Archive for reference

These pages are provided as an archive of the NAG blog on a previous system. Commenting is no longer available.

A Local Increase in Crime?

Metro has twin stories today about a 13% rise in Williamsburg's crime rate over last year (as well as a smaller 6% rise in crime in Greenpoint and the Northside) and groups working to stop violent crime on the Southside. It would be perhaps too hopeful to say it is just a random statistical blip--in speaking with a number of community members and officers of a local precinct, crime of all stripes (car break-ins, home burglaries, muggings) seem to really have gone up this summer in North Brooklyn.

Something is going on and no one has quite put their finger on the root of it. Council Member Reyna, William Orellana of El Puente, and residents quoted in the article do seem to provide part of an answer in the lack of recreational opportunities and youth programs on the Southside, as well as the fragmentation of the community from displacement.

Guest Post: Assm Joe Lentol Responds to Posting About MTA Site

We're heartened to see that all our posting at the NAG blog has not gone and wandered off unnoticed into virtual space. State Assembly Member Joe Lentol wrote in to respond to our post on the MTA site at 65 Commercial Street.

Dear NAG:
I am really excited to see people starting to talk about the 65 Commercial Street site. In recent months, I have been working hard to push the MTA and the city to do something about this issue and it is always helpful when you can go back to them and show that the community is becoming concerned as well. Below you can see my most recent letter to the Chairman Hemmerdinger. Since sending this letter, I hosted a meeting at my office for the MTA Director of Governmental Affairs and several members of our community.
Two important developments came out of that meeting. First, the MTA agreed that since they are unable to find one big site to move into, that they would divide their facility and look for two smaller sites for relocation. Their willingness to split their facility, gives them much more flexibility.
Since that meeting, the MTA has written me and told me that they have actually identified two smaller sites that look promising. They are currently doing a more in-depth analysis to see if these new site will allow the MTA to vacate the facility in Greenpoint. While I know better than to get my hopes up, I am cautiously optimistic that the flexibility established at the meeting in my office will pay off.

Post continues...

Regardless of whether these sites will work, I hope the MTA now understands just how committed this community is to having a park and not a storage facility at 65 Commercial Street. I look forward to working with them and this community to ensure that we get the open space we deserve. It was great to see the issue mentioned on your new blog and I will be sure to point out the community support in my next communication with the MTA about the park. Keep up the good work!

Sincerely
Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol
50th District, Brooklyn

---

May 6, 2008

Chairman H. Dale Hemmerdinger
Metropolitan Transit Authority
347 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017

Dear Chairman Hemmerdinger:

I am writing to you about an issue I consider to be of utmost importance. As you may know, when the city rezoned the Greenpoint waterfront, there was an agreement between the MTA and the New York City Parks Department regarding the MTA property at 65 Commercial Street. In April of 2005 the MTA committed to actively seek out an alternative site for their facility and to move from 65 Commercial Street. The plan for the space is to become a desperately needed park for the community. Enclosed, please find copies of letters regarding this, as well as the waterfront rezoning points of agreement between the MTA and New York City Parks Department.

Greenpoint is a rapidly growing neighborhood and according to NYC Parks Dept. there is no green space above Greenpoint Avenue and only one playground for parents to take their children. The community is anxiously awaiting this park and the youth soccer field which is planned for it. I am writing to request a status report on this search as it has now been over three years that the community is waiting for a park. I am hopeful that this will be a priority under your administration. I look forward to working with you to ensure that this community gets the much needed green space it was promised and so badly needs. If you have any questions, please feel free to call [XXXX].

Sincerely,
Joseph R. Lentol

Newtown Creek news

A note from our friends at the Newtown Creek Alliance that the EPA is going to take a closer look at the creek. The upshot is that this could be a path on the road to Superfund status, which would mean addressing any imminent danger to human health as well as getting on the funding list. The downside is that Superfund is a long, drawn-out process and that the tax on chemical feedstocks that supported the Superfund program has expired, thus limiting funding.

Late this past week the United States Environmental Protection Agency agreed to conduct an assessment of data concerning pollution in Newtown Creek and the surrounding properties to determine whether the Creek or any near-by sites should be listed on the federal Superfund. EPA contacted Congress Members Weiner and Velazquez and Senator Clinton's office quickly following their requests to list the creek, and that is quite a coup, as no one expected the requests made by the elected officials to be entertained at all, much less granted. I want to thank the work of Congress Members Weiner and Velazquez, Senator Clinton, and Riverkeeper for all of their work to accomplish this. However, this is the result of several years of tireless advocacy by everyone receiving this, so good job.

They also note that Basil Seggos of Riverkeeper--one of the main forces behind the efforts to clean up the creek and investigate the health effects on Greenpoint residents--is leaving to start a new job in the recycling world. However, he will remain in an advisory role for the Alliance. We wish him best of luck in his new endeavors.

More Information
NYT's CityRoom has a very detailed post about the legal context of the EPA's move.

Community Party at the Pool Tuesday Aug 26th

In case you miss the last Pool Party at McCarren Pool tomorrow (or even if you make it there), there is a chance for one more pool event Tuesday that promises to be even more hyper-local. From our good friends at the Open Space Alliance:

Please join us at McCarren Pool on Tuesday, August 26th for a free community Bloc Party hosted by the L Magazine, for the benefit of OSA.

Doors open at 5:30pm with a Taste of Williamsburg, where neighborhood restaurants sell snacks, with all proceeds going to improve our parks through OSA. Participating restaurants include Lodge, Urban Rustic, Lokal, Le Barricou, Fanny's, Brooklyn Label, Taco Chulo, Roebling Tea Room, Marlow & Sons and many more. Our friends from Greenpoint Wines will also be pouring.

At 6pm, free performances by Trashed on Fiction and The King Left.

And at dusk, a free screening of the film RUSHMORE, Wes Anderson's acclaimed dramedy about a young man with an extended extra-curricular resumé.

Williamsburg Walks Forum

Did you enjoy Williamsburg Walks as much as we did? Would you like to see it come back again? Do you have feedback for the organizers on how to improve it? Join organizers of Williamsburg Walks this coming Wednesday the 27th at 6pm at a public forum to discuss the future of the event!

Williamsburg Walks Public Forum
LOCATION: Music Hall of Williamsburg (66 N 6th)
DATE: August 27th (Wednesday)
TIME: 6pm, doors open

Please come to the public forum to express your praise or constructive criticism. If you are not able to make it to the event, feel free to send a detailed email to williamsburgwalks@billburg.com

Feedback will be collated into a section of the Williamsburg Walks Final Report. In the report, we will also include implications of the event, Best Practices, Lessons Learned and potential scenarios for the future. If you or your organization would like to take on more responsibility for any potential Williamsburg Walks events or similar events, please email williamsburgwalks@billburg.com with your ideal level of commitment.

Feedback will be collated into a section of the Williamsburg Walks Final Report. In the report, we will also include implications of the event, Best Practices, Lessons Learned and potential scenarios for the future. If you or your organization would like to take on more responsibility for any potential Williamsburg Walks events or similar events, please email williamsburgwalks@billburg.com with your ideal level of commitment.

Got Photos of Williamsburg Walks?
If you have flickr photos of the event, tag them "Williamsburg Walks" so it will be on an automatic photo feed at billburg.com

Concerts Seeking New Home

The Daily News has a story about where the McCarren Park Pool concerts will go once construction begins this winter, with a quote from NAG board member Evan Thies (hat tip: 11211). As noted previously, the City's Bushwick Inlet Park, proposed to be constructed in stages over the next few years is one possible site. Others under consideration are the waterfront State Park between N7th and N9th and several private waterfront parcels in Greenpoint.

Alex Kane, a concert organizer who runs JellyNYC--the folks who bring you the free Sunday pool parties--has been the very active on trying to find new concert space. The Open Space Alliance, a local non-profit that has coordinated the events at the pool this summer and helped keep the proceeds in the neighborhood, is also playing a major role in seeking a new venue.

Related Items
Sign the JellyNYC petition to keep concerts in the neighborhood
The last free concert at the pool is scheduled for this Sunday, August 24, and features indie-rock mainstay Yo La Tengo.

Commercial Street Park Still On Hold

Does this look like a park to you? The NY Daily News has a piece today on the finger-pointing and general lack of progress for the park that is slated to be built at 65 Commercial St. in Greenpoint. The city says it's the MTA, the MTA says it's the city. NAG board member Evan Thies is quoted, saying, "The only open space here seems to be the one between the ears of the pencil pushers at the MTA and the city." Fellow NAG board member Christine Holowasz is also quoted in the piece,saying, "[The site is]not any closer to being a park than it was two years ago." (Which is when the above picture was taken.)

Christine told me in an email, "It is terrible. The MTA has increased its uses on the site in [the past] 5 years, and the city has to come up with a site to cover all the uses. Yesterday we had a Community Advisory Board meeting and the city said that they had given another site to the MTA and now we wait again." The Community Advisory Board is a group set up to oversee the promises made to the area during the rezoning.

Holawasz suggests those who want to take action contact Mayor Bloomberg, City Council Member David Yassky, State Assembly Member Joseph Lentol, State Senator Martin Malavé Dilan and MTA Chair H. Dale Hemmerdinger. Make your voice heard!

Photo by Dan, courtesy of a Creative Commons License.

Are We Living In Karl Fischer City?

Curbed has a map pinpointing all of the projects of controversial and prolific architect Karl Fischer. Unsurprisingly, they are clustered in North Brooklyn. From the site of the former Greenpoint Terminal Market, to the condos lining McCarren Park, all the way south to Wallabout, this guy is designing a lot of what we are going to be looking at and walking past in the coming years. You may recall he is the man behind the hulking Schaefer Landing and the impetus for the contextual zoning on Grand Street.

The architecture blogs are uniformly disdainful of his work. His relatively-wide buildings lack any pedestrian oriented street-level presence-- something that we will be coming to strongly regret as more of these projects go up. Most of the buildings lack any affordable housing, because they are built in the upland area of the neighborhood and were grandfathered into the 421-a residential tax break (which now requires affordable housing). If analogous neighborhoods in Chicago and LA, like Wicker Park and Venice Beach, are building much better and more engaging architecture, what's wrong with North Brooklyn?

What do you think? Should we rename the area Fischerburg and Karlpoint?

-Mikki and Michael

Hillary Clinton Speaks Out for the Newtown Creek

Hillary Clinton has written a letter to the EPA urging the agency to conduct tests along the Newtown Creek in order to determine if it should be placed on the National Priorities List. Placement on that list means the site is eligible for long-term remedial action, financed by the Superfund's, er, funds. There is more info on the process here.




I'm sure that the Newtown Creek Alliance, among others, will have more to say about this in the coming days.

—Mikki


Photo courtesy of ibitmylip , via a Creative Commons License.

The McCarren Park Compost Project

Ever since local activist Kate Zidar (pictured below at left) made me wake up early one May morning to help sift through some compost that sat through the winter--far less gross than it sounds--I have been saving my banana peels, eggshells, and other organic plant waste in a small trash can next to the sink. Every Saturday, I stop by the fenced off area across from the Orthodox Church on North 12th Street, put my "greens" in a digester and add a healthy dose of "browns" (also far less gross than it sounds) from a pile of leaves and twigs. Since I started doing this, my non-recyclable trash has been cut in half.


Let's let Jo Micek (pictured above at right), a Compost Project stalwart volunteer, tell the rest:

The North Brooklyn Compost Project came to life thanks to Master Composter Kate Zidar and her love of all things green, brown and wormy. The site is located on the corner of North 12th and Driggs Streets, on the southeast border of McCarren Park, between the dog run and the Green Dome Garden. It collects food scraps (all fruit and vegetable peelings and pits; rice pasta, bread, and cereal; coffee grounds with filter and teabags; and egg shells--nothing meaty, fishy or greasy) and turns them into a rich, nutritious, and delicious-smelling soil, greatly reducing the amount of household waste that is burned and/or dumped in landfills.

The Project is a 100% volunteer effort, made possible by a small group of Greenpoint/Williamsburg residents who spend few hours each week turning over compost, spying on worms, and talking about issues like sustainability and reducing the municipal waste stream. It is always in need of volunteers and donations of supplies and skills (artistic, organizational, fundraising).

Please stop by any Saturday between 9 am and 12 pm to drop off your kitchen scraps, say hello to the project members, and ask any and all composting questions. You can also contact the project at gdgcompost [at] gmail -dot- com.

Above: Another satisfied participant

Hot Composting Tips
Make sure the bag you use to collect greens in does not have holes (learned the hard way)
If you add coffee grinds or tea bags, squeeze them out first- this reduces the amount of liquid that gathers in your bag (also learned the hard way)
If you have the time, cut your stuff into small pieces- it helps make the compost decompose quicker
Compostable goods can smell after a little more than a week, so try to drop it off every week
If you have a big enough freezer, you can hold your "greens" in there and take it all at once and not worry about the smell

Williamsburg was always full of hipsters!

Check out this great photo taken on North 9th back in 1967. I think in the background you can see some Giglio decorations.






Photo courtesy Michael Cosentino.

The war comes home to Brooklyn

The blog Williamsburg is Dead pointed us to this New York Times story about how the war between Russia and Georgia is affecting Georgians living here in our neighborhood, focusing on the worshippers at St. Nino's on South 2nd.

"So many people came to pray...that some were forced to kneel in the doorway and the lobby," the story says. The parishioners are hearing about bombings nearly in real time from their families, and also calling on the United Nations to step in. (Since the story ran, France attempted to broker a cease-fire, and President Bush just announced that the US will be sending humanitarian aid to Georgia and sending Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to attempt to negotiate a settlement.)

I can't imagine how difficult it would be to have loved ones in a war zone. Kind of puts things into perspective, doesn't it?

—Mikki

What's That Smell?

Photo by Kilgub (Flickr)

Has anyone noticed a horrible sewage smell in the Nassau Avenue station?

If so, call 311 and/or MTA customer service at (718) 330-3322.

Something is broken, not only in the pipes, but perhaps in the way the MTA is dealing with this. Quoth the MTA customer service rep I spoke with at the latter number: "Someone calls about that every week and we put in a complaint about that every week… the report goes to the station manager."

There seems to be a recurring issue of this along the G line. Early this year, Greenpoint Ave had some issues with leaking water from the track level ceiling and sewage smells occurring during spells of non-wet weather. There also was a problem at either Broadway or Flushing (no pun intended) a couple years ago that took a while to deal with (Gothamist has an entry from July 2006 about sewage leaks along the line). This issue may be compounded by the otherwise charming babbling brook that runs between the northbound tracks at Broadway.

Thanks to local TB, who told us about this issue at Williamsburg Walks.

Related Links
Someone seems to have taken the fight to Craigslist
Assemblymember Joe Lentol rails (pun intended this time) at the MTA in a recent letter over the state of the G Train (Save the G)




And, just for fun, here is a picture of a Shrek doll magically sitting on the third rail. Is it Greenpoint Magic?

Williamsburg Walks Is Over (For Now)

Williamsburg Walks seems to have gone off fairly well over the four experimental weekends. No hordes of illegal vendors yet. Only one scorching day and two hours of a torrential downpour over four Saturdays. All in all, a very nice place to spend an afternoon.

There seem to have been some important lessons in the event about how to set up a street for pedestrian use- people are attracted to where other people and vibrant uses are. When the merchants were set up towards the sidewalk and there were no activities in the street, people stayed on the sidewalk. When the interactive "shootbooth", Kung Fu demonstration, and ping pong tournament set up in the street, they were a subtle, but effective encouragement for pedestrians to fill up the streetbed. As a result, this past weekend felt like the street was truly being activated.

The most positive, unexpected aspect of Williamsburg Walks was the community-building aspect. People who normally would brush by each other on the tight confines of Bedford stopped, met, and chatted. More interactions like this and we'll be able to reestablish some of the continuity and social stability that the neighborhood has rapidly lost over the past few years.

Our friends over at billburg.com who did some of the major organization of the events have a comment form up. They would love to have your feedback/support/thoughts about how to improve the event. If it's going to come back, there is going to have to be a lot of positive feedback about it. There will be a public forum at some point in the near future about Williamsburg Walks- watch this space for more information .

Video History!

The NY1 website has been redesigned and you can now search their video archives going back to 1999. Looking back for videos regarding our neighborhood yields some great coverage of community action.

Check out this 2001 video of the fight against the proposed power plant on N. 12th St. Coverage of the struggle continues through a 2002 rally. In 2003, there is talk from the mayor about putting some Olympic venues and retail on the site. In 2004 the fight continues, with City Council Member Yassky weighing in.

The plant was finally defeated in March of this year. As NY1 put it, "Several community groups opposed to the project said they are happy with the decision."

There's more--you can see video of the firehouse protests, the Domino closing, and even when the Brooklyn Brewery first came to town!

—Mikki

Waterfront Walking Tour August 13th

The Municipal Art Society is presenting a walking tour of the Williamsburg waterfront, led by architectural historian John Kriskiewiecz. The blurb says:

From economic engine to industrial backwater, from artist refuge to real estate boomtown, the Williamsburg waterfront is in the midst of the greatest changes in a century. Explore this landscape and this heritage, on the verge of transformation, before it disappears.

It's $15, $12 for MAS members. Meet at the HSBC bank on the corner of Driggs and Broadway at 6 pm.

For more info, click here.

—Mikki

Give Blood!

Williamsburg Blood Drive
Friday August 15, 2008
2:00 pm - 7:30 pm
The city's blood supply is dangerously low. PLEASE give blood on Friday, August 15. The NYC Blood Center mobile unit will be taking blood donations between 2pm-7:30pm on Bedford Avenue between North 6th and North 7th Streets. Please donate!

hat tip: cb1info yahoo group

NYPD puts up its own tower in Williamsburg

It's not a 40-story condo tower, but Sky Watch, a two-story high surveillance booth that has a spotlight, sensors, and cameras. The police department has used the towers in various places around the city, and just installed new ones in Harlem and in Williamsburg (at Moore and Graham). The units record continuously, even when unstaffed. Animal New York has photos. Wave hello if you walk by!

Local History: Most Holy Trinity Church and Dunham Place

The Williamsburg/Greenpoint Preservation Alliance has a great post today with some history on the Most Holy Trinity Church on Montrose Avenue. Check it out, along with Forgotten New York's post on Dunham Place, one of the few true alleys in the neighborhood.

Last Williamsburg Walks (For Now)

Passing along a note from our friends at billburg.com who were major organizers of Williamsburg Walks. The event has been particularly successful at building community and getting neighbors to meet each other in a calm, traffic-free environment. We look forward to Williamsburg Walks returning in some form that works for businesses (both on and off Bedford) and residents alike.

Dear all--

This weekend brings us to the last Williamsburg Walks in our 4 week experiment. Last week started rainy and dreary, but after the sun came out so did everyone else!

Public Forum

After this Saturday, the next step will be the public forum! We are still finalizing location and dates, but will send an announcement once final. If we have confirmed everything by Saturday, the information will be available at the info tent.

The best way to show your support of the event is to attend the public forum and to send a detailed email to williamsburgwalks@billburg.com of your praise and constructive criticism. Your feedback will be included in the End Report that will have recommendations for future similar pedestrian events. As always, you can also route feedback to us via emailing williamsburgwalks@billburg.com.

Saturday Volunteers

The volunteer outpouring has been amazing thus far! We've run out of shirts, but will still have water, coffee & bagels for volunteers.

If anyone would like to volunteer for this Saturday, we'll need the most help at set up and tear down times. Set up begins at 11am, tear down at 7pm. The early morning tasks will include putting up the barricades, setting up the tables & chairs and putting together the information tent. Find event coordinator Connie Colvin once in the area. This week the info tent will be set up on Bedford between North 7th and 8th.

For those arriving during the day, stop at the info tent to "check-in". We'll have volunteer duties for you ranging from drawing hopscotch on the street in chalk to moving tables to the shade to getting email addresses to update everyone of the public forum.

As important as volunteers, we are looking for people to enjoy the street space during Williamsburg Walks this upcoming Saturday. Williamsburg Walks is really what you make of it.

Thank you!

We would like to thank our sponsors, volunteers & everyone who has supported this event. We could not have done it without you.

See you Saturday!
Jason & Connie

Hey! I'm Growin' Here!

We've seen a lot of bikes locked up to street trees, especially young trees, particularly on Bedford Ave and Franklin Street. While there is clearly a lack of bike parking relative to demand in the neighborhood, it's not cool to lock a bike to a tree.

The jostling and scraping from a bike lock or chain can cause scarring of the bark and can make the tree more vulnerable to diseases by offering an opening for fungus and parasites. We've lost a lot of trees to the Asian Longhorn Beetle and can't afford to lose any more. Street trees not only absorb global warming-inducing carbon dioxide, they seem to filter other pollutants from urban air that have very local impacts on respiratory health.

So if you're doing your part to reduce car traffic and pollution by biking, please respect the trees and lock your bike to a bike rack, lamppost, or street sign pole. (And while you're at it, please try to keep it from creating a choke point on the sidewalk or blocking gates or subway entrances.)

What would a good phrase for a sign asking people to not lock their bike to a tree be? Leave your answers in the comments.

Take Action
There's clearly not enough bike parking in the neighborhood. Request a bike rack from the city for your home, work, or a place you frequent online.

Handy Tips
How to safely lock your bike in New York City.

Tour Newtown Creek

The Working Harbor Committee is setting up another one of their Newtown Creek Cruises for September 14th. It's pricey--$50--and weirdly leaves from 23rd Street in the city, but highly recommended. I went up the Creek with the Urban Divers a few years back and it was a really intense experience. Some parts of it are unrecognizable as water, and then in other spots you can see little piers and things that hint of how great it would be if this waterway were cleaned up and accessible to people, not just corporations.

Get the info here.

-Mikki

No More Menus!

The Sustainable Flatbush blog has a piece on New York's new No Lawn Litter Law, an alliterative piece of legislation that is aimed to stop the accumulation of menus, handbills, circulars, fliers and the like outside of your home. The full text of the law can be seen here, but basically what it means is that if you put up a sign saying you don't want unsolicited advertising material on your property, they are supposed to stop leaving stuff. If they don't comply you fill out a complaint form and the offenders are subject to fines.

The city has a free downloadable sign here (pdf) and the complaint forms here.



Note: If you live in a multiple family dwelling, like an apartment building, you have to get the owner's permission to put up the sign, and they have to fill out the complaint forms.

—Mikki

A Park Under the Williamsburg Bridge?

The Daily News has a story today about a proposed park near the Domino Sugar Factory. While the piece has great quotes from NAG board members Stephanie Thayer and Evan Thies, my favorite quote came from as-far-as-I-know-ordinary-citizen Clive Smith, who said:

"The neighborhood is changing so much. It's okay for them to build these huge condos on the waterfront, but there should also be open parkland, so everyone can run, walk, cycle and walk their dogs."

Hear, hear, Clark! The issue is likely to come up when the proposed rezoning for that stretch of waterfront is discussed, in connection with the "New Domino" development. We'll keep you posted.


—Mikki

Saving Industrial Jobs in North Brooklyn

Ever since the 197-a plan was first formed in the early-1990s, NAG has been an advocate for keeping our blue-collar industrial base in North Brooklyn. Manufacturing jobs, such as wood shops, metal working, and furniture, pay far better than restaurant or retail jobs and are twice as likely to offer health coverage. There are still about 30,000 industrial jobs in Community Board 1.

As part of the 2005 rezoning, the City agreed to protect 20-some blocks around the Bushwick Inlet and keep them zoned for manufacturing. The problem is that the current zoning allows hotels, certain kinds of superstores, and large entertainment uses without any approval beyond a construction permit. All of these uses can pay higher rent, but typically pay lower wages than an industrial operation would.

Now we are seeing these uses encroach into the Industrial Business Zones (nightclubs, multiple bowling alleys, hotels, office condos) and taking space that otherwise would have been used for manufacturing jobs (In fact, the space the newest bowling alley is moving into could have helped solve the expansion problem that Brooklyn Brewery is having).

None of this is meant to hate on those who like to bowl, dance, go to concerts, stay in hotels, or possibly find a home for their non-industrial business. But there are appropriate places to put such uses, and the industrial zones of the neighborhood have been shrinking rapidly. As the neighborhood continues to develop, we'll need places for lower rent uses that have important local economic benefits.

Picture: Aurora Lampworks on North 11th Street

Related Links:
Gowanus Lounge summarizes neatly what the 197-a plan is about
The East Williamsburg Valley Industrial Development Corp. (EWVIDCO) manages the two local Industrial Business Zones
Get your citywide industrial retention on with NYIRN

National Night Out August 5th

National Night Out is an event to promote neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships. Our local precincts are participating—I'm not sure exactly what they have planned but the website mentions barbecues, block parties, parades and contests!

National Night Out
Tuesday, August 5, 2008

5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Two locations:

The 90th precinct will have their festivities in Sternberg Park (Boerum between Lorimer
and Leonard).

The 94th pct will have its festivities in front of their precinct (Meserole between Manhattan and Lorimer).

Your local CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), will be at each event.


—Mikki

Newtown Creek Brownfield Map

The Newtown Creek Alliance has created a map that shows the brownfields, superfund sites, emissions facilities and waste transfer stations that surround the polluted waterway. It's sobering and informative.




They used a new tool for environmental justice groups called Habitat Map.

Thanks to the indefatigable Teresa Toro for letting us know about the map. For more on the Newtown Creek Alliance and the good work they do, visit their site.

—Mikki

Moore Street Market Lives!

The Times has a story this morning about a (probable) reprieve for the threatened Marqueta in East Williamsburg. The vendors gathered 250,000 signatures on a petition and got some help from Representative Nydia M. Velázquez and Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez after the city threatened to close the market or force a relocation. The vendors are set to sign a new five-year lease and the market will be administered by the Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation. Gotta love a happy ending—and if you've never been out to the market,which has been there over fifty years, wander over this weekend. It's a great part of the neighborhood.


—Mikki