I took the F train to Allen Street last night to cover the opening night of the long awaited Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2; Zach Williams and his band played. I have full coverage of the new club and Zach’s performance at Now I’ve Heard Everything. Be sure to scroll down to Thursday’s post for a music video inspired by the the opening. It should put a smile on your face.
–Eliot Wagner
Catherine Bohne, owner of Park Slope’s famous Community Bookstore, is about to embark on a “Grand Adventure” (the details of which are under wraps for now). But before this great adventure can begin she must sell her personal book collection, what she describes as “2000 really good books.” She is also looking for a home for Jennie Lee, a Maine Coon cat, who comes, of course, with a trust fund for medical expenses.
Bohne’s lovely, whimsical style of writing speaks for itself. The date of the big sale is Saturday, April 17, from 10AM until…
Here’s the email I (and many others no doubt) received this morning:
Hi Everyone!
This Saturday, April 17th from about 10 am until we drop, I’ll be selling off most of my personal book collection (probably more than 2000 really good books) in one HumONGous stoep sale in front of my apartment at:
813 8th Avenue
[between 8th & 9th Sts]
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Everything must go! And it’s gotta go that day, too! Please come help me out by giving my books a good home!And, while I’m at it: I don’t know if there’s anyone out there who has a soft spot for gentle but chatty really old (18?) Maine Coon cats, but you could meet Jennie Lee, who’s looking for a more stable home than I’m providing at the moment. She comes, of course, with a trust fund for medical expenses . . . .
And ALSO: I don’t know if anyone needs handyman work done, but local Park Sloper and bookstore habituee Eric Rochow (www.handymaneric. com & gardenfork.tv) is a genius, has changed my life, rescued me and worked miracles — you can come look in my apartment if you want to see an example of his work . . .
Now . . . what is all this about? Come to the stoop sale and I’ll tell you all about it! (Well, I’ll tell you all about it soon, anyhow, BUT don’t have time right now . . . ) Don’t worry — the Bookstore’s fine. I’m just having a Grand Adventure!
Much Love,
And see you soon,
Catherine
The driver of the van that killed the Park Slope cyclist yesterday in Ditmas Park will face charges of criminally negligent homicide.
He also face charges of aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle, driving through a red light and speeding.
According the NY 1, the cyclist was traveling east on Beverly Road when he was struck on Flatbush Avenue around 9:30 a.m. A witness told NY 1: “He tried to get out of the way. But when he tried to turn the bike to avoid the van, the wheel just wobbled, and the van just hit him, his whole body. I saw his whole body went under the van, and he just dragged him all the way down here.”
Yesterday there were two other bike/vehicle accidents. Neither of those resulted in fatalities.
Very sad news:
An 18-year-old cyclist from Park Slope was killed on Flatbush Avenue and Duryea Place in Ditmas Park on Wednesday morning when his bike was struck by a dollar van.
The NYPD said that the cyclist was a white male in his twenties. But I’ve heard from a source who knows the boy that he was an 18-year-old who attended PS 321 and Millenium High School and was currently a college freshman at CUNY.
He was traveling east on Duryea and the motorist was traveling north on Flatbush. The driver, a 28-year-old male, was charged with negligent homicide and other charges for driving without a license, speeding and going through a red light.
This is a terrible story.
A beautiful grand piano was donated to the Old Stone House and now they can present piano recitals like this one:
The Old Stone House presents a concert series to celebrate Chopin, Schumann and Liszt featuring pianist Eleonor Bindman. This is Part 1 of an ongoing series.
Friday, April 16, 2010 8 pm
Sunday, April 18, 2010 5 pm
Reception to Follow
Part One is a program featuring the works of Chopin. More info at theoldstonehouse.org
The piano pictured is NOT the one at the House.
A quarterly report released yesterday by Prudential Douglas Elliman revealed that residential sales activity is up in Brooklyn and Queens. They also said that there’s “a growing momentum in the high-end market.”
According to The Real Deal, which published an article about the report, “Brooklyn appears to be recovering faster than Queens, which has been devastated by high foreclosure rates.”
If you suffer from seasonal allergies, today’s high pollen count may cuase you to suffer.
This morning I feel like my eyes are glued shut and I can stop sniffling, which will lead to sneezing.
I’m taking a Claritin!
“The truth is that money is often a divisive influence in our lives. We keep our bank balances secret because we worry that being candid about our finances will expose us to judgment or ridicule—or worse, to accusations of greed or immorality. And this worry is not unfounded.”
–Jenny Offill and Elissa Schappell, Money Changes Everything (New York: Doubleday, 2007), p. xi
Brooklyn Reading Works:
The Truth and Money
On April 15, 2010, the Brooklyn Reading Works will present its monthly writers’ program on “tax day.” This happy accident, observed last summer in a casual conversation with John Guidry of the blog, Truth and Rocket Science resulted in the idea for a panel called “The Truth and Money,” a reading and Q & A with three authors whose work has taken on money in some significant way.
Our three panelists are:
Elissa Schappell, a Park Slope writer, the editor of “Hot Type” (the books column) for Vanity Fair, and Editor-at-large of the literary magazine Tin House. With Jenny Offill, Schappell edited Money Changes Everything, in which twenty-two writers reflect on the troublesome and joyful things that go along with acquiring, having, spending, and lacking money.
Jennifer Michael Hecht, a best-selling writer and poet whose work crosses fields of history, philosophy, and religious studies. In The Happiness Myth, she looks at what’s not making us happy today, why we thought it would, and what these things really do for us instead. Money—like so many things, it turns out—solves one problem only to beget others, to the extent that we spend a great deal of money today trying to replace the things that, in Hecht’s formulation, “money stole from us.”
Jason Kersten, a Park Slope writer who lives 200 feet from our venue and whose award-winning journalism has appeared in Rolling Stone, Men’s Journal, and Maxim. In The Art of Making Money, Kersten traces the riveting, rollicking, roller coaster journey of a young man from Chicago who escaped poverty, for a while at least, after being apprenticed into counterfeiting by an Old World Master.
Please join us for the event at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 15, 2010, at the Old Stone House in Washington Park, which is located on 5th Avenue in Park Slope, between 3rd and 4th Streets, behind the playground.
Brought to you by the Feldman Family from their weather tower.
Thanks to Leon Freilich for sending this over.
It’s been almost 65 years since New Yorkers celebrated the end of World War II, but a new book and accompanying film series give today’s residents a window into how life was “On the Town.”
The series, which begins at 6:30 p.m. April 13 at the Brooklyn Public Library, is based on the new book by Lorraine Diehl, “Over Here! New York City During World War II.”
The films, which continue each Tuesday through May 18, are discussed in the book and reflect life in the 1930s and into the war years, Diehl said.
“It was not too difficult for people to get on board and say, ‘We are the good guys, we have to win,’” she said.
An “all for one and one for all” attitude infused city life, Diehl said, and while New Yorkers faced privations, they were reasonably sure their homes wouldn’t be bombed. Londoners didn’t have that comfort, and New Yorkers understood that and acted accordingly, volunteering and showing soldiers on leave their appreciation.
But there was a dark side to New York, too. A pro-Nazi movement flourished in the German neighborhood of Yorkville, just as German Jews were flocking across the Atlantic to escape the horror overseas.
A quick look at the World War II-era films being screened
April 13: “All Through the Night” — It’s Humphrey Bogart versus Nazis in Gotham’s midst.
April 20: “The House on 92nd Street” — The film’s title is inspired by a Manhattan building that was home to the German-American Bund.
April 27: “Mr. Lucky” — Cary Grant in a film inspired by the “Bundles for Britain,” the knitting care packages New Yorkers sent to the British.
May 4: “Saboteur” — German spies set their sights on the Brooklyn Navy Yard
May 11: “The Clock” — Author Lorraine Diehl called this a valentine to the city. GI Robert Walker finds love with Judy Garland by the clock at Penn Station — the studio built a remarkable fascimile.
May 18: “On the Town” — Soldiers on leave whoop it up in a musical that celebrates New York’s wonders.
The series will be shown at the Dr. S. Stevan Dweck Center for Contemporary Culture at the Central Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, in Prospect Heights. Take the Nos. 2/3 train to Grand Army Plaza
The always-enticing Peekaboo Pointe will dance this Saturday at Galapagos Art Space.
Judith Berkson celebrates her record release at Joe’s Pub on May 24.
“The truth is that money is often a divisive influence in our lives. We keep our bank balances secret because we worry that being candid about our finances will expose us to judgment or ridicule—or worse, to accusations of greed or immorality. And this worry is not unfounded.”
–Jenny Offill and Elissa Schappell, Money Changes Everything (New York: Doubleday, 2007), p. xi
Brooklyn Reading Works:
The Truth and Money
On April 15, 2010, the Brooklyn Reading Works will present its monthly writers’ program on “tax day.” This happy accident, observed last summer in a casual conversation with John Guidry of the blog, Truth and Rocket Science resulted in the idea for a panel called “The Truth and Money,” a reading and Q & A with three authors whose work has taken on money in some significant way.
Our three panelists are:
Elissa Schappell, a Park Slope writer, the editor of “Hot Type” (the books column) for Vanity Fair, and Editor-at-large of the literary magazine Tin House. With Jenny Offill, Schappell edited Money Changes Everything, in which twenty-two writers reflect on the troublesome and joyful things that go along with acquiring, having, spending, and lacking money.
Jennifer Michael Hecht, a best-selling writer and poet whose work crosses fields of history, philosophy, and religious studies. In The Happiness Myth, she looks at what’s not making us happy today, why we thought it would, and what these things really do for us instead. Money—like so many things, it turns out—solves one problem only to beget others, to the extent that we spend a great deal of money today trying to replace the things that, in Hecht’s formulation, “money stole from us.”
Jason Kersten, a Park Slope writer who lives 200 feet from our venue and whose award-winning journalism has appeared in Rolling Stone, Men’s Journal, and Maxim. In The Art of Making Money, Kersten traces the riveting, rollicking, roller coaster journey of a young man from Chicago who escaped poverty, for a while at least, after being apprenticed into counterfeiting by an Old World Master.
Please join us for the event at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 15, 2010, at the Old Stone House in Washington Park, which is located on 5th Avenue in Park Slope, between 3rd and 4th Streets, behind the playground.
Brooklyn food & drink round up: Brownstoner
First sushi restaurant in Bed-Stuy: Bed-Stuy Blog
New Italian on Stuyvesant Avenue: Bed-Stuy Blog
Asian style Chilean Sea Bass: A Kitchen in Brooklyn
Breaking the three cookie rule: A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn
A potato garden: Undomesticated Me
This week’s Diva is Indigo Street, guitarist/singer/songwriter, who performs solo as well as with Shahzad Ismaily/101 Crustaceans/Landlady. Sarah met Indigo at the wonderful Walter Foods in Williamsburg for some lobster rolls and strong drinks.
Sarah: Tell me about your travels as a kid. Why’d you run away from home at fifteen?
Indigo: I grew up in a fairly small, privileged part of the NYC arts community. By the time I was twelve I’d danced at Lincoln Center and BAM, and even Madison Square Garden, so the stuff other people can’t wait to get to NY to do seemed sort of pedestrian to me. I felt there was something else out there. It was all very fantasy-based, very bohemian. I went to Woodstock with some friends for the weekend. I saw this guy walking through town barefoot, holding a guitar. I think he was wearing a buckskin vest. The next weekend I lied to my mother and told her I was going back to stay with friends. She dropped me off and I just sat under a tree in the center of Woodstock and waited for the guy with the guitar.
Sarah: Did he show up?
Indigo: After an hour and a half, he walked up to me and sat down. We ate ice cream for dinner and slept in the woods. It was very romantic. We hid out for a while in a half-built house that was just the wood frame, which is my favorite stage in the life of a house. Crows perched on the window-less windowsills. People kept telling me the police were walking around town with my picture, so on the fourth night we got someone to drive us over to her place. It was the middle of the night and she came down in her nightgown, and she was so cool. I remember her asking if anyone wanted a cup of tea, which in retrospect is amazing, ’cause I had been so horrible and inconsiderate.
Sarah: How long did you stay home?
Indigo: A few days, then I went back on the road. I was at college briefly, but I got kicked out. You’re not supposed to be able to get kicked out of Simon’s Rock, but somehow I managed. I moved back to NY at about 17.
Sarah: What’s more important to you: sex, drugs, or rock and roll?
Indigo: Ooh, that’s hard. Right now I’m pretty much trying to abstain, so I’m liable to say sex. And though occasional, my love of drugs is holding strong. Altered states can facilitate great music making, and music making, itself, can produce some of the best altered states! I guess that’s what formed that holy trinity in the first place.
Sarah: How do you get so many different sounds out of the guitar?
Indigo: Often, rock guitarists rely on pedals to get different sounds, but I feel fortunate in that I didn’t learn to use them earlier. It made me learn to use the pick to vary the sound, different parts of my fingers, different articulations. I used to have an apple corer I loved to play with. It came in handy when I broke my wrist.
Sarah: What are the advantages of being self-taught as a musician?
Indigo: It makes invention easier. It more easily creates a musician who has their own voice rather than someone who is proficient but has trouble being original. Being self-taught gives you idiosyncratic skills and gaps. But that’s okay, because my main goal has always been to remove craft and artifice and get to the emotional heart of things.
Sarah: What does avant-garde mean to you?
Indigo: That’s an interesting question. I think that 30 years ago it just meant music that was pushing boundaries, music people hadn’t heard before. New. But now there’s a specific sound attached, even a specific location – the downtown scene, places like the Stone – this kind of sound that’s without a melody, often without a key. I like a lot of that music, and as a guitarist enjoy playing that type of music, but as a writer that doesn’t feel like the truest expression for me. I have to be careful not to worry about what is new for other people. I try to create something that’s new for me, allowing it to feel as simple as possible and to include any and all influences.
Sarah: A lot of people are worried about shedding their influences.
Indigo: Not me. I feel that imitation is possibly the most important part of being an artist. Being an artist is a spiritual practice. It’s devotional, and you find your devotion by connecting to the people who have come before you in your art form. By paying careful attention to what moves you, circling around it, you circle around yourself, really. That’s how you find the kernel of yourself. I mean, I spent years in my bedroom imitating Ray Charles, learning his albums note for note. There is no danger I’ll ever be accused of sounding like Ray Charles! But when I listen to him and I feel like my head will explode, that’s who I am. That love.
THE SAZERAC
After giving up heroin, Ray Charles had the same drink every day for the rest of his life: half a mug of black coffee with half a mug of Bols gin and two sugars. We should pick and choose what we imitate. Instead I recommend the Sazerac, the classic New Orleans whiskey drink, which they make exceptionally well at Walter. This will put you in the mood for sex, drugs, rock and roll, and everything.
Mix in cocktail shaker filled with ice:
2 ounces rye (also delicious made with Cognac, or a mix of half-Cognac, half-rye)
1 barspoon simple syrup
3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Stir for a long time. Fill a short rocks glass with ice and drizzle a little absinthe over the ice. Swirl it around, then discard ice and absinthe. Strain the cocktail into the absinthe-rinsed glass. Twist a lemon rind over the top, rub around rim, and drop in.
As long as you don’t mind taking a brisk three block walk between shows, you can catch two fine acts tonight on the Lower East Side: Harper Blynn and Sasha Dobson. Now I’ve Heard Everything has all the details here.
Also in News and Notes at Now I’ve Heard Everything, links to two good accounts of SXSW 2010 (one translated from the original German), news about Steve Wynn and Robbie Fulks‘ thoughts about the philosophy of Alex Chilton.
–Eliot Wagner
Sixpoint Craft Ales will be doing a beer dinner at The Vanderbilt later this month. Chef Saul Bolton has put together an awesome 5 course menu that pairs his signature, new American cuisine with Sixpoint’s craft ales. The whole dinner will be $60 per person and will be held on April 27th.
Join NY Writers Coalition (NYWC), one of the Park Slope 100, as they celebrate New York Immigrant Heritage Week with a reading series at Greenlight Bookstore in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.
The talented children and adult readers this month come from all over the world from Yemen to Mexico, Guyana to Japan. Iraqi poet and novelist Sinan Antoon (author of Baghdad Blues, Harbor Mountain Press, and I’jam: An Iraqi Rhapsody, City Light Books) will also be featured.
According to the most recent U.S. census, about three million of the city’s eight million residents are foreign-born. NYWC has created niche writing workshops which cater to this significant population in New York City. Abdel Baidhani, a member of the Arab American Family Support Center workshop, and Luz Aguirre, a member of “Mano a Mano” (a Latin-American-focused workshop) will share their work at the event. NYWC has also provided a variety of groups where people with similar interests (whether they are foreign or U.S.-born) can write together—one of the readers, Jacqueline Carter-Cutting, is part of the of the Brooklyn Veterans Center workshop. Yasuko Nasasawa, another presenter, attends the 14th Street Y workshop (which caters to seniors). Aidan Amog, who will also read, is a regular at the kids workshop at Fort Greene Park.
The Writing Aloud Reading Series showcases the creative voices of at-risk youth, the homeless and formerly homeless, the formerly incarcerated, LGBT homeless youth, seniors, residents of supportive housing, and countless others who aren’t heard from often enough in our society.
READERS: Sinan Antoon, Aidan Amog, Abdel Baidhani, Jacqueline Carter-Cutting, and Yasuko Nasasawa
WHEN: Monday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Greenlight Bookstore
686 Fulton St.
Fort Greene, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Cost: Free!
ABOUT NY WRITERS COALITION INC.
Founded in 2001, NYWC is one of the largest community writing organizations in the country. NYWC creates opportunities for formerly voiceless members of society to be heard through the art of writing. We provide free, unique and powerful creative writing workshops throughout New York City for people from groups that have been historically deprived of voice in our society, including at-risk and disconnected youth, the homeless and formerly homeless, the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, war veterans, people with disabilities, cancer and major illness, immigrants, seniors and others. Since emerging in 2002, NYWC has won awards from the Union Square Awards and Petra Foundation, and received program grants from local and national funders including Time Warner, the Pinkerton Foundation, Independence Community Foundation, Hot Topic Foundation, the Kalliopeia Foundation, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, the NY State Council on the Arts and others. Our workshop participants have been featured on The New York Times Blog, WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show and The Huffington Post, in stories about NYWC.
According to the Real Deal, a new developer has taken over construction of the 18-unit Park Slope condo project at 910 Union Street from Yachad Enterprises. American Development Group, the new company, expects to secure financing by mid-summer.
The three-story brick building, most recently a church and schoolhouse, is one of dozens of properties across from Prospect Park that are not protected by city landmark laws. That means that developers can do whatever they want architecturally without approval from the NYC Landmarks Commission.
Interestingly, 910 Union Street is among 1,350 buildings included in the first phase of a proposed expansion to the landmark district. No matter. The Department of Buildings already approved the permit for the four-story addition two years ago, so the new developers can start building as soon as they’re ready.
“We want to be very respectful to the existing architecture, unlike our neighbor across the street,” Perry Finkelman, principal of American Development Group, told the Real Deal.
About the building’s 4-story addition: It will be red brick and glass, featuring apartments with large kitchens and master bedrooms. at families can congregate in.
One special unit in the back of the building would have soaring ceilings and a totally retro interior, complete with a restored wood-burning fireplace, glass doorknobs and 1950s-style, thunderbird green kitchen appliances, Finkelman said.
The PS 321 Neighborhood Concerts Series, directed by acclaimed Park Slope pianist and Sony Classical recording artist Simone Dinnerstein, is a fantastic, cultural win-win for the children and adults in this neighborhood.
The shows are short — just one hour—which is perfect for kids but they’re also very interesting for adults and a great introduction to classical music for all. Even if your kids don’t go to PS 321 or you don’t have kids at all you might want to check out this enjoyable Thursday night music series.
This Thursday Dinnerstein, whose son is a student at PS 321 and who’s husband is a teacher, presents Face the Music, “Beating Down the Doors,” featuring the world premiere of Liquid Timepieces, by PS 321 Faculty Member Joseph C. Phillips, Jr.
Did I mention that Dinnerstein’s mother used to teach at PS 321, too?
Clearly this is Dinnerstein’s way of giving back to her neighborhood elementary school and a marvelous way to teach children — and adults — to develop a passion for classical music.
Thursday, April 15th, 7:00 pm
PS 321 Auditorium, 180 7th Ave., Park Slope
Tickets are $15 and are available on www.ps321.org
Face the Music is an ensemble of astonishingly talented teenagers performing works by today’s most compelling and creative composers. In residence at the Kaufman Center, Face the Music breaks the boundaries of classical music education and performance. “Beating Down the Doors” brings Face the Music’s youthful energy to works by five living composers. The centerpiece of the concert will be the world premiere of Liquid Timepieces by composer and PS 321 faculty member Joseph C. Philllips, Jr. commissioned for Face the Music by Simone Dinnerstein and PS 321 Neighborhood Concerts.
Face the Music’s young players will talk to the audience between pieces and take questions at the end of the hour-long concert, making this an excellent opportunity for families with children.
I can attest to that. My eyes are swollen and watery and I’m sneezing a lot. Achoo.
Too Small to Bail
White collar, blue collar, no collar
Make up the unemployed;
Don’t tell Republicans,
They’d only be annoyed.
Saturday, May 1st, from 10 am to 1 PM, run for your neighborhood school with the Brooklyn PTA 5K Run/Walk for Public Schools in Prospect Park (Bartel Pritchard entrance, Prospect Park West & 16th Street).
BrooklynPTA.org and City Councilmember Brad Lander are co-sponsoring the third annual PTA 5K Run for the Schools. Budget cuts in Albany threaten not only after-school enrichment activities but the core programs our children so rely upon in their schools. While it is unfortunate that parents are forced into the role of trying to make up for these shortfalls, this fundraiser is a great way for us to all come together to take action in support of local schools—and it’s good for your health, too!
Participants pay a registration fee ($15/person, or $25/family) and can also raise money through sponsorships. The proceeds are split among the participating schools. You can run as part of a school team, or sign up as an individual and we will assign you to a group.
Last year there were more than 300 participants, with school teams from PS 10, 29, 39, 107, 146, 130, and 261. We hope to have even more this year. We’ll have awards by age group, and for the fastest teacher and principal!
More information & registration is available at http://brooklynpta.org/.
The Young Dads, a very talented, funny duo, have a great schtick. To give you an idea here’s a list of their songs (with comments by the Young Dads):
ooh!: this song features our sexy/grossed-out pop vocal, a pop vocal that we think originally was an amusing satire of late-90s boy-band vocals but has since evolved into a thing that does not occur in nature. the groove on this song is tight.
existential crisis: young uncle david shapiro makes a cameo in this rollicking barbershop meditation on the nightmare of being.
making the pitch: you will be seduced by our hot dance moves and questionable wardrobe choices, unless you are a dude, in which case you will feel threatened in ways that you may not fully understand.
satan wants you to do bad things: thank goodness for that eighteen-month face-training course we took at the sorbonne! in all seriousness, the faces we are making during this song are even more difficult than they look. you’re all like: jesse and micah, that’s not even possible. but it is! anything is possible. go celtics.
pop accountants: this video is an early frontrunner for the “Most Under-Rated Video” award of the 2010 Videos Made By The Young Dads In A Public-Access Studio Awards (the VMBTYDIAPASAs). warning: dangerously sick groove.
i could never eat that: a freshman going to junior prom?! a freshman going to junior prom. please.
To get an even better idea have a look at the videos of them performing the above songs: http://www.youtube.com/theyoungdads
They’ll be at bar 4 tomorrow night at 9PM. 444 Seventh Avenue at 13th Street.
There will be no left turns from Park and Sterling Place onto Flatbush Avenue starting April 15th, part of a traffic calming effort on the street where a young woman, Erinn Phelan was seriously injured in a hit and run accident.
This no left turn policy would not have saved Phelan’s life. Still, it may slow things down on that dangerous thoroughfare and make things a little bit safer.
Surprises on NY Mag’s list of livable neighborhoods: NY Times
We’re #5: NY Shitty
Antony Weiner says Green Street money exists: Gerritsen Beach
Report on Daniel Squadron’s 2nd Community Convention: Pardon Me for Asking
James Cameron to preach green in Ft. Greene: The Local
Grrr. Ditmas Park & Kensington not on NY Mag list: Ditmas Park Blog
Borough Hall’s fancy water fountain returns: McBrooklyn
Lowest census rate in all of NYC: Free Williamsburg