Category: Articles
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Bob Guskind
Photo: Miss Heather I just read about the death of Bob Guskind. Like most people, I am at a loss for words. Bob was a passionate, tireless, dedicated reporter on Brooklyn and everything that has been happening to it. I will miss him. More (and more eloquent) tributes can be found at the following (the…
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East River State Park to Reopen on Sunday
That red tape seems to have been worked out. Friends of East River State Park announced this morning that they have finally succeeded in getting the waterfront park reopened a month early. The State will continue to save its $444.44 a day, while locals will get to enjoy a bit of early spring. Here’s an…
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Viridian Going Under?
On the way to the L train this morning, I noticed that just about every construction site (along Metropolitan and Wythe/Kent) was busy. Perhaps its a case of in for a dime, in for a dollar, which is where Viridian seems to be. The project is nearly finished, no one is buying, so the developer…
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Greetings from Espoland
Espo/Steven J. Powers via City Room The Times has a City Room post today titled A Sociologist’s Look at Graffiti, a serious discussion with a Baruch College sociologist who studies graffiti and graffiti artists. The post is illustrated with this Espo mural, which used to face the Williamsburg Bridge from atop the Oliva refrigerator building…
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No Sex in the Charter School
The Courier continues to do some excellent original reporting. Good luck finding it on their website (I’ve given up trying). This week’s case in point is an article by Michele De Meglio on the proposal announced last week to convert four closing Catholic schools into public charter schools. As De Meglio reports, there are some…
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New Transportation Committee Chair at CB1
At last night CB1 meeting, Chairman Vinnie Abate announced that he was appointing Teresa Toro as chair of the Transportation Committee. She replaces Teresa Toro, who was let go late last year in a controversy rooted in the Kent Avenue bike lanes. Teresa’s appointment is great news, although she will have large shoes to fill…
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PS 84 Catch-22
The City announced the opening of 22 new schools today. Not on the list is a new elementary school in PS 84 (or anywhere else in the area). As far as we can tell, there also are no plans to improve the near-failing performance of the existing school (although it did better this year). Which…
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40 Stories?
Brownstoner and the Brooklyn Paper report on CB1’s ULURP Committee vote last week to endorse an additional 10 stories for 145 West Street. The project, on West between India and Huron, would be Greenpoint’s first waterfront development (if it ever gets built). The developer proposes to reduce the height of the midblock portion of the…
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Kent Avenue: Much Too Much
The (current) final plan for the Kent Avenue Greenway (Brooklyn Greenway Initiative). At Wednesday’s CB1 meeting, the issues of parking, bike lanes and the Greenway came to a head. Following on the elimination of parking on Kent Avenue from Division to the Greenpoint border, residents and business owners are up in arms. Meanwhile, bike advocates…
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Crying Wolf
So the administration that asked for a blank check to go to war – and promised to use it responsibly – now wants a blank check to fix Wall Street? The administration that did a heckuva job, Brownie, in New Orleans (and hasn’t exactly impressed us in Galveston), wants us to trust them to get…