Friday Links

Lots of 'em this week, since I've been slacking.

  • Fulton Grand Bar opening next month [Brownstoner]
  • B69 weekend service on the chopping block [My Little O] (That damn bus hardly comes anyway, which is a shame, since it could be really useful)
  • Bahn mi sandwich shop to open at Greene and Classon [Brooklyn Paper] (YUM!)
  • Anna Wintour speaks at Pratt [The Local]
  • 379 Washington Ave [Brownstoner]
  • Is Sputnik closed? [The Real Fort Greene] (bummer.)
  • Fort Greene history book coming soon [Brooklyn Daily Eagle]
  • Playground comparison [The Local] (while I don't have little ones, I'm really into this new column that reviews local playgrounds)
  • Haunted House for sale! [Brownstoner] (This one was once featured in our old Haunted! series.)
  • CH Foodie on Poppa's Place [CH Foodie] (I'm with him in that I was never into the fake meat of Red Bamboo!)

'Hood in the News

Links to other news stories in the neighborhood:

  • FAB offers grants to local businesses to help them with assessment cost [Brooklyn Eagle]
  • A thorough review of Kush Cafe [Punchin.com]
  • Nero Doro's opening noted in TimeOut [TONY]
  • CB2 seeks better bike connections through Fort Greene [Streetsblog]
  • No. 7 team to open high end sub shop in Manhattan [NYT's Diner's Journal]
  • Police car window shot [The Local] (someone told me that someone was shot in the buttock - or was that a separate incident?)
  • Happy 6th Birthday, Karen's Body Beautiful! [Myrtle Minutes]
  • The Many Faces of Myrtle [Forgotten NY] (always a favorite resource for city history)

CH in the News

It's time to check in with other local blogs and news sites to see what else is going on locally:

  • One Greene Sushi not compensating its workers [The Local] (I have never liked their sushi, personally)
  • $1 million price cut at 380 Clinton Ave [Brownstoner] (Imagine being able to make a million dollar price cut and still make a profit.)
  • Brooklyn's most eligible bachelor lives in Clinton Hill! [Courier Life] (I snagged Bed-Stuy's most eligible bachelor - IMHO- in September- sorry, ladies!)
  • Clinton Hill Duo competing in Olympic blogging [NBC]
  • Three luxury cars stolen from DMK Garage on Waverly [The Local] (Damn, I used to park there!  And you think your car is safer being parked inside.  Though thankfully, my inherited 10-year-old car with manual crank windows and a cassette player is far from luxury)
  • Clermont Greene cutting prices [Curbed] (I looked at some of these units with a friend a few months ago - some were very nice some were "meh."  Nice building, though.)
  • Time Out NY's Reasons to Love Fulton Street [TONY]
  • Choice Dumbo opens [Brownstoner] (look at all that seating!  JEALOUS.)

In the Blogs

Let's take a look at what the other local blogs are chatting about:

  • Diamante's cigar bar is open on South Portland, and it's pretty cool [The Real Fort Greene] (a coworker confirms the coolness and described it as "chill" and the crowd "diverse")
  • Where do local vendors' Xmas trees come from? [The Local]
  • 75 Grand Ave hits the market [Brownstoner]
  • Are the Smoke Joint owners looking to expand their empire? [The Real Fort Greene]

Spread Love...

Man, I can't believe I didn't notice this post earlier from the Local, detailing an anti-gay church protest from a flyover state in front of Brooklyn Tech last week.  Props to the school's students, who outnumbered them and protested their protest.  (OK, I can believe I missed it, as I was in wedding prep mode.) Yes, we have the right to free speech here in the US of A, but I was glad to see local high schoolers making it clear that hateful intolerance is not tolerated in Brooklyn (and in our neighborhood).  My personal belief- put your energy into the positive instead of the negative.

NY Times to start Fort Greene-Clinton Hill Blog

Brownstoner's just made the news public about the new NY Times initiative to start a series of hyper-local blogs, one of which will be set in our very own Fort Greene / Clinton Hill. Obviously, they have the advantage of full-time manpower to cover the scoops 24-7.  However, they're missing one key advantage that us local bloggers have: the man they've pegged to run the blog lives in Park Slope.

Will they be able to pick up the nuances of our 'hood's special character?  Maybe, maybe not.  It'll be interesting to see how it goes and what they'll be covering.

As the 'Stoner said, Game On.

Kudos for African eats in Fort Greene

As mentioned in Brownstoner and written about in the New York Times, Fort Greene is getting noticed for the variety and quality of the African cuisine available within its borders. In addition to the South African Madiba, Kif’s tagines and couscous, Abistro’s black eyed pea fritters and Bati’s injera were noted. Just a few streets away in Clinton Hill we also have Le Grand Dakar. Speaking of African cuisine, does anyone have any information about the Nigerian restaurant that was advertised as going into a storefront on Lafayette near either Adelphi or Carlton? It has been under construction for some time. It would be a nice addition to the neighborhood.

South African Female Winemaker Dinner at Madiba

Madiba is hosting a South African Female Winemaker Dinner on Wednesday, March 11.

The cost is $75 and reservations must be made in advance by calling 718.855.9190. See full article for a list of food and wine pairings.

Village Voice: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/archives/2009/02/south_african_f.php

What to Bring to Abistro, Fort Greene, when you BYOB

Gnarly Vines offers suggestions on what wine (under $15) to bring when you dine at Abistro

Village Voice: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/archives/2009/02/what_to_bring_t_1.php

New Turkish Restaurant Open in Fort Greene

Deniz, a “Turkish Mediterranean” restaurant, has opened at 662 Fulton Street (across the street-ish from the Smoke Joint).

Village Voice: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/archives/2009/02/turkish_restaur.php

Notorious

Notorious, the movie based on the life of the Notorious BIG / Biggie Small and filmed in the neighborhood, opened last Friday.  The Times offers an interesting article on the film, with some rich history about Biggie's life and the neighborhood. Biggie grew up on St. James Place, and there is some differences of opinion on whether or not the area was called Clinton Hill back then.  (The Times seems to think it wasn't.)  My research suggests that Clinton Hill is NOT a new-fangled real estate broker creation, and St. James Place is firmly within the borders of Clinton Hill. Long-time residents, please chime in!  Did you refer to the area as Bed-Stuy?

I was in college when Biggie was killed, and had no idea he was just 24 when he died.

Has anyone seen the movie yet?  I hope to this weekend.

Changes on Fulton

On Sunday, I discovered that Fulton Street is back to accommodating two-way traffic (after having to take an A/C shuttle bus).  FINALLY. The Times offered an interesting article on the state of the street's BID last week as well.  Many seem to think it's not needed, but you can't deny the success it's had on Myrtle Avenue.  Yet, a BID requires local businesses to pay into a community fund to help pay for street improvements.  After a few years of street construction and hard times, people aren't feeling so hip to spending more.

(I hope this post is coherent! I'm on vacation in Dubai and it's only 2:30 am EST.)

Clinton Hill Convent to Close

You may have noticed the fortress-like building on Willoughby Avenue near the Clinton Hill-Bed Stuy border and wondered what it was.  It's been a convent for nearly 150 years, and is now closing. The NY Times offered an interesting profile on it recently, including a photo slide show.  Sadly, the building isn't landmarked so there's no telling what will happen to it.  It's also sad to think about the remaining women there being split up.  I wish them well in their new homes.

This just in from the Society for Clinton Hill:

As you will see in the information below, the Sisters of Mercy Convent is soon to be closed and the property sold and possibly demolished. This property is one of 5 recommended for Individual Landmark status in our 2007 Cultural Resource Survey, which was submitted to the Landmarks Preservation Commission in August 2007 and recommends an expansion of our landmark district. Our report is still under review by LPC and we are now asking LPC to address our request as soon as possible. In just the year and a half since we submitted our report, there have been losses to the fabric of our unique architectural community, including some of those especially unique properties which are recommended for consideration as "Individual Landmarks." The loss of this intact nineteenth-century religious complex to yet more "luxury condos" would be a sad thing for our neighborhood on many levels. We would much prefer to see this historic religious compound preserved and put to adaptive re-use.

We hope you will help us save the Sisters of Mercy Convent!

The Sisters of Mercy Convent is located in Clinton Hill at 237 Willoughby Avenue between Classon Avenue and Taafe Place. The buildings represent an intact nineteenth-century convent complex. The motherhouse on the property was designed by Brooklyn resident Patrick C. Keely, the most important Catholic-church architect in America in the mid-nineteenth century.

The Sisters of Mercy first came to Brooklyn in 1855 and moved into the Willoughby Avenue building in November 1862. A substantial addition, St. Francis of Assisium Female Orphan Asylum, was built in 1883.  By 1891 there were 510 girls in residence.  Many were taught at St. Francis Industrial School at Kent and Willoughby Avenues.

Now with dwindling numbers and an estimated $20 million in needed repairs, the convent is closing. This complex is an important part of Clinton Hill and Brooklyn's history. Religious institutions across the city are being demolished and with their loss, neighborhoods are losing significant community anchors. The Sisters of Mercy Convent should not be demolished and can be adapted into any number of uses including housing, educational facilities, retail, office, medical and/or community facilities, including affordable housing.

The petition is sponsored by the Society for Clinton Hill and our friends, the Historic Districts Council.

Please use the link below to sign our on-line petition to LPC.

http://www.petitiononline.com/convent/petition.html

Fort Greene CSA Podcast

Non-profit e-hub Idealist.com offers a podcast on the formation of the new Fort Greene CSA: Real Food and the Fort Greene, Brooklyn CSA

In recent years, communities across the five boroughs have become more concerned with eating "locally" and developing a sustainable food system for all New York City residents.  Community Supported Agriculture--the model of pairing groups of community residents with small local farms--continues to gain in popularity all over the city as an alternative to supermarket shopping.  But how exactly does CSA work?  What does membership in a CSA model mean for community residents?

In the latest Idealist.org Community Podcast, guest contributor Cambra Moniz-Edwards follows Fort Greene CSA Coordinator Jen Datka as she explains the ins and outs of one of Brooklyn's newest CSAs.  For more information on CSAs in the five boroughs, and on developing a sustainable agriculture system in New York City, visit JustFood.org.

FG/CH Knitting Group

Received this from a reader: I just wanted to let you know that there is a Clinton Hill/Ft Greene Knitting Group. We started the group at the end of May and we meet once a week at local cafes. So far, the 3 places that we have on rotation are Connecticut Muffin in Ft Greene, Outpost Lounge, and Tillie's.

We all met online on the knitting/crocheting website, www.Ravelry.com. That is where we post the time and place of our weekly meetups.

The group had a writeup and photos in the Daily News a few weeks ago!

Neighborhood News from B'Stoner

CH resident Brownstoner is able to blog full-time (lucky duck). Rather than repeat his scoops after the fact, here are some quick summaries and links from his site: