Bklyn Bloggage: neighborhoods

If it’s Tuesday it must be neighborhood day on the Bklyn Bloggage:

Police swarm Sheepshead Bay station for armed robberty: Sheepshead Bites

Community leader arrested for theft: Bushwick, BK

Kindergarten classes are full: Effed in Park Slope

Williamsburg street art: NY Shitty

Paradise at Proteus Gowanus: Pardon Me for Asking

Picture perfect West Indian Carnival: Carribean Life

Yeshivah of Flatbush: Brit in Brooklyn

Find a job in Brooklyn: McBrooklyn

The Day After Labor Day

The first day back after the summer. It always begin with a SIGH. The end of summer, the gradual beginning of fall. A transition from one kind of energy to another. The Jewish high holy days mark the end of one year and the beginning of a new one.

On Wednesday night Rosh Hashanah begins and one week later we Jews revisit the sins of the past year with the Yom Kippur fast.

The shofar will sound.

School schedules resume, energy levels quicken, the weather changes (or it doesn’t); it’s time to buy new shoes for school, notebooks, pencils. Even if you don’t have children or aren’t a student that beginning of school schedule is hard to forget.

Today, the day is kind of a start your engines kind of day. Fall ahead.

OTBKB Music: End The Holiday Weekend with Misty Boyce, Check Out A New Song from Richard Barone and Read News and Notes from All Over

The long holiday weekend isn’t quite over.  If you’d like it to last just a little longer, head over to The Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2 tonight and see singer-songwriter Misty Boyce.  What you get is great songwriting, spirited playing and an energetic crowd and tonight, as an added bonus, Misty will be giving away a download card for “a new old song we just recorded, called Blue Like Sea.”  See Now I’ve Heard Everything for the details.

Richard Barone and his band, The Bongos, were a mainstay of the Hoboken scene in the 1980s.  Since The Bongos split in 1987, Richard has put out a few solo albums and produced other musicians, but there has been no new music from Richard for the past 15 years or so.  That changes in a bit more than a week, when Richard’s new album, Glow is issued.  A video (really just a pic of the album cover) of the first song from Glow, Gravity’s Pull is up here at Now I’ve Heard Everything.

Finally, read about the end of Paste Magazine, the music related programs at the upcoming Brooklyn Book Festival, Rosanne Cash, Steve Wynn and The Miracle 3 and Chuck Prophet and The Mission Express in News and Notes at Now I’ve Heard Everything.

–Eliot Wagner

Announcing Brooklyn Reading Works 2010-2011 Season

An inspiring and always interesting—and entertaining night out, Brooklyn Reading Works has a great schedule for you this year.

Join us one Thursday a month at Park Slope’s  The Old Stone House come to a themed reading by authors of absorbing fiction, poetry, memoir and drama curated by talented writers and editors. All readings are at 8PM. $5 donation includes wine, snacks, great writers and good company.

2010-2011 BROOKLYN READING WORKS SEASON

All readings at 8PM

September 23: Young Writers curated by Jill Eisenstadt

October 21: New Plays by Brooklyn Playwrights curated by Rosemary Moore

November 11: Writing War Fiction by Vets of Vietnam and Iraq curated by Louise Crawford

December 16: TBA

January 20: The Truth and Oral History (the double life of the interview) curated by John Guidry

February 17: Memoirathon curated by Branka Ruzak

March 17: Blarneypalooza curated by Michele Madigan Somerville

April 14: In the Year of the Rabbit: Voices from the East curated by Sophia Romero

May 19: Fifth Annual Edgy Mother’s Day curated by Louise Crawford and Sophia Romero

June 16: Fiction in a Blender curated by Martha Southhgate

OTBKB Music: The Damnwells at The Rockwood Stage 2

They took the tables out of The Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2 last night so they could fit in sold out crowds at the two shows by The Damnwells.  I was there at the early show and heard the band play their new album (which may or may not be called No One Listens to The Band Anymore) from start to finish and was able to take a nice set of photos.  You’ll find them here at Now I’ve Heard Everything.

Have a great Labor Day weekend.  Check back here on Monday if you are going to be home by Monday night. I’ll have a show at The Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2 that night to tell you about.

–Eliot Wagner

The Weekend List: Labor Day Weekend

I scour the listings to find fun, cool, interesting cultural activities for the readers of OTBKB Keep checking back I update this list Thursday through Sunday (and in this case on Monday as well).

Movies:

Soul Kitchen, The Kids are All Right, Inception, The American at BAM

The Switch, Eat Pray Love, Avatar 3D, The American, Last Exorcism at the Pavilion.

Music:

Sept 3-4, 9-10 Help Save Puppets Jazz Bar Fundraisers 5PM until 3AM at Puppets Jazz bar 481 Fifth Avenue in Park Slope.

Friday, Sept 3 at 8PM at Barbes: Oran Ektin has been described as a “great clarinet player” and “excellent improviser” by the New York Times jazz critic Ben Ratliff and a “woodwind maestro” by PRI’s internationally syndicated show, Afropop Worldwide.

Saturday, Sept 4 at 8PM: New Model Army at the Bell House

Art

Healing the Wounds of War: The Brooklyn Sanitary Fair of 1864 at the Brooklyn Museum. This exhibition presents a selection of artworks and historical objects celebrating the contributions of women to the mid-nineteenth-century Sanitary Movement, particularly the highly important Brooklyn and Long Island Sanitary Fair of 1864. The genesis of the exhibition was a rare doll from the Museum’s collection featuring an elaborate trousseau made by a woman named Eliza Lefferts and sold at the Brooklyn Sanitary Fair. During the Civil War, sanitary fairs were held to raise money for the war effort in major cities in the Northeast.

Through September 30 at the Skylight Gallery in Bed-Stuy: Eyewitness to: Beautiful Black Brooklyn Photography exhibit at the featuring dozens of rare images from the 1960s to the 1980s Tues. – Fri., 11:00am – 6:00pm; Sat., 1:00pm – 6:00pm.

Through October 15th at The Pratt Institute School of Architecture and the Pratt Library: “Le Corbusier – Miracle Boxes,” a multidisciplinary, three-part exhibition on the work of renowned Swiss-French architect, urbanist, designer, writer, and painter Le Corbusier (born Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris), who is considered by many to be the most important architect of the 20th century, starting August 30, 2010. “Miracle Boxes,” the first New York exhibition dedicated entirely to the work of Le Corbusier, is curated by Ivan R. Shumkov, Ph.D., adjunct associate professor of architecture at Pratt Institute. Shumkov will deliver an opening lecture that will be followed by a reception on September 13, 2010 at 6 p.m in Higgins Hall Auditorium located at 61 St. James Place in Brooklyn. The exhibition, opening lecture, reception, and an upcoming related symposium will be free and open to the public.

More to come…

Let’s Read Along with the Kids at Brooklyn College

“How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America,” by Moustafa Bayoumi, an associate English professor at Brooklyn College, is this year’s “common reader” at Brooklyn College (a book give to freshmen and transfer students at the beginning of the year to offer them a shared reading experience).

At BC, the books are typically set in New York City and written by authors, who are available to speak on campus. Past books included: Frank McCourt’s “Angela’s Ashes” and Jonathan Safran Foer’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.”

It sounds like an interesting book. Maybe everyone in Park Slope should read this book too?

Briana Ojeda RIP

So sad to read about the death (and the horrifying circumstances surrounding it) of 11-year-old Briana Ojeda, who was with her mother en route to the hospital Friday when their car was pulled over by an officer who refused to help.

Yesterday a funeral mass was held at St. Francis Xavier Church in Park Slope, Brooklyn. A horse-drawn carriage accompanied by a police escort brought Ojeda’s coffin to the steps of the church.

So sad. Briana died last Friday of an asthma attack

Carmen Ojeda, Brianna’s mothers, says that she was driving the wrong way down a one-way street in Boerum Hill to rush her daughter to Long Island College Hospital, when she was stopped by a police officer, who stopped her car. The mother cried for help for daughter who was having a severe asthma attack. He claimed he did not know CPR (note:  all city police officers are trained in CPR).

Eventually, the officer did take the Ojedas to the hospital, but by driving behind them with his lights on. Briana, who was set to start sixth grade in a few days, died at the hospital about an hour later.

According to the NYPD, Officer Alfonso Mendez, 30, of the 84th precinct was identified as the man involved in the incident.

Police say witnesses were able to identify Mendez, who has been on the force for five years and works out of the 84th Precinct, as the officer who failed to help Briana.

Sources say he was suspended without pay Tuesday for failing to take proper police action. An internal affairs investigation is underway.

Stay Indoors: West Nile Mosquito Spraying Tonight

Thanks to Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn for this information about mosquito spraying tonight:

According to a notification issued on 9/1/2010 at 4:00 PM, the Department of Health will be spraying for mosquitoes to help prevent West Nile Virus from 8 PM on 9/2 until 6 AM on 9/3 in the following Brooklyn zip codes:

11210,11214, 11223, 11224, 11229, 11230, 11234, and 11235.

Department of Health recommends that whenever possible, stay indoors during spraying. Go to http://www.nyc.gov/health or call 311 for details.

Book Fest on Sept 12: 200 Authors, 175 Publishers/Presses

200 Authors, 175 Publishers/Presses; Artisanal Food Vendors; 13 Venues, Expanded “Bookend” Events all Weekend 9/10-9/12!

It’s the Brooklyn Book Festival and it’s a little more than a week away. Now in its fifth year, the Brooklyn Book Festival is one of the top book festivals in the country.

With the extraordinary literary heritage, vibrant publishing community and international reading audience of Brooklyn and New York City as its backdrop, the Festival offers the best and brightest stars in contemporary literature. The hip, huge and free all-star literary lineup includes Salman Rushdie, Naomi Klein, Paul Auster, Venus Williams, Nelson George, Sarah Silverman, Gary Shteyngart, Mary Gaitskill, John Ashbery, Rosanne Cash, Paul Krugman, Colson Whitehead, Francine Prose, Dennis Lehane, Per Petterson, Esmeralda Santiago, Pete Hamill, Jennifer Egan, Russell Banks, Michael Connelly, John Hodgman, Kristen Schaal, Sam Lipsyte, Sloane Crosley, Maaza Mengiste, Paul Harding, Amy Goodman, Marlon James, Sarah MacLean, Jean Valentine, Elizabeth Nunez and many more, as well as children’s and young adult lit stars like Rebecca Stead, Sara Shepard, Jacqueline Woodson, Jon Scieszka, Jenny Han, Nina Crews, Mac Barnett, Tad Hills, Chris Raschka, Michael Rex, Matthew Reinhart and Francisco X. Stork.

Continue reading Book Fest on Sept 12: 200 Authors, 175 Publishers/Presses

OTBKB Music: Bruce Springsteen and The Damnwells

Both last week and this week were kind of slow musically, with one exception I’ll mention shortly.  So while we cool our heels waiting for Labor Day to come and go and the Fall Music Season to begin, let’s go take a look back at the late 20th century.  Specifically, at a video of an amazing performance of Prove It All Night by Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band posted here at Now I’ve Heard Everything.

That exception to the slow week?  It’s An Evening with The Damnwells at The Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2 tomorrow (Thursday 9/2) night.  The Damnwells had one of my Ten Best Albums of 2009, One Last Century, which was only available as a free download on the Internet. Their followup is now in the can and the band will be performing it live tomorrow.  There are two shows, a long sold out one at 7:30 and one at 10:15, which the band tells me is almost sold out.  So if you are interested in seeing that show, get your tickets now from The Rockwood’s website.

–Eliot Wagner

Are The Eggs in Brooklyn Safe?

It’s truly disgusting to read about the Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms in Iowa that caused this recent salmonella outbreak. There may have been thousands of cases of salmonella in California, Minnesota and Colorado and elsewhere linked to the dangerous strain of salmonella.

None of the recalled eggs was packaged in New York, but the eggs are shipped nationwide.

So how safe are the eggs in Brooklyn?

The eggs that are believed to be tainted were sold with 13 brand names: Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemp. You can check the FDA website for specific instructions on how to spot tainted egg crates.

This recent episode really exposes the holes in our food safety system. How do we really know what we’re eating. It’s a pretty disturbing thing to contemplate.

More and more it makes sense to know where your food is coming from and buy from local food distributor and shops like the Park Slope Food Coop, that provide information about the sources of their food and produce.

Crossing into Brooklyn Last Night at 3AM

Yup. We knew that the Manhattan-bound lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge were closed nights and some weekends due to repairs but for some reason we didn’t realize it was closed the other way, too.

The schedule of night-time and weekend closures is complicated so you better check the NYC DOT site for updates so you don’t get screwed like we did last night.

At 3AM after our 14 hour drive from Chicago (accomplished in one day, mind you) we wanted to drive across the beautiful Bridge, a visually stunning way to enter Brooklyn at night.

Okay, I begged Hepcat to take the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel but no, he wanted to fill his eyes with a gorgeous view even after such a long trip. But it was closed Brooklyn Bound (which surprised us).

We ended up taking the FDR to Houston Street, going down Allen Street…and finally made it onto the Manhattan Bridge…

After 1400 miles of driving over the last few days what’s a couple more miles.

For those who don’t know, the Manhattan bound side of the Brooklyn Bridge be closed nights and some weekends. Like I said, check the DOT schedule for details

Continue reading Crossing into Brooklyn Last Night at 3AM

Last Night to Dance Under the Stars on Fifth Avenue

One last night of hot jazz, blues, pop and R&B with L.A. Blacksmith in JJ Byrne Park (AKA Washington Park) on Park Slope’s Fifth Avenue and Third Street. The entertainment and the weather promise to be hot so dress light and get ready to dance.

The festivities start at 6 with kids programming. The adult, dancing portion of the program begins at 7PM and continues until 9PM.

See you there…

Creative After-School Program: Art in the House

Artist/educator Debby Albenda introduces Art in the House, a new after-school creative arts program at the Old Stone House in Park Slope.

I worked with Debby on PS 321’s annual poetry magazine, Pandamonium, and I know her to be a talented artist and a lovely person.

An arts educator, who is also a professional graphic designer and artist (she worked at the beloved but now defunct Nickelodean Magazine for years) Debby aims to put a contemporary spin on historically relevant techniques, including painting, print-making, embroidery, sculpture and other craft activities after-school on Mondays for 2nd and 3rd graders and Tuesdays for 4th and 5th graders.

The 10-week program will follow the public school schedule. To register, call OSH at 718-768-3195 or e-mail info@theoldstonehouse.org. For more information: http://www.artinthehouse-osh.org/?p=5

Continue reading Creative After-School Program: Art in the House

Everyone is Talking ’bout Bedbugs

Seems like everyone, I mean EVERYONE, is talking about bed bugs. Finally, the  EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have weighed in on what seems to be a rampant problem in NYC.

According to the NY Times, they have issued a  joint statement on bedbug control.  “It was not, however, a declaration of war nor a plan of action. It was an acknowledgment that the problem is big, a reminder that federal agencies mostly give advice, plus some advice: try a mix of vacuuming, crevice-sealing, heat and chemicals to kill the things. It also noted, twice, that bedbug research “has been very limited over the past several decades. Ask any expert why the bugs disappeared for 40 years, why they came roaring back in the late 1990s, even why they do not spread disease, and you hear one answer: “Good question.””

In the statement, however, they attribute the rise in bedbugs to a variety of issues including:

–increased resistance of bed bugs to available pesticides

–greater international and domestic travel,

–lack of knowledge regarding control of bed bugs due to their prolonged absence

–continuing decline or elimination of effective vector/pest control programs at state and local public health agencies.

Read on for the actual statement…

Continue reading Everyone is Talking ’bout Bedbugs

Jazz and Meditation Together

Adam Bernstein’s Jazz Mindfulness Program (JMP), now entering its second year, is set to begin a new semester in October. Bernstein, a well-known musician and jazz educator, has created a program designed to bring music and mindfulness practice together in a new way to nurture young people in their day-to-day lives. Students have the opportunity to play jazz while learning mindfulness meditation.

“When students learn mindfulness at a young age, they can experience both the joy of music and also get beneath the chatter and judgment that can suppress the creative, open mind,” says Bernstein. “The skill of mindfulness can help them in their daily lives, too. One of my youngest students, who was being very hard on herself about her schoolwork, told me that when she stopped to notice her breath, she was able to calm down.”

Continue reading Jazz and Meditation Together

OTBKB Music: Looking Ahead to September

Although there’s still a bit of summer left ahead of us, on Wednesday it will be September.  That means it’s time for the September edition of the monthly music calendar over at Now I’ve Heard Everything.  Check out 25 shows, and get ready for Rosanne Cash‘s visit to our borough as part of the Brooklyn Book Festival on September 12th (which this year has five panels devoted to writings about music).  And speaking of Rosanne, if you are not following her on Twitter, you are missing her very funny take on what’s going on.

–Eliot Wagner