SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Community Board 13 is demanding the Department of Education begin taking toxic chemicals in schools more seriously.

Responding to recent reports that some Brooklyn schools contain the toxic Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), the board wants the city to host public hearings on the issue and improve communication with parents and educators about the substances.

PCBs were recently found in area schools including Sheepshead Bay’s P.S. 52 (2675 East 29th Street) and P.S. 288 in Coney Island. The chemical was used in construction materials, especially around windows and door frames, before being banned in the 1970s. It has the potential to cause cancer, as well as a variety of other adverse health effects on the immune system, reproductive system, nervous system, and endocrine system.

“It is in the best interest of everyone if the Department of Education takes a proactive approach to keeping everyone informed and addressing the concerns of students, parents, teachers and members of the general public,” boardmember Brian Gotlieb wrote in a letter to schools Chancellor Joel Klein. Gotlieb is the chairperson of the board’s Education, Library and Youth Services Committee.

[via Yournabe.com]

With the influx of Sheepshead’s latest liquor establishments, Sheepshead Bay’s thirst for a frosty brew need not be quenched.

Senators Marty Golden (R) of Bay Ridge (aka the bar capital of Brooklyn) and Sheepshead’s Steven Cymbrowitz (D) fearing the decline of the mom-and-pop liquor store and the heightened teen accessibility to booze, united the unlikely pair in an effort to oppose Governor Paterson’s proposal to “legalize win sales in 19,000 new outlets.”

Although no one can predict how fast the Bay would be running to 7-11 for an ‘85 Merlot, is there any real reason to increase the amount of places one can buy alcohol to begin with? According to the World Health Organization, 1.8 million deaths a year are attributed to alcohol usage, 1/3 of that alone being accidental. That’s not to mention the staggering rates of drunk driving in Sheepshead Bay.

With the State Liquor Authority having “only 38 inspectors statewide regulating 70,000 license holders,” Cymbrowitz notes that “To increase the inspection team’s workload by almost one-third is a recipe for disaster.”

We can already buy beer in corner stores and grocery stores have a less than humble selection of beer and prepackaged frou-frou drinks. Maybe a staggering four blocks seems like a ways away up in Albany, but down by the bay, our cup runneth over. Enough already.

Related articles:
Cymbrowitz Blasts Gov On New Booze Plan
Sheepshead Bay Is Sauced

A frequent refrain we hear from those who hop the train to Williamsburg and the Lower East Side is that Sheepshead Bay is a “dead” neighborhood. Wrong as they be when it comes to the growing nightlife and local economy, they may have an unfortunate and unintentional point.

According to a recent article on YourNabe.com, Sheepshead Bay has the highest death toll of all communities in Brooklyn, leading the borough with a staggering 1,292 in 2008. Only Bensonhurst came close to being as morbid with 1,289. Borough Park, Coney Island, Canarsie, Bed Stuy and East New York are the only other communities to even break the 1,000 mark.

The most concentrated of all causes? Heart disease. Already the #1 killer of women and one of the top threats to your mortality regardless of gender or locale, Sheepshead Bay’s heart disease rate is, well, heartbreaking.

February is American Heart Month, so here’s urging you to step away from the computer and take your health into your own hands. Check out these five tips for preventing heart disease from the Mayo Clinic.

And for the truly lazy, walk to your local pharmacy and re-up on those Lipitor scripts, and try to resist the big, shiny Russell Stover boxes.

Unless they’re dark chocolate.

Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz has fired off a statement criticizing Governor Paterson’s proposal to sell wine permits to grocery stores, bodegas, and gas stations. Statewide it would introduce 19,000 new outlets for wine shoppers and bring in millions of dollars in permit sales, but the assemblyman said the increase in underage drinking and drunk driving makes it a bad deal.

What do you think? And how will it contribute to Sheepshead Bay’s problems, which we’ve noted suffers from a ridiculous number of wine and spirit shops and has unusually high drunk driving statistics?

From Assemblyman Cymbrowitz’s office (as usual with press releases, just imagine a big, fat [sic] next to the entire thing):

Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz (D-Brooklyn) has termed Governor Paterson’s proposal, part of today’s budget message to the Legislature, “a dangerous scheme to raise money at the expense of the wellbeing of New Yorkers. While the initial sale of new wine merchant licenses will realize millions of dollars for the State, it is a onetime revenue raiser that puts our state’s residents at peril for decades to come.

Cymbrowitz was referring to the Governor, once again including a plan to allow grocery stores, gas stations, bodegas, mini-marts and corner delis to sell wine, as part of his budget balancing strategy. “By proposing a plan to legalize wine sales in 19,0000 new outlets, Governor Paterson has once again made a terrible mistake that will only increase underage drinking, lead to more drunk driving, and hurt small businesses across New York State. There is no question that New Yorkers will be put in danger with this misguided attempt to bring in more revenue. Currently the State Liquor Authority has only 38 inspectors regulating 70,000 license holders. Increasing the inspection team’s workload by almost one-third is a recipe for disaster.”

Continue Reading »

THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED: “Halikarnas Reopen and Clean, Lost Big To DOH Mess”

We told you Wednesday that Halikarnas, a Turkish restaurant on Emmons Avenue, closed down by order of the Health Department. But we stopped by in the afternoon and – guess what – staff was there and they invited us in for a meal. Something about mouse droppings, cockroaches, and a lack of running water didn’t really turn us on, though, and we went on our way.

Photo of the sign before being blocked by a menu

As it turned out, Halikarnas reopened illegally. The DOH sign on the door explaining its closure and saying that it is a violation of law to damage or obstruct it was, well, damaged and obstructed. After attempting to tear it down, Halikarnas employees covered it with the menu, as you can see in the photo above.

Well, justice has been served. DOH inspectors returned last night. It was found operating and serving food to patrons. The Health Department re-closed the restaurant and cited it for operating against the agency’s order to close.

Are instructions that difficult to follow?

1724 Ave Z: Tamada awning replaced with Luxury Dental, P.C.

Looks like the building at the corner of Avenue Z and East 18th Street will finally have a new tenant.

After what seemed like years, the burgundy awning for Tamada Restaurant – which served Georgian food – has been replaced with a bright sign of a cartoon tooth holding a toothbrush. That means we’re getting a new dental office – and since Sheepshead Bay is the home of a luxury day care center, it makes sense that there should be a luxury dental center. Okay, okay – so, it’s not exactly a grand opening of a luxury dental center in Sheepshead Bay. Dr. Vadim Firdman – the toothman of this new joint – is only making a move from his 1607 Sheepshead Bay Road location.

We’re not sure when the first appointments are getting made, but if you get in to see Dr. Vadim Firdman put in a good word for us. Sheepshead Bites’ teeth could use a little dental work, especially a little luxury cleaning  on the house.

The city has announced an initiative to eradicate 25 percent of salt from nearly all food products sold within the five boroughs. According to the Daily News, cereals, pretzels, potato chips, and canned vegetables, as well as fast-food favorites like fried shrimp and pizza, will be most affected by the changes. Though compliance is voluntary for now, companies are being asked to make the reductions by 2014 and several have already agreed. New York City officials expect that the initiative will have national implications as food providers change their recipes country wide. Salt companies have turned sour on the announcement, depicting it as the city’s attempt to “nanny the nation.”

Sheepshead Bites’ take?

First they came for the cigarettes, and I did not speak out—because I was not a smoker;
Then they came for the trans fatty acids, and I did not speak out—because I was not a McDonald’s patron;
Then they came for the salt, and I did not speak out—because I did not eat Lay’s;
Then they came for the booze—and it didn’t matter, since there was nothing left to eat or smoke when I drank.

(I dare you to come up with a better punchline.)

Courtesy of LivableStreets.com

A bicycling and public transit advocacy group says that the areas around the Kings Highway B and Q train station needs more bike paths to alleviate stress on the connecting bus lines.

Transportation Alternatives dispatched volunteers to the station in September to survey commuters waiting for the bus home from the train station. After speaking to residents from neighborhoods along the B2, B3K, B31, and B100 bus lines, they found Southern Brooklyn may be an amenable home to new bike routes along the wider, less congested streets.

“My impressions from this survey is that there is some interest in better bike lanes and infrastructure in Mill Basin, Marine Park, Madison, Gerritsen Beach, Sheepshead Bay, etc,” said Murray Latner, a former Mill Basin resident who produced the survey materials.

What do you think? Would more bike lanes and sheltered bike parking locations near subways alleviate congestion on the streets and crowding on buses? Would you use it?

[via LivableStreets.com]

Photo courtesy of MDanalakis via Flickr

Coney Island Hospital has partnered with Takes All Types, a non-profit that uses social networking to encourage the internet generation to join the ranks of blood donors.

Takes All Types takes the concept of viral marketing and grassroots campaigning and transforms it into a system for alerting local blood donors when they are needed most. Their Facebook App hooks you into their system. You fill in all your information, including blood type (if you know it) and if supplies of that type run low in your area you’ll be contacted with a request to come donate. If you don’t use Facebook you can also register at their dedicated website or other social networking sites like MySpace and Fanbox. They’ve even got a cellphone network running (text ‘BLOOD’ to 69866).

If, for some reason, you’re precluded or prevented from donating blood you can still join Takes all Types and promote it to your friends.

Coney Island Hospital is paving the way to the future and is the first hospital in New York City to try this approach. Hopefully it will start a deluge of participants as New York City uses 2000 units of blood per day, with Coney Island Hospital using 3000 units last year alone. If you would like to donate blood you have to be eligible first. Which means you’ve got to be between 17 and 75, and at least 110 Lbs. You’re only allowed to donate once every 56 days and should be feeling well the day of your donation! In the meantime don’t forget to join TAT in their quest to keep the blood flowing.

If you want more info you can read the full press release here.

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s latest public service announcement (PSA) is drawing fire for its graphic display of, uh, something really disgusting.

The ad is meant to discourage consumers from drinking sugary beverages, and shows a man drinking a delicious glass of putrid lard. It says that drinking one can of soda every day “Can make you 10 pounds fatter a year.”

Here, take a look:

The YouTube video quickly went viral, and was picked up by every one of the city’s major media outlets, with wonderful reaction shots from shocked New Yorkers.

But the question to me isn’t whether or not the ad went too far. I’m thick-skinned, and personally I agree with the ad’s message.

But the incident did set a lightbulb off in my head: should the city even be spending money on PSAs like this – or others – when we’re in financial straights? Is this the best use of taxpayer money? I think not.

The $50,000 price tag for this video was, thankfully, paid for by a private donor. But it’s a spinoff from a campaign done last year. That campaign plastered the city’s subway system with a photo of a soda bottle being poured into a glass of lard, and the words “Are you pouring on the pounds?”

That campaign cost $277,000 to produce, and only the placement of the ad was taken up by donors, according to the New York Times. It appeared in 1,500 subway cars for a three month run. (One subway car for one month costs $70,000. But the donor only put up $90,000, so we’re wondering where the rest of the funds came from.) And, of course, those ad placements could be taken up by private companies and help pad our transit system from further financial problems.

What do you think? Should the city keep pouring money into PSAs even during tough times? Do they even work?