heights, which is on the fringe of the fringe of Park Slope South.

Affordable NYC: Bay Ridge

Affordable NYC: Bay Ridge published on

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STAYIN’ ALIVE

I like Bay Ridge. I really do. But growing up in Brooklyn in the disco 70’s, I don’t think I’ll ever get over the Tony Manero image. That’s my own little issue though. Bay Ridge is great. It’s kind of a schlepp to Manhattan, but you know what? Bay Ridge offers everything you need….shopping, restaurants, lovely parks, water and bridge views. In fact, when I lived in Park Slope, I went to the gym in Bay Ridge.

The neighborhood is less trendy than other up and coming Brooklyn nabes. That’s because it’s not up and coming at all….it’s already an established neighborhood. Just less expensive. It’s a family oriented middle class neighborhood, with a strong, you guessed it, Italian community. In recent years, many Arab families have been discovering Bay Ridge, giving it a bit of a Middle Eastern flair.

Drawbacks: That R train is crazy slow. I can’t stand it.

+/-:

I don’t want to say this is a plus or minus, but the neighborhood is still fairly Conservative/Republican. I didn’t say that’s bad! I’m just putting it out there.

Lots of 2nd and 3rd generation Brooklynites still reside there. Personally, it’s a plus for me, because I miss my old Brooklyn (even though I thought it sucked at the time). But it may be neither here nor there for others.

Bay Ridge Rover
Bay Ridge Forum
Right In Bay Ridge
Brooklyn Row House

Affordable NYC:Crown Heights

Affordable NYC:Crown Heights published on 2 Comments on Affordable NYC:Crown Heights

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The Crown Heightser describes Crown Heights as “Brooklyn’s hippest, most diverse and most architecturally beautiful nabe”. Well, it’s close. Maybe only second to my Stizzy.

Actually, the architecture here is phenomenal. Crown Heights North was recently granted landmark status. There are extraordinary mansions mixed in among the lovely brownstones and limestones.

Crown Heights is home to The Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Botanic Gardens, Brooklyn Public Library, The Brooklyn Museum and within walking distance to Prospect Park. The area is serviced by the 2, 3, 4 and 5 trains as well as the Franklin Avenue Shuttle.

You may have heard about a little incident in 1991 known as “The Crown Heights Riots”. The neighborhood does have a scarred history. Today, it’s diversity is a positive thing. In terms of food (What else is there to life?) you can pick up a falafel and then cross Eastern Parkway for your jerk tofu.

Crown Heights is on the cusp on gentrification. There aren’t tons of luxury amenities yet and the prices and cool folks living there reflect that.

Wiki Crown Heights
Crown Heights North Association
Crown Heights Info
Crown Heightser

Crown Heights House Tour

Crown Heights House Tour published on

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When: Tomorrow! October 6, 2007. 10am-5pm. Tour begins at noon.
Where: St. Gregory’s RC Church, 991 St Johns Place bet. Brooklyn & New York Aves.
Cost: $25

This is the inaugural tour of the Crown Heights North Association. 10 houses, 2 churches and 1 community garden. This tour features period detail and restoration, as well as more modern touches combined with ecologically green products and technology.

Tickets and Info

Brooklyn Blogade

Brooklyn Blogade published on

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Yesterday I went to my very first Brooklyn Blogade. Dragged the hubby (who had a nice time). We arrived late (my fault) and missed being in the picture of EVERYONE (except us). The event took place at Le Toukouleur in North Stuy and the food was yummy. Petra/Changeling and Joanna/Alexa11221 of Bed Stuy Blog organized the event along with Eleanor of Creative Times.

Shop Bed Stuy was on hand as well as Le Chateau de Frenche, an inexpensive luxury day spa offering high tea.

It was a good turn out (although I wouldn’t know, it being my first time and all) and everyone seemed to have a good time (I did, anyway).

Other bloggers on hand:

Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn
Bushwick BK
Flatbush Gardener
Saucy Tart
Luna Park Gazette
Brooklyn Nester
Greenpointers
Brooklyn Fashion Gallery

REBNY MLS: It’s here.

REBNY MLS: It’s here. published on

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If NYC isn’t the center of your universe, you may not know this. There’s no MLS in NYC, any of the boroughs. Well, no real MLS, it’s kind of a joke. It makes it crazy difficult for a house buyer, shopping around with various agents, looking at The NY Times and Craigslist. It’s a full time job. And “buyer’s agent”? Ha! And don’t even get me started on how unfair this is for sellers.

Anyway, REBNY, the Real Estate Board of NY, is the the closest thing we have to MLS. Yesterday, they launched a web search portal called Residential NYC. It’s powered by Trulia, making it seems like….Trulia. Two of the largest real estate firms in NYC opted out: Corcoran and Elliman. So basically, MLS in NYC….not.

Related Curbed Article

Burnt Out Cars and Swasktikas

Burnt Out Cars and Swasktikas published on 2 Comments on Burnt Out Cars and Swasktikas

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Feels Like The 70’s Again

What’s going on? Swastikas in Williamsburg and Brooklyn Heights. Burnt out cars in Park Slope. Teens shot on porch in Prospect Park South. Is Brooklyn going to hell in a hand basket? At least my Bed Stuy is still safe.

Brooklyn Heights Blog
Brownstoner
1010 Wins
CBS News

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