Woodframe homes in the Wallabout Historic District on Vanderbilt Avenue.

There is so much to see around Myrtle Avenue in Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Wallabout and May’s warmer weather offers many opportunities to get out in the neighborhood and explore.  A host of guided walks, tours and open houses are slated to take place, highlighting the area’s beautiful architecture and history.

May 17 – And Ongoing: Guided Historic Walking Tour through Wallabout
Every 3^rd Saturday of the month during the summer, the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership will host a FREE guided walking tour through the historic Wallabout neighborhood.  The area, most of which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as  historic district, has a beautiful mix of pre-Civil War homes and late 19^th century industrial buildings.  The walk will discuss how the neighborhood developed from when the Dutch first arrived in the early 1600’s and highlight notable residents, such as Walt Whitman and Walt Whitman.  The tour begins in Fort Greene Park at 11am, includes a 1.5 mile walk, and concludes at 99 Ryerson St.  The event is free, but space is limited.  Please register here.

May 3: Jane’s Walk: Walking Wallabout Brooklyn
The annual international Jane’s Walk event is again featuring a stroll through the historic Wallabout section of the neighborhood north of Myrtle Avenue.  The guided walk, hosted by the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership, will meet in Fort Greene Park and wind its way through the Wallabout Historic District and the industrial section near the Navy Yard, and conclude at 99 Ryerson Street, the former home of Walt Whitman.  Find full details on the walk on the event’s website, which is sponsored by The Municipal Art Society (MAS).  The event is free and registration is not required.

May 4: Fort Greene Association Annual House Tour
This annual house tour offers a full-schedule for 2014 which emphasizes this year’s theme: At Home with the Arts.  The self-guided tour will allow you access into some of the neighborhood’s most beautiful homes, including a brownstone featured in the hit show Girls.  In addition to residences, tour takers will have access inside local art institutions, including: Mark Morris Dance Center, BRIC’s TV Studios, BLDG 92 in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and the Net’s Practice Court inside Barclay’s Center.  Find full details on ticket prices and where the tours begin on the House Tour’s website.

This blog post was originally published on May 3, 2014.

Spring is a busy time on Myrtle Avenue in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.  In the following 3-4 weeks, the BID will be sponsoring and managing the following activities to green and beautify Myrtle Avenue:

• Cultivate soil in 150 street tree beds.  This helps relieve compacted soil so tree roots can get air and water.
• Add mulch to 200 street tree beds.  Mulch keeps weeds down and moisture in the soil.
• Install 70 perennials (hosta and maiden grass) in street tree beds.
• Install 2500 annuals (begonia, salvia, marigold, and flowering tobacco) in street tree beds.

Soil cultivation and mulch will be handled by contractors.  Look for volunteers and Myrtle Avenue BID staff planting perennials and annuals in early-mid May.

All street tree plantings will be within Myrtle Avenue’s custom tree guards and benches.

Tree care activities are supported by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Urban and Community Forestry Program.

Starting this week, our partners at City1 Maintenance are taking care of 28 of Myrtle Avenue’s custom tree guards and benches in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.

The urban environment is tough on trees… and tree guards.  Workers will be scraping rust off of the posts and artistic metal panels, then applying a special rust-prevention paint.

Later this month we’ll be performing routine tree bed care and then installing ornamental plants in tree beds along the Avenue.  Stay tuned.

According to plans filed with the Department of Building, a new 6-story building is set to rise at the corner of Myrtle and Vanderbilt avenues on the Fort Greene and Clinton Hill border.  The Karl Fischer designed building will hold 45 residential units, with 8,100 square feet of commercial space and 3,200 square feet for community facilities.  The building will replace the current Gulf gas station and auto repair shop, which currently sits on the 9,900 square foot lot.

According to the business owner, the auto shop is set to move to 46 Clinton Avenue, between Flushing and Park Avenue at the end of April.

Ingersoll Garden of Eden Gardeners circa 2009

In 2007 a group of eight Ingersoll residents, all women ages 60+, expressed their desire for gardening plots on NYCHA grounds to beautify the space and grow their own food. We were honored to assist.

A partnership with the NYCHA Garden & Greening team, Ingersoll grounds staff, MARP and the residents ensued and the creation of the Ingersoll Garden of Eden came to fruition in 2009. What began as 8 gardeners with 8 plots has grown to be 40 gardeners with 40+ plots. A long wait-list of  other residents interested in gardening has been growing over the years as they see the success of the Garden of Eden.

The core group of original gardeners responded to this demand and formed themselves as the Governing Body – maintaining a wait-list, applying for grants, meeting monthly and driving communication between residents and partner organizations. In 2013, the Governing Body applied for and received  the New York Restoration Project (NYRP)  “Gardens for the City”  grant, a program that aims to “help communities transform public spaces”.  The selection process identifies spaces with “committed community stewards that need the most help”.  NYRP then lends their materials, muscles and expertise.  

The design process began in the winter of 2013 with NYCHA Garden & Greening staff assisting in the process – supporting the gardeners as they chose the new location and working with NYRP on the design of the new garden. Once all the physical logistics were completed we worked with the gardeners to prepare and disseminate the news that wait-listed residents will now have their own gardening space! 

On March 27th, 2014 all community partners, as well as the youth of Green City Force, joined together to welcome the new gardeners and move fresh soil into 23 gardening plots. We look forward to seeing the plots become green over the year.

Take a look at the day in photos on our Flickr page and read the story from DNAinfo.

Thank you and congratulations to all community partners and Ingersoll Gardeners!

Photo Credit: Samuel Stuart

This past week, Michael Blaise Backer announced  that he will be stepping down as Executive Director of the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership at the end of April to serve as a Deputy Commissioner at the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS), overseeing the Neighborhood Development Division. He will also be stepping down as the co-chair of the New York City BID Association, the membership association of the 69 business improvement districts in New York City.  The Partnership’s Executive Committee will be meeting next week to begin transition planning. Read the press release here.

March Madness is in full effect!  Have you been watching?  We received a couple of calls from April and Savannah Smith, both graduates of the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership’s YEMP (young entrepreneur mentorship program) program and April, a graduate of the local, Academy of Arts and Letters School at Adelphi and DeKalb.  Their brother, Russ Smith, is a guard for the Louisville Cardinals.  Russ has had an amazing college basketball career, leading Louisville to three conference championships, two final Fours and a National Championship.  Born and bred in Brooklyn, Russ, is also up for the prestigious Naismith Award.  The award honors the NCAA’s ‘Player of the Year’ and the fan vote represents 25 percent of the selection process – the largest fan impact of any collegiate basketball award.  Votes allowed through Saturday, April 5th, so hurry!

From April and Savannah on behalf of their big brother:  please take a few minutes and vote for Russ!

In preparation for the construction of Myrtle Plaza, National Grid will be on Myrtle Avenue for 1-2 months laying new gas pipes.

The existing gas main under the roadway is too close to the sewer and water mains.  Before reconstructing the water systems, the gas main has to be moved.  National Grid will therefore lay gas pipes under the sidewalk, on the north and south side of Myrtle, between Hall and Classon.

The construction will temporarily impact vehicular and pedestrian access and create noise.  Sidewalk width will be reduced, crosswalks closed, parking removed.  At times, a travel lane may need to be removed.  Fortunately, the construction at each individual location will be short-lived.  After gas lines are laid, asphalt is used to temporarily cover the trench, before being replaced with concrete.  Then, a different team from National Grid will work with each property owner and business owner to create hookups to the new line.

National Grid cannot provide an exact schedule.  However, on the north side they plan on working east, from Hall Street to Emerson Place.