ryan

greenpoint, illuminated by set lights.

rena

curved and otherwise

I fell in love with a store today, Pip-Squeak Chapeau.

It’s the three month old, concept store of designer Sveta Dresher.

(this pic doesn’t do it justice)

There was something magical about the whitewashed floorboards and videography on the walls playing to Arvo Pärt (who’s name she kindly wrote down for me).  The multi-sensory experience was like walking through clouds and made me want to touch each of the natural fiber, frilly and knitty items – the perfect environment for such tactile things.

I wanted everything!  From every hand-made chiffon skirt and knitted dress, to each carefully chosen journal…this is going to be dangerous…

At least my new found obsession with Estonian composer, Arvo Pärt won’t cost me too much:

On a chirpier note, watch Björk interview Arvo Pärt for the BBC program “Modern Minimalist” (1997)

A single man (or woman) might find solace here in this neat and tidy unit in Greenpoint down by the river Newtown Creek.

Now you’ll see what I see…

- Spacious and gracious bedroom.  Accordion metal gates give it just a hint of danger.  Situated in the back of the building so the din of industry won’t disturb thee.

- Plenty ‘o closet for ye.

- Every king (or queen) needs his (or her) throne.  Sorry it’s a bit blurry but you can make out the outlines of the essentials.

- Technically this is the dining/living/kitchen.  All it’s really got goin’ for it is that little window high up there and the cabinets are an olivy green shade of gross.

- Here’s the great surprise… there’s another unit that’s privately connected to the one upstairs!  That means this is technically a duplex.  SAWEET!

- This is the bathroom that goes with it.  Standing shower and I swear there’s a toilet back there.

- And it gets SWEETER!  Your own private backyard patio and…

- …you’re own private ALLEY!  Never had one of these myself so I don’t know what to really do with it.  Might be an interesting place to grow vines.  Suggestions would be GREAT!

- You don’t need to rent both units to have the benefit of this common coin-op laundry!  Pretty sweet convenience considering there’s not much at all out by where this building is.

- Heat and hot water are INDEED included.

- If you choose to rent both units, the monthly total comes to $1495.

- Landlord requires first, last, and security to move in (that’s 3x the rent.)

- Not sure about pets but if you comment and ask me, I’ll find out.

- Available 12/1/09

- Map here.

First person to comment gets it.  GO!

ryan

the neighborhood butcher. 14 lb free range turkey, check.

rena

the sound of firetrucks at dusk

Original Cablecast Date: 11/17/2009
From Sector B: The Business of Brooklyn Eps. 32

Let Flea-dom Ring! During the downturn, when running a retail space is pretty pricey, flea markets are on the rise. A behind-the-stalls look at why they’re so popular now, and what it takes to set yourself up (it’s not quite as simple as it looks).

Sector B: The Business of Brooklyn airs Tuesdays and Fridays at 1:30pm & 9:30pm; Wednesdays at 2:30pm & 10:30pm on the BCAT TV Network: Time Warner 56, Cablevision 69, RCN 84 and Verizon 44. You can also watch this and other episodes online at http://www.bricartsmedia.org/bit and following the Sector B: The Business of Brooklyn link. Download this and other segments as podcasts via iTunes keyword: “Brooklyn Independent Television.”

Being back in Brooklyn with Nick this month has been amazing. I have been sure to have the best month possible and being back in New York is even more satisfying after spending a month and a half in the suburbs. I’ve also come to appreciate not having a full-time job a lot more. My yoga instructor and I had a whole conversation about this the other day.

A lot of people my age are un- or under-employed in New York these days. I wonder if that has anything to do with Brooklyn being the blogging capital of the world… Anyways, here’s some of my favorite things to do daily/weekly with my free time instead of napping:

- Volunteering
- Watching Regis & Kelly every morning
- Grocery shopping on a regular basis
- Walking everywhere
- Reading the paper daily
- The NY Times crossword puzzle
- Reading and compiling books to read in the future
- Exploring coffee shops
- Signing up for mailing lists and newsletters to know about everything happening in NYC
- Petting neighborhood cats
- Yoga yoga yoga
- Photos photos photos

A little something before bed…

Finally finished painting and fixing up my bedroom at my new spot in Greenpoint. I wanted to make the most out of the two small rooms I moved into in September and while I finished my dressing / computer room (pictures coming soon) right off the bat I’d seriously been slacking on putting the bedroom together, something I regret not doing sooner, as it’s looking pretty damn good if I might say so myself. Unfortunately I got caught up in the flash flood that is life and as I didn’t attack this project right away it fell by the wayside.

However, my mother wanting her cordless drill back before the weekend gave me the final kick in the pants I needed to pull it all together and I painted (Behr Premium Ultra – Serene), hung divider / privacy curtains (Ikea Dignitet hanging system w/ Ikea 2-layer light blocking curtains) as it’s a railroad apartment and myself and my roommate didn’t get the second door open yet, and put up a little 20 or so compartment wall storage thing I picked up  at the Container Store. It’s not 100% finished as I’m sure I’ll get some more ideas for how to utilize the space and I have to figure out what the hell I’m going to do with my bike, but at least it looks a wee bit more respectable now and I can feel like an actual adult instead of a recent college grad who hasn’t fully let go of his college days’ lifestyle or decorating habit (though it wasn’t this bad think electrical spool tables, a cot, etc).

Before I turn in though for my first night in my bedroom 2.0 I’m trying to sort out which discussions I’m going to try and catch for the final day of Entrepreneur Week up at Columbia U. Since I signed up for the Start Up & Idea Stage Events as that’s where my crowdsourced fashion intelligence project is right about now I’m thinking about checking out The Development, Launch and Turnaround of High-Impact & Disruptive Technologies, CEO Challenges and How To Surmount Them, and Three Billion in Value Created: Top Entrepreneurs in NYC Reflect. While most of the events haven’t really had much for me…well more so the topics didn’t really hit me so I didn’t check them out, one that I did make it to and loved was

A Roadmap for the Tech/Mobile/Telecom/Media Sectors: Top Entrepreneurs Reflect
MODERATOR: Adam Penenberg, Author of Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter, How Today’s Smartest Businesses Grow Themselves
PANELISTS:
Noah Glass, Founder & CEO of GoMobo.com
Chris Logan, Founder & CEO of cc:Sync
Jeff Stewart, Founder & CEO of Urgent Career
Scott Heiferman, Co-Founder & CEO of Meetup.com
Darren Herman, Head of Digital Media at The Media Kitchen

Great conversations, and great panelists. Also, some interesting questions from the audience. Definitely also left me with some questions about how one might go about getting to the point where they’re making things happen when you’re in a situation like mine without a tech lead / co-founder, something I’m desperately searching for and hoping to possibly meet from my participation in Startup Weekend NYC. Can’t wait for this tomorrow eve. Don’t know what it’s going to be like, but it seems fun and intense and I tend to like things with those qualities, so…

Anyhow, about the panel and the event as a whole, I must say the standout was most definitely Scott Heiferman, Co-founder & CEO of Meetup.com who I had the pleasure of speaking with, albeit briefly, after the panel. Didn’t get to finish, or really even start as he was kinda mobbed and in a hurry, but I got his card and definitely plan on emailing him sooner, rather than later.

One major thing he said that really struck me was about creating a great service / launching a great idea that actually helps people, that solves problems, and not necessarily in a humanitarian way, but something that helps people live their lives and makes it easier or better, something enriching, versus a service that does something like…I think his example was helps people buy a watch some character on a TV show is wearing. Loved it.

Alright…that’s it…about time to go to bed…wash my face, brush my teeth, put in my Invisalign, and get horizontal and maybe, just maybe watch a little Darker Than Black on my comp.

(PICTURES OF THE BEDROOM TO FOLLOW IN THE AM)

(sound of triangle ringing)

COOOOMMMMMEEEE ‘n GET IT!

For our debut (daboo), we’ve luckily eked out a booth for the now SOLD OUT Greenpoint Food Market happening THIS SATURDAY at the Church of Massiah in Greenpoint, Brooklyn from 12n-5p.  Map here:

We’ll also be giving a workshop on kombucha brewing at 3p.

Should be a rollicking good time.  Bring your appetites and visit the MOMBUCHA table on an empty stomach before you go around gobbling everything in sight!

Flyer by Joann Kim.

One of the many annoyances of living in NYC is that a production shoot will frequently interrupt your daily routine. Today was a freezing cold, windy and rainy day, but for some reason, everybody was shooting in Greenpoint. Some project had trailers parked all up and down Driggs Ave., but I didn’t see anyone out in the weather, other than a few workers taping down wires. Then, there was a commercial shooting at the track. A little tent had been erected next to the track, and about ten people and all their equipment huddled under it. A guy dressed like a referee stood out on the track opposite four muscular dudes in summer running gear, who posed squatted down as if about to race. They must have been freezing. An aide with a showy sense of urgency stopped me and requested I run around behind the tent, so as not to mess up their shot, so I had to squelch through the mud, dodging trees and benches, every time I did a lap.

Exiting the food court adjacent to the Lex & 53rd subway station, an Indian guy in some sort of food industry uniform chased two Hispanic guys who both wore a different restaurant’s uniform. ‘Mexico, Mexico, everybody from Mexico!’ the Indian guy was saying, while the two other guys rolled their eyes at each other, and clearly tried to out-walk him. ‘I love tacos! But I am just not [unintelligible]. Seriously, Mexico is a beautiful country, a gorgeous country.’

On Park Avenue, a car failed to go promptly at a green light, causing several cars to lay on their horns for a good long while, which in turn interrupted the phone conversation of a thin blond woman whose tweed pencil skirt met her black leather boots in a perfect horizontal line across her kneecaps. ‘It’s just so loud here,’ she screamed into the phone. ‘It is just too loud, I mean. This whole city, I don’t – this city is so…loud, and I really, I feel sorry for people who have to…’

Lard! I hate lard!

This may sound as sacrilegious as an Exxon exec owning an electric car, but I often despise patronizing bars. I have a love-hate explanation: I love craft brews. I hate paying $6 or $7 a pint.

“Then come to Brouwerij Lane,” my beerloving pal Matt suggested. The Greenpoint beer store pours its growler-ready draft beers on premise by the pint ($4) and the half pint ($2), creating a low-cost tasting station. “It’s like permanent happy hour,” he said, joyous words that echoed in my ears as we convened at Brouwerij Lane (78 Greenpoint Ave., at Franklin Ave., Brooklyn, 347-529-6133).

Though more store than saloon, Brouwerij contains a smattering of tables and, most crucially, a bathroom. We secured a corner table and tiptoed to the taps. A chalkboard listed the night’s intoxications, ranging from North Coast’s dark, cockles-warming Old Rasputin and Heartland Brewery’s sweet, spiced Imperial Smiling Pumpkin Ale. Tasty, but we thirsted for fresh-hop brews. August and September signal harvesting season for hops—the flower cones that provide beers’ bitter, floral flavors.

And though most hops are dried and packaged, just-plucked hops form fall’s fleeting delicacy: fresh-hopped beer. It’s grassy and vibrant, greener and livelier than super-bitter bombs such as Stone IPA or Bear Republic Racer 5.

Heart palpitating, drool forming, I dove into a Southern Tier Harvest Ale.

It drank citric and piney with just the slightest caramel jolt. By contrast, Matt’s Victory Harvest Ale was assertively malty and earthy, and the Two Brothers Heavy Handed Wet Hop was light in carbonation but heavy on the tongue. Paying but $4 a pint, we quickly and economically drank ourselves into a David Hasselhoff-like stupor.

Unlike the Hoff, there were no hamburgers to scavenge off the floor; instead, we debated the best food to cure beer munchies.

I voted for area Mexican star Papacito’s (999 Manhattan Ave. betw. Huron & Green Sts., Brooklyn, 718-349-7292), which makes Baja-quality fish tacos. Matt was atwitter after reading a rave review: “The [bacon] combination we found most persuasive was a weirdo appetizer at Polish newcomer Karczma, which features a bread dip called ‘peasant lard’—a pool of molten fat dotted with smoky bits of bacon.”

He paused for a moment, letting the words marinate in my mind, then added, “I want lard, and I want it now!” Now, Matt’s as keen as I am for culinary adventures, eager to trek to Brooklyn and Queens’ hinterlands for, say, a slice of clam-crowned pizza or extra-spicy chorizo. I mostly trust his taste. But lard and bread seemed as appealing as another Bloomberg term.

“I’m watching my girlish figure…” I begged, pointing to the beach ball between my nipples and waist as soft as Wonder bread. “Lard,” Matt commanded, a dining dictator issuing his final directive. I meekly agreed. Bellies sloshing with a fresh-hop sea, we bounded up Greenpoint Avenue to Karczma (136 Greenpoint Ave. betw. Manhattan & Greenpoint Aves., 718-349-1744; Brooklyn). It looked like the Wild West invaded Poland.Wooden booths were complemented by wagon wheels and a faux well. Farm implements were strewn willy-nilly, providing ample weaponry should we be overrun by the brains-craving undead.

Using our tastily pickled gray matter, we ordered a banquet of Polish brews, beer-roasted ham hocks, stuffed cabbage, kielbasa, pierogies and peasant-style lard. “I enjoy that one very much,” assured the waitress, wearing a frilly dress. Matt beamed with I-told-you-so pride. His smile broadened as we tore into kielbasa that was split and griddle-crisped to a snappy, fatty crunch.The pierogies were plump and tender, swollen with mashed potatoes. The cabbage was as tasty as limp leaves wrapped around a meaty lump could ever aspire to be. However, the ham hocks were a brown slurry of bone, skin and swine. For once, I understood my girlfriend’s vegetarianism.

Matt gamely gobbled a couple chunks.

His smile sagged like 70-year-old cleavage, then skipped town upon the lard’s arrival. Thin-sliced brown bread was served alongside a cool ramekin containing what resembled chunky pomade. I sunk my knife into the thick spread, smeared it across bread and took my first and last bite.The lard was as slick and flavorful as Crisco. The bacon nibs were rubbery speed bumps. In car terms, peasant lard was a clunker.

“Seconds?” I asked Matt, whose face was lard-colored.

“Shut up,” he said, reaching for his crisp, palate-cleansing pilsner.

WORD on Wednesday, 11 November 2009.

Happy Wednesday! You’ll see that Jonathan Safran Foer, Jonathan Lethem, Jane Gardam, Street Gang, and The City Out My Window are still hanging out on the front table. Not a ton of new releases for us this week, so there’s a lot in common with previous weeks. But you didn’t click on this post to hear about what’s still the same.

First, let’s have a big round of applause for the return of Asterios Polyp, which is basically half the world’s favorite graphic novel (if not favorite novel, period) of the year! (The other half the world seems to have chosen Stitches, if you were wondering.) We could not be happier about its return. Hopefully it stays in stock through Christmas, because we plan on selling as many as possible. It, and that gorgeous shade of purple, get to sit on top.

Also new this week, though it’s hard to see it in the picture, is Zadie Smith’s new collection of essays, Changing My Mind. Do click on that link (or you know, visit the store) to check out the cover, which is lovely. The paperback of In Other Rooms, Other Wonders is also out, and highly recommended by WORD staff. It’s not a National Book Award nominee for nothing.

The last few weeks have been packed with BEST OF collections, and this week, we’re happy to be featuring the latest, from Dalkey Archive, Best European Fiction 2010. This is the first such collection from Dalkey, and it’s star-studded, assuming your idea of a star is Jean-Phillippe Toussaint, Victor Pelevin, or Christine Montalbetti. Keeping in the European vein, we also have The English American, by Alison Larkin. And a book about Russia by a Brit: Sashenka, by Simon Montefiore.

We hope we’ll see you for First Independent Bookstore Week NYC over the next seven days!

L to R: Libba Bray, Robin Wasserman, and Carolyn MacCullough

Last night we had our fourth installment of YA NOT?: a literary salon for not-so-young adults, and hosted not one, not two, but THREE fantastic YA authors. It was the sort of evening that started with the reveal that originally the authors had intended to name the evening “Hookers and Blow,” and ended with Robin recommending that everyone in the audience eat fruit.

Some highlights:

Robin, on being asked what, if anything, she takes into consideration about her readers when writing, and whether YA authors have an obligation to think about their stories having a moral: “What is writing a book, anyway, if it’s not trying to convince people that this is the way the world is and this is how you should feel about it? Authors who write for adults do the same thing. They just don’t call it a moral.”

Libba, after being asked if being a parent has changed her mind about whether there is any content truly unacceptable in YA fiction and if there’s anything she wouldn’t let her son read: “I mean, are you asking if I’m worried my kid is going to go off and read books that are too grown-up for him? Because no, no I’m not at all concerned about my kid sneaking away and secretly READING.”

On the responsibilities of YA authors, Carolyn said: “The only responsibility authors have is to their story.”

And Robin said: “I think the only obligation we have is to acknowledge that books change people’s lives. We can’t control reader reaction to our books, good or bad. But we need to remember that our words matter.”

In case you were wondering which superpowers each authors would go for: Libba wants to be fluent in all languages. Robin wants teleportation. And Carolyn wants to be able to rewind time.

Perhaps the highlight of the evening, however, was Carolyn’s introduction of the word “spoony” to the proceedings (and to most of the attendees). Though none of us had heard of it beforehand—and Robin adamantly protested against its very existence—it nonetheless came to dominate the evening and appear in the answer to almost every question.

Unfortunately for Robin, though, it is a very well-documented word. Here, for example, is the Merriam-Webster entry: “silly, foolish; especially : unduly sentimental.” It’s also in the Routledge Dictionary of Contemporary Slang, along with this delightful example of usage: “I felt rather spoony upon that vixen.” The final nail in the coffin, however, is its use in David Copperfield, and yet another fantastic sentence: “There is no doubt whatsoever that I was a lackadaisical young spoony.“

Spoony! Please try to use it as many times as possible today, and keep last night’s YA NOT? alive.

I’ll end the post with this thought from Robin, who told us that she has not read many classic books:

“I do think it’s valuable to read them, though. I just don’t do it. Like fruit! I don’t eat it. But I advise that you do.”

YA NOT will be on hiatus next month, but stay tuned for more fantastic YA authors next year! To learn more about last night’s authors—all WORD favorites, all highly recommended—check out their websites: Libba, Robin, and Carolyn. Signed copies of their newest books available at WORD as long as supplies last!

For two years after I returned to New York I lived in the neighborhood that I grew up in: Howard Beach. When I left I had sworn that I would never go back to the place that I spent my late teens running from, but rents were astronomical and with the realization that I wanted to be an artist came the tricky task of providing for myself. I knew that it would take me awhile to find an art/money balance and in the meantime I had no interest in living like a starving artist — I would take screaming Italians over Ramen noodles any day.

Everyday I ran like a banshee to catch the Q41, which only came twice an hour, to connect to the A train at the JFK stop. My backpack was more like a mini-mobile home because when you live farfar away there is no hope of going back home to grab that sequin blouse which you didn’t think you would need but turns out you do. So, I had to bring everything that I needed and everything that I might need. On a typical day I would have: dance clothes, tap shoes, book, almost-finished newspaper, planner, camera, comb, make-up bag, costume for the night’s show, towel and soap for a post-class shower, lunch, snack and sometimes even dinner (I never let good meatballs go to waste). It was like I was a backpacker, except without the exotic location and vacation time.

My angst grew. I went through the stages of grief over my situation. :
Denial: “No, I ‘m not really living here, I am just staying here.” and “It’s not big deal, jut a few things to carry around.”
Anger: “Why was I born into a family who lives so far away from civilization?”
Bargaining: “OK, if I live here for a few years, divine retribution guarantees that I’ll find an amazing apartment when I move.”
Depression: “I should quite everything and get a civil servant job like my mother keeps telling me to do.”
Acceptance: “OK, I live here and now is the time how to figure out how to get the hell out. “

Because I was still working out my art/money balance getting out meant that I started being the cat-sit, dog-sit, house-sit, plant-sit, turtle-sit whore for homes from Harlem to Greenpoint. I got to explore NY, learn a lot about what its like to live in lots of different neighborhoods and the habits of spoiled pets, some of whom ate better than me. After all that moving I officially moved out of Howard Beach to Brooklyn, two blocks from where my mother grew up (how is that for irony?)

I looked at my backpack this morning and thought back to the Howard Beach lugging days. And laughed, because my backpack is not so much smaller. Why? Because this is NY and unless your life revolves around a five block radius do you ever get the chance to run home? I still have my workout clothes, a lunch, a book, a planner, a camera…On the train today I noticed that about half the people on it had similar bags. We are all backpackers, the urban kind.

My questions is: What was the strangest thing in your backpack today?
I’ll go first: attachable “6-month pregnant” belly to practice for an upcoming character/film. What about you?

• I was pleasantly surprised to find out that composer John Adams has a blog (h/t someone who’s in my Google Reader, I forget whom but will link to you when I find out!).  Here he blogs from AirTran’s in-flight wifi and wittily takes down Glenn Beck (“a pudgy blond Middle American Mussolini”) and describes Adorno’s writing as “those serpentine sentences that smile at you, then curl around and bite your ass like a cobra.”
• Hipsters, Lutherans and local food enthusiasts mingle at the Greenpoint, Brooklyn Lutheran Church of the Messiah, which has been letting local bands rehearse in its space.  Nice!
• Despite some interesting new neuroscience findings about music and emotion, we still don’t really get what it’s all about yet (and thankfully, or else all of music academia would be out of a job).
• Can Gestalt psychology explain why most people like modern art better than modern (European-derived art) music? (This and the link above h/t my partner, Matt.)
• Rob Walker (of the NYT “Consumed” column) tries to figure out how Pandora Internet Radio knows what you might like to listen to.

Last weekend, I was supposed to go to the real-life Fred Flare store (located at Meserole and Leonard in Greenpoint) with a friend, but at the last moment, she couldn’t. I was faced with a big choice — should I stay at home and do what I normally do on Saturdays (sleep, eat, rinse, repeat) or venture out on my own to the land of monochromatic dots, Russian nesting doll USB thumb drives, Barbie record earrings and other such items that populated my adolescent imagination in suburban Missouri? I went for Plan B.

It was a little tempting not to buy out the entire store, but after some intense browsing, I walked away with this incredible fold-and-mail Nancy Drew stationery. I love a good, clean, naive-and-privileged-teenagers-living-in-the-1930s mystery just as much as the next guy, but what stands out the most in my memory about the series was the strict adherence to certain words, phrases and recurring themes. Nancy is always described as a “Titian blonde.” George always “loves her boyish name.” Bess is always “pleasantly plump.” Nancy and her pals seem to take enough time from their sleuthing at least once per mystery to have a “luncheon” of chicken salad sandwiches or deviled eggs or something. And sooner or later, some suspicious character shows up in a “dark sedan” to whisk away a clock or a puppet or a sapphire with a spider in the middle. In other words? It’s awesome. Haven’t written any letters on the stationery yet but hoping to soon.

I took a break from my travels throughout Greenpoint to grab a meal at one of my favorite places near my apartment, natural foods cafe Urban Rustic (see above). Nothing better than a classic turkey, bacon and swiss, a glass of ginger ale, my Greenpoint roadmap (courtesy of Fred Flare) and yes… a well-worn copy of Pride and Prejudice, which I just finished last week (more on that later)!

Between Fred Flare and Urban Rustic, however, I made an impromptu stop at the Greenpoint Public Library, where they were having a book sale. I picked up a copy of one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, Much Ado About Nothing, for one dollar, as well as… a Brooklyn library card! It felt good to tick a couple of things off the big list.

• The below article in Crain’s New York references an auction of 16 condominium units located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn at a 75% reduction from the original stated sales price. Is this another sign of a bad economy or is it the result of a developer who got into trouble (possibly due to slow or faulty construction) and is required to sell condo units quickly to avoid profits being eaten up by construction loan interest. In bidding on these units, a potential purchaser should be careful to investigate the condition of the building and the condominium units. Any warranty given for defects in construction and materials will only be as good as the developer providing them. There may be a reason why a 75% discount exists. It may be prudent to hire a good engineer to inspect the building and the unit to determine if there are potential defects that will need to be addressed after title to the condominium unit has passed. You may wish to check to see if the developer is involved in any lawsuits. The presence of litigation may be a sign of things to come.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20091013/FREE/910139992

• Although there is a 14% decline in the citywide home prices from 2008, there is a 4% increase in prices from last quarter with the number of sales increasing 35% over the 2nd and 3rd quarters which is still 20% below the depressed levels of 2008. The data changes depending on what part of the city you are referring to. The overall prices of condominiums rose 1% over the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters. Manhattan dropped 5%. That is possibly the result of high priced condo units remaining unsold.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20091015/FREE/910159993

• Home prices rose nationally for the third straight month as indicated in the Standard & Poors/Case-Shiller index (see the link below). Why are these figures important? Rising prices mean appreciation in the value of properties which assists people who owe more to the bank than their home is worth. Rising property values also make it more likely that mortgage loans will be funded because the properties will appraise higher. More equity in properties may contribute to the ability to purchase replacement properties rather than participate in a short sale. All aid in the recovery of the economy.

http://www2.standardandpoors.com/spf/pdf/index/CSHomePrice_Release_102706.pdf

It is uncertain what affect a rise in foreclosures and unemployment paired with the expiration of the tax credit for first time home buyers will have on prices in the future. Talk about a roller coaster . . .

Visit: www.lavenderlawblog.com for other posts and more information

Cool concept, horrible flyer.

* Tonight, Ladies Lotto is hosting a “future of Fashion” panel at the Tribeca Grand. I’m not familiar with Ladies Lotto, but this panel promises an inside look at the industry featuring “some of the city’s leading fashion industry experts including designers, forecasters, stylists, photographers, publicists and editors.” And there are gift bags and cocktails! More info here.

* Tomorrow night things really kick off with Ruben Toledo giving a talk and doing a signing of his new illustrated Penguin Couture Classics at F.I.T.
Thursday, October 29, 6-8 pm
Katie Murphy Amphitheatre, Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center, first floor
“Ruben Toledo talks about art, fashion, his wife Isabel, her influence on his work, and why “collaboration is the name of the game” for this Cuban-born artist. A signing of books from Penguin’s Couture Classics series will follow the lecture. The covers of Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, and The Scarlet Letter feature original art by Ruben Toledo. “ Free with RSVP. Call 212.217.4585 or email museuminfo@fitnyc.edu. .

* Liz from White Lightning hosts a party for Beauty Channel at the Korres store in Soho.

RSVP to lgovea@studiobeautymix.com

* Also on Thursday, INVEN.TORY hosts a cocktail launch party for Lutz & Patmos:

* Friday night, the Halloween fun starts with an art crawl in DUMBO with gallery events, and a dance party:

* Another Friday night extravaganza: the return of Ruff Club? That’s what I’m hearing.

There are so many events on actual Halloween night, I debated even posting since I would inevitably leave some out. But here are a few of my best suggestions, based on past year’s parties, hype, and word of mouth:

* Flavorpill’s party, which is always huge, and benefits a good cause:

* Surreal Estate’s “Heave on Hell” in Bushwick:

Just one of many “secret” Halloween loft parties going on this weekend. (Recommended by Bushwick BK.)

Tramway cables on the left, the 59th St. Bridge on the right.

I’d always wanted to ride the tram to Roosevelt Island — the narrow strip of land situated in the East River between Manhattan and Queens — mostly, for the view it offers of the city.

So, the other day, we took a breather from the job hunt and DMV hell and the social security card nightmare (it appears you need an actual “card” in N.Y., in order to apply for a job), took the R train to 59th and Lex, walked to Second Ave., and climbed the concrete steps leading to the platform where the tram was docked.

Whew. What an opportunity to rise above it all.

Since a Metro card will take you just about everywhere here in N.Y., two swipes got us each a four-minute ride on the tram.

There’s something magical about watching the ground and the people on it shrink incrementally before your eyes. It feels so peaceful.

A little bit higher now…

Hey, a techno dog park right next to the East River — lucky K9s.

I wished I could’ve kept rising higher and higher…

A spidery shadow was cast over the river on the approach to the rocky shore of Roosevelt Is.

Once our feet touched ground, a stupendous view was there to greet us. Don’t you love it when you stand beneath a monumental structure, like a bridge, and feel so small? I do.

Since we’d done a little googling before our visit, we knew what we wanted to see. We strolled south down the lovely Riverwalk toward the remains of an old small pox hospital.

Gothic and spooky, the structure instantly brought to mind Mandalay and Dragonwyck and Thornfield Manor…

Notice the funny Casper-like graffito on the left. It really did feel haunted.

In fact, the entire Island felt out-of-time and seemed to harbor an undertone of ghostliness.

Scarier to imagine than the small pox hospital is the New York City Municipal Lunatic Asylum, a mental institution that once resided on the Island. All that remains of it is an octagonal building called — what else? — The Octagon. It’s now an apartment building.

Can you imagine living in an apartment that once housed what the tourist pamphlet calls “woe-be-gotten inmates”? It like the stuff of horror movies.

Anyway, you can read more about the asylum in the February 1866 issue of Harper’s New Monthly Magazine by clicking on this link. It’s a fascinating, first-person account that’s definitely worth a visit.

The most interesting section of the Island turned out to be the middle coast, from the westside down to the southern tip. Still, before departing for good, we shelled out the 25 cents apiece for tickets so we could ride the red commuter bus to check out the Island’s northern tip and visit the lighthouse.

As lighthouses go — and I’ve seen lots of them — it was a pretty good specimen, but didn’t compare to the dramatically romantic lighthouses that inhabit the Oregon coast. I know, apples and oranges. But this lighthouse actually looks better in J.C.’s flattering shot than it does in person.

On the north end of the Island, the view underwhelms — off to the Island’s east side, you have Costco glaring back from the Astoria shore. From the west, the tableau is the upper east side of Manhattan — patently boring.

Still, I’m glad I made the trip and satisfied my curiosity.

To make a fun day even more fun, we headed for Greenpoint to meet our good friend, B., for dinner. Descending the steps down to Roosevelt Island’s only subway stop (the most deeply dug tunnel in the city), we waited on the platform for the F train to arrive.

A bit creepy waiting and knowing you’re standing so far under the East River.

We arrived in Manhattan, boarded the #7 train and took it to Vernon/Jackson Ave’s. Then, we walked over the Pulaski Bridge toward B’s painting and sculpture studio.

Before going out for Mexican food and a few beers, I gazed through the studio’s window as the sun set  over Newtown Creek, fantasizing about having a studio of my own, once again — now that I’m back in my very favorite city. Sigh.

]]> http://runemployed.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/williamsburg-update-the-greenway/ Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:03:29 +0000 Seth http://runemployed.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/williamsburg-update-the-greenway/

Great news for recreation in Williamsburg! Over the past few weeks crews have been busy developing the Brooklyn Greenway along the waterfront on Kent Avenue. Don’t know much about the Greenway and why this is exciting for joggers, walkers and cyclists? Here’s a little background from the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative’s website:

In 1993, the Brooklyn Waterfront Trail was identified as a priority route in the Department of City Planning’s Greenway Plan for New York City, which outlined a vision for a citywide 350-mile network of greenways. The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway project area now spans 14 miles of Brooklyn waterfront, from Sunset Park to Newtown Creek in Greenpoint.

The minimum right-of-way sought for the finished Greenway is 30 feet, in order to accommodate two 7-ft. bike lanes, a 10-ft pedestrian path and 6 ft of landscaping.

When completed, it will provide a human scale connection between numerous waterfront communities now divided by highways and transit infrastructure. Benefits will include more waterfront access, better quality of life, healthier lifestyles, more diverse transportation options, and increased economic development, as more people find Brooklyn a desirable place to live or relocate their business.

So now the stretch of Kent Avenue from N. 14th Street down to Clymer Street has been re-zoned to one-way traffic only going in a northerly direction. This has freed up the side of the street closest to the river for recreational purposes and has already been painted with wide green lines to accommodate cyclists. This takes the large 18-wheelers off this road, reduces major traffic, and allows for a safer area to ride or run. Runners, note that the green path is intended to be a bike lane, so if you choose to run here please be mindful of cyclists and their right to use the route.

For more news about this project, take a look at this article from The Brooklyn Paper. I look forward to seeing this extended farther north into Greenpoint!

If you are interested in learning more about running in this area, see my previous post Industrial Charm: A Greenpoint-Williamsburg Run.

I’ve recently been getting into eating eggs for breakfast which wasn’t much of a habit, ever. Perhaps it has to do with what will apparently be the coldest winter since blizzard of ‘06 (I remember this vividly as I walked to school every morning and had to slide down a bridge covered in ice), perhaps I’m tiring of yogurt with granola and oatmeal with raisins (I’m also convinced I’m turning lactose). It’s also the influence of watching Julia Child’s omelette video where she emphasizes: “You have to manipulate the pan in order to form the omelette”. So manipulate I did.

I’ve been using leftover vegetables to chop and insert, this particular one includes 2 eggs, 3 mini carrots chopped, 3 perilla leaves from my backyard chopped (I have a load of leaves if you’d like some), and a single slice of prosciutto. I first lay a spoonful of Skimkim’s kimchi butter which is massaged with red pepper and herbs then once the pan is hot and the butter is tickling I lay out the omelette mixture and immediately start manipulating the pan. I swish it around and jerk it forward to eventually fold half of it onto itself. Maybe a minute or two more of cooking, leaving the inside a bit undercooked since it continues to cook once the stove is off, providing a perfectly soft and moist egg base. The various textures and taste in this omelette is what’s so amazingly gratifying. Prosciutto provides the salt and chewy, the undercooked carrots provides the crunch and the extreme herbiness of the perilla is grounding. It’s topped with cheddar, making it homey and rich. Now, I took the above picture before going ahead and attacking it with sriracha (cock sauce) and ketchup. I can do without the ketchup, but can’t do without my cock sauce. The omelette is accompanied by steaming mint tea and toasted english muffins lathered in ghee and gooseberry jam from sourpuss pickles.

It’s a pretty shitty looking day but let’s hope I”m not as lazy or braindead as I have been the last few days. It was an action packed weekend with 12 hours of kneading and twisting and a day of festivities for Oktoberfest at Transmitter Park. Hopefully I’ll get to write about that and everything else I’ve been meaning to write about for the last 6 months, this week. Wish me luck.