I'm late at getting this out, but wanted to mention that there's not one but two group stoop sales in the nabe today (Sun. May 31):
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« April 2009 | Main | June 2009 » May 2009PLG house tour today! And stoop sales!I'm late at getting this out, but wanted to mention that there's not one but two group stoop sales in the nabe today (Sun. May 31): 1) 50 Lefferts, between Bedford and Rogers (time unknown), is a multi-apartment affair 2) Maple Street, between Bedford & Rogers (noon to 5 pm): Vintage household items: glassware, porcelain, and ceramic pieces, decorative arts and sundry collectibles, household goods, clothes, books and children's toys. ...and let's not forget the Prospect Lefferts Gardens House Tour today from noon to 5 pm. Posted at 09:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) Mini-Golf comes to Brooklyn
PLG-based artist David Lukowski has built a one-day only mini-golf course in a Sunset Park warehouse and, best of all, it's free! You can read more about it at Playing Through. Thirty artists teamed up to build the course from salvaged materials. It will be family-friendly during the day and give way to live music at night. According to The Brooklyn Paper, The makeshift mini-golf course will include sand traps, a
“Brooklyn-style” water feature made from a discarded fountain and kiddy
pool, and even a mock-up of Mount Rushmore featuring the stars of a
classic that Oscar overlooked: “Caddyshack.”
Posted at 04:05 PM in Brooklyn, Games | Permalink | Comments (0) Subway Sodomy Lawsuit FiledThe New York Times reported yesterday that Michael Mineo, the man allegedly sodomized in the Prospect Park subway station during his arrest for pot possession, has sued the City and the officers involved for $220,000,000, apparently having decided that their original estimate of $200 million was too low. Since the incident occurred, three of the officers have been indicted by the Brooklyn District Attorney's office for their involvement. Officer Richard Kern was indicted for aggravated sexual abuse and assault - Mineo's DNA was allegedly found on his baton, while Officers Alex Cruz and Andrew Morales were charges with hindering prosecution and official misconduct for allegedly covering up the crime. According to the DA, the officer's criminal trial is going to begin in September. Officer Noel Jugraj - Officer Cruz's partner - was also named in the lawsuit but was not charged with any crime. I assume that he was sued so that he will testify against his colleagues in the civil trial as he did before the grand jury. Posted at 11:28 AM in 11225, Crime | Permalink | Comments (0) Traffic calming plans for Empire Blvd.After attending last night's Community Board 9 meeting, I've got some good news and bad news. Good news: the Department of Transportation has developed a promising traffic calming plan for Empire Boulevard that, if approved, will be implemented in July. And the bad: the plan doesn't include the blocks of Empire from Flatbush to Bedford, one the most dangerous stretches for pedestrians and cyclists. Instead, it starts at Bedford and reaches to Utica. The changes the DOT does plan to implement are certainly much needed. Empire is nearly twice the width that it needs to be, given its traffic volume, and that excess width encourages speeding. The DOT plans to reduce the boulevard from two lanes to one in each direction, place bike paths along each side of the street, add in 9 left turn bays and four protected pedestrian islands at key intersections, and plant trees and landscaping to the streetscape. You can find more information about the plan here. What you won't find, however, is the DOT's reasoning for excluding the Flatbush and Washington blocks, originally a key part of the plan. According to DOT rep Hillary Poole, changes to those intersections were taken off the table due to the high traffic volumes concentrated there. At rush hour, things can get backed up for several blocks. When traffic is highly congested, it's slow and therefore less dangerous for pedestrians. That may be. But according to Crashstat, Transportation Alternative's database of DOT crash statistics, the Empire intersections at Flatbush and Washington are just as dangerous—and in some cases MORE dangerous—than the intersections included in the calming plan. The difference, of course, is that those intersections carry a much lower traffic volume; for them, the calming plan is a no-brainer. To their credit, the DOT reps (Poole and Keith Bray), were open to revisiting the question. Poole said, for example, that she'd look into the possibility of incorporating pedestrian lead intervals into traffic signals. We'll follow up and let you know what happens.
Posted at 12:19 PM in Streets | Permalink | Comments (2) Lakeside Development meeting recap
In line with previous plans, the Wollman Rink parking lot will be moved to Breeze Hill, and the entrance at Ocean and Parkside will be closed to vehicular traffic. Cars headed for the parking lot will instead enter at Lincoln and Ocean (now currently exit-only). While there is some concern about additional traffic at Ocean and Lincoln (an intersection close to a playground), the closing of the Parkside entrance—one of the most dangerous intersections in Brooklyn for cyclists — is a welcome improvement. Celeste continues:
If you were at the meeting last night, please let us know your thoughts. Did we miss anything here? Posted at 01:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) Community Board Meeting on Tues., May 26The public session of the next Community Board 9 meeting has some noteworthy presentations scheduled. First up, representatives from the Department of Transportation will "present plans for the implementation of traffic calming measures for Empire Boulevard from Flatbush Avenue to Utica Avenue." This is great news. The intersection of Empire Avenue, Flatbush Avenue and Ocean Avenue is pretty scary for pedestrians. One problem is the excessive width of the street, which encourages speeding and unpredictable turns. I'm not sure what the DOT has in mind, but here's what we'd like to see at Flatbush and Empire: Drawing of Flatbush Ave. at Empire Ave. and Ocean Ave. with raised median, pedestrian refuge, bus bulb, and bollards
Drawing of Empire Avenue with raised median and pedestrian refugeAlso on the agenda for Tuesday: Legacy Van Lines has applied to operate a new commuter van authority (with a total of 3 vans) in Brooklyn, with the "service area to include portions of Community District 9." And Caribbean Spotlight at 103 Empire (near Washington) has applied for a liquor license. Want to hear more? Come on down! Middle School 61 Auditorium - 7 pm 400 Empire Boulevard Brooklyn, NY 11225 If you'd like to speak about any of these agenda items, call the CB in advance at 718-778-9279 and sign up. Members of the public are allowed 3 minutes to speak.
Posted at 12:38 PM in 11225 | Permalink | Comments (2) Upcoming stoop sales in the nabeAt least two blocks in the neighborhood are organizing stoop sales in the next few weeks.
If you live on one of these blocks, here's your chance to dig crap out of the basement and get people to pay for it. Organizers are also encouraging kids on the block to set up lemonade stands (and what have you) for the day. We love stoop sales here on Hawthorne Street; if your block organizes one this summer, just let us know and we'll pass word on. Posted at 03:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Lakeside Center public meeting this Thursday
The meeting will be this Thursday, May 21st, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm, at the Prospect Park Picnic House. If you want to hear more about the project and its status in the wake of the ecomonic crisis, be sure to come! I plan on attending myself, though I need to bring my 10-month-old, who may have other plans.
Posted at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) Hard Economic Times in PLG
Veggie Hut, Patio Restaurant and Optimum Realty, all on Flatbush, are closed and the former City Jerk location still hasn't reopened as Cafe Exhale - and doesn't look close to opening. Less obvious to the PLGers like myself are the effects on "barrel shipping" - local residents sending things back to their families in the Caribbean that are either insanely expensive or hard to find. Apparently barrel shipping is dramatically down as the economy has gotten worse.
Nothing funny about any of this so I'll sign off without a closing joke. Posted at 06:41 PM in 11225, PLG Businesses | Permalink | Comments (1) PLG Neighborhood Association Meeting this Thursday, 7 pmThe Prospect Lefferts Gardens Neighborhood Association is inviting all PLG residents to come to its meeting on Thursday, May 7, at 7 pm. The meeting will be held at Grace Reformed Church Chapel (1800 Bedford Avenue). The flyer says to "Join us for a presentation on the history of PLGNA and a discussion about the future of our neighorhood. Bring ideas. Bring a friend." Posted at 04:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |
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