TRAFFIC TWO-STEP Major Street Changes Coming to Barclays Center Area by Gary Buiso Ing It from Westbound to East- the Brooklyn Paper Bound
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LOOK FOR BREAKING NEWS EVERY WEEKDAY AT BROOKLYNPAPER.COM Yo u r Neighborhood — Yo u r News® BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260–2500 • Brooklyn, NY • ©2011 BROOKLYN HEIGHTS–DOWNTOWN EDITION AWP/12 pages • Vol. 34, No. 22 • June 3–9, 2011 • FREE INCLUDING DUMBO TRAFFIC TWO-STEP Major street changes coming to Barclays Center area By Gary Buiso ing it from westbound to east- The Brooklyn Paper bound. Get ready to dance the Flat- • Installation of a new traffic bush-to-Fourth Two-Step — light at the intersection of Pacific whether you like it or not. Street and Flatbush Avenue, and a The state last week unveiled new crosswalk across from Flat- its plan to ease traffic around the bush Avenue, where vehicles will $1-billion Barclays Center at Flat- be able to make right or left turns bush, Fourth and Atlantic ave- onto Flatbush Avenue. nues, permanent changes that its • Cars and trucks can use Third creator predicts will untangle the Avenue via Atlantic to get to Flat- maze of roadways near the ris- bush Avenue. Pacific Street will ing basketball arena . offer secondary access to Flat- The changes, already ratified bush Avenue, but trucks are not by the state and city, will take hold permitted to use it. on July 15. They include: The changes mean that Flat- • Conversion of Fourth Ave- bush Avenue–bound cars on Photo by Stefano Giovannini nue between Atlantic Avenue and Fourth Avenue will either have Steve Buscemi led a rally to save Engine 220 in Park Slope, one of two on the day. Flatbush Avenue into a one-way to turn on Pacific Street, or take southbound street. Photo Callan by Tom Atlantic Avenue to Third Avenue: • Reversal of the direction of Bruce Ratner’s traffic consultant, Sam “Gridlock Sam” the Flatbush Two-Step is born. Pacific Street between Fourth Schwartz, poses at the problematic intersection of Flat- But it’s not all about cars, said and Flatbush avenues, chang- bush, Fourth and Atlantic avenues. See TRAFFIC on page 3 Buscemi’s fi re Actor, Sloper & ex–smoke-eater rallies Bigot papers cars against Brooklyn’s fi rehouse closures By Natalie O’Neill showed up at a morning rally at print and television reporters. and Kate Briquelet Engine 205 in Brooklyn Heights He also mingled with Council- White supremacist strikes in Greenpoint The Brooklyn Paper and then at an evening rally at man Steve Levin (D–Park Slope) You know him as Mr. Pink Park Slope’s Engine 220, both and Councilwoman Letitia James By J.J. Despain has Greenpoint residents fearful A neighbor removed the fli- — but in Brooklyn, Steve Bus- slated to be closed under Mayor (D–Fort Greene). of racists in their midst. ers soon after they showed up — and Aaron Short cemi is Mr. Fireman. Bloomberg’s budget. Just as he did earlier at En- The Brooklyn Paper “It’s scary to think they’re but not before a photo of one ap- The actor — famous for his “Firehouses are symbols of gine 205 on Middagh Street — White people — it’s time to here,” said Cynthia Ruiz. “That’s peared on the Greenpoint blog, role in the cult classic “Reser- safety in our neighborhoods,” where one first-grader read a let- “awake” and “save” your “great crazy and disgusting.” New York Shitty . voir Dogs” — spent most of last he said. “Closing them is no way ter declaring the mayor “made race!” The fliers’ message was aimed “I really would like to think Thursday in the far-different role to protect New York.” a big mistake!” — the “Board- That was the message of white at recruiting new members to the this type of crap isn’t going of community activist, urging the On 11th Street in Park Slope, walk Empire” star encouraged supremacist fliers that were plas- New York chapter of the Cre- on in Greenpoint,” said Miss city to drop its plan to close eight Buscemi donned a red fire de- hundreds of sign-waving pro- tered all over car windows on ativity Movement, whose slo- Heather, the blog’s anonymous Courtesy New York Shitty firehouses in Brooklyn. partment shirt, and posed for testers to call 311 to complain Greenpoint Avenue near Leon- gan calls for “the survival, ex- tipster. “But where there’s smoke, These fliers were slapped The indie flick king and Park photographs with fans and about the closures, which would ard Street last Wednesday — a pansion and advancement of the there’s fire.” on cars all along Green- Slope resident — who was a fire- shook hands with firefighters delay fire response times by 30 bit of free speech vandalism that white race!” See HATE on page 3 point Avenue. man himself in the early 1980s — while maneuvering a scrum of See FIRE on page 3 Is it open season on hipsters? “It’s more like a prefer- Dude, ‘hate crimes’ keep on mounting against plaid-wearers ence,” he said. “Some of my employees are band mem- By Adam Rosen window of Vinnie’s Pizzeria Red Cross intervention to as- bers.” for The Brooklyn Paper in Williamsburg, barring ap- sist the internally displaced A brief history of hipster oppression Robert Lanham, author It’s hard out there for a plications from people who artists, musicians, and fire SEE PAGE 10 of “The Hipster Handbook” hipster. need “weekends off because jugglers. and founder of the website, Casual slurs against you have a gallery opening.” As bad as it’s been, the FREEwilliamsburg, under- gimme-cap wearers have A month ago, CNN saw fit to real “J’accuse” came on May their own elected official not unimaginable that the au- stands the pizzeria’s frustra- long been a way of life in publicize an obscure poll of 11, when a Metro cover story even. Councilwoman Di- thorities begin asking, “Have tion. New York, but a series of re- Mac and PC users to insinu- suggested that activist veg- ana Reyna (D–Bushwick) you ever gushed over Charles “I think that’s one of cent events may have mar- ate that the former are “elit- ans and their ilk had bank- attributed the city’s census Bukowski?” to anyone with those things people are fed ginalized an entire class of ist and more pretentious” due rupted the city. undercount to — her word a 11206 ZIP code. up with — not living in the people who are just trying to to their preference for hum- “Hipsters to blame for — “hipster” apathy. Vinnie’s Pizzeria manager real world,” he said. crown the best album of the mus and red wine. And at billions of dollars in Cen- What’s going on here? Has Dan Clayton denied that his Lanham says he person- second-half of the third week the end of April , an artists’ sus losses?” the headline bigotry against the bearded hiring practices are discrim- ally does not condone dis- of the month in peace. collective living in a “trailer asked. become officially sanctioned inatory or that he hates hip- crimination against anyone, Last month, a “Help park” in Bushwick was force- In the article itself, hip- by the state? sters. Indeed, some of his best even hipsters, though he did Illustration by Sylvan Migdal Wanted” ad was placed in the fully disbanded, requiring a sters got no comfort from Unlikely, perhaps, but it’s friends are hipsters! See HIP on page 10 Historic Monte’s ‘Junk ’ mail Now it is unclear if weird joins 21st century ‘porno-tweet’ is Weiner’s By Sarah Zorn “We wanted to keep the neighborhood By Gary Buiso and Weiner — whom we dubbed for The Brooklyn Paper feel of the old Monte’s, but make it a lot “the Midwood Mouth” last year more modern and fun,” said new co-owner, Kimberly Lightbody After unexpectedly closing down in The Brooklyn Paper after his latest explosion at his 2008, the century-old Monte’s on Car- Tina Castelvetre. Will the real weiner please Republican colleagues on the roll Street is finally set to reopen today, That means updated interiors that resist House floor — did not smile at kitsch with sage green and exposed brick stand up? in name — and signature ricotta cheese- Embattled Rep. Anthony the uncomfortable press gath- cake — only. walls — and the gigantic murals of Venice ering , refusing to answer basic have been replaced with vintage Brook- Weiner admitted on Wednes- And that’s the good news. day that the lewd photograph questions about the whole affair, lyn street maps, wrought iron sconces, The former speakeasy and Rat Pack dispatched via Twitter to a Se- including why he was even “fol- playground — which long claimed to be and the occasional pizza paddle. attle co-ed might be his lowing” a 21-year-old col- the oldest Italian restaurant in the bor- “We kept what we could, like the old own. lege student on Twitter ough — was beginning to lose luster as bar,” said Castelvetre. “We just gave it a Photo by Paul Martinka Weiner told in the first place. customers grew weary of its over-the-top new marble countertop. The tables got Dominick Castelverte has reopened Monte’s restaurant, believed to be MSNBC that he To understand décor and increasingly lackluster Italian- a new base. The red booths aren’t origi- the oldest Italian restaurant in the borough. The Carroll Gardens main- “could not say with this fast-break- American food. See MONTE’S on page 3 stay will specialize in wood-fired pizzas. certitude,” that the ing, Internet-speed groin-level picture news story, here’s was not a part of his our “Weinergate” tury — where prosecutors painted according to court transcripts of reed-thin frame — timeline: the nattily dressed, old-school po- the proceeding.