St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church at Stockholm and Onderdonk. — Photo by E. Faria

The Queens Crapper sent a note to let me know St. Aloysius RC Church, at the foot of the Stockholm Street Historic District, had its belltowers boarded up — “It looks really ugly.” A bit of snooping (I called the church) revealed they’re just cleaning decades of pigeon crap and installing louvers in the opening so that the birds can’t get in there anymore. Hopefully the new bits will be just as attractive as the church itself.

$2300-2500 — lofts: Some huge, beautiful, well-appointed apartments available here — loft living without the slob aspect. The Bushwick side of Flushing has the more “grown-up” conversions. And props to the agent for saying it’s near East Williamsburg instead of in it.
Troutman and St. Nicholas(?) | street view | Jefferson L

$1600 — 2br/2ba: One of seven apartments in Bushwick with more than one bathroom! But seriously, that’s rare, and it has a dishwasher. Location isn’t terrible either — only a couple blocks from Caffe Europa, with the best espresso in NYC.
PETS OK | Himrod and Knickerbocker | street view | DeKalb L/Central M

$1350 — 1br: This location (not bad, just not the best) wouldn’t normally warrant this price but there’s a lot of square footage here — 850 is big (measure it). The bit of the bathroom we can see looks kind of kooky but the place overall seems decent. And it’s a block from Mr. Kiwi’s for some of your organical needs.
PETS OK | Bushwick and Myrtle | street view | Myrtle JMZ

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Not likely to make it onto the Culture Picks, but notable nonetheless: An artist called “BiZZiD” who paints and sculpts images of ’80s performance artist Leigh Bowery and the equally queer C-3PO will have his work set up at 300 Knickerbocker (that’s near Suydam) this weekend for a photoshoot and wants people to come by and I guess ridicule his “stupid, ridiculous, crummy, 3rd rate” stuff.

An argument this morning at the Borinquen Plaza projects at 330 Bushwick Avenue ended with a man shooting dead his longtime girlfriend and mother of his child. He then shot the woman’s 78-year-old father, hitting him in the shoulder. The father then blasted one back at the killer, killing him. Perversely, the old man who defended himself against a maniac might face charges if it’s determined his gun wasn’t registered.

Bushwick mural — Photo by Diego Cupolo

For many of you, them may be barfin’ words. But influential art critic Jerry Saltz — who recently took a low-key tour through the hood — says Bushwick is “the closest thing to the eighties East Village.” Interestingly, very indy (like, in someone’s apartment) gallery Norte Maar heads the list as a starting point for a Bushwick art jaunt. Also mentioned: Pocket Utopia, English Kills, and Lumenhouse.

30 Woodbine Street, one of five foreclosed homes on a single block off Broadway. — Photo by Diego Cupolo.

Bushwick has been prominent among New York neighborhoods in news of the country’s foreclosure “crisis.” Much sap has been made of a few people losing their houses in the neighborhood, but do the facts justify the hysteria?

While 3.7% of Bushwick’s housing was in some part of the foreclosure process in 2006 [pdf], and it’s likely even higher now, it’s important to keep the proper perspective: the vast majority of homes in Bushwick are not in foreclosure. However, there are some clusters in the 2-to-3-family areas south of Myrtle that might look alarming to the casual observer.

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Central, Stanhope, St. Nicholas! Trevor Geoffrey Adams rides his bike throughout the neighborhood; it’s amazing how the right music can brighten up even the most dismal of industrial corners. The old Chinantla factory, Lares Bar, El Pollo Mas Bueno, Tortillería Los Hermanos, Chimu Express… take a look, you might see part of your hood in here.

$1900 — 3br: Okay, it’s not “like a 5-star hotel,” but this is a nice apartment. Exposed brick, wood floors, good light, new and attractive fixtures, and close to the train.
PETS OK | Bushwick and Myrtle | street view | Myrtle JMZ

$1300 — 2br rr: Nothing special but everything seems in order. Looks large and has wood floors — that trim needs to be repainted badly but that’s an easy job.
Bushwick and Jefferson St | street view | Myrtle JMZ

$1350 — 2br rr: Decent condition, price, and location. It is not “steps from the L” and you wouldn’t take DeKalb if it was, that must be info they forgot to change in the ad template.
PETS OK | Jefferson St and Evergreen | street view | Myrtle JMZ/Morgan L

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I never thought they’d film the less-attractive areas near my house, but duh, it’s a show about putting out fires — of course they want to film ugly. So here’s Denis Leary and his crew outside Lares Bar at Central and Jefferson Street, courtesy of tipster Brett Sroka (of the band Ergo).

The Z will be gone. The J will have no more express service. The M will see service halved; you’ll have to switch trains to get to South Brooklyn. The brown lines that serve Bushwick are getting the brunt of the MTA’s cutbacks on subway service. Get ready for more crowded trains and platforms. Thanks to the City’s own financial crisis, we can expect to pay more and get less — at least in government services. Stay tuned.