Employees at Park Slope Barnes & Noble Vote to Unionize

Employees at the Barnes and Noble bookstore in Park Slope voted overwhelmingly in favor of unionizing last week.

Booksellers, cashiers, and baristas at the store first notified management of their intention to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union in May, and asked that the company voluntarily recognize their efforts.

Barnes and Noble declined to recognize the union — and on Thursday, 88% of employees voted in favor of unionization — becoming the fourth Barnes and Noble location to join RWDSU this year.

“We’re really excited about the results and moving forward with the process,” said senior bookeller Haruka Iwasaki, in a statement. “I feel a sense of unity within the store. I’m happy that we’re coming together to ensure our voices are being heard.”

employees inside the store

Just over a month after they first notified management of their intention to unionize, employees at the Park Slope Barnes and Noble voted overwhelmingly to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Stores Union. Photo via Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union

Workers at the Park Slope store said they were motivated to unionize by low pay, unstable and inconsistent work schedules, and issues of workplace harassment and favoritism.

Part-time employees at Barnes and Noble

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Bed Stuy Brownstone One-Bedroom With Overcoat Asks $2,400

Although petite, this one-bedroom in a Bed Study brownstone looks meticulously maintained, with graceful original details and modern updates that enhance rather than detract from the existing architecture. Its three rooms take up the front half of the top floor of 256 Hancock Street in the historic district.

There is a mantle, parquet, molding, a bay window, and high ceilings. The bedroom is on the side — presumably over the entrance — but fits a dresser and queen bed “comfortably,” according to the listing, from Matthew Scott of Serhant. The kitchen and bathroom have been attractively updated with classic finishes including white subway wall tiles. No mention is made of closets, laundry, or a dishwasher, but there are two skylights.

The unit is one of five in the Renaissance Revival brownstone, which has been owned by an LLC since 2014. Perhaps worth noting: On the floor below is a 1.5-bedroom floor-through advertised as a fully furnished short-term rental, most recently in January for $3,500.

This apartment is asking $2,400 a month. What do you think?

[Listing: 256 Hancock Street #4F | Broker: Serhant] GMAP

kitchen with tile floor and white cabinets

bedroom with a wooden floor

bathroom with white fixtures and subway tiles

exterior of the brownstone

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A Boerum Hill Brownstone With Central Air and Three Others to See, Starting at $769K

Our picks for open houses to check out this weekend are found in Boerum Hill, Bed Stuy, Bay Ridge, and Flatlands. They range in price from $769,000 to $2.75 million.

In the Boerum Hill Historic District, a single-family brownstone hasn’t changed hands since 1992 but appears in good condition, with well maintained original features and recent updates. Narrow at 12.5 feet, the 1870s house has handsome carved marble mantels with rope details, a winding mahogany staircase, updated mechanicals, and mini-split air conditioning.

parlor with marble mantle

372 Pacific Street
Price: $2.75 million
Area: Boerum Hill
Brokers: Corcoran (Deborah Rieders, Sarah Shuken)
Sunday, February 5, 11 am to 1 pm
See it here -

In Bed Stuy, a brownstone with four stories and incised details is set up with two floor-through apartments over an owner’s duplex. The parlor level has high tin ceilings, elaborate woodwork, an entry with encaustic tiles, and an open-plan living area with a kitchen. While there is a fair amount of historic detail on the parlor floor, other floors have been altered, and wet rooms are updated.

parlor with mantels and moldings

329 Hancock Street
Price: $2.235 million
Area: Bed Study
Brokers: Compass (Jennyrose Halupka, Tatia Wetzel)
Saturday, February 4, noon to 2 p.m
See it

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Brooklyn News: A Park Slope Wood Frame Gets a Splash of Color

Top 10 Brooklyn Real Estate Listings of 2022: A Brooklyn Heights Manse, a Bay Ridge Row House

Looking back at the listings that readers were drawn to in 2022, there isn’t a single neighborhood that dominates and the properties reflect a fairly wide price range. While the most expensive is a budget-busting Brooklyn Heights manse at $13.75 million, much of the list is made up of properties under the $2 million mark.

brooklyn design inspiration, interiors

Photos clockwise from left: Shelley Victory by Lesley Unruh, Ty Cole, Paul Sue-Pat by David A. Land, Lesley Unruh

6 Creative Interiors Offer Some Brooklyn Living Inspiration

From the pages of Brownstoner magazine, here are the stories of six Brooklyn dwellers who adapted their interior spaces to suit their modern lives.

Each property offers a personal spin on Brooklyn living, including an artist’s whimsical Prospect Heights brownstone, a casual home for a family in Ditmas Park and a woodwork-filled Prospect Lefferts Gardens row house discovered by the owners in the 1970s.

maintenance building in cadman plaza park

A new cafe could open in one of Cadman Plaza Park’s old maintenance buildings. Photo by Susan De Vries

Cafe in the Cards for Cadman Plaza Park in Downtown Brooklyn

A new cafe could soon

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