R-Train Riders Say Court Street Station Could Use Post Sandy Cleanup

By on April 16, 2013  Traffic & Transit
Apr 162013
 

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While R-train riders in Bay Ridge have to put up with messy local stations that let in the elements, commuters say the conditions at one Downtown Brooklyn stop remain downright disgusting – as well as overcrowded – more than six months after Hurricane Sandy flooded the platform.

Brooklyn Heights Blog reader Justine Schwartz, who sent the site a photo as evidence, was quoted by BHB as saying:

“Hurricane Sandy closed Court Street for months due to flooding and subsequent clean-up and repairs. I took this picture today. MTA needs to clean up its act. Trains are more crowded than ever. People fight each other for seats and wind up sitting on each other’s lap. I have been used as an arm rest by big beefy guys a number of times. The MTA must put more trains in service thus reducing wait times and overcrowding.”

As someone who has used the station several times since Sandy, I’d have to agree with this assessment.

Did You Know: Bay Ridge Used To Have An Elevated Subway Line?

By on December 7, 2012  Traffic & Transit
Dec 072012
 

Yup. From 1893 to 1940, you could take in the sights on an elevated train from Downtown Brooklyn to 3rd Avenue and 65th Street via Hudson Avenue, Flatbush Avenue, 5th Avenue, and 38th Street. Along the way, passengers could connect to either the Long Island Railroad, various street cars that live on as bus lines, or subways that remain in service to this day.

But, as they used to say on Reading Rainbow, don’t just take my word for it – read this Wikipedia article, or just check out the video above, posted by aronsteelo.

The elevated tracks of the BMT’s 5th Avenue- Bay Ridge Line were dismantled in October and November of 1941.

Stuff I Wanna Try: Fatah At 5th Avenue’s Yemen Cafe

By on May 23, 2012  Food & Drink
May 232012
 

The Village Voice’s Robert Sietsema just introduced readers to what could be Yemen’s answer to Apple Brown Betty.

Fatah. Fantastic layers of oven-roasted flatbreads, honey, nigella seeds, cardamom, and… did somebody say melted butter? Oh yeah, they did.

This wonderfully warm concoction can be found at the new Yemen Cafe [7130 5th Ave], which is Bay Ridge’s answer to… the Yemen Cafe – the one that’s been downtown on Atlantic Avenue since 1986, that is.

And according to the Voice, the full Yemen Cafe experience also entails a menu filled with all the roasted lamb, chicken, and rice dishes one would expect from a Middle Eastern eatery, as well as something that’s more typically French – a complimentary consomme with your meal.

Something that Americans don’t consider typically French [which they might want to reconsider] – a friendly, courteous, bend over backwards for you waitstaff, is also apparently included with your meal.

I, for one, can’t freakin’ wait to try it!