DailyHeights

While many of the city’s Jews were in synagogue this week celebrating the arrival of the Jewish new year, other Jews were out asking passers-by if they were Jewish–presumably to assist them in the reciting of certain prayers.  Much to his chagrin, jgregorie was asked seven times during a five block walk if he was a Jew: “Oh New York,” he says, “You find new ways to annoy the shit out of me on a daily basis.”

whynot_31 apparently advocates the Bush Doctrine (look it up) to handle the “Are You Jewish” question during the High Holy Days: “First time, the man approached me and was about to ask, but I preempted him and stated “No, but Happy New Year”. He responded back “I was going to ask you if you were a wonderful person”. I replied “Thanks” and went down the steps to Eastern Parkway Station…

“Second time, Orthodox man begins his approach. I smile and shake my head, “no” before he asks. I then ask him “are you?”. He says “am I what?” …I respond “Jewish?”. He laughs, rolls his eyes, and says “yes”, and I say “Happy New Year”.

“…oh new york, I find new ways to amuse myself at you everyday.”

What else? Karl the Druid confesses: “i’ve been told i don’t look druish.”

Submit your score at Prospect Heights Message Board: how many times were you asked if you were jewish today? (Brooklynian.com)

Brooklynian’s very own madman has collaborated on this Digg-worthy project:

“Palin Bingo! My friends and I put this together today. Please pass it around to anyone and everyone you can before Thursday’s debate. I’m hoping it gets picked up by some political blogs.”

View topic – Palin Bingo! :: Brooklynian.com | Brooklyn Blog and Message Boards

What’s the only thing in town to get a boost by this week’s stock market plunge? Discussion about the stock market plunge, of course. Guvna and whynot_31 have reopened a two-week-old discussion to augur when and how we will start to feel the pain of our collapsing economy locally:

Per Guvna: “In light of today’s biggest stock market single day loss in history, I want to know ‘when’ (not if) we will officially begin to feel raped and pillaged?  Anyone?”

Perhaps a better question: when will people wake up? GOD writes: “NOT one reporter is asking people on the street (about) what is happening on Wall Street … How it’s going to impact them. The only thing being talked about is the “Lipstick” issue. No one cares. Guess we’ll have our bibles, guns and know how to field dress a moose to survive into the next century.”
Have you got the insight into where this increasingly dismal road is heading?  Do we move to Asia as whynot_31 has considered?  Bend over like Guvna advised?  Or perhaps you’ve got an even better suggestion.  Share it now at Prospect Heights Message Boards: Four Horsemen (Brooklynian.com)

joseph11 is nervous that a house fire on Classon and St. Marks is a sign of bad times to come.
“I hope that building owners aren’t starting fires because they cant sell them,” he writes.  Naturally this begets a discussion on other signs of what the failing economy will do to the neighborhood.  whynot_31 wonders “what will become of all these [WaMU] branches? You can only have so many bars called ‘The Vault’. Surely, we are going to have to be more creative.”
And a list of potential uses for former WaMu branches follows:

1. Meat lockers
2. Saunas
3. Opaque Fish Tanks
4. Rent-a-Jails
5. Day cares
6. places to cry alone in the event that McCain wins.
7. Places to make love if Obama wins.
8. Sets for magicians/escape artists to do their tricks.
9. Hardware stores? All the little drawers could hold bolts, screws and such.
10. places to hold a “free party” for Republicans from PA and OH on November 3.
11. places to announce that “due to the pending takeover of WaMu by
Chase, we have encountered a temporary lapse of service on our remote
lock release contract. We expect the doors to open at the stroke of
midnight, November 6th. Please enjoy Caahyoko’s fish and all the
vintage WaMu pens in the meantime.”

Add to the list at Prospect Heights Message Board: This Gets Me Nervous (Brooklynian.com)

pwaltman_1972 asks on the Prospect Heights board at Brooklynian.com: “Manhattan Drinking Liberally and the Young Democrats are sponsoring an event at The Tank in Chinatown, but I’d prefer something a little closer to home… Does anyone know of a place in PS or PH that’s planning on showing it? I just called The Commonwealth in PS, which normally will show political events, but since it’s a Friday the bartender wasn’t 100% sure…”

Here are a few ideas for starters:

• Check with David at Tavern on Nostrand in CH. Every time there’s been a debate (democratic) and I’ve been in there its been on,” (tip: homeowner)
• Plan B on Vanderbilt will probably show it. (tip: Old Time Brooklyn)
• If all else fails, rtraindweller is offering up his apartment for the event (famous last words).
• There’s an Obama watch party at Cafe Shane on Washington that night (apollonia666 will be there).

Get your politically correct drink on – over at the Prospect Heights Message Board: Where to Watch Friday’s Debate? (Brooklynian.com)

Joyce closed… Christie’s closed… El Gran Castillo de Jagua (home of the Meat Vent) closed… What’s next?

meganlibrarian writes:

Last night I arrived back in NYC after 2 weeks away. I went for a quick walk, at the end of which I decided that I wanted a coco bread to go with dinner. Walking toward Christie’s at 7PM, I noticed that their gate was down and signs were up in the windows. Heart sinking, I walked up and read one of the signs: on vacation from 7/14-7/21, opening again on 7/22.

I damned near had a heart attack. Meat Vent’s DOH’ed and Christie’s is closed for vacation? What in the hell do I do for my weekend lunches?!?

LINK: Christie’s closed! (Prospect Heights forum on Brooklynian.com)

RBG writes on the Prospect Heights message board at Brooklynian.com:

WHICH LOCAL REAL ESTATE AGENT … is showing apartments in a building on St. Johns place that is infested with bedbugs?

She’s not telling unsuspecting renters why the apartments are vacant although the mattresses, bedding, futon, and furniture outside of the building should be a dead giveaway. Buyer beware.

Sadly, a moving truck was outside 349 St. Johns this weekend. If you walk past the building, you’ll see a ton of furniture with the word “bedbugs” spraypainted in red paint. I think these are the third tenants to move out in a month. The unidentified real estate broker continues to knowingly re-rent apartments in the infested building. The word on the street is that old-time tenants in the building are very angry. For years, they lived in the apartments (albeit with drug dealers, noise, etc.) and didn’t have bedbugs until new people moved in and started bringing in old furniture from off the street…

LINK:  BLIND ITEM….WHICH LOCAL REAL ESTATE AGENT… (Prospect Heights message board at Brooklynian.com)

whynot_31 writes on Brooklynian’s Prospect Heights Message Board:

I’ve requested the remaining letters of the as_oc_i_ted, want one?

For those of you who are not aware, the run down former Associated on Underhill has closed, and will soon re-open as an organic fruit and veggie store.

To me, the event symbolizes the final blow to the previous version of my corner of Prospect Heights. As one walks on Underhill, Sepia (and the resturant next door) arrived a few years ago, and ice cream place recently opened.

Is this an event to celebrate or mourn? It doesn’t matter, as the subtitle reports, I’ve requested the remaining letters (plastic, gross, perhaps roach infested…). The contractor said “sure, they come off next week and I’ll save ’em for you”

If I end up actually getting them, I hereby pledge to give them to anyone interested in celebrating (or mourning) the end of an era on Underhill.

If you’d like one, post how you will sterilize them, and display them proudly…. assuming the contractor follows thru as planned, the letters will be given away at Sepia next week….

Request a Letter (for the sake of preservation!) on Brooklynian.com:

“Noticed that M.O.B. was having a “moving-out” sale when I walked by this weekend. Hopefully something takes its place quickly…there are already a bunch of vacant storefronts on that block.”

LINK: Memories Out of the Box closing/moving (BROOKLYNIAN.COM)

On Gowanus Lounge:

The creation of a Prospect Heights Historic District is making progress. The Landmarks Preservation Commission will “calendar” the district this Tuesday (7/15), which is the first step in formally creating it…

The Chair of the PHNDC says: “The Landmarks Commission has obviously recognized the threat posed to the character of one of Brooklyn’s most well-preserved brownstone neighborhoods. The pressure from the Atlantic Yards project and other recent developments are of grave concern to the hundreds of local residents who have written in support of historic designation for Prospect Heights.”

LINK:

UPDATE: Read discussion on the Prospect Heights Message Board (Brooklynian.com)