What Deals May Come

BY MARISSA WIDDISON and RACHEL ALKON
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Everybody loves a bargain.
Maybe it’s those trendy beaded ballet slippers, or a new cell-phone accessory. Whatever it is, there’s a wide array of great deals to be bought from street vendors in downtown Brooklyn.

On our vendor tour, we found plump and juicy fruit, fashionable handbags, children’s books, faux leather goods, fashion jewelry and even carpet cleaners - all at rock-bottom prices. Here’s our unofficial guide to some good deals:

Purses (Court and Remsen Sts.)
Two-dollar purses in a multitude of patterns, shapes and sizes. They seemed sturdy, but definitely not pliable enough to overstuff. The booth offers patent leather and straw shoulder bags and simple matte fabric fanny packs.

Shades and toys (same corner)
The sunglass man has a vibrant display of sunglasses in every design imaginable. Every pair costs a mere $5. Buy a few pairs and ask for a deal. The sunglass man also sells children’s toys starting at $2. One kid who purchased a fake Magna Doodle sat amused with his toy in front of the municipal building. “It will keep him happy on our ride home,” said the boy’s mother, Jolynne Reece.

Nuts (Court and Joralemon Sts.)
It’s a health nut’s feast, with a variety of $1 bags of peanuts, cashews and fruit gummies. Every portion was generous and fresh.

Fruit (same corner)
Touted as the best in Brooklyn by a loyal customer, this vendor sells a wide variety of fresh and inexpensive bananas (five for $1), grapes ($1.75 a pound), oranges, apples, peaches and a few more exotic selections, including canapés. “He’s got good stuff,” said D.A., a young man eating a banana on his lunch break.

Best Peaches (Court and Atlantic Sts.)
This guy’s 50-cent peaches are fresher than his competitors on the other side of the court building.

Jewelry (Court and Joralemon Sts.)
This vendor sells pocket watches for $10 plus an assortment of fashionable jewelry. It also does battery replacements.

“I replaced my battery here once before,” said Greg Tuner. “You can’t beat the curbside convenience.”

Children’s books (Joralemon St.)
Welcome to children’s book heaven, offering popular titles for only $1. “Sometimes the binding comes off,” said Marisa Lopez, who bought a Little Golden Book for her 1-year-old daughter, Elizabeth.

Undies (Court and Livingston Sts.)
The underwear man sells panties and bras starting at $4 and a set of three socks for $10.

Mini-Chinatown (Court and Schermerhorn Sts.)
The Chinese incense man offers a selection of potent incense boxes, bottled potions and crafty incense holders. Next to his stand, a booth sells miniature $5 Chinese bags and $3 Chinese beaded slippers.

Mediterranean Cart (Schermerhorn and State Sts.)
There is a constant stream of hungry customers at the halal food cart, which looks the same as any other food shack but serves more generous and flavorful portions of gyros, falafel and other Mediterranean specialties for around $3.50.

Originally published on June 7, 2005

To everyone in the USA, Happy Memorial Day!

To some this signals the official start of the summer. And when the heat comes, the itch to travel comes with it.

Now, if you have been using travel sites like Expedia, Travelocity or Orbitz to book your flights, you may not actually be getting the lowest fares around. This is because some airlines do not provide their flight information to these sites.

Case in point is Southwest Airlines.

Southwest has their own exclusive promotions and deals that are the lowest you can find. Just last week for example, I return from Philadelphia to Los Angeles after a 2 week vacation and my round-trip ticket only cost me $178.40 including tax and fees. Using the the other travel sites, that same ticket wouldn’t be less than $220.00

If you travel a lot like me, it might be a good idea to check out Southwest’s Ding offers. It’s a desk-top tool that automatically notifies you of exclusive special offers from Southwest.

Try it out. You’ll be glad you did.