For the first time in many weeks, no rain is being forecast for this Saturday, October 28. Open Streets Montague, presented by the Montague BID, promises to be a “SPOOK-tacular” pre-Halloween event, with local merchants inviting trick-or-treaters; free pumpkins while they last from a Pumpkin Patch; Halloween themed games, fitness, and dance events; music by Brooklyn’s own youth band JAW from 3:00 to 4:00 pm between Henry and Hicks; and a preview of the Brooklyn Folk Festival (coming November 11-13; details here later) featuring Caroline Kuhn from 2:00 to 3:00 pm between Henry and Hicks and from 3:00 to 4:00 pm between Clinton and Henry. The Brooklyn Women’s Exchange, 137 Montague (below the UPS store) from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm will feature a demonstration of woodcarving by Dennis Taylor. and from 2:00 to 4:00 pm Brooklyn Slime will be in front of the store to allow you to “sample some slime, learn some slime tricks and see the latest fall collection.” Photographer Amy Gibbs will be near 125 Montague from noon until 4:00 pm to photograph you, your children, or your pets. As always, there will be an adults only “Cocktail Co-Op” where you may take your drink (and food) from any local source to enjoy. It will be between Clinton and Henry from noon unti 6:00 pm. There’s a complete schedule of activities and locations here.

According to Channel 2 CBS News New York, our air quality, because of smoke and dust being conveyed south from wildfires in Canada, is at a dangerously bad level. Everyone, especially those with health conditions that make them more sensitive, should remain indoors as much as possible. Those who go outside should wear masks of the M-95 type or better. Your correspondent took the photo above as a news crew were packing up their gear at about 6:00 pm. According to Notify NYC alternate side parking rules are suspended tomorrow (Thursday, June 8).

There’s more information and you may join the meeting here.

Thanks to Marisa Cohen on Nextdoor for the image and the warning.

I’m guessing this is a remake of the 2015 movie Brooklyn, based on Colm Toibin’s novel with the same title.

Readers on our open thread from a few weeks back reported catalytic converter thefts on Cranberry off Hicks and Joralemon off Hicks. Nextdoor is flush with posts about thefts in surrounding neighborhoods. The 84th Precinct tweeted that there’s a rise in thefts in the Downtown area and here’s how they suggest you protect your vehicles:

Meanwhile, the crime has become such a scourge all over the state, an NYPD Detective, Maureen Stefenelli, started a new initiative with the DMV called “Who Let the Cats Out.” According to this article, the DMV will start providing kits to auto dealers to etch a traceable serial number onto catalytic converters.

As you may have noticed, Showtime’s City on a Hill has been shooting scenes using Three Pierrepont Place and nearby streets and sidewalks. Your correspondent’s ever alert wife spotted this sign at Pierrepont Street and Pierrepont Place informing us of another shoot this Thursday, February 24. So, here’s a new chance to reduce your Bacon number, as there’s a good likelihood his Kevin-ness will be treading our sidewalks again. We’re intrigued by the 4:00 AM start time. Perhaps that’s when the crew arrives to change the “Montague Terr” and “Pierrepont Pl” street signs to ones with Boston street names, and to roll out the fake brick sidewalk covering. Or, maybe it’s just to make sure everyone moves their cars on time.

Photo: Martha Foley

Snow is predicted to start falling at about 4:00 AM Friday, January 7 and continue until about 10:00 AM. Accumulation is expected to be fairly heavy – 3 to 4 inches. Alternate side parking rules are suspended Monday to facilitate snow removal, but parking meter rules remain in effect.

This time, it looks like it’s for real.

Update: the latest predictions are that we will see little, if any, snow. Say goodbye to the mild-for-January temperatures; they will be plunging tonight. Tomorrow – Monday, January 3 – they are expected to remain in the 20s all day. Snow is predicted to start falling at about noon and continue until late afternoon. Accumulation is expected to be only a half to one inch, but it will be on the ground for a while as temperatures will stay below freezing. Alternate side parking rules are suspended Monday to facilitate snow removal, but parking meter rules remain in effect.

Update: Alternate side rules are now suspended through Wednesday, September 8. Parking meter rules will be in effect except for Monday, Labor Day. We have word from Notify NYC that alternate side of the street parking rules are suspended tomorrow – Friday, September 3 – and Saturday, September 4. Parking meter rules remain in effect.

Thanks to Governor Cuomo’s signing of legislation making June 19 – Juneteenth – a state holiday, alternate side of the street parking rules are suspended this Saturday. Parking meter rules remain in effect.

The Brooklyn Heights Association recently called for community input on the future of Montague Street, and the survey results are in. BHA promises to use the 1,381 responses “to support the creation of a vibrant and successful Montague Street,” while working with community members, local real estate brokers, and the Montague Street Business Improvement District.

Some highlights from the survey:

1.  Survey respondents want a different retail mix on Montague. Specifically, 80% asked for a bookstore, followed closely by new restaurants and/or cafes. Many would also like to see new types of fresh food establishments, like a butcher, a fishmonger, and a bakery.

2.  Most survey respondents (over 60%) want a greater prioritization of pedestrians/bikes on Montague Street, with more outdoor dining, shopping and seating, along with music and events to bring a more “neighborhood feel” to the street.

3.  Many respondents noted that they currently go elsewhere (DUMBO, Cobble Hill, etc.) to shop and dine. This “retail leakage” could be addressed by bringing more unique and desirable options to Montague Street.

See the complete survey results here.

What’s your wishlist for zhuzhing up Montague Street? Comment below!

Kings County Politics reports that State Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon (photo) and City Council Member Stephen Levin are urging the city to enforce parking regulations, particularly with respect to abuse of city issued parking placards, in Downtown Brooklyn. As has been noted here before, this is a problem that extends into Brooklyn Heights, especially along Joralemon and Pierrepont streets.

As we noted before, alternate side of the street parking rules go back into effect this Monday, July 20. However, there are changes to the rules. These changes went into effect in June, while ASP rules were suspended, and concern sweeping schedules for “residential side streets” (non-metered streets) which will now be swept only once a week. The Sanitation Department has provided a full explanation here. The changes will stay in effect through Labor Day, when their effect on cleanliness will be assessed and it will be decided whether to extend or modify them.

ICYMI (as we did), alternate side parking rules have been suspended for an additional week, through Sunday, July 19. Parking meter rules remain in effect.

The New York City Department of Transportation has announced that alternate side parking rules will be suspended tomorrow — Sunday, July 5 — through next Sunday, July 12. Parking meter enforcement remains in effect.

We have this from Notify NYC:

The New York City Department of Transportation today announced that Alternate Side Parking regulations will be suspended citywide through 6/21. Payment at parking meters will remain in effect throughout the city.

Our ever alert and helpful friends at Brooklyn Community Board 2 have notified us that, effective now, Willow Street between Middagh and Pierrepont streets (practically its entire length) has been added to the “Open Streets” program, described in Mayor de Blasio’s press release as follows:

Open Streets are simple closures of streets to vehicles and do not feature any programming, seating, or other elements that might encourage gathering. These closures may not be implemented on a bus, truck, or emergency route. Limited access to the street shall be maintained to allow for essential deliveries, emergency needs, and/or to retrieve a parked vehicle.

Willow joins  Joralemon between Hicks and Furman as Brooklyn Heights streets designated as Open Streets.

Our friends at Community Board 2 have sent us this notice:

Alternate Side Parking is suspended through 5/17. It will resume fr0m 5/18-5/24 for cleaning & be suspended again from 5/25 through 6/7.

Update: CB 2 has further advised us that DOT’s announcement failed to note that, during the affected week, alternate side rules will be suspended for two religious holidays. These are Thursday, May 21, for the Solemnity of the Ascension, and Sunday, May 24, for Eid Al-Fitr. The days when alternate side rules will be in effect are thus Monday, May 18 through Wednesday, May 20 and Friday and Saturday, May 22 and 23.

Our friends at Community Board 2 have advised us that, according to the City Department of Sanitation, there will be no pickup of garbage, organics, or recyclables on Tuesday, January 1. Those who normally receive pickup of these items on that day should put them out for pickup following 4:00 PM Tuesday. Also, according to the Department of Transportation, alternate side of the street parking rules and parking meter regulations are suspended all New Year’s Day.

Community Board 2’s Executive Director Robert Perris has sent us the following:

Several people got tickets in Brooklyn Heights today despite the fact that alternate side of the street parking was suspended for the second day of Rosh Hashanah. Shana tova!

Similar incidents have happened in the past because the parking regulations on the narrow streets in Brooklyn Heights, where parking is permitted on one side of the street only on six days of the week and the other side on the seventh day, do not have street cleaning parking rules but the rules are nevertheless suspended when street cleaning rules are suspended.

People who wish to fight their tickets should invoke Section 4-08(a)(7)(iii)(D) of the New York City Department of Transportation’s Traffic Rules (aka Title 34, Chapter 4 of the Rules of the City of New York), which states, “Posted signs restricting parking for a period of six or more consecutive hours on one day per week or on alternate days are not street cleaning parking rules. However, such restrictions are suspended on the days that street cleaning rules are suspended.”

The City’s Traffic Rules are available online here.

Thanks, Rob!

On June 22 we warned that certain streets in Brooklyn Heights were to be milled, and then repaved, during the following week. The milling got done, but the repaving is taking longer. So far, Poplar, Schermerhorn, and Willow streets, as well as Monroe Place, have been repaved. The Brooklyn Heights Association has notified us that the remaining unpaved streets will, weather permitting, be repaved this coming week. The schedule is:

Monday, July 16: Middagh Street (photo).

Tuesday, July 17: College Place, Love Lane, and Remsen Street.

Vehicles left on these streets when work is ready to be performed will be relocated, generally within three blocks. DOT encourages owners of relocated vehicles to first walk around the neighborhood. If owners are not able to locate their vehicle, they may telephone their local precinct, 84 (718) 875-6811 to learn where it was towed to.

Photo: C.Scales for BHB.

Brooklyn Community Board 2 has advised us that many Brooklyn Heights streets are scheduled for milling and repaving during daytime hours next week. The schedule is:

Remsen Street from the Promenade entrance to Clinton Street: Monday, June 25 and Tuesday, June 26.

Monroe Place, College Place, Love Lane, and Willow Street: Tuesday, June 26.

Middagh Street and Poplar Street: Wednesday, June 27.

Schermerhorn Street from Clinton to Court Street: Thursday, June 28 and Friday, June 29.

CB 2 provides this advice:

Vehicles left on these streets when work is ready to be performed will be relocated, generally within three blocks. DOT encourages owners of relocated vehicles to first walk around the neighborhood. If owners are not able to locate their vehicle, they may telephone their local precinct, 84 (718) 875-6811 or 88 (718) 636-6511 to learn where it was towed to.

Over the last few weeks, those little multi-colored notices on trees and street signs have flourished almost as efflorescently as the white blossoms that are harbingers of spring in our neighborhood. Locals, though, don’t welcome the signs with quite as much enthusiasm as they do the blossoms.

The Brooklyn Eagle reports what we always know to be true: that film crews are taking over the streets, and merchants are none too happy about it.

“First of all, they bring their own foods. The guys working here, they’re not eating on Montague Street, that’s number one,” said George Chamoun, owner of Monty Q’s pizza at 158 Montague St. “Plus, the customers pull up, there’s no place to park.”

Chamoun added that deliveries take far longer because his drivers “have to park down by Smith Street.”

The Eagle’s Mary Frost reports that so far this year 157 daily shooting permits have been issued for our zip code–more than were issued when their ubiquity caused a moratorium a couple of years ago.

Add the increase in foot and vehicle traffic resulting from exploding development in the area, and you’ve got a recipe for short tempers, frustration, and a lot time circling the block looking for parking…not to mention a financial hit for local businesses.

Janet Allon, the spokeswoman for the city’s media office, noted that a tiny percentage of complaints to 311 involve film shoots, which she attributes to her office’s responsiveness to communities’ wanting a break from filming.

Your humble correspondent proffers an alternative view: that we’ve stopped making those calls to the city’s permit office and 311 precisely because so little is ever done and few calls are returned.

The glimmer of hope here is the implication that if we do start making the calls, perhaps those shoots will be diverted to other neighborhoods, spreading the misery more equally in the borough.

Read the Eagle for the full story…

Oh boy, this is bound to incite a rousing debate. WPIX reports that the City has chosen 14 neighborhoods for its two-year pilot program to designate certain parking spots to rideshare companies such as Zipcar. Park Slope and Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens will have to relinquish 30 spots each. Boerum Hill will have to do without 20, and Brooklyn Heights and Red Hook, 10 each.

Photo credit: By Herzi Pinki (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Brooklyn Community Board 2 tells us that this Sunday, February 26, there will be more filming of Homeland centered at 110 Livingston Street but affecting nearby areas. The permit extends from 6:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. As before, the action will include “explosions, simulated weapon fire, smoke and actors dressed as uniformed police and military officers.”

Unlike before, vehicles parked in affected areas will be relocated. For a list of no parking areas, more details generally, and a photo of Claire Danes, see C.B.2’s website here.

Readers of our “Subway Service Alerts” know that repair work to tunnels damaged by Hurricane Sandy has been a lengthy process, and that repairs to the tunnels that connect the 4/5, or “Lex” line, to Brooklyn and Manhattan have been very active of late. We’ve been advised by the Brooklyn Heights Association that work on the portion of the 4/5 tunnel that lies below Joralemon Street will necessitate parking restrictions on parts of Joralemon Street and Willow Place after Thanksgiving and into December on weekdays, with more to come in January and perhaps in March to April:

NYCTA officials have alerted the BHA to their plans to undertake 3 weeks of repair on the Joralemon Street Tunnel from Monday, November 28th to Friday, December 16, 2016 during Mondays through Fridays. During this period, the NYCTA will be pulling new electrical cable between their substation on Willow Place and their ventilation building on Joralemon Street.

The work will eliminate parking during the 3 weeks, M-F between 7 AM and 7 PM, on both sides of the two streets on Joralemon between 45 Joralemon and Hicks Street and on Willow Place between Nos. 16 & 18 through 44 Willow Place. Cars parked during these periods will be towed. Parking will be permitted overnight between 7 PM and 7 AM. No Parking notices will be posted starting Monday November 21st.

The two streets will remain open to traffic, aided by a flagman, during the work periods. No openings will be made in the roadway surface and access will be maintained to all driveways.

The repair work is expected to continue for one week in January and perhaps one or two weeks in March/April 2017.

As she is wont to do of a Tuesday afternoon, your correspondent was cruising the neighborhood yesterday, looking for a Tuesday spot to park., when she came across an unusual sight on Columbia Heights between Clark and Pineapple.

(I will now cease talking about myself in the third person.)

There were several vintage cars parked on Columbia, along with several unusually high traffic cones blocking off several spots. When I pulled up to take what looked to be an empty spot, I was told by a man supervising that the spots were being held for a movie shoot.

There were no signs posted, and there had not been in advance of the “shoot”; when I asked where they were, the man mumbled something unconvincing, as which point I pulled over on Pineapple to call the precinct to get some more info.

There were maybe a dozen or so people involved, some wearing yellow traffic vests and who were apparently there in some official capacity; others were in costume.

After trying to get through to the 84th four times without having anyone pick up (which really should be a whole separate post–this happens at the 84th ALL THE TIME), I called 311 and was quickly put through to the Mayor’s Office of Media and Broadcasting (or of Film, Theater, and Broadcasting), where the person who picked up the phone helpfully informed me that no permit had been issued for such a shoot and suggested I call the local precinct.

I finally got through (after pushing the selection for the detective squad) and was told that someone would come over to check it out.

This all took about 15 minutes, during which I was parked pretty much in the middle of their shoot and they moved the vintage vehicles around, down Columbia Heights and Pineapple. At one point, one of the men involved offered me one of their “reserved” spots.

I didn’t stick around to see what happened next, though it did seem as though they were disbanding the shoot and they released the blocked parking spaces.

Did anyone else in the neighborhood have any experience with these folks or know who they are?