It was many and many a year ago in a kingdom by the park that a dog there lived whom you may know…. Ah, I’m talking about Brooklyn the Ghost Dog. A big, scary looking dark dog. Many dog walkers have encountered him. I’ve looked upon him with my very own eyes a number of times. He would just sit and stare. Sometimes he took interest in the other dogs. Sometimes he would just vanish. He was always behind the fence in the woods. Untouchable.
Legend has it that Brooklyn the Dog had been living in those park woods for years. He was reported to rescuers as early as 2008 but they had never been able to catch him. The mysterious canine looked well fed and happy enough. I liked to think that he had human companionship somewhere. Perhaps the owner was as elusive as him.
This is a true story and guess what? There’s a happy ending! Local rescuer Sean Casey was finally able to capture Brooklyn last week. The massive Cane Corso was limping and had slowed down enough for people to get close to him. He’s healing now and there’s already a line of people waiting to adopt him. He also has Lyme Disease. Yes, from Prospect Park.
I’m looking forward to seeing Brooklyn in the park with his new family soon! On the other side of the fence.
* First, a fun fact. Donna Summer’s daughter’s name is Brooklyn.
The passing of Donna Summer has stirred up some fond childhood memories. I was in junior high when Donna reigned as the Queen of Disco. Too young to go to “discotheques” like Studio 54 but old enough to appreciate a talent when I heard it.
It wasn’t until my adult life when I first heard that the whole disco backlash was possibly racially motivated. My husband who grew up in Ireland was the one who mentioned it. Since then I’ve also read that it may have also been anti-gay. I don’t know how the “Rock vs. Disco” war played out in other parts of the world but here in Tony Manero land, it was pretty much in your face. Racial maybe, only here in Brooklyn it wasn’t a push against the black artists creating the music. Sorry, but in my 12 year old mind, it was anti-Italian. I won’t use the G word, but let’s just say that Jersey Shore had nothing on Brooklyn back in 1977. Can I use the C word? Cugine?
Cugines and disco went hand in hand. The hair. The gold chains. The pointy white sneakers and leather jackets. Viceroy and Jordache jeans! Oh, I wore them too. They got a bad rap for the way they dressed and talked but most of them were sweet when it came down to it.
Brooklyn and Disco were synonymous back in the 70′s. From “Last Dance” at every barmitzvah to our pride in Donna Summer’s relationship with “that Brooklyn Dreams guy”. Do I even have to mention “Saturday Night Fever”? It took me about five years after the release of that movie to finally watch it because it hit too close to home and I didn’t even hang out with “those types”.
By the early 80′s when disco was dying off, I finally got to dance on that Saturday Night Fever 2001 Space Odyssey dance floor. It was the size of a postage stamp.
But disco will never die, not even with Donna. Don’t believe me? Go put on some disco music and just try not to shake your groove thang.
We visited one of the oldest houses in Brooklyn yesterday. The late 1700′s Lefferts House is located in Prospect Park, but did you know that the original location was six blocks away on Flatbush and Maple? And did you know that the 1783 structure was the second Lefferts home to be built after the original 1687 homestead was burned down during the British invasion of 1776?
It’s all good now. The home was donated to the city back before it was moved and has been a museum ever since. It’s a small house by today’s standards so if you visit, don’t expect a full day trip. Bring the kiddies as the Prospect Park Zoo and Carousel are within spittin’ distance.
Suggested admission is a mere $3 for adults.
The Kings County public real estate auction is coming up this month. To be clear, there are auctions every Thursday but the annual one is a bit less risky, IMHO. The opening bid prices are listed on the government site and you can preview the properties prior to the auction. Download the flyer from their site for pictures and more info on each home.
163A Halsey is up for auction again. It sold for $400k last year with a starting bid of $325k. Obviously, there were multiple bidders. Wonder what happened?
Sean Casey Animal Rescue acquired a 5000 square foot space in Sunset Park over a year ago and it’s finally ready to house homeless pets. The grand opening should be announced in June.
Sean Casey is the go-to guy for pet adoption in central Brooklyn. Check out the hundreds of dogs in Prospect Park during off leash hours on a weekend and ask where these people got their dogs from. Sean Casey is Da Man.
The original Kensington storefront will remain open for adoptions and the Sunset location will shelter pets as they come in off the street or from kill shelters. The space can comfortably house up to 42 dogs and 50 cats with state of the art kennel cleaning facilities that I wish I had in my own house.
Casey would like to open a shelter like this in every borough and I have no doubt that he’ll make it happen.
Check out the video below. Timmy is up for adoption. TIMMMMAAYYYY!!!!!!!
Broken Angel, the famed former private residence of artists Arthur and Cynthia Wood, is hitting the auction block once again this Thursday. The Woods bought the Clinton Hill home for $2000 back in 1972. No, I didn’t leave off a zero. The house itself became their work of art until it was declared unsafe in 2006 as a result of a fire.
The couple defied the vacate order and were arrested. They lived with their pets in a car outside the home after they were thrown out. Cynthia died of cancer in 2010 at the age of 72.
The house, which was featured in Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, has lien of $2,663,376 against it.
Some Friday nights when we come home, we see a jazz session through the parlor windows of a beautiful Macon Street brownstone. I always say to my husband “We have to become friends with THOSE people!” Thanks to a frieneighbor who forwarded this NY Times article, I now know that we don’t have to be invited over to 107 Macon on jazz nights. We just have to show up with 20 bucks and we’re in!
Hostess Debbie serves up a fish fry along with the music and welcomes people up to the open mic every week.
Something else I didn’t know. 107 Macon is also the Sankofaaban B&B. You learn something new every day.
Over here in Bed Stuy, it’s been awhile since the Fulton Street sidewalk was dug up and temporarily filled with black asphalt. Word on the street was that we were going to get benches and trees, but some of us (me) were worried that they would forget about beautifying this neck of the woods.
Well, the trees have arrived! This lazy author only walked between Nostrand and Restoration Plaza so don’t ask how much of Fulton is getting dolled up. Alls I know is that it’s near my house and I don’t get paid enough to get any more information.
Anyhoo, yay Bed Stuy!
(I know. File under “lame post”.)
You have $200k to spend on a home within 2 hours of NYC, including renovations. Where would you look?
As mentioned before, I’m in search of a flip. I could put myself into debt for a year and not be able to afford pet food or even human food but I’d rather not, so I’m sticking to a budget of $200k. Yeah, I know. It ain’t gonna be in Brooklyn. Not even split with a partner. Not even a one bedroom apartment in a fringe neighborhood.
After searching for about a month, here’s what I’ve learned…
You want to own a home in the boroughs for $200k? It’s possible. There are homes in crappy parts of Bushwick, Jamaica and East New York. Actually, pretty difficult to come by houses for under $300k, but short sales exist. If you’re purchasing a short sale, be prepared to have it drag on for close to a year.
Saw a couple of listings out on The Island. Riverhead and Central Islip. A friend from The Island wasn’t too impressed with those locations. Saw quite a few listings in Jersey City and Newark, especially Newark. No, the JC listings were not prime JC.
So, what’s the best bet for finding a home for under $200k (Oh, did I mention that INCLUDES renovations?)? Upstate. Whether it be commuter location or second home, the houses exist. Saw a bunch in Rhinebeck and one in Hyde Park that I may put an offer on, but it will only be back up as someone got to it first. Bastards.
Today I’m heading up to Warwick. That’s a commuter area and there are about 4-5 listings to look at. It’s promising.
So, you want a house on a small budget? You can do it. As long as you’re not a whiny douche like this guy.
Thanks to SuperVegan for filling us in on the recently opened vegan bakery at Greene and Classon on the Bed Stuy/Clinton Hill border.
Clementine Bakery will be serving up sweet pies and pastries, but they do have some savory treats as well. The dill and mozzarella biscuits sound delish. Yeah, that would be vegan cheese.
They use 100% fair trade and 90% organic ingredients. Drinks? Roasted Kitten Coffee using the Japanese Hario pour over method and also French press.
See ya there.
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great news! they are such a great resource, i hope they can open more facilities soon. anything to keep animals out of the ACC kill shelter is welcome.
Comment by chrisg — May 3, 2012 @ 10:49 am