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Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

2009-11-25T21:04:00.004-05:00

Dear Friends,

I would like to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving and hope that you have lots to be thankful for.

I am staying right here in Brooklyn this week-end and am looking forward to a quiet holiday with my family and friends.
The turkey is defrosting in the refrigerator, the wine is chilled and the table is already set.

Have a great time everyone, and if you are traveling out of town, have a great trip!

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Picture Of The Day: Almost Bare

2009-11-25T11:08:00.000-05:00

"I hope you don't mind,
but I have to take a photo of this spot"
said the blogger to her friend
at mile 2 of their walk.

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Fire Damage Significant At 178 Smith Street

2009-11-25T05:27:00.002-05:00

178 Smith Street back in February 2009

Burning 178 Smith Street building at around 9 AM
photo credit: Joe Calabrese

178 Smith Street on Tuesday afternoon

# 178 Smith Street was never the prettiest house on Smith Street. Clad in yellow aluminum siding, it housed a shoe repair store and a barber shop. At about 9 AM on Tuesday morning, the place went up in flames. The damage is significant. It most probably needs to be torn down.

Judging by the photo of the burning building, the fire started in the shoe repair shop.

By 4 PM, workers were getting ready to secure the burnt building with plywood. A small crowd had gathered across the street, obviously shocked by what they saw. Someone pointed at a bookshelf visible through the third floor window. The flames had left it undamaged.

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Local Pediatrician To Make H1N1 Vaccine Available To Community Residents Today

2009-11-25T04:11:00.000-05:00

I received word yesterday from Zipporah Dvash, Asst. VP of Public Affairs & Development at Long Island College Hospital, that the H1N1 vaccine is available through local pediatrician Stephen Turner.
Read on for more information from Zipporah.

Although this is short notice, please be advised that local pediatrician Stephen Turner, MD, received sufficient quantities of the H1N1 vaccine and so will be making the shot available tomorrow to community residents (children AND adults) who wish to come and be vaccinated. There is a $20 administrative fee.
No appointment is necessary.

Location: 185 Montague St., 4th floor
Time: 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2009

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Comment Of The Day: Ambience And Decor Gone Amiss

2009-11-24T22:01:00.002-05:00

Bacchus has left the following comment on the post "First Diners At Café Mei Mei On Court Street":

I had dinner there on Sunday night. While the menu, food and service were nicely executed, the ambiance and decor had completely gone amiss. We couldn't help but notice the restaurant's design reflected a frozen yogurt shop with bright lighting to boot. The music selection was also odd and unfit. 90's grunge rock with a sprinkle of Johnny Cash. Not the kind of mood I'm looking for if I'm spending $18 on an appetizer. Hopefully, these kinks will work themselves out as time progresses.

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Picture Of The Day: Cold November Day

2009-11-24T11:46:00.001-05:00

On this wet and cold November day,
she had to remind herself,
that the days would get longer soon
and that spring was really just a few months away.

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A Look Back In Time: About Principal Samuel Mills Sprole And Public School 32 On Hoyt Street

2009-11-24T08:43:00.000-05:00

Former Public School 32 Building on Hoyt Street
at the corner of President Street

Current Samuel Mills Sproke School,
PS 32 Building at the same location.

Though I have passed Public School 32 on Hoyt Street many times and have attended my fair share of meetings in the auditorium, I never really took notice of the official name of the school. Yet it is spelled out in big silver letters right over the front entrance : Samuel Mills Sprole.

Mr. Sprole, it turns out, was the school's principal for thirty-two years, from the school's beginning in 1873 until his death in 1905.
Reader Alexandrea did notice the name, investigated and found Sprole's obituary, published in the New York Times in 1905.
According to the article, he was extremely dedicated to the school and educated "many men now prominent in various walks of life in Brooklyn."

However, Sprole's school building was a beautiful brownstone building which does not exist any more. Instead, the present building was erected in the early 1950's at the same location. ( I was told that a shovel from the 1949 ground breaking is displayed in the school.)
What a pity, really. The original building, with its cast iron fence, is so much more attractive.

Thanks, Alexandrea, for this great bit of neighborhood history.

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Community Board 6 Chosen To Test "We Are Looking Into It" Street Decals To Identify Reported '311' Road Conditions

2009-11-23T20:06:00.007-05:00

This just in from Community Board 6 Manager Craig Hammerman. Our district has been chosen as a test area for the city's new orange street repair stickers. On Monday, November 23rd, the new marking will be used to identify road conditions called in by residents through the 311 system.
Supposedly, this will give residents a way of tracking the city's coordinated response to the problem. The bright orange sticker's "NYC: We Are Looking Into It" slogan may, however, quickly turn into a joke if the city takes too long to execute repairs.

If you, dear Reader, spot the first such sticker in the neighborhood, drop me a line or send me a photo to post.

More information on this city initiative below:

New York City Marks the Spot (in Brooklyn Community Board 6)

Beginning November 23, 2009 you may notice some changes on the streets in your neighborhood.

New York City inspectors will test street decals as an innovative approach to marking pavement for repair on City Streets.

Why will the City mark the spot?

These markings (pictured on flyer) are used to identify and mark roadway conditions reported by customers for repair and to let everyone know that the City is coordinating repair of the issue and to mind the hazard.

When a customer calls 311 to report a condition for repair, a City inspector will visit the site and determine the necessary next steps. For many issues, private companies, utilities or other City agencies may be required to respond which may influence the duration of repair. City inspectors will affix a small, bright orange decal adjacent to the site. For issues that are repaired immediately, no decal will be used.

Customers will know the City is "looking into" repair of the issue.

What can customers expect?

This program is designed to provide customers with greater transparency of how the City is responding to roadway issues and will not provide any obstruction to the roadway surface.

This pilot program will continue into 2010.

To learn more information about street conditions, please visit the reference materials section at www.nyc.gov/operations.

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EPA To Hold Public Informational Meeting Regarding Gowanus Canal Superfund Listing

2009-11-23T11:36:00.008-05:00

The Carroll Gardens and Gowanus Canal communities will have a chance to hear directly from the Environmental Protection Agency on the proposed listing of the Gowanus Canal on the National Priority List as a Superfund site.

This will be an informational meeting about what the EPA has already done and how the agency proposes to proceed. On hand will be Walter Mugden, EPA Region 2 Director, and Christos Tsiamis, Remedial Project Manager.
Please do not miss this opportunity to get all the information about the proposed Superfund designation of this neighborhood's highly toxic canal.
Below is the meeting information from EPA:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency--Region 2 (NJ, NY, PR, USVI)
EPA is hosting a public information meeting about the Gowanus Canal

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites you to attend a public information meeting to discuss upcoming activities at the Gowanus Canal.

Thursday, December 3, 2009
from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
in the auditorium of
P.S. 32
located at
317 Hoyt Street, Brooklyn, NY

This meeting will include a formal presentation followed by a question and answer period.

For more information about the meeting or other site related issues you can contact:

Natalie Loney
Community Involvement Coordinator
loney.natalie@epa.gov
(212) 637-3639 or 1-800-346-5009
Christos Tsiamis
Remedial Project Manager
tsiamis.christos@epa.gov
(212) 637-4257

Additional site related documents are available at:
www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/gowanus/

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Hello Again, Brooklyn, New York

2009-11-22T20:35:00.003-05:00

Just back from Arizona, dear Readers, and, despite the sad occasion, it was a very, very lovely trip. The week-end was spent amidst family, sharing memories, tears and laughter.
And under a brilliant sun and the bluest sky, my husband and I had time to take a walk through the most spectacular landscape early one morning .
Thankfully, I did not see the warning about coyotes, scorpions and rattlesnakes till after we returned. I may have decided to forgo the walk. And that would have been a real pity.

I will resume my regular Brooklyn posts as soon as I unpack and get a good night's sleep.

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2009-11-18T22:44:00.005-05:00

Dear Readers,
I am off to Arizona for a few days to attend the memorial service for my father-in- law, who passed away on November 7th.

I promise, I will be back on Monday morning. In the meantime, please leave me your comments, send me your photos and your neighborhood stories so that I won't miss Carroll Gardens.

Cheers, Katia

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The Carroll Park Bocce Players Forgo Their Court For A Place In The Sun

2009-11-18T10:30:00.001-05:00

It happens every year at the same time. When the days get shorter and deep shadows fall on Carroll Park's bocce court, the elderly players move to the benches on the opposite side, where the rays of the sun reach all day.
They were sitting there yesterday, engrossed in conversation.

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Update: More Information On Old Red Hook/Yellow Hook Map

2009-11-18T09:12:00.000-05:00

1837 U.S. Coast Survey Map

old map I posted on November 17th

I can always count on Carroll Gardens friend Rick to point me in the right direction when I have a question about the neighborhood's history.
Rick sent me the comment below and a link to the 1837 U.S. Coast Survey Map from the University Of Alabama's map archive, in response to the old map I had posted on PMFA yesterday. Rick sheds some interesting light on what the purpose and the age of the old map could have been.
Thanks, Rick!

Read on:

Your map looks like a stylized version of a U.S. Coast Survey map drawn in 1837. The Coast Surveys were the first major federal effort to precisely measure/document waterways and topographic features. You can actually download these in high resolution from the University of Alabama’s amazing maps website, http://alabamamaps.ua.edu. The
1837 one seems to be the closest, except that it doesn’t show “Yellow Hook.” That may have come from another source/adaptation -- probably just a few years later (yet before the Gowanus Canal was constructed).

As I mentioned, you can get the very high resolution ones, as well as other years, via the University of Alabama Geography Department website. For those, you’d also need to download a browser plug-in called ExpressView, but once you have it there’s a wealth of stuff out there!

Reader Batman also sent in some great information about the name Yellow Hook, which is indicated on the map. He writes:

It's actually Bay Ridge that was called Yellow Hook, I think for the yellow clay ground. The name was changed in the 1800's because of fears that people would associate the area with Yellow Fever.

There is still a bar in Bay Ridge called Yellow Hook.


I don't know about you, but I love these historical facts. Keep them coming.

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All Quiet At 100 Luquer Street After A Stop Work Order, Then Another And A Fine

2009-11-18T08:49:00.001-05:00

As seen from Luquer Street

As seen from Nelson Street

It was time to check in on 100 Luquer Street, the 11-story finger building designed by architect Karl Fischer. No visible progress seems to have been made since I last took photos back in July. For a while now, the construction site has been locked up and no one has been working.
When I came home, I checked the Department of Buildings web site and was not surprised to find out that the project has been slapped with a partial stop-work order on July 7 for not having "a licensed rigger on site." Then, on August 28th, another one was issued for failure to comply to the first stop work order.
There is also an outstanding $5,000 fine which is now due.

In the meantime, this monstrosity is looming over the neighborhood, with half its glass façade missing.

Any comments, dear reader?

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Comment Of The Day: Getting Away With Illegal Construction?

2009-11-17T22:18:00.003-05:00

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "New Building At 26 4th Street Nearly Complete":

The new zoning will not allow for stoop-style (brownstone) construction. Stoops accommodate a first floor above and a garden floor below street level so windows are above and below eye level. That's better architecture.

With height limits, developers are forced into a box / forced to build floor at street level and setback at forty feet.

Of course, this building has illegally constructed in the rear yard and far exceeds the floor area allowed by old and new zoning.

DOB has decided not to act because the building is only 5 stories and no one has complained. The developer is getting away with the illegal construction!

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Before There Were Brownstones: A Look At A Very, Very Old Map Of Carroll Gardens And Red Hook

2009-11-17T13:27:00.005-05:00

First, did you know, dear Reader, that there was a Yellow Hook? I sure did not have an idea that Sunset Park was once called by that name. But there, on a very, very old map, it is indicated,to the south of Red Hook.

And where today rows of brownstones stand in Carroll Gardens, there was nothing but marshland. And there, indicated by a thin blue line, there was the Gowanus Canal.

Isn't this an amazing document? I have no idea of its date. Would anyone like to venture a guess?

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New Building At 26 4th Street Nearly Complete

2009-11-17T08:28:00.001-05:00

A look down 4th Street towards Hoyt.

As some of the larger construction sites in Carroll Gardens have been stalled or caught in the neighborhood down-zoning, which was passed on October 28th of this year, the 5 story apartment building at # 26 4th Street, between Smith and Hoyt has steadily progressed.
It looks as though it is nearly complete.
I have not yet been able to find any further information on the construction, such as the number of units or if the apartments will be rental or condos.
I am not crazy about the new building, but I suppose it could have been worse. What do you think, dear Reader?

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Good News! Crossing Guard Coming To Busy Intersection Of Smith And 2nd Street

2009-11-17T05:33:00.000-05:00

Ellen Whelan-Wuest, Brooklyn Office Director for State Senator Daniel Squadron, just sent out the email below regarding a crossing guard for the busy intersection of Smith and 2nd Streets.
It seems that many complaints have been called in to the State Senator's office since the closing of the 2nd Place subway station has forced local schoolchildren to cross Smith Street to the subway entrance on 2nd Street.
Ellen informs us that a crossing guard will soon be stationed there.
Read on:

Great news! On behalf of Senator Squadron, I am happy to announce that kids crossing Smith Street at 2nd street will again have a crossing guard!

Since the closing of the 2nd place Carroll Street F train station, all subway riders (including hundreds of schoolchildren) have been forced to enter and exit the station across Smith Street, at the 2nd Street entrance. Our office has received many complaints since the start of the school-year and has been working with the City Department of Transportation and the 76th precinct to implement safety measures at this intersection.

I am happy to inform you that our office has just received word that the 76^th Precinct is in the process of hiring and assigning a crossing guard to the 2^nd Street and Smith Street location. This guard will be on hand during regular crossing guard hours to help safely guide children across the street as they travel to and from PS 58, the Hannah Senesh Day school and the Brooklyn New School every day. Many thanks to Detective Paul Grudzinski, Traffic Officer Hample and the entire 76th precinct for their work on this matter.

Additionally, Senator Squadron is working with the CIty DOT to examine and implement traffic calming measures which will increase the safety of this intersection. I will report to you as soon as we have more details on this front. If you have any questions regarding either of these developments, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Best,

Ellen

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2009-11-17T01:47:00.001-05:00

Love Brooklyn? Proud To Be From Brooklyn? Why Not Show It!

Click Here

Picture Of The Day: For Sale, With Graffiti

2009-11-16T11:53:00.002-05:00

As I passed the For Sale Sign, I had to wonder
if the graffiti was placed there before the sign went up,
or after.
In any case, a bit of paint may be in order.

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More Trouble at Toxic Abadi Site At 455-459 Smith Street

2009-11-16T10:23:00.002-05:00

photo credit: Reader J

This week-end's high winds knocked down a few sections of the construction fence surrounding the Abadi/ Vichar site at 455-459 Smith Street. Instead of being nailed up again, the sections were removed, leaving a huge gap in the fence. As of Friday morning, the extremely toxic site is wide open to the public.

The Abadi property has been declared a brownfield site due to the contaminated soil and coal tar left behind by the old Brooklyn Union Gas Company and various other industries. It is also next to the equally toxic six acre Public Place site, which the city intends to turn into a mixed-use development with over 700 units of low and middle -income housing after remediation.

Leaving the 455-459 Smith Street property wide open is not only a violation, it is also an incredible health hazard.

As though the toxins in the ground aren't dangerous enough, the Bond Street sewer pipe is accessible from the site. It is only covered by a piece of metal. Someone could easily fall in.

At the Abadi Site: Opening to Bond Street Sewer Pipe

photo credit: Reader J.

The New York City Buildings Department just recently lifted a Stop-Work Order on the Abadi/Vichar site. It was rather surprising, since there are still 18 ECB and 7 DOB active violations on record

But on November 14th, the site was hit with a new partial stop-work order for an expired permit.

Newest partial stop-work order served on November 14th

After all the violations, stop-work orders and partial building collapse at the site in August, one has to wonder why the D.O.B. and the Department of Environmental Conservation do not monitor the Abadi/Vichar property more closely.
There simply is no excuse.

Related Reading:

The Very Troubling History Of The Smith Street Abadi Warehouse Demolition

Abadi Warehouse: Carroll Gardeners Finally Clued In On Demo

Carroll Gardeners To Get Answers About Abadi Building At CB6 Meeting Tonight

When 'The East India Chemical Works Company' Made Fertilizers On The Shores Of The Gowanus

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Comment Of The Day: End Game

2009-11-16T06:11:00.000-05:00

Warren has left the following comment on the post "Breaking News! 333 Carroll Street Gets New Stop Work Order":

So let's pretend this gets laughed out of BSA (hopefully) - what happens then? Does the developer get fined until the structure comes down? what is the best result end game for the community?

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Breaking News! 333 Carroll Street Gets New STOP WORK ORDER

2009-11-13T12:02:00.001-05:00

STOP WORK ORDER EXISTS ON THIS PROPERTY

Project Not Vested Under Current Zoning

That did not take long. Just days ago, I wrote about the new building permit, which has been issued for 333-335 Carroll Street, the old manufacturing building with the monstrous steel addition.
The owner, Isaac Fleischman, had given the boot to his condo conversion project's original architect, Robert Scarano, when the NYC Department of Building realized that Scarano had lied on the original application and had exceeded the allowable Floor-Area-Ratio or F.A.R.
Scarano had claiming that the cellar was a basement. Scarano intended to use the "habitable" basement for parking and had transferred the square footage onto the roof.

Fleischman just recently brought in Ken Fischer, the architect behind the 100 Luquer 'Finger'.
Just before the neighborhood's down-zoning went into effect on October 28th, 2009, D.O.B. issued new building permits. Apparently, the original issues were resolved. How exactly Fischer has been able to reconfigure the F.A.R. to get the project re-approved is still unclear.

However, the project still should have been stopped on October 28th by the DOB, when the Carroll Gardens re-zoning passed unanimously by the City Council on October 28th.
When new zoning laws are passed, all projects are served a stop-work-order and must be re-visited by DOB to see if they are vested, or far enough along, to receive an exemption, from the new zoning law.

In the case of 333-335 Carroll Street, DOB must have forgotten to stop the project on October 28th. After it was brought to their attention yesterday, they visited the site, determined that only 15% of the work has been completed under the old zoning laws, and imposed a stop work order yesterday afternoon.

Isaac Fleischman will most probably bring this issue to the Board Of Standards and Appeals, that very contentious agency which brings relief to developers in cases such as this.

Related Reading:

SURPRISE!!!!! New Permit Issued For 333 Carroll Street, The Building With The Growth On Top

Picture Of The Day: Walking Through The Leaves

2009-11-13T11:55:00.000-05:00

Under her feet,
the leaves felt like a magic carpet,
a patchwork of orange, yellow and brown,
as she and her friend walked and talked
and talked and talked
past blocks of brownstones
on their way to Prospect Park.
"Look, we are here already" she said

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A Moment In Time: A Rainy Recess

2009-11-13T11:20:00.000-05:00

Oh, how damp and cold it felt
in the neighborhood
on this November day.
Outside, in the schoolyard,
the children, in their bright raincoats,
lined up quickly
to get back into school.

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