While Brooklyn’s shipyards have been closed for years, that doesn’t mean that the history has been forgotten. In March of 1862, the USS Monitor was pitted against the CSS Virginia (which was formerly named the USS Merrimack) in the very first battle against two ironclad ships in the history of the United States.

History geeks like me get a little bit of a thrill hearing those names brought up over a century after the battle actually happened, but those in Greenpoint, Brooklyn are getting more than a little thrill. They’re excited to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the commission and building of the USS Monitor (the Navy’s very first ironclad commision.) In a celebration in Brooklyn this weekend ancestors of the builders of the ship will be dressed in Civil War garb and participate in Civil War inspired activities including a wreath laying.

The USS Monitor later sank in a storm on New Year’s Eve in 1862 but the inhabitants of Brooklyn still celebrate the great triumph it was to build. From start to finish, keel to turrets, the entire boat was finished in 118 days. A great achievement that certainly deserves it’s own parade.

If you’re a history buff and looking for something to do in Brooklyn this weekend, I think you’ve found the place to be.

With a wealth of non-native New Yorkers forever influxing to the five boroughs and especially Brooklyn etiquette that should have long ago been established as consistent and never wavering sometimes gets mucked up. Staying to the right on the sidewalk for example to allow the faster and crazier New Yorkers to jut around you is a pretty standard “rule” that gets ignored all too often.

More significantly though is the new New Yorker’s disrespect of bagel culture. It is not that they do not appreciate the greatest carbohydrate New York and Brooklyn have to offer, it’s that they do so all wrong. Some of these people do something that would have any self respecting Brooklynite feeling defeated and angry. They have the nerve to toast perfectly good bagels ruining their doughy softness and making them into just some regular old toasted bread.

A Brooklyn bagel is not the same as those dumb things you get in a frozen bag at your local supermarket and to toast one is a crime against culinary justice. A nefarious and vile act that should be grounds for sending people to some Brooklyn salt mine deep in East New York.

This might not be Brooklyn news but apparently it is to some.

Over the past two years there has been a lot of tumult in the United States Congress. By and large the American people are fed up with politics as usual and somehow assume that voting the opposite way they did the last time will fix things.

With this in mind the Republican party took a Brooklyn congressional seat in a special election last night. Brooklyn businessman Bob Turner beat Democratic Assemblyman David I. Weprin in a margin large enough to turn the heads of polsters who had been predicting an incredibly tight race, 54% to 46%.

National Republican leaders, trying to get a leg up on the upcoming Presidential race, suggested that the Democratic loss was a referendum on President Barack Obama himself. It is as if they forgot completely that the entire special election was necessitated by the public shaming of former Congressman and amateur pornographer Anthony Weiner.

Mr. Turner is the first Republican since 1920 elected to the ninth congressional district, which includes several working class Brooklyn neighborhoods and Forest Hills in Queens. In the end it seems that the Democrats greatest miscalculation was nominating a career politician, easily painted as a party insider intent on keeping things going as is.

The tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks is receiving wall to wall coverage and for those of us who lived in New York at the time that seems totally justified. The shear terror and shock of that chaotic day has not been lost on anyone who was there or within eye shot. Brooklynites will inevitably recall standing on the promenade or their roofs watching as the course of American history shifted in an explosive moment of violence. Some might remember walking across the Brooklyn bridge from their lower Manhattan offices to let loved ones know that they were okay, even though no one was okay.

The view of Manhattan from Brooklyn, always an iconic reminder that we live in one of the most exciting and vital places on the planet, was changed forever. So too was the view from our collective psyche. The last ten years have been a series of culture shocks and cultural breakthroughs. The technology we once feared would drive a wedge between humanity has instead become a hyper connective network. In a way that reaction could have something to do with the events of 9/11. The fear of being suddenly torn from someone you love or something familiar now has us forever connecting to one another. It is safe to say that on that day Brooklyn and the world got a whole lot smaller.

Today is the second day of daylight savings time, and the first day it applies to the work week. Not only that, but today was gray and windy and ugly and cold. My toes have little sensation in them although the office is at a standard 70 degrees. It was hailing when I went out for lunch. And I have to ride my bike home.

Continue Reading

How’s this for a Craigslist ad?

18-room apartment in Brooklyn Heights with 11 bedrooms (and 11 fireplaces), four-car parking, Southern-style garden and porch. Perfect for lavish parties and deviant vocal patterns. Tennessee Williams need not apply.

We’re describing 70 Willow St., the former home of legendary author — and all-around lush — Truman Capote. Said legend rented the residence from 1955 to 1965, where he partied hard, conceived of Holly Golightly, and wrote In Cold Blood.

The asking price is $18 million, which would easily be Brooklyn’s priciest real estate buy. (The current record is $12 million.)

Of course, $18 mil. is small potatoes in Manhattan, NY Daily News points out, as Madonna just dropped $40 million for her uptown crib.

But small potatoes or not, we love Brooklyn, and so did Capote — even before it was fashionable. In fact, the real estate listing even includes a quote by the former tenant himself:

I live in Brooklyn. By choice. Those ignorant of its allures are entitled to wonder why.

Photo via maximilian.jendralski on Flickr.

Do you love browsing for unique items such as costume jewelry, armoires, dishes, and mirrors? If so, you sound like an antiquer to me. But don’t run off to the country for some quaint antique shop just yet — whether you’re looking for a piece of jewelry or a piece of furniture, you can find what you need right in the city!

Before you begin your search, however, it’s important to remember the difference between antique and thrift stores. Although there are exceptions, most thrift shops tend to be stocked with items people simply didn’t want. This means that the quality is suspect, and the “history” behind each item is likely nothing special (unless you consider a vintage IKEA purchase a find). Antique stores, however, typically have higher standards on the items they’ll accept, making it easier for you to find high quality pieces.

In Brooklyn, we recommend City Foundry on Atlantic Avenue as one of the best antique and vintage stores in the area, featuring everything from furniture and appliances to light fixtures and decorative accents. Prices are a little steep here, but these items are certainly worth the added expense.

Additionally, a pair of stores called Brownstone Treasures and Yesterday’s News (both on Court Street) are known for their wide selection of affordable antiques, from Victorian era furniture to pulp fiction paperbacks and costume jewelry.

Last, period lovers will enjoy the Antique Room on Atlantic Avenue, which stocks 19th-century furniture, mirrors, lamps, and more.

It’s no wonder Brooklyn is loaded with history, given the borough’s population of over 2.5 million people, which features residents of all cultures and backgrounds.

Originally called “Breuckelen,” Brooklyn was settled by the Dutch West India Company in 1646, making it the state of New York’s first municipality. Brooklyn later absorbed some of the neighboring Dutch villages, including Boswijk (Bushwick), Nieuw Utrecht (New Utrecht), and Nieuw Amersfoort (Flatlands).

Even today, Brooklyn residents and visitors alike are privy to dozens of fantastic historical landmarks, including the Green-Wood Cemetery in Greenwood Heights, a resting place for many famous people, including Leonard Bernstein. Another great landmark is the Lefferts Historic House in Prospect Park, a museum capturing the life of Brooklyn in the 1820s. Alternatively, fans of architecture—or just tall things—might enjoy a trip to the Williamsburgh Savings Bank in Fort Greene. Standing at 512 feet, this bank is one of the tallest buildings in Brooklyn, featuring one of the tallest clock towers in the world.

Of course, no trip to Brooklyn is complete without a walk on the Brooklyn Bridge. The bridge was constructed in 1883, and has since become an integral aspect of the New York City’s skyline.