We’ll See Her Cousin The Bronx This Summer

The trend of naming babies after boroughs in New York City continues into 2007:

Brooklyn is not only a popular place to live — it was also the 43rd most-popular name last year.

Just three years ago, the name “Brooklyn” wasn’t even in the top 100, according to the newborn gurus at BabyCenter.com, a Web site for new parents.

But in 2005, “Brooklyn” entered the charts at 62 — with a bullet. By 2006, it had jumped to 54th.

Now, at 43rd, it’s ahead of such once-beloved monikers as Katherine (46), Julia (55) and Abby (62)

Brooklyn even topped Rachel (66), Leah (85) and Rebecca (86) — so much for the Bible!

Not In My Backyard

An inventive excuse for why that trash transfer station is wrong for the neighborhood:

A dredging plan to create a Brooklyn waterfront waste-transfer station could have explosive repercussions, as it could set off anti-aircraft shells lost by the military in Gravesend Bay over 50 years ago, a state Assemblyman charged yesterday.

As the state Department of Environmental Conservation today is set to hold a final public hearing on the Bensonhurst station plan, Assemblyman William Colton (D-Brooklyn) made the revelation.

Colton said his office recently learned that a barge unloading live ammunition from the aircraft carrier USS Bennington capsized in Gravesend Bay in March 1954, taking with it 219 tons of munitions.

The barge turned up a day later but without the more than 15,000 shells aboard. The Navy said it recovered 15,003 shells by January 1955.

The Perfect Place For Middle Schoolers To Learn From Their Peers’ Bad Life Choices

If no one wants to build condos there we can at least scare straight surly middle schoolers:

Developers responded so weakly to a city invitation for ideas for retail and residential use at the soon-to-reopen Brooklyn House of Detention that the city is now considering putting a middle school in the space.

For months, the city has said it plans to reopen — and double the capacity of — the 11-story, 750-inmate Big House on Atlantic Avenue between Smith Street and Boerum Place.

But last year, when the city solicited bids for ground-floor shops in the infamous holding pen, retailers showed only lukewarm interest.

Besides the weak response from retailers, only one developer submitted a bid to build a residential tower adjacent to the soon-to-reopen jail.

As a result, Corrections Commissioner Martin Horn told a group of local pols and community activists at a Jan. 2 meeting that he is considering housing a new middle school in the jail.

Location Scout: Brooklyn House of Detention.

No Con-Do

I suppose it should come as no surprise that in this potentially shrinking housing market no developer wanted to take a chance on building on top of a jail:

An eyebrow-raising plan to build luxury apartments, office space or even a hotel alongside the unpopular Brooklyn House of Detention to make it blend in better with the trendy neighborhood has been scrapped for lack of interest.

The city floated the novel idea this spring as a way to tamp down widespread community outrage over plans to reopen and expand the jail, which has been shuttered since 2003.

But this month, city officials acknowledged the ambitious plan died because developers just didn’t bite.

“We’re disappointed, but we’re not surprised,” said Angela Ferrante, the head of a coalition of local groups fighting the jail reopening. Ferrante attended a Jan. 2 briefing on responses to the city’s Request for Expressions of Interest issued in May.

“It always seemed like a long shot that a developer would want to built right next to a prison,” she added, though luxury condos already have gone up across the street.

Correction Commissioner Martin Horn told advocates at the meeting there was only one response — from a developer who wanted to tear down the existing jail, which wasn’t part of the plan.

Correction officials yesterday said they would still be open to development if a viable proposal was made, but said they are moving ahead with plans to reopen the jail and add a $240 million addition to double its capacity from 749 inmates to 1,469.

Earlier: Just Think How Low The Monthly Maintenance Will Go If We Get Whole Foods As The Tenant!

Location Scout: Brooklyn House of Detention.

Silly When The Polar Bears Already Use Coney Island Year Round . . .

Does Thor even need to keep buying off everyone? Apparently:

The annual New Year’s swim at Coney Island used to be only about jumping into the frigid ocean — but now, the Polar Bear Club is finding itself in uncomfortably hot water for accepting a donation from Thor Equities, the mega-bucks developer that wants to create a Vegas-style amusement and residential district along the Boardwalk.

The 104-year-old club was pilloried on a Coney Island Internet message board last week for letting the developer sponsor the famed New Year’s Day swim.

“Thor has proven nothing but being an opportunist when it suits them, and they are using [the Polar Bear Club] just like they tried to attach their name to the Mermaid Parade,” one poster ranted. “It’s transparent, and I’m sorry, but I’ve lost respect for the Polar Bear Club.”

Many people might be surprised by the partnership forged between Thor and the club, because last year, the Mermaid Parade — Coney Island’s other great tradition — became a politically charged event that featured Polar Bears growling in the anti-Thor procession.

But now, club President Lou Scarcella said he’s made peace with Thor Equities because the company has jettisoned the idea of having condos inside Coney’s historic amusement area.

“We are definitely not sellouts,” Scarcella told The Brooklyn Paper. “If Thor wants to help, I say fantastic.”