Open Thread Wednesday

can anyone recommend a good electrician in the nabe?

Unfortunately, I agree with the article regarding Montague Street. It’s become really lame.

There’s something wrong when properties in Brooklyn Heights listed for sale have ads that tout the proximity to Smith Street.

Sigh. I almost never eat or drink in the nabe anymore, which is a shame since I live a block from Montague. Of course, if I want to go window shopping for real estate or need a bank branch…

Ok, so I’ve waited 24+ hours to continue, as threatened above. I did take in Il Barbiere di Siviglia (sorry about the misspelling in my earlier post; my Italian isn’t nearly as good as Homer’s) at the Met last night, and, since I know you’re all waiting with bated breath, I’ll tell you: it’s magnificent. Juan Diego Florez as Count Almaviva and Peter Mattei as Figaro both gave breathtaking performances. No matter how many times you’ve seen this old chestnut, you don’t want to miss this one.

Anyway, on my way to Lincoln Center I passed a newsstand, and saw the back page of this week’s Observer, with the teaser head: “The Rise and Fall of Brooklyn Heights”, and a subhead: “In Booming Brooklyn, A Stodgy Old Neighborhood Won’t Get With The Program”. I bought it, and read it during intermission.

The teaser is, as they so often are, misleading. The article inside is entrely about one street, Montague, and the fact that it no longer hosts a lively bar and restaurant scene. It doesn’t mention the several very good restaurants and brewpub in the North Heights, or the scene on the south end along Atlantic between Hicks and Court. It doesn’t present any evidence for the Heights being “stodgy”, beyond the fact that saloons aren’t listed in the “preferred uses” (although, unlike banks, real estate offices, beauty salons, cell phone stores and dispensing opticians, they aren’t listed as unwelcome) on the BHA’s position paper on Montague Street. As for not “getting with the program”, it doesn’t say what the program is (though quotes from a commercial real estate broker indicate that Montague Street is performing in accordance with his “program”.)

After I finished reading the piece, I stood up to stretch and looked around, and was delighted to see the partners who run Overtures, the wonderfully idiosyncratic card and gift shop on Hicks between Montague and Remsen, sitting right behind me. I showed them the back cover of the Observer, and said, “This is about why a store like yours can’t be on Montague.” One of them noted that they had considered moving to the space now occupied by Blue Rose, but had rejected the idea because you had to climb steps to get there. I observed that much of the attractiveness of their shop was their windows, which need to be at eye level. They quickly affirmed this.

this is licensed electrical contractor. call 646-772-1828 ask Joseph.
He has good rates and very reliable.
http://www.apollooneelectric.com