After 34 Years On Court Street, Belanthi Gallery Closes

Another longtime Court Street fixture just closed its doors. Belanthi, a gallery that exhibited art in all styles and media, first opened its doors at 142 Court Street, corner of Pacific Street, back in 1978. It's owner, Paulette Hios, gave piano, voice and music theory classes out of the space for just as long.

The space, which is on the same block as Trader Joe's, is now for rent by Schuckman Realty, "a strategic planner of retail stores and shopping centers" that has "has been responsible for millions of square feet of leasing and development; and has been hired by numerous national retail chains to facilitate market penetration."
No doubt, that means that the next tenant will be a chain store.

Meanwhile, the storefront at 140 Court Street just next door, has been sitting empty for a very long time.



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Transformation Of The Small Gowanus House At 441 Carroll Street

441 Carroll Street back in May 2011

and the new building, November 2011

The view of the new building from Nevins Street

The house at number 441 Carroll Street, between Nevins and Third Avenue in Gowanus, was never the prettiest on the block by any stretch of the imagination.  Actually, the two-story, aluminum-clad building was so crooked, its porch leaning so precariously, that one had to wonder how it held together.  And yet, it had a certain charm all its own.
In May of this year, a permit was filed with NYC Department of Buildings for "proposed horizontal enlargement at rear and front of 1st floor," but instead of enlarging the house, it was entirely demolished.  The D.o.B. eventually caught on and gave the site a violation for "work without permit. Work performed significantly exceeds scope permitted." To date there are two unresolved ECB violations  on file.  A new permit which encompasses the true extend of the work is being reviewed by the agency right now.
Take a look at the large gable on the lot line, facing Nevins Street and the Gowanus.  
What do you think?

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The No-Frills Approach To Buying Brooklyn Real-Estate!

This hand-written note came through the mail to my address here in Carroll Gardens yesterday from someone called Jason. There is no indication if Jason is a realtor or just someone looking to buy a house in the neighborhood.

It certainly is not the most polished approach to buying real estate, but who knows, maybe it works for him.

Did anyone else get Jason's letter? I would love to know.

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking



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Thank Goodness Some Developers Know What A Cornice Is!

Yes, readers, this is a brand new building.

What do you think?

I have to hand it to the developer responsible for this four story brick apartment house at 307 Baltic Street. By choosing the right color brick, by limiting his height and by adorning the building with a beautiful ornate cornice, he managed to put up a building that effortlessly blends into the Brooklyn street scape. Granted, the windows could have been a wee bit bigger, the front door could have been more interesting and I am not wild about the visible air conditioners, but all in all, I say bravo.
You know what I am thinking? If this developer can make money designing such a building, how come others like Bill Stein keep on telling us they need to build bigger (and uglier?)

In case you are interested. Iron Gate Properties on Court Street is the rental agent.
The two bedroom plus roof deck apartment is available for $3,350

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

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