We Are All Brooklyn-Queens Now

The Queens Gazette weighs in on the demise of Brooklyn-Queens Day:

A tradition in Queens and Brooklyn since 1829 has bitten the dust. This year, Brooklyn-Queens Day, formerly celebrated only in the two boroughs for which it was named, will give students throughout New York City the first Thursday in June as a day off from school. (Their teachers will still be working, attending staff development meetings).

. . .

For a century and a quarter, students and teachers at schools in Brooklyn and Queens, to the envy of their counterparts in the three other boroughs, got the first Thursday in June (the second Thursday if the first Thursday fell in the same week as the Memorial Day holiday) off from school with no remark from anyone. Then in 2005 the United Federation of Teachers and the New York City Department of Education signed a new contract. Among its provisions was one extending Anniversary Day to schools in Manhattan, Staten Island and The Bronx. As of this year, 2006, students will have a holiday, while teachers will attend sessions fostering professional development.

We could lament the passing of a tradition that made living in Queens even more special than we already think it is, but we won’t. People are moving to Queens from other parts of the city because of the many advantages offered by this borough, which gladdens our hearts. We do well to keep in mind, however, that we are part of a greater whole. Customs and traditions such as Brooklyn-Queens Day should be extended to the rest of the city so that we can truly say that living in any part of New York City offers the same advantages.

. . .

Brooklyn-Queens Day was a nice tradition for the two boroughs while it lasted. The time has come, however, to extend the practice to the rest of New York City. At this point in our history there is good reason to foster unity of tradition, especially in our schools. Regardless, we will mark the day on our own as a vestige of days of yore that are no more.

If You’re Going To Kill Over Sporting Events, At Least Make It Short Track Skating Or Perhaps Even The 4X10 Kilometer Cross-Country Relay

The worst thing about this story is that no one — including the players! — actually gives a shit about the all-star game:

A Brooklyn teen stabbed his best friend to death — telling cops a “stupid argument” about the NBA All-Star Game triggered the bloody violence, authorities said yesterday.

Naquan Butts, 19, and Michael Bethune, 18, were watching the game with a couple of friends in Butts’ Crown Heights apartment Sunday night, when Butts and Bethune began arguing.

It started with each choosing a different team and claiming it was going to win, Butts told police.

Then, he said, the trash talk turned physical and they found themselves tussling right out the apartment door and into the 10th-floor hallway at about 11:45 p.m.

Butts drew a knife and stabbed his pal once in the chest, police said.

The mortally wounded Bethune stumbled into the elevator, but went nowhere before collapsing inside.

He was pronounced dead at Interfaith Hospital at 12:50 a.m. yesterday.

Minerva Update

Minerva’s view of the Statue of Liberty may be safe:

A controversial condo that threatens to block the famed wave between the Statue of Liberty and a Green-Wood Cemetery icon suffered another setback last week when the local community board voted to downsize the project.

Developers hoped the 614 Seventh Ave. building would tower 70 feet in height, but Community Board 7 members voted to limit it to 50 feet, arguing that new city zoning regulations applied to the lot.

“The community didn’t feel it was appropriate to reward developers for bad behavior,” said Board 7 chair Randy Peers, adding developer Chaim Nussencweig’s project had been tagged with five active Buildings Department violations.

Nussencweig had struck a deal with Green-Wood Cemetery officials earlier this month to cut out a portion of the 38-unit condo to preserve the famed salute between the cemetery’s statue of Minerva and Lady Liberty.

Critics of the redesign called it a peephole that would save only a sliver of the current panoramic views of Red Hook, the harbor and parts of New Jersey.

New rules went into effect last November limiting the height of new buildings in Greenwood Heights, but projects with finished foundations aren’t subject to the new zoning.

The Buildings Dept. ruled later that month that the Seventh Ave. condo’s foundation hadn’t been finished and froze work on the project.

See also: “Greenwood Cemetery Vista Saved?”

Greenwood Cemetery Vista Saved?

Will the wave on Battle Hill be saved? Minerva boosters are skeptical:

It may “save the wave,” but Greenwood Heights advocates have ripped a new deal promising not to block a long-celebrated sightline between a landmark statue and the Statue of Liberty.

The view between Minerva and Lady Liberty would have been blocked by a condo planned in the neighborhood.

But developer Chaim Nussencweig signed an agreement with the Green-Wood Cemetery last week promising to alter designs for the unpopular condo plan so it will not block the wave.

In exchange, cemetery officials agreed to stop publicly criticizing the project or participating in a neighborhood campaign to make sure the building is scaled back to fit within new zoning regulations.

“I feel they’re dancing with the devil,” said Aaron Brashear of the Concerned Citizens of Greenwood Heights, which has been leading the fight against the agreement Green-Wood Cemetery signed with the developer.

“The agreement is too little, too late,” he added. “It’s inadequate and it’s irrelevant because this building should not be built under the current zoning.”

At issue is whether the condos at 614 Seventh Ave. will be built at the originally-proposed height of 70 feet or will have to be scaled back by a third because of the new zoning — though that still could be high enough to block the view.

Nussencweig has appealed so he can build to 70 feet.

Brashear’s group charged the agreement is so vague that the view would not necessarily be saved and that the pact would only preserve a sliver of the view.

Green-Wood Cemetery President Richard Moylan said he negotiated the best deal possible to protect as much of the view as feasible.

Minerva:

Current view from Battle Hill:

See also: Greenwood Cemetery.

Castorini House For Sale

The Brooklyn brownstone used for exterior shots in the movie Moonstruck is on the market for $5 million:

The Brooklyn brownstone immortalized in the Oscar-winning movie “Moonstruck” is up for sale — but the merely romantic need not apply.
The elegant four-story home in Brooklyn Heights is being offered for a cool $5 million.

Prospective buyers are already lining up to see the house at Cranberry and Willow Sts., which Cher’s Loretta Castorini called home.

Edward and Francesca Rullman, owners since 1959, decided it was time to sell the 177-year-old home, said Corcoran broker Elliott Lokitz, who declined to say why.

“It really is kind of the antithesis of movie glitz,” said Lokitz of the quiet Cranberry St. block where Cher famously kicked a can with the Manhattan skyline in the background.

“People who love Brooklyn Heights love it for the beautiful, quiet residential community and the charm,” Lokitz said.

In one early scene, Best Actress winner Olympia Dukakis stands outside the home with a male suitor, who comments, “My God, it’s a mansion!”

“It’s a house,” she replies.

But buyers hoping to get their mitts on what’s inside, including the kitchen and old-fashioned six-range gas stove, should think again: All but a few interior shots were filmed on a movie set in Toronto.

Real-life neighbor Dorris Cain, 78, recalled watching Cher kick the can down Cranberry St. during filming, but it was only years later that she realized it was part of the movie.

“It’s fun to see these things, but you become very blasé about it,” said Cain, who a decade earlier watched scenes from “The Godfather” being shot on the same block.