Archive | Health RSS feed for this section

Learn About Brooklyn Heights Plant Life Thursday

By on February 7, 2012 4:43 pm in Environment, Events, Nature

This in from Promenade Gardener Jonathan Landsman:

This Thursday at 12:30 PM, the Promenade Gardeners are hosting the first of our winter gatherings: Plant Trivia from Brooklyn and Beyond. We’d love to invite interested members of the public to join us for this first class and snacks. We sit, chat, look at photos of plants, and Koren and I ask some tough and not-so-tough questions about plants we interact with in daily life in literature, medicine, popular culture, and our walks on the Promenade. Half of the 90 minute meeting is devoted to plants of the Promenade, with a special emphasis on what was bought and planted last year using funds raised by the Promenade Gardens Conservancy and through our bake sales. Joining the group will give one an early taste of spring and a little extra appreciation for plants in our day to day life. Those who’d like to come should RSVP to the hostess, Koren Volk, at volkkoren@hotmail.com and she will provide location details.

Read full story · Comments { 1 }
Update on Billboard: “Not Illegal” says TA

Update on Billboard: “Not Illegal” says TA

By on January 20, 2012 10:34 pm in Environment, Legal

Following up on our inquiry, prompted by reader Andrew Porter, Brooklyn Heights Association Executive Director Judy Stanton got on the phone and found that the City Department of Buildings has no jurisdiction over the billboard (see photo) near the north end of the Promenade, because it is affixed to a building owned by the Transit Authority. Ms. Stanton then called the TA, and was told “that the sign is securely bolted to the wall and is level with the rooftop to minimize wind resistance and was installed under MTA/NYCT structural engineering specification.” Since it is evidently a source of revenue for the cash-strapped TA, it’s unlikely they’ll yield to community pressure to remove it. (Photo: McBrooklyn.)

Update: Federal legislation may provide another means of getting rid of the billboard. See BHB Ten honoree Tony Manheim’s comment on this post.

Read full story · Comments { 13 }
Henry Street Courtyard Serves As Filthy Garbage Dump, Buffet For Vermin

Henry Street Courtyard Serves As Filthy Garbage Dump, Buffet For Vermin

By on January 20, 2012 11:01 am in Brooklyn Heights, Environment, Nature, Streets

An open backyard on Henry Street has become an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord for rats and other vermin, with piles of trash, discarded furniture, construction remnants, bottles, bags and broken glass overrunning the one-time manicured outdoor space.

Located behind Montague Street’s Andy’s Chinese restaurant, Dashing Diva nail salon and the Heights Vision Center, and across from Corcoran real estate on Henry, the cluttered dump is easily accessed through an open iron gate. For years, residents have been complaining to landlords and business owners, to no avail, as it continues to accumulate garbage strewn & stacked at liberty. Continue Reading →

Read full story · Comments { 15 }
The Metrosexual Lives: Area Man Lurves His Skin Products

The Metrosexual Lives: Area Man Lurves His Skin Products

By on January 5, 2012 5:13 pm in Health

Its seems like only yesterday that the Bravo TV series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy amped up the era of the “metrosexual.”   Holy cripes that was some cutting edge stuff, what with the guys using “product” and “manscaping” and stuff.   But then the show sorta went off the rails of the crazy train and lost it’s zhoohz.  So just like a hi-top fade you’d think the whole metrosexual thing had run its course.  Yeah, no.

Enter this piece, featuring a Brooklyn Heights man, from the New York Times: Continue Reading →

Read full story · Comments { 9 }

Times on the Ongoing Nightmare of the BQE

By on January 4, 2012 11:54 pm in Environment, Government, Transportation

The Times has a story about the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway that recounts the frustrations of drivers who use it–”It’s a nightmare”, it quotes livery cab driver Wilifredo Torres, who suffered a blowout that caused his fare to miss a flight–as well as of Brooklyn Heights residents:

New York Times: The highway has also been an irritating neighbor for Lucille Plotz, 85, of Columbia Heights and her husband, Charles, 90. Take, for instance, a recent afternoon inside their apartment. First came the vibrations, then a loud crash; her butter cookies toppled from the counter to the kitchen floor, and the radiator cover dislodged and fell onto a wooden chair. Continue Reading →

Read full story · Comments { 10 }

More on Trash and Recyclables Collection

By on January 2, 2012 11:46 pm in Environment, Government

Sorry to be late with this, which arrived in your correspondent’s mailbox as he was returning from a New Year’s weekend on (yes) Cape Cod. Judy Stanton of the Brooklyn Heights Association gives us this update:

Dear Neighbors:

This is an updated reminder of the irregularities of NYC DSNY collection times, due to the consecutive holidays interrupting our usual Monday service. Continue Reading →

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

Update from Judy: Trash Collection Tomorrow

By on December 27, 2011 3:04 pm in Environment, News

We’ve received this update from Judy Stanton of the Brooklyn Heights Association:

Dear Neighbors:

1) All regular trash will be collected tomorrow (Wednesday), starting possibly at 6 AM. Please disregard what you may be seeing on the DSNY website, and wait until after dark tonight to put your non-recycling trash out on the curb.

2) WEDNESDAY RECYCLING will be collected as per the norm. Continue Reading →

Read full story · Comments { 1 }

No Garbage Collection in Brooklyn Heights Until Wednesday

By on December 25, 2011 8:31 pm in Environment

This in from Judy Stanton of the Brooklyn Heights Association:

Dear Neighbors:

I hope all are enjoying a holiday and had not planned to intrude on celebrations of Christmas Day with news about garbage. Continue Reading →

Read full story · Comments { 1 }

Marty’s Letter to Cuomo Urges Reinstatement of BQE Study

By on December 7, 2011 11:56 pm in Environment, Government, Health, News, Transportation

Borough President Marty Markowitz has written a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo urging him to rescind the decision by the State Department of Transportation to terminate environmental studies for the rehabilitation of the Gowanus and Brooklyn Heights portions of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, which would have the effect of postponing any major reconstruction or replacement of these roadways indefinitely. According to Markowitz’s letter: Continue Reading →

Read full story · Comments { 14 }

P.S. 8 on List of Schools With Hazardous PCB Laden Lighting Fixtures

By on December 7, 2011 1:42 pm in Education, Environment, Government, Health

We’ve received word from the office of Congressman Jerrold Nadler that P.S. 8 is on the list of schools, compiled by the City’s School Construction Authority, that have old lighting fixtures containing polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. These are carcinogens, and are considered especially hazardous to pregnant women. According to Dr. Maida Galvez, Director of the EPA Region 2 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, “The bottom line is that there’s no safe level of [PCB] exposure in pregnancy, period.” There’s more information here.

Next Monday, December 12 at 10:00 a.m., Congressman Nadler, along with representatives of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, NARAL, Planned Parenthood NYC and others, will assemble on the steps of City Hall to demand action to relieve this hazard to public health. For more information, contact kterenzi@NYLPI.org

Read full story · Comments { 2 }

Pumpkin Composting at Greenmarket Tomorrow; Trash Pickup Today

By on November 11, 2011 9:12 am in Environment

Got leftover Halloween pumpkins (we’re thinking of you, Peter Steinberg)? The BHA’s Judy Stanton urges you to take them to the composting booth at the Greenmarket tomorrow. They’ll also handle other veggie waste or scraps, and are there every Saturday.

Word came late, but there is normal trash pickup today, despite the Veteran’s Day holiday.

Read full story · Comments { 0 }
Squadron’s Community Meeting Hits Hot Button Issues

Squadron’s Community Meeting Hits Hot Button Issues

By on November 2, 2011 12:31 pm in brooklyn bridge park, Development, Education, Environment, Government, Parking, Traffic, Transportation

Last evening’s Community Meeting got off to an interesting start when Brooklyn Heights resident and long time Brooklyn Bridge Park advocate Tony Manheim asked State Senator Daniel Squadron if, now that in a deal brokered in part by Squadron and Assemblywoman Joan Millman, the State has given control of the Park to the City, he and Millman would consider yielding their nominees’ position on the Park’s board to representatives appointed by the Mayor. He also asked if Squadron thought it now appropriate to have the Park’s management “collapsed into” the City’s Parks and Recreation Department. Squadron said he was “not excited” about giving up his slot on the board, but that Manheim’s ideas were “conceptually interesting.” Another person suggested that, instead of mayoral nominees, the board slots go to community representatives. Continue Reading →

Read full story · Comments { 10 }
Brooklyn Bridge Park Fall Colors Tours

Brooklyn Bridge Park Fall Colors Tours

By on October 17, 2011 10:30 pm in brooklyn bridge park, Environment, Events, Nature

This Friday, October 21 and Sunday, October 23, from 11:00 to 11:45 a.m. both days, Brooklyn Bridge Park will present a Fall Colors Tour.

Autumn is especially beautiful at Brooklyn Bridge Park! Join Rebecca McMackin, the park horticulturalist, for a walk on Pier 1 and see the beautiful fall colors in the park’s flowers, trees and perennials. Ms. McMackin will talk about the park’s diverse planting palette, the organic maintenance of the landscape and the role of bees and birds in pollinating these striking specimens.

The tours are free, but attendance is limited, so please reserve in advance by e-mailing to brooklynbridgepark@bbpnyc.org . Tours begin at the entrance to Pier 1, near the foot of Old Fulton Street; there will be a tent.

Read full story · Comments { 0 }

Scenes From a Saturday Stroll

By on October 16, 2011 11:57 pm in charity, Environment, Events, Health, Nature, Photos


On Saturday morning, Jonathan Landsman and his crew were busy planting by the Clark Street entrance to the Promenade. More photos and text after the jump. Continue Reading →

Read full story · Comments { 0 }
Help Tomorrow So Promenade Gardens Will Bloom in Spring

Help Tomorrow So Promenade Gardens Will Bloom in Spring

By on October 14, 2011 11:16 am in Environment, Fun, Nature

As your correspondent returned from his morning walk, he found Jonathan Landsman, the Promenade Gardener, and a Parks Department crew, unloading plants from a truck. Some of these, along with bulbs, are to be planted tomorrow (Saturday, October 15) , which happens to be It’s My Park Day. If you would like to lend a hand, Jonathan asks that you join him at the Montague Street entrance to the Promenade at 9:00 a.m. Work will be done by 11:00 a.m. Continue Reading →

Read full story · Comments { 0 }
← Older posts