SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Brennan & Carr (3432 Nostrand Avenue) seem to really love their Facebook page, using it to connect with fans and pump up the rivalry with Roll-N-Roaster. Now, they’re musing on a second location. They asked, “If another B&C was to open up, where would an ideal location be?”

Here’s a screenshot of the status update:

Seems like they’re looking to expand and open a new location outside Sheepshead Bay. A lot of commenters begged for an opening on Long Island or Staten Island, where the residents of Sheepshead past have moved to. A number of them are also saying Florida. As for us, we want to see it across the street from Roll-N-Roaster. That’d really throw some beef on the simmering feud.

But wait, don’t get too excited. We called Brennan & Carr and an employee there told us they have no plans for such an expansion. Despite the extreme popularity of their Facebook page, and the professional feel of it, they told us they have no affiliation with the page and don’t know who runs it. But can’t a boy dream?

If Brennan & Carr opens a second location, where do you think it should be? Should it be nearby, or far away? How about a small location at Coney Island? Maybe a swanky new pad in Park Slope? The city? Out of state even? Let your voice be heard!

Courtesy of jrcompton.com

Well, it appears the Belt Parkway overpass at Nostrand Avenue (and Shore Parkway) is once again a safe place to film a John Woo flick.

In response to yesterday’s post, “NYC DOT Murders Babies,” a crew has been dispatched to cut holes in the wire mesh and free the trapped, starving pigeons.

Sheepshead Bites makes a motion to rename this DOT team the Rainbow Division. Anyone second this motion?

Baby pigeons, anyway.

A group of city animal advocates is criticizing the Department of Transportation for carelessly snaring birds in a Sheepshead Bay construction site, preventing them from foraging for food or roosting with their mates.

“No matter what you think of pigeons, trapping them inside to slowly starve to death is cruel,” said a Gerritsen Beach resident who tipped us off to the issue.

On Tuesday morning, Jennifer Dudley arrived at Nostrand Avenue and Shore Parkway from her Manhattan home to scope out the situation for New York City Pigeon Rescuce Central, an animal-rights organization she volunteers with. At least half a dozen birds were trapped behind wooden planks put in place by the DOT to prevent debris from falling from the Belt Parkway bridge’s decaying seams.

According to Dudley, the birds had been stuck there at least since Friday, when a distraught resident alerted the organization to the situation. The resident told her that baby birds could be heard squeaking, but that ceased over the weekend as they likely starved to death.

Since then, Dudley and five others took up the cause to get wire meshing around the planking cut open so the pigeons could go free. But they’ve been met with apathy.

Dudley spent several hours on her cell phone making calls to the ASPCA, the DEC, the New York Animal Care & Control, the NYPD, and the FDNY, but found little help. Of them, only the ASPCA has a history of helping pigeons, but they require photos and specific reports. Dudley had a difficult time snapping clear photos in the dark underpass of the Belt Parkway.

Pigeons caught behind meshing is a pretty common occurrence, Dudley said. But while many may think of pigeons as pests, their separation from their mates and eventual starvation is a cruel punishment.

“This kind of thing happens a lot and nobody notices,” she said. “It’s not like there’s a huge community of pigeon advocates that can rally together” to pressure those with the equipment and authority to save them.

The new Boost Mobile at 1505 Sheepshead Bay Road opened up earlier this week. They’re still waiting on a sign to be installed, but business is up and running.

We’ve all seen the ads that are – literally – everywhere, so I don’t need to tell you what Boost is or how they differ from other cell phone companies.

This particular Boost is owned by Craig Shulman, who also owns the Boost Mobile at 3703 Nostrand Avenue (off of Avenue X).

It was previously an independent retailer of several phone services including Boost and Sprint, and closed in October.

Armenian restaurant Garden Bay Cafe (1788 Sheepshead Bay Road) has renovated its location and tossed up a new sign. According to a member of the family that owns the restaurant, they’ve also done some work on their menu by expanding the offerings. We hope that doesn’t mean they’ve removed classics like the blackened trout Village Voice gushed over. (UPDATE: Apparently the sign isn’t finished yet. It should be ready in about a week.)

Down the block, Ginger Rose Hair Design Studio (1804 Sheepshead Bay Road) has closed two thirds of its storefront operation for renovations. They’re still open for business and expect to finish the work in about a month.

We also just got word that Chop Stix Stir-Fry, Asian Noodle, Sushi, & Grill … err… Chop Stix (3790 Nostrand Avenue), formerly known as Peking Kitchen, got its hands on a liquor license and is now serving up sake and other booze.

Finally, it looks like Brand Z For Less (1805 Avenue U) got an extension to its lease. The sign that went up a few weeks ago saying “Must Vacate January 31st” now says “Must Vacate February 28th.”

“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

The proposed overhaul of Paerdegat Basin Bridge includes building two new structures
and demolishing the existing bridge

At 10:00 p.m. tonight, Department of Transportation workers will shut down lanes in both directions of the Belt Parkway, moving forward with a seven-year renovation plan of the highway’s bridges and overpasses.

The first lane closures will occur between the Fresh Creek and the Paerdegat Bridges. The closures – which occur during nights, weekends, and non-rush hour afternoons – are required for the installation of temporary concrete barriers, lighting, and paving and the removal of existing lighting systems and median guiderail. The expected duration of this phase of work is 6 to 8 weeks.

Continue reading to see the schedule of lane closures and find out more about DOT’s plans.

Construction inside the planned Starbucks location has been stalled for months

Bad news for those salivating in anticipation of the new drive-through Starbucks on Nostrand Avenue: their planned opening date has been pushed back by several months.

We reported back in July that the 3454 Nostrand Avenue (corner of Gravesend Neck Road) location would open this month. Unfortunately, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials have slammed the brakes on the project over concerns of the location of the drive-through curb cut, according to Howard Weiss, an attorney for the property owner.

Weiss said that after the Board of Standards and Appeals granted a variance giving permission to construct a drive-through in May, construction kicked off and all seemed good. But he said the MTA renovated the B36 and B44 bus shelter there, moving it closer to the corner several feet.

Continue Reading »

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.

Blockbuster has some new competition in the neighborhood, but it’s nothing for the few remaining ma-and-pa video stores to cheer about. The ARM – automatic rental machine – known as RedBox is spreading like wildfire across the country, and is growing its presence in Sheepshead Bay. RedBox is an instant $1/day DVD rental kiosk containing approximately 200 of the latest DVD movie releases. While the company has had one machine operating at the Stop & Shop on East 17th for a number of years now, two new RedBox kiosks have popped up: one at the Knapp Street 7/11 (on Voorhies Avenue), and the other at the  Coney Island Avenue 7/11 (on Avenue Y).

According to the company’s corporate history, RedBox was originally owned by McDonalds but sold to Coinstar in 2007. If any more kiosks come to the neighborhood or it’s surrounding environs we can expect them to show up at other 7/11’s, and possibly McDonalds or Walgreens.

So, where does that leave Blockbuster, the last of which in the area is on Nostrand Ave between Y and X? Considering they’ve been reinstating late fees, it doesn’t leave them with much of a leg to stand on. And so the Blockbuster death clock ticks away…

(FYI: You can get a free RedBox rental for signing up for the service’s newsletter or SMS alerts)

Ed. Note – The original article listed the Nostrand Avenue 7/11 on Avenue Y as having a RedBox. It doesn’t.