To design their dream house, Lily Allen and David Harbour enlisted the help of architect Ben Bischoff and designer Billy Cotton. What they created could only be described as larger than life. The home draws on three distinct themes - traditional English, modern Brooklyn townhouse, and layered Italian. Whilst it was always going to be bold with these motifs in mind, the designers still wanted a homey vibe. And on that front, they certainly delivered.
The 10,086-square-foot home at 2126 East 4th Street belonged to Eli Gindi, a real-estate developer whose family founded the Century 21 department-store chain. Gindi appears to have unloaded his Beaux-Arts-ish McMansion in an off-market deal to Victor Hakim, the founder and CEO of the Choice Home Warranty firm, according to city records and PincusCo, which first reported the transaction.
Built in 1887 on a double lot, this impressive townhouse features traditional, historic elements that have been carefully restored and updated to meet the needs of modern living. The mansion was commissioned by Pfizer co-founder Charles Erhart and designed by architect Marshall J. Morrill. Before its extensive modern renovation, the property served as a Brooklyn Public Library annex and a Catholic girls' school. Now, it's a "stunning", multi-story home with seven bedrooms, six full bathrooms, and several half baths, spanning around 10,000 square feet.
One of the rambling early 20th century dwellings in Prospect Park South, this stucco house has bedrooms galore, a sleeping porch, a garage, and some modern updates like central air. This former House of the Day is still available. In the Brooklyn Academy of Music Historic District in Fort Greene, a circa 1850s Italianate has some wide plank floorboards and a marble mantel.
First up, after selling for $12.5 million in 2022, the Brooklyn Heights dwelling perhaps best known as the "Moonstruck" house is back on the market. This former House of the Day is still available for $12.75 million, a price cut of $1.25 million. In the Cobble Hill Historic District, a row house is set up with a duplex and two rental units. This former Open House Pick is still available for $4.275 million, a price cut of $675,000.
In the heart of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, a 19th-century carriage house and stable have been given a second life-one that blends history, design, and a little bit of magic. Once rundown and divided into four apartments, this 4,000-square-foot live/work compound was transformed over 18 months by its architect owners, Colin Faber and Leni Niemegeers-Faber, into a family home that feels both modern and timeless.
People have lived on Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue almost as long as there has been an Atlantic Avenue. It started out as a path leading to early settler Ralph Patchen's farm and then became a road to the East River. Part of it became known as Division Street, as it was the informal border between the town of Brooklyn and South Brooklyn, which included today's Red Hook, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens neighborhoods.
Unemployed at the start of the pandemic, Ms. Pennick returned to Chicago and lived with her mother. She landed a job and saved diligently for a down payment, always planning to return to New York. This city is the place where I can be my authentic self, she said. Plus, my friends and church home are here. I am of the New York or nowhere' ilk.
This week, the most popular real estate listings on Brownstoner include a row house in East Flatbush, a brownstone in Park Slope, and a standalone in Midwood. East Flatbush was popular with readers again this week. The least expensive property on the list is a rental in East Flatbush asking $4,500 a month, and the most expensive is a Boerum Hill row house asking $3.2 million.