So there’s a ghost stroller on Union and 6th. Painted the color of my butt cheeks during the winter, this artistic endeavor has confused and confounded locals for weeks now. The New York Times just ran an article about it. And everyone wants to know what it means.
I think I know. 20 years ago, and even today, Park Slope was an ideal neighborhood for young, aspiring artists. Then the yuppies found out about it, and gentrification ensued. It’s close to downtown, right next to the Park, safe, what’s not to love? Let’s stake a claim here and raise a family. Right? So they did.
Now it seems the small remaining artistic community is fighting back. The ghost stroller is a mockery of memorial bikes painted white. No baby in a stroller was smacked by a moving car – it’s some Park Slope artist lamenting the loss of his hepcat community to the thriving papoose wearing yuppie moms.
Gentrification is a good thing guys. It’s what lead to the development and safety of other Brooklyn communities, like the newly coined South Park Slope, and East Williamsburg. And so is art. It’s provocative and makes people think, even if they attribute a different meaning than the artist’s intended one. That comes with the territory.
As for the artists, I’d say don’t despair. Move to Bushwick.
Film director Spike Lee and Absolut Vodka have teamed up to bring you Limited Edition Absolut Brooklyn. A blend of red apple and ginger, this new vodka goes well with a light-colored soda, like Ginger Ale, Sprite, or 7-Up. Creating “city flavors” has been a habit of Absolut since 2007. Currently New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Boston vodkas are available.
The bottle, which features a summer-colored “stoop,” was designed by Lee, who is also filiming a love story in honor of the borough. The film is just one aspect of his much larger “Stoop Life” movement. (See the trailer to his new film below)
Absolut has also pledged $50,000 in sales to Habitat for Humanity, to assist with their rebuilding of affordable housing in Bed-Stuy. A bottle of ABSOLUT BROOKLYN can be had for just $24.99 at most local liquor spots.
We were a little surprised to hear that Brooklyn moms are choosing Manhattan hospitals for their deliveries. According to Gothamist, most of Brooklyn’s ritzy hospitals (Fort Greene, Park Slope, Cobble Hill) are seeing fewer patients than usual, while four in Manhattan have had almost a third more deliveries than usual.
On first glance, this news might seem outrageous, and further proof that those brownstone belt moms are really Manhattanites in Brooklyners’ clothing.
But maybe it’s not that bad. These Brooklyn moms aren’t choosing their doctors by borough alone. They’re looking at experience, reputation, etc. etc., and if those facts point to Manhattan, so be it.
It got us thinking, though — Which activities rightfully warrant a trip to Manhattan?
Shopping? For chain stores, definitely, though our borough can satisfy cravings for Brooklyn Outfitters (obviously) or economical Target expeditions.
Dining? Not at all necessary, but we don’t consider it a treachery to grab a bite on the other side of the bridge.
Finding a job? Either. For Brooklyn residents, staying in-borough might sound convenient, but it really depends on where. Many Brooklyners are closer to Wall St. than Bushwick.
Entertainment? There’s lots to do everywhere, thank god. Gotta love New York.
The National Salt Reduction Initiative scored a victory this past week when Heinz announced they’d be changing their ketchup recipe for the first time in 40 years to cut back on the amount of salt. The announcement was strategically delivered right before the Health Department’s new campaign, Cut the Salt, Brooklyn!
For the first time in 40 years, Heinz will be changing the ingredients of tis famous ketchup.
While Heinz claims that the company has been planning such a change for over two years, the shift is coincidentally coming just as Mayor Bloomberg started leaning on big food companies to reduce their salt levels. Bloomberg has been one of the major leaders of the National Salt Reduction Initiative, a plan to get major food distributors to limit the amount of salt in their products.
Despite being a seemingly-New York led movement, some New Yorkers aren’t happy about the change.
Patrick Johnson, a Heinz fan and resident of Brooklyn, was quoted by the NY Post as saying “Leave the ketchup alone. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
In spite of the fact that Johnson appears to be a cliché-spitting ketchup-lover with a child’s grasp of the English language, he does in fact have a point. The current recipe has helped Heinz become a ketchup-giant, and the idea of changing an already beloved product brings horrible flashbacks of the failed New Coke in 1985.
Additionally, while a healthy diet is a key to a healthy lifestyle, the reduction of salt in ketchup hardly seems like the major component preventing American’s from developing high blood pressure.
The new Heinz recipe will contain approximately 15% less sodium than the original. It’s set to hit shelves by June.
Although we’re often lighthearted at Brooklyn NY News, serious topics are sometimes more pressing. Today is one of those days.
Syed Hashmi, a 30-year-old former Brooklyn College student, pled guilty Tuesday for aiding in the delivery of military supplies to al Qaeda. Hashmi admitted to helping a roommate transport outdoor military gear to the terrorist organization in Afghanistan from London in 2004.
The three other charges against Hashmi were dropped, reducing a potential life sentence to 15 years. Hashmi awaited trial in custody for four years, and could be released in as few as 10 years for time served and good behavior.
In related news, two Brooklyn residents were arrested today for providing technology aid to al Qaeda. The residents, Wesam El-Hanafi and Sabirhan Hasanoff, also face 15-year sentences.
A member of the Brooklyn NY News team recently returned from a stint below the Mason Dixon line, and her travels reminded us of the few — but critical — goodies that our dear borough does not provide. (And neither does Manhattan, for that matter.)
What are we talking about? Southern fooderies mostly, like Sonic, Denny’s, Shoney’s, and — wait for it — Zaxby’s.
But while these establishments are sorely, sorely missed, we can think of another Southern staple we’re happy to do without. Unfortunately, it’s knocking on Brooklyn’s door.
We’re talking about Walmart, the super-duper chain that’s tried and failed to forge a location in various NYC locations. The latest site is the Gateway II shopping area in Jamaica Bay, Brokelyn reports.
Could a Brooklyn Walmart survive? Brokelyn posits that residents’ loyalties to local shops (and Target) will prevail, but bargains are bargains.
Also, the combined retail square-footage of the Walmart corporation is apparently larger than that of Manhattan. Ouch.
Whoever said “ignorance is bliss” probably never had to wait for the 2/3 on a daily basis. In New York, said ignorance usually means peering desperately into a dark Subway tunnel and wondering how late for work you’re going to be this time. Which is why we’re excited for the new countdown clocks — those nifty devices present throughout the L — on the Brooklyn red line.
According to Gothamist, the Bergen St., Eastern Parkway, Nostrand Ave., and Kingston Ave. stations received clocks on Tuesday, and can expect more in the near-future.
There are only 15 stations with legit countdown clocks in all of NYC — not including clocks still in testing — however the MTA hopes to install clocks at 152 locations by the beginning of 2011.
(Confession: The above picture is actually from the Bronx, where some countdown clocks were installed in February. Jerks.)
As residents all over Brooklyn are laboring to fill out those 10 tedious questions, those in Williamsburg as laboring a little less strenuously. Gawker reports that Williamsburgers have only a 30% return rate for the census, significantly less to 50% return rate in all of NYC.
Oh well, at least Williamsburg is pretty, as depicted in this photo via [charlie cravero] on Flickr.
Tired of trekking into Manhattan for your iPads and Pods? Maybe someday you won’t have to.
Marty Markowitz, the borough president of Brooklyn, is pushing for a BK Apple Store. The Prez recently emailed Steve Jobs from his new iPad, praising Brooklyn as a mecca for collegiate and creative types — two of Apple’s major clientele. Markowitz even included a promo video:
TUAW (The Official Apple Weblog) adds that Brooklyn has continued to prove its retail value over the years; the Brooklyn IKEA, for example, is one of the company’s top outlets in the country. But, as TUAW also points out, many Brooklyners probably pass one of Manhattan’s four Apple Stores on a regular basis.
So there’s a ghost stroller on Union and 6th. Painted the color of my butt cheeks during the winter, this artistic endeavor has confused and confounded locals for weeks now. The New York Times just ran an article about it. And everyone wants to know what it means.
