"Around here after 4pm, it all turns into bedlam” (DOT survey)

After 20+ years covering national and international stories, I still fight the urge to write about news outside my Brooklyn coverage area (Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Red Hook, and beyond). I’ve started numerous posts this way, only to remind myself that I’m a local newsletter. 

But this week, my daughter asked me if I was going to mention the shootings at Brown University and Bondi Beach in Australia. I said I wanted to, but how can I mention these two events without writing about other news, moving forward? 

This conversation reminded me of what the editor of the Brooklyn Paper told me before I launched Ward 6. Local news, she said, is like a “palate cleanser” to everything else going on in the world. I loved this description and think about it often. 

Part of the reason I launched a local newsletter is to make sure our communities are aware of big, important stories that are complicated and have the potential to reshape our corner of Brooklyn, for better or worse.  While I remain a news junkie and read, listen, and watch domestic and international coverage in my spare time, it’s no longer my job to write about it.

I’m sharing this with you because WARD 6 is a work in progress, and I don’t have an answer for my daughter about why I agree with her and why I decided to mention these two events, and not others. Maybe it’s because I’m lighting candles this week, and I know high schoolers who just found out whether they got into college early decision. 

It’s my mission at Ward 6 is to bring our communities together by introducing neighbors of all backgrounds, explaining complex issues that affect us all, bridging neighborhoods, and sharing juicy, watercooler stories. If you agree or disagree with my decision to mention what happened at Brown University and Bondi Beach, feel free to tell me (ward6brooklyn.com or ward6_brooklyn).

OK, let’s get to it — post #15! Maybe my last of 2025!  I’m thrilled to share that Ward6 now has 118 subscribers with an open rate of 74%.  This tells me it’s time to kick it up a notch next year and start getting the word out about Ward 6. Thank you, readers.

Before I go any further, two corrections:

“Thank you so much for including information about tree planting in your newsletter. I wanted to clarify that the Cobble Hill Tree Fund is separate from the CHA. “ He went on to explain his role as the “defactor leader of the CHTF. The current president (Gale Synnott) has been mentoring me for the last two years while I run daily operations (Cox email to Ward 6).”

Cox says he’s always looking for volunteers: [email protected].

Looking for a change in 2026?  A new job? Part of a layoff? Thank you to CG’s reader Emily for this tip: Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is hiring! 

I thought I knew all of the French-owned or inspired food establishments in our corner of Brooklyn. But thanks to Petit Paris in Brooklyn, a comprehensive round-up from Brooklyn Bridge Parents, I’ve added one new-ish place to my list to visit.  

I’ve biked past Atelier Ariana on Smith and 9th many times, commuting to and from Gowanus, founded by an American chef who studied in Paris. Next time, I will stop, as Chef Ariana offers food, pastries, and “bake like a chef” cooking classes.  

My addition: Sunday Mass at St Paul’s at the corner of Court and Atlantic is offered in French, Spanish, and English.

The group, Safer Court Street, posted the Department of Transportations “outreach survey” that the agency conducted along Court Street last summer and earlier this year that helped inform “safety improvements,” including the new bike lane.  The court exhibit was made available as the result of the Court Street Merchants Association’s (CSMA) lawsuit against the DOT.

Since the redesign of Court St., many businesses along the well-traveled corridor have questioned the DOT’s claim that they had interviewed more than 200 businesses. Representatives of the CSMA told Ward 6 a few weeks ago that they have been unable to identify a business that took DOT’s survey.

Bruno’s Hardware, Cobble Hill Chapels Funeral Home, Gersi, O’Keefe’s bar, and Court St. Bicycle Shops are some of the businesses quoted in DOT’s survey.

You can read summaries of DOT “ambassador” sites where they talked with pedestrians at nine locations on Court St over five days in July. They categorized daily interactions as “Common Feedback,” “Surprise Intel,” “Notable Interactions,” and “Word on the Street” from their visits to Court St.

And if you want to get granular, go to page 27 to see block-by-block business survey participation. For example, on the west side of Court St between Kane and Degraw, it says they surveyed 15 businesses.  The most consistent complaint seems to be a lack of space for delivery trucks. 

Some memorable quotes from the survey: 

If you want to know more about the lawsuit, Court St. Journal covered the first appearance before the judge handling the case.

And if you missed Ward 6’s post on IG about the debate over the redesign,  I shared some quotes from the CB6 meeting a few weeks ago, where 15 or so of your neighbors testified.

For decades, I lived only a few blocks from the waterfront. It’s where I walk, bike, and jog almost daily, yet, until this year, I’ve knew so little about what happens beyond the fence. Except on those rare nights/days when I’m lucky enough to catch the massive cranes in motion, like on Thursday.

Now I know the waterfront is called The Brooklyn Marine Terminal (BMT), and I’m slowly learning about its current use, as well as its history, from neighbors who live and work close by, and from the NYCEDC that came up with the “vision” on behalf of our outgoing mayor to redevelop the site.

If you read Ward 6, you know I care deeply about the City’s proposed plan. It involves complex urban planning and development issues that I’m also learning about, so I can, in turn, keep you readers informed and up to date on what’s happening. 

I’ve heard from some readers that the BMT is “over there” and it doesn’t impact our communities east of Hicks St., but it does, and it will, if this “vision” moves forward as is. What happens with the waterfront is connected to the BQE, our congested streets, the air we breathe, and basic infrastructure that allows us to drink healthy water and flush our toilets, among many things. Then there is the issue of what NYC does with public land and the best way to utilize our waterways to get trucks off our streets and highways.  And will building an “abundance” of housing mean our affordable housing shortage will end?

If you need a crash course in some of the redevelopment issues, I recently learned about a class project commissioned by filmmaker Marcia Rock, director of NYU’s News and Documentary program called New York Tides. Students spent a month producing “a series documenting New York City’s complicated relationship with its waterfront. From elevating flood walls and working waterfronts, to river pollution and bankside housing development, we chart efforts to live alongside a changing shoreline across the five boroughs.”

Part of the project, the Working Waterfront, includes short video docs about Red Hook, the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, and the Blue Highway proposal to move more freight by water.  There are also accompanying articles with additional reporting. I didn’t talk to each filmmaker, but I did have a brief conversation with Aisha Tahir, who worked for more than two years in Pakistan reporting and shooting documentaries before starting grad school at NYU. Check them out!

And yes, I have more waterfront news!

I’m glad to see The Broadsheet, a lower Manhattan newsletter, continues to report on the helicopter industry that we all cursed during the Ryder Cup weekend (post#4 Helicopters! Ryder Cup! Oh My!).  

We all know that their strict routes included flying over Columbia Street Waterfront, Cobble Hill, Park Slope, and more neighborhoods throughout the weekend.

The other development worth pointing out is that the NYCEDC told the community board that if it extended its hours of operation at its East Side, downtown helicopter skyports, noise complaints would go down.   The EDC claims that the 145% increase in noise complaints is due to authorized flights from NJ increasing after the EDC cut back its hours in Manhattan some time ago. Then the NYCEDC went on to suggest a trial period to gather data on its theory, which coincides with the World Cup and an international maritime celebration, Sail 250, both high-tourist events.  I might crfash the community board meeting when the NYCEDC appears again with additional infomation for the board.

I’ll end on a stat I read in a press release from Cong. Dan Goldman’s office: “Over 95% of the 58,000 Helicopter Flights from East 34th St. Heliport and Downtown Manhattan Heliport are Non-Essential.”