Josh Rechnitz's Staircase Is Made of Whalebones and Melted Piano Guts

Josh Rechnitz, from the Hub Blog

Remember Josh Rechnitz, the mysterious rich biker behind the now-cancelled Brooklyn Bridge Park Velodrome?

Josh has recently been working on fixing up the nearly-toxic Gowanus Batcave and turning it into art studios. Gothamist has the whole, crazy history of the Batcave, well worth a read.

But what caught our eye at the bottom of the story . . . A little detail about a staircase in Rechnitz's house, as described by Gowanus Ballroom owner Josh Young:

"I'm not totally sure what it's [the Batcave] going to look like but Josh Rechnitz is too crazy and out there to do something gross and corporate. I helped the guy put a staircase in his house made entirely of whalebones and melted piano guts."

Hard to get that image out of our brains now.

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'Brooklyn Riot,' 13-Year-Old Thrown Off Bus, and More Brooklyn Briefs

- 13-year-old Brooklyn girl hurled off moving bus.
[NY Daily News]
- More about the Kimani Gray "riot."
[Gothamist]
- Unprecedented: Brooklyn court trashes prenup. [Brooklyn Eagle]
- Subway conductor attacked at Brighton Beach station. [Sheepshead Bites]
- Another one of those damn rat taxidermy classes. [Brokelyn]
- Khim’s Millenium Market is open at the Brooklyner. [Brownstoner]
- Williamsburg’s south side heats up.
[TRD]
- 10 restaurants you should try during Dine in Brooklyn. [Brooklyn Magazine]

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2 Units In Contract at 30 Henry Street, Brooklyn Heights

Photo: MK Metz, McBrooklyn

Work on the five-story condo going up at 30 Henry Street (called "The Heights") has reached the third floor. When completed, the building (by developer Fortis Manor, designed by BKSK Architects) will be five stories with one condo on each floor.

BKSK Architects

Sales started January 1. According to StreetEasy, the first floor and the penthouse are in contract (for $3,395,000 and  $4,950,000 respectively). Both are three bedrooms.

Courtyard. BKSK Architects

Floors two, three and four are four bedrooms and are listed for $4,500,000, $4,650,000 and $4,750,000.

Eagle courtesy of Property Shark

30 Henry is the site of the old Brooklyn Eagle HQ, relocated to 16 Court Street and DUMBO.





Previous posts:
- A Lid on 30 Henry Street, Brooklyn Heights
- 30 Henry Street, Brooklyn Heights: Roof Already Half Off
- 30 Henry Street HQ of Brooklyn Eagle Sold for $3.5 Million
- A Century of Changes at 30 Henry Street, Brooklyn Heights
- LPC Approves New 30 Henry Street Design in Brooklyn Heights
- Brooklyn Eagle's HQ in Brooklyn Heights Sold to Developers
- Find the Changes In New Improved 30 Henry Street Proposal
- Brooklyn Eagle Looking to Move to Gowanus? Building On the Market
- Serious Accident Sends Car Flying into Building on Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights

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Robots Have Their Own Internet Now

The European RoboEarth Project has developed a global internet for robots called Rapyuta.

Rapyuta is described as "a giant network and database repository where robots can share information and learn from each other about their behavior and their environment."

According to the RoboEarth website, "[T]he goal of RoboEarth is to allow robotic systems to benefit from the experience of other robots, paving the way for rapid advances in machine cognition and behaviour, and ultimately, for more subtle and sophisticated human-machine interaction."

This could go either of two ways:

One: Robots take over Earth, exterminate humans a la Skynet;
Two: Robots waste all their time watching hilarious inept early robot videos and posting sleazy lube job comments on Robot Facebook. They soon rust away.

The name Rapyuta is inspired from the movie "Tenku no Shiro Rapyuta" (English title: "Castle in the Sky") by Hayao Miyazaki, where Rapyuta is the castle in the sky inhabited by robots.

More at RoboEarth and PC Magazine. 

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LICH Gets Reprieve Extended Friday at Brooklyn Supreme Court

Friday's LICH rally. Photo: MK Metz, McBrooklyn

On Friday, State Supreme Court Justice Johnny Lee Baynes gave LICH (Long Island College Hospital) another reprieve when he ruled that the previously issued stay on its closing would remain in effect until he renders a “comprehensive decision.” (More on that here.)

SUNY Downstate Medical Center wants to close the 150-year-old hospital, saying it's losing $4 million to $5 million a month and is adding to the dire financial situation at Downstate.

The poorly-managed and nearly bankrupt SUNY Downstate has been stripping LICH of cash, patients (ambulance drivers say they've been told not to deliver patients to LICH) and even expensive machinery in an attempt to force the Cobble Hill hospital to close, but has been stymied by strong backlash from the community.

Here's another shocker: On Friday, Councilmember Letitia James said, “There has never been a study about the impact of closing the hospital on Downtown Brooklyn.”

NOw SUNY has to deal with a mess of it's own making. After Friday's ruleing they issued a statement saying in part: "LICH's massive financial losses threaten all of Downstate Medical — which is Brooklyn's only medical school, its fourth largest employer and educator of one third of Brooklyn's doctors."

Why didn't they think about that when they took over LICH, did not carry out any LICH business plans, and did nothing to stop the extortion by Continuum for services that are not being provided? The amount of money LICH is "losing" every month is equal to what it is forced to pay to Continuum every month.

And if LICH was broke, how did SUNY transfer more than $30 million cash from LICH to its non-profit HSCB foundation that supplies scholarships to SUNY Downstate students (among other uses)?

Outside the court house on Friday, supporters, representatives and staff at LICH rallied to get across the message that closing the hospital would be a disaster for the many neighborhoods in its area: Downtown Brooklyn, Cobble Hill, Red Hook, Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens and Boerum Hill.

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Late Winter Snow on Old Washington Street, Brooklyn

Photo: MK Metz, McBrooklyn

Friday's late-season snow brought an old-timey feel to Rose Walk, looking south towards Brooklyn Borough Hall.

It hit us that this walkway, running in front of the Court buildings, used to be part of Washington Street (renamed Cadman Plaza East for a small section next to Cadman Plaza Park). North of Cadman Plaza East, in DUMBO, the street is still called Washington Street.

Washington Street used to intersect with Fulton Street near where Borough Hall is now.


Here's a segment of the 1847 Hooker map showing the path of the original Washington Street (outlined in yellow), courtesy of the Brooklyn Historical Society.

Fulton Street is the curving street shown in red at the bottom, changing to blue at the top. The blue part is called Old Fulton Street today. The red part is called Cadman Plaza West today. (For some reason Hicks Street is also highlighted in red.)

The intersection of Washington and Fulton (where Borough Hall is now) is shown at the bottom of the map. DUMBO is shown at the top of the map.

It would be a lot easier if they changed the name Cadman Plaza East back to Washington Street, and called Rose Walk Washington Walk instead. Why should one street have three names?

They should also change Cadman Plaza West back to Fulton Street. That's it's historical name. Why should one street (interrupted by Borough Hall) have three different names -- Fulton, Cadman Plaza West, and Old Fulton?

(You can view the BHS map collection anytime during the library’s open hours, Wed.-Fri., from 1-5 p.m)

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Celebrate the Year of the Snake Friday in Brooklyn . . . 中國農曆新年慶祝活動

Graphic: Wikipedia

Council Member Letitia James and Chinese American Planning Council are hosting a Chinese New Year Celebration (post-holiday) on Friday, March 8, from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

二零一三年三月八日 星期五

上午11時至下午2時

The celebration takes place at P.S. 287, near the Navy Yard.

布碌崙287公立小學

The cultural event will recognize the Year of the Snake, and include performances as well as other activities.

中國農曆新年慶祝活動

In 2013, the actual Chinese New Year spanned mid-February, but it's OK to celebrate now because it's the Year of the Snake all year.

According to HanBan: "The 2013 snake is a Water Snake. Water Snakes are lucky with finances, they always seem to have money flowing their way."

The color of the 2013 snake is black. "The Black Snake will bring people unexpected changes, instability, and changeability. That is why it is important in the year of Snake to plan everything beforehand, and evaluate adequately before taking any actions. You need to be more careful and cautious than ever."

According to Wikipedia, "In Chinese symbology, snakes are regarded as intelligent, but with a tendency to be somewhat unscrupulous."

Place: 50 Navy Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

50 Navy 街，布碌崙 郵區號碼11201

(F-train to "York St." or R train to "Jay St.")

For Inquiry 查詢電話: 718-492-0409 CPC or Council Member James Office 718-260-9191.

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Rally for LICH Friday Morning in Downtown Brooklyn

A Long Island College Hospital (LICH) hearing will take place this morning, Friday, March 8 at 10:00 a.m. in Downtown Brooklyn. The hearing takes place at the State Supreme Court Building on 360 Adams Street in Downtown Brooklyn. (Kings County Supreme Court Judge Johnny Lee Baynes will preside.)

Doctors, the New York State Nurses Association and 1199, patients and local and representatives will rally before the hearing at 9:00 a.m. on the steps of the courthouse (Cadman Plaza West side).

A temporary restraining order was issued on February 21st to SUNY for failure to follow New York State's open meetings law when it voted to close LICH down.

LICH serves over 120,000 Brooklynites every year and hundreds of Brooklynites every day. If the hospital closes, people suffering health emergencies in Downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens and Red Hook will have to travel far away (especially with worsening Downtown Brooklyn traffic) to get to an emergency room.

Millions of dollars invested in equipment and infrastructure will be sold for pennies on the dollar, and the many doctors and medical labs in the area will go elsewhere.

Update from LICH Nursing Staff - March 7, 2013

You've probably read the latest article from the Daily News where SUNY Downstate makes the absurd claim that keeping LICH open for care is putting patient safety at risk.

SUNY is clearly trying to frame the narrative as unions vs. fiscal reality/patient safety . . .They have shifted their message from "LICH is under-utilized and not needed" to "LICH patient safety is at risk."

 Update from the Cobble Hill Association:

The community very clearly disagrees with LICH board's recent decision to close its doors and speculates potential real estate profits is too much of a motivating force. However, with a fatal crash on Clinton & Atlantic just last week, it is readily apparent that Brooklyn cannot lose another emergency & ambulatory care facility. Preemptively, we have supported local legislators' push to get the existing hospital structures landmarked within the context of the adjacent historic district. This could prevent demolition and reduce incentives for developers to swoop in and build luxury condos when our community really needs a center for health care.

- Write to the NY State Department of Health 
-  Contact the Governor

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Rally to Protest 'Fire Sale' of Libraries in Brooklyn and Manhattan

Brooklyn Heights branch. Photo: Google Maps

This Friday, before the City Council's preliminary hearing on the Mayor's catastrophic 2014 library budget, a group called Citizens Defending Libraries plans to rally at City Hall to protest budget cuts and the “fire sale” of library buildings, including the Brooklyn Heights and Pacific Street branch libraries.

Where: 250 Broadway, New York, New York (Outside before going in for testimony)

When: Friday, March 8th. Rally starts at 10:30 AM. Public testimony will follow upstairs, New York City Council Committee Room, 14th floor, currently scheduled for 1:00 PM, but might start a little earlier.

UPDATE: Domenic M. Recchia, Jr., a member of the City Council’s Select Committee on Libraries, told the Brooklyn Eagle on Wednesday that there were no library back room real estate deals taking place. More here.

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Robot Bartenders; 'Yo Granny' Update; and More Brooklyn Briefs

-  After outcry, “The Ice Cream Girl” is taking down her video “Yo Granny’s In My Garbage.” [Brooklyn Eagle]
- Bloomberg offers his own version of Sandy buyouts that will cost taxpayers more in the long run. [WNYC]
- Coming soon: robot bartenders. [Brokelyn]
- Larry King comes back to Brooklyn, visits Barclays. [WSJ]
- Raw anger permeates a new film about gentrification in Williamsburg The Atlantic Cities
- Brooklyn Heights CSA now open. [Brownstoner]

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