BENSONHURST'S PREMIER NEWS BLOG

Clothing donation bins have been springing up all over Bensonhurst, and their presence has not produced the positive source of charity as intended. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle is reporting that the bins have been illegally placed on public property and have been subject to vandalism and theft.

While carrying the air of an official city project, the bins are actually run by multiple nonprofit organizations. The first problem with the bins, which are intended to gather clothing for the needy, is their placement. Despite city regulations that prohibit the placement of bins on public property, the bins have appeared all over Bensonhurst and Bay Ridge, often times in a haphazard fashion. Department of Sanitation regulations are clear on the issue:

“The placement of collection bins by any person, other than a government or governmental agency, or its contractors or licensees on any city property, property maintained by the city, or on any public sidewalk or roadway is prohibited,” the Department of Sanitation regulations read. “Collection bins include, but are not limited to, clothing bins. Failure to comply with this prohibition may result in the removal of any collection bin improperly placed on public property,” according to the regulations.

Another problem with the bins is that it isn’t clear who is responsible for them or where the clothes are going. Community Board District 10 District Manger Josephine Beckman spoke to this issue.

“One of the complaints is that it’s difficult to tell what organizations are responsible for them. People in our community are aware of the many not-for-profit organizations like the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Salvation Army, and St. Mary’s Church, which collect clothing for the poor. People prefer to donate to an organization they know,” Beckman told Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

The bins are also subject to poor management and vandalism. Often times the bins are so overstuffed with clothing that they end up being tagged with graffiti. Community Board 11 District Manager Marnee Elias-Pavia noted complaints that the bins were magnets for theft and garbage.

“[P]eople are dumping garbage near the bins. And people have been seen pulling clothes out of them,” Pavia said.

The bins have been the subject of similar problems across Southern Brooklyn including Brighton Beach. Sheepshead Bites reported on bins located in the confines of Community Board 13 that were disposed of by the Department of Sanitation after numerous complaints that the clothes inside of them were just being resold for profit at thrift shops.

The National Weather Service issued a sudden Flash Flood Warning shortly before 8:30 a.m. and lasting until 9:15 a.m., as a torrent of rainfall came down on Brooklyn, flooding homes, highways and and streets.

There was major flooding on the Belt Parkway near Cropsey Avenue, and the highway ultimately shut down for short period because of it. Eventually one lane in each direction reopened. Also near Cropsey Avenue, there were reports on the police scanner that cars were submerged on Shore Parkway, and even drifting in the current.

We heard about flooding from Plumb Beach all the way to Dyker Heights. Now that it’s over, we’re still waiting to hear about conditions in certain parts of the neighborhood, like the Plumb Beach bungalow courts and areas around Cropsey Avenue. If you know how it is, please fill us in in the comments!

Readers have kept us updated so far, sending in the following photos.

This one’s from the entrance to the Belt Parkway at Bay Parkway, going west:

Photo by Regina Sorkin.

Things aren’t much better on the Belt Parkway, even now that the rain has stopped. Reader Rachel Tarantul sent us a photo taken just a few minutes after 10:00 a.m. that shows water sitting in two lanes of the highway, and only one lane is open in each direction. She says traffic is terrible.

And this was by the Cropsey bus depot:

Photo by Regina Sorkin.

Along the border of Coney Island and Brighton Beach, this is from the parking lot of 601 Surf Avenue:

Photo by Regina Sorkin.

We’re also hearing about homes and building basements flooding. A reader tweeted to us that a Sheepshead Bay apartment building on Homecrest Avenue near Avenue Z had several inches of water. Our own Elle Spektor is dealing with a flooded basement in her Bensonhurst home. Here’s what it looked like in the streets near her:

And here’s one of a flooded Sheepshead Bay garage, on Avenue W and East 26th Street, from reader Danil Rudoy:

Nearby, on Avenue V between Brigham Street and Brown Street, reader nolastname snapped this. There’s about two inches of water filling up the alleyway.

In Manhattan Beach – an area that has certainly seen more than enough water lately – Albert Hasson sent us this photo of a car trying to get through what appears to be at least a foot of water on Ocean Avenue:

Hopefully now that the rain stopped – and almost exactly at 9:15 a.m., as the National Weather Service predicted – the water is receding and things getting back to normal. Make sure to let us know if there’s any lasting damage or floodwater in your area, and send photos and other information to nberke [at] sheepsheadbites [dot] com.

Updated (10:49 a.m.) to add the photo from nolastname.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

If you live on the far end of a New York City borough and have the distinct pleasure of sitting through a 45-50 minute commute into Manhattan every day, you gain a unique experience. The trip highlights the diversity of races, cultures and economic classes as the train rumbles from your more modest home towards Fancytown. While it’s easy to notice the types of people you see on the train – homeless, hipsters, lawyers, mothers and tourists – it’s harder to guess their socioeconomic status, even if you have a rough idea. Thanks to the New Yorker, you can now know exactly how much people are making through their handy interactive graph which charts the median household incomes via subway stops.

The results will probably depress you, especially if you are a normal schmo from Bensonhurst, Sheepshead Bay, Brighton Beach or practically anywhere outside of the confines of Manhattan. The luckiest New Yorkers live off the 2 and 3 lines by Park Place and Chambers Street. If those people are even using the subway, they are on average earning more than $200,000 a year.

Riders near the 18th Avenue D stop in Bensonhurst clock an average of $39,524. Borough Park riders near 55th street also earn about $39,000. Further south by the Sheepshead Bay Q station, riders earn an average of $33,616. Brighton Beach riders are even less affluent, with the median being set at $28,398. If Q train riders from Southern Brooklyn want to see some fancy people living off their line, all they have to do is drop $2.50 and ride up to 5th Avenue in Manhattan where the median  household income is set at a breezy $171,000.

It’s a fascinating graph filled with huge spikes that tower over the lowly millions in far more precarious economic situations. Sigh…

Source: Sheldon Pincus via Flickr

From the ground level, New York City is sort of an infinite space with unlimited destinations, all connected by endless streets and filled with millions of people. From the sky, the scope of the city is reduced, allowing for a single flyby to take in all its wonder in a matter of minutes. Its massive population is rendered nearly invisible under the shadows of its colossal skyscrapers.

That’s why I find these aerial movies of the city so mesmerizing. While we’ve all seen flybys of Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty, it’s rare that we get to take in Southern Brooklyn’s glory from a bird’s eye view. While there isn’t much of it available on YouTube  I managed to find a couple of beautiful short film flybys for you to enjoy.

This video was uploaded by Knightmare6 and features awesome slow swooping flybys of Seagate, Coney Island, Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay. You get great views of the beach and attractions on Coney including the Wonder Wheel and the Parachute Jump.

This video features a cool and relaxing trip over the Verrazano and Hudson River, past lower Manhattan. The clip is set to the dulcet tones of City Never Sleeps by Death Ships, what a spooky name. Thanks to Carl Tyler for uploading it.

This is a short and sweet clip of the Coney Island coastline. The shaky cam attached to the craft here really gives me a sense of hovering in the sky going along for an adventure. The video was produced by Hector Mosley of the US Army Corp of Engineers.

A warning first before playing this one. The volume is a little loud and ragged, so make sure your speakers aren’t set too high. This video is still worth watching because someone attached a Tony Hawk Helmet Cam to a Firebird Freedom RC plane and set it loose over the coast of Brighton Beach. The video is courtesy of sebasitsme, and that person did a fine job of dropping in references to famous landmarks like the Verrazano Bridge, Coney Island and Staten Island as they jet their model plane high off the coastline.

This last clip is less Brooklyn focused but really cool nonetheless. Skycamusa uploaded this beautiful footage of New York City which was amazingly taken from an RC helicopter. Set to the Chemical Brothers song Galvanize, the little RC copter scopes shots of the beautiful Coney Island shore, Astroland and my dearly departed Shea Stadium in Queens.

I hope you enjoyed this virtual trip through Brooklyn’s southern skies, and if you have any new aerial videos of the area, please share them with us.

Photo by Caitlin Teal Price via featureshoot.com

We came across this awesome collection of photographs consisting of Coney Island and Brighton Beach sand lovers luxuriating in the hot summer sun.

The pictures were shot by Washington, D.C.-based photographer Caitlin Teal Price and the collection features a wide variety of sun worshipers of all shapes and sizes enjoying some heavy duty doses of vitamin D.

Not all of Price’s models are as conventionally fetching as the Uma Thurman lookalike seen above, but I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder…

Caitlin Teal Price via featureshoot.com

Right?

Caitlin Teal Price via featureshoot.com

RIGHT??? Seriously – bold, Speedo guy… real bold.

Great stuff, Caitlin. To see the full gallery head over to her website.

The Brooklyn Philharmonic’s “Brighton Beach Series” — which will not be taking place in Brighton Beach — will feature the family workshop, “A Bad Workman Blames His Tools” at the Edith and Carl Marks Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst, 7802 Bay Parkway, March 3 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

A description of the event from organizers:

Russian folk music was born in a rich peasant culture, centuries ago and 5,000 miles away, by artists who created music using whatever resources were at their disposal, from wood blocks to washboards to tablespoons. Lack of proper tools held no sway over creativity of the human spirit! The remarkable and distinctive folk music they created had an enormous impact beginning with orchestral music of the 19th century and expanding on into the music of today. The public is invited to join charismatic teaching artists and Brooklyn Phil musicians in a hands-on discovery of these creative traditions.

The event is free of charge, and you can RSVP by going here. For further information, call (718) 488-5700, e-mail info@bphil.org or go to www.bphil.org.

This is a paid announcement from My US Concert, which is presenting Burlesque at Brighton’s historic Millennium Theater on May 18 and 19. Tickets start at $35 and can be purchased here.

Audiences will experience the art of the tease as critically acclaimed Quinn Lemley stars in her new hit touring production, Burlesque to Broadway.

Along with her sexy sidekicks – and a smoking 10-piece big band – Lemley takes audiences on a journey from the early days of underground burlesque clubs to mainstream acceptance by the Broadway establishment and beyond.

This unique theatrical concert honors rule-breaking icons, such as Sally Rand, Gypsy Rose Lee and Mae West, and celebrates their ascent as they danced on the edge of the law, laid bare the double standards of the era, and fueled a movement that would influence divas for the next century.

“When people think of burlesque they often think of striptease,” said Lemley. “And while that’s certainly part of the fun, the burlesque movement of the 20s and 30s had much broader cultural influence.” The women of burlesque drove trends in fashion and comedy, and even served as the launch pad for the television variety show. “From Cher to Lady Gaga, we continue to see the influence of the burlesque movement in everything from music to fashion to dance.”

Despite its cultural relevance, this show is no history lesson. Song-and-dance fun will fill the theater as the as the cast belts out unforgettable classics such as ‘Hey Big Spender,’ ”Let Me Entertain You,’ and “She’s A Lady” while they dance to Merete Muenter’s provocative bump-and-grind choreography.

The highly anticipated limited-run will be presented two nights only, on May 18 and 19 at 8:00 p.m. at Brooklyn’s historic Millennium Theater.

Tickets start at $35 and can be purchased here.

This is a paid sale announcement from My US Concert.  If you own a business and would like to announce a special offer to tens of thousands of locals, e-mail us at advertising [at] sheepsheadbites [dot] com.

We received the following e-mail this morning. If you have any information, please help out:

My name is Masha, I wanted to let your blog know about my mother in law who has been missing since Tuesday (4/3/12) night.

Her name is Ludmila Tulman, well known in the Russian community as the previous owner of Restaurants Stolovoya/Pelmennaya on Ave U and Da-I-Net on 86th Street.

She is about 5’7, 160lbs, short red/brown hair, light eyes. Last seen on Brighton.  Left home at around 12am and never returned.   I am attaching a picture, if there is anything you can do to help us find her, it would be greatly appreciated.

You can contact me via email (mashatulman@gmail.com) or cell 917-699-7576.

Source: Nejflo via Flickr

A National Geographic listing of the country’s top ten boardwalks has designated Coney Island’s own Riegelmann Boardwalk as our nation’s number two.

The list crowned Atlantic City, whose own 1870 wooden walkway predates Coney’s by over 50 years, as the reigning Baron of Boardwalks.

Other beaches on the list include Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Ocean City, Maryland; and Venice Beach, California – which came in at numbers 3, 4, and 5 respectively.

There was no word on whether an asterisk* would be added once the Coney Island Plastic/Concretewalk is complete.

Bye bye boards. (Source: Khomille via Flickr)

Yesterday the Public Design Commission approved a plan to replace a large section of Coney Island’s iconic wooden boardwalk with a combination of plastic and concrete. Continue Reading »