[Photo courtesy of Gary Mirabelle/Mirabelle Studios]

Here’s a little taste of spring from Windsor Terrace courtesy of GL Photo Contributor Gary Mirabelle.

Outside the Brooklyn Weather Observatory, another great day is shaping up. It will be partly sunny today with a high of 75. Tonight, though, will be mostly cloudy with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm late. The low will be 58.–Accuweather

[Photo courtesy of rembklyn/flickr]

This was the sunset scene one recent night on Columbia Street on the waterfront in Red Hook where things were looking very orange.

It has been some time since we came across tales of woe and despair from the notorious Times Plaza post office in Boerum Hill on Atlantic Avenue, (about which we have written many times). Today, we have new stories to relate from emails circulating, although they are relatively mild tales of woe compared to some that have come before them:

This a.m. (Monday) at the post office. I stood in line — 11th — with 10 people ahead of me. Finally go the window with my package which was a return to one of the catalog companies. The clerk was Asian. I could not understand what she was saying – partly because she turned to her left, thus speaking into space. I kept asking what she was saying. Still couldn’t understand. She took the package, said something and then disappeared. I waited and waited. When she returned she was surprised to see me, asked why I was still there. I held up a bill and she then said – as I understood her – that I didn’t need to pay. that “IT WAS ALREADY PAID.” I could have saved nearly an hour had I realized that the company had paid the return postage.

Whose fault is this?

“First on the case was Gowanus Lounge. Then Curbed, then AMNY, now 1010 WINS and Channel 2 news at 6:00 is covering the infuriating tale of Myrtle the graffitied turtle. Who will be next? I’m hoping for Al Roker.”–Bad Advice

A new shop called Penny Licks is getting set to open on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg next to the location of the gone, but not forotten, Read Cafe. (Read Cafe’s owners, meanwhile, are opening the Rabbit Hole on Bedford between S. 3 and S. 4 Streets.) A GL reader reminded us that this was a cafe until a couple of weeks ago, before this latest awning went up. We’re going out an limb here and guessing that Penny Lick will be serving up ice cream. We know this because of the image on the sign and the fact that “penny licks” were glasses of ice cream that once sold for a penny (for a lick). These days, of course, they will be Three Buck Licks with Five and Six dollar upgrades.

The story we had yesterday about the poor Williamsburg turtle that got a neon pink paint job, possibly at the hands of construction workers, continues to spread. Myrtle was the subject of an amNY story this morning and is now being carried on 1010 Wins. A sample of the 1010 story: “A box turtle that’s become somewhat of an icon in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn has become the victim of a cruel prank. Myrtle, as the turtle is known, was discovered last week painted a bright shade of orange. Neighbors blame a group of construction workers who apparently have no heart and nothing better to do.” We believe that WCBS TV is also doing a story on Myrtle. At last word, Myrtle had been released back into the backyard. We also received a lot of helpful tips about how to get the paint from her shell.

[Photos courtesy of Gary Mirabelle]

This is the steel framework of condos that are rising on Eighth Avenue at Tenth Street in Park Slope. The property was a small churchyard that was sold for development and will end up as ten condos. Last year, Icky in Brooklyn wrote: “Opposed to a glass-and-steel box, the church chose their buyers purposely for their desire to build ‘in the character of the neighborhood.’ While the loss of a churchyard is a terrible shame, it is nice to have some assurance that 8th Ave’s newest mini-manses will sport more qualilty than the recent rash of South Slope Stucco Shacks.”

[Photo courtesy of Captain Nemo/Coney Island Message Board]

It looks like the city is, uh, fixing a particularly decrepit and dangerous portion of the Coney Boardwalk (other health-and-safety threatening spots, not so much.) It had tossed up a fence around this segment in front of the Lola Staar Boutique and other businesses a fews ago. Captain Nemo, who posted this on the Coney Island Message Board wrote, “Someone, possibly the city, places boards over the area that a couple of weeks ago, was sectioned off. The businesses operating on the Boardwalk threatened to fix things on their own, so I am not sure who did this.” Injuries promise to keep the FDNY and NYPD teams on the boardwalk all summer long.

Yesterday, our post about the disgusting paint attack on Myrtle the Turtle near the 5 Roebling Street development, possibly by workers excavating the site, elicited more disturbing information on Curbed. Specifically: “There is a site on North 8th or 9th that the developers threw a cat off the roof a couple months back.” We’re not stupid and understand that life for street animals in the Burg was tough before the development boom too, but we can imagine that it’s gotten worse since construction and demolition sites popped up on every block. In this case, we can only think of a few buildings that fit this description on N. 8 and N. 9 between Driggs and Roebling, and we’d certainly love to know which developer threw a cat from either four stories or six stories. You never know when animal cruelty will be a useful part of an otherwise zen, luxury or pampering-based marketing campaign. If anyone knows the story, do let us know at thegowanuslounge (at) gmail (dot) com. The comment and the sad story of Myrtle beg the question of how much animal cruelty is going on at the Burg’s dozens of construction sites.

Our post yesterday about Myrtle the Turtle, the poor creature in Williamsburg that lives near the 5 Roebling development site that was painted, possibly by workers at the condo property. There are a lot of strong reactions to this act of animal cruelty. Here are a few of them:

1) “That is absolutely horrid.”

2) “that is fucked up…we live in a world of sociopaths…disgusting”

For more reactions to the paint attack on Myrtle, click here.

Someone has been busy spray painting anti-condo and anti-yuppies messages in Williamsburg (not that there is anything new about either sentiment). We found the many of them when we went down N. 9 Street to check on our favorite death trap demolition site. The gate was actually closed for a change, but we found something much more entertaining than opportunities to die under a mountain of bricks.

Warning: the F-Word & Anti-Yuppies Messages if you click here.

It has been a long time since we’ve been able to post about the dangerous conditions at this hollowed out shell of a building at N. 4 Street and Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg. The building has been in this condition for almost three years. For a while, the fence was regularly open or blown over, which is interesting in that there’s a one-story drop to the basement as well as a block-long second floor. Well, it’s open again. The site is destined to hold a Commerce Bank and housing.

The city announced yesterday that it is starting a ferry route from the Rockaways to Lower Manhattan next week that will make a stop at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park. It will be operated by New York Water Taxi, which will also resume service on its East River routes in July. Service to Schaefer Landing will stop at a dock being financed by the city at a cost of $1.25 million. There will also be weekend service to the Rockaways for beach goers. The city is also looking at routes to Coney Island, LaGuardia Airport, Roosevelt Island, Riverdale, Orchard Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Bay Ridge and other locations. Newyorkology has added details on service. There’s some coverage of the water transport issue in today’s Sun as well.

The fight to sway opinions and create impressions about Atlantic Yards played out with a vengeance over the weekend and yesterday. Of course, on Saturday, there were dueling rallies of supporters and a counter-demonstration by supporters that seemed orchestrated by Forest City Ratner and groups that had signed the Community Benefits Agreements. On Sunday, Mr. Ratner penned a column in the Daily News saying the project will be finished by 2018. Yesterday, there was a new set of Frank Gehry renderings in the Daily News and a Post story with renderings of “Atlantic Lots,” the area as it might look with few buildings and a lot of parking. Also, an Atlantic Lots website went live. That is how things stand today as the developer and opponents jockey for position. Here’s some related coverage. (The image above is a rendering with a photo taken by Jonathan Barkey.)

Related Coverage:
· Atlantic Lots Media Roundup [AYR]
· Ratner’s Plan is Still Alive [Metro]
· Give Heave Ho to Lego Building Critics Say [NYDN]

We were swamped yesterday and didn’t have a chance to post this photo that our Carroll Gardens Correspondent sent of a Sponge Park Sponge at the Court Street Fair. In case Sponge Park doesn’t ring a bell it’s a proposal for an eco-friendly park along the banks of the Gowanus Canal.

[Photo courtesy of Gary Mirabelle/Mirabelle Studios]

Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related information and images:
· City Might Drop Architect’s Requirement for DOB Head [TRE]
· Synagogue Tutor Molests Brothers [NYP]
· Follow up on the Return of Artists to 475 Kent [NYT]
· Offices at the Slope’s Montauk Club [Brownstoner]
· The Neighbborhood’s Most Improved [Bed-Stuy Blog]
· Former Soprano Actor’s Pizzeria in Burg Doing Well [NYDN]
· Taking of Pelham 123 Shooting in Dumbo [Dumbo NYC]
· Coffee with a Message [Brooklynometry]

This Fauxreel work–compete with the scraper positioned near some peeling paint–comes from Manhattan Avenue and Skillman in Williamsburg. More Fauxreel tagged work in Jake Dobkin’s flickr stream via streetsy.

[Photo courtesy of Gary Mirabelle]

GL conributing photographer Garry Mirabelle sends along this image of Cherry Blossoms and Cherry Blossom Festival tent at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden this weekend.

The “Gowanus Transformations: Celebrating 150 Years of Manufacturing” exhibition opens this week at the Brooklyn Historical Society. It’s curated by Christine Mackellar, Margaret Maugenest, Friends and Residents of the Greater Gowanus (FROGG) and Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corp. and South Brooklyn Local Development Corp and “focuses on a group of diverse businesses that demonstrate the broad scope of ingenuity and creativity thriving in the Gowanus in the 21st century, including: a potter, a stained glass business, a bicycle manufacturer, a full service special effects company, a cabinet maker, a marble company, a baker, an extrusion die manufacturer, and a clothing designer. The exhibit reveals how the Gowanus continues to provide necessary industrial spaces, and how the featured businesses utilize traditional and contemporary skills to contribute local goods and services.” The exhibition runs from May 9 through August 24 and the opening reception is on Thursday (May 8) from 5:30PM-7:30PM. There will be a Gowanus Walking tour with the curators on Saturday, June 21 from 2PM-4PM. The Historical Society is located at 128 Pierrepont Street. For more, click here and scroll down.

We found this somewhat tweaked poster on Driggs Avenue in Williamsburg near N. 9 Street. We always enjoy advertising when the eyes have been altered.

Who knew that the city’s last remaining wooden water tower builders are like the “Hatfields and the McCoys”? The contenders are the Rosenwach Tank Company, which is familiar to those that know Williamsburg, and the Isseks Brothers, founded in 1890. It’s a fascinating story.–Gothamist

Often we feature deconstructed bikes, of which there are many around Williamsburg. Sometimes when a vehicle catches our eye, we’ll feature it too. This one, on Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg certainly got our attention.

The Bossert on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights, which Watchtower had put on the market, has apparently sold for more than $100 million. This is not shocking, given the location and the building’s potential to come back as a super luxury residence.–Brownstoner

This image of the 5 Boro Bike Tour and bikers on Gowanus Expressway high above Gowanus and Red Hook came to us from contributing photographer Adrian Kinloch of Brit in Brooklyn.

See the bikers at Admiral’s Row by clicking here.