From the “stuff you have always wanted to do” file:Corie Trancho and Alexis Robie have documented some of those intriguing and stately ruins over at the Brooklyn Navy Yards. Turns out this is called Officer’s Row, also known as Admiral’s Row. The 10 houses (seven remain), built between 1864 and 1901, served as to high-ranking officers and their families:

“We came into contact with two very special families, both of whom whose siblings had spent small portions of their childhood and adolescence, between the early to late 1970’s in Officer’s Row. As we began to communicate with one another via email, memories flowed. They began to outline invaluable personal histories of life in the yard. Fascinated, we listened, questioned, and began to dig.

“This site is a workbench for our questions and research. We hope to shape it more as our project moves forward.”

Officer’s Row: Memories of the Brooklyn Navy Yard [officersrow.org]

From the Better-late-than-never dept.:

Get the details from Gothamist.

Issues on the table, according to Council Member Letitia James, who will be holding a press conference in front of the MTA offices in about an hour:
-MetroCard price hike for working and low-income families
-Rider safety in the face of token booth closures
-Irregular and unsatisfactory bus and train service

Charles Star writes: “As I was walking to the train this morning, I snapped this photo of workmen taking down the sign for the Medgar Evers Head Start center at Park & Vanderbilt. I don’t know the backstory, but is it possibly a casualty of Bush administration education funding / No Child Left Behind?”

Anybody know anything about this? Here’s the website for the Medgar Evers College Head Start Child Development Center.

UPDATE: oops. Things not looking good for Head Start today.

LINKS:
Head Start Program Faces Uncertain Future [Houston Chronicle]
Head Start abuses anger U.S. lawmakers [Kansas City Star]

The News Interview: Bruce Ratner

“Opponents of your plan complain that you are using the threat of eminent domain - forced acquisition of property by government - to make the project work.”

“We’ve already privately acquired a very substantial portion of the site, and given everybody on the site the opportunity either to relocate or make a fair amount of money above what they originally paid. Most people have taken that option, so we don’t have to depend to any great extent on eminent domain.”

“How does the arena project fit into the overall development of the borough?”

“All the outer boroughs live in the shadow of Manhattan, but Brooklyn has the best chance of escaping that because we have our own brand. Bringing a team to Brooklyn will enhance that brand and give people civic pride, but we have to keep pushing and promoting. Look, I’m not from Brooklyn, I’m from Ohio - but I chose Brooklyn. One of the biggest compliments I was ever paid came when Howard Golden, the former borough president, introduced me to an audience as born and raised in Brooklyn.“

“Thought flows in terms of stories - stories about events, stories about people, and stories about intentions and achievements. The best teachers are the best story tellers. We learn in the form of stories.” — Frank Smith

Brooklyn Public Library, at Grand Army Plaza. Brooklyn, New York. | Go look through the archives of Frank Lynch.

Laura B writes in the ProHo Forum: “In addition to Outdoor Loudness Season, I’m afraid it’s also now Outdoor Crime Season. Last night a woman was apparently held up at gunpoint on my block (St Marks betw Carlton & Vanderbilt) at around 10:30 pm, a time I usually consider relatively safe to walk home alone. She screamed and he ran away; I admire her bravery but it’s probably not what I would have done.

“Anyone like to share experience, advice, or strategies for avoiding being a target, or what to do if you are one?“

NOTE! Go to the message boards to share experience, advice or strategies.

Laura B writes in the ProHo Forum: “In addition to Outdoor Loudness Season, I’m afraid it’s also now Outdoor Crime Season. Last night a woman was apparently held up at gunpoint on my block (St Marks betw Carlton & Vanderbilt) at around 10:30 pm, a time I usually consider relatively safe to walk home alone. She screamed and he ran away; I admire her bravery but it’s probably not what I would have done.

“Anyone like to share experience, advice, or strategies for avoiding being a target, or what to do if you are one?“

NOTE! Go to the message boards to share experience, advice or strategies.