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Come See Inside Brooklyn’s “Big House”

By on January 27, 2012 in Boerum Hill, Crime, Events, Real Estate

Admit it: you’ve long itched to take a tour inside that magnificent building at 275 Atlantic Avenue, between Boerum Place and Smith Street. Well, now you can do it next Saturday, February 4, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and it’s absolutely free. (Update: Chuck Taylor took the tour. Read his observations on BHB.) The good news is brought to us by Community Board 2:

The New York City Department of Correction (DOC) invites the community to attend an open house at the Brooklyn Detention Complex, more commonly known at the Brooklyn House of Detention or the “House of D’.”
… Continue Reading →

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Diane Ravitch, Noted Education Historian, to Speak at P.S. 29

By on January 4, 2012 in Events, parenting

Diane Ravitch, a prominent historian of education, author of The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education and many other books and articles, and Research Professor of Education at New York University, will be the inaugural speaker in a series of three lectures at the P.S. 29 auditorium, 425 Henry Street. She will speak on the state of education reforms in New York City on Tuesday, January 10 at 6:30 p.m. “She asks that attendees read the epilogue in the paperback version of [Death and Life] (Nov. 2011 version) and come prepared with questions.” Discounted copies of her book will be available for purchase through the P.S. 29 parent coordinator. Admission is free, and all are welcome; childcare will be provided for P.S. 29 parents. Continue Reading →

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P.S. 29 on List of Schools With Hazardous PCB Laden Lighting Fixtures

By on December 7, 2011 in Education, Health, News

We’ve received word from the office of Congressman Jerrold Nadler that P.S. 29 is on the list of schools, compiled by the City’s School Construction Authority, that have old lighting fixtures containing polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. These are carcinogens, and are considered especially hazardous to pregnant women. According to Dr. Maida Galvez, Director of the EPA Region 2 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, “The bottom line is that there’s no safe level of [PCB] exposure in pregnancy, period.” There’s more information here.

Next Monday, December 12 at 10:00 a.m., Congressman Nadler, along with representatives of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, NARAL, Planned Parenthood NYC and others, will assemble on the steps of City Hall to demand action to relieve this hazard to public health. For more information, contact kterenzi@NYLPI.org

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It Won’t be the End of the World

By on November 14, 2011 in Columbia Street Waterfront, News, Red Hook

This in from Notify NYC:

Notification issued 11/14/11 at 12:00 PM. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will be testing their Early Warning Sirens at the Brooklyn Piers tomorrow, November 15, 2011 between 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM. These sirens may also be heard in lower Manhattan. This is only a drill.

The notice doesn’t specify which “Brooklyn Piers,” but we’re presuming they include ones adjacent to Columbia Street and Red Hook.

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Parvez Khan, 66, Misssing in Columbia Street District

By on August 29, 2011 in News, Seniors

This in from Notify NYC:

Notification issued 8/29/11 at 2:00 PM. The NYPD has issued a Missing Senior Notification for Parvez Khan, male, of Pakistani descent, age 66. He is 5’5″, 155 lbs, with brown eyes and black balding hair, wearing a white shirt, black pants, and white sneakers. He was last seen near Baltic St and Columbia St in BK on 8/23/11. Mr. Khan is in good physical condition but poor mental condition. For a photo see the attached link. If you see Mr. Khan call 800-577-TIPS (8477).

The sender included the following attachment:

https://attachments.sendwordnow.com/Attachments.aspx?token=08a71e38-b159-4f17-81be-4beb4d8cfc66

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Tall Ship Visits Pier 7 This Weekend

By on August 3, 2011 in Events, Maritime, News

The U.S. Coast Guard training ship Eagle will arrive at Pier 7, at the foot of Atlantic Avenue (just south of Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 6), this Friday, August 5, at about 9:00 a.m. She will welcome visitors on Friday from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., on Saturday the 6th from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m., and Sunday the 7th from 10:00 a.m to 7:00 p.m. Thanks to PortSide NewYork for the heads-up.

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Update on Park Deal

By on August 2, 2011 in Brooklyn Bridge Park, Government, News

More information is now available on the deal on Brooklyn Bridge Park funding announced yesterday. Under the agreement, the city will proceed with funding park construction and development of recreational facilities which, according to a press release from State Senator Daniel Squadron, will include “a temporary pool for at least the next five summers, a Pier 5 recreational ‘bubble’ that will make the park usable in the winter, an ice skating rink, two tennis courts, and 2,200 feet of community space.” Also, we note that because no request for proposals may be issued for housing at Pier 6 before January 1, 2014, no such request can be issued by the Bloomberg administration, as he will be out of office by that date. Whoever succeeds him as Mayor may not have the same commitment to the idea of funding park operations and maintenance with housing.

Along with Senator Squadron, Assemblywoman Joan Millman and City Council Members Stephen Levin and Brad Lander have agreed to the deal.

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City Announces Plan That May Reduce Scale of Park Housing

By on August 1, 2011 in Brooklyn Bridge Park, Cobble Hill, DUMBO, Government, News

Mayor Bloomberg announced this evening that city and state officials plan to sign an agreement tomorrow concerning the funding of Brooklyn Bridge Park that may result in smaller scale housing being built on park land, and may even eliminate the need for the two planned new buildings near the foot of Pier 6.

The New York Times: After months of uncertainty over the fate of the popular Brooklyn Bridge Park, city and state officials plan to sign an agreement on Tuesday that would allow limited private housing to be built there, to help pay an expected annual operating cost of $16 million.

The agreement ensures that the park, which now measures 20 acres, will be completed, eventually expanding to 85 acres on five disused piers along the East River. Continue Reading →

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Local Pols to Host “After ‘I Do’” Program for LGBT New Yorkers Tuesday, August 16th

By on July 26, 2011 in Government, Social Services

New York State’s historic embrace of marriage equality isn’t the end of all legal and bureaucratic problems for LGBT New Yorkers.

The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), as well as the religious exemptions included in the New York marriage equality bill, create a number of obstacles and questions for same-sex couples, even if they’re married under New York law – including social security, health benefits, federal pension benefits, tax returns, interstate travel and relocation, and adoption. Continue Reading →

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Learn Volleyball for Free at Pier 6

By on July 26, 2011 in Brooklyn Bridge Park

Admit it. Part of you has always wanted to be one of those sun-bronzed, bleached-haired California (What’s the difference between Californians and Swedes? Swedes speak better English.) beach bums or bumettes. So, put on your Hollister tee, baggies, and flip-flops (you’ll be kicking them off when you get to the court) and head for the Pier 6 (foot of Atlantic Avenue) volleyball courts for some free instruction in beach volleyball. Continue Reading →

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