Bay Ridge’s post-prom/nightlife destination, and what was arguably the last holdover from the neighborhood’s days as a raucous free-wheeling bar town, Tiffany Diner, was officially razed some time in the past few weeks – and it appears hardly anyone noticed.
Empty for almost a year, the diner sat behind a chain linked fence awaiting demolition to make way for a recently approved Commerce Bank – the same bank which took the place of 5th avenue bridal cornerstone, Kleinfeld’s.

One nearby resident and long-time Tiffany customer remarking: “They sure tore that f*ck’n thing down real good.”

And this building super thinks he has problems!?

While it isn’t uncommon in our neck of the woods to find the occasional air conditioner, spare tire or sundry household item improperly disposed of on any given street corner. One alert ‘Rover’ tipped us off to this rather disturbing and urgent find on the corner of 90th street and 3rd 5th avenue – a carelessly discarded, rusty propane canister.

Our tipster was unable and understandably reticent to ascertain if it was full. Regardless, it’s definitely an item that requires a more prompt response than, say, an Amana A/C.

According to our tipster it took 311 almost 10 minutes to properly route the call and lodge the complaint with Sanitation.

update: according to our source, neighborhood kids looking to play kick the propane-can will be disappointed to hear it was removed from its corner, in front of Hamilton Estates, sometime this morning.

Since our last visit with 10002, a development originally conceived of Basile Builders Group and Bricolage’s Henry Radusky – otherwise known as the most controversial and derided partnership in the design business since Smith and Wesson – a lot has happened on the corner of 4th avenue and 100th street.

After all, you don’t issue a prodigious developer like Basile a permit for a ‘steel erection’ (with joist framing and masonry) for nothing.

Since August, the structure has grown almost 4 full stories with windows, and what appears to be ventilation on the first floor in a brushed nickel finish. Could it be Basile will ditch their Fedders for some sensible central HVAC?

A permit for sidewalk sheathing was just issued for “remedial repairs.”

Only time will tell if the repairs are the only thing remedial about this project.

One of our “Roving” tipsters passed along this almost too good to pass up deal – that is if you don’t mind living at the now infamous 346 93rd street address.

“3 Bedroom Apt for rent $1400.00 a month. Parking spot for rent, 160 a month, smaller car preferred (knock hard)”

Although… a good 3 bedroom for under 2000 w/ parking is kinda hard to find nowadays.

Meat department employees of Foodtown joined their fellow UFCW Local 342 members of Foodtown ‘PSK’ supermarkets across the five boroughs in an unfair Labor Practice strike today, outside the Bay Ridge store on 3rd avenue.

Local 342 employees of Foodtown Bay Ridge contend they’ve been working without a contract for almost a month, while other employees of the store (under another union) have been without a contract for over a year.

The unfair labor practice strike which includes only members from Local 342, the union that represents meat workers of PSK stores, are exercising what they say is their right to strike under their union charter, despite what they say are repeated threats by Noah and Danny Katz of termination.

According to Louie Chen, a 35 year company man of PSK Supermarkets, workers are willing to walk the line “for as long as it takes.” But Chen also questions whether or not the holidays were in fact the best time to strike. Chen contends it can go either way and even though they’ve been successful in turning customers away, ‘it’s hard to compete with holiday promotions’ and peoples’ essential holiday needs.

Another employee of Foodtown’s meat department with over 6 years on the job said they’re back to where they were almost 4 years ago today, when Local 342 workers had to walk out for almost 3 days amid contract talks.

In the meantime, companies who supply Foodtown are hiring independent drivers as members of other Unions are supportive of the line, while the Foodtown meat department is employing the use of “scabs.” Otherwise known as non-union independent labor who are employed by the company for occasions such as this.

Leaflets passed out by Foodtown workers walking the picket line, read:

“DO NOT SHOP AT THIS FOODTOWN WHILE ON STRIKE!

The people who are working in the Meat Department in this Foodtown do not work in this store!

The UFCW Local 342 members who serve you each day are conducting an unfair labor practice strike! The scab workers inside the store are NOT members of UFCW Local 342 who normally serve you every day!

The owners of this Foodtown have hired temporary scabs to replace us, instead of doing the right thing and settling our contract in good faith”

Lose Protection employees from other stores have been brought in by the company to hand out pro-corporate information alongside picketers, citing rising health care and other legacy costs that prohibit them from meeting 342′s demands.

It would appear after a thorough trouncing in the Brooklyn blogosphere by us and BayRidgeBlog contemporary ‘ThePhantom,’ American Place has been compelled to clean up its dirty laundry, according to an article in today’s Daily News.

The retailer which opened to such neighborhood acclaim as “eyesore” and “shithole,” has apparently heeded the calls of local officials and Bay Ridgites for enforcement of basic and good community standards.

American Place, on the eve of their Bensonhurst launch seemed to permanently stow their wares – which include blood, food or otherwise stained or damaged goods anywhere from 1 to 20 dollars – indoors.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle went public with the ongoing saga of Jason Miller and other local Bay RidgeTalk activists’ fight against what they have long since maintained is a drug house on 93rd street between 3rd and 4th avenues.

In Jason Miller’s first one on one interview since going public to Community Board 10 a month ago, while offering no new information on the status of the “drug house” per se, does applaud what he says has been an ‘exemplary response’ by 68th Precinct Commander Eric Rodriguez in setting up the ‘proper meetings with all the proper people.’

The Brooklyn Eagle says that despite Miller (a local pet store owner on Marine avenue living directly behind the house in question) going public, he has not been threatened in any way but does worry about his exposure since taking his complaints from BayRidgeTalk to an open public forum.

Josephine Beckman of Community Board 10 has since retreated from more direct language she used last month regarding the status of the 93rd street house, instead calling it a very “sensitive” issue.

Foodtown (PSK) Supermarkets, owned by Danny and Noah Katz, responded to the now 3 day old strike by UFCW Local 342 meatworkers by issuing a lock-out, threatening to replace the Foodtown meatpackers with non-union labor and prepackaged meat – according to a flier issued by workers outside the Bay Ridge Foodtown this morning.

Locked-out meat workers are holding their line faithfully, maintaining their commitment to send shoppers to competitiors such as KeyFood, Waldbaum’s, Shop Rite etc… one Local342 member, referring to other supermarkets, saying: “we don’t want more, we just want the same… same as him, him, him, and him.”

edit to add this statement from Danny and Noah Katz, Foodtown’s owners, emailed to us yesterday at 3:51 (sorry for the delay):

Dear Bay Ridge Rover,

My name is Noah Katz and I am one of the owners of Foodtown, along with my
brother Daniel and father, Sydney.

Please remember that there are two sides to every story.

I did see your article about what is happening at our store in Bay Ridge and
I hope that you will include the following short statement at the end of the
article. This way people can hear from “both sides,” before they post
comments.

Thanks for the opportunity to share this with the Bay Ridge community.

The Meat Department workers are on Strike at Foodtown.

The attached document is the flyer that we are handing out to our shoppers
that explains some of the big issues.

As you know, we are a family run business and we are very thankfull of the
hard work of all our associates.

We are working hard to resolve this and negotiations have been ongoing for
the last week, even right now, as we speak.

Most of all, Thank you for listening to our side of the story, please
reference the attached document.

thanks.

Noah Katz

“Union Pension Funds short over
600 MILLION DOLLARS!”

“Dear Shoppers,

Please take a moment and listen to our side of the story.

THE UNION has refused to bargain with the company for all stores. For
the last 6 months, and many meetings, the union would only talk about 2
stores that we have in The Bronx.

In fact, we have put forward to the union, a fair proposal. Once
agreed to, it includes:

•
Wage increases and fully paid health insurance.
•
A 401 K retirement plan that the union has agreed to with
other employers.
One main issue has been that the Union Pension funds are short
over $ 600 MILLION dollars in total, and the union wants the
company to pay over $ 3 MILLION to make up the difference,
even though we had no involvement in the management of the
funds.

We will continue to work hard towards reaching a fair contract for
our workers.

Most of all, we appreciate your business. Thank you for listening
to our side of the story.

Shame on the Union for doing this during the
Thanksgiving Holiday.”

Noah Katz
Vice President
Foodtown – PSK Supermarkets
444 South Fulton Ave
2nd Floor
Mount Vernon, New York, 10553
914-667-6400 x1030
Fax 914-667-4929
“Back Office Fax” 914-667-8256
Noah@Foodtownpsk.net

The Bay Ridge Rover is thankful for the support of our loyal readers, fellow journalists and partners out there in the Brooklyn and greater New York blogosphere who’ve made it possible to reach what will likely be our 10,000th hit mark today.

It’s for you we do this little exercise, and it’s the strength of this great community we draw on each and every day.

Happy Thanksgiving -

The Bay Ridge Rover

Thanksgiving links:
Senator Martin J Golden’s Holiday Troop Drive

Right in Bay Ridge and a Thanksgiving Tradition

It appeared good news came late Wednesday night for locked-out Foodtown meat-packers and the general shopping public as PSK Supermarkets and Local342 managed to carve out a contract just in time to carve some holiday turkey.

But even with the grim prospect of a cold cash strapped holiday lock-out averted, some Foodtown employees are still crying foul as cashiers of the popular Bay Ridge supermarket who, despite a recent raise, are quick to remind Foodtown faithful that they’re approaching a year without a contract. A decidedly longer stretch than their meat purveying contemporaries.

Cashiers maintain union leadership has discouraged any talk of a similar job action to that of their coworkers, calling the recent raise simply ‘hush money.’ While others take it a step further suggesting the recent purchase of the adjoining “Loft” building for over 1.5 million as the reason behind PSK’s reluctance to offer a firm contract.

All things being equal this Thanksgiving; in a year when everyone from Brooklyn to Hollywood have taken a page out of France’s régimes spéciaux – if there’s no such thing as happy endings – Foodtown’s cashiers just may have to settle for keeping themselves in firewood one more winter.

a blogged week…
Right in Bay Ridge: Richard Martin tells his tenants to “Stop Being Sissys.”
Curbed: Bigger Foreclosure Wave Coming, Maps Brooklyn’s Slumlords
Gowanus Lounge: all things Coney Crazy pt1, pt2, pt3
OTBKB: prepares to roll out Park Slope 100 Dec. 6th