Although I've heard good things about Dr. DeHovitz personally, we had a bad experience with Tribeca peds in Bklyn Heights (saw a newer associate there). Felt they were pushing unnecessary procedures on us with our newborn (!), who'd seen 3 previous (seasoned) pediatricians out of state with no similar anxieties. We've since switched to Marty Finkleman in Bklyn Heights - very happily. While the new Tribeca Pediatrics office is only a block away from our home, we'll keep schlepping the mile and a half to him because he seems like the better doc.

Posted by: Boerum Blogger at December 11, 2007 6:46 AM in response to Streetlevel: Tribeca Pediatrics Expands to Boerum Hill

How about Fauchon? They didn't make on the upper east side, but...

Posted by: Boerum Blogger at November 12, 2007 4:21 PM in response to Which Foodie Is Coming to Court and State?

Rick may be right - hope he is, for your sake! The pocket doors in our 1851 brownstone are on the tracks and kind of work - but not very well. The issue for us isn't electrical cables, but the "settling" (read: pretty significant sloping) of the whole house over the years. We were told repairing them would be a huge job and cost thousands...though perhaps it was simply a job our contractor didn't want to do. Anyone else have experience with this?

Posted by: Boerum Blogger at November 12, 2007 4:10 PM in response to Pocket Doors

I highly, enthusiastically recommend Don Butler of Donald Butler & Son. He gut renovated our apt on the upper west side, and has done substantial work in our Boerum Hill brownstone. His prices are fair (though not cheap by any standard), and he specializes in brownstone work. Most of all, he is extremely reliable and likable. If he says a job will take x period of time and cost y amount (even if those numbers are a bit higher and longer than you might like at the outset), that's what it will be. (Any cost over-runs we've incurred with him have been due to our last minute whims and must-haves along the way - imagine most contractors count on those kinds of things). Feel free to email me at 401.pacific.street@gmail.com if you'd like more info.

Posted by: Boerum Blogger at November 1, 2007 3:45 PM in response to Need general Contractor Reference for Large Job

Don't know about their ranges, but we had their "Dish drawer" dishwasher - paid quite a premium for it - and were sorely disappointed. Although it looked great, it did a lousy job of cleaning dishes. We are infinitely happier with our more traditional - and much less costly - Bosch ($800 instead of something close to $1400 for the F&P). Not sure if this is at all generalizable to their other products, though...

Posted by: Boerum Blogger at October 26, 2007 11:56 AM in response to Fisher and Paykiel range

Dear Zeebee in Brooklyn, a quick question: We just purchased a policy through the brownstone agency...gulp - after being quoted through the roof by Chubb (similar story to Mr. B's). Your comments (and others here) had me about ready to run out and change policies, but then I remembered that our policy is underwritten by the New Hampshire Insurance Co, which is part of AIG. You mentioned in your post that AIG was one of the better carriers.... so now I'm confused. Wouldn't New Hampshire/AIG be the ones I would deal with in the event of a claim?

Thanks for any feedback.

PS Re: Mr. B's soap metaphor in the headline: it certainly seems to invoke an ugly, and primal, anti-gay fear (the same fear is still trotted out by elected officials to protect our troops from gay folks in the military), and is therefore, IMHO, homophobic. That said, I seriously doubt that that was the intended communication. A dumb headline, in my opinion, not to be repeated or defended...but not a malicious one.

Posted by: Boerum Blogger at August 16, 2007 5:45 PM in response to Townhouse Insurance: Bending Over for the Soap

We've used David Greenberg of Anchorage Designs. Designed and custom built all the cabinetry for our kitchen in a previous apt as well as some pretty elaborate build-ins for the parlor floor of our current house. Extremely high quality work - he's a perfectionist in every sense of the word. His prices - while far from cheap - are in line with those of other serious carpenters. 718 625 2442

Posted by: Boerum Blogger at August 16, 2007 8:31 AM in response to cabinet maker / carpenter rec?

We used Fireside recently after buying our brownstone - got their name from a poster on this site (Bob Marvin, if memory serves - thanks, Bob). They were reliable and quick, if not particularly cheap (4K to install a steel liner in a pretty dauntingly curved/blocked chimney to vent the furnace - 4 sty brownstone). Explored opening up fireplaces for wood-burning purposes - 6K-ish for that - but, with a new baby on the way, decided the expense (and mess could definitely wait. Their number: (718) 951-9494.

Posted by: Boerum Blogger at August 15, 2007 3:26 PM in response to Help with Restoration

The lower "rail" of our top rails simply gave way, leaving our pocket doors resting on the floor; we were told there was no way to repair them without opening up the walls. So there they sit, edges visible (we painted the edges the same color as the moulding to camoflauge them), for 20 years. :{

Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush at November 12, 2007 5:08 PM in response to Pocket Doors

Remove the baseboard molding on either side of the wall and you should be able to gain access to the lower track to make a visual inspection and/or work the door free from the pocket.

Once the door is out of the pocket you should be able repair the floor and/or track so that the door can move freely.

Posted by: NYrenovator at November 12, 2007 10:31 PM in response to Pocket Doors

A skilled carpenter should be able to remove the doors without damaging the walls or surroundings moldings. We moved a very large set of pocket doors and reinstalled them in another part of the house without a problem. For the reinstallation, our carpenter hung the doors on hardware designed just for this purpose and available from Simon's on 3rd Ave in Manhattan. They operate much more smoothly than our other set of pcoket doors than still run on a track on the floor.

Posted by: guest at November 13, 2007 1:16 PM in response to Pocket Doors