Cornelius

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Recently, some friends and I decided to scope out the neighb’s newest bar, the whiskey-intense Cornelius, located at 565 Vanderbilt Ave (Haha. Get it?). It was a weeknight and the place was relatively empty, but entirely pleasant in décor and libations, if not exactly the arbiter of the best service ever (we had to call our waiter over several times). That said, the menu was pretty amazing, offering an extensive list varied whiskeys, flavored vodkas and original cocktails.

We ordered a lot of cocktails and found them all to be quite delicious. My favorite was the Smoked Pineapple Margarita, which was just sweet enough. Another friend was quite impressed with the Sparkling Pear. The only place where I’d mark them down is that while they could make me a plethora of fanciful designer cocktails, they couldn’t fulfill my order for a plain old Rusty Nail. Why not? No Drambuie. Poor form, guys.

On the food front, since we stopped by on a Monday, we were treated to $1 Oysters. Beyond that, the prices at Cornelius are unfortunately on the steeper end.

All and all, this place is definitely worth stopping by for a classy cocktail and some atmosphere. It seemed like the few issues encountered are just opening/growing pains for a spot that will most likely prove to be a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

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Here’s more info , including a sneak peak of the menu.

Giant Store on Fulton / S Portland?

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Received this info from a reader: Fulton Street's  recently closed Ralph's Internet Cafe and an ambiguous but previously Habana-affiliated  long-empty store-front on South Portland have apparently been merged into what appears to be a large single retail space, stretching around Not Ray's Pizza. No sign who owns it, but apparently they like bright green.These photos are looking in from South Portland, towards Fulton.

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Part of this storefront used to be The Stroll, operated by Habana Outpost.  Anyone have an inside scoop?

CHB Interviews: Jason Voegele of Republic

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Local art collective Republic will be hosting a fundraising event at Le Grand Dakar this Friday!  Proceeds will go to the Gisimba orphanage in Rwanda, which sees that its children attend school and become prepared to lead independent lives.  Info is below, as well as an interview with Jason Voegel of Republic!

As the first in our ongoing REACHING OUT program of recurring charitable fundraising projects, REPUBLIC and CREATE FOR A CAUSE are working together to involve our local communities and New York City at large in a campaign to keep Gisimba Memorial Center equipped with the basic necessities it requires to stay in operation and to help provide the children who live there with basic healthcare, food and education. The proceeds from the campaign will also be distributed through the Memorial Center to support sustainable revenue generating projects within the Kigali community.

Friday, May 29th at Le Grand Dakar Restaurant in Clinton Hill Brooklyn, REPUBLIC will be hosting an extraordinary evening of celebration and fundraising with dance performance, music by Indoda Entsha percussion ensemble, food by master chef Pierre Thaim and drinks with a silent auction and exhibition of photography by contemporary Rwandan artists.

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1. Jason, how long have you lived in the neighborhood?

I’ve been in this neighborhood with infrequent absence since 1991.

2. What brought you to Clinton Hill?

I went to high school overseas in Taiwan. The President of Pratt Institute at that time went on a tour of the international school systems in south east Asia and because I had already been very dedicated to making a run at a career in the arts and my dream was to move to NYC, he invited me to come to Clinton Hill and pursue my interests at Pratt. Until the day I moved here I had never been to New York City. So Clinton Hill was my introduction to NYC as a whole.

3. What has been the biggest change you've seen since moving here?  Has it been a good change or a bad one?

Well obviously the standard of living has increased tenfold. Back in 91 there were very few social gathering points in the neighborhood outside of the school. Most people I knew spent their free time in the emerging Williamsburg community or in Manhattan. Over the years as the neighborhood grew, all of the community staples began to pop up. Places like Tillies and 5 Spot set in motion the big boom in restaurants and bars and coffee shops that lured people back to our neighborhood. Good community politics were at work too, getting rid of the crack dealers, reinvesting in the community school systems, fixing up streetlights and finding investors to fix up all the beautiful homes on Washington and Clinton were all huge steps in progress that were undeniably good.

4. You were once involved in Artspace NYC, based in the neighborhood.  What was that organization about?

ArtSpace was conceived by Lauren Culbreth, Sean Mcloughlin and myself in late 2006 at 20 Grand Avenue between Flushing and Park. It was a great opportunity to experiment with a traditional gallery space in creative and inventive new ways. We produced about 23 or so exhibitions and events during our time there. Sean left the group in early 2008. Almost all of our exhibitions were in conjunction with local and national charitable organizations such as the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation or the Brooklyn Center Against Domestic Violence. The purpose was to try and engage our community through a marriage of our creative talents and the common concerns and passions of our fellow Brooklynites. We wanted to infuse our community with the same energy that turned DUMBO and Williamsburg in to models of the art world experience but do it in a different way. Our audience was diverse and became an unlikely opportunity for various individuals and social groups to come together on a regular basis when there would be no reason for them to meet otherwise. The quality of the exhibitions was the first priority. Once we managed to control that we really began to reach out and participate in the re-emerging art community in an exciting way. Through ArtSpace, Lauren and I produced film festivals, a young curator program, mixed media exhibitions and really cut our chops on production in those years. Eventually we gave up our gallery space and began to develop relationships with other venues and organizations to execute our projects at various locations throughout the city. Our collaborations with the Brooklyn Art Collective and several other very talented groups really helped to bring shape and form to the tranformation that turned ArtSpace into Republic.

Very quickly we realized that if we built a strong diverse team we could tackle multiple projects simultaneously and produce projects that we never could have done on our own. One by one the perfect people walked in to the picture at the right time and Republic was born.

5. The group has relaunched itself as Republic Brooklyn.  How many people are involved, and what are the goals of the organization?

Well, the official name of the organization is Republic Worldwide with subdivisions in various locations. It is through the founding group, Republic Brooklyn that we drafted our mission and developed the formulas for our various projects. Republic AU based out of Sydney, Australia will be following up Republic Brooklyn very shortly when the go live in the fall. We are also working with a team in Manchester, England to launch Republic UK. The original founding members were Drew Kassl, Samantha Katz, Aubrey Almond, Lauren Culbreth, Konah Weisel, Ian McGivellry, Tyler Wriston, Jason Isch, Charles Merritt and myself. There are many other members that are active within the group in various other capacities. Specifically Marissa Forbes and Douglas Antonio are involved daily.

Republic was conceived as an assembly of individual artists, designers, entrepreneurs and representatives from autonomous art organizations, who have come together to produce exhibitions and events that transcend the sum of their unique parts. The principles of Republic fundamentally reflect the same ethical charter, dedication, and standard of quality that creative and critically thinking fraternities have organized themselves around for eons. We want to inspire like-minded people in varied communities through high caliber artistic programs, community service and creative curatorial projects. Our personal goals are to strengthen the character of our individual members by providing meaningful opportunities for fellowship, charity, creativity and leadership. We are trying to build something new so - much like Clinton Hill, we are constantly evolving and adapting new ideas.

6. How can local artists get involved with the organization?

Come and find out about all of the interesting things we do and find information about all of our members and collaborators at www.republicbrooklyn.com.

We are on all of the usual networking sites as well. Submissions for specific projects or collaborative ideas should be directed to info@republicbrooklyn.com

Come meet us this Friday May 29th at Le Grand Dakar on Grand Avenue between Lafayette and Clifton Place for our fund raiser collaboration with Create For A Cause. Dance, Music and Art with a silent auction to benefit the Gisimba Memorial Center Orphanage in Kigali, Rwanda

7. Is Clinton Hill a good neighborhood for artists to live and make a living?  Why or why not?

Well as someone who spent the majority of his time in Clinton Hill as a struggling artist, the neighborhood has always been a melting pot of creative energy. However, for the longest time everyone I knew worked in the city (Manhattan) and lived in Clinton Hill. It’s really great to see so many new neighborhood based businesses and organizations emerge over the last several years. When ArtSpace NYC was operating our gallery out of 20 Grand we were amazed at the diversity and numbers of the other creative productions blooming all around us. I think there is a sense now among all of the Clinton Hill community that something has changed for the better. It’s a feeling that the community is getting stronger by working together.

8. What's your favorite local hangout?

Although the germ for Republic has been tossing around in my head for years it was at Vesper Bar & Lounge on Myrtle Avenue that open conversation about forming the group and the induction of the various members of the board occurred. So that place rocks. I’ll tell you what though, Le Grand Dakar and Brooklyn Public house are my new two summertime favorites.

9. Would you change anything about the neighborhood if you could?  If so, what?

You know I really think this neighborhood is in a constant state of evolution. It’s really a shining example of a neighborhood getting it’s act together over a long patient time. I think we are on the right track and any things I could ever want to change about Clinton Hill could easily be achieved through continued collaboration and partnerships among the people in our community.

10. If you were a flavor of ice cream, what would you be and why?

I would be the cone. Somebody has to be.

Seriously though pistachio is my game. I think I was asked this question once in a job interview.

Clinton Hill Buildings and Homes

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This beautiful neighborhood of ours shouldn’t be called Brownstone Brooklyn. Sure, we’ve got those row houses made of brown stone that often have big stoops outside and high ceilings detailed with crown molding and ornate touches inside. But we have more than that- Clinton Hill architecture is as diverse as the borough of Brooklyn itself. Let's take a look at the outside of some of the neighborhoods most well-maintained and architecturally interesting structures.  Clinton Hill boasts Victorian brownstones, Italianite town houses and mansions and charming “antebellum frame houses,” according to The New York Times.  The following examples make for a lovely self-guided walking tour!

My favorite street in Brooklyn used to be State Street, which runs from Brooklyn Heights through Boerum Hill. It’s a gorgeous street that’s lined with trees and boasts a variety of row houses: brownstones, brick three or four story homes, newly renovated row houses with modern facades and even clapboard single family homes. But once I moved here I discovered an even better street, and it’s only 2 blocks long. Cambridge Place.

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Typical to Cambridge Place are narrow three-story homes like this one. What I like about the building is the clean lines of the windows and frames made clear by the contrasting yellow and slate blue paint. Also, the ivy-covered brick wall with gate attached to the side of the home gives the property a European feeling. Through the gate is a vineyard. (Not really). Check out the stained glass in the windows.

Cambridge Place is a smorgasbord of homes.

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Across the street is this recently renovated and added onto stand-alone house. Three stories with lots of windows and a front porch- this is a real beauty. The stark white color is also interesting. In a city made of glass and brick, when wood presents itself it is often painted a color. Not here. I like the simplicity of it.

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Many homes on Cambridge Place stand together in two’s. I’m not sure of the history and reasoning behind this architecturally but I think it just made sense to build a bigger structure and have one side mirror the other. It makes for a beautiful contrast.

St. James Place, one block south of Cambridge Place, also features narrow three-story homes. St. James, home to Biggie Smalls (near Fulton Street) has particularly interesting painted buildings. See this yellow home:

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and this brown-tinged home with blue trim and a red door:

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Clinton Hill is also home to “the first multi-family apartment building in Brooklyn.”

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The Vendome, built in 1887, is on the corner of Grand Avenue and Gates Avenue. It is a beautiful 6-story building. Research did not turn up any documents confirming the claim above but there were many articles from the 80s in The New York Times about the building.

Across the street from the Vendome are 2 structures, with 2 separate homes in each. These buildings all feature beautiful covered porches held up by columns and are made of stone. They remind me of Italy.

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For more images of buildings around Clinton Hill, (including Broken Angel on Downing Street), click here.

Please alert us to other buildings in the neighborhood worthy of mention! I certainly didn’t even scratch the surface.

Which are your favorites?

CHB Interviews: Cassidy Vare, Bespoke Bicycles

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A few weeks ago, we announced the opening of Bespoke Bicycles on Lafayette.  We spoke with owner Cassidy Vare about his new business and cycling in the city. cassidy

1. When did you decide to open a bike shop?  How did you pick Lafayette Avenue in Fort Greene?

I've been dreaming of opening my own shop for years now. I wasn't going to do it this year, but I got laid off from another shop in October, and decided that, perfect time or not, I had to do my own thing, the way I've always wanted to. In a way, getting laid off was the best thing for me.

The location was a bit of an accident. It used to be a car service, and it wasn't until after I'd already moved in that I realized how perfect it was to reclaim a storefront from the clutches of cars and turn it into a bike shop. I'd been looking at Fort Greene for a while, and I always pictured a spot on Dekalb or somewhere nearby. But when it came to walking the neighborhood and looking at spaces, this one was the only one I saw. The price was right, the space was small but "just enough."

2. How long have you been cycling?

I guess it's been about seven years now, since I first moved to Brooklyn. I got a crappy mountain bike just to get from middle-of-nowhere (at the time) Red Hook to anywhere else. Well, that bike got stolen pretty quickly, and it wasn't until I had the second bike that I figured out how much I liked not only riding it, but also taking it apart and figuring it out. It wasn't long after that before I started working in a shop, and I haven't thought much about doing anything else since. 3. What's your personal history?  Where did you grow up and where do you live now?

I was born in Colorado and grew up in Connecticut, and I was in and out of NYC from the age of ten. I knew pretty early on that this was the place for me, and when I was nineteen I moved here to go to Hunter College. New York (and even more so, Brooklyn) is the first place I really feel at home so far in my life. However, I did get a little burned out on the city after a few years, and decided to ride my bike to Seattle WA, to visit some folks and see what the west coast was like. I ended up meeting Kim, the woman who's now my wife, there, so I'm obviously really glad I went, but I can't say that Seattle itself agreed with me. I convinced Kim to move back with me, and we now live down in the ambiguous region between Park Slope and Sunset Park.

4. Do you see bikes as an important part of neighborhood (and city) culture?

They're absolutely vital. For me, a bike is the fastest (and cheapest) way to get almost anywhere in the city. A year's worth of Metrocards will cost over $1200. That same $1200 will buy a very fine bicycle that will last much longer than a year. But more importantly, a bicycle is a powerful social tool. You'll see things riding a bicycle from one place to another that you'd never see taking the train. You can also stop to chat with the people you pass every day. I learned the geography of Brooklyn from riding a bike. I learned who lives where. Bikes change the way we live--they bring us down to a human scale, and they remind us what it's like to be people around other people.

5. What kinds of services are you offering at the shop?

We are a full-service repair shop--we'll fix your flat, or take your bike apart and put it back together. My goal is always to make a bike better than it was when it came in. Of course, we sell things too. We have a line of Raleigh bikes, a stock of parts of all types, and accessories to make it easier to use your bike every day, for every purpose.

6. Explain the shop's name.

Well, this follows up nicely. We are also here to build up bikes to order. The word 'bespoke' isn't too popular here in the US, but it's an English word meaning 'custom-made' or 'made to order.' It's used mostly to refer to clothing and of course has the connotation of highest quality. I'd like to think that I can offer all of that in a bicycle. I'm here to provide exactly the bicycle that each client wants. I'll start with the frame that best fits your needs and go from there. This can be an affordable process, but depending on what you want the bike to do or to look like, the only limit is physics.

7. Many of us grew up riding bikes and then left them behind as we became teenagers and adults.  For someone looking to hop back on after years of hiatus, what kind of bike do you recommend?

Well, my first answer is: Any bike at all! Whatever bike you choose will be so much better than no bike at all that it's hard to compare! But if I don't let enthusiasm carry me away, there are some practical concerns. If you're in the market for a bike, first of all look for one that works. I've seen too many people come into shops with about three-quarters of a bike they've just bought for $50, hopeful that we can make it work. It's more expensive in the long run than paying two or three times as much up front for a bike that works properly.

8. Favorite place to ride to in the city:

I like the section of the west side bike path in Manhattan, above 79th Street up to the north tip of the island. Not many people ride that far north, so it's peaceful, and much prettier than below 79th St. I also really like riding the Rockaways.

9. Favorite hangout in the neighborhood:

The folks at the Smoke Joint are great, and it's conveniently right next door to the shop! I like Bonita and The General Greene a lot too. My friend lives on Quincy Street--does her house count?

10. If you were a flavor of ice cream, what would you be and why?

Jamocha Almond Fudge. Because it's amazing.

Extended Hours at Michael Allen

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Despite a losing a few local businesses recently, others are expanding hours and services!  A reader reports that Desserts by Michael Allen, the cozy and delicious cafe and dessert space on Fulton, has extended their weekday hours until 10pm! Now we can satisfy that sweet tooth (and enjoy the WiFi) a little later into the evening.

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Moses and the BQE, Part II

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Robert Moses, the city planner responsible for much of the look of today’s city, proposed the idea for the BQE in 1940.  Construction was interrupted by World War II, and work did not begin until 1945, with the first section opening in 1945.   While the BQE has left Clinton Hill only mildly changed, it strongly affected other neighborhoods, like Red Hook. In 1940, Moses grew concerned that increased traffic from LaGuardia Airport and trucks using the Triborough Bridge would tax the Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges and the smaller side streets in Brooklyn and Queens, and proposed an expressway cutting across both boroughs.  “The present streets are narrow and congested, with crossings at every block,” he wrote in his proposal.  “The crazy-quilt pattern of the streets inherited from the villages that grew together to form the present borough adds to the difficulty of travel.”

His plan proposed to build on an existing road which already connected Queens Boulevard and the Kosciuszko Bridge in Greenpoint, extending it northward to the Grand Central Parkway and southward through Brooklyn.  The original plan called for the expressway to run directly along the shoreline from the Wiliamsburg Bridge down to the Manhattan Bridge, which would have bypassed Clinton Hill entirely.  However, as this plan would have dramatically affected the Navy Yard – which was then still a military facility – the city altered the route a few blocks south, to its present location.

Even so, construction didn’t even get underway anyway until after the war.  Construction began on the first new section in 1945, as part of Moses’ postwar development programs a section which connected the Williamsburg and Kosciuszko Bridges opened in 1950.  Moses seemed fascinated by the construction – a 1974 biography reports that Moses rented the penthouse floor of the Marguerite Hotel for his office; the hotel was just alongside the construction site, so Moses could keep a sharp eye on the proceedings.  However, sometimes Moses would just stare out the window, watching.  One of his assistants later said in an interview that “I never saw him look happier than he did when he was looking out of that window.”

Moses may have been happy with the construction, but several other Brooklynites were not.  Residents of Brooklyn Heights were concerned about the expressway’s impact on their historic neighborhood and its postcard views of Manhattan; when they complained, Moses shifted the route four blocks west to the very edge of the shoreline, and built a park above it – the Brooklyn Promenade.  Residents originally asked that this park be used for private gardens, but Moses insisted it be made available to the public instead.

Other neighborhoods weren’t as lucky, however.  Entire blocks were often cleared to make way for BQE overpasses, in the name of “slum clearance.”  He did leave behind the occasional park here and there, but many found this cold comfort.

In Red Hook, instead of an overpass, Moses dug a below-ground ditch to run the expressway through, plowing it straight through the center of the neighborhood.  Moreover, instead of covering it over as he had in Brooklyn Heights, Moses left the Red Hook section open, funneling pollution from passing traffic into surrounding Red Hook Streets.  He also left behind very few options to cross over the expressway from either side of the neighborhood, which in effect cut off Red Hook from the rest of Brooklyn.  At the time, Red Hook was a working-class neighborhood with active waterfronts; only a single exit connected the waterfronts with the BQE, causing traffic bottlenecks from trucks delivering goods.  Red Hook’s industrial waterfront declined soon thereafter, and with it, the rest of the surrounding neighborhood.

Today, a number of residents alongside the BQE are brainstorming ways to take back some of the space Moses left us with.  While here in Clinton Hill we’re brainstorming ways to use the space under the bridge, in Cobble Hill and Carrol Gardens Mayor Bloomberg has proposed constructing a roof deck over a nine-block stretch of the expressway, and then building housing on top of that.  Moses may have largely ignored most neighborhood’s wishes in planning the BQE, but it seems many neighborhoods are starting to take it back.

Lost Dog, Found Dog

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Two pet-related requests from readers: LOST DOG

Our Dog Sonnet is Missing! She ran out around 9 pm on Monday evening (May 11th) from our front yard on Clifton and Nostrand and we havn't seen her. She was sighted racing down Dekalb Ave and Grand around 10 pm last Monday evening. Last week we got a call around 4 am to say that she was on Dekalb and Carlton and dashed over immediately. We walked the streets with a mike shouting her name until 6 am but could not find her. She is small about 40 pounds, a puggle with brown short hair and a green collar. Unfortunately her tag is missing. I am attaching a couple of photos. My cell is 917 3653023. Please call if you see her. Its best not to try and grab her as she is very skiddish and runs fast. Just keep her in sight and call me or my husband Tor 347 591 9480. She is a real sweetheart and we miss her. Thanks Sujatha Raman-Snyder

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FOUND DOG

UPDATE: THIS DOG WAS REUNITED WITH ITS OWNER!
My wife and I were out to dinner on DeKalb in Ft. Greene tonight when a sweet, cute and skinny stray dog came up to us and wouldn't leave. We had to take him home. He has a collar and knows some commands, so he was somebody's dog recently (though he's very skinny...probably on his own for a week or more). He seems about 4 to 6 y.o. and is a Rhodesian Ridgeback (I think).
Could you put a link to the "found dog" poster I put on my blog? We really want to find his parents. (I also tweeted it @djlavoie...a RT would be great!)
FOUND DOG in Brooklyn. Sweet, skinny Rhodesian male Friday night on DeKalb in Ft. Greene. Is it yours? Please RT: http://tinyurl.com/q84abl
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SONYA Studio Stroll, Photography, Brunch, Street Painting

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I can't believe I haven't written about it earlier -- one of my favorite events takes place this weekend!  The SONYA (South of the Navy Yard Artists) Studio Stroll, celebrating its 10th Anniversary,  allows people to visit the studios and homes of local artists.  I think I've purchased something every year- it's nice to watch my apartment fill up with local artistic pieces. scan10001

As part of the Stroll, the Fort Greene Photography Organization will be holding a show at Gnarley Vines on Myrtle Avenue.

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Download the Stroll map online at the SONYA site.

Several Myrtle Ave restaurants will also be offering a 10% discount on brunch to those with a Stroll map (Anima, Five Spot, La Stalla, Square Root and Tamboril).

And finally, Livable Streets Education is organizing a community mural event called Paint the Pavement, taking place on Edwards Street between Myrtle and Park.  More information:

What: Paint the Pavement - Parents, students and volunteers will be painting a mural on the street in front of their school!

When: Saturday, May 16, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: 51 St Edwards Street between Myrtle and Park Avenues in Brooklyn

Cost: Free!

About Paint the Pavement

Paint the Pavement is a community mural project that is part of the New York City Department of Transportation’s Urban Art Program, an initiative to invigorate the City's streetscapes with engaging temporary art installations. For this project, students will use the actual street surface in front of the school as their canvas. The mural in front of the school will serve as public art as well as a conduit for bringing together the community to mark the school zone. Ellie Balk, a local muralist and SONYA artist, has worked with Community Roots Charter School (CRCS) art teacher Leslie Elvin to take the CRCS second grade students’ ideas and weave them together into a colorful “kaleidoscope”— a multi-colored abstract map of the immediate area —drawn in temporary materials. Partners

This project is part of DOT’s Urban Art/Arterventions program and is a collaboration between CRCS, PS 67, the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership and New York Cares, and is sponsored by Livable Streets Education.

Let's hope the rain stays away!

Best Yoga Deal Ever @ Move With Grace

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Dance / Yoga studio Move With Grace on Myrtle Avenue is now offering the deal of the century - $30 for 30 days of yoga classes! The only catch - you have to be a new student.  (Returning students may sign up at $49 for one month of yoga.)  The offer expires at the end of May for returning students.  Sign up online here! MWG has a new logo and now also sports a small athletic wear shop in the front of the store.

Need a rehearsal space?  MWG is also available for private rental.  We used the space several times last fall to prep for our Thriller dance at 313 Clinton Avenue.

Move With Grace 469 Myrtle Ave (bt Washington and Hall)

Robert Moses and the BQE

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The recent meeting about the space under the BQE bridge got me thinking about the history of the BQE itself.  The BQE was developed by Robert Moses, one of the most active – and controversial – urban planners in New York City history. Moses never was elected to any office, but still had tremendous influence on construction and urban development not just in New York City, but throughout Westchester and Long Island.  Parts of the city we recognize today simply would not exist without him.  However, his critics complained that a lot his proposed changes were simply too broad, and that he had little regard for whether he disrupted any neighborhoods – or people – in laying out his plans.

Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Moses’ family moved to New York when he was only nine.  After studying in Yale and then Oxford, Moses returned to New York for a PhD in political science from Columbia.  After he graduated, he quickly got involved in the New York political scene, specifically in political reform movements. The city had just shaken loose from decades of political corruption, and Moses first tried his hand at writing reform laws that would eliminate the abuses of the old corrupt system.  None of his ideas went far, but governor Al Smith saw a good deal of intelligence in Moses, and took him on as an occasional advisor.

In 1923 he was assigned his first major urban planning project – a state park on Long Island.  At the time, what we know as Jones Beach was Jones Island, a tiny island which was often completely underwater.  Moses’ crew spent five years dredging up sand from the ocean floor and planting beach grass to anchor the new beach against strong winds.   Moses oversaw everything from the design of the locker rooms to the bricks used in all the buildings.  He also forbade any kind of boardwalk-style rides or games, which was unusual enough that the New York Times mentioned it in the headline of its 1929 article about the park’s opening day.  Jones Beach was such a rousing success that a few years later, during the Depression, governor Al Smith turned to Moses when New York State received grants for urban planning as part of FDR’s New Deal program.

Over his twenty-year career, Moses developed over a hundred civil projects, including ten public pools (including McCarren Pool in Williamsburg), four zoos (including the Prospect Park Zoo), 24 state parks, and two World’s Fairs. He built the Triboro Bridge, Throgs Neck Bridge and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and created Tavern On The Green restaurant as part of a 1934 renovation of Central Park. He relocated the New York Aquarium from Battery Park in Manhattan to its current Coney Island location. He also helmed the 1960 development of Lincoln Center and a number of middle-income housing projects, like Bronx’s Co-Op City and Stuyvesant Town in Manhattan.

But Moses had a habit of creating as many problems as he solved.  Some argued his housing projects destroyed as many homes as they created.  Others whispered about possible racism –how he seemed to locate nearly all of his projects in affluent areas of the city, and almost none in Harlem; or how he seemed to design all his overpasses so they were too low for buses to pass underneath, cutting off entire neighborhoods from public transit.  He also blocked a plan to extend the Long Island Railroad to Jones Beach Park, cutting it off from countless New Yorkers too poor to own a car.

Moses was fascinated by cars.  He blocked bills that would have promoted public transportation, preferring to develop freeway and highway systems – “Cities are for traffic,” he once said. Many of his plans involved bridges, expressways, or freeways to speed traffic through the city.  However, even here he ruffled feathers, often routing his highways and freeways around wealthy neighborhoods but plowing them right through poor ones.

In the late 1950’s, he blocked efforts to replace Ebbets Field Stadium, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Walter O’Malley, then owner of the team, wanted to build a new stadium at Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush (ironically, next to the site of the recently proposed New York Nets Stadium).  But Moses blocked the project – he had plans for a parking garage on the site instead.  Moses suggested a new stadium in Queens, but O’Malley refused, and moved the Dodgers to Los Angeles.  Some old Brooklyn Dodgers fans still bear a grudge against Moses.  He did build that stadium in Queens, however – Shea Stadium was also a Moses project.

Through the 1960’s, Moses’ popularity waned as ideas for urban planning changed.  But he refused to adapt, and proposed a number of unpopular ideas – such as trying to raze a playground in Central Park to expand a parking lot for Tavern On The Green.  The public finally decided it had had enough when he oversaw the destruction of the old Penn Station, regarded by many as an architectural jewel.  When he next tried to establish one more expressway through Manhattan, which would have leveled nearly 15 blocks in Soho and would have displaced 800 businesses, the public blocked the project.  Moses’ power dissolved soon thereafter.

At the time he built the BQE, though, Moses’ power was still strong.  We’ll look at that specific project in the next post.

Sound Off at Adelphi Station TONIGHT!

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The Local reports today that the manager of the Adelphi Station (11238) Post Office will be on hand at tonight's Community Board 2* meeting.  This grand place (sarcasm) was one of my earliest posts on this blog, and I don't think things have changed much.  Actually, they have.  When I revisited that post just now, I saw that the hours used to be 8-5.  NOW, they're 9-5, making is even harder to go pick up a package (as one is often forced to do). In fact, yesterday I had to come in late to work in order to pick up my wedding invitations.  I hadn't received them yet and when I asked, the vendor tracked the shipment and informed me that they had been waiting at 11238 since May 5.  Do you think I received a package slip?  Of course not.

The line was long, as usual, but a staffmember yelled out (unpleasantly) that whoever had a package pickup should proceed to his window.  So sorry for having to use your as a storage unit for my packages.  Trust me, it's not by choice!

Of course, the guy who waited on me (oddly wearing a snazzy suit and tie - the manager?), was pissy with me for not having the tracking number on hand for him.  I explained that my vendor had tracked the package for me and handed him my license.  He acted as though it was somehow my fault that I did not have the package slip I NEVER RECEIVED, making his life more difficult.  Miraculously, the woman in the back located the package in less than a minute.

I may try to go to this, but if any of you go, please weigh in on how it went.

*For those of you who asked why the parking regulations are not changing south of Fulton - Fulton is the border for CB2 (according to the map I received in the mail for CB2), who is behind the change.  I believe you should check with CB6 or CB8, one of which is probably your CB.

Pick Up Poo (and other trash) and Win a Prize!

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Join PUPS on It's My Park Day, Saturday, May 16, for their annual poop pick up "event." PUPS members will be cleaning the park of dog poop and trash during off-leash hours (before 9:00 am) on May 16.   Best of all, whoever picks up the most trash wins a prize! If you are participating, please plan to have all your poop picked up by 9:00 am for the weigh-in by the dog fountain. The Weighmaster's rules are: poop and trash are allowed, but no picking up rocks and sticks for the weigh-in. Bring your own bags, but PUPS will have some bags available if you forget.

Prize for the most picked up: dinner for two at Ici Restaurant, a large supply of poop bags, and the title of  "PUPS 2009 Grand Poo-bah."