Young Woman Attacked On Hoyt Street Near President Street Last Friday Night At 11:30 PM

Yes, Carroll Gardens is one of the safest neighborhoods in the City, but it doesn't mean that one shouldn't be careful.
The attack on a young woman on Hoyt Street right at the corner of President Street last Friday evening at around 11:30 PM shocked residents because of its brazen nature. Though Hoyt Street can be quiet at night, there are still lots of people walking around the neighborhood at that time of the evening.
According to several block residents, this is what happened:
A young woman in her mid-20's was walking back over the Carroll Street Bridge towards Carroll Gardens from Park Slope. She was approached by a man who told her that he had lost his cell phone.  He used this as a conversation starter and as a distraction. He started to follow her, then grabbed her and put her in a chokehold, covered her mouth and forced her to the ground. She managed to free herself and to scream for help. Neighbors and a dog walker immediately came to her help.
The attacker fled towards 3rd Street.  He was described as "hispanic with elbow-length curly hair," wearing a white T-Shirt. 911 was called and officers of the 76th Precinct on Union Street responded.
It would appear that the police may be familiar with the suspect.

Thankfully,  the woman was fine, just badly shaken. She got in a squad car with Police to try and locate the man who had attacked her.

I have reached out to the 76th Precinct and am waiting for a call back.  I will update the post as soon as I have further information.

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Motorcyclists Having Field Day On New Bike-Friendly Hoyt Street

Brand new bike lane markings on Hoyt Street in Carroll Gardens

A three wheeler noisily barreling down Hoyt at Carroll Street!

followed by an equally loud (and speeding) motorbike

Speaking of bikes...

Have you seen the new bike lane markings down Smith Street? Pretty great, I say. Maybe now, I will worry a bit less when my son rides downtown on his two-wheeler.

Hoyt Street, too, has new markings. Since the street is rather narrow and cars are allowed to park on either side, the entire street has become cycle friendly.

Not sure it was necessarily meant for the motorized bikes which were barreling down Hoyt when I crossed the street.

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Sheared Off Side Mirrors Common Occurence On Hoyt Street

Too much car traffic and the lack of parking spaces is a big annoyance in Carroll Gardens, as it is everywhere in the city. On some of our neighborhood's narrower streets, there is an added problem. Below is an email from friend and reader Mary.

“How many side mirrors have been swiped off your car in recent years? In my case, two, in two years! It seems to be a big problem on Hoyt Street, but I can imagine it occurs on some of the other narrow streets like President between Smith and Hoyt. I’m assuming it’s wide trucks that shear the mirrors off and scratch your car at the same time. I believe there is a ban on trucks on Hoyt Street, but there is no enforcement. I could be wrong, but in any case, there ought to be because Hoyt is so narrow you almost bang into the car on the opposite side when you back into a parking spot.”

Yikes!
Mary is right. This must be happening everywhere in Carroll Gardens? So lets hear it from other readers. How many side mirrors have you lost this year?


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A Little F.Y.I. To CVS On Court Street...

Dear CVS on Court Street,

Someone pushed one of your carts all the way to Hoyt Street between Carroll and Second Street. Thought you may want to know about it in case you wanted to retrieve it.

Your friendly neighborhood blogger!

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Picture Of The Day: President Street Looking Towards Hoyt

Engrossed in conversation,
I almost missed the beauty of
This little stretch of President Street
Looking towards Hoyt
But just in time,
I stopped in my tracks
And
Snapped
This photo.

I am glad I did.

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Picture Of The Day: Play Boy....On Hoyt

On Hoyt

Ant
Green Eye
Z

Play
Boy

Little Rocko

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Interesting Viewpoint On The Subject Of C.B.6 And Liquor Licenses

A reader asked: "Could Carroll Gardens have won?

Well, maybe. Neighbors who have been opposed to Mr. Mamary's proposed Oyster bar on Hoyt Street sure seem to have soured the restaurant "moguls" on the neighborhood.

Read today's article in the New York Times entitled " Restless Pioneers, Seeding Brooklyn"

That's just fine by me. Now, can we have some useful retail stores back on Smith?

From today's Times article:

The ungrateful “they” are Brooklynites who’ve come to see Harding-Mamary creations as a chain, where you can get it venti in a ramekin with crème fraîche or slushed with guava and salt on the rim. The ones with pitchforks are residents near Union and Hoyt Streets, one block off Smith, trying to stop Mr. Mamary’s Black Mountain Wine House from adding an oyster bar.

Mr. Harding, 46, cooks at Black Mountain, but is not a partner. In a reflection of local ill will, he sometimes wears a white coat reading: “I Am Not the Owner.”.............

But from Brooklyn Heights to Smith Street to Park Slope, where rents have soared and streets are growing more crowded, resentment is keen.

The oyster bar struggle involves decades-old zoning and dueling predictions over whether it will attract a few discreet slurpers of Sancerre and Wellfleets or hordes of smoking and retching yobbos to a quiet street.

Delays and legal fees have cost $20,000. Community board hearings have been nasty. And the partners have been soured by rants on Carroll Gardens blogs, particularly one calling Jim Mamary an “opportunistic idiot” and “slob” who “ruined my neighborhood.”

Even if he gets a liquor license, Mr. Mamary said, “I’d never open another place on Hoyt.”

Mr. Harding, more blunt about the complaints, wants to see if he can seek revenge by keeping chickens in the wine bar’s yard. “We’ll give eggs to orphans,” he said. “We’ll have a petting zoo.”

More conciliatory, Mr. Mamary waves his hand as if to calm down his friend and cautions, “I’m not sure we want to say that.”

to read entire article, click here

Related reading:


Hoyt Street Alliance Says "No" To Oyster Bar At Public Hearing

Community "Business" Board 6 Sticks It To Hoyt & Bond Residents

Interesting Viewpoint On The Subject Of C.B.6 And Liquor Licenses

Zoning Unimportant In Carroll Gardens!

Neighbors Need Help Fighting Hoyt Street Bar

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

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Interesting Viewpoint On The Subject Of C.B.6 And Liquor Licenses

Tom Gray and Jillian Waldman of Bill De Blasio's office

Paul Nelson from Joan Millman's office

Leroy Branch, Community Board 6

Jim Mamary

It is clear that residents of Hoyt Street do not want restaurateur Jim Mamary's proposed Oyster Bar at number 299-301. Their very logical reason in opposing the new business? The proposed location is on a very narrow, short, residentially-zoned block. They have enough problems just getting a good night's sleep, what with the nightly noise emanating from Mamary's adjoining Black Mountain Wine Bar.

The lesson at the public meeting organized by the Hoyt Street Alliance last night was this: The State Liquor Authority's process of issuing liquor licenses is deeply flawed. To make matters worse, Community Board 6 is too pro-business and does not take an active enough role in monitoring where and how many liquor licenses are issued in the community.

Speaker after speaker at last night's meeting expressed frustration with S.L.A. but more importantly with Community Board 6 members who " mistreated, disrespected and vilified" the residents who appeared in front of C.B.6 to speak against the bar. Mentioning that their concerns were never fully heard, members of the Hoyt Street Alliance organized this public meeting. In attendance were representatives from Councilman Bill DeBlasio's office, State Assembly Woman Joan Millman's office, Senator Marty Connor's office and Leroy Branch from Community Board 6. The testimonies were taped and will be sent to the State Liquor Authority.

Sitting quietly off to the side and listening carefully was Jim Mamary himself. Except for one resident who spoke in favor of the bar, all speakers were opposed to it.
To lend support, neighbors of Union Hall in Park Slope, the highly controversial bar that has provoked so much anger, spoke of the fact that once a liquor license is issued for an address, it is virtually impossible to have it revoked "even if it is a misery trip for the neighbors."

The members of the Hoyt Street Alliance are a force to be reckoned with. Well spoken and passionate about preserving the peace and quiet on their residential block, they might finally shame C.B.6 into taking a closer look at the liquor license applications that pass before it, but most importantly, listen to the residents who are most affected by the bars that have been proliferating in our neighborhood.

Related reading:

Community "Business" Board 6 Sticks It To Hoyt & Bond Residents

Interesting Viewpoint On The Subject Of C.B.6 And Liquor Licenses

Zoning Unimportant In Carroll Gardens!

Neighbors Need Help Fighting Hoyt Street Bar

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Temptations At GRDN For The Urban Gardener

Psssss!
Can you keep a secret?
I bought too many plants yesterday.
But how could I control myself?
Surely, you cannot blame me!
Grdn For The Urban Gardener
Has such a wonderful collection.
I just had to have a few of these and a few of those.
Now I have to find a space in my garden
For my new little friends.

(Grdn is at 103 Hoyt Street)

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

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