More amusing t-shirt ideas at .
R&B Funk, Burlesque, Historical Re-enactments, Afro-Punk and Parking Garages: Just another Brooklyn Weekend
 If your idea of a weekend getaway simply means getting off of your block for a few hours – but not too far away – dailyheights is right there with you. This is basically the showcase showdown of weekends (the first place showcase showdown, not the sloppy second place one that the contestant with less money is forced to bid on.) |
We'll Make an Exception
Oops, DAILY HEIGHTS Fell Off The Internets
So where is the action in Prospect Heights now?
It’s on the Daily Heights message boards, which are completely out of hand lately. In a good way.
The action is also in the Flickr Photo Pool for Prospect Heights.
Just don’t expect much new stuff on this page for the next two weeks. Keep checking back, though – maybe you’ll see a random post or two appearing on this page (hint, hint).
No You DIDN'T: "Hispanic Shampoo" on Flatbush Ave.
Jose checks in with a follow-up on that mysterious “Hispanic Shampoo” section on Aisle 4 at the Flatbush Ave. Duane Reade: “Some of the products are made in Latin America (the DR, Honduras, Panama, Miami). However, other so-called Hispanic products are made in Germany and–get this–by special decree of Her Majesty, the Queen of England. The products range from cod liver oil capsules, gel, tonic, ‘Hongo Killer’ athlete’s foot powder, and, yes, shampoo. Or as my mom used to say, champu.”
[“Hongo Killer”? qu’est-ce que c’est? Fa fa fa fa, fa fa fa fa fa fa…]
ALSO, we got this note from noisefootprint: “I was in there recently, and a couple of young [Latina] women got riled at that sign … they were in that aisle getting their hair-care products, and kept making loud remarks about how they were reduced to the ‘ethnic’ section. ‘The ETHNIC section! We have to shop in the ETHNIC section now’…”
Actually, the weird thing about the “Hispanic Shampoo” section is that it contains only ONE type of shampoo: Mirta de Perales (Lemon Fresh and Herbal Fresh varieties, along with Hair Conditioning Rinse and Oil Treatment).
Maybe de Perales lobbied Duane Reade to change their signage? After all, she is quite the entrepreneur… Somewhere out there, you can find a Miami Herald article from the early 1990s that profiles de Perales’s Algeresque rags-to-riches story. It begins like this:
“On July 15, 1987, President Reagan, speaking at the White House, pointed to Mirta de Perales at a special function honoring minorities and said: ‘That’s the American dream.’ … Perales, Miami’s undisputed exile cosmetics queen, smiled. Fifty years ago, she began her career in the beauty business charging a nickel for a haircut in her hometown. Today, she owns one of the 500 richest Hispanic businesses in the United States–her own line of beauty products.”
DisasterTube Does Birthday at Beast
PET PEEVE: NYC photobloggers… I’m calling you out. I’m saying this because I love you like brothers and sisters. This hurts me more than it hurts you.
You all can do AMAZING THINGS with your digital cameras. And you have clearly reinvented the way people look at the city. But cities are not about things – they are about people. People like Best Friend of DisasterTube, pictured in this “Birthday at Beast” photo uploaded to the rapidly expanding Prospect Heights Photo Pool!
FLATBUSH BBQ SCENE in CRISIS: Mama Dukes Shut Down; Biscuit on the Block!
Flash! Isa did a bit of investigative reporting (she picked up the phone) and found out that is actually Biscuit, the Flatbush Ave. BBQ joint that has ProHo Foodies deeply divided (does it suck? Is it awesome?). “This is the ideal opportunity for a hands-on owner to expand on an already profitable business. 7 years left on the lease,” the advertisement says. Could this be the beginning of the end for Biscuit? …or just the beginning of a BBQ renaissance?
In an unrelated but related matter, sje reported on Saturday that Mama Dukes (Flatbush at 6th Ave.) has closed, maybe for good: “I’ll miss the excellent ribs … Ms. Combs (yes, she’s puff’s mom) was very supportive of mine and other local businesses, and I’m sorry she couldn’t make a go of it there.” Then we have a completely unsubstantiated rumor that Combs & Co. are leaving because their landlord–Pintchik, apparently–raised their rent from 5k to 7k. Shame, shame on you, anonymous guest, for spreading unsubstantiated rumors in the message boards… but thanks for the Unsubstantiated Good News: That Mama Dukes is looking to reopen on Vanderbilt.
Links:
Biscuit is for Sale [Isa in Daily Heights Forums]
Mama Duke’s is Closed (for good?) [Daily Heights Forums]
Biscuit Sucks; Biscuit Rocks; Sucks; Rocks; Etc. [Ranjit’s Flickr Photo Quiz by way of Daily Heights]
Clear Skies. Healthy Forests. Community Benefits.
Seriously… to paraphrase the Unity guys: what kind of a project has “community benefits” so vague and dubious that you have to get it in writing that there will actually be some kind of benefit to the community?
From WNYC: “Under the Community Benefits Agreement, Ratner pledged half of the 45-hundred apartments he plans to build for middle and low income residents, and promised to set aside 45 percent of the project’s construction jobs for minorities and women.”
And this is different, how? Brooklyn is a city of minorities. Don’t most of the construction crews you see on the streets of Brooklyn have at least 45% minority representation? Seriously, I’m asking here.
[Seriously, DeeDee is answering here: “the agreement will mean set-asides for minority- and women-OWNED contractors to do the work. This is a very important distinction…”]
And while we’re at it… “affordable housing” sounds suspiciously like one of those terms designed to make you think the exact opposite of what they really mean. Affordable to who? Does the “CBA” define price points for “affordable”? Can obscenely rich people like Mike Bloomberg actually have a realistic concept what “affordable” means?
PHOTO: Billionaire Mike Bloomberg vouches for Bruce Ratner, Real Estate Developer with a net worth exceeding $400 million: “You have Bruce Ratner’s word, and that should be enough for you and for everybody else in this community.” [New York One]
Tish Says: Shootings Up in 77th Precinct
Lucas writes: “Wow! Ms. James is reading her email… She responded in under three hours! Thought DH readers might appreciate this.”
“Dear Ms. James: I’m writing to ask that you take a look at the state of crime in our precinct (the 77th) this summer. Though it appears that overall statistics are down (almost across the board) St. John’s between Underhill and Classon is an area of growing concern…
LETITIA JAMES RESPONDS: You are absolutely correct, there have been a number of shootings in the precinct, and I suspect, an increase of unreported low level crimes being committed in our community…”
Click below for the whole exchange.
Read more …
Have You Seen Him
Have you seen him [CLICK HERE FOR FULL FLYER]
Please call
718 282-3254
718 856-1966
917 204-6357
917 204-0656
JPanton asks: What exactly is the story behind this? My best guess is that this guy has disappeared, and his family is looking for him. The flyer was posted on Vanderbilt Ave. Click the picture to see the full flyer.