We. Have. No. Idea.

All we know is that someone taped up “Lost Bunny” signs on Bedford Avenue with this person’s photo and that this he was marching up and down the street. We’re betting that it was a marketing or promotion effort like everything turns out to be, but holding out hope that it was a random individual acting out for personal or non-medication-taking reasons.

A GL reader who caught this interesting scene at the Red Hook Ball Fields where the vendors are under siege by the Parks Department, sent us a link to the YouTube vid he shot that was part of a short being produced by Red Bucket Films. So, now, the Red Hook Vendors have to contend with Parks Department competitive bids, overzealous Health Department Inspectors and filmmakers looking for interesting backdrops. Here’s the email that accompanied the video and photos below:

I was eating at the Red Hook park food vendors when an odd ice cream cart came through. An old man sitting at the end was playing a piano like instrument while another pushed the cart. Along the side of the cart read “Ice Cream Soup”. A team of film makers were following the cart as people swarmed around it to get a look. They were giving away free ice cream, apparently to make a short film. I asked the film makers about it and they told me to check out their website at redbucketfilms.com. Some of their films are interesting, such as giving a dollar to people on the street for 50 cents. Whatever the point, it was interesting to look at, listen to and watch kids line up for free ice cream. Whoever said that nothing in free… well I guess the signed waver to be in their video may be the rub.

Pics below.

Last week, Brownstoner’s Gabby Warshawer offered a look at the demolition activity underway at the environmentally-challenged Whole Foods site in Gowanus, noting that a promised Spring 2008 opening seems a bit optimistic at this point. When we strolled over to have a look for ourselves, we found the entire building that adjoins the little body of water on the site we’ve come to know as Lake Gowanus was already gone. We do understand that neighborhood organizations and the big retailer have had some discussions about making the huge store more responsive to neighborhood concerns, although we’re unclear as to what direction those conversations have taken. Whole Foods has previously rejected requests to reduce the amount of parking on the site and to include environmentally-friendly features like a green roof.

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

Transportation:

• Why Does the MTA Give Google Its Schedule Data, but Not Us? [onNYTurf]
• The Joy of the G, Continued [11222]
• When Do You Need the G? [Save the G]
• New Prospect Park Car Restriction Begins [Streets Blog]

Not Transportation:

• Revised 421-a Ratner Clause Reduces Low-Income Housing Requirement [BDE]
• Digging into the “Owner Use” Eviction Controversy in Prospect Heights [AYR]
• Mayor Lukewarm to Federal Disaster Designation for Brooklyn Twister Areas [Sun]
• Picnic with Your Broker Behind 20 Bayard [Bad Advice]
• Greenpoint Construction Soup [newyorkshitty]
• Ratnerville Construction Update [No Land Grab]
• BellTel Lofts Market to “Cobbie Hill” [BK 11201]
• Assisted Living on Columbia Street [Brownstoner]
• Stray Gunshot Hits 12-Year-Old Girl in Crown Heights [NYP]
• St. Ann’s Fall ’07 Lineup and Website [Dumbo NYC]
• Pool Aid: The OSA Benefit [Brooklyn 11211]
• Come Take a Fresh Look at PLG, Babs Corcoran [Across the Park]
• Wonder Wheel Listed as One of Top Ten [Kinetic Carnival]

With all the attention that’s been paid to the Austin Nichols Warehouse at 184 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, it’s worth noting that early work is underway on the significant alteration and conversion of the building to more than 300 luxury apartments. The big steel door in the front of the building has been removed and replaced with plywood. Several permits have been issued over the last several months, with the most recent coming at the end of July. The building has been empty for more than a year and we noted the future look only last week.

We got an invite from the Red Hook Community Justice Center Photography Project about its second annual photography exhibit, which takes place on Wednesday (8/29). Called “The Eyes of New York Final Exhibition,” it takes place from 5:30PM to 7:30PM at the Red Hook Community Justice Center, which is located at 88 Visitation Place in Red Hook. The students whose work is featured all participated in the What’s the Hook? photo project. You can check out some of the What’s the Hook? photos posted on flickr here. You can see some of the Community Justice Center students’ photo posted to their flickr group here and their What’s the Hook? photoset here. A couple of samples are below. Their work is very cool.

[Photo courtesy of Shaneequa M/flickr]

[Photo courtesy of Sarah Photography/flickr]

We snapped this photo on Sunday afternoon simply to capture some small changes on the “Faile Wall” on N. 6th Street between Wythe and Kent. Then, yesterday, upon returning from a summer blogging hiatus, our friend INSIJS reported that demolition started yesterday on this site. Definitely check out INSIJS’ full post, which includes some interesting history of what has been a favorite posting spot for street art on N. 6th Street (he calls it a “Wailing Wall for street art fans“) and a discussion of the future use of this and adjacent parcels. (You get two guesses and the short form of the word has five letters and starts with a “c” and ends with an “o.”) So, the question of the day is: What will the market be for luxury condos directly across the street from the Music Hall of Williamsburg?

[Photo courtesy of Von Roberts]

There are two interesting Red Hook stories on our list today. The first story comes from the archive section of City Limits magazine, which reaches back 20 years to a story that puts today’s Red Hook in an interesting context. (It was titled “Red Hook: Gloom with a View.”) It deals with the Red Hook reality and possible gentrification from the perspective of 1987, which is always an interesting one. The other is from today’s New York Times and decries the slow process of gentrification along Columbia Street, where many restaurants and shops have opened in recent years. (Columbia Street also shows up in the City Limits story.) The six-word summary of the NYT’s Columbia Street story: Columbia Street ain’t no Smith Street.

Here’s a sample from the City Limits story:

Among the gentrified and renovated communities of downtown Brooklyn, Red Hook remains the great outback. Its potholed streets are lined with vacant warehouses and abandoned storefronts, its waterfront decimated by rotting piers and dilapidated rowhouses. Red Hook’s 11,000 residents are overwhelmingly poor—63 percent of them earn less than $10,000 per year—and mostly black and Hispanic.

There is no subway stop in Red Hook. The two bus lines that serve the community run “when they want,” says one resident. There are no hardware or variety stores, no movie theatres and few social or cultural activities. The most conspicuous trade is drug dealing. But in the evenings, after the heavy truck traffic and noxious fumes of the day have died down, residents still drag their lawn chairs out to the sidewalks or gather in front of the bodegas to talk and catch a glimpse of the view of the river. Red Hook’s residents have become accustomed to the area’s isolation and inconvenience.

And here’s a sample from today’s Times:

The wishful thinking about Columbia Street’s being the new Smith Street goes only so far. The magical combination that makes one street hot and another tepid can seem elusive, but not here, where the reasons for the stalled revival are painfully clear. Continuing construction, a sense of geographic isolation and waning buzz continue to hush the “pop” that speculators had predicted.

Both stories are worth a few minutes of your time on this late August Tuesday.

The photo above came to us from Williamsburg’s only dating advice and real estate development blogger, Bad Advice. She came across this tangled mess of “Caution Gas Line Buried Below” yellow tape on Roebling Street in Williamsburg. She writes:

I found this snarl of “warning gas line below” tape on Roebling between N. 10th and 9th. Way closer to 10th. . . within spitting distance of the Roebling Oil Field.

The interesting this is that no digging or drilling appears to have taken place before the warning tape went down for the count. There are a number of buildings being demolished on N. 9th and N. 10th Streets, across from the Roebling Oil Building. All we can say is (a). if someone is digging there, could somebody mark the gas lines in paint on the sidewalk or pavement and (b). perhaps you should refrain from lighting up on Roebling between the indicated cross streets for a few days.

The historic Childs Restaurant building on the boardwalk in Coney Island hasn’t hosted more events this summer, but it’s looking cleaned up and is sporting the signage of Taconic Investment, the big developer that continues to fly beneath the controversy radar in Coney. Taconic opened the wonderful old building for the Mermaid Parade Ball back and June and intends to renovate the building and return it to use as some combination of restaurant, catering space and marketplace. We will note that temporary food stands and “a market” that a Taconic VP had mentioned as being open by late summer at a Municipal Art Society panel in the spring didn’t materialize. The building, however, has been cleaned up, with all of its graffiti gone. Taconic is hoping to develop 1.1-1.8 million square feet of residential, retail and parking on its “South Venture” development parcel around the Childs Building. It has mentioned another 1 million square feet for its “North Venture” on Surf Avenue.

Related Posts:
New Life for Childs Restaurant Building
Meet the Coney Island Sleeper: Taconic Investment
Coney Island’s Historic Childs Building Comes Back to Life

[Photos courtesy of Norman Oder/Atlantic Yards Report]

So much Brooklyn hipster content the last few days. There are videos like the Hipster Olympics and Hipster are the New Jocks. And, of course, there’s yesterday’s Missed Connection anti-hipster hate crimes gem. We believe the vid below is a satire. We think.

Related Post:
Disconnected in Brooklyn: I Was Protesting Anti-Hipster Hate Crimes

A few tidbits of information about the big planned Public Place development on that highly toxic site along the Gowanus Canal that was home to a manufactured gas plant surfaced during that Carroll Gardens “Town Hall” meeting on Thursday night. Among the groups interested in submitting RFPs are non-profits such as the Fifth Avenue Committee, the Carroll Gardens Association (not to be confused with the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association) and the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corp. All will team up with developers as partners, which is where the game will get quite interesting. For instance, it’s reported that Dumbo’s heavyweight developer David Walentas is interested in partnering with an unnamed group to submit a proposal for the 5.8 acre site at Smith and Fifth. Last week, we noted a report that a group connected to Democratic heavyweight Assem. Vito Lopez will be submitting a proposal along with the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corp. and the Carroll Gardens Association, making it an early favorite based simply on the players involved.

Related Post:
Gowanus “Public Place” Development Fun Begins

It’s time for one of our regular check ins on our dear old friend the Roebling Oil Building, which sits atop the gone, but not forgotten, Roebling Oil Field. As the R.O.B. has taken shape and reached its maximum state of expression, its full height and scale has become quite clear. This baby, which is the work of Karl Fischer, is one massive building, running about three-fourths the length of an entire city block. If you’re new to the Roebling Oil subject, click here to find out a little something about this site’s oily past.

Last week we noted that the city is moving toward seizing the buildings on Duffield Street that supporters say were part of the Underground Railroad in Brooklyn. The land would be used to build an underground parking garage and street level open space. Before moving ahead, the Bloomberg Administration set aside $2 million for some type of project that would “commemorate” abolitionist activity in Brooklyn in the 1800s and created a panel to look into how to do that. (Our top bet is an abolitionist memorial in the new park that somehow also duly notes the role the Duffield Street houses demolished by the city played. Just a guess.) In any case, today’s amNY includes a look at the controversy. Here’s an excerpt:

The Duffield Houses are targeted for demolition as part of $9 billion worth of development that promises to include new public spaces akin to Bryant Park, mixed use residential/commercial high rises like the Time Warner Center and an expansion of local colleges.

The city’s report states that although “Downtown Brooklyn played a vital role in the abolitionist and Underground Railroad,” the research could not “conclusively document” that 233 Duffield and six other nearby houses were stops on the way to freedom.

Although some peer reviewers disputed the findings of the report, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development this month recommended that the city exercise the power of eminent domain to take the Duffield Street houses and proceed with plans to demolish them.

The land they occupy would become part of the new Willoughby Square Park, a 1.15-acre green space that would be placed atop a new underground parking lot with space for 700 cars.

The demolition crews won’t be coming any time soon, though. One lawsuit is already pending in state court and a suit challenging the use of eminent domain is also expected to be filed. You can check out the Duffield Street Underground blog’s take on the article by clicking here.

If you’re a Brooklynite who uses Prospect Park, you probably already know that today is the first day of additional car-free hours, meaning that cars will no longer be allowed on the East Drive from 5PM-7PM. To celebrate, Transportation Alternatives and other local advocates are offering an “after-work snack as they reach out to park-goers about the new car-free hours, and ensure that cars respect the new hours.” Streets Blog notes:

Despite all the enthusiasm surrounding the announcement of additional car-free hours in Central Park earlier this month, Brooklynites felt slighted that Prospect Park had been overlooked. But this week, the DOT and Department of Parks and Recreation announced a fractional closure of the Prospect Park east loop drive. Beginning Monday, August 27th, cars will no longer be allowed on the east loop drive between 5-7 pm. The only times in which Prospect Park will be open to cars are weekdays from 7-9 am on the east drive and 5-7 pm on the west drive.

The event will take place from 5PM-7PM at Park Circle, which is at the intersection of Prospect Park Southwest and Parkside Avenue. For more information, you can check out Streets Blog and Transportation Alternatives.

[Photo courtesy of Michael Hanson via Streets Blog]

It actually says “Police Your Dog,” which would have earned it a place here even if it hadn’t be tagged and stickered. We can’t recall the last time we saw a “Police Your Dog” sign, which conjurs up visions of flashing at badge at Fido and ordering him in a very stern and convincing tone of voice to only crap in the gutter and then clean up after himself, not to mention suggesting that you will write him a summons should he insist on perpetrating the defecation offense. We guess, of course, that small dogs are easier to police than big ones. We do understand that “police your dog” is a euphemism for cleaning up his doo, as in “Carry a small shovel and plastic bag to police your dog when walking on city right-of-way.” Still, you just don’t come across it much and maybe it deserves a comeback in signage to add some variation to the standard “Curb Your Dog” signs. The photo of the sign on the far, far end of West Street in Greenpoint comes courtesy of our esteemed Greenpoint correspondent.

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

• Tenants Fight Eviction on Bergen Street [Brownstoner]
• The Future of Coney Island Will Not Look Quite Like This [AYR]
• Selling Porn Feet From a Lutheran Elementary School [Right in Bay Ridge]
• Don’t Put Dog Shits. By the School. [newyorkshitty]
• Attack on Red Hook Vendors Isn’t Bureaucracy, It’s “a Hit” [Lost City]
• Serious Envy of Bicycling in European Cities [I’m Seeing Green]
• New Coney Island Film Fest Poster Released [Kinetic Carnival]
• Forest City Volleyball [No Land Grab]
• Clean on Fourth Avenue [Big Sky Brooklyn]
• Scarlet Fever in the Building [163 Ocean]
• Back in Brooklyn [A Brooklyn Bachelor]
• Greenpoint Dentist Facing Sex Charges [Metro]

We got an email with a very good summary of the “Town Hall” meeting in Carroll Gardens hosted by Council Member Bill de Blasio. It was prepared by Maria Pagano of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association and we are going to excerpt some large passages:

1.) [City Council Member] Bill [de Blasio] agreed to have his office give more advance notice on the dates, times and place of future Town Hall meetings, promising to use both electronic and print media to announce future meetings. [Assemblywoman] Joan [Millman] acknowledged the SRO audience and indicated that since the schools were closed, the meeting couldn’t be held at PS58, although future meetings would be.

2.) Mapping Carroll Gardens: Bill is focused on establishing and formalizing boundaries required for City Planning and development. Currently approximately 75 blocks, 4000 buildings.

3.) Building moratorium in Carroll Gardens: The legalities were discussed and it was understood that a moratorium is legally possible, as indicated by Amanda Burden’s open letter to CORD supporters. Bill stated that he would work on imposing a moratorium on any new building in conjunction with moving the zoning and/or land marking actions forward.

4.) Bill has been meeting with City Planning and received their assurance that they will consider CG for rezoning. Bill advocated for the strategy set in place by the CGNA, to pursue both re-zoning and land marking at the same time, to preserve the height limits thru zoning change and the brownstone character thru land marking the neighborhood as it stands, encouraging development that fits in the architectural context that exists in CG.

5.) Land Marking: Bob Furman, Four Boro Neighborhood Preservation Alliance Director and Vicent Favorito, Chair of the CGNA Landmarks Committee described and defined what LM is, how it works and the meticulous detail required to present a neighborhood to the Landmarks Commission for consideration, as they have previously at the CGNA general meetings. Residents are encouraged to learn about the process, it’s protections and limits at the Landmark Commission office. Bill strongly stated that CG would be best served by pursuing both re-zoning and land marking simultaneously for maximum benefit.

6.) Bill and Joan Millman have met with 360 Smith owner Billy Stein and will include representatives from CORD when they meet with him again next week.

7.) Public Place: Bill promises full discussion on this topic. Some points presented:
* History, current use and?plans presented by City Planning.
* Size and number of buildings necessary to address profitability to developer to encourage less than market rate housing, either affordable or senior.??
* Brownfield contamination, remedies, health issues
* Questions on why the City intends to use an acknowledged contaminated swamp set in a flood plain as a site for senior citizen housing.

8.) ILA site (corner of Union and Court) has been purchased for $24M by a professional development group. Although there has been discussion with the new owners on the potential development of the site, until an architect is selected no further discussion of neighborhood concerns will occur. Buddy [Scotto] and Bill will continue contact and present strategies to address community interests with the developers…

Gowanus and Carroll Gardens are anticipating a significant influx of new residents in the next 5-10 years. The Public Place development could include as many as six buildings up to 10-12 stories tall. Toll Brothers are planning 300-400 units in their canal-side development. Another project on the Bayside Fuel terminal property could include another 300-400 condos. A bit more from the meeting notes:

The community insists that plans be in place to strengthen and improve the services necessary to accommodate the population increase. Bill, Joan and Yvette [Clarke] offered their support on:

1) Gowanus Canal: address effect of 2 yr. pump repair, revise outdated rainfall standards, identify and address CSOs, toxicity, influx of contaminants.
2) Restore express track service to alleviate the already packed F trains, as suggested by resident Gary Reilly.
3) Reinstate Engine Co #204. Hundreds of new residents being built for with the one local firehouse empty in central Carroll Gardens…
5) Establish a Post Office as part of the services in the Public Space or ILA development.
6) Develop and support local options for middle and high school students!

There it is for the record. Good coverage last week, as always, at Curbed and Brownstoner.

Here’s a vid posted in the last few days to the YouTube that deals with the subject of the F Train and a possible Express. We do wish that music hadn’t been put underneath the person speaking so that it makes her harder to understand.

[Photo courtesy of the Daily News]
We didn’t take note of it yesterday, but Jotham Sederstrom’s package of articles on Coney Island in yesterday’s Daily News is absolutely worth checking out. The story doesn’t dive into the odd negotiations that have been going on (or the various agendas of the negotiators and those floating the stories), but presents a nice picture of what has brought us to the current state of affairs. Interestingly, one of the stories in the package notes that Coney attendance is up this season. One indication is that between April and July, average weekend ridership at the Stillwell Ave. train station leaped to 83,068, a 26% increase from the same period last year. Beach attendance is down, though, with the Parks Department estimating that 6.4 million people used Coney Island beaches from Memorial Day and Aug. 1, a decrease of 40.5 percent from last summer.

Here are links to the individual pieces:

• Sands of time catch up to Coney Island
• A big bump in attendance
• Life was a beach with everything from romance to race rioting
• Boardwalk of history
• Photo Gallery

It’s really short notice, because the rally to protest these eviction takes place at noon today, but the story itself is one worth noting on any day of the week at any time. The specific issue is the “owner-use” eviction of four rent-stabilized tenants at 533 Bergen Street in Prospect Heights. (The story was covered in the Brooklyn Rail in May.) The practice itself–which allows landlords to reclaim rent controlled apartments for themselves or family members–is on the rise. Here’s the release from the Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC), which is co-hosting the rally and block party along with tenants:

Owners Andre Wiesmayr and Deanne Cheuk, both well-recognized designers and artists (Cheuk was recently named one of “20 under 30” to watch by Print magazine) want to take over five rent-stabilized units and convert the apartments into a triplex for themselves and co-owners Felicity Loughrey, a celebrity journalist for Vogue Australia, and husband Dan Bailey. Eviction proceedings have already begun. “Sometimes I don’t even sleep thinking about what’s going to happen” says Evelyn Suarez, a cancer survivor who lives in the building with two of her children and one grandchild. “We would have to go to the shelter, that’s our only choice”.

Owner-use evictions, which are on the rise in Brooklyn, especially in the shadow of proposed development at Atlantic Yards less than a half-mile from 533 Bergen, are based on a provision of New York State rent laws which allows landlords to evict rent-regulated tenants to reclaim units for themselves or their family members—without any limit as to how many units are cleared. So-called “owner-use abuse” is also often exploited in order to de-stabilize rents and convert units to market rates. “Over the past year or so, our office has seen a sharp increase in ‘owner use’ eviction cases” says Brent Meltzer, an attorney with South Brooklyn Legal Services who is representing one of the threatened households. “These landlords are not content with taking just one apartment and often seek to displace an entire building full of rent stabilized tenants”.

The event runs from Noon-6PM and there’s a press conference at 12:30. It takes place on Bergen Street between 6th Avenue and Carlton Avenue.

[Photo courtesy of Property Shark]

Sometimes, the best Brooklyn Craigslist Missed Connection of the Week is so obvious that it practically walks up to you and punches you in the face. This is one of those weeks:

I was handing out pamphelets decrying anti-hipster hate crimes – m4w – 24

And you were raising money to fight global warming. I patiently listened to your pitch, while noticing that your lips were moist and full, your eyes dilated, and my pants super tight. But then some old Polish lady came along and began to question me before I got to get into the details of what I was trying to accomplish. Well, what I’m trying to accomplish here is to bring an end to anti-hipster hate crimes. I’ve had it with being insulted (and worse) by strangers while walking down the street. I’ll bet you are too. I mean, so what if I like drinking PBR, does that give anyone the right to throw me to the curb and pour it onto my bleeding head? We need to make it a lot less cool to make fun of us, just as it no longer is cool to make fun of Gays or women or black people. Anyway, that’s what I’m up to, and I’ve started a new group (or I’m trying to) that I’m thinking of calling the Hipster Anti-Ignorant Defamation Society (HAIDS), or maybe Hipsters Against Stupid, Ignorant Defamation (HASID). I want to make the streets of New York safe for hipsters. If you are interested, let’s get together at Verb to plot our next move or maybe swap stories. The first PBR is on me.

Great stuff.

We were going to put this in our Sunday TV collection, but decided that this guy deserved a place all by himself. We especially enjoy the way people walk past and no one blinks. We googled the liquor store and found that it’s on Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint.

Every week, we highlight a few comments that have been left by readers during the previous week. Here are this week’s choices:

Conflict Over Carroll Gardens “Town Hall” Meeting. “That is crap, as a cb6 member I heard about the town hall we before the last min meeting was schedule by CB6. I know because it was not on the original Aug. Calander. Our council member is trying to Downzone Carroll Gardens and you people are giving them shit. Please do not screw this up for the rest of us who want to see CG preserved.” [tagray1]

Thor Spokesperson Says Developer Needs “Defending.” “I disagree that it would be in their best interests to try to correct any mis-statements or mis-assumptions on a partisan blog because the posts on such forums often (regrettably, almost always?) devolve to the lowest form of name-calling and accusation all too rapidly. I actually think it’s rather bold that this rep even made the statement he did on the blog in question…” [Rich]

Red Hook Food Vendors Respond to Health Department Enforcement. “I’m really suspicious about this bout of sanitary concern. For one, while the DoH has been banging on at the ballfield vendors, a semi regular vending operation (food and non-food), seems to have cropped up on the Western driveway in Prospect Park, and it doesn’t seem to have been accompanied by legions of sinks. Though to be honest I’m not sure what their agenda is, unless its that the idea of an ad hoc, yet slightly institutionalised operation on this nature strikes them as somehow untidy.” [Gringcorp]

Here’s this Sunday’s selection from the YouTube. These are Brooklyn vids from thelast week, with an emphasis on a ton of Barack Obama vids posted after his local appearance, plus some other random choices. Enjoy.