After more than six months on the market, Sunset Park’s historic Rainbow Cafe has been sold. CPEX Real Estate released the news today that the building at 3904 Fifth Ave.  has been sold “to a local investor” for $1,650,000.

For 30 years home to a family owned bar and retaurant, the Cafe shuttered after its owner passed away last year. BestViewInBrooklyn noted the closure last June. It went on the market soon after; the nearly 9,000 square foot building on 39th Street and Fifth Avenue, which includes four units of housing over the cafe, was listed for $3,250,000. Despite news that real estate is looking up, it seems properties at Sunset Park are still going at bargain-basement prices. Anyone know who that “local investor” might be? Leave a comment or drop a line to sunsetparkchron@gmail.com.

Good afternoon. It’s Monday. Not too much in the news at the moment, but a few things to put on the calendar:

*Schools! That word alone is usually enough to rile someone up. In Sunset Park’s crowded classrooms, education is of particular concern. Several of Brooklyn’s biggest names will next week offer parents, politicians and interested parties an opportunity to offer opinions about Brooklyn’s school system. The information is below. I hope to see you there.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, State Senator Daniel Squadron, Assemblywoman Joan Millman, and Councilmembers Letitia James, Brad Lander and Steve Levin will convene a town hall meeting to discuss the city’s public education system. The event will take place on Wednesday March 3, from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. in the courtroom at Brooklyn Borough Hall. We hope that you will come out, share your ideas, and help forge a community partnership to build a stronger foundation for parental involvement in our schools.

For more information or to RSVP for this event, please contact Chris Black at the Public Advocate’s Office, 212-669-7200 or cblack@pubadvocate.nyc.gov

*Feelings on Fourth Avenue? The Park Slope Civic Council will sponsor a forum,  “The Future of Fourth Avenue,” on Thursday, March 4, at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Park Slope.

The Council has previously voiced concern that Fourth Avenue is marginal to the rest of the neighborhood just north of Sunset Park. Borough President Marty Markowitz in his recent state of the city hoped to change the character of the thoroughfare, and rechristen the wide (and recently deadly road) “Brooklyn Boulevard.”

*Community Board 7 will hold a Public Hearing Monday, March 15 at 6:30 pm at the Board Office on the corner of Fourth Avenue and 43rd Street. It has to do with a city-owned property by the South Brooklyn Army Terminal. I’ll try to find out more. For the moment, see below for more information:

APPLICATION #C100204PPK – In the matter of one city-owned property, generally bounded by 39^th Street (1^st & 2^nd Avenues) and the western portion of 2^nd Avenue, from 37^th to 29^th Streets (Block 622, p/o Lot 1),  in the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT), restricted to parking and accessory use only

*Sunset Park Stills has some beautiful new images up, including some Lunar New Year-themed shots. Take a look!

If you are among those who missed Borough President Marty Markowitz’s speech on how Brooklyn fares these days, McBrooklyn has a nice round-up.

Markowitz was typically understated in his speech, judging from the transcript. He gave props to local entrepreneurs who got creative during this economic downturn, such as Ditmas Park writer Faye Penn, who started Brokelyn.com and Phllip Peng, owner of Get Well Pharmacy (5218 8th Ave) in Sunset Park.

“Watch out CVS!” Markowitz warned, before adding “Kung hei fat choi!”

The February 3 address included plans to re-develop an historic theater and pledged $2 million to revitalize two Brooklyn armories, the announcement of Park Slope’s Tina Chang as the next Poet Laureate and charter changes that would add heft to the role of the offices of borough president, public advocate and the community boards.

To bolster the move, he cited his role in creating more affordable housing and 2009’s rezonings of Carroll Gardens, North Flatbush, Greenpoint-Williamsburg, Canarsie and Sunset Park. Sunset Park Chronicled reported earlier this year on the rezoning supported by the Community Board and some community members, while others in Community District 7 opposed the rezoning of 128 blocks of Sunset Park.

Perhaps most prescient to Sunset Park residents, Markowitz announced a plan to “remake” the deadly Fourth Avenue into a “stunning boulevard…worthy of the name ‘Brooklyn Boulevard!’” Community Board 7 also plans to look into ways to make Fourth Avenue safer for the families, children and elderly who regularly cross the multi-lane road.

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.

I had heard whispers, but the blogs blew it up–Brownstoner reported yesterday on the new yoga studio to open on the north side of Sunset Park.

Suryasta Yoga will open the doors at its 36th Street loft this weekend.  Founder Jenya Andrianova, a Sunset Park resident, is among the studio’s four teachers. The schedule lists morning and evening classes on weekdays, kids classes on weekends at 10am, and community classes (which are generally offered at a discount) Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:15pm. Classes cost $10 throughout February.

Curious? You can check out the studio this Sunday, January 31st from 5-7pm at a welcome that will include wine, food, hobnobbing and maybe even a little downward dog.

(The pairing of edibles and oms is also rather timely given this article in the New York Times today).

Suryasta Yoga, 462 36th Street, Brooklyn, NY off the N, R and D trains.

For 13 years the Vazquez family has watched Sunset Park change from the window of their three-bedroom apartment on 55^th Street. This year, the shifting tides of New York real estate hit home.

Developer Galla Condominiums recently bought and converted to condominiums a dozen apartments in the 16-unit building at 546 55^th Street where Carmen and Alex Vazquez live with their children. Each unit that goes up for sale marks one less rent-stabilized apartment in a neighborhood where such units are scarce.

As the number of rent stabilized units dwindle, long term residents find themselves living surrounded by housing that rents and sells at rates far beyond what many longtime and new immigrant residents in this working-class neighborhood can afford. Read the full story

Find this and more photos of the area at http://rmichals.wordpress.com/category/sunset-park/

Governor David A. Paterson announced in Brooklyn yesterday that $214,596 of the $10 million Brownfield Opportunities Grant is slated for the United Puerto Rican Association of Sunset Park (UPROSE).  UPROSE will complete a nomination for a 475-acre area with over 50 potential brownfield sites that are located in Sunset Park, The Business Council’s Capital Business Blog reported.

Read the full story

For those who are interested, find a press release by Councilwoman Sara González on the recent passage of the Sunset Park Rezoning Plan below:

Read the full story

Protestor outside City Hall

The City Council on Wednesday passed a rezoning plan for Sunset Park, Brooklyn that will for the first time set height limits and commercial overlay in the south Brooklyn neighborhood. Supporters say that the rezoning will boost commerce help preserve the character of the 128 blocks included in the plan.

Residents gathered to protest outside City Hall on Wednesday believe the plan will encourage chain stores and luxury-condo developers to move in, and push long-term residents and small businesses out. The Sunset Park Alliance of Neighbors (SPAN) held a press conference on the steps of City Hall. SPAN, along with several local churches and community organizations, has filed litigation alleging that the city did not do a sufficiently evaluate the effect of the rezoning on the neighborhood.

The plan goes into effect immediately. Structures with incomplete foundations will fall under the new rules. Those with finished foundations will be grandfathered in.

Stay tuned. More to come shortly…

Past reporting on the rezoning:

• Comprehensive look on Brownstoner
• Best View in Brooklyn
• Pratt Center
• Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Historic Bush Terminal

Governor David Patterson announced on September 2 that the state will offer up $10 million in Restore NY funds towards the rehabilitation of Sunset Park’s Bush Terminal. The funds will go to demolition, asbestos removal, utility upgrades and new construction, according to the Governor’s press release.

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has put out an open call for proposals to redevelop Pier 6 in Bush Terminal, located at the foot of 42nd street. Priority will do to developers whose plans make use of the “waterfront location and industrial character” of the area.

The development of Bush Terminal will benefit the area by generating private investment, jobs and taxes, according to the Governor’s office. The monies slated for the Brooklyn waterfront is a portion of the $153.6 million that the state will distribute communities across the State as part of the third round of the Restore NY grant program.

This announcement follows on the heels of Mayor Bloomberg’s July announcement of a $270 million “Sunset Park Waterfront Vision Plan,” as reported in the Brooklyn Eagle.