Williamsburg and Greenpoint residents may soon feel like they are living on the set of a reality TV show. The cast of the Apprentice-style MTV show starring 50 Cent is moving into a three-story, newly renovated loft building on the Greenpoint waterfront, a well-placed source has informed us.

The series will follow 16 aspiring rap moguls as they compete in a series of challenges to determine their "savvy, street smarts, manipulation, power and the art of winning"--"the skills that took 50 Cent from the streets to corporate America." At the end of each episode, 50 Cent will eliminate a contestant. The winner will get a full scholarship to an undergraduate or graduate business program.  read more »

It's more or less an open secret, but we've learned that the Top Chef cast has definitely been living for about two weeks now in a terraced duplex penthouse in Williamsburg overlooking McCarren Park.

So far, the chefs have pretty much kept to themselves, said an extremely well-placed source, leaving around 8 or 9 in the mornings for a soundstage in Greenpoint and coming straight back in the evenings.

“They’re not allowed to talk to anyone, really, or even do their own thing,” the source said. They’re trying to keep things under control before the paparazzi start camping out.”

Luckily, it sounds like they have the typical luxe reality show digs, complete with a private roof deck and a sweeping view of the city skyline, to occupy them when they are not shopping, cooking or shooting.  read more »

The southwest corner of McCarren Park has been a meeting place for breakdancers, or “B-Boys” as they call themselves, since long before the gleaming row of luxury condos rose on Bayard Street, and a doggie daycare and organic market followed.

Anywhere from a couple to a couple dozen breakdancers continue to roll out their tarp at least three nights a week on the edge of the track, alongside the postwork joggers, picnickers, and meandering hipsters—and under the gaze of the condo-dwellers above.

They’re a motley crew of 20-somethings from the Bronx and Brooklyn (some went to the same junior high together in Williamsburg); European and Asian exchange students who’ve ventured to the city for a dose of authentic street culture; modern dance instructors who “break” in their spare time or promote competitions, and a few old-timers there to coach the new generation.  read more »

We’ve been wondering what kind of building would rise from the vacant lot on North 3rd Street between Bedford and Berry since construction began four months ago.

Could it be another luxe-residential complex for priced-out Manhattanites in the heart of Williamsburg hipsterdom?

Apparently, yes.

Though the project has not yet been christened with an appropriately yuppie-kitsch name--like say “Aqua” or “The Edge”--Joe Nicholas, who brokered the $22 million sale through Kalmon Dolgin Realty, confirmed that developer Quadriad Realty LLC is building an 85-unit condo on the 42,000-square-foot lot, boasting the prime Williamsburg addresses of 201 Berry Street and 248 Bedford Avenue.  read more »

Home prices in Williamsburg and Greenpoint grew more in the last 12 months than prices in any other Brooklyn area, according to a new report.

The average sales price in the two neighborhoods increased 12.7 percent from the second quarter of 2007 through the second quarter of 2008 to $663,946; and the average sales price per foot increased 20.3 percent over the same period to $445.

These annual increases were greater than those in other Brooklyn neighborhoods. The Williamsburg-Greenpoint median price also increased annually, though by a relatively small 9 percent.  read more »

The report, an inaugural Brooklyn market report from brokerage ]]> http://www.observer.com/2008/real-estate/williamsburg-greenpoint-lead-brooklyn-home-price-jumps#comments Real Estate Brooklyn Greenpoint Housing market Williamsburg Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:34:35 -0400 Tom Acitelli 71639 at http://www.observer.com http://www.observer.com/2008/trouble-brewing

“The Brooklyn Brewery was a confirmation of the American Dream,” co-founder Steve Hindy wrote in a commentary released today by the Center for an Urban Future called "Trouble Brewing."

“But after a frustrating, futile four-year search for a new Brewery site to expand operations in the city, I am now asking myself a question our success should have definitively answered: Does New York City really have a place for light manufacturing businesses like ours,” Mr. Hindy writes.

He and his partner started brewing beer from a defunct, Prohibition-era facility in Bushwick in 1987, and in 1991 leased a new 75,000-square-foot plant in Williamsburg for $3.  read more »

Here she is -- the scaled-down, more contextually appropriate design for the New Domino residential development, which got the official stamp of approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission this morning.

Unlike the former, more controversial plan, this one preserves the iconic Domino Sugar sign, better hides the mechanicals, and adds fewer floors on top of the landmarked old factory.

The New Domino is a mixed-use development, slated to have 2,200 residential units, 30 percent of which are supposed to be affordable, along with approximately 220,000 square feet of new retail, commercial and community cultural facility space.

But Michael Lappin, the CEO of CPC Resources, which is developing the project with the Katan group, warned that the 20,000-square-foot reduction in size may endanger some of those affordable units:

“The new design incorporates many of the suggestions of Landmarks commissioners, and we believe it reflects the highest quality of thoughtful, creative restoration as interpreted by our preservation architects, Beyer Blinder Belle," Mr.  read more »

The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved revised plans for a massive development at the Domino Sugar Refinery in Williamsburg, Brownstoner reported just before noon after blogging live from the hearing all morning. Most importantly "the sign will live," said an architect for the project.

The LPC has sent the developers back to the drawing board twice since February, after the first set of plans that would have added a five-floor glass addition to the recently landmarked factory without preserving the iconic Domino Sugar sign drew the ire of preservationists.

This time around, the LPC's reaction was verging on jubilant.

"LPC chairman Robert Tierney says he's really digging the new submission," Brownstoner's Gabby Warshawer wrote. "Tierny calls it a 'brilliant' adaptive plan, says the addition is now 'appropriate,' particularly since the Domino sign is being preserved. Calls the chutes 'dramatic and evocative.' Another commissioner says the design will 'rival the Tate'."

This Williamsburg rental listing on Craigslist would make even the bed-bug, hipster-infested hovel McKibben Lofts feel luxe.

For $550 a month, you can live in a 10x6 room that is "not an apartment," on North 7th and Bedford Avenue in the heart of Brooklyn hipsterdom, just a half-block from the L train.

"Location is what sells here," says the listing.

There certainly isn't much else to buy in this glorified closet. It has no kitchen, no windows, no roomates are allowed, and there is "no wall to separate the bathroom and room."

Though the listing boasts a "private bathroom," let's dispense with the euphemisms. It's a toilet, a mattress, and a mini-fridge. Home sweet home.

The Observer has a package this week (map included!) about Williamsburg College. Learn all you need to know about campus eats, dorm life and beer blasts. Plus, get advice from a Williamsburg alum.