Another Neighborhood Institution Not Long For This World?

Zillow has a listing for the building that currently houses Michael's Shoe Repair. The three story building is listed for $1,200,000.

Although I'm sure new owners would not want a newer use in there, there is no way that the existing use can pay the market rents in the area. Unless there is a sale-leaseback arrangement (and the listing price doesn't seem to indicate so), Michael's Shoe Repair might be going the way of College Point Bakery and Nino's.

They have been in the area for a long time, and indeed, are one of the few places left where you can find real people. However, they never seemed to sell anything other than socks.

Sokol Brothers Profiled

Sad as we were to see her go, Sylvie Morgan Flatow has taken her series over to Carroll Gardens Patch. The debut shop that gets profiled is Sokol Brothers, the long-time furniture retailer (and only one left) in the neighborhood.

"Drafty like an old barn or an unfinished basement, neighborhood folks have been weaving through the three long rooms that make up Sokol's for 60 years. Couches, tables, chairs, mirrors, desks, beds, rugs, armoires -- it's a pretty solid selection. There are no salespeople. No one is tending a register. There is one man and one man only who is greeting you when you walk through the door.  

Grandma was right. That Michael Sokol is a very nice man. He is by no means a flashy man, but neither is his store. Instead, he is one of the nicest storekeepers in the neighborhood. He dresses comfortably in blue jeans and sweaters, sneakers and old sweatshirts.

At a table that may or may not be for sale, we sat down one chilly night to chat."

Michael Sokol, and the Sokol Brothers before him, have provided my family with furniture for four generations now. I'm glad to see him out there, on Patch and also this week in the Red Hook Star-Revue.

P.S. 58 Students Save the Music

From Yahoo!:

"Current strings students and alumni from P.S. 58 The Carroll School's orchestra performed at the VH1 Save The Music Foundation Gala on Monday, November 8 at Cipriani Wall Street.


Sarah James, P.S. 58's Upper Grade Music Teacher, helped students rehearse and prepare for this star studded evening. The gala honored Julie Andrews, John Mayer, John Legend and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Foundation."

Preserving Old Neighborhood Faces

Carroll Gardens will be undergoing a massive transformation in the next twenty years, as the older generation of Italians, Puerto Ricans and other once-large groups of working-class citizens dies off. Who will replace them is unknown, but I doubt it will be many working-class individuals. Photographer and artist Kurt Kietrich Wilberding is attempting to preserve and share some memories of his views of Italian-Americans in Carroll Gardens in his show "Valentino's Children".

Excerpt and Photo from the Brooklyn Paper:

"“I would see one woman everyday that lives down the street from me, Milly. She is 95-years-old and has lived here all her life,” said Wilberding. “When you come across someone like Milly, you start to wonder, ‘Who else is around that has seen how this neighborhood has changed? What was it once like? What has been improved? What has been lost?’ ”

The resulting show, which is named after the Italian actor Rudolph Valentino and Louis Valentino Jr., a local fireman who died in the line of duty, is a collection of portraits of older generation Italian-Americans and mementos of things dear to them, such as passports."

“Valentino’s Children” at Acres Gallery [114 Smith St. between Pacific and Dean streets in Carroll Gardens (Ed - Most definitely NOT Carroll Gardens), (917) 428-3810], Dec. 10-Jan. 23. For info, visit acresbrooklyn.org.

Christmas Tree Lighting on Columbia Street - This Friday

Neighborhood affordable housing development group the Carroll Gardens Association and the newly revived Union Street - Columbia Street Merchants Association are holding a tree lighting this Friday, 6:00 - 8:00 pm, at the Human Compass Garden at Columbia and Sackett Streets.

"Children (and adults too) could have their photos taken with Santa. Free food and refreshments will be offered by neighborhood restaurants and businesses.

The Tree Lighting event will kick-off a week-long promotion from participating local restaurants and bars offering a 10% discount. Participating restaurants include Lilla Cafe, Mazzat, House of Pizza and Calzone, Five Burros, Caselnova, Sugar Lounge, Margaret Palca Bakes, Jalopy Theatre, Iro, Alma and Old Brooklyn Wine & Liquor (wine only). The 10% coupon is printed in the Red Hook Star-Revue."

An Evening at the Bell House for George - Guest Post

N.B. Today's post is authored by a friend and contributor, Mike Benigno. You can find more of him over at Lines in the Street and On Your Fork.

The Universal Thump, named after an obscure line from the allegorical Melville masterpiece Moby Dick, is a collaboration of over 20 performers, songwriters and composers all from their own individual bands, who, under the leadership of musicians Greta Getler and Adam Gold, first started working six months ago to cover the classic George Harrison solo album, "All Things Must Pass" in its entirety. ATMP remains as true to a Harrison masterpiece today as it was when first released in 1970 as his first post-Beatles release. The Nov. 29th show at the Bell House marked nine years to the day since Harrison died, and the performance was both a tribute to his music, his spirit and the fund that bears his name at UNICEF.

 So, what did that look like? First, nothing but a stage full of wires, amps, mic stands and more. Then, a stage full of people - as many as 20 at one time, and no fewer than five or six at any given point - playing before rear-projected Harrison black and whites to an intimate crowd. The album was done cover-to-cover, beginning with the bang-up hits "I'd Have You Anytime," "My Sweet Lord," "Wah-Wah," and "Isn't it a Pity," in arrangements complete with a string and horn section, two drummers, several keyboard and guitar players, upright and electric basses and, of course, the pedal steel guitar. Arrangements of many of the complicated tunes were done with such dexterity that you'd wonder if these guys had been practicing for a lifetime, and, in a way, they probably have been. The program given out before the show - which was an impressive directory of talent - sums it up best:

In a year when band after aging band filed into America's Halls and Plazas of music to perform their "classic" albums in their entirety, to remind us all of a time when their albums were important, or when albums were important, it seemed a natural [idea]. "Why don't we pay tribute to a true classic? An album we all love?" And then, what would this band even look like on stage?... Most everyone seemed thrilled by the idea... Nine years to the day of George's death, and just days after the 40th anniversary of the three discs' original release. This was to be a tribute indeed, and an ambitious one.

What was the show like? It was like being at the tribute concert of your life, but, somehow, only a couple hundred people were were there alongside you. One performer after another came out, joining and re-joining those on stage, performing each piece with creativity and, more than anything else, reverence for the songs, their complexity, their underlying spirituality, their writer, and their legacy. John Wesley Harding stole the show with "Wah-Wah," but Carol Lipnik's "My Sweet Lord" was the be-all-end-all performance. Perfection. If you saw it live, you'd beg for a recording or video.

Performers included:
Corrina Albright
Amy Allison
Oren Bloedow
Zach Brock
Amy Correia
Therese Cox
Robert DiPietro
Lee Feldman
Pete Galub
Greta Gertler
Adam Gold
John Wesley Harding
J. Walter Hawkes
Art Hayes
Missy Higgins
Byron Isaacs
Courtney Kaiser
Dayna Kurtz
Gary Langol
Carol Lipnik
Jonathan Maron
Barney McAll
Rick Moody
Chris Moore
David Nagler
Rozz Nash
Clinton Newman
Phil Rodriguez
Sean Sonderegger
Leigh Sutart
PT Walkley
Shara Worden

Lines in the Street

On Your Fork

Fix the Ditch!

Some plans for the greening of the BQE were recently revealed. From the Brooklyn Paper:

"The cheapest plan, about $10 million, involves a massive tree-planting effort along the highway-created chasm — creating one of the greenest stretches in all of Brooklyn.

Another option calls for the construction of six, lightweight bicycle and pedestrian bridges over the ditch, costing between $20 million to $45 million.

And the most expensive plan calls for the construction of an iconic, $85 million, energy-generating “green canopy” along the length of the trench, from Atlantic Avenue to Hamilton Avenue."

Let's not hold our breath. If there is no money for Brooklyn Bridge Park without private development, where is the money for this?

Whole Foods is on!

The intersection of 3rd and 3rd will no longer have just one attraction; sounds like the Whole Foods project is back on! In an e-mail to Community Board 6 District Manager Craig Hammerman, Mark Mobley from Whole Food wrote the following:

"Our property, which was formerly home to a number of auto repair shops, warehouses and other industrial uses, has now been fully cleaned and remediated under the strict guidelines of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's brownfield program and is ready to return to a positive, productive, job-creating and community service use.

Our planned new store will be approx. 52,000 square feet, which is about 25% smaller than the store we had previously proposed for this site. We believe this site plan - which continues to feature a 40 foot public esplanade for our neighbors to enjoy - will simply work better within the parameters of the property.

We have reduced the number of parking spaces on-site from 430 to 248, which eliminates our previous need for a separate parking structure and allows all of the parking to be at-grade in a surface parking lot. The store will feature parking for both energy efficient vehicles as well as specially designated recharging stations for electric powered vehicles. The lot will also include bike parking in front of the store and along the promenade. Whole Foods Market will also offer delivery for area residents.

With parking now no longer needed on the store roof either, we have been presented with the opportunity to include one of the most exciting and innovative features ever included in a Whole Foods Market: A 20,000 square foot greenhouse located on the roof of the store that will grow fresh, organic produce right on-site!

Rather than construct the store below-grade as previously proposed, we now plan to build it above-grade, which will require a variance from the Board of Standards and Appeals due to the physical hardships associated with site development (there is a high water table and, as you know, environmental cleanup requirements on the property). These factors have a large impact on the development costs that will be encountered on this site.

As always planned, the two-story, 19th century brick building situated at the property's corner at Third Avenue and Third Street - which is not owned by Whole Foods Market - will remain in place. The Whole Foods Market will "jog" around the existing building at that corner and Whole Foods has committed to investing in improvements to the building that will include a new roof and exterior repairs. "


Lets hope that this doesn't exacerbate the nightmare that is traffic on 3rd Street at times, but the reduction in parking spaces and 40 foot waterfront access is a great thing!

Staubitz!

One of the last real butchers in the area, John McFadden from Staubitz, got profiled in the New York Times:

"Favorite meat: A thick, juicy rib steak. But I only eat red meat once a week. I’ve got high cholesterol; it’s hereditary.

Manual dexterity: I must enjoy working with my hands, because in my workshop upstate in Milan, I’m always out there building all sorts of things from wood. Now I’m restoring portions of a 1730 barn.

The next generation: This is kind of funny. The other day my son asked me if he could work in the store when he gets old enough. I said, “Of course you can.”"

My uncle was the bicycle delivery boy for Staubitz in the 50s, and has some great stories about the meat market in those days!

Progress for Community Board 6

Turns out that sometimes, Community Board 6 CAN make a progressive decision. From Streetsblog:

"Last night, the committee voted in favor of expanding the Park Smart area and the time that peak hour rates are in effect. The resolution did not touch on increasing the peak meter rate to $2.25 per hour but rejected the idea of extending the time limit at curbside spaces from one hour to two hours...

The interesting exchange of the evening happened when one committee member raised the prospect of extending the time limit from one hour to two hours.

Extending the time limits could wipe out the gains that the higher peak hour rates have achieved, explained DOT Deputy Commissioner Bruce Schaller. “The combination of the rate and one-hour time limit is affecting turnover,” he said. “If you relax one of them, you have to make up for it with the other.”"

Columbia Street Waterfront District Gets Some Love

The Columbia Street Waterfront District, the ex-Red Hook, ex-Carroll Gardens hanging chad, has gotten some love from the NY Times:


"A slice of about two dozen square blocks, cut off from the rest of the borough by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, the Columbia waterfront has been seen as an up-and-coming neighborhood. But development has come in fits and starts because of its location, the forbidding warehouses and piers that block harbor access, and a lack of subway lines.

“This particular location — we’ve liked it since Day 1,” said Louis V. Greco, the general manager of the development company SDS, which bought two parcels in the neighborhood in 2008. “That’s because of the views of Lower Manhattan, obviously, and there’s just so much going on down there now.""

Brooklyn's Park Avenue: Walkabouts and Subway Improvements! And Evil Developers?

Recently, some money was found for the 4th Avenue/9th Street Subway Station rehab. From the Brooklyn Paper:

"The Beep said this week that he has set aside $2 million for improvements in and around the station, which critics say shares the same aesthetic of a Turkish prison.

“This $2 million will showcase the potential to create safer conditions all along this roadway and make it a beautiful thoroughfare that better serves us,” he said.

The station — once targeted for a grand facelift as part of the $250-million reconstruction of the elevated tracks between the Carroll Street and Fourth Avenue — has been in limbo since MTA budget cuts delayed the lofty plan."

Seems that the Park Slope Civic Council agrees that the rehab will be in the best interests of safety and aesthetics as well. Unfortunately, they can't do that without whining about development. From the Brooklyn Eagle:

"A renovation would eliminate thousands of pedestrian trips across Fourth Avenue, one of the city’s most dangerous streets. Earlier this year, the NYC Transit Authority estimated that a renovation would cost about $3.5 million, according to Cairl. The Brooklyn Paper recently reported that Borough President Marty Markowitz is willing to use about $2 million of his office’s capital budget.

While there may be money for rehabilitating subway stations, several development projects have stalled on the corridor because of the credit crunch. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, at least for the time being, Cairl said. Most recent development on the corridor left neighborhood advocates wanting something better. Citing ugly design and structures too often out of scale with the surrounding community, the Park Slope Civic Council would like developers to take a more organic approach.

“New development is great but it needs to relate to the community,” said Cairl, citing the “unfriendly street presence” of so many buildings. “You can’t just sit at a drafting table and not come and walk the ground.” S.J. Avery joined the council because she perceived that type of development insensitivity, but it originated from city government, she said, noting that the way the city handled the eventual condemnation of historic P.S. 133 upset her so much that she had to get involved."

A more appropriate villain than "developers" might be the high-density zoning that has been a failure. Until the City changes the zoning codes to allow a great mix of uses within the high-density FAR, and does something to slow down traffic on 4th, there will be no streetscape to speak of.

The City and Phoenix Beverage: Kind of Keeping Their Word?

We covered the spat between Columbia Street residents and Phoenix Beverage, the EDC's newest tenant (and, from a logistical perspective, the perfect tenant). Basically, Phoenix and the City were exposed as big, fat liars. According to the Brooklyn Paper, they are now keeping their word, but under the guise of a "compromise". Between this and Joan Millman's bike land compromise, Noah Webster must be spinning in his grave.

"Eventually, Teamsters, bosses from Phoenix Beverages, local pols and residents reached a compromise in which the trucks would bypass Columbia Street by driving on the BQE between Hamilton to Atlantic avenues.

“We’re extraordinarily happy,” said Brian McCormick, a member of the Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association. “The trucks are pretty much gone. There is a system in place that is working, and we’re hoping that will continue.”

The trucks are expected to continue cruising on the BQE until the chronically delayed reconstruction of Van Brunt Street is completed, opening up the proper truck route from Degraw Street to Hamilton Avenue (officials say the work could be done next summer)."

Make no mistake; this is anything BUT a compromise. This was community leaders forcing a private company (with an EDC lease) to adhere to the stipulations that they had agreed upon. 

I was at those meetings and voted on the deal. The use of the BQE was a MAJOR point of Phoenix and EDC's pitch.

GaGa in CaGa?

According to Gothamist we may need to lock our windows and our doors, cause Lady GaGa be stealin' boyfriends from everybody up in here:

"Allegedly Gaga showed up at the couple's Carroll Gardens apartment, and begged her former fling to come back. He agreed, and next thing you know the two are drunk at a Mets game together."

Be on the lookout for idiotic outfits on Court Street?

LICH Remains Open, for now

Some state funding and a quasi-merger have kept LICH open, for now. From the NY Times:

"Long Island College Hospital, known as LICH, has been at risk of closing since at least 2008, when its parent company, Continuum Health Partners, announced that the hospital was straining under the weight of $170 million in capital debt and proposed to shut down its maternity and pediatric operations. The State Health Department denied Continuum’s 2008 plan to close maternity and pediatric operations, leading to the search for a partner.

Governor Paterson said Thursday that the state would provide $40 million to support the merger. In 2009 the state gave LICH $22 million to help stabilize itself and to make it more attractive to a prospective partner."

Let's hope that that money got allocated, or that Cuomo will honor the deal.