Wild turkeys like the ecotone where woods meet grassland. The edge of the Long Meadow in Prospect Park might almost qualify (if the parkies let the grass grow) but wild turkeys also like areas sparsely populated by humans. It would be one clumsy turkey that found itself out on a tree branch in a lake.

This bird is so obviously not a turkey, I cannot help feeling like Lisa just made a holiday sight-gag at the expense of the seven (so far) of us who responded.

Posted by: altervoce at November 26, 2008 5:07 PM in response to Closing Bell: Prospect Park's Wild Turkey

When I first moved to Brooklyn (around the same time at MM), my landlord's son, roughly a contemporary, asked me where I liked to hang out. "Mostly downtown," I said. "Near A&S?," he replied incredulously. The first of many important geography lessons for me, since I meant Manhattan south of 14th Street. An Italian-American, more of the choir-boy than tough-guy variety, he also chided me for smoking Winstons, declaring them to be "a Puerto Rican cigarette." The day before what is often a family holiday seems like a good time to indulge in some nostalgia.

More objectively, I believe there are only three landmarks on Fulton Street: Gage & Tollner, the interior of which is also listed; the former Offerman Building (503-13 Fulton Street aka 234-48 Duffield Street), which was the home to several department stores, including Martin's and now Conway's; and the former A.I. Namm & Sons Department Store (450-458 Fulton Street aka 1-7 Hoyt Street), which was Young World for a long time and now is the newer of the two Modell's. Namm & Son is the building in the first of the five pictures above. The Offerman Building is the fourth picture.

LPC's report on the Offerman Building is on-line at:
home2.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/offerman.pdf

The agency's report on Namm & Son is on-line at:
home2.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/nammstore.pdf

Posted by: altervoce at November 26, 2008 3:34 PM in response to Looking Up at the Fulton Mall

What do they like to eat? I want them to move to my yard, which is not that far away. Great pick-line! "Whaddaya say? Wanna come over to my house and see my parrots?"

Posted by: altervoce at November 21, 2008 11:20 AM in response to Yes, Virginia, There Are Parrots in South Slope

Well, damn, there's an endorsement!

Posted by: altervoce at November 21, 2008 8:32 AM in response to Price Cuts at the Satori

You're right, I had forgotten about the B38 Limited, which is of limited *yuck, yuck* use to me. That's the bus that goes by half-empty while four, completely-packed, regular B38s show up at the same time, right?

Interesting observation about the affect that the bike lane (and associated parking restrictions) have had on traffic speed, since bike lanes are often touted as helping to "calm" traffic.

Posted by: altervoce at November 20, 2008 7:03 PM in response to Public Plaza for Downtown Brooklyn

I agree completely with Petebklyn regarding the mezzanines/storage/ceiling heights. With regard to the steepness of the stairs, something funny is going on with the photographs, perhaps to get the floors and the high ceilings all in one shot. I do not think the stairs are as steep as the pictures make them look. And I'm not an architect, but step-to-riser ratio must be regulated in the building code.

Posted by: altervoce at November 20, 2008 6:52 PM in response to Price Cuts at the Satori

Maybe it's a typo. "We control the place." Or, "We control the space." How 'bout, "We control the Pacefic?"

Posted by: altervoce at November 20, 2008 6:04 PM in response to FCR: We Control the Pace at Atlantic Yards

Not to mention that the senator-elect states, "I commend the Department of Corrections for agreeing to halt the proposed expansion," when in fact (according to Curbed) the courts issued a temporary restraining order. At best, the agency acquiesced.

TCulver, I think you could have linked directly to the Village Voice blog without a stop at No Land Grab.

Posted by: altervoce at November 20, 2008 6:00 PM in response to Thursday Blogwrap

Hunh? The B38 is not an express bus. The B38 is used by many people of color (see note) from Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy. How does a zig to the left on to Bond and a zag to the right on to Fulton, even with two new (to the B38) traffic lights, add 15 minutes to a trip downtown? Or constitute "going around the block" for that matter? And who said anything about increasing vehicle speed on DeKalb Avenue? Stonergut, did you read the same article I did?

Note: I am usually disinclined to use the term, "people of color," but found it preferable to the phrases "the demographic of the Fulton Mall" and "the current minority shoppers."

Posted by: altervoce at November 20, 2008 3:12 PM in response to Public Plaza for Downtown Brooklyn

wine lover, I remember when Kasia's -- the Polish home cooking place -- opened and it was a genuine big deal. Then a few years later the L Cafe opened; a cafe! So now Williamsburg has "tons of orginal stores and restaurants and coffee shops and bars and music venues etc.... there is no starbucks, and only one small bank on bedford ave." Neighborhoods change and Williamsburg will continue to do so.

And yes, the food at Junior's does not live up to its institutional status.

Posted by: altervoce at November 17, 2008 5:56 PM in response to Quote of the Day

Even Norman Oder has written that the 'Atlantic Yards death watch' is over-stating the current situation, and he is hardly neutral himself. Just more propaganda, the flip-side of Ratner announcing that he's going to break ground in December ... as if there are a lot of people out there that haven't figured out where they stand on the issue.

Posted by: altervoce at November 17, 2008 5:48 PM in response to Closing Bell: Atlantic Yards Deathwatch

The least expensive unit listed on the OBBP site as of a couple minutes ago is a 589 square foot studio, with a view of the apartments on the other side of the light well, for $550,000. As I have said before (and will say over and over until Robert Levine hears me or the building sells out), I like the location and don't need to have a harbor and/or park view. But seriously, $933 per square foot for the aforementioned apartment? Charge a lot for the premium units and bring the prices down elsewhere in the building. At the right price, I will even face the BQE.

Posted by: altervoce at November 17, 2008 3:38 PM in response to What's New at OBBP

I agree with BrooklynGreene's assumption that "a lot of the staging/timing has had to do with the work on the LIRR areas downstairs," but not the second half, "if it takes this long to do an atrium/entrance goodness knows how long an arena will take to build." I think the LIRR, or its contractors, are doing the entrance, not Forest City Ratner, who plans on building an arena near-by.

I also agree with the accusations of "high-handedness" and "A very poor job rolling out a big change." Even if you think the changes are a good thing, you got to wonder about DOT's community relations skills.

Posted by: altervoce at November 14, 2008 6:57 PM in response to LIRR Station All Dressed Up

I had a similar reaction. My first thought was, 'hey, a new place to catch a game.' But then it became clear that consensus has it that the food--veggie burger excepted--wasn't very good. And let's put it in context: nobody expects gourmet food in a sports bar.

Posted by: altervoce at November 13, 2008 4:14 PM in response to Quote of the Day

Likewise.

Posted by: altervoce at November 11, 2008 3:43 PM in response to Quote of the Day

There are cobblers and then there are good cobblers. I am an idiot because I kept taking shoes to the guy on Clinton Street, between Joralemon and Remsen, even after he did some really questionable work. What can I say? He is convenient. But when he took a pair of Ferragamo's and made them look like they came from Payless, he was done. I then tried the guy on the south side of Ninth Street, across from the Y, and I really wanted to like him. Sweet guy, works with what I presume to be his wife...but the last set of new soles fell apart almost immediately, and although he fixed the shoddy (no pun intended) work for free, the soles wore out completely in weeks. Weeks! People recommended the guy on the north side of Montague (down near Connecticut Muffin?) and I have given him his first try-out. So far so good, but expensive!

Posted by: altervoce at November 11, 2008 10:39 AM in response to Celebrating the Shoe Repair Shop

Petebklyn, some neighborhoods have boundaries because there are physical boundaries (e.g.: the northern boundary of Greenpernt is absolutely the Newtown Creek) and others have boundaries based on common usage. When I first started hanging out in Park Slope (first "serious" girlfriend; she was something else), the definition was the "name streets," or some folks thought you had to be in the historic district. I watched the southern boundary get expanded to Ninth Street. Then brokers started marketing properties south of Ninth as "South Slope" and people of a certain demographic kept moving there and now I also agree with the north, mid, and south slope boundaries given in the initial post. I have never been able to make that leap across the expressway.

One thing for damn sure, there ain't no BoCoCa, unless that is your cutsie name for the thing your kid just made in her Huggies.

Posted by: altervoce at November 10, 2008 4:52 PM in response to Closing Bell: Where Does Park Slope End?

The original design --

www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2007/10/catsimatidis_on.php

-- looked better.

Posted by: altervoce at November 10, 2008 2:42 PM in response to Development Watch: 202 Myrtle Marches On

As downtownbrooklyn correctly points out, the building is in the historic district and from a typological standpoint, I would say it looks a lot more like DUMBO than Vinegar Hill. The paint job is an abomination, however.

"It's also pretty desolate around there, which is something we weren't entirely comfortable with." There's no accounting for (my questionable) taste, but I would rather be some place "desolate" then in the heart of DUMBO.

Posted by: altervoce at November 10, 2008 2:30 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 50 Bridge Street

I'd say everything west of Bridge is DUMBO. I would be inclined to rip out the "home office" -- it's not on the floor plan, so it may be a tenant addition -- and re-do the kitchen and suddenly the price is more than I would want to spend.

Posted by: altervoce at November 10, 2008 1:08 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 50 Bridge Street

Yep, Heather, I lived in Park Slope for many years and Williamsburg twice as long. I know the difference between Union Street and Union Avenue as well as the difference between Grand Street and Grand Avenue, and the last isn't even in a neighborhood I lived in. Worldly I am. But it seemed to me that the Holiday Inn Express on Union, all-caps, STREET was a good example of the type of architecturally awful motel that I hope doesn't get built where Union Avenue and Keap Street converge. So, that said, DOES anyone have a sense of how Hotel Le Jolie on Meeker, between Union and Lorimer, is doing?

Posted by: altervoce at November 8, 2008 11:12 AM in response to Another Hotel for The Burg

I done say'd it b'fore an' I say it ageen: I'm fine wit' da location and wou'd e'en buy on the eas' side a da buildin', but not at doze crazee prices Levine iz askin'.

Posted by: altervoce at November 7, 2008 5:28 PM in response to Rental Reductions at One Brooklyn Bridge Park

Anybody have any idea how that other neighborhood hotel -- Frost Street? Richardson? -- is doing? I'd hate for this to be a (small "e") econo-lodge, like the one on Union Street. Williamsburg has enough cachet that a developer should go with the boutique concept, and find a location to match.

Posted by: altervoce at November 7, 2008 5:21 PM in response to Another Hotel for The Burg

I paged through as much of the Re-Brooklyn site as I could while at work. Sadder than the buildings that were torn down are the ones that are still standing but had all of their distinguished ornamentation stripped off. Whatever happened to the bay that ran the full height of 1255 Bedford Avenue? How did the Norwegian Evangelical Church get turned into...a box?

Posted by: altervoce at November 7, 2008 1:53 PM in response to Comparing the Past and the Present

So that is what today's New York Times looks like....

Posted by: altervoce at November 5, 2008 7:10 PM in response to Wednesday Blogwrap

I believe that United Jewish Organizations (Rabbi Niederman and company) had a crack at this twice, once through an RFP- or RFEI-like process and then in a more one-on-one negotiation. I think Con Ed also tried to market the site to generating companies but it's a direct current plant that has almost no utility (pun somewhat intended). My recollection on this topic is admittedly somewhat vague; it might not have been the environmental clean-up that scared away UJO, but perhaps that and the other conversion costs. I wish I could remember who I heard this all from. Since the issue doesn't really concern me, I only paid partially attention. For the record, I think it's a handsome building and if it could have been re-used, it should have been.

Posted by: altervoce at October 31, 2008 10:18 AM in response to Preserving NY's Industrial Buildings, Not Just for Nostalgia

The former BRT plant at Kent and Division avenues was offered, I believe, at little or no cost to local not-for-profits (I assumeUJO being one) who determined that the environmental remediation was so great that a conversion wasn't feasible. Circumstances like that contribute to statements like sam's, "The Municipal Art Society is so way out there."

Despite being a long time member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, I have had to learn to separate idealism from practical reality. I am all in favor of thinking outside the box to expand the boundaries of the latter, but it seems some preservationists advocate for buildings that are not economically viable.

Posted by: altervoce at October 30, 2008 11:56 AM in response to Preserving NY's Industrial Buildings, Not Just for Nostalgia

Look at the badge on the cop in the photo with today's post regarding the cancellation of the flea market due to the marathon. That's right!

Posted by: altervoce at October 29, 2008 4:22 PM in response to Brooklyn Makes Good Beer

new2hood, thanks for reminding me: "Morality and good character and judgement" are regressive.

Posted by: altervoce at October 29, 2008 3:37 PM in response to Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up

I know the cheat codes for the Space Cadet pinball game!

Posted by: altervoce at October 29, 2008 2:32 PM in response to Telephone Scam Alert: Don't Press 90#

fwiw, this is one of the hardest colors to paint over

Posted by: altervoce at October 29, 2008 1:28 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 70 Remsen Street

Jimmy, you're right. And although I prefer Hop Angel to Hop Obama, I am a big fan of Six Points. The Righteous Ale is excellent.

Posted by: altervoce at October 29, 2008 12:36 PM in response to Brooklyn Makes Good Beer

Hop Obama is quite tasty, but the Hop Angel from Chelsea--that's in Manhattan for you serious Brooklynites--is superior. DIBS, Rheingold is only back as a brand, not as a Brooklyn brewery.

Posted by: altervoce at October 29, 2008 10:27 AM in response to Brooklyn Makes Good Beer

Attention candidates: I will be voting for challengers that opposed making this change in the City Council in races against incumbents that supported the legislation. Although I think Bloomberg has been an excellent mayor and I don't have much respect for Weiner, I am fully prepared to vote for people that I would never have voted for before.

Posted by: altervoce at October 24, 2008 11:30 AM in response to Where To Now, Yassky and de Blasio?

poobah (plural poobahs)

A person holding multiple offices or positions of power, all at the same time.

Posted by: altervoce at October 24, 2008 11:24 AM in response to Number 8: Magdi Mossad

No, sam, this is the first announcement that the development corporation actually signed a contract for construction.

Posted by: altervoce at October 22, 2008 5:16 PM in response to Closing Bell: Work at Brooklyn Bridge Park Set To Begin

If you pass it on the way TO Lowes, it can't be Tenth Street. Tenth runs uphill, away from the home improvement store.

Posted by: altervoce at October 22, 2008 5:14 PM in response to Wednesday Blogwrap

Yard sale? Folk art? Shrine? Tenth and where, SnarkSlope?

Posted by: altervoce at October 22, 2008 4:49 PM in response to Wednesday Blogwrap

That guy with Joy Chatel? Man, did he ever disappear.

Posted by: altervoce at October 22, 2008 1:32 PM in response to Brooklyn's Top 50 Most Influential No. 21 - 30

I'm sure the Esquire Boot Black building would have made a hell of a cultural center as well.

Posted by: altervoce at October 22, 2008 9:45 AM in response to An Alternate Plan for Domino Sugar

You spill Ragu all over barn-siding and you clean it how?

Posted by: altervoce at October 21, 2008 4:49 PM in response to Tuesday Blogwrap

If you are in a historic district, you will also have to have the local community board and LPC review the plans. I believe that rear yard extentions have been the subject of past forum threads, so you might want to look at those too.

Posted by: altervoce at October 21, 2008 3:27 PM in response to House Extension

$150,000 for eight playgrounds? Did the Post drop a digit?

Posted by: altervoce at October 21, 2008 11:03 AM in response to Tuesday Links

btw, Polemicist, there are some people (not necessarily me) who believe that 370 Jay is an excellent example of early Modern architecture.

Posted by: altervoce at October 21, 2008 10:50 AM in response to For Dowtown Brooklyn to Thrive, Bring 370 Jay to Life

This building could also house a middle school, and then we can evaluate "Dock Street DUMBO" on its own (lack of) merits.

I'm confused about references to a future renovation. There have been contractors all over this station for months. Isn't that the planned overhaul that is going to include a connection to the Lawrence Street R train station?

Posted by: altervoce at October 21, 2008 10:23 AM in response to For Dowtown Brooklyn to Thrive, Bring 370 Jay to Life

The opposite of a hole: you can make a cylinder out of chicken wire or "snow fence," depending on volume. Fill it up and then watch it get denser and richer over time.

As a tenant in a garden-floor apartment, what I really wanted to say was, "Come over to my house and get the compost bin my landlord doesn't use; I'm sick of looking at it!"

Posted by: altervoce at October 20, 2008 3:45 PM in response to Leaves & Garden Clippings Compost/Recycling?

I drive on Eighth Avenue fairly frequently and noticed that, to stay in sync with the lights, a driver now has to go about 23-25 mph. I realize that some drivers would prefer to drive faster and stop for a red light every three blocks, but they just fools. I propose giving this change a chance before we start making further changes.

Posted by: altervoce at October 20, 2008 2:45 PM in response to Park Slope Wants to Go Both Ways (Traffic-wise)

Polemicist, if landlords are "get[ing] a fair return on their investment ... by providing the absolute minimum service required by law and performing almost no maintenance on the building," then the purchase price was still too high.

Also, with the rent increases permissible for major capital improvements, there really is no excuse for not maintaining a rent regulated building. It's been my experience that bottom feeders are often attracted rent regulated buildings and the poor maintenance is mostly a result of the fact that they are just not very nice people.

Posted by: altervoce at October 20, 2008 12:35 PM in response to For Post-Rent Control Real Estate, Leave Brooklyn

Suburbandude, it has always been my contention that the sales prices of apartment buildings with rent regulated apartments should reflect the rent roll. If speculators weren't so willing to pay incredible multipliers, the balance sheet would look different. Or, investors can stop trying to have it both ways and just admit that they purchased for long-term capital gain.

Posted by: altervoce at October 20, 2008 11:07 AM in response to For Post-Rent Control Real Estate, Leave Brooklyn

If I can play psychologist, there is also the sub-text of her desire to buy a home with her husband, who she divorced, and what I interpret as an act of self-definition in her post-married life. So many reasons to buy and own real estate beyond the monetary....

Posted by: altervoce at October 20, 2008 10:14 AM in response to For Post-Rent Control Real Estate, Leave Brooklyn

On it!

Posted by: altervoce at September 30, 2008 4:12 PM in response to Closing Bell: Energy Crisis to Be Solved by Brooklyn

Well, Iknow, that certainly was subtle....

Posted by: altervoce at September 30, 2008 3:45 PM in response to landscape architect needed

If true, that's not the "NIMBY's" fault. The rail cut would have remained a visible part of the city's incredible infrastructure and the buildings probably would have continued to gentrify. If there is an eyesore, it was made by FCRC, both through physical demolition and the incredible hubris that preceded it.

Posted by: altervoce at September 29, 2008 11:49 AM in response to Atlantic Yards Suffers a Setback

I know it's just semantics, but a "Classic Loft" is not 13'-6" X 42'-8". That's a classic bowling alley. Some of the other verbiage is also bizarre. "Made by Williamsburg's Finest." Do they mean the good men and women of the nine-oh? I do, however, like it when the finishes in loft conversions actually look like a loft.

Posted by: altervoce at September 29, 2008 11:10 AM in response to Sales Begin at The Steelworks Loft

"It takes two weeks and a dozen wage earners to do what a piece of hydraulic machinery accomplishes before lunch,"

Reads like a pretty objective comparison to me. If you're looking for a fight, you can usually find one.

Posted by: altervoce at September 29, 2008 10:24 AM in response to The Times on Deconstruction

Ethan, unless you relish the snark--and hey, it's you're life--might it not have been more useful to say, "You can just check the building code (online). You might find that you don't need a consultant." You could have tacked on some reference to personal experience and providing the URL for the building code certainly would have been helpful. Have a nice weekend.

Posted by: altervoce at September 26, 2008 5:02 PM in response to need referral for a code consultant

Gold-fing-ger.

Posted by: altervoce at September 26, 2008 1:02 PM in response to Thursday Blogwrap

Unless I'm reading you wrong, all I can say is, "wine lover, well done."

Posted by: altervoce at September 25, 2008 6:13 PM in response to Closing Bell: Petitioning for Music

11233, we can discuss underpantsman if you can explain why everyone in the picture of Northern Liberties looks like a suburbanite that came for brunch. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I thought the thesis statement was 'artists pioneer neighborhoods.'

Does anybody remember the Utne Reader article in the mid-90s that listed the ten coolest (or whatever) neighborhoods? Locally, Williamsburg made the cut and Red Hook was named the next big thing. Much angst in Billyburg at the time....

Posted by: altervoce at September 25, 2008 5:34 PM in response to Bushwick Is Officially "Up and Coming"

re: House of Pizza -- Not only is it false nostalgia, but it presumes that sign painters were not able to letter, way back when.

Posted by: altervoce at September 24, 2008 11:41 AM in response to Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up

Stoney, you gotta love that one of the selling points of the location is its proximity to Brooklyn Flea. Personnaly, I love how the pictures on the listing for the studio are apparently of a one bedroom.

Posted by: altervoce at September 23, 2008 1:44 PM in response to Condos of the Day: 470 Washington Avenue

Being of limited means but interested in ceasing to be a renter, a first floor apartment near the BQE that has an out-of-date bathroom and a kitchen in poor condition is just what I'm looking for ... except I want the price to reflect the aforementioned conditions. How 'bout two-fifty?

Posted by: altervoce at September 22, 2008 6:52 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 2 Grace Court, #1J

That is a pretty nice photograph, but can we progress through the Indian summer and fall pictures first? Brrrr!

Posted by: altervoce at September 17, 2008 9:02 AM in response to Wednesday Links

How are you guys--sam and fsrq--defining "good services?" If the front door locks, the mailboxes are secure, the halls kept clean and the plumbing works, I'm pretty well set. None of that is all that expensive. I'll even do my own painting if the landlord pays, cause I'll do a better job than whoever he or she was going to hire. And I'm all in favor of major capital improvements that are actually needed; less so for the ones done just to jack up the rent.

Posted by: altervoce at September 11, 2008 12:48 PM in response to Multifamily Commercial Real Estate Sale for $35.3 Million

I have never bought the argument made by sam (and numerous others). I compare this to bonds, the prices of which vary depending on return, liquidity, riskiness and other factors. If rent regulations reduce the rent roll for a building, the sales price should reflect that. Anybody who over-pays has no one to blame but themselves. There is no honor in being the greater fool.

Posted by: altervoce at September 11, 2008 12:02 PM in response to Multifamily Commercial Real Estate Sale for $35.3 Million

Ha, ha, ha, Corey. I really do enjoy a dry sense of humor.

Posted by: altervoce at September 10, 2008 2:03 PM in response to Low Voter Turn-Out For Primaries As Usual

What's with that corner anyway? Mediterra and the Indian place before it and before that Chip Shop was twice as big and then retrenched.

Posted by: altervoce at September 10, 2008 12:53 PM in response to Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up

Given the power of incumbency, I do not see the wisdom of voting to send someone to congress that you (the individual voter) don't respect. Better, it seems to me, to let the incumbent, however-flawed, ride for another two years and use the time to identify and support a quality successor.

Posted by: altervoce at September 8, 2008 2:25 PM in response to Time to Vote, People

I mulled over the Toy Factory when it first hit the market. If I remember the C-line floor plan correctly, the "bedroom" is not original for the reasons alluded to by BH76.

Posted by: altervoce at September 8, 2008 1:32 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 176 Johnson Street, #2C

I would not be surprised if in days or weeks to come, this ends up looking like so much saber rattling. Then again, I sadly would be unsurprised if this is indeed the end. One thing to keep in mind about the lease: if the Alberts hadn't sold the land, they wouldn't have one to worry about. I don't like Thor, but the Alberts are hardly innocents.

Posted by: altervoce at September 5, 2008 10:04 AM in response to Night Falls on Astroland

Spotted one at the northwest corner of Sixth Avenue and Union.

Posted by: altervoce at September 5, 2008 9:16 AM in response to First Font Adopted in PLG

Gee, Brownie, sorry you felt that you had to delete my comment, but not before The Polemical One took the bait. Frankly, you started it....

Posted by: altervoce at September 4, 2008 7:33 PM in response to Closing Bell: Advice on Brooklyn Staycations

Man, I must be one dumb-bunny. I've used Peel Away and Rock Miracle and heat tools to strip paint. But when it comes to heat risers, I just scrapped them. I mean, rock breaks scissors cuts paper covers rock, but if it's metal and metal and paint, guess who the loser is. That said, everything FenFen says is true and recommends itself.

Posted by: altervoce at September 4, 2008 3:46 PM in response to Stripping

Forget Philadelphia; East St. Louis is the sixth borough.

Posted by: altervoce at September 4, 2008 1:05 PM in response to Nforth Reports Smooth Sale-ing

Well, they all have termination packages for one.

Posted by: altervoce at September 4, 2008 11:21 AM in response to Thursday Links

Polestar, are you putting the highway beneath the IRT?

Posted by: altervoce at September 3, 2008 1:17 PM in response to Grand Army Plaza's Impending Makeover

Naahhh, that would never happen in Brooklyn Heights.

Posted by: altervoce at September 2, 2008 4:07 PM in response to Backyard Terrace building

If the terrace (I assume you mean balcony.) is visible from any "public way," you will need, as SenatorStreet states, to get LPC approval.

Posted by: altervoce at September 2, 2008 3:43 PM in response to Backyard Terrace building

What do the DOB permits say? The building is in the Vinegar Hill Historic District and any exterior work will need to be reviewed by LPC.

Posted by: altervoce at September 2, 2008 3:33 PM in response to Streetlevel: New Restaurant Coming to Vinegar Hill

As made evident by the URL that Steve posted above, this is Department of Buildings issue, not the police or transportation departments.

Posted by: altervoce at September 2, 2008 1:35 PM in response to The Luxury of the Garage

I had a neighbor in Williamsburg who frequently had people sit on her front step, which was really more of a loading dock than a stoop, but whatever. If she wanted people to move she would fill a bucket with water, go out front and ask the person to stand, drench the landing and go back inside. Most people shuffled off; eventually it stopped.

Posted by: altervoce at August 29, 2008 10:06 AM in response to Is Your Stoop Private Property?

Sid, you're a card.

Posted by: altervoce at August 27, 2008 3:06 PM in response to Wednesday Links

It is, however, evening.

Posted by: altervoce at August 27, 2008 9:43 AM in response to Tuesday Blogwrap

Oh my god yes, the cars! I had completely forgotten. Thanks kz.

Posted by: altervoce at August 25, 2008 1:21 PM in response to The History/Mystery of the Hot Bird Sign

Adrian, "new" is being used the way I have described all of the cars I have owned, as in 'new to me.'

Posted by: altervoce at August 22, 2008 11:33 AM in response to Law High on Adams Gets Ready for School

Pulled daily from the Gowanus.

Posted by: altervoce at August 21, 2008 6:08 PM in response to Grand Opening of Bar on 6th Avenue Today

All I know is that I did not have curly hair until they installed all these cell phone antennae.

Posted by: altervoce at August 21, 2008 11:52 AM in response to Air Rights and Cell Towers War in Bay Ridge

I find the comments by PS misleading. It doesn't really have anything to do with zoning, although a bar or restaurant with a liquor license obviously needs to comply with zoning.

The rule is that a new license can be opposed if there are already three licensed establishments within 500 feet. For years, the state didn't pay much attention to '500-foot rule' objections, although it has started to. It's still far from automatic, nor should it be IMO.

Posted by: altervoce at August 21, 2008 11:23 AM in response to Grand Opening of Bar on 6th Avenue Today

I don't think the reported critics are crunching the numbers correctly. Isn't the unit subsidy equal to the difference in the cost between market-rate paper and the tax exempt bonds? The developer still needs to pay back the loan, just at a lower interest rate. That was always my understanding of how this works; am I wrong?

Posted by: altervoce at August 21, 2008 9:50 AM in response to Brooklyn Paper: Taxpayers Paying Up for Downtown Rental

I agree with all of MM's second take. I don't know how much rent Amy Ruth's agreed to pay, but I was told the asking price was $30,000 a month. A restaurant at that location has to do A LOT of lunch business at the right price point to succede. Someone told me the entire mini-chain of Amy Ruth's is in financial trouble, but it's just more evident at the branch that was supposed to have a soft opening on Valentines Day. That was six months ago; maybe that's why the chain is having financial trouble (if the rumor is true).

Posted by: altervoce at August 20, 2008 6:01 PM in response to Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up

q4q: the plans by MAS and Brent Porter are not alternatives to "the National Guard's plans," but whatever.

Posted by: altervoce at August 20, 2008 4:24 PM in response to MAS Floats Plans to Preserve Admiral's Row & Build Market

trudylou: Sanborn fire insurance maps

Posted by: altervoce at August 20, 2008 4:21 PM in response to Sanborn Maps

Actually, the Calatrava gondola was to distract the press from the fact that the development corporation was re-issuing the request for proposals because there weren't any viable submissions the first go round.

What is CB6 proposing? A bridge? Or do they just want to have jurisdiction?

Posted by: altervoce at August 19, 2008 12:07 PM in response to Whose Governors Island Is It?

Actually, dittoburg, the city (or its proxy: the Prospect Park Alliance) cleaned and re-built the fountain and entire plaza a few years back. Which brings me to my initial reaction when I saw the picture: what does all that soap or whatever do to the plumbing and pump and statuary? Maybe nothing; maybe not so good.

Posted by: altervoce at August 18, 2008 5:30 PM in response to Closing Bell: Mr. Bubbles Strikes Again

"The signage popping up around the Metrotech campus make it clear which institution is in the driver's seat." That would be the much, much, much bigger one, right? Oh, big surprise there.

Posted by: altervoce at August 18, 2008 9:36 AM in response to Closing Bell: The Rebranding of Polytechnic

The panels with the bumps on them look like Legos.

Posted by: altervoce at August 18, 2008 9:26 AM in response to Toren Really Showing Its Skin Now

I take my shirts to the Washing Tong.

Posted by: altervoce at August 18, 2008 8:56 AM in response to Streetlevel: Il Porto Opening Tomorrow

mule:
1) true, except licensed venders need to comply with the health code too
2) not true
3) hardly
4) conjecture

As for the guy on Henry Street, the 84th Precinct is all over this. If the vender is legal, he'll stay; if not, he'll go.

Posted by: altervoce at August 9, 2008 1:12 PM in response to Closing Bell: Happy Fruit Men Everywhere

My guess is the "embedded columnist" -- what is s/he embedded in? -- is Chris Havens.

Posted by: altervoce at August 9, 2008 1:04 PM in response to Commercial Klutch: August Edition

Various people have compared the COTD with the Clinton Hill Cooperative Apartments, the House of D' and Westchester; let's try one more. How much would this apartment cost if it was a condominium? I'm not in the market so all I know about current prices is what I read here. It doesn't seem like there is that much of a price discount to reflect that there is a mortgage on the building in addition to the loan the buyer took out on the apartment. Or am I wrong? Would this be $700K if it was a condo?

Posted by: altervoce at August 6, 2008 7:02 PM in response to Co-op of the Day: 358 Clinton Avenue

MacD, sounds like you had a reasonably productive evening. Glad to hear it. I hope you can stick with it and it pays dividends.

As for mohawks, gave myself one kind of unintentionally before going home for Christmas. I think it was 1980. My regular barber had closed his shop for the holiday and gone hunting and my own skills were, hm, not up to the task. When I got back to campus, the barber stopped me on the street and asked me to make it clear to people that he wasn't responsible.

Posted by: altervoce at August 6, 2008 6:13 PM in response to Closing Bell: Brooklyn Celebrates National Night Out

When this event was started, it was about taking back the streets. The 84th Precinct had its event in front of Borough Hall (where the worst crime has been shilling for Atlantic Yards) and the 88th Precinct kept the southeast corner of Fort Greene Park safe on a sunny afternoon. Someone told me that Tish James encouraged the "eight-eight" to have its Night Out at Grand and Putnam and I think she has a point. If cops want to have a barbeque and rides, great. But in downtown at least, this event has lost touch with its roots.

Posted by: altervoce at August 6, 2008 4:22 PM in response to Closing Bell: Brooklyn Celebrates National Night Out

It has been proposed that banks should go on second floors, cause people will still patronize them despite the location. But that's the opinion of people working to save mom and pop retail; banks always, always, always want to be on a corner.

Posted by: altervoce at August 6, 2008 10:43 AM in response to Streetlevel: Chase Gobbles Up Myrtle Corner

WBer, I think it's about both, and there is the rub. It seems to me that Hindy is a relatively conservative businessman. That's not a criticism; it's probably why he has succeded. But at this point, if he wants to brew in New York and have a groovy beer garden and retail shop, he may have to take on a bunch of investors and debt and roll the dice on a location that gives him what he wants. Williamsburg and DUMBO are probably strongest, but they are going to be expensive. If he goes cheap, he's going to end up somewhere that won't enjoy the foot traffic that he wants/needs. In the meantime, Hindy has to stop whining in the press ... it's really unbecoming.

Posted by: altervoce at August 6, 2008 10:36 AM in response to Where Should the Brooklyn Brewery Set Up Shop?

Even if someone is alright with this corner becoming a bank branch, it is a shame that a new building wasn't constructed first.

Posted by: altervoce at August 5, 2008 2:39 PM in response to Streetlevel: Chase Gobbles Up Myrtle Corner

Rotting barges story has moved to:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/08/04/2008-08-04_rotting_barges_roil_politicians.html

Posted by: altervoce at August 5, 2008 8:31 AM in response to Tuesday Links

My landlord, who lives upstairs, put a sign on the front gate and it's working on my block in PS. Problem is, I actually used to check some of the flyers. Now I have to steal them off someone else's stoop.

Posted by: altervoce at August 4, 2008 4:39 PM in response to Closing Bell: Fighting Unwanted Fliers

The last two items both link to 419 Union.

Posted by: altervoce at August 4, 2008 4:09 PM in response to Today on the Forum

I have a unit at the Public Storage facility. Management told me that they received numerous offers to buy the building but they ain't selling. Note to self: check unit for rodent infestation.

Posted by: altervoce at August 4, 2008 4:01 PM in response to Development Watch: 277 Gold Street

It is possible to rent 2.5 cubic yard dumpsters, which have four wheels on the bottom. When full, a garbage truck comes around, the contracting crew rolls them out to the street -- the hydrant is a plus here -- and they get winched up and dumped into the back of the truck. The empty containers go back in your front yard. Now your neighbor(s) can complain about the noise.

As for your general approach, look in the mirror. A bunch of the folks above have said, 'ef him.' Others have pointed out that (presumedly) you are going to be neighbors for a while. How do you normally react when you get pushback that seems a bit unreasonable?

Posted by: altervoce at July 29, 2008 3:53 PM in response to complaining neighbor

How is this a "Loft?" Yeah, it's got that living-room-kitchen thing going on, but the apartment certainly isn't open plan. It's DUMBO so automatically it's a loft?

Posted by: altervoce at July 29, 2008 2:41 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 84 Front Street, #9C