across the park

Big Boost for Area Renters

The City Council passed the Safe Housing Act yesterday, which ups the ante against landlords who neglect their properties.  The new law requires that the Department of Housing Preservation identify 200 deliquent property owners per year and force them to repair their buildings.  Should property owners choose not to make repairs, the city will step in to fix the problem and then bill the owner.

The NYTimes says:

The bill goes further than current regulations in requiring not just repairs of the immediate problems, like a leaky pipe, but also overhauls of the entire system causing the problems, like bad plumbing and boilers or faulty electrical wiring.

So, we're talking potentially major repairs.  This is good news for tenants in some of the more run down buildings in PLG, such as those on Ocean Ave. (99 Ocean Ave. pictured above).  Get the word out about the new law - if HPD is up to the task, the law should lead to substantial quality of life improvements for renters.

SOLD (Almost)

Previously, we reported that the Caledonian Health Center facility was for sale.  We learned this morning that Caledonian has received a tentative bid.  Says Crain's:

Bankrupt Brooklyn Hospital has a tentative buyer for its Caledonian campus, with an auction set to attract possible higher bids. The hospital signed a purchase agreement for $15 million with an investor group, 123 Parkside LLC.  Sam Lehrfeld, the hospital’s president, says that while he doesn’t know the purchaser’s plans for the site, which overlooks Prospect Park, “I’d like to see housing there, something the community will be happy with.” The site will not be used for another hospital or clinic.

In our opinion, this is great news.  Caledonian is an awesome location for housing, being on Prospect Park and very close to the subway.  As we previously reported, zoning allows for 220,000 square feet of residential space.

We also hope that news of a slew of new condos speeds the rate at which new amenities appear in PLG.

Thanks Kendall!

It's a boozy kind of day

We searched far and wide for a photo of Handyman Sports Bar, but couldn't find one.  This is our best approximation based on a Google maps search (which, if you haven't noticed, now has a really cool street view feature).

Back to Handyman: A friendly reader tipped us off that a notice of an application for a liquior license is currently posted in their window.

Anyone got the scoop? 

We have only been inside Handyman once, and it was during a PLGArts fundraiser.  Is Handyman even regularly open?  We assumed it was purely a party rental space.

Thanks Charles!

Ugly and Getting Uglier

 

This thing on the corner of Parkside and Bedford Aves. did not turn out pretty - not that we were expecting it to.  Annoyingly, it would not have been too difficult for the builders to mimic the style of the adjacent structures based on the chosen building materials.  Instead they took the route leading to faux brick arches.

Beautiful.

In case you're interested, the units will be condos.  Makes Lefferts South look like a sculpture.   

The NEW New Brooklyn & Slim...

...appears to be not yet open.

However, the exterior has been nicely vandalized since the original New Brooklyn & Slim closed.

Does anyone know what's going on inside there?  The dumpster is gone, but there seems to be limited to no activity taking place.  Anyone know who bought the place?

We miss the welcoming vibe fostered by the last owners as much as we miss the cheap beers.

Pool Gains Momentum

With all the buzz about proposed plans for the Wollman Rink is Prospect Park, PLGers have been at the forefront of a new, bold plan for the park: a swimming pool.

If you would like to show your support for the project, you can sign the online petition.  You can also head to the meeting at the Wollman Rink to discuss the entire project tomorrow night at 6pm.

A pool could be nice.  It would certainly be a lively attraction on our side of the park. 

Area Grocery Store Brings Joy

The Met Foods on Bedford and Clarkson Aves. has officially opened.  Compared with other area grocery offerings, it is unadulterated Nirvana (it will be super special once they get their sign up).

At the time of our visit, the store's deli, fish and bakery areas were not fully installed.  Most shelves were stocked with a selection far superior to, say, the Associated on Flatbush.  The store was super clean (we're hoping not just because it's new).  We have high hopes.

Sorry for the slightly whacky photos - we succeeded at getting in and out unnoticed.   

And to pre-empt the critics:  Yes, taking the bus down to Stop n' Shop is too much effort for us.

Seriously, this appears to be a decent store.

More Development on Rogers Ave

We strolled down Rogers Ave. (somewhere near Hawthorne St.) this weekend and noticed another building undergoing extrensive renovation.  Permits indicate that the building will be ten residential units (not clear whether they will be rental or condo) and two storefronts.  According to Property Shark, the building changed hands in January 2006 and is now owned by 593 Rogers Corp.

Any other info out there?

PLG Annual House Tour

It's just about house tour time again, our favorite chance to see how our neighbors live.  This year's tour will be on Sunday, June 3, 12 - 5pm.

Last year's tour proved to be excellent and, for us, quite exhausting.  You can burn a lot of calories climbing all of those Victorian staircases, etc.

If you're cheap like us, you can also qualify for a free ticket by being a tour guide.  You'll be stationed at a house for 2.5 hours, starting either at noon or 2:30pm.

Here is the complete info as posted on the Lefferts Yahoo! Group:

Ø      Tour Guides are needed to work a 2 1/2 hour shift and will receive a free ticket in return for your participation.  To volunteer, call Carole Schaffer at 718-462-0024. 

Ø      Donations of home baked cookies, brownies, cakes, etc. are also needed.  These should be brought to 161 Rutland Road on tour day—Sunday June 3^rd— from 8:30 AM to 12 Noon.

Please encourage your friends, relatives, & coworkers to attend!

Local Advance Ticket Sales Locations:

Easy Access Real Estate Corp., 1123 Nostrand Avenue

K-Dog & Dunebuggy, 43 Lincoln Road

Lincoln Rd. Got Green

If you were around this weekend (unfortunately, we were not) you probably noticed some activity on Lincoln Rd.  PLUS' greening project, Get Down and Dirty, resulted in the placement of a lot of shrubs, woodchips, compost and flowers along both sides of the street.

Hike over to Lincoln Rd. to check out the results yourself.  We await volunteer testimonials as to how fulfilling and wonderful the day was in the form of comments...