NOV. 4th, 2008

ELECTRONIC RECYCLING

Saturday, November 1st 10am - 4pm
Schoolyard of Brooklyn PS 29, 425 Henry Street, entrance is on Baltic between Henry & Clinton St in Cobble Hill

We will accept working and non-working:
-computers (laptop & desktop), monitors
-printers, scanners, fax-machines, copiers
-network devices (routers, hubs, modems, etc.)
-peripherals (keyboards, mice, cables, etc.)
-components (hard drives, CD-ROMs, circuit boards, power supplies, etc,)
-TVs,VCR & DVD players
-radios/stereos
-cell phones, pagers
-PDAs,telecommunication (phones, answering machines, etc.)
-media (floppies, cd's, zips, VHS tapes)

Sponsored by Councilmember Bill DeBlasio, the Cobble Hill Association and PS 29 PTA.

PLEASE VOTE NEXT TUESDAY

WHY THERE HAVE BEEN NO NEW POSTS

I must apologize for not posting lately - there are two reasons why: I have been incredibly busy with work and, more importantly, I have NO NEWS ABOUT THE BUILDING! I have heard nothing from our agent, the developer or our lawyer about what's happening. We were hoping to move in late summer and now it looks like it won't even be this year. We are very frustrated that it is taking so long. There are inspections taking place but no one has given me any firm answer as to when we can expect to close. If anyone has any info please e-mail me.

MISC THURSDAY STUFF (with comments!)

Prospect Park Zoo Subway Fence - photo by Bütter Berger

LIME BAR on MySpace
OK, if anyone has info on this place please let me know. Every time I have tried to go here it has been closed. It looks interesting and I like the name but what is the deal? The best I can find is this REALLY annoying MySpace page (I hate MySpace - huge, slow-loading screens filled with crap and music with little or no real information. I don't get it...)

An interesting campaign to get grandchildren of Florida Jews to vote for Obama
I think this is a great campaign, watch the video.

Bloomberg Says He Would Run Again if Law Changed - NY Times
I am opposed to term limits and think he should be allowed to run for a third term. We already have term limits in this country, they're called ELECTIONS!

More Inspections for 34 Crooke Ave.
Next inspection scheduled for Oct. 9th... When will the C of O be coming? Will it be this year?! Stay tuned to find out!

Finally, I don't have a specific link for this but just type in "Sarah Palin" into any web browser and click on almost any result and bask in the stupidity of this self-described "Joe-six-pack-hockey-mom" and then contemplate the fact that there are some people in this country that believe, in all seriousness, that she is a person qualified to lead this country. I am truly scared.

ALI'S ROTI SHOP REVIEW

This is the first of what I hope will be many reviews of local places to eat, drink and shop.

So I have a confession to make, I never had a roti before. I've heard of them and read about them but until recently had never eaten one. I read several reviews that said Ali's Roti Shop (589 Flatbush Ave.) was the best so I went there for my first roti experience.

The place looks nice enough - new looking sign, new albeit funky pod-like seating. You order at the counter in the back but I was a little confused by the menu, I just asked what's the most popular (chicken the guy said) and got that. The man working the counter was not exactly friendly and never once looked at me.

I got my roti and a water (beer would have been better) and took a seat. The shape, size and weight of my roti reminded me of a, sorry to say it, dirty baby diaper (an observation my wife didn't necessarily appreciate) it smelled great though. It was basically a giant, flat bread filled with chicken, veggies and spices and rolled up. It was a real mess to eat and the chicken had bones and bone fragments in it which made eating it a more cautious endeavor than I would have liked. It was pretty spicy but I love spicy and wouldn't mind if it was even more so.



So with the unfriendly guy at the counter, diaper analogy and potentially deadly bone fragments you might think that this is a negative review - but it's not. The roti was soooooo gooood I can't wait to go back. I think that roti has been added to my mental list of foods that I crave on a regular basis. The bread is really delicious and reminded me a little of the bread used in Ethiopian restaurants. The mixture of flavors and textures was really quite wonderful and I look forward to trying it with other meats.

While I was there, I used the restroom which is located in the back through the kitchen and I was able to see all the dough being prepped to make into bread. Everyone in the back was very friendly and the kitchen looked very clean which made me feel better about coming back to eat there again.



From Wikipedia: "The word 'roti' in the West Indies may also refer to a dish of stewed or curried ingredients wrapped in a 'roti skin'. In Trinidad and Tobago various rotis are served. Popular variations include chicken, conch, beef and vegetable. Shrimp and goat are available. The term is used locally in cities with large West Indian populations, such as Brooklyn, Toronto and Montreal. In such locales the dish has also become popular among non-West Indians."

FLATBUSH FOOD COOP SEEKING WEB DESIGNERS

Attention local designers - I think this could be an interesting opportunity (following text is from FFC e-mail):

"Flatbush Food Co-op (FFC) seeks talented web designers to revamp our
website: www.flatbushfoodcoop.com.

The newly designed site should provide an updated online identity for
FFC that is consistent with our brand, our diverse community of
members and shoppers, as well as highlighting our connection with the
broader national co-op movement. Visit the FFC website for proposal
request details.

Please email info@flatbushfoodcoop.com with your proposal by
Wednesday, October 15, 2008.

Only candidates fitting our interest will be contacted"

COBBLE HILL BIKE RIDE REPORT

Cruise ship at the Red Hook Terminal

It was a very hot and humid day for the first annual Cobble Hill Bike Ride but that didn't deter the ride from being a lot of fun and a real success. About 50 riders (we were told that many more signed up but NYPD regulations required the number to stay below 50) made the scenic 12 mile loop through Red Hook, the Gowanus, Park Slope, Prospect Park and Cobble Hill.

The ride included brief talks by a representative of the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (my apologies for forgetting her name!) and Christopher Cardinale, an artist that worked on a mural addressing traffic fatalities with local youths and Transportation Alternatives.

Christopher Cardinale talking in front of his mural - Butler & 3rd Ave.

The ride made a loop through Prospect Park and, you guessed it, went near 34 Crooke Ave. Considering this was the first time that this event took place, I was impressed at how well organized it was. I definitely look forward to doing it again next year!

30 - year mortgages dip to lowest level since April

THIS ARTICLE in the NY Times definitely peaked my interest... Now if the building would get a C of O so we can close and take advantage of these rates that would be VERY NICE.