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
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Newsday and copyright
Here's an interesting little thing I came across at Newsday's TV Zone blog:
Here's a nice full clean clip from a Chinese TV network (of all places) of last night's show closing performance. There are number of other clips on Youtube, too, if you prefer. Watch before CBS deactivates, which could be any minute now...
TVZone then embeds the U2 clip.
So think about that. Newsday, which is thinking about putting its online content behind a paid wall, has one of its blogs posting content it knows has been stolen from another company and is encouraging its readers to click on the link before CBS' legal team puts a stop to it. Presumably CBS would prefer you either watch the clip on TV, when it's surrounded by ads, or on the CBS website, where they get credit for your eyeballs.
So, tell me again, why is it that no one can find a viable business model for funding original news gathering?
(By the way, the husband and I were at the Letterman/U2 taping on Monday. It was a total coincidence that we got tickets. When we walked by the Ed Sullivan theater on Sunday, there was a sign outside saying "free tickets." There were only two people in line, so we filled out a form for the lottery. They called my cell phone about two hours later saying we were confirmed for Monday. Details here.)Friday, January 16, 2009
Ice chunks, and a raft, on Red Hook beach
How cold is it?
I went down to the Valentino Pier this morning and saw a bunch of chunks of ice on shore.
Plus, there were pieces of a yellow raft washed up on the rocks. It may, or may not, be part of the US Air rescue effort from yesterday. I told a couple cops parked in a warm squad car nearby, and they didn't care. One of my Twitter followers (thanks Vidiot) told me to call 311, which actually did seem to care where it was.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
'Twilight' Beach
We saw "Twilight" in the theater tonight and pretty sure one scene was filmed in Oregon where we went for a hike with my brother and sis-in-law in August '07.
It was in Ecola State Park, just north of Cannon Beach. Not a bad view, huh?
Cannon Beach, as we were repeatedly told, was where they filmed "Goonies."
Labels: movies, oregon, pictures
Saturday, November 29, 2008
A second obituary, 22 years later
It's a rare bird who is honored to get more than one obituary. But that's what happened to my friend Michael Fencl.
A month before high school graduation his Vespa scooter with bad brakes was hit by a car. He was on life support and his family decided to donate his organs. The mere thought that someone else might live a little longer because of our tragedy served as an emotional rock to cling to.
And through a number of flukes, a few years later we found out where Mike went.
A 2006 story in the Seattle Times explains how back in 1986, 38-year-old Doug Hoxworth became the 34th person ever to get a heart and lung transplant at Stanford.
That 2006 story ends this way:
Hoxworth was not told by doctors who his donor had been. But one of Fencl's friends knew he had been an organ donor, and she attended the same California high school as Hoxworth's daughter Lisa.
The friend told Lisa she knew the identity of her dad's donor. The Hoxworths arranged through a television crew doing a documentary on transplants to meet Fencl's mother. The family still remains close to his mother.
"I think about him all the time," Hoxworth says.
"I talk to him. I say, 'Thank you, Michael.' "
Last night I got e-mail from my friend Chrissy, who dated Mike during high school. (That's them in a picture I took probably in 1985.) Her e-mail said Stephen "Doug" Hoxworth died November 13 at the age of 61.
From the paid obit:
He passed away this month after living 22 full years with organs that were generously donated from Michael Fencl by his mother, Marion.
As further postscript, (Mike seems to get a lot of postscripts, doesn't he?) senior year Mike and I were in civics class together and the whole class took a questionnaire that was supposed to determine whether we were conservative, moderate or liberal. Mike and I were the only ones who got all the answers right. (Oh did I say that? I meant we were the only two liberals in the class.)
So I found it very funny a couple years ago when I learned the name of the Stanford surgeon who transplanted Mike's organs into Mr. Hoxworth: Dr. Bill Frist, who later went on to become the not-at-all liberal Senate majority leader.
Oh and where did Mr. Foxworth die? At his home in Alaska. Wasilla, Alaska.
Labels: bakersfield, pictures
Sunday, November 09, 2008
DC: McCain, now 50 percent off
Across the street from DC's Ford Theater, we popped into one of those full-on tourist shops looking for "new president" goods. The guy behind the counter told me all they had so far were buttons, so we bought a few of those.
In the back of the shop were the sale goods:
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Today in DC
We're in Washington until Sunday.
Today I stopped by the Newseum, where they've still got several dozen Obama wins papers out front. People were still going nuts, taking pictures, grinning, and crying.
I liked Newark's a lot.
Met up there with my friend Peter who was taking a break from work. We walked over toward the Capitol to see the inaguration platform, which he said has been under construction since August.
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
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
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Reporters' helper: Revere site pictures
I've gotten tired of reading all the errors in the latest rounds of Red Hook stories, so here are a few visuals to help out you reporters who are getting paid to write about Ikea and the fate of the adjacent lot, but don't actually have the time to get out to Brooklyn.
First, the so-called Ikea overflow parking lot.
Although the sign at the the left indeed says "Ikea parking," you should be able to see the gate's locked. I just took that picture on Sunday afternoon of Labor Day weekend, when the main Ikea parking lot was painfully full. Now, I only go by this site a few times a week, so I can't speak in absolutes, but the only time I've actually seen that lot used for parking was the first week Ikea opened.
The lot in question is 280 Richards Street, map.If you head to the NYC Department of Buildings website file for 280 Richards, you'll see all their permits expired on June 11.
(Unrelated but cool as beans, in that same file you can see the pdf scan of the torn up remains of a 1938 permit for that site related to "syrup mfg".)
The only permits still pasted to the locked fence (near the torn off stop work order,) are for the full demolition of the "wharf warehouse building," which I'm afraid may be this one:
Even that demolition permit expired 6/11/08, so I'm kinda hoping there's a chance that possibly meant the other smaller building that used to sit next to it. The smaller one was demolished in May. See the before and after pictures here.)
But based on how there was such a rush to demolish everything else at that site, I'm guessing there's no plan to save that one last building. Revere's in-the-water remnants are still there, however:
So what else would I like you to know as you're trying to write a story about BJ's maybe agreeing to build a giant big-box store there -- basically between Ikea and Fairway?
Well, from a quality of life point of view, I'd like to know when we can have the sidewalk back that's been fenced off by our neighbors at 280 Richards. As people walk between the supermarket and big blue, they lose a very long stretch of sidewalk mid-block. And as best as I can tell, the construction crews have had no need for that space since around the end of 2007 when they knocked down the smokestack and nearby buildings.
Here it is completely leveled in December.
This is how it looks today (and most days since Ikea opened):
Oops, sorry about the picture, the shade makes it hard to see the guys walking in the street - but that's what most people do on this stretch.
Did I mention it's a long fence?
Here's a little video clip I took of the Revere site because oddly the other gate was wide open today. I didn't go inside the site itself, but there was no sign of the camera-hatin' security guard.
As a guide, straight on is the one remaining red-brick Revere building, Ikea's on the far left and the BWAC and Fairway buildings are in the far right.
Labels: pictures, red hook, video
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Name that big harbor contraption
Weird thing in the harbor this afternoon. Looked like a ship was moving several small bridges. When I saw it, it was hugging Staten Island - so much so that the Staten Island Ferry diverted over toward the Intrepid, and then headed for St. George after the big crane-ship departed.
When I was taking the pictures, I was hoping Will at Tugster might happen to be out there this afternoon. Indeed, he was, and his pictures are pretty cool.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
New Red Hook political wisdom
I've seen at least two of these so far -- in the same area (and I'm even gonna say in the same handwriting) as the "Osama Votes Kerry" that was all over the place before that election.
Labels: graffiti, pictures, red hook
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Saturday, August 09, 2008
NY State Law starts in Jersey
Fairly certain this sign is new."NY State Law" starts on the Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel now.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Where vegetarian means just a little bit of meat
This Soviet-era meat commerical reminded me that I've got some not-vegetarian pictures to post from the trip to Middle Europe.
As the Czechs informed us, the vegetarian restaurants there are still serving meat. And ordering something from the vegetarian section of a menu means you want only a litle bit of meat.
You may have already seen on NewYorkology my Prague trout, which -- surprise -- came wrapped with a liberal amount of bacon. And here's a few other good signs we came across.
Labels: pictures, restaurants, slovakia
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
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
'We have tried every bastard government ...'
Spotted last week in Budapest on a building facing the Danube:
Labels: budapest, graffiti, pictures
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
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Bad news from the vet
The annual trip to the vet produced some bad news. Tests show my little guy's kidneys are wearing out.He's been with me since 1993 when in lived in Gilroy, Calif. I was the city hall reporter at the Dispatch, and one of the stories I was following was about how the county decided to help solve their fiscal crisis by shoving animal control duties onto the cities (which had even fewer resources, and no experience.) So I knew good and well that the any animal dropped off at animal control had about 48 hours to live once dropped off, as the city had no funds to keep them longer than state law required.
My friend Tammy was pregnant and took her walks on the edge of town. A few days in a row she heard a cat mewing. So she finally went back with the car and picked him up. Apparently the little guy hadn't moved in days. He was just waiting in that field for whoever dumped to come back for him. Luckily Tammy came back. But she and Kory had cats and dogs and a baby on the way. And the kitten was going to the pound unless I capitulated. A lot of people at work called him Zappa, as I got him right after Frank Zappa died. But the cat refused to respond to the name. So I spent a weekend trying about a hundred other names. Finally I said "Kafka" and he turned and looked straight at me. So of course I uttered a profanity, and he went right back to licking himself. I tried a few dozen other names - no response. "Kafka" -- and he looked right up at me again.
So yeah, Kafka was what he chose. He's still rather chatty and climbing up to level four of the kitty condo, but he's lost weight and drinks too much water. Apparently the kidneys aren't pulling out any toxins, so it's all going back into his system, slowly poisoning him. Should know more when I go back to the vet Friday. But apparently it's about treatment, not a cure.
Picture up top is from this morning.
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, 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
Papal flags flying at WTC site
On the way back from Jersey this evening, we passed by Ground Zero and noticed the pope's flags were still in place from his visit this morning. That's the Deutsche Bank building in the background.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
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, January 20, 2008
The Germans haaate the Malice Box
Did I mention my husband has written a book?
They've sold the rights to more than a dozen languages - though so far it's only in print in Polish, Czech, Italian, Dutch, (British,) and German. And while sales are still doing well in the UK, and iffy in the U.S., it's apparently selling quite well in Germany. But the reviews on the German Amazon are hilarious. They hate hate hate it. Passionately. But they're buying it. Maybe they hate it so much they go buy extra copies to hate it some more?
So far there are 14 reviews of "The Malice Box" on Amazon.de. Martin translated a few choice bits for me:
"one star is too many"
"an entirely new dimension of awfulness"
"threw it into the trashcan"
The best review, three stars, says it's "not so bad."
I of course think it's great, and since it's meeting with some success elsewhere, it's easy to laugh at the crazy German thing. Especially since it's selling well there.
So a few other "Malice Box" things of note:
The husband just days ago hit the send key on the first complete draft of the sequel to the Malice Box. Very exciting. It's slated for Penguin distribution in the UK/Commonwealth-types in 2009.
The Malice Box in paperback should hit the shelves, at least in England, at the very end of February.
There is now an audio version of the book, read by a British actor named John Oliver, a guy who actually had a small part in "Star Wars," which Martin loves. Though I'd of course like to see an alternate reading by John Oliver of "The Daily Show" for fun. ... The audio version they sent us a copy of is only in cassette so far, and extremely expensive (like $150 I think) because they market them to libraries. Hoping it comes out in CD later, as the "Star Wars" John Oliver does an excellent job.
Robert's blog -- which oddly never got that much traffic -- is now available in Dutch. (In the book, one of the characters is told to create a blog to prove that he's actually going to certain places. Martin created a real Blogspot account for him, and posted all the pictures referenced in the book.)
MaliceBoxQuest, the online contest Penguin created to tout the book's UK launch, is still online (though the contest is long over) but I think it may go offline at some point. It's worth checking out if you like complicated little puzzles.
Back in October, Martin spoke at a lunchtime Cambridge in America event about his book and a bit about his journalism career. It's on video and they've posted it online.
Cambridge in America also invited him to speak In San Francisco. It was held in the rather posh yacht club in the Marina, the St. Francis. Here's my man:
When we were out for that trip, he also did a reading at Book Passage in Corte Madera, an excellent independent book store. After we got back to Brooklyn, they sent him a box of personalized stationery as a thank you. (You can buy your own from them at that link. It's good stuff.)
Though for that California trip, it was the appearance at the Barnes & Noble in Bakersfield that really moved some inventory. Many thanks to everyone who showed up for that reading, especially my mom, who rallied the troops.
And also thanks to Allison Collins, my sister-in-law, who is doing freelance book publicity. She helped set up the California book tour for us. She's got very reasonable rates -- even if she's not married to your brother.
Here's part of Bakersfield's SRO crowd:
A LiveJournaler gave the book a nice new review, ( "... turned out to be quite dope.")
And lastly, another plug for Good Reads, sort of a Facebook just about the books you've read. The site's founder is a 30-year-old guy named Otis Chandler in L.A., though best as I can tell, he's not related to the Otis Chandler, last, great hope for the L.A. Times before the Tribune Co. "synergized" it into goopiness.
Labels: bakersfield, books, malice box, pictures
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
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
London's fancy video cabs
Today's NYC taxicab strike offers up the perfect opportunity to post some pictures I took in a London taxi cab last month.
I was in several cabs during the trip, but only one had backseat video. At first I was ticked off because I thought it was just one long commercial for a poker website. Then I realized there were channel controls. There were several channel options, including CNBC Europe in realtime, as well as what I think were offerings from BBC comedy archives.You could also turn the sound off completely.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
The politics of mini storage
Manhattan Mini Storage goes in for some pretty edgy ads. Here's the one I saw today along the West Side Highway in Midtown:
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Back from Oregon
Well howdy. Got back from Oregon yesterday morning on a red eye that left me with a brutal case of jet lag. Dad rented a big old beach house for the lot of us at Cannon Beach, which had a stunning view, vintage '70s decor and a steep enough hill to the expansive beach that wasn't quiet brutal enough to offset the massive junk food intake for the week.
We played loads of Balderdash, as we did in England, a game that has left us with many memorable new words for our vocabularies, as well as many excellent fake definitions. The steplad kept all the fake and real answers in a plastic baggy, so maybe I can get him to help me write up a short little best-of list. (Oh oh, Wikipedia has just informed me that some of Balderdash's words may be fakes!)
Stayed one night at the Ace Hotel in Portland, which I highly recommend, and spent a few hours at Powell's books. Though no tours were available of the Shanghai Tunnels - hopefully next trip.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Pictures from the England trip
Before we head off to see my family in Oregon for a week, thought I'd share a few from the trip visiting the in-laws in England.
Platform 9 and three-quarters at King's Cross now has a baggage cart pushed half-way through to Harry Potter land.
Down in Churchill's WWII bunker, this is how you found out what the weather was like above ground.
This year we did a tour of the Peterborough Cathedral just before sunset, so the light was especially amazing. Also learned about the scandalous relic-stealing perpetrated by those crazy monks. In Peterborough, they built a watchtower inside the cathedral to prevent the Ely monks from again stealing the relics that Peterborough had in turned stolen from elsewhere.
And a little London bridge.
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
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
New Blood for the Brits
The husband will be in Cambridge on Thursday night to take part in "New Blood: Debut Author Evening" at Heffers Books.
I'm not tagging along for this trip, but when I was there before, we had a nice chat with the gentleman who takes care of their crime/thriller books section. He gave me a copy of great little pamphlet they publish -- "The Crime Reader's Map of Cambridge."
It lists novels set in the area, complete with a body map and markings for real, fictional and historical places. It was great fun looking up "kills" for the street our hotel was on, where we had dinner, and so on.
And while I'm at it, let me share a few more pictures from that trip.
This one is inside the university, actually the rooms where the fire takes place near the beginning of "The Malice Box." When Martin took me there a couple summers ago, this section of the college was closed, so we could only look from the steps at the edge of the courtyard.
Since it was open this time, I headed straight for the far stairwell to take a picture since that's how you'd get to Adam's room. And at that point, Martin said he never said which upstairs room belonged to Adam. Apparently it doesn't say in the book. Hmmmm, who does he think he is?? The author? Because I'm entirely certain that Adam's room is on the second floor, the last windows on the right side of courtyard.The book's sales ranking has been all over the place on Amazon's UK site in the past month. If you read the book (especially if you liked it,) please feel free to sign on to their site and let your thoughts be known. It's popped up on a few bestseller charts here and there and has gotten a few nice remarks from the bloggers -- including (gasp) a spoiler.
He's working on the sequel now, and plans are still a go to get "Malice Box" published in the US come fall.
Labels: books, cambridge, malice box, pictures
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
Friday, March 23, 2007
Running and drinking - college edition
So what was life like in the UCSB freshman dorms in 1986, you ask? Barney abuses his scanner to offer evidence.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Beware the bowlers
Still sorting through the pictures from the trip to the UK. Here's some street art in Cambridge:
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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