On the (Queer) Waterfront

New exhibition opening in March at the Brooklyn Historical Society – On the (Queer) Waterfront: The Factories, Freaks, Sailors & Sex Workers of Brooklyn, based on a new book by Hugh Ryan.

LongPoint Bridge Connecting Greenpoint to Long Island City Gains Momentum

I’ve always wanted to see this connection between Greenpoint and Hunter’s Point reestablished. The article mentions the Vernon Avenue Bridge (see below), which was constructed in 1905. But a bridge connecting Manhattan Avenue to Vernon Avenue was in place at least as far back as the mid-1850s, when Greenpoint and Hunter’s Point were being developed. Eliphalet Nott was involved in the development of both neighborhoods, which is apparent looking at the very similar building stock in both areas.

Newtown Creek GMDC

Vernon Avenue Bridge, 1905
Credit: Novelty Theater


Yankowsky and Yankowsky

02/07/2019 | Comment

From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1910:

“The man was Andrew Yankowsky, 22 years old, an iron worker, who occupied a furnished room at 81 Grand street, with Andrew Yankowsky. The two are no relation.”

Brooklyn-Queens Streetcar Plan Picks Up Speed

City readying release of RFP for environmental impact studies, the preliminary steps towards an actual ULURP action. Meanwhile, the scope of the project continues to shift away from the waterfront connector it started as.

L Train Service Partially Shut Down After 2 Passengers Faint from Noxious Fumes

The explanation – diesel trains running overnight – and the symptoms – “gas” smells between First Avenue and Graham Avenue (or beyond) – don’t seem to line up. Complaints about the noxious odors seemed to start around 9:30 a.m., with heavier reporting coming between 10 and 11 (this is based on the @NYCTSubway Twitter feed and posts to the North Brooklyn Community Facebook page). One of the fainting incidents happened around 11:00 a.m. And the Daily News mentions a “liquid leak of an unknown substance ‘bubbling’ at the Grand St. station around 12:20 p.m.”. The Transit Workers Union pulled their members out of the stations around noon, and one of the union heads was warning passengers to stay out of the Grand Street station.

2019 Charter Revision Commission Announces Four Focus Areas

Following on the Mayor’s 2018 City Charter revisions, the City Council will have its turn in 2019. Their’s looks to be a more comprehensive and (hopefully) thoughtful approach to the process. One of the focus areas is evaluating the ULURP process and the City’s land-use board (CPC, LPC, BSA and Franchises). Plenty of opportunities there, but also the potential for many pitfalls.

The Scrappy Brooklyn Restaurant That Forever Changed New York’s Food Scene

The shocking thing about Diner isn’t necessarily that it helped to usher in a whole new generation of restaurants across New York and the country that were serving grass-fed beef and local cabbage; it’s that Diner, despite the influx of condos and salad chains to its neighborhood, is still cool — and not just cool, but also nice about it.

DOE Says School Will Be Built Near Greenpoint Toxic Site

The Department of Education has told Laura Hanrahan at the Greenpoint Post that they are moving ahead with plans to construct a K-5 school at part of the Greenpoint Landing site that sits next to a Superfund spill at the NuHart Plastics factory. This comes as news to CM Steve Levin and local advocates who have working to find a less potentially toxic place for a grade school.

What the article doesn’t make clear is that the developer of the NuHart site has no plans to clean up the part of the spill that sits under the intersection of Franklin Street and Dupont Street. That part of the plume has been slowly migrating towards the school site, and based on the most recent data is now within a few feet of the school site.