Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Employers should look at an applicant's character, not their credit score, Lander said.
Should shaky credit history be a basis for denying a job to a qualified candidate? According to Councilman Brad Lander, the answer is a resounding "no." Lander, D-Park Slope, along with Councilman James Sanders, Jr., D-Queens, on Tuesday introduced legislation that would prohibit employers from running credit checks on job applicants, calling it "discrimination." “At a time of continued economic hardship, employers should not deny people jobs based on their credit history,” Lander said. “Whether from catastrophic medical expenses, death of a spouse, or predatory lending, many New Yorkers have poor credit through little or no fault of their own. Recent graduates with spiraling student debt need an equal chance to get a job, if they are …
Muni-Meter bill would allow unexpired time to be used at other locations
The New York City Council is voting Tuesday on a number of issues affecting New Yorkers, including a change in parking laws. At issue are the following: The arrival of Muni-Meters in Park Slope was met with criticism from some motorists. Even after some rule changes, lawmakers at the state and local level felt more could be done. A similar Muni-Meter bill was previously brought up in the State Assembly. A man parking his car and buying a parking ticket from a Muni-Meter on Seventh Avenue said that he likes the bill that would allow him to transfer time to another location. “I think this is a good thing, I never liked the fact that I had time left and the money I spent just went to the city without being used,” said Jason Crew, the owner of…
After being closed for a full year due to renovations, the playground in Washington Park is now open and full of brand new playground equipment like a water cannon, a fountain, more swings and other fun equipment.
Just over one year ago, the Department of Parks and Recreation was just breaking ground at J.J. Byrne Playground in Washington Park on Fifth Avenue to start the renovations. But now, as of Friday, May 11, the playground is open to the public and Park Slope kids are running around in the fountain and through the “water cannon” like no time has passed. But, the aspect of most importance in this playground is that it is nestled next to the Old Stone House—a historic building that was the site of the Battle of Brooklyn in August 1776 and is now a colonial museum. The Battle of Brooklyn (also known as the Battle of Long Island) was the first mêlée during the American Revolutionary War after the Declaration of Independence was signed. It is also…
Monday, May 14, 2012
Is a 2 a.m. last call too late for the 18,000-seat arena? Is a 10 p.m. cutoff time too early?
The answer to this question may help keep the surrounding neighborhoods more quiet: At what time should the Barclays Center stop serving alcohol? Last week, Community Board 6 voted to recommend an absolute cut-off time for all alcohol sales at 2 a.m. during all events at the arena. However the recommendation, which will go to the New York State Liquor Authority, came with two conditions that follow the policy already in place for the 40 NBA games: But, BrooklynSpeaks , a coalition of civic organizations surrounding the arena, has a petition that requests all alcoholic beverage sales be cut off at 10 p.m. at the absolute latest in all areas of the arena, reflecting area residents' fear of drunk pedestrians and drivers flooding the streets…
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Phase I of the Department of Transportation’s Bike Share will not include Park Slope.
Slopers who are excited to have a quick ride on the new blue “Citi Bike” will have to wait a year until the Department of Transportation’s Bike Share program comes to Park Slope. But, if you can’t wait, you can go to Manhattan, Williamsburg, Fort Green, Clinton Hill or Bed-Stuy. The city’s DOT released a draft map of the first locations in this summer’s rollout of a portion of their 600 Bike Share docking stations. Come Phase II, which will debuted spring 2013, the rest of the Citi Bike docking stations will pop up in neighborhoods that were not included in Phase I, including Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Prospect Heights and Crown Heights in Brooklyn, the Upper West and East Sides in Manhattan and Sunnyside, Queens. The installation of bike …
Friday, May 11, 2012
The battle between Kemistry and the community has risen to local government: Councilman Levin, Assemblywoman Millman and State Senator Montgomery all have sent letters to the SLA asking them not to approve the liquor license.
The Barclays Center is coming, and bars, clubs and lounges are hoping to get a piece of the financial pie as game and concert-goers leave the arena looking for a place to drink. But one particular place that is currently being built, Kemistry Lounge on Flatbush between Prospect Place and St Marks Avenue, has been met with intense disapproval. At first it was just individual residents of Prospect Place who opposed the not-yet-open “upscale” restaurant/lounge because it has a glass façade on their street. Then they formed a neighborhood organization, Prospect Place Neighbors (PPN), to make their opposition more cohesive and concentrated. Eventually, after two months and two meetings, Community Board 6 voted to oppose their liquor license …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
At the general board meeting on Wednesday, CB6 approved the cutoff time with two conditions: During all NBA games last call is at the end of the third quarter and alcohol sales cease an hour before the end of all other events.
When should the Barclays Center's 18,000 attendees stop drinking alcohol during events? During a Community Board 6 general board meeting on Wednesday night, members voted to recommend an absolute cut-off time for all alcohol sales at 2 a.m. during all events at the arena, which is scheduled to open on September 28. However, CB6’s recommendation, which will go to the New York State Liquor Authority, came with two conditions that follow the policy for events and NBA games: But the decision, which took a couple times to count and recount before the final vote of 21 in favor and nine opposed was established, CB6 considered the fact that the arena will have 57 points of sale. Some members said that alcohol should not be sold past 10 p.m., …
The group is calling for a 10 p.m. cutoff time for all alcohol sales at the arena during all events.
Last call! Get your last beer! In the latest development regarding Levy Restaurants' liquor license application, which will be the Barclays Center’s food and liquor vendor, BrooklynSpeaks created a petition that requests all alcoholic beverage sales be cut off at 10 p.m. at the absolute latest in all areas of the arena. "Barclays Center has applied for a license that would allow it to keep serving alcohol up to the 4 a.m. state limit in an 18,000-seat arena," the petition reads on BrooklynSpeaks' website. "Sure, the NBA has a policy that requires liquor sales to end after the third quarter. But basketball only accounts for 40 of the expected 220 events to be held at the arena each year. And Barclays’ application isn’t even limited to …
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Move eliminates need for dreaded "stack parking," but critics say the ESDC needs to do more to protect area residents.
The state has halved the number of required parking spaces at the Barclay’s Center surface lot, enabling developer Forest City Ratner to throw out its plan for the loud and slow “stack-parking." The technique uses hydraulic lifts to load as many as four cars on vertical structures. But the process has been criticized as being loud and tedious, slowing traffic to a crawl when the 18,000-seat arena opens in the fall. At Wednesday night’s forum with Atlantic Yards-area stakeholders at Brooklyn Borough Hall, Empire State Development Corporation head Kenneth Adams said the state organization has agreed to reduce the number of mandated spaces from 1,100 to just under 550 at the lot located between Carlton, Vanderbilt, Dean and Pacific, …
Funding increase hinges on teacher evaluation agreement, mayor says.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the final executive budget on his watch could increase school spending by about $300 million without a tax hike. If he gets his way, that is. The main beneficiary of the budget is the public school system, which would see a funding increase from $13.3 billion from fiscal year 2012 to $13.6 billion for 2013. But it comes with a catch. Unless the United Federation of Teachers agrees to a teacher evaluation system, "amendments to the education budget will be necessary to compensate for the loss of funding," the mayor's office said in a release. In a statement, UFT president Michael Mulgrew praised Speaker Christine Quinn and the rest of the City Council's efforts to increase the number of teachers. However, on the…
Chicken Underwear
7:18 am on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
"A bill which would allow Muni-Meter time purchased at one location to be transferable to another." But you can buy cheep time at a long term lot and then use it to park in a 60 minute spot in midtown all day. more ›