Last night’s meeting on the city’s Coney Island plan worked out to be uneventful, except for a long and rambling statement by State Sen. Carl Kruger and some outbursts by an audience member described as drunk. There was a moderate turnout that didn’t come close to filling a large auditorium and promised busloads of protesters did not materialize. We were unable to attend, but there is lengthy and definitive coverage available at Kinetic Carnival as well as a very good description of the meeting at the blog Lornagrl. Sen. Kruger, whose district does not include Coney Island, apparently misspoke several times, referring to Coney Island as Brighton Beach. Here’s Kinetic’s intro (please read their full coverage. It is comprehensive.):

Last night’s CIDC: Coney Island Development Corporation meeting and information session was not the colorful political circus whirling with Coney flavor and character that was predicted. Besides a random fumbling heckler and New York Senator Carl Kruger mistaking Coney Island for Brighton Beach and the amusement core for the aquarium, as well as the usual bevy of cameras scurrying frantically to catch every flinch, it was business as usual.

Lornagrl described the scene this way:

Everyone was pretty quiet and listening with interest. Except for one man. He sat two seats down from me, a heavy set man with leathery skin. He reeked of alcohol and breathed heavily. He was quiet at first but that didn’t last. The poor woman conducting the presentation managed to maintain her composure while he belted out protests like: yuppie enclave, minimum wage jobs and dream based on the machine. I think he believed that others would follow suit but he just pissed people off.

The poster known as Captain Nemo at the Coney Island Message Board offered the following summary of the scene:

Kruger maybe had 10 people, if that much this time. Someone was handing out signs with nice political ads for kruger, like kruger lead the charge and such. Kruger spoke first, and they let him ramble on and on, till they finally said enough, and even then he was indignant and kept talking. They threw out the 3 minute limit, but he still wasnt satisfied. I counted several times he just said Brighton Beach in his remarks, not Coney Island…There was one yellow hat wearing lady, which I guess was BUILD. There was another organization called CI CLEAR, they were handing out literature as you walked in, I just ignored them. They were handing out t-shirts too. It was something about community and labor, making sure they get a piece of the building pie.

The sessions continue today. There is an afternoon meeting from 3PM-5PM at Coney Island Hospital, which is located at 2601 Ocean Parkway and an evening session from 7PM-9PM, again at Lincoln High School, which is at 2800 Ocean Parkway. We are heartened to know that attendees were able to listen to a thoughtful presentation.

Links:
CIDC Panel Wins This Round Over Kruger’s Lament [Kinetic Carnival]
CIDC Information Session: Only one arrest (that I know of anyway) [Lornagrl]

[Photo courtesy of Kinetic Carnival]

The Modern, the Robert Scarano-designed building on N. 7th Street in Williamsburg, is ready to rock again. We got a call from neighborhood activist Phillip Depaolo who noted that construction equipment was arriving at the site and that the Stop Work Order that was slapped on the site in the summer had been lifted. Fans of the collateral damage of Williamsburg development might recall that the contractors working on the project busted a sewer line and were alleged to have drilled into the wall of the L Train tunnel (which was later said to be untrue). The project was stopped because it had damaged a nearby building and had undermined the sidewalk on N. 7th Street.

So, the problem have been fixed, right? Wrong. Mr. Depaolo says that the damaged building (which has a hairline crack) has not been shored up and that the undermined sidewalk has not been repaired. Last time the DOB lifted the Stop Work Order it was quickly reimposed when the failure to address the problems was publicized. According to Mr. Depaolo, nothing has changed since the previous lifting and reimposition. “They haven’t done the repairs,” Mr. Depaolo says. “And obviously no one from DOB has been out to check to see if they did any repairs.”

Back in September, Mr. Depaolo emailed this:

I was amazed when I noticed last week that the stop work order at 205 N 7th st was lifted when the violations that the stop work was issued for were not fixed. This is the second stop work order that the DOB has lifted at this site with the violations not being fixed. My greater concern is that there is a crack at 203 N 7th and the DOB is going to allow drilling and pile driving while the violation for failure to shore up this property is unresolved! The residents of 203 N 7th are seniors and their daughter and have lived at 203 all their lives. Something has to be done.

He says that absolutely nothing has changed. In any case, make that the third stop work order that has been lifted without conditions being addressed.

There was a confusing decision on the Finger Building from the Board of Standards and Appeals before the holidays that allowed the completion of the controversial Williamsburg building at its current 10 stories (and to 16 stories if current litigation is definitively settled in favor of the developer). Ever since, opponents have been planning to appeal one of the most tormented development cases in the entire borough, but they say they are being stymied by the lack of an official, legal letter from the Department of Buildings. (Update: The Department says at letter went out on December 27.) Consultations with attorneys about an appeal of the BSA decision are pending, which goes without saying in matters pertaining to the Burgs most contentious and infamous upraised digit.

“Ok, enough of this stroller mafia, whether it actually exists or only seems to. Now I train my vitriol on what can be called the Grammar Gestapo. Which of course is also formally non-existent. It seems that there are people out there who lay in wait for others to make a grammatical error so they can lord their superiority over that person. Especially in the blogosphere.”–Brooklynometry

There are few words to describe the uniquely hideous nature of this building on Grand Street and to the two floors which now sit on top.–New York Shitty

Here’s the deal: I hereby commit to walking or cycling in Brooklyn’s magnificent Prospect Park every day for a year, with as few exceptions as humanly possible, and then showing or telling you at least one cool thing I encountered, through this new blog.

Yeah, so what’s the big deal? Lots of people go to the park every day, right? But I don’t. I look at it outside my windows, and then I slink around my big ol’ house, screen-suck at my computer for work or play, take naps, overeat, watch TV, garden, or chug around Brooklyn in the car doing errands.

And here’s a sample from yesterday’s post about the Tree of Memory:

Strange, even gothic, discoveries on a day that had already seen its share of emotional turmoil. The park’s lake was tranquil, with gulls picking their way across a film of ice.

But this lakeside tree, with its umbrella and filthy pillow, turned out to be the back door to a dwelling; I circled it and discovered the front door.

It should be a nice 2008 full of posts.

• MSG Subsidy Debate Leads to Questions About Atlantic Yards Subsidies [AYR]
• Markowitz Considering Mayoral Bid “More Seriously” [NYDN]
• What’s Up with Bus Rapid Transit? [Brooklyn Junction]
• Cobble Hill Assoc. Says 110 Amity Plan “Unacceptable” [Brownstoner]
• Cell Tower Fears on 87th Street [Bay Ridge Rover]
• Brooklyn Assemblyman Wants to Raise Alcohol Tax [NYDN]
• Two Students Hurt in Gravesend School Fire [NYP]
• Resolution of Ninth Street Police Standoff Unclear [OTBKB]
• Many Shipping Containers on N. 6 Street [INSIJS]
• Treatment for Dumbo Crack Problem Begins [Curbed]
• Sidewalk Bridging at Empire Stores [Dumbo NYC]
• So, What’s Up with the Retail at Court & State? [McBrooklyn]
• Court Street Gets a Busy Chef [BK 11201]

Among the things we weren’t expecting to post about this week was a vegan chicken wing eating contest, but here we are. Foodswings, the vegan eatery on Grand Street in the Burg is holding what is billed as the “first ever Vegan Buffalo Wing Eating Contest” on January 16. It takes place at 6PM and is sponsored by Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. With that, we go to the press release that brought it to our attention and the copy & paste:

Contestants, herbivore and omnivore alike, have registered to battle for prizes donated by Franks Red Hot and local businesses, including cash, T-shirts, tattoo gift cards and of course, ultimate bragging rights. The rules are simple: 10 pre-registered contestants will have 15 minutes to devour as many fiery hot veggie wings as they can – anyone who pukes is disqualified. Contestants will have to eat the wings to the “bone” (or more literally, to the wooden stick), with only water available…

While none of the competitors thus far are professional eaters, each contestant illustrates the unique, quirky and extremely diverse population of Foodswings fans. Brothers, bikers, hipsters, musicians and artists are just some of the people stretching their stomachs for the big day.

Tofu hot dog eating contest, anyone? Foodswings is at 295 Grand Street, between Roebling and Havemeyer Street.

Voting in the New York Primary on Tuesday, February 5? Friday (1/11) is the deadline for registering to vote in it. The voter registration form can be downloaded by clicking here. (WARNING: PDF!!!) The form can be printed out, filled out and mailed in. One must declare a party affiliation in order to vote in the New York Primary. Anyone that is going to be out-of-town on February 5 and wants to vote should request an absentee ballot asap. You can open a PDF of the form by clicking here. For more information about voter registration or absentee ballots call 212-VOTE-NYC (212-868-3692). One can also register to vote in person by going to the Brooklyn office of the Board of Elections. It’s on the Fourth Floor at 345 Adams Street.

Personally, I think that rather than spraying Joralemon Street with toxic poison, the Parks Department and Borough President Marty Markowitz should run a campaign to promote cat adoption in Brooklyn. For a week, the BP could enclose the grounds around Borough Hall and let homeless cats wander around under the supervision of Animal Care & Control. The cats would get a week out of their cages, the rats would have the fear of God put into them, and passersby could sign up to take home any of the fine feline hunters on prominent display. I guarantee that no exterminator will have greater success ridding Borough Hall of rodents than a throng of cats unleashed.

And, yes, there are posts on more traditional political topics like this too.

Park on Luquer Street once and get your windows smashed and it’s, well, life in the big city. Park more or less in the same place and have it happen a second time and it’s a weird and costly pattern. Oh, and nothing was stolen from the Prius.–Z. Madison

Will tonight’s first public information session about the city Coney Island Redevelopment proposals be about public policy or political theater? We’re hoping that it will be mostly about the former, but fearing there is a very good chance that it will be significantly about the latter. Both sides appear ready to pack the meetings with their respective supporters. On the anti-plan side are “opponents” that are likely to bussed in by State Sen. Carl Kruger. The last time the Coney Island Development Corp. held such a meeting in November, the State Senator used his campaign funds to bus in “protesters,” many of whom are believed to have been paid to attend. So many people showed up at a small venue that the Coney Island Development Corp. canceled the meeting. On the pro-plan side, the Save Coney Island group sent out an email blast to supporters, urging them to turn out and to wear costumes if possible. The auditorium where the meetings will be held holds 1,200 people, so there should be plenty of space to handle people on both sides of the issue.

Still, none of this bodes well for a thoughtful exchange of ideas about what is, at heart, a very complex issue of land use and development policy that will shape the future of one of the most significant destinations in Brooklyn for generations to come. David Gratt of Coney Island USA got to the heart of the matter–and the need for a thoughtful exchange of ideas to begin the discussion process–when he wrote on the Coney Island Message Board:

If anyone is remotely interested in speaking, for or against the proposal, please come. It’s important that the authentic voice of the community chime in as well as people from outside the community.

Tonight’s session–which is intended to give an overview of the plan to interested members of the public and is not part of the formal land use review process, which will begin later, will take place at Lincoln High School (2800 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn). It will run from 6:30PM to 9:00PM. There will be another session at the same location on Tuesday, January 8, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. There will be a daytime session at Coney Island Hospital (2601 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn) on Tuesday from 3:00 PM-5:00 PM.

We have our fingers crossed that there will be a genuine public discourse about a very important public issue and that the sessions won’t degenerate into non-productive theatrics that actually interfere with the ability of interested citizens to learn more.

We say all that as background for the following email we got from Concerned Citizens of the South Slope about the very, very bright lights in the parking lot behind the new condo which are now lighting up their lives and probably making it possible to read in one’s bedroom without turning anything on. Residents are frustrated because they say that no city agency seems interested in the problem and that the Department of Buildings, with whose actions or lack thereof they have taken issue on many occasions, is basically saying that a building that turns night into day isn’t their problem. Here’s the email we got:

Attached please find a photo taken from the back yard of one of the houses that adjoin the parking lot for 162 Sixteenth Street. Aka as the VUE, designed…The first question that is usually asked is – What is that? Could it be UFO’s are landing in Brooklyn? No! It’s just the lights that glare into in the back of about 30 houses that adjoin the parking lot of 162 Sixteenth Street.

The next question is always – That can’t be allowed… Why don’t you just report it so the City will make them remove (or replace) them? Guess what? It has been reported. The DEP says it’s not their responsibility and the DOB says that it “has no rules or regulation govern the type of light fixtures that should be used.”…It’s important to note that the DOB took a picture of the light fixture in the middle of the day. Not at night.

The adjoining neighbors have asked every elected and appointed official for help. To date nothing has or, it seems, will be done to stop this quality of life, abuse.
Is it true that in the most taxed City in the USA, there is no city (or state) agency responsible for this kind of abuse? If not then – Does anyone know who’s responsibility it is to address these issues?

A superb question. Perhaps the Borough President’s Office or the local City Council Member could supply everyone on 16th Street with blackout curtains? Possibly special ones with the Borough Seal and/or the City Council Seal?

Overnight, there was a “hostage situation” on Ninth Street in Park Slope between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. What was described as a family dispute escalated into shots being fired and a standoff with a lot of police officers. “The yuppified Sunday evening calm in Park Slope has been shattered after a man became enraged, intoxicated, and fired a gun in his home on 9th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues sparking a police standoff.”–Gridskipper & Gothamist

1) Fiore is supposed to be opening today at 284 Grand Street (above). It’s an Italian restaurant that traces it lineage to Baci & Abracci up the block. We haven’t seen the menu but items that have been noted run heavily toward seafood. Some entrees include orata with veggies in shellfish lime broth, salmon with artichokes prosciutto and olives, monkfish with roasted garlic in a lemon preserve caper sauce and salmon Steak with olive pesto. There’s also a very nice sounding spinach ravioli in brown butter sage sauce. We caught a glimpse inside yesterday and it looked very, very nice.

2) Miranda, another restaurant leaning heavily on an Italian menu is now open on Berry Street at N. 9, across the street from Silent H. Photo below.

3) Another Bedford Avenue bodega/corner store has undergone a morph into an upscale deli/food store, the second in recent months to go upscale. The results of the change at Bedford Fruits & Vegetables are in the bottom photo.

4) The Endless Summer Taco Truck is said to have set up shop at Bedford Ave. and N. 7 Street. We didn’t see it yesterday, but word of its existence has been widely emailed around.

School Year: 2007

Two Semesters “Helping Residents/Constituents with 360 Smith Street.” Final Grade: “F”

Two Semesters “Carroll Street Subway Plaza Jurisdiction.” Final Grade: “F”

Two Semesters “Carroll Gardens Wide Streets Legislation” Final Grade: “F”

Two Semesters “Moratorium Resolution” “INC” (incomplete)

Several Years in the Making: “Overdevelopment Issues in All of Carroll
Gardens (and far beyond) “F minus”

Recent Campaigning Elsewhere in the U.S.A. (outside of Brooklyn for Hillary) while ignoring urgent cries for help from Brooklyn residents: “A+”

RECOMMENDATIONS: Immediate Tutoring in All Subjects Above (Call Constituents for Help in each of these areas) and Summer School 2008 and 2009.

Seriously. Tell us how you really feel.

The Sanitation Dept. has been prowling the streets of Carroll Gardens writing tickets to people putting out trash before 5PM. On the other hand, check out this mess at the Clarett Group-owned building on Court Street. Curiously, no tickets have been written here for this mess.–PMFA

• Local Pol Jefferies Talks About Ratner Critics [AYR]
• Does Zoning Matter in Carroll Gardens? [PMFA]
• Wafels & Dinges Truck, Part I [Esthetic/Aesthetic]
• Wafels & Dinges Truck, Part II [OTBKB]
• Dub Pies Truck [Brooklynometry]
• Considering Russo Realty [Lost City]
• Polar Bear Hoopla Links [Kinetic Carnival]
• Remember, There’s a DOT Traffic Forum Coming Up [Kensington Brooklyn]
• Best Looking Building in Park Slope [Velvet Sea]

The city seems to have concluded that it’s cheaper to pay out lawsuit settlements to those injured from falling on (and even through) the rotting boards than to replace the most deteriorated sections. The worst damage is in the heart of the Coney amusement district, from Astroland through Stillwell Avenue, although there are sagging spots and cave ins scattered about. The estimated cost of replacing a half-block stretch of boards is $500,000 and there was an estimate that it would cost $200 million to replace the full length of the boardwalk (which is not necessary). A good place to start would be the several blocks that are most heavily used and that threaten people with injury every day during the summer months. Sadly, no such replacement has been funded.

Shore Road is as old as Bay Ridge itself. The neighborhood was originally a country resort for Manhattan financiers and bigwigs in the early to mid-1800s; its remoteness made it bucolic, but its wonderful water views made it catnip for those who could afford to build massive mansions by the water. Shore Road shows up in its undulating, curving route, following the shoreline, as early as 1870s maps.

Changes came in the 1940s after the Belt Parkway and accompanying landfill moved Shore Road away from the actual shore. Many of the old mansions disappeared to be replaced by high-rise apartment buildings. However, around 80th-82nd Streets, some of the flavor of the past is preserved, with opulent private homes, both new and old.

Definitely head over for the full read.