Newkirk Plaza
This afternoon, Blog Widow and I had brunch at Picket Fence on Cortelyou Road, then strolled through Ditmas Park and Ditmas Park West. Yes, yes, there are beautiful houses there. But today it’s about Newkirk Avenue.
Watching You
A half-block from the Newkirk Avenue subway station is this imposing array of surveillance cameras. I’m sure I’m recorded somewhere now, and facial recognition systems will soon match this suspicious character to my 25-year old blog profile photo, my identity revealed.
Christ My Sufficiency
This is just south of Newkirk Avenue on Rugby Road. The sign caught my eye, as well as Blog Widow’s. He said I had to take a picture of this store-front church. He’s in the biz, so I assume it’s out of professional interest.
Of course, I had to ask him, “What’s a FourSquare Church?” It was founded by Aimee Semple McPherson in 1927. Which doesn’t explain anything to me. I’ll read the Wikipedia article later.
Markets and Grocery Stores
MYSTERY SOLVED! Bitter Melon on Newkirk Avenue
Frank Jump, neighbor and general cohort, identifies these objets as bitter melons. It looks like a hairy, warty cucumber. It just doesn’t say “Eat ME!” to me.
Two Guys
I was taking a photo of the Drupali Grocery on Newkirk Avenue when these guys told me to "Make it a good picture!"
Each said I should take a picture of the other guy. So I asked to take a shot of both of them together. This was the third and last photo, after I prompted them to "smile!"
Welcome in Eleven Languages
This is the sign on the corner of the Newkirk Family Health Center, at the northeast corner of Newkirk and Rugby Road.
I don’t even recognize half of the alphabets, let alone the languages.
The first four are English, Spanish, Russian and French. I recognize Hebrew second from the bottom. I think the bottom one is Arabic script, and fourth from the bottom are Chinese characters.
Hey Xris-
That’s a bitter melon! Good in soup with some ham. Yum! Has many anti-cancer properties apparently. People with HIV used it as a colonic in the 80’s as an anti-viral. Who knows what worked? It’s better in a soup or dish with chicken and black beans.
Frank
Hello Xris;
Brooklyn is some different than Vermont. When I was 5 my dad packed us up and moved North and now, wherever I go, Vermont is still the best.
You wrote me back in June but that’s a busy time for our nursery. You mentioned ferns and a garden you had to leave where you had 18 varieties. Although I don’t mention them enough, they add a texture and color that works well with so many things they cannot be forgotten. (Give the Japanese painted fern ‘Silver Falls’ a try. It’s named after the great waterfalls in Oregon.)
A friend worked on a series of rain gardens this summer in parking lots here. This is something I think garden groups should consider more. You don’t need a big space and the scientific benefit to the environment is amazing. They are something that would have lots of possibilities where you are. Even small gardeners add peace to the neighborhood.
Thanks for great photos and writing. I enjoy the contrast.
George Africa
http://thevermontgardener.blogspot.com
http://vermontgardens.blogspot.com
hppt://vermontflowerfarm.com
The three groceries pictured are good for different things.
Kim’s has good prices on peppers and Caribbean hot sauces. SSC have remodeled and stopped putting an ugly blue tarp over the sidewalk. They have pretty good produce and a basket of habanaros near the cash register.
Rupali has baby variegated eggplants that are the size of golf balls and a flat bread that makes great Panini. Hey I’m Italian.
I like Nick at the liquor store so I’m there more than the other places.
Newkirk may be watching us but I’ve got nothing to hide.
I can’t wait for the bistro to open on the corner of Argyle and Newkirk. It’s the second venture of the owners of the Farm.