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

No, no, dear Reader, I have not forgotten the question of the week. But you see, I have a busy week ahead of me and got sidetracked. (I'll explain later.) But since its Friday, and since I know that you are very anxious to give us your answer, here it is:

The question of the week!

Get set, ready, go!

Who is your favorite store clerk in the neighborhood. Who is that person on the other side of the counter that always can make you smile or want to talk?

This super question was sent to me by reader Vince. So lets hear it! Send in those comments.


To read past questions of the week, click here

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Picture Of The Day: Summer Footwear

Plastic chairs,
watering cans,
and a multitude of
summer footwear
in many shades and colors.
Available on Court Street.

'Area' Place Plastering Neighborhood With Annoying Fliers

O








To 'Area's' Owner

All right, already. 'Area' is offering yoga classes. I GET it!

Seriously, is it necessary to for you to plaster your annoying pink and blue fliers all over the neighborhood?
Those damn things are everywhere.
How about you advertise like other businesses, instead of littering.

That would be a much better business plan.

And to those readers who take classes at this place, maybe you can tell her to stop in person.



For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Middle School Students At 'New Horizons' Want To Make A Difference In Their Community

Yesterday morning, I accompanied my friends Rita Miller and Betty Stoltz to the New Horizons Middle School, which is located at PS32 on Hoyt Street.
Teachers Michael Templeton and Anna Gutman are working with a group of students on 'Project Connect,' which encourages young people to get involved, help, and build a better community.
Rita and Betty had been invited to speak about their own involvement and activism. I joined them to give the students a few tips on how to use blogging as a way of getting their message out to others.

I was impressed by students Nicole Rosario, Keesha Hale and Alex Wells. They spoke of interviewing local residents about the presidential race as well as what they thought of Barack Obama as our new president. ( Their result: Most were happy about his presidency.)

Another survey taken by the children revealed that the community is concerned about the Gowanus Canal and its polluted state. So the group of students has tackled the issue with the help of their teachers. It would appear that these young people know more about the canal than some of our politicians.
The students walked around the Gowanus and took photos of the canal area like the one below. Then, they posed themselves these questions:

1) What do you notice about the community from these photos?
2) What do the photos make you want to DO?
3) If you had unlimited money and materials, what is one thing you would do for your community? Why?

It was inpiring to see these young people really care about the issues facing their neighborhood.
Their activism should be encouraged. So please, go to their web site here and let them know that their voices count and that we need them to be part of the discussion.

And of course, a big thank you to their wonderful teachers who obviously bring out the best in their young charges.




For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

PIcture Of The Day: Darkening Sky Over Brownstones

Over a row of brownstones,
darkening clouds were
closing in on the blue sky.

Three Bloggers, Three Directors, Three Videos From Brooklyn Blogfest 2009

At last week's Blogfest 2009, three videos, featuring three Brooklyn blogger, were shown during the event. Besides illustrating how individual and personal blogs can be, the three short features had one thing in common: they were directed by three different directors, all of Blue Barn Pictures, a production company in DUMBO.
One of the videos was directed by my own son Max Kelly , an intern at Blue Barn. It was his directoral debut and I was rather touched that he would choose me and Pardon Me For Asking as his subject. (Don't tell him, but it was the best Mother's Day present ever.)
The second video was directed by Juanjo Martinez and features my friend Carolina's blog Un trocito de El Palo en Brooklyn.
The third featured the incredibly inspirational blog Why Not Me and was directed by Sharon Dowdell.

Thanks Blue Barn Pictures, for allowing me to post them right here and read their blog, The Barn, for more.



For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Tonight In Carroll Gardens: Important Meeting Regarding Rezoning

I would like to encourage everyone to attend the meeting regarding the Rezoning of Carroll Garden and Columbia Street. The Department of City Planning will be presenting its proposal tomorrow night at PS 32. Read on:

In anticipation of a projected certification of the Carroll
Gardens/Columbia Street Contextual Rezoning application in June, we have invited the Department of City Planning (DCP) to present their proposal to our Landmarks/Land Use Committee prior to certification at an Informational Meeting scheduled for 6:30pm on Thursday, May 14, 2009 at P.S. 58, 330 Smith Street, Brooklyn.

Since this application will ultimately be subject to a vote by the full
Community Board, this will be a good opportunity for all board members and the public to hear DCP's presentation and ask questions prior to our public hearing and the start of our formal 60-day review period under ULURP.

Meeting details are available by clicking here, or at the following link:
http://www.brooklyn cb6.org/calendar

Support Our Shelves Fundraiser For Brooklyn Public Library

photo credit chrisc25 on Flickr.

Clever title, worthwhile cause. The Brooklyn Public Library is launching a fund raising campaign. Read on:

Our Support Our Shelves fundraising campaign is in its last month, and it's more important than ever to donate in light of the severe city budget cuts BPL is facing next month. If it goes through, BPL's materials budget will be cut by about 30%. Support Our Shelves is a three-month fundraising campaign in which BPL is appealing to community residents to give back whatever they can to help us build our collections in this time of economic uncertainty. Every donation counts, from one dollar to a thousand dollars, and donors can give to their local library or any branch they choose. Each donation helps us reach our $300,000 goal and provide the materials that our libraries need. Sadly, Carroll Gardens Library is far short of its $8,000 goal, with about $6,000 still needed. I was hoping that you might be willing to appeal to your readers to donate to help ensure our library can provide needed materials for our neighbors. If they'd like to give, they can call, give at the branch or give online here:

http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/support/shelves/

There is a Support Our Shelves Fundraiser tomorrow night at Franklin Park Bar & Beer Garden from 6-9PM. The cost is $40 and all proceeds go to the SOS campaign for Clinton Hill Library.

HD Documentary Field Production Course in DUMBO

Dear Reader,
Our friends at Blue Barn Pictures are offering a three day documentary field production course in DUMBO from Friday, May 22nd - Sunday, May 24th. This sounds as though it will be a great opportunity for anyone interested in film making.

HD Documentary Field Production Course

While most courses are limited to teaching basic fundamentals, this course equips you with the knowledge and hands-on skills to go out with confidence and create your own documentary pieces.

The course begins with classroom work that prepares you to handle a variety of situations in the field, focusing on HD workflow, Lighting Techniques, Audio, Basic Editing in Final Cut Pro, Interview Techniques, Creative Style, and Professional Etiquette.

Students go out and direct, shoot, and edit their own 60-second documentaries in a real-life setting using the latest Canon HD cameras and Final Cut Pro for a public showing on the final day of the course.

This Canon sponsored course is taught by production company professionals in a small class size, and normally costs $1000, but special discounts are offered to IFP members at $650 per student.

All major credit cards are accepted.

Course Dates: Friday May 22 - Sunday May 24

For more information visit:
http://www.bluebarnpictures.com/home/training

To sign up for the course, contact us at:
Blue Barn Pictures, Inc.
(718) 852 1403
training@bluebarnpictures.com

Sponsored By:
Canon, Independent Feature Project, Audio Technica and Photoflex

Picture Of The Day: Saint Agnes In The Distance

Saint Agnes In the Distance

Do you sometimes find yourself
walking the streets of Carroll Gardens
and find yourself on a block that you have walked often,
but which
at that moment,
in that light,
on that day
looks
as never before?

The People In My Neighborhood: Tony, The Carroll Gardens Bird Man

Carroll Gardens resident Tony has always owned birds. Lots of them. I remember years ago, on warm days, he would bring some of his feathery friends outside and delight his neighbors. My kids always referred to him as "the bird" man. When I told his wife Joanne, she just smiled. "Everyone call him that" she said.

These days, Tony only owns one little yellow bird. He retired a few months ago and spends quite a bit of time with his little companion. I saw the pair together a few days ago, enjoying a nice afternoon in the sun.



For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

After Yet Another Accident At Columbia And President Street, Residents Want A Stop Light

Photo courtesy of Lost City

I received an email from fellow blogger Brooks of Sheffield. He is the author of the excellent Lost City site. Brooks sent me his photo of an accident which occurred yesterday at the corner of Columbia and President Streets. According to Brooks, as traffic has increased on Columbia and on Van Brunt, accidents happen more frequently. But here, I'll let him explain:

The arrival of Fairway and IKEA in Red Hook has given the surrounding neighborhood a lot of things. Easy access to gourmet food and cheap furniture, for one. And increased reckless traffic down Columbia and Van Brunt Streets for another.

At around noon May 12 there was an accident at the intersection of Columbia and President Streets. A van and a motorcycle collided. The man on the motorcycle was thrown off his bike and broke his leg.

To continue reading, click here.

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Message From Urban Divers: ...Why...Ya Bunch-A No Good For Nothings!

This clever and poignant poster comes from the Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy. UDEC, or The Urban Divers, "is a 501c3 not for profit environmental & cultural organization committed to active participation in the restoration, revitalization, restoration, protection, as well as a commitment to public education for our coastal resources (rivers, oceans, marine wildlife, green open spaces); with a special focus on the urban estuary, its watershed and the community that lives, learns, works, play and worship in and along its shore."

The organization and its members have been supporters of the EPA's designation of the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund Site. To learn more about the organization, click www.urbandivers.org


And if you have not already done so, please take a moment to sign the Superfund Gowanus Now Petition here


For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Reader Comment Of The Day

Reader comment left on:

Gowanus Superfund: City And Elected Officials Spinning As Fast As They Can

Thank you Senator Montgomery and Jim Vogel.
For a moment I feared for Tom Gray's safety when he asked why the epa is now trying to "cram the superfund down our throats." It was clear that the majority of attendees welcome the epa's involvement.
I suppose that Squadron is huddling with the city to see if they will come up with a viable plan that he can spin and support. Since, according to Coswell Holloway, they won't have a finished plan prior to the close of the comment period it might be difficult to form an informed judgment. Daniel Squadron is turning out to be another political disappointment.
Another important point that was made last night is that the city is not improving the flushing tunnel out of any goodwill or concern for the community but rather because they are obligated to pursuant to a consent order.
I also applaud my neighbors for their well informed and cogent questions and for refusing to put up with any more BS.
And thank you to Joshua Verleun.

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Brooklyn Clothes Line At Midnight

A backyard clothes line and its pulley silhouetted in the midnight moonlight.

This beautiful photo was taken by reader Alexandrea in her back yard a few nights ago. Thanks for letting me post it, Alexandrea.

A Moment In Time: Man And His Hound On Bond

He was riding his yellow-wheeled bike
along Bond Street
as his hound ran alongside.

I had seen the pair in the neighborhood before.
Have you?

Gowanus Superfund: City And Elected Officials Spinning As Fast As They Can

Last Night's C.G.N.A. meeting at the Hannah Senesh School

Maria Pagano, C.G.N.A. President

Caswell Holloway, Chief of Staff for Deputy Mayor Schyler

Joshua Verleun, Staff Attorney and Investigator for Riverkeeper, Inc.

Lauren Collins, Acting Director of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy

Buddy Scotto

David Von Spreckelsen ( Foreground) Toll Brothers' V.P.

who is lobbying the city to reject the Superfund.

Gowanus Superfund: City Official Taking Questions

Jim Vogel, Spokesperson for State Senator Velmanette Montgomery

Thank goodness the EPA will either designate the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site or not purely based on science, because if the agency could be influenced by our elected officials, we would all literally be up shit creek.

For the last two weeks, our electeds have been 'spinning' and closing ranks as fast as they can in regards to the Gowanus Canal Superfund nomination. Mayor Bloomberg had been the first to announce that he is against the nomination. Councilman Bill DeBlasio was right behind him. Others, such as Assemblywoman Joan Millman, have been sitting on the fence ever since. Most surprisingly, State Senator Daniel Squadron, who had shown such promise as a forward thinking politician, willing to engage and to listen to his constituents, failed to show any leadership in this matter. What a great disappointment.
The sole politician who came out in favor of Superfund has been State Senator Velmanette Montgomery. Her willingness to follow her conscience is admirable.

Speaking as one, those less courageous politicians have been advertising an alternative plan to EPA's Superfund designation for the Gowanus Canal. What exactly this alternative plan entailed was not revealed to the community until last night, when Caswell Holloway, Chief of Staff for Deputy Mayor Schyler finally 'enlightened' the community at the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association meeting on Monday evening.

So what is this plan? Simply speaking, it entails a "faster, more efficient clean-up" which is up to EPA's standard, without the stigma associated with the Superfund name. The only difference I could detect between the city's proposal and the EPA's
Superfund program seemed to be the way responsible polluters would be brought to task for the clean-up. The city's plan would ask the polluters to come to the table 'voluntarily,' Mr. Holloway stated. The other difference, of course, is in the name Superfund.

It was clear from many of the questions asked by the audience, that there is much scepticism that the city can get the canal cleaned as thoroughly as the EPA.
Someone in the audience wanted to know why the city was mirroring the efforts of the EPA instead of letting the agency handle the clean-up. Another wanted to know why the city had neglected the canal for so many decades, just to be playing catch-up to the EPA now. Yet another asked Mr. Holloway if the city would still go forward with a clean-up even if the Gowanus area's rezoning from industrial to residential may not.

One thing became incredibly clear to me while I listened to Mr. Holloway. Before the EPA stepped forward with their Superfund proposal for the canal, the city was going to do the very least it could do to clean the polluted waterway before allowing residential housing to be built on its shore. And that seemed to be all right with our elected officials.
Shame on them. They collectively failed to represent this community.
Lets all remember that when they want to get re-elected.

They owe the residents of Carroll Gardens and Greater Gowanus an apology.


More video to come as it uploads.

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Sorry To Say, But You Missed Some Great Free Stuff On Smith Street

Sorry to disappoint you, dear Reader, but you probably missed the free stuff on Smith Street over the week-end.
Lets see, the give-away included a pair of high-heeled sandals, a small saucer and two small tubes of hand cream. And for the taking on a Smith Street sidewalk.



For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

A Moment In Time: Three Elderly Friends

Walking slowly,
but determinedly
on Court Street,
three elderly ladies had just admired the flower display
at a neighborhood deli.
"Remind me to stop to get some on the way home"
said the lady with the cart.
The others assured her
they would help her remember.

Number 217 Court Street A Sad Sight

217 Court Street

Back of 217 obviously gone

Cracks in the front façade

Its neighbor at 219 Court Street

Also has been vacated

I was so busy last week that I did not get a chance to take my usual walk down to Brooklyn Heights via Court Street. So when I heard that number 217 Court Street partially collapsed as a result of days and days of rain, I did not get a chance to take photos.

On Sunday, I finally made it down there and took these. The back of the building is all but gone, judging by the view of blue sky and trees through one of the front windows. There are also some rather nasty cracks in the front façade, though they may have been there already.

The building was certainly not one of the nicest in our brownstone neighborhood, but I shudder to think what will be built in its place once it is torn down. That side of Court Street in Boerum Hill is not landmarked or down-zoned.
Number 219 , a much cuter brick building has a 'Vacate" sign on its door. I sure hope that structure has not suffered too much structural damage. That would be a real pity.

For some history of 217 Court, check out Lost City

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Car Plunged Into The Gowanus Canal...in 1921

Same spot, different outcome.

Almost 88 years separate the incident described in the article above and the virtually identical car crash into the Gowanus Canal this last Saturday. Both cars drove through barriers at DeGraw Street. However, this week-end's driver was very fortunate and survived. The crash victims in 1921 weren't so lucky.

Related Reading:

NEWS FLASH: Car Plunges Into Gowanus Canal Early On Saturday Morning

Car Drives Into Gowanus Canal: More Photos

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

'Living On Smith' Turns Into 'Relaxing On Smith' At Number 289 Smith Street

The storefront at 289 Smith Street has been empty since November, when "Living On Smith," a home decor/gift store, closed its doors. Just recently, "Relaxing On Smith," a massage/ reflexology parlor set up business at that location.
Hardly the usual type of business associated with Smith Street, what with all the bars, restaurants and home goods stores.
I guess in these harder economic times, we need fewer decorative pillows and more ways to de-stress.

Related reading:

'Living On Smith' Not Living On Smith Any More

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Best Comment Of The Day

Comment left on:

NEWS FLASH: Car Plunges Into Gowanus Canal Early On Saturday Morning

"1010 wins has a brief article. The two first responders were firefighters who jumped into the canal. They are true heroes. The driver told them two children were in the car and the firefighters spent twenty minutes in the canal without protective gear searching for the children. Then the driver admitted there weren't any kids in the car. Unbelievable. I would have tossed the driver back into the canal and made sure he swallowed some water."

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

A Food And Wine Tasting At Smith Street's Transit Garden

A BITE OF BOCOCA

Saturday, June 6, 2009 1pm- 6pm
rain date: Sunday, June 7

A Food & Wine Tasting Event at The Transit Garden,
Smith Street and 2nd Place

Featuring samplings from over 20 of our wonderful
Smith Street & Court Street restaurants, food & wine shops,
bakeries etc. @ only $2.00 per tasting.

Tickets will be on sale at the garden gate.
$10 for 5 tastings or the super bargain of $20 for 12 tastings, We are Family Friendly too. For the kids we have pizza,
mini bagels, etc.., while their parents sample the gourmet fare.

Enjoy your tastings while you listen to the sounds
of an array of local musicians and vocalists who will
entertain us all day long.

Contact:
Bette Stoltz 718-207-9570,
Rita Miller 347-661-8819

All proceeds to go to garden plantings, maintenance and our non-profit sister SBLDC covering garden-related and insurance costs.

(photocredit: Hyperact on flickr)

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Car Drives Into Gowanus Canal: More Photos

photos courtesy of Ethan Finkelstein on Flickr

Reader Ethan alerted me to these great photos on his Ethan Finkelstein's Flickr page. The photos were taken in the early hours of Saturday, right after a car drove into the Gowanus Canal.
Below is the caption underneath the photos.

After hearing many heli's overhead at a friends house in Carroll Gardens we looked on Gothamist news map to see what the commotion was about. It turns out there were people in the Gowanus. We decided to investigate and head over to the spotlights in the sky.

We got the the scene, and there were many speculators. The true story isn't really know. What we saw were wet men being put into ambulances, and being questioned by police. Then we could see scuba divers in the Gowanus. So after close inspection you could see a car floating in the water.

We believe the car came through the 3rd ave side of the Gowanus not the Carroll Gardens side. As there was no damage on our side to the railings or fence.

Thanks Ethan, for pointing me to your photos.


For photos of the car being dragged out of the canal, read:

NEWS FLASH: Car Plunges Into Gowanus Canal Early On Saturday Morning

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking