Inside Third & Bond: Week 41

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After the nerve we hit last week, we thought it might be best to focus this week on something less controversial: children. And their art. This week’s update focuses on the kids’ mural project which is now installed at the site. So when you drive by the site intending to throw tomatoes at us since we can’t construct a fence properly, instead, take a moment to enjoy some awesome local artistry.

As you might recall from Week 18, we hired Pasqualina Azzarello to do a construction fence mural for us as she’s done on our J Condo and 12th Street projects. While she was completing the mural on Third St, she came up with the idea of working with a local school for the mural on Bond St…

…Rather than dragging kids out to work on a street corner, she met with the principal at The Brooklyn New School and decided to do a series of in-school classes with a group of about sixty kids. She and the kids worked on the project all spring. Last week, Pasqualina installed the completed 2 x 2 pieces on Bond St.

Then, earlier this week, Pasqualina put together an award ceremony complete with a slideshow of the works in progress (set to some energetic music) and certificates for each student. It was great to hear the shouts of recognition from the kids when their photograph or their mural appeared on the big screen. Hopefully they will all make it out (with supervision) to see their murals in the field.

Pasqualina found out what the kids were studying and tried to work that into the brainstorming for the artwork. Her overall theme was Change. One of the classes was studying the Native Americans who were present in Carroll Gardens as well as the Dutch. While Third & Bond is not change on the order of European settlement, the idea that change is ever-present seemed to get across. One of our favorite murals depicts the difference between a polluted water body and one that is clean. It’s right next to the one entitled, The Gowanus Sailboat. Maybe these kids will see a crystal clear Gowanus in their lives…?

Another personal favorite is the one of a construction worker with particularly impressive facial hair! Thanks to Pasqualina, the teachers, administrators and students at the Brooklyn New School, the community mural project was a success. (If you can spot and name the adults in this next photo of happy kids, you win two points!)

And so we don’t leave you with only this soft-serve posting this week, a quick update on other aspects of the project: Re-inspection to lift the stop work order is expected any day—just waiting on the City, buy-outs are on-going, and we are getting ready to submit the offering plan to the Attorney General’s office for review.
Inside Third & Bond: Week 40 [Brownstoner]
Inside Third & Bond: Week 39 [Brownstoner]
Inside Third & Bond: Week 38 [Brownstoner]
Inside Third & Bond: Week 37 [Brownstoner]
Inside Third & Bond: Week 36 [Brownstoner]

From our lawyers: This is not an offering. No offering can be made until an offering plan is filed with the Department of Law of the State of New York.”