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Open Thread Wednesday 9/8/10
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Brooklyn Bugle
- Missed Connections at NY Transit Museum on Valentine’s Day
- Brooklyn Bugle Book Club: “The Stranger’s Child” by Alan Hollinghurst
- Brooklyn Bugle Book Club: “In the Garden of Beasts” by Erik Larson
- Transit Museum Introduces New Discussion Series “Problem Solvers” with guest Sarah Kaufman
- Brooklyn Bugle Book Club: “The Thorn and the Blossom” by Theodora Goss
- Transit Museum Plans Day for Special Needs Kids January 22
- "(AHK-TOONG BAY-BI) COVERED" REVIEWED
- Brooklyn Bugle Book Club: “The Red Prince: The Secret Lives of a Habsburg Archduke” by Timothy Snyder
- Downton Abbey and Books
- Brooklyn Bugle Book Club: “This Beautiful Life” by Helen Schulman
Movie Preview
The Brooklyn Bugle presents Heather Quinlan's If These Knishes Could Talk (work in progress) screening at the Brooklyn Heights Cinema on February 9.
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Open Thread Wednesday 2/1/12
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Verizon FiOS finally coming to the Heights?
- Open Thread: Compare & Contrast 75 Clinton & 101 Clinton
- WSJ Offers Tidbits About Montague Street’s “High-Rent Retail Strip”
- NY Daily News Weighs In On Downtown Landmarking: “No Good Reason”
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Kiddie Hawk – Big Bird Hangs Out at Pierrepont Playground in Brooklyn Heights
- Ask & You Shall Receive: Henry Street Garbage Dump Swept Clean
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The Best Laid Plans – Proof of Le Pain Quotidien Coming to Montague Street
- Why We Love Brooklyn Heights…
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$ales $uperlative: Columbia Heights Townhouse Most Expensive In Heights History
Anyone on State St. or nearby get FiOS recently?
Is anyone in the north Heights other than me having Time Warner modem trouble?
Mine is having an extended tantrum: sometimes it permits the use of my house phone, sometimes not. I’ve begun to study its row of blinking lights as if trying to read tea leaves.
The earliest appointment I could get with TW was next Monday, a week after the problem started. Of course.
Not to jinx the situation, but my TWC modem and TV has been at it’s best for over 3 years.
Did anyone hear that the building at the end of Montague are having their usual fall sidewalk sale this Sunday? They typically have the sale about this time. They always have good stuff.
Just a warning: Brooklyn Heights Plumbing & Heating (185 Atlantic) is atrocious. They’re criminals and will destroy your home if you let them.
Montagueresident….I heard that the sidewalk sale at 62 Montague was scheduled for this Sunday? I always find great things at their sales, especially the pottery
We had an issue with our TW modem for 3 weeks. It would flash, but we couldn’t get internet. Finally it went down to only one light flashing. We ended up having to have the modem replaced. Make sure they give you a credit for the time you are out of service
AEB: We live on Joralemon, and the TWC internet has been sporadically unbearable for the last 3 weeks or so, though I have yet to call.
Thanks, Nancy.
Actually, I’m on my third modem–the other two requiring replacement.
This meant personal visits by me with defective modems to the TW Shock Corridor on 23rd St., where one takes a number and sits…and sits…and sits….
@AEB If you keep burning out modems you might have a problem with power surges. I suggest plugging it (and all other electronic devices) into a quality surge protector.
@Norman E-Mailer, Please tell what happened?
Anyone heard about the new transportation start-up in Brooklyn called Roadify? Check out our website, we’d love to hear any feedback! We’re trying to make commuting easier…
Thanks, Arch, but it is plugged into a surge protector….
They told us dust…..like that is going to make me clean….
Happy 1st day of school.
Happy new year, to all observing..
I’ve noticed some light night (1:00-2:00 am) activity going on at Bread & Butter the past couple of weekends – music and people drinking and socializing at the bar. I thought B&B was just a restaurant. Does anyone know if they are open later night on the weekends or are these just private parties? It’d be great to have another bar on Henry Street instead of just Henry St. Ale House.
Has anyone else heard about a bedbug scare at the UA movie theater on Court Street?
@brooklynite, I’d personally be more worried about smoke asphyxiation or attack by the resident rodents that are frequently sighted scampering around the Ratner cineplex.
Arch, they sent over a sub contractor with no experience in the building. The task was to drain the tub, which had backed up.
The guy snaked it a few times, prior to which I asked if this would damage the building’s pipes, which are quite old. He swore it would not.
Anyway, he left after a few unsuccessful attempt, and told me he’d come back the next day, to either a) tear open the wall or b) remove — i.e. destroy — my old tub.
The next day, the super found that the a*shole had, in fact, destroyed the pipes, which soaked my downstairs neighbor’s bathroom. I’m out $800 in repairs.
After explaining all this to Brooklyn Heights Plumbing they still tried to charge me $350. I said no. Then they suggested i pay them $150.
I quietly explained to the owner of BHP that I would do nothing of the kind. Anyway, long story short: BHP sucks.
A 1 Liter bottle of seltzer costs $2.10 at Gristedes. That’s chutzpah!
Anyone notice the GIANT Sleepy’s temp tarp sign placed on the side of the scaffolding on Montague? WTF?
I am bothered about Mr. Biviano continuing to attack Ms Millman about her pension, which she paid for over 27 years as a teacher. It seems he has no other real issues to talk about, so he’s going negative. That alone would tell me not to vote for him ever.
Also, I’m not happy at seeing Michelle Bachman advertising on this site. She’s just another Sarah Palin wannabe shock-jock.
I have had FIOS for over a month in my apt on Monroe Place. It’s faster, better and cheaper the TWC. It takes awhile to wire it in for the first time in an older building like mine, but it works very well. I once had a problem and actually used the website’s chat function in order to speak to tech support. Also, we have this thing called multi-room dvr which allows us to record a show and watch it on any tv. You can also record stuff through the internet.
I say, if you can get Fios, you should sign up asap. It’s a lot better.
Weather permitting, the stoop sale @ 62 Montague is on for this Sunday, Sept. 12. Rain date, if necessary, is the 19th.
@eg – the Bachman ads are via Google adsense. Learn more about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AdSense
Can anyone tell me what I can do to get the Fresh Direct trucks and the delivery trucks to the Heights Casino to turn off their compressors? They deliver at 7am, park in the hydrant on Montague St and leave everything running for 20 minutes. And then there is the problem with the Casino’s garbage pick up at 2am. It is so loud.
@Anonymous, I stopped going to Gristede’s when they were selling a half gallon of Tropicana for $7.00. I wonder how anyone could go in there, but then I again, some people believe Sarah Palin.
@Hick st guy: I left in disgust. The same bottles are $79 cents in Peas n Pickles, which is not a bargain store. Also, it costs 2 cents to make seltzer.
@ Anonymous- get a Soda Stream. It couldn’t be easier to make your own.
I saw on Zillow that 46 Henry Street was for sale (around 250k). Isnt that Bread & Butter. Could just the restaurant — and not the building — be for sale. Like a condo? Anyone hear about their going out of business?
Has anyone experienced very poor service at the hardware/variety store on Montague? The husband and wife are usually hostile. The son seems to be ok. What’s up with this?
. For complaints to Fresh Direct, go to freshdirect.com and find a complaint link. or 311 for a DOE complaint.
.That store has been like that since I’m here for 32 years. What you experienced is standard behavior on the parents part, especially the tarted-up wife. I have many stories, as almost everyone I know, but try not to shop there. Somehow they never get the message. And they don’t take credit cards either – only cash, so they must be cheating on taxes too.
Brooklynite: Could you tell us what you heard or know??
Anyone know of any bar trivia nights in the vicinity (ideally on Wednesdays)? I know of the every other Monday one at Last Exit, but there don’t seem to be any in Brooklyn Heights…
I’ve never had any problem with the folks in the variety store on Montague. I usually only run in there if I need something small, but they’ve always been helpful. I have noticed a decline in the service at Bruno’s on court street. Since the owner died and Sid’s closed it seems like they’ve gotten pretty indifferent. They sold us a bunch of mislabeled items the other day and when we went to exchange them they basically shrugged and said tough.
Been going to the hardware/variety store on Montague for 13 years and have never had any problem; in fact, I’ve found them pretty friendly and accommodating. And I’ve used my debit card there, so I’m pretty sure that they take credit cards, too.
@Willowcop – SODASTREAM?!?!?!? Thank you! I’m a seltzer addict, and this is just what I need!
Keyfood introduces another stupid credit card rule. Now the clerk has to eyeball the signature on your card, if the purchase is over $25, and verify that its yours. My check-out counter signature is not close to the one on my AmEx card. So, I had to show her photo ID which she carefully studied before okaying the purchase of about $30. My patience was exhausted and I confronted the manager/owner with the complaint that it is a waste of time and insulting to the regular customers. Fairway doesn’t do it. Trader Joes and Sahadi’s don’t do it. What’s the problem. He claims he lost $4000 last year. Probably an exaggeration but at face value, it adds up to maybe $80 a WEEK. Let’s all let him how insulting and time-wasting this is. Next time for me, perhaps I’ll just leave the purchase on the counter and walk out. Ah, Key Food and Gristedes, what have we done to deserve such crummy markets.
@ Drew- they sell them at A Cook’s Companion, and you can exchange the CO2 cartridges there, too.
What is going on with the corner garbage cans along Hicks St.? They haven’t been emptied in a long time and the garbage is overflowing, fly-covered and rotting.
Variety Mart has been on Montague for as long as I can remember (which should make “Mom and Pop” about 140 years old), and I always felt a certain trepidation waltzing past the watering cans and glassware to get to the “one tiny can of caulk, please.” But when I started going there with my son shortly after he was born, “Mom” fell in love with him and that was good enough for me. I always ask “Mom” how “Pop” or her son is, and I always ask the son how his parents are, and everyone seems happy. Not fabulous prices, but there’s something good about the place. And in the old days, it was either Variety Mart or navigating “Shecky” (who was actually a decent guy) at the “upstairs hardware store.” I also think that “Mom and Pop” own more on Montague than just the Variety Mart building, but that might be Heights folklore.
Me — the garbage can on Remsen and Henry last evening was breathtaking (and beyond overfilled). I chalk it up to Labor Day, the Mayor’s new rules, and so many more visitors to the neighborhood.
During my few visits to the hardware store, only the son has been pleasant. The parents always insist they don’t have what I’m looking for (basic hardware items) and are borderline rude. Will get more exercise walking to Tony’s on Smith St. where I have always had very pleasant and helpful service.
mike kooper: have hired this handyman before, he’s very good — http://www.thumbtack.com/ny/brooklyn/handyman/furniture-assembly
@MartinLBrooklyn: May I ask why you make a habit of using your credit card for small purchases? Did you know that stores are charged several percent for this service, which means that CC users induce higher prices for everyone?
I’m sorry that your signatures don’t match, but… the card signature is not your agreement to pay your debts, it’s a security measure that (in theory) is checked every time a charge is made in person. Again, the merchant pays for preventable fraudulent charges, raising prices for everyone.
Sorry to say I’ve had a few poor experiences with ‘mom & pop’ too … But is walmart better?
Spoke with some youngsters earlier who suggested staying out of Cadman park – muggings. Can anyone shed some light on this? Thank you. Mo
Just discovered Damasus Bakery spinach pies available at Roebling Inn…
I have been going to the Variety Mart all my life. From what I remember “mom & pop” bought the store sometime in the mid 70′s,
from the previous owner. I think his name was “Louie” he had a ring of gray/white hair. I think they also own a couple of buildings on that side of the block.
The store always had a reputation for high prices. I have experienced a “variety” of service from curt to friendly… One thing I find annoying is the way they call out the price of each item as they ring it up, hammering home the fact that you are being ripped off. “Five ninety eight, seven sixty two, fourteen eighty three…
David, really? I don’t think $25 is such a small charge. And what do you want us all to use – cash? check? Cash leads to far greater pettty/employee theft (and mistakes in making change) and checks take up all sorts of time and bounce. If I were a shop owner, I’d take a credit card every time. Debit card can have a lower % but only if you don’t have a signature line and aren’t as widely used by senior citizens which is a problem for Key Food.
Anyway, I’ve never heard your gripe before. People are against using credit cards for groceries?
@Mo Scribe: I have not heard anything about muggings in Cadman Plaza Park. That would be a bummer to say the least… All I see are kids playing, soccer games, and in the morning tons of people running or working out with trainers.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a great tailor in the Heights? I have a suit that needs some tricky tailoring and I just want to make sure it gets done the right way. Thanks
Brooklyn- Henry street Tailor has done fine work on a couple of suits of mine.
Folks – if you haven’t already done so, please take a few minutes to take our 2010 reader survey:
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/22028
we’ve gotten some really great feedback so far… thanks!
@EHinBH
Thank you. I enjoy walking in the morning. It’s upsetting me to hear that the folks at 140 cadman plaza have notices posted in their building that muggings and car break-ins are taking place in and around cadman park. Have no idea if this is true or BS. Thank you again.
Melissa-they’re AWFUL. Go to one of the 2 on Court St near Livingston/Schermerhorn. They’ve got a major attitude, and they’re a ripoff.
Martin- if your signatures don’t match, then get them to match. And while you’re at it, thank them for asking you for ID. Too many identity thefts happening these days.
If I were you, I’d be more insulted at the obvious ripoff that is Gristedes.
ABC, unless I’m traveling, I try not to charge any purchase that can be covered by a few twenties. And MartinLBrooklyn seems to think $25 is small–at least, he thinks Key Food shouldn’t complain about $80/week losses due to credit card fraud, and shouldn’t insult him by double-checking his $30 purchase.
Yes, I’m suggesting people use cash when they can. (Those cardholder “rewards” can’t be free. We pay for them in higher prices everywhere, and no doubt some of those “rewards” are extracted from our friends, family and neighbors–anyone who is paying the tremendous interest on these accounts.)
Now if only we can get the government to revalue the dollar so that a pocketful of change can actually get you through the express lane, the way it did before inflationary policy rendered our coins impotent.