Forgotten New York is in Association with the Greater Astoria Historical Society, a non-profit organization supported by the Long Island City community.
Perhaps my favorite building on Myrtle Avenue in Fort Greene is the beige and brown Moderne classic Renken Milk Building at Classon Avenue, more properly known as the M. H. Renken Dairy Company offices: In 1912 Martin Renken of the M.H. Renken Dairy Company bought the whole block, and in 1923, constructed a bank of industrial [...]
Categorized in: One Shots Tagged with: Brooklyn Fort Greene
Just a short Walk today that was part of a longer walk, from downtown Brooklyn to the edge of Williamsburg. Today I will cover the short span of Hanson Place, which runs from the confluence of Flatbush and 4th Avenues to the confluence of Fulton Street and Greene Avenue — some of Brooklyn’s longest streets. [...]
Categorized in: Walks Tagged with: Brooklyn Fort Greene
Categorized in: Forgotten Slices Tagged with: Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn Fort Greene
During the fall (2007) I visited one of my favorite parts of Brooklyn, Fort Greene, which has evolved from a place where you would need a tank to ride in for safety in my youth to a place I couldn’t afford without a MegaMillions victory today, and passed two places in particular: Brooklyn Tech along DeKalb Avenue [...]
Categorized in: Forgotten Slices Tagged with: Brooklyn Fort Greene Navy Yard
Even though the Brooklyn Navy Yard in Fort Greene has not served the U.S. military for decades (it was a naval shipbuilding enclave from 1801 to 1966), it remains a zealously guarded private enclave featuring industrial businesses and movie studios. The Navy Yard reached peak production just before and during World War II: On the eve of [...]
Categorized in: Forgotten Slices Tagged with: Brooklyn DUMBO Fort Greene
Atlantic Avenue runs from the Brooklyn waterfront at the East River to the Van Wyck Expressway in Jamaica, Queens; along the way it separates several neighborhoods and comprises many architectural styles. As downtown Brooklyn remakes itself, the FNY camera caught it on the cusp of what could be major change along its westernmost three miles. [...]
Categorized in: Street Scenes Tagged with: Bedford-Suyvesant Brooklyn Heights Cobble Hill Downtown Fort Greene
So, I was stumbling around Fort Greene one 50-degree afternoon in November and I thought I should get in some photography because the winter blasts were soon to come. As I write this on January 6th, 2007, we’re expecting 70 degrees (which we got, incidentally). I found myself on South Portland Avenue and remembered that [...]
Categorized in: Street Scenes Tagged with: Brooklyn Fort Greene
THERE ain’t no Starbucks, fancy chocolate makers, chi-chi restaurants, velvet-rope nightclubs with 300-pound bouncers, 2-million-dollar condos, Fairways, Ikeas, hardly any IPods…just a lot of jewelry stores. Must be two to a block. Just a lot of NYC’s most intriguing architecture alternating with some of the most godawfulest you can imagine, and sprinkle in some items left [...]
Categorized in: Street Scenes Tagged with: Bedford-Stuyvesant East New York Fort Greene
The Long Island Rail Road, celebrating its 170th anniversary in 2004, crosses Flushing Avenue in style at 56th Street in Maspeth The first thing to remember about Flushing Avenue is that it doesn’t go to Flushing; in fact, it doesn’t approach within five miles of it. Flushing Avenue takes its unusual name because of the relative isolation of [...]
Categorized in: Street Scenes Tagged with: Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn Fort Greene Maspeth Queens Ridgewood
Lost opportunities. Blown chances. Once again, I’ve been cheated out of a vintage dining experience. I’d always been curious about, and wanted to take in a meal at, Brooklyn’s famous Gage & Tollner, which had been in business since 1879 and had occupied this same spot on Fulton Street, a couple of doors down from Smith, since [...]
Categorized in: Street Scenes Tagged with: Brooklyn Downtown Brooklyn Fort Greene
WE’VE SPENT a lot of time in Williamsburg lately…it’s a great source of Forgotteniana, and as one of NYC’s most-established neighborhoods, a great place to walk around in with its bars and cafes that sprouted up when relatively lower rents in Williamsburg started attracting Lower East Siders from Manhattan. Things have pretty much settled down [...]
Categorized in: Street Lamps Tagged with: Brooklyn Fort Greene Gumballs Williamsburg
We’re going to Broadway today. We’re also going to Park Avenue, Lexington Avenue, Wall Street, Canal Street and several other well-known New York City locales. But since this website is called Forgotten NY, things aren’t always as obvious as they can appear. Get your Brooks Brothers suit on and bring your portfolio… Wall Street is [...]
Categorized in: Roads Street Scenes Tagged with: Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn Fort Greene New Brighton Port Richmond St. George Stapleton Staten Island
ROLL CALL OF LUMINAIRES I’ll admit it. There’s a big hole in my information on NYC lamppost manufacturers and makes, since I’ve not a clue of these designs’ actual names, nor their manufacturers. These are the luminaires that were still lurking about NYC when I first began taking note of lampposts back when I was a [...]
Categorized in: Street Lamps Tagged with: Brooklyn Eastern Parkway Fort Greene Queens Radial Wave Westinghouse
Ft. Greene Park and the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument Fortgotten Greene on this website? Can’t be…after all, this neighborhood is emblematic of urban revitalization that has come to Brooklyn since the 1980s, starting in Park Slope and radiating out to surrounding Windsor Terrace, Lefferts Gardens, Prospect Heights and Clinton Hill…even though Spike Lee moved out years ago. Fortgotten, er, [...]
Categorized in: Neighborhoods Tagged with: Brooklyn Fort Greene
