Gowanus Lounge Best & Worst of 2006

In the spirit of looking back at the year that was, we present a very selective and subjective list of some of what we identify as the best and worst of 2006:

The Gowanus Lounge Top Bottom Ten
1) Bruce Ratner. Speaks for itself.
2) Joe Sitt/Thor Equities. Wouldn't have even made the list in May, but closed out the year very, very, very, very, very strong. Could dethrone Mr. Ratner next year.
3) Josh Guttman. The guy is so hot it's not funny.
4) Isaac Katan. The developer behind a lot of controversial buildings and the Domino Sugar plant. Joke in the South Slope is "Katan is Satan," which is not a ringing endorsement.
5) Robert Scarano. The poster boy for everything that's wrong with new Brooklyn developments.
6) Ikea. The Swedish retailer makes the list as much for their demolition of the Todd Shipyards in Red Hook as for being so arrogant about it. They make #1 look like a Civic Spirit Award contender.
7) Steiner Equities. Killed the Old Dutch Mustard Building in Williamsburg. We consider it an act of vandalism.
8) Frank Gehry. Miss Brooklyn wouldn't be a bad building in Manhattan. Mr. Gehry shouldn't have tarnished his reputation with Atlantic Yards.
9) Shaya Boymelgreen. He's here largely because of Beacon Tower and the big rat outside 75 Smith.
10) Quadriad Development. They could be a top contender in 2007 based on their insane, cracked-out proposals for Williamsburg.

Gowanus Lounge Top Five:
1. Carolina Salguero. Runs a cool organization and stands up for the Red Hook waterfront.
2. Daniel Goldstein. Has stood his ground where others would have folded.
3. Letitia James. She is right on the money on a whole lot of community issues.
4. Norman Oder. If they gave Pulitzers to bloggers, he'd get one. Mr. Oder ran circles around other local reporters and performed an invaluable community service via information.
5. Philip DePaolo. Defines community activism in North Brooklyn.


Brooklyn Landmarks Lost in 2006:
1) Greenpoint Terminal Market. Up in smoke.
2) Revere Sugar Plant. Killed by the hand of Thor.
3) Old Dutch Mustard Factory. Murdered by Steiner Equities.
4) Todd Shipyards. Ektorp did it.

Ugly Ass Building Award:
1) Northside Piers. Offensive in terms of scale and sales pitch. Bite me, is all we can say.
2) J Condo. Some like it and it's been selling, but it's the wrong building in the wrong place.
3) Finger Building. There are many fingers in North Brooklyn, but this is the original Finger.
4) Novo Park Slope aka Park Slope Tower. What were they thinking?
5) 133 Water. Looks like a Sub-Zero appliance next to the Manhattan Bridge.

Now We're Talking Award:
1) On Prospect Park. Pretentious and expensive, but respects the hood.
2) Mill Building. Nice example of how renovation beats demolition.
3) 55 Berry. The building gets kicked around, but another nice renovation.
4) Manhattan Park. By all rights, we should dislike this Greenpoint building, but we dig it.

Williamsburg Overdevelopment Award:
The South Slope. Forget where you are, and 16th Street looks like N. 8th Street.

Best New Ideas & New Things:
1) Brooklyn Greenway. We're rooting for it.
2) Gowanus Comprehensive Plan. Excellent idea. We await further action.
3) Bushwick Inlet Park. Will be very, very cool.
4) Red Hook Beach. Part of an appealing overall RedHook Piers plan.
5) East River State Park. Still awaiting the opening.
6) Lighting the Parachute Jump. Subtle, but we love it.
7) Prospect Park in Lights. Totally, totally rocks. Best idea ever.
8) Brooklyn Trolleys. Anyplace in the borough--we'd love them.
9) Coney Island Aquarium Makeover. Some excellent visions. Let's get on with it.

Top New Brooklyn Blogs (in alphabetical order) of 2006:
1) Brooklyn Record.
2) Clinton Hill Blog.
3) Dumbo NYC.
4) Kinetic Carnival.
5) Runs Brooklyn.
6) Sunset Parker.