Running to the beach

Post by The view from Ocean Parkway.

Nargis Cafe: The Ever-Expanding Uzbek Flower - NYTimes.com

The Ever-Expanding Uzbek Flower - NYTimes.com
By ANDREW COTTO APRIL 25, 2014
PHOTOS BY BRIAN HARKIN NY TIMES

On a warm evening in Sheepshead Bay, under a dark canopy of Brooklyn sky, a crowd gathered on the corner of Coney Island Avenue and Kathleen Street, beside a midnight blue awning three storefronts long, enjoying, at last, a gentle spring that augured the tender lamb and other Central Asian delicacies awaiting inside.

The main room of Nargis Cafe is large, warm and colorful, adorned with Suzani carpets and Uzbek artifacts, and with the smell of wood smoke, seared meat and spices emanating from the bustling kitchen. Along with uniformed servers all wearing traditional tubeteika caps, an avuncular floor manager works the room, where platters and bottles and plates obscure the surface of tables surrounded by festive groups, mostly Russian-speaking denizens of outer Brooklyn. The crowded confines are also favored by hipster double dates and fashionable Chinese professionals speaking in Mandarin and English.

Those inside have endured the wait required to enter Nargis on a Saturday night.

In 2007, when the Uzbekistan-born, American-trained chef Boris Bangiev, now 36, opened his cafe, he named it Nargis, the Uzbek word for “flower,” which conjures curiosity and beauty and, fittingly, implies growth.

The original space was a narrow walk-in, pinched between a florist and a dry cleaner. A bustling takeout service began to accommodate those who could not tolerate the lines. In 2010, the flower shop closed, and Nargis Cafe expanded into the space, doubling its size. When the dry cleaner on the other side folded in early 2013, Mr. Bangiev shuttered the cafe for six weeks to absorb the new space, though even with the cafe’s current capacity of nearly 100 patrons at a time, patience is still customarily required. There is really nothing else like Nargis Cafe around.

Mr. Bangiev selects all of the ingredients — locally as possible, imported when appropriate. It is a balancing act between honoring tradition and catering to the modern palate. Decidedly non-Central Asian fish varieties, like salmon, sea bass and branzino, were added to the menu. Wood coal is imported from Argentina to ensure that the shish kebabs are infused with the perfect flavor.

Everything except a few desserts brought in from a local bakery is made in-house, including beef noodles pulled by hand, and dumpling casings and savory pastry crusts rolled early in the morning, long before the cafe opens. Mr. Bangiev performed the pulling and rolling and almost all the cooking himself in the fledgling years of Nargis. Even though he has entrusted the kitchen to his cooks, Mr. Bangiev can still be found each day and evening at the cafe, immersed in every aspect of his restaurant.

“I know everything that happens here,” Mr. Bangiev said with a knowing smile. “Sometimes even before it happens.”

What happens, though, for the most part, is fairly predictable. Groups arrive, liquor in hand. They endure the wait for a convivial meal of multiple courses, blending flavors from Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean: fresh breads, appetizer spreads, stuffed dumplings and pastries, rice pilaf (Uzbekistan’s national dish), roasted whole fish and shish kebabs. Hot tea is served in traditional pots.

Ekaterina Lapeva, 26, knows the routine well and was happy to wait on a velvety April evening. “I came here when I first arrived from Russia,” she said. “I love the food and all the people. I don’t have family here in America, but this is like my family.”

EXCLUSIVE: FBI investigation of mayoral race includes de Blasio's pledge to ban carriage horses - NY Daily News

JULIE XANTHOS NY DAILY NEWS

EXCLUSIVE: FBI investigation of mayoral race includes de Blasio's pledge to ban carriage horses - NY Daily News
BY GREG B. SMITH  NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Friday, April 25, 2014, 10:20 PM

FBI agents have been questioning people about the pledge de Blasio made in March 2013, and the ads launched the next month by animal rights activists attacking Christine Quinn, the Daily News has learned. Agents also appear interested in a $175,000 contribution to the animal rights group NYCLASS from a union tied to de Blasio's cousin, labor leader John Wilhelm.
An FBI investigation of last year’s mayoral race includes an examination of Bill de Blasio’s campaign pledge to ban carriage horses, the Daily News has learned.
FBI agents have been questioning people about the pledge, which was made in March 2013, and the ad blitz launched the next month by animal rights advocates attacking de Blasio’s chief rival, Christine Quinn, two sources familiar with the investigation said Friday.
FBI agents also appear highly interested in a $175,000 contribution by a union tied to de Blasio’s cousin, labor leader John Wilhelm, to the animal rights group NYCLASS, the sources Friday.
NYCLASS helped to bankroll the “Anybody But Quinn” campaign attacking Quinn’s mayoral candidacy.
At least five people have been questioned by the FBI in the past month as part of the investigation, those familiar with the inquiry told The News.
The News first disclosed the FBI investigation on Friday, reporting that the FBI was looking at a threat by NYCLASS’ political consultant Scott Levenson early last year to undermine Quinn's campaign if she didn’t back the carriage horse ban.

De Blasio's cousin John Wilhelm (pictured) is the former head of the union group UNITE HERE!, which wrote a $175,000 check to NYCLASS in June 2013.
The new revelations indicate the investigation is broader, touching on de Blasio as well.
De Blasio said Friday that he was unaware of any investigation. He added that nobody in his campaign had been questioned.

T.J. KIRKPATRICK GETTY IMAGES

“Literally, I’ve told you all I know. I’m not familiar with the allegations so I can’t comment,” de Blasio told reporters.
Levenson said through a spokeswoman that he had not been questioned by the FBI, either.
But he said that he was “proud” of his consulting firm’s role in the mayoral race — which included directing the Anybody But Quinn attacks.

De Blasio's cousin John Wilhelm (pictured) is the former head of the union group UNITE HERE!, which wrote a $175,000 check to NYCLASS in June 2013.
In March 2013, de Blasio announced at a candidates' forum that he would eliminate horse-drawn carriages during his first week as mayor — much to the delight of NYCLASS and other animal rights activists.
“Our advocacy for the issues and clients we fight for is no different than advocacy work that takes place in our democracy every day,” said the spokeswoman for his firm, The Advance Group.
“Even if you are not happy with the results, our campaign cannot be characterized as anything more than that, and the fact that it was effective.”
De Blasio announced at a candidates’ forum in March 2013 that he would eliminate the horse-drawn carriages in his first week as mayor, delighting NYCLASS and other animal rights activists.
In early April, after Quinn refused to support the proposed carriage ban, NYCLASS founder Steve Nislick, and board member Wendy Neu, gave $200,000 each to New York City is Not for Sale, the political action committee formed by Levenson to carry out the Anybody But Quinn campaign of TV ads, robocalls and mailings — which began that month — attacking her.
In May and June, NYCLASS chipped a total of $225,000 to the anti-Quinn effort, records show.

JEFF BACHNER FOR NY DAILY NEWS

The FBI is looking into the ad blitz launched by animal rights advocates attacking de Blasio's chief rival, Christine Quinn, after she refused to support the proposed carriage horse ban.
And in June, two of de Blasio’s top financial supporters gave $225,000 to NYCLASS, records show.
One of those supporters was de Blasio’s cousin, Wilhelm, who was then head of the union group UNITE HERE!, which wrote a check for $175,000 to NYCLASS — the biggest contribution NYCLASS had ever received. The other was Jay Eisenhoffer, an attorney.
Wilhelm and Eisenhoffer also acted as “intermediaries” for de Blasio’s mayoral campaign, collecting $165,000 in contributions for him, records show.
Still, de Blasio has said that neither he nor his campaign coordinated with NYCLASS or New York City is Not for Sale in attacking Quinn. Any such coordination could be a violation of campaign laws.
The Anybody But Quinn fusillade succeeded exactly as NYCLASS hoped. When the attacks began in April, Quinn was cruising in first place. By late June, she had fallen to third in the Democratic primary, which de Blasio won on Sept. 10.
With Jennifer Fermino

Brooklyn Intersection Plagued By Red Light Runners « CBS New York (VIDEO)

Brooklyn Intersection Plagued By Red Light Runners « CBS New York
(VIDEO)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Red means stop, but at one traffic light in Brooklyn some drivers are just going right on by.
As CBS 2′s Dave Carlin reported exclusively Friday night, it is being called Brooklyn’s most confusing intersection. It’s so confusing some drivers think it’s OK to deal with it by breaking the law.
Red lights were ignored again and again on Friday at the intersection of Kings Highway and East 34th Street.
“They just come around and keep on going,” said Flatlands resident Eleanor Ortiz.
Neighbors in the area shared their videos with CBS 2, including one of an ice cream truck blowing the light and another of a driver so eager to run the light, Department of Transportation property was damaged in the process, Carlin reported.
Even a school bus was seen running a red light at the intersection.
Some drivers familiar with the area said you can break the law and not even know it since the multi-colored row of traffic lights can cause blurred lines.
“Even though the red light is for you, you’re also seeing the other light which is green. So you sometimes tend to ignore the red light even though it’s for you and focus on the green light which is visible to you, but not really for you,” said Flatlands resident Boris Siper.
Resident Simon Gifter said some of the red light runners know better, and are taking advantage of the confusion.
“I’m not talking yellow and then it turns red and maybe they’re just trying to make it. Clearly they pause for a few seconds, then look around and go right through it,” Gifter said.
A DOT spokeswoman said “Safety is DOT’s first priority. The agency is looking at the location to see if additional signage can enhance safety.”
Some neighbors also want a red light camera and better enforcement.

Bragging of Safety While Many Live in Fear

Bragging of Safety While Many Live in Fear - NYTimes.com

“Here’s something I’ve never heard from tenants in public housing: ‘There are too many police here,’ ” he says. “More often is the opposite.”

Sheepshead Bites » Blog Archive A Vision Zero Town Hall Meeting » Sheepshead Bay News Blog

Sheepshead Bites » Blog Archive A Vision Zero Town Hall Meeting » Sheepshead Bay News Blog
by Allan Rosen, April 14, 2014

THE COMMUTE: The second in a series of Vision Zero Town Hall meetings was held in the Brooklyn Borough Hall courtroom earlier this month. Several hundred attended the standing room only meeting. If you did not know any better, you would have gotten the impression that half the borough’s population was either struck by a hit and run driver or had a relative who was killed by one, according to testimony from the speakers.

I am not trying to minimize the problem of pedestrian fatalities, but the solutions proposed by the panel leave a lot to be desired. Supposedly the town hall meeting was called in order to solicit opinions and solutions. But was it? During the two-and-a-half-hour meeting, chaired by new Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and various City Council members, only about 45 minutes was allotted to hear views from the public. Much of the time was devoted to gaining sympathy from the audience for the casualties resulting from past crashes.

The Vision Zero Plan was described in the context of “this is what should and will be done,” in other words, ‘We need red light and speed cameras all over to catch offenders.’ ‘A 30 MPH city speed limit is way too high.’ ‘Everyone must drive more slowly.’ ‘The speed limit on every street needs to be 20 MPH and we need slow zones, speed bumps and pedestrian islands all over.’ So in which specific locations do we need to install these measures? Well, if you have all the solutions and are just looking for a list of problem intersections, you are really not seeking new ideas, are you?

So why was this even considered a town hall meeting? Each public speaker was only allowed one minute to express his or her views. (Even the MTA allows three minutes each at their hearings, which is still barely enough time.) In a true town hall meeting, there would have been, at most, a five-minute introduction of the panel and a 15-minute presentation. The remaining two hours would have been devoted to hearing suggestions from the public. The panel would not speak for one and three quarter hours and the audience would not have been stacked with the victims of hit and runs and their relatives. That was no accident, since Transportation Alternatives was an active member of the panel. Why was a representative from the AAA not invited to express the opinions of motorists, or should I just say murderers or child killers?

Well, if you have all the solutions and just need a few specifics to implement your plan, you are not really seeking new ideas. You are asking for support of a plan designed with the help of Transportation Alternatives. A “town hall meeting” was only held to give the illusion that the public provided input.

Ocean Parkway east mall gets rehab

Good to see that the construction crews are back to renovate the Ocean Parkway malls.  This project will rehabilitate the east mall with new benches and surfacing from Avenue N to Kings Highway. No timeline on when this section will be completed but the pedestrian path is fenced off and not available to strollers orwalkers.
The real immediate work that really needs to be done on the west mall between Avenue U and Avenue X remains a dangerous hazard especially to bike riders.  Seems that that critical part of the entire mall renovation project is still a long way off.

Tree protectors installed in preparation for major rehab.

East mall will be unavailable until this section is completed.  Expected to take many months.

A Catholic School in Brooklyn loses its fight to stay open

After 52 years Bishop Ford High School will close

A Catholic School in Brooklyn loses its fight to stay open

How to Get a Job at Google, Part 2

How to Get a Job at Google, Part 2 - NYTimes.com

(Excerpt)
...to try to understand what an employer like Google was looking for and why it was increasingly ready to hire people with no college degrees. Bock’s remarks generated a lot of reader response, particularly his point that prospective bosses today care less about what you know or where you learned it — the Google machine knows everything now — than what value you can create with what you know. 

Quote
“My belief is not that one shouldn’t go to college,” said Bock. It is that among 18- to 22-year-olds — or people returning to school years later — “most don’t put enough thought into why they’re going, and what they want to get out of it.” Of course, we want an informed citizenry, where everyone has a baseline of knowledge from which to build skills. That is a social good. But, he added, don’t just go to college because you think it is the right thing to do and that any bachelor’s degree will suffice. “The first and most important thing is to be explicit and willful in making the decisions about what you want to get out of this investment in your education.” It’s a huge investment of time, effort and money and people should think “incredibly hard about what they’re getting in return.”

Thunderbolt roller coaster rises in Coney Island

Building the tower that will launch the cars down the tracks

Tracks waiting to be installed

Riding down Ocean Parkway

Waiting for the light to turn to cross safely

Logjam ahead!