Gowanus Lounge: Serving Brooklyn

Entries from July 2008

Upcoming: Astroland Archives Exhibition

July 29th, 2008 · 1 Comment

If you’re in Coney Island you’ve got to stop by the Coney Island History Project (well, it’s a cool place to stop in any case) and see the exhibition that starts on August 2. It’s called “THE ASTROLAND ARCHIVES PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT: Back to the Future. It opens on Saturday (8/2) and runs through September 1. […]

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Tags: coney island

Public Place Asbestos Removal Spurs Concern, Anger

July 29th, 2008 · 4 Comments

The Public Place project has led to new concerns in Carroll Gardens. Yesterday, we got a flurry of emails from several people about asbestos removal work that’s been going on a 455 Smith Street, which is a huge warehouse that was quietly added to the Public Place project after a development team to build Gowanus […]

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Tags: Carroll Gardens · Public Place · Uncategorized

Bklink: Really Wants Bucks in Bay Ridge

July 29th, 2008 · 1 Comment

“A caffeine-driven Bay Ridge man has lost his grass-roots battle to keep his local Starbucks from shutting down. But latte-loving Andrew El-Khadi said he will keep fighting, despite the chain’s announcement that its Third Ave. outlet will soon be closing. Saving the cafe has become a passion for El-Khadi, who’s been passing out flyers and […]

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Tags: Bay Ridge · Shortlink

Five Carroll Gardens Developments Slammed by Narrow Streets

July 29th, 2008 · 5 Comments

Five of nine developments in Carroll Gardens questioned by the community after the “narrow streets” zoning change was enacted last week have been hit with Stop Work Orders by the Department of Buildings. (The photo above is of 360 Smith Street before work was halted.) This is because they are not complete enough to be […]

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Tags: Carroll Gardens · Rezoning

Brooklinks: Tuesday Parked Bike Edition

July 29th, 2008 · Comments Off on Brooklinks: Tuesday Parked Bike Edition

Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related information and images: · Oops: Atlantic Yards EIS Ignored Noise, Disruptions Faced by Residents [AYR] · Brooklyn Paper Says It Didn’t Ignore Busy Chef Scandal [Gothamist] · More Marriages at the Happy Brooklyn City Clerk’s Office [NYDN] · Be@Schermerhorn Website Fleshed Out [Brownstoner] · Williamsburg Ist Gut. Ja. […]

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Tags: Brooklinks

Will Burg Finally Get the Finger?

July 29th, 2008 · Comments Off on Will Burg Finally Get the Finger?

Today is the day that the obscure, yet very powerful, Board of Standards and Appeals hears the appeal of its decision late last year okaying the Finger Building pending the outcome of legal cases. The building at 144 North 8th Street has been stuck at 10 stories for more than a year as the legal […]

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Tags: Williamsburg

In the Pool: the New View

July 29th, 2008 · Comments Off on In the Pool: the New View

[Photo courtesy of Sail Brooklyn/GL Flickr Pool] This view of Downtown as it appears now that many of the warehouses on the Brooklyn Heights waterfront are gone, comes courtesy of Sail Brooklyn in our GL Flickr Pool. Looks a lot different than it used to, yes?

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Tags: Brooklyn Heights · In the Pool

On the Sofa, Daily Edition

July 29th, 2008 · 1 Comment

“Parking in the bike lane should definitely be ticketed, but cops aren’t going to do it. I have called 311 but I’m really not sure how effective of a process this is. If you report someone who is not respecting bicyclists on the road, can that pass for a someone driving recklessly? What happens if […]

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Tags: On the Sofa

In the Pool: The Spin

July 29th, 2008 · Comments Off on In the Pool: The Spin

[Photo courtesy of Ruby’s Host/GL Flickr Pool] This night shot of Coney Island come from Rubys Host via our GL Flickr Pool. The ride is one of those on property belonging to developer Joe Sitt.

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Tags: coney island

Bklink: Sunny and Hot

July 29th, 2008 · Comments Off on Bklink: Sunny and Hot

Outside the Brooklyn Weather Observatory, we’ve got blue skies and sun this morning. Today’s forecast calls for it to be mostly sunny and hot with a high of 90. Tonight will be clear with a low of 74.–Accuweather

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Tags: Shortlink · Weather

Eye on the Street: Judith Supine

July 28th, 2008 · Comments Off on Eye on the Street: Judith Supine

This work from Judith Supine is up on a building on N. 7 Street that had been a magnet for street art (and graffiti) until it was cleaned a couple of months ago. This is the first work to reappear there.

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Tags: Eye on the Street · Street Art · Williamsburg

Confirmed: Park Slope’s Seventh Avenue Getting a KidsRx

July 28th, 2008 · 2 Comments

Earlier we related that a sign of some sort had been spotted in the window of the vacant Second St. Cafe on Park Slope’s Seventh Avenue. GL contacted KidsRx, which has a store on Hudson Street in the West Village, and can exclusively confirm that the retailer is, indeed, opening at Seventh Ave. and Second […]

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Tags: Park Slope · Retail

Development Notebook: Another One on Keap Street

July 28th, 2008 · Comments Off on Development Notebook: Another One on Keap Street

This is 462 Keap Street which is rising next to a huge Karl Fischer going up on Union Avenue in Williamsburg. It comes from Thomas Gilman, who has gotten some attention recently for the glass tower he has designed that will rise near Prospect Park. The new Gilman will be a six-story building with 29 […]

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Tags: Williamsburg

Upcoming: GL Concert Calendar

July 28th, 2008 · Comments Off on Upcoming: GL Concert Calendar

And now, a selection of Brooklyn musical happenings from today through Wednesday: Monday 7/28/08 Jalopy: Country Blues Jam–Bring yoru fiddle, accordion, banjo, washtub, mandolin, guitar, or maybe even spoons and participate in an open jam session. Free!! 9:30pm Tuesday 7/29/08 Barbes: Slavic Soul Party (Balkan/Gypsy/Funk) $10, 9:00pm Wednesday 7/30/08 Music at The Bridge, Tobacco Warehouse […]

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Tags: GL Concert Calendar

Bklink: Kensington Car Vandalism Rampage

July 28th, 2008 · Comments Off on Bklink: Kensington Car Vandalism Rampage

“On Sunday morning, July 27, 2008 between 6:30 – 6:50 am, atleast 12 automobiles had their tires slashed. Location: Cortelyou Road, between Ocean Parkway and East 7th Street and East 7th Street between Cortelyou Road and Avenue C. The Kensington Action Force is appealing to anyone who observed a group of 3 to 4 individuals, […]

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Tags: Kensington · Shortlink

New Coney Group Formed: Coney Island United

July 28th, 2008 · 1 Comment

If it were in Britain, Coney Island United could be the name of a soccer team. But Coney Island United is in Brooklyn and it’s a new Coney group that’s been set up to push a Coney agenda. Here is the group’s mission statement: The purpose of Coney Island United is to create and move […]

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Tags: coney island

Brooklyn Nibbles: Williamsburger Now “Beefing Up Hipsters”

July 28th, 2008 · Comments Off on Brooklyn Nibbles: Williamsburger Now “Beefing Up Hipsters”

The new Williamsburger on Wythe Avenue in the Burg opened on Friday night and its menu says it’s “Beefing Up Hipsters.” There’s a straightforward burger menu with cheese choices including white cheddar, Maytag blue, gruyere Swiss and “government.” There was also a Yellow Fin Tuna special on the menu we saw. Some hot dogs and […]

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Tags: Brooklyn Nibbles · Williamsburg

Brooklyn Nibbles: Park Slope 2nd Street Cafe Rumor

July 28th, 2008 · 2 Comments

The last time we checked the site of Park Slope’s defunct Second Street Cafe (on Saturday) there was a big “for rent” sign in the window. But there’s a report today on Brooklynian that “a new sign in the window of 2nd St Cafe says ‘Children’s Rx’ or maybe it was ‘Kid’s Rx’ is coming. […]

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Tags: Brooklyn Nibbles · Park Slope · Uncategorized

Fun Vid: Sunday’s Storm Clouds from Bay Ridge

July 28th, 2008 · Comments Off on Fun Vid: Sunday’s Storm Clouds from Bay Ridge

Check out yesterday’s storm from the dramatic viewpoint of Shore Road in Bay Ridge.

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Tags: Bay Ridge · Weather

The Ikea Effect: B61 Drivers Taping Schedules to the Wheel?

July 28th, 2008 · 4 Comments

We came across this tidbit about how the MTA is now taking B61 service issues more seriously because of Ikea in the course of an entirely different email discussion on the Brooklyn Baby Hui (Williamsburg parent) group about petitioning the MTA to make buses more stroller friendly. Here’s the bit about the reviled B61 we […]

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Tags: Transportation · Williamsburg

New Greenpoint Bike Lanes Make Excellent Parking Spots

July 28th, 2008 · 25 Comments

Those new bike lanes on Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint are proving popular for many purposes and uses, including–you guessed it–parking. A GL reader who was using the bike lanes for bicycling, sent us a big series of photos featuring people who are using the bike lane for parking. He writes: “All of these pics were […]

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Tags: Greenpoint · Transportation

Brooklinks: Monday New Week Edition

July 28th, 2008 · Comments Off on Brooklinks: Monday New Week Edition

Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related information and images: · A Deadly Weekend in Brooklyn & Other Waters [NYT] · Convert Empty Spaces at Williamsburg House’s to Apartments? [NYDN] · Where Mobil Station Stood, Now an Empty Lot [AYR] · Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket Goodness [A Year in the Park] · Car Culture III […]

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Tags: Brooklinks

Bklink: Trouble at Maimonides

July 28th, 2008 · Comments Off on Bklink: Trouble at Maimonides

“Brooklyn’s Maimonides Medical Center regularly flaunts fire-safety regulations and permits revolting accumulations of sewage and mold, according to a lawsuit filed by a former executive. Patricia Abrams, the one-time assistant vice president for human resources at Maimonides, says she was fired after she blew the whistle on illegal, dangerous and nauseating conditions at the hospital, […]

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Tags: Shortlink

Check Out “The Irresistible Lure of Canarsie”

July 28th, 2008 · Comments Off on Check Out “The Irresistible Lure of Canarsie”

[Photo courtesy of Forgotten NY] For anything and everything that there is to know about Canarsie, go to the latest installment of Forgotten New York, where Kevin Walsh has outdone himself with two pages of words and photos about the Southern Brooklyn community. Here’s some history: Canarsie, which is located between Paerdegat Basin on the […]

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Tags: Canarsie

Bklink: Search Ends for Little Girl Drowned at Coney

July 28th, 2008 · Comments Off on Bklink: Search Ends for Little Girl Drowned at Coney

The search was called off for a little girl presumed drown in Coney Island on Saturday evening. Ten-year-old Akira Johnson vanished around 5:30PM on Saturday while swimming near W. 23rd Street. She “was one of seven presumed drowning victims during a weekend of mayhem at city and Long Island beaches. The drownings appear to be […]

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Tags: coney island · Shortlink