Open Thread Wednesday

By on July 11, 2007 7:00 am in Brooklyn Heights

 

It's one hot OTW:

The Floating Pool Lady rocks, but is it a hassle to get on?

No Lights for Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park… 

Come on Mayor Mike, take the challenge!

Stair Squares are coming!! 

…and whatever else you'd like to talk about. 

BHB Photo Club pic by fkuffel via Flickr

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  • http://www.petebrush.com pbdotc

    a friend who went yesterday says if you go on a weekday morning, the pool isn’t that hard to get into.

    i also went at 11 am. on sunday last and it was a different story. we still got our bracelets but we stood in line for almost an hour to make sure of that.

    also there was rampant line-cutting. as for rampant line-cutters, pbdotc brought the matter to the attention of the guy in charge and he said, i paraphrase, “it’s OK for people to hold one spot in line for friends and family.” which essentially means he doesn’t care — because that means one person can chain in half of his 8th grade class if he feels like it. and that’s pretty much what happens on weekends.

    what’s sad about that attitude is the honest people who actually queue up at the end of the line don’t stand a chance of getting a swim during busy times.

    apparently within the last few days they’ve made slight change to the system, which might make it slightly less crazy though pbdotc doubts it, highly.

    perhaps the rule ought to be that it’s OK to hold a place for kids under a certain age of you’re a parent or guardian. but then how do you enforce that? maybe with someone watching the line? there was nobdody watching the line sunday last…

    as for the pool itself, it’s pretty fun … the hour session went by very quickly. the lifeguards are very competent and hard-working.

    the barge bobs on the east river a bit so if you get seasick esaily you might want to be aware of that.

  • CH

    I was so dissappointed by the whole pool experience. Got there at 1:45 had to wait until 3:10 to get in pool. 174 people aka kids are allowed in at one time. The sandy beach is like dirt.
    The only thing that was great was the view. If you go to the very end of the pool deck you can see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island…..

  • beach lady

    Of course there are crowds. Of course you have to wait your turn. Of course some people break the rules.

    I think the floating pool lady is great! I suggest people adjust their expectations and fine-tune their plans.

  • nabeguy

    BL, I know how much you love that pool and are probably it’s biggest booster, but the line-waiting thing really does get out of hand during the busy times. Even something as simple as a handheld counter would at least prevent people from joining a line and baking in the sun when they have no chance of getting in for a particular session. I overheard someone saying that the management didn’t want to consider something like this, however, because they were worried that people would leave after they received their bands, which strikes me as a highly unlikely scenario given what you have to go through to get in. Of course, if you’re falling over from heat stroke, then I guess you’d have to leave.

  • http://www.petebrush.com pbdotc

    beach lady

    i agree with you. it’s a lot of fun and i’m glad it’s there.

    but the ppl who run pool need to work on the flow.

    “some people break the rules” is a vast understatement.

  • hezekiah_pierrepont

    To get off of the pool topic, why is the bike lane on Henry Street being painted such an awful shade of green? It’s hideous, and it seems more of a distraction than a safety aid. What gives?

  • Pozzy Bear

    I ate at Oven last night and it was awesome. Really good, fresh.

  • Melissa

    I ate at Oven last week and got a pile of slimy cubed mystery meat called “antipasto”.

  • hawianshirts

    I ate at Oven last night and had a beautiful dish called “antipasto”. Great addition to the neighborhood.

  • Pozzy Bear

    Melissa – you’re so negative. I really thought the food was yummy and the waitstaff were all quite nice.

  • JL

    Ate at 5 guys last night. Pretty good stuff, but admit to still prefer Grand Canyon burgers, but only slightly. Both are excellent. Fries were very good. Also enjoyed snacking on peanuts while I waited (nice touch).
    Nevertheless, GC will get most of my burger business since they deliver. C’mon 5 Guys, your missing out on a lot of revenue by not offering delivery.

  • Jo Ann

    I gave oven a chance, as requested by some on this blog. It was bad, I won’t go again. The unseasoned tomato paste as pizza sauce made me sick. I was sad because it is a cute place – I would truly love to eat there often if they could only cook. Suggest the owner go to Grimaldi’s and then try his own pizza to see the difference.

  • T.K. Small

    Two comments:

    The brilliant green bicycle lane is curious at best. As I departed from CVS this afternoon, cars and trucks were routinely rolling in the bicycle path. I am surprised that the Brooklyn Heights traditionalists are not completely up in arms!

    On another topic, the pool/Beach is a great addition. From my perspective as a person with a disability, they have done a good job overall. Although there were some problems with my first attempt to use the shuttle on Sunday, as of yesterday shuttle was working better and the bbpc has quickly moved to solve this issue. Really great effort!

    T.K. Small

  • bored sahm

    The bike path is odd … and ends rather suddenly between Montague & Remsen. I wonder if they’ll put the bicycle logo in fuscia?!

    And, the building on the SW corner of Remsen & Clinton used to have a dangerous little curb around the building – people were forever tripping over it going around the corner – and now it’s gone! They’ve re-concreted and the step only exists in a small area on Clinton Street now. Nice improvement!

  • Bklyn Native

    Anyone else notice that the Love Lane garage has a sign saying they are closing at the end of July?

    Probably to replaced by, you got it, luxury condos (yawn).