My Visit To Bush Terminal Park In Sunset Park

We made a brief visit to Bush Terminal Park to see what the new park looks like. While I was there they were setting up chairs for the official ribbon cutting by Mayor de Blasio at 1PM tomorrow Wednesday  November 12, 2014. The Park seems to be rather fresh and being fall much of the grass has not yet taken. Everything was clean and totally brand new. It seems that they did an excellent job. The entrance to the park is located at 43rd street and 1st Avenue. It is quite a bit out of the way for most Sunset Park residents and not in the ideal section of Sunset Park. Abandoned warehouses and grimy factories abound as well as heavy truck traffic during the day. Nevertheless there are two large fields matted with astroturf. One appears a softball field and the second one, not yet open appears to be a soccer field. The bathroom facilities appear to have been constructed from recycled ship containers are clean and modern inside. They are only open till 3 PM though, so if you have to go to the bathroom after that you're out of luck. The following  pictures will give you an idea of the place...

 

Old Headquarters of The Bush Terminal company at Park entrance.

Manhattan skyline shot from the park.

Bike lanes after entrance to the park.

Bathroom facilities near the entrance..

Shot from the end of the pier where you can walk out into the bay..

Back of the softball field.

St. Michaels Church visible from highest point in the park. A well known Sunset Park landmark..

Softball field  with astroturf from hill in park..

  

Recycled container walls used in coinstruction of bathroom facilities..

US Customs seal left on oe of the container sections used as a wall..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2014 NYC Marathon in Sunset Park, A Photo Album

With local landmark St. Michael's Church runners run along 4th Avenue.

Every year they hold the Marathon I try to do a photo album shoot as it passes through Sunset Park from 65th street to the Prospect Expressway and the border with Park Slope. Today the weather was extremely cold in the morning and warmed up as the day went on. I shot over 100 pics. I tried picking the better ones for this post. Hope all you local residents can pick out the landmarks...

 

 

Th five mile marker and clock..

 

A watering station handing out Gatorade to the runners..

 

 

 

The Bay Ridge Towers loom in the distance at the Bay Ridge Border.

The first of many musicians and bands we encountered en route. This guy was at the Irish Haven Bar..

Another guy playing solo along the route..

Another block, another band.

The Mug Cafe, good friends of mine and time to pick up a buttered bagle..

Another watering station for the runners..

 

Another band, another block.

Runing towards Park Slope.

Two man guitar team..

Another band..

I think these guys were doing rap music with a Caribbean  flavor..

Once upon a time Sunset Park was a large Norwegian and Finnish enclave. There are still some around..

This band consisted of of older guys. The guy seems to be ready for Christmas..

These guys had the best setup, a stage and their own canopy..

We're two thirds of the way towards Park Slope..

 

These guys were really, really young..

This band was really, really good. Named the BROVERDOSE. They have a website.

Passing by the 72 Precinct House.

Passing by Kentucky Fried Chicken. I don't think anybody stopped in for a snack..

Another Gatorade station as we inch closer to Park Slope.

Time to stop in at the Tin Cup Cafe for a quick cup.

The owner of Tin Cup Cafe was kind enough to give me a free cup..

The six mile marker and clock.

This band was named Giant Flying Turtles. Who comes up with these names?

The ten kilometer mark for them foreigners who don't know what a mile is..

There were few runners left as I got to the Park Slope border at the Prospect Expressway  Overpass in the Greenwood Heights section of Sunset Park..

 

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Where To Eat While Watching The Marathon In Sunset Park, Bay Ridge and Park Slope

 

If you're going to stroll to fourth avenue to watch the marathon as it runs through Sunset Park tomorrow from miles 4 to 6 you might want to take a look at a nifty guide that the newspaper AM New York published on their website. The guide includes our very own Mug Cafe at the Mile 4 marker. I highly recommend Mug Cafe and if you go there tell them you heard about them from the blog. They don't just have coffee. There is a full fledged pizzeria in the back and you can get bagels and other dishes besides pasta and pizza. Enjoy..

 

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Wine And Food Tasting Event Coming to Sunset Park

 

There is a wine tasting event dubbed the Brooklyn Crush Wine and Food Festival coming to Industry City herein Sunset park where you can get a taste of many different wines and foods from many different sponsors. The event will take place on November 15, 2014. There will be two separate sessions at 3 and 8 PM. One held in the afternoon and another one in the evening, each lasting three hours. Tickets for the event can be had online at this website which also offers details. Tickets are $79 each for each event. It's a bit steep for some Sunset park residents. But if you're into wines and want to sample many different brands and food from many restaurants in Brooklyn it may be worth your time.

 

 

 

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Hollywood Comes to Sunset Park, Sort Of..

Filmrise new headquarters in Industry City

The website Commercial  Observer informs us that Filmrise a distributor of digital media has moved into Industry City. There are already several other film and video production companies that are located in Sunset Park and Filmrise is the latest addition to the roster. On their website we have a good indication of the breath of their offerings and announcements of acquisitions to digital rights of some iconic productions. As more companies move into the industrial part of the neighborhood we will be seeing more and more of this stuff. Of course this is clearly more an indication of the gentrification and commercial expansion that is happening in the neighborhood. Filmrise will be joining other film and video production companies located here such as Holystone Studios ,  Shoe Box Story and others. We are living in interesting times in Sunset Park these days..

   

 

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More Signs of Gefntrification In Sunset Park, Losing Section 8

 

DNAinfo/Nikhita Venugopal

The website DNAINFO.com has a piece on the recent decision by E&M  Associates which owns a lot of housing stock in Sunset Park to not renew their section 8 housing contract when it expires. E&M has a total of 24 buildings with 270 units. The decision appears to be purely an economic one as rents on the average in the neighborhood now fetch from $2000 to $2100 for an average sized apartment in the neighborhood. This is in keeping with the rents in the Greenwood Heights section of Sunset Park which are slightly higher and signs that the gentrification wave is reaching southern Sunset Park. Opting out of section 8 housing would give E&M the opportunity to get higher rental income from their properties. It may also be that due to the rising real estate values they are considering getting rid of some of their properties... READ MORE HERE..

 

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A tourists' Guide To Sunset Park

 

The website RACKED.COM  has a tourist guide titled "Thrifting, Bowling and Dim Sum in Sunset Park" obviously written for outsiders who don't live in Sunset Park. However, even Sunset Parkers or recent newcomers to the nabe might enjoy the selection of spots to visit and drop by. How many local residents have actually taken a tour of Green Wood Cemetery? My parents are buried there, so I go there quite often. The article includes none other than our own Pacificana Restaurant featured on our website. Take a peek at the piece and make your own plans.

 

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Sunset Park's Industry City Makes The News, Again.

 

AM NY that newspaper you get for free when you take it out of one of those bins when getting on the subway has an article on the impact on the local Sunset Park economy by the Industry City complex titled "Business is booming at Sunset Park's Industry City".  The article begins;

The rows of unassuming, concrete buildings give little hint of the area's rich history as a hub of early 20th century industrial progress, nor do they quite convey Industry City's recent resurgence as Brooklyn's new home base for creative and innovative companies. But it's there. A convergence of past, present and future -- right in Sunset Park.

Startups, manufacturers, design firms, event planners and food makers have been flocking to the 16-building complex, formerly known as Bush Terminal, since it began undergoing a massive renovation last year.

What is clear is that Sunset Park is faring far better than other Brooklyn neighborhoods. Despite the rather sluggish economy everywhere else, the impact of capital being invested in the neighborhood especially at Industry City is having a substantial effect on the rest of the neighborhood.  There are plans afoot to build an even larger market at Industry City than the one at Chelsea in Manhattan. And let's not leave out the investment being made at the Brooklyn Army Terminal also in Sunset Park that is seeing a comeback of Artist space for artists as well and an influx of other enterprises into that complex as the City pours more money into expanding and renovating the place. We mustn't leave out the massive influx of mainland Chinese money which is also pouring into the Chinatown section of our neighborhood with new hotel construction adding to an already high concentration of hotels and a massive development being planned for 62nd street and 8th Avenue.

Along with all this economic activity we are seeing an acceleration of the gentrification process in the neighborhood. If you've been keeping track of rental and real estate prices you are seeing apartments that mere a year ago went for $1500 a month to an average of $2000 a month today. Real estate prices have gone up 21% in the last two years and we can expect an acceleration of that process as properties are being bought up not only for residential purposes but as an investment. All in all we are seeing a very quick transformation happening in the neighborhood right before our very eyes. Three areas are the center of this economic boom that the neighborhood is experiencing, Chinatown, Industry City and The Brooklyn Army Terminal. As space becomes scarce at these three locations their periphery will also see a resurgence in the next couple of years as well. Unless the national economy collapses we are in for a very heady ride. Fasten your seat belts folks. If you think the change in our neighborhood has been heady dizzying these last couple of years, you ain't seen nothing yet...

Related: Massive Development Planned For Sunset Park
             Art is back in Sunset Park
             Sunset Park is now "Trendy" accoding to RE marketing..


 

 

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