image c/o Gothamist

Sorry priced-out Manhattan folks at The Edge.  Gothamist reports receipt of the new Williamsburg zip code divide, and the luxury condos will be among those forced to adopt the new 11249.

The zipcode change spans Bedford Avenue to the waterfront.

The rest of us can still claim the uber-hip original gangsta 11211.  Represent, yo.

- J. Rachel Reyes

It’s good, I’m these cold winter times, to get a taste of the beach. And even if you are taken to a cold grey New Jersey shore, it still has the impact of taking you out of the season. Maybe more sulk than surf. Like maybe wearing a sweater on the beach and skipping stones into the ocean. That was part of the appeal of seeing Real Estate for free at the Local X Local show at Brooklyn Bowl last night.

The other part is the pure stylistic precision. Surfy lo-fi rock – whatever you want to call it. If you think of it like a scene it’s like we’re in Seattle in 1994, except now we’re living large on reverb and jammed out verses. The style is trending from suburban New Jersey to hipster-centric Brooklyn. In their plaid shirts and worn jeans, these dudes are sonically swimming out into the crowd through a see of sopping we guitar tones. I mean this in the best way.

The first song they played as a standout hit from their self-titled debut was “Suburban Beverage.” The band harmonizes and repeats the line “Budweiser, Sprite, do you feel alright?” over a plinking guitar line. It’s perfect. And a great representation of why we love Real Estate so much: With those six words, our hearts are endeared and anyone who has migrated to New York is suddenly transported  back to the town they grew up in and the family gatherings they once went to there.

They touched on a lot of the best songs from their record. “Beach Comber” was in there, as were “Suburban Dogs” and “Fake Blues”  and “Out of Time.” This is a band who can recreate the sound on their album stunningly. Although some sounds get slightly lost in the big room of Brooklyn Bowl, they still sound really on point.

And while the hits were great, it was nice to hear a lot of new material mixed in with the tracks from the record. You never want to see a band rest on their laurels after releasing a great record, and Real Estate are certainly not doing that. The new stuff follows the same suburban trajectory that they have been on.

If you’re heading home for the holidays, say hello to the suburbs for those of us who can’t make it. But if you’re staying here, let’s rock the beach!

I’ve heard this show really accurately sums up what it is like to be young living in New York City. Can anyone confirm that this is true? They certainly have the montage of scenes with Real Estate’s “Beach Comber” playing, the way that everyone who is young living in New York City has had. Or there is just some young, hip network employee who wanted to hear his favorite band on TV. The finished product is actually really touching, and predictably situationally comedic.

Real Estate – Beach Comber (On How I Met Your Mother) from Free Spirit on Vimeo.

From TruePanther:

New single from Real Estate. Two brand new songs, “Out of Tune” and “Reservoir”. “Out of Tune” was recorded by Jarvis Taveniere and features some synthwork by Daniel Lopatin (aka Oneohtrix Point Never). Greater fidelity and more sophisticated songwriting than we’ve heard from Real Estate before. Available on 7″ and Digital Single 10/12/10.

by truepanther

Are you guys ready for Greenpoint to be “of note”? The Observer is, and they followed Sarah and Steve around the neighborhood as they checked out some apartments.

The prospective buyers, Sarah, 22, and her fiancée [sic], Steve, 25, who declined to give their last names, have been renting for eight months in Williamsburg. Steve works in an art gallery and Sarah works at Bloomingdale’s. Their wedding is in October. Greenpoint is located directly north of Williamsburg, but Sunday was their first time in the area.

“We like the feel of the neighborhood,” Sarah said. “You know, bars, restaurants.”

Greenpoint: Bars, and restaurants.

A subway ad for the Williamsburg Edge condo posted above ground at the Bedford Avenue L train station features a Suicide Girls-type model rocking an inverted crucifix on her left wrist. Charlie Daniels, what’s this mean?!

The devil went down to Georgia [Williamsburg], he was looking for a soul to steal. He was in a bind ‘cos he was way behind: he was willin’ to make a deal.

Now, there seem to be two schools of thought out there as to what the inverted cross really means. Traditionally, it’s seen by Christians as the Cross of St. Peter. Simon Peter, some believe, was crucified upside down as a symbol of humility towards Jesus Christ. However, it’s much more widely accepted as a symbol of anti-Christian methodology. Some see it as the stamp of the devil himself.

And then there’s that eye. Whose eye is that? What’s it looking at? Is it the dark lord himself, staring out from the black tar-filled abyss of Brooklyn real estate marketing conference rooms? And just what the hell does he want with her heart?! Demons don’t necessarily drink blood. As long as I’ve known them, they’ve pretty much left that up to the Twilight crowd.

Neighborly blogger Miss Heather cleverly notes the marketers probably forgot a few things, like, “someone sitting at the table surrounded by empty cans of PBR and Colt 45 cutting up a suspicious white substance with a gold card,” or as her husband adds, “the scraggly haired son of bitch passed out on the couch.”

All together, Edge is just trying to look, well, edgy, so it’s doubtful they’re really going after these two competing and much sought after groups. They just wanted some chick with a tattoo to get you idiots to go buy up some “hardcore luxury” property.

[H/T & a "thank you" to Miss Heather for the photos.]

Matt writes:

Let’s think about all the people that commute to the city every morning. THE CONGESTION IS INSANE ALREADY. Not only will the L train become un-usable (which is practically is every morning) but it’s going to literally change the vibe, and eventually culture of the neighborhood, and not in a good way. The dust, noise, etc that goes along with this construction is going to be HORRIBLE and especially damaging to the new buildings and businesses such as Glasslands Gallery and the new IndieScreen.

Josh counters:

dude, you’re one stop away from manhattan, and the earth’s population is going to rise by another 30% in the next 40 years. how do you think that your neighborhood is not going to change? if you’re worried about the stress on public transporation, then argue for better public transportation. don’t argue against infill development. infill (as opposed to sprawl) is the most environmentally sensitive (and socially smart) way to build housing, and more housing will always be needed. not to mention, using an existing building is also recycling!

Plans to revamp the old Domino Sugar Factory into shiny condos got a big stamp of approval yesterday when the City Planning Commision voted 13-0 in the developers’ favor. Now, it’s on to the city council. Curbed notes our local city councilmember (Levin, I’m guessing) “is no big fan of Domino, and has urged the developers to cut back on the project’s density so as not to overwhelm the neighborhood.”