Tired of staring at the nasty fences, half-built construction and massive, stalled wrecking balls in our neighborhood? So is Councilmember Brad Lander of the 39th District. And to shine some light on these stopped and stalled construction sites (there are at least 10 in the Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Columbia Waterfront area alone) his office has created a website called Stalled Development in the 39th Council District. Here you’ll find all kids of goodies like project descriptions of certain sites, along with its status, a full background and even a map of where each one is located. Here’s what they say about their blog:
We need to make these sites into assets for the community. Many of these developments are causing real hazards for their neighbors, with fences falling down on sidewalks, loose construction debris that can become deadly in high winds, and unsecured sites that are dangerous for children and an invitation to squatting.
Help the effort to convert local blight to community benefit by providing feedback and tracking the progress of each site.
Leave comments below on a individual site to update us on the conditions. If you call 311 about an issue, please leave a complaint number in the comment.
Not a bad idea. Whether or not they’ll be able to actually do anything is another story. The plan is to hit the builders with a fine if they aren’t doing anything–that way, they’ll either sell the land for a workable price or start the work again. So check it out and start commenting–I’m so tired of that nasty blue fence in Court and Union!
A huge piece on the park was published Friday in the Daily News. In addition to mentioning the opening of Section 1A at Fulton Street next month, it gives a fabulously in-depth view of what we can expect–including how the designers worked with sound engineers to reduce the noise from the BQE (though I guess the pollution is here to stay). It also describes the playground that will open at Atlantic Ave. Check out the whole story 
But it can’t be just any car — it has to be an electronic vehicle, or EV as they’re called. Because it’s not just any box — it’s a solar-powered EV charging station, the first one in New York City. It was built by 
old scaffolding has finally come down on the Strong Place Church on Degraw Street. Not too shabby–though there’s no real clue as to what the apartments are going to look like. But it’s nice to have one less scaffolding in the neighborhood!
