Author: linked

I know there are debates about geographical boundaries in North Brooklyn, but does anyone really think that Fortunato Brothers (on Manhattan and Devoe, south of Metropolitan) is in Greenpoint?? Apparently the Post does.

…with 40,000 new units of housing expected in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, and 15,000 in Downtown Brooklyn…

I really hope they mean residents, not housing units. Yeah, either way the L train will suck, but there’s an order of magnitude or two of suckiness in there.

(For the record, I remember the waterfront rezoning claiming 10,000 new housing units; Domino is proposing another 2,200. That doesn’t begin to get you close to 40,000 units, and if you (conservatively?) estimate 2.5 people per housing unit, well, you do the math.)

Buried in this NY1 story is some potentially great news: a subsidized water taxi route to Williamsburg. The Water Taxi ™ is one of my preferred routes to Manhattan (after two-wheeling), but it is definitely a) expensive, b) limited in service times, and c) only geographically appropriate to a few. It looks as though the city is trying to tackle (a). But why stop there? They could do something about (c) if they provided free subway and bus transfers.

From Gothamist, a rundown of pending eminent domain actions in the city. I think the list supports my point earlier that there is both good and bad eminent domain. The point is to get rid of the (Supreme Court sanctioned) abuse, while keeping legitimate takings.

Gowanus Lounge has their own take (thankfully sympathetic to my own, and rightfully emphasizing just compensation).

This is pretty brilliant:

Gilliam has started to transform the area from a concrete jungle to a space with a more lived-in look by exploiting a new and little-known Parks Department regulation that permits tree planting on private property if the owner of the land can’t be found.

Craig Murphey was the cyclist who was killed last week while riding at Ten Eyck and Union. Lost in a lot of the speculation and grief over the Craig’s death is the fact that he was “on the job” at the time – volunteering for Right Rides and helping someone get home safely late at night.

Rest in peace.

From Curbed, word that Grand Ferry Park is finally under construction. This reconstruction was originally to have been funded by $350,000 (or so, I’m not great with math) from the NY Power Authority, as partial mitigation for the mini power plant adjacent to the park. A lot of neighborhood activists fought long and hard for that money, and then worked long hours on the park redesign. And then everyone waited. And waited.

And waited some more – until eventually the cost of construction doubled (!). So now the City has kicked in the extra $350K, and work is under way.

We will miss the wood-chip knoll, and the canyon. Especially the canyon.

North Brooklyn is home to a disproportionate number of the City’s waste transfer stations. While the Mayor’s Solid Waste Management Plan would correct this social injustice by distributing transfer stations throughout the five boroughs, many are opposed (including the Mayor’s neighbors on the Upper East Side).

No Impact Man has the lowdown on the latest scheme by Manhattanites to keep their garbage to ourselves – in this case Assembly Members Glick, Gottfried and Rosenthal are trying to keep the legislation off the Assembly floor. Mr. Impact Man has lots of links and lots of good reasons why North Brooklyn residents and everyone else should be calling their Assemblymembers and crying foul. (I would hope that Messrs. Lentol and Lopez are opposed to this, but it is still worth calling about.

[Thanks Kate Z.]

UPDATE: Streetsblog has more.

From the City Room, a history of the tortured path to the new taxi logo design. The new logos are not getting much love (see this second post in the series too).

I think the idea of updating the taxi look is appealing – the DIY aesthetic of the stenciling was long overdue for replacement. But three fonts for seven letters? I rather like the original “computer” font, but its lost between WolffOhlins horrid “NYC” and the “T” (where are we, Boston?). The checkers are a nice touch, though.

It looks as though they started with a decent idea, but then the “committee” got a hold of it.

Heather gets some love:

…the non-pastor half of the duo is one of New York’s great, unheralded writers. “Miss Heather” writes the cult favorite New York Shitty blog, dedicated to tracking dog crap in Greenpoint, Williamsburg and environs. It’s compulsively readable, has a soft spot for the eccentricities of North Brooklyn