The Colour Purple: Atlantic Avenue Rig

On the junction of Fifth Avenue and Atlantic this afternoon.

Carlton Avenue Bridge Set to Close

The closure is part of the preparation by Forest City Ratner for the Atlantic Yards development. It will shut over the next few weeks. Here's the location.
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Splink!

Now we'll all remember the Green Cross Code! Should come in handy for Atlantic and Flatbush.

The Day the Trains Stood Still

A quiet hero of the 8/8 Total Transport Meltdown, Isaac Josephson (far left) convinced the driver of a double-decker tour bus to bring him and 30-some other stranded Brooklyn commuters (including Friend of BIB Julia Cheiffetz, near left) to midtown today. Isaac reports:

“After two hours of milling around the Flatbush/Atlantic area, waiting for the trains to work, I started to walk home. About six blocks off Flatbush on 6th Avenue, I ran into the tourist bus stopped at a red light. I knocked on his door, asked if he was going into Manhattan, and if he would give me a ride.

“At first, he said he wasn't sure. The light changed, and he started driving. I chased him for three blocks, pleading at every light before he let me on. When we got to Flatbush, I shouted from the top, ‘Anyone want to go to Times Square?’

“Yep, best commute ever.”

More photos from the crush at Flatbush/Atlantic are below, and here’s a slide show.

Street Furniture: Watching You on Atlantic Avenue

Compared to London, it's surprising how few and far between CCTV cameras are in NYC. There are 10,000 cameras in the five NYC boroughs combined, which sounds like a lot, but consider that London has more than 200,000. Nationwide, Britain has some 4 million electronic eyes watching her citizens. Even small market towns will have CCTV positions disguised as Victorian street furniture. I was surprised on a recent Atlantic Avenue stroll to notice a camera flash high up on a post. This device captures motorists who run red lights at the junction with Fifth Avenue. The ice cream seller parked nearby said the camera has been there for about three months. Hopefully fewer drivers will be tempted to blast through red lights and groups of pedestrians.

Oasis

This young tree survives amongst the shifting dunes of the Atlantic Yards project.

Atlantic Yards Pile Driver

This contraption, pictured in front of the shrouded Ward Bakery, is for punching foundations deep into the ground. Pile drivers are an increasingly common sight (and sound) of Brooklyn's development frenzy. The origin of the pile driver is dated variously from as far back as 5000 years ago in Scotland up to the renaissance starchitects Francesco di Giorgio and Leonardo Da Vinci. Here is a pile driver you can drink. 1/3 oz vodka 1/3 oz orange juice 1/3 oz prune juice Pour all ingredients into a shot glass, stir and serve. UPDATE: An anonymous tipster informs us that the alleged pile driver is in fact a mere drill. We are investigating.

Only the Tallest Will Survive

Here we are looking at part of the Atlantic Yards development footprint, from a building itself slated for demolition.

450pm: 5th and Atlantic

The downed Huffy pictured moments after I was driven into. This was on a pedestrian crossing just outside the Atlantic Centre. Everyone concerned came away without injury.