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July 22, 2009

Wednesday Links

Fire Reveals Fragility of New York’s Travel Network [NY Times]
58.6% of Brooklynites Overweight or Obese [NY Times]
Upscale Retail Coming to Bushwick [NY Times]
City to Clean Up Trash in Prospect Park [NY Daily News]
Wacky Tycoon Hijacks Bay Ridge Blog [Brooklyn Paper]
Photo by pstardesign.

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quote:
58.6% of Brooklynites Overweight or Obese [NY Times]

what i find funny is that it's beyond rare to see anyone who is normal anymore (men and women) either someone is like totally obese or scary anorexic skinny. there's like no more in between.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at July 22, 2009 9:30 AM

I don't dispute that many american's diet lacks or that have gotten larger over years -- especially the young and bad sign...
But what gets me is that according to this stats
a 6' man who weighs 185 lbs is classified as overweight.
Any 6' athletic guy with muscle ( and I don't mean body builder) is going to be at least 185. I'm 6' and just under that - and I doubt people would say I'm within 5lbs of being overweight.

Posted by: Petebklyn at July 22, 2009 10:16 AM

I find it disturbing that Obama's choice for Surgeon general is being opposed by some for being "too fat." I'll never be thin, and niether will a majority of Americans. I think people who judge others based on weight have got to be some of the most ignorant and shallow people born on the planet.

Posted by: bxgrl at July 22, 2009 10:44 AM

Can anyone give me rough boundries for Bushwick???

Posted by: boerumite at July 22, 2009 10:46 AM

That article about Bushwick is somehow really annoying, although largely true, despite a few minor inaccuracies. Basically, the recent college graduates and hipsters continue to pour in, and there are tons of new amenities and services planned to cater to them.

But please this area is NOT lacking in retail. OMG, it's chock full of retail! I've never seen so much retail. And so many people on the streets. Hello, do the local Mexican, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans not exist? Crazy!

Also, the new wine store, while fancy looking, is absolutely disgusting and carries only the swilliest swill. It's pricier than the bullet proof glass place a few blocks down that takes only cash, but the quality of the wine is worse. Given the large quantity of inventory they have, and the fact that they tend to carry every type of wine from each label they carry, as well as how nasty it is, and the tastings they have, I strongly suspect they carry anything from labels that pay them for shelf space. It has nothing to do with what their customers want to buy or what good wine is. I am begging for the other wine shop to move in.

I'm also looking forward to organic produce and, please, can someone carry Murray's chicken and The Baker bread? Oh, right, never mind, I'm moving to the Broadway JMZ. Damn!

Posted by: mopar at July 22, 2009 11:16 AM

Dirty Hipster, I was dumbfounded to learn last night that one of the bartenders at Barrio Chino has opened a new sandwich shop in Bushwick called Boulevard. He didn't seem to know a whole lot about the area though, never been to Northeast Kingdom or Tandem. But the Barrio Chino spinoff juggernaut continues. As do the openings in Bushwick.

Posted by: mopar at July 22, 2009 11:17 AM

That photo is of the wall from my local watering hole's backyard! Woot woot, Sycamore.

Posted by: sixyearsandcounting at July 22, 2009 11:21 AM

Boerumite, boundaries:

Grand on the top, Cypress (Wyckoff below Myrtle) to the right, Bushwick Ave. to the left, Cemetary of the Evergreens on the bottom.

It's bordered by East Williamsburg, Bed Stuy, East New York, and Ridgewood.

It has two very different areas: The loft-industrial space, which is full of hipsters, and the residential areas, which are mostly hispanic.

Posted by: mopar at July 22, 2009 11:21 AM

The weight article got me to thinking about how you really need time and money to be thin. Think of the difference between the Upper East Siders mentioned and a working mom with three kids living in the Bronx.

I mean, it takes time and money to eat vegetables and exercise.

Though anyone can give up soda, juice, and other sweetened drinks, which I suspect is a huge factor.

Posted by: mopar at July 22, 2009 11:28 AM

Sixyears, that wall looks amazing. Is it worth a visit?

Posted by: mopar at July 22, 2009 11:29 AM

Mopar - Thanks. I raised the question for the same statement you made re existing retail. Don't know the neighborood(s) well, but I thought I was missing something - clearly not.

Posted by: boerumite at July 22, 2009 11:45 AM

mopar- I agree.

Posted by: bxgrl at July 22, 2009 11:46 AM

of course to NYTimes and plenty of other media hispanics and other groups do not exist. Look what they write about Smith St (and plenty of newbies to neighborhood believe) ..
that it was boarded up, vacant storefronts, blah, blah, blah.
It was fairly busy commercial street that catered to day to day needs of many hispanic and other working class folks.
Yes, quiet at night and all the rolldown gates pulled down because business almost all daytime.
Was not full of restaurant, boutiques and bars that cater to different demographic. So until they invaded, was invisible.

Posted by: Petebklyn at July 22, 2009 11:54 AM

I will be so sad if Bushwick turns into another Williamsburg, with a huge and visible hipster population and a few of the old guard hanging on and a lot of resentment. Right now it's really great. The Mexican community and retail along Wyckoff is really thriving. BTW, they are also recent arrivals, just as recent as the hipsters. The Puerto Ricans and Dominicans have been there longer, since the 1970s, when the displaced the Italians. (There are a few of them hanging on too. Check out the espresso bar on the corner of Harmon and Wykcoff -- massive smoke fest in there. Hilarious.)

Posted by: mopar at July 22, 2009 12:17 PM

I take a long term observation on what ethnic groups populate neighborhoods - frankly its required across the decades in all parts of NY. The amazing thing is that there seems to be a lack of acknowledgement that retail is ON FIRE in commercial aves in Bushwick, east Williamsburg, Bedstuy, etc.

Posted by: boerumite at July 22, 2009 12:24 PM

> Sixyears, that wall looks amazing. Is it worth a visit?

I'm not sixyears, but the answer - well, my answer at least - is a resounding YES.

Posted by: DitmasSnark at July 22, 2009 1:21 PM

Boerumite, isn't that interesting? That despite the recesssion, retail is ON FIRE in those areas you mention? Course we'll see where things go.

A lot of people have predicted that fewer newcomers will be moving into these areas, now that they can get places for slightly cheaper in Williamsburg, etc. (Supposedly.) (With condos crashing!) It's true I do know a lot of young people who have recently moved into Manhattan.

But the hipster hordes certainly seem to still moving into Bushwick in large numbers. There's been a noticeable increase in the non-loft areas since one year ago, mostly starting about three months ago. And tons and tons of articles in the media about how "hip" Bushwick is, with arts and lofts and so on.

I've also noticed what seems to be a lot of people buying houses in Bed Stuy.

Posted by: mopar at July 22, 2009 2:31 PM

Great picture! Where's the credit?

Posted by: spnder at July 22, 2009 3:47 PM

Mopar, yes it is! Of course you'd like the rest of the area as well - maybe a Victorian is in your future...

Posted by: sixyearsandcounting at July 22, 2009 5:31 PM

I need to visit Ditmas Park and also Sunset Park.

Posted by: mopar at July 22, 2009 6:02 PM