winners!

the l magazine has put together a list of brooklyn neighborhood power rankings, and guess who's right up top.

Why You Should Move Here Greenpointers are under the misapprehension that their quiet, lovely (but not dull) post-industrial waterfront neighborhood is still some kind of secret—it is not. But some of its gorgeous, quiet blocks retain a marvelous hidden quality (we’re looking at you Oak Street) just steps from the old New York neighborhood-bustle of Manhattan Avenue or the mellow gentrified sheen of Franklin Street. Maybe it’s the stalwart presence of the longstanding Polish community (half of the hood’s approximately 40,000 residents), or the isolating “G” factor but, somehow, Greenpoint has managed to absorb the northward seep of Williamsburg’s consumer-driven “counterculture” without turning into a hipster mall. And that’s why it’s our number one neighborhood in Brooklyn. 

fyi, brooklyn magazine updates this list on a weekly basis. if you haven't subscribed yet, please do. it's gorgeous.

old neighborhood news

Brooklyn’s latest historic district – a cluster of 21 skyscrapers and office buildings surrounding Borough Hall downtown – was created on Tuesday over the objections of some of its landowners and inhabitants.

The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District despite opposition from business groups that said the designation would burden owners with new costs and regulations, and from the co-op board of the district’s only residential building, 75 Livingston Street.
...
The buildings, several of which were built in the neo-Gothic style, include the 13-story Beaux-Arts Temple Bar building, Brooklyn’s tallest building at the turn of the 20th century; the borough’s 1926 Municipal Building; and the building at 16 Court Street, a stepped-back tower that rises 36 stories above Brooklyn’s municipal plaza. (See map – pdf.) The district also includes Brooklyn’s cupola-crowned Borough Hall, which was declared an individual landmark in 1966. (via)

older neighborhood news

For the last year, the Bean has been on a month-to-month lease for its space on Third Street and First Avenue. The owners tried without success to extend it, said Ike Escava, one of the partners. Late last month, the store received a 30-day notice to leave.
...
The city sheds its skin every day; Mom & Pop are always getting the boot. Manhattan now has 186 Starbucks, which is eight per square mile. There are more Starbuckses than subway stations. You might think that 186 stores on one small island is the functional equivalent of everywhere, but it turns out not to be, in Starbuckian terms, enough: outlet No. 187 is opening Friday in Times Square, and sometime early next year, No. 188 — or so — will be hanging its shingle on Third Street, right down the block from the world headquarters of the Hell’s Angels.

But sing no sad songs for the Bean.

By the time Starbucks has rebuilt the corner of Third Street and First Avenue to meet its quality standards for hospitable monotony, the Bean will be flying its flag about 100 yards south.

This time, Mom & Pop are fighting back. (via)

two arms inc. : neighborhood series

(via)

another list!

nymag's neighborhood issue is out, including a fairly scientific ranking of new york's most livable neighborhoods. here are some results:

top 10:
1) park slope, brooklyn
2) lower east side, manhattan
3) sunnyside, queens
4) cobble hill / boerum hill, brooklyn
5) greenpoint, brooklyn
6) brooklyn heights, brooklyn (!)
7) carroll gardens / gowanus
8) murray hill, manhattan
9) prospect heights, brooklyn
10) east village, manhattan

ikea not a complete diaster

when it was announced that ikea would build it's first nyc store in brooklyn, experts and residents were concerned that an influx of automobile traffic would overwhelm the otherwise quiet red hook neighborhood. however, traffic studies conducted since the opening are showing that things are in fact better than most expected.

ikea took great care to implement alternative ways to get to the red hook location, including buses, water taxis, and shuttles. these measures seem to be working. the brooklyn eagle has a full report.

would you like to have your mind blown?

thought so. this is pretty gd incredible. a guy traveled to every subway station in the city in 10 days, documenting each stop and its surrounding context in writing and in photographs. just remarkable.

my fave stopz:
borough hall / court street
clark street
bergen street

joel's faves:
2nd ave
137th street

what are your faves?

thx mxxx.

word.

more posters. thx tina.