It’s Thursday and we’re snowed in. Time to plan the weekend. Staring tonight there’s lots to do as usual. But will you do any of it? It’s easy to get all couch potato-y on cold, snowy days.
But get out, I tell you. GET OUT!!! It’ll do you good.
Notice that there’s an interesting sounding documentary at Zora Space and my man Roy Nathanson will be playing sax with The Alphabet Lounge Band on Saturday night. Click on read more for all the essential details.
Bottom fishing in Bed-Stuy: CasaCara
Junk drawer overhaul: Brooklyn Limestone
Amazing spaces: Stylefile NYC
Colorful French furnishings: Apartment Therapy
Interview with Grace Bonney of Design Sponge: Effed in Park Slope
Before and after basics: Design Sponge
Race tracks of the world (for Hugh): Swiss Miss
The ruins of Detroit: Reclaimed Home
Good Morning Everybody! Breaking news: All NYC schools will be closed today, January 27, 2100. Yup, it’s those two magic words: Snow Day!
The MTA has suspended buses and Long Island Rail Road and Newark, Kennedy and Teterboro airports are closed. There’s up to a foot of snow out there.
Hey kids, look out the window and then go back to bed!
Snow and thunder. Snow and thunder. Yet again the Northeast is hit with a weird thunder snowstorm and the pile of fresh snow on the air conditioner outside my window is growing and the trees look like they are festooned with cotton balls.
The Mayor declared a a weather emergency on Wednesday afternoon and the Department of Education said it would make the big snow day decision by 5 AM Thursday morning whether or not schools would be closed.
The storm has already caused the cancellation of hundreds of flights, and the Port Authority has closed Newark, Teterboro, and JFK Airports. The MTA suspended all of its bus services across New York City and Long Island for early Thursday.
Children all over Brooklyn are on tenterhooks.
I asked my daughter if she thought tomorrow would be a snow day. “They’re being SO prepared now. Probably not,” she said wearily. But she doesn’t really know does she? Those two glorious words could still greet her tomorrow morning when it’s time to wake up.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning through 6 AM Thursday for the city, Long Island and parts of northeastern New Jersey. There’s also a coastal flood advisory through 5 a.m., in parts of Connecticut, New Jersey and Long Island that streets and roadways could experience minor flooding.
There’s nothing cozier than being inside in the middle of the night when it’s snowing outside. The city streets, trees, the cars, buildings, stoops, already white from yesterday’s dusting, are filling with fresh piles of snow. It’s a whole other thing if you actually have to go out in it.
Will it be a Snow Day tomorrow? I’ll let you know around 5AM.
“Madame de Rênal was faithful to her promise. She did not try in any way to shorten her life, but three days after Julien, she died while hugging her children.”
From The Red and the Black by Stendhal
As EVERYONE knows by now, north-bound F/G-train platforms at the 15th St. and Ft. Hamilton Parkway stations will be closed for the next 5 months (with south-bound closures to follow afterward).
No one denies that major track work on the F local tracks is necessary but F/G train users and losers believe that the MTA should provide service alternatives.
Many want the MTA to extend B68 bus (which runs along Prospect Park Southwest and Coney Island Avenue) past its usual terminus at Bartel Pritchard Square (at the 15th St/PPSW Station), to 9th St and 8th Ave, where riders could pick up the F train. Brad Lander has set up a petition and urges straphangers to demonstrate their support.
Already 1000 F/G subway riders have signed a petition for better transit alternatives.
If you are interested you can sign a petition to the MTA for better service alternatives.
There was an attempted bank robbery at the Chase bank on Fifth Avenue and 14th Street. For more details, read all about it on Park Slope Patch with reporting by Kristen V. Brown.
Brought to you by the Feldman Family from their local weather tower.
“He was soon borne away by the waves and lost in darkness and distance.”
From Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
So the Department of Transportation says that the bike lane is a good thing—and they’ve got the stats to prove it while opponents of the bike lane accuse the DOT of trumping up the stats.
This is getting fun—or nasty—depending on your point of view.
Last Thursday, the New York City Department of Transportation yesterday released an updated study on the effects of the redesign of Prospect Park West. They found that crashes were down by more than 15% on Prospect Park West, while crashes with injuries were down more than 62%, and total injuries declined by more than 20%.
Even better: there were zero reported pedestrian injuries during the six months following the redesign, and no reported injuries from pedestrian-bicycle crashes. According to Eric McClure: “While the absolute numbers were relatively small, the trend is unmistakable – slowing cars down has reduced the incidence of crashes, and made the street safer.”
The DOT also has several enhancements in store: replacing the textured, at-grade pedestrian-refuge areas with raised, planted islands; installing low-profile “rumble strips” to alert cyclists when they’re nearing intersections; relocating signals for better visibility; and narrowing the buffer zone, with a corresponding widening of the vehicle travel lanes, at the north end of Prospect Park West, to facilitate the roadway transition from Grand Army Plaza. It’s clear that they’ve listened to community input, and acted accordingly.
According to the report, there was also a huge drop in speeding, and a big increase in cycling and to many this report supports the claim that the Prospect Park West project is a win win.
Not so fast…
Then there are the nay sayers. Borough President Marty Markowitz, who is one of its biggest opponents, questions the DOT stats saying that there must be an independent assessment of these changes because the DOT is too invested in the bike lane.
He told Park Slope Patch: “The DOT has to justify the Prospect Park West bike lane, so I question the validity of any data coming from the very agency that installed the lane.”
Markowitz believes that the bike lane disfigures majestic Prospect Park West and is problematic for drivers on PPW.
Leaking sewage pipe spurs Army Corps repairs: Sheepshead Bites
Not quite a reporter but raking muck and reaping wrath: Gerritsen Beach
Something neat: Past Objects: NY Shitty
Sounding off on Walmart: Bushwick BK
Suspect in Bishop Loughlin shooting arrested: The Local
Silicon Beach: Dumbo NY
Support a local student: Bed-Stuy Blog
Is 333 Carroll Street’s monstrous addition coming down: Pardon Me for Asking
Area Kids moving into Super Saver place on 7th Avenue: Here’s Park Slope
Millenium Part Deux: I’m not a racist, I love Obama: Effed in Park Slope
City Council Member Brad Lander has just released his annual report to the community. The report is broken down by issue, and by the various neighborhoods in the district and you can read it here. There is going to be a conversation about the report, some of the issues it raises, and where things are headed in 2011 on Thursday, January 27 at 6:30 PM. The public is invited to participate via community conference call. You can RSVP for that here. In the introduction he writes:
As a deep believer in democratic accountability, I believe it is essential toreport back to the community.One year into my tenure in the City Council,I’m pleased to share this first annual report onsome of what we accomplished in 2010, what we learned, and what we’re hoping to do inthe year to come.
“Yes, they will trample me underfoot, the numbers marching one, two, three, four hundred million five hundred, six, reducing me to specks of voiceless dust, just as, in all good time, they will trample my son who is not my son, and his son who will not be his, and his who will not be his, until the thousand and first generation, until a thousand and one midnights have bestowed their terrible gifts and a thousand and one children have died, because it is the privilege and the curse of midnight’s children to be both masters and victims of their times, to forsake privacy and be sucked into the annihilating whirlpool of the multitudes, and to be unable to live or die in peace.”
From Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
It’s really frigid out there. According to the Feldman Family’s weather tower, it’s, like, 10 degrees or something out there. And with the wind chill. I don’t even want to think about it.
Better to sing or watch Zooey Deschanel & Leon Redbone sing this song to images from Elf (sorry). Here are the lyrics by Frank Loesser.
I really can’t stay – Baby it’s cold outside
I’ve got to go away – Baby it’s cold outside
This evening has been – Been hoping that you’d drop in
So very nice – I’ll hold your hands, they’re just like ice
My mother will start to worry – Beautiful, what’s your hurry
My father will be pacing the floor – Listen to the fireplace roar
So really I’d better scurry – Beautiful, please don’t hurry
Well maybe just a half a drink more – Put some music on while I pour
The neighbors might think – Baby, it’s bad out there
Say, what’s in this drink – No cabs to be had out there
I wish I knew how – Your eyes are like starlight
To break the spell – I’ll take your hat, your hair looks swell
I ought to say no, no, no, sir – Mind if I move closer
At least I’m gonna say that I tried – What’s the sense in hurting my pride?
I really can’t stay – Baby don’t hold out
Ahh, but it’s cold outside
C’mon baby
I simply must go – Baby, it’s cold outside
The answer is no – Ooh darling, it’s cold outside
This welcome has been – I’m lucky that you dropped in
So nice and warm – Look out the window at that storm
My sister will be suspicious – Man, your lips look delicious
My brother will be there at the door – Waves upon a tropical shore
My maiden aunt’s mind is vicious – Gosh your lips are delicious
Well maybe just a half a drink more – Never such a blizzard before
I’ve got to go home – Oh, baby, you’ll freeze out there
Say, lend me your coat – It’s up to your knees out there
You’ve really been grand – I thrill when you touch my hand
But don’t you see – How can you do this thing to me?
There’s bound to be talk tomorrow – Think of my life long sorrow
At least there will be plenty implied – If you caught pneumonia and died
I really can’t stay – Get over that hold out
Ahh, but it’s cold outside
“Morning, Milo said. Then they both looked up to the lifting sk. Lois followed their eyes and found they were right. It was morning (clear, cloudless, the oldest gift), would be morning oh six hours yet.”
From A Generous Man by Reynolds Price
“He loved Big Brother.”
From 1984 by George Orwell
You’re not really stranded, it’s just that Bklyn bound 2,3,4 trains are not stopping at Bergen Street, Grand Army Plaza, or Eastern Parkway. You can leave the Slope but it’s difficult to return from Manhattan.
And if you’re expecting guests let them know that they can’t get out at these Slope stations. They’ll have to go to Franklin Avenue and circle back.
Check the service advisories at the MTA website to verify this.
Well, you’re not really stranded, it’s just that Bklyn bound 2,3,4 trains are not stopping at Bergen Street, Grand Army, or Eastern Parkway. You can leave the Slope, it’s just difficult to return from Manhattan. And if you’re expecting guests let them know that they can’t get out at these Slope stations. They’ll have to go to Franklin Avenue and circle back.
Check the service advisories at the MTA website to verify this.
Read Norman Oder’s piece at the City Room (their Complaints Box) about what he calls a lack of meaningful local government, as well as broad based media and civic organizations in Brooklyn. Norman Oder writes the Atlantic Yards Report blog. He lives in Park Slope and is at work on a book about the Atlantic Yards.
Of the boroughs outside Manhattan, Brooklyn gets the most buzz — as a tourist attraction, a “hipster brand” and an incubator of art and artisanal products. That has provoked a backlash from longtime Brooklynites and others wary of smugness from the borough’s Brownstone Belt.
However entertaining these debates, Brooklynites — and, I dare say, all of us in the non-Manhattan boroughs — share one common problem: we’re essentially powerless. We lack meaningful local government, as well as broad-based media and civic organizations…
There’s snow out there, yesiree, but it’s not a snow day. Sorry kids, school in Brooklyn is going forward as planned. They’re not even delaying start times at Park Slope schools from what I can ascertain. According to the City Room, public transportation is running, probably a little slowly, but running just the same.
Atlantic Avenue’s newest: CasaCara
Junk drawer overhaul: Limestone Adventures
Form and function: NYC Stylefile
Painted white floors: Apartment Therapy
Vintage Polaroid Land Camera: Swiss Miss
she and him video premiere: Design Sponge
Light made from recylced stuff: Reclaimed Home
The National Weather Service had this to say in, as usual, all capital letters:
…WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO
8 AM EST FRIDAY…
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN UPTON HAS ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY FOR SNOW…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO 8 AM
EST FRIDAY.
* LOCATIONS…NORTHEASTERN NEW JERSEY…THE LOWER HUDSON VALLEY
AND NEW YORK CITY.
* HAZARDS…SNOW.
* ACCUMULATIONS…3 TO 5 INCHES.
* VISIBILITIES…AROUND 1/2 MILE.
* TIMING…SNOW WILL OVERSPREAD THE REGION FROM THE WEST AFTER
DARK. THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL FALL OVERNIGHT INTO EARLY FRIDAY
MORNING.
* IMPACTS…FRESH SNOW WILL BE ON THE GROUND BY SUNRISE FRIDAY.
LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW WILL BE FALLING DURING THE EARLY MORNING
COMMUTE.
Last night the Panel for Educational Policy, which consists of 13 appointed members and Chancellor Cathie Black, voted to locate Millennium Brooklyn High School inside the John Jay High School Complex making it the fourth high school in that large Seventh Avenue building in Park Slope. Prior to the vote there was a four-hour public hearing at Brooklyn Tech. From reports on Park Slope Patch, it sounds like the public hearing, attended by staff, students and other supporters of the schools within the John Jay Complex, was similar to the public hearing at the John Jay Complex last week.
There has been much controversy surrounding the way the Department of Education has handled the proposal to bring Millennium to Park Slope. It was originally presented as a proposal but soon seemed a fait accompli after Lisa Gioe Cord, the principal who has been selected to run Millennium Brooklyn, told her current school that she would be leaving (to start the new school).
At a hearing last week at the John Jay Complex staff and students complained that the John Jay schools were “set up to fail” when they were routinely denied funding for, among other things, improvements to the schools derelict building.
Others cried racism and “separate but unequal” treatment because the new school is set to be funded very generously by the Department of Education, as it is considered a selective school and part of the chancellor’s New School Initiative.
Assemblyman Jim Brennan told the crowd last week: “This proposal is an egregious insult to the existing schools. Don’t blame the demonstrators. Take Millennium and take it off the table right now…Strengthen and build what’s here before you. Before you do anything new, you must help those who are here.”
OPINION: What to many seemed like a fait accompli is now a reality. On the plus side, Millenium Brooklyn could be a “win by association” for the schools now in the complex in terms of much needed improvements (thought it is painfully obvious that this funding would never have happened without Millennium). What has been forgotten in all this is that Millennium Brooklyn has the potential to be an excellent new high school choice for Brooklyn students.
It is time to take a look at the recommendations presented by City Councilmember Brad Lander that he believes will be critical in helping to ease—and possibly heal—the tensions raised by bringing the new school into the building.
- Insure safety with respect for all students by removing the metal detectors for the entire John Jay campus and developing a strong building-wide safety plan.
- Commit to diversity at the John Jay campus by ensuring that the John Jay campus includes an ongoing mix of non-selective and selective options, and that the new school – and all schools there – work to reflect Brooklyn’s diversity, and serve English language learners and students with special needs.
- Provide equitable and adequate resource investments across schools by implementing long-overdue building-wide improvements, and making sure that investments tied to these changes serve all the schools equally.
- Conduct space planning in an equitable, transparent, inclusive manner, in consultation with all the principals.
- Establish a “John Jay Campus Council” to build community among the schools, and partnerships with the broader community to help the schools succeed together, create shared spaces and institutions, fundraise, and connect to resources.
Park Slope honey cookies: A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn
Take stock of my crock pot: 2 Cooks in the Kitchen
Freddy’s opening soon: All About Fifth
200 Fifth: Here’s Park Slope
Cooking a rabbit: Brooklynguy’s Wine and Food Blog
Dao Palete gets a sign: Here’s Park Slope
Dinner at Tabare: Eat It
At-cost lobsters at Jordan’s: Sheepshead Bites
Pastor to leave local church: Gerritsen Beach
Who is Jim Joe?: NY Shitty
Bushwick culture weekly picks: Bushwick BK
What’s up with scaffolding?: Pardon Me for Asking
Brooklyn stops on the Underground Railroad: The Local
Sign removed, older sign revealed: Here’s Park Slope
Slope smokers: Effed in Park Slope
Recent thefts at 68 Jay Street: Dumbo NYC
On Thursday Brooklyn Reading Works at the Old Stone House presents: The Truth and Oral History or the double life of the interview curated by John Guidry of Truth and Rocket Science. This event will consist of a panel discussion and a Q&A.
Stories do not tell themselves. Even once they are told and recorded, stories need some help to be heard and to live in the world. This month’s Brooklyn Reading Works will look at the processes by which people collect stories and use them to tell stories. We will have panelists who use oral history practices to document our world and the lives we lead, and the conversation will explore the work it takes to make stories interesting and give them legs to stand on, as it were. Panelists will represent and explore several different genres and styles of the oral historian’s craft, from traditional first-person historical storytelling to the mediations of photography, academic writing, marketing, multimedia, and social advocacy—as well as stories of how collecting stories ultimately affects oral historians as authors and curators of the human experience. Click on read more for a list of the participants.
Starting today the MTA is making repairs and improvements to the Culver Viaduct structure; restoring platforms, canopies and the historic arch at 4 Avenue, 9th Street station and rehabilitating the Smith and 9th Street station. Unfortunately, this work will require the Manhattan bound F-train and Queens bound G-train to skip Ft. Hamilton, 15th Street, and Smith and 9th Street stations until May.
To those of you who commute into Manhattan or elsewhere from the Ft. Hamilton, 15th Street and Smith and 9th Street stations, welcome to your new morning commute.
The Manhattan-bound F and the Queens-bound G will skip the 15th Street-Prospect Park, Fort Hamilton Parkway and Smith-9th Street stations (the Queens-bound G, however, will continue to serve the Smith-9th Street stop). That means that riders will have to overshoot the stations and get on the train going in the other direction.
For a complete list of service changes to the subway line by line, go to the MTA website.
Hey, F& G train commuters: the Culver Viaduct rehabilitation project, begins late Monday night.
Starting with tomorrow morning’s commute and until May, the Manhattan-bound F and the Queens-bound G will skip the 15th Street-Prospect Park, Fort Hamilton Parkway and Smith-9th Street stations (the Queens-bound G, however, will continue to serve the Smith-9th Street stop). That means that riders will have to overshoot the stations and get on the train going in the other direction.
For a complete list of service changes to the subway line by line, go to the MTA website.
We knew that the Taqueria shuttered Le Taq, its stylish experiment in Seventh Avenue drinking and dining. But the main place right next door (at Berkeley Place), the home of the San Joaquin Burrito, the California Burrito, excellent rotisserie chicken, and a host of other mouth-watering sensations on the menu, is also closing its Seventh Avenue doors.
Boo hoo hoo.
I for one will miss the groovy, Haight Asbury vibe, the Filmore West posters collaged on the walls, the murals and the tasty—and fast—food in there. A great choice for take-out dinner for the whole family.
Owner Martin Median told Park Slope Patch he’s closing because of high rent and slow business but the eatery has been in business for twenty years. Maybe this particular economic downturn really did him in.
Hopefully, Marty’s other place, Rachel’s Taqueria, which serves alcohol and pretty much the same menu in a similarly groovy space (and that flaming neon outside) will continue to do brisk business.
Fingers crossed.