Stefany Anne Golberg: Anytime, Now. Somewhere, Here
On view: October 3 – November 16, 2007
Location: The Peninsula, closest to the Vanderbilt Street and Prospect Park Southwest entrance to the Park.

Anytime, Now. Somewhere, Here is a multimedia, site-specific work based on the diary of a New York immigrant named Henry. It consists of a walk-in “observation cabinet” on the peninsula in Prospect Park, with copies of excerpts from Henry’s diary that are distributed to viewers for free (The cabinet is open Sundays, 12 – 4 p.m.). Henry’s diary tells the story of a man obsessed with the relationship between wonder and memory. The entries include descriptions of walks he took through the park, with references to Frederic Law Olmsted and his ideas about natural space in cities. In the cabinet is a song, written by the artist and based on diary entries.

Arthur Simms: Real Estate for Birds?
On view: October 6, 2007 – March 15, 2008
Location: Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park

Arthur Simms takes mundane artifacts of daily life and industrial waste and turns them into creative objects loaded with cultural memories and spiritual references. Like many of his works, Real Estate for Birds? is made from found materials: a telephone pole, rope, wood, wire, bird houses, glue, skateboards, bamboo, screws, nails, and bottle caps. Simms’s work frequently examines the cross-cultural dialogue between his native Jamaica and the United States. He lives and works in Queens, where he collects the various cast-off objects—bottles, rocks, wire, and scrap metal—that he incorporates into his work.

The other work on display is Steve Tobin’s Steel Roots. It is located in front of the Litchfield Villa.

Sure, it’s fall, but a gardening expert checked out Red Hook’s three garden centers and did a compare and contrast. Gowanus Nursery and Chelsea Garden Center outscore the Liberty Sunset Garden Center, but the later does well on character and view.–New York City Garden

The Coney Island USA Art Auction is taking place tonight at Max Fish, which is located at 178 Ludlow St. It runs from 6-9pm, with bidding closing at 8:30. Bidding tickets are $20 or free to participating artists and Coney Island USA “Big Spender” members. Proceed will go toward the Coney Island USA phase 1 building renovation. More info on the auction and a slideshow of some of the art is at the Coney Island USA website.

Not Halloween:

• The Push to Save the Underground Railroad Houses [NYDN]
• Is Fresh Direct Cherry Picking in Bed-Stuy? [Brownstoner]
• Living in Bed-Stuy [amNY]
• Surprise: Nets Arena Won’t Be Ready for 2009-2010 Season [No Land Grab]
• Dumbo’s Historic Streets [CityRoom]
• Kensington Post Office Complaint Update [Kensington Brooklyn]
• Brooklyn Alternate Side Parking Relief Update [Err (or) Ink]
• Coney Island Development Corp. Board Meeting on 11/8 [Kinetic Carnival]
• Clinton Hill Gossip Roundup [Clinton Hill Blog]

Halloween:

• Trick or Treating in Ditmas Park [Ditmas Park Blog]
• Windsor Terrace Halloween Hike [Icky in Brooklyn]
• Park Slope Halloween Parade [Brit in Brooklyn]
• Park Slope Fifth Avenue Halloween Brawl [Velvet Sea]
• Brooklyn Heights Halloween [McBrooklyn]

Soterios Johnson reports.–WNYC

You’ve probably heard the “neighborhood name” BoCoCa, and you may or may not use it, but have you thought about BoCoCa Raton? It’s because of BoCoCa’s proximity to Atlantic Yards.–No Land Grab

Neighbors Helping Neighbors, a nonprofit that provides assistance to first-time homebuyers and does tenant advocacy, among other things, is holding its first First Annual Benefit Bash on Monday, November 5th at Union Hall in Park Slope. The group says:

Neighbors Helping Neighbors is a non-profit organization located in Sunset Park. Through our Homeownership and Tenant Programs, we educate first-time homebuyers, engage in tenant advocacy, educate the community about predatory lending, and counsel to prevent foreclosures. To support this good work, we are holding:

NHN’s First Annual Benefit Bash at Union Hall
Monday, November 5, 2007, 6:30 – 9:00 P.M.
Union Hall, 702 Union Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn
Tickets = $45

For full information, click here.

Some developments are crappy and others are really crappy. Some, on the other hand, are literally crappy. This is one of the latter. God help us all.–New York Shitty

As of last night the job site was open to the public and a mess. Barely any remediation. Called the situation into DOB and they showed up this morn to issue more citations for access to the site and to make sure the “new” contractor hired for the remediation does his job. Follow up inspections pending.

Unlike North Brooklyn, where blatant violations of regulations and threats to public safety seem to go unchecked at dozens of sites, in this case, the system actually appears to (sort of) have worked, albeit in a very belated fashion:

DOB [did] a pro-active surprise inspection of the site to find inadequate underpinning of the corer property at 472 6th Avenue (K&H Deli) and unsafe excavation which lead to the partial collapse of the back slab of the property and foundation wall. 472 6th Avenue rear extension is vacated. According to DOB (who did inspections on Saturday and this morning) “Rear extension is to vacated until made safe.”

Neighborhood groups applied intense pressure to the Department of Buildings over the last two years after a series of major problems with individual projects and it seems to have produced more responsiveness than has been the case in Greenpoint and Williamsburg.

Happy Halloween from GL. Here are a couple of houses in Williamsburg that are always done up, both for Halloween and for Christmas.

“So Carroll Gardens is quaint, and for those in love with the West Village but who simply can’t afford to live there, it will do. The tree-lined streets with well-kept brownstones, little cafes and restaurants, and independent boutiques are all that’s required of a charming neighborhood. As rents rise, it’s only bound to grow nicer (better hop on the G train before it’s too late).”–Gridskipper

Yesterday was a good day for a couple of possible Brooklyn landmark districts. The Eberhard Faber District in Greenpoint was approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission and appears headed for final approval by the City Council. Meanwhile, the hearing on the Dumbo Historic District “went astonishingly well,” according to the Historic Districts Council Newsstand blog. Here’s an excerpt:

…over 30 people spoke in favor – including Jed Walentas. The BID, who had been problematic about the designation , spoke in vague support – mostly to ask the LPC to make sure that the area’s Belgian block streets were protected (and restored) and asking that LPC be lenient to ground floor retail…LPC is is keeping the record open for a week, but it feels like the designation is definitely fast-tracked.

The Eberhard Faber District includes a number–but not all–of the buildings that were once the home of the Eberhard Faber pencil factory in Greenpoint. The landmarking vote was nearly reported in real time yesterday by Brownstoner. Several buildings are already being redeveloped, so preservationists consider a district to be a significant victory. The old buildings are among the most significant major surviving industrial buildings in Greenpoint, particularly after last year’s Terminal Market Fire destroyed those structures before they could be landmarked.

It looks like a number of local photographers and bloggers went to the wilds of Coney Island Creek, known for the ghosts of its sunken boats, and came back with photos and tales of sinking into (possibly toxic) muck. Photos posted so far include those put up by the wonderful photographer Elizabeth Weinberg on Burnt Sienna and by the excellent photographer & blogger & writer Jake Dobkin on Blue Jake. Photos should also be forthcoming on several other sites, as photographer and blogger Nate Kensinger was involved as was Food of the Future. We’ll edit the post to add links or do an entirely new item as photos are posted.

[Photo courtesy of Burnt Sienna]

• Decking Installed Next to South Slope Crack Building [IMBY]
• It Came From the Blogosphere [No Land Grab]
• Are Scholarship and a Study for Ratner Compatible? [AYR]
• Bay Ridge Day Care Parents Get $115 Ticket [NYDN]
• The Major Improvements to Myrtle Avenue [Streets Blog]
• Duffield Street Coverage Roundup [Duffield St. Underground]
• Northfork Bank Moving into Old Dance Space [Brownstoner]
• Nappy Time at 158 India [New York Shitty]
• New Building on Park, WTF? [Clinton Hill Blog]
• Abandoned Toys of Brooklyn [Big Sky Brooklyn]
• Parking on 13th Street [Brooklynometry]
• It’s Easter in Gowanus [Found in Brooklyn]
• Halloween Kitty Needs a Home [New York Shitty]
• All Trick, No Treat: Port Authority Rounding Up Feral Cats at JFK [NYP]
• Halloween Lands in Clinton Hill [Brit in Brooklyn]
• Happy Halloween [Dope on the Slope]

Carroll Gardens is never a dull place, at least, not in terms of development issues and community meetings. As we noted last week, another Town Hall Meeting is coming up on November 19. The one in late August was so well attended that it’s been moved to a larger venue–the auditorium at PS 58. An email is already circulating via the Carroll Gardens Association Mailing List that suggests it’s going to be far from dull:

There will be a CGNA meeting on Monday, November 19, from 6:30-8:30 at PS 58. The major theme of the meeting will be re-zoning and landmarking of Carroll Gardens – up to 100 feet west of Bond Street. Questions will be written on cards and a panel of “experts” will try to answer them.

There is a push on the part of some members of CGNA to limit the questions narrowly to the two themes. I strongly urge a large presence and a strong attempt to ask the questions which need some answers.

Given the array of issues and questions in the neighborhood–ranging from rezoning to the expansion of the tiny Carroll Gardens Historic District and individual developments–the meeting should be an interesting one.

Our friends at Slope Street Cats sent out an “action alert” about what people can do to stop the possible extermination of the feral cat colony by the Port Authority at JFK Airport. We understand that in a world full of horrors and deprivation, the fate a few hundred cats at an airport aren’t world news, yet, there is something heartbreaking about a public agency slaughtering cats. (This is not hyperbole. The odds are very good that the cats will be euthanized as the vast majority are not adoptable.) You can check Slope Street Cat’s blog post for info about what to do or check here at Neighborhood Cats. We’ve also reproduced some of the info below in case anyone is interested. If you care about animals, take 90 seconds of your time today to tell the Port Authority what you think about a policy that amounts to killing cats. Here is the info:

WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW
Phone, fax and email the people listed below and demand Port Authority suspend the trapping immediately and meet with representatives of the NYC Feral Cat Initiative and the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals to come up with a humane, effective feral cat management plan. The people contacted on Friday refuse to meet, so now let’s talk to their bosses. Please review the three talking points at the end of this letter so you know how to respond to their PR dept’s fabrications.

WHO TO CONTACT

Anthony Shorris
Executive Director
Port Authority of NY and NJ
(212) 435-7271
ashorris@panynj.gov

Stephen Sigmund
Chief, Public and Government Affairs
Port Authority of NY and NJ
212-435-4174
ssigmund@panynj.gov

Port Authority Corporate Headquarters
(212) 435-7000 (get a live person on the line and demand to speak to someone about the JFK situation)

Susan Baer
General Manager, JFK Airport
sbaer@panynj.gov
718-244-3501

Shawn Laurenti, Director
Government and Community Relations Dept.
Port Authority of NY and NJ
(212) 435-6903
slaurenti@panynj.gov

If you love cats and animals, please help.

From an edition of the New York Times in 1923 comes the following headline: “Man Bites a Ghost and Upsets Seance.” The subhead is: “Spirit Voices Stop Suddenly and Woman Medium Flees Cabinet in a Bathrobe.” The details of this Greenpoint story that was deemed news that was fit to print in 1923 demand to be read.–New York Shitty

The legal battle against the massive Atlantic Yards continues and Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, which has led the long fight is hosting a benefit with the grammy-winning band klezmer band the Klezmatics at the Brooklyn Lyceum on November 8. Kakande and the Demolition String Band, will also perform. Money raised by the concert will help pay expenses associated with DDDB’s state lawsuit challenging the Atlantic Yards project’s environmental review and approval and the federal lawsuit challenging the use of eminent domain. Doors open at 7PM. The Lyceum is located at 227 4th Avenue. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Click here to purchase tickets online.

The Bushwick apartment called “The Lair” must be seen to be believed, if only for the photos. Let’s just say it’s the only dwelling we’ve ever seen with an “Ice Cave.”–Curbed