Vogue Came to Brooklyn

In the latest issues of Vogue, there's an article entitled “A Distant Shore." While the title sounds like it could be a piece about the latest travel location, it is actually about the magazine’s expedition to our borough. The article is preceded by a photo essay of beautiful people from the upper echelon who -- shocker! -- actually live here now. It seems Brooklyn has become so hip that even Vogue cannot deny it, even if they walk across the bridge with their noses pinched and are careful not to touch anything. 

The article seems to be about eight years too late. Writer Jeffrey Steingarten generically describes hipsters with little imagination -- “The spirit or brand can still be identified by the hipster, who can sometimes be identified by a narrow-brimmed fedora, white earbuds and skinny jeans.” -- and deems neighborhoods such as Bushwick and Sunset park as “disfavored” and “distressed.”

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Can I hear 80K for a Parking Spot? And SOLD...

original pic via DNAinfo.com

...To very desperate people looking for parking. That's correct FIPS'ters because of ramped up new development, garage spots are once again at an all-time premium up in this 'hood. What started with a $50,000 sale in April, followed by a $62,500 dollar sale in June has topped off with an $80,000 sale in July. I say again 80K for a 100-something square foot cement slap. My grandmother's one bedroom condo in Hackensack is literally worth half that. Yes, smart asses, I get it, it's Hackensack but at least it has a bathroom and a kitchen and storage AND A PARKING SPACE! 

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Park Slope Taxi Tales, Part One

Image via Flickr user JGNY

On 4th Avenue, between 5th and 6th Streets, there is a big yellow taxi garage. Yellow, presumably, because that is the color of the cars. However, the yellow could just as easily be for the caution which, as a driver, you wouldn't use. Or for the urine which by the end of the day will be ready to burst from you. The pain of holding it in so familiar it's like a friend riding along during your shift. 

Two years ago I drove a yellow cab out of the garage at 374 4th Avenue. Yellow cabs are way different than gypsy cabs. For the remainder of this post I'll only be referring to yellow NYC cabs. I drove out of the depot on 4th Avenue for 6 months. Most cab drivers call it "Susan." I don't know why it's Susan. I never met a Susan there. I met one boss after a car accident and he wasn't a Susan. Keyser Susie? Every yellow cab driver in New York City knows this garage. It's one of the few places that new drivers get a chance. 

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Grand Central Oyster Bar Moving Into Fornino Space...Say What?!

Image via oysterbarny.comRumor Alert! Let’s gossip! According to Gothamist, the former Fornino space on 5^th Avenue is slated to become the newest offshoot of Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant.

Before you say, “Wait! Isn’t their whole deal oysters in Grand Central? Wouldn’t a different location sort of ruin the fun?” You should know that they already have a few satellite oyster bars (two in Tokyo and one in the Newark airport), so this isn’t an entirely new concept to them.

Nor is it a new concept for us; Park Slope seems to be a sought-after location for successful restaurants looking to expand. An outpost of Grand Central Oyster Bar would be only the newest in a series of “small-chain” restaurants to open up shop in the Slope, following Le Pain Quotidien, Terroir, and Dinosaur BBQ.

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FiPS Juicy: Best Stories of the Week

In case you spent this week doing a rain dance hoping that might make this heat wave go away already, here's a round-up of juicy FIPS news that graced the pages of our blog this week:

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* [FIPS Was There...] Park Slope Dad Goes to Taylor Swift Concert

* Restaurant Saul Moving to Brooklyn Museum

* Organic Panic: No, Not A Shortage of Kale, But A Plethora of Good Gaming

* [What You Should Order At...] Blueprint Cocktail Edition

* Who Gives A Shit: Air Conditioning