Ain't Nuthin' But A G Thang

KensingtonBrooklyn has another post up on the temporary extension of the G train to Church Ave.

As a commenter there notes:

The local tracks at Smith-9th and 4th Ave will be covered with temporary wood platforms. At Carroll Street the local tracks will physically shift over to the express tracks, temporarily, then shift back after 4th Avenue. This means that the express tracks can't be used to turn back the 'G'. The 'G' must go to Church Avenue, where it will use the the ramps and switchovers south of Church to turn back, or turn back at 18th Avenue using the center track.

In other words the MTA is misleading us. The 'G' will be extended to Church, but only during the construction project for operational reasons. It will return via the local tracks as the xpress tracks will be out of service.

And commenter Scott adds:

Also, part of the project includes the replacement and upgrade of the switches at 4th avenue to allow trains to switch between both local and express tracks (and to upgrade to CBTC switches) allowing greater operational flexibility. This suggests that MTA is exploring additional express service and re-routings, otherwise, there would be no need to add additional switches and cross-overs.

What I'd like to see is a little more transparency from the MTA, and a firm commitment to restore the F express service. If work needs to be done at Bergen Street before express service can resume, it should be performed while the Culver Viaduct rehab is under way. We cannot afford to wait for additional repairs after the viaduct work is completed.

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

Movies At The Farm (Red Hook)

This is the stuff that makes city living great, courtesy of an email from CB6:

Bring a blanket, bring the family, then grab a lemonade or some locally-produced ice cream, and lean back on a hay bale for this summer's Movies on the Farm!

THIS WEEK:

Mad Hot Ballroom (PG)
A documentary about NYC kids and competitive ballroom dancing!
Thursday, July 26th
8:15 PM

IN AUGUST:

When We Were Kings (PG)
A documentary of the 1974 heavyweight championship bout in Zaire between champion George Foreman and underdog challenger Muhammad Ali!
Thursday, August 16th
8:15 PM

COMPLETE SCHEDULE:
Red Hook Movies in the Parks are happening every week from now through August 16th- in Coffey Park, at Valentino Pier, and on the Farm. For more information and a complete schedule, check out: http://www.redhookmovies.org

YOUTH-PRODUCED SHORTS:
Before each feature, Hook Productions presents short films produced by neighborhood teens! Check out the local talent at: http://www.hookproductions.org/index2.html

... And don't forget to come down to the Farm on Saturdays for our Market and Volunteer days! This week we're harvesting greens, string beans, bell peppers, hot peppers, summer squash, radishes, carrots, beets... and the Sun Gold cherry tomatoes are starting to turn orange...

Directions to the Red Hook Community Farm:

Subway:
AC/F train to Jay Street Borough Hall Exit the station. Cross Jay and Pick up the B61 going towards Red Hook. Take the B61 to Van Brunt and Van Dyke Street. Exit the bus and cross Van Brunt Street. Walk up Van Dyke three blocks to the Farm.

F/G to Smith and 9th Street. Exit the station to the rear of the train (there is only one exit in this station). Transfer to the B77 (right in front of the station) Take the B77 to Van Dyke and Dwight street. You’ll find yourself in front of the Liberty Heights Taproom. Take a left crossing Dwight Street and proceed up Van Dyke to Red Hook Community Farm (one block walk, from the bus stop you can actually see the farm at the end of the street).

What Up, G?

KensingtonBrooklyn spots a tidbit in the MTA's latest release:

Extending the G train to Church Avenue.

We noted a few weeks ago the maddening route of the G train one Sunday; the train rode all the way out past Church Ave, turned around, and sat with doors closed for several minutes, and then left. All they had to do was open the doors, and some people could have gotten to their destinations along the G route. To the extent that this takes some riders who would normally take the F to Jay Street to switch for the A off of the F, it will benefit riders at Carroll and Bergen as well.

Incremental improvements, folks. This is a plus but we need to keep pushing. Bring back the F Express!

360 Smith Plaza Non-news Post

Via Streetsblog, I found this post on the McBrooklyn blog about our well-loved local subway plaza.

In other forums I've gotten into heated arguments with posters on the merits of the plaza, which I found hard to believe. I guess if you never get out of your SUV and actually ride the subway, you wouldn't appreciate how nice it is to stand outside in the sun (or shade of a tree) while waiting for your train.

I'll have some more substantive stuff up about the F train petition later (3561 signatures).

I wonder if the McBrooklyn blogger knows that the plaza is currently threatened with extinction by a developer and designated villain Robert Scarano's to cut down the trees and build there?

Check out the CORD blog which is run by neighborhood activists fighting the development.

Congress Must Use Its Inherent Contempt Power

Rutgers Law Professor and constitutional scholar Frank Askin had an Op-Ed piece published in the Washington Post this Saturday that is a must read. The conclusion:

So, far from being defenseless against the president's refusal to prosecute or the threat of presidential pardon, Congress could take into its own custody defiant administration officials who refuse to cooperate with legitimate inquiries into executive malfeasance. Those targets would have the right to seek writs of habeas corpus from the federal courts, but as long as Congress could show a legitimate need for the information it was seeking pursuant to its legislative oversight functions, it would be standing on solid legal ground.

Prof. Askin is director of the Rutgers Constitutional Litigation Clinic.

Time to show some mettle, Senator Reid & Leahy, Congressmen Conyers and Sanchez. Don't let them derail the process. Restore the legislative branch to co-equal status and use the inherent contempt power.

Time to Revisit Executive Privilege

I've been saying this for years, but TPM's David Kurtz says it better:

I fully recognize that there is a basis in law for executive privilege. But both the legal justification for executive privilege and the policy justification rely mostly on the mistaken assumption that the public interest is served by the President being able to avoid public scrutiny in the execution of his public duties.

It's well past time to revisit that assumption.

If your advice to the President is so scurrilous, so outrageous that you would be ashamed should that advice become public . . . maybe you shouldn't be giving that advice to the President. And we as a people deserve to know about. Go and read his whole post.