17 PPW: SCAFFOLDING DOWN, BACKYARD SHANTY UP

Has the recesh finally hit PPW? Is this a modern-day Hooverville right on Carroll Street? Servant quarters?

Nope. Just another expenditure in the perpetual renovation of 17 PPW, the nabe's priciest fixer-upper. I'm glad SOMEBODY still has some money. Well no...I'm not really.

I was actually a bit relieved when our local movie stars, Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany sold up for a whopping 8.5 mils and moved back to Tribeca. Not because they weren't nice. They were fine..and they tried to fit in. They did the off-leash hours at Long Meadow in Prospect Park and the neighborhood gym thing at The Slope. JC even stopped wearing make-up and dressed down, so as not to rile the natives with her blinding gorgeousness and chic sense of style. Whenever I see photos or video of her all done-up, I realize that she must be a better actress than I've given her credit for to have hidden in plain sight for five years on the streets of Park Slope.

No, I'm actually happy they're gone because, frankly, it was a lot of pressure to have to make all that casual conversation. Whether in the locker room post-workout at The Slope or at the dog park, I was a part of this ongoing ruse where I had to pretend that I didn't know who the hell they were. Not sure why, but I felt like that was the neighborly, cool thing to do. Because in reality, I am the type of freak who would literally chase Don Knotts down the street if I caught sight of him. When it comes to the rich and famous, I'm an embarrassment.

So, yeah...I was hard-pressed to carry on the charade.

Also, I never really understood why they bought that big suburban manse in the first place? I mean, we've all been by that house--they were exposed on two corners and ended up having to keep their shades drawn all the time in order to have any semblance of privacy. And, apparently, it was a little too "Scooby-Doo haunted mansion" for their kids, who were so scared of the place they wouldn't sleep in their own rooms. Interestingly enough we have that very same problem in our own, less luxe two-bedroom apartment too.

Anyway, is that why the allegedly Google-enriched new owners have been renovating for the last YEAR AND A HALF!? I hear they are moving from SOHO because PS is so "stroller and family friendly." They obviously haven't gotten a load of THIS blog.

But really, what in God's name is going on inside that house? We were all dancing in the streets when the
scaffolding finally came down, but now they've got the tarped shanty in the back and the windows are out.

Anyone have more scoop? Fill me in.