Times are definitely tough, and many of you are probably considering a switch in careers. Well, if my extraordinary success (har har har!) hasn’t convinced you that blogging is the way to go, then real estate may be worth a look as the market picks back up.
To that end, Fillmore Real Estate is hosting a free career seminar tonight. The event covers the pros and cons of a real estate career and will help you make an informed decision. They’ll also be discussing some practical steps to get going, including how to choose a company to join and getting licensed.
And, for those of you really struggling, there will be free wine and cheese. Reservations are necessary, so check out the details of the event after the jump.
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.
Opponents battling a proposed Sheepshead Bay mosque have transformed into a fund-raising machine, getting online donations and holding events in glitzy restaurants.
Newly formed neighborhood group Bay People has led the ramped-up fight against the Voorhies Ave. mosque, claiming to have raked in $30,000 from hundreds of local donors.
“When we started this in January, I thought no one would help, but the whole community has come together,” said spokesman Alex Tenenbaum before a wine and hors d’oeuvres fund-raiser last week at Paradise Garden on Emmons Ave.
Their effort has included a mailing to local residents and building a Web site to accept contributions.
The donations will fund a legal strategy to block the mosque by arguing it violates zoning laws and will create noise and traffic problems on the quiet block.
Opponents unleashed a controversy in January when they voiced anti-Islamic rants at a civic meeting and distributed flyers and letters linking Muslims with terrorists.
Tenenbaum and other Bay People officials have tried to tamp down the racial and religious rhetoric; notices for an anti-mosque demonstration on Sunday urge attendees to “be polite and tolerant.”
“We’re not welcoming bigots and Islamophobes,” said Tenenbaum, whose E. 28th St. backyard borders the mosque’s property.
But their ranks include members prone to outbursts that could inflame tensions.
“They [Muslims] want to destroy everything,” said Paradise Garden owner Gregory, who declined to give his full name. “They’re enemies of the United States – all of them. They hate America.”
We just heard from a resident of East 28th Street off of Voorhies Avenue that NYPD investigators interviewed neighbors about the alleged bomb threat.
The reader told us that police knocked on his door after 11 p.m. They asked questions about the rally and the identity of the man who told Brooklyn Paper’s Tom Tracy that he would bomb the mosque if it were built. The reader was asked if he witnessed the incident or knew who the man was. They also asked who organized the rally, who spoke, and what the purpose was.
To our knowledge, NYPD investigators have still not found the man.
Traditionally, journalists are expected to protect their sources and not be involved in a story. Most states have laws that protect journalists from revealing anonymous sources, and courts cannot compel reporters to disclose their identity.
Those laws exist to ensure the media is a safe way for whistle-blowers and informants to disclose information without fear of retribution. This case is obviously different, but journalism purists would say revealing a source under any circumstance creates a slippery slope and undermines the trust potential tipsters may have.
Do you think Tom Tracy should help NYPD investigators identify the man that allegedly made threats?
The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) is calling for the FBI and local law enforcement agencies to investigate a man who said he would bomb the Voorhies Avenue mosque if the proposal moved forward.
The man made his comments to Brooklyn Paper reporter Tom Tracy at Sunday’s anti-mosque rally, organized by Bay People, Inc. Here’s the relevant excerpt from Brooklyn Paper:
“If they build a mosque there, I’m going to bomb the mosque,” said one outraged resident who lives across the street from the proposed house of worship between East 28th and East 29th streets on Voorhies Avenue. The resident, who refused to give his name, identified himself as a former Israeli soldier who had lived on Voorhies Avenue for eight years.
“I will give them a lot of trouble,” he added. “They’re not going to stay here alive.”
The organization seeking to halt the development of the proposed Voorhies Avenue mosque held a rally Sunday afternoon to publicize the predicted quality-of-life issues. But prejudiced and fearful statements from attendees revealed a rift in the group that could be undermining its credibility.
Bay People, Inc., organized the rally to convey a clear message: parking, traffic and noise complaints are at the heart of their opposition to the mosque. Speakers came to the sun-drenched podium, many with prepared statements designed to reinforce their defense that they’re not bigots.
“This demonstration is not anti-Muslim,” said one speaker who declined to give his name to Sheepshead Bites. “We’re here to demonstrate against this specific project … this is about our quality of life. It’s about our peace and quiet.”
An interfaith group held a “Peace Walk” in Sheepshead Bay on Thursday, ending at the site of the controversial Voorhies Avenue mosque as a sign of unity with organizers’ right to build. But the walk drew dozens of critics, who hissed and jeered at participants, braiding zoning objections with bigoted rhetoric.
Sheepshead Bites was on the scene, capturing video and notes during the event. To this point, we’ve held off publishing our report, preferring to digest the happening to develop a more nuanced depiction. There was more than enough mainstream media chronicling the event and turning out predictable narratives hours later.
In a nutshell, the situation is thus: Though the Park Slope-based group behind the walk said they were only there to promote harmony, they were depicted by opponents as carpetbaggers intruding on a community issue. Still, with about 150 Muslim families in the area looking to exercise their right to pray and teach peaceful, moderate Islamic values, a local mosque is a prerequisite for a more comfortable life. But before that can become a reality, mosque organizers are contending with the specter of Islamic fundamentalism, brought upon by the mosque’s sponsor, the Muslim American Society. Compounding the problem, some critics have developed a coherent zoning argument around parking, noise and traffic issues. But, at Thursday’s counter-demonstration, that faction of the opposition was marginalized by a group spouting bigoted and hateful remarks; they even shouted and cursed at a 15-year-old American-born Muslim girl passing by.
For video and further explanation, read on after the jump.
2812 Voorhies Avenue - the site of the proposed mosque
Advocates for the Sheepshead Bay mosque are hosting a Park Slope group’s annual walk for peace in our neighborhood to demonstrate support for the proposed religious facility.
The Muslim Consultative Network advocates strengthening and unifying the New York City Muslim community. They’ll be holding their 7th Annual Children of Abraham Interfaith Peace Walk on Thursday, June 10th, at 4 p.m. The interfaith march will visit other area religious institutions, including St. Mark Catholic Church and United Methodist Church of Sheepshead Bay. It will kick off at Ocean Avenue and Avenue Z, down to Emmons Avenue, over to Bedford Avenue, then up to the proposed mosque’s site at 2812 Voorhies Avenue.
Organizers of the march are portraying it as a symbol of interfaith solidarity against intolerance.
“We’ll be supporting the emergence of this new faith community while deepening our interfaith connections and spreading the message that here in Brooklyn people from different walks of life experience mutual respect and friendship,” the press release states.
On their website, they write that “participation will be especially meaningful since some residents are trying to prevention the construction of a mosque in that community. Please join us to show support for an inclusive community.”
Earlier today we reported about Community Board 15′s rejection of a special permit application to reduce the number of required spaces at 1501 and 1401 Sheepshead Bay Road. During the meeting, the architect flashed these artist renderings of the 1501 Sheepshead Bay Road location. The left two images are the view from Avenue Z, while the right picutre is the view from Sheepshead Bay Road.
As we’ve reported, the Avenue Z side is the entrance and exit to the garage. The buildings next door on Avenue Z (not pictured) are one story, and on Sheepshead Bay Road they’re two stories.
We’re not quite sure how true to scale the renderings are. The clearance between the subway tracks and the building is about 12 feet, according to the developer. Here’s a photo of that space now – the property is only the fenced in area:
Residents, board members and local politicians chewed out a developer’s plans to construct a nine-story, 115 foot tall building wedged between Sheepshead Bay Road and Avenue Z at this week’s meeting, amidst concerns about parking, traffic and safety.
The board voted unanimously to turn down a request for special permits to reduce the amount of parking required for two buildings by the same owner. The special permits sought to combine the parking for both buildings (1401 Sheepshead Bay Road and 1501 Sheepshead Bay Road), and reduce the number of required spaces by 40 percent.
But the height, location and car capacity of the new building, as well as the developer’s own statements to the Board of Standards and Appeals, came under attack during the Tuesday night meeting.
“When we bring up downzoning in this area, this is the kind of project we’re talking about,” said a representative for Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz.
