Eat:

• Brooklyn Pizza Tourism [NYDN]
• myThai Cafe in Bay Ridge [Brooklyn Record]
• New Pan Asian in Bay Ridge [Sunset Parker]
• Bye Bye Bistro [ABL]
• Gulluoglu on Coney Island Ave [Chowhound]
• Focaccia from Focaccino: “The thing in the box” [Clinton Hill Blog]
• Lunetta: “What the Neighborhood Wanted” [The Strong Buzz via Curbed]
• New Pizza Place on Court Street [Chowhound]
• Smoke Joint Revisited [Brooklyn Record]
• Four Restaurants on Fifth Avenue [Park Slope Gastronome]
• Fort Greene Bonita is a Todo [Gawker]
• Park Slope’s Bar Minnow Sleeps with the Fishes [Eater]
• Kitchen Delights Coming to Bean Space in Williamsburg [Chowhound]
• Wednesday Food and Drink Roundup [Brooklyn Record]

Read:

• A Parking Lot Grows in Brooklyn [streetsblog]
• Transportation Consultants Blast Altantic Yards Impact Statement [AYR]
• Last Ditch Maneuvers on Atlantic Yards [NYT]
• Clinton Hill Blog Has Cool New Look [Clinton Hill Blog]
• Astrotower’s Fate Stands in the Balance [Kinetic Carnival]
• Would Be Superhero Moves to Sunset Park [Sunset Parker]
• G Line Extension Greeted with Enthusiasm [NYDN]
• E. Williamsburg Food Processing Plant Cooked by Fire [7Online]
• An Emergency Command Center Grows in Brooklyn [Daily Intell]
• More Architectural Nonesense in Bed-Stuy [Brownstoner]
• Brooklyn Yule Tune [Dope on the Slope]
• Christmas Wrapping [Bad Advice]

Recent building zone changes have taken place in gowanus. If you drive down President between 4th Ave & Nevins St. you will see 3 factories for sale and the huge factory between 4th and 3rd ave has already been sold. The 24 hour dry cleaner on 3rd and Pres has been sold to a developer and is slated to be a hotel or motel of some kind. There is another factory on Union and Nevins for sale. I smell condos instead of the canal for a change.

We don’t know of any other zoning changes in the neighborhood other than the Fourth Avenue rezoning that allowed 12-story buildings on both side of the avenue. We also know that most proposed condo projects in Gowanus would require a rezoning, although hotels can be built “as of right” as can projects like the Gowanus Whole Foods. And, of course, the last step before a lot of development starts is sale of the existing industrial buildings. If anyone knows more, by all means, shoot us an email at gowanuslounge (at) gmail (dot) com.

Last week it was the sale of Astroland. This week, it’s the demolition of the Revere Sugar Plant in Red Hook. Curbed got the scoop of the month on the fate of the Revere Sugar Refinery in Red Hook from one of its special correspondents: Demolition permits were issued yesterday and work was authorized to start immediately. (For the permit, click here.) The same developer is behind both stories/projects: Thor Equities. Thor bought the Revere property and has plans to build housing there, although no plans have been made public and no permits are in place. There is, in fact, signficant controversy about whether the property should be converted to residential use or remain industrial.

The demolition contractor, Breeze is the same outfit that demolished Old Dutch Mustard in Williamsburg.

For an irrelevant look at what Revere might have been in a place where the public sector has regard for reusing industrial sites in a creative way, click here.

Unless someone has some secret plan to go to court to stop this, you better get over to Red Hook soon to get your last look at Revere and its dome. These guys work fast.

UPDATE: Curbed has photos of heavy demolition equipment on the site and an odd envrionmental van outside.

Here is Part III of Gowanus Lounge’s Brooklyn Holiday Gift Guide. You can check out Part I here, which focused on Brooklyn causes and organizations, and Part II here, which focused on Brooklyn products. Part III is a random and subjective grab bag of things as we have thought of them:

Dogs of the Run 2007 Calendars. These very cute calendars support the McCarren Dog Run in Williamsburg. They’re $12 each and can be purchased online at mcdogrun.org via PayPal. For Christmas delivery order by December 15. They’ll also be on sale at the Dog Run on Saturday (12/9) from 12-4 at the Dog Run or you can get them at PS9, which is on North 9th Street between Bedford and Driggs. In person, the calendars are only $10. You get a cool calendar with dogs and support the Dog Run, how can you go wrong?

718 Brooklyn. Kit Kaplan’s Brooklyn photos and products are pretty cool. She’s a regular at street fairs and offers tons of cool and original Brooklyn things. Check out her selection at Cafe Press. It rocks.

Sweet Charity. Check out this home goods and gift store in Park Slope whose sales support animal rescue charities. They’ve got just about any cool thing you would want to give someone for a home and you’ll be helping out a very worthwhile cause in the process. This is a cool Seventh Avenue shop with a conscience. If you love animals, consider doing some of your holiday shopping here–buy a gift and improve a creature’s life. They’re located at 411 Seventh Avenue.

Artists & Fleas. This is a weekly Williamsburg marketplace is one cool place to get some great gifts and to support emerging designers, local artists, collectors, and local businesses. It’s at 129 N. 6th, between Bedford and Berry and is open from Noon to 8PM on Saturday and Sunday. Last year, they had extended hours for the holidays, opening on weekdays too, so check out their website for any updates.

Love Shines. We really dig this shop at 249 Grand Street, between Driggs & Roebling. The store is heavy on incredible Mexican things, but has a little bit of everything from relgious symbols and cool jewelry to notebooks and some to-die-for messenger bags and handbags. Best of all, there is plenty of very affordable merchandise.

Mini Minimarket. You’ve never been to Williamsburg if you don’t know this shop at 218 Bedford where irony rules. (It’s right next to Ear Wax Records.) Score cool t-shirts, angel wing earrings, Leopard Boy Thongs and way more.

Art-O-Mat LIC. The Art-O-Mat is in Long Island City, which one could consider an honorary extension of Brooklyn when looking for Christmas gifts. In any case, they have a superb selection of locally-made items, plus tons of fascinating books and prints. The focus is own Queens, but Brooklyn sneaks into the mix. It’s a wonderful place if you’ve never been, just the other side of Newtown Creek. They’re at 46-46 Vernon Boulevard and open from 12-7 on Friday and Saturday, 12-5 on Sunday.

Proteus Gowanus Store. It’s attached to the Proteus Gowanus Gallery, which is a gallery and performance space near the Gowanus. They have some very interesting books and items like Georgian Felt Slipper (the former Soviet Georgia, not the American one). They’re at 543 Union at Nevins.

And, for those who wish to wait:

INDIE*LICIOUS Holiday Bazaar, sponsored by the Ladies Independent Design League, will be taking place at the Micromuseum at 123 Smith Street on Sunday, 12/17 from Noon-5PM. It will feature 25 “of NY’s hottest emerging designers” including Mignonette, It’s By Erin, Black Rabbit,NY Couture, Luka, Tider Design, Nolita Graffiti, Sylvia Holden, Rowboat, Reiter8, Daisyhead, Items of Anymore and Fofolle. With barely seven shopping days left, at that point, it could make Smith Street the perfect Brooklyn shopping destination.

Related Posts:
Brooklyn Gift Guide, Part I
Brooklyn Gift Guide, Part II

We found the this item about this old time drug hysteria article called “Marijuana: Sex-Crazing Drug Menace,” in scouring the planet for items about Coney Island. It’s over at the blog Modern Mechanix. Here’s why it came to our attention: In the midst of all its amusing verbiage there is this tidbit:

Cultivated plots have also been found—and destroyed—in such unexpected districts as Coney Island and the so-called “jungle” near Brooklyn bridge.

Some research revealed that in 1934 the cops busted what is described as “a large field of marijuana growing near the Brooklyn Bridge.” A Coney Island crop was found on West Third Street in July, 1936. Pot fields in Dumbo and Coney Island. Who knew? Maybe that is why Thor Equities is up to buying up all that land–they’re going to turn them into weed-filled vacant lots.

• (Stoop) Size Matters [Brownstoner]
• The Big Blow: Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards “Front Stoop” Will be Too Windy [AYR]

Hey, Psst, Wanna Buy Some Real Fries? Got ‘Em in Jersey:

• Diners Face Oil Slick [NYP]
• Trans Fats Get Fried [NYDN]
• New York Bans Most Trans Fats in Restaurants [NYT]

Other Reading Material:

• Astroturfing Cadman Plaza Park [NYDN]
• Brooklyn Navy Yard Owes City Money [NYT]
• Public Authorities Control Board Gets a Lot of Letters Saying “Whoa” [AYR]
• Dancing with Crazies at the Brooklyn Museum [Fast Hugs]
• (RIP Albert) What to Do with a Dead Cockatiel in Brooklyn? [Bad Advice]
• Brighton Beach Braces for Robot Invasion [Sunset Parker]
• Back to Where They Once Belonged [Brooklyn Record]
• $2.00 Half Grapefruit? [Clinton Hill Blog]
• Running Sunset Park, Borough Park [Runs Brooklyn]
• Thor’s Hammer Smells Like a Fish [Kinetic Carnival]
• Gnomes [423 Smith]

From the same reader that emailed the historic photos of the Gowanus flooding Fourth Avenue (we’ll have a couple of modern-day photos later this week), we offer two more images of Gowanus in the 70s. Specifically, in 1876 (top) and 1877 (bottom). We assume the top photo is the end of the canal. We have no idea about the bottom photo. Interesting stuff.

No matter how you feel about the Atlantic Yards proposal–love it, hate it or somewhere in between–there are things about the rush job done to try to get it approved as fast as humanly possible that have to give you pause. Case in point, the way the Final Environmental Impact Statement brushes off the threat of a terrorist attack. Now, we’d be the first to hope and pray that it doesn’t happen, but we also understand that an arena with glass walls and a highrise of glass sitting right atop a busy transit hub at a busy intersection might be a target.

So, what does the EIS say?

Emergency scenarios such as a large-scale terrorist attack similar to the World Trade Center attack, a biological or chemical attack, or a bomb are not conisdered a reasonable worst-case scenario and are therefore outside the scope of the EIS.

Come again? For that, No Land Grab, gives the statement five of its Bogus Points. Which would make us chuckle, except for one thing: This is not a laughing matter. While there may be targets that have more “appeal” in the sick minds of those that seek to kill us, it’s not hard to envision Atlantic Yards on the short list.

If a major terrorist attack is not “a reasonable worst-case scenario” for an arena atop a train and subway station with a highrise atop it and apartments nearby, what is?

You can overlook all of the impacts of Atlantic Yards that have been ignored: scale, density, pollution, congestion, shadows, etc., etc., etc., but even the most enthusiastic backer of the project should ask that officialdom hit the pause button until proper anti-terrorism and safety planning is done.

It’s a no brainer.

Rail lines have historically been critical in the way cities evolve and grow. New York as we know it today, was shaped by the extension of its subway and trolley lines. So, when the story surfaced yesterday about the MTA’s service changes on the L and G trains, you had to wonder what it will mean. The L train service improvements are a no-brainer. It means that riders getting on at Beford might no longer have to double back five stops to get on a train with room for a few more bodies.

But extenion of the G five stops south to Church Avenue? Now, there’s a social revolution in the making. The L Train change will happen first. The G Train extension, well, that will be in 2008. Nonetheless, the day is at hand when North Brooklyn hipsters will be able to visit their South Brooklyn friends without changing trains. Park Slope to Grand Street or Nassau in one shot, baby.

Jen Chung over at Gothamist, who stays atop the MTA’s various doings, wrote:

Are pigs flying? Has hell frozen over? am New York finds some glorious information buried in the MTA’s 2007 budget…

Gothamist also includes a link to the Save the G website, which is an excellent introduction to the Little Green Torment.

One can see the day when Park Slope parents with strollers roam more freely on Bedford and when more hipsters wearing vaguely ironic work shirts break bread at Sette on Seventh Avenue or, even, invade Church Avenue. Gawker put it this way:

(More) Bugaboos on Bedford Avenue! Even longer lines at Southpaw! Less stuff for people to gripe about in those moving back to Manhattan trend pieces! ….Thank fucking God, is all we have to say. The only tiny downside that we can see is that by the time these plans actually take effect (late 2007– early 2008), we will be too old for one of the neighborhoods and still too poor for the other. Oh well.

G trains stopping again at Seventh Avenue! Now, that’s progress. Except when weekend service changes are planned, in which case the F will terminate at Smith-9th and the G will run from Smith-9th to Stillwell Avenue, with the F skipping J Street and terminating instead at Hoyt-Schermerhorn. Or something like that.

In all seriousness, this is just a tiny downpayment. Check back on the L and the G in another five or ten years when thousands more new North Brooklyn residents are living in waterfront housing in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, all of them depending on the G and the L to get to and fro.

How many Atlantic Yards Christmas Carols can you watch? There are eight–count ’em eight–posted over at youtube. All credit for bringing this lastest mashup of Holiday Season, Controversial Brooklyn Development and $1.65 billion website goes to the crew at No Land Grab, which has posted two of them so far. They’re done up by the Prospect Heights Action Carolers. The top one, “Let Ratner Rule,” is notable for the performance of former Congressional candidate Chris Owens, who it turns out, has a kick ass voice. Others are “God Rest Ye Marty Markowitz!,” “Jingle Bell Rock/Ratnerville Sucks,” “Deck the Halls,” “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” “Silent Night/Blighted Heights,” “Winter Wonderland” and “Marty the Two Faced BP.” (Do you begin to sense what will happen if the BP runs for Mayor and people hold a grudge? The only mayoral candidate with a pre-mixed opposition group.)

Carol Hill Albert told the Post, “It’s a real icon for Coney Island that’s just as visible as the Parachute Jump, and it would be a real shame if it left the area.” Economic Development Corp. interim president Joshua Sirefman terms taking ownership of the Astrotower “an interesting idea that warrants exploration” pending understanding of the cost.

There is growing sentiment among Coney Island residents and fans to try to landmark the tower so that it will be saved. The Coney icon is more than 40 years old, having opened in 1963 and offering passengers a ride to the top of the tower in a rotating observatory.

Now comes the time to hope/dread what goes in there. Will it be a cool place like some of the other corners of the park (Luncheonette, Mamalu, er… Turkey Nest) or will the Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robins trend that just went in a block away spread to this corner with another chain restaurant?

We assume this means that Tacobite, the taco place that worked out of the back of Monsignor’s, is dead too.

Two very highly-regarded organizations, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Scenic America are joining Brooklyn Speaks, the organization connected to the Municipal Arts Society that is arguing for major changes in the Atlantic Yards proposal. Both organizations are veterans of major, major battles in Washington and around the country. It will be interesting to see what these groups bring to the table and how they are perceived in what has been a very local fight. And, by local, we mean that Atlantic Yards has not garnered a lot of attention in Manhattan, let alone Washington or Chicago. The development was first reported very late yesterday afternoon by The Real Estate.

The news conference takes place today (12/5) at 11:45 a.m. at Fort Greene Place, between Hanson and Fulton Streets, in Fort Greene.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a private, nonprofit that works to save historic places and revitalize communities. It was founded in 1949, is headquartered in Washington and has 270,000 members. Scenic America is a leading nonprofit advocacy organization that works on “scenic conservation” and fighting “visual blight.” They’ve been very involved in the fight against outdoor advertising.

Words can not possibly do justice to this vision of Coney Island posted at arquitectonicaGEO that Kinetic Carnival happened upon. Kinetic called these:

vague and tamely dismal. The mini-parachutes that appeared to be a running theme seem to have morphed into jellyfish on sticks or mushroom lamps.

We’ll leave it at that.

Lost in Brooklyn:

• Manhattanites Become Very Disoriented in Cobble Hill [Z. Madison]
• Bensonhurst Woman Swallowed by Sinkhole [Sun]
• EMT Continues Shitting on Sunset Park [Sunset Parker]

Another Day in Brooklyn:

• Columbia Community Benefits Agreement vs Atlantic Yards [AYR]
• A Look Inside the Carlton Mews Church [Brownstoner]
• Park Slope Author and outside.in Cofounder Profiled [NYT]
• A Day on Sheepshead Bay [Blather from Brooklyn]
• Astroland Meets Planet of the Apes [Gothamist]
• Liquors Syndrome at Washington and Myrtle [Clinton Hill Blog]
• Top Brooklyn Netflix of the Week [Brit in Brooklyn]
• Shopping at the Greenpoint Eckerd, Disco Ball Included [HMLNY]
• Brooklyn Blogger to Blogspot: Bite Me [Erica’s Blog]
• Heath Ledger Checks Out Brooklyn Bocce [Brooklyn Record]

Holidays in Brooklyn:

• Park Slope Gift Guide Now Has Own Page [OTBKB]
• Holiday Help for Women and Kids [OTBKB]
• Bay Ridge “Holiday Tree” Puzzles People [NYDN]
• First Annual Dumbo “Light Capades” Tonight [Dumbo NYC]

Our working assumption has been that the Coney Island Development Corp. (CIDC) would borrow a page from the Empire State Development Corp. playbook and construct a public process that includes little public input, except to the extent that the law requires the appearance of public participation. (IE, Coney is the New Atlantic Yards and developer Joe Sitt is the New Bruce Ratner.) Might the CIDC actually require the developer to comply with a comprehensive master plan and protect the genuine amusements that have always been a Coney hallmark?

We’re more concerned than convinced, nontheless, check out the following quotes, which are part of a that indicates some people may be getting arrogant with what they see as Thor’s arrogant approach:

“If Joe Sitt [Thor Equities President] is so keen on redeveloping Coney Island, why doesn’t he break ground on the amusement area part of his plans?” said one city official speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official noted the area is already zoned C-7 for amusements and thus conforms with most of Thor Equities’ $1.5 billion plan to turn the area into a state-of-the-art amusement area.

“He should just stop pushing us when it has to be done the right way. It’s a very sensitive issue,” the official said.

The story also says that officials:

including some on the city-created Coney Island Development Corporation (CIDC), are skeptical of Sitt and his company…But CIDC President Lynn Kelly said regardless of the current or future ownership what is most important is to stay committed to the Coney Island Strategic Plan.

That plan includes the creation and enhancement of a year-around entertainment district, developing seaside attractions and facilitating economic growth and opportunities for the local residents, Kelly said.

“When you rezone or even consider rezoning, you have to do an extensive amount of analysis. Coney Island is unique in it has big and little picture issues that are very complicated,” Kelly said.

“This is history making. We don’t want to do anything in a vacuum and want to be thorough and transparent in our approach. I can understand why a landowner might want to say go faster, but what is paramount is to stay true to the vision,” she added.

We would love to know who the “city official” quoted earlier is. For now, we will simply say that we hope that Ms. Kelly is geniune in meaning that the CIDC will take its time and craft a plan that is more than rubber stamp of a developer’s proposals, as opposed to trying to create the public perception that it is listening in order to grease the skids for Thor’s plans.

After New Years?

The space will morph into its latest iteration: A “high end” beer shop. Bring on the Trappist Triple brewed in an obscure monastery near Antwerp, please. Oh, sorry, that’s Spuyten Duyvil.

Nickelodeon, whose proposal for turning Governor’s Island into a “themed resort” was recently rejected may be looking at new territory near the water: Coney Island. Todays Post lets loose with a story that SpongeBob and friends could be coming to our favorite Brooklyn waterfront destination in the form of a Nickelodeon “theme hotel” and, possibly, other attractions on the site of Astroland, which Thor Equities purchased last week. (This could be part of the Thor Equities development or Thor could flip some of the land it has purchased and sell it to the TV network for SpongeBob’s new home). Says Rich Calder’s story in the Post:

Such a plan would resemble Nickelodeon’s pitch for Governors Island, which city and state officials shot down last month. That plan also included an indoor water park, but it was unclear whether the water park has come up again in preliminary talks with Thor.

Thor spokesman Lee Silberstein said companies are interested in Coney Island “now that there is a serious proposal for the area’s revival.”

Nickelodeon Senior VP Howard Smith said, “We think a Nickelodeon-themed family resort hotel would be hugely popular with New Yorkers.”

Krabby Patties by the Sea, anyone?

If your read one story today from a publication you don’t normally peruse, make it the Sunday’s excellent Los Angeles Times story about Broken Angel. The story is full of both excellent detail and color and makes a point worth repeating that a significant work of art is threatened with destruction by the city. The article even quotes Margot Niederland, who made a film about Broken Angel, calling creator Arthur Wood “a crazy New York Gaudi.” Here’s a bit of the flavor:

Turn down a side street in the Clinton Hill neighborhood and a strange structure rises above the skyline. It is wooden, and handmade, and — depending on your angle of approach — it can resemble a 15th century flying machine, or a warped Gothic cathedral, or a pile of sharecroppers’ shacks poised deliriously over Brooklyn.

The building is the work of Arthur Wood, a slight man of 75. For 27 years, Wood’s neighbors have watched him climb to the top of his building to begin work on its next level. Wood builds without exterior scaffolding or a harness, and often with no assistance except for his wife, Cynthia. The structure has risen to 108 feet. Wood says it is about one-third finished.

The story brings Broken Angel to a wide audience. Maybe someone in Hollywood will make a movie about it or someone there will decide to support the work. In any case, future historians of New York City will not be kind to those that allow the destruction of Broken Angel.

The owner is still raising money by selling art and son Chris Wood is selling some of his photos for the cause. Click here to go to the Artezn website.

[Photo courtesy of onebadapple/flickr]

• Progress in Brooklyn [Brooklyn Views]
• NYT is MIA on Atlantic Yards, but Into Columbia J. School Cheating Story [AYR]
• Hi, Ho Silver! [No Land Grab]
• Starrett City Sale Stirring Worries [NYDN]
• Robbers Kill Man in Bed-Stuy [NYT]
• Inspectors Bust Brooklyn Markets for Illegal Iguana Meat [Sunset Parker]
• Dumbo Then and Now: Main Street [Dumbo NYC]
• Plumb Beach to Breezy Point by Water [frogma]
• Irving, the Red Hook Cat, Doing Well on Anti-Depressants [Callalillie]
• Best Subway Platform Graffiti Award: Nassau Ave. G Station [ITALTLITABTC]
• Winter Arrives in Bay Ridge [Bay Ridge Blog]
• Bay Ridge Holiday Tree Lights Up Locals [Bay Ridge Conservative]

Last week, Time Out New York ran a picture of the Bridge of Sighs in Venice next to a photo of the Smith-9th Street Station over the Gowanus. They were making light of a recent comment calling Gowanus the “Venice of Brooklyn.” Having logged significant amounts of time in the former and being a constant observer of the latter, we can say with some confidence that lousy water quality is one thing the two share. (Many Venice toilets flush directly into the canals and some Brooklyn toilets do the same when it rains enough. In addition, Venice is to the east of Mestre, an industrial town on the mainland which has added–and continues to add–many industrial pollutants to the mix.)

But, we digress, the point here is to note that the impressionist-like painting above was auctioned on eBay this weekend by artist Walter Mosley. We found it on his blog, and it must have sold, because when we went to check on it, it was no longer there. In any case, here is what the artist said:

This was painted en plein air in summer 2004. It was painted in a boat on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY. It shows a bridge (I believe it to be Hwy 280) and buildings of Brooklyn, inlcuding “The Willie”. It was no small feat to paint this as the boat was being rocked by fellow painter, Richard Rosenblatt also in the boat. I believe this painting will soon have historic significance as this area of Brooklyn is experiencing drastic changes and development.

For the record, the bridge, of course is Smith-9th. The Gowanus Expressway overpass would have been behind the artist as he worked.