wind spirits
Door detail, Green St. For a Catholic neighborhood, some of the imagery can be awfully pagan.
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May 31, 2007
Forgotten NY Greenpoint tour
I never hear about these until they're over - and this time, I make it to the page in time only to find out that it's MY neighborhood they're coming to!
But for those of you not from the 'hood, I'd heartily urge you to check it out. Sunday, June 10. Info here. Led by the divine Miss Heather.
May 30, 2007
traffic & late night eateries
A few notes:
1) Banker Street did get reverted to the previous one-way traffic pattern. My only consolation is that perhaps it will eliminate some of the noisy Studio B-related traffic jams, because the traffic can only go one way.
2) I neglected to mention the fabulous Palace Fried Chicken, at Manhattan and Nassau, that is also open very late. Not 24 hours, like the God Bless Deli Grocery, but pretty damn late.
3) The Dunkin' Donuts at Manhattan and Bedford is also open late-r. I say 'r' because I do not know its hours exactly. It is definitely open later than its companion down Manhattan closer to Greenpoint Ave. Not that it really matters, because both of them are, quite possibly, the worst Dunkin' Donuts in the entire USA. No selection, ever, and you would get more attentive service from Attila the Hun.
4) Miss Heather (thanks for the shout-out, darlin') mentioned my old fave rave, the Chinese Musician, and it is true that they are probably the only place where you can get food that isn't cooked on a grill late - they will let you get take out even if it's 10:59pm, and deliver and are open until 11. But that's a whole other post, the vagaries of Greenpoint delivery options, and will have to wait until later.
May 28, 2007
west st.
May 25, 2007
Forest Natural
Reader Cathy was kind enough to write in with a tip about this establishment, newly opened on the corner of Norman and Eckford. It's a deli/salad-toss/juice bar/coffee establishment, with (I presume) a natural food bent, although the 'natural' part of it didn't really seem prevalent inside.
The mix of offerings seems odd - who is their intended target? - but perhaps being on the popular G-train-corridor that is Norman St. (since there is an exit on the corner of Manhattan and Norman) will appeal to residents and those who work in the area.
I am a firm believer that the key to success is staying open later than normal restaurants in Greenpoint. This isn't a late night kind of place, but please stay open until 8 or so, to get people coming home from work. Closing at 5 or 5:30, in the antiquated belief that people actually get home from work at that time, is a sure recipe for failure - unless of course you're able to do such a smashing lunch business that you don't need to.
Someone could open a late-night pizza joint near the Greenpoint Ave. G stop, serving the crappiest pizza in the world. It wouldn't matter; they would do a bang-up business, because aside from the God Bless Deli & Grocery, there is nowhere else to get late-night food in Greenpoint. I am still astounded by this.
May 24, 2007
franklin st. traffic
For those of us that endured The Great Franklin Street Devastation of 2005 (and 2006), we watched as they turned Franklin St. one way, turned Banker St. two-way, reversed the direction of Calyer St. between West and Franklin, etc.
Franklin between Calyer and Greenpoint went two-way not long after paving was finished in December or January, but the rest of Franklin was still a DMZ. Then, that was paved, and earlier this week, while having dinner at Brooklyn Label, we realized that section of Franklin was now two-way. This was coupled with pink signs all over the other end of Franklin advertising that Calyer between West & Franklin would soon be reversed (and it is now, as of this writing).
Two elements remain to be seen: one is whether Banker St. goes one-way again (I hope not), and the other I don't want to happen just yet so I'll wait to see what happens on that front (and no I'm not going to blog about it). In terms of quality of life for Greenpoint residents, I'm in favor of Banker St. staying two-way; it certainly eliminated needless block-circling, which decreases traffic and noise. The Calyer St. reversal is also positive, because it, combined with Franklin St. being two-way for its entire length, will decrease traffic and noise on the block. I don't know if Franklin St.'s gotten quieter since I moved in (for a while, trucks were certainly avoiding the mogul field that was Kent Ave.), or if I'm just used to the truck noise by now. I'm just glad there are no more jackhammers outside my window, digging giant holes:
May 23, 2007
an open letter to denis leary.
Please stop taking all our parking spaces and disrupting life for needless blocks on end. You do not put up the parking signs with the mandated notice, and you make the boyfriend call the Mayor's office for TV and film to complain at least twice a month. You would sing "The Asshole Song" to yourself if you lived here and had to deal with "Rescue Me" hogging Greenpoint constantly.
With kind regards, etc.
P.S. I was almost glad to see The Black Donnellys get cancelled. They just didn't bother to put up their signs in advance at all.
industrial zone, nighttime
May 22, 2007
greenpoint grocery stores
Greenpoint grocery stores, one woman's opinion:
Associated, Manhattan & Calyer: How does this excuse for a grocery store even stay in business? The help is surly, the selection poor, the odor disgusting. I know the answer: the large selection of imported Polish foods. It closes at 8pm, and I try to avoid going there for anything beyond emergency essentials.
Key Food, McGuinness & Greenpoint Ave.: The crown jewel of grocery stores in the area, but I have a car so I am spoiled. That said, the walk isn't that much further if you are carless, and the selection is superior. However, they have similarly ridiculous hours - which I hear (via the boyfriend) are expanding. But there is no reason this store isn't 24 hours or isn't at least open until 11pm weeknights.
C Town, Manhattan & Java: This store was so inferior when I first moved to Greenpoint that it never entered my consciousness. However, when the boyfriend relocated to the nabe, he was unaware of my existing prejudices and would stop there for items on the way home (since he shares my hatred of the Associated). Someone in the store or the company paid attention to the burgeoning community growing in Greenpoint, or just decided to try to compete with the Garden. The store was renovated, and the selection expanded to include the likes of organic vegetables and Silk soy milk, while still maintaining its extensive Goya selection. It is, however, more expensive than either the Associated or Key Foods. I don't know what time they close, but I suspect they're not exactly pioneering anything past the standard Manhattan Ave. 8pm commercial curfew.
The Garden, Manhattan & Greenpoint Ave.: Either you love the Garden or you hate it. I want to love the Garden, but find the aisles cramped, the selection impossible to comprehend, and the help even surlier than the Associated (which is hard to do). It is convenient when I need or want the occasional organic item, but they are more expensive than even Whole Paycheck. I understand that is the premium for convenience, but the attitude and the tiny aisles remove the convenience factor and make me just want to go down to Union Square. They also close at 8pm, which is just silly - they'd be packed until 9 or 10pm easily.
That said, we have FOUR grocery stores in the zip code, while Bedford-area Williamsburg has to deal with Tops (a store I do not understand and avoid) or the newly renovated C-Town (is it C-Town or Associated?) on Havemeyer. There are a few more grocery stores out towards Graham, but I always perceived them as tiny and typical low-income area-type stores, e.g., limited selection and jacked-up prices (hey, I lived in the Bronx in the 80s, don't start).
Where are all the yuppies moving into the condos going to shop? No, seriously, Karl Fischer Row - where are those people going to get their food? Not everyone orders from Fresh Direct. They don't even have anything within shouting distance.
May 19, 2007
what happened to frank & son?
Frank & Son ("Feeling Italian today?") has been on McGuinness and Freeman for a long time. However, it was a LUNCH place (as the sign advertises) and not open for dinner or on weekends. The purpose seemed clear by its location.
For whatever dumb reason, when I was working at home I never thought to come up here for a sandwich (to be fair, it wasn't exactly in my daily perimeter) and then after I got a day job, there were random days off or at home where I thought, I should go up there and get a sandwich. Man, I bet they're great.
Opening Day 2007. We have to go to the 7 train anyway, and we decide that we are finally going to get a legendary (in our minds) sandwich from Frank & Son. We hop on the B61, and when we get to the corner of Green, realize that it's closed. We make do with hot dogs at Shea.
But now I take the B61 almost every day to work and it's never open. It was always open early, again, for their core customers. At this point, it's not just closed for vacation.
May 18, 2007
the william taft vegetarian diner
On Calyer St., between Lorimer and Guernsey, two blocks down from Manhattan Ave., is a tiny commercial space. One side is a laundromat, and the other side has had a few tenants.
When I moved to Greenpoint, that side was occupied by a shop that seemed to only sell fabric softener and motor oil (at least, that's all that was ever in the window). One of those stores that you look at from the outside and think, "How on earth do they stay in business?"
They were replaced by an Italian sandwich shop called Frangello's. We were excited when this place opened because Greenpoint needed a good sandwich shop. And they were very, very good - but it took them 20 minutes to make one sandwich, and they were never open. They closed at 3pm on Saturday. Not open on Sunday. Closed by 5pm every weekday. We would walk by there and say, "I'm going home to change and I'll be back in 15 minutes on my way to the ball game, I'd like to get a sandwich" and they'd reply, "Sorry, we're closing." Needless to say, all of these factors is probably why they barely lasted three months.
A few months back, the shuttered space had a sign taped to it, announcing the William Taft Vegetarian Restaurant. We weren't sure if it was a joke or not. Walking by once to find people inside cleaning, we asked when the place would open and were told April 15. That day came and went, and I just assumed it was another NYC restaurant venture that just never got off the ground.
A few weeks ago, we noticed that the bright red FRANGELLO'S awning had been removed. We hoped that meant progress. And last night, the boyfriend noted that there was a new sign out front. I walked up today to get this shot:
There were people inside painting, who claimed they should be open by the end of the month. Hey guys, here's a tip: DON'T CLOSE AT 5PM BEFORE ANYONE IS HOME FROM WORK. If they actually are open at times that people want to order food (and the delivery will be key), and the food is any good, the location is excellent and they should do well.
Hey, at least it's not another bar.
May 17, 2007
"jack o'neill's public house"
Right next to the laundromat on Franklin St., between Greenpoint and Milton. The door was open and the place is ready to go any minute now.
Just what we need, another bar.
On the positive side, I do appreciate the authentic restoration of the window wells and the fact that the decor actually blends into the neighborhood.
May 16, 2007
manhattan ave. commerce update
There are a couple of choice storefronts on Manhattan Ave. that have been empty for a while. One is at 880 Manhattan, right next to the church. It was formerly a chiropractor's office, and then it sat empty for a while, and then the building permits went in the window. It was a good location, right near the subway, so I was hopeful.
Tonight, on the way home from the G, I noticed that the newspaper was down from the front window.
What is it?
A money order shop.
Right across the street from - a money order shop.
*sigh*
I'm eyeing the former international phone center on Manhattan in the other direction, right across from the Starbucks. But I fear that it too will be a center for envios de dinero (sorry, don't know the Polish for money order).
My favorite graffiti ever in Greenpoint was on the construction hoarding in front of the now-Bank of America:
WE NEED A MOVIE THEATER, NOT ANOTHER BANK
Right now I'd settle for a grocery store that was open until 10 or 11pm and didn't specialize in 47 kinds of Polish juice, but nothing else.
May 13, 2007
43 Franklin St. & Studio B rant
I believe the ground floor of this 4-family house at 43 Franklin St. was being used as landlord-look-the-other-way live-in commercial for a while, and then the FOR RENT sign went up. Everyone had the property for a while, that apts. & lofts sign would go down, and then go up again, and I pretty much gave up on anything useful for the neighborhood going into that space.
A few months ago, I parked my car on that block and noticed DOB permits and activity, and the DOB permits noting something about restoring an existing restaurant or cafe. I was hoping for a coffee house, the boyfriend fervently wanting a closer bodega (as much as we love the God Bless Deli Grocery, it's still not around the corner).
Yesterday, I parked the car in front and this time, there were people inside working that looked like they might know what the place is. Excitedly, I stopped in front of the door and asked, "What's this place going to be?"
"A bar!" the gentleman answered, equally excitedly.
My face fell.
"Come here, come here. Where do you live?"
I pointed, and said, "I just hope you guys are going to be better neighbors than Studio B is."
Yeah, I'm bummed. We don't need another bar on this block; the faux-Irish pub next to the laundromat is about to open any day now (there's a name painted on it now). And with a bar that close to Studio B, the hipsters will all flock to drink there before going to shows at Studio B, meaning their inane chatter about where to go next and where is the subway and whatever other bullshit they feel the need to discuss on my corner at 4am is going to be carried even further throughout the neighborhood.
There was a reason I left the Lower East Side, but even there, the bars all have PLEASE RESPECT OUR NEIGHBORS AND KEEP YOUR VOICES DOWN signs outside. The only thing Studio B has started doing (in its defense) is sweeping up the sidewalk, so it's not completely disgusting every morning after the club is open - but we still won't chance parking on that block any more because of all the broken bottles left on the curb and in the gutter.
I like living in a city and I like living in a neighborhood. We would have no problem with Studio B if the patrons STFU on their way to and from the subway and stopped throwing their trash up and down the block. And same goes for the new, soon-to-open bar at 43 Franklin.
welcome back to me
I started this blog about a year ago, imagining a place for a photoblog and some occasional commentary. And then I spent most of my time on flickr, and it seemed like duplicate effort. However, that never stopped me from commenting on other neighborhood blogs, which made me realize I still have 1) a unique viewpoint and 2) something to say.
So 11222 is back.