See how it just kind of, uh, ends? That's what makes it a bay, not a canal.
Every community has its quirks, and discovering new ones always gives me a little kick. Even if it is small.
The latest discovery I made was on a recent bike ride with reader Eitan K. We were talking about the Bay when Eitan dropped a little Russian knowledge bomb on me. Our Eastern European comrades call Sheepshead Bay the “Canal.”
By no stretch of the imagination is Sheepshead Bay a canal. Canals are artificial waterways made to connect two bodies of water, usually for shipping and transportation purposes. What we have in Sheepshead Bay is… a bay. Duh.
So the misnomer intrigued me. Just as when I lived in New Jersey, I wanted to know what a “Benny” is (explanation: rich people, usually from New York, who come to the beach during the summer. Benny is short for Benjamin Franklin, whose face is on the $100 bill) or why natives always called going to the beach going “down the shore” (explanation: they’re retards).
So, I put the Sheepshead Bites machinery into action, and solicited help from our Russian-American readers.
Is the landmarked Lundy’s building better off as a grocery store? That’s the way Crain’s New York makes it sound.
An article published over the weekend takes a look at Cherry Hill Gourmet Market nearly a year after its grand opening. What they found is a thriving business that they say locals need more than another restaurant. And maybe they’re right, which could have powerful implications on the Sheepshead Bay Special Zoning District, the law that determines what kind of businesses can operate on the Emmons Avenue waterfront.
Owners of the commercial development sprouting up at 30 Dooley Street told Sheepshead Bites that they’ve signed leases with a restaurant and beer garden and a “hot yoga” spa.
Benjamin Klein, of Klein Levin Associates, which developed and owns the property, said the building is just a few weeks away from completion, and expects a certificate of occupancy following inspections.
The restaurant and beer garden will take up the basement level of the four-unit property, and will have its own separate entrance on Dooley Street.
The top floor is booked for a Bikram Yoga spa. Also known as hot yoga, stretches are practiced in a room heated to 105°F with a humidity of 40 percent. The top floor of the building is a loft-style unit, with views overlooking the Sheepshead Bay marina.
Klein said two more 2,000 square foot units are still available, both with balconies and waterfront views. The building has attendant parking for 18 cars.
New York Times published an appetite-whetting article about local clam bars, beginning with a conversation between strangers at Randazzo’s counter (2017 Emmons Avenue). The writer, Sam Sifton, artfully runs readers through the four types of clams, a slew of New York City-area clam bars, and the culture of the clam. For those who, like me, got turned on to raw clams only recently, it’s a great and romantic introduction to the topic, full of imagery and reverence deserving of the under-appreciated food. On a hot day, a beer and a platter of raw clams along a waterfront – any waterfront, but especially our waterfront – is a slice of beach-town paradise. For me, like Sifton, clams have become a blessed escape from clamor.
I spotted this guy cruising down Emmons Avenue last week. Though abundant in Manhattan and Northern Brooklyn, it’s the first time I’ve seen a bicycle billboard – or any mobile advertisement – in our neck of the woods. So it made me wonder about the neighborhood impact if more of the bipedal bulletins show up on our streets.
On the one hand, it appears to be a “green” alternative to other forms of mobile advertisements, like truck-side advertising. And it’s more affordable for our local small businesses than traditional billboards, boosting our local economy.
But I’ve heard complaints about this form of advertising before. It contributes to “visual pollution,” man-made impediments to enjoying a view. The issue of outdoor advertising is so pervasive in Manhattan that critics say it’s dulled our perception of a once beautiful city, creating a power shift from creativity to consumerism.
They may also add to congestion, since these unwieldy bikers will want to be seen on bustling commercial corridors. Their wider frames could clog bike lanes, putting cyclists in danger.
So what do you think? Are these advertisements bad for the neighborhood, or do the benefits outweigh the problems?
The management company responsible for The Breakers condominium development only just started the uncertain process to construct a private marina, but they’ve been marketing the fantasy slips for nearly a year.
Wilk Real Estate, which represents The Breakers at 3128 Emmons Avenue, posted the above YouTube video in October 2009. The problem is that they hadn’t yet started the complex approval process to have it constructed, raising the question of whether or not they’ve been misleading residents.
Representatives of several community groups testified in front of Community Board 15 about their concerns to a proposed private marina development in Sheepshead Bay. The board unanimously agreed to send a letter of objection to relevant agencies urging further study.
The marina will be part of The Breakers, a 75-unit luxury condominium development at 3128 Emmons Avenue, the site of the former Palm Shore Club. It’ll feature 23 boat slips that the developer said is for the use of residents only. The pierhead-line would extend 94-feet from the bulkhead-line.
Below is a video of the three speakers who objected to the plans. The speakers, in order of appearance, are Jerry Borell, former commodore of Miramar Yacht Club; Kathleen Higgins, a member of Miramar Yacht Club; and Laura LaPlant, speaking on behalf of Kathy Flynn, president of the Sheepshead Bay/Plumb Beach Civic Association.
The back of The Breakers, photographed in 2008 while still under construction
A proposed marina attached to The Breakers condominium development is sparking a discussion about Sheepshead Bay’s shrinking navigable lanes, and the project will be on tomorrow night’s Community Board 15 agenda.
The owners of The Breakers complex at 3128 Emmons Avenue (near Ford Street) submitted plans to the Department of Environmental Conservation to create a 23 slip marina as an accessory to the existing 75 residential units. The plans are to be reviewed and either rejected or approved by the department alongside the Army Corps of Engineers.
But the potential impact of a private marina on the local captains navigating the already clogged Sheepshead Bay is drawing the attention of the Community Board.
Community Board 15 Chairperson Theresa Scavo said the project’s paperwork states that it will involve an excavation and fill in navigable waters.
“For me, that’s a red flag,” she said. “The bay is already narrowed by silt” causing some boats to get stuck in the muck during low-tide.
Reader nolastname was strutting past the Varuna Boat Club (2806 Emmons Avenue) when she spotted someone in the window. He was looking down, just staring at her. She was scared at first, he had a gun, but she took aim with her camera. She squeezed the shutter real slow-like. She shot first.
Classic Sheepshead Bay, Stella Maris (2702 Emmons Avenue) has been here for as long as I can remember. And yet, other than the quirky bit of character it gives its end of the bay, I never really thought much about it. Anyone know the history of the place?
