Last Saturday, around noon, Carrie and I wandered past the site of the Concerned Residents of Greater Prospect Lefferts Gardens protest of the planned Lincoln Road tower. There were maybe a dozen or so people holding posters and beating on drums.
The 'Concerned Residents' claim that the tower will lead to higher rents and landlords harassing long-term tenants out of their apartments. The effect of the tower on rents is, at best, indirect and likely negligible; its effect on other landlords is irrelevant. For one thing, the building is likely to be mostly--if not entirely--condos. That means a possible net change of ZERO rental units. If the building is going to have any impact on the housing market it will be to slow the appreciation of value of properties for sale. Whereas there is currently a dearth of properties in move-in condition for sale in the neighborhood, there will suddenly be a burst of units available in various sizes.
Rising rents are a problem for some in PLG, just as they are in every urban neighborhood in a period when people are flocking to cities. PLG will continue to see rising rents whether or not this tower goes up. Tenant advocacy--and preserving the existing rent stabilized and rent-controlled apartments in our neighborhood--is a much more fruitful avenue for addressing the problem than trying to stop a single building that will itself displace nobody.
The real objective behind the formation of CRGPLG seems to be stopping a tall building from going up near Lefferts Manor. If that means shifting blame for the basic economics of supply and demand, exaggerated warnings about the coming avian holocaust, or stoking fears about gentrification, so be it.
It may all be moot anyway. As the protest was going on, a backhoe was busily moving about the site. It was probably getting the site ready for the foundation to be poured so that the developer can lock in the current zoning rules and make the next protest even more toothless.
Though I don't own a pup myself, one of my favorite things to do is go to watch the dogs play in Prospect Park's Nethermead. The informal dog run is actually illegal, though. Dogs can run free in Nethermead only after 9 pm, which, of course, would pretty much rule out the good times.
Now FIDO has launched an online petition to urge the return of off-leash hours in Nethermead during weekdays, from 5 pm to 9 pm:
With the coming of legal off-leash last year, Prospect Park's afternoon
Nethermead privileges were traded for a "one rule fits all" type city
policy that meant off-leash would only occur between the hours of 9
p.m. to 9 a.m. where permitted.
Sarah Pancake and Sasha Slocombe are going to lead a Q&A session — Thinking About Hiring a Doula? — at K Dog on Tuesday, June 24, 6 pm.
A doula, for the uninitiated, is a birthing coach (kinda like a midwife without the medical background).
When Charles and I recently found ourselves in the doula hunt, Sarah Pancake was recommended to us by some good friends and we wanted to hire her based on her name alone. (Our schedules didn't mesh, but Sarah referred us to a colleague.)
Anyway, pregnant gals and their partners might want to check it out: K Dog & Dunebuggy, 43 Lincoln Rd (at Flatbush Ave.); Prospect Park stop on Q/B. Be forewarned, though: doulas in the city don't come cheap.
Of course, that designation wouldn't seem to be at all fair to NYC Swag, "Brooklyn's freshest skate, sneaker and streetwear boutique" at 672 Flatbush. From what I can see out of my window, the shop isn't going to be catering to the gentrifiers but rather to the burgeoning skate culture among African- American kids. (A culture that I don't, needless to say, actually want off of my lawn. I want to watch the next Tony Hawk learn his craft.) I noticed a few kids skating last year but popularity appears have exploded this year.
Even though I've never successfully ridden a skateboard in my life, I feel like I am gentrifying the minds of the kids in the neighborhood without even trying. Enjoy the sushi, kids.
PLG Public Works, a new neighborhood group focused on improving PLG streets and public spaces, has fleshed out our proposal for the intersections of Ocean Avenue & Parkside Avenue (gmap) and Ocean & Lincoln Road (gmap). We're now looking for other neighborhood groups, businesses, churches, etc. to sign on and endorse the plan.
As discussed earlier, both of the aforementioned intersections will be affected by Prospect Park's Lakeside Center development in the next couple of years. These intersections are major entrances to Prospect Park, and so we want to make sure the Department of Transportation includes the interests of pedestrians, cyclists, and other park users in any redesign.
If you're involved in a local group and would like to see more traffic calming in Prospect Lefferts and the greater Flatbush area, check out our proposal and let us know what you think. Email brooklynite282 (at) gmail. The more co-signers, the merrier!
We weren't able to attend State Senator Eric Adams' meeting on transit issues last Saturday, but a source on the Lefferts list had this report:
There were [five] people there initially (and another neighbor joined later on). A number of suggestions were made, ranging from legislative to educational.... One of the guys mentioned the Kheel Plan, another talked about shutting down the middle lanes of Flatbush on Sundays as a bike avenue, a bike rental program (like in Paris), and various programs to hire teenagers to help out and possibly pay them in bikes.
Far be it from me to oppose these ideas, but what I have in mind is far more modest: make car drivers cover the costs of using their cars instead of requiring everyone else to pick up the tab. Gas taxes and street tolls help fund the infrastructure that allows car drivers to get around. Without them, that money has to come from the general taxpaying public. Same thing goes for public parking. Land in this city is insanely valuable. If you want a public parking space, you should pay for the privilege.
Adams deserves credit for listening to his critics. Yet in exchange for political favors he continues to support legislation like his gas tax holiday. What he doesn't seem to get it that free money for some people means less money for others.
CORRECTION (6/16/08): Charles Komanoff,
who also attended the meeting, argues that the below is misleading and
that Senator Adams' expressed his support for congestion pricing and
other sustainable transport measures. (See comments.) Since I trust Mr.
Komanoff and didn't attend the meeting myself, I'm withdrawing my
negative comment and returning to my meal of crow.
Via Gowanus Lounge, we come up close and personal with the 4 am subway track work going on between Prospect Park and Parkside.
I would estimate the sound decibel rating at about 120 (see this handy chart) which as you can tell by the video is extremely loud. It is impossible to sleep with such noise. This does not seem to be emergency work. In fact, this has been going on-and-off for the last few weeks on some nights... Couldn’t this work be done on the weekends instead of when people have to sleep and go to work the next day? Doesn’t this portion of tracks have three lines - that is, couldn’t this work be done during the day? If I am unaware of why this work must be done at these times, couldn’t the MTA have done a better job of informing our neighborhood?
Those 23-story luxury apartments aren't sounding so good now, huh?
If the noise is bothering you, remember: be sure to complain by dialing 311 and contacting the MTA.
Last Saturday, around noon, Carrie and I wandered past the site of the Concerned Residents of Greater Prospect Lefferts Gardens protest of the planned Lincoln Road tower. There were maybe a dozen or so people holding posters and beating on drums.
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