Park Slope, Brooklyn
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Nuclear Redaction |
Was walking up 9th Street today when a freakin’ MOPED GANG came up the street.
Must’ve been about 40 of ’em, headed for the park. Sounded like a swarm of angry bees. Scary, I tells ya. |
Also spotted crossing Flatbush – possibly headed to the scooter shop in Gowanus for some kind of rally/throwdown . . .
Read more and comment: “The Wild One,” Park Slope style (Link)
Brooklynian.com Main Index -> Park Slope Forum | DailySlope.com Message Boards
What was up with that spattery trail of blood on the sidewalk, this past Sunday, along 17th Street, between Fourth and Fifth Avenues? There were also two or three partial bloody shoe prints, and on the opposite side of 17th, a few doors down, there was a bloody black shirt. All we have is this report from simian_sam:
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simian_sam |
All I know is it happened around 1AM last night. I just got home and there were maybe 8 cop cars flying to the intersection of 17th & 5th. None of which were running their sirens – presumably so as not to alert potential suspect. There is a busted window in the front of Lola’s bar – and an apt building’s door had the window busted out also. Not sure if this was a stabbing or shooting or if someone just punched through a window and cut themselves. There is a particularly gruesome pool of blood about 50 feet west of 5th ave on 17th on the north side of street. I keep looking for a story about the incident to show up online somewhere but haven’t seen anything yet. |
Comment on this post: Ghoulish Inquiry — An Injury on 17th Street (LINK)?
Read more about this neighborhood -> Greenwood Heights and Sunset Park
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Rose |
Last week, I received a letter addressed to a woman who has not lived in my building for approximately eight years. I don’t have a forwarding address for her, so I wrote “WRONG ADDRESS — RETURN TO SENDER” in large capital letters on the front of the envelope, with an arrow pointing to the return address. Knowing that this was not enough to prevent the post office from redelivering this letter to me, I took a Sharpie and crossed out the bar code on the envelope, and I inked over the plastic window on the envelope so my address was completely covered. Then I took it to the Van Brunt post office and dropped it in a mailbox there. The letter was redelivered to me today. The post office had actually removed the inked-over plastic window to uncover the address. Then they put a new bar code sticker on the envelope. So here it is again. What the hell? Why are they so stupid? Why were they so determined to redeliver this letter to a place where it is clearly unwanted? And meanwhile, letters that are sent addressed to me, at my correct address, at a house that has been standing here for 100+ years, get returned to the sender marked “no such address”? Why why why? |
READ MORE horror stories (Link): USPS Fails to Comprehend Meaning of “Return to Sender”
Found on the -> Park Slope Forum | DailySlope.com Message Boards
Scenario: The next-door neighbors are grilling meat in their backyard and the smoke’s coming into your second-floor windows. What do you do?
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raw |
drop water balloons on your neighbors. |
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bklyngirl |
Next time they’re grilling, grab a nice bottle of red wine, ring their doorbell, and get to know them. Life is too short to spend it being cranky. |
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Flexichick |
Unless they’re grilling their children, suck it up and be quiet. |
More choices than you can shake a stick at: see Backyard Grilling Rant on the Park Slope Forum | DailySlope.com Message Boards
Hungry?? We’ve got reviews… some good, some bad, some inbetween (and some comments from the owner!!) in the 40+ comments on this thread: New Tapas Place on 5th and Bergen
SOURCE -> Park Slope Forum | DailySlope.com Message Boards
Here’s a good one:
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giraffehead |
I went on Friday night. First off, service was excellent: super-nice waiters, told us to order some stuff, sit as long as we liked, order more, whatever. Definitely liked the vibe and friendliness of the place. Good beer.
Food was a bit hit-or-miss, though. I agree with some people about the very-small portions/not-so-small prices of some things, particularly the items over $10. If you order enough of those to feel full you’re really getting into a pretty-expensive-meal zone. I guess you have to try to fill up a bit on the cheaper things, but that’s no fun. (By the way, I’m a small woman, not some giant-appetited lumberjack-type.) Case-in-point: delicious (if a little mild) baby back ribs, falling off the bone, but $12 for 2 tiny ones? I don’t know… My favorite thing was the breaded mushrooms… Yummy, and kind of intense so you don’t really need a bigger portion. One disappointment: the cheese plate. Not enough bread, and the cheeses didn’t overly impress. But overall i did really enjoy the relaxing experience of the place.. the music, the service, the super-nice chef came out and introduced himself to everyone, asked how we were finding things … Read more (Link) |
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Bergenites |
My fiancee and I recently moved to the neighborhood and our very sweet but shy King Charles Spaniel is in need of some socializing! He is 2, neutered and gets along best with other dogs who are quiet (he never barks) but enjoy playing with toys, chasing, etc. We’d love to get him together with a few other dogs with similar “temperaments” so he can become a little more outgoing. We love taking him to Prospect Park early on weekend mornings, but it is a bit far for us to go every day (we’re on Bergen near 4th). Also, there are so many dogs there it can be overwhelming for him. I don’t know if there are any parks closer to us or another place where dogs can get together. If anyone has a sweet, calm doggie who wants to make a new friend, let us know!!!!!! |
Link: Small Dog Playgroup??
Read more on the Park Slope Forum | DailySlope.com Message Boards
No ads in this space, please. This is for blog posts about Park Slope. If you want to post a classified, go to Brooklynian.com. Thanks!
WTGirl writes about Elementi, formerly Snooky’s (
“All the ‘regular’ businesses are leaving. How many expensive dress shops, overpriced kids boutiques, gift shops, not so great restaurants, phone stores, banks does one neighborhood need? I will miss Snookys and the other neighborhood institutions as they pack up and close.”
Another PS forum regular adds: “Another Italian restaurant isn’t sorely needed here… I liked Snooky’s for what it was. Quick inexpensive bar food, they had a nice veggie burger and house salad. It was one of the last PS bars, and it was the place I sent people when they asked me where they could go for a beer. Now I have to send them to 5th Avenue.”
Has anyone eaten there yet? Would be nice to get some actual reviews posted on this thread, which has taken a strange and dramatic turn: Elementi, formerly Snooky’s (
Check out the Reverse-Zagat’s in action on the Park Slope Message Board:
NoNo and Tutta Pasta “use salt like it’s going out of style” …
Sette “just plain suck” …
Thai restaurant on 2nd floor at 7th and Carroll: “avoid”…
Szechhuan Delight on 7th: “just awful” …
Na Na: “a No No” …
Zili’s on 5th … “MOST horrific food ever! And I am a Turkish Food freak” …
Hunan Delight: “poor excuse for Chinese food” … “no flavor and bad service” …
And that’s not all:
Link: What Not to Eat [Park Slope Message Board]
The Chipster lays out the hypothesis on the Park Slope Message Board:
“For men: shortish hair, jeans, baseball hats, glasses, sneakers, and a distinct air of sexual frustration. No Mojo.”
“For women: no makeup, frizzy hair, loose pants, new pedicure, waxed eyebrows, $300. Cell phone permanently attached, overpriced hoodies, old granny panties, recognized by her self entitled P.C. aroma.”
“I guess it’s more about what people DON’T wear. Or have…style.”
Fair? No? Everyone is the exception to the rule on the on the Park Slope Message Board
turtle95 writes on the Park Slope Message Boards: “In two articles in the NY Times recently (one about Fair Trade Coffee and the other about fixed wheel bicycles), the New York Times has equated “hipsters” with Brooklyn.”
“Is this a default now? Are there any hipsters left in Manhattan, or if they live in Manhattan, would they not be considered hipsters? What about Queens? Do they have any?”
“… If this was word association and someone said hipster, how many words it takes until you get to Brooklyn (or a subset thereof, e.g. Williamsburg)? … this isn’t an indictment of hipsters, just an exploration of what the term is coming to signify geographically.”
EXTRA!! Fun fact: the word “hipster” is used in 4 different articles in yesterday’s Sunday edition of the NYT.
Pontificate on hipsterism on the Park Slope Message Board
uglyjohnny shares his Tips on dealing with Time Warner on the
“We’ve had repeated outages of TimeWarner broadband in our N Slope area for about four weeks… Getting a response has been frustrating. Here are some tips I’ve learned:
1.TW will not recognize an “outage” until a whole bunch of people have called to complain. (One CSR said the magic number is 10.) So if your service goes down (one or two lights on the modem blink monotonously), and you’re pretty sure it’s not just you (your neighbors are down, too; a number of open wifi networks are concurrently disconnected), you must call…
2. Calling customer service (718-358-0900) is a real hassle, but you can make it easier. Again, if you’re sure it’s an outage and not just you, you can avoid the useless automated troubleshooting system (20 minutes easy) by refusing to respond to one of the recorded questions, or by saying something that’s not one of the listed choices. (“I don’t understand what you’re saying.” “None of the above.” “I want to talk to a human being.”) This may take some experimentation. After the first CSR tells you to bring in your modem or schedule an appointment, insist on speaking to a supervisor.
3. Call back the next day. Maybe that will count as two complaints.
4. Tell your neighbors to call, too.
5. Getting a credit for lost service? Good luck with that, but making the phone calls is a necessary first step.
What else works? Link: Tips on dealing with Time Warner (Park Slope Message Board)
Short answer: Three. Get the story across the tracks… over on the Prospect Heights Message Board.
According to the Brooklyn Papers, this woman (Pat Maliha, a Windsor Terrace preservationist) was “nearly decapitated” last week from a 36-inch piece of glass falling from everyone’s favorite Park Slope eyesore: the 10,000-square-foot brownstone on 7th Ave. that used to house the “legendarily wacky” Landmark Pub.
Apparently Maliha was in Tarzian West across the street when the guillotine fell. Now she is going to sue, according to Brooklyn Papers. Not sue the building owner, but the city, for not securing the loose and broken windows: “The city knew about the danger … But it didn’t do enough to protect people.” Well… maybe we’re a little late to the story, but there has been scaffolding around the building since at least the beginning of March. And one obvious question: how did the glass get from the window to the curb, especially with all that scaffolding sidewalk tunnel to catch it? Take a look at this photo and try to imagine the trajectory of the glass… Not saying it’s impossible, but if glass fell out of a combination of neglect and gravity, wouldn’t it simply fall straight down into the scaffolding??
Anyway… Is it right to sue the city? Drano writes on the Park Slope Message Boards: “On the one hand, it kind of seems as absurd as trying to sue the NYPD if you’ve been mugged… On the other hand, this particular ‘mugger’ has been in one spot, rotting away for the better part of twenty years… the condition of the building is plain to see.”
Oh yeah – remember when that building went on the market for $5.75 million last fall? Ken Freeman, the realtor who was handling it, called the building a “disaster”, and said the owner refused to negotiate from that high price, according to the Brooklyn Papers.
Paging Bruce Ratner: Any interest in invoking eminent domain on this beast??
Read more on the Park Slope Message Boards
Utopian Park Sloper pitu writes on the Park Slope Message Boards:
Every biker I know hates this place for their assholitude, so it was funny to read about ’em in this week’s Time Out. Funny that the rest of the list is Time Warner, Kinkos, and the US Postal Service.
The ConEd Awards for Bad Service…
http://www.timeoutny.com/newyo…..ervice.xml
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| R&A Cycles Bike shopping? Apparently the staff at this Brooklyn store was trained at the Rikers Island Finishing School: At least one TONY staffer found a special animosity for women who dare to ask specific questions. |
They got the high-end goods, that’s for sure. Drill down for unsubstantiated claims of alleged douchbaggery on the Park Slope Message Boards
Not one, not two, but three naked men jogging (or rollerskating) in Prospect Heights.
Oh, the humanity.
Can you get a connection? Report it here. eKiteL has not had much luck:
| eKiTeL Newbie Joined: 15 Mar 2007 |
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Ooh, this should be an easy list to compile… right?
| Matrick Newbie Joined: 21 Nov 2006 |
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Vote with your wallet on the Park Slope Forum | DailySlope.com Message Boards
| Idlewild I’ll Buy That For A Dollar! 
Joined: 07 Sep 2005 |
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Orange safety jackets welcome on the
Courtesy of the Park Slope Message Board:
10. Walk down the sidewalk, smoking a cigar.
9. Wear a “George W. Bush” t-shirt.
8. Tell them that your kid is smarter or more advanced/better dressed/eats healthier than theirs.
7. Suggest building a high-rise condo on the corner of Third Street and Seventh Avenue.
6. Suggest building a high-rise Section 8 building on the corner of Union Street and Seventh Avenue.
5. Advocate busing all PS 321 students to PS 284 in Brownsville in order to achieve economic parity in Brooklyn.
4. Go to the Tea Lounge and have a loud, profanity-laden conversation with your friends.
3. Hit somebody in the face with a kite. Bonus points if you do it more than once.
2. Laugh at them because they can’t afford Manhattan.
…and the number one way to piss off a Park Slope resident is:
[drumroll]
[Actually, a Letterman-style drumroll prefacing a “number-one” answer that is patently ridiculous, yet somehow vaguely amusing]
1. Murder a member of their family.
Why can’t we all just get along on the Park Slope Message Board
wexlerglazer (Newbie) asks on the Park Slope Message Board:
Any suggestions for where to meet someone for our first date?
I was thinking Bar Toto (on 6th Ave. @ 11th), as I’ve done that before. But I figured I’d open the question to everyone here…
Basically, I’m thinking a restaurant that’s somewhat moderately priced (no more than $15 or so per entree), quiet, and cozy.
How about:
1. Cocotte at 5th Ave. and 4th St.: Romantic (possibly too romantic?)
2. Chip Shop
3. Long Tan
4. And… Check out more First Date Suggestions on the Park Slope Message Board
Assuming you all saw this e-mail forward already, but if not… here it is. Other dolls in the series include Staten Island Barbie, Bay Ridge Barbie, Lower East Side Barbie, Upper West Side Barbie, Bensonhurst Barbie, Sunset Park Barbie, Red Hook Barbie, and Greenwich (Connecticut and Village) Barbie.
“Park Slope Barbie“
This doll is made of actual tofu. She has long straight brown hair, arch-less feet, hairy armpits, no makeup and Birkenstocks with white socks. She prefers that you call her Willow. She does not want or need a Ken doll, but if you purchase two Park Slope Barbies and the optional Subaru wagon, Â you get a rainbow flag bumper sticker for free.Â
Whole Foods is coming … you think they’d get 420 parking spaces into Park Slope without a fight?? An excerpt from the petition:
“… there are some problems with Whole Foods’ design plans. They intend to build 420 parking spaces, an excessive amount for an urban neighborhood, especially one in which only about 40% of households own cars. Oversupply of parking encourages people to drive rather than use mass transit or other more environmentally friendly modes of transportation, and more cars means more traffic in Park Slope and surrounding neighborhoods, which are already seeing a major upsurge in traffic from rapid development…”
brooklynpotter writes on the Park Slope Message Board: “I know we’ve talked this one to death, but over a lunch filled with with super antsy children at the next table, my friend and i started sharing war stories…
–sitting in the park enjoying a lovely day and having kids with kites start running by my blanket. one kid dragged his kite across my blanket twice, thwapping me on the face in the process. barely an apology from the moms.
–sitting at the tea lounge, there were two children running by who smashed my friend’s lunch onto the floor with their fists. my friend approached the mom, who then told her that she should know better than to leave her lunch on the edge of the table. then refused to buy her a new lunch. she went to talk to the manager, and he wouldn’t give her a new lunch either. her lunch was a bagel
–having pizza at an upper scale restaurant over the holidays, my friend watched a child pull down an entire christmas display, wreaths and lights, and when the manager came over the mom look at him and shrugged and said in some snotty voice, something like ‘what do you expect me to do about it?’
—eating brunch outdoors in north slope and sitting near a family with children would wouldn’t sit in their seat, children who were running around and bothering patrons. the child even KICKED some other patrons, and when my friend approached the mother she got the same response as above. (though once the kid kicked the manager, he asked them to leave)
i refuse to believe it’s only park slope children, because i know some who are really nice. regardless, why is this acceptable?
bkuser asks on the Park Slope Message Board: “… I’m awake right now not because of New Year’s Eve, but because my neighbor upstairs is blasting techno on his stereo system made too large for apartments of this size (and because of poor insulation between floors). I bought my co-op about 8 months ago, and slowly have come to realize the major noise issues…”
“I’ve been keeping a log of the times I’ve gone up to talk to the neighbor (after allowable hours) … It’s currently near 2:30 am and the techno is at full blast where the bass has been vibrating my walls, fixtures, and distorted enough that I feel like I’m literally in a dance club and my ears ring each time the song changes (which is not often if you know techno). They are now whoo-hoo’ing and hey-ho’ing.”
“HELP! I think this guy is a renter too… I just don’t want to get into this horrible situation where he’s just going to get vengeful. I just want him to keep the music at a tolerable level. Even at 2:30 am on new year’s day … (ok, he had his music from 8 to now at this full blast–it’s enough!)”
Advice on calling 311, formally complaining to the co-op board, carpeting, decibel meters, and renting restrictions on the Park Slope Message Board
Cabaki writes about her F train Steve Buscemi sighting on the Park Slope Message Board: “I was discreet as possible, i don’t think he noticed – i should be a cell phone paparazzo! Now I just need to run into JConnelly at the Tea Lounge again, and I’m set.”
Seeing S.B. inspired Cabaki to download her cocktail-party list of sightings from “all my 27.5 years in nyc; not trying to brag, but have nothing going on at work today so i’m reminiscing:”
• jennifer connelly (tea lounge)
• kelly ripa and mark consuelos (57th st a few weeks ago, extremely good looking couple in person)
• jimmy fallon, SNL (walking to work, rockefeller center)
• pierce brosnan (on a flight down to west palm beach from nyc)
• drew barrymore (10th st and 5th ave with a friend)
• antonio banderas (spring st)
• susan sarandon (14th st between university and 5th)
• ethan hawke (14th st between university and 5th)
• jon stewart, twice (once on the daily show, and a few years before in front of me on line inside pizza hut express, 14th btwn univ & 5th)
• donna karan (in 7th avenue office building elevator)
• sarah jessica parker (b’way and houston – she looks like a little boy without makeup)
• mr. big (chris noth) from sex and the city TWICE, (once inside spice restaurant, 5th avenue and 10th, and then again on the street)
• tyson beckford (with his posse and convertible on 8th street, multiple times – he’s only 5’8″!)
• steven tyler of aerosmith (a store i worked in on 8th street when i was in high school)
• carmen electra and b-real of cypress hill when they were dating (same store)
• brandy (same store)
• ice-t, twice: (about 5 years ago hanging out on 8th street; 2 months ago at marquee with his blonde stripper wife, grabbing her ass on the dance floor)
• model/actress devon aoki at that same club, same nite
• donald faision (57th street)
• donald trump (signing copies of books at trump tower)
• robin williams with wife (FAO schwartz, 50th & 5th)
• macaulay culkin (at a deli when i was in high school on the upper west side)
• kelis (my high school, but she wasnt famous then)
• steve buscemi
I know what you’re thinking. Only 24? Where has this girl been hiding? Now go forth and post your list on the Park Slope Message Board.
…and How to Make the Angry Yellow Cab Driver Go from Manhattan to Brooklyn, Despite Heavy Sighing, Muttered Profanity, Maniacal Driving, and General Rudeness, as reported by users of the Prospect Heights Message Board:
Q. HOW MUCH TO TIP A TAXI CAB DRIVER GOING FROM MANHATTAN TO PARK SLOPE/PROSPECT HEIGHTS?
A. “I give about 15% – 20%, or a minimum of $2-$3 if a short ride.” -VeggieQueen
A. “I tip at least $3 if they’re coming over the bridge from Downtown, more if it’s from midtown and up…” -daisyh
A. “If I take a yellow cab home from Manhattan I tip about 15%, depending on how the driver reacted when I told him I was going to Brooklyn…” -em
A. “I usually tip $2 to $4 unless it’s a really long trip.” -neene
Q. CAR SERVICE: CAN YOU SKIP THE TIP? Seems like a lot of people tend to tip cab drivers, but avoid tipping the car service drivers, on the rationale that they drive their own cars and don’t have to pay for a medallion. Apparently, some car services automatically add a gratuity (~10%) to the fare, according to kristina.
A. Magic 8 Ball says: Unclear. Shake again. From Idlewild (who is a former car service driver): “Not all car service drivers own their car, and even if they do, they are still paying hefty maintaince and tax costs.”
Q. WHAT IF THE DRIVER COMPLAINS/REFUSES TO TAKE ME BACK TO BROOKLYN? This used to be almost the rule, and now is becoming the exception. But it still happens. A lot. What’s more, some cabbies will refuse fares across Brooklyn if they deem yours not worthy enough. As far as we know, none of this is legal.
A. Legal or not: don’t even let it happen. Pre-empt it. Jump in the cab and slam the door before disclosing your destination. If the driver balks, remember this phrase: “You may not want to take me to Brooklyn, but you’re not getting another fare until you do, because I’m not getting out.” -Carnivore
Q. RUDE DRIVERS: SHOULD YOU GET REVENGE? And should you report the cabbie who won’t go to Brooklyn??
A. Don’t bother, unless you’re unemployed, or especially vindictive: “You can complain all you want, but to have any real action taken, you have to turn up to a TLC hearing in person, which usually means taking a day off work. What a shock! The TLC isn’t concerned about weeding out lame drivers, or serving the entire NYC populace.” -ANFIELD
Is it possible to get a fresh, affordable tree in this neighborhood?? Michelle76 writes on the Park Slope Message Board: “… I live around Garfield and 5th Ave, and I’ve bought trees at both the place on Flatbush/5th Ave, and the one in front of Key Food on 5th. Both have been disappointing in the past, with really, really dried out trees. I’m just trying to get a nice, healthy 3-footer … I really love Christmas trees, but these ones in Park Slope have been bumming me out.”
3-footer?? Okay, Charlie Brown. Here’s your quick list:
That place on Union between 6th and 7th Ave – “Vermont” something, just downhill from the Food Coop. They are nice and the trees are great. -pitu
The church at the corner of 7th and Carroll (Old First Reformed Church) has sold trees … Pretty good trees in the past. But they are large ones. Also, there’s the lot on Flatbush @ 5th Avenue that’ll be around until they build Ratnerville … nice Canadienne who sold me a tree last year … they have all sizes and probably have Charlie Brown-type trees too. -dw438
But don’t buy on recommendations alone – check the tree before you buy: Bend the needles to see if they snap. They’ll be flexible on a fresh tree … Unfortunately its probably near impossible to get a fresh affordable tree in the neighborhood. – Ando
Parksloperox writes on the Park Slope Message Board: “I’m looking for a reasonably priced framer here in the Slope… Quality is super important (I just received a super nice print and I want it to be done properly… of course). Does anyone have any places that they’d recommend?”
Here’s a few to start with:
1. Old standby: Yale on 5th Ave. near Greenwood Cemetery. Only open during weekday business hours (no weekends) but are very good on price.
2. San Art (7th Ave. one block south of Flatbush Ave.) has a huge selection of frames and mats.
3. NuNu Gallery on Union St. does good work (which may not come cheap).
4. That great shop on 7th Ave. between 11th and 12th Sts. Can be busy.
Image: nunuframing.com
Is it legal? Is it binding? Is it discriminatory? What’s going on here? sloper111 writes on the Park Slope Message Board:
“I just signed a lease for an apartment in Park Slope… I know the Slope is liberal, and we don’t like that fucking Bush and his fucking war. But I can separate the asshole in Washington from supporting the troops. The landlord made me sign saying I wasn’t in the military and wouldn’t join the military. Now, I need an apartment… I can’t look for another now, so I signed.”
“This landlord won’t rent an apartment to someone in the military for fear of losing rent if they end up in Iraq. Am I the only one bothered by this?”
This may actually be pretty common. sarajean8 writes in reply: “Come to think of it, my lease had a whole page concerning this military topic…”
