Thursday, January 28, 2010

Where Did The Good Bread Come From At Last Week's Roosevelt Island Farmers Market? - Answer Pain D'Avignon

Image of Pain D'Avignon Bread From Daily News

A reader asks:
I wanted to know if you had any information on where the RI Marlins got the bread that they were selling last weekend at the farmers market, it was really good quality and affordable, I wish they were out there every week.
It turns out that the bread was donated by a Roosevelt Island resident who own a bakery and has previously tried to open one on Roosevelt Island but was rebuffed. The Roosevelt Island Marlins provide some details:
The bread was donated from the dad of two swimmers.
He is co-owner of the Pain d'Avignon, and lives on island.
before he was interested to open one bakery on RI, but.... RIOC...they rather have all stores empty, than...
It was affordable because he donated it.
Quality is really good - he sells same bread at Zabar's, Grand central...
From time to time we will ask him to donate, and to support Marlins this way.

Last Saturday it was Marlin's swimmers support for Haiti:)
UPDATE - 12:18 PM - Received the following comment from RIOC President Steve Shane:
"but.... RIOC...they rather have all stores empty, than..."

Really. Do you pay no attention or is it just easy for you to twit? Is that a serious comment or knowing what you do or should know about the hurdles of the PAAA, even as amended by the recent reform act, would you care to restate? No one would prefer to fill all the commercial spaces than RIOC. How sophomoric of you to suggest otherwise.
I replied:
The comment "but.... RIOC...they rather have all stores empty, than..." was not mine but made by the representative of the RI Marlins. I merely published it in post but it certainly represents the thinking of many residents of Roosevelt Island. I have written a great deal in the past about the problems of the Public Authorities Act on Roosevelt Islander Blog and did not think it was necessary to repeat that in this post because it was primarily about the 'bread". Anyone could easily click on the "Retail" label at the bottom to read more about Roosevelt Island's retail store issues if they wish and learn about the Public Authorities Act.

Also, whether or not the Public Authorities Act impeded RIOC from renting out the long time vacant Main Street retail stores in the past is certainly a debatable issue. We know that you take that position but others, also knowledgeable on subject, have a different view and have expressed the opinion that RIOC could have rented out these stores nothwithstanding the provisions of the Public Authorities Act.

But that is in the past. Hopefully RIOC will follow through on the Master Leaseholder plan and RIOC will be out of the Real Estate Retail Management business or, if not, the amended Public Authorities Act will remove any impediments you see in renting out the space.

By the way - I wasn't twitting but was blogging. Twitting is easy, blogging not.
Mr. Shane responds:
Thank you for the explanation.
The "twit" reference was not to the colloquially popular form of
communication, but rather to the act itself. See:

–verb (used with object) 1. to taunt, tease, ridicule, etc., with
reference to anything embarrassing; gibe at.
2. to reproach or upbraid.

–noun 3. an act of twitting.
4. a derisive reproach; taunt; gibe.

6 comments :

mushr00m said...

That's some good bread they have. As good as the Balthazar bread that Hoboken Farms sells(I think they've sold Pain d'Avignon too).

I think it would be amazing if they could open a bakery on Island. RIOC needs to get its act together.

Anonymous said...

Sheve Shane sounds like an ass.

See: Ass

1  /æs/ [as]
–noun
1. a long-eared, slow, patient, sure-footed domesticated mammal, Equus asinus, related to the horse, used chiefly as a beast of burden.
2. any wild species of the genus Equus, as the onager.
3. a stupid, foolish, or stubborn person.

Jesse said...

Interesting that the RIOC column has Mr. Shane commending PSD for "improving community relations," and yet he writes garbage like that to an Island resident -- and that resident's many readers. Disgraceful.

Anonymous said...

The head of RIOC should be required to live on Roosevelt Island for the term of office.

Pain d'Avignon is wonderful bread. There is no way that its bakery would ever be able to stay open on Roosevelt Island, even if, by some miracle, it got a lease. The Roosevelt Island rule is that every business has to be the worst example of its kind. Pain d'Avignon is far too good for us. Let a store like that open here and you'll soon hear the professional islanders moaning about how expensive it is and unresponsive to the needs and desires of "our mix."

In a related note, Gristedes recently stopped carrying a good bread -- Calandra's. It must have realized that it was far too good for its chain, which, btw, fits the Roosevelt Island rule perfectly. For others who liked this bread, it is available at Food Emporium.

Anonymous said...

What other response would you like from the guy who has to explain every time he scratches his behind. Leave the guy alone. Roosevelt Island is much better in the last 2+ years than it has been before that. You people are too spoiled to realize that. Less we forget the days when RIOC could give 2 stinks about the residents here. At least, as Roosevelt Islander posts in his Opening Post, things are better now.

BTW, I liked the bread and think we should have a bakery here. maybe sometime soon.

Anonymous said...

I thought getting new stores here was now in the laps of the RIOC Board Members.... Can someone ask them what's being done to fill the storefronts?