Archive | August, 2009

Race for the 39th Gets Ugly

When politics gets ugly, it sure makes the decision process much easier.  The Brooklyn Paper reports today of a tussel between District 39 Democratic City Council candidates Josh Skaller and Brad Lander.

Not for nothin’ but with such a large field aren’t Skaller and Lander making it easier for voters just to move onto the other candidates?

Brooklyn Paper:  Skaller opened the hostilities, denouncing Lander for his ties to the Working Families Party and its offshoot, a for-profit company called Data and Field Services. In a small part of an emerging, citywide scandal, first reported by City Hall, a political newspaper, Lander, like other WFP-endorsed candidates, allegedly received significantly more field assistance from the party via its sister organization than what he and the other pols disclosed in their filings with the Campaign Finance Board…
Tuesday’s war of words between Skaller and Lander comes shortly after another controversy pitted the two adversaries squarely against one another — without the involvement of the three other men in the Democratic primary race: John Heyer, Bob Zuckerman and Gary Reilly.

In that dust-up, Skaller’s wife, pregnant at the time, accused Lander and his supporters of running a negative campaign that criticized her husband for sending their special needs son to private school, instead opting for a public school education.

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Julia Child tribute dinner

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                                                             In honor of the film “Julie & Julia,” Saul (140 Smith Street, 718-935-9844) will be having a dinner tribute to Julia Child tomorrow, August 13. The meal will include soupe au pistou and rouget en pipérade and will be served from 5:30 pm on, for $65 (plus tax and tip).

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Photos of Smith Street Building Collapse

455 Smith Street

Construction workers and white police tape took over Huntington Street at Smith Street today, as emergency work began on a collapsed portion of the H.M.A. Warehouse, which occurred around 10 p.m. last night. More photos after the jump. Continue Reading →

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City Council, District 39, Debate Tuesday 8/18

The CHA’s Dave “Paco” Abraham alerts us to a debate tonight next Tuesday 8/18 between candidates for the 39th NYC Council District. Incumbent Bill de Blasio is running for Public Advocate. Challengers in the race are: Brad Lander, Josh Skaller, Bob Zuckerman, Gary Reilly and  John Heyer.  No word on if all candidates will be at tonight’s event.

I just got word of an important city council candidates debate hosted by the amazing non-profit group Transportation Alternatives. They aim to reclaim New York City’s streets from the automobile, by advocating for bicycling, walking and public transit as the best transportation alternatives. Our neighborhood has seen lots of benefits from their tireless efforts like leading pedestrian intervals, neckdowns, and new bike lanes but there’s plenty more for our future City Councilman to do. Thought you might want to post the attached flyer and spread the good word about the upcoming debate.

Info:
When: Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
Time: 7:00-8:00pm
Where: PS321, 180 Seventh Avenue, between 1st and 2nd streets

PDF of flier

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Building Collapse on Smith Street

From the 76th Precinct comes word of a building collapse:

At approximately 10 p.m. last night, August 10, there was a partial building collapse at 455 Smith Street.  An exterior wall and scaffolding collapsed onto the sidewalk and street. The building was unoccupied, and fortunately no one was injured.  Seven (7) parked vehicles were damaged by the falling debris.  The Buildings Department is currently assessing the structure and investigating the collapse.

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The Gowanus Yacht Club, the album

Local Vertical reports that Brooklyn-based artist Porter Block recently released an album called The Gowanus Yacht Club. Think he hangs out on the corner of Carroll and Smith?

The list of songwriters involved-Angela McCluskey(Telepopmusik) and Terry Radigan, to name a couple-that collaborated with Block on the album is impressive, and the cohesiveness of the music in general is equally impressive. Although most of the songs are love songs of some sort, the songs were written without any theme direction of any note. If dreamy power pop with a bit of shoegaze thrown in is your music of choice, you are going to really like this release.

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Eat, Pray, Love Shoot Continues Today

Brooklyn Beat tweets and Celebsession reports that the Julia Roberts/Javier Bardem/James Franco flick Eat, Pray, Love is shooting “right now” at Court Street between Atlantic and Bergen.

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Eton Too is open

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Eton Too has opened just a few blocks away from the original- Eton is at 205 Sackett between Henry and Hicks, and Eton Too is at 359 Sackett between Hoyt and Smith. While the original focuses on dumplings and shave ices, the second focuses more on its specialty non-alcoholic drinks.

Time Out: The 2009 Eat Out Award winner for best new dumplings opens a second location with a focus on nonalcoholic drinks. Hawaiian “shave” ices can be topped with any of 27 flavored syrups (passion fruit, preserved plum, watermelon) and goodies like mochi, Marshmallow Fluff and adzuki beans. Eighteen varieties of bubble tea come in flavors like Thai coconut and purple Oreo. The famous dumplings, made fresh daily, can also be purchased for cooking at home.

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Javier Bardem, Julia Roberts Back in Nabe Sunday

Celebsession reports:

Eat, Pray, Love starring Julia Roberts, James Franco, Javier Bardem and Billy Crudup is filming around the Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens area of Brooklyn again on Sunday, August 9th, on Court Street, spanning roughly between Baltic and Amity Streets.

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Final Kids Concert in Carroll Park tomorrow

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Tomorrow, August 8, is the last concert in this summer’s Kids Concert series in Carroll Park. The final concert will feature Putumayo Kids and Jay Mankita, and starts at 4pm. Tickets are $2 and may be purchased at the show. For more information, visit the Carroll Park website.

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