I nearly missed this. Thank you Curbed for bringing it to my attention. It’s from Slate.com

Dear Frank Gehry,

We’ve
never met, but last month I sent you a letter. You didn’t answer, so
I’m trying again. I’m a novelist who grew up in the Boerum Hill
neighborhood of Brooklyn, and who lives there now (I’ve also lived in
Oakland, Toronto, and in rural Maine, in case you find my perspective
suspiciously parochial). The subject of my letter is the ill-conceived
and out-of-scale flotilla of skyscrapers you propose to build on a
series of sites between Atlantic Avenue and Dean Street in Brooklyn, in
your partnership with a developer named Bruce Ratner and his firm,
Forest City Ratner Companies.

Most
people, if they’ve heard of this proposal at all, believe you’ve been
hired to design a sports arena, to house the New Jersey Nets, a team
owned by Mr. Ratner. Anyone who’s glimpsed the drawings and models,
however, knows that other, larger plans have overtaken the notion of a
mere arena. The proposal currently on the table is a gang of 16 towers
that would be the biggest project ever built by a single developer in
the history of New York City. In fact, the proposed arena, like the
surrounding neighborhoods, stands to be utterly dwarfed by these
ponderous skyscrapers and superblocks. It’s a nightmare for Brooklyn,
one that, if built, would cause irreparable damage to the quality of
our lives and, I’d think, to your legacy. Your reputation, in this
case, is the Trojan horse in a war to bring a commercially ambitious,
but aesthetically—and socially—disastrous new development to Brooklyn.
Your presence is intended to appease cultural tastemakers who might
otherwise, correctly, recognize this atrocious plan for what it is,
just as the notion of a basketball arena itself is a Trojan horse for
the real plan: building a skyline suitable to some Sunbelt boomtown.
I’ve been struggling to understand how someone of your sensibilities
can have drifted into such an unfortunate alliance, with such
potentially disastrous results. And so, I’d like to address you as one
artist to another. Really, as one citizen to another. Here are some
things I’d hope you’ll consider before this project advances any
further.

Continue reading DEAR FRANK GEHRY FROM JONATHAN LETHEM →

So there was something in Curbed.com about me and Brooklyn Record on June 12th. Hepcat told me about it today – practically a full week later. COMMUNICATION. Hellw? There were also a  bunch of not altogether pleasant comments about me but you can check those out for yourself. 

Brooklyn continues as a hotbed of hot blogging action with today’s launch of Brooklyn Record,
a new Gothamist sort of site for the old borough. Published by
Brownstoner, its mission is to "cover Arts, Restaurants, Events,
Politics, etc." We will, of course, be reading, even as we await the
inevitable deathmatch with OTBKB.
· Brooklyn Record [BrooklynRecord.com]

Speaking of Slope restaurants, it’s time to put in a good word for Black Pearl. We had a very impromptu birthday party for Hepcat there a few weeks ago (very impromptu). Black Pearl was incredibly accomodating. They cheerfully created a huge table for our party of 15 or so. The service was great and so was the food.

My writer’s group has been going there for drinks and sometimes food after writer’s group for about six months now. I’ve been very impressed with the service, the food, and the cocktails. It’s a fairly quiet place; a good place for conversation.

The other night after writer’s group, a group of us went in and I asked the Maitre’ D if he remembered me. "Of course. We call you guys the Rosenblums because your party drank ten bottles of Rosenblum’s California Zinfindel," he said.

That’s a lot of wine. I didnt’ realize we drank so much. Hey, it was a nice party.

I saw one of the old Mojo employees with a Tempo Presto t-shirt on. He was inside the old Mojo on Third Street – I think Tempo had a booth in front of the store during Seventh Heaven. I asked him if he was going to be working at Tempo Presto when it opens and he said he wasn’t sure: he likes working at Tempo Presto on Fifth Avenue.  Oh, so he works at Tempo Presto already. He said the shop would be opening in Fall 2006. "They’re going to be doing a lot of construction." he added.

So a Fall opening for Tempo Presto. It’s got me wondering what’s happened to our Third Street friend Corey. Will he be working at Tempo Presto, too?

The City section did a piece on that old timey fruit and vegetable shop on Court Street in Boerum/Cobble Hill. I think there’s a connection between that shop and the fruit truck on President Street. I think they used to be in business together but they had a falling out. Maybe I made that up. But I don’t think so.

CARMINE CINCOTTA, 53, was in his usual position at the back of Jim
and Andy’s, a narrow slip of a produce store on Court Street along the
Boerum Hill-Cobble Hill fault line. A folded copy of a newspaper rested
on a box of kiwis in front of him, open to the crossword.

"Fielding novel?" he grunted,
eyes peering over the tops of his black spectacles like a college
professor. "Anyone know any Fielding?" The question was addressed to
the store’s handful of customers.

"Tom Jones?" suggested the man next to him.

Mr. Cincotta turned and gazed at him with infinite weariness. "That’s the only one you know, isn’t it?" he said.

The
customer laughed; an old friend of Carmine’s, he knew and appreciated
these rules of engagement. At the far end of the store, magnificently
detached from his son’s daily performance, stood Mr. Cincotta’s father,
Jimmy, 80, gazing serenely out of the window at the passing parade, as
though the two of them inhabited different stores entirely. Short and
round, the older Mr. Cincotta is the physical opposite of his tall,
lean son, as though they were related not by blood but by their years
together on this small stage.

Since 1970, when Jimmy Cincotta
moved permanently into the place on Court Street that he and a partner
had been renting as a storage area, Jim and Andy’s has been a fixture
on Court Street. Through subsequent decades, bars have become bodegas,
which in turn have become restaurants and real estate offices. But the
store, with its brown sign and simple facade of fruit and vegetables
piled on crates — no Dean & DeLuca styling here — has remained a
constant. The interior consists of cracked black-and-white linoleum
tiling, peeling walls and, if you venture far enough back, a glimpse of
a tiny "office" piled with papers, into which Carmine Cincotta is apt
to retreat when business is slow or he feels the need for a little
privacy.

The older Mr. Cincotta has been in the fruit and
vegetable business since he was 13, back in 1939. He began by helping
his father, whom he unashamedly calls a "peddler," using a horse and
cart to travel around the neighborhood.

"On Mondays,
Wednesdays, and Fridays I’d work that side of Court Street," he said,
indicating what is now called Boerum Hill, "and on Tuesdays, Thursdays
and Saturdays I’d work this side" — he stabbed in the direction of
Cobble Hill. Neither nomenclature existed back then; both areas were
still part of the vast sweep of "South Brooklyn."

It was hard
work. He would be up at 3 or 4 in the morning to head to the old
produce market on West Street in Manhattan, then catch a few hours’
sleep before hitting the streets until 6 or 7 p.m. He would remain
outside in all weather, unless the temperature dropped below 30
degrees, when he would take the horse back to the stables. If it was
hot, there was no respite.

"I remember my favorite horse,
Dolly," he said. "She was strong, unbelievable. You get some days in
July or August and that tar is really soft, and she was pulling twice
her weight. The wheels would go right in."

By 1970, when Mr.
Cincotta gave up his last horse, the network of stables and blacksmiths
and feed merchants required to sustain them was disappearing. "That’s
when everybody started getting really fussy," he said. Residents began
objecting to the smell of horse manure, the last stables were being
gobbled up for parking lots or residential developments, and finding a
blacksmith became almost impossible.

"I remember when we used
to put four shoes on a horse for $6," he recalled. "The last horse was
$50, and the guy had to come in from out of town."

Mr. Cincotta
had not planned for any of his children to enter the business; he
worked so hard in large part to put Carmine and his brother, Philip,
and sister, Nancy, through college so they might go on to better
things.

Carmine Cincotta had no plans to join his father
either, though he also had no plans of any other description. "I was
totally clueless," he said. "I’m the only person who got a history
degree from Baruch when it was almost 100 percent a business college…

I’ve been observing the transformation of what was Good Footing on the corner of Union Street and Seventh Avenue into what is obviously a small new bank/ATM station.

I wonder what bank it will be. Commerce. Washington Mutual?

It was interesting to see the metal insides of the ATM machines going in. The windows are obviously very thick. The tell-tale clue that it’s an ATM bank: the cutouts in the walls just above waist level.

Other news: What was the Korean market on the north corner of Garfield is going to be a real estate office, I forget which one.  ANOTHER REAL ESTATE OFFICE.

There was a story in the Daily News by Jergo Armstrong about my friend Wendy (pictured below) who opened a Bed and Breakfast (without breakfast so it’s a B without B) a few months ago.

She remodeled the garden apartment in her brownstone and now rents it out with three day minimum stay.  Formerly a set designer, Wendy has an incredible eye for interior design and the garden "hotel" she created is gorgeous, airy, and filled with beautiful things. Just the kind of place you want to stay in when you’re visiting beautiful Brooklyn. She’s had guests from all over the world. And the word is getting out about her spacious and comfortable alternative to a hotel in Park Slope.     
       
      

Wendy Ponte hugs daughter Adelaide Ponte Upton, 10, in the basement room she rents to tourists.

Tourists visiting New York are leaving behind Manhattan’s bustling hotels for the charm of Brooklyn’s brownstones.

Homeowners from Park Slope to Bay Ridge are renting their apartments to
visitors on a short-term basis, taking advantage of a growing number of
tourists lured to Brooklyn by its slower pace and cheaper lodging.

"A lot of people vacationing to New York are beginning to realize that
Brooklyn is a viable, cheaper alternative to Manhattan … and it’s a
growing market for people like me," said Wendy Ponte, a freelance
writer who rents a one-bedroom apartment out of her Park Slope
brownstone.

"People more are wanting to stay in Brooklyn rather than the city. A
lot of them have kids and would rather stay in an apartment setting
within a community than in Manhattan."

Ponte, who started renting out her apartment last February, lists her
apartments on Web sites like Craigslist and Cyberrentals.com – and the
response has been overwhelming.

Others report similar results. "Every week I’m booked. I’ve been booked
up 100% since I started this two years ago," said Margo Lewis, 41, an
event producer who rents out a Fort Greene apartment.

"I’ve had people come from Australia, Germany, England, Japan and other
parts of the United States, just wanting to stay in Brooklyn. They view
Brooklyn as a way of life, an icon of the United States."

Both Lewis and Ponte use the rentals as secondary income – and have benefited handsomely.

"I can earn up to $3,500 a month based on my weekly rental," said
Lewis, who has a three-night minimum stay of $250; $850 for a week, and
a maximum of $2,500 for a month.

Jason Nagy, the director of marketing for FindRentals.com, said the
industry for vacation alternatives to hotels is getting bigger and
bigger. "This is definitely a growing trend because people want better
deals than hotels"

BREAKING NEWS FROM Hepcat on location in Prospect Park.

THERE WAS A BIG SURPRISE AT TONIGHT’S CELEBRATE BROOKLYN CONCERT AND HIS NAME IS PRINCE (the artist formerly and currently known as Prince).

MACEO PARKER, considered one of the architects of funk music, played gritty saxophone (he’s played with James Brown,
Parliament-Funkadelic, Bootsy Collins, and Prince) and rocked out with his band. The crowd loved it.

Now, according to Hepcat, they are shouting for an ENCORE (I can even hear it over the phone). OMIGOD: IT’S PRINCE. IN BROOKLYN. I can barely hear Hepcat on the phone. He’s very excited. What a great night at Celebrate Brooklyn…sorry I missed it.

More: "He was wearing a white zoot suit kind of thing," says Hepcat. He doesn’t know what song he was singing but it was great. Hepcat didn’t have his camera but took some shots with his cell phone. We don’t know how to download those.

Back story: Hepcat was at the Park Slope Food Coop earlier in the evening and over the PA system someone said: "I have it from a reliable source that Prince is playing at Prospect Park!" Wide spread murmuring. He told me when he got home. Then he went to the park. You know the rest.

Check out Dumb Editor’s story in the Brooklyn Papers. This news stopped me short. And it’s big news for those of us who detest Chuck E. Cheese.

Chuck E. Cheese has a cute mouse for a mascot — and lots of dirty mice in the kitchen.

The fast-food restaurant and arcade, housed on the third-floor of Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Terminal Mall, was shut down last week by the city’s Department of Health after inspectors found — oh, the irony — mouse droppings throughout the kitchen.

Make that a lot of mouse droppings.

“Approximately 30 mice droppings on paper goods storage shelf near kitchen entrance,” read the June 8 inspection report, a copy of which was obtained by The Brooklyn Papers.

“Approximately 10-20 mice droppings on shelf floor of rear exit. Evidence of mice or live mouse present in facility’s food and non-food areas … Approximately 60-70 mouse droppings on floor in electrical closet in kitchen.”

READ MORE AT BROOKLYNPAPERS.COM

Kudos to Jack Walsh, the Producer and Director of Celebrate Brooklyn and the man responsible for last night’s Prince appearance at the opening event of the Celebrate Brooklyn concert series. 

Prince only appeared for seven minutes singing the closing track ("Get on the Boat") on his new CD. “To have somebody like Prince show up
just makes it all the more special for everyone involved," Walsh told the New York Times.

“I sent an email to
a friend in the concert business,” he said, “and it got forwarded to
the right person. It was on a whim, but the response was immediate.
Somehow it just worked out.”

From the New York Times:

The song’s James Brown groove suited the occasion, and gave Mr.
Parker the chance to recreate his horn arrangement from the album.
Prince sang some upbeat lyrics extolling racial harmony, and took a
fleeting solo on guitar. Then he struck a dramatic pose, tossed his
guitar pick and a white towel into the audience, and strutted off.

The Times article said that Prince’s appearance was a surprise to Maceo Parker, the show’s headliner.  But it seems that someone at the Park Slope Food Coop knew about it before everyone else. Hepcat reports that someone announced over the Park Slope PA system at around 8 p.m. Thursday night: "I have it from a reliable source that Prince is performing at Celebrate Brooklyn tonight."

Adam Dougherty shows off tree house for rent.

From the Daily News:

People are going out on a limb for housing in Brooklyn.

Williamsburg sculptor Adam Dougherty put his South Fifth St. backyard
tree house up for rent as a gag – but learned that in Brooklyn’s
sky-high real estate market, it was no joke.

Since last Saturday, the Craigslist.com posting
has drawn more than 30 prospective buyers, renters and vacationers –
even though Dougherty never had any intention of branching out into
property transactions.

"I thought people would immediately take this as a joke, that it would
get flagged," said Dougherty, 29. "But the sincerity of some of these
people!"

"I can’t blame ’em," he added. "I mean, $150 for a place to stay in New York? That sounds like a dream."

It was no dream to Gabriel, a "young artist currently sleeping in my van."

"I’d be up for a summer of sleeping outdoors," he e-mailed Dougherty.

Then there was Ryan, who figured out there probably wasn’t any running
water in the tree house and typed this question: "If I need to, can I
shower at your house?"

Although the ad said only "$150 – Tree House," most who responded
assumed the dollar figure was either for a weekend stay or the actual
sale price, Dougherty said.

The year-old pinewood triangular house hovers 23 feet over Brooklyn, and fits up to 17 people at once, he said.

The 12-by-12-by-10-foot shelter is empty, except for a light hooked up
to a 23-foot extension cord that runs down to his apartment.

Tree houses are "sort of nostalgic," said Dougherty, who occasionally
takes his girlfriend up for a rendezvous. "They’re to escape your
parents, or for your friends to talk about dirty things. This is my way
to escape and sort of return to my childhood."

Aptsandlofts.com President David Maundrell said Williamsburg real
estate continues to go through the roof – so cheaper alternatives
aren’t such a bad idea.

"It’s summer so you don’t need to be inside. There’s no utilities to
worry about, and since its high up it’s like a penthouse," Maundrell
said. "That’s not bad at all."

LITTLE FUGITIVE, a film directed by Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin in 1953 about a boy who runs away to Coney Island opens Brooklyn Film Works: Movies Al Fresco in J.J. Byrne Park.  June 27 at 8:30 p.m.  Lawn chairs, blankets, and picnics encouraged.

Curated by Louise Crawford. Concession by Stone Park Cafe. This series is brought to you by the generous in-kind and financial support of Scharf Weissberg,  Showman Fabricators, Rosebrand, and Methodist Hospital.

"Between neorealism and the nouvelle vague stand Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin, whose independent feature Little Fugitive (1953) has been credited — by Francois Truffaut,
who ought to know — with providing both spiritual imprimatur and
nuts-and-bolts strategies for the French New Wave. Engel and Orkin were
both still photographers, with Engel particularly distinguished as a
colleague of Paul Strand and a pioneer photojournalist with magazines
like PM, Fortune, Collier’s. Orkin also had ties to Hollywood and cinema in general — she had worked for MGM,
her mother was a silent star, and she had edited some experimental
shorts, an experience that would be crucial in the pair’s future
collaborations. Engel and Orkin provided a production template for
future independent filmmakers by doing double and triple duty on their
films. For their first feature, Engel, Orkin, and Ray Ashley are
credited with direction, Engel and Ashley with production, Ashley with
screenplay, Orkin and Lester Troob with editing, and Engel with
photography."

The owner of Prints Charming wants everybody to know that she is
closing up shop on July 31st. She is still accepting new business and
is selling out all of her merchandise. Please pick up any items you
may have left with her.

Prints Charming
150 Sterling Place
between Flatbush + 7th Ave.

Most days 12-7
Closed Tuesday and Wednesday
Sundays 11-5