Monthly Archives: April 2008
Brit in Brooklyn: Great Pix of Brooklyn Museum Protest
As always, he’s got some great photo coverage at Brit in Brooklyn.
Sweet Bitters at Pete’s Candy Store This Saturday Night
I just heard from Sweet Bitters about a couple of shows coming up. One is this weekend at Pete’s Candy Store in Williamsburg.
Just wanted to let you know that the 7th Avenue-singin’ Sweet Bitters will be at Williamsburg’s Pete’s Candy Store this Sat. night at 9 p.m…and at Park Slope’s Bar 4 (7th ave. and 15th st.) at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 30. Hope to meet you sometime soon!
Here are the blurbs on their Myspace page:
Sweet Bitters is a harmony-based acoustic duo serving up tasty,
flavorful folk-pop. Or pop-folk. Whatever. Sweet Bitters was created by
two Brooklyn-based singer-songwriters, Sharon and Nina, who started
blending their voices and said to themselves, "This harmony thing is
fun." Sharon liked singing on Nina’s songs and Nina liked singing on
Sharon’s songs. And they sounded sweet — but not too sweet. A little
bit of bitter thrown in was just right.
"When she’s at the top of her game, Sharon Goldman is one of the
world’s foremost pop tunesmiths, alongside Aimee Mann and Elvis
Costello. Nina Schmir first made a mark in the New York scene as one of
the superb harmony singers in Aimee Van Dyne’s band. Since that group
broke up, she’s been plying her solo work, acoustic songs imbued
equally with devious wit and haunting intensity. The duo’s layers of
harmonies on this album are often wrenchingly beautiful. Each
songwriter contributes two songs to this effort."
—Alan Young, Lucid Culture
"They have a song called "Falling Into Place" that’s about a late
afternoon walk up Seventh Avenue in the winter. It’s real pretty. One
of the few songs I know about Seventh Avenue."—Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn
A New Brooklyn Destination: Brooklyn Flea
Brooklyn Flea opens this Sunday in Ft. Greene. And I am really excited. Reclaimed Home will be there as well as a host of great Brooklyn vendors. I am so PSYCHED!
Since the subways are so screwed up this weekend, walk over to Ft. Greene and enjoy this major new shopping attraction.
Brooklyn Flea will take place every Sunday from 10am to 5pm—rain or
shine—starting April 6, 2008, at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School
in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, on Lafayette Ave. between Clermont and
Vanderbilt Ave. The Flea will feature 200 vendors of vintage furniture,
clothing and antiques alongside new designs by local makers of
everything from jewelry to textiles.It’s an unbelievable list. Starting with vintage furniture and architectural salvage. Go to the continuation of this post to see the entire list. I am impressed with the stellar group that Brownstoner has brought together here.
Richard Grayson: Remembering the Assasination of Martin Luther King
Brooklyn author, Richard Grayson, remembers that day 40 years ago:
I can remember exactly where I was around on the Thursday evening forty years ago when, as a 16-year-old high school senior, I heard the news that Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. It was around 7:20 p.m. and I was lying on the floor of my tiny bedroom in our house in Flatlands, my loose-leaf notebook in front of me, half-trying to answer some end-of-chapter questions for my social studies class (History of Latin America) at Midwood, half-watching channel 2’s CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite.
The day’s main news over, they’d switched to a human interest story about a carpenter in England who’d designed a table he thought could be used at the Paris peace talks on Vietnam. The talks had been stalled for months on the famous “shape of the table,” how to seat all the parties: the U.S., North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the Viet Cong.
Suddenly the filmed report (no videotape back in 1968) stopped in the middle and Walter Cronkite was onscreen, reading wire copy of the breaking news of Dr. King’s assassination in Memphis.
As I’d done five years before when, home sick from school, watching Nancy and Grandpa Hughes on “As the World Turns” when it got interrupted by Cronkite in shirtsleeves and wearing unfamiliar clunky black-framed glasses, shakily announcing the shooting in Dallas, I screamed for my parents.
As a kid, I worshipped Martin Luther King Jr. A couple of summers before, working as the cashier in my uncle’s pants store on Fulton Street, I sold pen-and-ink drawings of Dr. King I’d made, amateurish copies of a Time Magazine cover done by Ben Shahn, to some of our customers. (See “The Boy Who Could Draw Dr. King”).
As I write in that piece, King’s assassination devastated me:
I was depressed and too scared to go to school for the next week. There were riots. For some reason I wrote a letter expressing my sorrow and fear and sent it to Percy Sutton, the Manhattan borough president and the top black official in the city. His chief of staff called my mother while I was out and told her I’d written a beautiful letter. All I can remember about it is that I ended by quoting a corny speech from Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” (I’d read it in Mrs. Sanjour’s ninth grade English class at Meyer Levin Junior High) that went:
His life was gentle, and the elements
So mix’d in him that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world “This was a man!”
This morning I read the rave review of the new Lincoln Center production of one of my favorite musicals, “South Pacific.” The summer before King’s assassination, on July 4, my parents took me and my brothers, who were 12 and 6, to a holiday matinee of Lincoln Center’s last production of “South Pacific.”
We sat in the third row center of the New York State Theatre’s orchestra, close enough that I could see that the star, Florence Henderson as Nellie Forbush, had cellulite on the back of her thighs. For me, every song in that show is a classic, but I mostly remember Henderson’s real shampoo in “Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair,” Giorgio Tozzi’s operatic “Some Enchanted Evening” and David Doyle’s comic turn as Luther Billis, cavorting in drag in grass skirt with coconut breasts.
But forty years after April 4, 1968, most of all I can recall the young actor playing Lt. Cable’s rendition of what at 16 I thought of as Rodgers and Hammerstein’s corniest song:
You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear
You’ve got to be taught from year to year
It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear
You’ve got to be carefully taught
You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late
Before you are six or seven or eight
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You’ve got to be carefully taught
Demo in Front of Brooklyn Museum Draws 100 Protesters
About 100 protesters showed up in front of the Brooklyn Museum last night to protest the museum’s $1,000 a plate Brooklyn Ball, which was honoring Bruce Ratner. This from Norman at AY Report:
Maybe it was the parade of limousines and SUVs bringing well-dressed guests–at $500 to $1000 and more a plate–to an event that protesters likely arrived at via the 2/3 subway line. Maybe it was a sense that Forest City Ratner, however stalled in its plans for most of Atlantic Yards, is in the driver’s seat, with most elected officials yet to challenge the developer. Maybe it’s that demolitions promise increased blight around the Atlantic Yards footprint. Maybe it’s just the accumulation of grievances.
But the protest organized by Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn last night outside the museum was notably angry, with some 80 people gathering at one point, many chanting "Ratner is a liar" and "Shame on you" at vehicles coming to drop off their passengers. (More people arrived later, as others left, so total attendance probably topped 100.) Taking off from the museum’s function, several people carried signs calling Ratner a "con art
I am awaiting my pictures from my exclusive AY demo photographer. Coming soon.
The Oh So Prolific One: Leon Freilich, Verse Responder
STROLLER HEAVEN
Parking is the peskiest problem
Slopers face each day:
Where to find an open spot
Legally okay.
Also true for moms with strollers
Choosing a cafe;
Place must furnish plenty parking
Added to latte.
Why does Park Slope’s carriage trade
Favor the Tea Lounge?
Mom’s assured of stroller spots,
Never needs to scrounge.
Neighborhood boasts arts and crafts,
Many other aces,
But kiddy-coffeehouses require
Lots of stroller spaces
Gehry to Brooklyn Paper: Miss Brooklyn is Not Dead
Brooklyn Paper editor, Gersh Kuntzman, actually went to the fancy dinner at the Brooklyn Museum, where developer Bruce Ratner was being honored. He even rubbed elbows with star architect Frank Gehry. His report is on the Brooklyn Paper website:
Atlantic Yards architect Frank Gehry told The Brooklyn Paper
Thursday night that his “Miss Brooklyn” tower at Atlantic Yards is not
dead.In an exclusive interview, he told The Paper that not only will it be built, but it will “look better than anyone imagines.”
Gehry
admitted that developer Bruce Ratner has struggled to find an anchor
tenant for the 511-foot iconic, shimmering glass-walled skyscraper.But Gehry quickly added: “Bruce will have a tenant soon — and then he’ll begin construction.”
The
Miss Brooklyn tower, proposed for the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush
avenues, would be the gateway to Ratner’s ailing Atlantic Yards
project, which once called for 16 skyscrapers, a basketball arena and
6,800 units of housing, but has since been trimmed back to two or three
buildings, the arena and hundreds of apartments.
2 and 3 Trains are Problematic in Brooklyn this Weekend — Or Next
Leon Freilich just sent me word that there are no 2 or 3 Trains this weekend. Yeesh. This is straight from the MTA Weekend Advisory. There is no F Train Service in Park Slope either.
2
No 2 trains between Atlantic Av and Chambers St
Uptown 2 replace the 5 from Bowling Green to 149 St
Uptown 5 replace the 2 from Chambers to 149 Sts
Apr 5 – 7, 12:01 AM Sat to 5 AM Mon
For more information click on the mta.info link in this e-mail, pick up
a brochure, and read station signs.
3
No 3 trains running, take the 2, 5, or bus instead
Downtown 2 replace the 3 from 135 to Chambers Sts
Uptown 5 replace the 2, 3 from Chambers to 149 Sts
The M7, M102, and free shuttle buses replace the 3 between 148 and 135 Sts
Apr 5 – 7, 12:01 AM Sat to 5 AM Monwhen
Cafe 11 Closed?
Another closure on Seventh Avenue. This from an OTBKB reader:
I was walking down 7th Avenue (btw 11th & 12th) and I noticed that
Cafe Eleven’s windows had paper over them. I got a little closer and
there was a sign in the window saying that they had closed. Even
though I preferred Naidre’s, I still liked going here to do some work
and drink coffee since they had a lot of space and it wasn’t the Tea
Lounge. They also had a great outdoor area in the back.
F Train Service is Weird This Weekend: No Stops at Seventh Avenue
Check out the MTA weekend advisory. But best bet is to avoid the F train this weekend.
The Times’ also has coverage of this: Train Skip Your Stop? It’s No Mistake, It’s Just the Weekend
Only the Blog Links
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
Photography by Lara Wechsler: Yellow and Grey
Welcome to the Doll Neighborhood
Dolls and doll videos will be on view. These are dolls made by artists in a collaborative exhibition curated by video artist Kristin Brenneman Eno.
In her own right Brenneman Eno runs something called the Digital Story Workshop for documenting children’s imaginative play. This is a fascinating project. I met her when she was receiving a grant from the Brooklyn Arts Council a few years ago. Here’s what has to say about the doll project, which is also supported by the BAC.
Dear Friends,
You are invited to the opening of Doll Neighborhood this coming Friday evening, April 4, from 6-9 p.m in Prospect Heights/Clinton Hill.
This collaborative exhibition features dolls made by Ellie Balk and myself (co-curators), along with thirty other artists from around the city, installed in a cozy space called Gureje that has been donated for this event by two lovely friends, Jimi and Karen.
From 6-9pm, all of our dolls and two doll videos will be on view, a range of unique raffle prizes will be given out, and food and drink will be served.
The dolls are hoping to meet you . . .
Gureje
886 Pacific Street (Washington/Underhill)
C train to Clinton/Washington
Teach Your Kids to Ride a Bike
I wish this program was around when I was teaching Teen Spirit and OSFO how to ride a two wheeler. This is a great idea. And did you know that May is Bike Month. I didn’t.
WHAT: Ready to toss the training wheels? Take your kids to a free Bike New York class to learn the basics of biking in a safe, social setting. Best of all there’s no running behind the bike, strained backs, scraped knees, or frayed nerves. Last year, more than 600 kids and their parents learned this method, and the program received the 2007 Best of Parks Best Partnership Award. Classes listed below are offered in association with City of New York Parks & Recreation.
WHO: Children with their parents. Bikes and helmets required. Pre-register at http://www.bikenewyork.org/education/classes/teach_child.html.
WHEN/WHERE:
Choose from four sessions in Brooklyn during Bike Month (May):
* Saturday, May 3, 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., McCarren Park ( Nassau Avenue , Bayard, Leonard and North 12 Streets), Williamsburg
* Saturday, May 10, 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., J. J. Byrne Park ( Fourth Street and Fifth Avenue ), Park Slope
* Saturday, May 17, 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Crispus Attucks Park ( Fulton Street and Classon Avenue ), Bed-Stuy. While supplies last, DOT staff will distribute free NYC bike helmets. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to receive a helmet.
* Saturday, May 24, 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Carroll Park (Court and Smith Streets), Carroll Gardens
Annual Baseball Parade in Park Slope on Saturday
Leon Freilich found info about the Little League Parade and Opening Day in Prospect Park on About Brooklyn. Thanks Leon and Kristin Goode.
If you’re looking forward to warm spring days spent picnicking in Prospect Park, then you’ll be happy to hear that the park’s official Opening Day is this Saturday, April 5.
That means that spring, my friends, is on its way! Little League is back, the historic Carousel is up and running again, and the park is once again offering electric boat tours of its waters.
The day will kick off at 10am with a traditional Little League Parade through Park Slope. The parade, which starts at Seventh Avenue and Carroll Street, will end at Prospect Park’s Bandshell, where Little Leaguers (over 2,000 are expected to be a part of the 2008 baseball season) will participate in opening ceremonies.
If baseball isn’t your bag, there are other ways to get involved in Opening Day. Head to Lefferts Historic House from 1pm to 4pm on Saturday or Sunday for “Spring Wash Day,” and you’ll learn how Brooklynites cleaned their clothes before the days of laundrymats (and electricity!).
Those interested in keeping Prospect Park clean and green might want to join the Opening Day Clean-Up, on Saturday from 10am to 2pm. Volunteers should meet at the Tennis House.
All of these events are free. For more information on Prospect Park, call (718) 965-8999.
The Oh So Prolific One: Leon Freilich, Verse Responder
BIG MAMA
Big Daddy was a lovin’ spouse
Who guiltily left her the Big White House.
THE CHOIRBOY
The choir in which he learned each virtue
Has taught him listening to rants can’t hurt you.
THE MAVERICK
The Maverick’s portrait hangs in the Louvre
Right next to that of Herbert Hoovre.
Brooklyn Museum Award for Ratner: Protest in Front of the Museum Tonight
Develop Don’t Destroy is plannin a protest in front of the Brooklyn Museum Thursday evening as partygoers enter the Brooklyn Ball, where Bruce Ratner is being honored with the museum’s highest honor, the Augustus Graham aware for his generous support of various activities of the Brooklyn Museum. From the DDDB press release:
But the Museum’s $1,000-a-plate Annual “Brooklyn Ball”, in celebrating its honoree Bruce Ratner, conveniently ignores Ratner’s divisive and abusive 4-year old campaign to promote his Atlantic Yards development proposal, and the disastrous effect it would have on Brooklyn’s neighborhoods–the very same neighborhoods which the Museum calls home. While the Museum has stated that their award to Ratner does not suggest support for the Atlantic Yards proposal, by celebrating Bruce Ratner, the Museum explicitly ignores the community’s sentiment about the developer and his proposal, gives tacit support and acceptance of Ratner’s public actions in pursuit of the project, and implicitly supports it.
A Public Demonstration protesting the museum’s decision to honor Bruce Ratner will begin at 6:30 p.m. in front of the Brooklyn Museum.
Shine a Light, the Scorsese/Stones Movie at BAM Starting This Weekend
Other movies at BAM Rose Cinema, include Paranoid Park by Gus Van Sant, Snow Angels, and The Counterfeiters, which I hear from a reliable source is great.
Love in Hard Times is also there
Songs from The Capeman
Apr 1—6
Under African Skies
Apr 9—13
Under African Skies may be sold out, but you still have a chance to see the show at the 2008 Spring Gala. Tickets start at $100! More…
The Graduate
Apr 12
American Tunes
Apr 23—27
Tickets may be available for select performances. Call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100 for more information.
BAMtalk
Paul Simon & Philip Glass: A Conversation
May 5
Why the Demo? Ask Scott The Quizmaster
Scott is the quizmaster at Rocky Sullivan’s in Red Hook. I don’t know him nor have I ever been to one of his quiz nights but I do, however, enjoy his emails about those quiz nights. Tonight he’ll be at the demo and will then scoot back over to Rocky’s for the quiz.
Why the demo? Because they’re giving their highest award to Bruce Ratner. Yeah, the same Bruce Ratner who’s torn Brooklyn’s heart asunder, plundered the public coffers, abused eminent domain, exploited poor peoples’ fears about housing and jobs, and turned our borough into a sickening shouting match that only people as aloof and disconnected as the Brooklyn Museum’s directors could fail to notice.
The musical performer at tonight’s $1,000 a plate event? Kanye West. Hey, Kanye…I thought you didn’t like the ones that don’t care about Black people.
A lot of us are gathering in front of the Museum at 6:30 to protest. We of the Pub Quiz Nation will leave at 8:00 pm to head over to Rocky’s to slake our thirsts, answer some questions, get dinner and blow off steam in a fun-filled, boisterous atmosphere.
Hope to see you at the Museum, and later on at Rocky’s…
Scott M.X.
Rocky’s Quizmaster
The Occasional Note from Peter Loffredo: How Much Sex is Enough?
Here’s our pal Pete’s reaction to a Huff Post piece about how long sex should last.
“A survey of sex therapists concluded the optimal amount of time for sexual intercourse was 3 to 13 minutes. The findings, to be published in the May issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine, strike at the notion that endurance is the key to a great sex life. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/02/survey-endurance-not-the_n_94789.html)
“If that sounds like good news to you,” the article continues, “don’t cheer too loudly. The time does not count foreplay, and the therapists did rate sexual intercourse that lasts from 1 to 2 minutes as ‘too short.”
“There are so many myths in our culture of what other people are doing sexually,” Marianne Brandon, a clinical psychologist and director of Wellminds Wellbodies in Annapolis, Md. said. “Most people’s sex lives are not as exciting as other people think they are.”
Okay, taking that last statement first – “Most people’s sex lives are not as exciting as other people think they are.” – I would have to add that most people’s sex lives are also not as good as THEY think they are.
Really. I’ve had many people tell me that they have very good sex lives. No kidding, many people have told me that. But then, when I ask for details, I hear that their so-called good sex life includes having sex maybe, ohhh, about once a month! Better yet, I’ve been told by women who say they enjoy sex that they have never – as in NEVER! – had an orgasm! Likewise, more men than I can count have told me that they masturbate EVERYDAY, whether they’ve had sex that day or not.
So, what’s going on?
Well, for one thing, as the article above hints at, most people have no idea conceptually what constitutes great, or even fair-to-good sex, because in our culture, we don’t talk about it in any regular way day-to-day, or in settings like families, schools, churches (Ha! Just kidding!), etc. Seriously, I even know therapists who never bring up the subject of sex with their patients! Whew!
You know, I write about this subject a lot. From my experience working with people, raising children and being a live human being, I can never write about it enough. Sexual respression and supression, as I have said many times, is the true root of all evil. What so many religious “scholars” don’t get about the Adam and Eve story is that the “apple” represented self-consciousness, and it was that self-consciousness that caused the previously blissful couple to realize that they were naked and feel ashamed. This was not a good thing! The nakedness was a good thing. The shame was not! How did we end up getting it so backwards?! (Well, that’s a different discussion.)
The point is, folks, studies like the one mentioned above are kind of useless. Three minutes, seven minutes… what’s that got to do with anything?
I’ve been told, sadly, by some men using Viagra, that they can stay hard all night, regardless of how they feel about the woman they’re with. What the fuck good is that?! Making love is supposed to be a sensuous feast, a swim in a warm, tropical ocean, a rollercoaster ride, a trip that takes you higher than any hallucinogenic drug could ever take you.
It can last for hours, or be a hot “quickie.” It’s not a time thing. Sex, as greatest “regression in service of the ego,” is supposed to be a timeless experience. And all of that while intertwined with the body and soul of someone you’re in love with, with someone who you willingly strip yourself naked in front of like Adam and Eve… before the apple.
Come on, people, let’s get ourselves back to the garden!
A Pizza Tour of Brooklyn
Does Brooklyn really have the best pizza in the world? Go on a tasting tour withA Slice of Brooklyn Pizza Tour, the only guided bus tour that covers pizza…and Brooklyn…from one end to the other. Not just for tourists. It sounds fun even if you’ve lived in Brooklyn for evah!
From Grimaldi’s and their award winning Neapolitan style pizza in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn to L&B Spumoni Gardens and their award winning Sicilian style pizza in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn and everything in between including Coney Island!
The tour also includes an audio-visual historical tour of many of Brooklyn’s diverse neighborhoods, landmarks, points of interest and famous movie locations including Saturday Night Fever, Goodfellas, Annie Hall, Scent of a Woman and many more.
Since its debut, A Slice of Brooklyn Pizza Tour has received local, national and international press from such outlets as CNN, the New York Times, the London Times, the Associated Press, Crain’s New York Business, the Lonely Planet guide, USA Today, SAVEUR, Food Arts as well as appearances on NBC’s Today Show and the YES Network’s “Ultimate Road Trip”.
Found in Brooklyn in Vox Pop Art Show
I just got word from Lisann of Found in Brooklyn that some of her collages will be in an art show at Vox Pop opening tonight:
Hey there….Last minute announcement I know but I’m
going to be in a group Art Show at Vox Pop in
Brooklyn. If you can’t make the opening which is
Thursday night from 7-10pm, try and swing
by during the month!
I will be featuring my “Debt Consolidations”,
assemblages made out of my cut up bills and credit
card offers. A paper shredder would of been easier but
I always seem to do things the hard way!!
Brian Lehrer Wins Peabody Award
This isn’t really a Brooklyn story; it’s a NYC story. Yet, so many from Brooklyn listen to and call into the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC that I had to mention it:
WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show has been recognized with a George Foster Peabody Award for broadcast excellence in 2007.
Here’s what the judges had to say: “Lehrer’s talk show is a wide open yet shrewdly managed forum in which every sort of political, social and cultural issue is considered and where New Yorkers, in all their diversity, can get to know each other.”
How true. I am an avid listening of his show. Why, I listen to his show at least three times a week. And his election coverage has been fantastic, too.
As a blogger, I have also been on Lehrer’s radio show, as well as his CUNY television show. So I’ve met Brian Lehrer!
According to the press release I received from the WNYC publicist, David Bukszpan:
“Segments from the show submitted to the Peabody Committee centered on the theme “Radio That Builds Community Rather Than Divides.” Topics included conversations on gentrification and the black middle class; a recurring series of eye-level reports from Baghdad by Time Baghdad bureau chief, Bobby Ghosh; efforts to find a middle ground in the Middle East; “Democracy’s Living Room,” the show’s listener call-in segments on the politics of citizenship; a debate on branding the Bronx with the tagline, “Yes the Bronx”; and the program’s innovative crowdsourcing initiative, a form of citizen journalism that asks listeners to report on a single issue from their own perspective and then analyzes the overall results
The Brian Lehrer Show airs weekdays from 10am-noon on 93.9 FM and AM 820, and is available for on-demand streaming and downloading at www.wnyc.org.
Only the Blog Links
Brooklyn a go go (Found in Brooklyn)
Carroll Garden garden gnomes (Pardon Me for Asking)
Fabulous cup cakes (Eat Drink Memory)
Brennan introduces an alternative congestion pricing bill (Streetsblog)
Inserting nature at Ikea (Callalillie)
Brooklyn fire injures 10, including 5 firefighters (NY 1)
Assembly debates congestion pricing (NY 1)
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
Photography by Lara Wechsler: Lone Woman
Earth Week in Prospect Park
Eugene Patron, who keeps me up to date on events in Prospect Park, sent me word that April 19 – 27 is Earth Week. And boy there’s a lot of ways that kids and adults can learn what to do to help the environment. The Prospect Park Audubon Center, which is celebrating its sixth birthday, is just one of many locations in the Park with special programs heralding the arrival of spring, and environmental education for the whole family. Interestingly, the festivities are sponsored by Ikea Movers Not Shakers.
Saturday April 19
Prospect Park Youth Council Pre-Earth Day Celebration
Time: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Location: Youth Resource Center at Bowling Green Cottage (Prospect Park Parade Ground).
Details: Get a jump on celebrating Earth Day (April 22) with the Prospect Park Youth Council! Activities include gardening, removing of invasive weeds and plants, and reconstruction of flowerbeds and veggie gardens. Learn about what we can do as individuals and families to reduce waste and conserve energy. And soothe what ails you by learning holistic remedies to common ailments. Free.
Hands on New York
Time: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Location: Meet at the Endale Arch on the north end of the Long Meadow.
Details: In partnership with New York Cares, help shore up walking paths along the Long Meadow and manicure its magnificent trees. Walk-ins are welcome. Call (718) 965-8960 for more information.
Sunday April 19 & 20
Environmental Education Day
Date: Sunday, April 20
Time: 12 – 5 p.m.
Location: Prospect Park Audubon Center
Details: Start off your environmental education week at the Audubon Center with a day of learning about your local ecosystem in Prospect Park. Make crafts with recycled materials, take a Discover Tour, and learn how nature can make you happier! All events free.
April 21 – 27
Earth Week and Exhibition at the Audubon Center
Time: 12 – 5 p.m. every day
Location: Prospect Park Audubon Center
Details: Earth Week at the Prospect Park Audubon Center will have a different theme each day, with programming for environmentalists of all ages. Learn how to do your part through lectures, tours, activities, film screenings, workshops, recyclable crafts, and a daily exhibit. View works and an installation by artist Jessica Baker, who prints geometric designs on leaves found in Prospect Park and other parts of Brooklyn. Visit ww.prospectpark.org for a full listing of activities and events — all free.
Special Events Saturday, April 26 at the Prospect Park Audubon Center:
B’EarthDay Bash, 1 – 4 p.m. Celebrate the birthdays of John James Audubon, Frederick Law Olmsted and James Stranahan. At 2 p.m. Lloyd Miller of the Deedle Deedle Dees and friends will perform a special, musical birthday celebration. There will also be arts and crafts, plus birthday cake. Artist’s reception, 5 – 8 p.m. Enjoy a public reception with live music for artist Jessica Baker’s Leaf & Circle exhibit at the Audubon Center. Free.
Aristocrats Pushing Out Yuppies in The Onion’s Park Slope
As reported on Gowanus Lounge, The Onion pokes a bit of fun with some cool photoshopping at Park Slope in its current issue. I happen to know that a local dad writes for the humor magazine from time to time and is a very funny guy in his own right. Maybe he had something to do with this.
Many of those affected by the ostentatious reshaping of their once purely upmarket neighborhoods said that they often wish for a return back to the privileged communities they helped to overdevelop just a few years ago. Among the first to feel the effects of the encroaching aristocracy have been local business owners like Fort Greene, Brooklyn resident Neil Getz.
“Around here, you used to be able to get a Fair-Trade latte and a chocolate-chip croissant for only eight bucks,” said Getz, who is planning to move back in with his parents after being forced out of the lease on his organic grocery store by a harpsichord purveyor. “Now it’s all tearooms and private salon gatherings catered with champagne and suckling pig. Who can afford that?”
Incoming aristocrats are easily spotted by their distinctive dress and taste for chamber music.
“It’s just a terrible shame,” Getz continued. “There was this great little shop right across the street from my duplex apartment where I bought my baby daughter a Ramones onesie a couple of years ago, just after she was born. That whole block is an opera house now.”
The aristocracy has adamantly dismissed claims that the sweeping changes are detrimental to the merely wealthy who have been displaced, and many persons of noble blood have pointed to aristocratization’s benefits. These include lower crime rates attributed to new punishments, such as public floggings and the pillory, which are primarily meted out for maintaining direct eye contact with members of the highest class.”