Author: erikka

Are you getting those magazines a week late? All your ‘do not bend’ letters folded in half? Swapping mail with the people across the street every day? Are you even getting any mail at all?

Photo by Gareth J.M. Saunders

Park Slope is starting to feel like that Seinfeld episode where Jerry completes Newman’s mail route with gusto, and is later scolded by Newman after he gets flack from his fellow carriers: “Too many people got their mail! Close to 80%… Nobody from the post office has ever cracked the 50% barrier! It’s like the 3-minute mile!”

Mail service in the 11215 zip code has been varying wildly of late. Reports on the Park Slope Message Board range from a few stating they’ve gotten of excellent service, to posters like Christina who have spent too much time peering into an empty box. After several phone calls and complaints, Christina finally got an answer: “I got a phone call back (from the mailman’s supervisor)…his reason for not having delivered my mail recently is that “IT SLIPPED HIS MIND”.

What else? jenntrixie and sweetpea both report mail being dumped into an unsorted pile in the hall. And with the holiday season coming up, mail service will likely slow down for all of us.

How does your mail carrier rate? Report it on the Park Slope Message Board

Photo by estrojenn.

Does your neighbor’s bundle of joy = sleepless nights for you and everyone else in your building?

Recent proud parent Willregistersoon asks on the Park Slope Message Boards: “We just had a baby about a month ago (first one, boy). We live in an apartment building. I’ve always been abnormally concerned with keeping quiet and being courteous and considerate to my neighbors wherever I’ve lived. But now, with the baby, this is proving much harder…No neighbors have said anything so far – and even if they do say something, what can I actually do? I’m just dreading the inevitable night(s) where we try letting him ‘cry it out.’ ”

Well, at least you asked… BrooklynJack replies: “Thanks for your consideration. If he does wake in the middle of the night and you let him cry it out, please, please take him to the living room. My downstairs neighbors let there child cry it out in the bedroom, just under where we are (trying) to sleep. Sorry you have to have a bad night, but why must I?”

Parents: Never mind the neighbors… should you let junior scream till he’s spent? Linusvanpelt says yes: “It’s not just hard to stop a crying baby, it’s inadvisable…Going to get the crying baby in the middle of the night teaches him to cry every time he wakes up… which is worse for everyone’s sleep in the long run.” Apparently there are also studies that show that babies who learn how to soothe themselves to sleep end up being more self-secure and confident adolescents and adults.

Take heart, neighbor of crying infant: at least you can look forward to a good night’s sleep…13 years from now.

Park Slope Parents: Cry it out on the Park Slope Message Board

First apartment, Park Slope taken by dividedby.

BrooklynPotter writes on the PS message board: “is it really that wrong for a parent to buy their child an apartment?” A good question indeed. Is it okay for parents to use their financial power to give their children an advantage in the competitive NY housing market, especially in the coops and condos market where there’s often a long wait for qualified applicants looking to buy? One building adjacent to NYU has made it harder for students to buy, no matter who’s writing the mortgage check, emphasizing that it takes more than a chunk of change to be a co-op resident. Some brokers have followed suit since it can be hard to find a building that allows third party buyers. Concern have been raised on how responsible a grown child who needs (or wants) a parent to pay for their apartment would behave as a tenant–especially if the unit is bought primarily for long-term financial investment. Despite setbacks, the trend is on the rise.

linusvanpelt makes a good point on real estate investment, stating, “[It’s] not as exceptional as people think. Yes if you bought NYC property in 1995 and sold it in 2005. Not if you bought it in 1988 and sold it in 1995. Over the long run, historically, it’s not bad and beats renting, but it’s not as good on average as, say, the stock market.”

For those with $300,000+ to invest, Cisco is trading at nineteen times their expected 2007 numbers, showing great momentum and huge potential revenue growth. Could you say the same thing about your kid?