DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ The Relief: Finding an Apartment. The Remorse: Living In It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Alix Strauss | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

She had a deep and important relationship that lasted four years — with her studio apartment in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. It was an open layout with two huge closets and a separate, small kitchen,” said Ms. Strassberg, 31, who is a branded content editor at the Hearst Corporation. In April 2021, she met William Muschinske, a 30-year-old graphic designer from Oklahoma, on the dating app Bumble. Their relationship grew quickly. Most of his time was spent working and living at Ms. Strassberg’s.

Persons: Rebecca Strassberg, “, ”, Strassberg, I’d, Ms, William Muschinske, Muschinske, Fran Organizations: Hearst Corporation Locations: Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, Midwood , Brooklyn, Oklahoma, Bazaarvoice, Gowanus , Brooklyn

☆ Muzz, a Muslim Dating App, Takes Its Matchmaking on the Road
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Sadiba Hasan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

On a Thursday evening in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, about 250 Muslims gathered in a halal Italian restaurant for a singles dating event. Some of them shied away from cameras, citing privacy concerns, while others said they were afraid of appearing “desperate.”The event was hosted by Muzz, a Muslim dating app based in London, with eight million users worldwide, according to the company. Prayer mats were set up in an outdoor dining tent for Maghreb, the fourth of five daily prayers for Muslims. Inside the restaurant, tables and chairs were cleared to make space for the mingling guests, and platters of hummus, chicken kebab wraps and Mediterranean salad were being served. ‌Topics of conversation included halal Thai food in New York (“Top Thai — we should go check it out,” one person said to another) and the difficulty of meeting new people while working remotely.

Organizations: Muzz Locations: Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, London, Maghreb, New York

☆ Priced Out of the City, They Bought a Tiny Suburban Home. Now What?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Julie Lasky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Much has been written about “good enough” marriages, but what of “good enough” houses in “I guess we have to live somewhere” neighborhoods? This is the story of a family who began with low expectations and then fell in love. In 2016, Amanda and Alain de Beaufort were renting an apartment with a garden in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where they had access to a new school with a Spanish/English program for their two children. Then one day, their landlord sold the building for cash and gave them a month to pack up and move out. “OK, we’ll just buy something in Sunset Park,” Ms. de Beaufort, 46, recalled saying, before making the cruel discovery that no affordable properties remained in the neighborhood.

Persons: Amanda, Alain de Beaufort, de Beaufort, Ms Locations: “, Sunset Park , Brooklyn, Colombia, Sunset Park, Bay Ridge , Brooklyn, Westchester County

☆ Heading Uptown With $250,000 and Some Hope. Could They Afford a Co-op?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Debra Kamin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Ms. Smith, a television lighting designer, and Mr. Estep, a theater props manager, were renting a three-bedroom townhouse with a terrace in Borough Park, Brooklyn. But their rent, at $1,850 a month, was well below market rate, and Ms. Smith, 40, and Mr. Estep, 43, couldn’t bring themselves to leave. The time had come to fulfill those wedding vows. “We needed somewhere that felt like home,” Mr. Estep said. Email: thehunt@nytimes.com]“It couldn’t be a bunch of compartmentalized rooms,” Mr. Estep said.

Persons: Dante Olivia Smith, John Estep, Smith, Estep, couldn’t, “, ” Mr, —, Mr, Ms, ” Allison Deutsch, ” Ms, Deutsch Organizations: Borough Park , Brooklyn ., Oxford Property Group Locations: Borough Park , Brooklyn, New York City, Midtown Manhattan, Harlem, Kingsbridge, Bronx

☆ Where to Find Family-Style Dining, and More Reader Questions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Nikita Richardson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I’m looking forward to eating outdoors as much as humanly possible before it gets unbearably hot. That said, it’s reader question time and, as usual, my inbox was full of thoughtful and fun requests, including where to go for large-format dining, where to find carciofi alla giudia (Jewish-style artichokes) and where to have great nonalcoholic drinks. As always, please email your questions to wheretoeat@nytimes.com, and you may see them answered in a future newsletter. One of our favorite things to do with friends is to go out to eat where fixed-menu, family-style dining is offered. — Joy W.Francie, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, has a whole roast duck for $135 that’s presented with various flora before it’s carved up.

Persons: W, Francie, It’s, Pete Wells, Monsieur Vo Locations: Williamsburg , Brooklyn, NoLIta, East

☆ New York City teachers say students are increasingly coming to school high: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

New York City teachers say children are increasingly coming to school high, per The New York Times. But the proliferation of unlicensed smoke shops has become a major issue among city officials. Gale Brewer, a New York City council member, pointed to the growing number of unregulated vape shops in the city — using her own Upper West Side district as a barometer. New York City Eric Adams has pledged to go after unlicensed smoke shops, but he has not yet taken broad steps do so, per The Times. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. has also taken a firm stance against unlicensed shops by floating evictions, but his office has not yet gone through with such actions.

☆ Nigerian Food and Fashion Came Together at This Dinner Party in Brooklyn
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Camille Okhio | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In 2010, Busayo Olupona was working as a corporate finance lawyer in New York City when she began making dresses from traditional African textiles, both as a creative outlet and as a way to connect with her heritage. In 2013, she decided to turn her hobby into a business, launching Busayo, a collection of full-skirted dresses, voluminous pants and puff-sleeved tops, all produced in the country where she spent her childhood. Over the past decade, her designs have been spotted on celebrities like Lupita Nyong’o and Gwyneth Paltrow, and picked up by luxury retailers including Neiman Marcus and Moda Operandi. When she’s home in Brownsville, Brooklyn, Olupona jumps at any opportunity to host a gathering. “Nigerians love a good party,” she says, recalling childhood memories of her parents and their friends dancing to the jùjú music by Shina Peters and King Sunny Ade, dressed up in Nigerian lace and head wraps.

☆ Naked Stand-Up Comedy: Everything You Imagine, but Oh So Much More
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Jason Zinoman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For as long as she can remember, the stand-up comic Carolyn Bergier has had a recurring nightmare where she’s onstage, partly nude. The difference this time is that she is entirely naked — and this is no dream. She tossed the hair tie to the side and quipped, “I knew I was overdressed for the occasion.” Big laugh. Stand-up must be worse. But “The Naked Comedy Show”?

☆ Outdoor Dining in New York City Is Here to Stay. (Just Not in Winter.)
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Emma G. Fitzsimmons | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

New York City’s outdoor dining program, a popular pandemic-era measure designed to be a temporary salve for a devastated restaurant industry, is about to become a permanent part of the city’s landscape. A City Council bill, released on Thursday evening, called for creating a licensing structure that would allow outdoor dining structures to exist in roadways, but only from April through November. The bill, which is supported by Mayor Eric Adams and still requires the approval of the full Council, aims to strike a balance between retaining a mostly popular program while taking steps to control its outgrowth. The bill would set forth basic design guidelines that are still to be determined. Some elements of the plan drew immediate criticism, including a provision requiring restaurants in a historic district or at a landmark site to receive approval by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission for an outdoor dining site — a policy that could affect restaurant-heavy neighborhoods like Greenwich Village and Park Slope, Brooklyn.

☆ I’m a ‘mom for hire’ who charges $40 an hour. I've given dating advice, shared chicken soup recipes, and even taught a guy how to iron.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Jenny Powers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Nina Keneally founded Need a Mom NYC, where she offers the services of a mom for $40 an hour. The work is part time, and I charge $30 an hour for the first two sessions and $40 after that for services a mom may provide. I've helped reformat a résumé, taught a guy how to iron his shirt before a big job interview, and shared recipes for chicken soup. While I'm certainly open to local in-person sessions, I don't do any marketing, so most people aren't aware I'm even here. I do have a Facebook page, and in the beginning, I got some comments like "Why would anyone need another mom?"

A century ago, before it was called sparkling water or club soda, and before it was sold as LaCroix and Spindrift, it was called seltzer. Nearly all those seltzer men are gone now; one seltzer works remains. In an industrial space in the Cypress Hills section of Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Seltzer Boys factory is known among industry insiders, certain foodies and seltzer fans, but that’s about it. Originally called Gomberg Seltzer Works, the business was started in 1953 in Canarsie, Brooklyn, by Moe Gomberg, Mr. Gomberg’s great-grandfather. After nearly closing for good during the pandemic, Brooklyn Seltzer moved and (somewhat) modernized its factory, introducing a visitable space called the Brooklyn Seltzer Museum.

☆ MSG: The world's most misunderstood ingredient
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Maggie Hiufu Wong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Case in point – he has the letters “MSG” tattooed on his arm, and his restaurant’s menu includes a signature drink called the MSG Martini. “Things just taste better with MSG, whether it’s Western food or Cantonese food,” the chef tells CNN. You’ve probably been playing with glutamate, inosinate and guanylate in your own cooking without even realizing it. We season our food with MSG a little bit – it’s different from heating water and adding MSG and serving it with noodles,” he says. “Our mission from the very beginning was to show people what Cantonese food is and what Cantonese food can be – it’s always going to be playful, fun and approachable,” says Eng.

☆ ‘Compost Happens’ and Other Common-Sense Advice From Experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Margaret Roach | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When it comes to composting, where things break down — or don’t — is often where we get in our own way. We make the whole process too hard by fixating on details instead of the big picture. Commercial composting operations rely on those rules, and the science behind them, to produce material that is consistent and meets regulatory guidelines. We backyard composters can go a little easier on ourselves and still have great results, producing soil-improving bounty from our organic waste. Ms. Novak, who is also the founder and director of Growing Chefs, a field-to-fork food-education program, lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where she composts in her backyard, too.

☆ Nuveen Buys Giant New York City-Focused Affordable Housing Portfolio
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Will Parker | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

New York City area properties include several large apartment buildings in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. Photo: Gary Hershorn/Getty ImagesNuveen, the asset management arm of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, is acquiring a more than 12,000-unit affordable housing portfolio in one of the largest multifamily housing deals this year. The properties are largely concentrated in the New York City area, including several large apartment buildings in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. Other buildings are located in Maryland, Massachusetts, Texas and other states, Nuveen said on Tuesday. The portfolio includes developable land and existing buildings in need of rehabilitation that could eventually produce an additional 8,000 low-income apartments, Nuveen said.

☆ Willy Chavarria and Omar Apollo on Faith and Heartbreak
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Juan A. Ramírez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Three days after his fall 2023 runway show in February, while on his way to meet Omar Apollo at a photographer’s house in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, the 55-year-old fashion designer Willy Chavarria studied the 25-year-old musician’s Wikipedia page. What Chavarria lacked in detailed knowledge about Apollo’s career, he made up for with an immediate paternal tenderness. “And on all-Latino models,” Apollo says. And yet the pair saw eye to eye on more than just success. Some similarities were obvious: Both are gay and Mexican American, and both were born in small towns where dreams of artistic stardom seemed impossibly distant.

☆ New York City’s Most Expensive Neighborhoods
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Michael Kolomatsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

New York City’s notoriously volatile real estate market is cooling — the high end included — according to a new report from PropertyShark. The report showed that in the first quarter of 2023, the median sale price fell in 28 of the city’s 50 most-expensive neighborhoods from a year earlier, while the number of sales dropped or was flat in 46 neighborhoods. Only four of the 50 neighborhoods had a median sale price of $2 million or more, compared with eight in the first quarter of 2022. In the most expensive area, Manhattan’s Hudson Yards, the median sale price rose about 6 percent year-over-year, to $5.729 million; but in TriBeCa, the next most expensive, it fell 6 percent, to $3.5 million. But its $2.6 million median sale price was level from a year earlier, so it was price reductions in other neighborhoods that improved its ranking.

☆ At 6 Catskills Resorts: Retro Design, Modern Comfort and Games, Lots of Games
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Amy Thomas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Picture yourself on a sojourn in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Then again, with the variety of games on hand at nearly every one of the Catskills’ newest wave of stylish resorts, there should be more than one option that tickles your fancy. The influence of New York City, Brooklyn in particular, has been palpable in the Catskills — about 100 miles northwest of the metro area — for years. About a decade ago, indie hotels like the Graham & Co. in Phoenicia and Foxfire Mountain House in Mount Tremper imported urban cool to the country with their Moroccan poufs, Tivoli radios and linen bedding. It was where one of the country’s earliest resorts, ‌the Catskill Mountain House, made its home in 1824, followed by hundreds of others.

☆ Where the Milkshakes Are Served With a Celebration of Black Culture
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Kayla Stewart | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On a corner in Central Harlem, just blocks from the Apollo Theater and Marcus Garvey Park, stands Harlem Shake, a diner designed to look as though it’s been there for decades. The walls are covered with Jet magazine covers and photographs, some signed, of Black American musicians and celebrities: Regina Hall, Diddy, Maya Angelou, Questlove. Its retro diner-style menus and swivel bar stools evoke nostalgia for an era of charm — and upheaval — in American culture. Rasheeda Purdie, a neighborhood resident of 14 years, finds comfort in how distinctly Harlem the restaurant is. “Sharing food is almost like a love language,” said Dardra Coaxum, an interior designer and Harlem native who opened the restaurant with Jelena Pasic.

☆ An Aggressive Passive Push for a Brooklyn Brownstone
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Stephen Wallis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This article is part of our Design special section about making the environment a creative partner in the design of beautiful homes. For decades the building had been owned by the same extended family, whose members created separate apartments on its four floors of living space. Likewise, badly deteriorated plumbing and electrical systems needed wholesale replacing. On the bright side, it was a generous size at 25 feet wide and had garden areas in the front and back. It was also, atypically, attached on one side only, meaning there were three exposures for maximizing light.

☆ Goodbye to the Bread Basket. Hello to the Bread Course.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Rachel Sugar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At Nura, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, it’s two fresh rounds of butter-drenched naan, nestling a pair of warm Parker House rolls. At Dauphine’s, in Washington, D.C., it’s fat slices of sweet potato brioche with buttermilk biscuits and a demi-baguette. At Le Fantastique, in San Francisco, the “Bread & Butter” gets equal billing with the mains: $12 for a baguette with smoked-peppercorn-and-yuzu-kosho-infused butter. Hav & Mar’s basket with Ethiopian-influenced teff buttermilk biscuits and sweet blue cornbread is $19, Nura’s basket is $21 and both offerings come with an assortment of dips. Customers would ask, “$21 for a bread basket?” But, Ms. Short said, that’s always followed by, “It was totally worth it.”

☆ I had a 4-day workweek at Kickstarter. I saw huge improvements in my productivity and social life — and there was only one downside.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Elle Hardy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Former marketing manager Brooke McDaniel said the four-day schedule increased her productivity. She has since started a new job with a five-day schedule but says the schedule was one of her cons. The company transitioned to a four-day workweek while I was on the road. Remote work was the most important factor for a trip like mine, but knowing the four-day workweek was coming gave me additional motivation. All in all, it made me more aware of how I spend my timeThe work-life balance that a four-day workweek offered me was incredible.

☆ Question: How are some bars boosting profits? Answer: Trivia nights
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

In February, she begged friends to come to Talea's first trivia night, fearing only a few players would show up. NYC Trivia League, which hosts trivia at over 100 venues across New York City, recently surpassed its weekly event count from early 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. Brooklyn Brewery has been hosting trivia nights with the NYC Trivia League since 2019. Bumpy road to recoveryWith so many new venues hosting trivia nights, Kostyo cautioned bars may "cannibalize each other" as more businesses try to plant their flag in the trivia space. On a trivia night, we are easily doubling our sales from the previous night.

☆ I started making candles from a humble craft kit and grew it into a million-dollar business. Here are the steps I took to go from Etsy to Nordstrom.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Lola Christina Alao | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Tamara Mayne started making candles as gifts for her family with a store-bought candlemaking kit. I thought: Why not try and make some extra cash from selling candles on the side? I also started selling on Scoutmob — a now defunct website where buyers could discover independent makers, while still selling on Etsy and Squarespace. After a few weeks of just selling candles, I decided to pick up some freelance art-directing work to cover the bills. Our candles cost between $28 and $38 because of our increased overhead, when I first started selling them I was charging only $16.

☆ Brooklyn Nets owner Clara Wu Tsai on hosting a job fair at Barclays Center to benefit those impacted by the criminal justice system
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( John Lynch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Clara Wu Tsai spoke to Insider about hosting a coming job fair with the Reform Alliance at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. Wu Tsai discussed the making of the event and its aim to aid individuals impacted by the criminal justice system. The Reform Brooklyn Job Fair will take place on Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. More than 4,400 job seekers have registered to attend the job fair, which will take place at the Barclays Center concourse on Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration for the Brooklyn Job Fair is still open to the public.

☆ The top 3 U.S. cities where new rental apartments have gotten smaller—and NYC isn't one of them
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Kamaron Mcnair | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The share of one-bedroom and studio apartments grew to 57% of new apartments in 2022, up from exactly half of new builds 10 years ago. That's part of why the average size of all apartments has shrunk. Cities where new apartments have gotten smallerNew Yorkers may be the first to tell you how small their living spaces are. Tucson, Arizona, leads, the pack, and its new apartments beats the next city's — Tallahassee, Florida's — growth by over 100 square feet. The average new apartment size grew the most in these 15 cities:How to get the most out of your space

Search resuls for: ", Brooklyn"

25 mentions found