FIPS WTF: Gigantic Traffic Sign on Union Street?

After witnessing a full-blown fight over the last rosemary rotisserie chicken at Union Market on 6th Ave (apparently you can call ahead and reserve a bird), a Union Street resident who will only identify herself as "Dot," thought she'd really lived through it all. That was until she reached 7th ave and saw a huge traffic sign warning drivers: CAUTION SLOW DOWN. CONSTRUCTION AHEAD. EASTERN PARKWAY.

Click to read more ...

UPDATE: The MTA Is Like, Fixing the Turnstiles or Something! Or Something.

On Monday, I bitched about the turnstiles at the 7th Avenue F/G stop being an inconsistent piece of crap. And wheee! You agreed that there's an ish here that's not just in my whacked-out head. So, FIPS reader Steve (you go, Steve!) decided to take action and write the Ye Olde MTA about the sitch:

Customer (Steve Pav) - 02/16/2011 02:32 PM

Why are the 2 turnstiles (they are the big ones that are like human cages) always problematic when it comes to swiping? The lines back up and everyone gets frustrated because they do not read cards well at all - can something be done about this? I have seen the cleaner there, but it rarely improves the swipe. C'mon, I now pay 104 bucks a month, last thing I want is to have more delays because of poor equipment.

Thanks

And lo! Behold! The MTA wrote Steve back in fewer than 24 hours. (You get points for this, MTA!).

Click to read more ...

UFO Sightings in Park Slope?

Unbeknownst to me, aliens have apparently descended upon Park Slope.

And here I was thinking it was just helicopters. I was even contemplating a new Park Slope Association—Helicopter Parents Against Helicopters—but now I have to do a rethink. 

According to Gothamist, A Brooklyn dude has started a round-the-clock UFO hotline and his most memorable call to date was a woman who spotted three lights moving in unison in the sky over Park Slope.

Click to read more ...

What's the Deal With the 7th Avenue F/G Stop Turnstiles?

OK, seriously, what the hell is going on with the turnstiles at the 7th Avenue stop?

I don't know about you people who enter on the 8th Ave side, but nearly every freaking morning for the last few months I--and every other commuter trying to get on a train at nine A.M. at the 7th Avenue entrance--encounter a ridiculous queue to swipe in, like thirty people deep at each gate. Some mornings the thing won't take anyone's effing MetroCard, and like 95% of us have to walk around. (Tragic, I know, save it.)

Listen, I know how to swipe a MetroCard (and before you run your mouth, you know your I-Live-Here selves get really embarrassed when you're prompted to swiped again, so save that, too), and while I know that there are some seriously turnstile-challenged residents of our humble neighborhood, this shit isn't our fault.

MTA WHAT IS THE DEAL. THE DEAL. WHAT IS IT. ANSWERS. I NEEDS THEM.

Photo: Park Slope Lens

Obnoxious Porsche License Plates: The Sequel

Noooooooooooooooo! Dear God, no.

Some of you will remember my supremely self-satisfied post about that rcession Porsche my kid and I spotted last month in Murray Hill. I think I even went so far as to posit that it served as proof that no matter how bad things were in Brooklyn and Park Slope, we still weren't as obnoxious as the islands (Manhattan and Long).

Well, I spoke too soon. 

Click to read more ...