SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

On Tuesday, Sheepshead Bites and GerritsenBeach.net sponsored the first blog-hosted political debate in New York City, rounding up candidates for the 46th City Council District. The debate featured incumbent Lew Fidler (D), Gene Berardelli (R), and Derek Sacerdote (L) with Gerritsen Beach Property Owners Association President George Broadhead serving as moderator. The 46th District covers the neighborhoods of Bergen Beach, Canarsie, Georgetowne, Starrett City, Flatlands, Futurama, Marine Park, Mill Basin, Mill Island, Gerritsen Beach, Madison and Sheepshead Bay.

A feisty debate, the candidates wrangled over special interest groups, term limits, making New York City affordable, transit issues, and more. And yes, we got to see a taste of that nastiness, as allegations of antisemitism flared once more.

Questions for the debate were compiled from readers of both Sheepshead Bites and GerritsenBeach.net, as well as from local leaders on the Community Board and civic associations, and local news outlets. Moderator George Broadhead had the final say in determining questions.

People keep asking us: who won the debate? Well, we don’t want to become horse-race commentators. Instead, we’ll let you do that! But we will say we thought all the candidates expressed themselves well, and gave us a good idea on where they stand with a variety of issues. After the debate, we certainly felt like we had a better idea of their individual viewpoints, and each candidate held their own.

We want to once again thank all of our participants, and our moderator, who were patient and accommodating towards helping us put together this event. We’d also like to thank Baron DeKalb-Knights of Columbus, who supplied space, and Joe Mikos, who handled the video.

Check out the video and hear where your potential councilman stands on issues important to the city and our little nook, then let us know below what you thought of their responses!

(Image courtesy of dermRounds via Flickr)

When news broke last week that the Sheepshead Bay United Artists movie theater (3907 Shore Parkway) is suffering a bed bug infestation, everyone was aghast. Cue the fearmongering videos, complete with stock footage of the scurrying suckers, on myFOX New York. From there it hit the blogs over at Gothamist, then the Tweets of Terror spun into overdrive on Twitter, and Facebook friends began swearing off movies like it was, well, the plague. As it turns out, the UA was never closed, news reports were based on rumors, and follow-up reveals that it’s likely false.

Over at Sheepshead Bites, while the media had their fun we just gnashed our teeth and grumbled. You see, we heard rumors about bed bugs at Sheepshead Bay Multiplex more than a month ago. But we couldn’t confirm it: no witnesses or victims, no employees saying anything of the sort, nothing but a brief denial over the phone by management. So we weren’t quite ballsy enough to publish a story that would inevitably hurt business at Sheepshead Bay’s largest attraction without a shred of evidence.

Not so with the mainstream news. Read carefully and you’ll see the news reports were based on a single anonymous, unverified claim to the Department of Health, with no violations issued. While we were working up contacts within the UA, News 12 and FOX jumped on the mere whisper of a scandal and began plugging away, even reporting at one point that the movie theater had closed down. (Interestingly, News 12′s report appeared one morning several days before FOX’s. It promptly disappeared around noon, and was never posted on the website. Maybe they realized their folly?)

Well, we finally got to our contact, a senior employee at the theater, and here’s what he had to say:

About a month and a half ago, we had a couple patrons who came to our theater and left with bites. It was technically in only two theaters. The first person, we had no clue what it was, so we thought she was just bit on the arm by a mosquito because it wasn’t severe. To this day we still don’t think it was bed bugs because after checking that auditorium with dogs and Ecolab, they found nothing but cleaned it anyway. Then about a few days later, another patron came out of one of the other theaters with bites on the neck. She showed us the seat and being that it was the last show, Ecolab came and started their treatment in that row. We haven’t had a complaint since.

Remember, it was around this time that news reporters were working themselves into a frenzy about a bed bug infestation over at John Jay college, where buildings had been shut down. Bed bugs, clearly, where on the public’s consciousness, and just as every runny nose these days rings of H1N1 Swine Flu, every bug bite victim suspected bed bugs.

In reality, if the UA had bed bugs, it’s a perfect nesting ground to spark a pandemic. Complaints would roll in by the dozen. Yet, as the senior employee notes, this all occurred as the film Law Abiding Citizen came out, and every auditorium was packed. The result?

“Not one complaint. So did we have them? We aren’t sure but they still treat those theaters just in case,” said the employee.

So the media clearly bungled this one for sensationalism’s sake. But who pays for their sins? Sheepshead Bay’s largest business. According to the UA employee, the theater saw lower sales as a result, and a lot of confusion over whether they had been shut down by the Health Department.

“In the 8 years I’ve been there, not once were we ever closed. There was no need for alarm because nothing was really ever found,” he said. “The news messed with business since everyone thought we were closed. We had dozens of calls asking us if we were open. Horrible news reporting on FOX’s and News 12′s part.”

That’s the real story, but do you think we’ll ever see a retraction from FOX or News 12? Not likely. And the tweets, status updates, and forum posts continue to spread the myth.

When this Sheepshead Bites journalist came up to me and asked me to pose for a picture, I was very glad to do so. Having snapped “me” in front of the Sheepshead Bay Gourmet Market, I asked for another showing the street in the background.

That’s when my owner walked up and angrily stopped my first photo session. It’s a good thing he didn’t know this picture was already snapped, or he might have grabbed the camera and smashed it. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t mind it if anyone takes my picture, especially since I’m on a public street.

I don’t even know why I stick with this guy. He’s probably not even homeless. He doesn’t tell me much about his life. All I know is he carries a large bunch of keys and dresses not so shabbily. Me? He piles me up with all this stuff and doesn’t even utter a word of thanks. This is not the life I imagined for myself.

Those other shopping carts just down the avenue at the Sheepshead Bay Fruits & Vegetables Market (1717 Avenue Z) are living it up. I just get pushed around with all these bags of unknown stuff. Well, at least I got my portrait taken. Too bad no one can really see me under all that stuff.

Papa John’s, a Kentucky based pizza chain in business since 1984, boasts that it has “Better Ingredients, Better Pizza.” We’re not sure if founder John Schnatter is aware, but the center of the pizza industry is New York City– and as New Yorkers, we are notoriously skeptical about a good slice.

Sheepshead Bay has its fair share of places to grab a decent slice but by no means are people flocking to the better bay in search of the perfect pie. Opening up a chain restaurant is not going to change that.

Having slowly popped up all over Brooklyn in recent years, Sheepshead Bay is finally getting their own Papa’s, and one major concern is its placement. Located at 3528 Nostrand Ave, a mere 167 feet away from Domino’s (3514 Nostrand Avenue), the area is not exactly lacking in terms of NYC’s most prized culinary masterpiece (apart from bagels). If you continue walking up Nostrand to Avenue U, there’s even a KFC/Pizza Hut– and we haven’t even touched upon ACTUAL pizzerias yet!

Pia’s Pizzeria is just two blocks away from the commercial pizza joints, and and three more blocks after that is the home of Connie’s — both of which have graced Sheepshead Bay with cheap eats and smiles for decades. Delmar, La Sorrentina, Knapp Street, The Original 4, N&D and even Papa Leone’s may be a bit further away, but are all within delivery range. Word on the street seems to be littered with indifference, though Papa John’s had come under fire in 2007 after opening up a franchise next to Sunset Park’s Johnny’s Pizza — a neighborhood installment since 1968.

George, the owner of Pia’s Pizzeria, claims he doesn’t really care. “What am I going to do? It’s just more competition. I’m not worried. I’ve been here thirty years.” Some may share his sentiment, especially foodies who don’t consider chain pizza authentic, anyway. But certainly there are those who will be outraged that yet another brand name has taken up residence on the streets that used to be OUR neighborhood.

Convenience may be attractive, but at what cost?

What does this mean for Sheepshead Bay’s sudden abundance of doughy pleasures? Well, for starters, all you low-carb fiends trudging over to Bally’s in the snow this winter best resist temptation. With Papa John’s chocolate delight desserts on top of an impressive selection of allegedly fresh toppings and side dishes, the immediate impact will likely go straight to your thighs.

Beyond that, what does this say about the choices we make during times of economic duress? We are not living during a time when new business ventures are expected to do well– in fact, it’s common knowledge that most new businesses fail within the first year. But Papa John’s will likely be different. Why?

Pizza is cheap. Pizza, even when it’s subpar, is still reasonably good. You can’t really go wrong bringing home a pie. It’s one of the easiest and most affordable ways to feed a large family, especially with the deals that assembly line restaurants dole out to reel you in. Hell, even most frozen pizza is somewhat palatable these days.

At Papa John’s, you can feed a family of four for under $20 including dessert– you can’t even say that much for McDonald’s.

Papa John’s has not opened its doors for business yet, but when it does, will Sheepshead welcome the new patriarch of pizza on the block? Or, will it succumb to the fate of the cyclic closing of eateries that fail without the necessary hunger, both literally and metaphorically? In time, we’ll know for sure.

Sheepshead Bites wishes everyone a happy, healthy, and safe Halloween this year. What will your costume be?

Last week we swooned when we found out about Arbuz’s special Thursday sale. At the time, we thought it was going to be a one-time thing, so we rushed over there and nabbed up some yummy cake (actually, a giant chocolate truffle). This week we were delighted to hear from owner Rovshan Danilov, who told us the sale would be a weekly event once they figured out a day to keep it on. So this week, they’re experimenting with Wednesday. Wait! That’s today. Peace out, people… I’m going to go check out that raspberry thing I’ve been eyeing.

Offer: Any cake + any Mighty Leaf tea = $3.99
Where: Arbuz, 1706 Sheepshead Bay Road
When: Today! Noon – 11 p.m.

The garbage situation is growing larger around Sheepshead Bay — so much so, that maintenance people at this apartment building on Ocean Avenue (near Gravesend Neck Road) have put up four large garbage bags along the stretch of the front fence.

We’re thinking that the regular black garbage bags are just not bright enough for the polluters to spot. These bright blue bags will be hard to miss, though.

It used to be that the front of a building was dressed up for aesthetics with pretty flowers and shrubbery. In the modern day of excess packaging and people generating so much garbage in the form of empty bottles, coffee cups, and other junk, there is just not enough place to discard this stuff. There was a time, when most people just tucked the errant candy wrapper or chewed up gum and placed it in their pocket where they would discard it at home. Yes, people, I said home! Nowadays, without even a glimmer of guilt, many people just dump the excess weight onto the sidewalk, leaving a trail of debris behind them.

Sheepshead Bay needs to rediscover its roots, when people cared about the cleanliness of the environment. I’m sure you old-timers will know what we’re talking about, here.

Construction is ongoing on a new restaurant on Sheepshead Bay Road near Emmons Avenue. Across the street from El Greco and wedged between Assemblyman Cymbrowitz’s office and Garden Bay Cafe, the location was previously used by the Armenian cafe as an expansion of its restaurant and an outdoor seating area. So we got to thinking they were renovating. But a flustered employee confirmed that the construction is a new and different establishment, not to be associated with Garden Bay. It’s always great to see new places to eat open up in the area and it appears as if the building going up has at least two levels. Maybe the psychic can clue us in!

At approximately 6 p.m. this evening, emergency services including two fire trucks and paramedics responded to a multiple vehicle accident at the intersection of Batchelder Street and Avenue W. At least one victim was in a stretcher on the ground with a neck brace. It appeared as if three vehicles were involved in the accident including damage to a fourth car that was parked on the corner. The cause of the accident, the number of other victims, and the extent of their injuries are unknown at the time of this writing. Have information on this accident? Post it in the comments below or send an e-mail.

Sheepshead Bites in association with GerritsenBeach.net is producing the first debate hosted by local bloggers in New York City. We’ve drawn together the three candidates running for the 46th City Council District, including the sitting councilman, Assistant Majority Leader Lew Fidler. The 45-minute debate will be taped tomorrow afternoon without an audience, then streamed on both sites on Thursday.

The debate promises to be lively, as the two leading candidates – Lew Fidler and Republican opponent Gene Berardelli – have been trading barbs in the comments section of Sheepshead Bites and GerritsenBeach.net (here, here, and here). They have discussed such issues as campaign financing, term limits, and discretionary funds, with the arguments getting very heated. They have at times labeled each other arrogant, questioned each other’s honesty, and Fidler has called Berardelli’s charges anti-semitic. Meanwhile, Libertarian Party candidate Derek Sacerdote has been waging a grassroots campaign, including going door-to-door in several areas of the district.

George Broadhead will serve as moderator of the debate. A self-described “old Brooklynite,” Broadhead signed on with strong recommendations from community leaders as a fair, independent, and objective member of the neighborhood with high integrity. He currently serves as President of the Gerritsen Beach Property Owners Association, is the past Post Commander of the Veterans of Foreign War Post 107, and past Commander of the Kings County Council of the VFW. A former U.S. Marine, Broadhead was awarded the Silver Star Medal for gallantry in action after serving in Korea. He has also written for several publications, and was the Western Manager of Newhouse Newspapers.

We’re very proud to be the first local bloggers to independently host a City Council debate. Sheepshead Bites was founded on the idea of sparking discussion in our community and engaging it’s jaded members. We’re happy to have the opportunity to continue bridging the online-offline divide, inform our neighbors, and kindle a desire to participate.

In that spirit, we’re inviting all of our readers to submit debate questions for consideration. You can add them to the comments section below, or send them privately by e-mail.