Open Thread Wednesday

By on February 21, 2018 6:41 am in open thread

What’s on your mind? Comment away!

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  • CassieVonMontague

    Siggy’s, formerly of Henry Street, is closing its East Village location, too. The sign on the door says, “The reasons are many and vary—Bureaucratic, Economy…” They are planing to move to Charlotte, NC.

  • Jorale-man

    Speaking of closings, the little convenience store on Columbia Place has papered over its windows and posts a sign: “under renovation.” Sadly, I suspect that’s code for “we’ve gone out of business” (as we saw with the late, lamented Friend of the Farmer).

  • Heights guy

    I miss Siggy’s. Such a diverse and healthy menu, done correctly. And always great people working there.

  • hicksguy

    When are our local representatives going to do something to attract and maintain businesses in our neighborhood? There is virtually nowhere to eat, drink, shop compared to other neighborhoods. It’s a highly residential area, but also very accessible by train, with tons of businesses nearby. There are PLENTY of customers, but something is not connecting. WHY!?

  • DIBS

    How is it the job of “our local representatives?” TO attract and to maintain?

  • CHatter

    Agree with DIBS here (mark it, a first!). There is precious little to be done legislatively or policy-wise to solve the problem of there being too few stores that you like on Montague Street. I’m not a crazy libertarian–I quite like government actually–but government has a particularly bad track record in this area, often doing more harm than good when trying to incentivize landlords to do anything other than rent their commercial properties to the businesses willing to pay the most for the space–or hold out waiting for one.

    The issue we have, as I see it (no evidence to support it, just wildly speculating here) is that the main sources of discretionary cash flowing to businesses in Brooklyn Heights are (i) people who have to be in court and (ii) tourists. People who live here are a distant third, because most of us are around only in the evenings and on the weekends. And there really aren’t that many of us to begin with. Business owners have to make money all day, so a large proportion of them are going to focus their efforts — perhaps wisely —
    on attracting that cash from the first two categories.

  • JaneonOrange

    Can anyone recommend a place to get (a) springs redone in a chair and/or (b) new cushions made for a couch?

  • Andrew Zeif
  • Jorale-man

    Interesting analysis. I think you’re probably right about Montague Street businesses (and the mediocrity we face). By comparison, if you look at Smith Street in Carroll Gardens, they don’t have so much of the court or tourist traffic and therefore local residents are their primary customer base — hence the more interesting restaurants and boutique-y shops there.

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    Montague Street Rocked in the Eighties…

  • StudioBrooklyn

    Smith Street has its own closures plague though, doesn’t it?

  • cool

    so did Talking Heads….

  • cool

    H & A upholstery on Montague could be another option. We used them for a bench and like the price and result.

  • Jorale-man

    You’re probably right – I don’t keep close tabs on it. But Smith does have much more of a tradition for creative restaurants that people will travel to. You don’t ever hear of restauranteurs planning their next innovative concept for Montague Street…

  • Jeffrey Smith

    The mediocrity we face….you all condemned yourselves to mediocrity when you let go of the vision/social view of the unique and starkly superior nature of the Heights and most Heights people. When you began to adhere to poisonous views like the Heights as just one of the neighborhoods which made up a mosaic or the was just a “part of the downtown section” we sank like a rock. Thanks

    No?, well imagine if someone even Advocated something like the BBP prior to 1985 what do you think would happen?

  • meschwar

    “…starkly superior nature of the Heights and most Heights people.”

    You are human garbage.

  • Jeffrey Smith

    No, that’s the job of the chamber of commerce. But local c of c’s are busy running interference for whatever RE Weinstein type who wants to do whatever destructive nonesense they want to do.
    And small to medium honest RE operators and local businesses, especially small locally owned? They can just go hang themselves out to dry.

  • Jeffrey Smith

    If you don’t believe in the superior cultural and human value of the Heights, why do you live here?

    the people who attack the level of humankind who are capable of founding and maintaining a high Civilization are invariably sub humans who are only capable of tearing down healthy civilizations. And frankly, before you vomit more anti Heights poison, I have reached a point where a I am no longer interested in defending such a basic irrefutable truth. Which is supported by centuries of fully visible history.

  • Jeffrey Smith

    Why? Because local retailers have all the difficulties of operating in NYC, not the least is the tax structure and the NYC/NYS agencies, but then there are the RENTS. Why? Because the buildings they’re in have been typically FLIPPED several times since the late 60’s so the financed amount is now at a point that the latest owner NEEDS to make max rent to maintain payments on the amount he floated…or he or some RE agent thinks he get a chain or Corp entity to sign for the space. So now your seeing vacant spaces? Google “tulip craze” and real little…..

  • Jeffrey Smith

    No, there are only three kinds of cool, Rockabilly, Surf and (Non anarchy) Punk.

  • DIBS

    I’d pay to see who this gu really is and what his situation is. LOL

  • DIBS

    Doesn’t really fit with your definition of “superior cultural and human value.” Like I said above, I suspect you are just a troglodyte.

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    They did indeed!
    But seriously, there actually once was a nightlife here.

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    You shouldn’t make such insinuations Davey, remember what happened in the GEICO commercials…

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    For one of diminished mental capacity, yes.

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7nPOzGeyaw Arch Stanton

    I have, and he’s as pathetic as you’d imagine.

  • Andrew Porter

    When Dumbo Heights—the former Witness properties between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges—fully opens, there will be lots more restaurants and stores to patronize.

  • Andrew Porter

    Here’s another Old BH Postcard. This is a colorized image which shows the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge. The train at the right is on Old Fulton Street. Look carefully and you’ll see a bunch of structures in the Heights which are still here:

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/db07031a3684522b96a28661ebaa469dcda325ac2c5203bdfd942273af14af05.jpg

  • Jeffrey Smithñ

    First, the post on music should be viewed as wry humor. But the other cultural posts are just someone trying to preserve something rare and of high value. Do you lock your front door and insure your home? Why? Because you, too, with to care and preserve something you have which is of unquestioned value.

  • Jorale-man

    Fascinating how dense that area was built back then. The BQE construction made a real mess of the streetcape on the south side of Old Fulton Street up to Cadman Plaza. OTOH, being under the elevated train was probably no picnic.

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