[Photo courtesy of Denton Taylor via Curbed] Silly us. We thought that the activity pictured last week at the Whole Foods site and the construction trailer we noted yesterday indicated that the project had a green light. It doesn’t. There are no demolition permits in place and plans for the building were disapproved by the […]

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There’s an interesting development in the case of the buildings on Duffield Street in Downtown Brooklyn that historic preservationists believe were part of the Underground Railroad network in Brooklyn. As it turns out, the New York State Historic Preservation Office was never contacted to determine whether the buildings are eligible for the National Register of […]

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The focus at Brooklyn eminent domain hearing on Tuesday was the Underground Railroad Houses on Duffield Street, but Brooklyn Daily Eagle reporter Sarah Ryley reports another pending taking of property that would otherwise fly under the radar screen. In this case, the city would like to seize property at 95 Rockwell Place and clear the […]

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For today’s Construction Site du Jour, we turn to 53 Java Street in Greenpoint. It may not be dramatic or overstated, but it’s got everything a Construction Site du Jour should have: a wide-open fence, accessible construction equipment and oodles of fun for children, pets and adule residents with severely impaired judgement. We had an […]

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Brooklinks is a daily roundup of Brooklyn-related information and images. Post-Purge: Beware the Wrath of Marty Markowitz [Gothamist] Marty’s Purge is About Gowanus [Daily Intel] Marty Markowitz is Not Really a Very Nice Man [Gumby Fresh] Brooklyn’s Community Board 6 Gets Punished [No Land Grab] The Purge: Revenge of the Clown [Daily Gotham] Not Purge-Related: […]

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We posted about the movie shoot in Park Slope for Diminished Capacity on Tuesday and several commenters noted that movie shooting season can mean hassles for residents impacted by the film shoot. Signs for the movie shoot are up on Eighth Avenue, Eight Street and Seventh Street. Last night we noticed that they’d spread to […]

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This exemplary specimen stands on N. 4th Street in Williamsburg, a few doors down from Bedford Avenue. To some (for instance, the architect), it is no doubt a palace. Many of you have no doubt noticed it when walking in Williamsburg, as it tends to catch the eye. Us, we scratch our heads and ask, […]

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We certainly love a good piazza, so were were cheered to see the following rendering in all its splendor on Streets Blog. The plan to turn the Pearl Street Triangle in Dumbo into a public plaza comes from the Department of Transportation. The Triangle has a lot of potential to be a pretty and nice […]

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The final death toll of the Community Board 6 Atlantic Yards Massacre is nine, which is a little less than had been predicted, but a stinging blow to an institution that had raised legitimate questions about the big development and its impact. The list of members that were not reappointed was circulated late yesterday. Together […]

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Oh, how we love Williamsburg marketing efforts. This is about a new one for 20 Bayard, which is one of the Karl Fischer Row buildings overlooking McCarren Park. We guess we’ve grown so used to 20 Bayard that we don’t react to it with the same revulsion as some onlookers, who do not like it […]

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We have to say that we’re fascinated by the building at Carroll and Bond Streets that we call The Bunker in honor of its stunning lack of windows. It reminds us of gun emplacements used in Europe during World War II and of the remnants of emplacements near Montauk at the end of Long Island. […]

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On Sunday, as we strolled by East River State Park on Kent Avenue and stared at it for the umpteenth time, we wondered aloud, “When are they going to open?” and explained to a friend that it was supposed to open last year but that it had been delayed. Now, we have….drum roll…the answer: The […]

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Call us weird, but we look for signs of oil in development sites in Williamsburg and train our noses too. Yesterday, someone left a comment about a smell of oil so strong on N. 5th Street near Bedford Avenue this weekend that the Fire Department was called. It’s worth noting, as it’s not the first […]

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What you’re looking at are photos of an old “Electric Car Shop” beneath Atlantic Avenue that was used to repair Long Island Railroad trains. It was photographed by Nate Kensinger and by the flickr photographer who posts as mercurialn. Underneath Atlantic Avenue is an abandoned “Electric Car Shop.” Mr. Kensinger writes of the facility: it […]

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Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related information and images. Even the Prospect Park Planning Mtg is, Somehow, About Parking [Streets Blog] Details on Domino Plant Preservation Progress [WPA] Will Domino be a Sweet Landmark? [Empire Zone] Robert Moses Legacy Discussion Tonight [AYR] Is Mr. Guttman Cutting Corners at 155 Water in Dumbo? [Brownstoner] Brooklyn’s […]

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There’s a planning workshop for the Greenpoint and Williamsburg portion of the Brooklyn Greenway coming up tomorrow night (5/24). It starts at 6PM and will take place at the Brooklyn Brewery at 79 North 11th St. The meeting is described as follows: Join residents and organizations of Greenpoint and Williamsburg to help shape the plan […]

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Meet the Greenpoint Party Sign, a little upside down one-way number that comes with its own party hat. It’s on Quay Street and it comes courtesy of the sharp eye and busy camera of our Greenpoint correspondent, the indefatigable Miss Heather.

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The expected purge of Community Board 6 by Borough President Marty Markowitz has taken place. City Council Members David Yassky and Bill de Blasio also did not reappoint members. The CB6 members have reportedly been purged in retribution for their opposition to the Atlantic Yards development, although other reasons are likely to be offered for […]

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[Photo courtesy of Miss Heather] Greenpoint has a baby billy goat. It’s cute too. We don’t know if the goat lives in Greenpoint or if it was just visiting the neighborhood, but the photo was taken on Manhattan Avenue in front of a building that has some structural integrity issues about which we’ve previously written. […]

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Just a couple of weeks ago, we were having a conversation with someone about the fact that it had been so long since Whole Foods had done anything on its site at Third Street and Third Avenue in Gowanus that it was possible the grocer had abandoned the project. After all, the site has toxic […]

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Last week, we had Baby Mama and Amy Poehler and Tina Fey shooting on Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue. This week, we have Diminished Capacity shooting on Eighth Avenue and Eighth and Seventh Streets. The comedy stars Matthew Broderick, Virginia Madsen, Alan Alda and others. It is described as follows: “A man (Broderick) suffering from […]

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We are simply taking this from an item on Norman Oder’s Atlantic Yards Report. Mr. Oder found this in a Forest City Ratner presentation about Atlantic Yards that was made in Atlanta. The rendering labeled Atlantic Yards is, needless to say, of the World Trade Center site redevelopment. Mr. Oder has fun comparing the two, […]

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With the Domino Refinery in Williamsburg in the process of possibly being designated as a landmark, there will be a “Don’t Demo Domino” concert fundraiser on June 3 from 2PM-8PM in Grand Ferry Park in Williamsburg. The email we got says, in part: Community leaders and local rock bands will gather on the Williamsburg waterfront […]

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There’s good news and bad news about the L Train from the MTA. The good news is that, eventually, there will be more trains and your life will become slightly less unpleasant. The bad news is that there won’t be any relief until 2010. At which point, thousands of additional residents along the L corridor […]

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You remember Urban Green, the development on N. 6th Street that we’ve shown a couple of times because we (perhaps, small-mindedly) feel that it could, under certain circumstances, be a threat to public safety. Well we’ve noticed that they’ve now shoved a board in their fence and secured the gate a bit more tightly, which […]

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