We live in a newly-renovated one-family. No sign of any bedbugs. We live near a deli and did have a problem with a rat in our yard when we first moved in. My wife, amazing genius that she is, simply called an exterminator. He placed a poison bait box against a wall (a path for rats) and plugged any holes with concrete. Classic NYC bodega next door to us: they're not going to take any responsibility for the rat, although we saw the rat crawl out from their foundation. It cost me $300, but we are vermin-free. Nothing beats a good exterminator. Nothing.

Posted by: r1b2 at July 27, 2009 10:10 AM in response to Bed Bugs and Rats

We live in a newly-renovated one-family. No sign of any bedbugs. We live near a deli and did have a problem with a rat in our yard when we first moved in. My wife, amazing genius that she is, simply called an exterminator. He placed a poison bait box against a wall (a path for rats) and plugged any holes with concrete. Classic NYC bodega next door to us: they're not going to take any responsibility for the rat, although we saw the rat crawl out from their foundation. It cost me $300, but we are vermin-free. Nothing beats a good exterminator. Nothing.

Posted by: r1b2 at July 27, 2009 10:10 AM in response to Bed Bugs and Rats

Also, I lived on Cheever for years, 2 doors down from the parking lot to this building. It's a 5 minute walk from the F train, Bergen Street station, front exit. It's NYC, baby, we love the walk.

Posted by: r1b2 at June 19, 2009 12:51 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 44 Cheever Place

Also, I lived on Cheever for years, 2 doors down from the parking lot to this building. It's a 5 minute walk from the F train, Bergen Street station, front exit. It's NYC, baby, we love the walk.

Posted by: r1b2 at June 19, 2009 12:51 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 44 Cheever Place

It's always bothered me that folks refer to this as Cheever. It isn't Cheever, it's Hicks. The parking lot entrance is on Cheever, but the building faces Hicks Street. Suck it up: you live in the BQE.

Posted by: r1b2 at June 19, 2009 12:50 PM in response to Condo of the Day: 44 Cheever Place

Sad, really. Mucho Gusto was lovely. Good food, good portions, good service.

Posted by: r1b2 at May 12, 2009 4:43 PM in response to Streetlevel: From Latin to Japanese on Columbia Street

@Petebklyn: I once received a visit from DEP about my motorbike (sadly, since sold) making too much noise and pollution. There was a complaint about me revving it in the driveway, working on it at odd hours. None of this was true, but there was (and still is) a crazy woman on the block who had fights with EVERYONE. The inspector visiting told me that it was her, I think in part because they'd received other complaints from her in the past. The complaint went away because she fabricated the wrong date about which to complain: I was in London on business that week! POINT IS--> I didn't know the inspector yet he freely shared the identity of the complainant with me. Not always confidential.

Posted by: r1b2 at May 4, 2009 10:59 AM in response to Retaliation for DEP Complaint

Fleet Auto Enterprises
www.fleetautoenterprise.com

169 2nd Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11215
718) 369-6600

Reasonable prices, very trustworthy. We've been bringing cars to Billy for years.

Posted by: r1b2 at April 27, 2009 12:13 PM in response to recommend a car mechanic please.

We love Lobo. Good food, good drinks, cute waitresses (sorry, I'm an old man, leave me some joy.) They've been planning a renovation for a long time. They're not closing. This is a terrific neighborhood spot. Is it the essence of Tex-Mex? I don't know. It's Brooklyn. Settle down. Have a cocktail, eat some chips and salsa, and have a nice day.

Posted by: r1b2 at March 12, 2009 8:58 AM in response to Brooklyn Food & Drink Round-Up

C'mon Frenchie, those things don't work, lint flies everywhere, and it's brutal in the summer. Demand that the developer remedy by venting outside.

Posted by: r1b2 at February 12, 2009 4:39 PM in response to Dryer Venting Outside

How right you are, Van Buren. It's gross, poisonous, and disgusting. Does my NOT smoking offend anyone? Why should others in the building have to suffer because the neighbor is stupid enough to fill his lungs with smoke?

Posted by: r1b2 at February 6, 2009 3:14 PM in response to Mitigating Cigarette Smoke

The social club referenced in the article was once my grandfather's grocery store. I never learned how a jewish grocery transformed into an italian social club, but it's nice to know that it still is an importnant part of the community.

Posted by: r1b2 at January 26, 2009 11:39 AM in response to Carroll Gardens: Old School Amid the Changes

My 12-year old son is a drummer and my 10-year old daughter plays guitar, with amp. Our old apartment was masonry. We worried when the neighbors had a baby, but they never, never, ever heard my kids play. That said, I did undertake many of the above suggestions, with great success.

Any good music supply shop (we prefer Drummers World on 46th Street (http://www.drummersworld.com/dsp/main.php) is a great resource. We bought a set of mutes, which are simply sheets of rubber that are pre-cut to the size of the drum heads. His kit is kick-bass, snare, floor tom, and 2 rack toms. The mutes cut down the vibration and sound by about 90-95%!

I also built a set of risers. I used 6" length of 4x4 for legs and 3/4" plywood for the base. I attached rigid foam insulation on the underside of the plywood to absorb some vibration before attaching the legs. I covered the top surface of the plywood with carpet padding and then with carpeting. To make it sick, I strung blue rope light on the underside. I made this in 2 parts to make it easier to move if he ever wants to take it to gig somewhere, and to simply make it easier to move if I ever need to do so. The whole thing sits on a rubber pad. The elevation of the risers makes him feel like a proper rocker, and it definitely reduces the volume. If you want, I am happy to tell you more about the construction. It was a fun, easy project.

We bought a house this summer in Boerum Hill, frame construction. My stars, is it ever loud. The masonry was the key to the quiet. Even with all my efforts, when he practices without the mutes, the walls shake. But the riser helps a lot. And he loves to practice. We enforce an earplugs at all times policy, so we let him practice with no mutes sometimes.

Posted by: r1b2 at December 17, 2008 7:36 PM in response to Soundproofing finished basement

Grammar. Spelling counts, too.

Posted by: r1b2 at December 11, 2008 12:23 PM in response to 17 Prospect Park Closes

Bear in mind that these premium prices are for units just down the block from the projects on Hoyt. I know; we recently bought a single-family. We're very happy and love our home, but there are daily reminders of the PJs. This ain't cozy Cobble Hill.

Posted by: r1b2 at December 10, 2008 5:56 PM in response to Rent-to-Own at 360 Baltic

We recently bought a single-family. My kids' rooms are completely on lot lines and there are no windows, but there are huge skylights that open for fresh air. We are going to put lot line windows in, and we feel pretty secure in the decision. The building to the west of us is new construction, and my daughter's bedroom is next to their yard, so it's unlikely that something will be built to obscure the window any time soon. It sucks for the folks who bought in this Toy Factory building.

Posted by: r1b2 at December 8, 2008 11:01 AM in response to Dark Times for Some Toy Factory Loft Dwellers

Pretty certain they mean WEST of Court Street.

Posted by: r1b2 at November 20, 2008 11:38 AM in response to AMNY Does Cobble Hill

I'm not seeing anything on DEP's website that says complaints will be kept anonymous. I know complaints to DOB about unsafe work sites and crime tips to PD are anonymous but maybe DEP thinks the accused should know their accuser. Makes me curious about the standards for other agencies.

Posted by: Bklyn Fire Alarm Guy at May 4, 2009 11:09 AM in response to Retaliation for DEP Complaint

The DEP normally doesn't even contact the offender unless they find a noise violation, at which point they serve the business with an ECB summons (with a fine and hearing info -- basically like a parking ticket but for noise). The restaurant may have heard about the complaint offhand, but there is no official notification until a violation is found in person by a DEP inspector.

Having seen many of these violation notices, I can say that they never list the name or specific address of the complainant. (Sometimes this can make it difficult for the offender to correct the problem.)

Also, the current NYC Noise Control Code limit for air conditioning equipment is 43 dBA measured at 3' within an open dwelling window. Typically, the AC noise must exceed this amount, as well as exceeding the ambient noise (measured with the AC off) by a few dB, before they will issue a citation.

Posted by: tekniskakustik at May 4, 2009 11:21 AM in response to Retaliation for DEP Complaint

Correction -- I meant to say that the code requirement is 42 dBA. If DEP measures 43 dBA, a citation is unlikely.

Posted by: tekniskakustik at May 4, 2009 11:25 AM in response to Retaliation for DEP Complaint

We had a very similar situation occur a couple of years ago with a restaurant and a very loud HVAC unit/Using the back garden as late as 4 and 5am. We called initially and they blew us off. We went to the restaurant and the said there was no one around to discuss the matter with--even though we knew the owner(s) were there. So we called 311. They came, took a DB reading and they were indeed in violation. The DEP guys said they were going to immediately inform and ticket them. Out my window, I could see the DEP guys looking at the HVAC unit with the owner of the restaurant then pointing to my home and saying that we were the ones that called it in.
The next day, I had eggs splattered all over the door and windows and was verbally threatened by the owner and subsequently visited by two menacing henchmen that I better not make any more trouble of else....
Thankfully, they insulated the offending HVAC unit.

Posted by: ilikeslices at May 4, 2009 11:43 AM in response to Retaliation for DEP Complaint

I'm having a similar problem with my neighbor. They turned on their central air unit (which sits in the back of their garden) during last weekend's heat wave and the loud noise it produced was incredible. Given that I've never heard it before (its been installed for almost two years) I assumed that the unit needed to be serviced. But when I mentioned the noise to my neighbor he told me that they turned it on for the very first time ever last weekend. If this is what the unit sounds like normally it will become unbearable to be out in our garden this summer. We will deal with our neighbor directly to resolve the issue, but does anyone know how we can test the decible level - just in case? Is there some inexpensive device that you can buy, or do you have to file a complaint with the DEP to get them to come to take the reading? We definitely do not want to go down this route. We like our neighbor and want it to stay that way - but the noise really is beyond tolerable.

Posted by: Turtlejam19 at May 4, 2009 12:55 PM in response to Retaliation for DEP Complaint

I had a noise issue with one of my neighbors - a church. I wrote a very polite and friendly letter advising them of the issue and asked that they take corrective action as soon as they reasonably could. I received a very polite phone call from the pastor advising that they would correct the issue immediately, which they did.

While the restaurant may be owned by a faceless corporation, in future I would recommend writing to them before getting the city involved. If you don't receive a satisfactory response from a letter, then complain to the city.

Even so, if they did dump the paint on your stoop that is not reasonable, retaliating for making a report to the city is childish and should not be tolerated, however, unless you can prove who dumped the paint, there is not a whole lot you can do.

Posted by: bohuma at May 4, 2009 1:21 PM in response to Retaliation for DEP Complaint

I think there is real reason to careful when registering complaints, as I do believe that there could be access to the database, probably through the DOB or other City / state agency.

Just based on what I've heard and read about here in brooklyn over the last few years, I'd say there's a very good chance that a well-connected developer/contractor/business owner could gain access to the "confidential" anonymous information that a caller gives. There is still corruption within the DOB, so...

Make the complaints from a pay phone, just in case...Also, write a letter and call Bloomberg's office when this type of retaliation occurs. I would not file a complaint with just the brooklyn borough officials, because they may be part of the problem.

go to the top as I think Bloomberg wants to clean up the bad behavior, and probably doesn't know the half of what's going on here...

Posted by: appoggiatura at May 4, 2009 1:30 PM in response to Retaliation for DEP Complaint

There are a lot of central air units in backyards near me & the noise isn't obtrusive. I'd suggest to your neighbor that he have his unit checked before something burns out.

Posted by: Arkady at May 4, 2009 1:32 PM in response to Retaliation for DEP Complaint

@Turtlejam19: What you want is a "sound level meter". You can buy one for less than $50 at Radio Shack. Make sure you set the meter to measure A-weighted decibels or dBA.

Measure the noise with the HVAC unit running, from a point 3' interior of your wide-open window. Also take the same reading when the HVAC unit is off. If the unit is louder than 42 dBA, and is also at least 2-3 dBA louder than the sound level when the HVAC unit is off, the unit is likely in violation and the DEP (if called) would issue a citation on the spot.

For reference, the code section regulating noise from HVAC equipment is NYC Noise Control Code §24-227, "Circulation Devices".

Posted by: tekniskakustik at May 4, 2009 1:45 PM in response to Retaliation for DEP Complaint

Appoqqiatura you are a paraniod, mis-informed person. This story clearly is about the DEP, not the DOB. Regardless, Inspectors are not supposed to reveal the source of a complaint. Most of the time they don't know themselves. If they are divulging the complaintants information, they should be reported.

Posted by: Low_Talker338 at May 4, 2009 5:48 PM in response to Retaliation for DEP Complaint