Open Thread Wednesday

What’s on your mind? Comment away!

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  • Sweeties

    What was up with all the helipcopter noise, yesterday night, about 8 or 9pm?

  • Nosey Neighbor

    Police were pursuing a car crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. When the car got caught in traffic on the bridge the suspects exited the vehicle and fled on foot. The helicopters were aiding the search for suspects. I don’t know the reason for the pursuit. I believe all suspects were apprehended

  • Ray

    Does anyone know when are the scaffoldings at 129 Montague coming down? Also, is there a way to see what are the timelines for some of the constructions in the neighborhood? I moved in recently and kind of frustrated by the amount of scaffoldings on every corner (and lack of any constructions happening on them). Thank you!

  • MaggieO

    Welcome to the neighborhood! Looks like the folks at 129 Montague just renewed their sidewalk shed permit (they run for a year). The construction permit goes through the end of the year but there's no way to tell if they're going to renew.
    Without actually talking to a building owner there's not going to be a way to find out when each of these sheds are coming down.

  • Red Leader

    Something has to be done about bikes in BBP. The other day a serious collision almost happened right in front of me. One of the cyclists involved was traveling too fast and had a small child on the back of his bike. He came within inches of crashing into oncoming bike traffic. Really scary stuff. And I see this kind of thing all the time.

  • Nosey Neighbor

    It’s just poorly designed bike infrastructure. It’s got loads of blind spots, shared pathways, crossings and insufficient signage and markings.

    I get why. It is supposed to be a leisurely bike path for people to enjoy the park, but the public is going to use it as a bike superhighway because it’s loads more pleasant than Furman St. The Westside highway bike lane is a good example of bike infrastructure integrated with a park.

  • T.K. Small

    I have two questions relating to the former TD bank location on the corner of Montague Street. Would anyone know the name of the architect that designed the building. I was commenting today to someone that it was a good example of the 1960s modern architecture and, now that I think of it, reminds me of the older white building that is part of Brooklyn Law School.

    Secondly, will be building adjacent to the west, also be demolished?

  • Peter Scott-Thomas

    E-bikes make a bad situation much worse and much more dangerous. I have to think that there are some who ride those things who aren't ready to "bump heads" with cars – i.e., they're learning or they don't trust their judgment. To the extent that that's true, a park with 2-way traffic (yes, and blind spots, crossings, clueless pedestrians walking or crossing) on a narrowish path is simply an otherwise "disciplined" park playing fast & loose with patron safety.

    Yes, banning them would further burden the security personnel – not even sure what the legalities might be – but it's like "cats and birds" – doing nothing creates losers (possibly injured seriously) as well as "winners."

  • Andrew Porter

    Site plan for the Riverside Building, Columbia Place, Joralemon and Furman Street, from 1890. The western half of the building was demolished when they built the BQE:
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/66bb43d2833965fb614336d236846009a684f53bd9ece109218d7373e0f3afe6.png

  • Bornhere

    A little over a year ago, a friend was walking near Pier 6 with his partner and was decked by a bike that came flying out of nowhere. Long story short, he underwent rotator cuff surgery three months later for the damage done. And this friend is not remotely fragile… .

  • Nosey Neighbor

    The building on the site was designed by the firm Carson, Lundin & Shaw in 1962. It is a good example of mid-century commercial architecture and a rare marble-clad building designed by this firm. The firm’s other building’s are very much going out of style. A notable example is 4 Manhattan Plaza which can be seen from the promenade and is undergoing (I believe) the largest commercial to residential conversion in the country (ever?).

    the building to be demo-ed includes the former Bank of America space, but does not include the taller WeWork building next door.

    Another good question, will they keep the old teller windows located in the subway station below the building?

  • Nosey Neighbor

    I was wrong about the marble comment. The firm did use marble in a lot of their projects.

    The firm also designed the old Federal Courthouse on Cadman Plaza, not the new one by Cesar Pelli

    Anyone have any good photos of the old Celler Federal Building and Courthouse?

  • Banet

    Where are the teller windows?? I’ve never noticed them!

  • Nosey Neighbor

    When you go through the turnstiles when you enter at Court St, look for the turquoise tiles and you’ll see three teller windows that say “Commuter Banking”

    Imagine stopping at Borough Hall on your way to the city to do some banking and getting right back on the train without having to pay another fare.

  • Cranberry Beret

    NY Icery closed a while back on Columbia Place.

    Taking its place soon is Nako, which looks like it'll be coffee shop by day, wine bar/small-plates-restaurant by night. (Or something like that. Applying for wine-beer-cider license and open daily from 7am til 10 or 11pm. Sounds kinda like Vineapple.)

    The original Caffe Buon Gusto space (151 Montague) is getting some kind of full-bar establishment but details are skimpy…just a Queens-based entity called "Prosperity Wealth LLC"

    h/t Community Board 2 liquor license application review process! :)

  • Andrew Porter

    So, walking on Clinton Street, Prosperity will be just around the corner?

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    The scaffolding isn't only for protection during construction. It is there to protect pedestrians from falling pieces of the buildings facade. Local Law 11 requires all buildings over 6 stories to be inspected every 5 years. If they fail inspection, they must erect a scaffold or Sidewalk Shed until proper remediation can be made.

  • Effective Presenter

    We suspect that your friend has a BIG pile of bills deductibles, co-pays, etc.

  • Andrew Porter

    Isn't the building to the immediate west the former WeWork and Brooklyn Union Gas Company building? That building will not be affected by the demolition.

  • Andrew Porter

    Noticed today that work has stopped on Prestige Market at the corner of Cranberry and Henry, gutted inside. Permits for the store have expired. Lastly, the brown paper covering the windows has started peeling off.

  • Sweeties

    I like new lunch options in the neighborhood, but Prestige had all the hallmarks of, yet another, sub-par deli, like "Olive & Garlic" on Montague. Poppy's is nice, but with 3 sandwich choices, gets tired quickly. Plus, why the tiny paper bags to carry anything away?
    I miss things like Hale & Hearty soups.
    I'm sure the new pizza place will be nice for the tourists.
    What would I give for a simple sandwich option, not impossible to eat without an army of napkins, without Boar's Head products?

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    Whats's your beef with Boar's Head? NPI

  • Karl Junkersfeld
  • Sweeties

    I see what you did there.
    I think it's a lot of baloney.

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    Wow, thanks, I hadn't heard about that!

  • Bornhere

    A few weeks ago, I read a piece about the Boar's Head recalls that noted that slicing of the contaminated products (such as at a deli counter) contaminates the slicing device, thus compromising non-Boar's Head products, too.

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    I seldom eat sandwiches anymore, due to gluten issues. But thanks for the heads up.

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    Something tells me the wurst are yet to come with meat puns.

  • Peter Scott-Thomas

    I don't have to imagine it – I did it. True, ATM's have reduced the number of tellers in much the same way as word processing winnowed the secretarial sector, but there's still something to be said for it. Especially since subway real estate COULD generate far more income than it does – if only the right services were offered.

    Instead, we're heading to all ads all the time in subways, on platforms, etc.

  • Peter Scott-Thomas

    Claude, Mary Kim, others – How could there not be coverage of what I assume came off a couple a days ago?! –

    https://www.thenorthface.com/en-us/events#id=climb-fest-nyc-athlete-registration

    some PHOTOS, at a minimum…. I guess I'll have to see if Mary Frost was there with her fotog.

    As a few of her devoted readers are, no doubt, I wasn't in Brooklyn to see it with my very own eyes….