Here are some community boards meetings coming up in Brooklyn next week, courtesy of the list compiled by the Daily News:

Community Board 4 (Bushwick) will hold its next board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, at the Senior Citizen Housing Center, Main Floor, 195 Linden St.

Community Board 7 (Sunset Park, Windsor Terrace) will have its general board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, at the Board office, 4201 Fourth Ave. The agenda will include several committee reports.

Community Board 10 (Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Fort Hamilton) is meeting at 7:15 p.m. Monday, May 19, at Norwegian Christian Home, 1250 67th St. The agenda includes renewal applications for sidewalk cafes at 10018 Fourth Ave., 8915 Fourth Ave., and 8801 Third Ave.

Community Board 17 (East Flatbush) has its regular board meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 21 at First United Church of Jesus Christ, 590 Utica Ave.

Community Board 18 (Canarsie, Bergen Beach, Mill Basin, Flatlands, Marine Park, Georgetown, Mill Island, Fraser) will meet at 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, at Kings Plaza Community Room, Flatbush Ave. and Avenue U.

Have you joined or new flickr Gowanus Lounge Photo Pool yet? Are you tagging photos that you want us to see with “gowanuslounge”? We hope that you will!

[Photo courtesy of JP Pagan/flickr]

The Kentile Sign is one of the landmarks of Gowanus. It rises over the landscape in many different ways, including very grungy parts of it like this one. It appears that the Gowanus Rezoning will leave most of this part of the neighborhood, by the way, zoned for manufacturing use.

Check out some photos of Gowanus where “there is a tremendous amount of texture and even the grays hint on various takes on color and expression.”–Sakura in Transit

This is not a Brooklyn story except that a GL reader brought a post to our attention about solar lily pads that won a design competition for the Clyde River in Glasgow. He wondered if they had any use in the Gowanus. We don’t know about that, but we do know that you can read more about them at the Inhabitat blog and that we’re suckers for interesting renderings, so we figured we’d post the solar lily pads.

There is great promise to the day outside the Brooklyn Weather Observatory. The forecast calls for a day that will be mostly sunny and pleasant with a perfect high of 74. Tonight will be partly cloudy with a low of 56.–Accuweather

It was party time on a recent day at this space hard against the BQE on Flushing Avenue.

Just before noon our inbox lit up with forwarded copies of a press release from the Toll Brothers announcing their new tollbrothersgowanus.com website. The site has info about the developer’s big 460-unit development on the Gowanus Canal, a comment feedback form and promises updates about developments and meetings throughout the land use approval process and, optimistically, promises construction news too. There’s a full post about it over at Curbed.

As the Crown Heights playground weed smoking debate continues on Brooklynian and in the comments over at Brownstoner, the Pacific Branch Public Library Porn Discussion is still going on at the Park Slope Parents Group. Is it okay for people to look at porn in the library? Does the First Amendment end when lewd acts can be seen by one’s five year old? The debate is fascinating. We will start with this:

I are am sorry but to me porn in the library is not acceptable! yes, freedom of speech is a founding principle of this country but I still find it extremely inappropriate to view porn in a public place. And what usually happens when you watch porn? what’s the purpose? sexual arousal and masturbation, right? would that be ok with you to witness that in a public place?? I am more concerned about protecting my children’s innocence as much as possible than letting some guys satisfy their urges in the name of freedom of speech…

Perhaps there should, uh, be private rooms for porn.

We’re guessing this construction site has had some issues with advertising poster being wheatpasted up to the fence, so a sign has gone up advising would-be wheat pasters not to do it. After all, they could be prosecuted to the “highest extend” of the law. As for the site itself, we couldn’t get our camera through any holes for a look at the nasty mess inside, but the pile of rubble and trash appeared to extend pretty high itself.

The 21st season of MTV’s Real World series is going to be shot in Brooklyn. The episodes will air next year. No word on where it will take place, but we’re going to boldly predict the odds on favorite is Williamsburg.–Media Mob

Everybody knows that movie theaters can be challenging places to see a film, particularly if it’s a movie that draw running commentary from the audience or involves a lot of children. We present this self-identified “rant” on Brooklynian about the Pavilion on the Park Slope/Windsor Terrace border, which comes from a showing of Iron Man:

Last night I went to a movie which was rated PG but as a mother of a four year old, was NOT appropriate for a four year old. The theater was FILLED with kids (Iron Man). Now there is a lot of explosions and shooting which is not something I want my kid to see yet but that is not my post. Kids TALK (which is what kids do and why they should go to matinees). The little boy behind us was asking a MILLION questions as he was clearly frightened and trying to understand and reduce his anxiety. Finally a guy asked the mother if he could please have her child be quiet. WHOA….it just immediately turned into a race thing. It ended with the mother saying, “baby, you go ahead and ask me AS MANY questions as you want. Go right ahead” and of course he did and he was louder then ever. How sad. This kid was just taught to be rude to another adult. I know we like to think Park Slope is the land of the rainbow, but obviously things are not idyllic in this segregated fairy tale.

Actually, it was a racial interaction.

This is the tower that has gone up on the waterfront beneath Brooklyn Heights between Piers 4 and 5 as seen from street level. In July, the water will be turned on and it will run from 7AM-10PM every day as part of Olafur Eliasson’s “Waterfalls” project. This tower is 120 feet tall and it’s near the former site of the Floating Pool. Per today’s Daily News:

The scaffolds from which water will tumble are bulkier than those that would go up around a building, said Richard Kielar, a spokesman for Tishman Construction, which is overseeing the building of the art project. “They have to hold all the piping, pumps and electronic equipment that control the flow of water to make it fall as the artist envisioned,” Kielar said. The manmade installations won’t be nearly as high or as wide as the natural waterfalls on the U.S.-Canadian border, but they will provide a nice breeze on a hot summer day.

They will be lit up at night. For a photo gallery check yesterday’s Curbed post. So, will you be able to hear the waterfall from the Brooklyn Promenade over the roar of traffic on the BQE?

This is Rutledge Street in Williamsburg near the BQE where some old fashioned Brooklyn business are and were located.

The next phase of the long process of rezoning Gowanus will start on May 29. That’s when an “update and presentation” by the Department of City Planning on the next phase of the Gowanus Land Use Framework will take place. The meeting will take place at PS 32, which is located at 317 Hoyt Street, at 6PM. There’s more info about the framework here at the City Planning website. A major meeting to get community input took place more than a year ago and was attended by Planning Director Amanda Burden. The actual rezoning proposal is expected to cover about 25 blocks of the original 60 that were studied, leaving about 2/3 of the study area zoned for manufacturing rather than mixed use development. The likely part of the neighborhood that will be rezoned are the ones marked A, B, C and D in the map, with “Subarea B” being one of the most contentious.

We have news to update about Myrtle the Turtle, the poor Williamsburg backyard turtle that was the victim of a spraypaint attack whose story we broke last Monday. Myrtle’s sad tale was subsequently picked up around the country. We can now report that (a). Myrtle is a he, contrary to early reports (who knew?) and that (b). he’s doing a lot better. Per an email: “Myrtle is doing much better. He (yes, he’s a he) is the belle of the ASPCA animal hospital. He’s got a newly constructed hutch to hang out in and plenty of wood chips to burrow into. The paint is acrylic, so they’re having some success taking it off. He was a little dehydrated so they put in a line, but overall he’s doing great.” We’re glad to share some happy news about Myrtle.

We had been wondering when the city would be changing the alternate side parking regulations in Community Board 6 to reduce the restricted parking intervals from 3 hours to 90 minutes. Now we know. They will start putting up new signs next week, and as a result, alternate side of the street parking in the area shown on the map above will be entirely suspended starting May 19 “until further notice,” which could mean most of the summer. Repeat: No more alternate side of the street parking in Park Slope until they change the sign. (Similar suspensions will follow in CB6 in Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and Red Hook later in the year.) Here’s the DOT press release:

Effective Monday, May 19, 2008, Street Cleaning/Alternate Side Parking Regulations will be temporarily suspended in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn’s Community Board 6 until further notice as the Department of Transportation (DOT) installs signs with new, reduced regulations. In many cases, residential street cleaning parking restrictions will be reduced from three-hour intervals to just 90 minutes, and from twice a week to just once a week, to ease parking for local residents. On commercial corridors, some streets will now be cleaned more often and regulations will be better coordinated to help ensure some curbside parking for local shoppers. The new rules were established by the Department of Sanitation.

This is not a joke. Click here to read more and see the map full size.

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

· New Rockaway-Sunset Park-Manhattan Ferry Starts [NYT]
· Scary Murder by Throat Slashing in Bed-Stuy [NYP]
· Police Have Suspect in Bed-Stuy Slaying [NYT]
· Nets Suite Sales About Four Months Late [AYR]
· Brooklyn Bridge 125th Anniversary Celebration [Sun]
· Losing Brooklyn America’s Next Top Model Contestants Not Sour [NYDN]
· Horse Chestnuts in Spring [Brooklynometry]
· Nostrand Ave. Photography Studio [Fading Ad Blog]
· Slope Backyard Theater Festival [OTBKB]
· Coney Island History Project Summer Schedule [Kinetic Carnival]
· 147 Front Open Studios on Thursday [Dumbo NYC]
· Environmental Conference Coming Up [Bed-Stuy Banana]

We all know intersections in Brooklyn where one risks one’s life challenging people who might be very nice individuals if encountered on foot, but who would just as soon make you one with the pavement as let you walk in front of them once they’re behind the wheel. One such spots is Parkside and Ocean Avenue, which is the Prospect-Lefferts Gardens entrance to Prospect Park. It may actually be a little worse than Grand Army Plaza, as recent changes and redesigns have made it slightly less threatening to cross. In any case, Streets Blog reposted it yesterday along an idea of how it can be made better. The intersection will actually be redesigned in the near future.

Click here for a diagram and image of how the intersection might be fixed.

A big new waterfront development called Rose Plaza on the River is quietly making the rounds in the land use review process. The development would be a three-building project south of Schaefer Landing in South Williamsburg, immediately north of the big power plant that Con Ed is demolishing and across the street from the 475 Kent Avenue, the building to which residents just returned. Developers are seeking R-7 zoning, which is the same as Schaefer Landing, which has 350 units in two buildings. The developer would be Waterfront Realty, which includes several veteran Brooklyn real estate players including Stanley Gallant and others. The plans have been presented to Community Board 1. Interestingly, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. has proposed filling in much of the channel behind Rose Plaza on the River in order to accommodate development, so it could become Rose Plaza near the landfill. A full city land use review is needed because the developers need a zoning change to build anything.

The Brooklyn International Film Festival is coming up from May 30-June 8. We’ll have more about it, coming up, but for now wanted to post the trailer. We saw part of it being shot on Havemeyer Street near Union Avenue a few weeks ago. Photographer, blogger and GL Photo Contributor Nate Kensinger is the film fest’s documentary programmer. The festival will be at the Lyceum on Fourth Avenue in Park Slope this year.

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There is activity on Van Brunt Street in Red Hook in both the storefront that was Pioneer Inn and at 360. “As for 360, it’s for rent. Still looks like 360 inside. But there’s a new message, emblazoned on a t-shirt, hanging in the window: ‘Stop and Think.’ Stop and think about what? About renting the place? About going into the restaurant business? About renting in Red Hook? About life?”–Lost City

A number of works by this same artist (FKDL?) have appeared around Williamsburg in the last week. This one is from N. 6 Street where there are at least two.

This Saturday, it’s “It’s My Park! Day” at Prospect Park. Per an email from the Prospect Park Alliance:

Take ownership of your Park! Join us for a day of cleaning and greening one of New York’s most magnificent public parks! Meet at the Parkside and Ocean Avenue entrance to Prospect Park. The cleanup —which is part of a citywide park beautification effort—runs from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. Spend a day making the Park you love look even better. Join a great group of enthusiastic volunteers who will be sprucing up around the playgrounds, painting the wrought iron fence, and cleaning along paths. Groups of 10 or more must register in advance. People of all ages and abilities, individuals, and groups are welcome. Students can receive community service credit for participating.

For more info, email volunteers@prospectpark.org. There are events Saturday in a lot of local parks and playgrounds.

It is plush. It looks comfortable. The background is priceless. So, who cares if it may have bed bugs? Have a seat on Ainslie Street, kick back and enjoy the sound of the passing cars on the BQE a half block away.