Open Thread Wednesday

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  • nomcebo manzini

    I’m 90% sure that yesterday’s NYT story about the Covid deniers 3000 was accompanied by a photo from Metrotech. These are people who will go seditious when they have a chance – just like the truckers in Ottawa! Anybody feeling sorry for flat earthers should remember that they took scalps – Galileo’s among them, I think.

    I know there’s talk about people happy to kiss dead-end jobs goodbye, but I’d be surprised if there were many of them working for NYC. These people – those who will force Mayor Adams to fire them or back down (yes, I could see him doing either) – are ready to shed your blood or mine if/when they think that their immune system will keep them out of hospitals.

    If you’ve ever looked in a fireplace at any time, you know that there are red hot embers hours after the flames die down. Maybe, Omicron put us a LOT closer to “herd immunity,” but when places like Las Vegas casinos trumpet, “It’s 2019 again!” I sure wouldn’t want to be on a plane that makes a stop there!

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

    From the DOB website:

    The complaint:

    “THERE’S CONSTRUCTION GOING ON IN THE BUILDING WITHOUTPERMITS. FOR THE PAST 3 DAYS NOW THEY HAVE BEEN DOING RENOVATIONS ANDDEMOLITIONS”

    The Violation:

    ” 7J WORK WITHOUT A PERMIT – OCCUPIED MULTIPLE DWELLING
    WORK WITHOUT A PERMIT – OCCUPIED MULTIPLE DWELLING : CONSTRUCTION”

    The Inspectors comments:

    “PSWO ISSUED FOR NEW HVAC, STEEL BRACKETS WELDED TO SUPPORT M ECHANICAL SYSTEM AND ELECTRICAL WORK ALL WITHIOUT PERMITS”

  • B.

    I read that the signage not only violates Landmarks in terms of size but also, Las Vegas style, flashes at night. What you’ve got on Henry now is a giant middle finger being wagged at the whole idea of Brooklyn Heights.

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

    It is a tragedy and sadly, hardly anyone will notice. There will be no massive parade, no service at a cathedral, no speech from the mayor, as we recently saw in the deaths of two NYC police officers. Yet construction work is more dangerous than law enforcement and more necessary for the functioning of modern society. Where would we be without buildings, roads and all else that is built, renovated and repaired?
    Who are the real heroes?

  • aeshtron

    It is my understanding that many (most?) retail Cannabis shops operate as money laundering and distribution hubs for the informal economy. According to New Frontier Data, 80% of Cannabis sold (about $3.7 billion/year) in CA moves through the informal economy. Why pay more and travel to a dispensary for an inferior product when one can have nearly any product or service delivered to their home? Long live fully independent entrepreneurs slangin’ it : )

  • Andrew Porter

    I walked by there on Friday, and berated them about the sign. They told me it was going to be removed on Saturday.

  • Red Leader

    When and why did PS8 change names?

  • meschwar

    The change was made before the current school year. Half the stuff in this city is named after Bob Fulton and nothing is named after Emily Roebling who basically engineered the Brooklyn Bridge with no formal education and received no credit.

  • Red Leader

    why, thank you.

  • A neighbor

    Brilliant! I wasn’t aware of the name change. Emily Roebling deserves to be honored, and, aside from leading the parade across the bridge when it opened, she is only beginning to get the credit she earned.

  • B.

    I think there’s a difference between murder and a workplace accident, which might account for the speeches. As to that, I don’t see much of an outcry against the murders of cab and livery drivers by the usual miscreants who nowadays are let off with a futile warning to show up in court. Driving a car for hire is an even more dangerous job that construction work.

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

    The only difference is HYPE!

  • AEB

    That fifty bucks per person with tip (but no booze or wine): not a lot, considering the going tab for better than average dining in NYC. Not what you’d want to spend on a regular basis, not what you’d spend at Noodle Pudding (but, come to think of it, close), but for times when.

  • AEB

    I’m of two minds about the place and its sign. On the one hand: feh to both. On the other…well, I think it was St. Augustine who said, and I paraphrase, the high and the low together is greater than the high alone. Meaning, everything in our neighborhood is homogeneously tasteful. Great–but it can get boring. White bread. The new shop adds a bit of urban realness to our cloistered community. A bit of the rough. Which, if not exactly welcome, shakes things up a bit. You know what I mean?

  • Linda Bechutsky

    Soup Dumpling restaurant is having a soft opening on 2/16!

  • Cranberry Beret

    Luckily this is starting to be remedied. A stretch of Columbia Heights was given the honorary name “Emily Roebling Way” about 4 years ago, and in the last year the final part of BBP to open, under the Brooklyn Bridge, was named “Emily Roebling Plaza.”

  • SongBirdNYC

    I have zero problem with what they are selling but read the freaking room. This place is garish and literally next door to Seedlings. Can you say, “Mommy, what’s a bong?” Also, If they opened up hoping that the Dead Head college kids are going to sustain them, they are going to have a rude awakening when the kids literally disappear in May through September. And it’s not like the decor is appealing to an older demographic either. I hope they go out of busines in 4 months,

  • SongBirdNYC

    Don’t worry, her Great, Great Grandson, Kriss is keeping the family legacy alive.

  • Karl Junkersfeld

    Songbird, why don’t you tell us how you really feel, haha

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

    On the contrary, The Heights has a long, proud history of Cannabis, use and sales!

  • meschwar

    You can criticize the decor if want, but marijuana is legal now. Your kids (and mine) walk past liquor stores and people smoking cigarettes every day. They fully understand that there are some things that are just for adults.

  • nomcebo manzini

    Thanks. I just wonder how big a backlog exists…. AND whether one “jumps the line” somewhat routinely by money changing hands. Yes, one recognizes that “I just went ahead and did it” could endanger lives, but let’s face it – there’s a far greater risk of food poisoning or Covid (as of now) when eating out – risks beyond legislation of any kind. Similarly, Florida had plenty of laws and inspectors … and contractors/owners who did what they did. We have 1 cop for every 200+ New Yorkers…. I’m no libertarian, but maybe, we WOULD benefit from a re-think on things like this. It’s whack-a-mole, and the moles are winning!

  • SongBirdNYC

    Going in there again today. Had written a bunch and it didn’t save…WHAAAA

  • SongBirdNYC

    To be clear, I have ZERO issue with pot being legal. I’m not a Puritan or someone who clutches their pearls. There is a NYS statute passed specifically to address vape shops & dispensaries on light of MJ legalization that says you cannot sell tobacco or smoking paraphernalia w/in a certain distance from a school. Seedlings is next door and Plymouth pre-school is also around the corner. Though the shop isnt in PS8’s school zone, a huge number of kids walk down Henry to and from school. I’ll find the legislation and post separately. lastly, I’m not Picasso but I do have an art degree and many years of creative practice. I understand color, composition, art history, etc. Psychedelic art done well is cool. Theirs is not. And the flashing LED lights plus their signage, the grey industrial carpeting, the whole thing adds up to cheap and tacky. Sorry, not sorry.

  • SongBirdNYC

    Ban the Exterior Display of Tobacco and Vapor Product Ads Near Schools

    As of July 1, 2020, Public Health Law Article 13-F Section 1399-DD-1 restricts the public display of tobacco and vaping product advertisements and the display of smoking paraphernalia within 500 feet of school in New York City and within 1,500 feet of a school in the rest of the state.

  • B.

    I know. The stench wafts nowadays through a lot of your streets. But your proud history of smoking and selling weed isn’t the point. It’s that you don’t want Brooklyn Heights to turn into, say, Flatbush, where both the signage and the music blasting from stores are like a punch in the face. If you have landmark status, and you do, then everyone has to adhere to the rules.

  • Andrew Porter

    Stores which play music from outside speakers are violating the law; call 311 to report them.

  • Andrew Porter

    I was in there, and remembered when I used to have a little machine that you put the paper in, sprinkled weed (or tobacco) across it, and voila! you had a rolled joint. Before the woman at the counter was born, I was sure.

    They had a nice selection of cigars in a separate case, btw…