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

• Where to See the Fourth of July Fireworks in Brooklyn [McBrooklyn]
• Happy Birthday! [Blather from Brooklyn]
• Happy Independence Day Brooklyn! [DDDB]
• Eminent Domain Without Representation Is… [No Land Grab]
• Is Atlantic Yards Open Space Changing? [AYR]
• Interesting Developer for New Fourth Avenue Condos [Real Deal]
• Giglio Arch on Union Avenue [Blue Jake]
• G Train at Church Avenue [Kensington Brooklyn]
• Greenpoint Blogger Meet Up [newyorkshitty]
• Bike Shop Closes and Gets Shingles [Bed-Stuy Blog]
• Flatbush Recycling a Big Success [Sustainable Flatbush]
• Rare Violin Goes Missing in Brooklyn [NYT]

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Why not post a video on July 4 about the February 2006 snowstorm that reflects on the way a good snow quiets things down? This is from Street Films. Enjoy.

Here’s a short vid shot at this week’s Pool Party at McCarren Pool that shows a bit of Illinois performing, plus people dancing to Dengue Fever and Man Man.

It’s never quiet, even as people escape the workplace for a mid-week holiday or very, very long weekend. In any case, we have a couple of items, starting with an email we just got.

1) Council Member Bill de Blasio continues trying to hammer at architect Robert Scarano. His office is now circulating a letter to Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster asking for a halt to all Scarano projects “until all investigations are complete.” The letter, which Mr. de Blasio is encouraging residents to copy and paste and forward to DOB, says in part:

Throughout the city, Mr. Scarano is synonymous with bad contractors, dangerous job sites and out of scale development.

The State Education Department recently sent a letter stating DOB is working closely with you on a number of investigations focused upon Robert Scarano, RA. In light of the seriousness of the issues raised by these investigations, I am respectfully requesting that you immediately issue stop work orders on all construction sites related to Robert Scarano until all investigations are complete.

All that having been said, it appears that things are full speed ahead with the project that drew Mr. de Blasio to Mr. Scarano’s buildings in the first place, 360 Smith Street.

2) The owner of the notorious Greenpoint Hotel, Sam Pearl, is in the process of buying five buildings at 150-158 Fourth Avenue between Douglass and Butler streets. They have been emptied and boarded up over a number of years and we’re certain the process of dislodging tenants has not been a happy or pretty one. Gabby Warshawer scores the scoop in the Real Deal. Mr. Pearl told Ms. Warshawer he wants to build a 12-story, 64,000 square foot building on the site and that he is in contract to buy the site for $8.7 million.

The Comfort Inn on Butler Street in Gowanus is open. We even observed tourists coming out of the hotel. They appeared to be getting directions from an employee to what we assume was the subway. (Continue to read and you might understand why they potentially would be befuddled about their whereabouts.) Rooms we were glancing at start at $189 a night and run up to $219 and more. The hotel describes the environs this way:

The Comfort Inn® hotel is ideally located in the heart of downtown, within walking distance of the world-famous Brooklyn Academy of Music. This Brooklyn, NY hotel is minutes from Brooklyn College, the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the famous Coney Island and the Brooklyn Museum.

Additional nearby points of interest include:

* Central Park
* Ellis Island
* Empire State Building
* Madison Square Garden arena
* Statue of Liberty

Several theaters, universities, shopping areas and entertainment venues are minutes from the hotel. Enjoy biking and walking at one of the many nearby parks. The hotel is close to the subway system. A variety of restaurants and cocktail lounges are located in the surrounding area.

Ideally located in the heart of downtown? Really? On the bright side, at least they’re not trying to call the neighborhood Park Slope.

Related Post:
Gowanus Comfort Inn Closing in on Opening Day

You can put aside any thoughts you have that a new design for 360 Smith Street will temper neighborhood opposition. Some residents just saw a sketch shared by a “local politician” (we’re thinking we know who) and they are not placated. In fact, they seem rather agitated. Here’s an email we got about the new design:

Many residents here were totally blown away, and not in a good way, after seeing a rough sketch of the proposed building for 360 Smith that developer Mr. William Stein plans on building. With or without the trademark Scarano elements the building is clearly massive. On the southern-most corner of the Smith Street side, where the building facade will be “commercial” not residential is a seventy foot tower. This rectangular prism juts vertically into space sure to cast an enormous shadow and act as a light barrier for all the buildings on Smith Street. The rest of the commercial facade is very tall and goes along the Smith street sidewalk with no set back and joins the Hannah Senesh School known for its VERY! eclectic mix and match materials and colored architecture–i.e.UGLY! The new facade in turn, will cast an enormous shadow on Second Street.

On the Second Place side the wall height is a bit lower but then after a set-back, it too ascends higher, not once, but twice. On this side the wall has a residential style unlike the one on Smith Street. There is an above ground parking lot with an entrance to the garage from Second Place, an until now, gorgeous brownstone block with four story buildings trees and front gardens.

Shall we start to call it the Shadow Building?

Related Posts:
360 Smith Street #2: More Issues for Mr. Scarano
New Shots Fired in Battle of 360 Smith Street

Was it just Saturday that we were gazing upon the Hotel Le Bleu nestled between the taxi depot and the dialysis facility on Fourth Avenue, thinking that it would be open in a matter of a few days. Well, newyorkology has temporarily burst our bubble by reporting that opening day has been kicked by one week to July 16. Even worse, though, newyorkology found that the Jetsons-like restaurant called Vue with a rooftop indoor/outdoor Manhattan-facing restaurant and bar won’t be open until fall. And, there, in one fell swoop goes our vision of dining at an outdoor table while gazing at Manhattan in the distance and the Gowanus nearby. C’est triste, no?

Merde!

Related Posts:
Gowanus Life #2: Hotel Le Bleu
Gowanus Life #1: Restaurant Edition

Naturally, people living in the vicinity of the rumored possible Smith Street McDonald’s aren’t greeting the possibility of McMuffins in their midst with warmth. A GL reader emails to say people are:

all aflutter over the possibility of a MickeyD’s taking the place of the Brooklyn Camo. Someone called it a “tipping point” after it was pointed out that there was a Starbucks, a Dunkin’ Donuts AND a Domino’ Pizza directly across the street, not to mention the Brooklyn Industries and American Apparel, Lucky Brand Jeans, Rite Aid, CVS, Wamu….Then it spills into the sociology of the Gowanus & Wyckoff Housing projects, public schools, and how poor people shouldn’t have to eat that food.

Of course, EVERYONE is thrilled about the Trader Joes, which will occupy the Amalgamated Bank Building, yet concerned about the future of Sahadis. One [person] did mention she hoped it affected the Sahadis, as she was “scared” of the “ethnic” food stores on that stretch of Atlantic.

Now, as it turns out, rumors of McDonald’s and of the possible closure of the St. Claire Diner may not be true. We read an email that says:

I asked at the St.Claire Diner yesterday if they were moving. The very tall young-ish blonde behind the counter said that ‘paperwork had changed hands but they weren’t going anywhere’….’we’ll still be here’ True or not – that was her response. Then I asked in the real estate store on the corner of Wyckoff and the woman inside said they weren’t moving and it wasn’t true that McDonald’s was coming to that space. She said that the Army/Navy store next door is renovating and not moving. So how did these 2 new urban myths begin?

Another email seems to confirm this:

I spoke to the real estate office on the corner of Smith and Wyckoff today where I was told that while McDonald’s is always a threat, they had no plans to leave their current space for several years.

That’s the rumored McDonald’s site in the photo above, by the way. Of course, there is almost nothing left of the old Latino Smith Street, McDonald’s not withstanding. The entire culture that used to thrive there–as recently as five or so years ago–has been erased.

There appears to be a rash of car window smashing, car break-ins and, even, tire slashings going on Boerum Hill. This email indicates why we say this:

This past Sunday morning (had to be after 4 am because I was up) my tire was slashed 5 times. I’m on Pacific and Bond. When I went to get it fixed, another man in line had had the same thing happen sometime in the early morning hours. I really don’t understand these random acts of violence lately. I am moving from the area in a few weeks and hoped I could scrape by without having something happen to my car. I guess not!

As does this one:

While walking my dog this morning on Pacific between 4th and Flatbush, I walked by a couple cleaning the glass from their smashed driver’s window. The window had been smashed sometime between 10pm last night and 11am this morning. They are from Virginia and have Virginia plates. Nothing appears stolen and/or damaged…They knew not to keep anything in the car…Something is going on…

And this one:

Sometime between last night and this morning the small rear side window of our car was shattered and the interior ransacked in front of 438 Pacific Street near Nevins. There was no chalk on the tree, but a large brick from the tree pit’s border was apparently used to smash the window.

And those emails are only the highlights of what we’ve seen.

We call this gentleman, whose photo was captured and passed along to us by our Greenpoint Correspondent, The Thinker of Huron Street. Here, we find him practicing the Greenpoint Stare while gazing upon his rising neighbor at 143 Huron Street. We are given to understand that he actually has many things to think about including the rear end of Magic Johnson’s 110 Green Street condo project and Huron Street itself. Of the later, our correspondent notes, “The street has recently been exfoliated and reeks of delicious asphalt. When a nice breeze kicks up the grit blows in your eyes. It is very unpleasant.”

Related Post:
How to Kill Time in Greenpoint: Glare at the New Building

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

• Ratner Originally Wanted the Devils, and Other Details [AYR]
• How About a Montauk Club Duplex? [Brownstoner]
• Affordable Housing versus Preservation at the Domino Plant [NYDN]
• Korres is Coming to Montague Street [Brooklyn Heights Blog]
• …But Pats Coach’s Girlfriend Won’t be Moving to $2.2M Slope Townhouse [NYP]
• Parkville Luxury [Kensington Brooklyn]
• MLK Concert Series Schedule [Living in Victorian Flatbush]
• Truck Parking Lot in Red Hook Shut Down [NYDN]
• What’s the Best Pool in the Neighborhood? [Bed-Stuy Blog]
• The Empty Storefront on Laffayette [Clinton Hill Blog]
• Surf’s Up in Williamsburg [Brooklyn Based]
• The Cyclone [Velvet Sea]

When the Toll Brothers opened their sales office for the North8 Condo on Bedford Avenue last year, it was a serious sign of the changes taking place in Williamsburg and on Kent Avenue. Now, they’ve closed the office and the storefront is still available for rent. Does it mean anything? Only that the sales office has moved to the condo development itself and that the space is probably so pricey that it’s taking a while to rent. We’re surprised Douglaston Development didn’t grab it so they could establish a Bedford Avenue presence for The Edge. Then again, they’re in for a lot more square footage in space they’re taking at N. 6th and Kent Avenue. So, will the space return to being a boutique with elevated prices like its former occupant Spacial Etc.?

What is going on in Boerum Hill? We’ll deal with the subject of attacks on cars in moment, and direct you to the continuation of our Mad Crapper story if you wish to be enlightened about that. No, this is about something else:

Here’s a weird thing. My wife and I noticed unintelligible chalk marks on a tree a couple of weeks back; the next day, the window of the car parked next to it was smashed. A couple of days later, similar chalk marks appeared on the tree in front of our house, and that night, our front house window was smashed. Today, chalk marks appeared on a tree in front of a neighbor’s house; we hosed them off. I remember a story a while ago from the proprietor of ‘home and abroad’, who saw some kind of marks on her store window shortly before it was robbed. Anyone else noticed these? Is the Blair Witch vacationing in BH?

What’s up with that?

1) Call it a sign of the times. When Lillie’s Bar closed in Red Hook it was considered a sign that the times they were definitely changing as the Todd Shipyard buildings fell and Ikea started rising across the street. Yesterday, we noted the apparent upcoming end to Beard Street’s cobblestones. As we reported several months ago, the former Lillie’s is being changed into a jazz establishment, and we were surprised by the advanced stage of the remodeling. It should offer an excellent vantage on the cars coming and going to the Ikea across the street.

2) The Chelsea Garden Center has already expanded, opening up its Red Hook greenhouse. The building is located on Conover Street a few doors down from Sunny’s Bar.

We came across our favorite North Brooklyn pile driver again. Now, the Empire Pile Driver–Brooklyn’s best bang–has resurfaced at Union Avenue and Ainslie Street, which the epicenter of much Williamsburg construction east of the BQE. Those who’ve heard this baby banging away say that it’s got both size and staying power. That sweet sound of TSSSSSSSS-KER-CHUNK-KER-CHUNK–TSSSSSSSS-KER-CHUNK, etc. should be hanging around the nabe for a while. Excellent!

Tonight is the first film screening in the SummerScreen series presented by L Magazine at McCarren Pool. This is the second year for the outdoor films, and the series kicks off with Bring it On, which includes Kirsten Dunst. The films will be shown on Tuesday nights through August, and you can see the lineup in the image above, which is from the SummerScreen website. Movies under the summer stars at McCarren Pool. What more can you ask for?

Whenever people want to point out how different Red Hook used to be, they note the former presence of wild dogs. Some of them lived at the old Revere Plant that is currently in the final throes of demolition at the hands of Thor Equities. A number of bloggers and photographers avoided posting photos of the dogs for a long time because they didn’t want any harm to come to them from, say, an overzealous city government anxious to neutralize the wild dog threat in Red Hook. Recently, we posted a video of one of the last dogs because the kind soul who has rescued some of them put the video on YouTube and their story was told in the Brooklyn Paper by Ariella Cohen. The dogs’ Guardian Angel, Harriet Zucker, with whom we’ve corresponded in the past, emailed to say that two of the dogs are safe and living in Pennsylvania and to update us on other details. One of the dogs, sadly, went missing before a rescue could take place. Ms. Zucker writes:

Just wanted to let you know that the dog in the video….Mama Dolce is now living in PA and is safe along with the other dog Big Mama.

Until about two months ago there were three dogs (they had been together for years.) One has totally disappeared. I kind of think she may be around but is very very shy. She is all brown with a large scar on her back. (The dog in the middle in the second photo below.) The dog in the video, Mama Dolce, and the other were very close…..so it is strange that she disappeared. Here is a photo of them from the last day it snowed in March. They were happy, just not safe (because of changes in the area). The second one is of the two of them in PA. Don’t worry they are not constantly caged. They just go in the cages doors stay open.

I so appreciate the fact that everyone who knew about the dogs kept
quiet about them. If there are any photographers that have photos of the dogs, I would love to get in touch and maybe do something with them. I of course have tons and tons of them..video as well. I’ve been taking care of them for years and took all their pups three years ago. They all have fantastic homes, we have a birthday party every year. The father of all the pups (and I guess husband/boyfriend of these three) lives in Syracuse with a truck driver who brings stuff to Ahava. (Located at Beard and Van Brunt Street.) Many, many people have taken care of these dogs over the years. I would love to do a show of a the photos of the dogs taken over the years.

thanks
Harriet

PS The dogs both have heartworm. Their treatment has been quite expensive, and I am paying to board them in PA (minimal) but it adds up. If by some small chance anyone wants to help contribute to their care, they can contact me…or I am pretty sure there is still a collection box at Bait and Tackle. Mama Dolce is the mother of Edie’s (one of B&T owners) dog Dolce.

In a world that sometimes feels like it’s full of crap on a daily basis, this story warms GL’s heart immensely (except for the missing Revere Dog, who we hope has a happy ending too). If you have photos of the Revere Dogs (the one at left shows them on the Revere property behind the main gate) or want to help defray the cost of care for the rescued ones, you can contact Ms. Zucker at harithspi (at) earthlink (dot) net. A Revere Dog good karma bonus awaits.

[All photos courtesy of Harriet Zucker]

Man Man played the McCarren Pool Party yesterday put on by Jelly NYC. It was, as always, a cool scene, though there is a much stepped-up corporate sponsorship presence this year and the entire effort is several levels above the kind of DIY thing it started out as last year. In any case, there’s a slide show of our Man Man set below and we’ll try to get our photos of Illinois and Dengue Fever up later. You can check out the Man Man flickr set directly by clicking here.

The building pictured above is 544 Union Avenue. The holes in the roof are new. The building was sold in December for $13.1 million to the Coby Group LLC and ocuments also identify the new owner as McCarren Park Condominiums. Now, what’s interesting is that only one permit (that we can find) has been issued for the building and that was one for a fence that was approved on Friday (6/29). Buildings plans were recently disapproved. The architect on the new building will be Gene Kaufman. Plans call for a six story building with 120,000 square feet.

So, now a couple of thoughts about the holes in the roof: (A). The roof is very unhappy and is committing suicide by removing itself. (B). The roof is being removed. Did we mention above that no demolition permits have been issued?

Related Post:
Union Avenue About to Change Big Time

If you’re near the Union Avenue end of Havemeyer Street, you’ll see a statue poking above the buildings. That would be the Giglio, standing ready for the Giglio Feast that starts on Thursday, July 5. As always, the Gigilio has been redesigned with new decorative elements, and it’s brown and gold and white this year rather than last year’s blue. (“How do you like our work?” one of the people that helped created asked us as he saw us taking photos of it yesterday.) The Giglio, which is five stories tall and weighs three tons (before the band), will be carried on Sunday, July 8 and July 15, plus weekday night lifts. It is, for our money, a must see. More information over at the Giglio site. You can see our 2006 photos here.

Last week we noted photos of a heron and fish in the Gowanus. Today, we bring you jellyfish. A GL reader, who used to produce the fun blog Random Brooklyn, sent in the photo above and the one below of a Gowanus jellyfish. (Insert appropriate snark here.) She writes:

I was crossing the 3rd Street bridge, like I do everyday, twice a day and saw these strange looking jellyfish happily swimming southward. There were quite literally DOZENS of them, bobbing about in the water. I assumed they were dead, until I saw their little jellyfish bodies actually swimming! Some dove underwater and came back up…They were about 3 or so inches in diameter, with BRIGHT RED bodies and white tentacles, or whatever it is jellyfish have. I am only assuming they are jellyfish.

So far, I have seen a giant jellyfish, a giant horseshoe crab, a bunch of little fishies, a swan, human waste, and sewage. The jellyfish are new.

Like any creature spotted on the Gowanus, the jellyfish have been noted by others. Dope on the Slope yesterday linked to this flickr shot of the jellyfish floating in the surface oil which leaks at an alarming rate into the Gowanus from a location near the Union Street Bridge.

The total end appears to be coming to the old Beard Street. Detour and “street closed” signs have gone up on Beard Street and some major road work is about to take place on a stretch fronting the location of the huge Ikea store and parking lot (part of which is the historic former Graving Dock that was filled in over the objection of preservationists and a lawsuit) that is under construction. We assume that the cobblestones are being ripped out and that Beard Street will be repaved to provide a car-friendly surface for Ikea. (If anyone can tell us that they’re being preserved, we’d sure love to know.) We have a hard time imagining Beard Street without those cobblestones. Then again, we have a hard time with Beard Street without the Todd Shipyard buildings and the Revere Dome. Here at GL, we’re sentimental fools, even though we understand that not everyone–including workers who toiled in these places and, especially in the case of the sugar plant, we injured, killed or otherwise abused–are not sad to see them gone.

The territory of East River State Park in Williamsburg belongs to blogger INSIJS, who has followed it very closely from construction to opening. INSIJS reports that the park will be open on July 4 for fireworks viewing. Given that the midtown East River fireworks will be set off nearby, it will be one of the best places in the city to see the July 4 display. Bring your lawn chairs and/or blankets and enjoy. And, huge thanks to INSIJS for getting the word out.

[Image courtesy of WPA, created from Google Earth]

If you’re trying to keep up on what preservation of the Domino Plant in Williamsburg means, or doesn’t mean, the Waterfront Preservation Alliance of Greenpoint & Williamsburg has been producing an invaluable guide on their site over the course of the last week. The image above is from their post on The Big Picture. You should also check out The Guide to the Domino Plant. Their background on the building known as the Adant House, a beautiful industrial building which is not part of the preservation process, is especially interesting:

The Adant House, which sits at the corner of South 5th and Kent, is one of the buildings that WPA has Landmarks to add to its designation. The building was constructed as part of the 1883 rebuilding of the Havemeyers & Elder Sugar Refinery, and was used for processing sugar into cubes (in a process patented by Gustav Adant in the late-19th century). The Adant House was originally 6 stories tall, with a penthouse at the seventh story, and was topped by the corbelled and pedimented parapets that were a hallmark of the original refinery design. In the 1950s, Domino cut the building down to four stories…

The property’s owner, CPC Resources, has argued that preserving this building would not fit in with its development plans. WPA strongly disagrees – the CPC plan calls for a building of roughly 6 to 8 stories at this location. The Landmarks Commission would surely approve an addition to this building to bring it back to its well-documented historic height. So in essence, CPC is proposing to take down a building and replace with an almost identical height building. That is the Dutch Mustard scenario all over again – instead of a more interesting design that melds old and new, simply tear down the old and replace it with something far less interesting. Saving this building would enhance the overall design of the project, be more responsible from an environmental point of view, and would not impact the ability of the project to provide retail, affordable housing, or luxury housing. This building even has larger window openings than the main refinery.

There’s also a guide to The Processing House, which is the big building with which everyone is familiar.