Sometimes we’re guilty of seeing buidings and not thinking about once took place in them. How people were worked to the bone. Abused. Underpaid. Denied unions. Or exposed to things that cut short their lives. This is the remains of a sweatshop in Gowanus on a street that is supposed to become to a bunch of hotels. Mr. Szwergold writes: “This is the other side of the building that housed the sweatshop my mom worked in during the late 1970s/early 1980s. R.I.P. mom.” The buiilding is at 540 President Street. A permit was issued in December to renovate it as office space.
We haven’t checked in on the Carroll Street Corner of Nightmares in Park Slope because it loosens our bowels somewhat just to be in the vicintity of the bad architecture and fugyly vibes, but frequent GL Contributor Jack Szwergold was brave enough to visit the buiding we call The Shaft and note the two parking spaces that ad charm. The area’s also been tagged up already. And, to think, we remember when this was a windowless monolith and this corner didn’t make us want to puke. Ah, the passage of time. The building will be a rental, but it’s been done for months, so we have no clue what’s going on with it. Jack writes: “This is the weirdest thing ever. So this insta-condo gets built and his little “alcove” is part of the ground level. I’ve seen two cars parked there… But why? Who thought of this? Not to mention the “curb appeal” is pretty much… Blah…Ahhh, the legacy of the housing boom.” Yeah, the legacy of a lot of bad shit in that particular area.
We were wondering how many Brookynites stick to the borough other than to visit the Big Island for job purposes (those who still have jobs). Herewith is our GL Poll inspired by our friend Carmen:
Well, here’s proof that Smart Cars are in fact smart. This one is after natural foods. On the other hand, given that the Slope Natural on Fifth sucks big ones (seriously, it’s bad), shouldn’t the Smar Car be at the Food Coop. On the other hand, the driver could have been returning a vid across the street. Then again, Netflix is easier.
The story of the Damnwells is not unfamiliar: around eight years ago Alex Dezen (lead vocals, guitar, piano), David Chernis (lead guitar), Ted Hudson (bass), and Steven Terry (drums) form the band and base it in Brooklyn. They release two CDs, Bastards of the Beat and Air Stereo. They get some good press, but the sales aren’t there. They get released by their label. Last year David and Steve leave the band, and Alex gets accepted by the Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa and moves there last fall for the two year program.
But here’s where the story goes off the beaten path. Alex goes into the studio, records a record and decides it’s a Damnwells record after all; he said: “The Damnwells has always been about my songs with extremely talented musicians and producers collaborating. The personnel have changed, but the essence—one of this week’s vocabulary words for the 7th graders I teach—remains the same.” And then that album, “One Last Century” is released for free. Eh, Radiohead did the download it and pay what you wish thing about a year and a half ago. But this is pay nothing, no guilt, legally free (well, you do have to leave an email address before you download but still that’s hardly what you can call a cost). The rest of the post and a link to the free download if you click here.
GrowInStyle is a company founded by a mom in Sheepshead Bay Mom who’s got business to tend to while mommin’ the kid. To do so, she’s got herself an amazing website that not only provides all the urban babies the chance to have the oh so popular French giraffe teether we all know as Sophie (come on… you wish you had a kid so it could have one!), but gives parents and friends of parents a huge variety of eco-friendly gifts, necessities and niceties to make all the babies of the city happy. There are a variety of gift boxes with teethers, diapers, bottles and oneses, as well as a huge assortment of the clever Diaper Cakes, which would be the talk of any baby shower. All products are 100% pure and natural, leaving no excuse for you parents out there to not be even more environmentally conscious while caring for that beautiful 100% pure and natural bundle of joy of yours. We seem to have all sorts of friends who are poppin’ out babies left and right, so we’re quite pleased to know of this site and pass the info on to the GL readers out there who might find themselves with child. We’re thinking the Organic 2 Tier Pink Sophie Giraffe Diaper Cake would be just right for the little girl on her way down in New Orleans, and the Organic 3 Tier Elegant Blue Diaper Cake for a lil boy who’s due as a Red Hook baby any day now. Check out GrowInStyle. —Vaduzuvunt
February 24th, 2009 · Comments Off on Wonderful Park Slope Schoolhouse Has a Logo and Website
To those who think we only dig negative stories, please follow our coverage of the Park House School House, which we think is a model of creative people in a community coming together to create something wonderful from what could have been a disaster. Yesterday, we bemoaned the lack of a logo for the new school, but ask and ye shall recieve. There’s also a website under construction at www.parkslopeschoolhouse.org.
This afternooon the City Council is having a hearing on the topic of bedbug infestation and several proposed bills. The hearing starts at 1PM. It will deal with some of the ignorance surrounding the issue. A bit from the email we got:
The New York City Council’s committees on Consumer Affairs, Sanitation, and Health have scheduled a joint hearing for Tuesday, February 24th, on three bills to improve the City’s administrative and technical mechanisms for increasing public education, resources, and consumer awareness in choosing informed exterminating services.
There are three bills: Intro 57 proposes the creation of a Bed Bug Task Force and prohibits the sale of reconditioned mattresses. Intro 872 creates guidelines for the proper disposal of infected mattresses. Intro 873 requires the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to establish a bed bug technique training program for pest control professionals and building owners. The hearing is open to the public. Anyone who wants to testify can sign up upon arrival.
You may or may not have patience to sit through the long audio with black screen at the end, but the pics here are quite impressive. The person that posted the vid writes: “I had an ongoing leak that management lied to me about fixing. Someone eventually admitted to me after 4 months that the leak was never fixed and there negligence caused alot of damage to my apartment. DO NOT LIVE HERE. Management is dishonest, they ignore you 90% of the time and the other 10% they lie and tell you what you want to hear. This is the truth about FLATBUSH GARDENS, EXPOSED!!!!!” We don’t know what’s going on but there is a serious disagreement between the promo stuff and this rant. We can’t wait to see the email we get about this one.
Things seem to be going okay at 349 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, but we can see the kiddies in the Burg are having some fun tagging up the fugly as hell “elegant facade of Jerusalem Gold Stone” that looks like painted stucco from across the street. We think the building looks like cheap dookie, but that’s just our inner cranky real estate loving blogger showing itself. Street Easy shows 7 active listings and 21 units in contract. Almost everything in the building got the old Price Chopmeister not long after the building went on the market more than a year-and-a-half ago. You’ve gotta hate paying $700K for your one-bedroom and having the building getting tagged up like a tenement in Bushwick. Then, again, after being cleaned up for a long time, tagging and graffiti is making a major comeback all over Williamsburg, giving the nabe a tiny bit of its old flava back.
Last Friday, we posted a big gallery of photos of the now completely vacant blocks of Willoughby and Bridge Streets where Avalon Bay West may (or may not) build a gi-normous commercial and residential tower. If they don’t they will leave behind abandonment, blight and danger where mom & pop ethnically-owned businesses once existed. The same kind of mass demolition is going on on Duffield Street (though not yet at the site of the infamous Underground Railroad houses). What it amounts to is a leveling of a huge part of old Downtown Brooklyn. To some it is progress. To some, it could amount to the ethnic cleansing and de-racification of a thriving, if not exactly, neat and quiet neighborhoood. (It most reminds us of downtown Newark.) In any case, Brenda From Flatbush, the creator of A Year in the Park, one of Brookyn’s most creative blogs and a devoted GL reader sent us these pictures of the ongoing demoliition work on Duffield Street which (assuming the plan doesn’t hit a fiscal iceburg and sink) will create a park. (Should it go Titanic, half of downtown will look like downtown Stuttgart after the allied bombing raids and the rubble was cleared.) But we’re sure the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership will provide a very nice park for all those tourists that will be flocking to those hotels (after the recession-depression ends) and the people living in the luxe condos, nonos and rentals. (We can’t speak to any abandominiums that might become part of our Dead Pool and Blight Me series down the road.) Brenda wrote:
On our way to church downtown, I took these shots of 237 Duffield, whose plywood is festooned with a demolition permit, a stop-work order for unsafe conditions, and an okay-to-proceed-now statement. The houses to the left of the immediately adjacaent house are the disputed “abolitionist” sites. Love that lone office chair.
Well, new unemployment claims are at record levels and we’re heading toward something that resembles more of a Depression that a little ‘ole recession. Well, at least something that will make the Reagan Recession of the Early 80s, which was pretty brutal, for those who only wish to remember the Gipper’s posthumus sainthood, look like a mere bump in the road. It’s bad out there people. How bad? Well, there’s this gym on Fifth Avenue near Bergen Street that’s trying to entice people with “Out of Work? Work Out!” Looks like Francesco has a couple of weeks of joblessness on Suara. Or maybe Suara just has less money to eat because when she’s done paying Park Slope rent she’s easting cat food. It does make one wonder, shouldn’t unemployed people getting unemployment be out looking for work? Or, perhaps, this was a missed opportunity in President Barack’s Recovery Package–maybe people should be paid for working out. Like FDR did the WPA? President Obama can do the LWPA (Lose Weight Projects Administration) for everyone. Could work.
Borough President Marty Markowitz has expressed little interest in funding a fix for the deplorably deteriorated Coney boardwalk in the past and is planning to spend $64 million on an increasingly controversial concert venue that many say is ego-driven waste of money that will actually violate the quality of life of thousands of residents, but today’s Daily News reports he wants federal bailout money for the boardwalk. Some details:
Brooklyn borough President Marty Markowitz wants the feds to bail out Coney Island’s world-famous, long-neglected Boardwalk. After years of delayed repairs, Markowitz is calling on the Bloomberg administration to use a large chunk of the city’s federal stimulus money to overhaul the entire crumbling, 3-mile promenade which runs from Sea Gate to Brighton Beach. “The Boardwalk is an essential part of Coney Island and it’s deteriorating. It’s in horrible condition,” said Markowitz, who is also calling for some of the state’s money to go to the controversial Atlantic Yards arena/residential/commercial project.
The city is slated to get $500 million from President Obama’s $787 billion economic rescue package. Next up: the beep will call for federal money to demolish Admiral’s Row and to help Joe Sitt build a shopping mall in Red Hook
Who knew the Sisters ever had a budget to do shit produced on location like this? Maybe that’s why Andrew Eldritch can’t get along with record companies. “Dominion – Some say prayers/Some say prayers/Now I say mine.”
Calling all you baby parents! For eight weeks starting Monday, 3/16, Prospect Park will be hosting “Nature Babies” at Prospect Park Audubon Center. This program gives parents and caregivers the opportunity to build up their babies’ smarts and culture thru storytelling and craft activities for babies 18-months to 3-years.
Children are introduced to the living environment of Prospect Park both outside and indoors at the Prospect Park Audubon Center at the landmark Boathouse. Each week’s activities are built around themes such as leaves, ducks and other aspects of nature available for children to experience up-close in Prospect Park. Each week’s activities are built around themes such as leaves, ducks and other aspects of nature available for children to experience up-close in Prospect Park.
$140 for 8 classes that run every Monday from 3/16 to 4/27, 10am to 11:15am. To reserve your spot or for more information call (718) 287-3400 x104 to register. —Vaduzuvunt
Meet 113 Monroe Street in Bed-Stuy. We run this to show the ongoing fuglyfication of Bed-Stuy and how architects have gone wild tossing up mediocre structures that don’t fit in with the gorgeous brick and brownstone environment. The only saving grace here is that it’s at the corner of Monroe and Bedford and does less violence to the rest of the beautiful block. The six-story building will have 29 units and comes from an architect named Leonid Krupnik, who seems to be another gray brick and bizarre balcony kind of guy. Ah, but 113 has an itty bitty problem. There’s a partial Stop Work Order from the Department of Buildings, which does seem to have found some new energy since a lot of people were slaughtered last year by accidents. We don’t know what it means for the building as a whole, but it’s been in place since July: “PARTIAL STOP WORK ORDER FOR NO TOE BOARDS @ BALCONY THRU-OUT EVERY FLOOR 2 TO 6 TO PREVENT ANYTHING FROM FALLING OFF BLDG.” We do love it when things fall off buildings.
To the extent that it’s not being marred by out-of-context, fugly new development, Bed-Stuy is one of Brooklyn’s most beautiful neighborhoods as displayed in this shot from our own Gary Mirabelle.
There was a long time when we wondered if 99 Havemeyer in Williamsburg, which is at the corner of Hope Street, would ever exist because progress on the site was so slow it made one of developer Shaya Boymelgreen’s projects look like it was progressing at the speed of light. Yet, here it is. It will have 6 units and it’s could be another one of a dying breed: a building from Robert Scarano, the King of the Brooklyn Architects. We were going to say, boy, this one was going well…but….uh….we found a partial Stop Work Order slapped on the building on February 18 for “WORK W/O PERMIT. SCAFFOLD ERECTED GREATER THAN 40 FEET.STOP ALL WORK ON SUPPORTED SCAFFOLD OBTAIN PERMIT.” Oh, these Scarano projects, always getting slapped around. Someday, it will all be viewed as petty harassment of Brooklyn’s visionary equivalent Frank Lloyd Wright. Don’t laugh. You never know what they’ll say in 50 years.
There’s more info on the Park Slope School House, which is replacing the Berkeley Carroll Child Care Center, which was closed down by the elite Park Slope School, with especially shoddy treatment of its employees. The new non-profit formed to run the new child care center is giving all those employees a chance to keep their jobs if they want them. (Kudos to them for this act of decency. It stands in stark contrast to the rotten and offensive conduct of the elitist regime at the private school.) In any case, enough about the wretched, old and wealthy crew that didn’t care for its veteran, dedicated, hard-working, middle class employees. We have more from the great new people who’ve save the program and the jobs:
Leading Neighborhood Program with 20+ Year History Now Offering Tours for 2009-2010 Academic Year–Parents who need child care in Brooklyn now have the option to send their children to Park Slope Schoolhouse (PSS), a child development program with courses for children who are one, two or three years old by September 1, 2009. PSS is a newly formed non-profit early childhood education program that formerly operated as the Berkeley Carroll Child Care Center and previously, as the MHB Child Care Center (operated by New York Methodist Hospital). The program has a rich history in the neighborhood, having been in operation since 1986.
Another old Fifth Avenue landmark in Park Slope is about to change. It was a bodega in its most recent incarnation, but before that it was Berkley Clothing and its fascinating retro sign and part of the original facade had survived. No longer. A good friend of GL emails to say: “I noticed today that the old bodega/berkely clothing store on the corner of 16th and 5th ave has a work permit in the window for a restaurant/bar establishment.” And, indeed, DOB records show the building officially known as 197 16th Street or, to us, 568 Fifth Avenue, has permits to become a “drinking and eating establishment. There may be some irony in the fact that it will be across the street from a Fifth Avenue Committee supportive housing development that will house, among other people, those recovering from substance abuse problems.
There’s more info on the 
