12-12-12 Sandy Concert Raised $50 Million; Much for Brooklyn

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The Robin Hood Foundation has raised fifty million dollars from the 12-12-12 concert so far, and is starting to disburse the money to Superstorm Sandy victims, according to the show's producers.

The money came from ticket sales to the "the largest concert event to ever hit the stage at Madison Square Garden," sponsorships, telephone and web donations and merchandise. One hundred percent of the funds will go to Sandy relief, much of it in Brooklyn.

Some of the Brooklyn nonprofits receiving funding include Brooklyn Jubilee, which has set up a trailer in Coney Island to provide legal aid and help people apply for food stamps and Medicaid; Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, to help damaged businesses obtain emergency funding; and the Center for Court Innovation, which provides services to young adults and their families in Red Hook.

To learn more, visit www.robinhood.org

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Taxis Built in Brooklyn? Sahadi's Expansion; and More Brooklyn Briefs

- The Turkish Taxi Of Tomorrow might be built in Brooklyn! Gothamist

- National Guard gives up on another Brooklyn Navy Yard building. L Magazine

- Bed bug experts are warning New Yorkers to brace for an infestation explosion come summertime. DNAinfo

- Sahadi's on Atlantic Ave. is planning to expand the store.  Brooklyn Eagle

- How to turn a Health Department "B" rating to your restaurant's advantage. PMFA 

- Cop pleads guilty to robbing drug dealers. NY Times 

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Curtains for Brooklyn Navy Yard's Admiral's Row?

It's probably all over for Brooklyn Navy Yard's Admiral's Row, reports Crain's New York. Most of the buildings that comprise the row of disintegrating 19th-century houses will be torn down to pave the way for a supermarket, sources told them.

The houses are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

The "compromise" plan, which is supposed to be revealed to community groups in late April would preserve "only one of the 10 crumbling residences and a structure known as the Timber Shed," according to Crain's.

The Municipal Art Society emailed Gothamist with the following statement: “If the reported compromise on the future of the Admiral’s Row buildings is true we are deeply disappointed because the majority of these buildings could and should be saved. We will continue fighting to save these important structures."

Last July, the National Guard held an informational forum at Brooklyn Borough Hall to solicit public input about the future of Admiral's Row.

The Navy Yard originally wanted to demolish them all and build the supermarket, with a large parking lot and a light industrial complex.

Preservationists, such as Brent Porter, an architecture professor at the Pratt Institute, developed an alternate plan which calls for "adaptive reuse" of the buildings. This included a supermarket but with a smaller parking lot.

A rally organized by City Councilwoman Letitia James took place on Borough Hall’s front steps. A crowd, bused in by James, demanded the Navy Yard's version.

The two photos below are of renderings that were on display at the rally. Note that these are of the original plan, not the Navy Yard's new "compromise" plan, which is not yet released.

This last rendering is of Brent Porter's "adaptive reuse" plan.


Time Runs Out for Brooklyn's Admiral's Row Crains NY

One Structure to Remain on Admiral's Row Gothamist

- Images From Admiral Row's Forum, Brooklyn Borough Hall McBrooklyn
- Public Hearing on Admiral's Row Held Last Night Brownstoner
- Decrepit Admiral's Row Houses Must Go, Say Pols, Local Residents ... Brooklyn Eagle
- Wrecking Ball or Preservation? Admiral's Row Get a Hearing Curbed

Top photo by kl801, Creative Commons license
Bottom photos by MK Metz


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Largest Expansion of Brooklyn Navy Yard Since WWII

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle is reporting on the largest expansion of the yard since World War II, larger by 100,000 square feet than the also-planned expansion of the Steiner Movie Studios.

Story here.