April 3rd, 2007 · Comments Off on Brooklyn Nibbles: Williamsburg Edition
A couple of items to report from the Williamsburg food front:
1) Easy come. Easy go. Remember that Amazon Cafe whose presence we noted on N. 12th Street across the street from McCarren Park? Well, stick a fork in it because it’s done. We found it closed on Sunday with signs for the Patisserie Lafayette all over the door and windows. The Patisserie is opening soon. Or so they say.
2) There’s a pizzeria coming to 237 Bedford Avenue near N. 4th Street. This news is reported by A Test of Will, which found work permits for the conversion in the storefront adjacent to the pet store. No word on whether the pizzeria will be a restaurant or, you know, a pizzeria.
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We wanted to make sure to touch on the Coney Island angle in the new Grand Theft Auto IV story. Maybe you read where any number of local officials are condemning the game that will be released this fall and its setting in a city that is very much like New York City. Says Council Member Peter Vallone, who can always be counted on to opine on such matters, “Setting Grand Theft Auto in the safest big city in America would be like setting Halo in Disneyland.” In any case, the trailer for the game shows a Cyclone-like structure in Coney Island, and a reader sent us the screen cap above showing the Wonder Wheel. He writes, “They aren’t the first game to do this, there is the warriors video game that has the game menu as the cyclone.”
We have always believed that the oil oozing from the ground at the Roebling Oil Field at N. 11th Street and Roebling in Williamsburg was emanating from a ruptured tank nearby that can be found on environmental maps of the neighborhood. Workers have also noted digging up an oil tank on the site. Yet, the new blog Brooklyn 11211 has done some absolutely brilliant historical research and noted conditions that could be moving oil underground from other locations in Williamsburg to the site. It turns out old creeks that ran through the neighborhood ran directly through the Roebling Oil Field site (AKA McCarren Park Mews). The map above shows the original creek called Norman Kill, which was later renamed Bushwick Creek. The Roebling Field is in the red square on the map. Brooklyn 11211 writes:
So what does all this ancient history have to do with the discovery of oil on Roebling Street? Maybe nothing, but maybe this: a branch of Norman Kill runs directly beneath the Roebling Oil field site (outlined in red on maps #2 and #3). It also runs beneath the newish apartment building across North 11th Street to the north, and beneath the block to the southeast that GL identified as another possible oil field site. This tributary, once known as Swede’s Kill, is the part of Bushwick Creek that was navigable as far south as Grand and Rodney Streets.
As to industries of interest that might be original sources of pollution, B11211 writes:
Charles Pratt’s Astral Oil refinery, which was located at the mouth of the Bushwick Inlet. Today, this is the Bayside Oil site – a site that is slated to become a public park, but which Parks has acknowledged is an environmental nightmare (understandable, considering that the site has been home to some form or another of petroleum processing for close to 150 years).
And, yes, if you look at maps #2 and #3, you will see that the Bayside/Astral site is right downstream from the Roebling Oil field.
But wait – oil can’t flow upstream, can it? Well, just as the East River is not a river (to us in Brooklyn, its not even East). The East River is a tidal strait – water flows in and out from New York Bay and Long Island Sound (and to some extent the Harlem “River”) based on the tides. I suspect that this tidal action was what formed Norman Kill, and could still be affecting the flow of water beneath parts of Williamsburg. I’m no hydrologist, but clearly there was once a network of waterways that to one extent or another could still exist beneath the streets. And that network of waterways could be pushing oil and other ickiness below the former marshlands of north Williamsburg.
If the old creek system is in some way responsible for the appearance of oil at the Roebling/North 11th site, the Bayside/Astral would certainly not be the only potential source for oil itself. There were many other potential sources of historic oiliness, including the Williamsburgh Gas Light Company, which was located west of Kent Avenue between North 11th and North 12th Streets, and a Brooklyn Union Gas facility on Berry between North 12th and North 13th.
So perhaps it is geography that has reared its ugly head on Roebling and North 11th.
Of course, very little testing of what is under Williamsburg has ever been done. The only way it is discovered is through the occasional big hole that is dug that might attract attention because of the stench it give off.
April 2nd, 2007 · Comments Off on Dick Zigun Speaks at Length About Coney Island Redevelopment
Dick Zigun, the head of Coney Island USA and a member of the Coney Island Development Corp. board has posted a very long and thoughtful statement on the Coney Island Message Board laying out his position on redevelopment of Coney Island. In it, he says that he supports redevelopment of Coney Island (as does virtually everyone–the controversy is about the details) as “Coney Island as it currently stands is ‘broken.'” Mr. Zigun, who has been called the unofficial “Mayor of Coney Island” and whose group received city funding to buy the building in which it is housed, writes in the message posted on the Coney Island Message Board:
I too love the seedy charm but I do not wish to maintain the empty lots and furniture stores. Throughout Coney Island’s history it has been “the world’s playground”… it has been the amusement park of large, loud, urban New York City. The current Coney Island is neither. It wants to be bigger and it needs major new attractions.
The city’s intentions are good. Mayor Bloomberg and Brooklyn Borough President Markowitz and City Councilman Reccia combine into a trifecta of elected officials more pro-Coney Island, more pro-amusement park then any other NYC administration since the 1920’s (pre-Robert Moses).
Of Thor Equities he writes:
Joe Sitt, founder and owner of Thor is a successful capitalist and is good at his job. Thor has assembled enough property within Coney to create a development package with enough impact to transform the neighborhood and attract investors, that is Joe Sitt’s job. Many of you fear Thor, but if you think Coney Island is “broken”, like me, then you have to think future, not past, and try and work with and influence Joe Sitt.
Joe is not such a bad guy… but he has never developed an amusement park and he is a little “out of his league” IMO. Joe Sitt began his career as founder of the Ashley Stuart chain of woman’s clothing stores marketing to women of color in inner city neighborhoods. Most of his employees were African-American women and his stores were welcome for providing quality service to an underserved audience. As a developer he is known for not being afraid of the urban market and he has pioneered expensive development in risky neighborhoods. So far, so good for Joe Sitt. However, he is not an amusement park guy. Not yet.
The rides Thor has suggested for Coney Island are indeed good rides: steel looping rollercoasters and double decker carousel, etc. We need these rides and we want these rides but there need to be EVEN MORE rides in his plan. Hotels and time shares will bring tourists who will party and spend money for a week and then leave making room for more tourists.
Condo residents will complain about noise and late hours and parking and schools. The residents of Luna Park apartments already complain about the amusements. The CIDC in its wisdom has already voted that condos belong but belong on the outer edges. Trust that when and if CIDC votes, I will always vote against condos within the core, but I am just one vote out of thirteen. Aside from voting against condos, if Thor does go ahead and builds whatever it builds, I will remain on the CIDC and sit down with Joe Sitt to advocate for quality rides, innovative architecture, and historic preservation.
We suggest a complete read of Mr. Zigun’s statement to anyone with an interest in Coney Island redevelopment.
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On Friday, we ran an item about Gowanus and baseball, which prompted a kind reader doing some heavy duty historical research to send us the image that we reproduce above. For those of you disinclined to decipher the clip, which is from the July 20, 1887 issue of Sporting Life. It says:
The occasional victory won by the foraging Brooklyn team throws a ray of light and happiness over Gowanus that makes the Gowanucians forget past defeats, present troubles, and that it is an awfully ill-smelling breeze that comes up from Gowanus Creek.
Gowanus was the home of Washington Park, an early home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. A wall that still stands on Third Avenue near Third Street is said to be a surviving part of the original complex, although it isn’t believed to have been part of the stadium itself.
Gowanucians. Who knew?
(See something interesting? Gowanus Lounge is all eyes and ears. We invite your tips at gowanuslounge (at) gmail (dot) com. The tip line is open 24-hours a day.)
A couple of new retail developments to report in Park Slope and on Court Street:
1) Park Slope residents will no longer have to travel elsewhere for their fix of Tibetan fashions and accessories. The Bodhi Tree is slated to open soon at 396 Sixth Avenue. It’s named after a Pipal Tree at the western side of the Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya.
2) Another storefront that used to house a local business has come back in the form of a chain on Court Street. The UPS Store in the former location of the jewelry shop Henna K is now in its grand opening period.
3) Speaking of Court Street, our local correspondent reports that a fitness boom is underway. One has already been open for some time across the street from the Cobble Hill Cinema. Another is opening in the old music store that closed recently and a “fitness and yoga” enterprise is opening toward the Gowanus Expressway end of Court. Our correspondent notes that “Ominously, there’s a small crucifix nailed to the front door (they’re still renovating inside) but maybe that’s just to rid the place of bad vibes.”
April 2nd, 2007 · Comments Off on Coney Reopens: Pictures & Words
[Opening Day Cyclone photo courtesy of akinloch/flickr]
Of yesterday’s Coney opening, Jake Dobkin wrote on Bluejake that “It was cold and windy down in Coney Island today, with a slight mist of rain. The weather kept most of the people away, and except for reporters, amusement park workers, and a few die hard fans, the place was empty. That feels appropriate, given that this year is Coney Island’s last before redevelopment. At the end of the season, Astroland will close forever, and a Disneyfied amusement park will begin rising in its place. I’m not completely against that– certainly the beat-up beat-down Coney Island hasn’t been any great shakes for Brooklyn over the last twenty years. But of course, like most people who grew up in the borough, I’ll miss the old version– it’s hard to see places you care about change.”
While yesterday was a dark and chilly day that kept people away from the opening of Coney Island, and this morning doesn’t offer a lot of hope either so far, Saturday was a different matter. We captured a few images that demonstrate that hope, well, springs eternal. Any day now, and Brooklyn will be full of blooming trees and flowers. We can say this with a smile and a sense of optimism because we do not suffer from allergies.
April 1st, 2007 · Comments Off on Atlantic Yards is Dead: Sitt Announces Barclays Cone in Coney
Developer Joe Sitt will rebuild the Revere Sugar Dome, which his firm demolished in Red Hook, in Coney Island. “We know that Brooklyn loves a joke,” Mr. Sitt said. “That’s why we pretended to demolish the Revere Dome. We did it so we could rebuild it as an arena it in Coney Island.” Mr. Sitt announced a partnership with Forest City Ratner to develop the Barclays Cone. The Cone will be designed by Frank Gehry and be located on the current site of the Parachute Jump. The iconic jump, meanwhile, will be dismantled and rebuilt at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues.
“As for all you jerks who complained about losing that big tin can, bite me,” he said. “I was born and raised in Brooklyn. I love Brooklyn. I would never hurt Brooklyn.”
In a statement, former Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner said that although all properties in his project’s former “footprint” had been leveled on Saturday via a new process called “flash demolition” that had been specifically designed for Brooklyn, he hoped that relocating the Parachute Jump there would help “enliven this great urban living room.” Mr. Ratner said that while it was “unfortunate” that part of Prospect Heights had been demolished, he said that the area affected was “already blighted” and that knew that “the Cone is right for the Nets and right for Brooklyn.” He also noted that he and Mayor Bloomberg were endowing a foundation that would “secure world-class talent” to “rebuild that cruddy little neighborhood from scratch.”
Mayor Bloomberg urged residents to “stop whining” and said that “it could have been worse.” He said “that neighborhood–what was it called?–will be back and better in no time. Sniveling won’t get it rebuilt any faster. We all wish it could be done faster.”
Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn sent out a press release condemning the use of “flash demolition,” but welcoming the Parachute Jump to the neighborhood and the selection of Coney Island for the Barclays Cone. The Jump, the group said, is a good example of a tall structure that doesn’t cast a shadow because of the way it was built.
Mr. Sitt and Mr. Ratner issued a joint statement saying that Mr. Gehry would be giving the Revere Dome “a few tweaks” before it is resurrected in Coney Island. An architecture critic who was given a preview of Mr. Gehry’s model said that it looked like “a deconstructed scrap heap at a junkyard” in a shape that “symbolically approximates something that calls to mind a cone.”
Mr. Sitt added that he wished “everybody hadn’t gotten their underwear in a bunch” over luxury condos in Coney as the proposal “was just a joke too,” but that “a bunch of moron city planners were just too stupid to get it. Morons.” Rather than luxury housing, Mr. Sitt announced he would build the Trailer Park of the Future in Coney Island, calling it “the Bellaggio of trailer parks.” GL has learned that the trailer park would start on land but extend 2.5 miles out to sea on a series of pontoon bridge-like structures. The working name for the development is Doctoroff Village, or Danny Town, to those designing the project.
“Global warming can kiss my ass,” Mr. Sitt said. “Our trailer park for the 21st Century is going to start out by floating.”
While trailers are generally no more than two-stories tall, Thor secured noted Brooklyn architect Robert Scarano to design the development. By creatively using mezzanines, each trailer will actually be 15-stories tall. GL has been told that 2 million of the 3 million new residents anticipated in New York by 2030 could be housed in Doctoroff Village, which will be served by an expanded New York Water Taxi fleet. The MTA will also consult with the Venetian Municipal Transit system to design new water buses. Turning Ocean Parkway into a canal for water taxis and water buses is also under discussion. “It’s going to happen, anyway, so why not be proactive?” said a source familiar with the plan. “We’re conservatively estimating that property on the canal will gain 200-300 percent in value with the water views.”
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz said of the entire recooked Coney plan, “That’s what I mean by freaky.”
The revised Thor plan also calls for a 150-story highrise called the Thor Hammer, the first ten stories of which will be unoccupied in order to protect it from rising sea levels and storm surges. The Thor Hammer would be topped by a free fall roller coaster called Descent Into Hell. The Thor Hammer in Coney Island would also include an indoor mall with 300 shops, a water park on the 125th floor called “Water Sports in the Sky,” six hotels and a convention center. If the Thor Hammer doesn’t work out, Mr. Sitt said he would simply consider “building a really nice shopping center–the Bellaggio of malls–on the property.”
In an unrelated development, the Borough President noted that the Domino Sugar Plant in Williamsburg had been illegally flash demolished overnight.
“What can you do?” he said. “I’m sure they’ll be fined for work without a permit. Freaky. Freaky. Freaky.”
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April 1st, 2007 · Comments Off on Disconnected in Brooklyn on Craigslist: I Cant’ Take a Hint
This week’s choice for our Craigslist Brooklyn Missed Connection of the week is simplicity itself and proves the old adage that less is more. Here it is:
You gave me the wrong number, which was probably intentional, on the other hand, it was before the fact that we actually hung out. If anyone’s interested, give me a shout.
We think not, but maybe they forgot that they lied about the number. Yeah, sure.
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And, the Coney Island fence is up just in time for the official opening of the new season. The big fence surrounds Thor Equities demolition zone on Stillwell Avenue. Permits had been issued for it last week. No more embarrassing photo of Coney Island demolition wreckage. This photo comes from a post on magicalthemeparks.com called “The REAL Future of Coney Island” and there are more photos there. We will be getting some fence shots of our own. Looking good!
April 1st, 2007 · Comments Off on Gowanus Lounge Sunday Brooklyn TV
Here are some Coney Island vids uploaded to the YouTube in the last month or so. If you don’t know, today is opening day for what could be the Coney’s last season before a long period of (a). rebuilding or (b). demolition and emptiness.
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April 1st, 2007 · Comments Off on GL’s Weekend Curbed Roundup
As you may know if you read GL regularly (and thanks for doing so), we also post at Curbed from Monday through Friday. Here’s some of this week’s goodness over there:
Here’s some slideshow action from yesterday’s Save Coney Island protest. You can check out our flickr set here and the flickr slideshow itself by clicking here.
March 31st, 2007 · Comments Off on Brooklyn Nibbles: Supermarket Edition
Having visited the new Bowery Whole Foods yesterday, we have a couple of notes on Brooklyn food retailing.
1) The Borough President noted in a wide ranging set of remarks promoting development in Brooklyn that Trader Joe’s “will be in Brooklyn shortly.” The prediction, which is clearly based on knowledge of the space the retailer is scouting, is reported in the Bay News. GL certainly loves a mystery. Given that Trader Joe’s requires less space than Whole Foods, any number of new buildings or existing spaces come to mind.
2) Speaking of Whole Foods, the Real Estate dispatched someone to gaze upon the toxic parcel of land at Third Street and Third Avenue in Gowanus that the organic food retailer intends to turn into a grocery store by next year. No word on the progress of the cleanup and Whole Foods–which was last heard telling Park Slope groups that they’re not interested in putting a green roof on their store or in reducing the size of their mammoth parking garage–had no comment on the status of their plans. A spring start for the conclusion of the detox of the land (which includes benzene in the groundwater) and the start of construction has previously been mentioned.
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March 31st, 2007 · Comments Off on Gowanus CDC Director Tom Chardavoyne Passes Away
Some sad news to report. Thomas Chardavoyne, the Executive Director of the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corp., has passed away. The news comes via an email from Community Board Six District Manager Craig Hammerman. Mr. Chardavoyne was deeply involved in efforts to create a strategic plan for the Gowanus community and to ensure that planning, rezoning and development went hand in hand. He was also involved in a large number of civic and neighborhood causes. On a personal level, we will say that we always found him to be very friendly, very warm and very caring about the community. We are very saddened by the news. There will be a wake for Mr. Chardavoyne on Sunday at Scotto’s Funeral Home at 106 1st Place (off Court Street) on Sunday from 7-9pm and Monday from 2-5pm and 7-9pm. The funeral mass is on Tuesday, April 3rd at 10:15am at St. Boniface R.C. Church, 109 Willoughby Street.
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March 31st, 2007 · Comments Off on Annual Submerge Festival Coming
The Urban Divers are sponsoring the eighth annual edition of their Submerge Festival, which showcases film/video, photography and other art media produced by local and international artists to raise awareness of water. This year’s festival will be held in July in Red Hook (exact venue and days, TBD). The festival moves to a different waterfront community and venue every year.
Organizers are accepting all genres in video or film, photography, most matted and exhibit ready. Mobiles must take up more than three feet by three feet of space. Entry fees are only $20 per submission. A bio and description of art work should go along with the submission. The address for the entry fee and submissions is 89 Pioneer Street, Brooklyn NY 11231.
Artists would need to make arrangement for hand delivery of mobiles and photography, submissions are now being accepted and will be through the end of June. Winners will be announced on July 1.
The 8th Annual Submerge Art & Environment Festival will be presented this year in a unique outdoor exhibit and film screening venue, along with a presentation of Live! Beneath the Estuary – A live underwater video exploration and underwater narration with submerged Urban Divers. The festival will also travel to other waterfront venues along NY Harbor. The Urban Divers Submerge-Art and Environment Festival is in collaboration with Umbrella for the Arts and Sound Art Films. For more info call 718-802-9874.
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