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Great News: Red Hook’s Fairway Market To Reopen 3/1

February 14, 2013

After Hurricane Sandy devastated Red Hook’s beloved Fairway Market, the entire neighborhood has suffered as many that visited the grocery from the surrounding vicinity also stopped supporting other local businesses that depend on so much traffic from the anchor store.

Good news: Fairway is set to reopen March 1, according to the New York Daily News, after 5 feet of water filled the 52,000sf waterfront grocery store, damaging all equipment, including refrigerators, cash registers and merchandise. The market was gutted, along with a $10 million price tag to put in a new bake area and cafe, wider aisles and new equipment. Workers are now putting the finishing touches on the store.

And to the credit of Vice Chairman Howie Glickberg, most employees were never out of work as the store has put itself back together. Fairway officials set up shuttle buses so employees could work at other outlets within the chain. “We have an obligation. We’re the cornerstone of Red Hook,” Glickberg said. “This area was devastated and we had an obligation to take care of our workers.”

All 300 workers at the store on Van Brunt Street were rerouted to other Fairway markets, some as far away as Douglaston, Queens and Westbury, Long Island.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/55363

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Brooklyn Heights

Manhattan-Bound Brooklyn Bridge Lanes Closed This Weekend and Next

October 5, 2012

Rehabilitation work on the Brooklyn Bridge necessitates closing the Manhattan bound lanes from 11:59 Friday to 6:00 a.m. Monday this (October 5-8) and next (October 12-15) weekend, according to information just received from Notify NYC. Traffic will be redirected to the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges and to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/48896

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights

Manhattan Bound Brooklyn Bridge Lanes Closed This Weekend and Next

October 5, 2012

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/48896

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Sports

Quote Of The Day: ‘Heights Residents Who Balked About Traffic Are Running Out To Buy’ Barclays Tickets

September 27, 2012

In a story about art installations that will decorate Brooklyn’s new Barclays Center—including a 20×110-foot mural by Brooklyn-based artist Mickalene Thomas and a 70-foot mural from Cuban-American artist Jose Parla created at his studio two blocks from the arena—Forbes.com contributor Lynn Douglass offers a curious quote about nearby Brooklyn Heights…

She writes: “Can this local-inspired art help bridge the divide with those who spent years trying to block the sports arena from the heart of Brooklyn?

In an interesting turn, some of the same Brooklyn Heights residents who balked about traffic patterns before the Center was built are running out to buy tickets.”

Huh? Douglass offers no statistics to verify Heights’ residents alleged enthusiastic support of tix sales… Things that make you go Hmmm.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/48331

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Brooklyn Heights

Fuming 200 Hicks Street Rez Take Hotel Conversion Grievances To NY Daily News

August 14, 2012

The group of concerned residents who reside at 200 Hicks Street and voiced their concerns to BHB last Friday about the Bossert Hotel’s conversion back to a hotel have now shared their grievances with the New York Daily News. Brooklyn Heights rez Elizabeth Bailey and her comrades believe the plan before the Bureau of Standard and Appeals could create serious noise, traffic and safety issues in the area.

The Daily News, with typical bravado, writes: “A bar battle is brewing in Brooklyn Heights where residents are foaming mad over a developer’s plan to open a rooftop suds spot and restaurant at a historic hotel. Locals living near the Bossert Hotel at 98 Montague Street are afraid the bar and event space will lead to noisy crowds partying late into the night.”

Bailey, who has lived at 200 Hicks Street for 27 years, is quoted in the story, saying, “We want to work with the developers to make sure there are enforceable restrictions around noise.” She and the other unhappy residents “are pressing the city’s BSA to reject or greatly restrict the hotel’s application to change its zoning to allow the bar and restaurants, the News says. A hearing is scheduled September 11.

They have also employed the services of attorney Al Butzel, who met last month with representatives of the hotel’s developers, David Bistricer and Joseph Chetrit, to voice the group’s concerns, including traffic jamming the narrow one way street out front: “It’s a tiny little street taken over by Key Food trucks and kids walking with their parents. The developers have referred to the Carlyle as being their prototype but this is not Madison Avenue,” he says.

Kathleen Cudahy, a spokeswoman for the hotel’s new owners, says a “design consultant” is working to make sure “there’s no adverse impact due to any noise. This is not going to be a big destination place for large events such as wedding or a bar mitzvah.”

The developers bought the 14-story hotel for an estimated $90 million although the official price hasn’t been formally listed. They plan to expand the number of rooms from 224 to 302, with a $300 a night room rate, Bistricer said during a recent real estate luncheon. The hotel is slated to open in a year.

Read the Daily News story here. The New York Observer also writes about the Bossert conversion here.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45612

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights

Residents Of 200 Hicks Street Concerned Bossert Hotel Conversion Will Create Noise, Safety Issues

August 10, 2012

A group of concerned residents who reside at 200 Hicks Street are taking to task the new owners of the Bossert Hotel at 98 Montague Street. Brooklyn Heights rez Elizabeth Bailey and her comrades believe the conversion plan currently before the Bureau of Standard and Appeals could create serious noise, traffic and safety issues in the area.

She writes to the Brooklyn Heights Blog: “Although residents of Brooklyn are happy, mostly, about our borough’s resurgence, or rather, emergence, those of us who live here because it is a quiet, safe place to live and bring up children, are worried that these developers are showing little regard to neighborhood concerns.”

New owners David Bistricer and Joseph Chetrit are seeking a variance to convert the hotel to a “commercial transient facility,” from its status as visitor housing for previous owner Jehovah’s Witnesses. The BSA has scheduled a hearing on the application September 11.

The group of residents at 200 Hicks, located at the northwest corner of Montague, say that the plan could deter the Heights’ peaceful persona “if it is done without regard to the nature and character of our residential community.” Bailey points to a New York Times feature on the Bossert from November 2011, in which Brooklyn Heights Association executive director Judy Stanton notes concerns about upkeep, “since Watchtower society placed a premium on maintenance, including the surrounding sidewalks and parks.” Stanton also intimates that the neighborhood may become livelier if the Bossert is converted into a high-end hotel.

Bailey writes, “The developers are proposing to increase the number of rooms from 224 to 302. Although they speak of creating a boutique hotel, over 300 rooms is a pretty big boutique. They also have plans to build a ground floor restaurant, event spaces (weddings and bar mitzvahs, etc.) and a bar on the rooftop. The developers contend that the increase in traffic on the busy corner of Montague and Hicks from their proposed hotel will be negligible.” She finds this “hard to believe.”

“There have been many articles in the New York press about the negative impact of noisy bars—particularly rooftop bars—on residential neighborhoods,” Bailey adds, citing Times’ stories here and here.

“We understand from press reports that both Chetrit and Bistricer have been publicly criticized for various aspects of their past real estate ventures. Among other controversial matters, Chetrit is one of the investors in the Empire Hotel near Lincoln Center, which has been the subject of a three-year battle that a West 62nd Street coop had to wage in the courts over ‘torment’ from the noise from its rooftop bar well after midnight,” Bailey says. “The developers are also involved with the Chelsea Hotel, which has been the subject of recent controversy. Noise and traffic: That’s what Brooklyn Heights residents are worried about.”

The 200 Hicks Street group proposes that restrictions be put in place on the proposed hotel/bar: “The aim is to limit the increase in noise and traffic that would compromise the safety and the character of this neighborhood.” Bailey invites public discourse of the issue, and is available via email at Elizaabailey@mac.com.

Comments from the BHB community?

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45367

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Events

Car On Congress Walks Itself Across The Street?

August 10, 2012

A Cobble Hill Blog tipster who has lived in the neighborhood for a decade sent us the following mysterious quandary, which we shall file under the WTF category: “On Sunday we parked our car on Congress Street between Clinton and Henry on the north side, in a spot that would expire Thursday morning. When I dutifully went to move it last night, it was now on the south side of the street. The north side was covered in fresh tar and marked with saw horses, so clearly it was moved for road/utility work.”

She adds, “I am grateful the city did not tow the car (when we left it there Sunday we saw no warnings), but the car was in reverse with the emergency brake still on and locked, just as we left it. How in the world did they physically move it, and are there any regulations about this?”

Any ideas, out there?

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7725

From the Web

Times Notes Opposition to Fieldhouse/Velodrome in Park

July 31, 2012

Today’s New York Times has a front page story highlighting local skepticism about the proposed fieldhouse and velodrome in Brooklyn Bridge Park. In addition to quoting Brooklyn Heights resident Peter Flemming, whose objections were noted in our ealier post (linked above) and in the Eagle, the Times story notes the concerns about traffic raised by Candace Lombardi, identified as a seventeen year Heights resident. In addition, it quotes Fulton Ferry Landing Association president Joan Zimmerman as objecting to the fieldhouse’s proposed location at one of the Park’s narrowest points, and asking why this can’t be made green space. But Regina Myer, Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation’s president, is quoted as saying this space would be used for a maintenance facility in any event, and that such a facility will be included within the structure of the fieldhouse/velodrome.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45023

From the Web

News

Clinton and Kane Streets Closed Because of “Unstable” Christ Church

July 28, 2012

Notify NYC gives us the latest in the unfolding story that began with the fatal lightning strike on Christ Church:

Due to an unstable building in the vicinity, the following streets are closed to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic: Clinton Street from Degraw Street to Kane Street; Kane Street from Strong Place to Court Street. These closures are projected to last at least five days.

Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7672

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights, Sports

Skeptic Deems Proposed $40M Fieldhouse A ‘Masquerade That Doesn’t Belong In BB Park’

July 26, 2012

The $40 million, 2,499-seat Fieldhouse/Velodrome proposed for Brooklyn Bridge Park has been personified as a community recreation center, with an indoor bike riding track as its centerpiece. But Peter Flemming, Co-Chair of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Community Council and a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee of the Park Corp., says the plan that’s been shared with the public is a ruse.

He tells the Brooklyn Eagle that the proposed Fieldhouse is actually “a specialized velodrome masquerading as a community recreation center—and it doesn’t belong in Brooklyn Bridge Park… Painting stripes on a horse doesn’t make it a zebra.”

Flemming says that the Velodrome will primarily serve specialized competitive track cyclists who come from around the world, accompanied by hundreds of vehicles and thousands of spectators, to the detriment of BBP: “It’s a pipe dream. The number of people who really want it you can count on the fingers of your left hand. What is it doing in our park? Why help the city build a huge stadium in a tiny waterfront park for this quaint, obscure, bizarre sport?”

The Eagle explains: “A velodrome is a racing track, banked 45 degrees or more at the curves, for competitive bicycle racing. Competitors ride special fixed-gear bikes without brakes, and must travel at least 16 miles an hour to avoid tipping over. There is only one other indoor velodrome in the United States, the Home Depot Center Velodrome in Carson, California, though there are dozens of outdoor velodromes.”

Brooklyn Bridge Park proponents say the Fieldhouse, backed by founder and chairman Joshua P. Rechnitz, is envisioned as a “flexible public indoor athletic and recreation center” that includes a public boathouse, restrooms and space for the park’s maintenance and operations.

Greg Brooks, executive director of New York City Fieldhouse, argues in the Eagle that the entire community will make use of the facility, and says it will “save the park millions in capital costs. That’s money for maintenance, restrooms, storage for kayaks, all capital costs the park will not have to spend or maintain.”

Regina Myer, President of Brooklyn Bridge Park, adds, “The proposed Fieldhouse will bring park users and the community the all-weather sports and recreation venue that has always been included in the General Project Plan for the park but was unattainable due to financial constraints. We will continue to work with the New York City Field House to address the community’s concerns and ensure that this project adds positively to the park experience.”

There’s much more to the story in the Brooklyn Eagle. See the article here.

(Photo: Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy via McBrooklyn)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/44836

From the Web

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