Moon Watch-April 27, 2010

Below, April 27, 2010, Fort Greene, Brooklyn:

Chase Me Down

 It seems more and more often, banks are the only commercial tenants who can afford to rent storefront leases in the city.

We live on DeKalb Avenue on the edge of the Fort Greene and Downtown Brooklyn neighborhoods.
While we see bank branches and atms everywhere, not one seems more prominent in our neighborhood than Chase Bank.  I can walk out my door, one block down to Flatbush Avenue and am inundated with Chase Bank.

 Below, Chase at 20 Flatbush Avenue:

  Below, Chase (formerly the Dime Savings Bank) at 9 DeKalb Avenue:

Below, Chase at Metrotech Center, looming in distance:

While I do not feel lucky to be flooded with the Chase brand, physically and visually, I do feel fortunate to be able to partake in beautiful architecture within walking distance.

The Chase branch at 9 DeKalb Avenue at Albee Square is a magnificent piece of architecture and almost every time I walk down to Fulton Street, I walk though it as if I am just walking down the block.  It is ALWAYS a pleasure and that's what architecture should be, always opening one's senses.

Alas, I was only able to take one photo of the interior before being told it was not allowed by security, but I am happy, happy that I can experience the grandeur of this space in my neighborhood.

Below, as luck would have it, a short walk over to Brooklyn Heights, at the Chase Branch (formerly the Brooklyn Trust) at 177 Montague, another architectural beauty, inside and out:

For more information and vintage photos of the former Dime Savings Bank at 9 DeKalb Avenue at Albee Square:
http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2010/03/walkabout_photo.php

For more information on former Brooklyn Trust at 177 Montague: http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2010/03/building_of_the_3.php

Pop in for a peek and be happy.

Knockdowned But Not Out

I have always had a fascination with campaign furniture, also known as knockdown furniture, furniture specifically designed to travel during military campaigns. The essence of campaign furniture lies in the inherent duality to be folded and portable yet be elegant and functional.  Traveling and living in tents did not deter the wealthy from continuing to reside in luxury.

This article briefly describes the knockdown furniture of the British campaigns: 

http://www.forbes.com/2001/08/15/0815connguide.html

Alas, our cardboard boxes as dining table and computer table lasted less than a week and an immediate trip to the Target store at the Atlantic Terminal Mall was in order.

With the echo of my new motto, Keep it Simple, Keep it Clean, thumping through my head, I seek out our own campaign furniture: affordable and portable, cheap and chic.

I return triumphant with two tables in tow and set up in a matter of minutes, assured we are Knockdowned but Not Out.

Indoor Camping :

My favorite spot is in the corner:

The Greening of Our View:

Also check out these examples of contemporary and cool Flat Pack furniture:

http://weburbanist.com/2008/01/13/more-creative-furniture-for-cramped-urban-living-20-pieces-of-ingenious-flat-pack-urban-furniture/

The Starting Line in Brooklyn

My husband and I are not young nor inexperienced, yet we find ourselves   
Starting Out Starting Over and once again at the starting line.

Why, you ask?  Why not, I say. It may not be by choice, but I say it is fortuitous.

We find ourselves with not more than a few boxes of belongings beside us, most of our worldly goods freshly out from a long stay in a storage facility and currently tucked away out West.

From living in a wonderful apartment in Chelsea in New York, to out of our luggage out in California,  in a cottage in the Carribean, in a cabin in Northern California, out of our luggage in New York, we have gradually adapted to living without much, both monetary and material.

Take a quick look, a single spin is all that is required, around the studio apartment:

Before even looking at any apartments, we chose the studio plan as an economic choice, period.

After seeing this apartment and its location, we knew instantly it would offer far more than its modest square footage and its gritty neighborhood belies.

I am ALWAYS the first to advise another that change is good and I am now the happy recipient of my own advise.

Welcome to Brooklyn

My name is Silvina Goefron Royston.  My husband and I have been bouncing from place to place across the country the past two years and we have finally landed in a special spot in Brooklyn.  While I am a native New Yorker, raised in Queens, and my husband, a Bay Area native, transplanted to NYC over 25 years ago, we must admit that we know very little about the borough of Brooklyn other than the occasional visits to cultural events or to visit with friends.  We arrive at the cusp of a new season and at a crossroad in our lives, ready to start anew.  We are at what I call the SOSO point in our lives: Starting Out Starting Over.  While our lives and our lifestyle have definitely changed and have felt so so in many ways, our new home in Brooklyn and the spring season brings us hope for renewal and regrowth. As an Architect, an avid home cook, a savvy shopper and enthusiastic New York City pedestrian, it is my goal to absorb and share all that is wonderful, intriguing, resourceful and affordable about my newfound Brooklyn and the New York City I truly love and adore and, no matter where I am living, will always call home.


Views from our Brooklyn perch:

Views from Brooklyn Botanical Garden of Cherry Blossoms and of Turtles Sunning in Pond: