Brooklyn 11211

Today, New York State of New York saved $444.44 by keeping East River Park closed. Happily, today is also the day that Williamsburg gained back a small slice of waterfront access. That’s because today was the day of the long-awaited opening of the pier at Northside Piers.

No.

[Click through for a good explanation from BushwickBK.]

40% off at Fuego 718.

The grey lady reports on the greenway. In all, a pretty objective recap of everything we’ve been seeing these past few months (though the reporter implies that its the luxury tenants at Schaefer who are up in arms). Now that DOT has finally stepped up and addressed some of the problems (which they should have addressed in the first place), maybe things will cool down. Right.

Between yesterday morning and this afternoon, both DOT and State Parks have been busy with the signs.

On Wythe Avenue, DOT has followed through on its promise to free up parking spaces, switching much of the stretch from Grand Street south to Broadway from No Standing or No Parking to alternate side rules.*

Meanwhile, State Parks has posted a new sign on East River State Park (BEDT park): The Park Will Reopen APRIL 1.

Happy New Year, please stay indoors.

*Yes, DOT had promised to compensate for lost parking on Kent as part of the implementation of the Greenway; it just took them a little longer to get around to the master plan part of things. But give them some credit – after a disastrous implementation, DOT has now: changed the stretch of Wythe in front Schaefer Landing from No Stopping to No Standing (allowing drop offs); added side-street loading zones for at least one business; and followed through on its long-standing promise to free up side street parking rules to make up for lost parking on Kent itself. That’s a lot of trade offs for the residents and businesses in the area of Kent, none of the fully to their benefit, but they mitigate a lot of the negative impact of the Kent Avenue bike lanes. And the impact on businesses still needs to be addressed further.

Evan Thies owes me a new monitor. Mine is covered in coffee after reading this article.

According to the Eagle, DOT is getting ready to add a lot more parking spaces around (but not on) Kent Avenue. In particular, some of the side streets and a lot of Wythe Avenue will pick up parking (much of Wythe from Grand to South 3rd is no parking, unnecessarily so).

The west side of Kent between South 8th and Division (in front of Schaefer and the girl’s school) will get “No Standing”, which will allow residents and parents to stop and make pick ups/drop offs. That should satisfy the Schaefer opposition.

Seriously, though, DOT should consider “No Standing” regulations on the east side of Kent to give businesses a break.

Through a rather circuitous route, I hit up the Brooklyn Public Library’s Brooklynology blog. If you pay attention to this site, you’ll understand why I’m jealous – BPL is paying someone to do what I can only do in off hours.

Where the beef is.

Speaking of industrial architecture, the Austin Nichols Warehouse at 184 Kent continues to benefit from its National Register status. In addition to a 20% rehabilitation tax credit, the owners are taking a tax write off for a facade easement donation.

But its still not a landmark.