Red Hook: The Embers of Gentrification
My old 'hood is even more like Detroit than initially thought.
[excerpt from New York Magazine]: For the last two years, people in Red Hook have been waiting - some hopefully, some fearfully - for that wave to crash, the hordes to come, the towers to sprout. Weirdly, though, none of that has happened. In fact, for all the heraldic attention, the neighborhood now seems to be going in reverse. The Pioneer bar has shut down. So has the bistro 360 and, just recently, the live-music venue the Hook. Buildings put on the market for $2.5 million have stayed empty and unsold. Landlords hoping to get $2,500 a month for a Van Brunt storefront - the rent that Barbara Corcoran was asking - have found no takers. In fact, Corcoran's spot sat unrented for over two years, until a local business took the space at the cut rate of $1,800 a month. The perception of the neighborhood got bad enough that in August the Post ran a story headlined "Call It 'Dead' Hook." Somehow the neighborhood went from "undiscovered paradise" to Dead Hook in just over a year.
It's a terrible shame to see some great businesses close in a neighborhood on the brink. Stalled gentrification in itself though is not necessarily a bad thing. Gentrification is like cholesterol: there's a good kind a bad kind. Rather than chain businesses and loftominiums popping up like dandelions (like in Williamsburg and other parts of the city,) a slow, deliberate and neighborhood contextual development can take place. This is exactly the kind of development Red Hook was experiencing, but unfortunately is incredibly rare and difficult to maintain. The only time it works well is when a number of dedicated small investors are doing it at the same time, combined with new residents seeking diverse and legitimate neighborhood businesses. Big development money seems to either come in a reckless flood or not at all.
I don't see either Red Hook or Detroit ever being truly gentrified places, due to blatantly obvious but seemingly insurmountable barriers. Red Hook is a bit simpler: a subway stop less than twenty minutes away would all but change everything (all but housing projects, crumbling infrastructure, etc.) Detroit is more complicated and an awful lot bigger, but there are perhaps quixotic yet theoretically plausible solutions there as well.
I wouldn't call either place "dead" - just "stalled". Neither will see a brush fire of big development any time soon or any of the major changes needed to cure what ails these places, but there is always another wave of optimistic enterpernuers with a bit to invest and the best of intentions on the horizon. Getting the magic formula right is the trick.
Monday, November 12, 2007
The Embers of Gentrification
Brooklyn's first boutique hotel... on the Gowanus
We haven't specifically done a hotel review here before, but I think this one is pertinent to many of our readers:
We were in New York this weekend for one night (for SV4's birthday - which was a fantastic time BTW,) and instead of couching it with friends we decided to check out the brand new Hotel le Bleu in Brooklyn. It's billed as a discount boutique hotel in Park Slope. At $333 it's hardly a discount hotel in most markets, but a steal in New York - where you can't touch the most basic of rooms for less than five or six hundred a night.
The Park Slope address is pushing it a bit: Hotel le Bleu is located at Fourth Ave. and 5th St., which by all accounts is the Gowanus - an industrial area between the Slope and Carroll Gardens. I'm personally a fan of the Gowanus area (the Gowanus Canal, as legend has it, is "70% guns" and has a great deal of old Brooklyn industrial charm.) The hotel is one block from the restaurants, shops and bars of 5th Ave. in Park Slope and a 10 minute walk to Smith and Court Streets in the other direction.
The decor pulls out every cliche in the book: smooth, minimalist white surfaces accented with dark wood, stainless steel and blue lights... even the canned "hotel lobby house music" in (you guessed it) the lobby. It's nice enough - just not imaginative in any way. For the special internet rate we got a king bed and a balcony. The bed was super comfy, the room was (again) nicely designed and appointed, but neither particularly clever or luxurious. The large west facing windows and balcony provided views of the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn, just beyond local landmarks such as the Eagle Clothing sign and the elevated 9th St. subway platform which straddles the canal. Free wireless internet, above average linens, a big glassed-in shower and an enormous plasma TV were much appreciated touches.
industrial-awesome fourth floor balcony view toward New York Harbor
The service was very friendly, but somewhat clueless. The hotel has been only open a week, so we'll give them some slack to work out the bugs in this area. It generally tries too hard and fails at being hip, and could try a little harder in other areas. The quirkiness of the area and the high quality of the rooms themselves keep it form feeling like a Best Western that flipped through a copy of Surface Magazine eight years ago, but for the price, the amenities and the location, Hotel le Bleu a solid option for a home-base in Brooklyn. Overall, it's a decent Standard knock-off in an unusual but very convenient area. Best to take full advantage of the local dining, shopping and strolling options - which are some of New York City's finest gems.
I should note that any gripes aside, Brooklyn - South Brooklyn in particular - has a severe hotel shortage, and for being pioneers in this area with a very decent product, our hats off to Hotel le Bleu. My only suggestion would be to embrace the charachter of the neighborhood and not try so hard to be stereotypical "hip".
Some snapshots of the room and photos from Sam's party here.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Can't Touch This
It's November, and Microsoft's $10,000 coffee table has yet to surface.
Meanwhile, Jeff Han's company Perceptive Pixel has reportedly been shipping large format multi-touch walls for almost a year. Granted, Han's system will set you back something in the six-figure range, but that's pocket change for clients like this.
Will the Real New Coney Island Please Stand Up
Having as hard a time as us keeping up with the ever-changing proposals for a "New" Coney Island? This may not help, but it's fun: Coney Island Rendering Hit Parade Pop Quiz [from Curbed]
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Burberry Rocks
We're obsessed with Burberry's current ads.
So simple, but the clothes, the models (these two pictured especially... she's clearly French, Belgian, Danish and is that Patrick Wolf?,) everything is right on. I'm apprehensive about saying this, but they're kind of kicking Dior's ass at the moment.
Now, if they would just get rid of that plaid...
*edit: Turns out that is indeed Patrick Wolf.
Go figure.
**edit 2: Patrick's friend is Agyness Deyn... who is indeed English.
[Thanks Jamie Latendresse!]
Things that will never go out of style: smart detail, S&M/military fetish, formal wear, and of course everything black and cut super narrow. They nailed it all here and put it on people who look like they're actually interesting to talk to and hang out with (Deyn herself is a designer and plays in a band, and Wolf is... well, Patrick Wolf.) Bravo.
"Crack, Back and Sack"
NY Mag has all the gory details about political columnist Christopher Hitchens' recent mandatory manscaping for a Vanity Fair article.
"The thing is that, in order to rip, you have to grip. A point of leverage is required; a place that can be firmly gripped and pulled while the skin is tautened..."
You're asking, "why on earth would I want to read about - Christopher Hitchens of all people - having his... er, 'stuff' waxed?"
Yet you're going to anyway.
This is hard hitting journalism, and yet another inexplicable reason why New York is awesome.
Saabs Gone Wild
Saabs Gone Wild!
Even though I just switched teams yesterday and bought my first used BMW (after owning five consecutive Saabs,) this is a beautful story. Kinda warms the heart and brings a tear to the eye. Love the Viking horns.
More photos of the '07 24 Hours of LeMons by Team Saabs Gone Wild here.
Wind Dam
Wind Dam [via Pruned]
From Building Design: The dam, which would be located over a gorge at Lake [Ladoga] in north-west Russia, includes a cup-shaped spinnaker sail, believed to be the first of its kind, which will generate renewable energy by funnelling the wind through an attached turbine.
Click the first link to read Pruned's wonderfully imaginative extrapolations, including new kinds of prayer flags and sonic landscapes.
Drive Wrench Repeat
My friend Karter! (a.k.a. designer Keven Carter) has just released a new limited edition poster series. Check it at Car-N-Art.com.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Kreemy Detroit
Karim Rashid speaks at CCS (4PM) and DJs at MOCAD (9PM) next Friday, November 16th.
Last time I saw him DJ was in July of '02 [<- read this whole archive - quite a timewarp!] at the Cooper-Hewitt. Our very own Dave Pinter played a superb designer techno set beforehand. (Still have a copy of the set-list around here somewhere.) I clearly recall Karim opening with this.
Hometown Pride
Congrats to our hometown of Ferndale Michigan's new mayor Craig Covey!
More about Craig here.
"We are showing the region a new way," said Covey, 50, an an eighteen year resident. "This city embraces diversity, smart growth, efficiency, bi-partisan compromise, and eco-friendly policies," he added. "We reject urban sprawl, partisanship, waste, and the old ways of division and fear among communities."
R.U. Sirius interviews The Woz
[Cyberpunk geek alert] Can't believe I missed this! The Woz interviewed by Mondo 2000 founder R.U. Sirius about the fine art of pranks.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Voltage reviews Control
Max reviews Control/hits nail on head.
It's a restrained, bleak, fairly naturalistic look at the turmoil that overtook a depressive, creative young man in a particular place and time.
Like Max, I too would have liked a deeper look into Curtis's/Joy Division's vision and creative process, yet agree there's only so much you can do in 100 minutes. As one of several Joy Division bio-pics and documentaries, Control does an excellent job by focusing on one area very well.
Bauhaus Tour
Die Nachtzeit betragt die rechte Zeit.
Bauhaus Dessau walkthrough (with nice choice for the soundtrack - first to guess it gets a free high five.)
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sweeney Todd: Burton. Depp. Christmas.
I hope they use some of the Stephen Sondheim songs from the musical. What would it be without, "...and we have some shepherd's pie peppered with actual shepherd on top!"?
Inside 40 Bond
Herzog & de Meuron's first New York project, 40 Bond is complete. NY Times review + slideshow.
The Swiss duo best known for the Tate Modern and the Beijing National Stadium are currently on the boards for a new tower in Tribeca. (No renders yet.)
Friday, November 02, 2007
The Undertaking
FRONTLINE: The Undertaking
Thomas Lynch, 58, is a writer and a poet. He's also a funeral director in a small town in central Michigan where he and his family have cared for the dead - and the living - for three generations. For the first time, Lynch agreed to allow cameras inside Lynch & Sons, giving FRONTLINE producers Miri Navasky and Karen O'Connor rare, behind-the-scenes access - from funeral arrangements to the embalming room - to the Lynches' world for this film, The Undertaking.
Related: Lynch & son & that other TV show.
