The old OTB parlor at 320 Court Street has sat empty for a long time despite movement last year toward becoming a French bistro called Huître. A tip from a GL Reader indicates that there may be movement, however. Per our reader: Yesterday evening, I saw Jim McGown, owner of Hanley’s and South Brooklyn Pizza, […]

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[Photo courtesy of F. Jasmin Adams] Our Carroll Gardens Correspondent checked in on the rain-delayed Carroll Park Flea Market and found, a Mr. T head thing among other things, at the well attended neighborhood event. Having dodged Saturday’s noontime monsoon-like downpour, the annual event took place on a gorgeous day instead.

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Something was going on yesterday at the old Blockbuster location on Court Street in Carroll Gardens. Blogger PMFA photographed a contractor wearing a dust mask going in and out of the building. The building, however, is still listed for sale for $3.8 million and also for rent, presumably whichever comes first. Also, no building permits […]

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The Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association is having its monthly meeting tonight (2/11). 360 Smith developer Billy Stein is expected to be there and, presumably, will offer updated renderings of the structure that we once nicknamed the Heavy Metal Building. The meeting will run from 7:30PM-9:00PM. Anyone that’s been should know that the meetings are no […]

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After several weeks of work removing asbestos at the Clarett Group’s 340 Court Street in Carroll Gardens and a host of reports of bags of unknown substances being tossed from the roof after midnight, asbestos removal signs have finally appeared. Our correspondent notes: This sign is at 340 Court street on the Union street side. […]

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City Council Member Bill de Blasio, who is introducing a resolution in the City Council calling on the Department of City Planning to fast track a downzoning of Carroll Gardens and on the Department of Buildings to impose a moratorium on developments more than 50 feet tall, is also holding a rally on January 24. […]

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Some of the founders of the CORD group, which established itself as a voice in Carroll Gardens development issues after it coalesced around the controversial 360 Smith Street building, will be on News 12 this evening. Group members were interviewed at the Carroll Gardens Democracy Wall in the plaza at the Carroll Street subway stop. […]

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One might agree or disagree with the activists over at CORD in Carroll Gardens, but they are one of the most tireless groups in South Brooklyn. (Not to mention the fact that they are the community activism story of the year, having come out of nowhere in late May.) The group’s latest effort is a […]

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The photos of this SUV were sent to us by a GL reader. We posted one the pics on Curbed yesterday, but a shot-up vehicle parked at Union and Henry in a bus stop for two weeks deserves more photos. Our tipster is a resident upset about a car with bullet holes and a bloody […]

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Carroll Gardens, BrooklynWe invite our readers to share holiday photos of interesting decorations or things they see around Brooklyn with us. We’ll run the photo anonymously or with credit to you and your website, as you prefer. Send your pics to thegowanuslounge (at) gmail (dot) com. You’ll have our gratitude and your fellow readers will […]

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There are few topics that provoke more reaction than the quality, or lack thereof, of internet service (except the Postal Service). So, we were amused to come across some emails getting at the topic of crappy internet service in Carroll Gardens & Boerum Hill and whether Road Runner is better or worse than Verizon DSL […]

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Last year, there was a big anti-rat campaign in Carrol Park, where the rat problem was so disgusting that they were said to be running around in the trees and practically forming buffets lines to eat in the trash cans and demanding people give them take out containers. “Anti-rat” trash cans were installed. Vegetation was […]

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Here’s a bit of totally gratuitous neighborhood gossip sent to us by a reader. It’s of interest because the building in question is 125 2nd Place in Carroll Gardens. So what, you say? Well, it is the building next door to 360 Smith, the controversial building that would be built by developer Billy Stein and […]

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Opponents of that controversial building at 360 Smith Street have gathered 850 signatures on a petition calling for zoning changes and a moratorium on new buildings more than fifty feet tall. The Carroll Gardens Petition Blog, meanwhile writes: This week has seen a flurry of new activity for CORD! The petition ‘s call for a […]

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Is Wikipedia the neighborhood and development battleground of the future? Maybe. We say this because the Wikipedia page about architect Robert M. Scarano has become the subject of a weird tug of war between the architect (or his associates or supporters), his opponents and, increasingly, supporters and detractors of Council Member Bill de Blasio. The […]

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Our daily communications from Carroll Gardens residents contained some angry reactions to the news that permits are being issued for the building on 360 Smith Street that they are fighting. The residents are also suggesting–well, saying in a very agitated way–that they are not getting promised help from City Council Member Bill de Blasio. A […]

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Don’t look now, but it seems that the State Education Department says that it’s “working closely” with the city’s Department of Buildings on the subject of architect Robert Scarano. Word comes via the office of City Council Member Bill de Blasio, which relates a letter from the Education Department that says: Please be advised that […]

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So, now, it looks like the Battle of 360 Smith Street has gone to the squirrels. Well, squirrel brochures, at least. We’ll let the reader that emailed us the scan of the flyer being distributed outside the Carroll Street F Train stop (on trees that might be cut down to make way for construction) explain: […]

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Carroll Gardens residents upset about the proposed building at the corner of Smith Street and Second Place, have posted an online petition “demanding” a moratorium on new buildings more than 50 feet tall in the neighborhood until a comprehensive rezoning is done. The petition reads in part: Therefore, we DEMAND an immediate moratorium on all […]

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