I try to keep as up to date on all the curent issues going on in my home.  Here is a pretty accurate update on what's going on in our Borough of Brooklyn.

You know that Brooklyn has truly become cool when it rates a Trader Joe's.

The chic grocery, which draws repeat customers who are addicted to its exclusive foodstuffs at reasonable prices, is likely to be opening in Brooklyn sometime soon, according to Borough President Marty Markowitz, who updated residents of southwestern Brooklyn on changes in the borough during a joint meeting of the 62nd and 68th Precincts' community councils.

"What I believe is that Trader Joe's will be in Brooklyn shortly," Markowitz said, addressing the enthusiastic crowd gathered at St. Frances Cabrini, 86th Street and 16th Avenue. He would not, however, say where in the borough the Epicurean hot spot would be located.

But, that, indeed, was only the beginning. As Markowitz looked back at past triumphs and looked forward at possibilities ripe with promise for the borough, he recited the laundry list of projects now scheduled to change the face of Brooklyn - not only the tantalizing possibility of a Trader Joe's but also the controversial Atlantic Yards project, the Ikea planned for Red Hook, and the massive changes proposed for the Coney Island amusement area.

In the quick overview, Markowitz told the crowd that Ikea was expected to open at the end of next year in Red Hook. Not far away, in Gowanus, Whole Foods Market is also expected to open by next year.

Then, there's the redevelopment of Albee Square Mall on Fulton Street. The current shopping center, which is due to be demolished for a new development, is the perfect site, said Markowitz, for a Nordstrom's department store. "No promises," the borough president told the crowd, but, he stressed, "We are aggressively pursuing" the upscale department store chain with that particular location in mind.

There's also a heap of hotels coming to match the boom in tourism the borough is experiencing, said Markowitz. These include new "boutique" hotels as well as chain hotels opening in different corners of the borough.

"Tourism," stressed Markowitz, "will represent the future in terms of job growth and economic activity in the borough."

This includes a promised second British liner to dock at the Red Hook cruise ship terminal beginning next year - the Queen Victoria. "Not bad for the county of Kings," Markowitz quipped, "to be home to two queens."

Long term, Markowitz said, he was hoping to get a second berth at the cruise ship terminal and also to make Brooklyn a "port of call" for ships traveling between Canada and Florida."

He also said he was looking forward to the day when tourists see Brooklyn as their prime New York destination. "If they want to take a day trip to Manhattan, that's okay with me," Markowitz joked.

Coney Island is one of the nexuses of change in the borough, Markowitz noted. Now that, he said, it is, "Clean and safe and doing well, our challenge is to bring Coney Island into the 21st century.

"Skeeball is not exactly a big sport" for today's youngsters, he added ruefully. Nor, he noted, is a spin in the bumper cars "a big thrill."

What would be exciting to the generation raised on an ever-changing spectrum of electronic gadgets, Markowitz opined, is what is planned for the area in order to remake it as "a year-round destination." Of the amusement area, he said, "We want to preserve it for this and future generations."

Thus, plans for the area include an indoor amusement area, "And, I hope, a water park as well," said Markowitz, who told his listeners that the current plans for Coney Island involve, "A mix of retail, residential housing, a convention center, a hotel and time shares."

Time shares? "We have an increasing number of folks purchasing second homes in Brooklyn for the summer, because it takes less time to get to our beaches," Markowitz explained.

Those who come to enjoy Coney Island will likely have the opportunity to enjoy world-class musical entertainment as well.

Markowitz said that he was, "Planning to build New York City's first amphitheater" at Asser Levy Seaside Park, where he has presented free concerts each summer for years. Construction, said the borough president should take one and a half to two years for the amphitheater, which he described as, "State of the art, for concerts like mine and also to get some of the biggest stars in the world here in Brooklyn."

The controversial Atlantic Yards project Markowitz referred to as the fulfillment of his campaign promise to bring major league sports to Brooklyn. The project, he said, would not only bring a 19,000-seat state-of-the-art arena to the borough, but would also generate jobs and economic activity.

But, clearly mindful of the opposition of people in the immediate vicinity of the project, Markowitz added, "We're going to make it work for the community in the area as well. There has to be a balance. That balance we will find."

Residentially, Markowitz predicted that Fourth Avenue will, at some time in the future, be Brooklyn's Park Avenue. "What a beautiful wide avenue," Markowitz enthused. "I think it will be the next spot in terms of growth and in terms of making it a magnificent esplanade."

Given projected population growth for the borough - 300,000 people over the next 15 or 20 years - "We've got to make room for that growth and do it in the way that Vinnie Gentile and Marty Golden envisioned when they down-zoned parts of the community."

Markowitz also projected massive changes along Flatbush Avenue, from Atlantic Avenue to the waterfront. With all the "new housing and office buildings going up," he said, "I think it will become one of the biggest downtowns in America," that, he added, will entice people to move across the river from Manhattan

"All of this is good for Brooklyn," Markowitz concluded. "It represents putting Brooklyn on the map. When you say Brooklyn, the world smiles. All of us who believed in Brooklyn, who thought the best days of Brooklyn were ahead, now know the best days of Brooklyn are now and for years to come."

©Courier-Life Publications 2007

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