Anyone have a story idea for Mr. N?

Hello,
My name is Richard N----. I am a reporter for TheBrooklynInk.com and journalism grad student at Columbia University. I will be covering the neighborhood of Flatbush for the next few months--writing stories about the news, people, events, and goings-on in the area.
I found your blog as I was doing some research on the neighborhood. As a blogger in the area, I was wondering if you had any general viewpoints or concerns that might lead me to any good story ideas. Is there anyone you'd recommend I talk to?
I'd love to meet you in person if you have any free time coming up. We could grab a quick cup of coffee or something. Perhaps you could tell my what I need to know about the neighborhood, from a resident's perspective. I promise I'm not a creep or anything, just a journalist from California who is a long way from home. I really want to do my job right.
Thanks for reading. I hope to meet you soon.
Best,Rich

Do I still recommend Flatbush Gardens?

No. Unfortunately. Those of you familiar, will likely know my opinion of FBG is that it's a reasonable place to live. That you get what you pay for here, and it's a fair, if not good deal, with regard to quality/service/safety/etc per dollar.

While I still have no super-serious complaints, has anyone noticed a marked decline in the complex?

My kitchen sink is broken in at least three ways, and literally unusable. It has been this way for over a month. The roommate (having some weekdays off of work) is in charge of interfacing with maintenance. She has been down there at least 20 times, all during the hours they're scheduled to be open. Over half those times they were in fact, not open, with no explanation. (And different times of the day, like maybe they got in late, or left early, or were at lunch, but those could only explain a few of the misses). The other times, a work request was submitted, and she was told it would be placed in the queue, pointing to the huge stack of papers on the desk, with a subtle, "don't hold your breath" look.

I also see less advertising, less security (but to be fair they could easily be out there just as much and I wouldn't run into them because of my schedule recently), less renovation teams, less of our porter, etc.

It could just be me, but it feels like maybe things are in a serious decline.
Anyway, point being: At this time, I'm no longer comfortable saying that if you can tolerate mediocre quality for a cheaper price, then Flatbush Gardens presents a value option. My current perception of the quality/service/safety/etc per dollar, is that it does not provide a very good value.

I thought Duane Reade was supposed to be NYC special.

Duane Reade's slogan is "Your City. Your Drugstore." Despite being purchased by Walgreens, they still ask for your business by telling you that they get NYC and they understand you NYers. Unfortunately, they don't even know what NYC is.

I was in the Duane Reade today, buying some "whole natural almonds" for $3.99. It's one of their many Duane Reade branded products that tries to relate the product to the city in a clever or humorous way. This one says "8 million nuts, one tiny island." I think this is funny and fair. What it is not, however, is accurate. Can anyone see why?

Well I'll tell you why. It is a well known fact that there are approximately 8 million people living in NYC. It is an even better known fact that Manhattan is an island. However, what should be known my anyone or any store claiming to be a NYCer, or someone who "gets" NYC, is that NYC includes all five boroughs, including two islands (Staten and Manhattan) one non-island (Bronx), and two sections of a large island (Brooklyn and Queens as the west part of Long Island).

Even if you're a Manhattan snob (whether you live in Manhattan or elsewhere like my roommate, who lives in FBG and refuses to acknowledge that Brooklyn is part of NYC) and say that the lesser 4 boroughs are technically NYC but not really, then you still have to admit Duane Reade failed on this package design, because (1) they operate in all five boroughs and (2) it would have to say "1.6 million nuts, one tiny island."

I imagine, some ignorant and/or manhattancissistic person living in Manhattan and working for whatever ad company writes this stuff knew of the 8-million people number tossed around in conversation and never realized that didn't mean 8-million people live on Manhattan. (I also think the city uses the "8 million NYCers" statistic in ways that it intends people to not stop and think about it, since NYC is a tourist destination partly as one of the most densely populated area in the world, which is more impressive if you found a way to fit 8 million people on the little island.

Anyway, I don't expect tourists to know NYC is bigger than Manhattan, or expect them to set foot outside Manhattan more than twice (i.e. the trip to and from the airport), but if Duane Reade is going to be NYC's store, it should figure out what that means.