Earlier, we noted that there's some sentiment to sell the most famous piece of real estate at Smith Street and Atlantic Avenue. Now, we turn our attention to 75 Smith, the slow moving Shaya Boymelgreen development that offers panoramic views of the big house. Given the level of discontent that was developing earlier in the year, it's definitely worth noting that the Luxe + Pop residence actually has residents. There are blinds in windows, blankets draped over some to cover them and moving trucks outside. Workers are still putting the final touches on the exterior and the retail space hasn't been leased, but even the hotel portion of the development looks like it's nearing completion. This leaves the Novo Park Slope as the major Boymelgreen development in the general area that is not showing much life.
· Luxe + Pop + Rumors + Questions = The Smith [Curbed]
· Checking In: Luxe + Pop + Some Progress at The Smith [Curbed]

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Oh, Boerum Hill, how we love the weird little stories that come traveling up the information food chain from your reaches. Today, we have "the urine vandals." The story emerged via an email on one of the neighborhood email lists last week:

This morning, when my husband went out to walk the dog around 7 a.m., he discovered on the sidewalk a large open container (1/2 gallon or so) of what appeared to be urine, with used syringes floating inside. Yuck! We live on the north side of the block, between Bond and Nevins, and as many neighbors know, this side of the street has been plagued since the fall with 'urine vandals.' One neighbor has had the bed of his pickup truck repeatedly doused with urine, and on several occasions large quantities of urine have been used to soak the gardens and sidewalks in the middle of the block. There is a well-known drug house on the block, central to the area of this unsavory activity. Although I am not aware of any direct evidence linking the two, many neighbors are suspicious of a possible connection.

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And now, the latest from Racked, covering shopping and retail from the sidewalks up.

1) West 30s: This fine morning witnessed the opening of the doors at the Mayle sample sale (above). And chaos, predictably, ensued: "One woman lost her shirt, literally—took it off for a second, put it down, and looked away, only to look back and realize another rabid shopper had snatched it up."

2) Noho: Those hoping for a rebirth of the Bowery of old—well, uhh, there's this anyway: the forthcoming Rogan store in the former Bouwerie Lane Theater/Jean Cocteau Repertory is sporting a new jet-black, coffin-esque interior.

3) Boerum Hill: The new location of Brooklyn Tattoo is open, and Racked has a photogallery. Piercings to follow!

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And now, the latest from Racked, covering shopping and retail from the sidewalks up.

Photo via TrespassersWill

1) FiDi: Apple's coming, right? Well, yes, no and maybe. There has been talk that Mr. Jobs & Co. are looking at 15 Broad St. and 23 Wall St. as well as "confirmed" word about 23 Wall. Racked concludes, however, that "the confirmation doesn't seem too solid."

2) West Village: Another retailer is moving onto Bleecker Street in the West Village, and (pay attention) it's not a big national brand. Jewelry designer Alexis Bittar is going to be selling his "chunky Lucite baubles" at 353 Bleecker Street.

3) Boerum Hill: By all means check out the Racked photo gallery of the new shop And Then Some, which is so not Boerum Hill that it demands to be seen. Opened by designer Alex Eagleton, the dark shop is just off Atlantic Avenue on Bond Street.

4) Gramercy: Stardust Antiques is clearing out after 15 years of selling vintage diamond engagement rings and big, gaudy baubles. The shuttering is in summer, but the sale is now. So, who gets the storefront on the park?

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The lightening rod Carroll Gardens development at 360 Smith Street has featured many things since the first Heavy Metal rendering surfaced last year. There have been protests and signs, including a "Democracy Wall" of signs protesting the development and calling for a downzoning of the neighborhood. Well, work is underway and the wall's been covered up, but it's now covered in hearts like a kind of Love Fence. As for the project itself, the Oliver House website, which is providing updates on construction status, says that excavation is going on "currently" and that "2 pieces of excavation equipment will be delivered to the site and they will begin removing soil where certain foundations will be installed. Dump trucks will take some of this soil off-site." Whee. On the other hand, they will do it all while getting a whole lot of love.
· Carroll Gardens Democracy Wall Comes Back as Love Fence [GL]
· New 360 Smith Website Isn't Trying to Sell Condos [Curbed]

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With a construction fence staring to go up today at the site of the controversial former Heavy Metal Building at 360 Smith Street, the Oliver House Condominium has launched a new website. It's not intended to sell units in the building, but to keep residents posted "in real time" about what's going on with the building. Word of Brooklyn's first website to try to keep a neighborhood up to date about condo construction was passed around by a local City Council Member rather than the developer himself. The building has been a local lightening rod and the developer has had public meetings with residents and even booted controversial architect Robert Scarano from the job. While the design of the building has changed from Heavy Metal to Easy Listening, it is still the seven stories it was when the Scarano version surfaced last May. The new website allows residents to submit comments although, sadly, they aren't displayed. In a related development, a new South Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance (SoBNA), some of whose roots can be traced to last year's Heavy Metal furor, was officially announced this morning.
· Oliver House Condominiums [oliverhousecondos.com]
· 360 Smith Condo Gets a Website, but Not for Sales [Gowanus Lounge]
· Scarano Booted from Smith Street 'Heavy Metal' Job [Curbed]

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The rezoning of Carroll Gardens may take a lot longer than residents would prefer, but the bizarre city definition of some very narrow streets as "wide," which allows for taller buildings to be built, may be on the fast track for change. Old zoning defines streets that are 50 feet wide (counting sidewalks) and that can barely handle two parked cars while leaving room for one to drive up the middle as being up to 130 feet wide because front yards are counted (the "gardens" in Carroll Gardens). The difference is a SizeChop in building height from up to seven stories on "wide" street" to five stories on "narrow" streets." (A map of the streets that will be covered is here.) The arcane language has led to the development of a number of loved tumor buildings.
· Carroll Gardens Narrow Street/Wide Street Amendment [nyc.gov]
· "Wide" Carroll Gardens Streets to Get Narrow [Gowanus Lounge]
· Keeping Carroll Gardens from Being the 'Next Williamsburg' [Curbed]

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As if brownstone Brooklynites resorting to stealing lavender wasn't enough of a warning sign.
· No More Mortgages On Court! [Pardon Me For Asking]

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The special Curbed correspondent who sent this photo from an undisclosed location in Boerum Hill wrote: "I saw this when I was walking to the Brooklyn Flea on Sunday. Who would dig up and steal a flower?" Who, indeed. If it's not one thing, it's another.
· Boerum Hill Gentrification Still Hitting Bumps [Curbed]

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