Fifth Avenue Fair:

• 5th Avenue Street Fayre, Brooklyn [Brit in Brooklyn]
• 5th Ave Fair [Kensington Brooklyn]
• Fifth Avenue Street Fair [Brooklyn Mama]
• The Biker Fair Down the Street [Esthetic/Aesthetic]

Not About the Fair:

• B63 Reroute and Fifth Avenue Closing Not Happening This Week [AYR]
• Ratner Prematurely Offers Prospect Heights Residents Thick Windows and AC [DDDB]
• About the CB6 Purge and the Ratner Air Conditioning Offer [AYR]
• More on Ratner’s Windows and Air Conditioners [NYP]
• New Williamsburg Flea Market is Welcome “Low Brow Commerce”! [INSIJS]
• Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus Meeting Tonight [Found in Brooklyn]
• Old Fulton Street as Park Gateway [NYT via Dumbo NYC]
• I Was On TV! [Flatbush Gardener]
• Coney Island Photo Works on Exhibit [Kinetic Carnival]
• Photo Graffiti #2 [Big Sky Brooklyn]
• Tell Us Your Favorite Prospect Park Hot Spots [OTBKB]

This could well be one of the only wedding announcements that GL ever posts, but yesterday’s New York Times brought news of the betrothal of the great-great-great granddaughter of Edwin C. Litchfield, one of Brooklyn’s first big developers and the man who built the Gowanus Canal. Her name is Emily Katherine Larned and she married Christian Eric Ruggiero in New Haven, Conn. She is an accomplished artist and designer of books. The Times noted this about her background:

Her father is the chairman of the Brooklyn Improvement Company, founded in 1866 by Edwin C. Litchfield, the bride’s maternal great-great-great grandfather, to create the Gowanus Canal. The company now manages the financial affairs of the descendants of Mr. Litchfield.

At one time, Mr. Litchfield owned all the land from 1st Street to Ninth Street and from the Gowanus into what is now Prospect Park. Litchfield Villa, which is at Prospect Park West and Fifth Street was one of his homes. (The little building that stands at the corner of Third Avenue and Third Street next to the Whole Foods site was the headquarters of the Brooklyn Improvement Company.) We had no idea there was still a Brooklyn Improvement Company. Best wishes Emily and Christian.

UPDATE: Local activist Phil DePaolo emails that “They started working 8:30 am on Sunday. This site is directly adjacent to the Mount Carmel Church. I also counted five sites on Saturday working in Northside Williamsburg without a permit. So despite the claims by the Bloomberg administration and the Brooklyn DOB that they are being more aggressive regarding illegal weekend construction, it seems like its weekend business as usual in Williamsburg!

We’ve written about Room 58 before, but it’s having it’s grand opening celebration on Wednesday (5/23) from 7PM-9PM. The venture, which is a shared space for writers, and one of a handful of its kind in Brooklyn, is part of the Brooklyn Artists Gym, which is located at 168 7th Street and very convenient to the Fourth Avenue Station of the F Train or the R and M. It’s part of a small, but growing, trend of providing writers and others who might work at home an environment in which to rent some desk space, wireless access and other amenities. From the Room 58 description:

In a corner of Brooklyn Artists Gym’s shared studio space for visual artists is Room 58, a new workspace designed specifically for journalists and other research-based writers. Behind the door marked 58 are actually two rooms, an outer office area with desks, fax, printer, research materials and file storage, and an inner quiet room with eight individual cubicles and a couple of nice views of Manhattan.

“For some of our writers, telephone work is essential to what they do,” writes Scott Adkins, co-founder of Park Slope’s popular Brooklyn Writers Space (BWS) and partner in the new Room 58/BAG venture, in an email. “BWS is a great quiet environment for writers of all genres. But for those writers who also need traditional office capabilities, Room 58 is ideal.

Related Post:
Room 58: Writer’s Space at BAG in Gowanus

We see many Craigslist Missed Connections as we peruse them every week looking for our favorite. We have never, until now, seen one like this:

Girls on Stilts in Coney Island – m4w

There were 2 of you walking on stilts, you were wearing black pants & showing off your dance moves. You are devastating. Loved the stilts. Next time I see you drinks are on me.

Remember, this is for the female on stilts in the black pants. If you’re the other female on stilts, please ignore this.

Last November, the owners of Astroland — a second-generation park that dates to 1962 — sold out to a developer who intends to replace it with a year-round Vegas-style entertainment center featuring a luxury hotel and an indoor amusement pavilion.

Astroland’s final day will be Sept. 3, Labor Day. Though its world-famous Cyclone roller coaster, now owned by the city of New York, will survive, Coney Island — even in its reduced 21st century state — just won’t be the same.

As the most iconic remnant of the Coney Island of old, the 80-year-old wooden Cyclone Roller Coaster is the place to recapture the thrill of yesteryear — and do it quickly. How quickly, you ask? Try 60 mph, courtesy of the Cyclone’s opening 58-degree, 85-foot plunge, which makes this spry octogenarian — built on the site of the world’s very first roller coaster — still the sixth steepest wooden coaster in the world.

For less precipitate but even higher-flying thrills, my 7-year old daughters (who are still too short to ride the Cyclone) highly recommend a spin on the 1920 Wonder Wheel, the absolutely unmissable star attraction at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park. It took workers from Bethlehem Steel two years to construct the truly wonderous 150-foot tall Ferris Wheel, with all the forging done onsite.

From inside its 16 disconcertingly swaying and eight reassuringly stationary carriages, you can see Manhattan, New Jersey, and far out into the Atlantic.

And don’t leave Deno’s without plunging into the 1955 Spook-a-rama, the last of Coney Island’s once-copious ”dark” rides.

You can check out the full article here and hit up travel tips, including hotels in Bay Ridge and Sheepheads Bay, here.

As has become one of our Sunday habits, we offer some vids from the YouTube. Today’s topical selection is Red Hook.

• Alternative Songs for Mister Softee Trucks…from Park Slope [NYT]
• It Came from the Blogosphere [No Land Grab]
• Hula Lessons in McCarren Park [A Test of Will]
• Smith Union Market [seriously excited!]
• Thank You for Coming to Lowe’s [Atomische]
• Subway Flashbacks [Found in Brooklyn]
• Brooklyn Landlord Hosed Over Water Bill Fights Back [NYP]
• The Brooklyn “Bus to Bling” AKA the Hamptons Jitney [NYT]
• Garbage Trucks Idling in Gowanus [Big Sky Brooklyn]
• Gay Marriage Brooklyn Bridge March [McBrooklyn]
• Community Board 2 Minutes [Clinton Hill Blog]
• Katsu in Red Hook [Blue Jake]
• Brooklyn Industries Wants Your Dog [Brooklyn Enthusiast]
• Prospect Park WiFi Locations [Kensington Brooklyn]
• Read on Bedford [A Test of Will]

Here’s a small selection of some of the comments left by our GL readers this week:

Park Slope’s Little Peeing Princes. “I’m anti-tree-peeing in theory but also anti my kids peeing in their pants, on the sidewalk or the floors of a store. With a few public bathrooms as there are — and, the childless forget, little kids can’t hold it in as long — sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.” [Anonymous]

New Bus Shelters Appear on Columbia Street: Good or Bad? “Just like the ones in Europe. It’s about time we finally modernize with glass and less chewing gum. As long as no one comes along and kicks them in.(god forbid it would take years to replace- unlike most developed countries) Keeps you from getting wet and protects you from wind too. Gets my approval!” [Anonymous]

What Were They Thinking? Williamsburg Edition. “It’s an eyesore, to be sure. But this is an old time Italian neighborhood; folks think they’re looking at a gorgeous villa. You ever find yourself saying ‘at least it’s brick?’ I feel more despair when old wood-framed buildings get the Epcot Center treatment. I despise that styrofoam/stucco crap. It’s great when you see people re-shingling old buildings. A few fine examples exist in Greenpoint…” [Anonymous]

We enjoy a Dumbo Block Party, and in that spirit, the first event in the annual DUMBO Block Party Series sponsored by the Dumbo Improvement District, in conjunction with local businesses, will be taking place on Saturday, June 2nd. It will include music, food, activities for children, and booths featuring products and services from local businesses, artists and community groups. More than 20 local businesses are sponsors. The party will take place on Main Street between Plymouth and Water Streets. The release for the event says:

Set against the Manhattan skyline, a stage with live entertainment will feature performances by popular children’s performer and educator AudraRox as well as a high-energy group of PS 29 students known as Toxic Muffin and DJs Emilee and The Dahkter. Activities sponsored by local businesses include entertainment from Halcyon music shop, arts and crafts from Half Pint and Jan Larsen Art and barbeque by Water Street Restaurant and Bubby’s. The NYPD, FDNY, and NYC Parks and Recreation Department will also be on hand with educational resources for all, including the FDNY’s Mobile Fire Safety House and the NYC Parks and Recreation Department’s Play Mobile.

Another Block Party is scheduled for September 8 at the Pearl Stret Triangle, but we don’t even want to think about summer being over before it’s even happened.

As many of you know, we also post over at Curbed on weekdays. Here’s some of this week’s Curbed output:

• North Bklyn #1: Introducing the Greenpoint Sandwich (above)
• North Bklyn #2: Doublemint Green or Pepto Bismal Pink?
• Bedford Ave. Fun: Work Sort of Underway on Big Project
• Interesting Technique in Maspeth Ave. Condo Alley
• Revenge of Lucent? Bedford Ave. Parking Lot Not Legal
• Brooklyn Two-Pack: Fourth Avenue and Greenwood Heights
• Northside Piers Brings Out the Rats on Kent Avenue
• Interesting Signs of Life at Gowanus Whole Foods Site
• How to Have Fun in Williamsburg #1: Eviction Sale!
• Have Some Crest: Novo Park Slope’s Friends Join the Party
• How to Have Fun in Williamsburg #2: Hang Out

Community Board 6’s Transportation Committee voted unanimously on Thursday night to support the Department of Transportation’s plan to install bike lanes and pursue other traffic calming measures on Ninth Street in Park Slope. It had previously voted to support the plan, but the issue was sent back to the committee for further discussion.

Dalila Hall of the Department of Transportation told the audience that “we plan on implementing these measures in July.” While the Department will consider future refinements and things like “curbside management” to alleviate problems, those measures will likely come after the bike lanes. Ms. Hall explained that the plan was developed because DOT had “heard concerns for years” about safety issues and other problems on Ninth Street and believes the plan will address the problems. While the plan has significant support in the community and among bicyclists (with a significant number of the latter turning out for the meeting), there has been vocal opposition from some Ninth Street residents. Both Streetsblog and I’m Seeing Green have rundowns of the meeting and of the plan.

“This project is about safety” for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers, said DOT’s Chris Hrones.

Opponents again voiced concern about the bicycle lanes. “It’s going to be the most inconvenient thing to have a bike lane and to reduce our driving lanes,” one resident said. “It’s like a nightmare already, and you’re going to add bike lanes.” One resident complained that “bikes want to take control of the street.”

“We’re not against the bikers,” said Bob Levine, a Ninth Street resident who has led opposition to the bike lines. “We’re looking for a way to work out the problems between the bikers, the residents and the businesses.”

The new commander of the 78th Precinct, John Argenziano, tried to reassure residents that there would be no ticketing blitz against cars that stop in the new bike lanes. “My officers are not going to be lined up waiting for you to discharge your elderly parents,” he said.

While the meeting was contentious, it maintained a relatively civil tone until Ms. Hall noted that the bike lanes were part of master plan drafted in 1997. “You had a master plan and so did Hitler,” a resident shouted.

A pro-bike lane resident said that he was “a little surprised by the hostility I sense against cyclists.” Park Slope Civic Council Trustee Lauri Schindler said that she found the Ninth Street plan “a refreshing approach.”

“We expect this plan to be a success,” said DOT’s Mr. Hrones. “You will see and experience a very different Ninth Street.

The CB6 Committee asked DOT to work on directing bicyclists from Ninth Street to the 15th Street entrance to Prospect Park and also called on DOT to study traffic calming measures for Prospect Park West.

Related Posts:
Ninth Street Bike Lanes Provoke Anger

Brooklyn tour season is upon us, and there is much coming up. Here are two pending events. One takes place today (5/19) and is sponsored by BCUE, which keeps up a full schedule of superb Brookly tours. The other comes from the Municipal Art Society, which always offers incredible panels and excursions.

1) The Red Hook Walking Tour sponsored by BCUE, the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment is today (5/19) from 2PM-4PM. Meet up at Columbia and Carroll Streets. The tour is being led by Francis Morrone. Described by BCUE as follows: “Red Hook is one of the fastest-changing and hottest neighborhoods in New York. Explore the storied past, when Erie Basin and Atlantic Basin were two of the world’s greatest shipping facilities, and the Todd Shipyards and Revere Sugar made Red Hook one of the city’s economic engines. Learn about the neighborhood’s decline from its industrial heyday, the changes underway, and a future mired in controversy.” The tour is $13 for non-members and $10 for members.

2) Go, Go, Gowanus Walking Tour. On Saturday, May 26, the Municipal Art Society is sponsoring a Gowanus tour from 11AM-2PM. Meet at Smith and President Street outside the Eckerd. MAS describes the tour thus: “Join this Municipal Art Society walking tour to explore the wide banks of Brooklyn’s most famous canal. Before crossing one of the oldest retractile bridges in the United States, visit the Carroll Gardens Historic District, a singular brownstone enclave distinguished by a remarkable street plan. Learn the history of the canal and the surrounding, though faded, industrual zone. Leader: Matt Postal, architectural historian.” The tour is $15; $12 for MAS members.
Fee: $15, $12 MAS members

(Our thanks to Queens Crap, who does a stupendous job of chronicling things in our neighbor to the north, Queens. QC included these in an email and we would have totally forgotten about them otherswise. If you haven’t been to Queens Crap, check it out. It’s required reading to keep tabs on what’s happening in Queens.)

[Photo Courtesy of chicapoquita/flickr]

Images:

• Clover [A Test of Will]
• Williamsburg Savings Bank [seriously excited!]
• Park Slope Hair Dryer Chair [Brit in Brooklyn]
• Fifth Avenue Bar [Park Slope Street Photography]
• Brooklyn Prays #1 [Big Sky Brooklyn]
• I Heart Cannoli [bondidwhat/flickr]

Not Images:

• Markowitz to Purge Community Board 6 [TRE]
• Check Out the Reporter Report [No Land Grab]
• The Press Corp Gets it Wrong [DDDB]
• Bike Lanes on Ninth Provoke Residents [I’m Seeing Green]
• CB6 Committee Unanimously Approves 9th Street Project [Streets Blog]
• More Brooklyn Residents Drive to Work Than You Think [Brooklyn Eagle]
• Anonymous Commenters and a Lot of Aluminum Siding [newyorkshitty]
• Domino Sugar to be Considered by LPC [HDC]
• Coney Hoopla [Kinetic Carnival]
• Vinegar Hill Car Chase Ending [Dumbo NYC]
• Brooklyn Blogfest Links [1 Stop Over in Brooklyn]
• Festivals This Weekend [About Brooklyn]
• Bike [lornagrl]

[Photo courtesy of INSIJS/flickr]

The Toll Brothers and Northside Piers have had some, um, labor issues this week as indicated by the infestation of huge blow-up rats on Kent Avenue. Blogger INSIJS captured a few shots of the rats and posted them in a flickr album in addition to posting about them. We have to say that we find amusement in the rats whenever we see them.

Today is “It’s My Park! Day” in Prospect Park, which is a volunteer day to help clean up and care for the park. Registration starts at 9:30AM at either Prospect Park West or Parkside & Ocean Avenues. The cleanup ends at 1PM. All of which is short notice, but if you’d been thinking about and forgot, this is your reminder to go out. Likewise, if you want to spend a couple of hours helping out the park. The event is rain or shine, and you get extra karma points working in the rain. There’s a Unity Day Rally on the Nethermead afterward with free food and live entertainment and participants get a free t-shirt and a key chain while the supply holds out. For more information on Prospect Park events, programs, volunteering and membership, call the Park Hotline at (718) 965-8999 or visit www.prospectpark.org. For more info on It’s My Park Day, click here.

Tomorrow (5/20) is the 48th Annual Park Slope House Tour. This year’s tour features homes and sites between President Street and Fourth Street. According to the Park Slope Civic Council, which organizes the annual tour, “Come to the Park Slope House Tour and walk through beautiful tree-lined streets, enjoy handsome Victorian architecture, and visit the interiors of lovely homes dating from the 19th century but restored for contemporary living.” The tour is the PSCC’s major annual fundraising event and money goes back to the community via its Neighborhood Grants to schools, charities, cultural institutions and other organizations. Tour times are from 12 Noon-5PM. Tickets are $20 in advance (they’re being sold at the Grand Army Plaza farmer’s market today if you want to go out and grab one) and $25 on the day of the tour. The tour is self-guided. For more info click over to the PSCC’s House Tour page.

It has long been rumored that a purge of Community Board 6 was in the works because many of the board members opposed the Atlantic Yards project. Just last night, in fact, at a CB6 Transportation Committee hearing we heard people joking that the board didn’t have long to live because Borough President Marty Markowitz would not reapppoint members that spoke out against the controversial project. Several people, ironically, wondered aloud when the trigger might be pulled.

This afternoon, the Real Estate is reporting that the Atlantic Yard equivalent of the Saturday Night Massacre is coming next week and that up to 12-25 members may be toast. Matthew Schuerman passes along the word. (The board has 50 members serve two-year terms.) TRE reports that City Council Members Bill de Blasio, David Yassky and Sara Gonzalez could also have a role in not reappointing some members.

The community board has 50 members who serve two-year terms, about half of which are up for reappointment this year. Many of them exercised independence in questioning the Atlantic Yards projects, and payback has been expected.

It is unclear how many CB6 members will lose their positions, although it is likely that any connection between Atlantic Yards and the dismissals will be strongly denied. “I want the folks I nominate to care about the things that I care about,” Mr. DeBlasio is reported as saying, noting that not supporting Atlantic Yards equated to a lack of support for affordable housing.

Related Post:
Meier’s On Prospect Park: Your Tax Dollars at Work

Interestingly, it is less than a block from the Roebling Oil Field, so it will be fascinating to see what is discovered during the excavation process. There are test wells nearby, but we haven’t seen any near this property.

We came across TEN Arquitectos on some disapproved permit applications as we were checking on the status of things on the property, ironically, because the fence is in such bad shape. The new building is listed as 6 stories with 147 units. It will be 241,000 square feet. Ownership is listed as Favorite Properites LLC at 580 Fifth Avenue and alternately as Lockes Properties. There are no renderings of the plans, although we’re sure it will be a major change from the neighborhood standard.

Related Post:
Enrique Norten: The New Brooklyn Starchitect of Choice?

Here’s a few minutes at the Red Hook Ballfields as the food stands are looking for the 2007 season. Click here if the embed isn’t working for you.

An interesting development to report from Sheepshead Bay, where the venerable (if recently bedraggled) Lundy’s shut down at the beginning of the year. Kinetic Carnival‘s O. Robau left this information as a comment on an older post, but it’s interesting enough to pass along on its own. All credit to Mr. Robau for the intel:

Yesterday I was informed, from a source close to the landlord of Lundy’s that Outback Steakhouse has officially been in the process of taking over Lundy’s Restaurant and will turn it into an Outback. So far, a few calls to Lentek Realty and the landlord have yielded no calls.

Outback has long been reported as a possibility for the space. A little sad to see such an important Sheepshead Bay landmark be replaced by a chain restaurant.

Now, I’m not saying there are any metaphors at work here, but notice how IKEA tidily leaned their section of the broken wall back in place – while the broken sections on Joe Sitt’s property were left to lie in the middle of Beard Street overnight.

Sounds like both sites are deserving of, at least, an honorable mention in the Construction Site du Jour category. (The bottom photo, by the way, is of the huge dust cloud blowing off the Ikea site as the wind kicked up.)