ClintonHillBlog

Recently In Clinton Hill

08.30.10

Props for Urban Vintage

Back during my first visit to Urban Vintage, I noted what a lovely space it would be to host a bridal shower. Thought I’d share this brief note from a reader about a recent baby shower:

Wanted to share with you the great baby shower I had at Urban Vintage this past weekend. The ladies there are so great and put together a wonderful event. They even made the cutest cupcake boxes for guests to take with them that had my name and date of the shower on it. Very happy they are in the neighborhood!

Nice! I love to hear about people staying local for their special events. Check out the space if you’re looking to organize a small event.

Urban Vintage
294 Grand Avenue

by lesterhead 0
Tags: from the readers, grand, services

08.26.10

Deep Fried Pizza?

I haven’t had the time to actually check this out in person yet, but the description sounds intriguing:

Hi, I just wanted to tell you about a new pizza place that is on Myrtle right off Classon. I think it’s called Vino’s, though I don’t quiet remember right now…you should probably double check that…It’s in the same spot that another pizza place used to be but it’s a new name / new owners and unlike the last spot, this one is actually really good. Not sure if I can say it’s better than il porto pizza, but they do have deep fried slices and I doubt any other clinton hill spot has that….

Deep fried pizza! I’ve never heard of this period, never mind just in Clinton Hill! Might be worth a trip back to the Hill to check this out.

Have you tried it?

by lesterhead 8
Tags: dining, from the readers, new

08.24.10

NabeWise Profiles CH

A website called NabeWise.com recently contacted me about their site, which helps New Yorkers (and people in a few other cities) find the right neighborhood for them. Of course, I looked up Clinton Hill to see what it had to say:

Clinton Hill is home to the Pratt Institute and beautiful late 19th century mansions. The area is a mecca for students, creatives, and families seeking a more affordable alternative to Manhattan, or even from neighboring Fort Greene. Home to brownstone-restoration enthusiasts, Clinton Hill is also celebrated for an ever increasing number of foodie restaurants and independent boutiques.

According to the page, the neighborhood is good for empty nesters, singles and families. Site users who live in CH also identified the neighborhood as having: students, gay/lesbians, liberals, hipsters and “beautiful people.”

It ranks other neighborhood characteristics such as cleanliness (“somewhat clean”), community (“strong”), and hip factor (“very trendy”). If you play FourSquare, it also lists the most popular venues for check-ins (Choice and Mike’s). It also displays transit options, an area map, and adjacent neighborhoods.

The photos on the site are pretty captivating, and it’s fun to see how the nabe compares to other neighborhoods in NYC. What do you think of the site’s presentation of Clinton Hill? Leave a comment or review that reflects your experience!

One complaint: the site creates a new neighborhood near the Navy Yard called “Navy Hill.” That’s news to me. Last I checked it was Wallabout.

by lesterhead 5
Tags: real estate, services

08.23.10

A/C Trains to Stay Running (Instead of Becoming Fish Colonies)

Ugh. I often feel like the A/C line will be the very last to see new train cars. And now that suspicion is validated. AM NY recently reported that the MTA’s decided to keep them in service even longer than scheduled, instead of tossing them into the ocean. I’m sure the G is not even in the plan for new trains.

How nice are those super new trains that show all of the upcoming stops (and thus can be programmed for any line, instead of having to see the “this route not in service” light on the 4,5 when you’re in a 1,2,3 car)? The only thing I don’t like about them is the fact that they all have their letter / number in red on the front car. Part of the fun is seeing the colored circle rounding the corner into the station.

by lesterhead 1
Tags: grrr..., transportation

08.16.10

Renting in Clinton Hill: 1955

Sometimes, the strangest stuff happens. For example, one day we came home and went upstairs to inspect some of the reno work we’re doing, and the contractor had left behind some little slips of old newspaper from 1955 that had seemingly been in a wall or in the floor (it’s amazing what kinds of treasures are hidden in an old home). One of the slips was apartment rental listings, and what do you know- there were some listings on Clinton Avenue! Check out the below, which lists an apartment at 286 Clinton Ave for just $90 a month.

Here’s the building courtesy of Google Maps:

Too bad the rest had been torn away, but it was almost like the old neighborhood was sending me a little hello.

by lesterhead 3
Tags: history

07.30.10

The Brooklyn Free Store

Writing in this space has become such a big part of my life, so I’m going to continue posting when the spirit moves me.

Anyhow, Mr. LH and I have been making regular trips to the Home Depot in Bed Stuy (yes, I know it’s a mess, but they do have most things in one giant store, at least when they’re not out of what we need, which happens regularly), and on several occasions I’ve noticed something interesting on Walworth Street across from the west side of the store parking lot – a makeshift tent filled with stuff and a giant sign that reads, “The Brooklyn Free Store.” I’ve been almost jumping out of my skin to go take photos of it and poke around. And then I remember that I didn’t say I’d never post here again! So on our last trip, I jogged over to see what was up.

Surprisingly, the tent was filled with some decent stuff – clothing, some nice handbags, a decent collection of books.

There was no one nearby, and I didn’t take anything. Although I’m pretty sure the whole point is to take-something-and-leave-something in some kind of hipster experiment. I Googled “Brooklyn Free Store” and came up with some references to something like this in Williamsburg in the early aughts that has since closed.

Are the same people behind this? Have you ever “purchased” anything from this store?

by lesterhead 3
Tags: bed-stuy, intriguing/mysterious, shopping

07.19.10

Four Years of Clinton Hill Blog

I consider this date, July 19, to be the official anniversary of Clinton Hill Blog. Four years ago today, I started this site thinking I’d do a few posts and then run out of things to write about. What I didn’t know was that I was about to embark on an extraordinary journey that would teach me more than I ever thought I’d know about Clinton Hill, would introduce me to countless new friends and neighbors, many wonderful local business owners, and a fascinating community of bloggers throughout New York City.

One of my favorite early memories of writing this site was my first post about the Adelphi Station post office (apologies that the photos no longer work- lost in translation over platform changes and such). The response was an indicator that I wasn’t alone in my observations and that there was a real need for a local blog – a place for people to talk about the things they loved and the things they wanted to improve, a curiosity about local history and businesses both old and new, and a desire to connect to their community in a variety of ways.

Other favorite CHB memories include the tour of Kelso brewery, our tour of the set of Hammered, Tillie’s Community Mural “You Are Here,” our 2008 Buying Local Gift Guide for the holidays, CHB Interviews (the first was Kath Hansen, PUPS founder!), and this haunted house.

In the years since starting the site, I’ve taken on more challenging professional jobs that require much more of my time and energy, I’ve gotten married and earned a graduate degree. Over the last year especially, it’s been much more challenging to get a post up almost every single weekday, but I’ve been driven by my love for the neighborhood and the support of readers. Keeping CHB up has been even more difficult this last month, as Mr. Lesterhead and I have just moved to a bigger place, outside of Clinton Hill.

I feel strongly that local blogs be written by people living in the communities they write about. Given our recent move and CHB’s fourth anniversary, today feels like a natural stopping point for the site, at least in its current incarnation.

Maintaining this site hasn’t always been easy. Over the years the blogosphere has become more cut-throat and less of a collective support system, and occasionally a free-for-all for anonymous nasties (which has made it difficult some days to remember why I stated the site in the first place). My goal for the site has always been sharing local stories and focusing on residents and businesses who have made a positive contribution to the neighborhood, and I think I’ve been mostly successful in maintaining that vision. Despite many assuming that my vision has been journalistic, I’ve always thought of myself more as a non-fiction writer.

I find it hard to imagine that I would never post here again, so this is not necessarily goodbye forever or completely. I don’t think I’d be able to stay away completely if I tried! However, today will mark an end to regular daily posting.

For all of my loyal readers over the last four years, thank you so much for your support, tips and comments.

by lesterhead 32
Tags: Uncategorized

07.16.10

CHB Reviews: Dino

The new restaurant that’s taken the place of LouLou – Dino – is now open, and last night I checked it out with Kath Hansen of PUPS.

I had only been to LouLou a few times, but Kath remarked on the “great reno job” on the inside.

The back yard was small and cute, clean and simple.

The bread had one of the most delicious dipping bowls I have ever encountered. The olive oil was enhanced with mashed olives, along with tiny pieces of orange rind for extra flavor.

Kath had the chicken, as she says “you can judge a restaurant by its chicken.” She gave it two thumbs up, for both quality and portion size (she took half of it home with her).

I had the rigatoni, also delicious and a generous portion.

And the icing on the cake: the staff overheard Kath mention that she was taking me out for my birthday and they brought me a gigantic piece of tiramisu on the house.

Service was wonderful- friendly and helpful staff, a great sounding selection of seasonal cocktails (we opted for the rose, which was crisp and great for summer — but we think this place would be worth stopping in to for a fancy drink!), they already have liquor license and take credit cards (which is not so common for new restaurants in this neck of the woods). Pricing was “around the same as LouLou,” per Kath, but “better than LouLou.” Simply put from me: delicious food, great staff, and they have their sh*t together.

(Sorry, I didn’t have my nice camera with me!)

Dino
222 DeKalb Ave

by lesterhead 4
Tags: dekalb, dining, fort greene, new, review