Tree Party Patriots Plant Tree Protectors

If walking down Parkside Avenue from Flatbush suddenly became more pleasant, you have these intrepid volunteers to thank:

Twas raining and chilly

But that couldn't stop 'em

First you dig the holes in the four corners

Then you drop those homemade tree guards into the holes

Brilliant architect Tim Shields barking orders suggestions

Big shoutout also to Blaise for construction, and the whole Crew for its eyes fixed firmly on the prize.

Be a Tree Guardian Angel - Sunday November 17

It's true folks. The Parkside Committee has been given word that the promised Trees of Parkside will be here in time for a Thanksgiving miracle. And the committee has been busy preparing for the big day, even securing a commitment from Pioneer grocery to water the trees as they take root. Thank you Hector and his uncle!

A note from the Parkside Flora Ministree:

Lend Your Muscle to Parkside! Sunday, Nov. 17 at Noon So. Does anyone think that Parkside Avenue is an ideal avenue, or that the Parkside subway station is an ideal introduction to our neighborhood? No and no. But is there any plan to make them better, and can you help? Yes and yes! Let's recap: In the spring of 2012 there was a design contest, to re-imagine the block.

Winners Announced in Parkside Prize

In the spring of 2013, CB9 approved a final plan.

Makeover time for Q plaza.

And now, in fall 2013, we are breaking ground. Sometime in the next few days, the Department of Parks and Rec is telling us, the first five trees will arrive on Parkside, right where they are most sorely needed, in front of Pioneer. The folks on the Parkside Committee are working to make sure that these five trees do better than the two poor ones in front of Popeyes. They've secured a commitment from Pioneer to water the trees. They've secured 250 daffodil bulbs to plant around the trees. They've even bought the timber to build the guards that will protect these trees. But they need your help putting the daffodils in the ground, and putting the tree guards in! So come on out. Bring your muscles and your gloves. Bring your enthusiasm. Bring your kids. When: Sunday, Nov. 17 at Noon Where: Parkside @ Pioneer Supermarket Who: You, your kids, your neighbors. What: Daffodil planting, tree guard construction, general merriment.

Open Letter to Mathieu Eugene - Incumbent for the 40th Council District

Dear Mathieu "inside the flag" Eugene:

It started off so hopeful, and we had some nice times together. But for my sanity and for the sake of the 40th Council District, I think it's time we start seeing other people. Oh the heck with it...I'm breaking up with you, and here's why.

better days!

When I first met you a couple years ago, I was excited that you showed interest in dealing with trash and the Flatbush Trees, plus the Parkside Prize and our efforts to remake the plaza at my hometrain the Q. It turned out, though, that you couldn't even find a few bucks in your discretionary budget for a project that's been embraced by so many in the community. You gave money to all sorts of pet projects and churches and organizations that seem to mean something to you, but when the neighborhood pulled together to create a plan to improve the business environment and physical appearance of our humble part of the borough, you came up short. A councilman with six years experience should be able to command more resources than that. It's very disappointing. But that's just the sour icing on the fruitcake. I mean, how is it that after six years you're still near the bottom of the pack when it comes to dollars brought to your district? Like I said, very disappointing.


When you came into office, you cost the taxpayers roughly $400,000 because you failed to move to our district in time to get the election certified. You refused to state under oath that you lived here. Why exactly did you do that? Was living in the district you represent that unimportant to you, that you failed to cross your t's and dot your i's, and um, live here? And exactly how much time have you spent at the apartment in Flatbush, the one that you apparently have trouble paying the rent at? By the way that Ditmas Corner article I just linked to noted that you're occasionally seen taking your kids to school. I won't touch that one, but frankly I rarely see you out and about. Most council members spend a great deal of time getting to know their constituents. I mean, it's not like you're in Albany most of the time. You're right here in NYC. I see State Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs more often than you. Where are you most of the time? I'm shocked to say it, but I'm quite sad not to see more of you. Your reelection campaign website cites 2011 information. You have next to no presence ANYWHERE on the web. Google you then google Jumaane or Tish or Lander. It's bizarre. You're the only person I know who's able to hide from the internet!!


But now I hear that you're not even playing by the rules in your current reelection campaign. Why, Mathieu, did you send out a brochure trumpeting your achievements in the Council within 90 days of the Primary Election? Did you forget that this was absolutely against the law? It's called a "blackout period," during which you're not allowed to utilize your office or its funds to campaign. I wonder if the Campaign Finance Board has been alerted to this. Surely they, and the Council itself, must frown on such illegal activity. Very disappointing indeed. Is it true that your reelection campaign team (basically run by your well-compensated brother) had listed your district office on Linden Boulevard with governing authorities? Did you not know that this is also illegal? It's important to at least APPEAR to separate your office budget (that we all pay for) and the budget of your campaign, that frankly we all pay for too, but you have to at least raise 1/6 of it yourself from friends and supporters. Wait a second. You haven't been approved by the Board to receive matching funds. Why is that? Doesn't every candidate want 6 times their war chest? Or is there something preventing you from getting that taxpayer money? Poor planning maybe, or poor accounting, or maybe spending too much from the wrong kitty. Either way, it was a very big oversight, Mathieu. It's disappointing to be sure, but par for the course I'm afraid. You're just not interested in such thorny details.

Maybe someone whose job it is to look at such things will complete some sort of audit of your books. I'd be surprised if they didn't find more irregularities. You're just not very careful, at best, and perhaps even willfully negligent or criminal, or more likely, just plain incompetent. I've begun to suspect the latter, because I'd like to assume you're a nice guy who means well.

But Mathieu, meaning well is not a qualification for reelection. Don't take it hard; I still like you. But you're unfit for office, and certainly unfit to represent the people of Flatbush, or more accurately the various Flatbushes, since each micronabe and cultural community deserves to be recognized, respected and represented. There is just one community that you've shown interest in, and even the Haitian community deserves better than your generalized statements and much ballyhooed use of your office for immigrant information, a service that's provided to you pro bono anyway and would be to any councilperson living in an immigrant rich neighborhood. I suspect any of your challengers would do as well if not better at championing the causes of the Haitian diaspora.

My opinion of you went from disbelief (that any elected representative could speak with such vapid platitudes - check out this absurd video about domestic violence) to shock, when I sat around a table with some of my fellow members of CB9 to discuss the budget. You showed up late, but hey, you showed up. When we asked you whether you'd even read the Community Board's requests to the City, you clearly had never bothered to read it. We sent it to you Mathieu. It contains your districts most important needs and concerns. We voted on it as a neighborhood. You wouldn't have even had to come to an actual CB9 meeting (though you occasionally do to claim victory for some budget priority that you had little to do with getting). You could have read the document from your Campaign Office, er, District Office, or even at your primary residence in Canarsie. And you seemed to have NO IDEA how the City budgeting process works. That's, like, your most crucial job as City legislator. Six years in and you still don't know how the budget works?

Feel free to have your people contact me to verify or deny any of the things I've said here. I'm quite confident you won't, because frankly Mathieu, you don't have much to be proud of at this point, and much more to lose than to gain by picking fights.

Some of the newer or less politically minded folks in your district might wonder how you got elected at all. It's pretty simple really. The old council person Yvette Clarke, and the council person before that, her mother Una, hand-picked you to be their successor. Here's what Una had to say about you at the time.  “I think he will make an excellent and competent council member" and “Yvette and I are sparing no effort to help someone who will build on our legacy and do better than we did and that person is Mathieu Eugene."

I'm cc'ing you on my open note to Una: Hey Ms. Clarke, it's never too late to admit you got it wrong. Please, please use your clout and expertise at getting out the vote and endorse someone else, preferably Saundra Thomas, who actually has a website and a passion to lead the district. For the sake of the 40th that you love so much, please consider the good you'd be doing!


But Mathieu, here's hoping I see you again soon, back practicing as a doctor and not pretending to know what you're doing in public office. Actually, I've heard you don't know what you're doing as a doctor either, and have actually keeping up a ridiculous facade that you're even licensed to practice, but let's not go down that road.

See you in the 'hood! Flatbush that is, not Canarsie.

- The Q

These Are No Trees To Sneeze At

Real trees! Not the green sheet metal kind, though those too will soon have a new life...

Below you'll find the evidence that an ACTUAL meeting took place between the Parkside Project crew (nee the Parkside Prize), our winning architect In Cho (and partner Tim Shields) plus Nick from DOT and Annie from City Parks' Forestry department. Oh yeah, and that's Hector in the pic, from Pioneer Grocery, and Sonya from Parkside Project, who lives on Ocean.

In Cho and Annie from Forestry get serious

In the works? Up to 9 new trees, 6 from Parkside Court to the start of the Q train headhouse, two on Ocean, and potentially one right in front of the doctor's office. Really happening? You bet. Forestry is coming out to identify the below-pavement infrastructure, then DOT gets a chance to approve, and wham bam thank you graham we got ourselves a whole mess of saplings.

And this is the kicker (for me anyway), Nick did a time lapse of people coming from the train at rush hour. You KNOW I'm going to get my hands on that and post it. Maybe with a Koyaanisqatsi soundtrack?


Dang that felt good to be out there for the power meeting. Next up, the big dig?

Makeover Time For The Q Plaza

If you missed last Sunday's meeting at PlayKids regarding the attempt to remake Parkside Avenue, have no fear. Pictures are here! The indefatigable In Cho volunteered her skills and time to make a rendering that has now been presented to the DOT as an ideal use of their Plaza Program. If you recall, Rudy and company over at The Parkside Prize applied to DOT's plaza program last summer, only to be told they don't do major greening projects so close to the park. BUT, in the case of the Parkside Q, they'd help out by providing elements, from street trees and planters to benches and granite blocks, to improve the triangle and give it a major facelift. The catch? We as a community must help support it, financially, programmatically and maintenance-wise. And so, given the elements at our disposal, this is what In came up with. Drum roll....

Perhaps you recall her winning design from the Parkside Prize? It kicked butt, but who knew we'd have a chance to realize at least parts of the plan? Here was her utopian vision:

 I'm not entirely sure I don't like the new design better. Especially cuz you can't plant street trees over the train itself, which runs diagonally out of the station. And IT'S the one that actually stands a chance of happening. Now, there's a long way to go. Not least we need Pioneer Supermarket's buy-in, cuz they're gonna need to change to their chaotic delivery and canning situation. And we'll need them to help water the street trees, especially in their first years. There are lots of other things to discuss, but most important now is to get elected officials on board, some commitments of resources from them, and perhaps run a kickstarter.com campaign to raise funds for the actual plants in the DOT's planters. A leadership group has been formed to project mange this, and if you want to be more involved please, please email me and I'll forward your info. Very cool. And here's another view of the proposed elements in context. (FYI, the tree size represents the canopy, not the tree pit itself.)

Parkside Plaza - One Step Closer To Reality?

It's hard to imagine a bright future for Parkside Avenue without renovating the Q station (on for this summer!) and making the plaza itself more inviting. After meetings with DOT to re-imagine said plaza, after the Parkside Prize folks submitted a proposal, we've seen what the future MIGHT bring. But a lot depends on how much support we'll have from the neighborhood, and to what degree people are willing to step up and help maintain the plaza. Luckily, we have our Parkside Prize winner In Cho on board to make some professional renderings of various scenarios, to whet your appetite. Rest assured we'll be looking for as many street trees as possible. But questions remain about seating options, planters, the cost of maintenance etc. And so we need as many people as possible to show up at the next meeting about the Parkside Plaza, at Play Kids next Sunday. We really want to know what you think, so we don't start sprucing it up without lots of input. If we build a nice plaza, there will be uses for it too. Farmer's market? Talent show? Communist protest? Communist Farmer Talent show? Whatever your thoughts, please join us.
:
  WHEN:  Sunday March 3 at 5pm
  WHERE:  Play Kids, 676 Flatbush
  WHO: You, most discerning blog reader

After this meeting, Rudy and his team will be going back to the Dept. of Transportation, to try to arrive at a final plan for amenities on Parkside. 

In's coming up with a new picture we can look at by week's end. In the meantime, let me share with you one of my many losing entries. I'm still kinda miffed I didn't take home the gold, but at least you can see what might have been:

Meeting with DOT re: Parkside Plaza

Great news everyone. Some very cool folks at DOT met yesterday with Rudy Delson (founder of the Parkside Project and Parkside Prize), Martin Ruiz (president of PLGNA) and me (repping CB9) and they presented an idea for a true Plaza at the Q at Parkside. They will give us planning support, a bunch of toys (movable tables and chairs, permanent seating), landscaping (planters, a few tree pits along Ocean), and best of all, freedom to do whatever kind of programming we want. A farmer's market is the obvious choice. Atim Oton's Arts fairs can of course continue on Saturdays (DOT helped open the door to make that happen). Things like this have been done in places like Fowler Square (near the Smoke Joint in Ft. Greene) and in Clinton Hill. Respective images of those projects below, though ours would be first to happen right in front of the headhouse of a subway station.

The tough part of the equation is creating the right infrastructure to program and maintain the Plaza.  I'll help. PLGNA will help. Rudy's group will help. Will you?

We'll set up a neighborhood meeting soon. I hope you'll attend and get involved. We're being given an amazing opportunity, but it will take work and commitment. With the opening of Lakeside, this could be the perfect opportunity for our neighborhood to shine. The Q is super-pumped. I hope y'all are too!

Q's Movie Recommendation: Good Hair

 So glad to hear Tugboat's off to a speedboat start. I was struck though by how many people wanted to discuss both Feel Beauty Supply and Tugboat as if they were somehow part of contrasting visions of the neighborhood. Personally, I think this is a bit shortsighted. "Feel" is a great looking store, and is miles better than the giant vacant spot left behind by Mike's departure. And while I too have commented on the extraordinary concentration of beauty supply places and hairdressers, the two go hand in hand, and there should be no surprise why business owners keep looking to Flatbush to expand their businesses. We are a destination neighborhood for countless folks of African descent. I know I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but black hair is black hair! Black women (and men) have long sought to mitigate the kinkiness of the natural 'fro with products and weaves and braids that most white folks find difficult to comprehend. So a couple years back when I saw that the genius comic Chris Rock had made a documentary about African hair, I jumped at the opportunity. You can't stream it free on Netflix, but you can download on iTunes.

Flatbush deserves a diversity of businesses, and as I've noted here great things are happening. When everyone was dogging the neighborhood after K-Dog and Blue Roost's closings, I tried to stay upbeat, and I think folks have to realize that change takes time and the dedication of dedicated residents. People are beginning to mobilize in the neighborhood for all kinds of consensus-built change, and I'm overwhelmingly bullish on the area's ability to change smart and sensitively.There are new bizzes in the works on Lincoln Road. Change coming to plaza and train station at my beloved Q at Parkside. The cops are starting to pay attention, sanitation is being addressed, a building is finally coming to the huge vacant lot on Lincoln, new trees are being planted, the trees and plaza at Empire/Flatbush is being addressed, arts initiatives, youth initiatives...keep your eyes on prize folks! We're making progress...

Oh, and check out that movie and once you have please comment, respectfully of course. I'd love to hear what people think about the very industry that is so central to our neighborhood's economic vitality. A past post on local Cameroon-born hairdresser Laura Puemo here.

Newses

It ain't the Old Gray Lady, but we'll take it: Parkside Prize And a major local firefight may have been the result of lighting. Story here, from the ACTUAL Old Gray Lady. Very glad to see that there were no major injuries, though it was a great reminder of the fickle vengeance of Thor. Force majeure, indeed.

The Parkside Prize Goes For the Gold

In case you hadn't been paying attention to the Q's endless braying, here's the backstory: a diverse collective of neighbors calling themselves The Parkside Project have been clocking countless hours to try to turn the stretch of avenue from the Park to Flatbush into something more than an eyesore to be endured. Springing from the metaphorical loins of local author Rudy Delson, the idea to hold a contest to redesign the block resulted in an inspired winning proposal from local architects who, serendipitously and unbeknownst to the jurors, happen to live and work here in the area. In Cho of ChoShields Studio created a plan for the subway station plaza that is particularly sweet:

The folks at the Parkside Prize, in a bid to turn fantasy to reality, applied for funding from NYC's Department of Transportation's Public Plaza program. You've probably noticed plazas sprouting up all over town, so why not here? The Q received permission from the good folks at PLGNA to reprint some of the application's key narrative points here. (PLGNA is the official author of the proposal, since the Parkside Project is acting as a committee of PLGNA in order to leverage PLGNA's non-profit status and history of good works in the neighborhood). I urge you to read the app and comment away. This really is a plan for the people, so if you happen to be a people, let your voice be heard. Excerpts below:

...Parkside Avenue itself is predominantly commercial. The street is anchored by four large merchants (McDonalds, Duane Reade, Popeye's and Pioneer Supermarket), with a variety of hardy small businesses in between: take-out restaurants, dry cleaners, bodegas, 99-cent stores. And these businesses need to be hardy, because this is a terribly neglected block:

• There are no trees within fifty yards of Ocean Avenue.
• The few trees at the Flatbush Avenue end of the block are sickly, with sheets of plastic tangled in their crowns.
• Potholes plague both gutters.
• Thick scabs of paint peel from the entrance to the subway station at Parkside, and ailanthus trees colonize the subway roof.
• The traffic at Ocean and Parkside is constant and deadly, so that while Prospect Park is across the street, it might as well be miles away.
• Towering over the center of the block is 205 Parkside, which for years was occupied by squatters, and now sits vacant.
• Next door, the sidewalk has been commandeered by a squadron of bottle and glass recyclers.

Much of Brooklyn enjoys a renaissance; Parkside stagnates. This dispiriting block is the gauntlet that many thousands of Brooklynites must walk at the end of their commutes home at night. Parkside Avenue has been neglected by many city agencies for many decades, and cries out for attention.

The Parkside Project Committee of PLGNA was formed in the spring of 2011. It works to improve conditions on Parkside Avenue between Ocean Avenue and Flatbush Avenue. In 2011 and 2012, the Committee organized and ran a design competition, with $1000 in prizes, inviting architects and designers to imagine a new Parkside Avenue. The competition received wide publicity; the conceptual drawings submitted with this Public Plaza Grant application are the drawings that won the grand prize. The northeast corner of Parkside and Ocean Avenues is a quarter-acre triangle of concrete. There is nothing on this barren triangle: not one tree, not one bench. Year in and year out, commuters hurry across this plaza, eager to be anywhere else. This barren triangle is the entrance to our neighborhood. (This site is also an entrance to Prospect Park. Residents of Park Slope or Windsor Terrance can enter the park by any of several dozen quiet and leafy streets; residents of Flatbush can only enter by way of the concrete at Parkside. With the refurbishing of the Wollman Rink and the Music Island by the Prospect Park Alliance, many thousands of New Yorkers will visit our corner of Prospect Park for the first time. They, too, will enter by way of the concrete at Parkside.) We believe this quarter acre could be better utilized for two reasons. First, because on a day-to-day basis, the commuters and shoppers and children who live on and around Parkside need something more than barren concrete as the gateway to their neighborhood. Second, because Prospect Park, the jewel of Brooklyn, needs an entrance that extends its canopy and its open spaces into the surrounding streets. Instead of devoting a quarter acre in the heart of Brooklyn to barren concrete, we hope DOT will help us fill the space with trees, water, paving stones—and people.

In the last year, DOT has begun to take steps to improve the safety of the pedestrian crossings at Parkside and Ocean; we hope that DOT will see the advantages of addressing the other half of the problem, the underutilized triangle of concrete at Parkside. (We understand that DOT, in awarding Public Plaza Grants, takes into consideration the proximity of open space to the proposed site. Please see Note 3.) The Parkside Project Committee of PLGNA is devoted to bringing civic improvements to Parkside Avenue. As discussed below, in 2011 PLGNA held a design competition for Parkside Avenue; the winning entry featured the construction of a plaza at Ocean and Parkside. We have attached, as a .pdf file, a design board explaining the winning entry. We have also attached, as .jpgs, photographs of the intersection as it exists today. We think the visual contrast between what could be built at Parkside, and what exists today, says it all.

At present, the triangle at Parkside plays host to a weekly fair in the summer, the Arts & Culture Fest, organized by a 501(c)(3) called The Creative Side. We are friendly with the organizers of the Fest (they have submitted a letter of support for this application), and PLGNA would look to The Creative Side in developing programming in a newly built plaza. This programming would continue to include a weekly fair, with occasional musical performances. We have also discussed the possibility of expanding activities in the plaza to two days a week, with the Fest on Saturdays and a farmer's market on Sundays.

In the spring of 2011, a group of neighbors began meeting in a local coffee house with the aim of building community support for civic improvements to our poor Parkside Avenue: this was the birth of PLGNA's Parkside Project Committee. The original concept was simple. PLGNA would hold a design competition, open both to design professionals and to the general public, to solicit ideas for a new Parkside. State Senator Eric Adams, an early supporter, contributed $1000 toward the prize money. The Parkside Project Committee has a team of about one dozen consistent and energetic volunteers, and since those early meetings in 2011, they have repeatedly been in contact with the many merchants onParkside and with all of the local elected officials. (We believe this broad outreach is reflected by our many letters of support.) PLGNA announced the prize late in the summer of 2011, to wide publicity. Thousands of leaflets were distributed on the sidewalk in front of the Parkside subway station; hundreds of posters were hung in local businesses; nearly a dozen local colleges and universities were contacted; and PLGNA volunteers were interviewed in the local press and by local TV news. In the end, more than a dozen proposals were submitted by amateurs and professionals from across New York City.

In the winter of 2012, PLGNA convened a jury to select a winner. (If PLGNA were to create a Community Advisory Committee regarding a public plaza, it would begin by re-contacting these jurors.) The jurors consisted of four merchants who own businesses on or near Parkside Avenue, representatives from local block associations, an arts group called PLG Arts, and a landscape designer from the Prospect Park Alliance, as well as City Councilman Mathieu Eugene and State Senator Eric Adams. The winning design was submitted by Cho/Shields Studio. A .pdf of their winning design is included with this application. More entries can be seen at the prize website: www.theparksideprize.org. In March of 2012, PLGNA hosted a neighborhood party to show off the design and award the prizes. Again, posters were hung, leaflets were distributed, and all the local blogs advertised the night. Hundreds of neighbors attended the party; the delight and excitement that was expressed was incredibly moving. Later that month, the winning entry was presented to both CB9 and to CB14, where it was received with great enthusiasm. What we have here is a neighborhood in unanimity: Something new is needed. We very much hope that DOT will agree; we are eager to work with DOT to build a better Parkside.

About PLGNA - the Sponsoring Organization Submitting the Grant Proposal

PLGNA was formed in 1969 by residents of Prospect Lefferts Gardens who opposed unfair real estate and bank practices like redlining and wanted to form a working interracial neighborhood. One of its first projects was to document 300 abandoned and 300 deteriorating buildings within the neighborhood. In 1973, PLGNA became involved in a landmark legal battle to combat redlining. Over the years, it has helped tenants to organize unions and blocks to form associations; supported safety programs; transported seniors; developed youth programs; and served as an umbrella organization for other neighborhood groups, including many local block associations.

The Parkside Prize Gets Its Hands Dirty

Big kudos to all who showed up for the cleanup days this weekend, from FEPMA to NMA and a merry bunch of trashbag stuffers from the Parkside Prize/Project, who braved the seasonable temperatures last Saturday morning to make Parkside less trashy, even if just for a weekend. Thanks y'all!

Monumental Good News for the Q at Parkside

Every once in a while the Q's civic tears get jerked, in a good way. How else to respond, after repeated entreaties to local officials about the sorry state of our subway stations, all the while expecting a protracted fight to get anyone's attention -- to then get this response from Councilman Eugene's office today:

Dear residents:

My office has been in conversation with the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) regarding much-needed renovations at subway stations throughout the district. As you know, several subway stations along the B/Q line have already undergone renovations these past few years, including the Newkirk Avenue and Avenue H stations. I am pleased to inform you that the MTA will be completing additional renovations and repairs at the Parkside Avenue, Beverley Road and Cortelyou Road stations which are scheduled to begin next year. In the following months, I will make arrangements to have the MTA come to the community to present their proposal for the projects and participate in a public discussion. -  Mathieu Eugene

 

Really? Wow. I'm not naive enough to think this is the direct result of some of us a-squeakin' and squawkin' but sheesh...talk about nice timing! Local resident Dynishal and I met with Eugene in December and presented him with a bunch of photographs of the decrepit conditions and implored him to make this a priority. Rudy of the Parkside Prize has been featuring the sorry state of the Q station heavily in his presentations - to anyone who will listen, including most recently CB's 9 and 14. And the Q was about to put the following letter on Change.org and ask y'all to sign it as a petition. A terrific writer whose name rhymes with Moody Selson spruced  up the petition quite a bit, so I can't take full credit, but I think it captures the problem pretty well. Now we just need to get MTA to add Prospect Park's station to the list, and maybe the bland headhouse of the Church stop at Caton? And by the way, we'll need y'all to show up when MTA comes out to talk, because we need to stress that more than just the structural issues should be addressed. We need to gussy 'em up and get 'em to look purty! Here's the petition that might not need to be a petition, at least not yet...

PROSPECT PARK EAST SUBWAY PROJECT

A Call to the MTA from the People of Flatbush/PLG

to rehabilitate the subway stations at

PROSPECT PARK & PARKSIDE AVENUE

Every weekday last year, fifteen thousand people came and went from our neighborhood by way of the Prospect Park and Parkside Avenue subway stations. Each weekend, twenty thousand visitors used these two stations to reach Prospect Park, the Zoo and Botanic Gardens, and the thriving business district along Flatbush Avenue.

The generation that built the old Brighton line understood how important these two subway stations would be to the borough, and they built them as tributes to the people of Brooklyn.

The subway stations at Prospect Park and Parkside Avenue are elegant examples of old BMT “headhouses”—more than mere caverns carved under the street, they are buildings central to the streetscape above. They were meant to be the pride of our neighborhood: like Brooklyn's armories, libraries and schools, these old BMT headhouses were a symbol of the city's honor for its citizens and for its public life.

But they’ve sadly fallen into decay. Even as other stations along the same line receive glorious makeovers and major renovations, residents and visitors to the east side of Prospect Park suffer the discomfort of an ugly welcome, and the indignity of a shabby departure.

In the fall of 2012, the first phases of Prospect Park Alliance's $73 million Lakeside Project will open to visitors. A new recreation center with an year-round skating rink, acres of new green spaces and pathways, and a newly restored Music Island will together attract thousands of new visitors to east side of Prospect Park every week. The time is now to build a better Brighton Line to welcome this influx!

CALL TO ACTION

We—the regular riders of the Q and the B—together with our local elected officials, community groups, and merchants have come together to ask our MTA to rehabilitate our two stations - in the name of safety and aesthetics. We seek:

• A complete renovation of the historic headhouses, one that honors the century-old details of these fine buildings.
• A thorough engineering review, to prevent further damage to the platforms and embankments from ground water and weeds.
• Appropriate restoration of the ceilings and roofs, the walls, stairs and columns, the lighting and signage in both stations.
• A decent paint job.

Furthermore, we call on our MTA to better maintain the public structures we have entrusted to it by:

• Committing to keep these subway stations free of litter and graffiti.
• Committing to regular maintenance to ensure that broken doors and windows get fixed quickly and properly.
• Designating a point-person to serve as MTA's ombudsperson for the neighborhood, to create better communication between our neighborhood and the public transit agency that serves it.

Finally, we ask for:

• A review of MTA's use of public land adjacent to both stations.
• Long-term commitments to turn the triangle of concrete south of Parkside Station and the parking lot north of Prospect Park Station into public parks (as envisioned by the land use plan of Community Board 9).

We know that these are goals that the NYCTA-MTA shares—because we count so many MTA employees among our neighbors, and because we have seen the tremendous commitment of the MTA to restoring and refurbishing other subway stations along the Brighton Line. In the name of safety and the very dignity of our community, we ask that you consider our requests seriously, and help us to identify ways we can partner with you to keep the stations clean, vibrant and inviting in the future.

After decades of neglect, now is our time!

A Little Bit About A Lot Of Things - March 2012

The streets of NE Flatbush are abuzz with news that poor Dept of Health grades at local restaurants Castillo de las Rosas (Castle of Roses) and Mike & Tony's (Mike & Tony's) have led to their shuttering. According to DoH, M&T's got a nasty grade and are appealing (that's what DoH means by Grade Pending by the way). Lotsa folks are bummed, the Q included, as the pies were delicious, though they had trouble with quality control, and deliveries could take forever. Castillo, on the other hand, is listed on DoH as full-on closed, so the fight might be over for Castle. Melany at Lenox and Flatbush was always a much better bet in my book anyway. All the Dominican classics are done there right, and you can always count on plenty of the soccer and the baseball on the flatscreens. And the occasional drunk guy with a cowboy hat.

The Community Board met last night and we were served a heaping helping of power point presentations. Rudy Delson was there pitching the continuing story of the Parkside Prize. He's become a master at telling the Parkside Avenue saga - what it's like now and what it could be. It's downright riveting the way he tells it. The winning architects In Cho and Tim Shields were front and center. Now the question on everyone's mind - who has the money, the will and the expertise to turn fantasy into reality? See below for a possible answer...

Also on the agenda: The Brooklyn Public Library is taking a walk on the swank side with plans for a swell new "research center," which upon closer inspection looks like a groovy new hangout or pickup joint. Feast your eyes on this:

 Actually, on further inspection it doesn't really look all that cool, does it? I thought renderings were supposed to wow you. I mean there's about 12 shades of tan involved there; not exactly what I'd call scintillating. BUT it's a ginormous improvement over the crappy "Popular Library" room that they just closed for the renovation, that big space just off the so-called "Cafe Mambo." You know the place -  the room straight back from the entrance where until very, very recently there was a collection of about 10,000 VHS tapes? Perhaps the best thing about the new "Research Center" is that there will be presumably fewer VHS tapes, AND a number of meeting rooms that can be reserved for community purposes, from a two-person conference room (domestic squabbles?) to a space big enough for an NA meeting. They plan to do computer training and EST sessions (just making sure you're paying attention). The Leon Levy Foundation came up with a ton of dough for this (see above?), the SAME pot of money that's making Lakeside happen in Prospect Park. It's all because of Shelby White, Leon's widow, who grew up on Crooke Avenue. Yes, THAT Crooke Avenue. (the official P.R. memo on the Leon Levy Information Commons is below...check out that last paragraph for the claim that it will "fundamentally change the way librarians interact with their customers" - hmm. Like if they walked around taking orders, a la cocktail waitresses?)


The NE corner of Parkside and Flatbush is a-scaffolded after the building changed hands recently. The folks at the deli - once Mansoob now E&M - tell me they're going to be able to stay put while the floors above get a gut-rehab. Maybe the developer will go for luxury condos? That seems to be all anyone wants to build anymore, and in this case, rather than a pool or sauna or wet bar or game room you could promote the building as having your VERY OWN BODEGA just downstairs. And WHAT a bodega! Love that decorating...

Speaking of bombed-out buildings...it would appear that there's been a change of owner at 604 Flatbush, the embarrassment next to the Patio Gardens apartments. There's a phone number to call for more info: Altisource at 866-952-6514, option 2. Alls I knows about Altisource is that it's one of those companies that made its fortune on derelict buildings. Like when the foreclosure crisis peaked there were hundreds of thousands of homes across the country that had no one living in them, you could pay Altisource to watch it for you or at least be semi-responsible while you were crying over your money-bleeding ill-timed investments.

And finally, the NYRR (New York Road Runners) brought a presentation on the Brooklyn Half-Marathon, set this year for Saturday, May 19 at 7 AM. They're trying a new course that begins at the Brooklyn Museum parking lot, shoots down Washington, right on Empire, UP Flatbush, around Grand Army Plaza, back down the other side of Flatbush, right on Ocean, right on Parkside, in and around the Park, to the straight-away of Ocean Parkway all the way to Coney. So you'll be able to see the runners pass by right near our beloved at...around 7:30 am.

As advertised, here's more on the new Library thang:


  The Leon Levy Information Commons will feature the following amenities:

• A 30-seat wireless training center where library staff will conduct information literacy workshops as well as training on the library's extensive suite of online databases, a number of which are only available onsite.
• Seven private meeting rooms equipped with electronic whiteboards and other technologies to facilitate group and one-on-one research consultation sessions.
• Bar-style seating for laptop computer users to accommodate the thousands of laptop and other mobile device users who use Central Library's wireless network each month.
• Twenty-five PCs equipped with traditional software packages, as well as higher-end, memory-intensive graphic design and video editing programs.
• A centrally-located help desk to provide reference and information services in addition to innovative on-demand training.

Popularized in new and renovated academic libraries during the last decade, the information commons concept allows libraries to take advantage of contemporary information-seeking habits by providing comfortable and exciting spaces in which library users can access, interpret and share information. Additionally, the Commons at Brooklyn Public Library will fundamentally change the way librarians interact with their customers. It will encourage active participation on the part of reference librarians who will work with schools and other organizations to anticipate customer needs, provide training and facilitate research.

Momentum Mounting; Small Victories Leading Somewhere Big?

Tonight at the lovely gathering for the Parkside Prize winners at Play Kids, the Q was moved by the congenial familiarity with which local community-minded folk are working together to create positive change. Elected leaders had to share the spotlight with by-the-bootstraps types like Rudy Delson, Maddie Fix-Hansen, Delroy Wright, Atim Oton, Lindiwe Kamau, Quest Fanning and the winning architects, Parkside residents In Cho and Tim Shields (pictured) plus many others. If you don't know those names yet, you will. They're among the Q's local heroes for sticking their noses into everyone's business. That is, OUR business. The business of neighborhood. And business is good!

Delson as you must know by now led the charge for a prize to redesign the much maligned Parkside Avenue lead-up block to Prospect Park. He took a humble victory lap tonight. The Q watched as he masterfully led Councilman Mathieu Eugene through the winning proposal, a proposal that he noted, salesmanlike, could be accomplished for less than a million smackers. That's a lot of bang for the buck. Let's keep the pressure on to make it happen. I particularly like the action shot at left of Delson, with another Parkside Prize hero Duane Joseph beaming from behind.

Alls I'm saying is this...there's a great bunch of people committed to making this neighborhood shine, and the Q applauds you all.

AND, the latest from the traffic calming plan from DOT for Parkside/Ocean? It passed the relevant committees and full Community Boards numbers 14 and 9. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor at last Tuesday's CB9 meeting. The presentation by Jesse Mintz-Roth was superb and thorough. Guess what? This project's a GO folks. From Carrie McLaren's early wake-up call to Maddie Fix-Hansen not taking no for an answer, we hope to soon see a park entrance closed to cars and a safer walk-ride-drive for all.

Who says you can't fight City Hall?

(And without rushing the story, there's more good news a-coming about our long neglected subway stations along the park - Parkside and Prospect Park. That's a teaser...more info soon, and a plan to help get it done right.)

Parkside Avenue, 2.0 - The Winners Announced!

The Parkside Prize started as a gleam in Rudy Delson's eyes a mere year ago. The Q recalls humoring the endlessly enthusiastic Delson as he regaled him with the idea of creating a prize for a re-design of the Avenue.  Then Eric Adams pitched in some dough, and pretty soon the cake was baking. The Q dug the super-upbeat idea and has been uber-impressed that Delson's stayed to his mission, with the help of a few fearless friends from the 'hood.

And now, it's my distinct pleasure, to both invite you to the Parkside Prize Prize Exhibition on March 4 at Play Kids (on the Flabenue at Westbury Court - near Hawthorne) from 4 - 6PM AND to show you some teaser pics of the grand prize winner, In Cho, and their highly do-able design:

I love how leisurely everyone looks in the pictures...sort of a Sunday afternoon vibe. And the designers even kept the Internet Cafe in the renderings, albeit with a different sign. Look at what a HUGE difference it makes for Duane Reade to spruce up the side of its building! The dude with the pram, carrying a tot in his arms is a nice touch...


A crackerjack panel of locals and experts agreed that In Cho's design hit all the right marks. There were LOTS of strong ideas, so please check out the other designs and more info on the winner at theparksideprize.org website. Kudos to all the entrants, for caring to share your vision for change near our beloved Q. Next up...getting the damn thing done!

A Cautionary Tale That Bears Rehashing - Part I 1/2 of What's Really Going On

I've met a lot of great folks in my year-and-a-half of blogging. I've gotten to know my hometown a lot better. I've watched and listened to people, old and new, with big ideas and enormous passion for civic issues. There's tons of energy 'round here, and no shortage of brains either. But something happened a few years back that I just got to share, because in researching the "story" I found myself wondering if there is some sort of strange curse pulsing through the sewers of northeastern Flatbush, that ensures that the kind of pollyanna chutzpah affecting other parts of Brooklyn will never happen here. Maybe it SHOULDN'T happen here, and that's what the good Lord's trying to tell us! So relax, and let me tell you the tale of an effort towards economic development some years ago that went horribly awry.

I recently sat down with Mark Dicus, whose name was once almost synonymous with post-millenial "change" in PLG. Half a dozen years ago Mark, w/his budding family in tow, took a look around the 'hood and wondered why it seemed stuck in time - as in the late '80s early '90s time - and so few "amenities" were taking hold like in other parts of the borough. theQ's memory of the time was that NYC was regaining that pre-9/11 swagger, and new businesses were sprouting up, along with a renewed vigor in the real estate market all over town. People were buying and flipping houses again, and banks were lending with quite a bit of, how did Alan Greenspan put it? Froth. (Yes, the stodgy Chairman of the Federal Reserve used the word "froth." Turns out, froth fairly understated the circumstances, but the fall of Lehman was a couple years off, so the nation's expert money guy could be forgiven for missing the meaning of a few leading indicators. Like froth.)

So our neighbor Mark says hey, other neighborhoods are creating environments favorable to business, and its working, so why not here? They're cleaning up their streets, making them safer, strengthening retail corridors, changing the ethos for business and hoping that all boats rise. He founded PLUS (Prospect Lefferts United for Services), a name he almost instantly regretted, but it's so hard changing a name after it sticks, and to my ear PLUS sounds pretty good, even if the phrase behind the acronym is pretty odd. PLUS quickly distinguished itself by cleaning up around Lincoln Road, encouraging places like K-Dog and Enduro to open up, finding some money to help businesses put up new gates and awnings (ever wondered why Papa & Sons and that deli on Lincoln near Ocean look so relatively upscale? Thank PLUS!), helping get the ArtMart thing off the ground w/PLG Arts...PLUS was cooking with gas and seemed headed for greater things. It had a seven-or-so member Board, and in researching this true story, the Q poured over the public listserve of PLUS (it's still up there on the Yahoo), and I must say there is ample evidence of a lively and upbeat and diverse group, meeting regularly, getting pumped and doing some pretty great work, especially for a bunch of volunteers receiving no remuneration. So...what happened?

The downfall started when Dicus found a grant opportunity too good to pass up...and so PLUS wrote what I can only imagine was a great proposal to a City economic development group for money to create a "real" organization, with a "real" budget, and a chance to make a more deliberate and sustained difference in the neighborhood. Given Mark's effective leadership of the group to that point, it made sense to him (and to anyone with an ounce of common sense) that he would be the person to lead the group once the money became available. Given that a "real" organization needs full-time administration and accountability, a salary would be involved. And in fact, the grant in question pretty much necessitated it. Someone would have to be held responsible for administering the money, and accountable to the Board for his/her actions. All of this should have been pretty easy to sort out. At the very least, the Board could have given the guy the gig and re-assessed when the grant money ran out.

I've worked in non-profits for years, in fundraising in fact, and what happened next is really quite shocking. Rather than the Board asking Dicus to step down as board chair to take the Executive Director position, with modest compensation to come from the grant - which they won HURRAY! - the board completely imploded and couldn't even get it together enough to accept the first trickle of money from a six-figure multi-year grant. That's right...after months and years of fantastic well-oiled work, and with some real money now finally available...one after another of the board members quit til there was nothing left.

Back then there was a lively blogging community that predates yours truly, Hawthorne Street, PLOG and the like. Son of PLG and Across the Park both wondered aloud what-the-hell-happened, and the many people counting on PLUS to forge ahead were left confused and angry. I've talked to various people involved in PLUS's demise, but the general consensus is that it's well past time to move on, even if there's still a bit of disappointment and even bitterness lingering. The only pivot point that is incontestable is this: just after the big grant application went in, Dicus wrote a note on the listserve intended for the Board only that went to the general readership. I'm not quite sure what the mechanics of that were, but regardless many people unfamiliar with the board's plans to expand suddenly were given access to that information, and a lot of unsophisticated rumors began to circulate about how the money was going to destroy, rather than help, the cause. Some people wondered in public whether Dicus should even be considered for the gig - this after basically proving himself over two years of unpaid volunteer work. Once Dicus himself left the board in disgust, the great irony is that he was subsequently hired by the Church Avenue B.I.D. to do basically the SAME job, but for the folks immediately to the south of us.

And so ends our cautionary tale. What lessons are learned? First, be very careful about who you put on the board of your budding non-profit. It may all seem like fun and all-for-one and one-for-all until things get serious, and then people's true colors come through. Make sure your agenda is clear to your board AND to the general public at all times. Make sure not to press "send" on the listserve til you're sure you know who you're sending to. Don't assume that everyone sees eye to eye with you on how best to move the neighborhood forward.

Between the resurgent PLGNA,  Parkside Prize, PLG Civic, LinRoFORMA, PLG Arts and more...there's definitely plenty of catalysts to spark change. Let's hope they're more successful in navigating the waters of growth. (waters of growth - is that a lame metaphor or what? I gotta go to work now...)

Parkside Prize - Your Submission Please

It's time. You've considered every manner of idea to revamp Caledonia's humble main street. Now it's time to commit your vision to paper and send in your submissions. I'm sure you're tired of hearing me trumpet the awesomely optimistic Parkside Prize, $1,000 just for envisioning a new look for a tired block. As usual, Rudy says it best, so I'll leave it to him:

"Don't forget:  There is just one week left to register for the contest to redesign Parkside Avenue. 

We all know how shabby that block can be at its worst ... how maddening it is to see all that concrete after a walk through Prospect Park, how sad it is to see all that crumbling plaster and peeling paint after arriving home on the Q.  We all know how much better it could be, if the traffic were milder, if the sidewalks were cleaner, if the city cared for our block the way its cares for Columbus Circle, or Grand Army Plaza, or the Brooklyn waterfront.  This is your chance to remake your neighborhood.

The deadline to register is December 1.  The deadline to send in your design is December 15.  The grand prize is $1000.  All of the information you need is right here:  www.theparksideprize.org

So!  All you designers, all you architects.  All you hackers and artists and freelancers.  All you who ride the subway and think of old Walt Whitman.  All you who, in your most private ambitions, see a city more open than Olmsted's, more modern than Moses's, more surreal than Julius Knipl's ...!  Yes, you ...!  All of you ...!  This is your hour ...!  Do not delay ...!  One thousand dollars ...!  Register today ...!" - Rudy on W

First Downs Lead to Touchdowns

A couple of good news stories to report. Squeaky wheels squoke loudly in the last few months, and proud to say that we've actually gotten a couple of things done around here. First up, I've been nagging Pearl Miles at the Community Board about the trees on Parkside near Flatbush that died during last year's drought. She came through big time, and I'm thrilled to share this pic of the new Popeye's lovin' trees, leafless of course at this time of year, that have replaced the Lorax lumps:

Rudy of the Parkside Prize will attest to how happy I must be, and I am, because for some reason those stumps got me madder than a wet hen driving the BQE. I know it's pretty silly to care so much about street trees, but I really do think Parkside is need of more fresh oxygen, among other things.

Second, there's a new bus shelter going up on Flatbush at Midwood. Mindy on Rutland kept the fire burning on that one...all I did was amplify the squeak a bit. I'll keep lobbying for more - now I know it can be done - especially at Caton, Parkside. Credit for squeaking early goes to Hawthorne Street, who indelicately asked for bus shelters many moons ago.

My hat is off to Pearl, our district manager, for putting up with all the whining from us OCD-types and coming through big time. She knows everybody in City government, and she can make shite happen. Thank Pearl!

There's a bunch of other NE Flatbush pet peeve stuff in various stages of adjustment, from traffic to trees to trash to safety to dem krazy green sheet metal treez at Flatbush/Empire (more on that soon). But I'm feeling good, so let me open the floor - if you can change one thing for the better near where you live, what would it be? Don't be shy. Maybe it can't be done, or maybe all your neighbors disagree with you. But lay it on me. Suggestion box now officially open.

You Owe It To Yourself To Watch This Awesome Fluff Piece

That rascal Rudy! He's at it again, and this time he and band of merry men 'n' gals got themselves onto the boob tube! It's so awesome to see the Parkside Prize getting the attention it deserves. And even if you haven't the time or enough crayons to submit an entry, you should feel free to comment here on things you'd like to see happen to and for our neglected corner of the park. I'm particularly smitten with Mike Cetera's idea for rooftop seating atop a remodeled McCafe!

Here's the Channel 12 story. And don't forget to submit your entry by December 1. Big Hugs-not-Drugs to Quest, Duane, Babs, Noel, Jillian and the dozens of people who've helped usher this project along.

Know Thy Neighbor: Duane Joseph

There's a lot to like about "Woodruff I"* resident Duane Joseph. A big guy with a warm countenance, Duane came up to Brooklyn when he was in middle school, from his home country of Antigua and Barbuda.

The island nation may be known for its emerald beaches,but guess what? The tiny country of 85,000 permanent residents, mostly living in the urban capital St. John's, has its own version of Rio's "City of God." and so Duane's folks sent him up to Flatbush for a better shot at a decent life. Living with relatives, for awhile over on Rogers, then on Woodruff, Duane got to know the rough and tumble world of Caledonian Flatbush in the 1990's. He considers himself lucky to have gone to MLK High School on the Upper West Side. His daily journey to and from, plus the good atmosphere at MLK, gave him a bit of insulation from the knuckleheads. He jokes that Crooke Avenue really lived up to its name back in the day, and UMMA Park at Woodruff/Ocean was a real lively scene at night before they put in the playground and gates.

Duane's been involved in efforts to improve the quality of life around him. He cites prodding from Andrew "Mac" McConnell who lives around the corner in the awesomely named Prospect Park East building. Mac's been involved with volunteering for years (he was recently helping us push the Councilman and DOT for traffic calming for Flatbush/Ocean - hey Maddie, what's up with that?). Mac, seeing that Duane had a head on his shoulders, suggested he get involved in local improvement efforts. And he's now very involved with Rudy on Winthrop and his Parkside Prize to re-envision Parkside Avenue.

Duane had some interesting points about the block that I'm following up on (like the extraordinary reality behind the mysterious clan who lives communally at 162 Woodruff...I'm barely containing my excitement to tell you about that one - soon). The street action on Woodruff is pretty wild these days; but Duane's seen a lot in his two decades on the block, so he takes it in stride. One tidbit: apparently the little junk store in the first floor of the building at the NW corner of Ocean/Woodruff? He says it's one of what once were many year-round MAS camp storefronts, where locals spent the entire annum getting ready for Brooklyn's Labor Day J'Ouvert. Steel Drum bands made so much noise back then that Duane led an effort to get them to move off his block. The Trinidadian specialty is delightful to be sure, except at 4AM or when sustained for days on end. I believe Rudy on Winthrop can attest to that fact.

By day, Duane's an executive assistant at a major publishing firm. And he's started his own business providing start-up advice to local businesses. Good luck with everything Duane. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better.

*For those not in the know, folks in PLG often refer to their blocks as the street followed by a number, referring to the distance from Flatbush. So Maple 2, for instance, would mean Maple between Bedford and Rogers. Woodruff I is intended to suggest Woodruff between Flatbush and Ocean...ha ha. Ha ha. Joke. Ha. Me Funny Man!