New CB1 Liquor License Rules

Aaron Short has the info on the new rules and guidelines that CB1 instituted for new liquor license applications. Most of the rules codify what CB1 has been looking for all along, and try to rein in the biggest sources of complaints, in particular outdoor areas – limiting hours of operation for outdoor spaces, etc. (the rules don’t require a full kitchen for bars with outdoor spaces, as reported, but they do require seated food service at all times). As Short notes, all talk of moratoriums and (worse) a ban on liquor licenses in “residentially-zoned” areas (which accounts for 90% of CB1) are off the table.

And for those concerned that the new rules will restrict nightlife, its worth noting that CB1 approved 9 (out of 11) new licenses this month, all of which voluntarily met the new rules (as have most of the applicants for the past year or more). The two rejections were no-shows.

Santorini: Pay What You Feel the Food Is Worth – Forever

What it boils down to is that people are inherently good, and when a decision like this is left up to them they’ll usually take the high road.

And with that, Santorini ends the experiment and makes it a permanent thing. At any price, the food is worth it.

Midnight Lick Leases Space in Williamsburg

This is an interesting development – Kalmon Dolgin/Midnight Lick is converting a number of buildings in industrial locations for creative-arts businesses. Yet another example of viable (and job-creating) uses for former manufacturing buildings that don’t involve condos, clubs or hotels. Encouraging.

Most Holy Trinity Church Holiday Tours

Urban Oyster is leading tours of Most Holy Trinity on Montrose Avenue on December 17 and January 7. The church in its current incarnation dates to 1885 (William Schickel, architect), but the congregation itself goes back to 1841, when it was founded by German immigrants. It was the second Catholic parish in Williamsburg, and Brooklyn first National parish.

Urban Oyster does some great tours – this one is also for a good cause, to raise money for “Trinity Human Service Center, a nondenominational food pantry and charity that operates in the church basement”.

Hipster Highway Hellzone

12/06/2011 | Comment

‘It’s well known that it is a dangerous place,’ said grieving mom Rachel McCulloch, whose hipster son, 28-year-old Neil Chamberlain, was killed during an early morning hit and run on McGuinness in April 2010.

Note to the Daily News – it’s not just hipsters who are losing their lives on McGuinness Boulevard. And Chamberlain’s mother is right – McGuinness Boulevard is a well-known accident waiting to happen. Since 1995, this 15-block, 4-lane “boulevard” has seen over 100 pedestrians or cyclists run over by motor vehicles1. 11 of those pedestrians lost their lives (almost half of them were 60 years old or older), as did 3 cyclists. As best as I can tell, only 2 of these 14 fatalities involved “hipsters”.

For the record, here is a partial list of the people who have lost their lives trying to cross the “hipster hellzone”:

Richard Iwaszkiewicz – 61, a baker was hit in April 1995
In 1996 an unidentified woman, aged 60 was killed
Joseph LoCurto, a construction worker on the McGuinness Boulevard renovation project was killed in December, 1998
In 2002, an unidentified male pedestrian in his 30s was killed
Liz Byrne, aged 45 was killed in September 2005
Maria Piatkiewicz, 67, a neighborhood resident was run over by a van in July 2008
Solange Raulston, a 33-year-old DJ was killed while riding her bicycle in December 2009
Neil Chamberlain a 28-year-old web designer was killed on his bike in April 2010

The thing is, McGuinness Boulevard has been a hell zone for years now. Write an article about that, and skip the gratuitous “hipster” headlines.

1 The data here was compiled from Crashstat.org, which has information through 2009 only; the names of the victims were compiled through Google searches and searches of local newspapers, like the Daily News.↩

Brooklyn Brewery WAREHOUSE Sold

11/29/2011 | Comment

Regarding the earlier confusion (mine and others) as to exactly which part of the Brooklyn Brewery recently sold, I received the following from the Brewery’s PR:

BROOKLYN (29 Nov 2011)—Recent reports have misleadingly indicated that The Brooklyn Brewery building in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has been sold. The Brooklyn Brewery operations are housed in two locations: one at 79 North 11th Street in which the brewery, tasting room and corporate office are situated; and another across the street at 118 North 11th Street, the ground floor of which is occupied by our warehouse. It is only the building holding our warehouse that has been sold – our lease at this location does not expire until 2025. The notion that The Brooklyn Brewery is in danger of losing its home is erroneous.

Haircut for Not an Alternative

Late last summer, the Change You Want See Gallery/Not An Alternative lost its lease on its space at 84 Havemeyer Street. The 240% rent increase was too much for the gallery/co-working space/activist hub. In a sign of the times, Brownstoner now tells us who will be affording that rent – a high-end barbershop (from Carroll Gardens, no less).

All’s well that ends well, though – Not An Alternative has landed new space on the Greenpoint waterfront.

Signal Problems

11/28/2011 | Comment

Signal problems

How was your commute today? According to the MTA, the software problems (caused by the weekend work that shut down the line all day Saturday and Sunday??) that ruined your morning ride to work are still going on this evening. In fact, it’s so bad that @NYC_L_trains hasn’t even bothered tweeting its daily “L train service has resumed with residual delays” message.

Remember, it’s this switching software that is supposed to improve headway on the L train, making it possible to run even more trains per hour during peak times. It’ll be great. So long as there no sick passengers. And no stuck doors. And no inclement weather. And no more software glitches.