Steeplechase pier is off limits

Manned park vehicle posted at entrance to damaged Steeplechase pier.

As reported earlier significant damage is present because of a shift of the cement blocks that supported the pilings holding up the deck during Sandy.

Best breakfast on the boardwalk-Tom's Coney Island!

Best breakfast on the boardwalk-Tom's Coney Island! - CNN iReport

No arguments here...and don't forget the scrumptious pancakes. Enough for the next morning.

Luna Park: 1905

Luna Park: 1905 | Shorpy Historical Photo Archive

Brooklyn Gentrification and other stuff

Brooklyn Gentrification: The Map!: Gothamist

This link will take you to maps of property information and other interesting layers of information about how your home location and neighborhood compares to others in the borough such as property values, flood zones, transportation, schools, etc..  Lots of maps and layers to keep you busy exploring stuff you need to know or don't care to know. From propertyshark.com.

Coney Island Struggles To Recover After Sandy

Coney Island Struggles To Recover After Sandy | ENR: Engineering News Record | McGraw-Hill Construction

(Excerpt)
The once-flooded homes they have been inspecting are now dry and stripped of damaged Sheetrock, says one crew member. "Things are a lot worse than what they appear to be in the news," he says. "Just about everybody needs a new boiler or water heater. ... We go into a lot of houses that have had nine feet of water in them." Even though the city is gaining ground, he says, repair work "is not something that will be done quickly."

A co-worker agrees, saying, "Most homeowners have already been in touch with FEMA and [a program called NYC] Rapid Repairs, so they at least have a game plan. But most houses have been abandoned." He estimates each house has at least $40,000 to $50,000 in damages

Robin Hood Foundation Grants for Hurricane Sandy in 2012: Millions Disbursed

Robin Hood Foundation Grants for Hurricane Sandy in 2012: Millions Disbursed (select this link to see a list of grantees)

The Robin Hood Foundation, founded in the 1990s as an antipoverty organization in New York City, made an immense commitment to Hurricane Sandy recovery in Brooklyn and throughout the city. Their name became almost a household word with the "12-12-12" blockbuster concert in December 2012 that sought to raise millions in recovery funds. But even before then, the foundation committed dozens of sizable grants from $25,000 up to $80,000 for dozens of nonprofit groups working in Brooklyn, based in Brooklyn, or who extended some services to storm victims and storm-battered communities in Brooklyn.

One concern with nonprofits and foundations is the question of how much money goes to overhead, and how much to actually helping the cause in question. One of the major features of the Robin Hood Foundation is that as a matter of policy, their deep-pocketed board of directors pays all administrative and fundraising costs. So, a hundred percent of all donations go directly to program, not overhead.

The list, provided by the Robin Hood Foundation, identifies the first "wave" of Hurricane Sandy relief and recovery funding in Brooklyn in 2012, during which $2,370,000 was granted to the organizations below for storm related work.

That period of time, during Thanksgiving and in the ramp-up to Christmas, was particularly poignant.(Read Thanksgiving 2012: Gratitude but Also Grief.

Robin Hood Foundation Grantees for Hurricane Sandy, Through Dec. 15, 2012

(The list does not include recipients of funds raised during the 12-12-12 concert.

Also, all descriptions of the projects listed below are based on information provided directly by the Robin Hood Foundation.)

Filmmaker debuts documentary about his family struggles on PBS

Filmmaker debuts documentary about his family struggles on PBS

(Excerpt)

Growing up in Coney Island, NY, William Caballero describes himself as being an artsy, quirky and nerdy kid who got on everyone’s nerves. Although he always loved his Puerto Rican-American family dearly, he says he always felt like an outsider looking in.

William Caballero with his parents
 on his graduation from
 New York University in 2008.
(Courtesy William Caballero)

He had to look no further than to his not-so-perfect family for inspiration for his first feature-length documentary.  On December 30, “American Dreams Deferred” will be premiering in 26 states on PBS World Channel.