We’re actually deeply thankful to whoever originally came up with the concept that Fourth Avenue is Brooklyn’s “New Park Avenue.” Yeah, sure. It’s provided us with a regular supply of laughs and posts. So, this is a car for sale parked on the New Park Avenue at a tire place. If one looks closely, one can also count five new residential buildings in the image (and some others are out of sight). Were it not for a real estate market that is crashing and burning, one would expect the condo to trump the car places. For now, however, we think Fourth Avenue will cling to some of its automotive heritage. Apropos of nothing: the car in the pic also had a parking ticket on the windshield. Guess it’s illegal to park on the sidewalk like that?

The Brooklyn Indie Market, which is at Smith and Union is having a Steampunk and Vintage Style Day and fashion show on Oct. 25th from 11AM-7PM. There’s a fashion show at 2PM. Per a release, the lineup includes:
• Karen von Oppen –Confession NY, Provocative creations, designed to seduce.
• Wren –Purevile, Post Apocalyptic Victorian Accessories and clothing.
• Britney Frady Williams – Berit NY, Bringing back old world charm into modern day living.
• Tom Williford, Got Steam A Steampunk emporium.
There will also be a DJ, “Victorian inspired refreshments” and a “Victorian Photo Sitting.” Go for it.

[Photo courtesy of vaduzuvunt/GL Flickr Pool]

They are indeed creepy and they are on Smith Street and came to our GL Flickr Pool courtesy of valued contributor vaduzuvunt.

One of the things we missed most about GL being on hiatus was the loss of our Street Couch Series. We even walked by a few here and there without taking photos of them, causing minor crises of both heart and soul. No longer. The Street Couch Series is back! This is one that we captured on Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights as people stared and wondered why the hell someone was taking a photo of a discarded couch. Well, it’s more of a love seat, we suppose, but it has all the qualities we require for our Street Couch Series.

Versions of this image of Barack Obama as Superman are all over Brooklyn and New York City. We caught up with this one on Driggs Avenue in Greenpoint.

Yes, October. Time for the fall bounty and harvest festivals. This one is taking place at The Yard in Gowanus on Saturday, October 11 and it’s the Second Annual Gowanus Harvest Festival. Here’s a bit from an email:

Brooklyn! Fall! Brews! Bounty! Yes, its that time of year again. The Yard is once again hosting a day of farm fresh food, live music, local vendors, delicious brews and other triumphs of sustainable urban living. Join us! Last year, over 1,000 people flocked to the banks of the Gowanus Canal. This year, with pony-rides, arts n crafts, pumpkin carving, pie bake-offs, urban chickens, raffle prizes, composting, transportation alternatives, voter education, and tons of surprises…it will be a day to remember. Best of all, proceeds from the Gowanus Harvest Festival will be donated to Just Food.

The fest runs from 11AM-9PM. Tickets are $12 and kids under 5 get in for free. The Yard is located on the bucolic Gowanus Canal, on Carroll St between Bond and Nevins. More info here.

We have no idea, but it’s short and worth a look in its odd way.

If it’s Tuesday, that can only mean one thing: a photo of a trashed bicycle we came across somewhere. In this case, our specimen is from Fourth Avenue near Union Street on the Park Slope side of things.

Among the openings that we missed during our hiatus was the opening of Eric New York, the new Park Slope branch of a shoe emporium that has made the jump from Manhattan. We wandered in on opening day and snapped some shots and figure that today is as good a day as any to announce the coming of Eric to what we had once deemed the Seventh Avenue Block of Death because of all the empty storefronts. They’re now all filled.

We love this building at 184 N. 8 Street in Williamsburg, which has served among a great many things, as a magnificent canvas for successive generations of street art. Earlier this year, there were rumors that the building would be demolished. Apparently, word of its demise was greatly exaggerated. The building is actually available as a commercial rental. It will be interesting to see to what use it ends up being put. Hopefully, the structure itself, which is one of those industrial structures that is fast disappearing in the Burg won’t be altered to much in the process.

Yeah, we’d normally make this part of our Eye on the Street series, but this happy heart from the Burg says a certain something that causes us to post it as a Photo Du Jour because it is a heart and it is happy.

[Photo courtesy of nycblondieandbrownie/GL Flickr Pool]

This is Shin Ju II on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, which is now having its grand opening. We’ll refrain from pondering whether Seventh Avenue needs another sushi spot and simply point out that it replaces Inaka Sushi, which closed earlier this year.

The 2008 Red Hook International Film And Video Festival, which is being directed by our friend and GL Contributor Nathan Kensinger is taking place this weekend, October 11 & 12. The screenings will be happening at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artist’s Coalition’s Screening Room, 499 Van Brunt Street in Red Hook. The schedule rocks and we’re proud to be a sponsor of the fest. Check out the screening schedule here and go out and support this excellent film festival.

There was, in case anyone missed it, an amusing item on CityRoom over the weekend about valet stroller parking at the Park Slope Y. As it turns out, the valet parking isn’t a daily thing, but according to someone on Brooklynian, it’s something that happens a couple of times a week during certain classes. Be that as it may, here’s some react from a poster on Brooklynian:

Speaking only for myself, as a parent whose Park Slope kids stopped needing strollers about 25 years ago, I thought the availability of valet stroller parking, combined with the ubiquity of Maclaren strollers (some with thermostats and pedometers) evidenced gentrification run amuck. The nabe is beginning to resemble Great Neck or the UES more than the slightly tacky, hippy-esque village I originally moved into. I liked it better then, just as the folks I displaced liked it better the way it was when they first got here.

Perhaps the Tea Lounge might want to offer the service?

The “mystery lot” at the corner of N. 11 Street and Bedford Avenue is a muddy mess, which one presumes helps hold down any toxic dust that might blow around, but work is already going forward on the big Karl Fischer rental building that will rise on the property. The official address is 95 Bedford and the site was once a paint factory and most recently a parking lot. Whether the property’s bad reputation follows it into the rental phase, especially in what will become an increasingly glutted market is an open question.

“Wall Street may have gotten the bailout, but most of Brooklyn’s main streets are on the brink of breakdown. From Flatbush Ave. to Fulton St., shopping strips around the borough are struggling to make it through the economic downturn and nationwide job losses, by firing employees, opting for cheaper inventory and cutting business hours.”–NYDN

We came across this notice on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg near N. 4 Street. There is a reward and hearts are broken.

[Photo courtesy of nine6sevenfour/GL Flickr Pool]

We love the composition and the color of this shot dropped into our GL Flickr Pool that comes from the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

They may be trying to call it Brooklyn’s “New Park Avenue,” but Fourth Avenue may be proof of the old adage that it’s very hard to get a tiger to change its stripes. This is the Golden Touch Car Wash, a brave survivor in a Brooklyn that is losing gas stations and car washes left and right. Golden Touch just got a brand new electronic sign, as seen in this photo submitted by a Special GL Correspondent, and the only thing we can can say is that a photo can’t do justice to the way it reinforces Olde Fourth Avenue, which has always been a hub of car-related activity. Residents at some of the new Gowanus buildings like the Crest (on the left) should have a wonderful view of the new sign. Golden Touch, we salute you for your spirit of automotive perseverance.

Consider this a metaphor for the difference between Fourth and Fifth Avenues in Park Slope. We found a promo poster for this film on Fourth Ave. a while back that said “You Never See it Coming.” On it, someone had written “My foot up your ass.” Here on Fifth Avenue, however, the posts that says “10.03.08 The Global Epidemic Begins” has been annotated to say “It’s Called John McCain and Sarah Palin.” We’re partial to the My Foot Up Your Ass revision, but that’s just us.

There is a nasty story that popped up this morning on Brooklynian about a case of child abuse that someone witnessed on the street. The conclusion is that “it was dealt with,” but the details are simply disgusting. Here it is:

I was riding the bus on 7th Ave in South Slope last night and witnessed a pretty horrible incident. A guy – late 40s perhaps – was walking down 7th with a kid of perhaps 10 yrs. The kid was carrying a bike helmet when suddenly the guy turned around and smacked the helmet out of his hands. The kid started crying and picked up the helmet and then threw it down again in a sort of tantrum. No big deal, I thought.

Then, the guy grabbed the kid by his jacket, at the neck and the lower back, picked him up off the ground, and threw him into the doorway of a store onto the floor (door was open, not through the door). He then walked up to the boy, who was lying on his back, and kicked him at least twice. The store had several people in it. The woman behind the counter came around and helped the boy up. She appeared to be related to both the kid and guy. They talked while she tried to comfort the crying boy. Pretty shocking and sad. Makes me wonder what kind of family dynamic is at work there.

The store isn’t identified by the writer.

If you watch one short vid today, this should be it. It was made entirely from cell phone vid footage and deals with homelessness. We think it is superb and is certain to win many awards. These are the creators of the vid.

This is 111 Kent Avenue, which is known as (gasp) 111 Kent. It is rising across the street from East River State Park. The building has 62 units and has been designed to make the most of views of Manhattan that won’t be blocked. There will be a rooftop pool, two sundecks, a gym, a lounge, etc. The design, however, underwent some radical alterations to a more bricky look from the original idea.

On item that we’ve had, but failed to post during our hiatus was one of our favorites about the Smith Street parrots. Our Special Correspondent explains: “The parrot pic is (street name deleted to protect the parrot) and smith’s newest resident. Looks like looks like a baby of a bigger parrot that has been hanging out at (deleted to protect the parrot) all summer.” Doesn’t look like a Monk Parrot either, but we’re certain someone will definitively ID the bird in short order.

[Photo courtesy Rubys Host/GL Flickr Pool]

Here’s a shot of a wedding that took place under dark skies on the beach in Coney Island. It comes from one of our favorite GL Photo Pool contributors Rubys Host who, we might add, was extraordinarily supportive and encouraging during the time GL was down. We thank RH both for the always superb pics and the heartfelt good wishes.