What — or Who — Pooped in the Prospect Park Sandbox?A mystery poop enrages habitués of a Prospect Park sandbox, the “Pride of Spanish Harlem” becomes its shame, and a very strange video emerges from a Bushwick barbecue. That and more in today’s boroughs roundup.
Long Island City Gets a BreakdownNaked butts in Prospect Heights, Pope dreams in Mott Haven, and a touching tale of man and squirrel out of Prospect Park. What other fun-size borough bites await in our daily Neighborhood Watch?
neighborhood watch
The High Line Blogs!Bay Ridge: Hey, who’s dumping the huge piles of plastic spoons in Owl’s Head Park? Will huge piles of Pinkberry follow? [Right in Bay Ridge]
Chelsea: The High Line is blogging and social networking! And it already has 47 fans! [Facebook and High Line Blog]
Gramercy: That big new condo on 23rd Street and Third Avenue won’t be sold chockablock to rich Irish folks after all … looks like it’s gonna be a big fat NYU dorm! [Villager]
Neighborhood Watch
Latin Flavor to Bring Spice Back to the Porn Emporium in Clinton HillClinton Hill: Residents glad to see Tamboril Latin restaurant replacing a porn emporium, assuming the space is properly sanitized. [Clinton Hill Blog] An Italian restaurant with an exposed-brick interior will open in the space next to Joseph Tyler Salon on Myrtle Avenue. [Clinton Hill Blog]
Coney Island: Not all attendees of Nathan’s hot-dog binge yesterday were there to bask in the gluttony of the contest; costumed protesters encouraged meat eaters to “Give Peas a Chance.” [Gowanus Lounge]
Flatiron: Pixar’s latest film got you hungry? Borough Food & Drink is among the city’s restaurants now serving ratatouille, and its version is topped with cheese from Joe’s Dairy. [NYDN]
Gowanus: The 60-year-old Italian-foods market on President Street has closed and may make way for a café from the owners of neighboring Canal Bar. [Gowanus Lounge]
Gramercy: Ian Schrager’s high-end Asian restaurant Wakiya in the Gramercy Park Hotel is now taking reservations from July 24 onward. [Eater]
Harlem: From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday, Uptown Vets will host this month’s man-and-beast coffee mingle at St. Nick’s Dog Park. [Uptown Flavor]
Prospect Park: The Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket accepts credit cards. [NYT]
neighborhood watch
Can Ethan Hawke Save the Chelsea Hotel?Astoria: A month after its opening day, the Astoria Park Pool is still closed. [LICNYC]
Chelsea: Hood heartthrob Ethan Hawke stopped by the Chelsea Hotel to tell the new managers he’s watching them like a, well, hawk. [Living with Legends]
Dumbo: Filming on the latest mind-bending Charlie Kaufman flick is taking place here. [DumboNYC]
Flatbush: Finally see the faces behind all those snarky Brooklyn blogs … they were all here last night at café Vox Pop. [Flatbush Gardener]
Long Island City: Gentrification has brought a bevy of laundromats to the area. Now where are all the damn cobblers? [LICNYC]
Park Slope: Taggers don’t take kindly to a new Prudential Douglas Elliman office. [Gowanus Lounge]
Prospect Park: Cars aren’t supposed to be in the park after seven, but video surveillance by annoyed pedestrians catches violators. [StreetFilms via Gothamist]
Neighborhood Watch
Po Opens This Week in Carroll GardensCarroll Gardens: The Brooklyn outlet of Po in the West Village is opening this Thursday. [The Gowanus Lounge]
Chelsea: Del Posto spared from further hassles by the Related Companies, who’ve just purchased the property and will honor the restaurant’s original lease. [Newsday]
Fort Greene: Smoke Joint barbecue spearheads a mysterious expansion that looks more promising than mere extra seating. [Eat for Victory/VV]
Harlem: New Asian-influenced Mexican restaurant China de Puebla has launched weekend brunch. [Grub Street]
Prospect Park: Those looking for free-range dinner should keep their eyes peeled; a rogue chicken on the loose has not yet been apprehended. [The Gowanus Lounge]
Tribeca: The menu’s posted, the griddle’s fired up: The New York City Hot Dog Company on Chambers and Church is open! [Grub Street]
Neighborhood Watch
Spotted Pig and Freemans Owners Getting Cozy in the West VillageAstoria: Sparrow bar at 24-01 29th Street has outdoor seating. [Joey in Astoria] And Fresh Start health-food store finally opens its back patio — only to jack it up with distastefully painted bricks. [Joey in Astoria]
Dumbo: Paella’s the main event at Rice today from noon to 11 p.m. [Dumbo NYC]
Red Hook: A new blog, Save Soccer Tacos, tries to get the little guys as involved in saving Red Hook Park’s vendors as the food-world celebrities who’ve recently united. [The Gowanus Lounge]
Prospect Park: The park is one of the few in the city that actually encourage public barbecues, with seven designated areas and three permanent grills. [Gridskipper]
West Village: Freemans owners to pair with the Spotted Pig’s Ken Friedman to redo the former West space — that, or to open a chain restaurant banking on little people serving drinks in pig costumes. [Eater]
neighborhood watch
New Park Confuses Williamsburg ResidentsChelsea: Cat litter in the toilets at the Chelsea Hotel is a common-enough problem to write a sign about. [Living with Legends]
East Village: Secret plans have surfaced to turn Stuy Town into a super-sleek eco-paradise! [Curbed]
Greenpoint: Around these parts, some prefer vinyl siding for their façades, others prefer … needlepoint? [Newyorkshitty]
Little Neck: Mayor Bloomberg and friends were booed at the Memorial Day parade here. [Queens Crap]
Midtown: Should the congestion-pricing border start at 59th Street? That’s what an uptown pol suggests. [Streetsblog]
Prospect Park: Neighbors want the redesigned Wollman Rink to turn into a pool in the summer. [Across the Park]
Williamsburg: If a park opens and no one is around to use it [Brownstoner]
neighborhood watch
Nature Gets Scary in Prospect ParkEast New York: Unlimited! Free! Compost! [Brooklyn Record]
Greenpoint: The best-dressed man about town says his outfits are inspired by a lack of clean clothes. [Newyorkshitty]
Long Island City: It’s getting closer to moving day in the luxury condos. [Curbed]
Park Slope: Get your tickets for weekend house tours. [Dope on the Slope]
Prospect Park: What does a white squirrel say about Brooklyn gentrification? [Englishman in New York]
Williamsburg: Happily, it’s outdoor couch season again. [Gowanus Lounge]
neighborhood watch
Fake-Poor Kids Derided in WilliamsburgBedford-Stuyvesant: There are no outstanding violations, so why hasn’t there been any work at 377 Franklin Avenue for the past three months? [Brownstoner]
Chelsea: Communist Party headquarters on 23rd Street rent out space to (gasp!) a real-estate agency, proving even pinkos can’t resist the potential lucre of the housing bubble. [Blog Chelsea]
Lower Manhattan: Those huge light projections you’ll see tonight are actually an antiwar protest. BYO candle. [1010 WINS via Gothamist]
Prospect Park: So where exactly can you pick up a free wi-fi signal? [Daily Slope]
Williamsburg: How quickly the trust-funded hipsters turn on each other when the Times reveals that one-quarter of their parents bought their apartments for them. [Gawker]
cultural capital
Everything Is Illuminated
Last night was the kickoff of Prospect Park in Lights, a holiday public-art thingie in which four of the Brooklyn park’s entrances are decorated with seasonably over-the-top lighting displays. (Apparently some 4 million LEDs are involved.) We’ve been looking at some photos of the event posted by the Gothamist kids — including the above image, by Atomische — and we’re thinking it looks kind of cool. We’re also thinking we’re glad we don’t pay the park’s Con Ed bill.
Light Waves in Brooklyn [Gothamist]
neighborhood watch
Have a Global Warmy Christmas in Prospect ParkBrooklyn Heights: A tree may grow here, but apparently grass doesn’t. [Twofones via Brooklyn Heights Blog]
East Village: Cooper Union students respond to impending demolition of the Hewitt building with apropos typeface. [RazorApple]
Kensington: Don’t be jealous of South Slope. There are plenty of permit-less contractors for everyone. [Brownstoner]
Maspeth: It’s not like you forgot about this neighborhood. You had no idea it existed. [Forgotten NY]
Prospect Park: It’s above 60 degrees today, so it must be time to turn on the Christmas lights at Grand Army Plaza. [Brooklyn Record]
West Village: Expect the mother of all beg-a-thons when WNYC moves into new digs. [The Villager]
neighborhood watch
Live Your TryptophantasyBrooklyn: Is there a doctor in the borough? [Brooklyn Record]
Prospect Park: Skate off the tryptophan at Wollman Rink, which opens for the season on Thursday. [Prospect Park Alliance via A Brooklyn Life]
Red Hook: Two ugly houses across the street from the projects are still vacant? This real-estate market is downright chilly. [Brownstoner]
Wall Street: Learn Esperanto on Wednesdays. If you want. [Your Blog About Town]