A Brooklyn Mystery, Solved: Lafayette Island

I seriously doubt that anyone was more excited about the New York City GIS server including aerial photography from 1924 than me. Look at the arms of the Gowanus Canal that aren't there now! Look at Sunset park with no Gowanus Expressway! Find where Newtown Creek used to go. Look at Meadowmere before JFK. No bridge to the Rockaways. Or Jersey.

But as I was poking around, I saw something off the coast of Bay Ridge which gave me pause. A little island, completely built out, where there is no island now.

To add to the mystery, the island was in almost the exact same location as the Brooklyn foot of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

Some research indicates that in addition to Fort Wadsworth and Fort Hamilton, there was also a Fort Lafayette in the Narrows, which was not originally an island, but was constructed on a reef in the narrows called Hendrick's Reef. Used as a munitions depot through World War II, it met an ignominious end in 1960. As usual, it was John Waldman's Heartbeats in the Muck to the rescue to solve the mystery.

"Lafayette Island, former home to seventy-three-gun Fort Lafayette, is now the Brooklyn-side base of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge."

Think of the history next time you drive over the bridge. Of course, try not to get too much of the Staten Island stank on you while you're over there.

The Hits Keep Coming for John Quadrozzi

We recently heard about how John Quadrozzi was being forced to fix his crumbling house and how "upset" he was about Superfund designation of the Gowanus. In another recent decision that should make everyone but him happy, the City is again making him do the right thing, this time in Red Hook. From the Brooklyn Paper:

"“The wall prevented families from enjoying the alternative recreation that this waterfront vista offers,” said Ludger Balan, a Red Hook resident and founder of the Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy, an environmental advocacy group.

Balan said he is pleased to see most of the wall is down, but complained that support poles remain moored in the ground, perhaps a sign that the structure may one day rise again.

While the view has certainly improved for park-users, Quadrozzi says his own vista is no becoming X-rated.

He claimed that since taking down a controversial wall on his property last winter, trespassers have had a field day — including a bawdy duo caught snapping nude photos."

What John, you didn't distribute the photos in court? I'm disappointed.

Really Ikea? Really?

Ikea scored major points with the community the other night by vigorously objecting to a bike lane in Red Hook.From the store manager's comments in the Brooklyn Paper, it appears that Ikea would be happiest if Red Hook were a 28-lane on and off ramp allowing for the fastest possible access to their site for anyone in a car.

Really, Ikea, really? You built a huge store in RED HOOK, and want to REDUCE transportation options? Really?

"“It seems dangerous to officially encourage bikes to the front of Ikea,” Baker told Community Board 6 on Thursday night."

Really, Ikea, really? Bikes, and bike lanes, which cause cars to go slower, seem dangerous? Really? Maybe his former occupation was as a Transportation Engineer?

"“If [the city] insists on proceeding with the south-side bike lane, [it] should be responsible for periodically monitoring safety along those bike lanes,” said Baker."

Really, Ikea, really? You build a giant warehouse that brings innumerable cars, trucks and buses to a new location, and a bike lane will cause congestion that should relieve you of your responsibility to monitor traffic? Really?

"“If the … traffic management elements constructed and funded by Ikea are going to be modified … then Ikea is not responsible for impacting or remedying the vehicular flow in Red Hook.”"

Really, Ikea, Really? You don't think this sounds like trying to weasel out of traffic monitoring requirements and their costs? Really?

Coverage For Dennet Place

Oh, the mystery street behind St. Mary's! Click through for a little nugget about its most famous (local) residents! From Brooklyn Based, pictures and writing by Danielle Cyr:

"Kim Hanley, a fourth generation Dennet Place resident and member of the family that owned P.J. Hanley’s bar on Court Street for many years, said that her grandfather and her uncle John (called “the golden arm” because of his dice-throwing ability) used to play craps in the middle of the street. Cops would come from both ends of the street and raid the illegal dice game while the players ran through the hobbit doors of whatever house was closest and out the back and over the garden wall to escape."

Sounds like stories I used to hear from my great uncle about the neighborhood. Some of them coulda been contenders...

The New York City Economic Development Corporation and Phoenix Beverage. Liars.

Normally, there is nothing more annoying and disingenuous than whining about traffic by "Community Activists". It generally smacks of a NIMBY attitude and being anti-development in any form.

Nothing could be further from the truth for Phoenix Beverage and the Columbia Street Waterfront. Turns out that contrary to the statements of the New York City Economic Development Corporation and Phoenix Beverage, delivery trucks ARE being routed through neighborhood streets.

From the Brooklyn Paper: 

"“Why are they here?” asked resident Brian McCormick. “[The city] made a commitment around a year ago to use the internal truck route for truck movements between Piers 7 and 11. It was the lead issue — how Phoenix would affect the circulation of traffic!” 

It’s unclear why Phoenix trucks are using Columbia Street to shuttle beverages between Piers 7 and 11, given that there’s a perfectly good route inside the port."

Also from the Daily News: 

""The street's narrow and not at all suited for truck traffic," said Councilman Brad Lander (D-Red Hook). "Truck traffic is going to lead to accidents with cars. It runs the risk of accidents with pedestrians."

City officials promised before Phoenix moved onto the Red Hook waterfront last year that the company's container trucks would use roads inside the port instead of neighborhood streets. But they said that pledge didn't apply to the smaller delivery trucks now flooding Columbia St."

I served on the Community Board 6 Committee which reviewed the EDC/Phoenix Beverage proposal. There were a large portion of community members who were opposed to the idea from the start (I was not one of them). However, the main point that the EDC and it's representatives kept emphasizing time and again was that this would be economic development without adding truck traffic onto local streets because there was an internal circulation route which would be used to funnel trucks directly on and off the BQE's Atlantic Avenue exit.

Turns out, they're liars. While I'd like to blame Phoenix Beverage, this is square on the shoulders of the Economic Development Corporation. Is there nothing in Phoenix Beverage's lease which could be enforced? Which is worse? If the answer is yes, and they're not enforcing it, or if nothing was included in the lease? 

Someone has some 'splaining to do.

Say What? Native Americans STILL in Gowanus?

The name Gowanus is derived from the name of a local Native American chief from the indigenous Canarsie tribes. To my knowledge, the Canarsie do not have any communities to speak of in the area. But another Native American tribe may. From the Middletown Press:

"“To Brooklyn and Back: A Mohawk Journey” tells the personal story of Tarbell, who is a Mohawk herself, as she explores her roots and traces the connections of her family to the Mohawk community in Brooklyn. The stories of the Kahnawake Mohawk women who lived in the North Gowanus section are rarely heard, but Tarbell would like to change all that."

Anybody out there know anything about the Mohawk Community in Brooklyn or its location? According to the ever reliable Wikipedia, a large community of Mohawks worked on construction projects in the early part of the 20th century, which resulted in a settlement in somewhere in Brooklyn called "Little Caughnawaga", which Ms. Tarbell's film documents. I will look forward to watching it.

New Tax Proposal Could Help Put The Fund in Superfund

The biggest problem with Superfund designation of the Gowanus Canal (which we were in favor of) stems from the availability and speed of funding to pay for the program. Opponents were quick to (correctly) point out that the funding would ultimately come from adjoining property owners, who collectively branded as "the taxpayers". What they also conveniently forgot to mention is that the property owners responsible for cleanup are also those responsible for the mess.

In any case, a new proposal is making it's way around which would pay for Superfund cleanup with a tax on current polluting industries, such as oil and gas. From American Public Media (NPR's Marketplace; download the mp3 here):

"...when Republicans took control of Congress in 1995, they did away with a tax on the petrochemical industry that funded the clean-up of almost half of all Superfund sites. These were sites where nobody accepted responsibility for the contamination. Funding for these projects dried up seven years ago. Since then, taxpayers have had to pick up the tab."

In the current national political climate, I doubt that the implementation of a new tax, even one on an industry with such deep pockets who have the public's wrath right now, would be received well, however anything that cleans up the canal can't be a bad thing. I do question the rationale of seeking funding from current gas and oil companies though; isn't a large point of the Superfund program to go after past polluters as well?

Ax Comes to Area Services: Fair?

There has been much consternation lately about cuts to city services in the area, and there are many. Some others are picking up on the issue. From the New York Times:

"Within a 10-minute walk, three day care centers, one senior center, one swimming pool, one after-school program and a health clinic are to close. Venture 20 minutes more, and six additional facilities — two day care centers, two after-school programs, a senior center and a health clinic — are also to shut down on July 1, the start of the new fiscal year. Making matters worse, the nearest public transit option — the B37 bus along Third Avenue — is being eliminated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority"

You can add to this the elimination of the B71 and other local bus routes.

But here's the rub: if not here, then where? Does Red Hook deserve cuts more? How about Brownsville? Kew Gardens? Inwood?

The cuts have to come from somewhere. While I'm not exactly pleased about them happening here, I can't be so self-centered as to think that Carroll Gardens (or Gowanus or Cobble Hill or Boerum Hill) is a neighborhood in need or somehow "deserves" the service more than any other neighborhood.

It's easy to walk most places, there is great subway access and there are still numerous bus routes in the area. If my 85 year old grandmother can manage (which she does), so can you.

Happy Ending for Henry Street Residents

Residents of Henry and Degraw Congress Streets should be happy to know that John Quadrozzi (he of dubious Superfund critique) will be fixing his crumbing house. From the Daily News:

"Henry St. homeowner John Quadrozzi must make immediate repairs to the badly cracked walls of the 1852 brownstone as part of an agreement made with city officials in Brooklyn Supreme Court last Friday.

"[Buildings Department] engineers found that the owner's repeated failure to maintain these buildings created a hazard to the public and an eyesore for the neighborhood," said Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri in a statement.

A round of cosmetic repairs, such as plugging holes in the carriage house roof, will begin later this year."

I'm just happy that the scaffolding will come down at some point!

On the Edge: A Life on the Shores of the Gowanus

The Brooklyn Eagle did a nice profile on Pat Bruno, a man who has lived on the shores of the Gowanus his entire life, in the same house!

"Pasquale “Pat” Bruno, 77, still lives in the same house on Bond Street where he was born in 1932. For a year or two after he married, he lived a few blocks away, but he and his bride soon returned to the house he grew up in with his two sisters and two brothers in a neighborhood filled with other two- and three-family homes. It was a world bounded roughly by Smith Street, Atlantic Avenue and Nevins Street to the east and Third Street to the south, but he’s not sure what that neighborhood’s called today. “Sunset Park, Carroll Gardens, even I don’t know where that is,” Bruno said with a laugh. “When I was growing up, it was all just plain old South Brooklyn.”"

Mr. Bruno makes a great point about South Brooklyn/Red Hook. He also sounds like an endangered species.

Who is hungry for some crumb buns?

Update: At It Again

At it again outside of 360 Smith this morning. How about we add a little topical flair and have them blow a Vuvuzuela or three?

Katia also posted an update this morning on a view from someone's window. Please note that views are NOT protected by most land-use laws.

Enough To Make You Gag

We all saw the condo going up on Sackett between Smith and Court (and the shoddy pointing work on the facade). Some of us even laughed when the put some bamboo in front of the lobby windows to try and class the place up. Well, get ready to gag at an New york Times article that quite possibly describes that building (process of elimination), and it's newest residents:

"The residents are often young, but at one small building on Sackett Street in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn, a large percentage of them are really young: Four of the six buyers had five babies among them when they went to contract in the fall and closed in April. 

The sleep-deprived residents are settling into a rhythm that contrasts with the hushed order found in some buildings. The lobby often has an arsenal of Diapers.com boxes stacked at the entrance. Residents sometimes confuse cries emanating from other apartments as those of their own babies, and the first meeting of the condominium board was scheduled around feeding and sleep times. Besides the four pairs of new parents, a fifth buyer has a 4-year-old, a scooter-wielding preschooler named Quincy, the building’s oldest child."

I guess there really is no point in whining about the continued Slopification of Carroll Gardens, but good god. Do they have to be so happy about it?

You Stay Classy, Marco Polo

A ruckus outside of Marco Polo on Saturday night, probably viewed ironically by passing hipsters. From the Brooklyn Paper:

"Police were called to the famed Carroll Gardens eatery at the corner of Union Street at 12:30 am after several guests attending the party began fighting with each other.

As the squabble spilled out into the street, cops grabbed four men, ranging in age from 26 to 53, charging them with disorderly conduct.

All four were given criminal court summonses and sent home, said a source inside the 76th Precinct, adding that no one was throwing punches when officers arrived, but the group flat out refused to disperse.

Three of the men arrested were from Staten Island. The fourth was from Bensonhurst, they said. One was the man whose daughter is about to walk down the aisle."

Though my favorite quote comes later in the article, from an "eyewitness":

"“They were all behaving like unflattering stereotypes about certain Italian-Americans. It was very interesting to watch and we spent at least five minutes observing from across the street.”"

Does that sound like something that was translated into Spanish, then into Italian, then into Portugese, and then back into English?

Red Hook Trolley Again?

A quick trip through Sunset Park, Gravesend, DUMBO or Red Hook will show anyone that there is still evidence of what was once a vast Brooklyn Streetcar, or Trolley, network. Basically the buses of yesteryear, streetcars are now making a comeback in many cities around the world, as their benefits are now clearly seen. Although the idea of a Brooklyn streetcar network has been raised from time to time, funding has never really been there for one. Well, it still isn't, really, but there's money for a study! 

From the New York Post:

"DOT plans to finally take advantage of a $300,000 federal grant that Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn) secured for the six-month study in 2005.

Velazquez said the project is crucial for Red Hook, since the isolated neighborhood is facing brutal service cuts to its already-limited bus service -- the B61, B77 and B71 lines. The neighborhood has no subway; its nearest train line -- the F -- is more than a mile away.

Bob Diamond, president of the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association, which has tried to create a trolley line since 1989, estimated the project would cost $10 million to $15 million to complete."

That's a low estimate. By a LOT.

Gowanus Drug Boss Sent Away for Attempting to Assassinate...The Carroll Gardens Diary?

Scary stuff from Courier Life about a drug boss in the Gowanus Houses:

"Price was ordered to spend the rest of his life behind bars on May 14 after being convicted of racketeering, murder and four attempted murders — all of which were planned from his drug-dealing domain inside the Gowanus Houses.

Officials said that Price, his brother Robert and uncle Eddie Pressley, “ran a violent drug trafficking organization that dominated the sale of heroin and crack in the Gowanus Houses throughout much of the 1990s.”

Back in August 1990, Price allegedly shot Ronald Chavis and Michael Brown after luring them from the Gowanus Houses to another housing project in Bedford Stuyvesant.

He killed Chavis, but only wounded Brown, who managed to escape the assassination attempt."

Whew. Glad he's going away and glad I got away!

More Housing on the Gowanus?

4th Avenue and Smith Street, with their access to walkable commerce and public transportation, are excellent areas for dense development. Gowanus? Ehh. it's better than Gerritsen Beach, but not by much. So why is everyone looking to house more people there? From the Brooklyn Paper:

"“An environmentally restored Gowanus area could support an additional 1,500 to 2,000 housing units above those already planned,” the report states.

Those units, of course, are captive to the clean-up of the waterway, one of America’s most-polluted sites. Even under the best-case scenario, that process will take 10 years and cost $400 million.

Some development companies have said the lingering “Superfund Stigma” will make it impossible to ever build in the canal zone.

“There won’t be new housing until the cleanup is done [and] that is 20 years away,” said David Von Spreckelsen, a vice president for Toll Brothers, which opposed Superfund designation and withdrew its plan for a 447-unit luxury complex on the canal after the federal decision was announced in March."

You mean, except for the larger project that includes affordable housing, being done just a little ways down the canal from your proposed development, Von Spreckelsen. Was he in Goldmember?