Open Thread Wednesday 10/12/11

By on October 12, 2011 8:28 am in Brooklyn Heights

What’s on your mind? Comment away!

BHB Photo Club pic by m.diane johnson via Flickr

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  • Josh G

    I was waiting for this open thread to talk about Bevacco. The space is beautifully done, with lots of marble; it’s a very open chic feel. The food was very good – not out-of-this-world fantastic, but very good. We were there last Saturday night and I thought $15 for a fried zucchini & bufala mozz appetizer was a bit steep, but what can you do. The service was not stellar; in fact, it was not good. Lots of tables with empty plates; people trying to order and getting the brush off; people couldn’t even get water. I’m hoping that can be chalked up to their first Saturday night, and that the staff learn how to balance demand with attentiveness. I really hope this place can make it!

  • AL

    Monty – Court St is not picaresque?

  • Master Of Middagh

    I’m in the market for a new bank- do we have a local community bank that offers free checking and the other amenities that were standard in my father’s day? I don’t want to keep my money in one of these places that nickel and dime you anymore…

  • Hicks St Guy

    @Master, in these economic climes, don’t hold your breath.

  • mlo

    @Topham Beauclerk & Cranberry Beret. I agree teh conod on teh opposite corner are just strange. But I think they did a nice job of 45 State. I hope the brownstone work along the bottom and around the windows is going to be much darker than what’s pictured in the rendering. It should be more in keeping with the other surrounding homes- the condo has lighter stone work and it doesn’t go with the authentic brownstone at all. That block of Hicks St btw State and Joralemon has beautiful town homes and carriage houses and Willow Place has so many styles of historic homes on the one street – its always a pleasure to walk down that street.
    I’m at 306 and over the recent years have replaced all windows front and back, bringing the 2nd floor windows back to their original floor to ceiling casement inward opening windows and have also brought back the front entry door to its original glass paned double doors. We had the doors custom made -solid oak. The interior door was also custom made solid oak -why stop there..custom victorian etched glass made for that door, matching oak panels in vestibule and marble flooring, My favorite is the custom made intercom system made with victorian style brass bells. Many months of fun with landmarks later I have to say I love my home and the lifetime of memories of 5 generations of my family who have lived there for almost a century.
    Still to come are the juliette balconies off the 2 floor windows then I’m done with the dust for a while I hope. If anyone happens to pass by- let me know what you think of our restoration.

  • Knight

    @Master: I have been with Ridgewood Savings for years and I honestly think they’re the best in town. The only problem is that they do not have many branches; the closest to the Heights is on Court & Warren Sts in Cobble Hill. You can check them out online at Ridgewoodbank dot com.

  • WillowtownCop

    @ Chris – I have Sprint and am unable to make/receive phone calls in my apartment. I can sometimes get text messages.

    I keep Sprint b/c I don’t like being bothered at home – I think phone calls are rude.

  • GHB

    If you don’t like being bothered at home, why have a phone at all? Genius!

  • El

    @Chris I also have Sprint – I can make and receive calls in my apartment, but will occasionally drop calls. I haven’t really noticed any issues walking around outside though.

  • WillowtownCop

    @ GHB – they make us for work. Otherwise I wouldn’t.

  • Topham Beauclerk

    @mlo

    If 306 is the building directly opposite the hideous condo then I must congratulate you on the work you did. The building is lovely. But what’s going up on Hicks and State looks dull and unimaginative; at 6,2 million a better architect could have been found.

    I’m still at a loss to understand how the condo opposite could have passed landmarks. I forbear to comment on the type of men the developers were and the unfortunate influence they may have had.

  • Elmer Fudd

    MoM – Check out Commerce Bank on Montague and Court. Free checking with a $100 balance, free money orders, great credit card deals, and they are open 7-days a week. They also have low prices on safety deposit boxes, which are available 7-days a week.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    Umm Elmer, Commerce Bank folded a while ago, It’s now TD Bank.
    Hope you didn’t have your life savings there.

  • Monty

    Yes, I have kids and they stay in their seats or I take them outside. I hate it when parents let their kids run roughshod because they also let them run roughshod on the playground and my daughter gets upset. I’m telling you I’ve seen kids there very frequently and they are pretty much always well behaved and their parents are paying attention. You probably don’t notice when kids are being quiet.

  • Elmer Fudd

    Commerce Bank is now TD Bank at the same location on Montague and Court Streets. Still low checking rates, open 7-days a week.

  • Master Of Middagh

    Thanks to those who shared their banking advice with me- it is much appreciated and I am obliged. I’ll be checking up on your leads.

    I know the TD place- they’ve got a really cool machine that eats pennies. Although, to be honest, I feel like I get less pennies these days. Sometimes, I’ve noticed that shopkeeps will just give me a nickel rather than fish around in their drawer for three or four pennies- even as little as two sometimes!

  • Eddyenergizer

    mlo, All the work looks great!

  • mlo

    thanks @ Eddyenergizer…only the best

  • Wallard

    MoM, please call Don Hewitt at CBS. I think we’ve found Andy Rooney’s successor on 60 Minutes. Oh, wait a minute. Not sure you’ll get Don Hewitt on the phone these days. Maybe you’d better send an email.

  • Andrew Porter

    Master of Middagh, when I was in Australia they don’t have pennies any more. They round up or down and it works. And they save the expense of making and shipping around coins that aren’t really necessary.

    For my banking, I had Independence, which became Sovereign, and although they’ve made it more difficult to get a free checking account, they have the place on Montague, also Court and Atlantic, and on Washington Street in DUMBO. And you can use the ATMs at the CVS on Henry Street with no cost.

  • Master Of Middagh

    @Wallard- I hope to never become QUITE such a curmudgeon, but I appreciate the compliment- thank you!

    @Andrew- I was actually with Sovereign to begin with, but they made an error with my account and failed to compensate me for my aggravation over the hassle I went through. The manager told me he wasn’t authorized to retain customers in such a manner, so I’ve resolved to take my business elsewhere. I should have known when they changed the name from Independence to Sovereign that they would be less customer orientated.

  • Willow St. Neighbor

    MOM,
    Just out of curiosity, what kind of compensation were you looking for from the bank?

  • T.K. Small

    MoM: I use Signature Bank and have been very happy. They only have a handful of branches, but I am not one of these people that hits the ATM frequently, so it works well for me.

  • Master Of Middagh

    @Willow St. Neighbor- A nominal amount of money which represented the sum originally in dispute. It was a matter of principle- I didn’t like the idea of being incorrectly hassled by the bank and then not being given at least a little incentive for my trouble and to retain my business.

    @T.K. Small- Thanks for the tip! I’ll look into them as well.

  • Andrew Porter

    MoM: They didn’t “change the name from Independence to Sovereign”: Independence was bought by Sovereign, a Boston bank, which was partially owned by Bank Santander in Spain. Eventually Bank Santander bought the rest of Sovereign, and they’re now a wholly owned subsidiary of a foreign bank. With the crisis in the Euro zone, in which Spain, with Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Ireland are on shaky financial ground, if Spain has the same problems, expect a pass-through of higher fees and tighter minimum deposit fees for Sovereign. They’ve already eliminated free checking, and raised the fees for using their debit cards outside their network.

  • Knight

    Similar to the Independence/Sovreign situation, I received a note today from Brooklyn Federal Savings stating that they are “merging with” (aka being bought by) Investors Bank. Brooklyn Federal only had 5 branches so I suppose it was just a matter of time.

  • epc

    Anyone know what the rules are for amplified music after 10:00 p.m?

  • Master Of Middagh

    @Andrew Porter- I was already aware that the name change was the result of being purchased, but that would have over-complicated my remark and I already have a problem with long-windedness. However, when I did look into the history and background of the bank , I was indeed curious if their European ownership might be effected by recent events over there- thank you for providing some insight into that.

  • David on Middagh

    Epc, if you elaborate on the after-ten music, maybe wtc will chime in?

  • epc

    w/r/t after 10p.m. music: PowerHouse Books in DUMBO has become a defacto nightclub several of the past weekends. Now, I know most people think of DUMBO as the loudest place in the City, but honestly it’s quite pleasant most evenings and can be downright silent overnight. We know to expect the trains, the weddings, the occasional elephant in the streets even, but a recent run of late night, post-midnight and 2:00 a.m. music events has been a bit much, even for DUMBO.

    Last night’s event at PHB was allegedly permitted until 1:00 a.m., though they actually didn’t turn down the sound until 2:15 a.m. This wasn’t simply loud music, it was window buzzing, small objects vibrating off tabletops deep bass music.

    To those about to write: “Well, you live in DUMBO, it’s noisy”, that’s like saying “Well, you live in Brooklyn Heights, surely you can’t mind a helicopter hovering overhead for four hours on a weekend night?”

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