Quadrum Global filed plans this week with the Dept. of Buildings for a 14-story, 150-foot tall residential building at 53 Huron St. (also known as 161 West St.) with 173 units spanning 178,000 square feet.
The development includes 86 enclosed parking spaces and would span 278,000 square feet at West Street between Huron and Green streets. The rendering envisions a yacht-friendly future for the building on the Greenpoint waterfront, which would neighbor the 40-story tower ‘The Greenpoint.”
The name Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) is legendary in urban planning and in the last year of her life, Jacobs had a prescient warning about the future of our waterfront in Brooklyn. Her 2005 letter about plans to develop the local waterfront is so timely that it seems like it could have been written today.Jacobs was a revolutionary urbanist and activist whose groundbreaking writings championed a community-based approach to urban development and renewal. Although She had no formal training as a planner, her seminal 1961 work “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” is considered something of a bible amongst urbanists. In the book, Jacobs proposed novel ideas about how cities function, evolve and fail, that were groundbreaking then, but today seem obvious to generations of architects, urban planners, politicians and activists. Once a year in May, her contributions to cities are recalled on Jane’s Day when people around the world organize walks in cities.
In 2005, shortly before her own death, the legendary urbanist weighed in on the renewal of the Williamsburg-Greenpoint waterfront in a letter addressed to former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. She advocated for the adoption of a community-sponsored development plan that was ultimately not adopted. In her letter, she warned that developers outside the community would take advantage of the rezoning of the East River waterfront to serve their own interests by building high rises and by gentrifying the area so that working class people would be pushed out. Jacobs’ letter contrasted the local community’s plan for the area versus the developer-friendly rezoning that ultimately was adopted. 13 years later her warnings have proven valid. It is amazing how timely Jacobs’ letter still feels today. Continue reading →
A public information session is being hosted by NYC Councilmember Stephen Levin regarding the Williamsburg and Greenpoint waterfront zoning process this Tuesday, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m., at the Dupont Senior Housing Center (80 Dupont St.).
Reps from the Department of City Planning and the Department of Parks and Recreation will be in attendance to answer questions on how water esplanades are designed and developed.
The Brooklyn Barge (3 West Street, at Milton) finally opened yesterday for its third season. This is Greenpoint’s only waterfront bar with unbeatable views of Manhattan. It’s the kind of place you can round up a dozen friends last minute or bring a date to watch the sunset and twinkling skyline after dark. You can enjoy ten beers on tap (half of which are local to NY), sample the shared bites menu or go with their signature Barge Tacos or Burger. There’s something for everyone including veggie and gluten-free options.
The launch of the NYC Ferry service (which had prices drop down to $2.75 one-way) will surely increase traffic from Manhattan to Greenpoint foreshadowing the imminent boom of housing along West Street. As a result, we should probably expect bigger crowds at the Barge this season. Continue reading →
Is Greenpoint better off than it was 10 years ago? Are hipsters more like termites or ants? Depends on who you ask. Curbed ran a thoughtful rebuttal to Wired’s “before and after” photo essay bemoaning the effects of gentrification, which, if we’re being fair, is sometimes a careful architect and not so much a destructive force of nature.
Uh oh, G Train trouble! A derailment last night near Hoyt-Schermerhorn is what’s causing your limited service woes today.
If you didn’t already know, Beloved is no longer. For what it’s worth, it was the one place in town where you could get negronis on the house on the occasion of the bartender’s dog’s birthday. The dog’s name was Negroni.
The body, which was found in the Newtown Creek, was that of Steven L. Middleton, a 21 year old who went swimming in the East River off of Williamsburg a few days earlier.
Our thoughts are with the family of this young man during this very sad time.
Last night, I received a text from a friend and trusted local resource – Meg from Dandelion Wine, “Dude. They just found a body floating in the river off the got pier.” A girl ran into the wine shop and said she was taking a sunset selfie with her dog when she noticed the crowd and a police boat pulling a dead body out of the water. Continue reading →
West Street's wooden block sidewalk is a common stop on walking tours of Greenpoint; Courtesy of Preservation Greenpoint
Is one of Greenpoint’s most unexpected features—a stretch of historic wooden block paving on West Street near the Greenpoint Terminal Market—in imminent danger? Many say that this is the last place where original wooden paving exists in New York City. These blocks are so rare that one from this section of sidewalk is included in the collection at The City Reliquary. But a new bike path down West Street could mean this final vestige of obscure New York City history will be put on the chopping block. Continue reading →
Greenpoint has a new and HUGE art gallery – Succulent Studios, occupying a 3,000 square foot space on the coveted 5th floor of 67 West St – a landmarked former rope factory on the waterfront. A freight elevator up from our third floor HQ, past Greenpoint Loft and around the bend, I opened the door into a construction zone – a vast, high ceilinged and sun drenched construction zone with a view of the East River, lower Manhattan and a granite store yard below – the kind of space many of us would dream to work or live in.
That evening while sipping on a beer at Brouwerij Lane, a call with a NJ area code appeared on my phone. It was Stephen Levin and he was pretty insulted by our decision to run that post. I stood outside in the cold while he explained to me (in many words) what I have invited him to share with you.
Yes we have been extremely critical of him and will continue to be as long as he makes decisions that we feel are not in the best interest of Greenpoint. I did offer him the opportunity to explain himself here. After, I invite readers to reply in the comment section. (Keep it classy.)
Jacobs was a revolutionary urbanist and activist whose groundbreaking writings championed a community-based approach to urban development and renewal. Although She had no formal training as a planner, her seminal 1961 work “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” is considered something of a bible amongst urbanists. In the book, Jacobs proposed novel ideas about how cities function, evolve and fail, that were groundbreaking then, but today seem obvious to generations of architects, urban planners, politicians and activists. Once a year in May, her contributions to cities are recalled on Jane’s Day when people around the world organize walks in cities.
