Category Archives: Brooklyn

A Wrong Turn And An Airplane

Airplane, Brooklyn, New York, Plane, Sign
a group of cars parked in front of a building

Over the weekend, Kim, Lucas and I were heading for lunch after running some errands. We weren’t quite sure where the restaurant was and I ended up turning the wrong direction. 

I didn’t drive more than a half block before Kim told me to look up on the right. When I looked, I saw a really amazing sign of an airplane flying out of a building. 

The sign was for a travel agency.

a building with a sign above it
I had to stop to get a few photos. I pulled over to let the cars behind me get by while Kim took a couple of shots (including the second one in the post) before the light changed back to green. 

I needed to get another look and decided to come back around on the other side of the street to get some more photos.
a large airplane on the side of a building
a sign on the side of a building

A wrong turn ended up becoming a fun photo-op thanks to Kim spotting the plane sign!

Checking Out Hurricane Sandy Aftermath in Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn, Destruction, Hurricane Sandy, Manhattan Beach, New York, NY, Sheepshead Bay
a house with a damaged roof
Side of house blown or washed away

There isn’t much to add regarding Hurricane Sandy. Luckily the storm did not affect us much. Besides shaky windows and being stuck inside, the worst thing that happened to us was our building’s parking garage getting a foot of water. My car started up yesterday, so hopefully it works later without issue. 

Many people we know had flooded basements, some waist high or as much as five feet!
I can’t imagine what that is like to clean up.

During the storm we did not have any loss of power however, last night it went out around 9:00pm and was back on by midnight. (The reason for this post being so late). Three hours of lost power is definitely not much to complain about.

a car parked in a dirt road
Muddy, tree blocked street

By our place (in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn) there wasn’t much damage. We saw lots of branches from trees on the gorund and some dirt in the streets & on sidewalks. A few blocks further, the same could not be said. I heard that trees were down, blocking streets and cars were abandoned in the middle of the street. In the main shopping area, many stores were destroyed. They were flooded or had windows blown out. I can’t imagine how long it will take to clean up this mess and rebuild these areas.

I decided to tag along with my parents for a ride to check out Sheepshead Bay and Manhattan Beach. I could not believe what I saw.

See for yourself with some of the pictures I took.

Some of the flooded shops along Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay:

a building with a sign on the front
a flooded restaurant entrance with a metal fence
a flooded building with a glass door
 a building with a sign on the roof
a flooded entrance to a cat cafe

This store on Sheepshead Bay Road had it’s windows blown out and the inside of the shop destroyed. See the turned over soda refrigerator and shelving making a huge mess.

a store front with a sign on the front
a storefront with broken windows

Here are some photos of the Manhattan Beach area:

a car parked in front of a house

a tree fallen over a pile of trash
Paved street covered in mud
The owner of the house below told me how he had thee feet of sandbags blocking his driveway. Regardless, it took around 15 seconds for the water to rush in and flood it. The sandbags were knocked over and his garage looked like a swimming pool. He told me that luckily the first floor of his house only got about five inches of water inside.
a house with a garage door
a pile of bags of trash outside a garage door

Here are some more shots of Sheepshead Bay:

a flooded building with pillars
a flooded building with trash in front of it
 a car in a flooded street
 a flooded street with trees and a building
 a television on the street

In the bay, boats were pushed around and the walkway bridge (which was recently replaced) was in pretty bad shape.

a bridge over water with boatsa boat tied to a dock
a blue wooden bridge over water

Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Checking Out EscapeMaker.com’s Local Food & Travel Expo

Brooklyn, EscapeMaker, Food, Travel
a sign in a building

I had a chance to attend the EscapeMaker.com Local Food & Travel Expo on Saturday
April 14 which I was given a press invite to. (I wrote about the event prior to attending here)

a group of people posing for a photo

I showed up before the event started to attend the opening ceremony and ribbon cutting which included local leaders like Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. There were a few speeches given by the head of EscapeMaker, Markowitz and a few other local politicians. They talked a bit about green getaways and locally sourced foods. One thing I learned that was pretty interesting is that the Brooklyn Navy Yard will be getting a rooftop farm which will be one of the largest in the country.

a group of people standing next to a sign
After the press event I met up with Kim and Lucas and had a chance to check out the travel expo. The event was very nice. It had lots of exhibitors from various tourism boards. The majority being from upstate New York. There were also some booths from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Vermont.
a woman in a white shirt

There were a handful of local inns at the expo. Some looked really incredible and were located in interesting areas. I’d definitely like to visit a bunch of them in the future. 
There were also lots of wineries present- all offering samples. Kim definitely enjoyed tasting some! I enjoyed sampling some really tasty cheese, maple syrup and fudge offered by some of the other exhibitors.

a couple of women standing at a table
a sign with red text and arrow

Downstairs, in the vault was a Made In Brooklyn area. 
The idea for this was really cool but I would’ve liked to have seen a fuller room of exhibitors. Some of the highlights were Robicelli’s (they make really awesome & interesting flavored cupcakes), Raaka Chocolate (some of the best dark chocolate I’ve tried) and Kim had some tasty pickles from McClure’s.

a plate of chocolate on a tablea group of jars of pickles

Overall the EscapeMaker Local Food & Travel Expo was a fun event to stop by for a couple of hours. I found out some useful info about areas that I would definitely like to visit in the future and got to sample some tasty food!

EscapeMaker.com’s Local Food & Travel Expo- April 14

Brooklyn, EscapeMaker, Food, Green, New York, Travel
a poster for a food expo
EscapeMaker.com will be holding it’s 2nd annual Local Food & Travel Expo on April 14.
I received a Press Invite to the event & will hopefully make it and then have Kim & Lucas meet me after the show preview to check out the expo.
The expo takes place in Brooklyn, New York at One Hanson Place in the historic and amazing former home of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank.
a tall building with many windows
1 Hanson Place
The event focuses on “green” getaways as well as local foods and trips within a day’s drive or train ride of NYC. Exhibitors will be from Brooklyn, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont & Transportation Companies.
A little about the show:
  • There will be over 50 exhibitors at the event where you can sample local wines, cheeses, fudge, chocolate, jam, juices and other regional farm-fresh foods.
  • There will be travel workshops like Hiking via Mass Transit, Canoeing/ Kayaking, Agri-Tourism and Green Travel 101 among others.
  • Lots of Prizes- all food & travel related
The event takes places at Skylight One Hanson at 1 Hanson Place Brooklyn, New York.
Tickets cost $13 and the event is from 12-5 PM
(Use code “edible12” or “emzipcar” to save $3 off of the ticket price)
Find out more about the EscapeMaker Local Food & Travel Expo here

Ridiculous Street Signs #5- Ka Ka Bakery- Brooklyn, NY

Bakery, Brooklyn, Ka Ka, NY, Ridiculous, Street Signs
a store front with signs and a sign on the front
I was lucky enough to come across this awesome street sign last week.
I wasn’t on vacation or even too far from home. I’ve passed this street tons of times and NEVER before noticed this sign.
I was waiting in the car with my son while my wife ran in to grab a couple of donuts at a local place. I opened my window to get some air and happened to notice another dessert option- Ka Ka Bakery right next door!
a store front with a sign
Close-up of Ka Ka
I immediately pulled out my phone to get some photos of this awesome and ridiculous sign! As my wife came back to the car she spotted me taking pictures and said she had also just noticed the sign for the first time.
Was Ka Ka the best name they could think of for a bakery? 

One could only imagine what ingredients are being used in their fine, baked goods…