Porn Store Update!

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A brief note from BrooklynJay, who should be back to posting soon: snb11463.JPG

this is what was up where the porn emporium use to be. (next to white castle and mrytle car service)

the dude who owns it saw me taking pics and gave me his card - i'll forward you the info. maybe do a "pre-opening" interview?

anyway, i'm glad the porn place is gone and this could be cool. gonna depend on the food. (and how well they sanitized inside)

A Google search yields a few videos of the inside of the place, pre-reno. Additionally, they'll be sponsoring a summer Fort Greene film with Cafe Martino in August. This whole outdoor film thing looks pretty cool -- I will try to post more on it when I return. Schedule here.

Bidonville on Willoughby

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The corner of Willoughby that was once a dead end for businesses (between Adelphi and Clermont) is thriving. Joining the welcome pet store Who's Your Doggy, a new cafe has moved in right next door. dscf1259.jpg

Called Bidonville, the cafe features fresh baked goods from Choice, as well as tasty coffee (your reviews on the coffee are welcome, as I don't drink it regularly enough to give an intellectual review on it). Such a good spot for Choice muffins and such for people who live west of Choice and don't want to backtrack in the morning.

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The inside space doesn't look quite finished yet, but I like the rustic look it's going for. The owner's friend was working the day I dropped in, and he was incredibly friendly.

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further developments on greene and waverly

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we've ferreted out some more info on the former bodega space at the corner of greene and waverly (posted about here.) riding the bus down greene ave. the other day, i spotted two people standing outside the space and was pretty positive that one of them was josie smith-malave, former season 2 top chef contestant and former clinton hill chef (which we mentioned here.) i hunted her down on the internets, emailed her, and got this reply:

"Yeah, it's something that I'm working on. I'm consulting ..... We're shooting for end of August, early September to open."

an interview is in the works....

green

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tonight was the first meeting of the new "green fort greene and clinton hill" initiative. it's being spearheaded by jed marcus, a local attorney, longtime fort greene resident, and board member of the fort greene association, which, along with the socity for clinton hill, is lending its support. so what exactly is this initiative, you say? basically, it's aim is to make our neighborhood—our homes, our streets, our local businesses—as environmentally friendly and forward-thinking as possible. which will be good for us, of course, and also serve as a model to other neighborhoods/towns.

the initial goals are:

"1) encouraging the purchase of electricity from renewable sources that do not contribute to global warming; 2) adding many trees and other greenery to our streets; 3) flooding our neighborhood with energy efficient light bulbs; 4) increasing recycling and reducing refuse; and 5) assembling a green map, showing the area's environmental strengths and challenges, for publication this fall in the hill" (which, if you haven't seen it around, is our free local quarterly, available at many local businesses).

the meeting tonigh was attended by about thirty people, including representatives from marp and st. joseph's. a general introduction to the project and it's goals was given and a few committees were put together.

one group will begin work on the tree project—the first step will be walking the local streets, locating spots on the sidewalks where more trees could be planted. this survey will then be submitted to the city, and hopefully they will begin planting next spring. the tree progam is going to be carried out in partnership with the local elementary schools, so that part of the planning—coordinating efforts with the teachers, providing materials to the schools—was also discussed.

another group is going to be talking to con ed about helping to get the word out in the neighborhood about switching to green power, and making it easy for people to do so, possibly by hosting a sign-up event in the neighborhood. they'll also be pushing con ed to offer incentives (e.g. a discount on your bill) if a large enough percentage of people and/or businesses in the neighborhood change over to the green power.

if you're interested in taking part or hearing more, you can email jed marcus, at marcus@marcusattorneys.com. the next meeting will take place sometime in july.

p.s. a call was specifically put out for some volunteers from wallabout, as there wasn't anybody from that part of the hood at the meeting....

new store on grand

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the old karrot space on grand between lafayette and clifton, which has sat so maddeningly empty for so long, is finally getting a new life! sometime this summer it will become the permanent home of still hip, the kids' resale shop that we've mentioned a couple of times here on chb. they hope to have things up and running this month, so keep your eyes peeled. ps - i know that we got scooped by brownstoner on this! grrr.

Italian Dining

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Two new Italian restaurants are allegedly coming to the area! #1: Myrtle Ave next to Joseph Tyler salon.

From reader: They had the door open when I was walking by and they seem to have the makings of a bar in the right-front of the space and it looks like they are planning to have an outdoor space in the back!

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#2: The space underneath Lucky Lotus yoga on DeKalb, which used to be a real estate agency, is also slated to become an Italian restaurant.

Brooklyn Based

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I’ve just begun a newsletter for Brooklynites called Brooklyn Based. Its purpose isn't to take the place of fantastic blogs like CHB, but to enhance and streamline all the information that's relevant to us in Brooklyn, via one small email a day (or more realistically, every other day, since I'm doing this in my spare time).

Today’s email, for instance, is about Brooklyn Uncorked, a great wine tasting event coming to BAMcafé this Wednesday. You can read about it here, and sign up for the newsletter here. I’d love to hear your feedback if you subscribe.

FYI: This is Clintoncentric's project. Lesterhead has her hands full :)

Smoke Joint Expansion?

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A reader confirmed the immediate shuttering of Pan/m y Mas today (was it ever even operational?), and sent me this photo from a camera phone of the space being reworked again. He hopes it's a Smoke Joint expansion. I concur- more seating would make the place even more kick-ass. 1-1.jpeg

(Seriously, wtf was up with Pan/m y Mas? Who would only give themselves a few days to try out a new business??)

MYSTERY SOLVED

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Looks like someone's neon sign got fucked up. PAN y Mas opens tomorrow morning, and is offering cheap coffee: dscf0279.jpg

If you go, please report back.

UPDATE: I walked by this morning and they were definitely NOT ready for opening. Employees were inside, but all the cases were empty and it looked like they were cleaning.

The Stroll

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I came across a new vintage-ish clothing store last weekend, though they claim to have been open since Thanksgiving. I see how that's possible- this place is on that teeny stretch of S. Portland between Fulton and Hanson, and I'd have no reason to walk there.dscf0175.jpg

The gold mannequins are a little creepy.

It's owned by the same people who own Habana Outpost, and I believe one of Habana's owners is the clothing designer at The Stroll. It appears he takes vintage items and remakes them. Some of the stuff was really out there, but there were a few things I would have definitely worn.

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There's a really cool mural painted on the ceiling:

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They offered me a free glass of wine, and they also offer carious crafting nights:

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The Stroll 109 South Portland St. Ave. www.recycledrejectshop.com

Bar on Waverly: More Info

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Months ago, we discovered something that looked like a new bar on Waverly between Fulton and Atlantic. I recently found someone inside, who gave me this promo card: bar1.jpg

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"Who Knew." Argh! Despite this list of events being alphabetical, it's kind of odd that baby showers would be listed first. I'm not sure what a Preemie Martini is, but I hope it's not referring to babies born early. Anyhow, the inside does, in fact, look pretty cool, so maybe someone out there in CH wants to host their baby shower there and report back? And of course, their website is not up yet.

Jelani Lounge 507 Waverly Avenue (bt Fulton and Atlantic) 718-230-JBAR www.jelanilounge.com

One more comment on the phone number. For those of us who have BlackBerries, we cannot dial-by-letter. Please, just tell me what the actual number is.

pillow cafe: open!

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stopped by the new incarnation of the pillow cafe today for an early lunch/snack. they're still getting things off the ground, but it's looking promising.....the food and drink are just as they were at the original pillow. we got huge hot chocolates:

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a muffin:

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and a bagel with pesto and fresh mozzarella:

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i actually wanted to order a bagel with flavored cream cheese, but they didn't have any. the very sweet counter guy apologetically told me that they didn't have everything quite in place yet, having only been open a little over a week, but that if i'd come back, they would have vegetable, artichoke, and scallion cream cheese. artichoke cream cheese? yes, thank you, i'll be back.

the muffin was chocolate chip and got high points for not having too many chips and being a teeny bit salty, a nice counterpoint to the sweet.

the hot chocolate was as good as it looks. you can get it with whipped cream too, if you're into that sort of thing.

the space, though still a work in progress, is lovely. the front area, with the bar and a bunch of cafe tables, is light-filled and feels bigger than it really is. i am a little nostalgic for the cozy feel of the old pillow cafe, but it's hard to argue with this:

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we sat in the area in back of the bar. right now it is mostly open, sparsely furnished with just a few couches and armchairs. but that was actually just fine for our purposes: it was the perfect space for two 2-year olds to run wild without disturbing the rest of the customers:

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there was a big velvet curtain over the french doors in the back, masking the disorganization in the yard that will someday house awesome outdoor seating, but one of our little monsters pulled it down.... i'm sure they'll have it fixed by the time you go in.

pillow cafe 505 myrtle ave. @ ryerson and grand

Intriguing Bakery

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I can't believe no one's written about this yet, but it appears there's already a new business ready to open in the old Blimpie's location. (LaFu, Lafayette and S. Elliott. And while I'm at it, I am NOT using the term LaFu to describe a trendy mini-nabe. I KNOW this is Fort Greene. But the streets here DO create an interesting triangle and a lot has been going on there. So I am using "LaFu" to denote the location. I would not say this is "in" LaFu, but rather "AT" LaFu, before more people get annoyed. Just saying.) So, anyway, there's a new place that looks kind of like a bakery (a chain bakery??)snb11232.jpg

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I'm confused by this. Since there's a sign inside that says "pan plus," I assumed "pan" referred to the Spanish word for bread, which would make sense if the sign outside said "PAN & MAS (bread & more)," but it says PAM & MAS.

What is going on here?