6 AWP Brooklyn Paper • www.BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260-2500 July 26–August 1, 2019
The city must do better
Slope brownstone asks $5.35M
Big bike ride to combat cancer
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By Aidan Graham
Brooklyn Paper
More than 180 cyclists
will don spandex and hit
the saddle for a daunting
seven-day cycling journey
from Staten Island to Niagara
Falls on July 28, in a race to
fight an even more grueling
challenge — cancer.
The 540-mile annual Empire
State Ride was conceived
in 2014 by Terry Bourgeois
to raise funds for cancer research
— and has grown exponentially
since his inaugural
ride, he said.
“Every year, this ride
brings its participants an
experience that will stay
with them the rest of their
lives,” says Bourgeois. “We
keep saying it’s a ride cyclists
must try once in their
lives, but the impact — on
you and on cancer — increases
exponentially the
more you do it.”
This year, organizers hope
to raise more than $1 million
from riders and sponsors —
which will go to supporting
cutting-edge cancer research
at Roswell Park Comprehensive
Cancer Center in Buffalo,
according to the organization.
Riders push themselves
to the physical limits during
the exhausting crossstate
ride, but find inspiration
to keep pedaling from
those who have conquered
cancer, according to one rider
who will make his second
voyage this year.
“The idea of what they’ve
gone through — this ride is
nothing compared to hours of
chemotherapy,” said Brooklynite
Phil Zodda. “I’m not
a cancer survivor, but when
you’re riding side-by-side
with someone who has gone
through that, you can’t feel
bad for yourself — those
mountains flatten out.”
After exhaustive days
of non-stop riding, cyclists
will make six overnight
stops along the meticulously
planned route at
camp grounds in the Hudson
Valley, Albany, Utica, Syracuse
and Rochester until they
reach the waterfall wonder
of the world on Aug. 3.
“It’s really more of an adventure
as opposed to a race,”
said Zodda. “It’s long and
difficult, but I found it to be
extremely rewarding.”
Each night features a cancer
surviving guest speaker
who inspires their fellow riders
with their stories and
speaks of the importance
of raising funds to combat
the disease — which claims
the lives of around 600,000
Americans each year, according
to government statistics
.
“It’s not so much the illness,
as much as it’s about
processing the word ‘cancer.’
Hearing those stories helps,”
said second-year rider Scott
Cohen from Fresh Meadows.
“You make a wonderful bond
with so many people who
are there.”
Mother nature won this
round.
Brooklyn fell victim
to a brutal heat wave over
the weekend, with approximately
33,000 Con Edison
customers losing power. And,
just as ConEd was on the verge
of restoring service to those
customers, nearly 11,000 additional
customers lost power
as a result of Monday night’s
thunderstorm that caused severe
flooding in parts of the
borough.
Additionally, Kings
County straphangers were
tortured with separate subway
shutdowns last Friday
and Monday.
Add it all together, and
Brooklynites went through
hell in the last week. The
MTA will always have it’s
issues with the subways,
but ConEd’s failure was inexcusable.
What’s worse is that everyone
knew the heat wave
was coming, yet the city was
still not prepared. That must
change moving forward.
There must be a better
plan in place for the next time
temperatures are expected
to reach nearly 100 degrees.
While the other four boroughs
dealt with power issues, none
had to face the kind of adversity
we did in Brooklyn.
Mom and Pop eateries and
other grocery stores that lost
power were forced throw out
produce, losing tons of potential
income that is not so
easily recovered. Families
resorted to sleeping in their
air conditioned cars to avoid
spending the night dripping
sweat in their homes. Drivers
were forced to navigate
the roads in darkness Sunday
night and, because traffic
lights had no power, there
were tons of car accidents in
southern Brooklyn.
We shouldn’t have to live
like this. And it’s up to the
city to make sure we never
have to again.
Mayor Bill de Blasio
blasted ConEd at a press conference
in Mill Basin Monday
for its refusal to provide a substantial
explanation of what
caused the latest debacle.
“I’m calling for a full investigation
and further that we
examine whether we need a
new entity to handle this situation
going forward. Because
at this point I do not have faith
in ConEd... They’re not doing
their job and they’re not giving
real answers. Is it now time to
do something different.”
Is de Blasio right? Is it time
to ditch ConEd and bring in
a new, more reliable energy
provider?
No one should have to
worry about losing power
because it’s too hot outside,
yet here we are.
It’s time for a change. Next
time mother nature attacks,
the city must be ready. We
deserve better.
EDITORIAL
Now on
FROM THE PAGES OF BROWNSTONER.COM
Stephen Zacks
Brownstoner
A row house in the Park
Slope Historic District with
sharply angled bays and fanciful
woodwork has been renovated
with a unified clean
white aesthetic and streamlined
kitchen and baths that
show off its spectacular mantels,
all painted.
The 1890 brownstone with
a dogleg stoop and roughfaced
stones at the base is laid
out as a triplex over a one-bedroom
garden rental.
On the parlor level, the living
and dining rooms are separated
by pocket doors, both
rooms oriented around wood
mantels with fanciful toppers
featuring tiers of whatnot
shelves and columns. The
parlor fireplace is working,
as is another in an upstairs
bedroom.
The dining room retains its
built-in glass-fronted china
cabinet sandwiched between
closets. The new ipe wood
floors throughout the house
are dark brown.
The triplex’s kitchen in a
rear extension is styled in a
modern fashion with white
lacquer Poggenpohl cabinets,
marble counters and a cantilevered
breakfast bar. The appliances
are Miele, except for
a Sub-Zero dual-zone wine
fridge.
French doors lead to a deck
with built-in daybeds and
metal spiral stairs down to
the garden. It’s paved in bluestone
and landscaped around
the sides with mature plantings.
The triplex’s top two
floors have four bedrooms
with simple mantels, also
painted white, and an office
with built-in bookshelves. The
bathrooms are both updated,
one with white cabinets similar
to the kitchen and small
green tiles in the glass-enclosed
shower, the other with
blue arabesque tiles on the
floor and white tiles in the
glass-enclosed tub.
A powder room on the parlor
level is located beneath the
stairs. All of the bedrooms
are equipped with one or
two closets, one a generous
walk-in, and there’s a storage
space inserted between
the rooms on the top floor.
There is three-zone air conditioning
throughout.
On the garden floor is a
renovated one-bedroom apartment
with a decorative mantel
in the living room and plenty
of a closet space. Laundry for
the building is located in the
cellar.
Perhaps most important,
the property comes with a “secure
off-street parking spot
across the street,” according
to the listing.
The address is 505 1st
Street and the house is one
of a row of four brownstones
designed by J.J. Gilligan and
built in 1890 according to the
landmark district designation
report. The listing gives the
square footage as 3,896.
Lynn Tesser and Tim Martin
of Douglas Elliman are
showing the place, which is
on the market for $5.35 million.
Is the price right?
The 1890 browntone is on the market for $5.35 million.
Douglas Elliman
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