AM Luxe Weekley Edition 3/25/2010

The Economy

Wall Street Higher, Despite Worries About Housing

In addition, stocks rose as President Obama signed landmark health care legislation into law, removing some of the uncertainty about the future of health care…

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The Market

Manhattan Rent Rings Up a Little Higher, But So Do Vacancies

It’s time for the Manhattan rental market’s monthly weigh-in from the folks at The Real Estate Group New York. Recent months have seen rents on the way up and a few concessions vanishing, with only mixed success…

Financing a Fixer-Upper

Mount Vernon, one of the county’s poorer cities, was hard hit by the subprime mortgage crisis and has plenty of such homes. It is where Maria Andrews-David has bought her first house, a bank-owned…

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Our Neighborhood

The Little Town That Prices (Almost) Forgot

The Brooklyn waterfront, once upon a time, was seen as a place where artists and artisans lived and worked, basking in cheap rents, old architecture and a sweet sense of isolation. But lately that reality…

Inanimate Object Speaks Out Against Atlantic Yards

Electronic road sign hacking, all the rage in March ’09, has made an anniversary comeback on Flatbush and St. Marks Avenue in Prospect Heights this morning. And so personal! But you have to admit…

NYU Has Building Plans in Metrotech

As part of a 20-year plan that would see the university add six million square feet to its portfolio, New York University wants to build one million additional square feet for its engineering school at Metrotech. The foundation for the Brooklyn…

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Food

The Latest Contender in the Barbecue Game

First, take a moment to compose yourself and bask in the sauce-slathered glory of your previous BBQ conquests—the pork, the ribs, the sausage, the meat coma. Now take what …

Crumbs Bakery Coming to Montague Street

As Brooklyn Heights Blog noted on Friday, the tony nabe is getting a new bakery. A poster is now in the window…

AM Luxe Weekly Edition 3/18/2010

Our Neighborhood

$2.75 Million Townhouse in Boerum Hill

Most of our Brooklyn townhouse picks have been Brooklyn Heights, so for a change of pace this week, here’s a 3,800-square-footer at 142 Dean Street in Boerum Hill. It’s a Greek Revival townhouse, but it probably won’t require quite as much renovation…

Fulton Street Businesses Still Wary of BID

Five months after the Fulton Area Business (FAB) Alliance kicked off with an October wine and cheese reception at BAMcafé, some business owners are still confused by the business improvement district’s role, and put out by the assessment…

Toll Brothers’ Dumbo Condo Revealed

Two months after word leaked that megabuilder Toll Brothers had snapped up an empty lot at 205 Water Street in Dumbo, the developer’s team appeared in front of a community board committee seeking approval…

Flushing Avenue Bike Lane

The Department of Transportation presented its plans to remake Flushing Avenue as part of the ongoing master-planning of the 14-mile…

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The Economy

The Going Gets Tougher

Some people are able to get mortgages without much trouble, but others find the process arduous, mystifying and prolonged. Then there are the buyers who think their financing is secure, only to see it evaporate…

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Entertainment

Neighbors Want Brooke Sheilds To Stop Building Already

Maybe the neighbors were a little starstruck when Brooke Shields purchased this four-apartment Greek Revival townhouse on West 10th Street, with plans for single-family mansion conversion, in 2008. But now the stardust…

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Food

Dine in Brooklyn-Restaurant Week

Dine in Brooklyn is back! From March 15th to March 25th, over 175 restaurants are offering $20.10 lunch/brunch and $25 dinner!

AM Luxe Weekly Edition 3/11/2010

Economy

U.S. Jobless Filings Fall, but Not as Much as Expected

While both claims and the four-week average remain at uncomfortably high levels, the labor market is showing signs of stabilizing. Government data this week showed jobs opened up in January at the fastest pace in nearly a year…

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The Market

NYC Sees 23% Drop In Foreclosures

Overall, the city saw 1,401 foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — last month, down 23 percent from January and 5.5 percent…

State sides with landlord in Tribeca rent-stabilization case

Laurence Gluck was within his rights when he began charging market-rate rents at Independence Plaza North, the state’s housing agency has determined. Gluck, who took the 1,339-unit building at 80 North Moore Street in Tribeca out of the state’s Mitchell-Lama housing program…

Adam Gordon Finds Buyer for $19.5 Million UMS Townhouse

The Post and the Observer report that 26 West 76th Street, the other major renovation from baron of Bond Street Adam Gordon and architect Steven Harris, has gone into contract. Its last list price was $19.5 million, down from the original…

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Our Neighborhood

A better ‘Vue’ is coming to the roof of Hotel LeBleu

The shuttering of the Vue — which happened on Monday — comes as welcome news to many of its neighbors who bombarded city agencies with complaints about the noise from the freaknasty club and…

348 Clermont Avenue Getting Demolished

File this one under “Gigantic Bummer.” Following a November 2009 determination by the Department of Buildings that 348 Clermont Avenue was unsafe and needed to be torn down, HPD contractors arrived yesterday…

Today’s The Big Day at Atlantic Yards

After the years of lawsuits (the last of which was concluded yesterday), public acrimony and lack of transparency, Bruce Ratner is scheduled to break ground on his divisive Atlantic Yards project this morning. At this point, all we can really do is hope that the whole project ends up…

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Food

The 38 Essential New York Restaurants

It’s time to update the Eater 38, your answer and ours to any question that begins, “Can you recommend a restaurant…” This highly elite group covers the entire city, spans myriad cuisines, and collectively satisfies all of your restaurant needs, save for those occasions when you absolutely must spend…

Tavern on the Green will Keep it’s Name When/If it Reopens

The Times brings word that a judge has finally made a ruling on the hotly disputed and drawn out case of the Tavern on the Green name. According to today’s decision, the city is the rightful owner of the name, even though owner Warner LeRoy trademarked it…

AM Luxe Weekly Edition 3/4/2010

The Market

Bloomberg outlines affordable housing funding plans

The Bloomberg administration is planning to use the sluggish residential development market to its advantage by offering incentives to developers who build affordable housing, the mayor said in his weekly radio address…

 

New York Habitat for Humanity Gets $11 Million for Low Income Housing

Habitat for Humanity requires 300 hours of “sweat equity” per adult in the household—that means pitching in hard labor to get…

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 Our Neighborhood

Missed Chris Gray’s tour of MacDonough Street?

We heard that about 40 people attended Christopher Gray’s one-hour walking tour of MacDonough Street in Stuyvesant Heights yesterday morning. If you missed it, you can still retrace his footsteps…

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Entertainment

Miss Brooklyn Contest Extended

 

Great news, parade-wave practitioners: the deadline to enter the 2010 Miss Brooklyn contest has been extended due to a surge in entries from Brokelyn readers after our item…

 

Alec Baldwin playing head games in Hamptons this summer 

 

Alec Baldwin will be playing head games this summer in the Hamptons. The Amagansett resident has signed on to star as psychiatrist Martin Dysart in the play “Equus” at East Hampton’s Guild Hall from June 8 to…

 

Kent Swig and Liz Macklowe calling it quits?  

 

 Rumors are swirling that Kent Swig and Liz Macklowe’s decades-long romance may be over. Both Swig, who comes from a famed San Francisco real estate family, and Macklowe, the daughter of billionaire developer Harry Macklowe…

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Community News

Community Splits Sharply Over Proposed Mosque

 

The proposed mosque, which does not yet have a name, has received the criticism that faces any establishment that tries to plant itself in a residential neighborhood: worries about parking problems, noise and the effect…

 

Brooklyn’s Ugliest Building

 

 

Brokelyn.com recently announced the winner of its ugly building contest. The first place pic…

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Food

Hidden NYC restaurants worth seeking out
New York restaurants have a talent of turning up in the most unlikely places: in obscure alleys or on the second floor of industrial buildings. The fact that every New Yorker loves a secret makes all of these…

AM Luxe Weekly Edition 2/25/10

Our Neighborhood

Chris Ofili just bought Spike’s former house on Fort Greene Park!

A House of the Day back in August, the 22-foot brownstone was owned by Spike Lee in the ’90s and hit the market with a price tag of $2,750,000. The new owner is British painter Chris Ofili, whom you might remember as the guy who offended…

 

 Stuy Town debt holder moves to block foreclosure
A hedge fund that owns much of the debt on distressed mega complex Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village filed papers in court this week to intervene in its already complicated foreclosure proceedings. The company, New Jersey-based Appaloosa Management, is objecting to the “irrational” and “imprudent” foreclosure action…

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Economy

Bernanke Forecasts Long Period of Low Interest Rates
In presenting the Fed’s semiannual monetary report to Congress, he did not waver from his recent statements on monetary policy. And the reassurance helped lift the stock market…

 

Mortgage application volume drops

The number of mortgage applications decreased nationwide as did the refinance share of mortgage activity, according to the latest weekly Mortgage Bankers Association mortgage applications survey. For the week ending Feb. 19, there was an 8.5 percent drop…  ___________________________________________________________

Real Estate Market

Gramercy Park Hotel residents file suit

 Tenants at a $26,000-per-month three-bedroom apartment at the Gramercy Park Hotel have filed suit against their landlords for allegedly not following through on promised amenities… 

 

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Entertainment

Madonna grabs 24 more acres in Bridgehampton

 The Madonna land grab is complete! Newsday reports that Madge has just completed the purchase of 24 acres of open land in Bridgehampton adjacent…

Celebrity stylist trying to sell “the worst floorplan ever.”
While there’s no shortage of quirky and downright weird housing choices in this city, a Curbed tipster thinks the 3BR, 1BA co-op unit on the fourth floor of 319 West 14th Street is not only the worst floorplan currently on the market…
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Food

The Brooklyn Food & Drink Roundup

 

 

 

 

AMLuxe Weekly Edition (2/11/10)

Economy

Foreclosures drop in January
Foreclosures are by far one of the biggest threats to the housing market, which remains highly vulnerable to setbacks and heavily reliant on government intervention. If foreclosures continue dropping it would be one of the strongest signals…

Forclosure Filings Drop

Wall St.’s Biggest Bonuses Go to Not-So-Big Names
The list of the biggest earners in finance usually reads like a Who’s Who of Wall Street. But these days, it reads more like a Who’s That?

Bonuses

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The Market

Spec Houses Rise as Builders Bet on Buyers Before Tax Credit Ends
The strategy is risky. If the buyers don’t materialize, builders could be saddled with unsold homes that will require heavy discounting to sell, hurting profits and slowing…

Last-Minute Home Buyers

 

Four Seasons Hotel said to be hitting the block
The 368-room hotel, where room rates start at around $1,000, has been hit hard by the downturn in business and international travel to the city. Like all luxury hotels, its occupancy rate has been well below…

Default on the 368-room luxury hotel

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Our Neighborhood

Former Jewel in the Crown Spa will not reopen as a spa
Word on the street is that the Jewel in the Crown Spa – the upscale spa and nail salon located at 1216 Union Street (between Nostrand and Rogers), which first opened in August 2007…

Jewel in The Crown Spa  ____________________________________________________

Our Environment

Choosing The Right Green Upgrades
From an energy and environmental (“green”) perspective, some of these findings are very good news! When you review the article, use your green training to isolate the projects that have the best combined values. Remember, the premise of this survey is that a homeowner will make a specific improvement…

Are You Green?

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Entertainment

Alec Baldwin checks out 34 Greene Street
The penthouse, carved out of two 19th-century cast-iron buildings that have been combined, measures 5,000 square feet. There’s 4,000 square feet — and a fireplace, gourmet kitchen and 15-foot ceilings — on the fifth floor, and another 1,000 square feet …

34 Rock

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Food

NYC Restaurant Week Extended Through Feb 28th

Let’s Eat!

 

AM Luxe Weekly Edition (2/4/2010)

Economy

A Co-op Loan Tax Could Bring City $50M a Year
Within Governor David Paterson’s proposed budget is a new co-op mortgage recording tax that could mean an additional $50 million per year in revenue for the city, the Observer reported. Co-op loans have long been free from taxes, while mortgages for their condo and house counterparts are slapped with tax rates…

Co-op Loan Tax

Federal Government Needs to Combat Housing Slump
Unemployment is the number one impediment to a housing recovery, according to Pete Flint, CEO of a real estate listing site Trulia. The housing market needs the federal government to more aggressively…

The Federal Government

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Real Estate Market

Should brokers be held accountable for driving the real estate bubble?
The Real Deal is looking for your feedback on market-related issues.

The Bubble

Pretty Encouraging for The Brooklyn Market

Last Week’s Biggest Sales

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Our Neighborhood

Markowitz Would Turn More Armories Into Recreation Centers
In his State of the Borough address tonight, Borough President Marty Markowitz will lobby to turn two Brooklyn armories into recreation centers with gym facilities. Currently the huge old buildings—located on Bedford Avenue in Crown Heights and on Sumner Avenue in Bed-Stuy…

Marty Markowitz

Designing The Myrtle Ave Pedestrian Plaza Gallery
As we’ve reported before, the service road on Hall Street near Bergen Bagel has been selected by the NYC Department of Transportation as a public plaza site.  While the city gears up to build out a permanent plaza, Myrtle Ave Brooklyn Partnership will host a pop-up workshop…

Myrtle Avenue

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Entertainment

MSG Renovations
Madison Square Garden is in need of $850 million in renovations, the arena’s management said, and it may not be able to afford them. Previous estimates had pegged the upgrades at $500 million…

Too Much Money

Billy Joel’s Ex Wants Double for Perry Street Pool
The Post‘s Jennifer Gould Keil reports that that Elliman superbroker Dolly Lenz will be handling the sale of the 4,000-square-foot home, designed by Oprah’s fave…

Ex-Wife #3

Naked Brothers Want $25M for Village Floorplan
This Beaux-Arts building is one of the crown jewels of Lower Fifth Avenue, with a rich history and celebrity tenants both past and present. The very extensive brokerbabble says the 13-room apartment “has never been available to purchase,” probably because it appears to have been combined from multiple units…

$25Mil

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Events

Brooklyn Museum: Target First Saturdays
At the Brooklyn Museum’s Target First Saturdays, thousands of visitors enjoy free programs of art and entertainment each month from 5 to 11 p.m. All evening long, the Museum Café serves a wide selection of sandwiches, salads, and beverages, and a cash bar offers wine and beer.

February, 6th 2010

February Events at Greenlight Bookstore
All events at Greenlight Bookstore are free and open to the public unless otherwise indicated.  RSVPs are appreciated to give us a sense of what to expect, but seating is first come…

Greenlight Bookstore in Fort Greene

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Food

This week’s Food & Drink RoundUp

Time Out New York lists their 10 best things to eat in New York City and two items from Brooklyn menus make the list…

 

Brooklyn Food

 

 

 

 

 

 

AM Luxe Weekly Edition (1/28/10)

The Corcoran Report
Brooklyn
Welcome to the Corcoran Report, our quarterly examination of Brooklyn’s residential real estate market.
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The Economy
Repeat Buyers Need to Act Fast. What many Americans might not realize is that a recent expansion of the buyer tax credit has created an equally desirable opportunity…
Capitalize on Expanded Tax Credit
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Featured Property
ClockTower Penthouse Draws Celebrity Attention. Jay-Z and Ralph Lauren each recently checked out the crown jewel of Brooklyn apartments…
$25 million triplex penthouse

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Our Neighborhood
A partial collapse at a rundown Clinton Hill brownstone has forced residents in two neighboring buildings…
Clinton Hill Brownstone Partially Collapses

City Rushing Surprise Demolition
Over forty concerned residents were in Brooklyn Supreme Court Friday afternoon, trying to stop the city from demolishing two historic Bedford-Stuyvesant brownstones…
Two Historic Bedford-Stuyvesant Brownstones
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Food
NYC’s Restaurant Week. NYC Restaurant Week January 25-February 7th. Make your reservations today.
Make Reservations

Free Culinary Classes at your local Williams-Sonoma. We’re pleased to offer hour-long technique classes at your
local Williams-Sonoma store. Presented free of charge, each class is dedicated to a specific topic…
Williams-Sonoma
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Entertainment
Anderson Cooper Snaps Up Greenwich Village Fire Sale. CNN’s Anderson Cooper has finally been outed… as the buyer who paid $4.3 million for a historic…
CNN’s Anderson Cooper

AM Luxe Weekly Edition (1/21/10)

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AM Luxe IN THE NEWS…

Done Deal
Prospect Heights
574 Carlton Avenue
$1,549,000
A legal two family built 20′ wide and 60′ deep, this home offers an amazing
1,200 square feet per floor configured as an upper duplex…
Done Deal in Brokers Weekly
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THE ECONOMY

Property Tax Set to Rise-July 1st
Property taxes will rise for all residential and commercial properties for fiscal year 2011, which begins July 1, according to a…
Residential and Commercial Property
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THE MARKET
Charging for Amenities
Amid the hangover of the boom, the next generation of residential buildings will come with a bevy of extra fees and surcharges that New Yorkers…
Extra Fees

Yours for Under $1 Million
Now, $1 million will buy much more space — even a three-bedroom apartment fine for raising a few…
Under $1 Million

NYC’s Narrowest House Sold for $2.175 Million
The nine-and-half-foot-wide house of indeterminate mid-1800s construction date was asking $2.75 million when it hit the market at the end of August…
Just Sold
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OUR WORLD

Haiti Earthquake Relief
Huffington Post Impact has put together a comprehensive list of links to donate and get involved in relief efforts for victims…
How can you help?

Haiti Quake Survivor Returns Home
Meanwhile, officials say a joint New York City Police-Fire rescue team in Haiti has pulled out two children alive…
Their Stories
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EVENTS

BAM Cafe Live
As comfortable with Jimi Hendrix covers and dirty, electric blues as she is with smooth soul ballads, singer Danielle Parente turns…
Free Event

Skate Park Fundraiser in Brooklyn
Proceeds go to building a skate park, playground & picnic area in Thomas Greene Park located…
Help Build a Skate Park

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ENTERTAINMENT

Live at Diddy’s Former Pad
So maybe you don’t want to work for Diddy, but who wouldn’t want to live like him?
Press Play

Live at P. Diddy’s Former Pad

AM Luxe Weekly Edition

Entertainment
Lenny Kravitz’s Apt Finally In Contract
The 6,000-square-foot condo, which a frustrated Kravitz transformed…
(Curbed 1/11/10)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gossip Girl
Kate Ryan’s fiancé will not let her live down the fact that she chose a hotel for their weekend getaway from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to New York based on the teenage drama…
(CNN 1/9/10)

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Your Neighborhood
Brooklyn Free School Moving to Clinton Hill
hit public records yet, but an announcement on the Brooklyn Free School’s website says that the seven-year-old school has purchased the five-story brownstone at…
(Brownstoner 1/12/10)

The Brooklyn Fea Market at One Hanson Place
In a stroke of genius, the Brooklyn Flea has managed to get ahold of the gorgeous lobby of One Hanson Place, the historic Fort Greene building…
(Racked 1/11/10)
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Food
10 Best Restaurants for Business Meetings
Whether the meal is with an employer, investor, or client, picking the right venue is invaluable — it reflects the importance…
(The Business Insider 1/11/10)
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Business
Economic Activity on The Rise
Economists generally believe the widening deficit is a welcome sign that the U.S. economy and global trade activity continue to heal…
(Market Watch 1/12/10)