Open Thread Wednesday

By on February 2, 2016 11:57 pm in open thread

What’s on your mind? Comment away!

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  • gc

    I noticed a sign in Brooklyn Bridge Park that indicated they were working on improving the Montague St entrance to the Park. Is there some new entrance planned? Does this mean you will be able to walk down Montague St to get to the Park?

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    Probably referring to the entrance on Furman Street.

  • Banet

    Definitely no Montague entrance planned.

    And for those who are curious, the grand stairway entrance at Montage Street that was proposed over a decade ago didn’t happen because:

    1. It was projected to be too expensive (I remember hearing $50mm mentioned — remember, an elevator would have been required.)

    2. It would have very minorly affected the Scenic View Plane that’s now part of the Pierhouse controversy

    3. Mostly though, getting permission to build a bridge over a federal highway (the BQE) was projected to take a decade of red tape.

  • Eddyde

    There is a Montague st entrance.
    Before the BQE was built Montague ran down to the waterfront. That small “U” section of street, off Furman St, is Montague.

  • CassieVonMontague

    I saw a white van speaker scam man making his way down Montague St last Thursday asking anyone if they wanted a home theater system because “they got an extra one from work.”

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_van_speaker_scam

  • StudioBrooklyn

    A pack of photographers and reporters await Martin Shkreli on his way out of court today

  • Caroline

    Outstanding
    nanny available in March

    We
    are seeking a new position for our fantastic nanny, Anna. We’re moving out of the city and
    unfortunately must part with Anna.

    We’ve
    had the great fortune of having the most wonderful nanny any family could possibly
    ask for, but unfortunately with heavy hearts we are forced to part ways with
    her since we are moving to New Jersey. We’ve had Anna for the past 16 months,
    during which time she cared for our 19 month old daughter, and gave her the
    best care and much love. She now seeks a full-time position to care for a
    newborn.

    Anna
    is a wonderful, mature, warm, caring and loving nanny, with over 16 years
    experience. She’s also very discipline about her job, respectful, courteous and
    has a great personality which enables her to get along with anyone she comes in
    contact with; particularly nannies and parents. Our daughter is a growing into
    a confident, outgoing, super happy little girl because of the love and patience
    Anna has shown while caring for her.
    She’s
    always kept her occupied when at home, and is constantly searching for
    interactive and educational programs to get her involved with in the
    neighborhood. Any child would be lucky to have Anna as their nanny, and she
    will instantly become a part of any family with her great attitude.

    Our
    nanny displayed great discipline in her position, by always assuring our
    daughter’s food supply was well stocked, as well as her diapers, toiletries and
    clothes. She also did her laundry, cleaned and sanitized her bottles and other
    eating utensils, made sure the baby’s room and play areas were always kept
    clean, as well as books and toys
    put away at the end of the day.

    Anna
    will be available to work from March 28th. Interested families
    can contact her directly at 347 489 9236, or
    me at 917-796-5628 and/or carolinekkimball@gmail.com.

    I would welcome the opportunity to speak to
    you about Anna, she has become a part of our family and we are heartbroken to
    have to part with her due to us moving out of the state. Anna brightens
    up any room that she walks into. She loves being outside, makes friends
    easily and comes with a plan for every day. She makes breakfast, lunch
    and dinner for our daughter and she is very resourceful and we trust that Anna
    is always putting our daughter first in everything that she does. Our
    daughter absolutely loves her and she has played an incredibly important role
    in her life and ours.

    Caroline (mom to C, 19 months)

  • Boop

    So here’s an issue that’s been bothering me since before Christmas. We have repeatedly had packages stolen from our vestibule, including a box with a kids bike from target and a valentines gift for my daughter from my parents. We’ve asked the various delivery men to NOT leave packages in the vestibule, and to make sure they ring each apartment buzzer until someone answers so that they can leave the package inside the inner locked door. (And FYI, there’s always someone here, we have a tenant who requires 24 hour care). But sometimes our usual guys aren’t around, and the usps specifically doesn’t even ring the bell, they just leave it. So why does this keep happening? Is it happening to anyone else? What can I do? Things have gotten shadier since the park opened, with more people coming down our street. I’ve heard stories about people following delivery trucks and taking the packages as soon as the coast is clear. But I want to know the frequency of this issue in the ‘hood, and what we can do about it. I’m frustrated.

  • rjg
  • AEB

    Had a rash of delivery thefts, too, and, apparently, the same MO. Called UPS and they swore the package(s) had been left in the unlocked front door vestibule of our building.

    On one occasion I was home when the delivery was made, but the delivery woman didn’t see fit to ring my downstairs buzzer–and the package was gone when I went downstairs for it, within fifteen minutes.

    What I managed to do was get in touch with the local delivery manager–call UPS and say you want to speak to whomever is responsible for local delivery routing. It helps if others in your building who have had the same experience call too.

    The local UPS person said that henceforth no packages would be dropped off–that a notification of attempted delivery would be left.

    This didn’t happen, however–apparently, it’s just too much effort to redeliver, and the argument is, customers who aren’t home when a delivery is attempted would prefer to have a package left.

    I suggest continued calling of UPS. I’ve solved the problem in a “cowardly” fashion: I have all packages of a manageable size delivered to my office and I bring them home myself.

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    I miss John terribly. The best UPS delivery person in the world. Hope he is enjoying Florida.

  • Eddyde

    We had some problems with missing packages in my building. The management installed video cameras in the lobby, so far it seems to be an effective deterrent.

  • rjg

    February 4 NYS Supreme Court news

    Hearing on complaint from Brooklyn Heights Association/Save the View Now alleging violation of SV1

    All 99 documents filed are at:
    https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/webcivil/FCASeFiledDocsDetail?county_code=gxiFBVvO73JLVd8VT88u7w%3D%3D&txtIndexNo=OEdj7tg963FbSETQbYN0vA%3D%3D&showMenu=no&isPreRji=N

  • MRM

    I had a stroller stolen recently in front of my child’s daycare on Remsen between Clinton and Henry–be careful! I’ve also heard about recent incidents of car break-ins in the neighborhood, and now the attack on Rabbi Raskin…. I reported the stolen stroller and the police is urging people to make reports when a crime occurs–police reports of crime are one of the ways they decide where resources are needed, and I would love to see more foot patrol in the area!

  • Concerned

    I agree 100%. Sorry to hear about your stroller.

  • Roberto Gautier

    Thankfully our water seems to be purer than Flint’s. One concern for our neighborhood is the purity of the air. Only a day or so after cleaning our windows, they are coated with grime and other mystery substances. The blades of our ceiling fans are also catchy surfaces for sticky black spreads. Non-stop traffic from the BQE, Brooklyn & Manhattan Bridges, Cadman Plaza West as well as marine and airborne emissions need to be looked at seriously. We all should know that no government agencies permit measurement about indoor pollution because it’s too complicated.

  • Concerned

    DiBlasio streetcar to run through Brooklyn Heights???

    The light rail proposal, which first leaked in the beginning of January, would cost an estimated $2.5 billion dollars to build out, and would run mostly near the East River, potentially dipping into downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights.

    http://gothamist.com/2016/02/04/streetcar_named_de_blasio.php#photo-1

  • http://www.shootlikeagirlphotography.com/ lauren

    Very true! I first noticed the black dust several years ago. I bought an air purifier and that helps… but it is still a band-aid for a larger issue.

  • Peter Loibl

    I know I am a few days late for this Wednesday post, but … can anyone recommend a good CPA in the neighborhood? Preferably one with knowledge of Mitchell-Lama rules?

  • StudioBrooklyn
  • Andrew Porter

    Tuesday I went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the first time this year, and I saw a single (1) crocus flowering, in the area planted with the bluebells.

    Hey, I’ll take what I can…

  • Andrew Porter

    Excellent photo, esp. when you click on it for the large version.

  • Andrew Porter

    My advice is to establish a relationship with a local business, or someone in your building who’s there all the time, so they can accept stuff on your behalf.

  • Andrew Porter

    I’m in favor of this, and have posted about it several places, on the Eagle, TheRealDeal, Brownstoner, etc.

  • Andrew Porter

    Here’s a postcard showing when streetcars ran on Montague Street:

  • StudioBrooklyn

    Cheers. I especially <3 armed guards checking their phones.

  • StudioBrooklyn

    I’m not sure how I feel about it. I suppose if the funding is a completely separate thing from the MTA (which the article implies) then I see no problem, but otherwise I’d rather they just took the money and oxtailed the G, F, R, or N into Red Hook or something.

  • StudioBrooklyn

    Careland Pharmacy is an authorized UPS drop site, but I think the sender has to agree to use them as such…not sure how it works. Worth looking into if anyone having problems is in the north heights.

  • Concerned

    AP, do you know what street the tracks will run through in Brooklyn Heights?

  • Andrew Porter

    I’m not sure they will. They might go along Furman Street, or along Atlantic to Court or Boerum Place or Cadman Plaza West, then down into DUMBO.

    One thing for sure: BH is not underserved by subway and bus routes.

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