The Downtown Brooklyn Thread

dicklobe

dicklobe 29f

fixtures look/sound suspect imo

very IKEA, nice view though

I like how he has to strainnn to see manhattan. must be the cheap side of the building.

where are we drinking outside this summer?

/breathholding

Ummm. Boxcar Lounge, like every other summer? Or that place that's basically a courtyard on 4th Ave, under/behind other buildings.

I wish one of you would hurry up and get a house with a backyard.

yeah that was OK. xp

New Freddys' yard is damn small, w/ one comically wobbly table and maybe 2 others.

also, Ky Derby party at Commonwealth a week from Saturday! No more OTB next door, so I'll not be so much poorer exiting.

I wish one of you would hurry up and get a house with a backyard.

I had one, on fourth ave! with a ping pong table and a grill!

it was awesome except that my neighbor's dog shit all over the yard EVERY DAY and the dude just flat out refused to do anything about it. he'd put his dog back there and just leave him all day, and sometimes all night. we "shared" it except he never used it for anything than this grim dog prison. i'd wake up to the sound of his dog whining to be let in, like three feet from my head. one day instead of putting the weekly bag of his dog's shit - which of course ran the gamut from week-old dried up starchy shitcake to warm, fresh shit - well, instead of putting that out in the trashcans in front, i knocked on his door and gave the bag to him. "i thought you might want this" i said. he thought that was outrageous and called me names.

Bravo to you, sir. Did he at least call you any funny names?

sadly no. i used to like the guy before he got his dog. one time i gave him a mix i'd made and a few days later i heard him bangin his girlfriend with my mix in the background!! seriously to this day that is one of the best compliments i've ever received. only slightly dented by realizing what a gigantic dumbshit he was.

So looks like I'm moving to the Graham L area in August. Tell me about stuff there.

Knew you wouldn't make it to Queens

Haha Ken, we had the talk a bunch of times but in the end we "weren't ready for that"

TBH mrs. h was more anti-queens than I was. But that's how it goes.

The Blue Stove.

Daddy's and Mothers if you want to be served drinks and hot dogs by the hottest hippest underground brooklyn rocksters.

The Richardson is OK but not as good as some other fine cocktail places I've been, like Hotel Delmano or Dutch Kills.

Fortunato Brothers for Canolis and Gelato and other italian delights.

Some good old-school italian pork stores. Stopped in one a few weeks ago with my parents who asked for Kielbasa. Guy behind the counter said they'd have to go to Greenpoint for that.

Motorino of course. Carmines and Tony's pizza across the st. from each other, competing slice joints of higher caliber then most.

Harefield Road and Legion. The art supply store on Metropolitan. A tiny new (I think) coffee spot called Tar Pit on Woodpoint road.

Girlfriend used to live over there, as well as many friends, and I just took a studio space in the area, because it's just over the BQE from Queens and the B24 goes from there to Sunnyside to Greenpoint.

I don't really know it that well but will learn more as I'll be around there a lot soon.

Good stuff. Familiar with Motorino, Daddy's, Fortunato (my wife teaches near the Montrose L and that's the birthday cake bakery of choice).

Any other good coffee spots in the area?

went to a lightly nautical themed bar called 'drinks' the other night over there that had a nice back yard

We went and checked out one of those new downtown buildings today just out of curiosity -- The Brooklyn Gold (which is NOT the same developer as the even schmancier Brooklyn ORO down the street). 1BRs are like $2700ish but with 1 or 1.5 months free rent so it comes out to more like $2400. The vibe was a little creepy and fratty. All the tenants seemed to be 20-somethings who travel in packs. Small pool, fitness center, concierge service, rooftop deck with sunbathers from central casting. They insisted the building was 80% full but it felt a little empty to me -- there was like one dude in the whole gym. Location is not really as great as they sell it to be -- pretty long walk from all the trains, right by the BQE and the projects, and they made a big deal out of "all the cafes and restaurants on the myrtle promenade" which as far as I can tell is a Starbucks and a Five Guys. None of this was really surprising since we already live walking distance from there. It seemed like they were pushing it as an alternative to the financial district, which I guess makes sense with the general trend of Downtown Brooklyn development.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304259304576373861146311374.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

"It's not just Manhattan renters paying more. Nancy Packes, president of a real-estate consulting and brokerage firm, says the gap between trendier Brooklyn neighborhoods and Manhattan is narrowing.

She says rents at new rental buildings in Williamsburg and downtown Brooklyn are only about 10% below comparable apartments in neighborhoods near Times Square and the Financial District. A few years ago, Ms. Packes says, the difference was around 30%."

This was my impression during my recent apt search -- asking rents in Williamsburg and various downtown neighborhoods seemed shockingly high. Probably would have considered queens if I had more time to look around and get to know neighborhoods but I kind of had to get the search done quickly. Admittedly, the rents for "new" buildings mentioned in the article are also higher because they're just building more fancy 'amenities' buildings like the gold, hence the higher rents include gyms and pools and rooftop sunbathing/joint-smoking areas and the like.

worth it for a building with a room dedicated to smoking joints.

"all the cafes and restaurants on the myrtle promenade"

lmao wtf is the motherfucking myrtle promenade, realtors have the most vivid imaginations, from murder ave to myrtle promenade in one short decade, what a country

IDK man I'm not even sure where she meant and I live a short walk away now. The Starbucks is actually on Jay and the Five Guys is off Jay on a courtyard when I think about it. There's this little tiny area around NYU Poly that looks vaguely manhattanish where the tkts booth is. It is worth walking down where those new buildings are just to see them though -- I hadn't realized what an insane amount of development there had been -- basically the area around Gold & Tillary. Shake Shack and Panera are coming to Fulton Mall and obivously the arena development is going to spread in that direction from the other side.

Even better was when the agent told me "you can walk to williamsburg from here." I'm like "um, no you can't, that's a really long walk." "Sure you can, it's right up there." "Um, no, that would take like an hour."

I mean you could walk to parts of what is technically williamsburg in far less, but not the parts the agent was implying.

haha these apartments sound really bad

it's not too late for queens

Yeah we signed a lease near the Graham L though. I had some second thoughts about it, but it seems alright.

Not too late. And maybe Francis Benitez will let you play his drumkit at the Terraza 7 Cafe Sunday Night Jam Session

queens may very well come next year.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/07/31/realestate/20110731_Cover_Gowanus.html?ref=realestate

new ramen place Chuko about to open on Vanderbilt in the space that used to be Nick's Diner. run by two guys who used to work at Morimoto. I'm excited to try it but skeptical that they apparently are setting their prices as high as Momofuku (12 bucks a bowl). Better be fucking good.

It follows that the broths will use antibiotic- and hormone-free meat, the pork will be Heritage, and scallions will apparently be brought in from Japan. As a result, the average price for a bowl of noodles will be $12, making that another first for Prospect Heights.

brooklyn locavore trend vs. scallions flown in from japan...

moving to clinton hill over the next few weeks--good bar?

ft greene clinton hill pretty light on bars. hot bird at clinton and atlantic has a nice patio, but is usually crowded. alibi on dekalb and tip top on franklin (in bed stuy) the divier options.

graham ave area otoh seems to have three bars for every eatery.

Fulton grand or whatever it's called is pretty good.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2011/08/29/hurricane_irene_brooklyn_out_brooklyns_itself_in_the_aftermath_o.html

not downtown brooklyn, but a reminder that irene did snatch some of our best:

http://www.newyorkshitty.com/greenpoint-goodness/?p=66028

new ramen place Chuko about to open on Vanderbilt in the space that used to be Nick's Diner. run by two guys who used to work at Morimoto. I'm excited to try it but skeptical that they apparently are setting their prices as high as Momofuku (12 bucks a bowl). Better be fucking good.

It follows that the broths will use antibiotic- and hormone-free meat, the pork will be Heritage, and scallions will apparently be brought in from Japan. As a result, the average price for a bowl of noodles will be $12, making that another first for Prospect Heights.

― dmr, Thursday, August 11, 2011 6:13 PM (3 weeks ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

went here last week, ramen was as good as momofukus i guess, which is to say pretty good but $12??????

tbf i got about two meals out of my bowl. also seems like theyre not doing takeout right now???

not in bk, but my ramen place of choice has become minca on fifth street.

ive been to minca a few times

Someone did place a few candles on the stump but the wind had blown them out.

hey, a friend is DJing at Minor Arcana tonight!

went to chuko last night, ramen was pretty good, a little bland i thought. weird that they use thin strips of pork, never seen that in ramen before. not as good as momofuko, ippudo, menkui tei, or even zuzu on 4th ave, imo.

This Saturday, Ursa Minor takes place in the un-pretentious drinking bar, Minor Arcana. It is an anything and everything goes queer-friendly party, which will feature both male and female go-go dancers and performers (and maybe some halfway in between as well.) DJ Tranz Xavier will be spinning the music; with a focus on rock, 80's retro, and some classic burlesque standards. Each month features a new theme in a fun and sexy environment, without the Manhattan attitude, and plentiful drink specials and promotions.

http://k.minus.com/jb2qKbKgPMXOcg.jpg

Manhattitude