Community Board 6's Landmark/Land Use Committee To Hold Public Hearing On Whole Foods

This just in from Craig Hammerman, manager of Community Board 6.

"Please be advised that there will be an upcoming Public Hearing and committee review ofan application* by Whole Foods Market to construct and operate a Food Store at 172-220 3rd Street (aka 214 3rd Street) at 6:00pm on Thursday, June 2, 2011 at St. Mary's Star of the Sea, 41 1st Street (between Hoyt/Bond Sts), Brooklyn.

*The project application is available for review at the Brooklyn CB6 district office during regular business hours."

This hearing certainly means that Whole Foods is still moving forward with their Gowanus Store at Third Street/ Third Avenue. The project has seen little action since 2006, when the national organic food purveyor announced that it was planning on opening a store along the polluted canal. It was tentatively supposed to open in 2008.

However, since the 2.15 acre site was contaminated with a plethora of industrial waste from a former coal yard, a petroleum oil company and a freight company, it first needed to be cleaned. The land was remediated under the Brownfield Clean-up program in early 2010. The work was overseen by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.

However, the project was temporarily stopped again when the Environmental Protection Agency declared the Gowanus Canal a Superfund site.

Now it would seem that Whole Foods is finally moving forward again. The Community Board public hearing is the first step in getting the zoning change needed to proceed.

After public input, CB6 will formulate "a recommendation on an application submitted to the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA Calendar No. 66-11-BZ) for a variance of Section 42-00 of the Zoning Resolution that would permit a Food Store (UG 6) in excess of 10,000 square feet in an M2-1 zoning district."

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Cobble Hill Playgroup's Spring Fair Was Great Fun For Neighborhood Kids

Last Saturday's Cobble Hill Playschool Spring Fair in Carroll Park's ball field was great fun for kids in the neighborhood. The event offered cool activities like crafts projects, hoola-hooping and ring toss. There was also live music, face painting, a bouncy room and pony rides.

Everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves.

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PS 32 Holds Its 4th Annual Poetry Celebration Today

Today, join the students and teachers of PS 32, the lovely elementary school on Hoyt Street between Union and President Streets for their 4th annual poetry reading. Tina Chang, the poet, will be joining them. The Celebration will take place from 12:30 PM to 2:45 Pm.

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Picture Of The Day: In Red Hook

Down by the waterfront in Red Hook

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Ted Danson And Zach Galifianakis Play Bocce In Carroll Park For "Bored To Death" Scene

Zach Galifianakis in Carroll Park, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

Zach Galifianakis with Ted Danson playing bocce in Carroll Park

Show creator and writer Jonathan Ames

Ames with Galifianakis and Danson

The appearance of actors Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis in Carroll Park certainly caused a bit of excitement in the neighborhood this afternoon. The two actors, along with numerous extras, were shooting a scene for HBO's "Bored To Death." Jonathan Ames, writer and creator of the successful show, was also on set.

"Bored To Death" follows the misadventures of Ames' fictional self, played in the show by Jason Schwartzman, a writer who moonlight as a private detective because he wants to spice up his life.

Danson plays a magazine editor and Ames's boss. Galifianakis plays the role of Ray Hueston, an illustrator.

"Bored To Death" is entirely shot around Brooklyn and the studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

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Bake Sale Helps Carroll Gardens 'Transit Garden' Raise Money For Composters

The neighborhood residents who, over the last several years, have turned an unsightly Metropolitan Transit Authority parking lot into a lovely community garden appropriately named The Transit Garden, held a bake sale on Saturday to raise funds. The event was also an opportunity for everyone to stroll through the blooming oasis at the corner of Smith Street and Second Place. In all, the volunteers were able to rase $350, which will be used to buy two composters.

If you’d like to become one of the Transit Gardens' volunteer and sign up for a planter box or if you would like to contribute some funds, please contact Vicki Devor to get all the details.

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A Look Inside The Soon-To-Open "Monte's" In Gowanus

When Monte's Venetian Room, the legendary Italian eatery, closed its doors in 2008, it seemed like the end of an era in the neighborhood. First opened in 1906 by the Montemarano Family, the restaurant had became part of Brooklyn history. It was once the playground of Sammy Davis Jr. and other members of the Rat Pack, as well as the go-to place for lawyers, judges and blue collar workers. Sadly, Monte's had lost much of its luster in the last few decades. Sure, the red banquets and huge mural of Venice were still the same, but the interior, along with the staff and the food, had grown tired over the years.

Luckily, this is not the end for Monte's . After much speculation and anticipation, the famed Gowanus eatery at 451 Carroll Street, will re-open its doors in early June. The place has undergone an extensive renovation, but it retains much of its famed tradition.

New owners Dominick Castelvetre and his wife Tina Esposito were respectful of the restaurant's history when they re-designed the space. After all, Castelvetre had grown up on the same block on Carroll Street and used to park cars for the patrons of Monte's Venetian room and obviously has a fondness and appreciation for the place. However, by the time he took over, many of the fixtures, including the much-loved murals depicting canal scenes in Venice, had been removed. Castelvetre and Esposito have tried to retain as much of the old decor as they could. (Ninety percent of the tables are original and have been refinished.)

The 'new' Monte's is a tasteful, bright place with, at it's central focus, a beautiful wood -fired pizza oven made by Stefano Ferrara in Naples, Italy. The owners have hired a young chef from Milan, who has designed a more "creative Italian" menu, which, in addition to pizza and home-made pasta, will include seasonal dishes, as well as rabbit and wild boar.

Castelvetre and Esposito hope that Monte's will once again become the go-to place in Gowanus. I have no doubt that it will be a success.

Thanks, Tina and Dominick, for taking the time to show me around.

Related Reading:

Is Legendary Monte's Venetian Room Getting A Make-Over?

The Sad End Of Monte's Venetian Room: Marshal Seizes Famous Gowanus Eatery

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