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Monthly Archives: March 2010
What is Happening at Moutarde?
Moutarde, a popular French bistro on Fifth Avenue and President Street, is shuttered, presumably for renovations. In the movie Julie & Julia, the restaurant played a real 1940’s Parisian bistro. Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci ate a fabulous meal in there in a wonderful early scene.
So why did they shoot the scene in Brooklyn and not Paris. Well, it could have been budgetary issues. But I’ve also heard that Nora Ephron’s location team could find no restaurant in Paris that looked so convincingly like a restaurant of that time period.
Funny that the restaurant is renovating now that it has been immortalized on film. You’d think they’d want to keep it the same for its film history value.
Or maybe it’s time to make a change.
Resignation of Dionne Mack-Harvin at the Brooklyn Library
Dionne Mack-Harvin resigned last week as head of the Brooklyn Public Library because of the very public and embarrassing way she handled the firing of 13 employees last year.
As if it isn’t bad enough to be fired, the actual firings were featured in a Washington Post article about Mack-Harvin.
Lets just say, axed employees feel mighty vindicated by Mack-Harvin’s decision
It’s like Up in the Air on its head. Here’s an excerpt from an article in the Daily News:
Shhh! There’s a scandal in the stacks at the Brooklyn Public Library.
The head of the sprawling system abruptly quit last week after a plan to lay off 13 employees backfired and ended in a very public embarrassment.
Insiders said the firing fiasco was the last strike against Dionne Mack-Harvin, a well-liked career librarian who took over the shaky system three years ago.
“The board was not happy with her,” a source said.
It wasn’t supposed to end this way.
Mack-Harvin took the post with great fanfare and a fabulous back story – the African-American daughter of a sharecropper who loved books and rose to her dream job.
Her predecessor had left under a cloud, and staffers hoped Mack-Harvin would provide a fresh start. She hit a few bumps over the past few years, but none would prove as fatal as a decision she made last August.
After taking a 5% cut to her $80 million budget, Mack-Harvin hired corporate downsizing experts to fire 13 employees.
The Manhattan-based firm, the Five O’Clock Club, was being profiled at the time by a Washington Post reporter, who was allowed to witness the library bloodbath – and chronicled it in painful detail.
“And now, the first layoff victim,” read the front-page story.
“It is a middle-aged woman … with her head bowed and a distant stare in her eyes. She is fund-raiser with less than three years’ experience,” it continues.
Another Bagel Shop on Seventh Avenue
Remember that bright yellow and orange Korean market that went in on Seventh Avenue between Union and President right near Aersoles?
It was called Park Slope Farm and it closed rather quickly. The space at 106 7th Avenue stayed vacant for quite a few months.
That was then this is now. According to Brownstoner, a bagel cafe is going in.
Park Slope Parents Nanny Compensation Survey Released
Last week Park Slope Parents released the 2010 PSP Nanny Compensation Survey. The results are up on the PSP Website and it reveals some interesting changes since last time they conducted the survey (March 2008). Indeed, the economy has definitely had an impact on the neighborhood in terms of Nanny/Employer relationships.
The direct link is here: http://www.parkslopeparents.com/docs/NannySurvey2010.FINAL.pdf You can also access the the results through the PSP homepage, http://www.parkslopeparents.com.
Here are some highlights of the survey:
–The average pay for 1 child is $13.50 – $15 per hour and for 2 children $15 – $16.50 per hour.
–77% of those surveyed pay their nannies off the books.
–The economy has caused four in ten employers to make changes to their nanny/employer relationship.
–51% gave 2 weeks notice as severance pay, 30% gave 1 week pay, and 19% gave a higher amount.
–91% of employers give year end bonuses.
The folks at PSP contributed hours of hard, invaluable work on this very well presented survey. “While it may seem like a quick thing to make happen, there’s a lot of data cleaning, analyzing, re-analyzing, content analyzing, and over-analyzing that goes into putting this document out,” writes Susan Fox in an email.
The PSP Nanny Compensation Survey is based on data collected in October/November of 2009. Over 800 parents participated in the survey from the following groups: Park Slope Parents; Hudson River Park Mamas; BoCoCa and more!
Text & Donate to the Brooklyn Library
For the “Support Our Shelves” campaign, the Brooklyn Public Library will be accepting tax-deductible donations via text messages.
All you have to do is text the word “books” to 50555, and the library will receive a $10 donation, which will show up on your next cellphone bill. The Brooklyn Public Library is the first library system to adopt this method for donations.
“It should make a difference on two fronts,” said Jason Carey, a library spokesman told the Brooklyn Paper. “It’s a new way to get people involved who might not have gotten involved before. Plus, it allows us to keep communicating with people if they opt in.”
OTBKB Music: News and Notes and a Freebie
In today’s News and Notes: The Baseball Project, whose 2008 album, Volume 1, Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails, was a favorite around here have announced their next project, The Broadside Ballads, and released a free song; check out Eleanor Whitmore and Chris Masterson if you get the chance; and why the new Rockwood Music Hall venue is delayed. All at Now I’ve Heard Everything.
–Eliot Wagner
Bklyn Bloggage: food & drink
My first time and the morning after: A Cakes Bakes in Brooklyn
Asparagus & basil pesto sushi rolls: A Kitchen in Brooklyn
Meatball with provolone at Bklyn Larder: Serious Eats
Mimi’s hummus is best hummus in NYC: Ditmas Park Blog
Dine in Brooklyn: McBrooklyn
Dine in Brooklyn details: All About Fifth
Dine in Brooklyn: Gerritsen Beach
Bring hungry carnivores to VInegar Hill House: NYC Food Guy
Breast milk cheese: Fucked in Park Slope
Parchment baked tilapia: Clinton Hill Foodie
Brooklyn Bridge Park to have a lotta grub: Carroll Gardens Diary
Foodifying Kensington: Kensington Prospect
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
Bklyn Bloggage: neighborhoods
The unofficial Carroll Gardens tree: Pardon Me for Asking
Chicken feet at the American Playground: NY Shitty
Upper scale deli and bodega: Bushwick BK
Woman crushed by car in tragic accident: Sheepshead Bites
Broads without boundaries at Brooklyn Tech: The Local
Incident at American Apparel: Free Williamsburg
Coney Island USA Gala on March 25: Kinetic Carnival
The history of Ocean Parkway: Kensington Prospect
Parenting your children loudly: Fucked in Park Slope
Undomesticated Brooklyn: Dinner Party Success!
I’m still recovering from the excitement (and the wine!) from Saturday night’s first-ever dinner party. I’m proud to announce that I pulled it off — it was even better than I had hoped for (I had pretty low expectations). People seemed to like the food and to enjoy themselves. And I had a lot of fun too.
All in all, I’m very proud. Considering that less than a year ago, I could barely defrost a microwave dinner or follow the directions on the Amy’s macaroni and cheese box, I have come a long way. I’m mostly relieved that all of my guests showed up and I didn’t burn anything!
Still, there’s always room for improvement.
I’ve learned so much during this adventure. If you’re hoping to throw your own dinner party, here are some Undomesticated Brooklyn tips:
1. Plan a detailed scheduled for the day of the party, leaving time for last-minute errands. I was so busy cleaning the apartment and buying baguettes on Saturday that I waited until too late to start prepping the food. I had to scramble at the last minute to halve the Brussels Sprouts and scrub and quarter the mushrooms. I barely had time to put on makeup and get dressed (not to mention time for the clothing crisis!)
2. Make sure you have enough serving dishes and cutlery. I ended up renting a table, dishes and silverware and I still didn’t have quite enough bowls (luckily, I found some from a different pattern, but at least I didn’t have to resort to using the kids’ Disney princess bowls).
3. It’s nice to entertain without kids. I know it’s a hassle to get a babysitter and it’s not cheap, but it’s worth it to have a night out without the kids, right? It was certainly a treat for me to have adult chat without having to worry about any meltdowns or freak-outs (my kids were perfect angels and went to bed without any struggle).
4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Realizing I was in over my head, I asked Avo to prepare salad dressing (a wonderful garlic vinaigrette). Then I had Mr. Di Franco plate the salad. What a team!
5. It seems obvious, but don’t forget to invite an assortment of interesting guests and not just the usual suspects. I went out of my way to invite people I wanted to know better and who I thought would get along, not necessarily old friends.
6. Keep color in mind when deciding what to serve. Honestly, I never considered it when planning my menu, but in hindsight, I wish I had injected some color — maybe in the form of glazed carrots?
7. You can never have too much wine or cheese. I bought a wonderful selection of cheese, but it went pretty fast (whereas I bought way too many baguettes). I only bought one bottle of wine and even though guests generously brought wine, we cut it pretty close. A little more wine would have been a good thing and we could always have saved leftovers for another night.
8. Don’t be a perfectionist. I had planned to make whipped cream to top the apple spice cake and brownies for dessert. But I didn’t want to stress about whipping up whipped cream while I was enjoying dinner. Besides, the vanilla ice cream a la mode was sweet enough.
9. Try to relax and enjoy yourself. At the end of the party, OTBKB’s own Louise Crawford said “It was so nice to see you enjoying yourself. So many times you go to a party and the host spends the whole night in the kitchen. Guests don’t like that. They want to see the host enjoying the party.” So true.
10. Guests will appreciate the fact that you invited them and cooked for them. And you’ll get a kick out of cooking for other people (I promise!). It may be a lot of work, but the end result is worth it.
One guest e-mailed the day after the party to say “Great food, guests and conversation. Wonderful success! You have arrived as a hostess!”
I e-mailed back, “I’m not sure I’ve arrived, but at least I’m in the driveway.”
Meanwhile, I had so much fun planning the first-ever dinner party that I’m already tackling another challenge: a Very Belated (6 years late!) Housewarming Cocktail Party. I’ll be sure to let you know once I set a date.
Oh yeah, one last final tip: Don’t forget to take pictures! I forgot, but luckily there were a couple of photographers at the party. Hopefully, they’ll send me some good pics soon (Hugh and Ken, if you’re reading this, get on it pronto!)
A Day in the Life of a Snowman
The Snowman from Li Perez-Rey on Vimeo.
Lisandro Perez Rey sent this fantastic video of a day in the snowy life of a snowman in Prospect Park. Lisandro lives in the South Slope and filmed this timelapse video through his front window into Prospect Park over the course of 9 hours last weekend. Indeed it offers a fascinating glimpse into human nature. Plus a snowman gets smashed!!!
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
82 Women in Film
Three young female filmmakers, recent college grads, just got in touch with me about a video they just produced called 82 Women, a celebration of 82 women working in the film and television industry in honor of the 82nd Academy Awards.
Happy First Woman to Win a Best Director Oscar Day!
Women & Hollywood: The Time Has Come
Melissa Silverstein, the Brooklyn blogger who runs the very popular entertainment blog, Women & Hollwood, has a lot to say about Kathryn Bigelow getting the Oscar for Best Director, the first woman ever to receive that distinction.
The Time Has Come
Those were the words that Barbra Streisand uttered when she announced Kathryn Bigelow’s name as the winner of the best director Oscar. The moment came at the end of a long and boring show that featured many male winners in most categories, but DAMN, staying up was worth it.
I never really thought this was possible even six months ago since the gender problem in Hollywood is so pervasive, but DAMN, it happened – a woman won for BEST DIRECTOR. Director is the ultimate leader in Hollywood, the big kahuna, and now, finally a woman is in the club and that my friends, is a big deal.
After she won last night I was thinking about other female firsts that I have experienced in my lifetime. I remember when Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female Supreme Court justice; I remember when Madeleine Albright became the first Secretary of State; I remember when Shannon Faulkner became the first female to go to the Citadel; I remember when Eileen Collins became the first woman to command a space shuttle mission; I remember when Nancy Pelosi became the first female Speaker of the House.
And I will remember last night…
Read more at Women & Hollywood
Crazy Wild Rumor: 2nd Street Cafe Coming to Miracle Grill Location
I’m just repeating an interesting rumor/tip I was tweeted: the owners of Second Street Cafe are making a comeback on Seventh Avenue in the Miracle Grill location on Seventh Avenue and 3rd Street in Park Slope.
This is just what I’ve been tweeted. Anyone know more?
Well, you know, I had a soft spot for breakfast at the Second Street Cafe so I am thrilled if this rumor is true. Last I heard one of the owners had moved upstate (and opened a restaurant up there) and the other owner is still in the Slope.
The Second Street Cafe closed a couple of years ago at their old location on Seventh Avenue and 2nd Street after a costly renovation. The above picture was taken after the restaurant was shuttered.
Who can forget that the pre-renovation restaurant’s walls were papered with the crayon art of its patrons.
Brooklyn Film Fest Submission Deadline Fast Approaching
On the heels of last night’s Oscars it was fun to hear from Nate Kensinger, who runs the Brooklyn International Film Festival. The final film submission deadline is fast approaching and he wants to hear from you if you want your film in the festival.
If your film fits one of the categories let the BFF know about it: Feature, Documentary, Short, Experimental, Animation. And there are awards at this festival: $50,000 in services, products, and cash.
The final deadline is fast approaching: March 17, 2010 and the entry Fee is $50 (Deadline is “Postmarked by.” Packages can be mailed until the day of the
deadline)
The dates of this Film Festival are: June 4-13, 2010
For more info or to submit your film, click here:
http://www.brooklynfilmfestival.org/submit/
Two Dead in Separate Brooklyn Car Accidents on Sunday
Yesterday a 40-year-old mother of two, was killed in a church parking lot in Gravesend and in Dyker Heights, a 37-year-old woman named Natalie Assee was killed in a hit-and-run while crossing Fort Hamilton Parkway.
Read more at Gothamist
Bklyn Bloggage: civics
Census of places that matter: Atlantic Yards Report
Misleading P.R. from Forest City Ratner circa 2003: Atlantic Yards Report
EPA says “We want to do a job we can be proud of”: Pardon Me for Asking
Ask about the Gowanus Canal: City Room
Want to fix Fourth Avenue? Slow ’em down: Brooklyn Paper
Brooklyn Heights Resident Wins Oscar
Joachim Back, the director of the short film, The New Tenants, which received an Oscar on Sunday night, is a Brooklyn Heights resident and P.S. 8 parent. Fellow Brooklynite Vincent D’Onofrio starred in the film. Over at the Brooklyn Heights Blog, they’ve got a video trailer of the film.
OTBKB Music: A Music Movie and Some More Freebies
The best music show going tonight is actually a movie (sorry, Pops Corn, if I’m stepping on your territory): Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, at Tribeca Cinemas. This documentary includes rare archival footage and some exclusive interviews. Only one showing, at 7:30. More details at Now I’ve Heard Everything.
I’ve also found links to some more free, legal downloads. This time around, you can enjoy a track from each of the new albums by The Watson Twins, Maura Kennedy and get a nine track sampler of artists playing SXSW next week. Just click here for The Watson Twins, and here for Maura and the sampler.
–Eliot Wagner
Pops Corn Live: It’s Over
Katrhyn Bigelow – YES! It was great to see her and the film honored. And to see her be included in the hosts’ salutations. I hope Cablevision viewers enjoyed it.
Thanks to Pops Corn and the Academy
Here on Third Street a group of us watched the Oscars and ate Dibs, those bite sized frozen snacks they sell at movie theaters.
What a blast to check in with Pops Corn every few minutes and read his on-going commentary, which was very interesting and fun.
For the first time we had a betting pool. The person, who picked the most winners won the $6 that was in the pool.
For me high points were the nominations for Best Actor and Actress written and read by friends and colleagues of the nominees.
The super highpoint was, of course, Kathryn Bigelow winning the award for Best Director for The Hurt Locker. She is the first woman to ever win in that category. It seems she avoided marking the historical nature of her win in her thank you speech. She’s too macho for that. She did recognize the armed services, first responders, firefighters, etc. and that was cool.
The occasion did inspire me to list all the women directors I can think of. I know there are so many more but here goes: Jane Campion, Nancy Myers, Sue Kramer, Agnes Varda, Chantel Ackerman, Barbara Kopple, Margarethe von Trotta, Lina Wertmuller, Sophia Coppola, Catherine Hardwicke, Barbra Streisand, Elaine May, Charlotte Zwerin, Chris Hedges, Jill Godmillow…(to be continued)
And finally, what an upset: I was expecting Avatar to win the Best Picture but, thankfully, it went to The Hurt Locker, surely one of the best anti-war films of recent times if not ever.
Oh, and my stepmother won the betting pool with 12 correct answers…
Finally, my gratitude to Pops Corn for his live blogging. What a fun way to watch the show!
One more thing: Where was Jack Nicholson?
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
Pops Corn Live: Bridges Speech
I’m pretty sure–as he did in his Golden Globes speech–that Jeff Bridges thanked his stand-in. I love that.
And I like the idea of having co-stars introduce the nominated actors.
Pops Corn: Empty Haneke
The first major surprise was for me the most disappointing. Haneke’s White Ribbon is a masterful work. Maybe Haneke can guest on 30 Rock someday.
Pops Corn Live: Most Powerful High Five
Fisher Stevens and Woody Harrelson – a solid, hetero congratulations.
Pops Corn Live: Only 30 Minutes Left?
Getting geared up for Best Foreign Language Film. Will one of the most respected European filmmakers of the last two decades get the statue? And will Michael Haneke be on prime time network television?
Pops Corn Live: Sound Editing – Yeah, Really Commenting On It
Did you read Virginia Heffernan’s piece on the sound editing category in the Times mag a few weeks back?
It was one of those weird pieces that was wonderfully researched, but nearly without value due to the writer’s opinionated stance. She treated the craft as though it had to adhere to her aesthetic. But she got her wish. Hurt Locker takes it.
Pops Corn Live: Leprechaun
I should be fired if I don’t mention that a Leprachaun clip was just on the Oscar telecast.