Down & Dirty in NJ

A public service message for my New Jersey reader:

The New Jersey governor’s race is getting so down and dirty that nothing is off limits. Not even Chris Christie’s driving the wrong way on a one-way street, crashing into a motorcyclist, sending the motorcyclist to the hospital, flashing his US Attorney ID to get out of a ticket, apparently settling a lawsuit with a non-disclosed settlement and then lying about ever being sued in the first place.

Buildings Graft Shocker

[Investigators] captured crooked city workers taking mere $50 and $100 payoffs to ignore violations that had the potential to halt construction at several sites, most of them in The Bronx.

Behold the Power of the Interwebs

The saga of the Post’s policy for ripping off blogs continues. The mainstream media mining blogs for leads is an old story, but this time around, Ms. Heather has gotten noticed. Or more to the point, the Post’s inane policy for attribution has gotten noticed.

I can independently verify Einstein’s theory of relativity. That doesn’t mean I should call it my own. The Post has no more right to its “exclusive” based on its own verification of a blog post.

Williamsburg Businesses Fear Eminent Domain

I’ve said it before, but regardless of whose vision of Broadway Triangle comes to fruition, manufacturing will be displaced. The City’s plan replaces manufacturing with residential, as does the BTCC plan. The important thing is to make sure that businesses in the Triangle can relocate (and relocate nearby). For that to happen, someone has to pony up some serious money (and that should happen before the Council signs off on anything). CB1 made funding for industrial relocation a condition of their approval, and since then David Yassky and Vito Lopez have signed on, as has Marty Markowitz (who went a step further). If it can happen in Willets Point, it should happen here.

Ratner Eyeing SHoP for AY Arena?

The choice seems a face-saving move for Forest City, as a substantial backlash from public officials and the press followed its decision to drop Mr. Gehry in the name of cost

Whatever the reason, it’s a good choice. Policy and procedure aside, if Forest City Ratner is going to build an arena, it oughta be a damn nice one. SHoP has the potential to design a better arena than Gehry – though I doubt it would be substantially cheaper.

[via Curbed]

The District 33 Transpo Debate

It wasn’t the only question on which Simon and Thies distinguished themselves. While the two Kens showed a solid commitment to street safety measures like automated enforcement and traffic-calming infrastructure, Simon and Thies consistently displayed a broader and more current grasp of transportation issues.

My take exactly.

Sea Restaurant: Brooklyn’s Latest Hot Spot

clearly Sea is a popular Williamsburg spot.

Yes, popular for people who don’t live in Williamsburg. (Can we call it a B&T crowd if we’re already on the wrong side of the bridge?)

Honestly, I have absolutely no idea why Sea is popular. But it’s nice to see that the Examiner (“insider source for everything local”) is discovering our local restaurants. Seven years after the fact.

The Diana Reyna Monologues

EmptySeats2.JPG
Photo: Aaron Short

Not unexpectedly, Maritza Davila and Gerry Esposito were no-shows at the Churches United “debate” on Monday night (even Diana was only there a short while). A shame, as the voters in the 34th really deserve a chance to hear the candidates explain themselves.

WFMU Fest at Music Hall of Williamsburg

wfmu.jpg

October 1st, 2nd, and 3rd: Krautrock pioneers Faust, with Cold Cave and Aluk Todolo; a home run punk fest featuring Pissed Jeans, TV Ghost, Vee Dee, and Guinea Worms; No Wave legends Teenage Jesus and the Jerks plus a triple attack setup of NYC noisemongers Sightings, Drunkdriver, and Talk Normal.