Open Thread Wednesday 4/21/10

By on April 21, 2010 12:10 am in open thread
Flickr photo by lumierefl

Flickr photo by lumierefl

What’s on your mind? Comment away!

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  • Homer Fink

    Welcome back!

  • harumph

    wow, my heart stopped for a moment when I couldn’t open the BHB blog….calmness is now restored.

  • my2cents

    Ahh, wordpress. I switched my hosting to squarespace after having that database error too many times.

  • beth

    Mmmm… looked like something was in the works to me.

  • ummm

    Dear Toruists,

    Sidewalks are for walking/stopping/chatting/staring into the sky/looking at maps/taking pictures. Streets are for driving/biking. Please alter your plans/current location accordingly.

    Kay, thx.

    Warmest regards,

    Me

  • http://www.bestmugshotever.com othersideofthebridge

    I hope this is OK as my link is only BH related by the fact that I am BH resident. Check out my site if you need a laugh in the middle of the workday.

  • David on Middagh

    I’ll save people the trouble: It’s a site for making fun of mugshots.

  • kipped

    A quick follow-up on last week’s discussion.

    I hope those of you who said you’d be at the Roebling Inn tonight still plan to go? At the very least, I and my neighbor will be there.

    And anyone who loved the idea of an “under 40″ meet-up in the neighborhood — come on down! We can gossip about our 40+ counterparts over some Kelsos…

  • clark st

    can someone please explain to me the national grid billing system. they estimated that i used 29 therms but i only used 1.

  • lcd

    Welcome back is right – I felt unmoored there for a while!

  • tb

    Speaking of tourists (over 40 or not) can we talk about what they can do so the bikers and walkers on the Brooklyn Bridge can live together in harmony? Each party seems to think they own the bridge and has a total disregard for the other.
    Someone is going to get seriously hurt soon.

  • bhmom3

    Does anyone know when the new cupcake place will be open on Montague?

  • http://www.bestmugshotever.com othersideofthebridge

    It’s much easier to bike over the Manhattan Bridge… I don’t know what reason anyone has to bike over the Brooklyn Bridge since the distance between the two is minimal on both sides. The Brooklyn Bridge is much nicer, but if cyclists were worried about enjoying the scenery they would be walking :P

  • jessibaby

    Kipped, I’m gonna try to make it!

  • my2cents

    tb – I have long felt that the Brooklyn Bridge should be closed to bicycle traffic on weekends. Bicyclists should be required to dismount on Sat. and Sun. to cross the bridge. As noted above, the Manhattan Bridge is smoother and faster if you really need to cross by bike for exercise. There simply isn’t enough physical room for the hordes of tourists and bicyclists to coexist. I have seen so many close calls. Many of the pedestrians are tourists who are not paying attention and who are backing into the bike lane taking photos of friends. Plus many speak no english, so they don’t realize that they are being asked to move when shouted at. In the name of tourism dollars, civility, and public safety I think that bicycles should be banned just for the weekends, but allowed for commuters on weekdays. The police made bicyclists dismount during the transit strike, when the bridge was crowded, and it worked just fine.

  • nabeguy

    my2, totally agree (for a change!). I’ve recently taken up walking home from my office on Houston & Hudson across the bridge. It takes almost 1/2 of the total time to cross the bridge, even though it”s only about 1/3 of the total distance. Given the extraordinary increase in tourist traffic on the bridge, I call for an all-out ban on bicycles. The pedestrian walk was designed for just that purpose.

  • bh_dad

    Finally made my way over to the Brooklyn Bridge Park w/my kids. Open space is nice, when the grass & trees grown in it should be a nice place to enjoy the outdoors.

    However the playground is underwhelming to say the least. Outside of the swings, there really isn’t anything for the kids to do. There isn’t much activity for kids over the age of 3. Couldn’t they have gotten an architect that had kids to design the playground.

  • Monty

    Shout out to Tony and Agron who are doormen at my building and were interviewed on NY1 this morning relating the averted strike. Also, why is Paul Giamatti so angry all the time?

  • AEB

    clark st., it seems like your prob with National Grid has to do with an estimated meter reading vs. actual usage–that is, they’re going on an estimate, while you know the actual use.

    What’s happening is that NG doesn’t have access to your meter. To make that happen, you have to speak with:

    your super or
    your landlord or
    whoever can link up NG with the meters in our building. Or call NG, 718 643-4050 and see what they suggest.

  • my2cents

    nabeguy, i agree with you a lot of the time, actually. :)

  • WillowtownCop

    Kipped-

    I missed it. I got stuck at work until 11:30. We should plan another one (assuming it went well).

  • No One of Consequence

    bh_dad, that would have cost too much.

  • Andrew Porter

    I’ve noticed a major drop in the number of foreign tourists walking on the Promenade and, presumably, the local streets as well, due to the volcano/dust crisis. Several tourists I *have* seen are from South America, or other places not affected by lack of air travel. Just curious if business owners on Montague and elsewhere have noted a cash downturn as well. Monday afternoon, when weather was gorgeous, very few camera-toting tourists on tthe Promenade.

  • Jen

    Unfortunately I’ve found that getting to the Manhattan side of the Manhattan Bridge riding through Chinatown is just as dangerous (if not more) than riding across the Brooklyn Bridge with all the clueless or just plain rude pedestrians. I’ve seen plenty of people who clearly understand it’s a bike lane and refuse to move.

    I do agree that something needs to be done and I don’t think it’s banning bikes from the bridge on weekends. We need more, safer bike lanes.

    While the city is at it, the Brooklyn Bridge exit from the southbound FDR needs to be changed. The traffic caused by people cutting into that one lane is ridiculous and really expensive if you’re in a cab.

  • Bob

    Banning bicycles is not in the interest of the future of the city. It is increasingly popular with more bike lanes, which allow for faster, safer riding. Cycling is a clean, healthy alternative to almost any other urban mode of transport.

    If anything, create a bike line in the roadway. Or leave things as they are but with better signage on the current crossing. The Manhattan Bridge lane is great, but lets cyclists off in an dangerous cycling area. The Brooklyn Bridge path allows access across Chambers to the West Side bike path, which lets bikers ride almost anywhere on the island all the way up to the GWB and to New Jersey.

    Better behavior by cyclists (bells, slower riding) and pedestrians (awareness, looking before walking in the bike lane) is the key here.

    Can’t we all just get along?

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    Will somebody provide a lowdown of how the BHB youth social movement went?

  • Cranberry Beret

    Chop the choppers: turn the Pier 1 kids equipment from “play” domes into “volcanic” domes and let our local ash plume begin! A little volcanic dust in the air might be enough to ground the entire South Street fleet of whirlybirds.

  • my2cents

    Bob, better behavior from bicyclists would be getting off their bikes when the bike lane is crowded with people. Most refuse to do this and instead get indignant or just start ringing their bell and shouting (much like the way cabbies honk their horns constantly). You are not going to change the behavior of the tourists on the bridge. This has nothing to do with banning bikes or alternative transport. If you read what I wrote, it says that the bike lanes should be open to commuters on week days. This is a pragmatic common sense solution to the overcrowding of the bridge on weekends, and all it requires is bicyclists to walk their bike across the bridge (walking is also a healthy alternative transport). Is that really such a sacrifice? Enjoy the view longer! Sheesh.

  • Jen

    my2cents, the point is that the bike lane should not be crowded with people. Walkers should stay on the side that is designated for them. Bikers should not have to walk their bikes across the bridge — it’s uncomfortable, especially when wearing bike shoes, and defeats the whole purpose of actually riding a bike. Sheesh back to you.

  • joann

    Another request to know when the bakery on Montague will open.

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