SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

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I never ate at Richard Yee’s Chinese Restaurant (2617 Avenue U). I always wanted to – the place looked ancient and there must’ve been something awesome behind that longevity. But, alas, it closed up – last year I think. I figured I lost my chance, and I wouldn’t hear about Richard Yee’s again.

Then I got a Google alert. Richard Yee’s Restaurant was mentioned in – of all places – the Miami Herald. A former Sheepshead Bay resident living in Georgia wrote to the Herald’s “Cook’s Corner” column asking for a recipe for a dish he had at his old Sheepshead haunt. The columnist responds with a typed long-form version of a big fat shrug. But maybe we can help this former neighbor out with an answer of our own (which will also allow me a posthumous taste of the restaurant’s dishes).

From the Miami Herald:

Q: I look forward to reading your column, to see what recipes sound so good I have to try them. I have a request and I hope that you can fill it. While I lived in Brooklyn I would take my family to a Chinese restaurant called Richard Yees on Avenue U in Sheepshead Bay. They made the most delicious appetizers. One was Crabmeat Balls and the other was Shrimp Patties. I have looked in every recipe book I could get my hands on but am unable to find these recipes. These are the signature dishes that his father Joe Yees put out more that 50 years ago. I believe he had them printed in one of the magazines, Women’s Day or Family Circle. If any of your readers has come across these recipes I would appreciate a copy.

Sandy Thomson, Byron, Ga.

A: Alas, there no longer is a telephone listing for Richard Yee’s, and I was unable to find any published recipes in various databases I checked. Perhaps a reader will be able to help. Shrimp toasts and crab balls are from an era when Chinese restaurants were less common, and often served dishes designed for less sophisticated palates. I did find a recipe for shrimp toasts in the classic 1972 The Chinese Cookbook by Craig Claiborne and Virginia Lee (Random House); as just an example of how far we’ve come, cilantro is listed as an exotic ingredient available only in Chinese markets or by mail order. The book should be in your public library. This recipe for crab balls is better than any I’ve ever tasted in a restaurant, and is from a friend who learned to make them while stationed in the Navy in Thailand.

“Goose really aren’t that hard to cook.
Just pierce the skin in many places to allow the fat to render out.

Really, it’s very easy to grill a goose. After all cooking a goose over an open flame is the tried and true method. Start by letting the goose warm up for about 30 minutes. Wash and pat dry with paper towels and season to your liking.
A little salt, thyme or sage and perhaps some lemon juice will suffice.

If you are using charcoal you will want to use about 4 to 5 pounds. You might have to replenish the fire after an hour or so. Expect to be grilling for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours for a 15 pound goose. The bird will be done when the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees F.
Let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before you carve and serve.”

- brooklynq on “Belt Parkway Neighbors Prep For Geese Migration“

Photo by nolastname

You know spring is near when the South Brooklyn coastal communities are getting ready for the birds. Our area, blessed by the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, is a stopping point for more than 325 species of migrating birds.

Over by the golf course near Flatbush Avenue on the Belt Parkway, locals are kicking off the season with a word – and drawing – of warning to drivers getting on the highway. Scores of Canadian geese take to the area, many landing in the golf course itself. Sections of the fence are down to allow the birds access to the shore, but not before a perilous journey over the Belt.

Drivers, heed this advice: drive slowly on this section of the Belt Parkway (not that you have a choice).

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Late last night we told everyone we were making it our goal to reach 1,000 Facebook friends by next week. Well, lo and behold, the desperate goons over at GerritsenBeach.net declared war on us, betting they could reach 1,000 Facebook followers first!

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Readers, there has been no more important fight against tyranny since America spat in the face of King Charles II.

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Courtesy of Daily News

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has signed a five-year lease on 3157 Coney Island Avenue, after a fierce battle with the landlord to keep the Brighton Beach Post Office branch open.

The agreement caps an almost year long fight in which the new landlord attempted to jack up rent in excess of 30 percent of market value. According to the Brooklyn Eagle, Congressmen Jerrold Nadler and Anthony Weiner, and City Councilman Michael Nelson, joined the fight when their Brighton Beach constituents expressed outrage that the neighborhood’s only local office would close.

“Losing such an important neighborhood asset would have been unacceptable, as this is the only post office in Brighton Beach,” Weiner told Brooklyn Eagle. “The outspoken members of this community rallied to prevent this closure, and they deserve a great deal of credit for helping to avert what surely would have been a severe blow to those who live and do business in Brighton Beach.”

Reader nolastname was wandering about yesterday morning, and watched as the beautiful weather kicked off with an awesome sunrise. She saw this crane at work in the Marine Park Salt Marsh. Snazzy…

177 MacKenzie after it was fully demolished Monday afternoon (Photo by Ray Johnson)

Leland Bodenmiller, his wife, and their three children are breathing much easier, as the Department of Buildings granted a quick 20-minute reprieve to enter their condemned home and retrieve personal possessions.

The demolition of 177 MacKenzie Street took enough stress off the Bodenmiller’s home that, with the addition of braces, building inspectors gave the green light to a quick in-and-out rescue operation.

“It was a great effort to get things out of the house and onto the lawn in 15 or 20 minutes,” said Leland. “We had to run and grab .. Whatever we have used recently, we grabbed.”

Bodenmiller said the family was able to snatch clothing, computers, photos, his wife’s wedding dress, some smaller furniture, and their son’s engineering books – among other things.

The 20 minutes “really opened it up. Precious things that were personal to us [were recovered],” he said. “We weren’t able to get some things, but we’re happy about what we got.”

Some valuables left behind include televisions, china and crystals from their wedding 35 years ago, a telescope, organ, and larger furniture.

But the Bodenmillers may have another chance. The DOB has given the landlord a one-week deadline to demolish the property since it’s no longer in immediate danger of collapsing, though it’s still condemned. Bodenmiller is hopeful the DOB may give them one more opportunity to get into the house.

“It’s like the weather,” Bodenmiller said. “Yesterday it was rainy and dreary and we couldn’t get in the house. Now it’s sunny and beautiful and we’re very happy we go to go inside.”

From the Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association:

Community Security Forum

You are cordially invited to attend a very special and unprecedented event of our Brooklyn communities; a gathering of NYPD’s Finest will address our community for the purpose of advising of the security measures taking place in our local schools, religious institutions, and residential neighborhoods

****Tuesday March 16th 2010 – 8:00pm****

@

Ohel David & Shlomo Synagogue
710 Shore Blvd. (corner of Ocean Avenue)
Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn

Keep reading for more information

177 MacKenzie Street in Manhattan Beach Get Demolished

On Monday, March 15, Jacqulyn Bodenmiller should have been relaxing in advance of her marriage to Bittman Rivas in two weeks. Instead, she stood in the rain outside of her family’s home on MacKenzie Street. The family of five, and Rivas, watched helplessly as their home of 27 years was fenced up and prepped for demolition.

Almost all of their possessions were still locked inside the house, destined to be crushed by a huge mechanical claw.

On top of their home sprawled a three-story wooden frame, once a neighboring stalled construction site at 177 MacKenzie Street. During Saturday’s storm, the building slammed into the Bodenmiller’s home with a thunderous boom and shoved their house off its own foundation. Over the course of the next two days, the FDNY and the DOB inspected the home, declared it in “emergency condition” and an immediate threat. The family’s home could collapse under the weight at any time, according to city officials, and so they began demolishing both 177 MacKenzie Street and the Bodenmiller’s home at 181 MacKenzie Street.

The Bodenmillers are tenants without renters insurance. The American Red Cross put them up in a Sunset Park hotel for the time being, and they’re moving fast to secure an apartment in the area. But all their clothes and other possessions are trapped inside the house, except a few choice items Jacqulyn’s mother, Irine, was able to grab in a brief opportunity.

“It was the saddest part,” said Rivas. “Her mother had the opportunity and she grabbed the veil, wedding rings, and other wedding jewelry. She didn’t grab a thing of her own, just things for the wedding.”

Read more about the structure’s history, who’s to blame, and for photos of the demolition

As we all know by now, damage was widespread. For the most part, downed trees took out power lines, blocked off roads, crushed cars and shattered concrete like egg shells. In some areas trees fell into houses. Aluminum siding and roofing was stripped from some homes, as were signs from businesses. Boats slammed into the Ocean Avenue footbridge, splintering wooden guardrails.

In the worst damage I’ve seen from the storm yet, a stalled construction on MacKenzie Street in Manhattan Beach collapsed onto a neighbor’s home, knocking it off its foundation and causing the family to lose nearly everything (more on that later).

Ironically, Plumb Beach didn’t seem too badly damaged (more on that later, too).

These 111 photos come from Sheepshead Bites’ great readers, who went about chronicling the damage and sent us their photos. It’s only a selection of what we received. To see more photos – many with captions from the photographer – connect with us on Facebook and browse the photos tagged “Sheepshead Bites.”

Thanks to all of those who sent these in.

View photos of the March 2010 nor’easter damage