CONTENTS_17 March 05

Thursday_3NO WORDS_Daily Pix by Hugh Crawford

POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford

SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
Subway service back to normal, Marty Markowitz in the New Yorker, Brooklyn-Half Marathon race course and MORE.

FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD_Weekday Lunch on Fifth

HAND-PICKED_Don’t Miss

SIDE PANELS_Links to Brooklyn essentials: museums, movies,
theater, arts, recreation, fitness, city government, schools and MORE. Scroll
around and see. Check out HelloBrooklyn.com on right for movie times and other must-have info.

POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford

2717102_stdBirthday madness is in full swing. My sister and I drove up to Costco today to order my daughter’s birthday cake. For $14.99, their white buttercream frosted sheet cake is quite a bargain. To my taste it’s helaciously sweet. But my daughter has her heart set on the rainbow with a smiling sun decoration.

Every morning, my daughter asks me to count the number of days until her class birthday (2) and the number of days until her real brithday (3).

BirthDAY is actually a misnomer. My daughter’s birthday will be monopolizing all or part of three days. The day before, I bring cup cakes to her school for a classroom celebration. Afterwards we’ll bring a cup cake to each of her previous teachers – a tradition at PS 321.

That night my father and stepmother arrive for a pre-birthday dinner and the presentation of her gifts. On the actual day, we’ve invited her eight favorite friends for a bowling party at the local alley. And the day after my mother and my sister are taking her, and two of her nearest and dearest, to the American Girl Cafe on Fifth Avenue for afternoon tea.

‘Nuff said.

Did I mention that I’m running the Brooklyn Half-Marathon, a 13.1 mile race from the Coney Island boardwalk all the way to Prospect Park on her birthday morning?

It should be a VERY interesting weekend.

Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB

SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.

Secrets_2

BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today?  Check here for Brooklyn weather.

CITY NEWS: SUBWAY SERVICE SUPPOSEDLY BACK TO NORMAL after yesterday when the service on the 4,5,and 6 subway lines was disrupted three times,  including power failures that fouled up both the morning AND the evening rush hour. Hundreds of thousands of commuters were forced to find other routes to and from work.   Read all about it at NY1

New York’s favorite hawks, Pale Male and Lola, are expecting at least two little hawks.

_City is revamping its high
school math curriculum, which will mean big changes in the way that
math is taught in New York City high schools. Read all about it at NY1

_Some public schools to hand out physical fitness report cards in an effort to stem childhood obesity. Read all about it at NY1

 _Tolls rise on all MTA bridges and tunnels: tolls on the Triborough,
Whitestone, the Throgs Neck and the Queen’s  Mid-town and Brooklyn
Battery Tunnels have gone up 50 cents from $4.0 to $4.50. Read all about it at NY1

BROOKLYN BEAT:   Marty Markowitz, the president of the borough of Brooklyn, got his two cents into the New Yorker this week. On letters to the editor page he writes in response to a recent cover: "Marcellus Hall’s illustration  of Adam and Eve being cast out of Manhattan by the hand of God is to be commended for its prominent placement of the Brooklyn Bridge, the world’s most beautiful. I am concerned, however, that my copy of the issue may have been missing a second panel, in which the couple realize that what awaits them on the other side of the bridge is not a dark cloud of doom but the promised land itself. High rents might push some residents out of Manhattan, but we Brooklynites welcome these emigres with open arms to our better quality of life, our unrivalled diversity, and maybe even a nice brownstone. Just as Saul Steinberg’s famous westward view from Ninth Avenue exaggerated Manhattanites’ perspective in 1976, your East River scene in 2005 misleads by rendering gloom where  there should be a glow; crossing the bridge is actually a blessing in disguise. Besides, what better than the hand of God to direct you toward the most divine bagels and lox?"

_According to an article called, "School Auction as Economic Indicator," in today’s New York Times, "The Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn combines the groovy independent film vibe –the "Sopranos" star Steve Muscemi offered a tour of the set – with local color. One family paid $4,000 to have lunch with Marty Markowitz at Bamonte’s in Williamsburg. "The place is quintessential Brooklyn," said Henry Trevor, an assistant head of school." At Pakcer, someone paid $100. for a gift certificate to a company "dedicated to the spreading of sexual enlightenment throught the promulgation of chosen playthings."

_Bruce Ratner, the developer trying to bring the New Jersey Nets, a
stadium, and office complex to the Atlantic Yards made a $1 million
deposit at Carver Federal Savings Bank in the Atlantic Terminal Retail
Mall. The bank is the largest bank owned by Carribbean and African
Americans.

_The MTA threatens to
sue the owner of F Line Bagels, a small corner shop on Smith and Ninth
Street underneath the F-train, if he doesn’t remove all subway
decoration in the shop. Faried Assad, the owner, spent over $1000.
on the MTA’s own website buying subway memorabelia to decorate the
store. Assad received a Cease and Desist letter from the MTA that
informed him that the F-train logo is a registered trademark. The
letter gave him until March 16th to respond. 

_Brooklyn Democratic leader faces corruption charges. Read all about it at NY1

IT’S THURSDAY: At the Brooklyn Academy of Music, "Play Without Words" a DANCE-THEATER PIECE by Matthew Bourne. Starts March 15th through the 29th.

JEWISH AUTHORS SERIES presents Ophira Edut, contributing editor of "Yentl’s Revenge: The Next Wave of Jewish Feminism." Park Slope Jewish Center. Eighth Avenue and 14th Street. 7:30 p.m.

WORTH TAKING A LOOK:  The SECOND GRADE
ART SHOW at Starbucks. Seventh Avenue between 1st and Garfield Place.
The children’s Romare Bearden-esque cityscape collages will be up all
month.

THIS SOUNDS COOL: JAZZY CHANTEUSE, Jezra Kaye, will be performing at The (Very) Good Coffee House at 53 Prospect Park West (the Society for Ethical Culture). She will be performing with a band that includes: Jerome Harris on guitar and Sonny Barbetto on accordian. Friday 3/18 at 8 p.m. 10 bucks gets you in. All proceeds benefit the Park Slope Food Coop.

_BROOKLYN FREE SCHOOL
OPEN HOUSE on Saturday March 19th From 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the
school: 260 16th Street between 4th and 5th Avenues. Writes school
director, Alan Berger: "See first hand the only school in New York City
where students self direct their own learning and have an equal say in
running the school. brooklynfreeschool@msn.com

_Music for Aardvarks
founder, David Winestone sings ULTRA URBAN KID’S SONGS at PS 58 on
Carroll Street between Smith and Court Streets. Saturday 3/19 at 3 p.m.
$10. per person. Children under 2 free. Hear MFA classics like: "City
Kid," "Bagel," "I was Walking with my Mom Down Avenue A."

Saturday is FAMILY DAY AT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM. Free admission and lots of fun activities for kids.

_It’s Bagpipe Time.  BROOKLYN IRISH AMERICAN PARADE is Sunday. Parade starts at 1 p.m. at PPW and
15th Street. Marches down 15th Street to 7th Avenue and down 7th to Union Street and back over to
PPW.

_Composer and Park Slope resident, Louis Rosen and vocalist Capathia
Jenkins perform a SONG CYCLE based on the work of Maya Angelou. This
Sunday at Joe’s Pub at 6 p.m. (see Hand-Picked below).

NEW SNEAKERS:
On Saturday March 19th: THE BROOKLYN HALF-MARATHON starts on the Coney Island boardwalk  at 8 a.m. Run or come cheer your friends and neighbors.

Here’s the 13.1 mile course for the Brooklyn-Half: Start on the Coney Island Boardwalk at West Second
Street. Head west on the boardwalk to a turnaround at 36th Street, and
then return east. Exit the boardwalk at West 10th Street and continue
east on Surf Avenue. Turn left/north onto Ocean Parkway to Prospect
Expressway to Park Circle. Enter Prospect Park at Park Circle and head
east on South Lake Drive. Continue around the northern end of the park,
returning south on West Drive. Turn left/east onto Hill Drive and
left/north onto East Drive. Turn left/west on Central Drive to the
finish.

If you’re not familiar with the names of the roads in the park, check the map at www.prospectpark.org

HEAR/SAY: "One
looks down from the Brooklyn Bridge on a spot of foam or a little lake
of gasoline or a broken splinter or an empty scow; the world goes by
upside down with pain and light devouring the innards, the sides of
flesh bursting, the spears pressing in against the cartilage, the very
armature of the body floating off into nothingness.
"
– Henry Miller in "Black Spring"

CONTENTS_16 March 05

WednesdayNO WORDS_Daily Pix by Hugh Crawford

POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford

SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.

BROOKLYN THINKERS_Say Hi to Your Senator Today

FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD_Weekday Lunch on Fifth Avenue

HAND-PICKED_Don’t Miss

SIDE PANELS_Links to Brooklyn essentials: museums, movies,
theater, arts, recreation, fitness, city government and more. Scroll
around and see.

POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford

Ds013573_stdMy daughter’s birthday is on Saturday. And you can just imagine the anticipation pulsing through her little body. Yesterday she told me, after I promised not to get mad at her, that she sneaked a peek inside my closet and saw a big American Girl Doll shopping bag. I didn’t get mad at her. I know how hard it is to resist spying on one’s gifts.

And my daughter knows well my sad childhood story. Just days before Christmas when I was 8 or 9, I stood on a chair in a coat closet and found one of my Christmas presents: a pair of pink patent leather Mary Jane from Saks Fifth Avenue. They were EXACTLY what I wanted. A few minutes later, my mother found me in the closet, grabbed the shoes away from me and reprimanded me.

On Christmas Day, there were no pink shoes. None. My parents did, however, give me the shoes a few days later.

Lesson learned.

That story has become a cautionary tale around our house. If I try to get hints from my husband  about my birthday or Mother’s Day gifts he says: "Pink shoes, pink shoes. Remember the pink shoes." Same for my son and daughter. "Pink shoes," we say. "Pink shoes."

And yet as a cautionary tale, "Pink Shoes" just doesn’t hold water.
Instead, it makes me angry at my parents who felt they had to punish me for something so innocent, so human. "Pink Shoes" is not
a cautionary tale at all but a poignant reminder of my terrible
punishment for the delight of finding the gift I so desired.

Shiny,
pink, glowing with potential: it was impossible not to hold those shoes
in my admiring hands. Even if it was just days before Christmas.

I was  a little surprised that OSFO peeked at the big, red American Girl Doll shopping bag. But really not that surprised at all.

Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB

P.S. She saw the bag but not the gift inside. I think. Phew.

SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.

Secrets_2

BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today?  Check here for Brooklyn weather.

CITY NEWS: EIghteen suspects, some in New York City, charged with trafficking Russian military weapons. Read all about it at NY1

_City is revamping its high
school math curriculum, which will mean big changes in the way that
math is taught in New York City high schools. Read all about it at NY1

_Some public schools to hand out physical fitness report cards in an effort to stem childhood obesity. Read all about it at NY1

 _Tolls rise on all MTA bridges and tunnels: tolls on the Triborough,
Whitestone, the Throgs Neck and the Queen’s  Mid-town and Brooklyn
Battery Tunnels have gone up 50 cents from $4.0 to $4.50. Read all about it at NY1

_From WNYC RadioThe city has a new
weapon in its never-ending battle against rats a federally funded
institute to teach the craft of rodent eradication. Plans for the
Rodent Integrated Pest Control Academy were announced at a hearing
before the City Council’s health committee yesterday. The academy will
train exterminators from the Health Department and other city agencies.
A three-year, 600-thousand dollar grant from the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention will fund the school. Among the skills
to be taught will be the proper placement of rat poison which one
health official says has to be inserted deep inside rat holes otherwise
the rats "will throw the bait back out." Those rats!

BROOKLYN BEAT:   The MTA threatens to sue the owner of F Line Bagels, a small corner shop on Smith and Ninth Street underneath the F-train, if he doesn’t remove all subway decoration in the shop. Faried Assad, the owner, spent over $1000.
on the MTA’s own website buying subway memorabelia to decorate the
store. Assad received a Cease and Desist letter from the MTA that
informed him that the F-train logo is a registered trademark. The
letter gave him until March 16th to respond. 

_Brooklyn Democratic leader faces corruption charges. Read all about it at NY1

IT’S WEDNESDAY At the Brooklyn Academy of Music, "Play Without Words" a DANCE-THEATER PIECE by Matthew Bourne. Starts March 15th through the 29th.

_One of the illustrators of the the "American Splendor" comic book series will be doing a presentation at Barnes and Noble on Seventh Avenue on Wednesday night. Details are sketchy. Call the store:  718-832-9066

WORTH TAKING A LOOK:  The SECOND GRADE
ART SHOW at Starbucks. Seventh Avenue between 1st and Garfield Place.
The children’s Romare Bearden-esque cityscape collages will be up all
month.

THIS SOUNDS COOL: BROOKLYN FREE SCHOOL
OPEN HOUSE on Saturday March 19th From 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the
school: 260 16th Street between 4th and 5th Avenues. Writes school
director, Alan Berger: "See first hand the only school in New York City
where students self direct their own learning and have an equal say in
running the school. brooklynfreeschool@msn.com

_Music for Aardvarks
founder, David Winestone sings ultra urban kid’s songs at PS 58 on
Carroll Street between Smith and Court Streets. Saturday 3/19 at 3 p.m.
$10. per person. Children under 2 free. Hear MFA classics like: "City
Kid," "Bagel," "I was Walking with my Mom Down Avenue A."

Saturday is FAMILY DAY AT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM. Free admission and lots of fun activities for kids.

_It’s bagpipe time. BROOKLYN IRISH AMERICAN PARADE is Sunday. Parade starts at 1 p.m. at PPW and
15th Street. Marches down 15th Street to 7th Avenue and down 7th to Union Street and back over to
PPW.

_Composer and Park Slope resident, Louis Rosen and vocalist Capathia
Jenkins perform a SONG CYCLE based on the work of Maya Angelou. This
Sunday at Joe’s Pub at 6 p.m. (see Hand-Picked below).

NEW SNEAKERS:
On Saturday March 19th: THE BROOKLYN HALF-MARATHON starts on the Coney Island boardwalk  at 8 a.m. Run or come cheer your friends and neighbors.

Here’s the 13.1 mile course for the Brooklyn-Half: Start on the Coney Island Boardwalk at West Second
Street. Head west on the boardwalk to a turnaround at 36th Street, and
then return east. Exit the boardwalk at West 10th Street and continue
east on Surf Avenue. Turn left/north onto Ocean Parkway to Prospect
Expressway to Park Circle. Enter Prospect Park at Park Circle and head
east on South Lake Drive. Continue around the northern end of the park,
returning south on West Drive. Turn left/east onto Hill Drive and
left/north onto East Drive. Turn left/west on Central Drive to the
finish.

If you’re not familiar with the names of the roads in the park, check the map at www.prospectpark.org

HEAR/SAY: "I told him, I said, ‘You know what, we’re from Brooklyn. We’re born
and raised here, man. We’ve been using the train forever. And us, as
Brooklynites, you know, we should have a little bit of fringe benefits,
you know?’ I told him, Give us a break over here."  – Faried Assad, whose shop F-Line Bagels may be sued by the MTA.

POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford

2cbw3608_stdEveryone knows that the only way to get to the gym week after week is to schedule an appointment with a personal trainer. It’s pure motivation to know that someone is waiting for you ready to work you out. Who hasn’t paid a huge yearly fee to a gym and gone once or twice during the entire year. The guilt, the waste, the sense that there’s somewhere you should be but you just can’t get yourself over there.

Awful. 

The Park Slope Fitness Collective, located at 366 Seventh Avenue at 11th Street, is a perfect antidote to this problem. A space owned and operated by personal trainers, it has  two rooms with most of the equipment you’ll find at a club plus free weights, mats and balls. There’s no membership fee or yearly dues. You simply pay for your training session and that’s that. The sessions are reasonably priced and the trainers are top notch.

Apparently, trainers at gyms are low men and women on the totem pole; they only see a fraction of what the client is paying and they aren’t well treated by management, which is ridiculous because it’s the trainers who keep the clients coming back.

For me, it’s refreshing to see a group of trainers with a healthy
entrepreneruial spirit, working for themselves, and running the show
the way it should be run.

My trainer, Elizabeth Pongo is the cat’s meow. She’s a very smart person who knows a great deal about the body. She also happens to be a stand-up comedian. She keeps me moving non-stop for a full hour; I feel like I’m really learning the correct way to do weight training and exercises. Each session ends with something she calls an "assisted stretch," which is a massage merged with a body stretch the likes of which I’ve never experienced. What’s more, she takes my goals very seriously: to get definition in my upper arms so I’ll look good in tand tops and to lose weight. I wanna be buff. Plus, she cheers me on when I tell her about my jogging my kids, my newest running bra. She’s really great.

I think the Fitness Collective is really on to something. If you want information about the Collective or a free first session with Elizabeth you can e-mail her at pongofitness@yahoo.com

Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB

SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.

Secrets_2

BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today?  Check here for Brooklyn weather.

CITY NEWS: City is revamping its high school math curriculum, which will mean big changes in the way that math is taught in New York City high schools.

_Jesse Jackson joined Plaza Hotel  employees in a rally to protest loss of jobs if hotel is turned into a condo. The city’s landmark preservation is scheduled to have hearings about preserving the Plaza’s famous interiors soon. The decision won’t stop the renovation but it might make it difficult for Elad Properties, which is spending $300 million, to go forward with the project. Read all about it at NY1

_Public schools to hand out a physical fitness report cards in an effort to stem childhood obesity. Read all about it at NY1

_Yesterday, Bill Clinton left hospital just four days after surgery.Read all about it at NY1

_Tolls rise on all MTA bridges and tunnels: tolls on the Triborough, Whitestone, the Throgs Neck and the Queen’s  Mid-town and Brooklyn Battery Tunnels have gone up 50 cents from $4.0 to $4.50. Read all about it at NY1

_From WNYC RadioThe city has a new weapon in its never-ending battle against rats a federally funded institute to teach the craft of rodent eradication. Plans for the Rodent Integrated Pest Control Academy were announced at a hearing before the City Council’s health committee yesterday. The academy will train exterminators from the Health Department and other city agencies. A three-year, 600-thousand dollar grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will fund the school. Among the skills to be taught will be the proper placement of rat poison which one health official says has to be inserted deep inside rat holes otherwise the rats "will throw the bait back out." Those rats!

BROOKLYN BEAT:   The MTA is suing the owner of F-Line, a small corner bagel shop on Smith and Ninth Street just underneath the F-train. Faried Assad, the owner, spent over $1000. on the MTA’s own website buying subway memorabelia to decorate the store. Assad received a Cease and Desist letter from the MTA that informed him that the F-train logo is a registered trademark. The letter gave him until March 16th to respond. Assad told a NY1 reporter: "I told him, I said, ‘You know what, we’re from Brooklyn. We’re born and raised here, man. We’ve been using the train forever. And us, as Brooklynites, you know, we should have a little bit of fringe benefits, you know?’ I told him, Give us a break over here." Love it!

_An alleged drunk driver flipped over the median on the Belt Parkway and killed another driver at 6 a.m. on Sunday morning. The driver was arrested and charged with DWI. Read all about it at NY1

_Brooklyn Democratic leader faces corruption charges. Read all about it at NY1

_OTBKB Scoop: An underground electrical fire had residents of First Street between Eighth Avenue and the Park out on the street at 11 p.m. Saturday night. It sounded like loud drumming, but it was the smokey underground fire that was causing lights to flicker in many residences. Squad 1 and other local fire houses were on the scene within minutes of being called by OTBKB.

_Two former NYPD cops face extradition on mob activities. They were ordered Friday night back from Las Vegas to Brooklyn. Read all about it at Brooklyn Bomb Shelter

IT’S TUESDAY: "Fifty Years After the Brooklyn Eagle: How City Papers Cover Brooklyn," A FORUM AT BROOKLYN COLLEGE. In the Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library. 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday afternnon.

_At the Brooklyn Academy of Music, "Play Without Words" a DANCE-THEATER PIECE by Matthew Bourne. Starts March 15th through the 29th. 

_Learn how to MAKE A SCRAP BOOK using tools and techniques created just for this art form. 7 pm. Lion in the Sun Invitation Studio. 463 Fourth Street. Free.

WORTH TAKING A LOOK:  The SECOND GRADE ART SHOW at Starbucks. Seventh Avenue between 1st and Garfield Place. The children’s Romare Bearden-esque cityscape collages will be up all month.

THIS SOUNDS COOL: BROOKLYN FREE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE on Saturday March 19th From 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the school: 260 16th Street between 4th and 5th Avenues. Writes school director, Alan Berger: "See first hand the only school in New York City where students self direct their own learning and have an equal say in running the school. brooklynfreeschool@msn.com

_Music for Aardvarks founder, David Winestone sings ultra urban kid’s music at PS 58 on Carroll Street between Smith and Court Streets. Saturday 3/19 at 3 p.m. $10. per person. Children under 2 free. Hear MFA classics like: "City Kid," "Bagel," "I was Walking with my Mom Down Avenue A."

_It’s bagpipe time. BROOKLYN IRISH AMERICAN PARADE is Sunday. Parade starts at 1 p.m. at PPW and
15th Street. Marches down 15th Street to 7th Avenue and down 7th to Union Street and back over to
PPW.

_Composer and Park Slope resident, Louis Rosen and vocalist Capathia Jenkins perform a SONG CYCLE based on the work of Maya Angelou. This Sunday at Joe’s Club at 6 p.m. (see Hand-Picked below).

NEW SNEAKERS:
On Saturday March 19th: THE BROOKLYN HALF-MARATHON starts on the Coney Island boardwalk  at 8 a.m. Run or come cheer your friends and neighbors.

Here’s the 13.1 mile course for the Brooklyn-Half: Start on the Coney Island Boardwalk at West Second
Street. Head west on the boardwalk to a turnaround at 36th Street, and
then return east. Exit the boardwalk at West 10th Street and continue
east on Surf Avenue. Turn left/north onto Ocean Parkway to Prospect
Expressway to Park Circle. Enter Prospect Park at Park Circle and head
east on South Lake Drive. Continue around the northern end of the park,
returning south on West Drive. Turn left/east onto Hill Drive and
left/north onto East Drive. Turn left/west on Central Drive to the
finish.

If you’re not familiar with the names of the roads in the park, check the map at www.prospectpark.org

<>

 
HEAR/SAY: "I always loved running…it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs."   – Jesse Owens

POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford

Ds009428_stdThe sky looked smokey black and misty as we left my sister’s
Prospect Park West apartment building on Saturday night. As we turned
the corner
onto First Street we smelled smoke and my husband spotted sparks coming
out of a manhole. There was a distinct rumbling sound mixed with tiny
explosions.We called 911 and within
minutes all the Park Slope companies were in attendance.

It seems that the salt that the city spreads on the streets to melt
the snow not only rusts through automobiles and bridges but also seeps
into the manholes and causes electrical shorts. Sometimes the result is
stray voltage that  last year electrocuted to death the
woman in the East Village walking her dogs, who coincidently went to the same boarding school in California as my husband. Sometimes the saltwater in the
manhole leads to an electrical fire or an explosion like the one that
destroyed a car and blew out windows on the same Brooklyn block a decade ago.

The
smoke turned black and the rumbling got louder. First Street
residents poured out of their brownstones; some said their lights were flickering. A friend came out onto
the street in a vintage fur coat with a glass of wine wine and a
cigarette and asked us what was going on. "I thought the kid down the
street was drumming. That’s why I came out…"

We explained
what we knew. The crowd looked on nervously as the
firefighters figured out what to do: they seemed to be waiting for Con
Edison to turn the electricity off. I  wondered which of
the firefighters had been at the World Trade Center on 9/11. Squad 1
lost eleven men that day, including one of my friends. I imagined that
they looked much the same as they did early on 9/11, as they got
ready to save lives and property, not sure what they were getting
themselves into.

I went home to relieve our babysitter. My husband stayed behind,
interested to see what was going to happen next. After about an hour Con Edison
had not appeared so my husband came home, leaving the firemen watching
the smoke, listening to the rumbling,  and waiting.

Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB

POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford

2787855_stdI am reposting this for the benefit of those who don’t read OTBKB on the weekends:

A fellow-blogger and friend of a friend – and now a new friend – asked to be the first advertiser on Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn. Her ad for her blog, The Barista of Bloomfield Avenue, is on top of the grey panel to the right.

I met the Barista at a Bat Mitzvah in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. My friend introduced us because we were the only blogger/writers at the party and she thought we’d have a  lot in common. And we did. We had a quick and informative conversation about the ins and out of blogging and I was inspired right then and there to create a blog for Park Slope and beyond.

A great networker, the Barrista is my kind of gal. She’s full of interesting advice and lots of information. And she’s not afraid to share it. I am really grateful for all her help and inspiration. She suggested that I do my blog on Typepad, which I love. And she told me how to go about getting advertisers.

Well, I’ve been a little on the fence about advertising, though I would love OTBKB to be a source of revenue. I feel that one of the great things about bloggers is that they are not beholden to anybody. That’s what makes them so honest, so real, so off the cuff. Blogging is a much needed antidote to our advertising-infused world.

That said, advertising doesn’t need to be bad. It can be informative and draw people’s attention to things they might not otherwise see. It can be helpful too. Restaurants, real estate, small businesses n the slope that need to get the word out, stores, services, events. Trust me, the ads will be cool. Really cool.

So bring it on. The advertising, that is. My rates are cheap. Cheaper than the local newspapers. Much. And it could make OTBKB an even more vital resource to Park Slope and beyond. If you’re interested, e-mail me.

Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB

P.S. OTBKB is looking for a few good writers to cover the 3 R’s: restaurants, real estate and/or retail in the Slope and Beyond. If that’s your thing, lemme know.

.

SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News Stuff to Do.

Secrets_2

BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today?  Check here for Brooklyn weather.

CITY NEWS: Tolls rise on all MTA bridges and tunnels: tolls on the Triborough, Whitestone, the Throgs Neck and the Queen’s  Mid-town and Brooklyn Battery Tunnels have gone up 50 cents from $4.00 to $4.50.

_From WNYC RADIO: "The city has a new weapon in its never-ending battle against rats a
federally funded institute to teach the craft of rodent eradication. Plans
for the Rodent Integrated Pest Control Academy were announced at a
hearing before the City Council’s health committee yesterday.

The
academy will train exterminators from the Health Department and other
city agencies. A three-year, 600-thousand dollar grant from the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will fund the school. Among
the skills to be taught will be the proper placement of rat poison
which one health official says has to be inserted deep inside rat holes
otherwise the rats "will throw the bait back out." Those rats!

_From Sunday’s Daily News: "When confronted with the litmus test for politeness – giving up a
subway seat to a pregnant woman – New York straphangers passed with
flying colors. Each quest ended successfully with an unsolicited offer of a seat,
usually in a matter of seconds – except for the No. 7 line where our
volunteer had to wait three long minutes. The Daily News checked the courtesy of subway riders with the help of a
six-months pregnant mom from the Bronx, who boarded trains on the five
busiest lines during two rush hours last week."

_FDNY allocates $1.4 million to increase diversity in the department.

_Landmark Commission to determine the fate of the interior,
including the lobby and the Palm Court) of the Plaza Hotel. Good luck
Eloise.

_Rockefeller Center to re-open observation deck, which has been closed for 19 years.

BROOKLYN BEAT:   A alleged drunk driver flipped over the median on the Belt Parkway and killed another driver at 6 a.m. on Sunday morning. The driver was arrested and charged with DWI.

_Brooklyn Democratic leader faces corruption charges.

_OTBKB Scoop: An
underground electrical fire had residents of First Street between
Eighth Avenue and the Park out on the street at 11 p.m. Saturday night.
It sounded like loud drumming, but it was the smokey underground fire
that was causing lights to flicker in many residences. Squad 1 and
other local fire houses were on the scene within minutes of being
called by OTBKB.

_Two former NYPD cops face extradition on mob activities. They were ordered Friday night back from Las Vegas to Brooklyn. Read all about it at Brooklyn Bomb Shelter

IT’S MONDAY: Barbes presents "The Grapes of Wrath," as part of their Monday night Labor Film Series. 7 p.m. Live music follows. 9th Street at 6th Avenue.

_"The Role Anger Plays in Your Life as a Parent" is today’s Parents Talk at Families First. 250 Baltic Street. $15.
Pre-registration necessary. (718)237-1862. Go, god damn it!

WORTH TAKING A LOOK:  The SECOND GRADE ART SHOW at Starbucks. Seventh Avenue between 1st and
Garfield Place. The children’s Romare Bearden-esque cityscape collages
will be up all month.

THIS SOUNDS COOL: "Fifty Years After the
Brooklyn Eagle: How City Papers Cover Brooklyn," a forum at Brooklyn
College. In the Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library. 1:30
– 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday afternnon.

At BAM, "Play Without Words" a dance-theater piece by Matthew Bourne. Starts March 15th through the 29th. 

_BROOKLYN FREE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE on Saturday March 19th From 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the school: 260 16th Street between 4th and 5th Avenues. Writes school director, Alan Berger: “See first hand
the only school in New York City where students self direct their own learning and have an equal say in running the school. brooklynfreeschool@msn.com

_Composer and Park Slope resident, Louis Rosen and vocalist Capathia Jenkins perform their collaboration based on the work of Maya Angelou. This Sunday at Joe’s Pub at 6 p.m. (see Hand-Picked below).

NEW SNEAKERS: On Saturday March 19th: the Brooklyn Half-Marathon starts on the boardwalk at Coney Island at 8 a.m. Run or come cheer your friends and neighbors.

_Jack Rabbit’s beginner and intermediate RUNNING WORKSHOPS are starting up in March. Great coaches, great people, great
motivation: the course will, without
a doubt, improve your running. Think about it. See Brooklyn Fitness on
the side panel.

Slope Sports sponsors a
weekly group run on Saturdays at 8:00  a.m. Meet at the Grand Army
Plaza entrance of Prospect Park. They will be running the
Bridge-to-Bridge Run, which goes over the Brooklyn Bride to Chinatown.
And back to Brooklyn by way of the Manhatttan Bridge. This scenic route
is approximately 9-10 miles

HEAR/SAY:

Jogging is very beneficial.  It’s good for your legs and your feet.
It’s also very good for the ground.  It makes it feel needed.  – Charles
Schulz, Peanuts

POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford

Everyone knows that the only way to get to the gym week after week is to schedule an appointment with a personal trainer. It’s pure motivation to know that someone is waiting for you ready to work you out. Who hasn’t paid a huge yearly fee to a gym and gone once or twice during the entire year. The guilt, the waste, the sense that there’s somewhere you should be but you just can’t get yourself over there.

Awful. 

The Park Slope Fitness Collective, located at 366 Seventh Avenue at 11th Street, is a perfect antidote to this problem. It’s a gym owned and run by personal trainers. It has two rooms with most of the equipment you’ll find at a gym plus free weights, mats and balls. There’s no membership fee or yearly dues. You simply pay for your training session and that’s that. The sessions are reasonably priced and the trainers are top notch. Most of them used to work at The Slope Health Club on Union Street.

Apparently, trainers at gyms like the Slope are low men and women on the totem pole; they only see a fraction of what the client is paying and they aren’t well treated by management.

For me, it’s refreshing to see a group of trainers with a healthy
entrepreneruial spirit, working for themselves, and running the show
the way it should be run.

My trainer, Elizabeth Pongo is the cat’s meow. She’s a very smart person who knows a great deal about the body. She also happens to be a stand-up comedian. She keeps me moving non-stop for a full hour; I feel like I’m really learning the correct way to do weight training and exercises. Each session ends with something she calls an "assisted stretch," which is a massage merged with a body lengthening the likes of which I’ve never experienced. What’s more, she takes my goals: to get definition in my upper arms, to look good in tank tops, and to lose weight very, very seriously. Plus, she cheers me on when I tell her about my running, my kids, my newest running bra. She’s really great.

I think the Fitness Collective is really on to something. If you want information about the Collective or a free first session with Elizabeth you can e-mail her at pongofitness.yahoo.com

Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB

POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford

2696942_stdYesterday, at PS 321’s Winter Carnival, an exercise in sonic overload, I remembered how wonderful it feels to sing.

At a mid-afternoon concert  in one of the kindergarten classrooms, a group of musicians  including Frank McGarry, PS 321’s beloved music teacher, and Bill Fullbrecht, a talented kindergarten teacher, performed for the parents and children, who sat on child-sized chairs.

A welcome respite from the noisy fun of the fair, two teachers sang and played guitar and banjo, joined by an upright bass player and an all-around musician who played guitar, percussion and a small clarinet – turns out he is a member of the duo, Polygraph Lounge AND he’s in Paul Simon’s band. It was a real hootananny.

I’d always heard about the great Mr. McGarry. Both of my children have come home from school singing civil rights songs, that they’d learned in Mr. McGarry’s music class. But this was actually the first time I’d ever experienced the magic first-hand.

In his gentle way, he and Mr. Bill led parents and children in songs like:  "I’ve Been Working on the Railroad," "Fishing Blues," Bob Marley’s "Everything’s Gonna Be Alright," and a glorious version of "Here Comes the Sun." With no annyoying prompting, the assembled crowd sang and clapped along joyfully.

It felt so good to sing with this large group; all kinds of voices joined in make-shift harmony.

I  thought of Dan Zanes, who is performing today at the Kane Street Synogogue, and his crusade to encourage families and friends to sing together. "I believe in music as a shared family experience," he told an interviewer. "Not that kids have
their music and adults theirs. I hope to inspire people to go out and
make their own music. It’s easy, it’s fun, and we can all do it
together."

I am so grateful for people like Mr. McGarry, Mr. Bill, and Dan Zanes, who teach our children the simple joy of singing.

Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB

SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.

Secrets_2

BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today?  Check here for Brooklyn weather.

CITY NEWS: From today’s Daily News: "When confronted with the litmus test for politeness – giving up a
subway seat to a pregnant woman – New York straphangers passed with
flying colors. Each quest ended successfully with an unsolicited offer of a seat,
usually in a matter of seconds – except for the No. 7 line where our
volunteer had to wait three long minutes. The Daily News checked the courtesy of subway riders with the help of a
six-months pregnant mom from the Bronx, who boarded trains on the five
busiest lines during two rush hours last week."

_FDNY allocates $1.4 million to increase diversity in the department.

_Landmark Commission to determine the fate of the interior,
including the lobby and the Palm Court) of the Plaza Hotel. Good luck
Eloise.

_Rockefeller Center to re-open observation deck, which has been closed for 19 years.

BROOKLYN BEAT:   OTBKB Scoop: An underground electrical fire had residents of First Street between Eighth Avenue and the Park out on the street at 11 p.m. Saturday night. It sounded like loud drumming, but it was the smokey underground fire that was causing lights to flicker in many residences. Squad 1 and other local fire houses were on the scene within minutes of being called by yours truly. Residents said that the underground fire had been smoking for most of the weekend.

_Two former NYPD cops face extradition on mob activities. They were ordered Friday night back from Las Vegas to Brooklyn. Read all about it at Brooklyn Bomb Shelter

IT’S SUNDAY: DAN ZANES sings sea shantys, songs collected by Carl Sandburg poems and MORE at the Kane Street Synogogue. Sunday March 13. 3 p.m.Go here for information about Dan Zanes and info about the show.

_Films for all ages at the BAMkids Film Festival. All day.

WORTH TAKING A LOOK:  The SECOND GRADE ART SHOW at Starbucks. Seventh Avenue between 1st and
Garfield Place. The children’s Romare Bearden-esque cityscape collages
will be up all month. 

THIS SOUNDS COOL: Fifty Years After the Brooklyn Eagle: How City Papers Cover Brooklyn," a forum at Brooklyn College. In the Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library. 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday afternnon.

At BAM, "Play Without Words" a dance-theater piece by Matthew Bourne. March 15 – 29th. 

NEW SNEAKERS:
Jack Rabbit’s beginner and intermediate RUNNING WORKSHOPS are starting up in March. Great coaches, great people, great
motivation: the course will, without
a doubt, improve your running. Think about it. See Brooklyn Fitness on
the side panel.

Slope Sports sponsors a
weekly group run on Saturdays at 8:00  a.m. Meet at the Grand Army
Plaza entrance of Prospect Park. They will be running the
Bridge-to-Bridge Run, which goes over the Brooklyn Bride to Chinatown.
And back to Brooklyn by way of the Manhatttan Bridge. This scenic route
is approximately 9-10 miles

Registration for the BROOKLYN HALF-MARATHON  on March 19th is now open.

HEAR/SAY: "Sun, sun, sun, here it comes.’ George Harrison

SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.

Secrets_2

BROOKLYN WEATHER: In case you didn’t notice, it snowed last night. Windy and chilly. AND SUNNY. High temp: 40 degrees. More Brooklyn weather here.

CITY NEWS: FDNY allocates $1.4 million to increase diversity in the department.

_Landmark Commission to determine the fate of the interior, including the lobby and the Palm Court) of the Plaza Hotel. Good luck Eloise.

_Rockefeller Center to re-open observation deck, which has been closed for 19 years.

_Teacher’s Union warns of prolonged contract battle. Read about it in the Daily News.

BROOKLYN BEAT:   Two former NYPD cops face extradition on mob activities. They were ordered Friday night back from Las Vegas to Brooklyn. Read all about it at Brooklyn Bomb Shelter

IT’S SATURDAY: PS
321’s WINTER CARNIVAL. Games for the kids and amazing
craft projects. Hair braiding, great food and MORE. The kids’ll love it
and so will you until the noise level hurts.  Seventh Avenue between 1st and 2nd Streets.

_MAKING BROOKLYN BLOOM 2005. Saturday March 12th: Brooklyn
GreenBridge’s 24th annual community spring gardneing kick-off day.
Workshops, displays, and notable speakers. Learn Practical tips. Free
and no registration required. But you must arrive by 10 a.m. at the
Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

_BOLLYWOOD MOVIES suitable for kids and adults at the Brooklyn Museum!

_BAMkids Film Festival. Today and tomorrow. See Hand-Picked below.

_South Slope’s Big Nose Full Body wine shop:  a PINOT/MERLOT FACE OFF. From France, a
Pinot Noir from Burgundy and a Merlot from Bordeaux.  382 Seventh Avenue. 4 – 6 p.m. Saturday March 12th.

WORTH TAKING A LOOK:  The SECOND GRADE ART SHOW at Starbucks. Seventh Avenue between 1st and
Garfield Place. The children’s Romare Bearden-esque cityscape collages
will be up all month.

THIS SOUNDS COOL: DAN ZANES sings sea shantys, Carl Sandburg poems and more at the Kane Street Synogogue. Sunday March 13. 3 p.m.Go here for information about Dan Zanes and info about the show.

NEW SNEAKERS:
Jack Rabbit’s beginner and intermediate RUNNING WORKSHOPS are starting up in March. Great coaches, great people, great
motivation: the course will, without
a doubt, improve your running. Think about it. See Brooklyn Fitness on
the side panel.

Slope Sports sponsors a
weekly group run on Saturdays at 8:00  a.m. Meet at the Grand Army
Plaza entrance of Prospect Park. They will be running the
Bridge-to-Bridge Run, which goes over the Brooklyn Bride to Chinatown.
And back to Brooklyn by way of the Manhatttan Bridge. This scenic route
is approximately 9-10 miles

Registration for the BROOKLYN HALF-MARATHON  on March 19th is now open.

HEAR/SAY: "I wanted to be sitting with her in Brooklyn. Dear would be there. She
would pull shut the blackout curtains. I would tell them how the war
would end and no bombs would ever fall on Brooklyn. I would sit beside
her and listen to Frank Sinatra. I would call him "the Voice."  Richard McCann. From his story "Shelters" featured in Ploughshares (pshares.org).