GANGLAND

I read two disturbing articles today about gangs in Bay Ridge. Graffiti crime was up 96% in Brooklyn last year, more than in any of the boroughs.

Graffiti often signifies a gang presence in an unsuspecting neighborhood, like Bay Ridge.

The Ridge had 185 graffiti crime complaints last year, up from 73 in 2006. That's an increase of 156.9%!! Only Williamsburg had more complaints with 186. Just one more than The Ridge, so I'm going to call it even. If I was getting that kind of increase in my investments that would be fantastic. But I'm not.

So what does that say about The Ridge!?

I'll tell you what it says and it isn't pretty. According to Deanna Rodriguez, head of the Brooklyn district attorney's gang unit,

"once you know how to read it, it can be frightening. When it comes to gangs, they are not tagging places because they have nothing else to do, they're making a statement. This is a precursor to other activities, and when we see it, we can pretty much tell when the violence is coming."

Oh good. That just made my day. Where's my Xanax? Evidently, The Ridge is popular with the Latin Kings, a Puerto Rican gang, and the Italian gang Hoodlums Doing Damage.

Maybe we should have less Gestapo meter maids and have more police to combat this growing problem.

TO PRESERVE OR NOT TO PRESERVE

Rover has posted quite the rant about preservationists, civic activists, and the infamous Green Church. And I think he hits the nail on the head when he writes -

Serious people who can find de jure solutions that put our community's shared truths (aesthetic, historical and infrastructural) on an equal administrative footing with those of developers'.
While, more importantly, recognizing a pragmatic and elemental truth in a compromise somewhere between an outright rejection of change, and unbridled development - with a watchful eye to beauty and utility.

Yes, the "activists" and politicians are up in arms about the fate of the Church and I think they should be rankled. I can't speak for anyone else but there are several issues that have me riled:

1. The Green Church comes right on the heels of the loss of three Victorians. The community was told by the Basile Builders Group that they were going to restore the Victorians and then they sneaked in under cover of night and tore them down.

2. Nearly three years ago, Congressman Vito Fossella created an “Over-Development Task Force” and even created a sub-task force to specifically study the Green Church, yet nothing has been heard from either - um - force.

3. The Preservationists and the Methodists have not come to the table since March to discuss options (and I thought the writer's strike was bad).

4. The Landmarks Preservation Commission has completely ignored the situation.

5. The possibility that a funeral home on 4th Ave. will be replaced with a seven-story condo complex.

Yeah, okay, number five seems a little out of place here but it has me riled and it comes back around soon.

6. The Methodists rejected a proposal from Gentile and the Con Edison Renaissance Housing Program yet I haven't seen what the details were of the proposal.

7. What seems like complete disregard of the community by Pastor Robert Emerick. (I hear he's a nice guy. Righty told me. But the Pastor hasn't come off too well in the press)

8. That freak chick from American Idol who's now getting more air time than she deserves.

Yeah, okay, number eight proves I need a life.

9. Where the hell has Marty Golden been during all of this?

It feels as if developers are coming in here with no regard for the community, for the aesthetics of the community, or for the community's infrastructure. We're being lied to and trampled on. I think the Green Church is a culmination of a lot of issues.

If The Ridge adds -- or what it feels like to me -- if The Ridge has thrust upon them fifty condos in place of the Church and a seven-story condo complex in place of a funeral home, who's going to come in and build new schools? Our schools are already overcrowded -

P.S. 170 Lexington School - overcrowded, so four classes are housed in trailers

P.S. 104 Fort Hamilton School - Unfortunately, the school grapples with overcrowding. Kindergarten classes, unable to fit into the main school, take place in a district building five blocks away. And middle school classrooms are too cramped to hold comfortably the 30 or so kids in each class.

P.S. 185 Walter Kassenbrock School - The school is overcrowded, with more than 700 children in a building designed for 500.

Who's going to come in and alleviate the new traffic problems? The new parking problems?

So, yes, Rover, we need a "compromise somewhere between an outright rejection of change and unbridled development."

SILENCE IS MARTY GOLDEN

I was walking passed Marty Golden's office today and two people who work for him were outside taking a smoke break. One of the guys was very animated and pointing with vehemence. He was complaining about being singled out for something. It turns out the guys was imitating Marty. As I passed I heard the other guy say, "So what's wrong with that?"

To which the other guy replied, "Because Marty is an a**hole!"

And this coming from someone who works for Marty. Marty may want to ask them to take their smoke breaks in the back of the building.

**It seems some people were confused by the donkey in the well picture. So I'll try this one. Brit? Boy in LA? Comments?



And if that is still too subtle, how about this one?

CELEBRITY SHORTAGE

Bay Ridge is facing a celebrity shortage. How do I know this? Because I'm in the current edition of The Brooklyn Paper, talking about my resolutions alongside Marty Markowitz, Marty Golden, Vito Fossella, and Vincent Gentile. The paper lists me as an actor, which I was full-time until our daughter arrived and we moved east. Now I'm just a lazy layabout in The Ridge. But it's pretty cool to be alongside that company! Thank you, Brooklyn Paper!

HOLIDAY TREE

I just finished reading Matthew Lysiak's article "Holiday Tree Again Called Christmas Tree in Bay Ridge" and I don't know what I find more surprising: that they actually called a Christmas tree a Holiday tree or that Marty Golden is an Irish-Catholic.

With a name like Marty Golden, my wife and I swore he was part of the tribe. But an Irish-Catholic? Who knew?

While I'd like to thank Linda Allegretti for being considerate of the Jewish and Islamic communities, calling a Christmas Tree anything else is silly. You don't see us calling the menorah a holiday menorah. It's a -- "Hey, what's with the oil!? It was only suppose to last one day and we're already into next week and it's still burning. Such a deal!" -- menorah.

And the Christmas tree is a -- "Hey look! Someone's coming down the chimney. I think it's Jesus. Jesus!? Holy Christ, the place is a mess! What are we going to do? There's no time to clean. Quick, go chop down a tree. We'll decorate it and maybe he won't notice the mess. Wait! That's not Jesus. Who is that? How the hell did that tub-o-lard make it down the chimney? I don't know and I don't care because he's leaving us presents. Presents!? What the -- ?! He looks hungry. I'm scared. Give him some cookies before he eats us" -- tree.