KINGS COUNTY F IR May 16th - 27th at Aviator Sports & Events Center, Floyd Bennett Field, 3159 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11234 www.TheKingsCountyFair.com Tel: 718-758-7500 www.Aviatorsports.com BROOKLYN Your Neighborhood – Your News Now Including Park Slope Courier, Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill Courier, Brooklyn Heights Courier & Williamsburg Courier May 17-23, 2013 SERVING GOWANUS, PARK SLOPE, PROSPECT HEIGHTS, WINDSOR TERRACE, BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, DUMBO, METROTECH, BOERUM HILL, CARROLL GARDENS, COBBLE HILL, RED HOOK, WILLIAMSBURG & GREENPOINT Sackett bike lane GOOGA is a go BY NATALIE MUSUMECI Cycling from Park Slope to the Columbia Street Waterfront District is about to get a whole lot MOOGA bike-lanier. Community Board 6 voted unanimously to approve a city plan to roll out a path for two- wheelers on Sackett Street that would connect to an existing Park Slope route and cross the Gow- anus Canal on Union Street — giv- ing bikers a safer ride from the FEARS brownstone enclave to Van Brunt Street. “It’s an excellent, carefully thought-out plan,” said board Residents claim park abuse chair and avid bike rider Dan- iel Kummer, adding that the new Bargains galore! BY NATALIE MUSUMECI they say it did last year. route will improve connectivity Angry Prospect Park-goers Park activsts claim that the Laura Haslett fell in love with her new vintage Schwinn made in the 1960s. between the two neighborhoods. fear the second coming of a giant Great GoogaMooga, which will The Sackett Street bike path She bought the two-wheeler for $250 at the Brooklyn Bike Jumble. For music and food fest in Brooklyn’s return to Prospect Park for its sec- will begin at the foot of a lane that more on the bicycle fl ea market, see page 16. Photo by Cassandra Giraldo backyard will leave the green ond run on May 17, damaged the Continued on page 19 space worse for wear — just like Continued on page 19 A CNG Publication Vol. 33 No. 20 UPDATED EVERY DAY AT BROOKLYNDAILY.COM CATS For MAYOR A New Yorker for all New Yorkers cats2013.com 2 INSIDE WWW.BROOKLYNDAILY.COM PUBLISHED BY CNG • 1 METROTECH CENTER NORTH • 10TH FLOOR • BROOKLYN, NY 11201 Caffeinated: Manager Maria Dexof’s Chocochino cafe on Coney Island Avenue is equipped to meet all your coffee needs. Photo by Stefano Giovannini 17-23, 2013 17-23, AY CONEY? BALONEY! , M CAFES, IFE L YOGA, YOGURT The changing face of Brooklyn’s summer destination has copycats across America OURIER Coney Island Avenue C By Kelly Haight and Anna Wendt them coming back. Trees flank two sides of Fine dining Cappuccinos and coffee oney Island Avenue has been known in the back patio where it feels like a suburban Immediately noticeable with its all-glass In Midwood, get your morning cup of Joe or the past for auto parts stores and gas sta- backyard, allowing patrons to enjoy the warm storefront is Wolf & Lamb Steakhouse, an your afternoon latte at Chocochino Cafe. tions, but in the last year and a half, it’s summer sun while they chow down. C upscale restaurant that serves kosher fine din- [1794 Coney Island Ave., between avenues taken a tastier take on the term “chop shop.” “You never see [a garden like that] on Coney ing. A Manhattan establishment for 15 years, N and O, (347) 462–1851]. Today, restaurants and cafes dot the wide Island Avenue,” said mom Doris Anteby, who the Brooklyn version opened shop a year ago. street spanning five miles from Brighton Beach lives in the neighborhood. Pad thai and drunken noodles BY WILL BREDDERMAN Here are a few places that are signs of the [1635 Coney Island Ave., on the corner of to Prospect Park and they show off the chang- Straddling Midwood and Sheepshead Bay, street’s recent transformation: Avenue M, (718) 627–4676]. ing landscape of the historic avenue. Diverse Lotus restaurant serves up fresh and authentic as always, the road has Pakistani, Indian, and Fro yo Inner peace on the avenue Thai food and even has a private events room. Bangladeshi restaurants, as well as some of the 16 Handles is named for the number of [1924 Coney Island Ave., near Avenue P, finest kosher options in the city, but what really Kensington’s Namaste Yoga offers a wide flavors of kosher frozen yogurt offered. You (718) 513–6686]. surprises the recent visitor are trendy spots variety of yoga classes for every level of expe- can find other build-it-yourself yogurt shops in such as a large yogurt shop, Thai and Japanese rience. Even kids can learn to maximize their Rolling in rolls Carroll Gardens and Williamsburg. physical and mental wellness and say “om.” Coney Island — the Won- restaurants, and even a yoga studio to burn off [1351 Coney Island Ave., on the corner of Sushi Tokyo is serving up great tasting [482 Coney Island Ave., at the corner of those calories. Avenue J, (718) 676–9889]. sushi and other kosher Japanese food. A day trip can involve a cappuccino in the Church Avenue, (347) 533–6226]. [1360 Coney Island Ave., between avenues J The healthy option morning, Thai food for lunch, and a fancy steak Ample pampering and K, (718) 434–2444]. to finish off the night. Bagels N Greens hopes to appeal to anyone And whether biking, driving, or taking the on a health kick, and looking for quality ingre- Down the street past Cortelyou Road, relax- Whole-foods, all Kosher B68 bus down the avenue, urban explorers will dients. It features fresh salads and other light ation junkies can treat themselves for just an Pomegranate is an extremely large grocery notice new shops stand out visually, especially fares, though the bagels are one of the stand- hour, or stay all day at Spirit Tree Salon and store for the Jewish community, featuring der Wheel, the Cyclone, the spots such as Bagels N Greens. Once the lime outs on their menu. Spa. Fun fact: it’s women only. many products from Israel. green storefront draws customers in, the beau- [1379 Coney Island Ave., between Avenue J [832 Coney Island Ave., between Courtelyou [1507 Coney Island Ave., on the corner of tiful interior, and al fresco eating will keep and Cary Court, (718) 256–6656]. Road and Ditmas Avenue, (929) 210–9000]. Avenue L, (718) 951–7112]. River Runner?! Your entertainment Any Brooklynite could guide Page 25 tell you Coney Island got its DT name from the rabbits — or “konijnen,” in Dutch — that Police Blotter ....................8 thronged its shores centu- ries before it became the Letters ..............................20 Playground of the World. Standing O ......................22 But not as many know that Sports ...............................33 odd locations across Amer- ica borrowed the Coney name hoping to get a piece of its fame — and still use it to this day. One of those spots is the Coney Island Amusement Courtesy of Grace Keros Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, home of the River Runner — pretty much like Astro- land’s old Pirate Ship — and the Sunlite Pool, one HOW TO REACH US of the largest man-made Mail: swimming basins on the Courier Life planet, among other at- tractions. Like the People’s Publications, Inc., Playground, in the mid- 1 Metrotech Center North 1800s, the area where the 10th Floor, Brooklyn, amusement park now sits N.Y. 11201 was a relaxing resort for General Phone: well-to-do people looking to take a carriage or boat Courtesy of Amy Pass Courtesy of Northwest Publishing Company (718) 260-2500 ride out of the city. In 1886, REPRODUCING LIKE RABBITS: (Left) The Sunlite Pool at Cincinnati’s Coney Island holds more than three million gallons of water. (Top News Fax: enterprising new own- right) Grace Keros at the Coney Island hot dog joint in Detroit. (Bottom right) Minnesota’s Coney Island got its name for the resorts built ers William and Malcolm (718) 260-2592 there in the 1890s, which were reminiscent of the People’s Playground. News E-Mail: McIntyre decided to start [email protected] calling the property “Ohio Grove, the Coney Island Again following Sodom destination for people from went into a decline around process of turning the prop- Display Ad Phone: of the West” to profi t from by the Sea’s lead, the park Saint Paul and Minneapo- midcentury, and the re- erty over to the state to be- (718) 260-8302 the Brooklyn destination’s added rides in the early lis in the 1870s, and by 1884, sorts and hotels closed and come a public park. Display Ad E-Mail: prominence. 1900s, and the park has owner Lambert Naegele was crumbled. Today, the only But perhaps the strang- [email protected] “They named it Coney been giving Cincinnatians calling it “the Coney Island visitors are illegal snowmo- est — and most widespread Display Ad Fax: Island of the West to make it and tourists a thrill ever of the Northwest.” In 1886 bilers. — adoption the Coney Is- sound like it was associated since. the Coney Island Hotel rose “We discourage peo- land name are the countless (718) 260-2579 with Coney Island in New A similar chain of events to accommodate visitors, ple from going out there, unaffi liated chili dog joints Classified Phone: York,” says amusement created Minnesota’s Coney and small cottages sprang but they do anyway,” says sprinkled across the mid- (718) 260-2555 park employee Amy Pass. Island — today a small, up along the shore, and the Wendy Petersen-Bjorn of west. The odd phenomenon Classified Fax: The new name was such pine-covered chunk of land tiny isle became known for the Carver County Histori- started in 1917 in Detroit, (718) 260-2549 a hit that by 1887, the McIn- in a small lake alongside a horse-racing, ballgames, cal Society, located in Waco- where Greek immigrant tyres dropped the “Ohio small city on the southeast and Fourth of July festivi- nia, Minn.