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.