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‘Parks Working Out as Smoke-Free Zones, City Says’
Via City Room: “When a ban on smoking in city parks took effect one year ago, some tobacco partisans vowed it would not stick, that it was unenforceable, that they would flout it to their dying breaths. But on Wednesday the city said the ban had been largely, if not entirely, effective: the number of smokers observed in 13 selected parks in Manhattan and Brooklyn was 68 percent lower in October 2011 than in October 2010. …And all this with only a gentle puff of enforcement: 221 smoking tickets have been issued on city parkland since the ban went into effect: fewer than one per day.” The photo above was taken at a Brooklyn park yesterday evening at around 8. The face of the person smoking a cigarette has been photoshopped.
Parks Working Out as Smoke-Free Zones, City Says [City Room]
05/24/2012 10:00 AM
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Lefferts Hotel Forced to Remove Illegal Signage
The Lefferts Hotel at 127 Lefferts Place in Clinton Hill has been a blight on the neighborhood ever since we arrived in 2005 so any news about the owners being forced to play by the rules is good news as far as we’re concerned. There’ve been numerous DOB violations (9) and complaints (47) over the years (not to mention drug and prostitution-related shutdowns by the police) so it was nice to see the Buildings Department react so swiftly when it received a certified letter recently from someone in the community requesting that the signage violations, which had been ignored by the owners for years, be enforced. As the photo above shows, both signs, including the one on the roof that was deemed unsafe, were removed.
05/11/2012 10:00 AM
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CB6 OKs Barclays Booze License, Denies Kemistry Lounge
We didn’t cover the Community Board 6 liquor license meeting yesterday in the flesh, but other outlets are reporting that the board’s committee on such matters approved the license for Barclays Center and then gave a thumbs-down to Kemistry Lounge, a nearby bar. With reference to the Barclays application, Atlantic Yards Report notes that “the applicant, Levy Premium Foodservice and Brooklyn Events Center, must set up a community liaison and also make sure the arena moves ahead with security, sanitation, transportation plans, there’s essentially no roadblock–not that it was assumed that the State Liquor Authority (SLA) would deny the application.” The application had previously been approved by Community Board 2, and no public comments were taken on the matter. Meanwhile, the hot-button issue of the night was Kemistry Lounge’s second appearance before the board requesting approval for a license that would involve constructing a proposed nightclub on Flatbush and Prospect Place. Park Slope Patch reports that the committee unanimously voted to deny the application, with two abstentions. Here is what Patch has to say about it: “Kemistry Lounge at 260 Flatbush Avenue, which is not open and still under construction, is located between Prospect Place and St Marks Avenue and plans to be a 225-person upscale lounge with bottle service at tables, a private party room with a dance floor in the basement and live music and DJs. But the aspect that disturbed the residents of Prospect Place the most was the fact that the establishment runs from Flatbush Avenue to Prospect Place and has three large plate glass windows and an exit on to the residential street. The vote on whether to recommend that the State Liquor Authority grants Kemistry Lounge a liquor license or not came at the end of a heated public comment period where about 50 Prospect Place residents, unified under the moniker Prospect Place Neighbors, voiced their belief that their residential street is not the right location for a ‘nightclub.’” Patch reports that one resident voiced objections on the grounds that it would be the biggest nightclub in central Brooklyn (capacity: 225) and only the second with bottle service. Evidently the community board committee made a motion to approve the application if the owner was willing to close down at midnight on weeknights and 2 a.m. on weekends, but one of its co-owners said that would make the business unsustainable. It’s possible, of course, that the State Liquor Authority will still approve the club’s request despite the community board’s vote. Atlantic Yards Report has more quotes and video on the Kemistry discussion in a separate post.
Community Board 6 Committee Supports Arena Liquor License with Stipulations [AY Report]
Community Board 6 Rejects Kemistry Lounge’s Liquor License Application [Park Slope Patch]
Community Board 6 Committee Disapproves Kemistry Lounge Liquor License Application [AY Report]
Rendering of one of the Barclays Center’s clubs
04/24/2012 9:31 AM
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Park Slope Parents Want You to Know Nanny Pay, TYVM!
Attention! Park Slope Parents has sent out a press release! It is entitled, “HOW MUCH FOR A LITTLE “PARENTAL R & R”? PARK SLOPE PARENTS RELEASES DATA FROM BABYSITTER SURVEY”! Park Slope Parents takes this stuff seriously, and yes, one can enjoy a PowerPoint presentation on the subject of the group’s 2012 survey results. This stats-friendly bunch has some key findings to share with you:
Babysitter Pay
* Average cost of babysitter for 1 child $14.50/hr
* Average cost of babysitter for 2 children $15.50/hr
* Average cost of babysitter for 3 children $16.80/hr
* Babysitters under 21 are paid $2-$3 less per hour than those over 21
* Babysitters watching children under 1 make $1 more per hour.
* 4 in 10 (38%) of babysitters make $74 or more on a typical night.
* $158 is the average cost of a date night AND babysitter combined (range $56-$229), not counting a car service or food for the sitter.
Babysitter Demographics
* 90% of all the babysitters are over 21 years old. Half (55%) employ babysitters who are 22-30 years old, with 10% using those 18-21 and 3 in ten (29%) use babysitters over 30. Only 7% employ babysitters under 18.
* 97% of these occasional babysitters are female.
* One third (33%) of babysitters live in the neighborhood, four in ten (41%) live close by (but not directly in the neighborhood), and one-fourth (25%) live father away.
Oddly, the race and ethnicity of the nannies or their employers does not seem to appear in the PowerPoint presentation, but there are testimonials for why people picked certain sitters. For example: “She shows up on time and is prompt in returning calls/texts. My son loves her. She’s a pleasure to work with!”
The Park Slope Parents Babysitter Survey Results, 2012 [Park Slope Parents; PowerPoint]
04/23/2012 2:00 PM
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First Shot Fired in War Over Al Fresco Burg Brunches
Last week the Brooklyn Paper reported that some members of Community Board 1, which oversees Williamsburg and Greenpoint, were going to try to get the city to enforce a law that prohibits outdoor seating at eateries before noon on Sunday, in part because the seating can block sidewalk space used by church-goers. Today, the New York Post reports that Lokal Mediterranean Bistro, on Lorimer, was given a citation yesterday for having outdoor seating before noon: “‘They are killing business and killing people’s jobs,’ griped Gino Kutluca, owner of Lokal Mediterranean Bistro at Lorimer and Nassau streets, which received the summons. Kutluca’s business had specifically been criticized by local community-board members for serving tables on the sidewalk — thus making it hard for people to walk past them to get to church — early in the day. The eatery owner will now have to show up in court June 11 to find out what the fine is.” The article doesn’t detail exactly when Lokal’s outdoor tables had been set out, so we don’t have a full picture of what the Post’s headline refers to as the “brunch punch to eatery.”
Brunch Punch to Eatery [NY Post]
Photo by RSFlckD4
04/23/2012 10:30 AM
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From the Forum: Skateboarding Violation on Putnam?
This post on the Brownstoner Forum jumped out at us: “Hi, I am wondering if anyone else is bothered by the skateboarders on Putnam Avenue. 144 Putnam transformed its back yard into a skate board park and the noise right now is unbearable. They’re having a huge party with a dj and cheering and very loud music. The noise from the 10′ skateboard ramp can be heard every single evening until late at night and the parties are becoming more frequent. Anyone have an idea as to how to deal with this? It goes way beyond live and let live and calling 311 dozens of times did nothing last spring and summer. Thanks.” There are some interesting responses to the post, some of which question whether the ramp is even legal. Anyone else have advice or thoughts to share? GMAP
Photo by Ghost of Kuji
04/10/2012 12:00 PM
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East Flatbush Residents Fear Hot-Sheets Hotel
This morning the Daily News has a story about how some East Flatbush residents are opposed to a hotel that’s being built on East 59th Street and Foster Avenue, fearing it will attract unsavory characters: namely, drug users/sellers and prostitutes. The News says that some of the folks opposed to the build are “threatening a ‘shaming campaign’ against frequent clients” and Councilmember Jumaane Williams is drafting a resolution that would require developers to bring plans to the community board even if they are OK on the zoning front, as is case with the hotel that’s being built. One of the hotel’s developers says the project will actually improve the neighborhood: “Co-owner Danny Mehta said his business won’t be the hot-sheets hotel neighbors fear. ‘It’s going to be a nice, clean hotel,’ he said, adding the 35-room hotel would not have hourly rates. ‘They are misunderstanding.’ Much of the area is surrounded by junkyards, but Mehta cited a new BJs and Home Depot nearby as evidence it is an ‘up and coming area.’ ‘Instead of all junkyards, it’s going to be a new hotel. It’s better for that area,’ he said. “In that neighborhood family comes to visit family, and they need a room. Same thing for funerals, weddings, reunions.’” The hotel is supposed to open sometime next year and Mehta says he hopes to eventually come to an understanding with the neighbors who are opposed to the project.
Neighbors Fight New Hotel in East Flatbush They Fear Will Draw Prostitution and Drugs [NY Daily News]
Image of lounging woman via Shutterstock
04/10/2012 10:00 AM
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Upping Security in Flatbush, Fixing Bathrooms in the Slope
Last week we had a rundown on the projects in Councilmember Brad Lander’s district that received the most votes for funding via participatory budgeting, which will receive $1 million earmarked for them in the 2013 budget. This weekend the Times had a story on the subject that included news about the other Brooklyn district that was included in the participatory budgeting experiment, that of Councilmember Jumaane Williams, whose district runs from East Flatbush to Midwood. In contrast to Lander’s district (which includes the Slope and Carroll Gardens, among other neighborhoods), which had many proposals involving educational facilities, Williams’s district was most concerned with increasing levels of security in various ways. To wit: “Security was the primary concern for Mr. Williams’s district. …The proposal that drew the most votes was a $400,000 plan for security cameras at seven locations. Residents also voted to spend $450,000 on two proposals that would add lights to each of the district’s parks and the field behind the Tilden Educational Campus, where, among the shadows, classmates of Marcus Monfiston, 16, a student there, have been attacked.” In Lander’s district, the proposal that garnered the most votes was fixing the bathrooms at P.S. 124 in Park Slope.
The Voters Speak: Yes to Bathrooms [NY Times]
Winners of Park Slope Funding Contest Announced [Brownstoner]
Screengrab via video on Tilden lighting proposal from JumaaneWilliams
04/09/2012 9:00 AM
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Vid: ‘Will Whole Foods Destroy Brooklyn?’
Yeah, they make the trip to the Park Slope Food Co-op to ask the folks there about what they think of Whole Foods coming to 3rd Street and 3rd Avenue. Also, one neighborhood activist quoted at the end who is against the grocer says she believes Whole Foods has some unspecified “hoops to go through” before they can actually build.
Will Whole Foods Destroy Brooklyn? [Reason.TV/YouTube]
04/03/2012 11:00 AM
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How Sweet it Isn’t? Calls for Prospect Park Ice Cream Ban
The Post reports that an online brouhaha erupted on the Park Slope Parents message board over whether ice cream vendors should not be allowed in Prospect Park. The way it’s framed in the Post, the debate revolves around parents not wanting to say “no” when their kids spy the tasty treats being sold in the park. Here’s a quote: “‘I should not have to fight with my children every warm day on the playground just so someone can make a living!’ the poster wailed. ‘I too was at the 9th Street Playground on Monday, and one of the vendors just handed my 4-year-old an ice cream cone. I was furious.’” Some local parents say the debate is silly. And so do some of the nannies watching the kids of local parents: “Dixie Kissoon, a nanny who also took her charges to Harmony recently, wishes the worked-up moms and dads would just get a life. ‘They’re obnoxious,’ she said. ‘There’s no harm in this.’”
Park Slope Parents Back Ban on Ice-Cream Trucks in Prospect Park
Photo by fstopfour
04/02/2012 11:00 AM
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Slope Residents Worry About Another Arena-Area Club
Last night at the Community Board 6 permits meeting emotions ran high as many Park Slope and Prospect Heights neighbors spoke out against plans to build another “nightclub/lounge” near the coming Barclays Center, on Flatbush Avenue between 6th Avenue and Prospect Place. The exact location is 260 Flatbush Avenue, the single story building with plans to add another seven stories. Residents expressed concern that the building would have an exit on mostly-residential Prospect Place. Meanwhile, owners of the bar, which is dubbed “Kemistry Lounge” for now, assured residents that the exit onto Prospect—which is currently a glass-fronted, one-story building—would be bricked over and would only be used as an emergency exit. The owners also pointed out that the space will not be a nightclub, rather a bar with occasional live entertainment. But residents saw the Kemistry Lounge Facebook Page (which has since been removed, although here’s a teaser website), and spoke out against what they saw depicted there. One Prospect Place resident stated: “We are the wrong demographic to have that type of place in our neighborhood.” Another man, who plans to have children, threatened to move out of his home if the bar moves in, saying, “look at the people who are attracted to this lounge,” referring to the “high energy” crowd he depicted from the Facebook page. The usual concerns about noise, crime, the proliferation of bars and parking were also discussed. It seemed unclear how the extra seven stories planned for the building, which is only one-story high at present, would work into plans for the bar, as the bar owner said DOB approved some work for the major enlargement but not all. Regina Cahill, of the Flatbush Avenue BID, told the audience that “we look forward to neighbors having open minds, and that this business agrees to be a good neighbor.” Kemistry Lounge agreed to meet with the BID and community members, which is what brought an end to the Prime Six debacle. Click through for a photo of what the one-story building on the site currently looks like.
Seven More Stories for 260 Flatbush Avenue [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark DOB (more…)
03/27/2012 9:30 AM
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Closing Bell: Bridge Rehab Slightly Behind Schedule
According to the Community Board 2 minutes for last month’s Public Transportation Committee, the large-scale reconstruction of the Brooklyn Bridge is a little behind schedule. The project, which started in summer 2010, involves a rehab of the approaches and ramps, painting the entire bridge, cleaning and reinstalling the granite stones, improving truck clearance at the BQE, and a “seismic retrofitting” of the bridge. DOT began on the Brooklyn side and will soon make its way over to the Manhattan side, meaning that the aluminum panels along the promenade will soon move closer to the city. DOT completed about 40 percent of the work so far, despite having a goal of being nearer to the 50 percent-mark at this point. Work will last until 2014, with overnight detours, which began last April, continuing until then.
Four More Years: B’klyn Bridge Work Starts [Brownstoner]
03/19/2012 4:00 PM
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Dumbo Residents Outraged by ‘Dangerous’ B25 Bus Route
A couple days ago the Brooklyn Paper ran a story about how Dumbo residents are extremely unhappy with how the B25 bus is routed through their neighborhood on Main Street, causing traffic jams and delays as “one or more buses get stuck between…delivery trucks and cars — creating a din of perpetual honking and screeching tires.” On top of that, folks who live in the neighborhood say the perpetual pileups make for dangerous pedestrian conditions. On the jump, we’re printing a series of letters that Dumbo residents have sent to elected officials and the MTA asking them to reroute the bus. Many express frustration with state Sen. Daniel Squadron’s lack of action on the issue. One of the letters, from Ethan Goldman, says the following, in part: “Main Street is simply not big enough to service this sort of constant, never-ending daily bus traffic, and there is no reason that it should be used as a ‘turn-around’ by the MTA. It is extremely dangerous, and it is a terrible and unsustainable traffic-flow situation. I have seen fist-fights and incidences of road rage.” Goldman also has the following to say about some possible MTA perfidy that’s in the works:
“The other part of this story is that DOT is planning major changes over at Old Fulton Street (without getting any Dumbo input) which is going to make this situation much worse (see attached). The bus used to run split between Old Fulton as a turnaround, and Main St. as a turnaround (it was terrible even then). But now that they are creating an unnecessary ‘plaza’ (right outside where Pete’s used to be and stretching all the way up to Front Street), they are making it so the bus can never use Old Fulton again. That means 150 buses a day (with no passengers) will no other access options and will permanently have to come into Dumbo. We have been trying to get MTA, DOT and Senator Squadron to help re-route the bus for a very long time with no luck.”
Update: A rep from Squadron’s office says that following a town hall meeting that the state senator organized with the MTA and DOT at the end of October the MTA committed to looking at three additional routes for the B25. However, the authority wants some sort of consensus between the many neighborhoods that would be affected by the bus being rerouted, since it also serves neighborhoods such as Fulton Ferry, Fort Greene and Brooklyn Heights. Squadron’s office is trying to organize another meeting to try to gain consensus between the various neighborhood groups that would be impacted by the rerouting.
Click through to read the letters from Dumbo residents about how they’re fighting to get the B25 rerouted. (more…)
03/14/2012 12:00 PM
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Cobble Hill on $350K, Revisited
Yesterday’s discussion on the difficulty (or not) of surviving in Cobble Hill on $350,000 a year resulted in the first triple-digit comment thread in quite some time. If you can overlook a little of vitriol and sarcasm, it’s actually quite an interesting debate. One of the comments that came in from a virgin commenter towards the end of the day was particularly worth highlighting, we thought:
Okay folks. I am a bonafide one-percenter and for 2011 I made something like what our subject makes, though for me, it is more of a low point, than a norm. I am used to making somewhat more. But I can attest to the fact that, after Fed/State/City taxes, after FICA, insurance, 401K contributions, etc, that take home would be around $200,000. I can also confirm that, while it is certainly not an amount to be sneezed at, that for me and my household, it represents a certain amount of belt-tightening, actually a lot of belt-tightening, and no, we really don’t feel like we live high on the hog. Our lifestyle is not all that different from many of our non-NYC friends making substantially less.
I am (unlike the subject) a Park Slope brownstone owner, but I got in several years ago, and rolled the equity from a co-op sale into the down-payment and reno costs. Still there’s the big mortgage. And then it costs a lot to insure and heat an antique home. And then there’s the fact that I work just about 24/7 and can’t do a lot of stuff myself, so we have to hire people to repair, clean and maintain the place.
Here’s the basic problem with my pal’s situation…
03/08/2012 10:43 AM
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In-the-Works McDonald’s Upsets Slopers
Healthy-eating Park Slope residents who toasted the demise of the KFC on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Warren Street will have a new public enemy to contend with following the purchase of the prominent site by McDonald’s last fall. Park Slope Patch recently talked to a few of them. “I’m not happy about it at all, no,” said the owner of Il Vino Torchio just down the block. “I don’t like chains. I wish they would put a better kind of restaurant there.” Once Boerum Hill resident had this to say: “I wasn’t a fan of the KFC, when it existed. I don’t eat fast food. Why would you when there are so many better options to choose from in the neighborhood?” The one person interviewed who saw the McFlurry cup as half full was the tender of a nearby bar who thought it would come in handy for late-night munchies.
Neighbors of 4th Ave McD’s-To-Be Have Bad Taste in Mouths [PS Patch]
Photo by Joanna Prisco
02/06/2012 2:42 PM
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Mixed Feelings About New Massage Parlor on Remsen
When the Brooklyn Heights Blog posted a story about the impending opening of a new massage parlor at 147 Remsen Street between Court and Clinton streets, reader responses were varied, but skewed, not surpringly, toward the NIMBY and sensational. “Oh boy – here come the 1970s all over again. Cue the wah-wah guitar,” wrote the initial commenter. “Sex in BH?! Maybe in the 70s, but never since. It’s not permitted. Or desired, putting aside real estate porn,” said another. “People please settle down. Everything is going to end happily!” wrote T.K. Small. “Finally a local business is opening that doesn’t rub this blog the wrong way,” wrote a reader who goes by Knight. The new spot is part of a chain called Massage Envy.
Massage Parlor coming to Remsen Street [BH Blog]
02/06/2012 10:15 AM
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Should Fowler Square Swallow Up South Elliott Place?
Fowler Square, at the commercial center of Fort Greene, is getting a makeover similar to the one at the Putnam Triangle. The creation of a public plaza seems to be a done deal but the scope of the project is still up in the air. From our coverage of a community meeting last summer:
There are currently three options on the table for the plaza’s redesign: The space can remain its current size (3,200 square feet); there could be a partial extension to Lafayette and South Elliot Place (making it 4,800 square feet with no parking spots lost and traffic flow maintained); or there could be a full extension to South Elliott Place (which means it would 8,600 square feet, two parking spots would be lost, and no through traffic would be allowed on South Elliott).
The FAB Alliance posted this video on its Facebook page last week. It doesn’t take long to figure out where the business group stands on closing South Elliott Place to make the plaza as big as possible!
Community Weighs In On Fowler Square Redesign [Brownstoner]
Concerns Aired at Fowler Square Plaza Meeting [Brownstoner]
02/06/2012 10:01 AM
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Affordable Nabes The Times Forgot?
As part of the feedback The Times got from readers on its article So You’re Priced Out. Now What?, a couple of readers wrote in to promote the affordable merits of their neighborhoods.
Not sure why Midwood in Brooklyn is constantly overlooked and undervalued. Home to Brooklyn College, one of the best schools in the CUNY system, and DiFara Pizza, this still largely Jewish (with huge influx of Russians and Ukrainians now) neighborhood is ridiculously safe and loaded with inexpensive shopping and services (I get a weekly massage for $50/hr at a fabulous Chinese spa). It could do with more restaurants and many are Kosher so closed on Fridays and Saturdays, but over all, great big houses at affordable prices (my husband and I bought a four-bedroom, 2,000-sq.-ft. town home for $550,000 two years ago) and near the subways (B/Q). – Sandi, Brooklyn
And one more…
Bushwick is still very underrated. The industrial area oof the Morgan L train gets most of the attention, but farther into the neighborhood (off the Dekalb, Mytle-Wyckoff and Halsey L train stops, and odd the Knickerbocker and Central M train stops), there are a lot of really beautiful streets of limestone brick houses that have a wonderful, family-oriented vibe. And of course there are new galleries and cafes constantly popping up farther into Bushwick. And it’s still more affordable than the “affordable” neighborhoods listed here! – hey hey, Bushwick, N.Y.
What other names were left out of the story?
Photo of Midwood by Matthew Chamberlain
02/06/2012 9:30 AM
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ruth2989
May 29, 2012 | 11:02 AM