Is a sex toy shop too much for Park Slope? Could be. Brownstoner broke the news of the new Toys in Babeland shop on Bergen Street last week. And, now, some resident are saying “no way” to the dil…sex toys. IE:”‘I don’t think it’s the ideal location for a provocative business,’ said resident Bruce Osborne, 32, who has a 4-year-old son.” Also: “A 32-year-old stay-at-home mom, who gave only her first name, Julie, said, ‘I don’t think it’s a great idea.'” One suspects the discussion will continue.–NYP

Cocotte on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope closed a couple of weeks ago. We swung by to grab a couple of photos of the chairs and tables still sitting outside and the notice left by the owners. One of the windows is boarded up, apparently because it was shattered.

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

• More Detail on Brooklyn Heights Swastika Discovery [Sun]
• McCarren Park Meeting Tonight [WGPA]
• Hooking Up, East Williamsburg Style [New York Shitty]
• Brownstoner and the Modern Townhouse [IMBY]
• Writer Nostalgic for Fort Green Party [General Greene]
• Bed-Stuy Winter Blues [Bed-Stuy Banana]
• Shadows on S’Nice Site in the Slope [Velvet Sea]
• Yogo Monster Inches Closer to Opening, Now Hiring [OTBKB]
• Appreciating the Sunny’s Sign in Red Hook [Lost City]
• Weekend Atlantic Yards Unity Plan Meeting [Brit in Brooklyn]
• TGIF Coming to New Flatbush Mall? Join the Guessing Contest [Brooklyn Junction]
• Zoning Issues, Gerritsen Beach Edition [GerritsenBeach.Net]

The Carroll Gardens community activist message board we nicknamed the Democracy Wall acquired some new artwork on Saturday night about the 360 Smith Street development, work on which will likely be starting soon, given that building permits were issued on February 22. The artist named Art Dog, who has created the big murals, said the asbestos removal that was going on this weekend in the Carroll Street station could not stop the art: “A little asbestos never hurt anyone did it? I think the wind blew it down the street.”

Some siding has come off a house in Windsor Terrace on Tenth Avenue at 17th Street and, apparently, the new version is going to be brick. “I’m not sure if the bricks they’re using on it were underneath the siding or if they came from elsewhere, but they are very nice bricks, in the sense that they have character, texture and history.”–Brooklynometry

Coal is not a “Brooklyn story” unless, of course, there happens to be a cool new documentary about the coal industry from a Brooklynite. Then, it’s very on topic. Chandru Murthi, who does the superb blog I’m Seeing Green, has put up a post about a new film called “Burning the Future: Coal in America,” by director and co-writer David Novack. I’m Seeing Green writes, in part:

Turn on your light switch and the lamp turns on. Do you really know where the electricity comes from? A surprising statistic is that over one-half of the electricity generated in the US comes from burning coal, arguably the most environmentally damaging of sources…Brooklyn director and co-writer David Novack’s documentary Burning the Future-Coal in America is a powerful-but-not-polemic, damning indictment of the coal industry in Southern West Virginia, a state whose politics, life and environment are heavily in thrall to the coal industry. Almost all of the electrical power generated in W Va. is from coal, and the industry contributes strongly to the political establishment there …” Burning the Future is the story of a few courageous people whose lives have been overturned by the process of mining coal called Mountaintop Removal. Which is exactly what it implies, the explosive destruction of mature forested mountain tops in order to get to the coal seams underneath.

For those who are into watching environmental nightmares take place, we also highly recommend the excellent five part VBS TV series, Toxic West Virginia, which is a relative of the Toxic Brooklyn series and of the Toxic Alberta series. All are excellent. Also, more about Burning the Future, here.

Before Starbucks set up shop on Smith Street, there was Hughes Coffee. In fact, there were two branches. One is now Rime. The other is, uh, came down to create the entrance to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. Bet the coffee was good.–PMFA

This stop sign, with added gorilla, comes from N. 9 Street and Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg. We believe it is of fairly recent origin.

It will be party sunny today with a high of 55 degrees, although it will feel like a meer 52. Tonight will be partly cloudy with a low of 46, leading into a gloomy and misty day on Tuesday.–Accuweather

There is nothing that gets the blood of neighbors flowing with more vigor than surprise asbestos-related work and trucks and dumpsters carrying signs warning of asbestos removal. Yesterday, around noon, our inbox started lighting up with photos and emails about asbestos removal going on at the Carroll Street Station on the F & G line in Carroll Gardens. There was a big semi-open dumpster with asbestos warnings at the corner of Second Street and Smith Street that alarmed neighbors. There was also a truck with asbestos signs parked in front of the station itself and cordoned off with yellow tape. Another truck was a block further down Smith Street. Service advisories called for signal work, which further alarmed neighbors. One email we got said, “The MTA is doing a real mickey mouse job of asbestos removal over here today at the F train/ Carroll Street Station…The MTA guys said they are doing “track work.” When we strolled past around 3PM and took some photos, it looked like there was air monitoring equipment on the mystery truck, but no sign of debris being taken from the station or workers wearing respirators. People were strolling past the truck and the dumpster. One email that we found later in the evening that was sent out to local officials, including the Borough President and local City Council Member Bill de Blasio, said in part:

There seems to be a very strange (to say the least) asbestos removal operation going on here today at the subway by some MTA workers who say they are doing “track repair” (F train Carroll Street). I got home about an hour ago to see this dumpster on my street, Second Street, partially opened with all the cancer warnings all over it; to see workers with no hazard gear walking around in the subway plaza area with bags; to see this white unmarked truck on Smith street with more cancer warnings on it over by the subway; and to hear my very upset neighbor (a union worker with asbestos experience) who had just called the DEP. (He has two young children).

What is going on here and why does it look so poorly, improperly, and unprofessionally managed? Any child in the neighborhood could simply open the door to this asbestos dumpster and walk right in to play! Furthermore, this entire busy intersection is being unknowingly exposed to what exactly?

We’ll have a follow up tomorrow.

UPDATE: City Council Member Bill de Blasio emailed to say “We have connected with the MTA and are investigating the situation regarding the asbestos removal at the Carroll Street station. We are deeply concerned and will update the community as soon as we have more information. It is unacceptable that the asbestos removal occurred without the proper notification of the community. Our office is taking every step possible in order to get to the bottom of this.”

While G Train riders are accustomed to every possible permutation in terms of weekend service disruption, and L train riders (and more recently 7 Trainers) resigned themselves to enduring weekends without trains, people along the F Line have gotten a strong taste this weekend. A complicated set of service disruptions has basically left people depending on shuttle bus service along the F and G lines from Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street to Seventh Avenue in Park Slope. (Full explanation here, and best of luck understanding them in full.) Although the reality is somewhat more confusing than that and a walk down Smith Street yesterday afternoon would have revealed a lot of “ohs,” “huh?s” and some expletives as people looked at stations and then tried figuring out the shuttle bus situation. Meanwhile, there were dozens of buses lined up on Ninth Street in Park Slope tying up traffic and thousands of people pouring off buses at Seventh Avenue and Ninth Street to get back on the F and go toward Stillwell Avenue. The official reason is that signal work is being done, but there appears to be other work going on too.

For our Sunday Brooklyn Missed Connection this week, we again turn our attention to the L Train, starting with the dude who was passed out and could have ended up in (gasp) Canarsie:

To the Girl Who Woke Me Up on the L Train – m4w
It was close to 5 in the morning when you nudged me awake. The first thought to come to me as my eyes broke open to a flood of light with your face peering down on me was “an angel.” My next thought was “this isn’t my stop.” I think we were at the Montrose or Morgan Avenue stop. You asked me if I was alright or something of that variation. I guess I was slouched forward with my head down, a typical drunk pose. I don’t know what transpired or inspired you to wake me, but I just wanted to thank you. I would have been upset if I found myself in Canarsie again. Thank you!

We move on to the Marxism-related MC:

“Absolute collapse is still the goal of a totalizing ideology” – m4w – 24
Typical story: Wanted to say something but didn’t. “Nice eyes” would have been creepo and “So you’re reading about marxist theory” might have been worse. I wore black. I’ve never posted anything before but you had the biggest, gorgeousest eyes i might have ever seen. May the stars align, I guess. Hope to see you on the L again.

And end with a red coat and black “pentyhose”:

Red dressed girl with black pentyhose on L train – m4w – 23
Red coat girl with black pantyhose and black hair – I got infatuated with you. That happened on the L train on Tuesday Feb 26th. We both took the train at night from 1st ave but you got out at Lorimer stop. It looked like short trip although I couldn’t take my eyes off you. I was that blond guy dressed in black. So what do you think? So how about it?

Always fun on the L.

Every week, we like to take a totally random sampling of a handful of comments left by GL readers during the previous seven days. There is always far more to highlight than we can choose for one post:

More Public Place: Hudson Companies “Gowanus Green” in Detail. “Well that all looks pretty fascinating in a Planet of the Apes futuristic sort of way. Love the photographer with the long lens and camera bag. What could be of interest? Toxic waves? Bloated dead fish floating in the canal? I love the woman strolling with the shopping bag. Where is she going? To Joe’s Superette on Smith for some rice balls??? Why isn’t there a rendering of the dirty, filthy packed F train platforms? Or the, probably, finished by then, Smith & Ninth station? This all looks promising enough and it could be much more hideous.” [Anonymous]

Canadian Picked to Run Huge Ikea in Red Hook. “Local organizations, especially Red Hook Rise, are confidant that IKEA will offer lots of jobs to locals. Fairway set a good precedent. Most of the employees there are local, and the service is excellent. To be sure, it’s not Madison Avenue, but the will is there, at least for customers willing to take their assistance with a bit of funk.” [Matthews]

Things Get Crappy at the Bergen St. 2/3 Station. “That will teach you to use the trashcan. Drop your trash at your feet as soon as you are done with it. Don’t think about it, merely let the useless cup, wrapper, paper fall from your hands when it is no longer needed. No need to walk the extra distance to the trashcan and look what it got you.” [Anonymous]

“Terrible Service” at the Park Slope Library? “If you’ve not already done so, get registered on the Brooklyn Public Libary web site and figure out how to search for and reserve books throughout the Brooklyn system. If you know what you want, you can ask them to get it for you. They will deliver it to the branch you select, and send you an e-mail when it arrives. [Nicola]

Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related information and images:
Brooklyn “Terror Teen” Goes Back to School Tomorrow [NYP]
Another Swastika Found in Brooklyn Heights Building [NYT]
MoCADA Speaks Out About Controversial Exhibit [Gothamist]
Another Look at the Parachute Jump Lighting Issue [NYT]
Dumbo Weekly Links [Dumbo NYC]
In Honor of Schnäck [Brooklynometry]
Stomach Pains for Seventh Ave. Restaurants [Brooklyn Paper]
Polski Western Vote Obama [New York Shitty]
A Crowning Curio [A Year in the Park]
Paul Giamatti Sighted at Frankies [Z. Madison]
Big Sale at Still Hip! [Clinton Hill Blog]
Another Bodega for Manhattan Avenue [Brooklyn 11222]

Our Carrol Gardens Correspondent passed by the artwork painted on the construction fence at Third and Bond in Gowanus, where some condos are going up. The project is being chronicled with a cool insider feature at Brownstoner every week that offers an up-close at the project. Check out the latest installment here and the websit of artist Pasqualina Azzarello is here. In any case, the pics are cool, so here are a few of them.

Among the “unauthorized activities” as Forest City Ratner’s MetroTech in Downtown Brooklyn is (surprise) photography. “While I was walking around the Commons, shooting a few photos, a couple of security guards told me (nicely) that photography was not permitted. I had already taken the photos I wanted, and they didn’t ask for the camera.
Only later did I see and photograph the rules. (Click to enlarge.) While photography isn’t explicitly banned, it apparently qualifies as ‘unauthorized activity.'” So, what does this eventually mean for Atlantic Yards and its “public space”?–AYR

Here’s a very nicely done little vid about a trip to Coney Island.

It’s worth noting again there’s a meeting coming up to organize a new McCarren Park group to help push for a lot of improvements and changes to the park. It takes place at Automotive High School at 50 Bedford Ave. on Monday night at 7PM.–New York Shitty

This alternate side parking sign on Court Street in Cobble Hill is still hanging in there, but it is a little worse from the wear.

If you’ve looked outside, this is redundant, but it will be mostly sunny today. The high will be a balmy, early March 46, but it will feel like 42. Partly cloudy tonight with a low of 34. Tomorrow, the temperature is expected to hit 55.–Accuweather

Opponents of the Atlantic Yards project got nowhere in court trying to get an injunction to block the demolition of the Carlton Avenue Bridge but gained a procedural advantage yesterday. An appeal of a lower court’s decision against the challenge to the Atlantic Yards Environmental Impact Review process won’t be argued until September. The decision was issued yesterday afternoon. (For those having a hard time keeping track, there is a separate case concerning eminent domain that is being appealed to the US Supreme Court.)

Forest City Ratner had argued for an expedited hearing, as early as May, but an appellate court ordered documents filed by July and a hearing held after Labor Day. The decision means a delay until fall or winter for any decision and any final resolution of this particular case (assuming a decision goes against the opponents). Atlantic Yards Report concludes the “best case scenario” for the Nets to play in Brooklyn arena would now be the 2011-12 season. Here is scenario as laid out by Norman Oder, whose knowledge of Atlantic Yards is encyclopedic:

It’s not clear how much the timetable has been pushed back. It might take two years to build the arena, once construction starts, but it would be unwise to open the arena until bridges around it have been reconstructed, a three-year process likely not complete until January 2011.

In a best-case scenario, a ruling on behalf of the defendants next fall or winter, would have to be coupled with the U.S. Supreme Court’s unwillingness to hear a challenge to the eminent domain case, as well as a dismissal of the emiment domain plaintiffs’ effort to bring the case to state court. That would have to be followed by condemnation proceedings to acquire remaining property and those buildings would have to be demolished…In other words, the 2011-12 season in Brooklyn may now be the realistic best-case scenario for the opening of the Barclays Center, leaving the Nets three more years in the Izod Center, where crowds have been sparse.

Could Bruce Ratner and fellow team owners be thinking a bit harder about the option of moving–at least temporarily–to the Prudential Center in Newark? It would cost them a significant penalty as of now, but state officials in New Jersey, thinking they might have a chance of keeping the Nets, might be amenable to negotiation.

An interesting scenario could develop if Newark officials desperate for another tenant at the Prudential Center start offering big subsidies.

Here’s this week’s adoptable pet of the week. We’re going to be featuring animals available for adoption at the Sean Casey Animal Rescue shelter in Kensington either every week or something close to that. If we help one kind soul hook up with one dog, cat or other creature in need of a home, we’ll be quite content.

This is jet black beauty is named Shakira. She’s an older adult cat who could use a great home so she can enjoy what would be called her “golden years,” were she a Brooklynite looking for a retirement spot in Boca Raton. Here’s the info that Sean Casey emailed us about Shakira:

“Give this beautiful adult girl a second chance! She’s 10 years old, spayed, dewormed, treated with Revolution to prevent fleas, ticks, ear mites and heartworm, up to date with shots….all she needs is someone to love and to love her in return! Her adoption fee is $75.00 and she’ll get one free exam at our vet, one free month of pet health insurance and a microchip. If you’d like to adopt Shakira please direct all questions and adoption application requests to nyanimalrescue (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Sean Casey Animal Rescue is located at 155 East 3rd Street in Kensington. They have a lot of different pets in need. Their number is 718.436.5163. In the meantime, just look at that face and picture her perched on your windowsill getting some sun.

“The Brooklyn cat lady who grabbed headlines in a string of bank robberies to help pay for her cat’s medical bills was caged last night after her arraignment in yet another heist. Catherine Kaczanowski, 49, was held in lieu of $15,000 bail for allegedly ripping off a North Fork branch on New Utrecht Avenue in Bensonhurst last week.”–NYP

There’s an impending gallery opening to report in Gowanus. It’s the Bond Street Gallery, a photo gallery that will be opening at Bond and Union. Word was passed along by Dalton Rooney who produces the excellent photoblog seriously excited!, whose work we often link on Saturdays. In any case, the gallery is work of photographer agent Bruce Kramer and photographer Robert DiScalfani. It’s the areas first photography gallery and is “housed in a 100-year-old townhouse that the founders have restored while keeping the original structure and feel of the building intact. Inside it has exposed brick walls, and out back is a tranquil courtyard.” The first show will feature Coney Island photos shot by Harold Feinstein. The show is called Coney Island of the Heart and Coney Island of the Heart and “celebrates the history of Coney Island as the playground of the working-class melting pot through exuberant and singular images of the Jews, Italians, African-Americans, Russians, Puerto Ricans, and others who have played there.” For more info on the gallery, click here. The show open March 27 and the gallery is located at 297 Bond Street.

It’s either just another one of those development delays that are common or another piece of evidence that some planned buildings may not be built, but there’s has been a suspicious lack of activity at the site of the second Oro condo highrise off Flatbush Avenue. The hole remains a bit hole.–Brownstoner