Best Comment Of The Day: Canine Footballer

Anonymous has left the following comment on the post "Cool Or Not Cool? Taking Kids Sledding In Hillside Dog Run":

Funny, this weekend I walked by Carroll Park only to see a group of dog owners with five of their unleashed dogs running around the basketball court area. At the same time, there was a group of young guys playing a game of football. As one guy went long to catch a Hail Mary, he tripped over a big Lab that was trying its hardest to join the game, unbeknownst to its owner standing about 50 feet away. The guy was pretty upset, claiming he should have a do-over because of the dog wouldn't leave them alone. I didn't stick around to see if the owner finally realized their dog was now trying out for a human football team, but I sure hope the guys had a chance to finish their game without any canine obstacles.

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Read More

Olympic Hockey Moment At Roebling Inn

Sunday afternoon at the Roebling Inn on Atlantic Avenue.

USA vs. Canada
for Olympic Gold in Hockey.
Sudden Death Overtime
7 minutes in.

The crowd at the bar went silent as Canada scored its 3rd (and deciding) goal.

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Read More

Visitors To Abandoned Tunnel Pop Out Of Atlantic Avenue

Always a fun sight!
One by one, they popped out of the center of the Atlantic Avenue/ Court Street intersection.
The small crowd had just concluded their tour of the abandoned Atlantic Railroad Tunnel and were making their way back up.

The tunnel, which was originally opened in 1844, runs for a couple of blocks towards Brooklyn Heights. However, its use was discontinued by the 1860's. The tunnel was sealed and forgotten.
It was rediscovered by Robert "Bob" Diamond in 1981. He had tirelessly researched its existence. With a set of plans which he found at the Borough President's office, he was able to locate an opening at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Court Street.
It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989.

I have always wanted to visit the tunnel, but have not managed to do so yet. Have you?

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Read More

No Carroll Without The Gardens! Help Protect Our Unique Courtyards

Bravo to State Senator Daniel Squadron for agreeing with Carroll Gardens' activists representing several neighborhood organizations, that our signature courtyards are an integral part of this community and that 160-year-old law, which protects them, should remain unaltered.

Back in December 2009, Hannah Senesh Day School at 342 Smith Street revealed their plans of buying the city-owned courtyard next to their school building in order to construct an extension on it.

Thanks, Daniel, for understanding that the loss of even one neighborhood courtyard would be a profound blow to the integrity of historic Carroll Gardens.
Here is his statement to those various activists:

Thank you for meeting with me last month about Hannah Senesh's proposed expansion. What a great, active community we have. As I told you then, I always appreciate your perspective on neighborhood concerns. And as I also said, I consider Hannah Senesh to be a valued member of the Carroll Gardens community.

I want to let you know that, after careful consideration, I do not believe that Hannah Senesh should be permitted to expand by building in its front courtyard.

The protections for Carroll Gardens' front courtyards, passed through the New York City Council nearly 160 years ago, and held to ever since, should not be modified now; making an exception to the protections would set too dangerous a precedent.

I am committed to working with Hannah Senesh and the community to shape a plan that meets the needs of the school and is more appropriate for the unique character of Carroll Gardens.

State Senator Daniel Squadron

Related Reading:

No Carroll Without The Gardens! Help Protect Our Unique Courtyards

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Read More

Cool Or Not Cool? Taking Kids Sledding In Hillside Dog Run

photo credit: NicolaH on Flickr

After a lengthy and sometimes heated discussion on PMFA about people insisting on letting their dogs run off-leash in Carroll Park, comes this comment by a reader:

I wanted to revisit this post because of a similar experience I had today, only in reverse. We brought our 5-month-old puppy to Hillside Dog Run in Brooklyn Heights, which was covered in snow.

As usual dozens of parents show up with dozens of kids to sled down the hill inside the dog run. My very well behaved, if not excitable, puppy, got enthused by the action and at one point, playfully nipped at a kids arm. To which the obnoxious parent tells me that my dog should be trained to not bite children!!! And of course, explaining to this person that his child is SLEDDING IN A DOG RUN, so he should maybe expect that to happen some times, because dogs are trained while on leads, NOT WHILE RUNNING OFF-LEASH IN A DOG RUN WHERE YOU'RE LITTLE BRAT SHOULDN'T BE SLEDDING IN THE FIRST PLACE.

That's a valid point, I would say. I can't imagine taking my kid into a dog run to sled any more than I can see letting a dog run free in a park where children play. What say you, dear Readers?


***UPDATE***

Please read the comment left by Matthew Parker, President of Friends Of Hillside Dog Park, regarding the shared use of the hill in case of snow. It's very interesting.
To read, click here.

Related reading: Part 2: Hey Neighbor! You Know That Carroll Park Is Not A Dog Run, Right? Hey, Neighbor! You Know That Carroll Park Is Not a Dog Run, Right?




For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Read More

Brooklyn: Winter Wonderland February 2010

More wonderful photos of the recent snow fall by photographer and friend Jose Gaytan.
I especially like the one of the blooming forsythia under a blanket of snow.
The two bottom ones show the fallen tree on St. John's Place in Park Slope. Jose calls the last photo: "Lucky Car."
Lucky indeed.
Jose is currently part of a benefit exhibit auction for Haiti called Eyes And Ears For Haiti.
Check out his contribution here.

Read More

4th Annual Day Of Climate Awareness At Congregation Beth Elohim

Parents for Climate Protection and Beth Elohim Environmental Committee invite you to join them for their 4th Annual Day of Climate Awareness . The event is free and open to the public.

After Copenhagen: The Science and Policy of Climate Change

Date: Sunday, March 7th, 2 p.m.

Location: Congregation Beth Elohim,

271 Garfield Place,

Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY

Parents for Climate Protection is a grassroots organization made up of concerned parents living in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Their goal is to both educate parents on the implications of global warming and work towards the passage of strong and progressive climate protection legislation.

This year's expert panel features the authors of Climate Change: Picturing the Science Gavin Schmidt, Ph.D., climatologist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and co-founder of www.RealClimate.org
Joshua Wolfe, photographer and founder of GHG, a leading photography agency focusing on climate change
Frank Zeman, Director of the Metropolitan Institute for Sustainability at the New York Institute for Technology
And: Sean Sweeney, Ph.D., Director of Cornell University's Global Labor Institute, who will deliver a policy update. He has been an an observer at all UN Climate Gatherings, including the recent talks in Bali and Copenhagen. Lauren Schuster, Environmental Campaign Director at 1Sky/NYPIRG, has agreed to be this year's moderator

For more Information, click here

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

Read More