JessicaSophia writes: “I havent’ seen any signs for it yet, but the guy at Heights Coffee just mentioned that the Flatbush Street Fair was going on this Sunday.”
More details: Prospect Heights Message Boards
First, you completely missed Talk Like a Pirate Day. Now, you missed Marry Your Baby Daddy Day, Rev. Herbert Daughtry, officiating.
This building apparently used to be the office of Allcraft Tool & Supply, a company that sold jewelry-making tools. Now, it’s wrecking ball fodder!
Discuss: Marty Wants Ratner to Downsize [Prospect Heights Message Boards]
Long discussion yesterday on Brownstoner about Tom’s Restaurant: “When we got to Sterling Place, we couldn’t help but notice the long line outside Tom’s Restaurant. We’ve never been there and are wondering what all the fuss is about. Maybe the Prospect Heights residents in the crowd can clue us in.”
Mob Scene at Tom’s [Brownstoner.com]
Read about the alleged Washington Ave. anti-Tom’s conspiracy in the Crown Heights Message Boards.
UPDATE: Daily News is now reporting that IRS records show a $5 million contribution from Forest City Ratner to BUILD. See below for a PDF of relevant pages.
Hoo boy… Sorry for the long lead-in, but this one needs some space. And if you’re an accountant or a “follow the money” type, you may be especially interested in bearing with us. We promise to bold the important parts so you can skim ahead.
The apparently non-profit group BUILD (Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development) is clearly the biggest and loudest bunch of cheerleaders for the Forest City Ratner (FCR) Atlantic Yards Project, the multi-billion-dollar stadium/condo-skyscraper development that will bring the New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn, casting a long shadow over Prospect Heights and making developer Bruce Ratner even more obscenely wealthy than he already is.
Here in Prospect Heights, some stadium opponents suspect that BUILD is a mouthpiece front bankrolled by FCR. And it doesn’t help appearances to see somebody flaunt their stuff in front of BUILD’s likely-very-expensive storefront office on Vanderbilt Avenue. Lucas wrote this a while back on Daily Heights:
“let me throw out a point for the debate: The *brand-new* massive silver Cadillac that pulls up in front of BUILD each day… what better instrument to contrast the ‘extreme rates of poverty, unemployment and underclass entrapment’ in the surrounding neighborhood?”
(Previously, we joked that the real source of BUILD’s wealth is 65-cent color copies (see picture).)
Meanwhile, BUILD portrays itself as a scrappy, grass-roots, faith-based community group that champions the interests of the poor and downtrodden. In fact, they flat out deny financial support from Forest City Ratner on the BUILD website:
So naturally we were shocked to see this comment here on Daily Heights about a week ago (held and not published until now): “I have a copy of BUILD’s 501(c)(3)tax exemption application. In response to ‘what are or will be the organization’s sources of financial support? List in order of size.’ The response was ‘real estate developers, individual private contributions” in that order.”
Well, interesting… but even if it’s true, that doesn’t prove anything, does it?
The commenter continued: “In addition, on its form 1023 filing, it shows that President Caldwell receives annual compensation of $125,000 while CEO Marie Louis and Chief Administration Officer Shalawn Langhorne each receive annual salaries of $100,000. Not bad for a small not-for-profit. Maybe I’m in the wrong business.”
While we were mulling this over, we got the follow-up comment: “Lo and behold, question 12B on form 1023 lists ‘FOREST CITY RATNER COMPANIES’ as making a $5M contribution. I guess that mystery is solved.”
How could this possibly happen? It all seems so cut-and-dried. We’re talking public records here… if it’s in the public record, why on earth would they turn around and call it a “myth” that “BUILD is financially supported by Forest City Ratner”? Here’s a scan of some relevant pages [click for PDF] so you can judge it for yourself, sent in by Daniel Goldstein of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.
So… FCR and BUILD… care to explain yourselves?
Regarding today’s Prospect Heights manhunt, mc reports: “Okay, I’ve just gotten the scoop…. According to two sources, a man in an ‘89 Honda nearly hit a police office on a motorcycle in Manhattan and sideswiped another vehicle and refused to stop…”
“He was chased by police officers from Manhattan, over the Brooklyn Bridge, and drove to Prospect Heights where he fled the car. One witness reported seeing him flee in flip-flops. He is ‘in the wind’ at this time.”
“The car remains on St. Johns between Washington & Underhill, where it is being dusted for prints at this time. No injuries have been reported.”
Carnivore (and others) react: “DUDE! They couldn’t catch a guy fleeing in flip-flops? That is pathetic!”
See post below for the highlights or go to the Prospect Heights Message Board to see the whole thing unfold.
4:52 PM: Anybody in the neighborhood right now can hear them circling around. There’s one stationary over about Washington Ave. and another that’s in a repeated circle. What’s the deal? Just heard a siren on the street as well.
UPDATE: Anonymous guest writes: “I was going in my building on the corner of St. John’s and Underhill just as 5 or 6 police cars (some unmarked) were pulling away from the corner. I asked a guy who was standing around and he said some guy took off up St. John’s (towards Washington) with many police in pursuit (not sure if it was on foot, or by vehicle). Have a feeling they have him cornered or something…”
UPDATE 5:13 PM, mc writes: “According to the police officer I spoke to: “They’re looking for one of the guys in that building (on St. Johns between Washington & Underhill, closer to Washington.)” He didn’t know if said guy was still inside or not. Another man asked him, “It’s not one of them terrorist is it?” He shook his head no.
There are 50 million police vehicles there and still more arriving. What fun! I’m gonna check to see if the “guy” is in the backyard.”
UPDATE 524PM: Photos from Carnivore:
kellyjelly writes: “A cop staked at the top of St. John’s said that a man they are looking for parked his car on the block … they suspect he’s still on the block, or at least in the area. I asked if I should be wary of walking the streets at the moment, and he said ‘I don’t know, we don’t know what kind of man he is until we find him.’”
UPDATE 539PM: mc is back from the scene: “The cops aren’t giving up any info. They’re looking for some guy who did something. … Some “eyewitnesses” said they saw some guy take off. … There is a double-parked car that has the bejesus scrapped off of it. Could have been done by an emergencey vehicle or maybe the guy took off in a car and scraped it. … I assume this ‘guy’ is still on the loose cause there are still tons of police around.”
CARNIVORE: “One of the girls at the corner of Sterling and Underhill said a bunch of cops were charging up the stairs of her building with their guns drawn.”
MUTEFLUTE: “According to one fellow there, the police had earlier been charging down into basements with their rifles drawn.”
UPDATE: Some Guy Who Did Something, On the Loose on St. John’s Place??
Get updates here.
Sarah from the Slope sent in this shot of the which has been “improved” by local movie buffs: “This was sent to me from my husband’s cell phone, and I’m forwarding it to you because I love your site (even though I actually live in the North Slope). I guess some artist-poets-vandals finally got tired of wondering when “Man on Fire” and “Van Helsing” would actually close… though I think the poet-vandals must have added some letters of their own, right? Or am I mis-remembering the movies that were on there before?”
Ben points out this quote from Brooklyn Papers: “Borough President Marty Markowitz has urged that developer Bruce Ratner downsize his Atlantic Yards mega-development, a project vigorously supported by Markowitz since 2003.”
Is Bruce Ratner’s biggest cheerleader putting down his pom-poms? Is this some calculated political move? Ben’s take: “…I wonder if he’s been planning it all along…”
Welcome to Trevor Day on Daily Heights…
trevorbrklyn writes: “Rosie Perez showed up and out at a screening of Do The Right Thing @ The Brooklyn Academy of Music. She kept it very real with the audience answering questions for an hour. I was very impressed with how gracious, articulate and intelligent she was. She humbly stood outside of BAM and answered everyone’s question and signed autographs for everyone, and was the last one to leave I was amazed by that graciousness.”
Heads up! daveb writes: “I had 5 young guys try and rob me in the stairwell of the Eastern Parkway 2/3 station at about 10 AM this morning. No one was around and they tried blocking me, but I took off out of the station and onto the street where there were people around and walking to the station, so they booked it out of there. I’m in no mood for mugging #2.”
10 AM? On a weekday??
Get the details here.
Laura B writes: “The Times published an item about Prospect Heights restaurants over the weekend. Probably not a surprising list for readers of this board, but it’s a nice little compendium and good to see the hood getting the attention it deserves.”
From NYT:
“A new basketball arena for the Nets in Brooklyn came closer to reality this month as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority agreed to sell development rights to the railyard at Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues. One way or another, these little gems nearby in Prospect Heights may feel the impact.
BEAST; (718) 399-6855; 638 Bergen Street (Vanderbilt Avenue)
FRANNY’S; (718) 230-0221; 295 Flatbush Avenue (Prospect Place)
GARDEN CAFE; (718) 857-8863; 620 Vanderbilt Avenue (Prospect Place)
THE ISLANDS; (718) 398-3575; 803 Washington Avenue (Eastern Parkway)
KOMBIT; (718) 399-2000; 279 Flatbush Avenue (Prospect Place)
RESTAURANT SORREL; (718) 622-1190; 605 Carlton Avenue (St. Marks Avenue)
READ REVIEWS: Ahead of the Bounce [New York Times link in the Prospect Heights Message Boards]
Eating for Brooklyn rumor-mongers: “Word on the street is that Tavern on Dean of Prospect Heights is opening a restaurant on Stuyvesant Avenue (on the corner of Macon) in Bedford Stuyvesant where the McDonald’s Stuyvesant Heights Cafe used to be (no, not the fast food chain)… I haven’t been able to confirm the rumor, but it would most certainly be welcome news.”
We were in touch with DailyHeights.com regular SterlingGuy, who’s working as a crisis counselor in Louisiana for the United Way. He’s not ready to talk about specifics, but gave us permission to post the following:
“I have one day left here … It has been one of the most difficult jobs of my life.”
“I am working at a call-in center trying to get people into shelters and to food distribution sites … I am beyond my limit and have heard too much suffering to really go into it.”
“There are still ways to volunteer … I would advise calling Lifenet (1-800-543-3638) and ask them for referrals to the Red Cross and other volunteer centers.”
“Overall, I will say this: the resilience and good spirit of folks in Louisiana are a testimony to the power of human survival. I have been consistently amazed at folks who have lost everything, but are able to remain calm and kind and even share a joke. I wish I had come here before these hurricanes.”
Look for SterlingGuy at the DH cigar meetup (coming soon): “As soon as I return, I am sure I will need a big fat stogie to dry me out after all this rain.”
Pictured: Malik Rahim, New Orleans Green Party activist, sometime after the hurricane Katrina. Huge photos of the New Orleans aftermath by Jacob Applebaum at archive.org.
MORE: SterlingGuy in [Prospect Heights Message Board]
Guest writes in the Prospect Heights Message Boards: “i live right up the street from Lucky and Sampson (the bigger dog that ‘hangs out’ with Lucky) …”
“Lucky’s owner is named Allen, and he told me the whole story of how lucky went blind, so Allen got him surgery, and then a month later Lucky broke his back jumping up into a pick-up truck.”
“Some $6k later, the dog is still alive and constantly trying to get into the wrestling matches between Sampson and my great dane. Allen yells at him to get out of it before he gets hurt, and that all of his investments have been in Lucky, so he has to live to be very old.”
Ooh… forget about Daily Heights Presents: BUILD/DDDB Debate 2005… we got us a good old fashioned Ratner Fight on our hands.
-Is Develop Don’t Destroy taking credit where credit is not due?
-Did Dan steal a lifetime of press contacts from Patti?
-Will YEAH RIGHT every turn off his/her CAPS LOCK BUTTON?
-Or at least divulge his/her secret identity?
Click to find out.
(This photo is pre-signage… if you have a more recent picture, please send it in or post it to the message boards.)
nikki writes on the Prospect Heights Message Boards: “My husband and I went to Burrito Bar & Kitchen last Saturday … The food was really good. Portions were exactly the size they should be, AND, most important, the food tasted like Southern California Mexican food–something totally missing in NYC and all along the east coast. The chicken was marinated perfectly and– for anyone familiar with southern California–the burrito could have been a high end Alberto’s burrito or from Las Olas. There’s not much that NYC can stand to adopt from so cal EXCEPT good Mexican food… We also had a pitcher of sangria…” Read more…
Munchkin writes: “My smoothie was small and fairly tasteless, but my husband’s chicken wrap was pretty damn tastie. It came with a bit of very good mango salsa and good guac on the side. Fresh, good, a bit pricey. I had fun watching a bartender trying to figure out how to get a frozen margarita out of the blender. Hey, the place is new…”
typograffiti writes: “We vote it is more Bar than Burrito. Food was mediocre. Why spend that much on bland uninspired Mexillence when you can walk a few more block to La Taqueria on 7th ave? …”
MORE: Burrito Bar & Kitchen–Good Review! [Prospect Heights Message Boards]
MORE: Ungodly Ugly Sign on New Burrito Bar [Prospect Heights Message Boards]
OK, OK, it was an innocent typo…
PICTURED: Mamma Donna leads the crowd at the Autumnal Equinox event… thing… yesterday at the Grand Army Plaza fountain.
Click here for more Autumnal Equinox pictures by trevorbrkyln
trevorbrklyn posted this in the Prospect Heights Message Boards: “Drumming in the Dark: An Autumn Equinox Celebration
with Mama Donna Henes, Urban Shaman & Co.
A sunset ceremony to center us as we enter the dark season
Bring kids, drugs, percussion & plenty of spirit [uh… kids and drugs??]
Thursday September 22
6:00pm Event Begins; 6:23pm Equinox Moment; 6:43pm Sunset
Free at the Fountain, Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn (2/3 Train to Grand Army Plaza)
For Info: 718 857 1343
Mama Donna’s Tea Garden and Healing Heaven
According to Wikipedia, the autumnal equinox is “the moment when the sun reaches one of two intersections between the ecliptic and the celestial equator … the length of the day (and the night) is precisely 12 hours at an equinox.”
Dr. F reports on the Prospect Heights Message Boards: “A few weeks ago we called 311 because rats are nesting in our front yard … and then a few weeks later we got a citation in the mail from the Department of Health claiming that we had a garbage situation which violated the health code, causing the rat problem. The problem … was the apartment building next door …”
“Ridiculous–we call the City to report a health hazard, and end up geting a citation for it. (Actually, my wife was warned when she called 311 that if they came out they would probably give us a citation, but that seemed so ridiculous that we didn’t believe it.)”
TISH JAMES TO THE RESCUE: Read more…
Image: GotPetsOnline.com
A bunch of DAILY HEIGHTS regulars got together and had a bake sale to benefit a food bank in Houston that’s helping with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Total raised: $613. Thank you Prospect Heights!
Click here for photos.
Every well-kept, pillow-ornament poodle secretly wishes they could lead the life of Lucky the Ghetto Poodle - running around all scroungy and scruffy, business flapping in the breeze, hanging out in a dingy (former) laundromat on the corner of St. John’s and Underhill. Some time ago, Isa told me that that his name is Lucky.
Pictured: Lucky investigates another small creature in the neighborhood. Moments later, Lucky jumped into a green Jeep Cherokee and was whisked off to parts unknown.
Residents of 475 Dean St. asked us to post this notice about a pre-emptive stoop sale before the entire building is evacuated: “The building (475 Dean) is actually in the Ratner footprint, so the sale is actually a purge/prep for the evacuation of the building in January.”
Believe in “Le Resistance” all you want — people are leaving, buildings are coming down, neighborhoods are going to be erased… it’s all becoming very real. Now. And it’s not Beijing. It’s the United States.
THEY’RE DEMOLISHING OUR BUILDING,
WE’RE SELLING OUR STUFF
The lovely and doomed 475 Dean Street is holding a building-wide sidewalk sale this coming Sunday, from noon til sundown. Expect a huge array of random stuff, including clothes, furniture, music and obscure tchotchkes. At least one yellow toboggan will be on sale.
Dean Street between Atlantic and 6th Ave, just down the street from Freddy’s.
Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn To Request Finder’s Fee From MTA
Community Group Seeks $6.0008 Million for Raising Ratner Bid
“Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) … will seek a finder’s fee from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the group’s efforts which led to the $50 million increase of Ratner’s low-ball offer.”
“‘We got the MTA $50 million more than they would have gotten without us,’ said DDDB spokesman Daniel Goldstein. ‘At a 12% finder’s fee that comes out to $6 million. Plus it cost us around $800 in printing and mailing to alert developers to the property sale, which the MTA didn’t really do. That comes out to $6.0008 million, which we would accept in cash or check.”
“We know that may sound like a lot of money, but its not much less than Bruce Ratner’s $10 million down payment for the Vanderbilt Yard.’”
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