File under “Puns That Write Themselves” – this flyer plugs an event at Club Cats (10007 4th Avenue) as being at the ex-Pazzo’s night club, as if to forget Club Amnesia ever existed.
Apr 122013
Apr 102013
I wouldn’t even leave the engine running unattended in this jalopy, much less a car with actual value.
I’m sensing a theme in today’s police blotter (courtesy of the Brooklyn Paper’s Will Bredderman), and that theme is that our cars don’t make good vaults for our expensive property:
A perp stole an idling car while the driver was ordering from a popular halal cart… the victim said he left the motor running in his Beamer…
A crook busted into two cars in the parking lot of a supermarket… and made off with… [a] Coach bag with $350 inside… [a] pocketbook with $30 and her iPhone taken…
A thief broke into a minivan… and ripped off a pair of fire extinguishers — plus the radio and global positioning system…
It’s almost laughable that we take these pieces of property worth hundreds of dollars, and just leave them unattended on the side of the street. Almost laughable, except for those times we get burned.
I certainly wouldn’t leave $500 in cash lying around like that, but I’ve left my cell phone in a car before (on those rare occasions I can actually bear to be parted from The Precious).
But then, that goes for the car itself – a piece of property worth tens of thousands of dollars left unattended on the side of the street. Which is laughable, until the car itself gets ripped off.
Apr 082013
A traffic enforcement camera (Image source: Wikipedia Commons).
Only a couple of weeks ago, State Senator Marty Golden was willing to agree to speed limit enforcement cameras in exchange for city funding to a growing constituency. But in the face of a traffic-safety rally outside of his Bay Ridge office, Golden has restated the principles behind his opposition to the camera program.
In reporting on Mayor Bloomberg’s surprisingly public admonition of Golden’s role in killing the camera initiative, Michael Powell of the New York Times revealed that Golden’s support could have been bought, politically speaking, in exchange for city funding that would benefit private schools. Continue reading »
Apr 042013
(Photo courtesy of William Alatriste via Councilman Gentile’s office).
City Councilman Vincent Gentile was recently joined by council speaker and mayoral candidate Christine Quinn to announce a new library program meant to improve citizens’ access to city government.
“I was proud to join City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn early this morning to present a new, innovative proposal for a citywide system of “Mini City Halls” inside our libraries that will serve as a one-stop shop for New Yorkers seeking help navigating access to important programs and services,” said Gentile, who serves as the Libraries Subcommittee Chairman, in a press release. “Libraries play a tremendous role in the communities they serve so turning them into ‘Mini City Halls’ is a no-brainer. This innovative proposal will help to better meet the needs of New Yorkers by making government more accessible. I thank Speaker Quinn, my Council colleagues and the New York Public Library system for their dedication to the people of New York City.”
Apr 042013
Some Bay Ridge pedestrians (Image by Violette 79 via Flickr).
A car struck yet another person in Bay Ridge on April 1, this time near the intersection of Fourth Avenue and 86th Street – two thoroughfares that have recently proved treacherous for pedestrians – as elected officials and the general public debate over which measures will best mitigate danger and improve safety on our streets. Continue reading »
Apr 022013
If city transit officials in 1906 had their way, the 95th Street station might never have existed. Instead, R-trains would have turned east at 86th Street to Coney Island. Another 1912 plan extended the line to Staten Island (Photo: Brian Hedden/Bay Ridge Odyssey).
Speaking of good ideas that have yet to reach fruition – Did you know that city officials voted over a century ago to extend the R-train all the way to Coney?
According to the Brooklyn Eagle, on March 22, 1906 “the city’s Rapid Transit Commission had approved an extension of what was known as the “Fort Hamilton Line” (today’s R train) to Coney Island.”
Trains would have turned east at 86th Street and Fourth Avenue, where they would presumably continue along the West End Line [now the D-train] to Stillwell Avenue.
Instead, when money for the project dried up – along with a similarly ambitious 1912 plan to extend the R to Staten Island – the West End Line and the Sea Beach Line [now the N-train] “were rebuilt and connected to the Fourth Avenue trunk line at 36th Street and 59th Street, respectively.”
Wikipedia notes that “The service that later became the R was the BMT 2. When it entered service on January 15, 1916, it ran between Chambers Street on the BMT Nassau Street Line and 86th Street, using the Manhattan Bridge to cross the East River.”
An older 19th Century elevated line, known as the 5th Ave Bay Ridge El, that ran down 3rd Avenue to 65th Street [via 38th Street and 5th Ave] would remain in operation until 1940.
Apr 022013
The Bay Ridge Festival of the Arts released a statement through their Facebook page today that the organization will be taking a short break.
We will not be having a 2013 Spring Art Festival, but hope to have some smaller events later in the year. We’re taking this year off to regroup and reorganize and are planning to bring you a Festival in 2014 and will keep you posted. We’d like to thank our patrons, artist, craftspeople, performers, and the public for their continuing support.
The festival traditionally starts a few days after Easter. This year’s edition would have been the 45th annual festival – this is the first time that it will be taking a year off.
On one hand, we’ve been saddened my the recent spate of annual events that have need to skip a year – including the 2012 NYC Marathon and Sheepshead Bay’s 2013 Grillin’ By The Bay, both cancelled because of complications from Hurricane Sandy.
But in each case, it is encouraging to see a sense of commitment from organizers to come back strong the following year. So Bay Ridge Festival of the Arts, we look forward to seeing you this time next year.
Apr 022013
If proponents of a Verrazano bike-ped path have their way, the Five Boro Bike Tour and NYC Marathon will no longer be the only times people can safely cross the Narrows w/out the use of a motor vehicle (Image source: mlcastle via Flickr).
Six months after Transportation Alternatives proposed bike and pedestrian lanes on the Verrazano Bridge as part of their Harbor Ring project, supporters of the idea have begun a petition on website Change.org in order to help gain some much-needed traction, as well as the attention of Governor Andrew Cuomo.
While some officials have expressed doubt concerning the plan’s feasibility and cost, proponents note that the proposal is hardly a new one, and in fact goes all the way back to the bridge’s blueprint stage. Continue reading »
Mar 292013
(Photo via USAG Fort Hamilton/Facebook.com)
The United States Army Garrison at Fort Hamilton ran a joint training exercise yesterday (March 28) involving civilian and security personnel.
This picture was posted on their Facebook page today with the following note:
Sgt. Kevin Meccariello with the 24th Civil Support Team performs environmental testing for potential contamination during a joint training exercise with Joint Task Force Empire Shield who provided the security element for the exercise March 28 in Building 210. The scenario simulated a fisherman who accidentally pulled a potentially contaminated and undetonated mortar round from World War I that had been submerged for many years. The scenario also included an active shooter.
That’s an interesting scenario, given the World War II-era explosives that were found under the Verrazano Bridge in 2010 in just 20 feet of water. I wonder how high a probability the garrison puts on such a scenario ever playing out – hopefully, it is one of those things they don’t think will ever happen, but recognize it is possible, and they’re training on it for the sake of maximum preparedness.
Mar 282013
A traffic enforcement camera (Image source: Wikipedia Commons).
Mayor Bloomberg labelled state lawmakers as “reckless and negligent” on Wednesday for blocking a budget provision that would bring speed enforcement cameras to the five boroughs. Continue reading »