Development doesn’t happen often in Bensonhurst, an old-school Italian enclave close to the waterfront in southern Brooklyn. But as new immigrants – particularly Chinese families – flock to the area, developers have started to pay attention to the working class stronghold full of one- and two-family homes.
Just before New Year’s Eve, the Salvation Army filed plans for 11 stories of affordable senior housing and community facilities at the corner of East 125th Street and Third Avenue in East Harlem.
Property owner Salvador Ortiz, doing business as a Brooklyn-based LLC, has filed applications for a five-story, 10-unit residential building at 126 Manhattan Avenue, in central Williamsburg, located three blocks west of the Montrose Avenue stop on the L train. The project will measure 7,500 square feet, which means units will average 750 square feet apiece, indicative of rentals. The structure would be topped by a rooftop recreation space, and Astoria-based Anthony Cucich is the architect of record.
This year marked the 50th anniversary of the New York City landmarks law, which empowered the Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate landmarks and historic districts in the five boroughs. With 2015 coming to an end, we thought it would be a good time to review what the commission has protected this year. Six individual landmarks and four historic districts were designated, adding up to protection for over 2,000 more structures.
Construction is chugging along on the banks of Newtown Creek in north Brooklyn, where Greenpoint Landing will eventually span 10 acres with 5,000 apartments. YIMBY swung by the megaproject earlier this month and caught up on the progress at three affordable rental buildings: 33 Eagle Street, 21 Commercial Street, and 5 Blue Slip.
