Greenpoint
Lorven Pharmacy
Culture on the Cheap
Moore Street Market, Revisited
After mentioning this establishment in a post last week I thought it would be fun to learn a little bit about its history— especially in light of the fact that the future of the Moore Street Market looks very cloudy nowadays. Per the June 13, 2007 edition of the New York Daily News:
…the city’s Economic Development Corp. had suddenly notified 20 merchants who operate in the cavernous Moore St. market in Williamsburg that the building was to close June 15 to make way for new affordable housing.
After decades at the same location, the merchants were furious at the city’s bullying tactics.
“At first, they offered us $20 a square foot for our businesses and told us we had 20 minutes to make up our minds,” recalled Virgilio Rodriguez, owner of Ramonita’s Restaurant and head of the merchants group. “No papers, nothing in writing. Just get out, they said.”
The bureaucrats at EDC didn’t even have the common sense to consult the local community board about the city’s plans to demolish the market – something required by city land use laws.
The good news is this market was spared closure for another year. The bad news is this year ends June 2008. Will it survive or will it be razed to build “affordable housing”? I guess we will find out soon enough.
Follows is an article from the July 29, 1941 edition of the New York Times about the opening of the Moore Street Market. Not only was the turnout for this event enormous, but New York’s very own Fiorello La Guardia was master of ceremonies. Enjoy!
Here is the plaque at Moore Street Market commemorating this event.
You can find it inside the Moore Street entrance to your left.
Miss Heather
Bushwick Photo du Jour: Montieth Street
Filed under: Bushwick
Even in its current wrecked state this is one neat mural!
Miss Heather
Poopie Po Polsku?
This weekend, dear readers, I beheld my very first piece of dog doo signage directed at the local Polish-speaking population…
at Scholes Street and Manhattan Avenue?!?
I am not an expert at public outreach, but I have to wonder how effective a sign admonishing people in Polish is going to be in a neighborhood that is largely Hispanic. Of course the punchline here is during all my years of living in Greenpoint (which is rumored to have a rather sizable Polish population) I have never, ever, seen such a sign posted here.
No wonder there is dog shit all over the place.
Miss Heather
Goodbye Blue Monday
Filed under: Bushwick
I had the pleasure of discovering this establishment while out knocking around in last week’s unseasonably warm weather. Intrigued, I went inside.
What I found was a rather neat coffeehouse/performance space jam-packed with every conceivable form and variety of stuff. And per their MySpace page, it is all for sale (god help Mr. Heather):
Goodbye Blue Monday was born 23 years ago (GBM was incorporated in 1984) and yes, its name is an homage to Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, “Breakfast of Champions or Goodbye Blue Monday.” AND YES!!! — EVERYTHING (almost, like 99.9% of everything) IS FOR SALE!!!! (Talk to Steve for more info.)
Twenty three years is a very impressive amount of time to operate a business. Unfortunately, this incredibly fun establishment may not be around too much longer: the proprietor has been diagnosed with cancer and is struggling to make ends meet. That said, a number of benefits are being planned to help him (and Goodbye Blue Monday) to survive. Anyone interesting in attending or performing at one of these events (the number of live performances they have scheduled—benefits and otherwise— is absolutely mind-boggling) should check out their MySpace page for more details.
Goodbye Blue Monday
1087 Broadway
Brooklyn, New York 11221
(718) 453-6343
Oh yeah, be sure to give Buddy a head rub for me!
Miss Heather
P.S.: On a semi-related note, please check out this post on Queens Crap about a lovely young girl in dire need of a bone marrow transplant.
Bushwick Photo du Jour: Graham Avenue
I found this beautiful old storefront during my last jaunt to the Moore Street Market. For those of you who are not in the know, the Graham Avenue Business District (from Johnson Avenue to roughly Cook Street) is an amazingly fun way to while away part of a Saturday afternoon— especially if you are a Mexican food maven like me. Not only did I find a number of hitherto untried hot sauces to try, but I also stocked up on fixings for many a cold winter night meal:
- Rajas
- La Morena refried beans with chipolte and adobo
- Some of the best looking poblano peppers I have seen in months
- Culantro (think cilantro on steroids)
- And much, much more!
Do give this area a whirl. Be sure to check out the Moore Street Market while you’re there:
Moore Street Market (AKA “La Marqueta”)
110 Moore Street
Brooklyn, New York 11206
Bon apetit!
Miss Heather
Public Service Announcement: Upcoming Bedbug Seminar
Though this is a ways off, I want to pass along that a bedbug workshop will be conducted March 12 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Hope Gardens Center in Bushwick.
Hope Gardens Center
195 Linden Street
Brooklyn, New York 11221
To R.S.V.P.: 212-863-8830
In addition, I have learned you can request that a bedbug seminar be conducted in your neighborhood by calling 311*. I would strongly advise each and every Greenpointer (infested or otherwise) who is reading this post to call and request a meeting be conducted right here in The Garden Spot. This situation effects all of us and the more knowledge we have about how to fight these “vermin of Satan” the better.
I do not want to this to happen to me. I’m making the call. How about you?
Miss Heather
Photo Credit: Chintamani
*I just tried this and got the run-around. More to follow.
Bushwick Photo de Jour: Bushwick Avenue
It should be noted that shortly after taking the above photo I found the following anatomical rendering just down the street at on P.S. 147.
And they say our public education system is failing!
Miss Heather
P.S.: Back on Green Street we Greenpointers have taken up animal husbandry.
No wonder parents are wiling to lie, cheat and steal to get into our public schools.
Great Moments in Crapitecture: 11 Ditmars Street
As I was walking down Broadway yesterday something caught my eye. It’s sheer crapitutude even impressed my jaded eye. Here it is.
Nice fence “Dutchy Construction“! It looks like it was constructed after passing a few “dutchies”. The rope is a nice touch.
Miss Heather
P.S.: Per the Department of Buildings this Bushwick chalet is going to be a two-family building. Um, okay.
Great Moments in Construction Safety: Montrose Avenue
When I glanced around the corner (from Bushwick Avenue to Bushwick Place) I suspected something wasn’t right. Upon closer inspection my suspicions were confirmed.
I did not have Hard Hat Hannah at my side (she is convalescing at an undisclosed location— more details to follow), but I know enough to intuit this is not proper construction safety. There were no permits posted, yet I noticed a bit of yellow paper was affixed to the front door. Let’s go in for a closer look, shall we?
It’s a hearing notice from the Department of Buildings! Clearly the owner of this building has taken note.
And has seen fit to continue working.
Miss Heather
Miss Heather’s New Pied-a-terre
Filed under: Bushwick
Yesterday we learned how utterly crass real estate marketing can be after taking a sojourn to Central Avenue and Stockholm Street. Perhaps I am simply clueless, but the appeal of bloated McMansions (as either a selling tool or an actual residence) eludes me. In addition to being bereft of any character whatsoever, these edifices are obscene in size— and while this might strike a chord of “luxury” to some, to me it is only that much more square footage for our herd of cats to vomit upon.
As I type away in my little apartment I occasionally lament the total lack of privacy. When I find myself in the position of having to write while the Simpsons (a favorite of Mr. Heather) is being blared at (seemingly) 100 decibels I remind myself of one very important fact: inasmuch as I dislike such “working conditions” there is one thing I despise more. This thing happens to be work. The way I see it, by reducing square footage I have also reduced the number of venues either my husband or our cats can despoil.
Bearing the previous in mind, dear readers, the reasons why I am smitten with the following pied-a-terre (located on Willoughby Avenue), should be self-evident.
First off, it has a rather large front yard.
While modest in size, it is lavishly appointed with those little things that make a house a home:
- Extra storage under the stairs
- A handless mannequin making what appears to be a Nazi salute
- Ghouls hanging from the rafters and most important of all…
Lucy with a brewski.
Who do I make my check out to?
Miss Heather
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