We’re looking at “Intervals of clouds and sunshine with a shower or thunderstorm in spots in the afternoon” and a high of 84 today. Tonight will be partly cloudy, with some storms around, and a low of 68.–Accuweather

This specimen comes from Third Street in Gowanus. The kind reader who hit us off with the pic calls it “Gowanus Couch Potato.”

And now, a selection of musical happenings tomorrow and Friday from Dan Bennis:

Thursday 8/7/08
BAM Rhythm & Blues Festival at Metrotech: Richie Havens Featuring Marcus Carl Franklin (Folk/Blues) – Free!!, 12:00pm

Celebrate Brooklyn: Ailey II (Dance)- Free!!, 8:00pm

Friday 8/8/08
South Street Seaport: Cass McCombs, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson (Indie)-Free!!, 7:00pm

Celebrate Brooklyn: Lila Downs, Villa-Lobos Brothers, Grupo Norteno (Latin/Mariachi)- Free!!, 7:00pm

—Dan Bennis

“There are new vending machines in Coney Island. They actually grill as you wait for you hot dog. Though not a Nathan’s dog – you get a Kosher frank in under 90 seconds…The vending machines are expected to be placed in about fifteen hundred different locations in the next two years. The machines also dispenses mozzarella sticks, knishes, vegetable cutlets and other Kosher delights.–Kinetic Carnival

More tales of woe from the Harmony Playground in Park Slope, this one coming to us from Park Slope Parents via Brooklynian. It’s about a marble-eating child at the Harmony Playground, which is the site of many dramatic incidents:

Last week my mother in law watched a baby eat 3 marbles from a game near the women’s bathroom before she could get to him and pry the 4th out of his mouth. No one was around. Finally a little girl came up to him and took him to her own mother who was his baby sitter. The baby sitter was chatting with friends on the opposite side of the small jungle gym area in the shade and quite out of site from the baby. We don’t know the child’s name and hope he’s okay. Marbles seem like a miserable thing for a tiny one to pass. I hope they don’t block up his sysem.

Interesting slice of life story and there’s a developing discussion on Brooklynian.

Ah, The Edge. The development site as a huge pit on the waterfront as environmental remediation and removal of debris from the old Eastern District Terminal was done, but now, after a massive foundation job, the buildings between Northside Piers and East River State Park are going up fast. The structures closest to the street will be mid-rise buildings where affordable housing and commercial space will be and the highrise towers will be behind them. The target for completion is the end of next year. Phase I involves 575 luxury units and 347 affordable units. There will be 100,000 square feet of retail space in the buildings.

A couple of more pics of the Edge going up by clicking here.

The new laundromat on Fifth Avenue in the Slope near Union Street is open, and local blogger Kristen Haas files a review for GL:

The signs have been there FOREVER and now finally the Laundromat on 5th Avenue b/t Union and Sackett opened! I had to go this past Saturday, it was too tempting. I normally go to the disgusting Atlantis Center on Atlantic & Nevins. I’ve actually seen roaches in the machines. Ick. I was excited for brand new sparkling machines and clean floors!!! Some machines looked new. The dryers, however, looked very used and some of them (on the left wall) did not dry very well at all. The floors were clean and it was only semi-hot in there. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much folding space or seating to wait. They tell you not to leave your laundry unattended, but the place started to fill up a bit and there was really nowhere to stand, so we went outside for a bit. People were very territorial over their folding spaces. (There were only 2 plastic folding tables and one was inhabited by the woman who works there.) Even if they weren’t folding, they were “holding it” for when their dryers were done and not very nice about sharing. We had to pack up our stuff and head home to pack, plus we had to leave a load there (still soaked b/c of one of the dryers we used) and go back for it 20 minutes later. It was a little bit of a hassle overall, but it’s good to see something opening instead of closing in this hood.

Remember the toasted car sitting on the Sixth Avenue Bridge that a reader sent us photos of? Well, another GL reader pointed up to a New York Post story that explains how the car got there: the owner torched it. Here are the fascinating details:

An FDNY paramedic was busted for lighting his own car – a new BMW 535 – on fire in Brooklyn, cops said yesterday. Glenroy Griffith, 39, set his gray 2008 sedan on fire by Prospect Park’s Wollman Rink near Lincoln Road on Friday afternoon, police sources said. “He opened the side door of the car, lit a match, threw it inside and walked away,” one witness told cops. It was unclear why he allegedly started the blaze. Griffith, a 19-year veteran, was charged with reckless endangerment and arson, then released without bail.

We’re sure there’s an interesting explanation.

There may be a rally getting underway right about now condemning Long Island College Hospital for closing their maternity program and rape crisis center, but there is one bit of good news: the hospital is making good on its word to fix up the cruddy playground on Henry Street that it is charged with maintaining. Per an email from the hospital posted on the BoCoCa Parents Group:

We have received the repair parts for the park and will be closing the parks tomorrow to do the necessary repairs. Also, we should have the new sign posted at the parks within the next two weeks

Emails with questions or comments about the playground can be sent to LICHParks@chpnet.org.

There’s a new North Brooklyn blog from the group NAG, called Neighborhood Watch that has a lot of potential to put some important community information out there. The blog writes:<blockquote>We hope that this blog will serve as a resource to the North Brooklyn community for updates on the neighborhood, useful information for you to deal with issues (housing, construction problems), and opportunities to get involved in solving local problems.</blockquote>Recent posts include a great one on Saving Industrial Jobs in North Brooklyn.

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

The Other Islands of New York – East River & New York Bay. (Last Tour of the Season!) Sunday August 10 – 9:30-12 Noon – with Sharon Seitz & Stuart Miller. Sharon Seitz and Stuart Miller, co-authors of The Other Islands of New York: A History and Guide, will be our guides on this Other Islands tour. Hop aboard the New York Water Taxi and tour some our of guides’ favorites: Roosevelt Island, Randall’s and Ward’s Island and the Brother Islands. As a bonus, you’ll see the Waterfalls from the water. Meet at Fulton Ferry Landing Dock of New York Water Taxi, foot of Old Fulton Street opposite the River Café. F train to York Street Station. Walk down to waterfront. Fees $50.00 for non-members; $40.00 for members, seniors and students. Pre-payment required. For reservations and pre-payment call (718) 788-8500, ext. 217.

[Photo courtesy of Deborah Matlack/Matlack Photography]

The Santos White Community Garden in Coney Island is not only a gorgeous little spot, but the good news is that it’s not threatened by development. GL Contributor Deborah Matlack, who’s been making the rounds of Coney Community Gardens for us, writes of the garden on Mermaid Avenue at W. 21st Street:

Santos Torres was my host; he started the garden many years ago, and also plays music on the Boardwalk on Saturdays and Sundays. Santos and the other garden members have fought hard and won their fight to ensure that their beautiful garden will remain intact and not be taken by the City or a developer.

You got to love the cow. Check out her posts on the Surfside Community Garden, the Senior Block Association and Unity Tower.

A couple of more shots, including a great cow pic, ahead.

Last night’s “Night Out Against Crime” featured a huge gathering a public officials, including Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, at Grand Army Plaza. Per a press release from the Prospect Park Alliance, which also widely distributed photos of the event:

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly joined the 78th Precinct at the Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park to mark the “25th Annual National Night Out,” a public crime prevention event…Also attending the event were Congressman Anthony Weiner, NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, NY State Senator Velmentta Montgomery, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, and representatives from the offices of Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, and NY State Assemblywoman Joan Millman (who presented a proclamation from New York State Governor David Patterson).

One can assume, given the concentration of politicians and police that there wasn’t even any jaywalking during the event.

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

· Bay Ridge Theater Reno Job Goes Very Sloooowly [NYDN]
· Closings Start at the Heritage [Brownstoner]
· Visiting the Old St. Cyrils School [New York Shitty]
· Atlantic Bookstore Due in September [Lost City]
· The Theory of Galapagos [Brooklyn Based]
· Seeing the Candidate at the New Galapagos [Dumbo Books of Brooklyn]
· People in Boats on the Gowanus [Brooklynometry]
· Free Kilsy Concert at Astroland [Kinetic Carnival]
· Bedford Corner Fashion Expo [Bed-Stuy Blog]
· Passing Through with Homemade Art on the Car [Bed-Stuy Banana]

[Image courtesy of Atomische.Com/flickr and atomische.com]

So, the latest Coney Island attraction is a Waterboarding simulation. Yes, waterboarding, as in the torture technique used by the U.S. in interrogation of terror suspects that leads the victim to believe that he is drowning. The Waterboarding show is on W. 12 Street and comes from an artist named Steve Powers. Per today’s Times:

It looks at first like any other shuttered storefront near the boardwalk: some garish lettering and a cartoonish invitation to a delight or a scam — in this case there’s SpongeBob SquarePants saying, “It don’t Gitmo better!” If you climb up a few cinderblock steps to the small window, you can look through the bars at a scene meant to invoke a Guantánamo Bay interrogation. A lifesize figure in a dark sweatshirt, the hood drawn low over his face, leans over another figure in an orange jumpsuit, his face covered by a towel and his body strapped down on a tilted surface. Feed a dollar into a slot, the lights go on, and Black Hood pours water up Orange Jumpsuit’s nose and mouth while Orange Jumpsuit convulses against his restraints for 15 seconds. O.K., kids, who wants more cotton candy!

Oh, Coney. Sometimes you do not disappoint.

The official announcement is being made this morning at 10AM on the block in question, but the Greenest Block in Brooklyn for 2008 is Eighth Street between Eighth Avenue and Prospect Park West. There were 13 semi-finalists from East Flatbush and from Park Slope. Ironically, the block in question was torn up by sewer construction for much of the year and only recently returned to normal. Actually, Eighth Street was entered twice. Once from Seventh to Eighth Avenue and once from Eighth Avenue to Prospect Park West. More info here.

Last week, Long Island College Hospital announced it was shutting down its maternity program, a closure that many believe is part of a broader sell-off of valuable property to developers anxious to develop condos in Cobble Hill. City Council Member Bill de Blasio is holding a rally today (8/6) at noon to “Call on LICH to Reverse Decision to Cut Vital Community Services. Per the press release that went out yesterday:

Councilmember Bill de Blasio will join local elected officials and community activists at a rally tomorrow urging Long Island College Hospital (LICH) to reverse its disturbing decision to shut down the maternity ward and end its rape crisis intervention program. De Blasio is calling on LICH to stop taking services away from Brooklyn families and to work with the community to create a long-term plan for combating its financial problems. Without a sound financial plan for LICH’s future and community involvement in this process, Brooklynites have no way of knowing how much longer LICH’s doors will remain open.

Among those attending are State Senator Marty Connor,
Councilmembers Sara Gonzalez and Tish James. The rally will take place at Noon at 339 Hicks Street, Between Atlantic and Pacific Streets.

[Photo courtesy of Adrian Kinloch/Brit in Brooklyn]

Here’s a fun store window from Ditmas Park courtesy of GL Contributor Adrian Kinloch.

Who knew there was so much information around about Williamsburg’s Dunham Place? “Dunham Place was not the first street in Williamsburg to be named after entrepreneur and property owner David Dunham. That honor goes to Grand Street, the lower portion of which (i.e., the stretch west of Bedford Avenue) was once called Dunham Street. Actually, that was the second name for Grand Street, as Grand Street from the river to Roebling was laid out as Washington Street in 1812 by Thomas Morrell, one of Williamsburgh’s founding fathers. At that time, he also named the spit of land that jutted into the East River (the area just west of Grand Ferry Park today) Morrell Point.”–WGPA

[Photo courtesy of erinmelina/GL Flickr Pool]

Here’s a little scene from Red Hook courtesy of erinmelina in our GL Flickr Pool. The Train of the Moment, indeed.

Today’s forecast is calling for times of clouds and sun with some showers and thunderstorms around. It’s going to be humid with a high of 87. Tonight will be partly cloudy with a low of 68.–Accuweather

[Photo courtesy of Adrian Klinloch/Brit in Brooklyn]

These are the lights of Astroland in Coney Island as captured by Brit in Brooklyn blogger and photographer extraordinaire Adrian Kinloch.

This image comes from beneath the Culver Viaduct (aka the tracks between Carroll Gardens and Park Slope) from a GL Reader. Call it tires in transit.

Here’s a short vid from the opening party for Lola Staar’s Dreamland Roller Rink this past weekend.

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Whether one intends to a walking tour of Red Hook or not, the Gmap created by David B. with help from “Walking Brooklyn” by Adrienne Onofri, is fascinating. All the pins you see above have pictures and the red things are places where World War II veterans lived. Go to the full map and have a look around. Or, even, use it to plan a walking tour.