This one comes in by way of Queens Crapper, who wrote the perfect blurb:
I like how the reporter and newscasters act like this is something that no one knew about and haven’t been doing for centuries…
I have a lot of nasty things to say about these people and the attitude that Southern Brooklyn is some uncharted wasteland waiting to be explored by Manhattan douchebags. But, well, the diplomatic side of me says I should keep it to myself and instead be grateful that one of our local industries got some good publicity. Let’s just hope it brings some clients down to Sheepshead Bay’s beleaguered fishermen.
I used to see this a lot growing up. Fish hanging, gruesome and decomposed in the summer sun, nailed to the pier’s pilings. So when BrooklynQ put it on his site, WhiteTrashBBQ, I went down to the piers to get my own photo. But no luck. They were gone. It appears the Parks Department – or some authority – asks the fishermen not to do this anymore.
But it is an age-old tradition for fisherman. Thinking maybe it had some cool story to it – a good luck charm, maybe, or warding off the evil spirits of tinier fish – I began asking around. While the truth is far less supernatural, it’s still pretty cool. Fishermen tack their catches to the pilings so customers know what they’re catching. According to one local fisherman hanging out in front of Captain Dave’s boat, Sheepshead Bay once resembled the aquatic version of the pass to Golgotha, with crucified catches on every piling of every pier.
Old postcards with photos of our neighborhood turn up on eBay fairly often, and subsequently show up in my Google Alerts. There’s usually very little information about the postcards – the one above, for example, is undated with no mention of the publisher or photographer (notice, please, how few houses there are on Shore Boulevard). But after I see them on eBay, those photos are never to be seen again as they usually can’t be found online. From now on, I’ll be posting them here for posterity. Enjoy.
Representatives of several community groups testified in front of Community Board 15 about their concerns to a proposed private marina development in Sheepshead Bay. The board unanimously agreed to send a letter of objection to relevant agencies urging further study.
The marina will be part of The Breakers, a 75-unit luxury condominium development at 3128 Emmons Avenue, the site of the former Palm Shore Club. It’ll feature 23 boat slips that the developer said is for the use of residents only. The pierhead-line would extend 94-feet from the bulkhead-line.
Below is a video of the three speakers who objected to the plans. The speakers, in order of appearance, are Jerry Borell, former commodore of Miramar Yacht Club; Kathleen Higgins, a member of Miramar Yacht Club; and Laura LaPlant, speaking on behalf of Kathy Flynn, president of the Sheepshead Bay/Plumb Beach Civic Association.
The photo above shows the backside of La Mer Villas, a development that several years ago attempted to build a private marina. Local concerns stopped the plan in its tracks. At the time, civic groups and the community board were concerned construction would lead to a narrowing of the already clogged navigation lane out of Sheepshead Bay.
The back of The Breakers, photographed in 2008 while still under construction
A proposed marina attached to The Breakers condominium development is sparking a discussion about Sheepshead Bay’s shrinking navigable lanes, and the project will be on tomorrow night’s Community Board 15 agenda.
The owners of The Breakers complex at 3128 Emmons Avenue (near Ford Street) submitted plans to the Department of Environmental Conservation to create a 23 slip marina as an accessory to the existing 75 residential units. The plans are to be reviewed and either rejected or approved by the department alongside the Army Corps of Engineers.
But the potential impact of a private marina on the local captains navigating the already clogged Sheepshead Bay is drawing the attention of the Community Board.
Community Board 15 Chairperson Theresa Scavo said the project’s paperwork states that it will involve an excavation and fill in navigable waters.
“For me, that’s a red flag,” she said. “The bay is already narrowed by silt” causing some boats to get stuck in the muck during low-tide.
Seen from the deck: subway bridge opening // Courtesy of Don Riepe
Ever needed a break from city living? The cars, buses, trains; streets teaming with people and noises and smells… the hurrying everywhere. A trip out of town will cost you, but Sheepshead Bay’s blessed with a local, cheap option: a beautiful Saturday afternoon sail along Jamaica Bay, learning about its history and wildlife.
That’s what I did on a recent Saturday afternoon on-board the Golden Sunshine; a three-hour cruise around Jamaica Bay, from Brooklyn to Queens.
Did you know there are organized scuba trips departing from Sheepshead Bay? Yep, there are, and New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir rode along with some scuba students on their first trip.
The divers came aboard with Captain Bill Reddan of the Jeanne II, departing off Pier 5. They set out for a spot 45-minutes away from the familiar Brooklyn coastline, to the site of a bridge demolished and dumped there in the 1970s. Maslin Nir describes the scene:
The 47-foot ship, all 29 tons of it, bucked over the four-foot waves that kicked at its underbelly once out of Sheepshead Bay. The passengers, certified scuba divers from experts to those on their first night dive, wobbled with every shimmy, until the engine was trimmed and anchor was set at the dive site. The four-hour trip cost each diver $55, and it goes out on most Wednesdays until early fall.
The divers struggled into wetsuits, masks and flippers, strapped on tanks of compressed air and unkinked their air tubes. The distant city’s lights began to bloom at the edge of the slate sky. Flashlights on, they waddled walruslike to the ship’s edge before flopping off, one by one, into the dark sea.
Reader nolastname was strutting past the Varuna Boat Club (2806 Emmons Avenue) when she spotted someone in the window. He was looking down, just staring at her. She was scared at first, he had a gun, but she took aim with her camera. She squeezed the shutter real slow-like. She shot first.
Aww, what a perty photo. It makes me feel nice and peaceful inside. There’s no other reason I chose it, other than after this crazy weekend (actually, it was all of May), I needed something tranquil to calm my nerves.
Thanks to l_ameerrante of Flickr for adding this to her stream. This is the second photo from her that we’ve featured; the first was last September. I recommend flipping through her Flickr collection – she’s got a number of choice photos.
