It is astonishing to have a restaurant with such high quality food so close to our house. The pizzas are indeed superb, but the specials are excellent and of a quality I would expect to find in a much more expensive place.
Living in Bed Stuy these past five years my wife and me have become great cooks, such is the lack of good restaurant food. With Saraghina we will at least be able to take a night off once in a while.
Now more like this please, and maybe somewhere that sells coffee you can drink.

Posted by: jamesdoran at August 13, 2009 3:42 PM in response to Streetlevel: Saraghina on Halsey

@ eastnewyork
I think the right kind of big names could definitley improve bed stuy. Im a writer and I would love to have a proper book shop, well stocked, run by people who care about books, with the scope and budget to host author readings, signings and discussion groups. barnes and Noble does this really well in manhattan and in Park Slope. Plus you get a good cafe, with wifi. A resource like that would really improve my corner of Bedstuy. Not to mention the chance to improve literacy and promote bibliophilia,

Posted by: jamesdoran at July 30, 2009 3:48 PM in response to What Does Bed Stuy Need?

@ eastnewyork
I think the right kind of big names could definitley improve bed stuy. Im a writer and I would love to have a proper book shop, well stocked, run by people who care about books, with the scope and budget to host author readings, signings and discussion groups. barnes and Noble does this really well in manhattan and in Park Slope. Plus you get a good cafe, with wifi. A resource like that would really improve my corner of Bedstuy. Not to mention the chance to improve literacy and promote bibliophilia,

Posted by: jamesdoran at July 30, 2009 3:48 PM in response to What Does Bed Stuy Need?

@daveinbedstuy
dont be ridiculous, shitty chinese food is one of the hallmarks of bed-stuy

Posted by: jamesdoran at July 30, 2009 2:40 PM in response to What Does Bed Stuy Need?

I agree with Legion. Our neighborhood needs cultural institutions. A museum, a theatre, an arts centre, a movie theatre -- something to bring people in to see what we've got and something in which people form Bed stuy can enjoy themselves, express themselves and be entertained.
I also agree that a big name store like barns and noble would be good too. Something that provides a stable anchor and some stable jobs for local people with the backing and finance of a major corporation. We have plenty of McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts and KFC -- why not a barnes and Noble or a starbucks too?
Also Bed-Stuy needs more of what it has been getting for the past ten years. More realisation from the outside world that this is a great place to live and work. It's safe, affordable and friendly. I still get mad when manhattanites and cab drivers raise their eyebrows when I tell them where I live. You'd think after 5 years I'd have gotten over it!

Posted by: jamesdoran at July 30, 2009 2:06 PM in response to What Does Bed Stuy Need?

this is going to be an unpopular post, so sorry everybody. I too thought Eddy was great -- when I was buying things from him. When I sold him two 8 foot finished paneled oak doors with antique fittings he showed a different side.
Having dealt numerous times with the lovable friendly eddy everyone describes I trusted him. So I struck a deal for the doors -- either he would find me two more doors of the same size but in a different, particular style within a few months or he would pay me a certain amount of money for the two doors. I would often stop in to ask him how the hunt was going, I even used to run into him down at home depot once in a while and we would chat. But after a few months it was obvious the doors I was looking for were not going to emerge so i went in to see eddy and collect my cash. He completely flipped out, said he would give me $50 or I could go fuck myself, and then gathered his retinue of paint scrapers to run me out of his store with threats of violence. It was so weird and jeckyll and hyde like, it was very odd. I'm used to dealing with the weird commercial goings on in my neigborhood, I've lived in Bed Stuy for five years. But above all else the episode made me sad that even someone as seemingly friendly as Eddy is just another con man in the reno trade. So be careful, Eddy is far more than he seems.

Posted by: jamesdoran at May 20, 2009 11:26 PM in response to Eddie's, Up Close and Personal

Its all about involved parenting.
I went to some of the shittiest public schools on earth -- in England and in France -- but my parents were well read, involved in my schooling and made sure I did OK. They weren't super ambitious over the top modern parents either (this was the 70s), just regular working people who knew that public schools offer a great education if you know how to use it. I would send my kid to any public school wherever I happen to live. Its the same as everything else, we make society what it is by our action and involvement or by inaction and apathy.

Posted by: jamesdoran at April 7, 2009 6:15 PM in response to The Shifting School Equation

if a user is being persistently aggressive or combative and contributes nothing to the debate, then the admin should send a warning note, asking him to refrain from such behaviour on the board. Three warnings, block his IP address. Not his user name, his IP address, thats how newspapers do it.
simple
Some people complain about this websie interminably yet seem to spend every waking minute reading it.
Thats pretty F**ked up. Talk about no life?

Posted by: jamesdoran at March 27, 2009 2:58 PM in response to Let's Talk About Commenting

I appreciate your concern bridges but rough neighborhoods exist precisely because people do nothing to stop thugs from doing as they please.
Our block has a strong, decades old tradition of keeping criminals out, working with the precinct and one another to keep this a good place to live, raise kids and enjoy life.
And you misread my post, the squatters left, they have not returned in five days, the house is now secured and is being watched by patrolling cops. The precinct is in contact with the realtor and will be told when the house is sold.
So we are safer because of this kind of action not less so.

Posted by: jamesdoran at March 24, 2009 9:15 PM in response to Overheard in Twitterland

I don't even get why The What comments on this website. If He feels so strongly about his various, often conflicting and generally uninformed, views there is much more he could do than pick pointless arguments with people on the internet.
I was hoping that by explaining this problem on this site that somebody might feel motivated to join forces and come up with an idea for a potential solution. This is about creating a safe and comfortable community to live in, not about staking claims and ownership rights.
Keeping criminals out of our block is something me and many of my neighbors work tirelessly to achieve. The best part is -- it works. We live on a friendly quiet and cool block in the middle of Bed Stuy. Everybody on the block knows one another and gets along. We choose to work together to keep it that way. And just to preempt The What, the majority of people on our block have lived here for many generations and established this community spirit before My wife and me arrived.
But, sadly, as usual, the post just generated a fairly pointless shit fight that led to nothing constructive.
Apologies to all those of you who did have something to add to the discussion, your points of view were well received.
If anybody has any willingness to get together to work out how this problem can be tackled in a constructive way, please contact me via the forum

Posted by: jamesdoran at March 24, 2009 10:23 AM in response to Overheard in Twitterland

yeah 1929, I lived in a big squat in Mosely, Birmingham for a bit and squatted an old cinema in Islington when I first moved to London. The difference is we moved in to buildings that had been abandoned for years and fixed them up, a movement I totally support. The house next to me is not abandoned it is on the market for sale and the guys breaking in were not crazy anarchists, they were old thieving thugs. There is no comparison

Posted by: jamesdoran at March 23, 2009 9:57 PM in response to Overheard in Twitterland

How terrifying buckfast, and such a credit to you that you support the rights of thieves and thugs. I dare say you could find me if you put half a mind to it, I write under my own name in any number of well known publications in the city. You are most welcome to come by my office any day to carry out your threat. Or do you prefer to make them under an assumed name on the internet? I certainly hope you are never the victim of a crime, it would be an awful shame for you to have to snitch.

Posted by: jamesdoran at March 23, 2009 9:18 PM in response to Overheard in Twitterland

We have a word for you in my country The What
total tosser
I've lived here for the last ten years, four of them in Bed Stuy, you say so much and seem to know so little

Posted by: jamesdoran at March 23, 2009 5:42 PM in response to Overheard in Twitterland

don't get me wrong, the police did come, and did get the guys to leave, for that much we were grateful. But there were several points where the cops lost interest and were ready to go. And it took two hours to resolve.
But more importantly there seems to be a gap in the police department's perception of what does and does not constitute a crime. Breaking into a house that does not belong to you is a crime. period. But they did not react like it was a crime.
The real problem lies in the fact that this sort of situation is rife with ambiguities -- which is where confidence tricksters and frauds thrive.
I asked myself on Friday night, how would I react if a stranger came up to me as I was opening my front door and said "stop, that house does not belong to you, I am calling the cops."
Pretty absurd right?
But this is something we will see more and more of. There are many vacant properties around at the moment and I assume this group of -- lets face it pretty rubbish -- thugs are not the only ones scoping out houses with chains on the door in an effort to take possession of them.
We now have a process in place with the realtor and the bank's agent to quickly and easily check if anyone with access to the house is legit or not, the cops are aware and we should not have any further problems. If you have a vacant property near you it would be worth contacting the owner and establishing something similar.
I used to own a flat in a victorian house in London and squatters moved into the vacant next door and we thought nothing of it. Until it became a heroin shooting gallery and a brothel and we found a dead guy in the front yard one morning.
Ahh London, the memories

Posted by: jamesdoran at March 23, 2009 4:38 PM in response to Overheard in Twitterland

Hey, that was me, quoted above. And this is a really serious issue. We have a foreclosed house next door owned by Deutsche Bank National Trust, the realtor is a small local shop hired by the bank's agent (a law firm in Philly).
On thursday night we heard someone break in, then saw flash lights upstairs so called the cops. Cops came but, as the would-be squatters wouldn't come to the door, (!!) they left without doing anything. Friday night, same time -- 10:30 -- a Budget rental truck pulled up outside and a bunch of people started trying to move stuff in. Before they were able to get the door open I ran outside and asked to see their realtor credentials (I knew the place had not been sold as I had been speaking to the realtor only two hours previously). An older dude waived a print out from property shark and claimed it was the deed!! Younger dudes told me to go fuck myself. Nice!! I explained that the realtor had asked us to keep an eye on the house, and if he had actually bought it, I apologised in advance but joked he should think himself lucky to have bought a house in a street where people actually give a shit.
Anyway, I was again told to go fuck myself, so I called the cops, who arrived en masse -- three squad cars and two under covers. The under cover guys were bristling for a fight while the uniforms just tooled around on the pavement. I explained to the under covers that the house had not been bought and that the guys were actually breaking in. After checking the older dude's property shark print out the undercover cops declared: "Well he seems pretty legit to me". At which point I told them that the house had been locked up by the US Marshalls Service last week and that anyone who bought the house would have a receipt saying that the lock had been removed. At this point the under cover lost his temper and said "look buddy, dont go telling me about the law, this all seems a bit civil to me. I'm out of here." At this the squatters actually whooped and high fived. All our neighbours had come out by now, including our block president -- who is also president of the police community board. We were all telling the cops that the house had not been sold and that these men were breaking in, but they still seemed disinclined to help. I was meanwhile calling and calling the realtor without any luck -- it was now nearly midnight on a friday after all. In the end the undercovers came back from their cars after calling to the precinct and decided that the would be squatters should leave and bring the deeds to the house down to the precinct in the morning, at which point they would be allowed access to the house. Of course they left never (yet at least) to be seen again.
Surely there must be some sort of procedure the cops could follow to establish whether someone has legal access to a vacant property. And if not we should work together to establish one. Any thoughts?

Posted by: jamesdoran at March 22, 2009 6:04 PM in response to Overheard in Twitterland

yoursmine: YOU are amazing

Posted by: jamesdoran at December 26, 2008 12:15 PM in response to A Christmas Tale

only on brownstoner could a story about a dog attack become a story about race and gentrification. Of course Brownstoner's experience with a dog in the park is just a codified parable about white supremacy played out in the property market. Of course it is.

Posted by: jamesdoran at December 26, 2008 12:01 PM in response to A Christmas Tale

here you go mopar

http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/87589

Posted by: jamesdoran at November 25, 2008 9:37 PM in response to Headed Back to the 1970s in Bed Stuy and Beyond?

heather
my wife says the same thing about the hat
in fact she wont be seen in public with me when i wear it

Posted by: jamesdoran at November 25, 2008 5:48 PM in response to Headed Back to the 1970s in Bed Stuy and Beyond?

Hey Dave
I live in Bed Stuy, near the 81st precinct, where my wife and me have been very happy lo these past four years.
To research the story I joined the 81st precinct community council three years ago, then last week after I noticed the crime numbers creeping up in perhaps coincidental lockstep with the city's budget crisis I thought it would be a good idea to interview the deputy comptroller for the city and a bunch of other experts whose views I reported in this story.
Also - Aren't you the "dave in bedstuy" who invited me round "for a cup of PG" about 3 years ago?
Glad to see you are still wallowing in stereotypes.
And Montrose I have lived in New York for ten years. I know thats probably not as long as you so I have to give you some sort of props but I think a decade is long enough to observe a city and report on it.
And finally, I dont wear a camo hat, I wear a black fedora.
thanks for all the comments, some of them were actually funny.
I have to say though, this site is losing its balls. The comments I got after doing a piece on NPR about foreclosure in Brooklyn last year were mostly really offensive and filled with race hate.

Posted by: jamesdoran at November 25, 2008 5:06 PM in response to Headed Back to the 1970s in Bed Stuy and Beyond?

I think a museum is a great idea, especially a hip hop museum or some sort of music museum dedicated to jazz greats like Lena Horne and Eubie Blake. Both lived in Bed Stuy. Something like that could (depending on the success) anchor small businesses, help keep them in business.

Let's face it BS needs just about everything. Food options have to be at the top of the list, then a nice neighborhood bar.

Posted by: grilledsardine at July 30, 2009 6:14 PM in response to What Does Bed Stuy Need?

Keep the chains out! No Starbucks, no B&N. It's the beginning of the end of every charming neighborhood. We have Brownstone books, and we have Bread Stuy.

Posted by: Susan Elkins at July 30, 2009 6:31 PM in response to What Does Bed Stuy Need?

We need a bank and a pharmacy. The bank is the only chain I can think of that I would welcome. Except for Whole Foods. But I'd rather a small locally-owned natural foods store like Butternut. We need a pet-supply place.

Posted by: Susan Elkins at July 30, 2009 6:40 PM in response to What Does Bed Stuy Need?

It is annoying how people in New York, a town where most everyone works in finance or media, have pretensions of being anti-corporate.

Barnes & Noble and Starbucks give their employees HEALTH INSURANCE. Is it so wrong to want some retail businesses in a brownstone neighborhood that do so? Is it so wrong to support them? I think a Barnes & Noble and a Starbucks would probably serve a lot more of the neighborhood than a free-range butcher.

I agree, a bank would be good. Pharmacies, I think Bed Stuy already has, (although I'm not familiar with Utica stop.) And there's a Petco on Fulton.

Posted by: Heather at July 30, 2009 7:17 PM in response to What Does Bed Stuy Need?

The point is not to be anti-corporate. In fact, what I can't get at Brownstone Books, I'll order from Amazon. The point is that most chains introduce a non-personal product, in many cases not as good as a small store can offer with an owner who has first hand knowledge of the neighborhood, it's people and it's needs. It's also more satisfying to shop when you can look the owner/your neighbor in the eye. I personally prefer a small-scale shopping experience. Heather, you can live in the mall, and eat and wear generic. You won't know if you're in Commack or Clifton, but that will be ok with you. I'll take mom and pop, and my neighbors, and try to keep the unique personalities of different neighborhoods alive by supporting small businesses. Additionally, you'll find community pride and participation in a small business. By the way, my husband has a small store and gives all his employees health insurance.

Posted by: Susan Elkins at July 30, 2009 8:51 PM in response to What Does Bed Stuy Need?

MM is smart to look at who's thriving and who's failing, and think about why. So many people think that businesses will fail in Bed Stuy because there's not enough density, or because there's not enough rich people, or because of crime. But really, it's about building a market. It's more important to be excellent when you are building a market, but a lot of businesses in Bed Stuy fall victim to the wrongheaded notion that it's OK to suck in Brooklyn.

There are a lot of people who want to buy things in the neighborhood that they usually import from Manhattan or other neighborhoods in Brooklyn along their commute. But choosing to bring your dollars home can't feel like a sucker's game, or people won't do it. It's easy to pick up a bottle of wine in Manhattan, but once I get home and decide to trust Olivino, I have made it difficult to get a bottle of wine if Olivino flakes on me. So it is *more* important for Olivino to be open when they say they will, and have decent stock, than you'd think. Olivino is great about this, so I consistently choose to spend there. But if they decide they are closed one night, or decided to stop stocking cheap bottles, or whatever, I will feel really screwed, and will start protecting myself by buying my wine in Manhattan, like I used to.

Peaches, in addition to making both black and white people equally comfortable, is great at being reliable. I know that I can get a burger, or catfish and grits, with no hassle and good vibes, every day except Monday, with no BS, bad food, long waits, or lame waiters. Tip Top, Tiny Cup--similarly reliable and revisitable: they have something you genuinely want, are consistently open and don't tend to disappoint with dumb problems, bad service, not having what you need/expect, etc.

Saraghina seems to be doing really well with being reliably good and open, but their waitstaff is too foreign to make all kinds of people feel comfortable. (this shouldn't matter, but almost every single time I have eaten there, I have been seated next to a very uncomfortable table of diners who I believe are reacting to the fact that their waiter can't quite speak English)

Solomon's Porch was awful in terms of reliability and repeatability. The food there was an afterthought. It was closed at weird times.

Any business would do well in Bed Stuy, provided the owners:

1. care so much about what they were offering that they will go out of their way to ensure that many different kinds of people are welcome and comfortable in their place.

2. are committed to being aggressively competent and reliable.

3. And understand that the competition is not whatever else is in Bed Stuy--it's Manhattan.

Posted by: vanburenproud at July 31, 2009 1:50 PM in response to What Does Bed Stuy Need?

I have said it before and i will say it again--People looking to invest in the stuy should seriously consider fulton street where the foot traffic is ALWAYS high and most people walk to or through to get to the subways--I believe a BID has just been approved for the areas between franklin and new york ave. You would be drawing foks from clinton hill, crowne heights and bed stuy--open a restaurant--that area needs more than just bush baby, steam tables, the many many many patty restaurants (delicious but way too many of them)and the 10 fast food chicken places.

Posted by: HomeSweetstuy at July 31, 2009 8:21 PM in response to What Does Bed Stuy Need?

More organic produce, more affordable restaurants, less hipsters and less white people. Lets not be mistaken, its not about gentrification, it's about (white)ification. More white people come in, and gently push out the black folks and the families. It's a tight knit family community with a beautiful culture and history, it's disappearing...sadly...

Posted by: the_truth at August 27, 2009 10:50 PM in response to What Does Bed Stuy Need?

More organic produce, more affordable restaurants, less hipsters and less white people. Lets not be mistaken, its not about gentrification, it's about (white)ification. More white people come in, and gently push out the black folks and the families. It's a tight knit family community with a beautiful culture and history, it's disappearing...sadly...

Posted by: the_truth at August 27, 2009 10:52 PM in response to What Does Bed Stuy Need?

less white people??!?!?!!

Yes that's EXACTLY what Bed Stuy needs more of:
more intolerance, fear and xenophobia.

THAT will make things better.

Posted by: bryanx at November 6, 2009 2:04 PM in response to What Does Bed Stuy Need?