January 2012
2 posts
Here Comes the Pun: Bike ticket insanity →
ohhleary:
The NY Post reported that the 19th precinct of the NYPD - which covers the Upper East Side - issued 6,600 citations to cyclists in 2011. Apparently, this is something to be proud of. Now, I’m all for issuing tickets to cyclists for serious violations - my top two being sidewalk riding and…
May 2011
1 post
December 2010
1 post
November 2010
6 posts
Is the Domino Developer Out of Money? →
The L Magazine reports that a “consultant for CPCR—the developer behind Williamsburg’s enormous, controversial Domino project—recently said in an off-the-record meeting that it appears likely the company may have to find another private investor in order to make the project move forward, a source present for the remarks confirmed in an email.”
A spokesman for the project...
DOB Checks in at Burg's Hotel Toshi →
Seems to be a pretty regular occurrence.
[via Brownstoner]
They're Just Using You →
Here’s a newsflash: RJ Reynolds is really not that interested in cornering the hipster market. There is a big difference between marketing to Williamsburg and using Williamsburg to market cigarettes to young people around the country.
But what happens when the Austin brand turns out to be more popular? Then there will be some hand wringing in these parts.
Manhattan Food
Esquina is opening in the old Relish space and the Enoteca crew is opening on North 8th Street. What other Manhattan restaurant chains have crossed the river? The only one that comes to mind is Mercat Negre, which was a flop (twice).
A number of Williamsburg restaurants have moved west (Aurora, Sparky’s, Atlas). But who else has moved east?
Duane Reade Takes on the Little Guy in... →
Duane Reade’s opening on Bedford Avenue has sparked more debate about shopping local vs. shopping frugally.
King’s could be more be competitive on price (and hopefully this will make them so), but so long as they keep channeling WLIR’s old playlists, I’m sticking with King’s.
(For the record, King’s is part of a chain, albeit a two store chain - their original...
2 tags
Governor Cuomo
Hey, remember when four years ago New York elected a Governor who had been anointed the foreordained front runner by the media and the political establishment?
And we elected his choice for Lieutenant Governor, even though we really had no idea who the LG candidate was (or even what an LG does)?
And it was like a landslide and a mandate and all?
Thank God we learned our lesson that one.
October 2010
16 posts
Landmarking Bushwick Avenue →
BushwickBK looks at potential landmarks on Bushwick Avenue. Plenty to choose from - I suspect you go a lot further than the 20 buildings they’ve selected. But there are some pretty impressive buildings in that group.
[via Aaron Short]
Van Plan Debacle →
Remember those $2 vans that were going to replace discontinued bus service in Brooklyn? Probably not - they were announced last month, and cancelled this month. Turns out the B39 (over the Williasmsburg bridge) was not a very lucrative route, even when you extend it from North 7th Street to Union Square.
There Goes the Neighborhood (Again) →
Still, there is something so well-groomed-rugged, so putting-on-airs, so SCENE about Freeman’s that it can’t help but be seen as the third horseman of the apocalypse — first being the 2005 rezoning, the second the actual construction of all those awful condos. What will be the final rider to finish off the neighborhood?
Matt Chaban, in his new gig at the Observer, has been kicking...
Gallery Sped Gentrification, Then Fell Victim →
I was going to go off on the absolute foolishness of this Brooklyn Paper article:
Cinders Gallery, a six-year-old art space on the corner of Hope Street, will close and look for a new home
Six years? That’s what passes for pioneering these days? Splutter, splutter [sound of head exploding].
But then I read this piece at the L Magazine, which actually manages to interview the gallery...
Cut! It Out: Curbing Shooting-Induced Parking... →
Steve Levin introduced an amazingly (in the sense that no one has proposed it before at the Council) commonsensical proposal - eliminating alternate-side-of-the-street parking in areas where film shoots are in progress.
Makes sense. And unlike other proposals to deal with the street takeover that film shoots are wont to do, this one doesn’t threaten the film industry - it just eases the...
Brooklyn's New Parks Commissioner Says Reign Will... →
He’s planning to focus on getting renovation projects done at McCarren Park in Williamsburg, Bushwick Inlet Park and Coney Island’s Steeplechase Plaza - and wrangling cash from politicians to complete them.
Sun Rises on HBO's Boardwalk Empire →
Industry is not dead in Brooklyn, but it has certainly changed:
In a parking lot in a desolate corner of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where developers once planned to erect a high-rise condo, sits a 300-foot-long facsimile of a section of the Atlantic City Boardwalk, circa 1920… The show, which films its interiors at Steiner Studios, has about 1,200 employees, including cast and crew, and has used...
Vision for a Southside Park Wrapped in Red Tape →
The “BQE Park” - Diana Reyna’s proposal for decking over the stretch of the BQE from South 3rd to South 5th - is a brilliant idea. In a “community district that ranks near the very bottom in terms of acres of open space per 1,000 residents” (and is only going backwards), we certainly need the open space, and bold visions like this are one of the few ways to create...
Tenant Accused of Cheating Subletters in Public... →
Sublet an apartment in a Williamsburg landmark:
The listing noted the hardwood floors and “quiet peaceful area.” The price to move in was $800 cash, a month’s rent plus a security deposit… But one sentence stuck out. “Public housing apt building,” the ad read, “working class only.
(Actually, the scam was that the woman failed to actually deliver the apartment. Had she actually sublet...
Vote for Ryan →
Ryan Kuonen, NAG’s extraordinary tenant organizer and one of the key volunteers behind the Southside CSA has been nominated for a Brooklyn Do-Gooder award. Get out and vote!
And since you get more than one vote a day, here are some other neighbors who have been nominated:
Kate Zidar (Newtown Creek Alliance and more)
Frank Carbone (Greenpoint Y, St. Francis College)
Monica Salazar...
The L Train Rides Alone →
The next time you’re crammed into an L train on a sticky, rainy day, having waited as four other packed trains rolled slowly by, take a moment to look around and marvel - you are on one of the cleanest, timeliest and most efficient train lines in the city. And the Times has an interesting theory as to why - the L train rides alone. So the only thing getting in the way of the L train is the...
Brownstone in the Heart of Williamsburg on Bedford... →
There aren’t many brownstones in Williamsburg (until you get south of Division Avenue) - in part because much of Williamsburg is too old for brownstones. So I was curious when I came across this listing for a “brownstone” on Bedford Avenue between North 8th and North 9th.
Here’s a hint that you’re building is not a brownstone:
The building is brick…
After Domino, Council Seeks To Curb City... →
Last week’s news, but I completely missed it:
Council Members Steve Levin, Gale Brewer and Oliver Koppell introduced legislation that would make the preapproval process for development more comprehensive and, theoretically, slower. The bill would require city agencies to provide the Council and community boards with details on the projects’ potential environmental impacts and plans to...
Upstart Winner Challenges Brooklyn Democratic... →
Lincoln Restler and New Kings Democrats profiled in the Times - in living color.
Plan to Expand Rail Service Imperiled at State... →
Republicans running for governor in various states are opposed to Federal spending for high-speed rail (or any rail service, for that matter). They’re not opposed to the money, mind you, just the trains:
Several candidates said they wanted to spend the stimulus rail money on roads and bridges
On the bright side, there are some on the right who understand that this is a growth issue, and...
September 2010
5 posts
Paterson Vetoes Bill to Move Radioactive-Waste... →
The anti-Radiac bill, which was written by Joe Lentol and championed by El Puente’s Luis Garden Acosta, haas been vetoed by Governor Paterson. The bill would have prohibited the storage of radioactive waste within 1,500 feet of a school (P. S. 84 is just inside that radius). Paterson, in vetoing the bill, noted that Radiac provided essential services to city hospitals.
Both sides are right,...
The Williamsburg Special →
The Daily News looks at “Williamsburg”.
Cluelessness aside (Grand AVENUE? Salties??), is anyone else bothered by the geographical redefinition of our community? Suddenly, “South Williamsburg” has subsumed the Southside (and presumably Los Sures with it), and now the Northside is North Williamsburg. Meanwhile, “Williamsburg Proper” is now at “Graham and...
1 tag
Fight Gets Louder Between Bars and Neighbors as... →
Backyard bars and residential neighborhoods don’t always mix.
The real issue the Times missed is smoking - most backyard bars thrive because they are the only place in the city where you can have a smoke and a drink.
DOB Uses Craigslist to Bust Illegal Conversions →
Handy tip to all those renting out illegally converted housing units - the DOB knows about Craigslist.
Oh no, Conos! →
I missed this one - Cono’s, one of Williamsburg’s classic Italian restaurants, has closed. For local character, there is still Bamonte’s, Frost and a couple of others.
August 2010
5 posts
Still No Park at 65 Commercial Street →
The MTA is still standing in the way of a park at 65 Commercial Street, and the City is still pumping sludge through the sludge tank at Barge Park. In other words, Aaron Short didn’t really need to write this story, he could have just reposted the article from the year before. Or the year before that.
Vans to Open in Greenpoint (so much for the park) →
Competition for KCDC (whose website is terra non grata, according to Google) - Vans is opening a store and “sponsored promotional and marketing venue” in a 15,000 sf space at 25 Franklin Street in Greenpoint (the former auto body shop and juice warehouse, located in the middle of what is supposed to be Bushwick Inlet Park). They also plan an indoor skate park (for private functions...
Park-Starved Brooklyn Community Gathers for... →
The North Brooklyn community ranks near the bottom per capita in terms of open space available for resident use. While the district is flanked by water on two sides—Newton Creek to the north and East River to the west—for many years, its residents could only sneak through the fences or brave abandoned industrial sites to get to the water.
Given the pace of new residential construction (fast)...
Bike Agenda Spins Cities Toward U.N. Control, Maes...
I thought the anti-bike-lane crazy was strictly a Brooklyn phenomenon. Turns out it’s part of the vast left-wing conspiracy to sell the country off to the U.N. Or something like that.
Maes said in a later interview that he once thought the mayor’s efforts to promote cycling and other environmental initiatives were harmless and well-meaning. Now he realizes “that’s...
