11211side

Tipping Over Domino

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:49:34 -0500

Matt Chaban nails it:

but it all basically boils down... that the project is just too damn big

Faith No More to Play Williamsburg Waterfront

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:56:17 -0500

OSA announced a series of paid concerts to be held at East River State Park this summer. The series kicks off on July 5 with a reunited Faith No More, with all proceeds for the paid events benefitting OSA and their work to preserve and create parks in North Brooklyn. (These concerts are in addition to the free "Pool Party" concerts, of which there will be eight this summer.)

Controversial Brooklyn Architect is Barred

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:47:26 -0500

Coincidentally or not, yesterday was the anniversary of Bob Guskind's death.

The Party Bus

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:56:50 -0500

"This bus is a little bit like going back to the New York of the '70s or '80s, when it wasn't about the money, it was about the spirit," said Richard Mark Jordan, an actor from Bushwick who was gyrating in the aisle with friends and high-fiving strangers.

If by "the New York of the '70s or the '80s" you mean the Upper East Side frat-boy scene, then yes. Otherwise, it's nothing at all like the New York of anytime.

I suppose the silver lining here is that the bus is taking these people OUT OF the neighborhood.

Cultivate the Grassroots

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:42:48 -0500

This article is almost two-and-a-half years old, but it is still pertinent. Are community groups buying in or selling out when they team up with for-profit developers and endorse large luxury developments in exchange for affordable housing?

Big Williamsburg Condo Project Faces Foreclosure

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:00:22 -0500

Crain's has the latest on the Warehouse 11 saga (which ultimately ties into 20 Bayard and Rose Plaza).

This little bit made me smile - a lot:

...the 120-unit condo, built atop the former Roebling Oil Field...

Emphasis added.

Climate-Change Debate is Heating Up in Deep Freeze

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:35:09 -0500

Skeptics of global warming are using the record-setting snows to mock those who warn of dangerous human-driven climate change — this looks more like global cooling, they taunt.

This is great news - 150+ years of human-induced climate change has been reversed with just two snow storms! And, we all get to make fun of Al Gore again!

New Domino" "Authenticity" and Affordable Housing

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:57:16 -0500

Despite misgivings on the authenticity front ("new businesses cannot help but name themselves for whatever working-class business used to exist at the same location. It has always struck me as being an inside joke that’s in poor taste..."), author Willy Staley finds some hope in the New Domino proposal.

Gays in the Military: Fisking Bill Kristol

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:18:14 -0500

"Abstract" is of course a way to dismiss the bookish Mr Obama, as opposed to Mr Kristol, ~~a decorated Afghanistan veteran and noted military tactician~~ the editor of an opinion magazine.

City Reliquary Needs Your Help

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:38:42 -0500

The City Reliquary is a fantastic local institution. Unfortunately, they are caught up in the bureaucracy of City funding, which hits small, legitimate non-profits the worst.

You can send them money directly, or go to their Fire Sale: NYC Firefighter Date Auction at The Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Avenue) on February 18th. Doors are open at 6:00 PM/ Show opens at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $20 and available at the door.

Talking Trash

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:25:41 -0500

In other ... neighborhoods, leaders say their litter problem could be ameliorated if they had more public garbage cans and if the sanitation department swung by more often.

You can walk for blocks in Northside or Soutside Williamsburg without seeing a public trash receptacle. And where there are public trash cans (Bedford throughout the Northside, e.g.), they are often overflowing.

Warehouse 11 Races Against the Clock

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:08:54 -0500

If you are thinking of buying at Warehouse 11, here is a new incentive to bid low. Way low.

The Chrystie Street Cut

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:25:27 -0500

Remember my post about the V train coming to Williamsburg? Old news, it turns out - as linked above, Second Avenue Sagas had full post on it two weeks ago. As I surmised, the switch from the BMT to the IND is west of the Delancey/Essex station, but what I didn't know is that the transfer has a name - the Chrystie Street Cut.

Clearly I don't read enough blogs.

Artists, Artworks Sought for Public Plazas in Brooklyn

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 23:16:36 -0500

The city is looking for artists to design new public artworks for public plazas citywide, including three local sites: Knickerbocker Plaza in Bushwick; Humboldt Plaza in East Williamsburg; and Myrtle Avenue Plaza in Clinton Hill.

M.T.A. Plan Would Spare Some Routes and Cut Others

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:50:46 -0500

Is Williamsburg about to get expanded subway service??

Maybe, according to the Times:

The V train, which now ends at Second Avenue and Houston Street, would replace the M train and travel east to Metropolitan Avenue in Queens.

And the MTA confirms it in their latest description of the proposed service cuts [warning - links to very large PDF]:

Subway Reductions/Discontinuations Being Considered for the First Time: ...Extending V to Metropolitan Avenue to replace M service north of Essex Street and discontinuing M service south of Essex Street. V no longer stops at 2nd Avenue.

If this happens, the V would provide direct service on the Broadway elevated line from Bushwick and Williamsburg to Soho, Greenwich Village and Midtown. Without having to switch trains at Essex/Delancey. (I believe the elimination of the Second Avenue stop is because the switch from the BMT (brown) tracks to the IND (orange) tracks is located west of Essex Street - the train will actually be picking up the tracks that the B and D run on up to Broadway/Lafayette.)

On top of which, the latest austerity plan by the MTA no longer eliminates the Z train. (The proposed cuts still include the elimination of the B39 bus across the Williamsburg Bridge, but this route is truly redundant.)