JOE'S S_PERETTE: If you don't go, you don't know.

I'm embarrassed to say that it took me close to twenty-five years before walking into Joe's Superette on Smith Street for the first time.  Carroll Gardens had always been a neighborhood peppered with Italian groceries, and I guess I assumed that Joe's was just another one of those shops where you could pick up your can of beans or a package of spaghetti on your way home.  And it is - so feel free to do just that - but I'm going to venture to say that beans and spaghetti are not what's keeping Owner Leo Coladonato in business. 

So there's this thing called a rice ball.  These are why you go to Joe's.

In the tiny kitchen towards the back of his dusty store, Leo has been making his signature golf-sized rice balls every day since 1976.  "As you can see," he says, and pats his stomach, "I've been snacking on them since then as well."  You can't blame him.  They are the best, most underpublicized rice balls around and thanks to his regular customers ("Gimme a dozen prosciutto!" they bark), he manages to sell about a hundred a day to walk-ins while the bigger orders (think Superbowl platters) are delivered around the city. 

"When I started making them, everyone was doing the gigantic ones... so I did miniatures," Leo says.  Served hot from the fryer and wrapped in a french fry paper tray, you've got three kinds of gooey goodness to choose from: arancine (chopped meat and tomato sauce), suppli (rice and mozzarella croquette), and the infamous prosciutto and ricotta - a recipe inspired by the calzones his mother used to make as a kid.  The calzones were an Italian specialty of Mola di Bari in Apulia where he was born.  "It's not really prosciutto," he admits.  "It's boiled ham.  But in Italian, ham is called prosciutto... so I say prosciutto.  It sounds nicer than ham ball."  For 65 cents a piece, I'll let Leo call it whatever he wants. 

Behind the counter, scotch-taped photographs of customers and customers' kids decorate his deli case window (as does a signed picture of Bensonhurst native, Steve Schirripa, the actor who played "Bobby Baccalierri" on The Sopranos).  "I've been coming here my whole life," one guy tells me after putting his order in. ("Mix 'em up!" I hear him say).  "I used to live in the neighborhood with my family... but it got too expensive and we had to leave.  Now I'm in Staten Island.  You can't stop me from making the trip for these rice balls, though.  No one makes 'em better." 

JOE'S S_PERETTE (look for the missing "U" on the sign because it's not getting replaced anytime soon...) is open 7 days a week, excluding Christmas and New Years.

349 Smith Street bet/ 1st Place and Carroll Street
718-855-6463

A Canal Roundup!

Time Magazine: "Postcard from Brooklyn"

Environmental News Network: Gowanus Canal Goes Superfund

New York Times: Answers about the Gowanus Canal

Read Eat Sleep: Gowanus Canal Goes Superfund

New York Times: Cleaning a Canal, but not Writing about it

New York Post: FHA, Superfund and You

Red Hook Cement Plant Open. When will the whining start?

We heard all about the horrors of manufacturing zoning in Red Hook. Well, the cement plant causing so much consternation is open, and so far, so good. From the Post:

"A controversial Red Hook concrete plant that will help rebuild the World Trade Center has quietly opened, dashing the hopes of stone-faced critics who vilified its arrival.

The United States Concrete facility opened on March 15, according to Michael Gentoso, a regional vice president for the Texas-based company, but rainy weather and the ongoing economic storm has kept the plant operating at below capacity.

“We are having a slow start,” he said."

Carroll (Beer) Gardens?

An interesting suggestion from Realty Collective:

"Just think of how nice it would be on a Summer night to get all of your friends together for some live music, bar b q and night air.  From a business standpoint I honestly believe it could be quite a lucrative venture for the right group of folks." 

Well, some would say the the Gowanus Yacht Club is a mini-beer garden, but does this neighborhood really need more watering holes?

The Post really needs to quit while they're behind...

The anti-Landmarks group called CALM has found a friendly ear in the New York Post. A conservative newspaper run by Rupert Murdoch, which also came out against Superfund Designation? Color me surprised. Well, they really went off the deep end this time. Let's break this down, shall we?

"A move is on to expand the entire nabe into a historic district, which gives landmark status to all houses, and magically turns a window replacement into a $2,000 job. Some folks, whose families go back here a century, are mad as hell."

And some want landmarking. We just don't go barking to the Post.

""We don't need Big Brother to protect us," said Michael Di Meglio, 63, a member of Citizens Against Landmarking."

So, the 76th Precinct should be wiped out as well? You've got guns in your house to protect yourself?

"Yet, newcomers want the city to make it the law. A neighbor puts in a cheap Home Depot door and it becomes such an eyesore," said Katia Kelly, 49, who's lived there a mere 25 years."

Since when does living in a neighborhood a "mere" 25 years make one a newcomer?

Weak, CALM and Post. Come strong or don't come at all.

Biking Down Hoyt Street? Really?

The Post is reporting that the NYC DOT is continuing to blanket the borough in bike lanes. A bigger advocate for this there could not be. However, let's look at WHERE the bike lanes will go.

"The city plans to significantly extend the cycling lanes leading from the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges with the Department of Transportation extending them all the way through Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens, along bustling Smith Street, from Bergen to Ninth Street, and Hoyt Street, between Bergen and Third streets."

A picture of Hoyt Street is to the right. Where exactly will a bike lane go?

Anatomy of a Hipster

Ironic/Outdated T-Shirt: Check

Dress/Collared Shirt Underneath T-Shirt: Check

"Vintage" Jacket: Check

iPod Earphones, indicating Actual Wealth: Check

Sunglasses Worn In Inappropriate Setting: Check

Man-Purse: Check

Mohawk: Check

CUNY Blogs on Dirty Canals

The CUNY Journalism blogs have been churning out some good coverage lately. One of the recent posts on the different interpretations of similar situations at the Gowanus Canal and Newtown Creek by local politicians caught my eye. They correctly surmise that some, such as Yvette Clark, demonstrated cowardice by refusing to endorse the will of the people, while other, such as Nydia Velzaquez, took a stand early on the issue:

"Clarke seemed to favor the Bloomberg administration’s business-friendly approach to the clean-up, which would rely on companies to admit they polluted into the canal and, then, expect them to voluntarily pay for the clean-up. This, Bloomberg officials said, would avoid a “Superfund” stigma that might deflect new business development and economic activity around the Gowanus Canal.

“I am glad a decision has been reached on this issue,” said Clarke, as the EPA made their Superfund announcement.

Velazquez, on the other hand, striking a victorious tone, said, “The EPA has the proven expertise to oversee a comprehensive clean-up, while holding accountable those responsible for the pollution.”"

Thanks, Nydia.

Start your Green Engines

From A Brooklyn Life:

"The Carroll Gardens Greenmarket (on Carroll Street between Court and Smith streets) starts on Sunday,  April 11. It’s open from 8am to 4pm and includes my personal favorites Grazin’ Angus meats, Milk Thistle dairy, Consider Bardwell goat cheese, plus the grizzly fish guys from Seatuck Fish Company, and the absolutely beautiful maitake (and other mushrooms) from Madura Farms."

Don't Call it a Comeback

The Brooklyn Indie Market is back. Let's see how much longer they can keep this up. From Manhattan Style:

"Located on Smith and Union Streets in Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens, indie designers of all stripes and inspirations will once again be found under the red and white striped tent, which has become a weekly gathering spot for in-the-know Big Apple shoppers. The gutsy little marketplace which places an emphasis on showcasing limited-edition, emerging designers has been touted by media like Time Out New York, New York Magazine, Italian Marie Claire and a bevy of fashion blogs as a beloved neighborhood style dealer for your fashion and design fix. BIM is conveniently located steps from the Carroll Street Station of the F/G trains.

After whats seems like a very long wintery, three-month hiatus, Brooklyn Indie Market designers re-emerge with a new bag of design tricks, some of which actually are handbags Fofolle’s new line of gallery bags are perfect for hobnobbing while balancing a flute of champagne. Kimmchi launches her new line of silkscreened lingerie, Rebecca Shepherd, known for her gorgeous adornments of precious and semi precious jewelry has expanded her repertoire to include a line of equally delicious floral design."

Brooklyn Indie Market

The Progressive New York Post is at it again!

More anti-Superfund rhetoric from the New York Post:

"Who would, considering what’s to come? Despite its men-in-tights name, Superfund is no comic-book hero. Not only is the label a skull and crossbones that scares away businesses and homeowners, it’s also an open invitation to a neverending litigation party.

So broad is the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or CERCLA, law of 1980 that created Superfund, in the wake of hysteria about industrial toxins at the Love Canal in Niagara Falls, that anyone who ever had anything to do with polluting the site is liable for the entire cost of cleanup. Even if you legally disposed of your waste, if it ends up in the site, you’re on the hook — forever.

The city of New York is among those entities that could find itself getting sued by feds. It’s already been blamed as one of nine parties behind the pollution by the EPA. (The state requested the Superfund designation.) Is government suing government really what we want?"

Give. It. Up.

Born in Brooklyn?

From Gothamist:

"A Brooklyn woman gave birth in the back of her livery cab in the Battery Tunnel yesterday morning, slowing down commuters and "freaking out" her cabbie. Park Sloper Maya Polton said her water broke at about 7:30 a.m., but she and her husband waited a little while before calling a cab to take her to a Manhattan hospital. By the time they got to the tunnel, baby Jacob Max Handelsman wasn't waiting any longer." 

For the baby's sake, let's hope it's Brooklyn!

Sane Opinion: Superfunding the Gowanus

The New York Times professed an opinion

"The E.P.A. estimates that the cleanup will cost $300 million to $500 million and take 10 to 12 years. The city claimed that it could do the job in nine years and at a lower cost, but its financing was never guaranteed. It planned to ask for voluntary contributions from polluters. If these were not forthcoming, it would be forced to rely on federal allocations that, in turn, would depend on annual (and uncertain) Congressional appropriations.

Under the Superfund designation, the E.P.A. can compel polluters to pay. The agency has so far identified nine parties — New York City, the Navy, Consolidated Edison and six other private companies — as responsible for past discharges. It also is investigating the role of 20 other companies that may have polluted the Gowanus or bought companies that dumped toxic wastes in the water years ago.

The city feared that the word Superfund would scare away developers. But as Judith Enck, the E.P.A.’s regional administrator, correctly suggested, developers are far more likely to be frightened away by a smelly, filthy and unhealthy waterway. The point here is the cleanup, not the label."

Santa Maria! Addolorata!

For the Southern Italian Catholics (Bari, Napoli, Calabria and Sicily), marching through the streets with a band, dressed in black, is an annual tradition. In our neighborhood, it has been going on for years, with members of my family some of those who have marched over it's 100-year history. From the Brooklyn Eagle:

"The Good Friday Procession, which has its roots in the small towns of Italy, recalls the passion of Jesus Christ by way of symbolic statuary representing Jesus and Mary, traditional Italian hymns, a traditional Italian funeral band, and men, women and children who re-enact the last steps of Christ to his tomb, by candlelight.

The statues symbolizing both Christ and Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Sorrows, have been used in the parish procession for 60 years. The Congregation of Our Lady of Sorrows, which is made up of members from the town of Mola in Bari, Italy, just concluded its 60th Anniversary in the parish. In a scene only experienced by many in a movie, the two figures are carried on the shoulders of the faithful accompanied by singing and music as they pass through the crowded streets."

With the changing demographics in the neighborhood, it will be interesting to see how many people turn out this year.

Another Superfund opinion from the New York Post

The New York Post published an opinion piece, which reads as if it were written by some combination of Ronald Reagan, John Wayne and Toll Brothers.

"Already, developer Toll Bros. has announced that it’s pulling the plug on its plan to build 450 units of housing along the canal, citing its inability to find financing and insurance at a Superfund site.

The weak economy may have had something to do with that, too, but the EPA ruling was surely a nail in the coffin.

That’s entirely understandable: While the agency says the project will take only 10 to 12 years, it first intends to sue everyone it thinks helped cause the pollution — potentially causing years of delays.

Moreover, who knows what kind of virgin-wetlands standard it’ll demand before declaring the canal “clean”?"

Of course, there are developments which will proceed as planned, despite the Superfund designation. Wonder why that wasn't mentioned?

You stay classy, Post.