Want a Private Audience with Darryl Strawberry?

Wednesday, Apr 29, 2009 10:31am  |  COMMENTS (18)

Darryl Strawberry’s personal story sounds like the stuff of novels, or perhaps the plotline from an early ’80s After-School Special: Drafted by the New York Mets in 1980 at the age of 18, he was a homerun-hitting superstar by 21. Then came the improbable 1986 World Series victory, enormous fame, even a Darryl Strawberry action figure. But drugs and drama got in the way, and by 1995 he was suspended from the MLB. After legal trouble of various kinds, Straw made a comeback (in a Yankee uniform, this time) and then cancer struck. Finally, after treatment, one more brief comeback.
It’s a hell of a story, one he first put into print in 1992. This week, he’s got a new book hitting store shelves, and he’s going to be signing copies at the Yogi Berra Museum on Thursday night.
The Museum is offering a copy of the book and a few minutes of private conversation with Straw to one lucky Baristanet reader. Think you know your Darryl Strawberry trivia? If you’d like to win this giveaway, be the first to email us the answer to this question:
Who were Darryl Strawberry’s managers with the Mets, Dodgers, Giants and Yankees?
UPDATE: Congratulations to Karen C!

Springtime in Baristaville

Wednesday, Apr 29, 2009 9:23am

The sun is shining, the tulips are twinkling, the real estate is…greening? Head over to Real Estate for the latest in realty news.

Montclair’s Green Real Estate Bloom

Wednesday, Apr 29, 2009 9:22am  |  COMMENTS (0)

Academy1.jpgFast on the heels of GreenWorks on Grove, Montclair’s first green office complex has just entered the market and is pending Silver-level LEED certification. Academy Square is a renovation of the former Katherine Gibbs School site, and the name is a nod to its century-long scholastic function.
The structure was originally built in 1877 as a single family home; it was sold at the turn of the last century to Mary Kimberly Waring to become the Kimberly School for Girls. In 1949, the Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School took over the building, and remained there until it was sold to local realtor Jay Schweppe in 2004. After debating the future of the development, Schweppe brought in Robert Silver as a partner, along with six other developers, and construction began in February 2009. Although the group considered tearing down the structure and building townhouses, they decided to keep the “beautiful bones” of the former school intact. As for the decision to make it green: “Well, it’s an investment. And it’s the right thing to do,” says Silver.

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Wrong Side Up on Park Street

Tuesday, Apr 28, 2009 6:40pm  |  COMMENTS (35)

oops.jpg
Katie Mancine, who snapped this shot around 6 pm, says the young driver looked a little bloody and a lot pissed after flipping his SUV on Park Street, near the intersection of Bellevue Ave, in Upper Montclair. The car, which didn’t have plates, appeared to be brand new.

Red Flag Alert

Tuesday, Apr 28, 2009 4:55pm  |  COMMENTS (2)

We’ve had one big brush fire already. Watch where you park your cars and dispose of your cigarettes. From the National Weather Service:

RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING…
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN UPTON HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING… WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING.
WINDS GUSTING TO 25 MPH… TEMPERATURES APPROACHING 90 DEGREES AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY READINGS OF 25 PERCENT WILL COMBINE TO PROVIDE THE INGREDIENTS FOR THE RAPID SPREAD OF BUSH FIRES… IF ONE WERE TO OCCUR.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
RESIDENTS ARE URGED TO KEEP VEHICLES OUT OF GRASSY AREAS AND TO ENSURE PROPER DISPOSAL OF ANY SMOKING MATERIALS. IN ONLY TAKES A CARELESSLY DISPOSED CIGARETTE TO IGNITE A WILD FIRE AND WITH THE DRY AND WINDY WEATHER CONDITIONS… A SMALL FIRE COULD SPREAD RAPIDLY.
A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW… OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS… LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY… AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL CREATE RAPID FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL.

Lifestyles of the Realtors

Tuesday, Apr 28, 2009 4:05pm  |  COMMENTS (2)


Bachelor pad shopping for Newark’s tenant mayor Cory Booker


RE/MAX realtor Roberta Baldwin has a very famous client, Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Only he’s not really Baldwin’s client. She was just asked by the Star Ledger to schlep around Newark and show them homes the mayor could buy. “My fame has transcended the Montclair borders,” Baldwin said slyly. “They gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse, which was to spend two hours driving around Newark with Kevin Manahan.” Baldwin says that with the second season of HGTV’s “Bought & Sold,” she’s become a bit of celebrity, being recognized in the shoe department of Nieman Marcus in Paramus, and even being asked for an autograph by sellers who couldn’t believe she dabbled in real estate in the mid-$400′s.
Meanwhile, this is how Prudential’s Sharon Gill spent the brutally hot weekend.

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More Travel Woes

Tuesday, Apr 28, 2009 3:02pm  |  COMMENTS (3)

UPDATES: Midtown Direct service restored, delays of up to 60 minutes. Decamp cross-honoring NJ Transit. Delays of 30 to 45 minutes.
Due to brush fires, there’s currently no Midtown Direct service out of New York Penn Station. You have hop your train in Hoboken to get back out to Baristaville.
Details here and in the jump.

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In Search of Deep Shade

Tuesday, Apr 28, 2009 12:11pm  |  COMMENTS (4)

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During these dog days of April, the only thing more delicious than ice cream is shade — deep, dense, cooling shade. If you’re up for a walk, but are afraid of wilting, I highly recommend the elaborate networks of walking paths, bridges and streams that wind through Grover Cleveland Park, which sits on the border of Essex Fells and Caldwell. The temperature feels at least 10 degrees lower, and there’s even a water-cooled breeze. Park at the end of Buttonwood Road for stroller access.

Community Sleepover, Popular Wards Only

Tuesday, Apr 28, 2009 11:45am  |  COMMENTS (4)

Just kidding, all are invited to the Family, Food, and Fun community meeting tonight, hosted by Dr. Renee Baskerville and the 4th Ward Collective. The night will start with a showing of “Dollars Well Spent: The Desegregation of Montclair Public Schools and The Awakening of Magnet Schools,” after which the producer and students from the Montclair Public School system will share their experiences and lead a discussion. The agenda also includes a talk on school and public safety, led by Deputy mayor Roger Terry and Detective Tyrone Williams.
The meeting will be at the Fire Headquarters at 1 Pine Street from 7 to 9 pm.

Montclair Travel Advisory

Tuesday, Apr 28, 2009 10:30am  |  COMMENTS (6)

Avoid the mess. Bloomfield Ave. is being paved from Grove to Park in Montclair.

Featured Comment

I really really hope Wellmont stays. I've seen over 40 shows here (no joke) and most of them were great. Along with the Montclair Film Festival, we need the Wellmont here to keep Montclair as relevant as ever.
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boonanas

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