One Year & Counting: Sheepshead Bites' "Best Of"

(Courtesy of wallyg via Flickr)

Well, it’s time for Sheepshead Bites to take a minute and pat itself (ourselves?… myself?) on the back: today is our one year anniversary! That’s right, May 12, 2008, marked our first post ever, kicking off a year of community reporting in one of the best neighborhoods in Brooklyn.

In just one year we’ve accomplished a lot. We’ve built community connections and raised awareness of issues previously underreported. Sheepshead Bay’s profile is growing, as we’ve brought issues, people and businesses to the attention of all of New York City’s residents. We’ve been linked on sites including Curbed, Gothamist, Gowanus Lounge and Brownstoner. We’ve also brought attention from traditional media outlets like New York magazine, Real Deal, Courier-Life publications and Village Voice. And though they’d probably never admit it, our coverage has sparked stories in Daily News, New York Post and New York Times. Not bad for a little website designed in under 2 hours (does it show?) and staffed by hopelessly sentimental, unpaid putzes like Ray and me. Go, us!

In honor of the occasion, we’ve decided to bring you a short “Best of Sheepshead Bites” list. This includes articles and topics that we’re proud to have brought to our readers. And to those readers: thanks for your support! None of this would have been possible without you.

Read our best material after the jump!

Topics:

Lundy’s – Cherry Hill: Sheepshead Bites is responsible for breaking some of the most important news surrounding Sheepshead Bay’s iconic edifice. From the first days of its renovations, to revealing its new, controversial tenant, its troubles with the Dept. of Buildings, and, finally, Cherry Hill’s not-so-grand opening, which resulted in immediate fines – Sheepshead Bites was first with all of these stories.

The Breakers: The development at 3112 Emmons Avenue was one of Sheepshead Bites’ first big stories. It’s lack of public access to the waterfront stirred up community activists tired of witnessing beautiful views of the bay’s mouth stolen by developers and businesses. Though politicians played their roles as outraged community reps well – ultimately nothing came of their “efforts”. In the end, Breakers made the break – at least for its real estate agents.

Best Western: After someone bought up much of the block adjacent to Best Western, which included many beloved neighborhood businesses like Cappuccino on the Bay, it was revealed that the purchaser might have been trying to pull the wool over the community’s eyes. The buyer may have been the Best Western owner’s wife – a scheme designed to confuse the community – and the space is being considered for a retail/residential mix to compliment Best Western. Observers think it’ll include a skywalk to link the two buildings.

Stories:

No Free Wi-Fi – Welcome, Starbucks!: Can you believe that in a neighborhood with as many cafes as Sheepshead, there’s almost no free Wi-fi? That’s what Ray found when she went in search of locations for our readers. Ray argues that if we want to keep a Starbucks out of our backyard, local businesses better start embracing modernity.

Sheepshead Bites featured in BCAT’s A Walk Around the Blog: We can’t do a best of without including our TV debut! In this video segment, co-produced and aired by BCAT, we gave viewers around the borough an introduction to Sheepshead’s recreational fishing fleet – and the troubles it’s facing. Despite being nearly a year old, the video and its issues are still relevant today, and we’ll continue to follow them closely over the next year.

9/11: “A Day of Tears”: Sheepshead Bites was the only news outlet that covered our community’s tribute to those who perished on September 11th. We were proud to acknowledge the organizers who put so much into it.

Real Estate Record Broken: Loehmann’s Seaport Plaza Sold!: When one of Sheepshead Bay’s most controversial buildings sold for $24 million – shattering all records within the last 20 years – we got the story first, and the real estate reporting crowd started recognizing us as a genuine source for Sheepshead’s breaking real estate news.

Cuccio’s CanNOli Disappoints, Again: Sometimes you’ve just gotta call them out. Even if they’re a local institution. That’s exactly what Ray did in this humorous article that takes aim at Cuccio’s Bakery and it’s lamentable cannoli. Read this, and you’ll even learn what the singular of cannoli is!

Once again, thanks to all our readers. If you think there are stories on our site that we should add to this list, add them in the comment section!