Tracy Collins, the photographer who has been documenting the changes in the Atlantic Yards “footprint” and creating an invaluable visual record, will be showing some of his photos. The opening is on January 24 at 7PM and all the info is in the image above. If you haven’t seen them, click over to Mr. Collins’ photos on flickr.

If the truth be told, we’ve always felt that there were parts of the Atlantic Yards “footprint” in Prospect Heights that could have used a bit of a cleanup, particularly since the city and Forest City Ratner had been allowing conditions like dirty streets to get worse over the last couple of years. Yet, the over-the-top verbiage in the image above, highlighted by Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, might seem like a bit of an overstatement. Yet, that’s what the Empire State Development Corp’s “blight study” said and what the Judge that ruled in the environmental review litigation accepted. Were residents living in “unsanitary and unsafe” conditions? In the words of DDDB:

Over on the Atlantic Yards Report today Norman Oder writes about the Newswalk building, which is surrounded by the project site (or cut out from the footprint to be more precise), and how its developer Shaya Boymelgreen saw his $6 million investment in the building in 1997 turn into a building worth at least $120 million. Such appreciation does not occur in an area where “residents…continue to live among conditions that are unsanitary and unsafe.”

Newswalk is certainly an interesting survivor amidst the blight.

Check out photos of Fourth Avenue back when there were shanties and a lot of trees. They’re part of a collection and the Brooklyn Museum and they are fascinating.–Brownstoner

Our Greenpoint Correspondent, who always ranges fare and wide, called this photo “Mixed signals at Troutman and Central Avenue.” We say, definitely look both ways.

It seems like it’s been so long since the clock atop the Williamsburgh Saving Bank building has actually told time that we’ve almost forgotten. It starts running again at noon today, which is also the same day that people start moving into their luxe One Hanson condos.–The Real Estate

Here are some of the Brooklyn Community Board meetings taking place today (1/16), courtesy of the list compiled by the Daily News.:

Community Board 4 (Bushwick) is holding its regular monthly meeting at 6PM in the Hope Gardens Senior Citizens Center, which is located at 195 Linden Street.

Community Board 7 (Sunset Park, Windsor Terrace, Greenwood Heights) has it regular monthly meeting at 6:30PM at the board office at 4201 Fourth Ave.

Community Board 17 (East Flatbush) has its meeting at 7PM at Intermediate School 232, 905 Winthrop Street. The agenda includes pending land-use applications for the Avenue H Bridge over the LIRR at E. 40th and Albany Avenue.

Community Board 18 (Canarsie, Bergen Beach, Mill Basin, Flatlands, Marine Park, Georgetown, Mill Island, Fraser) has a board meeting scheduled for 8 PM. It takes place at the Kings Plaza Community Room, Flatbush Ave. and Avenue V.

A GL reader left this important information about how to report instances of credit card fraud that readers may believe to have originated in Park Slope. There have been more than six dozen reports on Park Slope Parents, GL and Brooklynian of cards being counterfeited and used around the country. If this has happened to you, Detective Shy at the 78th Precinct is investigating the fraud cases. He can be reached at 718-636-6411. Victims will be asked to submit a list of local businesses where cards have been used in the last three months.

Related Posts:

• Tales of Credit Card Fraud Mount, Mystery Grows
• Park Slope Credit Card Fraud Update
• Credit Card Fraud Outbreak in Park Slope?

The Red Hook Ikea started taking applications yesterday from Red Hook residents for positions at the sprawling store that will open on Beard Street in August. There is some good news and some bad news for residents with limited job experience or training. We went through Ikea’s job listings yesterday and found that the big retailer listed eight job categories for which residents get a three-week head start in applying. About half require very specific job experience, but several appear suitable for entry-level work, assuming the applicants have high school diplomas or GEDs. The eight categories are: Safety & Loss Prevention, Recovery Co-Workers, Food Service, Maintenance, Interior Design, Sales, Logistics and Customer Service. The jobs in Loss Prevention require 5-7 years of experience, Food Service requires 2-3 years food prep experience and certification from a culinary arts program, Maintenance jobs require knowledge of carpentry, plumbing and other trades and Logistics “Co-Workers” (who work in the warehouse) require some technical skills. This leaves Interior Design Jobs working with displays in the store, Sales positions and Customer Service. Interior Design jobs require computer literacy whereas the latter two require “computer aptitude.” All require HS diplomas or GEDs. It’s not known how many jobs Ikea is filling and how many are full-time and how many are part-time. Instructions on applying are in our earlier post. Ikea filled its management jobs, all of which required significant experience, with employees from outside the city.

Related Post:
Ikea Starts Hiring Next Week: Red Hook Residents Getting Three-Week “Head Start”

Every now and then someone leaves a comment on GL that deserves its own post. So it is with this message from someone who appears to be very close to the threat in Carroll Gardens to poison feral cats. Yesterday, Jotham Sederstrom wrote a story in the Daily News about an ugly sign that threatens to lace food left for feral cats at Sackett and Hicks Street with ammonia. Since a lot of people are upset by cruelty to animals, Fox 5 also ran an item about the threat. Here is the comment we received (four times), which is also making the rounds in the form of an email:

In reference to the Parking lot/ cat story in the Daily news and on Fox 5 which was featured on 01/14/08, let it be known that the owner of that lot did not post the signs; it was one of the tenants that rent a spot in the lot. That’s not to say that some of us are saying that this person is wrong for posting the sign. In fact by threatening to soak the food with ammonia seems to be the only way to get anyone’s attention.

Back in September someone started to feed the stray cats in the area by putting plates of food out. It first started with a plate which was placed in front of the entrance to the lot on Sackett and Hicks Street. They then decided that they were going to squeeze the plate through the fence to place the food on the other side of the fence. As if this wasn’t enough, the plates then became pans and the pans became a half of Turkey during the holidays.

Signs were put up a number of times asking this person to stop putting food out on the property, which may I add, is private property. Instead of stopping they choose to rip the signs down.

This is an active parking lot and is no place for cats. Putting food out for the cats is also attracting rats. The last thing anyone wants to deal with is rats, and that’s what the food is attracting. The other problem is that the cats are climbing and sitting on the hoods of the cars, scratching the cars as they slide off. The other side of all this is the safety of these animals. Putting food out in the parking lot is just putting them in danger of getting hit by a car. The last thing any of the tenants in the lot wants to do is hurt an animal

After posting signs up a number of different times asking this person to stop, one of the another tenants decided to post a sign threating to soak the food with ammonia. This seem to be the only way to get this person’s attention, which seemed to work.

What I want to know is this. What gives this person the right to go on someone else’s property and do what they want? If the owner wanted to feed the cats they would have done so themselves. This person is not only littering but they are trespassing.

Now I’m going to say this in PLAIN ENGLISH. We would like this person to stop putting the food out on the lot. That is all we are requesting. It’s really a very simple request. We’re NOT looking to hurt any animals in any way. We just want this person to stop.

I Really wish ANDREA BENSON [a neighbor who called the ASPCA] would of taken the time out to find out what was going on in the parking lot. In stead she put this story out there and now we the tenants look like cat haters. Which we are not.

One can understand how threatening to poison cats could be misinterpreted as a desire to do them harm or for an intense dislike of them. One gets the feeling we haven’t heard the last of this weird and unpleasant little story.

The 163 Washington Street building that could rise to 16 stories in a neighborhood that has been downzoned to seven stories goes to a “third round” at the Board of Standards and Appeals today. Brownstoner has been all over the story as it’s developed, noting that there is ample evidence the building should not be vested under the old zoning. Yet, the BSA has had a track record of ruling in favor of developers, most recently in the case of Williamsburg’s Finger Building. In any case, another hearing takes place tomorrow morning. Here’s a bit of the press release we got from a group called Building Too Tall, which is fighting to cut the building down to size. It calls the battle against the building “a fixed fight against GLC Developers Group who are trying to build a 16-story tower in pre-Civil War Clinton Hill half a block from the modest frame house where Walt Whitman wrote ‘Leaves of Grass’:

GLC failed to complete the 100% of excavation and foundation work necessary for grandfathering the 16-story tower before the new zoning of July 25, 2007 limited structures to 7 stories. The BSA appears to be bending its rules to greenlight the GLC building at 16 stories. BTT has produced proof of the developer working illegally — after hours, without a permit. The developer’s records have been uniformly sloppy and inconsistent — yet at each of the hearings the BSA has declared itself ready to give the go-ahead for 16 stories.

It is unusual for the BSA to go 3 rounds with the same opponents, but the developer has repeatedly failed to make his case. BTT has continued to point out serious inconsistencies and omissions, thus forcing Tuesday’s round. Were it not for the little gritty BTT fighters, the BSA would have long since lifted the Stop Work Order and the Too Tall Building would be reaching for the sky — for those luxury Manhattan views, the only attraction in historic, low-rise Clinton Hill for GLC.

The BSA’s problem with GLC’s data was neatly put by Sharon Barnes representing the Society for Clinton Hill at the December 11 hearing: “If there was one mistake, one or two discrepancies [in the developer’s numbers] that would be probably attributed to error but when all of that documentation seems to be riddled with discrepancies — our view is that it is probably intentional. We know at the end there was a tremendous race going on between the community trying to get the zoning completed and between the developer trying to get the concrete poured. So, how much poured when and in what manner is really critical. We would ask for a thorough audit and analysis of that because we think our case is very clear that the work was not completed.”

GL Analysis:
There is a pattern of the BSA siding with developers in such cases of Beat the Downzone, even where there is clear evidence that work wasn’t completed in time to allow for “vesting” of building or there is evidence that developers flagrantly violated the law by working after-hours and on weekends to accomplish construction miracles. There have been many cases in the last 24 months of buildings being okayed by BSA that should have been rejected based on the public record. One wonders if the Board will again thumb its nose at both the evidence and the law and allow an oversized building to tower over a low-rise neighborhood or whether the mountain of evidence in this case would be too embarrassing to ignore. Based on the board’s record, we will be stunned (and pleasantly shocked) if it does the right thing and chops 163 Washington down to size.

We weren’t aware that Nathan’s had veggie hot dogs, but no we know that it does. The chain is being sued for trademark infringement by Northern Soy over the term ‘not dog.’ No word if the subjects of the litigation were ever served in Coney Island.–Kinetic Carnival

Yesterday, we posted a number of complaints about the Times Plaza Station on Atlantic Avenue between Third and Fourth Avenue. There were so many that a resident collected to send to a manager at the Postal Service who professes interest in fixing the situation that we decided to break the post into two parts. Here are more observations:

Having gone through what everyone regularly complains about, and writing letters, speaking with the manager, etc., I finally gave up and now have all my packages go to a friend’s Manhattan business location. I try to NEVER have packages sent directly to me. If, unfortunately, I must go and wait on line there, I always take a book to read in order to endure how long I will likely be ignored. (I also try experiencing everyone’s lousy attitude as if I’m in some sort of weird theatre. In order to avoid being angry for hours afterward I now go there EXPECTING to be miserable – like a trip to the dentist!)

I never try picking up a package there until a few days after their “attempted delivery.” I now know that if I go too soon it will likely be “on the truck” and I’ll just have to go back. (The fact that they never ring my bell is a given.) So I wait until I know it might be sitting on their shelves. If I need to mail a package I either use one of the UPS mailing centers or I walk the extra distance to the main Brooklyn Post Office near Borough Hall. I also take packages with me when I visit friends on Long Island or Upstate, NY. I know this sounds crazy but hauling the packages is less painful. I also have all other important mail sent to Manhattan as well…These adjustments have reduced my reliance on the Times Plaza Post Office to the absolute minimum. If I could reduce it to zero I’d do it in a NY minute. However, I remain friendly with the local mailman. He seems a nice person.

And there is this:

In my experience the most messed-up part of the 11217 post office is the window for picking up packages or held mail. I was there this Saturday 1/5 – to be fair, it was a busy post-holiday time and I arrived at the post office about 40 minutes before closing – but so little effort was made to expedite the long line or even be polite to those of us waiting that it really was ridiculous. There were about a dozen customers in the line when I arrived, and the first two or three customers were dealt with at a speed of approx 15 minutes EACH. This is for picking up packages or mail where people had their slips, and where it *looks* anyway like all the packages are alphabetized by last name and lined up neatly right there…Two of those first 3 people didn’t get their packages at all. Several others in line behind me – by now I would say there were 20 of us – left in frustration at how slow the line was moving.

And this:

3 out of 4 times I bring a package slip to the window, the person will disappear for up to 15 minutes to look for it (no exaggeration) and then they come back to tell me that it’s not there. If it’s not there, WHERE IS IT??? One time, I brought a slip to the window, the person told me they could not find the package, and I pointed to a package that clearly had my last name marked on it. It turns out that this was ANOTHER package for me, that I had not even received a slip for!

This:

I hate it! Once I waited on line for forty-five minutes, only to have one postal worker lower her window and go on a break, while the only remaining one continued a long, long chat with a customer.

And, we’ll wrap with this:

As a business in the area, I never get packages. If I do get a pink slip it is usually missing information I need to pick it up. My store opens at 11am and has for almost 4 years, yet they can’t deliver packages to me when I’m open, which is frustrating. I’ve also tried the online pick ups, but it usually takes 2-3 days and a phone call before someone picks up my packages. I’ve switched my store to using ups/fedex as often as I can…On the opposite note, Bing, our letter carrier, is a dream! He comes in and gets my outgoing mail when he drops off the incoming. He carries stamps in case i need to buy some, and he always has a smile and a kind word.

Always good to end on an upbeat note.

We’re confident that some of the victims of the credit card fraud that first surfaced via emails in the Park Slope Parents group are figuring out whether there is any commonality in local merchants. So far, nearly five dozen cases of counterfeit cards being made and used around the country have been related via emails on GL, the Park Slope Parents groups, a thread at Brooklynian.com and in private emails that we have received. The PSP group is refusing to post the identity of some local merchants that victims have mentioned and the person that started the thread on Brooklynian after reading GL’s post has also requested that people not speculate. We agree that it’s wrong to damage the reputation of a business based on conjecture. We can draw some general conclusions, however, based on the dozens of emails we’ve read:

1) The credit card fraud is not confined to Park Slope. There is a cluster of reported incidents from Brooklyn Heights residents in particular. A few victims say that hadn’t used their cards in Park Slope at all.
2) The fraud isn’t limited to any one card issuer. While there is a concentration of cases linked to Citibank, cards from multiple banks and credit card companies are involved.
3) There could be more than one employee of a single business and more than one business involved. Based on emails, it is possible the source is a business with multiple locations.
4) The fraud has involved both credit cards and debit cards, and in some cases thousands of dollars in charges have occurred.

In the meantime, here’s a bit from one PSP email:

Since the PSP board is rejecting posts with the names(s) of merchants they believe have been resposnsible for CC fraud. Its worrisome to know that this is happening and that I have no way of even trying to protect myself despite the fact that others are willing to share their information.”…it’s entirely possible or likely that the merchants have been hacked without their knowledge, and are no more responsible for the situation than their customers. Absent any hard proof beyond speculation, I’m sure you can appreciate how unfair it would be to announce to some 7,000 people in the area that Merchant X is not to be trusted; it could easily be a death sentence for a small business that has done nothing wrong–and may have been identified mistakenly in the first place.

In the meantime, there is plenty you can do to protect yourself. Only use bank ATMs. Pay only with credit cards, not debit cards–or, ideally, use cash instead. Put a freeze on your credit report, as has been explained earlier. And keep in mind that, as one of the fastest-growing areas of crime, credit card fraud and identity theft
are a much bigger problem than a single breach in a single store; these are all measures we should be taking anyway, regardless of the current suspicions…

Judging from the outpouring of emails and postings, there have been a lot of incidents. Until the some sources are identified, it would be best to keep a special watch on one’s account, particularly if a debit card is used.

We went over to shoot a couple of photos of the storefront at Seventh Avenue and Third Street in Park Slope that had been occupied by Tempo Presto because we’d noticed that it had been tagged up since the eatery closed. We ended up taking photos of the two empty storefronts on the block (the former Tempo Presto and Seventh Avenue Book) and the one that is for rent (Park Slope Books). Of course, two of the departed/departing tenants are neighborhood bookstores, which are a particularly endangered species, and one is a restaurant (an especially tough business). Still, the three “for rent” signs in such proximity–with others to be found within a block in either direction–make an impression. When we were taking a photo of one of the bookstores someone who was clearly a broker or landlord asked hopefully, “Are you interested in the property?” We have no doubt that someone will want each of them, but wonder what the replacement businesses will be.

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

• Newswalk Bldg is Evidence Against Stagnation [AYR]
• Slowly but Surely at 122 Vanderbilt [Brownstoner]
• Fewer Parking Tickets and Car Thefts in Brooklyn [NYDN]
• Great Moments in Bushwick Real Estate [New York Shitty]
• Identity Theft in Clinton Hill [Clinton Hill Blog]
• Bay Ridge Traffic Makes News [Right in Bay Ridge]
• Gertel’s of Brooklyn [Lost City]
• Brooklyn Restaurant and Bar Openings [About New York]
• Prospect Park Nostalgia [A Year in the Park]
• Appreciating the Cyclone, Even in Winter [NYDN]

Let’s say you spend a lot of time on the train and you’re also an artist and illustrator. What are you going to do? Simple: do sketches on the train, scan them and start a blog to post them. That’s what Ami Undeground, a new blog from a Brooklyn resident is all about. The image above is from one of last week’s posts of a sketch made on the Q from Ditmas Park. The blog is very new and we look forward to more.

The proposed waste-transfer station in Gravesend wouldn’t be popular among some people for obvious reasons, but there is also a lot of fear that the dredging that will be done could stir up generations of toxins and other things. A sampling: lead, PCBs, mercury and toxic ash. And there’s more.–NYDN

Some street sofas are neat. Some a trashed. And some come with a lot more than cushions. Our Greenpoint correspondent found this one, which comes with a great deal of added value, on Humboldt Street.

The dramatic “fire bombing” of a botanica on Fifth Avenue at Douglass Street still hasn’t been solved, according to the FDNY. The owner of the religious artifacts store hasn’t been heard from either. Have people really moved back in upstairs?–Brownstoner

The photo of this nut truck in Carroll Gardens was sent to us by a GL reader who wrote, “Who says Carroll Gardens isn’t an Italian neighborhood anymore?” We won’t touch that one, but we’ve got to say that the Carroll Gardens location lends the nut truck a certain something. Pardon Me For Asking also has a series of photos of the truck this morning.

Ever since we first saw it with glass installed, we’ve been riveted by the Graham Avenue building we like to call the Fish Tank Building. We are intrigued by the castle-like roof line, which reminds us of the White Castle that is not too far. We appreciate the aqua-blue color of the glass and the fact that the entire front of the building is glass. In an odd way it reminds us of a of mausoleum, with the stone on the left and the glass fronting the area where one goes to visit the dearly departed, neatly planted in the wall inside. We digress, however. Our point is simply to note that the Fishtank Building is the home of Pampa Grill, which will no doubt be serving up superb, grilled hunks of meet in a nice, glass-fronted spot. Enjoy.

Complaints about and evaluations of postal service in Brooklyn never fail to amuse and enlighten. This one is about the Times Plaza Station on Atlantic Avenue between Third and Fourth Avenue. The comments come via the Boerum Hill Yahoo group, where a member has solicited and collected comments from readers to share with the officials at the post office. This is not the first time Boerum Hill residents and the Boerum Hill Association have tangoed with this particular post office. (Nor is this the first time we’ve posted about people’s problems with mail in Boerum Hill. There is this post, for instance, and this post.) In any case, here are a few excerpts from a very long list of emails expressing deep affection for the Times Plaza Station. The person who collected them writes to the postal official to whom she sent them, “We would appreciate hearing from you what the course of action from the Brooklyn Postmaster’s office will be, what we can expect in terms of changes and improvements, and what the time-table will be to implement these.” We start with this:

My daughter, finally, finally finishes her ten college applications- My daughter, finally, finally finishes her ten college applications…We walk over to Plaza Station, relieved, nervous, proud. Lines are long, but that’s okay. Finally, it’s our turn at the Automated Postal Center (as they have trademarked it). And one by one, we weigh the manila envelopes containing her extra materials, opt (thank god!) to send them certified mail (in case, god forbid, we’ll need to track them), slap the labels on– and send them on their way! And now they’re coming back. One by one. Insufficient postage. Two showed up yesterday–each one 39 cents short. According to the tracking, three more are trying to make it back to us. A fifty percent failure rate.

And what are we supposed to do now? Get the postmaster or postmistress to write letters on my daughter’s behalf? “Dear Carleton College, Please excuse Eliza for missing her deadline. It wasn’t really her fault“? I’ve been reading a book of letters that John and Abigail Adams sent one another, when he was in Europe and she was in Massachusetts. I think they had a better success rate getting their mail through than we do.

And this:

One of the most common complaints seems to be failure to deliver packages,
leaving a note and not knocking or ringing the bell. The postal rules once required that a second — and third– attempt to deliver be made. Now only one seems to be the rule. The laziness of the postal carriers must account for their failure to climb the stoop steps. One of my favorite bad experiences: I was in line (very slow moving) and watched a clerk arrive behind his window. He then took 10 minutes (I timed it) to put on and tie his tie! A couple of years ago, but representative of the clerks’ attitudes. No manager ever stays very long — we make contact, promises are made, things get better. Then the manager leaves and everything reverts to “normal.'”. Any clerk who is responsive to the customers soon leaves. No doubt pushed out by the other clerks.

I do not go there any more, choosing to spend more money on UPS. I order my stamps by mail, a great service. My husband in the early 70s was writing letters to the postmaster general, congressmen, senators — and here we are more than 30 years later with everything the same. Good luck.

And this:

I recently moved to the neighborhood and am shocked by the poor service provided by the PO. I have had THREE separate packages returned to sender. One more package was permanently lost. No notices were left at my address alerting me to the packages at any time. The times I have been forced to venture to the actual postal facility were most discouraging and frustrating. The stamp machine never works
(why is there only one?), the lines interminable, the package window is rarely open, and the facility is dirty and unkempt…

We could go on, but we will wrap up with this:

We have had so many awful experiences at Times Plaza that I don’t know where to begin. As a matter of fact, I now use an address in Dumbo as a way of avoiding the post office on Atlantic Avenue as much as I can. In any case, here is the most recent fiasco from Times Plaza…In mid-December, my father, based in Sweden, sent me a large box of books. When they attempted to deliver the very large cardboard box, I was not home so they left it outside my house at 181 Wyckoff Street in the rain. It was not stolen, as it might have been, but almost all of the 30 books in it were ruined by the rain. I used to live in Iran, and I can confidently say that the level of mail service in this area is worse than that third-world country. I also used to live in Sweden, a country in which a post office manager proudly saying that they manage to deliver 95% of mail (like someone at the Brooklyn head office said to me a couple of years ago when I called to complain about service) would lead to the person being fired. 5% of mail gets lost?! That’s something to be proud of?

There are so many tales of despair and woe that we’ll continue with Part II tomorrow.

Ever since the controversy over 360 Smith Street developed, Carroll Gardens residents have been pushing for fast action on a downzoning of their neighborhood, although the time frame that has been heard most often is 24 months. In response, the CORD group has been pushing for an interim moratorium on buildings more than 50 feet in height. CORD and others fear that delays in rezoning would encourage developers to race to build taller “as of right” structures before the downzoning. CORD had written to Borough President Marty Markowitz and got a reply from his deputy director for planning and development Richard Bearak that “Marty supports you in your desire to preserve Carroll Gardens’ special neighborhood aesthetics and qualities. He believes that we can achieve such preservation while finding appropriate opportunities to direct growth.” Mr. Markowitz has also written a letter to Planning Director Amanda that is supportive of the Carroll Gardens downzone and ones for Bedford-Stuyvesant North and Crown Heights and asks about the timetable. “I would like to know whether it might be feasible to embrace new zoning initiatives that have been requested for Bedford-Stuyvesant North in Community District 3, Carroll Gardens in Community District 6 and Crown Heights in both Community Districts 8 and 9,” Mr. Markowitz writes.

Here is a bit more from the letter:

As for Carroll Gardens, the residents have been quite vocal in their disappointment in the lack of action to stop out-of-context development. In addition to seeking a rezoning, they requested a moratorium and began consideration for becoming designated as an historic district. Some have even questioned the century-old legislation that resulted in the “Place” streets meeting the definition of a wide street for zoning purposes…

The “Place” streets in Carroll Gardens, while physically narrow, actually have an official city mapped width of 116’-10 ½” and include the front gardens of the buildings along the blocks. The city’s Zoning Resolution allows buildings on defined wide streets to be bigger and taller than on narrow streets such as Carroll and President Streets. The premium right to develop properties fronting First, Second, Third and Fourth Places between Henry and Smith Streets has not only resulted in the proposal at Smith and Second, but also led to a substantial number of building enlargement applications for more than 600 properties along physically narrow streets that are defined as wide streets…

I look forward to being advised of when analysis might begin for those neighborhoods seeking zoning modifications respectful of neighborhood context.

Assem. Joan Millman also wrote a letter in December that is very supportive of the Carroll Gardens request. Carroll Gardens should “be considered an immediate priority for a rezoning today,” she wrote. The moratorium request will get a push forward at the end of January with a City Council resolution from Council Member Bill de Blasio, who many residents have bitterly criticized for not taking substantive action to push a fast downzone, and a rally. Residents we spoke with said they were skeptical about the resolution and concerned that it is simply a political gesture if there is no real push for a moratorium or action to get the downzoning fast tracked. Ms. Burden has replied in the past that the city can’t commit “to a precise time frame” for action. There is more detail about the letters as well as links to copies of them on the CORD blog.

Yesterday, we noted an outbreak of credit card fraud in Park Slope. There were nearly two dozen emails circulating via the Park Slope Parents group from Park Slope residents noting fraudulent use of their credit cards. Most reported charges–some of them well into the thousands of dollars–from gas stations and chain stores a great distance from New York. Many of the emails speculated that the fraud was originating with a business or businesses in Park Slope where an employee might be capturing and selling credit card data that thieves were using to create counterfeit cards being used elsewhere. Since we posted, there have been even more emails from people coming forward to say that their accounts were fraudulently used too. Many of the compromised accounts appear to be Citibank ones, leading to some speculation that the fraud could be originating from a credit card company itself, but the reports cover a wide number of banks. At least one victim says that a number of cards that were compromised had some establishments in Park Slope in common. Here is an excerpt:

I’ve been following these posts. My Amex (not Citi issued) narrowed it down to 5 places in the area, but I don’t want to name names in writing. One is a restaurant, 2 are grocery stores, one a drugstore and one a liquor place. I think we could all probably get to the bottom of this fairly easily.

A follow up email from the same person noted that “Someone just contacted me offline, and we had three local 7th Avenue places/sources in common: a drugstore, a restaurant and a grocery store.” Meanwhile, here is a typical follow-up email with information about yet another fraud:

I wanted to share that similar charges for $75 were made at Jacksonville Florida gas stations. If anyone else in the neighborhood also experienced the same, please post! I was surprised that my bank didn’t block the charges sooner (don’t they have algorithms to see that I never purchase gas, I don’t live in Florida and that charges at gas stations should not amount to $1000 a day!).

And so, today’s mystery is whether the fraud is originating in Park Slope or with a credit card company. Are the more than two dozen reports of very similar kinds of fraud a coincidence, indicative of the widespread nature of such problems or is the problem with a local business?

The credit card issuers involved should be able to triangulate and find the source, if it is a business in Park Slope. In all likelihood, even more stories will surface in coming days.

UPDATE: Park Slope Parents says that it is rejecting posts that mention the names of merchants that have come up in common in emails. “As has been pointed out these thefts may or may not involve the merchants and we we feel it would be irresponsible for us to allow public speculation that might damage the reputations of perfectly innocent members of our community.” They say they have been in touch with the 78th Precinct and will be meeting with an officer that handles credit card fraud complaints tomorrow. “In the meantime we will continue to reject posts that go into the specifics of local merchants,” they say. There is certainly a possibility that the fraud is occurring at a store outside of Park Slope or within the credit card processing operations themselves.

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Credit Card Fraud Outbreak in Park Slope?

While the Department of Environmental Conservation has sent a letter saying that the contamination of the Roebling Oil Field / Warehouse 11 site was confined to that property before a clean up took place, some local residents are skeptical and want to see all the documentation. GL has been told to expect at least one local group will file Freedom of Information Law requests with the department for all of the consultant reports and test results relevant to the project. The Department says that it has concluded that Roebling site was the source of some oil that has migrated under N. 11 Street rather than any oil from surrounding areas impacting the Roebling site. Earlier internal communications and statements indicated that oil on the property came from a source outside the site. There are about a dozen test wells on N. 11 Street adjacent to the Warehouse 11 development. The department has not released any test results from the wells, including ones drilled by its own consultant, since last Spring. “I can’t take them at their word,” one resident told GL. “We want the reports and test results. If they won’t turn them over voluntarily, then we’ll file the legal requests to get them.”