So, MTV is going to bee shooting a pilot show about Brooklyn, specifically about “what life is like for the average Brooklyn high school student,” in the words of Brooklyn Tech High School News. (Credit for this find goes to Brooklyn Enthusiast.) The producers are looking for Brooklyn Tech sophomores and juniors. In the words of BTHS News:

MTV’s newest soon-to-be hit show is Brooklyn. The premise is to paint an accurate picture for America of what life is like for the average Brooklyn high school student. Brooklyn, New York is made up of the Caribbean Americans of Flatbush, the Hasidic Jews of Crown Heights, the hipsters of Williamsburg and the peacenik families of Park Slope. The infamous Fort Greene projects, artsy DUMBO, upscale Brooklyn Heights and the soon-to-be arriving NBA Brooklyn Nets. With 2.6 million people packed in Brownstones, tenements and multi-unit apartment complexes, Brooklyn is a jumble of cultures, creeds and economic strata. A cross between Harlem in its heyday and Paris, Brooklyn is the ultimate city within a city. In fact, if it weren’t already incorporated into New York City, Brooklyn would be the third biggest city in the country. It’s said that one out of every six Americans has had a parent or grandparent who lived in Brooklyn at some point.

With that said, there is only one school in all of Brooklyn that represents all of those people, and that is Brooklyn Tech High School. BTHS does not only represent the people of Brooklyn, it also offers the inspiration, education, values and glimmer of hope that all the other public schools are lacking. With a student body of 4,000, BTHS represents the many faces of teenagers in Brooklyn. Rich, poor, Asian, Black, White, Hispanic and everyone in between come here to learn.

We know some people that would take issue with the “soon-to-be-arriving NBA Brooklyn Nets” comment, especially given the arguments scheduled for Federal court today on the eminent domain issue, but putting that aside, fun stuff.

The most provocative exhibit of the four is the one in which students used NASA projections for rising sea levels for the next 50 years and found that, according to the data, DUMBO would be flooded up to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway by 2056.

In response, the students created a plan for building a new, higher ground and raising the streets, as well as creating a series of hydrodynamic islands and connecting upper floors of buildings. This plan also calls for moving the Empire Stores to a new, more elevated location. Visitors to the exhibit will be able to see a small-scale rendering of this futuristic, waterchallenged DUMBO. The students have created a laser-cut model of the neighborhood and several compelling images.

Water up to the BQE in Dumbo by 2056, huh? (We’re not sure where the data comes from, as “only” a one-foot rise in sea level is generally predicted by 2050 and maps show it wouldn’t be enough to submerge Dumbo, but what do we know?) Kind of makes us glad that by the time Water World happens, the odds are very good we won’t be here to see it. (The image above, by the way, is Alexis Rockman’s Manifest Destiny, which was on display at the Brooklyn Museum in 2004.)

Whatever is built on the site of The Gallery mall on Fulton Street at Albee Square, developer Joe Sitt and Thor Equities won’t have anything to do with it. Crain’s reported late yesterday that Thor is selling its lease for $125 million to Acadia Realty Trust and P/A Associates. Thor acquired the mall in 2001 for $25 million. Last year, the developer floated proposals for a 60-story building with 500,000 square feet of retail on the site (rendering of which is to the right), but there have been frequent reports that Thor was looking to “flip” the property at a big profit. The city owns the land underneath the mall, which means it gets a cut of the transaction and has to approve any new development on the site. The property is zone for a development of up to 1.4 million square feet.

Wal-Mart is said to be very interested in opening a store on the site and there is, in fact, an anti-Wal-Mart on Albee Square protest scheduled on February 8.

Related Post:
As Wal-Mart Keeps Thinking About Albee Square, Protests Mount

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The demolition takes place against the background of an upcoming zoning and planning process that Purnima Kapur, head of the Brooklyn office of the Department of City Planning, says will be neither simple nor quick. (A description that is certain to be like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard to developers like the Toll Brothers and Shaya Boymelgreen, both of whom need rezoning to build their residential developments.)

There are many different opinions within Gowanus itself in terms of the direction of the rezoning and planning. The Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation has produced a plan for the neighborhood envisioning Northern and Southern Zones, with housing concentrated in the north zone and green industry in the south. The Planning Department is looking at Gowanus as five zones, with existing housing concentrated in east of the canal between 3rd Street and Sackett Street. Discussion, at this early stage, has been fairly low-key, particularly for Gowanus, where there are many opinions within the community and a divide between groups that want to preserve industrial uses and those that want to see more residential development. Meantime, some demolition is clearly underway.

The architect and his partners have made it clear to the community that they will build as large as possible with no care given to their neighbors’ quality of life, which will be affected by their 12-story building.

The community of Sunset Park and its neighbors in Greenwood Heights and South Park Slope DEMAND that the development of 420 42nd Street be done in a legal, safe and contextual manner. ILLEGAL PLANS have been submitted to build a 12-story building that is not only NOT CONTEXTUAL IN A TWO- AND THREE-STORY ROWHOUSE NEIGHBORHOOD, but it will block the scenic views from Sunset Park, one of the highest points in Brooklyn, and plunge neighboring buildings into shadow!

The rendering above and the photo of the plans are from CCGH.

Related Post:
First Shots Fired in Sunset Park’s Battle of 42nd Street

We were a little dismayed when we read this story saying that Gary Jarvis, who had just past the halway point in his quest to run every street in Brooklyn, was giving up. (The original headline was “Runner quits, ends his Brooklyn dream”.) The article quoted Mr. Jarvis as saying that he was “lazy.” We knew from emails that Mr. Jarvis was planning to take a short break from the grueling routine before setting out on the second half of his runs, but he had not mentioned anything about quitting. Mr. Jarvis makes it official on his wonderful blog, Runs Brooklyn: No way he’s quitting. He is taking some time to allow his body to heal, but he will be off and running the rest of Brooklyn’s streets and doing his superb photography and wonderful blog in the process. Here’s what Mr. Jarvis–who has been producing an incredible collection of Brooklyn photographs as he runs–has to say:

Seriously, I wasn’t going to post anything for another couple of days, but I found myself compelled to pass along the following:

1) I am not mortally injured, and
2) I still plan on resuming this whole running thing.

A few days ago, I was surprised to receive a phone call from a reporter at the New York Post asking me to verify whether or not I was, in fact, abandoning my plan to run all the streets of Brooklyn. I of course replied in the negative, and went on to explain that I’m merely taking some time off to rest up and heal a bit. And while I hadn’t really thought about it prior to talking with this guy, after our conversation I realized that there were indeed a few hints here and there that might lead people to this (quite erroneous) conclusion.

Some of the confusion, of course, probably has its origins in my predilection for self-deprecatory rhetoric, and my apparent fondness for endlessly writing about the various aches and pains I’ve encountered and my general physical decrepitude. (When reading back through the archived posts, in fact, I was struck by the frequency with which I engaged in this sort of grousing. Yikes!)

But some of the rest might be traced to brief mentions in two relatively small local media outlets. First, a couple of weeks ago the Brooklyn Paper (a free weekly distributed to “bulk drop” locations throughout the borough’s more upscale neighborhoods) ran this short piece which, though I didn’t seem to notice at the time, does offer a somewhat distorted version of things. It calls me an “Iowa native,” for instance, even though the “About Me” box at the very top of this blog clearly states that I’d moved to Brooklyn after “thirty years in New Jersey and another ten in Iowa.” Moreover, the piece seems to imply that I might not even run the second half because I didn’t think things all the way through, or simply because I’m “too lazy.”

We hadn’t emailed Mr. Jarvis to ask if it was true, because we assumed he would deal with the story in due course. (We did not from previous correspondence that the grind was wearing him down, particularly the planning needed to his every street in the borough, and that he was looking forward to a short break.) In any case, Mr. Jarvis has now clearly spoken. We look forward to all of the great blog items and cool photos to come.

1) The Third Street Playground is closing for renovations this spring. The playground apparently has some drainage and water issues (we don’t know this personally, but we’re certain there are plenty of Park Slope parents that can vouch for it) that need to be taken of, so it will be restored and renovated. The $500K fix will start in late spring, which means the playground will be out of action during the summer months. Get ready to take those strollers over to the Ninth Street Playground.

2) On a totally different front, the beautiful, yet notorious, Vale of Cashmere, might be closed for a while for a redesign, Ms. Thomas said. The purpose of the work would be two-fold–to do some needed renovation work and to try to discourage activity that “is not park-like.” The thought is that closing it for a time could change the nature of activity in the area. The Vale of Cashmere is known as the site of public sexual encounters and has been the site of attacks on gay men and even a killing last year.

3) A comprehensive planning process for the park is getting under way. Attention in coming years is going to focus on the Flatbush Avenue side of the park, which Ms. Thomas calls “an enormous embarassment…an awful way to see the park.”

In case you’re one of those readers that can’t stand a mystery, one of our GL readers has solved one for us, via Google. It turns out that the architects of the planned $25 million Lakeside Center in Prospect Park will be Tod Williams Billie Tsien and Associates. The word comes indirectly from Mr. Williams and a posting about an appearance he is making in March at Georgia Tech. At the very end of his bio it says “Current projects include a software campus in India for Tata Consultancy Services, the Asia Society Hong Kong, the First Congregational Church in Washington DC and three projects in New York City…Bill T Jones Arne Zane Dance Studios in Harlem, two ice skating rinks in Prospect Park and Harmony Atrium for Lincoln Center.” The firm’s most prominent project is the American Folk Art Museum in Manhattan. The choice is supposed to be formally announced on Feb. 20 and we assume a design will be unveiled as well. From the look of their work, it could be quite interesting.

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New $25M Prospect Park Skating Rink Could Open by 2010

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The big new skating center in Prospect Park, a $25 million facility that would replace the Wollman Rink, could be open by 2010. The Lakeside Center–so called until it is renamed–would include two rinks, one for hockey and one for recreational use. It would rise on the site of a parking lot next to the existing Wollman Rink. The site of the current rink will be restored to its original landscaping at an additional cost of $10 million, bringing the total price tag to $35 million.

The current rink, which is more than 40 years old, has has long been a thorn in the side of Prospect Park purists. Created during the reign of Robert Moses, the rink replaced what had been Music Island, a small island with a stage facing the audiences in the park’s Concert Grove. Its construction altered what is said to have been one of the park’s most beautiful vistas.

The ice rink plans were presented by Prospect Park Alliance President Tupper Thomas at a meeting of the Park Slope Civic Council.

The name of the project architect–who is said to be internationally known and based in New York City, but with only one New York project to his name–will be announced on February 20. The project itself must be reviewed by both the Landmarks and Arts commissions. “There will be many opportunities for people to have something to say and something to say against it,” Ms. Thomas said. Public meetings will be held to present and discuss the plans.

Money has been raised to cover the $25 million cost of the ice center, but the Alliance still has to raise another $10 million for the restoration of Music Island and the Concert Grove. Ms. Thomas said the Alliance would “be happy with a naming opportunity,” but joked that it would avoid “specific banks” and “developers,” a reference to the Barclays Arena naming controversy and, presumably to developer Bruce Ratner.

While the news rinks would be open air, there would be a two level building included in the project. The building would include classroom space, a cafe and other amenities. The hockey rink would have a roof or covering of some kind. Both rinks would be intended for year-round use, although for purposes other than skating during warm months. The covered space would be rented out for picnics and outings and the other would be used as a play area. The existing Wollman Rink would remain open for part of the construction process, but would have to be closed at some point before the new facility is complete. “Gridlock” Sam Schwartz will analyze traffic impacts of the new facility, and there would be disruptions in the area around the rink during the construction period.

[Wollman Rink photo courtesy of ginatrapani/flickr; Music Island photo courtesy of Prospect Park Alliance.]

One of two things will happen to Coney Island by 2008: (A). It will become a huge construction site as a $1.5 billion makeover gets underway or (B). Wonder Wheel Park will be one of the only things left standing if developer Joe Sitt does not get the zoning changes that he wants and bails out on his project or engages in a protected test of wills with the Coney Island Development Corporation that lengthens the timetable for the project. To see the full flickr demolition photoset click here and to see the slideshow of Coney Island demolition porn, click here.

Of all the proposed marine garbage transfer stations that are part of the city’s new trash disposal strategy (including one on Hamilton Avenue at the mouth of the Gowanus Canal), the one proposed for Gravesend Bay has turned out to be the most controversial. Opponents have now posted an online petition to fight the station, which would go on the site of the closed Southwest Brooklyn Municipal Incinerator. That facility is said to have released dioxins, lead, mercury, cadmium and other toxins into the envioronment. Community lawsuits shut the incinerator down in the 1990s, and the possibility of another facility on the same site at Shore Parkway & Bay 41st Street, has touched a nerve. The facility would require the dredging of Gravesend Bay and stir up toxins from the incinerator that have settled on the bottom, including high concentrations of mercury and lead. There was a meeting recently at which residents expressed concerns that a “black mayonnaise” of highly toxic slime dredged up from the bottom of the bay would spread widely in the waters around Southern Brooklyn. You can see more about the problem from the community’s perspective and find the petition here.

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The Carroll Gardens Courier reports:

Emboldened by recent comments attributed to the new boss of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, local officials said this week the city’s plan to drastically alter Red Hook’s waterfront is all but sunk.

“For years, the city has been trying to shut down the container port and turn it into a candy store for developers,” Councilmember Michael Nelson, chair of the Council’s Committee on Waterfronts, said in a statement.

“We held hearings and spoke to residents, industry, a panel of experts throughout the community, and the consensus is overwhelming: We need real ports, not condos and cruise lines.”

“Now it looks like we’re almost there,” Nelson predicted, vowing to stridently oppose the city’s plan.

The future of Piers 7-12, was to be chartered by the city’s Economic Development Corporation, which is heading the plan it felt could transform the waterfront into a tourist friendly, job-generating attraction.

You can read the full story here. A spokesperson for the city’s Economic Development Corp. says that redevelopment plans are still on track and called the controversy “PR nonesense.” Stay tuned for what promises to be a great deal more back and forth.

Related Posts:
Red Hook Piers Development, Round One
First Blows Landed in Red Hook Port Smackdown

It’s Sunday, which brings us to the whacky, wonderful and sometimes touching world of Craigslist Missed Connections (from Brooklyn). This week’s selection isn’t a Missed Connection per se, in the sense that the writer’s trying to hook up with someone. But, we’re featuring it because, well, we almost pissed ourselves while reading it:

I Never Got To Say That I’m Sorry – 26

I am so sorry that all of you had to put up with awful smells on R train that pulled into the 95th Street Station around 6PM last night. More specifically, the second to the last car, and especially to the two young Russian woman that I believe were mentioning how much the subway car smelled in Russian. I’m not certain about that since I don’t speak Russian, but your body languages was telling me that you both knew. It wasn’t that I didn’t like any of you on that train and wanted you all to suffer, if was more so that I just couldn’t hold all of my gas in.

Please don’t think that I do that all of time in enclosed public spaces, cause I don’t. Yesterday was an off day due to the fact that the men’s room door on my floor has been broken for the past five days, which has caused the door to be left wide open so that nobody gets stuck inside the bathroom, and I feel as though I can’t relax enough in there to take care of my business while the door is wide open – especially noisy business.

Anyways, I should get going. Just wanted to send out my apologies. I hope that you all got it.

Honorable Mention:
miserable morning train ride made better – w4m – 25

The beverage store on Wyckoff and 3rd Ave has just closed down only after opening a few months ago in the late spring/early summer. I thought it was kind of dumb to open a beer store in that spot. But now it’s going to be down further, past Gowanus… I can only wonder who will move in next… Perhaps American Apparel.

Which gets us back to the big American Apparel-looking windows. In any case, as you can see, B&SW is moving far, far way to Sunset Park.

We’ve this in our holding pattern for a while, and what better day to post it than one when it’s 18 degrees outside as we sit with our laptop? In any case, here’s a great Coney Island vid called Coney Island USA posted up at My Space. The producer, the Coney Island Project, describes it as follows: “A down and out carnival hustler struggles to survive over the course of a slow summer in a changing Coney Island.” It’s very done, has excellent Coney scenery and, in about five years, will probably look like a period piece. Definitely worth watching by clicking here or on the embed below. All props, by the way, to Made_in_Coney78 at the C.I. Message Board for bringing to everyone’s attention.