Our faithful and wonderful Carroll Gardens correspondent laid this photos and two after the jump on us, in an email with the subject line “Kafkaesque in CG” (which could apply to dozens of thing going on at any given moment in the land use and development business in Carroll Gardens). She was talking about actual metamorphosis, however. She writes:
Just call me a real Carroll Gardener. My window boxes were infested with painted lady butterfly caterpillars. I brought a few inside and they metamorphosized. So, the pix are the caterpillar, the crysalis and the butterfly after hatching. ( I let it out the window and he flew towards the Bond Street Bunker AKA The Satori.) Caterpillars also shit big pellet sized poo.
Ikea and NY Water Taxi reacted quickly today to reports from Red Hook that its policy was changing regarding the free Water Taxi service from Manhattan to Red Hook. Via a Water Taxi spokesperson came this statement: “there is no charge for the IKEA Water Taxi – it is still FREE to EVERYONE. The demand for service has been so high, that IKEA has instituted an in store hand stamp for customers who traveled to the store via the free Water Taxi to insure that the customers they are providing the free Water Taxi shuttle for get first in line and get a seat on the Water Taxi to get back to Manhattan. As long as there is space on the Water Taxi after IKEA customers board it is open and FREE to everyone.” Another spokesperson confirmed that there is no plan to charge anyone to use the Water Taxi but that Ikea customers would have priority in boarding if boats are full. The $6 charge that some people reported being told about wasn’t planned and isn’t coming. As for the sign, Ikea says the handwritten notice didn’t come from its employees and Water Taxi says its people had nothing to do with it. The bottom line: As long as there is space on the boat not filled by Ikea customers, there are still free rides for whoever wants them.
Here’s one of our weekly features from the Center for the Urban Environment (CUE). This week’s interiew is with Tri State Biodiesel owner Brent Baker, who CUE found through the Sustainable Business Network NYC, a network of businesses dedicated to building a vibrant, diverse and responsible local living economy in New York City.
Q: Where are you from originally?
A: I grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Q: What a different topography from New York City! Are the comparative environmental issues different as well?
A: New York and New Mexico are two very different places. One thing they do have in common is that they are both very exceptional American cities that break the mold of what an American city looks like. The air is a lot cleaner in New Mexico
Q: What lead you to the biodiesel industry?
A: A passion for environmental issues. I was an advocate for organic foods and natural building as well as a global warming educator prior to my obsession with biodiesel.
Q: There has been a lot in the news recently about the connection between alternative energy resources and food systems. What merit is there in the argument that biodiesel shifts the global balance and creates competition between food and fuel, particularly in developing nations?
A: When the media says biofuels are making food more expensive, what they should be saying is that corn ethanol (one of many biofuels), not biodiesel, is a minor contributor to rising food costs. The main factors to rising food costs in the US are growing demand driven by China and India, a weak dollar, bad weather, and high fuel costs. With soy-biodiesel, the food part of the bean is still used for food, so soy-biodiesel actually encourages more food production, not less. Here at Tri-State Biodiesel we use waste cooking oil to make biodiesel, so in our case, we are actually making fuel out of a waste product, that is not competing with food at all.
Truly, the ordeal endured by Ben Smith and Gur Tsabar, who founded the Room 8 blog, confirms every blogger’s worst nightmare of what can happen when politicians, government officials and, even, private citizens dead set on silencing opponents or throttling freedom of speech can do. Mr. Smith, who also produced the Ditmas Park Blog with his wife, appears to have been the victim of what certainly appears to be an abuse of power by the Bronx District Attorney in trying to identify opponents of political allies posting anonymously on Room 8. They speak out today in the Daily News:
“The most disturbing part of the subpoena directed at our New York political blog, Room Eight, was the legend, in all capital letters: “DO NOT DISCLOSE THE EXISTENCE OF THIS REQUEST…” The subpoena came in the mail in January from Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson. It demanded information about one of the bloggers and a dozen commenters on Room Eight, a group political blog where political insiders and junkies from all over the city write about – and often criticize – the city’s politicians…The information Johnson’s office wanted could have identified one anonymous critic, “Republican Dissident,” who had been directing his fire at Johnson’s allies in the Bronx Republican Party, which supports him, and occasionally at Johnson himself.
We posted some photos and info about the Surfside Community Garden in Coney Island yesterday. Today, we have the Unity Tower Community Garden. Both share an identity as important community ventures and both are threated by the city either for use as parking lots or as development sites. The photos come from a valued GL Contributor, Deborah Matlack. She writes: “Here are some shots I took of the Unity Tower Community Garden, corner West 20th Street and Surf Avenue. I was a complete stranger to these folks, but they were very hospitable. They’re very concerned about the possibility of losing that garden which they have lovingly tended for fifteen years. It seems that anything positive and worthwhile is under siege by the developers/City.” The garden is very close to areas that would be impacted by the city’s redevelopment plan.
Don’t look now, but Brooklyn Burger Bar has finally died (after many rumors of a premature demise) and something called Flipsters has risen in its place. The early reviews on Yelp say that the service blows so hideously that no food could be worth it, which would seem to leave them no place to go but up. (In their defense, we suppose, is the fact they only opened over the weekend.) What we’re taken by, though, is a shill for the place that is such a scream it could only have been posted by management:
I am the most picky Burger eater in the world. My favorite Burger place till now is Spoted Pig…..now its Flipsters. The name is interesting. When I asked the waitress what does Flipsters mean she said Brooklyn Hipsters who flip burgers….ok. Anyway service was much better then the old place. I had the rub burger, out of this world. My friend had the mini burgers…better then Pop! i am so happy i live in Brooklyn now.
We’re not sure what made us more glad we weren’t drinking something when we read this so we could avoid spraying a beverage all over our laptop, either the “Brooklyn Hipsters who flip burgers” thing or the “i am so happy i live in Brooklyn now.” Us too!!! Now, please excuse us while we seek medical attention so that we can stop laughing.
During the public discussion about the 360 Smith Street project in Carroll Gardens, aka Oliver House, there was much discussion of the plaza in front of the Carroll Street Station and of the need to close one of the station’s entrances during part of the construction. There were concerns among some residents that the closing would result in overcrowding at the remaining entrances. (Both Carroll Street and Bergen Street are known to be particularly slow to empty when trains let out a lot of passengers.) Well, the day has arrived. The entrance will be closed on Monday, July 21UPDATE: The MTA has advised, via the office of City Council Member Bill de Blasio, that the actual closing is July 28, not July 21 as had been reported on the website and on signs. Signs are being changed and the information updated on the website.
Just last week, there was a story about how people were using the Ikea Shuttles and to a lesser extent the Ikea Water Taxi service to get to and from Red Hook. At the time, Ikea spokesperson Joe Roth said that Ikea was “thrilled that we are providing free transit options for the people of New York to come to Ikea and to come to Red Hook.” We know that people have been taking advantage of the Water Taxi to get back and forth to Manhattan without necessarily shopping at Ikea. We personally know one resident who’s been using it to get back and forth to work. Well, the “thrill” may be gone.
Park Slope’s Stoop Sale Flier Ripper is a legend in the neighborhood for walking up and down local streets and ripping down any fliers that have been taped up. We’ve watched him in action as has many Park Slopers as he goes from pole to pole tearing down everything that’s been taped up. (In this sense, he is not strictly a “stoop sale” sign ripper. He’s not fond of signs for lost cats or dogs, etc. either). In any case, there’s a new thread about him and his work over at Brooklynian:
Has anyone seen this guy? He’s white, got a slight build, knobby knees, usually wearing a large gardener’s hat? This past weekend I was walking back from the gym and he was going to every street post and tearing down people’s Stoop Sale signs. What’s the deal? I was going to confront him but I was already late and he has the sort of weasely little face that makes you immediately dislike him. He walked up 7th street between 6th and 7th Ave. I’m not sure if he lives there or was off to rip down other people’s signs. And these were for stoop sales that were currently happening… this really pisses me off. What gives him the right? If a cop comes and rips a sign down because it’s illegal to be on city property- that’s one thing (and they have better shit to do than waste time doing this) but when some one man army thinks he knows what’s better for all of us– that’s F’d up.
We know the man simply doesn’t like things being taped up on poles, but the question is–is that steely look of determination in his eyes as he grabs and rips that of the civic vigilante protecting his neighborhood from disorder and clutter or is it something more?
July 16th, 2008 · Comments Off on Bklink: Another Gowanus Venue
Gowanus is becoming club and venue land. “Workers have been clearing out the ground-floor space of a warehouse on DeGraw Street between 3rd and 4th avenues for the past few weeks, and DOB filings for the spot say it’s going to be a ‘drinking and dancing establishment.’ According to a couple of sources, some of the people involved with the venture have worked for the Virgin Festival.–Brownstoner
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“The familial piece of the story makes this more complicated. But the issue of soaring rents and closing businesses is a common and troubling one throughout the borough (and beyond). After the initial sadness of these closings fade, many are left wanting recourse, action. Is there room for public suasion in this case– and, indeed, for the other similar cases of equally beloved businesses that will inevitably come? Can we write and petition the landlords? Or, long term, ask our electeds to tackle this complicated but serious threat to local living economies? Many of us are not against change, nor blind to the exigencies of the market— but I would like to think that together, consumers and neighbors can unite to try to shape the fate of their neighborhoods. A consumer republic—something. If someone wants to join me and write a petition urging the landlord toward alternatives, maybe GL can convene a citizens corner for just that. I am game to stand on the sidewalk of this store and get signatures…”–Park Slope Losing Last Butcher Shop: A&S Pork May be Smoked
This scene comes from Berry Street in Williamsburg and the car in the photo is actually this one, which has been parked in the neighborhood for a long time and is now up for sale.
Check out the wild parrots of Brooklyn on a Sunday morning, just sort of hanging out in their nests in Flatbush. Sunday is the day of rest, after all.–Flatbush Pigeon
This time of year, the Lullwater in Prospect Park, in front of the lovely Boat House, turns green. It’s a perfectly natural and healthy thing, but it never fails to look alarming.
July 16th, 2008 · Comments Off on Bklink: Sunny and Very Warm
Outside the Brooklyn Weather Observatory, we’ve got blue skies and sun. Today’s forecast calls for it to be mostly sunny and very warm with a high of 90. Tonight we have a “moonlit sky” and a low of 72.–Accuweather
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July 15th, 2008 · Comments Off on Eye on the Street: Obey & Post No Bills
There is almost nothing we can add to this juxtaposition of street art from Obey and the directive to Post No Bills. It comes from Berry Street in Williamsburg.
This is not a Brooklyn story, per se, but because virtually any blogger or online journalist could potentially be the subject of acts intended to intimidate them into not publishing things or of government legal action, this is a crucial First Amendment tale. The founders of Room 8 were recently the recipients of grand jury subpoenas ordering them to turn over the identity of some people leaving comment on their blog and ordering them not to disclose or post about the subpoena. They got a lawyer, threatened to sue the Bronx DA and the subpoenas were dropped. The Times writes:
There is no better way to get a blogger talking than by telling him what he cannot publish — although you might forgive a government prosecutor for thinking otherwise. A grand jury subpoena sent by prosecutors in the Bronx earlier this year sought information to help identify people blogging anonymously on a Web site about New York politics called Room 8. The subpoena carried a warning in capital letters that disclosing its very existence “could impede the investigation being conducted and thereby interfere with law enforcement” — implying that if the bloggers blabbed, they could be prosecuted.
Read the Room 8 take on all of this here. All’s well that ends well in this case, but from overzealous prosecutors to groups trying to intimidate bloggers from posting freely circulating emails or information, the struggle isn’t over by a long shot.
Is that sound we hear in the distance Carroll Gardens residents massing to dip torches in kerosene and ready pitchforks to march on 116 Third Place. Well, maybe not yet, because the official word hasn’t come and the reality hasn’t sunken in. Back when the Downtown BellTel Lofts won the right to be the site of the taping of MTV’s Real World Brooklyn, there was almost a collective sigh of relief. Then, yesterday, Brownstoner reported that because of construction delays at BellTel, the Real World production crew had set its sights again on the Carroll Gardens building on Third Place. (Why this process has never really touched Williamsburg, we’ll never understand.) The Real Deal followed up with a report that equipment has already been transported to the Carroll Gardens location. Something tells us this the taping from August through Fall is not going to take place without some neighbors getting upset.
There is someone near Fourth Avenue and Sixth Street in Park Slope who does not like graffiti. He or she has been annotating graffiti on construction fences in the area for some time. Often the Annotator corrects spelling and leaves notes to the effect that the graffiti writer is the product of a poor public education system or has a bleak socioeconomic future. Well, he or she is still leaving notes, currently threatening to erase the graffiti within 24 hours, but also leaving social commentary. It also appears that the owners of the fences in question have joined the fight, pretty much painting everything over.
If fishing is your child’s thing, then you might be interested to know that the 61st Annual Macy’s Fishing Contest opens on Wednesday, July 16 at 12 Noon at the Prospect Park Audobon Center at the Boathouse. Per an email we got from Eugene Patron, the man we call the Oracle of Prospect Park, a largemouth bass named R.H. Macy will be released into the water. The idea is to catch this fish and whoever does will win a family fishing trip on a boat ride from Sheepshead Bay. Per the Oracle’s email:
The contest runs from July 16 – July 20. Daily contest hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There are no rain dates. The competition is open to children 15 years and younger. Individuals can sign-up at the contest. Groups of 10 or more must call (718) 287-3400 x114 to register. Admission is free and equipment and instruction is provided. Prizes will be awarded daily to those who haul in the big catches from Brooklyn’s only freshwater lake. Before casting their lines, all participants attend a free, fun and educational workshop led by Prospect Park Audubon Center educators and the Urban Park Rangers.
The members of the “machete-wielding mob” that attack some people over the weekend are believed to be members of a gang called the Trinitarios, a largely Dominican group. Here’s a vid of them, machetes included, from the YouTube posted up on Gothamist.
Don’t look now, but Brooklyn Burger Bar has finally died (after many rumors of a premature demise) and something called Flipsters has risen in its place. The 
Outside the Brooklyn Weather Observatory, we’ve got blue skies and sun. Today’s forecast calls for it to be mostly sunny and very warm with a high of 90. Tonight we have a “moonlit sky” and a low of 72.–
