[Photo courtesy of David Paco Abraham]

Okay, so it’s really “Staring at the Harbor” rather than “Staring at the Sea,” but we like this shot from Valentino Pier in Red Hook that came our way via the camera of David Paco Abraham of the Cobble Hill Association.

“Ricky’s just announced that its 23rd location will be 191-193 Bedford between North Sixth and North Seventh streets. We knew the discount beauty supply store was coming to the ‘Burg, but we didn’t know it would manage to grab such a front-and-central location—it’s going to sit nearly on top of the Bedford Avenue L stop, in the former location of the Bliss café and the aforementioned Tasti D-Light.”–Racked

With Labor Day behind us, it’s that time of year when the community meeting schedule heats up again. So it is that the Windsor Terrace Alliance will be having its general meeting on Tuesday, September 9, at 216 Prospect Park West, which is the future location of Windsor Wines (and a storefront where lovely old stained glass was uncovered). Here’s a bit from the email we got:

The Windsor Terrace Alliance (WTA) will be hosting its next general meeting on Tues. Sept. 9 at 6:30 p.m. at 216 Prospect Park West. Wine and cheese will be served, courtesy of Windsor Wines. Topics on the agenda include preserving neighborhood buildings, updates on traffic concerns on McDonald Avenue and other streets, planning a neighborhood planting project, the upcoming newsletter, and information on a change for residents with TVs that still rely on “rabbit ears” or rooftop antennas. All members of the community are invited to attend and share their concerns about the agenda issues as well as raise any additional concerns relating to Windsor Terrace.

The wine shop was also used extensively in a film shoot in the neighborhood this summer. The group’s website is here.

[Photo courtesy of Incandenza/GL Flickr Pool]

This is some flower action alongside the Gowanus Canal at the Union Street Bridge courtesy of Incandenza and our GL Flickr Pool.

Outside the Brooklyn Weather Observatory the sun has broken through some early morning clouds. Today’s forecast calls for it to be mostly sunny and very warm with a high of 88. Tonight will be clear with a low of 67. Looking ahead, possible inland tracks of Tropical Storm Hanna bring it right over the city on Saturday, which would indicate a somewhat wet day is coming.–Accuweather

This is a Judith Supine from Keap Street in Williamsburg east of the BQE. It has, unfortunately, seen better days.

No, these aren’t street couches, per se, but they certainly fall into the category of street seating and, frankly, they are quite compelling as very deconstructed Adirondack chairs. The photographer writes, “looks like someone got rough with the adirondacks at lonelyville.” Lonelyville is on Prospect Park Southwest in Windsor Terrace.

This comes from Snark in the Park, whose new blog we noted on Friday. We continue to look forward to great things from Mr. Snark.

And now, Brooklyn Fashion Indie Week is upon us, running today through September 10th. The kickoff even is a runway show at the Brooklyn Bridge at 6PM today called “No Sleep Till Brooklyn.” Other events include live performances and runway shows. There will also be after parties for designers. Curiously, many of the events take place in (gasp) Manhattan. Check out the full schedule of events here.

Here’s another massively big, late summer Brooklyn sunflower.

That wine bar on Seventh Avenue that we reported back in April would be opening as a wine bar in the old Cafe Eleven space, now has a target opening date: the first two weeks of October. Carmen on Brooklynian reports:

…they’ve got their liquor license in order and are looking at inspections this week and an opening around the first week of oct (2nd week latest.)…

The wine bar, which will be operated by the owners of the wine shop across the street, will be between 11th and 12th Streets.

We’ve posted about cohousing before and there’s a meeting coming up about it later this week. Here, from an email we received from Alex Marshall of the Brooklyn Cohousing Group:

Interested in a more community-oriented way of living? Mary Kraus of Kraus-Fitch Architects will give a free public slide show and lecture about Cohousing communities around the country and their design on Friday, Sept. 5, at 6 pm at the Brooklyn Friends Meetinghouse at 110 Schermerhorn Street in downtown Brooklyn. Free, no reservation needed. Meet the people who are currently building a cohousing community in Brooklyn, and looking for new members. Sponsored by the Brooklyn Cohousing group. For more info see www.brooklyncohousing.org.

Cohousing is a cooperative living model with more than 100 locations in the US & Canada. Per the group’s website, “cohousing offers a contemporary model for creating a secure and stimulating environment for families and individuals. In urban cohousing, people live in individual apartments but mingle in common courtyards, gardens and dining facilities. The Brooklyn Cohousing Group is currently recruiting smart, creative, and community-minded people to locate, finance, design and build a community for 20 to 30 households.”

“It’s Sunday nite, around 8pm and I just got back from a walk along Prospect Park West, near Grand Army Plaza, and I found 3 bags of jewelry sitting on a park bench. Some costume, watches, rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, some gold, some that I would imagine has sentimental value to someone. Please PM me if you lost these bags or know someone who may have had them stolen. Describe one or two pieces and its yours. Otherwise, I will bring to the police and let them deal with it…”–Brooklynian

Here are some vids posted to the YouTube of yesterday’s West Indian American Day Parade down Eastern Parkway.

Will Coney Island’s Astroland die or live another year or two? A year after hundreds of reporters showed up to record “Astroland’s Last Day,” the process has started again, with a number of TV reports on Labor Day and an article in the Post on Friday suggesting that Thursday might be the park’s final day. Its annual closing is actually scheduled for Sunday, September 7, but it appears that Carol Albert, who sold her amusement park to developer Joe Sitt for $30 million two years ago has said she’d close on September 4 if there’s no deal.

The Astroland Death Dance is already well underway. Ms. Albert says she hasn’t had any face to face negotiations with Mr. Sitt and that she’s hoping for a one- or two-year lease extension. (The current lease, which was negotiated last October, runs through January 31.) The developer’s spokesperson says the park’s former owner “has decided to give up on the future of Coney Island when her current lease isn’t even up for a number of months.” Spokesperson Stefan Friedman promises “amusements, games, shopping and entertainment galore” on the property next year. The promises echo the developer’s PR campaign for a “Summer of Hope” this year that included rides on a Stillwell Avenue property that shut down a month early.

Does the city even have a strategy to fight premature demolition?

“The boardwalk is getting a lot less crowded on Coney Island. Beachgoers snubbed the iconic Brooklyn spot for the second summer in a row, Parks Department statistics show. Only 4.5 million people enjoyed Coney Island’s sand and surf this summer – a little more than half the 8.6 million visitors who came in 2007. And neither comes close to the booming summer of 2006, when more than 15.5 million people crowded onto the city’s most famous public beach.” Other city beaches were down too.–NYDN

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

· Housing Authority Cuts Could Hurt Seniors and Kids [NYDN]
· Elevator Failures at Senior Towers [NYT]
· Wyckoff Homesteads Gets New Energy [NYDN]
· City Answers FOIL Request, Ducks Question About $100M Subsidy [AYR]
· Goodbye Summer [Brooklynometry]
· Labor Day at the Newtown Creek Nature Walk [New York Shitty]
· Suspect arrested, Dumbo Car Break Ins Continue [Dumbo NYC]
· 72nd Precinct Community Council Meeting on Sept. 9 [BVIB]
· Meet the Band [A Year in the Park]
· Yum: Making Jam from Prospect Park Berries [Snark in the Park]
· Mystery Business [Bed-Stuy Banana]
· Back to School at Brooklyn College [Brooklyn Junction]

There is progress to report in the long-running saga of the Gowanus Whole Foods. This comes on the heels of a post we had in early August about activity on the site and of statements from the grocer that they’re working up a revised plan, but that the company has certainly not abandoned its plan to build on the site. Just as the long weekend was starting, we received an email from Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus that Whole Foods did, in fact, get a partial building permit from the Department of Buildings on August 27. The permits are for a foundation and for a construction fence. Both were issued on the 27th. They are significant in that they show the project potentially moving ahead, yet not so significant because the grocer does not have the necessary approvals from the State Department of Environmental Conservation to build. Interestingly, FROGG also notes: “There seems to be some hangup on zoning and subdivision. As an aside: the State DEC wetlands staff has never notified FROGG that Whole Foods has completed their Wetlands Application. Letters were sent to John Cryon of the DEC Wetlands Division. Recent phone calls have not been returned.”

[Photo courtesy of Bumpershine/flickr]

Yesterday, of course, was the huge annual West Indian Carnival on Eastern Parkway and hundreds of thousands of people turned out to watch. Here are links to some of the photos and posts that have appeared at this fairly early point:

· brooklyn carnival tagged Flickr Photos
· West Indian American Day Carnival Parade [_cck_/flickr]
· 2008 West Indian American Day Parade [Bumpershine/flickr]
· Razzle Dazzle [A Year in the Park]
· J’Ouvert [akinloch/flickr]
· J’Ouvert: Carnival Day Starts in Brooklyn [Brit in Brooklyn]
· Brooklyn Carnival [Mega3000]
· Pah-tee-dun? Pah-tee-dun! [Brooklyn Born]
· Parade Pics! [Brooklynian]
· Caribbean on Parade [NYP]
· West Indian American Day Parade [David Berkowitz/flickr]

[Photo courtesy of June Carter Cash Peep/GL Flickr Pool]

“I am so freaked out by the Brooklyn Heights raccoon!! A few weeks ago he was sitting on my deck Willow and Cranberry – doors were closed and he was watching my sweet little doggie eat his treat. I have had nitemares ever since! What can we do??!!!”–Bklink: Brooklyn Heights Raccoon

[Photo courtesy of sabeth718/GL Flickr Pool]

Yes, it’s the Gowanus Canal. These are some of the pilings near the one of the bridges over our favorite b body of water in Brooklyn.

One of the more interesting things to do in Brighton Beach, if you’re up to it, is to go food shopping. My favorite store is M & I International Food, right on the main drag and across the street from the elevated train…It is fun just to walk around and see all of the food. More sausages and fish, especially smoked fish, and meat, and…, well you name it and they have it. This place is always packed and it helps to be a bit aggressive if you want to get the attention of the person behind the counter. It also helps if you speak Russian.”–1000 Bars

[Photo courtesy of Rubys Host/GL Flickr Pool]

This is Coney Island as it appears from Breezy Point, which is at the tip of the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. The pic comes from GL Flickr Pool Contributor Rubys Host.

Outside the Brooklyn Weather Observatory a warm day is dawning. The forecast calls for it to be “very warm with plenty of sunshine” and a high of 89. Tonight will be clear with a low of 67.–Accuweather

Labor Day means one thing in Brooklyn: the West Indian Carnival, which takes place today along Eastern Parkway. The parade starts at 11AM near Rochester and Eastern Parkway and doesn’t end until 6PM. The wrap up point is at Grand Army Plaza, and there’s a stage at the Brooklyn Public Library. That would make for about three miles of marchers, bands, floats and vendors, not to mention several million spectators. In a word: Happy Labor Day!