Open Thread Wednesday 2/4/15

By on February 4, 2015 12:27 am in open thread

What’s on your mind? Comment away!

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  • Heights Correspondent 1

    What did everyone think of the BBP CAC
    meeting last night? I for one found it
    the classic carefully controlled event
    Many parts of which had all the spontaneity
    of well let’s say the conversation was carefully kept within limits both by
    structure and the range of thinking of many of the attendees. And of course, it all largely
    summed to zero. The park, which was
    a RE/Bankster scam from day one, of
    course, remains in place free to do any
    destructive behavior it wants. A few
    really good points Were made though:
    again the basic issue of lack of (sic)
    transparency was raised repeatedly
    by the audience.They had to shout
    out their comments because of course
    There was by design no public comment
    access…then someone pointed out
    That in many parts of the world a developer
    can’t just put up a building without either setting aside internal space for a school
    or funding a new local educational
    facility. That’s in sane Europe, but not
    in clown town on the Hudson…
    Well enough of what I thought, what did
    any of you think of the “proceedings”.

  • Faith

    Thank you so much to the owners of 57 Willow Street for consistently doing the worst job of clearing the snow & ice from their sidewalks every winter for the past 13 years. I’ve also noticed that they manage to do an absolutely outstanding job clearing the small patch of sidewalk where their car enters & leaves the property so that’s all that really matters. Everyone else proceed with caution…

  • CHatter

    I was waiting in line for the ferry at Fulton landing on Sunday @1pm when a huge show of police and firefighters emerged out of nowhere, including at least 4 fire trucks and 3 police boats. I initially assumed a fire but it soon became clear that someone was in the water. After a really impressive display of nautical maneuvering, the police boats fished a guy out of the river, got him to the dock and EMS started on him. As they wheeled him away they were furiously doing CPR on him but he looked in bad shape, bleeding quite a lot from the head. I didn’t see any reporting on it but I really hope he made it. Anyone know?

  • Charmant

    If people want a Silver sneaker gym in BH you must nominate one to Silver Sneakers. Please nominate Dodge Y as they are the best option for us and they already have an application in but we willnot get them on the roster unless there is enough demand from BH residents. As of now there is no Gym included. Gold’s is no longer on the plan.

  • Sueonhicks

    Does the sign on the southwest side of 60 Water St.violates the no advertising ordinance in vigor in this area?

  • Pat

    I have syringes and insulin leftover for feline diabetes. Any reasonable offer will be considered. For more details, please call Pat 718 834 9231 Thanks

  • Teresa

    Pat, the Brooklyn Bridge Animal Welfare Coalition might accept them as a donation. The organization does great work with rescued animals in the area.

  • Noel

    Still amazing they fixed their uneven sidewalk past year but given all the commercial filming there they can well afford it

  • Faith

    I figured someone must have finally tripped on their sidewalk & sued them into fixing it. You’d think they’d use some of that film money to purchase an $8 bag of ice melt.

  • miriamcb

    I know this has said before, but the wave of new eatery closings bothers me a bit for this reason –

    There is a demand for a contextual store of some sort to be opened in its place and not some chain, but then that local store will close over time. Why? Because we don’t stay local, we don’t patronize the new place – we go into the city, we order online and we don’t walk down the street. The rent is unbearably high for little stores to make that work or we do actually patronize the chain stores we so complained about (ex. La Pain Quotidien) encouraging high rents on Montague that only the chains can pay.

    It seems we have this conversation every single time something closes and the fear of a chain is introduced. If you want a more charming, neighborhood-y downtown, then you have to shop there when those opportunities arise and give constructive feedback to the owners if you want to see something tweaked. All small business owners want to be responsive to the needs of those around them and their target. Sometimes, they are willing to pivot slightly to serve a larger need.

    For one, I ran into an artist’s co-op in Portland, ME when we were there this last autumn, run by the artists, and the shop was filled with beautiful locally made pottery. I would love to see something like that, would patronize it, but am not an artist and have no idea if there is interest beyond me for something like that on Montague. Locals serving locals and/or creative spaces available.

  • ShinyNewHandle

    Re: Pottery

    There is a place on Union Street @Nevins in Gowanus, but when you see the amount of space used to make & display the ceramics—worth stopping in for—you understand why a Brooklyn Heights retail lease might be out of reach for a potter. The site ( http://www.claireware.net ) says that their pottery is also carried by various retailers, including the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, but most are out of state, with none in Brooklyn Heights.

  • miriamcb

    Thanks! I will definitely look into. I know rents are out of control for artisans really, but I wish (and would patronize). I just can’t get over the every-time-something goes out, let’s fear the chain. Then, let’s patronize the local businesses and provide feedback so they can survive!

  • Andrew

    Does anyone know what the commotion is near 49 Willow? There was police tape last night and this morning, and environmental clean up today… with an awful odor..

  • Andrew Porter

    I am happy to report that I am no longer officially deceased. I got a letter earlier this week from the NYC Finance Dept. which began, “We recently received information notifying us that Andrew Porter is … deceased.” However, quick action on my part, and by the city, has brought me back to official life! I’m glad that I don’t need to engage in a ferocious media campaign to prove that I still exist (except here…).

  • suzanne goss

    Not feeling good about my Massage Envy membership — don’t recommend it to anyone. High pressure sales people there get you right after a massage in your blissful state and sucker you into a contract stronger than most — don’t do it. And if you don’t believe me…

    http://www.consumeraffairs.com/misc/massage_envy.html

  • ShinyNewHandle

    Miriam, one could petition for a kids art-space in any new library highrise.

  • Teresa

    I went there last year to buy a gift certificate for a relative who is a member. They said that they needed my name, address, and phone number to process the gift certificate; when I asked why, they said so they’d have a record who gave the gift. I refused to provide any information, and they were not happy about it. Awful first impression that convinced me not to become a customer.

  • nabor

    Garbage. No? Over a week ?

  • miriamcb

    While I’ve never tried Massage Envy, both my husband and I go to PhysioLogic for our massages (which just moved from Remsen to the space above Shake Shack) and have loved going for years. Nicole is really great but only in on Saturday. They do have other masseuses. No high pressure sales at all and they genuinely care about the alignment of your body. The chiropractors, should you ever need one, are also all top-notch.

  • Studio Z on Pierrepont Street

    I’m a local artist (oil painter). If our dear admin permits, I’ll post a link to my website…

    Before the new chain pharmacy opened on Clinton and Joralemon I contacted the owners of the unoccupied space (with the retail ‘for rent’ sign in the window) to see if they would permit me to open a temporary pop-up studio that would be open to the public, to bring life to that corner and introduce some foot traffic to the location. A bit like a studio/gallery, with classes and demonstrations and open hours when the public could drop by and see artists working (and buy work).

    They more or less told me to f*** off. I’ve thought about approaching the people who are trying to rent out the former Starbucks location on Montague between Henry and Hicks, or the cool-looking windowless building on Clinton and Livingston, with a similar proposal, but my previous experiences with approaching commercial landlords have been discouraging. All I can offer them is to keep their space from looking undesirable and to start generating foot traffic–that’s in lieu of rent, with the understanding that it’s until a paying tenant comes along, and it’s something I’d seen done before in other parts of the city.

    If the landlords and developers aren’t at least communicating with the businesses and the community, do we even have a functioning “business improvement district”?

  • miriamcb

    The landlords of the building at Clinton/Joralemon is a huge property management company in the city, that basically tells everyone to it’s their way or the highway (including tenants in the building basically). Maybe approaching Brigit directly at the BID would be a better route and she could help you problem-solve getting space on Montague?