Wrigley, an English Bulldog
When no fewer than 40 dogs gather with their owners on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade clad in outfits as wide-ranging as a hula dancer, a shark, a peacock, and something that looked like a robot, it kind of makes you wish everyday was Halloween (or, in this case, the day before Halloween). Continue Reading →
David Adjmi
Brooklyn Heights resident David Adjmi was one of ten scribes, and the only playwright, awarded the 2010 Whiting Writers’ Award last night. His initial reaction on the honor? “I was really gobsmacked when they told me,” Adjmi said, as only a writer can.
Unlike so many other distinctions for which writers vie, the Whiting Writers’ Award, which comes with a $50,000 prize, is decided by anonymous nomination. “It’s an absolutely extraordinary thing,” Adjmi, 37, said, and described his giddy behavior on hearing the news. “I couldn’t stop laughing…I must have sounded out of my mind.”
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Assemblywoman Joan Millman
Joan Millman has been a teacher, a librarian, a district leader, and for the last 13 years, an assemblywoman. Though the educational jobs preceded the political ones, she sees little difference in the skills required for success in both.
“I think without even being aware of it, teachers do a lot of things that are really helpful in political life,” she said recently over coffee at the Park Plaza Restaurant.
Doug Biviano
Ask State Assembly Candidate Doug Biviano about himself, and the first thing he’ll say is he’s a P.S. 8 parent who was born and raised in Brooklyn. Then, almost as if to prove it, he’ll ask the waitress at Heights Café to bring him a Brooklyn Brewery beer. Continue Reading →
Caitlin Pasko, a Brooklyn Heights newbie and BHB reader, also wears the hat of songstress. As Lacrymosa, she’ll perform at The Living Room on September 5, 19, and 26 at 8pm in the first residency of her career. Continue Reading →
Brown with one of many strange objects in Etsy's offices
If the décor of Etsy’s headquarters in DUMBO is any indication of what shoppers can find on its extremely popular website, then those in search of an octopus arm sculpture are in luck.
Billed as the only marketplace for buying and selling handmade goods online, Etsy was founded in 2005 by Rob Kalin, Chris Maguire, and Haim Schoppick with the motto “Buy, Sell, and Live Handmade.” Adam Brown, Etsy’s public relations manager, explained why the site is preferable to eBay for a particular kind of consumer.
Continue Reading →
Thanks to the lovely folks at AT&T (and to my incessant whining), I was provided a nifty and futuristic MicroCell device that works like a mini cell tower in my apartment to boost the signal on my phone (and hopefully not cause all kinds of cancer). While my phone now displays four bars at most times, it’s not infallible and dropped a call last night. But unlike my pre-MicroCell existence, reception was excellent prior to said dropped call.
As for improving service for people who do not live in my apartment, AT&T’s Ellen Webner said the company is “readily aware we need to enhance the coverage.” She emphasized that service issues in New York City are not for lack of funding or resources. “New York City is the top priority of the entire company as far as wireless coverage and performance,” she added. Continue Reading →
Making a cell phone call from my apartment on Pierrepont Street goes like this:
1: Look at phone to see how many bars I have
2: If three or more bars are present, dial phone
3: If not, wait for the “No Service” indicator to vanish, then dial
4: Wait for person on other end to answer
5: Warn this person that the call could be disconnected with very little notice at any given moment
Raised in what he calls the small town of the Upper West Side, Brooklyn Heights resident David Kramer now builds small towns of his own. Sort of.
As a principal in the Hudson Companies, a real estate developer of rental and sale units around New York City, Kramer has garnered much attention lately for the innovative Inside Third & Bond blog on Brownstoner.com. Started 138 weeks ago, the blog has detailed an abnormally honest account of the building, marketing, and selling of Third + Bond, a townhouse-style condominium apartment complex in Brooklyn.
“The world has become so transparent, and blogs are a manifestation of that,” Kramer said over the phone from his office during a recent workday. By interacting with Brownstoner readers, many of whom are real estate junkies and prospective buyers, Kramer was, he said, “attempting to lead the parade, versus being dressed up at the end of the parade.” Continue Reading →
At 11 years old, Brooklyn Digital Foundry is a dinosaur by DUMBO standards. But this self-described “old guard” of the industry remains on the cutting edge of traditional and digital marketing, thanks to the passion of founders Brian Lemond and John Szot, both trained architects in their late 30s who met at the University of Texas.
“We’ve always taken pride in that even though we do marketing materials for other people, we’ve never done marketing materials for ourselves,” Lemond said recently, sitting at a conference table in the Foundry’s white-walled Jay Street office. “Our reputation has been the thing that’s driven this business.” Continue Reading →
If J. Courtney Sullivan was particularly giddy on a recent evening at the Brooklyn Heights Wine Bar, it could have been because she just learned that her debut novel Commencement,
which was published last summer by Knopf and came out in paperback a few weeks ago, hit number 14 on the New York Times Best Sellers List.
Or, Sullivan’s mirth be the result of getting to live out her dream as a full-time fiction writer, having recently left her job at the New York Times, where she worked with Op-Ed Columnist Bob Herbert.
But maybe Sullivan, 28, is just plain old thrilled that she was back in Brooklyn Heights, the neighborhood she called home for two-and-a-half years before moving (for love) to Park Slope back in March. Continue Reading →
With the nice weather finally upon us, it’s prime time to explore the beauty of Brooklyn Heights and squeeze in a workout at the same time: go for a run! As a BHB contributor and avid runner, I pose to my fellow pavement pounders a thread to share routes short and long, intense and easy, at sunrise or sunset. Sick of the crowds on the Brooklyn Bridge? Ready to throw a tourist over the Promenade railing? Share your hidden gem of a trail!
To begin, here’s one of mine: Julie’s 4-miler
If it is possible for a person to sit in a chair and bounce off the walls at the same time, then that is exactly what Mike Germano (@mikegermano) did on a recent Monday evening in the DUMBO spot ReBar. But his energy is channeled in the right direction: toward his company, Carrot Creative, and the Digital DUMBO scene, which he has helped cultivate.
At just 28 years old, Germano, who grew up in New Jersey and now lives in the Financial District, is a pretty accomplished guy. He served a term as city councilman in Hamden, Conn., from 2005-2007, during which time he founded Carrot Creative, a new media marketing agency specializing in social media.
“We help brands build on social networks, and teach them and help them in great ways for them to have conversations with their customers and really turn brands into people,” he explained. Some of those brands include Crayola, the NFL, Disney, Ford, and the Islands of the Bahamas. Continue Reading →
It’s difficult for a Jewish gal like myself to compare a Sunday service at The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, founded in 1822, to others in the borough. But as a regular concertgoer throughout the region, I can say with conviction that the choir at First Presbyterian is worth the trip to Henry Street, regardless of religious affiliation.
And based on last Sunday, a hot, almost unbearably humid day, the congregants ain’t too bad either, bustling about the cushioned pews to say hello to each other before the service began, jumping up to sing along with the choir, and offering congratulations to the couple whose beautiful baby boy Filip was baptized that day.
“It’s a place where people feel really accepted,” said Amy Neuner, the minister of music at First Presbyterian, who walked into the church nine years ago to see the colorful stained glass windows and has stayed ever since. Continue Reading →
You know you’re in Brooklyn, or more specifically in DUMBO, when the conference room at a hugely successful digital marketing and advertising firm is nicknamed “The Dude,” after Jeff Bridges’s immortal character in “The Big Lebowski.”
Pontiflex co-Founder and CEO Zephrin Lasker, 38, exudes a similarly laid back vibe. Seated at The Dude’s conference table (bought on Craigslist), he seems at peace in their DUMBO office, which is essentially one large, white-walled room that glimpses the Manhattan skyline. Lasker and his jeans-clad employees are devoted to building, refining, and selling a unique online advertising concept called CPL, or cost-per-lead.
I had absolutely no idea what that meant, but it turns out I’m not alone. “How do I explain to my mom what I do?” a giggling Lasker said he often asks himself. Continue Reading →
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Brooklyn Bugle Cobble Hill Blog
NYC Bike Share Program Includes Multiple Locations Across Heights, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Downtown
Open Thread: Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Brooklyn Daily Eagle Tries to Create Controversy Where There Is None
Stabbing At Brooklyn Heights Library
SOLD! Historic Bossert: Plan In Place To Convert Back To Hotel
Let’s Make It Happen: Rename Squibb Park to Adam Yauch Park
Century 21 Department Store Commits To Fulton Mall: Opening In 2015
Quote Of The Day: 1966 Heights Was ‘Brought Back From Slum Death By Influx’ Of Gays
Karl Goes Foraging with Tony of Noodle Pudding
30 Henry Street Reaps $500K Above Asking Price
Reminder: Brazilian Dance Party Tomorrow on Pier 1
84th Precinct Community Council Meets Tuesday Evening
Let’s Make It Happen: Rename Squibb Park to Adam Yauch Park
Squadron (Figuratively) Pours One Out for Beastie Boy, Brooklyn Heights Native Adam Yauch in NYS Senate
Temporary ‘Photoville’ Village Coming To BBP Pier 3 This Summer
Brooklyn Daily Eagle Tries to Create Controversy Where There Is None
Open Thread: Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Stabbing At Brooklyn Heights Library
30 Henry Street Reaps $500K Above Asking Price
June 14: Annual Montague Street District Mgmt Assn Meeting
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