The Bally Bunion Bar on 95th Street in Bay Ridge will be playing host to the Ridge’s popular two-headed cover band, Head Over Heels and the Southern Comfort Band. From the Southern Comfort web site:

HEAD OVER HEELS was started almost 30 years ago. It has evolved into The Southern Comfort Band (a.k.a. Head Over the Hill). HEAD OVER HEELS has evolved into a premier PARTY and WEDDING Band. The Southern Comfort Band (a.k.a. Head Over The Hill) is a way for us to play the music that started it all. We are now taking it back to where it all started. In the South. (South Brooklyn) Together, we are Bay Ridge’s longest running Band.

The fun starts tonight at 10pm.

There’s been a lot of news lately about the spate of traffic accidents involving pedestrians in Bay Ridge.  A recent sad story caught the media’s attention when local legend, Joe Rollino, age 104, was struck and killed while crossing Bay Ridge Parkway at 13th Avenue. 

Unfortunately, he was just one of many.  Around the same time, there were reports that an elderly woman and child were struck on 92nd and Third Avenue. Last month, the Daily News reported that a local dentist was struck and killed on 4th Avenue and 79th Street by a hit and run driver who later turned herself in.  Another news report  told of an elderly man killed by a hit and run driver on Fourth Avenue in Sunset Park. Perhaps it’s not surprising that Fourth Avenue was recently named one of the most dangerous thoroughfares for pedestrians in the tri-state area in a study issued by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. 

One of the worst incidents I’ve heard about was recounted by Allison Robicelli, (owner of Robicelli’s Gourmet Market, 8511 Third Avenue).  Her mother-in law-was struck and nearly killed by a hit and run driver on the corner of 75th Street & Ridge Boulevard. She ended up in critical condition at Lutheran Hospital with severe head injuries.  Fortunately, she recovered, but they never found the driver. 

These stories and others led to a spirited discussion on the Bay Ridge Parents Yahoo Group of which I am a member. Nearly everyone had a story of a near miss or an actual accident. There were the oft-cited complaints of drivers ignoring four-way stops, running red lights, speeding, texting and talking on cell phones as well as acknowledgment that pedestrians share the blame by crossing in the middle of the street, ignoring traffic lights and committing other bone-headed moves. 

In a commendable effort to try to do something about the problem, the group formed a Facebook page, organized a petition, and testified at the January Community Board 10.  As reported in the New York Post, they suggested better enforcement of traffic laws and particular attention to certain high accident areas, including Fourth Avenue.

I hope that these efforts pay off, but I wonder if there is something else going on that makes Bay Ridge a more dangerous place to walk and drive than other parts of the city.  Here are my theories:

 - A suburban car culture in an densely-populated urban neighborhood.  I sometimes think of Bay Ridge as populated by suburban wannabes who for some reason don’t want to leave Brooklyn. We have lots of private homes and multi-car families. The cars tend to be of the super-sized  SUV variety. We drive when we could walk.  No wonder the streets become wildly congested.  Just try squeezing past a Lincoln Navigator on a small side street.  Witness the daily traffic jam in front of Visitation Academy on Ridge Blvd between 89th and 91st Streets where cars are double parked dropping kids off for school. It’s no better down the block at  PS 185 on 86th Street and Ridge Blvd.  Marcie, the crossing guard, wears her voice out shouting at the cars that won’t let the kids cross the street or that block the intersections. 

 - Lack of public parking.  It’s a war out there when it comes to getting a legal parking spot.  Most of the illegal u-turns I see (and do) are an effort to snag a meter that just became available.  

 - The Gowanus Expressway (there’s an oxymoron for you!).  There’s nothing “express” about it.  It’s as lousy as the smelly canal it’s named after. It’s such a bottleneck that Fourth Avenue becomes the surrogate expressway.

 - Frustration.  All of the above leads to tremendous frustration trying to drive around the neighborhood.  You’ll be tailgated while looking for a parking spot.  You’ll be honked at while letting a little old lady cross in front of you. The parking spot you’ve been patiently waiting for will be stolen out from under you. You’ll be bested at the four way stop when others barely pause before driving through. You’ll be ticketed by the parking vultures (ahem: traffic agents) if you double-park even just to let someone out of your car.

 - Aggression…and maybe all of that frustration makes us a little keyed up, quick to anger, easily provoked, less likely to yield the right-of-way.  I know it’s not a good sign when I hear my six year old in the backseat say “Mommy, you just said a bad word again!”  I always think it’s the other guy’s fault, but sometimes it’s my fault too. 

What to do about it?  Maybe just acknowledging that we’re all part of the problem can go a long way. Let’s take a deep breath before getting in the car and consciously try to take it easy out there. Don’t honk your horn at the briefest delay. Let the other guy go first.  Realize it probably won’t make a difference in your day if you miss the green light on Fourth Avenue. Hey – maybe even try walking a block or two?  It’d be good for the environment, your waistline, and your mental health (if you’re not hit by a car, that is).

The reopening of the Fort Hamilton branch of the Brooklyn Public Library has been delayed to the fall of 2010, according to the Brooklyn Paper. The 100+ year old building is apparently tasty – if you’re a termite, that is – and will require more extensive work to repair.

When complete, the renovation will increase the library floor space by 50%. But the branch has been replaced for nearly two full years by visits from the BPL’s mobile book truck.

Which I think is really sad, but given the state of library funding in this city (see: the game of Chicken that’s played with the library budget on an annual basis), I suppose a scaled-down temporary branch in an unused storefront is too much to ask for (something the library in Fairfield, CT did a few years ago).

And speaking of that annual game of Budget Chicken, the BPL is sending out a call for help! From Sheepshead Bites:

2009 has been a challenging year for many Brooklynites. Through it all, Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) has seen a record number of people use our free resources and services to help them achieve their dreams. But, with a current budget shortfall of $7 million and the possibility of more cuts in the future, we need your help.

Please consider making a generous year-end gift to BPL. For a 2009 tax deduction, make your contribution by December 31.

Your gift will help BPL provide:

• Free tutors and after-school programs
• More than 600 workshops to help jobseekers
• Books, DVDs, and literary and cultural programs for families
• Computer and internet access for new Americans and those without home computers

Please donate online now. You can also make a donation by phone at (718) 230-2738.

Brooklynites depend on their libraries, and we rely on your support to help deliver the high quality library service that every Brooklyn resident needs and deserves.

(Photo credit: Brooklyn Public Library)

As someone who has watched the Bay Ridge real estate market finally start sliding back to being only marginally astronomically over-priced, I nearly choked when I saw the Gingerbread House at 8220 Narrows Avenue go on sale for $12 million.  I can just hear my broker saying “See, I told you the recession is over and home prices are on the rise.”  Yeah right. But for just for fun, I pulled out my trusty mortgage calculator and found out I could own this place if I could just afford the $51,535 per month mortgage payment.

8220 Narrows Avenue. Otherwise known as the "Gingerbread House"

While I agree that Bay Ridge is a nice place to live, if I had $12 million to spend I think I *might* live somewhere else.  An article in the New York Post reports that a $12 million sale would set a Brooklyn record for a single-family home. It also would bring an astronomical return for owner Jerry Fishman. According to city records, Fishman bought the house in 1985 with a $440,000 mortgage. Assuming a typical 20% down payment, the sale price was $550,000. A $12 million sale would yield a profit of $11,450,000. The Post also reports that Fishman is an alumnus of Fort Hamilton High School (which is right across the street from the house) and that he used to gaze at the Gingerbread House as a student and dream of owning it.

I, for one, find the place rather creepy. It doesn’t exactly look welcoming to Trick-or-Treaters unless you want to end up baked into a pie! It doesn’t help that Fishman keeps several large, menacing dogs on the property, that come bounding out to the low walls surrounding the property to bark and bare teeth at anyone who deigns to walk on that side of the street. Not exactly neighborly…

[Editor's note: Everyone please welcome Rita, the newest author for BK Southie! Rita will be writing predominately about Bay Ridge.]

The x37 express bus from Bay Ridge to midtown Manhattan represents your typical morning slog to the office – you pay dearly ($5.50!) for cushioned but cramped express bus seats, annoying cell phone users, and the daily ritual of seeing the same faces boarding the bus at the same stops every day. It gets so that you know the stops by the passengers who board there: here comes the lady with all the bags who takes up two seats, here’s the guy who never has enough on his metro card, here’s the old geezer who scowls at everyone, and look there’s Elvis.  I must be early today, I haven’t seen him in ages. Yes Elvis. Not my downstairs neighbor who happens to be named Elvis, but the King himself, or at least his look-alike.  He doesn’t wear a white body suit, or drawl “thank you very much” to the bus driver, but he’s got the high pompadour and the long, bushy side burns and looks like he should be in Vegas, not Brooklyn.  I wonder if being Elvis is his actual job, or if it’s just a hobby?  Surely he must have a regular job if he’s up this early.  Did he go to his job interview like that?  But my thoughts at that hour are fleeting and I slide back into my usual morning stupor until we reach the crowded 69^th & Colonial stop where Mick Jagger climbs aboard. The chords to Start Me Up play in my head as he lurches down the aisle, bleary eyed and tired. From his shaggy hair to his skinny legs to his well-worn features that suggest good times gone on too long, this guy is a Jagger clone. I wonder if he ever sits next to Elvis and compares notes.  Or could it be that he doesn’t know that he looks like Mick Jagger?  Am I the only one who notices?  Nobody else on the bus gives him a second look, but that’s New Yorkers for you.

I wonder if there is something about Bay Ridge that attracts celebrity impersonators. Are they home grown or do they move here of their own accord? Is there a local chamber of commerce group? Not surprisingly, I’ve heard that there’s a local John Travolta impersonator who proudly proclaims he’s a Bay Ridge native on his web site, but I haven’t met him yet. I’m sure that one day our carts will crash at Foodtown. And then there’s the cast of the Soprano’s hanging out at the cigar shop on 92^nd and Third Avenue, but they’re not really celebrity impersonators – it’s more likely that central casting copied them, not the other way around.

But before I could chalk it all up to coincidence, it happened again.  I walked into a local hair salon looking to book an appointment and found myself face to face with the Material Girl! From the gap-toothed smile to the blond hair parted down the middle, the receptionist was a dead ringer for Madonna.  It took my brain a few addled moments to realize that I was staring. “You really look like Madonna” was all I managed.  She shrugged “Yeah I get that all the time.”  I guess there’s just something about Bay Ridge….

This Tuesday, October 20, from 10am to noon, Congressman Michael McMahon (D-Staten Island & Brooklyn) will hold a town hall on the topic of health care reform at the Shore Hill Community Room (Shore Rd. and 90th Street).

Rep. McMahon held a town hall on Staten Island earlier this month. I know someone that attempted to attend, and was turned away because the auditorium had already been filled. Even among those left outside, according to this anonymous Friend of BK Southie, emotions and tensions were running high.

For those of you that haven’t been keeping score at home, there is a single health care bill in the House that is believed to have, just barely, the support of the 218 Representatives needed to pass the bill. There are six bills in the Senate, five of which have the strong public option that has been at the core of the debate, but the option-less Finance Committee bill is the one that has the most attention and possibly the favor of Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has control over the merging process. There’s no question that the Senate bills have the 51 votes needed to pass outright, but 60 votes are needed to end debate, leaving the bills prone to filibuster if all 40 Republicans are joined by any one Democrat in a procedural vote.

House Leader Nancy Pelosi is said to be looking for more support so that the House bill passes with a comfortable majority… enter Congressman Michael McMahon, one of roughly 20 undecided House Democrats.

Tuesday’s town hall is inexplicably and inexcusably in the middle of the morning. I realize there are plenty of people who can make a midday appointment like that, but I would think such an important and high-profile issue would deserve a prime time slot to accommodate people with day jobs (especially since the Staten Island town hall was in the evening).

I wish I could attend. Mike McMahon is almost my Congressman! And if I moved to the other side of the street, he would be! Funny, that gerrymandering thing. Perhaps another Friend of BK Southie (apparently, one with very flexible hours) can fill me in on the details.

P.S. 26 days between the last post and this one. Oops. Sorry about that, but I gotta go now. I have a kid’s room to paint.

(photo: iStockPhoto)

This is an older news item, but I wanted to put in my two cents, because of The Very Special Place In My Heart™ that belongs to trademark lawyers. (Spoiler alert: I hate trademark lawyers.) (Hates them, precious, yes, we hates them!)

The Brooklyn Paper sez:

Bay Ridge’s beloved Southern Comfort — a rock band best known for its versions of Southern-fried classics by Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers, and the Outlaws — has been ordered to shelve its moniker by the makers of a frat-house booze that owns the copyright.

I have a theory about trademark lawyers. I think that trademark lawyers were young, Machiavellian hot shots that fancied themselves after Tom Cruise in The Firm (or Tom Cruise in anything, really). And then realized those kinds of jobs required (a) an Ivy law degree, (b) a family connection, and (c) the sale of one’s soul to the slime of the world (wait, that one probably wasn’t the deal-breaker), and they got stuck lawyering trademarks to pay off their student loans.

Courts have upheld the rights of copyright owners in cases when other businesses’ use of the same name confuses the public, so [Southern Comfort™ Brand liqueur's] legal argument is fairly routine.

I have another theory about trademark lawyers. They’re underworked. Oh, if you ask one, they will vehemently disagree, but they only feel busy because they invent so much work for themselves. There aren’t enough legitimate trademark issues or infringements to make up a full time job, so to pass the time, they suck the life out of the spirit of the law and pick stupid fights over non-existent infringements. Like this one.

“The Southern Comfort brand has a strong connection with music, and the public associates the Southern Comfort brand and its products with music,” lawyer Jill Jacobs said in a Sept. 2 letter to the band’s guitarist, Eddie Sarkis.

Uh, no, it doesn’t.

“Your band members’ use of ‘Southern Comfort’ in your band’s name … is likely to cause the public to mistakenly believe that you are associated with, authorized by, or sponsored by Southern Comfort Properties when they are not.”

Uh, no. It won’t.

Seriously, Southern Comfort™ Brand liqueur. We know your alcohol makes us stupid, but it doesn’t make us thaaaat stupid.

The spirit of the law here is that another beverage company cannot make, say, a soda, and call it Southern Comfort. Nor can the sweatshops of Chinatown distill a cheap knockoff, put a Southern Comfort-looking label on it, and sell it on Canal Street. The idea that Southern Comfort™ Brand liqueur equals music is the construct of a bored trademark lawyer’s imagination. I hate trademark lawyers. I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate them.

(BK Southie expects to hear from Southern Comfort™ Brand liqueur’s trademark lawyers about this blog. Yeah, well. First Amendment’s a bitch, isn’t it, y’all?)

Marty Golden will host a memorial ceremony reflecting the World Trade Center disaster on Friday, September 11, 2009 at Bay Ridge’s Veterans Memorial Pier (69th street pier) in Bay Ridge, at 8pm. There will be a reflection for prayer, a candle-lighting ceremony, and a 21-gun salute.  Bay Ridge’s own Xaverian High School Pipe band will also be at this event.

[Editor's note: Brooklyn - even just one half of it - is still a big place! Too big for just me to write about. So from time to time, BK Southie will be welcoming new writers. You've already seen a couple of posts from Peter, who day-blogs over at situatedlaundry. Today, please welcome Kerry, who will be writing predominately about the Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights neighborhoods.]

We all know Fall is quickly approaching when you hear the chatter going around about what you are being for Halloween… well in Bay Ridge the kick off to Halloween starts at the Raga-Muffin parade, when children and bands from all over the borough come to strut their most creative costumes. The Raga-Muffin parade this year falls on October 3rd, which means the 3rd Ave fair is October 4th!

Some closer events approaching us include The Wounded Warriors Benefit at the Leif Pub and The Great Irish Fair.

On Saturday, September 12th, 2:30pm till Midnight, come out to celebrate the Rockin For Our Troops event at The Leif Bar, 6725 5th Avenue.  This is a musical event to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project, The Metropolitan NYC USO, and Operation Gratitude. The day starts with a performance by a High School ROTC Drill Team, followed by some of the best music in Bay Ridge. Windsor Terrors, Canny Brothers, The Ridge, Pill Hill Radio, Our Back Pages, Prodigal Child, The Piranha Brothers.

Although in Coney Island, the Great Irish Fair brings a huge Bay Ridge crowd!  Join in on a bunch of Irish fun on  Saturday September 19th and Sunday September 20th at the Brooklyn Cyclone’s Keyspan Park in beautiful Coney Island for a two-day celebration of Irish heritage with great music, food, dancing, family activities and all around good craic.  Make sure to stop by Bay Ridge’s very own Yellow Hook’s tent.  You will catch the best of bagpipes, bands and beer galore!

As part of it’s long-running series, F*ck You Bay Ridge, the MTA will be suspending R-Train service in Brooklyn all day on Sunday.