Clinton Hill
February 1, 2008
Weekend Warrior: Fixing the Skylight
Remember our weekend warrior reader who created a wine cellar in his Clinton Hill brownstone last month? Well, he's been at it again, this time tackling a sagging skylight. In his own words...
The skylight is somewhat cheaply made, and not by Michaelangelo. The designs on the glass pieces appear to have been silk-screened. But I think it looks pretty nice, particularly with the oval plaster work, and it's original to the house (1870s, Clinton Hill). It's 30 inches wide and 55 inches long...We had a leak, as you can see in lower right. And I'm sure it wasn't the first leak over the past 140 years. And, upon a closer look, it became clear that the skylight was falling apart, sagging badly and in serious danger of raining down the stairs in tiny, irreparable shards. But how to get it down without breaking it?
When I crawled up into the cockloft, I discovered that the previous owner of the house thought he could improve upon actual sunlight with a flourescent fixture....I imagine the skylight also would look a little nicer with a little cleaning (you can't make them out, but there are at least six dead bees and a thick coating of grime, here) but I was actually really scared to touch the thing at all.
Initial plan was to slip a piece of quarter-inch plywood beneath frame, screw the frame to it, and then lower it through the hole. But the husband correctly pointed out that this A) would be a huge pain in the ass, and B) the glass had sagged so much that placing the skylight on a flat piece of wood would probably bust out pieces of it.
So I slipped an old, strong shower curtain under the glass, pulled it taut, and stapled it all around. Did the same thing on the top. And lowered it through the hole to husband, waiting on tall ladder, without any damage. Now to get it restored!
Two questions: (1) Does anybody know where these clearly mass-produced approximations of stained glass came from? (2) Can anybody recommend a place for stained-glass repair? Thanks.
January 30, 2008
UPDATE: Scaffold Collapse To Blame at 525 Clinton Avenue
According to an eyewitness, the man who was killed this morning on site at 525 Clinton Avenue was working on the interior of the top floor when the high winds created a wind-tunnel effect that allegedly blew him through the glass window and to his death. This is all the more surprising given our report last summer that the development was using a new, unusually thick (four inches) type of glass called Visionwall. The eyewitness reminded us that the winds can get especially bad in Clinton Hill because it is, after all, on a hill. Unbelievable.
UPDATE: Here's an update we just received from DOB:
Upon inspection, Buildings engineers and inspectors determined a three-frame pipe scaffold installed on the roof of the new building under construction had collapsed. Sections of the pipe scaffold collapsed onto the 2nd floor and 12th floor setbacks of the new building under construction. Preliminary reports indicate three workers on the pipe scaffold were performing stucco work on the exterior of the rooftop bulkhead at the time of the incident. The workers were employed by a sub-contractor, Bell Tower Enterprises, retained by the general contractor overseeing construction of the new building, Clinton Court Development LLC.
Given this new information, we're redacting the earlier eyewitness account until we can get more information.
BREAKING: Worker Killed at 525 Clinton Avenue [Brownstoner] GMAP<-->
Photo by Gary Brubaker
BREAKING: Worker Killed at 525 Clinton Avenue
WNBC is reporting that a construction worker died this morning in a fall from a scaffolding at the 13-story work-in-progress at 525 Clinton Avenue in Clinton Hill; a second worker is reportedly injured. The accident occurred at about 10 a.m., after the DOB had issued safety warnings about the high winds. Is anyone nearby with a camera?
Construction Worker Dies After Fall From Scaffolding [WNBC] GMAP<--> P*Shark
Development Watch: 525 Clinton Avenue Check-In [Brownstoner] DOB
Development Watch: 525 Clinton Avenue [Brownstoner]
525 Clinton Avenue Looking Good [Brownstoner]
525 Clinton Gets Its Glass On [Brownstoner]
Tower Rising at 525 Clinton Avenue [Brownstoner]
Photo by Tracy Collins
Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up
Early Controversy Over Favela
Corner of South 5th and Wythe, Williamsburg
Eater's roving photographer, Will Femia, snapped this photo of the future home of a Brazilian restaurant called Favela, and The Gurgling Cod already has a beef with the restaurant's name: "Call me crazy, but I don't think you could get away with a soul food (or Polish) restaurant called 'Ghetto.'" Is something getting lost in translation here?
Opening on February 14: Amy Ruth's
372-374 Fulton Street (Fulton Mall), Downtown Brooklyn
"Amorous couples will dine on sauteed chicken liver and braised chitlens on Valentine’s Day at the new Amy Ruth’s on Fulton Mall — but if they need booze to get in a romantic mood, they’ll have to go somewhere else. That’s because the well-known Harlem soul food restaurant won’t have its liquor license when it opens its new location in the old Gage & Tollner site on Feb. 14." [The Brooklyn Paper]
Closed: Second Street Cafe
189 7th Avenue (at Second Street), Park Slope
"The women who work at Met Food said the rent was too high. Another local shopkeeper said that they weren't making any money. Maybe the renovation did them in. A neighbor saw the tall, white haired owner crying... So sudden. So strange. The block between 2nd and 3rd Street on Seventh Avenue has had three closings in two months (Tempo Presto, Seventh Avenue Books, Second Street Cafe). Park Slope Books will be out in March." [OTBKB]
After the jump: Trader Joe's progress report, a beer bar for Park Slope, a "jewel box" for Prospect Heights, brick oven pizza for Clinton Hill, and Harvey Wallbanger arrives in Williamsburg...
Condo Conversion for 283 Washington Avenue
The five-story brownstone at 283 Washington Avenue in Clinton Hill, which last changed hands for $1,670,000 in 2005, will soon be reborn as the Cherry Tree Condos, according to a sign in the house's front yard. A peek at DOB filings suggests it will consist of five units. Brooklyn Properties will have the listing, but there's nothing on its website yet. Anyone know anything else? GMAP<--> P*Shark DOB
January 29, 2008
Streetlevel: Brick Oven Pizza for Wallabout
The block of Washington Avenue between Flushing and Park (one of our favorites in the area) will take another step forward with the opening this spring of a brick over pizza restaurant at 37 Washington Avenue. Actually, it's more of a re-opening, as the same duo that's operated the slightly more down-market Brooklyn's Best Pizzeria for the past 14 years is behind the new joint. Clinton Hill Blog reports that the new incarnation will be called Il Porto and will be operating a sidewalk cafe in the warmer months; according to CHB, an April opening is targeted.
Brick Oven Pizza Coming to Wallabout [Clinton Hill Blog] GMAP<-->
January 28, 2008
New Charter School Underway in Clinton Hill
Work on the future home of Achievement First Endeavor Charter School, a 5th to 8th grade program launched in 2006, is now underway at 510 Waverly Avenue in Clinton Hill (current photo on the jump); the school, which has been lodged in temporary quarters at 850 Kent Avenue for the last two years, will ultimately accommodate 700 students. The rendering on the architect's website looks promising to us, a tasteful melding of a modern addition and the existing ice cream factory. As far as we know, it's supposed to be ready for the 2008-2009 academic year. Perhaps the arrival of a school on that block will turn up the pressure on the methadone clinic a few doors down to clean up its act. GMAP<--> P*Shark DOB
Continue reading "New Charter School Underway in Clinton Hill"
January 23, 2008
Closing Bell: There Goes the Front Yard
Clinton Hill just got a little uglier—and a little more difficult to find a parking space in. The owner's plan to cut the curb and turn the front of the ground floor at 174 Clinton Avenue into a parking garage that we reported back in November is coming to fruition. A reader sends in this photo that shows the concrete and facade demolition has been completed. How can this be? The property falls just outside the historic district and just within the commercial overlay from Myrtle Avenue. The flipper's gain is everyone else's loss.
174 Clinton Avenue [Brown Harris Stevens] GMAP<--> P*Shark DOB
Cut and Run at 174 Clinton Avenue [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 328 Grand Avenue
A couple of backhoes have shown up in the last few days at 328 Grand Avenue in Clinton Hill, but don't get your hopes up. First of all, there's no record of new building permits online. And even if there were, chances are we're in for another temple of mediocrity courtesy of the same guys who built the rental building across the street at 309 Grand Avenue (at right). As we said last March, we wish they'd kept the old two-story commercial building and built an interesting addition on top. Some Most people have no imagination.
328 Grand: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow [Brownstoner] GMAP<--> P*Shark DOB
January 22, 2008
Repainting the Front Parlor
When we originally moved into our house more than two years ago, our intention was to use the front parlor in the near-to-medium term as our own home office while renting out the rear to a non-profit. (It's a five-story house and we didn't want to make it a three-family.) The hope was that within five years or so we'd be able to afford to take over the entire parlor floor and move the kitchen to the rear of it with a deck and stairs down to the yard. Of course, instead of a useful home office, its proxomity to the front door made it a dumping ground for bicycles, strollers, boots, etc. Fed up, we purged the space over the holidays in anticipation of turning it into a clean, sparingly decorated dining room: One table with chairs, maybe a sideboard and that's it. The first step is to repaint, so we put up some swatches last week. From left to right, you're looking at Farrow & Ball's Pigeon, French Gray and Black Blue. We were tempted by the Pigeon but the prevailing opinion among family and friends was that it would be too dark, as the Black Blue would be. So we're going to be going with the French Gray (center). Anyone else used this color?