Month: January 2008
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Building Brooklyn Awards – 2008
I was very disappointed to learn that last year’s Building Brooklyn Awards did not include a single North Brooklyn project. Given the sheer volume of new construction in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, you would think that there was at least one decent new building. But alas, no – North Brooklyn was shut out in 2007 (as…
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No Pie for You
Via Gothamist, word that Pies ‘n’ Thighs is, as of tomorrow (the 16th), no more. Seems they were unable to withstand the juggernaut that is the Department of Health, and are throwing in the towel. DOH has been on a rampage ever since those rats showed up in that KFC in the Village – unfortunately,…
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Uncommitted
More election quirks – in addition to allowing crossover votes, Michigan also allows people to vote “uncommitted”. I think its pretty remarkable that almost 15,000 would go out of their way to pull the lever for “uncommitted”. That’s almost as many people as went out of their way to vote for Rudy (who is making…
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Don’t Get Too Comfortable
From yesterday’s Post, news that the New York Water Taxi is still running – to Yonkers. With the help of $1.2 million from a State and Federally-funded grant to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, NYWT is running daily commuter service to Yonkers (Westchester County) and Haverstraw (Rockland County). The larger grant, which totals $4.2 million,…
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As Le Bleu Falls so Falls Le Jolie
Today’s Brownstoner report that the rates at Hotel Le Bleu in Gowanus prompted me to see what was going on at our own Le Jolie (on the BQE). Looks like more of the same – a room for two this weekend starts at $169 per night – a fair drop from the opening day rates…
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Charter School in PS 84?
No details in this Post article, but it has long been rumored that one of Brooklyn’s four new charter schools would be at PS 84. There is certainly plenty of room for one there.
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Praise and Questions for $400 Million Housing Plan
I spoke too soon – today’s Times has a somewhat detailed analysis of Spitzer’s new affordable housing proposal (of which, so far, few details have been released). Not surprisingly, Senate Republicans are reserving judgement.
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Johnny Podres (1932-2008)
Podres pitched Brooklyn to its first (and only) World Series win. [Tommy] Byrne, his pitching opponent in Game 7 of the ’55 World Series, died last month at 87.
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Spitzer’s Affordable Housing Plan
Everyone who cares about making housing affordable should be excited by this historic announcement. We finally have a Governor who understands just how serious the housing crisis has become in all regions of the state. Building affordable housing is one of the most effective economic development strategies available to government. [Ted Houghton, SHNNY] It seems…
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It’s a Housing Problem
[Behavior] is not the fundamental issue when rent for a two-bedroom is $1,100 and someone is making minimum wage… It’s a housing problem, and you need a housing solution,” he said. “At the end of the day, the working poor in this city do not make enough without some sort of subsidized housing. Indeed –…