The Mazzone surname is familiar to many Carroll Gardens residents, being associated with the neighborhood’s Ace Hardware store on Court Street, in operation for three-quarters of a century. Like many longtime establishments, it’s impossible to be immune to challenges while doing business for 75 years. It’s dealt with a franchise swap, severe supply chain issues and a changing clientele. Now, […]

In our last issue, we wrote about the month leading up to the vote that approved EDC’s Brooklyn Marine Terminal Vision plan. In a tense meeting, where first-term congressman and BMT Chair Dan Goldman shut down discussions of the revised plan they were voting on in favor of a quick vote (before anybody could change their mind again), the plan […]

Last night I went to a meeting at the Miccio Center that was about two very important things: 1 – Introducing the neighborhood to the GIANT block sized development that has sprung up on Lorraine Street between the chicken place on Duane and the bodega on Columbia, officially called 498 Columbia Street. That’s where the laundromat, bank and 99 cent […]

Songs of love and pain and monsters. Thank God, or some benevolent power, that Daniel Johnston staked his ground long before the era of social media. These days he’d be consumed and forgotten in a matter of days—memed, mocked and left by the side of the road. But anyone who heard of Johnston back in the ’80s and ’90s likely […]

Local activists and the state environmental agency are at odds over how to clean up a toxic site in Gowanus that the agency determined poses a significant threat to public health or the environment. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has placed the site at 459 Smith St., formerly the location of a manufactured gas plant, into the […]

Gathered inside a conference room inside the Brooklyn Marine Terminal on Monday, Sept. 22, were 25 task force members in charge of the future of New York City’s last working waterfront. The room was packed: In addition to the task force members and in some cases their staff, were also dozens of Economic Development Corporation staff, including President Andrew Kimball. […]

When Community Board 6’s October meeting opened up to public comment regarding a redesign of Court Street, participants echoed their concerns about the board’s transparency, with some residents saying they were not properly made aware of the changes that came to pass. At the end of the meeting, community members were allowed the customary three minutes to speak. Most chose […]

It’s around 11 pm in the warehouse on 481 Van Brunt St., and Ethan Cornell is getting the last details ready for his show the next day. He is tired, having worked late the night before, as well. A podcast is playing in his headphones when he hears a harsh, squealing noise from the studio on the floor above. Not […]

Members of the Columbia Street Waterfront community announced that they have officially formed the Columbia Street Waterfront Association (CSWA). Their mission is to “to promote the health, vitality, and character” for the neighborhood and “to advocate for the interests of residents, businesses, and others with a stake in the Columbia Street Waterfront community.” CSWA was formed in part because when […]

At the second residents-only community meeting to discuss Red Hook West’s PACT conversion on Oct. 21, Resident Association President Karen Blondel said that these meetings were being gatekept due to frequent outsider desires to influence the housing complex. “We got too many outsiders trying to make decisions for my residents, and it’s not about that on my block,” said Blondel […]