The other day I spoke with Jake, a local homeless man who often sits on a plastic milk crate in front of the Ace Supermarket on Berkeley Place and Seventh Avenue. He told me that, with the help of Old First’s Pastor Daniel Meeter, he’s close to moving into an apartment arranged by Common Ground, an agency that places homeless in apartments. Currently he rents a room that costs $20 a night somewhere. “There’s a shower there and a place to put my stuff but I’d rather have my own place,” he told me.

That is very good news for Jake, who is already thinking about buying furniture at the Salvation Army.

Jake also told me that one of the three men who used to sleep on the steps of Old First Church was in prison for “sleeping in the Citibank.” I have yet to verify that but I was wondering where he’d gone to.

Today’s Brooklyn Paper has a good story about the homeless men of Old First:

The last of four homeless men who camped out at Old First Church is now sleeping elsewhere, though he still commutes to “work” every day.

Robert Royster and his army of the night flashed into the neighborhood’s consciousness last winter, thanks to a crusade by Old First’s pastor, Rev. Daniel Meeter, who recorded his struggles with the homeless men on his blog (yes, a priest with a blog).

The Paper calls Park Slope’s Coalition for the Homeless, created by Pastor Meeter and Rabbi Andy Bachman, a success. The group was formed after Meeter came public with his frustration that three homeless men were making the steps of the church their home. He wrote about it on his blog and galvanized the community to do something about the situation.

Obviously the group has been busy trying to find suitable homes for these men. Meeter well understands the difficulty of helping men, who place a great value on their independence and freedom.

“One of the reasons homeless people are homeless is because of how much they value their freedom and independence,” Meeter said, suggesting that traditional homeless shelters and programs don’t always work because potential clients view the programs as “having to spend a week with the in-laws,” Meeter told the Brooklyn Paper.

Robert Royster, one of the Old First homeless, accepted an apartment in Flatlands last month. He now commutes to his panhandling spot in front of Old First Church on Seventh Avenue daily.

An excerpt from NY1:

City officials confirmed Thursday that they plan to implement a pilot program this fall that would double parking meter rates during peak hours.

The goal is to increase turnover in parking spots, so drivers will spend less time looking for parking, which, in turn, could cut down congestion, pollution, and the number of people who double-park or park in bus lanes.

For now, the new rates are only scheduled to apply to meters in two test zones: one along a yet-to-be-determined stretch of Kings Highway and on adjacent streets in Midwood, Brooklyn and the other in parts of Greenwich Village in Manhattan.

In Greenwich Village, parking meters currently charge 25 cents for 15 minutes. In the fall, a quarter will only buy six or seven minutes of parking time

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A rollicking, frolicking Midsummer Night’s Dream delighted a large opening night crowd on the green in JJ Byrne Park on Thursday night.

And what a night it was. The weather was glorious, the sky clear, the half moon luminous and bright.

Directed by John P. McEneny, who teaches drama at MS 51 and runs the Piper Theater, this version of MSND takes place in 1908 Coney Island, a natural setting for the play. “The parks at Coney Island symbolized a reachable escape, a place where almost anyone could go for a day and get lost in the crowd. It was a place where everyone was searching for fun and often found it in the exotic displays or seemingly death-defying rides,” writes Rosa Schneider, Piper’s dramaturg.

Indeed, Shakespeare’s popular play is all about magic, escape, identity, and the fantastical. What better way to bring it home to a Brooklyn audience then to set it in our very own urban dreamland.

There were many highpoints in last night’s show, which will run this weekend and next in the park located at Fifth Avenue and Third Street in Park Slope, but the cast’s high energy, high octane performance of the play surely gave it the kind of bigger-than-life impact that works wonders in an outdoor show.

Still, the fairy dances were gently rendered even as airplanes passed overhead. A strong cast really packed a wollop in a production that was alternately bawdy, poetic, magical, sexy, acrobatic and really fun in all the right ways.

Owen Campbell, a 14-year-old professional actor, was notable in the role of Puck. But all the actors brought great energy and joie de vivre to Piper’s memorable version of the play. The lovely set by Lila Trenkova, complete with life guard chairs and twinkling lights, transformed the park. Costumes by Deirdre Cavanaugh were also a treat, as was the sound design by Andy Christian.

I am very aware of the Knitting Factory these days because The Mighty Handful have played there a bunch of times.

Back in the 1980’s when we were East Village dwellers we made frequent trips to the Houston Street Knitting Factory to hear John Zorn, Joel Forrester, the Microscopic Quintet, Jonathan Richman, and Zeena Parkins (pictured left).

That’s my version of the Knitting Factory.

Yesterday my dad told me that he read in the Times that they’re opening a place in Williamsburg and “someplace else really weird,” he said.

Well, that someplace else really weird is: Boise, Idaho. Also Spokane, Washington.

So, in addition to venues in Boise and Spokane, the Knitting Factory is coming to 361 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

“We don’t have to be the biggest kids in New York City to be the Knitting Factory. What we do have to have is a pipeline that brings us the most exciting new music from the cities where the newest, most exciting new music is being created,” owner Jared Hoffman told the New York Times.

Photo of Zeena Parkins from her website.

We may do this for our 19th wedding anniversary next Wednesday night.

The Irish ambient rock group 3epkano perform an original score to accompany F.W. Murnau’s silent cinematic masterpiece at BAMCinematek on July 16th (the big day). This program is supported by the Goethe Institute New York and Culture Ireland.

Sunrise (1927) 95min
Wed, July 16 at 7:30pm*

–Original score performed by 3epkano and followed by an after-party sponsored by The Onion
–Directed by F.W. Murnau
–With George O’Brien, Janet Gaynor

Considered by many to be the zenith of the silent age, F.W. Murnau’s masterwork tells the tale of a married farmer from the country. When he falls for a sophisticated woman from the city, she manipulates him into the decision to kill his wife. Janet Gaynor won the first Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Sunrise, which, with its strikingly expressive images, is a stunning example of pure cinema. “Simple, and intense images of unequalled beauty.”—Time Out Film Guide.

Last night I went to see Life in a Marital Institution (20 years of monogomy in one terrifying hour), a laugh out loud one-man show by James Braly at the SoHo Playhouse.

At the core of the monologue is Braly’s tale of the marriage of his sister on her deathbed. At one point she asks him if he’d trade places with her. He counters, “Would you want to be married to my wife?”

The show is an unabashed, but loving, critique of his own marriage to the highly educated, highly opinionated, and very aggressive and progressive Susan, who would fit in well with various strata of far-left Park Slope parents.

Doulas. Homebirths, Placentas in the freezer. Organic food. Susan is a familiar Park Slope-style character as she is lampooned through Braly’s devoted eyes.

Conflict is an important component of their marriage and it seems to bring zest and even sexual energy to their relationship.

Braly’s musings on the difficulties of monogomy and even simply agreeing with the person he has decided to spend his life with is well worth a trip to this well-written, and well-staged show as directed by Brooklyn’s Hal Brooks.

A one-man show is a high-wire act and Braly rarely falters. Low key, appealing, articulate with a wicked grin Braly is a thinking-woman’s sex symbol no one would dare go out with after seeing this show. No doubt, he’d be fun to hang around with at a SoHo bar (or theater for that matter).

The show set on a simple stage with three plastic chairs and a venetian blind background moves quickly and is consistently entertaining. The transitions from one story to another are masterfully enhanced by lighting changes and the thematic progression of the show’s content. The stories build on each other and ultimately illuminate Braly’s need for psychic noise and chaos as a way to avoid that most fearful thing at all: the silence of his own brain.

Braly posits marriage as a creative continuation of one’s childhood and family dysfunction. Depressing, yes. But with Braly’s observational eye, everything is fodder for humor and virtuosic story telling.

What makes the show more than a “Take my wife, please” anti-marriage rant, is that Braly obviously feels deep love for his wife, his children and his sister, who died young of cancer. He is also willing, incessantly so, to make fun of himself.

What would his life be without the strange, exasperating, and interesting people that surround him. He certainly wouldn’t have a great show to deliver every night through August 31st.

The show which was produced by my old friend, Anna Becker, is at the Soho Playhouse. 15 Vandam Street between Varick and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan.

Reclaimed Home has a high school friend who was killed in Kabul on the fourth of July. His name is Danny Farkas and his funeral will be on Monday in Midwood. The following is an excerpt from Reclaimed Home’s story:

I didn’t realize that I knew a war hero. Who’d have thunk it, that among my progressive thinking, New York liberal, artsy fartsy high school buddies, one of us would go off to war? And get killed?

I didn’t know Danny Farkas all that well. He was the skinny kid who hung out with the production crew (my high school had a great AV program). He was a friend of a friend more than a friend of mine. When I saw him at our high school reunion back in 2003, I couldn’t believe how buff he was. “Where’s that skinny kid?” I asked him.

I received an email this morning from a fellow ex classmate that Danny was killed in Kabul on July 4th in a non-hostile incident that is being investigated.

Danny was a NYC Police Lieutenant in the 112th Pct. in Forest Hills and an Army National Guardsman. Funeral will be held Monday in Midwood, Brooklyn.

The oh-so-energetic Anne Pope is wondering if you’ve ever considered converting your house to solar? If so, this incredible organizer and founder of Sustainable Flatbush wants you to come to a Neighborhood Solar Forum for single family homes. The next Solar Forum will focus on multi-family apartment buildings, including co-ops

Come to the…

Neighborhood Solar Forum
for single family homes

sponsored by Sustainable Flatbush

July 16th @ 8pm
Ditmas Workspace
535 East 17th Street (corner of Ditmas)
http://www.ditmasworkspace.com/

Peter Landy will speak about his experience converting his house to solar power.

Chris Neidl of Solar One will speak about current legislation and initiatives to make residential solar power affordable.

RSVP requested (but not required) to anne@sustainableflatbush.org
Special Thanks to Liena Zagare and Ditmas Workspace

*Spread the word to friends and neighbors!

The folks at the Brian Lehrer Show ask:

What does it take to capture the energy of New York City on film? We find out from WNYC Street Shots winner Joe Wigfall and writer/critic Luc Sante

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Sante, author of ” Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York” was the judge and here’s what he told Brian this morning as to why he selected Joe Wigfall as the winner: “The best combination of skills, the best up-close, psychological, in-depth, on-the-fly portraits of people with great composition and a great sense of tone.”

Listen to this interesting show.

I refer you to Kristin Goode, About.com’s Brooklyn expert. She does a great, great job. Check out her July calendar.

Last week we celebrated U.S. independence, but this weekend it’s time to wave the French flag: Bastille Day festivities are taking place on Sunday, July 13. Head to Smith Street, where thousands of Francophiles from throughout the city will be gathering for a day of live music, French food, specialty cocktails, and, of course, the 6th annual Bastille Day Pétanque Tournament.

The celebration will last from 12pm to 8pm, in the areas surrounding Smith Street and Dean Street. All proceeds from the Tournament will benefit the local Brooklyn Community Board.

Perfect weather in the forecast for the premiere of Piper Theater’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in JJ Byrne Park. The show has a Coney Island theme and it should be great fun and very good. I’ve caught a bit of the tech rehearsals and I am so psyched to see the show as directed by John P. McEneny, who is beloved in Park Slope for his masterful role as MS 51’s drama teacher. He also runs Piper Theater.

Piper Theatre Productions was created by siblings, John and Rachel McEneny, who in the summer of 2001 created their first production; a rough and tumble production of MacBeth with wooden swords starring Elaine Bianchi and Bruce Sabath (most recently seen in John Doyle’s revival of Company on Broadway.) The first four seasons were held on the grounds of Untermyer Park in Yonkers, NY.

In the Summer of 2006, at the invitation of Kim Maier and the board of the Old Stone House, Piper made the decision to move its base of operations from Yonkers to Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY.

For the past three years, the education program has expanded ten fold and has become one of the most popular and affordable summer programs in the neighborhood. Local children from the Park Slope area have performed youth productions of Winters Tale (2006; dir. J. McE), Hamlet (2007; dir J. McE), Midsummer (2006; dir. Ezra Barnes), Twelfth Night (2007; dir. Ezra Barnes), Romeo & Juliet (2007; dir. Wendy Peace), MacBeth (2007; dir Thomas Hoagland).

The main stage shows (Much Ado About Nothing 2006; dir. Cecilia Rubino & MacBeth 2007; dir J. McEneny) met with huge audiences in J.J. Byrne Park.

And tonight….JJ Byrne Park. Fifth Avenue and 3rd Street in Park Slope. 8 p.m.

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This new declaration, written in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence, rejects the unwarranted sacrifice of fundamental liberties in the name of security.

The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights offer protection and remedies for government assaults on civil liberties–but only if they are enforced.

Find out more about the People’s Campaign for the Constitution: www.constitutioncampaign.org.

According to the Daily News, people are taking advantage of Ikea’s free bus and ferry – without ever going into the Swedish furniture behemoth.

The coach-style buses look very nice. I see them on Fourth Avenue but they usually look empty to me. In Park Slope, you can get the bus at the Fourth Avenue F train station weekdays and weekends.

But the Daily News reports that people are using it like a free alternative to the MTA. Especially since not much in the way of public transport gets you to Red Hook. Here’s an excerpt from the Daily News story.

“It’s like a free car service,” said Bianca Colon, 19, who works at a summer program at Public School 27 on Huntington St. in Red Hook, and takes the bus from downtown Brooklyn near her home. “It takes us straight downtown and I don’t have to wait for the bus to stop every block to let people on and off.”
Colon took the city bus to her summer job for several weeks before discovering the swank Ikea alternative.

“It’s got AC; it doesn’t get overcrowded,” she said. “You have your own space. It’s strange, but people are more behaved on this bus. It’s just more relaxing.”

The free bus service transports passengers from Red Hook to stops on Court St. and to subway stations at Fourth Ave. and Smith and Ninth Sts. every 15 minutes during store hours.

Thrifty bus riders aren’t the only ones taking advantage of Ikea’s services. City residents are also saving $6 each way and taking the store’s free water taxi to and from Wall Street.

“It’s such a nice ride, I’d almost be happy to pay for it,” said Steve Riley, 40, who lives in Park Slope, takes the Ikea bus and then transfers to the Ikea water taxi for his job in SoHo. “It was so very different from the miserable experience of the subway and I got to see all four of the waterfalls.”

Today is opening day for the Theatre Development Fund’s TKTS booth in Brooklyn for the first time since 1993, offering discounts of up to 50% on tickets to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows.

Theater just became a little more affordable for Brooklynites.

I’m going to try to get over there today to catch the ribbon cutting ceremony that will include the Forbidden Broadway performance.

The first 250 ticket buyers at the booth – located on the ground floor of 1 MetroTech at Jay St. and Myrtle Ave. – will get $25 gift certificates that may be used for subsequent purchases.

The booth will open at 11 a.m. The ribbon cutting is at 10:15.

Park Slope Parents reached its 6th anniversary on July 8th. Wow! I can’t believe it.

What did we do before PSP? Where did we get information about schools, mosquito bites, raccoons, potty training, learning disabilities, airplane trips with children, concerts in the park, post-partum depression and so much more.

Oy, the information we’ve gleaned from the members of PSP. The power of a question. The power of so much collective experience. The power of a community willing to share with each other the process of raising children. I salute everyone at PSP for creating something so vital, so powerful and so informative. Susan Fox, founder of PSP had this to say on the occasion of their 6th anniversary.

It dawned on me tonight that today (July 8th) is Park Slope Parents’ 6 Year
Anniversary.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO PARK SLOPE PARENTS!

I would really love to hear people’s best / funniest / most poignant / most
educational / most helpful memories they’ve had on the list.

I hope that Park Slope Parents has helped ease the sometimes rocky road of
parenting for all of you. I know that your advice and insight (and humor)
has helped me (and my family) get through things such as “Candy Sneak,”
“Monster Scares,” “Baby Back Packs for us shorter folks,” ‘Transitioning to
2 kids,” “VBACs”, “Why Why Why Why !?” and “Leg Cramps.”

We’ve seen Happy Days, Fidgets and Go Fish come and go. We started when the
only available baby carriers were only the Over the Shoulder Baby Holder,
the Maya Sling, and a $5 Chinatown Mei Tie. Life is good here, and there is
a good reason that Park Slope has been ranked one of the top 20
neighborhoods to live.

Thanks for taking the ride with me,

Susan Fox
Founder, Park Slope Parents

On Monday I went to see a reading of a one-man show called “If You See Something Say Something” by Park Slope’s Mike Daisey at the Public Theater (it will be there in the fall).

In this new monologue, Daisey weaves together the story of the Department of Homeland Security, the story of the neutron bomb and his own trip to Los Alamos to see the Trinity, the site where the first atom bomb was detonated (the site is open one day a year for the public to see). He’s quite a storyteller.

I was amazed at how large a crowd assembled to see this free work-in-progress performance at Joe’s Pub on a Monday at noon. Mike Daisey must have quite an email list.

The piece is very powerful, very disturbing, very well told. I can’t wait to see it again in the fall when it’s at the Public Theater. I expect it will change quite a a bit before then. He is performing it this week at the Wooly Mammoth Theater in Washington, DC.

Live music in Brooklyn Bridge Park tonight and every Wednesday through August 28th (my birthday). Major venues like Barbes, Zebulon, Issue Project Room, Jalopy, and Union Hall are guest curating the shows. Here are the ‘tails for two of the events (Barbes and Zebulon).

An evening of live music, video art, and other surprises curated by a different local Brooklyn venue each week. All free, all under the tent in the historic Tobacco Warehouse. Doors at 6pm, capacity is limited.

LOCATION: Tobacco Warehouse, Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park section of Brooklyn Bridge Park
TIME: 6.30pm – 9.30pm
FREE!
INFO: www.brooklynbridgepark.org
TONIGHT: Wednesday, July 9
An evening curated by Barbes, featuring:
Las Rubias Del Norte
The Parker String Quartet
The Mandingo Ambassadors
Wednesday, July 16
An evening curated by Zebulon, featuring:
Stuart Bogie/Superhuman Happiness
Charles Gayle Trio
Colin Stetson
Sharon Van Etten

I am just posting this email as is. I am sorry to have disappointed this reader but grateful that she sent this information my way.

Yes, I have been remiss. Distracted. Wilted from the summer heat. Regrouping and getting ready for summer. Excuses all. But it’s true.

Plus, our trusty 20 year old Volvo Turbo stationwagon died during the winter (on the approach to the George Washington Bridge) and I guess the parking thing hasn’t been my main concern of late.

And yes, once again I’ve been bested by my friend and fellow blogger, Gowanus Lounge. Oh well.

I’m a big fan of your blog – I’m often discussing things I’ve learned on it with neighbors and squad members at the co-op. In fact, you’re the first place I turn to learn what’s going on in my neighborhood.
That being said, I was surprised you didn’t have a guide to the new street parking. I’m actually frightened about how to start planning moving my car, and whether this is going to be more difficult than it used to be. But I figure that knowledge is the best defense. Here is a guide I found (with a handy printable table) of the new regulations:
http://www.gowanuslounge.com/2008/07/02/a-guide-to-the-new-park-slope-alternate-side-regs/
I thought other fellow readers may be just as interested.
Thanks for all your hard work! Hope to see you around the Slope (just please don’t take my parking spot). :)

At the Community Bookstore last night after the performance by Louis and Capathia and the reading by Nikki Giovanni, a friend told me that she wants to write a piece for OTBKB. My ears perked up as I am always thrilled to have new tips, new content for my readers. This person has many cultural interests and I figured she wanted to plug a wonderful musical event or something going on at the Brooklyn Library.

But no.

She wants to tell OTBKB readers about RATS. That’s right. There are so many rats in her backyard of her building on President Street between 8th Avenue and the Park she doesn’t know what to do.

Rats.

It sounds so gross. She says there are baby ones and big, big ones in her backyard. Yuck. I can barely stand to type the word rat. I’m really chicken that way.

Rats and waterbugs. They gross me out. But I’ll take waterbugs over rats every time. I look forward to this forthcoming report from President Street.