The BOTD is a no-frills look at interesting structures of all types and from all neighborhoods. There will be old, new, important, forgotten, public, private, good and bad. Whatever strikes our fancy. We hope you enjoy.

Address: 1450 Pacific Street, between Brooklyn and Kingston Avenues
Type: Private House
Neighborhood: Crown Heights North (CHN Historic District)
Year Built:1882
Architectural Style: Italianate/Neo-Grec
Architect: George Damen
Landmarked: Yes

Why chosen: This freestanding brick Italianate, set back on a small hill, overlooks the rest of Pacific St, and must have had an amazing porch view, when built. It is a beautifully preserved home, with an impressive wooden cornice and Neo-Grec detailing in the lintels and porch. It also has a garage, built before 1940, squatting in front of the house cutting off the fine gardens and walkways. In spite of that, it is a remarkable survivor, constructed when the area was a suburban retreat, just before the opening of the -Brooklyn Bridge in 1883.

Correction: In our very first post, we credited the architectural firm of Halsey, MacCormack and Helmer with the design of the Hanson Place Central Methodist Church, getting that information from a reputable source, a well regarded architectural guide to Brooklyn. An intrepid reader thought differently, did some digging, and wrote in that the actual architect was Lessing Whitford Williams, a contemporary, and sometimes colleague, of HM&H. His evidence is overwhelming. The address was incorrect, as well. It should be 9-13 Hanson Place. Thank you Mr. H.P. for that information.

Chef Michael Psilakis, of Kefi and Anthos in Manhattan, just got a liquor license for the space on the corner of North 10th Street and Driggs. According to the New York Post, "The chef has not signed a lease on the space and even if he does, he remains unsure of the concept of the business. So far, Psilakis is using the name Biergarten williamsburg LLC, for the liquor license application, but this would not be the name of the restaurant." With Radegast in walking distance, is this neighborhood in need of another biergarten? Or would it make more sense for Psilakis to bring his signature Greek cuisine to Brooklyn? GMAP

We've heard from a couple of readers that a 14-year-old boy on his way to school at Brooklyn Tech this morning at around 7 a.m. was attacked and slashed in the face with a knife in a unprovoked incident that appears to be a random act of violence rather than a robbery. According to the tips we received, the attack took place on Fort Greene Place near Lafayette. If you know anything about the incident please contact the 88th Precinct.

Park Slope
17 Park Place
Warren Lewis
Sunday 3-4:30
$1,775,000
GMAPP*Shark

Carroll Gardens
405 Smith Street
Manzione RE
Sunday 2-4
$1,100,000
GMAPP*Shark

Midwood
698 East 22nd Street
National Brokerage
Sunday 2:30-4:30
$848,000
GMAPP*Shark

Crown Heights
1253 Carroll Street
Realty on the Greene
Sunday 1-3
$755,000
GMAPP*Shark

Comment: Meh.
Open House Picks 9/11/09 [Brownstoner]
Previous Six Months Later Posts [Brownstoner]

Remember the residential conversion we told you was in store for 25 Washington Street in Dumbo? Well, it's started. Last month the permits were approved for interior demolition and the requisite scaffolding went up shortly thereafter. Perhaps of greater interest, we noticed on the Alt 1 application mention of a proposed two-story enlargement of the building. Anyone know the status of that effort?
25 Washington Conversion Confirmed [Brownstoner] GMAPP*SharkDOB

"Shoring has been put up, presumably after the fact, to prevent further damage but it looks to me like that corner is about to take a swim in the mud pit next door," writes Tyler King over on the Miller Cicero blog about a building in Williamsburg who's only crime was being adjacent to a big development site where adequate safety precautions were not taken upfront. More details on the link.

Despite the protestations of some of its Park Slope neighbors, Berkeley Carroll gained support from the Landmarks Preservation Commission for the redesign of an existing one-story school structure at 181 Lincoln Place. The biggest objection of neighbors has been over the potential noise problems associated with the planned rooftop playground. The LPC isn't concerned with such issues, though, focusing instead on the impact of the design on the aesthetic landscape. ?[The design] does not involve the removal of historic fabric, and the addition is not visible from a public thoroughfare,? an LPC spokesperson told The Courier. John Muir, the most vocal opponent of the project, professed to be undettered: ?The community is not, and will not be satisfiedby the Landmark Commission decision and will not stand by and allow the Berkeley Carroll School to build a project so antagonistic to the neighbors.? In addition to the rooftop recreation space, the new structure would be about four feet taller and almost 10,000 square feet larger than the existing 3,000-square-foot building. Construction could begin as soon as this summer. (Click on the elevation above, which was designed by Butler Rogers Baskett, to expand.)
City OKs Berkeley Carroll Plan [Courier]
CB6 Land Use Approves Berkeley Carroll Expansion Plans [Brownstoner]
Berkeley Carroll Expansion Stirs Up The Neighborhood [Brownstoner]

"In theory, it should be everything that a progressive urban policy analyst like me would want from a new development. Atlantic Yards would create lots of new housing immediately adjacent to mass transit lines. It would be a mix of residential, commercial, retail, and entertainment space. And it would create new affordable housing and green space. But, somehow, Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner got it all wrong..." Read the rest of Urban Policy Analyst John Petro's opinion piece today on The Huffington Post.

The brand new GreenWood Florist has officially opened on the East side of 4th avenue and 21st street in Greenwood Heights, in the same spot that Danielas Floral Design used to occupy. It is conveniently located directly next door to Leone Funeral Home and two blocks north of Park Slope Funeral. The cemetery, which shares its name with the florist, is just one avenue away. GMAP