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40-story Building Going Up, Aid for the Displaced Going Down

Hot on the heels of CB1's land-use committee approving developer Dean Palin's (what is it with that name?) proposed 40-story tower on the Greenpoint waterfront, comes the news that the city's $2 million dollar fund to help displaced residents, fight tenant harassment and help families find affordable housing, has been cut. According the the Ny Daily News, the fund, which was created during the rezoning in order to ease the changes to the community, will be cut to $1.45 million—a reduction of more than 25%.

The story quotes elected officials protesting the cuts, but in this economic climate it may be a lost cause; CB1 will discuss the towers on Tuesday, December 2 at the board office,435 Graham Ave., between Frost and Richardson streets, 6:30 pm.

Photo by me.

Announcing the NAG Organizing Agenda

Old and new residents in Williamsburg and Greenpoint have more in common than separates us. We all care about improving our quality of life, keeping our neighborhood affordable, being able to get around our neighborhood safely and quickly, and preserving the unique mixed character of our neighborhood. By working together, we can help address common problems that we cannot solve on our own.

Join us for a working meeting
Thursday December 4, 2008 at 7p
Kicking off NAG's 2009 Organizing Agenda

Holy Ghost Church Hall Basement
160 North 5th Street (between Bedford and Driggs)

Based on ideas generated by the community at our Oct 2, 2008 Town Hall Organizing Meeting and on feedback from a survey completed by community members, we propose the following issues as NAG's priority organizing issues for 2009:

Preserving Affordable Housing Options for Residents
Rent stabilization is being undermined and the anti-harassment zoning provisions are going unenforced. There are also opportunities to get local residents into new affordable housing that is being built.

Improving Open Space and Access to the Waterfront
The promise of new city waterfront parks made during the 2005 rezoning is in jeopardy and access to new waterfront spaces is being delayed.

Offering Safe and Quick Transportation Options For the Neighborhood
The use of local trains and buses has surged, yet we are facing massive potential service cuts from the MTA. There is a lack of education about how to share the road among bikers and drivers alike, leading to more frequent conflicts on the road as the popularity of biking increases.

Improving our Quality of Life and Preserving Community Character
Our commercial areas are losing their diversity and need more street furniture, trees and garbage/recycling collection. Local nightlife has many benefits, but we need to manage it better in areas where noise is disturbing residents. Construction activity is devastating to neighboring residents' quality of life, while buildings that were pulled down in the real estate boom are sure to remain vacant lots for years. Rezoning changes are being proposed in several areas of the neighborhood that will affect what kind of development can happen in the future.

Come prepared to roll up your sleeves and start organizing!

Free Shuttle to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Museum, etc.

Want to visit some Brooklyn cultural institutions, but dismayed by the hassle of getting there? Now the Heart of Brooklyn shuttle will take you from North Brooklyn directly to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Public Library, Prospect Park and Prospect Park Zoo on the fourth
Saturday of every month (12/27, 1/24, etc.).



WILLIAMSBURG PICK UP LOCATIONS & TIMES:

* Bedford Ave at South 3rd St. 10am, 1pm, 3:30pm, (6pm drop off only)

* Bedford Ave at North 7th St. 10:10am, 1:10pm, 3:40pm

* McCarren Park - Corner of Bedford & Lorimer St. 10:20am, 1:20pm, 3:50pm

* Lorimer St. at Grand St. 10:35am, 1:35pm, 4:05pm

* Brooklyn Children's Museum 11am, 2pm, 4:30pm

* Brooklyn Botanic Garden / Brooklyn Museum Loop 11:15am, 2:15pm, 4:45pm

* Prospect Park Children's Corner 11:35am, 2:35pm, 5:05pm

* Prospect Park Zoo 11:45am, 2:45pm

* Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library on Flatbush Avenue 11:55am, 2:55pm, 5:15pm

The site says that dates for January and February coming soon. For an up-to-date list of routes and times, visit the HOB Connection webpage or call (718) 638-7700, x22.

It's funded by funded by the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, The Arts & Business Council of New York, New York State Council on the Arts and New York City Department of Small Business Services.


Photo by wallyg, via a Creative Commons license

3rd Ward Handmade Holiday Craft Fair!

3rd Ward, the artist space that has studios, events, classes and more, is having its annual Handmade Holiday Craft Fair on December 7th from noon to 7 pm. I've gone in past years, and the merchandise is really beautiful, reasonably priced and unique, not like some craft fairs where you get overwhelmed by aisles and aisles of the same kinds of things. This year they'll have "everything from LED Hula hoops & dog costumes, to custom cut clothes & jewelry, furniture & vintage ware from Brooklyn Kitchen, cookies & chocolates, wrapping paper, pillows & body soaps, custom electronics and Cut Brooklyn knives." I can especially recommend the cookies (pictured) from Brooklyn Cookie, run by my friend Deann—full disclosure!

The event will also have "gift bags, live music from Sigmund Droid & VJ Clay Franklin, chili & corn bread from Tom Mylan (of Marlow and Sons, Diner & Bonita), FREE Gimme coffee, spiked drinks, a costume photobooth by Deluxa and FREE workshops in textile design, electronics and collage."

They ask that you bring a food donation for the Food Bank of New York.

3rd Ward
195 Morgan Ave., at the corner of Stagg St., in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Photo by Brooklyn Cookie

Briefly Noted

The NY Times identifies a trend of Western European immigrants settling in North Brooklyn.

A 40-story tower has been proposed for the Greenpoint waterfront between Huron and India (Brooklyn Paper). We are lacking details, but it sounds like the landowner is applying for a variance. The owner is represented by none other than our former Councilman Ken Fisher, who represented owners of this parcel during the rezoning, during which we do not recall the mischievous sewer pipe being mentioned.

Greenpointer notes that the holiday lights on Manhattan Avenue will not shine this year. This sad, but not completely surprising, since several of the longtime anchors of the retail strip closed this year. Most notably in our minds is George's (which truly did "have everything"), which was replaced by a Sleepy's after the family that ran the store sold the building.

From the Department of Controversy, we alert you to some thoughts about whether a lack of safe conditions on the road for bike riders inherently makes them behave like rebels on two wheels, a condition that the author, perhaps too cutely, calls "bikeism." (How We Drive)

North Brooklyn Transit to Take Major Hit

As the NY Times is reporting, many subway lines are set to have reduced service, and some trains and busses are set to be cut entirely. Many of these affect our neighborhood:

• Z train to be eliminated and J will no longer go express, possibly meaning less frequent rush hour service on the JMZ.
• G train will end at all times at Court Square instead of going to Forest Hills, formalizing a change that has been more or less in effect on weekends for a couple years now.
• M train is to no longer go to the other half of Brooklyn once it goes into Manhattan (as it currently does during rush hour), ending a convenient route from the Southside to Downtown Brooklyn.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. Most weekend day letter line trains (including the G and J) will reduce their frequency from eight to ten minutes between trains. Late night times between trains will increase from 20 to 30 minutes. For local buses the B39 will be cancelled entirely while the B48 will not have overnight service.

If this bugs you and you want to do something about it, attend our followup working meeting to the Town Hall Meeting, Dec 4 at 7:00pm at Holy Ghost Church (160 N 5th Street). Details about the meeting will be forthcoming.

From the NY Times article:

Mr. Sander said the route alterations “will result in extra transfers, longer travel times, longer wait times and longer walking time.” Trains would be more crowded. Subway cars would be cleaned less frequently. Station booths would be closed. Bus service would be cut back on weekends and at nights. The express-bus fare would rise to $7.50 from $5. The cost of the Access-a-Ride paratransit service for disabled riders would rise.

Full details are on the MTA website

G is For Not Good.

We have no further details, but this Daily News article hints at bad things in store for subway and bus riders, including those of us who rely in the G train.

"Two subway lines - the G and M - would essentially be halved, with trains making far fewer stops."

I'm unclear if this just means the G would no longer would go to Queens officially, or something much worse.

Is there hope for East River State Park?

As Michael has noted, the potential closing of East River State Park because of budget cuts represents another instance of our community being treated differently from others in the city–no other parks are being closed.

Now, an alternative to closing has been proposed by Assemblyman Joseph Lentol—to have the 94th precinct take some responsibility for the park, opening and closing it each day and doing several checks per day. Captain Fulton of the 94th has generously agreed to this. If the parks department agrees, and a few other safety and cleanup issues can be resolved, the park may well remain open this winter.

Cathleen Breen, NAG board member and part of the East River Park friends group, had this to say:

We have worked closely with Lentol's office on developing alternatives to closing the park and were pleased to hear that the initial discussions between Lentol and the Commissioner were positive and hopeful. Concurrently, we've reached out to open space leaders in New York City and asked that they support our proposal to have the commnity retain access by signing onto a letter to Commssioner Ash. Their supportive response has been overwhelming and we expect the letter to go to the Commissioner in the coming days. I'm hopeful that these all of these efforts will pay off!

In the meantime keep the pressure up!

Send an electronic message to Governor Paterson here.

Send snail mail to State Parks:
Rachel Gordon
Director, New York City Region
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
163 West 125th Street, 17th floor
New York, NY 10027

Letter to the NYT in Response to "So Hip and So Loud"

I wasn't the only person put off by the tone of this New York Times article that sought to contrast the happenings of election eve through that of gentrification. According to those that I've spoken to that were there, it was a wide range of the community celebrating. So I wrote this letter to to the editor that at this date is unlikely to be published:

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Old and new Williamsburgers have more in common than separates them ("So Hip and So Loud, and Stirring Up Williamsburg", Nov 7, 2008). We all care about improving our quality of life, keeping our neighborhood affordable, and preserving the unique mixed character of our neighborhood.

The events of election night in Williamsburg are best viewed not through the lens of gentrification, but through the lens of community needs. There is a clear need for a new civic space in Williamsburg--where old and new residents can meet, mingle, and yes, even celebrate an election victory together. Old residents bring experience and their long-term perspectives, while new residents bring passion and energy. If the Obama/Biden ticket can encompass both qualities, surely our neighborhood can as well.

Michael Freedman-Schnapp
Co-Chair, Neighbors Allied for Good Growth

Stop the Finger Building... Yet Again.

STOP THE FINGER BUILDING
One More Time!

Public Hearing
Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA)
Tuesday, November 18th
10:00 AM

Join Your Neighbors And Speak Out!
(It's probably your last chance since the case might close)

Ask the BSA, “Protect our community and order the Department of Buildings to enforce the zoning laws rather than working to ensure a windfall for a developer operating in bad faith.”

Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (NAG), the People's Firehouse, and several community residents are appealing the Dept of Building's (DoB) decision regarding the validity of the permit for the "Finger Building” (located at 144 North 8th St between N 7th and N 8th and Bedford and Berry).

Although the building is 10 stories tall right now, the DoB has NOT revoked the permit that allows the developer to more than double the current height!!

The Brooklyn DoB Commissioner wrote that the permit is valid because the architect, Robert Scarano, and the developer, Mendel Brach, "BELIEVED" they could use the neighboring roofs for the required "open space". Yet every related legal document (easements, etc.) expressly disallows the use of those rooftops.

The bottom line is that the DOB should insure that the building complies with zoning laws rather than the beliefs of self-interested developers.

40 Rector St., 6th Floor: Hearing Room E
(Take the #1/ W/R train to Rector St. or the 4/5 trains to Wall St in Manhattan)

Call NAG at (718) 384-2248 for more information.

Community Calendar!

Some upcoming meetings of interest:


MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17 (TONIGHT)

94th Precinct Community Meeting
7:30 pm
North Fork Bank located at 807 Manhattan Ave at 7:30 p.m. Use the entrance on Calyer St.
Come and discuss the events of November 4th, and other police/community issues.

Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park
7 pm 

133 Oak Street at Guernsey St
Are you interested in taking a leadership role in your community and park?
At this meeting we will be focusing on growing our steering committee and working committees. We will also be setting an agenda for the steering committee and goals for the Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park.
For more information and to RSVP, please contact Trina McKeever at trina@rserra.com.


MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24

Transportation Town Hall Meeting
6 pm
Swinging 60s Senior Center, 211 Ainslie Street
Come join Council Members David Yassky and Diana Reyna, State Senator-Elect Daniel Squadron, the MTA and the NYC Department of Transportation to discuss the transportation needs of Greenpoint and Williamsburg. Topics will include: Subway and Bus Service, Bike Lanes and Bike Racks, Truck Traffic, Street Parking Solutions, Traffic on Kent Ave


MONDAY, DECEMBER 1

Town Square Meeting
7 pm
102 Oak Street
Our next monthly meeting is coming up on Monday, December 1st. It is our last event for the year and we would like to invite you to a festive holiday affair. Kids are welcomed. We can reminisce about the past year (and there's certainly a lot to look back on for 2008), consider a wish list for next year or simply enjoy good company. Please let us know if you're coming! It will be a fun-filled evening.


THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4

NAG Organizing Agenda Release & Working Meeting
7:00 pm
Holy Ghost Church, 160 N 5th Street
We'll be releasing our organizing agenda (watch this blog for a preview) and starting to work on the issues the neighborhood cares about.

More Transportation Thoughts

If you haven't seen it yet, please read Ward Dennis's very thoughtful thoughts about Kent Avenue in response to Wednesday's community board meeting. An excerpt:

All of the problems with the Greenway are problems of implementation, and they are indicative of a complete lack of comprehensive transportation planning on the part of the City. Which really should not be a surprise to anyone. CB1 Transportation Chair Teresa Toro has been calling for a comprehensive transportation study for years. CB1 requested this during the 2005 rezoning, and was told it was not necessary. Every time the issue is raised, DOT says that existing transportation policy and infrastructure is adequate to meet our needs.

Chicken, meet roost.

The problem with Kent Avenue is not the Greenway. The problem is that DOT is asking Kent Avenue to do too much. They want Kent to be a two-way truck route, with existing manufacturing users on the east side of the street and new residential/commercial uses on the west side of the street. Add to that the temporary bike lanes (or the future Greenway), and there is just not enough room.

Read more

Transportation Meeting Monday, Nov 24th

It seems like having a Town Hall Meeting is the thing to do these days! Come and tell your elected officials what your transportation needs are on Monday, Nov 24th, then join NAG to take action on Thu, Dec 4th for our follow up to our meeting last month (details TBA shortly).

Support the New Kent Avenue Bike Lane This Wednesday!

This came to us from the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative. The new bike lanes on Kent Ave are a massive improvement in safety over its previous incarnation of "truck-bike death races."

Next we need some traffic lights to help people get across the street and to keep drivers from going 50 mph on the long stretches without any lights. And after that, we can get the full greenway built, which will benefit pedestrians as well as bikers, and will add hundreds of street trees.

Please attend tomorrow night's Brooklyn Community Board 1 meeting to speak out in favor of the new Kent Avenue bike lane, a key route in the Brooklyn bike network and a vital link in the future Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway.

CB1 Transportation Committee Meeting
Wednesday, November 12th, 6:30PM
211 Ainslie Street, corner of Manhattan Avenue, Williamsburg
Registration for public speaking ENDS at 6:15PM (be sure to get there by 6:00PM and sign up!)

The new Kent Avenue bike lane is already filling up with cyclists. But despite broad public support, the lane has its detractors. It is imperative that local cyclists and supporters of livable streets attend Wednesday night's meeting, sign up to and continue to speak in favor of this important transportation improvement for the neighborhood, for now and for the future!

Update: Photo courtesty I'm Just Sayin
More coverage at I'm Just Sayin

East River State Park May Close Until April!

We were dismayed to learn late last week that the East River State Park may close for the winter because of the State budget crunch. This park has rapidly become part of the community and closing it even for a season threatens the progress we've made here over the past few years. It should be noted that other neighborhood's parks are facing program cuts, not total closures. It seems highly counter-productive to close a park that struggled to open.


We're confident there is some way to keep the park open in an affordable and safe way. City parks is able to operate parks without a staff member on site at all times, perhaps this is the way that the State will have to run this park for the winter.

Assembly Member Lentol seems to be leading the charge to keep the park open. In the meantime, readers are urged to send letters to Governor Patterson and the State Parks Department urging them to keep the park open for the winter:

Send letters to Governor Patterson online

Send snail mail to State Parks:
Rachel Gordon
Director, New York City Region
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
163 West 125th Street, 17th floor
New York, NY 10027

Photo by Steve & Sara via Creative Commons License

Pollution Under East Greenpoint Meeting Wednesday Nov 12

For those unaware of the Meeker Ave solvent plume and live or work in the eastern edge of Greenpoint east of McGolrick Park, this meeting would definitely be of interest to you. Note that this is a different issue than the underground Exxon oil spill.

The NY State Dept of Environmental Conservation and the NY State Dept of Health are holding an "availability session" regarding the Meeker Ave. Contaminant Plumes. For more information regarding the Meeker Ave. Contaminant Plumes visit the NCA website. To download the DEC/DOH fact sheet regarding the Meeker Ave. Contaminant Plumes and the upcoming "availability session" click here (PDF). To view and contribute to an interactive online map detailing the Meeker Ave. Contaminant Plumes visit HabitatMap.

Where:
St. Cecilia's School
1 Monitor St., Brooklyn, NY (MAP)

When:
Wednesday, November 12th from 2:00pm - 5:00pm & 7:00pm - 10:00pm

Why:
"Representatives from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) will be on hand to answer questions about the site and the recent investigation results, and to provide one-on-one meetings to discuss an individual property owner's sampling results. Those living in the vicinity of the Meeker Avenue Plume Trackdown site are encouraged to attend."

The Newtown Creek Alliance is calling on the State to "take immediate action to protect human health and clean up the Meeker Ave. plumes" and is asking for them to quickly establish a testing and mitigation program.

Police Are Seeking Rapist Who Assaulted A Woman on Bedford

On election eve, while many were out celebrating, a woman was raped in North Brooklyn. This is a sketch of the suspect. He is between 25 to 30 years old, 5-feet-9-inches and 180 pounds.

If you have any information on this or other crimes,contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS, or text CRIMES and then enter TIP577, or visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.

(Thanks to Teresa Toro for posting this to the CB1 list, and to NY1 for more details.)

Thanksgiving Interfaith Service

This just showed up in the inbox:

We are very pleased to invite you and your family to celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving at
the Annual Greenpoint- Williamsburg Thanksgiving Interfaith Service.

This year's service be held at Congregation Ahavas Israel. It will feature a sermon by
esteemed Rabbi Avi Weiss, Dean of the Open Orthodox Yeshiva Chovoveih Torah, and ranked one of "America's Top 50 Rabbis" by Newsweek.

Where: Congregation Ahavas Israel - 108 Noble Street (b/w Manhattan & Franklin)
When: Wednesday, November 26th, at 7:30 p.m.

Light Refreshments To Follow.

This annual service is a joint collaboration of Congregation Ahavas Israel, the Greenpoint
Reformed Church, the Greenpoint Islamic Center, the Church of the Ascension, St. Anthony's,
St. Stanislaw's and the St. John's Lutheran Church.

We look forward to your celebrating with us.

Neighborhood Watch is always happy to post about events of interest to the community! Just send
them in.

UPDATED: Link to Ahavas Israel's website posted.

Photo by Vicki, via a Creative Commons License

Another New York Times Story About the Incidents on November 4th

The conversations about what happened on Bedford Ave. during post-election celebrations continue. The Times has another story today.

Remember that there is a community meeting with the 94th precinct on November 17th—it's the perfect place to discuss this issue.

News Roundup!

A New Hotel
Curbed says we are getting another hotel, on Union right by Kellogg's diner.

Newtown Creek Agreement
The State and the City announced an agreement that sets deadlines for the city's upgrade of the sewage treatment plant, ensures that an environmental audit will be done, sets a $24 million judgement against the city in escrow to ensure compliance (I don't quite get how that works), and finally:

The city will fund a $10 million Environmental Benefit Project (EBP). The EBP funds will be administered through the City Parks Foundation, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the Hudson River Foundation. These organizations will develop a portfolio of neighborhood projects—with input from community groups in and around the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn—to install green infrastructure; create or improve open space, public parks and waterfront access; create ecological stewardship and education programs; retrofit diesel buses and trucks; and implement energy efficiency programs in low-income housing.

That's a lot for $10 million! But welcome news nonetheless.

Olde Tyme Photos
Brownstoner has a link to a cool site called Re:Brooklyn. The blogger takes photos of current buildings around the borough and compares them with old public domain photos of the same spot years ago. I found all of the North Brooklyn links for you!

Graham and Metropolitan

Leonard and Engert

94th Precinct Community Meeting Nov. 17th, 7:30 pm

Whether you think the police reaction to the election celebration on Bedford was warranted or not, here is your chance to speak your mind. The 94th precinct holds a community meeting on third Monday of every month. This is exactly why they have these meetings—to give the community and the cops to talk about what's going on and solve problems.

The November 17th meeting will be at the North Fork Bank located at 807 Manhattan Ave at 7:30 p.m. Use the entrance on Calyer St.

Additionally, if you were the victim of or witnessed excessive force, file a report with the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board.

Stay Tuned for Our Organizing Agenda

As promised at the Town Hall we will be releasing an organizing agenda for the neighborhood based on the feedback we gathered in a couple weeks. Then we will be holding a working meeting in early December for people to get started on tackling the most pressing issues we identified.

In the meantime, if you were not able to attend the Town Hall meeting, help us construct the agenda by giving us your thoughts in this online survey about what kind of activism you want to participate in the neighborhood.

Make Lentol Garden Your Park

What a Night!

Holding aside any official allegations, it certainly was an outpouring of community last night on Northside. I'd say it's somewhere between a winning a Super Bowl and a World War.

Photo by Joe Wiesbord

Did the police overreact during election celebrations in Williamsburg?

Last night spontaneous celebrations spilled out into the streets all over the country and all over New York. But in Williamsburg, police arrested three, and there have been many accusations of excessive force.







Here is some video of the evening:






Brooklyn Vegan has some great photos of the revelry and the crackdown.

The NYT story notes that there were no arrests made at celebrations anywhere else in the city. These situations are always tough for the police—sometimes their presence (especially in riot gear) can escalate a situation in and of itself. I was on Driggs and North 6th, and traffic was getting through—the police claim that that was what caused them to act. The situation certainly didn't seem more out of hand than, say, the marathon. But that's just my opinion. I hope the precinct makes an effort to look into any serious allegations of excessive force, and that those who did experience anything report it.

Photo by Aaron Edwards, via a Creative Commons license.

Should We Ban Machetes?

Did you get a bunch of scary emails on Friday about gang initiations and such going on? With increased concern about the rise of the Trinitarios, City Councilwoman Diane Reyna is proposing a city-wide moratorium on machete sales, according to the New York Times.

The Trinitarios, a gang that, like many, is prison-based, named themselves after a 19th-century revolutionary group in the Dominican Republic. The Times story says they use machetes as part of that identity. Reyna, who is of Dominican heritage, is quoted saying "It is sad and disgraceful that these confused young people have co-opted the name Trinitarios from our founding fathers."

There was a machete attack back in July that has been attributed to the Trinitarios. A recent shooting in Queens reportedly also involved machete-wielding gang members.

Reyna is also looking for community-based solutions, like an undefined "youth-led initiative," and of course El Puente has been active on this issue.

Photo by Luke Berrini, via a Creative Commons license.

Vote Tuesday, November 4th

Voting information is hard to come by. Where do I vote? What do I need to bring? Who is on the ballot?

To address this problem, we have put together this list of frequently asked questions about how and where to vote

In response to requests we got last time for general information about what's on the ballot and who to vote for, we are offering links to that kind of information. While we can't tell you who to vote for, we can direct you to these resources:

Gotham Gazette's Guide for the Last-Minute Voter

League of Women Voters' NYC Elections Information

If you are supporting a candidate and want to make a difference, the most effective thing you can do is to tell your friends to vote. So consider forwarding this post to your friends (and if they live in Williamsburg or Greenpoint, ask them to sign up for the NAG newsletter at www.nag-brooklyn.org

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1. Oops- I'm not going to be in town on Tuesday!
Luckily, you can cast an in-person absentee ballot on Monday at the Board of Elections between 9am and 5pm. You must cast a ballot in the borough of your residence. The Brooklyn office is at 345 Adams Street, 4th Floor, in Downtown Brooklyn.

2. When & Where Can I Vote?
Polls are open 6am-9pm. Find your polling place online or call 212-VOTE-NYC (311 can patch you though too)

3. Am I registered?
You can verify your voter registration online or call 212-VOTE-NYC (311 can patch you though too)

4. What Congressional/State Senate/Assembly/Council Districts Am I In?
You can find out which districts you are in online

5. But I don't have my "voter registration card" with me!
YOU DON'T NEED IT. If you have never voted in NYS before and you registered via mail, you may need to present a photo ID (driver's license, non-driver ID or passport) and/or proof of residency if your ID doesn't have your address on it (utility bill, bank statement, etc). It's a good idea to bring a photo ID to the polls anyways, but New York does not require one if you voted in the state before.

6. Oops, I'm not registered!
Register to vote for the next election. More information is on the NAG blog.

Friends of Lentol Garden

There's a new group called "Friends of Lentol Garden" which is stepping up to take care of the green space wedged in between houses on Bayard street and the McGuiness entrance ramp to the BQE (it's better than it sounds).

They are just getting started and group co-founder Isaac Sandlin asked us to draw your attention to an "It's My Park Day!" on November 8, 2008. More information about the group is available at their blog: http://lentolgarden.blogspot.com/

Greenpoint Rezoning—for real this time!

The Greenpoint Star has a report on the proposed rezoning of much of non-waterfront Greenpoint, as well as the Grand Street and Metropolitan Ave areas of Williamsburg that are east of the BQE. The proposal includes height restrictions and provides allowances for more floor area in developments that include affordable housing.

Photo of construction logo plus graffiti on Meeker, by me.