The Vermont Market & Pharmacy, at the corner of Henry and Sackett Streets in Carroll Gardens, is one of the more mysterious spots in the neighborhood. The store has been closed about a decade and it even drew the attention of the Times a while back this summer. The article noted that the building’s owner was thinking about what to do with the place, which is much like it was when it closed, except dustier and more cluttered. A special GL Correspondent passed by the other day and filed this report:

Just passed by the ‘pharmacy that stood still in time’ on Henry and Sackett. The owner was inside and says he’s considering what to turn the space into, still has all the original fittings like the tin ceiling. He said knows the place doesn’t need another bank. It looked like he was starting to clear out all the old stock from inside which he said was going to be returned to the manufacturers and said the store had been closed about ten years. He mentioned he was considering something like a homeopathy shop or something along those lines but definitely considering closely what the local community needed most. I always loved passing the place with that frozen in time look to it, spooky though that can be. At least we know it won’t be at ATM/plastic looking bank.

He’s returning things to the manufacturers? Those should be interesting conversations.

Located next to the decidedly utilitarian Van Brunt Station of the Post Office on Ninth Street, a beautiful blue jewel of a building – certainly not its original color – was designed as a residence for one William B. Cronyn in 1855 and remodeled in 1895. The Blue Jewel of Ninth Street is a remarkable remnant of Brooklyn before brownstones and before the Bridge when mansions dotted the landscape. A free-standing French Second Empire Baroque stucco house, topped with a cupola, slate mansard roof and cast-iron crests—it’s original architect was Patrick Charles Keely, the most prolific architect of Roman Catholic churches in America. He designed, it is said, over 500 hundred churches between 1841, when he arrived from Ireland, and his death 55 years later. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, a fact for which we should all be grateful. For many years it was neglected, but since 1981 it has been occupied by Slope Music, a music school owned by Vita and Charles Sibirsky. They have kept the building in remarkable shape and have a beautiful garden in front of the residence. Their website, thebigbluehouse has photos of the interior, especially the room inside the cupola. A wonderful photo and some great comments were posted on Brownstoner and inspired me to expand more on this extraordinary building.

Read more about the Blue Jewel of Ninth Street, right ahead.

Tropical Storm Hanna continues headed up the East Coast with current tracking showing the storm off the coast and likely to cross Montauk and the East End of Long Island. This means potentially less wind tomorrow, but a flood watch is in effect with the National Weather Service predicting a possible 3-6 inches of rain, which mean trouble in parts of Brooklyn prone to flooding like Gowanus. Winds could be in the 20-30 mile per hour range later tomorrow. The National Hurricane Center updates its tracking map every three hours and its page on Hanna can be found here.

The Brooklyn Children’s Museum is having the grand reopening for its $48M Rafael Vinoly design on September 20 and 21. In the meantime, the new exhibits and attractions are going up. In the photo above, Tim Watkins of May & Watkins Design, readies the “Splashdown” exhibit. It’s an interactive sculpture that “provides water for a stream full of hydraulics, dams, and boats in the museum’s new ‘Totally Tots’ exhibition for children 5 and under.”

This is, of course, Hotel Le Bleu which opened earlier this year on Fourth Avenue in Gowanus. It was supposed to have a futuristic-looking lounge and restaurant at the top called Vue, which is described as “The new haunt of New York’s chic set. From its lofty perch on the 8th & 9th floors, take in the spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline and Statue Of Liberty as you enjoy specialty cocktails and fine inter-continental cuisine amidst inimitable style and elegance.” A Special GL Correspondent checked in with Le Bleu to see how the Vue was coming along (Fall was mentioned as the opening target when it was delayed this summer) and found that it won’t be open until November. Our dreams of dining in inimitable style high above Gowanus will have to be deferred again. Nooooo.

Residents in Carroll Gardens are now circulating petitions to save the job Kathleen Henderson, the woman who runs recreation programs at Carroll Park. An email was making the round last night with the subject line “Help Save the Park Lady’s Job.” Here the text:

Our beloved “park lady,” Kathleen Henderson of Carroll Park, is losing her salaried position due to budget cuts. We all know how important Kathleen is to our community. Please show your support and sign the petitions that are circulating around Carroll Park today and contact Assemblywoman Joan Millman at 341 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231, (718) 246-4889. She is in the process of trying to help regain this position for Kathleen. Even better– does anyone know how to start an on-line petition that would be easier for everyone to sign?

Developing.

UPDATE: Carroll Gardens blogger and City Council candidate Gary Reilly, who launched a much noted F Train online petition last year notes that petitiononline is a good place for such things.

Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related information and images:

· Diversity Day in Brooklyn is Reaction to Hate Crimes [Sun]
· 9/11 Memorial Stolen from Greenpoint Church [NYDN]
· In Markowitz’s “Brooklyn!” Publication, No Mention of Brooklyn Day [AYR]
· Connor-Squadron Debate Vids [BHB]
· Are the Battle of Brooklyn Dead Here at Third Ave. & 9th? [Brooklynometry]
· Avalon Fort Greene from Above [Brownstoner]
· Vintage Gourmet Specialty Foods in Brighton Beach [Little Rus]
· Developer Skips Sheepshead Bay Meeting [GerritsenBeach.Net]
· Bed-Stuy Car Culture [Bed-Stuy Banana]
· Rise Up Performance in Target Community Garden [Bed-Stuy Blog]
· Need Fur Stored? Brighton Certified Cold Fur Storage [Fading Ad Blog]

News of Carol Albert’s statement that Astroland will close for good on Sunday hit around 2PM yesterday. By 5PM our inbox was starting to get statements about the closure, some of them more curious than others. Lynn Kelly, who chairs the Coney Island Development Corp. and is one of the key city players in the outcome sent out a statement saying that “Today’s announcement that Astroland will close after 46 years should be a serious wake-up call to those who have stood back and watched as the fate of Coney Island has been left in limbo without any safeguards for its future. This further underscores the need for the City’s comprehensive rezoning plan as the only hope for preserving the amusement area and bringing the necessary jobs, infrastructure and affordable housing to the neighborhood.” With all due respect to Ms. Kelly, whose hard work in Coney Island we respect, we strongly disagree with the first part of the statement.

The announcement of the closing of Astroland (should it prove to be the last word if developer Joe Sitt is as impervious bad publicity as one might fear) is a wake up all right, but it is of a very different sort: it should serve as a wakeup call to the Bloomberg Administration that their planning and rezoning effort has serious gaps and that Mr. Sitt seems to be addicted to a game of brinkmanship in his negotiating tactics that places the public interest at the very, very bottom of a list of priorities. Frankly, we do not expect Mr. Sitt to behave any differently. He is a developer of commercial properties (or in the words of former Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff “a shopping center developer”) who operates in a cutthroat environment. This is why we have viewed his self-proclaimed status as “Joey Coney Island” with healthy skepticism. Thor’s goal is to make money. If it can make money with an amusement park, it will. If it can make even more with storefronts for Nike under the guise of “entertainment retail,” it will do that. It massive parking lots maximize profits, then one will see acres of it. Niceties like the “public good” don’t necessarily enter into the game of Development Russian Roulette in which we have watched him engage in Coney Island for several years. The task of protecting Coney Island so that it doesn’t degenerate further into a depressing agglomeration of school bus parking lots and overgrown, empty land, should fall to the city. The premature death of Astroland would be from a gun fired by Mr. Sitt, but with a weapon supplied by the city itself.

Will Mr. Sitt be a Coney-killing scoundrel or act with decency?

The 360 Smith development, which was stopped in tracks by the “narrow streets” Zoning Text Amendment that limited the height of buildings on “place streets” has a date before the agency that will decide its fate. Developer Billy Stein will take his case to the Board of Standards and Appeals on September 24 at 10AM. Members of the public can speak at the hearing, which will be held at 40 Rector Street on the Ninth Floor. The Community Board 6 Land Use Committee cast a unanimous advisory vote last week against the application to allow the developer to build to 70 feet rather than the 55 feet allowed under zoning. The BSA generally approves more developer applications in such cases than it rejects.

Late yesterday, the Save Coney Island group distributed a statement from Astroland owner Carol Albert. Several times in the last week Thor Equities spokesperson Stefan Friedman has been quoted as expressing disappointment that Ms. Albert was “giving up” on Coney Island by setting a deadline for negotiating a new lease for the amusement park. She says that she has tried to negotiate with Thor and its principal, Joe Sitt and has gotten no response. Far from giving up, she says, she needs time to dispose of her rides and close down the park. Here is Ms. Albert’s statement. It really is worth reading:

I am making this statement today to set the record straight. I have not “given up on Coney Island” as Thor Equities has stated. I have given up on trying to get Thor to negotiate which I have attempted to do every month since June, and numerous times in August. Each time their response was, “We have no answer.” The safety of our customers and our commitment to employees means our time has run out. Ride parts must be ordered a minimum of eight to 10 months in advance. My employees cannot live in a state of limbo any longer. It takes six months to pack up a three-acre amusement park that has been in operation for 46 years, so a January 31st deadline means start packing yesterday. We are out of time.

Today I notified Astroland’s employees that the amusement park will cease operations permanently at the end of the day on Sunday, September 7th.

It became clear we had no choice but to close the business…

Bell House, the Gowanus venue on Seventh St. from Union Hall will be opening on September 18, with a free show including Matt Pond Pa and Lilys making it the first major new club to open its doors in the neighborhood. The new website is here. Per a press release from Union Hall:

In the shadow of the famous and brooding Kentile Floors sign in the burgeoning and classic neighborhood of Gowanus, The Bell House, a gorgeous new and unique music venue and lounge, will open its doors on September 18 at 6pm with free admission to the public. The Bell House is a magnificent two-room music and events venue located at 149 7th Street between 2nd & 3rd Avenues. It was crafted out of an old 1920’s warehouse once used as a printing press, but more recently used as a fly-by-night shipping company.

Conceived and created by the friends behind Union Hall (Park Slope) and Floyd (Brooklyn Heights), The Bell House are thrilled to be pioneers of sorts adding a prominent performance space to Brownstone Brooklyn. The main space boasts 25 foot wooden arched ceilings, a 450 square foot stage, and unobstructed views from any part of the room. “Brownstone Brooklyn needed a major music venue and event space, and we found a beautiful old building near the Gowanus that was seemingly designed for live music,” said co-owner, Jim Carden. “We’ll be able to graduate the bands we’ve championed at Union Hall to a space like no other in New York City and be able to host acts that were simply too big for the stage there”, adds co-owner and talent buyer Jack McFadden.

The storefront features a comfortable 150 capacity lounge which will be open seven nights a week as a friendly neighborhood bar and gathering space featuring beer from independent and local breweries.

Check out the Bell House line up ahead

This isn’t normally our cup of tea, but the founder of the Brownie troop in question at a school on Henry Street in Cobble Hill was resourceful enough to email half the blogs in New York City, some of which will run her request. So why not? Here goes: “I am a parent of two children at PS 29 and have started a Brownie troop that will be beginning soon. The first day I sent out an e-mail trying to fill my roster I ended up with a waiting list. I would love to find another co-leader so we can open up the group to all girls who want to join. Our troop will be meeting every Thursday from 3:30-5 and it’s for 2nd and 3rd graders. Is it possible to post a notice letting people know we are in need of another leader? No experience necessary…just someone patient with children who is willing to go through the Girl Scout training.” Email kathleencavalaro (at) hotmail (dot) com for more info.–GL Inbox

The New York Century Bike Tour takes place on Sunday and a significant part of several of the routes passes through Brooklyn. The tour is expected to attract 6,000 cyclists. There are five routes ranging from 15 miles to, uh, 100 miles. Registration is $20-$75. The event is sponsored by Transportation Alternatives and will take place rain or shine (Tropical Storm Hannah should have cleared out by then.) More info is available here. In any case, if you see a bunch of bicycle riders on Sunday, this is what it will be about.

Infant mortality fell dramatically in two borough neighborhoods where rates have been historically high for years, says new city Health Department statistics. In Fort Greene, infant mortality fell from 7.3 deaths per 1000 births in 2006 to 0.8 deaths in 2007. In Crown Heights North, the rate fell from 9.8 to 4.6. In both neighborhoods, the rates were the lowest they have been in at least five years. Advocates said wealthier people moving into the neighborhoods with access to health care and improved care for poorer women may explain the dramatic drops which also occurred in Flatbush, Brownsville and East New York. Other neighborhoods, including Bedford-Stuyvesant, Coney Island and Park Slope, suffered increased infant mortality.–NYDN

Are you a member of our rocking Gowanus Lounge Flickr Pool? More than 120 local photographers are and they’ve contributed more than 1,800 photos since Spring. We’d love to see your work and to be able to feature it here. Please join the GL Flickr Pool and/or tag your pics “gowanuslounge.” Also, we do take non-flickr contributions for posting too. Send your photos (or anything else for that matter) to thegowanuslounge (at) gmail (dot) com.

[Photo courtesy of stoneyjimrocks/GL Flickr Pool]

If this isn’t one of the prettiest Coney Island sunset pics we’ve ever seen, we don’t know what is. It’s especially appropriate this weekend too, when the sun may be setting on a beloved piece of Coney Island history.

Outside the Brooklyn Weather Observatory there is sun. Today’s forecast calls for it to be very warm with sunshine mixing with some clouds. The high will be 89. Tonight will be 69 with occasional rain. Then comes Hanna. The National Weather Service has already issued a flood watch for Saturday afternoon and night with rain totals of 3-6 inches possible.–Accuweather

This excellent piece of street furniture comes to us by way of a very special and esteemed Special Correspondent. Our Bushwick Avenue Couch contributor says it was photographed “by grand st. found at 11 am, out with a bunch of other chairs, garbage, etc.”

We take this with a small grain of salt because we’ve been around this track before, but Astroland owner Carol Albert says she’s closing the historic little amusement park for good on Sunday. She had set 1PM today as a deadline for reaching a deal on a lease with developer Joe Sitt, to whom she sold the property two years ago for $30 million. There were no meetings with Mr. Sitt, however, and no lease has been forthcoming. The current lease runs through January, yet, Ms. Albert has said she needs to put her rides on the market in order to dispose of them (they continue to be listed online). A Thor spokesperson says the company is “disappointed” and says that Coney’s rides will be “fully open for business in the summer of 2009.” He told the Post that Mr. Sitt wouldn’t negotiate “through the media or with a gun held to his head.” It is highly unlikely that any development of the Astroland property could be done until the end of the 2010 season and it is unknown if the city is trying to convince the developer to allow the park to remain until development plans are finalized, given the concessions it made earlier this year. We will have more tomorrow.

Front and center we have a Classic American Gas Guzzler. Sneaking up behind it we have a food delivery via bicycle that is clearly not guzzling gas. The contrast comes from Williamsburg.

This is the second YouTube vid posted from the upcoming documentary Save Coney Island. Per the YouTube text:

With over 160 hours of footage shot over the course of two years, Peter LiPera, and his fantastic crew present a web series about Coney Island. The series involves a reedit of all the unused footage in the upcoming documentary, Save Coney Island the Movie.

We have to say that if the trailers are any indication of the what the film is like, this one we’re looking forward to. While we haven’t chatted with the filmmaker, in checking out some of the footage in the trailers, we know we’ve seen him around shooting. The film does have its own website, but there’s only one trailer posted there at the moment.

Herewith a selection of music available for one’s listening pleasure today through the end of the Labor Day Weekend:

Thursday 9/4/08
Union Hall: Windsor For The Derby, Mr. Gnome- $12, 7:30pm

Friday 9/5/08
Freddies Bar & Backroom: Bob Town, The Project H, Seth Kess (Rock/Jazz/Singer-Songwriter)-Free!!, 9:00pm

Saturday 9/6/08
South Street Seaport: East Village Radio Music Festival; Hosted by KRS-ONE, featuring: Boris, Mark Ronson, Awesome Color, Vivian Girls, High Places, Flying Lotus, Devin The Dude, and many more -Free!!, 7:00pm

Southpaw: The Rub: DJ’s Cosmo Baker, Eleven, and Ayers (Hip Hop/Funk/Soul) Free? (Could be a cover charge at the door) 10:00pm

Sunday 9/7/08
Barbes: Stephane Wrembel presents The Django Experiment (Gypsy Jazz) $10, 9:00pm

–Dan Bennis

There has been some controversy lately, particularly on Brooklynian, about rats, rat turds, rat poison and other problems at Prospect Park’s Dog Beach. Here’s another one: “En route to my Cemetery Fence Tour, I stopped by Dog Beach – there’s an awesome stepped hill and grove of trees across the lane that serves as an excellent viewing stand – a right nice place to watch the precious pooches. Very crowded last Saturday, even just after the Brooklyn Paper reported, Rat droppings poison ‘Dog Beach.’ You see, those nasty rats are fouling the dogs’ swimming hole with their poison poop. The Parks Department’s answer? Kill ’em. (Not the dogs, the rats.) You can currently take in the rat poison signs blowing gently in the sylvan breezes all over the back alleys of the park. Hey Parks Department – The rats ain’t all you’re gonna kill…this time of year plays host to all sorts of migrating raptors, most of whom prey on rats. When they eat poisoned rats, they die …”–Snark in the Park

These barricades, newly dug and filled hole and pipe come to us from Fifth Avenue in Park Slope near Douglass Street. The site in question used to have a tree stump and we’re not entirely certain how the issue of bicycles comes into play here, except that it clearly does. We’re pretty sure it’s unrelated to the high charges and strong arm collection tactics that some Brooklynites have been reporting since the KeySpan takeover.

There is a bit of Smith Street news and drama to report, thanks to a special Carroll Gardens Correspondent who hit us off with a bunch of different things. To make a long story short, 1) the Boerum Hill Food Company, which has been open from 8AM-4PM may be expanding its evening hours and 2) there was some drama at Bar Tabac the other night. We will let our trusted source explain:

The owner of the Boreum Hill Food Company on Smith told me that because of slow business in the evening he had restricted their hours in the past few months but is thinking of trying it again. It seems like there should be demand for the kind of menu he serves, but maybe everyone ends up in Bar Tabac?! Speaking of Bar Tabac, some guy robbed the bill money from a table yesterday afternoon. Lots of folks came running out after him and tracked him down a side street. Cops came and took him away.

Ah, to have seen the chase.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission public hearing on the plan for McCarren Pool, a preliminary rendering of which is above, is going to be happening next week. Per info on the WGPA blog, it’ll be happening on Tuesday, 9 September. Since the pool was landmarked last year, the LPC has to approve the renovation plan. The city will be spending $50 million to turn McCarren back into a pool. There’s an interesting article on the pool in a recent Brooklyn Rail. We had a full post on the renderings here back in February.