SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Readers say portions of the flier prove that it's fake

If you haven’t been paying attention to the debate raging on Thursday’s post, “In Sheepshead Bay Mosque Debate, Fliers Go ‘Round,” many readers raised questions about the flier’s authenticity. They said the poor wording is something a mosque supporter would never let get around the neighborhood, and that many of the “mistakes” are made to scare community members into opposing its construction.

Well, we heard from Ibrahim Anse, a board member and assistant project manager behind the mosque. He wrote:

We, as sheepshead bay community center and mosque board, did not issue, write, circulate, niether think of making a flier and disterbute it in the area at all. And as, one of the board memebers, I deannaounce it as a whole. We have a cause, and we believe in it, serving the community not raising issues or making problems.

Similarly, a member of the mosque’s opposition has also contacted me expressing doubt that it was real. He suggested a misguided person on their side might have thought it would help, and he has asked BayPeople.org to consider removing it from their website.

Courtesy of Grub Street

After so many years of watching diners close all over the city, the trend may finally be reversing as a new 24-hour diner has opened in the area. You may remember the Retro 50′s diner which closed back in 2007 on Cropsey Avenue. Well, thankfully it was never torn down because Mike Siderakis (of Howard Beach’s Cross Bay Diner) has reopened it as the Parkview Diner. Grub Street (which only scooped us because I’m one lazy cabbie) reports that the menu will go above and beyond the standard diner fare with surf and turf, and pasta choices. If you’re not gonna visit to check out the food then take a gander at this awesome Coney Island glass etching. Let’s hope this puts an end to those nasty rumors about Kings Plaza Diner closing.

Those passing by Pizzeria Del Corso on Avenue U and Batchelder Street last weekend may have noticed the restaurant shuttered and a Department of Health notice in the window.

According to owner Nino Coniglio, DOH bungling of his permit, mixed with harassment from an anonymous “tipster,” has cost them around $16,000 in lost business and fines.

Nino explained  that for the past few months some dubious parties have called in false 311 complaints. The complaints ranged from smoking while making pizza, spitting within the restaurant’s food preparation areas, and handling money and then touching the food with bare hands. The Health Department investigated three times in the last few months, first on March 6 and then March 11. No violation points were issued on those two visits, but an expired restaurant permit prompted inspectors to issue a warning.

According to Nino, the restaurant was supposed to receive a new permit earlier this year. But he was required to show for a hearing that fell on the same day as February’s snowstorm. Though the city’s offices were open, they cancelled the hearing and told Nino to wait for a rescheduling. The appointment never came, but eventually he received a fine for nearly $3,000 for failing to show for his hearing. This, of course, isn’t the first time we’ve heard of DOH screwiness costing a local restaurant money.

Del Corso’s reopening was further slowed by the insurance company dragging their feet with some required information. Del Corso was not able to renew the expired document in a timely manner and, on April 13, when the DOH returned to investigate another fake complaint they finally shut down the pizzeria.

After getting a new insurance company over the weekend and passing another required inspection on April 20, which found zero violations, Del Corso is now reopened.

Nino said that in the five days he was closed they lost about $13,000 in business, plus the cost of fines and paperwork. As for the harassing tipster, Nino said he has an idea of who it is, but doesn’t intend to point fingers in public.

Residents of East 23rd Street around Avenue W woke up this morning to discover brown water flowing throughout their homes. Why is this news? Well, the DEP came within an hour of lodging the complaint with 311. We rarely get to report quick results from 311, so it seemed worthy of passing along.

First week in some time that we’ve seen a reduction in Grand Larceny Auto – no matter how small. Still up overall for the year.

CompStat reports are produced by the New York Police Department on a weekly basis. As a new feature on Sheepshead Bites, we’ll be summarizing the week’s statistics for the 61st Precinct as the reports become available (usually on Monday, one week after the closing date). The 61st Precinct is the police command responsible for Sheepshead Bay, Gravesend, Kings Highway, Homecrest, Madison, Manhattan Beach, and Gerritsen Beach.

B49 bus shelter gets demolished (Photo by Ray Johnson)

The B49 bus shelter located in front of 2900 Ocean Avenue has been demolished to make way for a brand new one.

The operator of the hydraulic excavator who was sitting in the cab of the truck, as if in the “calm after the storm,” told us that a new bus shelter will be installed by the next day.

When asked if there was something wrong with the shelter, or if there was some accident that prompted the replacement, he replied, “No, as far as I know, nothing was wrong with it. The city has a lot of money to spend.”

The NYC Department of Transportation says on its website:

We will replace every bus shelter and install an additional 200 (3300 bus shelters total) by 2011. DOT is working closely with community leaders to identify the best locations for additional shelters to ensure that new locations best serve each community and the riding public. For the first time ever, all of our bus shelters will offer seating, especially important for the eldery (sic) and disabled. The City is also exploring exciting new technologies like Bluetooth, LCD screens and real-time bus arrival information.

The DOT tells us that the they are replacing every bus shelter in order to best serve each community. But to fully understand why the city would destroy a perfectly intact bus shelter (a day before Earth Day, nonetheless) to build a new one, we have to figure out the private enterprise that will benefit most from these contracts with the city.

This photograph was taken on Wednesday, April 21, 2010. Has anyone seen the new fancy bus shelter? Let us know, and shoot us a photograph if you have one.

Downhouse Lounge at 250 Avenue X (off McDonald Avenue) is importing some German rock weirdness tonight.

BudZillas blend punk rock and swing with traditional klezmer beats and instruments. The German band is playing the Gravesend bar for one-night only. This sounds like an awesome event, and more of the kind of weird, fun music I’d love to see take over Sheepshead Bay.

Check out the band’s Myspace page to get a sense of their music. Or just watch this video of one of their performances:

Where: Downhouse Lounge; 250 Avenue X
When: Tonight at 8 p.m.
Cost: $10.00

Flier being circulated by mosque advocates

Two fliers from opposite sides of a controversial Sheepshead Bay mosque are being distributed around the neighborhood, each packed with heated accusations.

The flier above comes from the mosque’s advocates and calls for support in building the Islamic establishment at 2812 Voorhies Avenue.  In it, they call their opponents “local racists [that] are trying to stop us from erecting beautiful Mosque [sic], Muslim school and Muslim Center.”

But mosque opponents don’t seem phased by the accusation. Instead, they’re concerned about other language in the flier that at least one person says hints at their real motivation in the neighborhood.

“In my opinion this flier confirms every fear people expressed about the project,” one opponent wrote to Sheepshead Bites. “I like that they ‘mostly do not support terrorism’. I know what they were trying to say, but the way it came out, it has a completely opposite meaning.”

The opponent also said he’s concerned they’re claiming that “hundreds more will move here soon” and are drawing them in with free breakfasts and more.

“All this is just 30 feet from my bedroom window!” he wrote.

View the opponent’s flier and find out more about the Sheepshead Bay mosque controversy

That's pretty. (Photo courtesy of Atomische • Tom Giebel via Flickr)

It’s no secret that parking is a huge problem along Kings Highway, but adding bicycle stations around the avenue is a wasteful solution, according to Community Board 15 Chair Theresa Scavo.

The Department of Transportation is proposing 122 new bike racks in the Kings Highway area, an addition that Scavo calls “excessive” and probably ineffective in alleviating traffic and parking problems along the bustling corridor.

“I believe the bike racks we have are not being utilized other than a few at the train stations,” said Scavo. She added that racks on the street and around Kingsborough Community College are everywhere and go unused.  ”Yet there are no spots for cars at all,” she said.

The rack locations vary from Kings Highway and East 9th Street/East 10th Street, all the way down Kings Highway to Ocean Avenue. Department of Transportation is also planting dozens of bike lockups on Ocean Parkway and Coney Island Avenue from Avenue P to Avenue R. The racks themselves will not be the enclosed type preferred by commuters who cycle to subway stations. They will be traditional U-shaped racks.

Scavo requested the DOT reconsider the proposal, and officials from the agency promised another look before any installations.

The plans will undoubtedly fuel the fire between bicycling advocates and local leaders who think the city’s new bicycle-centric focus is harmful in Southern Brooklyn.

Do you think more bike racks are needed along Kings Highway? What about other locations in Sheepshead Bay?

State Senator Marty Golden’s office is spreading the word about a special book signing and informational session for anyone interested in caregiving for those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and memory disorders (some emphasis added):

Dessert with the Authors
Booksigning with Drs. Rosemary Laird & James Huysman,
Opening remarks by New York State Senator Martin J. Golden

BROOKLYN – April 12, 2010 — On Thursday, April 29, two authors of the best selling book Take Your Oxygen First will be presenting an educational evening for caregivers and loved ones of those suffering with Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders. New York State Senator Martin J. Golden will make opening remarks and introduce the authors. Hosted by Bay Ridge Center and Park Slope Geriatric Day Center in Brooklyn, this informative evening will highlight the steps that families and friends need to take to ensure they are able to care for those around them. Both doctors will read excerpts from the book and speak from their own experiences, and the event will also feature a Q&A session for audience members.

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