Cobble Hill resident Carl Foner’s Change.org petition asking J. Crew to set up shop somewhere else and not displace the Pacific Green Gourmet market from 151 Court Street has topped 1300 signatures. Earlier this week Foner wrote to supporters when the list hit 1250:

We’ve reached 1250 signatures!

We’ve reached 1250 signatures so far. Thanks everyone for signing the petition, sharing information, and spreading the word. Thank you also to those who have offered ideas and suggestions. It’s great to see this community coming together to work towards something we care about.

We’ve gotten a lot of good press since the last update: Brooklyn Bugle, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Grub Street, and more. (See our Facebook page for more details.) It’s great to see the story spread.

We’re continuing to press forward. We’ll be sure to keep you up to date with any more news. And feel free to pass along any news you encounter as well.

Thanks again!

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/8913

Cobble Hill resident Carl Foner’s Change.org petition asking J. Crew not to displace the Pacific Green Gourmet store at 151 Court Street has now reached over 700 signatures. He’s now launched a companion Facebook page to spread the work and to garner support.

Foner’s latest petition update reads:

The more people who sign the petition, the more influence we can have. So don’t forget to share the petition with your friends. Sharing personal stories (on Facebook, your blog, etc.) about what Pacific Green means to you is also a great way to spread the word.

Thanks for doing everything you can to get the word out.

Foner first informed the neighborhood about the petition in a Cobble Hill Blog comment on June 9, the night his quest began. The next day we received a passionate and compelling email from him detailing why he’s getting involved — “[When} I heard the news and my heart sank,” he wrote.

The Brooklyn Eagle picked up the story yesterday –

Brooklyn Eagle: As of Monday morning, more than 700 Pacific Green supporters had signed a petition at Change.org imploring J Crew to put their store elsewhere.

“When I heard the news that J.Crew was moving to the corner of Pacific and Court where my beloved grocer now lives I was heartbroken,” writes Alexis Anselmi. “This cannot happen and I will do everything I can to stop it! Pacific Green is a staple in this neighborhood.”

Elizabeth Fountain wrote that she moved to Cobble Hill ten years ago for the “mom and pop feel.”

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/8845

Krescendo on Atlantic Avenue is know for its great pizza and celebrity ex-chef Elizabeth Falkner. But another one of its founders is a well known and respected mixologist:

Papermag: Bi-coastal bartender Darren Crawford, who divvies up his month between San Francisco — where he’s the bar manager of speakeasy Bourbon & Branch — and Krescendo, first unveiled the concoction with a colleague as a special creation for a private party of Argentinians. “Argentina loves Fernet as much, if not more, than San Francisco.”

The Papermag piece serves up the recipe for the Eva Peron:

Recipe:

1 oz. Fernet Branca

1 oz. Carpano Antica

1 oz. Domaine de Canton

1 oz. lime juice

1 oz. ginger beer

Combine the Fernet Branca, Carpano Antica, Domaine de Canton and lime juice in an ice-filled shaker. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled Collins glass. Top with ginger beer and garnish with a lime wheel.

Photo: Papermag

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/8807

Yoga pants monger Lululemon opened Friday (6/14) at 166 Smith Street. Folks on the Twitter seemed excited about the store as well as snacks (from purveyors such as Ted and Honey and Van Leeuwen) available at the celebration.

So, whaddya think? Here are a few tweets to ponder:

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/8833

Sure Lululemon may have just lost its CEO, sending its stock plummeting as we speak but come this Friday (6/14) Cobble Hill will be blessed with one of its stores at the spanking new 166 Smith Street. Have no fear, those transparent yoga pants are so totally not available anymore.

Here’s the full rundown from their Facebook page:

FRIDAY:

Complimentary coffee, ice cream and pastries from Brooklyn-based Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream (first come, first served)

Candle light Yoga from 8:30-9:30PM with Mala Yoga instructor and past showroom ambassador Daniella Rosales- Friedman.

SATURDAY:

Complimentary juice and smoothies from Green Pirate Juice Truck (first come, first served)

Run Club from 9-10AM. 3-4 miler to Brooklyn Bridge Park with Brooklyn triathlete coach Mike Olzinski.

SUNDAY:

Complimentary Kombucha Brooklyn (first come, first served)

Sunday morning yoga from 9-10AM with store ambassador, Prana Power Yoga and Prema Yoga instructor Be Shakti. Featuring live music!

Celebration for Father’s Day! 1-3PM demo with Columbia Street CrossFit owner and coach Nate and complimentary pizza from South Brooklyn Pizza.

**We will also be giving away passes for lucky guests to “experience the neighborhood.”

Experience the neighborhood? Hmmm…

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/8775

CHB pal and neighborhood racounteur EJ Cory tweeted Saturday morning that the Long Island Restaurant’s iconic neon sign had disappeared from the corner of Atlantic and Henry.

Don’t fear friends. The Brooklyn Paper reports that the sign will return soon:

Brooklyn Paper: Permits on the building say the sign was removed so it could be cleaned, but one of the building’s owners only promised that the greasy spoon, which served hungry Brooklynites from 1951 until 2007, would reopen next month, then promptly hung up the phone.

Eater reported last year that veteran restaurateur Toby Cecchini will be involved in the spot’s reincarnation.

@bkheightsblog long island restaurant sign is gone!!

— ej cory (@ejcory) June 8, 2013

Lost New York: The long-dormant inside—the interior of which is a perfectly preserved 1950s-era bar and diner—had been undergoing a renovation for the past few months. I have no first-hand information on the undertaking, but my understanding is that the new proprietors intend to preserve the look of the place, including the signs. (Indeed, one of the stipulations of the Alperin family, which has long owned the building, and used to run the restaurant, is that anyone who occupied the space wouldn’t be allowed to change a thing about the decor. This led to may would-be tenants being shot down over the past five years.) That said, I suspect the signs have been taken down for restoration. Maybe we’ll be the first generation in decades to see that cursive neon lit!

Photo: Lost New York

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/8755

London’s Bike Share czar, Nick Aldworth, has some advice for New Yorkers on both sides of the Citi Bike Share scheme. Streetsblog reports on Animal New York’s interview:

Streetsblog: Citi Bike’s first days have seen some technical problems with glitchy docks and stations, and some distribution problems — early reports suggest that Midtown tends to have pronounced bike shortages at times. Aldworth says London is no stranger to the occasional un-docked Barclays bike, and that the greater challenge is managing the distribution.

“Redistribution is the key,” he says. “Once you have thousands of thousands of people cycling around, I think the negativity will quickly go away, but that challenge of redistribution won’t.”

Cobble Hill currently does not have Citi Bike docking stations, but suggestions are being taken now for future builds. Where would you put them?

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/8732

Last month, Krescendo’s Chef Elizabeth Falkner announced she was leaving the Boerum Hill eatery. Today, Eater reports that a successor has been named:

Eater: According to a release sent out by a Krescendo rep this afternoon, the new chef is Robert Moorman, an alum of North End Grill and Riverpark, plus a handful of New Jersey restaurants including Restaurant Nicholas in Red Bank.

According to the release, Moorman will be introducing some Southern Italian staples like a calamari salad and spaccatelli with sardines. There will, of course, still be plenty of Neapolitan pizzas in addition to the new Southern dishes.

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/8726

This dispatch just in from the Cobble Hill Association about a new traffic signal coming to the neighborhood:

CHA: Every day, scores of local residents cross Court street where there is a ADA accesible curb cut but no pedestrian signalization. As part of the Court Street corridor improvement plan which the Cobble Hill Association advocated for last year, a new crosswalk will remedy this danger and bring a signalized intersection to the pictured spot where Bergen becomes Congress Street. Latest word is that the safety enhancements should be installed by early summer, but fortunately you can already see the gray metal box in the ground which will soon house pedestrian signals. It’s a small but significant improvement and one we are thankful to the Department of Transportation for taking action upon our request.

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/8690

The Pacific Green Gourmet Shop at 151 Court Street appears to be losing its lease according to a report from The Real Deal. Clothing giant J. Crew is rumored to be taking the space as the area around Court Street and Atlantic Avenue continues to evolve into a shopping destination. Trader Joe’s and Barney’s have opened outlet in the vicinity in the last couple of years and the trend does not seem to be slowing down.

The Real Deal: As part of the further transformation of retail shopping in Brooklyn, the global apparel chain J. Crew is coming to a two-story building in Cobble Hill, according to two people familiar with the transaction.
The retailer signed a 10-year net lease last week for the building at 151 Court Street on the corner of Pacific Street, though some details still need to be ironed out, one person familiar with the deal said. J. Crew would take 2,349 square feet each on the ground floor, lower level and second floor.
J. Crew is not the only national retailer to move into the neighborhood. Trader Joe’s on Court Street and Barney’s Co-op, a lower cost unit of the designer department store, on Atlantic Avenue, are also nearby tenants.
The asking rent for the space was approximately $520,000 annually for a triple net lease, one source said.

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/8663

Cobble Hill Association president Roy Sloane released a video today produced the the organization to raise awareness about the fight to save Long Island College Hospital.

In a letter to the press this morning he writes:

As you all all aware, SUNY Downstate is moving forward with it’s plans to close LICH to convert it’s real estate valued at $500 to $800 million into cash to prop up the immense loses at SUNY Downstate. Since the beginnIng of this crisis, I have asked every doctor, nurse, EMT, ambulance driver and paramedic this question: “Will people die?”

The answer from every single professional that I have asked is “Yes!” To dramatize this danger, the Cobble Hill Association has created a TV commercial called “LICH Two Minutes to Live” and will be launching our campaign on of thirty second spots on NEW YORK ONE this week.

This proposed closure of our hospital represents a grave danger for for all the nearly 1 million people who live, work, shop, and play in Downtown Brooklyn but most especially for the residents of the surrounding communities who depend on Long Island College Hospital for critical emergency care. Going further to get to another hospital spells disaster or death for many stroke, cardiac and accident victims.

The CHA provided two documents along with the video:

LICH-Seven Key Points Fact Sheet by info1139

LICH and SUNY Facts Provided by CHA (1)

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/8223

New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells, who wrote the brilliant/infamous takedown of Flavortown -TV food star Guy Fieri’s Times Square restaurant – takes on Boerum Hill’s Krescendo today. In a good way. Wells gives the eatery – which teams up San Francisco culinary luminaries Elizabeth Faulkner, Nancy Puglisi and cocktail expert Darren Crawford – two stars.

NYT: The menu seems to revert to the ordinary. There are pizza knots, rice balls and meatballs, a few salads and a handful of simple pastas including spaghetti with tomato sauce. Then there are the pies, including three under the heading Pizza Napoletana. This might have stood out a decade ago. Today, it puts Krescendo among a herd of brick-oven strivers.

But here, under Pizza Italiana Classica, is a flash of lamé: Finocchio Flower Power.

What is on top of the crust is mainly fennel, but to call it a topping would imply that it is interchangeable with some other item. It is not. This pizza is an essay on the theme of fennel. Ms. Falkner stews the bulb to draw out its mellow sweetness, spreads out some raw fronds for their fresh, herbal flavor and calls on the seeds in fennel sausage for their licorice snap. The vegetable’s candylike tendencies are kept in check by sharp aged provolone and powdered red chiles from Calabria.

Krescendo in Boerum Hill – Tale of the Tweets

Storified by Brooklyn Bugle· Wed, Jan 23 2013 17:47:34

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/8158