SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries

At a community press briefing, Congressional Representative Hakeem Jeffries expressed concern that FEMA was treating disaster-stricken areas in New York as generic disaster zones, inconsiderate of New York’s unique circumstances, according to a report by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

After Superstorm Sandy devastated much of Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island late last October, FEMA distributed guidelines designed to prepare New Yorkers for future storms. According to Jeffries, many of these guidelines simply aren’t logical considering the reality of New York’s layout and community design. Jeffries argued that when it comes to legislating and preparing for future storms, that there would be a need for “New York solutions to New York problems.”

According to Jeffries, FEMA has recommended that homeowners in vulnerable areas elevate the foundations of their homes. This recommendation makes sense for houses located in areas where there is wide space between homes, but not for Brooklyn, where houses are crammed together. Jeffries argues that the foundation of one house cannot be altered without affecting the foundation of the houses next to it.

FEMA also recommended that homeowners in flood zones keep their basements unoccupied. Jeffries also slammed this recommendation as impractical.

“In New York, many homeowners either have relatives living in the basement, or rent out basement apartments so they can have more money to pay the mortgage,” the Daily Eagle reported Jeffries saying.

Instead of placing the burden entirely on homeowners to create costly protections for their homes, Jeffries called for new offshore barriers to prevent the flooding of beachfront lands. He also recommended that barriers be erected between separate bodies of water to limit the power of storm surges.

Anna Malkina-Shumayev, left, and Bella Deleu, right, were crowned Your Highness Grandmothers last weekend. (Source: Be Proud Foundation)

Here they come, Your Highness Grandmothers, here they come!

The Be Proud Foundation crowned the 2013 Your Highness Grandmothers in the quirky, colorful Brighton Beach pageant last Sunday, awarding Anna Malkina-Shumayev the title in the Queen Grandmother category and Bella Deleu the title for the Grandmother category.

The event marked the 11th year of the pageant, celebrating the lives of grandmothers across Southern Brooklyn. Regaling audiences at National Restaurant (273 Brighton Beach Avenue), Malkina-Shumayev and Deleu joined approximately a dozen other contestants for the good-natured competition. A panel of grandfathers rated the contestants on their handmade costumes, singing and talent abilities, and even belly dancing.

The pageant spanned four generations, involving the children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren of the contestants, who ranged in age from… well, a lady never tells.

Anna Malkina-Shumayev, who took home the Queen Grandmother title, was born in Russia to a family of 10 children. She move to America, and has been singing at events around the community, and translates Russian songs into English. She was attended to at the event by her four grandchildren and great-grandson.

Bell Deleu won the Grandmother title, a separate category for the younger batch of grandmas. Deleu graduated from Beltsy Teachers’ Training Institute and worked as a day care manager. She sings, dances, paints and gardens in her spare time. She has four grandchildren.

Congratulations to Malkina-Shumayev and Deleu and all of the event participants!

(Source: Ed Yourdon/Flickr)

A speedy trip to Manhattan this weekend for those who live along an express station, but a longer one for those who live near a local station. But, hey, at least we’re not trapped like our friends in Bensonhurst…

Q LINE

On the Q line, Manhattan-bound Q trains run express from Kings Highway to Prospect Park, meaning there will be no northbound trains at Gravesend Neck Road, Avenue U, Avenue M, Avenue J, Avenue H, Courtelyou Road, Beverley Road or Parkside Avenue. Those boarding at a local stop will have to take the Q south to the next express station and transfer to a northbound Q from there.

F LINE

On the F line, trains continue to skip Smith-9 Sts in both directions.

From 11:45 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday, Jamaica-bound F trains are rerouted via the A from Jay St-MetroTech to W 4 St.

From 12:30 a.m. tonight until 5 a.m. Monday, Jamaica-bound F trains run local from Roosevelt Av to 71 Av.

Finally, From 11:45 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday, Coney Island-bound F trains skip 4 Av-9 St, 15 St-Prospect Park, and Fort Hamilton Pkwy.

Correction (5:42 p.m.): Reader Auxil B. correctly points out that there is local Manhattan-bound service at Avenue U and Neck Road this weekend. We’ve made the correction above, and regret any confusion this may have caused.

Source: Weinstein’s office

The following is a press release received yesterday from the offices of Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein:

For years now, Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein has been bringing MTA personnel and the MTA reduced-fare program to her District office at 3520 Nostrand Avenue on the 3rd Thursday of every month. During today’s visit, although MTA staff was on hand to process new and lost/damaged card applications, the reduced-fare program van broke down and those who came to refill cards or check balance were unable to do so.

In order to accommodate people who were inconvenienced, the MTA has arranged for the van to park in front of the Assemblywoman’s district office this Sunday, the 21st of April, from 11am to 2pm. In addition to being able to refill and check balances, those who missed today’s visit will also be able to file new card applications and register their cards lost or damaged.

For more info please call the Assemblywoman’s office at (718) 648-4700.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

If you live on the far end of a New York City borough and have the distinct pleasure of sitting through a 45-50 minute commute into Manhattan every day, you gain a unique experience. The trip highlights the diversity of races, cultures and economic classes as the train rumbles from your more modest home towards Fancytown. While it’s easy to notice the types of people you see on the train – homeless, hipsters, lawyers, mothers and tourists – it’s harder to guess their socioeconomic status, even if you have a rough idea. Thanks to the New Yorker, you can now know exactly how much people are making through their handy interactive graph which charts the median household incomes via subway stops.

The results will probably depress you, especially if you are a normal schmo from Bensonhurst, Sheepshead Bay, Brighton Beach or practically anywhere outside of the confines of Manhattan. The luckiest New Yorkers live off the 2 and 3 lines by Park Place and Chambers Street. If those people are even using the subway, they are on average earning more than $200,000 a year.

Riders near the 18th Avenue D stop in Bensonhurst clock an average of $39,524. Borough Park riders near 55th street also earn about $39,000. Further south by the Sheepshead Bay Q station, riders earn an average of $33,616. Brighton Beach riders are even less affluent, with the median being set at $28,398. If Q train riders from Southern Brooklyn want to see some fancy people living off their line, all they have to do is drop $2.50 and ride up to 5th Avenue in Manhattan where the median  household income is set at a breezy $171,000.

It’s a fascinating graph filled with huge spikes that tower over the lowly millions in far more precarious economic situations. Sigh…

Click to enlarge

CompStat reports are produced by the New York Police Department on a weekly basis. We summarize the week’s statistics for the 61st Precinct reports every Friday. The 61st Precinct is the police command responsible for Sheepshead Bay, Gravesend, Kings Highway, Homecrest, Madison, Manhattan Beach, and Gerritsen Beach.

Source: CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities / Flickr

Volunteers are wanted to help celebrate the upcoming Earth Day by helping to clean up marine debris at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, April 20 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. You can get there via public transportation on the Q52/53 buses.

The cleanup will require moderate physical exertion, so be prepared to flex those muscles. You should dress for the weather — wear long pants, long sleeves, sturdy shoes and bring a pair (or more) of work gloves.

Anyone can help out and groups are welcome too. Registration is required — call (718) 318-4340 to sign up.

Veddy, veddy interesting…

Photo by Max Bolotov

Adelman’s Kosher Deli at 1906 Kings Highway closed its doors for good after 60 years of serving the Kings Highway neighborhood hot pastrami and fluffy matzoh balls.

The restaurant closed up at the start of Passover on March 25, as it does every year. But fans of the delicatessen were shocked when they tried returning after the holiday and found that the eatery never reopened.

As of yesterday, the restaurant remained closed and the windows were covered with paper. There was no sign indicating the closure or a goodbye message to customers. The business’ phone number has been disconnected, and owners could not be reached for comment.

According to a representative for the landlord, however, the neighborhood staple had fallen far behind on rent and was having money troubles. The landlord won an eviction against the business operator after failing to strike a deal.

The landlord, Waldorf Realty Co., said that there’s still a chance Adelman’s could reopen. The evicted owner was not the original owner of the restaurant, and the original owner may still have the right to seize the business and take over the lease.

“We’re waiting to see what the original owner of Adelman’s wants to do,” the representative said. “The Adelman’s name may be worth something to them. Maybe they’ll get partners or investors to come in and reopen it.”

Adelman’s has been in its current location for about half of its 60-year existence. To the right you can see a photo of the location taken by the Department of Finance in the 1980s.

Adelman’s was one of three remaining old-school kosher delicatessens in Southern Brooklyn. The last two are Jay & Lloyd’s Kosher Deli (2718 Avenue U) and Mill Basin Deli (5823 Avenue T).

New Proposed Subway Designs: Source: MTA via gothamist.com

What is your subway strategy? For me, when the train is empty, I head for the edge of a seating platform, preferring to have a barrier of bars to my left or right. When it’s half-full and I have a long ride in front of me, I might try to squeeze in an empty middle spot, unless the people to my left or right are especially smelly or slightly insane or incredibly obese. When the train is crowded, I shoot for some space by a door, preferably on the side that opens less as the train gets more jammed.

These are the silent thoughts that go through practically every subway riders’ mind when they gear up for their commutes, all with the same goal of making the annoying experience as painless and as comfortable as possible. Well, the MTA has been studying your subway exit strategies and seating habits all with the purpose of designing new subway cars that match your behavior and make for better riding experiences for everybody, according to a report by the New York Times.

The study yielded some interesting observation and statistics:

When a subway car has more passengers than seats, the study found that an average of 10 percent or more of the seats were not taken. And even when a subway car is less than half-filled, the authors found that a small percentage of riders would inevitably choose to stand.

Riders prefer seats near a door, the authors said, and demonstrate “disdain for bench spots between two other seats.” Those who stand also prefer to do so near doors, in part because of its many “partitions to lean against,” and for the precious seconds they save getting off the train.

But the doorway area was desirable for a less obvious reason, too, the report found; it allowed riders to avoid “the sometimes uncomfortable feeling of accidentally making eye contact with seated passengers.”

With these observed behaviors in mind, the MTA began to graph some potential new designs that might ease congestion, benefit long-term riders and satisfy people looking to make quicker exits. In the image above, the MTA focused in on “choice-c,” which practically eliminates seating in the middle and provides airline style seats for long term riders near the back. Seems kind of interesting. I also notice that the off-centered seating of the benches near the middle might help people avoid awkwardly staring into each other’s eyes over a long commute.

We were wondering what our readers think. Do the new designs make sense? Do you think that all of this behavioral tinkering makes sense? Let us know.