Joseph's Haircutting Salon

google street view of Joseph's Haircutting Salon on 7th Avenue

I just saw that Manhattan Beach resident Joe Volpicelli was given a Proclamation award by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz for the 50th anniversary of his barber shop in Park Slope. Congratulations to Joe. What an honor.

Neptune Avenue

homing pigeon conference @ Coastal

New DOT signs on Brighton Beach Avenue

Finally, DOT put up three traffic signs on Brighton Beach Avenue at the entrance to the Oceana Apartments -- two for east/west bound cards entering the driveway to yield to pedestrians and another stating that cars exiting the driveway can only make right turns.

Accolades to whoever it was who proposed these signs.  I'm not sure that they will work, particularly because the signs that say yield to pedestrians were installed against the angle of the sidewalk, making it difficult for drivers to see them..

But maybe I can stop yelling like a crazy person at drivers pulling in and out of the driveway.  It really befuddles me why on earth the DOT/city and brainless architect thought that putting the entrance on the curve of the street was a brilliant move, on top of the fact that Brighton Beach Avenue is always congested.  The main entrance should have been on Coney Island Avenue.

storm rolling out

Emmons and Sheepshead

The Burger Shop on Brighton Beach

vintage-looking hanging sign

This entry is my first quasi food review on The Urbanographer featuring the new Burger Shop. The food component however is secondary to my review of the shop as a new commercial space in Brighton Beach.

The Burger Shop seemed to have come out of nowhere. It exists as a parallelographically-shaped subdivision of Kebeer, the darkly lit triangular sports bar at the southeast corner of Brighton and Coney Island. (I still dont know what Kebeer means or if it does mean anything.) It's arrival reminds me of how out of place Starbucks seemed when it was new to the town. American barnacles strapped on to the Russian muscle that is Brighton Beach. (I never make it far enough down Brighton to see who actually buys coffee from Starbucks..Is it the local folk or north-Brooklyn/Manhattan seasonal invaders?) Burger Shop has raised various questions in my mind: who was the architect? who is the developer of the space? is this a chain? how do they know young Americans like thin brown paper colored menus? who decided on their vintage meat processor/churning logo? who are they marketing to with their English signs, American menu, and lack of glitz? Simply put: Has a North Brooklyn-American invaded Brighton Beach?

menu cover

I was impressed by the Shop's muted signage. It has to contend with the horrifyingly ugly building at next door with awfully large and disproportionate lettering letting us know that DR. ABBOUD has an office above the Brighton Bazaar.

I was also impressed by the organization of space for the waiting customers, and the tight but seemingly efficient use of space for the cook and cashier.  The nicest feature is that the front glass window has a countertop or ledge running along it.  When the window is fully open, one can communicate with people on the inside, while standing and eating on the outside. I don't know another eatery that uses glass and a countertop effect to extend indoor space in this way near by.

Brightly colored cartoony imagery
and text (in English) on raw plywood
= reminded me of Williamsburg.

This gigantic slider window frees up some more space.

I stopped by on Friday to see what the menu looked like and discovered the truth: the owner is not a North-Brooklyn American. How do I know this, you ask? Because a) there is no vegetarian alternative to the beef burger and 2) there are no turkey burgers (which I was really hoping for).

I ordered the 1st item on their menu -- a burger, fries and drink-- which comes to $5.00. I asked for the burger to have nothing on it, and then went overboard and asked for ketchup since there is no condiment station. It took about 25 minutes before I could walk out food in hand. It seems that my order slip fluttered away from where it was tacked.  That accounted for the first 10 minutes. As the burger was grilled, the cashier double checked and asked if I ordered mayonnaise on it.  I said no, only ketchup.  Eventually, the burger was boxed and handed to me sans fries and drink, so I then had to wait for the fries to be cooked and the soda to be poured.

When I got home, I found mayo and ketchup on the burger and the fries too salty. The cashier did say they only opened the previous Tuesday. 

brighton rainbow sky

global worry

In the same week, I read this disturbing New York Times article about our global tree loss , I watched the documentary Vanishing of the Bees. (I've posted the official trailer above for those interested. The movie can be seen through Netflix.) Everyone should take the time to read and watch both.

We are in trouble if society continues to think that the purpose of our short life on this planet is to consume without guilt or hesitation.

Commuter news

Today, the B express train resumes service.  I can't tell you how exciting this is for me. I remember reading the 2012 completion date listed on the MTA fliers in agony. (Work isn't complete entirely, but I think it's far enough along that the public can use the stations.)

Friday night, the B and Q were running express from Kings Highway to Prospect Park probably to finish last minute touches so that the MTA could keep to its goal.  I was so proud, watching the contractors with flashlights walking the express tracks in the dark as I commuted home to Brighton. Our subway system is its own living organism-- living, and breathing us into and out of Manhattan each day, and requiring regeneration.