Red Hook sketches by Stephen Gardner

Brooklyn based artist Stephen Gardner promises to post a series of Red Hook based sketches on his blog over the coming weeks. If they are anything like the one above, I can't wait to see the rest! Check out his site here for some other interesting sketches, NYC street scenes and otherwise.

Blighted Development sites

Brad Lander, the Democratic nominee for City Council in the 39th District (which includes the Columbia Waterfront) has already started working on issues before even taking office (as the Democratic nominee, he is the most likely contender to win in the general election), and we must say that the first issue he chose to tackle is a very commendable one.

He sent out an email last week asking local residents to email his office information about any blighted development sites. The email said the following:

Earlier this week, the Daily News published an Op Ed I wrote on what the City can to do address the problem of stalled or abandoned construction sites. The article focuses on 824 Friel Place in Kensington -- a particularly egregious example -- but as I've been knocking doors around the district, I've seen the problem in every one of our neighborhoods. Addressing the problem is going to require working both on a site-by-site level (bring together neighbors to confront owners and lenders, and to work together for short and long-term solution), as well as new citywide policies.

If you live near a blighted development site, please email us about it at info@bradlander.com. We're putting together a list (we will build on the interesting map initiated on the Brian Lehrer show) so that we can help address individual sites, and bring people together to work toward broader solutions.

This is a very important issue citywide, and our neighborhood is no exception. If you know of a site, we urge you to please send in the information and let Brad's office work on a solution.

An excerpt from the above mentioned Daily News Op Ed sums up the issue best as follows:

New York City has the power to do something about this. We can change the rules so that blighted construction sites have to be quickly cleaned up … or we’ll take them over, and turn them into something useful, like affordable housing for families who need it, or community gardens (if the site is a vacant lot). The main obstacle here is not money. It's our willingness to confront developers whose failure has become a blight to our neighborhoods. We’ve been all-too-willing to use eminent domain to help developers acquire property for mega-projects. Why not use the City’s tax, emergency repair, and foreclosure powers to help our neighborhoods confront real blight?

Lead Paint removal on HIcks St Bridges

One of our readers has been doing some investigating into the work being done on the BQE bridges on Kane St, Union St, Sackett St and Summit St.

Our reader, concerned with the hazardous waste containers, talked to Kieran Aherns, the owner of Aherns Maintenance & Supply Corporation which has been contracted to do the job.

Here is the process: every night from 12:00 AM to 5:00 AM they sand blast the old (lead) paint off the bridges with a special vehicle that is driving on the BQE right under each bridge. Apparently this is a nearly sealed process and the dirt is being sucked off by an industrial grade hepa vacuum that's part of the specialty vehicle. The vacuum part gets connected to the hazardous waste containers, which function as receptacle for the solids. Mr. Aherns stated that there won't be any danger to the public and that they're constantly monitoring the air quality around the work site.
We join our reader's concern with the residual dust in the daytime, contained only by plywood and tarp. However according to the PDF below, a number of Environmental and Health agencies approve this process.

The NYC DOT who hired Aherns does not seem to have more information on their site besides the nightly advisory: www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/bqebridges.pdf

Images and information submitted by reader

Cobble Hill Association Book Swap - Oct 17th

The Cobble Hill Association is sponsoring a free Book Swap
Saturday, October 17, 2009
at the Long Island College Hospital (LICH) Sitting Park
located at Henry and Pacific Streets in Cobble Hill
from 11 AM until 3 PM.

The idea for the Book Swap is simple: bring a book and get a book. LICH staff members will also be on hand to meet the community and will conduct free blood pressure screening and an asthma information table at the park. Books will also be available for sale at $1 or less. All proceeds and remainder books will be donated to the Hospital by the Cobble Hill Association.

In case of rain, the Book Swap will be held at the same time and place the following Saturday, October 24th.

To volunteer, please contact Margaret Ablon or Judi Francis at 718.855.3982

Tonight: Free film screening at Freebird!!

Come to Freebird Books tonight (Sunday) at 7 pm to watch It Don't Pay To Be an Honest Citizen, a special 25th anniversary screening of a film set on the Columbia Street waterfront. Director Jacob Burckhardt and a few cast members will be on hand to answer questions

Co-Sponsored by The Word on Columbia Street and Freebird Books

Freebird Books
123 Columbia Street (between Kane and Degraw streets)
Brooklyn, NY 11231
718-643-8484
http://www.freebirdbooks.com/directions.html

Nighttime is for Dreaming at Lucky Gallery

"Nighttime is for Dreaming"

at Lucky Gallery

opens October 9th and continues through October 31st
Red Hook, Brooklyn

The exhibition includes a series of events - an artist workshop, reception and performance. The exhibition features a collaboration of different mediums, including light, sound, photographic images and text.

Christoperh Coggiano's light installations of wire and handmade paper are brilliant colors of organic shapes. Ralph Maratta's black and white photographs "Big Dreams" are surrealistic dreamlike imagery inspired by the idea that humankind shares a bank of common symbols in our "universal unconscious". Alix Sorrell is collaborating with Maratta, interpreting his text and visually displaying it within context of the installation in the gallery."War of the Lightning Bugs" is providing an evolving experiment in spontaneous sound inspired by the repetition of each passing day, the aggressive tension of congested roadways, the peaceful dreaming of free time and the happiness of coming home on a Friday night. The soundtrack is a reaction to the imagery and themes of the photos and is used as a mechanism for triggering universal ideas and emotions.

Lucky Gallery is located at 176 Richards Street - Brooklyn, NY. 11231

For more info click here.

It Don't Pay an Honest Citizen screenshots

Freebird Books, in anticipation of our co-sponsored film event on Sunday, posted some screenshots from the film "It Don't Pay to be an Honest Citizen," which was shot around the neighborhood 25 years ago.

Its interesting to see how some blocks have changed drastically and others have hardly changed at all. A few of the pictures are below, but head over to the Freebird site to see even more pictures as well as shots of the current locations and some detailed descriptions.

Van Brunt, looking North from President towards Union

Columbia between Union and President (East Side)

President St. near corner of Van Brunt (at the Church that
formerly stood there)

Suspended F Train during upcoming weekends

COWNA recently reported on their blog:

The F train service between Jay Street-Bourough Hall and Church Avenue will unfortunately be suspended from 12:01 am Saturdays through 5:00 am Mondays during the following weekends:

- October 10-12
- October 17-19
- October 24-26
- November 14-16

There will be shuttle buses provided to transport travelers from Jay Street-Borough Hall along the F train route. The service changes are due to the necessary rehabilitation of the Culver Viaduct (the bridge that carries Smith/9th Street and 4th Avenue stations).

Root for Brad Farmerie on the Next Iron Chef!!!!

The Food Network's new season of "The Next Iron Chef" series premiered this past Sunday, and this time around a local Columbia Waterfront resident is one of the challengers!!!

Check out his introduction video here:




Yournabe.com recently ran an article on Farmerie and the two other Brooklyn residents that are featured on the show (we always knew Brooklyn had some real food talent!). The article says:

“Any chef would want to be ‘The Next Iron Chef.’ It’s one of those big-time honors,” said Brad Farmerie, who lives in the Columbia Street Waterfront District. Farmerie is the executive chef of PUBLIC and The Monday Room (210 Elizabeth Street, 212-343-7011, www.public-nyc.com) and Double Crown (316 Bowery, 212-254-0350, www.doublecrown-nyc.com)....

Farmerie loves the Australian meat pies at Down Under Bakery (DUB) Pies on Columbia Street and plans to use veggies from the Red Hook CSA in his restaurants’ menus. “They’re probably the best eggplants I ever tasted,” he said.....

“Brooklyn is a great place to live,” Farmerie added. “I’ve got a son who is 16 months old who gets to run around and play over here. It’s a lifestyle. I wouldn’t trade it.”

Paris Uke Fest at Jalopy 10/8

Paris Uke Fest
@ Jalopy
10/8/09
8:00 Pm
$10 Cover

From the Jalopy site:

The Paris Uke Fest in Brooklyn will feature performances by local ukulele stars, French-themed music, and a special appearance by Paris Uke Fest founder Lionel Hubert (“the K”) with his experimental uke duo U.K.E. Hosted at the charmingest venue in Brooklyn, Red Hook's Jalopy Theatre. Comme c’est magnifique!

More info here.

Also check out a Brooklyn Paper article on the festival here.