At a hearing before the City Council Land Use Committee’s Zoning Subcommittee today, Councilman Bill DeBlasio announced that he had reversed his earlier decision to support developer Two Trees’ request for a variance from the 50′ height limit that applies within the Cobble Hill Historic District. Two Trees sought the variance to allow it to build a 60′ high apartment building facing Atlantic Avenue on the space now occupied by a parking lot next to the bank building soon to be occupied by Trader Joe’s. DeBlasio said he would now recommend that the full Land Use Committee vote against granting the variance.
Archive | October, 2007
DeBlasio to Walentas: Not So Fast
Big Fun at Cobble Hill Park
On Saturday (10/27) nabe residents will converge on Cobble Hill Park for “It’s My Park! Day”. They’ll be cleaning up the park and planting bulbs. For more information call (718)852-2847.
Then, on Halloween, the newly scrubbed park will play host to the annual kids’ Halloween Parade.
Heath Bolts, What Now?
Formerly ubiquitous Boerum Hill resident/celebrity Heath Ledger recently broke up with galpal Michelle Williams and bolted back to Manhattan. The New York Times asks the question, “does that make Brooklyn less cool?” More importantly, do we care?:
New York Times: Heath Ledger….: But post-Heath, Boerum Hill was suddenly worthy of international mention. “Over the past year, the ‘Brokeback Mountain’ stars have become a familiar sight in Boerum Hill,†The Daily Telegraph of Sydney, Australia, wrote in February 2006. “Locals say they often see Ledger on his skateboard or walking to local cafes with Williams and their baby daughter Matilda.â€
They became “Mr. and Mrs. Brooklyn,†said Dana Atherton, 26, a clerk at the Brooklyn Industries store on Smith Street, itself an emblem of the borough’s new identity. (Full story)
New Neighbor: Blue Ribbon General Store
Proprietor Ann Lopatin has opened the The Blue Ribbon General Store at 365 State Street (and Bond). It promises to carry a “unique assortment of home accessories and gift items for kids, pets and adults that represent the best of what life has to offer, all under one colorful and cozy roof.”
“The concept for Blue Ribbon General Store- a destination for items that can enhance your daily life- has been in my heart and dreams for years, so I am thrilled it is now a reality in this charming Brooklyn corner space,†says Lopatin in a press release. “Everything we carry has earned the “Blue Ribbon†for cleverness, wit and practicality, and comes with useful tips, trivia and suggestions to help you or the recipient enjoy your purchase to its fullest.â€
Online commerce and an in-store learning center are planned for 2008.
Blue Ribbon General Store
365 State Street
Brooklyn NY
718.522.9848
Doe Fund Street Cleaners – Too Noisy?
This in from CHB reader, “Doug”:
I’m all for helping the homeless, but those Doe Fund guys on Smith Street could use a little WD40 on those wheely garbage cans. The noise is deafening! Am I the only one who is put off by this?
Anyone else feel Doug’s pain or is he out of line here? Comment below.
Buh Bye Dojo
Brooklyn Paper covers the demise of Smith Street’s Jikishinkan Akido Dojo:
Brooklyn Paper: Smith Street Dojo’s Gotta Go: “I knew the neighborhood had changed when I was going to the dojo and I got stopped by two German tourists with a Zagat guide asking me for directions to the Grocery,†said Stewart Johnson, president of the dojo’s board of directors.
Jikishinkan lasted this long in the new Cobble Hill with the help of its supportive landlord, Vincent Mazzone, who kept it afloat for years by charging far less than the market rate for the space at 211 Smith St., which is between Baltic and Butler streets.
Cobble Hill NYSC – Sexy?
The folks at Jossip think that the Cobble Hill New York Sports Club [96 Boerum Place] is a very sexy gym:
Jossip: Workout Report: Cobble Hill: [Full disclosure: After working out at innumerable NYSCs, we think Cobble Hill has the most attractive clientele. Our preference for people who exercise in raggedy University of Chicago t-shirts might make this write-up biased.]
Except for a few old folks who invested in the neighborhood early, most of the members of the Cobble NYSC on Pacific and Boerum Place are under thirty. These are the people who write your newspapers, proofread your novels and curate your galleries. They are the over-educated working class of New York.
Need proof? Last night, more channels were tuned to PBS’s broadcast of the British documentary 49 Up than to Dancing With the Stars.
Jill’s Cafe Cleanse Not For Everyone
Brooklyn Paper’s Jessica Grose takes one for the team in this week’s issue by trying the uber-trendy and expensive “nutritional cleanse” offered by Jill’s Cafe [231 Court Street].
Proprietor Jill Pettijohn, a native of New Zealand, created the 5-day cleanse program that uses vegetable and fruit based soups and juices to improve one’s “physical and emotional” health. Much has been written about the program, which can run as much as $435.
Brooklyn Paper: Never Say Diet: I went to bed Sunday night alternatively scared and excited. When I woke up on Monday, I made my customary coffee — but this time black, without milk and sugar to interrupt the detoxifying powers of the juices. I retrieved my six tubs of juice from Pettijohn’s at around 8, and brought them home excitedly. I took out the first mixture: the “Daily Green.†(Each juice is labeled so you know the order in which you should be drinking them.)
The Daily Green looked like the August sludge that rings most stagnant bodies of water. I tried to ignore the aesthetic turn-off of the drink and reserve judgment until I poured it down my gullet. I lifted it to my lips and took a huge swallow of the thick mixture that tasted like pureed celery with a tinge of something more sinister and oceanic as an aftertaste.
In a word: inedible. (Full Story)
Flying Walentas Find Loophole
Next door to the new Trader Joe’s on Court and Atlantic, developers David and Jed Walentas plan to build an apartment building that is higher than Historic District regulations:
Brooklyn Paper: … All Win with our Tall Building: Two Trees Management, a DUMBO-based development company, has asked the city to bend local zoning rules to allow it to construct a building on Atlantic Avenue that is 10 feet taller than the current zoning in the Cobble Hill Historic District.
The resulting building, which is on the south side of Atlantic Avenue between Court and Henry streets, would also be wider and deeper than current codes allow.
In exchange, the rental apartments in the proposed building would give Two Trees the money it needs to maintain the Two Trees–owned Independence Bank, the landmark building next door where Trader Joe’s will open a supermarket next year.
Opponents said Two Trees is required to maintain the historic building, whether it gets its variance or not.
Nabe Chatter