Author Archives: dailyheights

The Mighty Wind of Meat (El Carneviento) on Flatbush Avenue

el castillo de jagua-tn.jpgPeople of Prospect Heights: What is it that unites us as a neighborhood? Our sense of community? Our desire for racial harmony and sensible development? Or the fact that we all, at one time or another, are subjected to the mighty, meaty wind emanating from El Castillo de Jagua outside of the Q station on Flatbush Avenue?

Public opinion is deeply divided on the merits of the meat vent. According to a recent Daily Heights poll, 32% of Prospect Heights residents find the greasy blast “disgusting” (sample quote: “I hate walking around that corner and getting a blast in the face of The Fried Wind….”). However, 27% “love it”, and another 27% “actually kind of like it.” Muk says: “Sometimes I stand directly in front of the meat fan for 10 minutes and then run around the neighborhood being chased by stray dogs… I am very lonely man.”

Muk also proposes that this meat wind should get its own proper noun: “As a nod to the cuisine and the people of El Gran Castillo, I think it should be called (drum roll)… El Carneviento – crudely translates to The Meatwind. Pronounced ‘Car-nay-bee-yen-toe’.”

USAGE: “I thought El Ni�o was bad until I moved to Prospect Heights and was blown down Flatbush Ave. by El Carneviento.

If you’ve never experienced it firsthand, the thick and greasy impact of El Carneviento may be hard to imagine. But since a picture is worth a thousand whiffs, you can click the thumbnail below for a gigantic image showing the congealed grease that has accumulated over years of continuous blowing.

MEAT VENT-tn.jpg

Daily Heights regular Carnivore comments: “That is truly a glorious sight… The combined essence of thousands of pork shoulders and chickens… It’s almost religious!”

[Click here] for a lengthy discussion of The mighty, meaty wind emanating from El Castillo de Jagua

Those "Partybikes" in Times Square and Other Tourist Meccas…

partybike.jpg… seem like a disaster waiting to happen.

They’ve been around for more than a year. I was just wondering why they seem so much more prominent recently… turns out the guy who owns the company just bought 9 more in June, which means there could be 16 of these things hurtling around the city streets (or maybe a few in Niagara–not clear from the article)!

“Operators of the Partybike — a circular bicycle built for seven — say they’re being unfairly targeted by cops, who’ve ticketed the big red tourist-mobiles more than 100 times in their 16 months of operation.”

Of course, this guy says the tickets are part of a “war on bikes” in New York…

Comment on this post [click here]

Douglas Rode the Chinatown Bus

Douglas writes on crank: “i rode the chinatown bus for the first time this weekend and i was generally pleased with the price and the ride. the company seems pretty safety conscious, as ‘no standee’ is printed in large letters in the front …”

“after close to an hour in traffic in downtown manahattan, i found it especially funny when someone in the front seat tried to tell the driver a better way to get to the holland tunnel, and the driver shouted him down, then proceeded to turn on a recording of bird songs really loud, drowning out the passenger’s whining complaints…”

“there was a girl, probably still in college, sitting in front of me with a laptop, on which it seemed like she was typing an article for a student newspaper or something. she typed one sentence in 15 minutes, then closed the computer and went to sleep. the sentence was: it is no secret that the chinatown bus is the cheapest way to get from new york to philadelphia…'”

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i-soldit: eBay on Flatbush Ave.

isoldit.com.jpgWasn’t this a Goodwill district office just a few months ago? This building on Flatbush Ave. is going to be a franchise location of i-soldit.com, a company that will list your junk on eBay so you don’t have to. They will also field questions from eBay shoppers and take care of shipping.

Sounds great to me, but it’s a huge space in a prime location, so it’s got to be an incredibly expensive undertaking (and a bit of a strange business decision, since apparently there’s a similar “EAuction” start-up company about a block away in a smaller space…). I’m going to drop off a few boxloads as soon as they open (provided their cut isn’t ridiculously large), but it’s a bit of a new concept… I really wonder if they will make enough money to cover the rent.

UPDATES: EmilyM writes: “I walked by this morning and this ebay place appeared to be open. I didn’t go in though because I had a heavy bag. The space does look really huge–can’t imagine what the rent must be.” According to daveb, they charge a 30% fee for listing your stuff, which if true, sounds reasonable to me.

More details and discussion in the Prospect Heights message boards.

TRUE CRIME: Not Even the Mail Carrier is Safe in Prospect Heights

What a week! On Monday we overheard that the neighborhood letter carrier got her bag stolen in broad daylight (missing any paychecks, people?). That same PH resident reported a Saturday night mugging, and an attempted break-in (smashing the glass door to the apartment building). Apparently the 77th Precinct police who showed up were less than eager to pursue the case, despite a camphone photo of the perpetrator.

Speaking of camphone photos… Remember that guy who allegedly was going around conning people out of $10 here and $20 there with a well-honed story about his car breaking down, and his mother in the hospital, and by the way I can get you tickets to the Letterman show? You may want to read this.

Finally, DH newbie ph-bklyn reports: “a guy who lives in my building (on Sterling btwn Washington and Underhill) was mugged on the front steps of our building last Sat nite at 10:30 pm (could be the same mugging reported above?). he was talking on his cell phone. two young men ran up the steps, one put him in a choke hold and put a sharp object in his back, the other man stood in front. They asked for money (which he gave them) and then they ripped the cell phone out of his hand and ran towards Washington Ave headed towards St. Johns. He called the police and filled out a report and looked at mug shots, but was not able to identify either man. The police told him this has been happening quite a bit in the neighborhood. They said that people talking on cell phones are being targeted for a couple of reasons, one, to get the cell phone, and two, people are easier to mug while talking on the phone because they are not paying attention. They mentioned that this is happening all over the city but particularly in our neighborhood.

Daily Heights Calendar is Officially Pathetic

One entry for the entire month! An oils and fats workshop in Crown Heights. Is our neighborhood really that boring? (Oops, not trying to imply that an “oils and fats workshop” is boring… Let’s rephrase that: Is that the only exciting event happening in our neighborhood?)

UPDATE! New entry in the calendar! Depending on how late the oils and fats workshop goes, you may have time to squeeze in the semi-official Daily Heights Air Hockey/Ping Pong Grudge Match at Brownstone Billiards. It’s in the calendar, but see here for discussion and late developments.

TONIGHT: Hear about Vanderbilt Ave. "Redesign", G.A.P. Safety Improvements …

stacey posted a notice about the meeting of the Prospect Heights Parents Association’s traffic-calming committee, tonight at 267 Park Place: “We will be discussing our efforts to work with the borough president’s office to include Prospect Heights in the Downtown Brooklyn Traffic Calming Blueprint as well as to propose a fundamental redesign of Vanderbilt Avenue. We will also discuss ways to put further pressure on the DOT to make safety improvements at Grand Army Plaza. All are welcome …”

Get details on the meeting here.

Antiques on Flatbush: Shutting Down…

Around 9:30 this morning, the antiques store on Flatbush (the one a few doors down from Franny’s) was moving all its junque out on the sidewalk and into a moving van. Apparently the place was still “open for business” up to the very end… noisefootprint said one of the guys loading the truck (jokingly?) encouraged her to go inside and browse around.

Click here for updates and comments…

Mexican on Flatbush: Pure Queso?

mexican on flatbush.jpgAbout that new Mexican place “coming soon” on Flatbush (chronically “3 to 4 weeks” from completion, if you ask the construction crew), Medusa asks:

“I live right near what was once City Lighting and we’ve all discussed how it’s allegedly going to be a mexican place and that we’re dubious about its ability to succeed but I’d like to open the topic up to what bits of decor are currently available for viewing. From what I see, there’s a neon ‘open’ sign with a peace sign in the ‘o’ and some pictures of Jimi Hendrix on the walls and some pink lighting fixtures that look tacky. Also, some primary color things on the back door ramp.”

“I was kind of hopeful when the new windows went in that the place might at least look good, but now I’m losing hope. It looks tacky. 80’s-esque maybe. It’s looking like it’s going to be yet another San Francisco-summer-of-love burrito joint. Is it going to try to compete with the Taqueria?”

lovemynabe2 says: “Too much money is being spent on this place for it to look cheesy. I think this place is going to be one cool joint. Spoke to the owner, Gregory, who owns a restaurant in the City. He appeared to be a sophisticated guy. Can’t wait for the place to open.”


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