Neighborhood: January 2005 Archives

For more snow photos from around Brooklyn, try here.

OK, maybe I'm stretching the restaurant definition a bit here, but the new bagelry does serve omelettes and sandwiches, in addition to bagels and muffins and some Krispy Kreme doughnuts. The bagels are baked on the premises (according to the clerk) and they are gigantic. Not my favorite kind of bagel--too big and too bready--but an acceptable one. The real charm lies in the store's extremely thorough homage to the subway and the Smith and 9th Street stop. Blue tiles spell out the stop among the white subway tiles on the wall, and various signs about the store reference the F train. There's even an F-Lines sandwich with beef salami, tomatoes, olive oil and basil. Though only open a week or so, the store was doing a steady business this morning. Will the skanky coffeeshop across the street go out of business? Is this another small step in Smith-9th gentrification? Or will the shop's fresh and shiny surfaces soon be covered in neighborhood-appropriate graffiti?

At the risk of sounding hokey and cheesy and of dipping too deep into sentimental waters, I say goodbye (with a sniff) to the Yoga Center of Brooklyn. I got an e-mail this afternoon from the owner Jonathan Gordan, saying the building at 519 Court Street had been sold. He and the center will be sadly missed in south Carroll Gardens. It was obvious, even to the casual student, that Jonathan loved the community and had a passion for the well-being of others. His teachers shared that philosophy, and at every turn they created a relaxed environment for all their students. UPDATE: The last day of classes is February 27.

Does anyone have any recommendations for nearby centers?

Photo by Dennis

Happened upon an open house in Carroll Gardens (south) today.  The two-family duplex on Huntington (between Court and Smith) seemed nice enough, despite being in viewing distance of the crumbling end of Smith Street by the Smith-9th subway stop.  The garden-level studio apartment was the length of the building and had a new kitchen and what looked like a marble fireplace. The exposed brick added some character, but it didn't have any spectacular details like fancy molding, and many of the renovated parts felt on the low-end of a Home Depot renovation. The small finished basement below had maybe a six-foot ceiling(!!!), which screamed claustrophobia, but there was a washer and dryer. Upstairs in the main unit, also with exposed brick, the first floor had a large living room/kitchen with fireplace and bathroom with W/D. An open staircase led to what I call 2.5 bedrooms (although they were all separate rooms, the last one was itsy-bitsy) and another bath, with hardwood floors on all levels. Outside, a decent yard with a deck on the garden and second floor added a nice touch. "Perhaps one day I will be able to afford a brownstone," I wistfully thought. However my open-house fantasy turned to dust when I saw the asking price of 1.3 million. And there were people at least feigning interest!  As of Sunday night, the listing was on the open house section of Awaye Realty's page ... but the "view" link for more info goes to the wrong place.  Can't you do better than that for 1.3 million?

UPDATE: Here's some photos from Craigslist.