Neighborhoods of contemporary New York are primarily defined by the choices and actions of the people who call them home. They are collages fashioned from layer upon layer of small accretions that we plaster and paint onto our environments. Sometimes, this paint is literal [...] rich diversity of murals in memoriam found throughout Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn — public artworks that reflect a particular history of violence, racial prejudice, and, in some cases, the mixture of the two. — urbanomnibus.net

A wooden catwalk based on a trail bridge, the 450-foot-long structure, which begins north of the Brooklyn promenade in Squibb Park, bounced gently as it was walked upon, delighting residents and park visitors alike. But over time, the subtle bounce — part of the design — became more pronounced, then worrisome... On Friday ... park officials said that Squibb Park Bridge, which cost $5 million, would remain closed until spring as engineers continued to study its movements. — NY Times

Big real estate projects sometimes go through name changes, but the announcement August 4th that the Atlantic Yards mega-development near downtown Brooklyn, which has faced steady controversy since it emerged in 2003, would become Pacific Park Brooklyn, was an unusual, strategic and dubious adjustment. — nextcity.org

Fed up with rising rents, bidding wars and neighborhoods that no longer resemble the low-rise bohemian enclaves they found when they arrived, many Brooklynites are moving out. They include decade-long renters who can no longer keep up with price hikes, qualified buyers who have been outbid one too many times, and young families who simply can’t find the space they want at prices they can afford. — nytimes.com

The Brooklyn-based artist couple Adam Frezza and Terri Chiao have constructed a bed & breakfast cabin inside their own house that they rent out on Airbnb. The idea for a A Cabin in a Loft was based on the house-in-a-house concept.

[...] Both micro-houses have a bed, a storage space and a semi-private garden space. The space between the structures contains a kitchen and a table for dining and working, and is further used as a combined living room by the hosts and the guests together. — popupcity.net

As prices rise in Brooklyn, brokers in Bedford-Stuyvesant have been breaking sales records left and right since March [...] Nine of Bed-Stuy’s top 15 residential sales in the past five years are from 2014 [...] Meanwhile, the median sales price during the second quarter rose to $630,000, up from $425,000 in the second quarter of 2013. In June of this year, the median asking price was even higher, according to StreetEasy data: $895,000, a 50.4 percent increase from June 2013. — The Real Deal

As the search for more affordable real estate in New York City pushes deeper into neighborhoods that were once considered out of the way, bicycle lanes are taking on new importance. Since 2007, the city has carved out more than 350 miles of bike lanes in the five boroughs, according to the Department of Transportation. As a result, the distance from the nearest subway or bus stop has become less of a drawback for the two-wheeled set, particularly in transit-challenged areas of Brooklyn. — nytimes.com