Mashup: Our love of Bay Ridge, Downton Abbey, and nine-figure lottery payouts

By on January 18, 2012  Featured story, Real Estate
Jan 182012
 
Photo: Curbed.com

Photo: Curbed.com

A few weeks ago, I poked a little fun at the mansions depicted in the tilework of the 86th Street subway station. To be clear: I know there’s plenty of detached housing in Bay Ridge, and we know some of those houses can qualify as mansions. We have, after all, written about them before.

Recently, Curbed put the spotlight to one such home, a little 11-room number on 83rd Street that’s selling for a cool $2.9 million. The January 10 Curbed article appeared right around the same time that (1) a $200+ million lottery ticket was bought on Long Island, and (2) the second season of British costume drama/prime-time soap Downton Abbey aired on PBS. And I cannot lie to you – the convergence of the three events has made me want a $2.9 million mansion more than I ever have in my life.

If that winning ticket had gone to me instead of some dude from California, I’d be buying this house. No, check that – I would already be moved in by now.

Now, this place has six bedrooms, but realistically I only need two for my own purposes. So I guess that leaves room for four servants. For $200 million, less $2.9, I should be able to afford four servants.

For the greater good of the estate, I’ll take one for the team and marry Michelle Dockery.

But alas, I did not win a $200+ million lottery jackpot. Some dude from California did.

This two-bedroom apartment rental looks nice…

 

BK Southie Eats: Nablus Sweets

By on January 16, 2012  Featured story, Food & Drink
Jan 162012
 

  • Who: Nablus Sweets
  • Where: 6821 5th Avenue
  • Personal Favorites: Hadeesa, Kunafa
  • Typical prices: about $10 for a small tray

Nablus Sweets has been a BK Southie favorite for a while. Located across the street from the Alpine Cinema (and thus ideally situated for smuggling contraband into the movies), this shop has a wide variety of Middle Eastern pastries. My favorite is at the bottom of the picture above. I had the name wrong the first few times I ordered it, they told me that it is called “hadeesa” (a spelling I know I’m butchering… corrections are welcome if you find it before I do). It has a date filling, is very sweet, and is primarily responsible for my weight gain in the month of December. Continue reading »

Next Saturday: BrooklynOne Jazz Celebration

By on January 13, 2012  Arts & Entertainment
Jan 132012
 

bks_BrooklynOne-Jazz-300x109Facebook reports: the BrooklynOne Jazz Orchestra will be putting on a concert next Saturday, January 21, at St. John’s Parish Hall.

Hey Everyone we are having a very special night featuring the BrooklynOne Jazz orchestra led by musical director Anthony Rodriguez

The 21st would’ve been our founder Tom Kane’s Birthday so we are holding a special jazz concert to celebrate.

Remember this is a pay what you want event so the cover charge is whatever you feel like giving, and we are looking for a big turn out so please come and join us for this exciting Jazz filled night!!

The show starts next Saturday at 7pm.

Tomorrow: “Bay Ridge, Etc” Book Launch

By on January 11, 2012  Events, Featured story
Jan 112012
 

The Bay Ridge Historical Society is releasing a new book, titled Bay Ridge, Etc., starting tomorrow, Thursday, January 12th. The book will sell for $20.00, with the proceeds going to the Bay Ridge Historical Society, a nonprofit, non-sectarian community-based, state-chartered educational organization.

The Yellow Hook Grill (there’s some Bay Ridge history for ya, mate) will be hosting a book launch party that day at 11am, according to the Bay Ridge Journal, for “business and community leaders and local media representatives.” I’d love to go myself, as a member of the local media. But since I almost certainly can’t. If there are any readers who are interested, and would be willing to take pictures, please let me know (brian@bksouthie.com), and I can give you my blessing to go as a member of this local media outlet.

P.S. I don’t think they’re really turning away any non-media, non-community-leader types. That’s just my plea for someone to go take pictures for me. Please, someone, go to this and take pictures for me.

Link: Controversial Bay Ridge Homeowner Faces Foreclosure, Where “Controversial” Is Code For “Hated” and/or “Despised”

By on January 11, 2012  Real Estate
Jan 112012
 

Brownstoner reports: “A controversial developer who owns dozens of properties in Bay Ridge is facing foreclosure on several of the houses he owns in the neighborhood.” Seven one- and two-family properties, including several Colonial-style houses, owned by Mousa Khalil are scheduled for auction later this month with $2+ million in liens. There have been numerous complaints about Khalil’s pattern of buying up historic houses in the area and allegedly leaving them to rot, as documented by the Bay Ridge Courier and Bay Ridge Courier in 2007. Khalil owns more than 30 houses in Bay Ridge. (Full story at Brownstoner.com)

Lou Powsner, Daily News: Gerrymandering Hurts Communities

By on January 11, 2012  Politics
Jan 112012
 
If you think State Senator Marty Golden's district is whack, you should see the departed Mr. Kruger's.

If you think State Senator Marty Golden’s district is whack, you should see the departed Mr. Kruger’s.

The NY Daily News and Brooklyn Daily have recently published separate-yet-similar editorials regarding one of the pressing issues of the 2012 election cycle – redistricting. The Daily News leads off with horse-trading – the political game that both shapes gerrymandered districts and is caused by it. But they eventually get to the point that Lou Powsner made for Brooklyn Daily – gerrymandering carves up communities.

Powsner focuses on the City Council, and more so on Bensonhurst, where the problem is acute. None of the four Councilmen who serve Bensonhurst residents – David Greenfield (Borough Park), James Oddo (Staten Island), Vincent Gentile (Bay Ridge), or Dominic Recchia (Gravesend/Coney Island) have enough of the neighborhood to consider Bensonhurst part of their core constituency. Powsner sites Greenfield especially for being a no-show at Bensonhurst community events.

The Bensonhurst problem is hardly limited to City Hall… and for that matter, it isn’t really limited to Bensonhurst. Some parts of Bensonhurst are represented in Congress by Upper West Sider Jerold Nadler. Others are represented by Staten Islander Michael Grimm… same as Bay Ridge, incidently. The Daily News article pushed the redistricting plan put forward by Common Cause New York. It wouldn’t help our chances of getting Brooklyn representation, but it wouldn’t carve up our neighborhoods, either.

For that reason alone, given the jokers responsible for implementing it, it probably won’t succeed. But here’s to hoping!

Related: Gerrymandering A Problem For Neighborhood Unity (Bensonhurst Bean)

Barron’s London Food Snob Hearts On Bay Ridge’s Tanoreen

By on January 9, 2012  Food & Drink
Jan 092012
 

“New York doesn’t take a backseat to any city in the world when it comes to food, but there are two cuisines that are just better in London: Indian and Lebanese.” This is how a recent article on barrons.com opened up.

I have no doubt London tops NYC when it comes to Indian food – I would like to think that after 100 years of colonization, John Bull brought home something more than just an affinity for drinking tea. Yet I’m a little jealous of anyone with the kind of expense account that allows him to difinitively judge the spectrum of cuisine in two cities separated by an ocean, 3,400 miles, seven hours of flight time, and a common language.

The author, Richard Morais, goes on to explain how vastly superior London Lebanese restaurant Al Hamra is to every restaurant of its kind in New York. At this point, I was getting less jealous and a little more annoyed that he can thoroughly investigate the subject and get paid to rub it in. Until I got to this little bit:

But the point is, with this London benchmark to measure up to, every time I have eaten Lebanese in New York I have been disappointed. Until last weekend, that is, when I made my way to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to eat at Tanoreen,  a restaurant where Michelin inspectors take their families to eat on their days off.

I had no idea that multi-national food snobs ever make their way to Bay Ridge. This is very high praise. Continue reading »

Bay Ridge Unity Task Force Meets

By on January 6, 2012  News
Jan 062012
 

Early in December, over 100 people attended the annual breakfast of the Bay Ridge Unity Task Force, a coalition of religious and community leaders to promote ethnic tolerance within the neighborhood.

This is an older story that I missed during my December blog-vacation. Fortunately, it was brought to my attention this week by the Facebook page of Rabbi Dina Rosenberg of the Bay Ridge Jewish Center. The BRJC was the host, and the event was attended by religious leaders such as Rabbi Rosenberg, Imam Sheikh Reda Shata of the Islamic Center of Bay Ridge (profiled earlier by the NY Times), and Khader El-Yateem, pastor of the Arabic Lutheran Church and the Task Force chairman. Continue reading »

O Ornamental Green Bush: MulchFest this weekend, curbside tree pickup through next Saturday

By on January 6, 2012  Parks
Jan 062012
 
Woodchippers can also be used to mulch trees.

Woodchippers can also be used to mulch trees.

Attention Christians, assimilated Atheists, and Jews with Gentile in-laws: the Parks and Sanitation Departments are once again teaming up to help you recycle your Christmas tree. Or any other kind of tree you’ve watched die slowly in your sitting room for the past month.

Curbside pickup started this past Tuesday, and runs until Saturday, January 14. It’s super-easy. Just remove all of the ornaments, tinsel, lights, and other attachments, and leave it on the curb. Do not place it in a plastic bag, or any other kind of bag. Done. Easy as cake. New York’s Strongest will turn the trees over to Parks, who will use the composted trees as fertilizer in the spring.

If you’re ambitious, you can take your tree to a MulchFest location tomorrow, January 7, or Sunday, January 8 (10am to 2pm both days). Trees will be chipped on the spot, and you can take a bag of mulch home with you. (You don’t have to bring a tree to get a free bag of mulch.) As with the curbside guidelines, please remove ornaments, tinsel, lights, plastic bags, and Coen brothers characters before taking your tree to a wood-chipping location.

In southern Brooklyn, MulchFest will be at Owl’s Head Park and Marine Park.

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