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Around Brooklyn: Kensington limestone selling for $1.599M

June 23, 2020 Editorial Staff
The Belt Parkway’s southbound lanes are nearly empty at rush hour. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle
The Belt Parkway’s southbound lanes. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle
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Kensington limestone selling for $1.599M

A two story, bow-fronted early 20th century limestone house at 289 East Fifth St. in Kensington is being offered for $1.599 million. The house was finished around 1911 and was advertised, along with others in its row, as “charming Flatbush homes” with hardwood floors, electric lights and steam heat. It has classical details both on the exterior and interior. “If original, unpainted woodwork is your weakness, this early 20th century limestone is dripping with it,” Brownstoner said.

Impromptu ‘nutcracker’ sellers now have competition

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For more than 15 years, Ameseshem Flouke has been serving nutcrackers, or homemade cocktails sold without a license, out of coolers to summer crowds throughout the city. While in the past he was able to make $500 if he stood in one spot for 25 minutes, Flourke has now adjusted by taking orders on Instagram and making deliveries by car. In addition, he now has competition. Because of the pandemic, out-of-work bartenders, security guards and party promoters have started selling these cocktails as well. Also, there’s a new provision allowing bars and restaurants to sell carryout wine and cocktails. The first nutcrackers were made by Dominican-Americans in Washington Heights around 25 years ago, according to The New York Times.

Trash piling up in Greenpoint’s Transmitter Park

Garbage spilling out of Transmitter Park’s garbage cans and piling up on Greenpoint’s streets is both bad for the environment and an eyesore that degrades the quality of life, said Greenpoint fashion designer Christina Emilie. “Litter is something I’ve always acknowledged and feel strongly about,” she said. In late May, she started solo trash cleanups. She shared her progress through Instagram photos, and like-minded neighbors asked whether they could join in. “Right away, I knew I needed to see how I could organize something,” she told Greenpointers.

NYC to rename more parks after Black Americans

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation plans to rename parks in every borough after Black Americans, Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver said. “We stand in solidarity with the Black community and the fight to end systemic racism,” Silver said, according to NBC New York.

Bushwick landlord wants tenants to remove Black Lives Matter signs

A landlord is asking his tenants to remove Black Livers Matter and anti-police signs from their windows at a Bushwick loft building. “Think we got you enough time to show support for Black Lives Matter movement. Can you take it down please,” landlord Alfred Shtainer said through his management company, Dorina Realty. He also objected to a banner saying “F—- the Police.” Tenants had previously accused the landlord of attempting to increase rent and deregulate apartments during the height of the COVID-19 crisis. Whether the landlord is able to stop his tenants from expressing their views could depend on whether the message is shared inside or outside the building, according to Gothamist.

New lawsuit filed against Flatlands funeral home

A new lawsuit has been filed against the Flatlands funeral home accused of storing bodies of dead coronavirus victims in unrefrigerated U-Haul vans. A spokesperson for Morgan & Morgan, the law firm representing the family of COVID-19 victim Nathaniel Hallman, said his family was “unwittingly entangled in the heartbreaking discoveries of abandoned, neglected, desecrated human remains at a Brooklyn funeral home.” He home is the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home, which has since had its license suspended. In late May, four lawsuits were filed against Cleckley and other associates of the funeral home, according to PIX 11.

Firm to lose control of office building

After months of conflict in court, Heritage Equity Partners will lose control of its office building at 215 Moore St. in Bushwick. Judge Leon Ruchelsman has granted lender Fortress Investment Group’s motion to appoint a receiver for the building, which is subject to a defaulted $32.6 million mortgage. During the past year, Heritage partners Toby Moskovits and Michael Lichtenstein have been hit with lawsuits concerning 215 Moore St. and nearby 232 Seigel St., also known as the Bushwick Generator, according to The Real Deal. Moskowitz has called Fortress “a notorious predatory lender.”

Cops nab man who grabbed son from grandmother

Police have taken into custody a man who kicked in the door to an apartment in Brownsville and fled with his four-year-old son. Cops say he stormed into the child’s grandmother’s house on Bristol Street around 6 a.m. on Monday. The grandmother chased the man to another residence on Hegeman Avenue, where police found him barricaded with the boy. Officers gained entry and took the suspect into custody around 10:30 a.m. The father was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation, according to ABC7.

East Flatbush church pays tribute to ‘Mother James’

An East Flatbush church, Christian Heritage Ministries, has paid tribute to longtime member Ynolde Mavis James, who was born in St. Vincent and died on May 30 at age 87. James and her late husband, William E. James, began worshiping at the church in the 1980s. Karl Knight, a church member, said she was active with the Women’s Ministry and Bible studies, while her husband repaired and painted the church. Beverly Kirby, who worked with Mrs. James at British American Life Insurance in St. Vincent before they both emigrated, said James had helped her find her first job on Wall Street, according to Caribbean Life.

Man fatally shot in East New York

A man in his 30s was shot to death in the lobby of NYCHA’s Howard Houses development in East New York on Monday. The victim was found to be dead on arrival at Brookdale University Medical Center with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest. This is the second such shooting in the Howard Houses. The first happened on June 17 in front of 80 Osborn St. Scores of shooting victims have been reported as a result of gang activities, according to amNewYork.

Prices of Brooklyn condos, co-ops decrease

Resale prices of Brooklyn condos, co-ops and townhouses have experienced their biggest drop in almost 10 years, according to a report released by StreetEasy. The 2.7 percent year-over-year fall was the biggest drop in the market in nine years. The Brooklyn index has seen year-over-year decreases for each of the past 12 months. According to the report, prices of luxury homes were down by 2.9 percent, and prices at the bottom 20 percent of the market decreased by 4.5 percent. “Before the pandemic, prices in Brooklyn were relatively stable compared to the declines we were seeing in Manhattan,” the StreetEasy report said.

DOT denies plans for new bridge bike lane

The Department of Transportation on Monday said that one of its staffers was incorrect when she told a virtual meeting of Brooklyn Community Board 2 that the agency was discussing a possible bike lane on the Brooklyn Bridge’s roadway. Earlier in the day, DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg talked about the problems cyclists face when crossing the East River but didn’t provide any specifics. De Blasio, at his morning briefing, said the plan would not work because of the heavy car traffic crossing the bridge, according to the Brooklyn Paper.

BP Adams wants to save kids’ program

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams will join advocates and child welfare experts for a virtual rally to demand that the city not cut the Fair Futures program from the Fiscal Year 2020 city budget. Fair Futures provides New York City middle and high schoolers in foster care and those who have recently aged out with one-on-one vocational and academic coaching. The program was launched at the end of 2019 with $10 million in funding, supplying 24 NYC child welfare agencies with resources to jump-start their coaching programs.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer.


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