Watch Out Late-Night Ladies

I currently make my income by logging tapes for a documentary on the subject of light pollution (as in pollution caused by excessive lighting). I hope to post more about this experience as time goes on but for now I'd like to share an interesting and unexpected piece of information. While logging an interview of a scientist with a PhD in breast cancer research I learned that women who do shift work (work nights and at other unusual times) are fifty to one hundred percent more likely to develop breast cancer than women who don't. The studies that show this are "remarkably consistent" and because of this shift working has been upgraded to the status of a Probable Carcinogen.

It is possible that the cause of this stems from the hormone that is released when your eye is exposed to artificial light.

I apologize for not being able to explain this in more detail or link specific studies.

A Brief History of the Palace and a History of How I Came to Know That History

A couple weeks ago, while passing by the bar, Dan was pulled aside by Irene to chat, as we so often are when we pass by that bar. This occasion was when Irene mentioned that the building is protected by the city as a historic landmark. Talking to Dan later, I learned that the wooden shingles on the facade, which can be seen here, were given as evidence of 156's historical relevance.

"What were these shingles about?" I wondered. Doing some preliminary research on a real estate site I learned that the building was built in 1930 and is valued at a dollar amount far lower than our rent would suggest. This information, at least the former piece, turned out to be a gross inaccuracy. My friends, don't trust the Internet.

Later, on said Internet, I found a digital scan of the "Greenpoint Historic District Designation Report," all 92 pages of it, approved by then mayor Edward I. Koch. I scrolled through it, stopping every few pages to read something of the history of the neighborhood, until I came upon a passage, which I quote now in full. The history of 156 Calyer:

"No. 156 is a four-story frame flathouse built about 1880 for James Youngs, a builder, who also erected No. 154 about eight years earlier. The first floor probably was always used for commercial purposes but now the storefront has contemporary brick facing. The three upper floors are residential and clad in novelty shingles, a feature associated with the Queen Anne style. This was a popular facade material for frame buildings at the time the building was erected. There are two other fine examples of this sheathing material at 109 and 126 Noble Street. Here, the shingles are cut in two ways: a straight edge and a scalloped or fish-scale edge. The fish-scale is used to emphasize the floor divisions and the spaces between the windows. The windows are square-headed and enframed by architrave moldings and brackets that carry continuous hooded lintels. The roof cornice has been removed but the parapet has been sympathetically covered with modern wooden shingles. The Lorimer Street facade presents a dramatic and largely intact expanse of the shingle siding. The treatment is similar to the main facade but a shallow three-sided oriel on wooden brackets rises at the center from the second floor. This oriel is flanked by windows. At the rear of the ground floor is an intact, original entrance to the flats on the upper floors."

In the future this post will be re-titled, "Dry & Anti-climactic."

Show Your Love

I'd like to request that everyone who reads this blog declare it so by adding themselves to our "Readers" section. If we get more than 10 people up in there then the section name will be changed from "Readers" to something more exciting. It's support from our friends that will keep this blog going through its second week of existence.

Tune in tomorrow for the one week anniversary celebration post!

Last week at our local corner store, God Bless Deli Grocery, I spotted actress and comedienne Janeane Garofalo.

She entered with a younger tall dark male companion and stood in line at the counter.

I didn't stick around long enough to find out what she wanted at the counter, but perhaps:

A) Cigarettes

B) Directions

C) $2.50 Cheeseburger

3L is now wondering if she may be another Greenpoint dweller.

The Loud Sound

I heard a very loud sound. It sounded like an engine revving just once. Then there was silence.

It's three minutes later now. The engine has just revved twice more. Three more times. Two more times. Just one extended revving. It is accompanied by the sounds of Polish laughter.

Three more minutes have passed. One quick one. Bring it on!

HISTORIC