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Bed Stuy Landmark Meeting featuring Cranky Old Guy

Bed Stuy Landmark Meeting featuring Cranky Old Guy published on 3 Comments on Bed Stuy Landmark Meeting featuring Cranky Old Guy

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“But what if I want my white vinyl windows?!” Cranky old guy just couldn’t let it go. Saturday’s meeting to address the landmarking of Bedford Corners was informative and interesting, but it was Cranky Old Guy who stole the show….at least for me.

Before we arrived, I wondered who the hell would hold a meeting on a Saturday in the middle of the summer. I thought nobody would show, but it was standing room only. May I add that my block, which is about 3 feet long, was well represented.

I scribbled some notes, but mostly I just distracted Brownstoner’s Montrose Morris, whom was trying to pay attention like a professional blogger. Hey, I’m sure she’ll have a much more informative post later this morning.

So, here are some fun facts about historic landmarking:

* There are about 100 landmarked districts in all 5 boroughs. Most of them are in Manhattan, followed by Brooklyn.

* Brooklyn Heights was the first landmarked district in the County of Kings.

* Guess which boro is the most resistant to landmarking? Come on, you know.

* Less than 3% of all properties in NYC are landmarked.

* In 1965, it was Mayor Wagner whom started landmarking districts. (Interesting. I was like “Mayor Who?” I can only remember as far back as Lindsay and I guess I don’t remember my history lessons.)

But back to Cranky Old Guy. During the Q&A, he asked if Landmarks was going to tell him what he can and can’t do to his house. The response was that Landmarks does indeed oversee replacement doors and windows on historic homes in the district. There was back and forth for a bit.

“But it’s MY home. What if I don’t want to put in expensive wood windows?”

“Sir, Landmarks doesn’t make you install wood. They will approve wood or aluminum windows. Not vinyl.”

“But what if I want white vinyl? It’s MY home. How can they tell me what to do with MY home!”

“You can do aluminum. Not vinyl. The cost is only a bit more and they will last you longer.”

And on and on it went until someone said “It isn’t really YOUR home because you pay property taxes.”

If you live in the designated area, you really should get involved. The neighborhood needs to get behind these issues. It’s not like a couple of volunteers take care of it. Strength in numbers gets it done.

Please go to the website to learn more.

Hey, Jews Can Be Cool Too!

Hey, Jews Can Be Cool Too! published on 1 Comment on Hey, Jews Can Be Cool Too!

Punk Jews-Work in Progress from Evan Kleinman on Vimeo.

Who knew there were punk Jews? I’m kvelling for the anarchists in my tribe! I’m not talking about my kind of lapsed Jew since birth….the Jon Stewart type. These Heebpunks are like really, really religious. Or at least they were brought up orthodox.

There’s a punk band featured in the film called “Moshiach Oi!” How clever is that? If you don’t get the reference, you’re either too young, too old or you were listening to Air Supply back in the 70’s.

I caught the Jew story on Cool Hunting (actually, from a Facebook link). The docjewmentary  is a work in progress by Brooklyn based filmmaker Jesse Zook Mann. You can be a backer of the movie by going to Kickstarter and pledging as little as a buck.

It almost makes me sad I’m not a real Jew.

Almost.

More Brooklyn Summer Shows

More Brooklyn Summer Shows published on

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Remember the Thursday night Coney Island Seaside Concerts I posted? Well, it turns out that there are Tuesday night concerts in the same venue and they aren’t listed on the website! WTF? A reader found that the Tuesday event calendar is only listed on Council Member Domenic Recchia Jr.’s site.

A couple of interesting shows at Coney….

Boilermaker Jazz Band on July 20th

Shout! The Mod Musical on July 27th (I dare you to click the link and not sing along. Go on. I dare you!)

Those are just two of the shows that look good to me. There are performances every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30pm.

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Also, let’s not forget that Marty hosts the Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series at Wingate Field. There are some pretty awesome shows lined up for this summer, started with…

Hel-lo! George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic with The Ohio Players! July 12th.

Toni Braxton. July 19th.

Salt n Pepa with Naughty by Nature and Rick Slick. Aug 2nd

And Aretha will be playing August 9th at Wingate as well as the 12th at Coney.

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Be sure to check out the Coney Island Fun Guide. This Saturday, Planet of the Apes! Freak shows, movie nights, baseball games and fireworks. Coney kicks ass!

Brooklyn Seltzer Delivery! How Old School Is That?

Brooklyn Seltzer Delivery! How Old School Is That? published on 5 Comments on Brooklyn Seltzer Delivery! How Old School Is That?

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After years of going through thousands of plastic seltzer bottles, my husband put the foot down. He wanted to switch to tap water. Water? I don’t like water. I need my seltzer!

So, I did what my mom did back when I was growing up. I called the Seltzer Man. Yeah, he still exists.

Now, it’s a bit pricier than the Vintage variety, but the bottles keep the fizz. Plus, knowing that I’m not single-handedly destroying Planet Earth with my carbonated drink addiction is priceless. The cost for Bed Stuy delivery is $25 per case of 10. It’s only $1 per bottle to schlepp to the factory in Canarsie for pick up, but Narsie? No, thanks.

Gomberg Seltzer Works is the last remaining seltzer factory in NYC and there are only about 6 or 7 guys delivering to the entire city. Ronny Beberman is the Brooklyn Seltzer Man. He’s 63 years old and still drives his wooden slatted truck full of valuable vintage glass bottles.

The alternative to store bought or delivered seltzer would be to make my own. Now lookit, I have trouble boiling water or making toast. I’m not so sure I’d be up for carbonating several bottles of water. It’s just too much work.

Plus, let’s face it. Old school seltzer delivery is cool as shit.

Tomorrow’s post: How I’m going back to the rotary phone.

PS: “Seltzer Works” is a documentary film about Gomberg Seltzer. It’s being screened at Rooftop Films on July 17th.

There’s No Place Like Home

There’s No Place Like Home published on 2 Comments on There’s No Place Like Home

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I’ve always wondered what it’s like to step foot in New York for the first time. Must be pretty cool. The energy. The lights. The people whizzing by. Being born here, I’ve always taken it for granted.

Returning home after 7 years upstate is as close as I’m gonna get to losing my New York virginity. Ok, so I lived less than two hours away and came here all the time, but I didn’t get to take it all in when I was just visiting.

I’m back two months now and I feel a bit like Austin Powers having missed nearly a decade. But it’s all good. I’ve got some catching up to do, so….oops….not being too productive lately. Just seeing old friends and eating at restaurants I’ve missed and feeling like myself again.

I don’t regret moving away. I needed it at the time and it was lovely and pleasant and I met some great people in Beacon. I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with New York. I leave for a bit. I come back.

I always come back.

But this time around, I think I’ll stay for awhile.

Coney Seaside Concerts

Coney Seaside Concerts published on 1 Comment on Coney Seaside Concerts

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The Seaside Summer Concert series @ Coney Island always has at least a little bit of awesomeness in store. Washed up has beens? Perhaps. But they can still rock. Past performances included The B-52’s, Blondie with Pat Benetar, The Village People, Donna Summer, KC & The Sunshine Band and Liza. With a Z.

So the full calendar isn’t up yet, but it looks like the must see concert this year will be Aretha on August 12. I’m also groovin’ to The Beach Boys with Mickey Dolenz. I had a big crush on Mickey D when I was young. I know, I know…Davy Jones was the cute one.

Anyway, all shows are free, as always. They get really crowded. Public transit is the way to go. Parking is tough.

See ya there!

Brooklyn Apartments Under $1200

Brooklyn Apartments Under $1200 published on

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It’s been a long time since I did an affordable housing post. Let’s see what kind of rentals are available in our fine boro of Brooklyn, shall we?

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Clinton Hill Studio $980

The marble fireplace, the wide plank floors! It’s clean too, which for this price is difficult to find. The drawback? It’s the G train. Ugh.

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Prospect Park South $1000

Meh apartment but location, location, location. Q/B train at Church? Not too shabby.

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Crown Heights $995

A pre-war 1 BR along the #3 line. Yeah ok, I can deal with that.

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Bed Stuy $1110

Brownstone 1 BR with what seems to be a back yard. They don’t SAY that, but why else would they take picture of it? Address is listed as Decatur at Macdonough. No clue where this is, since they run parallel.

Blog Love. Some Old, Some New.

Blog Love. Some Old, Some New. published on

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As promised, welcome to part II of my Brooklyn Blogfest post. No matter how good the planned program, my favorite part of the evening is the schmoozing at the end. I get to put faces with the blogs and get to hear about new blogs-a-launching. Most of these are food blogs, as my break-out session was “food, crafts and home”.

So, I met….

Paula from Undomesticated Me. I believe we bonded (She friended me on FB!). Like me, Paula can’t cook, clean or entertain. But unlike me, she is learning. And that’s what the blog is all about. It’s witty, charming and she uses some cool 1950’s imagery. What’s not to like?

So Good TV is another established blog. Heather and her husband are professional filmmakers and do cooking videos on the blog. There are recipes and such, but I couldn’t find the menu and call-for-delivery section. Heather does, however, have a wine section for those of us whom just refuse to cook but want to know all there is to know about the drink.

Historic Cookery. So, as if cooking in 2010 isn’t difficult enough, Carolina Capehart cooks using early 19th century techniques, ingredients and recipes. That means her microwave is an open fire hearth. She mentioned to us that she didn’t own a blender or mixer. I was like “Yeah, neither do I. But I own a phone and microwave.”

A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn. Susan LaRosa doesn’t reach quite as far back in time as Carolina, but she too, uses old recipes for her baking…and reports about it on her blog. Susan obtains her early to mid 1900’s recipes from flea markets and estate sales. Everything looks so yummy on her blog! Weird thing is…she was pretty thin.

I met Ameet from Rice of Life last year. Now, HIS recipes are right up my alley! They’re all vegetarian! And they look good! Now if I could only get someone to cook them for me. Note to self…work on the husband. PS: Gluten free too.

Miss Masala joined us in the group, as did freelance writer Julie Knapp who blogs about fitness. I had a good 10 minute look at her blog this morning in lieu of working out.

The gals from Brooklyn General Store stopped by because they will be launching a blog and wanted to learn the ins and outs.

But the new blogs! Exciting and awesome!

OMG, OMG, OMG, you have to check this out! Brooklyn Flea vendor Lon Black (whom I know as “the postcard guy”) started a Bad Postcards blog. Awesomely funny mid century kitsch.

I saved Dinevore for last because I have a feeling it’s gonna be BIG! The web application is currently in Alpha now (yeah, that’s before it gets to Beta….I never knew the lingo) so to get a preview of the site, you would have to email founder Jeremy to receive your username and password. It’s kind of like Yelp and Facebook combined for restaurant reviews. You can see where friends ate and what they thought of it. Huge database of restaurants! I didn’t comprehend half of the computer geekiness Jeremy was spewing, but all I’m gonna say is that he’s the next Craig Newmark. Just search Dinevore on FB or Twitter to get updates if you don’t want to join yet.

Bloggedy Bloggedy Brooklyn

Bloggedy Bloggedy Brooklyn published on 2 Comments on Bloggedy Bloggedy Brooklyn

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Brooklyn Boro President, Marty Markowitz trying to steal the show.

The Brooklyn Blogfest was super professional this year! Not that Louise Crawford aka Madam OTBKB didn’t do a fabulous job in the past, it was just totally streamlined last night. Of course, having Absolut Brooklyn as a sponsor and Spike Lee to launch the new vodka flavor might have had a little something to do with it.

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There was a performance by Aaron Costa Ganis, Charlotte Maier and Natalie Paul for starters. “Blogs Aloud” was adaption of posts from several Brooklyn blogs through the years. Video: Part 1 and part 2.

After a photo blogger video tribute by Adrain “Brit in Brooklyn” Kinloch, Lemon Anderson came out to rap his ode to Brooklyn. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it looks like that’s the Absolut Brooklyn ad.

Then it was time for Spike. He skirted the issue of gentrification and let us know that Fort Greene was fine just the way it was back in the day. He only hinted at the divisive issue and spoke mainly of Absolut, his relationship with Brooklyn and took questions about breaking into film.

Andrea Bernstein of WNYC was the moderator for the panel discussion. Panelists included Heather of So Good TV, Atiba from Visual Stenographers, Brokelyn‘s Faye, Jake from Gothamist and Petra of Bed Stuy Blog.The question was posed to the panel “Why does Brooklyn breed creativity?”Some nice anwers…. (I’m putting them in quotes but they’re not the exact words. My bad.)”It has attitude.” Heather”Newcomers feel we must live up to the reputation.” Petra

“People have an attitude problem 2 minutes after moving here. We’re always giving advice. We wanna tell people how to live.” Jake

“We’re full of ourselves.” “Everybody gets a chance to show their stuff.” Faye

“Brooklyn made NYC in 1898…..People will defend Brooklyn to the death.” Atiba

Towards the end of the evening, we broke up into smaller groups. I’ll post part II tomorrow and fill you in some awesome new blogs in the works!

Brooklyn Flea Finds

Brooklyn Flea Finds published on 2 Comments on Brooklyn Flea Finds

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This Saturday I was back selling at the Ft. Greene Brooklyn Flea after an extended absence to work on my house. It was kind of nice to go away and come back because it made me appreciate it even more.

The photo above shows a sampling of upcycled light fixtures by Peg and Jon Van Dyne. It’s one of those things that makes me say “Damn, why didn’t I think of that first?” Because I checking out the market only for a few minutes when I was on a an extended bathroom break, I didn’t get a chance to get much info. The company is called French Vanilla. No website, but the phone number is 765-513-0255. No idea what prices are like, but I did notice that they take credit cards.

That large film reel on the right? Still has film on it.

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Fat Dog Fabrication is living in this century. Owner Don Wood has a website. A rather cute one, with a photo of Henry the fat dog on the main page (He doesn’t look so fat). Don also has an Etsy store .

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I didn’t get a chance to have a chat (another bathroom break) but I gathered from the internets that Don is a contractor who creates on the side. He uses recycled materials when he can, such as the pallet bench. The prices are surprisingly low for the quality, concept and location. $25 hand made concrete dog bowl/planter in Brooklyn? I think I spent that on a cup of coffee just yesterday.

Lefferts Manor House Tour on Sunday!

Lefferts Manor House Tour on Sunday! published on

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When people think of the antique housing stock Brooklyn has to offer, they usually think of the brownstones. Or the Victorians in Ditmas. But Lefferts Manor historic district in Prospect Lefferts Gardens is all that and more. It has been described by NYC Landmarks Preservation as one of the finest “enclaves of late 19th- and early 20th-century housing in New York City”.

Tucked away right in the heart of Brooklyn, it’s what us old timers used to refer to as Flatbush, along with a gazillion other neighborhoods. The housing stock consists mainly of single family homes that were never used as rooming houses because of a covenant.

The 2010 house tour, sponsored by The Lefforts Manor Association is this Sunday, May 23rd from noon to 5pm. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door.

There are nine homes on the tour ranging in various architectural style and interior design. It’s an excellent way to steal ideas for your own home projects! If that’s not enough for you, there will be music, refreshments and wine.

Brooklyn Blogfest Coming Up!

Brooklyn Blogfest Coming Up! published on 1 Comment on Brooklyn Blogfest Coming Up!

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The 2010 Brooklyn Blogfest will be back in Park Slope’s Brooklyn Lyceum after last year’s detour to Dumbo. What is a Blogfest? Well, this is what the 2009 Blogfest was all about. It will be much the same this year, only bigger and better, as it keeps growing every year.

There will be a panel of experienced bloggers talking and taking questions, a photo blogger video, a new blog shout out and break out groups of like minded bloggers. Also, face painting!

No, I was kidding about the face painting. But there will be food. And drink.

So, you should come. You don’t have to be a blogger. If you read blogs (and you’re reading this), you’re welcome to come.

June 8th. See you there!

Bed Stuy Delivery Options

Bed Stuy Delivery Options published on 14 Comments on Bed Stuy Delivery Options

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During our first temporary/renovation move to Bed Stuy back in 2005, the food delivery options were slim. 2010 is a whole new world, baby! Now all we have to make for dinner is a phone call.

This may be common knowledge, but since we’re just reacquainting ourselves with the area, it’s all new to us. We googled food delivery in Bed Stuy and found Seamless Web. (Are we the last to know?)  Just type in your address, any neighborhood, and see which restaurants deliver to your house. You can order online. No phone call is needed. Obviously, not all restaurants are there, just the ones set up with that service.

So, what restaurants deliver to 11216? BTW, these are the vegetarian friendly options. You’re on your own for cooked flesh.

We have been relying on Sushi Tatsu for a couple of years now and they have never let us down. (ie: no meat in our vegetarian dishes) They have a Japanese/Chinese mix and now feature an entire Thai menu. Also, a third location on Bedford.

Amin, Indian on Dekalb

Deniz, Turkish on Fulton

Food for Thought, veg friendly on Marcus Garvey

La Stalla, Mexican/Italian on Myrtle

Tiny Cup, cafe and lunch on Nostrand

Folukie, Caribbean on Bedford

Brooks Valley, Caribbean Southern on Tompkins (They were closed for awhile, but a neighbor said he saw that it had reopened.)

Brooklyn Summer Concerts!

Brooklyn Summer Concerts! published on

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Wow, there are some awesome concerts coming up in Brooklyn this summer! I’m gonna have me a biz-zy schedule!

Coming up on May 19th at the Music Hall of Williamsburg….the legendary PIL! The show was originally set for Terminal 5, but they moved it to a more intimate venue because they are filming a documentary.

The Open Space Alliance is hosting the following concerts at The Williamsburg Waterfront. Tickets on sale at Ticketmaster for around $30-40.

June 20: Band of Horses

June 25: Silversun Pickups

July 2 & 5: Faith No More (benefit)

July 16: Weezer

July 23: Modest Mouse

July 29: Primus & GOGOL BORDELLO (!!!!!!!)

July 31: Nas & Damian Marley (benefit)

Celebrate Brooklyn at The Prospect Park Bandshell opens up on June 9th with Nora Jones. There’s a whole load of world music, dance and jazz. Some really good stuff, but the only band this middle-aged-I-think-I’m-still-a-teen-who-listens-to-poppy-rocky-music-woman wants to see is Sonic Youth on July 31.

Coney Island Seaside 2010 season has not been announced yet.

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