Poplar Precinct to Serve Good Purpose

Archive | February, 2008

Poplar Precinct to Serve Good Purpose

By Homer Fink on February 25, 2008 12:20 pm in Brooklyn Heights

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8UydO4VN1Q[/video]
Brownstoner reports that the old 84th Precinct building at 72 Poplar Street will soon be home to the League Treatment Center. The program which helps "students who have been rejected by the public school system because their emotional problems are so severe and who cannot afford private schooling" is now located at 30 Washington Street in DUMBO. LTC will be losing its lease in "a couple of years" the site reports.

Brownstoner claims this move is to the "chagrin of many Brooklyn Heights residents" now that the possibility of the building being turned into coops/condos is gone. B'stoner claims that nabe residents have lobbied CB2 to allow residential housing at the Precinct to avoid an organization like LTC from moving in.

The Brooklyn Eagle hinted that LTC was one of the potential tenants for the building in an article last year.

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The Lobster Dies on March 16

By Homer Fink on February 24, 2008 3:44 pm in Brooklyn Heights

The Brooklyn Eagle reports that Armando's Restaurant owner Peter Byros will shut off the historic "Lobster Sign" at 143 Montague Street forever on March 16. Byros owns the building and says he will lease the Armando's space to an "upscale" restaurant. The Montague Video Store will remain on the second floor.

The "Save the Lobster" campaign is in full swing here at BHB. NYS Senate hopeful Daniel Squadron has urged any new establishment to do their best to save the sign and many BHB readers agree. BHB's requests for comment from the Brooklyn Heights Association and State Senator Martin Connor have not (as of yet) been answered.

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Heights History: 68 Hicks Street

By Homer Fink on February 24, 2008 3:22 pm in Brooklyn Heights

The scaffolding has been up for a few weeks and renovation is in full swing at 68 Hicks.

Built in 1820, the structure was originally a grocery store and tavern. The building is known for its gambrel roof and colonnettes in its entryway. In recent years its been home to the Washing Well Laundromat and other businesses. A Google search uncovers that the radio show This American Life had an office there a few years back.

As for the current work, it appears that there’s a full reno – inside and out – happening. This is fantastic news for the area.

Mega-kudos to new owner Demetris Giannoulias for bringing the corner back to life.

Here’s a photo from the Brooklyn Public Library of 68 Hicks in 1920: Continue Reading →

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The “Kid” Says Save The Lobster

By Homer Fink on February 22, 2008 12:40 pm in Uncategorized

The Lobster should be saved says NY State Senate 25th District Democratic challenger Daniel "The Kid" Squadron. He tells BHB exclusively that the sign for Armando's Restaurant, a fixture on the block since 1936, should be saved.

Squadron tells BHB exclusively via Facebook, "I urge the next tenant or a neighboring establishment to save the lobster. And if the next tenant doesn't add to the character of the Heights, we'll all be very crabby."

Squadron, who is gearing up for his bid to unseat Marty Connor for the Democratic nomination for NY State Senate in September, is the first public figure to come out in favor of finding a way to "Save the Lobster".

Flickr photo by All About Eve

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Meet Dan “The Kid” Squadron

By Qfwfq on February 22, 2008 12:09 pm in Uncategorized

It's a month old, but I just came across this The Albany Project interview with Dan "The Kid" Squadron. He's all for educating the kids, congestion pricing, the environment, and puppies. And he also promises: Continue Reading →

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LPC Approves 73 Pineapple

By Qfwfq on February 22, 2008 11:21 am in Real Estate

73 Pineapple

According to the ubiquitous Brownstoner, The Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously approved the latest 73 Pineapple Street design:

Evidently none of the commissioners shared our concern about the alignment of the facade and the size of the bulkhead because they voted 9-0 to approve the new designs last week.

For what it's worth, I find that sometimes variations in windows/cornice alignment among a row of buildings to be very refreshing.

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Nabe Band’s Gig Jolted by Fire Alarm in London

By Homer Fink on February 21, 2008 9:43 pm in Uncategorized

Brooklyn Heights biggest export since Jennifer Connolly, Vampire Weekend, had their London concert interrupted by a fire alarm earlier tonight. Nabe resident Rostam Batmanglij and the band were midway through "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance" at the ULU Club when the false alarm rang out, according to Brit music publication NME. The audience and the band were forced out onto the street while authorities investigated. The group finished their set to a smaller crowd. Notably absent – Blur/Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn who was rumored to have pulled the alarm by concertgoers. NME reports that Albarn left the venue 10 minutes before the alarm was pulled.

Vampire Weekend's debut album is out now. While in London, VW stopped by MTV UK and played their smash hit "Mansard Roof".

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Crimewave: Burglary Edition

By Qfwfq on February 21, 2008 6:52 pm in Brooklyn Heights

According to this week's edition of the Brooklyn Paper, there was a slew of burglaries last week, hitting Willow and Orange Streets:

Around the corner, in a building on Orange Street between Willow and Hicks streets, a renter returned from a week on Feb. 11 to discover that another “fire escape burglar” had raided her home for a laptop, a pearl necklace and other valuables. In all, she lost $5,295 in stuff.

And it seems that the trend of burglaries continues this week, with Columbia Heights residences as the targets. They appear to be coming down from the roof, via fire escapes, and opening any unlocked windows.

Lock your windows! Insure your stuff! Watch the skies!

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Some “Henry Street Restaurant…located near Cranberry Street” missing $5,000

By Qfwfq on February 21, 2008 6:50 pm in Brooklyn Heights

Of course, we would be remiss in our duties if we failed to highlight this other item from Brooklyn Paper's crime blotter:

Missing money

A restaurant employee who was entrusted with taking $5,000 to the bank on Feb. 14 may have followed the age-old advice, “Take the money and run.”

The 35-year-old left the Henry Street restaurant — located near Cranberry Street — around midnight with a stuffed, cash-filled envelope. When he had still not returned an hour later, the boss called his cellphone. The money-carrier never picked up, and no one has heard of him since.

Fascinating.

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Ivanov the Terrible Has Day in Court

By Homer Fink on February 21, 2008 5:53 pm in Brooklyn Heights, crime

The Brooklyn Eagle reports on pipe bomb/arsenal packin' suspect Ivaylo Ivanov's day in court for his admitted swastika spraying spree last year:

Brooklyn Eagle: Ivanov Quietly…: Ivanov, a 37-year-old Bulgarian immigrant, looked meek and even gentle, as he stood handcuffed and motionless in front of the judge. Dressed in a white-collared shirt, khaki pants and black overcoat, his thin face was clean-shaven, and his graying hair seemed fashionably messed up. He said nothing and only sighed once.

His public defender who was assigned to him from the Legal Aid Society entered his not-guilty plea on his behalf, and Ivanov was led out of the courtroom and back into jail. If convicted of the various criminal charges, he could be sentenced to 25 years in prison.

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Heights Couple’s “Earnest” Gets Raves

By Claude Scales on February 21, 2008 12:57 am in Uncategorized

Theater 1010's production of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Montague Street resident Judith Jarosz with set design and acting by her husband, David Fuller (see earlier post about this production here), has received enthusiastic critical notice. Martin Denton, in nytheatre.com, writes: Continue Reading →

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Farewell Magnetic Field

By Homer Fink on February 20, 2008 11:56 pm in Uncategorized

Brooklyn's game show kingpin, Dick Swizzle, announced at Wednesday's Match Game 08 at Magnetic Field that the bar will be closing at the end of March. Continue Reading →

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What’s Up at 81 Columbia Heights?

By Homer Fink on February 20, 2008 6:04 pm in Uncategorized

A BHB tipster writes:

something is going down at 81 columbia heights on the corner of cranberry for the past hour. 2 cop cars 3 unmarked cars..saw a few cops on the roof in uniform and a gaggle of plain clothes cops run in and out of the building…the ones on the street keep pointing at the roof. I heard them yelling that something was on the cranberry side…que pasa?

Update: Nothing going on there as of 7PM. Sources tell us that this could have been a residential burglary investigation.

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