Italian on Myrtle: Confirmed!
/A reader spoke to the workers in the mysterious space next to Joseph Tyler Salon on Myrtle last week, who confirmed it is indeed slated to become an Italian restaurant. I was able to peek in this afternoon and the space really looks gorgeous -- exposed brick, a really break wooden wine rack mounted on the wall, etc. I'm pretty psyched for this one!
Porn Store Update!
/A brief note from BrooklynJay, who should be back to posting soon:
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.
Eastern CH Pet Services
/There's a new yet-to-be-opened storefront on Grand, just north of Putnam, slated to become a pet grooming and supply store! They'll also offer day care and boarding.
Definitely needed for this corner, and I'm sure they'll provide some serious convenience.
Full phone number is 718-622-0060.
Friday Photo
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(Washington between Myrtle and Park. Has anyone called this number? Who's behind this? Apparently the signs are posted in several neighborhoods.)
Java Dave's
/Java Dave's on Lafayette in Fort Greene never gets much buzz, and I'm curious as to why. Their signage isn't great (is it a franchise?), but every time I've been in the staff has been superfriendly. They also have GREAT loose tea. I highly recommend the cherry-vanilla.
Haunted Church Update
/Brownstoner spied a dumpster in front of everyone's favorite Haunted Church, 447 Clinton Ave, recently. A few days ago, I spotted this sign on the plywood that now surrounds the house:
Looks like the work's being done for now on the carriage house in the back. This is cool, I suppose, but I'm annoyed since I dreamed of buying it someday and doing a cool green reno. Bah.
At least this means (hopefully) that the property will be cleaned up! I'm tired of looking at all the weird, soggy trash outside this place.
Snow in Wallabout?!
/Walking up Hall last week, I came across what appeared to be a pile of dirty snow. WTF?
Notes on the BQE
/Have you noticed that lately the BQE running over Park seems to be...leaking? Water is ALWAYS pouring off of it and onto Park, even when it's not raining. Where is this water coming from? Maybe it's best not to know.
Also, this free parking under the overpass seems weird to me. Obviously people are parking here, and it seems it's allowed. But it seems like parking there screams, "Steal/damage my car!" Anyone park there? The arrangement seems very intriguing.
Waverly Accident
/Received this from a reader: We were driving to Prospect Park on Sat AM and saw, on the block of Waverly bet Fulton and Gates (home of the preemie martini) the most unbelievable car crash we'd ever seen anywhere. Even in, like, a James Cameron movie or anything. It looked like a Baghdad car bombing - there were 5 cars just torn to pieces and debris strewn all around.
Can't find a word about it anywhere - maybe it's not that noteworthy, but the ghoulish side of me is dying to know what happened.
Anything?
I couldn't find anything, either. Anyone know anything? (Also, the preemie martini can be found one block south, between Fulton and Atlantic, FYI.)
Friday Photo
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(Aerial photo of Clinton Hill and vicinity from airplane, submitted by Jen Cooper)
Pet Peeve
/I HATE when people refer to Clinton Hill as "Clinton Hills." This happens all the time, especially on Craigslist rental listings. Uh, do you not know where you live?
Retail Space: Still Empty
/Wondering why this retail space on the corner of Washington and Park is still available. You'd think it would be a good locale at this point, with Mohito, Kiki's Pet Hotel and Play Care, RePop and Body by Brooklyn right nearby.
Homes on Lefferts Place
/I admit, I had never walked down Lefferts Place until very recently, and it was in search of community gardens. I finally found this yellow house that's been blogged about so much (I had never see it in person! I rarely go south of Fulton.)
Here's some really great info on the history of the house and the neighbors' success in saving it! Here's some coverage on the story as it unfolded. The house is for sale now, listed through Corcoran. Anyone have three million lying around? And wtf is up with this HUGE lot for sale next to it???
I also saw this beauty:
Man, what an intriguing block!
Friday Photo
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(Greene Ave.)
Selective Parking Rules
/Received this note last week from a reader: I live on Grand Avenue at Lexington, and for the past nine months or so, I've been parking a car on the street. This has been a headache, of course, but certainly easier than a lot of other Brooklyn neighborhoods, despite the twice weekly street cleaning (why?!). One thing that makes it easier in the mornings for street cleaning: no one seems to mind, including the cops an metermaids, if you double park on the opposite side of the street for an hour and a half to avoid the street sweeper. Its very common to see a row of cars all double parked on Grand on any given morning. At 11:30, the owners park them again. I've seen ticketers ignore these cars while doling out tickets to street cleaning violators. Everyone seems okay with it, the neighbors and the cops.
But this morning I got a $115 ticket for being double parked! What gives? Any ideas about the arbitrariness of this system?
Since I'm at work most days, I had never heard of such a thing. Yet yesterday, when I stayed home in the morning nursing an ear infection (yes, apparently I am a 4-year-old), I noticed the same phenomenon on Waverly Ave!
Personally, I'd guess whoever ticketed said reader needed to fill a quota or was feeling particularly dickish that morning. Does anyone do this regularly, and if so, is there indeed an unspoken guarantee that you'll avoid a ticket if you double park? Also, what if someone parked at the curb gets shut in? Perhaps the cop ticketed that day because someone was inconvenienced?
And as a side note, double-parking seem to be a major problem in the 'hood. Just because you have your flashers on doesn't make it OK to double park up and down Clinton Avenue all the damn time. Now and then, OK, you need to pull over to pick someone up. But if I had a dime for every SUV double-parked on Clinton with flashers on, I could have paid off my mortgage and then some. (This is a separate issue from avoiding street cleaning tickets, and occurs mostly on weekend afternoons.)
Friday Photo (early)
/I'm off to LA for work. Back on Monday.
(Classon Avenue)
Weird New Building
/While walking around on a recent weekend, I ran into this building on Fulton at Classon:
Seems odd, as it looks new and yet the doors are boarded up from the inside. Looks like it might be affordable condos?
A 1-br with marble baths for 250k? AND central air? What's the catch?
Ooo...looks like Brownstoner did a post on this place back in January 2006! And again in August for an open house! (I should know by now to check him first for info on all things new construction in the hood. Do check out the ridiculous placement of the stove hood in the photos. WTF?)
So, what ended up happening here? No one moved in? Info, anyone?
Big Fine
/On Emerson, this building is threatening either a $3,000 fine, or a $3,000,000 fine, depending on which typo was made. (Or else the sign was made by a European company). Run-on sentence... ~shudder~
Either way, don't dump here. "For security reasons."
Friday Photo
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(Pratt Sculpture Garden)