Over a year ago, some fellow travelers and I put together a proposal to urge city officials to make the intersection of Ocean Avenue and Parkside Avenue safer for pedestrians and cyclists. Perhaps you read about that here or here. At any rate, the project got put on hold due to the group members' having personal lives (two couples had babies) but we've recently resumed. We call ourselves PLG Public Works and aim to make PLG streets better, quieter, and safer for all users. In some circles, this is known as building "livable streets."
Our inaugural act is a letter to the Department of Transportation, cc'd to local elects and Community Board 9. I've copied the letter below, which was mailed out today. To read the full proposal, download the PDF here.
Future plans call for improving Parkside Avenue and weighing in on the DOT's stated plans to improve Flatbush Avenue south of Empire.
If you'd like to get involved, join our Googlegroup to find out about upcoming meetings. If you're part of a local organization or block association and would be willing to endorse our proposal, please email me at brooklynite282 at gmail.com. Thank you, thank you.
The Daffodil Project was originally created to commemorate September 11th; a Dutch bulb grower donates 500,000 bulbs each year to NYC community groups who plant them in neighborhoods all over the five boroughs. This year, New Yorkers for Parks distributed more than 125,000 Daffodil bulbs for planting throughout the City. Sustainable Flatbush received 500 bulbs for planting in tree beds and other public areas in our neighborhood.
This will be Sustainable Flatbush's second year of co-sponsoring the Daffodil Project locally. If you enjoy gardening, feel like digging in some dirt, or if you just want to delight in the company of your neighbors, join us this weekend!
WHAT: Flatbush Daffodil Project WHEN: Saturday and Sunday, November 14th and 15th, from 10:00am until 12:00pm WHERE: Meet in front of Vox Pop Cafe at 9:45, 1022 Cortelyou Road (corner of Stratford Road)
If 205 Parkside sounds familiar, that's the neglected building that Moses Fried tried to turn into an hourly "hotel" three years ago. For those who take the train at Parkside, the place is pretty hard to miss — it's next door to the Pioneer grocer on a busy, high-traffic commercial strip.
We haven't heard anything out of 205 Parkside since 2007, when Fried's lawyer said that the owner was "reviewing his options" of what to do with the place. Apparently, Fried has been reviewing his options for some time. According to city records, the building has been "vacant and untenanted" since 1979. The building has been condemned and has no Certificate of Occupancy. Lights are often on at night, though, and clearly people are living there.
We're pretty sure this real estate isn't actually free (in any sense), but hope Fried is getting lots of calls. Property owners who let buildings fester for decades don't deserve to keep them. Fried clearly has no concern whatsoever for how his properties affect local the local community. But who knows. Perhaps a sly kick in the pants will get him to do the right thing and clean this s***hole up — or sell it to someone who will.
Last night, a memorial was held for Brian "Cosmik" Scott, the young man who was murdered in the Parkside Avenue Donut Shop. That link includes video of the NY1 story about the memorial, which was held by his fellow rollerbladers in a Lower East Side skate park. They were also collecting donations to help defray funeral expenses for the family. If anyone knows who to contact regarding donations, let us know and we'll post the information here.
Mr. Scott was not, according to police, the intended target. I haven't read anywhere whether one of the other injured patrons was the intended target or if they were connected to Mr. Scott in any way. Police are still searching for the shooter.
As we've written before, Cosmik was getting a reputation in the rollerblading scene. Below the fold are a tribute photo montage and a three videos of Cosmik shredding around town.
Over a week ago, a three-sided mural landed on Parkside, just in front of the Q subway station. I found a bit about it on Gothamist. Apparently, the paintings are by a Toronto-based street artist, Specter, who has been working out of Bed Stuy for the past few months (and also brought us this). The Department of Transportation and ISPC NYC sponsored the artwork, which is intended to depict "stories and memories from senior citizens in Flatbush, Brooklyn."
Of course, most senior citizens who grew up in Flatbush aren't still here now, which may be part of the reason the mural is a tad inscrutable to some. The only thing our Jewish relatives who grew up around here ever talk about is the Loew's Kings Theater, which I don't even see here. So who is the guitar player? The young woman with the funky hat? Bohack? Huh? Anyone?
PLG Community Supported Agriculture will be having a stoop sale this Saturday 11am to 3pm at the Maple Street School. One-hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale will be used to help subsidize low-income shares in the CSA next year. Come check out the bargains!
This is also a great opportunity to meet your neighbors and find out more about Community Supported Agriculture!
I look forward to seeing what the final voting numbers for our neighborhood are. If the lines are any indication, they are going to be very, very high. I got on line to vote at P.S. 92 at ~8:15 AM; the line stretched all the way down Parkside, turned the corner at Bedford, turned the corner again at Winthrop and extended far enough back to look through the P.S. 92 schoolyard to see people entering the school to vote. I voted at 10:30.
According to a friend who lives on Bedford, when he looked out his window shortly after 6AM, the line was already stretched past his door - so he hurried out to get on line as soon as possible. He took video of the line (coincidentally as I joined the end of it) and we should be able to get that online later today.
After I voted, the line (pictured here) still wrapped around to Winthrop. And Hawthorne Street hadn't even given an (official) endorsement!
Election day is finally here, kids. Just so none of us can use the "I didn't know about X" excuse not to vote, here's a guide to the whens, wheres, whos, whats and hows of tomorrow's election.
When: Tuesday 11/4, from 6am to 9pm.
Where: There are a number of polling locations in the Lefferts area. To find your poll site based on your address, click here. Yes, it really varies block by block so don't rely on your neighbor across the street - they may be at a different site.
Who: Most addresses in Prospect-Lefferts (if not all?) are in Representative District 11, State Senate District 20, and State Assembly District 43. You can double check by visiting smartvoter.org and entering your address in the upper right "FIND MY BALLOT" box. Incumbents include Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, State Senator Eric Adams, and State Assemblyman Karim Camara. Want to see how they've voted on the issues? A list of current officials and candidates for 11225 and 11226 can be found here.
What: There is one proposition on the NY ballot for tomorrow, regarding civil service examinations for disabled veterans. You can read it here. For an English translation of the legalese, the League of Women Voters offers an analysis.
How: There may be some unfamiliar voting machines this year, as NYC moves away from the old style lever machines and goes to the new Automark machines (if these things are as clunky to use as they appear to be in the informational video, I'd leave yourself some extra time to wait in line at the polls. And what exactly are those latex gloves for?!).
With aid from the U.N. having only reached 2 percent of its funding goal, and almost 160,000 people in Gonaives without shelter, help is desperately needed by Haitian residents who have witnessed the descent of four back-to-back tropical storms in the last weeks.
Donations will be accepted by Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees, 335 Maple Street between Nostrand and New York, on Monday and Wednesday of next week, between 2:30 and 8:30 pm (enter through rear entrance on Lincoln Road). (718)735-4660. Thanks Gwynne!
Donated goods may also be brought to the Bedford Armory (New York Army National Guard) in south Crown Heights at 1579 Bedford Ave, from Monday to Friday, between 8am and 5pm (enter on Union Street between Bedford and Rogers).
Recommended items for donation include: dried beans, rice, first aid
supplies, new undergarments, new hand towels, sterno canisters, nylon
cord, mild soaps, toothpaste and other personal hygeine goods. Canned goods will not be accepted.
After all that focus on the controversial Lincoln Road project, it's been a while since some of us have taken a good walk around the neighborhood, other than the streets we typically use to get to the subway or the park. This morning, my route took a detour and I noticed a few signs of change (and no, I'm not talking about those lovely daffodils and crocuses sprouting up everywhere).
There's been continuous concern in the neighborhood about the destruction of classic homes and the construction of cookie-cutter "Fedders" style buildings in their places. This type of transformation is running rampant on blocks like Fenimore III (between Rogers and Nostrand), where a number of new 3-family homes have gone up in the last few years. Many of these new homes have remained on the market since construction a while back. And lately, we've seen an influx of developers with their eyes on bigger chunks of pie.
So here's the scoop on some new stuff for sale/going on in the area: The first reflects the conversion of two lots, currently occupied by a couple of now vacant
Victorians (first photo at right), into one large lot with plans for a 7-story 62-apartment building (rendering at far right: David Kohn via Property Shark) at 186-190 Lenox Road. As of this posting, plans for the building have been rejected by the DOB, the old houses are vacant and boarded up, and the two lots are currently BACK UP FOR RESALE per Google. (As an aside, this rendering seems to follow the "no context" model that we saw on the Lincoln Road renderings. Is that supposed to be Brooklyn Hospital in the background?) There's a very nice row of brownstones directly adjacent to this lot, although the majority of Lenox Road in this area is already home to some large 6 or 7 story apartment buildings. While I'm a fan of development if it's nice, I'm not a big fan of abandoned buildings with no immediate plans for improvement.
The second property on the market, 285 Fenimore between Bedford and Rogers, is located on the (currently) un-landmarked side of Fenimore II. This block has thankfully been spared the fate of some neighboring blocks in terms of tear-downs, but could easily fall prey to the same type of destruction we've seen elsewhere in the neighborhood, particularly as foreclosures are on the rise and we begin to experience the economic downturn that has already hit the rest of the country. This property, listed by Century 21 Kings, was recently advertised in the NY Times and was described in terms of lot size with no accompanying photos. Am I overreacting in thinking this one's marketed to developers? Maybe, but I sure hope some house-seekers step up to the plate on this one. This is a nice block and possibly a very nice house.
Due to the current mortgage crisis, will properties potentially just sit there, empty, for years to come while developers scramble for financing and DOB approval? What can we as a community do to prevent property neglect and abandonment by developers if/when times get tough?
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