110 Livingston News & Blog

Downtown Brooklyn Map

We were having trouble wrapping our heads around all the development proposed (and already happening) in Downtown Brooklyn, so we decided to try to map it. Once all these buildings were on the map we were actually pretty surprised by the number and concentration of new projects going up–these are mostly condos, needless to say, but also include new commercial buildings, and a couple hotels. That whole rezoning thing really is pretty powerful. We threw in a couple familiar landmarks and restaurants as reference points.

Check out the full map, which includes photos or renderings for most sites–click on the pins for pretty pictures. Or let us know if we’ve missed one (or many).

Further reading:

• Now Open for Living, As Well as Business (NYTimes)
• Downtown Brooklyn is Booming (NYSun)

• More questions on Cadman Plaza turf’s toxicity (BHB)
• Hertz to offer Zipcar-like service (Gothamist)
• North Italy in the North Slope, Edible Brooklyn reviews Al Di La (pdf)
• Subway reads from A Brooklyn Life
• Sailors Making Sails–the historic context of 164-168 Atlantic Ave., the John Curtin sail makers building (Sail Brooklyn)
• Two Trees rumored to propose 15-20 stories next to Brooklyn Bridge (Dumbo NYC)
• 70 Washington floorplan typos (TIWWDN)

In the time before Brooklyn Bridge Park is built we have something pretty great to tide us over: a planned 14-mile waterfront greenway for bikes and pedestrians stretching from Greenpoint to Sunset Park. This means access to waterfront views (and biking to Fairway) will be that much easier. It will be the result of a detailed planning effort by the non-profit Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, founded in 2004 but whose work stretches back to 1998.

We just received in the mail an impressive User’s Guide to the Greenway–with a lovely map even cooler than the one above–we’d recommend requesting one from them via email (see their site). Also for the spring to-do list: check out their open house at their new offices on Columbia between Kane & Degraw on April 26, at 5 p.m., and take the greenway bike tour on May 5th at 9:30 a.m. from the foot of the Manhattan bridge. Or check out another map of the plans.

• Brooklyn Greenway Initiative
• Discuss in the neighborhood forums

In a self-styled “broadside” the Daily Eagle comes out clearly against the reopening and expansion of the House of D on Atlantic Ave.:

Should a jail exist in today’s Downtown Brooklyn and in today’s Downtown residential communities? The obvious answer is, of course not. It makes no more sense today than a jail would at the World Trade Center site, at Hudson Yards or at the Javits Convention Center.

The article gives a brief historical overview of the jail’s interactions with the community. It notes the city has quietly renamed the facility “Brooklyn Detention Complex”–suggesting that plans have been in the works for another building for a while–and ultimately demands a study of alternatives:

Until the issue of available alternative sites is thoroughly and honestly addressed (and it hasn’t been), the cards are stacked… a detailed financial study of a jail elsewhere and private development at the current site needs to be undertaken and made public.

• Read the full editorial: Do Not Pass Go; Go to Jail (On Atlantic Avenue) (brooklyneagle.com)
• House of Detention to Double in Size, May Open on Short Notice

• Brooklyn Lager Wins Beer Championship (Brooklyn Record)
• What’s to become of 350 Livingston Street? (Brownstoner)
• Strange crash on Atlantic Ave. yesterday (Gothamist)
• Three hour oral argument in Atlantic Yards case (Atlantic Yards Report)
• Carroll Gardens Farmers Market Slated to Open this Summer (Chowhound)

New York Magazine has anointed the Y at Atlantic and Court the best gym in Brooklyn — right around the corner from 110. The Y, which was built as part of Two Trees’ Court House project, surpassed even the new Brooklyn Heights Equinox. The blurb raves:

this nearly brand-new family-friendly facility is more than a place to do cardio and weights. There are community-centric programs for teens and toddlers, infant swim classes in the six-lane pool, and pickup basketball games in the gigantic gym. The fitness center has cardio and strength-training machines plus 96 adult classes a week, from spinning to belly dancing.

Thanks Two Trees! Also check out The Little Gym next door, for kids and parents, with a “parents’ survival night” providing child care on a weekend.

• Best Brooklyn Gym (NY Mag)
• Little Gymnasts Coming to Atlantic! (53Boerum)
• Dodge YMCA (Official Site)