Here’s a list of off-the-radar organizations if you want to lend a helping hand to Japan.
Look for the Union Label
2011 Green Awards
The Daily Green is holding their “Heart of Green Awards” over on their website. Vote for your favorite eco-friendly restaurant, celebrity, city, cookbook…you get the picture. There are tons of categories and nominations. Don’t like Daily Green’s nomination? Write your own in.
Best Brooklyn Gift Ever
Know how to make a proper egg cream? Fear not. Junior’s has glasses with the recipe inscribed right on them. And they are cu-ute!
The glasses have been around forever, but I just noticed them last weekend when I went for my latkes. Unfortunately, they are not on the Junior’s website. You can find the glasses or an egg cream kit (as above) online, but if you’re in Brooklyn, pick them up directly from Junior’s for 5 bucks.
Yes, 5 bucks. They each come in their own Junior’s box too. Can’t beat that!
Green Housekeeping for the Domestically Challenged
Olivia Lane and Liz Neves are leading a workshop in Prospect Heights tonight for those of us whom are domestically challenged. The focus is on cleaning with green products, but since Olivia is also an organizer, she’ll try to figure out ways for us to make those nasty chores more fun.
When
03/08/2011 6:30pm-7:30pm
Where
LaunchPad
721 Franklin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11216
Gorgeous Government Buildings
Having grown up in NYC, I take many things for granted. Architecture is one of them. 45 years of seeing the same buildings. Why would I stop and look now?
Well, over the weekend I visited the Museum of the American Indian for the first time in the downtown location. Walked into the building and was blown away by the interior. Seriously, blown away.
The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is one of the finest examples of Beaux Arts buildings in the city. The winding staircase! The rotunda with the huge skylight (it was leaking)! The marble everywhere! I’d be beyond thrilled to have a living room as nice as the ladies room.
Go visit. The museum is free because it’s a government building. Good museum too!
And look at all these other beautiful government buildings. I just pass them all the time. Maybe now I’ll stop and say hello.
I See Dead People
Hey kids, here’s an idea that any native New Yorker will love just as much as their tourist visitors! Dead Apple Tours is about a year old. The company offers two hour tours of sites where famous people died or spent their final days. On the tour is The Chelsea Hotel, where Sid and Nancy went out in style. Other sites where these folks spent their final days….Basquiat and Haring, Heath Ledger and James Monroe.
The best part about it? You get to tour around in a kick ass 1960 Cadillac hearse! Gruawesome!!
Via BBC
Friday Linkorama
Best Old House Neighborhoods. This Old House.
Park Slope A-Z. Casa Cara
Duct Tape! Materialicious
Lebowitz for Mayor. City Room
Some Koch Products to Boycott. TreeHugger
Breukelen in da Hizzouse!
Who needs to go to Clinton Hill or Stuyvesant Heights for a decent bottle of wine? Not those of us here in southwest Bed Stuy! As of tomorrow at 12:30pm, Breukelen Cellars will be open for business!
Owner John Samuel was kind enough to let me in for some snappies and a chat today. I even got to taste some Riesling, suckas!
John and his business partner Andre are both Bed Stuy natives. Since they decided to open the shop, they’ve been going to shows and tasting like mad. Every bottle on the shelf has been given their personal seal of approval.
Opening Day Tasting!
Thursday, March 3 @ 6pm
504 Nostrand Avenue
Art exhibit by Joseph Bolton
Some of the wines they’ll be tasting are Altadonna Nero D’Avola, Pas si Petit, Petit Chablis and Saint-Bris Sauvignon.
See you there!
Ruder Than You
When Travel and Leisure released their list of the rudest cities in America, New York wasn’t on top. Who beat us? Los Angeles! I recall feeling robbed when I read the article. We’re number 1! We’ll show those tanned bastards!
Well, someone is doing something about it. “Rude NYC” recently launched so we can all share our rudeness with each other and the world. People are encouraged to send stories, videos, photos and tweets.
Some examples:
From @TheCitizeNY on twitter – Frail older woman w/ luggage, getting on airport bus, asks driver for assistance. His reply: Not in my job description, lady.
Couple is taking a picture outside of a parking garage in Herald Square (weird?) homeless guy walks up to them and says to the man – “Dude, come on I could do better than her!” – Submitted by David J.
Woman is crying on the phone, walking slowly holding up sidewalk traffic, man decides to cut her off and says “GET OVER IT!” – submitted by Jim K
Psychic is trying to get me to come into her storefront for a reading in Midtown East back in the fall – I reject and keep walking, she says “you’re going to come down with cancer”. Ouch. – Submitted by Jane K.
We’re taking back the title, baby!
NYC Museums @ Your Fingertips
Talented New York photographer and web developer Dan Nguyen has come up with a list of all the museums in the 5 boroughs. “Yeah, so?” You say. Well, it’s not just a list.
I Heart NY Museums is an interactive beta site which allows the visitor to view admission prices as well as addresses and hours. It looks kinda like a spread sheet with a map on top.
The focus is on price. Which museums are merely “suggested” donation and which are the most expensive? Are there free hours such as MOMA’s Friday evenings? It’s all right there in front of you.
Currently, there is no phone app. Nguyen is working on the data so he or someone else can make this awesome app.
via Brokelyn
Offensive NYC Veg Restaurant Guide
One day last year while I was in the Brooklyn Museum bookshop, I picked up a copy of “Veg Out, Vegetarian Guide to New York City“. I forgot I had it until yesterday. Is it a good guide? Well, it’s not bad, although the second edition I bought is slightly outdated.
But the problem isn’t the restaurant listings. Author Justin Schwartz’s comments on certain neighborhoods made my jaw drop. He speaks of Crown Heights and Flatbush as if it’s 1980…and even back then those areas were not as bad as he makes them out to be.
From a paragraph on Street Smarts… “A word of caution: If you’re a vegetarian freshman college student just off the bus from a farm in rural PA or a tourist visiting from Kansas, please don’t hop on a the subway alone at night to get some great Caribbean food in Crown Heights or Flatbush. Seriously, don’t.”
Ok, maybe he’s more insulting to out-of-towners than the residents of Crown Heights or Flatbush. The book is probably geared towards tourists as it’s a guide book. But he doesn’t stop there…
“Street-smart Manhattanites and residents of trendy neighborhoods like Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights may think I’m exaggerating. Let’s put it this way: if Crown Heights is so safe, why is the chef at the Caribbean Delicacy working behind bulletproof Plexiglas?”
Hmm. Plexi is old school. Hello, there were still some plexi places in “trendy” Park Slope up until the early 2000’s! Maybe the Plexi was installed back when the neighborhood was rough and they just never got around to taking it out? Yes, there are plenty of places with Plexi still around, but as shops renovate and as new businesses come in, the Plexi is becoming a thing of the past.
And why would only street smart residents of trendy neighborhoods think it’s an exaggeration? How about us folks living in these untrendy neighborhoods? Exaggerating? Yes. Insulting? Uh, ya-ah!
I figured I’d cut the guy some slack. The guide was written in 2006. Maybe it was ever so slightly grittier back then. So, I visited his website. From a 2009 blog post: “Crown Heights isn’t for everybody. Frankly, if I was a young woman alone after dark, I wouldn’t even think about going there. in fact, I wouldn’t even think about going there alone after dark myself, being a 6-foot tall guy. You definitely have to know your way around — you don’t want to look lost in Crown Heights.”
Wow. Am I overreacting? I mean, can’t the guy warn people it ain’t the Upper East Side without magnifying the situation? He makes it sound like a friggin’ war zone. A word of caution is fine, but dude…people live in these neighborhoods and walk around after dark all-the-time.
FYI, Mr. Schwartz, even white people.
Dogs Welcome!
Gone are the days when you had to leave little Fido or Fifi alone while you went out on the town. Fido Factor is a beta site that allows you to search local pet friendly facilities.
Looking for a dog friendly restaurant, bar or hotel? B-i-n-g-o. FF provides maps and reviews. Parks, pet services, yada yada!
But check it out. Hel-lo iPhone App! Fido Factor is located in some pretty major cities (of course, NYC) so you can hit the road with your mutt and research that perfect watering hole for both of you whilst on your way.
Just make sure your dog understands the definition of “watering hole”.
Weatherization Assistance Program
The WAP or Weatherization Assistance Program helps low income families reduce their energy consumption and bills. Mark your calendars for March 8th, kids, because Sustainable Flatbush will be hosting an event to provide information on this important program.
Here’s the deal:
WHAT:
How to Fix Your Home and Save on Energy Bills
WHERE:
Mt. Zion Church of God
203 East 37th Street (between Church Avenue and Linden Boulevard)
Brooklyn, NY
WHEN:
Tuesday, March 8th from 7-9pm
The workshop will cover heating systems, insulation, energy efficient appliances, water saving tips and a number of things you should already be doing.
If you’re abode isn’t 100% energy efficient, you can probably learn something from this. Plus, refreshments will be served.
New Cafe for Bed Stuy
Bed Stuy’s now defunct Food for Thought had so much going for it. It was on a quiet street where the sidewalk seating made sense. Location was great, right between “Bedford Corners” and Stuyvesant Heights. The food was excellent. I don’t know why they went out of business, but I did bitch about the slow service quite a bit.
Well, Cafe Mausaic is moving in! I noticed the sign last week and with a little research I see that they are set to open on April 1st! They are currently looking for staff and artists to take part.
Sounds like it will be a great addition to the neighborhood. Hopefully with good service.