Tonight, Share Your Thoughts On Priorities For Post-Sandy Rebuilding In Red Hook And Gowanus

(photo credit: Steven Miller)

This is a topic of interest to all of us in South Brooklyn.  How should we rebuild our waterfront communities after last October's Hurricane Sandy?  Tonight,  Mayor Bloomberg's Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency (SIRR) is hosting a meeting at PS 58 to get input from residents on pst-Sandy rebuilding priorities for Gowanus, Red Hook and Sunset Park. You will find all the details on the meeting below courtesy of Councilman Brad Lander's office, who will be attending tonight.

Four short months ago, Hurricane Sandy brought unprecedented destruction to New York City. The storm made our shared vulnerability all too clear, and brought home the frightening reality of climate change.

Many are still struggling to recover, contending with extensive storm damage, mold, and rats. Over 2,000 families are still displaced, living in SROs and hotels (sign on here to our petition calling on HUD to immediately issue housing vouchers to let them move into apartments).

While there is much more work to be done to help these households and communities, we must also start planning for our city’s resilience in the face of future storms. We need to make smart investments in sustainable infrastructure, learn from places like the Netherlands that have worked to adapt to the realities of sea level rise and climate change, pay attention to the inequalities the storm exposed, and build upon the remarkable volunteer relief efforts by including communities more deeply in planning.

In January, the Mayor launched the Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency (SIRR), which is working to develop recommendations for rebuilding the most impacted neighborhoods and protecting New York City from future climate risks. This Thursday, March 7 at 7:30 pm, representatives from SIRR will present their initial assessment of the Brooklyn Waterfront, followed by break-out sessions where you can give your input on priorities for rebuilding in Red Hook, Gowanus, and Sunset Park. I will be there, to listen to their presentation and hear your comments.

Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Recovery

Brooklyn Waterfront Public Workshop

Thursday March 7, 2013, at 7:30 pm

PS 58, 330 Smith Street at Carroll Street

RSVP:  to RSVPMarch7@nycsirr.org or 212-618-5745

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Nab A Free Tree: NYRP Holding Tree Giveaway In Gowanus This Spring

 (Photo Credit: NYRP)

Great news for Carroll Gardens and Gowanus residents. As part of their city-wide tree give-away initiative, New York Restoration Project (NYRP) is partnering with the Gowanus Canal Conservancy to hold an event right here in the neighborhood. This is a perfect opportunity to help green our part of this city, reduce our carbon footprint and beautify all at the same time. Don't miss getting your tree.
Below is all the pertaining information:

Thanks to generous sponsorship by Toyota, 4,500 trees of all sizes, including fruit trees, are free for the taking in New York Restoration Project’s 2013 iteration of tree giveaways all throughout the city! There will be over 30 giveaways throughout all five boroughs. Eleven of these giveaways will take place in Brooklyn.

NYRP will kick off this year’s giveaways this weekend. The first Brooklyn giveaway will be held on March 23 in the Gowanus area of the borough:

Saturday, March 23

11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Partner: Gowanus Canal Conservancy

Location: Salt Lot, 2 Second Ave., Gowanus

Through partnerships with local, eco-minded community organizations, these giveaways allow New Yorkers to take part in the MillionTreesNYC goal of planting one million new trees by 2017. It is the largest municipal tree giveaway program in the country.
Aside providing cleaner air, planting trees has many benefits, including enhanced curb appeal, offsetting of climate change, cooler temperatures, among others.
Here’s how the giveaways work:-NYC property owners can find the giveaway schedule online.-They can register for a tree in advance. Registration is typically available at least two weeks prior to the giveaway.
-If registration is full, a limited quantity of trees is available on a first come, first served basis.
-An NYRP representative on site will explain how to plant and care for the tree.-Participants take their trees home to plant in a yard, garden, commercial property, community garden, etc.
Participants must agree to the following terms:-Plant in one of the five boroughs.-Keep trees properly watered and maintained.-Do not plant the tree along streets, in city parks, in containers, terraces, balconies or on roofs.
Please note that dates and times are subject to change. You can view images from 2012 tree giveaways on our Facebook here.
Please let me know if you’d like to learn more or have questions. I can also help to coordinate an interview with Mike Mitchell, our Community Initiatives Manager, who can provide more insight into how the giveaways work and the importance of tree planting in an urban city. We can also provide high-res images at your request.

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Best Comment Of The Day: Smith Street Becoming Like Park Slope's 7th Avenue?

Anonymous has left the following comment on the post "Ecopolis Closes Its Door On Smith Street":

"Unfortunately, with the rapid rise of rents on Smith Street, I say there is at least a 50% chance we are going to see another nail salon in the near future, as they seem to be one of the few businesses with adequate revenues to afford Smith Street.

For some reason (which I do not fully understand) there seems to be an insatiable demand for manicures.
I fear Smith Street is going to become 7th Avenue in Park Slope. There used be interesting restaurants and shops on 7th Avenue, and now it seems there are nail salons, real estate agents and cell phone stores...and a few chain stores. All the interesting businesses migrated to 5th Avenue in search of more affordable rent."

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Ecopolis Closes Its Door On Smith Street

Independently, readers Donald and Tim contacted me to let me know that Ecoplis Café, at 180 Smith Street at Warren Street had recently closed its doors. I passed by to confirm the news and sure enough, tho 'ecologically-friendly" neighborhood coffee place apparently called it quits on February 26th. A note in the window from the owner and staff bids farewell to its customers and urges everyone to support the next business that will be taken over the space.
The café had been in business at this location since 2010, moving into the new building shortly after construction was completed.
I must admit that I never ventured into Ecoplis.
Was it any good? Will it be missed? Any suggestion for appropriate business uses for the storefront?

And here is another closing on Smith Street, just a few doors down from Ecolplis. The independently-owned Verizon Wireless store at number 158 Smith Street has been emptied except for the shelving and some chairs.

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A Moment Back In Time: A Stretch Of Smith Street In The Late 1960's

Back in the late 1960's, early 1970's

The same stretch of Smith Street today

Just recently, I came across a xerox copy of a black and white photo of the stretch of Smith Street taken in the late 1960's.  The image shows numbers 349, 351, 353 and 355 Smith Street located between Carroll Street and Second Street.
Though grainy,  one can see that the four buildings have not changed much.  This is no doubt due in part to the fact that #349, #351 and 353 fall within the Carroll Gardens Landmark district, the smallest in all of New York City.
What is more fascinating are the commercial spaces and the former businesses that occupied them then and now.

349 Smith Street
No doubt, many remember Joe's Superette and its famous prosciutto and rice balls.  Sadly, after 50 years at the same location, the business closed in 2011 when second owner Leo Coladonato passed away.
Avlee, a new Greek restaurant just opened up there last month.

351 Smith Street
When I moved into the neighborhood in 1985, Venuti's, a small hardware store, was still open.  Mr. Venuti, a heavy set elderly man, operated the business with his son and his daughter-in law. (I believe her name was Michelle, but I could be mistaken).  I remember the owner most for his custom of pouring a shot of rather harsh brandy to all his customers at Christmas time.  I must admit to leaving the store with quite a buzz once, when my mother and I stopped in to buy a few of the wooden ornaments Mr. Venuti had added to his inventory during the holidays.
I still have them.
Mr. Venuti and his son passed away one after the other just a few years later and the store closed.
Ting Hua, a Chinese restaurant, has been operating here for quite a few years.

353 Smith Street
When Frank's Italian Delicatessen opened two doors down from Joe's Superette, it created  a bit of a stir because,  from what I gathered from neighborhood old-timers, Frank at one time worked for Joe, Joe's wife Ann and their two sons, Joseph and Steven.  When Frank opened his business so close to his former boss'  place and competed with Joe's Superette,  many were cross at him.

At one point, Frank's moved to the corner of Smith Street and 2nd Street, across from the subway station, where it is still to this day.

A Korean deli has occupied the storefront at number 353 for a very long time now.  Though the deli has remained virtually unchanged for the last decades, the Korean owners have changed at least three times since I have moved here.

355 Smith Street

A laundromat has operated at this address for a number of years.  I must admit that I don't really remember what was there before.  It would appear that in the late 1960's, it was either an office or a social club.  

Does anyone remember more about these stores? Its owners?  I would love to hear your memories and stories about them and other businesses in the neighborhood. 

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"At the Corner of 3rd and 3rd": A Documentary On The Coignet Building By Max Kutner

The Coignet building in all its glory. An etching from 1873.

Historic photo of the Coignet Stone Company Building

In many ways, the decrepit Coignet building at the corner of Third Avenue and Third Street exemplifies the industrial history of the Gowanus area. The building was designed by William Fields & Son and built in 1872-73 on a five-acre site. It housed the New York and Long Island Coignet Stone Company and was meant to showcase the durability and the versatility of the structural prefabricated and iron- reinforced concrete developed by industrialist François Coignet in Lyon, France in 1846.

The Coignet Stone Company factory closed in 1882 and the building next housed the offices of Edwin Clark Litchfield’s Brooklyn Improvement Company. In more recent years, it was used by the Pippin Radiator Company.Though the Coignet building was landmarked in 2006 by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, it has been allowed to crumble.

To chronicle its history and changing fortune, writer and filmmaker Max Kutner has made a wonderful documentary entitled At the Corner of 3rd and 3rd on "the past, present and future" of the Coignet Stone Company Building.  Kutner has just released a trailer, which you can see above
(And yes, that's me in some of the clips. Kutner also interviewed good friends Joseph Alexiou and Nathan Kensinger.)

At the Corner of 3rd and 3rd

Directed/Filmed/Edited by Max Kutner

(2013, 20 minutes)

At the Corner of 3rd and 3rd, a new documentary by Max Kutner, explores the evolving character of Gowanus, Brooklyn and the mysterious New York and Long Island Coignet Stone Company Building that captivates all who pass it. Constructed in 1873, the building at 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street is a historic landmark, but has been mostly abandoned since the 1960s. The Coignet Building got back in the news when Whole Foods broke ground on its first Brooklyn market just a few feet away from the landmark. Through archival materials and interviews with historians, activists, artists, photographers, and local residents, the 20-minute film presents the first comprehensive account of the past, present, and future of the Coignet Building and how a community looks to the future while fighting to preserve the past.

View the trailer for the film at vimeo.com/maxkutner/3rdand3rd.
More information is available at maxkutner.tumblr.com/3rdand3rd.

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First Glimpse Inside New Outpost Of Bergen Bagels On Court Street

The new outpost of Bergen Bagels at 285 Court Street, at the corner of Douglass Street, seems to be coming along nicely.  The walls have been tiled and the refrigeration equipment moved into this very large storefront.  I was able to pop my head in yesterday to asked the name of this new establishment, but the construction workers did not know.  However, an internet search revealed a page for "Cobble Hills Bagels" at that address.
Carroll Gardens actually needs a good bagel store.  Bagels By The Park just never cut it, as far as I was concerned and (F) Line Bagels at 9th Street is just too far away.
Where have you been buying your bagels in the neighborhood?  Are you looking forward to a new option?

Number 285 Court Street used to be a paint store for many years.  The storefront has remained empty for quite a while.  The building was sold for $2,3000.000 in June 2012.

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