Brooklyn

The New York Transit Museum is celebrating the 120th anniversary of the city's subway system with a new exhibit and vintage train rides. Debuting September 26, "The Subway Is..." explores how New York City's subway system has shaped its cultural identity and will showcase images and artifacts from the museum's collections. To coincide with the new exhibit, the museum is hosting four Inaugural Run Nostalgia Rides on vintage Lo-V subway cars from 1917, retracing the original route of NYC's first subway line.
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September 11, 2024

Construction to begin on Bedford Avenue protected bike lane in Bed-Stuy

One of the most dangerous sections of Brooklyn's longest street will soon be safer for pedestrians and cyclists. Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez on Tuesday announced work will begin this week on a 1.5-mile protected bike lane from Dean Street to Flushing Avenue in Bed-Stuy, among other safety improvements, including new pedestrian islands and loading zones. Similar bike lane redesigns in NYC have led to a 21 percent drop in injuries, according to a press release.
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Coney Island Cyclone reopens after two-week shutdown

Photo courtesy of Philipp Potocnik on Unsplash

September 9, 2024

Coney Island Cyclone reopens after two-week shutdown

The Coney Island Cyclone is back in business after a mid-ride breakdown two weeks ago. The famous Luna Park coaster reopened on Saturday after passing a series of tests and getting approval from Department of Building (DOB) inspectors, as reported by the Associated Press.
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Policy

New York’s largest geothermal residential project tops out in Greenpoint

1 Java Street topping out, courtesy of David Joshua Ford. Rendering courtesy of Marvel.

September 9, 2024

New York’s largest geothermal residential project tops out in Greenpoint

New York's largest geothermal residential project has topped out on the Greenpoint waterfront. Located at 1 Java Street, the two-tower development features 834 rental units, a climate-resilient shoreline, and 13,000 square feet of retail space. Slated for completion in 2026, the all-electric project's sustainable features are expected to reduce annual carbon emissions from heating and cooling by 53 percent compared to traditional residential systems.
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Architecture And Design

For $1.65M, this Prospect Heights pre-war co-op can expand to hold a classic six

Photo credit: Joel Pitra @ DD Reps

September 6, 2024

For $1.65M, this Prospect Heights pre-war co-op can expand to hold a classic six

It's hard to avoid the word "classic" when describing this pretty pre-war co-op at 41 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn's Prospect Heights neighborhood. In an elegant residence known as Copley Plaza, the (currently) two-bedroom flat has the enviable bones befitting its Deco-era origins, with a floor plan that offers the flexibility of adding a third bedroom. The co-op, asking $1,650,000, has been renovated to reflect an airy, Scandinavian vibe, highlighted by understated luxuries like stone worktops and recessed lighting.
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Distinctive Homes

All images courtesy of Brooklyn Public Library

September 5, 2024

Brooklyn Public Library begins next phase of Central branch renovation led by Toshiko Mori

Brooklyn Public Library on Thursday kicked off the next phase of the major renovation of its main branch. Led by renowned architect Toshiko Mori, the project at the Central Library includes an updated adult learning center, a new teen center, a restored collections area, and a renovated children's center. The first phase of the renovation, which wrapped up in 2021, added more light-filled, publicly accessible spaces, and a modernized career center.
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Architecture And Design

G train resumes full service after summer shutdown

Photo credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr

September 3, 2024

G train resumes full service after summer shutdown

After a summer-long shutdown, the G train is back. Tuesday marked the first morning of full service on the G train since the end of June, ending a nine-week partial closure of the 11.4-mile line. During the shutdown, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority replaced 1930s-era signal infrastructure with communications-based train control (CBTC), allowing trains to run closer together, improving the reliability and efficiency of the line.
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Transit

Dumbo rental opens lottery for 66 luxury apartments, from $3,105/month

Renderings courtesy of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

August 30, 2024

Dumbo rental opens lottery for 66 luxury apartments, from $3,105/month

A lottery opened this week for 66 middle-income apartments at a residential complex in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Vinegar Hill, next to Dumbo. Located at 218 Front Street, the Lightwell is a seven-story, two-building development offering residents brand-new luxury apartments designed to seamlessly blend indoor and outdoor living. New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, priced from $3,105/month for studios to $3,963/month for two bedrooms.
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Affordable Housing

Everything you need to know about NYC’s Caribbean Carnival

Photo by Brian Lin on Flickr

August 30, 2024

Everything you need to know about NYC’s Caribbean Carnival

New York City's West Indian-American Day Carnival and Parade returns to Brooklyn this Labor Day. The festival, which typically attracts over a million spectators, takes over a stretch of Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, celebrating the diversity of Caribbean culture with dancing, elaborate costumes, traditional music, and food.
What you need to know

Events & Things To Do

Vintage bus festival rolls into Brooklyn Bridge Park

2019 Bus Festival. Photo by Filip Wolak, New York Transit Museum

August 29, 2024

Vintage bus festival rolls into Brooklyn Bridge Park

Buses of a bygone era will be rolling into Brooklyn Bridge Park. The New York Transit Museum's annual Bus Festival takes place at Emily Warren Roebling Plaza on Sunday, September 8, bringing a collection of retro buses under the Brooklyn Bridge for transit buffs to explore.
ride this way

Events & Things To Do

Lottery opens for 90 mixed-income apartments at first Gowanus rezoning project, from $784/month

Rendering courtesy of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

August 27, 2024

Lottery opens for 90 mixed-income apartments at first Gowanus rezoning project, from $784/month

A housing lottery launched this week for 90 mixed-income apartments at the first residential project developed under the Gowanus rezoning. The two-tower rental at 420 Carroll Street includes 360 apartments, 25 percent of which are priced below market rate, commercial space, and a new public promenade along the Gowanus Canal. New Yorkers earning 40, 60, 100, and 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, priced from $784/month for studios to $3,298/month for three bedrooms.
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Affordable Housing

Coney Island Cyclone shut down indefinitely after mid-ride breakdown

Photo courtesy of Luna Park

August 26, 2024

Coney Island Cyclone shut down indefinitely after mid-ride breakdown

The Coney Island Cyclone has been closed indefinitely after a mechanical failure caused the iconic roller coaster to halt mid-ride. While the famous Luna Park coaster ascended to its drop on Thursday, an operator stopped the ride after noticing a damaged chain sprocket in its motor room, as reported by the Associated Press. The nearly century-old attraction is currently undergoing repairs and will reopen once the work is complete and the ride passes an inspection by the city's Department of Buildings (DOB), according to Luna Park.
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Policy

165 affordable apartments available at new Brownsville housing complex, from $454/month

Rendering courtesy of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

August 23, 2024

165 affordable apartments available at new Brownsville housing complex, from $454/month

Applications are now being accepted for 165 affordable apartments at a new housing complex in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Located at 589 Christopher Avenue, the building is the second and final phase of Ebenezer Plaza, a sprawling mixed-use development bringing much-needed affordable housing to the community. New Yorkers earning 30, 50, 70, and 80 percent of the area median income can apply for the units, priced from $454/month for studios to $2,949/month for three bedrooms.
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Affordable Housing

Photo credit: Anton Brookes/H5 Property for The Corcoran Group

August 21, 2024

From rental income to solar panels, this $3.5M Bed-Stuy brownstone checks all the boxes

Brooklyn brownstone dreams often involve transforming historic properties into 21st-century dream homes. Adding sustainable features and luxurious amenities means lots of work and a big investment. The classic 20-foot-wide townhouse at 508 Madison Street in Bed-Stuy, asking $3,495,000, offers the end result, complete with solar panels for sustainable energy, a garden apartment for rental income, and lots of outdoor space, in a move-in-ready package. Built in 1931, the 4,000-square-foot home even has a finished basement, for five stories of living space.
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Distinctive Homes

City moves forward with scaled-back McGuinness Boulevard redesign

McGuinness Boulevard. Courtesy of NYC DOT

August 21, 2024

City moves forward with scaled-back McGuinness Boulevard redesign

A plan to take away lanes of traffic and add protected bike lanes on busy McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint will be scaled back. The Department of Transportation shared its plan with elected officials on Tuesday for the street's redesign, which will extend a bike lane to the southern half of McGuinness but not reduce the number of traffic lanes or create a protected bike path as originally proposed, The City reported. According to reports, Mayor Eric Adams' administration pushed for the watered-down redesign, citing community concerns over the plan.
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This $1.5M Ansonia Court co-op is an old-school classic loft in prime Park Slope

Photo credit: Romy Rodiek, RARE Photography

August 20, 2024

This $1.5M Ansonia Court co-op is an old-school classic loft in prime Park Slope

Whenever an apartment in Park Slope's coveted Ansonia Court at 420 12th Street pops up on the market, it gets noticed. The former Ansonia Clock Company factory is a favorite in the idyllic Brooklyn neighborhood, with its industrial buildings arranged around a verdant courtyard. The charming co-op apartments within offer rustic 11-foot beamed ceilings, exposed brick walls, and arched loft windows; this two-bedroom residence–a one-flight walk-up asking $1,495,000–is a fine example.
Brooklyn loft goodness, this way

Distinctive Homes

New signs along Flatbush Avenue honor Brooklyn’s African heritage

Photo courtesy of the NYC Department of Transportation on Flickr

August 19, 2024

New signs along Flatbush Avenue honor Brooklyn’s African heritage

New cultural signs honoring Brooklyn's rich African heritage have been installed along Flatbush Avenue. The signs mark the beginning of the Black History + Heritage Corridors project, which connects the Lefferts Historic House and the Flatbush African Burial Ground and celebrates the history and culture of Brooklynites of African descent.
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Architecture And Design

This $3M Ditmas Park Victorian surprises with bold and delightful interiors

Photos courtesy of Joel Pitra of DD Reps and Douglas Elliman

August 15, 2024

This $3M Ditmas Park Victorian surprises with bold and delightful interiors

From the outside, the dove-gray Victorian house at 231 Argyle Road in Ditmas Park has all the historic charm for which the Brooklyn neighborhood is known. A wraparound porch shaded by a roof and vines, a verdant front yard with trees and flowering bushes, and a driveway and garage make it an enviable urban refuge even from the curb. Inside, the single-family home, asking $3,000,000, continues to impress, but with a clever and colorful modern design that elegantly complements the historic architecture.
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Distinctive Homes

Brooklyn Children’s Museum begins $15 million garden makeover

The Brooklyn Children’s Museum’s terrace, courtyard, and outdoor spaces will be modernized under the project. Rendering courtesy of Gans and Company / NYC DDC

August 14, 2024

Brooklyn Children’s Museum begins $15 million garden makeover

Work has begun on the $15 million revitalization of outdoor space at the Brooklyn Children's Museum. The city's Departments of Cultural Affairs and Design and Construction this week broke ground on the project to beautify the Crown Heights museum's courtyards and terraces and create 20,000 square feet of accessible outdoor programming space for young New Yorkers and their families. The project is being funded by the Mayor's Office, City Council, and the Brooklyn Borough President's office.
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Architecture And Design

Converted 19th-century St. John’s College building in Bed-Stuy opens lottery, from $2,495/month

All renderings courtesy of Woods Bagot

August 13, 2024

Converted 19th-century St. John’s College building in Bed-Stuy opens lottery, from $2,495/month

A 19th-century Romanesque Revival building in Bed-Stuy originally home to St. John's College is now a luxury rental building. The Hartby, located on the corner of Willoughby and Lewis Avenues, is an adaptive reuse conversion of the former school, designed in the 1870s by Patrick Keely, a prolific architect for the Catholic Church. Developed by Property Resources Corporation and designed by Woods Bagot, the Hartby opened a housing lottery for 62 rent-stabilized apartments this week. New Yorkers earning 130 percent of the area median income can apply for the residences, priced from $2,495/month for studios, $2,795/month for one-bedroom units, and $3,939/month for two-bedroom units.
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Photo credit: Oleg Davidoff for The Corcoran Group

August 7, 2024

This $2.2M Bed-Stuy townhouse is a 19th-century beauty seeking a 21st-century life

Unspoiled 19th-century brownstones with intact period details are becoming rare in the 21st century, as sweeping renovations render many of the city's historic homes luxurious and livable–often at the expense of vintage character. Built in 1893, this elegant white-painted townhouse at 102 Decatur Street on a landmarked Bed-Stuy block is a treasure trove of architectural details on each of its four floors, ready for restoration or transformation. Asking $2,200,000, the home has an equally storied cultural pedigree: Former tenants include Brooklyn Dodgers baseball legend Joe Black; notable neighbors and visitors gathered here during its years as an artistic, musical, and intellectual salon.
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Distinctive Homes

Brooklyn’s greenest block is in Crown Heights

Lincoln Place. Photo by Artchan Nadura

August 6, 2024

Brooklyn’s greenest block is in Crown Heights

The greenest block in Brooklyn is in Crown Heights. And so is the second-greenest block. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden on Tuesday crowned Lincoln Place between New York and Nostrand Avenues as the winner of its Greenest Block competition, an annual contest open to all blocks and community gardens in the borough. Another win for the neighborhood, the garden awarded Eastern Parkway between Bedford and Franklin Avenues second place.
and the winners are

Architect-designed Bushwick carriage house with a yard and private garage asks $2.4M

Photo credit: Oleg March

August 1, 2024

Architect-designed Bushwick carriage house with a yard and private garage asks $2.4M

Dubbed "Red Spiral House" for the distinctive tomato-red steel staircase that anchors the space from top to bottom, this architect-designed converted Bushwick carriage house at 290 Bleecker Street is a standout. The colorful home was created within a narrow, rectangular space–albeit one with a private yard and garage. Previously featured in Architectural Digest, its industrial proportions are highlighted by high ceilings, skylights, and steel-framed glass walls that offer a loft vibe and an eyeful of the outdoors. Asking $2,390,000, the home is for sale by the current owner, who also listed it as a rental for $9,900 a month.
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Distinctive Homes

For $1.99M, this just-right co-op is on the parlor floor of a pretty Brooklyn Heights townhouse

Photo credit: Yale Wagner

July 31, 2024

For $1.99M, this just-right co-op is on the parlor floor of a pretty Brooklyn Heights townhouse

On a postcard-worthy brownstone-lined Brooklyn Heights street, this two-bedroom parlor-floor co-op at 283 Hicks Street, asking $1,990,000, embodies townhouse living in a manageable size. Beneath ceilings of nearly 12 feet, the apartment's 19th-century details like crown moldings, exposed brick, and a wood-burning fireplace frame a renovated, elegant interior that needs no updates or additions.
Take a closer look

Distinctive Homes

July 30, 2024

Controversial Clinton Hill migrant shelter may become 600+ apartments

A controversial migrant center in Clinton Hill could be converted into a new mixed-use complex with hundreds of apartments and commercial space. RXR Realty on Friday filed plans with the Department of City Planning (DCP) to transform a block-long campus of 10 former manufacturing buildings at 47 Hall Street into a mixed-use campus with 611 apartments as Crain's New York first reported. Since last July, portions of the site have served as a temporary humanitarian emergency response and relief center, currently home to around 3,000 asylum seekers.
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56 affordable apartments available at luxury Williamsburg rental, from $1,757/month

Renderings courtesy of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

July 26, 2024

56 affordable apartments available at luxury Williamsburg rental, from $1,757/month