"In recent years, Clinton Hill and Fort Greene schools have undergone the sort of transformation that eludes frustrated educators nationwide.
Area parents of an older generation made escaping the local schools into an art. Some opted for private or parochial schools; some pursued charter schools with open-district lottery admissions; and some relocated to Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights when their children came of school age. Many more relied on a time-honored tradition: forging apartment leases to assume addresses in other zones.
But now, just a few years later, parents from around the district and outside it flock to Clinton Hill and Fort Greene schools. In fact, parents now forge documents to get in to this newly desirable zone."- Eliza Ronalds-Hannon
As winter sets in, I am sure there will be lots of little growing pains as we all settle in to our new homes for the winter. Feel free to use this blog to ask each other questions here and compare notes.
After having our first get together in the new place, and after having some beet juice stain our white granite countertop - I thought I would share what we learned about getting red wine/beet juice stains off of the counter. We learned through this experience that we should be sealing our granite counter tops every few months to prevent oil and wine stains from seeping in.
As granite is a stone, acidic fruits (lemons, orange, blueberry, grape), vegetables and wine will permanently stain the counter if left sitting for too long. As new homeowners, we didn't realize this and thought that because the granite has a polished finish - that it would be sealed and impervious to stains. We scrubbed and scrubbed to no avail. That beet juice was not going to come out.
That's when we found this website and used their method of combining flour with dish soap and water to make a paste, or "poultice" and let it sit overnight. It worked for the beet juice stain and I would imagine it would do the same for red wine.
You might also want to check out these (cheesy, but informative) videos online for taking stains out of granite.
How to get oil stains out of granite. (We have not tried this one yet.)
This morning's Wall Street Journal describes the "college town feel" of Clinton Hill, and mentions The Lineage. It states that not only are 90% of the units in the building sold - that the Lineage 2 is scheduled to be released for sale this month. Read the article here.
Photo (c) Krisanne Johnson for The Wall Street Journal
Walking down our block in the evening, it has been exciting to see so many lights on in the Lineage. With our building almost at 87% in-contract (roughly 40% sold) it's about time we get to meet each other!
Is anyone else interested in organizing a building-wide meet and greet in October/November? Maybe we can meet up for a happy hour drink at Nero D'Oro on Greene/Classon?
If you're interested in helping to set this up, please leave a comment below - or message me on twitter @lineagegreene.
Oh great. Now we have no excuse not to work out after eating the glorious donuts from Dough, and cuban sandwiches from Pilar each weekend. Brownstoner reported today that Hosh Yoga will be opening up this Saturday September 10 in the space upstairs from Choice Greene. You can vote for your favorite class times here.
An article in today's Wall Street Journal entitled "Bedford Stuyvesant Steps Up Its Game" describes the upswing in new business coming to our area and includes mention of a number of new shops and restaurants within walking distance of our building. Have you been to any of these new spots?
On a cold rainy day, I am beginning to mourn the loss of summer - but happy that we still have a few more months to enjoy the neighborhood before the big freeze sets in! The Fort Greene-Clinton Hill Patch has a great little writeup on a few of the spots for outdoor dining, all within walking distance from our building. Notably, Nero D'Oro wine bar/cafe on the corner of Greene/Classon is missing from this list, be sure to check it out as quite a few of our neighbors have been raving about it!
Photo (c) Danny Deza for Ft. Greene/Clinton Hill Patch
