Brooklyn Cyclones

I'm late in mentioning anything about the as yet unconfirmed tornadeos that tore through Park Slope, Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant before heading on into Queens to share the love. (I did tweet prior to the storm at least, hope it helped)

The roofs that were sucked up from their homes in BedStuy is a seriously unbelievable result of the storm that apparently moved at 30 to 50 miles an hour across the area.

I rode the storm out at work hoping I remembered to shut my windows least I find all my belongings exploded out into the Crown Heights streets.
Ididnt find that but I did see on St. Johns a massive amount of tree limbs large enough to have closed the street between Bedford av and Rogers. The tree debris seems to have severally damaged a white car and caused the B45 bus to be rerouted.

Harder to account for are lightning strikes of which I saw many. And in my opinion a tree I took a photo of on Eastern Parkway near the Chase bank on Bedford Ave looks to have a burn mark where a major branch about 24 inches across tore off a tree.

It was a blessing in disguise that the intense rains caused so many to clear the streets prior to the several winds ripping through the streets. That some much damage was cause an so few fatalities resulted (I one confirmed in Queens) is also amazing.

An as I write this an update, the weather service has just confirmed two touchdowns of tornados. One landed in Park Slope as reports indicated yesterday and I then moved northeast through the edge of crown heights and into Bed-Stuy.

Five urban tornados in four years in the fall no less. Can we all start agreeing climate change and global warming is real?

Photo Wednesday 02/17/10 : Elevated Edition

(This Photo Wednesday originally appeared last two weeks ago and was bumped because of this)



This image comes from the 4th Avenue subway station offices at night,(served by the F and (for now) G lines. The 4th Avenue subway station is one of those points in the MTA system that gives a sense of how interconnected a railway the subway is. Above street level is a wide set of four tracks and two platforms, then two stairs below you have the underground R,W (and sometimes N & D lines).

The next Manhattan bound station, Smith–9th Streets has the best view in the subway system and is the highest altitude station but this picture shows a rare view too. Those upper windows with decades of graffiti are yet to be buffed but somehow illuminated and the are part of former offices of the old IND transit company. I've been using that station since the 70's and I've never seen those windows lit up. I'm wondering if it has to do with the renovations of these stations that is going on for the next few years.

Two sites I love and have never given enough credit to: www.forgotten-ny.com and www.nycsubway.org provide more details about this station situated at the bottom of Park Slope, such as the fact that  it's a viaduct, level in it's construction, although it looks like a bridge, because the west end is elevated and the east goes straight into the hill of Park Slope which rises around it.

The subway makes for an appropriate "Photo Wednesday" since I've been seeing a whole lot of subway lately.

End. Game (yet?) Atlantic Yards morphs turdtastic

Gothamist today has the story of the new renderings for the taxpayer funded money pit that is called Atlantic Yards/Barclay Center.

You probably know it is a bloated project, feed by tax dollars enriching private investors and it will drop a massive overcrowding set of buildings and stadium into an area not big enough and already choked with traffic. oh and it's ugly and built by people who've already dropped an ugly barely usable project across the street.

As tiring as it is to keep writing this, it will be worse to live with it, if it's built.

here is one of the new renders after the old baited and switched designers for the project were roundly dissed.


(img credit: ShoP Architects)

and here's what I wrote on gothamist:

The project needs to be scaled into something workable, and the arena can be anywhere along miles of underutilized brooklyn waterfront, or even, if they really want to improve a blighted neighborhood as they calm, the whole project can move about 8 blocks west to where atlantic has almost nothing but auto body shops and vacant lots. there's even an LIRR station that can be used.

like here: http://tinyurl.com/m7f326
or
here: http://tinyurl.com/krclx7

but equally insane are these renderings. the second image shows a crowd of kids about to wander gleefully into Atlantic Avenue, a six lane stretch of people slicer!

Once again, why is it wrong to stop this madness as it currently stands?

As always if you want the detailed story check with Atlantic Yards report which has tirelessly reported on this project. Some day this war's gonna end.

Weekend One-Liners 7/18-7/19

Saturday July 18th

Celebrate Brooklyn! Presents African Festival
Saturday, July 18, 2009 2 - 9 p.m.
Celebrate Brooklyn!’s annual all-day festival of music, food and crafts features a lineup of music selected to keep dancers moving into the night [Link]

Macy's Fishing Contest
July 15 - 19, 2009 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Join a great Brooklyn tradition: Prospect Park's annual fishing contest![Link]

Brooklyn Flea: Bishop Loughlin Field, Lafayette Ave btw Vanderbilt and Clermont. [Link]

City of Water Day 10:00am - 4:00pm Governors Island.
Take the free Ferry from the Battery Maritime building in Manhattan or Fulton Ferry Landing in Brooklyn. An annual celebration of New York's waterways with fun events and live music, a Scavenger Hunt that highlights the island's history and environmental significance [Link]

Tonight Afrokinetic Party @ the Old American Can Factory, Carmina Soul returns OUTDOORS in the courtyard, part 4 of this 7 part series. 9:00 PM – 4:00 AM
cover: $10 [Link]

Sunday July 19th

BoCoCa Arts Festival; held in Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens includes music, theater and more. See Web site for complete schedule.[Link]

Lefferts 2nd Floor Tours every Saturday and Sunday. In June from 1:30 - 4:30; July & August, 1:30 - 5:30 Free! Explore the unique architecture of Lefferts Historic House on this special tour.[Link]

Farmers Market; J.J. Byrne Park • Fifth Avenue and Fourth Street
When: 11 am–5 pm, Sundays: Free [Link]

Weekend One-Liners 6/20-6/21

Saturday June 20th
Coney Island
2009 Mermaid Parade is Saturday, June 20th, 2PM! Rain or Shine! King Neptune *Mr. Harvey Keitel and his Queen Mermaid Daphna (*as we've reported, and all should know, Harvey Keitel is also Brooklyn Born)

Empire Fulton Ferry State Park (in D.U.M.B.o.)
THE 5th ANNUAL BROOKLYN HIP-HOP FESTIVAL TAKES PLACE 12-8 PM
(so many artists and events)including: Pharoahe Monch, DJ Premier, Styles P, dead prez, Smif N Wessun and much more info at Brooklyn Bodega

Fort Greene
TamarRaqs Summer Solstice Hafla (part of BAM Café, Tamar hosts a night of Raqs Sharqi, or bellydancing.)

Saturday June 20th
Floyd Bennett Field (Far southern end of Flatbush Ave (extension) toward Rockaway)
Brooklyn Music Festival With Reggae And Ska Music, Feat Beenie Man, Big Daddy Kane and more @ Floyd Bennett Field

Sunday June 21st
Park Slope
Seventh Heaven Street Fair feat. (among others) "Panda with Cookie"

Flatbush Av planning and the word "gritty"

Saw this story "Is The Fix In for Flatbush" on the Brooklyn Paper about attempts to add street amenities to the stretch of Flatbush Ave going down from Grand Army Plaza to Atlantic Avenue.
Interesting article, Although I have to say, when writing about one of the longest avenues in the borough, which has the same name as two (or three) distinct large sections of the borough, it would be great to be specific in referencing Flatbush.

Personally I have seen attempts to beautify on that stretch of Flatbush Av, most recently in the mid 80's that added gas lights, benches and tree filled street triangles. There's not a lot to work with so it'll be interesting to see what if anything is done.

My questions is how necessary is this? That part of Flatbush seems to thrive deeping on the economic environment more so than the aesthetics. Also what's wrong with "gritty stores" on Flatbush?

Photo Wednesday attempts to find perspective with a limited lens.

"sign of the times #01b" If only it referred to Atlantic Yards

It's PhotoWednesday.
Again.
And I miss my camera. As some of you may recall back in late November at a really energetic point of the year, my camera did a swan dive to the pavement while I was traveling at about 15 m.p.h., evidently fast enough to make a Canon PowerShot look like this.

Since then the calendar has flipped, history has changed and thankfully I do have some other photo-capable devices. But the ability to point shoot and fine tune my view into a clear picture is not what it once was. Thanks alot non-focusing iPhone Camera you blockhead!!

A sign of the times which is fortunate though slightly disturbing is that while I don't have health insurance (this winter I've drank or eaten approximately my weight in ginger and other medicinal spices) my camera did have insurance.

A better insurance policy than any I've ever had, in fact it's so great that I would recommend it to specifically but I can't remember the name. But it still works! How great is that? What I do know is this. I went to B&H Photo to buy my camera which was actually a replacement for my first camera which, uh, took a swan dive into the pavement at about 25 m.p.h. (noticing a pattern?) and when the sales associate came to me, I like any good New Yorker, knew exactly what I wanted and had not the time to be upsold on fancy camera baubles and trendy camera-lederhosen or worse, these.

Instead the guy offered insurance, and I scoffed loudly to underscore that I was in fact a New Yorker. My scoff clearly identifying that I accept there are no assurances nor need for delusions of insurance. And that's when he said,"ya know if you had insurance you wouldn't've had to buy a new camera".

Now in a former life I worked at Tekserve. I felt I knew all about the wretched sensation of powerlessness that comes from dropping $100+ on protection money(applecare) and then having it rendered meaningless because you dropped your device before your device could express the honor and decency required to commit sepukku(”せっぷく”for those in the know). So to me the guy was speaking a smoothed ribbon of Merda de Vaca.

To prove him a filthy liar I hoisted my first twisted pile of plastic/camera from the counter (where it had been used for comparisons and ritual cleansing) pass his green vest and up to his smug countenance, saying, paradoxically "This?? Yer insurance would take care of this?!?!?" He breathed and replied "Yes"

So yeh. Next time you get a camera you may drop and can't afford to replace, consider getting the insurance. And try the Mutton.

Anyway, despite my love/hate with the iPhone camera abilities (everybody has to suck at one thing at least right?) I took these while walking the line from Prospect Heights into Park Slope.

From Prospect Heights: I never actually went in here, always considered it. *Le Sigh*


This business was around for quite awhile in Park Slope.

Seems a lot of businesses are shuttering. I notice a lot of the same in Soho last week.
Wonder if they have insurance?