Aeropostale - Fulton Mall Is Gettin' Down With The Whiteness

A place for my cargo shorts eh? Have the seeds been planted? Aeropostale was a third rate Hollister growing up, and Hollister is kind of what I hate about tame hang loose fashion for the suburban set. I say leave it all for the South Street Seaport crowd but they've decided to set up shop soon on Fulton and Elm. Brownstoner has the scoop and the photo to prove this most vanilla of neighbors.

I'm not sure what kind of presence it will have; because it's an obvious Old Navy like Abercrombie with all the shitty logos all over the place, could it go urban? I doubt it. Will that matter 5 years from now? Maybe not, because this plus H&M (which I do like to an extent) means we're getting a little more WASPy. I mean, look at the Aeropostale site. Perpetual state of backyard grassy knoll goodness. No grass in the Fulton Mall, and I'm assuming no coke either. I mean, what makes the Fulton Mall great is that some of the stores that you don't find in the usual suburb crapfest exist there and the particular apparel and products you can purchase. That and the fact that the mall is endlessly entertaining with religious yelling, stores that sell jewelry AND DVDs AND 6 pairs of sneakers.

I'm thinkin' late summer for a pedestrian opening and about as lame as this next song:

Bar Spotlight: Franklin Park

Franklin Park
618 St. John's Place
Brooklyn, NY 11238

Official Site Here

Now a lot has been said about Franklin Park since it's opening last year in the western part of Crown Heights near the Eastern Parkway and the Brooklyn Museum. It's owner, Matt Roff, who heads up other Brooklyn beauties like Galapagos and Southpaw, somehow went under the radar and headed a little east for this establishment. A beer garden in Crown Heights? Competition for 95 South? Probably not. Adding a few things to the mix in the area? For sure.

Now there's the Radegast in Williamsburg, which isn't anywhere close, but hey, now there seems to be one within striking distance everywhere in downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn.

When I first went in the summer, I thought to myself, well this is it? The "garden" wasn't really much if a nice concrete area with a few picnic tables and some menus of wonderful food. It's nice, clean, and inside the bar has cool accents like subway tiles and mood lighting. And an ATM because it's cash only here folks. I thought ok this is nice to have; there's really not too many hipsters, some young professionals, or Greenpeace workers.

Now, I go there a couple times with none other than Mr. Marvelous Observations himself, due to the fact that he lived on Sterling at the time. Grab a pint of Jever for five bucks (it's one of the cheaper items) and rock out.

I'm about to give up on the place just because there's not much fueling me to go back there nor do I have friends around the area. But the last time I went definitely was worth a Bar Spotlight.

It's the idea that bars can adapt and evolve into something more, a logical progression that hits the spot. I'm talking about, ok so if most of your 2,000 square feet of space is outside, then what do you do when it gets cold? Open up a huge indoor annex with hemisphere booths, another bar, more bathrooms, and skeeball? And DJs spinning (although when I went the DJ went from awesome to doing 30 second blips which got really tiring). There's something soulful about the indoor space, I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because the first few times we heard some nice dub and rocksteady. Or maybe because the easy mix of twentysomethings in the place flows pretty well and there's a lot of space to stand; it's really just one giant monster room and the hallway has a few steps that go down to the bathroom area. The curved bar has plenty of seats, and the staff is alert and friendly. Oh and the mood lighting again.

That is how a bar becomes a functional thing of beauty, when it alters it's makeup to suit the seasons. Whether the patronage really feels like an organic mix and local has yet to be seen, but it doesn't hurt that it's well done and that earns my respect.


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Hollywood ASST: Memories are comin' back!

Now I had a great boss when I was an assistant at a mid-major, anyone will tell you that (Lori!!). The fact that we were in New York made things a bit different too, but there should totally be a New York version of this with an ad agency or something.

For anyone who's ever been an unglamorous assistant in a glamorous industry, here you go! There are some great LA references. Which is why New York needs a counterpart...


Hollywood ASST from Back of the Class on Vimeo.

Oh, and Vimeo's offices are right next to where I work. Niiiice.