What would a week be without a Williamsburg demolition or construction site wide open to adventurous members of the public? So it is this week with 580 Union Avenue, aka the old Manhattan Chocolate Factory. For those that are into making chocolate or candy, we did notice that a lot of those chocolate trays you find in boxes of chocolate are scattered around inside of the site. Could be a lot of fun to come from here.

Yesterday, it was noted fairly widely that Park Slope made the American Planning Association’s annual list of America’s “Ten Great Neighborhoods.” As such, it joined neighborhoods like North Beach in San Francisco as places the venerable APA counts as nice places to live around the country.

Here’s a little of what APA had to say about the Slope:

Community Participation Sustains Historic Design and Modern Amenities

The Park Slope neighborhood of today retains much of the architecture that defined it 100 years ago…The American Planning Association has selected Park Slope as one of 10 Great Neighborhoods in America for its architectural and historical features and its diverse mix of residents and businesses, all of which are supported and preserved by its active and involved citizenry.

“No neighborhood in America has a finer and more intact collection of late 19th-century row houses than Park Slope,” notes architectural historian and Columbia University professor Andrew Dolkart. “Block after block is virtually unaltered, with houses ranging from grand townhouses designed by Brooklyn’s leading architects, to long rows of vernacular speculator-built housing designed by the obscure architects who provided character to so many urban neighborhoods.”

Park Slope has a little bit of everything: stately brownstones, attractive apartment buildings, a farmer’s market, independently owned businesses, transit, an adjoining park, and active residents, some of whom moved to the area as urban homesteaders when it was being abandoned in the 1960s…Historic in design and modern in amenity, the livability of Brooklyn’s Park Slope is no hyperbole. Its architectural, recreational, transportation, and community assets all combine to make it a great community of lasting value.

The full item is available here.

1) North Edition: Work is coming along nicely on Lokal, the wine bar that is getting set to open in the old Monsignor’s space at the intersection of Bedford and Lorimer in Greenpoint. This was the first look we’d gotten at the design scheme.

2) South Edition: There is some restaurant carnage to note on Smith Street. Carneceria is finito, per our friends at Eater that ran a photo of a real estate sign in the front window. Maybe the new spot will offer less drama. A bit down the street, Sopadilla has been closed for several weeks. A “for rent” sign is up in that window too.

This construction-related specimen comes from the Karl Fischer building going up at 63 Roebling, which is the corner of N. 8th and Roebling in Williamsburg. The scaffolding just went up in the last week, resulting in the semi-hidden Stop Sign. It will make life at yet another Williamsburg intersection just a tad more interesting for both drivers and pedestrians. (A photo of the intersection without the scaffolding and peek-a-boo stop sign is here.)

• Murder Up in North Brooklyn [NYDN]
• Another Look at Ratner Tiny Town Daycare Eviction [AYR]
• DOT Does GAP [Streets Blog]
• Chetrit Buys Hospital Building for $15M [Brownstoner]
• Williamsburg Savings Bank Building Clock Reappears [NYT]
• Gowanus Bridges [Citynoise]
• Can a Williamsburg Guy Date and Upper East Side Woman? [Gawker]
• George Clooney in Brooklyn Heights [Brooklyn Heights Blog]
• Things to Do on Flatbush Ave. [Across the Park]
• Ladder 122 Celebrating 100 Years [OTBKB]
• War on Graffiti at Canarsie Project [NYDN]
• NYChildren Photo Project at Habana Outpost [Green Brooklyn]
• Haunted House of the Day [Clinton Hill Blog]

Just a reminder that “Walk Don’t Destroy,” the Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn Walkathon Fundraiser is coming up on Sunday, October 14. It will take place from Noon-5PM, with registration at Noon and the walk from 1PM-2:30PM. This year, the walk will take place in Prospect Heights. Registration and Kick-Off is at Freddy’s Backroom, 485 Dean Street @ 6th Ave. The walk will go up Flatbush Avenue to Grand Army Plaza. It will circle the Plaza and go down Vanderbilt Avenue. The total distance is about 1.5 miles. Post-walk festivities are from 2:30PM-5:00PM at Soda Bar at 629 Vanderbilt. For more information and to register, click here.

Here’s some new imagery that appeared recently on Wythe Avenue between N. 3rd and N. 4th Streets. The one above is on a wall that has drawn a great deal of street art over the years. The one below just appeared on a nearby construction fence.

The reader who sent the photos of these swans on the Gowanus Canal wrote that “I took this pictures today from my studio at 4th street and Bond. It warms the heart to see these swans on the canal.” Yes, it does. Of course, this is not to be confused with the Gowanus Canal heron or this bird or these ducks. It all does the spirit a great deal of good.

Get ready to hear about it. Over. And over. And over. And over. The American Planning Association has selected Park Slope as one of the “Ten Best Neighborhoods in the Country.” The criteria used by the APA–which represents planners nationwide–are unclear. The Daily News writes:

The leafy, brownstone-lined neighborhood, known for its picturesque streets and progressive politics, has been named one of the 10 best in the country by a national urban planning group.

The historic area, just steps from Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, is the only New York City neighborhood to make the first-ever list from the American Planning Association (APA), set to be released today.

“It’s got a lot of past, but it has also evolved and has a lot of vibrancy in the present,” said association spokesman Denny Johnson, citing the area’s architecture and proximity to such cultural spots as the main library.

Other “Great Neighborhoods” chosen by the Washington, D.C.-based group range from North Beach in San Francisco to Elmwood Village in Buffalo. APA officials said all the winners share a high level of community involvement – something Park Slope is certainly known for.

So, will it boost asking prices five percent or ten percent?

One might call the thing growing atop 53 Bridge Street one of the most impressive growths to sprout atop an old building in all of Brooklyn. What’s equally impressive is that the The Thing on 53 Bridge has progressed amazingly well since we last trained our camera on it, especially given the Stop Work Orders and other impediments to speedy growth with which the building has been faced. There is still a partial Stop Work Order on the building as well as fines due, but we must say that the design by Robert Scarano certainly makes a statement.

Well, this is one way to have a slightly edgy existence. We can verify that hole atop which this car is parked is both amazingly big and surprisingly deep. It is on Havemeyer Street near Metropolitan Avenue. We have faith the street itself won’t collapse, even though the earth beneath it has and there is a car parked on it.

We revive our Brooklyn Back in the Day series of historic photos courtesy of an excellent collection of photos of the area around Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues posted on flickr by timventi. You will notice a very familiar surviving landmark in the photo above to anchor a landscape that is very different today. The photo is part of the Atlantic Times Plaza photoset that includes three dozen images. Click here to find the full set. Highly recommended.

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

• Tiny Town Day Care Being Evicted by Ratner [NYDN]
• Dumbo Landmarking Hearing Scheduled for October 30 [Dumbo NYC]
• Fisk Terrace/Midwood Park Landmark Designation is Close [Brownstoner]
• Mapping Fort Greene and Atlantic Yards [No Land Grab]
• City Would Support “Clean” Expansion at Sunset Park Power Plant [NYT]
• More on the Proposed Power Plant Expansion [Sun]
• Is Brooklyn Over? [Gothamist]
• Windsor Terrace at Twilight [Icky in Brooklyn]
• 200 Livingston Gets Skin [110 Livingston]
• Updating the Brooklyn Parrot Situation: They’re Everywhere [NYDN]
• If You’ve Seen the Albino Ferret, Please Call [newyorkshitty]
• Waiting to See the Debit Card Machines in Action at the Slope Food Coop [OTBKB]
• Clooney Film Shoot Locational Update [Brooklyn Heights Blog]
• It’s Haunted House Time Again [Clinton Hill Blog]
• Green Streets, Brooklyn-Style [Big Sky Brooklyn]
• The Culver Viaduct [Brooklynometry]

The Brooklyn College Library is going to be hosting a fascinating exhibit of of photos by writer and photographer Charles Denson called “Secrets of Coney Island Creek.” Mr. Denson is the noted author of Coney Island Lost and Found and the director of the Coney Island History Project. The Brooklyn College Library Show opens on Thursday, Oct. 18, and Mr. Denson will present remarks on the creek’s past and future.

Mr. Denson has been shooting photos the creek since the 1960s and 1970s when it was, in the words of the email he sent us, “at a low point, surrounded by industry and suffering from neglect and pollution. Since then, portions of the creek have
been reclaimed, drawing both wildlife and residents to its shores. The photographs in “Secrets of Coney Island Creek” document those early decades and offer a fascinating and comprehensive portrait of the creek today and its relationship to the Coney Island community, from the people of diverse cultures who visit the creek and its new parks to the environmental challenges that lie ahead.”

Like many challenged bodies of water locally–the Gowanus Canal and Newtown Creek–the creek was originally a natural wetland environment, until industrial development in the 1800s.

The opening event is on Thursday, October 18 at 6PM at the Brooklyn College Library, which is located at 2900 Bedford Avenue. The show will run through November 2. Mr. Denson’s knowledge of and work documenting Coney Island are Brooklyn treasures. We’re certain his exhibition on Coney Island Creek will shine a light on a body of water about which there is little general knowledge. You can read more about the show over at the excellent blog, Green Brooklyn.

From the Crown Heights North Association (CHNA) comes word of its first Annual House and Garden Tour, which takes place this Saturday, October 6th, from 12–5. They say in an email that “We are celebrating the beauty and culture of our neighborhood, and our recent designation as the first new Historic District in Brooklyn in over 10 years. This inaugural year, we are showing 10 houses, 2 historic churches and one community garden.” The first stop and ticket location is St. Gregory’s RC Church, 991 St. Johns Place at Brooklyn Ave. You can take the 3 train to Nostrand or Kingston Ave. Brooklyn Ave is between the two stops. Go north on Brooklyn Ave 3 blocks to St. Johns Place. Church is on corner. Or you can take the A train to Nostrand Ave or the 2/5 train to President St. Tickets are $25 and available online at the group’s website or at St. Gregory’s on the day of the tour. The tour starts at Noon and the last tickets will be sold before 3:30. The houses close at “5 pm sharp.”

From the YouTube, a short documentary-ish type of vid featuring our favorite Brooklyn canal.

Got toys? The Friends Group of the Windsor Terrace Library is looking for donations of “gently-used” toys for a toy sale on October 20. They say they need “puzzles, games, trucks, dolls, blocks–basically any toy that’s suitable to be sold.” The money raised will benefit the Windsor Terrace Library. Money from last year’s toy sale was used to buy books for the branch. It apparently needs more as longer hours are drawing more patrons.

You can email ctuzzwer (at) aol (dot) com to arrange for a pick-up or drop the toys off at the library, which is at the corner of E. 5th Street and Ft. Hamilton Parkway. The toy sale runs from 11AM to 2PM on October 20. Give them a hand.

From GL’s friend Gary Mirabelle of Mirabell Studios comes this image of the moon over Prospect Park, as seen from Prospect Park West.

The flyer pictured here is currently up all over the place in Williamsburg between Metropolitan Avenue and S. 4th Street and Havemeyer Street and Marcy Avenue. It asks for people with video or photos of a beating alleged to have been committed by undercover officers and suggests that it is part of a pattern. It says that on September 25 “a young man was severely and brutally beaten by six thugs” near S. 2nd Street, that he was seriously injured and that the beating was so bad that a “pool of blood” was left on the street. We must have seen two or three dozen of the fliers up all over the neighborhood.

The GL inbox is smoking with some emails passed on to us about (a). tough little ones at the Harmony Playground in Prospect Park and (b). the Slope’s pint-sized, brand-conscious materialists. We begin with the playground tough kids:

I have just moved within Park Slope, and Harmony is now our closest playground. My son loves it there, but we went this afternoon, and being a weekend of course, it was packed. It was to the point where it was stressful for me being there. There were a lot of big kids playing with a football… which hit me ( I’m 6 months pregnant by the way). There were kids running through the playground, pushing my poor 3 year old out of the way, and one child even kicked my son (no sign of that toddlers parents), while many kids pushed past him while he very patiently waited his turn on the slide.

Obviously it’s a popular place which everyone has a right to go to, but I also feel that my son and I have a right to play there safely. He shouldn’t be disadvantaged because he has nice manners. I want him to be able to interact with other kids, and learn to deal with the bigger kids, but I also want to be able to have fun with him while we are there, instead of stressing about losing him in the crowd, or him
getting pushed around.

From there, we move on to the brand conscious Slope Spawn. The perpetrators are 6 & 7, the victim is four:

We were on our way back from a great afternoon in Prospect park and my son was happily gliding downhill on his “Like-a-bike” type bike that happens to be made by another brand when the above group of boys came streaking down the street on scooters and started yelling “fake bike! fake! fake bike!” at him. At first my husband and I thought they were yelling “brake!” in a harmless attempt to mimic our warnings that he slow down as he occasionally picked up speed. It took us a while to figure out what they were even talking about as the trailed my son, circling around him for several blocks. Luckily my son, who is extremely pleased and proud of his hard won mastery of the bike, was in his own happy gliding world and didn’t even notice. I have also recently heard a story about a new kindergartener at [PS] 321 who came home crying about being excluded by a group of girls for not having the right, specific brand shoes!!! At 5!!!

This early awareness of brands is so upsetting. I know this a a heavily commercialized and saturated environment but we have to work hard to instill good values in our children and counter the effects of such commercialism. I find these stories to be utterly disgusting and feel disheartened with the neighborhood. This is not the park slope I grew up in, and would want to raise my child in. Who are these people???

There is also follow-up explanation about:

friends with kids at [PS] 321 who have been ostracized for not having a country home!! Another friends 4th grade son was asked about renovation! And whether they rent or own. This stuff is real and it is happening and I think we as parents should take responsibility for our children’s values.

Indeed.

Of all the things we’ve seen recently, the little scene at Empire Fulton Ferry State Park in Dumbo that we witnessed over the weekend takes a little prize. Some high school students in bizarre costumes were videotaping each other in the park. We’d seen them several times around the neighborhood during the Dumbo Art Under the Bridge Festival. A Park Ranger approached them and ordered them to stop taping. “You cant’ do that here,” he said.

“Why?” one of the kids said.

“You need a permit.”

“It’s a high school project.”

“Go over there,” he said, motioning toward Brooklyn Bridge Park. “That’s a city park. It’s different.”

At that point several passers by stopped and stared. “What are you doing?” the ranger asked one of them.

“I’m listening to this,” he said.

“You can’t listen,” the Ranger said.

“I can’t stand here and listen to you?” he said.

“No you can’t,” the Ranger said. “I’m talking to them.”

The kids didn’t put up a fight and left. We shot some video of the tail end of the interaction, but the audio quality is poor, which sucks, because it has some comedic value. All we will say is: We don’t believe there actually is any state park rule that prevents highs school students from using the same kind of video camera that thousands of tourists have to shoot video of each other. (There are laws requiring a permit for commercial activity and selective enforced rules that are sometimes interpreted to mean that amateur photographers can’t use tripods.) Frankly, we can’t believe how nasty this state employee was to some very polite high school students wearing silly costumes working on a class project and how he ordered someone not to listen. (Thank God we were standing behind him or our cameras might have been seized.) It’s unfortunate that the state parks in the city can be so unfriendly. At least, the ranger didn’t threaten to have the kids arrested, like a ranger in Long Island City suggested a couple of years ago to a bride on her wedding day if the wedding party did not cease committing the offense of photography without a permit.

We happened upon the block of buildings at 150-158 Fourth Avenue between Butler and Douglass over the weekend as workers were climbing around putting up the scaffolding they’ll be using during the demolition. Our friends at Brownstoner recently noted that the demolition has a green light. A twelve-story building is said to be slated for the site, which makes sense, given that zoning allows a structure of that size there. During the winter, we had run a photo of the same buildings boarded up in 1936 and, then, in 2007. The comparison won’t be valid much longer.

[Photo courtesy dgmarcus/flickr]

Here are some links to images and items about two big Brooklyn weekend events–the Atlantic Antic and the Dumbo Art Under the Bridge Festival.

Atlantic Antic:

• Atlantic Antic Photostream [flickr]
• Atlantic Antic Strikes Again [kidraerae/flickr]
• Atlantic Antic Street Festival [dennisandluba/flickr]
• Greenpoint Goes to the Atlantic Antic [newyorkshitty]
• Atlantic Antic 09-30-07 [Daniel Marcus/flickr]

Dumbo Art Under the Bridge Festival:

• Dumbo Art Festival Photostream [flickr]
• Street Shots from Dumbo Arts Fest [Dumbo NYC]
• Dumbo Arts Under the Bridge Festival [McBrooklyn]
• Dondi Does Dumbo Video [GL]
• Dondi in Dumbo Photostream [flickr]
• Dumbo Art Under the Bridge Festival [Brooklyn Enthusiast]
• Dumbo Art Under the Bridge Pics [GL]
• Dumbo Arts Festival 2007 [C B Photography/flickr]

It’s Sukkot, the Jewish Feast of the Booths. Those wooden structures on the balconies–which are abundant in South Williamsburg right now–are Sukkahs, which are part of the celebration.

We noted yesterday that the old Williamsburgh Savings Bank building is finally losing the black netting and scaffolding that has covered the top for a long time. It is only a matter of moments before the clock itself is revealed. Hopefully, after all this time and effort, it will actually tell the correct time on all sides again.