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• The History of The Magic Touch Cocktail Lounge

  In History / By B. Umanov / 7 June 2013 / 0 comments

  

  Photo credit: Triborough’s Flickr

  I’ve long walked by the gorgeous, old “Magic Touch” sign mounted onto the side of a building on the corner of Hoyt and Third Streets and wondered what — and when — the Magic Touch was (the street level space has been converted into what looks like an apartment or studio, with an interesting assortment of cacti and other plants in the large windows). A car wash in a neighboring lot? A “special” massage parlor? I finally consulted my old friend Google on the matter and discovered this post on Lost City, in which the blog’s proprietor spoke with several neighborhood old timers to reconstruct the legacy of Magic Touch:

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• New Composting Drop-Off Site to Open in Gowanus

  In Environmental / By B. Umanov / 4 June 2013 / 0 comments

  

  Huge news for those of us who keep a compost pail at home and have to haul it uphill to either Prospect Park on Saturday or Carroll Park on Sunday: Gowanus is getting its very own compost dropoff location, and it’s going to be open during the week!

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• The Bike Maker

  In bike, Nerd Stuff, New York, Science, Sports / By GYFO / 20 May 2013 / 0 comments

  Ezra Caldwell of Fast Boy Cycles fabricates two wheel transports that are pristine pieces of functional art. Growing up in a wood shop and later studying dance, Ezra has had a very interesting and unique life. In 2008, he was diagnosed with cancer and instead of allowing cancer to define him, he  added photography to his many talents. His self-portraits capture a man battered in a fight with illness, but not beaten.
  

  Made by Hand / No 5 The Bike Maker from Made by Hand on Vimeo.

  more Made By Hand here!

   

• The Smith-9th Street Subway Station Will Reopen in April!

  In Gowanus, New York, technology, Transportation / By B. Umanov / 25 March 2013 / 0 comments

  

  Photo credit: Daily News

  The project to rehabilitate the dilapidated Culver Viaduct and its Smith-9th Street Station — the highest elevation in the entire subway system and a vital link for residents of Gowanus — is finally nearing completion. Has it really only been two years? It feels like it’s taken forever. The station was originally scheduled to re-open in December 2012.

  The MTA swears that the station will finally, really, actually re-open, honest! The F and G trains will begin making regular stops at the station during the week of April 22nd while construction on some final details “that do not affect passenger functionality” will continue. And, more good news: the five extra stops that temporarily extended G train service to Church Ave. because of the Smith-9th Street construction project will remain permanent.

  We’ll give the new station a whirl and post some photos as soon as it opens. The art deco ornamentation we’ve seen from passing subway trains is a huge improvement over the downtrodden station of yore.

   

• shipping containers for bio-remediation

  In Brooklyn, Gowanus, Nerd Stuff, technology, The Canal, urban revitalization / By GYFO / 25 March 2013 / 0 comments

  
  Here’s some bitchen science…
  This animated sequence posted by Pilot Projects shows a concept of bio-remediation with the use of 40 shipping containers sitting in the Gowanus Canal. The plan called Modular Floodplain covers the shipping container with plants and soil, which would filter (meaning help to clean) the Gowanus Canal.
  
  This design won Honorable Mention for Urban Ecology in Water_Works Competition from Gowanus by Design.
  

   

• Man Buys 1865 Brooklyn Atlantics Basball Card

  In Brooklyn, History, Nerd Stuff, Sports / By GYFO / 4 March 2013 / 0 comments

  
  Jason LeBlanc spend 80k on the oldest known baseball card that features the Brooklyn Atlantics. Jason bought the card as an investment for his sick 4-year-old son. Read more on this story at the Portland Press Herald.