Open Thread: Wednesday, June 13, 2012

By on June 13, 2012 12:01 am in open thread

Hello Wednesday. Cheers, BHB readers. Greetings to another Open Thread. Please… share what’s on your mind and talk freely, albeit courteously, amongst yourselves. (Photo: Chuck Taylor)

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  • lois

    Dreary day. Keep it bright. Interesting article on propertyshark.com this morning featuring a slide show; most of the houses are in Brooklyn Heights.
    http://www.propertyshark.com/Real-Estate-Reports/2012/06/11/nyc-homes-two-centuries-of-architecture-2/

  • cat

    Does anyone know if the knife-sharpening vans have a schedule of when they drive through the Heights? Or do I just hope to hear their bells ringing one day. I have scissors I need honed.

  • marknheights

    …just wondering how it is that the woman with the little blue Toyota has managed to live in the Heights for the last 2 years and still keep her Illinois plates….

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

    marknheights: she’s discovered a wormhole hidden under the BQE that connects to an on-ramp of the Dan Ryan Expressway.

  • Knight

    Mark: as long as the owner maintains an Illinois address (parents?) they can keep registering & insuring the vehicle there. And if they drive the car back often enough to keep the emissions certificate current, there’s really nothing to ticket them for.

  • CJG

    Can anyone recommend a good orthopedic doctor that specializes in knee surgery? Has anyone been to Dr. Geoffrey Phillips at 195 Montague Street?

    Thanks!

  • Wallard

    @marknheights, CS, Knight: All I know is her insurance company would love to know. It’s not legal to provide a false address for the place you primarily keep your car. That said, it’s the d-bag with the red Volvo from CT who jaunts about with his dinghy and anchor in tow that kills me. I really hope the tire theives hit that a**hole and leave him high and dry in the Heights.

  • Jeremy

    The property shark slide show is interesting but the 1820s/1830s dates are almost all wrong. Not fault of PS, since they just pull from city records, but almost all of those houses were built earlier than stated. At least in the Heights, most of the confusion arises from Clay Lancaster’s excellent book Old Brooklyn Heights, in which he used village/city directories to give an example of an early owner, but most people have since taken those dates as verified construction dates, which they most certainly are not. Almost all of the houses can be located in a census or deed earlier than the date in his book (and sometimes even an earlier directory).

  • WillowSt.Neighbor

    CJG,
    I always refer to the Castle Connolly Top Doctors guide when I need to find a specialist.
    There is an orthopedic surgeon at LICH who makes the list of top doctors in Brooklyn.
    He is Dr. John Vijay Mani

  • Brooklynite

    @Mark, CS, knight & wallard- i bet you would love the person in the bmw convertible who parks on clinton st in cobble hill and never moves his/her car. cheaper for them to get a ticket for alternate side parking violation than find a garage. they were once in a spot for about 4 months before they had to move due to a movie shoot. oh and calls to 311 or the precinct didn’t help because all the tickets were getting paid! so there “was nothing they could do”.

  • Anna B

    Can anyone recommend someone who does furniture repair and/or basic handyman type work in the nabe? We have a chair with some damage to the wood; it’s part of a set and we’d like to see if it’s salvageable.

  • j

    marknheights et all: just wondering how that has any impact at all on your lives…

  • Knight

    Wallard: I only provided that kind of info when I first bought my policy. Renewal notices don’t ask whether the car’s primary location has changed. As long as the owner was honest at the time the policy was issued, there is no fraud. It’s implicitly dishonest, but not to the point where it would void the policy.

  • http://Banville Ann Fegan

    Wallard

    Re the CT plate with his hobbies in tow, AMEN!

  • cat

    All of you people with your eyes glued to the street (on other people’s license plates): you don’t know which days the knife-sharpening vans roll into the Heights?

  • http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com Flashlight Worthy

    Knight, I think you’re incorrect. I bet you get a policy bill/update every 6 to 12 months. I bet that document reiterates the location of the vehicle. Read the fine print — in there I bet it says something along the lines of they void the policy if they find that any of the info was not correct and you did not correct it (same for number of miles driven, who drives the car, airbags, abs, etc.)

  • GHB

    Cat, if they took their gaze away from License plates, maybe they’d see the knife guy!

  • WillowSt.Neighbor

    Try Cooks Companion on Atlantic Ave. for knife sharpening.

  • Brooklynite

    Cooks Companion is holding a knife sharpening event this weekend were all of the proceeds are being donated and they are going to make a matching gift. The knives will also be sharpened while you wait. I believe the event is Saturday.

  • Knight

    That could be, Worthy. But since I’m not the driver from IL or CT I never had to take notice! My car is registered & insured at my current address. Should I open the can of worms about the bicycle sharing program and how many Heights parking spaces will be eliminated because of it? That has an impact on our lives (and should therefore make “j” happy!).

  • http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com Flashlight Worthy

    Knight, personally I think the bike program will actually free up more spaces than is taken by the bike racks (a number which was incorrectly calculated as ~20 by the BHA as I recall when it’s actually closer to ~12).

    Why will it free up spaces?

    1. Some number of people will find the bikes convenient enough to give up their street-parked car. Not a lot, but we need just a few for it to make it a net gain of parking spaces.

    2. There are a lot of commuters who park in Brooklyn Heights and then either walk to Downtown Brooklyn or subway into Manhattan. If just a few of those people decide to bike instead we pick up a few parking spaces there as well.

    All in all, I think the bike share program is a fantastic thing and in time, will be a huge success.

  • A Neighbor

    I think the bike program is a good idea. I don’t have a car, but anyone who thinks that the planned stations will not remove a significant number of parking spaces is dreaming.

    PS DOT has issued a revised map, today, I think. Everyone should check it out. I think there are legitimate issues re where stations are located — rather than whither the program.

  • bornhere

    I know opinions will vary, but I think the updated map (thanks, A Neighbor), at least for the Heights, is more considerate of purely residential blocks. Or mine, at any rate. I am still not wild about more bikes on the streets, but the docks do seem to be in more sensible locations.

  • gatornyc

    Speaking of bikes, can someone recommend a local bike shop? I am going to start biking to work and need a good hybrid bike. Thanks in advance.

  • PromGal

    @CJG
    Don’t even think about having it done in Brooklyn. Hospital for Special Surgery is the top place in the world for knee replacements. Best outcomes, lowest death rates, amazing facilities and staff.
    My uncle had it done two years ago. Andrew Pearle was the surgeon. He just does knees and is a great guy.

  • WillowSt.Neighbor

    PromGal,
    I agree with you regarding the Hospital for Special Surgery as I was treated there by two different doctors who were fantastic.
    I myself would never have surgery done in Brooklyn but CJG asked about a doctor that he heard about in the neighborhood. Some people just don’t like having to go into the city or they don’t realize the importance of seeing a doctor who is tops in their field.

  • Slide

    @A neighbor where did you find the revised bike share map? All I can find is the original map that came out in May.

  • mark

    @slide Go here an click on the section for the updated map as of 6/8/12. http://a841-tfpweb.nyc.gov/bikeshare/2012/05/11/draft-citi-bike-station-map/

  • mark

    So there are only four location in the Heights for the bike share that are taking over former parking spaces.

    Clark (between Hick & Henry) by the pet store. 31 spots.

    Montague (Clinton & Court) in front of the Chiptole. 39

    Hicks (Montague & Remsen) on the side of Heights Cafe. 23

    and Henry (Atlantic & State) across for Tazza. 23

    I am pretty happy with this setup. None of these location look to be directly in front of anyone’s residence (perhaps the Henry). Really don’t know what people will find to complain about. Can’t wait for the program to get up and running.

    Everything else is either sidwalk, park, or street space where cars can not currently park.

  • cat

    Thanks, I have had my knives sharpened at Cook’s Companion, but as I said in my original post, I need to have scissors sharpened, and CC does not sharpen scissors. Hence, my quest for the knife van, as I believe they do hone scissors.

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