The Scrappy Brooklyn Restaurant That Forever Changed New York’s Food Scene

The shocking thing about Diner isn’t necessarily that it helped to usher in a whole new generation of restaurants across New York and the country that were serving grass-fed beef and local cabbage; it’s that Diner, despite the influx of condos and salad chains to its neighborhood, is still cool — and not just cool, but also nice about it.

DOE Says School Will Be Built Near Greenpoint Toxic Site

The Department of Education has told Laura Hanrahan at the Greenpoint Post that they are moving ahead with plans to construct a K-5 school at part of the Greenpoint Landing site that sits next to a Superfund spill at the NuHart Plastics factory. This comes as news to CM Steve Levin and local advocates who have working to find a less potentially toxic place for a grade school.

What the article doesn’t make clear is that the developer of the NuHart site has no plans to clean up the part of the spill that sits under the intersection of Franklin Street and Dupont Street. That part of the plume has been slowly migrating towards the school site, and based on the most recent data is now within a few feet of the school site.

McCarren Park Track Reopens

Looks great, and ahead of schedule, I think. (But not sure if this opening includes the soccer field, which was the major focus of the renovations.)

Retail Vacancies Abound near the Bedford Avenue L Stop

Does “L-mageddon already has a prime span of Williamsburg’s Bedford Avenue in its grip”?

A lot of the examples shown around Bedford and North 7th have been vacant or under-rented for ages. Add to this the long-standing shittyness of this stretch of Bedford and the insanely high rents, and I’m a bit skeptical that this is all about the L train. But it sure doesn’t help.

(Special bonus for long-time Northside denizens – a cameo appearance by Kenn Firpo!)