Finished, refurbished or just breaking ground, you can spot condominiums of all shapes and sizes around Sunset Park.

New buyers are moving in, a trend welcome or unhappy depending on who you ask. Either way, the phenomenon has come to South Brooklyn. An article in the real estate section of today’s New York Times gives a comprehensive view of condo-buying. Though meant for those on the market, it offers insight for others simply looking for an explanation about the trend, as well as the pros, cons and state of the market in a city where price-per-square foot has proven as riveting as the cost of oil.

Interested in the shifting market closer to home? Check out this article on issues of affordable housing in Sunset Park.

Sunset Park-based non-profit the Center for Family Life has a new initiative called The Cosmetology School Project. Targeted at low-income individuals, the program hopes to provide a path to full-time employment for New Yorkers currently un- or underemployed.

Training will begin at one of two four-week training sessions, the first in February and another in April. Participants then enroll in an eight month cosmetology program. Applicants must be 17 or older, and hold a high school diploma, GED or demonstrate math and reading skills at an 8th grade level.

The program is completely free of charge. To find out more, you may visit the website or call 718-633-4823.

Senior year leaves its mark on any high school student. For Jocelyn Morales, it was life-changing. It was the year she had her son Angel.

Morales hadn’t planned to get pregnant, but wasn’t willing to get the abortion Angel’s father suggested. “I had a choice,” she told the New York Times, “and I chose to be a parent.”

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This is a little off the Sunset Park track, but with Obama in China and Flushing only a “dollar van” ride away I thought I’d pass this along:

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View Cheap Eats in Sunset Park in a larger map

Thanks to readers for the recommendations on popular spots to grab a bite in the neighborhood. Click map above or here to find favorite places to eat tacos, have a slice, grab a sweet treat for breakfast and slurp hot noodle soup. Have we missed any of your favorites? Leave a comment and I’ll add it to the map.

When people want to track a societal shift, they turn to statistics. But signs of the times also come in less quantifiable bites.

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Want to put a finger on the pulse of the economy? Look to the price of gold.

The metal hit a new high of $1119 per ounce on Wednesday as wary investors ran to sink their savings into a stock even their grandmothers could love. Gold often becomes a hot commodity when confidence in the market thins, and while the dollar has fallen, the price of gold has risen 26 percent since last November.

In Sunset Park, however, it’s the dip in gold purchases that tells of tough times.

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On August 12th of this year, Charlie’s Pizzeria celebrated 45 years in Sunset Park. Owner Joseph Vieni, who inherited the shop from his father, says it’s the worst year he’s ever had.

Joseph Vieni’s is one voice from the recession.