Is LIC the new Park Slope?

No but Queen’s Long Island City has been the talk of the town this weekend since the NYTimes ran the article “Families Stake a Claim to Long Island City.” Everyone has been asking now if LIC is the new Park Slope.

Long Island City (LIC) has seen a tremendous turnaround over the last 10 years. Residents priced out of Manhattan learned about the community they had stared out onto for so many years but had rarely ever stepped foot in. Last year LIC was ranked the city’s 16th Most Livable Neighborhood by New York Magazine who wrote: “a discordant mishmash of artists and investment bankers—its twin totems are P.S. 1 and the Citigroup building—Long Island City has one foot planted in Queens (excellent diversity) and the other in Manhattan (very favorable commute times to midtown). Still, the seams sometimes show, as the neighborhood has a fairly high crime rate and poor public schools.”

What makes LIC so attractive?

Location – One of the neighborhoods main draws is it’s proximity to Manhattan. In NYC it’s all about location, location, location. The neighborhood is directly across the East River from Manhattan, and is reached by the the N, W, R, 7, E, F and G subway lines. The only drawback that the NY Times did not point out is that due to construction the MTA regularly shuts down weekend service between 42nd St/Times Square and Queensboro Plaza.

Safety - I did some research and the two precincts that cover LIC both saw drastic drops in crime between 2001 and 2011 according to the NYPD’s CompStat statistics. The 114th Precinct (LIC, Astoria, Jackson Heights, Woodside) saw a 42.17% drop in overall crime and the 108th Precinct (LIC, Sunnyside, Woodside) saw a 45.24% decrease in overall crime.

Education – Education is key to where parents move. Just look at all the parents that move to Park Slope to be in the zone of PS 321. Although LIC has a ways to go PS 78Q in the community is planning a new facility for K-5, Les Enfants Montessori School has expanded its space, there are also plans for a new high school, and a 22,000-square-foot waterfront library is scheduled to open in 2013.

LIC is yet another example of a community that our city can offer to families as an alternative to moving to the suburbs. All too often families are pushed out of urban areas because the city does not offer what families need. This happens to some extent in New York City because some families can no longer afford the skyrocketing cost of living.

For anyone who hasn’t ventured to LIC you should check it out. There are more than a dozen arts and cultural institutions and hundreds of individual artist studios, galleries, and theaters in the neighborhood. Definitely work the trek from Brooklyn (for the day that is).

However, I am going to have to agree with Dan Miner of the Long Island City Partnership who told the Times that “despite the presence of more strollers on the streets and expectant mothers in restaurants, Long Island City is no Park Slope. Park Slope has been a mature residential neighborhood for 100 years,” Mr. Miner said. “Long Island City is progressing along at its own course.”

4th Ave/9th Street station house reopened today on the F/G lines!

Today MTA New York City Transit reopened the 4th Avenue-9th Street station house on the F/G line at the east side of 4th Avenue between 9th and 10th Streets in Park Slope. The entrance had been shuttered for more than 40 years.

The project was made possible thanks to funding from Assemblywoman Joan L. Millman and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz who were on hand this morning for a ribbon cutting along with Council Members Brad Lander and Sarah Gonzalez, Assembly Member Jim Brennan and Thomas F. Prendergast – President of MTA New York City Transit.

The entire station house has been completely restored with brand new lights, floors, repainted walls, and new turnstiles. Residents of Park Slope and points east can now avoid crossing busy 4th Avenue in order to get to the station, benefiting the majority of the 11,400 customers who use the station on an average weekday.

Although this entrance is now open, there is much more work to come including restoring the historic arch spanning 4th Avenue and restoring all the storefront windows on 4th Avenue and on 10th Street.

Permit Applications for South Slope Restaurants & Bars

Community Board 6’s Public Safety, Environmental Protection, Permits and Licenses committee will discuss the following South Slope business ventures at their next meeting:

- Renewal of a sidewalk café permit at Cafe Steinhof at 422 7th Avenue at 14th Street. The café has been serving up Austrian comfort food since 2001.

- On-premise liquor license for The Monro Pub at 481 5th Avenue between 11th and 12th Streets. This is the spot of the former Puppets Jazz Bar which closed in May, 2011.

- On-premises liquor license for Redwood Brooklyn at 297 9th Street between 4th and 5th Avenues. This is the former Harry Boland’s Pub which closed last year amidst not paying their taxes.

- On-premises liquor license for Draft Barn at 530 3rd Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets. Draft Barn is a Hungarian beer hall with almost 300 bottles from all over the world. There are also fourteen beers on tap and a menu of Eastern European delicacies.

The meeting is next Monday February 27th at 6:30pm – Prospect Park YMCA (357 9th St, 7th Floor)

Prop's to Zito's Sandwich Shoppe!

On Friday, Eater NY asked readers to submit their favorite sandwich shops. Prop’s to Zito’s Sandwich Shoppe at 300 7th Avenue in the Slope. Zito’s has become a neighborhood favorite and features 13 classic sandwiches alongside an option to create your own.

Zito's also serves up locally cured & organic meats from places like Faicco's Italian Specialties, Salumeria Biellese of Hells Kitchen, Ottamanelli & Sons Meat Market of the West Village and Applegate Farms Organic Meats and Cheeses. They also serve brick oven bread baked by Il Fornaretto of Bensonhurst and gluten free bread by Everybody Eats of Park Slope. Local beer provided by Sixpoint Craft Ales on tap & wines provided by Gotham Project, locally grown on Long Island.

What more could you ask for?

Brooklyn Hospital doing some advertising

Brooklyn Hospital is doing some advertising in downtown Brooklyn along Flatbush Avenue near the foot of the Manhattan Bridge. Brooklyn Hospital has been in the news lately because of a proposal to consolidate Brooklyn Hospital with Interfaith Hospital in Bedford-Stuyvesant and Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Bushwick in hopes of saving all three struggling facilities. Wyckoff Heights has refused to sign on to the plan. Brooklyn Hospital declared bankruptcy in 2005, but has since recovered.

Coming soon: Baked in Brooklyn - Greenwood Heights

Baked in Brooklyn at 755 5th Avenue in Greenwood Heights is hopefully opening soon. The shop is being opened by Aladdin Bakery, the commercial baker on 26th Street and 5th Avenue (right next door to the new Baked in Brooklyn). Baked in Brooklyn will be serving up top quality breads and gourmet sandwiches. Aladdin’s which has been in business since 1972 is known their wraps, panini breads, breadsticks and bagels.

South Slope's "Hand of Glory" undergoing renovations

The Hand Of Glory Tattoo shop at 429 7th Ave between 14th and 15th Streets in the South Slope has been closed for renovations since Sunday, February 12th and will reopen on Monday, February 20th 2012.

Their sister studio is still operating full time - The End Is Near is located just two blocks down on 7th Ave at 465A 7th Ave (between 16th St and Windsor)

Downtown Brooklyn deserves more than a Gap Factory Outlet

Currently South Brooklyn has three Gap stores (Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst and Kings Plaza/Mill Bainsin) while north and central Brooklyn do not have any. There was a Gap on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights for some time however that closed. Gap is set to make its mark on downtown Brooklyn’s Fulton Street by opening the city’s very first Gap Factory Store. The location is on Fulton between Smith and Hoyt Streets.

While I welcome a Gap outlet I think Fulton Street could easily sustain an actual Gap store. The Gap Outlet will join national retailers that recently opened up downtown such as H&M and Aeropostale as well as mainstays like Macy’s. Downtown Brooklyn was slated to get its own Filene’s Basement however now that the company went bankrupt there are rumors that Century 21 may open at the Albee Square Mall. In addition, the residential development in Brooklyn is continuing and right now most new residents make the trip into Manhattan to visit Gap rather than trekking to 86th Street in Bay Ridge.

I am excited to have a Gap Factory Outlet in Brooklyn though downtown Brooklyn can easily sustain a regular Gap. The Gap must be talking to Apple too much.

Sick office building in Hartford now has collpasing garage

Who knows this building?

25 Sigourney Street in Hartford is the infamous State of CT office building down the block from AETNA just off I-84. The building made news back in 2004 when for two years, U.S. government scientists studied the 20-story building to ascertain whether poor indoor air quality can make workers sick and, if it can, whether sick buildings can be fixed. The state sealed the brick building, replaced the roof and removed wallboard and carpet that had been damaged by water leaks. Water damage can feed mold and bacteria that can cause respiratory problems.

Workers in the building complained of coughing, asthma, shortness of breath, burning eyes and other health problems that can be associated with allergies to mold or otherwise bad indoor air.

Well today the Hartford Business Journal is reporting that the attached, six-level parking garage at the building is being closed due to concern for potential injuries and damaged vehicles from crumbling concrete.

The Division of Revenue Services and the Department of Social Services are major tenants of the building. March 20 is the target date for the closing of the garage.

Comforting, right?

Men's Warehouse expands in Flatbush, Brooklyn

Kings County is getting its second Men's Warehouse as national retailers continue to take the borough as a serious place to do business. The chain signed a lease for 9,000 square feet of space at the Triangle Junction Shopping Center in the Flatbush neighborhood. The center’s tenants include Target, Applebee’s, David’s Bridal and Payless Shoes. According to the Real Deal the project is now 100 percent occupied.

The other Men’s Warehouse in Brooklyn is in the Atlantic Center Mall and there are five in Manhattan.

The 300,000 square foot Triangle Junction opened in April, 2008. 225,000 square feet of that space houses a two-level Target, which is the retailer’s largest store ever.

The transformation of the area surrounding the development has been amazing. The center sits at Nostrand and Flatbush Avenues. Back in 2000 (or so) a developer planned to create a $70 million shopping center with Kmart as the anchor. When Kmart went bankrupt in 2002, Target stepped in to take its place. The amount foot traffic in this area is huge. Brooklyn College is around the corner, the 2/5 trains stop outside the center and a number of bus lines intersect here. I am confident Men's Warehouse made the right choice in continuing to invest in Brooklyn.

Is South Slope's 419 7th finally getting a tenant?

While I like a lot of the new buildings in brownstone Brooklyn the one at 419 7th Avenue (at 14th Street) is simply atrocious. On top of the design the retail space has been vacant since I moved to the neighborhood in 2010. The space has remained vacant despite the flurry of new business openings on 6th and 7th Avenues in that vicinity. Over the last year alone De Luxe Coffee and the Couleur Cafe have opened within a block of this building. As of this week though there is hopefully some positive news coming for 419 7th. There are Department of Buildings construction notices up and signs in the window that read "Coming Soon for your bathroom." No idea what type of establishment this will be but lets hope its a positive addition to the neighborhood that adds to the vitality of the South Slope.

Hartford's Asylum Cafe shutters it doors

Downtown Hartford lovers should be mourning the loss of the popular Asylum Café at 253 Asylum Street. The downtown restaurant and bar closed last week after problems with the State Department of Revenue Services. According to the Hartford Business Journal the business had their sales-tax permit suspended for nonpayment of sales taxes.

The Asylum Café was a popular joint which served up some great N.Y. style pizza as well as everything from Little Neck Clams to all sorts of pastas, calzones and sandwiches as well as entrees like Ribeye Steak and Chicken Rollantini.

The restaurant is a few doors down from the former Mayor Mike’s restaurant which is now home to Burger Baby. The venue is also diagonally across the street from the shuttered Market at Hartford 21. This closing is another big hit to Hartford’s struggling restaurant scene. There is now another vacant storefront along a prime stretch of downtown and one less venue for residents and visitors to frequent.

For instance, visitors to Hartford for the 15th annual Northeast Fishing & Hunting Show this weekend at the Connecticut Convention Center will now have one less venue to choose from and another vacant storefront to walk by.

On another business related closing note – the Wireless Zone at 231 Trumbull Street/Hartford 21 closed and relocated to the suburbs (5 Cross Roads Plaza in West Hartford). The store had only been open for about 9 months.

South Slope's Fonda opening outpost

Fonda the popular Mexican restaurant at 434 7th Ave in Brooklyn's South Slope is expanding across the river to Manhattan. Grub Street reports that Fonda's second location will be in the East Village at 40 Avenue B (at E. 3rd Street) which used to be the home of Octavia's Porch. Fonda is applying for a liquor permit and I assume their outpost will be as popular as their Park Slope location.

Another exciting development is that Fonda does take reservations and uses OpenTable.com for online reservations.

Check out their brunch too!

Save the USPS - again

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is in dire straights. The USPS reports that in the last quarter in 2011 it lost $3.3 billion and that it expects to run out of cash in October unless Congress agrees to cuts in facilities and employees. Those facility cuts include closing small branches like the one in Brooklyn’s Columbia Waterfront district. The most recent 2010 census showed that the Waterfront District has seen a great amount of growth over the last 10 years. The neighborhood is located west of Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) and sits opposite Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill.

An article from the Carroll Gardens Patch The Resurgence of the Columbia Street Waterfront District states that “the Northern section of Columbia Street, between Degraw Street and Atlantic Avenue, has seen a 24 percent increase in population growth, which is one of the biggest increases anywhere in Brooklyn. The section between Degraw Street and Hamilton Avenue grew by 4 percent, which is more than nearby Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens.” These increases were seen in the 2010 census.

Despite this increase the postal service has announced that after 17 years it plans to close the outpost in the neighborhood by the end of March. The nearest post office is located a little less than a mile away in Red Hook on other side of the BQE. It’s important to save this post office and the community is working to stop this closure. Your help is needed though since there is strength in numbers. To join the fight make sure you do the following:

Sign a petition in person at the post office at 257 Columbia St.

Contact your US Representative and US Senators to ask for their support:
Contact Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez - 718-222-5819
Contact Senator Chuck Schumer - 212-486-4430
Contact Senator Kirsten Gillibrand - 212-688-6262

Send a letter to the Postmaster General:
Pat Donahoe
475 L’Enfant Plaza SW
Washington DC 20260-0010

Brooklyn is not alone in their fight to keep postal services in the community. In December the USPS agreed to delay the closing of 252 mail processing centers and 3,700 local post offices until mid-May.

Welcome "Hopeland" to Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue

Brooklyn's Boerum Hill has yet another restaurant coming soon to the former home of Jolie at 320 Atlantic Avenue between Smith and Hoyt Streets. Hopeland will bring southern Italian food to the neighborhood. I have heard that their "soft" opening is Monday February 13. as they work to get up to speed.

Oh and their motto is: "politics & religion divide, food & drink unite" - should be interesting.

Jolie as many of you know closed and reopened as Jolie Cantina - a Mexican and French bistro at 241 Smith Street (at Degraw).

They are open for dinner Monday through Sunday and for brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.

Hopeland
320 Atlantic Ave
718-467-3526

Downtown Hartford's Ramada to undergo much needed renovation

From my understanding there is good news in store for the troubled Ramada Plaza Hotel in downtown Hartford, formerly the Crowne Plaza Hotel at 50 Morgan Street. The 350 room hotel is the city’s third largest after the Marriott and the Hilton and is crucial to the city’s existence as a competitive destination for conventions and sporting events.

The 50 Morgan CT LLC took ownership of the hotel on January 25, 2012. 50 Morgan CT LLC acquired the mortgage on the hotel shortly before the previous owners, CHOA Vision LLC, filed bankruptcy in 2010. CHOA Vision bought the hotel in 2007 for $20 million but still owed $13 million on its mortgage in late 2010 when the group filed for bankruptcy.

The good news is that the new owners plan to make significant upgrades and improvements to the hotel. I am going to hold my breath and keep my fingers crossed that the hotel does not end up suffering the same fate as the Goodwin Hotel which closed in 2009.

I’ll admit it - the hotel is not an amazing piece of architecture and suffers from being isolated from the rest of downtown. If it closed however the city would have 350 less hotel rooms within walking distance of the CT Convention Center and the XL Center. The city cannot afford to have another vacant hotel which could potentially sit vacant for years like the former Clarion Hotel on Constitution Plaza. Additionally, it is my hope that over the next decade the downtown north area surrounding the hotel will actually see growth and development. Already the new public safety center is nearing completion, the Butt Ugly building has been torn down and the former Barnard Brown School building has been renovated and now houses the Capital Preparatory Magnet School.

Finally, there are also the jobs that would be lost if the hotel closed. I have no idea how many jobs are at the hotel, what the rates of pay are and how many employees are Hartford residents however during these difficult times losing these jobs would dramatically affect the lives of all the hotel’s employees.

I hope to start seeing those renovation plans soon!

Talde - Enough Said

Talde is another new restaurant in Brooklyn's South Slope (and probably one of the biggest). I had the pleasure of trying Talde out two weeks ago and it was quite the pleasure. Although the wait was long (little more than an hour) it was definitely worth it. I should note that for better or worse I am in no way a professional restaurant reviewer.

While you wait I would suggest grabbing a seat at the bar and trying out some of the specialty cocktails.

Everything at Talde can be done homestyle which is great. As long as you are comfortable sharing with your dining companions you can try a variety of different plates. I wasa able to sample the pretzel pork and chive dumplings, Korean fried chicken, crispy oyster and bacon pad Thai, and the shrimp friend rice. Did I mention that I am not even a seafood person and I loved all the dishes? That alone says a lot about the quality of food.

After seeing that space vacant for so long and then watching construction inside for months on end its great to see that this establishment is both open and bustling.

Talde is open daily from 5pm – 12am. Reservations for parties of 6 or more only and you have to go in person to put your name on the list.

Oh and if you like Talde and the Thistle Hill Tavern then you're in luck - John Bush, David Massoni and Dale Talde who are the owners of Talde and the Thistle Hill Tavern will be opening a third restaurant in the Slope at the old Aunt Suzie’s on 5th Avenue.

Demise of the New St. Clair Restaurant in Brooklyn one step closer to reality

A for lease sign is now up above the New St. Clair Restaurant at at Smith Street and Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn (93 Smith Street). Thor Equities is offering a "world class flagship opportunity" diagonally across the street from the soon to reopen Brooklyn House of Detention.

Joseph Sitt, chief executive of Thor Equities, bought the mixed use property at Smith and Atlantic and plans to renovate the first two floors for as much as 6,000 square feet of retail space. It seems likely that the New St. Clair Restaurant will eventually be forced to close now that there is a for lease sign above it. The diner has been a neighborhood fixture for years.

This is a prime location. The parcel sits at the entrance to the Smith Street restaurant row, down the block from Borough Hall and the new Shake Shack and a few avenues over from Trader Joe's and the Barney's Co-op.
Will be interesting to see what store is willing to open here given its proximity to the Brooklyn House of Detention. The rent will probably not be very cheap. Across the street the Nu Hotel which opened in 2008 appears to be having trouble leasing its retail space - a bail bondsman occupies one storefront and there are other spaces still for lease.

Hartford and Bridgeport top list of metro areas with Highest GDP's

I just came across the Brookings Institution’s report Global Metro Monitor 2011 which ranks the highest and lowest per-capita GDP’s from 200 metropolitan areas around the world.

Which city tops the list with the highest GDP? A small city called Hartford, Connecticut (shocking, I know). The list was generated using data from Oxford Economics, Moody’s Analytics and the U.S. Census Bureau. Hartford came out as number one and Bridgeport number 5. This puts these two locales ahead of cities like New York, Paris and Zurich.

Before I go any further you must understand that this ranking is not solely for Hartford. It’s for the metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) which means these results are reflective of the metro Hartford area which is made up of 57 towns in Hartford, Tolland and Middlesex counties. The Bridgeport-Norwalk-Stamford MSA includes all of Fairfield County aka the Gold Coast.

What does this ranking mean exactly? I’ll leave that to George Hladky’s article Why are Hartford and Bridgeport on a Brookings Institute list of the wealthiest metropolitan areas? He says that “if you take all the money and the value of the products those companies [see below] are making and divide it by the number of people living in that region, you end up with a figure for the per capita gross domestic product.” Those companies he’s referring to include names synonymous with Connecticut – Aetna, Travelers, UTC, Hamilton Sunstrand, Cigna, The Hartford and Pratt & Whitney.” It is crucial to understand that these rankings reflect the entire metro area because some of the companies that contribute to this GDP figure have relocated (or are located) outside of Hartford and Bridgeport.

The Brookings Institute list puts the Hartford area’s GDP at $75,086 and Bridgeport’s at $63,555.

Anyone who knows Hartford and Bridgeport must have a horribly puzzled look on their face.

I want to now leave everyone with some food for thought from 2010 census.

In 2010 the City of Hartford’s population was 124,775
67.9% of residents age 25+ are high school graduates in Hartford (statewide it’s 88.4%)
13.3% of residents 25+ have a bachelor’s degree or higher in Hartford (statewide 35.2%)
Home ownership rate in Hartford is 25.8% (statewide 69.2%)
Median value of owner occupied units is $188,000 (statewide $296,500)
Per capita income in 2010 dollars was $16,798 (statewide $36,775)
Median household income $28,970 (statewide $67,740)
32.1% of residents live below poverty level (statewide 9.2%)

As a point of comparison the statistics just over the border in West Hartford are:
Population: 63, 268
93.4% of residents age 25+ are high school graduates
58.1% of residents 25+ have a bachelor’s degree or higher
73.3% Home ownership rate
Median value of owner occupied units is $317,400
Per capita income in 2010 dollars was $43,534
Median household income $78,530
6.1% of residents live below poverty level

In 2010 the City of Bridgeport’s population was 144,229
73.5% of residents age 25+ are high school graduates in Bridgeport (statewide it’s 88.4%)
15.8% of residents 25+ have a bachelor’s degree or higher in Bridgeport (statewide 35.2%)
Home ownership rate in Bridgeport is 45.2% (statewide 69.2%)
Median value of owner occupied units is $236,000 (statewide $296,500)
Per capita income in 2010 dollars was $19,854 (statewide $36,775)
Median household income $41,047 (statewide $67,740)
20.8% of residents live below poverty level (statewide 9.2%)

A report by the CT Conference of Municipalities entitled A Disproportionate Burden: The special needs of Connecticut’s poor looks at the state’s four largest cities: Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford and Waterbury and finds the following startling figures:
• The 4 cities have more than half of state’s homeless population
• The unemployment rate in Hartford is 16.9% and Bridgeport in 14.0%, while the state average was 9.3%
• The crime rate for the state as a whole is 2,981 per 100,000 residents. That figure is 10,114 in Hartford and 5,435 in Bridgeport.
• 39.2% of children in Hartford and 25.8% of children in Bridgeport under age 18 live in poverty

According to The Commission on Educational Achievement the achievement gap in Connecticut between low-income students and non-low-income students is the largest in the country.

CB Richard Ellis reported that greater Hartford had a 21.9 percent office vacancy rate at the end of the fourth quarter in 2011. In Hartford alone, the office vacancy rate stood at 25.5 percent, including a 30 percent vacancy rate in the central business district (downtown).

Here are some photo contrasts...

About half of the units at the Westbrook Village housing project in Hartford sit vacant awaiting demolition. Plans to demolish the complex and rebuild, as has been done in other parts of the city, have been stalled.

About 1/2 mile from Westbrook Village is the West End of Hartford - the city's premier neighborhood. This property sits in Hartford near the West Hartford border. Property values within city lines are much lower than those in West Hartford.

West Hartford's upscale Balfour Drive

Blue Back Square in West Hartford is a mixed use development project that offers office space, residential units and upscale shopping. The project is near full occupancy. Major retailers include REI, Crate and Barrel, Whole Foods, Barnes & Noble, The Cheesecake Factory and Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.

After years of delay Front Street in downtown Hartford is finally rising adjacent to the CT Convention Center, Marriott Hartford Hotel Downtown and CT Science Center. The project was conceived in the late 1990s and is on third developer. Only the first phase (a 60,000 retail/entertainment district) is under construction. Apartments have been delayed due to the recession. Leasing has been hard however an upscale movie theater is expected to open on sit. No word about other tenants.

Just some things to think about.