Brooklynian

Subject: Keep It Movin' Pilates Studio

I noticed that a new pilates studio has opened up near me... Apparently it was formerly located on South Portland, and as of 1/1 moved to Willoughby between Adelphi & Clermont.

Does anyone know anything about it? Take any classes there? I'm very interested in getting back into Pilates Mat classes, so I was super excited to see this new addition!

please list the ones in nyc. doesn't matter what borough its in.

Hi all,

glad to have found this forum.

I will be moving to your neck of the woods this coming friday.

22nd between 6th and 7th.

Here the questions :

1. Whats the closest entrance to the cemetary?

2. Where is next dry-cleaning service/laundry room?

3. Deli/Supermarket?

4. Pub/Bar/Restaurant?

5. Food Delivery services?

Lots of questions.

Any general info about the neighbourhood is welcome as well.

Also if someone wants to grab a beer one night I am very interested.

Let me know.

Very excited about my new place and neighbourhood.

I leave down near the cemetary (some would call this Greenwood Heights, some would say its Park Slope, I know there is a seperate GH board but few people post there and some declaring the area to be one neib or another could be fighting words! so please forgive for posting on the PS board).

In any case, I live near the cemetary and when I come home from JFK cab drivers go down Eastern Parkway, loop around Grand Army Plaza and then back towards the cemetary. This seems to be the long way home. Is there a more direct route? There must be.

Thanks!

Last night (1/15) myself and countless other residents of Greenpoint were shaken out of our homes by a series of loud crashing/exploding noises. They seemed to be eminating from Manhattan and went on for about ten minutes. Upon arriving at the waterfront, nothing seemed amiss and the noises ceased. Everyone returned home slightly perplexed. What was that noise? Does anyone know?

I have Nextel through my parents plan but it's just awful. I get terrible reception on 7th Ave and frequently get cut off all throughout the Slope. I recently moved to PH/CH (on the border, I think) and the reception is only slightly better there. I'm trying to figure out which company has the best reception in Park Slope and the surrounding areas so we can switch.

Any thoughts? What are your experiences with Verizon, Cingular, etc? I really appreciate the help, thanks!

Subject: David's Brisket House

Okay, who's been to this place? Carnivore?

It's really close to the Nostrand A/C stop.

From Gothamist.com:

January 16, 2007

Beauty and the Brisket

David’s Brisket House is an unlikely relic on a stretch of Nostrand Avenue mostly populated by 99 cent stores and West Indian delis. The space is narrow and dated, outfitted with mirrored walls (the sort mostly reserved for adult film sets) and ceiling tiles brown with the remnants of some ancient leak. It doesn’t have the fame of Carnegie Deli or the sprawling space and hypnotic neon glow of Katz’s. The clueless tourists and first-timers, the ones who order their pastrami with mayo (tsk) and request half sour pickles (tsk tsk), don’t come here. David’s is a place for locals and sandwich hedonists—the type who don’t mind the occasional visit from a neighborhood crazy if it means dining with the kind of mindless abandon the place requires.

The pastrami at David’s is fantastic — as salty and tender as any of Manhattan’s long-standing aspirants — but that’s not why we came. The main event at this Chowhound favorite is the Brisket Sandwich served, as owner Rashad Almas would have it, on whole wheat bread with a hint of gravy.

Almas took his place behind the meat slicer in 1988, taking over for his father who, he says, purchased the deli from the Zoli family in 1972. He runs a tight ship, entrusting the meat’s preparation only to those who have spent a minimum of six months under his careful tutelage. “Hungry people are angry people,” he says. “My biggest challenge is keeping things consistent.”

The meat, which is roasted rather than steamed to achieve a slightly caramelized edge, is the stuff of dreams. Piled, as it so generously is, between two slices of bread, the Brisket Sandwich isn’t intended to be approached daintily. Clutch your napkin if you must, but the David’s experience is one of exuberant sloppiness, a kind of culinary debauchery that is far removed from the grace and ceremony that has become inextricably tethered to the modern dining experience.

David’s isn’t without its hiccups. The pickles are a trifle tame for Gothamist’s tastes (we like ours sour enough to induce tears), the Jesus Juice, a blend of honey, sea moss, peanuts, cashews and some “undisclosed ingredients,” might be a tad undeserving of its namesake and the place, we learned too late, shutters at 5:30 PM.

Still, the man does right by brisket—he’s a mensch in our book.

David’s Brisket House

533 Nostrand Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11216

(718) 783-6109

Anyone know what that place is on 4th Avenue? I am pretty sure it's called the Lyceum. The door is usually open at night and it looks kind of artsy.

In the past I have mentioned that the bodega at the corner of St Johns and Washington (the one that just got redone) stopped selling beer. They said it was a license thing. Today I noticed that their deli case is pretty much without pork - they do have bacon on the menu for breakfast, but they're also pushing the turkey bacon pretty strong.

It seems obvious that these changes are based on religious belief. I wouldn't go to an evangelical Christian run bodega that refused to sell condoms - should I be going to an Islamic bodega that forces their religious beliefs on my purchasing options?

anyone in park slope used a handyman or know anyone who could help me install a flat panel television to the wall? new to the hood here.

thanks.

Everyone had to hike it to the bus or other train line during this morning's rush hour, but I never heard an explanation why. I had to exit the Clinton/Wash station.Cant find anything on the net either...

From Brownstoner:

"According to the most authoritative source of data, the city's assessment roll, rumors of the New York real estate market's demise have been greatly exaggerated. After a slowed rate of increase in 2005, property values around the five boroughs posted strong double-digit increases in 2006, with the Bronx and Brooklyn leading the way with jumps of 27.6%. “While people predicted that the sales prices were coming down, they haven’t been coming down,” said Martha E. Stark, the city’s finance commissioner. “It might take a little longer to sell something, but actually, the prices have been holding.”"

NYTimes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/13/nyregion/13property.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Property Values in New York Show Vibrancy

Article Tools Sponsored By

By SEWELL CHAN and RAY RIVERA

Published: January 13, 2007

As the nationwide property market cools, real estate in New York City is showing surprising vibrancy, with estimated market values jumping by 19 percent in 2006, double the increase from the previous year, city officials said yesterday.

And the steepest jump in market values is occurring in the Bronx and Brooklyn, with increases of 27.6 percent in both boroughs. That suggests that the booming real estate market is continuing to shower benefits far beyond the gilded confines of Manhattan.

The data come from the most authoritative snapshot of city property: the annual assessment roll, which contains market and assessed values for all residential, commercial and other property. Yesterday, the Finance Department released the tentative roll, which will largely determine taxes for the fiscal year that starts this July 1.

The city estimates market values based on sales figures in the case of houses, and on potential income, in the case of apartment buildings, condominiums, cooperatives and commercial properties. The market value becomes the basis for the smaller, assessed value, which is then used to calculate the tax bill.

According to the city’s assessment roll, the Time Warner Center remains the property with the highest-listed market value: $1.1 billion, up 9.9 percent from the previous year.

Also, the hotel industry is booming, with the highest-listed hotel, the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, worth $504.9 million, up by 39.8 percent from the year before. The No. 4 hotel on the list, the Grand Hyatt New York at Grand Central Terminal, is worth $300.9 million, up 80.3 percent from the previous year.

The figures not only reflect the surprising robustness of the city’s real estate market, which increasingly seems detached from national trends, but also could provide a boost to the city’s budget.

They also mean that renters and some homeowners may have to dig deeper into their coffers for housing, although many homeowners are protected because of assessment caps, and tax rebates and exemptions.

Since Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the City Council will probably not change tax rates, because of the city’s strong short-term financial outlook, the average tax bill for one-, two- and three-family homes will rise by 4.5 percent, to $3,236 from $3,098. (Assessment increases for such houses are capped at 6 percent a year or 20 percent over five years under state law.)

Average tax bills will rise 2.1 percent for condominium units, to $6,587 from $6,449, and 6.6 percent for cooperative apartments, to $4,214 from $3,952.

Those taxes are likely to be offset if the City Council and the State Legislature agree to extend the popular $400 residential property tax rebate, which began in 2004 and has benefited about 650,000 homeowners. Mayor Bloomberg, who is scheduled to unveil his preliminary budget for the next fiscal year later this month, has called for a three-year extension that would last through the end of his administration.

The city’s finance commissioner, Martha E. Stark, who presented the assessment roll in a news conference at the Municipal Building, said that the growth in housing market values was contrary to nearly all expectations.

“While people predicted that the sales prices were coming down, they haven’t been coming down,” she said. “It might take a little longer to sell something, but actually, the prices have been holding.”

The total value of all New York City property stands at $802.4 billion, up by 19 percent from $674.1 billion the previous year. The increases were greatest in the Bronx and Brooklyn (27.6 percent), followed by Staten Island (18 percent), Manhattan (16.9 percent) and Queens (12.1 percent).

“Obviously the real estate market has been very good in New York City, so it’s not surprising that values have gone up, but 19 percent seems to be a pretty high number,” said Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York. He said he was concerned that building owners would be hit with sizable tax increases “on what really are paper increases in value, because not everybody is selling their properties.”

Mr. Spinola said the increases could particularly hurt owners of rent-regulated buildings. In buildings where rents are not regulated, higher taxes could be passed on to renters, though only if the market will bear the higher rents, he said.

The most valuable house in the city was listed at 48 East 92nd Street, worth $39.6 million, up from $30.7 million the previous year. The value of Mayor Bloomberg’s town house on the Upper East Side jumped to $13.5 million, up from $10.5 million the previous year....

I walked past Commerce Bank on Sunday afternoon and it was taped off with police everywhere. They told us the bank was robbed. Was anyone on 5th Ave that day?

Subject: Yo where can I find a gym in Prospect Heights? And other q's

I just moved here Saturday and I'm lookin to rechisle myself...anyone know any gyms? I'm down with a hole in the wall type place for cheap...the cheaper the better actually.

Also, what is there to do in PH? Bars, yadder yadder? Places to dance? How is the park? Where is it not good to go? Etc., etc.?

I think my Mac has software problems or even a virus. I've seen a couple of stores that seem to fix computers--some place on 9th St., and one on 4th Ave called Brooklyn Geek, or something like that. Does anyone have any experiences with these places, or can you recommend another place? Thanks!

Brooklyn: Phone Call Foils Carjacking

By EMILY VASQUEZ (New York Times)

Published: January 16, 2007

Carjackers who abducted a 29-year-old woman in her S.U.V. yesterday apparently changed their minds after her husband called to tell her that the police had been notified, the authorities said. The woman, visiting with her husband from out of state, had been waiting for him in a rented 2006 Chevrolet Equinox outside an apartment building on *Park Place in Crown Heights* at 2:45 a.m. when two strangers climbed in, pushed her into the passenger seat and drove off, the police said. The husband, who saw the men jump in, called 911, then called his wife on her cellphone, the police said. Apparently, the carjackers overheard him tell her that the police were on their way. They pulled over and fled on foot, taking only a wallet, the police said.

My wife wants a place in the city. We are a senior couple from LI, and are on a budget.

I would like to buy an easily accessible 2 bedroom apt with a decent kitchen and bath, preferably in Park Slope.

What is something like that going to cost me?

Who will win?

Who is going to get kicked off?

These commercials where Tom is asking someone to leave the show?!?!

I bet its Ilan. he's such a dick.

I regularly ride my motorcycle on Flushing Avenue from Washington all the way up the ramp to Manhattan Bridge.

Even by NYC standards this has to be one of the worst stretches of road.

The funny thing is that repairs were done only last year....i think around summer and one can see the patched area of tar all over.

However, I feel either the contractor did a con job and is in hand in glove with some city officials, or that there needs to be some serious overhaul.

Will it help if I call 311 and complain. I am wary of that because this is not one pothole but a series of them stretching nearly a mile. Riding there every morning is like starting out the day on an easy cross country motocross run.

He went with his new mom on Saturday and they love each other. She came to see him last Thursday night and he took to her quicker than he took to me. She's also one of my customers at the wine store, I always liked her and now I know why! She's getting him neutered on the 30th at Prospect Animal Clinic. She also really appreciates that he had all of his shots already. I want to thank everyone for being so great and supportive. Please come by Shawn's for a hook-up, even if you couldn't donate. I would love to meet the people who cared about the kitties without even knowing them. Here are some pics of him with his new mom the day she picked him up and there are more on my flickr page. Thanks again!