Let’s say you have an unpaid summons for having your dog off its leash that was dismissed, but never recorded properly in the system. Let’s also say that circumstances lead you to make a questionable choice and go through a subway turnstile without paying. Here’s what happened to a person with the dog issue who went through the turnstile. The art professor at a respected Manhattan-based institution and Brooklyn resident that relates this was locked up for more than 24 hours on a Saturday nearly two weeks ago. She wrote GL because she was horrified at the conditions at the Brooklyn Central Booking on Schermerhorn Street between Smith and Boerum Place. (It is next to the Brooklyn Detention Center and basically across the street from the 75 Smith condo and future Smith Hotel.) Here is her story:

I was going to see a student in Manhattan. I went to the Nevins Street 4/5 station. The Metrocard machine did not take my ATM card and was not accepting bills! No one was in the booth, but the place was lit up and seemingly occupied. I thought that was odd. So, I decided to pass through turnstile. I heard someone on the platform below, a cop was there with the token booth worker! I wondered if this was a ticket quota trap.

He was just going to let me go when he punched in my info and it came up that there was a warrant out for my arrest. A squad car was called. They cuffed me and brought me to the precinct in the Hoyt Jay station where they found that my warrant was for an unpaid off leash summons. I had tried to pay the summons, but they had dismissed everyone at the Schermerhorn sc court that day because of a Building Dept. hearing that had backed up the whole day. Obviously, the dismissal was not processed through the system.

So, I was locked up for three hours in a cell. No matter how absurd my case was, when they begin the process of inquiry or arrest, they cannot reverse it. After 3 hours of paperwork and sitting in a precinct cell, no water etc….no working phone in precinct office(?), they asked me if i had drugs on me! The only thing i had was a New Yorker and almonds. They brought me over to Central Booking. Same thing–cuffs and car. Central Booking is appalling. The cell is 12 x 24 foot, no windows, open toilet, 3 gym mats on the flloor covered with dirt, half eaten sandwiches, an old pair of pants, spilled old milk, a small bench running the length of the room that was barely wide enough to sit on. Greasy walls, florescent lights 24 hours, noise, screaming, a pay phone, 6 woman were in there when i went in. It was “a slow night” and in the cell across the way there were 8 woman. By the end of the night , they had put in 8 more woman in my cell. We were sleeping on top of each other on the floor. If you look up on the wall, about 9 feet up, there are signs that say don’t expect to be out before 24 hours, water available upon request, meal time hours (that’s when they throw boxes of cereal through the bars) and sanitary pads available upon request. 24 hours before you can even hope to be out of there!!!!!

There was a 16 year old girl that had been in there for 2 and a half days, she had been taken in because one of the men that had been in a car with her (been pulled over for a broken headlight) had a gun on him. She was young, clueless, frantic and couldn’t stop crying. There is no available water. The prison guards crank the radio up in the hall so we couldn’t sleep. (A lot of the women in there are crack addicts, so they were throwing up and getting sick.) They occasionally come by to toss some frosted flakes or bologna sandwiches into the cells. You cannot ask anyone a question about anything because there is no one to ask. I have long arms, so I stuck my arm out of the cell and reached to the sink out side of the cell to get some water–no one wanted any because of were it came from–plus it took me 5 calls to the guard to get cups. Needless to say the guards are assholes. Everyone pees and throws up in the open.

They cleared out the cell across from us because there were mice in there. I slept with my head facing the toilet. I couldn’t breath because the disinfectant smell was so strong but nothing was clean. At 9 in the morning my lawyer came in. He commented that this facility was worse than the men’s Tombs in Manhattan. My case was about 10 cases away from being heard. That would be 6 hours later and there was nothing to do but wait.

There seemed to be a giant amount of racial profiling going on — alot of woman in the cell were just picked up wrongly and booked for supposed violations. (Open bottle of alcohol.) It seemed that they wanted to put as many black folk in the system as possible. I grew up in brooklyn in the 70s . My dad grew up here. I am not a naive, knucklehead from a transferred suburban bubble. This “pick up anyone for anything and process them for it” as my lawyer informed me, was a Guiliani mandate. It is racist. It has divided this city and it is making this place a plasticized suburb that I don’t think I have the heart to remain in. It is disturbing to watch these rich kids prance around Smith Street, when 2 blocks away, there is a cell where you are held without communication, water, food and logic. The judge threw my case out in 2 seconds and was visibly irritated that i was locked up for a day for an offleash summons.

When I left the building 25 hours later, I realized that just one block away, there are $3 million townhouses. PS: the 16 year old that was in the cell for 2 and a half days…her case was also dismissed.

The contrast between the ugliness inside and privilege outside will be even stronger if the city goes ahead with plans to reopen the bigger jail complex and add luxe condos and retail.

[Photo courtesy of Property Shark]

Writer Matt Sollars emailed us to bring our attention to a fascinating site about Gowanus and the Gowanus Canal that he put together as part of work on a Masters Degree at the CUNY Journalism School. It includes some interesting vids about different Gowanus issues, including a particularly fascinating one about the Ferrara Brothers concrete operation. The plant has been there since 1969, but the land was taken by the city via eminent domain in 1974. Now, the plant would have to go as part of the Public Place development plant, although the owners have appealed to the city to have a place in the “new” Gowanus. (At one community meeting, we heard the owner make his case directly to Planning Director Amanda Burden.) The concrete it provides is key to a large number of downtown Manhattan building projects, including redevelopment of the World Trade Center site. The Gowanus location is key as there is a “ninety minute rule” in the concrete business that means the product has ninety minutes to make it to a construction site before it’s rendered useless. The are other interesting vids too, including one on a sweater manufacturer that is becoming shared space for artists, one on Public Place and Gowanus artists, one on the general plan for Public Place and an interview with Buddy Scotto about his belief in a Riverwalk-type development the need for higher density in Gowanus.

Sure, you’re finished with holiday giving. But might you need a tax deduction for 2007? Here’s a list of Brooklyn and NYC nonprofits where you can make a donation by Dec. 31 and get that deduction.–Green Brooklyn

In contrast to most site around Williamsburg yesterday, which were buzzing with weekday construction work, 568 Union Avenue was quiet. (This is slightly ironic in that when demolition was going on some neighbors stuck “No Weekend Work” stickers on the fence.) That was then, however, and this is now. For now, 568 Union is quiet. (To see the future Chocolate, click here.) It only has a fence that is open enough to allow access to the site and that is so shoddy that it appears ready to fall over on the sidewalk. The Department of Buildings, on a recent visit, noted that the “fence has holes and is in danger of collapse.” Several violations, the most recent on December 21, have been written on the former Manhattan Chocolate Building. The collapsing, open fence now has a violation notice taped to it.

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

• 81 Ocean Parkway Starts Petition About Development [Kensington Brooklyn]
• 2329 Nostrand Ave Update [Brooklyn Junction]
• Atlantic Yards Immune to Credit Crunch? [DDDB]
• Brownsville Project Gets Some Help [NYDN]
• New Prospect Park Youth Council Members [Icky in Brooklyn]
• Donuts Coffee Shop’s Last Day is Tomorrow [Lost City]
• Join the Goodbye Coney Island Flickr Page [OTBKB]
• Prospect Park Crime Among Lowest for Big Parks [NYDN]
• Miss Heather’s Stocking Stuffers [New York Shitty]
• Dollar Vans [The Real Flatbush]
• “Wither the Community at Outside.in?” [Brklyn Stories]
• Kwanzaa at Folukie [Bed-Stuy Blog]
• Still Time to Donate Your Old Coats [About Brooklyn]

As the city, Thor Equities and other interested parties hash out a Coney Island redevelopment plan, Coney Island USA is moving ahead with redoing the building it bought earlier this year. This is the rendering just posted on the organization’s website. It’s bill as the first step towards the new, year-round Coney Island! It’s the new and improved Freak Bar and Coney Island USA Gift Shop!” The new space represents the organization’s expansion into space previously occupied by a US Army recruitment office and the Dreamland Artist Club. Per the CIUSA Website:

Don’t look now, but it won’t be long before you can listen to music on our vintage jukebox and quaff Coney Island Lager on tap – in the space formerly occupied by the US Army! You’ll browse through the new and improved gift shop in the former Dreamland Artists Club! And do it Wednesday through Sunday all year round!

The design comes from architect Philip Tusa and the expansion is supposed to be ready in April ’08.

[Photo courtesy of Tugster]

Before Christmas, we noted that PortSide New York would be holding its annual Operation Christmas Cheer on Christmas Day. That’s a wonderful event where volunteers bring cookies and newspapers to crews on tugs and barges working New York Harbor on the holiday. The cool blog Tugster has posted some photos of the day. Check them out.

Did you notice the incredible moon on Christmas Eve and Christmas night? Artist, sculptor and photographer Gary Mirabelle, who is a valued regular contributor of photos to GL, certainly did. This is the view from Prospect Park West on Christmas night.

[Photo courtesy of Gary Mirabelle/Mirabelle Studios]

“Hanukkah and Christmas may be behind us, but Kwanzaa is just beginning, and the holiday season’s still going strong. Looking for a way to celebrate? Try one of these picks.”–About Brooklyn

[Photo courtesy of interestingideas/flickr]

We bring back our Brooklyn Back in the Day series of older photos with this image of Coney Island in 1981 that we came across on flickr.

UPDATE: A GL reader kindly points out that the stand, Sister Theresa’s, is in Charles Denson’s wonderful book Coney Island Lost and Found (on P. 191) and was located at Henderson Walk and the Boardwalk.

Somebody wake us up when it’s over and Williamsburg has been renamed Fischerburg. What you are looking at is the site of a new building that will be going up at Grand and Berry in Williamsburg Fischerburg. (Official addresses are 130 Grand and 259 Berry.) It will be 5 stories tall and have 22 units. We presume it will cover up the tagging that decorates the new building next door, around which it will be built. It should make like fun at the new building for many months to come. Speaking of which, there have been more than a dozen complaints so far during the demolition to the Department of Buildings. One of them was about the demolition being done mechanically and undermining the building next door. When the DOB inspected the site there was “no evidence of back hoe being used at time of inspection.” We’re not doubting this to have been the case. However, uh, that thing in the picture above, which was not “at the time of inspection” appears to us to indicate–perhaps…maybe–some evidence that mechanical equipment might have been used. Maybe. At some point. We think.

We’re looking forward to interesting things from The Real Flatbush, a new blog that bills itself as being for “non-pretentious people who live in Flatbush.” There’s this post, for intance, on hook up spots in the neighborhood:

This being a neighborhood blog, I’ve decided to chronicle the best pick up spots on Flatbush. My favorites are Stop N Shop and Staples, on Regent, C-Town on Church and Argyl and C-Town off New Kirk Plaza. These are great places to meet new people. After 5:30 to 7 on weekdays are the best. This is the after work crowd. Most of the women and men are single professionals. Also on Saturday and Sunday Mid Mourning till 2 PM. I also like the Variety store on the corner of Parkside and Flatbush next to the Duane Reade. I’ve found that places that are not too pretentious or overdone are great to meet down to earth people.

Or check out this Christmas Day post on “Best Date Spots on Flatbush.” In a much more serious vein, have a look at yesterday’s post on “Microaggression in Flatbush,” which raises some important questions:

I like to park my car near those free standing houses near and around Ditmas Park and Prospect Park South. It seems that the home owners are very stand offish to such things. A while back I parked my car on one of those streets in the morning. On my way back from work I picked up my car. It had been awhile since I checked my oil. I looked under the hood. As I was working on my car a white family that was in a conversation was walking down the street. As soon as they saw me the conversation stopped and there was this silence. The mom hurried her kids into the house. Another white neighbor guy from across the street looked around and went back to his house. Less than a minute later the security patrol car came and decided to park his car right near where I was checking my oil…I then realized that this might have been a microaggresive behavior. Has this ever happen to other Black men living in the area? Part of the reason that I loved Flatbush when I was growing up was that I did not have to deal with that kind of subtle racism from my neighbors.

We look forward to a lot more from The Real Flatbush.

If Manhattan can have a Highline, why can’t Brooklyn have a “Lowline”? After all, we do have that old subway tunnel under Atlantic Avenue.–INSIJS

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

• Mobil Station at Flatbush & Dean is Toast [AYR]
• Park Slope Strollers Lining Up for Baby Gap Commercial [Gothamist]
• 2008 in Preview: Red Hook Vendors Will Feed Drivers in Ikea Gridlock [INSIJS]
• Christmas Day at Green-Wood [Sunset Park Blog]
• Reflections on Boxing Day [Right in Bay Ridge]
• Coney Island Memory Drops Vid [Kinetic Carnival]
• Kids n Play in the Park [Velvet Sea]
• Neighborhoods Deserted for the Holidays [Brklyn Stories]

Late last week, the crew from Streetfilms stationed themselves at Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues, where the traffic was awful and talked to drivers. The results are interesting. You can read more about it here, here and here.

On making and delivering cookies for PortSide New York’s Operation Christmas Cheer: “I came on board armed with about ten or twelve dozen. The snug galley is the place of operations. An enormous cast iron stove, counters and portholes surround a semi-circular table. Boxes upon boxes of cookies were piled high; Carolina gets contributions from many of the local bakeries at this point, included Margaret Palca. Her efforts have become well known among the seamen and they now look forward to a visit from her and her Santa-hatted helpers.”–Lost City

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

“An article appearing in last week’s issue of the Courier-Life chain read a bit like something out of The Onion, if you read between the lines.” Why? Because groups that signed the Community Benefits Agreement with developer Bruce Ratner and that have gotten significant cash from him, say the press simply isn’t writing enough stories about projects the developer is doing with them.–AYR

Red Hook, Brooklyn
[Photo courtesy of aur2899/flickr]

From our lounge to your house, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

A special GL friend filed a couple of Christmas Eve photos from Court Street Pastry with the simple message: “75 years of Italian baked goodness.” Have you had your Brooklyn canoli yet?

[Christmas Eve Brooklyn Morning Sky courtesy of mjcote/flickr]

It’s Christmas Day and we’re not publishing Brooklinks right now. We’re going to sit down, have some coffee and open some presents. Happy Holidays to all, and enjoy that gorgeous Brooklyn Christmas Eve sky in the photo above!

Yes, it’s silly. But amusing, given that it’s Christmas Day.

Venezia, Italy[Photo courtesy of Angelo Greco/flickr]