Open Thread Wednesday

By on December 3, 2019 11:58 pm in open thread

What’s on your mind? Comment away!

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  • Andrew Porter

    Vineapple remains closed. There’s a stack of pie boxes visible from the window, and I really hope they’re not filled with rotting pie.

    Here’s a really old map showing the now-vanished Vine Street and other places destroyed when the BQE was rammed through:
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/bf30c088aed6de56c135942f5fff79ed8d88fdc0c754873ed768e7cef53ef738.jpg

  • C.

    Anybody else hate the new “Welcome” sign above the old watchtower building? So hokey, too friendly. I much preferred the old “Watchtower” sign or even the originally planned, “Panorama” sign that was in the renderings. “Welcome” has all the feel of a suburban doormat.

  • CassieVonMontague

    Woman struck and killed by SUV near Brooklyn Friends School this morning

    https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2019/12/04/woman-struck-and-killed-by-car-in-downtown-brooklyn/

  • Banet

    A generic “Welcome”? Not even “Welcome to Brooklyn”. What *should* have been erected is a big massive script “Brooklyn” from the Dodgers logo. It’s such a wasted opportunity.

  • Banet

    Tragic, and while the driver was an 81 year old, why were they driving so fast that they smashed through brick wall while driving on a “shared street” with a speed limit of FIVE mph?

    I feel strongly that drivers should have to do an annual, in-person driving test starting at the age of 75. Too many of the elderly simply don’t have the faculties to be driving past a certain age. :-/

  • Jeremy

    I see what you did there :)

    Actually Vine Street hasn’t vanished. Or, at least the road hasn’t. It’s the other street along Hillside dog park, besides Columbia Heights. Of course, the buildings on the south side of Vine are all gone and replaced by the park and highway. The north side of Vine is as it was in that map, taken up by the old Squibb building.

  • http://www.yotamzohar.com StudioBrooklyn

    Americans don’t even have to learn how to zipper merge in order to get a license. The test should be much more difficult at the start, for everyone.

  • Andrew Porter

    I was hoping for a giant “No Collusion” sign, but then, Jared Kushner sold his share in the company…

  • Andrew Porter

    Hold the phone: I walked by Vineapple yesterday, and the lights were on, with someone working inside putting stuff into a garbage bag. So, maybe….

  • Andrew Porter
  • MaggieO

    FWIW – the driver didn’t smash through a brick wall. he ran into scaffolding. it’s obviously awful that this woman was killed but lets be truthful about the circumstance.

  • WUSA

    One thing that was good is the commune who are selling Christmas trees at Saint Ann’s caused the final removal of the darling who was spitting and threatening passers-by for nearly a year. Hmmm…Sort of social biophage
    Gives me a warm glow…perhaps I should go back on the air.

  • AEB

    Perhaps you should stop posting here, Jeffrey.

  • # CDGNYC

    Vineapple will not be returning to that location as they are looking for a new tenant for the current space.

  • # CDGNYC

    Does anyone know why Squibb Park remains closed? I know they are replacing the bridge, but we will have no access until then?

  • Robert Perris

    Under the parks department policy, Squibb Park was closed unless staffed because it has only one way in-and-out.

  • Jorale-man

    Too bad. That had a nice atmosphere and seemingly was always crowded. I guess selling $3 coffees and pastries wasn’t enough to pay the rent though.

  • Taq Man

    Yes. Too bad. It was very cozy inside, but the space lacked natural light and the storefront was not inviting because it looked too much like someone’s home.

  • Eddyde

    What other reason is there to go to Squibb Park other than access the bridge?

  • Cranberry Beret

    It’s an open protected space for kids to bike, skate, scoot, play ball games, run around. PS8 groups use it for activities. Other groups have kids tennis lessons.

    When Brooklyn Bridge Park proposed the pool there, I was disappointed they also viewed it only as a walkway to their doomed bridge and didn’t acknowledge that lots of people are using the space for unprogrammed recreation.

  • Roberto Gautier

    It’s a bit suspicious whenever a developer puts up a “welcome” sign. The developer in question should be looked into. It may have an interesting Hollywood past.

  • Andrew Porter

    Do you have a source for that information?

  • Andrew Porter

    I used the swings there, before they destroyed all the 1930s playground equipment. There were even two long-disused wading pools.

    The bathrooms are still in use.

  • Reggie

    “Welcome” is just a placeholder until a tenant takes a block of space. I sort of think of it as, ‘Welcome, Anchor Tenant!’

  • Jorale-man

    Remember when there was a plan to build a pool there? That was before the Promenade Expressway plan and other BQE matters took center stage.

  • Brixtony

    Interesting. I recently sent a correction to Google Maps who, in sending me to the BQE said to take a left turn on Vine St. However, it was actually Old Fulton St. Now the directions leave off the street name. The one block next to Hillside Park seems the only remnant.

  • Jeremy

    Yep, that’s all there ever was for Vine Street — one short block from McKenny to Columbia Heights.