4 FEBRUARY 16, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM Board 5 votes down Fresh Pond festival again BY ANTHONY GIUDICE AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM @A_GIUDICEREPORT Maybe the third time will be the charm for opponents of the Fresh Pond Road Street Festival. For the third consecutive year, Community Board 5 (CB 5) has voted to deny the application for the controversial four-day street fair along a fi ve-block section of the important Ridgewood roadway during September. As in years past, the board’s Executive Committee recommended against the festival, and the full board agreed, voting 24-6 in favor of denying the Federazione Italo-Americana di Brooklyn and Queens’ application for the festival during Wednesday night’s board meeting in Middle Village. Board members again cited the length of the festival — requested for Thursday, Sept. 7, through Sunday, Sept. 10 — as a reason for denial, as well as the traffi c jams it causes by blocking off the strip of Fresh Pond Road between Woodbine and Menahan streets. Another major concern with this year’s festival is the current Department of Transportation (DOT) construction work to rehabilitate the deck of the Metropolitan Avenue Bridge. The construction was named as a reason for last year’s festival being shortened to two days from the original four. “We also reached out to DOT Bridges for any comments due to the construction work going on at the intersection of Metropolitan Avenue and Fresh Pond Road, whether that will have an eff ect,” said Vincent Arcuri, chairperson of CB 5. “We have not yet had any feedback from that.” Although the board voted to recommend the denial of the yearly festival, the Mayor’s Street Activity Permit Offi ce is the deciding factor for the festival. The offi ce approved permits for the festival the last two years even though the board voted against it both times. CB 5 did recommend the approval of four other festivals across the neighborhoods: Ridgewood LDC Myrtle Avenue Festival along Myrtle Avenue between Community Board 5 recommended the denial of the application of the Fresh Pond Road Street Festival for the third year in a row. Wyckoff Avenue and Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood on Sunday, April 9. Myrtle Avenue Festival on Myrtle Avenue between Fresh Pond Road and Forest Avenue in Ridgewood on Sunday, July 23. Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District (BID) Myrtle Avenue Photo by Cristin Noonan/QNS Festival on Myrtle Avenue between Wyckoff Avenue and Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood on Sunday, Sept. 17. Maspeth Chamber of Commerce Lions-Kiwanis Grand Avenue Festival on Grand Avenue between 65th and 72nd streets in Maspeth on Sunday, Oct. 8. Real estate site Brownstoner is now part of Schneps BY CATE CORCORAN AND ROBERT POZARYCKI EDITORIAL@QNS.COM @QNS Schneps Communications, which publishes QNS and The Queens Courier, Courier Sun, Ridgewood Times and Times Newsweekly, announced on Feb. 9 that it acquired the Brooklyn-based Brownstoner, a website dedicated to real estate and business news. The acquisition marks Schneps Communications’ latest expansion into Brooklyn. Last year, it acquired Brokelyn, a lifestyle and entertainment blog geared toward Brooklyn residents living on a budget. Schneps Communications also publishes the Home Reporter and Brooklyn Spectator, which it acquired in 2011, and Brooklyn Reporter. “Together we now offer the biggest reach of any media company in Brooklyn,” said Joshua Schneps, owner, co-publisher and chief executive officer of the family firm, one of the largest publishers in Brooklyn and Queens, and Brownstoner’s new publisher. The acquisition of Brownstoner will also bring some benefits to QNS users. In the weeks to come, QNS and other digital platforms owned by Schneps Communications will begin utilizing Brownstoner’s technology, such as with the introduction of real estate and business services directories. These directories, which will be located on the home page, enable users to find and search for properties that are on the market across Queens, or find a home improvement professional. The acquisition includes Brownstoner editorial and advertising. The digital media agency aspect of Brownstoner offers clients digital marketing expertise, content creation and targeted reach online and through social media channels. “We have been working with Josh and the Schneps team for several years,” said Kael Goodman, founder and chief executive officer of digital marketing agency Blank- Slate, which acquired Brownstoner in 2015. “We helped Schneps with the acquisition of Brokelyn and now we are thrilled to be able to put Brownstoner in Schneps’ hands too.” BlankSlate will provide web development and license its real estate and local marketing solutions to Schneps for Brownstoner and its other publications. Cate Corcoran will continue to lead Brownstoner’s content team and Brad Einhorn will continue to lead sales. Schneps Communications is the largest privately owned publisher of community newspapers, magazines, local websites and events serving Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and Long Island. Its 35 events include the Best of Brooklyn Food and Beer Festival and Star Network business events such as Brooklyn Power Women in Business and the Brooklyn Real Estate Conference. Launched in 2004 during a new wave of real estate investment and construction in Brooklyn, Brownstoner chronicles change in Brooklyn through the lens of real estate and renovation. Brownstoner also hosts real estate listings, a community forum for connecting with neighbors, and a directory of home improvement professionals. Screenshot of Brownstoner’s home page
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