50--#3048&$"/¤5#6*-%*''&%45",&07&3$"/"-$-&"/61 1"(& Yo u r Neighborhood — Yo u r News® BrooklynPaper.com s (718) 260–2500 s Brooklyn, NY s ©2009 DOWNTOWN, PARK SLOPE & BAY RIDGE EDITIONS AWP/14 pages s Vol. 32, No. 14s Saturday, April 11, 2009 s FREE '"-4&45"35"5$0/&:*4-"/% Coney guide, page 5 People’s playground GO Brooklyn’sSee also is smaller than ever By Mike McLaughlin like Ruby’s remain closed. The Brooklyn Paper Even Totonno’s, the legend- The shrinking amusement ary Neptune Avenue pizzeria, area of Coney Island reopened remains shuttered until its own- on Sunday, but it’s going to ers repair damage from a fire be weeks before Coney Is- last month. land shows signs of life. The carny carnage has been Even as the Cyclone roller exacerbated by the struggle coaster made its first run, between the city and the ar- Bess Adler Bess Adler across the street, the site of ea’s principal landowner Joe Bess Adler the former Astroland theme Sitt for control of the area’s park was empty. And nearby, destiny. The city wants to cre- sections of the Boardwalk re- ate a new city-owned amuse- main ripped up for renovations ment park complimented by The Brooklyn Paper / The Brooklyn Paper / — a fitting symbol for a strip hotels, attractions and restau- The Brooklyn Paper / where many of the honky-tonk rants, but has been haggling HE’S OUTTA THERE: Borough President Markowitz was excited about a photo op at Sunday’s reopening of the Cyclone rollercoaster (left). But when the merchants and old-man bars See CONEY on page 10 car started rolling down the track, the beep blanched (center). Fortunately, the train was halted to allow Markowitz to get out. 4IF¤TCPYFEJO Cars on sidewalks getting in way By Ben Muessig The Brooklyn Paper Motorists who park their cars on the sidewalks of Bay Ridge are driving at least one woman mad. Wheelchair-user Jean Ryan says that the ever-increasing traf- fic jam of cars on the communi- ty’s sidewalks have forced her Bess Adler Ben Muessig Ben to risk dangerous descents over curbs or even into traffic. “We should not have to share any sidewalk with cars,” said Ryan, who has started to pho- tograph offending vehicles. The Brooklyn Paper / Jack VartoogianJack The Brooklyn Paper / “The sidewalk is for pedes- Jean Ryan can’t get around her neighborhood be- Hours before Passover began on Wednesday night, this youngster joined hundreds of trians only.” cause of all the illegally parked cars. Hasidic Jews for a “sun blessing” on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg. The problem of cars on side- walks in Bay Ridge stems from erships and car washes — but The board pinpointed a #ZSOF a lack of parking in the neigh- borhood. also about other locations,” said number of sidewalk parking And sidewalk parking has Beckmann, whose board is in hotspots that cause a “quality- Here came the sun of-life issue particularly for se- only gotten worse in recent the process of drafting “terse” By Ben Muessig in Williamsburg to mark what Whether you subscribe to that months, according to Jose- letters to offending businesses, nior citizens and people with CBCZ The Brooklyn Paper they believe to be an historic oc- Biblical belief or not, one thing phine Beckmann, the district as well as a request for increased disabilities,” including several Jews across Brooklyn cele- casion: the third time in history is true: the faithful had a party manager of Bay Ridge’s Com- enforcement from police. sites along Fourth Avenue in brated the beginning of Pass- that the Passover holiday began on Wednesday morning, sing- munity Board 10. “I understand that there is not the 80s and 90s and at Xaver- over on Wednesday night, but at the same moment in a 28-year ing, praying and dancing in the “We’ve gotten a lot of com- a lot of parking and certain busi- ian HS. #ZSOF earlier in the morning, thou- cycle that the sun was in the ex- street after receiving a special plaints about sidewalk park- nesses have spacing issues, but But Xaverian Dean of Stu- dents Michael Wilson claims sands of Hasidic Jews gathered act celestial position it occupied “sun blessing” from Rabbi Sho- ing — mostly notably about it’s very clear that cars should By Ben Muessig at Kent Avenue and Hooper Street at the moment of Creation. lom Kraus. establishments like car deal- not be on the sidewalk.” See BOXED on page 11 The Brooklyn Paper Leave it to head Talking Head David Byrne to get peo- ple talking. The acclaimed songsmith It’s DUMBO! Not JUMBO! — whose seminal 1980s band merged experimental music with pure pop — will kick Locals: City not doing enough to save historic neighborhood off the summer’s “Celebrate Brooklyn!” concert series with By Mike McLaughlin tween Adams and Jay streets. of students after the rezoning — yet a June 8 performance in the The Brooklyn Paper &%*503*"- 1"(& But there are several vacant lots the environmental impact statement Prospect Park band shell. A city plan to encourage res- and existing low-rise buildings that prepared at about the same time for a Deep-pocketed lovers of idential development in parts of tee on March 18. That decision re- would be ripe for new development controversial plan by Two Trees Man- the crooner who sang “Psy- DUMBO was narrowly rejected flected substantial concern from if the proposal becomes reality. agement to build an 18-story build- cho Killer” can shell out $325 by the neighborhood’s commu- residents, some of them members The board also noted another ing on nearby Dock Street claimed or more for reserved seats and nity board on Tuesday night. of the DUMBO Neighborhood Asso- main complaint against the city’s there was a shortage of middle school tickets to a pre-show gala that By a 13-10 vote, Community ciation, who said the Department of plan, namely that a residential re- seats in the neighborhood. benefits the concert series, Board 2 defeated a city rezoning City Planning’s vision would over- zoning could expel artists from dual The same firm wrote both stud- while less well-heeled music that would allow old warehouses whelm the enclave with bulky build- live-work studios, which are per- ies. lovers can enjoy the “Once in within a 12-block area manufac- ings. mitted on manufacturing parcels. Concerns aside, the neighbor- a Lifetime” concert for free turing zone east of the Manhattan “The proposed rezoning will cre- “[Rezoning] would push live- hood’s business group, the DUMBO — though there is a $3 sug- Tom Callan Tom Bridge to be converted to residen- ate out-of-scale development in this work spaces and the small manu- Improvement District, said it sup- gested donation. tial apartments. part of DUMBO,” said Gus Sheha, facturing business out of the neigh- ports the city’s plan because it would “It’s fabulous that David The proposal would limit new vice president of the DNA. borhood,” Sheha said. foster development and growth. Byrne will be headlining,” building heights to about 12 sto- The 12-story limit is significantly Other opponents said they were “It’s such a positive for DUMBO said Tupper Thomas, presi- ries, but opponents said that even shorter than other recent additions frustrated by a secretive process. For because it will add … more families dent of the Prospect Park Al- The Brooklyn Paper / that height was too tall — and the to the hip, artsy district, such as the example, the city’s environmental im- and businesses,” Executive Director liance, who claimed that the A rezoning of part of DUMBO would prevent board agreed. 31-floor, glassy J Condo at the cor- pact statement for the rezoning claims Kate Kerrigan said last month. “That rocker’s benefit performance towers like the J Condo, but would allow build- The vote follows a split rejec- ner of Jay and Front streets, and the that there’s sufficient capacity at area will add more foot traffic — and that’s “complements the artistry of ings that are still too tall for some residents. tion by CB2’s Land Use Commit- 18-story Beacon Tower on York be- middle schools to handle an influx good for our local businesses.” See BYRNE on page 11 )F¤T3PPLJFPGUIF:FBS Mike McLaughlin wins freshman honors The Brooklyn Paper Readers of The Brooklyn Paper have known it for years, but now it’s official: Mike McLauglin is the best young jour- nalist in the state of New York. That judgement was rendered last Satur- day in Saratoga Springs by the New York Press Association, a statewide trade asso- ciation that represents hundreds of daily and weekly newspapers, big and small. In tight competition, the judges cited McLaughlin, 30, for an “engaging writ- ing style,” and stories that are “well-or- Engineering Hage and Architecture Civil for Studio ganized, informative — a treat to read.” A team of independent engineers think they have a way to mitigate noise from the Brooklyn– They also responded to McLaughlin’s Queens Expressway that would ruin the calm at the proposed Brooklyn Bridge Park. “broad range of stories,” including hard news; his scoops on Coney Island and other development topics; his bright fea- tures; and even “Mike McLaughlin’s The Dreaming of a B-Quiet-E Search,” his ongoing series about finding Ben Muessig Ben love in the Big City of Brooklyn. By Ben Muessig proposes a solar-panel-covered en- to eliminate the planned sound-sti- Readers of The Brooklyn Paper have The Brooklyn Paper velope to encase the highway.