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Rickshaw Sighting
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Parked out front of the AOC Bistro tonight was a rickshaw, not exactly a common mode of transportation in these parts. The decal on the bike pointed me to Revolution Rickshaws, which rents and sells rickshaws in New York City. They are an environmentally conscious company dedicated to creating "Local Organic Transport Systems". If I was in Time Square or Central park this sighting wouldn't be noteworthy, but does anyone know what brings a rickshaw to the Slope?
Labels: discovery
5/02/2009 11:45:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Ugly Betty coming to Lincoln
Saturday, November 29, 2008
This weekend, signs went up along Lincoln between 7th and 8th. They warn about changed parking regulations due to an NBC shoot for Ugly Betty. The shoot is scheduled for December 5th, so make sure you move your car before 7PM the day before or you'll be towed.
11/29/2008 08:51:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
La Taqueria Traffic
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
I use Google Analytics to monitor the traffic to ParkSlopeScope.com, and I noticed a strange trend in the last few weeks. My blog post about the restaurant La Taqueria from a year ago has seen a relative explosion in traffic recently.
After some investigation I found the source of the traffic: Google now lists my blog post as the primary website for La Taqueria.
Their official website, http://rachelstaqueria.com/, appears to be under a redesign or shut down. I guess the robots at Google decided that my blog post was the next best thing. I'll gladly serve as their proxy for now, but I hope they get their website up and running again soon.
11/11/2008 10:31:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Holiday Decorations Up On 5th
Monday, November 3, 2008
Halloween spider webs are still wrapped around Brownstone fences, jack-o-lanterns still decorate stoops, and yet the holiday decorations are already up along 5th ave.  'Tis the season I guess.
Labels: discovery
11/03/2008 05:11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Chalk Outline at President and 8th
Monday, October 27, 2008
On my walk to the subway this morning I passed by the lamppost at corner of President and 8th Ave, which in recent weeks has been adorned with flowers and candles. I guiltily realize now that I had never given the memorial much thought, never bothered to look for a name. That all changed this morning with the appearance of a striking reminder in the form of a chalk outline painted on to the pavement, with the words "KILLED BY BUS, JONATHAN MILLSTEIN, 9-10-08" stenciled below.
A Google search brought up this Brooklyn Paper article about the incident and another biker death that occurred the same week. The dedication appears to be the work on Time's Up and their Memorial Stencil Project. While at first I found the work a bit morbid, it is a stark reminder of how fragile life is and how there is much work to be done in the city to improve the safety and rights of bicyclists.
KILLED BY BUS, JONATHAN MILLSTEIN, 9-10-08
10/27/2008 10:28:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Anti-Obama Flyers on President St
Thursday, July 3, 2008
While walking down President St. today I cam across some anti-Obama flyers littered along the side walk. They are obviously the work of an amateur: poorly printed, bad grammar, and overall confusing. (Full Scan)
They also mention the website www.obamacures.com, which is a strange parody site that claims Obama can heal the sick. It then presents you with the ability to vote on whether you believe the story. If you vote yes you are called a "naive imbecile who will believe anything you read & hear when it comes to your demigod Obama," while a no vote will praise you for realizing that Obama "is not the second coming."
After all this, the site goes on to proclaim that they are not actually taking a political stance at all.
"We are not advocating any negative belief, endorsement or ill will towards any one candidate or political party."I really don't know what to make of the whole thing. Are there politically confused, high school dropouts running around Park Slope handing out flyers and building websites?
7/03/2008 07:18:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Smart Car Sighting
Saturday, April 19, 2008
This afternoon on 5th Avenue I spotted a Smart car parked on the street. For those unfamiliar, the Smart line is a recent additional from the Mercedes-Benz company, known for being incredibly small (less than 9 feet), gas efficient (33/41 mpg), and inexpensive (starting at $12K). They seem perfectly designed for the city dweller, who likes to take the occasional trip out to NJ or Long Island but doesn't need the size and expense of a full sized car. I think the Smart car might find a great market in Park Slope, with its tight parking and eco-aware residents.
Labels: discovery
4/19/2008 11:49:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Pestbusters
Saturday, April 19, 2008
While wandering around the neighborhood today I stumbled upon a car that caught my attention. The car is a retro white ambulance refitted to look very similar to the Ecto-1 car in the movie Ghostbusters. Instead of busting ghosts however, the owner of this car was after the more mundane (but equally troublesome) wildlife critters that sneak into the homes of Brooklynites.
Some internet research led me to an OTBKB post (is there anything she hasn't blogged about?), who identified the owner as Trapper John, a local pest control guru. It's great to see a business owner with a sense of humor.
Labels: discovery
4/19/2008 06:13:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)