Near the end of the tour, we encountered an artist working on the beautiful murals which decorate the Coney Island USA building. She was decked out in an old paint-splattered Mermaid Parade t-shirt and dock shoes, busy putting the finishing touches on a vignette on the east side of the building. I learned that this was none other than Prof. Marie Roberts, the Coney Island artist in residence who has been largely responsible for last 10+ years of iconic Coney Island imagery.

Of course, I asked her for a portrait. She graciously obliged and smiled.

Born and raised in Coney Island, Marie’s family has had strong ties to the community for several generations and her art reflects this deep bond with the landscape. She says that her “father’s family was involved in Coney Island at the turn of the 20th century; my grandfather was acting battalion chief of the Coney Island District until his death in 1924. My Uncles Harry and Guy were at Dreamland the night of the fire. I have an uncle buried in the Gravesend Cemetery. My father claimed he never got out of the 6th grade because he was too busy watching the horses cross the finish line at the Gravesend track. My Uncle Lester was the talker for the Dreamland Circus Sideshow in the 1920’s.”

I also hear she has loads of legendary stories about growing up in a sideshow family, many of which surface as inspiration in her beautiful sideshow banner work. Be sure to check it out on the web here or in person at Surf Avenue and 12th Street!

Grace Court Alley is one of these such streets, nestled into a cozy nook off Hicks Street. Forgotten NY reports that this tiny street, along with neighboring Hunts Lane, was once “home to the stables of Remsen and Joralemon Streets, which parallel it to the north and south.”

Predictably, the former stables are now home to ultra-lux residences, but many of the original details remain – both inside and out. In fact, if you’d like a peek at the inside of one such drool-worthy home, check out this recent listing on Brownstoner. Swoon.

But me? I’ll make do until I win the lottery and take my camera out for a leisurely stroll…

The outcome? Brooklyn’s own Baked NYC won in a “seriously close call,” after beating out more than 47 bakeries and 60 flavor combinations!

To the uninitiated, Baked NYC seems like a hole-in-the-wall bakery (in a former storefront church!) on Van Brunt Street in Red Hook. Its humble, cozy space isn’t large, but it’s all about the bold flavors. Serious Eats had this to say about the winning ‘cakes:

But Baked stood out among all the contenders for their consistently moist cake, good cake-to-frosting ratio, and interesting flavors that highlighted the title ingredient. The lemon drop cupcake was one of the overall favorites of the tasting, with bright flavors that reminded us of summer citrus and not jarred lemon curd. The vanilla cupcake was a big pick for best of its category; it “tasted like vanilla,” rather than just a neutral flavor, and had a light, fluffy texture. Though its somewhat inconvenient location in Red Hook, Brooklyn, makes these cupcakes tough to reach for some, the tasty treats at the end of your long trek will be well worth the effort. I promise.

To help celebrate this sweet victory (and sample some of their non-cupcake delicacies), I took visiting friends to Red Hook this weekend for a divine breakfast of sticky buns and lattes. Not only were they impressed, but fell in love with the space as I have in the past. Check out a few shots of the bakery below, or pick up their beautiful cookbook to try one of their recipes at home!

Hmmm… maybe we need to visit some of the other bakeries on the list, too… you know, for research purposes.

Wait until the sun is starting to set, about 7:30pm these long days of late July. Start your walk in DUMBO (or at the High Street A/C or Clark Street 2/3) and head west through Cadman Plaza Park and west on Cranberry Street to the Columbia Heights waterfront. Admire the mansions. Bask in the golden light of sunset. Sit down on a bench along the Promenade and enjoy the view.

I have got to do this more often.

P.S. If you want to know more about the street’s history, check out the Brooklyn Eagle archives here.

And if you’re in the ‘hood, definitely go check out some more of Joel’s photos at Almondine, the French bakery in DUMBO, where they’ll be on exhibition for the rest of the summer!

Check out the story of their Brooklyn roots below, via this unabridged company history:

"Cyrus, Frank, and Charles Jones founded what was to become Grand Union in 1872. They called the business the Jones Brothers Tea Co., starting with one store in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where the shelves were stocked with coffee, tea, spices, baking powder, and flavoring extracts. The brothers expanded the business steadily, branching out with new stores in eastern Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New York. By the time it built its headquarters and warehouse in Brooklyn, New York, the company was known as the Grand Union Tea Co.

In 1912 Grand Union was a 200-outlet chain store with operations across the country. In addition to its business establishments, the company supported a small army of 5,000 door-to-door salesmen and delivered goods in horse-drawn wagons. The brothers incorporated the Jones Brothers Tea Co. in 1916.

…

[Grand Union] helped evolve the supermarket concept by demanding that the spacious supermarkets be designed carefully so as not to overwhelm customers used to smaller shops. Shield suggested breaking down the open spaces by building more walls and dispersing special product displays throughout the aisles. By the mid-1950s, Grand Union operated about half the number of stores it did in the 1930s, but the stores turned out nearly seven times the volume of sales. By then the company had outgrown its Brooklyn headquarters. It opened a new facility in Elmwood Park, New Jersey, in a red brick tower that was later to become a community landmark."

Ed recently gave us the heads up and graciously offered to share his photos and some thoughts. Read about the event below, or head on over to his blog for more!

Ed writes:

This was not a reactionary protest against BP or the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Hands Across the Sand was conceived before that and the first protest was held across Florida on February 13th, 2010. The protest was a simple one. At noon, the gathered people on over 700 beaches in the USA, over 900 total around the world, formed a single line facing the sea and joined hands for 15 minutes.

To me it was the simple act of the joining of hands between all sorts of people, nevermind their age, race, ethnicity, that was the most powerful and symbolic. Is a line of people in the sand going to actually do anything about this? Arguably not. Many don’t have the time or money to go down to Florida and help with the clean-up, and there are agencies much better at doing so even as it proves difficult. However, those who gathered still want their feelings to be known. The fact that this was a huge event across the country, and even world, shows that people really care about this. The coming together of people saying to industry and government that now is the time to take action, please take notice!

My own feeling though is something like helplessness. The Deepwater Horizon incident is just one example of some of the profligate practices and malpractices pursued by companies in the rush for the money as they compete for our dwindling resources. I don’t know what the solution is, this kind of engineering and science is not my field, but in the case of the Florida Gulf there needs to be one, and quick. A hugely pressing issue though is that we really need to accelerate our investigations into better, safer, and less destructive methods for a lot of our industries, not just oil. I am sure there is opportunity for entrepreneurship out there if people look past what we already know!

Have a fantastic week and stay cool!

My little garden is now punctuated by beautiful cherry tomatoes (at right), which are starting to ripen and making me hungry every time I throw open the window screen to water them. (Oh, how I love the smell of tomato plants in the summer!)

The light was so lovely last night at sunset that I had break out my trusty vintage 55mm macro lens. Check out the shots below in celebration of the simple pleasures!

The very first tomato of the season – yum!

Oregano and Catnip.

A sprig of rosemary stretches for the sun.

Globe basil, and spicy thai basil!

Afro-Punk became a touchstone of a cultural movement strongly reminiscent of the early days of Hip-Hop. Alternative urban kids across the nation (and across the globe) who felt like outsiders discovered they were actually the core of a boldly innovative, fast-growing community.

With the temperature in the 90′s and little-to-no breeze, I was surprised to see the festival already buzzing along. The BMX “Battle For The Streets” had gathered a crowd on the street course — complete with stair-set, rails, and grind boxes. The contest ended on a high note with one overachiever doing a backflip off of the ramp and out of the course.

The local vendors were out in flux. There were bikers and skaters riding around, and graffiti artists tagging a wall that had been built for the event. It was a really great day in Brooklyn. Though I don’t identify myself as an afro-punk or even a punk for that matter, I did not feel ostracized by the scene (as can often be the case in scenes). The music was great, and as diverse as the crowd, from hip hop to punk, pop to hardcore, soul to funk-infused metal.

Martin Luther (left) 24-7 Spyz (right)

J* Davey (left) K-OS (right)

Cool Kids

Mos Def, headlining the festival (above and below)