Hey, Neighbors! Pardon Me For Asking, But...

Won't you please, please, please answer this question?

I would so like to hear your answer.

Ready?

Here it is:

~~~~~~~~~~

"If you ever moved away from Carroll Gardens,
what restaurant would you miss the most?"

~~~~~~~~~

Just because its Friday and because I would love to try out this new feature, I invite you to come up with an answer to a question pertaining to Carroll Gardens or Brooklyn at large.

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Picture Of The Day: Carroll Park After School

Walk through Carroll Park
at 3 PM
and you will find
the neighborhood children
gleefully
playing
after a long day
in school.

From Restaurant To Dental Office On Court Street

The retail space at 158 Court Street has been empty for a while now.
Long, long ago, it was the home of 'Inaka', one of the area's first Japanese restaurants. Believe me, twenty-two or so years ago, it was a big deal when it opened its doors and one could satisfy a craving for sushi without leaving the neighborhood.
After the original owner sold the business, it briefly became 'Oishi Oochi', but by then, there were other sushi restaurants on Court and Smith Streets to compete with.
More recently, it was the "Little Bistro."

Today, as I was walking by, I noticed that it will soon become a dentist office. Steve Wong, D.D.S., will be moving his office here from Henry Street.
(Oh, and per another flier in the window, you can win a free whitening kit, call for details)

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Public Place Gets Its Own Web Page Complete With Weekly Pollution Clean Up Updates

Last week-end, I walked by the highly toxic Public Place site and was surprised to find the gate wide open on the 5th Street site. Apparently, soil testing has been performed on an ongoing basis.
As per Tom Gray, District Director of City Council Member Bill de Blasio, National Grid, which is responsible for the clean-up of its former gas manufacturing site, has set up a web page to provide updates for neighbors and to keep the community informed about "the work that has been done, and provide an outlook and schedule for upcoming work, including information about any work that may impact normal community activities."

From the web page:

Public Place Weekly Update

Week Ended March 20, 2009

Remedial Design: Pre-Design Field Investigation

Pre-Design Field Investigations are ongoing at the former Citizens MGP as part of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) approved Remedial Design Work Plan (RDWP). Work includes the installation of geotechnical borings to gather information required for the design of retaining structures in the areas to be excavated, product collection test wells to define NAPL collection rates and properties, and test pits to better define subsurface structures and existing bulkhead conditions. The site is broken down into four parcels as follows:

• Parcel I: Smith and 5th Streets
• Parcel II: Hoyt St along Gowanus Canal
• Parcel III: Smith and Huntington Streets
• Parcel IV: Hoyt and 5th Streets.

Activities Week of 03/ 16-20 /09:

• Groundwater level gauging on Parcels I, II and III.

Future (two week look-ahead) activities:

• No near-term activities planned. Parcel III Pre-Design Investigation to commence after warehouse demolition is complete.

Related Activities

Demolition activities related to the warehouse on Parcel III are being performed by the present property owner who has responsibility for those activities. National Grid is awaiting the foundation slab removal schedule and will implement the slab removal Community Air Monitoring Program when the foundation slab is removed.



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Hey, Brooklyn! On Saturday, Turn Off The Lights For One Hour And 'Vote Earth'

Hey, Brooklyn! Turn Off Your Lights.

(Brooklyn Borough Hall is doing it!)

Saturday, March 28th,
Between 8:30 to 9:30 PM

Vote Earth by simply switching off your lights for one hour
and join the rest of the world for Earth Hour!

My little family and I took part in this event last year and it felt really great. With candles flickering all around, we gathered in one room and enjoyed just talking to each other.
I am committed to taking part in the event again, but have guests coming over. I guess we will have a candle light dinner....

I was happy to learn that Brooklyn Borough Hall is also going dark, together with many other New York City landmarks.

This from the official Earth Hour Web Site:

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.

In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.

We all have a vote, and every single vote counts. Together we can take control of the future of our planet, for future generations.

Related Post:Earth Hour 2008 Brings A Bit Of Reality Into This Brooklyn Home

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Picture Of The Day: Sloping Brownstones

He was slowly walking
down towards the canal,
past this gently sloping
row of townhouses
on Second Street.

Free-For-All Brawl In Red Hook Shipyard Riot...In 1937

A quick look back in Brooklyn history. This great photo was taken on the waterfront near the Red Hook Graving dock back in 1937. The docks were built by the Robins Dry Dock Company from 1864-1916. Today, this is were Ikea built its huge yellow and blue box store.


The accompanying caption states:

Free-For-All Brawl In Shipyard Riot

Brooklyn, N.Y. July 31, 1937

A view of the scene near the Robins Dry Dock And Repair Company's Yard in Brooklyn when police clashed with a mob of 1,000 strikers and sympathizers after six pickets had been arrested. Three men were injured and ten arrested, police were stoned and traffic was tied up by a sit-down demonstration in front of trolley cars before 1500 patrolmen restored order.

In Gowanus Area, The (Fake) Grass Is Greener

Carroll Street between Nevins and 3rd Avenue

The grass is greener near the Gowanus Canal. Don't believe me, dear Reader? Just take a look at the lushness of the little grass edging in this tree pit on Carroll Street between Nevins and 3rd Avenue.

But wait...
Could it be?
Is this what I think it is?
Did someone actually plant fake grass around the sidewalk tree pit?

Oh, and the blue flowers? Fake as well.

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Picture Of The Day: Casting Shadows

I was walking along the sidewalk,
deep in thought,
when I noticed the beauty
of the shadow cast
by an ornate fence and gate.

A Moment In Time: The Measuring Man

He looked terribly official
in his orange vest,
pushing his wheeled tape measure
here and there.

Climate Change And New York City: A Lecture By Dr. Radley Horton

photo credit: Onkel Ulle on Flickr



Parks and Recreation invites you to a guest lecture
by

DR. RADLEY HORTON
on
CLIMATE CHANGE And NYC; VULNERABILITIES, IMPACTS AND SOLUTIONS


Wednesday, Mar. 25, 2009
6:00PM
Prospect Park Picnic House

Schedule:
6:00PM: check in, refreshments
6:30PM Presentation
7:15PM Q & A
7:30PM Meet the Manager
RSVP: Elizabeth Walsack at 718/965-6951
elizabeth.walsack@ parks.nyc. gov

Radley Horton, PhD, is an Associate Research Scientist at the Center for Climate Systems Research at Columbia University.
Dr. Horton completed his Ph.D. research at Columbia University's Department of Earth and Environmental Science and NASA GISS.
His research interests include climate impacts and mitigation, and modeling of climate variability and it's regional signatures under climate change scenarios.

PS 29 Literary Salon: An Evening Of Memoir And Fiction

Photo Credit: ookami_dou on Flickr

PS 29 Literary Salon
March 27 2009, 7-8:30 PM

An Evening of Memoir and Fiction
by
Nick Flynn, Victor Weinstock,
Mark Alpert

Reading, Talk, Food & Book Sales
–Tickets $7($15 w/ babysitting)

425 Henry Street, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn

Nick Flynn’s memoir about his childhood and his homeless father, Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, won France’s Prix Femina and has been translated into 13 languages. He has written two books of poetry. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, the Paris Review, and the New York Times Book Review, among others. He teaches at the University of Houston. He will read from The Ticking is the Bomb, a forthcoming memoir about fatherhood, bewilderment, and Abu Ghraib.

Mark Alpert’s debut novel, the scientific thriller, Final Theory, has been praised by Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist, among others, for its blend of Big Science and pulse-pounding suspense and excitement. Alpert, an editor at Scientific American, studied astrophysics and poetry at Princeton University and earned an MFA in Creative Writing at Columbia University.

Victor Weinstock is a Mexican playwright, journalist, and essayist whose work includes the hit Mexican musical, Bésame Mucho; the play, Another Somber Fable, performed by Mexico’s acclaimed theater company for the deaf, Seña y Verbo; and multimedia productions. He is New York cultural correspondent for the Mexican newspaper, El Economista. He will read in English and Spanish from his novel-in-progress.

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Picture Of The Day: Carroll Gardens Low-Rise

Nestled amidst warehouses
close to the Gowanus Canal,
this sweet little one-story house
is a reminder that not everything needs to be a high rise.

A Moment In Time: Fighting The Chill

It had been warm just the day before,
but now the icy wind
was blowing down Smith Street.
It did not feel
like spring
at all!

When Did A Permit For A Two-Story Addition Become An Approval For Brand New Construction?

Back in November '08
Only beams of existing structure at 85 Third Street remained

November '08: After demo

November '08: Original structure gone

85 Third Street Today

Looks suspiciously like a new structure

No sign of existing structure

Two 'Stop Work Orders' have been rescinded

So let me get this straight: A developer proposes a two-story addition to an existing building at 85 Third Street. He gets approval and a permit from the Department of Buildings. Then he proceeds to tear the existing structure down and puts a new structure in its place.

I am not an expert, but even the latest permits seem to still mention that this is an alteration instead of new construction.

Pardon me for asking, but is there something I am missing?

****UPDATE****

A reader passed along a photo f what 85 3rd Street looked like in the fall of '08 during demo
Thanks, Lisa De Brooklyn





Related Reading:

Stop Work Order Of The Day: Destroying Existing Building When Permit Only Allows Two Additional Floors

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Picture Of The Day: Bird On A Wire

There was something quite sad
about the juxtaposition of
this dainty little bird
sitting on the razor sharp wire.


"Fly away, little bird"
I whispered ever so softly
to him and to myself.

SMART At Lowe's, Gowanus

On Sunday afternoon at Lowe's in Gowanus:

Small, cute and yellow
SMART
in the parking lot.

Clarett Looking For Retail Tenant For 340 Court Street

Sharing the fate of many other Brooklyn real estate projects during this economic downturn, the Clarett development site at 340 Court Street has seen no activity since November 2008. It appeared that Carroll Gardeners would have to live with an ugly blue construction fence and a giant hole in the ground right in the center of their neighborhood for a long time.

So it was a bit surprising to many when a "Retail Space For Lease" signs went up at the site last week. Has Clarett gotten further financing? Does this mean that Clarett is rethinking the project? Are they considering a one-story retail "tax payer" building until they are able to add more stories? Or is getting financing contingent on finding a retail tenant?

Getting these questions answered by the development company seems to be a bit of a challenge. Clarett has stopped talking to the community long ago. And judging by the email responses from aides of our elected officials, Clarett has been equally unresponsive to their inquiries.



Related Reading:

Clarett Came, Dug...And Blighted?

Clarett Restores Sidewalk In Front Of "Collection On Court'

Clarett To Pause Construction At 340 Court For Next Few Months?

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When Mrs. Pizzaro Had An Ice Cream Parlor At 327 Smith Street.

Today, 327 Smith Street between President and Carroll Streets is the home of "Elegant Nails," but long ago, it was Mrs. Pizzaro's ice cream parlor. Reader Maryann B. emailed me a few days ago to share her wonderful childhood memories of the place with me. I am sure you will enjoy them as much as I did.

Where the nail salon is presently, there used to be ( in the 50s-60s) a candy store owned by a Mrs. Pizzaro. The store had the classic soda fountain counter where you could by Breyer's vanilla ice cream (with the little flecks of vanilla bean in it), or ice cream sodas and egg creams. Towards the rear of the store were several tables & chairs where you could sit and enjoy your treats. Opposite the counter were two huge wood and glass display cases and glass jugs containing all sorts of penny candy: Mary Janes, Bit-o-Honey, Milk Duds, malted milk balls, candy necklaces, licorice strings and rods, pretzels, marshmallow peanuts, all the sorts of sugary stuff my mother didn't want me to have. Despite those admonitions, I can tell you that I was a regular customer as a child!

Is there anyone else out there that can add some details? Would love to hear more on Mrs. Pizzaro and her egg creams.


Related Reading:

Remembering Schooltime At St. Agnes In 1960

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