Brian in New York

What's Your Neighborhood Like?

I get a lot of questions about my neighborhood, Carroll Gardens. It's probably one of the quietest, cleanest, nicest, family friendly neighborhoods in Brooklyn if not all of New York. If you want to see it just tune into a Discovery Home show called Cookin' in Brooklyn. It's a show hosted by Chef Alan Harding and it set at his restaurant, Patois.

The restaurant is just up the street and he also owns Schnack, The Zombie Hut, Pacifico, and the Gowanus Yacht Club, which are all eatery's in the same are and are considered some of the best (well most of them). I've eaten at Patois and Schnack a lot... its great.

So catch the show... a lot of it it shot outside around the neighborhood. I've even seen people I know in the background :) Gives you a good sense for my neighborhood and neighbors.

The Californian is Hot

Seriously I have to figure out what my neighbors are up to. We found out that we share a thermostat. Meaning the middle and top floors are in one zone. I don't know what their apartment is like but mine is a steady 82-85 degrees. I turn it down but I think they crank it up. So either they like tropical weather in their apartment or the top floor doesn't retain heat. I have to figure it out.

Fire at the Neighborhors; Fire in an Urban City is Scary

Well there is no getting back to sleeping anytime soon so I might as well blog about it right now.

Sitting reading in bed and I start to smell smoke. I figured maybe my landlord was having a fire since it is about 25 degrees, but then it starts to really smell like smoke.

Got out of bed and went over to the window and saw some people running down the street and my landlord sitting on the stoop, so I put on a jacket and ran downstairs. The house across the street caught fire. Just then 6 fire engines careened down the street the hook and ladder truck moving fast yet still missing all the cars on the street, very impressive. Fire fighters running down the street into the house and the hook and ladder setting up on the neighbors roof to hop across to the others.

It seems this house is occupied by Reggie and I'm told he's a notorious packrat so as word spreads through the crowd of neighbors no one is really surprised that the fire started. The general consensus is it was his carriage house full of newspaper and while everyone nodes and agrees thats what it was the truth is it is pure conjecture, no one knows. Snapped a quick shot, it's low light and blurry but you get the pictures. Funny thing is that a lot of the NY journalists live in the area so within minutes the press is around interviewing and snapping pictures.

Since it's freezing (literally) the smoke is staying street level so all our houses smell like smoke and the fire engines will be out on the street for awhile, big diesel engines vibrating the brownstones of our narrow streets, so doesn't look like I'm getting to sleep anytime soon.

Fire in a urban environment is really scary, the prospect of it jumping from brownstone to brownstone is sobering. I realized this my first week here and a place caught fire a few streets down. Countering that fear is the obviously skill of the NYFD who come fast and in force, they were on the scene in minutes and it was like a well choreographed game. 50 people all knowing exactly what to do, individually and as a team well honed with training and experience.

Never dull in NYC...

Coolest Landlord

I have what is probably one of the best landlords in New York City. Seriously, getting together to complain about your landlord is almost as regular as complaining about work in NY. But not me, Paul is awesome. In fact he just texted me to invite me to his families Thanksgiving dinner, how nice is that!

More on my Thanksgiving trip to Washington later, having a blast though.

Chalk one up for the little guy

Yeah! finally our government does something productive:

FCC OKs Cable Competition for Apartments

One of the more surprising things I learned when I moved here was that cable companies (and internet companies) bid for exclusive rights to neighborhoods. In other words there is a monopoly on cable provider service and in my case if when I installed cable it had to be through Time Warner Cable, who really really really suck.

I'm hoping that in a bit I'll have my choice and hopefully see some competition to give me the best rate possible.

Crash, hahaha

To funny not to pass up sharing. So my building, like most in the neighborhood is over 120 years old. The floors are as warped as a fun house. So I'm working at my desk and I push back in my rolling chair to get a drink and suddenly I'm flying toward the side wall and crash right into it, hahaha. Might have to give up the rolling chair or buy a carpet.

Today is a stunningly beautiful day in NYC, unlike yesterday which was so humid that it felt like a million degrees and everything was dripping. I spent this morning walking in central park, and then in the Apple store on 5th trying to fix my iPhone, have to go back tomorrow.

I didn't get tix to band of horses tonight but I got tickets for when they are back in two weeks (more about my sick sick concert schedule in the next day or two). Instead I'm off to my favorite sports bar to watch game 6 of the ACLS, can't wait to see if Boston can stay in it.

Stuff is here... ordeal over

Well my stuff arrived Tuesday night and it's amazing but I feel so much more energized and optimistic today about everything. I guess one less piece of drama that I have to deal with, but there was a ton of drama yesterday.

I submit the following not as whining but as a warning for those using a moving company. I used United Van Lines (notice not giving them a backlink :) ) because I have had friends and family use them before and they moved me from the bay area to Utah. The problem is that they, and maybe all moving companies, have a flawed model. They broker a connection between two "certified" movers, the ones packing and shipping your stuff, and the ones receiving and delivering your stuff. This doubles your chance for getting a bad moving company even if they have the United Van authorized mover.

Here's the warning for all my Utah readers, DO NOT use Mergenthaler Transport... ever. The packing and shipping staff is great but as a company they suck. They were rude on the phone, never called to give me updates instead I had to call constantly, and they completly misquoted my move resulting in me having to cough up almost a grand more to have my stuff delivered. They misquoted but it's my problem and if I didn't pay them guess who didn't get my stuff delivered and would be charged an extra $1300 a day. I could go on and on but suffice to say my driver took his sweet time and was late picking up and dropping off. My Staten Island moving company was great and they were more pissed at the Utah movers than I was. They worked late (overtime pay) to get my stuff to me. Had a bit of a scare when I didn't think my couch would fit up the stairs but we got it to work, which means it's too big for my apartment :), oh well its a comfy couch.

Live and learn...

City Noise, the city that never sleeps

Well New York is the city that never sleeps... and neither did I.

I like my apartment but it has a major drawback it's right near the BQE, Brooklyn-Queens expressway for those not in New York, which is one of the busiest roads in New York. When I checked out my apartment I made a point of going by during rush hour to make sure the noise wasn't going to be a problem. It has great windows and a brownstone on either side so it isn't.

BUT... here's the part no one mentioned, rush hour isn't when the BQE is loudest... its the middle of the night when traffic is not stopped and big trucks fly by hitting potholes.

My friends in New York have called me a wimp and checked it out telling me that it's actually not bad and I'll get used to it. Frankly I will, first night I didn't sleep but its getting better, and while I'm sleeping with earplugs now but I think some white noise next and eventually will need nothing. My only concern is guests from out of New York will have an issue.

Fair warning people who plan on staying with me... you will need to wear earplugs :)