Skip to content

Page Header

Posts tagged NYC

The Morning After

The Morning After published on 3 Comments on The Morning After

Brooklyn-20110828-00081

Tree down in Bed Stuy.

Hurricane Irene hit parts of the East Coast pretty hard and it caused some damage to the outskirts of the city. At least 21 deaths have been reported as a direct cause of the storm although some were caused by camping and surfing during a hurricane.  Still, for the most part, borough New Yorkers were disappointed in themselves for believing the hype.

Here we all were home on a Saturday night with nowhere to go, tweeting and facebooking about the damn hurricane. “Oh, tornado watch!” What’s with that? We woke up to some leaves on the ground and maybe wet basements, yet the media was still telling us to stay indoors. Urban dwellers called the hurricane boring and lame while everyone else in it’s path was relieved their power was only out for one day.

bwIMG_6086

On Sunday morning, we went to Coney Island to walk the dogs, thinking it was safer than the park because there are no trees on the beach. Coney was pretty tame. There were plenty of downed trees along the way and many that are now leaning in dangerous positions which will need to be seen to. So be careful out there. I’ll bet there is still some danger.

One thing is for sure, many people on the East Coast put on a few extra pounds this weekend after staying home eating and drinking. Wonder if the shops are taking returns on all the batteries and candles that won’t be needed?

IMG_6092

Weekend Events and Miss Irene

Weekend Events and Miss Irene published on

*UPDATE. Ok, so this was a stupid post. All outdoor events have been canceled.

Some of these events are outdoors, so please check to make sure they haven’t been canceled before venturing out. Even if it’s not dangerous, it may prove to be pretty unpleasant this weekend. Then again, less crowds to compete with.

Check with MTA before getting on the subway. If all hell breaks loose, subways will be shut down. If asked to evacuate and you don’t have a car…well, looks like you’re screwed. Enjoy!

The Afro-Punk Festival was supposed to be this Saturday and Sunday at Commodore Barry Park near the Brooklyn Navy Yard. A couple of bands this old lady has heard of…Fishbone and Janelle Monae, were to play on the 28th. Alas, the show is canceled according to Brooklyn Vegan.

Restaurant Week has been extended through September 5th. Get lunch for $24.07 and dinner for $35.00 at some of the finer dining establishments this city has to offer. Every day through the 5th except for Saturday.

Shop til you drop at Barney’s Warehouse Sale. Started yesterday. Ends September 5th.

Battle of Brooklyn Reenactment. Yup, you think those reenactors are only in the sticks? Saturday 12-3pm in Dumbo.

Free Opera Summer Festival at Lincoln Center. Seats are first come, first serve. For full schedule, click on link.

Exploring Lower Manhattan

Exploring Lower Manhattan published on

Are you living in the US and thinking of taking an exotic getaway? Well, don’t! Why fly overseas spending thousands of dollars on air travel, food and entertainment when you can visit one of the largest, most extravagant cities in the world.

Certainly the most populous city in the US, NYC is filled with historical sites like The Museum of The American Indian and Battery Island. And these are amongst a huge handful of sites to see and activities to do:

• Brooklyn Bridge
• Federal Hall National Memorial
• Fraunces Tavern
• Governor’s Island
• Ellis Island (Statue of Liberty)
• Bowling Green
• City Hall
• Museum of American Finance
• Museum of Jewish Heritage

And much, much more! Despite budget, age or gender, NYC continues to enrich even it’s own inhabitants culturally, historically and financially. From Horse Drawn Carriage Rides to the Charging Bull, NYC will keep you busy around the clock.

Not to mention the abundance of tours. This includes walking tours, bus, water, air and self-guided. Amongst some of the most popular walking tours is the “Big Apple Greeter.” This tour is set up to help those that are new and unfamiliar to the city meet people. How it works: Newcomers are matched with a professional “New Yorker,” who will then guide them through subways, streets and local haunts. On the other hand, there is Helicopter Flight Services, INC, which takes approximately 20 minutes of your day to give you a magnificent view of Lower Manhattan.

Vacationers can find comfort at one of several accommodating hotels, like the Club Quarters on 52 William Street, or perhaps The Holiday Inn Downtown (138 Lafayette Street). And for families traveling with children, there are plenty of recreational parks, along with interesting museums to visit. Amid all of these really stands out Battery Park, along with The Children’s Museum of Arts.

Diversely split between Little Italy, The Financial District, Tribeca, Lower East Side, Soho, City Hall, Battery Park City and Chinatown, The city has a huge impact on global media, finance, art, research tech, education, fashion and more. For a more detailed list of the attractions and sites, feel free to visit Fodors.

Courtesy of Douglas Elliman Real Estate Company, New York Luxury Rentals.

Why Hipsters Suck

Why Hipsters Suck published on 3 Comments on Why Hipsters Suck

*Update: The video has been removed by the user. Guess he realized what an eejit he looked like when he sobered up. You can still view it via the Gawker link below.

I know, I know. The whole hipster hatred thing is old. But they ask for it, they really do! Case in point. This video of their lame subway party. Now, call me an old curmudgeon but if I’m paying my subway fare I just want to get from Point A to Point B without having to put up with this shit. Are you friggin’ kidding me? Go to a bar! Have a house party! Leave us alone!

If I see any of these kids on my A train, I’m gonna kick their skinny jean asses right back to Ohio. But oooh, I WOULD love to see them hop the A train in Bed Stuy and ride it towards Queens. Come on guys, make my day.

Via Gawker

The Hudson Valley Is Not Brooklyn!

The Hudson Valley Is Not Brooklyn! published on 4 Comments on The Hudson Valley Is Not Brooklyn!

catskill1

The Times has done it again. Declaring the next big thing ten years after the fact. They’ve written yet another article about how the Hudson Valley and certain towns are super hip right now. The new Brooklyn, of course. I feel the need to weigh in on this since I considered and moved to Beacon after a 2004 article hyping the town.

Let me begin by clarifying that I’m not blaming The Times for my move to Beacon. I was tired of Brooklyn at the time and wanted a better quality of life. I stayed for 6 years so there had to have been something I liked about it.

Instead of picking apart the article, I’ll just fill you in on my take on the situation. My usual kvetchfest about upstate.

Yes, there are wonderful antique shops. They tend to only open up a few days per week.

The galleries lining Main Street are great! Too bad it’s the same artists over and over again.

Some great restaurants opened during the years I was living in the Hudson Valley. I’d guessimate that 3 out of 5 of them closed within a year or two.

I can go on, but you get the point. Those towns upstate are always on the verge of gentrification but they never quite arrive. Nothing wrong with that. I’m no yuppy who wants to live in a totally gentrified area. Crap, that’s the reason I left Park Slope! But I do like to have a choices.

Maybe the hubby and I had a bad attitude while living up there. We were the only ones complaining while all the other newcomers loved it. Since moving back to Brooklyn a year ago, we feel alive again. The restaurants, museums, shows, concerts are all at our fingertips. We can do whatever we want, when we want. That’s something we took for granted prior to moving to greener pastures all those years ago.

So, are Brookynites really moving up there in droves? My real estate broker says that 90% of his home buyers are coming from Brooklyn. That doesn’t mean they are from Brooklyn. They lived here briefly. I met one other native Brooklynite in the 6 years I lived in Beacon. That might explain why my feelings differ from most other folks living up there. If you grew up in the big city, it’s really hard to leave that behind. Eventually, small town living just started to suck the life out of me. People from small towns and suburbs probably feel that way about cities.

So, thinking of moving to the Hudson Valley? If you’ve been a city dweller all your life, my advice would be to keep your options open back home. I’m all about weekend places. It’s nice to get some fresh air and escape the rat race every now and then! In fact, next week we’re renting a place in Red Hook (NOT Brooklyn) so look for more upstate posts.

Thankfully, I’ll be writing them from the prospective of a weekender.

A Diner for Every Borough

A Diner for Every Borough published on 2 Comments on A Diner for Every Borough

photo

Entertaining Jewish seniors (mom is visiting) means lots of diners. We hit diners in 4 out of 5 boroughs over the past two weeks. We only missed The Bronx, but I’ll include that anyway.

Staten Island. New Dakota Diner on Richmond Avenue was everything you would expect a diner to be. Parking lot, back rooms, booths. We met cousins here and ended up staying for 3 hours. The service was great. The bathroom was pleasant enough for my 3 hours of coffee refills. Know what I’m sayin’? The food was really good too! I had a wrap with fries. Neither boring nor greasy but jusssst right.

Manhattan. Hollywood Diner doesn’t have the greatest reviews on Yelp, but screw ’em. I like going here. The food is ok, but I love the atmosphere. Old school diners are hard to come by in the city these days and Hollywood is a no-frills Greek diner. Service is perfect if the manager is there to scream at his employees. It sounds like the old Saturday Night Live Olympia Restaurant skit. Cheezbuger, cheezbuger! Chips! No Coke! Pepsi!

Brooklyn. I’m not putting my favorite Vegas Diner here because I finally tried a place I’ve always wanted to go. Hinsch’s Confectionery in Bay Ridge is like taking a step back in time. The exterior is still intact from 1949 and the interior does not disappoint. The food is pretty average. I thought it was awesome that there were only a few old people in there who come everyday and know each other by name. Then I heard them talking and remembered what I didn’t like about Bay Ridge of the past. The conversation was pretty ignorant and racist, the waitress being the worst offender. “This President is brainwashing the kids today.”

Queens. Pop Diner in Elmhurst is not old school, but not a completely hip new style eatery either. The decor is pretty cool and the menu is more eclectic than your average diner. They feature Latin, Asian and Caribbean dishes as well as good ole’ eggs, wraps and burgers.

The Bronx. As stated, we didn’t get to The Bronx. I don’t even remember having a wonderful Bronx diner experience from my past. I chose Riverdale Diner to recommend just because I had to come up with something. Sorry, Bronx. I like you, I really do. Just didn’t get around to it this time.

Old Flatbush Movie Theaters

Old Flatbush Movie Theaters published on 1 Comment on Old Flatbush Movie Theaters

IMG_5876

My mother is visiting for two weeks, so you may be seeing some odd “Brooklyn From Memory” posts. On Saturday we drove around East Flatbush and Flatbush were I spent my early childhood. The movie theaters were most recognizable because some still had marquees, but also…movie houses tend to stick in one’s mind, don’t they?

The Loew’s Kings Theater was is the only one we found that was still intact as a theater, as run down as it was. Upon further research, we found out that restoration is in progress and the plan is to re-open as a performing arts center by 2014. A happy ending for this one!

IMG_5881

The Albemarle on Albemarle Road near Flatbush. Closed in 1984 after fire.

IMG_5870

The Brook Theater on Flatlands just off of Flatbush is now an office building.

IMG_5885

My long term memory must be pretty awesome because this Church Avenue theater became The RKO Keith in the early 70’s, but I remember it as The Kenmore. I was five in 1970.

IMG_5857

We were one building off on Utica Avenue’s Rugby Theater. It was actually the structure to the left of the T-Mobile store.

More from Flatbush.

Vintage NYC Summers

Vintage NYC Summers published on 1 Comment on Vintage NYC Summers

Weegee. Coney Island, 1940’s.

Ack. You kids today have it easy. Back in my day, the subway cars, buses and cabs were not air conditioned. Children slept on the fire escape (Ok, that was my mother’s era). You wanted to cool off? You opened a fire hydrant.

Check out Subway in Black and White. Brilliant!

Weegee again.

1977 Blackout during the city’s most memorable heatwave.

Yeah, I like my Weegee. What can I say?



Public Real Estate Auctions

Public Real Estate Auctions published on

Hubby and I hit our first real estate auction in the County of Kings earlier this week. We know folks who’ve bought at auction before, but we were always suckers for paying market value.

So, here’s the rundown. The auctions of real property are run by the Public Administrator of Kings County. Go to the government website to see when the next auction is and which properties are listed. There’s a preview the weekend prior to bidding, or at least that was the case with the June auction.

If you want to bid you’ll need a certified or bank check for 10% of the opening bid. Bring a blank check to pay the rest of the deposit because chances are the opening bid is not the final price. If you win the bidding that means you go into contract immediately. This is NOT contingent upon inspection or mortgage. You must have all of your little ducks in a row before bidding or else you stand to lose your deposit. No joke.

Auctions are not for the faint of heart. It’s a risky business and you may be bidding against investors and developers whom have been around the corner before. Know what you’re getting yourself into….

You may inherit tenants. The property may even be an SRO. The two places we looked at in Bed Stuy had senior women living there for 30-40 years. Who wants to kick them out? Not me!

Who knows what’s up with the previous owner? Some of these are estate sales of folks who didn’t have wills. Family members sometimes expect something. I’m sure they chill once the property is sold, but I’ve heard some crazy stories about what happens leading up to the auction.

Take your time with the previews because you don’t get an inspection. If you don’t know what you’re looking at, it might be a wise choice to hire an inspector for the day of previews. Or a contractor or architect. Or a friend who knows something about houses. This will cost a good few hundred bucks (not the friend-buy them pizza) so be sure you’re serious about bidding.

If you end up buying at auction, don’t expect the place to be broom swept. The city and the tenants will probably leave a bunch of crap behind. I’d also imagine it’s a safe bet to go the legal renovation route by filing with the DOB as the city will know you just purchased a fixer upper. Am I being paranoid? I dunno.

So, why do it? Here’s a partial list of properties and what they sold for.

582 Bainbridge St. Sort of east Bed Stuy/Ocean Hill/Bushwick. Opening bid: $290k. Sold: $300k

163A Halsey St. Bed Stuy, right around the corner from moi! House needed updating and restoration but had some fabulous detail! Partial SRO status was a bit off putting. Opening bid: $325k. Sold: $400k.

2633 Hubbard St. Sheepshead Bay single family. Opening bid: $300k. Sold: $390k.

1130 Brighton Beach Ave. 1 BR coop apartment. I really wanted to preview this one because the opening bid was $65k, but we just couldn’t make it out to Brighton over the weekend. It ended up selling for $130k. A studio coop apartment on Brighton 1st went for $155k. That was a more modern building (1960’s/70’s?). A 1BR in Bay Ridge didn’t sell at $180k. With coops, you have to deal with the board and then there may be flip taxes and transfer fees.

174 Lincoln Place. Opening bid: $1.75. Sold: $ 2.675. The highest priced “sold” property of the day. An Albee Square property that was going for $3.6 did not sell. Oooh, there were lots of bidders on this prime Slope mixed use building! Four ground floor commercial units and up to 6 residential units upstairs with only a single tenant remaining. Property taxes on this baby? $28k. Ouch! Rent roll? A gazillion dollars.

69 Sterling St. I believe this is Prospect Lefferts Gardens. Opening bid: $499k. Sold: $499k. Looks like someone got a sweet deal, although I didn’t see the interior.

4628 Beach 46th St. This place was getting bid up and we were like “Where the F is that?” I thought it was Dyker Heights or somewhere near there. Looking at the map, it seems to be Sea Gate, a gated community at the tip of Coney Island. Interesting. Opening bid: $$320k. Sold: $425k.

331A Stuyvesant Ave. This was the other house we actually previewed. A 2 family with older tenants that kept the house in decent shape. Some details remain, but the house needs updating and restoration. Really, not major work. A friend of a friend wanted this but got outbid. 🙁 Opening bid: $315k. Sold: $350k.

151 Prospect Ave. Interesting, I thought there would be some crazy bidding on this house because people are going gaga for the South Slope these days. (Yeah, I know…it’s really Gowanus over here.) Starting bid: $250k. Sold: $350k. I’m thinking the buyer could probably do NOTHING and turn around and flip it for $500k.

155 Berry St. First photo above. I saved this one for last because had us floored until we figured out just how much Williamsburg property is worth to developers. Opening bid: $695k. There were maaannnnyyy bidders going nuts. This little shack actually went for $1million and change. Surely, it’s a tear down.

Fascinating, no? Oh, and the nicest thing? Everybody applauds each time someone wins a bid.

Gay Wedding Planning in New York

Gay Wedding Planning in New York published on

I’d love to be able to say “We’re #1!”, but we arrived a little late to the party. We’ll forever be behind the Massholes. Ok, the superfabulous news is that we’re here now.

2011 is gonna be the Year of the Gay Wedding in New York. Surely, it will add a big boost for New York’s economy and a million and one new gay wedding businesses will pop up. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Back when wedding photography was my full time job I shot some same sex ceremonies. I just want to call your attention to some sites that always did cater to the LGBT community. Before it was cool. Or legal.

Purple Unions is a national wedding directory that’s been going for about eight years. It all started with Purple Roofs, a gay travel guide that features inns and destinations. Want to buy real estate from a gay friendly agent? Gay Realty Network has been around forever. Same folks.

Rainbow Wedding Network is another old school directory. Plan your wedding from engagement to honeymoon.

Liberty View Farm in Highland, NY was purchased by Billiam van Roestenberg in 1999. Although not listed as a “gay wedding venue”, Billiam is an activist and was one half of the first gay couple to be married in New York by Mayor Jason West of New Paltz back in 2004.

The Black Cowboys of Queens

The Black Cowboys of Queens published on 2 Comments on The Black Cowboys of Queens

IMG_5640

Over the weekend we ventured out to Howard Beach, Queens to hang with a buddy who’s a member of the Federation of Black Cowboys. Those are the guys you see riding their horses on South Conduit out near JFK.

Black cowboys have been part of American culture since the 1860’s, but the current incarnation of the Federation was born in 1994. The website is not currently being kept up. They do often welcome visitors, but check first to make sure it’s cool. When we showed up, most of the cowboys and cowgirls were at a Juneteenth rodeo in NJ, so it was a quite day back at the ranch.

5646c

This is our buddy Ralph. By day, he’s a heavy construction laborer, but much to his wife’s dismay, he spends evenings and weekends tending to his garden on the Federation’s 25 acre property.

IMG_5589

“Mountain Man” was proud to show us the museum he’s been working on. Housed in one of the trailers, it has some very cool old western gear, but I winced at the animal skins, body parts and traps. He uses all parts of the animal, so kudos to him for that.

IMG_5591

IMG_5599c

This “kid” is only 17 years old. He has his own horse and attends an agriculture high school right there in Queens.

IMG_5628bw

The garden, barbeque pit and picnic area are just off the main road. Making the most out of the urban/rural experience!

IMG_5623bw

IMG_5622c

IMG_5621bw

Black Cowboys Flickr set

Leaky Roof Quick Fix

Leaky Roof Quick Fix published on


The Delta building at JFK had an interesting temporary solution for a leaky roof. Check out the photo above. It’s Delta’s main check in and security area. At first I thought it was decorative until my husband started mumbling something about a major airport in a major city looking like a third world country.

Those waterproof sheets are catching the leaks where the water is directed towards the middle. The tubes allow the water to flow into one area on the ground where there is probably some kind of drain. I didn’t see it as it was behind the desk.

Although it’s an ingenious temporary plan, it’s not wise to let a roof go for too long. Delta could have a major disaster on their hands if the ceiling collapses due to water damage. Let’s not even think about the mold problem this is causing.

WTF, Delta?

Primary Sidebar