Monthly Archives: July 2009

Civics and Urban Life

A Save Coney Island Frame of Mind

I was out in Coney Island again yesterday visiting my friend at the rehab hospital on 29th Street and Surf Avenue. The more time I spend out there the more attached I get to that incredible part of Brooklyn.

At Amusing the Zillion, a blog started by "a former carny kid who casts an insider's eye on the amusement business, Coney Island, and fun places in between" also has the story of Dick Zigun's video. That blogger also wrote to say that the deadline for changes to the the city's plan is Monday,
July 13 and she's trying to get the word out to as many Brooklyn blogs as possible. Go to Amusing the Zillion for more information about how to contact your local councilmember.

In the video, Dick Zigun, founder and artistic director of Coney Island USA and the permanently unelected “Mayor” of Coney, asks YOU to contact your City Councilmembers to deliver the message “Don’t Kill Coney! Fix the Plan!”

“The City came up with an acceptable master plan, but at the same time, a private developer, Thor Equities,
came in and purchased most of the property on the south side of Surf
Avenue,” Zigun says in the video. “Thor Equities started lobbying and
pressuring the city, and suddenly, the plan changed…there are some
things in there that are frankly no good, and that’s the plan that’s
going to be voted on at the end of July.”

Zigun’s recommendations include moving the 27-story high rises north
of Surf Avenue, a change endorsed by the Borough President and
Community Board; expanding the acreage for outdoor rides and
amusements; and protecting Coney Island’s historic structures instead
of creating financial incentives for tearing them down.

Civics and Urban Life

Reaction from Vox Pop’s Debi Ryan

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Debi Ryan, manager of Vox Pop, posted her reaction to the desecration of the coffee shop's Statue of Liberty statue on Facebook:

As I am sure you have all heard by now, the Statue of Liberty that
stood proudly in front of Vox Pop has been destroyed. The Statue was
used in a disturbing video posted on You Tube. I am not sure why they
chose our statue to perpetrate this crime, but a crime it is. It has
been stolen and destroyed and used as a message of hate and this
situation is being taken very seriously by our law enforcement
agencies. Whatever their intent may have been, the outcome is clear. I
have every confidence that the miscreants will be found and prosecuted
to the fullest extent of the law. While I believe in the right for
everyone to say what they think, whether I personally agree with it or
not, I do not believe they have the right to destroy someone else's
property to do it.

Vox Pop is a community owned coffee shop. We
offer fair trade coffees and teas, organic foods, live music, poetry
readings, independently published books and a gallery of local artist
works. We strive to create a welcoming, open space for people to meet,
relax and discuss the world around them. Our broad range of programming
includes children's story hour and movement classes, independent film
screenings, workshops on sustainability and meditation and even bicycle
repair. I am saddened that they chose to target our neighborhood space.

In
spite of what you may have read, I am not in fear for my life, I do not
feel personally targeted and I don't believe it was trying to shut us
up. If they were targeting what we represent, then I guess they were
targeting community. Because, to me, that is what Vox Pop represents.
And I for one will not let this incident change that. I loved that
statue, and I will miss her gracing our garden, standing for our
Liberty and our freedom to be whomever we choose to be. While she may
be gone, what she symbolizes is still alive and well at Vox Pop.

Civics and Urban Life

Noticing New York: Save Coney Island Video

I was over at Noticing New York and saw that he has a video from Dick Zigun, the unofficial but de-facto mayor of Coney Island.

God bless Dick Zigun and hooray for the technology of the internet! A
new video outlining the flaws in the City plan and possible solutions
has been put together by Coney Island’s unofficial “Mayor” Dick Zigun.
With the City Planning Board deadline looming for early next week, this
is something Noticing New York readers will want to pass along and have
all their friends take action on. Prompt action please!

The video is quickly informative and part of the fun is to see Bloomberg wearing a little king crown.

The new video and other quick-take-action links are available at Save Coney Island.

Civics and Urban Life

Disturbing Video: Vox Pop’s Statue of Liberty Beheaded and Smashed

The missing Vox Pop Coffee Shop Statue of Liberty story takes a gruesome turn.

A video was sent to the NY Daily News on July 4th. Later it was released on YouTube, showing the beheading and smashing of the statue. On the screen appear slogans like "We don't want
your freedom" and "Death to America."

"I'm scared. I'm hoping I don't have to fear for my life, but I feel very nervous," Debi Ryan, manager of the Vox Pop told the Daily News. Debi Ryan, manager of Vox Pop, a cafe and performance space known for its progressive politics posted this on her Facebook page: "In
spite of what you may have read, I am not in fear for my life, I do not
feel personally targeted and I don't believe it was trying to shut us
up. If they were targeting what we represent, then I guess they were
targeting community. Because, to me, that is what Vox Pop represents.
And I for one will not let this incident change that." She did tell the Daily News: "This was clearly politically motivated. Whoever did this is trying to shut us up. They were targeting what we represent," she said.

Tom Martinez, pastor of the All Souls Bethlehem Church viewed the video on a computer at Vox Pop. "The violence against the statue and the way it was carried out is deeply disturbing," Martinez told me in a phone interview.  "The smashing of the severed head after the beheading: I watched it thinking does this look like a prank or something more serious. To me it looks like  something more serious."

It is unknown as to who is responsible for this and why. The NYPD, the FBI and Homeland Security are on the case. "Whoever did it created a background created a background that makes it difficult to tell where it was taped.  It looks like the body of a grown adult carrying out the action. You have to remember the statue is pretty large and very heavy," Martinez said.

The 8-foot fiberglass figure was stolen from the sidewalk in
front of the Cortelyou Road coffeehouse in the early morning hours of July 21. A reward of $250 was offered.

Breakfast of candidates

Tidbits: City Council Candidates (Biviano’s Sign, Green Petitioning, Fundraising Deadline)

IMG_3883_low Doug Biviano, one of the 33's has a new sign at his headquarters on Montague Street on the corner of Hicks Street. Here he is pictured with his wife and three children.

David Pechefsky, the Green 39er, began his official petitioning period in earnest on July 7. I saw him yesterday near the entrance to the Seventh Avenue F-train. Wearing the green Pechefsky t-shirt with his caricature on the front and back, Pechefsky was good-naturedly trying to encourage Independents and Democrats (who didn't sign another petition) to sign on to put a Green candidate on the ballot.

The last big City Council fundraising deadline is on Saturday. That means that Saturday is the last day to donate to your candidate of choice so that New York City can match your contribution with $6 for every $1 raised from City residents up to $175.

Music

OTBKB Music Video: A Musician’s Revenge

And now for something completely different.  Musician Dave Carroll
tell us that he and his band experienced unfriendly skies when traveling with United Airlines. 
Here's what he says:

"In the spring of 2008, Sons of Maxwell were traveling to Nebraska for
a one-week tour and my Taylor guitar was witnessed being thrown by
United Airlines baggage handlers in Chicago. I discovered later that
the $3500 guitar was severely damaged. They didn’t deny the experience
occurred but for nine months the various people I communicated with put
the responsibility for dealing with the damage on everyone other than
themselves and finally said they would do nothing to compensate me for
my loss. So I promised the last person to finally say “no” to
compensation (Ms. Irlweg) that I would write and produce three songs
about my experience with United Airlines and make videos for each to be
viewed online by anyone in the world. United: Song 1 is the first of
those songs. United: Song 2 has been written and video production is
underway. United: Song 3 is coming. I promise."

The moral: don't mess with a musician.

 –Eliot Wagner

Civics and Urban Life

This Saturday: Take the G Train to Williamsburg Art Walking Tour

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This sounds fun. And now that the G train stops on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope and goes to Williamsburg (Lorimar Street if I am correct) this event is too easy to get to to miss.

The Williamsburg Gallery Association is hosting walking tours of the neighborhood's cutting-edge art galleries, led by art critic and art tour guide Merrily Kerr. A writer and trendspotter for magazines including Time Out New York and Flash Art, Merrily will take you to see the artwork and exhibitions that make Williamsbug a must-see for art lovers and the art-curious alike. 
The last tour is this Saturday, July 11 at 2 pm. This tour will demonstrate the diversity of Williamsburg's art offerings, from Weimar paintings to avant-garde contemporary. In a quirky
apartment gallery or the post-industrial expanse of one of the area's
newest and largest art spaces, come explore the unique visions of the
city's most creative people.
The tours leave from the WGA table on Bedford Avenue near North 5th Street and will last approximately 1.5 hours. Tickets are just $10 and can be purchased prior to the tour at the WGA table on Bedford Ave., or online through Paypal. Visit the WGA online to purchase advance tickets: http://www.rawmag.org/williamsburgwalks.html. Tickets MUST be purchased by Wednesday, July 8 to reserve a place on the tour. 
For more information about Merrily's tours, please visit www.newyorkarttours.com.
Religion

OTBKB Opinion: Give Maura Lorenzen a Chance at Saint Saviour

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This morning I received yet another email from the well-organized supporters of principal James Flanagan, the veteran Catholic school principal who was dismissed by Saint Saviour's pastor, Fr. Murphy.

Outraged
parents and parishioners are now calling for Fr. Murphy’s removal as pastor because, they say, he fired Principal Flanagan so he could "give a friend
the job."

This "friend" of Father Murphy is Maura Lorenzen, the co-director of the Early Childhood Center at Congregation Beth Elohim (ECC).

The parents at Saint Saviour are very angry about losing their longtime principal. And they are enraged about the pastor's autocratic style of leadership and his refusal to take their concerns seriously. It is, after all, a Catholic school, and the pastor does run the show. It must be infuriating to have to succumb to that kind of undemocratic decision-making and feel powerless in the face of it.

That said, the outraged parents obviously don't realize what a gem Ms. Lorenzen is.

My daughter and my niece both attended the ECC and I have an enormous amount of respect for Lorenzen.  Like Flanagan, she is a beloved school administrator and educator, who works well with parents, staff and children.

The idea that she was fired from Congregation Beth Elohim is absolutely preposterous. Lorenzen made the choice to leave the school after a 14-year tenure as co-director. Beth Elohim's Rabbi Andy Bachman wrote into OTBKB to set the record straight:  "I'd like to make very clear, on behalf of everyone at Congregation Beth Elohim (CBE) who deeply admire and respect Maura Lorenzen as an educator and administrator, that Maura was NOT fired from her job at CBE.  Maura is leaving her job to pursue this new opportunity at Saint Saviour and our hearts are heavy saying good-bye!  She has performed her duties for the families in our community for years and years with great integrity and we will greatly miss her," he writes. 

Intelligent, honest, open, and straightforward, Lorenzen has been at the ECC since 1982 and is a highly respected co-leader of an extremely popular Park Slope school.

A graduate of St. Joseph's College with a degree in early childhood education and special education, Lorenzen received her master's degree from The College of Staten Island. Before becoming co-director at the ECC, she taught 2s, 3s,and 4s in the nursery school and co-directed the lower day camp since 1988. In 1995 Maura was appointed
the co-director of the ECC (with Jacqueline Israel) where she is very well liked by both parents and staff. Maura is the mother of
four sons, the oldest a college graduate and the youngest in middle school.

Putting aside the circumstances of James Flanagan's dismissal, the school is lucky to have such a decent, graceful and wise administrator as their new principal. She is obviously entering a difficult and divisive situation and I feel for her. From my experience as an ECC parent, Lorenzen strikes me as the kind of leader who can handle the tension and will not personalize it. She will, I believe, be able to help that community heal after this painful controversy. 

I must say that I object to the fact that the parents, as part of their efforts to fight their principal's dismissal, are trying to discredit Ms. Lorenzen's background. "Fr. Murphy states that Ms. Lorenzen was the director
of a local preschool. That preschool’s site, however, described her
role as co-director. He also ignored the fact that Ms. Lorenzen’s
background is in Early Childhood Education, not Elementary Education.
Eighty percent of the Students at St. Saviour, which goes from Pre-K
through 8th grade, are therefore outside her realm of expertise."

While it may be true that Ms. Lorenzen has been co-director of a nursery through kindergarten program, Saint Saviour parents should not underestimate Lorenzen's wealth of experience and wisdom.

They are also, understandably, questioning Fr. Murphy's hiring process.

"Compounding
the appearance of a backroom deal is the fact that Fr. Murphy failed to
interview qualified veteran teachers at the school and has failed to
answer questions sent to him by the president of the Parent School
Board about the hiring and selection," wrote one parent in an email.

Backroom deal or good choice? It seems that it is actually a little of both. Certainly Lorezen is a skilled leader and someone who is eminently qualified and prepared to run a school of any kind.

I hope the circumstances of Lorenzen's hiring as principal won't taint her ability to bring her experience and expertise to a school that is in need of good leadership after this painful controversy.

And the protests continue. Tonight parents, alumni, and parishioners of St. Saviour
Elementary School will line up again to picket their pastor’s
controversial decision.

My heart goes out to most of the players at Saint Saviour. Clearly Fr. Murphy needs to meet with the parents in person and explain his decision and how it was made. Refusing to meet with them is not the answer. While he may not change his mind, he needs to share his reasons for dismissing Jame Flanagan in an open and honest way. Perhaps mediation will be required to help this school community get past this. It is worth noting that principal Flanagan is close to retirement age and was actually planning to retire next year I was told. That said, this all could have been handled in a much more decent way. Perhaps Flanagan can stay on in a transitional capacity as Lorenzen gets her bearings at the school.

Maura Lorenzen begins her tenure at Saint Saviour's under incredibly difficult circumstances. Knowing her as I do, I suspect she will be able to set a positive tone and create an environment that is as open and welcoming of parents and staff and their needs as the one she created at the ECC.

She is a special person. And this school needs someone special to replace the special principal that they lost.

Scott Turner of Rocky Sullivan's

Greetings from Scott Turner: Junior High Yearbook

Here's this week's missive from Scott Turner, who runs the Thursday night Pub Quiz at Rocky Sullivan's. Sorry he wasn't on the blog last week. For some reason, Yahoo wouldn't let his email through. We're glad he's back And thanks to our sponsor, Miss Wit,  the Red Hook t-shirt queen.

Greetings Pub Quiz Dance Floor Denizens…

Before getting into the week's business, here's this, from the Rocky Sullivan's staff:

We will be holding a benefit this Friday July 10th  at 7pm at Rocky's. 
Heather and Ariel our neighbors across the street tragically lost their
first born son Gabriel Neshamah last week after being delivered on his
due date but sadly not taking a breath.  We are holding a benefit to
raise money for baby Gabriel's burial.  We will be asking a suggested
$25 donation.  People who cannot make Friday can always leave a
donation in an envelope with the bar staff marked Gabriel.

Thanks in advance for your support.

Rocky's
neighbors and patrons are the reason we're still there.  If you can
bring something extra this Thursday for Gabriel's journey, that'd be
great.

* * * * * * * *

A few weeks ago I reconnected with my best friend from 1972.  Most people have best friends that last lifetimes.  I have Whit and Diane and the Skyline Five.  I'm lucky, and no, you can't force me to choose a single Best Friend.

In 1972, entering 7th Grade at Eastview Junior High in White Plains, I quickly made friends with Ray Schieber.  He'd moved to White Plains from Chicago. 
We found each other through obsessive sports fandom and, well, little
else.  We made up games throughout the school year, created new
baseball teams and leagues for them to play in, took each other on in
various baseball board games, plotted all sorts of shortcuts home from
school either to his folks' or my mom's apartment.

Ray's mom was wonderfully welcoming, his dad taciturn and
methodical in his reading of the Saturday night early edition of Sunday
Daily News, and his older sister put up with us, rarely successfully in hers or our minds.

Once we discovered ancient animal bones on the grassy slope leading
from the football field to the back of the bowling alley — ancient
until the science teacher we brought them to, Mr. Cutler, let
us down easy by saying "well, they might be dinosaurs, but more likely
it's one of the neighborhood cats."  On further review, maybe they
weren't the biggest oldest or oddest bones every unearthed.

There was a third friend, Scott Robeson.  Our triumvirate coursed through films, photography, sports, current events, Hi-C, bologna sandwiches, slices at the Italian Pavilion on Mamaroneck Avenue.  We made it through the school year with little to no sense that life was anything but friendship and collecting NFL Player Stamps at the local Sunoco.

There's a lot I'll leave out just now — from the endless eccentric
but harmless adventures Ray, Scott and I went on through to the smart,
covert and brilliant way Ray tracked me down.  He and his mom are
upstate, he's a brilliant and so-far unrecognized artist.  And Scott is
a super in a building in Manhattan who several years ago made the papers when he foiled a mugging attempt.

Why the one-year friendship?  At the end of the school year, my mom
and her new husband dropped the bomb — we'd be moving to North
Carolina at summer's end.  That kinda sucked.  I missed Ray and Scott
and for years we stayed in touch, until we didn't.  We took separate
paths, but they were always joined way back there in 1972.

Ray loaned me the Eastview yearbook from our one year together,
'72-73.  Here's our class photo.  Since homeroom was with a shop
teacher, there are only boys in this photo:


Scott Robeson (top row, far right); Scott M.X. Turner, Ray Schieber (bottom row, last two right)

One more thing.  Do you recognize the kid sitting, far left?  It's David Sanger, the New York Times' Pulitzer Prize winning Washington correspondent.  Back in seventh grade, David was that worst blending of personality disorders — a Mets fan with the arrogance of a Yankees fan.  That's messed up.  Because I was a catcher in little league, I'd taken a shine to Johnny Bench, my generation's greatest catcher.  (That's still true, by the way.)

David razzed me every chance he could.  He was churlish and
annoying and the kill-switch that even kids know to throw when they've
gone to far, David either chose not to throw it or never had one
installed.  I remember on several occasions really wanting to clock
him, but I never did.

That's right.  At least a good half dozen times, I nearly punched out a future Pulitzer Prize winner.

A future Pulitzer Prize winner who deserved it.

http://www-tc.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/images/a/6918.jpg
Sure, he's won a couple of Pulitzers.  Bet he has fancy seats at Tarp Field, too.

I'm glad Ray found me.  I'll pull out the old Sports Illustrated Baseball game (1972 edition) and we'll see who's still got it.

Civics and Urban Life

July 8: End of Superfund Comment Period

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Tomorrow is the end of the Superfund comment period. That means if you haven't weighed in at the EPA website it's time to do so. This was sent to me by CORD, the Coalition of Respectful Development, an activist group in Carroll Gardens that is in favor of Superfund for the clean up of the Gowanus Canal.

The Sunday edition of the Daily News (7/5/2009) featured an article on
the Gowanus Canal clean up entitled, "Mud Flies over Gowanus" by Erin
Durkin (page 30).
 
It began with:  "It's the battle for the Gowanus Canal."
 
Federal Superfund Director Walter Mugdan was quoted as saying: "I"ve never seen a campaign like this ever, anywhere."
 
Further, "I've never heard of one anywhere."
 
As
CORD has been posting, the Bloomberg administration has been stepping
up "anti-Superfund status" efforts in the past two weeks along
with with a weak, and ill-conceived clean up plan that will ultimately
cost the cash strapped NYC tax payers rather than the polluters who
will be rewarded rather than punished.  (The EPA will demand that the
polluters pay).
 
PLEASE write to the EPA and tell them how you
feel about the Gowanus Canal getting Superfund status.  At CORD, we
feel that this is by far the best thing that has happened to Carroll
Gardens in a long time. There are just two more days until the last
public comments will be accepted by the EPA.
 
As we wrote at
our blog last Friday: The City is sending their comments and their
suggestions to the EPA. You should send yours. Please join us and
proudly tell the EPA, “SUPERFUND ME!”

We
all have the right, no, the RESPONSIBILITY, to demand that our
environment be as healthy as possible! Superfund designation provides
the will, the means ,the tools and the experience to make this a
reality.

If you have
not already done so, please go to. The comment period has been extended
to July 8th. For instructions to submit comments go to http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/pubcom.htm or contact Dennis Munhall, Region 2 NPL Coordinator at (212) 637-4343 or munhall.dennis@epa.gov Note Docket #EPA-HQ-SFUND-2009-0063

 

ART

Madarts: New Gallery Space on 5th Avenue and 10th Street

Pic On
Wednesday, July 8th, Madarts Studios will celebrate the grand opening of their new Park Slope art gallery with the
exhibition: INTRO.  All forty artists of Madarts are featured in the exhibition to christen their new
permanent gallery in the heart of Park Slope: 461 5th Avenue (right on
the corner 5th Ave. and 10th Street).

At the exhibition, which opens at 6 pm will continue with a "meet the artists" after-party at Commonwealth Bar just down the street at 5th Ave. and
12th St. 

INTRO gallery hours will be Thursdays through Sundays from noon to 6pm, closing Sunday, August 9th.

 For
six years running Madarts Studios has put on shows in the giant
warehouse of art studios just south of their new gallery, which is an airy new gallery venue at Fifth Avenue and 10th Street.

Painting by Madarts artist Rebecca Aidlin

Postcard from the Slope

Robin’s Nest: A Teeny, Tiny Shop in the Laundromat

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Hugh and I were walking down Seventh Avenue after the Breakfast-of-Candidates interview with Tony Avella when we saw something akin to a stoop sale in front of the Laundromat near 4th Street. 

On closer look, I saw that it was a new shop within a shop at the Laundromat that spills out neatly onto the sidewalk.DSC04053

Owner Robbin Farrell teaches Bikram Yoga at two Park Slope studios. A former Peace Corps volunteer she's a well-travelled collector who is selling (or "releasing" as she calls it) merchandise from her trips to Niger, Jamaica, and the Marshall Islands ( where she taught and developed yoga curriculum for the past two years).

Her shop, Robin's Nest, features a various and sundry collection of merchandise, including clothing, pottery, leather bags and more.

"I will be here as long as I'm able in this economy. Hopefully things can work…I'm starting with this nice phase and will transition into yoga merchandise. Releasing things from the past and transition into the future…That's the nesting idea, the image, the logo, three little eggs that will grow," Farrell told me. 

"I am also a longtime Park Sloper. Worked my way through college on 7th Avenue at an art supply store…the one under the drips," she said. 

Breakfast of candidates

I Want to Interview William C. Thompson (The Stealth Candidate)

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DSC03990

This morning I met with Tony Avella at Donuts Coffee Shop, one of my favorite spots in the Slope. He's running against William C. Thompson in the Democratic mayoral primary on September 15th. During our Breakfast-of-Candidates interview, we talked about this article in the Times' today:

He is rarely on television. He has not begun to advertise. He is far behind in the polls, yet seems in no rush to get going.

The all-but-invisible mayoral candidacy of William C. Thompson Jr., the city’s comptroller, is baffling even to those who wish to see him elected. He has raised $5 million but has been so low key, some Democrats wonder if he is actually running.

And often, when Mr. Thompson travels, he hears the same question: Where have you been?

The incumbent, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, is everywhere: on television, with a $12 million barrage of ads touting his re-election bid; in mailboxes, with a constant stream of glossy literature; and online, with ads popping up on Web sites from Facebook to local blogs.

A woman approached Mr. Thompson in the Bronx not long ago and asked if she would be receiving campaign literature from him.

"Not anytime soon,” he said.

Now I really want to interview him for my Breakfast-of-Candidates series. I've been in touch and his campaign people say he's interested…

Breakfast of candidates

Register to Vote So You Can Vote on September 15th and November 3rd

Here's some info from the League of Women Voters about registering for the upcoming election:

You can register to vote at any time during the year, but the last day to register for the September 15, 2009 primary election is August 21, 2009; and the last day to register for the November 3, 2009
general election is October 9, 2009.

To vote you must be
a U. S. citizen, a resident of New York City for 30 days by Election
Day, 18 years of age by Election Day, and you must be registered.

You can register in
person, or mail your completed Registration Form. Your registration is
permanent unless you move, change your name, or have not voted for 5
years. You may register at your borough Board of Elections (or any
agency participating in the National Voter Registration Act) on any
business day throughout the year. Forms are available from your borough
Board of Elections (see addresses below), town and city hall, post
office, political parties, various state offices, and the League of
Women Voters. Click here to print a blank Registration Form. If you are registering for the first time you must provide a valid photo ID.

Breakfast of candidates

Green Party Ballot Petitioning Begins July 7

_MR17823 Supporters of Green Party City Council candidate David Pechefsky will be all over the 39th City Council district in an effort to get the 2500 signatures needed to get Pechefsky's name on the ballot.

If you haven't already signed one of the Democratic petitions and you want to see the Green Party on general election ballot, sign Pechefsky's petition.

You can only sign one petition.

Your signature on the petition doesn't mean that you have to vote for Pechefsky in the general election (although you are more than welcome to do so).

Pechefsky's name will not be on the primary ballot on September 15th because that election is for the Conservative,
Democratic, Independence, Republican, Working Families parties.

Music

OTBKB Music: Sydney Wayser at City Winery Monday Night

Sydney Wasyer320 Most people just describe Brooklyn's Sydney Wayser as indie or
indie-pop.  That mainly tells you what she doesn't sound like
(mainstream music).  So I'll try to describe her music for you. 
Sydney's main instrument is piano and her band consists of electric
guitar, upright bass, drums and toys (toy piano, toy xylophone and some
others).  Her songs combine elements of classical, show music, rock and
chanson française (Sydney's father is French and she spent some time in
Paris growing up).  But the most impressive instrument in Sydney's band
is her voice.  Extremely expressive and perhaps a touch breathy, it is
the hook that ultimately pulls you into her music.

Sydney's been on my radar for a while now, so I made it over to The
Living Room a while back to see her roll out the songs from her new
album, "The Colorful."  Among the standouts played before the
appreciative crowd  were "La Di Da," "Bells," and a rousing version
"Drive In Not Drive Through" (which sounds like it should have the
title 1953).

Sydney Wayser, City Winery, 155 Varick Street (between Spring and
Vandam Streets), 1 Train to Houston Street or Canal Street; C or E
Trains to Spring Street, 8pm, $10.

 –Eliot Wagner

Civics and Urban Life

A Morning Dove Laid An Egg On My Air Conditioner: What Do I Do?

I found this in my inbox yesterday. The subject line read: Eggs and Air Conditioner. I was intrigued. It's from the NYC Bird Club list serve sort of a Park Slope Parents of local bird lovers. To read more or to respond go here: http://forums.manhattanbirdclub.com/post?id=3548966

Yesterday a morning dove laid an egg on top of a towel that I rest on my air conditioner. 

The towel is very small and only keeps the drops of other air conditioners from making a loud noise on mine.
I called the bird volunteers and at the time there didn't appear to be
a mate and there was no nest so they told me she would most likely not
succeed w/ this first egg.

Lo and behold, after a while, a mate appeared and he began to build a nice nest.

HERE'S MY QUESTION.  If I turn on my air conditioner will I hurt the
baby egg?  I have been surviving with the fan but my apt is HOT and I
can just go buy another AC for another window in another room.

Please send me your thoughts about using the air conditioner.

Civics and Urban Life

Katha Pollitt at Bookcourt on Tuesday

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Katha-Pollitt-190 On Tuesday July 7th at 7pm Katha Pollitt will read from her new collection of
poetry, The Mind-Body Problem at Bookcourt (163
Court Street in Cobble Hill.

Her first collection of poetry in 27 years, the book is a follow-up to the acclaimed
"Antarctic Traveller", which won the National Book Critics Circle
Award for Poetry in 1982.

Pollitt, a Brooklyn Heights native, is perhaps best known for her column "Subject to Debate" in The Nation
magazine. She has also published work in The New Yorker, Harper's
Magazine, Ms. magazine and The New York Times.

Her essays have been published in collections including, Learning to Drive; And Other Life Stories,  Virginity or Death!: And Other Social and Political Issues of Our Time and Reasonable Creatures: Essays on Women and Feminism, nineteen essays that first appeared in The Nation and other journals. Here is the title poem from her new poetry collection

Mind-Body Problem

by Katha Pollitt

When I think of myself I feel sorry not for myself

but for my body.  It was not so direct

and simple, so rational in its desires,

wanting to be touched the way an otter

loves water, the way a giraffe

wants to amble the edge of the forest, nuzzling

the tender leaves at the tops of the trees.  It seems
unfair, somehow, that my body had to suffer

because I, by which I mean my mind, was saddled

with certain unfortunate high-minded romantic notions

that made me tyrannize and patronize it

like a cruel medieval baron, or an ambitious

English-professor husband ashamed of his wife—

her love of sad movies, her budget casseroles

and regional vowels.  Perhaps

my body would have liked to make some of our dates,

to come home at four in the morning and answer my scowl

with "None of your business!"  Perhaps

it would have liked more presents: silks, mascaras.

If we had had a more democratic arrangement

we might even have come, despite our different backgrounds,

to a grudging respect for each other, like Tony Curtis

and Sidney Poitier fleeing handcuffed together,

instead of the current curious shift of power

in which I find I am being reluctantly

dragged along by my body as though by some

swift and powerful dog.  How eagerly

it plunges ahead, not stopping for anything,

as though it knows exactly where we are going.

Civics and Urban Life

New: G Train from Park Slope to Williamsburg, Greenpoint and LI City

2 Comments
Here's the word from OTBKB fave Richard Grayson author of I Hate All of You On This L Train.

This morning I was able to get from Williamsburg to Park Slope
with only the G train.  Previously I could do that only on weekends
when the F service was disrupted, but they put up the "To Church Ave."
signs here, replacing the "To Smith/9th St" signs this week, and
starting today, people in Park Slope can take one train to
Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Long Island City.
 
On Friday night coming home, I saw the G train signs next to the F train ones on the platform on Seventh Avenue.
 
For some of us who travel between the neighborhoods a lot, this is a big deal and a real pleasure.