Quality of Life
May 9, 2008
Small Fire at 380 Clinton Avenue
According to a tipster, there was a small fire at the gorgeous mansion at 380 Clinton Avenue on Wednesday night; we stopped by yesterday and snapped this photo of this second-floor window, which appears to be the only spot of damage. Currently home to the Teen Challenge, the 1909 house is known as the Julius Liebman residence. It is one of the few houses designed by the prominent architecture firm of Herts & Tallant for the grandson of Samuel Liebman, founder of the brewery that later became Rheingold. Did any readers pass by while the fire was being contained? GMAP
Union Hall Meeting: The Video
Here's a video we shot after CB6's land-use/landmarks committee made a motion to recommend that the State Liquor Authority deny Union Hall's liquor license renewal. The first speaker is Lou Sones, who introduced the motion. The second speaker, another committee member, talks about his misgivings over the motion.
Community Board Moving to Nuke Union Hall [Brownstoner]
Community Board Moving to Nuke Union Hall
Last night Community Board 6's landmarks/land-use committee dealt a harsh (albeit symbolic) blow to local watering hole and performance space Union Hall. After a lengthy and often rancorous public hearing about renewing the Park Slope bar and venue's liquor license, the committee voted 6 to 2 in favor of a motion that denies Union Hall a renewal unless the business's owners sign a contract stipulating that they will take measures to ameliorate noise, such as stopping the sale of alcohol after midnight. Although the motion is ultimately only advisory, the committee member who introduced it—Lou Sones, who himself owns a bar, The Brazen Head on Atlantic Avenue—described it as the community board's "nuclear weapon" in terms of being a powerful indication to the State Liquor Authority that Union Hall is disturbing the lives of nearby residents. The motion was introduced after a two-hour-long pubic hearing in which many supporters of Union Hall, which is on Union Street between 5th and 6th avenues, spoke about how much they appreciated the business. A good number of residents who live near the establishment, meanwhile, described how noise from the business and its patrons was negatively affecting their quality of life. More people at the hearing, in fact, spoke out in support of Union Hall than against it. Find out what they had to say, and read the anti-UH faction's claims, on the jump...
Continue reading "Community Board Moving to Nuke Union Hall"
May 7, 2008
Crown Heights Doesn't Want UES Homeless Center
Some Crown Heights residents are organizing against the city's plan to relocate its sole intake center for single homeless men from the Upper East Side to the castle-like armory at Atlantic and Bedford Avenues. The city plans to turn its UES facility into a hotel and conference center, despite 60 percent of the city's homeless population living in Manhattan versus 16 percent in Brooklyn. We have a source who works closely with the Mayor's Office on this issue, who said the goal is to make the intake center more difficult to reach so fewer homeless men would turn to the shelter system. Each shelter bed cost $35,000 a year, or $2,916 a month. The city would rather spend that money on more permanent housing programs and hopes some men who typically sleep at shelters for a night or two would instead stay with friends or family, said the source, adding that the city's most at-risk homeless population tends to avoid shelters.
Rachel Pratt of CHARM (Crown Heights Revitalization Movement), backed by Councilwoman Letitia James, said her community board already has more than its fair share of social service beds—112 beds per 100 acres, compared to neighborhoods like Bensonhurst/ Gravesend and Bay Ridge/ Dyker Heights, which have less than 6 beds per 100 acres. The armory accounts for half of the 1,170 beds in Crown Heights North/ Prospect Height's, and has one of the worst reputations among in the city. James said she wants a portion of the armory converted into a recreation center like in Park Slope, and doesn't feel her district should have to accept the increase in homelessness in exchange. See the full comparison data on social service beds in Brooklyn community boards after the jump...
City to Close UES Homeless Shelter, Relocate to Bed-Stuy [Daily News]
Upper East Siders Want Homeless Shelter to Stay [NY Post]
The Future of the Atlantic Armory? [Brownstoner]
History of the Atlantic Armory [Bed-Stuy Banana]
Continue reading "Crown Heights Doesn't Want UES Homeless Center"
May 6, 2008
Slope Stroller Overabundance Making One Guy a Shut-In
Longtime New York Press columnist Jim Knipfel has a new rant about Park Slope stroller culture that sets the bar high for future diatribes on the subject. This is how it begins:
This morning as I was leaving the bank, a woman recklessly pushing her armor-plated double stroller down the sidewalk veered sharply and unexpectedly into an elderly man walking with a cane. He, in turn, fell into me. I was able to catch him and hold him upright and he seemed to be okay. Just a little flustered. The woman, of course, had said nothing, apparently considering an apology or even a simple “excuse me” unnecessary under the circumstances. She was a mother after all, and therefore privileged, so she simply continued careening on her way.
Knipfel says that the number of strollers in the Slope, as well as the neighborhood's dog breed preferences (it's really mostly the strollers, though) mean he can only leave his apartment for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time, because he finds the situation out on the streets too harrowing and exhausting. The writer says that for the past year he's been counting the number of strollers he sees in the Slope ("I’m averaging 1.45 strollers per block. Think about it—there has been at least one stroller, and usually more, for every block I’ve walked. It’s insanity.") Knipfel takes issue with the air of entitlement that he sees a lot of the neighborhood's parents displaying and notes that he sees a good number of kids being pushed around who look too old for strollers. Also, he says, it's not a subject that can be broached in polite, public Slope discourse: "The child-free adults in the neighborhood mutter and complain about the problem, but only behind closed doors, and usually in whispers. They don’t dare say a negative word when they’re outside, for the simple reason that they’re terrified, most of them. Indulgent, affluent parents are too powerful a lobby (and what’s more, those strollers can really hurt when you get rammed)."
The Statistics of Contempt [Slackjaw]
Photo from dailyheights.com
May 1, 2008
Greenway Plans Rolling Along; 5 miles Expected in 2 Years
Grand plans for Brooklyn Greenway, the waterfront pedestrian and bike path, are on the brink of moving forward, according to a story in this morning's Eagle. The Greenway currently spans 14 miles. Half a mile of the route planned for Columbia Street is slated to be complete by the end of the summer, and design work for the Williamsburg-Greenpoint segment is expected to begin soon. "The overall picture is that we’re moving into design,” says Milton Puryear, vice chairman and director of planning for the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative. “We’re hoping that we can get five miles constructed within the next two years. When you’re coordinating with multiple agencies, it can take years.” The entire project could cost around $50 million, and Rep. Nydia Velázquez, whose district includes most of the future Greenway, has raised $6.6 million in federal funding for the Red Hook, Navy Yard and Greenpoint sections and $8 million for the Sunset Park section.
Greenway Along Brooklyn Waterfront Begins To Take Shape [Eagle]
Photos from the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative.
April 28, 2008
Clamping Down on Curb Cutting
This should be a crowd pleaser. The Daily News and the New York Times both have articles today about new legislation that will make it a lot tougher to convert front yards into parking lots. The Times notes that legislation to be voted on by the City Council this week will not only make it harder to get approval for a curb cut, it will step up enforcement of curb cuts that have already been made illegally. If all goes well, the DOT will be able to remove illegal curb cuts at the homeowner's expense. If approved, the new bill would also prevent homeowners from paving over their entire front yards. “[Curb cutting] is the bane of many people’s existence,” said Councilman Vincent Gentile, a sponsor of the bills. “It is an issue that is burning in people many times over, especially those that are affected by the curb cut and not able to park anymore.”
New Zoning Rule to Ban Paving Front Lawn [NY Daily News]
The Last Cut Is the Deepest [NY Times]
Landscapers Win a Round Against Cement Trucks [Curbed]
Photo by Tangentialism
April 16, 2008
Closing Bell: Spring Planting on Front Street
The beautification of Dumbo continues. In addition to the Tom Otterness sculpture at Washington and Prospect, a ton of new blossoming trees have been planted over the last week on Front Street.
Gowanus Group Proposes 'Sponge Park' to Soak Run-Off
The Gowanus Canal Conservancy unveiled a rendering of its proposed esplanade along the canal, adorably dubbed "Sponge Park" (you know, because it will absorb runoff that contributes to the sewage overflow problem). The above rendering, by local landscape architecture firm dlandstudio, is a view from Third Street looking north. The project assumes a 40-foot easement alongside the canal, consistent with waterfront access requirements elsewhere in the city. Like Williamsburg and Greenpoint, any rezoning of Gowanus would likely require public waterfront access and design standards so, for example, the street lamps and park benches are consistent along the entire esplanade. Gowanus presents a unique challenge because its crumbling bulkheads are expensive to replace and obtaining a waterfront permit is a complicated venture that has been one of many vexing issues for Whole Foods. The dlandstudio plan is interesting because, judging from the fast-moving slide show on their website, the waterfront is lined with retention basins and filtration systems that would prevent some runoff from pouring directly into the canal—although the main source of oily runoff is the Gowanus Expressway that looms above, creating grotesquely beautiful swirls of color the day after a long-awaited rain. Yum. The Conservancy will be hosting its public presentation April 21, 6:30 p.m. at P.S.58, 330 Smith Street at the corner of Carroll Street.
Gowanus Photo Gallery [Brownstoner]
DOB Puts Partial SWO on Whole Foods Site [Brownstoner]
April 15, 2008
Double-Digit Increase in Clinton Hill Crime Rate
The Daily News reports that there's been a big jump in crimes in Clinton Hill so far this year, a rise that's partially being blamed on a lack of fresh blood at the local precinct. The NYPD has recorded a 24 percent increase in robberies and a 43 percent jump in car theft in Clinton Hill compared to this time last year. While four officers were scheduled to leave the 88th Precinct this year, the station got no new officers from the graduating Police Academy class; an NYPD source told the paper that new recruits are being assigned to cover the Atlantic Terminal Mall rather than joining the precinct. "You get the feeling that [the attacks are] brazen, and people don't think they will be caught," said one resident. "If you had police either in their cars or walking up and down the street, it wouldn't happen." Councilperson Letitia James says the rise in crimes is "very, very scary," and some residents are spearheading a letter-writing campaign to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly asking that the NYPD assign more officers to the neighborhood.
Clinton Hill Quaking in Crime Wave [NY Daily News]
Photo by jeffreywithtwof's.