“After an interminable wait, Trader Joe’s finally began work on transformed the former Independence Bank building at Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn a couple weeks ago. And now what do they do? Paper over the glass doorways for a little privacy. For months on end we were free to peer in on the unstirred dust inside the yawning cavity of the huge edifice.”–Lost City

Have you joined our new Gowanus Lounge Photo Pool on flickr yet? If you take photos of Brooklyn and would like to share them with us, we hope you will, and that you’ll tag your photos gowanuslounge.

[Photo courtesy of lornagrl/flickr]

The quiet of Coney Island in the morning in Spring and Summer is quite different than what one finds in winter or, perhaps, it’s simply knowing that things will open up.

Outside the Brooklyn Weather Observatory we are seeing all the makings of a nasty day. Last night’s chill and wind has been followed by this morning’s chill, wind and heavy rain. The official forecast calls for “windy and colder with rain” and a high of only 50. Tonight will be cloudy and windy with some rain and a low of 44. Spring returns tomorrow.–Accuweather

In Williamsburg yesterday on N. 5 Street.

Is internet porn okay at a public library? In point of fact, the Brooklyn Public Library installed a filter to comply with the Children’s Internet Protection Act, but it can be turned off by adults. People being people, the result is that some people use library computers to look at porn or at images that some people would define as being so. An email from the Park Slope Parents group, sent to Slopers from a Boerum Hill parent, found its way into our inbox and we think it’s interesting:

I was at my branch library (Pacific) 4th Ave, btw Pacific & Dean St. and today I was without my kids but usually they are always with me…there are 8 computers (I never use the computers as I have one at home) but they are a great resource for people who don’t and for students…so this particular branch separates the adults and kids under 12 with 4 computers each on each side of the library…

And, two dudes were looking at PORN.

It’s Sunday, which means that it’s time for another episode of Brooklyn Craigslist Missed Connections. This week, we again turn to the topic of a near mishap that results in lust:

You almost ran me over! – m4w (Bedford & N. 8th)

At about 11:45 AM you almost committed vehicular homicide on me. Had I survived, I would have had to sue your ass for a million kisses to make it better. You weren’t looking where you were going and so I tapped on your hood to let you know I was there trying to cross the street. You were startled and said sorry, I smiled. If you can describe your appearance and the color of your car, I’ll know it’s you.

Bonus Missed Connection: I Tried on a See-Through Dress

Per a reader email last night after midnight: “Know anything about the fireworks that were tonight (Sunday) at midnight? Like, some of us in Brooklyn need to sleep. Is this even legal?” We heard them in the distance too. Apparently, there have been late night fireworks over New Jersey several times in the last week, although the weekday versions seemed to be earlier.–GL Inbox

Here’s another adoptable pet of the week from the Brooklyn Animal Rescource Coalition (BARC) shelter in Williamsburg.

This is Hooper, who originally came to BARC in Williamsburg from a life on the streets of Bushwick. He had survived with two broken bones his leg, which was set and healed while he’s been there. Do note the heart shape on his nose. Here’s a bit about him:

Hooper is a kitten that was trapped in a Trap-Neuter-Return project in Bushwick, Brooklyn by the kind-hearted jenblossom. Somehow he survived for weeks in the urban jungle with two broken bones in his leg, climbing fences and running through backyards…Hooper is ready for adoption and would love to get started on his next life in the safety and comfort of some terrific cat person’s home! The leg has healed beautifully and he’s taken charge of his rehab therapy by running around and playing like a normal kitten. Hooper and the BARC Cat Loft cats (well, most of them anyway!) love to have visitors, so come by Tuesday-Saturday from Noon to 5.

For info on BARC click here. Also, there’s a full flickr set of Hooper pics here.

“We Left our Black Lab mix at Union Market today, and when we returned, she was gone. Thinking that a good Park Slope resident took her in as she is quite friendly. If anyone has any information, please call my cell phone 347-203-3442. She had a red collar and leash, but no tags. Please, we are heart broken. It was the Union Market on Union and 6th. Thank you all.”–Park Slope Forum/Brooklynian

Every week we highlight a few of the comments left by readers during the previous seven days. Here’s a random selection of this week’s GL Reader Comments:

Coney #2: ‘We Have Not Compromised…Our Original Goals’. “There is no way that the new plan is not a compromise. I’ll go further and say it is a complete surrender. The CIDC claimed their main goal was to preserve the amusement area. Aside from the Wonder Wheel and Cyclone which are already landmarked and by law must be preserved the new plan preserves nothing else.” [J]

Williamsburg Animal Cruelty: Did Construction Workers Paint This Backyard Turtle? “This is disgusting and insanely inhumane. It saddens me that people have this much disregard for living things…” [Agatha]

Carroll Gardens Zoning Change Draws Opposition. “My elderly neighbor told my wife last night ‘they want to widen the streets’. There is indeed a campaign of misinformation going on in the neighborhood.” [PlaceBlock Owner]

Smoking Mad About Smoking in Slope’s JJ Byrne Park. “I’m sorry, but with all the truly serious things we have to worry about nowadays, and with all the real incivilities that have become a part of outdoor life in New York City in recent years, and given that there is *no* health threat from outdoor secondhand smoke (*none*), getting upset about someone smoking in J.J. Byrne Park is stupid and frivolous — and another appalling example of the crypto-authoritarianism of many of today’s Park Slopers.” [Francis Morrone]

Yesterday was Bicycle Fetish Day on Havemeyer Street. Here is a vid of some of the entertainment. Also check out chicapoquita’s flickr set.

Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related information and images. Happy Mothers Day to all!!!

· Medical Dramas in Borough Park [NYT]
· Grandma Beaten in Dyker Heights [NYP]
· Courier-Life Story is Brutally Weird [AYR]
· Another Saturday at Studio B, Viagra Included [New York Shitty]
· Shadows and Bright Light in Brighton Beach [NYT]
· Baby Tree Loses Limb in Sunset Park [Best View in Brooklyn]
· Is the Kensington Blog Toast or Will Others Help Out? [Kensington Brooklyn]
· Ten Times Around Prospect Park [A Year in the Park]
· Weekly Dumbo Links [Dumbo NYC]
· Yellow [Brooklynometry]

This comes to us from Little Nassau Street and Kent Avenue near the BQE and gives very real meaning to “Eye on the Street.” We don’t know how long it’s been there, given that we don’t hit Little Nassau Street very often.

This ad was shot in Park Slope at Sixth Avenue and Sterling Place in June, 2003. Worth 30 seconds on a Sunday.

It’s not a street couch, but this image S. 3rd Street of rocker plus TV in Williamsburg courtesy of Miss Heather is the perfect street scene.

There is another electronics recycling opportunity in Carroll Gardens coming up at the end of the month. It’s one of the Department of Sanitation-sponsored collections and it will be happening on Smith Street between Carroll and President Streets. Collection times are Saturday May 31, 10am-4pm, Sunday June 1, 10am-4pm and Monday June 2, 4pm-7pm. (More information on electronics recycling is available here on the Department’s website; this event isn’t list but was circulated in an email via the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association.)

[Photo courtesy of jplpagan/flickr]

We are not sure we’ve ever seen a sadder looking collection of street lamps than this one. It comes to us via the Gowanus Lounge Photo Pool from JP Pagan, who has contributed many excellent photos and also gave us this set of shots from Court Street that we posted on Monday. This pic comes from parking lot behind the Brooklyn Museum, in front of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, where there are many interesting things. In fact, the photographer has posted a full flickr set, which is absolutely worth viewing in its entirety.

Outside the Brooklyn Weather Observatory there is bright sun and blue skies. The Mothers Day forecast calls for sun giving way to clouds (meaning that clouds will increase as the day goes on) and a high of 68. Tonight will be cloudy and windy with rain late. The low will be 46. Tomorrow will be rainy and chilly.–Accuweather

[Photo courtesy of limonada/flickr]

This contribution to our Gowanus Lounge Photo Pool on flickr comes from limonada, who simply calls it “hanging,” which is a title with which we wholeheartedly concur.

[Photo courtesy strohchop/flickr]

A reader dropped this photo from the heart of the Gowanus Hotel District at Third Avenue & President Street into our photo pool. Although, the aerial view, so to speak, is a bit dated, it’s interesting and we’d just photographed progress on the hotel. The cafe replaces a sixty-year-old business that closed last year. The hotel is formally located at 265 Third Avenue.

See more progress on the latest Gowanus hotel by clicking here.

[Photo courtesy of billyhc/flickr]

One of the more fireworks-filled Community Board 6 meetings in recent memory took place on Thursday night while the Brooklyn Blogfest event was going on. The topic was Park Slope’s Union Hall and its liquor license. The scheduling meant that fewer bloggers were probably on hand to take in the show than might otherwise have been the case. But there were enough, like our friends from Brownstoner and Gothamist, to ensure that the event was covered quite thoroughly. The Community Board committee ending up voting against the renewal of the Union Hall license and the extent of neighborhood hatred of the venue as well as strong support from patrons became clear. As always, one’s position about a nightspot is generally a relative thing, determined by whether one is a neighbor listening to drunken hooting and hollering at 3AM or whether one enjoys going to the venue to hang out, drink and scream 3AM. Person One is probably driven to the brink of insanity while Person Two is figuring the place is really cool. A lot of other people–call them Persons 3-Infinity–are somewhere in the middle, depending on their feeling about NYC nightlife and/or urban noise.

Here are links to some of the coverage:
· Scold Scuttle Union Hall at CB6 Meeting [Gothamist]
· Community Board Moving to Nuke Union Hall [Brownstoner]
· Eugene Mirman Stands Up Against His Neighbors [Gothamist]
· Drying of NYC: CB6 Drops Hammer on Union Hall [Eater]
· Union Hall Liquor License Debate Proves Park Slope is for Wussies [CHB]

The annual “Greenest Block in Brooklyn” competition is underway. Per its website: “More than 1,200 blocks throughout Brooklyn have entered the contest since it was founded in 1994, and an estimated 500,000 residents have participated in this borough-wide beautification and greening effort. Application forms for 2008 are due by June 2.” More info and applications are available here. Go forth and let everyone know how green your block is, if it is.

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Our Carroll Gardens Correspondent sent along a couple of photos of the closed business on at Verandah Place and Clinton in Cobble Hill, noting the interesting sign in the window. At the end of last year, the space was in the midst of a big renovation and takeover by Cafe on Clinton. It was supposed to open sometime in January as a new upscale deli. There appear to have been some delays in the plan, although as far as we know the plan itself hasn’t changed.

Click here to see the sign and the question is asks.

There’s a benefit concert coming up at Southpaw for Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn on Thursday, May 15 featuring Clare & The Reasons, John Wesley Harding, Richard Julian and special. There’s a screening of the documentary Brooklyn Matters at 7PM and the show starts at 8PM. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Doors open at 6:30. Click here for more information.