A GL reader asks if there was any, uh, shooting in Carroll Gardens last night. Saying there were “about 6 at around 1 am, i think…only heard a few sirens afterward, i suppose it could have been firecrackers or whatnot.” Anybody else know of gunplay in CG last night? We have no fix on the exact location.

· Fort Greene Hair Salon Bloodbath [NYT]
· Cohousing Group Planting Roots in Fort Greene [Brownstoner]
· Why is the Midwood High Park Still Off-Limits? [Flatbush Pigeon]
· Flatbush Bar Had Rowdy, “Sporty Youths” in 1902 [A Year in the Park]
· The Prospect Park Carousel Celebrates Halloween [Lost City]
· Will Flatbush Aves’s Toren Condo Look Like Its Rendering? [Curbed]
· Dogs Days in Brooklyn Heights for Halloween Parade [McBrooklyn]
· What’s the Future Hold for Italians in the Burg? [Block]
· Ohio Residents Check Out Jane’s Carousel [DumboNYC]

Everybody that’s ever had an experience with a ginkgo tree knows they smell like crap, although some people think they smell like puke. So we’ve been amused by the ongoing discussion on the BoCoCa Parents group about the stanky sandbox in lovely Cobble Hill Park. It started with this:

Smelly Sandbox at Cobble Hill Park: Is the smell getting worse or is it me? It almost smells like it is coming from the sand box itself now.

Then came this:

It’s the tree that is near the sign that says ‘keep sand in sandbox’ or something like that. I forget what kind of tree it is, but the grape type things it drops just reek!!! I think I got one on the wheel of my stroller and I kept thinking that someone puked in the closet where the stroller is stored. Some of the grape-like things may have dropped into the sandbox, but the stink is definitely coming from the tree.

And this:

all of you (that it bothers) should call 311 and file a complaint because if it is something like… stray cat poop… then that is unsanitary and the parks dept should take care of it right away (ideally getting rid of all the old sand and putting fresh).

And this:

Yes – these trees drop their berries this time of year and the berries smell like vomit – it’s the Ginko Tree.� �Their smell is bad, but they are environmentally friendly since they are known to be great at taking the bad toxins out of the air.� This is why they are a popular pick to plant in city areas.

So, you see, even though it smells like someone hurled, it’s good for you.
�

Given the verbal disembowelment that we directed at Council Member David Yassky last week for what we saw as a revolting betrayal of the public trust by calling for a public referendum on extending terms limits, but ultimately voting with the Mayor, we found it fascinating that the Council Member has been sending out email defending his standing. (It doesn’t change our opinion that his conduct was scandalous at best and spineless, yet predictable at best, because the brilliant, yet tragically ambitious Mr. Yassky would sign a contract in blood with the guy with horns and a tail if it would get him elected to citywide office or–gasp–Congress), but here’s what he has to say for himself in an email that’s being widely circulated. (We are strongly avoiding the desire to annotate Mr. Yassky’s defense of his wretched conduct, but foll it with some analysis after the jump we hope you’ll read):

I am sure you know by now that the City Council voted last week to approve Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal to lengthen the term limit for City officeholders from eight years to 12 years. I want you to know that after a great deal of thought, I chose to support the Mayor’s proposal. This was the most difficult decision I have faced in the City Council – more than congestion pricing, the garbage plan, or the post-9/11 tax increase – and I want to explain why I believe it was the right choice.

Like many people, my initial reaction to the Mayor’s proposal was outrage. While I have always held that the eight-year term limit was bad policy, it was a policy put in place by referendum and the fairest way to change it was by a subsequent referendum. I was saddened by the Mayor’s eagerness to bypass the voters, and I strongly disagreed with his assertion that a referendum was not feasible. Most important, I knew that a Council vote to change term limits would confirm many people’s most cynical suspicions about politics and politicians.

Following the Mayor’s announcement, I advocated both publicly and privately, to the Mayor, the Speaker and my colleagues in the Council, that we should put the term limits question before the voters. I argued to the Mayor directly that he was making a mistake, and that he and the Council could not afford to undermine our moral legitimacy at precisely the time when we will be asking New Yorkers to sacrifice for the greater good.

As the vote neared, it became increasingly clear to me that the Mayor would not relent, and I focused intently on the choice before me. I had dozens – probably hundreds – of conversations with friends and constituents, and heard very strong feelings on both sides of the issue. Many people were appalled that the Council would even consider overturning a referendum, and many – I was surprised by how many – said simply: “I want to keep Mayor Bloomberg.”

And so, kids you really can have your cake and eat it too.

Yesterday, we related the tale originally brought to the world by Bitchcakes Commutes, of the G Train (used) condoms and loss of virginity graffiti. Today, we bring something less gross. A G Train clown, courtesy of a GL Correspondent who found the dude doing his thing on the Crosstown Local yesterday afternoon. If there is anyone we can think of in need of comic relief from clowns it’s people that have to depend on the G to go from Point A to Point B. Our trusted correspondent, who’s always sniffing out good stories for us, reports: “Made a sock turn into a red bra. Also, balloon tricks and whistling. Got way more dough from straphangers than the usual train entertainment crews like mariachi bands.” Mariachis of the subway world take note: people dig clowns. Also, you dudes, who come on the train and scream, I”m sorry to disturb your day, but my name is X and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for (fill in the blank)….” It might work better if you did clown tricks. Especially on the G, friends, where people are kind of cranky, anyway, because they might have waited 20 minutes for the train.

We’ve had plenty of pics of people selling Barack Obama shirts and other things in the Slope and the Burg. Here’s a shot from Dowtnown Brookyn on Flatbush Avenue.

[Photo courtesy of Rubys Host/GL Flickr Pool]

Dude in a lobster suit in a pretty heavy wind on the beach in Coney Island. Nice stuff.

[Photo courtesy of Deborah Matlack]

Here’s another lovely photo of Coney Island in the off season courtesy of our contributing photographer Deborah Matlack, who loves documenting our favorite place in Brooklyn. All we can say is it’s quiet down there on Surf Avenue at night in October, but Faber’s Fascination is clearly open.

[Courtesy CNN.Com/click to enlarge]

The vote estimate and map remain the same. Some polls and organizations show Sen. Obama with an even more solid lead over Sen. McCain.

It’s back to the mysterious and obscure, yet powerful, Board of Standards and Appeals for the controversy-plagued 360 Smith Building in Carroll Gardens. First, the issue was its Heavy Metal Look designed by Robert Scarano. Subsequently the sticking point was the building’s height. In the meantime, there was a zoning changing on the block on which the building is actually located, limited it to 55 feet in height rather than the planned 70 feet. The developer says the foundation is complete enough for the building to be grandfathered to 70 feet. The Department of Buildings says the foundation was only 20 percent done at the time of the zoning change. At the last meeting, the BSA decided not to decide. And this time? We are hearing rumblings that “the fix is in” and that the developer might actually win, despite the evidence from the DOB. The session is at 10AM tomorrow at 40 Rector Street, 6th Floor, Hearing Room (E). The public is, of course, allowed to attend and speak.

[Image Courtesy of lornagrl/GL Photo Pool]

This leather beauty has clearly lost some of its luster and comes from an undisclosed location that we assume is somewhere in Southern Brooklyn, but what we really like about is the placement of the plant next to it which does manage to give it that homey feeling.

It seems like everywhere you turn, someone’s digging a hole somewhere to just go right back and build a big building in its place. Most of the time, it happens so fast and the view is blocked by plywood fences that we never get a good glimpse at what once was there. Well, here’s one great post of just an opportunity of old NYPD precincts in South Slope.–IMBY

And now, a selection of upcoming music events courtesy of our faithful contributor Dan Bennis:

Monday 10/27/08
Jalopy: Country Blues Jam: Bring you fiddle, accordion, banjo, washtub, mandolin, guitar, or maybe even spoons and participate in an open jam session. Free!! 9:30pm

BARBES: Chicha Libre (Latin/Surf/Psychedelic) $10, 9:30pm

Tuesday 10/28/08
Brooklyn Botanic Gardens: No music, but a great opportunity to see some foliage and enjoy the gardens for free!!

Sound Fix Records: Born Ruffians (Indie) Free!! 7:00pm

BARBES: Slavic Soul Party (Balkan/Jazz/Gypsy) $10, 9:30pm

Bar 4: Open Mike Night: Hosted by Tanya Buziak, sign up at 8:00pm, 8:30 showtime-Free!!

Wednesday 10/29/08
Jalopy: “Roots n’ Ruckus” w/ Feral Foster (Folk) Free!!, 9:00pm

The Bell House: The Essex Green, High Places (Indie) $10, 7:30pm

Could it be that the duplicated shops of Kensington have finally out numbered themselves and are now bleeding out into the rest of our fine borough? And here we were thinking we had the nail salons all contained…–Kensington Stories

Again from our good friends at Park Slope Parents, a mystery post in code designed to escape the clutches of greasy and nosy bloggers. Something happened with a kid named Nathaniel in Carroll Park. We want to help solve this mystery. Here it is:

Please contact me if you are the parents of Nathanael/Nathaniel (unsure of spelling). He is a very sweet boy of approx 6 (I think), with thick brown hair, obsessed with Superman (he mentioned he has 26 cartoon albums), but he “likes Cinderella too”. He also said he has dinosaur pajamas. He was wearing gap jeans with a snap closure (he asked me to help him close it), a long sleeve t-shirt, and running shoes. He was in Carroll Park yesterday afternoon (Friday).

Was it a rogue, drunken nanny? An abusive caretaker? Was the little one lost? Inquiring minds want to know. Hit us off and we’ll hook you up with the writer and try to outfox those behind the mystery, so to speak.

[Photo for GL Courtesy of E.C. Stephens]

GL Correspondent E.C. Stephens headed down to Red Hook to catch the last pupusas and huaraches being served up at the ballfields until next spring. The scene this year, of course, was very different than it’s been in the past. The old set up with the tents and homespun feeling was gone. In its place were city-specified carts and trucks parked on the street that were up to code. We think it robbed the food fest of its special atmosphere, but in this era of uniform street furniture and efforts to sanitize New York, that particular development was not unexpected. Why, after all, would the city want people driving to Ikea to see something that looked like an ethnic mishmash? The silver lining is that the vendors have a long-term license to operate at the park and won’t have to fight last year’s ugly battle again.

A full gallery of photos ahead, if you click here.

There isn’t enough Purel in the world to make sitting down on the train feel safe after reading this story. We’ve go to hand it to Bitch Cakes. She seems to always find herself at the right place, at the right time… or just a few seconds shy of catching the culprit(s) in the act, as in this case. Whether a trick on others or a treat for themselves, one of those priceless New York moments was recorded for the memory blogs:

As I got closer to the seat, I noticed something was on it. Now, often times there is litter of some sort strewn about the seats, but this was nothing I had ever seen before. This, dear blog readers, is what was waiting for me: 2 condoms out of the package and a condom wrapper.

Seriously, you just can’t make this shit up. Oh, but the icing on Bitch Cake’s cake:

But then it got even better when I noticed some faint writing, in what appeared to be pencil. I went in for a closer look and made out these words “I lost my virginity right here” (with an arrow pointing down to the seat). And was even dated “10/23/08” – which was the current date.

Yes, this story needs to go down in the books as one of the best of the worst subway experiences ever… we’re thinking up there with that Asian guy who likes to let it all hang out and the creep that likes to take pictures of chicks’ skirts. Thanks Bitch Cakes!
—Vaduzuvunt

It’s always nice to say thank you, and today is as good a day as any to acknowledge our wonderful contributors. Huge thanks for your wonderful posts, assistance and moral support to: Dan Bennis, Miss Heather, E.C. Stephens, Max Casey, Marie Viljoen, Jean Kahler, Lauren Fairbanks, JP Pagán, F. Jasmin Adams, Vaduz Uvunt, Vanessa Raymond, Graziella Radici, Lornagrl, Nate Kensinger, Adrian Kinloch, Deborah Matlack and Gary Mirabelle. You all rock and we appreciate you more than we can say. You’re all doing very good things for your community and helping make GL and important online community for readers. Keep posting!

You have to admit that it’s both a political statement and a great advertising gimmick. Brooklyn Industries has decorated all its window displays with mannequins (both male and female) wearing Barack Obama masks. (We don’t understand the lack of Sarah Palin masks on the females, we must say.) This is the store at the corner of Smith Street and Atlantic Avenue, as photographed yesterday afternoon.

This comes from the BoCoCa Parent Group. The Food Network is going to be around shooting today:

if anyone is interested in talking to Bruce Seidel of The FN Dish about their holiday plans please pass this info along. They’ll be in Brooklyn around noon, wrapping by 3 pm… doing a quick shoot on Montague St. then heading over to Carroll Park. Your chance to get your 15 seconds of fame 🙂

So, hang out and wait for them at Carroll Park if you want your chance at food fame.

If you missed it, you suck… at least that’s what the status quo of the revelers of this years Bike Kill would certainly say. The best description of what exactly you missed would probably come directly from the Bike Kill myspace page:

“We’ve always understood the event as not just a celebration of bikes, but a celebration of doing something all on your own, about taking what you care about and sharing it with whoever happens to come on by. And then someone will vomit on the street and we’ll remember that we were getting a little full of ourselves. Still. The most important thing to remember: Hop on and hold tight. And watch out for whatever comes late.”

If you want to see a glimpse of what you missed, a great view of the day time celebrations can be found on one of our friend Brooklyn blogs.–Bed-Stuy Banana

The restaurant row of Smith Street in Carroll Gardens has a new partner near the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. Joining in the retail boom of its partners to the North, Olga’s restaurant on 407 Smith Street has a banner up announcing that it will soon be opening and serving vegan, vegetarian, and pescitarian food. A look at their website only gives us a preview of their offerings:

Edamame Coleslaw
, Seafood Salad, 
Spicy Tuna Salad, 
Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad
, Mustard Seeded Potato Salad
, Spaghetti Squash with Spicy Tomato Sauce
, Ratatouille, 
Caraway Roasted Potatoes, 
Crabcakes
, Vegetarian Lasagna, 
Smoke Salmon and Mozzarella Panini, 
Butternut Squash Risotto
, and Mediterranean Tuna Stew.

That sounds pretty good to us, especially a little ratatouille with a sample of mustard seed potato salad on the side.
—E.C. Stephens

· Brookyn Woman Questioned in 11-Year-Old Daughter’s Death [NYT]
· Prospect Heights Historic District Hearing Tomorrow [AYR]
· Cops Kill Two Men Outside East Flatbush Club [NYT]
· Dig Smith Street in 1936 [PMFA]
· Light Industry Travels to Vietnam [BVIB]
· Packer Pumpkin Patch Does Well [McBrooklyn]
· You Have to Love Soviet Santa [New York Shitty]
· Halloween at the Prospect Park Carousel [Lost City]

Many people have been arguing that no matter what the outcome of the city’s rezoning effort for Coney Island and whether efforts to dislodge developer Joe Sitt from the heart of the amusement district are successful, that the city lacks an interim plan to keep Coney Island from turning into a desolate wasteland of Thor Equities demolition and that new visions for redevelopment are needed. In that vein, The Municipal Art Society is holding a very interesting and, potentially, very important session this morning at Brooklyn Borough Hall that is starting right about now. They’re calling it an effort to “develop new ideas for vision for Coney Island” and a way to “identify designs, uses and events for long-term and interim development period.” The MAS says it will be “working with a team of world-class architects, amusement designers and economists” and that the effort is titled “Imagine Coney.” Here’s a bit from the press release they sent out:

The new initiative will feature a global Web-based call for ideas, and a charrette (an intense design workshop) featuring international amusement and design experts from Tivoli Gardens in Denmark, Broadway theater in New York City, and former Disney executives.

MAS hopes that by leveraging global ideas and creativity it can help identify the novel uses that will spark new life in Coney Island and build on the remarkable strides Mayor Bloomberg has made toward a revitalized Coney Island. The charrette team will draw from creative and entrepreneurial ideas submitted during public workshops and on a Web-based call for ideas that will be open to all. The team will participate in a briefing session on Coney Island on Monday, October 27 from 9 am – 12 pm with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, the Coney Island Development Corporation, the Department of City Planning, Coney Island USA, the Astella Development Corporation, the New York Aquarium, Creative Time, and other groups and local stakeholders. The team will return on November 13 and 14 for the charrette, and the results will be publicly presented on November 17.

We notice that Thor Equities is not on the list. There’s a press conference scheduled at Noon.

[Photos for GL courtesy of E.C. Stephens]

To those who live in Carroll Gardens or who travel Third Street, none of this will probably come as news. Yet’s it’s still interesting. Perhaps you’ve noticed the Magic Touch sign at Third and Hoyt Streets? If you’ve looked closely, you understand that it was “cocktail lounge” and an Italian restaurant and not a massage parlor. Well, per GL correspondent E.C. Stephens, who shot the photos here, “It used to be a notorious Italian mob hangout, now it’s just studios. The owner, she still pays a $50 yearly “illuminated sign” tax for having the old fixture up. Check out the two sides, one side says cocktail lounge, the other side says Italian Cuisine.” The mob in Brookyn? Hanging out in Carroll Gardens and Gowanus? Dear God, say it ain’t so. Repeat after us: There is no mafia. There is no mafia. There is no mafia. But, for those who believe there is, and have dined at Red Bamboo in Fort Greene…that was another “notorious” mob hangout back in the day. Also, we think that sign should be landmarked. It has always brought us joy.