Albee Square/Fulton Makeover

H&M 2010

New York Observer

United Land unloading Bridge street property to Avalon Bay

It's official: Polytech to become NYU

(image courtesy of The Real Deal)
NYU-Polytech merger approved (The Real Deal)

NYU-Poly Merger Approved (110 Livingston Blog & News)

TKTS booth opening in Downtown Brooklyn

(image courtesy of Broadwayworld.com)
"Theatre Development Fund (TDF) and MetroTech Business Improvement District today announced that a new TKTS Discount Ticket Booth located in the MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn will open on Thursday, July 10 at 11am, preceded by a ribbon cutting ceremony. TDF will offer Broadway, Off Broadway, music, dance and Brooklyn performing arts events at discounted prices to Brooklyn residents and visitors. TKTS Downtown Brooklyn will be located on the ground floor of 1 MetroTech Center at the corner of Jay Street and Myrtle Avenue. TKTS offers same-day evening and next-day matinee tickets at discounts of up to 50% off full price." (Broadwayworld.com)

left>New TKTS Booth To Open In Downtown Brooklyn 7/10 (Broadwayworld.com)

H&M at the Fulton Mall Has been confirmed

According to Sarah Portlock of the Brooklyn Paper, H&M has confirmed that they are coming to the Fulton Mall. The likely location will be the old Price Mart space near Macy's which currently has going out of business signs up. That space is located between Lawrence Street & Bridge Street on Fulton.
Fulton Mall goes trendy (The Brooklyn Paper)

Reminder: Atlantic Avenue Art Walk is this weekend. June 7th & 8th

Atlantic Avenue Artwalk
MAP

Real World at Belltel Lofts. Confirmed

The NY Daily News has confirmed, through an interview with the sponsor David Bistricer, that the Real World will in fact be filming at the Belltel Lofts in Downtown Brooklyn. They will be occuping the 6000 sq ft penthouse. I couldn't be happier.


A cast of 'pioneers' to invade Belltel Lofts for 'The Real World: Brooklyn' (The NY Daily News)

Shake Shack to hit Metrotech this summer

(image courtesy of shakeshack.com)

Well known restauranteur David Meyer will be opening a mobile version of the Shake Shack in metrotech by the end of the summer. Currently, the Shack Shack is located at Madison Square Park in the city.

Links below to their Menu and main Website.
Menu

Shake Shack.com

Brooklyn Seeming Somewhat Resilient in this Real Estate Downturn

(Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

H & M at the Fulton Mall?

I welcome it with open arms. Hopefully it's not just a rumor.

StreetLevel: Swedish Fast Fashion to Invade Fulton Mall?
(Brownstoner)

125th Anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge

(image courtesy of NY Daily News)

This Weekend isn't only Memorial Day Weeekend, it's also the 125th Anniversary o the Brooklyn Bridge. The Festivities begin tonight, Thursday May 22, at Empire Fulton Ferry State Park. Doors open at 6pm and a concert will begin at 7:45pm with the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Concert will include special guest performances including the legendary Marvin Hamlisch, followed by a Grucci Fireworks display. The Bridge will also be illuminated from 9pm to 11pm for the weekend. For more information regarding the rest of the weekends activites, please see links below.

NYC Visit.com Brooklyn Bridge 125th Anniversary
NY Daily News Brooklyn Bridge 125th Anniversary Celabration

MTV's Real World coming to Belltel Lofts

(image courtesy Brooklyn Paper)
Brooklyn gets ‘Real’ (The Brooklyn Paper)

DoBro Average Household income is on the way up

DoBro's Average Household Income to Double? (brownstoner)

Willoughby Street likely to get high end retail

(image courtesy of Brownstoner)
"There are portions of 345 Adams Street, a city-owned building mainly occupied by the Department of Finance, that sunlight has never touched. Other parts, as in the last eight feet of the building's magnificent 16-foot ceilings, were blocked after the hideous but energy-efficient drop ceiling trend hit the nation by storm. But that will change now that Muss Development owns "the disgustingly ugly, city-owned office's" first two floors, 35,000 square feet, which the adjacent Marriott and Morton’s Steakhouse landlord intends to make beautiful and rent as retail space. Greenstone Realty CEO Robert Greenstone said Muss would remove the mezzanine and carve windows into the first two floors extending from Morton's to Willoughby Street. A third floor of "knock out windows" would be added in case the city wants to use them and sidewalk lights would illuminate the building at night. "We were going to put sconces on the walls but it looked too ordinary," said Greenstone, who is marketing the space." (Brownstoner)

Developer to Air Out 345 Adams Street (Brownstoner)

TWO BIDS ROLL OUT PODCAST WALKING TOUR FOR DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN

Two Downtown Brooklyn BIDs unveiled a podcast walking tour of Downtown Brooklyn on April 30. The Fulton Mall Improvement Association (FMIA) and the MetroTech BID partnered to create and produce a free 45-minute self-guided tour of Downtown Brooklyn.


With the rapid transformation occurring in Downtown Brooklyn – including millions of dollars invested in public enhancements and a surge of new residents, office workers and tourists – Downtown Brooklyn is burgeoning with new energy and excitement. Addressing the increased interest and awareness in the area, the two BIDs have created an easy-to-navigate tour that allows visitors to discover Downtown Brooklyn’s rich cultural and architectural history.



“This Podcast Walking Tour shows Brooklyn is truly the place for big ideas, or rather, ‘BID’ ideas! I applaud the MetroTech BID and The Fulton Mall Improvement Association for their insight in recognizing that tourists are indeed good for business, and embracing new technology as a way to educate curious visitors about our fascinating Brooklyn landmarks. A fundamental goal of my office’s tourism initiative is to support exactly this kind of synergy between business and tourism.



Those looking to get an insider’s view of Historic Downtown Brooklyn can now take this self-guided MP3 tour with expert John Manbeck, brush up on their history, and of course, enjoy the area’s wonderful eateries and shops along the way.”
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz



The walking tour highlights critical historical events that shaped the nation’s history and pivotal cultural trends that originated Downtown. As part of the tour, listeners visit the last stretch of road taken by British and American soldiers during the American Revolution’s Battle of Brooklyn before coming to the steps of Brooklyn's first African American church, a refuge for runaway slaves during the Civil War. Along the way, striking examples of Downtown Brooklyn’s rich architectural treasures are discussed and includes, most notably, a visit inside one of the City’s most magnificent bank buildings and the Borough’s first fire house.



The podcast is the first of two for Downtown Brooklyn. The second podcast, scheduled for release later this summer, will focus on more contemporary activities, namely the district’s thriving shopping and cultural offerings.



The podcast format allows visitors to take the tour at their own pace, at any time. Easily downloaded to any MP3 player, and accompanied by a map, the tour is available on both BID’s websites

MetroTech BID

Fultonstreet.org

Event Listing: Free E-Waste Recycling Event at MetroTech BID, Downtown Brooklyn

Spring Fling! Downtown Brooklyn E-Recycling Day

Brought to you by MetroTech Business Improvment District

Friday, May 9th

12pm -4pm

Location: MetroTech Commons, in front of 15 MetroTech Center



The first Downtown Brooklyn E-Recycling Day is happening this month! Donate old cell phones and accessories to Verizon’s HopeLine program, old electronics to LES Ecology and gently used work clothes and the “Dress for Success” initiative at the HOPE Program.



Acceptable Electronic Equipment: Working and non-working computers (laptop & desktop), servers, mainframes, monitors, printers, scanners, fax-machines, copiers, network devices (routers, hubs, modems, etc.), peripherals (keyboards, mice, cables, etc.), components (hard drives, CDRoms, circuit boards, power supplies), TVs, VCR & DVD players, audio visual devices, radios/stereos, cell phones, pagers, PDAs.



Clothing: Pants, dresses, shirts, sweaters, shoes, belts. Only donate clean, gently used clothing. Other kinds of household items won't be accepted.





See links below for more information

MetroTech BID

Fultonstreet.org

2 Hotels in the Oro II. Both will be Hiltons

Two Hiltons Confirmed For Oro II (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

Weekend Reminder: The Brooklyn Flea Market

"Brooklyn Flea will take place every Sunday from 10am to 5pm—rain or shine—starting April 6, 2008, at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, on 176 Lafayette Ave. between Clermont and Vanderbilt Ave. The Flea will feature 200 vendors of vintage furniture, clothing and antiques alongside new designs by local makers of everything from jewelry to textiles. "

Brownstoner.com Brooklyn Flea

Here are the Directions below to the Flea Market From Belltel. Quite frankly, it's about a 20 min walk from us.

View Larger Map

Another Skyscraper growing on Flatbush. The Toren

(courtesy Brownstoner)


The Toren

SOM-designed Toren About to Hit the Market (Brownstoner.com)

Belltel Lofts in the New York Times

Belltel Lofts to have a new neighbor. That is 760,000 Sq. Ft. of new neighbors

(image courtesy of Brownstoner.com)

Downtown Brooklyn gets yet another Hotel. A Hampton Inn

(image by Brooklyn Daily Eagle)


Downtown Brooklyn Scores Another Hotel: A Hampton Inn (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

"DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — The former Pepper & Potter auto dealership on Flatbush Avenue Extension in Downtown Brooklyn will soon be replaced by a Hampton Inn hotel.

The 4,700-square-foot site, at the corner of Tillary Street, sold on March 13 to Magna Hospitality Group for $10.8 million, according to Paula Ingram, a principal with Ingram & Hebron Realty (I&H)."

New Fort Greene Blog

It seems our neighbors to the East have got themselves quite the blog. One recent posting caught my eye. Being a lover of the Java, I was thrilled to see a listing of the local coffee shops. Although, it's much more detailed than just a listing. General Greene lists the specialties of each joint, prices and a separate map of all the shops (just in case you'd like to spend the day overdosing on caffeine).

Check it out

Fort Greene Coffee (General Greene)


generalgreene.wordpress.com

Coffee Shop Map

Reminder. Brooklyn’s Restaurant Week is from March 24th to March 31st.

They will be offering three-course, prix-fixe meals for $23. Some are even doing lunches. Here is a list of the participating restaurants.

Brooklyn Restaurants for Restaurant Week (Visitbrooklyn.org)

Neighborhood Survey

Downtown brooklyn's Hardware stores would like to know how to serve you better. Take a moment to fill out this survey and let them know what you need.

Hardware Store Survey (MetroTech BID)

Bring on the Glass

United American Land seems to be moving forward. Within the last month, they have acquired the air rights to the property borderd by Willoughby, Bridge, Duffield and the Fulton Mall. This is directly accros the street from Belltel. The only building that will remain is 505 Fulton due to its landmark status (that's the Conway).There are some interesting renderings on their website. No arguements here. I'm lovin the glass.


ULA United American Land LLC

Polytech & NYU merger approved

"More than 75% of the 35-member board voted in favor of the merger; the school hopes to get approval from the state Education Department and Board of Regents by June." (Crain's New York)

Bklyn Polytech approves NYU merger (Crain's New York)

Street Smarts

Metrotech BID has launched something called Street Smarts for Downtown Brooklyn. The purpose of this e mail update and web page is to keep you abreast of the ever changing landscape of Downtown Brooklyn. Things such as street closures, lane closures, mass transit changes and delays, constuction and parking restrictions. That's just to name a few. To sign up for e mail updates, simply click the link below.

e mail updates

Street Smarts web page (metrotech BID.com)

Neighborhood Survey

Downtown Brooklyn is in need of a local grocery store within walking distance of a lot of the new residential developments. A survey was put together to collect information on grocery shopping patterns and needs. This information will be useful in exploring ways to improve current shopping options as well as attracting new retailers. Please take a few moments to fill out the survey. Brought to you by our friends at the Metrotech BID

Grocery Store Survey (click here)

A Letter from Joe Chan

Joe Chan, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, responds to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle's article entitled "Much of Downtown Brooklyn Is Going Out of Business" (January 23, 2008). Here is an excerpt:
"This new development will create over 3 million square feet of space for businesses of all sizes, including locally based businesses as well as national retailers. It will reshape our skyline, create new jobs and add to businesses’ bottom line. And most importantly, the revival of Downtown Brooklyn is diversified and will withstand economic cycles for decades." (Joe Chan)

Letter to the Editor:
Downtown Brooklyn Gaining, Not Losing (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

Parking Permit Program

(brownstoner)
The parking permit meeting has come and gone and here is a map of the proposed affected streets (brought to us by Brownstoner.com)

Pols, DOT: Parking Permit Program For Many 'Hoods (brownstoner.com)

Resident parking permits for Downtown Brooklyn(Belltellofts)

Another college for Downtown BK

As per Crain's, Empire State Colleg has just signed a 10 yr lease at 177 Livingston. the space is just over 15K sq ft on the 6th flor.

Downtown Brooklyn gets schooled (Crain's New York Business.com)

The first of many residents are moving into there new hood

(photo courstesy NY Sun)(view of Aloft hotel to the right and the soon to be Willoughby Square park on the left, as seen from upper floors of Belltel Lofts)
First Residents Arrive for Downtown Brooklyn 'Renaissance'
Rise in Residential Real Estate Transforms Commercial Area (NY Sun)

New rendering of Morton's steakhouse

Located on 333-335 Adams Street.

It's Official. Morton's Steakhouse At the Downtown Brooklyn Marriot(Belltellofts.blogspot.com)

Look Out, Peter Luger! Morton's Steakhouse Carves Into Brooklyn (NY Observer)

Downtown Brooklyn is possibly six distinct neighborhoods?

Neighborhood Names Needed For Downtown Residential Growth
(Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

City Point (replacing Albee Sq. Mall) has got a new website

(City Point)

This webite gives you the most beautiful view of what Downtown Brooklyn will look like in the not so distant future. I love the rendition of Willoughby Sq Park. What do you think?

City Point NYC

Bookstore cafe to open in Downtown Brooklyn

City Tech is opening a Bookstore on Jan 18th which will be open to the public.

"The intersection of Adams Street and Tech Place in Downtown Brooklyn is not known for its cafes or bookstores. But that’s about to change with the official grand opening of New York City College of Technology’s (City Tech) new combination bookstore/café.
The ribbon-cutting will take place on Friday, January 18, at 11 a.m. The event will feature complimentary refreshments, great give-aways and the raffling off of an RCA Truflat stereo television. In addition, there will be 20 percent off general reading books and 15 percent off clothing and gift items (restrictions apply).

Managed by Follett Higher Education Group — a family-owned bookstore provider in business for 133 years with more than 750 bookstores nationwide — the City Tech facility, located on the College’s campus, is easily accessible on the ground floor of 259 Adams Street, with another entrance at 55 Tech Place." (BDE)

City Tech’s New Bookstore To Hold Grand Opening Jan. 18 (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)

News from the rumor mill. Gracious Home in Downtown Brooklyn. Maybe.

"For decades, the area of Downtown Brooklyn between Willoughby and State streets has been a bustling center of low-end stores and fast-food restaurants. Now an influx of residents is anticipated at a handful of new luxury condo projects: BellTel Lofts at 365 Bridge Street, the conversion of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank building at One Hanson Place, the Oro Condos at 306 Gold Street, and a hotel/condominium project by the same developer set to rise next door. This begs the question: Where will these upscale residents eat and shop in the area?

Higher-end retail is expected to follow the residential development eventually -- and admittedly, there are already signs of change. More affordable condo projects in the area, on Livingston and Schermerhorn streets, are expected to bring an initial wave of retail in their ground-floor spaces. Meanwhile, the home furnishings chain Gracious Home and an Apple computer store are said to be considering the ground-floor space at the Williamsburgh Savings Bank tower. But buyers in the neighborhood's luxury developments are warned that if they want to see a complete turnaround, they need to be patient." (The Real Deal)

Condo towers poised to change Downtown Brooklyn retail
(The Real Deal)

Random Pic. Downtown Brooklyn

(www.wirednewyork.com djcn0te flickr)

When I found this shot on Wirednewyork, I just couldn't resist posting it here. You can see Belltel clearly. It also shows the scale of Downtown Brooklyn in comparison to Lower Manhattan. Click image for larger version of picture or link below.

djcn0te flick image