Blog Buzz: Catholics, Hasidics & Calamari Heroes

I haven’t done a Blog Buzz in over a week and my inbox is about to explode so let’s get to it.

I’ve always had a thing for time lapse videos and here’s one that shows the McCarren Park stage construction in just a minute and a half. – Control Geek

For another visual treat, I recently came across the City of Memory website which bills itself as a story map of NYC. They include a fantastic touching video story about the Giglio Festival. – via Thrillist

Fascinated and wanna know more about Catholics in Brooklyn? New blog, Brooklyn Catholic does some nice interesting posts on several Greenpoint parishes. – Brooklyn Catholic

I’ve never actually utilized RightRides but their number has been in my cell phone for over a year. They’ve recently celebrated 1,500 Rides Home and I’m delighted to see they’re still giving women who need a ride home a safe alternative. – Right Rides

Is the Q the Next L? :insert evil cackle here: Welcome to our nightmare South Brooklyn! – New York Observer

Greenpoint glam rockers Semi Precious Weapons crossed paths with the Real Worlders last week at Rebel. And in a reality television circle jerk, “a possibly gay, possibly engaged Mormon named Chet Bannon is kissing a previous winner of America’s Next Top Model named Whitney Thompson.” Oh, Jesus. – Driven By Boredom 3.0

The CB1-ers are a-buzz with the fact that a bicyclist was hit by one of Northside Car Services cabbies ironically coinciding with the DOT’s plan “to paint a bike lane along Kent Avenue on the Williamsburg waterfront this fall.“

“Yesterday there was another bicycle accident on Kent and North 7th in Williamsburg. A hit and run. The cyclist was going straight and a Northside Car Service made an irrationally fast turn and almost hit the cyclist. The cyclist, with little time to react, had to slam on the brakes, flipped completely over the handlebars, and landed under the hood of the car. The car drove off. The cyclists was taken to the hospital with a broken elbow and collarbone – and, thankfully, no worse injuries than that. Also, Big Kudos to a construction worker nearby who flagged the license plate number and confirmed the car was a Northside vehicle.

I feel it’s imperative to say that we should speak out against Northside and make them accountable for the hit and run. Please tell your friends, your friends’ friends, and other community members that a Northside driver caused a serious injury to a fellow citizen and took no responsibility. PLEASE BOYCOTT NORTHSIDE.”

While I most definitely do not condone a hit & run, I feel like the driver should be to blame and not necessarily the entire Northside Car Service. And that driver should be arrested. Accidents happen but driving off and leaving a person injured like that is despicable.

Eating In Translation eats an apparently rare calamari hero at Cono’s – and likes it. – Eating In Translation

The yuppie-fication is in full swing! Drunken dirty late stay out Hipsters beware, your days are numbered.

“The McCarren Park dog run just got a lot more civilized with the addition of a food cart and 10 picnic tables with umbrellas supplied by the nearby all local/organic market Urban Rustic, located on N. 12th Street. Urban Rustic donated the tables along with four garbage cans and several planter boxes for the previously underused area between the dog run and the park’s community garden, The Green Dome.

The cart is now open seven days a week with plans to stay open through the cold months, hopefully with new hot chocolate menu items provided by Brooklyn chocolate-makers the Mast Brothers.” – Urbanite

Maybe you can start a dog park turf war by showing up in one of Cooper Bark‘s new t-shirts from their Cafepress shop! – Cooper Park Dog Run

Speaking of the pups, there’s a new local blog called Greenpoint Dog that was inspired by the writers dog Champ. The concept seems to be uniting lost pups with their owners and finding homes for others. I’ve always been a dog person as opposed to cat person and I completely and utterly miss my Dakota girl everyday. Isn’t she beautiful?

The McCarren Park Pool redesign was approved unanimously by the Landmarks Commission last week. – WGPA

Miss Williamsburg has been crowned. “The girl crowned Miss Williamsburg, C.J. Johnson, boasted the talent of shot-gunning a PBR and taking her panties off through an American Apparel ‘onesie’…” But wait, Lil’ Miss WillyB isn’t even from the nabe? “She’s a slut and doesn’t even live here. She drove in from New Jersey.” Ah, the irony. – New York Observer

The big news in the hood is Five Leaves had it’s soft opening this weekend. Supposedly to be filled with celebs like hipster goddess Mary Kate and Heath’s baby mama widow Michelle Williams. Us peasants can check it out Wednesday night, until then Eater and Urban Daddy have some pics. – Gothamist, Eater & Urban Daddy

The Age also has a nice article about the more personal side of Five Leaves. “We’re 50-50 partners still,” Mongell said. “Heath is still my partner. He was fingerprinted for a liquor licence … he was going to DJ, bartend; he was not like some removed investor. At one point he put a bid in on the whole building. He was going to live upstairs. Heath was a very good chess player. He wanted a chessboard or two in here, so we could never not do that. So that’s Heath’s chessboard.”- The Age

So as usual there is craziness and nuttiness abound regarding bicycles, lanes and half naked hipster girls. Wait what was that last part?

“Leaders of South Williamsburg’s Hasidic community said yesterday that bike lanes that bring scantily clad cyclists – especially sexy women – peddling through their neighborhood are definitely not kosher. Weisser and other Hasids said during a Sept. 8 community-board meeting that the lanes on Bedford and Wythe avenues should be eliminated if the neighborhood has to accept being part of the greenway.”

Um, are they serious? Last time I checked Brooklyn was part of a free country. It’s no one’s fault that the Hasidic men are still men and therefore tempted to take a gander at the hipster chicks in short skirts and no bras peddling in their hood. Maybe they should take Larry Blumberg up on his generous offer! – New York Post & NY Daily News

Are the Hasidics down with vigilateism? “A group of Hasidic Jews meted out swift street justice in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to a man they say threatened to shoot a neighborhood storekeeper. The man then began running down Clymer Street while a group of about 25 neighborhood residents gave chase, catching up with him in front of Steinberg’s Kosher Bakery two blocks away. There, a Post photographer saw at least two men wrestle the man to the ground. A large crowd – including members of the Shomrim, a volunteer community patrol – gathered around him as he lay on the ground. They held him at bay until police arrived from the 90th Precinct.” – Vos Iz Neias

Last week was also the 7th anniversary of 9/11 and to pour salt into the wound for Greenpointers, someone stole a memorial plaque from St. Cecilia’s. Who does something like that? – New York Daily News

Greenpointers contributer Amanda passed on this beautiful NY Times slideshow of Brooklyn’s Industrial Side including a few from Greenpoint & Williamsburg.

My sister GG sent me this article from Time Out New York that just about cracked me up with it’s description of Williamsburg in relation to it’s ‘fitness’.

YOUR COMPETITION: Imagine yourself without a day job—unshaven, in a thrift-store-reject wardrobe, with the ability to stay out until 5am.

GAME PLAN: Just try finding a gym in these parts. But you’ll still need to fit into those skinny jeans. Options? Starvation, caffeine and cocaine—or forgoing the dreadful L train in favor of walking to and from Manhattan.

I don’t want to know how or why an original blueprint of the 1927 Greenpoint Avenue Bridge is for sale on eBay but owning and framing that would be insanely cool. – eBay