Category: Linked

Fernando Maldonado was the chairman of his co-op board, until he was evicted from the building in the late 1980s. His name was never removed from the the deed of 242 South 2nd Street, so he was able to take out a mortgage on a property he hadn’t lived in in 20 years.

Two incidents in the past two weeks – be careful.

The co-owner of ‘inoteca is opening up a new place at 138 North 8th Street. This is the commercial space whose roof rights were a central point in the Finger Building saga (the space is part of the Finger Albero development site). CB1 approved a liquor license for the place back in November.

DSNY has shut down Vandervoort Street for snow melting operations.

Good day for rants about Brooklyn – here is Voice restaurant critic Bob Sietsema responding to Brooklyn restaurant haters Cuozzo, Steingarten and Sheraton:

I suspect Brooklyn’s detractors are simply too lazy to find a subway and board it, their tongues so accustomed to the familiar and prosaic that they don’t want to taste anything else. Their wits so dimmed by self-esteem that they’re unwilling to admit that the culinary world as they know it – a world of French cuisine, heavy silverware, pinkies in the air, and $500 tabs – hardly exists anymore as far as most of us are concerned.

There were 532 murders in the City last year, up 13% from 471 in 2009.

Statistically, 532 is in line with the average over the past five years (2009 was the lowest on record). And the City’s murder rate continues to be extremely low, both historically and compared to other major cities (and many smaller cities).

But not everyone is safer – 92% of the victims were minorities; 83% were male; and 62% were shootings (remarkably, all of the shooting deaths occurred outside Manhattan).

As Eugene O’Donnell of John Jay College of Criminal Justice put it:

‘Citywide stats can be misleading. If you go into the heart of the hub of criminal activity, it’s still extremely dangerous, and the residents there feel that, know that… [if] you’re an African-American, male teenager in Brooklyn north or the Bronx, you’re at much higher risk than other people.

Good article at BushwickBK explaining why Todd P’s New Year’s Eve bash was moved to Kent Avenue (and why you’re not likely to be getting a drink at the Ridgewood Masonic Temple for some time to come).

Absolutely stunning photographs, absolutely insane urban archaeology.