Been wondering what’s up with the Brooklyn Walmart proposed for the Gateway II Center? Us too, but in reality there’s been very little headway in either direction. Walmart, though, did make an attempt to spread some money around: they gave at least $15,000 to State Senate Democrats, whose campaign committee is led by Senator John Sampson who represents the proposed development area. Union leaders balked, and successfully pressured the Dems to return the money to Walmart.
Now, Steve Barrison – president of the Bay Improvement Group and executive vice president of the Small Business Congress of New York City – has issued a statement demanding more vocal opposition from “greenies,” including DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.
Look at that map. If you live or work in or near any of the yellow-shaded areas, then the city will be spraying chemicals to kill mosquitoes on your block. Spraying will begin tonight at 8:00 p.m. and continue until 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.
Like any time a government sprays a bunch of toxic crap in the air, they’re saying the chemical used – Anvil 10+10 – has no known risk to humans. But it’s The Man, man, so here are a couple of things you should do to make sure you stay safe and don’t grow an arm out of your butt (tips courtesy of The Man, not guaranteed to be 100 percent effective):
Stay indoors whenever possible during that time period – especially if you have asthma or respiratory issues.
Close the vents on your air-conditioner and set it to recirculate.
Remove toys, equipment and clothing from outdoor areas. If you leave them out there, make sure to wash them with soap before using them.
If you have an outdoor garden, wash your produce thoroughly before eating it.
Though the city says the bike path is complete, bikers now ride on the Belt Parkway because the path is unusable.
In addition to the statements Congressman Anthony Weiner gave, there were two things worth noting on Plumb Beach yesterday, both of which indicate the city is ignoring problems in the area and creating a dangerous situation.
First is that the Parks Department has declared reconstruction work on the Plumb Beach bike path complete. However, any visitor would agree that it’s hardly the case.
Kathy Flynn, SBPB Civic President, with Rep. Anthony Weiner
The ocean is more than just a neighbor to residents of waterfront Brooklyn and Queens, it’s a threat. And one that needs to be taken seriously.
Congressman Anthony Weiner gathered local leaders and the press on what remains of the sands along the Belt Parkway this afternoon to deliver that message to city and state authorities, and urge preparedness in the face of Hurricane Earl. Currently a category 4 storm, Earl is positioned to sweep across the Eastern coast this week.
Blame the bureaucrats and the locally elected. But don’t blame the guys down there every couple of days, working to keep what’s there from sinking further into the sea. A reader sent in photos of these fellahs at work this week, as well as some of the same people from December. These city contractors have been there on-and-off since the storm hit, placing sandbags and pushing back water and muck from the parking lot after the storm. What remains of Plumb Beach remains because of the hard work these people put in. And they deserve some thanks, even if it is their job, because Plumb Beach is the way it is because so many are not doing their jobs.
Oh, you’ve never heard of Dead Horse Bay? The old mill area, turned manufacturing zone (of fertilizer, created from dead animals), turned landfill, turned nature preserve – sits alongside Floyd Bennett Field by the entrance to Gerritsen Inlet. It’s rich with history, and perhaps richer with filth and pollution.
It’s the former that drew musician and photographer “chvad” to tour the area, but it’s the latter that most impressed him. He wrote, “This place and the surrounding areas don’t seem anything at all like Brooklyn. Not a lot of people and lot of vegetation. Also, an enormous amount of pollution on the shores. Some parts of the beach seemed to primarily be made of glass. If those aren’t reason enough to be careful, the beach also had it’s share of needles washed ashore.”
His slideshow, above, captures a lot of that grit and filth, yet in a hauntingly beautiful way. Check out his site to find more photos and learn about his music.
One of East 19th Street’s precariously leaning trees lost a limb during yesterday’s storm, which turned up jammed in this car’s windshield.
According to Ray Johnson, who sent in a mini-report last night, the car is between Avenue X and Avenue Y. It didn’t appear the owner was aware of the situation when Ray was on the scene (so if this is your car, don’t kill the messenger. Which is Ray. Don’t kill Ray. And especially don’t kill me.).
But it doesn’t look like the damage is just to the car. It’s hard to make out in the photo after the jump, but the other end of the tree limb is resting on the power lines, which haven’t yet snapped.
A reader who lives very close to this location was just telling me last week about the awful condition of trees and power lines on the block. Many of the trees are leaning or twisted. East 19th Street’s sidewalks bare the scars of unkempt vegetation through lifted and cracked concrete. The power lines weave in and out of branches, many with stress put on them, and some of the poles are leaning as well.
Is this a cry for arboreal assistance? Do you know of other blocks in similar states?
Secretary of Interior Kenneth Salazar called Jamaica Bay “one of the great urban parks of America,” but asked caretakers to think creatively about the parkland’s future.
Salazar made the statements during a July 26 harbor summit, hosted by National Parks Service and the Harbor Conservancy. Regional leaders gathered to discuss how government, nonprofit and industry can work together to achieve the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Hudson-Raritan Estuary Comprehensive Restoration Plan, which includes Jamaica Bay.
“I believe that America is at a time when we can embark and embrace a new agenda for conservation for America,” Salazar told the audince. “And I think that here in New York and New York Harbor we can move forward and create what will be a star relative to the great urban parks of America in the 21st century. I think the assets are here, I think the vision is here I think the New York Harbor Conservancy has done a lot to move us all forward.” Keep reading about Salazar’s statements.
I’ve written before about the controversial method of “hydrofraking” near New York City’s watershed, and the State Legislature has finally put the brakes on business proposals until it’s been thoroughly studied. Absent from the discussion, though, were Sheepshead Bay’s two state senators – Marty Golden and Carl Kruger. Here’s a report from the Bay Ridge Journal, with information drawn from Brooklyn Eagle.
The New York State Senate, in what has been called a historic move, has passed a bill, S8129B, temporarily halting natural gas drilling permits in the state’s watershed until May 15, 2011.
The moratorium is believed to be the first in the country.
The moratorium buys the state time to assess the risks involved in the controversial natural gas drilling technique called “hydrofracking” or “fracking”.
The state assembly is expected to approve its version of the bill, A11443, in September, officially enacting the moratorium.
State Senate Majority Leader John Sampson, a Democrat representing Brownsville, Canarsie and East New York, co-sponsored the bill, joined by Brooklyn Democratic Senators Eric Adams, Velmanette Montgomery, Kevin Parker, Diane Savino and Dan Squadron.
According to a poll taken by Senator Sampson, the majority of New Yorkers favor a ban on hydrofracking.
Democrat Carl Kruger abstained from the vote. Republican Marty Golden was MIA.
Brooklyn Assembly Members Jim Brennan, Alan Maisel and Janele Hyer-Spencer support the Assembly version of the bill.
Orgies are nothing new on Plumb Beach, according to local lore. But, while residents may complain about the anonymous romps, group sex has been going on there for millions of years.
Horseshoe crabs use beaches like those in Jamaica Bay as their mating grounds because their location in a bay or cove protects them from surf. They come ashore in our area in May, during new and full moons and deposit thousands of eggs in the sand at once, before returning to the waters.
In the above video, Don Riepe, director of the Northeast Chapter of the American Littoral Society and the Jamaica Bay guardian, tells Sheepshead Bites about the anatomy of horseshoe crabs and the mating ritual.
Though it may look menacing, the horseshoe crab is harmless to humans. Its claws deliver only a gentle pinch and it’s tail is no stinger, just a means for righting itself when turned over on the beach. Still, it’s a tough little bugger, surviving several periods of mass extinction throughout Earth’s history. Early traces of the horseshoe crab family began popping up during the Paleozoic Era, 540 million years ago.
