[Photo for Gowanus Lounge Courtesy of Meg Groome]

In addition to these whimisical ice scultpures on display outside the Community Bookstore on Park Slope’s Seventh Avenue last weekend, the shop introduced a new online book site.  Wanting to shop local, we tried out their online book ordering service and not only found all of the books on our holiday gift list but also found a few for the hard to please on our list using their holiday book selection section. Also, for those who are interested in supporting local businesses, tonight is the second Park Slope Snowflake, with busineses staying open late and offering specials. It may also be the first such even when it doesn’t rain!!!
–Meg Groome

There may come a time when rooms in Gowanus are available for $29.99 a night because the entire Manhattan market has crashed, but for now, the hotels that will be charging those prices are moving along. We’ve already written of the Super8 that will be nearing completion on Third Avenue, but there is also activity on Hotel Row on President Street where demolition is now complete on a future hotel. A developer named SAI Hospitality plans to build a 100-plus-room hotel on the site pictured above; SAI also has designs on another vacant warehouse on the street, between 3rd and 4th avenues, where it says it’s going to put up a second hotel. DOB rejected SAI’s initial application for a new building permit in the spot where demo’s under way, but the application shows a five-story, 117-room property is on the drawing board. Also, work continues on the future Fairfield Inn (which has an almost meaningless partial stop work order that has not interfered with work and that happens to sit atop the site of a bubbling mass of deep underground toxins left by the local Manufactured Gas Plant, but hey, it’s way down there underground, so why worry?) Many of these hotels have been well-chronicled by our former correspondent Max Casey. Oh, Gowanus Hotel District, you do bring us great pleasure.

Tonight Barrett Bar in Prospect Heights will hold the Sucia All-Stars Holiday Party with resident Dj Juice E. spinning funk, soul, house, reggae and old school hip hop. The party starts at 10pm with no cover and there will be holiday drink specials. Location: Barrette, 601 Vanderbuilt Ave at Bergen Street.

—E.C Stephens

Answer without even watching the vid: pretty f’ng bad. And it’s got to be right because Columbia Journalism School students discovering Brooklyn say so.

The Center for the Urban Environment (CUE) had an opportunity to speak with Jasper Goldman, Senior Policy Analyst at the Municipal Art Society of New York, about the film City of Water and the future of our waterfront. To learn more about the subject, come and see the compelling new documentary by the Municipal Art Society and Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance at CUE’s Third Thursdays on December 18th (today). It will happen at 6pm @ CUE (168 7 Street, Brooklyn, NY). Call 718.788.8500 x263 or email rwelch@bcue.org for more info

Q: What’s your most compelling vision for the waterfront and what are the greatest impediments to its realization?

A: Our hope is that the waterfront becomes increasingly diverse and exciting. A place that serves many different functions at once – a place for living and recreation; a part of our economy; a part of our transportation infrastructure; an integral part of the port of New York and New Jersey; a place of nature; and perhaps most importantly, an active, exciting place to be. Too much waterfront development in NYC creates places that are frankly boring and somewhat homogeneous. We have to reverse that trend. I think the biggest impediment is a lack of imagination that infects our planning process right now…So as a city, I think we need to think much harder about how to create a great waterfront and look very carefully at what other cities have been able to achieve.

There’s a lot more about this critical Brooklyn & NYC issue ahead

· Are People, Uh, Lying About Attendance at Nets Games? Really? [AYR]
· More on Frank Gehry’s Lay Off of Atlantic Yards Staff [NYDN]
· Hooooly Shiiiiit: Studio B is Up for Sale [Gothamist]
· Carrroll Gardeners Comment at Gowanus Green Meeting [PMFA]
· Remembering the heyday of massive dog shit [BHB]
· 101 Kent Ave.: Foreclosed! [Brownstoner]
· Energy Scammers Do Bushwick [BushwickBK]
· Sad Development: Blog Thinks Paper Broke Story of Dead Video Store [FIPS]
· Nice: Bright Blue Dime Bank on Montague [McBrooklyn]
· Bed-Stuy Ambulance Corps Challenge [Bed-Stuy Blog]

The new Roots Cafe in Park Slope boasts, “You’ve never tasted finer coffee! Never!” Opening on December 27th, Roots will offer breakfast themed paninis, and also bagels, muffins, lunch paninis plus sweets like pies and cookies. But let’s get down to the brass tacks, what about the coffee? The website claims they’ll have drip coffee, espresso, cappuccino, chai latte, and especially nice for the cold weather, hot cider and mochas. In addition they’ll present acoustic roots, bluegrass, blues, folk and country every Friday and Saturday. 
–E.C. Stephens

We poke a lot of fun at Park Slope, and will be the first to admit that a lot of it is stereotyping and, well, maybe unfair. On the other hand, we don’t write the stuff–we just copy and paste it–and sometimes people say what they say and it doesn’t reflect well. Just to show we’re not as creepy as some may think, we came across a wonderful story on Park Slope Parents about what this holiday is really about – the giving. In the want of many to donate clothes and toys locally, one parent stepped up and set out to help her community by collecting for the daycare children and teenage moms:

…the last two weeks I have been picking up and having items dropped off for these children and I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of others. The items and amount people have given me is amazing and I had to take many car loads to the school. It was also great that there was such a variety of sizes, toys, and items that all the children were able to receive. I wanted to publicly thank the people who donated and express my gratitude of such thoughfulness and generosity. It means a lot to have had such an outpour of responses.

So, to this do-gooder, and all the folks out there who have passed on their donations – we hope you’re name is at the top of Santa’s list, and you get something extra special this holiday season. And we dare someone to complain we passed along that nice story to the broader community.
–Vaduzuvunt

[Photo for GL Courtesy of Nathan Kensinger]

You know that things in Coney Island are fucked up when Shoot the Freak starts falling apart. (Well, it’s fallen apart in past winters too.) But there’s something symbolic about Shoot the Freak’s sign falling apart and the spot looking like shit, particularly when its owner is one of the biggest supporters of developer Joe Sitt’s redevelopment strategy. Our question is this: Will Beer Island be back next year? And will we ever be able to set foot in it again without feeling that Summer of 07 letdown?

[Photo Credit: Tom Callan/Brooklyn Paper]

We received news overnight that former State Assemblyman and Carroll Gardens activist Frank Verderame has died. As a private citizen, Mr. Verderame was involved in just about every issues in the community and possessed a history of things and body of knowledge held by no one else. Mr. Verderame knew the broad brush of issues as well as the smallest details. He was for example, the ultimate expert on the ownership of the public plaza in front of the deeply controversial 360 Smith Street building and we had sat in awe and listened to Mr. Verderame’s recollections that the public actually owned the plaza rather than the developer. Of course, supporters of the development disagreed, but we believed that Mr. Verderame was correct and that the developer and the public officials who supported the development knew that Mr. Verderame’s intimate knowledge was truly correct. (Click here for his take on the subway plaza.) He was a prime mover behind the “narrow streets” zoning text amendments. We do knot have enough detail as of this time to write the obituary Mr. Verderame so deeply deserves. We will simply repeat the news that Triada Samaras passed along while we were asleep last night: “We just received the sad news of Frank Verderame’s passing.
May he rest in Peace. CORD.” May you find the peace that we all seek, Frank.

[Photo courtesy of weenieart/GL Flickr Pool]

Look closely and the title of the photo will be clear.

[Photo courtesy of Josh Derr/GL Flickr Pool]

One word that does NOT come to mind is invitingIn.

Brooklyn’s New Year’s Eve at Grand Army Plaza will include the usual: fireworks at midnight! Free hot Starbucks beverages, from 11pm, for revelers and the sound of R&B and Mountain from Blacksmith and Friends. Also we should note:

Special Holiday Hours at Wollman Rink is open for skating Christmas Eve day, Christmas day, New year’s Eve day and New Year’s Day! 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.; 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. (weather dependent).

For more information on Prospect Park on this or other events, call (718) 965-8999.
—Vaduzuvunt

The Old First Reformed Church was doing brisk Christmas tree business this weekend. This man carried his tree, hopefully just around the corner, while others wrestled their trees into their trunks or lashed them to the roof of their car. The smart owners of the distinctive Wafels and Dinges truck was parked out front of the tree sale, keeping people warm with their delicious Belgian Waffels and and all things Belgian.
—Meg Groome

[Photo courtesy of Miss Heather]

Nothing says Happy Holidays quite like a street couch, does it?

Chief Correspondent E.C. Stephens, who has ably stepped up to the plate and filled the shoes of ex-contributor “Max Casey” brought this one to our attention:

Dude that got mugged on Evergreen Ave last night – w4m (Evergreen Ave)

Dude, that sucked, and I kind of feel bad that I just stood there and stared when it happened. I should have at least said something when you walked by. Sorry. I live on that block and it totally sucks. Hope everything works out for you.

Yeah, jeez, dude. That did kind of suck. Maybe I should have called 911. Dumb ass.

The soundtrack alone is enough for some serious yucks.

[Photo for GL by Meg Groome]

Meg Groome, who it thrills us to have as a new part of the GL scene, writes: “I just can’t help but get in the holiday spirit when it begins to snow and it inspired me to take some pictures of the holiday lights. Here’s 7th Ave at night, in the snow.”

Remember the old G&D TV Repair Shop on Henry Street near Atlantic Avenue that correspondent F. Jasmin Adams reported had closed and speculated that it would be turned into a restaurant or wine bar? Wall, Ms. Adams passed by poked her camera inside and found that 329 Henry Street is, indeed, being converted to an “eating and drinking place” per DOB records. This appeals to our sense of irony more than we can say.

There’s an art opening tonight at Kean University in Jersey that is near and dear to our hearts in that it includes images from the wall that we dubbed the Democracy Wall in Carroll Gardens at the site of the 360 Smith Street building (aka Oliver House). Per the press release from Triada Samaras, a co-founder of the group CORD:

Artist Triada Samaras is having a solo art exhibition called Art to Change the World at Kean University this month. Selections include acrylic paintings from her Brooklyn studio that explore the notion of power using the metaphor of the ‘house’ in minimalist compositions on canvas. Samaras also created a site-specific photo installation for the Dryfoos Gallery. The installation features multiple photos and newspaper clippings from the Democracy Wall: an outdoor, collaborative, street art installation in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn from May 2007 to April 2008. Samaras contributed to the Democracy Wall on numerous occasions and it became a symbol of the neighborhood’s strong opposition to multiple, over-sized development projects looming simultaneously over the low rise, historical brownstone neighborhood that is Carroll Gardens…The Democracy Wall led to the creation of several, Carroll Gardens grassroots coalitions including CORD/Coalition for Respectful Development, (Samaras is a Co-Founder) that are now serving to both awaken and educate the community as to the critical importance of the neighborhood voice in the planning and shaping of its futures.

Of all the things we have covered and publicized in the last 2 1/2 years, the Democracy Wall and the role it played in founding CORD is one of the things of which we are proudest. It is the way things should be in terms of grassroots action.

[Photo courtesy of nifty pete/GL Flickr Pool]

Last night.

This Thursday, at 6pm, Community Board 6 will be gathering to hear a presentation and review of the Department of City Planning’s proposed Bicycle Parking Text Amendment that if approved will to require indoor bicycle parking in new multi-family residential, community facilities, and commercial buildings. The proposed text amendment would provide for bicycle parking at home and in the workplace, with standards that serve the needs of cyclists while providing flexibility to accommodate the needs of developers. Also on the table is a continued review and discussion of a proposal to co-name Henry Street between Sackett and Union Streets as “Citizens of Pozzallo Way.” It takes place at Long Island College Hospital (Rooms C & D ), 339 Hicks Street (Atlantic & Hicks Streets)
–E.C. Stephens

[Photo for GL by Meg Groome]

Everybody knows about the roof guard dogs in Gowanus and some people have seen them from street level or from the F Train. Well, GL Contributor and blogger Meg Groome caught them and here what she wrote about them:

I was at the Smith and 9th Street station and noticed three dogs patrolling the flat roofs on 2nd Ave. Another day I was taking pictures on 2nd when I heard dogs barking very close to me. Much to my surprise and relief they were on the roof so I took some pictures of them snarling and snapping at me. On subsequent F train trips I have noticed some dog houses and feeding bowls up there so my guess is that they are confined to the roof, spending their days waiting for an adventurous graffiti artist or burglar to chase away.

Woof.G

[Photo for GL Courtesy of Deborah Matlack]

Yes, it’s one of the famousy decorated houses in Dyker Heights. More to come before this holiday stuff is finished.

A new cafe is opening up in Prospect Heights – Ortine will open this tomorrow (12/17) at 622 Washington Avenue (between Pacific & Dean Streets). They have great hours too! Especially wonderful for the java heads on their morning commute from Monday – Thursday 7:30am – 10:00pm, Friday 7:30am – 11:00pm, Saturday 8:30am – 11:00pm
and Sunday 8:30am – 10:00pm. An email from the owners says they’ll be offering a family atmosphere with a healthy but hardy menu. They serve Belgium waffles around the clock, as well as a Mediterranean and Italian flare – from their appetizers, cheese plates, and entrees, to local fare. They also have a special drink called kobachu, a special fizzy tea drink that helps the digestive system.
—Vaduzuvunt