After last last week’s excitement about the selection of the Hudson Companies to develop the toxic Public Place site as Gowanus Green, we swung by to check on the progress of pre-cleanup work there. Concrete is being dug up and removed from the site, leading to neighborhood concerns about what will happen if/when contaminants are […]

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The CORD group in Carroll Gardens brought a letter writing effort in support of a proposed zoning text amendment to redefine narrow “wide” streets as narrow ones to the subway plaza at the Carroll Street Station over the weekend. The letter seemed to be getting a good response from passersby as we looked on. It […]

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Yes, the Carroll Gardens carousel of intrigue is again turning. Last night, we heard from a neighborhood source about a new petition described as “pro-development,” which is circulating in the neighborhood. While we couldn’t confirm the wording or the exact definition of “pro-development” and “pro-building” as the petition was described to us. What is equally […]

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Our friends at Racked have solved a Smith Street retail mystery. A reader wrote to ask what this storefront would be and Racked writes that “Neighborhood sources tell us that it will be a men’s and women’s clothing boutique named Epaulette (or Epellete, the exact name is still unclear) moving into the former Ohio Knitting […]

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Brooklyn’s Indie Market, which has a home at the corner of Smith and Union Streets, is reopening for the season on May 3 from 11AM-7PM with “Brooklyn Indie Fest, A Celebration of Design and Music.” Here’s some info: Opening festivities include unplugged indie musicians, temporary tattoo parlour for kids of all ages, face painting, kiddie […]

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The Hoyt Street Alliance, which led the fight against the controversial oyster bar that Jim Mamary wants to open at 294 Hoyt Street, are circulating a letter about developments and plans after Community Board 6 voted in favor of a liquor license for the establishment last week. They say they will fight the liquor license […]

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A little bit of 340 Court Street, also known as the International Longshoreman’s Association building that once bore union boss Anthony Anastasio’s name, is still showing. Our Carroll Gardens correspondent snapped this photo this afternoon and labeled it “Blue Skies Over 340 Court Street.” Speaking of 340 Court, the Union-Sackett Block Association’s Blog reports on […]

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The city has picked the Hudson Companies development team to build ‘Gowanus Green‘ at Public Place between the Gowanus Canal and Smith Street. Rogers Marvel is the project architect. The development will include 774 apartments, 38,000 square feet of retail and 100,000 square of open space. A big cleanup of the toxic site has to […]

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More Brooklyn hawks! These two–a mother and chick–are residents of Carroll Gardens. While their positions on 360 Smith Street, 340 Court Street, the Oyster Bar on Hoyt Street, Public Place and the Toll Brothers Gowanus development are unknown, we can say with 100 percent certainty that they are pro-pigeon and rodent, at least in the […]

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We’re not certain there is any organized opposition to the zoning text amendment that will redefine a number of narrow Carroll Gardens streets as being, in fact, narrow rather than “wide,” but residents aren’t taking any chances. They’ve started a letter-writing campaign to show their support to Planning Chair Amanda Burden, Brooklyn Planning Director Purnima […]

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Community Board 6, which has taken some heat in the days following the vote to grant a liquor license to that controversial oyster bar on Hoyt Street in Carroll Gardens is hosting two informational meetings “in an effort to better understand the rules and regulations governing restaurants and bars in our district.” The sessions will […]

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As announced on the Oliver House Condos website (which has changed this morning to only include a page saying “Construction status coming soon. Please check back!“), a construction fence went up around the 360 Smith development site yesterday. The fence covered up the neighborhood’s Democracy Wall, which had been used as a kind of community […]

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The formerly backless and topless house at 126 First Place in Carroll Gardens (and adjacent to the site of 360 Smith Street) is growing. It is destined to add several stories on top. The rear view is below.

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The development at 360 Smith Street has gotten a website, but not to sell condos. It’s intended to keep people informed about what’s going on with the project. As such, it may be a watershed event in the use of the internet by developers to communicate with a neighborhood about their project. The 360 Smith […]

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The fight about the Jim Mamary Oyster Bar on Hoyt Street has engendered strong opinions along the way, some of which have played out in the form of vigorous back-and-forth between supporters and opponents in our own comments. Last week’s approval of a liquor license for the establishment led to a loud reaction from neighborhood […]

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The South Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance–whose formation we noted in an exclusive report here on March 5 and whose name and status we updated last Thursday–has officially announced itself. It involves groups from Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill and Red Hook’s Columbia Waterfront District. A press release from SoBNA went out last night and it […]

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The former Anthony Anastasio International Longshoreman’s Association building at 340 Court Street is quickly disappearing. It has quickly overcome its Sarajevo Phase and is about to enter its Non-Existence Period. We would think it will no longer be visible by the end of this week. The Clarett Group, anticipates starting to dig a foundation for […]

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The monthly meeting of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association takes place tonight (4/14) at the St. Mary Star of the Sea Residence, which is located at 41 First Street, between Hoyt and Bond, in Carroll Gardens. It starts at 7:30 PM. The agenda includes updates on landmarks, zoning and transportation issues. John Heyer, a Special […]

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Shakespeare’s Sister, the ecclectic shop at 270 Court Street is closing. (Its the shop with paintings of Gowanus by Regina Perlin.) Here’s the email with the news: After almost 15 years on Court Street, Shakespeare’s Sister will be closing. We are sad to leave, especially when it means saying goodbye to so many loyal Brooklynites […]

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Many things float around in the hyper-active Carroll Gardens rumor mill. We take most of them with a very large grain of salt, yet one of the most interesting rumors (repeat: this is only a rumor) that we’ve come across recently is that some residents are considering filing a lawsuit over the contentious issue of […]

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On can remember when people welcomed Fujiya, the Court Street sushi spot near Third Place. Now it’s served its last California Roll and is being replaced by a gourmet grocery. “Anybody on the south side of Carroll Gardens has certainly noticed the sushi restaurant space formerly known as Fujiya is undergoing some major renovations. According […]

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The issue of turning the “wide streets” of Carroll Gardens back into narrow ones for zoning purposes will come before the Land Use and Landmarks Committee of Community Board 6 on Thursday, April 24. The meeting will take place at 6PM. Here a bit from CB6 about it: Presentation and review of proposed Zoning Resolution […]

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We saw fliers for this a couple of weeks ago and didn’t get a photo. Here’s an email that’s gone out about the fence painting at Carroll Park in Carroll Gardens this weekend: Tom Sawyer Fence Painting Day At Carroll Park: This Saturday, April 12th, come out to show one of Brooklyn’s oldest parks some […]

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Several weeks ago, we carried the exclusive news that a new coalition of South Brooklyn neighborhood groups (particularly ones concentrated in the Carroll Gardens and Gowanus area) was forming to try to increase their clout on controversial community issues and to try to organize politically for the 2009 local elections. The neighborhoods are facing a […]

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With ongoing demolition and construction at the controversial 340 Court Street building site, the Union-Sackett Block Association is having its regular monthly meeting on Saturday (4/12) at 11:30 AM at the Carroll Gardens Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, which is at the corner of Clinton and Union Streets. Topics include further discussion of the […]

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