Two new Hotels on 39th street proceeding on schedule

I had always suspected this was going to be a hotel. Now after speaking to one of the workers at the site I can confirm that 517 39th street will be a hotel. According to the person I spoke to completion is expected in about six months or as soon as the city issues a Certificate of Occupancy.Another building (below) diagonally across the street  at 536 39th street will also be a hotel though the building is far far smaller. I am not familiar with it buit suspect it will open before the location at 571.

With all this hotel activity in the neighborhood perhaps we should be looking into as a community of some ways to get some of the traveler and tourist dollars that these locations will generate. We can be looking forward to some changes in the neighborhood the economy permitting.

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Store of the Day: Tita and Tito Day Care

This building is between 39th  street and 38th on 4th Avenue. I wondered who in his right mind would paint their house pink and white. I had noticed it before but only now have I realized that it was actually a business. In this particular case it's a day care center. In any case, this is neither an endorsement or promotion. I have no clue about them. I just thought the building stood out and I snapped it.



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Stores of the day: Open 24 hour laundry laundromats

Recently someone inquired as to where one could find 24 hour laundries in Sunset Park and vicinity. I am including two here today and will post a separate post later for the Clean Rite laundries in the nabe. The one above, Best Wash Laundry is actually located out of the neighborhood by one block, most of it's customers  however, are all from Sunset Park. It also happens to be the laundry I use when I have a need to do laundry at 3 AM. It is located at 39th street and New Utrecht Avenue right on the corner. It is a fairly large laundry with a lot of machines. There are change machines for quarters and multiple folding tables for your stuff. It also has parking for four cars up front and there is plenty of parking on the street as well at that time.

This location is one on 46th street and 7th Avenue. It's half he size of the one above and only recently as far as I know has decided to remain open 24 hours. Take your pick. These are two near where Live that I am aware of. If any of yo know f any others in the area, by all means drop us a  note and we will include hem. We will be updating this particular thread as new information comes in.




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Comfort Inn all set, open and ready to go..

The Comfort Inn on 38th street is open for business. Located by the 38th street exit ramp of the Gowanus and only two blocks from the 36th street subway station it is in an ideal location to service out of towners and provide cheap inexpensive hotel rooms. Via the D train from 36th street it is a mere 25 minutes from midtown Manhattan. The well carpeted establishment has a good feel of a prime time Hotel. It also features a breakfast area on the second floor that could easily double as a small restaurant and dinning area should they decide to go that route. I was allowed to take a peek at the place. Perhaps in a week or two I will be able to shoot the rooms so people can take a peek and see the place and get an idea of the accommodations. Let's welcome them to the neighborhood and hope they bring more visitors to the neighborhood and help the local economy continue to survive. The Hotel is owned by the same folks who also own the two Sleep Inns in the area. The Sleep in on 22nd street and 3rd Avenue opened only two months ago and is already doing a bustling business accommodating both tourists and locals who need reasonably priced accommodations  when compared to Manhattan hotel prices.

The small breakfast area on the second floor..

Management feverishly working to get the place ready to take in customers.






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Store of The Day: Arnold's Bicycle Shop

Arnold's has been a fixture in the neighborhood as long as I remember. It was a totally different neighborhood when he started out. This is the second location he moved into many years ago. He has fixed a lot of my bikes over the years. I still cycle 20 miles a day and when I need something that breaks on them I usually go to Arnold's if I am close by. Arnold likes to put the bikes together and fix them and he has gained a kind of reputation far and wide. He may not have the fanciest bike shop around, but he doesn't charge you the prices those other guys do either. I recently needed break pads and a shop in Bay Ridge wanted $13 to replace them. Arnold put them on for $4.75. he is reasonably priced on most things and I think he does it for the love of bikes more than anything else. He is near retirement age and when he does something will be missing from the neighborhood. If you haven't stopped by yet, then you should. He's on 8th Ave. between 42 and 43rd streets. Drop in and say hello and tell him you saw his shop on the blog. He's open mondays to saturdays till about 6.


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Mark your calendars, commemoration of the Battle of Brooklyn Aug. 29, 2010

As some of you may know the Battle of Brooklyn otherwise known in other circles as the Battle of Long Island (some people forget Brooklyn is part of Long Island), or at least some important parts of it took place nearby in what is now Greenwood Cemetery. Although the Brits won that engagement the holding actions of our patriots in those early days of the revolution allowed our General George Washington to escape and survive to continue on the fight. Had he been captured we would instead be celebrating the holidays our British masters would have imposed on us.

You can catch all the details at the Green-wood Cemetery website: they are reproduced below in case their site goes down.

Battle of Brooklyn Commemoration Ceremonies

In memory of the brave patriots who fought for our country’s independence in this first battle after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Part of Brooklyn Battle Week
.
FREE EVENTS:

12:30 PM - Revolutionary War Re-Enactors will relive a portion of the Battle of Brooklyn in Green-Wood’s Meadow and the surrounding area near Green- Wood’s main entrance.
1:30 PM - The Green-Wood Historic Fund and United States Merchant Marine Academy sponsor the Annual Battle of Brooklyn Parade. Meet at the main gate for a parade to Battle Hill led by George M. Cohan’s own, The Regimental Band of the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
2:00 PM - Battle of Brooklyn Commemorative Ceremony honoring the Patriots who fought the first battle of our new nation on this sacred ground 234 years ago.

This is a FREE event. Reservations are not necessary.
Sunday, August 29, 2010 at 10:00 AM Location: The Green-Wood Cemetery

08/29/2010, 10:00 AM

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Store of the Day: Milan's Restaurant

Eating is getting to be a real adventure in Sunset Park with new eateries opening all over the place. Every day a new cuisine arrives in the nabe. Milan's is different. It's been on the same spot for well over twenty years. It's the usual story of an immigrants dream to open his own restaurant. I have written about Milan's before. It is a real homey spot to eat traditional slavic East European fare. And while many of his customers are emigre Czechs and Slovaks he gets a fair amount of the rest of us. Like all local businesses he is struggling to survive these economic times. So, if you're in the mood for goulash, by all means give him a visit. Let's keep our local economy going. They are located on 5th avenue and 22nd street. Don't leave your money in Manhattan, spend it here in Brooklyn..



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Eatery of the Day: La Cuarta Peruvian Restaurant

To contrast with our posting of Popeye's we present La Cuarta, they make Peruvian style rotisserie chicken as part of their menu. Peruvians are to chicken what Argentinians are to steak. If you're tired of the KFC, Kennedy's, Popeye's greasy fried chicken then it's time to give roasted chicken done right a try. The reviews it received at Yelp and Urban Spoon are a bit mixed. In things that are a matter of taste you can only find out by trying. They are located on 4th Avenue between 26th and 27th streets.





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Store of the day: Popeye's Chicken of Sunset Park

It's been open about a year and appears to do a bristling business. Located on the corner of of 64th street and 8th avenue right at the border of Dyker Heights. It's part of the Popeye's restaurant chain offering the standard chicken fare. It's too far from either KFC or Kennedy's to give them any competition and it appears that their target demographics is the Chinese community. At least now you know where there is a Popeye Chicken place in Sunset Park. Yes, they do speak English at the counter.




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Store of day: Y & L Gift Shop

Located off the avenue on 59th street and 8th this is a rather eclectic small shop of Chinese Bric-a-Brac and other curios. It more reasonably priced than similar stores. Chinese vases, dragons, ancient coins etc. Just what mom ordered to decorate your office with Chinese themed oddities. Drop in and say hello to them.


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Store of the day: Cafe Barakah

Cafe Barakah has been around for well over a year. It provides Wi Fi for it's customers and allows you to sit in comfort while you cruise the web and sip your coffee. It is open every day and caters to everyone in our community. It is located on 4th avenue and 21st street.They have an open mike night on Saturdays though I am not sure if it is all weekends. To be more unusual the place is run by two Arab women entrepreneurs who are trying to make a go at it. The place really deserves a bit more attention and we all know we need more Wi-Fi spots in the neighborhood, we are certainly lacking in that area compared to our adjoining neighborhoods. So, give them a visit, if you like the spot maybe you can make it a new hangout while you are cruising the net. They are always running promotions and other things like grls night or open mike night etc. You'll have to drop by there and inquire what they have planned next.



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Store of the day: Blue Moon Bay Internet Tea & cafe

Typical chinese internet cafe. No Wifi, but if you don't have your own computer it doesn't matter. It caters to a gaming crowd but you can rent a computer by the hour. Non members pay $2 an hour, members pay $1.50 an hour. Membership is a measly $5 so it's a no brainer if you intend to use the computers there a lot. It's Located on 58th street right off of 8th avenue..I will be posting about other internet cafes in the area as well.


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Eatery of the day: Dumplings House on 53rd.

I finally got around to trying out the dumpling place on 53rd street off 8th avenue..It's much smaller inside than the other places in my last two reviews. When I was there I was thee only customer so I got a seat by the window and had my lunch. The dumplings are slightly larger than elsewhere. I found them to be just as good as the others. The sauce they serve at the table is of the vinaigrette type, so if you want just regular soy sauce you will have to ask for it. The place caters to the mostly Chinese residents of the area and none of the people there speak English. Next time you're in the area try them out...



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Is this another hotel?

As this building nears completion it peaks our curiosity. The new building located on the corner of 26th street and 4th Avenue appears to have the architectural making of either an office building or a hotel. Hoteliers in the neighborhood to whom I have shown the picture are of the opinion that it is probably a hotel. The postings at the site give no indication what type of certificate of occupancy has been issued if any. We can only speculate for the time being and will have to wait until completion to see what it turns out to be.



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Store of the day: Sneaker Warehouse

There is a rather interesting story behind this store. When Costco first opened and before they took over the extra parking lot on 2nd Avenue the guy who is now at this location used to sell high end sneakers on weekends off of a van. He gathered a following by word of mouth who came over on weekends to see his wares. One day he disappeared and a number of weekends went by when a sign appeared announcing his new location. That was a few years back and he has been at the corner of 58 and 2nd avenue ever since.

UPDATE LINK!!!!:

• Closings: Sneaker Warehouse No More

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Store of the day: Designer Men's Outlet

On the corner of 58th street on 2nd Avenue. Near Lutheran medical Center. They have been there for well over one year and appear to be surviving. Most of their customers get there by word of mouth.




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Store of the day: Subway on 2nd Avenue

This Subway is relatively new and located @ 54th street and 2nd Avenue. The location may seem illogical but it's located near Lutheran Hospital and it's probably intended to cater to the 24 hour cycle there. You hear that? 24 hours!! Now I know where to go when I get the munchies at 3 AM..

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Coming soon: Sunrise Family Pharmacy

Located on the corner of 64th street and 4th Avenue is a new pharmacy that will be opening any day now.I must admit that the out of the way location is an odd place to put a pharmacy as you would have to cross 4th avenue to get there from the rest of the neighborhood. If my memory serves me correctly the spot was once held by a plumbing supply store that had been there for many years. On the side is a dead end street and the timing may jot be auspicious since they will soon begin construction of an HOV ramp there to augment the present ramp going into the Gowanus. I suspect the plans are to serve a niche population, perhaps Russians (notice the Russian Cyrillic word AIITEKA for Apothecary on the awning). This begs the next question, do these people know something we don't? Are Russians moving into the nabe as our Polish population is declining?  Who knows? The place is rather large for a Pharmacy, at least larger than most family Pharmacies.  They also have some hefty competition with a large Rite Aid located on 62 and 4th. Ave.. Well, we wish them luck and will be making a visit to the place when they open. They do have one thing in their favor worth crossing the Avenue for, they do copies on their copy machine for 5¢, now that's a good thing.



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AM New York does Sunset Park

The newspaper AM New York did a writeup on Sunset Park yesterday. You can find the entire paper in PDF format here and the article starts on page 18. Only one problem with the article is that the reporter didn't research the borders of Sunset Park. Sunset Park goes North to the Prospect Expressway and the Eastern border goes to 9th Avenue not 8th. The borders were meant to coincide with the zip codes and 11232, for example goes to 9th Avenue. Other than that, it makes for interesting reading..



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Store of the day: Chic and Cheap Designer Closeouts

Chic and Cheap on 61st street right off of 5th Avenue is one of those places you have to know is there. Unfortunately the owner will be relocating to Carol Gardens when her l;ease is up in less than a year. But for the mean time it will still be here selling both used and overstock clothing to the public. The eclectic store stocks items for both male and female and if you haven't been there maybe it's time to drop them a visit and say hello. Who knows? Maybe she'll change her mind about renewing her lease come next July and decide to stay if more Sunset Parkers know she's there.




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