Summer Streets Redux

The city's second annual Summer Streets program will expand this year to 14 temporarily car-free locations.

Events in Brooklyn include:

• Williamsburg Walks – Bedford Avenue between North 4^th and North 9^th Streets, Saturday July 4^th and 11^th, 12 p.m.- 9 p.m.
• Summer Plazas on Fifth -- 5^th Avenue between 48^th and 52^nd Streets, Sunday July 19^th, 26^th and August 2^nd, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
• Sunday Scene on Knickerbocker – Knickerbocker Avenue between Suydam and Starr Streets, Sunday July 19^th, 26^th and August 2^nd, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Pitkin Saturday Plazas – Pitkin Avenue between Strauss and Thomas Boyland Streets, Saturday September 12^th, 19^th, and 26^th, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Move About Myrtle – Myrtle Avenue between Clinton Street and Emerson Place, Sunday September 6^th, 13^th, 20^th, and 27^th, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Calendars are available on http://nycgo.com/

The press release from NYC.Gov.

The 69th Street Pier at Dusk

Digital Vampire?

Crain's New York reports that, in a recent speech, Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, called Google a "vampire sucking the blood" out of newspapers -- and said that big media is sharpening a stake.

Hinton sees the newspaper industry, by allowing free access to its content on the Web, as offering its virtual neck to Google's "fangs".

Hinton's speech reflects the growing outrage of newspaper publishers about Google making money from their content. They are trying to find ways to start charging for access, like the Wall Street Journal does.

Hinton says his division is developing a new Web-based business platform that will essentially bundle subscriptions to the Journal and other publications.

The article -- free for now -- from Crain's NY.

A Gift to the Community

OTBKB reports that Old First Reformed Church in Park Slope, with the help of 39 volunteers from a sister church in Ohio, is restoring its historic sanctuary.

The volunteers include 30 youth and 9 adults from New Hope Reformed Church of Powell, Ohio, who arrived on Saturday, June 20 to work for a week painting the sanctuary.

The Gothic Revival Old First was dedicated in 1891. Its interior is considered one of the finest examples of arts and crafts design in the U.S.

The plan calls for restoring the walls to their original earthy Florentine tones .

Through the Reformed Church’s "Project Samuel", volunteers from across the U.S. work on church renovations and in shelters, soup kitchens, and missions.

Old First is regarded by its members as a spiritual offering to the community and as a sanctuary for all.

The public is welcome to stop by the watch the restoration work.

Uncle Bernie Gets the Max

AP reports that disgraced 71-year-old fraudster Bernie Madoff has been sentenced to 150 years in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin called Madoff's fraud so "extraordinarily evil" that he wanted to give Madoff's victims satisfaction -- and send a message to potential copycats.

Scattered applause and whoops of joy broke out in Judge Chin's packed Manhattan courtoom when the sentence was delivered.

Chin brushed off Madoff's requests for leniency, characterizing Madoff's crime as "staggering": Madoff's victims lost more than $13 billion.

Madoff showed no emotion as 9 of his victims testified, some weeping openly.

Allocuted by the court, Madoff minimized his crimes, and his wife, Ruth, claimed she was a victim, too.

A $171 billion forfeiture order has stripped Madoff of all his property. A $7 million Manhattan apartment where Ruth Madoff still lives, an $11 million Palm Beach estate, a $4 million home on Long Island, and a $2.2 million boat will be liquidated.

Once a trusted money manager, Madoff confided to his sons last year as Wall Street tumbled that it was "all just one big lie."

Madoff pleaded guilty in March to securities fraud and related charges.

Madoff's liquidated assets will be used to compensate the thousands of victims who have filed claims, but only a fraction of their losses will be covered.

Madoff never invested any of the money entrusted to him.

The article from the AP.

Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest

South Brooklyn is fast becoming a competitive eating destination.

On July 4th, Nathan's hot dog stand will again host the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Title-holder Joey "Jaws" Chestnut will face veteran champion and arch rival Takeru Kobayashi.

Last year, the two champions tied at 59 frankfurters in 10 minutes and ended up in a 5-dog overtime munchdown.

Italian national champion Franco Camerini and graduates of Nathan's 16-city American farm system will also compete, but Chestnut and Kobayashi are expected to dominate the contest for the mustard belt.

In the runup to the main event on July 3rd, a team of three humans will face down a three-elephant team from Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus in a hot dog bun eating contest.

The post from Serious Eats.

Second Annual Fourth of July Picnic in Bay Ridge

If you plan to be in town 4th of July weekend, stop by the 2nd Annual Bay Ridge Fourth of July Picnic at the 82nd Street Field @ Shore Road.

The event, hosted by State Senator Martin Golden and sponsored by Ben Bay Kiwanis, Super-Roofer and Frankie Marra, will take place from 11 AM to 9 PM on July 4th.

In addition to music, food, games and prizes, there will be sprinkers and rides for kids.

Admission is free.

Bring a picnic or buy hot dogs, hamburgers, sausages, drinks, ice cream and more from the outdoor grill.

Blankets, chairs, family and friends are welcome -- but please don't bring your grill or beach umbrella.

Music will be provided by 7 live bands: Pill Hill Radio, High Tides, The Ridge, John Lepore & the Silver Falcons, The Rockinghams, Prodigal Child -- and of course, Frankie Marra and his band.

The proceeds will be donated to the 68th Precinct Youth Council , CERT 1 NYC and Bravo.

Rainbow on the Block

Just as I was coming out of the subway on Friday evening, the sun came out while it was raining, a phenomenon my grandmother used to call "the Devil meeting his wife".

As I turned the corner on Fourth Avenue, I saw a rainbow over my block, which seemed to be a good-luck sign.

Later, walking toward Dyker Heights, I saw these uniquely-formed clouds illuminated by the sunset.

Only Himself to Blame?

Michael Bloomberg calls the city's pension system "out of control", accusing it of threatening to bankrupt the city.

But the New York Times says that, while he blames Albany and the city's unionized workers, Bloomberg himself is most responsible for the growth in city pension costs over the last 8 years.

Since he took office, the city's pension contributions have quintupled from 1.4 to to $6.3 billion and now account for one out of every 10 dollars in the city budget.

How did this happen? In a word: pay increases. Bloomberg has approved salary increases that account for almost 30% of the spike in city pension costs from FY 2002 through 2008 — about $1.2 billion.

Bloomberg blames the spike on the economy, Albany, and the unions, but in fact, he has supported state legislation sweetening pensions for uniformed city workers and offering teachers early retirement.

The mayor’s biggest contribution to pension costs has been the pay increases he claims have raised "productivity" and attracted "more qualified" job candidates to the city workforce.

In his first term, Bloomberg bargained hard with city unions, demanding lower starting salaries and fewer sick and vacation days. But in his second term, his stance softened, and Albany and the city's unions are not likely to give back his concessions now.

Bloomberg's critics accuse him of using collective bargaining concessions to buy union votes.

The article from the New York Times.

Queens Crap, via Room 8, characterizes Bloomberg as a "vile little man".

Link Roundup

Bay Ridge post office faces closure. Marty Golden writes a letter.

More on the post office closing.

The Brooklyn Fourth of July Parade.

The latest front in the Bay Ridge food cart wars.

Vanishing New York's Michael Jackson tribute: The Wiz

Cityroom post on IPod volume garners 111 comments.

The 68's Fourth of July fireworks crackdown.

Fifth Avenue Festival the best ever.

Flikr slideshow of the 2009 Coney Island Mermaid Parade.

The latest on the Bay Ridge spite wall -- Gershon vs. Cunningham.

The N and R trains fare poorly on a Straphanger survey.

Paterson goes to court seeking help in ending the three-week standoff in the State Senate.

Michael Jackson tribute at Dreamland Roller Rink in Coney Island.

Prospect Heights Landmarked

The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission has designated a new historic district in Prospect Heights encompassing some 850 single-family row houses, apartment houses and institutional and commercial buildings built between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries.

The Prospect Heights Historic District is the largest created since the Upper West Side-Central Park West Historic District was designated in 1990.
The new district, north of Prospect Park, is bounded by Atlantic Avenue, Eastern Parkway, Flatbush Avenue and Washington Avenue.

The Prospect Heights neighborhood was developed after the completion of the 585-acre Prospect Park in 1873 -- and the coming of rapid transit.

Two 1850s frame buildings at 578 and 580 Carlton Avenue are the earliest structures in the neighborhood. The earliest row houses, mostly in the neo-Grec, Italianate, Anglo Italianate or Second Empire styles, date from the mid-1800s, with later Romanesque and Renaissance Revival style houses dating from the late 1800s. Several buildings are in early 20th century retro styles like Colonial Revival and neo-Georgian.

The district includes the Romanesque Revival Duryea Presbyterian Church, the 1885 Public School 9 Annex and the 1938 Art Moderne Mount Prospect Laboratory, which now houses Community School District 133.

The article from the Times Cityroom Blog.

Press release announcing the new historic district from NYC.Gov.

Queens Crap puts the new landmark district in context.

Record Year for Construction

According to the New York Building Congress analysis, a record $31.8 billion was spent on construction in New York City in 2008.

Public sector projects funded by city, state and federal agencies and state and regional authorities accounted for $15.0 billion -- or about half of all construction spending for the year.

Non-residential construction -- office space, institutional development and sports/entertainment venues -- has more than tripled in the past 5 years.

Residential construction also boomed last year, with the number of new units produced topping 30,000.

Construction employment was up for the 11th straight year in 2008, with more than 100,000 workers engaged.

This year? An estimated 17 big projects are stuck in the pipeline.

The article from New York City Construction Outlook.

Fort Greene Building Collapse

Monsoon rains, neglect and poor enforcement have put the former residents of 493 Myrtle Avenue, a 4-story apartment building in Fort Greene, on the street with little more than their lives.

The city's Department of Buildings will now determine what caused the building to fall down.
A DOB inspector issued a violation on May 1 because of a longstanding crack running all the way from the first floor to the roof of the building, finding it was not necessary to evacuate.

The contractor hired by the owner to fix the crack covered the whole side of the building with scaffolding, which may have put too much weight on the building.

Neighboring 491 Myrtle now has to be demolished, and two other buildings, 489 and 497, remain vacant after evacuation.

Former residents of 493 told the Post that the landlord had known about the crack for years.

The article from the Post.

The DOB takes no blame for the building collapse, from QC.

Unbought

As Theodore Hamm, editor of the Brooklyn Rail, points out, we have a 1976 U.S. Supreme Court case, Buckley v. Valeo, to thank for the fact that Michael Bloomberg can spend unlimited cash to buy a third term in office.

The estimable Thurgood Marshall, dissenting from that portion of the Buckley opinion dealing with self-financed campaigns, advocated financing restrictions to reduce the "natural advantage of the wealthy candidate" and promote equal access by all qualified political candidates.

Marshall's words strike Hamm as "quaint" in Post-Reagan America.

The city’s public financing system, which provides matching funds at a ratio of up to 6-1 in mismatched elections like this year's mayoral race, aims to level the playing field, but self-financed political campaigns like Bloomberg's are protected by Buckley as "free speech" under the First Amendment.

Of course Bloomberg's speech isn't free: it's all paid for.

Now that Bloomberg has bought his way around term limits, our last defense against his financial might, and owns the mainstream media, why, wonders Hamm, would he bother beating up on reporters who dare to ask him challenging questions?

Maybe because he's reminded that there is something he can't buy: a free press.

The link.

Bennett House

Once in a blue moon, Bay Ridge gets historic preservation right.

The wood-frame Greek Revival Joseph Bennett house, originally built around 1847 on Shore Road overlooking the Narrows, was moved to 199 95th Street in 1913.

The house, with Fort Hamilton, is one of the few buildings that predate the development of Bay Ridge in the 1930s.

The Delliturri family, which bought the house in 2000, has fully restored it -- with the help of the New York Landmarks Conservancy Historic Properties Fund.

When the previous owner died in 1997, the estate put the property on the market. Astute neighbors, knowing it was a prime development site, got in touch with the New York Landmarks Conservancy, which advocated with the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate the house as a local landmark.

The house was designated as an individual landmark in 1999.

The Delliturris have restored it in stages. The architect they used for the exterior restoration, referred by the Conservancy, encouraged them to apply to the Historic Properties Fund.

They were approved for a $200,000 loan in April, 2003.

Using historic family photos, the architect prepared plans and specs for the work, including a new roof, skylight, drainage systems, window restoration, shutter replacement, clapboard repair, exterior repainting, porch restoration, stucco removal, and historic brick restoration.

The Delliturris chose to rebuild the historic parapet, which runs along the roofline and at the front and rear porches, as seen in historic photos of the house.

The link.

Kunstler Documentary

On Thursday, June 25th, Rooftop Films will screen the documentary film William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe, an intimate look at famed civil rights lawyer William Kunstler, arguably the most loved and hated celebrity lawyer of all time.

The film will be screened in the parking lot across from BAM Cinematek @ Fulton and Ashland in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Take the 2/3/4/5/B/Q to Atlantic Ave or D/M/N/R to Pacific St.

Doors open at 8 PM; live music at 8: 30 PM; screening at 9:00 PM; after-party from 11:00 PM–12:30 AM.

Tickets are at $11 and can be purchased online.

On Saturday, June 27th, Rooftop Films presents Voices from El-Sayed, a documentary about the impact of technology on the world’s largest community of deaf people in Gowanus, on the roof of the Old American Can Factory, 232 3RD St. @ 3rd Ave. in Gowanus/ Park Slope, Brooklyn. Take the F/G to Carroll St. or the M/R to Union Ave.

Doors open at 8:00 PM; live music at 8:30 PM; screening at 9:00 PM; reception from 11:00 PM–12:30 AM.

Tickets are $9-$25 and can be purchased online.

The July schedule for Rooftop films.

First Dad Obama on Fatherhood

"As the father of two young girls who have shown such poise, humor, and patience in the unconventional life into which they have been thrust, I mark this Father’s Day—our first in the White House—with a deep sense of gratitude. One of the greatest benefits of being President is that I now live right above the office. I see my girls off to school nearly every morning and have dinner with them nearly every night. It is a welcome change after so many years out on the campaign trail and commuting between Chicago and Capitol Hill.

But I observe this Father’s Day not just as a father grateful to be present in my daughters’ lives but also as a son who grew up without a father in my own life. My father left my family when I was 2 years old, and I knew him mainly from the letters he wrote and the stories my family told. And while I was lucky to have two wonderful grandparents who poured everything they had into helping my mother raise my sister and me, I still felt the weight of his absence throughout my childhood.

As an adult, working as a community organizer and later as a legislator, I would often walk through the streets of Chicago’s South Side and see boys marked by that same absence—boys without supervision or direction or anyone to help them as they struggled to grow into men. I identified with their frustration and disengagement—with their sense of having been let down.

In many ways, I came to understand the importance of fatherhood through its absence—both in my life and in the lives of others. I came to understand that the hole a man leaves when he abandons his responsibility to his children is one that no government can fill. We can do everything possible to provide good jobs and good schools and safe streets for our kids, but it will never be enough to fully make up the difference.

That is why we need fathers to step up, to realize that their job does not end at conception; that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise one.

As fathers, we need to be involved in our children’s lives not just when it’s convenient or easy, and not just when they’re doing well—but when it’s difficult and thankless, and they’re struggling. That is when they need us most.

And it’s not enough to just be physically present. Too often, especially during tough economic times like these, we are emotionally absent: distracted, consumed by what’s happening in our own lives, worried about keeping our jobs and paying our bills, unsure if we’ll be able to give our kids the same opportunities we had.

Our children can tell. They know when we’re not fully there. And that disengagement sends a clear message—whether we mean it or not—about where among our priorities they fall.

So we need to step out of our own heads and tune in. We need to turn off the television and start talking with our kids, and listening to them, and understanding what’s going on in their lives.

We need to set limits and expectations. We need to replace that video game with a book and make sure that homework gets done. We need to say to our daughters, Don’t ever let images on TV tell you what you are worth, because I expect you to dream without limit and reach for your goals. We need to tell our sons, Those songs on the radio may glorify violence, but in our house, we find glory in achievement, self-respect, and hard work.

We need to realize that we are our children’s first and best teachers. When we are selfish or inconsiderate, when we mistreat our wives or girlfriends, when we cut corners or fail to control our tempers, our children learn from that—and it’s no surprise when we see those behaviors in our schools or on our streets.

But it also works the other way around. When we work hard, treat others with respect, spend within our means, and contribute to our communities, those are the lessons our children learn. And that is what so many fathers are doing every day—coaching soccer and Little League, going to those school assemblies and parent-teacher conferences, scrimping and saving and working that extra shift so their kids can go to college. They are fulfilling their most fundamental duty as fathers: to show their children, by example, the kind of people they want them to become.

It is rarely easy. There are plenty of days of struggle and heartache when, despite our best efforts, we fail to live up to our responsibilities. I know I have been an imperfect father. I know I have made mistakes. I have lost count of all the times, over the years, when the demands of work have taken me from the duties of fatherhood. There were many days out on the campaign trail when I felt like my family was a million miles away, and I knew I was missing moments of my daughters’ lives that I’d never get back. It is a loss I will never fully accept.

But on this Father’s Day, I think back to the day I drove Michelle and a newborn Malia home from the hospital nearly 11 years ago—crawling along, miles under the speed limit, feeling the weight of my daughter’s future resting in my hands. I think about the pledge I made to her that day: that I would give her what I never had—that if I could be anything in life, I would be a good father. I knew that day that my own life wouldn’t count for much unless she had every opportunity in hers. And I knew I had an obligation, as we all do, to help create those opportunities and leave a better world for her and all our children.

On this Father’s Day, I am recommitting myself to that work, to those duties that all parents share: to build a foundation for our children's dreams, to give them the love and support they need to fulfill them, and to stick with them the whole way through, no matter what doubts we may feel or difficulties we may face. That is my prayer for all of us on this Father’s Day, and that is my hope for this nation in the months and years ahead."

Pollution? What Pollution?

Every Brooklynite knows that the Gowanus Canal is a liquid toxic waste dump, so why shouldn't it be a Superfund site?

Because this is New York City, where every square inch, even if befouled by a century's worth of toxic sludge, is a potential development site.

Blogger Lost City reports that the bid to Superfund the Gowanus, announced by the federal Environmental Protection Agency in April, is getting serious push-back from developers and their friends in city government -- including the "environment-friendly" Bloomberg administration.

Why, you ask, wouldn't Superfunding be a good thing for the Gowanus? In a word, timing.

Before the Real Estate Bubble popped, the Toll Brothers got approval from the city to build highrise luxury housing on the Gowanus. Superfunding the Gowanus now would delay the development and make the Toll Brothers participate in the cost of cleanup, so they're arguing that the canal isn't that dirty and that they can clean it up themselves.

The Bloomberg administration and local Councilmember Bill DeBlasio side with the Toll Brothers, who spent almost half a million lobbying for the zoning change that let them build on the Gowanus.

Josh Skaller, one of 5 people campaigning for DeBlasio's soon-to-be-vacant City Council seat (DiBlasio is running for Public Advocate), sides with The Carroll Gardens Coalition for Respectful Development (C.G. CORD) and the Friends and Residents of the Gowanus Canal (FROGG) against the developers.

At a recent press conference outlining his position on the Superfund issue, Skaller said the Toll Brothers are using the same environmental "expert" and public relations firm Bruce Ratner hired for his disastrous Atlantic Yards project in downtown Brooklyn to challenge the EPA's Superfund track record, while failing to mention that the city has never attempted a cleanup on the scale of the Gowanus.

LC suspects that, if the EPA were to back out, the Toll Brothers would never clean up the canal, nor would the Bloomberg administration, which came up with a cleanup plan only after the Superfund designation was announced.

The Toll Brothers have been flyering the area, trying to turn residents against Superfunding.

The Mayor's Office, without formal notice to the residents of surrounding neighborhoods, has scheduled two meetings on the Superfund issue at 6 PM on June 23 and June 24 at P.S. 32 at 317 Hoyt Street, near President.

Like The Simpsons episode where Marge confronts Montgomery Burns with the three-eyed fish, LC wants to see Bloomberg, the Toll Brothers and DeBlasio prove the Gowanus isn't that bad by taking a swim in it.

The excellent post from Lost City.

More from Found in Brooklyn.

More from Brooklyn the Borough.

(Photo from Pardon Me for Asking.)

Link Roundup

Strawberry eating contest at the Bay Ridge Greenmarket tomorrow at 11:00 AM.

Twilight tattoo at Dyker Park Ballfield at 6:00 PM tomorrow evening.

The Brooklyn Public Library's budget spared.

The Department of City Planning approves Coney Island redevelopment plan.

City's unemployment rate hits 9%.

Tom Robbins riffs on Monster Rat and Espada.

Espada in dust-up with fellow senator.

Albany coupmeister Tom Golisano's PAC, Responsible New York, under investigation.

Charter schools bring federal $$$ to New York City.

Green Church Bulletin

As evidenced by the permits posted on the blue wall, and the fact that all of the windows had been removed from the building this morning, the demolition of the Methodist Sunday school building, on Fourth Avenue between Ovington and 72nd, has begun.

More from the New York Post.

Juneteenth at 227 Duffield

Tomorrow is African-American Emancipation Day or "Juneteenth".

Juneteenth, which was first celebrated in Galveston, Texas in 1865, is now observed across the U.S. and around the world.

Over the years, Juneteenth has evolved into a cross-cultural commemoration of African-American culture and achievement.

The Board of Directors of 227 Duffield Street, Brooklyn's first Abolitionist Museum, will celebrate Juneteenth this year with an evening of events, including informal discussions with local historians, community leaders and special guests, a documentary film, a tour of the museum, and drumming and dancing.

The celebration begins at 8:00 PM at 227 Duffield Street (a/k/a 227 Abolitionist Place).

Food and drink will be served. The suggested donation is $25.

For more information e-mail Raul Rothblatt at: 227abolitionplace@gmail.com.

Judge to Senate: "Not My Problem"

In an decision issued yesterday, Albany State Supreme Court justice Thomas McNamara refused to intervene in the legislative death match in the State Senate, telling the Democrats and Republicans that they'll have to find a way to work it out between themselves.

McNamara ruled that the controversy before him was "wholly internal" to the State Senate, and that it would be "improvident" for the court to intervene in the business of the state legislature, since it is a "co-equal branch of government".

In other words, the judge told the State Senate to grow up.

In filing the lawsuit, the Democrats sought to invalidate the election of Pedro Espada to replace Malcolm Smith as president pro tem of the Senate, and to invalidate Smith's replacement as majority leader with Republican Senator Dean Skelos of Rockville Centre.

There will apparently be no appeal.

Senator John Sampson, a Brooklyn Democrat, who will take over as "conference leader" of the Senate Democrats, said that Democrats will do as Justice McNamara directed and try to negotiate an end to the standoff with the Republicans.

The temporary restraining order that kept Espada out of the line of succession for the Governor's office expired with Justice McNamara's decision, meaning that Espada could serve as the state's top executive if David Paterson is incapacitated.

The decision, published in today's New York Law Journal, is Smith v. Espada, 4912-09.

Existential?

Columnist Michael Wolfe sees Michael Bloomberg's position in his third term run as "existential": he's unwanted by most voters, but apparently undefeatable because of his wealth.

The wealth didn't bother New Yorkers so much the first 2 times he ran, but now that the good times are over on Wall Street, the $20 million Bloomberg has spent on his campaign jars.

Wolfe thinks the mayor's biggest problem may be that he's so flush at a time when so many New Yorkers are hurting.

He got even richer during the financial collapse.

Wolfe sees Bloomberg's term-limits extension move in the City Council, where he used his financial muscle to buy off his opponents, as a voter turnoff -- but one the mayor seems to have seen as a worthwhile risk.

And then, says Wolfe, there's Bloomberg's brittle, arrogant, cruel treatment of reporters.

But Bloomberg wants that third term and he can afford it, making it a "why not", Wolfe says.

The mayoralty as luxury goods? I like that.

The article from Newser.

Updating Air Traffic Control Systems

Maybe, like me, you assumed that commercial airlines were using GPS by now. After all, you've got GPS in your cell phone, so why wouldn't it be guiding airplanes?

But we'd both be wrong.

According to a report from the Associated Press, the FAA has yet to upgrade to a satellite-based air-traffic control system. U.S. aviation is still using a WWII-era air traffic control network that wastes billions of dollars in fuel by forcing planes to take longer, less direct routes.

The AP analogizes our current system, compared to GPS, to using an electric typewriter when others are using computers.

The "NextGen" upgrade, which would replace the radar system with GPS technology, would cost $35 billion. Proponents say it would triple air traffic capacity, cut delays by at least half, improve safety, and curb greenhouse gas emissions.

The AP estimates that, if the upgrade were in place, airlines could have saved more than $5 billion in fuel costs this year alone.

But lack of funding, technical complexity and politics have delayed NextGen for a decade, and it is not likely to be fully operational until the 2020s, if then.

Many European countries, China and Mongolia already use GPS technology.

U.S. airlines would spend about $200,000 per plane -- an estimated total of $15 billion -- to equip their fleets with GPS, but most carriers don't want to retrofit their planes until the U.S. completes the NextGen upgrade.

Experts say that NextGen would allow aircraft to land, fly and takeoff closer together, reducing delays; and although more planes would be up, the technology would reduce the risk of collisions.

The article from USA Today in the Sky Blog.

Green Church Bulletin

The City Council has approved a proposal by the city's School Construction Authority to build a 680-seat elementary school on the corner of Ovington and Fourth Avenues, named for the historic Bay Ridge United Methodist Church (" The Green Church").

Last fall, developer Abe Betesh, holder of a contract of sale for the property, demolished the Green Church, which was listed in the State and National Registers of Historic Places, supposedly to make room for a new 72-condo development.

Local preservationists who fought a two-year battle to save the church were denied a designation hearing by the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The city's Department of Buildings, after the church was down, refused to approve the planned condo development.

According to the Brooklyn Paper, the property is now off the market, presumably because Betesh is flipping the parcel to the SCA for an undisclosed amount.

Cavalier, Betesh's demolition contractor, has a permit from the DOB to demolish the former Methodist Sunday school building, the last structure standing on the site.

There is a "stop-work" order on the "blue wall of death" in front of the Sunday school building. It appears that the order pertains to the wall itself, constructed before the DOB issued the demolition permit for the Sunday school building.

The article from the Brooklyn Paper.

Cap Your Own Carbon

Here are 10 things you can do -- at home or at the office -- to help reduce global warming and lower your bills:

• Buy organic and locally-grown food. Chemicals used in factory farming are energy-intensive to produce and pollute our drinking water. And carry a reusable shopping bag.
• Hang your clothes out to dry. Line-drying clothes instead of using a dryer saves up to 700 pounds of carbon dioxide and cuts your electric bill.
• Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, which use 66% less energy. By replacing just 3 of the bulbs you use most frequently, you can save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide and lower your electric bill.
• Buy a hybrid, or at least a car that gets good mileage. On average, driving a hybrid saves 16,000 pounds of carbon dioxide and $3,750 on gas a year.
• Keep your tires properly inflated and change your air filter regularly. You can waste as much as 250 pounds of carbon dioxide and $840 in gas money a year by running your tires too low.
• Use less hot water. Set the thermostat on your water heater no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit to save money and reduce emissions. Save even more by insulating the water heater. Better yet, switch to tankless to save 300 pounds of carbon dioxide and shave $390 off your electric bill annually.
• Shorten your shower. Showers account for two-thirds of all water heating costs, so taking a shorter shower can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Installing a low-flow showerhead saves another 350 pounds of carbon dioxide.
• Unplug unused appliances. Even when an electronic appliance is turned off, it uses energy as long as its plugged in. Unplugging saves more than 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide and $256 a year.
• Turn down the thermostat. Turning the thermostat up 2 degrees up in summer and down 2 degrees in winter can save 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide and $98 a year.
• Plant a tree. Trees clean the air by sucking up carbon dioxide. One tree can save 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

And here are 10 more things you can do:

Go vegetarian. A meatless or low meat diet can have big benefits in terms of climate change mitigation, including freeing up pastureland for forests. Forests soak up large amounts of carbon dioxide and can make a dent in global warming pollution when combined with reduced methane emissions from animals. Click here to read more.

Stop mowing. Let your lawn grow tall or spread wildflower seeds, etc., which will eventually lead to a more naturalized environment, encouraging wildlife back to sterile areas.

If you’re going to mow, push. Use your muscles instead of fossil fuels, get some exercise, and save an average of 80 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. Click here to learn more.

Use recycled paper. Making sure your printer paper is 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper can save up to five pounds of carbon dioxide per ream (500 pages) of paper. Click here to learn more.

Don’t idle. Idling your car wastes money and gas and generates pollution and global warming-causing emissions. Except when you’re in traffic, turn your engine off if you sit for more than 30 seconds. Click here to learn more.

Reduce garbage. Buying products with less packaging and recycling paper, plastic and glass can save as much as 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. Click here to learn more.

Use a reusable water bottle. Every hour in the U.S. , 2.5 million individual plastic water bottles are thrown away. Start using a reusable water bottle and just say no to plastic! Click here to learn more.

Get a home energy audit. Many utilities offer free home energy audits. Find out if your home is poorly insulated or energy inefficient. You can save up to 30% off your energy bill and 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Click here to read more.

Try a staycation. Air travel produces large amounts of emissions, so cutting back how much you fly by even one or two trips a year can reduce your emissions significantly. You can also offset your air travel carbon emissions by investing in renewable energy projects. Click here to learn more.

Encourage others to conserve. Share information about recycling and energy conservation with your friends, neighbors and co-workers, and take the opportunity to encourage public officials to establish programs and policies that are good for the environment.


For more information: http://www.stop-global-warming.com/

Thompson Hitting the Street

City Comptroller Bill Thompson, running for mayor against billionaire Michael Bloomberg, may not be spending large on advertising, but he's clearly burning up a lot of shoe leather walking the streets of New York's neighborhoods.

Thompson has been stumping in neighborhoods throughout the city every weekend, talking to voters. He spent all last weekend running a ground campaign in Queens.

Thompson has accused Mayor Bloomberg of cutting New Yorkers out of the "conversation" about New York City's future, saying that you can't understand what voters want if you don't listen to them.

Instead of spending nearly $20 million on a media blitz, said Thompson, the mayor should go outside and talk to people on the street.

This week, Thompson will host "meet and greet sessions" in neighborhood venues in all five boroughs.

"Late Nights with Bill", on the downtown/Brooklyn axis: http://www.thompson2009.com/page/s/nightswithbill1

Lappin: LPC Must Account for RFEs

City Council Member Jessica Lappin, who chairs the City Council's landmarks subcommittee, has introduced legislation that would reform the process by which the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission handles requests for evaluation (RFEs) from the public.

Lappin's introduction responds to last year's State Supreme Court decision directing that the LPC set rules requiring all RFEs to be submitted, within 120 days, to an evaluation committee, which would then have to report its decision on the record to the full commission.

The LPC is appealing that Supreme Court decision, claiming it would be too much of a burden for it to have to evaluate all the requests it receives and accusing the court of interfering with its autonomy.

But Lappin said the agency has to be more responsive, and that people have a right to know what happens to their requests for evalution.

Second that.

The article from the New York Times:

Council Rolls for Dock Street

The City Council, by a vote of 40 to 9, has approved developer Two Trees' Dock Street Dumbo project, steps from the Brooklyn Bridge -- over the angry protests of neighbors, community activists and prominent figures like documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.

The vote gives Two Trees the go-ahead to build a luxury high-rise residential tower just east of the bridge in Dumbo, wiping out the view.

Two Trees lobbied for years for the project, in the process tarting up the highrise with a new middle school, "affordable housing" and "green" features.

Neighborhood resistance to the project remains fierce. The Dumbo Neighborhood Alliance, which gathered more than 25,000 signatures and postcards from people who oppose the tower, is now exploring its legal options.

City Council Member Eric Gioia, who opposed the tower, has uncovered e-mail correspondence indicating a possible sweetheart deal between the city and Two Trees.

"A lot of people rightfully suspect that the game is rigged,” said Gioia.

The article from the New York Times Cityroom Blog.

Dock Street approved after developer donation.

Walking to Brooklyn