I was heading for the J yesterday and was shocked to see my absolute favorite house in Bushwick being dismantled. The house reminded me of a haunted mansion in miniature, though at one time most houses in the neighborhood looked similar. I loved that even the original shingles remained, all the woodwork preserved under a thousand layers of paint. Two creepy birdhouses tilted in front like guards, as if they knew the house was in danger.

Another house a few doors down, a squat brick box, was also taken down until only a short rim of bricks remained. I snagged one of the smaller cornices from it in a neighbor’s car. It was sad, but the house was already in major disrepair and half-covered by plywood — the loss was less obvious.

This beautiful green house stood in perfect contrast to the 1930s-40s brick homes on either side, and the other architecturally compromised structures on the block. I walked by that house and smiled every time, taking pleasure in some or other detail in the woodwork. And today it’s raining inside what remains.

Of all the available spots in Bushwick, they had to pick the best house and knock it down for some stuccoed shitshack that I’m sure is to come. It’s not even a particularly nice or popular street — the house faces a cinderblock warehouse. The hideous 76 Jefferson lies fallow up near Evergreen. The only charm on the block is being systematically bulldozed.

I feel sick over this. Bushwick already isn’t much in the architecture department.

If anyone has any history to share about this house or block, please do.

Troutman Street is a strange animal. As recently as a few years ago it was the worst street in Bushwick for drugs and crime. Now it seems to be, along with Jefferson and Starr Streets, part of the residential and cultural backbone of the new Bushwick. Its entire length is being transformed, bit by bit, by developers, investors, entrepreneurs, and artists. Often those categories overlap. Oh, you can definitely still buy a rock on Troutman between Knickerbocker and Irving — I walked right through a transaction one night a few weeks ago.

more »

What’s this magnificent building, you ask? Surely it’s a museum or a bank or some equally important building. Sorry, but no. Originally the Ridgewood National Bank, then the Hanover National Bank, the Beaux-Arts structure on Myrtle was taken over by Rite Aid.

more »

It looks like the only movie theater left in Bushwick and Ridgewood has finally bit the dust. Forget fresh produce — the movie theater “shelf,” so to speak, in 1970s Moscow was probably better stocked than in New York today. The closing leaves all of North Brooklyn — Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and Bushwick — with no local options for watching first-run movies in a theater. Not to mention large swathes of Queens.

The theater opened in 1916, and for generations served Bushwick and Ridgewood. “It is believed to be one of the oldest continuously operated theaters in the country, having never closed for renovations during its 89-year run.”

Sadly, the only thing I can imagine leasing 17,000 sqft is another chain drug store. Hopefully, whatever happens, the facade remains intact.

A long street of identical Bushwick-Ridgewood brick apartments can be a stunning sight, but like brownstones, the charm wears off after a few blocks of the same old thing. That’s why I love when an architectural maverick breaks up the landscape. This house on Suydam near Knickerbocker is one of my favorites facing the park. Its kooky English red brick and slate roof is so different from its blond brick neighbors, you have to wonder what the builder was thinking — and what the neighbors thought.

Since this architecture was most popular in the 30s, and the other buildings are certainly about 20 years older, my theory is that this used to be just like its neighbors, and an owner with a streak of individualism decided to add a “modern” facade — which would explain why the building sits about a foot closer to the street.

Any better-trained historians in the house to explain this place?

UPDATE: Turns out it was simply rehabbed to be a medical office with upstairs apartments for the doctor.

Assorted hipsters and such walk past Bushwick’s “future Bedford Avenue.”

I have been thinking that the Northern part of Wyckoff Avenue, with several vacant storefronts and underutilized warehouses, would be the perfect little hipster-yuppie “main street,” if only a few more atmosphere-contributing businesses could open. Several large residential lofts exist within a one-block radius, not to mention the thousands of Bushwick newbies that have moved into all the unglamorous standard apartments in the area over the past year. Northeast Kingdom and the Wyckoff-Starr anchor the block — of course, they’re both owned by the same people. One new storefront has recently been beautifully renovated, but it’s still not certain what is going in that space.

Why won’t someone with a clue buy the big, empty brick warehouse on the interior of the block? Chill out, someone has. And they plan on creating up to five storefronts, with the renovations inside and out to be designed by an architect “practically pro bono,” attracted to the project for its uniqueness.

This weekend I met with David Krieger of the Brooklyn Atlantic Real Estate Co. to talk about it. He and his team are working with the owner to find a “sustainable” mix of tenants, so we won’t just end up with whatever will pay the highest rent.

more »

The old header was bleak and depressing. I’m tired of everything that represents Bushwick online being photos of warehouses and graffiti and barbed wire and trash. Let’s show off some of our truly stunning architectural specimens, and on a flawless day in the neighborhood!

Before the facade was on this condo-to-be at Troutman and Wilson, a friend of mine who is acquainted with the developer assured me he was a “nice Israeli guy who builds quality stuff.” When the facade went on, I said, “uh, your buddy’s idea of quality is something reminiscent of a West Bank settlement.”

I’d like to see a Right of Return for this — back to an empty lot. Yuck.

Begging to be a bar.

I went on a stroll through the hood this weekend, and as I walked down Cypress from Palmetto to Troutman, I took photos of some interesting carriage houses and garages.

Interesting but scary.

Nothing special, but has a large, mature grape arbor on top.

Hard to tell from the photo, but the facade is brick and has a slate roof.

Earth to developers: if high-priced nice condos didn’t sell in Bushwick at the tail end of the real estate boom, crappy condos are not going to sell for even higher prices in a relative real estate bust. Sure, they did a decent job on this previously rickety frame building, adding another floor so it made financial sense and even preserving (if painting rather hideously) the original front doors. Oh, are we letting the faux-saltillo tile — yes, they were so cheap that they used thin ceramic tile colored red-orange — slide? I don’t think we should, it’s nasty, and they paved the whole front area and the stoop with it.

All this could be forgiven if the apartments at 76 Jefferson Street were $200,000 one-bedrooms. But instead we got a “luxury penthouse duplex” with 2 bedrooms, two baths, and an office. Admitted pluses are the awesome city view and huge roof terrace.

“The apartment features a kitchen with granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances and classically designed cabinets. The apartment has 2 bathrooms which features, top of the line marble, granite counter tops, wall to wall mirrors, and a Jacuzzi bathtub in the master bathroom. The condominium has select oak floors with mahogany borders and a fire place. The apartment has its own stack washer and dryer.”

It’s not just marble — it’s top of the line marble! And you can’t build “luxury” without hurling a chunk of the cheapest granite into the kitchen, right? Wall-to-wall mirrors!? Wow. People were already removing tacky junk like that 15 years ago.

It would have been easy to make this building appealing to someone who is in the market for a three-quarter of a million-dollar apartment, but the problem with low-end developers who reach for the high end is that they have no taste. Even if they spent the money, it would be misspent, on stuff like gold-plated faucets. Might go down well in Brighton Beach but not in the “it’s close to Manhattan” market.

This shit shack will not sell for this price or any price they will drop it to in the near future.