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

Dear Reader,

The new "question of the week" feature on Pardon Me For Asking is a great success according to your comments and emails. So far, I asked you what restaurant you would miss most if you ever had to move away from Carroll Gardens. Then, your favorite neighborhood bakery was discussed at length, and last week, we talked about the best mozzarella.

Well, I can only say, you guys are passionate about your food. Which brings me to this week's question. So...

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

So lets hear it!

Ready?

Here it is:

Who makes the best cookies in Carroll Gardens,
and which is your favorite type?


If you have a great idea for a 'question of the week', please send it to me at pardonmeinbrooklyn at gmail dot com. I may just use it in the coming weeks.

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Family Concert At Brooklyn Friends School This Sunday

Sing and celebrate on Sunday, April 19 at 2 p.m., when Tony Soll and his musical friends take another turn under the lights for the 22nd Anniversary Concert of Dinosaurs, Dolphins & Friends.

An annual fundraiser for curricular enrichment at Brooklyn Friends School, the concert takes place at 375 Pearl Street, right around the corner from the Brooklyn Marriott. Tickets are $10 each, with a family package of $35 for four or more. Refreshments will be sold.

“We’ll perform lots of the old favorites, many of which are originals,” says Tony, a songwriter, accomplished musician (Tony toured with John Hammond Jr.), and Brooklyn Friends teacher and parent of two alumni. “As always, the tunes are high energy. They encourage all manner of participation, including call and responses, lot of clapping, animal noises, making faces, and jumping up and down in your seat. There’ll be plenty of laughs and giggles.”


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A Moment In Time: Little Miss Style

Her sense of style was impeccable,
scooting down Court Street in
pink polka-dotted rain boots
a multi -layered skirt,
and to top it off,
a shiny silver helmet.

She made me smile.

Official Gowanus Superfund Statement From Councilman Bill DeBlasio

Below is the official statement from our Councilmember Bill DeBlasio regarding the nomination of the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund. His District Manager Tom Gray sent it to me yesterday.

“For years I have supported cleaning up the Gowanus Canal but I
believe to make real progress we need to involve the community. The
health and safety of the surrounding residents has always been my
number one concern. I still believe local economic projects are an
essential part of the cleanup effort. As the public offers feedback
over the next two months, the Federal and Local Government must work together with the community to find the best way to clean up the
canal," said Councilmember Bill de Blasio.

The part about involving the community sounds great to me. That wasn't always the case.

What's your opinion, dear Reader?

A Building Grows On Bond Street

The addition to this building at 322 Bond Street went up incredibly quickly over the last two or three weeks. The steel structure over the existing building is now visible from Smith Street which is a real bummer.
The permit calls for a" proposed alteration to existing 3 story, six family old tenement brick building and conversion to 9 family, extend 1 story and attic. The permits have been filed by Zambrano Architects.

A few complaints have been called in on this site just in the last few days. They include:
*contrary to approved plans, two additional floors have been added
*Illegal elevator being built middle of the building without permits
*Illegal Deck all around building

The addition looks a bit too heavy and massive on top of this old brick house. But hey, I am not an engineer.


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Brooklyn Reading Presents: Fiction-In-A-Blender

Brooklyn Reading Works
Presents
Fiction-in-a-Blender
Curated by Raina Washington

Another great event at Brooklyn Reading Works that you won't want to miss. Fiction-in-a-Blender, an evening of new fiction by Brooklyn writers curated by Raina Washington. The Where and When April 23rd at 8 p.m. Brooklyn Reading Works at the Old Stone House Fifth Avenue and Third Street in Park Slope. $5 donation includes blender drinks and refreshments. Picture of voice-activated blender by PM Torrone

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A Moment In Time: Father And Daughter

She still looked rather sleepy,
this early in the morning,
but she was chatting away while walking down Smith Street,
holding her father's hand.

Mayor Bloomberg, Your Band-Aid Approach To Gowanus Clean-Up No Solution

photo credit: Laphoto1on Flickr

At Tuesday's Informational Meeting On Gowanus Superfund Designation

I don't know about you, dear Reader, but Mayor Bloomberg's opposition to having the toxic Gowanus Canal designated a Superfund site by EPA infuriates me.

After almost eight years in office, the best Mayor Bloomberg's administration could come up with as far as a clean-up plan, was to have City Planning rezone the polluted shores of the Gowanus Canal from industrial to residential, leaving it up to the developers to remove toxins before capping the soil with a layer of cement.

Obviously, that's a band-aid approach to a pollution problem of great magnitude.

Now, that EPA is stepping in, he doesn't want their help. That frankly doesn't surprise me. Allowing the federal government to take control would only shed light on the fact that the Bloomberg administration wasn't really serious about a thorough cleanup.

As someone commented yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg seems to be more concerned about cigarette smoke and trans-fats than about the hazardous toxins in the waters of the Gowanus.

Frankly, allowing development along the canal before such a comprehensive remediation is almost criminal especially since his administration knew the severity of the pollution.
If they didn't, they were just incompetent.

In my humble opinion, it is time for Bloomberg to step aside and let EPA take a shot at cleaning the canal. More importantly, he should be gracious enough to move over after two terms instead of seeking a third one.

Because if he didn't get it cleaned in 8 years, he won't get it done in 12.

What's your opinion?

EPA's Walter Mugdan On NPR'S Brian Lehrer About Gowanus Canal

Below the Surface:
The Gowanus At Low Tide

I missed this segment o, NPR's 'Brian Lehrer' show on Wednesday morning. Here is the download for your listening pleasure.





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Picture Of The Day: Union Street Row Houses

Early one morning,
my path took me past Union Street
and this row of brick townhouses,
Though I have walked by them countless times,
they seemed more lovely on that day.

At Last Night's Gowanus Superfund Meeting

uu

Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez
Walter Mugdan, EPA

Angela Carpenter, EPA

State Senator Daniel Squadron

Judith Thompson. local resident

Buddy Scotto

Buddy Scotto Getting Rather Angry

Pardon me for asking, but at last night's meeting on the Gowanus Canal Superfund Nomination, did you hear that the EPA normally measures pollutants in parts per millions, and sometimes in trillions, but that in the Gowanus Canal , pollutants are measured in parts per hundreds?
Did you also hear that on the Hazard Ranking System, the minimum score of eligibility is 28.5? The Gowanus scored 50 out of 100 on the very first test. No further tests were necessary to convince the US EPA to nominate the canal as a Superfund site.

According to Walter Mugdan, US EPA Director of the Emergency and Remedial Response Division, there can be no rational discussion about whether the canal needs to be cleaned up. The meeting last night was more about the when and how. The primary objective, Mugdan explained, is to identify the sources of the contamination , clean up the sites along the Gowanus, and then to dredge the bottom of the 2 mile long canal.
He minced no words when he stated that a lot of money will be needed, and that it may take time. The progress "will be slower than you may hope, but faster than you might fear" Mudgan told the audience. He assured residents that the site will have a high profile, high priority and "will get a lot of attention."

Calling the Gowanus the city's most blighted area, he assured the audience that work on the flushing tunnel could continue as planned and that New York City's plan for the rezoning of the canal area would not have to be delayed. On the contrary, the EPA's clean up would be completely consistent with the wishes of the community as expressed through zoning. Responding to critics who maintain that property values will drop sharply if or when the Gowanus would be declared a Superfund site, Mr. Mugdan mentioned that property values are more a function of the real estate market.
" There is no sane person who does not know that this area is heavily contaminated. We did not tell anyone anything that they did not know about the pollution."

Well, maybe he could sit down with some of our elected officials who supported development along the canal prior to a thorough clean-up. Our own Councilman Bill DeBlasio was all too eager to bring low-income housing to the heavily polluted shores of the Gowanus. I sure would love to hear what he has to say about it now.

Dear Readers, what is your opinion on this and what is your vision for the Gowanus Canal?


Read More On The Meeting On Found In Brooklyn

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A Moment In Time: Stroller Mom With Entourage

On a sunny spring afternoon on Court Street:


A Mom
with
a baby,
a stroller,
a wiener dog
and a second wiener dog.

Red Hook Lobster Pound: Bringing The Fishing Business Back To Red Hook

Psssstttt! I'll let you in on a secret.
Want to know where to get the very best and the very freshest lobsters in New York City? And when I mean fresh, I mean 'a-couple-of-hours-off-the boat' fresh. Give up? At the very new, soon to be opened, Red Hook Lobster Pound.

Starting on April 25, Susan Povich and her husband Ralph Gorham will drive to Maine weekly and bring back the freshest lobster directly off the lobster boats and bring them back to their store at 284 Van Brunt Street.

When I stopped by to see Susan and Ralph, they showed me their new tanks and introduced me to some crustaceans. " We are bringing the fishing business back to Red Hook." Susan laughed.

You can contact Susan and Ralph at redhooklobster[ at ]gmail.com or by calling 646 326 7650. They are accepting pre-orders now.
And when you pick up your lobsters, make sure to check out the store's wonderful wall mural painted by local artist Jay Crider.

Oh, and in case you are feeling a bit apprehensive about preparing lobsters, Susan and Ralph have investigated the most humane way of cooking them. They will gladly tell you how.

For further information, check out The Red Hook Lobster Pound web page


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Essence And Accident: Exhibit Of Hugh Crawford's Photographs

Photo By Hugh Crawford

I am an admirer of Hugh Crawford's photography. His work can be seen daily on Only The Blog Knows Brooklyn. Next month, his work will be exhibited at the Old Stone House. Mark your calendar.

Essence And Accident: Photographs By Hugh Crawford

You are cordially invited to the opening of Essence and Accident: Photographs by Hugh Crawford at the Old Stone House on April 28, 2009 from 6-8 p.m.

Hugh Crawford's photographs of the city, rural ground, trees and water are passionately formal evocations of the visually serendipitous landscape of rural California and Brooklyn. His close studies of airplanes and trees have the intricate and expressionistic quality of a Jackson Pollack. In Crawford's pictures of Coney Island in the snow, the faded amusement park site is transformed into a moonscape of fake palm trees and the scrappy relics of a bygone era. His extreme close-ups of water reveal an abstract world of mood and motion that are meditative and supremely seductive.

Hugh Crawford has been taking photographs since he was a child growing up on a walnut farm in Northern California. He studied photography and received a BA from Bard College and an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts. His editorial work has appeared in Rolling Stone, New York Magazine, Tattler and Newsweek. His fine art work has been exhibited in numerous galleries in NYC and San Francisco. A recipient of a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, he was also a artist-in-residence at ArtPark in Buffalo, NY. He is currently at work on a book about Polaroid photographer Jamie Livingston. His photos can be seen daily on the No Words Daily Pix feature of Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn (otbkb.com) A freelance photographer and computer software developer, Hugh lives in Park Slope with his wife, Louise Crawford, and their children, Henry and Alice.

The Where and When

Essence and Accident: Photographs by Hugh Crawford

Opening Party on April 28th from 6-8 p.m.

The show runs through June 30th

The Old Stone House

Fifth Avenue and Third Street in Park Slope.

For information and directions

The gallery is open on weekends and by appointment:

(contact hugh @hughcrawford.com).

The photographer will be in the gallery on Fridays from 4-6 p.m.

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Tonight: Important Meeting Regarding Gowanus Canal Superfund Designation

IMPORTANT

Informational meeting regarding the nomination of the Canal for Superfunds
Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke
Invite you to a:

A Public Information Forum with
US EPA
Regarding the Gowanus Canal Nomination for Superfund

Tuesday, April 14, 7:00 PM

PS 32 Auditorium 317 Hoyt Street (between Union & President Streets)

Bring Your Questions

US Environmental Protection Agency
Will explain how the Superfund program works
and nomination process

A Moment In Time: Kicking The Ball

In Dumbo,
by the water's edge,
he was busy kicking his ball,
while
the happy newlyweds
posed
on their big day.

'Canal Flower' By Photographer Jose Gaytan

Photographer Jose Gaytan calls this " The Official Canal Flower". He has been photographing the Gowanus Canal area for two years now. His 'Gowanus Project' will be exhibited at the Brooklyn Public Library in June.
I will post further information on the show soon.

To see more of Gaytan's wonderful work, go to: http://www.josegaytan.com

Rare Opossum Sighting In Gowanus Back Yard

Just when I thought I saw it all, these photos land in my mail box.
They were sent to me by Rose, a resident of Carroll Street, near the Gowanus Canal. Rose writes that on Saturday, during the rainstorm, this opossum appeared in her backyard. She just had enough time to grab her camera and take these pictures.
Rose has seen this critter only once before, but her son spotted him a few times around the neighborhood.
I know that there is quite a population of raccoons living in the area, but I had never heard of opossums making their home by the Gowanus. Isn't this amazing? Have other area residents had the pleasure of meeting this little fellow?


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"No Dogs Allowed" Signs Don't Deter Some Dog Owners In Carroll Park Part 1

You know that they can see the signs. You have to assume that they can read.
So the only possible explanation for ignoring the many "No Dogs Allowed" signs posted everywhere in the park is that these dog owners just don't give a damn.

For those who do, let me just remind you of the official Parks Department rules on dogs in Carroll Park:

* No dogs EVER allowed off leash in the Park.
*No dogs allowed in the Ball field, children's play area, sprinkler area and planting beds.
*Dogs are allowed ON LEASHES in the area around the monument and along the Smith Street side.

Additional information:

No Shit: Dogs Not Allowed In Carroll Park Play Areas

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Big Movies For Little Kids Presents: Rikki Tikki

Big Movies For Little KidsRikki Tikki Tavi
Monday, April 20th, 4pm
"Oh Rikki-Tikki, you ARE brave and beautiful!" Celebrate the genius of legendary animator Chuck Jones in this sweet film based on the beloved Rudyard Kipling story. Narrated by the one-and-only Orson Welles. Showing with a NYC classic, A Cricket in Times Square. (1975; not rated; approximately 65 mins.)
BIG Movies for Little Kids:
Time: 4pm (every other Monday, following the public school calender)
Ages: 2 and up (all ages welcome)
Location: Cobble Hill Cinemas, 265 Court Street @ Butler
Subway: F train to Bergen St.
Cost: $6.50/pp (as per theatre policy, all walkers need a ticket)

For more info: http://bigmoviesforlittlekids.blogspot.com

Don't wait in line or out in the rain - advance tickets are recommended and are available directly at the cinema's box office (after 1pm daily).
Or, to secure your seat (s), you can also purchase tickets on-line: www.cobblehilltheatre.com

A special thanks to this season's sponsor
New York Kids Club
www.nykidsclub.com

Don't miss our terrific spring screenings:

May 4 Pippi on the South Seas

May 18 Babe

June 1 Unusual short films by Brooklyn animator Jeff Scher

June 15 Wallace and Gromit: Three Amazing Adventures

Come join the fun,

Teri Cunningham
Big Movies for Little Kids
bigmovieforlittlekids@gmail.com
www.bigmoviesforlittlekids.blogspot.com


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