Category: Linked

Heh. Compared to other rezonings, Williamsburg-Greenpoint is practically awash in new open space. Of course much of it remains to be acquired. And just about all of it remains to be built. But things may be looking up.

He might not be constitutional, but at least our new Lieutenant Governor has good taste in restaurants:

This is my favorite restaurant, and I wouldn’t take the oath of office anywhere else.

I guess Ravitch will find out soon enough what the Albany restaurant scene is – I assume he is in for a let down.

Paterson’s surprise decision to appoint Richard Ravitch as lieutenant governor, legally questionable as it is, works for the accidental incumbent…

The Senate’s sandbox pissing match isn’t Paterson’s fault, but it sure hasn’t helped him look any more gubernatorial. Or capable. Maybe that’s why the Governor himself* called me this evening to explain what a great idea it is to bypass the constitution and open state government up to a whole new level of lawsuits and stalemates. If anything, this latest move proves that not only do we need to elect an entirely new State Senate, we also need to seriously revamp the State Constitution.

* It was a robocall – you probably got one too.

Its not built yet – hell, ground hasn’t even been broken for it – but the Bushwick Inlet Park District Headquarters and Community Facility (aka the sloped green building that will go in front of the soccer field the City broke ground for yesterday) has won a design award from the Public Art Commission.

Here are some press links from yesterday’s Bushwick Inlet groundbreaking:

North Brooklyn Now a Little Bit Optimistic About Promised Parks [Observer/NY Future Initiative]
Williamsburg Park Under Way, But Full Vision Still Unmet [Metro]
Ground Breaks on New Brooklyn Waterfront Park [WNYC]
City Breaks Ground on Bushwick Inlet Park [NY1]
City Breaks Ground on a 28-acre Park [GlobeSt.com]
City Breaks Ground on New Brooklyn Park [Post]
Mayor Breaks Ground on First Phase of Bushwick Inlet Park [Eagle]

And last, NAG’s press release on the groundbreaking. Here’s an excerpt:

The Parks Department and the Open Space Alliance, along with neighborhood groups including NAG, the Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park, and the Greenpoint Waterfront Association for Parks and Planning, have worked long and hard to create more open space along the East River. This future facility, along with East River State Park and the reopening of McCarren Pool, are examples of what can be done when local organizations and government work together to set priorities, push through bureaucracy and create positive change… But we must highlight the other open space commitments made during the 2005 rezoning in an agreement between the City Council and Bloomberg administration that have not yet materialized

Today’s post article on stalled development sites has gotten a lot of play, but there really is no “news” there. Its pretty simple – Brooklyn was the center of speculative development (some of it ill-conceived) in New York City. Williamsburg/Greenpoint was the center of speculative development (some of it ill-conceived) in Brooklyn.

So guess which borough has the most stalled development sites?

Guess which neighborhoods have the most stalled development sites in that borough?

Duh.

Want real news? A huge percentage of development sites continue to be active, despite the miserable economy. Want man bites dog news? Since January 2009, a number of new developments have broken ground and are still going up.

I have no idea why all these projects are moving forward, but they are.

Hard fought, but I’d call it a draw.

I suggested that Yassky, Katz, Liu and Weprin settle the comptroller race by a game of four square. David was up for it – think of all the taxpayer matching money that would be saved.

Greenpoint is ground zero for counterfeit Mister Softee trucks.

Conway [of the real Mister Softee] said he spotted the trucks parked in a junkyard as he was going over the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge in Brooklyn. The environment, he said, was unsanitary for a food truck and “it makes us look bad from head to toe.”

The latest on the Broadway Triangle, the Lopez and Markey bills and the Catholic church. Aaron Short owns this story.

PS – Now that it finally has content online, yournabe.com has upgraded it web design. Its still a UI nightmare, but at least its one circle of hell removed from the old version. Keep trying, folks.

The Times takes a walk around South Williamsburg and finds an “anachronistic pleasure” (they also can’t tell Grand Avenue from Grand Street, but hey, they don’t get out to these parts much).