This is the winner of the Red Hook Bicycle Design Master Plan Competition sponsored by the Forum for Urban Design. It comes from Jonathan Rule. The goals was to come up with ideas to make Red Hook “the most bicycle friendly neighborhood in all of New York.” All of the finalists and honorable mentions can be found on the website here.

A photo gallery of all the finalists ahead.

GL Contributor Marie Viljoen writes about a fundraiser taking place for PS 29 in Cobble Hill: “November 18th will see a wine-lubricated raffle to raise funds for PS29 at Bocca Lupo, corner of Henry and Warren Streets. Jeff Lederman, the proprietor, is generously donating the space, great food and wine. All proceeds benefit the school. Good cause – considering the NYC schools’ chancellor just trimmed the budget. This is a community event – not just for the school, but for friends, neighbors. How much good wine can one down for $30? Answer? A lot!”

See the full poster will details by clicking here.

“Maybe it’s a sign of the times that this prime piece of real estate, on the corner of 9th Street and 5th Avenue, is going to be a discount shop. DII is now the name of the discount department stores known as Dee & Dee. The space was formerly occupied by Eckerd, but the company was purchased by Rite Aid, conveniently located one block away.”–Brownstoner

[Photo courtesy of Rubys Host/GL Flickr Pool]

It’s fall kite surfing in Coney Island, friends, courtesy of Ruby’s Host.

GL Contributor Deborah Matlack spent part of Veteran’s Day in Prospect Park, where the foliage is still lovely. This photo is one of the results of the visit. For a bonus gorgeous shot, click here.

It’s time to talk turkey. On Saturday (11/15) from 11am to 4pm, head on down the PS 15 in Red Hook (on Van Brunt between Sullivan and Wilcott) to join the Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy and associates for a fall day of learning and fun before the big Thanksgiving holiday. Dear God, did we just say Thanksgiving?

The event will be held at the new PS 15 Playground. Activities include a giant and colorful ceremonial Tipi with exhibits and presentations, that includes a small interactive Lenape wigwam, see a giant sturgeon, and other living dinosaurs of urban estuary and a dozen other exhibits exploring how our earliest settlers used it, reused it and recycled it, a presentation about the living nature of our urban estuary and urban watershed. There will also be exciting outdoor activities such as parents and children potato sack, pumpkin pie race with prize, making apple cider with a traditional apple press, a free raffle- win a Turkey [donated by Red Hook Rise] for Thanksgiving for parents and children of PS 15 …and more. In the spirit of that tradition, our tipi tells the lore of various natural resources and wildlife of NY State. From the environment, through the water column, to its surface, to the very air that we breathe, and in the soil from which we harvest.. The Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy, helps in putting a little nature back in the urban environment.

And, afterward, of course, there’s always the chance to the big blue-and-yellow box and pick up an Ektorp.
—Vaduz Uvunt

Friends, you are free to decide which os thse two bicycles on N. 7 Street in Williamsburg has done better that the other, at least for now.

Remember the ongoing fight over the non-union employees hired by the Dermott Group at One Hanson and the fact that many of them can’t afford health insurance for their families. The most prominent investor in One Hanson, of course, is former basketball start Magic Johnson. This is the same Mr. Johnson who face beams from posters all over Brooklyn for Aetna insurance. There is one, in fact, on a subway entrance a few blocks from One Hanson, but we found this one in Williamsburg adorning the fence around the condo going up on the site of the former Giant Fart Cloud Building.

Well, friends, the deed is done on Seventh Avenue. A pharmacy is now open in the space that had once been the Second Street Cafe, where the food was so-so and the little ones could draw on their placemats and find the results of their art posted on the walls. In any case, a couple of shots of the new tenant, above and below.

Everyone, it seems now wants to have something to say about the future of Coney Island. From the Center for an Urban Future:

Well-known architects, historians, novelists, developers and amusement industry experts from New York and around the world offer their “vision” for Coney Island’s future in a new report being released today by the Center for an Urban Future, a non-partisan think tank based in Manhattan. The report includes fresh ideas for remaking Coney Island into a 21st Century amusement district from novelists Jonathan Lethem and Kevin Baker; amusement and carnival experts such as the CEO of Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens and the executive director of the Big Apple Circus; innovative New York-based real estate developers Irwin Cohen and Greg O’Connell; architects and architectural critics from Michael Singer to Paul Goldberger; historians such as Mike Wallace and Michael Immerso; urban planner Alexander Garvin; video game developer Eric Zimmerman; creative entrepreneur Dianna Carlin; and a number of other influential thinkers. The Center for an Urban Future’s aim with this report is to inject fresh ideas into the city’s ongoing planning for Coney Island’s redevelopment that, despite its clear benefits, has come up short of creating a bold vision for restoring the area to its historic place as a truly great entertainment district. The Center reached out to innovative and creative individuals from New York and around the world, most of who have not previously weighed in with ideas about Coney Island’s future.

We don’t know if this is all helpful or not. We will digest and opine with (hopefully) some intelligence tomorrow.

Lantern Media, which made the video, writes: “Some scenes from Lantern’s block in Carroll Gardens, the community garden down the street, and the CSA. Set to “Autumn Leaves,” sung by the late Eva Cassidy, who herself was an avid gardener.”

Yeah, we know, it’s only a Baluchi’s, but given the astounding mediocrity of Indian food in Park Slope there’s something encouraging in the fact that the Baluchi’s on Fifth Avenue is nearing opening. Last night, the sign was lit an workers were inside getting the place together. The countdown is on.

This is another left over Missed Connection from last week. It concerns the late-night post-Obama victory mayhem in Williamsburg. Here it is:

You Got Arrested. I Took Your Bike. (Williamsburg)

You got arrested when the cops showed up on election night. I took your bike when the cop with it had no idea what to do with it. Let me know what type of bike it is and I’ll get it back to you.

Yes we can.

Here comes Christmas stuff, friends. The Buy in Brooklyn Campaign is unveiling its new “Park Slope Snowflake” campaign today that will involve two nights with local merchants staying open late, having sales and special events, all in an effort to get us to shop locally. Here are some details from the website, which has gone live this morning and GL got an exclusive advance look at it:

Local merchants once again throw open their doors to stay open late and create a holiday atmosphere, enabling you, the people of Park Slope, to do your holiday shopping . . . here! Each participating business will 1). Stay open until 10pm, and 2). Offer some special promotion – Could be a sale, could be a giveaway, raffle, carolers, snow machine (it’s been done!), mulled wine, special hors d’oeuvres, etc. etc. The listings of participants grows daily!!! Last year we had 150 participating businesses — who knows what will happen this year!?! In the current and impending economic climate, it’s more important than ever to keep our local economy strong and healthy, so let’s get together and Keep it Local!

Here’s hoping they have a successful event.

Photo by five2510thstreet/flickr

· Meals on Wheels Deliveryman Killed in Brownsville [NYP]
· Pols File Lawsuit Against Term Limits Extension [NYT]
· Biathlon Training Season in East Williamsburg? [NY Shitty]
· Has the AY Arena Site Been Assessed? Who Knows. [AY Report]
· Patriotism in the Slope [Brownstoner]
· A ‘Penthouse’ Appears on Smith Street [PMFA]

[Photo for GL by Nathan Kensinger]

The Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park is being rededicated on Saturday (11/15), with the eternal flame on top being re-lit and, most important, the eagles that had been taken by the Parks Department finally returned to their rightful place. GL Contributor Nate Kensinger passes along a couple of pics of the eagles and a link to an amazing story about what happened to them and we have a big from a press release about the big ceremony (yes, this is why the monument was all wrapped in scaffolding for so long as it was being rehabbed):

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1908 dedication of the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument, a grand celebration will take place on Saturday, November 15, 2008 in Fort Greene Park. The majestic Stanford White-designed Monument which stands in the heart of the Park is one of the most important and sacred memorials in our country. It honors the remains of over 11,500 POWs, interred in a crypt beneath the Monument, who perished for the cause of freedom during the American War of Independence.

Yes, there were once British prison ships in Wallabout, where the Brooklyn Navy Yard now stands and tens of thousands of Americans died gruesome deaths there.

Details about the events after the jump.

Here, we have the ultimate Park Slope War: loud music versus the hellish noise produced by children above one’s head. On which side of the battle line one falls depends on whether one is the one playing the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah or listening to Toby upstairs dive off the couch to the floor. In any case, this issue comes to us, naturally, via an email circulating through our good friends at Park Slope Parents:

My downstairs neighbor plays extremely loud music in the morning every day, around my son’s nap time. When I went to her apartment to see if she could lower the music, she turned off but then told me that my son (who is 18 months) runs around the apartment too much (which is partly true, but I try to control him), that she can hear him in my bedroom at 6 am making noise (which is not true), that she can hear a metal noise from my hallway (no clue what she’s talking about), that she has roaches in her apartment (which I don’t have any so I don’t know what this has to do with anything, unless she was telling me is my fault).

I told her that I will try to control Dorian before 8 am and around dinner time. And in the weekend, we will control his running around the home before 9 am. But I don’t know what else to do. Any tips?

GL Analysis

After being tormented for a long time by a little one above our heads and parents who seemed unwilling or unable to exercise control, our sympathies are with the music person, even if we don’t get the crap about the roaches. So, our vote is for the neighbor to play Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music at top volume (back in the days of vinyl, this album of noise could be played at 33, 45, or 78 RPM. Didn’t matter. Uh huh.) at least 12-16 hours a day. Barring that, any Death Metal played on a 600 watt system will do just fine. A few weeks of that and the little one should be rolling around in an inflatable suit. Then again, we personally endured this torment and wished unspeakable evils upon a child that we know were morally wrong.

[Photo courtesy of Stephen Lipuma]

The hearing at Brooklyn Borough Hall about the future of Long Island College Hospital drew a crowd of about 200 people yesterday. Many of the participants called on Continium Health Partners, which runs the troubled hospital in Cobble Hill to devise a plan to keep the hospital from closing. There are widespread fears that the company wants to sell off the land to developers rather than keep the hospital operating. “We are open to plans from all quarters,” Mr. Markowitz said, “from the patients and doctors who attended the hearing, from medical groups and hospitals who have expressed an interest in maintaining these important services in Downtown Brooklyn, and from the current management of Continuum-LICH, if they can offer a plan that preserves these services.” The Borough President said Continuum should go “back to the drawing board” to come up with a plan for saving the hospital. LICH is forming a community advisory board on which the Borough President and elected officials will have seats. “Closing LICH is not acceptable,” Mr. Markowitz said. “Cutting back basic services is not acceptable. And we know that LICH is not alone, and that its difficulties are part of the larger health care crisis plaguing Brooklyn and the nation. That is why we’re seeking solutions not only for LICH, but for all health care providers.”

This is at the corner of Roebing Street and N. 11 in the Burg. The artist’s name is Mike Marcus.

If you haven’t read it anywhere else, then… well, you’ve only just started your daily blog reading with us. If you’ve already read it – pardon us. We want to help spread the word, and just can’t help it if organizers inundate the entire Greater New York blogosphere. That being said…with the holiday season closing in, your chance is coming to knock out that gift list with your one-stop shop at the annual BFS Winter Craft Fair on Sat (12/6) from 10am-5pm at the Brooklyn Friends School (375 Pearl Street). And there’s a lot going on throughout the entire school:

In the Lower Gym there will be 40 vendors presenting a wonderful array of crafts, pottery, quilts, needlework, jewelry, accessories, children’s books, and gifts. This is definitely the place to be for one-stop holiday shopping at great prices. Be sure to visit the section featuring craft items created by BFS students. In the Lobby, there will be a fabulous selection of holiday plants and wreaths, fresh from the greenmarket in Canarsie. In the Third Floor Library, our BFS librarians host the annual Scholastic Book Fair. Nearby, in the Conference Room, volunteers will be wrapping gifts for the St. Johns Place Family Center families. In the Cafeteria, there will be a variety of baked goods, a cupcake-decorating station, and a full lunch menu of home-made and locally produced food.

Sounds like a perfect start to the numerous holiday fairs that will be popping up around our the borough.

[Photo courtesy weenieart/GL Flickr Pool]

Vito, Bob and Peter once had reserved spaces.

Issue Project Room was recently awarded a 20-year lease for the amazing theatre space at 110 Livingston St. Problem is – they need $2.5mil to make it happen. Word has it that they’ve already raised $1mil of it, but they still have a lot more work to do and a lot more money to raise. So… the best way to raise money – have a concert! Tues (11/11) at the Santos Party House (100 Lafayette St. at Oxford St.) doors will open for a pre-concert reception at 7pm, with the Master of Ceremonies Tony Conrad and a special performance by Alex Waterman. Following at 8pm is a benefit concert with Moby, Alex Waterman, David Linton, Charles Cohen, Bubblyfish, Lalibam, Luke Dubois, Chika and Caspar Stracke all performing. To buy your tickets and get more information go here.

After such an amazing Presidential election behind us, it’s time to get back to the “right here, right now” in our lives. It’s time for another general meeting for the Windsor Terrace Alliance. Take part in your community on Thursday, Nov 13 at 6:30pm, at the Holy Name Church in Shepherd’s Hall. (245 Prospect Park West off Prospect Avenue) It sounds like it’s going to be a very informative, very important meeting with presentations from a number of community supporters and organizers, updates and advisements on many neighborhood issues (like the contaminated soil being transported along Caton Ave), and a chance for you to voice your concerns, ideas and knowledge of what’s going on in your community. And hell – refreshments are going to be provided by Fez Cafe, a tasty Moroccan/French Bistro at 240 Prospect Park West.
—Vaduz Uvunt

Now that the rides are down, the water’s cold, and we’re all getting ready to bunker down in and close to our homes for the winter, Coney Island has turned into a quiet wonderland fitting to sing the blues. Some people, though, take full advantage of having the place all to themselves, as can be poignantly read from DITHOB. — Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn

Looks like the Surf Bar on N. 7 Street in Williamsburg between Bedford Ave. and Berry is about to get a new friend. It’s not exactly clear what that friend is going to be, athough a document filed in 2004 read:

PROPOSE TO EXTEND & CONVERT THE EXISTING ONE STORY COMMERCIAL BUILDING INTO A MIXED USED 4 STORY & CELLAR BUIDLING WITH COMMERCIAL USE @ FIRST FLOOR AND RESIDENTIAL USE AT THE UPPER FLOORS. ADDITIONS OF THE FOLLOWING PW1 SECTIONS: 5B,9A,10,16, AND 17 AS WELL AS REMOVAL OF FLOORS 005 AND 006 FROM SCH. A AND CHANGES TO SCH. B. ALL AS PER PLANS FILED HEREWITH.

We think that something a little more significant may be up for the site. There is heavy demolition work currently going on and we suspect some new building permits are going to be filed. The official address is 154 N. 7 Street and the property is owned by Williamsburgh Square LLC.