MotherSister Brooklyn

Lest you think I only keep disproportionate tally of customer service sins, allow me to publicly envelope Bergen Bagels and Zaytoons in a warm embrace and squeeze them tightly against my pillowy bosom. I’ve been a weekly (sometimes twice or thrice a week) customer of both since they opened locations on Myrtle Avenue, and they practically never let the MotherSister Posse down. A nasty head cold and the sultry heat have left me with barely enough energy to hit speed dial, so both crews have come to my rescue today, with service so characteristically stellar that I’m moved to broadcast my loyalty on the internets. Three reasons:

1. The food is delicious and an excellent value. I am completely addicted to Zaytoons’ fatoosh salad (which went weird for a bit but is back in top form), babaganoush, and chocolate mousse cake, but it’s impossible to go wrong with anything on the menu. I don’t claim to be a major bagel connoisseur, but as far as I’m concerned, nobody beats Bergen’s bagels and cream cheese. If we’ve been out of town, our first meals are from Zaytoons and Bergen — that’s how we settle back into Brooklyn.
2. They don’t make excuses. When something goes wrong with an order — which rarely happens, but considering how often we call for delivery, it’s bound to sometime — they fix it. No argument, no “we’ll make it up to you next time you order from us.” Simple apology, a redelivery — done. Refreshing, that.
3. They value regular customers. The boys at Bergen know me by voice, the guys at Zaytoons know me by address, and they can practically complete my orders for me, graciously allowing for whimsical detours from our usuals now and then. I could be deluding myself, but the delivery guys seem happy to see us. When the staff across the board are consistently pleasant to deal with, you know management is on top of things.

Extra bonus points to Bergen for what I think is an excellent “hold-the-line” message: a Pavlovian description of the hot, fresh bagel action you’re craving, so matter-of-factly and unrepentantly delivered that it makes it hard to hang up even if you’re on hold for 5 minutes — which never happens, because they care.

The name of record seems to be Greene Avenue Dry Cleaners, but the awning says “Green Dry Cleaners,” which might explain why many people mistake this for a green dry cleaner. It would be great if it was — the name would advertise itself — but for now, it’s still old-school, owned and operated by a pair of cousins, the personable Mr. Park and Ms. Lee. Green has become my preferred spot in the neighborhood; it’s conveniently near the better supermarket, the library, and Mario’s, should the craving for a slice strike. Plus, it always seems sunny here, maybe because Mr. Park and Ms. Lee always greet their customers with friendly smiles. I didn’t happen to have any clothes for cleaning or hemming when I stopped by, but Ms. Lee still gave me a MotherSister Minute.

OPENED:  We have owned it for 4 years. [Their family owns dry cleaners in other locations.]

WHY FORT GREENE/CLINTON HILL:  We think there’s a good future here.

MOST POPULAR SERVICE:  Mainly dry cleaning.

COFFEE SHOP:  A&A Deli, on the other side of the Associated Supermarket [on Waverly]. We need more!

Green Dry Cleaners is at 141 Greene Avenue, at Waverly Avenue (718/230-1633). Open Monday through Friday from 7am to 7pm, Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 6pm.

Your ol’ MomSis had a birthday a couple of weeks ago, and as far as my ability to cope with my age goes, it is the best of times and the worst of times. By my reckoning as a child, 32 is the age when a woman reaches full flower: Think Dorothy Dandridge circa Carmen Jones (below) or Marlene Dietrich circa The Blonde Venus. It’s the age of my own mother when I began to recognize her as a fully separate, mysterious, unknowable entity. But in spite of all the ways that giving birth and raising my boy has elevated me, it has left me feeling a little physically battered and emotionally as if I’ve aged 18 years instead of 18 months. Maggie Gyllenhaal may be MILFing it up while her daughter’s still in diapers, but I’ve been tongue-tied when attempting to carry on conversations with women just 6 years younger than I am. Don’t be so quick to dismiss my hand-wringing; someone at The Onion knows what I’m talkin’ ’bout.

I don’t know that I can do anything about the burning AARP sensation I get when I talk to a 25-year-old now — except avoid sentences that begin with the words “Back in my day…” and conclude “you’ll feel differently when you’re a little older” — but physically, it’s time to do something besides serve as The Scamp’s balance beam. After penciling into my calendar the resumption of marital relations sometime in 2016 or when The Scamp goes to sleep-away camp (whichever comes first), I decided that the first order of business was a massage. In my postpartum fog, I missed a 90-minute rubdown at SoHo Sanctuary, the most valuable present I’ve ever wasted. Though I was tempted to try there again, with the encouragement of The Hub and a recommendation from a local listserv, I decided to keep it local and give Cynergy Spa the business.

You could almost miss Cynergy, which is in a brownstone just tucked into Fort Greene Place. I ran a little late for my appointment, but when I arrived, they didn’t tsk-tsk me; Tomoko, the masseuse, met me at the front door and swiftly led me to the treatment room. After I disrobed and settled myself face-down on the table, Tomoko proceeded to tenderize and flatten me like empanizado. She was professional and focused, which is the highest compliment I can think to pay a masseuse; she didn’t (a) chat me up, (b) quiz me about my tattoo, (c) ask me a million times if the pressure was okay, (d) do any weird whispery chanting over my head and end with “namaste,” or (e) offer me her card to contact her for private services. (Yes, all have happened to me during past massages, and yes, [e] was a male. With a ponytail.) She gave me the full 55 minutes, and I swear once she was done I looked about 55 years younger (or maybe the dim lighting in the treatment room helped give a more complimentary reflection in the mirror — whatever, I’ll take it). Tomoko delivered what I came for and sent me sauntering home on a lavender-scented cloud. Although I’m a bit of a cheapo when it comes to massages — I’m somehow still stuck on what I paid back in 1997 in San Diego, $30 for 60 minutes — my experience at Cynergy was worth every penny.

The recent report that the long-shuttered Liquors is finally set to morph into a new business reminded me of how much I miss that joint. It was a funky, loose-limbed place with casual, refreshingly reasonably priced good food, characteristics that aren’t in evidence as much as they should be by now in this neighborhood’s restaurants. When Bodegas opened, I expected more of the same but was surprised to find it hit-or-miss, with an increasingly obviously disgruntled staff in the last months it was operating. The restaurants (along with their Bed-Stuy sister Lewis & Ruby’s) shuttered abruptly last year, rumors flew, Dana Rubinstein investigated, and the spaces were rented. Just another small business down in flames — next, right?

But these are also people’s dreams we’re talking about. It’s easy for those of us who’ve never established our own businesses to play armchair quarterbacks, but the challenges and risks — financial, emotional, mental — involved in opening and running a store or restaurant are not for the faint of heart. The fortitude it requires is on full display in If You Succeed, an hour-long documentary about Christian Dennery and Dolores Lagdameo’s effort to build on the promise of Liquors by opening Bodegas — as well as their effort to hold their family together. A tantalizing preview of the film is on view here; Fort Greene-based filmmakers Augusta Palmer and Chris Arnold screened it at the Little Rock Film Festival in May and will present it again at the San Francisco Documentary Festival in October. Augusta and Chris are investigating distribution channels, and I certainly hope that at least one local venue — anyone at BAMcinématek out there? — will make it possible for the FG/CH community to see it.

Little Rock native Augusta very kindly took the time to answer a few questions about the documentary, the aftermath of the restaurants’ failures, and Cultural Animal, her company with co-director and husband Chris. Get the scoop after the jump.

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While I was doing my last-minute, pre-vacation shopping, I realized I needed some stylin’ sun protection: a floppy hat and sunglasses. I’m not normally a hat person, but that might all change now that I have a diva-worthy straw number from Malchijah Hats. Besides fly hats (including custom-made ones), also on offer are guayaberas and linen pants, dresses and skirts, and assorted sunglasses and bags. As the personable Joe, one of the business’ partners, put a band in my purchase, we spoke for a MotherSister Minute while he also gave attentive service to everyone who came through the door.

OPENED: We’ve been here about 10 years.

WHY FORT GREENE/CLINTON HILL: Fort Greene is a melting pot of Brooklyn. You find all ethnic diversities here and our hats cater to everyone: black Americans, West Indians, Africans, Jamaicans, Spanish people, Italians….We’re here to accommodate everyone.

BESTSELLING ITEM: The fedora.

MIKE’S COFFEE SHOP OR PRATT COFFEE SHOP: Andy’s Coffee Shop [on DeKalb near Vanderbilt].

TIPS OR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Please come visit Fort Greene. It’s a nice, diverse community — nice restaurants, nice people.

Malchijah Hats is at 225 DeKalb Ave., between Adelphi and Clermont (tel. 718/643-3269). Open Monday through Saturday from noon to 8:30pm, Sunday from 1 to 7pm.

The first time I purchased hair milk from Karen’s Body Beautiful, the helpful saleswoman (who turned out to be Karen’s sister Grace, proprietor of Move With Grace studio) assured me that I would love it. She was right: Karen’s hair milk de-frizzes my kinks without making my hair feel weighed down with product (it’s light enough that I also use it on The Scamp’s finer crunchy curls), and it comes in a variety of great scents. (I’ve worked my way through White Tea, Rose, and Red Currant since this spring.) Karen Tappin Saunderson, the brand’s namesake, started her first business — a care-package delivery service — when she was only 17 years old, but she was working as a schoolteacher (history and economics) when, 4 years ago, she and her husband began making chemical-free versions of the products they were including in their spa baskets. The line was a hit, and a store was born. The couple has recently delivered another big success: Their 2-week-old daughter slept peacefully nearby as I picked up some Sweet Pea-scented conditioner and hair milk and spoke with Karen for a MotherSister Minute.

OPENED: In February 2004.

WHY FORT GREENE/CLINTON HILL: We felt this neighborhood had our demographic, that the people who live here would appreciate the products we make.

BESTSELLING ITEM: Our body scrubs. (Most popular fragrance? “White Tea.”)

MIKE’S COFFEE SHOP OR PRATT COFFEE SHOP: I prefer Pillow Cafe.

TIPS OR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: It’s very neighborhoody. People are very friendly and concerned about where they live.

Karen’s Body Beautiful is at 436 Myrtle Ave., between Clinton and Waverly (tel. 718/797-4808). Open Sunday through Friday from noon to 8pm, Saturday from 10am to 8pm.

While I was hanging around Still Hip last week, chatting with Marcie and Gabby, in sauntered the elegant, Harlem-raised Mr. Elliott. “Brooklyn was the last place I’d ever live,” he said of a mindset he gave up some 43 years ago. His co-worker recommended a visit to new co-ops on St. James Place; no. 21 was completed in 1963, while nos. 309 and 333 were finished in 1964. “People were moving into the lower floors,” he said, “but I went to the top floor, an end apartment” — and the deal was done. Mr. Elliott now shares his Brooklyn (and Harlem) love as an award-winning Big Apple Greeter. As friendly as you’d expect a welcoming volunteer to be, he chatted with me for a MotherSister Minute.

LIVING HERE SINCE: 1964.

WHY FORT GREENE/CLINTON HILL: The view. Plus the subway is one block away.

FAVORITE PLACE IN THE AREA: Grand Avenue. It’s a mini-scene.

MIKE’S COFFEE SHOP OR PRATT COFFEE SHOP: I’m used to Mike’s, but I go into Pratt. It’s bigger, more relaxed.

A Philly girl and a mom of three, Marcie Bohan reminds me of my godmother Rose: Both are neighborhood connectors of a kind that’s woefully rare to find these days, friendly, funny, and on-the-go. Marcie and mom-of-two Gabrielle Napolitano-Swift have just opened the best new shop in the neighborhood, Still Hip, a sunny clothing/toy resale joint with much-needed space for kiddie classes — an idea long overdue given the local baby boom. “Something’s in the water in this neighborhood,” opined Gabby, who’d been told by her doctor that she would have to undergo advanced fertility treatments to have children. Until, that is, she started looking for a place in Fort Greene. “We found a two-bedroom after looking for two years — the price was right — and then I found out I was pregnant.” Officially open only a few days at this writing, Still Hip appears to be a hit already: A steady stream of neighborhood parents and grandparents dropped in during the short time I was there, scoring an $8 Sprewell Knicks jersey for The Scamp and chatting with the ladies for a MotherSister Minute.

GABBY (at right)

LIVING HERE SINCE: 2002.

WHY FORT GREENE/CLINTON HILL: When we were looking, we decided we wanted to start a family and this is exactly where we wanted to do it.

FAVORITE PLACE IN THE AREA: Choice — I just love going there. Nu Yu Spa. Underwood Playground.

MIKE’S COFFEE SHOP OR PRATT COFFEE SHOP: Pratt. Bigger, easier, and the food tastes better. It’s much better for kids — they have high chairs and you can take a stroller in.

TIPS OR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Pay attention to the parking regulations (we have some overzealous meter maids around here). And look for art everywhere because you’ll find it!

MARCIE (at left)

LIVING HERE SINCE: 2002.

WHY FORT GREENE/CLINTON HILL: We needed more space (with one baby and another on the way), and we fell in love with the Graham Home for Old Ladies.

FAVORITE PLACE IN THE AREA: My house. And Underwood Park.

MIKE’S COFFEE SHOP OR PRATT COFFEE SHOP: Definitely Mike’s. My kids know it and just run right in.

TIPS OR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Get out there, get in the playgrounds, walk around, go to the library. This is the easiest neighborhood to meet people in.

Still Hip is at 283 Grand Avenue, between Lafayette Avenue and Clifton Place (tel. 718/398-0008). The shop is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11am to 6pm (from 10am in the autumn).

If you passed Kana and Gabe on one of the neighborhood sidewalks, you might assume they’re part of the newer hipster contingent who discovered the area upon matriculating at Pratt. You’d be mistaken. While they are 21-year-old fine arts students — Kana at Pratt, Gabe at Cooper Union — they grew up in Fort Greene and have watched it change dramatically. Gabe, who attended P.S. 20 and lives on Fort Greene Place, is especially concerned about the real estate development (quite understandable, since his childhood home is now in the shadow of the Forte condos). “Change has to happen,” he allows, “but I think in the process history has to be thought about.” Kana and Gabe were classmates at LaGuardia and now work part-time at Gallery Hanahou, which recently mounted the excellent Stina Persson show. They generously spared a few moments — precious ones, as the gallery’s new show opens on Thursday (more on that TK) — and indulged me and a cranky (teething) Scamp for a MotherSister Minute.

KANA

LIVING HERE SINCE: 1992. We moved here from Park Slope. My mom bought a house with whatever money she could come up with. After she bought it, everything [in the neighborhood] started changing.

WHY FORT GREENE/CLINTON HILL: My mom didn’t exactly like Park Slope. She wanted someplace with more subway access. It was a dirty house, but she loved it.

FAVORITE PLACE IN THE AREA: This is hard….I always liked walking down South Portland — I used to roller skate there because the sidewalks were smooth — and then going from there to Fort Greene Park. [Of places that no longer exist:] I did like Video Basket a lot — they had rare movies. And Cambodian Cuisine, for my Asian noodle cravings.

MIKE’S COFFEE SHOP OR PRATT COFFEE SHOP: Usually I go to Pratt, but I try to go home [to eat] as much as I can to save money.

TIPS OR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: I think it was a better place for me to grow up than Park Slope. I had neighborhood friends. It would be nice to maintain that community, neighborhood feel for the children.

GABE

LIVING HERE SINCE: 1986. I’ve lived in my house all my life. I live at home now because I’m still in school, and I love the neighborhood.

WHY FORT GREENE/CLINTON HILL: My mom’s originally from the Bronx and my father’s from Cleveland — I’m not sure why [they chose the neighborhood]. The brownstones were affordable.

FAVORITE PLACE IN THE AREA: [He thinks for a long time.] I guess Fort Greene Park, right where the stairs are. That’s a nice part of the park to sit down and relax. Also, Academy Restaurant — it’s a nice diner, and it has a lot of nostalgic value [for me]. Also, BAM Park. [Of places that no longer exist:] Spike’s Joint.

MIKE’S COFFEE SHOP OR PRATT COFFEE SHOP: I don’t know either one, so I’d say neither.

TIPS OR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Try to take walks around the neighborhood, without a destination, and enjoy the architecture and the scenery. It’s my favorite thing to do.

You can check out what these crazy kids — whose relaxed, creative, and warm-hearted vibe embodies everything I love about this neighborhood — are up to on the Internets at KanaKateTogashi.com and GabrielSmith.org.

A week ago, The Hub arrived home with a CD in his hands. This was interesting for two reasons: (1) The Hub, bleeding edge guy that he is, almost never handles CDs anymore; and (2) the recording, New Voice, was the debut release of our songbird neighbor, Kendra Ross. We’ve seen Kendra around, and she is — as one of our building guards puts it — always “friendly, quiet, [and] keeps it movin’.” Which is why the same guard was shocked to see how Kendra turned out the Highline Ballroom last week during her CD release party — “L’il Kendra was up there shakin’ her hips!” — and we were totally impressed with her pipes. The Hub’s favorite track seems to be “New Voice,” while I’ve been groovin’ on “I’m So OK” (she takes it to church for a minute), “Can I Keep It?” (featuring Talib Kweli), and “Man You Love Blues,” three tracks that really show off her range. She is understandably busy in the flurry of her record’s release, but I caught up with Kendra for a MotherSister Minute.

LIVING HERE SINCE: I moved to Clinton Hill the summer of 1994, right before my sophomore year at NYU. I started out on Clinton and Gates then moved to [our building] in August 1995.

WHY FORT GREENE/CLINTON HILL: My roommate at the time and I chose Clinton Hill because it had a little bit of everything. It was homey and residential yet edgy and artsy, and overall it was a nice mix of ghetto and bourgeois…what we call “boughetto”!

FAVORITE PLACE IN THE AREA: That’s hard….I love Joloff (the West African restaurant at St. James Place and Fulton Street) because that family has been feeding me forever…and always with a smile on their faces! Mike’s [Coffee Shop] is of course a weekend breakfast staple for me, but I love the new spot Soule — the shrimp roti is to die for! I also love my church, Brown Memorial. Oh! and this place isn’t technically considered Clinton Hill — more like Prospect Heights — but you’ve got to try Cheryl’s [Global Soul] at Underhill and St. John’s Place. Very cool!

MIKE’S COFFEE SHOP OR PRATT COFFEE SHOP: A resounding MIKE’S!

TIPS OR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Once you are blessed enough to get a nice place here, don’t let anyone displace you! I really hate that a lot of my friends have had to move further into Brooklyn because of the crazy rent hikes and landlord pressure. It’s such a beautiful community. No matter where I am in life, I want to have a place in this ‘hood.

Kendra Ross’s New Voice is available now via her website. You can also find cuts enhanced by her voice (quite unforgettably on “Won’t You Stay” with Talib Kweli, as well as the ROOFTOP compilation) on iTunes.

Shortly after The Hub and I started dating in 1999, we noticed that each of our local hardware stores — for me, Octagon on DeKalb Avenue (now closed), for him, an unnamed store on Tompkins Avenue in Bed-Stuy — was owned by a black woman. About a year or so after we moved in together on the southern edge of Clinton Hill, Sister’s Community Hardware opened; not only do they have the nuts ‘n’ bolts for urban living, they also have a friendly, helpful staff and perpetually good music playing in the store. The owner, Ms. Bakr, wasn’t in when I stopped by, but Mr. Bob gave me a MotherSister Minute.

OPENED: 2002.

WHY IN FORT GREENE/CLINTON HILL: We did a survey, and this area needed a hardware store most.

BESTSELLING ITEM: Benjamin Moore paints.

MIKE’S COFFEE SHOP OR PRATT COFFEE SHOP: The other diner — what’s the name of it? (Laughing.) I’ve lived here 20 years and I don’t know the name. I prefer Pratt — a little more anonymity, and not so rushed.

TIPS OR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Black people need to be aware of what’s going on and put a plan together.

Sister’s Community Hardware Store is at 900 Fulton St. (at Washington Ave.; 718/399-7023). Open Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, Sat 8am-7pm, and Sun 10am-3pm.

As with Dare Books, I’ve walked past the storefront at 763 Fulton (btw S. Portland and S. Oxford sts.) more times than I can count, but I haven’t often seen it open. Today was my lucky day, and I popped my head in to get the scoop on the tidy window display of black Americana.

I was greeted by David Day, who told me that his 10-year-old storefront was known as Lady Day at Demu Gallery (”The ‘lady’ is gone now,” he noted). It’s apparently a storage space for Demu Services, and David sells art, secondhand furniture, and the proudly displayed black Americana from the very front of the store. The segregation-era signs (”No dogs, no Negroes, no Mexicans”; “Help wanted - No Irish need apply”; “Coloreds served - Carry out only”) sell for $10, or $20 framed. I’m admittedly a little conflicted about this particular niche of black memorabilia, but it is compelling to see. David collects his items from all over the United States; he gestured to a nearby van that, he says, has clocked over 400,000 miles.

And what’s up with his hours? “When you see me here, I’m open. When you don’t see me here, I’m open,” David riffed. “If you call me at 3:30 in the morning because you see something you need — or, y’know, bad things will happen — I’m open,” handing me his number (718/596-8484). Now that’s what I call customer service.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve passed Dare Books on the way into BAM (right across the street) or Thomas Beisl (and New City before it, right next door) and thought, “Hmm, I wonder what they sell in that bookstore and how, in this age of bookstore closings, they’re hanging on?” A stroll with The Scamp during brunch forced me to slow down my hustle today, though, and this time I finally poked my head into the store.

I should’ve done it sooner. As Desmond A. Reid, the Jamaica-born owner who’s been a Brooklynite for more than 40 years, says, “I educate from the cradle to the grave.” Indeed, his shop has a full range of great books, including general fiction and nonfiction, a terrific selection of children’s books, materials for teachers and parents, and African, African-American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies.

Despite its central location at the very heart of what’s being dubbed the BAM Cultural District, Reid says the foot traffic isn’t what he expected when he opened the store, as people (including teachers with school groups) are usually rushing into BAM to catch their show and then rushing off afterwards. Instead, a cadre of loyal clients who prefer to touch and handle their books and buy them from someone they know have kept the store going for nearly 20 years.

OPENED: I began the business in April 1982, working from home, and then on Pacific between Flatbush and Fourth. I opened here in February 1989.

WHY IN FORT GREENE/CLINTON HILL: I thought being across from BAM would be advantageous.

BESTSELLING ITEM: Right now? The bestselling walk-in is Medical Apartheid.

MIKE’S COFFEE SHOP OR PRATT COFFEE SHOP: I haven’t eaten there. I don’t eat out a lot. I use Sally’s [on Flatbush]. I go to Brawta sometimes. Golden Krust, sometimes.

TIPS OR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The only recommendation I have is to make sure you have a lot of money. [laughs]

Dare Books & Educational Supplies is at 33 Lafayette Ave. (btw St. Felix Street and Ashland Place; 718/625-4651). Open Monday through Friday from 9:30am to 6:30pm and Saturday from 11am to 6pm.

OK, so the sign — featuring a Bollywood icon (Aishwarya Rai?) and a couple of misspellings (including a hastily corrected “tattoo”) — doesn’t inspire confidence that this is a place where you want to have someone ripping unwanted hairs out of your body by the roots with a string. But fear not, hirsute sisters (and brothers, actually)! Threading Place can take care of you.

Frankly, I’m mostly thrilled that I no longer need to hustle to make it to Shobha, a fabulous spot a 20-minute train ride away in SoHo that charges twice as much for what I have done. (You don’t think I’m specifying, do you? Here, too, Threading Place has your back: Their slogan is “Your beauty is our secret!”) I’ve been to Threading Place a couple of times since they opened in late May, and although there’s a little too much up-selling pressure (with prices ranging from $3 to $8 for threading alone, my little bit isn’t going to keep them in business), I was in and out of there within 2 minutes, with The Scamp patiently strapped in his stroller. It may not have the charm of the Rastas who used to occupy the space, but I hope they get the business. How else can a time-pressed young mom stave off the Frida Kahlo effect?