Author: Halden

Charlatans & Cowards

07/08/2011 | Comment

Kevin Drum on the pitiful jobs report out this morning:

We are ruled by charlatans and cowards. Our economy is in the tank, we know what to do about it, and we’re just not going to do it. The charlatans prefer instead to stand by and let people suffer because that’s politically useful, while the cowards let them get away with it because it’s politically risky to fight back. Ugh indeed.



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Rose Plaza Now a Conversion?

07/01/2011 | Comment

rose-plaza.jpg

Rose Plaza: Not Coming Soon to a Waterfront Near You??

Brownstoner reports this morning that 484 Kent Avenue has a DOB permit to convert the top two floors of the building to 30 residential units. The ground floor will remain as warehouse use.

Presumably, this means that the grand plans for Rose Plaza – and its 240 affordable housing units – aren’t going to come to fruition anytime soon. If that’s the case, that is the second affordable housing project in a week to put an affordable housing promise on long-term hiatus.

Crown Vic

06/29/2011 | Comment

Interesting item on CB1’s crowded liquor license agenda this month – an application for a bar at 60 South 2nd Street, to be called Crown Victoria. A bar, on a list of 34 bars and restaurants (it was a quiet month), is not that interesting.

But the location is – this is a site that was just rezoned for residential use. The garage at 60 South 2nd, soon to be converted to an eating and drinking establishment, sits on the portion of the property that is slated for affordable housing as part of a larger development. According to the owners of Crown Vic, they have a 10-year lease.

Why Brooklyn Lives Up To The Hype

06/28/2011 | Comment

Gothamist has a sure-to-linked-to (and debated) list of 100 reasons why Brooklyn lives up to the hype.

We do seem to be living in a moment of Brooklyn triumphalism, so it’s to be expected there’s a backlash against Brooklyn’s hyped hip cachet. But what’s remarkable is that as overhyped and overmarketed as Brooklyn gets, it still manages to live up to its reputation—and often exceed it. Over the past twenty years, we’ve watched as Manhattan’s character has been steadily stripped away and strangled into a strip mall of American homogeneity. Meanwhile, Brooklyn keeps getting better.

Some local highlights:

  • 100. Street art
  • 95. Peter Pan Donuts
  • 88. Singing Subaru Guy
  • 87. The Prettiest Little Sewage Treatment Plant in Town
  • 83. Saltie
  • 81. Giglio Lift
  • 79. Graham Avenue Meats & Deli
  • 77. Brooklyn Kitchen & Meat Hook
  • 74. Kent Avenue Bike Lane
  • 69. The McKibben Dorms
  • 68. Dressler
  • 66. RUBULAD
  • 61. Brooklyn Flea [1/2 point to Fort Greene]
  • 60. Bowling
  • 53. Smorgasburg
  • 51. Pizza [Roberta’s and Motorino among others]
  • 50. McCarren Park
  • 49. Coffee Dominance
  • 47. Agrarianism
  • 46. City Reliquary
  • 43. Franklin Street
  • 42. Open Space Alliance
  • 39. DIY Music Venues [Todd P and Glasslands, among others]
  • 33. Third Ward
  • 29. Old School Italian [no mention of Williamsburg/Greenpoint, tho]
  • 28. Ferries
  • 25. NAG [Hell yeah!]
  • 23. Art
  • 22. Spectacular views
  • 17. Low-Budget Films, Homegrown Filmmakers, and the Festivals That Love Them
  • 9. Brooklyn Beers
  • 5. Small Presses, Literary Journals, & Art Mags

Bushwick Creek, The Movie

06/23/2011 | Comment

Filmmaker Brian Walsh has made a movie about Bushwick Creek and what lies beneath. The movie was based in part (or maybe inspired by is a better phrase) a blog post I wrote over four years ago, and which was, in turn, inspired by Bob Guskind’s reporting on the “Roebling Oil Field”.

Brian’s film is posted in five parts – part 1 is shown here, but go watch the rest. It is well done, and an interesting – and eye-opening – look at the environmental legacy of North Brooklyn.

Bushwick Creek – Part 1


UPDATE: Original video link was missing sound for the first few seconds. Fixed.

Fushimi on Driggs

Fushimi, the Asian Fusion restaurant with branches in Staten Island and Bay Ridge, is getting ready to sling sashimi in a new, 7,200-square-foot space on Driggs Avenue in Williamsburg. The restaurant revealed on its website that it plans to serve its Japanese specialties in an open bar under a 30-foot glass-enclosed ceiling, promising a “family-friendly, yet stylish setting that will appeal to upscale, late-night crowds, as well as families and hipsters alike.” LOL!

Fushimi* = Asian fusion, get it?

Coming soon to 475 Driggs, the new condo at the corner of North 10th.

Wednesday is Parking Day at City Council

06/20/2011 | Comment

The City Council’s Transportation Committee is holding a hearing on Wednesday to consider a slew of parking-related bills. One that stands out is Int. 372, sponsored by CM Levin, which would suspend alternate side of the street parking on blocks surrounding a film shoot. So if the orange cones go up, you won’t be stuck looking all over for a legal parking space.

I bet this resonates with Greenpoint residents today, as most of the neighborhood north of Greenpoint Avenue was cordoned off with orange cones this morning.