Another Perspective on Atlantic Yards

Despite legal and other objections, construction has already begun on parts of the controversial Atlantic Yards Project. The proposed project will include 16 skyscrapers with one reaching just a few feet shy of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower- the tallest building in Brooklyn- shown top center in the shot below:
Atlantic Yards may also contain up to 5 more buildings topping 400 feet tall. For comparison sake, the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower is 512 feet tall. As you can see below, the tower is a bit of a distance away from the downtown Brooklyn business core of highrises, seen just beyond the Williamsburg Bridge on the right hand side in this shot.
These shots were taken from atop the Northside Piers project and the perspective is facing south.

Ralph Stanley in Prospect Park

Bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley played in Prospect Park last night before a (surprisingly) packed crowd. Dr. Ralph's humorous between song comments and his romp through a variety of band originals and bluegrass classics brought delight to a mixed crowd. The 80+ year old had his high lonesome sound in full effect, check out this video of "Sitting On Top of the World":

Ralph Stanley is truly one of the last of the original generation of bluegrass artists and it was great to see him out there still playing the music he basically invented.

Gowanus Have a Seat

We all know the Gowanus is polluted. But I think Lowes should take a little bit of responsibility for the portion of the canal bordering their home improvement megastore beyond just putting in a few seats at the waters edge. How about removing the seat from the canal that clearly was tossed in from their parking lot (which- listen up Whole Foods- always seems to be over half empty, even on weekends)?

Graf Layers

As the building next to this one in Clinton Hill was torn down floor by floor, layers of graffiti were added and locked in place as they became out of reach. As the new building goes up, they will disappear for a long time until the new building is torn down, or they will be gone forever. Interestingly, the bottom layer, below the white paint, has either paint or tiles that say Kurtz, which is presumably related to the original builders or possibly tenant of the building.

Neville Brothers Rock Brooklyn

Break out the cocoa butter! The Neville Brothers were in town last night to open the season for Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park. Beneath a cloudy sky on a cool late spring evening, the Nevilles ran through a repertoire of New Orleans funk favorites.
The show before a packed house included a special Aaron Neville solo section where he sang hits "I Don't Know Much" and "Tell It Like It Is" in a voice unnaturally high for his huge body. Then they brought down the house with the bass heavy funkalious crowd favorite Yellow Moon. Here's some exciting YouTube video I took of the rockin' middle section of "Yellow Moon":

Overall it was a great night to slather on some cocoa butter and listen to the Neville Brothers under the stars.

Got the Blues in Red Hook

I guess that's why they call it the blues... time on my hands could be time spent with you.... rolllling like thunder.. under the covers.

Car Stripping

Sorry about not posting lately but my car (Bertha the Buick) fell onto some hard times and had to resort to stripping . Unfortunately, it was over in Gowanus near this building and she had a bit of a run in, a runaround and a run-down. They threw her into the jailhouse, until the sun went down. So I've spent the last few weeks trying to get her into a program and back on her wheels. Lesson learned.