DailyHeights

[Unity Plan] Alternative to Ratner Plan "Not Feasible"

Posted on February 9, 2005 by dailyheights

Julie Satow writes in the The
New York Sun: “Community groups opposing Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic
Yards development in Brooklyn are advancing an alternative proposal to develop
the site. The "unity plan" calls for the development of the 11-acre
rail yard but does not include a new home for the New Jersey Nets.”

MARSHALL BROWN: “It is about stitching communities together by
creating new street connections and public parks … rather than act as a wall,
as in the Forest City Ratner plan."

DePLASCO (Forest City Ratner): “Not feasible …
They have no way to pay for it.”

HENRY WEINSTEIN (owns 120,000 sq ft of property in the Ratner footprint): "The
unity plan … is a good alternative and is definitely
feasible."

LETITIA JAMES: "The community is not antidevelopment,
it just opposes eminent domain.”

Happy Mardi Gras, Brooklyn

Posted on February 8, 2005 by dailyheights

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Andrew G. Wood wrote in the
Brooklyn Rail that Mardi Gras “signals a change of season as winter
gradually gives way to spring … the festival can be appreciated as a fertility
rite with participants dancing, chanting, feasting and celebrating in hope of
aiding the coming year’s growing season. In certain cultures celebrants imagine
themselves cavorting with the dead …"

PICTURED: The original
Jacques-Imos, New Orleans, 2004.

BEAST After Dark

Posted on February 8, 2005 by dailyheights

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Heather took this photograph of BEAST, a tapas place that has not yet opened. Location: 638 Bergen St. at Vanderbilt, 718-399-6855. Grand opening is Feb. 25th, 4 pm – midnight. PERSON WHO ANSWERED THE PHONE: "We are hoping all the liquor licensing comes through … If not, we’ll be giving away beer and wine with the food." Quick! Someone intercept the mail.

PS. More discussion in the dailyheights forums ("Beast Bar" entry).

Vanderbilt Barbershop gets Makeover

Posted on February 8, 2005 by dailyheights

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Anybody see this on TLC?

Teryls Barber Shop | 597 Vanderbilt Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11238 |
(718) 783-9693

Entrepreneur Magazine: "Many entrepreneurs can’t afford to seek costly advice from consultants, but the TLC series Taking Care of Business gives select entrepreneurs an opportunity to do just that, in exchange for camera time. With help from four experts, dubbed the Gut Instinct Guide, the Management Maven, the Glamour Guru and the Buzz-Builder…"

"Teryl’s Barbershop"
: "Like the film Barbershop, Teryl Dixon’s barbershop has its fill of funny characters and repeat business. But the Prospect Heights, New York, neighborhood has shifted from predominantly black to white, and Dixon wants to attract new customers. …"

Brooklyn Arena for Nets? “No”

Posted on February 8, 2005 by dailyheights

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Patti Hagan and Jezra Kaye of the Prospect Heights Action Coalition
wrote in the Daily News: “…This project would sit on two kinds of land: a $500
million parcel now used as a … (railroad) storage yard and 10 acres of
private property, now home to 864 people and 437 jobs in 71 buildings.”

“Laws allow New York State to take private property ‘for
public use.’ But this project will not be public – Ratner and his partners will
own the arena, the team, the skyscrapers and the profits they make … Ratner has asked that $28 million of sales and income
taxes from the development be redirected back to him each year for years to
come … Another concern is how the neighborhood could accommodate
the residents of 4,500 new apartments. Public School 9 on Underhill Ave. is
already too crowded."

Alternate Side Parking: Three Days This Week

Posted on February 8, 2005 by dailyheights

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Wed, February 9: Ash Wednesday

Fri, February 11: Lincoln’s Birthday (Observed)

Sat, February 12: Lincoln’s Birthday

Here’s the entire 2005 calendar of street cleaning suspensions for New York City.

MTA to Ratner: YOU'RE BENCHED

Posted on February 7, 2005 by dailyheights

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NorthJersey.com (free registration required) is reporting that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) "has told the New Jersey Nets to take a seat on the bench … The MTA is too busy trying to work out a complicated deal with the New York Jets for a football stadium atop its rail yards in Manhattan to deal with the basketball team."

PETER KALIKOW (MTA Chairman), speaking at a public
hearing about the Jets stadium late last week: "The Nets deal is absolutely on hold until this finishes." KATHERINE LAPP (MTA Executive Director): "We’ve had no discussions directly with (Bruce Ratner/Forest City Ratner) about the value [of the air rights], what they would purchase, etc."

The article says that "The air-rights value determined for the Jets’ site may serve as a model for the Nets’ project, known as Atlantic Yards."

OPEN BIG

Posted on February 7, 2005 by dailyheights

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If you can recommend a decent dentist in Prospect Heights, Park Slope, Crown Heights, etc. (or would like to find a dentist) then please go here.

Local School Survey — for Parents, by Parents

Posted on February 7, 2005 by dailyheights

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Someone we know only as "Gordon" sent out an e-mail announcing a survey of New York City parents: "Our goal is to pool
information from local families to help all of us make better, more
informed decisions about which elementary and pre-schools are best for
our children."

"The survey is short: Less than 5 minutes … All participant identities will remain strictly confidential.
By completing this survey, you are giving us permission to share your
anonymous responses with others … We’ll email a summary of survey results to each participant who
completes the survey…" Take the survey here.

Stairmaster or Trapeze Lessons?

Posted on February 7, 2005 by dailyheights

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Marie Carter in the Brooklyn Rail: "On a Wednesday night at the Lava studio in Prospect Heights (524 Bergen Street, 718-399-3161), three
students work on various techniques, including what’s known in the
trapeze world as the bird’s nest, the plonge, and the gazelle, while
others wait their turn, keeping warm doing handstands against the wall,
crunches, splits, or handwalking on the mat."

"The 1,200-foot studio is
on the ground floor and has a sprung wood floor, rigging pipes for the
trapeze, and 12-foot ceilings. One side of the wall is exposed brick … Johnson has lived in the upstairs apartment of the Prospect Heights
building for twelve years, since it was a raw warehouse space, and had
always envisioned a studio on the first floor … Recently
she had the opportunity to buy and renovate the building."

"Trapeze class is taught by Gagnee and Greiner
… Their acrobatic classes are divided into beginners and advanced … In addition to classes in tumbling and Iyengar yoga, there is a pay-what-you-can open workout for adults, kids, and teens separately and a family class …"