If you weren’t around on New Year’s Eve or weren’t paying attention, you might want to check out our year-end coverage. Here are the links:

· GL’s Top Ten Brooklyn Stories of 2008
· 2009 Will Change Brooklyn’s Development Vocabulary
· GL’s 2009 Brooklyn Deathwatch: Five Rotting Corpses???
· Thanks to Our Readers and Contributors in ’08

Oh, just a few shots we took here and there of discarded Christmas trees, which are sad and compelling in their own way.

This is Fourth Avenue and Carroll Streets, which we think of as the corner of nightmares for different reasons, but mainly architectural ones. The building on the left is the shaft erected by Bricolage Designs and Henry Radusky. The now Christo-wrapped thing on the right is the building from which Robert Scarano was booted and for which Armand Quadrini was hired. Frankly, we think the Scarano design was much better. Seriously. Oh well.

· Cheyenne Diner’s Trip to Brooklyn Stalled [NYDN]
· A Look Back at Atlantic Yards in 2008 [AYR]
· Learn How To Work With Your Elected Officials [PMFA]
· Star Building [WGPA]
· What You Missed on BHB Over the Holidays [BHB]
· Pubic Hearing for Second Avenue Gentlemen’s Club [BVIB]
· After Skating [Brooklynometry]
· A New Year’s Resolution Worth Keeping [Kensington Stories]

There seems to be some indication, per the email flow on the Boerum Hill group that break-ins may be on the rise. (Not that you don’t see shattered car glass on the curb in a lot of Brooklyn neighborhoods, especially Williamsburg.) In any case, here’s the email:

On 12/26 my car, parked on Nevins @ Pacific was broken into (an old Volvo) but nothing was stolen for there was nothing there. I tried to notify police, but they didn’t show. I canceled the call after waiting nearly 2 hours. Early in December our car was broken into–nothing in it to steal. On Jan 2 or 3 I noticed a new model car on Bond, between Dean and Pacific had the rear vent window broken. Does it do any good to report these incidents, definitely on the rise.

And there is also this one:

Last night, a guest’s car was broken into, its back window was smashed, and an ipod and game boy were stolen out of the glove compartment– on Dean, between Bond and Hoyt, some time after 3 AM.

We do enjoy the part about the police not responding. Uplifting.

We knew this crap had to be around, and we’ve certainly dealt with the topic of mommy and daddy bringing the little ones into the bar while they get shitfaced and whether this is appropriate. But we just couldn’t help notice this item and it isn’t even from Park Fucking Slope, friends. It’s from Greenpoint. There is a weekly “Mom and Baby Happy Hour” at the Pencil Factory on Franklin Avenue. Yes, that’s correct. We don’t know if there is valet stroller parking. If there’s a stroller parking area or if the strollers just get rolled into the bar, but the moms can get tanked while the little ones watche or has a playdate. This joyous event takes place from 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM every Thursday. The Pencil Factory for you mom’s that want to bring junior along while you have a little drinky poo is 142 Franklin Street. Bottoms up and don’t trip on the strollers if you’ve had one too many. Perhaps there are breast feeding circles during the happy hour too.

We finally visited Coney Island this weekend, having stayed away for a long time for both personal reasons and because we were depressed by what was going on. What we saw brought tears to our eyes and enraged us. Coney Island in its current state is an absolute disgrace. Every city official involved in this process should hang their heads in shame at one of the most botched and disgusting planning failures we have ever seen in any American city. It is too easy to point fingers at developer Joe Sitt who had the audacity to hang huge FOR LEASE signs that are said to have been custom made to fit each building upon which they were hung and who has asked tenants for double and triple the current rent for new leases and had no tresspassing signs put up everywhere, including on fences that are open and falling down (with no citations from the city). We expect no more and no less from Mr. Sitt. He has never had an issue with taking actions that make him look like one of the most callous and biggest assholes east of the Mississippi River. Bingo. He just did it again. To add insult to injury, today’s Post reports that Mr. Sitt is now negotiating to buy Horace Bullard’s Thunderboldt property (the empty land next to KeySpan Park) to increase his leverage with the city. Mr. Bullard allegedly complains the city hasn’t offered much money for his land. Incredible.

We have many issues with the city’s rezoning that is being debated and believe that it allows too many highrises along Surf Avenue. We were angered when the amusement district was cut from 16 to 9 acres, mainly to placate Mr. Sitt. (Although we cheered when the city bought the front part of Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, in effect, cleaving Mr. Sitt’s property in two.) We want to see Coney Island revived. It hurts deeply when we see prime land being used for school bus parking or sitting vacant. We believe the current re-zoning is wrongheaded in some respects and needs a major revision. It simply allows too much density around the amusement core–whether it’s a 16-acre one or a 9-acre one. Yet, we don’t have faith that the necessary changes will be made by the Bloomberg Administration.

That’s not the disgrace, however. The disgusting thing that is going on is that that city still hasn’t reached an agreement with Mr. Sitt to buy his land (enriching Mr. Sitt at the expense of taxpayers, but that’s the way it goes). Worse still, there has never been an interim plan to keep Coney Island viable in the period between a rezoning and actual development. As fate would have it, current economic conditions would seem to indicate that we’re talking about 5-10 years, not a few months. We doubt the city will find a world-class amusement park operator to break ground in 2011. We can’t see “entertainment retailers” sinking money into Mr. Sitt’s ersatz shopping centers. We don’t see anyone financing hundreds of hotels rooms in Coney Island when a major hotel bust is about to wash over the city.

No, we’re not done yet.

We do love the Toll Brothers proposal for a condo on the shores of the Gowanus that we are fairly convinced won’t be built any time soon, partly because the developer’s finances are–how to put this–going down the shitter with astounding speed. In any case the firm is looking for a spot rezoning of property for a big condo development and the next step is a City Planning Department hearing. That is going to take place on Wednesday (1/7). The location is 22 Reade Street in Manhattan and the meeting starts at 10AM. The rezoning itself appears to be coasting to approval.

[Vid courtesy of chadwbecks/GL Flickr Pool]

After months of blog coverage (and a couple of newspaper articles) about the controversies over bike lanes in Williamsburg, the newspaper of record has taken note: “The city’s Department of Transportation painted 1.75 miles of bike lanes on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg last fall, the first step of an ambitious plan to create a 14-mile bicycle and pedestrian path stretching from Greenpoint to Sunset Park and separated from vehicles by medians filled with grass or shrubs. The lanes follow the East River shoreline from the southern edge of Greenpoint to Division Avenue, a few blocks from the Williamsburg Bridge, passing construction sites, parking lots, a lumberyard, the Zafir Jewish Center for Special Education, and Schaefer Landing, a luxury residential development with a 26-story tower.”–NYT

[Photo courtesy of sabeth718/Gl Flickr Pool]

Normally, this building doesn’t look quite as nice as it does in this photo.

Here’s an interesting Sunday Missed Connection that comes to us from that hotbed of lust, Anna Maria’s Pizza in Williamsburg:

garlic breath seeks respectable girl with asshole friend – m4w – 24 (anna maria pizza, williamsburg, brooklyn)

we were at anna maria’s pizzeria when your douchey male friend littered my pizza slices with garlic powder. i think he was wasted. you made a comment about making out and i thanked you. if the offer still stands- wanna make out?

It is followed by this:

re: garlic breath seeks respectable girl with asshole friend – m4w – 24 (anna maria pizza, williamsburg, brooklyn)

we were at anna maria’s pizzeria when your douchey male friend littered my pizza slices with garlic powder. i think he was wasted. you made a comment about making out and i thanked you. if the offer still stands- wanna make out?

sorry, i make out with that douchey male. if it’s any consolation, he feels really bad about it. we were both wasted and coming off a bowling high. apologies.

Okay.

[Photo for GL courtesy of Meg Groome]

Meg writes, “thin and crispy.”

We finally confronted some ghosts yesterday and went to Coney Island. What we saw brought tears to our eyes, for many reasons. Our overall impression was that a lot of people were in Coney on a frigid day to take pictures of the devastation of the land emptied by developer Joe Sitt, of the FOR LEASE signs and of the dismantling of Astroland. It struck us a little like what we call Disaster Tourism. We’ll have much more from yesterday pics and vids, but we tossed this tiny vid together quickly last night of people looking at the little memorial at the Boardwalk gate at Astroland. We will have a lot more to say on this subject this week, but what we’ll say for now is that we were disgusted by what we saw and outraged that the city has allowed things to reach this point. Everyone from the Mayor to City Planning Director to the head of the Coney Island Development Corporation should hang their heads in shame at the violence they are allowing to be perpetrated by a mean-spirited, vicious, vindictive developer. As for the developer in question, Joe Sitt, we can not think of enough foul expletives to fully describe our rage and contempt for what he is doing to Coney Island. Much more tomorrow.

[Photo courtesy of nine6sevenfour/GL Flick Pool]

Just a little moment in time at Botanica in Red Hook.

It starts out with views of Manhattan and Jersey, but the pan back to Brooklyn over Sunset Park is actually more interesting.

[Photo courtesy of Deborah Matlack]

This is another photo shot on New Year’s Day in Coney Island that Deborah Matlack just sent us. It hasn’t been run through Photoshop. Rather she accidentally changed some settings on her camera and this is the gorgeous result. This is Surf Avenue in front of Astroland, looking west.

[All photos courtesy of Pablo Jonesy/Coney Island Message Board]

The latest from Coney Island came yesterday when Dick Zigun of Coney Island USA reported that a firm working for Thor Equities had put up no trespassing signs on buildings that also have huge Thor FOR LEASE signs. (If we had to do PR for Mr. Sitt, we would jump from the Astrotower wearing lead rings around our necks just to make sure there was NO chance of survival.) We understand (sort of) the practical purpose, but we also know that Mr. Sitt surely knows the photos will be all over the internet making him look even more spiteful and vindictive than he already appears. On the other hand, this is a guy who got himself pictured as the Grinch on Christmas Eve in the New York Post in a story written by Rich Calder. If this is a negotiating strategy on the part of Mr. Sitt, it is one of the most deranged and bizarre we have witnessed in three decades of urban reporting.

There’s more ahead.

There was a dramatic fire yesterday at a building undergoing a gut renovation on Cranberry St. in Brooklyn Heights. The house was believed to have been unoccupied. This is a full slideshow of the blaze sent by a reader.

Today’s adoptable cutie sure has a story to tell. Found through a TNR round-up this gorgeous calico decided she had enough of the mean streets and has for the past year been waiting to be adopted. Theresa’s rough and difficult past is behind her, yet she still hasn’t found someone to give her a ‘forever home.’

Theresa was trapped as part of a Trap-Neuter-Return project of feral and free-roaming cats. While most of the cats from the project were feral and were happy to be returned to their turf, Theresa was definitely not! She’d had her fill living on the street, struggling to find food, and avoiding the cruelty and indifference of some of the locals. The Empty Cages Collective decided to find her a home.Unfortunately, Theresa has waited for months to be adopted and has been passed over time and time again. She’s a beautiful, chubby, calico with a strong will and a love of all things food-related…crunchy and canned! Maybe it’s because she remembers the difficulty in finding food in her former life? She is loving and sweet, but very bored with her current situation. She is up-to-date on vaccinations, tested NEGATIVE for feline leukemia and FIV, dewormed, and spayed. She loves boxes for napping and will often speak in soft little mews trying to inform you of her intentions. Theresa deserves more then a cage! She would like nothing more then for you to help her find a wonderful home, and free up needed space so we can help other cats and kittens who are in trouble or at risk of cruelty or death. Please give Theresa something to finally be thankful for! If you’re interested in adopting Theresa or at least meeting her, please contact the Empty Cages Collective at 1 (800) 880 2684 or EmptyCagesCollective@gmail.com

We at GL are sending positive vibes your way Theresa, may you find your loving home soon!

Adoptable Kitty Update! Adam, who was a baby marmalade kitten we profiled in December, has been adopted!! Here’s his wonderful adoption story as told by the Empty Cages Collective!

Spread the word about our cuties still looking for a loving home:
Cleo
Hank the Tank!
Marbles
Augie
Chatzee!
Senor Don Gato

—E.C. Stephens

We got this email press release from Brad Lander who is running this year for the City Council seat now held by Bill de Blasio. (Who we’ve got a strong suspicion could be headed to Washington given his connection to Hillary Clinton.) Apparently, Mr. Lander and a few supporters had a run through freezing Prospect Park on New Year’s eve. In any case, Brad wins the award for being the first candidate to send us something related to the Council Election in 2009. Here’s the email:

More than a dozen volunteers from Brad Lander’s campaign for City Council braved freezing temperatures on New Year’s Eve to run in the Prospect Park 5k fun run in Brooklyn. “We’re running for a better Brooklyn,” said team captain Jackie Sherman. “We think Brad’s got the fortitude – though some might call it foolishness — to bring people together as a team, even under challenging circumstances.” Lander is running to represent the 39th City Council District (Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hills, Boro Park, and Kensington), which is currently represented by Bill de Blasio, who is running for Public Advocate. Lander is director of the Pratt Center for Community Development, past director of the Fifth Avenue Committee, and housing committee chair of Community Board 6.

The rest of Mr. Lander’s release ahead.

Here’s a vid we shot of the fireworks in Prospect Park on New Year’s Eve. Better late than never, as they say.

[Photo courtesy ethersong/GL Flickr Pool]

From an entrance to Prospect Park.

[Photo courtesy of Rubys Host/GL Flickr Pool]

Yes, yes, we realize that yesterday was Polar Bear photo day, but this shot just demanded to be posted. Yah!

This Monday, Community Board 6 will meet to hear an update from a representative for the New York City Economic Development Corporation on the City’s planning efforts for the Atlantic Basin at the Red Hook waterfront. They will also hear a submission by a representative for New York Water Taxi on the company’s current and future operations including efforts to provide expanded ferry service to the Brooklyn waterfront in New York Harbor. Finally, they will wrap things up with a presentation by a representative for PortSide New York, a non-profit community-based organization with a mission to breathe life into the relationship between landside community and the maritime sector. The meeting takes places at Long Island College Hospital, 339 Hicks Street( Rooms F & G), Brooklyn NY 11201, at 6:30 PM.

—E.C. Stephens