EATING HABITS AREN’T REALLY SO HARD TO CHANGE

Resolutions are an easy way to absolve yourself of the sins of December. Too much eggnog? You’re going to find the diet that really works. Black out at the company Christmas party? No more than one drink a week for you from now on! Suck wind at that Turkey Trot your cousin bullied you into? This is the year you run the marathon, somehow. That’s about the level of thought that most people put into their resolutions, which translates almost directly to the ease with which those resolutions fall by the wayside. Easy come, easy go.

But we are fans of using the New Year as an opportunity for taking stock. This exercise should be about behaviors and habits, breaking bad ones and making new good ones. It’s not about punishment and low self-esteem; most importantly, it’s not quantitative—you don’t get a gold star and permission to quit once you’ve lost those 12 pounds; make a fundamental shift and stick with it.
So. Now that you’ve awakened early to go for a jog exactly twice, only to discover that it’s still dark out at 6 a.m. and your bed is somehow exponentially more comfortable after that first snooze button, you’re ready to try on a different kind of resolution. Here are the ones we’re committing to this year.

Leave the borough. The amount of time we spend seeking out new restaurants is enough to have learned a new language. But the minute we see the address on that interesting new place is in Williamsburg, our defenses clamp down. “It’s so far! It’s full of hipsters!” Well, yes. But so is the Lower East Side, and we were first in line at the Bowery Diner.

To start, get yourself to Gwynnett Street (312 Graham Ave., Williamsburg; gwynnettst.com ) ASAP; it’s been the talk of the town all year and turned up on all the “Best of 2012” lists that matter. Whiskey bread to start and a seasonally driven menu full of surprising, comfortable combinations, exquisitely presented without toppling over into the precious, will be more than enough to outweigh that moustache-packed L train ride in.

Just say no to bacon. Yes, we know, bacon is delicious. It is concentrated fat and salt, two of the things our brains are chemically wired to seek out at all costs, so saying you love bacon is as unnecessary as expounding your love of oxygen. Unfortunately, chefs have started relying heavily on this meaty crutch to prop up otherwise unlovable dishes. This year, vow to read the menu in full, and don’t fall for the shiny object dangling in front of you. At brunch at Print (653 11th Ave.; printrestaurant.com), resist the maple bacon sticky buns, an overload of sweet topped with an obscene shower of chopped bacon, and go for a properly flaky croissant or semolina raisin bread French toast, a hearty foil to as much maple syrup as you can pour on.

Try things you think you don’t like. Obviously this does not apply to serious allergies. But if you’ve always hated mushrooms because they’re too slimy or avoided cabbage because you had an over-boiled boiled dinner as a kid, now’s the time to banish that old sense memory. Ninety-five percent of the time, the fault is with the chef, not the ingredient, so find someone you trust and put yourself in their hands.

If vegetables are the enemy, go kamikaze at Dirt Candy (430 E. 9th St.; dirtcandynyc.com), whose menu is entirely vegetarian, much of it vegan, and the restaurant nonetheless remains one of the New York Times’ favorite spots. Mushrooms don’t stand a chance against a portobello mousse served with truffled toast—chances are whatever your aversion might be, it will meet its match here as well. Unless you’re one of those people genetically programmed to hate cilantro. If so, we’re sorry.

Photo Courtesy of Alissa Fleck

By Alissa Fleck

Country Brunchin’ at the Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg is easily one of the most enjoyable things I’ve ever done in the City. It’s also just the latest variation on the Brooklyn theater/restaurant’s weekend brunch series, celebrating the “sweet sweet South and all its goodness.”

This event is 100% ideal for people whose attention spans are best suited to imbibing multiple forms of overlapping entertainment with little-to-no lull in the action. The excitement begins as soon as audience members file into the cozy dinner theater, where a live band mingles relevant tunes with casual small talk.

This past weekend, the Gentleman Callers, a “60s-era country classics” band, set the mood, rocking out with mariachi tunes against a backdrop of grindhouse Western clips. When the band was finished, the house dimmed the lights, and served up delicious Southern fare (in addition to the usual menu) while Smokey and the Bandit played on the big screen.

Each brunch features a different Southern-style special, whipped up just for the occasion. This weekend it was mouthwatering chicken-fried steak and, fittingly, a can of Coors Light. The menu also boasts unique concessions, extravagant desserts and several vegetarian options.

One of the most incredible things about Country Brunchin’ was how smoothly the shindig went down. When a live band meets food served in the dark, you might expect hiccups, or at least a drunken Coors Light-fueled ruckus, but everything went off without a hitch, and each aspect was incredible. The Gentleman Callers even managed to work in the film’s theme song, performed impromptu alongside an audience member celebrating one heck of a birthday party at the venue. Nitehawk has this event down from Coors to curtain, and I will definitely be back next month.

Country Brunchin’ takes place the first weekend of every month for $16. Each weekend features a different “high octane, emotionally moving, six shootin’, car chasin’, down and dirty [movie] set below the Mason Dixon line,” with a unique and appropriate culinary special.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Bike theft numbers are in, and they aren’t good. NYPD announced this week that it has seen a 25 percent increase in thefts across the city this year.

So far, 1,694 bikes have been reported stolen in 2012. New Yorkers documented 1,346 thefts by August last year.

Are thieves getting smarter? Are cyclists getting lazier? According to AM New York, police say they are not sure what to attribute the apparent rise in thefts to — if any one thing at all.

Thefts have spiked particularly in Williamsburg, but CB1 Transportation Committee member Ryan Kuonen thinks this is mostly because more people are reporting them.  “To say there were only 24 thefts [last year] is a laugh,” he told DNAinfo. “To say there are 100, yeah, that makes sense.”

The simplest explanation may be that there are just more bicycles on the roads. Bicycle commuters have more than doubled since the city added over 250 miles of bike lanes in 2007, so thieves now have at least 19,000 potential targets.

Photo by peffs, courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons.

The increase in thefts “points to a lag in the infrastructure meeting the growth of bicycling in New York,” Michael Murphy of Transportation Alternatives told AM New York. “More New Yorkers biking means more places to secure bikes are needed.”

NYPD, bicycle shop owners and bike advocacy groups are now especially emphasizing the importance of secure, heavy locks and bicycle registration. Most owners never retrieve a stolen bike — though, with a little luck and persistence, there’s always the chance you can get the police to help you set up your own small sting operation.

The silver lining? NYPD also reported that car thefts are down 10 percent.

Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

by Adel Manoukian

It’s long-awaited good news for Brooklynites and Manhattan residents. State Senator Daniel Squadron announced today that the MTA has made many service expansions and restorations in the two boroughs.

The MTA will create a brand new Brooklyn Tech Triangle bus route which the senator and stakeholders will lead the effort for. Other changes include a new bus route beginning in mid-2013 along the Williamsburg waterfront, which will be designed in consultation with stakeholders.

The Senator and the community have been advocating new routes since some services were cut in 2010 to close a gap in the MTA’s budget.

Now restorations include the B39 bus service over the Williamsburg Bridge to and from Manhattan. The M9 bus will add service to Battery Park City and will add more stops in between. The B57 bus has extended its services into Red Hook. The G train will permanently add five more stops after its last Church Avenue station. Some buses are also getting weekend service. These include the B24, B69, and M21.

“New Yorkers depend on the access bus and subway service provides every day of the week,” said Senator Squadron in a statement. “These restorations and new routes will connect more neighborhoods for more New Yorkers more often. From Williamsburg to Red Hook and from the Lower East Side to Battery Park City, we’ve been pushing with the community for these restorations because they are, simply, essential.”

The senator isn’t giving up his pushing just yet. He continues to advocate for M8 weekend service, a restoration of B51 service and more service from the Brooklyn waterfront’s Columbia Street into Park Slope and beyond to replace the B71.

Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons

More than 1 million people have ridden East River ferries since the service began just over a year ago, Mayor Bloomberg announced today.

Bloomberg said this number far exceeds ridership projections, according to the Huffington Post. Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn rode the ferry from North Williamsburg to Lower Manhattan to celebrate the occasion.

The Post reports the ferries, which quickly transport people to businesses and parks, are not just for tourists. City locals are also partaking in ferry transportation.

“Using our waterways as transportation corridors makes for a greener and more livable city and knits together rapidly growing neighborhoods in new ways,” Bloomberg said in a statement. The Mayor called it an alternative for people looking for ways to get around the city, and the massive ridership supports this transportation alternative’s popularity.

“Surpassing the one-million milestone is a testament to how popular our service has been with commuters, tourists and leisure travelers in the first year,” said Paul Goodman, CEO of BillyBey Ferry Company.

On weekdays, the ferries, which accommodate 149 passengers, run from 6:45 a.m. until 8:45 p.m. in both directions. Numerous groups are working hard to acquire feedback and provide even more improvements to the ferries.

One-way fare is $4, while a monthly pass goes for $140. Scenic beauty that doesn’t involve dark, cramped tunnels is, of course, priceless.

—Alissa Fleck 

David Byrne and Amanda Palmer. Photos by Veronica Hoglund

This past Wednesday night Amanda Palmer, former vocalist for the Dredson Dolls, played a sold out show at the Williamsburg Hall of Music. Backed by bandmates The Grand Theft Orchestra, the night’s performance was packed with surprises, including an unexpected appearance by legendary David Byrne of the Talking Heads. AP pleased the packed room with songs off of her earlier records, including tracks from her days as a Dredson Doll — while also singing those off of her latest album Theatre Is Evil. The night made an epic finish with an encore of “Burning Down the House,” which Byrne was so kind to have returned to the stage for.

The south Williamsburg Satmar Jewish community is split between two rival brothers, Zalman Teitelbaum and Aaron Teitelbaum — who control the community’s Zalmanite and Aronite factions. The brothers have been at odds for years over control of the Satmar empire, previously led by their father, Grand Rebbe Moses Teitelbaumm and even got into a war this year over control of upstate Hasidic summer camps, which oddly played into the congressional race.

The Zalmanite faction, which is larger and has asserted greater political power in the past, has been affiliated with Brooklyn Democratic leader Vito Lopez, who was supporting Dilan. But the Aronite faction appeared to show new political strength this election, according to its leaders, though Dilan appears to have won the overall vote among Satmars. Velaquez’s campaign estimated a 60-40 split in favor of Dilan.

Still, Aronite leaders say that yesterday’s turnout was a benchmark for their community.

“We turned out a huge block vote for Nydia,” said Gary Schlesinger, executive board chairman of UJCare, an Aronite social services group.

To read the full article at City & State click here.

She was barely soaking in her victory — having addressed the crowd at Williamsburg’s East River Bar shortly before 11 p.m. — and was piling her plate with meatballs, roast chicken, fried fish, pasta salad, rice and some kind of lasagna at a buffet set up in the bar’s backyard.

“We beat him in his own district! In his base! Cypress Hills!” she said. “The question was turnout and how well we would do in the Hasidic community. But I’m going to work and represent the entire community.”

Her campaign manager, Anthony Thomas, said the keys to victory were decisive wins in Brownstone Brooklyn and the Lower East Side, and keeping pace with Dilan in Hasidic Williamsburg, where Velazquez picked up about 40 percent of the vote.

Turnout had indeed been low throughout the district.

Poll watcher Dorothy Siegel said that voter turnout in Brooklyn Heights was the lowest she had ever seen. And voters were slow to get to the polls in parts of southside Williamsburg and Bushwick.

Councilwoman Diana Reyna, who herself enjoyed a raucous primary night three years ago after defeating a Vito Lopez-backed candidate, said that she believed the Brooklyn Democratic chairman had been counting on a low turnout to help Dilan, but that even he thought Nydia was going to win.

“Vito approached a volunteer at my polling site and said, ‘Of course she’s going to win, she had eight pieces of mail and three negative pieces in the final days of the campaign,’” said Reyna.

Just after midnight, City Comptroller John Liu stopped by to congratulate Nydia and pose for a half-dozen photographs.

“I’ve been on the campaign trail with a lot of people and it’s really hard to keep up with Nydia,” he said. “Congratulations to Nydia and congrats to all of us. This is Nydialand!”

To read more from City & State click here.

Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons

We reported on cases of anti-Semitic vandalism throughout Brooklyn neighborhoods in recent weeks, now it appears even more cases are cropping up.

Police believe it’s possible the owners of a dozen vehicles in Williamsburg, which had windows shattered by a pellet gun overnight, were targets of anti-Semitic vandals, reports What’s News, an Orthodox Jewish Community newspaper.

The attack on the vehicles occurred shortly after Rabbi Aron Kraus of Williamsburg was targeted in his vehicle by a shooter, who pulled up beside him and proceeded to shoot out his windows.

Brooklyn Scoop reports hateful anti-Semitic messages were also scrawled on a Williamsburg street last night. This past Friday, an Orthodox man was assaulted on the way home from Shul in Sheepshead Bay, the Scoop also reports.

Police continue to look for connections in all these cases.

—Alissa Fleck

Photo by dandeluca

By Paul Bisceglio

Just in time for the weekend’s predicted sunshine, Rockaway Beach’s new Williamsburg-to-the-beach “Rockabus” is kicking off its service this Saturday and Sunday with free roundtrip rides to shore.

Beginning at 9:30 a.m. and departing every 35 minutes, yellow school buses will cruise back and forth between Metropolitan and Meeker Avenues and the beach’s boardwalk at Beach 86^th Street. The final bus leaves the beach at 6:55 p.m.

“The inspiration for the Rockabus came after realizing that there should be an affordable way to get out to Rockaway that doesn’t involve spending an hour underground on a beautiful day,” Rockabus founder Sam Morrill told the Gothamist. The service will charge $10 one way and $18 round trip.

Visit Rockabus’s site for all the details, and don’t forget sunscreen.