From the email flow of the BoCoCa Parents Group comes word that an awful lot of cars on Pacific Street were either broken into or vandalized on Wednesday night. Here the short, to the point email: walking on pacific street between court and boerum place this morning we noticed there was broken window glass by […]

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Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related information and images: Borough Hall Admits to Massive Rat Problem [NYDN] Firefighter Killed in Brooklyn Blaze [NYT] Long Island College Hospital Enabling Brooklyn’s Desecration [Lost City] No Action Necessary Upon Physical Inspection [PMFA] Baby on Ocean Parkway Killed by Family Dog [Sun] Great News: Plans to Build Offshore […]

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There’s going to be a Transportation Forum at the Grand Prospect Hall on Prospect Avenue next week that will cover transportation and traffic issues including the effect of congestion pricing on Windsor Terrace. The meeting will take place on January 10 from 6:30PM-8:30PM. Here’s the email we got about it: Community Board #7 and the […]

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The British are coming. The Chip Shop, of Park Slope and (more recently) Atlantic Avenue fame, is opening up a Bay Ridge branch on Third Avenue. “But will the chips hit the fan for this expanding English eatery empire as it opens its doors in traditionally Irish Bay Ridge?”–Right in Bay Ridge

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[Photo via The Great Fredini/Coney Island Message Board] No, we don’t note every appearance of Monk Parrots in a new spot in Brooklyn. But, when someone posts pics of the birds in Coney Island, we think it’s post-worthy. This picture was posted by The Great Fredini on the Coney Island Message Board. He wrote: “We […]

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We posted about this before the holidays, but now that the clothing recycling program at Grand Army Plaza is starting, we figured that a reminder couldn’t hurt. Important points from the organizers: This pilot builds on the already successful project at the Union Square Greenmarket, where over 27,000 pounds of clothing were collected-diverting them from […]

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There’s good news (of a sort) and bad news about No. 1 Laundry on Smith Street, the impending closure of which we posted about yesterday. First, the good news: The owner still has another shop on Smith Street. Now, the bad news: The laundry is closing because its owner is getting taken to the cleaners […]

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[All photos courtesy of a special GL Correspondent] Yesterday morning, an email went out with a number of renderings of the building proposed for 110 Amity Street (Amity and Henry) in Cobble Hill. The email said, in part: The local community is vehemently opposed to this development that changes the block structure around to create […]

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There is evidence of rats at Borough Hall. A lot of evidence of many of them. Rat holes. Rat traps. Etc. “Everywhere I looked, I saw big rat burrows in the planting areas surrounding Borough Hall, including the garden along the Court Street side of the building.”–Pardon Me For Asking

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Rarely have we seen a building that made such a swift impression as 262 Pacific Street, which we’ll be calling The Nightmare on Pacific Street (Nightmare on Pacific, for short, or Pacific Street Nightmare) or, possibly, the Pacific Penitentiary. Brownstoner started off the New Year with a bang (and possibly signified that Boerum Hill, Cobble […]

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A new book, Brooklyn Was Mine, an anthology of the work of 20 writers including Jonathan Lethem and Phillip Lopate, was officially published yesterday. In addition to the writers included in the book, it’s notable because proceeds from the sale will be used to support Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn. A release says: The twenty novelists, […]

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The former landmark Lundy’s Restaurant in Sheepshead Bay is being gutted for conversion into a high-end food market. Check out the pics of a space that is impressive, even in a diminished statew.–GerritsenBeach.Net

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The space in Carroll Gardens we named The Democracy Wall was the subject of a News 12 report before the New Year. (We named it after the Democracy Wall in China where the government briefly encouraged people to put up posters and political statements in 1978 and 1979.) It’s been posted to the YouTube.

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Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related information and images: Carlton Avenue Bridge Closing January 16 [AYR] Albee (Garage) Totally Gone [Brownstoner] Babies in Midwood Left Alone Rescued from Fire [NYP] East New York Police Shooting Victim Was on Wanted List [Sun] Bay Ridge Condos Rebranded as Pier Pointe [Bay Ridge Rover] Dog & Cat […]

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We return to the formerly nasty demolition site at 568 Union Avenue, which was the Manhattan Chocolate Factory, due to the fact that its construction fence seems to be demolishing itself. The site–which still has dumpsters full of debris–is open to the public and the fallen fence itself offers up rusty nails. The Department of […]

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For those who think the proposal to create a park at the Bushwick Inlet in Williamsburg and Greenpoint is a new idea, think again. The idea was first floated by a Member of Congress. In 1896. Also, check out the cool pics of the inlet at night.–INSIJS

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There is something infectious about Amos Wengler’s unofficial Coney anthem, Save Coney Island. The video is freshly posted on YouTube and we think it’s a lot of fun. Have a look below.

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We don’t know why there are so many street couches out and about right now, but assume the sudden increase in their numbers has something to do with the holidays and new purchases. In any case, this photo of what we believe to have formerly been a sofa bed comes from our Greenpoint Correspondent, who […]

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Looks like it’s time to say bye bye to another dry cleaner on Smith Street as of January 19, per the photos of the No. 1 Dry Cleaner at Smith and Sackett sent to us by a special correspondent. Our correspondent writes: It seems that people who live in the vicinity of Sackett and Smith […]

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The news that City Council Member Bill de Blasio is in Iowa stumping for Sen. Hillary Clinton appears to be leaving a sour taste in the mouths of some Carroll Gardens residents. We got one email from a neighborhood resident on New Year’s Eve with the subject line: “Carroll Gardens Going to the Dogs?” that […]

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The hideous chartreuse paint job at the Western Union on Court Street appears to have been short lived. The store front is now a less nausea inducing grayish blue. Now that that’s taken care of, when is the owner going to paint the rest of this peeling, ratty building?–Pardon Me for Asking

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We took note of Parkside Auto Repair on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Third Street when it went on the market for an asking price of $3.75 million and again when it sold in August. Ever since, we’ve been wondering what would be going into this space in front of a Staples and within […]

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Wonder what’s up with those Atlantic Yards lawsuits or, simply, wonder what they are? Then, read this handy guide to the suits and to what might or not be happening soon to determine the future of the proposed mega-development.–Atlantic Yards Report

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[Photo courtesy of Andrew Goldsmith/flickr] [Photo courtesy of lornagrl/flickr] [Photo courtesy of ekavet/flickr] [Photo courtesy ConeyHOP/flickr & Kinetic Carnival] While the members of the Coney Island Polar Bears Club take dips in the water at Coney Island all winter long, the annual New Year’s Day swim is the one that attracts swarms of coverage and […]

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2008 Polar Bear Swim [YouTube]

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