Location: Waverly between Greene and Gates
This one's haunted by the ghost of bad taste.
A neighbor walking two adorable pugs saw me photographing this "beauty," and stopped to chat about it. She said it's been tacky for at least as long as she's lived in the area (10+ years). She also heard that the owner just passed away, so I'm expecting some major de-haunting on this place in the coming months.
Many months ago, I was taking a car service to a party, and we drove past Reign. I was shocked to see what appeared to be a nightclub in this otherwise sleepy/desolate area.
From what I've heard, Reign attracts the Escalade crowd, and that patrons party until the wee hours of the morning. Still seems like an odd locale for a crazy hip-hop club, but then again, industrial areas are probably more conducive to loud music late-night.
I've also heard that the bartenders have been opening the club early for neighborhood happy hours, catering to the chill lounge set (ie. people like me who are too tired to go out and shake it at 1am on a weeknight) and hoping to attract locals.
I'm set to go sometime this week! Has anyone ever been inside? This is as close as I've come:
Anyone live nearby and had any very good (or very bad) experiences?
Reigh even has their own MySpace page (and a ton of friends to boot).
Reign 46 Washington Ave (between Park and Flushing)
718 Brooklyn has an extensive Cafepress store filled with tons of Brooklyn goodies. And yes, they have a Clinton Hill section. Don't be surprised to see Marshmallow sporting one of these doggy tees around the neighborhood.
Damn, it's a busy week! Good thing I was sick last week :) Develop, Don't Destroy Brooklyn has arranged a week of cultural and informational events this week, all leading up to Saturday's walk-a-thon:
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nGrand Dakar. n nPark Slope: Bogata Latin Bistro n nBoerum Hill: Bacchus. n nCobble Hill: Sample
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nPane y Vino.
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For full schedulendescription, details and locations go to www.dddb.net/walkathon/schedule/n
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nnn",0] ); D(["ce"]); //--> 7 PM Freddy's Bar and Backroom, corner of Sixth Ave. and Dean St.
Saturday, the 21st is the day of the Walkathon
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The Walkathon will be filled withnchildren's activities, marching bands, booths with local businesses and anpost-walk concert featuring John Wesley Harding and other special guestsnat the Prospect Park Bandshell.
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Meanwhile,nyou will find Walkathon Week to be filled with some wonderful events notnto be missed, including Comedy Night, Music Night, MovienNights I and II, Literary Nights I and II, Restaurant Night,nand Update Night. Check out the entire Walkathon Schedulenat: www.dddb.net/walkathon/schedule/nfor full details and locations.
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The Walkathon will be filled with children's activities, marching bands, booths with local businesses and a post-walk concert featuring John Wesley Harding and other special guests at the Prospect Park Bandshell.
Location: Washington between Greene and Gates
I'm shocked at how many contenders exist on Washington Ave! You'd think they'd be scooped up by now and renovated.
This place'll make a gorgeous home someday, once you pry the plywood off the windows and the siding off of the house. The yard is horribly overgrown and full of trash. But look at the detailing along the very top! There is potential here, oh yes. Someone just needs to evict the ghosts.
That area north of Park is usually a mystery. What goes on up there? Do people live there? What the hell is Wallabout? This week, we'll explore some of this uncharted territory and let you know what's new, exciting and intriguing.
As it turns out, this week is going to be quite pivotal for the area. Clintoncentric, one of our favorite 'hood bloggers, has decided to help us out here as she hasn't had enough time to keep CC as updated as she'd like. Turns out, she knows lots about Wallabout!
Here's her first contribution:
On Thursday, October 19th, the Historic Wallabout Association will present the latest developments on creating a Historic Wallabout District for the 22 blocks north of Myrtle Avenue and south of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, between Carlton and Classon Avenues. I pulled up an old pdf from a past HWA meeting and skimmed through it for interesting factoids:
The neighborhood is named after its original settlers, the Walloons, French-speaking Protestants from what is now Belgium, who in 1624 settled along a bay on the East River and named it Waal-bogt. Later, as the area became a major industrial center, it also attracted a major produce mart in the 1880s called the Wallabout Market. This is a pic from 1934, and according to this man's blog, it was the second-largest market in the world at one point:
(If only it was still there! Then maybe we would all be eating better!)
To this day, the Wallabout area has the largest concentration of pre-Civil War frame houses in New York City.
The HWA's general meeting is from 6:30-8:30 PM at the Benjamin Banneker Academy, 71 Clinton Avenue.
*** Crap! That meeting time conflicts with the SCH meeting, and I can't attend either. Poo. Hopefully another CHB contributor can check it out.
Russell at RePop just dropped me a note -- he was bedridden with food poisoning this weekend, and apologizes for closing early on Saturday. ALSO, I am once again unable to attend this week's Society for Clinton Hill meeting. (Sorry- I have class!!.) Will someone email us notes to post??
Society for Clinton Hill
GENERAL MEETING
Thursday, October 19, 2006, 7:30 p.m. sharp
St. Luke's Church Sanctuary
Washington Avenue (between Dekalb/Willoughby)
this handsome man here
lives here,
on dekalb between clinton and vanderbilt.
he's a big lover and just wants to be pet, so it was hard to get a picture of him---most of my shots looked like this:
his name is "cat". the woman who owns the store told me that they bought the place five years ago and cat came with the place. but even though she hasn't named him, and acquired him in a business deal, she seems genuinely fond of him.
Location: Irving Place, between Gates and... Fulton? Putnam?
Anyway, this block is a real mix of old and new. Some houses are freshly renovated, while others sit in disrepair.
This house reminds me of something from my childhood -- I can't remember if it was a book or a cartoon. I think it was called The Little House. Anyway, a cute little house gets battered by a city being built up around it, until someone moves it to the country where it's happy again. No, I'm not saying this one should be moved to the country. Just that it looks sad.
Party at Blue Bass!
We just got back from a huge shopping trip and have successfully operated a store for five weeks, all reasons to celebrate. Along with great new winter gear, we'll have beer wine and a new line of urban tee-shirts and hats. So come and enjoy our refreshments, our company, and all of our new clothes. The party is this Saturday and we'll tap the keg around 7 p.m. We are located at 431 DeKalb Ave (enter on Classon). Directions are at www.bluebassvintage.com or you can call us at 347.750.8935 if you get lost.
See you then. Meredith & Sara
(know of stuff happening around town? drop me an email - clintonhillblog [at] gmail-dot-com)
Russel of RePop has drafted up a little invitation to RePop's Halloween soiree, which includes deals for both party attendees AND CHB readers!
This Friday the 13th until Sunday all Clinton Hill Blog readers will receive an exclusive 20% discount on all collectible merchandise, furnishings, decoratives, jewels and vintage dress with mention of the holy blog. Come partake in the $5 costume trunk to help finish or
inspire a costume. $20 authentic Mexican Wrestling and Ultraman masks,
and of course various prices for doll heads!!
Come on in and pick a
scary baby! Tis the season!
Location: Eastern Greene Ave.
This place is so haunted that someone had to cement the ghosts inside! Who would do such a thing -- covering over doors and windows with cement blocks?
The upper half of this place looks absolutely gorgeous and detail-filled. Even the upper windows look nice and new-ish.
This place must have seen some very bad times. Anyone ever been inside? God, I'd love to know what's inside those walls.
Location: Clinton Ave, bt Greene and Gates
To help set the mood for Halloween, I thought I'd feature a few spooky Clinton Hill houses. Here's today's, which can be found on Clinton Ave between Greene and Gates.
I know someone lives here, as I sometimes see him on his stoop. Why he won't maintain his yard is beyond me, and it's such a gorgeous house!
Anyone ever been inside?
Oh no!!! It looks like Broken Angel caught fire today. Thanks to all who reported, including Brooklyn Record, Brownstoner and Gothamist. It sounds like local fire departments responded quickly, and like many, I have to question the overall stability of the whole place (both pre- and post-fire).
These beautiful photos from flickr user reidab:
Check out the entire photoset here.
Another flickr user, onebadapple, apparently grew up inside Broken Angel, and helped his parents transform it into a unique icon. He has a very thorough photoset of the building, including photos taken inside.
If you haven't seen Dave Chapelle's Block Party, Netflix it now! Dave takes a tour of the house with the owners, and it's really quite wacky and interesting.
(sorry for the absence - i was in texas for work, and now i'm home with the flu!) Every now and then, I pass this "hotel" on Washington Avenue.
It looks pretty junky to me - boarded up windows, skanky curtains, etc, but it looks to be open and operating. Anyone know exactly what this is? Is it really a hotel? Or apartments? Or furnished apartments? Anyone ever been inside? What are the rates?
Rafael Pi Roman hosts and talks with New Yorkers on both sides of the debate.
"The eyes of most New Yorkers are on downtown Manhattan and the rebuilding of Ground Zero," said John DeNatale, executive producer of NEW YORK VOICES. "But Forest City Ratner's 22-acre development plan for central Brooklyn is one of the largest ever proposed for New York City. It would change the borough as we know it and has implications for all of New York City. We think it's important to give viewers all the facts."
NEW YORK VOICES: The Battle for Brooklyn will feature an interview with the chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation, Charles Gargano, about the potential benefits of the project and about the concerns of local residents. Gargano is the top development official in the state. The public authority he leads not only must approve the plan, but would also be responsible for applying the use of eminent domain to condemn property on the footprint of the site, which has been one of the project's hot-button issues.
On the other side of the debate are Brooklyn residents Daniel Goldstein and Shabnam Merchant, who live at 636 Pacific Street in the footprint of the proposed development. There are three condo and one co-op buildings that would have to be demolished to make room for the project, and Goldstein and Merchant are the only residents left in the three buildings. Goldstein has refused to sell to the developer, and will challenge the use of eminent domain. Goldstein is also the spokesman for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB), which leads a broad-based community coalition with over 700 volunteers that opposes the Forest City Ratner plan.
Also featured in the program is City Council Member Letitia James, who represents the area. James has been a strong opponent of the project ever since it was first announced, and she has taken criticism for her position from community organizations like ACORN, the affordable housing advocacy group, and BUILD (Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development), which have signed a Community Benefits Agreement with the developer.
NEW YORK VOICES is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York. John DeNatale is executive producer, Rafael Pi Roman is host. Show producers are Bob Morris, Jim Epstein, Suzanne Glickstein, and James Nicoloro. Scott Feinstein is editor.
EVENTS:
Recently, someone posted asking about the library on Washington Avenue.
Let's see... what to say about it? It reminds me a lot of the library I went to growing up -- kind of 1970s, small, kind of dark. I've found plenty to borrow by just stopping in -- the selection is not huge, but you can most certainly pick up a few things of interest. As long as you plan ahead, their selections don't really matter. Just get a NYC library card, and you may request books you want online! When available, the books will be sent to the library of your choice (for free!), and you just go pick them up.
Here's more info on the branch from the website:
As an adult, the idea of the library seems inconceivable -- free books? To borrow? Really? For free? Sweet.
Plus, I also saw this supercute cat outside:
Brooklyn Public Library
Clinton Hill Branch
PBB Partners with the American Cancer Society in the fight against Breast Cancer
During the entire month of October, the Polish Bar will donate 100% of the proceeds generated from the sale of Polish Packs to continue the fight against breast cancer. Polish Packs are purchased by every client for their services. "We sell hundreds of these per week," says the owner, Tricialee of the sealed pouches containing sterilized filing tools. Funds generated will go towards awareness campaigns and the support of treatment initiatives in Brooklyn.
The Polish Bar is located at 470 Myrtle Avenue (at Washington).
The timing of this campaign to raise funds in the fight against breast cancer is significant due to the fact that October is nationally recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Polish Bar hopes to leverage this awareness and increased visibility to stimulate men and women, otherwise unaware, to join humanity in the fight against breast cancer.
The Polish Bar is also providing registration papers for the 'Making Strides against Breast Cancer' walk in Prospect Park on Sunday, October 15. While hanging the last poster Tricialee said, "There is nothing which garners greater nobility in life, than fighting that which threatens it."
The Polish Bar of Brooklyn, located in the heart of Clinton Hill offers a variety of beauty services such as manicures, pedicures, waxing, brows/lashes, and make-up application. Points of difference include cleanliness, professionalism, and affordability, combined with a hip and sophisticated environment.
There are many, many feral kitties in our neighborhood, many of whom are fed by residents. I don't have an issue with our wild little friends but without being neutered and spayed, these cats will continue to multiply at exponential rates. Slope Street Cats, a Brooklyn-based group of feral TNR (trap-neuter-return) supporters, has been working in several area neighborhoods to help spay and neuter groups of feral cat colonies. Their Project of the Month is Clinton Hill!
The organization is hosting a fundraiser for their programs on October 16 in Park Slope:
Help your feral cat friends and enjoy a wine and chocolate tasting at Cocoa Bar in Park Slope! Your $22 ticket ($25 at the door) includes wine or hot cocoa, chocolate bon-bons, and entry to win a fabulous door prize. (There will be additional raffles and auctions, so bring your checkbook!) We'd love to see you there! Buy tickets now.
WHEN Monday, October 16, 6:30 -- 9:00 p.m.
WHERE Cocoa Bar 228 7th Avenue Brooklyn, NY (718) 499-4080
WHO Slope Street Cats is a nonprofit, volunteer collective dedicated to reducing feline overpopulation in Brooklyn through Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR).
MORE Website: www.slopestreetcats.com Blog: http://slopestreetcats.blogspot.com Email: slopestreetcats@yahoo.com Phone: 917.207.5282
*** Sounds like fun! I like kitties, as well as chocolate. I also enjoy the group's blog.
October 16 is national Feral Cat Day!
(note -- the above cat is an extremely non-feral feline, also known as lesterhead's giant kitty cleo)
Clinton Hill Blog published from 2006 - 2010. Please enjoy these archives - a love letter to the neighborhood.
