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
Mar 152013
The Home Reporter is moving from its Third Avenue headquarters (pictured) to Fourth and Marine Avenues. (Photo: Brian Hedden/Bay Ridge Odyssey)
Yesterday, the Home Reporter/Brooklyn Spectator posted an announcement online that it would be moving its headquarters from its current location on the corner of Third Avenue and 88th Street to the former home of Fergus Hardware on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Marine Avenue.
In 2012, the street corner was co-named as Frank Griffin Way, after the Home Reporter’s founder. Griffin published the Home Reporter from its founding in 1952 until its sale to the Queens Courier publishers Victoria and Josh Schneps in early 2011. Griffin merged the Home Reporter with the Sunset News in 1962, and purchased the Brooklyn Spectator in 1976.
Mar 012013
These posters shamed Council Speaker and Mayoral candidate Christine Quinn into enacting legislation lowering the maximum fine for street vendors. But Bay Ridge Councilman Vincent Gentile says brick-and-mortar retailers face the same problems. (Photo source: The Street Vendor Project)
On Wednesday, the City Council approved a bill that would reduce the maximum fine given to street vendors for blocking the sidewalk in half from $1,000 to $500. The bill – introduced over two years ago but spent most of that time languishing in committee – moved quickly through the Council in the past two weeks after the Street Vendor Project publicly shamed Council Speaker Christine Quinn into action. Quinn is the leading candidate for Mayor in this September’s Democratic primary, according to a poll released yesterday by Quinnipiac.
Bay Ridge Councilmember Vincent Gentile stood nearly alone in opposition, casting one of only three “no” votes against 44 in favor. Gentile has long held the view that street vendors have played by rules that grant them preferential treatment, while traditional brick-and-mortar stores have had to contend with a hostile tax and regulatory environment, and that bills such as this exacerbate the double-standard.
“Earlier this month, a small business owner in my district was fined $1,000 when her $30 pet grooming license expired,” Gentile said in a written statement. “Does that seem fair to you?” Continue reading »
Jan 282013
What a difference a couple of years can make.
Leske’s Bakery [7612 5th Ave], a neighborhood fixture which has been slinging Scandinavian treats since before many of us were born, almost closed its doors forever in 2011.
But thanks to a group of lifelong fika fans, the 50 + year-old pastry shop was able to reopen in August of 2012 to huge acclaim.
Fast forward a few more months and the kings of kringler are all set to expand to the Slope, as reported by Will Bredderman for Brooklyn Daily.
From Brooklyn Daily:
“We’re old-school Scandinavian, we do things a little bit differently, but we think we have a great product and we thought this would be a great fit for us,” said Leske’s manager and culinary consultant Harry Hawk.
Hawk said Leske’s will move into the former location of the Sweet Treasures bakery on Fifth Avenue between 16th Street and Prospect Avenue before Valentine’s Day, and plan to sell their famed marzipan cakes and kringler at the same prices as in their old spot. Hawk said the new shop will also feature romantic red velvet cakes and black-and-red cookies in honor of the Feb. 14 holiday, items that Slope residents can start ordering now.
Hawk said he likes the trendy flavor and eclectic mix of stores in Park Slope, and believes the neighborhood will welcome Leske’s with open arms — and mouths.
“I love the real foodie Brooklyn. Not only do you have centuries-old businesses, but you see all these new businesses,” Hawk told Bredderman. “That’s what really attracts me to that area. It’s diverse and wonderful, and we think they could use a great bakery.”
Jan 242013
From Huffington Post:
In a current job posting on The People Place, a job recruiting website for the telecommunications, aerospace/defense and engineering industries, an anonymous electronics company in Angleton, Texas, advertises for a “Quality Engineer.” Qualifications for the job are the usual: computer skills, oral and written communication skills, light to moderate lifting. But red print at the bottom of the ad says, “Client will not consider/review anyone NOT currently employed regardless of the reason.”
The following is a press release from the office of City Councilman Vincent Gentile:
CITY HALL – Tomorrow the New York City Council will pass legislation providing a private cause of action for those unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of being unemployed – the first law of its kind in the nation.
Intro 814-A will prohibit employers from using a person’s employment status in a hiring decision and from posting job advertisements that require applicants to be currently employed. The bill has the strong support of City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer as well as the National Employment Law Project, which is a national advocacy organization for employment rights of lower-wage workers. Continue reading »
Jan 222013
A Business Improvement District, or BID, tackles quality of life issues by supplementing city services such as sanitation (Image source: BKLYN guy via Flickr).
A group of 13th Avenue merchants want to turn their commercial stretch of Dyker Heights into a Business Improvement District, preferably before Mayor Bloomberg leaves office. Continue reading »
Jan 162013
Image source: xkcd.com
The Newscorp-owned Community Newspaper Group, or CNG, recently took some time off from the burning issue of hipster bars to speak with one local elected official about another fake controversy contentious dispute that has a handful of people mildly irritated threatens to tear the very fabric of our neighborhood apart. [Cue dramatic music]. Continue reading »
Jan 072013
Source: Google Maps
Officials in Bay Ridge are calling for the closure of a controversial night club after a New Years Eve melee ended with four people in the hospital after they were allegedly struck by a drunk driving couple fleeing the fight.
Both City Councilman Vincent Gentile and a spokesperson for State Senator Marty Golden had some harsh words for the 93 Lounge, and said it was time to shut the place down once and for all – with Gentile saying he plans to enlist multiple agencies in going after the problematic dance party venue, as reported by Will Bredderman for Brooklyn Daily. Continue reading »
Dec 202012
Photo: Brian Hedden/Bay Ridge Odyssey
In the latest chapter in the saga of controversial mighty morphin’ 4th Avenue nightclub Amnesia, it seems the nightspot’s owners have found yet another way to get around applying for a cabaret license.
Owner Frank Sofia, who recently rechristened the business “Club Cats” said that he is now “lending” the property to Sandy-displaced Sheepshead Bay restaurant New Cats Cafe. Sofia’s promising – among other things – a more subdued space, as well as employment for Hurricane Sandy victims, as reported by Will Bredderman for Brooklyn Paper. Continue reading »
Dec 182012
LAUGHABLY NEEDLESS REMINDER: There are a number of houses in Dyker Heights, particularly around 12th Avenue in the 80s, that are impressively decorated for Christmas.
Did you know that there are actually bus tours from Manhattan for visitors to the city?
Tony Muia is the founder of A Slice Of Brooklyn Bus Tours. He last made the pages of Bay Ridge Odyssey when his show on Travel Channel was about to air, playing Brooklyn’s reality TV show good guy to Brooklyn 11223, the show everyone loved to hate (including me, until I decided to grow up). Continue reading »