Meet Your Neighbors NextDoor

There is a new online group for residents of the Columbia Waterfront on NextDoor.com. Think of it as an online bulletin board and discussion for the neighborhood. Share your experiences with local businesses, hear about local events. It's also a mini-Pennysaver where we can buy and sell things without leaving the neighborhood. 


Go here to join the conversation:
https://columbiastreetwaterfrontdistrict.nextdoor.com/login/


Thanks to Meredith Johnson for getting our NextDoor group started. 

Keep the Columbia Street Post Office Open! UPDATE

An update to last week's post on the termination of our Columbia Street post office: there is now an online petition at http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/keepritasopen.

The Mary Whalen in Danger

PortSide has been holding a variety of great events and tours on their restored tanker, the Mary Whalen since 2005. They are an organization devoted to the revitalization of Red Hook and our nautical history.

But now The Mary Whalen needs a home confirmed by April 30 or PortSide will close and the ship will be scrapped.  

PortSide asks concerned community members to meet them Monday, February 27 6:30-8:30pm at Long Island College Hospital to get your endorsements, your ideas, and your help joining action committees. 

Meeting Address:

Long Island College Hospital 

339 Hicks Street, Brooklyn NY 11201
Corner of Atlantic Avenue & Hicks Street, Brooklyn
Enter from Hicks Street (some raised steps) 

If you can't make the meeting, join PortSide at salty Montero's Baracross Atlantic Avenue from LICH just south of Hicks. They will be there until 10:30pm. 

 

Keep the Columbia Street Post Office Open!

If you've visited our little Post Office on Columbia Street this week you'll know that the USPS plans to close it at the end of March. Owner Rita Farone, who has been running the contracted Post Office for 17 years, is collecting signatures on a petition which she plans to send to the American Postal Workers Union soon.

Carroll Gardens Patch reports that calls to Community Board Six prompted District Manager Craig Hammerman to send a letter to the Postmaster General, asking for the decision to be reversed. He added this advice:
"It may be worth the effort for interested parties to reach out to their federal elected officials to see if they would be willing to intervene on the neighborhood's behalf. I suppose additional letters to the Postmaster General couldn't hurt either."

Here is where to contact our Representatives and Senators to ask for their support!

Contact Congresswoman Nydia Velázques: http://velazquez.house.gov/contact/index.shtml

Contact Senator Schumer: http://schumer.senate.gov/Contact/contact_chuck.cfm

Contact Senator Gillibrand: http://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/

Send a letter to the Postmaster General: 

Pat Donahoe

475 L’Enfant Plaza SW

Washington DC 20260-0010

Want to do more to help? There's some advice here for organizing the community to save a Post Office. 

Author Patrick Taylor Appearing at the Carroll Gardens Library Feb 29

 This just in from the Friends of the Carroll Gardens Library: 

February 29, Leap Day, is a rare date which occurs just once every four years. Rarer still is a Brooklyn appearance by New York Times bestselling author Patrick Taylor (the “Irish Country” series) – but that’s exactly what’s scheduled for Wednesday, February 29 at 7 p.m. when the author visits the Carroll Gardens branch of the Brooklyn Public Library for a discussion and signing of his novels. It will be the author’s exclusive New York appearance.

 “We are so excited that Patrick Taylor will be visiting not only the library, but Brooklyn for this event,” says Friends of the Carroll Gardens Library secretary and event organizer Diane Saarinen.  “We can only hope our ‘little village’ of Carroll Gardens is half as interesting as the Ballybucklebo that Taylor depicts in his colorful novels.”


Taylor , author of the bestselling An Irish Country Village, A Dublin Student Doctor and more, is also looking forward to the February 29 event: “Although I have visited New York often, I am really looking forward to my first visit to Brooklyn--even if Ebbets Field is gone and the Trolley Dodgers who hired Jackie Robinson in 1947 have long been in LA,” the author says. “And where better to go than a library in a borough that has 58 branches of its Public Library system? I hope what I have to say will be interesting and entertaining.”


Seating is limited and those who wish to attend this exciting event must register for tickets at http://patricktaylorinbrooklyn.eventbrite.com/  A donation of $10 per person at the door is suggested. Signed books will be available for purchase. 


“An Evening with Patrick Taylor” Wednesday,  February 29, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Carroll Gardens Library, located at 396 Clinton Street, on the corner of Union Street, Brooklyn New York. Subways: F and G train to Carroll Street.


About the Friends of the Carroll Gardens Library: The Friends of the Carroll Gardens Library was chartered early in 2011 and hosts their book sale fundraiser each May, in addition to organizing dynamic programs at the library. Its goals are to support the library by helping to make the Carroll Gardens branch a hub of the community with programs for children, youth and adults all year round. Visit their website at http://friendsofcglibrary.blogspot.com, friend them on Facebook at http://facebook.com/FriendsofCarrollGardensLibrary and follow them on Twitter at http://twitter.com/FriendCGLibrary.

Possible Changes to our District and Ports

The Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association has shared two pieces of news about our neighborhood's future. 


There are concerns about a proposal to split up the Columbia Waterfront District on the State Assembly map, giving us two different Assemblymembers and splitting our votes. Read here for the whole story: 
http://cowna.blogspot.com/2012/01/redistricting-blues.html

You may have heard that American Stevedoring is no longer the operator at the container port. Council member Brad Lander has organized a meeting to update the neighborhood on these developments and, hopefully, help us understand what the future may hold.


Date: 9 February 2012
Time: 6:30 pm
Location: Postgraduate Center, 177 Columbia Street


Learn more on the COWNA blog:
http://cowna.blogspot.com/2012/01/brad-lander-to-present-overview-of-port.html

Improvements to the B61

Good news for the B61!

Monday, the MTA board voted to add buses to Brooklyn’s B61 route during the evening rush hour. The move, part of a package of changes to bus schedules citywide, will mean that buses on the route will come more frequently and follows a study on the bus line released by Brooklyn elected officials and community groups in December.

Read the rest of the news here: 
http://bradlander.com/news/updates/following-study-mta-adds-buses-to-brooklyn-s-b61-bus-route


Big thanks to our City Councilmember Brad Lander and all the volunteers who collected data on our overpopulated bus route. 

A New Garden on Columbia Street?

Brownstoner reports on a proposal to transform the vacant lot on Columbia and Sackett, next to MikNic.

http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2012/01/columbia-street-residents-looks-to-transform-lot/?stream=true

Lingerie, clothing & sparkly things

I never thought I'd find beautiful, sexy lingerie nearby until I walked into Winkworth.

The store is magic and Susie, Sonya and Carla are the ladies that make it happen. I spoke to Susie, one of the owners of the shop about things you'd talk to a woman who sells lingerie and makes made to measure clothing.

The first question asked was "What do you think all women should have?" The answer? "A bicycle, really good underwear and a dog that you love." A woman with brains and a sense of humor who also has x-ray vision when it comes to sizing bras? She is amazing.

I asked Susie what she thinks is sexy, "Someone who is confident enough to be super silly, Sofia Vergara is off the charts." What about if you don't look like Sofia Vergara? "Everybody's got at least one thing that is fabulous, the trick is knowing where that is and how to accentuate it." Susie's favorite piece in the store right now? "The feather belts which are beautiful, silly, goofy and flirty." Don't get me wrong, there's seriously beautiful lingerie here that I haven't seen in other places. I own a bunch of pieces and they have all held up beautifully.

These ladies are pros and they make you feel comfortable enough to prance around the store in your skivvies. They're also extremely honest, if something's not working they'll tell you immediately and find something else to try on. Not all bras and panties are equal, so come with a little time to try on a few things. The stuff is so gorgeous you'll want to anyway.

Besides bras and panties, Winkworth's got half slips, cut to cup size slips, camisoles, baby dolls, nightgowns, sweaters, stockings, garters, nighties and robes, not to mention hats, bags and other lovely necessities. Ask about made to measure clothing, they're wicked with a needle and thread.

Men are more than welcome in the store, bring them along for a fun afternoon. This is where I shop, you don't find service like this often and you leave feeling sexy and gorgeous. How much fun is that?

Winkworth is located at 119 Columbia Street, between Kane and Degraw, they're closed on Mondays.

Meeting for the Planned Columbia Street Park

Nearly a year ago the Regional Plan Association and Brooklyn Greenway Initiative held a visioning meeting to collect suggestions from the community for a new park on Columbia Street between Kane and Degraw. Tomorrow night Brooklyn Greenway Initiative has scheduled a report-back meeting for the planned park. Preliminary renderings will be presented and the community will be invited to comment.  Visit the BGI website regarding the meeting here and RSVP.

Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Time: 6:30p - 8:30p
Location: Union Street Star Theater, 101 Union Street

Thanks to the Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association blog for the news!