Taking the B61 Headcount

Is New York City Transit trying to get a sense of ridership on the B61 route, which terminates in Red Hook and is being extended to the new Ikea when it opens on Beard Street, or are they actually trying to gauge ridership in order to make independent service improvements? A reader emails to say:

I hardly ever take the B61 bus because I prefer walking rather than riding with 1000 other people, but I rode both to and from the A train today and there were MTA employees on board counting passengers each way. I’m assuming they’re trying to determine the usage so that when Ikea opens they’ll add more buses. Or at least I’m hoping thats the case. I’m curious if they’ve been on for longer than just today.

Anyone with a sense of this, please be in touch via a comment or email. In the meantime, think of all the people who have no idea what a B61 is who will come to know its unique joys in late summer. Extra points to the first person to bring a Billy Bookcase home to N. 10 Street in Williamsburg on the B61.

Red Hook Surprise: It’s an Ikea!

The ongoing mystery of what is happening on Beard Street in Red Hook has been solved: Signage indicates that it’s an Ikea. (If you are just tuning in to this program, which has been in progress for a number of years, just kidding. We realized this when the building started turning blue and yellow….) The store, which will have 500 jobs, is slated to open in summer, most likely in August.

Bklink: Red Hook Roosters

“On our tour of bucolic Red Hook, we came across a large lot, which was relatively empty, with the exception of a few large tanks and oil drums. But as we looked closer, we noticed a white and gray rooster alongside a brown rooster. We don’t think they are guard roosters, because we didn’t see any signs reading, ‘Warning, Attack Rooster.’–Sail Brooklyn

Signs of Spring: Red Hook Edition

[Image courtesy of GL’s Carroll Gardens Correspondent]

This image from Van Brunt Street comes from our wonderful Carroll Gardens. Easter decorations are clear signs that the winter is almost over.

Bklink: Thirty Grand Taco Stand

“Now comes the hard part for the plucky Red Hook taco vendors. A day after city officials announced the popular food stands won the right to stay in the Red Hook Ball Fields for six more years, vendors are scrambling to find as much as $30,000 needed per stand for professional food trucks to bring the market up to code.”–NYDN

On the Market: Former Red Hook Poultry Market

This is the shell of an old poultry market on Union Street in Red Hook just off Columbia. Our Carroll Gardens correspondent sent us these shots of the storefront and gutted interior. The space is on the market for $950,000. Perhaps the condo could be called The Feather.

Red Hook Ballfield Vendors Victory: the Day After

No matter how you cut it, the survival of the Red Hook Ball Field vendors with a six-year permit is a victory. A beloved local institution has been saved, after a long struggle, and it is national news. The AP story on the permit has been picked up and is running in more than 60 papers and news outlets around the country and internationally today. The fate of the Red Hook vendors is interesting, it turns out, as far away as London, Tucson, New Orleans and San Francisco. Ultimately, there were no other bids for the permit to operate in the park. We are cheered, and we are happy for Vendor’s Committee director Cesar Fuentes and all the vendors. Now that that is settled, it’s time to ask how the city’s push for standardization and expensive equipment is going to change the scene at the ballfields. Yesterday, Mr. Fuentes said that some of the “mercado” feeling will be lost. Overnight he sent out an email thanking thanking everyone that had been supportive of the vendors’ effort to stay in the park, but noted, “It is important to understand that while this is a tremendous victory for us, we are still facing tremendous challenges ahead before we can consider an official opening date this summer. These challenges affect every vendor as he\she needs to be in full compliance with DOHMH standards & be able to afford costly equipment in order to operate legally.” Each vendor needs to purchase equipment estimated to cost $15,000 to $30,000, and two dropped out early on because of the costs involved.

Red Hook Vendor Coverage:

• Vendors Get Six Year Permit [Eater]
• New York Soccer Tacos Survive Rules Crackdown [AP]
• Red Hook Vendors: Safe for Six Years, But in What Form? [Grub Street]
• Oh Happy Day! The Vendors Prevail! [Lost City]

BREAKING: Red Hook Vendors Get 6-Year Permit!

It’s nice to be able to report some wonderful news via Eater: the Red Hook Taco Vendors have been awarded a six-year permit to operate at the Red Hook Ballfields. The announcement came this afternoon from the Parks Department. Our friends at Eater have the full text of the press release. Most of last year was overshadowed by the threat to the vendors, and even recently, they have suggested that costs as high as $30,000 for carts could drive many out of business. Of the permit, Parks Commmissioner Adrian Benepe said in a statement: “One of the great New York City pleasures is enjoying tacos, huaraches and other fine Latin American cuisine at Red Hook Park. The Parks Department is happy to keep this longstanding tradition in place by awarding a permit to the Food Vendors Committee of Red Hook Park.” Sen. Charles Schumer, who held a press conference last year calling on the Parks Department to allow the vendors to stay said, “I applaud the Parks Department for recognizing the value they bring both to Brooklyn and the New York culinary scene.”

Vendors Committee Executive Director Cesar Fuentes, with whom we’ve spoken many times over the last year, said that “On behalf of the Red Hook food vendors, we are thrilled to be able to continue our 33-year-old tradition. We have the best intentions to create an even better food market with the assistance of New York City Parks and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. It is a beautiful thing to be able to combine culture, cuisine and recreation together to enhance the park’s experience which is so vital to an urban center. To be able to get in the city what you would get in a rural area, fresh wholesome food, is really fantastic. Thanks to New York City Parks for being proactive in supporting this type of small affair of artisan vendors.”

The season should start in late April or early May.

Bklink: Happy Hookers

“One corner of Brooklyn likes its hookers – and wants to keep them happy. On the streets of Red Hook Sunday, old-timers and newcomers alike said the FDNY should ease up on Engine 279/Ladder 131, whose firefighters call themselves the Happy Hookers. FDNY brass ordered the station to change its nickname and logo two years ago amid a crackdown on monikers like the Bronx’s 90 Proof and Staten Island’s Southern Comfort.”–NYDN

Canadian Picked to Run Huge Ikea in Red Hook

The job of managing the massive Ikea in Red Hook has gone to a Canadian who has worked for the multinational retailer for 14 years, according to a press release issued yesterday, which notes that the massive store will open this summer (August has always been mentioned as the most likely date). Ikea is hiring 500 people to join its “Swedish family” at the store although it’s not clear how many will be Red Hook residents or Brooklynites. Many of the management jobs are expected to go to non-Brooklynites. The new top person is named Mike Baker and started with Ikea in North York, Ontario. A big part of Ikea’s public relations strategy was promising large numbers of jobs for Red Hook and Brooklyn residents. It gave Red Hook residents a two-week head start in applying for jobs, although it’s not clear how many applied and how many will be hired. If the news is good, there will no doubt be many press releases; if it is not, expect that the breakdown will be hard to get.