An Urban Incubator Supportive of Permeability and Transparency in the Built Environment
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Friday, September 13, 2013
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Update: Flatbush Nostrand Streetscape Beautification Project
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| Flatbush Ave between Farragut Rd and E 28 St (East side facing south) |
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| Flatbush Ave bet. E 29 St and E 28 St (East side facing south) |
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| Flatbush Ave bet. E 29 St and E 28 St (East side facing south) |
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| Flatbush Ave bet. E 29 St and E 28 St (East side facing north) |
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| Nostrand Ave bet. Glenwood Rd and Flatbush Ave (Part I) |
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| Nostrand Ave (Part II) |
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| Nostrand Ave (Part III) |
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| Nostrand Ave (Part IV) |
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| Junction (2nd floor view) |
Friday, March 8, 2013
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Update: Flatbush-Nostrand Avenues Junction Project
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| Flatbush Ave between Farragut Rd and Glenwood Rd (east side facing south) |
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| Flatbush Ave between Glenwood Rd and Farragut Rd (east side facing north) |
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| Flatbush Ave @ Campus Hill Rd |
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| Nostrand Ave between Ave H and Flatbush Ave (South side facing east) |
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| Flatbush Ave between Nostrand Ave and E 31 St (East side facing south) |
Parkside Ave Plaza
This may be what the plaza in front of the Parkside Avenue station house may look like.
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| Bird's Eye view |
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| North view of Parkside Ave (In Sho/ ShoShields Studio) |
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| West view of Parkside Ave |
To get involved or get more information, there will be a meeting at Play Kids (676 Flatbush Ave) on March 3, 2013 at 5PM.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Flatbush Ave Entrance Tower (Erasmus Hall)
Was able to snap this "rare" shot of an open Flatbush Ave Entrance Tower open this morning.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Organization Will Use Most of Space; Existing Museum To Continue
| Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By Linda Collins
The newly renovated Erasmus Hall High School won a Building Brooklyn Award from the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce last summer.
By Linda Collins
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
FLATBUSH — It won’t be dilapidated for long. Members of the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACCI), and other organizations, plan to break ground on the major restoration of the deteriorating original Erasmus Academy in June.
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz announced that with help from the city, the state and his own office, the original Erasmus Hall Academy building will become the permanent home for CACCI.
Markowitz, who made the announcement in his 11th State of the Borough speech last week, said the project will preserve part of the borough's history while serving one of its thriving communities.
The building, located on the interior campus of Erasmus Hall High School on Flatbush Avenue, was built as a school in 1786-7 when Flatbush was its own town.
“This is a rare partnership, and we were working on this for over 10 years,” said Roy Hastick, Sr., president and founder of CACCI.
Currently based in 1,700 square feet at the Brooklyn Navy Yard where it has been for the past 15 years, CACCI has been seeking its own permanent home.
The academy, situated on the interior campus of Erasmus Hall High School, contains approximately 15,000 square feet and the organization will use most of it, sharing some of the space with a museum of education that had been there previously.
According to Hastick, plans include creating space for job skills and financial literacy training, a business services center, a cultural center, a technology area and a conference room.
“There will be an international component to promote trade between the U.S. and the Caribbean,” he said.
“I’ll be pledging a million dollars, and there is already a couple of million dollars that the State of New York has provided and additional money from the New York City Council,” Markowitz said last week. “And together we estimate that he’ll need about $7 million, but we’re well on our way to making the dream come true.”
Hastick told the Eagle that $2.7 million will come from the state’s Dormitory Construction Authority, $1 million from Markowitz (“who has been working very hard for us”), $1 million from the city’s Office of Management and Budget and $1 million from City Councilmember Mathieu Eugene.
“We are hoping for a longterm lease, 50 years or so,” he said, noting that the [city’s] Department of Education (DOE) will be the landlord.
“We feel that it’s important for not only Caribbean Americans but people in general, that young people be mentored and to make sure that we will partner with Erasmus Hall High School to teach new skills and serve as mentors to some of the students who are there,” said Hastick.
Preserving this site is also important to the school’s alumni association, which has been struggling for years to save the building.
Through the years the academy building has served as an administration office, a college counseling center and a museum, which highlighted its notable alumni, including Barbara Streisand, Eli Wallach and Beverly Sills.
“This is really a cause to celebrate,” said Markowitz.
The New York Landmarks Conservancy has also been involved since early 2010, when representatives toured the academy with members of the alumni association.
According to the conservancy’s website, the building had deteriorated so much that the DOE said it could not be used for classrooms and therefore was not eligible for DOE funding to make necessary repairs.
The conservancy commissioned a conditions study, completed by Cutsogeorge Tooman & Allen Architects in December, 2010, then met with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and his staff in February 2011 to apprise him of the plight of the Academy and to request financial assistance.
The Conservancy credits Markowitz not only for shepherding the review of this project through various city agencies, but for having the inspiration for an appropriate user for the site: CACCI.
The newly renovated Erasmus Hall High School won a Building Brooklyn Award from the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce last summer.Thursday, February 21, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Water Service Interruption on Church Avenue
NOSTRAND AVENUE SELECT BUS SERVICE PROJECT
PROJECT # HWK1130A
Borough: Brooklyn February 19, 2013
WATER SERVICE INTERRUPTION
Roger Ave between Church Ave and Linden Boulevard
&
Church Avenue between Veronica Place and Lloyd Street
February 19 - February 22, 2013
8:30AM - 4:00PM
The New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC) is managing a construction project along Nostrand Avenue between Emmons Avenue and Taylor Street and Rogers/Bedford Avenues between Emmons Avenue and Taylor Street. This project falls within eight (8) Community Boards: 1, 3, 8, 9, 14, 15, 17 and 18. To facilitate the installation of the 12” water main, a water shutdown is necessary. It will occur from February 19 to February 22, 2013, at/or about 8:30am and last approximately until 4:30pm each day. On occasion, this work may be completed earlier and water service restored.
SOME THINGS TO REMEMBER
- The DDC recommends that you shut off the water main valve in your house/building in order to avoid problems that may occur if/when sediment enters or is released from your plumbing.
- You are asked to shut off all WATER cooled appliances, which may include air conditioners, etc.
- Once water service is returned, turn the main house valve back on and flush the system by running your faucets to sinks and tubs for a few minutes.
We appreciate your cooperation and thank you for your patience while we rebuild NYC’s infrastructure.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
STATE of the HOOD: Community Board 14
The State of the Union/State/City is the annual review of accomplishment in the country, state, and city respective. This benchmark is critical for measuring progress and planing for the future all within the context of the local community board.
Community Board 14 is in a state of growth and expansion. This is evident in the numerous renovation projects being worked on this winter. The Department of Design and Construction's reconstruction of Church Avenue between Flatbush Ave and Rogers Ave is intended to enhance the streetscape of Church Avenue. The Flatbush Nostrand Junction Streetscape Beautification Project will also bring enhancement to the built environment of the junction. In addition, the near-completion of the Lakeside project promises to increase the usership of Prospect Park and the Loews Kings Theater will once again serve as an entertainment destination for New Yorkers and tourists alike.
Growth and expansion is also evidenced by the numerous vacant stores north of Church Avenue. The Blink Fitness franchise is preparing to open up a store at 833 Flatbush Ave that will open in June 2013. The former Chase Bank sits shuttered at the corner of Flatbush Ave and Linden Blvd waiting for a new tenant. Even the former Kidspace Daycare on Woodruff Ave between E. 21 St. and Ocean Ave. is undergoing construction.
The transformation in the built environment of community board 14 coupled with the influx of young professionals is transforming the ecology of the community. Community Board 14's state of transition presents residents the opportunity to witness firsthand the transformation of their community and to get involved in ensuring that when the construction crews and rehabilitation is over, residents will ensure that growth and expansion will continue to take place.
Fighting Flak from Newcomers, Parkside McDonald's Edges Out Local Seniors - DNAinfo.com New York
Fighting Flak from Newcomers, Parkside McDonald's Edges Out Local Seniors - DNAinfo.com New York
PROSPECT-LEFFERTS GARDENS — They're not really lovin' it.
PROSPECT-LEFFERTS GARDENS — They're not really lovin' it.
"Possibly the worst McDonald's I've ever been to, and I say that after having been to this one a number of times," wrote Yelper Jaime W., expressing a view common to neighborhood newcomers, who almost universally despise the McDonald's at 180 Parkside Ave. just outside Prospect Park's southern entrance.
But while hipsters may hate it, longtime residents adore the restaurant, calling it a haven for for seniors in the absence of a local community center.
"I've been coming here ever since this McDonald's opened, 25 or 30 years ago," said local resident Ralph Belgrove, 70, a retiree who comes most days to visit with friends, nursing one or two cups of coffee during his four-hour stay. "It's wintertime, we can't go to the park, so we come here and buy a cup of coffee. You sit awhile, buy a second cup of coffee — you relax."
At least, that's how it used to be.
"There's been a lot of changes," said grandmother Kathleen Adams, 67, who often spends a few hours in the McDonald's after dropping her 4-year-old granddaughter off for school.
In July of 2012, about a year after Jaime W. wrote his review, Juan de la Cruz took over management of the McDonald's on Parkside Avenue. He gave the quarter-century-old eatery a much-needed facelift this winter, reopening in January with new staff, a new service system, and a strict new enforcement policy for the chain's 30-minute seating rule.
"We feel that the community deserved a better place to eat," de la Cruz said of the changes. "When we took over, it was 30 minutes. Maybe in the past it was not enforced, but now we’re enforcing it."
While the seniors are pleased with the posh new appearance and snappier service, they say they're afraid to lose their quiet corner.
"We just come here to be with friends," said retiree Earl Duraham, 70. "Since New Year's, they've been more aggressive."
Without the restaurant, they say they'd be trapped at home through the winter.
"You don't want to sit in the house and look at the idiot box all day," Belgrove said. "We ain't got no other place to go."
Monday, February 18, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
MALCOLM in the MIDDLE
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| Harlem World |
The annual celebration of Black History Month in February is a timely reminder of democratic triumphalism, when Americans of color successfully multiplied their access to the American Dream. February is also the month when Malcolm X was assassinated in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. While Malcolm is largely remembered as a civil rights leader, his attention to the relationship between the built environment and its ecology can not be overlooked. Malcolm X possessed the components of an emerging urban practice/attitude in his public work and an early contributor to the ascension of urban planning/urbanism as an area of praxis.
For tourists and residents alike, Malcolm’s presence in the built environment of New York City cannot be missed. Lenox Avenue, named after philanthropist James Lenox, was co-named in his honor. This “X”-axis forms the primary north-south trajectory in Harlem, extending from 100 St to 147 St. This corridor provides a central route that leads from Central Park to the Harlem River, with Morningside Heights to the west and East Harlem to the East.
The centrality of Malcolm in Harlem arose from the primacy of Harlem to Malcolm. Before his departure from the Nation of Islam, he had already founded Temple No. 7 at the Harlem YMCA. From Harlem, Malcolm launched his start-up The Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) in Washington Heights, traveled to Greenwich Village to co-write his biography with Alex Haley, and commuted back and forth to his home in East Elmhurst, Queens. Even after his departure from the Nation, Malcolm remained “right here in Harlem, which has the largest concentration of people of African descent that exists anywhere on this earth” to incubate his praxis.
Malcolm’s identification with Harlem and its population was reflected in his program for urban development. The OAAU charter outlined fives issues critical to the urban environment- education, public safety, social development, electoral politics, and the economy. For example, his education platform resembled best practices in the field- transformation of schools to be educational showcases and the participation of the community in local school boards. And his political platform emphasized the importance of voter registration.
The legacy of Malcolm X as an urbanist empowers the reader in two ways. First, it provides a snapshot of what his life was leading to. His experience as a hustler provided the skills and knowledge of the street; his leadership in the Nation of Islam brought him to New York City; and his establishment of the OAAU enfranchised the Harlem community to mediate the built environment with its ecology. Second, it positions Malcolm and Martin’s activism in the context of one another. As Martin reminded the country of its national, revolutionary ideals, Malcolm worked to realize these ideals in the urban environment. His actions presciently forecasts the primacy of the cities as the destination for millions of people to live and make a living.
On this anniversary of his passing, Malcolm’s legacy of urban activism is needed more than ever to ensure that New York City remains both a world-class destination and a city of immigrants. Alongside Jane Jacobs, and Robert Moses, Malcolm X may be recognized as shaping the built environment and ecology of New York City for future generations.
Friday, February 15, 2013
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