Sponsored Post: 718 Cyclery, New South Slope Custom Bike Shop

Joe Nocella's always had a thing for bikes. From going over jumps as a kid to an early career as a bike messenger, something about the mechanics of the bicycle always attracted him, and in 2008 he started building his own in addition to his day job as an architect. 

Eventually, Joe realized that there was a need in the area for a customer-focused bicycle shop that focused on high-quality components. 718 Cyclery, which opened in November, isn't just a store, though. It's a workshop. This is an opportunity for the cyclist to have a hand in building and designing the perfect bike for their needs. Joe purchases the highest-quality components and builds it from scratch for you, even the wheels.

By collaborating with Joe on your custom bike, you'll choose the parts, the style, and have a hands-on, collaborative experience that's far more rewarding (and less intimidating) than walking into a huge bike shop and trying to pick one off of a wall. You'll learn how to maintain it, and gain a real understanding of the true mechanics behind the bicycle. You can get your hands as dirty as you want, from sitting back and taking notes to coming home with axle grease under your fingernails. 

Custom bikes under construction

If you're not looking to go through the whole custom-build process, and just want the highest-quality bike available, there are plenty of bikes on the walls you can choose from, all hand-built by Nocella and his mechanics. There are also classes you can take, as well as occasional movie nights.

There's also a wide open service department, where you can bring your bike and have it repaired with the same high-quality components (no cheap "replacement parts").

The average collaborative build appointment only takes a couple of hours, and you can expect to ride off with your new your bike within a week. Whether you're a die-hard, serious cyclist, or just looking for the ideal bike for a ride through Prospect Park, a visit to 718 Cyclery will put you in the right hands to ride away with the perfect bike for your needs, as well as a true knowledge of the mechanics behind the bike. Book your appointment today.

Joe in his workshop

718 Cyclery, 461 7th Avenue (between 16th and Windsor Pl). 347-457-5760. info@718c.com

Know Your Bartender: Greg Morabito, Black Sheep Pub

The Black Sheep Pub, on Bergen Street just west of Fifth Avenue, has one of the most devoted followings of any bar I've been to. The tight-knit group of regulars, many of whom have been coming since Tony McErlain and a few partners opened it up in November of 2005, keep coming back for the great free jukebox (bring a CD and they'll add it to the mix), foosball, the projections of sports and movies on the back wall, quality pub grub, and bi-monthly trivia nights that sometimes have huge payouts. During the warmer months the front windows open up to let in air, and tables are set up on the sidewalk for drinking al fresco.

The devoted crowd of regulars doesn't mean that first timers will feel like they've crashed a private party, however. Friendly bartenders and an amiable crowd will make you feel right at home. Flushing native Greg Morabito, who was also one of the original bartenders at the now-closed Total Wine Bar, can be found tending bar here Saturdays and Sundays from noon-8, and Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 PM to 4 AM.

HPS: How long have you been bartending here?

Greg: I've been here now for a bit over a year. 

HPS: What's your favorite thing about this bar?

Greg: For one, I love all the specials. There are so many specials here. The Happy Hour runs till 8 every night. Monday and Wednesday there's half-price wine night, the food is awesome, and we even have a food special that's really great, which is on Sunday and Monday starting at 6 all of the food items start at 5 bucks. I love the foosball. I also love it when we get a crew of regulars in here and everybody's hanging out playing foosball, playing with the jukebox; you can really kind of make it your own. 

HPS: Can you go into a little more detail about the Happy Hour?

Greg: Sure. It starts whenever we open depending on the day, so noon on Saturday and Sunday and 5 during the week. Till 7 PM we have $4 drafts and $4 call drinks, and then until 8 PM we have $3 well drinks and $10 pitchers of Bud Light and Shock Top. And then based on the occasion we'll usually do something else, like on Cinco de Mayo and St. Patty's Day, of course. We keep it festive. 

HPS: What's the strangest drink order you've received here?

Greg: Probably a Surfer on Acid. Which sounds disgusting. It's Jagermeister, Malibu, and Pineapple. Sometimes I think Jagermeister just shouldn't exist.

HPS: If you could have a drink with one person from history, who would it be?

Greg: Does it have to be a real person? Because I might have to say Sherlock Holmes. And that will probably change next month or in a few months, but right now I'm on a kick because I'm reading all the Arthur Conan Doyle books, and I'm obsessed with them. It's like literally 1500 pages' worth of Sherlock Holmes stories. 

HPS: Are there any cocktails that you make that you pride yourself on?

Greg: Yeah, I think I make an awesome Bloody Mary, and Manhattans. I've also recently started to get into messing with elderflower syrup. I brought some in on Christmas Day to try to do something fun, so I made a drink called a Capricious, which is basically like a martini, except it's gin, dry vermouth, a couple dashes of bitters, and elderflower syrup. It's super good, actually. Maybe I'll try making a Manhattan with maple bitters. We're not really a palace of mixology here, though. But every now and again it's fun. 

HPS: What mixed drink is made the most frequently here?

Greg: I'd have to say just regular old well drinks, like gin and tonics, simple things like that. I'd say those are probably the most common.

HPS: Which bottles do you pour from the least?

Greg: Well the things we never really use are all in the corner here. Banana liqueur, sloe gin, which I actually used once to make a sloe gin fizz just for fun, peach schnapps, strawberry liqueur. I just use them to hang decorations on, basically. 

HPS: If you weren't tending bar, what other occupations would you like to pursue?

Greg: Well there's a couple directions I'd like to go in. I'd like to one day go back to teaching High School. I taught twice in my life, once up at a private school in the Bronx, but not for rich kids, it was a place where inner-city families could just afford. I was teaching math there but that's not really my subject. I was an English major. So most recently I was teaching English in Flatbush, at Erasmus High School. I'll never work for the Department of Education again, though. It's a really corrupt beauracracy that doesn't actually care about kids. It seems to me like a money-making organization. So sometimes I imagine getting all my teacher friends together and opening up a school. 

I also wouldn't mind owning a bar. Running a bar rather than just bartending. Because most of the aspects of this job I really really love. Otherwise I wouldn't be doing it. I like to talk to people. I like to make drinks. 

Black Sheep Pub, 428 Bergen Street Brooklyn NY 11217. 718-638-1109.

Then & Now Thursday: North Slope, 1970

There are surprisingly few photos available of Park Slope during the turbulent 60s, 70s, and 80s. Most of the documentation comes from movies filmed here during that time, namely Hal Ashby's 1970 film The Landlord, starring Beau Bridges. Here are a couple screengrabs from the film, clips of which can be seen here.

The two shots above are of the same building, 51 Prospect Place, between 5th and 6th. Here are the same views today:

The IMDB film description actually calls the area "a black ghetto." Like so many other houses in the neighborhood, these have been restored so meticulously that you'd never know they weren't always in the best shape.

Here's a storefront you may recognize:

It's on Sixth Avenue and St. Marks Place, and is one of the most attractive storefronts in the city. It was home to a ladies' barber shop in 1970, and today is the Dharma Yoga studio. A tailor was on the ground floor.

It's still completely intact, even the great stained glass windows. Unfortunately the ground-floor storefront (which appears to still be original in 1970) was altered beyond recognition several years ago when it was turned into ill-fated restaurant Helios. At the moment it's still being converted into a beer bar.

Live in the South Slope? Your Commute's About to Get a Whole Lot Worse

So if you haven't heard, the MTA has decided to fix up the Culver Viaduct near Smith and 9th Streets, and in the process they're making life a whole lot more inconvenient for thousands of commuters. 

Beginning at 5 AM on Monday, all Manhattan-bound service from the 15th Street/ Prospect Park F/G station will be suspended. Until May, at the earliest. Then when that's done, service will shut down in the opposite direction. Time to plan an alternate route!

Just in time for the middle of winter, commuters will be forced to either walk down to the Seventh Ave and Ninth Street stop, or get on the train in the opposite direction and transfer at Church Avenue. Why the MTA hasn't decided to just extend the B68 bus a little bit further, to 8th Avenue and 9th Street, is beyond me.

It seems like there are now three things that are certain in life: death, taxes, and getting screwed over by the MTA.

Prospect Park Mulchfest This Weekend

Not sure what to do with the Christmas still sitting in the corner, shedding needles? This Saturday or Sunday haul it on down to the Third Street entrance to Prospect Park and enjoy some tea and cookies while you watch it get turned into mulch! 

If you can't make it, there are a couple other tree disposal options as well. If you live in the area between Union Street and 15th Street and 6th Avenue and Prospect Park West you can just leave your tree at the end of your block before 1 PM on those days and a truck will come along to haul it away. Or you can just leave your tree at the Third Street Mulchfest site the night before, although it's not the ideal way to go. 

Those who attend will also have the opportunity to grab a free bag of mulch. If you're interested in volunteering, give Jessica Jamhoury at the Prospect Park Alliance a call, or send an email to sustainable@parkslopeciviccouncil.org. 

Photo via NYTimes