Two Green Grocers On The Same Court Street Block. Will Both Survive?

Above, K&Y Produce Market at 291 Court Street

and the newly opened 

Big Apple Produce Market on the same block at 303 Court Street

Both are across the Union Market store on Court Street

Who remembers Rainbow Produce on Court Street at Union Street here in Carroll Gardens? How about Frances and her two sons, who operated a small produce store on Court Street between First and Second Place? How about Jim and Andy further down on Court Street in Cobble Hill, which closed just recently?
For a few years, it seemed as though Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill were losing all their family-run produce stores, leaving many longing for a simple fruit and vegetable stand in the neighborhood.

In recent years, a few gourmet places like Union Market and Gourmet Fresh opened up. We now also have the Greenmarket on Carroll Street, which takes place every Sunday. And, of course, there is Park Natural, the organic food store. However, the produce prices at some of these places is just a bit too expensive for many in the neighborhood.

Luckily, K&Y Fruit And Vegetable opened just a few years ago at 291 Court Street near Douglass Street. This no-frills store, which is apparently owned by the same people who run Atlantic Fruit and Vegetables  on Atlantic Avenue, consistently offers great in-season produce at reasonable prices.
It's been wonderful having them in the neighborhood.

But K&Y is now facing some very stiff competition from newcomer Big Apple Gourmet,  a produce store/ deli which opened  in the former Mastellone's storefront on the same block just two weeks ago.. Big Apple Gourmet is owned by Billy Solmaz,  who also runs Pacific Green, a popular Cobble Hill store at 151 Court Street.  Solmaz will be forced to close Pacific Green because a J. Crew is taking over the space.

It's great that Pacific Green/ Big Apple Gourmet has found a new home.  The new corner location certainly offers a lot of sidewalk area to display and stock produce.
The question is only: can two produce stores exist just a few doors apart from each other, on the same block (and across the street from Union Market?).

Have you shopped in both?  Have you compared pricing and quality?
Will all these stores be negatively affected once Whole Foods opens in Gowanus?  What do you think?



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Court Street's Castor Oil Plants More Beautiful Than Ever

Year after year, I have been admiring the blooms in the side garden of the Van Westerhout Cittadini Molesi Cultural and Social Club on Court Street at the corner of Fourth Place.  Surrounding a Madonna protected under a white cupola and a flag pole with an Italian flag,  profusion of marigold, begonias dalias and cleome from spring to late fall. 

But nothing rivals the tall castor oil plants that grow against the fence of the garden. Grown from seeds in the spring by one of the members of the club, these castor plants reach their full height by September. Amongst the waxy leaves, little red, fuzzy blooms appear on top of the tall stalks. 

It's biological name is Ricinus Communes and is native to the Mediterranean Basin, Eastern Africa and India.
As I mentioned in a previous post, for centuries, castor oil from the plant's seed has been used as a natural laxative, a lubricant, as well as to induce labor. 

But the seeds also contain ricin, a deadly water-soluble protein called a lectin " which, if ingested, causes clumping and breakdown of red blood cells, hemorrhaging in the digestive tract, and damage to the liver and kidneys.
According to Answers.com: " Gram for gram, ricin is 6,000 times more deadly than cyanide and 12,000 times more deadly than rattlesnake venom."

Their seeds  may be deadly, but the plants sure are pretty.

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The Giant Castor Oil Plants Of Court Street

Next to an Italian social club on Court Street, the most amazing flowers happily grow ten to twelve feet in a side garden, amongst much smaller annuals and a Madonna protected under a white cupola. It is an amazing sight.
"May I take a picture of your plants?" I asked the two gentlemen who were leaning against the fence of the Van Westerhout Cittadini Molesi Cultural & Social Club, Inc..
" Sure, go right ahead." was their reply. However, neither one of them knew the answer to my second question.
"No, we don't know what kind of plants those are. You need to ask the gardener."
When the gardener stepped out of his magical garden, he proudly told me that these towering plants were Castor Oil Plants.
"Yes, yes." he assured me. " Castor oil, you know, it's used by doctors."
Yes indeed. Ricinus communis is a natural laxative and a lubricant and so much more.

From Answers.com:
"The castor seed, or bean, is the source of numerous economically important products as one of the world's most important industrial oils, and was one of the earliest commercial products. Castor beans have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs dating back to 4000 B.C. According to the Ebers Papyrus, an Egyptian medical text from 1500 B.C., Egyptian doctors used castor oil to protect the eyes from irritation. The oil from the bean was used thousands of years ago in facial oils and in wick lamps for lighting. Castor oil has been used medicinally in the United States since the days of the pioneers. Traveling medicine men in the late 1800s peddled castor oil, often mixed with as much as 40% alcohol, as a heroic cure for everything from constipation to heartburn. It was also used to induce labor. At the present time, castor oil is used internally as a laxative and externally as a castor oil pack or poultice."

But what's that? A by product of the castor bean is ricin? Here is more on this plant:
"The active poison in the castor bean is ricin, a deadly water-soluble protein called a lectin. The ricin is left in the meal or cake after the oil is extracted from the bean, so castor oil does not contain any of the poison. The seed is only toxic if the outer shell is broken or chewed. Humans and horses are most susceptible to ricin, although all pets and livestock should be kept away from the castor seed. It has been estimated that gram for gram, ricin is 6,000 times more deadly than cyanide and 12,000 times more deadly than rattlesnake venom. A dose of only 70 grams, or one two-millionth of an ounce (roughly equivalent to the weight of a single grain of table salt) is enough to kill a 160-pound person. Even small particles in open sores or in the eyes may be fatal. As few as four ingested seeds can kill an adult human. Lesser amounts may result in vomiting, severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, increased heart rate, profuse sweating, and convulsions. Signs of toxicity occur about 18–24 hours after ingestion. Ricin seems to cause clumping (agglutination) and breakdown (hemolysis) of red blood cells, hemorrhaging in the digestive tract, and damage to the liver and kidneys."

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Trashed And Busted On Court Street

Pardon me for asking, but why do people insist on putting their trash at the curb instead of putting it in front of their own building for Sanitation pick up? Take this television for example.
Is it really necessary to litter our street corners with one's own personal garbage?
I am just asking....


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Fresh Pumpkin Delivery On Court: Yup, It's Fall!

No doubt now,
Summer is definitely over.
I know, dear Reader,
We are all back at work
School has started
And the days have gotten shorter,
But it still sometimes feels like the middle of summer, no?
Until today, that is!
A delivery of fresh pumpkins on Court
Convinced me once and for all:
It's fall!

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