Forum: Quality of Life
April 25, 2008
BACK YARD BAR NOISE - SOLUTIONS
I've lived in house around 4th Avenue for over ten years. Last year 4th Avenue pub opened up a beer garden. Nothing wrong with that - except they stay open all night long on any given day so long as it isn't raining. What once was your only peaceful refuge from the the everyday noise of the city has been ruined. Since they don't play music, the DEP won't issue fines. And the 84th precinct just does the perfunctory visit, the noise stops and then it just stops back up again.
Now you may be thinking, "well don't live the City". Many of us have lived here ten, twenty, 30 years or more. Some are retirees, children, people who have to work in the mornings. None of us can sleep with the windows open. We all have to run our AC's at night because of the noise. The owner unlike the owners of Cherry Tree refuses to work with the neighborhood and do anything to reduce the noise or the hours of operation of the "beer garden".
Many must be thinking, "people like you hold the neighborhood hostage". The reality is 4th Avenue Pub in its complete contempt for the surrounding neighbors holds us hostage. After work, I rarely hang out in my garden because it sounds like a party on any given nice day. I'd rather hear the sound of music than the sound of drunks. Some may think I'm over reacting. Until you've had to deal with this every day for the past year, don't judge.
What I need is some suggestions on how to put an end to this contemptible behavior. I've never been the community activist sort, so I need some leads on how to begin.
Help.
April 24, 2008
Smith and 9th Lockdown for F?
I know the Smith/9th St. F stop is due to close sometime in 2009 or 2010...but I can't find a solid date for it. Or even what part of the year?
Does anyone know if the MTA has established a date? (As much as the MTA can be trusted to stick to a date?)
Union St in Carroll Gardens
Can anyone give me a sense of the noise level along Union St. in Carroll Gardens? (Spec between Smith and Hoyt?) I'm aware a bus line goes down the street.
April 23, 2008
life along on the R train?
Hi Bstoners-
Am considering moving to a home along the R. Weekdays are fine, since I work downtown, but am wondering what the R is like on weekends - is it out a lot? Does it get replaced by a shuttle? I already know the train is pretty slow...but just curious how the weekend service is. Thanks!
April 21, 2008
Carroll Gardens/ Gowanus Area for Living?
Does anyone live down or around West 9th or Huntington St and have feedback on living in the area? Thoughts on the neighborhood and the direction it has taken in the last six months? Pos/neg? Looking to buy in the area... thanks.
Commuting from Carroll Gardens, a few questions
My husband and I have looked at a few new homes in Carroll Gardens but we are still learning about the area. The one thing I'm particularly concerned about is the commute on the F train. So if you happen to live in CG and work in Manhattan, can you tell me what its like on the F train in the mornings? Can you get a seat or is it just packed? Also, do you know roughly how long a commute for central CG to midtown Manhattan would take (on F train)? HopStop says 45 mins which seems incredibly long- just wanted to verify that. Finally, how does one commute to the financial district on the F train- is it even possible?
Thank you very much for your responses!
April 18, 2008
Availability of FIOS in Brownstone Brooklyn
Someone on a local PLG list posted a Verizon press release which listed many brownstone neighborhoods that have supposedly already been wired for FIOS. they are:
Clinton Hill
Crown Heights North
Brooklyn Heights - Cobble Hill
Williamsburg
Fort Greene
DUMBO-Vinegar Hill-Downtown Brooklyn-Boerum Hill
Crown Heights South
Bedford
Prospect Heights
The poster was quite upset that PLG seemed to have been skipped over, but distrustful person that I am, I wonder if FIOS is ACTUALLY available in these neighborhoods. I'm especially skeptical because of the difficulty of running fiber optics in historic districts--front telephone poles like Verizon used in parts of southern Bklyn wouldn't be acceptable in HDs (would they?)
So--does anyone in the brownstone neighborhoods listed actually have FIOS or know that it's currently available?
April 15, 2008
101wyckoff blog
I've been reading about a few issues in these forums, that are similiar to what I'm goin through at my condo, and there have been a few references to the 101wyckoff.com blog. Unfortunately, it requires an invitation to view the blog. can some one who is a member invite me? I just wanted to read about how they resolved their own issues at their condo so that I can do the same at mine. Thanks in advance. ohblogz@gmail.com
April 12, 2008
trouble with mail delivery
We are having trouble getting our postal carrier to divide the mail delivery at our building, a legal two family brownstone. There are two mailboxes set apart by the stoop (one up the other below). Our carrier says it is USPS policy that he only makes one delivery per building, that if we mounted the boxes side by side,he would separate the mail, but as it is, our mail will be co-mingled with the tenants and vice versa. Anyone have experience with this?