On Sunday, we turn to that interesting slice of life known as the Brooklyn Missed Connection on Craiglist. We have opted not to feature the serial poster who posted ads about Bedbugs and Herpes three times in the last week (the latest being this one) and is likely also the person responsible for gems like this and this. Our choice for the week is not a traditional Missed Connection. It’s more a social commentary, therapy & rant from Williamsburg:

To the person who broke into my car last night – 28

You broke into my gray Hyundai Elantra parked on the corner of Wythe and 4th St. As I was parking it, I noticed broken glass on the sidewalk and thought “the lightning never strikes the same spot twice.” Well, I was wrong.

I wanted to express how much I appreciate your effort to minimize my inconvenience. I understand that you probably come from a disadvantaged background, you may have an addiction or two, or maybe your mother is sick in the hospital. I quite understand your need to break into my car.

You only broke the rear passenger small window, so even in the cold weather there are no drifts reaching the front seats. I know it was hard to open the car through that small window, so I appreciate the effort.

You took my GPS system. I actually didn’t like it because it doesn’t allow me to update the maps and they are quite outdated by now. Thank you for giving me a reason to get a much better one.

You tool my work blackberry. They are actually upgrading us to the new Pearl model. I was due to get one in February. But thanks to you, I will get a new one on Monday. Thank you!

I do miss those $5 in spare change, but it’s a small price to pay. Hope it goes a long way towards buying your next fix.

And thank you for not taking my garage key, EZ pass car, or NY map. I wouldn’t be able to get home without them. I wish all car burglars were as decent as you are. You should start a car burglary etiquette classes.

Your biggest fan!

For another Burg theft-related Missed Connection, but of a lower magnitude, you can check out this one too, because the poster wants his/her shit back.

Here are a dozen music videos shot in Coney Island or with scenes shot there. Some of the vids go back a few years and show things like the Thunderbolt roller coaster that no longer exist. The vids were listed individually on a thread on the Coney Island Message Board this week. (Warning: There is some good music here and some hideous music here, depending on one’s point of view. The backgrounds, however, are fascinating.)

Here’s a bit of Carroll Gardens serendipity from a special correspondent with a good eye who’s been showering us with neighborhood goodness. In sending this photo to the GL Inbox in an email with the subject line “CG Secret,” our correspondent simply wrote: “’49 Caddy, Carroll Gardens, President Street.” Note the dust on the car, lending it an air of forgotten Brooklyn authenticity.

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

• Learn About the Pigeon Homing Club in Coney Island [NYT]
• Bucks, Dunkin Donuts & Papa John’s Burglar on the Loose [NYP]
• Free Seat [Icky in Brooklyn]
• Tis the Season on Wythe Avenue [New York Shitty]
• Brooklyn’s Englishman in New York Blogger, Paul Berger, Profiled [normblog]
• Killer in 1965 Brooklyn “Icebox Bloodbath” Murders Out of Prison [NYP]
• Passing Rite Aid [Park Slope Street Photography]
• String Orchestra of Brooklyn Concert Coming Up [Ditmas Park Blog]
• Atlantic Ave. Urban Outfitters Gains Stenciled Name [BK 11201]
• Inside the Deli at Bedford and N. 8 [A Test of Will]

Here’s a chance to get some unique holiday gifts and to do a very good deed. Cordula Volkening, a talented Park Slope artist, who also has Stage Four Brain Cancer, will be selling her work at a fundraiser at the Brooklyn Artists Gym today. The reception is from 4:00PM-8:00PM and the show also runs from December 10-13. There will be wine and cheese today and, of course, a selection of the artist’s work. The artwork begins at $200 and proceeds are going to cancercare.org and artists/kids. You can see a slideshow of the artists work and learn more about here by clicking here. Gallery hours during the week are 11AM-6PM. The Brooklyn Artist Gym is located at 168 7th Street on the Third Floor.

From the good people that bring us brooklynparrots.com and know everything that there is to know about our Brooklyn parrots.

Once a week, we light to highlight a few comments left by GL readers during the past seven days. Here are some of this week’s choices:

An Important Meeting for Admirals Row. “I work at Steiner Studios occasionally and there is nothing as thrilling as riding my bike past the guard and zooming past the giant boat sheds and seeing Admirals Row through the chain link. The presidio, in San Francisco was a ghost town for years before it was saved and the buildings reused for housing and LucasFilm. The pet cemetary is even still there. Look, when the war ended, who was gonna fix up Admiral’s Row when the vets needed cute little ranch houses and medical care? What I am saying is, yes, it is a travisty, but NYC don’t know what they got ’til it’s gone… If there is a will there is a way.” [Anonymous]

Do You Have Any “Thank You For Shoveling Cards”? “I have to wonder if we really need to thank people for following the law. Maybe tickets for those who don’t shovel would be a more appropriate way to get the point across.” [Ben K.]

A Lot of Digging & Shaking at 340 Court in Carroll Gardens. “If a Bu…EXCAVATOR showed up near your property and your house began to shake wouldn’t you call to report it? I figure the more press this project gets the more Clarett will keep the building under control. I live near this corner. And if that is developer propaganda, glad you are reading the voices of the people who will have to deal with the construction for the next 3 years.(in the summer we will have to keep our windows shut) All I can truely say is: design it appropriatly, get permits, give the old timers some of that court yard, say, a bench or two. Why not be the developer that people like! And a heads up on borings to the neighbors would have been a step in the right direction!” [Anonymous]

Old & New: Friends or Frenemies on Union Street? “Yes, Yes. It’s a Town House. and with the Miami ref, they must mean NEW Miami, not Art Deco Miami. This new building on union has adonized aluminum railings. like on the deck of a yacht. Many buildings in Florida have that nautical thing going on. It could be “Bavarian” but I trust you mean Functionalist or perhaps De Stijl, for there are no turrets or carved bears or heraldic motifs most associated with Bavaria on this building. After walking inside the place one day, I can tell that the designer had a faux Asian/Zen idea in mind. All that quasi mid-century modern/subzero fridge crap that attract yuppies. ya know? If there were decent window frames and the green paint brought down a few shades, it would disappear…” [Anonymous]

Greenpoint, Brooklyn
[Photo courtesy of Miss Heather]

“A few very pretty and unusual yellow cauliflowers, fragrant Eucalyptus and festive little pine swags: the late season offerings at the Farmers’ Market this Saturday. Festive, especially with Borough Hall all decorated for the Holidays.” Actually, it’s all about the photos.–Pardon Me For Asking

Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
[Photo courtesy of a Special GL Correspondent]

Check out some of the latest from Bed-Sty conveyed in photos and words. There’s are festive decorations and a twisted, old gate that’s not to be missed.–Bed-Stuy Banana

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Having had a previous meeting very publicly disrupted and abruptly canceled because of several hundred people bused in at the expense of State Senator Carl Kruger’s campaign committee, the Coney Island Development Corp. has scheduled three different meetings in January. This either means that there will be ample room for further bused in groups of paid protestors or that it will cost organizers a lot more money to disrupt the meetings. At the same time, it seems that Coney Island’s most enigmatic player, Horace Bullard, who owns the big, vacant property next to KeySpan Park, may be selling. He tells the New York Post that he wants to be a “team player” and is in discussions with the Bloomberg administration to sell his land to the city. If the report is true, public acquisition of the Bullard land would be a significant development.

As for the public meetings, they’re actually public information sessions intended to provide the public with details about the Bloomberg administration’s plans for Coney Island. They are not part of the land use decision making process. In any case, the meetings will be taking place after New Years:

Monday, January 7, 2008 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

The Monday and Tuesday evening sessions will take place at Lincoln High School Auditorium., which is located at 2800 Ocean Parkway. The Tuesday afternoon meeting will happen at the Coney Island Hospital Auditorium, which was the location of the ill-fated meeting that was canceled. All three sessions will have the same format, presentations and information. There will be an opportunity for comments and questions from the public. According to the CIDC, “In order to accommodate as many people as possible, speakers will be asked to limit their comments to 3 minutes each. Individuals wishing to speak will be asked to sign-up at a registration table at the entrance to the auditorium.” The sessions are formally called Public Information Sessions on the Coney Island Zoning Framework.

On other fronts, we believe that a number of complaints have been filed with the State Board of Elections asking it to investigate whether Sen. Kruger’s use of campaign funds to send protesters to the November 19 meeting violated state election laws.

We will be posting parts of our GL Holiday Gift Guide for the season, episodically between now and the end of the holiday season. Today, we again focus on all the Brooklyn craft festivals today and tomorrow. This is list is a sampling of what’s going on, as there are many event happening and we certainly don’t know about them all.

In any case, go forth and shop for locally made crafts on Saturday, December 8:

3rd Ward’s Handmade Holiday Craft Fair & Open House. This first-ever event features “local artisans and craft mavens alike…selling their wares in the classic marketplace style amidst an Open House filled with free tutorials and demos in vintage furniture restoration, sustainable lamp design, video animation, metal work, graphic design and more – all led by 3rd Ward Members and top artists and creative professionals. We will be featuring special live performances, giveaways, discounts on membership, classes and studio rentals with steady beats, tasty refreshments and a fabulous photo booth on hand to keep the energy going throughout the day.” The fair starts at 12 Noon and runs through 8PM. 3rd Ward is at 195 Morgan Ave in East Williamsburg Brooklyn.

NY Creates Holiday Craft Festival in Brooklyn Heights. Wares by juried Brooklyn and NYC craft-artists, from whom you can custom order gifts like sweaters and jewelry. The Brooklyn Historical Society at 128 Pierrpoint St. The fest runs from Noon-6 on December 8, 14, 15, 22 and 23.

The 16th Annual PS 321 Craft Fair in Park Slope. Many crafts at this Park Slope neighborhood tradition. It runs from 11AM-4PM at 180 Seventh Ave at 1st St. (Electronics recycling is also going on outside, if anyone is looking to score some crafts and get rid of an old computer.)

Painted Pot 4th Annual Pottery Holiday Sale at 339 Smith Street in Carroll Gardens. “Beautiful Hand Made Pottery at Great Prices by our students, instructors and local potters.” It runs from 11 AM-6 PM today and tomorrow (12/9)

First Annual Society for Clinton Hill Artisans Holiday Fair at Habana Outpost, 757 Fulton St at South Portland. It’s from Noon-8 PM every Saturday and Sunday through December 23.

We forgot to repost this item yesterday, but better late than never. There is an electronics recycling event in Park Slope this weekend which offers the chance to get rid of computers, monitors, printers, and other electronics devices in an environmentally friendly way. The drop off spot is PS 321, which is on Seventh Avenue between 1st and 2nd Streets. It will be easy to spot if you are unfamiliar with the neighborhood. Even though we had posted about this back in November, we remembered the event because we passed the big red dumpster sitting on the street out front last night. The dates and times are:

Saturday December 8 from 10 am to 4 pm
Sunday December 9 from 10 am to 4 pm

Electronic devices are responsible for serious environmental issues if they aren’t disposed of properly, so dropping them off at such events is a good thing to do. New York City residents buy 92,000 tons of electronic devices every year. (In case you don’t look at the Holiday Guide, PS 321 is also holding its annual Craft Fair today, so there is an opportunity here to do some multi-tasking.)

[Photo courtesy of TigerCoin/flickr]

It’s unclear if this is the same pot bellied pig that has been seen in other Brooklyn neighborhoods, but it’s certainly a pig on a leash in Williamsburg, which is all we need to know.

[Photo courtesy of ConeyHOP/flickr]

Broolinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn information and, especially on weekends, images.

Photos:

• Surf and Turf Christmas (above) [ConeyHOP/flickr & Kinetic Carnival]
• Serving Breakfast [Atomische]
• Kentile in Autumn [Blue Jake]
• Snowy Gowanus [ethersong/flickr]
• President Street [seriously excited!]
• Happy Hanukkah Desktop [Brit in Brooklyn]
• Smith-9th from Snowy Car Window [Lisanne/flickr]

Words:

• Considering the Doctoroff Legacy [AYR]
• Fire at New South Slope Condo [Brownstoner]
• A Blogged Week [Bay Ridge Rover]
• More Thoughts About Bottled Water [Sustainable Flatbush]
• The Walk to the Subway Station [Bed-Stuy Banana]
• Coney Hoopla Links [Kinetic Carnival]
• City Puts Some Cut on the Stench in Bay Ridge [Brooklyn Paper]
• Second New York Sports Club Coming to Bay Ridge [Bay Ridge Blog]
• Dumbo Weekly Links [Dumbo NYC]

The GL reader who emailed us this shot correctly identified our love of odds street signs, if not mixed messages. He writes:

This one was taken on smith @ president (by the Gowanus Yacht Club.) Sounds like the DOT does not take any responsibility…you can cross the street at your own risk.

Well, one should certainly look carefully before crossing and make sure the lights aren’t all red and green at the same time.

Here’s a freshly posted promo video for the Coney Island Polar Bears New Year’s 2008 swim, which guess isn’t all that far in the future, after all.

The Polar Bears will be swimming every Sunday through April. Money raised by the New Year’s swim will go to Camp Sunshine. Last year’s swim raised $25,000 for the camp. One can register for the New Year’s event by clicking here. Last year a swimmer died after diving into the water and suffering a neck injury.

Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

The Church of the Ascension on Java Street is among the groups in Greenpoint collecting coats for New York Cares. If you’re in the neighborhood and have something to give, there are many times each week you can do a good deed.–New York Shitty

Bushwick, Brooklyn
[Photo courtesy of fawpah/flickr]

The Carroll Gardens CORD group, which has been pushing for a development moratorium and fast action on rezoning has sent out another letter to elected officials. It says in part: “Who is watching out for our safety? Who is protecting our property? Why does it seem as though the developer’s rights and interests are put before ours?”–Pardon Me for Asking

Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
[Photo courtesy of emilydickinsonride sabmx’s/flickr]

The historic buildings in the Brooklyn Navy Yard known as Admiral’s Row will have an important hearing next week when a hearing is held about transferring six acres of property from Federal control to the city. The city is planning to demolish the buildings to make way for a supermarket and parking lot while preservations are trying to save them. The meeting will take place Tuesday, December 11th from 7 to 9 pm at PS 307, located at 209 York Street (2 blocks north and 1 block west of the Navy Yard). An Army Corp of Engineers consultant will present a formal report on the condition of the buildings. Advocates have claimed they can be preserved and city officials say they are too deteriorated. The Historic Wallabout Association has produced talking points that back the transfer of the property and the construction of a supermarket on the site, but that urges “the adaptive re-use and restoration in whole, or in part, of the historic Admirals Row to allow for benefits to the local community including food, and job placement and training.” It also says that “Federal agencies should restrict the transfer with a requirement that the City appoint a task force of local stakeholders to arrive at a community plan that meets these objectives and is economically viable.” In the meantime, Brooklyn’s Other Museum of Brooklyn continues to wage a campaign to preserve the Admiral’s Row houses. Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. President Andrew Kimball says there is “no option” but tearing down the historic, but deteriorated structures.

GL Analysis:
Anyone that has seen the Admiral’s Row buildings or spent time looking at them understands they are not in good condition. Yet, it does not require a leap of imagination to realize they would be invaluable assets to future generations if they were restored. They are part of Brooklyn history and losing them will simply add to the long and sad list of losses that Brooklyn has experienced during the current development boom. It would be hard, in fact, to come with a story for one’s grandchild that would highlight our disregard for history more strongly than ripping down more of Brooklyn’s history for the sake of building a supermarket parking lot.

If it happens, some of those children will grow up and mock the early 21st century public officials that allowed it the same way we shake our heads in disgust today at the mindset that allowed the destruction of Penn Station in the 1960s. No, the Admiral’s Row buildings are not Penn Station, but the mentality that allowed the cultural vandalism that destroyed it is the same one plaguing Brooklyn today. The Bulldozer and Wrecking Ball School of Brooklyn Urban Planning will look just as short-sighted and ugly a couple of generations from now.