As we were shooting these photos a Hasidic gentleman pulled up in car and asked, “Is something wrong?”

No, we said, we were just looking around.

Which is true. We’ve been looking around the Roebling Oil Field since we first noticed the stench of oil last fall. We’re going to miss it when all the visible oily goop and toxic slime is gone and we can no long take photos like the one below, which was shot less than 48 hours ago.

All of which brings us to the corner of N. 10th Street and Berry, which has two active construction sites and one stalled building which turned into a swimming pool during the Nor’easter. It now has a sidewalk collapsing from construction and a building that may be in the process of being undermined by digging. Our Greenpoint correspondent headed south and reported:

the sidewalk had been fenced off…Curious, I peeked inside and discovered that these developers had not only taken out a chunk of sidewalk (it had collapsed), but they may have undermined the foundation of the building next door (on Berry).

We now return to our regular menu of “big picture” items, noting the new fence below, which is blocking the sidewalk is certainly colorful in a neon kind of way.

There was a meeting between community members and the Commissioner of City Corrections at Boro Hall yesterday to discuss details of the reopening and doubling in size of the Brooklyn Detention Center at Atlantic Avenue and Smith Street. Apparently, details will be released publicly next week. The writer of the email says:

The DOC has dangled before us the illusion of obeisant cooperation and transparency, going so far as to entertain (as a swap for expansion approval) retail uses on the ground (street) floor of this property, most particularly on Atlantic Avenue. With others, including AABA [Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association] I am opposed to expansion for any reason, even with the lure of retail as a sweetener….

In summary, matching location with commercial success requires a good bit of luck, not to mention perfectly tuned location for the use. It is true that we are in the midst of a major retuning of tastes and preferences. Speaking as an optimist and the owner of more than a few retail businesses and landlord of businesses over the years in this area, my instincts are ringing alarms of warning at the prospect of commercial success in this property. Who might want to occupy such a space? A major space user like a supermarket? Not. The block is in the vortex of major traffic volume, with deliveries virtually impossible. Enough commercial space exists, even with the foreseeable growth in our area, for likely needs…

We in downtown Brooklyn have had more than our fair share of overselling of proposed public uses (Atlantic Yards, Brooklyn Bridge Park, among others) with frequent failures of promised performance.

Can’t wait to see the details, and the reaction, next week. Maybe Trader Joe’s wants the retail space?

Transportation:

• Congestion Pricing Announced: Backlash Continues [AYR]
• Stars are Aligned for Congestion Pricing [Sun]
• Congestion Pricing is Good for Brooklyn [Bay Ridge Blog]
• Advocates Rally to Support Congestion Pricing Plan [Metro]
• Debate Starts on 2030 Plan [amNY]
• Council Overrides Pedicab Veto [Streets Blog]

Not Transportation:

• Crown Heights Landmarking Vote Today [NYT]
• Protestors on Flatbush, Ratner Backhoe on Vanderbilt [AYR]
• Bye Bye Empire Roller Rink [Across the Park]
• Navy Brig Developer Selected for Wallabout Site [NYT]
• Let’s All Go to the Brig [Daily Intel]
• Greenpoint’s Stinky History [newyorkshitty]
• Avalon Bay Coming to Myrtle, Without Whole Foods [Brownstoner]
• The Process of Honoring Community Heroes [Bed-Stuy Blog]
• English Kills Gallery Debuts in Bushwick [Brooklyn Record]
• Brooklyn Blogfest Has Its Own Blog [OTBKB]

…in a meeting this morning, the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission is expected to designate a long swath of 472 buildings as landmarks. The designation, in effect, freezes the look of the area. Any significant changes to the facades of those buildings must meet commission approval.

It is a designation more widely associated with Manhattan’s stately blocks, but it is appearing more throughout the boroughs. Today’s Crown Heights vote is the first of a series in the neighborhood that, when completed, would apply to about 1,800 mostly middle-class, black-owned homes and buildings landmarks, second only to Park Slope.

“It has a vibrant community and a vibrant historic housing stock,” said the commission chairman, Robert B. Tierney. “It has an eclectic array of architectural styles.”

As always, there are a large number of important Brooklyn landmarking discussions and votes pending in coming weeks.

A crowd estimated by organizer at 100 gathered for an 8AM demonstration on Flatbush Avenue this morning to protest the start of demolition by Forest City Ratner within the Atlantic Yards footprint. On Friday, a judge declined to issue a Temporary Restraining Order before a challenge to the Atlantic Yards Environmental Review is heard. Demolition on four buildings started today. The developer plans to demolish a total of 15 buildings. Develop Don’t Destroy’s Daniel Goldstein called the demolitions prior to the conclusion of litigation a “dangerous and undesirable scenario.” A full set of photos has been posted by photographer Jonathan Barkey on Pbase.

Ms. Carlin said that as she was about to lead a protest against Thor Equities–which has floated a deeply controversial and increasingly troubled $2 billion redevelopment plan for Coney Island–she received a phone call from developer Joe Sitt. She says she spent about an hour talking to him and sent him an email outlining her objections to his Coney plan, including his eviction of tenants, demolitions and inclusion of housing in the Coney Island “amusement zone. Ultimately, Mr. Sitt gave Ms. Carlin a new lease for the 2007 season that did not include the infamous “gag clause” that caused the problem in the first place and did so for what virtually amounts to a token sum. (He apparently has also granted a new lease to the Grill House on the boardwalk at Stillwell Avenue. That business was also said to have been evicted, but was open for business this weekend.)

What of the new Sitt strategy? Is this an attempt to see if the Kinder, Gentler Sitt works better than than the Old Sitt who closed down Carlin’s store, generating many bad headlines, and publicly insulted city officials undertaking a planning process for Coney Island, including Planning Director Amanda Burden and Coney Island Development Corp. President Lynn Kelly?

Could be. Here’s an interesting sample of Vieux Sitt vs. Nouveau Sitt:

Vieux Sitt, via spokesperson Tom Corsillo on March 22 in the Bay News said of Ms. Carlin’s eviction, “Thor’s only comment is that it is focusing on Coney Island’s bright future and not on tenants of the past.”

Nouveau Sitt, via Mr. Corsillo in the new issue of the Bay News: “As Thor Equities works toward the revitalization of Coney Island, it is committed to preserving the area’s unique and vibrant spirit. Lola Staar – like the Cyclone, Wonder Wheel, Parachute Jump and Nathan’s – is part of that spirit, and that is why it will continue to be a part of Coney Island.”

And so, Ms. Carlin has gone from being part of “the past” to being “part of the spirit.” What a difference 30 days makes.

We’ve been told that Mr. Sitt has called a number of print reporters to talk up the return of Lola Staar. Ms. Carlin told us that he promised a meeting to discuss ways to improve his Coney Island plan. He’s also said to be open to painting murals on the huge fences he’s erected in Coney Island (more than three blocks’ worth if you put them all together) which are regarded by some as a blighting influence and perhaps to putting up temporary amusements to try to restore life to the streetscape. Mr. Sitt also appears to have backed away from erecting a 50-story building right on the boardwalk, although it’s only been shifted a block west and about 1/2 block north of the boardwalk toward Surf Avenue and would clock in at 40 stories, double the height of the iconic Parachute Jump. (Astroland owner Carol Albert, who sold to Mr. Sitt last fall, was still saying as of two weeks ago that Thor had said it won’t let the amusement park remain open for another season after this year, even if he cannot start construction in 2008.)

The new Sitt strategy appears to be aimed at winning over, if not silencing, possible opponents, both by trying a less confrontational public strategy and by offering incentives such as new leases. Ms. Carlin told GL that Mr. Sitt told her he previously “wasn’t paying attention” to the $2 billion Coney project, had delegated it to subordinates and was focused on developments in other cities, including Chicago. He told Ms. Carlin that he wasn’t aware that she’d been evicted, even though she said she placed placed dozens of phone calls to him when she was being threatened with eviction.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to conclude that (a). Thor was stung by the bad press and the protest, (b). the redevelopment could be floundering and (c). this is part of an effort to try to create a compromise that will allow the amusement district highrise condos that Thor says are essential to its plan.

It is all especially interesting in that Thor does not appear to have laid any groundwork in the community to build support and that the developer seemed to be trying to publicly pressure city officials. Ms. Carlin’s eviction certainly struck many observers as being emblematic of Thor’s failure to care about even about appearances.

Related Post:
“Coney Island Miracle”? Lola Staar is Back

Last time we checked on the quality of postal service in Boreum Hill, there were problems. Apparently, nothing has improved in the interim, according to this email we saw, especially if you like reading your New Yorker:

I know there have been lots of discussions on these lists about bad post office service. I am tired of getting my New Yorker magazine on Friday instead of Monday and a couple of days last week no one in my building got any mail delivered (something that would never happen and never twice in a row!). I would like to make a complaint to the manager over there but can’t seem to find a phone number. Even Community Board 6 had a number that was disconnected!

On a brighter note, the postal office in Kensington, which has pushed people completely over the edge, might be getting a touch better.

Related Posts:
Almost Everyone in Brooklyn Says Their Mail Sucks
Boerum Hill Thankful Pottery Barn Uses UPS

• Trying to Put 15th Street’s Humpty Dumpty Bldg Back Together Again [IMBY]
• Demolition at E. 5th and Greenwood [Kensington Brooklyn]
• Were It Not for Prospect Park I’d Have Left Brooklyn [Brooklyn Masala]
• Prospect Park Parrot [Dope on the Slope]
• Yeshiva to Evict Elderly and Disabled in Brighton Beach [NYP]
• It’s Stoop Sale Season Again [OTBKB]
• New Signage on Flatbush [My Life in Brooklyn]
• Gage & Tollner Building Done with Shameful TGIF Era? [Lost City]
• Thriftee on Fifth Closing [Bay Ridge Blog]
• It Is Your City [Esthetic/Aesthetic]

Related Post:
Brooklinks: Monday Special PlaNYC 2030 Edition

We were unable to attend the meeting, which is why we did not report on it earlier. The Carroll Garden Courier has a story in its new edition. Here’s a sample:

A plan for the future of a massive, contaminated Carroll Gardens property has not been predetermined, and the community’s collective voice could help shape development there, city officials insisted this week.

After being rebuked by members of Community Board 6 when last they visited Brooklyn, officials from the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) enjoyed a more congenial gathering Tuesday night at the board’s headquarters, 250 Baltic Street.

Instead of running through a timetable of how development may proceed—as happened previously—HPD officials instead led small discussion groups asking residents and interested parties what they feel should come to the 11.5-acre site, a brownfield known as Public Place, located at the southeast corner of Smith and 5th Streets.

Suggestions included affordable housing, senior housing, a supermarket, light manufacturing, retail, park, a multigenerational community center, and even a hockey rink.

HPD’s Gabriella Amabile said previous plans were “illustrative only” and that the project, as it stands, is a “completely open book.”

Not everybody is convinced that the plan is as open-ended as it is being presented.

“Everyone thinks there’s a fix,” said Bette Stoltz, a member of the board’s Land Use Committee and executive director of the South Brooklyn Local Development Corporation, a business advocacy group.

The same small group format for a Gowanus planning meeting on Thursday night resulted in a peaceful, even polite, session. Many more meetings to come.

Related Posts:
Burden Calls Gowanus “Great, Unique” Opportunity at Polite Rezoning Meeting
Gas Pains: Underground Toxic Threat in Gowanus, Other Neighborhoods

[Graphic courtesy of the New York Post]

• The Mayor’s 2030 Plan [nyc.gov]
• Bloomberg Draws Blueprint for a Greener City [NYT]
• Mayor’s Vision of Green Apple [NYP]
• Bloomberg: If We Don’t Act Now, When? [Sun]
• Mayor’s Plan: Growth is Green [Sun]
• Congestion Pricing [NYP]
• Power Plans [NYP]
• Using Mussels to Improve Water Quality [NYP]
• The Silence of PlaNYC on Atlantic Yards [AYR]
• Rally to Support Mayor’s Groundbreaking Green Transportation Plan [Streets Blog]
• Going to Have to Wait Until 2015 to Get BRT on Flatbush Avenue [AYR]

Despite reservations expressed by the community board, and the opposition of many block residents, the city will move forward with the installation of bicycle lanes on 9th Street in Park Slope.

“We are going ahead with it,” Department of Transportation Spokesperson Chris Gilbride told this paper on Wednesday.

“The community board’s role in this is purely advisory,” he continued. “We consider bike lanes as a safety enhancement to the street.”

Community Board 6 had voted to send the proposal back to committee for further discussion before voting it up or down.

“It’s a Coney Island miracle,” she told us. “It’s a miracle.”

We were walking down the boardwalk in Coney Island yesterday when we saw that the space Ms. Carlin had occupied was open. The closer we got to the store, the more familiar the merchandise looked. When we went inside, we saw a familiar head of red hair. We shrugged as if to ask Ms. Carlin what was going on.

“I didn’t tell you?” she smiled.

Uh, no.

Ms. Carlin then told us the long story as she dealt with a steady stream of customers on her first day open again, several of whom were familiar with her ordeal. As the Pixies blasted in the background, customers bought bags, towels and t-shirts and told Lola they were glad she was back. Ms. Carlin was in the process of putting her store back together–some of the merchandise was still in storage as was her credit card processing machine.

We’ll have full details of our conversation tomorrow and the “make nice and try to win over your opponents” strategy that Mr. Sitt seems to have adopted. (Another “evicted” business is open too.) Meantime, that’s Dianna above, in her wonderful boardwalk store yesterday. Full update on Monday.

Related Posts:
Savey Coney Island Demonstration Rocks City Hall
Legal Gag Removed, Coney Island’s Lola Staar Speaks Out

“Because of the irreparable harm these demolitions will bring, we call on Governor Spitzer, Mayor Bloomberg and other elected officials to use the ESDC’s funding leverage to halt the demolitions unless the project is proven to be feasible,” said DDDB Legal Chair Candace Carponter.

Sunday means another visit to the land of heartbreak and comedy knowns as Craigslist Missed Connections. This week, we turn to a little situation on the L Train.

How did you know what stop I was getting off at? – m4w – 36

L Train to Brooklyn around 6 pm. So tonight I was kind of retarded and got on the L train going the wrong way….I was really into the album I was listening to. I ended up at 8th avenue, so for the first time in over a year I got a seat. On my way back, you… a relatively tall girl with dark brown hair in a pony tail, got on at Union square, but moved to lean against the between cars door at Bedford. When the train got to Grand, you looked at me and then seemed to get ready to pounce on my seat (which I probably should have given up at Union square, but didn’t because, honestly, I haven’t gotten a seat on the L train in over a year and it was kind of a novelty for me). I got up between Grand and Montrose and you grabbed my seat within 1 second.

Me: 6’4″ blue eyes Blackish messy hair and a Mechanic’s jacket, reading a book called Company….

Do I know you???? Why were you so sure that I was getting off at the next stop? Am I imagining things? (I vote for the latter).

Because she really wanted the seat and was happy to see you go?

Honorable Mention:
You Complimented My Fern on Bedford

Here are a few selections of Coney Island-related vids recently posted the YouTube. Watch ’em on the handy player below or click on this link to the get to the playlist. Enjoy.

• Congestion Pricing, Atlantic Yards & Bloomberg’s Sustainability Plan [AYR]
• Last Skate at Empire Rink [NYT]
• Earth Day [Green Brooklyn]
• Life Aquatic [Callalillie]
• Brooklyn Bridge [Esthetic/Aesthetic]
• Bushwick Shack [Bluejake]
• Support Artists in PLG [Across the Park]
• About Corbin Place in Manhattan Beach [NYT]
• Dogshit Queen Scores Jim McGreevy Letter [newyorkshitty]