The freshly planted trees outside of the Toll Brothers North8 Condo in Williamsburg are turning pink with blossoms.

Ode to a Developer

Jesus never walked so tall,
Nor I so infinitesimally small
Next to you, My dear.

The oceans never waved so high,
Nor seagulls touched the starlit sky
As high as you, My dear.

Thunder never rang so loud,
Nor lightning struck upon the crowd
Like you upon me, My dear.

My dear, You are earthly supremacy,
Peacock and strut
Loud and belligerent,
May you fall on your butt
I’ll be waiting right here
Next to you, My Dear.
–c. 2008 Graziella Radici

(GL Contributor Graziella Radici resides in the Greater Carroll Gardens/Gowanus Metroplex.)

Today would appear to have great potential as we gaze out from the Brooklyn Weather Observatory. The forecast calls fro partly sunny skies and a high of 69 degrees. (It will feel like 70!) There will be increasing clouds tonight in advance of a couple of day of wet, stormy weather, and a low of 52.–Accuweather

There are actually a couple of interest things about this sign, beside the hanging alternate side element. First, is the background, which is Grand Ferry Park. Work is going on and blogger INSIJS reports the park is supposed to reopen by late April. The other is the “Help keep our beaches clean” part of the sign.

Of all the issues revolving around the controversial development at 360 Smith Street in Carroll Gardens, one of the most contentious–and confusing–has been that of the small plaza at the entrance to the Carroll Street subway station. Residents, who wait there for trains going to Manhattan, because they can see them coming, are attached to the space and to the ritual. Yet, the plaza’s situation is so odd that there is not even full agreement over who owns parts of it. The city says it it privately owned. Residents say it’s owned by the city. The matter has taken on new importance because construction of the former Heavy Metal Building would claim a portion of the plaza. How much? A rendering showing a street-level angle that developer Billy Stein sent to the Brooklyn Paper shows that about one-third of the plaza would be covered by the building (as has been previously illustrated and estimated) and that there would be a pathway of about 20 feet under the building to the station entrance (which the developer calls “a path” and residents call “a tunnel”).

Meanwhile, per an email from Carroll Gardens resident Barbara Brookhart, Mr. Stein has held what are described as “private meetings” with staffers for Council Member Bill de Blasio and Assembly Member Joan Millman “and some members of the community” on Thursday, March 27th and Sunday, March 30th. It is not known what is discussed other than general issues related to the plaza or whether any agreements were reached. Mr. Stein also attended the Clarett Group’s presentation of their own controversial building at 340 Court Street on April 3. There is no word on whether the developer will hold any further public meetings with residents about the contentious plaza issue.

At first, we thought the paving stones on Prospect Park West had suddenly gone green due to the weather and that everything had started looking a little like the English countryside spring, a bit mossy and green. Then we saw the signs posted for the herbicides that have been sprayed. Nothing overly nasty, of course, just stuff that irritates skin if absorbed, can harm aquatic life, etc.

The liquor license for the Hoyt Street oyster bar being opened by Jim Mamary that has drawn significant neighborhood opposition is up for a vote tonight in front of Community Board 6. The Hoyt Street Alliance writes in an email:

For the past three months, the Hoyt Street Alliance has gathered petitions, and publicized our campaign to keep our residential block free of bars. We’ve managed to get the vote delayed twice at CB6, as we tried to get the Buildings Department to rule in our favor. We were unsuccessful, and the CB6 Board will vote tomorrow night. If you have the time, we’d sincerely appreciate any in-person opposition and signs. This is our last stop before the battle goes to the State Liquor Authority.

The meeting will take place at 6:30PM at Castle Senior Living, 1 Prospect Park West (between Union & President Streets.

Last night, Community Board 1 voted to approve the Brooklyn Greenway through Greenpoint and Williamsburg. The plan promises a walking and bike path on or near the waterfront. More details to follow.–GL Inbox

We always thought that the International Longshoreman’s Association building at 340 Court Street had a sort of Eastern or Central European look to it. Now, with the building coming down, it has temporarily taken on the very spooky look of Sarajevo in the mid-90s. Demolition is moving quickly and, last week, the Clarrett Group said that excavation and foundation work will be starting next month.

Where is the Atlantic Yards Ombudsman? Apparently, he’s around, just not in an office that members of the public can get into right now. Per Jotham Sederstrom in the Daily News:

Nearly a year after state officials announced they would hire a community advocate for residents living near the Atlantic Yards project, the doors have yet to swing open to the public, officials acknowledged Tuesday. Former MTA executive Forrest Taylor was hired in a fit of damage control nine months after a building collapse on Pacific St. within the $4.2 billion development site.

But since November, when Taylor started the job, office renovations and ongoing meetings with city and state officials have delayed his advocacy duties. “He’s been the ombudsman since we hired him and he’s been working with the community, but this will be the first time he’ll be keeping office hours,” said Empire State Development Corp. spokesman Warner Johnston.

The politically savvy Taylor, a one-time chief of staff to the City Council speaker, was hired in November by ESDC officials for a job that led many Prospect Heights residents to believe he would act as a voice for the community. But only 60% of Taylor’s job would be spent addressing community concerns, Johnston said.

After Mr. Sederstrom asked, the state said Mr. Taylor’s office on Hanson Place would be opening soon. He is currently on vacation.

[Photo courtesy of threecee/flickr]

Beard Street has been renowned over the years for the number of cars that have been stripped and torched. In fact, not long ago, we posted something from a GL reader about toasted cars there. There’s still some roasting going on, however. Jim Clark of the Look North/Inuit Art Gallery in Red Hook sent us this photo, which was taken fairly recently. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Sure, a lot of people love the Fairway in Red Hook, but there are any number of good neighborhood grocery stores around. Here’s a look at some of them including Food Bazaar in Bushwick, Super Foodtown in Bed-Stuy, Pioneer Supermarket in Clinton Hill and Eagle Provisions in the South Slope–Brooklyn Based

[Photos courtesy of Nicolas D’Angelo/flickr]

We came across this small flickr photoset of models of one of the entries in the Parachute Jump Pavilion design competition that was held several years ago by the Van Alen Institute. This looks like it was an “honorable mention” design from the competition, which attracted more than 800 entries. The site, with all the entries can be found here. This particular entry has a kind of New York 1964-65 Worlds Fair feel to it. Two firms were picked in January to design Steeplechase Plaza. The winner of the pavilion competition can be seen here.

“At 8 a.m., South Eighth Street is full of people. Office workers on their way to Manhattan rush past a stream of Hasidic men walking busily the other way. Children wait for yellow yeshiva buses with Yiddish lettering…”–Metro

We wandered past Organic Heights on Bergen Street at the edge of Park Slope expecting to find it open (it was set to open in October or November) and were surprised to find that it’s still closed. In any case, the sign says it is coming very, very soon.

The second Oro tower isn’t going to include a condo-hotel and about 100,000 square feet will be trimmed from the size of the building. The original plan was for a 38-story, 344,992-square-foot tower with a hotel. Hilton was said to have been interested in Brooklyn’s first condo-hotel.–Brownstoner

[Coney Island Paint Day on the boardwalk, courtesy of Rubys Host]

There was a cool trash can-painting event in Coney Island on Saturday. These are some of the results, which will be out on the boardwalk this season. The condition of the boardwalk itself is another matter.

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

• Brooklyn Bridge is on Must Fix List [Sun]
• Assemwoman Diane Gordon Convicted of Taking a Bribe from Developer [NYP]
• Lawmaker Found Guilty of Corruption [NYT]
• Charles Barron’s Wife May Run for Gordon’s Assembly Seat [Sun]
• Party’s Over at Troubled Sunset Park Nonprofit [NYDN]
• Riverside Apts. LPC Hearing Postponed to April 22 [BHB]
• New Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association [GerritsenBeach.Net]
• Backstory of the Cortelyou Clock [Ditmas Park Blog]
• Glassy Midwood HS Skyway [Brooklyn Junction]
• Neighborhood Gyms [Clinton Hill Blog]
• BARCMates Justina & Provenzana Need Homes [New York Shitty]
• Building a Better Bike Rack [Hawthorne Street]
• Spirea Bush Witnesses [Brooklynometry]
• Urban Gravestones [Bed-Stuy Blog]

The Skyscraper Museum is presenting a panel discussion about the Williamsburg Waterfront on April 22. It will include Shaun Donovan, Commissioner, NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development; Stephen B. Jacobs, President, The Stephen B. Jacobs Group; Dan Kaplan, Senior Principal, FXFOWLE Architects, PC; Jeffery E. Levine, Principal, Douglaston Development; Tom O’Gara, Principal, JMH Development; Ron Moelis, Principal, L&M Equity Participants; Robert Powers, Powers & Company, Inc.; Philip Tugendrajch, E T Partners, LLC. Per the Museum:

The richly historic, once-thriving industrial zone of the Williamsburg waterfront is witnessing a rapid transformation as a burgeoning residential neighborhood. New condominium developments, large and small, such as The Edge, Northside Piers and Palmer’s Dock, and Schaefer Landing, along with adaptive reuse of landmark structures such as the Austin Nichols warehouse, offer an impressive range of goals of sustainable urbanism: brownfield reclamation, public parks and waterfront access, a percentage of affordable housing, and LEED-certified design and construction. The presentations and panel will feature the developers of the major residential projects and public officials who conceived and crafted the rezoning effort in a discussion of what is going right and where there is room for improvement.

The program starts at 6:30 and takes place at the NY Public Library Donnell Library Auditorium, 20 West 53rd St. between 5th & 6th. It’s free for museum members, $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. More information here.

Tonight (4/9) at 7:00PM, representatives from National Grid (formerly KeySpan) will be in Dumbo for a reception to “discuss their new Energy Efficiency rebate incentive programs for residential and commercial customers. The programs are designed to help National Grid customers save money by improving the energy efficiency of their homes or businesses, and to help ensure a cleaner, ‘greener’ future.” It’s being done in conjunction with the Dumbo Improvement District’s neighborhood sustainability initiative, SEED (Smart Environmental Efforts in DUMBO). The programs provide incentive rebates for customer’s interested in upgrading or replacing their old heating and hot water systems with new high efficiency gas heating equipment. It will take place from 7PM-9PM at JLA Studios, 63 Pearl Street in Dumbo.

This art was put atop other art on the side of a gallery at N. 11 and Wythe in Williamsburg which, in turn, had been placed atop an earlier display. There are many layers on this corner.

“…it was hardly surprising, last week, when a Presidential-calibre motorcade pulled up out front. Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z emerged, and were quickly ushered to a table near the chef. Their bodyguard, a man roughly the size of the three-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dollar Maybach sedan idling at the curb, settled into a chair on the sidewalk, where he enjoyed rounds of gratis espresso and pizza delivered by a giddy waitress. In return, he asked her to prevent the other diners from playing paparazzi. Four civilians enduring a long wait on the bench out front looked on hungrily. By the time they made it inside, the celebs were winding up a leisurely meal. They thanked Iacono and departed, sated and happy…”–New Yorker

Going Down

It is leaning….M’aaaammmmmm, not
Falllinnggg down
Said the man from DEP.
She looked at the leaning linden tree with fresh eyes
eyes for continued growth
upward movement
pROGRESS
But still she saw the tree falling
not leaning
and
across the street,
the amused men on the stoop
bet on its route to the pavement.
—Graziella Radici

(GL Contributor Graziella Radici resides in the Greater Carroll Gardens/Gowanus Metroplex.)

There is nothing like a faded, old Fallout Shelter sign to bring back memories of the optimistic days in the 1950s when the government encouraged people to think they could survive thermo nuclear war by hiding in a basement on Bergen Street near Fifth Avenue, eating food without expiration dates and drinking from barrels of stored water as fallout wafted harmlessly outside.

There are some clouds early this morning outside the Brooklyn Weather Observatory. Today’s forecast calls for “low clouds breaking for some sun” and a high of 60, although the Weather Underground forecast is less optimistic, calling for mostly cloudy skies and a high of 58. Tonight will be mainly cloudy with some scattered showers and a low of 48.–Accuweather