NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Schnack at the Lyceum
I learned on Daily Slope that Schnack, a raved about hamburger joint in Red Hook is about to open an outpost at the Brooklyn Lyceum on Fourth Avenue near President Street.
Here’s what Schnack has to say about itself on their website. Interestingly, there is no mention of opening in Park Slope there. Apparently, there was something in Time Out about it.
Schnack is "about" serving authentic food at a good price. In Red Hook Brooklyn that means $1 burgers and $1 dogs. Our regular menu is available online and we have a large selection of seasonal specials. We serve Soups, Stews, Mac N’ Cheese and Braised Ribs in the colder months. In the summer, we have roasted corn
(street style), fresh fish specials every weekend, and lots of other great stuff. Our milkshakes are hand dipped and we proudly serve RC Cola, Ginger Ale and Grapefruit soda from our fountain machine and ice cold bottles of Boylan Root Beer, Orange and Black Cherry soda. We always have 4 great tap beers as well.Schnack is a partnership between Alan Harding, Jim Mamary and Harry Hawk. To learn about what’s going on at Schnack just drop by our location at 122 Union St, Brooklyn.
We are located between Columbia and Hicks along the Columbia Street Waterfront area. Some people call it Carroll Gardens, some Red Hook, we called it Schnack.We’d like you to know a bit about us. Schnack is a collaboration project between Alan and Jim who have partnered on a variety of Brooklyn eateries including Patois, Uncle Pho, The Red Rail, The Zombie Hut and the Gowanus Yacht Club and Beer Garden.
One person writing on the Daily Slope Message Board had this to say about the new Schnack at the Brooklyn Lyceum.
Oh, no disrespect towards Schnack’s food in any way. I hear it’s great
and really a good homage to the old school new your deli stuff that is
all but gone.But from a foot traffic point of view, the Brooklyn Lyceum is not
as casual diner friendly as one might think. And that horrid
scaffolding is just pathetic.But here’s a silver lining. It seems like the guy who owns Schnack
and all those other places on Smith Street is also buying up property.
I have no inside track on anything, but I wouldn’t be shocked if the
guy is eyeing buying the Brooklyn Lyceum and putting it to good use.
And that this little Schnack outpost is the first steps towards that
space finally getting the respect it deserves.
I guess the bigger story here is what’s happening at the Brooklyn Lyceum and WHY is it so underutilized? I suspect someone (and I hope it’s not some developer like Ratner) has plans for it. I hope it’s someone smart and creative.
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_ENDLESS SUMMER
The true end of summer is NOT September 22, the day of the autumnal equinox on the calendar. It’s not the first day of school. And it’s not when the stands at the farmer’s market are filled with apples and robust pumpkins, or when the Korean markets display well-ordered rows of yellow and orange mums.
The true end of summer is the day the landlord puts the steam on in our apartment. It happened last night and took me completely by surprise.
According to the Rent Guidelines Board, NYC building owners must provide all tenants with the following levels of heat (During the heating season, October 1 through May 31):
* Between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., heat must register at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit when the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees;
* Between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., heat must register at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit when the outside temperature falls below 40 degrees.
The noises started before 4 a.m. I listened to the weezing and banging of the radiator that is right next to my bed in a state of half-sleep. At first I thought it was something in my dream. I didn’t even acknowledge it at first. And then I did; a reunion with something I’d completely forgotten about. Steam heat.
All summer long, air conditioners and cold showers were more pertinent. How can it be time for the radiator now? Just yesterday I took a cold shower to cool down from a muggy afternoon.
Out of practice, the steam struggled up through the pipes for the first time in months. It gave off a funny smell. In summer, we store books on the radiator; it becomes yet another surface filled with things. Those things give off a funny smell when heated by the just-starting radiator; it smelled like something was burning.
That’s its way of saying "Hello, I’m here. I’m back to heat your apartment and wake you up in the middle of the night with a clanging that sounds like an avant garde orchestra."
I groan inwardly at the thought of our overheated apartment. I’ve so enjoyed these last few night sleeping with the windows open wide as the first strong breezes of Fall filled the apartment and made sleeping so much easier.
There’s just a tiny window of time between being overheated by oppressive summer humidity and the day when New York apartment become excruciatingly hot.
Seems that our landlord is putting the heat on a day before he even has to. It’s only September 30 today. Maybe he’s testing it out, making sure it still works after a long, hot summer. A full dress rehearsal, as it were.
I’m out of practice myself. I barely remember what winter coat I was wearing last year or where my gloves, my hats, my favorite wool scarves (not too itchy, not too warm) are. Do my kids have coats that fit them? Are there any clean, long-sleeved shirts in their drawers?
Could it be that we have to think about all that again. This past summer, the heat just pressed on right until…yesterday. Maybe there will be more warm days and the landlord will have to backtrack a bit, giving us a little more time to allow the cool Autumn breezes to waft from one end of the apartment to the other. Before winter truly begins.
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Jen Again
Now I remember what happens when I write about Jennifer Connelly. Everyone gets so pissed off.
I should swear off writing about our local movie star girl. I get the nastiest comments when I do. And it was all so innocent — I was walking up Prospect Park West with my neice, Sonya, and we strolled by J’s stoop and…
I don’t feel guilty at all. I was actually more interested in the dogwalker who thanked the gardener for fixing the garden. There was something so Park Slope about that – the way we’re house-and-garden-proud about houses and gardens that don’t even belong to us. Because they’re in our daily vision, they belong to all of us.
I don’t think the dogwalker made that comment because it’s Jennifer’s house. I think she made the comment because, whoever owns that house, she feels, owes it to the neighborhood to keep that garden up. It might be a sentimental thing (I forgot to mention that she lovingly described the old garden to the busy gardener.) Maybe she knew the people who lived there previously.
It’s my job to be the eyes and ears of the Slope; to observe what goes on around me. Whether it’s weird, funny, uplifting, strange, sad, even stupid: no matter. I take it all in and sometimes give it back out. That’s what I love to do and if I seem like a stalker (stalking who? The dogwalker, the gardener, Jennifer?) so be it.
Everytime I write about Jen I have to defend myself. Some of those comments made me feel sleazy and I’m probably one of the least sleazy people I know. I should probably stop writing about Jen, her house, her garden, her attitude toward the Slope…
But I don’t think I can.
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
TONIGHT: GARBAGE LAND AT BROOKLYN READING WORKS
At The Old Stone House tonight, Brooklyn Reading Works presents Elizabeth Royte, author of GARBAGE LAND, reading excerpts, talking and taking questions. Refreshments and books available.
The following is from the introduction to the book, an excerpt about Royte’s adventures in a canoe in the Gowanus Canal. Hear more tonight. You won’t want to miss this one. The House is in JJ Byrne Park in Park Slope. Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th sts. 718-288-4290.
On a sunny spring afternoon long before I ever decided to travel around
with my garbage, I slid off the dead end of Second Street, in the
Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, and down a seven-foot emabankment
oozing green and brown liquid. I braced my foot on the end of a rotting
nineteenth-century beam and prayed that it would hold. It did, and soon
I was seated in a slime-encrusted canoe in the Gowanus Canal, my
sneakers awash in bilgewater. My life vest and jeans now bore
distinctive parallel skid marks. A sportman in a Gowanus Dredgers
cap released the bowline and casually informed me that those row
house — he pointed up Second Street – were discharging raw sewage into
the canal. "That would explain the smell," I said.It was Earth Day 2002, and I’d come out not to collect floating
garbage, the siren call for two dozen local Sierra Club members – but
to get a little exercise. I’d never traveled around the city, and I
wanted a new perspective on my neighborrhood. I also wanted a backyard
view of what the media was touting as up-and-coming real estate.
"Gowanus," after morphing into the tonier-sounding "Boerum Hill" in the
sixties was returning as a sales category…
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Jennifer’s Garden
Walking by Jennifer Connelly’s house on Prospect Park West I was pleased to see that she is fixing up the front and side garden of that corner house on Prospect Park West.
A elderly woman from a nearby apartment building was walking her dog. She went up to one of the gardeners and said: “Thank you so much for fixing up this garden.” He looked at her with a WTF kind of expression and continued working.
“Did you see the garden before?” The woman asked. “I saw it a few months ago,” the gardener said. “No, I mean before. Before.” the woman said emphatically. “It used to be a beautiful garden.”
“Well, it’s going to be better than ever now,” he said getting back to uprooting some dirt. The woman asked him for his card. “I don’t have any cards. You’ll have to ask the lady in charge.
The lady in charge is garden designer, Jane Gil, and she was there working alongside the others. She’s probably a big name in Slope garden design but I don’t know much about that sort of thing.
An adorable little boy with a big forehead and dark hair was watching from the front window. I wonder if that was the son of Jennifer and Paul Bettany? Recently I watched “The House of Sand and Fog” and was blown away by Jennifer C’s performance in that. And I don’t think I’ll ever forget Ben Kingsley’s final act in that movie either.
I didn’t wait around to hear the conversation between the dog walker and Ms. Gil. Everyone’s a busy body in this neighborhood but there are limits to how busy a body I want to be.
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Daily Slope
I guess I haven’t been paying enough attention. Just found out yesterday that there’s a new blog on the block: The Daily Slope.
Personally I am thrilled. There’s more than enough news to go around. In fact, it’s hard for the lone OTBKB to do it all. The more the merrier — more information, points-of-view, breaking stories. I plan on posting as a reader of The Daily Slope, a great way to get the word out about events, issues, and neighborhood news.
Modeled after Daily Heights, a Prospect Heights blog, The Daily Slope is a message board, with posts by locals about restaurants, politics, development, real estate, stores, and local news.
The Daily Slope is edgy and informative, and like Daily Heights, it’s full of interesting tidbits about new things going on in the nabe, as well as rants about unpleasant establishments and bad food.
A community blog, the Daily Slope doesn’t have a distinct voice. It has many voices, and many moods, depending on who is posting
Duh. Now I get it: Daily Slope and Daily Heights are connected. Maybe it’s a franchise or something. What’s next Daily Gardens (Carroll Gardens), Daily Ditmas, Daily Green (Ft. Green), Daily Clinton (Clinton Hill)? I got this response from The Daily Slope about that idea:
A franchise? Hey, not a bad idea… who’s buying?? :)
Doing Daily Slope was inevitable… the Daily Heights site
was an experiment in community. We originally
wanted to have a blog covering both the Slope and the Heights, but
decided to keep the focus as narrow as possible to prove that it could
be done.And in the past few months, Daily Heights has
really taken on a life of its own, both online and offline… there
have been fundraiser bake sales, happy-hour meetups, and game nights organized by DH regulars, independently of the site administration. All
the most interesting stories come from the readers, and nearly every
one of the stories that’s made it into local papers (including 2
mentions in the New York Times in as many months) were reader-generated.We had been fighting to contain the focus to Prospect Heights, but
there’s just too much really interesting stuff going on in Park Slope,
as readers of OTBKB can attest to.
I wonder if it too will take on a life of its own both offline and online. I have a feeling it will though Park Slope has a different vibe than Prospect Heights. Over there it’s edgier, slightly less expensive, more diverse, more involved in the Atlantic Rail Yards/Ratner mess, less developed (and I mean that in a good way).
There’s lots of good information at The Daily Slope. I found out that there’s going to be a new restaurant on Ninth Street.
Anyone been to Borgo Antico in Greenwich Village? Owner Giovanni Iovine (pictured, with Diego) and wife Lisa LoBue
are opening "Futura Bistro Modern" on 9th St. in Park Slope. Partner in
the venture is Davor Petrovic. Seems like Futura will be "affordable
eats" and "comfort fare" that is "strongly influenced by the duo’s
Argentine and Italian heritage" matched with wines from Italy, France,
Argentina and the United States. Grand Opening is Sunday, Oct. 2nd at 6 pm.Futura Bistro Modern | 287 9th Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 11215. 718.832.0085.
Hours: 12:00pm-midnight daily; brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.Good info. And there’s lots more. Good luck to Daily Slope and welcome to the blogohood.
GROOVY PIX OF TEENS FOR NEW ORLEANS
Photographs by Hugh Crawford of Saturday’s Teens for New Orleans show are now available here:
http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/840284
See photos of The Foundation Duo, Mod Rocket, Cool and Unusual, Capsacin, and Caliber.
Ah, the memories. Oh, the fun. Fill up those fan photo albums. Yeah. Inexpensive prints available.
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_TEENS DO GOOD
Saturday night’s benefit concert at the Old Stone House, Teens for New Orleans, was an unqualified sucess. At $5 and $10 dollars a head, the event raised over $1,600 dollars for the Jazz Foundation of America, an organization that is coming to the aid of New Orleans’ musicians.
The show went off without a hitch. The Foundation, ModRocket, Cool and Unusual Punishment, Capsacin, and Caliber played their hearts out and the crowd, a mixed group of over 200 teenagers, parents, grandparents and miscellaneous adults was extremely enthusiastic.
Thanks to Mark Zappasodi, a rocker, a sound technician, and a father of a band-member, the sound was excellent. Acting as stage manager with his wife Caroline Zappasodi, he made sure the show ran smoothly. And it did. There were short breaks between sets so that people could buy refreshments downstairs. Jake Gilford, grandson of the great Jack Gilford (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, those unforgettable Cracker Jack commercials from the 1960’s), entertained the crowd with his comedy.
The adults enjoyed the show as much as the kids. There was a great feeling of teens and parents working together. The parents were not there as chaperones or organizers (though they did do a bit of that). It was a real collaboration built on trust and support. It’s a rare evening teens and parents can enjoy together and this was one of them. There is talk of doing more benefit rock concerts at the Old Stone House, which, I think, is a teriffic idea.
On behalf of the Teens for New Orleans organizing group, I would like to thank the following
people and shops who helped make this event a reality: All the bands and their parents, Jake Gilford, everyone who came to the show, Kim Maier, The Old Stone House, Allan Bealy for designing and printing the flyer, Mark and Caroline Zappasodi, Carolyn Kearney and Bruce Cory, Theresa McElwee, Hugh Crawford, Greg Duggins, Caroline Ghertler, Beth Halper and the other parents who brought homemade goodies, all the friends of the band who carried equipment up and down the stairs, Pizza on the Park, Connecticut Muffin, Mojo Cafe, La Bagel, Russos.
Photographs of all the bands at the show by Hugh Crawford are available for purchase at:
http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/840284
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_MURDER ON 11th Street
Another crime of passion in Brooklyn.
In a tiny beauty shop on 11th Street between Fifth and Fourth Avenue, a man killed his ex-wife (or girlfriend) and then killed himself.
It was a crime of jealousy. Of revenge. He was angry because she was dating another man.
The woman, one of the owners of Delores’ Beauty Shop, was rushed to Methodist Hospital. But she died enroute. The man was dead immediately.
The shootings occurred at 11 a.m. Soon after, the street was closed off as a crime scene. Police and news helicpopters were seen flying over Park Slope.
The beauty shop is right next door to the tiny Cafe Regular, a favorite local spot. `
At 4:30 when I came by on my way to see my therapist, the block was closed to traffic. A big crowd of onlookers stood in the rain. But I wasn’t sure what was going on. A commercial, maybe a movie. Then I realized that there was a crime scene on my therapist’s block.
I was determined to get to my appointment so I walked under the police line and walked toward Fourth Avenue. Then I was stopped by a group of four policemen with the words "Crime Scene" monogrammed on their blue uniforms.
I told them that I had an appointment on the block. They looked at me like I was crazy. "This is a crime scene. Get off the block. Didn’t you notice the police tape?" One of the cops rolled her eyes.
They advised me to walk down 10th Street to Fourth Avenue and come around the other way. I arrived a little late for my appointment. My therapist had heard about the shooting from an earlier client. He hadn’t had a chance to go outside.
When the session was over, I was able to walk up to Fifth Avenue from his building. Locals standing under umbrellas crowded across the street from the beauty salon were waiting for the body to come out. There were news cameras and a sprinkling of reporters with notepads and press passes. A man asked me if the woman killed was named Delores. "She used to cut my hair." A reporter asked if she was from the Dominican Republic and he nodded yes, looking sad.
There were rumors that the woman’s boyfriend had been murdered, as well. "That depends what side of the block you’re on."
Another woman heard that the woman’s boyfriend had also been sent to Methodist. "My friend works there and that’s what she told me."
One of the reporters had the police report. He held it in his hand and said there was just one man killed, a suicide.
Crime scene policemen worked for hours marking up the small beauty shop with chalk and police tape and taking photographs. I saw a policeman wearing blue rubber gloves. I left before the body was removed from the beauty shop.
Later my daughter said that she and her classmates had noticed the helicopters flying above them in the school playground. They stared up at the sky, she said. "It hurt my eyes."
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_New Owner of the Mojo
It’s official. About a week ago, the Mojo Cafe on Third Street and Seventh Avenue was sold to a new owner. Small changes are already afoot. The new owner moved some of the furniture and refrigerator cases around. The shop is already noticibly more roomy. As far as I can tell, there are no changes in personnel.
So far, it’s been a fairly seamless transition from one owner to the other. Michael, the old owner posted this gracious comment on OTBKB yesterday:
To all my friends and customers at Mojo Cafe thank-you for allowing me to serve you and be a part of the community for 6 wonderful years. Remember Corey, Park Slope’s finest barista, is still there. I’ll see you on the Avenue.
I’ll be the first one to admit that I was dubious when the Mojo/Carvel opened six years ago. The corner storefront had been empty for a long time. It had once been a Ben’s of Soho Pizza. After that, a completely inept operation called the Rendezvous Cafe opened after months of renovation. They had pages of musical notation wallpapered to the wall, as well as maps and things. There was very little food or beverage as far as I could tell.
The place closed within a month. A true mystery. What the hell was it? I always wonder if it was a front for something.
When the Mojo opened I knew it would be sucessful as a Carvel but I wondered who in their right mind would want to spend cafe-time there.
Boy, was I wrong. The Mojo is practically the Town Square of Third Street. I for one go in there many times a day. I meet friends and have PTA committee meetings there. It’s my conference room-away-from-home.
For god’s sake, my daughter has her breakfast there practically every day. Of course, it’s a sprinkled Krispy Kreme donut – not the most nutritious breakfast. Whatever.
The Mojo has many moods. Early in the morning it’s a quiet breakfast spot for locals.
In the half-hour before the start of school at PS 321 and the schools in the John Jay building, it becomes a hectic stop for last minute breakfasts and lunch supplies.
After drop-off, the Mojo becomes a meeting place for parents and caregivers. The women I’ve dubbed, The Women Who Rule Park Slope, meet there on a regular basis This coffee clatch is like a Park Slope (left wing) version of ABC’s "The View." On the patio or inside, the talk is lively, topical and intelligent.
By 10 a.m. or so the parents with school-age children have moved on to home or city offices, and the Mojo becomes a friendly hangout for caregivers and stroller-aged kids.
Lunchtime brings the mad rush of the PS 321 lunch scene, the 4th and 5th graders who are allowed to go out for lunch. Barista Cory expertly watches over the scene and makes sure that there is some semblance of order and that the kids remember to throw away their trash.
In the hour or so before PS 321 pick-up, things are fairly quiet: the calm before the storm.
At 3 p.m. all hell breaks lose. Parents and kids converge on the Mojo for hot dogs, ice cream, coffee, various and sundry after school snacks. The shop rocks with the energy of children just released from school classrooms.
<>
Last year around 4 p.m. or so, the patio of the Mojo became a huge gathering place for the teenagers of Park Slope. Things were known to get a bit rowdy. Their presence was, understanably, annoying to the owner and I believe that he put the kibosh on it. Those kids m
oved on to the playground at PS 321 – and that’s another story.
What a vital place the Mojo has become in the six years of its existence. As a resident of Third Street and a parent, I wish to thank him for making the Mojo a place I never thought it could be: a really cool Carvel. It sounds like a contradiction in terms but it isn’t. The Mojo is a place the people of Park Slope hold near and dear.
Best of luck to Michael who has decided to move on and do something new. And welcome to the new owner (whose name I don’t yet know).
Thanks for giving us a place to be – in the many phases of our day.
