UPDATE: Gunplay (South of) the Parkway

Eyewitness account in the Park Slope Message Boards from the neighbor of the victim of the attempted robbery on 15th and 8th:

jeb writes: “I was on the scene shortly after the incident happened around midnight. My upstairs neighbor, who was the victim of the attempted robbery that sparked it all off, recounted it to me right afterwards.”

“The shooting apparently took place when a couple of guys tried to rob my neighbors at gunpoint, on 15th Street between 8th and PPW, in front of our apartment building. A couple off-duty cops just happened to be driving by and saw the robbery in progress…”

“… They jumped out of their car and chased the perps down the street toward the park. Apparently that’s when some kind of gunshots were exchanged … They called for backup and continued to search for the guys throughout the neighborhood. Helicopters, EMTs, fire trucks, and tons of patrol cars arrived on the scene. Apparently in the search for the guys they cleared out Bar 4 to see if the suspects were hiding in there.”

“According to abc, they actually got the guys in there and recovered their guns.”

More chatter: Park Slope Message Boards

PS Mom’s Flyers Warn of Man Charged with Attempted Rape

jaha127 writes in the Park Slope Message Boards:

“I know there are alot of mothers who read this blog, so I just wanted to give you an FYI …”

“Also, I don’t think this guy went to trial yet, and its also important to remember that you are innocent until proven guilty. But this is just a reminder about being cautious…”

Read the story in the NY Daily News.

Read neighborhood reaction in the Park Slope Message Boards

Let’s All Drink to the Death of a Cell Phone Store

Grand Master steve writes in the Park Slope Message Boards:

“I’m a big believer in supporting small local business… which is why why I am somewhat conflicted to be happy about the demise of one: a cell phone store on 7th Ave. just outside the F station.”

“… One less cell phone store sounds great to me. There must be one on nearly every block of 7th Avenue, and the proprietors largely seem like shysters, so enough is enough. I might even call to see how much they want for the space, but I think it will be more than I want to spend right now for my business.”

They’ll be back. Commiserate in the Park Slope Message Boards

Click here for more resources
for small businesses.

About the Gunfire

seven24 asks in the Park Slope Message Boards: Anyone hear about the shots fired on 15 street and 8th avenue last night?

fifteenthstreet says: “I live at 15th and 8th, and yes, I heard them … There were a lot of cop cars blocking off 15th street between PPW and 8th for at least 30 minutes, and a police helicopter with a search beam scouring the roof of our building … ”

Shots Fired on 15th St. & 8th Ave. [Park Slope Message Boards]

Cityguide picks Stone Park as Best NYC Restaurant

So it looks like Stone Park on 5th Ave. in Park Slope took “best restaurant” honors in AOL cityguide’s City’s Best 2006 poll for New York–placing ahead of Gotham Bar & Grill, Gramercy Tavern, Daniel and Le Bernardin, among others.

Stone Park co-owner Josh Grinker told the Daily News: “… winning these types of contests really attests to the loyal support of our customers … We really see what we’re doing as bringing up the standard of neighborhood restaurants.

It’s true that Stone Park has its fans. And predictably, this has become another opportunity for us chronic complainers at Daily Slope to hold forth (do we like anything?). laura writes in the Park Slope Message Boards: “My boyfriend and I went there once … I can’t recall what we ate, but it was so underwhelming we decided never to bother again.”

Other thoughts on Stone Park? Park Slope Message Boards

Dizzy’s Diner: Can Renovations Fix It?

Clarification: Ranjit’s photo is at least a year old. It’s doubtful the renovations going on at Dizzy’s right now have anything to do with this auto mishap.

blksafyre writes in the Park Slope Message Boards:
“Is it kind of dumb that Dizzy’s decided to do renovations now? In the winter business is slow there, which would make sense for renovations then.”
From livetotravel: “May the renovations last forever! I’m so over this place. They clearly rely on past rumors of excellence and uniqueness for their business. There are just way too many people clamoring for tables on the weekends, resulting in consistently overcooked omelets, overcooked pancakes, overcooked coffee, underwashed dishes and utensils … “
From 8thandprez: “I love Dizzy’s. The huevos rancheros with veggie sausage are to die for. That said, the place is wildly overpriced. Insanely overpriced.”
“Something tells me the reno isn’t going to help that situation …”

Brunch in the slope: Park Slope Message Boards

What’s Missing in Park Slope?


Awwww!

Originally uploaded by justpat.

Neighborhood Improvement via the Park Slope Message Boards:

“I wouldn’t mind a fancy-ish gym, like Equinox.”

“Previously I was longing for a good Indian restaurant, but now we have the lovely Kinara!”

“Ethiopian food! I’d walk over to PS more often for that.”

“I don’t care–as long as it isn’t another realtor or coffee bar …”

“An In-and-Out Burger. Or at least a White Castle.”

“… the return of a real butcher, but United has been pretty good to me since the guys on 7th left and I wouldn’t switch back.”

“A soccer bar, but hopefully we’ll be getting that once the FloydNY spin off opens.” (hmm… isn’t there a new Irish bar that’s promoting itself as a soccer bar?)

“A nice movie theater. I don’t like the one on PPW …”

“A coffee bar that doesn’t allow strollers or laptop users.”

“… we need a drug store (w/ late hours) in the 4th-5th Ave area …” (Neergard is 24/7, right?)

“A decent fish market. Don’t get me started on the ones on 7th Avenue…”

“A belgian beer/frites and maybe mussels place. not too pricey…”

What else? Park Slope Message Boards

2 Toms: Worth The Trip Past 4th Ave.?

2toms.jpgugarte writes in the Park Slope Message Boards: “2 Toms is excellent and very, very old school Italian. It doesn’t feel like it has a mafia past; it feels like it has a low-level soldier-in-the-mafia present. The food, though, is excellent.”

“Meat (steaks and chops) are excellent but quite expensive. Pasta – I linguine w/ calamari al arrabiata (spicy) is also great but not so expensive. Yes, worth the trip, but if two people are going I’d suggest sharing a steak and a pasta to keep the cost down.”

kittygolightly adds: “Last I went, there were two kinds of wine – red and white, and both were self-serve from the fridge. I also had the best pork chop of my life.”

CAVEAT:There is no set menu, and thus no price tags, according to your neighbors who have been there. It may seem inexpensive but the prices add up in a hurry. The portions are very large, so it may be best to do some family-style sharing. digital_buffalo writes: “I went with a group of 7 and somehow our bill came to $300 and half of what we ordered was still on the table when we left – just too much food.”

READ MORE: 2 Toms Restaurant: Worth The Trip?Park Slope Message Boards

Photo: MarkWinegardner.com

Calling All Gowanophiles


rough rider

Originally uploaded by Dope on the Slope.

dope on the slope writes in the Park Slope Message Boards:

“We’ve started a group on flickr to chronicle the evolution of Gowanus from what it is today into whatever it will become. If you are a shutterbug who takes pictures of the area or know someone who is, please pass along this link:”

http://www.flickr.com/groups/gowanees/

“Even if you don’t plan on contributing photographs to the pool, stop by for a visit.”

Read more: Park Slope Message Boards

Gorilla Coffee on 7th: Within Our Lifetime?


Gorilla Coffee

Originally uploaded by david.

They can put a man on the moon… so what about decent coffee on 7th?

Gorilla, the Brooklyn coffee house generally acknowledged to be Doing Things Right(tm), is at least thinking about setting up shop on what is still considered the main drag in Park Slope.

This just in from DS stalwart 8thandPrez: “Based on the flurry of messages in another post, it seems there’s quite a demand for a Gorilla Coffee expansion. I took the liberty of emailing Gorilla and pleading for a new store on 7th.”

Here’s their very prompt response:

“hi there. thanks for the link [to the Daily Slope forum]. we’d love to [expand]…need to save up some money first. some day hopefully soon. we’d LOVE to be on 7th ave.

darleen”

Rumor Monger: Park Slope Message Boards

Great Internet Outage of ’05: When Will it End?

sponsor_rr.gif8thandPrez reported last Monday that he’d beeh having sporadic connection issues that Time Warner initially blamed on “weak signal strength” between his modem and the outside world. That might make sense if there weren’t independent reports of problems from a whole bunch of people on the Park Slope Message Board, includng Drano, 8th&Carroll, Dope on the Slope, LiveToTravel, and StevieShamrocks, who writes:

“I was having problems with my cable box last week, and was given a prompt service call of 4 days later. I was told by the service guy (who was sooo happy to be here) that there are problems with TWC all over Brooklyn.”

“I asked if he had any other info, because I was alos having problems with IE and he gave me the technical lowdown “Fuck if I know.”

Dope on the Slope adds: “My god it’s an epidemic. I just had the tech here and he replaced my modem. Of course the problem returned within 45 minutes of his departure. I thought it might be problems with the exposed connections in the ‘backyards’ of Park Slope after the recent precipitation and freezes, but my TV is fine.”

Crisis updates: Park Slope Message Boards

Brooklyn Industries: PSers Allege Defective Jackets and Return Policy (and Selling of “Bike Culture”)


Brooklyn industries

Originally uploaded by thedrun.

illegat writes in the Park Slope Message Boards: “So I know Brooklyn Industries is a local business that’s fun to support and the water tower logo is cool and all, but has anyone else had problems with these clothes being poorly made and their return policy?”

“I bought a coat in December and its already basically useless from what isn’t even normal wear and tear. Within a week, the seams were coming loose …”

“I tried to return it, and they of course, wouldn’t accept it because it had been worn.”

“Now, two months later, the zipper won’t close and most of the threading has come undone. What’s the point in supporting local business if it’s overpriced and under-quality?”

PICTURED: The now infamous “BIKE CULTURE NOT 4 SALE” graffito from the BI store at Union and 5th.

ASIDE: So what is “Bike Culture” anyway? More from the Park Slope Message Boards:

Rhodamine says: ” ‘Bike culture’ for me is… friends who come over and paint frames in my basement, who stay in touch on lots of non-spandex messageboards, who race in alleycats, who hang out in the bike shop… after hours.. and bring beer, talking about bikes, obsessing over configurations, joining transalt, fighting for cyclists rights, meeting for regular rides/races in the parks/streets, etc. And yes, there are bike clubs/gangs. I’m sure few to none hang at starbucks.”

LINKS:

Ileggat: Brooklyn Industries Defective Jackets Park Slope Message Boards
Carnivore: Brooklyn Industries Won’t Exchange Unworn T-Shirt (with Gift Receipt) Prospect Heights Message Boards
Bike Culture and Brooklyn IndustriesMore from the Park Slope Message Boards