So we’re back to the Cobble Hill Towers. Frank Farella sees the possibility of these towers in the late 1970s/early 1980s – at a time when many people had given up on these once important now decrepitating gems.

He buys the Towers then goes into business with these guys, Hudson Inc. This company also saw the potential in revitalizing the New York skyline. And bringing back housing that wasn’t filled with prostitutes or drug users, but most importantly, was affordable.

These buildings were a bit of challenge though. They had gone through several rough decades, and had multiple apartments that were uninhabitable. A big reason for these destroyed apartments was the buildings original layout – it had been designed with open stair layout. This, back in the 1800s, was to prevent fires. In a crowed tenant with only one staircase – fire was a regular visitor and it quickly meant death.

But these apartments were costly “fixer-uppers”.

But with the combination of a major NYC real estate group and a developer who saw both the potential and historical significance – the Cobble Hill Towers were born again.

The Towers are interesting not only for their long history and importance; but they were also one of the beginning projects for the Hudson group.  Hudson has had a significant impact not only on the Manhattan skyline, but has rapidly been increasing the Brooklyn one as well.

Bringing housing that is affordable, but also has proper living conditions is like giving a neighborhood a ridiculously good makeover – maybe one like Beyoncé would get on her day off.

This is what changes neighborhoods. This is how it begins. So I’m glad we got started. Let’s see what’s next.

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I’m thinking something about food. Anyone interested in a specialty? I’m kind of in the mood for some jalapeño maple corn bread…