What's on Tap for Cortelyou Road?

As a 3 month resident around the corner from vox pop I can say with some authority that the street needs everything.

Connecticut muffin just means there will be now two choices for coffee and muffins: the unbearably hot and sweaty in summer vox pop, or the chain store vibe of connecticut muffin.

I'm skeptical how the so very tepid "food co-op" is going to manage in that desolate associated space.

The library is noisier than coney island avenue with surly staff to boot. There is litter all over the place. The road appears to challenge van brunt for road works and potholes. The fireman enjoy double parking because, you know, driving to work and finding an actual legal spot is a big hassle.

it needs everything.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 12:05 PM

These are great developments. I hope our own neighborhood can attract stores and restaurants like this soon!

However, much of Ditmas Park is located way away from Cortelyou. Like driving distance not walking distance, and parking will be tight. So eventually in real estate, there may even arise a new name for the area located walking distance to Cortelyou because it will be more desireable. Like Cortelyou-Ditmas or something like that. It will be interesting to watch the realtors in the coming year and see if that happens.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 12:07 PM

a bookstore. It's a pity that Church Avenue, 4 blocks away, isn't attracting similar restaurants and services that Cortelyou has.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 12:10 PM

yes, it's needs a coffee shop where you can walk in and not be insulted by the owner's politics.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 12:17 PM

I hope that the microbrewery comes to the old Cornerstone spot. A bar with decent food, beer, and brunch would make a killing in that area.

I agree that more coffee options are welcome (Vox Pop forces their views down your throat - imagine walking in their with a t-shirt sporting a logo of the American flag!).

I think that the co-op will do well, especially with more yuppies moving to the area. Also, their current space is a bit cramped.

How about a sushi restaurant? If Franklin Avenue can have one, why not us?

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 12:34 PM

I agree with the need for a good thai/japanese restaurant. My family would be good customers at least once a week. It would also be nice to have a store that sells good bread/cheese, etc..., sort of like blue apron. We have organic/nature food stores but they don't really have a good selection in the bread/cheese/meats/olives, etc... area.

To the person who says the street has nothing other than coffee shops, it has a good furniture/homewares store, a great childrens' clothing/toy store, a great wine store, one fine restaurant and one fabulous restaurant (the Farm) - all of which are owned by friendly, professional people who love the neighborhood and know all of their regular customers by name - giving it almost a small-town vibe. In addition, those double-parking firemen are incredibly nice and helpful and always take the time to wave to my kids and let them look at the fire trucks. You should also explore Coney Island Avenue a bit. Although it looks like a bunch of garages - it actually has a lot of ethnic food restaurants and shops with fabulous food and people. You just need to open your eyes and mind and explore a little.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 12:41 PM

actually, all of ditmas park is in very easy and convenient biking distance of cortelyou. no need to drive and hassle yourself with trying to find parking. give the bike a shot. it's a pretty nice way to go.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 1:14 PM

In reference to the "owner's politics" comment. . . Come on!! You're in New York City for god's sake. Don't go there. No one is twisting your arm. You want coffee with no politics go to Starbucks, join the masses, buy a compilation CD, and pay $4.50 for your cuppa! Isn't this Brooklyn? Talk about uptight.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 1:32 PM

Anybody else call the number posted on the old Cornerstone bar? I believe they are asking between 6k-7k for the spot. In addition, I think it needs a gas line installed in order to have a kitchen. The woman is a total nut job. When I said it was a bit pricey she asked me if I had any idea what a place like that would go for in midtown - 50-60k she said - last I checked Cortelyou is just a tad different than 57th street.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 1:56 PM

yes and 6K is different than 60K.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 2:16 PM

A fish store, a really good one.
A good butcher.
A nice florist.
A card store (not a foofy gift-store-with-cards).
A book store, to replace the late lamented one there.
Best of all: I would like "The Chatterbox Cafe" to relocate to Cortelyou Road from Lake Wobegon.

Brenda from Flatbush

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 2:19 PM

From what I hear from the neighbors and those who have shown interest in the Cornerstone space, it probably is not the best space to choose if you want to open a business in the area. I am told the man who owns it has some serious issues and is far, far, far from the ideal landlord. I want any new business moving in to be successful and I don't know if they would have a shot in that space with that landlord. Having said that, I think there are a few spaces available on Cortelyou and even on Church closer to Coney Island Avenue that would do well as a bar/restaurant/food store. The neighborhood could use a good microbrewery/bar and a couple of other good restaurants.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 2:24 PM

12:05 probably moved here because Ditmas Park is a "white hot, up-and-coming nabe" and now he or she can't wait for it to flippin' gentrify already. Just a guess. I actually am in the same position over in Kensington. Mostly, I want the place to clean up its act. I'm fine with waiting for business to emerge and a diverse population, hell, I think that's great. But other parts of waiting on the gentrification are much more difficult. I thought I could cope with the litter and the tagging and the cigarette butts everywhere, but as it turns out it depresses me and makes me feel unsafe, and I hate watching my kid play in that often dirty, tagged Tot Lot, and we'll probably be leaving when our lease ends in 2009. That's a big part of why we rented instead of buying. We tried to walk the walk, turns out, we don't want to. I can cop to that though.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 2:54 PM

Oh--and there is a good butcher on Cortelyou--on the block between 16th and 17th next to the Korean run grocery.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 3:11 PM

You know, for all that I see no real difference between what Sander Hick's calls "smart growth" and what everyone else calls gentrification--I have to say that at least he has a vision and is doing something to realize it. Not like all these complainers on Brownstoner and other websites who move into a neighborhood and then just continually kvetch about how its not Park Slope or wherever. I moved into Ditmas Park ten years ago and loved it then. It has always had a sort of sesame street feel to it--loved the tot lot and the coop and the associated (r.i.p.) and cinco de mayo. I love how I could use my neighborhood as a central point to explore a lot of the other neighborhoods in Brooklyn that I never even realized existed when I lived in Brownstone Brooklyn. Changes are happening and that is fine--but a neighborhood is its people and the connections between them---not the number of yoga studios and tchotcke shops (not that there is anything wrong with those things either.) I just wish people would stop kvetching about what isn't and enjoy what is! Okay, rant over.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 3:11 PM

go outside and sweep your own neighborhood.

paint the graffiti and do SOMETHING.

plant some flowers.

you think those who moved to Park Slope in the 60's and 70's WAITED for everything to come to them.

the answer is NO. they worked their asses off to make it a beautiful place.

you want to make a difference, do something besides keep track of who won how much on who wants to be a millionaire.

the entitlement is getting way out of control in this country.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 3:41 PM

"I thought I could cope with the litter and the tagging and the cigarette butts everywhere, but as it turns out it depresses me and makes me feel unsafe, and I hate watching my kid play in that often dirty, tagged Tot Lot, and we'll probably be leaving when our lease ends in 2009."

Holy crap. I take it you're moving out of NYC all together, in that case? You'd have to in order to escape litter, tagging and butts. In fact, if these things make you feel unsafe, your only alternative might be the MacMurdo weather station in Antarctica.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 3:59 PM

would love a Starbucks myself.
the owner of Vox is ridiculous. i think his politics are so obnoxious too!

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 4:05 PM

I've lived off Cortleyou Road for three years and it's gotten better. But, as some have already said, I would love to see the following:

1. A cheaper grocery store that offers organic choices, like the Key Foods in Park Slope and Windsor Terrace. The new natural foods store is great and I like the co-op, but they're way too expensive. My absolute fantasy is Trader Joe's, but I'd settle for a high quality Key Foods so I could at least get some affordable staples.

2. Inexpensive Thai/Indian food.

3. Mexican food that doesn't make me sick (sorry, Cinco de Mayo) and that has margaritas and more vegetarian options.

4. A bar/microbrew with a consistent tap and good munchies.

5. Yoga studio and/or gym.

6. Pet store (although I still need to check out A Dog's Life on Coney Island Avenue).

And to add my two cents, I hate that that the firefighters park on the sidewalk and double park on the street, especially when I'm trying to see around them or get around them on my bike.

But even though the library staff is surly (I've been yelled at many times when *they're* the ones making the mistakes), I always get the books I reserve and it does have Wednesday night and Saturday hours for us working folks.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 4:07 PM

Re: coffee and politics, 1:32, 99% of coffee places I've been to manage to serve me my cup of jo in a politically-neutral environment. Not to worry, though, for I've taken your advice and now buy my coffee elsewhere. It's just that I wish there were more neighborhood options.

I'm sure that Starbucks will appear once the neighborhood is more gentrified, though.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 4:26 PM

Guest who "can't walk the walk":

Just curious - not judgemental. Did you try Kensington partially because you were limited by financial constraints? The Slope and Heights are way expensive, we all know that. So, if you are a normal person on a regular income - what neighborhood will you try next? Somewhere like Bensonhurst? Really, just curious. I admire your honesty.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 4:37 PM

I'd love to see a good yoga studio/gym in the area. It would also be great to have an indoor playspace for kids (sort of like Bija in Carroll Gardens).

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 4:48 PM

to Beverly C Cortelyou - is there really Vietnamese for order around there? Where? Tell me and I'll order it.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 4:56 PM

I'm with you 4:37. Anxious to see what "can't walk the walk" has to say too.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 4:57 PM

Hi 4:37 -- it's me who can't "walk the walk." Thanks for the support. Yes, we were limited by financial constraints. Currently we are living on one normal person regular income (my spouse stays home with our 2-year-old and I work in advertising as a creative) and we were essentially forced out of our Carroll Gardens rental apartment (where we lived for many years). We needed to move quickly, and Kensington offered a relatively affordable, reputably safe option for us in a hurry. We decided to rent to see how it felt, and I have to admit that I'm having trouble adjusting. I will say that the parent community here is very welcoming and I love watching my girl play in a literal rainbow of kids. We're very torn. My spouse is adjusting much better than I am. We've agreed to see what our situation (and what the housing market looks like) as our lease comes up in 2009. I don't know what we'll do next, honestly. We've considered moving upstate, moving out-of-state, and now of course I have the helpful suggestion of the MacMurdo weather station in Antarctica. And you know, I DO sweep the litter in front of my building, and pick up cigarette butts, and put litter in cans when I walk on Ocean Parkway, and I would gladly take part in any organized clean-up effort (organizing one is a little beyond me right now). So there you have it. I will say that living here is absolutely helping us to determine what matters to us and what we're willing to sacrifice, and it seems that safe, clean and great schools are topping the list (with coffee bars and yoga studios a close second). And I do hear the folks telling me to make my neighborhood a better place, and I respectfully say that it feels like an uphill battle. Not impossible, but daunting. That doesn't mean I won't do my part, but I think it's unfair and disingenuous not to acknowledge how difficult this all can be sometimes.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 5:10 PM

dumb middle class white people want dumb middle class white conveniences. spoiled, spoiled, spolied. go back to connecticut and leave our neighborhood alone.

yrs,
the phantom

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 5:15 PM

I'm from the Bronx, actually, but I get your point.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 5:22 PM

"can't walk the walk" is a victim of horrible Kennsington. boo hoo.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 5:23 PM

No 5:23, I didn't say Kensington is horrible, and I don't feel like a victim. And for the record, I don't think Kensington is horrible. It just may not be for me. There's a difference.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 5:25 PM

where is kensington?

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 5:27 PM

don't use words and phrases like don't feel safe, sacrifice, trouble adjusting, a little beyond me, uphill battle, daunting, constraints, all in one post then.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 5:31 PM

Okay, I take all my other suggestions back and replace them with just one:
AN OLD-FASHIONED ICE CREAM PARLOR.
Like Hinsch's in Bay Ridge or Tom's in CrownHeights. NOT like H------D--- or B------R-----. Big wooden bar up front, tables in back, homemade ice cream and chocolate...and (here's how it would become as famous as DiFaro's) it would train and deploy a corps of genuine old-fashioned SODA JERKS, trained by the last few who remember the lingo ("brown cow" for chocolate ice-cream soda, etc.) It would be, in time-honored fashion, a great place for neighborhood kids to hang out (besides tormenting the poor short-fused librarians at the branch there).
Okay...there's the business plan, folks...who wants to take it and run with it?

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 5:35 PM

A really great video store would also be great. And they could sell ice cream. And offer yoga classes.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 5:38 PM

how bout a police station.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 5:43 PM

Few things to clear up-

#1 EVERYONE wants Cortelyou Road to improve...and it has with EVERYONE'S help

#2 Owner of Cornerstone wants new owner to pay off 80K worth debt upfront...good luck

-Doesn't anyone else have a problem with the fact that the self-proclaimed mayor of Cortelyou publishes this http://voxpopnet.net/megaphone.html and similar propaganda? From above sounds like a few do.

Why would any legitimate business want to deal with someone like that?

I have nothing against Vox Pop as a business...more power to you!...but I do have a problem when it is perceived that Hicks speaks for all

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 6:02 PM

there is a lot of K-town info here....
http://kensingtonbrooklyn.blogspot.com/

may sander wants to move to the other side of ocean if DP doesn't love him... we here in Kensington are dying for a coffee shop on Church Ave or Ft. Hamilton

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 6:52 PM

i know i comment as a guest, so you wouldn't know it, but BREN we agree quite a lot.

i'm 3:41 and i agreed with you somewhere else today on another thread.

i used to spray paint this graffiti covered wall nearly every day. they kept coming back and i kept spraying.

after a year, they got sick of it and now it's graffiti free for almost a year.

it's little stuff like that, that really makes a difference and trickles down to other things...

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 7:41 PM

To guest 9/18/07 4:07

We Love, Love, Love Los Mariachi on Coney Island Avenue between Dorchester and Cortelyou....authentic Mexican....delicious and Mariachi band Sat. nights....a great place and they have frozen margarhita's too. Check it out!!!!!

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 8:07 PM

i have roots in this neighborhood that go a lot deeper than most of the people posting. why my new neighbors have to suck such major ass is astounding and profoundly disturbingly telling of you and your middle class upbringings. you're the people that think you discovered cortelyou road. a word to the wise, mr and mrs columbus: uhuh. no you didn't. we were here a long time before you got here and we'll still be here when you cash in and move to scarsdale.

this is a neighborhood. if you are not happy with your lot, do something other than pontificating and blogging. if you love this neighborhood so much, shut your computer down, go to the flatbush development corporation and volunteer to help improve things. or, come up with a program to make the area more hospitable. if you don't like the garbage, pick up a broom. if you hate the variety of 99 cent stores and bad chinese takeout, open a business. stop bitching!

for the record, if sander hicks moved out of cortelyou, i for one would dance in the streets. as would many others. he's burned every bridge imaginable with every business owner that matters on the strip. his product is weak, his store is dirty and his staff are unprofessional and rude. there is nothing holding sander together other than his narcassism and holier than thou disposition. he is the pied piper of nothing and his smart growth routine is worth even less. besides, anyone that ever came in to that cornerstone spot is in for a real treat. the guy that owns that spot is a notorious slumlord and a real peach of a guy.

yrs.
the phantom

oh, and erin jocelyn - stop being a yenta

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 10:48 PM

I can't sit quiet about this much longer...As a person who played a very integral part on the development of Cortelyou Rd; with every new business passing through my hands, reading this current posting and all the remarks breaks my heart.

A few of you can actually remember what Cortelyou looked like a few years ago. A waste land of even more bodegas, ignored storefronts and dollar stores. It was a coup to get the Cornerstone, Picket Fence and Vox Pop.

Business attraction isn't what ANYONE on this blog makes it out to be. It's trial and error, it's patience, it's matching the right stores with the right landlords. It's more than even this...you can want all the services, stores, or what have you, but wishing won't get you far. The mentality of property owners plays a HUGE part in the development of a retail strip. What's more, the risk on the part of the business also keeps folks at bay. And these are just a few of the issues, the tip of the iceberg.

Am I talking about gentrification? I don't know, to me, it's an apologist's term. Read the studies, even low income people want better services, grocery stores and shopping close to home. At the end of the day, it's about building up a local economy that has been depressed for years.

If you pay attention, you'll notice most of the new businesses are all people who live in the neighborhood. If kept local, then more money comes into the community, stays in the community and circulates in the community. Builds wealth for all. It's a FACT!

ps - this neighborhood, FLATBUSH, in particular, this section of Flatbush is NOT Ditmas Park. Ditmas Park is one tiny neighborhood association that shares a small border with Cortelyou Rd. Beverly Square East and West hold the majority. Look into it people - Stop buying into the real estate agents renaming neighborhoods to sell homes.

Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 11:41 PM

Not on Cortelyou, but on Coney Island Ave @ Beverly is Medina - a good Pakistani place for takeout. For 5 bucks, get combination of rice and 3 items (chiken, lamb, vegetables).
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/413961
Take a look for a post on the food, and some more bickering about what is Ditmas Park vs. BSW vs. ("Victorian-") Flatbush vs. Kensington. I find it amusing how agitated people get about the names of neighborhoods. Lot's of people call the general area Ditmas - NYT "if you're thinking of living in...", RE agent ads call the whole area Ditmas Park, including the landmarked district + DP West + BSE + BSS + PPS. People ask where I live - I say if you're old school Brooklyn, it's just Flatbush. For the people right in the neighborhood it's BSW. For people with a vague understanding that Brooklyn goes further south than Park Slope, I'll say the Ditmas Park area, because they may have an idea that's where those nice big houses the other side of the Parade grounds are.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 10:26 AM

Can someone tell me...is Cortelyou Road near Park Slope?

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 11:32 AM

Oh. I love SoHO.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 12:10 PM

The Chinese restaurants on cortelyou right now are REALLY BAD. We need a better quality Chinese or some other asian cuisine. i love the Farm, but I do not always want to drop that kind of cash on an evening when I am too tired to make dinner. We also need a Health Club. I belong to the Y in the slope, but it is a schlepp.

A micro brewery with a burher joint would be cool. Somewhat like the Park Slope Ale House. Good burgers, good beer.

And my friend Sander needs air conditioning, seriously.

Flatbush Food Coop is alright, but does not hold a candle to my one true love, the Park Slope Food Coop.

Thats all for now.

BZ

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 12:50 PM

First of all, to all of the complainers and haters -- if you want new businesses in the community, then by all means, nobody is stopping you from opening up a business.

Second, Phantom, wtf is your problem? Stupid middle class white people want stupid middle class conveniences? Do you stereotype much? Clearly you are not part of the solution.

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 5:39 PM

First of all, to all of the complainers and haters -- if you want new businesses in the community, then by all means, nobody is stopping you from opening up a business.

Second, Phantom, wtf is your problem? Stupid middle class white people want stupid middle class conveniences? Do you stereotype much? Clearly you are not part of the solution.

Jaguar_Gorgonne

Posted by: guest at September 19, 2007 5:41 PM

12:34 (9/18) They wouldn't care if you walked into Vox Pop in an Uncle Sam suit, let alone with a flag logo on yer shirt. I go in there all the time in my corporate uniform and the kewl kids behind the counter never bat an eye and frewquently chat it up with me (no matter how many are standing in line behind!).
And if you ever bothered going in there, you'd notice that there's a whole section of right wing books, including several biographies of R. Ray-gun.
There may be good reasons not to patronize the place--the coffee's a bit weak and the service a bit laid back, but not going there out of fear your political sensability might be affronted by some of the literature on the shelves or that the scary kid with the nosering might pummel you for your patriotism is one of the lamest things I've heard in long time!
BTW, I gotta agree with the posters pointing out the pointlessness of all the "Cortelyou should get a
... yoga studio
...vegan ice-cream parlour
... slot-car racing facility
... fill in the blank." Posts.
Whom are you directing that to and do you expect anyone to open a business based on one or even a few comments in a chat room?

Posted by: guest at September 20, 2007 1:09 PM

Beverly C Cortelyou:
What thai or vietnamese restaurants deliver in the neighborhood?
I've been searching for both for over a year.

I'd love to see:
- Thai or Vietnamese restaurants
- microbrew not a bad idea
- Gym and yoga

Posted by: guest at September 20, 2007 2:17 PM

Thanks, 8:07 - 4:07 back again. I've actually tried Los Mariachi once and loved the margaritas, but the vegetarian options were lacking. I remember my husband and I both had to special order plates of cheese enchiladas as really the only option.

But perhaps it's worth another try!

Posted by: guest at September 21, 2007 10:47 AM

I would love to see a yoga place, another nice sit down restaurant and maybe some Thai take out. And down by Newkirk ave too? I'm really dreaming there...

Posted by: guest at September 21, 2007 12:02 PM

Sander Hicks is a wonderful person.

Posted by: guest at September 21, 2007 12:28 PM

Hi All,

I grew up in the Cortleyou Road and Argyle area My parents moved there in 1979 and haven't left. I left to go to grad school and will be returning in May. I can say with all certainty my childhood in the neighborhood was idyllic. I knew all of my neighbors by name and they watched over me as I was growing up as a child. I played on Argyle and waved at the firefighters when they drove by. I always felt safe even as I grew into my teens coming home late from a night in the city. I loved the warm feeling that was different from manhattan and the rest of city. While I am happy there are new establishments and enjoy their presence when I am home, I wouldn't give up George (hardware store) John and his son (bakery), the first place I had pizza, the librarians, and rest of the old Cortelyou guard. If you add the yoga, the starbucks, and the rest it wouldn't be the place I grew up merely a place that is the carbon copy of every other up and coming neighborhood in the way of genetrification.

As a part of a community it is up to the community to not only nuture new business relationships and spur growth but to take stock of existing assets and attributes of your community. Once that is done a fully partcipatory planning and strategy process can place. Only when the best plan is in place that fulfills the community's current and future needs should implementation happen. Development should not be "they have it and I want to do it too" it is the best comprehensive plan specific to the target community. Which might include a Starbucks and yoga studio or not.

Posted by: guest at September 23, 2007 7:05 PM

As a 10 resident of the area, I do say that the place is improving. Yea, it's nothing like Park Slope pkripper, but's it better than most areas. And last time I checked, which was about an hour ago, it's not as bad as you say it is. The library is noisey, yes, but only from 3 - 6 because of students gathering. Also, you can't say from "Authority" that the streets need everything because you've lived here 3 months.I mean really? You barley even know the name of a waiter or waitress anywhere in the area so shut up. God! Do you have a pole up your ass? If you seem to hate the area that much, then why did you move here? We don't need people like you who are dicks and need everything perfect. If you really feel that way GET OUT! And btw, Vox Pop is a place for people to hang out a chill. And also if you knew the area, you would have know that people don't go to Vox Pop for muffins dipshit. That's what John's bakery is for. So stop judging the area when you've just moved in and lay off.

Posted by: guest at September 23, 2007 9:09 PM

Well, I've lived in Prospect Park South for nearly 10 years, and my main complaint these days (of course I have dozens of minor ones too) is with the really nasty clerks at the library on Cortelyou. They are just mean to everyone, especially people who don't speak English well. I actually once heard them tell a man that he needed a birth certificate or passport to get a library card. (Needless to say, it was an immigrant-type person who probably had neither.) When someone don't understand them, they just yell louder. Also, they let gigantic lines form for checkouts and returns, and there is no book drop. (Not even a slot in the checkout desk.) If you don't want to stand in line for 10 minutes to return your books they glare at you and tell you they're not responsible if they don't get checked in. It's just nutty. I saw them tell this to a woman who had a screaming baby with her--the baby couldn't have been more than 3 or 4 weeks old. They sent her to the end of the line--just to return a book. (A sane patron let her cut to the front of the line, but really.) I guess they just hate their jobs.

On a more positive note--I do like that the library had decent hours and that you can reserve books. Maybe the horrific clerks will change; I just read an article in the Daily News about the new head of the Brooklyn Public Library, and that she banning shusshing systemwide....

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 9:48 PM

as a ditmas park native, want to know what cortelyou road really needs? for all of you recent arrivers/gentrifiers - who like to pretend that these new upscale shops are going to do anything but displace poor people who make the neighborhood wonderfully diverse - to shut the fuck up and get out.

Posted by: guest at September 27, 2007 10:21 AM

to 10:21. That is exactly what we plan to do. You can have Ditmas Park for the natives only, depressing place that it is. For the same money there are much better areas to live with a much less hostile population. Who needs it? Yechhh.

Posted by: guest at September 27, 2007 12:03 PM

10:21, unless you are suggesting there are ethnic nomads residing in retail storefronts, I'd say the most diverse ZIP code in the country isn't in any proximate danger of homogenizing from a few new shops opening up.
If, on the the other hand, the modest improvements on Cortelyou Road prompt a few ill-tempered, F-bomb dropping "natives" to decamp, all I can say is "stand clear of the closing doors," lest they hit you on your way out.

Posted by: guest at September 27, 2007 5:31 PM

"Unless you're a direct desendent of Alvord, Pounds or Ackerson, you don't have any more claim to this neighborhood or how it evolves than anyone else who lives here."

well. then unless you are a direct desendant of an American Indian you should have no more claim to ANY neighborhood in New York City or how it evolves than anyone else who lives here.

Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 5:18 PM

"... I'd say the most diverse ZIP code in the country isn't in any proximate danger of homogenizing from a few new shops opening up...."

I dunno about that. Look what has happened to our City as a whole. The most diverse City in the country has seemed to turn into a homogenized catbon copy of suburbia. And it's only getting worse.

Once again, as proven in neighborhood after neighborhood in this rapidly gentrifying City... Once the natives are pushed out economically and the newcommers take over, you end up with a bland cookie cutter boring, safe, snobby and ultimately uninteresting area.

Instead of saying "Stand clear of the closing doors" to an ill-tempered native, I'd prefer to say "the door is closed" to yet another stupid, priviliged, boring, entitled, yuppie/hipster/idiot waltzing on in and looking to change things for his own comfort level.

Possibly, the reason some natives are ill-tempered and drop the F-bomb is because they can't stand know it all newcomers who have to show up like they own the place.

Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 5:26 PM

There is an incredible amount of egotisical smugness in a person or persons who moves into an area off the beaten path and then complains that the amenities aren't good enough. Were you brain dead when you decided to move in to the area? Did you not look around to see what the amenities were at the present time? Or did you think you were speculating and the gentrification just isn't moving in fast enough for you now that you have spend your money?

If you move in somewhere, enjoy what's there for what it is, and you shouldn't be surprised at what's not there after you've made the decision to move there. Stop complaining and trying to change things to make it like the neighborhood you were just priced out of and kicked out of, or soon you will be priced out of this one too.

Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 5:31 PM

Enough of the HIPPIE shit on Cortelyou!

Vox Pop is like some kind of slacker coffee shop at some college campus in Vermont.

No street needs TWO natural food supermarkets when the 'regular' supermarket just closed.

The market on the street on Sundays is nice, but all they seem to sell is breads, and I'd rather just drive to Grand Army Plaza and go to the real one.

Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 5:34 PM

If you don't want an ill'tempered native dropping the F bomb on you then don't move to Brooklyn.

The deeper you go into Brooklyn prepare to be cursed at. It's part of the charm.

Posted by: guest at October 8, 2007 4:25 PM

October 5, 2007 5:26 PM I gotta say that so far, knock wood, the handful of new and with the exception of CT Muffin (which ain't exactly Starbucks!), independently owned businesses on Cortelyou don't feel a lot like suburbia to me.
I like the new options but also regularly buy tamales and pastries at the fantastic Mexican bakery b/t Stratford and CIA, Latino ingredients from Isabel Grocery and MoMos form Asian Grocery, none of which seem to be suffering from the increased vibrancy and foot traffic on Cortelyou--quite the contrary.
Now if a few of the redundent 99-cent stores, bodegas and calling card vendors go under, I won't shed any tears.
They aren't the original occupants. They displaced butchers and flower shops and Buster Brown shoe stores. And in my opinion, they make much of Flatbush, to borrow a phrase "a homogenized carbon copy" not of the suburbs, but of any of the once socioeconomically diverse but now blighted neighborhoods in Queens, Brooklyn or the Bronx, that suffered when the middle class fled.

Posted by: guest at October 10, 2007 4:37 PM

Actually, nothing that I can think of other than eviction notices for the newbies who claim this neighborhood as their discovery. My skin actually crawls from the constant influx of overpriviledged, ill mannered out of towners who lay claim to historic areas and then tout them as their quirky finds. It also drives up the real estate for the rest of us, not to mention having to deal with the overwhelmingly annoying and hipster wannabe crowd who seem to feel that residents should completely disregard their existing lifestyle in favor of the new crop of irritating people from Ohio and Minnesota who now declare themselves to be natives.

You have only to take a look at every other neighborhood in the City to see the complete disregard for history or authenticity in favor of yet another Whole Foods or Starbucks.

I'm all for progress, I just find it difficult if not painful to watch the pseudo intellectual baby buggy brigade transform a neighborhood from historic to bland the way they've done with Park Slope and the rest of Brooklyn. Find another borough to pillage, you're so not wanted here.

Posted by: guest at December 5, 2007 11:22 AM

you know what? neighborhoods change. grab the WPA guide to NY from the 1930s and read about all your precious neighborhoods in there. 10 years from now everything will be different, just like everything was different 10 years ago, and a whole new batch of NY residents will be whinging.

everyone needs to accept that change is part of living in a city. the east village was desolate and scary, then a dope nest, then a boho enclave and finally what it is now. BIG DEAL. bushwick was once big and fancy too, and now look at it. in shambles!

Posted by: guest at December 30, 2007 1:15 AM

Anybody know what is happening at the old Cornerstone/Alexander's location? The for rent sign has been removed.

Posted by: guest at January 3, 2008 3:45 PM

Re: Thai Food...All you who have been asking about Thai Food, there's a great place, inexpensive that is within walking distance, and the deliver to the neighborhood, I've been ordering from them for years, sometimes I walk there, sometimes I order. It's called AM Thai and it's at 359 MacDonald Ave. The number is 718-871-9115. If you're gonna start whining about the fact that it's not right on Cortelyou Rd. I can't help you aside from the fact that they deliver to the neighborhood and well frankly if it's too far for ya, you're probably just too lazy to walk. It's a hole in the wall place, but it's perfect for take out and ordering. I usually get the vegetarian green curry with the spring rolls which are excellent. They have lots of vegetarian options on the menu.

Posted by: guest at February 8, 2008 12:43 PM

I have lived on this Street for over 38 years.

Can you Park Slope Yuppies/dweebs and just plain old-fashioned ASSHOLES, yeah YOU, please go back to the hole you came from........

Thai Food, Butcher, Flower Store????... Piss Off!!!!

Dear, guest at September 27, 2007 10:21 AM

Thank you very much!

Posted by: guest at May 8, 2008 3:36 PM