Sure the park could get by with some temporary fixes but in general it's in pretty bad shape. The "lawn" turns into a dirt patch every year by mid summer, there is standing water and mud all over the place and the wood play structures and benches are splinter factories. The new design is also meant to showcase the old stone house which is an important historic marker and has developed into a fantastic community resource. This area is dense with kids and they deserve a well designed and better maintained space.

Posted by: jimdisc at November 20, 2009 2:36 PM in response to Plans for J.J. Byrne Park in the Slope Unveiled

Did anyone see the sign that went up in Delicious on the Slope's window right after they closed. It was basically a big "F U" to the neighborhood for not supporting them. Hope the new folks have a bit better sense of perspective and understanding of what type of restaurants are successful in the area. Good luck to them.

Posted by: jimdisc at September 17, 2009 12:19 PM in response to Two New Eateries Coming to Slope's President Street

Finally this area has an alternative to the subpar coffee at Ozzie's and Cousin John's.

Posted by: jimdisc at July 24, 2009 3:34 PM in response to StreetLevel: Cafe Regular Open on Berkeley

The exhaust is one issue. There is also the possibility of it exceeding the allowable decibel range in the house. That's an easy test that you can set up with a call to 311.

Posted by: jimdisc at January 27, 2009 1:53 PM in response to Sticking It To Their South Slope Neighbors

Generally I'm a fan of the modern aesthetic, but this goes a bit too far minimalist for me. I like the kitchen but the living room has a 50' expanse of blank white wall with a big white sofa parked next to it. Yawn. Get some personality beyond white paint and a credit card.

Posted by: jimdisc at November 10, 2008 11:00 AM in response to Finding the Loft in a Brownstone

The place has a glass roof. I give it until the first heating bill. First stretch of cloudy cold days and they'll be burning those benches to stay warm.

Posted by: jimdisc at October 27, 2008 3:57 PM in response to Streetlevel: "Tiki Hut" Bar in Park Slope Open Today

I agree with Gosha that many bicyclists disregard the rules of the road and common sense and put themselves at serious risk. But the key is that they almost always put only themselves at risk. Someone driving a car at 40 mph on 8th Avenue (and that's the average, many are going 50 or more)is disregarding the rules of the road and putting many people at risk. It's disingenuous to ignore the real issue by starting out blaming cyclists for accidents. Drivers are generally aggressive and arrogant. The real issue is that we don't find it ridiculous that any moron who can answer a few questions and parallel park can get behind the wheel of a 2500 lb steel battering ram and speed down a street just feet away from you, me, our families, our friends, and our pets.

Sorry, a bit angry today.

Posted by: jimdisc at October 20, 2008 3:37 PM in response to Park Slope Wants to Go Both Ways (Traffic-wise)

Like an grocery store in NYC, Trader Joe's is not allowed to sell wine. That is why the wine shop at the 14th Street location is in a separate storefront. Should be some nice beer deals though.

Posted by: jimdisc at September 17, 2008 1:47 PM in response to Wednesday Food & Drink Round-Up

I was inside. We just "lucked out" getting tickets though we still paid $55 because my wife is a huge fan and I'd never seen him. I'm sure the show would have sold out regardless of the fence situation. In fact I'd bet that many of the attendees had never been to the bandshell before and had no idea that for most shows you can see and hear pretty well from outside. That said, the free concert series must get money from somewhere so when they hold the occasional benefit I don't blame them for closing of the views.

On to the show.... The sound was subpar at best and Dylan was barely able to croke through many of the songs. The crowd was generous, even through some of the honky tonk numbers that threatened to put me to sleep. Lots of pot smoke floating around and enough Budweiser to float a navy. Can't they get some lcoal beer in there? We ended up leaving early and had a nice stroll home through the neighborhood talking about how we could have sold our tickets on StubHub for a couple hundred bucks a piece.

Posted by: jimdisc at August 13, 2008 10:52 AM in response to Fencing In Bob Dylan

I have to second cmu's thoughts on this. I'm not sure what the advantage is for you in pursuing a LEED certification. It's really only a recognition from an independent 3rd party that you followed a general goal of "green" building and documented it to the degree required for the cerification. I've worked on a number of LEED projects and most of them are looking to attract investors or tenants. The press and PR value of the certification for a clothing store seems minimal.
In my opinion you would be better off spending the money on actually building green than getting the certification. Then make yourself a little plaque that lists all the great stuff you did and mount it on the wall. Much more informative to your customers and cheaper for you.

Posted by: jimdisc at August 8, 2008 1:06 PM in response to Bird Blog: Week 13

I'll join the chorus for Panasonic. So very quiet. We put in a new bathroom and the fan has got more comments than anything else. I happen to think the bathroom looks great too.

Posted by: jimdisc at July 31, 2008 4:47 PM in response to Bathroom fan

As said above, a GC would be the right person to hire for this work. However, I think the 4-5k number above may be low because in addition to the digging and building of the stairs you will need to break through the foundation wall, do some shoring, add support for the wall above, do a certain amount of waterproofing and of course buy a good door and frame. I'm guessing your looking at closer to 8k-9k. You could realize some savings if you can reuse what you dig out in landscaping the yard, etc... This will save on the manual labor of hauling it away.

Posted by: jimdisc at July 21, 2008 4:57 PM in response to Digging down to add stairs and entrance from basement to back yard

What you want are sash locks. They prevent the window from opening more than 8" or so (or at whatever height you install them). There are many different styles and some windows come with them built in. The primary difference is how you engage and disengage them.

Posted by: jimdisc at July 15, 2008 4:29 PM in response to Window lock?