The City Council's Land Use hearing on the contentious Dock Street project takes place this Thursday, and those both for and against the idea of a large development (shown above) very near the Brooklyn Bridge are loading their cannons.
While the major issue is the diminishing of views of and from the historic Brooklyn Bridge, too much attention is being paid to the developer's distracting sideshow -- space for the small (300 seat) middle school he promises to give to the city if they let him build next to the bridge.
Two Trees has used locals' hunger for a middle school to build support for the project among desperate parents. The School Construction Authority (SCA), until the offer by Two Trees, was unresponsive to the needs of the growing Brooklyn Heights/Dumbo community.
Against: Documents made public by the SCA after a freedom of information request by Councilman David Yassky indicate that the agency decided to let developer Two Trees include the middle school in the 18-story apartment tower without considering alternate sites proposed by neighborhood groups and Councillman David Yassky.
As the NY Post put it, "the fix was in."
A report in the Brooklyn Paper said that in deciding on a site for a middle school in the Brooklyn Heights/Dumbo area, "the School Construction Authority has only looked at two alternatives: P.S. 8 and the former police precinct on Poplar Street."
For: Dennis Holt, commentator from the Brooklyn Eagle, has recently come up with other documents from the SCA that he says refute the claims that the SCA didn't really try very hard to scout out other sites.
Holt says that documents submitted to the community board on Dec. 1 show an analysis of three alternative sites studied by the SCA. These sites include P.S. 8 and the former police precinct on Poplar Street, plus the former Jehovah’s Witnesses industrial building at 360 Furman St. in Brooklyn Bridge Park. (The last was thrown out because the state and city forbid building a school in the park.)
The "most compelling attribute of the Dock Street project," the SCA said in those documents, is "that it will provide a core and shell structure for a school at minimal financial cost to the public."
Yassky: The Brooklyn Heights Blog reports that Councilman Yassky, speaking at a recent blogger's breakfast, said, “I don’t know why the SCA is so wholly committed to this project, but they plainly have failed to look for the best possible site for the public.”
Roebling Rolls Over in Grave: More than a dozen high-profile local and national preservation groups have made statements of vigorous opposition to a building project “that will forever alter New York’s legendary landscape,” according to Doreen Gallo, Dumbo Neighborhood Alliance executive vice president. One of those opposed is Kristian Roebling, a direct descendant and spokesperson for the descendants of Brooklyn Bridge designer John A. Roebling, reports the Brooklyn Eagle.
Others are historian David McCullough, filmmaker Ken Burns, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Municipal Art Society of New York, the Roebling Chapter of the Society for Industrial Archeology, Historic Districts Council, The Society for the Architecture of the City, and a lot of movie stars.
The Hearing: While a new middle school is certainly needed in the area, the issue of an oversized building that close to the iconic Brooklyn Bridge is an issue that needs to be considered separately from the need for a school.
The Brooklyn Bridge is not just a way to get to Manhattan. It's a part of New York City's history, too important to let the wishes one one developer, however successful, alter forever.
The hearing takes place Thursday, May 21, at 10 a.m., City Council Chamber, City Hall, 260 Broadway. All are encouraged to attend.
- School 'Not Allowed' in Brooklyn Bridge Park
- Dumbo Dock Street Public Hearing Tonight (past)
- Put Middle School in Brooklyn Heights' P.S. 8, Says Yassky
Image courtesy of Two Trees Management
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Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Dock Street Sides (Even the Roeblings) Get Ready for Thursday's Hearing
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Swine Flu? Parents at Brooklyn School Say 'Shut Us Down'
Parents at P.S. 255 in Sheepshead Bay want the city to shut down the school because of rampant absences, reports the Brooklyn Eagle.
“Today there are 90 kids absent, plus five more were sent home,” Alice Hibsher, president of the school’s Parents Association, told the Eagle on Monday. Parents are worried that the kids have H1N1 (swine flu).
Flu fears have spread to schools in Bay Ridge as well, with parents at P.S. 204 calling for help from Councilman Vincent J. Gentile.
The city says it's monitoring the situation, and that the cases have not been confirmed as being caused by the H1N1 virus.
Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein announced today that the City Health Department recommended closing three more school buildings in Queens.
Flu Scare Hits Sheepshead Bay School Brooklyn Eagle
- In 1887, Smallpox Was the Problem
- Tracking Swine Flu Cases
- U.S. Declares Swine Flu Public Health Emergency
Image from Google Maps
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Tracking Swine Flu's Spread
On April 28, we published an article called Tracking Swine Flu Cases, where we listed several ways of tracking the spread of the H1N1 epidemic, including the Google mashup map shown above. (Pink markers are suspect. Purple markers are confirmed or probable. )
We went back to Dr. Niman's map yesterday to see how many new cases there were since late April; here's the updated image.
As of Monday, May 18, there were 6095 suspected and confirmed cases in the U.S., with about 53 in Brooklyn. (This doesn't include the hundreds of kids staying home sick in Brooklyn and Queens with a variety of flu-related symptoms.)
- Swine Flu? Parents at Brooklyn School Say 'Shut Us Down'
- In 1887, Smallpox Was the Problem
- Tracking Swine Flu Cases
- U.S. Declares Swine Flu Public Health Emergency
Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.
Future Home of Brooklyn Bridge Park
Sign at Fulton Ferry Landing.
Photo by MK Metz
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Monday, May 18, 2009
New Cohousing Project in Brooklyn: Meeting Tuesday
People interested in a modern, sustainable version of communal living may be interested in attending tomorrow's meeting about a new project planned by Brooklyn Cohousing.
Brooklyn Cohousing’s new property is in Greenwood Heights/South Slope. The circa-1929 factory and warehouse (sketch left) will be retrofitted as a 30-unit apartment building, according to the Brooklyn Eagle.
The Eagle reports that the project will have private apartments, but also large communal areas including a dining room and kitchen (“for sharing occasional meals together”), a living room and game room, kids room, guest room for visitors, a workshop and tool room, and outdoor space.
The meeting will take place tomorrow (Tuesday) at the Belarusan Church, 401 Atlantic Ave. More details here.
Sketch courtesy of Brooklyn Cohousing.
Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.
In 1887, Smallpox Was the Problem
The swine flu pandemic is our worry de jour, but in 1887, it was smallpox. The Feb. 25, 1887 New York Times lists recent cases of smallpox deaths, including three members of the family of William Coakley, who lived at 187 State Street in Downtown Brooklyn, shown above.
The last one to die, reports the Times, was the father, who was sent to Flatbush Hospital (probably against his will). "The mother and one child are still alive."
At one point the Flatbush Hospital -- said to be "filthy," "wretched" and disgraceful" -- was called the Flatbush Smallpox Hospital.
The Flatbush Hospital started as a notoriously squalid Almshouse, located upon what was once a farm of 70 acres in Flatbush about three miles south of the City Hall of Brooklyn.
Flatbush Hospital is now called Kings County Hospital; problems persist.
Photo by MK Metz
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Rainbow Shirts at Ann Taylor Loft
Maybe you came to observe the parking meters wrapped in woolen cozies, but you stayed to admire the rainbow effect created from ladies' blouses at Ann Taylor Loft.
Montague Street, Brooklyn Heights.
Photo by MK Metz
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Sunday, May 17, 2009
Great Birnam Wood to Brooklyn Heights Comes
What eerie happenstance! Espied from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, it seems Great Birnam Wood has marched upon the future home of Brooklyn Bridge Park.
But hold -- Macbeth need not fear. The Brooklyn Eagle says the trees will soon as not find their separate ways throughout that fair rambling plain.
Macbeth was told by the three witches that he would "never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him." Macbeth took the prediction lightly, until the woods showed up.
Photo by MK Metz
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Saturday, May 16, 2009
New York Photo Festival 2009 in Dumbo This Weekend
The New York Photo Festival is back in Dumbo this weekend. Photos are being exhibited all over the neighborhood -- St. Ann's Warehouse, Tobacco Warehouse, Smack Mellon, powerHouse Arena, Dumbo Arts Center, and more (map here).
The photo shown here is a low-res version of one of a breathtaking and disturbing series of must-see animal shots by Elliot Ross. (A high-res version can be seen at the show and at the Photo Festival web site here.)
“New Documentations” Special screening tonight at 8pm in St. Ann’s Warehouse, followed by a Q&A with the artists.
This year, a Portfolio Review at powerHouse is for all levels of "aspiring and professional photographers."
Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.
Cotton Candy at P.S. 8 Paddlewheeler
Perfect weather Saturday for the Paddlewheeler festival at P.S. 8 in Brooklyn Heights. Spin art, bouncy rides, face painting and cotton candy made the day a hit for the younger generation.
Photo by MK Metz
- NYC's 'Nearly Perfect' Schools vs Brooklyn Heights' P.S. 8
- Brooklyn Heights P.S. 8 Caught in DOE Statistical Nightmare
- Brooklyn Heights' P.S. 8 Gets Its Porta-Classroom
- Put Middle School in Brooklyn Heights' P.S. 8, Says Yassky
- Brooklyn Heights' Booming P.S. 8 to Get a New Building
Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.
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