More Heavy Metal Backlash in Carroll Gardens

That sound you hear at the on Smith Street near the Carroll Street subway stop? It’s the noise of the community organizing to try to seriously change a building planned for Smith Street and Second Place. The image above is a rendering someone in the neighborhood created and put on a flyer showing how what we’ve called the Heavy Metal Building might look. A resident also emailed us to say:

Word on the street here is this largely Italian-American and professional/Wall Street Community wants to take a postion that “yes, we know development is going to happen, but let’s aim for sane/sound architecture based on sane/sound architectural and city planning principles not just put up a big ole metal box that makes some greedy developer with no conscience or sense of style the quickest buck possible before he hightails it out of here on his way to ruin some other innocent Brooklyn block. Sure to be at issue are the height of the building as well as the beloved PLAZA in front of the train where in fact many people love to hang out while they wait for the train upstairs in the air and sunlight!

The photo below is the mural that appears to have gone up on a wall in the little plaza at the entrance to the subway station. It was sent to us by a reader late last night, and could be Brooklyn’s first Robert Scarano-related mural. (Mr. Scarano’s firm has designed the proposed building.)

Still developing.

Related Posts:
Smith Street Revolt Brewing Over Shiny New Building?
Smith Street Could Get Very, Very Shiny

New Gowanus Signage: Toll Ahead

No, not the bridge & tunnel kind of toll. This kind of Toll. A Gowanus resident sent along this photo of signage that has appeared on Bond Street and First Street, which would be close to the epicenter of the roughly 400-unit luxe development the Toll Brothers would like to build on the shores of our favorite South Brooklyn waterway. The structure on property you see in the distance on the right was demolished over the winter. There is some interest in landmarking the property on the far left, which also fall in the Toll Zone. The battle discussion continues this evening with another public session involving Community Board 6, the City Planning Department and local residents. Any irony in the above photo with “Toll” and “Dead End” in the same frame is entirely accidental.

Related Post:
Bond Street Residents Unhappy About Toll Brothers Project
Gowanus Groundwork Laid for Toll Brothers in “Subarea B”?

The Smell of Coney Island: ‘Tangy and Citrusy’

This is just too good to pass up, particularly since the official launch of Bond No. 9’s Coney Island fragrance is Friday. To us, Coney Island on a hot summer day is one part ocean, one part fried food, one part assorted suncreens and tanning products and one part trash marinating in the sun. Bond No. 9’s take, on the other hand, is ‘tangy and citrusy,” which is kind of funny, because the only citrus in sight at Coney Island is what some of the vendors use to make fruit drinks. In any case, clearly we spend a lot more time writing about Brooklyn than about scents, because we’re not sure we’d make a good fragrance reviewer. Here’s one review of Coney Island from the Perfume Smellin’ Things Blog:

The start of the scent is a tangy citrusy blend. I smell lemons, limes and even oranges. They smell a little candied, but not overwhelmingly sweet at all, bringing to mind a refreshing, only slighly boozy drink served in a glass with sugared rim. For a while there, I smell a slight melon note, but just when I start to think that scent might go a fruity route, it changes the direction drastically. It grows warmer, “thicker”, more “solid” in feel, the vanilla becomes very apparent as does the cinnamon note. At this point, I like the Coney Island quite a lot. It has the kind of soft, not too obvious gourmandness that I always appreciate. I don’t smell chocolate or caramel, the middle stage is all about sweetly piquant cinnamon and fluffy vanilla on me. If the scent stayed that way, it might have even ended up on my wish list for summer…The drydown, however, was disappointing for me. After the joyful, colorful robustness of the top and heart notes, the composition suddenly looses all its oomph and becomes rather pale and unexciting. The base has an aquatic note that bothers me and an overall understated, neutral feel of a typically fresh unisex scent. I very much wish that the bright, happily inebriated, indeed carnival-like feel of the first two thirds of the scent stayed till the end.

Oh, God, say it ain’t so. We think that means the blogger doesn’t like Coney Island once you’ve been wearing it for a bit. Noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Related Post:
Get Your Coney Island Fragrance from Bond No. 9

Manhattan Chocolate Building Getting Ready to Go Bye Bye

Back in March we posted about major changes coming to Union Avenue between Havemeyer Street and Richardson Streets around N. 9th and N. 10th Streets. Change is definitely in the air, as can be seen in the photo taken by our favorite Brooklyn advice blogger dabbing in real estate development news, Bad Advice. She writes:

Maybe they’re just fixing the roof. Could be they’re just refurbishing an old building and making it into something useful, like a methadone clinic or halfway house for the tragically hip. But this morning as I left my house, I saw these guys on the roof of the chocolate factory (much sweeter smelling than the cabbage factory, FYI) and got the distinct feeling that I was staring at some demolition in preparation for some new construction. Can’t wait. What Williamsburg definitely needs is more luxury housing.

We’ve added the rendering of what is to come at the location of the old Manhattan Chocolate factory, which is at 580 Union Avenue, to the her photo of the workers. Permits are in process, so whatever the nice gentlemen in the work gear were checking out on the roof, it was clearly in anticipation of getting the Green Light for demolition. If you’re into wall murals, of which the building has a whole bunch, get out there while you can.

Related Post:
Union Avenue About to Change Big Time

Bay Ridge Blogger Doesn’t Dig Brooklyn Museum Feminist Art

This post over at the Bay Ridge Blog jumped out at us because it raises the always-provacative issue of museums and the art they display. The museum in question is the Brooklyn Museum and the blogger takes issues with the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. There is background here. The blogger had almost joined the museum in 1999, but opted not to after the Virgin Mary art issue in the Sensation exhibition. So, when he went back to join up recently he found the Sackler Center and opted not to join again. He writes:

What the hell is “feminist art”? It sounds like something joyless, thin-lipped, and political. Wiki describes it this art movement as referring to “the efforts and accomplishments of feminists internationally to bring more visibility to women within art history and art practice. Corresponding with general developments within feminism, the movement began in the 1960s, flourished throughout the 1970s, and the effects of it continue to the present. ” That’s the positive spin. But this is a separatist and exclusionary strand in the artistic universe. I don’t think its particularly interesting to men –or women. And this is to be a permanent collection, sharing the museum with the art of ancient Egypt?

Sorry, I won’t support this.

The museum’s a fine space, despite the amateurish turns they’ve taken over the past decade. I do want to visit soon. Target Stores hosts a free “First Saturdays” program once a month. I may visit next weekend. If they ask me for a contribution, I’ll say “no”. Go ask Elizabeth Sackler!

Our own issue with the museum is that its collection tends to be too eclectic to cohere and that it tries to show to much in too little space, drawing attention away from some genuinely important work in its collection. We rather like the Sackler Collection ourselves and we love Judy Chicago’s “The Dinner Party.”

Quadriad: From Williamsburg to a Neighborhood Near You

Quadriad Development, which is building on the block bounded by Bedford Avenue, Berry, N. 3rd and N. 4th Streets in Williamsburg, made a presentation to Community Board 1 this week and fleshed out a bit of its vision for the parcel. It confirmed that it wants to build a 24-story tower at the corner of N. 3rd and Berry in addition to a five-story building with 75 units of housing that have already been announced. Interestingly, Quadriad intends to make the Williamsburg development–which uses affordable housing and other amenities as the carrot to entice zoning concessions for buildings far beyond what existing zoning allows–a model for its projects citywide. It is called “Community Incentive Zoning.” The Williamsbug block on which Quadriad wishes to build was downzoned as part of the overall Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezoning. The developers have targeted a large number of other Williamsburg projects for highrise/lowrise housing and commercial developments.

“Coming soon to a neighborhood near you,” remarked Williamsburg activist Phil DePaolo.

Related Post:
Paperwork is in on the Bedford Avenue Quadriad Site
Double Speak of the Week: Community Incentive Zoning

Brooklinks: Thursday Garden Variety Edition

Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related information and images:

• Judge Fines Ratner Contractor for Unsafe Demolition [AYR]
• Housing Authority Land Sale Will Test East New York Development Popularity [NYT]
• Petition Drive for a Prospect Park Pool [Metro]
• Coney Island History Project Center Opens Today [Kinetic Carnival]
• Former Coney Island Hospital Exec Fined for Triple-Dipping [NYP]
• Brooklyn Landmark at 16 Court Street is Up for Sale [Brooklyn Daily Eagle]
• Don’t Demo Domino Concert Coming Up in Williamsburg on Sunday, June 3 [WPA]
• BAM Rose Cinema Hikes Prices to $11 [Set Speed]
• Another Bodega is Born [Bed-Stuy Blog]
• Traffic and Late Night Food in Greenpoint [Brooklyn 11222]
• On Free Delivery and Trying to Eat After 9PM in Greenpoint [newyorkshitty]
• David Yassky Supports Congestion Pricing [Streets Blog]
• Tips for Doing Up Stoopendous on June 23 [OTBKB]
• The Seventh Avenue Park Slope Accordian Guy [Velvet Sea]
• Take a Slice of Life Tour and Find the Best Brooklyn Pizza [About New York]

Another Important Gowanus Planning Meeting Tonight

The next meeting in the series of community sessions leading up to rezoning proposals for Gowanus takes place tonight against the background of a purge of nine CB6 members that is believed to have been, in part, motivated by a desire to diminish opposition to allowing taller, bigger buildings in the neighborhood. The Community Board 6 Land Use Committee meeting will be held at 6:00PM at P.S. 32, which is located at 317 Hoyt Street between Union and President Streets. Representatives of the Department of City Planning will be on hand.

In the meantime, Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus (FROGG) sent along some observations from a previous Gowanus planning meeting, at which a list of goals “to be used as a framework for discussions about the future of the Gowanus Canal corridor” was presented. FROGG writes that “These goals were arrived at in previous meetings the agency had with Community Board 6. They were presented in a circular diagram assigning no specific order or priority and the agency seeks to strike a balance among them. They are to be the jumping off point for the next phase of the neighborhood outreach meetings.”

FROGG ordered the list of goals in terms of “priorities that FROGG would like to suggest addresses the community’s concerns.” Here they are:

1) Support environmental cleanup

a) Brownfield land cleanup and remediation
b) Aquatic brownfield cleanup: with attention to storm water management and CSO events

2) Maintain continued industrial and commercial activities

a) Recognition that industrial and commercial activities are distinct from each other and have different needs
b) Provide a supportive environment for the existing jobs, and encourage the use of union labor in any new construction
c) Encourage opportunities for creative and new technology work places

3) Address neighborhood context and character

a) Limit height and density conditions to preserve the unique quality of the corridor, especially its open space and sky views
b) Maintain the height and density restrictions that apply to adjoining neighborhoods
c) Open green space

4) Encourage mix of uses where appropriate and possible

a) Allow and encourage creative reuse of existing structures

5) Achieve waterfront public access at Canal’s edge

a) Recreational open spaces adjacent to the Canal could provide a pleasant green conduit through the area: South Brooklyn has playgrounds and ball fields but lacks open green spaces

6) Promote affordable housing opportunities

a) Both land and aquatic brownfield cleanups to enable this possibility

Related Post:
Burden Calls Gowanus “Great, Unique Opportunity” at Polite Gowanus Rezoning Meeting

GL Analysis: Will the City’s Huge Building Scandal be Addressed?

We won’t for a minute claim that the problems with the building and development industry and the violence it inflicts on the quality of life of Brooklyn residents from Sheepshead Bay and the South Slope to Williamsburg and Greenpoint are anything new. Corruption, malfeasance, the development industry and city government have all fit together like hand and glove for generations. Yet, there is something about the excesses of the current building boom and the lack of municipal oversight that have taken problems to new levels. This week, the Daily News ran the kind of series that draws attention to the kind of scandalous nonperformance of city government that imperils quality of life. The series covered outrages in the South Slope, abuse of immigrant workers, the disgusting big picture and more.

None of this comes as news to anyone that lives in neighborhood where buildings are going up on every block or who’s spent more than five minutes walking around any number of Brooklyn neighborhoods. For a sense of the scope of the problem, consider that the Buildings Department was called on to conduct 413,844 inspections last year with a 350-member inspection force, which works out to 1,182 inspections per person. No wonder builders and developers can get away with everything from undermining neighboring buildings to working illegal hours and doing dangerous work and ignoring Stop Work Orders. The conduct of the Bloomberg Administration on this front–and before it, the Guiliani Administration–has been grossly negligent.

They even seem to vaguely realize it now that they’ve been publicly shamed. Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff told the news that Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster had met with the mayor about improving standards and enforcement. He admitted that the Department might be “more reactive than it should be” and said, “We are running to catch up in the face of a spectacular building boom.” The News reported:

Doctoroff said Bloomberg inherited an understaffed and inefficient Buildings Department rife with corruption. “We have made substantial progress,” he insisted.

He said a new city construction code, expected to be implemented by year’s end, will increase penalties for violations and reform aspects of the much-abused honor system that allows architects to certify plans without verification.

In neighborhoods like the South Slope where resident pressure and blog coverage has embarrased the Buildings Department, residents say there have been improvements. In other neighborhoods, problems like slow response and inaction persist. Of course, right now, we are only talking about construction-related problem, not the environmental horrors all over North and South Brooklyn to which both the state and the city are turning a blind eye as toxic sites are developed for housing with virtually no proactive public oversight, no information that buyers can access easily and with a kind of environmental clean-up honor system for developers.

More oversight is needed on all fronts. And it needs to be put in place quickly.

Looking Around Red Hook

Historian and tour guide Francis Morrone offers some tips for those unfamiliar with Red Hook in today’s Sun. Here’s a sample:

For the curious, here’s what I suggest. Begin at Carroll and Van Brunt streets. It’s a few blocks from the Carroll Street station of the F and G trains. You can also get there via the B63 bus from Brooklyn’s Borough Hall. You’re near the southern end of the Red Hook Containerport, one of only two such facilities in the city. Containerization, with its bigger ships and need for vast open lots, spelled the end of Manhattan’s and Brooklyn’s freight shipping industries after World War II. Since freight shipping was what Red Hook was all about, the area declined. Then the city announced it was going to condemn a great deal of land to build a big container port in Red Hook. This ramped up the exodus. When the city scaled back its plans, much of Red Hook was like a ghost town.

It’s a fun thumbnail to the neighborhood, if you’re not familiar with it and worth a read.