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What Bed Stuy Needs

What Bed Stuy Needs published on 4 Comments on What Bed Stuy Needs

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Bed Stuy is home to some of the most beautiful historic architecture in the city. Countless people (including myself) have called it the “friendliest place” they’ve ever lived. The express A train takes less than 15 minutes to downtown Manhattan.

So what’s it lacking? Well, nearly every newbie and lots of old timers agree that the neighborhood could use more amenities.

Before I share my own wish list, please know that Bed Stuy is HUGE and I’m referring to my specific area which is near the intersection of Fulton/Nostrand.

Ok, so here we go:

1. Wine Shop. You can see what my priorities are. Well, it turns out that my prayers have been answered! Brownstoner reported that Breukelen Cellars will be opening on Nostrand and Halsey. They call themselves a “wine and art boutique”. I don’t care how pretentious that sounds, it beats pointing to a bottle through bullet proof glass, which is what we have now. Yesterday I walked into the local wine store (liquor store) and told them to give me their most expensive bottle of red. They handed me a $10 bottle of Merlot. Ok, I’m kidding. But seriously, the most expensive bottle was ten bucks. Hey, not that I have anything against inexpensive wine! I’ve been known to drink Three Buck Chuck. I just want a choice, man. I just want a choice.

2. Organic Grocery/Farmer’s Market. Ooh, the organic grocery is coming, but I’m sooo impatient! Organic Bed Stuy promises to be everything I’ve dreamed of, but I don’t think they have the funds to open yet looking at their Kickstarter campaign. For now, they are selling at the Malcolm X Farmer’s Market. Yes, Bed Stuy has a farmer’s market. So, why am I listing it? Because I am one lazy beeatch and I want it closer to my house! Here’s the deal…On Saturday mornings, I bring my dogs to Prospect Park in the car. The huge market is right there, so it’s more convenient for me to stop at Grand Army Plaza than to head farther east passed my house. I told you I was lazy. And while I’m at it, a Sunday market would be nice too!

3. More food delivery options. Yeah, I’m all about the food. I covered the Bed Stuy delivery options in the past. More please?

4. Bagel shop! Not just any bagel shop. They have to be REAL bagels. And they have to open early. Which brings me to…

5. A place to get a good cup of coffee really early in the morning. Am I the only one who wakes up before 7am? There are a couple of places that say they open at 7, but it usually takes them awhile to get their acts together. One thing lacking in the entire city is a place to get a decent cup of coffee AND a good bagel. I hate having to go to two different places for my breakfast, but I refuse to have a bad bagel and I refuse to have a bad cup of coffee.

6. Old school diner. I promise this will be the last food item on the list. I just want a diner. Oooh, a 24 hour diner! One with a 30 page menu and jukeboxes at the table and a waitress who calls me “Hon”. Is that too much to ask?

7. Um, non-food, non-food…Oh! Pet supplies. Yeah, it’s food, but it’s food for pets. Yeah, I know there are a couple of places on Myrtle. I want to walk from my house, remember?

8. Speaking of pets, we could use more petsitters. I like my Bed Stuy pet sitter just fine, but it was kind of a hassle finding her. There are maybe two dog walkers servicing Bed Stuy. Think about that, entrepreneurs!

That’s good enough for now. I really just wanted to get the food thing out of my system.

Toto, I’ve a Feeling We’re Not in Brooklyn Anymore

Toto, I’ve a Feeling We’re Not in Brooklyn Anymore published on

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WTF is it with all of these Brooklyn tornadoes lately? So, I come out of my house last night, lock the door, turn around and “Oh shit!” A tree is down. Look up the block….”Oh shit!!!” Another tree. That sonbitch hit hard.

People are just waking up to the damage this morning. I’m hearing lots of shrieks on the block. That woman in the photo above was all like “Well, how do we know nobody ain’t in the car?! We can’t see!” She could have a point, but nobody checked because this is Bed Stuy where “do or die” may still hold true under these circumstance.

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This gentleman ran over to the tree with his cane last night screaming “Take my picture! Take my picture! Put me on the internet!” So I did.

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Our little tree in front of the house survived! Guess those shorties are pretty strong (and bendable).

Remember when Bay Ridge got hit in 2007? Well, now it was all (most of?) brownstone Brooklyn’s turn.

And to think Allstate dumped us because of flooding.

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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.

Bed Stuy Landmarking

Bed Stuy Landmarking published on 2 Comments on Bed Stuy Landmarking

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Looks like this Bedford Corners Historic District thing is moving along. I received the following email as well as a flyer posted on the door of my house on a block not mentioned. This is Phase I. Maybe my block is Phase II? 🙁 It’s all good. Gives us a chance to install new front door and windows without landmarks breathing down our back.

And now to the old cut and paste……

An open forum community meeting regarding the creation of the Bedford Corners Landmark District will be held on July 10th, 2010 at 2:00 PM at the Bedford Branch Public Library. The library is located at 495 Franklin Avenue at Hancock Street.
A presentation by members of the Historic Districts Council will address the conditions and benefits of achieving historic landmark status. After the presentation residents of the neighborhood will be able to ask questions about the process and what it means to the community.

Bedford Corners comprises the blocks of Macon St., Halsey St, Hancock St, Arlington Place, and Jefferson Avenue from Bedford and Nostrand Avenues and extending east to Tompkins Avenue.

Bedford Corners will be only the second new historic district named in Bedford-Stuyvesant since 1971, when the Stuyvesant Heights district was formed. Growing support for the formation of Bedford Corners has been shown with a postcard mailing campaign to the Landmarks Preservation Commision earlier this year. This district has also garnered the support of Borough President Marty Markowitz and City Councilmember Al Vann.

This district has filed a Request for Evaluation with the LPC and is awaiting surveying and calendaring procedures. Currently the Bedford District Block Associations (BDBA), a coalition of local block associations, is collecting signatures to a petition in support of this designation.

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.

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.

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.)

New Contractor Bid Site Outta Bed Stuy

New Contractor Bid Site Outta Bed Stuy published on 4 Comments on New Contractor Bid Site Outta Bed Stuy

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Swee10 is a new “online marketplace where homeowners design, share and post their home remodeling projects and contractors bid on them.”

Much like this blogger, the founder, Jean was inspired after the renovation of her Bed Stuy home. And much like this blogger, she is still not finished with said home.

Swee10 has got it going on though! The company has a team of architects and designers (including Jean) overseeing the now-in-beta website.

Members can browse projects and post their own and receive bids from interested contractors. There is a section to view bids and best of all…complaints! Keeps these guys honest, know what I mean?

Anyway, check it out. Even if you don’t have a project going on, worth the visit to check out that adorable logo!

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