It's hard to believe that it has been a year already. What better way to celebrate the anniversary of this blog than a multi-borough Greco-Roman naval fight at the Queens Museum? Wait, someone already did that? Damnit. What if we just get everybody together next Tuesday and head over to Teddy's at 9 PM. That sound good to you? By the way, you're all invited.
A Short Story! One Year Anniversary of This Blog Doing Stuff! Teddy's Bar and Grill North Eighth Street and Berry Street 9 PM Featuring Jack Hammer! Juliet Linderman! Beyonce! And Borough President Marty Markowitz's non-unionized Polish equivalent, Mieszko Kalita!
Put that book down and get over there! Or we'll make you part of an uncompensated performance art project.
*There's more to come from Monday's Conselyea Street building collapse, as MyFoxNY interviewed Buildings Commissioner LiMandri about it. He didn't say very much that he had already said on Monday. But there are updates to the story on the Brooklyn Paper as well as at Curbed and the AP has a video:
*Sal Gentile at City Hall News feeds the fires of rampant speculation regarding who would replace Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes were he to not seek reelection in 2013 or... gasp!... pass away before then. The leading pre-candidates are Assemblyman Jim Brennan and States Attorney Loretta Lynch, but guess whose name crops up here? You guessed it. David Yassky. That's three points for Andy Campbell's fantasy league. *Speaking of Andy, above, he finally went to Shag to get his maleness cast in plaster. For a story. I'm serious. You can read the story here.
Finally, Steve Witt has a great story coming out this week where an officer in the 67th Precinct was honored after shooting a would-be machete-wielding assailant in the leg. I believe we have video.
William Kentridge's production of The Nose ended last night at The Metropolitan Opera, which I was fortunate enough to see. In one critical scene in the second act, the main character enters a newspaper office to request an advertisement for his missing nose. The editor rejects him, saying, if he put the ad in, people would want to put in all sorts of ads for missing body parts into the paper. Then he offers for a writer to write about the unusual story for a small fee.
The point is that papers are selective in what they print, but crazy stories that people can relate to are always a good bet. I think. Also, people with missing noses that become state councilors will eventually confront such nose in an epic Russian mob beat-down, or so the opera tells me.
The point is... there are a number of stories this past week where a reporter has had to follow his or her nose to get at what is really going on. Let's recognize them in a special, nose-themed edition of The Short List.
*How did the press buy the Lazar/ Hikind hype when Greenfield stuck by the party apparatus and walloped the opposition in a relatively easy victory. Maybe because county isn't dead. Or maybe it was because Greenfield was simply a better candidate, as Yeshiva World argues. Or maybe Vito Lopez is the Duke University Blue Devils and pundits should stop betting against him in Brooklyn races. *Let's back up to Wednesday to mention a local blogger with a good nose for a story. Miss Heather at New York Shitty probably knows more about hostels in Williamsburg and Greenpoint than anyone (and that's including its elected officials who were not aware of the two hostels on North 6th and several others scattered around the neighborhood before Friday's raid). She sniffed out a story on Wednesday about the glove factory and was ahead of the news curve when it broke in another location on Friday. Not to mention the fiasco on Eagle Street from earlier this summer. Disagree with me if you like, but these buildings stories are what Miss Heather is best at. Updated: Assemblymember Joe Lentol's office has been quietly collecting information about hostels in Northside Williamsburg and Greenpoint for several months. Lentol was the first official to put out a statement about the raid, expressing sympathy for the long-term tenants of the hostel that was evicted on Friday.
*You may need to hold your nose if you walk on parts of the Gowanus Canal, but don't miss the debut of Characters of Gowanus on Vimeo. It's like surfing the Canal from the safety of your computer, but you should still take a shower afterward. Check out their interview with the Gowanus Canal Swamp Thing! *Finally, music snobs, turn your nose up at the DIY Music festival if you must, but the spirit is refreshing and willing, so check it out because there isn't a ton going on this weekend except for basketball. Actually, there might be, so click on the Weekly Culture Picks to see more.
Damn you Cornell! I briefly switched my support to the scrappy Ivy underdog and look what happened. Big Red craps the bed. Thanks Michael Hanson. I believed. For a few minutes. And look where it got us. At least people have finally heard of Cornell.
Council candidate Joe Lazar poses next to his campaign.
It's been several days since I did some links and a lot has happened this week from storm surges, to political campaigns to Ray Kelly bowling in Williamsburg for some reason. Let's look at six well-written stories that deserve a second look, as well as a few gold stars for some electric posting.
*More Greenfield-Lazar coverage, which is riveting the political chattering classes. The Times' Kareem Fahim has the play by play and The Courier's Steve Witt gets a gold star for his gut instincts. According to Steve, he showed up at Lazar's afterparty first, which was held in a catering hall in Boro Park only it was vacant and there was no food. Steve immediately assumed without looking at the poll numbers that Greenfield pulled the upset and headed over to his Ocean Avenue headquarters. Sure enough, he was right. Half the Brooklyn delegation showed up including Steve Levin, and there was a decent spread too. And that's A Short Story's news gut call of the week. David Greenfield won despite looking like Sy Abelman in A Serious Man
*My last gold star goes out to Brian Ries at Free Williamsburg who has been blogging his brains out this week on Williamsburg Walks, the DIY Music Festival, and my favorite, the campaign to get broadband internet to North Brooklyn. Not only did he get the story right, he got the f#cking graphic right. Jim Carrey circa Cable Guy. Brilliant, dude. Let's drop the Carrey skying over Jack Black video in here just for Brian. Be sure to clean up the glass.
Ahhh, halter top day. No, thank you Williamsburg, for a wonderful spring weekend of lounging in the park until my butt froze over. Unfortunately, Brooklynites aren't really used to celebrating this New England-based holiday. For one thing, no one actually wore a halter top. Instead, everyone seemed to be wearing black t-shirts and jeans or dark shorts, including the Hasidic teenagers. Also, I have been informed that a halter top is not the same thing as a tank top, so even I have a few things to learn. However, someone has to recognize this dude, below, for his enthusiastic and dangerous hairstyle which may have been a Jewfro but we were too afraid to approach it to find out for sure. Instead, let's consider the two icons in the picture. The Empire State Building and whatever the hell the thing below it is.
March madness is upon us, and while our bracket pools may be shredded like Parmesan cheese at Bamonte's, there are several news items that will definitely be advancing to the next round. Survive and advance.
*Remember that prediction that Georgetown was going to be a final four contender? Mistakes were made.
*Finally, to get you out of your temporary insanity, guess what's on the cover of a local paper's front page this week. Joe Lentol and... puppies? Someone's a good Assembly Codes Chairman. Yes he is... yes he is... Good boy...
Did I say the Big East was underrated? I meant wildly overrated. And did I say don't pick Cornell? I meant Cornell is a legitimate Final Four threat. Please note the corrections.
Landlord Indig: "By next year, we hope you will be able to put the building back on the best-landlords list, instead of the worst! We hope that all the problems will be resolved."
Tenant Cruz Barreto, fearing that the rats currently crowded in the basement will invade his first-floor apartment: "I'm sleeping with the lights and the TV on—in case I need to get up and run."
March Madness is less than twenty-four hour away, but I am relatively sane. (No, thank YOU Connecticut Huskies. We had a great run these past few weeks.)
The tournament rolls on, and as an avid college basketball fan who will not be filling out his bracket pool this month, I thought I would give YOU, the loyal readers of A Short Story, a few pointers.
1. Do not pick Cornell. The Penn Quakers demolished them in Philadelphia and their record was 6-22. Now they get Fran Dunphy's ridiculously underrated Temple team which finished 29-5 but earned a 5 seed. It is an injustice! It is so much of an injustice, Rev. Al Sharpton is preparing to hold a press conference in North Philly tomorrow morning. Cornell won't last past the first round, let alone the first half.
2. The Big East is underrated and two teams will make it to the final four. Good luck picking which two. Georgetown looked great in the Big East Tournament, so did West Virginia, but I think Syracuse will make a decent run in the tournament while WVU could falter. I am not as impressed with Villanova or Pitt this year and Louisville is in a tough bracket. What do you think, Andy Marte?
3. Duke needs to lose. For the good of humanity. Greenpoint is going to explode if Duke wins. You do not want to be reading stories next week about how Mike Kryzkesfkezfsskszzfzkfzzyzzzyzzy and Duke are back. I'll say Elite Eight.
4. Kansas and Kentucky look pretty damn solid don't they? Damn it.
5. There will be upsets this weekend. Let's go with Houston winning against Maryland, Florida over BYU, Butler making it to the Sweet 16, and Fran Dunphy's mustache becoming a national sensation.
It gets weirder. The Courier's Steve Witt writes about Councilwoman Letitia James's minor scrape with the law. I meant a parked car. Tish is suing a scrap recycling truck driver, whose hitch sticking out of its bumper caused a bruise on Tish's shin when she walked into it. Now there's a personal injury lawsuit (Tish said it's a public safety hazard). The headline? It's a Tish-grace!
Time for a special foodie-related linky links, courtesy of Edible Brooklyn's Spring issue! Here are ten stories you should be reading already. So get cracking.
The issue here is not whether we broke a few rules, or took a few liberties with our female party guests; we did. But you can't hold a whole fraternity responsible for the behavior of a few sick, perverted individuals. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the whole fraternity system? And if the whole fraternity system is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? I put it to you, Greg! Isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do what you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you bad-mouth the United States of America! Gentlemen!
*Earlier, GREC's Jan Peterson made the group's formal ask to the board to support their plan for redeveloping the Greenpoint Hospital site after reiterating their vision to the press in January. Housing and Preservation Development says that they will award the RFP to one of the four groups (St. Nicholas NPC is the GREC-favored ally) in contention. What I want to know is when MikeRoch begins to pull a Steve McCroskey as the RFP date nears. Next week? Before Passover? Should I be worried? *Steve "Land Use" Levin had a busy week last week, visiting community boards, speaking out against Rose Plaza and Domino, helping his cousin Sandy take over Ways and Means (just kidding). This week for the Councilman is less hectic, but he is still has his hands in a number of areas from esplanades to transit concerns, and he is quietly earning the respect from senior CB1 members in the process.
*Let's' talk shopping for a second. Earlier this month, The New Yorker's Patricia Marx wrote about shopping in Brooklyn with the core argument of her article focusing on the reason why so many newcomers to the city settle in Brooklyn. It's not the artists, it's the lifestyle of easygoing aspirational consumption, which attracts them. Some of her neighborhood reports come across a bit snobby (references to Brooklyn women being less likely to wear heels for one), but mostly it's a joyous jaunt through the borough's commercial strips. Once in Williamsburg, Marx stops not at Jumelle, Amarcord or Love Brigade, but at CC McGurr's store Fille de Joie and spends most of her time in housewares (Moon River Chattal) and interior design (Future Perfect). In Greenpoint, she stops at Alter, one of her favorites, before giving Beacon's Closet a much-deserved needling.
*Finally, back to food. The NYTimes is in love with the Pickleback, not to mention the Pickletini, which are extracted from a jar of McClures Pickles and served at the Bushwick Country Club. Meanwhile, another condo opened in the Lower East Side where my great-grandmother's tenement once stood. Bottoms up guys.
This was supposed to be the Championship Week edition (Atlantic Yards v. Broadway Triangle, Brooklyn Bridge Park vs. Domino Sugar) with a heavy set of links for everything. It will wait until Monday. Instead, I am posting a video. It's been a strange weekend. This is for you Cook.
The judge did not make a ruling on the Broadway Triangle. There may be one coming in several weeks. Both the city and the Broadway Triangle Community Coalition made their arguments. Photos were not allowed in court, so all I have is a rendering, above. More next week.
We were waiting for this (and rumors on Tuesday night indicated that he would oppose Domino). It appears Steve Levin has made up his mind. The following is his testimony to Borough President Markowitz as submitted by Levin's legislative policy director:
On behalf of Council Member Stephen Levin, I want to thank the Borough President for giving me the opportunity to testify today on CPC’s proposal for the Domino Sugar site.Council Member Levin would like to express his full support for Community Board One’s recent recommendation of Disapproval with Modifications for this project.
The Community Board expressed profound concerns over the project’s overwhelming height and density and the effect that this would have on the surrounding community and the current infrastructure. Specifically, the Board cited the strain that the project would bring to the already inadequate transit options for the area, the strain on local traffic and CPC’s requests for the maximum allowed on-site parking. The overall reduction in the ratio of open space per resident in the area and the unmitigated shadow effects of the northernmost towers on Grand Ferry Park were also cited by the Board as grounds for disapproval.
For these reasons and others, the Council Member supports the Board’s recommendation. The project is simply too big. CPC’s plan would introduce over 6,000 new residents to the neighborhood – a nearly 25% population increase for the ½ mile area surrounding the site. Council Member Levin does not wish to minimize CPC’s impressive commitment to 660 units of affordable housing. Affordable housing is desperately needed in this community and CPC has worked hard to recognize this need. The inclusion of community space within the project is also to be commended. Furthermore, Councilman Levin appreciates CPC's involvement with, and respect for, the Williamsburg community throughout this process. Nonetheless, unless the issues of height and density, transportation, and open space, among others, are addressed, Council Member Levin cannot support the plan for the Domino Sugar site as currently proposed. Thank you for your time.
David Yassky has a new job that is not at a private firm. This morning, Mayor Michael Bloomberg confirmed on the John Gambling Show that Yassky is indeed the new chair of the Taxi Limousine Commission. He is looking forward to driving into the job from zero to 80 mph in 4.3 seconds.
Everyone is getting amped for today's single-elimination development tripleheader featuring the Atlantic Yards (and Freddy's Bar) groundbreaking, the Broadway Triangle lawsuit, and the New Domino Borough President hearing.
Before we begin, let's take you through some important stories of links that you may have missed because you spent the weekend in Puerto Rico watching your friend get married in a monsoon and came back to 200 unanswered emails.
Nut up or Shut up Development Week continues this morning with the long-anticipated (alternatively, what's an antonym for anticipated?) Atlantic Yards groundbreaking and a Broadway Triangle court hearing this afternoon, followed by a New Domino Public Hearing. Any way we can squeeze some Coney Island news in to get a double date going? At 10:30 the Mayor, Governor, state legislators, business leaders, and maybe a few celebrities will be on site to begin development at Atlantic Yards. Expect a few balloons. I'll have more links from those who have been covering this from the beginning as the day goes on.
