Snowy Night on Bond Street

Peace and a Happy MLK Day to everyone. Glad the Israeli's have stopped bombing and that we are going to have a NEW PRESIDENT on Tuesday! Anyone having an inauguration party Tuesday night? Let me know!!!

Toll Brothers Public Hearing with City Planning * WEDNESDAY

This was written on this building, a couple months before the "crash".
Well, with the economy as it is and with vacant condos throughout the city I am hoping the Toll Brothers will just throw in the towel on the 363-365 Bond Street condo project, just too many health and environmental risks on top of the financial ones! Toll Brothers' condos on the Williamsburg waterfront are fairly vacant and "renting to own" at this point. I hope big Daddy Robert Toll puts the final kabosh on this one, I heard he was never really keen on the city projects and that VP for Development David Von Spreckelsen had to work hard to convince him, kill it Robert!!!PLEASE!!!!

Anyway, The City Planning Commission is holding a public hearing for the Toll Brothers' project at 363-365 Bond Street . Anyone can speak their mind, please attend if you are lucky enough to be able to make it on this Tuesday morning.

The hearing is scheduled for:
January 7
22 Reade Street in Manhattan.
The public meeting begins at 10:00AM.

Happy New Year from F.I.B.....

New Year's Eve Firework in Prospect Park
In a stroke of insanity, I ventured into Prospect Park in the freezing temperatures last night. I have never gone before and it did feel cool to be close to nature at midnight, i wish my camera was able to pick up on the sillouettes of the trees in the foreground... I wish all the FI.B readers a happy, healthy, peace filled New Year. May your cupboards have some food in it and you have friends and family to lean on sometimes. Keep fighting the man for me please 'cause they are the reason everyone's lives and places like Coney Island are such a mess right now. I hope to get back to blogging more regularly, I'm working a job (which i am very THANKFUL to have) that makes it difficult to do....Happy New Year Babies!!!

Merry Christmas,Happy Hanukkah,Happy Kwanzaa!

"Found in Brooklyn" wishes you all a relaxing holiday, low on worries and full on goodness. Peace!

Found on Carroll Street

Back to F.I.B's original premise....WHY DIDN'T I TAKE THIS HOME WITH ME? WHY?!!! I LOVE ELVIS! I even went to Graceland and had an mazing cat of the same name! I am exhausted folks, F.I.B has not been blogging much because I've been working like a dog and going to school. The semester is over, I am sooo happy not to have to take the F train to Bay Parkway and switch to a bus and get home at 11oclock at night...I'll be posting more often me thinks.If anyone cares!

Another Brooklyn Christmas....

F.I.B is always late to get into the holiday spirit and to quote from a blog post from last year where I said,
"I was raised in a house where we never got a tree until Christmas Eve. All my life I thought it was a quaint old world tradition (well, actually it kind of is) but a couple years ago I found out the real reason we did that was because the trees were half price on Christmas Eve.

Another childhood memory shattered."

If you want to read a a bit more about why I chose to divulge my saga to the world last year, click here!
And now I give you Christmas in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn USA!
President Street.Homer all alone on 1rst Place.Big drunk Santa!

Defend Gowanus! NO LOVE CANAL HERE! Please sign!

Even though CB6 approved the Toll Brothers project the community is still fighting, FOR GOOD REASON! I quote the Urban Divers comment on the petition here- because they tell it like it is:
"The Gowanus Canal has historically and continues to be the catalyst for the severe environmental denigration that challenges public health and has caused the economic decline of the community. CLEANING THE GOWANUS CANAL FIRST, before IMPOSING ENCROACHING LUXURY HOUSING and or OTHER HUMAN DENSITY DWELLINGS, is the only way to PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH, and RESTORE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY and SUSTAINABILITY. THE CLEANING AND RESTORING OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF THE GOWANUS CANAL FIRST, is the only way that the community, the city and the state will ever reap a REAL BENEFIT, and restore economic viability of the Gowanus Canal community and beyond."

Click here to sign the Defend Gowanus petition.

This petition is targeted at:Mayor Bloomberg, Borough President Marty Markowitz, Councilman Bill de DeBlasio.

NYHC A-7 Reunion Show: The Return of a bunch of former Reagan Youths

LOUD FAST RULES! So F.I.B is switching gears now from the theater to an amazing punk rock show (for some!) taking place at the soon to be closed down as of January 2009 Knitting Factory in money makin’ Manhattan. I ‘ve mentioned before that F.I.B was a “hardcore kid” in the 80’s before discovering her love for 60’s garage rock but I’ll mention it again. New York City in the early to mid 80’s had a thriving largely undocumented punk rock music scene largely run by mostly teenagers. Most were from the Lower East Side and Queens. This is the scene that Beastie Boys spawned out of… Anyways…there was a club on Avenue A and 7th Street in the East Village called the A-7 club that was the epicenter of the scene, it closed in 1983, I actually never went there but I did go to it’s second incarnation in an abandoned building at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Houston Street which probably closed in 1983 as well! It actually collapsed a few years ago. Anyway this music came out of the Reagan era and this show is billed as “A tribute to the A-7 Club”.

From the shows MySpace page:CONFIRMED BANDS INCLUDE:*76% Uncertain (paying tribute to CIA &; Reflex from Pain)*The Abused*Adam 12*Antidote (w/Nunzio on guitar &; Drew Stone on vox)*Borscht*Butch Lust &; Hypocrites*Armed Citizens**Disgrace (feat. Butch Lust, Steve Wishnia from False Prophets &; Dave Manzullo from UV)*Fed Up!*False Prophets*Fatal Rage*Payload! (feat. John Sox from the FU's doing FU’s &; Straw Dogs)*Ism*Jerry's Kids*Major Conflict*Modern Clix*Nihilistics*Rapid Deployment*Reagan Youth*Sexual Suicide (feat. Ex-Anti-Christ Newsboys/Trenchcoat Army)*SUX (feat. Jack and Paul from AOD)*The Oppressed NYC [1980 Queens punks; 1st and last ever gig!]*Ultra Violence*Urban Waste (feat. Johnny Waste, John Dancey &; Kenny Ahrens)*US Chaos*Blackout Shoppers*Violent Society*Government Warning*Waste Management*Reason to Fight*Cardiac Arrest*Virus NYC (feat James Kontra)*Lost Generation*Psycho (from Boston)* MORE TO COME! STAY TUNED...

Check out some of these excellent photos by photographer Drew Carolin to get an idea of just how young the scene was. Navigate your way to “matinee”, he took a lot of photos of “the kids” back in the day. FIB is in none of these photos but many friends are!

Show is Saturday December 6th, doors open at 6:30, 3 floors of bands
Knitting Factory is located at 74 Leonard Street, NYC.

See "London Cries" in Fort Greene at the Lafayette Presbyterian Church!

I went to see the performance by the Irondale Theater Company of London Cries last weekend with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the venue amazing, this Church, the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church is an amazing venue as it was the center of the Brooklyn abolitionist movement. Many noted people spoke there included Frederik Douglass and Charles Dickens. The church has a vibe which is perfect for this play/musical. I can tell a good thing when I actually pay attention, as I am apt to space out during things like this. I was forced to go to too many Broadway plays as I child (yes i saw Annie with Sarah Jessica Parker in the starring role!) and as result usually have no interest in"theater". Since I have always been a Dickens fan I decided to check this one out and i was RIVETED. Not only was the acting good, the music was too, the whole thing had an old music hall feel and the staging was fantastic (great boxing match!). If you are looking for something to do with family in town or even if they are not that is "special " for the holidaze I recommend this.

The details!

Based on Henry Mayhew's classic book London Labour and the London Poor . From the crumbling walls and recesses of an old London theatre the ghosts of yesteryear step forth to share with us their lives, their loves and the lilting melodies of a bygone Victorian era. Drawn from first-hand accounts of the traders and prostitutes, the sewer- men and flower-girls, the criminals and con-men who hacked a precarious living from the streets of the metropolis, LONDON CRIES speaks to us in words and music of the suffering but also the joys of London life as it was really lived.

The new musical London Cries by Di Trevis and Frank McGuinness has Music by Dominic Muldowney and thirty original songs from the London Music Hall. London Cries is directed by the Olivier Award-Winning Di Trevis.

Performances begin November 19th and run through December 20th, running Wednesdays – Saturdays at 8 PM, Saturdays at 2 PM.

Tickets are $40/ $15 seniors and students and can be purchased by going to www.ovationtix.com or by calling 212.352.3101.

The Irondale Center is easy to get to at the historic Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, 85 South Oxford St, Bklyn, NY bet. Lafayette and Fulton Street

Donald O'Finn Video Art Opening in Red Hook * Saturday

Donald O'Finn will be showing his stuff over at newish bar Botanica over in Red Hook this Saturday night. He is the mastermind behind those captivatingly bizarro videos on the TV over at Freddy's. The opening will happen upstairs and is free. The live music downstairs which includes Les Sans Cullotes and The Marvin Barnes TimeMachine has suggested donation and a portion of it will go to Develop Don't Destroy.

Here are the details as per the invite:

Video Art by Donald O’Finn will be on display at Red hook Bar, Botanica. Donald O’Finn’s video projections are compilations of strange and wonderful found footage, weaved and strained through his psyche into painterly narratives, and poetic loops. His work has been screened at the Hirshhorn Museum of Art in Washington DC., Anthology Film Archives in New York City, and Parkers Box Art Gallery in Williamsburg Brooklyn. Mr. O’Finn has twice been included in the Village Voice Best Off issues. (his videos have attained cult status from their constant display at Freddy’s Bar in Prospect heights, Brooklyn).
Live music provided by Les Sans Culottes and The Marvin Barnes Time Machine with special guest Paul Sullivan.

Bar Botanica, 220 Conover St. at the corner of Coffey St. in Red Hook. 718-797-2297

Two Important Meetings This Week Regarding Gowanus Corridor and Toll Brothers Project.

Would you want to live here? The Toll Brothers project.
There are two very important meetings this regarding the development of the Gowanus Canal area.

FIRST MEETING, MONDAY:

The Executive and Landmarks/Land Use Committees of Brooklyn Community Board 6 are pleased to host A Forum with Amanda Burden, Chairperson of the City Planning Commission

An update by Commissioner Burden on the department's land use activities related to the Gowanus Canal corridor. Developed from January through July 2007, the Department of City Planning created a land use framework for the Gowanus Canal corridor. The framework is a set of guiding principles relating to issues including use, density, bulk, and waterfront access, intended to provide standards for formulating and evaluating proposals for future land use changes. in May 2008 the Department of City Planning shared its draft rezoning proposal for 25 blocks along the Gowanus Canal with Brooklyn Community Board 6 and the community-at-large. Commissioner Amanda Burden will meet with the community to give an informational update on the statusof the department's land use activities and address any concerns.

THE TOLL BROS PROJECT IS BASED ON THIS REZONING PROPOSAL AND WILL SET A PRECEDENT FOR IT – ANY CONCERNS YOU MAY HAVE REGARDING TOLL BROTHERS PROPOSAL CAN BE ADDRESSED TO THE WHOLE FRAMEWORK.

DATE: Monday, November 17, 2008
TIME: 6:30 pm
PLACE: P.S. 32 Auditorium
317 Hoyt Street, (between Union/President Streets) Brooklyn, NY 11231

This Toll Brothers rep is just SO excited to build build build on toxic land! Say good bye to that background cause it's gonna be all glass and steel if he gets his way!
SECOND MEETING, WEDNESDAY:

Brooklyn Borough President’s Hearing on Toll Brothers Project

The Toll Brothers ULURP application to change Zoning to allow their Gowanus Canal project is now at the Borough President’s Office for review (after passing CB6’s review). This is our chance for the community to be heard again. John Hatheway and I will be making an updated presentation making the case for an 8 story height limit. This will bring the building height below the horizon from most Carroll Gardens vantage points, and equally important allows enough sunlight into the Canal Esplanade to make it a viable park. Our proposal has the same floor area as Toll’s, same affordable housing amount, same possibility for high end units, same economics for union labor. It differs from Toll Bros in that it has very little impact to Carroll Garden’s skyline AND it provides much better sun to the canal park.

PLEASE COME AND SUPPORT OUR PROPOSAL OR VOICE YOUR OWN CONCERNS.

DATE: Wednesday, November 19, 2008
TIME: 5:30 pm
PLACE: Brooklyn Borough Hall
209 Joralemon Street Brooklyn, NY 11201

Found on Union Street

Lots of cool muscle type cars are always around this strip of Union Street near 4th Avenue across from Holy Land Auto Repair. Most are for sale but I believe languish as they all have visual defects. Flat tires, no interiors, who knows maybe that's just a theft deterrent maneuver. They all have bitchin' paint jobs though!

"Cop Bar": A documentary music video set in Red Hook.

You never know what will land in the F.I.B inbox! Most of the time I don't post it unless I know you, I like what you are doing or you put me on the guest list but this one made me laugh. It will probrably offend most of you but I am out of my mind hence my last post and am abandoning any concept i ever had about F.I.B. If I want to be Perez Hilton, Dee Dee Ramone, Andy Warhol or Ruth Gordon so be it.

Enjoy and let me know what you think...did it make you laugh cause the casting was DEAD ON or are you offended and will never look at F.I.B again?

The press release about this masterpiece in music video making...

Acoustic rock artist Jimmy Lloyd recently teamed with director Josh Durham to shoot a full length music video for "Cop
Bar", the first single release from the singer/songwriter's self titled debut album. Shot at the Moonshine Bar in Red Hook, Brooklyn, Jimmy Lloyd called on cast members of the famous "Sopranos" series to make star cameos in the video. With appearances by Lou Martini Jr. ("Sopranos"character Anthony Infante), Danny Grimaldi ("Sopranos" character Patsy Parisi) and Louis Vanaria ("A Bronx Tale" character "Crazy Mario"), the "Cop Bar" video delivers a gritty, side-splitting punch as it introduces rock music¹s emerging star Jimmy Lloyd.

Attempting to place the creative spirit back into music videos, the screenplay for the video was completely created and written by Jimmy Lloyd."Cop Bar" is an uproarious look inside a gritty, tough NYC bar where a few "wise guys" (Jimmy Lloyd, Vanaria, and Grimaldi) find themselves as all hell breaks loose.

New Yawk, New Yawk, big city of dreams but you know it ain't always what it seems...

Still one hell of a town even though the Toll Brothers have the support of Community Board 6 to build on a sewer, read the dispicable details at the Pardon Me For Asking blog here....Yes I know I am quoting Grandmaster Flash here but to begin my Perez Hilton like post WHERE ELSE can you get in a conversation with a Baldwin brother (Billy) and the next day see Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers(apparently a Carroll Gardens resident) reading the New York Times on an empty 11pm F train subway car? Only in New York baby..only in New York.


BTW-the Baldwin chit chatted with a girlfriend and I in front of an art opening at Muoller-Snow Gallery (yes FIB has cultcha sometimes!) about the Obama party he was attending at "moby's" my friend said "at that TINY place?!" meaning the teashop or whatever he has and then it dawned on me.."his house M his house..." anyway he was nice and chatted for 10 minutes before bumming a smoke. The whole time we were half sure if he was who we thought he was and then it was the matter of WHICH of the 5 Baldwins was he? After googling the next day we figured it out, he was the "cute" one. Oh and later we saw Moby at this opening which was a throw back to the 1980's...a mixture of Gossip Girl style young socialites wearing floor length ball gowns (who knew people still wore those in THESE economic times??!), skaters, freaks, rich people, poor people and whoever happened to stumble in when they realized free wine was being served...later we walked the Bowery in horror, it all looks a dorm....but i guess if you have no memories of it before, it just don't matter.

Color Blocking on Bergen Street