What sort of park is built with a twelve-foot wall on the East River that could block views of Manhattan? Well, it’s a possibility at the weird temporary park that is going in at the foot of India Street in Greenpoint. “They are going to pave over with colored concrete, remove the chain link fence and replace it with concrete barriers (similar to what is along highways). This might be topped with steel fence. It could be up to 12 feet high.”–New York Shitty

• Rat-Squirrel House Now on TV [Lost City]
• Life Without OTB Betting Parlours? [NYT]
• Hawk Dines at 110 Amity Site in Cobble Hill [Curbed]
• Nets Newark Rumor Chat on WFAN [AYR]
• New Look Vanderbilt Playground in Windsor Terrace [Brownstoner]
• PLG Traffic Calming Forum on March 13 [Hawthorne Street]
• Remembering the B&B Carousell Sign in Coney [Brit in Brooklyn]
• New Marrakesh Express in Dumbo [Dumbo NYC]
• Mynt Getting a Duane Reade [Bed-Stuy Blog]
• Admiral’s Mansion in Vinegar Hill [McBrooklyn]
• African American Playwrights Exchange Spreads Word [Duffield St. Underground]
• “BRKLYN” not “BKLYN”? [Bklynking]
• Boar’s Head to State and Court [Brownstoner]

The Red Hook Playgroup, a community-based preschool for local children, is having its 1st Annual Winter Fundraiser on March 5. A release says that the benefit concert will “christen” chef Neil Ganic’s new Beard Street restaurant Bouillabaise and adjoining Annabelle’s bar/music club. The performance will come fromm Las Rubias Del Norte. Here’s a bit from the email we got:

The Red Hook Playgroup, a progressive pre-school licensed as a group family daycare in the heart of Red Hook, Brooklyn, announces its first annual winter benefit event. Set for Wednesday, March 5 at 7pm, the event will take place at acclaimed chef Neil Ganic’s newly-opened Bouillabaisse restaurant and adjoining Annabelle’s bar/music club. Included in the price of admission is food, beer & wine, and a performance by Brooklyn-based band Las Rubias Del Norte.

Bouillabaisse is the much-anticipated new incarnation of Ganic’s celebrated rustic French outpost that first impressed in Brooklyn Heights in the early 90s, relocated to Union Street near Columbia Street for a time in recent years and now sets up shop permanently in Red Hook at the corner of the (somewhat) cobble-stoned streets of Beard and Dwight in the blue and yellow shadow of the much buzzed-about Ikea which is nearing completion across the street. Both Bouillabaisse and the new Annabelle’s bar are opening on the site of the Lillie’s, the much-mourned pioneering drinking spot which operated in the former longshoreman’s bar space from 2001 to 2006…

Red Hook Playgroup, a not-for-profit corporation and parent run cooperative is hosting the event to raise funds for improvements to their building and outdoor space so that the children of RHP have a safe, fun and educational place to play outside as spring approaches. Now comprising 15 families, RHP was established in 2007 as a community-based option to pre-school where children explore, develop, create, and are challenged and cared for in a loving, supportive and creative environment.

Tickets are $75. All net proceeds go to benefit the Red Hook Playgroup. Bouillabaisse /Annabelle’s is located at 46 Beard Street in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn.

To purchase tickets or learn more about the Red Hook Playgroup, click here.

It’s hard to say whether the B61 bus or the G Train generate more discontent, except that we think the G generally gets more space on blogs and in print. Yet, the B61–which runs from Red Hook to Long Island City, via Downtown Brooklyn and Williamsburg–does manage to drive the people that depend on it rather insane too. We’ve been following a discussion about “B61 the Worst Bus in the City?” on the Community Board 1 email group and though we’d share one we like:

As more and more people realize the convenience provided by the bus (e.g., north end of Greenpoint is not such a bad place to live if you can grab the bus and be at the 7 stop in 10 minutes) the ridership has obviously increased. It doesn’t surprise me that the MTA thinks it hasn’t, because this is the same agency that needed to commission a study in order to realize that ridership on the L has exploded.

As a regular B61 rider, I have noticed a few things that don’t help. One, the B61 going down Manhattan instead of down McGuinness, it has to contend with delivery truck traffic blocking and markedly slowing down traffic…Riders don’t help themselves by refusing to exit the bus at the rear, thus delaying new riders from entering the bus. I’m not talking about mothers with strollers, the elderly or differently-abled, I’m talking people who just for whatever reason refuse to open the rear door or don’t understand how to push the yellow tape and have the doors open automatically… Also, how hard is it to learn the concept of “move to the rear of the bus”? I realize there are a lot of newcomers to the city in the Williamsburg/Greenpoint area but these people’s inability to grasp basic bus riding techniques continues to floor me. I’ve been ranting about this forever, but it doesn’t seem like this bus line gets any attention…

Another says:

The situation is horrid. Long Rush hour waits have always been frustratingly unpredictable. At least that part has changed– now it’s safe to say that walking across the bridge is more reliable!

The B61 is being extended in Red Hook so it will stop at Ikea’s front door when the store opens.

We got an email from Heart of Brooklyn about Children’s Corner, which is described as “a kid-centric sanctuary in Prospect Park that includes Lefferts Historic House, the Prospect Park Carousel and Prospect Park Zoo” and includes the Brooklyn Public Library’s Kidsmobile. They’ll be hosting “Kids’ Sundays!” from 1-4pm on the first Sunday of every month. The first event is Sunday, March 2. Here’s a bit more from the email:

Brooklyn families can enjoy readings, history-themed arts & crafts, storytelling, Zookeeper chats and more! The series kicks-off March 2, 2008 as the Children’s Corner participates in nation-wide Leap Day celebrations. Zoo-goers of all ages can jump into the fun by participating in a variety of amphibian activities, including a scavenger hunt, frog-focused crafts and Zookeeper chats about poison-dart and smoky jungle frogs.

After all that amphibian action, kids can hop onto the Brooklyn Public Library’s Kidsmobile, a children’s library on wheels, inside the Park by the Children’s Corner, to check out books about frogs, salamanders and other awesome amphibians, hear stories, and sign up for library cards!

And, they can leap back in time to the 18th century at Prospect Park’s Lefferts Historic House for Early American Crafts, or over to Prospect Park’s Audubon Center to celebrate Read Across America Day (from 12-2pm) with readings from Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax and other great children’s books.

The Sundays are March 2, April 6, May 4 and June 1. For more information, click here.

Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is coming to Flatbush. “Shayna Lewis, last year’s market manager at the Cortelyou Rd. farmers’ market, is working with one of the farmers from that market, Jorge Carmona from Amantai Farm, to start a CSA in the neighborhood. They’ve already got 20 members signed up and their goal is 40. ” There are many details.–Sustainable Flatbush

Yes, there’s hope on Coney Island Avenue. Also, there are ads from Orange Outdoor Advertising Inc., known for some ads on Atlantic and Nevins years back.–Fading Ad Blog

Here is some info about upcoming Brooklyn Community Board meetings for the rest of this week as well as next week from the list compiled by the Daily News:

Community Board 4 (Bushwick) will hold its regular monthly meeting at 6 p.m. on Feb. 20, at Hope Gardens Senior Citizens Center at 195 Linden St.

Community Board 7 (Sunset Park, Windsor Terrace) has a combined public hearing and board meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 20 at the board office at 4201 Fourth Ave.

Community Board 17 (East Flatbush) will meet at 7 p.m. on February 20 at Public School 233 at 9301 Avenue B.

Community Board 18 (Canarsie, Bergen Beach, Mill Basin, Flatlands, Marine Park, Georgetown, Mill Island, Fraser) is also meeting today, February 20 at 8 p.m. at the Kings Plaza Community Room, Flatbush Ave. and Avenue V.

Community Board 5 (East New York, Cypress Hills, Highland Park, New Lots, City Line and Starrett City) will hold its regular monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. on February 27 at the board office, 127 Pennsylvania Ave.

Community Board 9 (Crown Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens and Wingate) will meet at 7 p.m. on February 26 at Middle School 61 Auditorium, 400 Empire Blvd.

Community Board 10 (Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton) will hold its next meeting at 7:15 p.m. on February 25 at Knights of Columbus, 1305 86th St.

Community Board 12 (Borough Park, Kensington, Ocean Parkway and Midwood) will convene at 7 p.m. on February 26 at 5910 13th Ave.

Community Board 16 (Brownsville, Ocean Hill) has its next board meeting at 7 p.m. on February 26 at the Brownsville Multi-Service Center, 444 Thomas S. Boyland St.

If the two major developments that have been announced for Gowanus and Carroll Gardens–Public Place and the Toll Brothers canal-side project–are built, they would add about 1,600 units of housing to the neighborhood. (The total, of course, does not include other contemplated projects that would add at least another 1,000 units or projects that would be announced after the rezoning that is working its way through the process. The rezoning is expected to allow buildings up to 12 stories tall in places.)

An email we received said:

“Is anyone planning for where these people going to shop/eat/go to school/ride the train/park their cars/or even walk? Wake me from this nightmare! How can our tiny neighborhood sustain this kind of insane development?

Has any neighborhood worked this hard to preserve itself and been this betrayed in the process? Has any neighborhood tried so patiently to explain itself, and to make its arguments clearly and responsibly heard, expecting at least some of the same consideration from the “authorities” in return?

…It is now becoming crystal clear to CG residents clear that any “real plan” for Carroll Gardens development lies far, far away from their reach and far from anything resembling sane or responsible development for the public good. It is also crystal clear that the all mighty dollar will come to rule this neighborhood, as every last square inch goes up for sale and development, encouraged by the all too convenient: arcane, out of context, and ill conceived zoning regulations that encourage greedy developers to pillage our community?

In addition to the projects near the Gowanus other major developments are possible along the Third Street corridor where several major parcels are on the market, in addition to the Whole Foods project.

Whether any development will happen any time soon is another matter. The environmental challenges are severe (the Public Place site harbors toxins left over from a Manufactured Gas Plant that are almost impossible to completely remove and environmental testing hasn’t even been done on the Toll site) and the flooding problems at the Toll Brothers site are so severe that the developers want to build the housing on a twelve-foot high man made hill. (The photo below is the foot of Second Street during a Nor’easter last year. Part of the Toll property is on the left. The water is contaminated with raw sewage.) The Gowanus, of course, is regularly flooded with raw sewage when it rains thanks to “Combined Sewer Overflows” that dump the contents of toilets right into the canal, with one of the biggest gushers of, uh, crap being approximately across the water from the proposed new Toll Brothers condos.

Has the Fashion Cafe on Seventh Avenue at 16th Street sold its last shirt and cappucino? It appears so. Someone who’s clothes were being sold at the Slope spot writes: “The Fashion Cafe on 7th Avenue 17th street was carrying a bunch of my clothing on consignment. Unfortunately they closed without having the courtesy to contact me and return my goods. I found out when I walked by the store last week. I have no idea how to get in touch with the owners to try and get my stuff back. Does anyone know who they are?” It seems the closing is for good, as their website has vanished too.–Brooklynian

Coney Island watchers might remember that one of the first things that got the bulldozer treatment after developer Joe Sitt and Thor Equities bought up land in Coney Island was the ragtag assortment of stands on Stillwell Avenue between the boardwalk and Surf Avenue. Some sold food. Some sold a variety of stuff. Last year, the land house Mr. Sitt’s “Future of Coney Island” trailer. Apparently, it’s returning to productive use, as shown by this photo posted by the Coney Island Message Board’s Captain Nemo, who also brought us the sad and wretched sight of the painted-over historic B&B Carousell sign over the weekend. One wonders if Mr. Sitt is going to try to make some money this summer by putting the other vacant land he owns to productive use or if it will sit like an empty eyesore, the way many people had feared when he started clearing it. The sign says the flea market is opening on March 1, “208.” The photo below is of the early wave of Sitt demolition equipment two years ago in February, 2006 on the land where the flea market is going.

1) Earth Tonez, a new veggie and vegan cafe, is open at 349 Fifth Avenue, between Fourth and Fifth Streets. The menus leans toward sandwiches and wraps, plus veggie burgers and salads. There’s also a pretty complete vegan dessert selection. With V Spot, and S’Nice opening a block away, Fifth Avenue is becoming quite the little stretch for veg-friendly restaurants.

2) Cocotte c’est muerte. The French restaurant at 337 Fifth Avenue, at Fourth Street, is sporting a sign in the window announcing its demise. The death is being blamed on rising rent and an inability to make a go of it financially.

3) Fatoosh, the Brooklyn Heights Middle Eastern, has opened a branch on Fifth Avenue near Ninth Street. Nice interior and presumably some good food too. So, does it mean a Falafel War/Hummus Fight with Pita Hut on Ninth Street?

4) This bit of info has been gathering dust for so long that it doesn’t qualify as news, but the Fifth Avenue storefront that was part of the Chip Shop for a time and then was a very short lived (and somewhat underwhelming) Middle Eastern called Alaturka has come back as Mediterra, which has a Mediterranean menu that travels to Turkey, Greece, France and Italy. Mediterra is on Fifth Ave. at the corner of Sixth Street and we hope this is not a Corner of Death type of situation that is evolving.

We don’t know if cases of vandalism and weirdness like people taking craps on the street are more common to Boerum Hill than some Brooklyn neighborhoods or if we just happen to catch more of the emails, but here’s a little story about a rock going through someone’s window from the Boerum Hill Yahoo group’s email stream:

About an hour ago we heard glass breaking. It turned out to be our living room window and storm window. Someone had hurled a large rock with great force thru both panes. This is the second time in a month. We called the 84th precinct and reported this incident. This afternoon when we were walking down the block (Dean between Bond and Nevins) we noticed another house that had a broken parlor window. So I’m wondering if this has happened to anyone else??? Also, can anyone recommend a glazier?

If it’s not one thing, it’s another.

(Note: the window pictured is not tone of the broken Dean Street windows.)

The Coney story and photos that were published in print last week is finally online. “Kitsch nixes nostalgia. A pleasure strand designated for adolescent amusement, did it experience an adolescence of its own? Perhaps a century and a half ago, when it was still a hunting ground for the ubiquitous rabbits that gave it its Dutch name, Konijn Eiland.”–New Yorker

Another day, another tale of a Prospect Heights mugging. “i heard shouting (thought it was just the regular shouting that comes from washington ave side of things) but realized it was a guy saying ‘fuck you! give me my bag back’ or something to that effect. he said he got punched in the face…a few people ran and helped. the last thing i definitely heard him clearly say to the guy who witnessed this from across the street was ‘THANKS FOR YOUR HELP MOTHERFUCKER’…. the cops showed up surprisingly fast. seemed to arrive around 5 minutes after the initial calls.”–Prospect Heights Forum, Brooklynian

• Does Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement Have Any Teeth? [AYR]
• Seven Competing to be Miss Brooklyn (the Person, Not the Building) [NYDN]
• India Street Park Meeting Today (2/19) [New York Shitty]
• Raccoons Running Wild in Green-Wood Cemetery [Gothamist]
• Kosher Soup Kitchen Branching Out [NYDN]
• Does Leonard Lopate Really Not Know What a Blog Is? [OTBKB]
• “Brooklyn’s First Citizen” in Statue Form [A Year in the Park]
• Read About Robert Moses from the Perspective of Red Hook [Calalillie]
• Chinese Food and Laundromats [Bed-Stuy Banana]
• Culpepper’s Annex is Open for Business [Hawthorn Street]
• Windsor Terrace Pizza Chef Does It on the Street [Fading Ad Blog]
• A Blogger’s Wrath to be Directed at Park Slope [Brooklyn Heights Blog]
• Macbeth at BAM [About Brooklyn]
• President’s Day Street Chair [Velvet Sea]

We don’t know a lot about the session that’s being planned to talk about Brooklyn Bridge Park, but we do know that it sounds like it’s going to be interesting. Groups that are working to develop the park in a manner that is different from the official Empire State Development Corp. model are holding it. Here’s the info:

You’re urged to attend the Brooklyn Bridge Park workshop on plans for Pier 6 and the Atlantic Avenue gateway, which will be held at Long Island college Hospital on Thursday, February 28, 2008, between 7 and 9 PM. in the main floor conference rooms B & C. The meeting, sponsored by the Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association in collaboration with the Cobble Hill Association, the Sierra Club, the Willowtown Association, Brooklyn Vision and the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund, will be moderated by Ethan and Fred Kent of the Project for Public Places, internationally known architects and urban planners. This will be an opportunity for you to hear a variety of views and to present your opinions in a representative and unfiltered forum. Come at 6:30 PM for refreshments and sign-in.

For those that have only casually followed the long running saga of the big real estate development and open space project, there have been bitter disagreements about how to develop the park and the amenities that it should include. (The image here is a rendering showing the bulk of the luxe condo towers that would be built at the foot of Atlantic Avenue as part of the development.)