Not all the artists are returning to 475 Kent Avenue, the South Williamsburg live/work loft building—excuse us, artists' community—condemned on a cold winter's night because of the landlord's illegal matzo baking operation in the basement. This means that openings in the now up-to-code waterfront building should be spreading via word of mouth and Craigslist. Here's one such listing, sent in by a tipster, for an eighth-floor, 1,400-square-foot concrete box in the building. "New paint and stainless appliances" are coming soon, and man, you can't hate on those windows and views. So, how much to live in this former deathtrap? The very unstruggling artist's price of $3,600/month. Complimentary matzo no longer included.
· Listing: $3600 RIVER & SKYLINE VIEWS-1400 SQ FT-WILLIAMSBURG LOFT [Craigslist]
· 475 Kent Avenue coverage [Curbed]
The Power Plant on Kent Avenue in South Williamsburg is being demolished by Con Edison right now to the consternation of preservationists, but a readers sends the rendering above of what it might look like if saved. He writes:
I used to live near the old powerhouse on Kent Avenue that is being demolished by ConEd. I have been studying ways that this building could be re-used - as a cultural institution, library, housing, studios for local artisans, etc. It could also be adapted to allow community access to the waterfront.
The building was turned down for consideration by the Landmarks Commission and the utility says it can't find a buyer for the building because the cleanup would be too costly. (Asbestos is said to be baked into the walls.) So, after first denying it would be demolished, the building is coming down so the cleared land can be sold. There's sentiment in the community for using the land for affordable housing, but Con Ed is likely to sell it for luxe condo development. Historians were interested in photographing the interior to create a record of the building, but a Community Board 1 member told us they'd turned down the request, citing "safety concerns." Nice rendering, though.
· Kent Avenue Power Plant Coming Down or Being Spruced Up? [Curbed]
The area of Williamsburg around Union Avenue east of the BQE has become a huge construction zone over the last year. There are two epicenters of development, between Roebling Street and the BQE (where there are more vacant lots than construction sites at the moment) and between Metropolitan and Grand Street, where there are some big structures rising. The neighborhood include new buildings from Karl Fischer, Kutnicki Bernstein, Michael Muroff and Robert Scarano to name a few. The entrance to the Union Triangle will be presided over by the Gateway to Williamsburg, which is awaiting the start of construction. A small selection are highlighted in the gallery here.
· Burg Craned Again as Hard Steel Rises on Union Avenue [Curbed]
Last week, a post about a traffic light getting mowed down at Broadway and Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg drew an e-mail from another reader who noted that work is underway to add bike lanes and medians to the street. It's actually part of a number of changes in the neighborhood, including the installation of a major number of traffic lights. As for the Broadway redo, a reader writes: "I thought it was a whole repaving and traffic-island making. After a bit of research it looks like Broadway between Bedford and Kent will become a greenway." Well, it's going to have a big planted median, two bike lanes and one lane of traffic in each direction.
What do 239 N. 9 Street, 261 N. 9 Street and 120 S. 4 Street in Williamsburg have in common? If you guessed Hot Karl Fischer--whose S. 4 Street building is in the rendering above--you have an important part of the answer. But not the only one. New York Shitty notes that the buildings, which will have a couple of hundred units between them, are being developed by one of the co-owners of the Greenpoint Hotel, which is most notable for its, um, sometimes unsavory living conditions. The 239 N. 9 building has had some safety issues and was the site of some anti-gentrification graffiti we caught last week. The S. 4 Street building, which is at the corner of Bedford Avenue and has another Greenpoint Hotel-related building, the Rocket Factory as its neighbor, just started up again after being an abandoned site for more than a year. To round out the picture, the same developer is planning a hotel--though whether it's a boutique or something else is unknown--next to another nabe favorite, Studio B. No word on whether Hot Karl is doing the renovations on that one.
· Searching for 80 Clay Street [New York Shitty]
· More Fun with Max [New York Shitty]
A big new waterfront development in South Williamsburg is quietly making the rounds in the land use review process. The development is called Rose Plaza on the River. It would be a three-building project south of Schaefer Landing and immediately north of the big power plant that Con Ed is in the process of demolishing after early denials. Many people believe the utility will sell the cleared land for another luxe high rise development. It would also be across the street from the now very well-known 475 Kent Avenue. As for Rose Plaza, the developers are looking for the same zoning as Schaefer Landing, which has 350 units in two buildings. The developer would be Waterfront Realty, which includes several veteran Brooklyn real estate players including Stanley Gallant and others. It needs approval from the City Planning Commission among others to get anywhere.
It was just another night in Williamsburg. Dinner at Diner, and then, Josh Stein explains:
A loud crash, a puff of smoke, a tumbling post, a final crash. Silence. Jews poked their heads out of their offices. On the street lay Bedford Avenue, in shambles. The dumptruck dudes got out, looked at each other and then beat it. A cop car drove by but apparently didn't notice the enormous pole and traffic light laying across the middle of the intersection. Another cop car drove by but didn't stop. Finally, I called 3-1-1. They said they couldn't help me but transferred me to 9-1-1. They didn't know where Havemeyer was. I hung up and jogged to another cop car parked at the Williamsburg Bridge Bus Depot.
There is more including the conclusion that "I don't think law enforcement officials realize that the famed Williamsburg hipster nonchalance doesn't apply when one is fulfilling one's duty as a representative of civil society."
· Is This the End of Williamsburg? [My Memoirs]
So, this appears to be a wind power device to catch some of the gusts coming off the East River at the foot of Grand Street in Williamsburg, which is a very windblown place. What's unclear is how much power this absurdist windmill generates and what it runs. It appears to be made of, you know, fans.
· Mini-Windfarm on My Building Roof [Zach Klein/flickr]
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