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.
Read Steve Barrison’s statement about a proposed Brooklyn Walmart at Gateway II after the jump.
Kids enjoyed the games at BayFest 2010
With BayFest 2010 still on our minds, organizers with Bay Improvement Group are already gearing up for next year’s extravaganza. BayFest 2011 will be the 20th anniversary of the event, and the group is getting a head start to throwing an extra large celebration, “rocking out on all ten piers with 15 bands.” Don’t believe they can do it? Well, they threw a similar-sized event for their 10th anniversary, and that’s why they’re getting to the drawing board now.
Tonight at 8:00 p.m. at the Golden Gate Inn (3867 Shore Parkway on Knapp Street), Bay Improvement Group is holding a planning meeting and wants YOU to come down and put a word in. The event needs some fresh blood and some fresh ideas, so if you’ve got a knack for event planning and want to reinvigorate a Sheepshead Bay tradition, get down to this meeting!
Did you know a dozen original Dutch houses still stand in Brooklyn? Dating back as far as 1652, the houses are owned by both public and private interests, and some are even still used as residences. The homes were the topic of discussion at last night’s Annual History Night, hosted by Bay Improvement Group.
BIG President Barrison presents Schweiger with a "deed" to the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Borough Historian Ron Schweiger regaled a crowd of around 60 residents with stories of the houses and their families. Some of the homes stand intact and even have crockery, furniture and other artifacts that go back hundreds of years. Other houses, like the Old Stone House in Park Slope, were torn down and rebuilt from mostly original pieces (in the case of this house, it was rebuit in the 1930s when a Work Progress Administration park project on the site uncovered the stones and other items from the 1699 building).
The hour-and-a-half presentation kicked off with the history of the Dutch in New York State, from their naming Coney Island (originally Konijnen Eiland, meaning Rabbit Island) to exploring the rest of the state. Schweiger traced back some of the famous families, many of whose names grace our roadways (Hubbard, Henderson, Ryder, Van Wyck). The talk then turned to Dutch architecture, with Schweiger pointing out that all Dutch houses have curved roof lines and face south, before turning to the individual houses and their histories. Some of the houses reflect new preservation efforts, and are adding to Brooklyn’s status as a historical asset. Not everything gets razed to be a condo…
Keep reading and see a list of the houses – all near to each other – to create your own personal tour
The following is an open letter from Steve Barrison to Borough President Marty Markowitz. Barrison is the president of Bay Improvement Group and executive vice president of the Small Business Congress of New York City. In the letter he criticizes the city for taking us in the wrong direction on congestion, and says we need to plan for more vehicles on the city’s roadways.
Marty,
YOU ARE RIGHT!
We now have bike lanes to handle estimated 1.5 – 2 million bikers! YET, we only have about 3,000 in the winter and we grow to 8,000 – 12,000 in nice weather and peak at 25,000 once or twice a year for special events….we won’t have 1.5 or 2 million bikers for many lifetimes, if ever!
We have over 850,000 vehicles a day that are part of NYC’s economic engine too, whether for small business, business owners, deliveries of good and services, health care, elderly, handicapped, children and those that aren’t well served by mass transit or that a vehicle is simple needed.
The reduction of travel lanes is causing more congestion, more back ups, making traffic movement impossible and yes, causing more pollution! Vehicles flowing give off much less pollutants than when stopped in traffic. Oh yea, and by the way Times Square is supposed to be chaotic, crowded, crazy and have a mix of everything, that is what is expected there at the ‘Crossroads of the World!” not some sprawling mass of tourists spilling out all over and hanging out on chairs and benches squeezing vehicles into bottle necks ands causing New Yorkers to just avoid it all together.
Keep reading Barrison’s letter to Marty Markowitz
Bay Improvement Group President Steve Barrison informed us yesterday of the untimely passing of Faith Palmer-Persen just before New Years. Palmer-Persen, who was fighting cancer, is the artist behind the mural on East 15th Street between Avenue Z and Sheepshead Bay Road. Her passing came as BIG prepared for a restoration of the 120-foot mural.
As Palmer-Persen was most recently a California resident, her funeral services will be near San Francisco this Sunday. Barrison is requesting that anyone with photos of Palmer-Persen send them to him by e-mail so he can forward them to family for the service. BIG is also helping organize a local memorial at the mural site in June.
Below is the obituary from the San Francisco Chronicle, published January 5:
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Got an idea for Sheepshead Bay’s biggest annual festival? Bay Improvement Group (BIG) is having a planning meeting tomorrow night, and they want to hear your ideas on how to make BayFest2010 bigger, better, and ballsier than the rest. (Okay, we added that last one.)
And there’s reason to believe this year really will be leaps and bounds beyond previous years’ celebrations. Why? Because back in August, BIG secured more than $27,500 from local politicians, making it the largest budget the group has had yet. And in the months since, they’ve been hitting up corporate and small-business partners for sponsorships, their primary source of funding in other years.
At the last planning meeting, BIG President Steve Barrison even suggested the group would love to score some top-notch headliners for the stage. But money and bands aren’t going to make a better BayFest by themselves. The group needs raw manpower. So get involved and bring some fresh blood to a Sheepshead Bay tradition!
When: Wednesday, December 2 at 8 p.m.
Where: The Golden Gate Inn (located at the intersection of Knapp Street & Shore Parkway)
Free Parking is available. For further directions you can call the Golden Gate Inn at 718-743-4000
Bay Improvement Group, organizers of the annual BayFest event, are getting an early start on planning next year’s festivities. The first meeting kicks off next week, and we heard that the organization’s president, Steve Barrison, wants to see bigger names here. The name he tossed out? Bruce Springsteen. Well… it’s good to dream. As for us, we’re hoping to see at least one band with connections to Sheepshead Bay, and we hope some more of our local businesses are brought into the mix. If you agree, join us at the meeting and let BIG leadership know.
Here’s the release:
BayFest2010, our 19th year, we start now.
The BIG planning meeting, sharing responsibility and time for new and old to come together, whether it’s your first BayFest or you are an old pro…
Tuesday August 4th at the Golden Gate Inn located at Knapp Street and Shore Parkway in Sheepshead Bay, right off the belt Parkway at 7:30PM we begin..
bring interested people.
WE NEED YOU TO GET INVOLVED AND ASK OTHERS TOO, TO HELP AT THIS ANNUAL PARTY FOR SHEEPSHEAD BAY AT THIS UNIQUE WATERFRONT FESTIVAL. BAYFEST IS ALWAYS THE THIRD SUNDAY IN MAY! May 16. 2010
Join us as we plan a bigger better BayFest celebration for Sheepshead Bay.
BE There Tuesday August 4th, 7:30PM at the Golden Gate Inn for this special BayFest working planning meeting.
Why can’t Sheepshead Bay have a commuter ferry to Manhattan? It’s the parking, stupid.
That was the message Sheepshead Bay residents sent the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) during last night’s hearing on increasing Brooklyn ferry service to several locations including Sheepshead Bay.
The hearing, hosted by the EDC, the Department of Transportation (DOT), and Councilman Michael C. Nelson’s office, brought out local leaders including Community Board Chairperson Theresa Scavo, Bay Improvement Group president Steve Barrison, and several members of the Sheepshead Bay/Plumb Beach Civic Association and the Manhattan Beach Community Group. All opposed the plans.
“It’s romantic. It’s beautiful. It’s wonderful. But practically speaking, it’s not practical,” said Barrison.
Concerns by local leaders revolve around costs, demand, infrastructure needs, and the time it would take to reach Manhattan. But at the heart of it all is parking.
“Parking in the area is already at a premium. To bring more people in would be a nightmare,” said SB/PB Civic’s attorney, Gene Berardelli.
The ferry proposal, officially known as the Comprehensive Citywide Ferry Study, is still in its early stages, with landing profiles yet to be created. The EDC was unable to provide implementation or operating costs for the service, but noted that the ferry ride from Sheepshead Bay is estimated to take about 40 minutes and cost $6. Continue Reading »
Although it was a cold, spring afternoon this past Sunday, May 17, 2009, with skies threatening to rain, the turnout was still in the thousands. The band that played, “Legendary Lead Guitarist of Supergroup Vanilla Fudge Vince Martell” sounded great and performed one song after another. We arrived later in the afternoon and they were still going strong, playing rock classics, and making the crowd feel nostalgic.
Children were bouncing in the moon bouncers, falling (and laughing) in the obstacle course and shooting hoops at the basketball blow up. When they came out of the inflatables, they picked up their shoes that had been guarded over by some very friendly people, who gladly agreed to take a picture if you gave them your camera.
A hearty thanks goes out to the Bay Improvement Group and its sponsors for bringing this great event to the Sheepshead Bay community. We’re wondering if maybe next year, the organizers would consider running this event in the summer.
Sorry to disturb your 2009 Passover Seder, but we have to give you this breaking news that comes to us via e-mail:
As we have been warning the DOB came down today and issued violations and a stop work order for the violations of the Sheepshead Bay Special District USE zoning which forbids MARKETS!
I guess they will have to go to the BSA for a variance. We tried to warn them.
Oh well, Happy Passover and Happy Easter to ALL!
Steven Barrison,Esq.
THE BARRISONS
So, it looks like the Cherry Hill Gourmet Market and Restaurant has finally gotten the official word that they are not going to be able to operate business as a market. Whether the restaurant side of the business is good-to-go is still unclear.
Sheepshead Bay Special District Use zoning did not allow for the monolithic grocery store they had planned and it looks like the Department of Buildings has told them that the store does not meet the requirements.
If the market operators request a variance from the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) from the NYC Department of Buildings, we’ll have to wait to hear the outcome.
Until then, we’ll just have to shop as usual in our old favorites: Sheepshead Bay Gourmet Market on Ave Z & E 18 St; Super Stop and Shop Supermarket at Ave Y & E 17 St; Waldbaum’s at Ocean Ave & Voorhies; Pathmark at Nostrand & Ave Y; Kosher Palace; Fine-Fare; Key Food everywhere; and etc, etc. If you’re just looking to get some basic food, you can try Basic Foods on Coyle St.
Read more of my commentary after the jump.
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