SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Potpourri Women's Sportswear Leaves Smelly Sheepshead Bay Rd

Due to an offensive smell — and an even more offensive rental rate — the Potpourri Women’s Sportswear store will be closing its Sheepshead Bay doors for the final time, tomorrow.

Standing in her store nearly emptied of its stock, one of the owners, Elsa McGlone, said:

After so many years, we are very sorry that we are leaving. Our regular customers already know we are leaving. It’s because of the smell. They [the landlords] are not doing anything about that smell and nobody wants to shop, here, with that smell. That’s not for a clothing store. It’s coming from the two stores next door. On one side, there is a fish smell, and on the other there is a sewage problem. Sheepshead Bay is not like it used to be.

In truth, the horrendous stink could be detected even by passersby on the sidewalk. One woman, who stopped to look at the clothing in the foyer area window display, said just before she covered her nose and mouth, “Uggh, it smells like dead rats, over here, still after all this time. Even with 60 percent off, I’m not going in there.”

When asked if the sad demise of her store had anything to do with rental rates going as high as $3K a month, the owner balked, “Three thousand? Try eight thousand! Such rent is not for a women’s clothing store on Sheepshead Bay Road.” She added that her store is not going to shut down for good, since they are looking for a suitable place to relocate,  and promised to let us know as soon as they find a new spot.

The stock has left the building, but the stink remains.

Potpourri owners post sign thanking customers.

A family of stray cats are staking a claim to the garage and attached lot on the corner of Avenue Z and East 16th Street. A group with similar patterns have been seen stalking the grounds, poking through garbage for scraps, and sitting in the sun.

We caught these photos on Tuesday. They’re of two separate cats. They’re pretty handsome, but that doesn’t mean they’re exactly welcome in the neighborhood.

As for the lot – a former garage – it’s been closed for years. It’s a pretty large stretch of space, but we’ve heard whispers that the landlord wants an absurd amount of cash. On top of that, underground fuel tanks have leaked, we’re told, requiring the next owner to clean up before building.

It’s a shame. A bookstore or other business would find that spot purrrfect.

Yeah… I said it.

“Here’s hoping he’s up there with the aliens.”

- Arthur Borko on “The Curious Case Of Alex Cavallari, UFO Hunter“

Shopping carts photographed early New Year's Day. (Photo courtesy of a reader)

We would have had our picture posted since last week, but we were recovering from a serious hangover that lasted a couple of days.  Believe me, I would take a serious hangover like that one any day over having to spend a night in the slammer – which is where I and Party City, over here, were almost headed.

You see, we figured we would roll out the old year and ring in the new one by doing what everyone else in the neighborhood is, apparently, doing – drink it up — when some rookie cop started walking toward us at the corner of Avenue Y and East 27 Street. Just before he made eye contact, I threw my drink cup on the ground (if you look closely, you can see the cup in the picture).  He started questioning us, “Don’t you guys know it’s illegal to drink alcohol on a public street?, How old are you kids, anyway?, Where’s your ID?, Don’t you guys have a bed you can find yourself in, tonight?”

We were already drunk, but we managed to come up with some answers real quick: “See a drink in my hand, officer? We’re older than you think.  Don’t let our good wheels fool ya. Check our ID right there on the handle. That cart over there is Party City. He lost his voice when a car hit him, a couple months ago. Sure, officer, we’ll get right home, just this minute.”

Man, was I scared, ‘cuz Party City is a minor. I just wanted him to keep quiet, so I lied to keep him from having to talk. We tried to roll off into the night as the flat foot walked away, but, to tell the truth, our wheels were like liquid and we both just crashed right into the pole and the postal box.

Man, that was a rough New Year’s Eve and a tough couple days after, but would we do it again? Apparently, research shows that terrible hangovers don’t limit future liquor consumption. So, yes, I guess, you’ll see us drunk as a skunk around the streets of Sheepshead Bay, sometime in the near future.

Happy Belated New Year’s, everyone!

“The truth is out there” may have been Fox Mulder’s motto, but it’s one the Sheepshead Bites staff will have to adopt as well.

On February 1, 1998, Sheepshead Bay resident and UFO enthusiast Alex Cavallari witnessed something he had no doubt been waiting for: Mr. Cavallari had a sighting. Yet just over a decade later, the case and the witness has all but disappeared.

Mr. Cavallari described the object as a “small orange/red colored light dot in the Eastern sky” over Nostrand Avenue, near Avenue X. Capturing it on his 35mm camera, he described it as being the size of a “basketball when viewed at arm’s length” and “appeared to be a solid mass of light.”

Read more about Cavallari’s UFO sighting, his sudden disappearance, and Sheepshead Bites’ hunt to get to the truth

Too often when we talk about Sheepshead Bay’s gourmet markets, we talk about Cherry Hill Gourmet. That’s too bad, ’cause it means we’ve been ignoring one of our local faves – Sheepshead Bay Gourmet Market on Avenue Z.

Until last week, the business had two locations – a fruit and vegetable market on East 18th Street (also called Sheepshead Bay Fruit & Vegetables Market), and the hot food market at East 16th Street.

The latter has closed for good, workers have confirmed.

It’s too bad, because we never got to extol the virtues of this spot, where you could grab one of the better cups of coffee in the Bay, or pick up a fresh spinach pie in the morning. Sure, you may still be able to grab these items at the back of the fruit and veggie market, but the East 16th Street location had something more going for it: excellent service.

The pair of workers behind the counter – whose names I regret never asking – were always kind and friendly, and always remembered my order. I don’t know if they’ll continue on at the East 18th Street location, but I wish them luck, and thanks for always remembering the hazelnut.

“URAPUTZ” License Plate: Check

“The Closer You Get The Slower I Drive” Bumper Sticker: Check

“If you can read this I can slam on my brakes and sue your ass!” Bumper Sticker: Check

Douchebag Chain Decoration On Shitty Car: Check

Delicious Irony…

…Check

Seen on Avenue W near East 17th Street

Remember Alexander Kravitz? We wrote about the Gravesend resident last January, after he was arrested in a Queens motel room where he hoped to make a porn video with a 14-year-old girl. Kravitz’s defenders came scrawling comments on the site back then, talking up what a real hardworking, honest champ the 27-year-old William E. Grady High School teacher is and that we shouldn’t judge him until the jury does.

Well, the jury has. Wait, nix that, Alex Kravitz pleaded guilty to the crime. Kravitz admitted to attempting to disseminate indecent material to a minor, as part of a deal for a 90-day jail term and five years’ probation. The Daily News reports that Kravitz will also have to turn over his computer, forfeit his teaching license, and register as a sex offender.

Continue Reading »

Following yesterday’s report about graffiti vandals tagging the subway platforms at Gravesend Neck Road and Avenue U, one reader sent us a much better shot of the crap at Neck Road. Thank you, reader, you can collect your free hug when we finally have our first Sheepshead Bites meetup.

Photo by Ray Johnson

Meet Layne Mosler, a “food pilgrim” and blogger over at Taxi Gourmet. Mosler is on a never-ending journey to seek out the city’s top cuisine, as dictated by those who know New York the best: taxi drivers.

In an article for the food culture newsletter Tasting Table, Mosler rounded up what she and taxi drivers consider the yummiest bowls of soup. On the list? Sheepshead Bay’s Cherry Hill Restaurant and Gourmet Market at the old Lundy’s building (1901 Emmons Avenue).

She writes:

The borscht and the fish soup–with big chunks of salmon, leeks, carrots and scallions–are worth a sit-down at this Russian super-deli in Brighton Beach. If you want to skip the upstairs café, takeout highlights include potato-battered chicken stuffed with mushrooms, stewed cabbage and ‘Caucasian’ salad with roasted eggplant, tomato and cilantro.

That’s right, Sheepshead Bay is apparently now an extension of Brighton Beach. We’ll give her a pass… this time.