Gloomy forecasts of Sunset Park at Brooklyn Ink, Hotels and Restaurants

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Over at Brooklynink.com there are two stories concerning Sunset Park with a rather negative spin on the local economy. One is a post regarding restaurants and focused largely on the eateries of our borough. The other one regards Hotels, which as some of you may know have recently made a splash in our nabe.

I generally don't share in the doom and gloom. We are nowhere near a depression nor are we anywhere near the steep economic straights that we were during the Carter era. All the statistics and data bear that out. Even during the depths of the depression unemployment never got above 25% and we haven't even hit 8% yet. Our GDP has shrunk by a mere 1% and people are still going about their business of making a living. The problem however, has to do with perception. In economics as in politics perception is reality. When enough people do nothing else bu spread doom and gloom as a result of their own agendas it becomes catchy and can create panic. It becomes what economist Alfred Khan used to call "the tyranny of small decisions". When you have the president of this country talking down the economy and everyone in the mainstream press parroting the same line it can create a self fulfilling prophecy. If only people would just ignore the bad news and go about our business as usual, we would in effect create our own good news, regardless what the idiots in Washington think. Unfortunately, life is not so simple and we become the unwitting victims of the morons that rule us because chaos and instability is to their advantage so they can fleece us.

NY Post Calls Sunset Park Crappy neighborhood (Gone to the dogs)

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The New York Post had an article on doggy poo in the city. Apparently the fact that tickets for not picking up the sh*t of your significant other have spurred an article in the Post on the various nabes in the city. They don't appear to have more important stories to go after. According to the Post;

|"Brooklyn pet owners, who live in the second-worst borough for doggy doo, have been slapped with 224 fines in 2008, up 47 percent from the year before. Sunset Park, Park Slope and Brownsville are the three top Fido-fouled areas."

I would have to instinctively disagree, unless a lot of dog aficionados have moved into the nabe we have always had a low per capita ownership of dogs here. Hispanics by and large are not big dog owners, neither are the chinese, the Vietnamese think they're food. It is expensive to keep a dog, you gotta feed them and house them and care for them when they get sick. Park Slope I could understand since those folks have higher incomes, but Sunset Park? Besides having all the porn shops dumped here by the city is it possible we are also being targeted by the poop police? I frequent Bay Ridge quite a bit and I can bet my last dollar they probably have way more dogs per capita than we do. One would assume their ticket rates would be higher than ours, but maybe the poop police doesn't want to scope out the Ridge on account they have more political muscle than we do. Have these guys ever walked along Shore Road? Otherwise I would think they would make the list. I suspect something really smells and it isn't doggy poop.


[where: 11232]
[where: 11220]
[where: 11215]
[where: 11218]
[where: 11219]

Relay for Life Cancer event May 30, 2009

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2009 Relay For Life of Sunset Park
May 30, 2009 at I.S. 220 Pershing School


Join us for the 4th Annual
Relay For Life of Sunset Park
Kick Off Celebration

Saturday, March 7, 2009
Our Lady of Perpetual Help
60th Street - btwn 5th & 6th Avenues
(look for the Purple Balloons!)
Brooklyn, NY 11220

Event Website

R.S.V.P. to 800-ACS-2345

Or contact Jen Silvester

718-622-2492 ext. 5124

Bay Ridge has it's own event as well on June 13, check out the event website HERE.

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[where: 11232]
[where: 11220]
[where: 11215]
[where: 11218]
[where: 11219]

The demise of the Sunset News paper?

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I don't know how many people in the neighborhood noticed, but the free Sunset News newspaper which for many years was a source of local news and coverage seems to have disappeared. Or at least the title seems to have been incorporated into a strictly advertising rag by the same publisher tilted the Bay Ridge Home Reporter and Sunset News. The new free format and manifestation has no reporting of any kind whatsoever. There is of course, a paid paper The Home Reporter that covers most of southern Brooklyn, but not Sunset Park exclusively. In it's heyday the Sunset News with the small staff of reporters provided locals with pertinent news about local politicians and issues vital to the community. The weekly publication also afforded local businesses a venue for advertising to their local community. It had a print run of 30,000 copies, though it's hard to guess how many were actually read. I suppose the economics of publishing a print newspaper in this age of the Internet was no longer feasible. I assume there was also an issue as to whether the advertising was effective considering the expense. If my memory serves me a one page ad for a one week run was well over $300. There are much cheaper and more effective alternatives these days than that. Falling advertising revenues and rising costs of publishing may have had a hand in it's imminent demise. Competition also may have played a role as there are other free publications covering news like the Brooklyn Courier. The problem is of course, that they do not cover the nabe exclusively as the Sunset News did and in addition have poor circulation in this area.

We are sorry to see the paper dissappear, I assume that the reporting staff has been laid off and is unlikely to be replaced. I would hope that the creation of this vacuum will be filled by some alternative and we will once again have news coverage of local events. In the meantime it appears that we bloggers in the area will have to act as citizen reporters and hold our local politicians feet to the fire by making sure that our neighbors are well informed of activities pertaining to our local area.




[where: 11232]
[where: 11220]
[where: 11215]
[where: 11218]
[where: 11219]

Kings Hotel already on Expedia, other sites

Kings Hotel is already listed on Expedia and it's not even open yet. It also has a listing at calhotels.us with a starting book date of February 27, so we must assume that is the opening date when it will be expected to be in business. The listing at Hotels.com has a rate function as well, but does not work, I suppose because it's not open yet. So far we don't know the rates. At least we do know the following so far. It has 5 floors and 50 rooms available. It has Karaoke which it touts on the websites. I suppose that we will have to wait till it actually opens to find out the rates. It also advertises internet connections. I would hope so, this is after all the 21st century.

[where: 820 39th street, Brooklyn, NY 11232]
[where: 11232]

Happenings: Fastelavn (Danish Mardi Gras)

Celebrate Danish Mardi Gras

Dress in Costume,hit the barrel, eat delicious Danish Food, cream buns for dessert.

All inclusive price. $25 for adults, $15 ages 7-17, $10 under 7

Sponsored by the Scandinavian East Coast Museum.


WHERE: Danish Athletic Club
735- 65th street


WHEN: Sunday February 22, 2009 From 3 to 7 PM

For more information call: Victoria 718.748.5950




[where: 11232]
[where: 11220]
[where: 11215]
[where: 11218]
[where: 11219]

Chinese New Year Celebrations Pulled off Without a Hitch

The Year of the Ox Celebrations got pulled off without a hitch. Paul Mak who runs BCAA always the gracious host allowed me behind the barricades as he does every year to get a great vantage point to shoot pictures. This year the number of dignitaries who showed up made a who's who list of local politicians and their cronies. Our own Sarah Gonzales was there, as well as newly elected Congress critter McMahon. Congress critter Anthony Weiner was there as was state senator Marty Golden, Councilmen Vincent Gentile and Reccia. Our Borough President Marty Markowitz was there as well, always aspiring to be a comedian. I forgot whether it was McMahon or Gentile who mentioned every neighborhood except ours in his speech. Someone else out there who was there will have to remind me. The biggest guest to show up of course, was our Mayor, term unlimited Bloomberg. I managed to shoot probably some 400 shots and got some ten minutes of video (my camera doubles as a video camera). Time permitting I will post that at a future date. In the meantime, I have extracted a sampling of the photographically orgasmic scene that this turns out every year, enjoy. When time permits I will try to upload some of the bounty to my Flicker account so other can view them.

[where: 11232]

[where: 11220]

[where: 11215]

[where: 11218]

[where: 11219]