And now, a few video moments at the 2008 Mermaid Ball at the historic Childs Restaurant building on the boardwalk.

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Few of us realize why the first Thursday in June –“Brooklyn-Queens Day”– is a holiday for the public school children of New York City. It was not always the case. Between 1959 and 2006, for instance, only children from Brooklyn and Queens enjoyed the day off. And prior to 1959, the holiday was celebrated exclusively […]

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We took a cruise up the Gowanus canal yesterday with the Center for the Urban Environment, which produces great posts every week for us. (See Ruth Edebohl’s post coming up in a bit, for an example.) We’re not sure what was better: passing under most of the drawbridges on the canal, enjoying the sea level […]

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One of our Park Slope GL operatives sent along this question, which has made the rounds via the always compelling, and widely circulated, Park Slope Parents email list: A friend pointed out to me yesterday that the word “nanny” is a terribly offensive word to people of West Indian descent. “Nanny” is West Indian slang […]

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Of course, we attended the magnificent Mermaid Parade on Saturday and came away with, like, 1,000 photos or something close to that. We’ve added another flickr set of pics we didn’t have a chance to get to yesterday. Our original photo gallery that we posted yesterday is here. Enjoy the, uh, mermaids.

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The United States Supreme Court has just announced that it will not consider the eminent domain case brought by opponents of the Atlantic Yards development. While this clears the decks in terms of the Federal courts and the issue, the 11 property owners will now take the case to New York State Court, which is […]

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As has been widely noted and is now on live webcam, the Queen of the Mermaid Parade is on a short hunger strike to draw attention to opposition to the city’s revised plan for Coney Island and to try to get a big turnout at the “scoping” meeting on Tuesday for it. The hunger strike […]

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Since the Metropolitan Opera played Prospect Park on Friday night, there has been some mystery as to the exact size of the crowd. It’s interesting because the Met had predicted up to 150,000 people, and set up to handle a crowd that large. The police estimate the turnout at 50,000, which is still the largest […]

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1) There is tentative joy among the delivered Chinese food crowd in Park Slope as Red Hot, which died over the winter, is on the verge of returning. The new restaurant will be called Red Hot II and it will be open next week. Telephone number: 718-369-2577. Get those Hot and Sour Soup orders ready. […]

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The plan to make a stretch of Bedford Avenue a pedestrian-only street on four Saturdays in July and August is now “official.” Per an announcement over at Billburg: It’s official! – July 19th, July 26th, August 2nd, and August 9th. Williamsburg Walks is a celebration of the Williamsburg community, centered around a pedestrian-only Bedford Avenue, […]

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Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related information and images: · Recchia Funded Group That Improperly Made Big Loan [NYDN] · Atlantic Yards: This Generation’s Penn Station? [AYR] · Work Underway on Amity Street Horror II Penthouse? [BK 11201] · Bright Space Ribbon Cutting [Bed-Stuy Banana] · Many Wet Bottoms at Celebrate Brooklyn Show [Brooklynometry] […]

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Here’s a special extra Brooklinks in order to roundup a small selection of Mermaid Parade linkage: · 11,100+ Mermaid Parade 2008 flickr Photos!!! [flickr] · Rite of Summer Turns a Little Serious [NYT] · Coney Island Mermaid Parade 08 [Gothamist] · Mermaids and Moshers: A Tale of Two Islands [Brit in Brooklyn] &#183 Brooklyn Mermaids […]

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[Photo courtesy of 66 Square Feet] We love this photo, which comes from a Cobble Hill rooftop on Henry Street courtesy of 66 Square Feet, and was taken after yesterday afternoon’s storminess had passed.

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Check out the rundown of Saturday’s Newkirk Avenue Block Party. “In addition to a full schedule of live music (courtesy of Make Music New York, and coordinated by Mannix Gordon), we had Solar One, Brooklyn Compost Project, Alive Structures, and Transportation Alternatives represented; plus a paper casting workshop by Flatbush artist Kathy Levine, and the […]

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[Photo courtesy of itsnotthatfar/GL Flickr Pool] There were more interesting visuals in Coney Island this weekend that one could keep up with. This is one of them, courtesy of a contribution to our Gowanus Lounge Photo Pool from itsnotthatfar. Checkout itsnotthatfar’s full Mermaid Parade flickr set here.

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Outside the Brooklyn Weather Observatory this morning, the sun and clouds are fighting it out. Today’s forecast calls for “intervals of clouds and sunshine with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm; humid.” The high will be 82 and it will feel like 90. Tonight will be more evening thunderstorms around. The low will be […]

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The Mermaid Parade Ball rocked the Childs Building on the Boardwalk in Coney Island last night. We’ll have a full photoset, but for now, a teaser shot.

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Here’s a big, but incomplete, set of pics from yesterday’s fun in Coney Island.

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We’re happy to return today to our Adoptable Cutie of the Week feature. This week’s pet is from the wonderful Sean Casey Animal Rescue shelter in Kensington. They do wonderful work and have an abundance of great animals that need loving homes: Here’s what we can tell you about this little guy: Happy is a […]

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This is a special view of Coney Island from a rarely visited spot that we check out yesterday. It’s quite a nice vantage point.

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Here are some of the first posted YouTube vids of the 2008 Mermaid Parade. Enjoy.

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Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related information and images: · Birdell’s of Bed-Stuy [NYT] · That After-Hours Construction? The City Permits For It Are Booming [NYP] · Brooklyn as a Brand Name [NYT] · The Dean Street Block Party [AYR] · Mermaid Parade ’08 [Gothamist] · Mermaids and Mosh [Brit in Brooklyn] · Cool […]

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We received an email from the Cobble Hill Association about the 2008 Music in the Park Summer Concert Series. Here’s a bit about it: The Cobble Hill Association is pleased to announce the schedule for its seventh annual “Music in the Park” series of free concerts. This year’s series will feature seven Thursday evening concerts […]

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There will be a showing of ET and fireworks again this year in Prospect Park. It takes place on Thursday, June 26 at 8:30 PM. From an email from the Prospect Park Alliance: “School’s out! Start your summer off right by enjoying a free feature film + fireworks in Prospect Park. Sponsored by Brooklyn Borough […]

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Outside the Brooklyn Weather Observatory this morning there is sun, but things are going to change. Here’s the forecast: “Cloudy most of the time with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm; humid.” The high will be 77, but it will feel like 85.” Tonight there will be some evening thunderstorms and it will be […]

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