A Moment In Time: Walking In The Rain

Walking in the rain after school.

3 Pm in the afternoon on Court Street

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Film Biz Prop Shop In Gowanus: A Very Addictive Place

In some ways, I wish I had never heard of Film Biz Prop Shop, because after one visit, I may very well already be addicted to this place.

For those who have not yet heard about this great new addition in Gowanus, "Film Biz Prop Shop," is a not-for-profit business that recycles props and set decorations donated by motion picture, TV or commercial production companies. It moved into the basement of 540 President Street between 3rd and 4th Avenue this past December. The new space is huge.

This Sunday, I spend an inordinate amount of time wandering through the rows of fun "junktique" furniture, lightning, linens, mirrors and art as well as some fun oddities such as a tombstone and an electric chair. I ended up with a set of champagne flutes and a great wooden bowl and a ceramic dish from Japan.

Since the Prop Shop gets more great stuff all the time, a girl could seriously get obsessive about the place. It's that good. I'll probably be heading back there later in the week. See you there?

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Your Community Board Needs You: Councilman Brad Lander Encourages Residents To Apply

Want to have a voice in your community? Councilman Brad Lander has just issued a call for local residents to apply to the boards in his district. As a board member, you can advocate for issues important to our community, including land use, zoning, and municipal service delivery.

Councilman Brad Lander writes:

I hope you'll consider applying for a seat on one of our neighborhood community boards. There will likely be a few vacancies on our local boards, and we want to encourage as many interested applicants as possible.

Community boards are the most local body of government, and they play a role in many issues that affect our neighborhoods. The community boards weigh in on land use and zoning matters, local infrastructure needs, municipal service delivery and many other neighborhood issues.

My City Council district overlaps with three community boards:

Community Board 6 (covering Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Columbia Waterfront, and Park Slope)

Community Board 7 (covering Windsor Terrace and Sunset Park)

Community Board 12 (covering Kensington and Borough Park).

Each board consists of up to 50 volunteers — people who live or work in the area — appointed by the Borough President and City Council Members. Community boards meet once each month (except for the summer) and have a range of committees. There are always many more applicants than there are slots, but applications also stay on file from year to year, so we are encouraging anyone who is interested to apply.

If you would like to submit an application, or to learn more, please contact me at lander@council.nyc.gov or 718−499−1090 and we will send you the materials that you need.

It's a great way to be involved in making our communities even better places to live.

Councilmember Brad Lander

Serving the neighborhoods of Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Park Slope,

Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, and Kensington

456 5th Avenue, 3rd Floor * Brooklyn, NY 11215 * 718-499-1090

To learn more about our own Community Board 6, which represents Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, the Columbia Street District, Gowanus, Park Slope and Red Hook.

°°°°°°°°°°°°

Another Sighting Of Red-Tailed Hawk In Carroll Gardens

photo credit: Jessica Bruder

Reader Jessica Bruder was sitting at her desk in Carroll Gardens over the week-end, when she looked up just as a red-tailed hawk "swooped past the window." She was able to take a few photos of the raptor just as he flew away.

It would seem that such sightings are becoming more frequent in the neighborhood. Just a few weeks ago, my son was able to photograph a hawk on Carroll Street. And of course, who can forget the sight of a hawk feasting on a squirrel in Carroll Park a few years back.

Don't know about you, but I find it very cool to have these magnificent birds live and flourish right here in our neighborhood.

Related Reading:

Pretty Big Hawk Just Chilling Out On Carroll Street In Carroll Gardens

Expert Confirms: That Was A Red-Tailed Hawk On Carroll Street

Elusive Carroll Park Hawk Caught On Camera

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Everyone Slightly On Edge After Young Woman's Sexual Assault In Gowanus Area

From Park Slope, to Gowanus and to Caroll Gardens, the one subject on everyone's mind over the week-end was the sexual assault of a young woman in the Gowanus area. The attack on the 22-year-old happened at 9 AM on Friday in a bakery where she works.

On Third Avenue, between Carroll and President Streets, a group of local residents were standing in front of a social club, discussing the matter, while two police women taped "Reward" posters on street lights.

"What a shame" one of the residents said.

°°°°°°°

Picture Of The Day: Green Umbrella, Green Truck On A Rainy Friday

On a rainy day on Atlantic Avenue and Court Street.

I first noticed the bright green truck

and then the umbrella in the same shade,

before almost getting run over while taking this picture.

°°°°°°°°°°°°

"Braciole" : A Brooklyn Filmmaker's Loving Tribute To His Nonna

You will love "Braciole," a wonderful little video by Brooklyn filmmaker Mark Hayes. It is a tribute to his funny, feisty, young-at-heart Sicilian grandmother Marie DeSantis, who talks about family history and her Staten Island childhood while preparing Braciole, a traditional Sicilian recipe, in her cozy little kitchen.

It is just lovely. Thanks for sharing it, Mark. And please pass my greetings along to Nonna Marie.

Nonna, would you please share more recipes?

°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Best Comment Of The Day: EPA, Not City, Was Gowanus News Of The Day

Anonymous has left a new comment on the post "EPA To Community At Last Night's Meeting: "Your Canal Is In Good Hands":

And did anyone notice that the day following the EPA presentation of both the RI and Risk Assessment--made less than a year after the Superfund designation, the NY Times runs a big story on the City Flushing Tunnel project?

Could someone, maybe from city hall, have asked for such an article with this exact timing to try to steel the EPA limelight after the EPA preform beyond everyone's expectation--especially city hall.

The Flushing Tunnel project in today's Times is the very same project the city presented about ten years ago. There is no news here. So why is it being featured with so prominently in today's paper? The Gowanus news for the day is how the EPA outperformed everyone's expectations.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Picture Of The Day: Sam's

Great old sign hanging in the window of Sam's on Court Street

°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Anything But High-Tech Telephone Wiring In Brooklyn Back Yard

The jumble of telephone wires in my Brooklyn back yard, as in most I am sure, is rather amazing. They come from every direction, snake over fences and through trees and merge into a box, which is suspended from a wooden pole. The system looks anything but high tech. One wonders how calls gets through at all.

And when someone needs to add a line, a 'technician' from the telephone company, like the one above, needs to climb the pole and make sense of it all.

How very quaint. One is astounded that wireless service was ever invented.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°

EPA To Community At Last Night's Meeting: "Your Canal Is In Good Hands!"

EPA Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck

Walter Mugdan, EPA Region 2's

Director of the Division of Environmental Planning and Protection

Christos Tsiamis, EPA Region 2 Project Manager for the Gowanus Canal

Natalie Loney, EPA's Region 2 community involvement coordinator

Since the Environmental Protection Agency placed the Gowanus Canal on the National Priorities List in March 2010, Christos Tsiamis, EPA Region 2 Project Manager, and his team have been extremely busy conducting investigative field work. Ahead of schedule, they have released their Remedial Investigation Report (R.I.) and the Risk Assessment this last January.

"Your canal is in good hands" EPA Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck assured the community last night in P32's auditorium for a presentation of the findings. "You have the best and brightest EPA talent working on this." After introducing the team of engineers, scientists and lawyers, Enck noted the active involvement of the community, "which is a vitally important component" of the Superfund process. So far, according to Enck, there has been a good level of co-operation with the polluters as well.

Walter Mugdan, EPA's Director of the Superfund Program for Region 2, credited Christos Tsiamis for getting the Remedial Investigation Report done at an accelerated pace. "We considered this a high priority" he told the community. He noted that the Feasability Study will most likely be done by the end of this calendar year. Mugdan expects the remedial work on the canal to be completed by 2020-2022. "It took 150 years to get the canal to the contaminated state it is in now. Taking 10 to 12 years to clean it up does not seem unreasonable." The work would be done "as quickly as it can be done, properly."

Christos Tsiamis then presented the findings of the R.I. as well as the Risk Assessment. During the study, samplings were collected from:

-the top 6 inches of the canal's surface sediment

-deep sediment

-surface water

-fish and crab tissue

-air

-Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO's) and other outfalls

-soil and groundwater on adjacent properties.

The samples revealed just how polluted the Gowanus Canal is. The primary contaminants found were:

-Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

-Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

-Metals (barium, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, silver)

-Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylnes (BTEX)

-Non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL)

Concentrations of PAHs, PCB's, and eight metals were found to be significantly higher in the canal sediment than in the Gowanus Bay/Upper Harbor.

What does all of this mean as far as health risks to the community? Living, working and inhaling the air along the canal is within the acceptable carcinogen and non-carcinogen hazard range. However, re-creational use of the canal, which increases the risk of exposure to the polluted water and to the sediment, is not advisable. Neither is ingesting of fish and crabs from the canal.

During a question-and-answer period, two important issues were brought up again. The first issue involved the Combined Sewer Overflow. Though the Superfund clean-up only involves the bottom of the canal, the community has repeatedly asked the EPA to insist that New York City stop dumping raw sewage into the Gowanus. According to the NYC's Department Of Environmental Protection, 300 million gallons of Combined Sewer Owerflow (CSO's), made up of 30% storm water and 70% combined sewer waste, currently flows into the canal every year. Work currently done by DEP to upgrade the Gowanus flushing tunnel system will only reduce CSOs by 34 %. That means that a lot of raw sewage will find its way into the canal, even after the Superfund clean-up. Walter Mugdan acknowledged that fact. "It was always understood that this will not get us tothe finish line. In all likelihood, there will come a time when more work will have to be done.

The second issue was the toxicity of the uplands, specifically of Public Place, one of the most polluted sites along the Gowanus, which was once used by Brooklyn Union Gas for coal liquefication. The site has been slated by New York City for development. The Gowanus Green project, as it is ironically named, would bring 770 units of affordable housing to the shores of the Gowanus. Many in the community are sceptical that even after the NYS Department of Environmental Conservancy's remediation, the site will ever be safe for human habitation.

When asked about it, Christos Tsiamis stated: "As the engineer in charge of cleaning the Gowanus Canal, I am seriously concerned. This is something we have to look at closely." DEC's Engineering Geologist Gardiner Cross, who was on hand last night, did not seem worried, but acknowledged the fact that the site is continually leaking coal tar.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

A Moment In Time: Texting Chef

Late afternoon on Smith Street.

Waiting for the dinner crowd.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Photographer Jose Gaytan Still Capturing The Gowanus

photo credit: Jose Gaytan

Nobody has spent more time walking along the shores of the Gowanus Canal than photographer and friend Jose Gaytan. His images capture the area's unique beauty and open sky. Most importantly, his work documents the canal's industrial past as well as the inevitable changes along the waterway.

With his permission, I am posting one of his latest Gowanus photographs. You can see his entire Gowanus Project series here.

Related reading:

Photographer Jose Gaytan Working On A Series Of Portraits Of Gowanus Artists And Residents

"Gowanus: Brooklyn In Transition" Show At Brooklyn Public Library

Pub Trivia Night At Brooklyn Historical Society

Test your knowledge of all things Brooklyn at this great event hosted by the Brooklyn Historical Society. There will be beer, food and prizes. Looks like a great evening.

Trivial and Convivial: Brooklyn Historical Society Pub Trivia Night

Brooklyn Historical Society

128 Pierrepont Street

7:00-10:00pm

Doors open at 6:30pm

Have you ever played trivia in a 19th-century landmark building in Brooklyn Heights? It's probably time you did. Join veteran trivia hosts Stuart Post and Chris Kelley and the rest of the team at the Brooklyn Historical Society for BHS' second pub-style trivia event featuring prizes, beer, food and, of course, competitive team trivia! Come test your wits with themed rounds about all sorts of Brooklyn ephemera including music, movies, geography and all-around general knowledge. We'll have music clues, movie clips and more! If trivia's not your thing, come by to cheer on the game and enjoy a Brooklyn Brewery beer in one of the most stunning interiors in Brooklyn. Come as a team, or come solo and we’ll find you a team. Come early to locate clues in BHS' exhibits and to ensure your seat.

Prizes include tickets to Urban Oyster's Brewed in Brooklyn Tour, Brooklyn Brewery merchandise, Brooklyn Brewery Local 1, Brooklyn neighborhood guides, memberships to BHS and more.

Tickets: $8 BHS members/$10 non-members. Ticket purchase includes admission to trivia event and one free Brooklyn Brewery beer or bottled water. Advanced ticket purchase recommended. Buy your ticket here.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Best Comment Of The Day: A Weird Place

Mom has left the following comment on the post "Despite Stop-Work Order, Vinzee's Magic Fountain, Court Streets Newest Hamburger Joint, Inching Closer To Grand Opening":

"These comments are cracking me up. it WAS such a weird place! she always shuffled around in the most dumpy clothes and looked like she hadn't seen the light of day in years. they would reuse the same trash bag in the laundromat until it was shreds! i bet they have piles of $100 bills under their mattresses. they're probably billionaires. anyone know if they left the neighborhood? their front yard on 1st has always been an eye sore."

°°°°°°°°°°°°

Big Movies For Little Kids Presents: The Films Of Charles And Ray Eames

Charles and Ray Eames

from Toccata for Toy Trains

Big Kids For Little Kids continues to introduce Brooklyn kids to some wonderful movies. The next screening will be highlighting the short films by American designers Charles and Ray Eames. And you thought they only designed chairs...

Read on:

THE FILMS OF CHARLES AND RAY EAMES

BIG MOVIES FOR LITTLE KIDS

at Cobble Hill Cinemas

265 Court Street @ Butler Street, Brooklyn

Monday, February 28th at 4pm

Ages: 2 and up (all ages welcome)

Cost: $7.00 per person (as per theater policy, all walkers need a ticket)

The most influential American designers of the 20th century, husband and wife team Charles and Ray Eames, also created over 85 fascinating, playful and insightful short films. We’ll present a selection of their work, including the brilliant Powers Of Ten, Tops, Toccata For Toy Trains, Solar Do Nothing Machine and Lucia Chase Vignette, among others. (USA; 1950-77; not rated; color; approximately 50 minutes)

For more information, go to www.bigmoviesforlittlekids.blogspot.com

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Picture Of The Day: Forsythia Blooming In Carroll Gardens

See, I told you it would be spring soon!

And as proof, I present:

a small forsythia bush in bloom

at the corner of Smith and Carroll.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Best Comment Of The Day: Dinner At Monte's

Anonymous has left a new comment on the post "Is Legendary Monte's Venetian Room Getting A Make-Over?":

My family ate here for over 50 years. Grandparents came every Sunday night till they died.

I agree the food went downhill, but the cheesecake of course remained the best.

It would be nice if they re-opened and re-vamped the food and chef!

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

'Gerrymandering': Screening And Discussion On Redistricting With Director And Electeds

Gerrymandering is a practice of political corruption that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan, incumbent-protected, and neutral districts. (wikipedia)

Why should this concern us here in Carroll Gardens? Because the New York State Senate is getting ready to redraw district lines and because this process should be transparent and free of corruption.

SPECS, LINES AND VIDEOTAPE:

BROOKLYN ELECTEDS & POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS DISCUSS GERRYMANDERING

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Daniel Squadron join the filmmaker for a post-screening conversation about how to reform the redistricting process

BROOKLYN, NY- As the NY State Senate prepares for their decennial re-drawing of district lines, New Kings Democrats, Prospect Heights Democrats for Reform, and a contingent of Brooklyn progressive organizations will co-host a screening of Gerrymandering, followed by a discussion on the topic of redistricting with Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (who also appears in the film), Senator Daniel Squadron, and the filmmaker Jeff Reichert.

The Dweck Center at the Central Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library,

10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY
Wednesday, February 23rd;
6pm: film screening
8pm: a discussion on redistricting with Assemblymember HAKEEM JEFFRIES, Senator DANIEL SQUADRON, and the filmmaker, JEFF REICHERT

HOSTED BY: New Kings Democrats, Prospect Heights Democrats for Reform, Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn, Independent Neighborhood Democrats, the 57th A.D. Democratic Organization, Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, Progressive Association for Political Action, Brooklyn Latino Democratic Club, and Manhattan Young Democrats

Gerrymandering, an acclaimed documentary by Prospect Heights filmmaker, Jeff Reichert, made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2010.

For more information about the event, please visit NewKingsDemocrats.com.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Despite Stop-Work Order, Vinzee's Magic Fountain, Court Street's Newest Hamburger Joint, Inching Closer To Grand Opening

Though a stop work order involving the side courtyard has yet to be lifted by the NYC D.o.B, the new owner of the restaurant at 412 Court Street, on the corner of First Place, obviously feels confident that he will be able to open soon.

Vinzee's Magic Fountain, as the new burger joint will be called, already has a web site, a Facebook page and a Twitter account.

And according to a flier which appeared in the window recently, the eatery is now hiring.

Better get that issue with DoB resolved soon....

The space was occupied until recently by a laundromat and by 'Magic Fountain,' an ice-cream place that I never saw anyone go into.

Related Reading:

It's Official: The Magic Fountain On Court Street Is No More

Carroll Gardens Loses Another Laundromat And Gains Still Another Restaurant

°°°°°°°°°°°