As reported in the NY Times, a Russian billionaire today signed a tentative $200 million deal that would make him the 80% owner of the New Jersey Nets and an investor in the team’s new home, an arena planned for Brooklyn.
The race for City Council in the 39th continues.
Green candidate David Pechesfsky is serous about campaigning for Bill deBlasio's seat. Brad Lander won the Democratic primary but he still faces Pechefsky and Republican candidate Joe Nardiello in the general election on November 6th.
This Sunday, Pechesky challenges Brad Lander (and Joe Nardiello) to a game of political croquet at J.J. Byrne Park (Third Street between Fourth and
Fifth avenues). Originally scheduled for Saturday, the event will now take place on Sunday, September 27th from 11 am – 1 pm. According to the Brooklyn Paper: the winner gets
seasonal vegetables from the local greenmarket.
A benefit for the FDNY Foundation, Fairway is sponsoring a Firefighter Food Face-Off on Wednesday, September 30th starting at noon. Sounds like fun—and lots of good BBQ.
The firefighters will cook their best
ribs, burgers and a dish using a secret ingredient that will be unveiled at the
contest. A panel of judges, including Ray Venezia, Fairway’s Master
Butcher, and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz will determine a
winner. Prizes include a $500 Fairway gift card to the victorious firehouse and
$100 gift cards for all other participants, but the true winner is the FDNY Foundation – the official not-for-profit of the FDNY established to
promote Fire Safety in New York City
and the professional development, training, and education of members of the
FDNY. Fairway will donate 10 percent of all proceeds from a special
shopping night in October to the FDNY Foundation.
The public is welcome and will be treated to free and
generous samples of all the food prepared for the competition.
Tonight presents you with a tough choice to make: the National Parks vs. Baseball.
The National Parks: See highlights from Ken Burns's upcoming PBS series
The National Parks: America's Best Idea and performances by Counting
Crows, Augustana, Eric Benet, Gavin DeGraw, Jose Feliciano, Carole
King, Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, and
Peter Yarrow. This event is being held in Central Park's East Meadow
and is free.
Baseball: The Baseball Project, The Minus 5 and The Steve Wynn IV play
tonight at The Bowery Ballroom. Although this looks like three
different bands, all three bands have the same members on this tour:
Steve Wynn, Linda Pitmon, Scott McCaughey and Peter Buck. In fact
there will not be three separate acts, but one show in which this band
plays songs from each of the bands plus a lot of covers thrown in.
As for the baseball songs, expect ones about Harvey Haddix (who 50
years ago pitched 12 perfect innings only to give up a hit and lose the
game in the 13th), Curt Flood, Jack McDowell, Big Ed Delahanty and Pete
Rose.
National Parks: Central Park's East Meadow, 97th to 100th Sts. near
Fifth Avenue (6 Train to 96th Street, walk 3 blocks west to park) 7pm,
free
The Baseball Project/The Minus 5/The Steve Wynn IV, Bowery Ballroom, 6
Delancey Street (F Train to Delancey Street, walk west about 6 1/2
blocks just past Chrystie Street) 8pm doors, $17.
–Eliot Wagner
On Saturday morning, Congregation Beth
Elohim will be picketed by the Westboro Baptist Church, an
extremist anti-Semitic, anti-gay independent church based
out of Topeka, Kansas.
They plan to send
representatives who will stand in front of the synagogue on Garfield Place displaying
disturbing signs and provoking those entering the building. According to an email from Rabbi Andy Bachman "Their aim is to create enough confrontation to
incite others to provocation. It is their constitutional
right to picket."
Rabbi Andy Bachman, CBE's Executive Director Elana Paru, and CBE's President David
Kasakove, sent out this email to synagogue members.
We have
clear priorities during difficult moments such as these.
Protecting our members and visitors, and most importantly
our children, is a primary goal. Our internal security
team is already in action and local police authorities
have been alerted. Although you are entitled to your right
to free speech, we ask
that you calmly pass these protesters and walk directly
into our building without incident.
For
more information about the Westboro Baptist and for
educational materials about responding to hate groups,
please download a PDF provided by
the Anti-Defamation League.
Congregation Beth
Elohim is an amazing community in that it is a warm and
welcoming place. This group will be picketing us
because of our commitment to those who desire
community. Though Saturday may be upsetting, it is
important to remember that our precious values are truly a
source of great pride. Our best and only response is to
conduct ourselves as usual.
The Third Annual Red Hook Film Festival will be dedicated to Robert Guskind, the legendary blogger who created the much missed blog Gowanus Lounge. Guskind died in February.
The festival's opening film will be Blue Barn Picture's special tribute to Guskind. According to festival planners, "the entire festival is dedicated to Robert Guskind, to The Gowanus Lounge,
and to local storytelling."
The
Red Hook Film Festival takes place on October 3rd and 4th at the
Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition screening room at 499 Van Brunt
Street. The screenings begin at 1pm on Saturday Oct. 3rd, with "Robert Guskind: 1958-2009" by Blue Barn Pictures, followed by a special 10th anniversary screening of the seminal Brooklyn documentary "Lavendar Lake: Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal" directed by Alison Prete.
The
rest of the weekend will feature short film gems from neighborhoods
around Brooklyn, including pieces about a Bushwick tailor, rooftop
farms in Greenpoint, the Atlantic Yards boondoggle, Coney Island's lost
roller coaster, Williamsburg industry, and a whole program of films
about Red Hook!
The screening schedule can be seen online at www.redhookfilmfest.com and at www.myspace.com/redhookfilmfestival
web: www.redhookfilmfest.com
myspace: www.myspace.com/redhookfilmfestival
facebook: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=165019430983
Greetings Pub Quiz Foreign Investors…
Prokhorov posted a blog today confirming the move. His reason for the transaction? To use the NBA to
further Russian basketball interests. Affordable housing, jobs, the
rebirth of Brooklyn? Mmm…not so much on Prokhorov's mind. He ends
the blog by saying "I think that there will be many skeptics (among
them false patriots), but that will just make it more interesting as we
move forward." (Full text here.)
Brought to you by the Feldman Family from their local weather tower.
TONIGHT: book launch party for Isabel Hill's new book for children about architecture called, Urban Animals
At the Old Stone House on Tuesday, September 22, 7-9 p.m (Fifth Avenue
and 3rd Street in Park Slope). Here's the publisher's blurb:
Isabel Hill is a
photographer, architectural historian, urban planner and award-winning
documentary filmmaker. Her photographs have appeared in many
publications. She is a principal in Building History Associates, a
small company specializing in reports, photographs and documentary
films on architecture and urban issues.
From the New York Times:
“It felt incredibly,
wonderfully surreal,” Ms. Danticat said in a telephone interview from
Miami. “What artists crave and need most is time. It will definitely
buy some time. It’s wonderful to have a sense of security, especially
in these economic times.”
You can see the entire list of the 2009 MacArthur Genuis Award Winners here.
A "Special Edition" of The New York Post hit the streets on Monday. Published by a group called the Yes Men, the faux newspaper focuses on global warming and other
pressing issues of national and international concern.
It looks like The Post but the stories take on global climate change–a subversive attempt to get people's attention. Photo by Tom Martinez.
This weekend: Greenpoint Open Studios, a 3 day
celebration of a burgeoning arts community in good ol' Greenpoint,
Brooklyn, starting with an evening launch at Transmitter Park with a
video screening, dance performance, and more!
Saturday and Sunday
artists open their studios in public engagement and collaborative
networking. Saturday evening there will be opening receptions at FOUR
galleries with exhibitions of participating artists. Sunday hosts an
artists talk followed by an afterparty at Coco66 with bands and drink
specials. We hope you can join us!
Now at the Old Stone House in Park Slope: Artists consider differing visions of an ideal Brooklyn
Utopia: An ideal place or state, usually imaginary; any visionary system of political, social, environmental, or moral perfection
What would a “Brooklyn Utopia” look like? What is the role of artists in shaping a more ideal Brooklyn?
Brooklyn
Utopias? is a series of art exhibits and public programs in Fall 2009
that engages artists, youth, and community organizations in an urgent
dialogue about Brooklyn’s future:
Group exhibit at The Old Stone House
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 17, 2009, 5:30-7:30pm
Exhibition Dates: September 15-October 31, 2009
Public Hours: Saturday/Sunday 11am-4pm or by appointment
Address: 5th Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Public Program: “’Do it Yourself’ Utopias:” Artists and community groups consider sustainable Brooklyn Living: Thursday, October 8, 2009, 6-8pm
The Dutch Prime Minister was at the Brooklyn Museum on Sunday for a reception with Dutch
Americans and diplomatic officials from the Netherlands, when he was greeted by three reporters from the Brooklyn
Paper:
It’s official: Breukelen is dead.
The prime minster of the Netherlands, Jan Peter Balkenende, told The
Brooklyn Paper on Sunday that he will not step in to ensure that the
name of our ancestral Dutch home village be affixed permanently to a consolidation of the villages of Breukelen, Maarssen and the contemptible Loenen.
The prime minister was in town as part of New York and Holland’s
ongoing commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s
“discovery” of the river that would later bear his name. As such,
Balkenende spent most of Sunday afternoon making photo-op-style stops
at places of importance to the Dutch community, including the Wyckoff
Farmhouse Museum, the Flatbush Reformed Dutch Church.
Thanks to Neil Feldman of Not Only Brooklyn for this list of interesting cultural events today. If you would enjoy receiving NOB, email NOBevents@aol.com
with the message "Subscribe to NOB" and your first and last name,
so it is legal to add you to the subscription list.
![MaryPickford[1]](http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/pictures/6a00d8341c5fb353ef0120a5e31661970c-800wi.jpg "MaryPickford[1]")
Event: Silent Film Series with Theater Organist Ben Model
hosted by the Brooklyn Chapter, AGO
Place: The Brooklyn Baptist Temple, 360 Schermerhorn St. At Third
Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11217
Date: October 10, 2009
Time: 7:00 pm (film length 82 minutes)
Cost: $10 General Admission; $5 Seniors/Students
Website: www.brooklynago.org
The Brooklyn Chapter of the American Guild of Organists announces
a showing of a series of silent films, accompanied by theater organist Ben
Model. This series highlights the early relationship between the organ and film
in the days before ‘talkies’ entered the American culture. The series begins on
Saturday October 10, 2009, with a showing of The Cat and the Canary (1927) at the Brooklyn Baptist Temple, 360 Schermerhorn St.
in downtown Brooklyn. The admission charge is $10, or $5 for
seniors/students.
The Cat and the Canary,
starring Laura LaPlante and Arthur Edmund Carew, is a film which was very
popular on its first release, and was re-made five times by Hollywood. This
slightly comedic horror film is a perfect way to get ready for Halloween. The
organ of the Baptist Temple, a 1918 instrument by JW Steere & Son, dates
exactly to the era of silent movies, making it the perfect instrument for this
series.
For the past 25 years Ben Model has served as resident silent film
accompanist for The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. He has played
for silents in many other venues around the U.S., has recorded numerous scores
for silent film DVDs, and produces The Silent Clowns Film Series with film
historian Bruce Lawton. For more on Ben, visit his website: www.silentfilmmusic.com
Future films in the series will be:
December 12, 2009, 7:30 pm: An Evening of Charlie Chaplin
Shorts
February 13, 2010, 7:00 pm: The Ten Commandments (CB deMille, 1923)
April 10, 2010, 7:00 pm: The Mark of Zorro (Douglas Fairbanks, 1920)
June 12, 2010, 8:00 pm: My Best Girl (Mary
Pickford, 1927)
The public is invited to attend this series.
Contact: Gregory Eaton, St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church,
(718) 875-6960 – church; (212) 924-4686 – home
I finally got to see Pete and J last night after meaning to get around
to them for a while. They have a great pop-rock sound as you can see
in this clip.
–Eliot Wagner
There's even a Young Republican Club and they're having a get together at the Montauk Club to discuss all the Republicans running for local office. Here are the deets (if you are so inclined):
Who: Alex Zablocki, Republican Candidate for NYC Public Advocate, Joe Mendola, Republican Candidate for NYC Comptroller , Joe Nardiello, Republican Candidate for City Council, 39th District, Gene Berardelli, Republican Candidate for City Council, 46th District, Kellen Giuda, NYC Tea Party Founder & Parcbench.com
What: The Brooklyn Young Republican Club will be
hosting its September regular meeting at its new location, the
beautiful and historic Montauk Club, located at 25 8th Avenue in Park
Slope/Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn. The location is quite fitting since
the Montauk Club throughout its history has been host to numerous
prominent American politicians of both parties. We will be hosting
local candidates as well as Kellen Giuda, founder of Parcbench.com and
the NYC Tea Party movement, which just co-sponsored the massive
Taxpayer Tea Party on September 12th in Washington, D.C.
The meeting is free and open to the public; however, non-members are asked to RSVP on our website at http://www.brooklynyr.com/events_details.php?eventID=65.
Citizen Daniel Meeter reflects on last week's primary election and specifically Brad Lander's win in the 39th City Council district.
It's a few days after the Primary election, and as a resident of the 39th
Council District, I am looking back and trying to understand how Brad Lander
won so convincingly and what it means for us if he goes on to win the
election.
I was a sidewalk volunteer for Brad on Primary Day, working two polling
places: 321 in the morning and John Jay in the afternoon. From these vantage
point, I was worried. At both locations there seemed to be more volunteers
for Josh Skaller than for Lander. Now it's true that I was working Park
Slope, where I expect Josh's support was especially strong, but still, there
were times when I was all the sidewalk presence that Lander had.
The Skaller volunteers seemed articulate and passionate, while the
volunteers for the other candidates seemed as shy and inexperienced as I
felt. Then I discovered that the Heyer volunteers were not really
volunteers, but union members who were ordered to work the polls. Well!
So how to account for Brad's win? Well, I have another vantage points, and
those are the neighborhoods outside of Park Slope. I know that all the
candidates worked my own neighborhood of Windsor Terrace, but the Lander
campaign canvassed it especially effectively. And I was with Brad when he
started campaigning in the Bengladeshi community on Church and McDonald.
So I'm suggesting that while Josh's support was highly committed and
passionate, Brad's support was broader and more inclusive. Sort of like
Obama's, if I may say so, including voters who do not think of themselves as
activists. Well, both Obama and Lander got their starts as community
organizers.
So this bodes well, I believe, for the 39th. While Josh Skaller is
insightful and articulate, who "calls them as he sees them," and while he's
been vocally and passionately on the right side on issues that I care about
(Atlantic Yards, the Gowanus Canal), in this campaign Brad displayed his
effectiveness in organizing the community. The reason that I had chosen to
endorse Brad early on is that, while Josh represented me and what I believed
in, Brad offers something beyond me and what I myself could not do, and that
is organize the population toward political power and effectiveness. It
seems to me that this was vindicated by the proportion of Brad's victory in
the election results.
One last note. Two days before the election I got an email from Chris Owens
in support of Josh which was mostly an attack on Brad. I know that Josh
himself did not write it, but his campaign chief did. I found the vitriolic
tone and unfair content of the email quite disturbing. But then I came to
see it as old style Democratic Party tactics, like Bill Clinton against
Obama. So from where I sit now, it looks to me like Brad Lander knew his
message and knew his game and stayed with both. Let's hope he keeps on doing
that through November and, God willing, into his first term.
Daniel Meeter
from home
I spent the weekend in Mackinaw City Michigan and was fortunate enough to witness the 14th annual Parade of Lights.
What is the Parade of Lights?
It's sort of like the Park Slope Halloween Parade except the semi-trucks getting dressed instead of kids and grown-ups and the drivers make a lot of noise honking their horns.
The sound is deafening and even unpleasant. But sometimes it sounds musical as the horns create interesting drones, harmonies and accidental melodies.
The semi-trucks with customized cabs, paint/art
work and neon light displays drive across the famous Mackinac Bridge starting in St. Ignace and ending in Mackinaw City where locals line up hours ahead of time to get a great view.
We were told by locals not to miss the spectacular sight of hundreds of these lighted big trucks as they paraded through Mackinaw City's South Huron Avenue and
Central Avenue on Saturday night.
The Mackinac Bridge, which provide passage over the Straits of Mackinac, is currently the third longest suspension bridge in
the world. It is, however, the longest suspension bridge in the
western hemisphere. The total length of the Mackinac Bridge is 26,372
feet. The length of the suspension bridge (including anchorages) is
8,614 feet. The length from cable bent pier to cable bent pier is 7,400
feet. Length of main span (between towers) is 3,800 feet.
Neighborhood kids took advantage of block party in Kensington on Sunday. Photo by Tom Martinez
I got an email from Park Slope's own Milton, the leader of the great
Americana/roots band that bears his name, about a very worthwhile
benefit that's happening this Sunday:
"Sunday's show at the Living Room is very close to my heart. Our
friend Adam Levy has invited us to play a 40 minute set at 8:30pm.
He'll be getting up to do a number with us too in addition to his own
set. Adam's wife Mia died of Ocular Melanoma just a few months ago.
The show will be a fundraiser for the Ocular Melanoma Foundation and a
tribute to Mia. Mia was a good friend of many of the other performers
in the show. As a close personal friend of Mia myself and the son of
an ocular cancer survivor, this cause is very important to me. Come on
down to the Living Room if you're free. The whole band will be there."
Even if you're not familiar with Adam, chances are that you've heard
him. He was the guitar player in Norah Jones' Handsome Band, Norah's
band until it was dissolved this year. Also on the bill in addition to
Milton and Adam are Pete and J, Bill Sim, Jr. and Nels Andrews. The
donation for this fine show is $10.
The Mia Abides: Fundraiser for Ocular Melanoma, The Living Room, 154
Ludlow Street (F Train to Second Avenue, use the First Avenue Exit and
walk one block south and two blocks east), 7pm, $10.
–Eliot Wagner
Brooklyn Reading Works presents: Young, Gifted and Black (Men) curated by author Martha Southgate. Don't miss the first reading of Brooklyn Reading Works 5th anniversary season on Thursday October 1 at the Old Stone House at 8 p.m.
See/hear Brooklyn fiction authors Clifford Thompson, Victor LaValle and James Hannham. Stay tuned for more info about this sure to be interesting event. And it's just the first of a great year of programming. Here's a quick look at the rest of the schedule:
October 1: YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK (MEN) curated by novelist Martha Southgate
October 15: POETRY PUNCH curated by Michele Madigan Somerville
November 19 at 7 p.m. YOUNG WRITERS JUBILEE curated by Jill Eisenstadt (note: earlier start time)
December 10: FEAST: WRITERS ON FOOD. A benefit for a local soup kitchen. Curated by Michele Madigan Somerville
January: 21: TIN HOUSE READING curated by Rob Sillman
February 11: MEMOIRATHON curated by Branka Ruzak
March 18: BLARNEYPALOOZA curated by Michele Madigan Somerville
April 15: TRUTH AND MONEY Curated by John Guidry
May 13: 4TH ANNUAL EDGY MOTHER'S DAY
June 13: FICTION IN A BLENDER Curated by Martha Southgate
The Old Stone House is located on Fifth Avenue at Third Street in Park Slope, 718-768-3195. Directions here.
