Results tagged “carrollgardens”

Last year Chris Muth saved a 7-year-old cat that was trapped in a narrow shaft in a Carroll Gardens apartment building, only to be sent to a mental institution where they said he had a “bizarre delusion [that he] was trying to ‘save’ a cat of his friend." Sure, maybe he shouldn't have ripped apart other people's apartments to save the feline, but the cat did in fact exist, and he did save it.

The city has stopped a developer from completing a large rooftop addition in Carroll Gardens — but that doesn't mean it has any way to force the builder to remove the two stories of steel girders he has already erected.

Brooklyn chef Neil Ganic doesn't take guff from anybody—not even paying customers. A disgruntled diner shared with Eater a hilarious account of her recent experience at the Carroll Gardens restaurant Petite Crevette, where dinner ended with a crazy outburst from Ganic. After her husband sent back an order of Cioppino (fish stew) because it contained lobster which was "pretty much raw," the kitchen returned a dish that "was still kind of weird and gloopy." The couple then "politely" asked for the check, but "suddenly, Neil Ganic comes running out of the kitchen with a LIVE LOBSTER and throws it on the table." We called Ganic to confirm the story, and his response made us wish more people in the restaurant industry were this much fun:

This week Sam Sifton at the Times files an unenthusiastic one star review on the flashy Bryant Park location of Charlier Palmer's Aureole. Palmer, a restaurant impresario who made his bones in the kitchen of the River Cafe, relocated his well-liked restaurant from the Upper East Side to the new Bank of America building this summer.

The notoriously Luddite NYPD—they still use typewriters for most paperwork—has a technological visionary in their midst. Though most people know the Internet is just a passing fad, crazy Capt. Kenneth Corey at the 76th Precinct in Brooklyn thinks it should be used to communicate with concerned citizens. So he frequently sends electronic mail, or "e-mail," to a growing subscriber list, informing them of local crime news. But is the NYPD brass going to stand for this? What do they pay spokesman Paul Browne for?

   

Click on the images for details on Scarpetta's new five course tasting menu, The JakeWalk's new fall food and cocktail menu, and Dokebi's Korean tacos and weekend brunch.

The city’s commissioner of small business services says that he has not seen as high a concentration of local chains anywhere in the city outside of Smith Street in Brooklyn. The Times checks in on the Carroll/Cobble hub that includes the Franks, the "Stinky people," and the cluster of lifestyle businesses that have created an Area area. One owner says the street allows him to “tap into these customers in a variety of different ways.”

After Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez obtained $300,000 in public funds last year for a study to explore possible solutions on what to do with the BQE Ditch, the area along the Columbia waterfront between Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens, the input-gathering process is finally underway—via soliciting blog comments. So fire away. [Brownstoner]

When it's nature versus hipsters, nature usually wins. First it was the Brooklyn Kickballers being scared of the newly planted saplings in McCarren Park, and now this. The Daily News reports that 23-year-old Justin Calicchio was playing a game of dodgeball in Carroll Park yesterday when a tree branch came out of nowhere and pinned him to the ground. Yikes. He told the paper from his hospital bed that, "I blacked out. Everything is starting to become clear again. My girlfriend has been telling me about it and I'm starting to remember now." He is suffering from back injuries but was told he barely dodged more serious problems. A friend reported back saying the branch was too big and fell too fast that there was no escaping it. Calicchio has lived in Carroll Gardens his whole life, and says the tree has always been there, and "branches have fallen off before." Paging the Parks Department!

Police are continuing their investigation in the murder of former WABC Radio personality and current ABC News Radio anchor George Weber, who was found dead in his Carroll Gardens apartment yesterday morning. The Daily News reports the 47-year-old—who would have celebrated his 48th birthday today—was "found in bed with stab wounds in the neck and chest." The Post adds, "His hands and feet were bound with duct tape."

       

Buttermilk Channel, a new Carroll Gardens bistro, opens tomorrow night. Owner Doug Crowell, a former manager of Blue Water Grill, thinks that people in the neighborhood who stop in for a bite to eat might notice some familiar touches in the newly completed dining room. “We bought a lot of things from stoop sales, cleaned them up, and used them here,” he said today. A giant suspension spring from an old truck on the bar attests to that fact. Elsewhere, parts of the restaurant have seemingly been assembled from bits and pieces of old Brooklyn: in the center of the room is a long communal table that was made from ceiling beams reclaimed from a Red Hook warehouse. The same craftsman who made the table also put together Buttermilk Channel’s pegged butcher-block bar.

The Chestnut Bar: Carroll Gardens neighborhood restaurant Chestnut has expanded into the space next door with a “cozy, rustic bar.” We're told it’s got exposed brick, tin ceilings, a U-shaped bar, tall snack tables made of recycled Chestnut, and a collection of antique "chestnuts" (bottles like these, from which the restaurant got its original name). Chef and co-owner Daniel Eardley is all about the farm-to-table, sustainable agriculture thing, and his $30 three-course prix fixe menu (served Tuesdays and Wednesdays) will be available in the new bar space. There’s also a separate small plates menu for the bar only, which includes such items as Sardines on Toast with Niagra Falls grapes and cured olives, and Long Island Rabbit wrapped in smoked bacon, fresh ricotta, and swiss chard. 271 Smith Street, (718) 243-0049.

A controversial 7-floor condo going up at 360 Smith Street – which some see as emblematic of Carroll Gardens's "rampant out-of-scale development." The local community board's Public Land Use committee voted to deny developer Billy Stein an extension allowing him to finish the building's foundation. Lost City was at the meeting, which featured an MTA worker's assertion the Carroll Street subway station couldn't support the bulk of 360 as proposed: "Stein, meanwhile, leaned against the lip of the auditorium's stage, a study in negative body language. To my eye, he was a picture of ingrained smugness. If there had been a button in the room that triggered a trap door to make the crowd disappear, he would have hit it, then breathed on his fingernails and polished them against his lapel."

This past week, the NY Times peeked inside the Vermont Market and Pharmacy in Carroll Gardens, which has been closed for over a decade...actually, owner Mark Stein wouldn't let them inside, but he does shed some light on the shuttered store. Apparently when it was open, it had a 1920s aesthetic and "was a combination drugstore and market, selling specialties from Vermont"; prior to that, and under the same owner, it was called Mark's Pharmacy. These days it serves as a look into the past, a frozen-in-time storefront sitting on Henry and Sackett Streets. Local lore is that the suspender-wearing Stein is a quirky genius and recluse who is perhaps unwilling to sell his piece of prime real estate. He recently addressed some of the speculation about the store's past with the Times:

He dispelled some of the rumors, though, saying that aliens were not the reason the store closed down. Mr. Stein said: “It didn’t quite work out.”

Continue reading "Mystery Storefront Now Slightly Less Mysterious"

This week a story got some ink that raised the question: can't a man just save a cat? 49-year-old Chris Muth was put in a psych ward (where they called him "cat man") for doing just that...but upon his release the NY Post reports that he lost his home, his job and his girlfriend. The Carroll Gardens condo owner told him, while hospitalized, that he was "a nice guy" but "too exciting" and had to leave the residence. He then lost a job for being away too long -- the contractor he was working for told him: "You should have shot the cat, left it there and come to work." And the cherry on top, he was dumped by a girlfriend who claims "His optimism approached delusion." WNBC has a video interview with Muth, who now says "If I had known all this was going to happen, I might have found another way to get the cat."

Has MTV's The Real World faked out Brooklyn? First they're all but confirmed to move into Downtown Brooklyn's BellTell Lofts, with rumors of a Carroll Gardens residence quickly disappearing, but now an intern says the show "may not even film there because they were having some issues with the BellTel Lofts building with the location at 116 Third Place in Carroll Gardens as the backup." Residents beware! The Real Deal all but confirms the Carroll Gardens locale, saying that "equipment that will be used for the show's filming has been transported from BellTel to the new location." Curbed warns of the inevitable protests, message board madness, and dare we say riots that the show will be met with in the neighborhood. It's gonna be so real.

Mercadito Cantina: This is newest advance in the expanding Mercadito empire; besides the original Alphabet City Mercadito there’s also Mercadito Grove. This one is not far from the original, on Avenue B, and packs a lot of Mexican fixings into a dainty space that stays open ‘til 1 a.m. The main action here is at the make your own taco bar, where heavy rollers can choose from eight guacamoles and ten salsas, all made from organic and locally sourced ingredients. Most of the meat – which includes organic chicken, grass-fed beef, and Berkshire pork – is wrapped in maguey leaves before they're baked. For libations, try the 'Tric-quila', a sake-based tequila substitute. Photo via Thrillist, who has the menu. 172 Ave B, (212) 388-1750.

With a recent uptick in gentrification griping in Carroll Gardens, Candy Chang’s interactive art project in the window of a vintage furniture store on Court Street was well-timed. For one week, passersby were invited to share their apartment info and rent costs on Post-it notes. After culling 151 responses, Chang tallied the info and found that:
• One resident has lived in a studio in Carroll Gardens for 43 years with a current rent of $146.
• Another gloater has occupied a three 3BR loft in Chelsea for 30 years, paying $1,095 a month.
• A 1BR in Jersey City can be had for $1000 “with a backyard bitches!”

Last week the LA Times released a video documenting the gentrification of Carroll Gardens, and now the other, newer locals respond with their own take on the place they call home (also a place they call "East Village East"). These three residents see the silver lining in gentrification; you know what they say, one man's neighborhood mainstay is another man's Duane Reade.

The LA Times, of all papers, takes a look at Carroll Gardens and its old time Italian locals. They're not too happy with the new residents, high rises overshadowing brownstones, and kids playing video games instead of street ball. Take a look...

Last week the Brooklyn Paper reported that MTV's Real World cast would be moving into a Downtown Brooklyn loft; this week they have much more believable news of the locale. Sorry Carroll Gardens, looks like the network has their eye on you.

In response to complaints about out-of-scale development, the Department of City Planning is proposing a zoning amendment to six streets in Carroll Gardens. This would classify certain streets in Carroll Gardens as narrow streets for zoning purposes and “limit the size and configuration of new buildings and enlargements to more closely match the area's prevailing character.”

The menu at Frankies 457 Spuntino reads like a gourmet marketplace, and placing an order amounts to trusting the chef to choose an antipasto plate full of cheeses and meats of superior quality. Lists of vegetables like broccoli raab and cremini mushrooms--usually compliments to a pasta or a meat dish--can stand alone on a plate, with sauces soaked up by the perfectly crusty bread from Grandaisy Bakery.

The Observer, keeping with their trend-watching, is reporting that 20-somethings are moving back in with their parents after college...that is, if the parents own prime New York real estate (aka: Brownstone Boomers). Didn't we all see this coming with The Royal Tenenbaums?

This photograph was spotted in Carroll Gardens; presumably there's someone someone named Sal who has a knack for busting evil spirits.

Fans of Ditmas Park favorite the Farm on Adderley, get ready: The newest venture from co-owners Gary Jonas and Allison McDowell, a French bistro dubbed Pomme de Terre, is on the verge of opening. Apparently the regular customers at the Farm are jonesing for another mid-range restaurant in the neighborhood, and it's unlikely a recent shooting on the very same corner will deter them.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on 173rd St. in Manhattan, a robbery/assault on 13th St. in Brooklyn, and an aircraft emergency at JFK airport in Queens.
• Barnard at Columbia has a new incoming president, snagged from Harvard Business School.
• Don't miss the Super Bowl sitting in your local precinct's drunk tank. Get your Super Brawling out of the way early the next time someone pipes up about the Patriots.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an unstable building on 41st Ave. in Queens, a pedestrian struck on 33rd St. and 8th Ave. in Manhattan, and a double stabbing on East 188th St. and Webster Ave. in the Bronx.
• The New York Post flew a Jessica Simpson lookalike to Dallas and got her seats behind the Cowboys' bench in an effort to distract Dallas quarterback Tony Romo.
• Has anyone lost a camera in a cab lately? Recognize any of the people pictured? An interesting version of Lost & Found

After commuters on the L and B/D (as well as N/Q/R/W) lines had to deal with breakdowns and commuting delays last night, this evening's commute brings delays on the F, D, G and N lines. Apparently a signal problem at 4th Avenue-9th Street Station in Brooklyn is causing the F to be shut between West 4th Street-Washington Square Station and the Church Avenue Station in both directions. The F then runs on the D...

Zagat's updated Best of Brooklyn 2008 guide was released yesterday, filled to the brim with all that the city's largest borough has to offer, including 216 restaurants, 141 nightspots, 355 shops, 25 tourist attractions and more. Like all Zagat guides, this one is a complilation of surveys from the public and each entry is rated on a scale of 1-30. The guide is broken up into five sections: Dining, Nightlife, Shopping, Gourmet Shopping & Entertaining,...