The Day: Work-Outs in a Local Apartment and Noise Concerns at the Barclays Center

Good morning, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.

Looking for a place to exercise in the nabe? One Clinton Hill resident, Greg Ramirez, is operating a fitness group called “The Gun Club” in his apartment, The New Yorker reported. Since February, people from all walks of life, including bartenders, chefs, barbers and actors – most current or former residents of Fort Greene and Williamsburg – meet at the apartment for a variety of intense work-outs, including lifting Bulgarian bags, or leather sacks filled with between 11 and 50 pounds of sand, the magazine reported. Ramirez’s apartment work-outs are similar to the exercise program CrossFit, with more of a “mythical martial arts” twist, according to the article.

If you decide to exercise today, be sure to stay hydrated. Temperatures in the nabe are expected to reach the high 80s, the National Weather Service reported.

• If your choice exercise routine involves riding your bike, you’re in luck, because there will soon be a many new bike parking spaces in the nabe. On Sept. 4, The Brooklyn Academy of Music will unveil a BAM Bike Park and BAMart outdoor installation at 31 Lafayette Avenue, across the street from the academy’s Peter Jay Sharp Building. The bike park will be an expansion of the David Byrne Bike Racks, installed in front of the Peter Jay Sharp Building last summer. Besides new parking spaces for bikes, the park will also provide an art showcase space, using its 20-foot-wide by 24-foot-high wall for a mural installation by local artists.
• Some residents near the Barclays Center are concerned about the noise, commotion and inconvenience that MTV’s Video Music Awards, which will be held at the new arena from 8 to 11 p.m. on Sunday, will bring to the nabe, according to The Atlantic Yards Report. Locals have already spoken out about concert bass that shakes their homes, post-event vandalism and trash on the streets from Barclays Center concerts, the blog reported. MTV and city representatives have refused to attend public meetings about the concerns, although an MTV representative did attend an invite-only meeting, according to the post. A letter issued by MTV last month, at the bottom of The Atlantic Yards report article, told residents to expect “outdoor lights, music, cameras and many cars arriving to drop off/pick up guests. To maintain safety for the general public, crowd control will exist around the perimeter of the affected streets.” The letter also includes a chart detailing local parking affected by the event. During a Dean Street Block Association meeting on Monday night, city Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told attendees that the “Red Carpet” event from 8 to 9 p.m. Sunday, and the dress rehearsal the same time on Saturday night, would bring “concert-loud” noise to the corner of Dean Street and Sixth Avenue, the article noted. At the meeting, one local resident complained about excess noise when the arena holding dock is open during concerts – and Kelly assured her that the dock would be closed during the VMAs, according to the website.
• Applications are now being accepted for 48 new affordable housing apartments under construction at 388 Bridge Street in downtown Brooklyn. The apartments are being constructed through the city’s Deep Rent Skewed and Low Income Housing Tax Credit programs. Applicants must meet certain income requirements, among other criteria. Applications must be submitted by mail before Oct. 14, while those received after will be set aside for future consideration. During initial occupancy, preference for 50 percent of the affordable units will be given to Community Board 2 residents. A lottery process will be used in selecting the applications; do not submit more than one application, or your application will be disqualified and not accepted. Take a look at the application here. Rent requirements are listed at the bottom of the page.