This is the site of the former B65 bus stop on Dean Street near Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Heights, where water and sewer work has been going on. It only took a few days to let befuddled passengers know they were waiting for a bus that would never come at the old stop. Many years of such mirth await the neighborhood as it becomes a construction zone. No Land Grab has a further report on the moving bus stop, here.

“The Brooklyn Flea is starting to take shape, with excellent local merchants like Prague Kolektiv, Olde Good Things, Demolition Depot, Build it Green!, RePop, Housing Works Used Book Café, and Journey Home joining homespun folks like Georgia’s Homemade Toffees, Gavin & Lily Jewelry (made by Catskill, NY, Brooklyn transplant Sarah Stoudt), and WFMU DJ Small Change as vendors so far.”–Brownstoner

Of all the historic structures in Brooklyn, one of the most beloved and distinctive are the old Civil War Era warehouses known as the Empire Stores. It is impossible to imagine the Dumbo waterfront without them. Yesterday brought distressing news from the state that there are some “structural deficiencies and deteriorating conditions” and that Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park has been closed while scaffolding is installed “to protect pedestrians from possible falling brick.” The future of the building has been the subject of competing plans for over a decade. Developer David Walentas originally planned to develop the building. Then, Shaya Boymelgreen won development rights before losing them because nothing was happening. One commenter on Curbed yesterday even suggested a deliberate strategy at work to allow the buildings to deteriorate so that preservation becomes arguably too expansive. It is worth noting that the structures are not part of the Dumbo Historic District that was created this week.

• The Columbia Vote vs. Atlantic Yard Vote [AYR]
• Karl Fischer Row Developer Buys Huge South Williamsburg Site [Brownstoner]
• Fort Greene Entrepreneur Group Forced to Close [NYDN]
• All About Bodega Cats [NYT]
• Williamsburg Bank View [No Land Grab]
• Here Comes Riviera Suites [GerritsenBeach.Net]
• Coney Island in the 19th Century [Kinetic Carnival]
• Post-Holiday Electronics Recycling Event [Sustainable Flatbush]
• Raising Bike Consciousness [Bed-Stuy Blog]
• Psychedelic Car in Bay Ridge [Right in Bay Ridge]
• Brooklyn Music People Pick Their Favorite Songs of the Year [Brooklyn Based]
• New Year’s Eve at the Farm [Ditmas Park Blog]

There’s a clothing recycling project coming to the Greenmarket at Grand Army Plaza after the New Year. It’s called “Second Chance Saturdays: Recycle your Unwanted Clothing and Textiles” and it will start on Saturday, January 5. Per the email about it:

This pilot builds on the already successful project at the Union Square Greenmarket, where over 27,000 pounds of clothing were collected-diverting them from landfills and incinerators. The donation of these items helps support Goodwill’s valuable programs, reduces export costs, and allows for the reuse of valuable clothing and textiles…Textile collections start January 5th, 2008 and will occur every Saturday through March 29, 2008, from 8 A.M to 4 P.M. at the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket. Acceptable donations include used clothing, shoes, boots, hats, jackets, towels, bedding, and linens. Tax receipts will be available upon request. The donation of these items helps support Goodwill’s many programs that assist people with disabilities and other barriers to employment.

The pilot program has been dubbed “Second Chance Saturdays,” and is an expansion of the successful “Material Mondays” textile collection program initiated at the Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan over the summer and is aimed at helping the city and the Department of Sanitation meet the Mayor’s aggressive recycling goals.

Sounds like a great program.

Here’s a very extensive list of holiday events (mostly in Brooklyn, but also elsewhere in the city) for adults and children. For instance, did you know that Santa is coming to the Hamilton Dog House on Fort Hamilton Parkway tomorrow? There’s a lot more too.–A Child Grows in Brooklyn

Every time we turn around, something is disappearing in Brooklyn. It’s not that we would expect TV repair shops to exist forever, having become another dying art form. We expect to see them shuttered and being cleared out. (Who’s old enough to remember when one called a TV Repair person and they came to one’s house to fix a television set because a tube had burned out? Okay, who recalls taking a TV to the shop to get it fixed rather than throwing it away? We give up, who remembers non-flat screen TVs?) We say all this to note that G & D Television on Henry Street at the corner of Atlantic Avenue is going to the big TV repair shop in the sky. A special and valued GL Correspondent filed a photo of the old G & D sign late yesterday and this morning, the superbly informative Carroll Gardens blog Pardon Me for Asking reports that there have been dumpsters outside full of old TV sets. So, what boutique or eatery is slated to take over the space?

I looked up and that’s when I saw the worker in the attached photos. He is standing atop the “scoop” of an earthmover. Note the lack of safety helmet. I guess such niceties do not matter to a person who thinks it is A-OK to “work” while wedged between a piece of construction machinery and a building. One story up.

I didn’t see how he got up there. I did, however, see how he got down: he shimmied onto the arm of earthmover, hopped into the “scoop” and it lowered him down. Is this acceptable site safety? Just curious.

Many, many more months of work to come on the Quadriad and adjacent sites.

Work on the big Brooklyn Bridge Park development, which has been stalled and steeped in controversy, could get underway by next month. If so, it will start with a wrecking ball. Jotham Sederstrom reports in today’s Daily News that the first construction phase, which could be approved today, will include the demolition of the historic Purchase Building under the Brooklyn Bridge and the removal of portions of five piers. Mr. Sederstrom reports:

The Purchase Building, built with federal Work Projects Administration funds in 1936, had been used as a temporary headquarters for the Office of Emergency Management following 9/11, when its Manhattan office was destroyed.

Supporters of the $150 million park plan believe the landmarked building would bisect the park, interrupting its continuity and blocking views of the river. But despite protests from preservationists bent on saving the Art Deco building, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted in favor of demolishing it in 2006.

“It’s further evidence that the [Empire State Development Corp.] cares so little about what the community thinks,” said Judi Francis, president of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund. “All parties, for and against the project, have wanted to preserve it because it’s a landmark.”

A shed on Pier 1, meanwhile, is also expected to be demolished during the construction phase as well as the partial removal of four other sheds on piers 2, 3, 5 and 6.

It would appear to be safe to presume the huge project is no longer “stalled.”

So, why were Marshall’s clearing out and locking up Silver Button on Flatbush Avenue? Well, it’s the holidays, so any number of things can happen for any number of reasons.–Icky in Brooklyn

I would like to point out that this site is located between Freeman and Eagle Street. I mention this because “Mary D’s Housing for Seniors”, a rather large facility, is located around the corner from this death trap. The closest grocery store is located between Huron and India Street. So in order to eat, purchase toilet paper, etc.–things most people are used to doing without negotiating an obstacle course–the residents of this center (and they are MANY) are either relegated to walking around this mess (in the street) or take alternative route.

Not that anyone at the Department of Buildings would be concerned that a senior citizen breaks his or her face because of the vile conditions here. After all, urban life presents challenges to those in their 80s and they should have thought about it before opting to stay in Greenpoint rather than going to a retirement community in Boca Raton. Complaints about the fence (which, admittedly is only one of a host a issues here on the list of complaints to DOB) date back to spring. Back in March, however, an inspector found no problems, writing “OBSERVED NO STRUCTURAL DEFECTS AT CONSTRUCTION FENCE AT TIME OF INSPECTION.” No problem, then.

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

• Sweep Finds Widespread Labor Law Violations in Bushwick [NYT]
• Move Ins & Retail Coming Soon to 75 Smith [Brownstoner]
• Carroll Park Heat Update: Finally Turned Back On [Pardon Me for Asking]
• How to Succeed in Bay Ridge Without Really Trying [Bay Ridge Rover]
• Driver Attacked, Fatally Stabbed in Sunset Park [NYT]
• Upcoming Events at the Greenpoint Church [New York Shitty]
• Flatbush Arts [Sustainable Flatbush]
• Bed-Stuy Signs [Bed-Stuy Banana]
• Veterinarian Coming to Dumbo [Dumbo NYC]
• Animal Presents at the Prospect Park Zoo This Weekend [About Brooklyn]
• Four Years of Sputnik [Clinton Hill Blog]

A few weeks ago, the little botanica on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope was the victim of a bizarre robbery and arson. A GL reader writes to ask:

I was wondering I’ve been a customer for years. Does anyone know if the owners will rebuild the store?

If anyone knows what will become of this storefront, send us an email at thegowanuslounge (at) gmail (dot) com or leave a comment below.

One of the most unique holiday operations in New York City is PortSide New York’s Operation Christmas Cheer. It involves visits to dozens of working tug and barges on Christmas Day and the distribution of cookies, newspapers and cheer to the crews. This is the fourth year that PortSide is spreading joy around New York Harbor. Here’s a bit about it from PortSide’s website:

2007 will mark the 4th year PortSide runs Operation Christmas Cheer. We show up in a 26′ powerboat wearing silly Christmas hats, make a ruckus, and hand over a plate of cookies and newspapers (papers are hard to get when you work on the water). Tugs and barges work 24/7 and often work long hitches (two weeks on, two weeks off is typical). They frequently work national holidays and keenly miss their families on those days. They also feel the burden of working in obscurity, bringing you the stuff you use. The simple gesture of being remembered on Christmas means a lot to them. Just $600 covers the cost of a paper plate of Christmas cookies and a bundle of newspapers (New York Times, Daily News, and The Post) for 40 tugs and barges, plus boat fuel and sandwiches for the elves.

If you want to help out you can click here to donate or, make a donation as a unique Christmas gift.

Miss Heather was stopped by the police yesterday…for taking photos of Christmas decorations in Greenpoint. Stopped, questioned, required to show ID and asked why she was in a different part of Greenpoint than the one where she lives. Seriously. If you’re out there taking pictures of mangers, watch your back.–New York Shitty

Looking for things to do? Then, check out the “Spirited List.” It’s a long list of Brooklyn events taking place through the end of the year and there’s a good chance one will find something of significant interest, like the event on Christmas Eve combining hip hop and Bhangra.–Brooklyn Based

Perhaps someone would like a windup Eco Media Player to avoid batteries (pricey but interesting) or a Wind N Go Portable Lantern/Radio? Check out these last minute green gift ideas.–I’m Seeing Green

Just passed by the old Vincent Russo buildings at Smith-9th. They’re finally putting them out of their misery. Big green exes marking the unstable floors and a crew hauling out junk. I assume demolition will follow. Good riddance.

Some permits have been issued that would indicate that demolition is imminent. There is more on the quirky, if decrepit Russo Realty buildings over at Forgotten NY.

The crew taking down 5 Roebling Street in Williamsburg, aka the Giant Fart Cloud Building, is back on the job and neighbors are again suffering through severed cable TV lines and a general fear of being made homeless. Blogger Bad Advice is those telling us what it’s like to live in an old building next to one being torn down, and it isn’t pretty. (Note to developers: When one of the neighbors has a blog that is picked up and linked expect news of the tear down and collateral damage to travel rather widely.) Curiously, the Department of Buildings website continues to show a Partial Stop Work Order on the project that was imposed last month. (We will assume the site hasn’t been updated?) Here’s what Bad Advice wrote late yesterday to go along with the photo above:

Not content to tear down the building they’re supposed to be demolishing, MMG [the demolition contractor] has taken the first official steps towards wrecking my home! WTF?!?

Compared to fear of being made homeless, this next bit from an earlier post is just background color, yet it’s still interesting:

No sooner had MMG wandered back to the work site next door (well, officially—unofficially, they’ve been there off and on for weeks) to erect a “safety fence,” than my internet went out. I looked out my window and down to the backyard and saw that the fence butted right up against my cable wires. Though I didn’t actually see them do it, it seems pretty obvious that my wiring got in the path of MMG’s destruction. Once again, my neighbor has no phone, and I have no internet.

The full post is a great read too.