Passengers on the L train speeding through Williamsburg and Bushwick seldom stop to think about one of the most unique and little known cemeteries in New York as they pass by. But if you look out the window at Wilson Avenue before reaching Broadway Junction, there it is. Close to the train tracks, with the Cemetery of the Evergreens to the east, sits Most Holy Trinity Cemetery for the curious to explore. Although it is located on a cul de sac at the juncture of Chauncey Street and Central Avenue, most people couldn’t find the 25-acre cemetery if they had directions. But it is well worth the sleuthing to get there.

The original cemetery was located behind Most Holy Trinity Church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. When Father John Raffeiner, a pioneer priest among German Catholics in the City, made plans to build a new church on the property, the cemetery was moved and the remains from the original burial ground were transferred to the new site—which opened in October, 1851. What makes this cemetery so unique are the markers. To ensure uniformity and humility so that there would be no difference between rich and poor, a rule was passed that all markers would have to be made of wood or hollow metal (see wood grave marker picture).

Read more about this fascinating place by clicking here.

Yesterday, we posted an email about living in Brooklyn without a car from the Park Slope Parents list that a community-minded reader had dropped into our inbox. Today, we have one of the responses to that email that bubbles over with energy. Check it out, because it’s that good:

When I read your post title I could only think of the Beastie Boys song “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”. We’ll walk 5 miles in the the sleet uphill both ways with 50 pounds of shopping bags on the back of the broken stroller with another kid in a backpack and the third in a sling wearing cargo pants to accomodate 3 diapers, 2 sippy cups, lunch, wipes, a cell phone a wallet, keys, crayons a coloring book and 3 “lovies”. Yeah Baby…….Brooklyn – Hardcore!!!!!!

Perhaps a parents group should rerecord the song to say “No Sleep In Brooklyn” I’m a crooner myself – but I’ll do backup. We’ll need someone in the first two months of parenting: sleep deprived, hopped up on coffee and frazzled. We’ll wear black t-shirts and ripped jeans with spit up all over it. This is the closest a human being can actually get to looking like a fashionable drugged out rocker without makeup. Oh we’re so edgy!

We hereby declare this one of our favorite emails ever.

Are you ready for the natural disaster that will someday come our way? Particularly for the hurricane that could render Brooklyn a flooded hell? Most of us aren’t. Here’s a post from a Park Slope resident on Awearness that got us to thinking about the unpleasant again:

I’ll come right out and say it: If any kind of disaster strikes my Brooklyn neighborhood — whether natural or man-made — both my girlfriend and I are screwed. I don’t think of myself as a vulnerable person, but truthfully, I’m so unprepared for a calamity that I might as well be an unclothed baby in the middle of a Los Angeles Expressway at rush hour. And I just found this out, by taking a very short click-through exam: What’s Your RQ (readiness quotient). As of this morning, I was still blissfully unaware of how unprepared I really am. I scored 1 out of 10 — compared to 4.7 out of 10 among my Park Slope neighbors, meaning no one on my block should be asking me for help or advice in the event of an emergency.

Here’s the link to the test. We took it and (!!!!) beat the writer by scoring a 2 out of 10, compared to 4.4 out of 10 for our zip code. (Well, it’s a small sample so far and we brought the score down by taking the test.) Always fun stuff, especially with the really interesting part of hurricane season bearing down on us.

“Our Beloved Brooklyn Leader, Marty Markowitz, has just announced that the July 31st, 2008 ‘Mystery Guest’ at the Seaside Concert series in Coney Island will be Peter Frampton. Welcome to the Hazbin Hall of Fame, Pete! And, I suggest that when Marty completes his service as Borough Prez, we simply appoint him as Brooklyn Master of Ceremonies.” Arrive early and take lots of whatever.–Flatbush Pigeon

For a long time the site where these condos are rising at the corner of Eighth Avenue and Tenth Street in Park Slope was a garden with big trees. No longer. The Church of Gethsemane sold the property to a developer and a lot of work has been done to turn the garden into a building. When it’s done, it will have 10 condos including three townhomes. (There is also a local rumor of a bank branch as ground floor retail.) The sign outside says that completion is expected by May 15 of next year. God willing, of course.

The threat by attorneys for Wiz founder and developer Stephen Jemal to sue the blog GerritsenBeach.Net caught the attention of the Daily News’ Jotham Sederstrom, who follows up on GBN’s disturbing tale of being asked to sign a “non-disparagement agreement” and pay $20,000 to avoid a suit. Mr. Sederstrom writes in part:

The feisty founder of electronics behemoth The Wiz is threatening to sue a Brooklyn blogger who published jabs against the businessman on his small Web site. Daniel Cavanagh, who runs the Web site Gerritsenbeach.net, was threatened with a lawsuit after suggesting Wiz founder Stephen Jemal may have engaged in disreputable business practices – a claim echoed on at least one other Web site.

“I thought I was really being bullied around by this guy,” said Cavanagh, 23, a computer technician by day. “This guy has all this money in the world, and he can send any demand letter he wants. He has all this money for lawyers.”

The developer is “still considering” whether to sue the tiny blog. Check out all the detail in this still unfolding story.

[Photo courtesy of nedward.org/GL Photo Pool Flickr]

On the heels of the zoning text amendment’s passage and a Stop Work Order from the Department of Buildings at 360 Smith Street, the planned closing of an entrance to the Carroll Street subway station has been put on hold. Per an email from the MTA:

The MTA NYC Transit has been informed by Mr. William Stein, the developer of 360 Smith Street (a.k.a. 131 2nd Place) that his construction project will not necessitate the closure of the Carroll Street F G station entrance/exit at 2nd Place and Smith Street on Monday, July 28 as originally anticipated. Therefore, NYC Transit will be keeping this staircase open until further notice.

It’s surrounded by a construction wall now, but it is open.

Four finalists have been selected from the eight bidders to purchase the big Starrett City complext on Jamaica Bay. The final bids are expected to come in at $800-$900 million and are due in September. An effort to sell the complex last year failed spectacularly because of fears of a loss of affordable housing. The new buyers are pledged to keep the complex affordable for a long period.–NYT

Yesterday, we posted about what the impact of the Narrow Streets Zoning Text Amendment would be on the 360 Smith Street project (aka Oliver House aka the former Heavy Metal Building). By late yesterday afternoon, we knew: it was hit with a Stop Work Order because the plans don’t conform to the news zoning and the foundation was only 20 percent complete, so it doesn’t qualify for vesting under the old zoning. And so it looks like Oliver House will be shrinking from 70 feet to 55 feet, which is what residents have been fighting for for more than a year. The complaint that led to the DOB inspection was logged at 11:49AM yesterday: “CALLER STATES THAT NEW ZONING LAW HAS BEEN ESTABLISH YESTERDAY FOR CARROLL GARDEN AREA THEY ARE BUILDING UP TO 70 FT WHEN IN THISARE YOU ONLY ALLOW TO GO AS FAR AS 55 FEET PLEASE INSPECT.” An inspector found that only 20 percent of the foundation was complete and that the building was not vested under the old zoning. He issued a Stop Work Order, except for a railing to be placed around the excavation. The developer presumably will appeal to the Board of Standards and Appeals to try to get “vested” under the old zoning, which is a possibility.

The Seventh Avenue Tea Lounge in Park Slope closed yesterday. The “last day” was reported on both Brooklynian and on Park Slope Parents. A Park Slope Parents email said in part: “Well, tonight is the last day to lounge at the 10th street Tea Lounge, a sad day for all South Slopers. A perfect meeting spot for years. I had coffee with so many friends there, spent countless hours with my kids there and always loved the laid back, easy, welcoming feeling. My childhood friend is one of the owners, so there always seemed to be a friendly and familiar face around.” Meanwhile, there is thread about the closure on Brooklynian, started by Dave17 who reported: “I just walked by the TeaLounge on 7th avenue and the sign says its closing today? What is going to be in its place? No more banks! This area needs a place you can go in and have snack and do some reading. Tired of all banks popping up (the one opening soon on corner of 10th street and 8 avenue looks horrible on the street)!” It is survived by a Tea Lounge on Union Street and one on Court Street.

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

· Dude Wasn’t Crazy, Just Trying to Get the Cat Out of the Wall [NYP]
· Is Gehry’s Anaheim Rink a “Cautionary Tale”? [AYR]
· Big Sunset Park High School Construction Update [Brownstoner]
· A Glimpse into the Life of a Williamsburg Nanny Onstage [NYDN]
· A Really Brutal Week [Brooklynometry]
· A Sunset Park Street, Then & Now [BVIB]
· Bedford Ave. & Manhattan, THen & Now [New York Shitty]
· Intriguing Loft Condos [Clinton Hill Blog]
· Busted Chef Chronicles, Continued [BHB]
· Perhaps a Trained Flea Circus is of Interest? [Kinetic Carnival]
· A Rainy Day Ramble Through the Park [A Year in the Park]
· Sal’s on Court Street Ruins a Great Slice [Lost City]

[Photo courtesy of Galvarez51/flickr]

This image comes from 25th Street in Sunset Park in the shadow of the Gowanus Expressway. It’s a contribution to our Gowanus Lounge Flickr Pool by galvarez51.

Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg is losing the Polska-Masarnia Czeslawa Quality Meat Market, the longstanding Polish butcher at 172 Bedford Avenue in the heart of Williamsburg. The gate is down and the place has been stripped. It does not look like it’s being renovated.–Lost City

This is one of Williamsburg’s two well known hearses belonging to the heavy metal club Duff’s which is adjacent to 184 Kent. It’s not every day one catches a photo of someone getting under the hood of the Deathmobile and tinkering with it.

Counsel for the Developer

In the future
You need partners

Not suppliers
Not customers
Not acquisition
Targets but

Partners

And partnerships
Should not
Be based
Solely on
Long
Legal
Agreements

But rather
On reciprocally
Fair deals
Oriented towards
Mutual interests
And maintained
In an atmosphere of
Good Will

(Bad news for lawyers).
c. 2008 Graziella Radici

(From Real Estate Development by Miles, Berens, Weiss. Washington, DC: Urban land Institute, 2000.)

Outside the Brooklyn Weather Observatory, it’s looking nicer than it has been. Today’s forecast calls for it to be mostly sunny with a high of 86. Tonight will be clear with a low of 70.–Accuweather

It’s Coney Island 2008, so nothing surprises us, but we just got a press release about a boxing match between NYPD officers that’s going to happen at Beer Island tonight that’s referred to as a “Beach Brawl” and is part of Thor Equities “Summer of Hope.” (Actually, the boxing matches have been held for some time, just not at Beer Island like this.) We go to the copy and paste:

New York’s finest will compete for boxing glory at Coney Island this Thursday night. On July 24th at 8:00 PM, officers of New York City’s Police Department will try to go 12 rounds at Coney Island’s new beer garden “Beer Island.” The event is part of Thor Equities’ Summer of Hope series of events. The event will feature 12-14 fights beginning at 8:00 PM, featuring police officers from across New York City. Organized by NYPD’s Finest Boxing and Anthony Beroingieri, operator of Beer Island, this will be the 13th time the Fight will be held in Brooklyn and will benefit NYPD’s Finest Boxing’s various charities and its operations. Organizers expect an attendance between 500-1000 people. Entrance fee is $20.

Plus the cost of beer and BBQ, of course. Doors at 7 and Brawl at 8.

Inspired by the Red Velvet Cake map created and posted by meganlibrarian on Brooklynian that we borrowed for a post, blogger Gumby Fresh has created a guide to Brooklyn chains. Not big national chains with a Brooklyn presence, but local businesses with one or more branches–what we might call chain-lets. He writes that “A stroll through Carroll Gardens the other day reminded me of how many businesses open multiple locations in Brooklyn.” Here’s a bit more:

To stress, this is not an exercise designed to hate on gentrifiers, chains, or anything else that flows from capitalism. A second branch is a fairly good indication you’re doing something right for your local customers, though whether catering to the whims of the Brooklyn gentrifying set is the foundation for a wildly successful national career I’ll leave to your imagination. Still it’s a good sign that there are plenty of people in the Borough that do have the smarts to build up a franchise and still keep it local.

The full and evolving map can be found here. Very cool stuff.

“A new source for your local news covering the greater Coney Island area is coming soon. Ben Nadler who has written for Kinetic Carnival is part of this news outlet. This new news source is not affiliated or produced by Kinetic Carnival. And the logo above is not part of this news outlet. Stay tuned for further announcements.”–Kinetic Carnival

[Photo courtesy of Adrian Kinloch/Brit in Brooklyn]

This gorgeous image from the Brooklyn Promenade comes from Brit in Brooklyn blogger and GL Contributor Adrian Kinloch. We love the way the light on one of the remain structures on the land that will be Brooklyn Bridge Park looks compared to the Financial District beyond.

And now, a selection of concert happening from today, 7/24, through Sunday, 7/27, compiled for GL by Dan Bennis:

Thursday 7/24/08
BAM Rhythm & Blues Festival at Metrotech: Alice Smith (Soul) – Free!!, 12:00pm

Friday 7/25/08
Celebrate Brooklyn: The Philip Glass Ensemble perform the score to POWAQQATSI, w/ The Brooklyn Youth Chorus and Marta Topferova (Classical/Minnimalism/Folk) – Free!! 7:30pm

Saturday 7/26/08
Celebrate Brooklyn: Ghostland Observatory, The Jealous Girlfriends, Bear Hands (Indie) – Free!! 6:00pm

Sunday 7/27/08
McCarren Park Pool: MGMT, Black Moth Super Rainbow, The Ting Tings (Indie Rock)- Free!!, 2:00pm

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

Barbes: 8 Prospects: Music Inspired by Prospect Park- Suite for six musicians reflecting an audio representation of Brooklyn’s historic Prospect Park. (Classical) – $10, 7:00pm

[Photo courtesy of heartonastick/flickr]

Yes, we already had a list of Siren Festival-related Missed Connections, but a reader (who we believe to be the person that posted this item say that it’s a “true story”) pointed it out and we found it both compelling and romantic in a Coney Island kind of way. Here it is:

siren festival- romanian pineapple? – w4m – 22 (coney island)

we met at the siren festival, broken social scene. we shared a yellow island on the right side of the stage. we hung out on the pier after the show. there was that crab incident and small children laughed at me. we went on a couple rides, i laughed my head off, i had so much fun. i was even robbed by a carnie but i didn’t care. we went down to the water and ran around on a jetty. you tackled me in the water and when you kissed me i told you you tasted salty. we took the n train back to manhattan, soaking wet and covered in sand. i wasn’t sure where things were going, got nervous, and bailed around 34th street. when i left i simply said it was nice to meet you, but i wish i had stayed or given you my number. let’s do it again.

Please hook up again.

“The new project at 324 Bedford Avenue epitomizes the stupidity of off-street parking requirements. The building sits at the corner of Bedford and South 2nd. It is designed by Bob Scarano, and is slowly inching its way toward completion (a stop-work order was issued in March, 2007 and the permits have all been revoked). Architecturally, it is quite nice (even if it is an overbuilt collection of quasi-legal mezzanines). Its size and massing fits in well in this more densely built up section of the Southside…As required by zoning, 324 Bedford includes on-site off-street parking. According to BIS, that works out to two spaces for a project of seven units. To get those two spaces, though, the developer has put in two curb cuts – one on Bedford and one on South 2nd. The net result in terms of parking spaces is zero – the community loses two on-street parking spaces, and gains a virtual guarantee of two additional cars.”–Brooklyn 11211

We came across this amusing time lapse of a bike ride from Fort Tilden in Queens to Coney Island. (It was originally a Flickr vid from nickjohnson, but was truncated because it’s too long.) It’s definitely worth a viewing.

Here’s an email that originated with the Park Slope Parents group that we think is thoughtful enough and interesting enough to present to readers. It deals with the issue of how to live in Brooklyn without a car, which is a topic which many readers, no doubt, have opinions about. Here are some excerpts:

We’ve lived in Brooklyn for 5 years now without a car. We now have two kids and I can say that while at times it’s a challenge, for the most part I don’t miss it at all. In fact, I now refer to myself as “an old Italian lady” because even when we rent a car, my husband always drives. I was never a fan of driving, but now I am almost afraid to do it, I’m so out of practice…We use Zipcar, which we think is terrific…No car payments, no insurance, no parking hassles, no break downs. Not to mention that I feel good about not contributing more crap to the environment…

I walk a lot, I schlep heavy bags a lot, and I use a lot of public transit. But every now and then when I’m hoofing it up 9th Street with my 4 year old beside me and my 2 year old in a stroller she’s not allowed to get out of because she is serving as a cantilever for all the bags from Steve’s C Town and I start to feel kind of sorry for myself, I like to think, this is REAL city living. Cars are for sissies.

As we said, a take on an topic of interest to the broader community.