In a great example of how community journalism can work, I got this note about the goings on at a Community Board 7 meeting on parks. A reader attended, and sent this note back:

Sunset Park will be undergoing some serious changes–$4 million in renovations starting this year. Sara Gonzalez helped acquire the funding, the reader said.

The first is a reworking of the concrete baseball/soccer field (“the big slab”) in the middle of the park. It will be turned into a more legitimate multi-purpose field, faux-grass and all, as the picture above shows. The comfort station (I believe that’s the bathroom) and the area with the chess tables will also get spiffed. The playground, however, will not get reworked…yet. Some of the parents at the meeting were not too happy to hear that, but the playground will apparently top next year’s list.

Another unfortunate budget victim is summer camp:  registration in Sunset Park has been delayed as the is no money in the budget for it. Rumor is it may not happen this year, the reader said.

*The Daily News reported that P.S. 150 has the longest wait list in the city, due largely to demand from Chinese families who have moved into Sunset Park in recent years.

*Police at the 72^nd Precinct think they may have caught the burglar who has been targeting and stealing from Chinese residents who live the 40s and 50s, and driving up the burglary rate, Inspector Jesus Raul Pintos said last week.

*The lack of Brooklyn-bound toll on the Verrazano has some people worked up, including local owners who have trouble parking in Sunset Park, the Eagle reported.

*The weekly park sweeps at Lets Clean Sunset Park! are back up and running. Want to join in? Check out the website to keep up to date.

*Thanks to the Brooklyn DA, Haitians in need of clothing after the earthquake will soon be sporting a load of designer knockoffs confiscated last year from a Sunset Park storage facility, according to the Post.

*Councilwoman Gonzalez held a leadership summit last week, the Eagle reports. She also brought together a group to talk about the somewhat contentious issue of legislation on vendors along Fifth Avenue. Details on that to come.

*Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Quinn last week announced the New York City Waterfront Vision and Enhancement Strategy (WAVES), “a citywide initiative that will create a new sustainable blueprint for the City’s 578 miles of shoreline.” Sunset Park obviously has a good bit of that waterfront. I haven’t had a chance to look through it carefully, but I’ll report back on the details of the plan.

*Picturing Sunset Park: Check out a kind of unusual shot I stumbled upon here, and good shot of Chinatown here.

*Frank of The Sunset Park Blog noted a couple of new Italian places in the neighborhood, and made a well-deserved plug for staying in (the neighborhood) when going out to eat.

*Things have been cooking, sprouting and…shopping…over at Sunset Parkour. Take a look out how her seedlings are progressing, and her note on Sunset Park’s recent meh ranking in NYMag’s list of “most livable” New York neighborhoods. Eh, they can keep Park Slope.

*Got any other news? Send it along…

*The adult shops along Third Avenue have been a, well, touchy subject for a while now. A reader sent this Daily News piece around yesterday on a court decision that may make complicate the adult bookstore/movie store industry. The Brooklyn Eagle had an article yesterday as well.

*Lots of Greenway coverage this week, including a piece in the Daily News, and some live blogging here at Sunset Park Chronicled.

*Remember Federal Building No. 2? The Times did a multimedia package on the full-of-potentials-with-a-hint-of-problem piece of waterfront real estate this week. The photos have a touch of Nathan Kensinger’s style to them I thought. Take a look.

*The Village Voice’s Sarah DiGregorio put out her list of the top ten spots to fill your belly in Sunset Park.

*The New York Time’s Fernanda Santos has a piece (with graphics, video, etc) tracking the 2010 Census. Convincing people to fill out and return the forms is still proving a hard sell it seems. Do it! It’s how you get money for schools, transpiration, hospitals–and we reporters love us some census data.

This landed in my inbox this week, and I thought, especially in these strapped times, it worth passing along. Most of the jobs are for the “enumerator” position, I’ve been told, which pays $18.75 an hour and offers flexible scheduling, including nights and weekends. The local district also covers Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Heights, Ft Greene, Boerum Hill, Borough Park, and Park Slope. Job applicants take a basic 28-question multiple choice test with basic math, map reading, and literacy skills. No computer skills needed, and there are local testing sites right in the neighborhood. Brokelyn’s checked it out.

One man was found dead and 8 firefighters injured in an early morning blaze in Sunset Park, the Daily News reported. The fire began around 1:22am, and ran through the third floor of the row-house at 322 56th Street. Firefighters found a body of a man in his 30s, according to the Brooklyn Ink. His name has not yet been released.

Neighbors told the Daily News the abandoned row-house had people coming and going at all hours, and may have been home to squatters for at least two years. It has been in disrepair since at least 2003, according to records from the Department of Buildings.

Cotton candy salesmen in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, photo by digenger

There are lots of folks keeping tabs on the neighborhood these days. Here’s a look at some recent developments:

Sunset Park Stills has some great new shots, including blue skies from this weekend’s amazing spring days.

Sunset Parkour dished up a old-style neighborhood story, and is chronicling the seedlings sprouting up for her Sunset Park garden.

When winter was in full force, Friends of Sunset Park gave a shout-out to the guys taking on the snow like it was their job.

The Center for Family Life’s Spark! blog keeps tabs on the goings-on of their blossoming cooperative network (stay tuned for a story on on of their groups to be published soon on Sunset Park Chronicled).

The Sunset Park Blog has notes on Chinese New Year, the shuttering of Ellie’s Bar and an opportunity for some part time work. Take a look!

Councilwoman Sara Gonzalez with teacher Maria Diaz and students at P.S. 24, photo by William Alatriste

Local Politics–Councilwoman Sara Gonzalez keeps busy:

*Councilwoman Sara M. González last week joined Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and others at P.S. 24 on 38th Street for the official launch of ‘Respect For All Week’, a citywide program to address bullying, harassment and discrimination in New York City Schools. “We will be instilling a most valuable life lesson to children at a young age, that bullying, harassment and discrimination are not acceptable in today’s society,” said Councilwoman González in a press release.

*On March 12, the councilwoman took part in a panel discussion chaired by Senator Velmanette Montgomery as part of an emergency meeting at Borough Hall in Brooklyn to address the slated closures of day cares and Head Start programs throughout the city.  DC 1707, Council of School Supervisors and Administrators and the Day Care Council called the meeting in response to the threatened cuts.

*Friday was supposed to be the final voyage, but the Rockaway Ferry will forge on, NY1 reported. A last minute deal brokered between the City Council, including Councilwoman Sara Gonzalez, and the mayor’s office will extend the ferry service until July, including its service to the Brooklyn waterfront.

In State News:

*Congressman Felix Ortiz raised the ire of many local restaurateurs when he proposed a bill to ban salt, yes that is the use of all salt, in New York restaurant. Ortiz advocates the ban as a way to address health issues such as hypertension that have skyrocketed in recent years. But you can imagine how fans of salami, pastrami, French fries, salt cod, soy sauce and, well, most dishes with flavor felt about the Sunset Park Democrat’s plan. Tom Colicchio, star of “Top Chef” and owner of Craft restaurant, served as token foodie in the Daily News coverage. “New York City is considered the restaurant capital of the world,” he said. “If they banned salt, nobody would come here anymore.”

After much tomato-tossing, Ortiz last week he backed down from the ban, the YourNabe reported. It seems, in the long run, good for Sunset Park’s many eateries. The tears of the Top Chef crowd might not tug on any heartstrings in Sunset Park, but the end of savory banh mi and chorizo-laden pambazos is another story.

*Congresswoman Yvette Clark joined with two other House Democrats in to oppose the reduction in the number of station agents in New York City subways, Gothamist reported. Clark is the Chairwoman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity and Science and Technology. The letter to MTA chairman Jay Walder implied the reduction could have serious consequences: “We strongly urge you to re-evaluate the current plans” and not, potentially, “compromise” subways, they wrote. You can read more at the NY Times.

This press alert just arrived in my email inbox. Given the recent scandal around the New York Times story on Governor Paterson’s alleged involvement in a case in which the State Police encouraged a victim of domestic violence not to testify, this might catch people’s eye. (Quick guide to the Paterson chain-of-events here). I will have to look into what other legislators and experts think of  a law require electronic monitoring bracelets on those with restraining orders issued against them. Also, I’m curious why he chose Sunday noon for the event…

(New York, NY) – Assemblyman Felix W. Ortiz (Brooklyn) will hold a press conference to advocate for legislation, A.2599, which requires individuals with an order of protection issued against them to wear electronic monitoring devices.

• Time:12:00PM Sunday, February 28th
• Location:New York City Hall Steps

Domestic violence occurs every 15 seconds in the United States which is more frequent than any other crimes. There are more than 50,000 cases of domestic violence each year in New York State. Victims of domestic violence will frequently seek out an order of protection which most often is not enough. Assemblyman Ortiz is pushing for support of the legislation in order to stop any future violence.

It sounds like people in pockets throughout Sunset Park have lost power during this storm. Are you in the dark? Map yourself on this See Click Fix map to alert government and local organizations to the problem!

Here are a couple of people who tweeted their frustrations to the masses:

• htomborr: You know what I hate more than snow…I hate power failures #coned get on it! Blackouts are no fun!
• carynnnn: My building has no power and there is abs nothing to do. Seriously about to pull a Family Guy and start telling stories.
• capsworth @fivethirtyeight Not sure that’s at all accurate. Here in Sunset Park, at least three densely-packed blocks (like mine) are w/o juice.

Igloo, by Robert Aguilar

The weather meant business again today. Robert Aguilar sent in a picture of this shelter from the storm down on 56th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. It looks like at least a few kids down in Sunset Park enjoyed their snow day. Sunset Park Stills also added another nice shot to its collection.

Sunset Park got nearly 15 inches, NY1 reported. This was the biggest storm this winter. Alternate side parking rules are suspended tomorrow, by the by, and no trash pickups for now, in case you were wondering…

Have more images of Sunset Park after SnowtoriousBIG? Send them in to sunsetparkchron@gmail.com