Domino Square in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY, a one acre public plaza. Domino as part of the six acre Domino Park, the waterfront esplanade has opened! Domino Square is a multi function, programable space that will add so much for this community to enjoy year round.
Domino Square was designed by landscape architecture firm Field Operations, the same team repsonsible for the original Domino Park site and The High Line in Manhattan, in collaboration with Brooklyn based architecture firm Studio Cadena. Domino Square will host Farmer's Markets, graduations for neighborhood schools, salsa nights and more.
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Time Out – a guide to the best art and entertainment, food and drink, attractions, hotels and things to do in the world's greatest cities, has chosen Brooklyn'sFlatbush / Little Caribbean as the coolest neighborhood in New York City for 2024.
Local editors from around the world considered the candidates by their community and social ventures, access to open and green space and thriving street life. Not only has Flatbush achieved the top spot as the coolest neighborhood in New York City, Time Out's global network of local editors ranked Flatbush as the 17th coolest neighborhood in the world! (out of 38).
According to Time Out's Travel Editor, Grace Beard, “Yes, you'll find some of those international hallmarks of cool. But in every neighborhood on this list there's something you won't find anywhere else.” “When communities fiercely support and rally around their local businesses, even the most eccentric ideas can become a reality. And that, in our eyes, is what makes a neighborhood truly cool.”
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The Inter – Borough Express (IBX), will let passengers commute from Queens to Brooklyn in 40 minutes. IBX was first proposed in 2022 by Governor Kathy Hochul, when data showed far fewer New Yorkers were commuting into and out of Manhattan.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) will allocate over $2B for the beginning phases of the construction of the IBX, the 14 mile rail connecting Queens and Brooklyn, New York.
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A greener, more pedestrian friendly Strip Center is in the future for Fulton Mall. Work will begin August 8th on an $8M Streetscape upgrade for this busy Fulton Mall Shopping Strip.
The project is called The Fulton Mall Streetscape Improvement Project and is a result of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, New York City Parks Department and the city's Department of Transportation working together. Funding for this project was provided by the mayor’s office.
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The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) approves safety improvements on Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY. Sadly, Atlantic Avenue has for decades been the place where fatal accidents have occurred.
This week The NYC DOT) announced, after years and years of community advocacy, DOT will be making badly needed safety improvements to the western section of Atlantic Avenue, that the community has been hoping and pleading for.
According to New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner
Read more...Work on the Bushwick Inlet Park in Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY is designed by Abel Bainnson Butz LLP and developed by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation is progressing. It is located along the Williamsburg Waterfront.
The 2 acre parcel called Motiva, is located in the northernmost end of the waterfront park and will receive a $9.8M transformation. Construction on the property, formerly sitting overgrown and unused, began in March 2024. In addition, environmental remediation work has begun in parallel with the construction work.
Bushwick Inlet Park is part of the approximately 40 – Acre Greenpoint – Williamsburg Open Space Master Plan, bound by Quay Street to the North and Franklin Street to the East.
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Brooklyn Bridge Park is an 85 acre Civic masterpiece. After a long period of nothing happening, so many plans, controversies, objections and delays the park is one of the city's great public spaces.
The vision of hills, dales, meadows and wetlands came to be for the most part from MVVA, a team of landscape architects led by Michael Van Valkenburgh.
Long after he was paid for his services, along with Park staff, keep an active To Do List. This pride and obsessiveness coupled with the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation's staff can be clearly seen in the lack of litter, the well kept benches, the working toilets and the thick profusion of plants.
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Boerum Hill is a wonderful gem of a Brooklyn, New York Brownstone neighborhood. Boerum Hill, however has a lot of parking lots. i.e. no less than 6 parking lots and garages all within 2 or 3 blocks of each other.
As time went by, developers purchased some of these parking lots to build housing. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) has requested developers, property managers, and service providers to submit proposals for their ideas on affordable housing and community amenities located on opposite ends of one city block.
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Saratoga Casino Holdings; the Chickasaw Nation's business entity, Global Gaming Solutions, and Legends, the Casino's entertainment partner that was founded as a joint venture between the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys have backed Thor Equities, the lead developer of a $3B proposed Coney Island project in Brooklyn, NY.
Called the Coney, the $3B project proposal includes gaming, a 500 room hotel, a 92,000 square foot convention center, 70,000 square feet of retail with a dozen or more restaurants and a 2,500 seat concert venue.
There will also be more than acre of publicly accessible open space. Pedestrian walkways and skybridges would connect new and existing developments and would rise next to the Coney Island subway station for the D, N, F and Q trains.
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According to a recent report by The Department of City Planning, 4 Brooklyn, NY Community Districts are in the 10 citywide community districts that saw more residential development in 2023 than the city's other 49 districts combined!
The 4 Brooklyn districts are District 1 (Greenpoint-Williamsburg), District 2 (Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo, Downtown Brooklyn), District 8 (Crown Heights, Prospect Heights), and District 5 (East New York, Cypress Hills, New Lots, Starrett City).
In 2023, almost no housing was built in the Southern Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach, Bensonhurst and Coney Island. Housing in these neighborhoods are mostly low rise apartment buildings, built in the 1920's and 1930's as well as many single and 2 family homes.
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Film and TV Studios Come to Brooklyn's Red Hook and East Williamsburg Neighborhoods
Susi Yu and Travis Freehan's Bungalow Projects, a development firm, have purchased 145 Wolcott Street, a development site in Red Hook for $34M. Their plan is to create a film and TV production studio. The production facility will be 225,000 square feet and is to be built in 2027.
According to Freehan “ New York studios can be second or third rate compared to cities like Los Angeles, Atlanta, Vancouver or Toronto”.
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The New York City EDC (Economic Development Corporation) has released an up to $100M request for proposals for an operator to develop a world class Climate Innovation Hub at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park.
Mayor Eric Adams Green Economy Energy Action Plan will couple the private sector with city led actions to more than double green collar jobs by 2040. This EDC investment to create the Climate Innovation Hub is part of this plan.
This cutting edge hub is planned to expand New York City's Climate technology ecosystem, help climate technologists, entrepreneurs and others working on innovative solutions to combat climate change.
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Where Is the Coolest Street In All Of New York City?
Park Slope's Fifth Avenue!
According to Time Out, an ultimate guide to all things New York City “this year we've picked Fifth Avenue in Park Slope Brooklyn as the city's coolest street”. Park Slope does have a family oriented feel, that means a high percentage walkability score, safe and something for everyone, which is very cool!
Park Slope's Fifth Avenue boundaries are Barclays Center to the North and Prospect Expressway to the South.
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Originally opened in 1928, the Brooklyn Paramount was the world's first theatre to show talking movies. Many illustrious performers appeared at the Paramount, to name a few, Ella Fitzgerald, Beddy Holly and The Crickets, Chuck Berry, Duke Ellington, Fats Domino, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Little Richard, Miles Davis and Ray Charles.
This amazing venue will officially reopen on March 27th after a multi million dollar renovation, that will seat 2,700 guests. After 60 years, live music is coming to the Paramount with 2024 performances booked and include Nora Jones, Mariah The Scientist, Busta Rhymes and more.
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One day a vacant lot in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, NY the very next day a new 3 story building stands on that lot located at 147 Saint Felix Street. You ask how?? To be explained later in the blog. Well, one day in the late afternoon, a crane lifted 8 pieces of fully constructed apartments and stacks them in the vacant lot.
Startup company Assembly OSM hopes to build high rise modular construction buildings faster, reduce the carbon footprint, have a more predictable cost and a higher quality buildings.
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Governor of New York Kathy Hochul has revived the expired 421A property tax break program for developers in Gowanus, Brooklyn that include a percentage of affordable units in 18 new individual projects.
Under the Gowanus Neighborhood Mixed Income Housing Development Plan, more than 5,300 apartments, including more than 1,400 affordable units will get built. Charney Companies and Tavros Holdings are the developers.
The 421A Gowanus Program is being overseen by Empire State Development. Each of the 18 project sites will be considered and voted on by ESD Directors, followed by Public Authority Control Board review.
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Developer LCOR's Coney Island Project Launches Leasing At 1515 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn NY
This project is not just any project! LCOR, a prominent investment and real estate development company has included the largest geothermal HVAC system built to date in New York City in 1515 Surf Avenue.
This 2 building residential waterfront complex has 463 units. The buildings will be both heated and cooled by this incredible geothermal system. The system is projected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 60% compared to other residential buildings with conventional heating and cooling systems which means lower energy bills for its residents.
1515 Surf Avenue will be certified as a “healthy building” by Fitwell a rating system. The healthy building concept encompasses the physical, psychological, and social health of people who live in them, with the focus on adequate ventilation, indoor air quality and natural lighting.
How geothermal systems work is steam is taken from deep underground and used to power generators that produce electricity. Steam is sent into the cooling towers and then goes back underground as water. Excess steam is used for heating.
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What a great way to start 2024! New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez declared that “The Brooklyn Bridge received a major new year's “glow up”.
The 140 year old bridge called America's Eiffel Tower by historian David McCullough was lit with 56 brilliant LED lights illuminating the bridges extraordinary towers. The cost of the new lighting system was $2.4M.
In 2024 New York City DOT will finish a 4 year, $300M project to thoroughly scrub harmful dirt and soot from every single stone on the bridge, restore the mortar between each stone and bring out the original light gray color.
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It's a fact that Brooklyn New York is home to so much creative, innovative, diverse and exciting people and businesses.
Take a ride over to fabulous Prospect Heights and stop by Farm.One, located at 625 Bergen Street, Brooklyn 11238, just off Vanderbilt Avenue. You will experience Urban Agriculture at it's best, bringing a new take on Farm to Table. Farm.One is a 10,000 square foot vertical farm cultivated by the latest in hydroponic systems. In this space fresh herbs, microgreens and specialty greens grow year round! What started as a Michelin - Star quality chef's farm is now a vibrant urban neighborhood farm open to all.
Farm.One's vision goes well beyond growing fresh greens. This community focused farm seeks to nurture relationships, spark conversations, and engaging with a community that values authenticity, freshness and locality. Beyond the retail offerings, Farm.One hosts public and private events ranging from farm dinners and beverage pop ups to botanical tasting tours and classes.
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If you are a New Yorker, you've probably visited or at the very least have heard of the North Brooklyn neighborhoods of Dumbo, The Navy Yard, Bushwick and Bedford Stuyvesant (aka Bed Stuy.) They are thriving, growing, transforming and innovating! Over the last number of years these neighborhoods have been unstoppable on their amazing trajectory of economic success!
Businesses of all kinds have made their home in North Brooklyn, from a small workshop at the Navy Yard producing electric motorcycles from recycled materials to nearby in Dumbo where 180 designers at BIG NYC work on urban projects like how to rebuild the Brooklyn/ Queens Expressway (BQE.) Pretty much all of the designers live in Brooklyn, walking & biking to the office year round.
In Bed-Stuy a group of partners opened a wine store called Bed-Vyne and have thrived through the neighborhood’s trendy transformation and evolution. Bed-Vyne have added both a craft brewing space and a cocktail lounge.
These businesses are in one of the most thriving economic centers of the city post pandemic known loosely as North Brooklyn.
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It was held, just this past weekend. This event in Gowanus was a WOW! Approximately 500 artists invited folks into their private studios at 100 locations throughout the neighborhood for one of Brooklyn's best Art Parties!
These amazing artists let people see their latest work, chat about their process of creating art or chatting about other stuff, grab a snack, enjoy a cup of wine, maybe buy a print or a painting and just have a grand old time roving around the neighborhood exploring this wonderful Art event.
The event was the 27th annual Gowanus Open Studios, organized by the esteemed Arts Gowanus.
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This award has been running for nearly 30 years and it is that time again! The Brooklyn Botanic Garden, BBG (my wife Jackie and I got married there this past May 9th!) celebrates The Power of Trees with this annual award. Other categories being judged and awarded winners are the greenest commercial block, the greenest storefront and best community garden.
Without any further ado, the 2023 residential block winner for 2023 is East 25th Street, between Clarendon Road and Avenue D! Judges chose from 190 entries from all over the borough, with both the greenery of each block and the community surrounding it. This year’s winner is the champion of both of those criteria.
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Two Trees Management has spent the last 10 years planning, rezoning, demolishing, and employing craftsmen level construction on the 300 Kent Avenue, mega project and crown jewel of Domino Park, the 15 story, 460,000 square foot Domino Sugar Refinery in Brooklyn, New York.
Back in 2012, when Two Trees purchased the proposed condo project for $185M, they decided to switch from a residential plan to Class A office space. Despite the challenges the NYC office market is facing with employees working a hybrid schedule of at home and in office, Two Trees feels confident. According to David Lombino, Two Trees spokesperson, “The presence of workers here 24/7 changes the character of the immediate neighborhood and makes it more lively. It allows us to attract different and better retail, not just dry cleaners, or drug stores, that in turn helps residential”.
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Two new residential projects are tasking shape in Brooklyn's wonderful Windsor Terrace neighborhood near the fabulous Prospect Park.
11 Ocean Parkway, a 395,000 square foot, 13 story residential building has been designed by FXCollaborative and developed by JEMB realty. The building will have 375 rental units with an average of 798 square feet, 5,200 square feet of retail space, 18,800 square feet for a church, a cellar level and 106 enclosed parking spaces. Pavarini McGovern is the general contractor on the property.
11 Ocean Parkway is at the southwestern corner of Prospect park and bound by Ocean Parkway, Coney Island Avenue and Caton Place.
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Here we are, July 2023 and the 100 year old Riegelmann Boardwalk in Brooklyn, NY desperately needs repairs. Jeff Grandis, Accord Real Estate Broker says “I frequently ride my bike down to the boardwalk in the Spring and Summer”. “ While riding along the boardwalk, there are many loose boards that feel unsafe to ride or walk on”.
Coney Islanders are pushing for NYC Parks to use materials that are safe for both locals and the environment in the repair work.
Craig Hammerman, Co President of the Coney Islanders for an Ocean Ferry says “ Many residents aren't in favor of these remodels. He fears the Parks Dept will start a construction plan that doesn't reflect the needs and wants of the community”.
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Linden Street, in Brooklyn, NY wonderful Bushwick neighborhood, has now been designated as a historic district by the City's Landmark Preservation Commission.
Linden Street has a wonderful collection of distinctive row houses designed by Brooklyn architects, which represents a successful integration of late 19th century architectural styles and stands out as a worthy historic district.
Deputy Mayor for Economic and workforce development, Maria Torres Springer said “I appreciate the work of the Landmarks Preservation Commission to celebrate our built heritage in all neighborhoods across the city and to designate Linden Street in Bushwick a historic district in recognition of it's exceptional architectural and cultural significance”.
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Panorama Brooklyn, a new film production studio, located in Columbia Heights, in the former Watchtower Headquarters was announced by developer CIM.
The 90,000 square foot studio and production space has many natural backdrops such as buildings from the 1930's and 40's, rooftop gardens and magnificent views of the Manhattan skyline.
The 5 building complex was purchased in 2016 by CIM, LIVWRK and Kushner Companies from the Jehovah's Witnesses. Kushner Companies sold their stake in the buildings shortly thereafter.
With the onset of the Corona virus pandemic, filling the space with tenants was almost impossible for landlords.
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There are several large residential development projects in the works in Brooklyn's NY Gowanus neighborhood. We will highlight 2 of those projects in this blog.
Unfortunately, there are unfinished projects in Gowanus and other Brooklyn neighborhoods that are in jeopardy since the 421a tax abatement expired. The extension of 421a to a 2026 deadline will not be enough time for these projects (which have a significant affordable housing component) to be completed. A further extension of 421a to 2030 is being sought.
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The three rules of real estate are location, location, location. A spectacularly scenic area of Dumbo, one of Brooklyn's New York waterfront neighborhoods, right next to the Brooklyn Bridge has 3 vacant lots sitting on it!
The New York City Parks Department has put out a (RFEI) Request for Expressions of Interest for the temporary and seasonal activation of Anchorage Plaza.
The Park's Department's goal is to hear the best ideas on how to use the space for events or amenities like a farmer's market, community garden or pickle ball fields.
The plaza consists of three sections: The Old Fulton Street yard, the Washington Street yard and Ash Alley, an alley below the Brooklyn Bridge connecting both yards.
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As a lifelong resident of Brooklyn NY, a real estate broker for over 34 years and a Brooklyn College (class of 1978) graduate, it is clear to me that Brooklyn is amongst the best places to live in New York City.
Many of Brooklyn's neighborhoods have a rich history and a vibrant diversity of residents. Each neighborhood enjoys a strong sense of community and strong, local dedicated engagement. It is because of this dedicated local engagement that community boards are an important part of local governance in Brooklyn and beyond.
Myself, being a front row observer of how Brooklyn has evolved over the decades, it is plain to see the power and influence of community boards in shaping neighborhoods.
To clarify what a community board is and it's purpose, make note of the following:
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Samson Stages is expanding their growing operation into Red Hook Brooklyn, NY on the waterfront with more than 300,000 square feet of sound stage and studio space.
The site is currently home to Sunshine Lighting located at 744 Clinton Street. Samson will invest over $400M into the project. Hundreds of jobs for local folks will be created.
To be included in the development will be a new public park on the waterfront.
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Unfortunately, it's in the news almost every day. Pedestrian fatalities and serious car accidents are seemingly happening with more and more frequency.
The mayor's office and the DOT have recognized the urgency of serious action needing to happen to save lives.
The Department of Transit has a plan for Grand Army Plaza and the multi directional traffic surrounding the Plaza around Park Slope and Downtown Brooklyn especially during peak hours. The Department of Traffic is considering transforming Grand Army Plaza into a car free zone.
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The Brooklyn Navy Yard is already home to tech centric endeavors. Mayor Eric Adams and City Hall want to create a 50,000 square foot life sciences and biotech center at this growing, vibrant and historic shipyard.
The $20M price tag for a new “innovation lab” is just a start. The mayor has future plans to invest in a hub providing workforce training and space for more industry startups.
According to mayor Adams “with a first in the nation incubator at The Brooklyn Navy Yard, startups right here in New York City transform the way we eat, build and protect our environment all while creating good paying jobs for New Yorkers and positioning the City's economy for the future”.
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Low inventories in the 4th quarter of 2022 created bidding wars for residential properties in 10 Brooklyn's neighborhoods, 8 of which are in Kings County Brooklyn, NY!
Half of these transactions went above the asking price, with the highest median asking price of $2.3M in Carroll Gardens, a long time favorite neighborhood for families and single alike. Carroll Gardens topped the list.
Brooklyn sellers couldn't be happier. According to Streeteasy data, Buyers in Brooklyn have limited options now.
Other neighborhoods that experienced bidding wars were Park Slope with 38% of homes that went above the asking price, Boerum Hill 33% and East Flatbush 32%.
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On September 24, 2015, we 1st posted a blog regarding Fortis Property Group's purchase of the development opportunity at Long Island College Hospital, after years of legal battles and community dissent.
Fortis purchased the Cobble Hill sites for $240M as part of a deal with State University of New York to acquire the buildings that were previously part of the Long Island College Hospital campus.
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Exciting stuff! The American Institute of Architects, Brooklyn chapter (founded in 1894) is running The Brooklyn Design Awards (BKDA) that focuses on excellence and creativity in Brooklyn's unique landscape. AIA Brooklyn represents the professional interests of architects across New York State. The Brooklyn chapter is the second largest in the state.
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On April 3rd of 2022, we blogged about Brookfield Properties renaming Metro Tech Center to now be called Brooklyn Commons in a $50M effort to rebrand the complex as a “vibrant hub for business, education, art, culture and community”. According to Callie Haines, Executive V.P. And head of New York, Brookfield Properties.
This blog will provide an update on the efforts of Brookfield Properties in this re-branding of Metro Tech/ Brooklyn Commons.
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Brooklyn's waterfront once employed 70,000 people who built warships. Hollywood came to film movies and TV shows, warehouses became luxury condos and eventually e commerce stepped in to transport groceries and consumer goods to New Yorkers during the pandemic.
According to David Lombino, managing director of external affairs at Two Trees Management, a developer “In some ways, it's the last frontier of the waterfront and the potential to generate dense housing in a relatively near term”.
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Yes, we love Manhattan, but as far as U.S. Tourists are concerned, Brooklyn, NY is leaving Manhattan far behind.
This data comes from Placer Lab, a California based analytics firm.
Analyzing the difference in retail domestic foot traffic in the two boroughs, Placer found that “while Manhattan is struggling to maintain its pre pandemic levels of domestic tourism, Brooklyn has resulted in year over year domestic tourism growth every month of the year in 2022”. The Placer Lab report states that “domestic tourism to Brooklyn skyrocketed between January 2022 and May 2022, with double digit increases in foot traffic every month, relative to 2019.
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Brooklyn, NY Real Estate is once again proving to be resilient with year to year increases in activity in the Multi Family Housing, Commercial and Industrial sectors.
Interestingly, the trend towards small neighborhood retail in Southern Brooklyn has had a strong comeback after being hit hard during the Pandemic, as opposed to higher priced neighborhoods in Northern Brooklyn and Downtown Brooklyn. Sheepshead Bay and Borough Park led the way here. A breakdown of the sales prices reveals that of the 51 commercial transactions in Brooklyn, 70% sold for less than $5M and 45% for less than $3M.
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Brooklyn's, NY street art scene is huge and growing every day. Walk down almost any street in Williamsburg, Bushwick or Greenpoint and you are greeted with the sides of buildings or storefronts spray painted with incredibly colorful and beautiful street art. New artists are finding their message on blank walls all across Brooklyn, as street art has been popularized and turned into a commodity.
Whether it's public art or advertisements, over the last few decades exciting street art has come to specific neighborhoods in Brooklyn, New York.
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When we say Brooklyn, New York has it all, we mean it! Did you know that in the Marine Park neighborhood there is a 530 acre wild nature trail and salt marsh with amazing vistas and a place where ospreys and pheasants nest, turtles rest, herons swoop and swans paddle peacefully through the backwater? Yes, it's a fact and you can access this nature preserve just South of Avenue U, near East 36th Street.
Each season on the trail reveals it's wonders, the brilliant colors of Fall and Winter and the glorious Springtime wildflowers all accessible from an easy to follow trail that meanders for about a mile across gently rolling terrain.
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Passive houses from the outside look like a normal house. What's inside the house is a whole other story which could be a game changer for the way buildings are constructed across the United States.
Passive houses are built to be so energy efficient they require little outside energy for heating and cooling. Passive houses maintain a constant flow of fresh air ventilation. Amazingly, passive houses can reduce the energy needed for heating and cooling by up to 90%.
Currently, Passive Houses are being built in Brooklyn NY neighborhoods such as Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens and Park Slope.
According to Michael Ingui of Baxt Ingui Architects, a Brooklyn Architecture firm “you would never really know that a lot of homes in Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens and Park Slope are Passive Houses”. Ingui continues
Read more...It's truly amazing to see how Brooklyn neighborhoods have evolved and prospered over the years.
In the late 1980's – early 1990's when Metro Tech Center was built, New York City and Downtown Brooklyn were commercially depressed with businesses moving out of the city.
In the first few years after Forrest City Ratner and Polytechnic Institute built Metro Tech Center, the complex was gated off at night because the surrounding area was considered unsafe. Metro Tech was originally built as a self contained complex to accommodate back office and data processing space to large companies.
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Let's face it, the fact is that Northern Brooklyn (Williamsburg, Bushwick and Greenpoint) Residential Real Estate, Northwest Brooklyn (Fort Greene, Red Hook, park Slope and Windsor Terrace) Real Estate, East Brooklyn (Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Crown Heights, Bedford Stuyvesant, Brownsville and East New York) Real Estate have experienced and rightly so, a tremendous amount of residential (single and multi-family) resales and new condo development and sales activity.
Interestingly, Southern Brooklyn (South of Prospect Park going East to Flatlands, Marine Park, Canarsie and Bay Ridge.) Residential Real Estate has not only held its own but dominated sales activity in Brooklyn with a very strong market in private home sales and condo sales.
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On November 12th 2019 we blogged about the perspective, highly anticipated rezoning of Gowanus that would bring 8,200 new apartments to this wonderful Brooklyn neighborhood by the year 2035.
The City Council has finally passed a vast rezoning that will bring an estimated 8,200 new apartments, including 3,000 affordable units to an 82 block swath of Gowanus by 2035.
This rezoning approval signals a shift: Instead of redeveloping a low income community of color, the city is bringing new density to a more affluent neighborhood with the expectation the rezoning will bring more diversity to the area.
Developers have been buying up and land banking industrial properties in Gowanus over the last 10+ years set on transforming the Gowanus Canal area into the Venice of Brooklyn. The neighborhood will be reoriented toward the waterfront where plans for a new network of public esplanades, parkland and plaza space with shops and eateries along new streets will take shape. The rezoning of Gowanus will remake the neighborhood and the community.
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On October 4th 2021 we blogged that the Community Board had approved the rezoning proposal along the Williamsburg waterfront to make way for the River Ring project planned by Two Trees Management. The approval is based in part on the condition that the project include mixed income housing.
The New York City Council has now approved this historic development to move forward because Two Trees has satisfied their commitment to creating mixed income housing, Senior housing, a YMCA and a public waterfront park.
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Wishing you all safe, healthy and happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving has been celebrated nationally on and off since 1789. Originated as a harvest festival, and the centerpiece of Thanksgiving celebrations remains Thanksgiving dinner. Gathering together with the family and friends to enjoy a favorite dish and expressing gratitude for many things.
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Driving along the BQE in Brooklyn you can't help but be mesmerized by a new dramatically twisting and curvy 26 story tower located at 60 Front Street in Dumbo, Brooklyn NY. The Olympia Dumbo tower stands out significantly from neighboring buildings which are more traditional in style. The new building will have 76 units, a gym, a yoga room, sauna, a bowling room and 73 parking spaces indoors and 46 parking spaces off site.
According to The Real Deal, a real estate publication, these could be the priciest condos in Brooklyn at $3,000 per square foot.
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Community Board 1 has approved an ambitious rezoning proposal along the Williamsburg waterfront, Brooklyn NY.
The Board's approval is based on the conditions that the project has two towers of mixed income housing, a YMCA and a waterfront park facing the East River.
In compliance with the Board's recommendations, Developer Two Trees will redesign the towers, a reduction of overall units and increasing the number of affordable apartments. David Lombino, managing director at Two Trees says “We appreciate the concerns expressed by the community board members and we are eager to follow through on our commitment a new model for Urban Waterfront Resiliency. The plan will have a 1st of it's kind public beach and in water park that will insulate the inland community from flooding. The Park will have 3 acres of public open space + 3 acres of protected in water access.
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Construction will begin on 4 park projects in Brooklyn, NY at a cost of more than $31M.
There will be a brand new park in Greenpoint, reconstruction of an Ocean Hill playground and the addition of a skate park, revitalizing a park in Downtown Brooklyn.
50 Kent in Bushwick Inlet Park is a brand new park coming to Northern Brooklyn, New York. This new $7.7M park will have new seating areas, gathering areas, expansive lawns, an overlook with beautiful views of the city and a water play area to keep cool in the summer months.
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The absolutely magnificent and historic Grand Prospect Hall located in Park Slope, Brooklyn NY has been sold for $22.5M. Built in 1892, the Grand Prospect Hall and 11 adjacent properties sold as an assemblage for a total of $30M.
Michael and Alice Halkias had owned and operated the Hall since the 1980's. The GPH was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. Mr. Halkias died of coronavirus complications early on during the pandemic.
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The proposed development of 960 Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn NY is planned as a mixed income residential rental which addresses the dire need for affordable and workforce housing for individuals of all income levels.
Approval of the developer's rezoning request would make way for housing assistance to 789 individuals and families currently at risk of housing instability. Workforce housing is housing for essential workers (teachers, grocery clerks, bus drivers, nurses, firefighters) union workers, community entrepreneurs and others who are rent burdened but don't qualify for “low income”/affordable housing.
960 Franklin Ave is currently zoned an R6A zoning district in which buildings are relatively uniform and low in height.
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The Brooklyn Navy Yard is looking to add community facility and commercial use buildings to it's sprawling complex. The Department of City Planning has looked at a proposal to create a special Brooklyn Navy Yard District to allow additional buildings to be built.
The three areas of potential development sites within the Navy Yard are Kent Avenue, Navy Street and Flushing Avenue. The Navy Street site is currently operating as a NYPD tow pound facility and the Flushing Avenue site has a warehouse owned and operated by the Department of Justice. These tenants would relocate if the rezoning is approved.
Some details of the possible development projects on these sites are:
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The New York City Council has approved a new $550M mixed use development project in Greenpoint, Brooklyn NY. In a major step forward in the city's recovery Acme Smoked Fish, one of Brooklyn's oldest manufacturers will be an anchor tenant for this project.
The Acme factory will be a 4 story approximately 95,300 square foot fish smoking and packing plant. There will be an adjacent 454,600 square foot commercial development with plenty of natural light, open workspaces and wonderful unobstructed water and Manhattan views. The project will also have 33,800 square feet of ground floor retail space. The project will also feature a pedestrian gateway for the Greenpoint and Williamsburg communities linking McCarren Park and the future Bushwick Inlet Park by adding ½ acre of tree lined open space.
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Two Trees Management has plans for a 1.3M square foot project in Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY which has been in the works since 2019 and is now being relaunched. Designed by Bjarke Ingels and James Corner Field Operations, the project will have 1,250 apartments, a 50,000 square foot YMCA, 60,000 square feet of offices and 23,000 square feet of retail space. Also planned is a 3 acre public park and a 250 space parking garage.
There will be an affordable housing component to the project comprised of 236 units which will go to families earning 60% of the area median income (AMI) or $68,000 per year for a family of 4.
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Yes and yes! Architect Yochi Nussenzweig's new building on Evergreen Avenue in Brooklyn New York has a giant 60 key piano keyboard scaling it's facade. The building is an 8 unit rental, ready for occupancy in a few months. Mr. Nussenzweig's client does like interesting and unique designs. To top it off, the interior of the building is also piano themed!
50 Kent in Bushwick Inlet park is a brand new park coming to the neighborhood. The $7.7M project will include amenities for passive and active recreation such as new seating areas, gathering area, expansive lawns and an overlook with beautiful views of the city.
Read more...Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood over the last several years has been viewed as a vibrant, growing, cultural and creative hub, yet there is an undersupply of housing options.
Heritage Equity Partners has planned a 140,000 square foot, Class A residential building located at 875 4th Avenue, Brooklyn NY between 32nd and 33rd Streets, just walking distance to Industry City. The building will have a mix of studio, one and two bedroom apartments. Building amenities will include a gym, yoga studio, a children's playroom, outdoor space and a rooftop sundeck.
Madison Realty capital has provided Heritage Equity Partners with $53M in construction financing. According to Josh Zegen, managing principal and co-founder of Madison Realty Capital “we are pleased to build upon our relationship with Heritage Equity Partners and execute this $53M loan to bring vital new housing options to this growing neighborhood”.
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Red Hook continues to be one of Brooklyn's top Historic Industrial Waterfront neighborhoods.
Red Hook, Brooklyn NY real estate is an eclectic mix of lifestyle choices and investment opportunities such as single family houses, multi family living, mixed use properties and luxury condominiums.
However, with the rise of E-commerce and the Industrial real estate market seeing explosive growth over the last several years, Red Hook has emerged as a prime location for planned warehousing/ fulfillment center projects.
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Architecture firms have helped reshape Brooklyn, NY by transforming environments and strengthening communities through collaborative, thoughtful planning and creative design. These firms have worked closely with developers to overcome the challenges unique to every project.
The scope of the project can be from planning luxury condominiums, a branded workspace, tall towers, hospitals, affordable housing, a hotel, a renovation to a rehabilitation adaptive reuse project.
The challenge is to create dynamic spaces where people can live, learn, work, play and heal. The ultimate goal is for a lasting positive impact on people's lives and the world.
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In 2020, some of the top Brooklyn, New York neighborhoods included Williamsburg, Red Hook, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, South Slope, Park Slope, Boerum Hill, Fort Greene, Gowanus, Prospect Heights, Sunset Park and Windsor Terrace.
Topping the list for 2021, after a life changing pandemic hit our city according to Streeteasy, Greenpoint is now#1 on the list of top Brooklyn neighborhoods.
Daily commuters who settled in Brooklyn before the pandemic did not necessarily favor Greenpoint with one subway line, the G train or the Ferry from India Street into Manhattan. That has changed dramatically in favor Greenpoint since many jobs have gone virtual.
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The New York Hotel Industry has come under tremendous pressure due to the Coronavirus Pandemic and has almost completely stopped travel to New York City.
Construction at 159 Broadway, across from Peter Lugar restaurant, planned as a 26 story tower with apartments, 235 room hotel with a restaurant, sky bar, pool and condominiums has filed for bankruptcy. Just as the Tillary Hotel in Downtown Brooklyn at 85 Flatbush Avenue has also filed for bankruptcy.
It is estimated that possibly 20% of New York City hotel rooms could close permanently. According to The Wall Street Journal, hotels such as the W Hotel at 8 Albany Street and the Maxwell Hotel at 541 Lexington Ave have closed permanently. According to the Real Deal Magazine, Sunstone Hotel investors gave the 478 unit hotel The Hilton Times Square back to it's lender, saying it would not reopen.
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Despite Covid 19, Brooklyn, NY continues to forge ahead as a top choice for developers to plan and build their Condominium projects. With so many wonderful neighborhoods and lifestyles to choose from, Brooklyn leads the way in walkability, a real sense of community amongst its residents, a wide range price ranges and affordability in housing and in normal times, the best restaurants, bars, cultural venues, sports and entertainment venues, hotels, historic streets and designated historic landmark homes and buildings and the list goes on and on.
It's no wonder that Brooklyn, New York has 21 of the top 100, most valuable Condominium projects currently on the market. They are as follows:
1) Tishman Speyer 11 Hoyt Street in Downtown Brooklyn with 481 units and a projected sellout in the amount of $838M.
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In our blogs dated December 4th 2019 and January 11th 2020 we noted that Bushwick, Brooklyn NY residents had banded together and joined with Councilmembers Antonio Reynoso and Rafael Espinal to craft a community led rezoning plan. At that time, Mayor Di Blasio's administration has come up with their own rezoning proposal for Bushwick which differs from the community's plan for affordable housing and manufacturing spaces.
The original rezoning outline from Department of City Planning called for stricter zoning to curtail development and landmarking initiatives to preserve historic areas. The Bushwick anti gentrification community plan calls for a downzoning of the neighborhood. The community is battling against the displacement of low income communities of color in favor of luxury developments.
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At the beginning of May, Mayor Di Blasio and all of the NYC Bids, as a response to the Covid 19 pandemic, created Open Streets. According to Gregg Bishop, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services says “open streets is an example of how resilient New Yorkers and the business community can work together in challenging times”. Assembly member Joanne Simon has said “this crisis has highlighted our need to distribute street space more equitably”.
Open Streets have allowed restaurants to take a few extra feet into the road for tables as well as drawing neighbors to the newly car free areas.
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Wishing you all safe, healthy and happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is a federal holiday in the United States, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. It originated as a harvest festival, and the centerpiece of Thanksgiving celebrations remains Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner traditionally consists of foods and dishes indigenous to the Americas, namely turkey, potatoes (usually mashed), stuffing, squash, corn (maize), green beans, cranberries (typically in sauce form), and pumpkin pie.
Should you have any questions or needs regarding any Real Estate matter please call us at 718-375-2065 or email us at info@accreg.com . We are here for you to help you in any way we can.
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Because of the Coronavirus pandemic, many office landlords have experienced a real slow down in Commercial leasing activity.
According to Joseph Hamway of Industrie Capital Partners “ the pandemic has benefited his new project, a warehouse to office and retail conversion in Gowanus Brooklyn." The project called Roulston House, named after Thomas Roulston who used the 2 four story warehouses for his grocery business 100 years ago.
The 2 warehouses located at 124 Nineth Street, between Second Avenue and the Gowanus Canal have been meticulously renovated into 200,000 square feet of offices and retail space. Because of the pandemic, many people no longer feel comfortable taking mass transportation into Manhattan. Companies are looking for office space closer to where their employees live which is often in Brooklyn, New York
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According to Council Speaker Corey Johnson “The Big apple's most iconic bridge needs a makeover”.
A design competition had been launched in February to examine imaginative ways to improve the Brooklyn Bridge, which in the past, before the coronavirus pandemic, had huge numbers of cyclists and pedestrians. It's a really wonderful location but because of overcrowding it's become dangerous.
Deborah Marton from the Van Alen Institute which is overseeing the competition says “maybe in the future we should have less cars on the bridge”.
6 finalists will be selected by a jury of design and transportation experts. The goal is to see the best designs for accommodating commuters, tourists and vendors. The plans will be submitted to the Department of Transportation.
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There are signs of life for Brooklyn NY Real Estate as the Brooklyn Luxury Residential Real Estate market saw $30M in deals to contract last week.
The $30M breaks down to contracts on 11 homes, 6 Townhouses, 3 Condominiums and 2 Co op apartments.
This has beern the strongest week in terms of the volume in these type deals since the week of March 9th. The week of March 9th, 2020 saw $45.3M in deals to contract for Brooklyn New Yrok luxury homes in the range of $2M or more.
The average asking price for last weeks properties was $2.4M and DOM (days on the market) 181.
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Post Coronavirus, companies are looking at Brooklyn to fill their office needs. Having an office closer to their workforce makes sense, especially if the workers are faced with a 45 minute commute into Manhattan on public transportation. Regina Myer, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership says “this comes perfectly timed with Brooklyn's millions of square feet of space that has come online or is set to open soon”.
Some of the spaces that are set to open soon are JEMB Realty's One Willoughby Square in Downtown Brooklyn and Two Trees Management's 10 Grand Street in Williamsburg. Myer continues to say that “in response to the health crisis, Downtown Brooklyn is really well positioned because we have some projects that are coming online that really represent the future”. “We are going to have state of the art products which we have not had”.
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Brooklyn, New York has such an amazing array of neighborhoods and lifestyles. We are all struggling with the coronavirus pandemic and are looking for outdoor places to be socially distant and safe from crowds.
A wonderful afternoon getaway option to consider is Bath Beach.
Strolling along Bath Beach's shoreline promenade (with a walking and bicycling path), enjoying a fabulous view of the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge, and meandering through the quiet streets admiring the amazing array of Victorian homes is a great way to safely spend a summer afternoon in Brooklyn.
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There are plans in place to connect the section of Brooklyn Bridge Park's Brooklyn Heights – Fulton Ferry section and the Dumbo section starting this Fall.
Currently, park visitors have to exit the park at Water Street to go from one section to the other.
A pedestrian plaza will replace a fenced off lot which separates the 2 sections of the park. The new $8M plaza, is expected to be completed by December 2021 and will conform to the current look with concrete pavers, planting beds and a lawn.
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The owner of the property located at 1620 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn NY, which is currently a Key Food Super Market is looking for a rezoning change from R-6A/C-2-4 which allows for a 6 to 8 floor mixed use building with residential and ground floor retail space to R-7D/C-2-4 zoning which would allow for a higher density project.
The Flatbush group that is opposed to the project is called Respect Brooklyn. According to Linda Allende of Respect Brooklyn, “this would be a ridiculous upzoning of an upzoning that was granted in 2009."
The property owner is planning to build a
Read more...Many Brooklyn, NY neighborhoods continue to evolve, expand, change and create a lot of interest for buyers, renters and investor/developers.
A few Brooklyn neighborhoods will be undergoing a zoning change in 2020:
Sunset Park- Industry City’s 35 acre campus will be rezoned. In October, owners Jamestown, Belvedere Capital and Angelo Gordon & Co. certified their rezoning application. The plan is to turn one of Brooklyn’s last waterfronts into a commercial destination. Andrew Kimball Industry City CEO says that “Industry City is willing to get done all that needs to get done in the next seven months”.
Gowanus is headed for a major rezoning which could transform an 80 block swath of low rise neighborhood into a hotbed of development projects. The 1st step is an environmental impact report which examines the potential impact of a land use change. Developers have been land banking properties for years in anticipation of the changes.
Bushwick residents have banded together and joined with City Councilmembers Antonio Reynoso and Rafael Espinal to craft a community led rezoning plan. Mayor Di Blasio’s administration has come up with their own rezoning proposal for Bushwick which differs from the community’s plan for affordable housing and manufacturing spaces. An environmental impact report is being prepared and the rezoning review process will begin next summer. Change is definitely coming to Bushwick.
Greenpoint has seen and will continue to see a gradual transformation and expansion with the introduction of new projects to the neighborhood. Greenpoint has for the most part has successfully retained a small village vibe with a real community feel. The addition of the NYC Ferry stop on India Street has improved transportation, made the area more accessible and has added to the neighborhood’s growth.
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In March, the city released a draft scope of work which projected the perspective rezoning of Gowanus will trigger the creation of approximately 8,200 new apartments by 2035. The draft scope maps out the environmental impact study that must take place before the project can move into the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).
It’s been a long time in the planning stages but at last The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will begin it’s Superfund cleanup of the Gowanus Canal next summer.
On the issue of preserving the history of industry in Gowanus, last month the city’s Landmark Preservation Commission voted in favor of calendaring 5 properties in Gowanus as landmarks; The Gowanus Flushing Tunnel Pumping Station and Gate House located at 196 Butler Street; The Somers Brothers Tinware Factory (later Old American Can Factory) located at 238-246 3rd Street; The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) Central Power Station Engine House located at 153 2nd Street; The Montauk Paint Manufacturing Company building located at 170 2nd Avenue and The American Society For The Prevention of Cruelty To Animals (ASPCA) Rogers Memorial Building located at 233 Butler Street.
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Sheepshead Bay is a southern neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. The Sheepshead Bay boundaries are from Ocean Parkway on the west to Nostrand Avenue, Gerritsen Avenue, Knapp Street, and Shell Bank Avenue on the east, from Kings Highway or Avenue P on the north to Sheepshead bay on the south.
Growing up in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn was great! We had a bike path to the Rockaways (my 1st big adventure), fishing off of the piers on Emmons Avenue and empty lots to run around in.
Now, after decades of delay the City is finally moving forward on a new Sheepshead Bay park. Superstorm Sandy delayed construction of Brigham Street Park but the $6.15M park is projected to be completed by May 2020.
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Industry City (formerly known as Bush Terminal) is a historic intermodal manufacturing, warehousing, shipping complex located on the Upper New York Bay (Upper Bay) waterfront in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, NY.
Industry City, once desolate rows of huge old forgotten buildings has been transformed into a magnetic and vibrant center for food, shopping, innovation and the home of hundreds of companies big and small growing their businesses.
Industry City wants to grow and evolve it’s 35 acre, 6M square feet in 16 buildings of space and invest another $1B into new uses which include large retail stores, 2 hotels and academic space. The first step in a 10 year plan is to get a zoning change.
The certified rezoning from The Department of City Planning will come before the community board this month or next.
One issue that’s being raised by the community is the type of jobs that Industry City plans to create. Local residents of Sunset park want jobs that provide a step ladder that helps people to get a leg up.
Andrew Kimball, CEO of Industry City has responded by saying that the new data with a more in depth look at the types of jobs to be created will be published soon.
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As we all know, technology has completely transformed our economy and almost every industry.
Brooklyn, New York is leading the way to accommodate this new Innovation Economy with the formation of The Brooklyn Tech Triangle. The Brooklyn Tech Triangle is an alliance of 3 dynamic organizations in Downtown Brooklyn, Dumbo and The Brooklyn Navy Yard. The BTT is a result of brilliant strategic planning by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Dumbo Improvement District and The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation.
The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership a non for profit
Read more...For 2019, rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn NY neighborhoods are transforming many areas. The growth of some neighborhoods and surrounding neighborhoods is due to great walkability and employment clusters that have developed outside of Manhattan in Sunset Park, Downtown Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Dumbo, Brooklyn New York.
Strong demand is fueling the rise of several key Brooklyn neighborhoods such as:
Sunset Park, where Industry City has grown to over 450 companies with 6,500 jobs and a great housing stock at reasonable prices compared to nearby Park Slope and Cobble Hill.
Bay Ridge, where competitive pricing on housing coupled with the beautiful parks, great shopping, many great restaurants and nite life are making Bay Ridge a popular choice for buyers and renters.
Gravesend where walkability, attractive purchase prices have contributed to the areas growth.
Flatbush and East Flatbush, where a wide variety of lifestyle choices such as Condo, Coop, Single family house or Multi family house and great pricing have fueled growth and have caught the attention of developers interested in building luxury rentals, new condominiums, mixed use buildings and affordable housing.
Greenpoint which has housing choices that are less expensive than Williamsburg, with larger spaces, great views of Manhattan, the NYC Ferry at India Street, great restaurants and great walkability is growing rapidly.
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Brooklyn's Prospect Lefferts Gardens real estate is booming. New development projects, midsize and large projects are being planned or are already in the works toward completion. For example:
The Hudson Company’s The Clark, a 420 unit project is located at 310 Clarkson Avenue will open in 2 phases. One phase will be completed shortly and the 2nd phase will be completed by 2020. The units will be market rental from studio apartments to 3 bedroom units, all with high end finishes and appliances and offer a full suite of amenities. Studio units will rent for $1,900/mo and 1 bedroom units will rent for $2,300/mo. The ground floor has been leased to Walgreens drug store and a small supermarket is being considered for the other ground floor space.
Lincoln apartments, a 2 building rental project will have 141 units, 30 of which will be affordable. The 1st building is located at 510 Flatbush Avenue and the 2nd building is located at 33 Lincoln Road. The units will have high end finishes and amenities will include a gym and a roof deck. Studio units will rent for $2,199/mo and 1 bedroom units will rent for $2,800/mo.
Read more...The New Community Development Program Opportunity Zone is a federal program. It was established by Congress in 2017 to encourage long term investments in economically distressed communities nationwide.
There are approximately 8,700 opportunity zones throughout the United States. The New York State is participating in the New Community Development Program Opportunity Zone program.
A law that arose from this opportunity zone program allows taxpayers to postpone taxes on profits from the sale of any property until 2026, on the condition that the profits from the sale are reinvested in an opportunity zone fund. This fund in turn invests the capital into businesses in a targeted community. Any gains that arise from investing in the fund are tax free only if the fund is held for 10 years.
In New York City, opportunity zones present investors with a way to reach higher returns by developing projects like affordable housing.
Read more...Brooklyn’s Park Slope South has a vibe all its own, with a much slower pace than busy Park Slope.
A few local spots that capture the feel of Park Slope South are for example Roots Café, located at 639A 5th Avenue. Roots Café is the South Slope’s meeting place for artists and writers. Great coffee is served as well as breakfast and lunch options all day long. Another great South Slope find is m.a.e. a vintage clothing and consignment shop located at 461 7th Avenue. M.a.e. is chock full of designer finds. You may develop an appetite in your trek around South Slope and Café Steinhof is the perfect restaurant to have a bite and brew. You can dine on weiner schnitzel, cheese spaetzle, a great sausage selection and more.
New Construction -The South Slope, originally known as South Park Slope, Brooklyn NY 11215
New Construction -The South Slope, originally known as South Park Slope, Brooklyn NY 11215
South Slope, - Old Architecture
South Slope, - Old Architecture
The residential real estate market in the South Slope is hot with high demand for housing in this wonderful Brooklyn, NY neighborhood.
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The best way to describe Boerum Hill, the gem of a Brooklyn, NY neighborhood is the perfect blend of historic homes and modern Condominium buildings, affluent, but with a laid back vibe, having a very familial atmosphere with many great restaurants, lively cocktail lounges and unique independently owned specialty stores along Smith Street and Atlantic Avenue.
Real Estate values in Boerum Hill are high with strong demand and a limited supply of available properties.
More and more New Yorkers are being drawn to this quiet, pristine area every day. There are excellent connections to the rest of the city via the A, C, F, G, 2, 3, 4 and 5 trains at the Atlantic Avenue Barclay Center subway station.
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Coney Island, Brooklyn NY is synonymous with Amusement park (aka Luna Park), The New York Aquarium, MCU Park (a minor league baseball stadium), the original Nathan's restaurant, landmarked Boardwalk and a magnificien public beach. Coney Island neighborhood slowly but surely is evolving and some great new projects are underway and several are planned for the near future.
Read more...Victorian Flatbush, Brooklyn NY has the largest number of Victorian style homes in the entire USA. Victorian Flatbush is comprised of 11 neighborhoods off the southern edge of Prospect Park, including Ditmas Park, Fiske Terrace and Midwood Park.
There are approximately 2,000 to 2,500 Victorian, Queen Anne, English Arts & Crafts, Renaissance Revival, Tudor, Greek Revival, Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival and Japanese Cottage style homes.
Victorian Flatbush is not a cookie cutter home type neighborhood and has retained it’s charm because of it’s diversity of distinct architectural styles. As you walk down the lush tree lined streets you can marvel at the beauty of these homes and the history behind them.
Until now, only Prospect Park south, Albemarle – Kenmore Terrace and Ditmas Park have Historic District status.
There are 6 local groups who are representing the undesignated and unprotected homes in the neighborhoods of Beverly Square East, Beverly Square West, Caton Park, Ditmas Park West, South Midwood and West Midwood and are seeking official NYC Historic District designation for their neighborhoods.
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Brooklyn’s Windsor Terrace is one of the city’s most cherished and tightly knit residential neighborhoods. The tranquility, charm and house pride makes Windsor Terrace a great choice for families to live. Few neighborhoods have access to so much green space as Windsor Terrace with Prospect Park and Greenwood Cemetery nearby.
The public schools in the area are;
P.S. 154 The Windsor School located at 1625 11th Avenue, serving grades K-5.
P.S. 130 The Parkside School located at 70 Ocean Parkway, serving grades Pre K, K-5.
Subway service into Manhattan is via the F and G trains at the Fort Hamilton and 15th Street Prospect Park train stations.
The small town feel of the quiet streets in Windsor Terrace are lined with brick, limestone and wooden clapboard townhouses. There are some Co-op apartment buildings and rental buildings as well as some Condominium buildings.
Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn NY 11218 - Greenwood Ave
Church of the Holy Apostles - 621 Greenwood Avenue ( between East 7th Street and Prospect Avenue), built in 1891-92.
A new hotel is coming to Stuyvesant Heights in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn New York. The planned 7 story, 49,199 square foot building will use 37,168 square feet for hotel space for 154 rooms. The hotel will be located at 9 Patchen Avenue, between Kossuth Place and Van Buren Street. Moris Yero shalmi of ABCNY is the project owner and Robert Bianchini of ARC Architecture is designing the project.
A 27 story residential tower called The Brooklyn Grove is coming to Boerum Hill, to be located at 10 Nevins Street, Brooklyn NY. The building will have
Read more...Downtown Brooklyn, NY is one of the 3 largest New York City’s CBDs (central Business Districts). The neighborhood is continuously developing and the number of upscale high rise apartment buildings is growing.
There are some exciting, innovative and ambitious new projects in the works in Downtown Brooklyn. Some of these projects are:
Brooklyn Point being developed by Extell, is one of the tallest buildings being built right now. The building is planned for 720 feet in height and the 49th floor is now taking shape. The project architect is SLCE Architects and the design is by Kohn Petersen Fox. Building interiors will be designed by Katherine Newman and the private outdoor landscaping is being created by MNLA. Brooklyn Point is the final part of the City Point complex of 3 buildings which have residential units, the Dekalb Market Hall, Alamo Drafthouse cinema, Target, C21 Department Store, Trader Joe’s and multiple small retail shops. There is easy access to the Dekalb Subway station where you can access the B, Q and R trains.
Another incredible new project in the works is
Read more...Bay Ridge is located in the Southwest corner of Brooklyn, New York. Surrounding neighborhoods are Sunset Park on the North, Dyker Heights on the East, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway on the West and Fort Hamilton Army Base and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge on the South.
Bay Ridge is a 3 square mile community overlooking New York Harbor and has the convenience of the city and the feel of a small town or modern day Mayberry.
Many of the streets have attached one and two family beautifully kept row houses, some with backyards and private or shared driveways. There are also detached single family homes of the Colonial and Tudor style, condominiums and Coops. Along Shore Road, six story apartment buildings are the neighborhoods tallest buildings. Rezoning in 2005 preserved the low elevation of the housing stock.
There is a 58 acre Shore Road Park which extends from Owl’s head Park south to Fort Hamilton and has a 2.5 mile path for walking, jogging, and rollerblading. Many people go fishing on the American Veterans memorial Pier at 69th Street.
86th Street is a commercial thoroughfare with chain stores and banks. 3rd Avenue and 5th Avenues have local shops, boutiques, restaurants and bars.
Read more...Mill Basin is located in South Brooklyn, NY and is a residential neighborhood on a peninsula along Jamaica Bay. Neighborhood boundaries are Avenue U to the North, East and South and by Mill Island inlet to the West.
Mill Basin is home to boaters and sun lovers. Some visitors liken the neighborhood to Miami. Others love the greenery and birdsong of Mill Basin which can feel like New Jersey or Westchester County. Mill Basin does not have the look and feel of Brooklyn, but it’s residents are Brooklyn proud.
Mill Basin is home to The Mill Basin Marina located on Avenue Y and East 69th Street and is a full service Marina that has been serving boaters for 50 years.
Read more...In this blog we will combine the 2 incredible waterfront Brooklyn NY neighborhoods of Dumbo and Vinegar Hill. While each neighborhood being very distinct, they are very close and flow into one another.
Dumbo is short for Down Under The Manhattan bridge Overpass and is split into two sections, one located between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges and another that continues east to the Manhattan Bridge to the Vinegar Hill area. Neighborhood boundaries are Brooklyn Bridge Park to the North, The Brooklyn Bridge to the West, Brooklyn Heights to the South and Vinegar Hill to the East.
The Dumbo Historic District is bounded by
Read more...Greenwood Heights is a great Brooklyn, NY neighborhood with open green spaces, eclectic housing with several different lifestyle options and a booming bar and restaurant scene.
Greenwood Heights borders are approximately Prospect Expressway to the North, Gowanus Canal to the West, 8th Avenue to the East and 39th Street to the South. The surrounding neighborhoods to Greenwood Heights are Windsor Terrace, sunset Park and Park Slope South.
Train service into Manhattan from Greenwood Heights is on the D, N and R lines at 36th Street and 4th Avenue.
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Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn NY is a gem of a neighborhood. It is a perfect combination of historic and hip. This cozy, quaint, family friendly neighborhood has gorgeous tree lined blocks with impeccably maintained brownstones.
Court Street, Brooklyn NY
4th Place by Clinton Street, Brooklyn NY
Carroll Gardens boundaries are: from Brooklyn Queens (BQE) Expressway on the West to Hoyt Street (between DeGraw and 5th Street) and the Gowanus Expressway on the East, from DeGraw Street and Warren Street on the North to the 9th Street and Gowanus Expressway on the South.
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Bath Beach Park named for the neighbothood it is in. The park was originally established in 1937 and went through a lmajor makeover in 1984.
Bath Beach, Brooklyn NY is located at the southwestern edge of Brooklyn on Gravesend Bay.
Bath Beach is a wonderfully busy, vibrant and diverse Brooklyn, NY neighborhood. Italian Americans, Chinese, Hispanics, Middle Eastern, Pakistani and Russians have made Bath Beach their home.
Neighborhood boundaries are Bensonhurst and New Utrecht across 86th Street, Dyker Beach Park and Golf Course across 14th Avenue and Gravesend across Stillwell Avenue.
Subway service into Manhattan from Bath Beach consists of D train service with stops at 18th Avenue, 20th Avenue, Bay Parkway, 25th Avenue and Bay 50th Street.
There are several terrific
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Marine Park Salt Marsh Nature Trail
Marine Park, Brooklyn NY is a scenic, quiet and close knit, yet a thriving neighborhood with Real Estate values higher than ever. Walkability that is most important to Marine Park residents is the walk to their beautiful, multi activity, wild and largest public park in Brooklyn, NY.
Read more...Brooklyn New York neighborhoods have a rich history and Flatbush is no exception. In the early 1900’s Flatbush was a very swanky neighborhood with expensive retails shops and upper class residents. Today’s Flatbush is one of the city’s most vibrant and diverse neighborhoods.
Actually Flatbush is comprised of 12 small communities including Prospect Park South, Ditmas Park, Fiske Terrace, Wingate, South Midwood, Midwood Park and West Midwood. Neighborhood boundaries begin at Parkside and Ocean Avenues at the southwest entrance to Prospect Park, includes some of Coney Island Avenue and spans east to Nostrand Avenue and Kings Highway.
Flatbush subway service into Manhattan
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Views from each Reservation park (Lindy Park)of Lower New York Harbor and the Verrazano Bridge.
Photo by Anna Kader
For those who live in Sea Gate, Brooklyn NY, a private gated community at the far western end of Coney Island, with four and a half miles of winding tree lined roads, the beach is the biggest magnet. The farthest that a Sea Gate resident needs to walk to get to the beach is three to four blocks and there is never a problem of where to put your blanket. Sea Gate is surrounded on three sides by water with private beaches. In addition to the private beaches, there are two parks: A playground with a basketball court next to Sea Gate Community Center on Surf Avenue and Beach Reservation which extends before and beyond Norton’s Point and consists of a sandy/grassy patch of land with views of Lower New York Harbor and The Verrazano Bridge. There is also The Sea Gate Beach Club, a popular summertime spot for many families.
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Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn NY almost completely surrounded by water is much more about tranquility than walkability. This quiet, sleepy area has the feel of the suburbs with many tree lined blocks and grassy lawns. Manhattan Beach was developed as a premiere resort destination for the city's upper middle class and wealthy elite with the famous, lavish and grandiose Manhattan Beach Hotel built in 1870 and followed by the even more grandiose Oriental Hotel built in 1880. In 1916 the Oriental Hotel was torn down and the land was sold for residential development.
The Manhattan Beach streets are named in alphabetical order from A to P (Amherst, Beaumont, Coleridge, Dover, Exeter, Falmouth, Girard, Hastings through to Pembroke) with the exception of the Ocean Avenue.
The Manhattan Beach peninsula is narrow and there are only three places to live, the bay block, the middle block and the ocean block. There are 8 ocean blocks and all are dead end streets with no thru traffic.
Many of the homes on these ocean blocks are the most expensive in the neighborhood. Manhattan Beach is hugged to the south and east by the Atlantic Ocean and to the north by Sheepshead Bay and Brighton Beach to the west.
There is hardly any
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Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn NY was the first landmarked neighborhood in New York history as well as the first suburb in America.
Louis Valentino Jr. Park & Pier
Red Hook in Brooklyn, New York is truly a village inside a city with a character all its own. With unparalleled panoramic views of New York Bay, combining a New England maritime feel with an industrial vibe and a small town peaceful way of living, Red Hook is a completely unique Brooklyn gem of a neighborhood.
Red Hook is a peninsula between Buttermilk Channel, Gowanus Bay and the Gowanus Canal at the Southern Edge of Downtown Brooklyn. Red Hook is known as South Brooklyn but is actually in Western Brooklyn.
The devastating damage caused by
Read more...Fort Greene is truly a gem amongst Brooklyn New York neighborhoods. Named after major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionay War Nathanael Greene, Fort Greene is listed on the New York State Registry, the National Register of Historic Places as well as a designated Historic District in NYC.
Fort Greene is located in Northwest Brooklyn and has elegant tree lined blocks of gorgeous, beautifully kept, Brownstone, Brick and Frame homes.
Fort Greene's neighbors are Clinton Hill, Downtown Brooklyn and The Brooklyn Navy Yard.
The Western edge of Fort Greene is now the Brooklyn Cultural district, home to The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 651 ARTS, BRIC House and The Mark Morris Dance Center.
The energy, vitality, innovation, creativity, family oriented and diverse Fort Greene epitomizes what Brooklyn is today.
Today’s residential real estate market in Fort Greene is expensive and in high demand. In some ways Fort Greene is the Lincoln Center of Brooklyn.
Read more...Midwood, Brooklyn NY is known to be home to many religious Jewish families, but steadily growing in popularity for all young families in search of an affordable housing alternative to other expensive Brooklyn neighborhoods. Besides the lifelong New Yorkers who moved to Midwood the neighborhood has a mix of recently arrived immigrants including Chinese, Turkish, Pakistani, Polish, Russian and others.
Midwood is located in South Central Brooklyn. Midwood is bordered by Avenue P & Kings highway on the South, Avenue I and The Brooklyn College campus to the North, Nostrand Avenue to the East and Coney Island Avenue, parts of Mc Donald Avenue and Ocean Parkway to the West.
Midwood is a home for Brooklyn College, a senior university of the City University of New York.
Part of the Brooklyn College campus, James Hall, Boylan Hall, The Library-in the middle, Ingersoll Hall, Roosevelt Hall. The Library, part of the original campus laid out by Philip Randolph, now known as "East Quad"(Wiki)
A unique and wonderful lifestyle of being an Oceanside neighborhood, rich and diverse culturally is what Brighton Beach, Brooklyn NY has to offer.
My maternal grandparents, my family and I spent some wonderful years, when I was a young child, living in Brighton Beach.
Located in South Brooklyn, Brighton Beach has world famous Coney Island to the West, Manhattan Beach to the East, Sheepshead bay at the Belt Parkway to the North and the Atlantic Ocean to the South along the beach and Boardwalk.
Brighton Beach is a summer destination for New York City residents due to its beautiful beach and
Read more...It’s no surprise that Prospect Park South, Brooklyn NY was named in a Streeteasy report on The Top 10 up and coming NYC neighborhoods, being ranked #7 on the list. The reasons for PPS earning a spot on this list are clear, i.e. low rents compared to much more expensive rents in nearby Park Slope and Windsor Terrace neighborhoods, proximity to Prospect Park, conveniently located for
Read more...Sunset Park is a beautiful, diverse and exciting Brooklyn neighborhood that is evolving rapidly into a top choice for people to live and come to enjoy all that the area has to offer.
The transformative effect of rezoning Brooklyn New York neighborhoods has been nothing short of historic. For example, the rezoning of Downtown Brooklyn has completely changed the landscape of this neighborhood well beyond City Planning projections. This neighborhood has become a residential and commercial hub.
Brooklyn’s East New York neighborhood was rezoned in 2016. The 190 block, rezoned area is between Fulton and Belmont Avenues This has resulted in property values rising dramatically. In 2016 developers filed applications to build 339 residential units. By 2017 that number had increased to 1,303 units, mainly in the affordable housing category.
Investors of multi family houses are hoping to
Read more...Today’s Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn NY is hip, historic, diverse, lively and convenient.
Neighborhood borders are Ocean Avenue to the West, Empire Boulevard to the North, New York Avenue to the East and Clarkson Avenue to the South. The neighborhood has seen a boom in the construction of luxury residential apartment buildings among low-rise brick buildings and historic row houses.
The major commercial corridors in Prospect Lefferts Gardens are Flatbush Avenue and Nostrand Avenue.
PLG boasts beautifully preserved 19th and 20th century architecture that includes Romanesque Revival, Neo Georgian and Neo Tudor styles.
The Prospect Lefferts Gardens Historic District consists of
Read more...Downtown Brooklyn, NY is in the Northwestern part of the borough. The street boundaries of Downtown Brooklyn are Tillary Street to the North, Ashland Place to the East, Atlantic Center and Schermerhorn Street to the South and Court Street to the West.
The 2004 rezoning of Downtown Brooklyn changed the way Downtown Brooklyn would grow and grow it has, well beyond any projections.
Downtown Brooklyn has now clearly become
Read more...Kensington, Brooklyn NY is located in Central Brooklyn with neighborhood boundaries of Coney Island Avenue to the East, Fort Hamilton Parkway and Caton Avenue to the North, McDonald Avenue & 36th Street to the West and Foster Avenue to the South.
Kensington is surrounded by Flatbush (Ditmas Park & Prospect Park South) to the East, Windsor Terrace to the North, Borough Park to the West and Midwood to the South.
The Kensington Real Estate market
Read more...Park Slope, Brooklyn NY is one of Brooklyn’s gems of a neighborhood is located in Northwest Brooklyn. Neighborhood boundaries are Prospect Park and Prospect Park West to the East, 4th Avenue to the West, Flatbush Avenue to the North and the Prospect Expressway to the South.
Fifth Avenue and Seventh Avenue are Park Slopes primary commercial streets.
Park Slope is known for
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Brooklyn, NY has several wonderful waterfront neighborhoods such as Red Hook, Columbia Waterfront District, Dumbo, Fulton Ferry, Greenpoint and Williamsburg. There is only one Brooklyn neighborhood that has an ocean front fishing village with piers and a fleet of 18 privately owned fishing boats that for decades have gone out to sea daily for deep sea fishing and that neighborhood is Sheepshead Bay where I grew up!
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"Love Thy Neighborhood" mural - Wythe Ave, Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY
Today’s Williamsburg has an energy of innovation, youth and excitement rarely found to this extent in a Brooklyn neighborhood. As a lifelong New Yorker, Brooklynite and Real Estate Broker of 30 years you can take my word for that.
Just take a walk down Bedford Avenue and you can see, feel, touch and taste the creativity coming from the restaurants, shops, café’s, the Hotels, the bars and the music venues. Step into anyone of the gorgeous new hotels in Williamsburg like the William Vale, the Mc Carren Hotel and pool or the Wythe Hotel and you will see tourists from all over the world visiting Brooklyn’s Williamsburg. Clearly, Williamsburg is one of the top destinations in NYC.
Read more...Today’s Crown Heights is nothing short of magnificent, diverse, evolving and a very exciting neighborhood to live, work and play in.
Crown Heights sits next to Prospect Heights to the West, Flatbush and Prospect - Lefferts Gardens to the South, Brownsville to the East and Bedford Stuyvesant to the North.
Crown Heights has a history of being a fashionable residential neighborhood beginning in the early
Read more...Most likely if you are a Real Estate Broker or agent in Brooklyn you are familiar with laid back, village like charm of Cobble Hill. Cobble Hill is surrounded by the wonderful neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens and The Columbia Waterfront District.
The Real Estate Market in this trendy, beautiful and historic neighborhood has seen prices rising with no end in sight to this uptrend.
Residential Multi Family homes in Cobble Hill can
Read more...The Brooklyn Real Estate market continues to be vibrant across almost all property categories including single family residential, mixed-use with ground floor retail and residential apartments above the stores, commercial, vacant land, Cooperative apartments and Condominium units. Experts agree that this up trend will continue into 2018.
The Multi-Family housing market in Brooklyn is no exception to this up trend for several reasons.
Read more...In the always exciting and vibrant world of residential real estate in Brooklyn, NY we will cover several trends for 2018 that will have an influence on the market.
Beginning April 2019, the L train will be closed for critical repairs from damage sustained from super storm Sandy. Approximately 225,000 New Yorkers go between Brooklyn and Manhattan every day. The MTA will have increased service on the
Read more...Of the 10 largest developments to receive a temporary certificate of occupancy in New York City, 4 of these projects are in Brooklyn. Brooklyn New York realtors can take pride in how strong the residential real estate market is in our beloved Brooklyn NY and
Read more...Yes, we know that Brooklyn is the center of the real estate universe today in New York City and truly a global brand now more than ever before.
There is always the question of which neighborhood (s) in Brooklyn are the next hot, “it” place to live. What makes a neighborhood not just desirable but hot? Walkability to shops, good access to public transportation is a good start. Plenty of existing architectural eye candy also helps. Other factors such as
Read more...Talk about a hot neighborhood - Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY is certainly that. Not only are Bushwick real estate values going up, with new residential and mixed use development projects underway, but Bushwick is also home to some of the most magnificent landmarked buildings.
The landmarked residential beauty Caterina Lipsius house aka Cook Mansion, built in 1889 & 1890, is located at 670 Bushwick Avenue on the corner of Willoughby Street. Cook mansion was designed and built by famous
Read more...Park Slope South, a beautiful Brooklyn New York neighborhood, is bordered by other beautiful neighborhoods of Windsor Terrace, Park Slope and Greenwood Heights. The neighborhood boundaries of Park Slope South are 4th Avenue to Prospect Park West, The Prospect Expressway or 18th Street to 9th Street.
This very lovely neighborhood has high real estate values. For example, in today’s residential market,
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The Fulton Ferry Historic District is in fact of great historical and architectural importance. This is where Brooklyn New York began! The history of this amazing area extends from the Ferry that served it. Tragically, the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883 caused the gradual decline in ferry service and the demise of this once vibrant and important area.
The Fulton Ferry Historic District is sandwiched in between Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights. The area boundaries are
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Yes, Nathan’s famous hot dogs are still delicious and the annual Mermaid Parade is as outrageous as ever. Yes, the Coney Island Boardwalk is still the longest and widest in the world and yes although The New York Aquarium is the oldest continually operating Aquarium in the United States, the expansion and renovation has still not been completed.
In today’s Coney Island neighborhood there is so much happening. For example, there is a
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In many of our densely populated neighborhoods in Brooklyn, NY there are amazing development projects under way with beautifully designed high rise office buildings, cutting edge architecture used to build large mixed use buildings and a sea of new hip, high tech and fancy looking residential towers being built. But then there are the conjoined neighborhoods of Fiske Terrace and Midwood Park that could not be more different then
Read more...The Landmark Preservation Committee has tremendous influence on Real Estate Development, building modifications in landmarked districts and landmarked buildings in non- historic districts.
We usually blog about LPC reviewing and approving plans from developers whose initial plans were rejected and how developers adapt and conform their plans more closely to the contextual look and feel of other neighborhood structures to get their plans approved.
Greenpoint is a booming Brooklyn NY neighborhood with many
Read more...Yes, you’ve heard of Bensonhurst in Brooklyn from Saturday Night Fever fame and maybe you’ve heard of Borough Park in Brooklyn. But Mapleton in Brooklyn, NY? Where is it and what will you find there?
Mapleton is in Southwest Brooklyn. Neighborhood boundaries are
Read more...The new New York City Ferry. Wow!
Brilliantly conceived, brilliantly planned but at least for now demand for The South Brooklyn Ferry Service has far outweighed the supply of ferries to accommodate the crowds of enthusiastic commuters, tourists and fun seekers.
The new NYC Ferry has a Rockaway Route Ferry service and South Brooklyn Ferry service. The cost of the fare is
Read more...In our blogs, we like to mention who the architecture firms are designing Brooklyn’s many new projects.
SHoP Architects started with their first New York City office in Murray Hill with a few commissions under their belt. Then, all of a sudden, they were chosen to do the Barclay Center project in Brooklyn, NY. Their design for Barclay Center was
Read more...From one end of Brooklyn to the other, the borough remains hot with new projects being planned, completed and units selling or leasing for top market prices.
A few of the latest large projects being planned and underway are for example, a 1.5 acre waterfront site at 1 Huron Street in Greenpoint. Developer Bridgewater Capital Partners are developing 180,000 square feet for a residential building. The site was purchased for $60.5M or approximately $320 per buildable square foot.
Mack Real Estate Group and Palin Enterprises are moving forward with a 39 story 640 unit mixed use complex at 10 Huron Street and 19 India Street. The project includes
Read more...This time of year, when the weather is warm and wonderful it’s a great time to marvel at a few of Brooklyn’s most spectacular new rooftop experiences.
Fabulous is the best word for the 22nd floor rooftop bar and restaurant called Westlight located in the wonderful new William Vale Hotel in Williamsburg at 11 North 12th Street. The views of New York City are panoramic and magnificent. The restaurant is surrounded by a wonderful wrap around outdoor space looking out in every direction. The menu of small plates and bar offerings are original and delicious.
The brilliantly renovated Empire Stores on the Dumbo waterfront has just opened a public space which has an amazing landscaped rooftop. The views of the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges
Read more...Many Real Estate Brokers in Brooklyn and Real Estate agents have long been admirers of Victorian Flatbush and the mind blowing collection of our country’s finest Victorian homes.
Victorian Flatbush, one of Brooklyn’s first suburbs came after the Brooklyn subway to Coney Island was built. Developers Dean Alvord, Lewis Pounds and Thomas Benton Ackerson built detached homes in the style of Victorian, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Neo Tudor, Spanish Mission and Georgian. Built between the
Read more...The historic Brooklyn Navy Yard continues to be transformed from a blighted part of the Fort Greene/Brooklyn Navy yard neighborhood to an expanding, exciting business hub.
Once home to our first American Navy ships in 1801 to a now daily workforce of 7,000 people. Projections are that within two years 17,000 daily workers will travel to The Navy Yard.
Two ambitious projects planned for The Navy Yard are
Read more...Downtown Brooklyn continues to be one of the hottest neighborhoods in Brooklyn for deal making and development projects.
Brooklyn Real Estate Brokers and Real Estate Agent, Real Estate Companies in Brooklyn have witnessed increasingly high demand for Commercial, Residential and Retail space in Downtown Brooklyn.
Some of the larger projects planned are for example, Extell Development is planning a 59 story 534,000 square foot mixed use building at 138 Willoughby Street. This project is part of the City Point mega development. There will be
Read more...Yes, real estate brokers and real estate agents in Brooklyn have many wonderful neighborhoods in Brooklyn to service but Sunset Park has it all. Eighth Avenue between 65th Street and 45th Street is the heart of Little Chinatown in Sunset Park. Visit this area and the streets are teeming with many different kinds of businesses, people, restaurants and many blocks of gorgeous homes.
Last week we blogged about a rare waterfront public park, Bush Terminal Piers Park
Read more...Real Estate Brokers Brooklyn have many wonderful neighborhoods that they service that have waterfront access. The lifestyle of these neighborhoods are unique. For example, Sheepshead Bay, which has Fishing and party boats docking at the piers on Emmons Avenue, along the canal, restaurants just across from the canal, miles of beaches and Kingsborough College across the canal at the tip of Manhattan Beach.
Read more...From Red Hook with spectacular views of Downtown Manhattan and The Statue of Liberty to Bliss Park in Bay Ridge with sweeping views of the Manhattan Harbor to The William Vale Hotel in Williamsburg with a rooftop waterfront view spanning from Downtown Manhattan to Midtown with The Empire State Building and Chrysler buildings lit up at night in all of their glory, Brooklyn has the most amazing views of the Manhattan skyline.
Some North Brooklyn ferry stops have waterfront development projects that are in close proximity to those Ferry Stops and they have fabulous views of Manhattan to offer their residents.
First stop, India Street Greenpoint Ferry Landing where
Read more...Ferrara Brothers Gowanus Concrete Plant has an amazing history. The company was founded in 1969 using old cement mixers and they became the concrete suppliers for The Second Avenue Subway, The 9/11 Memorial and NYC Water Tunnel No. 3. Ferrara Brothers Concrete currently operates plants in Queens, Staten Island and Brooklyn.
In 1974, just one year after opening their Gowanus Plant located at 435 Hoyt Street, the city used
Read more...Real Estate Companies in Brooklyn and Real Estate Brokers these days are so encouraged by the incredible popularity, growth and development taking place here. There is always interesting and exciting news coming from several wonderful Brooklyn’s neighborhoods.
Here is an update on what’s happening with Real Estate in Bushwick.
Ever since the rezoning of Bushwick’s former Rheingold Brewery site, the Bushwick community
Read more...For Brooklyn Real Estate Companies, Brooklyn Real Estate brokers and real estate enthusiasts who have been following Brooklyn Real Estate in Williamsburg, you will appreciate this blog.
On December 23rd 2015 we first blogged about The Hoxton, which will be the London based companies first U.S. location. There has been tremendous progress with this project at 97 Wythe Avenue and opening is set for 2017.
The 150 room Williamsburg Hotel opened for business in January and they are offering
Read more...Realtors in Brooklyn and Real Estate Companies in Brooklyn have seen the results of the city rezoning sections of different neighborhoods. For example, Downtown Brooklyn. The last several years have seen a historic level of development of residential and commercial buildings in the neighborhood.
Last year we blogged about
Read more...Since 2013 Belvedere Capital, Jamestown and Angelo Gordon &Co. began remodeling and reimagining Industry City and its 30 acre complex and 6.5 million square feet of space.
The 16 buildings that comprise Industry City were originally part of historic Bush Terminal.
The cost of the Industry City makeover is projected to be approximately $1B.
Rents at this mixed complex of
Read more...The charm and uniqueness of this Brooklyn gem of a neighborhood cannot be overstated. There are many Brooklyn real estate brokers and real estate agents who sing the praise of Bay Ridge for many reasons.
Bay Ridge is in the southwest corner of Brooklyn, bounded by Sunset Park on the North, Dyker Heights on the East, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway on the West, The Fort Hamilton Army Base on the Southwest corner and the Verrazano Bridge on the South.
There is a wonderful variety of housing choices and
Read more...The Fenimore Street Block Association (FSBA) is seeking to protect 21 lots on the south side of Fenimore Street, between Bedford and Rogers Avenues in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn. The group is against developers changing the character of their street.
Lefferts Manor located directly across the street has received historic district
Read more...Hurricane Sandy proved to us how completely unprepared we were to deal with a superstorm of such magnitude that caused an estimated $32B in damages to New York.
There are projections that more super storms are in our future.
Some property owner/developers are taking measures to
Read more...Lush tree lined blocks, incredible walkability to everything, amazing restaurants, cafes and bars, great shopping and a wonderful selection of affordable, fabulous and expensive lifestyles in residential living to choose from. Which wonderful Brooklyn NY neighborhood could I be describing? The answer is Kensington which even has a lovely name to it unlike Gravesend (great neighborhood, not such a great name in my opinion). One and two family fully detached houses with private parking and outdoor yard space range in
Read more...One year ago we blogged about Developer Hidrock Realty’s plan for a condo conversion of the Pavilion Theater on Prospect Park West in Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY.
Well, it does happen, but rarely a developer switches gears on a purchased and planned for project, and Hidrock Realty facing steep local opposition to their project has sold the 1928 Pavilion Theatre to Williamsburg based Nitehawk Cinema for $28M. Hidrock purchased the Pavilion in 2006 for $16M.
The new theatre will be called Nitehawk Prospect Park.
Read more...There is no other place in the world like Brooklyn New York. Go pretty much anywhere in the world and when people ask you where do you live and you say Brooklyn NY, their response is mostly Wow or Ah Ha Wow!
Brooklyn New York is truly a global brand. Whether it’s Brooklyn’s gloriously diverse cultural mix of people, restaurant choices and cuisines, cultural institutions, amazing walkability of it’s neighborhoods, the many lifestyle choices available such as
Read more...Cammeby’s International Group is underway with two new projects in Southern Brooklyn, NY.
The first project located at 626 Sheepshead Bay Road is planned for 7 stories totaling 161,000 square feet. This building will have
Read more...The Crown Heights South Association, a newly formed neighborhood preservation group is seeking to have Landmark Preservation Commission designate the western section of Crown Heights South a historic district.
Take a drive around this Brooklyn neighborhood and you can clearly see the magnificent, important and rich architectural heritage in many homes and buildings in Crown Heights South. Specifically,
Read more...There are a variety of projects planned in Clinton Hill Brooklyn, NY. Real Estate Brokers and Agents in Brooklyn servicing the Clinton Hill market should take note of this update.
Developer Mike Shamash is planning a mixed use building of
Read more...Greenwood Heights is sandwiched in between Park Slope and Sunset Park. The neighborhood boundaries here are 39th Street to the South, The Prospect Expressway to the North, 8th Avenue to the East and The Gowanus Canal to the West.
Greenwood Heights has excellent walkability as do many wonderful Brooklyn neighborhoods with many bus, subway and car travel options going into Manhattan.
Read more...Many of Brooklyn’s wonderful neighborhoods are booming. Property values are rising, new developments are everywhere and young professionals are transforming our borough like never before.
One key factor in the growth and popularity of Brooklyn as a place to live, work, raise a family and find endless cultural and culinary options is walkability.
Realtors across the U.S.
Read more...Developer/Investor Thor Equities had purchased the 7.7 acre Revere Sugar Refinery site located at 280 Richards Street in 2005 with a mixed use building in their plan. Today, they have decided on a 4 story, 623,000 square foot Commercial complex. The project will have 600,000 square feet of office space featuring 100,000 square foot floor plates. There will also be a retail and restaurant space, a public waterfront esplanade, rooftop terraces and a central courtyard. Award winning British architect
Read more...As mentioned in our April 15th blog on the latest Coney Island development projects, to be continued.
Exciting news for the long dormant Child’s Restaurant on the boardwalk located at 3052 West 21st Street, Brooklyn NY. This landmarked 1920’s building formerly a candy factory and a roller skating rink was purchased by developer iStar. The plan is for a 60,000 square foot year round restaurant and rooftop bar. The terra cotta façade
Read more...Fleet Week 2016 has come to New York for a 28th annual celebration to honor the members of the United States Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps. This seven-day celebration in New York City began May 25th, and it will continue through Memorial Day. It is the city’s time-honored celebration of the sea services of U.S Marine Corps, U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. The event is free and
Read more...Over the last 10+ years many young families have come to recognize the charm of a jewel of a neighborhood in Brooklyn called Windsor Terrace.
Real estate prices have steadily climbed upward, but are still considered lower than nearby Park Slope. You can find a studio coop apartment in Windsor Terrace for around $250,000, a limestone or brick townhouse in the $1.5M to $1.8M price range, or a mixed use (storefront with residential apartments above) building for approximately $2M.
The housing stock in Windsor Terrace
Read more...Jehovah’s Witness Reach Deal on the sale of their Headquarters Building in Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn. In December 2015, Jared Kushner and RFK purchased several buildings in Dumbo from the Jehovah’s Witnesses for $375M.
There is now a “handshake” agreement in place for Kushner, Aby Rosen and LIVWRK to purchase the Witness’s 733,000 square foot Headquarters building at 25-30 Columbia Heights and their 1.1 square foot development site at 85 Jay Street.
The sale price for the two properties is in the $700M range.
The Columbia Heights buildings were
Read more...In every direction that you face in Metrotech, Downtown Brooklyn there is a new project either breaking ground, already completed or being planned. The explosion in development in commercial, residential and mixed use buildings in this amazing Brooklyn neighborhood is truly exciting.
A few years ago there were not many restaurants in Downtown Brooklyn and now
Read more...As Crown Heights in Brooklyn, New York gains in popularity among New Yorkers, both residential and commercial projects will continue to roll out to accommodate
Read more...With the explosive population growth in the last 5 years and projections of continued growth in the years to come, The Department of Education has a plan to add 44,000 seats for students in these growing Brooklyn neighborhoods.
There is a trend towards private developers including space for schools in their mixed use buildings.
Projects such as Hudson Yards, Greenpoint Landing, The Domino Sugar Factory,
Read more...Seven projects competed for the award for Excellence in Development that is given by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) each year. ULI began the Awards for Excellence program in 1979 with the objective of recognizing truly superior development efforts including full development process of a project, not just its architecture or design.
St. Ann’s Warehouse in Dumbo
Read more...A small percentage of new projects going up in Gowanus have been for Industrial use buildings. A majority of the projects planned or under way have been for residential buildings.
Developer Abra Construction owner
Read more...Greenpoint is becoming a first choice for hipsters and young professionals to live in. The vibe of the Greenpoint neighborhood is hip yet much more low key than Williamsburg. In particular the waterfront area, centered around West Street currently has an abundance of new projects in the works.
Some of the new projects planned and already underway are:
50 Greenpoint Avenue, where a 7 story, 44 unit apartment building is planned. The architect is Karl Ficher.
44 Kent Street, where a six story building with
Read more...On April 21st of 2015 we blogged about the proposed rezoning of East New York / Cypress Hills in an effort by City government to revitalize this Brooklyn NY neighborhood.
As of yesterday a plan was approved by the City Planning Commission to rezone, revitalize and
Read more...Approximately a decade ago New York City created 16 Industrial Business Zones (IBZ) across the City for industrial and manufacturing businesses, a few of them located in Brooklyn’s Neighborhoods such as Williamsburg, Green Point, Brooklyn Navy Yard, East New York, North Brooklyn, SouthWest Brooklyn and Flatlands/Fairfield.
Developer Rubenstein Partners are planning to build
Read more...The Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn now is a hot residential location. It has finally caught the attention of Developers and Investors. Examples of area projects are:
A 78 unit, 8 story, 60,000 square foot residential building planned for 2100 Bedford Avenue between Lenox Road and Caton Avenue. The project will have
Read more...For real estate companies in Brooklyn, real estate brokers and real estate agents in Brooklyn following the Jehovah’s Witnesses selloff of their Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo properties, this blog will be informative.
In February of 2014 we blogged about RFK and Kushner Cos. $375M purchase of several buildings in Dumbo from the Jehovah Witnesses. The buildings are located at 117 Adams Street, 55 Prospect Street, 81 Prospect Street, 77 Sands Street and 175 Pearl Street.
In July of 2014 we blogged about the Jehovah Witnesses sale of the Bossert Hotel located at 98 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights for $81M. The buyers are David Bistricer and Joseph Chetrit.
In preparation for their move upstate to Warwick New York, The Witnesses have announced that the next portion
Read more...For all real estate companies in Brooklyn as well as real estate brokers and real estate agents in Brooklyn who are following or have an interest in the Hotel Industry in Brooklyn, this blog will be informative.
For reference sake, our blogs on this topic include
Read more...Attention all Commercial Real Estate Companies in Brooklyn and Commercial Real Estate agents
On 61st Street between 7th and 8th Avenues a 61 foot high, 6 story building will begin to be built in the near future. This building is being developed by Xiao Jin Chen, who purchased the property in 2013 for $4.5M. On the site currently sits a group of single story garages in disrepair. The architect
Read more...Attention real estate companies in Brooklyn and real estate agents in Brooklyn servicing the Prospect Heights neighborhood.
Slate Property Group has purchased the former Green Point Savings Bank located at 856 Washington Avenue between Lincoln Place and Eastern Parkway. The purchase price for the property was $6,500,000.
A 14 story condominium building is planned for the site.
Most likely the air rights from both adjacent buildings at
Read more...To all real estate agents in Brooklyn and all real estate companies that have been keeping tabs on this saga.
It took years of legal battles and tremendous community dissent, but on September 10, Fortis Property Group closed on the site of Long Island College Hospital (LICH.)
Fortis spokesman James Yolles said “we look forward to refining our redevelopment plans over the next
Read more...Attention to all real estate companies in Brooklyn and real estate agents in Brooklyn who love Junior’s cheesecake!
Famed Junior’s restaurant located on the corner of Flatbush Avenue Extension and Dekalb Avenue since 1950 will
Read more...An interesting bit of news for Real Estate companies and Real Estate agents in Brooklyn.
Fodor’s Travel which covers over 7,500 destinations around the world has just come out with it’s newest guidebook Fodor’s Brooklyn!
Looking for expert advice, exclusive deals, hotel openings, trip ideas, then Fodor’s is a great source of information. Having a Fodor’s guidebook is
Read more...Here is an update for real estate companies and real estate agents in Brooklyn following the latest news in Brooklyn Heights.
Developer Hudson Companies has paid $52M for the Brooklyn Heights Public Library building located at 280 Cadman Plaza West.
In place of the old library is a proposed 36 story
Read more...With all of the busy Real Estate Companies in Brooklyn as well as all of the busy Real Estate Agents in Brooklyn, where do we go to do food shopping?
There is an alternative to Fairway and Whole Foods Markets when it comes to fresh, high quality and reasonably priced food.
3 Guys From Brooklyn, located on the corner of Fort Hamilton Parkway and 65th Street on the edge of the Borough Park neighborhood has been a Brooklyn favorite since
Read more...To all great Brokers and Agents in Brooklyn Real Estate, be aware of this latest news about Brooklyn.
The Center For Fiction is relocating from their building located in Midtown Manhattan at 17 East 47th Street to 280 Ashland Place, a mixed use development in the heart of Brooklyn’s Cultural District.
Read more...The best in design creativity inspired by Brooklyn will be on display this weekend in Dumbo at St. Ann’s Warehouse and Mark Jupiter’s on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
This best and latest in Contemporary furnishings, lighting and home design event should bring out thousands of design enthusiasts as well as Brooklyn’s best brokers and top agents.
Carlo A. Scissura, President of The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce
Read more...Many Brooklyn real estate companies and their agents are familiar with the magnificent Brownstone homes in the historic districts of Brooklyn Heights, Crown Heights North and Prospect- Lefferts Gardens. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission will most likely at some point in time designate several wonderful streets in Sunset Park as a historic district.
Brooklyn’s Bay Ridge neighborhood (where the famous Gingerbread House is located on Narrows Avenue), has several magnificent streets,
Read more...Thor Equities is a development firm which many real estate agents and real estate companies in Manhattan and Brooklyn are familiar with.
Thor Equities owner Joseph Sitt is creating an outdoor museum on Stillwell Avenue and The Bowery, one of Coney Islands main walkways.
Read more...Brooklyn's New York Marriott Hotel wants to stay on top and undergoing a total renovation. The hotel was opened in 1998 in Downtown Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Bridge when there was the only full service hotel in Downtown Brooklyn at the time. Through the years The Marriott has held several conferences for real estate agents representing many of Brooklyn’s real estate companies.
Fast forward to 2015 and many new hotels
Read more...The William Vale - Williamsburg’s Newest Hotel Speeding Toward Completion. Riverside Developers, who will build and operate Williamsburg’s latest hotel addition, are planning to be open for business as soon as this coming New Year’s Eve. Located at 55 Wythe Avenue between North 12th Street
Read more...Since I’ve been a real estate broker in Brooklyn for over 27 years, I’ve had the opportunity to explore many of Brooklyn’s incredible neighborhoods, her second to none housing stock, magnificent architecture and a wonderful diversity of festivals and goings on.
In October of 2014 we blogged about the Brooklyn Heights Neighborhood Street Fairs
Read more...As a real estate broker and lifelong resident of Brooklyn, I occasionally like to write a blog about Brooklyn neighborhoods, food and Brooklyn Commercial Real Estate news.
Brooklynites, whether newcomers or lifelong residents can all agree that when it comes to food, there is no better place for great quality and more diversity of cuisines in so many restaurants as we have in Brooklyn, NY.
From 8th Avenue in Sunset Park,
Read more...The latest push to establish several more blocks of Crown Heights North as a historic district is taking place now. The Landmarks Preservation Commission proposed in Phase III to designate 600+ homes as another part of a historic district that already exists. There are two other sections of Crown Heights North that have already been designated historic districts.
These historic and truly magnificent Brownstone, Limestone and Brick homes
Read more...Most of Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park (BBP) is undeveloped at this time. There are plans for a lovely area with a lawn, a large field of gorgeous flowers, wonderful shade trees, places to sit and stroll and a triangular wood covered platform. The platform will raise
Read more...Relax And Enjoy The Charm of Brooklyn's Sheepshead Bay and Brighton Beach Neighborhoods
Had a rough week at work? Need to clear your mind and have some quality downtime? The perfect prescription for you is a weekend trip to Sheepshead Bay, a neighborhood with it's own fishing village and a stop off at nearby Brighton Beach, where you will find the world famous boardwalk along the beach and ocean.
These neighborhoods were
Read more...The Economic Development Corporation and developer Salmar Properties are investing in an innovation hub in Sunset Park. Located at Liberty View Industrial Plaza in a 1.1 million square foot, 8 story Industrial building. The space will be subdivided and the hub will occupy 160,000 square feet to provide space for projects in
Read more...Much to the delight of real estate agents and brokers in Brooklyn who service Prospect - Lefferts Gardens, this wonderful Brooklyn neighborhood has a lot going for it. For example, the housing stock of well maintained brick and limestone, Romanesque, Colonial and Tudor Revival style homes is fantastic.
This neighborhoods popularity amongst professionals,
Read more...The Packer Collegiate Institute, located at 170 Joralemon Street in Brooklyn Heights is in contract to purchase the retail property located at 100 Clinton Street at the corner of Clinton Street and Remsen Street. The 12,000 square foot Clinton Street building will be home to Packer's Preschool and Kindergarten program beginning in the Fall of 2017.
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The much beloved Dumbo Arts Festival, in it's 18th year, took place on the weekend of September 26th through the 28th. This year's festival showcased local artists as well as artists from around the world.
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The Grand Prospect Hall in Park Slope, is truly one of the crown jewels of Brooklyn's historic places to visit like the Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Brooklyn Botanic Garden and The Brooklyn Museum.
Zombies arrived in Brooklyn, just in time for Halloween 2014! A Run For Your Lives, 5K Zombie Run event was held on October 25th at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. Event creators Ryan Hogan and Derrick Smith came up with the slogan before they came up with the event to go with it.
There was a zombie transformation process which included makeup, bloodiness and shredded clothes. Both zombie and non zombie participants run a muddy track with hurdles, rope ladders, water slides and other obstacles. Eventually run participants arrived at a safe zone called the Apocalypse, where there was drinking, dancing and plenty of partying going on to celebrate Halloween!
Read more...East New York in Brooklyn is the focus of a revitalization effort by Mayor Bill Di Blasio and his administration. A big step towards the mayor’s goal to create affordable housing in New York is that recently ground has been broken on Livonia Commons, phase one of a multi phase project that will eventually, when complete create 791 units of affordable housing.
Read more...Every year, Brooklynites in different neighborhoods across the borough organize an amazing array of festivals and street fairs.
The Cranberry Street Fair, a Northern Brooklyn Heights celebration of the coming of autumn has been going on for the past 35 years. Organized by John and Richanda Rhoden, according to Ms. Rhoden "part of the charm is the fair's small size, it's so human and we don't want it to get bigger".
In all of the years of the Cranberry Fair there has never
Read more...Brooklyn is a wonderfully historic, architecturally and culturally diverse borough and is home to the magnificent, 175 year old Greenwood Cemetery sandwiched in between the neighborhoods of Sunset Park and Greenwood Heights. The Cemetery is 478 acres in size and is New York City's oldest natural landscape.
There is a lot to see and experience in Greenwood Cemetery such as the incredibly beautiful Greenwood Cemetery Chapel
Read more...The Loew's Kings Theatre located at 1027 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn NY has been undergoing a meticulous, museum standard $94 Million restoration. The magnificently ornate 3,200 seat venue is being restored to it's original condition which will include a magnificent staircase to the mezzanine, 80 foot ceilings, period details from the guilded age of the 1920's when the theatre was originally built, a modern backstage area for dressing rooms and set storage as well as a two truck loading dock and much, much more.
The restoration is being done
Read more...Dixon Advisory USA (an Australian yet N.J. based Investment Company) has a different plan for the storefronts at 132 Kane St. and 6-8 Cheever Place in the historic district of Cobble Hill. They are converting two retail storefronts into two residences for rent.
According to Carol Santana, Dixon's building code and permit manager they do not do commercial leasing. Asking rents have not been decided yet.
The Landmarks and Preservation Commission has proposed a plan for the storefronts restoration. At the moment both stores have graffiti, plastic and plywood on them.
Read more...Real Estate brokers and agents marketing and selling properties in Downtown Brooklyn will be happy to know about a great new outdoor amenity coming to the neighborhood.
Brooklyn Strand is what mayor Bill Di Blasio is calling 21 acres of underused green space stretching from Borough Hall to Brooklyn Bridge Park. It will be a "spiffy" new park according to Mr. Di Blasio.
The Strand includes Columbus Park (adjacent to Borough Hall), Cadman Plaza Park (to its North containing the War Memorial), Walt Whitman Park (on the other side of Cadman Plaza East, including the Office of Emergency Management building), the Korean Veterans Plaza and several empty municipal lots and lawns.
Read more...Clinton Hill Brooklyn is a neighborhood that is not only situated at one of the highest points in the borough, but is flying high with charm, sophistication and an incredible diversity of people, restaurants and things to do.
Clinton Hill is home to The Pratt Institute, located at 200 Willoughby Avenue.
Read more...Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn NY was always a low key, lovely and quiet neighborhood that has many charms but did not have the allure of Cobble Hill or Park Slope. The Carroll Gardens boundaries are Degraw Street to the North, Hamilton Avenue to the South, Hicks Street to the East and Bond Street to the West. Carroll Gardens today has become a neighborhood of young urban professionals and young families.
There are still many signs of the old Carroll Gardens with a distinct Italian American flair. Some of the established Italian
Read more...Kensington Brooklyn New York is a neighborhood known for its diversity with residents from dozens of countries and where at least 20 languages are spoken. Today, Kensington is becoming popular with young professionals for the simple reason that it is one of the last affordable neighborhoods before you get to Windsor Terrace, Park Slope and Cobble Hill.
The housing stock in Kensington consists of wood frame Victorian homes as well as brick and limestone row houses. Along Ocean Parkway there are many pre-war and post war Co-op apartment buildings. The price range for residential property in today's real estate market in this lovely, tree lined Brooklyn neighborhood is as follows: One family homes are in the $725,000 to just under $1M range, two family homes and multi family homes are in the range of
Read more...In the huge densely populated borough of Brooklyn there is a neighborhood with a small town feel and vibe to it. It is Windsor Terrace. Sandwiched between the neighborhoods of Park Slope and Flatbush, Windsor Terrace is known for its true sense of community. The blocks that make up this neighborhood have almost no
Read more...Just stroll up and down the tree lined streets of this wonderful Brooklyn neighborhood, very close to Prospect Park and you will be very pleased to see magnificent housing stock of Romanesque Revival, Colonial Revival and Neo-Federal style Limestone, Brick, Brownstone and Victorian homes. Priced out of nearby Park Slope and Crown Heights, many people looking to purchase a house found that Prospect Lefferts Gardens offer great value homes with terrific amounts of living space, gorgeous period details and nice backyards to plant, play or just relax in. The neighborhood of Prospect Lefferts Gardens is bordered by
Read more...In recent blogs we have focused on real estate in some of the more high profile, hot neighborhoods in Brooklyn New York such as Fort Greene, Downtown Brooklyn, Dumbo, Bedford Stuyvesant, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights etc... With the popularity of neighborhoods near Prospect Park, Prospect Lefferts Gardens is being recognized as a great neighborhood to live in.
A much more reasonably priced alternative to Park Slope on the other side of Prospect Park, Prospect Lefferts Gardens real estate has gotten the attention of Investor/ Developers as well as first time home buyers.
A few reasons for the growing interest in this wonderful Brooklyn neighborhood are a great housing stock consisting of many gorgeous blocks of beautiful, well kept brick and limestone
Read more...One of the topics that we write blogs about is the evolution, emergence, sometimes reemergence and transformation of various Brooklyn neighborhoods. On July 18th we focused on the emergence and forward progress of Brooklyn's Tech Triangle which encompasses the neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights, The Brooklyn Navy Yard and Dumbo. On May 10th we touched on the Future of Fort Greene/Downtown Brooklyn.
Today's blog is a continuation from that May10th Blog and is an update of specifically The BAM Cultural District a mini neighborhood whose boundaries consist of Flatbush Avenue, Fulton and South Oxford Streets and Hanson Place.
Read more...We frequently blog about Real Estate news in Brooklyn's wonderful neighborhoods and the lifestyles that people enjoy in those neighborhoods. This blog is devoted to some of many Brooklyn's neighborhoods such as Sunset Park, Homecrest, Coney Island, Midwood and Bensonhurst that are a treasure trove of amazing restaurants from one end of the borough to the other to be experienced.
Sunset Park is one such neighborhood.
Read more...Spend the day or choose to stay. We recommend that you visit the Red Hook neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York and spend the day shopping, relaxing and having fun. A little bit out of the way via public transportation, but easily accessible by car or New York Water Front Taxi. Red Hook is one of Brooklyn's most historic and interesting waterfront neighborhoods.
At the intersection of Columbia Street and Sigourney Street lies Old Todd Memorial Park, which is now home to Red Hook Community Farm, an agricultural oasis in Brooklyn. 
On May 4th of this year we posted our blog Historic and New Brooklyn NY Parks where we glowingly praised Prospect Park for its beauty and diversity of activities available to the public and Brooklyn Bridge Park for it's amazing location, innovative landscape design, neighborhood restaurant choices and the many ways to enjoy the park.
We have just learned and are happy to share the news that Toll Brother's City Living and Starwood Capital Group have been approved for a joint venture to develop an approximately 550,000 square foot luxury hotel complex on the upland of Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Read more...You may never have heard of the Brooklyn neighborhood called Homecrest, but it is an incredibly exciting and vibrant place to visit, and explore and to live. Easily accessible via the Q train to Kings Highway, Homecrest is worth the trip for many reasons. Homecrest has one of Brooklyn's most popular shopping and dining destination called Kings Highway. Kings Highway at any given point in time filled with the sounds of different languages of its diverse residents, such as Russian, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Tagalog, Chinese, Greek, Hebrew, Pakistani and let's not forget English. When you arrive at Kings Highway, if you realize that you forgot to go to the bank to get some cash to spend, not to worry, there are at least 10 banks large and small within a 15 block stretch. The shopping on Kings Highway attracts people from all over Brooklyn with many boutiques, clothing and shoe stores such as FOX’s, Designer Off-Price Department Store, Aldo, Chuckies, Steve Madden, Central Sports, Baker, Shoe Lab just to name a few.
Read more...How lucky can Brooklyn residents get? There are several outstanding, historic and one still under construction, but amazing and very worth seeing park in Brooklyn New York today. Let's start with Prospect Park, which was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux after they completed Manhattan's Central Park in Manhattan. Prospect Park has an amazing bicycle path that twists and turns all through the park. This path is a bike riders dream and bicyclists can be seen year round riding through the park's wonderful bike path. There are pastures and lakes and an amazing abundance of gorgeous trees throughout the park. There are many events, cultural and otherwise held in Prospect Park, especially in The Spring and Summer time such as Bird watching, The Greenmarket, Dog events, Craft activities, Googa Mooga festival - a celebration of food and music on May 20th, The Food Truck Rally (a favorite of many) on May 28th, The Rhythm Revue Jazz and R&B concert June 25th and much much more!
Read more...Had a rough week? Looking to pamper yourself, explore an amazing Brooklyn Neighborhood, be entertained by world class, cutting edge artists, dine on scrumptious and healthy food? Well according to Jeff Grandis Broker Co- Owner of Accord Real Estate Group, a licensed Real Estate Broker, Boerum Hill fits the bill just fine.
Boerum Hill is easy to get to via the subway, with the F and G trains stopping at Carroll Street and Smith Street. What you can expect when you arrive is a treat for all of your senses. Smith Street, an incredible main street in this neighborhood, is lined with some of Brooklyn's finest restaurants such as Wild Ginger located at 112 Smith Street. Wild Ginger serves a wonderful Pan Asian cuisine. The ambiance is soothing and lovely. Take a table in the rear for more privacy. You may want to try the seaweed salad, ginger pumpkin soup and for the main course the Malaysian Curry Stew is out of this world! The deserts are equally as delicious. You should try the peanut mouse chocolate cake.
Read more...The vibrant and diversified Brooklyn Real Estate Market is not a recession proof market. Experts and everyday people agree that the poor condition of the economy has had a dramatic effect on the housing market. The Brooklyn Real Estate Market has experienced a downturn in property values for some time now as well as in other US cities. Some homeowners who can no longer meet their monthly mortgage payments for an extended period of time because of hardship, i.e. due to job losses or reduced income, medical emergency, etc. face the possibility of their property going into foreclosure, where the bank takes back the property to be sold.
Read more...Whether you are searching for a reputable and reliable Brooklyn realtor to give you an accurate opinion of your home's value in today's market and to assist you with the sale of your property or if you are planning to purchase a house, commercial property, mixed use building, vacant land to develop, a condominium, a co-op apartment or a multi family property Jeffgrandis.com might be your #1 web destination on the internet. We have in our company inventory real estate listings that have good value for what they are, where they are and for the kind of market that we are currently in. For example, we are now offering 2 parcels of vacant land at a very reasonable price with great zoning for development in Clinton Hill, a very desirable and up and coming Brooklyn neighborhood. Also in our inventory of properties for sale is a large brick vacant 4 family house with good income potential at a very reasonable price located in East Flatbush. This property is perfect for a handy, do it your self investor looking for a low risk high return first investment property or an investor with a large portfolio of properties. We also have several listings of great values in co-op apartments for sale. One apartment is completely renovated and 2 blocks from the beach in Brighton Beach.
Read more...With its amazing choice of neighborhoods and lifestyles, shopping and transportation conveniences, majestic parks, a rich diversity of architectural styles, world class entertainment and dining choices Brooklyn NY real estate has become the number one choice for home buyers, business owners and investors to buy real estate properties. At Accord Real Estate Group we are proud of our long standing track record of excellent results in representing sellers and assisting buyers with their sale or purchase of Brooklyn New York real estate. From Sheepshead Bay to Bensonhurst, from Dyker Heights to Sunset Park, from Brooklyn Heights to Windsor Terrace, from Manhattan Beach to BoCoCa and many other Brooklyn neighborhoods, we at Accord Real Estate Group know Brooklyn NY real estate and we know that you deserve only the finest personal attention from experienced real estate brokers and agents when you are planning to sell or to purchase a property. If you are planning to sell real estate in Brooklyn New York you can rely on us to bring you the best price possible in today's market. If you are planning to buy real estate in Brooklyn NY for the 1st time, shopping for a Brownstone, Co-op, Condominium, Brooklyn Townhouse or if you are an experienced investor looking for a multi family, mixed use or commercial property or if you are a business owner, looking for a building to set up your business, we listen very carefully to your needs and expectations to find just the right property for you. In addition to our brokers and agents we are working with a wide range of professionals, who can assist you with every aspect of preparing to sell or to purchase real estate properties in Brooklyn NY including cleaning out and cleaning up a property in preparation to sell, staging and making necessary renovations to make the best 1st impression when showing your property, real estate attorneys, movers, mortgage brokers etc.
Read more...The neighborhoods of Sheepshead Bay, Brighton Beach, Coney Island, Sea Gate and Manhattan Beach are all located right on or are surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. According to Jeff Grandis, a lifelong resident of Brooklyn and a Brooklyn Real Estate Broker " For a truly relaxing ,fun, historic, interesting and delicious experience every New Yorker or tourist should visit these Brooklyn neighborhoods." Sheepshead Bay is the New York version of Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Sheepshead Bay has both fishing and party boats depart from the piers going out to sea morning and night. Restaurants, clubs,shops and expensive condominiums abound. Brighton Beach is the mecca of Russian culture in Brooklyn. Brighton Beach Avenue is a wonderland of specialty food markets, cafes, nightclubs and restaurants. The boardwalk stretches for several miles along the beaches of Brighton Beach and Coney Island ending at Sea Gate, Brooklyn's oldest gated community. Coney Island is at least for now still the home some great old amusement park rides that are a wonderful slice of Brooklyn history, i.e. The Cyclone and The Wonder Wheel.
Read more...Residential property sales for the first quarter of 2010 showed bright spots in several Brooklyn neighborhoods, based on the business transactions made through the efforts of Accord Real Estate Group. For example, a detached brick two family house in Sheepshead Bay, sold in one week at full price, and there were many other interested, qualified buyers in need of a good house. Another example is a brick 3 family house in Bensonhurst, that sold relatively quickly at close to asking price and again there were many other qualified buyers interested in this house. Still another example of a Brooklyn neighborhood bright spot is a handyman's special brick 3 family house in Ft Greene. The house is located just 2 blocks from Fort Greene Park on the Myrtle Avenue side of the park and it was sold relatively quickly for a great price considering the amount of work needed to bring the house up to good condition. These sales, in my opinion as a Brooklyn Real Estate Broker, are a direct indication that the Brooklyn Real Estate Market is improving.
Read more...The Brooklyn Real Estate market in 2009 was a year that most if not all brokers, agents and realtors are glad is behind us. As a broker for 22 years selling Brooklyn Real Estate in many Brooklyn neighborhoods, I've seen in the last year that few Brooklyn neighborhoods saw any price increases in property values. For most Brooklyn neighborhoods, since we have been in a downward trend price wise, for the last 3-4 years prices remain at the lowest level since last real estate boom. While the 2010 Brooklyn Real Estate Market is expected to bring an improvement in sales volume, meaning, there will be more people selling and buying properties, I do not foresee an increase in property values yet and commercial property sales will still be slowed. Most mixed use and commercial properties will be difficult to sell in this overly cautious lending environment and slow business forecasts.
Read more...Jeff Grandis, a Brooklyn Realtor for 22 years points out that across the spectrum of properties for sale in Brooklyn New York today, whether Commercial, Residential or Mixed Use, buyers are out there shopping for values and buying. For example, whether it is a 1,300 Square Foot 3 bedroom 2 bath Luxury Condominium in Brighton Beach for sale at $535,000 or a one family 3 bedroom 2 bath duplex home for sale in Midwood for $450,000, or an extra large 2 family 3 bedroom over 2 bedroom house for sale in Sheepshead Bay for $689,000,or a mixed use building with one store and one 2 bedroom apartment for sale in Flatbush for $499,000 there is plenty of activity from qualified buyers and deals are being made. Grandis further points out that there are so many all cash investors out there hunting for deals and finding them at all price levels and property types. Now is truly a great time to buy. Even with the economy in a shambles and so much uncertainty and insecurity that exists in many peoples minds about what direction to turn in for a safe investment, Brooklyn Real Estate is still a solid choice for the long run.
Read more..."That's right" says Jeff Grandis, a Brooklyn Real Estate Broker, who proudly announcesthe launch of a completely redesigned and upgraded version of his web site. The web site is very helpful and informative to both sellers and buyers of Brooklyn Real Estate. There is extensive information on many different neighborhoods, such as architectural influence, lifestyle information, school information and much more. Please visit the different pages at www.jeffgrandis.com or call Jeff Grandis at 917-804-3198, your lifelong Brooklyn resident and your Brooklyn Neighborhood Real Estate Broker. You can also e-mail to Jeff at jeff@jeffgrandis.com
Read more...In the Real Estate Brokerage business having a great team behind you is crucial to one's success in properly and professionally servicing clients and customers. Jeff Grandis, a Real Estate Broker/Owner at Accord Real Estate Group has the good fortune of being the leader of a great team. The most important member of Jeff's team is Anna Kader, a Real Estate Broker and co-owner of the company. She is an incredibly bright, focused, professional and thoroughly pleasant person. Anna, originally from Russia, has been in the United States for over 20 years. A former A.V.P for Citibank, Anna has a very strong technical computer background as well as a strong background in customer service. In the Real Estate Brokerage business for over 7 years, earning her Real Estate Broker's license Anna has an unusually strong knowledge and passion for real estate. Anna and Jeff work very carefully and thoroughly in researching prices and trends in sales of Brooklyn properties to give their clients the most up to date and accurate information to base their pricing decisions on. A strong exposure for the properties always increases the odds of getting more showings to qualified buyers and in return more opportunities to receive written bona fide offers. Anna's strong computer background benefits our clients dramatically. She posts our client's properties on multiple websites popular on the major Search Engines, including Jeffgrandis.com to maximize the exposure to the marketplace.
Read more...Please visit the Brooklyn Neighborhoods individul pages on our website to get detailed information for: Bath Beach Bay Ridge Bedford Stuyvesant Bensonhurst Bergen Beach Boerum Hill Boro Park Brighton Beach Brooklyn Heights Canarsie Carroll Gardens Clinton Hill Cobble Hill Columbia Street Waterfront District Coney Island Crown Heights Downtown Brooklyn Dumbo Dyker Heights Flatbush Flatlands Fort Greene Fort Hamilton Fulton Ferry Georgetown Gerritsen Beach Gowanus Gravesend Homecrest Kensington/Parkville Madison Manhattan Beach Marine Park Midwood Mill Basin Park Slope Prospect Heights Prospect - Lefferts Gardens Prospect Park Red Hook Sea Gate Sheepshead Bay Sunset Park Williamsburg Windsor Terrace
Read more...In the fascinating and fast paced world of Real Estate in Brooklyn New York, occasionally we like to step back and comment on community related issues, special events, neighborhood trends, the business of real estate and important and not so important news in the form of blogs. I have been a neighborhood Real Estate Broker for many years and I would like to share my knowledge of the Real Estate business with you. I hope that you find that the blogs we are posting on this page to be helpful and informative. Please feel free to browse through these blogs and respond if you wish to. I welcome your e-mails with constructive ideas and comments. Thank You, Jeff Grandis
Read more...The fact of the matter is according to Jeff Grandis of jeffgrandis.com when working with a buyer a professional real estate broker must take the time to get to know that buyers needs in terms of what they can afford to spend, the amenities of the home and most importantly the location of the home". Is that home located near schools, houses of worship, transportation, shopping, fishing boats, beaches, libraries, a bicycle path, jogging trail, restaurants and cafes, night-clubs or other families with young children for their kids to play with? As a Real Estate Broker for over 25 years Grandis says we don't just sell buyers the walls, ceilings, floors, room sizes, a certain architectural style home, kitchens and bathrooms. We are selling them a lifestyle that is just right for their individual lives and unique needs. It is not an easy task, but its very gratifying when you can put all the right elements together for your buyers. For more information on selling different lifestyles or any questions regarding selling or buying Real Estate in Brooklyn New York call Jeff at 1-917-804-3198 or e-mail.
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Brooklyn New York has a stunning array of great restaurants!
If Italian food is your favorite and it is definitely mine I highly recommend “The New Corner' restaurant on 72nd street in Bay Ridge Brooklyn NY. Moderately priced and consistently great food, the following are some dishes that I highly recommend. Start out with the combo seafood salad & chef salad, it is to die for.If you are really hungry also go for the Zuppa di Clams or Mussels in a red sauce. The herbs and fresh sautéed garlic make it a real winner.For your main dish, whether you choose a traditional Veal Cutlet Parmigiana, Veal Chop alla Chef or Lobster Fra Diavolo with linguine, or you choose anything else on the menuit will be a great meal.
If you still have room for dessert the Profiteroles with ice cream, Ricotta Cheese cake (the Italian version) are a home run.
Your lifelong Brooklyn resident and also your Brooklyn Neighborhood Real Estate Broker,
Jeff Grandis
According to Jeff of Accordrealestategroup.com “ Smith Street has a high concentration of many different restaurants and cuisines”. Jeff goes on to say “ probably the best selection of restaurants in all of Brooklyn can be found in BOCOCA – ( Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens ).
One of the best restaurants in the area is Cubana Café located at 272 Smith Street, between Sackett and DeGraw Street.
If you like to drink Mojitos, then this is the place for you. The mojitos here are the real thing with all fresh ingredients and made to perfection. The atmosphere is lively and always festive with Great Cuban music playing, Steve, the owner, greets you like family and absolutely great food, priced moderately.
