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You think someone would have noticed.

On Fulton Street above the bargain shops and next to the Macy’s, the department store’s parking garage has been painted with slogans and drawings inspired by the neighborhood. The mural is called a ‘Love Letter to Brooklyn,’ but many residents aren’t feeling the love.

“I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t look up,” said Jessica Love when asked about the mural on Fulton Street. “What mural?” was the most common response from residents when asked about the artwork.

Macy’s commissioned the artist Steve Powers to create the piece, and he finished earlier this month. The former graffiti artist’s style is full of large graphic text, and he incorporates the stores’ signage from the lower level of the parking garage within his designs. Above Bargain Hunters, a 99 cent store, he painted numerous ‘99’s.  Powers also spoke to locals and used quotes from his conversations like, “Born Busy as a Brooklyn Bound B”, “Hundred hustleers husstle for hundreds” and “I am made to leave. I am made to return.”

Powers has created similar works in Philadelphia and Syracuse. The artist often works in urban areas in decline. The Brooklyn piece faces an employment center on one side and a new apartment building, the Macy’s department store and a partially boarded up building with broken windows on the others.

“Bravo to Macy’s for transforming the facade of its Brooklyn flagship store into something befitting the rejuvenated Fulton Mall streetscape,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, on his website when the plan was announced.

But, not all residents agreed with Markowitz.  ”It needs some work,” said one woman before hopping on her bus.

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Gloria Dawson also photographed Steve Powers’ Philadelphia murals.

Diane Pisani wears a badge commemorating the royal wedding. Kim Chakanetsa/Brooklyn Ink

Prince William and Kate, that’s the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to you and me, were at the Atlantic Chip Shop in Brooklyn Heights – albeit in cartoon format but that did not stop a huge crowd made up of ladies dressed to the nines and men in mock wedding head gear from toasting the newlyweds.  The atmosphere was loud, festive and decidedly English.  Tiers of lemon chiffon cupcakes with pink icing sat alongside half-drunk pints of ale. Union jacks flags of various sizes dangled from ceilings and walls

For many this was the first glimpse at the morning’s wedding ceremony, which was now being dissected in blogs and broadsheets worldwide.  “We weren’t able to do 5 a.m.,” said Jennifer who had come with another friend Clara.  Both expressed surprise at having being sucked into the wedding excitement. They confessed to having prepared for the big day by watching both Prince Charles and the late-Princess Diana’s post engagement interviews as well as William and Kate’s. “Charles was super-awkward,” said Clara. “They seem so much older.”“I think they’re gonna make it,” said Jennifer before laughing at her presumed familiarity with the royal couple. “We are totally not obsessed,” she added, before leaning in to discuss how the couple met.

A table down, Susan Scout of Crown (how fitting!) Heights was midway through her second viewing. Donning a feather hair piece ($2 wholesale) she had been up since 4 a.m. She was quick to insist that her early rising was due to her being a “light sleeper.”  “I thought it was beautiful, the dress was beautiful,” said Susan as she finished tucking into a plate of sausage and chips.

“I’ve already cried once,” said Lorraine an Essex transplant eyes fixed on the ceremony being played out on the television screen. Despite what she described as her socialist leanings Lorraine was enjoying the whole affair. “Who doesn’t like a show?”  She was hopeful that the couple’s marriage would succeed. “They actually seem to like each other. They are doing it on their terms.” She thought for a moment before betraying her socialist leanings, “I hope they find something useful to do with their time.”

Back at Jennifer and Clara’s table the excitement was mounting as they were preparing to see the dress for the first time. “I think its perfect,” said Clara when at last Kate stepped out of the car ending weeks of feverish speculation.Jennifer was less convinced, “I don’t see any splash of awesome,” she said.

Men in home-made fascinators watch the proceedings at the Atlantic Chip Shop. Kim Chakanetsa/Brooklyn Ink

Aside from a group of five men sitting at the bar in homemade net fascinators the crowd was decidedly female. Theodore, a Spanish NYU student living in Red Hook was one of the few exceptions. “Now the British are on par[with Spain]. It ‘s a competition,” he said approvingly comparing Kate to Spain’s Princess Letizia. He had already seen the wedding which had much hyped in the Spanish press but the hype was all about what Princess Letizia would wear to Westminster Abbey.

A portrait of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge by the artist Joanne Pisani in the front window. Kim Chakanetsa/Brooklyn Ink

Doing brisk business behind the bar was the assistant manager, Diane Pisani, who had made 15 hats and the many cupcakes on display. These could only be eaten once the couple were wed.  Pisani who had been instrumental in putting the event together was hopeful that the celebrations would go on through the night.  A second screening was scheduled at 6 p.m.

At around 12.45 p.m. a huge cheer went out when the ring was placed on Kate’s finger.  A waiter scuttled out with free champagne and Diane led the crowd into a toast partially drowned out by the onscreen ceremony.  After the champagne Susan Scout started to leave.“I hope they stick it out,” she said. She paused, and recallingthe morning’s ceremony added,  “the kissing was a little short.”

However, he clarified that his support hinges on the removal of a co-op complex at 75 Livingston St. from the proposal. The designation would protect the buildings in it from being demolished by developers.

Opponents to the plan say it will increase rents and costs of living in the area, potentially driving people out.

The company admitted to evading requirements on federally funded projects, said federal prosecutors. Feds say the company lied about using a certain number of minority-owned or female-owned subcontractors or disadvantaged businesses.

3B entrepreneurs got creative by using little plastic dinosaurs to decorate one of the rooms in their recently opened B&B. (Caitlin Kasunich/The Brooklyn Ink)

By Caitlin Kasunich

Since July 2009, the second floor of 136 Lawrence St. in Downtown Brooklyn has served as a collective house for many young people who move in and out of New York City. They share all of their food and spend much of their time together. They work on various creative arts projects individually, such as singing and freelance writing. They even occasionally organize concerts and dinners in a common area in the house.

With its clean, spacious rooms and hardwood floors, the house resides in a prime location within Brooklyn that has easy access to many of the subway lines that run directly to Manhattan. So when the current group of eight residents, aged 23 to 29, was presented with the opportunity to take over the lease of the third floor in the building last May, they jumped at the chance to combine their talents to start a new business: the group decided to revamp the 1,000-square-foot space and open the 3B Bed-and-Breakfast.

Two of the house residents helped to jumpstart the enterprise. Catherine Lacey, 25, one of the residents and business entrepreneurs, knew the bed-and-breakfast business from working in one in New Zealand. Matthew Keesan, 29, also provided the early financing with some of his savings, which the other residents are helping to pay back, said Lacey.

After working all summer on the B&B, the residents decided to partially open their business on Oct. 1 as they finished up last-minute work on the floor. At that time, travelers could stay in two of its four rooms with a 30 percent discount. On Nov. 15, the B&B then opened all four of its bedrooms, and the residents are also putting final touches on the floor’s lounge and kitchen.

The rooms include two singles, one double and one bunk room. The single rooms cost $120 per night, the double costs $140 and the bunk costs $40. Guests also have Wi-Fi access throughout the B&B and receive a catered breakfast each morning.

The total cost to operate the B&B, including rent and electricity charges, is about $6,700 per month, Lacey added. This cost does not include start-up charges like buying room furnishings and renovating the kitchen.

“There’s really nothing like it in the area,” said Lacey, who first moved into the house six months ago on a sublet. “There are other hotels in the neighborhood. We have a Marriott and a Sheridan. But if you want something that’s a little more unique to the area, then this is where you want to stay.”

Each house resident contributes his or her personal talents to the operation. Karen Holmes, 27, designed and furnished the rooms. Petra Valdimarsdottir, 23, worked on the graphic design for the B&B’s menu. Dave Ferris, 27, made sure that the kitchen followed proper health code standards. Dexter Walcott, 24, is an architecture student who comes in handy when things need fixed.

Additionally, Stephanie Todd, 25, is the book keeper. Cora Courrier, 23, just graduated from Harvard University and helps out with whatever else the other residents need to get done. Lacey handles most of the public relations, and Keesan is in charge of the legal side of things and helps to keep the group organized with spreadsheets. Although the group has a lawyer for all legal matters outside of their understanding, Keesan has been part of a start-up before, so he understands some of these aspects a little better than the others, said Lacey.

But even with the cooperative efforts of the residents, the entire process of putting the B&B together was no easy task. The housemates had to clean up the rooms, wash the linens, paint the walls and re-finish the floors. To advertise the B&B, the group also spread the word through Facebook messages, blogs and e-mails to friends. And to many of the residents’ surprise, people started booking rooms on the first day that the system was launched online.

“I was there all day keeping an eye on it,” said Lacey. “Anytime we got a booking in, we would jump up and down in the living room.”

One of the people who came to stay at 3B was Ursula Weber, a doctoral student from Switzerland who stayed there from mid-October to early November.

“It’s just very relaxing,” said Weber. “People are very friendly, and they take great care of us. They answer every question that we have, and they let us do whatever we want. When you’re traveling in a big city, you want a place to come home to when you’ve been walking around for 20 hours or so.”

Now that the B&B is up-and-running, Lacey said that the group has become more at ease with operating the business.

“I think the first couple of weeks that we were taking people, it just seemed so crazy,” she said. “It’s a lot simpler now. We’re more comfortable.”

And even though Keesan said that the group did not enlist the help of any business outreach organizations in New York to get the venture started, the residents did use the NYC Business Express and New York State’s Online Permit Assistance and Licensing websites throughout the process. Both resources help new business owners to apply for licenses, permits and certificates.

But despite having the aid of these sites, the major obstacle for any new business owner is having enough capital to survive long enough to become successful, said Nancy Carin, executive director of the Business Outreach Center Network in New York City.

“If you’re not able to survive without making a profit for six to 12 months, there’s a much greater chance that you just won’t make it,” she said.

Starting a business with personal funds, however, is actually less risky than taking out a loan for the enterprise, Carin added.

“If you have enough of your own funds, then it’s probably better than taking on debt when you have a monthly outflow of cash that you can use to start paying down on the debt,” she said. “If you have enough money on your own, you can use some additional funds as a kind of safety net. It’s smart to borrow while you still have funds, not when you’re in a pinch.”

While other, more traditional bed-and-breakfasts do exist throughout Brooklyn, including the Garden Green Bed-and-Breakfast on Carlton Avenue and the Saddle Down Bed-and-Breakfast on Washington Avenue, 3B is the first B&B in the borough to be started by a group of communal residents who are seeking to balance out their living expenses.

“Once it’s actually going, it’s not going to be a full-time job for anybody,” Lacey said. “The idea is just to let it subsidize our life down here. We really just want it to be a space where people who are interested in a cooperative way of life can come and learn about it and support it. That’s definitely our foundational principle behind anything we do – whether we are running a business or just here having concerts.”

The festival will include a holiday plant and wreath sale, crafts activities by local artisans, a book fair, and a children’s carnival with rides and games.  Local children’s book authors will also be present to read to children.  Proceeds will benefit the Horizons at Brooklyn Friends School summer enrichment program, which serves public school children in downtown Brooklyn.