Organic Food Market for Fulton St!
Comments
-
Anonymous wrote: Oh, OK Lothar. Sorry I tipped my hand and ID'd myself as a newcomer with my callous insensitivity. I know that TRUE, OLD SCHOOL Brooklynites LOVE dank, cavernous catering hall-sized restaurants with dirty chipped linoleum floors and banks of steam tables ladling out leathery food of questionable origin under the welcoming flicker of florescent lights. I don't know how I managed to resist the allure of the hand-scrawled and misspelled signs taped to the window that advertised the culinary delights awaiting me within. And when I'm looking to lay down somewhere in the realm of a million dollars on a home I ALWAYS look for the realtor most likely to creep off under cover of night, leaving nothing but a padlocked gate on the seediest stretch of road in the neighborhood.
Listen whether I personally patronize those businesses is not the point. Like I stated before obviously they provide a service to people in the neighborhood. So when you make denigrating remarks for minute things such as mispellings, or missing tiles it not only comes across as elitist it also in a way denigrates the consumers of these businesess(In the case of the restaurant it mostly serves ppl coming from making prayer at the mosque who want their food prepared properly within the guidelines of their religion but I know a few ppl who arent muslim that eat there as well). So in that way it does make about class or race...Who the hell do think is eating there?! Obviously not ppl of your ilk. On another note I've had some of the best food in my life from a whole in the wall rib shack in the backwoods of Georgia!! Funny how we now have more than a few restaurants in the city now emulating these same backwood smoking methods! As far as what you paid for your house, that was your choice. Did you think Clinton Hill would automatically turn in to Park Slope jr.?! As far as the real estate place, maybe I don't know the one you're referring to; The one I'm familiar with next to the cleaners has been there like 20 years and we ALL know who owns the place. No mystery there....But, but wait they mispelled something in their board...How dare they commit such a travesty?!
Honestly, I find the uber-sensitive PC heckling that seems to be the currency on these message boards from anyone who considers himself a TRUE Brooklynite alternately hilarious and exhausting. Why O why is it in any way laughable to desire legitimate businesses? I didn't condemn anyone for their race or class ( although I know you'll accuse me of it, that's ALWAYS the M.O.); I just like to patronize clean and welcoming businesses with at least the illusion of legitimacy.
Despite them providing a service to the neighborhood for damn near 20 years, they are no longer worthy, cause MR.ANONYMOUS paid a million dollars for his home. MR.ANONYMOUS and people of his ilk discovered this run down seedy neighborhood and are putting on their cape to save the day!! Don't worry MR.ANONYMOUS it won't take long for you to get rid the indians..uhh I mean native amer...uhh I mean all the businesses you and your ilk so despise that it disrupts your life by their mere presence not meeting your standards. :roll: -
You have a point there. I really SHOULD post under my real name, not anonymously. You're setting a great example Mr Nest. Or is it Ms. Nest? Bk is such an androgynous first name...it's difficult to really say...anyhow, thanks for providing complete transparency by providing a web board 'handle'. Your courage is inspiring.
Now allow me to clarify some points:
A) I didn't pay a million dollars for my home nor anything near it. I was referring to the values of the homes that the realtor is attempting to sell. And yeah, maybe it's a middle class attitude, but somehow I feel entitled to a bit of professionalism when buying within that price range; I ain't buying postage stamps here. Sell me; make me feel as if you did some homework and are actually qualified to broker a deal of this caliber. And yes, that includes knowing how to spell the name of the neighborhood your office has allegedly been located in for 20 years.
I believe there's a middle ground between 'Park Slope Jr' and the miserable excuse for businesses that pepper the area in question. I know about Halal food - and Kosher food as well- and while I MIGHT be wrong I don't recall anything being handed down from the mount about these cuisines only being served in unsanitary and unwelcoming environments. Trust me, I'm no snob ; I've eaten at many a food cart, dive and 'whole' in the wall as well. But SO filthy and unwelcoming? One need not be a wealthy Manhattan restauranteur with an army of celebrity chefs to push a mop once a night, huh? Oh, right- by preferring a clean environment in which to receive foodstuffs I'm being insensitive to both reverent Muslims and the less fortunate. Fine, whatever- let 'em eat filth in a shadowy dungeon! Sorry for being elitist! I suppose that's just the nature of my 'ilk'.
C) I didn't discover Clinton Hill and decide to infuse it with my unlimited wealth and impeccable taste. I moved here knowing damn near nothing of the neighborhood 6 years ago. Why? I could get the space I needed for a price I could ( almost) afford. i see in my daily comings and goings that a great many other people of my, ahem, 'ilk' did too. I believe in the remainder of the USofA we'd be referred to as 'middle class families' ( vs "Racist wealthy classist white gentrifying stroller-mafia breeders", as we're known in the murky underworld of the Brooklyn-based message board). I don't deny anyone their right to open or run a business and if they're successful more power to them. But to stick your head in the sand and deny that the desires of the neighborhood are rapidly shifting is foolhardy and wrongheaded. For a business (for example, the one that began this thread; they obviously noticed) or a resident. The 'good old days' never last, Mr Nest. Not in Brooklyn or anywhere else. Trust me.
That said, I'm no more likely to visit new business "The Speakeasy" for their $11 two eggs any style brunch special. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm middle class. -
Fist off, this tangent is getting a little out of hand.
That said, I do agree with the last guest's post.
bknest, you're just as anonymous as anyone else on this blog, regardless of whatever handle you decide to give yourself.
There was another real estate agency that closed down is not the hole in the wall that supposedly has been here 20yrs that you are referring to; rather there was an agency in the current Green Planet space, but only for about a year or 18 months - run by some Hasidic guys - looking to cash in on the real estate boom.
As for being offended if people have negative opinions about dank run down establishments, regardless of whether people frequent such grubby looking establishments, well that's your perogative; but frankly I think you read to much into it. Everyone likes clean, welcoming, well kept, sanitary restaurants, regardless of whether they are cheap eats or gourmet dining experiences.
As for bknest's repeated refernences to old timers etc, the neighborhood, as all neighborhoods, changes over time - and the dominantdemographic of the last 40 odd years is changing again. You might actually be surprised to know how far back some of the "newbies" roots stretch in this part of town if you talk to them about it. And even if someone is truly new to Brooklyn and the neighborhood, it doesn't mean they don't have a right to express opinions about the current retail establishments. It's a free country and people can move wherever they want and, gasp, have opinions about what they find there. If that offends you, well don't read this blog. -
Please excuse all the typos in my earlier post...
-
They do have a right to express there opinions and I have a right to express mine. But as in most cases on this site my opinions differ from the peanut gallery. Oh thank you for your wonderful insight and history lesson...I didn't know it was a free country! I get ostracized about people having an opinion while giving mine...Oh the irony...
Oh and if everyone liked clean well lit, non-rundown establishments the Alibi wouldve been closed years ago!! But there it is among all the new businesses on dekalb not bothering anyone getting patronized nightly(not by just pratt students) smelling like years of vomit. I've never heard a peep out of anyone about that place. It doesn't bother me I just don't go in there.
The bottomline is everyone is not on the socioeconomic level in the neighborhood and just like it's reflected in the people it will be reflected in the businesses as well. AS the saying goes "One man's trash is the next man's treasure"..."What you eat doesn't make me shit"... -
Oh yeah and as far as that korean store you keep waving your pom poms for, it has as much dusty and expired stuff as any average corner store. This is the case with most of them whether in the city or outer boroughs. The only excpetion is most of them have produce and employ an illegal immigrant. People don't like bodegas or arab corner stores cause they don't wanna feel like or give the impression to their friends that they live in "the hood". Other than produce and in some cases gourmet chips the inventory is not that much different between these stores...oh yeah some of the korean stores overcharge but I guess there's a price to pay for comfort. In the case of the korean store and bodega that are adjacent to each other on greena ave. most prefer the bodega. Its always more busy!
-
MOD here.
please remember that the primary rule of this site is to BE NICE. i'm going to suggest at this juncture that that includes giving other posters the benefit of the doubt and not jumping down each other's throats over perceived slights, particularly not without asking for clarification first.
this is supposedly a thread about a new organic grocery store. if it continues to be a thread about who is or isn't racist, mods can and will pull posts and give time outs.
-
So I went to the new market and it's pretty good! There's a lot of teas, organic canned goods, vitamins and stuff like that, but what's most exciting is the wall of reasonably priced bulk grains, fruits and nuts. There's unsalted nuts, dried fruits that are a bit less common like sun-dried Turkish apricots and mango with no sugar added, also stuff like adzuki beans, different kinds of rice, couscous, wheat germ and nutritional yeast flakes. They have a small case of fruit and veggies (I wish they had more) and another of dairy stuff, also soy cheese and tempeh. Hopefully they will get another case for fresh produce because they have the room for it.
It's pretty old school, not slick like whole foods or something. It reminds me of small health food stores from back in the days before this kind of stuff was mainstream. It's not trendy and full of stuff that's allegedly healthy because it's "organic"--it's actual natural minimally processed food.
There's also a juice bar, although I didn't try anything. Anyone who is into this kind of thing should definitely check it out.
-
mod note
bookstore now its own thread. -
Wow...there's threads about strollers in a bar that turns into parents in park slope versus singles that's almost ten pages that doesn't get stopped or revised. There's literally hundreds of threads that take on their own life...but me and someone(who's not even a registered user which is encouraged) can't have dialogue about the area in which we live?! Then you triviliaze it but putting "some bookstore" that's not the organic shop like I started the thread w/ a dumb title like that or made no valid points. Not right at all.
-
i don't know the name of the bookstore. what i do know is that your conversation had ceased to have anything to do with the organic grocery (which it's possible people might still want to discuss) and that i had asked both you and guest to curtail your unrelated conversation. you could have started your own thread about the bookstore, but you didn't.
if i sound annoyed, it's because i don't like babysitting. please feel free to discuss my decision to split the thread with an admin via pm.
if you mention the name of the bookstore in that thread, i will change the thread title. meanwhile, please discuss the grocery store here. thank you. -
Subject: Thank goodness its here.
The new market is certainly welcome, and as others have pointed out, time will tell if it stays open, in addition to our support. The supplements last longer on the shelves than fresh fruit, so that is probably why there is an abundance as they start up. The neighborhood is changing, and several businesses have upgraded their looks or opened up along those few blocks of Fulton St. east of Vanderbilt Ave. For instance, Joloff restaurant redecorated a couple of years ago and is still really cheap and good), the vegetarian Soul restaurant has arrived, along with the restaurant across the street by the Mosque. The flower shop 1001 Affairs on Cambridge Pl. seems to stay busy enough to keep its doors open to a variety of community residents. The condos going up next to the post office and closed laundromat should bring some more money to circulate in the general retail vicinity, although those economics are to be part of another thread. And as the neighborhood transitions economically, we see the coexistence of these new spots and older businesses. There is still crack being sold near the corner of St James, in the doorstep between the music store and the bodega, so gentrification, or revitalization certainly have not triumphed; it's definitely not as bad as the scene on Classon and Fulton, so it doesn't bother me as much. If there is interest, there is a neighborhood cooperatively run food store that is in its genesis: http://fortgreenecoop.wordpress.com -
The place by the Mosque is the same place as before, just put on a new awning and cleaned it up a little.
The flower shop, despite the nice staff, continues to disappoint. They have past their prime flowers (last time I checked, just some old roses $5/each, old daisies ( $3/each) and old carnations ($3 each). I query what sort of business they run as those prices are ridiculous and the flowers subpar.
Soule is subpar.
Jolloffe is a good spot and did a nice renovation this past autumn. -
I agree with your salient observations.Thanks for the clarifications on Joloff's redecoration date. I'd repeatedly heard that Soule was not thrilling, so have not yet gone. The flower shop does seem to have inconsistent flower stock, but I had been more interested in the greeting and postcards they have been improving their selection of. I'd heard the previous owner left the place with plenty of unpaid bills and was trying to rent it out behind the landlord's back; that could have been a financial upset for the incoming management. Hopefully the rest of the businesses on the strip, including the new health food store will fare better.
-
I hope so too. It's such a sad stretch of road at the moment, more of an exception to the way the rest of the neighborhood looks now than the rule. Here's to wishes the new business(es) well.
-
Talk a walk with me through Brownsville or East NY and I'll show you sad stretches. EVERY business will not meet the standards of EVERY person in the neighborhood, new or old. It's not like this neighborhood was on par w/ the South Bronx of the 70's and 80's or even Bed Stuy for that matter. Myrtle ave always had businesses up and down the avenue as did Dekalb. Instead of french fusion restaurants and bar/lounges it was Bob's magazine store, the sporting good store, the bike shop, Cino's, Merkins(diner), Clinton Hill Video, a doctors office and pharmacy among others...oh yeah Alibi was there too!!
In fact this stretch of fulton that we're speaking of used to have more businesses than it does now. As said before a newstand, fish market, and fruitstand all were on this stretch at one time. -
Calm down bknest. I'm 2.33 and I never said Clinton Hill went down as bad as the So. Bronx or parts of Bed Stuy; but Fulton Street in Clinton Hill is definitely a sad looking stretch right now. Some businesses are doing well and new ones are welcome. I could care less about comparisons to East New York or other neighborhoods. That's not what we're talking about. You're becoming hysterical and seem to want to be offended by everything and anything.
-
Anonymous wrote: Calm down bknest. I'm 2.33 and I never said Clinton Hill went down as bad as the So. Bronx or parts of Bed Stuy; but Fulton Street in Clinton Hill is definitely a sad looking stretch right now. Some businesses are doing well and new ones are welcome. I could care less about comparisons to East New York or other neighborhoods. That's not what we're talking about. You're becoming hysterical and seem to want to be offended by everything and anything.
:roll: Did my post come off as hyped? I'm on my job, cool as a fan. I never said you said anything. But when I think of "sad" stretches this is what mind goes to. If you dont agree, fine you're entitled.
I'll never get why my posts touch so many nerves. -
passive / aggressive = very annoying
-
Anonymous wrote: passive / aggressive = very annoying
Oh my, I've annoyed Guest/ANONYMOUS...My world went from revolving to a complete halt!
But this is forum about the neighborhood?!
Not at all, more like a cyber social club wishfully awaiting the day the neighborhood becomes trendy so saying "I live in clinton hill" will be just as impressive as saying "I live in park slope" amongst their social circles. All the while disregarding the very thing that bought them here(affordability) will not be afforded to someone in their same position years from now. Yep real neighborly, communal thinking.
What a joke...
bknest aka brooklynian's resident villain -
bknest wrote: [quote=Anonymous]passive / aggressive = very annoying
Oh my, I've annoyed Guest/ANONYMOUS...My world went from revolving to a complete halt!
But this is forum about the neighborhood?!
Not at all, more like a cyber social club wishfully awaiting the day the neighborhood becomes trendy so saying "I live in clinton hill" will be just as impressive as saying "I live in park slope" amongst their social circles. All the while disregarding the very thing that bought them here(affordability) will not be afforded to someone in their same position years from now. Yep real neighborly, communal thinking.
What a joke...
bknest aka brooklynian's resident villain
Whether you intended it or not, many of the responses you've been getting are related to what some perceive as an antagonistic tone to your posts. Please try to recognize that what you perceive as antagonism from others may also not have been intended (the Internet is terrible at conveying tone).
It reminds me of an epiphany I had in physics class in high school. I always wondered why rainbows are shaped the way they are. I learned that each color of light is refracted at a different angle based on its wavelength, and that we see each color where the angle is right. So the rainbow is actually everywhere, but we can only see an arc of it at a time. Sorry for the long-winded metaphor, but what I'm trying to say is that sometimes the way someone perceives the world has as much to do with the one doing the perceiving as it has to do with the world. -
Back from Florida to discover my inquiry into Bknest's day resulted in this! Just reading it all destroyed most of the benefit of my vacation! Hope the new store is worth all this...
-
I was on this "sad stretch" of the nabe and noticed most of the businesses(the nail salon, cleaners, golden krust,barber shop, corner store, beauty salon) filled with consumers. So sad..
Green planet never has more than few customers at a time as I have seen so far. -
Really? I noticed the new 'spa/nail salon' closed, Boca Soul still shuttered, the pharmacy on the corner of St James empty, Blimpie empty, the new restaurant on the corner of Vanderbilt and Fulton empty, a bunch of thugs hanging out in front of the deli with a pitbull on a battleship chain, a smattering of methadone treatment patients hanging out in front of the clinic...hardly what I'd call a vibrant stretch of retail heaven. It seems that this stretch of Fulton is under a black cloud from a retail standpoint; it's no wonder new businesses are wary of opening in this area. To call it a 'sad stretch' is, IMHO, entirely appropriate.
-
bknest wrote: I was on this "sad stretch" of the nabe and noticed most of the businesses(the nail salon, cleaners, golden krust,barber shop, corner store, beauty salon) filled with consumers. So sad..
....Okay, you know what?
Green planet never has more than few customers at a time as I have seen so far.
Here's your chance to play city planner, bknest. Whether you are aware of it or not, you have a somewhat disgruntled tone; maybe you don't realize you do, but in my experience, if someone's sounding annoyed and doesn't realize it, that may be because there are some things they're upset about that they've been trying to hold their tongue about.
So, here's your chance, as I'd really like to know. Assume that money, racial conflict, class issues, cultural issues, and any other obstacles are no longer obstacles. Assume you could design this neighborhood exactly to your specifications.
Exactly what would that neighborhood look like? Because I'm sincerely curious. The comments you've made in these forums seem to hint that you have definite ideas, but are suppressing those ideas for some reason; I'd like to hear them. Go for it. -
I've actually noticed that there seem to be more people in the new grocery store. I went in at 8 or 9 last Sunday night, when everything else was closed other than a couple dirty bodegas, and there were at least half a dozen customers. I needed diapers (which they surprisingly had) - not for me lol -
I asked the owner how it was going and he said it has started to pick up. Good luck to him.
I also use the pharmacy quite a lot. They're nice in there. It is clean and well stocked. I think he does a fine business. Good luck to them. -
I'm talkin' about after work time. I was walking with my old dad and bought up the topic of this area of fulton street being a sad stretch(as said by some on Brooklynian). We looked in each the businesses on this strip and the majority of them were bustling with the exception of Green Planet. More than a few ppl in the chinese restaurant, the same with the nail salon, golden crust, crown fried, the 99 cent store, beauty salon,bodega and cleaners...even soule had more customers than usual.
-
And queen once again PLEASE stop trying to gauge my emotions by reading a post. I'm not disgruntled, masking my feelings nor am I anti Green Planet. I was speaking on my observation of this part of fulton street and the claim that its a sad stretch. And I don't play fantasy so we're not going to play the "what if you were a city planner.." game. I deal in reality. Personally this stretch is fine to me(Green Planet included), it's not like there's a strip of vacant store fronts. If I need something that can't be found on Fulton street I go elsewhere..I'm not confined to my 4 block radius!! That's what I love about living in NYC...you have your Dekalbs, your Myrtles, and your Fulton streets, the differences in each strip is what makes New York...New York!! And St.James I'm sure those guys w/ the Pitbull had thug written across there forehead since you can so easily label them. I guess if I would've happen to stop to chat it up w/ them you'd have me classified as well(as I'm typing this from work). And I've never said anything about RETAIL HEAVEN or fulton street becoming one. Were you promised this when you moved into the nabe? Sorry you haven't got your cupcake store, gourmet sandwich shoppe, sushi place & coffee shop yet. It will soon come buddy.
-
Man, you are SO antagonistic.
I might be generalizing, but I'd be willing to bet my paycheck that the fellas in the doorags hanging out in front of the deli yelling 'N*gga' this and "Motherf***er" that and throwing their trash on the sidewalk while holding a pit bull on a heavy gauge chain leash at 3 in the afternoon on a weekday were probably...just probably...not taking a break from writing their theses or delivering meals to the homebound elderly.
I know it's wrong and misunderstandings can and DO arise from making snap judgments about people ( like accusing them of wanting CH to become PS overnight, ahem) but I also think that certain things can be inferred fairly easily. Yes, if you were in the crowd of young men with their pants hanging down to their knees wearing a doorag and a gigantic baseball hat and throwing trash on the street and yelling obscenities, well...yes I probably would have classified you as a thug.
One doesn't necessarily need to have a word written across one's forehead to be labeled. One might, for instance, wear a suit and tie and thus be labeled "professional". If I were to see someone, say, in Carhart coveralls covered in sawdust I might think to myself "contractor". Maybe someone in paint-covered clothes...I might label them "painter". Now, I could b ewrong about any of those assumptions, but would anyone blame me for making them?
Your argument again comes across as a rather impotent mixture of willful naivete and illogical self-delusion. You really seem to have a persecution complex; as if any time someone criticizes anyone you have to RUSH to defend them as if you were being personally attacked. It makes me wonder- are these people and establishments REALLY that dear to you? If you think a group of young men the likes of which I described above is a boon to the neighborhood I'd imagine you to be in the minority here. -
Saint James Infirmary wrote: Man, you are SO antagonistic.
Yes you are generalizing based on their dress, speak and possibly other factors. Unless you know what their day entails or how they live on the daily then your doing just that, there is no might. Nothing illogical about it. Not that I'm condoning the behaivor but you can go to any H.S and plenty colleges and find kids of all races with the same dress and speaking in the same manner(w/ the popularity of hiphop). That doesnt necessarily make them thugs. I know plenty of kids that act this way then go home and speak the queens english with their parents.
I might be generalizing, but I'd be willing to bet my paycheck that the fellas in the doorags hanging out in front of the deli yelling 'N*gga' this and "Motherf***er" that and throwing their trash on the sidewalk while holding a pit bull on a heavy gauge chain leash at 3 in the afternoon on a weekday were probably...just probably...not taking a break from writing their theses or delivering meals to the homebound elderly.
I know it's wrong and misunderstandings can and DO arise from making snap judgments about people ( like accusing them of wanting CH to become PS overnight, ahem) but I also think that certain things can be inferred fairly easily. Yes, if you were in the crowd of young men with their pants hanging down to their knees wearing a doorag and a gigantic baseball hat and throwing trash on the street and yelling obscenities, well...yes I probably would have classified you as a thug.
One doesn't necessarily need to have a word written across one's forehead to be labeled. One might, for instance, wear a suit and tie and thus be labeled "professional". If I were to see someone, say, in Carhart coveralls covered in sawdust I might think to myself "contractor". Maybe someone in paint-covered clothes...I might label them "painter". Now, I could b ewrong about any of those assumptions, but would anyone blame me for making them?
Your argument again comes across as a rather impotent mixture of willful naivete and illogical self-delusion. You really seem to have a persecution complex; as if any time someone criticizes anyone you have to RUSH to defend them as if you were being personally attacked. It makes me wonder- are these people and establishments REALLY that dear to you? If you think a group of young men the likes of which I described above is a boon to the neighborhood I'd imagine you to be in the minority here.
And yes it bothers me because 14 years ago I was one of those kids in front of the deli(minus the constant dropping of the n-word) but here I am today a working professional, father, husband and property owner among other things. So yes "these ppl" are that dear to me. So your classification would've been wrong just like it might possibly be wrong about the kids or young guys you're so quick to label. You never know those "thugs" might save you from a ass whippin' or getting mugged one day. I know we saved more than a few when I was coming up and people used to come from other neighborhoods to prey on people in this rundown stretch of a nabe.
One might, for instance, wear a suit and tie and thus be labeled "professional"
Yep and that label can be wrong..John Gotti wore suits EVERYDAY!
Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
- 40K All Categories
- 27.1K Neighborhoods
- 5.1K Crown Heights/Prospect Lefferts Gardens
- 7.1K Prospect Heights
- 2.3K Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy
- 8K Park Slope
- 549 Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bushwick
- 442 Flatbush/Midwood/Ditmas Park
- 657 BoCoCa (Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens)
- 151 Red Hook
- 104 Gowanus
- 304 Bay Ridge/Bensonhurst
- 130 Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Sheepshead Bay
- 270 Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO and Downtown
- 598 Windsor Terrace / Kensington
- 673 Greenwood Heights and Sunset Park
- 749 Brooklyn and Beyond
- 6.3K Stuff
- 86 Brooklyn Back When
- 1.2K Brooklyn Pets
- 257 Brooklyn Kids
- 241 Brooklyn Eats
- 51 Brooklyn Booze
- 3.6K The Lounge / Random Stuff
- 611 Brooklyn Politics
- 122 Brooklyn Sports and Fitness
- 111 Brooklyn Photos
- 339 Site Issues
- 8 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- 6.2K Listings
- 1.1K APARTMENTS and REAL ESTATE
- 1.3K Sales Openings Events
- 2.3K The Classifieds