If you live in the south/west part of Bed Stuy, you better come to this meeting. Or else. Yeah, that’s a threat. It’s kinda important.
Posts categoriezed as Rescue & Preservation
North Brother Island
This must be the place. The place that I see across the water when traveling up the FDR. I’ve always wondered what it was. It looks like some kind of abandoned hospital and that’s exactly what North Brother Island is.
Oh, the history is rich, kids. The General Slocum, a steamship that burned on June 15, 1904 killing over 1,000 people, beached at the island. Typhoid Mary died there in 1938 after 20 years in quarantine.
The Kingston Lounge is displaying some friggin awesome photographs from the site. Be sure to check out their blog for other historic structures in decay.
Via Neatorama
Historic Bed Stuy Architecture Snappies
Much enjoyed touring my own area of Bed Stuy yesterday with Andrew Dolkart, Brownstoner’s “Montrose Morris” and Save Bedford Stuyvesant‘s “Amzi Hill”. Since I didn’t take notes, I’m just posting some pics and referring you to the links above for your own research. Because I’m lazy that way.
Or…perhaps some kind reader will comment on what we’re looking at. 🙂
Full Flickr set.
Historic Bed Stuy Walking Tour
Come see why I love my neighborhood so much! Bed Stuy is HU-UGE! This area is the proposed “Bedford Corners Historic District” aka “My Neck of the Woods”.
Crown Heights North House Tour
The 4th annual Crown Heights North house tour is this Saturday, October 2nd. There are 8 houses and two churches this year. A St. Marks Avenue mansion that most people thought was unsalvageable will be included. It’s still a work in progress and the committee promises it is spectacular. Other fab homes include the double duplex Kinko house, an American classic Colonial Revival, a new house that rose in an old shell, plus more.
Meet at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church, at 991 St. Johns Place, on the corner of Brooklyn Avenue. Representatives of various city agencies and local non-profit groups will be on hand to answer questions. There will also be local vendors selling crafts, art, books, and other products.
The Tour kicks off at 10:00 am with a welcoming ceremony. The self guided tour commences from 11-4pm, rain or shine.
Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Tickets will be on sale at Barbara’s Flowers, 615 Nostrand Avenue, Brownstone Books, 409 Lewis Avenue and online.
Free NYC: Governors Island
Governors Island opened to the public in the early oughts while I was living upstate. I finally got a chance to visit over the weekend as there was an art fair I wanted to see.
The island, considered part of the borough of Manhattan, was referred to as Pagganck (“Nut Island”) by Native Americans. The Brits and Dutch each had control at one time or another. Starting with the Revolutionary War, Governors Island served as an American military base through just about every war until it switched over to the Coast Guard in the 1960’s.
So, who owns it now? Why, we do! In 2003 the federal government sold 150 acres of Governors Island to the people of New York, with the Island’s governance and funding jointly shared by the City of New York and State of New York. The remaining 22 acres was declared the Governors Island National Monument that is overseen by the National Park Service.
Enough history. What is there to do on Governors Island? Well, there’s a little somethin’ somethin’ for everyone. BTW, the art exhibit was excellent. Five four story buildings filled with some exceptional work.
I was impressed by the recycling effort on the island. Plenty o’ bins for trash AND recyclables which you don’t normally see enough in city parks. But not only that…some of the garden sculptures made from reclaimed materials are truly impressive.
You know what the leaves on this tree are made of? Joint compound lids!
Kiddie park built from pallets, reclaimed house materials and more! Mini-golf! Trampoline school! A beach! Historic house tours!
The ferry takes 5 minutes and it’s free. Word of advice. If you visit Governors Island, wear comfortable shoes. Lots of people bike around the island. Bikes are allowed on the ferry or you can rent one. There are also trams for less mobile folk. Enjoy!
Bed Stuy Landmark Meeting featuring Cranky Old Guy
“But what if I want my white vinyl windows?!” Cranky old guy just couldn’t let it go. Saturday’s meeting to address the landmarking of Bedford Corners was informative and interesting, but it was Cranky Old Guy who stole the show….at least for me.
Before we arrived, I wondered who the hell would hold a meeting on a Saturday in the middle of the summer. I thought nobody would show, but it was standing room only. May I add that my block, which is about 3 feet long, was well represented.
I scribbled some notes, but mostly I just distracted Brownstoner’s Montrose Morris, whom was trying to pay attention like a professional blogger. Hey, I’m sure she’ll have a much more informative post later this morning.
So, here are some fun facts about historic landmarking:
* There are about 100 landmarked districts in all 5 boroughs. Most of them are in Manhattan, followed by Brooklyn.
* Brooklyn Heights was the first landmarked district in the County of Kings.
* Guess which boro is the most resistant to landmarking? Come on, you know.
* Less than 3% of all properties in NYC are landmarked.
* In 1965, it was Mayor Wagner whom started landmarking districts. (Interesting. I was like “Mayor Who?” I can only remember as far back as Lindsay and I guess I don’t remember my history lessons.)
But back to Cranky Old Guy. During the Q&A, he asked if Landmarks was going to tell him what he can and can’t do to his house. The response was that Landmarks does indeed oversee replacement doors and windows on historic homes in the district. There was back and forth for a bit.
“But it’s MY home. What if I don’t want to put in expensive wood windows?”
“Sir, Landmarks doesn’t make you install wood. They will approve wood or aluminum windows. Not vinyl.”
“But what if I want white vinyl? It’s MY home. How can they tell me what to do with MY home!”
“You can do aluminum. Not vinyl. The cost is only a bit more and they will last you longer.”
And on and on it went until someone said “It isn’t really YOUR home because you pay property taxes.”
If you live in the designated area, you really should get involved. The neighborhood needs to get behind these issues. It’s not like a couple of volunteers take care of it. Strength in numbers gets it done.
Please go to the website to learn more.
Bed Stuy Landmarking
Looks like this Bedford Corners Historic District thing is moving along. I received the following email as well as a flyer posted on the door of my house on a block not mentioned. This is Phase I. Maybe my block is Phase II? 🙁 It’s all good. Gives us a chance to install new front door and windows without landmarks breathing down our back.
And now to the old cut and paste……
An open forum community meeting regarding the creation of the Bedford Corners Landmark District will be held on July 10th, 2010 at 2:00 PM at the Bedford Branch Public Library. The library is located at 495 Franklin Avenue at Hancock Street.
A presentation by members of the Historic Districts Council will address the conditions and benefits of achieving historic landmark status. After the presentation residents of the neighborhood will be able to ask questions about the process and what it means to the community.
Bedford Corners comprises the blocks of Macon St., Halsey St, Hancock St, Arlington Place, and Jefferson Avenue from Bedford and Nostrand Avenues and extending east to Tompkins Avenue.
Bedford Corners will be only the second new historic district named in Bedford-Stuyvesant since 1971, when the Stuyvesant Heights district was formed. Growing support for the formation of Bedford Corners has been shown with a postcard mailing campaign to the Landmarks Preservation Commision earlier this year. This district has also garnered the support of Borough President Marty Markowitz and City Councilmember Al Vann.
This district has filed a Request for Evaluation with the LPC and is awaiting surveying and calendaring procedures. Currently the Bedford District Block Associations (BDBA), a coalition of local block associations, is collecting signatures to a petition in support of this designation.
Saving Bradbury
Jeez Louise, what we are going through to save some Bradbury wallpaper border that we don’t even like!
We have some major plaster work going down in our dining room at the moment. Unfortunately, the ceiling wasn’t worth saving, so we laminated and lost the border up there. We even contacted Bradbury to see if there was a way to steam it off and reuse it, but they didn’t recommend that.
In any case, we were determined to keep the wall border alive and well. It took the better part of a day to prep the room for plastering and painting. Between covering the paper, the mantel and all of the wood moldings, it doesn’t look like there’s a hell of a lot of wall space left to work on.
After all is said and done, the border will lose 1-2 inches because we’ll have to put molding on the top and bottom since we don’t want to go near it with the plaster.
By the way, of course what we thought would be a simple “chasing out a few cracks and plastering” turned into a nightmare. It will most likely need a skim coat now, not to be done by us as we are not master plasterers. We found out that it’s not so easy to find hardcore plaster supplies in this neck of the woods (Beacon). Must be something to do with the renovation vs. restoration thing. Crappy new sheetrock for everyone!
PS: How much do I love my new scaffolding?
Hire “Our Victorian House” Guy!
Last we checked on Craig and Yvonne’s Victorian House, it was on the market for $799k. Well, it looks like it’s still up for grabs. Down to $699k. Totally worth every penny, but alas…still not affordable for the likes of moi.
But here’s the good news! Craig has gone pro. Blackstone Architectural Restoration LLC works in Central Jersey. There’s not much on their website yet, but hello, have you seen his house? I’d say this guy does meticulous work.
Check out the video walk through of their house. It will bring tears to your eyes.
Landmarking and Scavenging
I’ve been hard at non-computer related work this week, so it’s been a struggle to keep up with fresh blog posts. Luckily, I have some fabulous blogger buddies who send me updates periodically.
One of them is my neighbor, Mr. “Save Bedford Stuyvesant” Morgan. He emailed about a new blog that will keep track of the landmarking of our section of Bed Stuy. Wanna know what it’s called? Bedford Corners. How “It’s a Wonderful Life” is that? (I know, I know….that was Bedford Falls)
Just so you know, Bedford Corners is not a new real estate term. It’s the area surrounding the intersection of Bedford Avenue and Fulton Street. Bedford was founded in the 70’s (as in 1670’s) and later became “one” with Stuyvesant Heights. Bedford + Stuyvesant = You do the math.
Ms. Renovation Therapy Jean alerted me to the new blog, Scavenger List. They go around NYC taking photos of curb “trash”. You know what they say about one man’s trash?
Locations are posted and there’s even a google map of where these treasures are. I’d be worried that they would be gone by the time I made my way over. Did I ever mention the beautiful dresser I missed because I didn’t want to move my car on alternate parking day? It was either the good parking spot or that dresser and I chose the spot. Oh, what this city does to people.
New Bed Stuy Blog
A big Bed Stuy welcome for Save Bedford Stuyvesant, the new kid on the block! The blogger writes about the history and architecture of the southern tip of the neighborhood, an area folks are trying to get landmarked. Why this blog exists? “To show why it is important to safeguard and preserve the aesthetic, and cultural heritage of Bedford Stuyvesant Historic Districts.”
SBS focuses on Bedford Corners, which has actually been around for centuries and is not the figment of a realtor’s imagination. It’s my neck of the woods, so I had a good time reading about my neighbor’s homes around the corner.
I’m all for getting the landmarking….absolutely! Hypocritically, I must say that I have work to be done on the exterior of my house and I plan on doing that before there’s a huge hassle with landmarks.
Save Bed Stuy joins Bed Stuy Blog and Bed Stuy Banana as the third “strictly neighborhoody” blog.
Bed Stuy Reno Progress
It’s been slow going on our Bed Stuy living room. Hubby has been repointing bricks and adding new joists for an eternity now. He’s supposed to be working on it about three nights per week after work, but I call him about 7pm and he’s always just leaving work, so not much is really getting done.
There have been some baby steps made since I last posted about it before the New Year. Most of the pointing is done and he’s got some new joists in. There’s still plenty of work to do around the windows. All of the wood was pretty rotted from past water damage. Once he s-l-o-w-l-y finishes this and gets it closed in, we’ll have the floor guy replace the tongue and groove and finish the floor. Everything else is a piece of cake. Really, just painting from there.
I headed over to Eddie’s on Saturday to look for front doors to our apartment. The previous owner had exterior French doors which we covered with plastic bags since tenants moved in 3 years ago. It matches our window curtains. We’ll use those glass doors in the hallway to let some light in, but we prefer privacy when sitting around the living room in our jammies. When we have a living room, that is.
The double mahogany doors cost $100 including the original hardware. It looks like I’ll only need to strip one coat of paint and I don’t even think it’s primed. Might be just shellac. The doors will sit in the hallway for another 3 months at least, but it made me feel like I accomplished something by getting them.
Hey, we’re on a roll, huh? Is there anyone who works slower than us??
Traditional Building Show
Head’s up! The Traditional Building Show is taking place March 12th-14th in Boston. There will be restoration lectures and conferences as well as exhibitors. The event is open to trades people and old home enthusiasts. This year’s theme is “Smart Solutions for a Challenging Market”.
Kickin It Old School.Dublin Style
We’re ba-aack! We had a fun filled few days in Dublin caring for Mum in Law at home after she was kicked out of the hospital and not sent to rehab. Apparently, the Irish recession has had an effect on the health care system. Many Americans, myself included, are envious of the socialized medical benefits other countries receive. Michael Moore’s Sicko made it very clear where our system fails. It’s true! Our system sucks. But it’s not all rainbows and unicorns in Ireland either.
After waiting around the first day for the social worker and/or physical therapist who never showed, we rented a wheelchair out of pocket for the week. It got her out of the house, but if she ever wants to walk properly again, she needs the therapy, no? The appointment was a cable company kind of thing (“We’ll show up on Friday”) They didn’t pick up the phone either.
Luckily, Brother in Law Peter (rear) is a hard ass London lawyer, so he can work his magic. I’m sure many elders say “Oh now, I don’t want to make a fuss…” so they won’t know how to deal with someone who does talk back. The photo was taken on the grounds of the Newbridge House (I think) in Donabate where Brother in Law John lives. He lives in Donabate, not in the Newbridge House. Just wanted to make that clear.
But on to Mum in Law’s house. The armoire above was in Brother in Law John’s room when he was growing up. Ok, The Human League and Nick Cave were easy to figure out, but who is that in the middle? I just got it now as I was writing this, not because I recognized him, but because I know he’s from one of John’s favorite bands.
I love the Aga! She doesn’t really use it to cook much anymore, but it does heat the kitchen. Mum in Law does not own a proper toaster so the Aga is one way of making toast. See contraption below.
The other way of making toast is on that grill thing above the stove.
The house doesn’t have central heating. When I first started visiting over 20 years ago, there wasn’t a plug in heater in every room. I’m not sure, but these may have been purchased to appease the finicky American daughter in law. Originally, I was told to put on another sweater and bring a hot water bottle to bed. Most Dublin homes have converted to central heat now.
The water heater is located in a closet on the second floor. You can get two, maybe three showers and then you have to wait for it to refill. It also serves as a towel warmer.
Clean coal technology? For the fire place.
Peat or turf briquettes. I have no clue how environmentally clean these are, but Ireland has a distinct smell when people use these during the winter. It’s a good smell. Like rugged earth.
This is the dishwasher. Many people soap up the dishes and dry them without rinsing. I need to rinse!! But when I get lazy, I sometimes do it the way everyone else does and rinse just my own as I need them.
Elaborate shower system. When I first started visiting, this wasn’t in place. It was bath or bust. I’m 4’11” and I have to bend my knees to fit under this.
Ah, yes, my sanctuary! There’s one bathroom upstairs in the house. I won’t go into my privacy issues, but let’s just say I use the outhouse a fair bit when I need to do my thing.
The Home Depot of Ireland. We hit it one day when we were looking for safety bars and such.
Found the safety bars. Gee, can you tell he knows his photo is being taken?
If one doesn’t want to overwork their water heater or if they don’t have one, this is the type of shower they can get. Those dials control the temperature as well as the water flow.
Skinny house in Blackrock.
The Blackrock Market has been a favorite of mine for years! There are stalls of antiques and vintage goodies at reasonable prices. I was a little disappointed this time to see more new dealers. Many were selling handmade items, but I still prefer the old finds.