St Stephens Sacred Heart School Opening?

You can somewhat limit the growth of a tree by planting it in a big pot instead of the ground. Potted bamboo is stunning and keeps them from spreading underground to your neighbor's yard.

The Eastern Redbud is small, and have tiny pink spring blossoms. Birch are lovely but need good sun exposure to have good color. Japanese maple are a good small space choice, but I find they tend to be more shrubby in shape. I also am a fan of our fig tree, which does produce edible fruit. We have no problems eating all the fruit before it falls on the ground!

Posted by: vicki_vale at October 2, 2008 4:04 PM in response to Backyard Tree Recommendation

You can somewhat limit the growth of a tree by planting it in a big pot instead of the ground. Potted bamboo is stunning and keeps them from spreading underground to your neighbor's yard.

The Eastern Redbud is small, and have tiny pink spring blossoms. Birch are lovely but need good sun exposure to have good color. Japanese maple are a good small space choice, but I find they tend to be more shrubby in shape. I also am a fan of our fig tree, which does produce edible fruit. We have no problems eating all the fruit before it falls on the ground!

Posted by: vicki_vale at October 2, 2008 4:04 PM in response to Backyard Tree Recommendation

The coffeshop on the south side of Church Avenue, next to the Polish grocery store is a reliable breakfast place, and good for Greek salad too. George the waiter is super nice.

A falafel shop opened a few months ago (the Pita Stop?) on that stretch of Church Avenue as well.

For deliveries I like the Thai place at MacDonald & Abelmarle.

Posted by: vicki_vale at August 24, 2008 8:18 PM in response to Kensington

I have had with wireless devices. When the battery in the transmitter started to fade, it triggered a false alarm. That means ear-splitting sirens that will drive your neighbors crazy, and (eventually) a visit by the fire department or the police.

That said, I have had pretty good follow-up service from ADT in Brooklyn. They have made prompt service calls (no charge) to correct problems, and an ADT person did phone me within minutes of when the alarms were triggered.

I have no complaints about ADT, but if I had known about other providers, i might have considered others.

Posted by: vicki_vale at August 11, 2008 7:11 PM in response to Alarm options

Z Abedin (917 903 0196) just fixed a bunch of loose bricks and cast an additional 3' high concrete wall along the entire length of our brownstone foundation for reinforcement.

He normally does brownstone facade restoration, and his crew cleaned up everything. There was not even one smudge of cement on the sidewalk, where they mixed and hauled the buckets of stuff.

I was very happy with the results.

Dineen's work is impeccable, if A+ mint quality is important to you, but they do charge quite a bit more for it.

Posted by: vicki_vale at August 11, 2008 6:59 PM in response to need exterior mason recs

There is no verified response anywhere in the State of New York. However on your 3rd false alarm you are fined by the city.
To Steve: Any problems or concerns you have with your alarm company should be addressed to the NYS Department of State who licenses all alarm companies and are very swift in dealing with consumer complaints.

Posted by: Bklyn Fire Alarm Guy at August 11, 2008 9:59 PM in response to Alarm options

We've used Dineen for several projects in our co-op. They tend to be more expensive than others, but they've always done very good work for us.

Posted by: steve246 at August 12, 2008 9:39 AM in response to need exterior mason recs

"Unfortunately it does not always work so well in brownstones because of the density of the walls and the materials used in the home."

Really? We have a 100 year old brownstone that's 2 stories with the wireless alarm system throughout and never had a problem with the signal getting anywhere. Floors in brownstones are wood with hollow gaps between, not solid cement. People probably wish brownstone construction had more solid floors. As everyone knows who has actually lived in a brownstone, noise travels pretty well through wood floors in brownstones. As do signals. Our wireless modem also works all the way from the top floor to the basement den, so does our cordless phone.

We also haven't had a problem with false alarms, to address something else somebody said was a problem with wireless. Not even once. We've had the system for 2 years now. I'm not saying everyone should get wireless. I was just surprised to hear of these problems.

Posted by: traditionalmod at August 12, 2008 9:45 AM in response to Alarm options

Park Slope Brownstone is excellent. They do rough work as well as finished facades. 646 554 4513.

Posted by: Arkady at August 12, 2008 10:19 AM in response to need exterior mason recs

I second the Z. Abedin recommendation. Great job and price.

Posted by: cmontgom at August 12, 2008 10:58 AM in response to need exterior mason recs

@ Traditionalmod: You will most likely be OK on 2 floors. The problem comes when the receiver is on the 1st floor or in the basement and the want to put a wireless transmitter on the roof hatch. Those transmitters are not making it through 4 levels. Your cordless phones and wifi are very different animals as they transmit with much more power.

Posted by: Bklyn Fire Alarm Guy at August 12, 2008 11:00 AM in response to Alarm options

I am an artist working on a proposal and I am looking for process pictures of a brownstone facade being redone - I am especially interested in the cement under-surface and the recreation of fine detail. Any body got a flicker page they could direct me too?

Posted by: superblocks at August 12, 2008 11:52 AM in response to need exterior mason recs

We have a brick face and have used Milad for the work. He is reliable and does excellent work. You can reach him at 718-669-8305.

Posted by: onHalseySt at August 12, 2008 3:53 PM in response to need exterior mason recs

But just to clarify, our receiver IS in the basement. Still no problems for us. We are 2 stories with finished English basement, single family brownstone house.

Posted by: traditionalmod at August 12, 2008 4:30 PM in response to Alarm options

I have Slomin Shield and must say it is a great option. It is really reasonable. Plus they knew a lot about the area and crime statistics which helped give a piece of mind. I'm sure most alarm companies have the same deal as them with free installation and equipment. But it's at least worth checking them out.

P.S. we use wireless b/c of new construction. As others have mentioned it could be harder or need a different type with older construction.

All the best

Posted by: c2 at August 12, 2008 10:24 PM in response to Alarm options