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

Dear Reader,
Last week's start of the 'Pardon me Question Of The Week' feature was such a success, that I am continuing this week with a new question. So....

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

I would so like to hear your answer.

Ready?

Here it is:

~~~~~~~~~~

Though Carroll Gardens is home to quite a few great bakeries, which one bakes the very best and which particular bread can't you live without?

~~~~~~~~~

Just because its Friday and because it's rather dreary outside, I invite you to come up with an answer to a question pertaining to Carroll Gardens or Brooklyn at large.

Previous Question of the week:

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



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Picture Of The Day: Forsythia In Full Bloom

"Oh, look! How beautiful"
said Lucy as we both leaned over the garden fence
of a brownstone on First Place
to admire the forsythia
and the carpet of little bright blue flowers below.

A Moment In Time: The Embrace

Just a moment in time,
in front of the F train subway station.

A young couple embracing,
an elderly lady looking straight ahead
and a man on the telephone.

A day like any other in the neighborhood.

Carroll Gardens Greenmarket Returns April 19th

Dear Neighbors,
Great news!

The Carroll Gardens Greenmarket returns on Sunday, April 19th!

Mark your calendar.
I will see you there.

This is from an email I received from Liz Carollo,
Publicity Coordinator, Greenmarket

After two very successful years, the much loved Carroll Gardens Greenmarket is back and planning a stellar year with the freshest, local food this side of the Brooklyn Bridge. Residents, families, and neighbors gather to choose from a bounty of fresh picked fruits and vegetables, beautiful plants and flowers, grass-fed meat, organic dairy, wild-caught fish, and more! There will be free events all season long like cooking demonstrations, raffles, kids & family friendly activities, and seasonal celebrations. Come talk to the farmers who grow your food, meet your neighbors, bring a friend, and taste the difference at your neighborhood Greenmarket! The Carroll Gardens Greenmarket is located at Carroll St and Smith St, and is open from 8am - 4pm, Sundays from April 19th through December.

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New Window Gates At PS58 Make The School Look Like A House Of Detention

Public School 58 has been under construction for many months. The roof is being replaced along with all of the windows. The new windows are a vast improvement over the tired old ones and they make the building look nice and cheery.

But wait! What's this? Just today, the construction crew installed black grates which make the building look more like a house of detention than a public school.

What possible reason could there be for covering each and every window with black grating? It can't be for security, because according to some people 'on the inside', only the window's bottom panel opens a few inches towards the outside. It has also been reported that the gates make the classrooms awfully dark and blocks the view of the outside.
How depressing for the children and the teachers.




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Picture Of The Day: President Street In The Late Afternoon

In the late afternoon.
President Street,
from the corner of Hoyt
looking towards Smith Street.
Isn't it a lovely block?
So much history contained within the walls of these brownstones...

Then And Now: A Glance Down Smith Street Towards Atlantic Avenue

A quick look back to the 1920's
and then,
right back to the present.

This is Smith Street at the intersection of Baltic Street, looking downtown towards Atlantic Avenue. Quite a difference, no?

But if you look closely, you can see that some of the buildings remain unchanged.
In the 1920's shot, you can see Michael's, a huge furniture store that was still open when I moved into the neighborhood 23 years ago. The building now houses a Rite-Aid. Unfortunately, some of the old buildings on the right hand side of the street are gone, replaced by the one-story Met Food supermarket. One of them still remains. I believe it is home to Robin Des Bois.

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With Your Help, A Corner Of Carroll Park Can Be Transformed Into A Butterfly Garden

Friends Of Carroll Park member Laura Shippey has been tending the little garden corner at Carroll Street and Smith Street for a few years now. This spring, she would like to transform it into a haven for butterflies, but she would appreciate some help. If you love gardening and have a bit of time to beautify your neighborhood, please join her. Below is the schedule she sent me.

Be Part Of The Transformation Of This Corner Of Carroll Park

Sunday April 5th
1pm – 4pm Clearing and pruning

Weekend of April 18th and 19th
1pm - 4pm Planning and Marking out beds and paths

Weekend of May 2nd and 3rd
1pm – 4pm Planting

*No experience necessary * tools provided * kids welcome*


Supported by Friends of Carroll Park
www.carrollparkbrooklyn.org

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Direct From Albany: State Senator Squadron Speaks On The Budget

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

I have to say, I am impressed by our newly elected State Senator Daniel Squadron.
When he took the oath of office in January, he promised to keep in close contact with his constituents. As promised, he reached out by hosting a 'Community Convention' in March. It was attended by hundreds of residents from his district.

Today, I received an email from Senator Squadron's chief-of-staff, John Raskin. He sent along a video from the Senate chamber.
Mr. Raskin writes that this is something that our Senator's office is trying "so that everyone back home can see what Daniel is working on when he's in Albany. The senator spoke on the state budget today, addressing particularly the human services budget (he is the vice-chair of the Social Services Committee)."

What a great idea, don't you think? I hope, dear Reader, that you take a few minutes to watch it.

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A Moment In Time: Carroll Park Bocce Guys Gearing Up For Another Season

With the sun finally shining on their court in Carroll Park,
the bocce guys of Carroll Gardens were gearing up
for another season.

Well, sort of....

Clarett's Blue Fence On Court Street Gets Tagged

"Evict The Yuppies!"

Written on Clarett's 340 Court Street construction fence.

There is nobody to evict as yet, since the site is basically a big hole in the ground.
A more appropriate tag would read: "Evict The Rats!"




Related Reading:

Clarett Came, Dug...And Blighted?

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Valentina's Laundromat Says Farewell To Smith Street

Oh, no! Another casualty on Smith Street. Valentina's Laundry at #216 has recently closed its doors. Reader Shawn sent me an email a few days ago asking me if I knew anything about Valentina's closing, but frankly, I had not even noticed until he mentioned it.
A quick walk down Smith Street yesterday confirmed Shawn's suspicion. The place was shuttered and the business' name hurriedly pained over.
At this rate, there will not be any service oriented businesses left on Smith.



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Sheared Off Side Mirrors Common Occurence On Hoyt Street

Too much car traffic and the lack of parking spaces is a big annoyance in Carroll Gardens, as it is everywhere in the city. On some of our neighborhood's narrower streets, there is an added problem. Below is an email from friend and reader Mary.

“How many side mirrors have been swiped off your car in recent years? In my case, two, in two years! It seems to be a big problem on Hoyt Street, but I can imagine it occurs on some of the other narrow streets like President between Smith and Hoyt. I’m assuming it’s wide trucks that shear the mirrors off and scratch your car at the same time. I believe there is a ban on trucks on Hoyt Street, but there is no enforcement. I could be wrong, but in any case, there ought to be because Hoyt is so narrow you almost bang into the car on the opposite side when you back into a parking spot.”

Yikes!
Mary is right. This must be happening everywhere in Carroll Gardens? So lets hear it from other readers. How many side mirrors have you lost this year?


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Picture Of The Day: Simple Childhood Pleasure

Round and round
she rode
on her little blue scooter,
with a big smile on her face.

She made me smile as well.

In 1966, The Carroll Gardens Fish Market Was...

It is amazing how much information about Carroll Gardens' past one can be extracted from a 1966 parish 'souvenir journal.'
Joe Alameda of Perfect Corner was kind enough to lend me his copy of a St. Stephens' journal, commemorating its 100th birthday on April 23rd, 1966.
On the last few pages, there are wonderful congratulatory messages, some from local stores.
Above is the one from Sal Cusimano's Fish Store at 359 Court Street. Well, the storefront is still home to a fish market, though Mr. Cusimano is long gone.
Does anyone remember him? When did he sell the business? Can any native Carroll Gardener give us some more information.

There are many other such ads in the journal, so in the next few weeks, I will match them up with photos of what the stores look like today, 43 years later.

Thanks, Joe, for letting me borrow this great document. I'll take good care of it.



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A "DoubleStacker' School Bus At Hannah Senesh School

Did you happen to see it over the week-end, dear Reader?
Right there, at the corner of First Place and Smith Street, a curious double-stacked was parked next to the Hannah Senesh School.
The gleeful chatter of happy kids drifted out onto the sidewalk. Obviously, something fun was happening inside. A quick look at the inscription on the curious bus gave a clue:
www.Tevacenter.org.
A quick search on the internet revealed that the Teva Learning Center is a Jewish Environmental Education Institute.
No info on the organization's cool bus, though.

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Picture Of The Day: Magnolia On The Verge

Did you notice, dear Reader?
The magnolia is on the verge of blooming.
Its buds opened up just a teeny bit,
waiting just for the next sunny day
to unfurl into beautiful flowers.

This Spring, Come Join The Committee To Improve Carroll Park

COME AND VOLUNTEER IN CARROLL PARK

JOIN THE COMMITTEE TO IMPROVE CARROLL PARK
AT THEIR SPRING PLANNING MEETING.

COME AND FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN HELP WITH GARDENING,
ORGANIZING SPECIAL EVENTS AND FUND RAISING.
HELP MAKE THIS SPRING THE BEST EVER AT ONE OF BROOKLYN'S OLDEST PARKS!

contact information: friendsofcarrollpark@yahoo.com

The Committee To Improve Carroll Park is meeting on

Thursday, April 2nd
7:30 PM
in the Park House

Hope you can attend!

There are lots of fun events coming up and lots of ways
to volunteer in one of Brooklyn's oldest Parks.

The House Beautiful: "Domestic Art" In 1920's Brooklyn

"Domestic Art" In 1920's Brooklyn

From a stereograph by The Keystone View Company, comes this Brooklyn home decorating tip for the dining and living room. Though it is from the 1920's, later than many brownstones, some of the tips are still valid.
However, the caption accompanying the photo is rather hilarious. Read on:

Making a a house attractive is one of the finer arts. Nothing so makes life worth while and full of richness as a well appointed place to live. We are too often satisfied with cheap prints in place of pictures, gaudy wallpaper, any kind of cheap rugs, and furniture of all sorts.
When we see an interior as nicely fitted as this one, we say, "What fine taste!" But taste is not altogether a natural gift. Like other virtues, it must be cultivated. To teach girls how to furnish their homes properly is the purpose of Domestic Art. Everywhere schools are coming to have courses in the arts, and many large special schools, such as the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, enjoy a national reputation.
In furnishing your rooms at home, or in decorating a school room, simplicity is the first law. Most homes are "cluttered up" with a bit of everything. A few pieces cost no more and are in much better taste than many cheap imitations.
Why are these two rooms attractive? First, because nothing is overdone. The furnishings are not in each other's way. The attractiveness of the table is not hidden by a cloth. But its top is protected by the doilies and a plseasant contrsts is also secured. the chairs are simple in line. The flower-pot matches its surroundings. The dishes, too, appear to belong in that particular dining-room and on that very table. This leads yo the second reason for the attractiveness of this room-the arrangement.
You can think of the effect of this beauty being lost by a bad distribution of the furniture. Observe the placement of each piece. Each is put where it is because it was selected to fit into the scheme of these rooms. The basis of the choice of furnishings is the rooms themselves.

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Reader Comment Of The Day: "That's What I Miss"

Regarding the post: Hey, Neighbors! Pardon Me For Asking, But...

A reader had this to answer to the question:

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

Restaurants? I've lived here all my life, and the restaurants were not at the top of my list.
What I would miss:
The Good Friday Procession at St. Stephen's Church.
Walking down Court St and stopping every 20 feet to say hello to a neighbor. Walking around the neighborhood at Christmas time to see the holiday decorations.
The front gardens.
I would miss being able to do all my grocery shopping on foot, never using a car.
I would miss Court Pastry...even if I have to wait on line for an hour at Christmas time.
And while I am on the topic.. Things I miss from the old Carroll Gardens:
The Maria Addolorata Feast
The St. Mary's Bazaar
The "Pork Butcher Shops" on Court Street
Frances' Vegetable Store Tucker,
the vegetable vendor w/ the horse
Hearing the old timers speaking Italian along Court St.
Watching Bocci in Carroll Park (there was a fist fight once between 2 old men) Going to Sunday Mass w/ St. Mary's Class.
St Mary's Band and having my Grandparents and all my aunts, uncles and cousins around.
That's what I miss.


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