My hats off to DOB’s excavation division/inspectors swooping in on the bad-boys of illegal underpinning before one of the workers was potentially killed (as we all know seems to be the norm with gc’s in this area, sadly). They were ordered to back fill the huge hole and await further inspection…Will they ever learn?

Stay tuned, as this site has already provided years of excitement and more is to come.

Here’s a heartbreaking little story that combines the awfulness of having one’s home broken into with the horror of finding they have taken one’s dog. An email and flier is circulating widely on discussion boards about a little dog in Windsor Terrace who was dognapped. Here is the email:

I am posting to all the Brooklyn boards I have participated with to help a friend in Windsor Terrace/South Slope who is devastated by the dog-napping Wednesday of her dear Samantha.

She arrived home Weds night to find her apartment broken into, ransacked, and her dog and the dog’s carrier gone. Nothing else was taken…Here is text from her flier — can’t reproduce the picture here, but it is a small sweet white fluffy friendly-looking dog:

My name is Samantha and I was stolen during a break-in at my home in Windsor Terrace/South Slope on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 sometime between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. I’m an eight year old Maltese, spayed and weigh seven pounds. I have a brown nose and a tiny nick on the end of my tongue. I have had several teeth extracted and need additional dental work as soon as possible. I may be wearing a red leather collar with two vaccination tags on it. The person who took me also stole my bright yellow carrier. If you’ve seen me or know anything about me, please call 917-627-0292 or the Brooklyn 72nd Precinct at 718-965-6311. GENEROUS REWARD.

GL readers know that we may growl at pile drivers and demolition crews, but our hearts melt for homeless or unfortunate animals. We hope that Samantha is found and returned.

At some point, the developments at 360 Smith Street and at 340 Court Street could end up in foot race to see which one wins a neighborhood popularity contest. The 360 Smith building would have an advantage, having had almost a year’s head start. (It also helped spawn a neighborhood-wide downzoning push and a call for a building moratorium.) 340 Court, however, has been riling up the neighbors too. The graphic on the right, which actually refers to the Carroll Gardens downzoning rally called by Council Member Bill de Blasio, is from the building’s fascinating Wiki. Once glance told us it’s something that more and more organized neighbors will be (and ought to be) doing to create a record of the issues with their friendly neighborhood project. In any case, 340 Court made the Daily News yesterday, and the article featured a neighbor whose home had been damaged, which we’d featured last week. Here’s part of a comment left by someone for that story that indicates the nature of neighborhood issues with the building:

The general infrastructure and specific components (e.g., clay drain lines, wooden cornices atop homes) are very vulnerable to damage — Mr. Lantz’s cornice has already begun to detach from his building and could pose a hazard to passers-by. This, coupled withe the way the asbestos removal was handled, has catazlyzed myself and my neighbors into pursuing increasingly substantative forms or protest.

We simply do not feel a builder has a right to damage our homes without detailing any plans to compensate us for the actual damage and dislocation to our livelihoods it also entails. We are organizing increasingly substantative means of exerting political, economic and social protests and activism to combat this. If Clarett chooses to address our concerns (and conduct the work at 340 Union) in a forthright way, we’ll be glad to work with them. But if things continue as they have gone, I believe I speak for a large number of my neighbors that we will become increasingly active against them.

Sounds like the community is looking for some Make Nice from the increasingly combative developer.

The highest foreclosure rate in New York in October was in the 11233 zip, which includes Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights. Federal Reserve Bank data show that one in four homeowners with subprime mortgages in 11233 zip code lost their homes.–NYDN

i have lived in Southside almost 10 years and I have never seen any of those trucks until the last few months. There have been repeated gas smell incidences and they seem to happen around times when there have been heavy rains. If the smell is not natural gas as the Gas Co says, then its smells like some petro product.

Another wrote:

I live on Grand St. I used to call Keyspan about the smell of natural gas, they would come out and drill holes in front of my house and tell me there is no leak. No kidding. I was calling to complain about the George Pataki Power Plant at the end of Grand St., which is a jet engine that runs on natural gas. There was no smell before the power plant.

The Brooklyn 11211 blog also theorized about the mystery, but dismissed the power plant theory, saying that it had produced odors, but generally on warm, windless days. A second idea was a kosher hot dog factory at Grand and Berry that is fragrant. Then, however, came this update:

Keyspan has spent the evening going up and down Grand Street poking holes in the sidewalk and street, sniffing for gas leaks. They’ve spent the last hour or so digging a hole in the sidewalk in front of 69 Grand (across the street from Aurora). Looks like “actual gas leak” wins (the NYPA pipeline does not run down that far south). 25 January – 22:30.

Mystery perhaps solved?

So, it turns out that State Sen. Carl Kruger spent $2,475.00 to shut down that Coney Island Development Corp. informational session in November. An online expenditure report for Sen. Kruger’s campaign committee shows a $2,475 payment to Dimino Express.–The Real Estate

Visual:

• North Toward Dumbo [Blue Jake]
• Coney Island Creek #2 [seriously excited!]
• Peeling [Atomische]
• Ghost Windows [Lost City]
• Kool Man in Summer [Clinton Hill Blog]
• Boardwalk [Chris 9/flickr]
• Luna Park Poster [Brit in Brooklyn]
• Coney Island Creek #4 [seriously excited!]

Less Visual:

• Magical Vanishing of Pacific Street Blight [AYR]
• Moving Out at 475 Kent [Brownstoner]
• Hateful Graffiti Directed at Surrogate Court Judge [NYP]
• Porthole at 90 First Place [PMFA]
• 189 Schermerhorn Coming Along [McBrooklyn]
• Undecided Voters in Brooklyn [CityRoom]
• A Blogged Week [Bay Ridge Rover]
• Dumbo Weekly Links [Dumbo NYC]
• Squirrel Versus Hawk in Prospect Park [Brooklynometry]
• A Tumultuous Time in Coney History [Kinetic Carnival]
• Bed-Stuy Speed Dating [Bed-Stuy Blog]

What do you get at the Greenpoint Coffee House at 4PM on a frigid Sunday afternoon while people are eating brunch? Waffles, of course. And an excellent photo op of a guy wearing a “Brunch is for Assholes” t-shirt, of course.–New York Shitty

There is a mysterious smell on Grand between Berry and Wythe that smells like natural gas. Keyspan has visited several times and so has the fire department none of us are getting straight answers but the smell persists. Keyspan says it is not natural gas BUT it smells like natural gas..

Yesterday, the FDNY was back on Grand Street checking out more complaints of a gas smell, but we’re told they departed finding no evidence of any gas leaks. A follow up email said, “Keyspan said it wasn’t gas they checked and their equipment didn’t read any gas in any of our basements. The problem is its smells a lot LIKE natural gas.. and we aren’t sure what is causing the smell.”

If any readers are picking up the same scent or have any info about the problem, drop us a line at thegowanuslounge (at) gmail (dot) com or leave a comment.

In any case, the project has been redesigned, a Stop Worker Order has been lifted and workers are back on the job. Here is some of the email that came with the photos here:

Seems the new way to underpin an existing retaining wall and 6-8 ft. of loose dirt is to dig below it, put up no shoring or bracing and send in “the boys” to do the dirty work…and potentially lose their lives. The attached shots were taken approx.. 2:15pm this afternoon. Just what 23rd/22nd St (heck, Greenwood Hts.) needs…more illegal development!

311 was called immediately, as well as DOB. We were told inspectors were dispatched tout suite (thank you DOB!) and not sure what happened. The site was shut down soon after, but no SWO posted nor nothing on BIS as of yet. We hope DOB’s excavation squad caught them in the act (fingers crossed). And of course we hope no one was hurt.

Damned if it did not look illegal, if not completely hazardous for the workers, let alone the collapsing of the retaining wall and back yard of 2 properties on 22nd St.

Can this property get any worse than it has in the past FOUR YEARS! I guess we can wait and see.

All we will say right now is, interesting excavation technique.

Yesterday, City Council Member Bill de Blasio sent out an announcement that the City Planning Department had agreed to a zoning change that would redefine several Carroll Gardens streets as being “narrow,” significantly changing the height of buildings that could be constructed. Through very old zoning language, an number of streets in the neighborhood are defined as wide because the front yards of homes (or the “gardens”) are considered part of the public right-of-way. Therefore some streets that are very narrow in reality are considered as wide as avenues. City Planning has agreed to change the designation on First Place to Fourth Place, although the shift would leave out some narrow streets that have similar “width issues.” The CORD group, which has been pushing for this and other changes gave us the following statement: “The wide street issue is an important one. We were totally taken by surprise by this announcement.” Another resident we talked to said that “it’s not really clear why de Blasio did this or what it really means. It’s more complicated than he is making it look.” One resident told us he expected it to be up to a year before the change takes effect. The Brooklyn Streets, Carroll Gardens blog, which is written by Gary Reilly, who is one of the candidates to replace Mr. de Blasio next year, described the announcement as “great news.” Mr. de Blasio is holding a rally to support his non-binding resolution calling for quick action on a Carroll Gardens downzoning and an interim moratorium on developments greater than fifty feet tall.

The $16 million overhaul of the Park Slope Armory into a first-class sports and recreation facility is finished. The only problem is the city hasn’t found anyone to operate it yet. Two firms have submitted proposals are being evaluated. Whoever runs it needs to find a way to make money doing so while allowing many groups to use the facility for free. Community Board 6 District Manager Craig Hammerman calls the city’s process “ass backwards.”–Brooklyn Paper

Barnes & Noble has reportedly defended throwing a Park Slope mom with a crying child out of their store. The child began crying after the mother had what she describes as an unpleasant exchange with the store’s manager. (We posted about it earlier in the week, after someone sent us an email that had been posted on the Park Slope Parents group.) So, yesterday afternoon we got a follow up and the gist of it is that Barnes & Noble customer service–which may or may not have a sense of the neighborhood demographics in the Slope–said the manager was justified in tossing her and her toddler from the store. Here are some excerpts from the email, which indicates that Barnes & Noble saw the entire email exchange, including the reactions of many other parents in the neighborhood:

I just had the oddest phone conversation with a supervisor from B&N customer service. Apparently B&N customer service not only read the email I sent them but read the posts and responses on Park Slope Parents. I received an email asking me to call a customer service supervisor at their 800 number. I called and was surprised to find out that the she wasn’t interested in apologizing or explaining the store manager’s actions but rather in pointing out that I had disrupted their business (i.e. because my questions held up the line although there were, I think, two people in line and at least three cashiers working at the time) and that this was, according to B&N policy, grounds for throwing me and my son out of the store.

Friendly corporate policy.

It’s curious because they appear to have forgotten the windows. The walls don’t abut other buildings, so I can’t for the life of me figure out why the wouldn’t put windows in. To add mystery, they have just painted this building light blue, although I’m guessing the blue is a primer for something even more ugly to come.

Speaking of which, the building comes from Henry Radusky and Bricolage Designs, so we’re expecting a whole lot of brick on the exterior that bad boy and not necessarily looking forward to an excess of windows, although we presume a bunch of those will be cut into the walls that have already been placed.

Today’s Daily News reports potentially bad news about the beloved Red Hook ballfields vendors. The Parks Department put out RFPs for vendors to use the ballfields last week and bids are due by February 22. The vendors, however, say that they’ll have to use approved food prep carts that cost $15,000-$30,000 per stand and that that alone could drive them out of business even if they win the bid. Here’s some of the story:

City officials have begun seeking bids for the popular food spot around the area’s soccer fields – but the longtime vendors are worried that even if they win, they won’t be able to stay.

According to the bid proposal, all vendors must now use approved food-preparation carts or trucks, which vendors estimate will cost $15,000 to $30,000 per stand.

“That’s a lot of money we’re talking about,” said Janet Lainez, whose family has sold El Salvadoran pupusas at the park for almost 18 years.

“Very few vendors will have that kind of money,” said Lainez, adding that typical food trucks also are too small to handle the four grills she hoped to have this summer for the hundreds of cheese, meat and vegetable pupusas she sells each weekend. “We’re not just boiling hotdogs.”

The mom-and-pop vendors, who have long sold their wares under makeshift tents, also are worried the required changes to bring the ramshackle market up to code will ruin the rustic allure that made the spot popular. “In the best case scenario, we will get the contract, but will the people who have come to love us be willing to welcome all the changes in the same way?” asked Cesar Fuentes, a spokesman for the park’s 13 vendors.

Stay tuned.

The Enver Hoxha Awards for Achievement in Architecture [New York Shitty]
The Irony of Non-Union Labor & Other Issues at the 340 Court Street [NYDN]
Here’s What Has Been Proposed for 10 Jay in the Past [Dumbo NYC]
Vito Lopez Wants “Real Affordability” at Pfizer Site in Burg [AYR]
The Issues and Scandals at Brooklyn South Narcotics [NYT]
Adding to a Roof on Second Street in the Slope? [Brownstoner]
Whose Side Would God Be On in Bay Ridge Church Demo Fight? [Curbed]
Five Vying to Replace Council Member Bill de Blasio [Brooklyn Paper]
Busted Walk Filming Downtown This Weekend [McBrooklyn]
So, What’s It Like Living in PLG? [Brookyn Based]
Brooklyn Bio Fuel Boom [Green Brooklyn]
Idiotarod MMVIII [Brooklyn Optimist]
Unnamed Vanderbilt Avenue Bakery is Open [Clinton Hill Blog]
Appreciating Woohull Medical Center’s Architecture [Bed-Stuy Banana]
Mom with Toddler Laments Rumored Eighty Sixing from Union Hall [OTBKB]

Ah, the Idiotarod. The annual bizarre race through the streets of Brooklyn takes place tomorrow and, as usual, will be a blogger’s paradise and photographer’s delight. This year, Gothamist reports, there will be “pimped out shopping carts” starting from spots in Long Island City, Dumbo, Williamsburg and Greenpoint. (Last year, there was a big police presence and the starting point of the race was switched at the last moment.) There are nearly 11,000 photos on flickr tagged idiotarod. Count on a couple of thousand more by Monday.

The concept of urban gentrification has been a hot button issue since it came into use in the 1970s. Here’s an essay on the topic from 1978 “when the very word ‘gentrification’ was relatively new. The article isn’t perfect; it doesn’t deal with race at all (an important oversight). But it points the way to showing that—then as now—attacks on gentrification are ridiculously simplistic.”–Hawthorne Street