Brooklyn Greenway Party Thursday at FIND

The Brooklyn Greenway Initiative is one of my favorite local activist organizations, and their annual fundraisers are consistently a great time. Attend the party this Thursday to support the terrific work they're doing to unite the people of Brooklyn with their waterfront. From BGI:

“FIND” Your Way to the Greenway...for BGI's Fall Party!
Thursday, November 4th, 6:00-9:00PM
We're excited to be partnering again with FIND Home Furnishings for a fall benefit to support the development of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. We will also be acknowledging Council Members Brad Lander and Steve Levin for securing BGI's first City Council funding, and Waste Management for supporting BGI's stewardship programs!
Join fellow greenway supporters for great food, drink, music and raffle prizes on Thursday, November 4th, 6:00-9:00PM. Tickets are just $25, or two for $40. Get your tickets today!
There will be plenty of room to spread out and raise spirits and funds over drinks & food from local restaurants, including 5 Burro, Lilla Cafe, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Rocky Sullivan's, Union Market, Fort Defiance, Six Point Craft Ales, Alma, Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pies and Nine Cakes, along with live jazz music from Hot Johnsons in FIND's expansive showroom at 9th Street and the Gowanus Canal.
Don't miss your chance to win one of many raffle items from FIND, Brooklyn Winery, RICE, Rolling Orange Bikes, Massage Therapy by Gerald Pulis, Ground Up Designers, Urban Oyster, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Bar Tano, New York Water Taxi, Circle Line Downtown, Water Taxi Beach, and more!
Thanks to our major event sponsors aptsandlofts.com, Con Edison, FIND Home Furnishings, Industry City Associates, and S Clubs Fitness Spa & Lifestyle . Additional sponsorship provided by Brooklyn Bridge Realty, Cozen O'Connor and Waste Management.

Buy Tickets!

Brooklyn Bridge Park Meeting Tomorrow 4/21

Via Cobble Hill Association:

Tomorrow, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21

Regina Myer, President of the BBP Development Corporation, will be coming to discuss the transfer of the park to the city and update the community on development plans and activities for Pier 6.

6:30 PM
LONG ISLAND COLLEGE HOSPITAL
339 HICKS STREET
(ATLANTIC & HICKS STREETS)
BROOKLYN,NEW YORK 11201

We encourage residents to attend this meeting and ask questions about this transfer, the continuing lack of community input on park elements and design (particularly the recreational facilities for which our association has long advocated), the extraordinary costs to build and maintain this park, and the continuing endorsement by the Mayor of private housing inside park borders.
Posted by Dave 'Paco' Abraham at 4/20/2010 01:01:00 PM

Brooklyn Bridge Rehab Is Coming

Most people are blissfully unaware that a major rehab of the Brooklyn Bridge is coming up. The bridge is due to have it's lead paint blasted off in specially designed vacuum enclosures, and then to get a jaunty fresh coat of paint.

I'll have more on the Brooklyn Bridge rehab later - I have an independent report that I've been meaning to post about for oh, about a year. Interesting stuff.

http://www.tribecatrib.com/news/2010/april/578_first-phases-of-brooklyn-bridge-rehab-will-soon-begin.html

City Charter Revision - Brooklyn Meeting Tuesday 4/20

Is it just me or has this gotten next to zero publicity? I consume a lot of news, and this would have slipped right by me if fellow CGNA board members hadn't emailed about it.

This is a big deal; it's not every day that the City Charter is revised. Details below:

Tuesday, April 20

• Place: St. Francis College, Founders Hall, 180 Remsen Street (between Court and Clinton Streets), Brooklyn, NY 11201-4398
• Time: Public Hearing to begin at 4 p.m., Public Meeting to begin at 6 p.m.
• Directions: By subway, take the 2, 3, 4, or 5 to Borough Hall, or A or C to Jay Street or R to Court Street. By bus, take the B25, B26, B38, B41, B51, or B52 to Court Street, or B37, B45 or B75 to Livingston Street or B54, B57, B61 or B67 to Jay Street or B103 to Adams Street.

The meetings and hearings are open to the public and anyone may sign-up to speak during the hearing segment of the evening. Individuals who wish to give testimony may begin signing-up one half-hour before the hearing. Everyone wishing to speak will be afforded an opportunity no matter what time they arrive during the hearing. Written testimony is encouraged and can be submitted at the hearings or submitted through the Contact the Commission link on the Commission’s website at www.nyc.gov/charter.

Free Brooklyn to Governors Island Ferry

Eh, guv'nah?

Senator Squadron's office writes that after giving Brooklyn the cold shoulder last summer, GIPEC will finally provide free ferry service from Brooklyn to Governor's Island . . . starting this Saturday! Full release below:

I am writing to share some exciting news- this summer there will finally be free ferry service between Brooklyn and Governor's Island!

This ferry is something that Senator Squadron has long requested to better connect the Brooklyn Waterfront with the rest of New York Harbor, and we hope that you will be able to celebrate with him at the ferry's innaugural launch this Saturday, June 6 at 11:00 am, at Fulton Ferry Landing.

The ferry will leave Fulton Ferry Landing every hour, every Saturday when there is programming scheduled for Governor's Island. [UPDATE - The ferry will not continue to Battery Park as originally stated]. Please visit www.govisland.com for a full schedule...

...and please join Senator Squadron and other community members to celebrate the first launch this Saturday at 11:00!

Hope to see you then.

Great news. Thank you, Senator and staff.

Massive Mortgage Fraud In Queens: NYC Media Ignore It

Back in 2007, I wrote three posts on an unbelievably sleazy criminal, one Thomas Kontogiannis.

I contacted the news rooms at several local papers, including the Times, the Daily News, the Post, and a paper or two in Queens. Nothing but crickets in response. This is no boring story: Tommy K is now in prison for bribing California GOP Congressman Duke Cunningham. This was HUGE news on the West Coast - but not a single column inch of coverage here in NYC. Why?

Via Talking Points Memo, Reuters has a story up on Kontogiannis's $92 million dollar mortgage fraud. Maybe this contributed to Queens foreclosure rates dwarfing those of every other borough.

Real estate developer Thomas Kontogiannis, 60, and eight other defendants are accused of orchestrating fraudulent loans that were subsequently sold to the financial firms.

Federal prosecutors and the FBI said the scheme was centered around property developments that Kontogiannis bought and subdivided from 2001 to 2003 in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.

To finance the projects, the defendants are accused of staging sales of the properties financed by mortgage loans. Bogus appraisals supported the price of the properties, even where buildings had not yet been constructed or had fictional addresses, said the U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn, which is prosecuting the case.

The Daily News failed to cover any aspect of this story, except for this mention in an article about tax delinquents:

Federal prosecutors who indicted Long Island financier Thomas Kontogiannis for laundering bribes to California Rep. Randy (Duke) Cunningham tied him to at least 22 companies including Westshore 480 Development, which, the city says, owes $751,708 in taxes on a waterfront property in Brooklyn.
A lawyer for Kontogiannis denied his client owned Westshore 480 or owed money for its property taxes. "He has no ownership and no liability," lawyer Robert Wolf said. "It would not be accurate to report that he does."

Apparently this guy was also involved in some shady business with spy agencies. All the more reason local papers should take an interest in an investigative story - but so far, no takers. What gives?

Brooklyn Greenway Benefit June 18th

The Brooklyn Greenway is having their annual gala event on June 18th, and Mia and I are looking forward to it. lats year was a lot of fun, and this year it will be even better with great views from Erie Basin Park. Tickets are $60, which benefits a terrific cause, and includes beer and wine as well as a "Swedish Smorgasbord".

MTA Public Hearing on Service Cuts - Wednesday Night

This is a big one people. AS discussed at last month's CGNA meeting, Carroll Gardens and the 39th District as a whole are facing severe mass transit cuts. Tom Gray of Bill deBlasio's office sent the following notice (excerpted) to the CGNA listserve:

The MTA has proposed eliminating entire bus lines that service
District 39, as well as overnight and weekend service. In addition,
the MTA proposes to close station agent booths at a variety of
locations throughout Brooklyn, potentially compromising the safety of
riders.

• The B16, B23, B37, B75 Could be eliminated entirely. The B71 could
lose weekend service. And overnight service could be cut on the B67
and B77.

• Station Agents would be cut from the Metrotech end of the A, C and F
station at Jay Street; the west side of Flatbush Avenue entrance to
the Bergen Street 2, 3 station; the southbound F and G station
entrance at Bergen Street; the northbound entrance to the Carroll
Street F- and G-train station; and the entrance to the Borough Hall 2,
3, 4 and 5 trains at Court and Joralemon streets.

• Reduced frequency of service weekends on F and R and increase
crowding during off-peak on F, R, 4 and 5

• The total elimination of M service between lower Manhattan and
Bensonhurst (That means 16 fewer trains on the 4th Avenue line during
the rush hour mornings; and 12 in the p.m. rush. As a result,
rush-hour waits will double and crowding will greatly increase on the
R.)

• The G would terminate at Court Square all the time (now goes from
Smith-9th to Forest Hills on weekends, nights)


On top of these cuts, the MTA is proposing a variety of fare hikes,
including: increasing the base fare of train and bus rides to as much
as $3, increasing express bus fare to as much as $6.25, and increasing
the price of Unlimited Ride MetroCards to as much as $9.50 for a 1-day
card, $32 for a 7-day card, $60 for a 14-day card and $105 for a
30-day card.

It's important for residents to show up at this meeting and let the MTA know that these cuts are intolerable. I'll be there and I hope to see a sizable contingent there from Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus, Park Slope, Kensington, Windsor Terrace, and Boro Park. All of us will be impacted by these cuts, and the burden will fall hardest on the elderly, students, and those with difficulty negotiating the subway system. Basically, anyone who relies on the buses to get around will be seriously impacted.

It's not enough just to complain about service cuts. We need to be realistic about the finance problem the MTA is facing: the City and State have shortchanged transit for years, leading to massive debts at the MTA. The debt service payments are choking the MTA budget. We need to have steady, reliable and larger revenue streams to not only run the system, but also expand it and keep up the state of good repair. Raising fares on riders yet again is NOT the answer.

Their are many proposals out there, but the two that will raise the most funds while remaining equitable are (1) tolling the East River crossings and (2) bringing back the commuter tax.

Let your elected officials know that we need reliable, robust transit funding. We won't get it unless we demand it.

MTA Public Hearing on January 28th, 6pm – 9pm
at the Brooklyn Marriott, 333 Adams Street

Weil Gotshall To Brooklyn?

The Brooklyn Paper reports that a major law firm is headed for Downtown Brooklyn.

"Forest City Ratner Vice President Mary Anne Gilmartin made the announcement at the Brooklyn Real Estate Roundtable on Tuesday that the 500-lawyer white shoe firm would soon relocate to Metrotech."

A major coup for FCR and Downtown boosters. I know I'd rather commute to Downtown Brooklyn than Manhattan, given the choice.

UPDATE: Too good to be true. Back office peeps only.

Atlantic Avenue Tunnel

I've been meaning to post on this for some time, but never got around to it. My neighbor Celia told me about the long lost Atlantic Avenue Tunnel in June. Then McBrooklyn did a post on it.

And today, Bob Guskind over at Gowanus Lounge has posted on it as well, and I can't put it off any longer. I've already emailed Bob Diamond at the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association to plead for a berth on the next tour.

Bob Diamond rediscovered the long forgotten Atlantic Avenue Tunnel in 1980. The Brooklyn Historic Railway Association (BHRA) was formed in 1982 to restore the historic tunnel. BHRA successfully filed and received designation for the tunnel on the National Register of Historic Places. BHRA continues to maintain and conduct tours and events within the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel.

There are few things that get me more excited than lost and abandoned infrastructure. There is a magical quality about these things that makes me feel like a kid again.

The Yard

I've walked past this place in recent months, and wondered about the goings on there. Turns out the ladies at MeanRed Productions have been keeping a busy social schedule over there: "BBQs, music showcases, festivals, dance-parties, and concerts, and the summer is no where NEAR over!"

As it happens, we have company coming in from out of town this weekend, maybe we'll check it out.

On the web:
http://www.theyard.ws/
www.myspace.com/bklynyard

Brooklyn Eagle Reports On F Train Petition

Nice. Raanan Geberer over at the Brooklyn Eagle covers the F-Express story. I forgot about the Frank Costanza line, gave me a quick laugh.

Enhanced F & V Service: The Petition

Sometimes you just have to take the bull by the horns. I have put up a petition online for fellow travelers who want enhanced service on the F&V to Brooklyn.

Specifically, the petition calls for restoring express service on the unused tracks on the F, and running the V out to Brooklyn as a local. Sign up!

Improving Transit On the Cheap In South Brooklyn

I've long wondered why the express tracks on the F line are lying dormant in Brooklyn. Every time I use the F at Carroll or Bergen, and a packed F train rolls in, it drives me a little nuts that this infrastructure is just sitting there, fallow. Similar frustration when I'm working on the east side in the fifties, and take the V towards home, only to have it end at 2nd Ave. And what about those filthy, unused platforms at Hoyt-Schermerhorn?

Like Frank Constanza at Christmastime, I think to myself "There has to be a better way!"

Via KensingtonBrooklyn, I learned of this plan from Community Consulting dating back to 2003. There's a lot of terrific ideas there for improving transit in Brooklyn. See especially pages 11,14,21.

I love the idea of extending the V out to Brooklyn and running the F as an express. It seems like an egregious waste of resources to let these tracks sit empty, when we could cheaply improve service to thousands of people in Brooklyn and Manhattan. The V is currently a ghost train in Manhattan. Let's split the F train's burden more equitably with the V.

If we're serious about getting cars off the road, and congestion pricing in Manhattan, let's take the simple (and cheap!) measures available to us to make subway commuting a more attractive option for the outer boroughs. The better we make our transit systems, the more people will get out of their cars.