Brooklyn Based, a thrice-weekly e-newsletter (and site) always contains inspired tips about things to do, places to eat, and really unusual findings in the borough of Kings. Today she’s got a great guide to the foodie pleasures of Brooklyn’s Chinatown. She calls it Foodie Field Trip #1: Brooklyn’s Chinatown. Go to her site and sign up for her newsletter. You’re missing out.

Calling the section of 8th Ave. off the N train “Chinatown” is like calling The Wire “a TV show” or foie gras “food.” It doesn’t do it justice. Yes, you can get great dumplings and buy glazed tripe and chicken feet from street food vendors. There are the usual bins of tiny dried fish and tanks full of live frogs. Fried pig’s head? They have you covered. But what sets the Brooklyn Chinatown apart (and the Chinatown in Flushing, Queens, but this isn’t called Queens Based, now is it?) from its Manhattan counterpart is the stuff that is not the missionary position Ten Ren bubble tea and Custard King.

Here Brooklyn Beat of the blog, Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn, shares his impresssions of the  Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition’s HOT! Summer Art Exhibition this weekend at the BWAC
exhibition space at 499 Van Brunt Street in Red Hook.

With the sturdy waves of New York harbor lapping against the waterfront shoreline, the BWAC summer show drew a good crowd all weekend.

-Artist Dawn Robin Petrlik’s installation "The Lonely Death of Esmin Green" which combines the artist’s sculpture of a woman’s body, collapsed face down on the floor, along with chairs and a video monitor, to create a meditation on the death of Esmin Green, a patient at Kings County Hospital, who died on June 19 in the waiting room, after convulsing on the floor. Ms. Petrlik’s notes on the installation indicate that it is her attempt to address the simple important fact of Ms Green’s passing, not as "some woman", or "some immigrant" or some "crazy person" but this person."

The audience becomes part of the installation as you walk through the space and see yourself, along with the sculpture, in a video surveillance monitor. Ms. Petrlik indicated that the sculpture, which is not for sale, will "naturally dry out and crumble over the course of the show in a symbolic ashes to ashes gesture." Viewers are invited to make repeat visits to review this process and to remember this story, and this person "with her name and dignity intact."

The late Ms. Green, 49, was the mother of 6 children, ages 14 – 31, in Jamaica; Ms Green came to the US, a church-going member of her community, was working in day care in order to support herself and her family at home. According to CNN, previous psychological problems may have been exacerbated by loss of her job and apartment, which led to her admission to Kings County, where she died, neglected by staff at the hospital’s psychiatric emergency room. A very powerful, provocative and thoughtful work. For more on this installation: http://www.dawnrobyn.com. For more background on the life and death of Esmin Green: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/03/hospital.woman.death/

-Red Hook Cine Soiree! On Sunday, July 27th, guest programmer Joel Schlemowitz presented a salon of experimental and underground films from a band of intrepid, avant-garde cine-artists . The program opened with recorded music – 1920s foxtrots played on a wonderfully low-tech, hand-cranked, Victrola. The films ranged from the sublime to the sublimely ridiculous and somewhere in between. Cats and Pants by Jennifer Matotek, featuring, whatelse, cats and pants, proved to be a big crowd pleaser. Robot Movie, by Fabio Roberti, featuring a dancing robot, a circa 1980s guitar player, and a sound track of electro-madness was described by one critic as "Alien Transmission" and there’s not much more to say than that, although I for one am a better person for seeing it. Five Haikus for the NY Subway by Zaza M. was sensitive and humorously brilliant. Sometimes, while 8 hours of a camera focused on the Empire State Building as Andy Warhol did, might make a statement, a couple of others showed that there is art in brevity, notably, Faces in the Flowers by Jennifer McMillan, which was lovely if a bit twee and just a bit too long for this viewer, but with an affecting soundtrack, while Spidery, by Bradley Eros, films of the micro-natural world backed by a score by Karlheinz Stockhausen, clocked in at 5:55 minutes and, while Lord knows I tried to embrace the aesthetic, it just made me think "I’d Rather Be Waterboarding." But Stan Brakhage, for all his avant-brilliance, can test the soul, too, so, there ya go. Despite my facile comments, clearly every filmmaker here had something to say, something worth saying and therefore worth seeing.

Overall a great program on an alternately steamy then stormy Sunday afternoon. More films and programs to come. Visit the BWAC site. Fine programming by Joel Schlemowitz, guest curated by Mike Olshan. More on the films and the programmer: http://www.joelschlemowitz.com

-Music Saturday by the Big Bang Big Band, a large, percussive and groovy orchestra and blues vocalist, and Sunday by Le Nozzi de Carlo, a gentle, thoughtful, and tasteful Latin-tinged pop and jazz ensemble, were highlights of the weekend. More performances to come. Again, check out the BWAC site.

BWAC proves to be a great place to be for art, provocations and entertainment on weekends 1 PM – 6 PM though August 17.

More on BWAC: http://bwac.org

This
Brooklyn Film Works finale is an amusing, albeit cyncial, documentary
fiction about "the semi-truths manufactured to market a candidate, The
Candidate shrewdly exposed the effects of the media on the political
process, posing unanswerable questions that have become all the more
pressing with every soundbite-ruled election."

8:30 on the big screen in JJ Byrne Park. Third Street and Fifth Avenue

Terrible things happened to a friend of mine on July 27th for three years running. It was many years ago when we were both teens. But I still think of her every year on that day. No matter where we are, she’s always in my thoughts on that day.

This year she is in Germany. You can bet that she’s taking it easy. After the third incident all those years ago, she vowed never to even move on July 27th. I’m sure she doesn’t take it that far any more. But I’ll bet she doesn’t fly on airplanes or do anything risky. I just have a feeling. The day has that kind of power over her. And me, too.

The first incident occurred on a hosteling trip in Camden, Maine. The group was hiking when the group-leader fell off a mountain to his death. That’s all I know. The teenagers had to find their way out of the park to get help. I remember she told me about it a few weeks after it happened and I was stunned that something so dramatic, so real could have happened to her. And it seemed unspeakably sad.

The second incident came a year later. She was also on a hosteling trip. A friend of hers fell into a glacier lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. He couldn’t get out for more than an hour and nearly died. Fortunately, he was saved and lived to tell the tale.
The third incident occurred in a national park in Washington State. Again she was on a hosteling trip. This time the group was poncho sliding down an icy pass. My friend went flying into a tree and broke both of her legs. She had to be helicoptered out of the park (strapped to the outside of the helicopter) to a hospital in Port Angeles where she was wrapped in body cast; she couldn’t leave the hospital for three months. Eventually, she was able to fly back to New York having missed three months of eleventh grade.

The year after that, we were together on July 27th, which felt sort of exciting and scary, too. We didn’t do anything on that day and joked that we were just going to sit very still. After all, the day was cursed. We were in a summer arts program in North Carolina feeling far away from home and family and spent the day in a local park having a picnic, swimming, taking it very easy.

When I was a teenager, I really looked up to this friend (and still do) for her sense of adventure, her fearlessness, her drive. Some people might say that going on hosteling trips three years in a row was pushing it a bit.

Strange to say, I think I actually envied her these disasters: they seemed so dramatic even if they were tragic. Isn’t that what teenagers live for: drama, the real stuff.
I imagined losing someone I’d only known for a few weeks but had grown quite attached to and even called by a cute nickname. I pictured her trying to save her friend who nearly died in that icy Colorado lake. And her stories about the park ranger who visited her at the Port Angeles hospital…It was all so…grown up and, dare I say it, exciting. My life paled in comparison.
Ah, the strange logic of a teenage girl. But that’s how I thought about things then. And I still take it easy on July 27th, try to anyway. I wouldn’t want my life to take a dramatic turn. Not now anyway.

The Frenchman who is planning an August tour of Paul Auster’s Brooklyn has some help from two OTBKB readers. Francis Morrone, who is a historian, journalist, author, lecturer, teacher and columnist for the New York Sun had this to say about some of the locations mentioned in "The Brooklyn Follies."

The space that is now Two Boots used to be called Circles Café.
Though he later mentions the New Purity, I can’t believe the Cosmic
Diner isn’t based on the old Purity, at Union Street. Don’t forget he
also mentions La Bagel Delight. Brightman’s is, I think, a pure
fabrication. Stores like Seventh Avenue Books and Park Slope Books came
much later, and before them there were no used or rare bookstores on
Seventh Avenue. Rocco’s I haven’t a clue about. Hope this helps a
little.

Our friend Eliot, who produces podcasts of great contemporary music monthly had this to say.

The Cosmic Diner is pure invention. So is Brightman’s Attic, but I
always thought that Park Slope Books (the place that is now Carmen’s)
was the the model for it.

The original Tea Lounge on 10th Street and Seventh Avenue in Park Slope is now history. The landlord doubled the rent and the owner opted to close the the original of his three branches of this much loved Brooklyn cafe.

Okay, not every one loves the Tea Lounge. But those who love it love it. And I always liked the 10th Street branch. In fact, I liked it more than the huge Union Street behemoth.

Good bye to a nice spot to meet friends and sip coffee.

I’m not in Brooklyn but I’ve been reading the Brooklyn Paper and the Daily Intel and see that there is trouble brewing in Ft. Greene over the Brooklyn Flea.

Seems that not everyone is thrilled about the crowds that pour into the neighborhood on Sunday to particapte in Brooklyn’s latest shopping extraaganza.

Last night there was intense meeting at local church about the flea, which has been drawing large crowds on Sunday.

Those who don’t like the Flea have plenty to say. This from the Brooklyn Paper’s reporting:

“There’s no parking at all and my vehicle was banged up by a
vendor,” said Ramesh Kauden, who’s lived on Carlton Avenue for 40 years.

In fact, some “no parking” signs are hung on the Flea’s side of the
street to facilitate the loading and unloading of antiques, handcrafts,
vintage clothing and furniture, which arrive around 7 am and depart by
6:30 pm. Some parkers reportedly ignore these signs, leading vendors to
double-park near the entrances to the schoolyard between Vanderbilt and
Clermont avenues.

Other residents say litter overflows area trashcans. “It took all this time to clean up this place,
now they want to come and drop more garbage on the neighborhood,”
said Frank, who did not want to give his last name, a Fort Greene resident for 31 years.

The complainers now have the ear of Councilwoman Letitia James
(D–Fort Greene), who said she’s received calls about wandering flea
market patrons sitting on area stoops and locking their bicycles to
gates or on scaffolding in front of Queen of All Saints Church across
the street.

The church has become a hotbed for anti-flea sentiment.

But even in the immediate vicinity of Brooklyn Flea, many people
give the swap meet a thumbs up, though they’re reluctant to publicly
disagree with their neighbors.

“It’s nice to have local artists here, and people buying their
stuff,” said Irene, who didn’t want to give her last name because she
know other people on Clermont dislike the flea market. “It’s true that
sometimes parking is hard on Sundays, but this is the city. It’s always
difficult to find parking.”

Brooklyn Beat of Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn was kind enough write this post about the the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition HOT!
Summer Art Exhibition

The excitement begins on Saturday, July 26 through August 17 at
the BWAC exhibition space at 499 Van Brunt Street in Red Hook.

The Waterfront Alliance is sponsoring City of Water Day, a way to celebrate the waterfront and waterways!
It all happens on Saturday, July 26, 2008 from 10:00am to 4:00pm on Governors Island.

On July 26th, paddlers, sailors, mariners and many others from around the region will converge on Governors Island to eat, drink and have fun.

Highlights of the day will include:

• A symbolic and inspirational convergence of kayakers, boaters, sailors and ferry-riders onto Governors Island. New York Waterway and the New York Water Taxi will pick kids from across the city and bring them to the Island for this special day of fun, education and adventure.

• Boat parade of working vessels past and present including the retired fireboat John J. Harvey and the Seaport Museum’s tug W.O. Decker.

• Eco-tours of indigenous bird habitats hosted by NYC Audubon and a Hidden Harbor Tour hosted by the Working Harbor Committee.
• Fishing clinics with I Fish New York.
• Live music by Eric Bibb.
• Lecture on Fuel from Algae by CUNY professor.

• Car free biking. Bring your own wheels or rent.

July 30 promises to be one of the best nights yet at "Music at the Bridge," the new free music series hosted by the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy. And it’s being programmed by Park Slope’s Issue Project Room.

John Zorn’s legendary "Cobra" opens the show at 6:30pm, followed by a special presentation of electronic music from the Theremin Society.

The show closes with Jonathan Kane’s blues-driven February. ISSUE Project Room has curated this special show for the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, which is proud to host its first live music series in Empire Fulton Ferry Park.

Brooklyn Brewery provides
For more information, including a full press release, photos, etc, please contact me.

Wednesday, July 30: An evening curated by ISSUE Project Room, featuring:
John Zorn’s COBRA
Theremin Society
Jonathan Kane’s FEBRUARY
All free, under the tent in the historic Tobacco Warehouse.
Doors at 6:00pm, capacity is limited.

Cocktails. Hors d’Oeuvres. Dancing. Electric Boat Rides. Silent Auction. It’s the Summer Soiree in Prospect Park, a fundraiser for our great, great park. And what a Brooklyn event it is with catering by The Movable Feast, decor by Root Stock & Quade and music by the DJs of Southpaw.  

Click here to buy tickets online.

Think about attending the Summer Soiree or making a contribution to that Park that gives us so much pleasure.

Big Kahuna ($250) – Includes admission for 1, special recognition on event materials, Alliance membership at the $100 level, special gift
Daddy-O ($150) – Includes admission for one, recognition on event materials, Alliance membership at the $50 level
Land Shark ($75) – Includes admission for one
Party Wave ($250) – Includes admission for four

Neil Feldman of Not Only Brooklyn, the discriminating e-newsletter of free NYC cultural events urges his readers to attend the soiree. If you are interested in receiving NOB, email Neil: arbrunr(at)aol(dot)com

Dear friends and fellow arts enthusiasts,

Many of us spend substantial amounts of time in Prospect Park.  It is world class urban treasure, an oasis that enhances our quality of life immeasurably.  So I want to be sure that you do not overlook the enthusiastic suggestion I sent you in several recent editions of NOB that you join me and other younger enthusiasts this Thursday at the Summer Soiree, a party in the lovely Audubon Center overlooking the Lake to support the Park. Tax deductible ticket packages begin at $75, which is much less than analogous charity parties.

Looking forward to seeing many NOB readers at this party to keep Prospect Park wondrous.

Neil Feldman, Publisher and Editor
Not Only Brooklyn Arts & Events

WNYC’s Ilya Marritz reports that Governor Paterson signed the bill on Wednesday permitting the horizontal drilling but also stipulating that further environmental impact studies be made. Here’s an excerpt from the press release from the Governor’s office.

Governor David A. Paterson today signed a bill that extends the State’s uniform well spacing system to include additional wells and drilling activity, including horizontal well drilling. The Environmental Conservation Law previously established “spacing units” and “set back” requirements only for some types of drilling activity. A spacing unit is the land area from which a well is expected to recover oil or gas; a setback is the distance that a well must be from the boundaries of the spacing unit. The bill also adds requirements about how wells may be located within spacing units.

The new requirements will lead to greater administrative efficiency, result in more effective recovery of oil and natural gas, and reduce unnecessary land disturbance.
Importantly, the bill does not relax environmental safeguards.
“This new law will ensure greater efficiency in the processing of requests to permit oil and gas wells, while maintaining environmental and public health safeguards,” said Governor Paterson.

“Natural gas exploration has the potential to increase domestic supplies of natural gas, create jobs, expand the tax base and benefit the upstate economy. My administration is committed to working with the public and local governments to ensure that if the drilling goes forward, it takes place in the most environmentally responsible way possible.”