Open Thread Wednesday

What’s on your mind? Comment away!

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  • Matt

    Anyone know how long the Open Street is going to be between Henry and Monroe on Pierrepont Street? I am not sure why this was designated as an “Open Street”. It will cause a lot of car congestion around the Heights. Just seems utterly dumb.

  • karateca2000

    Most people use a GPS, so they will just avoid the area. I think it is a win for most people.

    I guess we need to close more streets so the cars will avoid going through the neighborhood. Less noise, less pollution, more fun for kids.

  • meschwar

    It’s because of the school on that block. It’s only from 10a-3p M-F.

    Relax.

  • Mark C

    Regarding that picture lead, any updates on when we might get a Squibb pool?

  • Sandy McCroskey

    Wow. Quiet Wednesday. I wonder how the investigation into the fire on Montague (two doors down from my flat) is going…

  • aeshtron

    Anyone know how long it’s going to be free to street park my ugly pollution belching vehicles in our crowded neighborhood? I am not sure why I can occupy public space with private property for free. It causes a loss of potential revenue for the city. Just seems utterly dumb.

  • Alex

    As someone who constantly rides Citibike from BH to Cobble Hill, the double parking situation on Henry St gets worse everytime. I wish I could take a baseball bat with me and bash the windows of these cars.

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

    As a lifelong cyclist and driver in NYC, I understand both sides of the issue. Problem is people have to load/unload their vehicles. Without a parking spot in the immediate vicinity, double parking is often the only practical option.
    If I’m riding and have to duck out of the bike lane for a sec, to go around a DP car, it’s usually no big deal, but if there are a bunch of oncoming cars right behind me and have to stop it can be frustrating. Such is life in the big city…

  • RickP
  • Cranberry Beret

    Agreed. The real problem is the city refuses a sensible prioritization of street use. The loading zones and bike lanes *need* to be on the street. Free street parking does not. The street parking gets in the way of the loading zones and the bike lanes. The politicians think if they take away street parking, they lose at the polls, and are cowed by the NIMBYs who always trot out the canard about their sick aunt who needs to drive to cancer treatment. But it’s simple supply & demand – if we take away some street spots (to reallocate to dedicated loading zones, or to make way for dedicated bike lines that can’t be blocked) and/or charge for the remaining parking, the people who just warehouse their cars without using them much will conclude it’s not worth it, and the people who actually value parking will still have spots.

  • Teresa

    My kitchen needs a total gut renovation. I have neither unlimited funds (definitely on a budget), nor expensive tastes, nor much interest in kitchen design, nor strong preferences.

    Does anyone have any recommendations for a consultant/project person who can take me through this start to finish?

  • Mike Suko

    YIKES. I’ll be interested to hear what responses you get. BHB does many things well, but I fear that it has a smallish audience – not very diverse, either – so I’m 100% convinced that you’d do better to join Nextdoor & ask the same question there.

  • Teresa

    I did…posted there and in a couple of FB groups.

  • Red Leader

    Remember to show some love to our Clark St. station businesses.
    It’s pretty empty in there these days. :(

  • RickP

    In the unlikely event this is helpful, we just went through something similar. The high bids involved a complete redesign of the kitchen, with the plumbing, electrical and appliances in new places.

    One of the low bids involved using prefab cabinets — you size them to the nearest three inches and then use trim to cover the gaps. That goes along with prefab counter and so forth. It’s used in a lot of apartment situations. It’s okay and it’s cheap.

    What we ended up doing was recognizing that the existing “boxes” were ok. It was just the fronts that were problematic. So, we got new doors, some new trim in the same style, new counters, new sink, new knobs/handles, and new appliances where we needed them. So, the kitchen has the original design, there’s no new major plumbing or electrical and the price was a good deal less than the next lowest bid, which required full replacement of the boxes.

    We don’t have a kitchen where the refrigerator is in a hidden closet. Guests come in and right away know we have a refrigerator in our kitchen. It’s embarrassing, I guess, but the savings were dramatic.

    And to answer your question, I don’t have a name for you. Just a different approach.

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    Just did a total renovation of a kitchen using IKEA. They have different price levels and consultants on the premises for free. Final product was perfect and relatively easy.

  • Teresa

    This is very much what I’m looking for. I need a new stove, floor, and dishwasher, and I have no desire to hide my refrigerator. I do need some new cabinetry (mine has been there since the 80s, I’m pretty sure, long before I moved in), but some House & Garden kitchen is absolutely not what I’m looking for. Thanks!

  • Teresa

    I’ve worked with them before and they’re an option. Thanks for the endorsement.

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

    I am a professional builder and have designed and built dozens of kitchens, mostly very high end, but Ive done budget projects as well. IKEA is the best bang for your buck, their better lines are as good as anything shy of custom made.
    Pro Tip! Have the installer use glue on the dowels and wherever appropriate, when assembling the boxes and they will have a more solid feel and last much longer. That goes for any IKEA product.

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

    I was there a few weeks ago, a couple weeks after the station closing. Nik at Drip, the coffee place, said he was doing okay but might close earlier in the afternoon as he no longer gets the afternoon rush customers. The man at the shoe repair place said he was still getting steady business from his local customers. The barber shop was busy doing two haircuts, and someone was buying something at the newsstand. I’ll go back sometime in January when the situation has developed further and do a post.

  • Teresa

    Thanks for the reminder. I keep meaning to go in there for coffee

  • Teresa

    Thank you! I started this with them a few years ago and got sidetracked. I’ll revisit. I’m not super picky, but I didn’t find any cabinets I really liked.

  • Red Leader

    I had just bought a coffee at Han’s when I walked past an empty Drip. Planning on getting my coffee at Drip from now on.

  • RickP

    Similar situation to ours. If the size and position of the cabinets works for you, than a careful paint job (or even new fronts) and new doors can make them look like brand new stuff. You can get appliances the same size as the old ones and they drop in. The thing that costs the most and makes the most difference is the hew counters and backsplash. Best advice I got was to buy them like you’re buying art. We picked out a slab at a granite place. That was more fun than it sounded at first. Good luck!

  • Teresa

    Thank you so much–this is all so helpful!

  • cool

    another site that is active with good (relative to the internet baseline) advice for this type of stuff is the forum on brownstoner. the skew is probably a bit toward bigger types of jobs, but you might find some mileage there.

  • Andrew Porter

    You should convert your Stanley Steamer to run on Natural Gas…

  • Andrew Porter

    I would see what resources are available on Brownstoner.com . Oops; see that “cool” got there first.

  • Andrew Porter

    If anyone is wondering (or cares) I was in DC the last 6 days attending a very socially distanced, everyone masked and triple vaccinated convention, hence no Old Photos.

    Hey, look! DC motorcade along Calvert Street from my Shoreham Hotel window:
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3f7af02bca31603105d4981436d14405e1661b8dee72b2da5c38b04e59e222b2.jpg

  • Teresa

    Thank you.