Neighborhood: December 2005 Archives

Before "Out with the old, in with the new" takes full effect, we'd like to remember the stories that touched the faithful readers' hearts. So without further ado ...

Top 10 most commented posts
PJ Hanley's Shuttered (follow-up here)
Bitch Session: Key Foods on Court Street
The Luquer Street Debate
Stanton Social Fiasco
From Brooklyn to Manhattan
Dunkin' Donuts Comes to Carroll Gardens
Red Hook Barbecue
Lobo-Licious?
Why is Thai Better Than Chinese?
The Kitchen

Top 10 trackbacked posts (not listed above)
Taste of Chinatown
A Little Christmas Magic
One More for the Holidays
Snow in Brooklyn
The difference between a good cabbie and a great cabbie
Sidewalk Graffiti
Cats with Stuff
The Brooklyn Car Experience
The Very Versatile Sabra Hummus
Ipod Update (related here and follow-up here)

Our Cutest Kitties of the Year award goes to Sebastian and Winston (pictured in the cat sandwich below). Runner-up includes this Winston and his knitted doppelganger.

Though ABrooklynLife was out of town when it happened, the folks at 423 Smith are reporting that a house burnt down on 2nd Place near Clinton this morning. Obviously a super-sad time for everyone living in the building and for the owners. I'm going to step up onto the soap box for a moment: Make sure you have renter's insurance (and make sure you're insured for replacement value not just current cash value). It's super cheap and, in the event of a fire, can mean the difference between having nothing and having enough to start over with. OK, climbing down now. If anyone knows of a way to help the people affected by the fire, please post it.

In an interesting twist, a reader notes how the fire has affected his cable hookup, a process that we've noted before is a long road in this neighborhood.

The New York Press has a story about a famed Carroll Gardens event (that I'd never heard about) the burning pyre of 60 Christmas trees by PS29. Did this really happen? Does anybody remember it?

    ... "A dry Christmas tree burns as if soaked in gasoline. It crackles like mortar breaking. A 60-tree-pile makes a much more dramatic sound, something like a mile of bubblewrap stomped by Paul Bunyan. The smell is indescribably good: a wet, sweet odor similar to burnt leaves that permeates clothing and runs into the nose and mouth and stays there. My friends later told me the wind carried it north across Brooklyn Heights and east to Park Slope and south across Carroll Gardens and Red Hook, and I imagined it carried to the bay and beyond to the shipping-lane waves that crashed against big ships bound for New Jersey.

When the fire rose high, it got bright like the sun. The boys shaded their eyes and were forced away, to the middle of the schoolyard. The black rubber power lines to the school were melting. You could see them sparkle and pop. The flames were making an ooooom sound, scorching the red brick and blowing out the windows and billowing black smoke. Soon it was so hot the boys had to flee—they went two blocks away and you could see the flames rising over the roofs of Brooklyn." ...

Last night I had a dream about the transit strike. I don't remember what it was about, but when I woke up I thought "well that's about enough of that," and it's only Day 2!  I am one of the lucky Brooklynites who can work from home without too much interruption to my work schedule. So until Friday, when I have to find my way to Penn Station to catch a train out of town for the holidays, I can cozy up in my PJs, make another pot of coffee and work away in the peaceful confines of my own apartment. But what about the rest of you? ABrooklynlife's sibling has to make it from Cobble Hill to the West Village today. My friends with a car spent 2 1/2 hours  getting to work yesterday, and I was too afraid to call them last night to hear how long it'd taken them to get home. One of my Manhattan friends had a little more success, with an hour walk from downtown to midtown. Stories to share? Or maybe we're all working from home and should start a work-from-home lunch club or something?

Overheard in PJ Hanley's
Woman to old drunk dude: "You're a dirty old man. Why would you talk about someone's ass?" ... "Randomly? That's how you talk to women randomly? No wonder you're 175 years old and single."

Yes, ABrooklynlife braved the smokescreen of neighborhoodies to bring you this breaking report from the front of gentrification.  And we're happy to say the amusing overheard conversation is back in full effect.

First things first. The space is quite nice looking: dark wood on and behind a stately bar that's mirror-backed with plenty of booze and beer relatively on the cheap (Absolut and tonic for $6, Brooklyn Lager for $4.50). The wide plank floors (rescued from a factory somewhere?) are beautiful, and the painted tin walls and ceiling add a nice touch. Also, love that the bar's windows are now open to the street. The gap between the bar and the tables against the wall is a bit awkward--really you could have a dance party between the bar and the high-top tables--but more space is Brooklyn's forte, no? Square-footage wise, one could easily deposit six Minibars in the bar area alone, to say nothing of that side dining room. Thankfully the two TVs were not on, and a decent selection of spirited oldies was playing (Aaron Neville and Marvin Gaye). Didn't sample the food, but PJ's has the full menu in full effect, everything from pizzas to lamb to hot wings.

And now the numbers.

• Guy to girl ratio was 12:4 + 2 female bartender/servers.

• Dudes-whose-wives-are-happy -they-are-not-in-the-house to regular-neighborhood -folk was 8:8.

• Random oddities included 2 men with philosopher ex-hippie ponytails and the 1 aforementioned really drunk old guy.

• Abrooklynlife and guest not included, everyone was at least older than 35 if not older than 40.

Still, nothing to fear. Nothing to be absolutely ecstatic about, but nothing to fear. Party on PJ's, party on.

Update: 423Smith has also reviewed PJ Hanleys. Sorry folks, the Dianna Ross picture is gone!

Did Ratner pay for pro-Ratner focus groups? The Bklyn papers
Tuscon retailer moves to "new Soho" (W'burg) Tuscon Citizen
EPA ignoring WTC air quality issues in Brooklyn  NY1
Brownstone salvage NYTimes with Brownstoner props
Neckface--outsider art or brilliant Pratt student scam? NYPress
Brooklyn Museum presents William Wegman retrospective PR

The stalwart neighborhood Mediterranean restaurants Zaytoons and Tabouleh need not fear the addition of Pita Grill to the Smith Street restaurant scene. The mini health chain's website very helpfully categorizes its address--329 Smith Street between Carroll and President--as Brooklyn Heights. As many of us who live here know, this is Carroll Gardens. Forgivable?

The folks at Pita Grill are super friendly, but, sadly for them, that does not translate into yummy food. I tried the falafel, which basically tasted like one of those healthy-to-the-point-of-being-gross veggie burgers, only less crunchy on the outside. I'm sure I was eating healthy food, but I'm also sure it wasn't very tasty. Other reports?

Every year there are news stories about whether the political correctness of "Happy Holidays" has gone to far, but the North Fork Bank on Court Street in Carroll Gardens has a unique approach to this debate. It appears Jesus is missing from the bank's plastic creche display. Either they are taking Christmas literally and Jesus will appear in their window display early on the morning of Dec. 25--or something's afoot.