Nathan’s Hotdog Eating Contest in Coney Island Interrupted by Fake Blood

A red substance was tossed on contestants competing in the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest in Coney Island. PETA was blamed, but the PETA representative said that PETA wasn’t aware of the incident.

See the pics and video here (scroll down after you click). Photographer, Todd Maisel shared pics here 

The Brooklyn Daily has the story!

It’s strange that someone who is against meat  would show up for a hot dog eating contest. A person who loves meat that much isn’t going to become vegan because fake blood was thrown around. It was rude to get fake blood on this guy’s clothes and shoes though. (Also seen here)

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Why Many People in Bay Ridge Don’t Like Fireworks on July 4th – A Fire Happened 25 Years Ago

On July 4, 1991, John Antonelli and his wife, Marie, and his mother, Mary died at their home at 641 – 73rd Street. Fireworks landed on their rear porch of their home and caused a fire while they slept.

The three people were found by the first-floor staircase as firefighters believed they tried to get out of the house.

The fire was so hot that it melted the vinyl siding of a building two houses away.

John was 57, Marie was 56 and John’s mother Mary was 88.

.

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Is it a Hate Crime in Bay Ridge or Just Disrespect?

Two young Muslims were attacked outside a mosque at 5213 – 3rd Avenue in Sunset Park,  Brooklyn.  I was told they were at the mosque doing community service, but now the complete story of what happened here came out. Ahmad Emrech said that he didn’t do anything against the guy (to provoke the fight) — see video here (Buzzfeed posted the story here)

See surveillance video here   and  pictures here.

The police say it is not a hate crime. Ahmad Emrech says it was a hate crime because the guy who beat him called him a terrorist. They woman in the car says that the boys were bothering her and reaching in the car at her.

On  Tuesday, July 5th there was a protest to “stop hate crimes against Muslims.”  Wait it’s Eid and they are having a protest? (Eid is a time where they wear new clothes and celebrate after a month of fasting and declaring themselves to God (Allah). So for me, it’s like their Easter Sunday and I would never be joining a protest on Easter Sunday when God and my family need me.  The protest was held outside the mosque  but it looked like it was outside the Alpine Movie Theater that is next door because there was a lot of protesters.  And they marched in Bay Ridge even though the incident happened in Sunset Park.

When I originally wrote this, I was very sympathetic as my students are Muslim and I don’t want anyone to be treated poorly in Brooklyn. The NYPD saw the tapes and said this incident was not bias related. Not one leader in Sunset Park or Bay Ridge can come out and say the truth about it though. It’s like they want hatred in the community.  When a young Jewish man bothered the Muslims in Bay Ridge, three rabbis came and apologized for the incident.

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Cutest Brooklyn T-shirts

From the Vitatees shop on Etsy.

Such a cute onesie for a Brooklyn baby. Would make a good shower or new baby present.

From the Vitatees shop on Etsy.

Topics: Bay Ridge, Brooklyn | No Comments »

Alternate Side Parking Suspended July 4th – 7th in Brooklyn and NYC

Bay Ridge loves when alternate side of the street parking is suspended!

Of course alternate side parking is suspended on July 4, 2016 in NYC for July 4th.

Also on July 5th – 7th, alternate side is also suspended for Eid al-Fitr – but you need to feed the meters on those days still

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July 4th Weekend Bay Ridge and Around Brooklyn

Update:  Click here to see the 2017 July 4th events

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Warren Chan – He Isn’t Playing Politics

We have been waiting for the bill to stop illegal conversions in Brooklyn for a long time. Then along comes Warren Chan to defend  the residents.  

OKAY so wait a minute. He’s speaking out and talking for the residents.  

And part of what Warren Chan is saying is correct, but he didn’t explain it well.

There are illegal conversions in Brooklyn. The owners who converted those buildings knew that converting them was illegal. 

Warren Chan is correct in saying that people have been converting their homes illegally for years. Seven years ago, we looked for a home from Bay Ridge to Gravesend. We saw 66 homes before purchasing our house. Many of the homes we saw, we liked, but they had illegal bathrooms and the homeowner sealed the bathroom with a wall. At first I didn’t notice it, but Lee kept pointing it out and it became easy to detect after seeing the same thing in more than 15-20 homes.   Each time we saw a great home with an illegal wall, we said, “this  house won’t pass an inspection.”  The realtors would try to assure us that they had a guy who could get it to pass the inspection.  And they would encourage us to buy the home because we could “remove the wall and use the bathroom after we purchased the home”, but we didn’t want to deal with even trying to close on a home like that.

The picture below was my dream home in Bay Ridge. Notice that all of the walls on the first floor were removed. That’s the beauty of this house, but the work wasn’t done legally.  It’s 7 years later and the home still has not been sold. Why?  Because the new owners can’t get a mortgage or past closing with a building that has structural problems. There is no Certificate of Occupancy and one can’t be issued until the home is restored. It’s almost seven years later and the home still doesn’t have a CO.

The realtor that listed the property above was sneaky. She did not tell us this and kept pushing for us to put a downpayment.  I asked her, “Was the work done legally and can the home pass an inspection?  She said she didn’t known and then added: “ask the owner – he’s right there.”   She knew. The owner acted sketchy so I went home to searched for the house online and I found Acris.  It’s the reason I wrote about how to buy a home in Brooklyn on this blog.

I like that Warren Chan is sticking up for the hard working families in the community who had no idea they rented an illegal apartment. Chan should enlist the help of his allies, Gentile, Abbate, as well as NY Bar Association and the NYC Rent Guidelines Board.

Councilman Gentile has always been fighting for people in his area. This week, I saw Gentile supported Irene Chu as the new head of the Stars and Stripes Political Club, as well as recommending  that Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams appoint her to the community board. It’s apparent that Assemblyman Peter Abbate is also supporting Asian members his his political club.  Gentile’s bill was always to provide for the tenants!

I’m glad to see Warren Chan voicing his opinion and that of the community. The more voices there are, the better this community will be. Brooklyn has always been about the people. Oh and I think Chan should find a candidate to run against Mark Treyger because Treyger isn’t doing a good job representing Coney Island.

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Where’s the best place for fireworks in Bay Ridge on July 4th?

Can I see the Macys fireworks from the 69th Street Pier in Brooklyn?

On July 4th you can see fireworks:

• Macys Fireworks at 9:20 – 9:50 pm can be seen  from the 69th Street Pier because the fireworks are on the East side again!  You have to be there early because the pier gets crowded.

• The best places to view the Macys fireworks are from Brooklyn Bridge Park – arrive around 7pm and then hang out  on the pier. 

• Bush Terminal Pier Park in Sunset (41 St and 1 St) has the best view of the fireworks and isn’t that crowded.

• Also The Promenade in Brooklyn Heights is packed but good for fireworks.

• Coney Island at Steeplechase Pier (in Coney Island Beach & Boardwalk)

See Bay Ridge Fourth of July events here

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Marty Golden is not having the Bay Ridge 4th of July Picnic this year

No Fourth of July picnic in the park in Bay Ridge said that grinch, Marty Golden. Actually he didn’t say anything about it and I have no idea why Marty Golden isn’t having the annual Bay Ridge picnic, but it is off.

CC told people it was because of money/not enough bands available.

There also is no Dyker Heights 4th of July parade this year either. Dyker Heights has always had a Fourth of July parade. Bay Ridge still has a Ragamuffin Parade in the Fall, a St. Patrick’s Day Parade in March and a Memorial Day Parade on Memorial Day Weekend.

Money is being spent like water in the city, so I don’t think this is a money issue.

See other events happening July 4th Weekend in Bay Ridge

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Louis Barbati, Co- Owner of Spumoni Gardens Shot Down in His Dyker Heights Home

NY Times update on July 3  

Video of the suspect here.

Louis Barbati is seen on the right. He is the co-owner of Spumoni Gardens was shot twice in the back  tonight, Thursday, June 30th around 7 pm. Spumoni Gardens is an iconic pizza and ice place in Brooklyn.  The restaurant inside as well as the outside seating is always packed because this place is so well loved.

People love Louis’ sicilian pizza. A friend of mine posted this pic from L&B this week:

The Daily News has the most detailed coverage.  The twitter account, NYScanner posted this picture and a link to a story from 2012.  The New York Times story and the Bensonhurst Bean has an  update on the story here

The shooter was wearing a black hoodie and appeared to be around 30 years old. He fled the scene after the shooting.

Prayers for Louis’ wife and children.

The Daily News, the Brooklyn Paper  and   the WB 111 are the only ones carrying the story   right now.

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Fourth of July Celebration at Fort Hamilton Army Base – July 1, 2016

Click here to See 2017 July 4th Events in Bay Ridge

The event is open to everyone!   Go enjoy the music, rides and games!   Although the event is free, you have to register for the event here – you have to print the tickets to get into the show.

American Idol’s Fantasia is performing. Opening performances by Jean Dubreus, Stephanie Petronelli, Zavvezo, Mikey Jay, Mile Zero, and Titanium. Hosted by Shar Jackson.

Click here for other Fourth of July Events in Bay Ridge 2016

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Something Isn’t Right in Brooklyn – Chamber of Commerce

 

Who is overseeing what is happening at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce?

I called 311 because I couldn’t figure out if the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce (or any of the NYC Chamber of Commerces) are NYC Government offices. Even 311 operators couldn’t figure it out and after 10 minutes the phone attendant told me that the Chamber of Commerce falls under NYC Department of Health and Hygiene.  Yet, some chambers say that these are not-for-profit agencies with a 501c classification. 

What’s strange about the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce?

• Last September,  AirBnB gave the Brooklyn Chamber $15,000.  The Brooklyn Chamber had to be aware that NYC has strict rules about housing to protect tenants (and sometime landlords too).  Leticia James, the Public Advocate has protested against AirBnB  and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal wrote and passed a bill to fine owners $7,500 for renting out entire buildings or for less than 30 days. Linda Rosenthal reminded people that this has been the law since 201o.   Why are city and state government offices (Linda fighting for people’s rights while another agency is welcoming this company?

• There are affordable hotels in Brooklyn, so why would the Brooklyn Chamber President push Airbnb like this:

• The Brooklyn Chamber sent  employee to represent the Chamber and intimidate a Brooklyn Property Owner with eminent domain proceedings for a walkway between areas of Coney Island. Adriana Scotti of the Brooklyn Chamber said this Coney Island project was necessary (REALLY?) Eminent domain should not have even been brought up because as the owner stated it was an abuse of eminent domain. The NYC Parks Department sold property to a developer in Coney Island and then the city went after Carol Murray. The City already had an EDC member at the meeting to present the findings on behalf of the city.  Carlo Scissura served as Marty Markotwitz’s chief of staff before being the head of the Brooklyn Chamber, so he knows that the EDC was representing the city. There was no reason for anyone from the Brooklyn Chamber to be present except to  intimidate the property owner. Murray’s family owned the Coney Island for 100 years. Coney Island is known for it’s amusement park so the City employees should have had more respect for this woman. I contacted Mark Treyger on this issue and he was lax and allowed Murray to stand alone. In 2007, my family and their elderly neighbor fought eminent domain in Downtown Brooklyn and Leticia James stood with the neighbor and brought hope to the property owners. If people have invested in Brooklyn, City Council members who were elected by the people should not be acting against them. *By the way, the “fair market deals” that are offered to owners are less than half the price of the property on the open market. City Council members need to not be so willing to fold to DeBlasio and be able to stand up for people who have invested in Brooklyn. Carlo Scissura, President of the Brooklyn Chamber was named King Neptune in Coney Island this year. Ironic?

• The Brooklyn Chamber has pushed another company called Cars2Go.  Why is a private company allowed to use public space for free? Their garage is our city streets FOR FREE.  Other car rental companies, need to pay to store their cars.  Cars2Go is a good idea, but whoever allowed them to place their cars on our streets did the wrong thing for Brooklyn. Residents can’t find parking and that’s causing businesses in Brooklyn to suffer because people can’t find a place to stop for 10 minutes and pick up items while Cars2Go is all over our neighborhood. When I contacted Eric Adams about this last Fall, his office backed away from the issue.  Four hundred cars were dropped in Brooklyn and then another hundred were put in the borough, yet Adams didn’t even investigate it. Adams could have recommended that Cars2Go use commercial plate sso they can not park on the streets overnight. Instead Eric Adams and his office DID NOTHING.   Cars2Go had over $250,000 outstanding parking ticked fines in NYC.   Reviews about Cars2Go are mixed.

In Bay Ridge parking spots are sparse so a resident wrote this:

Besides the issues above, there are just a lot of different things about the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce such as: 

    1) Employees at the Chamber of Commerce – The Brooklyn Chamber has three times as many employees. Something is not right here.

Hardly any businesses in my neighborhood, Bay Ridge belongs to the Brooklyn Chamber. Why?  Maybe because they saw this review: Here’s a review of the Brooklyn Chamber . This person found the chamber to be:

• Not very helpful to startups
• Costly events and not great networking opportunities
• Waste of money.
• Waste of time.

b) There is an additional fee for businesses to use the Brooklyn made logo: http://brooklynmade.nyc/application-process Why are Brooklynites who own a business being nickled and dimed by the Brooklyn Chamber? 

3) Web addresses – You should be able to tell if the Chamber of Commerce is a not for profit by it’s web address as you can with Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx addresses.

4) Tourist info:If you search for Brooklyn tourism, you get this site. which links to visitbrooklyn.com – which doesn’t exist.

The Brooklyn Chamber is using a different site called Explore Brooklyn.  Yhe webmaster has done a terrible job keeping the site up-to-date. My neighborhood of Bay Ridge only shows a few businesses. One is closed ->  Robicelli’s Bakery closed in the Winter,  but it still remains on the site. 

Another -> The Pearl Room moved from 82nd to 85th Street months ago, but the Explore Brooklyn site still shows the old location on 82nd Street.

Finally, a store called  The Lipstick Box store doesn’t have a website  set up so when you click there link there is nothing. Yet the shop has a working  Facebook page that the web design could have linked to.    I didn’t check the other areas of the Explore Brooklyn site, but that’s a lot of mistakes for one neighborhood in Brooklyn!    There are 30+ people working on the site and it’s odd that not one of them is checking that their website is up-to-day.

This Explore Brooklyn site also has a facebook page which is being updated with info, but tourists need hotels, restaurants and sites by area. Tourists look online for travel packages and deals.   In contrast, Manhattan’s Chamber of Commerce site answers questions and links to a fantastic NYC owned  tourism site.

5) Visits to Albany as Lobbyists Because they are Lobbyists! 

In 2015, Scissura said that NYC should encourage larger stores to come to Brooklyn.  Little stores are failing and Scissura is calling for more big box stores to come into Brooklyn?

Really – something is not right here.

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