BENSONHURST'S PREMIER NEWS BLOG

The above video, which can be found on Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s YouTube channel, shows him introducing a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA, which was signed into law by President Clinton during the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” 90′s.

Nadler is joined by the bill’s sponsors, which include Reps. Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin, Jared Polis, David Cicilline, and John Conyers. They would like to repeal DOMA, a 1996 law “that discriminates against lawfully married gay and lesbian couples.”

U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler represents New York’s 8th Congressional District, which includes Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, SoHo, Greenwich Village, TriBeCa, the Financial District and Battery Park City. In Brooklyn, the 8th District includes parts of Borough Park, Red Hook, Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Gravesend, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach and Seagate.

The above video, posted on Rep. Michael Grimm’s YouTube channel, includes his speech on the Veterans Dog Therapy Training Act.

The Staten Island Advance reported last week that Grimm’s legislation, which would help both disabled veterans as well as those suffering from post traumatic stress, passed the House of Representatives.

The bill would allow veterans suffering from PTSD to train the dogs, which will then be used by disabled veterans in order to help them with everyday tasks, such as shopping and crossing the street.

From silive:

“This type of program, that allows veterans to help veterans, could have a tremendous impact in New York,” said Grimm (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn). “Ideally, I’d like to see [it] established at the Brooklyn VA Hospital, which provides care for many of the veterans in my district.”

U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm represents New York’s 13th Congressional District, which includes all of Staten Island. In Brooklyn, the 13th District includes parts of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst and Gravesend.

(image courtesy of Jay New)

We received a Tweet last week from reader Frank Wza, who wanted to know what was going on at with two different 86th Street addresses.

One, 2201 86th Street, on the corner of Bay Parkway, the former location of Jerusalem Fruit, whose abandoned fruit tables we reported on during Hurricane Irene.

According to the city’s DOB website, there is currently a stop work on the property, apparently stemming from some older violations, all but one of which have been resolved.

It appears that construction at 2201 86th Street will not result in any major changes to the building’s current use. Work permits filed with DOB are for some minor demolition and renovation, citing “NO CHANGE IN USE, EGRESS, AND OCUPANCY (sic).”

We can’t say with any certainty what kind of business will be there, or if the building owners have even found a new ground floor tenant. However, at this time it appears the building will merely be getting a makeover.

The second location is on the corner of Bay Parkway and Bay 26th Street, the address of which Frank believes is 2038 86th Street. Unfortunately, 2038 does not have any major work permits on file. We also searched for filings on both 2036 and 2040 86th Street, to no avail.

If any readers have interesting info on either place, please contact us at jteutonico [at] bensonhurstbean [dot] com.

(image by Tom Callan from Brooklyn Daily)

It looks like Bay Ridge soda fountain Hinsch’s and its trademark neon sign won’t be going anywhere after all.

After the New York Post reported two weeks ago that after 63 years, Hinsch’s (8515 5th Avenue) had served up its last egg cream, a local city council member broke the news that the luncheonette has been saved by the owners of another neighborhood business.

Saturday, Councilman Vincent Gentile announced on his Facebook page that the owners of Skinflints Restaurant (7902 5th Avenue) made a deal with the landlord that could tentatively reopen Hinsch’s Luncheonette by November 1.

Then yesterday, Brooklyn Daily – which is owned by NY Post publisher Rupert Murdoch – said they spoke with Skinflints owner Gerard Bell – who confirmed that he and two partners had reached an agreement with landlord Anna Tesoriero, resurrecting Hinsch’s classic lunch counter for future generations.

From Brooklyn Daily:

“We’re shooting for Nov. 1,” he said.

The menu is not expected to change, he added.

In addition to being shuttered by DOH officials, one reason Hinsch’s former owner John Logue cited for leaving was a rent increase that would go from $7,500 to $10,000 per month.

While Tesoriero had initially claimed she would ask $10,000 a month from any new tenants, Bell says the landlord – who would like to see Hinsch’s remain – made a more generous deal with himself and his partners.

Skinflint’s owners have some experience in giving a new life to old storefronts. Their eatery is located in the old Meyer & Blohm ice cream parlor on 5th Avenue and its interior still contains original fixtures, wood moldings and stained glass from the former business.

City Council Member Vincent Gentile represents Council District 43, which includes Bay Ridge, as well as parts of Dyker Heights, Bath Beach and Bensonhurst

It looks like the Occupy Wall Street protesters won’t be getting kicked out after all.

The above video, posted on YouTube by karinmoveon, captures cheers as the crowd learns that Brookfield Properties, the company that maintains Zuccotti Park, called off the cleaning that would have prompted police to clear a section of the park.

Unfortunately, all the exuberance following the announcement led to some clashes between demonstrators and police.

Are you for OWS, against it, or maybe somewhere in between? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.

After protesters brought in a cleaning crew yesterday to prevent an eviction by Mayor Bloomberg, Rep. Jerrold Nadler released the following to the press:

Nadler to Mayor Bloomberg: Protecting 1^st Amendment Rights of Occupy Wall Street and Safeguarding Community Needs Are Not Mutually Exclusive

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), representative of Lower Manhattan and the Ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, responded to news that, on Friday, Mayor Bloomberg plans to evict Occupy Wall Street activists from their base at Zuccotti Park in Manhattan.

 He issued the following statement:

“I am very concerned by Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to remove Occupy Wall Street activists (OWS) from Zuccotti Park tomorrow morning. I believe that protecting the rights of OWS and the needs of the Lower Manhattan community are not mutually exclusive. This situation can and must be resolved in a manner that addresses the concerns of local businesses and residents without violating either the First Amendment or New York’s long tradition of respecting public protest. It would be unfortunate, precisely because it is unnecessary, if this matter were not resolved in an amicable manner. Continue Reading »

There’s a hole in this cake!

Soon after the Avgolemono episode, Colleen realized that she must come to terms with bundt cake. After receiving a nifty mini bundt pan as a gift, the antidote to misplaced hatred of the round, picturesque cakes quickly came to her. The answer?

Make it extra delicious!

After some rather intense inner reflection, Colleen decided to put a new spin on an old favorite of ours – sweet potato cake.

Sweet potato cake is a great way to make a dessert that’s sweet with spice and everything nice. Just thinking about this cake makes me reflexively salivate like one of Pavlov’s pooches.

The result is a delicious reminder that only love can conquer hate. And everyone loves sweet potato bundt cake!

Colleen’s Sweet Potato Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

Cake

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups peeled, cooked and mashed sweet potatoes (approximately 3 medium size sweet potatoes)
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
Click Here For The Secret To World Piece…pun intended

by Violette79 via flickr

This photo, which we found on Flickr using a Creative Commons search, epitomizes the old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case, we don’t doubt for a second that Bensonhurst is one of them.

Violette79 took this on June 22, 2011 using a Sony DSC-W1.

Want your photos of Bensonhurst on the Bean? Send them to jteutonico [at] bensonhurstbean [dot] com.

Barring that, you can also tag any relevant Flickr photos Bensonhurst Bean. Please just make sure to post your work with some rights reserved, so we’re allowed to use it!

The Staten Island Advance reported yesterday on two brothers arrested for operating a local medical supply business which scammed insurers for millions.

Aleksandr Finkelshteyn and Robert Finkelshteyn are accused of submitting fraudulent bills to firms that carry no-fault policies for items such as wheelchairs, hospital beds, iron lungs and oxygen tents.

The Finkelshteyns allegedly set up fake wholesale companies, then acted as a retailer which would buy equipment that never came. The pair worked out of the offices of Alrof, Inc. which, until it closed in July, was located at 2515 65th Street between Dahill Road and McDonald Avenue.

From silive.com:

No goods were delivered that corresponded to the items on the bills and the prices listed were 10 to 15 times higher than what the merchandise typically cost, the complaint alleges. Click Here For More Details On This Dishonest Duo

John C. Liu at a party in September (Michael Appleton for NY Times)

According to yesterday’s New York Times, reporters found some glaring irregularities in City Comptroller John Liu’s election campaign – including apparently illegal fundraising practices.

The Times investigation consisted of canvassing the homes and businesses of people listed as donors to Liu’s campaign.

Some of the two dozen irregularities found include individuals who deny ever contributing, say others contributed for them, or seemed to not exist at all. There were several instances where reporters reviewed paperwork for multiple people which were all written in the same person’s handwriting.

One of those interviewed was Zhong Qun Tan, a garment worker from Gravesend, whose donor card listed her as a carpenter for a Queens construction company she had never heard of.

From the Times:

Two people who described attending banquets in which Mr. Liu appeared and posed for photos said that company executives who support him provided donations in the names of those in attendance.

In addition, Mr. Liu is not complying with some basic campaign finance laws: To protect against so-called straw donors, the city requires that donor cards submitted with campaign contributions be filled out only by the person making the donation. In numerous instances in Mr. Liu’s campaign, one person appears to have filled out cards for multiple donors. Continue Reading »

[UPDATE 10/14/11] A reader confirmed yesterday that the library is still open. We’re guessing they just hung the sign to give everyone a heads up about it closing on November 4.

Reader Grace O. happened by the above sign, which was posted on the gate of the Brooklyn Public Library’s Ryder Branch yesterday.

According to Brooklyn Public Library’s website, the library is expected to reopen December 12, after receiving technological upgrading – including some do-it-yourself checkout scanners.

Curiously, the website also says the library isn’t supposed to close until November 4.

Anyone know if they will be losing staff?