Tumblr!

So I've moved the Carroll Gardens Diary from the Blogger platform over to Tumblr. This decision was made for many reasons, not the least of which is Tumblr's ease of use. Also, some changes in life have made it harder and harder to actually post and for it to be considered news (if it ever really was?). Look for more fun things, opinions and yes, pictures.

Santa Maria!

Actually overheard someone say: "They're carrying...something."

Her name is Mary. Perhaps you've heard of her?

What Exactly is Andrea Peyser Getting At?

Andre Peyser, the sex-obsessed New York Post columnist, recently penned an opinion column on Carroll Gardens and the recent knife fight on Smith Street. I can't say I'm sure what the opinion is, or what the point is, but, have at it, you crazy old coot:

"It was a place where immaculate brownstones came with St. Mary's lawn statues. Kids played stickball in the street to escape un-air-conditioned houses. And grandmas sat on stoops night and day -- gossiping, grumbling and cursing in Italian, while picking specks of trash off well-worn stairs.

You could find a nice clam sauce over macaroni in a diner. But sustainable vegan whole-grain pasta? Fuhgeddaboutit."

Ok. Mainstream stereotypes of Italians, with an apparent lack of knowledge about remaining community? Check.

"Now, it seems the old days never really went away. They just went to sleep.

Earlier this month, in an incident straight out of the Brooklyn of old novels, fancy pizza man Mark Iancono got into a knife fight on Carroll Gardens' posh Smith Street. In broad daylight. With mob-connected ex-con Benny Geritano, whom he's known for decades.  How could this happen in 2011?"

I assume that she is trying to drum up some fears that the mafia is still active in the neighborhood, and that THEY ARE COMING FOR YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN IN EXPENSIVE STROLLERS?

"Others say the beef was over a dame."

Dame? What is this, 1953?

"Unless the knife fighters talk, the stereotypes will continue. And the gossip."

The gossip...that you're starting?

New Round of Whining from Cobble Hill Towers

The conversion going on at the Towers has prompted some fresh cries about...well, I'm not exactly sure. From the Brooklyn Paper:

"Regardless, renters say that the changes would dismantle the mission of utopian builder Alfred T. White, who set out to show that private developers could build decent housing for the working class and still make a profit.

This is the last bastion of diversity in Cobble Hill,” said one 10-year tenant. “And to take these rent-stabilized apartments out of the housing pool is really harsh.”

Former residents agreed.

“The people who live in that building, there’s no way they can buy,” said Carl Rosenstock, who lived in the complex for 13 years."

What the Brooklyn Paper seems to miss (and, to be fair, so did the Times and Patch) is that NOTHING changes for the residents if they don't want it to. If they are subject to rent stabilization and/or rent control, they can stay in their apartments with no changes to their rent other than who they make the check out to (which could change at any time anyway). Their neighbors might change, but that is a factor of their neighbors accepting five or six figure buyouts, not a fault of the new owners.

D'Amico's

Sylvie Morgan Flatow, ne-of the Carroll Gardens Diary, took a look at D'Amicos, over at the Carroll Gardens Patch. Lets look behind some more old doors, as we've done plenty of times before:

"D’Amico Foods is a third generation family business that’s been luring customers in for over 60 years. Frank’s father, Emanuele D’Amico - a Palermitan who jumped ship to Brooklyn around 1925 – was a self-taught man who worked all sorts of jobs.  From longshoreman to laundry delivery, Emanuele searched for stable jobs that could support his family of five. In 1948, with an old-fashioned coffee roaster machine and your standard grocery items lining wood shelves, D’Amico began renting the brownstone storefront at 309 Court Street. That romantic bouquet of coffee we smell today - of beans being ground - likely spilled onto the street as if someone were pushing it out then, too. The whir of the roaster, the clang of the scooper… a pedestrian’s senses couldn’t help but heighten with each passing stroll. "

Van Brunt Waterfront

This is the third in a series of videos created for the Carroll Gardens Diary of the changing streetscape of Carroll Gardens, Red Hook and Columbia Street from the 1950's through today. Most of the changes are due to the trench of the BQE, but there have also been huge changes in the port.

Today's is a section of Van Brunt Street that used to extend north to create a street grid with two streets that only have stubs left: Irving and Sedgewick Streets.

My grandmother once told me that she and my grandfather used to go park the car down there.

"Oh, when you couldn't find a parking spot?"

"Yeah, right."

Con Ed Workers Would Rather Park

Apparently never ones to skip irony, workers at Con Edison's location on Third and Third have taken to the papers (and putting fliers under the windshield wipers of area cars) in a bit of a fear/proletariat campaign, casting Con Ed as the bad guy for...putting them in the same situation as everyone else. From the Brooklyn Paper:
photo © 2008 Jason Kuffer | more info (via: Wylio) 
"The energy giant will close the private parking lot inside its superblock complex bounded by Fourth and Third avenues and First and Third streets — sending workers hunting for spots alongside residents in the already spot-challenged area.

“This company don’t give a damn,” said union president Harry Farrell. “All they care about is money.”

Utility workers — many of whom commute from Staten Island, Queens and Long Island — say that closing the lot would flood the streets with suburbanites who are too burnt out to vie for parking."

What the article fails to mention is the specific reason as to why this free parking is being eliminated; it only cites cost savings as a reason. Given the 12% rise in electricity rates just in time for the summer, shouldn't Con Ed be lauded for attempting to keep their costs down, and unintentionally creating smarter transportation and economic policies in the process?

Evidently these members of UWUA Local 1-2 believe that Con Ed should continue to subsidize their personal commuting habits. In their (unintentionally hilarious) flier, they seem to indicate that since they are utility workers, their choice to live in the suburbs should be subsidized by all rate payers, and that, despite their noble careers in public service, they will be left with no choice but to make our lives miserable via lack of parking if this lot is closed.

Weak.

Another Look Behind Old Doors - Chic Elegance

Sylvie Morgan Flatow, ne-of the Carroll Gardens Diary, took a look at Chic Elegance, over at the Carroll Gardens Patch. Lets look behind some more old doors, as we've done plenty of times before:

"Anthony’s mother was the one who told him of the available space at 306 Court Street. He borrowed five thousand dollars from one friend, five thousand dollars from another, and soon enough was making monthly rent payments of two hundred and seventy five dollars.

How the hell am I gonna pay this back? was his first thought.

Easily. 

Chic turned into a neighborhood hotspot. In 1983, he made more money cutting hair than he makes today. And that was when the haircuts cost you less than ten dollars. "

Columbia Street Park - Finally!

The New York Post just found out about Columbia Street and the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway.

"It was supposed to be Brooklyn’s next Smith Street, but the Columbia Street Waterfront District never became the borough’s next hot spot thanks to years of being saddled by relentless street-repair work and failed redevelopment projects.

But now city officials hope to finally breathe some life into this long-isolated neighborhood by transforming a dingy, two-acre lot into a new waterfront park.

Preliminary renderings show a Department of Transportation storage lot at the corner of Columbia and DeGraw streets being converted into new green space, including a dog run and tree-lined lawns and paths."

I've been hearing about the Greenway since high school, so this "announcement" is on par with the Post's coverage of the PPW bike lane, but this park should benefit the community at large and the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway specifically. The Greenway folks have taken a unique, successful tact with their development efforts, focusing on specific nodes, of which this park is one of them. Congrats to Meg, Brian and Milton!

YET MORE Oysters in the Gowanus

From a TED Talk:


Some of the designs depicted here are way, way out there, and they seem to ignore the violent nature of New York Harbor, but any dialogue regarding the Gowanus and the Harbor can only lead to more awareness.

Amazing Interaction with the He-She of the Carroll Street Stop

 Ever wondered what the story was with the he-she who is always asking for money at the 2nd Street/Place exit of the Carroll Street stop? Well, someone stopped to ask him/her about their life. From Going Under NYC:

"There it was. I had broken the silence that was part of our relationship for the last year. I was talking to a stranger.

-Oh nothing, just away working on the masterpiece.

-The masterpiece? - I said, a bit curious.

-Yes, got myself a bit of a new face, don’t you notice it?

-I think I do, actually.

-Well, you better. Because that was about a year’s worth of standing here.

-huh?

-You see… I am on my way to be a woman, but those operations sure cost a lot. I don’t know how to do much –as a man, because I got plenty of plans when I become a woman- so I beg for money."

I will admit, I have been less than outgoing to this person, but this recanting of his/her story is very interesting.  I've seen him/her in Red Hook frequently, so I assume that he/she lives there.

Another Look Behind Old Doors - Court Pastry

Sylvie Morgan Flatow, ne-of the Carroll Gardens Diary, took a look at Court Pastry, over at the Carroll Gardens Patch. Lets look behind some more old doors, as we've done plenty of times before:

"Whether you’re new to the neighborhood or not, chances are you’ve been to Court Pastry. Let me rephrase that. Chances are you’ve smelled Court Pastry. It only takes one customer to swing that door open. And once that’s done, you have to forgive yourself. It’s okay that you're just another victim held hostage to an aroma so nutty and so sweet that you're forced to stop what you’re doing and immediately brainstorm an excuse as to why you’re about to buy a pound and a half of cookies.  (Um, shouldn’t everyone celebrate President’s Day with a pound and a half of cookies? No?)" 

As someone whose family is memorialized on the wall at Court Pastry (first tray of cookies!), their cookies and lobster tails hold a special place in my heart.

Body Elite

 Local businesses are slowly coming into the digital era from the Daily News:
 
""We were losing customers like crazy," said Alimena, 49, who owns Body Elite, a fitness center in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, that's been in business for 27 years. Despite offering free month-long passes to members who referred others to join, advertising and offering jobless members a lower rate, Alimena was losing 30 to 40 people a month as people moved from the neighborhood or let their memberships expire.

"The neighborhood is not exactly a reasonable rent area," he said."

What's next, @Esposito's?

Good Bike Lane/Bad Bike Lane

Brad Lander, a rational thinker and relative newbie to elected politics, has come out with some pretty basic, logical, constructive comments on the Prospect Park West Bike Lane. He continues today, in the Brooklyn Paper, citing his own survey:

"But it’s time to accept the facts: Extensive data show the project is a success. The community board asked for it. The vast majority of neighborhood residents support it. The Department of Transportation is proposing a few modifications to make it work even better. Prospect Park West is safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and even drivers."

Of course, the Brooklyn Paper would be remiss if they didn't talk about the massive uprising of popular angst over the bike lane (read: a few old, rich people on prospect Park West who must have had neck surgery keeping them from looking left and right. One wonders if they can cross any street safely), in an opposing view point article:

"Bike lanes improve the health, safety, and environment of the city."
 
Ok, great start! What next?

"To access the park, pedestrians must cross multiple lanes of one-way moving traffic. Then they must pass through a floating row of parked cars that obstructs their view of the two-way bike lane, which they must enter blindly, before reaching the curb."

:-( I was unaware they were issuing horse blinders to all pedestrians crossing PPW.

"Under the guise of “traffic calming,” and ignoring other viable alternatives, the city removed an automobile lane, thereby causing congestion as well as significant air and noise pollution."

Willfully ignoring the FACT that removal of a travel lane has caused a decrease in the number of accidents and average speed of vehicles traveling on PPW, fewer cars somehow equals more air pollution to NBBL.

"Last year, the Department of Transportation installed this two-way obstructed lane and has since converted this “pilot program” into a permanent fixture without properly evaluating it or addressing local residents’ concerns."

One assumes that NBBL were either not present or not well represented at the numerous Community Board 6 meetings where the bike lane was discussed, where the ONLY (asinine) objections that were raised were about the loss of a few parking spaces.
 
"We think our alternatives are sound and will make our beautiful, historic neighborhood an even safer and more pleasant place."

Their alternatives are to add back a lane of traffic, and to move bike traffic into the park, where the City refuses to completely ban cars, creating no barriers between bike and car movements. Seems like NBBL would be very happy with completely separate paths for all different modes of transit (a Segway path, perhaps), since we can not interact with each other. Maybe they want PPW to look like this.

Hamilton Avenue

This is the next in a series of videos created for the Carroll Gardens Diary of the changing streetscape of Carroll Gardens, Red Hook and Columbia Street from the 1950's through today. Most of the changes are due to the trench of the BQE, but there have also been huge changes in the port.

Today's is the perpetually changing end of Hamilton Avenue.

Carroll Park Piazza?

Another of the long line of interesting ideas comes out via the Brooklyn Paper:

"He told this newspaper that his notion is to annex the “underused” western portion of the park near Court Street for the piazza, setting up tables, chairs and awnings — a cosmopolitan space where area cafés could serve drinks and food.

“When you see in Italy and Argentina plazas and piazzas really being used by all the people of a neighborhood, it’s a wonderful part of urban life,” Andersen said."

I'm not sure exactly what section of the park he wants to turn over to private enterprise. The western half of the park has the ball field, basketball hoops, hosts hockey games and is where people illegally let their dogs run around off the leash. While it may not be a grand public interactive space on the caliber of South American or European cities, to call that section of the park "underused" demonstrates either a willful ignorance, or a staggeringly self-centered view of public space.

Gowanus History

Could the Gowanus Canal be a tourist locale? From the Brooklyn Paper:

"Yes, the gritty area alongside one of the most polluted bodies of water in the country could be added to the National Register of Historic Places — and is also being considered for the same historic district status granted to well-heeled enclaves such as Brooklyn Heights — in a new push by preservationists.

The Manhattan-based Historic District Council is pushing the state to nominate the canal zone for national designation as part of its “Six to Celebrate,” an inaugural program intended to focus attention on a half-dozen endangered areas.

The list is compiled from community requests — and in this case, the Friends and Residents of the Greater Gowanus got the tar ball rolling."

Look for some double-decker buses rolling down Nevins Street!

Manhassett Place

This is the first in a series of videos created for the Carroll Gardens Diary of the changing streetscape of Carroll Gardens, Red Hook and Columbia Street from the 1950's through today. Most of the changes are due to the trench of the BQE, but there have also been huge changes in the port.

Today's is a street that has been completely wiped out: Manhassett Place.

Park Slope and Community Board 6 Members: Fighting Progress

Turns out, in the shock of shockers, slower traffic and a mix of uses creates a more dynamic and safer streetscape. Who would have thought? From StreetsBlog, news of the Prospect Park West Bike lane's results, and proposed safety modifications:

"The proposed modifications should make the new Prospect Park West even friendlier to pedestrians. At intersections, the tan paint marking the pedestrian zone of the median will be replaced with raised islands. That should keep parked cars from intruding on pedestrian space. Along the bike path, DOT wants to install “rumble strip” markings to alert riders that they’re approaching an intersection. DOT also suggests rearranging the loading zones at 9th Street and narrowing the bike lane buffer at the very northern end of Prospect Park West in order to better transition into Grand Army Plaza."

The Brooklyn Paper (briefly) reported what is by far the most important fact of the whole bike lane "controversey" - it's safety effects.

"• Crashes are down from an average of 30 in six months to 25, or 16 percent.
• Crashes that cause injuries are down from 5.3 in six months to two, a whopping 63-percent drop.
• Before the project, a crash was twice as likely to include an injury.
• Injuries to all street users dropped 21 percent."

But Community Board 6 is the bastion of progressive bike thought. From the Brooklyn Paper comes this month's worst idea ever:

"Nica Lalli, a writer and member of Community Board 6, said her plan makes cyclists as accountable as motorists — and makes it a cinch for cops to ticket two-wheeled scofflaws.

“Making it easier to give people tickets with bikes will be good revenue for the city,” said Lalli, who admitted she is not a “bike person,” but that she holds no prejudice against cyclists — including her husband."

Since when does making it HARDER to bike in the city make sense? All of this backlash against cyclists is the result of rich, connected car owners making a stink. Here is one fact that should end any debate, as if the safety improvements aren't enough: In Brooklyn, car owners are a minority.

Mr. Plow!

In our recent snow storms, private contractors have had to pick up the slack for the city in some areas. Turns out that one of the private contractors is from the neighborhood! From the Post:

"His 12-hour shift started about 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Bay Street parks department building in Red Hook. After checking his pickup and plow, he made his way to the sanit garage at 12th Street and Second Avenue and was ordered into position at Nelson and Smith streets in Carroll Gardens.

At 10 p.m. as the snow piled up, the order came down to get plowing.

"Its fun," Levit said in a heavy Russian accent, laughing, as the metal hit the pavement. "There’s nobody on the roadways and everybody is home.""

Strip Club in Red Hook?

Unfortunately, not according to the proprietor. From the Brooklyn Paper:

"Paris Burlesque Club — which has not yet opened at 18 Commerce St. near Columbia Street — is set to replace the grocery store-sized party hall, Hello Brooklyn, where Sunday night crowds once spilled onto sidewalks and management was last year arrested for selling booze without a license.

Neighbors are already lining up to oppose the new owners’ bid for a difficult-to-get cabaret license, saying they prefer a good night’s sleep to a good night on the town.

“Everybody knows the word ‘burlesque’ is used to mask the words ‘strip joint,’” said Bill Sullivan, who has been fighting noise in the neighborhood for two years. “I can’t even tell you what a nightmare it’s been.”"

Why does Sunset Park get to have all the fun?

Review of Carroll Gardens by the Brits

From the Guardian:

"What's going for it? In the canyon of differences between the US and Britain, there is one that stands out and proud: urban America's capacity for ridiculous neighbourhood names. NoLIta, TriBeCa, Dumbo, SoLaTeeDo (I made that last one up). But BoCoCa is stretching it. Newly compiled from three Brooklyn neighbourhoods – Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens – BoCoCa is where you move when you've tired of Williamsburg's twentysomething hepcat shenanigans. Skinny jeans just don't look good crammed with post-childbirth girth (and that's just the dads). You're still, ahem, "with it", just not that "with it". The area has everything a gentrifying couple could want – from leafy brownstones to bespoke cupcake suppliers. Red Hook used to be BoCoCa beyond the pale, a decaying crack den past the Gowanus Expressway. Since Ikea moved in, though, that desolate, post-industrial, miles-from-a-subway-look is so Age of Austerity.

The case against Terribly Bugaboo. Smug and moneyed and not cheap – until you get to Red Hook."

Unfortunately, and sadly, this is quite accurate...

More Issues with (Carroll) Gardens

Seems that one Vincenzo Cumbo , decided to build a restaurant on the corner of 1st and Court, and then tried to slide some outdoor seating in there. Turns out that is not legit, and he was caught. From the Post:

"The gardens along First, Second, Third and Fourth places date back to 1846 and, according to an obscure city law, are meant for "courtyard use" only. 

But that law has been selectively enforced, residents said.

Over the decades, some homeowners have even cut their curbs to use the courtyards as parking spaces -- which is also illegal. Some are still getting away with it, residents say.

"We take pride in our gardens and consider them assets," said local activist Buddy Scotto.

After being told by The Post of the restaurant's plans, the city investigated, determined the sidewalk cafe would be illegal and said a stop-work order on construction would be issued."

Just off the top of my head, the following are businesses that utilize the public gardens for outdoor seating: Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins, PJ Hanleys, Giardini Pizza, Gowanus Yacht Club. In addition, Hannah Senesh, Ices/Prema Yoga and Yes Cleaners use theirs for commercial purposes, and the courtyards at the Capital One, Me and My Egg Roll and next to Abeline are all paved. 

Although I clearly support the preservation of the gardens, why is this man being singled out, when there are dozens of violations up and down Court and Smith Streets in the exact same situation? Here's to equal enforcement and protection.

* It is interesting how the Post constructs their language to suit their viewpoint. When they like Buddy, he is the Mayor of Carroll Gardens. When they don't, he's an "activist". When they report on garden violators getting tickets, they are scofflaws, but now it is an "obscure" law. Not that we should be surprised. 

** The real shame here is the loss of that Mary on the Half Shell.

Inside a Tug Boat on the Gowanus Canal

An interesting video, from the inside of a tug boat pilot house of a tug boat going under the (raised) Hamilton Avenue Bridge, to dock at Benson Scrap Metal.

Another Brilliant Look Behind Old Doors

Sylvie Morgan Flatow, ne-of the Carroll Gardens Diary, took a look at Marietta, over at the Carroll Gardens Patch. Lets look behind some more old doors, as we've done plenty of times before:

"You wouldn’t be able to recreate a store like this if you tried. Film crews have been approaching Marietta for years because it dons that perfectly demoded look: antiquated blue and white cursive sign, behind-the-times display window of undergarments littered with words like “Special!” and “Value!” and inside, a muumuu rack fit for an Italian grandmother queen. 

The store is small. Most of the merchandise is packed in boxes, its contents and sizes written out in sharpie marker. 

Gloves: $1. Hat sale: $2.50. Panties: $5/pack of 3.

Does the idea of Marietta servicing the Carroll Gardens of today make me giggle? A little bit. That said, if I could put the store up on a pedestal, I would. "

Articles on Murder Show Lack of Real Estate Geography

The New York Times recently declared the Columbia Street Waterfront District an "up and coming neighborhood". However, apparently the New York Post never got the memo:

"Tajeme Sylvester, 31, a native of Jamaica and a Fordham University grad, was found shot in the head and chest at 5:45 p.m. yesterday inside the Lotus Temple of Visions Gallery on Summit Street near Hamilton Avenue, an artists enclave in Red Hook."

I hope they catch this guy, and when they do, they note that Summit Street is most assuredly not in Red Hook.

Post on old ILA Building on Carroll Gardens Patch

I wrote a post on the old ILA building at Carroll Gardens Patch. Check it out.

"Although no architectural masterpiece, and certainly not within the context of the existing built environment of brownstones and row houses, the building provided health care for ILA members and their families for years, having a full compliment of health care professionals under one roof. If an ILA member was out of work, he could receive his health care on the west side of Court Street, and then cross over to the east side to pick up his unemployment benefits (in the building now occupied by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). Without the health center, ILA members now have health care plans like most other union members.

In 2000, the property was passed on to Long Island College Hospital, which sold it in November, 2007 for $23,750,000. The purchaser, a national developer named The Clarrett Group, promptly tore down the building in early 2008. They had planned to redevelop the site into a mix of townhomes, retail spaces and one large condo building, known as "The Collection at Court Street"."

What a great author! What prose!

Perfect Review of Vinny's

The comments on the reviews of Vinny's of Carroll Gardens on Brownstoner are laughable. People complain about it having "nothing to do with Italian food", and not understanding "why so many people eat here". On the other hand, Proof Pudding nailed it:

"Vinny’s is just a place to have some gravy poured over lasagna, to nosh on broccoli rabe, to chow down on a a sausage and pepper hero for 7 bucks, for ordering a gigantic plate of fried calamari with a soup-sized bowl of marinara sauce for dipping.  It is comfort food pure and simple.  So don’t be a hater!
...
Keep on being yourself Vinny, as they say in Brooklyn- don’t you change for nobody.  Proof."


Amen.

Mola Di Bari

Carroll Gardens owes much to Mola Di Bari. The procession of the Maria Addolorata. A tradition of baking. So many of its immigrants. The Gallo brothers. And the Van Westerhout Social Club. Apparently the Barese were a little jealous of the Siciliani, and wanted to mimic the naming of Henry Street, so with Community Board 6's blessing, Court Street between 3rd and 4th Places will soon be known as "Citizens of Mola Way". From the Brooklyn Paper:

"The Van Westerhout Cittadini Molesi Social Club on Court Street and Fourth Place, one of the last two remaining area social clubs, proposed the co-naming to celebrate nothing less than the American dream — not just for Mola, but for all immigrants.

“We all made good in the United States,” said Pino Deserio, the facility manager at the Red Hook Ikea, who came to Brooklyn in 1970 when he was 17-years-old. “We all realized our American dream.”"

There are many Italian (and Barese) businesses on that block, including Mazzone, Caputo's, Good Food, and Vinny's. Very appropriate.