North 8: Shangri La on the East River

I heard the closed firehouse up the block is scaring people off. Where
are the sailboats?

Posted by: Anonymous at September 28, 2006 10:23 AM

I've been living on the Northside (North numbered streets in Williamsburg/Greenpoint) for over 15 years...I've seen it all. Here are some thoughts:

* the closed Fire House - interesting that once they closed it, insurance companies told local homeowners they won't insure them - maybe these homeowners will sell to deep pockets in the know?? And then (you watch...) the firehouse will re-open, of course, and the new property owners will have no problemos with the insurance (let's place bets on when the firehouse reopens and how big the tower shadows are at that point in time...
* the lack of continuity in new development - the sheer number of uglified new buildings or renovated warehouses is truly disturbing and sad. This part of Brooklyn deserves to be assisted in ensuring that what ever is built is esthetically pleasing...and pleasing to most, not some avant garde architectual grad students or full-timers looking for a cool project to chat about over the next overpriced salad at some 'got-to-be-seen-in trendy bistro. You know exactly what I mean here.
* less 99 cent stores - man, have we got lots. New development=new people=more money=people who want to shop in nicer stores. 99 cents stores have a place - I use 'em too. BUT... new shops and stores are definitely welcome.
* Parking - parking is already a big worry. Cramming in more people into towers and converted warehouses means more and more cars...Maybe we'll see more bikes, moped and vespas?
* Community Board - corrupt and ineffectual - except for their own interests. Been like that for years; part of the big Dem machine. There are too many topics they could rally around, but never will. Ex. the new development; soundness of buildings (lots of violations are reported in many places); esthetic considerations; why let a tower be proposed in the midst of 3-4 story buildings; etc. The community board manages the money the City appropriates for the nabes. Need we say more???
* Infrastructure - just where do we think all these new residents will work? And what forms of transoportation will they use to get there?? Oh I know, the L train. Watch the 61 bus discharge its crowds of passengers at North 7th street; watch how many people come out of the trains ALL THE TIME (it feels like rush hour at 10 PM!!). How will the single-tubed L train handle all the increased volume of commuters?? The crowds on the subway platform at the Bedford Ave. stop on most days can be 4-5 deep. Then you have to let 1-3 trains go by before you can squeeze in one. Ferry boats? Nice, but we will need lots and they will always be cost-prohibitive. And are they discharging passengers to convenient stops in Manhattan or any other Borough?
* Toxic worries - the largest oil spill going and it's being cleaned up by beaurocrats, politicrats, oil execucrats. Translation: "any day now..."The NEW! Beverly Hillbillies will be here drilling for oil, before it gets appropriately cleaned up. The new reports of Methane gas seeping up through the ground. Nothing like the smell of farts everywhere you roam to make you fell cozy and at home. Waste treatment plant - it already is overstuffed, keeps spritzing the air with eau du poops. I'm too depressed to go on listing the problems...
Parks and green spaces - McCarren Park is so used, it's a wonder there is any grass there at all. The old McCarren Pool is now being used for alternative rock festivals/concerts. Nothing "green " about that. Not sure how we could get more park, but parkifying lots of the waterfront would be a big start.
Movie theaters - Williamsburg and Greenpoint used to have many. Now there are none. We need one. How come no developer with money to burn on towers, etc. hasn't figured out the cost benefits of opening up a multiplex? If you build it, they will come!!
* Bowling lanes - another immediate hit with the neighborhood. If you build it, they will come!!

That's all for now.

The Greenpoint Falcon

Posted by: Anonymous at September 28, 2006 12:00 PM

I moved to the North side in 1989 and left in 1994, That neighborhood was and will always be a dump, the people buying there now are stupid. . I wish I would Have bought property there I was stupid.

Posted by: Anonymous at September 28, 2006 12:43 PM

here's an addendum to Falcon's post:
1. The "North" numbered streets and all of the "Northside" are in Williamsburg. Always have been; check the incorporated boundaries of the village and city of Williamsburgh. Greenpoint has always been north of Bushwick Creek, which used to meander through what is now McCarren Park and beyond.
2. Yep, the City does no comprehensive planning. It re-zones neighborhoods with little thought to the transportation (L train, B61, ferries) and open space carrying capacity. Then, it has to play catch-up later. A state park is planned for the waterfront between North 7th and Bushwick Inlet (nee Creek) but that has been the case for years now. When already?
3. Community boards DO NOT manage the money spent in the neighborhoods they serve. Community boards are advisory. What's more, their own budgets are miniscule. A 25-33 percent increase in their budgets could allow each board to hire one more person to address more (but probably still not all) of your many valid concerns.

Posted by: Anonymous at September 28, 2006 4:19 PM

My "favorite" North 8 rendering shows a nice wide sidewalk on Kent Ave. complete with trees.

Having walked by North 8 condos I can assure you that will not be the case. There's probably 4 feet of sidewalk.

Posted by: Anonymous at September 28, 2006 7:07 PM

You can see for yourself. Saturdays are best. Just hang out in front of their sales office and see the brokers leading the people to the building's site. You can't miss them they get little white plastic hard hats to wear. For the most part they do look like the people in the promo. Sans children, though.

Posted by: Anonymous at September 29, 2006 9:40 AM

that same black woman can be found photoshopped into an ad for "The Veneto" condo residences in manhattan. she got ps'ed in a few months into the campaign.

Posted by: Anonymous at September 30, 2006 10:32 AM