The Q at Parkside

(for those for whom the Parkside Q is their hometrain)

News and Nonsense from the Brooklyn neighborhood of Lefferts and environs, or more specifically a neighborhood once known as Melrose Park. Sometimes called Lefferts Gardens. Or Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Or PLG. Or North Flatbush. Or Caledonia (west of Ocean). Or West Pigtown. Across From Park Slope. Under Crown Heights. Near Drummer's Grove. The Side of the Park With the McDonalds. Jackie Robinson Town. Home of Lefferts Manor. West Wingate. Near Kings County Hospital. Or if you're coming from the airport in taxi, maybe just Flatbush is best.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

The Year in Review

A single year is a long or short time. When you're older, a year is but one among many in your log of memories. It's therefore shorter compared to your whole life, and I think that's why it seems shorter than for a younger person. When you actually take inventory of the changes in a neighborhood (or your own meth-head acting children), a lot can happen in 12 months. And in the Q's estimation, this year was the biggest for change in decades, and is likely the beginning of many years of rapid change - some would call it upheaval - to the point that even middle-timers like myself will hardly notice the neighborhood in five years time.

It was just over a year ago that Tugboat Coffee opened on Flatbush near Lincoln, signalling a new era of comfort for java lovers. Kola and Chad are just the kind of entrepreneurs who really "get" the neighborhood, and it's been a pleasure having true small business owners invest in the neighborhood. Commerce-wise, it's been quite an uptick. "Feel" Beauty moved into the old and long vacant Mike's International. Tip of the Tongue (the Q calls it TOTT) added panache and freshly baked pastries to the morning commute. Wholesome Gourmet lit up the corner where Papa and Sons once thrived. A new restaurant is coming to Flatbush north of Lincoln; a new bar is coming to Flatbush and Midwood. New boutiques opened near the venerable Play Kids, notably the beautifully designed Marcia Diva's Boutique. PLG Outpost finally opened near 65 Fen for coffee and pastries and sundry culinary items. A new coffee house is opening on Rogers. New fitness joints Planet and Blink have opened or are opening. And with new housing cropping up all over, you can count on an ever-quickening pace of new biz commencements.

Speaking of housing...whoa. Prices? Oy Vey. Renters are squeezed, owners are chocking record equity gains, buildings are going condo or coop, and development and construction has picked up significantly. But prices. Man-o-Manischewist. The Q continues to try to document the very real misery out there, but feels like he has too little time to do a proper job of providing voice for the hundreds, maybe thousands, of terrified longtime residents unable to envision a future in their long-loved neighborhood. The Q also gets disillusioned at times at how insensitive are the comments frequently posted on his own blog, but tries to remember he started this thing to make sense of the world not to convert the world to his own way of thinking. And the Q remains committed as ever to providing an open marketplace of thoughts and ideas, even if three lurkers continue to comment with outsize influence, though I now have their IP addresses marked in my stats with special nicknames I've created for them (no, I'm not sharing publicly, just once again requesting that they make a New Year's Resolution to create a screen name) so I'll know exactly who they are each time they comment and from where. So you might as well choose a screen name since I've already chosen my own for you, and I'm sure you'll prefer yours. (You know who you are).

On the communal action front - we got DOT to approve and give a small startup grant to create art on the Flatbush Trees, and now we have all the permits, and only need some funding to get it going. (I'm starting to think I'll need to shoot a Kickstarter video myself and set it up. Perhaps those of you who are regular readers will consider a contribution of editing or cash). We met with the DOT, the D.A., the precinct (many times) to address crime and safety and traffic. We got approval for a plaza at the Q station, and started to address the useless and fugly parking lot that could be a beautiful plaza for all at the corner of Empire/Flatbush/Ocean. We stepped up enforcement of trash pileups along the Flabenue. A relative unknown garnered 40% of the vote in the City Council primary, giving our incumbent a run for his money. We stayed on top of the Flatbush traffic changes and continue to lobby for solutions to trouble spots. We're bringing a farmer's market to the Q at Parkside. Trees are being planted on Boxing Day all around the Q at Parkside. Neighborhood leaders sued a giant building planned for Flatbush. Nature lovers created a beautiful community garden on Maple. And so much more.

I randomly picked some fun stories you may have missed, including the Q's ongoing essays on all things Lefferts/Flatbush. Just trying to make sense. Trying to help us get to know one another. And as always, more than happy to answer your questions or share your stories. Just send an email here. And happy holidays one and all. To a safer saner 2014.

A Look Back at 2013 and a bit of December 2012, to bring the year full circle:












7 comments:

Bad News Brown said...

Q wrote:

"The Q also gets disillusioned at times at how insensitive are the comments frequently posted on his own blog, but tries to remember he started this thing to make sense of the world not to convert the world to his own way of thinking. And the Q remains committed as ever to providing an open marketplace of thoughts and ideas, even if three lurkers continue to comment with outsize influence, though I now have their IP addresses marked in my stats with special nicknames I've created for them (no, I'm not sharing) so I'll know exactly who they are each time you comment."
___________________________________

Welcome to the internet.

Clarkson FlatBed said...

BnB! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Anonymous said...

Seasons Greetings to all the lemmings here at Tim's boring ass blog.

I thought I would throw a jab or two at you Tim by telling you how wonderful it is to have great leadership representing this neighborhood. Because of Dr. Mathieu Eugene and the people he has worked with over the years, we have cleaner streets, low homicide rate, and more business opportunities here.

Take a look at the improvements across Flatbush, Ditmas and PLG.

It's no coincidence, my friend (you're not really my friend).

By the way, I'm still waiting for that silent majority you speak off. Oh wait, half of the commenters here are from the SAME person. What a shock! I guess that settles it.

Anonymous said...

Must be Eugene's brother or someone from his office. Lame. I'd call Tim's blog a lot of things but boring would be at the bottom of the list.

Anonymous said...

Boring is still on your list. So it's still boring.

The only time it becomes MILDLY interesting is when he whines about politics, which he has no understanding of or issues involving race. Other than that, he has NOTHING interesting to discuss.

Maybe if you would stop fawning over Tim's quasi progressive views and look at has contradicted himself on multiple occasions, you might have a better view of what I'm talking about.

The silent majority can't even show up to the polls to unseat Dr Mathieu Eugene. LMAO!!!

Anonymous said...

"You must be doing something right Q to have a politician sic a hit man on you. Nice job."

rose said...

I agree with ann 3:52. Q you are a positive force in the community and a person with a descent heart. As for as the Ann 1:51, GET A LIFE AND GET OFF THIS BLOG. If you want to boost up the GOOD Doctor, start you own blog. You're irritating the rest of us who would like to see, hear about progress in our community, and make a difference. Q Keep being a thorn on his side!