Help Beautify Our Neighborhood: Court Smith BID Formation Effort Launches "Clean Streets Campaign" In BoCoCa

Many BoCoCa residents may have noticed how dirty our street have looked in the past few months. Somehow, during the winter, people seem less inclined to clean up after themselves. It doesn't help that sanitation pick ups are sometimes disrupted for days after a snow event, and trash is blown around our streets.

Now that spring is around the corner, we should all help to clean up a bit.

The group of local property owners, business owners, and residents working to create a Business Improvement District on Court and Smith Street  in the Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, and Carroll Gardens neighborhoods are launching a Clean Street Campaign this Sunday, March 21st from 12 to 5 pm.

From Court Smith Bid:

Our district needs some help with spring cleaning!

Please join the Court Smith BID Formation Effort for

The Clean Streets Campaign

Sun, March 21, 12-5pm

Here's how:
1) Pick up an empty bag at Smith & Vine (317 Smith St)
or One Girl Cookies (68 Dean St) anytime
between THURS 3/18 and Sun 3/21 (or use your own)
2) Join us in picking up trash on any blocks in our neighborhood…side streets, main streets, wherever there’s trash!
3) Send us a photo of you & your full bag (via Instagram @court_smith_bid or email at courtsmithbidsc@gmail.com))
4) Cross your fingers that your name is picked to

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Dear Carroll Gardeners! During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Are You Managing To Pay Your Apartment Rent?

Currently for Rent in Carroll Gardens 

July 1, 2020 Screenshot from Apartments.com

In the past few weeks, as New York City has been dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, the sighting of moving vans here in Brooklyn's Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill has increased dramatically.

Many young families relocated to the suburbs or to Upstate New York to wait out the pandemic as soon as it became clear that residents had to quarantine.

They were followed by residents who decided to move back 'home' to be closer to family, giving up on their New York City dream.

And then, there are the many Carroll Gardeners who are committed to the neighborhood in good and bad times, but have lost their jobs and just can't afford to stay. 

Friend and PMFA reader C. is currently in that situation and has the following question for you:

With rent due today, how are readers of PMFA who are apartment renters feeling about making July rent?

As you know, there are many renters in the neighborhood who have lost income because of the Coronavirus pandemic and state-wide lockdown.

In the building where I live, there are renters who have lost between 25% to 50% of their usual monthly income yet the property owners have not offered any form of Rent Relief to help their tenants. Rent is due as if life is normal.

We know of renters in other buildings in Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill who have negotiated with their landlords or property managers for deferred rent or payment plans, allowing them to pay rent over installments. We know of one instance where May rent was outright forgiven.

After July 31, 2020, making the monthly rent will become an even bigger concern. That’s the week when the largest portion of the federal Pandemic Unemployment Emergency Compensation (PUEC) package is set to expire, and therefore any renters who have been able to survive through Unemployment Benefits or some form of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance that includes that weekly $600 payment will then have to do without.

Sadly, with moratoriums on evictions that were put in place in New York state due to the pandemic that have now since expired, this probably means an increase in evictions in August, and a lot more by September, October and November, 2020.

I'm not sure how we’re going to manage. How are your readers coping with this?

We would love to start a conversation about this issue. Have many people in your BoCoCa building moved lately? Will you have to move? Have you been able to renegotiating your rent with your landlord?

Above, we have included a map of currently available apartments in Carroll Gardens.  There seem to be quite a lot on the market, which should mean that landlords face a lot of competition for their apartments. Perhaps this is not the time to raise the rent or to lose a good renter because of a reluctance to lower the rent.

We want to hear from you, renters, owners, real estate folks, or even business owners, since this affects you, too.

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Welcome Back! Many Eateries And Bars In BoCoCa Now Offer Outdoor Seating On Smith And Court Streets

Brooklyn Social, Smith Street

Brooklyn Social and Planted on Smith Street

Kittery, Smith Street

Bar Great Harry, Smith Street

Cubana Café, Smith Street

Brooklyn Pizza Market, Smith Street

White Maize, Smith Street

Wing Bar, Smith Street

Union Grounds, Smith Street

Angry Wade's, Smith Street

Café Luluc on left, Leyenda on right, Smith Street

Café Luluc, Smith Street

Purépecha on Smith Street

Clover Club, Smith Street

Fragole, Court Street

East One on Court Street

Gersi on Court Street

The Chocolate Room, Court Street

Buddy's Burrito on Court Street

Kitchen on Court Street

After months of quarantine due to the Covid-19 pandemic, New Yorkers have embraced Phase Two of the long awaited re-opening of New York City.
As of last week, New York City has allowed bars and restaurants to place tables and chairs outside on the sidewalk as well as permitted establishments to take over parking spots in front of their place of business.
Business owners have taken advantage of the outdoor seating to kick start their businesses after the three months closure, and it appears that customers were happy to patronize them over the week-end.

The City imposes quite a few regulations about distancing customers from each other while outdoor dining.  Some restaurants seemed to be pushing the limit in placing tables and chairs too close to each other and not maintaining a safe 6 feet between groups. Some others were more cautious and followed the rules to a tee, it seems.

As a pedestrian walking past the eateries, it can be a bit intimidating seeing people without a mask, eating and drinking, while one has to walk past them on the sidewalk.
This Morning, Governor Cuomo warned that perhaps, he would reverse the reopening if people continue to meet up in large crowds at bars.

What do you think? Have you eaten in one of our neighborhood's eateries yet? Or are you waiting a bit longer to dine al fresco on Smith or Court Street?
Which restaurant or bar are you most excited to return to?
We would love to hear from you.


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While Carroll Park Is Closed, Cobble Hill Park Is Open. Why?

Above, Carroll Park in Carroll Gardens, which was entirely closed on April 2, 2020  because of the Corona pandemic.

Cobble Hill Park remains open except for its playground.

A few days ago, I received an email from reader Evan asking me if I had walked past Cobble Hill Park recently. He reported that this past Sunday, which was sunny and warm, it seemed "like a full on party there, packed with people oblivious to what's going on." He found it very "disturbing and upsetting to see locals acting like they're above the law."

I answered him hat I was a bit confused as to why Cobble Hill Park should be open. After all, Carroll Park here in Carroll Gardens had been entirely closed since April 2nd. In late March, the New York City Park's Department had taken away the basketball hoops and reminded people to keep 6 feet away from each other, and as that had not worked, the park was locked all together. No one has been able to set foot in it since then.

I wanted to check Cobble Hill Park for myself, so yesterday, as the sun was shining, I walked a couple of blocks down Clinton Street to Veranda Place. Sure enough, people were enjoying this beautiful day and the lovely plantings in the park.  

There were not many people there, but I was still surprised had it had not been closed like Carroll Park. The only section off limit was the play area in the back, which had been closed off with a  barrier.

Granted, Cobble Hill Park does not have gates at its entry point like Carroll Park and therefore may be more difficult to lock entirely, but a quick search on the Parks Department web site revealed that New York City parks are actually open.  Only playgrounds are closed.

One has to therefore wonder why Carroll Park was entirely closed when its playgrounds are fully gated themselves and could have been closed separate from the rest of the park, like the one in Cobble Hill.

The importance of green spaces in our neighborhoods have become even more evident during this pandemic.  They become even more important for those who live in an upper floor apartment without access to a garden or balcony, nor the possibility of escaping the City.
The news that Carroll Park was closed until further notice here in Carroll Gardens spread quickly and was met with dread. This neighborhood resource has been so much missed by so many.

If, however, people are not keeping a safe 6 feet between themselves and others or refuse to wear masks while visiting our green spaces, it would  make sense to keep both parks closed.

What do you think? If only playgrounds are closed, why is  all of Carroll Park on lockdown?  Or should Cobble Hill park be closed as well?

From the New York City Park's Department:

 At this time, City parks are open. We ask that all park goers take extra precautions to stay healthy and safe. While solo exercise is okay, team sports (such as basketball, football, softball, and soccer) are not permitted in our parks at this time. Please maintain at least 6 feet of distance between yourself and others when outside and avoid congregating in groups. 

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Carroll Gardens Corona Diary: Whacky Predictions

Don‘t worry! The big Orange Oracle said this will all be over by Easter.

Decorations spotted on Baltic Street in Cobble Hill.

#coronadiary

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Picture Of the Day:Eerily Empty

Eerily empty.
Court Street during the pandemic of 2020

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BoCoCa Residents Putting Quarantine Rainbows In Their Windows As A Neighborhood-Wide "I Spy"

From the Google Quarantine Rainbow Map

Quite a number of Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill and Gowanus children and their parents have joined in a giant neighborhood-wide "I Spy" game by hanging rainbows in their windows. As one mother put it, it is "a lovely reminder for all of us that in a storm there is still something to look forward to."

Not only is it a way for families stuck at home to connect to the outside work during this time of Covid-19 pandemic, but it brightens people's day as they spot the rainbows all around the neighborhood.

There is even a Google "rainbow map" to which you can add your very own brightly colored arch. along with pictures of rainbows that you spot!
Here’s how:
1. From your browser visit the map: http://bit.ly/2TW6a7E
2. Log-in to your Google account (same as Gmail)
3. Click edit in the top left corner, find the pin you want to edit and click the camera icon to add an image.

A big shoutout to Marisa Macner Migdal for coming up with the idea, to Anna Grotzky for putting the Google map together and to Sadie Struss for helping to spread the word.

Please share this with your neighbors and friends far and wise. Let us show solidarity and hope during this time of crisis. The idea has already spread from BoCoCa to other Brooklyn neighborhoods, as well as to Tennessee, California, Canada, Bermuda, and Venezuela!!

Let us try to make things a bit brighter throughout our world.

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