SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Congressman Weiner and Councilman Fidler in a pointlessly photoshopped image.

Councilman Lew Fidler isn’t finding an ally in Congressman Anthony Weiner for his crusade to protect consumers from feuding cable companies and content providers. But the councilman says it’s just a matter of time before he successfully woos the federal representative to his aid.

Fidler is pushing a City Council resolution to urge the federal government to support new rules governing deal-making between over-the-air broadcasters and their cable foes.

In a comment left on Sheepshead Bites, the councilman asked constituents to contact their federal representatives and “DEMAND that broadcast stations—the ones who seek and accept a license from the FCC to use YOUR public airwaves—NOT be permitted to charge retransmission fees. I will stay on this soapbox and continue to raise this issue tho the City Council has limited power over this largely Federal issue.”

Fidler will need the aid of federal representatives, since the companies are governed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Legislators will need to direct the agency to take up the issue and enact new policies.

But Congressman Weiner is reluctant to get involved, and said the contracts are a private business issue and should be left between the participants.

Keep reading to see what Weiner had to say and how Fidler reacts, as well as why the councilman thinks this is an important issue for all consumers.

From City Hall News:

At a contentious July Council hearing on consumer rights, Council Member Lew Fidler argued that consumers of cable television are the victims of stalled negotiations between broadcasters and cable service providers and they don’t even know it.

“Consumers will be seated at the table when the big boys fight,” Fidler said to broadcast industry lobbyists at the hearing. “You will not decide how much you can suck out of our pocket without our participation. You operate under a public license on public airwaves and the public will not be damned.”

Fidler and fellow committee members warned broadcasters they would fight to change lax, decades-old federal rules governing cable service agreements that allow networks to cut service and allow screens to go dark when their demands are not met.

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The economy may have tanked, but residents of Sheepshead Bay still enjoy the night out – and we’re spending hundreds of dollars per month doing it.

Grub Street put together a revealing compilation by neighborhood of restaurant spending, and pegged the Coney Island to Sheepshead Bay area at $116 to $234 a month. This might seem like a whopper of a bill compared to the community with the tightest belt: Brownsville’s residents spend just $25 a month. And we seem like downright spendthrift’s next to residents of the Rockefeller Center zip code, who shell out $2,398 on overpriced grub. In Brooklyn, the biggest spenders (Downtown–Brooklyn Heights–Slope) pay between $290 and $711.

In reality, though, we’re somewhere near the middle. Most outerborough and northward Manhattan neighborhoods hover between $100 and $300 a month – the same as us. So don’t feel guilty for those evening runs for clams and beer at Randazzo’s – our spending is perfectly normal.

What is up with Chase Bank? Is it just me or is it spreading like a virus through the city?

Everywhere I turn in Sheepshead Bay and the surrounding area is another Chase Bank. Normally this might be considered a good thing, but I don’t think so. It was bad enough that Chase took over every Washington Mutual location when the FDIC handed the company to them. The logical assumption was that Chase would consolidate all their accounts, merge the staff together, and close locations that overlapped with another store. Boy was I wrong! Not only did they assimilate every location, they’re opening new ones!

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With all the rah-rah over the newly-renovated Cherry Hill side of the Lundy’s building, it’s easy to forget the rest of the enormous landmark. The forgotten parts are in dire need of some TLC.

As the years have gone by, the facade has taken a beating, and the building’s trademark awnings are ratty and stained. The stains that are on those awnings must be hard to remove, because even on some of the renewed awnings, light stains can be seen.

The other restaurants that are housed in the buildings don’t seem to be too concerned about the eyesore awnings. It might be, though, a matter of budget.

Whatever it is, now that the awnings on one half of the building are shiny and re-newed, the old ones just stick out so much more.

With all the talk at civic meetings about giving back to the ‘community’, it’s a wonder that the Cherry Hill Gourmet Market didn’t clean up the rest of the building’s facade when they were renovating their side. We know they don’t have to, but we’re thinking that such a goodwill gesture just might endear them a little to those who they perceive to be against them.

It also calls the responsibilities of the owners of the building into question. Don’t the owners need to be concerned about losing tenants, if the landmark building looks brand-spanking new on one side and sad and beaten on the other side?

The Cherry Hill Gourmet Market and Restaurant has installed speakers outside of the Lundy’s landmark building’s facade.

On the Ocean Avenue side, there are speakers set underneath the windows to serenade those seated at the cafe tables. On the Emmons Avenue side, there is a small speaker set up between the windows, with holes already drilled for what might be a complete surround sound system. There, also, appear to be spots painted over as if it was a drill misplacement that had to be covered over.

Passersby noted that the music blaring loudly made them feel like they were in a European techno dance club. Which might not necessarily be such a bad thing, except that the already busy Ocean and Emmons intersection will be at a standstill with rubberneckers checking the moves.

A few of the comments that could be heard were: “Not a nice effect”, “Feels like Eurotrash,” and “Let’s go eat somewhere quiet, can’t relax over there.”

Since I’m a neutral party on this whole thing, I had to show them all my poker face. While most every bone in my body was goin’ Lady GaGa with the beat of the club mix version blaring out the speakers, “She’s got to love nobody“.

Since the Cherry Hill Market and Restaurant is open 24 hours, bloggers will be able to go under the cover of night to get their sidewalk beat on. See ya there!

(Photo by Ray Johnson)

Cherry Hill Restaurant and Gourmet Market at Lundy’s received two violations this morning, just hours into their first full work day. The establishment’s existing partial stop work order was also upgraded to a full stop work order, which requires Cherry Hill to pay the city $5,000.

The market first opened its doors to the public yesterday evening in spite of a standing partial stop work order issued in early April. The new violations are for operating without a valid certificate of occupancy and a violation of non-conformity with zoning. In addition to the $5,000 fine, Cherry Hill may receive additional penalties to be decided at an Environmental Control Board court hearing on June 29th.

David Isaev, Cherry Hill’s owner, says he doesn’t care about the violations or fines. Talking on the phone, he seemed fed up with the politics. “I think it’s unfounded,” he said. “We have a responsibility to our employees who expect to go to work and support their families… these are real people.” Cherry Hill has 120 employees.

The issuing of violations suggests the city is siding with opponents of the establishment, including Community Board 15 Chairperson Theresa Scavo, State Senator Carl Kruger and City Councilman Michael Nelson, who say Cherry Hill needs more floor space dedicated to a restaurant in order to meet the requirements of the Special Sheepshead Bay District Zoning. Scavo says the violations are not likely to force it to cease operations, though.

“This is not going to stop them at all,” says Scavo. “They have an attitude that they’ll make a restaurant when they get around to it.”

Isaev, though, says he already has restaurant seating for up to 400 people. “How much more do you want?” he says.

A certificate of occupancy is required by the city to prove that the building is not only legally occupied, but also has been inspected by government officials and shown to meet all safety standards. This includes proof that all construction, electrical and plumbing work has been done to city standards. Cherry Hill opened with an expired temporary certificate of occupancy.

These developments are of little surprise to those who attended last night’s Sheepshead Bay/Plumb Beach Association meeting. When the Cherry Hill issue came up for discussion, many (including Scavo) were confused about whether the store was open. According to attendees, Ken Lazar, the Inter-governmental Liaison for the DOB, boldly stated, “If it’s open, we’ll shut it down.”

Of course, that’s unlikely to happen. The DOB doesn’t have the authority to close a business. However, it can continue to levy violations and fines so long as Cherry Hill serves customers.

In order to avoid that, Cherry Hill will have to close its doors and either convert the property to conform to legal zoning standards – which means a higher percentage of floor space given to its restaurant, or can seek a variance from the Board of Standards and Appeals. The latter would leave the space unused for up to 9 months.

Isaev says he plans to meet with DOB officials to see what needs to be done, but he doesn’t plan on closing his store. He says the consistent issuing of stop work orders and violations is a “little weird” since they began when the building was 98% completed. “Every step of the way we were checked and approved by inspectors,” he says.

“Life is a fight,” Isaev adds. “The community knows we’re here to make the community better. So, if a few politicians are against us – we’ll fight City Hall.”

Shortly after our post this afternoon stating that Cherry Hill Market at Lundy’s was fully stocked, though still closed, the restaurant/market – or market/restaurant – opened for business.

We stopped by this evening and found samples spread out on a table for all to try. The cash registers were cha-chinging as the first customers filed through with their purchases. Food servers at the sample table told us the establishment officially opened for business around 4pm or 5pm. Staff also informed us that this was not the “grand opening”. Instead it was a “soft opening” – a smart move given the heated controversy surrounding the store.

Speaking of which, we weren’t able to ask the owner, David Isaev, about the stop work order, but the document on the building’s front door makes it seem as if the store’s management believes that the situation has been resolved.

Meanwhile, at the Sheepshead Bay/Plumb Beach Civic Association meeting, board members were puzzled as to the status of the establishment, and hinted at the possibility of challenging Cherry Hill’s decision to open.

We’re still uncertain as to the status of the stop work order and the legality of the opening. We expect more information tomorrow.

The doors of the famed Lundy’s building were locked and the sentry posted at the front entrance in recent days was nowhere to be found. But, what was to be found?

Through the smudged window where curiosity-seekers had put their faces up to the glass to see what was going on inside, we could see all sorts of groceries and goods.

Fresh flowers on the tiered platform. Nuts in plastic bags. Chocolates. Refrigerator full of what looked like Sabra Mediterranean products. Cheerios and boxes of cereal stacked high. Oh, and yes, the baskets. Who can forget those thousands of dust collecting baskets hanging upside down from the ceiling?

There are no grand opening signs — but, there is a signed Letter of Completion issued to George Guttmann (of 2300 E 13 St) on April 4, 2009 by the Borough Commissioner of Brooklyn, though.

Maybe at tonight’s meeting, we’ll hear more about when the store will be open.

Or, maybe not. Accurate information about the store has been very hard to get. So hard, in fact, it’s beginning to look like management is not really “opening up” to the community at all.

If anyone knows when the store will open for business, please let us know.

An informal conversation with a man in a white chef’s suit on a smoking break outside of Cherry Hill Restaurant and Market led us to believe that the place is opening for business on Monday, May 4, 2009. This means that the stop work orders and zoning issues are getting too complicated for us to follow.

The signs posted in the window indicate that they are still hiring for the long-awaited jobs, but numerous calls to the number listed tell us otherwise. No one was available to tell us any information about the jobs, so we can’t tell you how much the positions are paying or if there are any benefits and a union. So, if these jobs meets your requirement and you don’t mind getting caught in the endless call-back-laters, go ahead and call (718) 616-1902.

The lack of transparency about the hiring process makes us think that the jobs are starting at close to minimum wage and hiring is happening from ‘within’. At the “open” house meeting in March, management said that not even the florist position is paying close to $20 an hour.

So for all those people who say that Cherry Hill will infuse Sheepshead Bay with jobs — there you have it. Maybe those of you who are eagerly awaiting the influx of economy-boosting paychecks, will fill us in as to why we’re crossing our fingers.