9 • TIMES, THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014 Nucky Thompson Comes To R’wood Continuing production on its final season, film crews from the HBO drama Boardwalk Empire were back in Ridgewood on Monday, June 30, to film interior scenes at the Ridgewood Democratic Club on Putnam Avenue. Though the action took place out of public view, production trucks lined both Fresh Pond Road and Putnam Avenue for the duration of filming. Boardwalk Empire crews frequently came to Ridgewood in seasons’ past, as the neighborhood served primarily as a stand-in for Prohibition-era Chicago. Monday’s shoot brought out the show’s lead, Steve Buscemi, who plays Atlantic City crime boss Nucky Thompson. He is pictured (inset) standing outside the club between takes. (photo: Marcin Zurawicz) MYRTLE AVE. BID EYES PLAZA PLAN Designs For 71st Ave. Near Complete by Noah Zuss At its annual meeting last Tuesday, June 24, the Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District got an update from the Department of Transportation (DOT) on the completion of the 71st Avenue triangle pedestrian plaza and mulled proposed changes. DOT Project Manager Shari Glickman and Borough Planner Vikram Sinha presented a slideshow on plans to complete the installation of the plaza at the convergence of 71st and Myrtle avenues and Stephen Street. Following final approval of its design, the triangle will be fully converted into a complete pedestrian plaza, the DOT reported. The 71st Avenue triangle reclaimed an underused slip road between Stephen Street and Myrtle Avenue. Closing it off brought improved safety, and 3,000 sq. ft. of open space for residents and shoppers, according to DOT. “One key to closing this lane was the safety enhancement on 71st Avenue,” Glickman said. Though a presentation was made to the BID, plans are not finalized, Sinha said. “It’s a preliminary discussion so the BID can see what they like before the final presentation,” he stated. Following the BID’s request to put a pedestrian plaza at the triangle in 2011, a temporary plaza was installed in 2012 when the DOT closed off the lane to traffic “It’s a spot that is almost perfect for a plaza. Just last week there was a musical performance there,” Myrtle BID President Herman Hochberg said.W hen the plaza is complete, tables and chairs with umbrellas, benches, planters, lighting, new trash receptacles and a way finder sign to direct people around the neighborhood will be installed. The design, if approved next month by the Public Design Commission, could get the project on track for completion by the fall of next year, or the spring of 2016, she stated. The Department of Design and Construction will oversee the building, Glickman stated. During construction, “we will not block access to any businesses,” she said.T he design should be made available for viewing or comment on the BID’s Facebook page shortly, -SEE MABID ON PG. 51- ©Times Newsweekly - 2014 - UNIDENT
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