Monday, August 31, 2009
New York Dock buildings: new paint, and vacate
Way back in June Crain's and Brownstoner reported that Christie's auction house signed a deal for warehouse space in one of the New York Dock Co. buildings in Red Hook.
It now looks like they're doing paint tests on the buidling's exterior - different shades of grey and goldenrod maybe.
Also interesting is the big new VACATE notice posted Wednesday on the matching building next door. "The Department of Buildings has determined that conditions in these premises are imminently perilous to life. …"
This is the building with the "vacate" notice:
(I took all the pictures during my jog on Sunday afternoon.)
Thursday, July 30, 2009
B61 wild card to get more predictable?
It's official: the B61 bus route will break in two as of January, according to the MTA.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Demolition permits issued for Revere
Looks like permits were issued to tear down the last building standing at the Revere Sugar Factory site in Red Hook.
DEMOLITION OF A 5 STORY BUILDING A.K.A. BUILDING #9 A.K.A. 101 BEARD STREET
It was way back in November 2007 when the smokestack came down.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Brooklyn sand dunes
When I went out looking for the whale Thursday, I found there's little stretch of public beach with sand dunes facing the Verrazano Bridge. It's in Kaiser Park.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Changing Face of Red Hook
Here's another gauge of the changes in Red Hook. Last summer, at this same place next to the Brooklyn Cruise Ship Terminal, there was an old oil drum. Except typical Red Hook, it was leaking, and since it was big enough to fit a body, it sat there for about two months before anyone bothered to call the city and have it picked up.
But now, while there's the usual amount of building materials and other trash dumped at the end of Sullivan Street, you've got to give them credit that they're now labeling and dating the materials they're dumping in human-sized oil drums in Red Hook.
Labels: brooklyn, pictures, red hook
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Calexico
So this place promises to bring California-style Mexican food to Brooklyn.
Labels: brooklyn, restaurants
Thursday, December 18, 2008
No BJ's for Red Hook?
Judging by the massive banners on the last building standing at the Revere Sugar site, one suspects it's no longer on track to turn into a BJ’s Wholesale Club.
The picture is from yesterday, but those banners have actually been there at least three weeks.
Red Hook, so very far
The New York Times oddly has a little story today about the "Where is Osama" sign in Red Hook. It says:
It is quiet evidence, all these years later and all these miles from ground zero, that someone remembers — and remembers and remembers.How many miles?
That's 3.4 miles, according to Google Maps.
Maybe "all these miles" refers to how it feels if you're getting to Red Hook with the help of the B61 bus.
Labels: brooklyn, media, red hook
Friday, December 12, 2008
Salvage from the Borough of Churches
Earlier this week I did a post at NewYorkology about Olde Good Things, which salvages remarkable items from old buildings before they're torn down or renovated. They've got a huge store in Chelsea, where honestly you could spend hours.
They've got stuff from The Plaza hotel, the old Lamb's Club theater, items from one of Andy Warhol's factories as well as furniture to make your heart go pitter-patter.
I learned this morning the store also has a blog -- and they've added even more stuff to their new arrivals online shopping page. They've newly listed a stained glass window "salvaged from a church in Brooklyn" though it doesn't say which one.
Picture source: Olde Good Things
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Brooklyn hearts Obama
If you happen to be passing through the Buttermilk Channel and look toward Brooklyn, you'll see somebody with a lot of paint hearts Obama.
Labels: brooklyn, pictures, politics
Thursday, September 25, 2008
A sugar warehouse renovation?
So I'm not at all please that the old sugar factory could be home to a 6-story mall, but the Brooklyn Paper story contains this encouraging news: "Documents obtained by The Paper reveal that developer Joe Sitt wants to renovate a historic warehouse on the former Revere sugar refinery. ..."
Labels: brooklyn, pictures, red hook
Friday, September 12, 2008
Bike fatality at our old, dangerous intersection
Just a note for longtime readers of Amy's NY Notebook. When we used to live in Park Slope there seemed like there was about one wreck per week at our corner of 8th and President. On this site and at Buzznet, I'd post the pictures I'd taken with my new Treo.
Now the Brooklyn Paper reports a bicyclist was killed at the intersection this week.
Labels: brooklyn
More Revere Sugar demolition imminent?
There was action yesterday at the Red Hook Revere Sugar refinery site, and according to the new work permit it looks like the wharf building's about to come down.
There were also a couple guys on a boat with a big drill docked at the site.
So one can assume this is also officially the end of the Ikea overflow lot, which was more fiction than fact anyhow.
Labels: brooklyn, pictures, red hook
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Calling out thieving BuddyTV
I didn't plan on naming names, but Buddy TV didn't have the courtesy to even e-mail an apology, so I'm throwing down. It's among a number of sites that have treated my silly Real World Brooklyn street sightings picture as if it was a freebie handout from the network.
They used the picture fairly big, noted in the text that it was from NewYorkology and added a "courtesy of NewYorkology" credit. Cheekily, no hotlink. Hello, this is the Internet, right? If you're running a website (especially one with a big editorial staff, mega-traffic and you brag about your biz-school pedigrees,) you should probably know that links are a form of online currency. Lifting a copyright image without permission is one thing. Lifting the image and not giving credit and a link to the source is far worse.
I e-mailed Buddy TV this morning -- and their response was to not reply to my e-mail. However, they've taken down the picture and removed the "courtesy of NewYorkology" as well.
I'm sure there's a good legal case to be made that the highest value of the picture was the first eight hours it went live on their site, and that taking it down does not remove the greatest part of the harm done.
In the past two weeks I've had to ask several sites to add attribution to those Real World pictures -- and most have been at least apologetic and have complied. One of the big-gun blogs was slow, whiny and pathetic and at one point hotlinked the "NewYorkology" photo credit to their own internal URL -- and then got snotty with me for not e-mailing the specific author of that specific post, rather than oh, you know, the editor at the site who didn't credit me a week earlier on the same picture.
By comparison - one newspaper site contacted me to buy some of the pictures to use in print, and another newspaper e-mailed asking to reprint them on the paper's blog - with a link and credit, thank you.
Earlier: 'Courtesy of' my cold thieving hands
Labels: brooklyn, media, red hook
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Giving up on the Water Taxi, again
So while we were away, IKEA/NY Water Taxi changed their rules and reduced the number of boats -- something they said they wouldn't do until September. So now on weekedays, the boats depart every 40 minutes, shuttling up to 71 passengers per trip. Priority is given to people who say they've shopped at the store (as there was no verification process when I was turned away yesterday afternoon.)
It's a free service, so it's hard to complain. But the real problem is that you can stand at the dock for 40 minutes, having no idea if you'll get on -- even if you've just bought a slew of Ikea goods. (A dozen Ikea shoppers were also turned away from the 4:20 boat yesterday.)
And of course if you miss the boat, it's a big deal. It means an extra 40 minutes for a shot at the next free ferry to Manhattan, or walk to the front of the Ikea store and board a bus that will take you to the subway. The Ikea buses -- also free -- run every 15 to 20 minutes (though the one I boarded was nearly full, so no telling how often you need to wait for a second bus.) Or take the MTA's B61 or B77, which are slaves to the usual whims of all MTA buses.
Here's the picture of the unhappy passengers getting turned away from the dock, and below, my twitter account of the scene,(which should be read from the bottom up.)
Ikea bus just dropped me off behind Boro Hall, abt 55 mins after i first walked up to Water Taxi dock about 17 hours ago from mobile web
BTW, no one checked for ikea stamps or receipts. Im now on the ikea bus to boro hall, skedded to leave in 15 mins. No receipt requested about 17 hours ago from mobile web
14 people got turned away including a dozen customers w kids. Next boat; 40 mins about 18 hours ago from mobile web
Ikea security guy showed up as the boat arrives to create the line for customers only. No line for non customers "stand outside" he says about 18 hours ago from mobile web
NYPD cop says she thinks there are 71 spots on the boat tho she knows nothin bout the stamps. Boats every 40 mins now so i may be screwed about 18 hours ago from mobile web
im at ikea hoping to get 4:20 boat to manhattan. Abt 50 people here, not really a line. No ikea staff, just an NYPD gal about 18 hours ago from mobile web
Labels: brooklyn, pictures, red hook
Friday, July 25, 2008
A $35 beer at Red Hook's newest bar, Botanica
From my NewYorkology Twitter feed last night:
just ordered fancy 10 dollar cocktails at brand new bar Botanica, two blocks from Sunnys on Conover in Red HookCocktails were indeed good - and extremely potent.
husband ordered Death in the Afternoon: champagne, absinthe and san bitters
There's a 35 dollar beer on the menu, albeit for a 25 ouncer
This place went in fast, as I think renovations on the place started in June, maybe even early July. While we were there, nearly every car that drove by inched to a crawl as the drivers craned there necks to see what had just opened.
It's located at the corner of Conover and Coffey, map -- directly next to one of the last stops of the B77 bus (since the B77 now extends to Beard for Ikea service.)
Labels: bars, brooklyn, pictures, red hook
Thursday, July 24, 2008
To BWAC, or not to BWAC
The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition show opens in Red Hook this weekend. Notice something about their ad for the show?It's the wrong building.
That arrow pointing to "hot art" is actually the end of Pier 41, where MTV is reportedly moving in. BWAC is actually at 499 Van Brunt -- the other side of Fairway -- and not on a pier.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
QM2 backing in
So apparently I'm still on London time, as I was up around 4 a.m. getting work done, then decided to go for a jog. I got out the front around 5:30 a.m. and ... Hello, Queen Mary 2. We've been living here more than a year, but I hadn't yet timed it right to head out and see her do the 180-degree turn to back into the Buttermilk Channel.
It was so early that the gate was still locked to the Waterfront Museum park so I jogged over to the Valentino Pier. Man, what an awesome view. All I had was my camera phone, but I totally want to go back again with video.
Indeed the ship comes pretty close to the mouth of the channel, and then seemingly on a dime, pivots 180 degrees and then backs in. I think the whole thing's done in about 20 minutes.
There's a chance you may be able to see part of it on the Statue of Liberty webcam.
Here's the schedule of the QM2's upcoming cruise ship visits to Brooklyn:
August 7 and 19
September 4, 16 and 27
October 4, 16 and 28
November 1
Update: I think I'm probably wrong about the webcam view for the morning turn. Just now the QM2 pulled out and her bow appeared on the webcab while out my window I could still see her backside in the Buttermilk.
Here's the screengrab:
And by the way, that SOL webcam is adjacent to Pier 41, which is where the MTV "Real World" kids are reportedly moving in soon.
Labels: brooklyn, pictures, red hook
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Coming Soon: waterfront access, food vendors
Wow, looks like Red Hook is going to get even more public waterfront access.
And that reminds me that I took this picture Monday at the Red Hook ballfields:
And for you IKEA watchers ... there's now a stop light directly in front of the store by the Added Value gardens (in addition to the signal over by the parking lot.) And does anyone know if their buses are allowed on Van Brunt? The Boro Hall one has been using Van Brunt for at least the past few days.
Labels: brooklyn, pictures, red hook
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Last night's fireworks (another picture test)
Lovely fireworks show last night at the Statue of Liberty.
Labels: brooklyn, nyc, pictures, red hook
Flooded Van Brunt (a picture test)
This was the end of Van Brunt Street after one of Saturday's crazy storms.Labels: brooklyn, pictures, red hook
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Red Arrows on our porch
The Red Arrows are the UK version of the Blue Angels.
More Red Arrows video and pictures at NewYorkology.
Labels: brooklyn, nyc, red hook, video
Thursday, June 19, 2008
More Santogold filming in Red Hook
So judging by the pictures Gothamist had of Wednesday's Santogold video shoot, I'm gonna say that's exactly who I just saw flming in Valentino Park. Same goofy oversized speakers and such.
Though I don't know for certain since there were no "no parking" signs on the street warning they'd be filming like they did for Wednesday's shoot. Maybe they didn't need to because today they were all in a no parking zone.
Labels: brooklyn, filming, pictures, red hook
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Before the Ikea Annex, there was woodblock graffiti
Well, this is hilarious, someone's put up an "Ikea Annex" sign on the long abandoned building in the block across the street. I've been meaning to post a couple other pictures of that same building from a week ago, but for another reason. Mainly, this amazing graffiti (below.) If I'm not mistaken, it's a cut woodblock that's been epoxied onto the building.
Labels: brooklyn, pictures, red hook
Ikea opening day: 'Take our picture!'
Ikea opened this morning, but a lot of guys were still finishing up the work. "Take our picture!" Here you go, you guys.Labels: brooklyn, pictures, red hook
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Red Hook notes: 360 'back in 5' & 'Santogold' filming
Oh the things I learned on my run this morning. ..360 Van Brunt now had a back-in-5-minutes-type sign taped in the window.
And no for rent sign.
Just this past Saturday I noticed it had a big new for rent sign out front. (The top and side pictures are from this morning, the "for rent" one's from Saturday.)
Wolcott and Dikeman streets (up from Van Brunt) are currently flyered for Wednesday's filming of "Santogold."
The place down Van Brunt with the cool metal horses out front (scroll down in the Red Hook guide for a picture,), Hyde Power, has a little historical sign out front now. I've seen it from the bus, but actually stopped to read it today - and learned the building was home to Brooklyn's first paid fire department. As I was reading, a guy came out and showed me that the only remaining historical remnant is the board inside -- with slots for what I think are the local street names. (I didn't get close enough to see for sure.)
There are a couple upcoming Smokey's Round-Up at Sunny's Red Hook, 9:30 p.m.: June 18 & 25. No cover.
That is all. Except that well, Ikea opens tomorrow.
Labels: bars, brooklyn, history, movies, pictures, red hook, restaurants
Friday, June 13, 2008
My editor's notes to the new Red Hook guide
Finally got the Red Hook 2008 guide posted on NewYorkology late yesterday. It's topped off with lots of info about the new Ikea, which will fundamentally change the neighborhood. After the press tour inside the store, I was one of a handful who took part in the tour of the new waterfront park Ikea's built. (And by the end, I was the only one on the tour.) The park tour was lead by Joseph Roth, Ikea's director of public affairs for the U.S. and he started by saying "I've been coming to this location for more than six years. ..."
So among the info in the NewYorkology guide that I think you may not find in all the Ikea/Red Hook coverage elsewhere:
Their dredgers pulled a Mercedes out of the Erie Basin. (No one was inside, and the PR folks I asked thought it was a late-model, but weren't sure. The dredgers also found entire toilets down there.)
Upcoming openings in Red Hook: The gals who run tini wine bar (our go-to no-fuss dinner place) have set July 3 as the opening date for home/made, their new shop down the street. And wow, apparently on July 4 we're getting a coal-oven pizza place called Anselmo's Bakery.
Ikea also gave me some rather specific info about transportation that some of the papers have slightly wrong. The water taxi and bus routes don't kick in until opening day. Oh and by the way, I specifically asked Roth if he's OK with Brooklyn residents using their boats for a free commute, or people from Manhattan just using it as a way to get to the food carts at the soccer field. They are absolutely cool with that. That's when he gave me the "We are introducing Red Hook to the rest of the city," quote. Weeks ago, this question was met with less enthusiasm when I asked the Water Taxi spokeswoman and the Ikea store manager.
Also, considering the ongoing need for NYPD traffic cops in the neighbrohood (and over in Columbia Waterfront District) due to that insanely screwed up road construction project, I found it hugely interesting that Ikea is going to reimburse the NYPD for three months of daily traffic cops to handle the influx of Ikea traffic throughout Red Hook.
Labels: brooklyn, pictures, red hook, restaurants
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Red Hook sugar factory: more demolition
The New York Post today does one of those Red Hook rising stories sure to be in vogue again this summer. It includes this graf:
Developer Joe Sitt, who owns the former Revere Sugar Factory next to IKEA, has been trying to convince the city for a few years to rezone the waterfront so he could fill his 6-acre site with apartments and retail stores.Here’s how it looked in December 2007, and here's how it looked earlier this month, on May 10:
And here's how it looks this morning, with more bulldozers carting off the remains of one of the last two old buildings.
While I’m on matters Red Hook, Annabelle’s (Neil “La Bouillabaisse” Ganic’s new restaurant at the old Lillie’s) on May 30the will host the Bendy Pastorius Group on its stage. (No time is listed on the flyer.)
And the gateway to Red Hook is about to get spruced up. That fenced-in vacant lot at the corner of Van Brunt and President – next to the Mother Cabrini Park/kids’ playground – is going to turn into an honest to goodness grassy park. The word from my hairdresser (how’s that for a source!) is that the new park has been designed by the same woman who had that super great pasture (with cow’s projected on the wall at night) in the Art Lot on Sackett and Columbia a couple summers ago. (Sorry, my archives have apparently been eaten, so no link to the cows.)
Labels: brooklyn, nyc, pictures, red hook
Saturday, May 24, 2008
New Brooklyn map with long-lost roads
Oh ouch, yet another dis for the Columbia Warerfront District -- the brand new tourism map at the pedestrian entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge not only ends on the south with "Van Buren Street" (that's uh, Van Brunt Street) but it also shows it intersecting with three fictional streets on its north end.
According to Kevin at Forgotten NY, those three streets connecting Columbia to Van Brunt were removed in the 1970s -- they were Irving, Sedgwick and Kane.
Google at least gets it right.
Labels: brooklyn, pictures, red hook
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
New booze and food in Brooklyn
On Saturday, former Gage & Tollner, "New York's Oldest restaurant" - (but recently a TGIFridays) looked like this:
But by Tuesday night, the lights were on and new curtains were up. It looked like this:
And this:
(Harlem's Amy Ruth's was supposed to open its downtown Brooklyn outpost in February.)
In Red Hook on Saturday, former the Pioneer bar looked like this:
Last night, they served me a beer. It's now Brooklyn Ice House. It looks pretty much exactly the way it did when it was Pioneer. The kitchen opens next week. (And I assume the garden will reopen eventually, but it was closed clased night.)
Labels: brooklyn, nyc, pictures, restaurants
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Classy cornice on Columbia; or rather: nice frieze
Now here's something you don't see very often anymore. There's a new building almost complete on Columbia Street near Kane, map. (The one on the left.) Up on the top, you can see the building gets a name. Most of the buildings in the neighborhood with names tend to bear dates like 1904. But this one loks like 11-09-2007. (Is that part of the cornice? Is there a more specific architectural term for that? Francis, anyone?)
Update: Francis Morrone, in the comments, corrects: it's the frieze.
If you want to know how they came up with Valoroso, look no further than the construction sign on the fence:
Monday, May 05, 2008
Ikea's Red Hook 'grand opening campout'
See the new Brooklyn Ikea webpage for news of its grand opening campout.Customers can begin lining up at IKEA Brooklyn at 9:00 AM on Monday morning, June 16, 2008 – in advance of our June 18, 2008 opening. We are going to be doing something special for everyone on opening morning so you do not have to be the first, second, or third customer in line* in order to share in the fun. Keep checking for updates!Oh, the Red Hook jokes just write themselves, don't they?
******
And in other exciting neihborhood news, the B61 bus I was on this afternoon went down Columbia Street today -- in front of Pit Stop, Freebird, Sugar Lounge, Brooklyn Collective, Winkworth, etc. -- for the first time in a year or two. That said, the construction work still ain't quite done. They were digging up - yet again!! -- the intersection at DeGraw.
Earlier: Red light in front of Ikea Red Hook
Ikea Signange
Labels: brooklyn, nyc, red hook
Thursday, April 24, 2008
'Floater Week' resurfaces
In November, I went to the Brooklyn Navy Yard to cover a book release event for Gabriel Cohen's new New York thriller "Graving Dock." He read a passage from the book that mentions "Floater Week" which he said is real, and normally happens around tax day.
Indeed, April 15 was last week. And from today's New York Times ... it's time.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Popemobile in Red Hook
OK, the pope helicopter and popemobile videos and commentary are posted at NewYorkology, but here are the other Popemobile pictures that aren't completely out of focus or obscured by the dirty windshield.
Labels: brooklyn, nyc, pictures, red hook
Red light in front of Ikea Red Hook
Apparently I'm going to have to post my exciting evening in backward order. So first I give you ... a functioning stop signal in front of Ikea.After we dropped off the steplad in N.J., we hit this light on the return trip.
Labels: brooklyn, pictures, red hook
Thursday, March 20, 2008
More L&O in Red Hook
I was a little too lazy to check the no-praking signs on the streets, but this past Friday afternoon the film folks were busy behind Fairway near the (currently unused) Water Taxi dock. One of the guys in the crew was wearing a "Criminal Intent" jacket, so I'm going with that.
No word yet on when that dock may again be used by the Water Taxi.
Labels: brooklyn, movies, pictures, red hook
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Monday, March 03, 2008
Q. Can I use my MetroCard on the Water Taxi?
So the Red Hook folk are excited about the plans to extend the B71 and B77 to Manhattan's South Ferry via the Battery Tunnel.Will make the trip in much faster -- especially since the Water Taxi hasn't been forthcoming for its plans to resume service in spring. However, two interesting things of note on that matter.
1. The updated FAQ on the Water Taxi site includes this:
Can I use my MetroCard?2. The latest Ikea press release contains this line near the end: "The project includes a 6.5-acre public waterfront esplanade and many transit options such as ferry service from lower Manhattan.
Not at this time.
Will be interesting to see what's in the five-borough ferry plan Council President Christine Quinn mentioned last month.
Labels: brooklyn, pictures, red hook, traffic
Law & Order checks into House of D neigborhood
So it looks like "Law & Order SVU" will be filming this week in the vicinity of one of the most interestingly located new hotels in the city. On this side of the street, the new condo/hotel. And on that side of the street, the Brooklyn House of Detention.Pink sheets say no parking around Smith and Atlantic on March 4 & 5.
(The condo office looked almost functional Sunday afternoon, with a guy at the desk. The hand-written sign said "87 Smith Street condos" -- but no hint of the hotel -- except that the permit still says condo/hotel/retail.)
Labels: brooklyn, filming, pictures
Friday, February 15, 2008
QM2 departs Brooklyn with extra security
I just watched the Queen Mary 2 depart Brooklyn, and with an unusual amount of security. It used to always get one, sometimes two helicopter escorts, even for its 5 a.m. arrivals. But lately, nothing, except for the 3 Queens thing.
Actually, come to thing of it, I watched it arrive around 7 a.m. today and didn't see of hear helicopters.
Anyhow, tonight's departure had police boats and two helicopters flying closer than I've ever seen. (Which kind of freaks me out ever since I read the pilot's and co-pilot's remarks from those East River helicopter crashes in 2005.)
My only guess is that they're worried about retalition after someone stuck a bomb under the car of Hezbollah's Imad Moughniyah in Syria.
Labels: brooklyn, nyc, pictures
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
Sign says: Say No to Drugs ...
There's a pair of signs painted on a building along the Gowanus Expressway I've always hoped to take a picture of but I never remember in time when I'm not driving. But on Sunday, Martin was behind the wheel as we traveled to and from Brighton Beach (which was where the steplad wanted to go to hear some real Russian.)
So my picture-taking skills, not so good on the way out.
But on the way back, you get the full message:
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Exciting new signal at Sackett & Columbia
Very good news for the normally-ignored Columbia Waterfront District -- there's now a functioning traffic signal at the oft-dangerous intersection of Sackett and Columbia.
We used to live half a block from here and it was a constant source of frustration (even before they suddenly decided one afternoon to make Columbia a one-way street, but only erect one-way signs at a few intersections, letting other drivers careen head-on into oncoming traffic.) It had very bad sight-lines, one or two bus routes (depending on if the B71 drivers took the short cut,) and lots of speeding, oversized commercial buses and trucks coming from Red Hook, which technically aren't supposed to cut through that neighborhood. Columbia went back to two-way recently, with the same lack of notification for drivers entering from any of the side streets.
In this other spectacular picture I took yesterday, you can see a bit of the smashed in fence at the art lot, one assumes from another wreck.
Heaven forbid I only say nice thing about the traffic folks. Please note that there are not yet crosswalks along the Columbia Street section of the intersection. The Columbia drivers didn't even have a stop sign previously -- so it would be nice to paint the crosswalk to help alert them of the new traffic pattern, no?
About two months ago the traffic wizards also installed new stop signs at Columbia and Summit, map, and also didn't bother to paint in a cross walk, erect signs noting the new traffic pattern -- or do something really useful like putting the new stop signs in a place that drivers can actually see them. I can't tell you the number of times cars blow through those new stop signs completely unaware there was a stop sign. The B61 also has to go through that intersection (necessitated by that ongoing Van Brunt/Columbia multi-year street reconstruction disaster) and it's nearly impossible for the bus to make that left turn onto Columbia.
OK, ending on a good note ... The reason why I have the pictures is that we were over there yesterday for lunch at Mazzat, which gets better and better each time we drop in.
Earlier: That sinking feeling on Columbia Street
More on Columbia St. one-way chaos
Living one-way on the wrong side of the BQE
Oh Columbia
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Red Hook winter deserters
First the Water Taxi, now the garden centers. Chelsea Garden Center has looked pretty deserted lately, though no sign explains why they're closed. I called the Manhattan location (because there was no answer at the Red Hook phone) and was just told that they decided to close the Brooklyn location until it warms up -- probably March or April.
Just yesterday I noticed the Gowanus Nursery has a "closed for winter" sign up on its fence.
That leaves just Liberty Sunset, though I haven't been by there to check -- at least not since we bought our Christmas tree in December.
Monday, December 31, 2007
End of year misc.: Gottino, Water Taxi, SB mafia
Had a fabulous dinner a couple days ago at Gottino, a new wine bar on Greenwich Ave. So new in fact, the baretender claimed they weren't even open yet. He claims they need more work on the menu, but what we had was just excellent. Five tasting plates for $25 (including divine cheeses, pates, marinated pears and olives) along with a sardine thing (which yeah, that one was a bit dry.) Great wine as well.
It's at 52 Greenwich Ave - practically across the street from the former Our Name is Mud make-your-own-pottery place (which by the way, is still a vacant storefront.)
The Water Taxi, as you may recall, recently said it would cancel service to Red Hook for the winter, which it calls its South Brooklyn service. A couple days later, it announced it would also cancel its East River service for the winter, due to economic reasons. A couple council members rallied Saturday to get city subsidies to reinstate East River service. Cough, Red Hook?
Seems the NYT also forgot Red Hook, as its Real Estate section commuting thumsucker on Sunday gave a juicy superfluous quote to Water Taxi owner Tom Fox:
Or look at the New York Water Taxi, which started a route from Red Hook to Wall Street last year. Five years ago that circuit wasn’t necessary. But the perpetual “next big neighborhood” has sprouted not only a gourmet grocery store but also a community that shops there.Maybe healso forgot he canceled all service to Red Hook.
“The stop has two things,” said Tom Fox, president of New York Water Taxi, who worked with Fairway and local developers to create the service. “It has a new population in Red Hook that is going to Wall Street, and second it’s got Fairway which draws people to Red Hook, so there’s a potential for travel to and from the location.”
Still more on Red Hook. ... I walked over in the scathing wind this morning to see what was up at the old sugar factory because I've been hearing a lot of construction noises in the past few days. I was afraid they were ripping down those old red brick buildings closest to the water. But they're mainly still there. The short one, attached to the old metal ruins in the water, are only two walls, the interior of the building has all been ripped out and neatly placed into duumpsters. Have no idea if that means they're going to try to preserve something from that site.
(Pictures TK)
At the right, you can see the outer walls of the brick building.
This is where the smokestack was - the one I took pictures of in November while it was smashed to pieces.:
Two of my college buddies are making media waves lately. Welch is taking over Reason magazine as EIC come April. The Washington Post discusses the swingin' pot-smokin' DC parties he'll be attending. ("We want to add a new bacteria to the culture.") Ironically, it's Tony Pierce now wearing the suit for The Man. But as it turns out, The Man now wants to drink beers with him. Read Tony's account of his first day at the LA Times as king of all blogs. He may yet be able to save newspapers.
Ken Layne, who isn't technically part of the SB Nexus Mafia, has a new politics column at AOL. This week I learned, via Ken, that Huckabee's kid was fired from a Boy Scouts camp for torturing a dog to death.
Oh and since I used to own the crazy animal beat at the LA Daily News, I should flag a line of interest from the SF Chronicle's reporting about the zoo mauling, in which the height of the wall turned out to be lower than necessary: "In the two days since a fatal tiger attack on Christmas Day, the zoo has given at least five different measurements for the outdoor exhibit."
Luckily when I was covering that stuff in LA, the only zoo animal that came after me was Gracie the chimp who slung her poo at me because I was talking to her keeper, who was late for feeding time. Luckily I moved quickly, so the large handful of flying poo -- powerfully lobbed, mind you, from the middle of the chimp enclosure about 40 feet to where we were standing -- instead landed on the expensive shoes of the zoo's PR woman.
Oh and I shouldn't end on a whine, but damn, what the hell happened to the Internet? In the past six months, it seems like there's so much more crap (Gracie's poo excepted) -- and from people who should know better. Is it just that search engines like quantity over quality? I know it's not that you have more time on your hands, so what gives?
I pretty much hate all this Web2.0 stuff, but in the past few weeks I've been wading in, trying to find out what's actually useful. I mean really, I want facts, quickly. Is that so wrong?
Labels: bakersfield, brooklyn, nexus, nyc, pictures, red hook, restaurants
Friday, December 21, 2007
Water Taxi abandons all East River commuters
The Water Taxi sent out a follow up e-mail yesterday, making it clear it's not just Red Hook left high and dry for the winter, but also the other stops on its East River service:
New York Water Taxi regretfully announces the suspension of commuter service on the East River from 1/1/08 to 5/1/08. As you may know, NYWT took over the service in 2003, on short notice, when it was abandoned by another operator. We have added new stops and worked tirelessly to make the run economically viable.Earlier: Water Taxi's Christmas Eve special
This year, for the first time, the service broke even during the spring, summer and fall when tourists used the commuter service for sightseeing and visitors traveling to and from Water Taxi Beach.
However, fuel prices have doubled since the beginning of 2007 and during the winter months ridership on the East River commuter service decreases approximately 30%. Therefore, it is not economically viable to operate the service during the winter months.
We apologize for the inconvenience that this service suspension will undoubtedly cause. NYWT will resume the service on May 1, 2008. ...
Sunday, November 04, 2007
The end of Red Hook's sugar smokestack
As I've noted previously, there's been a lot of demolition along with the construction in my Brooklyn neighborhood. Here's what the semi-demolished century-old Red Hook sugar factory looked like in June (taken from the water while I was on the Hidden Harbor tour.)
By July, more of the nearby structures were coming down:
Most of the deconstruction of the smokestack was done brick-by-brick by two guys hanging in a cart:
But the end came fast, when heavy machinery was brought in. It had a long arm with a pincer on the end. At certain angles, you could see it had an "eye" making it appear like some evil raptor bent on destruction, taking bite after bite until its prey was ruined and devoured.
The beast, famished:
Lastly, two pictures from May 2006, when the sugar dome was still standing, and the sunken lightship hadn't yet been removed:
Labels: brooklyn, nyc, red hook
Friday, October 26, 2007
Red Hook cranes go grey for deconstruction
The cranes over at the Ikea site are coming down bit by bit. Last week they were getting painted grey, though I have no idea why.
Over at NewYorkology, I have a little picture of the smokestack at the adjacent sugar factory site -- which is still coming down brick by brick, getting stumpier all the time. As I type this now, I can hear the chunks of the building crashing down as well.
Labels: brooklyn, nyc, red hook
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Two book events - Walking Brooklyn and MB
If you happen to be in Park Slope this evening, I'll be the Q half of a Q&A with "Walking Brooklyn" author Adrienne Onofri.
The book talk starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Community Bookstore on 7th Ave -- not far at all from where we used to live.
And tomorrow night of course is the first reading/signing of "The Malice Box." Please join us at Barnes & Noble in the Village (6th Ave and 8th Street) at 7:30.
Labels: books, brooklyn, malice box, nyc
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Two thumbs up - a movie and an opera
Wanted to pass along the info for two really excellent shows I saw in the past week.
One, you can still see. The Pioneer Theater in the East Village this Friday will again screen "In Sickness and in Health," a very moving documentary about same-sex couples in New Jersey who sued to be allowed to marry. The heartbreaking part comes when one of the partners is diagnosed with ALS and it becomes so obvious so quickly how "partner" means second-class citizen to the medical and legal world. I cried.
Unfortunately the other show I saw and loved was the Puccini opera "Il Tabaro" that was staged on the Mary Whalen oil tanker in the Brooklyn container port last weekend. Only two shows left and they're sold out. A very crazy only-in-NY experience. Near the very final dramatic scene, unbeknownst to the actors, the Tribute in Light came on in Lower Manhattan. But for the whole audience, we watched the end of the tragedy unfold on the deck of the boat with Lower Manhattan and the lights in the background. I wasn't the only one who cried.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
My Red Hook sub sightings
OK, we're in England on vacation, so I can't post my cameraphone pictures of the Red Hook submarine I took last month, but I'll offer my quick two cents anyhow.
Yesterday afternoon the husband handed me his blackberry with the news alert about the sub-type device next to the QM2 in Brooklyn.
"Oh no, I know what it is. I have pictures," I said, and ran upstairs to grab my cell phone (which gets no service here, but I always take it on trips so I can use it at the airport in NY.)
And yes indeed, in pictures dated July 18 you can just barely see the bobbing little sub, in the water just next to Steve's Key Lime Pies. (This is also the location of the ramp where New York Ducks was going to launch its amphibious bus tours a couple years ago but couldn't get permits.)
But what's easier to see in the July 18 pictures is the giant image of the QM2 pulling out of the Buttermilk Channel. I thought it was odd that those guys were in their antiquey looking sub and the Coast Guard/NYPD vessel (I can't recall which it was) didn't seem to mind. Though I just assumed they'd already been by to check it out -- considering everytime the QM2 comes in, she's escorted in and out by police-type boats and at least one, sometimes two, police helicopters. (Interestingly, the Crown Princess, the only other cruise ship that regularly visits the Brooklyn Cruise Ship Terminal, never gets the same police fuss.)
I took my pictures from the park next to the Waterfront Museum. Coincidentally, the other camera-phone picture I took on that run was at the very end of Wolcott Street at the Snapple Building. At the end of the street, another huge section of land had crumbled into the Buttermilk Channel. And according to the NY times today, that's the same spot where the police yesterday tied up the sub after arresting the artist for getting too close to the QM2.
I did see the sub one other time since the time I took the pictures -- it was in the same spot, but I don't recall if it was a day a cruise ship was at the terminal.
Update: Here's one of the pictures. Such bad quality on the Treo it makes me think I might not even bother with a camera on the next cell phone and may go the blackberry route:
Friday, July 06, 2007
Mystery ship
This guy slipped through the Buttermilk Channel around 9 p.m. tonight. A bit late for Fleet Week, no?
Here's the answer. It's a Brit.
Labels: brooklyn
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Red Hook: 360 on hiatus, life at Lillie's
So much going on out here ...
The 360 restaurant has had its shutter down. If you call, the message says they're closed as of May 23, "for repair and maintenance until further notice." I walked by the Saturday prior and they were completely packed.
And on the other end of the spectrum (a 180?,) I was by Lillie's this past weekend and the shutter was up for the first time in more than a year. I poked my head inside and two guys were cleaning up. They said they hope to reopen the place this summer as a bar - but not as Lillie's - and with a restaurant next door. No name yet.
What else? There are no-parking signs all over Van Brunt and along the side streets to Conover for two different films shotting in the neighborhood this Wednesday and Thursday: "Diminished Capacity," (a film with with Matthew Broderick and Alan Alda, according to IMDB,) and Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche," (with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener, says IMDB.)
Oh, and last week when I was walking by the site just between the demolition of the sugar refinery and the Ikea site (where it looks like they're building a whole bunch of berths/docks for boats)I got into an argument with a guy who might have been a security guard who asserted I had no right to take pictures eventhough I was standing on a public sidewalk. He said the owners of the property intended to put up a sign blocking the demolition, but since they hadn't yet, it was his job to tell people they're not allowed to take pictuers. So in his honor, here's what it looks like:
Oh and heck I forgot all about the destruction of the Red Hook Flea Market:
Labels: brooklyn, pictures, red hook
Friday, May 25, 2007
QM2 at night
The Queen Mary II spent the night in Brooklyn. Usually the ships come in between 5:30 and 7:30 in the morning, then leave around 5:30 in the evening -- at the high tides. But she just stayed and stayed, and she's still there. My camera doesn't do well at night, but here's what I got, with the Empire State Building in red, white and blue.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Bait & Tackle vs. van
Just took a cab home and passed the aftermath of an ugly crash on Van Brunt at Pioneer -- looked like a partly burned up car, and a van that came close to smashing into the Bait & Tackle bar.
I guess in this case it made no difference that only two weeks ago did Van Brunt get its second stoplight just a couple blocks away.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
No more beer shakes?
So this sign's been hanging on the door at Schnack for about two weeks now. Don't know if that means they've got issues with their liquor license, but I suppose that means no beer shakes for awhile.
Labels: brooklyn, restaurants
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Shoring up Red Hook
I was out in Red Hook today and was surprised to see the construction across from Valentino Pier.
Langfield fans may recall this was the site of the steplad and dad construction project in January -- you know, when it was T-shirt weather.
Today, not so much.
Labels: brooklyn, pictures, red hook
Thursday, March 01, 2007
That sinking feeling -- Red Hook edition
Last month I mentioned that some houses on Columbia Street have been sinking, but it's far more exciting at the edge of Red Hook, as I saw earlier this week.
As you walk out toward the Waterfront Museum and that new park, there's been a section along the water blocked off by a fence. You could see there was some sinkage going on, but it's obviously gotten way worse during the winter. The fence is actually half way under water now.
(To get your bearings up top, I was standing on the pier for the Waterfront Museum. You can see just the edge of Fairway on the far right.)
Spa comes to Columbia Waterfront (Red Hook)
Well depending on what you want to call this neighborhood, you could say there is now a day spa in Red Hook.
Loma Wellness spa and medical center is now open in a big new building on Carroll Street between Columbia and Hicks. That's on the water-side of the BQE, about two blocks from the scenic toll plaza for the Brooklyn Battery Tunnell. Ch-ch-changes.
(Technically, the neighborhood is really only on the edge of Red Hook, as I alsways think of it as starting at Hamilton, though a lot of people do consider this whole stretch all the way over to Atlantic as part of Red Hook.)
Monday, February 26, 2007
Departed's Brooklyn connection
I still haven't seen Oscar-winning "The Departed" but I did see DiCaprio when he was filming part of the movie over my back fence.
Labels: brooklyn
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
That sinking feeling on Columbia Street
The Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill Courier this week has a story about the big road construction project in my neighborhood, though it focuses on the noise and fails to notice that Columbia Street was made one-way. (It's phased-in one-wayedness, you may recall, was the subject of my rant a few months ago. And another post when construction started in 2005.)
The paper does have two interesting new facts.
The construction project "will now stretch into the spring of 2008" instead of fall 2007.
And this:
John Spavins, a DDC spokesperson, noted certain homes on Columbia Street have been "sinking over time."As for the one-way problems, you may recall that the one-way signs initially went up at only some intersections along Columbia, so drivers entering at other spots had no way of knowing they were about to cause a head-on crash. A couple days after my December rant, (which Curbed linked to and the construction manager responded to,) there were NYPD cops placed along the route every weekday during the day. And the cops are still out there, though only at the two ends of the one-way mess: at Alma (DeGraw and Columbia, map) and by the entrance to the container port (Hamilton and Van Brunt, map.) Your tax dollars at work.
"That soil just isn't as firm as the rest of the city," he said. "As we work by those homes we are looking to see if there is settlement of the soil."
Thursday, February 01, 2007
One for the neighbors: Bouillabaisse update
E-mail from Bouillabaisse 126
Bouillabaisse 126 is now closed on Wednesdays (except February 14th of course!) and on Sunday Brunch. Both will resume in the Spring when our garden opens. We are also happy to announce our 20% off Early Dinner Special from Sunday to Thursday from 4:30 to 6:45PM, just mention it to your waitress. We are launching our take out menu next week, you can check it on our website. It will be available every day but Fridays and Saturdays (our kitchen is too small!).
Labels: brooklyn, restaurants
Monday, January 08, 2007
Survival in Red Hook
So before we returned the steplad to Jersey on Sunday evening, he wanted to head back out to Red Hook to see if his structure survived overnight.
It did somewhat well. They happened to build at what turned out to be the high-tide line and the water actually washed under the patio. Fancy, huh?
Labels: brooklyn, pictures, red hook, steplad
Saturday, January 06, 2007
70 Degrees is Beach Weather
When it's 70 degrees in January, it seems logical to head to the beach.
The tide was so low, we could see lots of barnacles.
But since it's the Red Hook beach, it means we'll be building stuff from whatever's washed up on shore.
Lots of good driftwood today.
Of course you'll want a patio.
And equally fancy inside.
Several ferries passed across the harbor while we were there.
The builders pose.
Did I mention the weather?
Eventually we had to remove the big rocks and take off the twine we brought. But to the designer's surprise, it stands.
And to this very day, that's where it remains. At least until high tide or a strong wind.
When the day is done, it's time to pose for another picture. When you're 10, this is how it's done.
Labels: brooklyn, pictures, red hook, steplad
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