[Photo courtesy of woodendesigner/GL Flickr Pool]

There are storm clouds over Park Slope the other night. The photographer writes: “Working in Park Slope today I managed to grab this shot right before the sky opened up with a tremendous amount of rain. The light was amazing.”

Here’s a dramatic, bird’s eye view of a 9am-ish (Friday) van fire on 8th Avenue in Park Slope near Dizzy’s. “The fire department rushed into action and the fire died quickly, and we’re pretty sure no one was hurt. Good job, FDNY.”–Brownstoner

From Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg. They have a few more Saturdays on which to be closed.

It’s going to be a possible repeat of recent days with intervals of clouds and sun, with a shower or thunderstorm around in the afternoon. The high will be 81. Tonight’s low will be 67 and it will be clear.–Accuweather

We truly can say nothing about this photo, other than it was shot at the East River in East River State Park in Williamsburg.

[Photo courtesy of Miss Heather]

This gorgeous white sofa on Greenpoint Avenue comes from Miss Heather who writes: “The good thing about the summer (and a raging bedbug epidemic) is there are plenty of couches for the picking in Greenpoint.” We have several in reserve.

This is one of the latest works by Karl Fischer to come on line in Williamsburg, 525 Union Avenue and is one of the buildings to be completed in the booming Union Avenue corridor both west and east of the BQE. It’s not a condo but a “luxury rental” that started marketing itself a couple of month ago. It is the apartment building whose ad campaign relocated the downtown Manhattan skyline as being visible beyond McCarren Park. Yet, even as the building has moved into the marketing phases, the bizarre cinder-blocked spaces at sidewalk level have remained. Only now, they have been painted a cream color. Are they eventual places for windows? For artwork? For advertising? Well, no matter. To us, nothing says luxury like painted over cinder-block block holes.

Here’s a brand new shot from the Atlantic Yards Webcam tracking some of the demolition work in Prospect Heights. You can check the full flickr stream of photos here.

This is the relatively current state of the new Karl Fischer building at Bedford Avenue and S. 4 Street. It was stall for a long time, but was rising quickly since work resumed. (Err…at least until it was hit with a Stop Work Order a week ago.) Click here for the rendering.

Here’s a amusing vid with some nice still photos of Brooklyn (except for the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, which we don’t get).

“Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced on his weekly WABC radio appearance this morning that he intended to promote his acting buildings commissioner, Robert D. LiMandri, to head the troubled department permanently. Mr. LiMandri will take the position left open after Patricia J. Lancaster resigned under pressure in April after a series of deadly construction crane accidents at work sites overseen by the agency.” The promotion has been expected.–CityRoom

Here’s an interesting question from one of our readers about some activity on Seventh Avenue: “For the past couple weeks construction crews have been busy tearing up the street on 7th Ave between Sterling and Flatbush. It’s been incredibly noisy and has been seriously disrupting traffic- I saw two city busses almost get into a head-on collision yesterday trying to maneuver around all the heavy machinery. Any idea what’s going on over there?”–GL Inbox

How about a bike ride on Sunday through Brooklyn’s parks? Well, the Transportation Alternatives Brooklyn Committee Parks Ride will take in a bunch of them. It runs from 10:30AM-3PM (depending on group pace) and starts at Fort Greene Park at Dekalb Avenue and Cumberland Street. Here’s a bit from our email from them:

The Brooklyn Committee is hosting its first ride in a series of Brooklyn exploratory rides. We will start out in Fort Greene Park, and ride through some of Brooklyn’s historic green spaces including Prospect Park, Sunset Park, Owl’s Head Park, Marine Park, the Shore Parkway and Ocean Parkway Greenways, and Floyd Bennet Field. We will make a quick lunch stop midday and end up at the Yard* in Gowanus for after ride drinks, more food, and some tunes from their ‘Sunday Best Lineup with DJ Nicky Siano and more’.

That’s a lot of territory. For more info, email mr.dave.abraham@gmail.com. And, to learn more, click here.

Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related information and images. Happy weekend:

· Brooklyn Man Accused of Beating Three-Year-Old Daughter [NYT]
· Okay, 32+ Months for Atlantic Yards Arena [AYR]
· New Minverva Coming Up [Brownstoner]
· The McCarren Park Compost Project [NAG]
· Benches Fixed in Sunset Park [BVIB]
· Brooklyn Heights Gristedes Cleaned Up [McBrooklyn]
· More Urban Gravestones [Bed-Stuy Banana]

This is 99 Havemeyer, aka the corner of Hope and Havemeyer where The image above is 99 Havemeyer, which is at the corner of Hope and Havemeyer. It’s a four-story Robert Scarano building that’s been going up slowly and will have six units whenever it’s done. It’s next to 53 Hope Street, an old industrial building that was originally supposed to be converted to 92 condos and that had sold for $26.1 million last year. Its current situation is confused. It’s on the market again, but bright lights are on inside the building at night indicating some sort of possible activity.

[Photo courtesy of jaymegordis/GL Flickr Pool]

Here’s another view of the Brooklyn Army Terminal at night from the pier behind it courtesy of jaymegordis in our GL Flickr Pool.

(Exceptionally negative reaction to the big fence put up so no one in Prospect Park could get the slightest glimpse of the Bob Dylan concert continues.) “The fence was an abomination, a real slap in the face of taxpayers. The bandshell is in a public park; it’s not a private concert hall. If you feel the same way, send your comments to: celebrate@briconline.org. Let Celebrate Brooklyn know that those who couldn’t afford tickets should not have had their view blocked.”–Bob Dylan Does Prospect Park

This is quite a sand structure under contruction in Coney Island captured by Rubys Host.

It will be a mixed bag today of clouds, sun, showers and heavy thunderstorms with a high of 80. Tonight will have some showers and heavy thunderstorms with a low of 66.–Accuweather

This Dain is attached to the door of the building on Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg that could someday be a boutique hotel by the Walentas clan and Two Trees Management.

[Photo courtesy of Miss Heather]

This sofa specimen comes from Dupont Street. Miss Heather calls it “Rode Hard and Put Away Wet.” Indeed.

At some point, the neighborhood around 184 Kent Avenue will be quite crowded and very unlike the unpopulated wasteland that it was six or seven years ago. Northside Piers is immediately to the north and the Edge is north of that. But across the street, the building officially known as 175 Kent Avenue, a Chetrit Group development is now out of the ground and rising fast. It will be a six story building with 112 units and significant retail space. For the record, the buildings in the background are 80 Metropolitan and 50 N. 1 Street.

And now, a selection of some musical happenings this weekend in Brooklyn:

Thursday 8/14/08
Marcus Garvey Park: Big Daddy Kane (Hip Hop-) Free!!, 7:00pm

Friday 8/15/08
South Street Seaport: Dirty Projectors, White Williams (Indie) –Free!!, 7:00pm

Saturday 8/16/08
Southpaw: The Bushwick Wildlife Preserve Presents: Burn it Down! A benefit for the House of Yes, a community art space which tragically burned to the ground earlier this summer. The lineup is extremely diverse and includes Mele Mel & The Planet Rock Crew, DJ’s, bands, and more.- $10, 8:30pm

Sunday 8/17/08
McCarren Park Pool: Aesop Rock, Chin Chin, Panther (Hip Hop/Indie Rock)- Free!!, 2:00pm

The Yard: Sunday Best: Nicky Siano, Justin Carter, Eamon Harkin, and Doug Singer (DJ’s)- $8, 3:00pm

–Dan Bennis

Here’s our regular weekly post from the Center for the Urban Environment about the great tours they run:

Gowanus. Saturday, August 16, 2-4 pm– with Francis Morrone. A walk through Gowanus opens a window on the industrial heritage of Brooklyn, and also shows a neighborhood in the midst of a very interesting transition. Gowanus is increasingly home to live-work artisans and artists, as well as galleries, institutions (such as the Center for the Urban Environment), and much more. At the heart of it all is the canal itself, which looms in the imaginations of Brooklynites as something like a mythical beast in the story of the borough. Meet in front of CUE, 168 7th Street, bet. 2nd & 3rd Avenues. Take the F train to Fourth Avenue or the R to Ninth Street.

Scandals, Scalawags & Murder Most Foul – Green-Wood Cemetery. Sunday, August 17, 1-3:30 pm – with Ruth Edebohls. You are invited to visit some of Green-wood Cemetery’s most nefarious residents with us. Green-Wood is the final resting place of many famous and heroic people, but some of its deceased denizens have a more blemished reputation. Murderers and the murdered, a sullied adulteress, a famous courtesan, gangsters, con men and schemers lie next to those of a more virtuous disposition. Walk may be hilly and strenuous. Meet at the Gothic Archway inside the entrance at 25th Street and Fifth Avenue. Take the R train to the 25th Street station and walk up one block to the cemetery.

FEES:

$13.00 Non-Members, $10.00 CUE Members, $8.00 Seniors & Students. For information call (718) 788-8500, ext. 217.

[Photo courtesy of Heather-D/GL Flickr Pool]

Maybe it’s related to fuel costs, but the price of the lunch special at this place on Third Avenue at Ninth Street has gone up from $3.95 to $4.50. Or, is it $5.00? Oh well. In any case, the photo comes courtesy of Heather-D and our GL Flickr Pool.