Apparently, Swedish retailer Ikea–which is building a huge new store on the Red Hook waterfront–is not impressed with pleas that it save a graving dock on its property rather than turn it into part of its parking lot. The retailer has been steadfast in sticking with its plans and has rejected alternate proposals to build a parking garage. Ships have been serviced at the graving dock since the 1860s and it was a functioning repair facility until Ikea took over the former Todd Shipyards property and shut it down.
The new Carroll Gardens Courier reports that Ikea’s spokesperson pooh-poohs criticisms and suggests that the negative feedback is coming from outside New York.
Say Ikea’s Joseph Roth:
While we certainly appreciate feedback from individuals in Vermont, California and Denmark about our plans for a store in Brooklyn, we are continuing to move forward on the development of our thoughtful, well-designed project that earned near unanimous approval from the New York City Council, enjoyed the backing of the Red Hook Houses Tenants Association and thousands of Red Hook residents, and was supported by more than 25,000 Brooklynites who signed petitions, submitted postcards of their own, and wrote personal letters to their elected officials urging them to approve the Ikea Brooklyn store.
Those who support saving the graving dock are sending Ikea postcards that say, “I…urge you to keep this valuable, viable maritime asset in operation. Build the store, keep the shipbuilding/repair facilities our neighborhood has had since the Civil War, and keep its jobs! It’s a clear win-win!”
We have many things to say about Ikea’s offensive brush off of legitimate concerns, but will limit ourselves to a few: First, it’s bad PR to broadcast blatant disregard for the community in which you are building. There are legitimate divisions of opinion regarding the Ikea Red Hook. There are strong critics that object to Ikea’s location. There are strong supporters who welcome it. There are an awful lot of people in between, who don’t think that a few compromises–like saving the graving dock–are so out of line.
We have nothing against Ikea, per se. We have dealt with execs at existing Ikea locations and have found them to be decent and community-minded people. On the whole, we find Ikea’s corporate behavior less troubling than, say, Wal-Mart and other huge firms, but we think Ikea’s position on the graving dock is wrong and its attitude is nothing short of arrogant. (We’ll leave aside its brutish demolition of historic buildings, of which we’re not big fans either.)
Ikea may be coming to Brooklyn, but Gowanus Lounge won’t be rushing to purchase any of its assemble-with-that-infuriating-little-wrench furniture at its “thoughtful, well-designed project.”
October 2nd, 2006 · Comments Off on The Domino Plant’s Big Weekend
This weekend, everyone seemed to notice the old Domino Sugar plant on the Williamsburg waterfront and the coming battle over the future of the site. We’ve written a bit about it both here and over at Curbed, and in fact, had just posted a little vid (click on the embed or on this link) with shots of the factory and Kent Avenue, plus music, on Saturday.
In any case, both the New York Times and Daily News ran stories about the plant, parts of which have been proposed for landmarking.
Says the Times:
The preservationists, supported by the local City Council member, David Yassky, want any development to conform with the factory, a hulking brick Romanesque Revival structure that dates to the late 19th century and recalls an era when New York was the nation’s leading sugar producer.
Mr. Yassky angered local preservationists last year by helping to override the landmark designation of a nearby warehouse. The Domino plant, he said, is more significant. “It’s an icon,” he said. “It’s a landmark in the popular sense of the word. When I talk to people in Queens or Manhattan about that part of my district, I say it’s right by the Domino Sugar factory, and they know where that is.”
Says the Daily News, in part:
The battle is the latest wrinkle for the storied sugar plant, whose signature red neon sign is visible from the Manhattan waterfront.
Built in 1884, the plant was once one of the mightiest in the world. By 1999, however, it was the scene of one of the longest-running strikes in recent memory before shutting its doors in 2004, laying off nearly 300 workers.
Some advocates insist that both preservation and affordable housing are possible. Housing activist Philip DePaolo, also with the Waterfront Preservation Alliance, said the community can demand both if leaders stand together.
“It’s a divide-and-conquer tactic, just like with the rezoning,” said DePaolo. “We’re not going to play that game anymore. We want both.”
It boggles the mind that Mr. Yassky is emerging as a champion of saving the Domino Plant, after his ugly role in the 184 Kent warehouse battle, but politics and land use battles are indeed full of odd and unpredictable twists and turns.
October 2nd, 2006 · Comments Off on Gowanus Crapgate Update: Riverkeeper Weighs In
On Friday, we related some of the testimony about the impact that Atlantic Yards would have on water quality in the long-suffering Gowanus Canal and on deep flaws in the Atlantic Yards Draft Environmental Impact Statement in this regard. Today, we’re passing along another installment in Crapgate. Riverkeeper, the environmental group that keeps an eye on water-quality issues in New York State (and that is a prime mover in lawsuits to force action on the Greenpoint Oil Spill), filed a stinging critique as well that says Atlantic Yards will, in fact, have a serious impact on the Gowanus and on the East River, and by extension on New York Harbor and various ecosystems.
“If built as proposed and evalutated in the DEIS, Atlantic Yards will increase both the volume and frequency” of untreated sewage discharges into both the Gowanus and East River, Riverkeeper’s comment on the DEIS says. The group compliments Forest City Ratner for proposing the use of holding tanks and water-free urinals, but says the project will still have a very significant impact on local water quality when rainfall overwhelms treatment capacity.
The group also accuses the Empire State Development Corporation of withholding the consultant’s report on water quality issues for so long that it failed to make “full and proper public disclosure” and “thwarted public participation.” Atlantic Yards Report summarizes this objection and has been covering ESDC’s stonewalling of Freedom of Information Law requests.
The bottom line is that there are already about 50 incidents a year of untreated sewage going into the Gowanus and East River. Atlantc Yards, Riverkeeper says, could results in countless more such incidents and million more gallons of raw sewage going into our waterways.
The PDF of Riverkeeper’s comments is available via Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn’s website by clicking here. It is a must-read for anyone interested in this aspect of Atlantic Yard’s impact.
Comments Off on Gowanus Crapgate Update: Riverkeeper Weighs InTags:Uncategorized
October 2nd, 2006 · Comments Off on New Union Street Eatery: Palo Santo
A new restaurant called Palo Santo has opened on Union Street between Fourth and Fifth Avenues. Its website is up, though no menu is posted yet. It describes itself as “eclectic Latin cuisine” and takes its name from an evergreen tree.
We ate dinner there Friday night and really enjoyed the meal. The menu’s pretty ecelectic, I get the feeling that it will change often. We shared a bunch of Latin-inspired small plates: a quesadilla with cojita, corn-coconut milk soup, seared tuna over a salad of apple and fennel, plantains and a delicious pumpkin bread pudding and key lime pie. The bill came to around $50, not bad! Service was very attentive and the space is lovely inside. They said they are open for breakfast and lunch every day as well. We’ll definitely go back.
NEW RESTAURANT BONUS: Wandering on Columbia Street this weekend in that northern corner of Red Hook on the other side of the BQE from Carroll Gardens, we noticed that a space on which we have noticed ongoing work for weeks looks to be opening soon. It’s Mazzat Mediterranean Kitchen and Tapas. Looks like it will be a pretty place, at least, from the glimpses we’ve had of its interior as work went on.
Comments Off on New Union Street Eatery: Palo SantoTags:Uncategorized
This flickr photoset of Berlin shots was posted by soupflowers, who also shoots rocking pics of Brooklyn. (If you haven’t see them, check out her Red Hook set.) In any case, this Berlin set is especially interesting because Berlin is one of the graffiti and street art capitals of the universe. Also, we have a deep fascination with all things Berlin, dating to our many, many visits to the city and attachment to it because we were there when the Wall fell nearly 17 years ago and stood atop it, cheering, in a much different and in some way, simpler, time.
September 30th, 2006 · Comments Off on Brookvids: The Domino Sugar Plant
We love the old Domino Sugar plant in Williamsburg and would miss its brooding presence if it were to be demolished. Some of the buildings have wonderful old architectural detail if you take the time to look at them. Music here is Radio 4. To watch click on this link or simply click the embed.
Comments Off on Brookvids: The Domino Sugar PlantTags:Uncategorized
Check out the WPA Free Fest in Williamsburg today (9/30) and tomorrow (10/1). The WPA Free Fest is put on by the Williamsburg Performance Alliance–which is a nod to a different WPA, the Depression-era Works Progress Administration–and offered free of charge at different venues in Williamsburg. Click here for the full schedule. Performers include ABADACA CAPOIERA, Abby Bender & Schmantze Theater’s ZOO, Anabelle Lenzu, Andrew Dickerson/Cirque This, Audrey Crabtree, Bryon Carr, Cassie Terman, Cate McNider, Danyon Davis, Dirty Steve, Eric Davis, Everything Smaller, Fly-by-Night Dance Theatre, Gillian Chadsey, Groove Mama, Heather Harpham, Heather McArdle, Hilary Grubb, Jackie Moynahan, Jessica Gaynor, Julie Kline, Juliette Mapp, Leigh Evans, Marisa Beatty, Marisa Grunberg, Noel Mac Duffie Dance, Phil Alexander, SIX CHARACTERS, Stephanie Sleeper, Tanya Calamoneri, The South Wing, Vanessa Paige Dance, Victoria McNichol Kelly, Will Rawls, The Bitter Poet, Cole Kazdin, Trav S.D., Debby Schwartz, Jonathan Latiano, Chris Harcum and Michele Carlo.
September 30th, 2006 · Comments Off on Gowanus Lounge Saturday Curbed Wrap Up
Regular readers and clickers (we thank you) know we post over at Curbed too from Monday through Friday. Here are some of this week’s offerings posted by our other blogging personality:
Read the Atlantic Yards Draft Environmental Impact Statement section on sewage, as we did, and you would think that a miracle has been wrought. Reduced to a few words, the report says that Atlantic Yards and all its 15,000-18,000 new residents and toilets would produce an itty-bitty problem here and there (ie, untreated sewage overflows into local waters),but that on the whole, there would be no major negative impact.
The report, for instance, says there would be less crap going into the Gowanus Canal with Atlantic Yards than without it. Come again? It claims that all of the efforts to reduce and hold Atlantic Yards sewage in storage tanks would result in less flowing into the canal than the current system.
Given that today is the last day for public comments to the Empire State Development Corporation and that there is an analysis of Biblical Proportions coming from the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods that will say that the DEIS is so full of errors that it shouldn’t be approved, this is as good a day as any to take another look at the testimony offered by Marilyn Oliva, representing Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus (FROGG). According to Oliva, who knows a little bit about sewage and the Gowanus, the report uses 1988 statistics for its predictions.
At issue are the wonderful events known as CSO’s or “Combined Sewage Outflows.” To you and me, that means so much rain overwhelming the sewage system that, well, shit, et. al. flows into the Gowanus and the East River (where Atlantic Yards crap would go). In the case of Gowanus, on a really bad day, it means sewage geyers erupting in the streets, basements flooding with unspeakable substance and the like. This is what happens in Gowanus during really bad rainstorms. This is also why sometimes, after it rains, the Gowanus smells, well, like shit. The funky smell is there because Brooklynites literally flush their toilets right into the Big G when it rains.
We were particularly taken by the description offered by Christopher Ketcham in an excellent New York Press article that was otherwise about the roof dogs of Gowanus:
The sewer streams underground run down to the old swampland and surface in the storm eye into scuddable foam, two and sometimes three feet deep…Manholes pop open and dash in the stream like discuses, and from them white-brown geysers frolic, four feet in the air, and around the geysers the water bashes in boiling waves, pauses in eddies, and shoots off in a tomato-colored stream west, making for the waterfalls on the banks of the canal, which speeds in its ebb to the sea.
Poetic, no?
What does this have to do with Atlantic Yards? Pretty much everything. Oliva argues that these Old Faithfuls of Shit will be far more common sights when Atlantic Yards is built, and that the DEIS is, well, a crock of you know what because consultants used 1988 data that doesn’t take into account changing weather patterns:
The model used to arrive at this conclusion, InfoWorks, uses the year 1988 as an average for both rainfall and storm intensity, both of which contribute to CSO’s. As all local residents know, 1988 does not adequately represent either average rainfall or storm intensity, both of which have been much greater in the past 10 years, both of which are projected to be greater still as we enter a 30-year cycle of more rain and more severestorms. Any model using this average and the results it produces then is flawed and should be reconsidered with more accurate data.
Perhaps even more significant: the InfoWorks model indicates that under the best circumstances, 2 more CSO’s would occur with between 15 and 18,000 more people flushing toilets into the Canal which “would not affect the quality of the water in the Canal.” We would like to point out that…The currently permitted CSO’s in the Gowanus Canal make it the single biggest contributor of high levels of pathogens to the New York Harbor; even two more of these events would then have a significant impact on the quality of water in the Canal, and in the Harbor. Permitting only two more of these events will thus have a significant affect on the waterways.
Residents from Ft Greene to Park Slope have to deal with sewage flooding their basements because the current sewage system and the Gowanus watershed cannot handle the rainfall and sewage we already produce. Antiquated sewer lines and an over-taxed watershed mean that rain and wastewater often never make it to the Red Hook or Owl’s Head Water Treatment Plants; they spill out of the system causing unlicensed CSO’s.
Vague promises of system upgrades do not sufficiently address the real health and safety issues that will arise with between 15 to 18,00 more residents flushing toilets into an already overtaxed system.
Just one of the thousands of issues associated with Atlantic Yards that may, or may not, be addressed by the Empire State Development Corporation that will impact life in Brooklyn.
We’re road testing a new weekly feature–an end of the week Brooklyn wrap-up called “Brooklyn Week in Review,” which will highlight some of the particularly important, interesting or amusing stories of the week.
Highlights of the week of September 25, 2006
The BrooklynSpeaks group, which some Atlantic Yards opponents immediately started referring to as BS, made its debut online. Its supporters offered an explanation of why they did it, but it was not welcomed with enthusiasm by longtime Atlantic Yards activists, some of whom suggest the group was actually a closet supporter of the arena. Some argued that they were ignoring all of the blogs and groups that have been covering the Atlantic Yards story, some for years. The City Planning Commission, meanwhile, called for reducing Atlantic Yards…to the size it was in the original proposal, before nearly a million square feet were added by the developer. And Forest City Ratner agreed.
With the public comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement closing today (9/29), the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods, which was funded by the City Council to review the DEIS, planned to submit a report at 1:00 citing the “profound…errors and shortcomings” and saying the DEIS should not be approved. The Empire State Development Corporation, meanwhile, continued to stonewall Freedom of Information Law requests for Atlantic Yard fiscal impact and other information.
Want to convert your Prospect Heights property to luxury housing? Well, brick in the last remaining tenant. Or, you can just surround a building with a construction site, like on Eighth Avenue in the South Slope, and drive out the tenants by cracking the building in half. On the other hand, being bricked in or having your building collapse around you is nothing compared to how nasty it can be to live in “supportive housing” in Brooklyn or in the “dorm from hell” at Long Island University in Brooklyn. For Richard Meier‘s new glass building at Grand Army Plaza, on the other hand, expect to pay $790K to $6 million, but you probably won’t have to worry about horror movie-sized bedbugs.
And, finally, you really know summer’s over when they turn the lights out on the Parachute Jump so that migratory birds don’t fly into it and cease to migrate. Fly south, little friends. Fly south.
September 29th, 2006 · Comments Off on Attention Atlantic Yards Shoppers: A Template to Beat 5:30 Public Comment Deadline
Despite a variety of prostest and appeals that the Atlantic Yards public comment period be extended, the Empire State Development Corporation is hewing to its deadline, which is today at 5:30 PM. (The deadine was slightly extended to handle the legal requirements of adding a third public forum.)
While the entire review, hearing and comment process may very well be headed to court, that’s another days legal fun. Today, the issue is submitting comments.
No Land Grab has thoughtfully offered up some last minute commenting help for the proscrastinating Brooklyn resident. If you want to voice your opinion, you can download and fill out a template in PDF format or even in MS Word format. (Clicking those links will open the documents.)
Of course, the documents can be hand delivered, but they can also be emailed. Click here to e-mail them to the Empire State Development Corporation. No Land Grab suggests you enable that annoying delivery receipt option for this e-mail.
Comments Off on Attention Atlantic Yards Shoppers: A Template to Beat 5:30 Public Comment DeadlineTags:Uncategorized
September 29th, 2006 · Comments Off on Greenpoint’s Land of a Dozen Fingers
Needless to say, we were a little surprised in one of our periodic wanderings around Greenpoint when we actually counted the number of new and tall buildings going up in a particular corner of the neighborhood. It’s the oddly shaped patch in the map above that we have dubbed The Land of a Dozen Fingers because so many buildings between five and ten stories are going up there at once. The Finger Building, of course, is the notorious high rise slowly going up on N. 8th Street in Williamsburg that’s had a huge crane towering over it for more than a year now.
There are nearly a dozen of these mini-fingers, if you will, in the area bounded by McGuinnes Boulevard, Bayard Street, Manhattan Avenue and Driggs Avenue. The biggest concentration of Greenpoint Fingers is around Eckford Street and Engert Avenue. (This excludes what we call Karl Fischer Row and environs on Bayard Street, east of McCarren Park, which flips North Brooklyn the biggest birds of them all).
September 29th, 2006 · Comments Off on Chile Pepper Fiesta at Brooklyn Botanic Garden on Saturday
To judge by the crowds that have shown up for it in recent years, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden doesn’t need us to promote it’s annual Chile Pepper Festival. But, it’s worth nothing that the fest takes place on Saturday (9/30) and that it’s full of activities and performances. (The BBG even has a little blog associated with the fiesta about the joys of hot food and related topics.) Us, we’re going to get kidnapped by the day job to do photography on Saturday, so we’re going to miss this year’s shindig. In the past, however, we’ve found that the fiesta food is okay, but not outstanding and certainly not super-hot, although self-disclosure requires us to say that we have an asbestos palate and that our threshold for “hot” is set a lot higher than most people’s.
The fest starts at Noon and the food is served up until 5:30. It can be a fun time, especially for children, but beware the crowds because it’s a very well-known and promoted event. If you’re looking for a peaceful day to enjoy the BBG and don’t care about the Fiesta, you might want to go to on Sunday instead. If you don’t mind the extra crowd and you want to check out the Fiesta, then Saturday’s your day.
Comments Off on Chile Pepper Fiesta at Brooklyn Botanic Garden on SaturdayTags:Uncategorized
One sure way to catch our attention is a story about an animal, almost any kind of animal. We’re especially into urban wildlife stories, but also enjoy more run-of-the-mill creatures like dogs. In any case, we noticed on the Park Slope Forum that people are discussing a pig that has been spotted being walked down Seventh Avenue on a leash. The first report was posted on Monday and there have been a number of follow ups. Does this mean that Park Slope has its own pet pig? Or is it Emmett, the somewhat famous Fort Greene pig, about whom much has been written? (Our money is on Emmett, because how many pet pigs can Brooklyn have?)
[Photo of Emmett courtesy of lesterhead on flickr]
September 28th, 2006 · Comments Off on Atlantic Yards as Seen from Across the Pond: "A Project Recalls Mistakes of the Past"
From a story in the new Economist headlined “Up in Arms About the Yards: A project recalls mistakes of the past,” comes a very interesting take on Atlantic Yards. We’re going to excerpt some of the story here:
The Atlantic Yards, in the heart of Brooklyn, are now nothing more than a sunken set of tracks where trains are cleaned. But if all goes as planned, the yards and the blocks around will be reborn as 16 glittering towers, with an arena as their crown jewel. The $4.2-billion scheme is one of the most ambitious in New York’s history, and one of the most controversial.
Supporters—including George Pataki, the governor, and Michael Bloomberg, the mayor—say this is a model project, both for its fine design and for its civic-mindedness. Others are less enthralled. Community groups, scrambling to make their point before a period of public comment ends on September 29th, want the project either changed radically or stopped altogether.
Urban renewal in New York has a turbulent history. Under Robert Moses, the “master-builder” who shaped the city from the 1930s to the 1960s, urban renewal became voracious, often using eminent domain to snatch private property and replace lively neighbourhoods with self-contained housing projects that became barren and dangerous. A backlash against Moses ushered in the next era of urban planning, which aimed to improve the existing community rather than replace it.
Bruce Ratner, of Forest City Ratner Companies, hopes to create a new, dazzling model of development with the Atlantic Yards. He is being encouraged by Dan Doctoroff, the deputy mayor for economic development, New York’s most ambitious planner since Moses. The city and state have promised to chip in $100m each and provide a host of tax breaks, possibly worth more than $1 billion…Mr Ratner is working…with the Empire State Development Agency (ESDC), a state body that can sponsor projects without consulting local governments. After two perfunctory public hearings, the ESDC will draw up a final plan for approval by the governor and the speakers of the state Senate and Assembly.
Opponents are not giving up. Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, a coalition of 21 community groups, plans to challenge the state’s use of eminent domain, although a Supreme Court decision last year allows condemnation in the name of economic development. Others, resigned to Mr Ratner’s scheme, are turning to Eliot Spitzer, the attorney-general and likely next governor, to ask him to curb the power of the ESDC, which is backing other big plans in the city. New York is being reshaped; the question is how.
We’ve cut out some detail, so it’s worth going to the full article. We’re particular amused by the writer’s introduction of Robert Moses into the story and the point he makes about how Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff is the city’s “most ambitious planner since Moses.” Of course, depending on how one chooses to read this, it’s either a tremendous compliment or as nasty slap in the face.
We’ve made the analogy many times, in the sense that Doctoroff has certainly hatched some of the biggest development schemes in seen in several generations and will be responsible for pushing projects in New York, and particularly Brooklyn, that will work dramatic changes. Whether they are superb changes or nightmarish ones, of course, depends on one’s point of view. But, if one comes back and look at Brooklyn 25 year from now, many of the most dramatic changes that one will see–like a dense, highrise core in Brooklyn and a redeveloped waterfront peppered with highrises stretching from Newtown Creek to Sunset Park and, ultimately, to Coney Island–will be the result of Doctoroff’s machinations.
Comments Off on Atlantic Yards as Seen from Across the Pond: "A Project Recalls Mistakes of the Past"Tags:Uncategorized
September 28th, 2006 · Comments Off on Recycle Your Computers & Donate Clothing
The city’s computer recycling effort is coming to Brooklyn on Saturday (9/30), and it’s especially convenient if you live in the South Slope. The recycling drop spot is the plaza in front of Prospect Park across from Bartel Pritchard Square (Prospect Park West and Prospect Park Southwest). Following are accepted: computers & laptops, monitors & printers, scanners, keyboards & mice, TVs and cell phones. There’s a limit of five pieces per person. The city’s website says that
All dropped off items will be recycled through contracted vendors and all data on hard drives will be destroyed; no scavenging will be permitted and no tax-deduction receipts will be given out. The first 100 people to drop off electronics at each event will receive a $5 Best Buy Gift Card.
While safe to use, electronics contain hazardous materials, such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium. Recycling your unwanted electronic equipment keeps these hazardous materials out of the waste stream and the environment.
Donations of used clothing and linens are also being accepted, and tax-deduction receipts will be available from either Goodwill or the Salvation Army.
Hours are from 8AM-2PM.
Thanks to Neil Feldman’s superb Not Only Brooklyn e-newsletter for the heads up about this.
Comments Off on Recycle Your Computers & Donate ClothingTags:Uncategorized
We’ve dig Cafe Grumpy on Meserole Ave. in Greenpoint, but haven’t been there on any Sunday nights, so we didn’t know that it’s serving up faith in addition to espresso. The Daily News scores with a fun story today about the congregation that’s been having services there since July. We’ll let writers David Freedlander and Melissa Grace explain:
While Greenpoint hipsters sip lattes and leaf through the Sunday papers at Café Grumpy on Meserole Ave., a fervent group of young neighborhood churchgoers prays behind them.
“I am evil, born in sin,” chant worshipers in the newly established Williamsburg Church.
Since July, a congregation of 15 has been gathering on Sunday nights in a nook in the back of the cafe, an area that operates as an art gallery the rest of the week.
“A church isn’t a building, it’s a people,” said pastor Robert Elkin, who moved to Brooklyn six months ago to open the church.
Elkin is a member of the Heritage Bible Church, a 1,400-person evangelical group based in Greer, S.C. The born-again missionaries hope to open churches across the country, particularly in areas where religion isn’t at the top of people’s to-do lists.
“It’s a ripe environment, but it’s a challenge,” said Elkin, who sees “hedonism” in Williamsburg and Greenpoint’s youth culture.
The group’s target audience is hip, young New Yorkers who have ignored God for too long – and have been overlooked by God’s messengers.
The community-oriented, nondenominational flavor of the coffee-shop church has appealed to local artists.
The church rents the space at Cafe Grumpy, which is at 193 Meserole Ave. They make a good espresso.
