Open Thread Wednesday 11/28/07

By on November 28, 2007 8:35 am in Brooklyn Heights

 

Plenty to talk about this week:

Big Tent!

BHA wants less chains, more variety 

BBP Meeting gets people talkin'

135 Joralemon too pricey to sell? 

BHB Photo Club pic by fkuffel

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  • lady montague

    Fewer chains, not “less chains” – c’mon, homer!

  • T.K. Small

    The Brooklyn Bridge Park meeting the other night was a sham in terms of receiving public input. Talk about a railroad-rubberstamp process. If this is the best they can do, I would vote for continued industrial uses!

    My purpose in attending the meeting was to offer mild support for their efforts with the interim uses. Although there had been some problems with accessibility for people with disabilities, in terms of transportation, the Conservancy had done other things which were deserving positive acknowledgment.

    However, the process by which the meeting was conducted Monday evening did not allow me to participate at all. Telling the audience to “raise your hand and stand up to be recognized” was pointless. I have not stood up since sometime in 1973 and I have not raised my hand in more than seven years.

    When I tried to get one of the Conservancy staff members to raise her hand on my behalf, she made less than a halfhearted attempt. Additionally, the lack of an amplification system was a problem. Had I actually been recognized, it is unlikely that many people would have been able to hear me. There were others around me similarly muttering that they could not hear the comments either.

    To put the final nail in the coffin, as the gathering broke up into three separate groups, Councilman David Yassky seemed to approach me, opening a conversation. I immediately raised by frustrations and concerns about the meeting and park activities in general. His response was condescending and dismissive. Yassky acknowledged that there were problems with accessibility but that “we have to get on to substantive issues” concerning in the park.

    Making sure that all people in the community can participate in the development of the park, and actually use the park itself, is a substantive issue! Yassky’s failure to appreciate this as a legitimate topic for discussion says a lot about his frame of mind.

  • Heights97

    T.K. Small: Sorry to hear about your bad experience with Yassky. You should let him know how you feel, otherwise he will only become more out of touch.

    Different topic: What’s that new crafts store (I think that’s what it is, though I was in too much of a rush to check it this morning) that opened on Montague where Liberty Travel used to be? It has a temporary looking sign. I think it said something like “Artesanal.”

    Whatever it is, I’m relieved to see it’s not another real estate broker or cell phone store. I get so bummed walking down Montague Street and thinking about the stores we used to take for granted–a pizza place where Corcoran now is (really good pizza, too), Waldenbooks where Brown Harris is, a liquor store (then Cosi) where one of the mattress stores is, a nice camera store where Verizon is… I could go on and on.

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com Claude Scales

    On and on indeed … Mr. Souvlaki (a much better restaurant than its name suggested) where Vital Dent keeps threatening to be (I’ll take moussaka over mouth surgery any day), Cafe Buon Gusto (we really needed another mediocre Italian-ish restaurant) where Capulets used to have bluegrass on weekend nights, ….

  • nabeguy

    Looks like the landlords of the COC building have finally gotten their act together enough to gut out out the two empty storefronts that held the burrito and newsstand places on Henry Street. One of them still has a FOR RENT sign (for what is probably an exorbitant rate) in the window, but at least they seem to be trying to attract new businesses. IMHO, they should combine the two spaces together into one attractive package. But then they wouldn’t be able to charge double rents, would they?

  • bornhere

    Has anyone else who lives near the corner of Joralemon and Henry heard the endless ringing/buzzing that sounds something like a cooking timer? It has been going on for weeks (!), and I can’t figure out what it is. Any sound sleuths out there?

  • JL

    Bornhere, perhaps give 311 a call to report a noise complaint. Maybe they will use some of their tools, although it may take some time.