Seriously, don’t we have bigger issues to tackle around here?
Bench Warfare
Stapleton is the New Williamsburg
Correction: March 18, 2012
In an earlier version of this article, a timeline misidentified a Williamsburg diner in a photo from 2000. The restaurant was Relish, not Miss Williamsburg Diner.
Whole Foods Confirmed
Aaron Short – who is clearly on a roll – confirms the Whole Foods on North 4th Street rumor. Commence the all-out Williamsburg-is-over discussion.
Passing the Sugar
Aaron Short does some good reporting to advance the Domino story. Among the enticing new nuggets is word that the owners had a deal to sell the project for $200 million back in December. According to Short, that deal fell through after some of the 15 investors on the buyer’s side “got skittish about the project’s finances and zoning variances”.
Domsey Site Hits Market at $52.5 Million
The former Domsey site (which went to foreclosure auction last month) is now on the market. (Don’t be fooled by the picture showing North 3rd Street; the site is at South 8th and Kent.)
No L Train This Weekend
You’ve been warned.
Is This the End of Williamsburg Nightlife?
Short answer: no.
Metropolitan’s liquor license is resting on tenuously safe ground. The community board can only make recommendations to the State Liquor Authority — they don’t have the actual power to take away a bar’s booze.
Somewhat longer answer: Metropolitan’s liquor license is very safe (despite the fact that most of the patrons quoted in the article pretty much admit the place is a bad neighbor) – SLA has stated categorically that a liquor license is just like a driver’s license, perpetually renewable unless the license holder engages in some act of malfeasance (criminal activity, not paying (enough) excise taxes).
How Long Have You Lived Here?
Greg Hanlon has a lengthy and thoughtful piece on the controversy over co-locating a Success charter school in JHS 50, and last week’s hearing on the same subject. As I said a few days ago, there are strong and passionate arguments on both sides of the debate, and they deserve to be well-reported. Hanlon (as usual) does that – delving into the issues and motivations on both sides of the issue.
Occupy Baby
This is beautiful. Welcome Mila, and congratulations to Beka and Jason.
Williamsburg Bars Going to ‘L’
The constant weekend shutdowns needed to upgrade subway signals on the L line is taking its toll on the blossoming Williamsburg bar scene — with hipster hangouts reporting huge drops in profits.
Weekend closures are a problem if you have a business located near one of the City’s busiest stations on weekends.