Developer Promises to Limit Height at 340 Court Street; Will Build Three and Four-Bedroom Units

The former International Longshoremen’s Association building, previously owned by Long Island College Hospital and reportedly sold to Clarett for $24 million, would be razed to make way for 30-40 condos in one building, and five “brownstone-like” townhouses with stoops on both Sackett and Union Streets, Assemblywoman Joan Millman told the Brooklyn Eagle.

Though nothing is in writing, she said that Clarett said it would keep the height down to six or seven stories.

Millman said the developer stressed the condominiums would be large, “a lot of three and even four-bedroom units,” each with one parking space. She was also told Clarett is “actively seeking a commercial tenant for Court Street, possibly a grocery store.”

More details here.

Something Big About to Happen at 340 Court Street

'Something Big' About to Happen at 340 Court

Last week, the Long Island College Ambulatory Care site (formerly known as the Anthony Anastasio International Longshoremen's Association Building) at 340 Court Street in Carroll Gardens had its ground floor windows boarded up, reports the Pardon Me For Asking (PMFA) blog. In addition, rat baiting warning signs appeared on the front door windows.

(Don't know what happened to the LICH School of Nursing... )

PMFA says that rumor has it that the Clarett Group wants to move quickly, so demolition of the existing building could happen very soon. (Pictures here.)

Back in September, the Brooklyn Eagle mentioned that the tower, as of right, could go a bit over 21 stories. If you paid $24 million for a property, wouldn't you develop it to the legal limit? More here.

Lost New York City blog: The Anthony Anastasio Memorial Wing —Brooklyn Longshoremen's Medical Center. * "... Staring at it [the sign] was a chilling reminder of the nabe's vicious past and how much South Brooklyn was once in thrall of the Mob." Anthony "Tough Tony" Anastasio was a union boss who ruled the Brooklyn docks with an iron hand and the threat of reprisal by his mad brother, Albert Anastasio, head of Murder, Inc....

And let's not forget the $17 million for the construction of ambulatory care facilities (at 340 Court St. and 349 Henry St.) The modernization was made possible in part by a $130 million endowment from the estate of Brooklyn philanthropists Donald and Mildred Othmer (old friends of Warren Buffet). Donald Othmer served for many years as a hospital regent.

* Anthony "Tough Tony" Anastasio was a Brooklyn mobster and labor racketeer for the Genevese crime family controlling the Brooklyn dockyards for over thirty years.

Thanks to Brownstoner for link to LICHAC.

City to Commemorate Underground RR in Brooklyn -- At Site Where It Wants to Demolish Alleged Underground RR Safehouse

The city is looking for a non-profit to commemorate Underground Railroad activity in Brooklyn, possibly using the planned Willoughby Square Park as a central orientation point, the Brooklyn Eagle reports.

The move comes on the heels of last month’s eminent domain hearing, which included a home on Duffield Street -- allegedly itself once a safe house along the Underground Railroad -- that the city wants to knock down to build the one-acre park.

More here.

Previous posts on this topic:
- Goodbye Duffield Street Underground RR Homes
- Video Explains All: Brooklyn's Duffield St. Houses
- Lawsuit to Save 'Duffield Seven' from Downtown Brooklyn Plan
- Brooklyn Underground Railroad Home for Sale for $4.5 Million
- Underground RR Consultants Tried to Pull (Another) Fast One
- Atlantic Yards Consultant Bill Up to $4.8 Million
- Red Hook Lane Demapped, No Longer Exists
- Is $500,000 Underground Railroad Study Bogus?

Photo by MK Metz

Big Holiday Crafts Fair at Brooklyn Friends School, Downtown Brooklyn

A correspondent sent this in:

Save the date: Brooklyn Friends School’s 28th Annual Holiday Craft Fair is taking place Saturday, December 1st, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 375 Pearl Street, Downtown Brooklyn near the Marriott.

Don't miss Brooklyn's premier holiday shopping event, featuring hand-crafted items such as ceramics, sweaters, scarves and other wearables, musical instruments, jewelry, and other one-of-a-kind items. This is shaping up to be the school’s biggest and best Craft Fair to date, with more than 40 vendors.

Bring the kids – childcare will be provided while you shop, along with fun activities like a Moon Walk, Obstacle Course, face painting, carnival games and performance.

For more information, call 718-852-1029, or visit: www.brooklynfriends.org

Romanesco Broccoli at Farmers Market in Brooklyn Heights

The mysterious and beautiful Romanesco broccoli (or fractal broccoli) is an edible flower of the species Brassica oleracea -- and a variant form of cauliflower (see Wikipedia).

Visit the farmer's market at Borough Hall for a great selection of these beautiful vegetables (sooner rather than later).

According to FourmiLabs's Fractal Foods: "This is so visually stunning an object that on first encounter it's hard to imagine you're looking at a garden vegetable rather than an alien artifact created with molecular nanotechnology."

Photo by MK Metz

Sex -- Make that 'Text '-- in the City (Dumbo)

In conjunction with Sex in the City, the group exhibition currently on view at the Dumbo Arts Center, Sara Marcus presents an afternoon reading, Text in the City, this coming Sunday, November 18, 2007 at 3 p.m.

Dumbo Arts Center, 30 Washington Street

All Out War Declared Against New York's Pigeons -- Robotic Hawks Soon to Be Unleashed

The ice caps are melting, Al Qaeda laughs at us and rats run rampant through our parks -- but at least we can beat the hell out of pigeons.

The City Council is considering legislation that includes slipping pigeons birth control, unleashing robotic hawks to scare them, and ticketing people for sprinkling bread crumbs on the ground. One robotic hawk (plus stand) costs $4,072.

Councilman Simcha Felder announced legislation Monday aimed at thinning the city’s pigeon population -- spurred by complaints to his office that elevated train stations were covered with their droppings, reports the Brooklyn Eagle.

“The people of New York are sick and tired of dodging pigeons and their droppings as they walk around the city,” he said.

His multi-faceted plan would be overseen by a “pigeon czar."

Trained hawks, guided by handlers, were employed to frighten roosting pigeons in Bryant Park a few years ago. Though the program resulted in a 50 percent reduction of pigeons, “it was abandoned when one of the hawks mistook a small dog for prey,” said the report.

Sad but true: the whole story here.

Photo by Swami Stream, Creative Commons license

Carroll Gardens Landmarking Meeting

Out-of-context development is changing the face of Carroll Gardens, says CGNA (Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association).

Join the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association on Monday, November 19, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at PS 58 (the Carroll School Auditorium, Carroll Street entrance) for an opportunity to learn about the process of landmarking from the experts. A panel of professionals and residents will explain landmarking, how the process works, and more. For more information, please contact Maria Pagano, 718 858 4699, or CGNA@Yahoo.com.

- DeBlasio to Meet with 360 Smith Street Petition Signers
- Size DOES Matter on Second Place
- Brooklyn Wednesday in Brief
- Smith Street: Zombies? Performance Art?
- 'Stop Scarano' Rally at DOB Today
- Brooklyn's Smith Street Today
- 'Protect Our Homes in Carroll Gardens' Petition

Photo by MK Metz

Namesake of Barclays Center in Brooklyn Said to Be Bankrolling Mugabe's Corrupt Zimbabwe Regime

The Sunday Times of London reports that Barclays Bank (as in Barclays Center, the proposed home of the Brooklyn Nets) is bankrolling President Robert Mugabe's corrupt regime in Zimbabwe by providing "substantial loans to cronies given land seized from white farmers."

Ironic, considering that Barclays Bank was reported to have recently conceded that companies it bought over the years may have been involved in the slave trade. Or maybe not.

Frank Gehry's Buildings Don't Leak, Manhattan Real Estate Will Never Go Down, and More Brooklyn in Brief This Weekend

- “My name’s Frank Gehry, and my buildings don't leak," announced the architect at last Thursday's Guggenheim International Gala. So just forget about that MIT lawsuit. New York Magazine

- Lundy's in Sheepshead Bay to become a "Whole Foods-style" market? Gowanus Lounge

- Greenpoint's NewYorkShitty has a problem with "Passion Parties." NYShitty

- A white swan was seen paddling up the Gowanus Canal. "The same canal recently found to harbor social diseases. The swan paddled against the putrid tide, towards the brownfield that will one day house the new Whole Foods ..." SPWilliams blog, via Gowanus Lounge

- A top intelligence official says it is time people in the United States changed their definition of privacy. Huffington Post

- The real estate recession is not solely a 'Sub-Prime' problem, says New York City Housing Bubble, adding, "Yes, Real Estate Prices Can Drop in Half--Even in Manhattan." NYCHB