The 311 hotline is supposed to be an easy way for New Yorkers to connect to the city’s vast bureaucracy. It was meant as one-stop shopping; a single place to direct questions and complaints to countless city agencies and more importantly, get answers. To many though, New York City’s 311 system is the telephone equivalent of the ‘walk buttons’ placed on traffic signal poles at crosswalks; a placebo that isn’t wired to do anything except provide an illusion of control.
photo source: schools.nyc.gov
The readers of this blog are reminded that this report is the result of speculation by school employees and has NOT been verified by anyone from the FDNY.
A fire on the roof of I.S. 278 on Stuart Street in Marine Park this morning led many to fear the possibility of injured students, staff and faculty; as well as permanent damage to the school’s building. Within a couple of hours word had spread that there were apparently no injuries, nor damage to the inside of the building. Students filled their Facebook pages with exhilarating updates about getting out of school early. Parents breathed a sigh of relief. Teachers and staff went home to catch up on errands and sleep. However, there may be another complication to Tuesday’s fire, one that has the possibility of prolonging Marine Park I.S. 278′s closing.
Update: Sheepshead Bites has posted a statement from Councilman Lew Fidler’s chief of staff Reeves Eisen. According to Fidler’s office, holes were punctured in the roof and air quality tests are being conducted, the results of which should be available after 11PM tonight through the city’s 311 service.
Joe with Ms. Taylor
After spending some time at Grillin’ On The Bay this past Saturday I realized that I needed a haircut, so I paid a visit to my favorite barbershop Joe and Bart’s. Joe was honoring the death of Elizabeth Taylor with a fitting final centerfold, carefully cut and pasted the old fashioned way onto the side of a metal room divider.
Continue Reading At Wandering NYC
It’s been a while since we boarded the nostalgia train over at Wandering NYC. Here are some old real estate ads I found while scouring Google for the names of South Brooklyn developers and architects. I had hoped to save these for a longer history/ architecture piece, but decided to have a little fun with what I have so far.
Continue Reading At Wandering NYC
The hearing re: the city's blizzard response was held at I.S. 278 in Marine Park
If you’ve been watching NY 1 today, you might have noticed that there was a meeting regarding the city’s December 2010 Blizzard response at I.S. 278 in Marine Park last night. The long and short of it is, residents complained and promises were made by representatives from the mayor’s office and Sanitation Department. In reality, another snow storm with the same magnitude as December’s will most likely cause similar problems in the future. According to one anonymous city worker I spoke to, “the Sanitation Department has less manpower, the workers know that if they work harder to pick up the slack, their (numbers) will be cut more next time.”
This unassuming storefront is a center of neighborhood life
Recently Ned Berke over at Sheepshead Bites ran articles regarding the demise of the old Mister Figaro’s Barber Shop as well as it’s rebirth as a modern salon. What really piqued my interest was a post back in April which listed the neighborhood’s manly barber shops. As someone who grew up in Marine Park near the border of Sheepshead Bay, I’d like to humbly add another to the list:
Their business cards may call it a ‘Unisex Salon’, the sign outside simply reads ‘Barber Shop’, but to their loyal customers in the neighborhood it will always be known as Joe and Bart’s.
Continue reading at Wandering NYC
I haven’t written much here lately, mostly because adjusting to Homecrest has been difficult for me. I haven’t met anyone here who shares my interests yet. Then again, I can be a little shy and self-protective like this guy.
Coincidentally, I noticed a salt marsh on Avenue U while on the way to the mall.
I took my son there last weekend during low tide. We were both endlessly amazed watching the little fiddler crabs, like the one above, dig in and out of the sand, race into the water and back to their homes again.
We walked further into the marsh, and watched a hotdoggin’ waterskier for a while. But then we found a car that had been driven in and left for dead in that marsh a long, long time ago. Completely rusted through, with barnacles and sedimentary rock encrusting the engine, we pondered the mystery for quite some time before walking back.
On our way back, we found out that there were official tours from The Salt Marsh Nature Center. If you need directions by car, tours, etc., that’s the link to click.
It was great fun for an hour. And free too.
Ford Street between Avenues T and U. Photo credit: Joe Teutonico
Coyle Street between Avenues T and U. Photo credit: Joe Teutonico
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