Our dear friends at Park Slope Parents provide us with more material to add to this weeks Brooklyn Scam Fest. This one, though, is a more old-fashioned one than the energy scam running wild. Per an email on the PSP list that came our way:

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There was a woman who approached me yesterday while walking up Union toward Grand Army Plaza. She had a thick manila envelope in her hand and was looking for someplace called “Post 96.” She seemed confused and lost and told me that she just found this envelope by the pay phone on Flatbush and wanted to return it, but it had no name or address on it, only this cryptic information, “Post 96.” I suggested she open the loosely sealed package to see if there was any identifying information inside. When she did, it was clear that it was a wad of cash with a note written on an index card saying something like, “Kareem, our ship has come in–here’s your share, $60,000.” Of course, she immediately stuffed it in her bag at that point and began to hyperventilate.

Well, to make a very long story shorter, I walked with this woman for a little bit, trying to help her figure out what to do. She seemed genuinely flustered and shaken up. But she clearly had a scam in
mind and at the end of this very long yarn, was a proposal (HA!) to stuff half the money under my mattress, not tell anyone, and give her the serial numbers from $3000 of my own cash. She had a “partner” who was her “boss,” a lawyer, at her office whom she was calling and getting “advice” from throughout all this, too. Of course, when she found out that I neither had $3000 dollars in my bank account, nor was interested in getting half the money and secretly stuffing it under my mattress and not using it for 60-90 days, she lost interest in me.

So, beware of a woman with a wad of “found cash” and looking for someone to “share it with.” I must say on my behalf, that throughout this whole scene, I kept thinking that this was some kind of candid camera thing and that at any moment a camera crew was going to pop out. Alas, they didn’t. That would have been a good story, too.

Also, beware of any emails that start “Dearest, I know this email will come as a surprise to you, but…” God, this crap is starting to give us as massive headache.

But you might want to read this email from “Miss Lilian” if you didn’t get one.

Term Limits Vote Will Go Forward, Public Be Damned [CityRoom]
Art Takes Over Myrtle Ave. Storefronts [Brownstoner]
Court Street Then and Now [PMFA]
Jury’s Out (For Some): Overdevelopment Ravaging NYC, or Not? [City Room]
Despite Crappy Market, Burg Condos Are Selling [TRE]
IDT Energy Scammers Working Gerritsen Beach Too? [Gerritsenbeach.net]
Barack Jack ‘o Lantern Making Party on Saturday [OTBKB]
Aerial View of Torched Car on Atlantic Ave. [BHB]
The Anti Imbedded Mossad Partymobile Rolls Up to Monitor St. [NY Shitty]

Après moi, le déluge. Today, come Mayor Michael Bloomberg and, to a lesser extent, by Borough President Marty Markowitz saying the same thing. Without them and their superb leadership we will all be lost. And so, it is imperative that one of most grotesque subversions of democracy that any of us will ever witness short of a coup d’etat in Washington will happen today in New York City when the City Council votes to end term limits. (There is still hope than an amendment to subject it to a public referendum has enough votes to pass, thank God.) But, if not, the Mayor and Council Speaker Christine Quinn have traded enough votes and favors to overturn turn limits and allow incumbents to extend their own terms in office. In this sense, Mayor Bloomberg is morphing into our very own Vladimir Putin and Marty Markowitz into Brooklyn’s own low-rent version of Napoleon.

This issue today is not whether or not term limits makes sense, it’s whether they should be retroactively applied by people who stand to benefit from the change. There are compelling arguments for term limits both pro and con. We’ve never been certain whether we favor or oppose them, although decades of reporting on urban America has taught us that the longer mayors stay in office, the more likely they are to putrify in both an ethical and public policy sense. Mayors like Marion Barry in Washington, Coleman Young in Detroit, Sharpe James in Newark and both Richard Daleys in Chicago come to mind. Some went to jail. Other should have. And, they all went really bad after a couple of terms in office.

Mayor Bloomberg’s claim that only he can lead New York out of the fiscal wilderness is political hogwash of the most ridiculous kind. Borough President Markowitz’s stated desire to keep playing Brooklyn cheerleader is nothing more than a transparent excuse for steering more taxpayer money to favored organizations and political favors to developers. Even Rudy Giuliani, while trying to suspend the election after 9/11, didn’t go this far. And few American politicians have ever had the gall and anti-democratic leanings to leave a such a major change in electoral policy to backroom political deals rather than put it to a public vote even if it’s only because of the little obstacles put in place by the Constitution. We’d expect such chicanery of George W. Bush. We find it utterly revolting to come from Micheal Bloomberg, Christine Quinn and Marty Markowitz.

No change in term limits should ever be retroactive to those voting upon it and no change in term limits should every be considered without a public referendum. Of course, should the Putin & Napoleon City Hall/Borough Hall Putsch succeed today, voters will be able to have the ultimate revenge by voting the bastards out of office, as the old saying goes.

Oh, but wait, we’re still holding back on our real feelings.

From our friends at Park Slope Parents comes word via an email that the energy scammers we’ve devoted more posts to than we ever thought we would are working the Slope too. Per an email:

A man just knocked on my door and when I asked who it was he said IDT/Con-Ed. When I told him I hadn’t called Con Ed he started knocking on the door next to mine. I then opened the door and asked to see his id. When he flashed it I said that didn’t look like any Con Ed id I’d ever seen and he defensively said “I said I was from IDT/Con Ed” I then asked him to please leave the building because we do not allow people to do solicitations. He said he had just spoken to the super and I said that I didn’t care…I was asking him to leave. He then caught an attitude with me and said I was doing this because he was a black man. I said it had nothing to do with that and that it was becuase of a scam I had been hearing about. He said he was “just doing his job” and I said I wished him well but that he couldn’t do it here.

More Slope scamming ahead with a claim of a “tax refund.”

It looks like Williamsburg’s many music venues are going to have to move over and let one more in, but something tells us this might not be the kind of competition they would ever be expecting. Opera Oggi New York s is opening the doors of MacCaddin Memorial Hall Theater at 288 Berry St. “Rehearsals, started this week, are already bringing serious opera back to the theater,” with the first performance to be L’Oracolo, by Leone, November 6, 7 and 8.–Neighborhood Watch

[Photo courtesy of galvarez51/GL Flickr Pool]

Here’s a really cool pic dropped into our GL Flickr Pool by galvarez51 that shows some of that good old entrepreneurial spirit in Sheepshead Bay.

After the longest time of waiting, wondering, rolling our eyes and saying “yeah yeah yeah, sure,” it seems that work is finally going to get started next month on the Brooklyn Bridge Park. We’ll certainly be keeping an eye on this – and hope our GL Flickr Pool friends do the same.–Brownstoner

[Photo courtesy of Rubys Host/GL Flickr Pool]

Every time we’ve seen the ultimately beautiful sunset pic from Coney Island from Rubys Host, she blows us away with another one. Wow.

We don’t know about you, but the last thing we really want to deal with when we get off the G Train in the middle of rush hour after a long annoying day at work is get smacked by an SUV while exiting the train station. Well, actually, the dude thought they had drive through banking on Manhattan Ave, but come on, a newly-arrived Greenpoint hipster could have died.–NewYorkShitty

[Photos courtesy of Katia Kelly/PMFA]

If these people come to your door call 311. These are working for IDT Energy and are going door to door at this very moment in Carroll Gardens trying to get information from people so they can switch people from Con Ed to IDT without their consent or knowledge. The employees may or may not know what the company is doing. These photos were sent to us by PMFA blogger Katia Kelly who watches her neighborhood closely and loves it dearly. She has a post up about it too. Check out the dude below. A little camera shy?

A GL Correspondent writes with news for our Carroll Gardens and Gowanus readers about the slimy scammers that have been all over Brooklyn working scams that end up switching people from one energy company to another without their consent: “Idt canvasser spotted on carroll!” Guess they’re not reading blogs and understanding that there’s a lot of people out there to whom IDT canvasser is becoming a euphemism for “slimeball thief.”

Photosynth the Brooklyn Museum from Brooklyn Museum on Vimeo.

It’s definitely weird. We suggest playing with it. At the beginning it looks like you can pick a number of views to play with. You can also do this by clicking on the timeline at the bottom. It’s not unlike playing with Google Streetview, but it is different.

Best street furniture photo ever? If not, it’s damned close. Clearly, it has less to do with the furniture itself than with the blow-up Mr. Stud seated on it. Mr. Stud? For freaking real? The photo comes to us courtesy of the good people behind the IMBY blog, which has spent a long time chronicling the trials and tribulations of living with quality-of-life violating development in the South Slope and performed a public service that print publications, even local ones, have been unwilling to do in any sort of comprehensive or original way, highlighting the extent to which traditional media has abbrogated its responsibility to the communities that they profess to serve. Anyway, that’s off-topic here, because this is about Mr. Stud and his seat.

You may only throw out your old electronic items once every few years, or maybe at most once every year if you’re accident prone with your cell phone (like some of us), but electronic waste contributes to more than 70% of the toxic waste we create in the US. Tech companies keep putting out snazzy little machines for us to play with and we continue with our wasteful consumerism, so we do have a duty to be more thoughtful in what we do with what we don’t want anymore. This being said, the Lower East Side Ecology Center has two upcoming opportunities in Brooklyn for you to deliver your outdated and broken electronic equipment for recycling:

Cobble Hill drop off will be PS 29 school yard on Baltic between Henry & Clinton Streets on Saturday 11/1, 10am-4pm.

Park Slope drop off will be PS 321 on 7th Ave b/w 1st & 2nd Streets on Saturday 12/6, 10am-4pm.

All items are subject to be refurbished for reuse. No worries, though, because any personal information will be completely safeguarded, destroyed and wiped clean. And, if you’re one of those people who have to have some other benefit other than just the benefit of feeling good about doing a good thing, you can get a tax deduction. For more information and details about this and other ecological events in our fine city, visit the Lower East Side Ecology Center.
–Vaduz Uvunt

No one is injured or run down, which is a good thing.

Unless you live nearby it’s easy miss Marishu, a little vintage ‘shop’ hidden in a garden-apartment located in the back of 518 Court Street. Only open Saturdays from 11am to 6pm, it is a mysterious yet inviting space. Filled with bric-a-brak of all sorts like sewing machines, textiles, dishes, collectibles, lamps, and even garden gnomes it has a little bit for everyone. Owner Amy Long describes her shop as a “speakeasy antique shop” offering hot chocolate and cider. With Winter coming on Ms. Long is readying up the place for the new season, we can’t wait to see the results. Do stop by and support you local business owner.
—E.C. Stephens

[Photo courtesy of supervivette/flickr]

Of course, our favorite Barack Obama thing is the photo of the Williamsburg sign that Noah Kalina hit Curbed up with this week. But this pic is pretty cool too. Signs of Barack are everywhere, even if brave souls, here and there, show their McCain-Palin preferences. Even in Park Slope.

There are many things going on this Halloween season, and Correspondent E.C. Stephens has put together a list of some of them. There’s some pretty darned cool stuff here, so do have a look through the full list. It was compiled by E.C. Stephens. You are welcome to link to the list. Do not copy and paste this content and if you “borrow” it, credit E.C. Stephens, who worked hard to compile it, and link to GL:

Ghouls and Gourds at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden: Show off your costume, carouse with colossal puppets, make raucous rhythms, and shake your bag o’ bones at Brooklyn’s wackiest costume parade! Enjoy music for families by the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, John Carlin & the Kids Music Underground, Guy Davis, Bash the Trash, Maracatu NY and the Von Swing Family. Plus, chat with celebrated children’s book authors and illustrator.
Sunday, Oct. 26, Noon – 6 p.m.
Cost: General Admission, Kids under 12 are free.
Contact: 718-623-7200, www.bbg.org

The Brooklyn Heights Halloween Parade: Sponsored by the Brooklyn Heights Playground Committee. Location: Pierrepont Playground.
Saturday, Oct. 25, 10 a.m.

Pumpkin Patch at Lief Ericson Park: Hay rides, face painting and games. Best costume prizes for the little ones. Proceeds will go to “Bridge to Youth” that helps children with developmental disabilities.
Location: Lief Ericson Park, 66 Street and Ft. Hamilton Parkway.
Saturday, Oct. 25, 12 – 5 p.m.
Contact: 347-219-2153

There is a lot more. A whole lot more. Click here.

Are McCain Boosters Allowed to Live in the Slope? Apparently. [NYT]
Marty Grows a Set [NY Shitty]
Asian Bridal Parties Posing in Prospect Park [A Year in the Park]
Nader Also Gets His Moment in the Burg Sun [Gothamist]
In a Brooklyn Courtroom, “hunde kala e saa’i mun” [City Room]
Brooklyn Industries Mannequins Sporting Barack Masks [Racked]
DOT May Eventually Fix Atlantic Terminal Intersection O’ Doom [Streetsblog]

Yesterday, the IRS issued critical new rules that ban the use of tax-free financing for arenas among other facilities. Among those impacted are Bruce Ratner’s planned Atlantic Yards facility. Norman Oder of Atlantic Yards report read the ruling and determined that it allows a “loophole” that allows such financing for the Atlantic Yards project as well as additional bonding for the new Yankee and Mets Stadiums. In today’s Times, Charles Bagli pretty much comes to the same conclusion. Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, however, has a very different interpretation, and we expect that the ambiguity of the language and ruling could lead to even more litigation and government hearings. The key phrase is that it grandfathers in projects “substantially in progress.” We can see lawyers and bureaucrats arguing this point about Atlantic Yards until we live in Green-Wood Cemetery. (Which is beyond the real issue of whether the deeply sick credit market will dole out $950 million in financing for a one-sport arena whose cost overrruns could spike the price way past $1 billiion, making the most expensive arena in the history of mankind.) Here is the DDDB statement:

Bruce Ratner’s Barclays Center Arena Not Qualified for Tax-exempt Bonds Under Today’s IRS Ruling

The IRS today issued a long awaited decision on the regulation of triple tax-exempt bonds. Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards Barclays Center Arena is reliant on $800 million in triple tax-exempt bonds. Today’s ruling, including the rule titled “transitional rule for certain projects substantially in progress,” disqualifies the developer, Bruce Ratner, from getting these bonds for his $950 million arena.

“Ratner does not qualify for the tax-exempt bond he wants under the IRS ruling’s requirements. There was no official government action on the Atlantic Yards arena prior to October 19, 2006 as required by the ruling. The project’s approval was in December, 2006. There were also no ‘significant expenditures’ on the arena prior to the October date as required by the ruling,” said Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn spokesman Daniel Goldstein.

Look for the fun to continue and continue and continue as the credit market continues to collapse.

GL Analysis
We have been long-time opponents of taxpayer subsidies of stadiums and arenas, opposing both direct public spending and indirect bonuses in the form of tax-free spending. In a previous life we went head-to-head with Sen. Arlen Specter on the subject in the Philadelphia Inquirer. We will simply say that the Senator was in favor of such spending and we were were not. In the case of Atlantic Yards, we tend to believe that calling it “substantially in progress” is a stretch, but the ultimate judgment depends on what is included in that definition, in other words, whether state approval is in and of itself enough to call the project “substantially in progress” or actual steel rising out of the grounds constitutes it. In addition, the key date in the ruling, according to DDDB is October 19, 2006. Was AY “substantially in progress” back then? In any case, we go back to our long-held belief that such facilities operate for the benefit of wealthy sports franchises and their owners and should be financed completely by them. This is an issue that stands apart from the planning and quality of life issues related to Atlantic Yards. It is about how scarce public resources should be invested.

Oh, Gowanus Whole Foods. So many people had high hopes of grilled free range chicken pick ups and so many others hoped that you never dug a toxic whole into the parcel of toxic muck that your corporate real estate people saw fit to buy. Most recently, Brownstoner reported that an unnamed source “close” to the state Dept. of Environmental Conservation was saying the project will never happen. (Which makes sense given the state of the economy and the fact that there are other Brooklyn sites that would be far less expensive to develop and face far less community opposition.) The site, however, continues its grand tradition of opening itself to public tours of the toxic territory either via its falling fence or a sometimes (okay, rarely) open gate. Our street walking correspondent Max Casey smelled this problem from a mile away and knew we’d dig the pic. Perhaps, given the lush vegetation on the site, they could turn into a Jardin Botanique Toxique? For the record, it’s been nearly two years since the official “groundbreaking” at the site. Never take those “groundbreakings” to the bank, friends.

One sees many strange things when perusing real estate listings, particularly in the curious Craigslist wasteland. Yet, this listing for an 8×10 basement sublet that is a windowless basement bathroom with a mattress is a a prize winner. On the plus side, it’s centrally located at N. 7 & Bedford. If you have seen it, you must check it out. Take our word on this one.–Curbed

[Photo courtesy of Gary Mirabelle]

This is, of course, the lovely Litchfield Villa in Prospect Park in Early fall.

“Hey, I was wondering if you could help me out. When I lived in Greenpoint, there was a strange fenced-off property along the east river between Greenpoint ave and Kent street. There was a prefab looking house, lots of grass a some nice big trees. It seemed strange placed along all the riverfront warehouses. I always imagined it was some CIA safehouse; ).” [GL Inbox]

[Photo courtesy of lornagrl/GL Flickr Pool]

This photo comes from the very talented lornagrl, whose photos we always love to run, and who we are hoping will become a regular GL Contributor. All we can say about this one is: only in Brooklyn, friends.