Too bad! Now where will all of the newly transplanted d-bags get their artichoke, pecan-encrusted salmon ricotta dip for $47.99/lb?

Posted by: Manitoba at July 8, 2009 10:22 PM in response to Curtains for Whole Foods?

Wow. Look at those prices!

I know their stuff is really good, but $4.75 for two scoops? $5.50 for a milkshake?? I guess it's at least better than Ben and Jerry's.

This makes me miss Pete's ice cream more and more every year. Their ice cream was so good and the prices didn't make you feel violated.

Posted by: Manitoba at June 3, 2009 4:59 AM in response to Streetlevel: Jacques Torres Opens Ice Cream Joint

I abandoned Adams Street for biking years ago as have many cyclists. I now go out of my way to go to Clinton Street and then loop around to Tillary and go down the police-blocked road to take the staircase up to the Brooklyn Bridge. Even with walking the bike up the stairs and going down Clinton, it's way safer and faster and the lights are well-timed on Clinton for cyclists. Clinton is also packed with bicycles all hours of the day with people doing the same thing as I.

To ride on Adams, you have to ride down the middle, which results is some jerk-off honking at you and trying to whiz around on the left while you try to avoid being doored by a cop car. Not worth the stress or potential loss of life.

Posted by: Manitoba at March 28, 2009 10:29 PM in response to Adams Street Cleaning Up Its Act?

bxgrl -

I think the reasons you cite are exactly why he'll do it. He knows he has no chance of retaining his governorship, so he may try to hand out as many favors as possible, easing his transition to private industry working at a lobbying firm. He has no legacy left.

Posted by: Manitoba at March 10, 2009 3:25 PM in response to Pols to Guv: No Stimulus Funds for Ratner

Paterson will go along with helping Ratner because he's a grade-A idiot.

Posted by: Manitoba at March 10, 2009 12:02 PM in response to Pols to Guv: No Stimulus Funds for Ratner

Foreclosures are always lowest in the Fall/Winter months (even the chart above shows that). Wait until April or May, and we'll see an "explosion" (relatively speaking) in foreclosures until at least August or September. Condos will really be hit hit hardest while coops with a high degree of solvency should be able to weather a downturn, and the trade in brownstones is so slow to begin with. Values will continue to decrease dramatically, but as long as people want to live here and don't need to sell, values will get back to current levels by 2030.

Posted by: Manitoba at March 10, 2009 12:01 PM in response to Brooklyn Foreclosures Low and Steady in February

I wish someone would open an equivalent to something I saw in Europe. There was a store that was basically like a library for comic books. There was an annual membership fee (~25 euros), and then you could borrow any graphic novel for a week at around 1 euro. I mean, I read most graphic novels in 1-2 days, and then I'm stuck with it or I give it away to a friend. Few stores will give you a trade in value too for graphic novels.

I really think that sort of model could kick some serious butt in New York, Brooklyn specifically.

Also, despite my previously hater-filled post/doubts, I really do hope that Bergen Street Comics makes it. This store would be way more of a win when compared to what could be there.

Posted by: Manitoba at March 9, 2009 11:07 PM in response to StreetLevel: Comic Book Shop Opens on Bergen

Not nearly as cozy looking as Rocketship honestly. Between Rocketship, Forbidden Planet and Jim Hanley's (plus the St. Mark's/Montague sister shops along with the countless number of old dusty shops scattered about), there's really no reason for any more comic book stores in New York.

At $3-5 per issue and $15-30 for a graphic novel (which you can buy on amazon for no tax, free shipping and 50% off), a store like this has to provide something special. Rocketship offers regular in-store events and extremely helpful staff, Hanley's provides overwhelming quantity, and Forbidden Planet provides its cachet to go with a great location.

How can this store compete? They have to go the Rocketship approach, but can they attract the Tony Millionaires of the world and city? Especially being basically a mile away?? I give it 1 year tops. Williamsburg would have been a better location.

Posted by: Manitoba at March 9, 2009 5:02 PM in response to StreetLevel: Comic Book Shop Opens on Bergen

I always laugh a little over the posts concerning the horror of what will happen to the old G&T site. I mean, I went there several times over the last two months of its existence, and almost every time I was there, it was 75% empty. If it was truly missed by this many people, it wouldn't have closed in the first place, but the honest truth that nobody seems willing to admit is that barely anybody went anymore. It reminded me of something in the mold of Delmonico's meets the Oyster Bar meets Luger's, but of course, it wasn't as great as any of those, and it was also on crappy Fulton Street at the time, surrounding by hair extensions and cell phones.

Posted by: Manitoba at March 6, 2009 12:43 PM in response to Another Rumor: Fast Food for Gage & Tollner Space

No lawyer making 400-500K a year while working in Manhattan wants to live in Park Slope btwn 5th and 6th Avenues. I'm sorry, but I have several friends in this income bracket who are lawyers, and they want to live in Manhattan, even if that means renting and paying more.

Of course, there are exceptions, but I think this house will only sell to retirees who feel like buying their spoiled kids a house, and there aren't many of those around right now.

Posted by: Manitoba at February 23, 2009 10:34 PM in response to House of the Day: 356 1st Street

In this market, I'd offer 950K. If the current owners don't like it, they should hang onto it and wait about 5 years if they want to get 1.5 mil

Posted by: Manitoba at February 23, 2009 4:06 PM in response to House of the Day: 356 1st Street

I know this echos so many other posts and thoughts, but seriously, this pool will be so incredibly gross. The renderings should have included some floating turds and teenagers doing some underwater humping (as regularly seen in the Red Hook pool).

No thanks.

Posted by: Manitoba at February 12, 2009 12:06 PM in response to Presenting the New McCarren Pool

B.H. -

I'm not trying to start a troll war either, so sorry if my words came off as harsh. When I refer to "crap hole", I'm definitely not referring to the area that I actually consider Boerum Hill. However, when I lived in the area, the stretch of Pacific Street from 4th ave to Nevins was not a nice area. Further, I've never considered this part of Boerum Hill; for me, that was always west of Nevins.

When I first lived there, 457 Pacific Street was an empty garbage lot, 455 Pacific Street had just been "rescued" from being a crack house, and 453 Pacific was full of garbage and rats. Also, the playground at the school across the street was full of broken glass and homeless people at night.

By 2000-2002, however, I agree with you that even the stretch of Pacific was getting nicer. The laundromat had opened and hired a security guard to deal with the fights at night in the back, the school had fixed up the playground (I hear now it's astroturf which is great), the school had become safer, 457 Pacific had been built and 455 Pacific had been renovated.

But, even in the mid-90s, I thought Boerum Hill was nice, but I lived east of Nevins and was not sad when I moved out.

It sounds like the developers are nice honest people, unlike most Brooklyn developers, so hopefully they'll find success and be able to fix up other dilapidated buildings.

Posted by: Manitoba at February 10, 2009 8:05 PM in response to Scaffolding Down, Listings Imminent at 93 Nevins

"more quieter" = "more quiet" or "quieter"

Posted by: Manitoba at February 10, 2009 1:28 PM in response to Scaffolding Down, Listings Imminent at 93 Nevins

Chuck - It's good to hear that the neighborhood has improved significantly, but I agree with Knickerbocker in that the noise will always be there, and last I checked, the projects weren't moving anywhere. It's also true that the subways are close, but I would never walk up or down Pacific Street after 11pm by myself. When I lived there, I always walked down Atlantic to Smith and then over to Bergen. It was a round-about walk, but way safer for a single woman. That's also something you can put up with when rent is affordable, but when you're talking million dollar condos, you expect greater safety and more quieter streets. Hopefully for the sake of these tenants, the building will be soundproofed, and they'll install motion-activated lights.

Also, for those of you still in the area (i.e., chuck and knickerbocker). does "Cookie" still live there? He was a somewhat burly Puerto Rican man, who had two huge pit bulls he walked regularly. More than once, he walked me to the subway and always knew all of the neighborhood histories and gossip. He lived on Pacific in a building his family owned; I always feared they would be forced to sell it.

Posted by: Manitoba at February 10, 2009 1:26 PM in response to Scaffolding Down, Listings Imminent at 93 Nevins

Knickerbocker -

We must have been neighbors very briefly! I think I moved in around there right when you must have been leaving. I remember that 455 Pacific Street used to be a crack house as well. It was very sad because the previous owner had died of AIDS (so I heard), and nobody in his family claimed the property, so it just fell to crap. 455 was also squeezed in between this "building" and an empty lot, and the empty lot had at one point been a pool for the owner at 455 Pacific, but when I lived there, it was full of garbage and rodents. I had been told that the owner of that lot was the owner of 93 Nevins, but I never knew if that was true. Regardless, they built 2 building on the empty lot - they're not the most beautiful buildings, and they're both 3 stories tall, but it definitely looked better than what was there.

I always thought the two buildings north of 93 Nevins were beautiful even if they needed a lot of work. It's unfortunate that 93 Nevins looks like it'll be an eyesore for the neighborhood, but it's better than what was there.

Posted by: Manitoba at February 10, 2009 12:25 PM in response to Scaffolding Down, Listings Imminent at 93 Nevins

Woah... I lived next door to this "building" about 10-12 years ago for several years, and it was an empty shell at the time. From the top of our building, we could see the top of this building, and it looked like someone had thrown a laundry machine through the roof. The building was also full of feral cats and rats.

They were always signs up that construction was imminent, but at the time, the building was owned by this crazy guy who lived on Pacific, and he told me he was holding out for $2mil for the site. At the time, that was of course insane, and even at the height of the market, I considered it insane since you couldn't salvage any of the building. Maybe $2mil for such a large lot, but there's no backyard at all.

Further, the location, while it has improved significantly, is still a crap-hole. When I lived there, we could hear gunshots from down the street. Our walls were so thin that we could hear the traffic signals "click" when they switched from Walk to Don't Walk, and people would drive by at all hours of the night with their stereos blasting. More than a handful of times, I left for work in the morning to find that either a bum had passed out on our stoop or someone had taken a crap on the stoop (either that or a really really large dog). The playground further towards 3rd was always full of homeless people, broken glass, urine and feces. About 6-8 years ago (right before I moved), they opened a 24-hour laundromat off of Atlantic that went all the way through to Pacific, which I had thought was great, except they started having fights, stabbings and shootings in the back parking lot, and people would be making tons of noise all night long from the parking lot (both will be audible for this new building). There was also a guy in the neighborhood who used to masturbate regularly in his car as women walked by. This was a nice added bonus. One of the nicest parts of the neighborhood was hearing the calls to prayer from the Arabic school. Of course, this too got old after a while.

Overall, I'm sure this neighborhood is nicer, and I really did like the fact that the neighborhood was so diverse with large hispanic, black, middle eastern, and caucasian populations that existed in relative harmony, but there was a large enough element that made living there unpleasant. I honestly can't believe it has gotten that much better nor will any time soon; it's too far from Smith and too close to 3rd and 4th Avenues.

I don't know how much they'll be charging for these place, but I'm pretty sure you'd have to pay me twice that amount to move back onto that corner.

Posted by: Manitoba at February 10, 2009 12:16 PM in response to Scaffolding Down, Listings Imminent at 93 Nevins

wine lover -

I think you've somehow justified in your head how much space you need and seem to be defensive about it. If you can afford a lot of space and apparently more room for your dryer than I had for my first bedroom, then congrats, but I wholeheartedly disagree that a family "needs" that much space. I grew up in Manhattan in an 750 sf 1 bedroom with a built-in wall for my ~200-250 sf bedroom. Fortunately, we had laundry in the basement, and it was cramped at times in the winter, but I spent most of my time playing outside or did homework at local diners. Things were tight, but we figured it out. Again, it doesn't mean I'm a better person or had a terrible childhood (quite the opposite), but we all make choices about what is a necessity, and it's great you can afford yours. I really think "need" is a relative term.

Posted by: Manitoba at January 29, 2009 11:32 PM in response to House of the Day: 370 Clinton Street

5:13 - We've also verified how truly microscopic Biff's penis is. Don't forget that one.

Posted by: Manitoba at June 19, 2008 5:27 PM in response to Three Brooklyn Winners on AMNY's Most-Fugly List

HDM is actually a surprisingly sensitive man and (not so surprisingly) very bright and nice, another reason to use his name as a pseudonym.

I think you are the first person to catch the reference here - most people think it's a reference to the Canadian province.

You are also right that he couldn't care less about a Brooklyn real estate blog.... maybe one about Avenue B, but even then, that's dubious.

Posted by: Manitoba at June 19, 2008 4:21 PM in response to House of the Day: 307 Winthrop Street

I also just noticed you sold off your Dictators' albums (especially their 2nd and 3rd oft-hard to find LPs) ... brings a tear to my eyes. Anyway, sorry to have hijacked this thread to talk about one of the most dynamic bands in rock. WWHDMD?

Posted by: Manitoba at June 19, 2008 3:52 PM in response to House of the Day: 307 Winthrop Street

Brooklynnative -

No, I am not the Handsomest Man in Rock n' Roll, but I love the fact that you acknowledged the reference. I thought calling myself "Top Ten" or "Ross the Boss" might have been lost on all.

Plus, I felt like paying homage to one of NYC's greatest stewards.

Posted by: Manitoba at June 19, 2008 3:47 PM in response to House of the Day: 307 Winthrop Street

A year or so ago, Gothamist took the approach of blocking the IP addresses of resident spammers like Dave, Biff, and others. People would change their IP addresses, and then those would be blocked from posting. It seemed to take a lot of vigilance and some time to adjust, but it worked in the long run. I think that would be worthwhile here....

Posted by: Manitoba at June 19, 2008 2:44 PM in response to Three Brooklyn Winners on AMNY's Most-Fugly List

Brooklynnative -

You're right, and my comments were a little mean-spirited. I think my frustration tends to come from brokers who think they can get away with posting obtuse information and partially-obstructed photos (or no photos) and still get people to show up and pay more than a house is really worth. I'm sure the people who live here are perfectly nice as will be the people who eventually settle in here; any derision on my part that went their way was unintentional and unnecessary...

Posted by: Manitoba at June 19, 2008 2:39 PM in response to House of the Day: 307 Winthrop Street

I looked at an apartment in this building many years ago, and it is quite a nice building. The walls and floors all look in fantastic shape, which is a good sign for a place like this. Pictures also look nicely staged for a private listing.

My guess is it will sell for at least 750, if not ask. Depends on Wall-Streeters.

Posted by: Manitoba at June 19, 2008 2:06 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 62 Pierrepont Street

The picture on the NY Times posting is hilarious! There's a minivan blocking most of the picture, and all seven of the pictures are the same. Also, on the NYT, the door is (or was) white.

I'd like to offer 20 bucks. Do you think they'll listen?

Posted by: Manitoba at June 19, 2008 1:52 PM in response to House of the Day: 307 Winthrop Street

"While the facade looks nice,..."

I wouldn't go that far.

Sweet fence, and I like how the neighbors built that wall within 3 inches of the tree.

Posted by: Manitoba at June 19, 2008 1:40 PM in response to House of the Day: 307 Winthrop Street

1:22 - I'll check out gowanuslounge - thanks. I really can't stand it here anymore; it's not even fun to waste time here browsing the posts.

Posted by: Manitoba at June 19, 2008 1:25 PM in response to Three Brooklyn Winners on AMNY's Most-Fugly List

Why would any sensible company advertise on this site at this point? I know I wouldn't want to associate my company with the amount of garbage that gets posted in the comments by people like Biff. As much as I dislike gothamist, that blog is so much more civil and comments actually tend to be on-topic. same for curbed..

Maybe comments should be capped at 50 max? Anything beyond that is just Troll Champion and Co.

Posted by: Manitoba at June 19, 2008 1:17 PM in response to Three Brooklyn Winners on AMNY's Most-Fugly List

What's going on at Prince and Tillary? I walk down that dead-end street from time to time, and I was there om Monday and noticed lots of construction in the empty lot as well as what look like demolishing (or repair) of one of the storage facilities. That street has always been so odd - tucked between the BQE and bridge. Plus, the same cars are always there (never moved). So close to Gold, thought people who live down there might know...

Posted by: Manitoba at June 19, 2008 1:13 PM in response to Development Watch: 109 Gold Street

deadnancy - On a surprisingly serious note, what's up with the Greenpoint oil spill these days? I haven't heard much about it in the news and don't know of any sites that follow the "cleanup". Does anyone know of a good source for information?

Posted by: Manitoba at June 19, 2008 12:43 PM in response to Three Brooklyn Winners on AMNY's Most-Fugly List

The three buildings above are truly hideous, but as for the rest of the AMNY list, I actually sort of like the AT&T behemoth - it has some quiet dignity if you walk past it at 1am. I also think the NYU library is not so bad - it looks kind of interesting when it rains and the red stone gets wet. The Kimmel Center on the other hand is pretty bad. I think the Watchtower is way more fugly than some of the buildings they listed.

Overall an inconsistent list, but it's a good conversation starter. I wish Kevin Walsh were here; instead we get Biff and his small penis. sigh.

Posted by: Manitoba at June 19, 2008 12:33 PM in response to Three Brooklyn Winners on AMNY's Most-Fugly List

Nokilissa - I agree whole-heartedly. The problem with trashing the whole idea of Ikea in Red Hook is that it could have been much much worse (i.e., Wal-Mart, but who knows, maybe it's next). But the sad truth is that it could have been much better as you've pointed out.

So, instead of ever knowing if Red Hook could have realized its full potential, we're left with Ikea and an influx of the Heathers of this city - mindless sheep who want cheap Scandinavian couches for their lux condos.

Again, it could have been worse, but it could have been so much better.

Posted by: Manitoba at June 17, 2008 9:50 AM in response to Eulogies for the Pre-Ikea Red Hook

LP - Thanks for your insightful response. I agree with both of your responses except for on minor point: you state that the first thing to do is tear down the projects, but I'm sure you'd agree that the real first thing to do is come up with a plan for where you're going to put people. The problem with that is nobody wants displaced project housing residents in their neighborhood, and many project housing residents don't want to be displaced from their community (as dysfunctional as it may be).

Sounds like your studies are interesting - hope you can make a difference some day... good luck.

Posted by: Manitoba at June 16, 2008 9:00 AM in response to Pratt Community Alerted to Rise in Violent Muggings

LP and others who advocate ripping the projects down, you should read the most recent issue of the Atlantic Monthly. I'm not saying your sentiments are unjustified, but the article highlights some of the major issues with your proposition. The article discusses Memphis mostly, but it also shows (as we all know) that simply ripping down housing projects doesn't take care of the problem. Many of these problems are not just racial (even though that underlying current will never go away), but socio-economic. Anytime you have people with money and expensive possessions move in next to people with nothing, you'll have problems.

Posted by: Manitoba at June 15, 2008 12:58 PM in response to Pratt Community Alerted to Rise in Violent Muggings

I had originally come to this post because I was actually interested in this bit of news as someone who grew up in Clinton Hill, but somehow yet another post has become hijacked by resident loser Biff and his apparently tiny penis.

Does anyone have any actual information or statistics on crime in Clinton Hill? gwbrubaker seems to be one of the only people with anything valuable to add to the discussion...

Posted by: Manitoba at June 13, 2008 5:57 PM in response to Pratt Community Alerted to Rise in Violent Muggings

When I saw this article, I knew that Biff would start his bitching and whining again about how everyone should be forced to be register before commenting and how shaded comments "don't count". Yawn.

Posted by: Manitoba at May 27, 2008 12:56 PM in response to Analyze This: New York Puts Brownstoner on the Couch

Two different suggestions:

1. Pave over the dog run and install a house. It seems to work for the one at Mercer and Houston.

2. Initiate a dog/cat-licensing fee of 50-100 bucks a year and use this money specifically for subsidizing dog walks.

Posted by: Manitoba at April 25, 2008 3:37 PM in response to Dirty Dog Run Making Pooches Sick

Well said cmu.

There are times when I get going pretty fast, but those are on straightaway streets when I have green lights, like Park or Atlantic Avenues.

When it comes to the Brooklyn Bridge, cyclists and pedestrians have to respect each ohers' rights to be there. As a cyclist, that means going an appropriate speed and if I come up behind a group of pedestrians, I slow down to a near-crawl and say (not yell), "Excuse me please", and they will always move over to let me be. If you want people to respect your right to be there, you have to respect theirs!

Posted by: Manitoba at April 19, 2008 12:30 PM in response to Closing Bell: The Brooklyn Bridge on Two Wheels