across the park

Congestion Pricing and PLG

There's been a lot of chatter recently on neighborhood listservs about congestion pricing.  Before launching into our predictions of how congestion pricing ($8 to drive into Manhattan below 86th St) would impact PLG, let's revisit a traffic control revolution of the past.

Streetsblog posted a great piece yesterday on NYC's original traffic control "scandal": parking meters.  Seems at the time drivers felt like the meters were an infringement on their civil rights and akin to an unjust tax on drivers.  In fact, parking meters were chided as downright un-American, a perpetually overused term that basically means "I don't like it AND I'm morally superior."

Well, we seem to have gotten beyond that one, haven't we?  But we digress...

If Bloomberg gets his way and it costs $8 to drive into Manhattan, what's the likely impact on PLG?

If there are fewer cars driving to Manhattan, there will probably be fewer cars on some of Brooklyn's more hideous thoroughfares - like Flatbush Ave.  Under the plan, areas with limited subway access would receive expedited bus lines, provding folks an alternative to driving up Flatbush (or Bedford).  We also do not think that the B/Q trains would be any more packed during the morning commute, as it's hard to imagine that anyone with access to the train currently chooses to drive - ridership, therefore, would stay essentially the same or increase negligibly.

We do not think that people would drive to PLG, park and then get on the train.  Parking is limited around here, so anyone who wants to park and ride in PLG is hedging their bets.

There are broader issues associated with congestion pricing, most of which are socioeconomic.  Be that as it may, we think that the impact of congestion pricing on PLG would be minimal... and a Manhattan with fewer cars sounds just delightful to us.

Axiom Addicts Live!

Catch PLG's own Axiom Addicts at Wicked Willy's!

When: Friday, August 10, 7pm - 9pm

Where: 149 Bleecker Street

As if you needed any more reason to go to the show, this show features no cover charge.  For more info visit www.axiomaddicts.com.

71st Precinct National Night Out

Haven't found time to share your appreciation with the men and women of the 71st precinct?  The National Night Out is a perfect opportunity to meet and greet our local officers and give them the pat on the back they deserve considering recent events.

When: Tuesday, August 7, 5pm - 10pm

Where: Maple St. between Bedford and Rogers Aves.

You don't get too many chances to mingle with the officers who dedicate their professional lives to policing this district.  We suspect that getting to know residents is one of the things that makes police work meaningful and more enjoyable.  It seems this event is more than a nice gesture - it's an effort to make a difficult (and sometimes tragic) job more fulfilling.

Go.

Less Roti, More Real Estate

It was with sadness that we kissed Lenny's Roti goodbye a few months ago.  We wondered what the fate of the old storefront would be.  We noticed that the tiny hole in the wall was undergoing renovations, and our curiousity was futher piqued.

Lenny's has transformed into a real estate office.  Except for the photocopied ads up in the window, we never would have known - the new proprietor lacks signage altogether (still has the old Lenny's sign, actually).

Access Point, Excitement Gone

As we already knew, THE former hot spot for internet access, Access Point, is no more.  We noticed a crew getting their work on in the old space, and we pondered what was brewing.

Would it be a bar?  Nope.  A hole in the wall takeout joint?  Nope.

It's a law office.  Yawn.

If you're in need of serious (or not so serious, we image) personal injury consultation, head on down to Sporn & Associates.

Tell them ATP sent ya.  Snicker.

Senseless Death in PLG

Officer Russell Timoshenko, 23, died yesterday due to complications from the gunshot wounds he sustained last Monday on Lefferts Ave. near Rogers Ave.  He was a familiar face in the neighborhood - we recall seeing him at K-Dog and putting his best foot forward as a cop in a city that is generally not so easy to police.

Possibly due to his age, familiarity and proximity of the shooting to our home, Officer Timoshenko's death makes us extremely angry and sad.  He was too young, earnest and the events leading to his death unfolded much too close to our home for us to pretend that it happened in another dimension or put the event into a space in our brains where death is comprised of statistics.

Around the same time of the shooting, we learned that an acquaintance from college died in Iraq.  Again, another earnest, young person killed senselessly.

In our minds, the two deaths are related by the unfortunate reality of indifference.  We've got many levels of scum in this country, inflicting callous, contrived and ultimately self-serving actions on others.  The narcissism and interpersonal defects involved in such situations are palpable: for one president, the rush comes from inciting a bullshit war through manipulative rhetoric to keep raking in the black gold, without which he's just another guy.  For two asshole thieves, the high comes from stealing a BMW and carrying a loaded weapon, presumably to make an impression and later get some bling.

Timoshenko proudly served this neighborhood and died for utterly senseless reasons, as do many young people in Iraq.  Regardless of the sentence handed down when Timoshenko's murder case goes to trial, there will be no justice. 

It makes us sick to our stomach.

If anyone is clear on what people can do to support the family and precinct of the fallen officer, please post a comment or email us.

 

Craigslist Tidbits

These two PLG properties appeared on Craigslist recently. 

The image on the left represents 133 Maple, listed for $1.095M.  It looks fantastic from the outside, but we're suspicious of listings that show nothing of the interior.  This also isn't the largest house in the hood, as it's four bedrooms - in these houses, that fourth bedroom is typically best used as a closet.

The house on the right looks like it is somewhere on either Midwood St. or Rutland Rd.  It's significantly larger than the Maple St. house - it's also significantly more expensive at $1.5M.

Interestingly enough, there are two postings for the house on the right.  The price quoted in the other ad is $1.495M.  That's not the sort of sloppiness we would look for if we were trying to unload a property worth that kind of dough.  But then again, we also wouldn't post photos that show piles of dirty dishes and lawn furniture packed into the corners of home...

A Couple Changes

So - due to life events (positive, thankfully) we're going to change how we manage ATP slightly.  Your comments will no longer be moderated (held until approved), but you will have to log in using a typekey ID in order to post.

To get a typekey ID, click here.

Posts might come a little slow for the next couple weeks, but we're still here.  Alive and kicking.

Cops Shot on Lefferts and Rogers

With luck, the dirtbags (pictured) who shot two cops on Monday while trying to make off with a stolen vehicle will be caught and punished harshly.

The injured officers were taken to Kings County, one is doing well and the other is doing not as well.  We're hoping that they'll both recover fully.

Other than keep the officers in our thoughts, the only thing we can do is emphatically agree with Bloomberg:

"The terrible events of this morning are proof once again of that fundamental truth we have learned, again and again: Guns, when they fall in the hands of the wrong people, have tragic consequences,” Mayor Bloomberg said on Monday. “Two partners, who set out this midnight to keep us safe, were shot while helping deliver the ever-lower crime rate that makes life as we know it in New York possible."

Happy July 4

We're off the week of July 4.  Have a great holiday and play it safe.