(John Lloyd) Despite moving to New York City back in 1995, it wasn't until I bought my first coop in
Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., 11 years ago,
that I first set foot in the borough of BK. In those first five years in NYC, I worked my way
through three nabes—the Upper West Side, Chelsea and Tribeca—before a friend suggested Brooklyn Heights.
"But that's in... um, Brooklyn," I responded. Oh, how times have changed.
In 2000, interest rates were steep (8.5%), but after seeing dozens of overpriced or undersized units, at last I found my utopia: a two-bedroom dump in a beautifully historic building near the end of the Heights' main drag, Montague Street, just steps from the consummate view of Manhattan along the Promenade.
In the decade-plus since, I've renovated the kitchen, the second bedroom & hallway, the bathroom—and in January, had the pleasure of a master bedroom makeover, courtesy of HGTV's
Dear Genevieve. The living room... well, one of these days.
While the apartment is hardly light-filled, I can't imagine living anywhere else. The building now has a rooftop deck, the neighbors are a gregarious
lot and since working for the U.S. Census last summer, I've come to love a wide swath of big ole BK. It doesn't hurt that a grocery store and liquor shop—essential—are mere blocks away. So it might be shady indoors, but it takes all of 60 seconds to discover paradise on the outside.
And now some history of the building I call home, built even before your mama was born, in 1887. First, my fave, from 1920. Note the beautiful iron canopy. Sadly, it has vanished in the decades since.
The Harbor View Apartments, later named The Arlington, were completed in 1887. The building was designed by
Montrose W. Morris, who had built his own residence in Brooklyn and
opened it to the public as his office, as a means of advertising his acumen.
Among visitors was developer Louis F. Seitz, who, mightily impressed, commissioned an apartment house on property he
owned on BK's Nostrand Avenue. He was so pleased with the resulting Alhambra that he commissioned Morris to design two additional multiple-family residences—a growing trend amid the prominent brownstones in Brooklyn Heights.
In 1885, architectural firm Parfitt Brothers built the Montague, Grosvenor & Berkeley apartment buildings on Montague Street. Two years later, Morris was commissioned to design The Arlington, just steps from the ferry landing at the foot of Montague.
Above, looking north from Montague Terrace. You can see the Arlington's cornucopia on the right, one building up. The iron fence is to protect pedestrians from being run down by the trolley that motored down to the ferry landing.
Forty years before: Montague Street at the foot of the East River in 1850.
1914: At the time, the trolley ran to the end of Montague Street, where a ferry took old-moneyed passengers to Wall Street.
Above, bustling ship trade along the Brooklyn Heights waterfront, looking across to Manhattan. The Arlington is on the left, middle. Below, the ferry landing at the tip of Montague Street. Below, the opposite view, looking up toward Montague Street. Note the tug boat on the right.
Harlem-born American playwright Arthur Miller (1915-2005) lived on the 10th floor of 62 Montague in the early 1940s with his first wife Mary Grace Slattery, paying $60 a month, while writing and working at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It's said to be one of four addresses he held in the Heights. In 1946, his play
All My Sons earned him a first Tony Award.
In 1949, Miller's career-defining
Death of A Salesman won a Pulitzer Prize and another Tony Award, propelling him to fame. He met Marilyn Monroe in 1951, had a brief affair, then left poor Mary to become Monroe's third husband in July 1956. She wasn't having Brooklyn, and the couple moved to Manhattan. They divorced in 1961 and Monroe died 19 months later. Perhaps she'd still be with us had the pair stayed in BK?
The Arlington originally contained 20 family apartments and 10 "bachelor"—or studio—units. For its first 20 years, at 10 stories, the building was the tallest residence in the Heights.
In 1965, 62 Montague joined Brooklyn Heights as a
National Historic Landmark for its "rare
charm and historic significance." The petition read: "Of the 1,284 buildings fronting on streets within the proposed District, 684 were built before the Civil War and 1,078 before the turn of the century. There are 60 Federal, 405 Greek Revival, 47 Gothic Revival and 201 Anglo-ltalianate buildings as well as 216 buildings in eclectic and
miscellaneous styles, not to mention 61 early carriage-houses grouped largely along unspoiled mews. In addition, 190 buildings are of generally conforming scale."
To maintain the auspices of its Landmark stature, the building is currently undergoing a massive renovation to restore and repair its facade to original grandeur, which contains astonishing details, including terra cotta cherubs, intricate roping in the concrete and other decorative elements from sidewalk level to tip. The project is enduring the better part of a year.
(Note: This is an updated post that first appeared on The Smoking Nun in June 2010.)
Celine Dion has released a new advertising campaign to support her upcoming fragrance Signature, due in September. She says in the ad, "My music provides me with a wonderful creative outlet to express my feelings and share these emotions with my fans. Creating the Signature fragrance allows me to reach my fans in a completely different, yet very personal way.”
While David Gandy is a little stern-looking for my tastes, his success cannot be denied. Simply, he is the most successful male model of the past decade. Following a career-making marquis campaign for Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue perfume—including a 50-foot ad in Times Square—he now flies to 75 shoots a year, has been profiled by fashion magazines, interviewed by newspapers and is regarded as a beefcake ideal. No arguments there. Of course, it doesn't hurt a bit that he likes to pose in the briefest of briefs. Ooh la la.
(John Lloyd) 
that I first set foot in the borough of BK. In those first five years in NYC, I worked my way 
through three nabes—the Upper West Side, Chelsea and Tribeca—before a friend suggested Brooklyn Heights.
opened it to the public as his office, as a means of advertising his acumen.
owned on BK's Nostrand Avenue. He was so pleased with the resulting Alhambra that he commissioned Morris to design two additional multiple-family residences—a growing trend amid the prominent brownstones in Brooklyn Heights.
Above, looking north from Montague Terrace. You can see the Arlington's cornucopia on the right, one building up. The iron fence is to protect pedestrians from being run down by the trolley that motored down to the ferry landing.
Forty years before: Montague Street at the foot of the East River in 1850.
1914: At the time, the trolley ran to the end of Montague Street, where a ferry took old-moneyed passengers to Wall Street.
Above, bustling ship trade along the Brooklyn Heights waterfront, looking across to Manhattan. The Arlington is on the left, middle. Below, the ferry landing at the tip of Montague Street. Below, the opposite view, looking up toward Montague Street. Note the tug boat on the right.
Harlem-born American playwright Arthur Miller (1915-2005) lived on the 10th floor of 62 Montague in the early 1940s with his first wife Mary Grace Slattery, paying $60 a month, while writing and working at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It's said to be one of four addresses he held in the Heights. In 1946, his play All My Sons earned him a first Tony Award.
The Arlington originally contained 20 family apartments and 10 "bachelor"—or studio—units. For its first 20 years, at 10 stories, the building was the tallest residence in the Heights.
charm and historic significance." The petition read: "Of the 1,284 buildings fronting on streets within the proposed District, 684 were built before the Civil War and 1,078 before the turn of the century. There are 60 Federal, 405 Greek Revival, 47 Gothic Revival and 201 Anglo-ltalianate buildings as well as 216 buildings in eclectic and 
miscellaneous styles, not to mention 61 early carriage-houses grouped largely along unspoiled mews. In addition, 190 buildings are of generally conforming scale."
It's off to Fire Island for a weekend of flaming frivolity with Bobby, Timmy and Ayhan. You know what that means: Pics, boyz and more pics. Have a swell weekend, cool cats. See you on the flip side.
On Nov. 5, 1888, the Fifth Avenue Brooklyn Rapid Transit Elevated line opened, carrying passengers 
from Fulton Ferry just across the Brooklyn Bridge (which opened in 1883) through downtown Brooklyn to Bay Ridge. At the bottom of the top pic, you'll see passengers waiting to board streetcars, while construction is taking place along the tracks.
have to endure the horrendous ritual of genital mutilation—which most folks just call circumcision.
1-day-old son should be checking the "yes" or "no" box from the incubator to decide what he wants for his wee wee. Oh, Cali, come on!
1915: A dynamite blast caused the overhead road to cave in on the Seventh Avenue subway line, sending a streetcar collapsing onto the rubble. Seven died and nearly 100 were injured.
couples took their wedding vows, at the City Clerk's office downtown a handful of pissed-off Bible thumpers, National Organization for Marriage zealots and mean-spirited Orthodox Jews screamed such Christian epitaphs as "Shame on you sodomizers, shame on you, faggots" and "Newlyweds are going to hell."
age. She delivered the goods at last month's Bondi Beach Pride extravaganza in NYC, and has released Portraits: A Tribute to Great Women of Song, a covers album recorded in 2004 and just released in the States. In addition, Livi recorded a new dance mix of the classic "Physical," with proceeds going to her Wellness and Cancer Center.
The video features men holding hands. Was there controversy? Oh, I’m sure there was. Brian Grant was the director and I think it was his idea. I’m actually seeing him soon for the first time in 30 years and I’m going to ask him, because I don’t remember how it came about and it was such a funny twist. It’s not so radical now, but it was then.
to be married, so it’s art imitating life. It’s good practice, but I hope Chloe’s wedding doesn’t go like this one. [Laughs] It’s a very funny movie. It’s written by the man who wrote Death at a Funeral and directed by Stephan Elliott, who made Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The combination of those two is pretty wild.
