Crimes Against (Q)-Manity: The Aggressive Racist

This morning I waited for a train for 25 minutes with a crowd of people that seemed like they had been waiting for 5 or 10 minutes before I got there. When a train finally pulled up (a B train), it was so crowded only 2 or 3 people were able to squeeze on each car. Another B pulled up a few minutes later, so I got on that. Once we got to Church Ave, the train was packed. Think middle cars on the 7 train right after a Mets game. Packed.

Between Church Ave and Prospect Park some idiotic white guy in his 40s comes plowing through my car, screaming "EXCUSE ME!" at full volume on this quiet, jam-packed train. I'm not exaggerating here when I say he was body checking people left and right in an effort to get to the door at the front of the car. Everyone's first reaction was "What is this idiot doing?" Then people realized this guy was probably a few screws short of a hardware store. Someone near me said, "Okay, so he's just crazy." And that was enough explanation. We hoped to leave this nutjob to himself, let him off the train, and proceed with our miserable ride into Manhattan.

Unfortunately, crazy white guy was about to encounter the wrong person- crazy aggressive racist dude. And as every subway rider knows, when two crazies collide, there are usually complications.

So this tall black guy starts yelling at the pushy white guy and I'm feeling grateful that someone is calling this guy out on his bullshit. He's saying things like "Man what the hell are you thinking? You're knocking people over. What the hell are you doing?" We're all on board. This guy is so right. Then just seconds into his tirade, the black guy calls the pusher a "stupid Caucasian" and turns to his shorter friend and says "See that's what I'm talking about- that Caucasian bullshit." Then we realize that we're witnessing a crazy convention. The two wackos continue to yell and scream at each other at the top of their lungs, both threatening to do something about it and never actually doing anything about it. Pushy white guy gets off at Prospect Park and crazy racist yells a few parting lines, then continues his (loud) discussion with his friend about the "fucking caucasians" that have to go and mess up everybody's day. When crazy racist gets off at Atlantic Ave, he too has to push through some people to exit. I guess he took offense that there were white people in his way, because he picked a random white guy closest to the door and shoved him as hard as he could back into a crowd of people, adding "Get out of my way GOD DAMNIT!"

The train returned to normalcy once both crazies were off, and everyone was especially peaceful after sharing this strange experience. One guy announced his exit at Dekalb with a "Coming off please. Excuse me, sorry, thank you." Someone else parodied a train conductor, saying "After an earlier incident on the B train, passengers are extra polite now."

Filmed In Flatbush: "Fringe" (Again)

Episode 6 of Fox's "Fringe" aired this week, featuring shots of some familiar streets. E. 16th St. (right) doubled as a street in Acton, Massachusetts. There weren't great exterior shots this time around. We only knew the location because we saw them filming there in September. Later in the episode we spotted what looks like another Ditmas Park street (left), but we're not sure where it is specifically. Can anyone id that street?

We also saw signs on Beverley at Argyle announcing that "Fringe" will film there on Thursday. Hopefully the show's scribes wrote Blair Brown's character into these episodes, so she can return to her favorite Brooklyn neighborhood.

On The B: Cotton Candy Tree

Ditmas Park's Best Halloween Houses

We scoured the neighborhood this weekend in search of Ditmas Park's best Halloween decorations and found some pretty spooky stuff.
We're partial to 179 Marlborough's zombie head with an arrow sticking through it, but 466 East 17th Street has a lot going for it too, with the creepy pirate ghoul hanging over the porch. All these ghosts and ghouls got us wondering if there are any good neighborhood ghost stories, like haunted Victorians or ghosts who walk the train tracks late at night. Be sure to check out the slideshow below to see some of the scariest houses in the neighborhood.

Crimes Against (Q)-Manity: The Toe Stepper

My interaction with "The Toe Stepper" came after a frustrating commute home, courtesy of the MTA. I waited for a B train in Manhattan for 20 minutes with a crowd of people so thick it seemed they had been waiting for at least 5 or 10 minutes before I even got there. Of course the MTA made no announcement to let us know if there was an "investigation" or any other reason no trains were pulling up on the B and D track. When the B finally pulled up everyone on the platform piled into the train in a scene eerily similar to this:



Once we got to Church Ave, we received the following wonderful announcement: "Due to the lateness of this train, the next stop will be Kings Highway. For Newkirk Avenue, catch the next B train." In other words, "Because of the inconvenience we have already caused you, we will need to inconvenience you a little more." Thanks, MTA.

It was on the Q train I caught at Church Avenue that I met "The Toe Stepper." This guy didn't lightly step on my foot like someone earlier in the commute did. This guy somehow built up enough potential energy to slam his booted foot down on my big toe so hard that my mom could feel it back in Virginia. And I would have no problem with any of this if the guy turned around and muttered a simple "Sorry." Even if he didn't face me, but gave the old "my bad" hand gesture, this would've been perfectly acceptable. When he took a phone call later I realized he was Russian, so I would've also accepted "Простите". But the "Stepper" had a different reaction. He did nothing for the first 5 or 10 seconds. Then he just looked down at the ground and the area around his foot. Did he think he was going to find a built-in stump in the subway floor that would explain the protrusion his foot just slammed down on?

All I wanted was a simple acknowledgment of his misstep. Instead, I got the next exciting installment of Flatbush Vegan's "Crimes Against (Q)-Manity".

Bands and Beer This Saturday At Sycamore

Everyone's favorite flower shop/bar, Sycamore, is hosting a charity event this Saturday from noon to midnight. You can score all the beer and wine you can drink for only $20. Plus live music! Click on the flyer for the details.

And here's some info on the charity, Builders of the New World.

Flatbush History Leson: Avenue H "Q" Station

From Brooklyn Historical Society's "Flatbush Neighborhood History Guide:"

The Avenue H Station House was built in 1906 as the real estate sales office of Thomas Benton Ackerson, the developer of Fiske Terrace. He sold his 150 houses so rapidly that the sales office was no longer needed a year later. That coincided with the year the BRT was building new stations along the Brighton Line. The old sales office building was adapted to use as the station house. It is today the only station house in the citywide transit system that was built for another purpose.

In 2004, the station was designated as an official New York City landmark.

RightRides Comes To Flatbush

Good news for women, transgender and gay individuals of the neighborhood: RightRides is expanding its service to Flatbush starting October 25.

Founded in 2004 in response to an increase in assaults on women walking home by themselves, RightRides offers women, transgender and gay individuals a free, safe, late night ride home on Saturday nights from 11:59 PM - 3 AM Sunday morning.

To get a ride call 1-888-215-SAFE(7233) during the hours of operation. For more information, go to RightRides or here

Has anyone used RightRides before? How quickly does a car pick you up?

Crimes Against (Q)-manity: The Pole Leaner

Spotlighting the worst riders of the B and Q line.

This morning we had "The Pole Leaner" on our B train into the city. Pole leaning on a rush hour train = not cool. Sometimes it ends in fights and arrests. Sometimes it just annoys the heck out of your fellow passengers who don't want your back rubbing up against their hands for 45 minutes. This morning's leaner took no hints from the passengers who pried their knuckles into his back and shoulders. One passenger even tapped him to ask him to stop leaning so she didn't have to reach up to his head for open pole space. He just ignored her, leaning that annoying back of his up against that pole all the way to Grand St. Congratulations, The Pole Leaner, your inconsiderate train riding habits have landed you the first spot in our new Crimes Against (Q)-manity feature!

Filmed In Flatbush: Gossip Girl

The episode of "Gossip Girl" that filmed in Prospect Park South back in August aired Monday night. The episode was entertaining as usual, but we were pretty disappointed that the real star of the show, 1306 Albemarle Road, didn't get a chance to shine. As it turns out, the home doubled for the dean of Yale's residence in New Haven, Connecticut, so it made perfect sense to use this 1905 Colonial mansion. There were a good amount of interior shots (see below) of the living room and foyer, allowing us to catch a glimpse of one of the home's beautiful stained glass windows. And there were some good shots of the porch during the Serena and Blair fight scene. But where was the establishing shot? All we wanted was one wide shot of the house. What's the point of renting this place out for thousands of dollars and not showing the beautiful exterior? It's not like the home isn't flawless. The "Fringe" director gets it. You show the amazing outside, then you show the lovely inside. If you're just gonna skip the establishing shot, you may as well film in a studio. Oh well. Maybe next time, "Gossip Girl" crew. Until then, here's what we got:























Also, this home is STILL FOR SALE! For only $2.35 million! What are you waiting for? This thing has been on the CW!!! If that's not historic I don't know what is.

Flatbush Snapshots: Beverley Road

On Beverley Road between E. 16th and E. 17th St.

Newkirk Plaza Juice Bar Off To A Rocky Start

Before it even opened, we set the bar pretty low for Bally's, the new juice bar/sandwich shop that opened in Newkirk Plaza last week. We knew the outdoor seating section, tucked into a corner overlooking the B and Q tracks, would not be glamorous. We were totally cool with that. We took a look at the menu and saw that all the smoothies were $6. For a little 16 ounce cup! Can't you get better deals than that at Jamba Juice? In Manhattan? I thought this was Brooklyn. Stuff's supposed to be cheaper, right? But that's alright. We resigned ourselves to the fact that we'd just have to pay a little extra for the convenience of getting a smoothie so close to home. Fine. Then we checked out the food part of the menu and were a little bummed to find that this "healthy food" place didn't have any vegan sandwiches or wraps. Oh, well. No big deal. After all, they offered 3 different veggie burgers!

So when they finally opened, we stopped by and gave them a shot.

The peanut butter and jelly smoothie (peanut butter, jelly, banana) just tasted like a peanut butter and banana smoothie. Very bland. The triple berry smoothie wasn't too special either. We decided to give them a few days to sort out any kinks so we checked back in at the end of the week. This time, all I wanted was the "Hypertension" juice. No can do, they said. Out of carrots. Okay, how about the unfortunately named "Colon Cleanse" juice? Nope. Out of spinach too. They asked me if I wanted a replacement vegetable, so I chose the only one they had- celery. Celery, granny smith apple, and peeled lemon. It wasn't bad, either, but it ended up having a dark red color. They explained that a previous smoothie had beets in it, so that's why my smoothie was red. Cool with me, I just hope people with food allergies ask for a list of every smoothie that was made that day.

And then there's the whole veggie burger thing. We were kind of hoping for some sort of homemade burger with vegetables and sprouts and grains and whatnot. It could even be a vegetable based burger ordered from a distributor, that way we could at least feel like we were getting something special that we couldn't just pick up at the corner store. But whatever, we're easy to please. Any vegan burger would do. And for a place that has three different types of veggie burgers, you would think one of those would be vegan. Unfortunately, all of their veggie burgers have dairy ingredients in them. The "Quorn burger" has egg whites in it. The "veggie burger" is a Morningstar product that has milk and egg ingredients, and the "Boca burger" is actually a Boca cheeseburger, which comes pre-injected with cheese and all sorts of other dairy ingredients. And the burgers were those teeny little 8 oz. patties that you can get anywhere. At least take a weekly trip to Costco and get the big vegan Boca patties that a lot of restaurants serve. Make me think I'm getting something I can't get around the corner.

We wanted to like this place. We really did. And we haven't completely written them off. If they put a single vegan food item on their menu we'll be the first ones back in line. But right now they just ain't cuttin' it.

Snooping Around Midwood's Old NBC Studio

We've passed by the old NBC studio on Avenue M and E. 14th St. in Midwood before but we did some more snooping around this week and we're still amazed that so much history went down in such a quiet, residential neighborhood. It's hard to believe that back in it's heyday the studio played host to Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis, The Rolling Stones, Sonny and Cher, Sammy Davis, Jr., Lucille Ball, and Don Rickles. Even a couple episodes of "Saturday Night Live" were filmed there. In the '80s, "The Cosby Show" was filmed before a live audience at the studio. Nowadays, the CBS soap opera "As The World Turns" calls it home. We didn't see any Hollywood types on a smoke break when we stopped by, but we were able to sneak a peek at the storage area for the soap's outdoor sets, complete with a lot of fake foliage and this giant crate of hollowed out rocks and boulders you see to to the right. If you look into some of the windows on Ave. M and E. 14th St. you can even see old "Rehearsal In Progress" and "On Air" light-up signs.

Lots more info on the studio can be found on the Midwood Wiki page.

Filmed in Flatbush: Fringe

Anybody see this week's episode of "Fringe" and recognize that house Agent Dunham visited at the beginning of the show?



















Yep, it's our old friend at the corner of Albemarle and Westminster. After her guest starring role as a house in Great Neck, Long Island in an upcoming episode of Law and Order, she's turning into quite a regular on this season's dramas.

For this episode of Fox's "Fringe", 1203 Albemarle doubled as a house in Roseville, Virginia, a suburb of D.C. It played home to an ex Quanitico officer who has some previous experience with a strange metal cylinder that is the subject of the episode.

In three weeks "Fringe" comes back to Flatbush for episode 6, filmed at Ditmas and E. 16th. And for those of you who can't get enough of 1203 Albemarle, here's an interior shot with some beautiful stained glass in the background.

Ditmas Possum

I was taking pictures on Ditmas Ave today when a neighbor sitting on his porch asked me if I wanted to take a picture of an opossum in a trash can. Not one to turn down an opportunity to see Brooklyn wildlife, I walked up to his driveway and found this guy curled up in a ball, sleeping in the bottom of a trashcan. I asked my neighbor if the little fella needed any help getting out, and he assured me he was going to help him out as soon as the traffic cleared because he didn't know which way he would run. So if you spot this babe in your yard, tell him I said hi and to lay off on the trash can adventures until he gets a little bigger.

Should Carroll Gardens Take A Lesson From Flatbush?

A refreshing bit of honesty from the AMNY feature on Carroll Gardens:

"It's missing that diverse element that makes other Brooklyn neighborhoods like Kensington and Flatbush so stimulating," said one resident who would only give her name as Amy. "There is a strange lack of people who aren't white in this neighborhood. And it's too bad."