Monthly Archives: February 2011

arts and culture

Subway Sleuths After-school Program for Kids on the Autism Spectrum

A friend brought this wonderful after-school program at the New York Transit Museum’s Education Department to my attention. It is for students working at grade levels 4 and 5 who have been diagnosed on the Autism spectrum.

The program begins on February 16th so sign up now. If you are interested email: Lynette.morse@nyct.com

The program uses content about the history of New York City subways to practice and promote social skills, collaboration, and problem solving among participants. Over the course of nine sessions, ten students will learn about various aspects of subways past and present and then work in partnerships to create digital media projects to share their
discoveries.

Here are the details:

— The program runs Wednesdays, February 16 – May 4 (no sessions on Feb. 23, Mar. 16, or Apr. 20) from 3:45 – 5:30 PM.

–Regular attendance is important as each session builds on the previous session

–The program culminates in a student presentation for family and friends on May 4

–All sessions will be held at the New York Transit Museum, located on the corner of Boerum Place and
Schermerhorn Street in downtown Brooklyn

–Depending upon school locations, the Museum may be able to provide bus transportation with a bus
monitor from school to the Museum

–Parents or caregivers are responsible for picking students up from the Transit Museum promptly at 5:30PM.

Who is this program for?

–The program is open to students working at grade levels 4 and 5 who have been diagnosed on the Autism
spectrum.

–There is a suggested fee of $200 for this program. However, the Transit Museum is is committed to providing equal access to this program and no child will be excluded based on ability to pay. In other words: participants may pay according to their financial capability, from $25 to $200.

To read more about the team that put together this wonderful program and to learn how to apply click on read more:

Continue reading Subway Sleuths After-school Program for Kids on the Autism Spectrum →

Civics and Urban Life

March 3: Growing a Business in Park Slope

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The Park Slope Civic Council invites you to meet with and learn from leaders and experienced members of the local economy at the Park Slope Civic Council’s 2011 community forum, which will explore “Growing a Business in Park Slope: Connecting, Supporting, and Inspiring Our Local Entrepreneurs.”

I am going to be a presenter along with a host of others. Storefront, studio, and freelance operation owners of all businesses at all levels will benefit from this forum. This will be a great opportunity to network and build connections within the Park Slope business community.

Scheduled topics of discussion include “The Nuts and Bolts of Business,” “Social Media,” “Thinking Outside the Real Estate Box,” “Turning Passion into Profit,” and “The Past and Future of Park Slope Business.”

The forum is free and open to the public; seating is limited. To register or get updates about the event, e-mail: forum2011@parkslopeciviccouncil.org. If registering, please let us know what type of business you’re in or would like to start, and what you hope to learn at the forum.

Updates will be regularly posted at: www.parkslopeciviccouncil.org/growing-business. The event is sponsored by the Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID, the Park Slope Chamber of Commerce, and Warren Lewis Realty.

WHAT:            “Growing a Business in Park Slope: Connecting, Supporting, and Inspiring Our Local Entrepreneurs,” the Park Slope Civic Council’s annual community forum.

WHEN:             Thursday, March 3, 2011, at 7:00 p.m.

WHERE:          The Montauk Club, 25 Eighth Avenue (at Lincoln Place).

The following presenters are scheduled to appear:
·       “The Nuts and Bolts of Business”: Nancy Carin, Executive Director, Business Outreach Center (BOC) Network
·       “Social Media”: Mark Caserta, President, M2C Consulting/Main Street Complete; Denis Hurley, Founder and President, Mobile Meteor; Brent Langerman, web designer, mimoYmima; and Louise Crawford, Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn
·       “Thinking Outside of the Real Estate Box”: Naomi Hersson-Ringskog, Executive Director, No Longer Empty; and Neil Carlson, Co-Founder, Brooklyn Creative League
·       “Turning Passion into Profit”: Dylan Goelz, Manager of Public Outreach, Roadify; Amy Yang, Founder and Teacher, Brooklyn Design Lab; and Nicole Davis, Publisher, Brooklyn Based
·       “The Past and Future of Park Slope Business”: Irene LoRe, Executive Director, the Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID, and owner-operator of Aunt Suzie’s Restaurant

arts and culture

A Dog Named Stanley: Part 3

Hepcat, OSFO and I stood on Seventh Avenue in front of Animal Kind and contemplated whether we should adopt Roscoe (who we later named Stanley). A couple stood nearby waiting for us to make a decision.

“We have the same kind of dog at home,” the woman said. “We’re thinking of getting another.”

“The dog we have is perfect. A perfect dog. He could use a companion,” the man said.

The pressure was on. Someone else wanted the dog. I looked at OSFO. That was a no-brainer: of course she wanted the dog. I looked at Hepcat: it was obvious that he was falling for little Roscoe.

And me?

Despite the fact that I’d never owned a dog in my life. Despite the fact that we’re not allowed to have dogs in our apartment building (a fact that worried me a great deal). Despite the fact that owning a dog meant a world of unknowns, I found myself wanting to share our home with this adorable little dog.

Who could blame me? He stared up me with these dark, gorgeous searching eyes. He and OSFO looked so cute together. Hepcat, who had dogs as a child (and grew up on a farm with cows and goats and cats and even a pet crow) was all goo goo eyes for the little pup (who, it turned out, was 2-years-old).

“We’ll take him,” I said to Charlie, who runs Sean Casey Animal Rescue.

“Great,” he said. “You just need to fill out a few forms…”

To be continued…


Civics and Urban Life

Bklyn Bloggage: neighborhoods

Truck wedged under Sheepshead Bay Station: Sheepshead Bites

Parents fight New American Academy: Gerritsen Beach

A PSA from the Dept. of Sanitation: NY Shitty

Alliance between artists and church: Bushwick BK

Farmers not left out in the cold: The Local

Dumbo construction update: Dumbo NYC

Worst apartment in Park Slope: Effed in Park Slope

Tire slashings around Carroll Park: Pardon Me for Asking

Munson diner coming to Park Slope: Here’s Park Slope

arts and culture

OTBKB: Harper Blynn Early Show Tonight; Video from Lelia Broussard

Harper Blynn is a four piece band featuring high energy pop rock, lots of  hooks and good harmonies.  The band is playing a very early show tonight at the Lower East Side’s Mercury Lounge.  How early?  They go on at 7pm sharp!  So if you don’t go out on school nights because you can’t get home late, this is the show for you.  See further details at Now I’ve Heard Everything by clicking here.

On the heels of her recent residency at The Rockwood Music Hall, Lelia Broussard has released a video for Satellite, a song from her latest album, Masquerade.  It’s catchy, has a great hook and it’s just plain fun.  Click here to see it.

–Eliot Wagner

Food and Drink

PS Brooklyn Opening Friday

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It’s there for all to see: PS Brooklyn, the cute name (and double entrendre) of the new restaurant in what was the Bussaco space on Union Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Park Slope, is etched on the door.

The new eatery will serve American comfort fare like burgers, pizza and that sort of thing. According to Brownstoner, a pizza oven has been installed.

The challenge of that location is that it’s off the Avenue. That said, Union Street is a major “side” street and there’s loads of pedestrian traffic because of all the stores over there including, Food Co-op, Ellie Herman, yoga classes, and, of course, the Tea Lounge.

Quite a few good restaurants have occupied that space  (Lentos, Bussaco, and others) and it’s a lovely, large interior space.

The PS Brooklyn decor space looks very attractive. Bright white walls with  blue accents, nice light fixtures, black tables and chairs. PS Brooklyn  is set to open on Friday. See you there.

Civics and Urban Life

Bike Lane Controversy Getting Litigious

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Some people really don’t like the Prospect Park Bike Lane. How much don’t they like the bike lane? They’re suing to have it removed.

That’s right.

And what a group of Brooklyn civic heavyweights. Says Andrea Bernstein at WNYC:

Iris Weinshall, the former city transportation commissioner and wife of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. A dean at Brooklyn College. Norman Steisel, the former deputy mayor under Edward Koch and David Dinkins. And the other former deputy mayor, Randy Mastro (under Rudolph Giuliani) who introduced the group to a colleague at his high-powered law firm, Gibson, Dunn, and Crutcher. And what is all this former government firepower being assembled to do? Remove a bike lane on Prospect Park West in Brooklyn.

And what is it that this high-octane group has against the bike lane. Well, they say it:

–causes congestion.

–changes the lovely, historic character of PPW.

–poses danger to pedestrians

Brooklyn’s Borough President is dead set against the bike lane and makes his opinion known at every opportunity.

In a report released last month by the Department of Transportation, studies show that the bike lane has decreased speeding and increased pedestrian safety. That it’s a win-win for public safety and quality of life.

Clearly others disagree. Indeed, this controversy is pitting neighbor against neighbor and civic groups against politicians. It’s a hot button issue. The bike vs. the mighty automobile.

Where do you stand???

Civics and Urban Life

Free Valentine’s Day Concert with Amy Burton & John Musto

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I can’t imagine a better way to spend Valentine’s Day.

On February 14 at 8PM, acclaimed vocalist Amy Burton and her husband, award-winning composer John Musto will perform a free Valentine’s Day concert at the Mannes College the New School for Music. in Manhattan (150 West 85th Street, between Amsterdam and Columbus, 2nd Floor Concert Hall).

The duo will perform songs  of love from Mozart to Guastavino and Poulenc, Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hart, and of course, John Musto.

Amy Burton is one of New York’s most talented singers, at the Metropolitan Opera from 1993 to the present, and as one of New York City Opera’s leading sopranos in over a dozen productions.  From her New York debut recital at the 92nd Street Y in 1997 to her appearances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Festival, The Great Performer Series at the Miller Theater, Mostly Mozart Festival, The Morgan Library, The Brooklyn Philarmonic, New York City Ballet, New York Festival of Song, L’Opéra Français de New York, and her many appearances at the city’s most prestigious concert halls, Amy Burton is a vital part of New York’s cultural scene.

A busy composer of operas, John Musto is considered a master of the concert song, both as composer and as a performer at the piano. His playing is featured in song recitals (often with Burton), chamber music, concertos, and solo works. His interpretations of his own music and that of other composers are rivaled by his extraordinary gifts as an improviser. He has served as composer-in-residence at the Mannes College.

arts and culture, Civics and Urban Life

A Dog Named Stanley Part 2

We met Roscoe on the big truck, along with a host of other dogs at the Sean Casey Animal Rescue adoption event. There was a whole lot of yapping and barking and children (and adults) oohing and ahhing at the multitude of small beasts.

“Is Roscoe here?” OSFO asked.

Sure enough, we found him in one of many cages. And there he was: the dog we would come to cherish. The dog we would rename: Stanley.

The three of us took little Roscoe for a walk. OSFO looked perfectly happy with the  little white dog on a leash. As we walked I ran through all the reasons NOT get a dog. My heart pulsed in anxiety. Should we, shouldn’t we, should we, shouldn’t we?

First and foremost, no pets are allowed in our apartment building.

Yes, folks, that’s a big one for the negative list but hope springs eternal when your daughter has whined and pined for a puppy since she could speak. I knew that a dog would make OSFO unspeakably happy.

Besides, I thought there was, sort of, a  “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” pet policy in our building (or Don’t Ask, Don’t Bark). Tenants have had cats, lizards, gerbils, rabbits, fish and more over the years. Certainly, nobody would make a fuss about such a cute little terrier.

Like I said, hope springs eternal.

Back to our walk, I thought of all the positives: a puppy for OSFO (check), the love and companionship of a dog (check). Just as quickly the negatives popped into my mind: walking a dog three, maybe four times a day. Somehow I knew that the responsibility would fall to me and I’d spend my life nagging OSFO and Hepcat to walk the dog. I’d already been warned by my friend, an experienced dog owner, that kids rarely walk the dog in a sustained, responsible fashion.

I had other concerns, too: What if he’s ill-behaved? What if he’s not house trained? What if he barks? What if, what if?

I’ve never owned a dog in my life and it was a world of unknowns to me. But OSFO and Hepcat were already bonding with little Roscoe on our walk back to the Sean Casey Animal Rescue adoption event.

To be continued…

arts and culture

OTBKB’s Weekend List: Feb 5-6

Let’s hear it for the weekend! TGI-Saturday and all that. HOT TIP: The Lenny Bruce show at St. Ann’s Warehouse is amazing. I saw the 90-minute verbatim “impersonation” of his Feb 4th 1961 Carnegie Hall midnight show last night. It’s like seeing history live.

Or how about Marketa Irglova (of Swell Season fame) playing with Aida Shahghasemi at Zora Space. I didn’t even bother listing Neko Case at The Bell House on Sunday night YES! “This Tornado Loves You” at the The Bell House). because it’s sold out. But there’s plenty of other things to do. Click on read more for all the essential details.

Continue reading OTBKB’s Weekend List: Feb 5-6 →

arts and culture

OTBKB Music: Sister Sparrow and Aaron Lee Tasjan

The wonderfully brassy, both in terms of instrumentation (the band has four horns) and personality (of lead singer Arleigh Kincheloe), Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds packs them in where ever they play and then gets everyone up and dancing.    And their self-titled record released this past November was one of Now I’ve Heard Everything Best Albums of 2010.  For the details about their show tonight and a brand new video of their song, Guns,  click here.

Wednesday night began the February Rockwood Music Hall residency for Brooklyn’s Aaron Lee Tasjan, one of the hardest rocking up and coming musicians I’ve seen.  While we wait to see if there are any videos posted from his show, click here for a video from a few months back from Aaron.

–Eliot Wagner

arts and culture, Civics and Urban Life

Pavilion Theater is a Mess

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My sister went to see The Fighter last Saturday night at the Park Slope Pavilion on Prospect Park West and she told me that there was a sign on the door of the screening room that said there was no heat inside.

“I had to wear my coat through the whole movie,” she complained.

And that’s just the half of it. With rumors of a bed bug infestation, broken seats, broken seats and more broken seats, the theater is a shadow of the theater it was when it opened up many years ago.

Remember when there was that lovely cafe on the second floor? History. All history.

According to Park Slope Patch, two managers of the theater recently sent an email to Park Slope Parents apologizing for the hideous condition of the theater. The employees have repeatedly asked management to clean things up.

Four years ago the theater was bought by Cinedigm as a place a to test out their high end digital projectors. The managers say the problems are at the corporate level and that there’s not much they can do to improve the situation there.

Here is an excerpt from the letter the managers sent to Park Slope Parents:

Let us begin by sincerely apologizing for the current state of the Pavilion Theater—specifically for the broken seats and the heating problems. This theater holds a special place in our hearts and it pains us every day to see how much it has deteriorated. We, the other managers and the rest of the staff are not oblivious to the apparent problems; rather, we are bombarded by them every day. Unfortunately, until our parent company approves our budget proposals, we are entirely powerless to make lasting improvements. We know that the community wants this theater to be better than it is. We couldn’t agree more. We are both Park Slope residents and this is our neighborhood theater as well, but until our parent company takes action, we are simply confined to our own limitations. It is our job as managers to take responsibility for the physical state of the theater and the performances of our staff. While we maintain the day to day operations of this theater, we can only hope we are given the assistance to fix the bigger problems at hand. We still think this is a great place to see a movie in Brooklyn, but nothing would make us happier than to see this theater improve.

It’s a bold move for the  managers to apologize to the neighborhood. Clearly, they are frustrated by the situation, too, and are being “bombarded” with complaints. In the letter they also attempt to dispel the bed bug rumors.

Regarding bed bug rumors—there is no evidence that we have bed bugs at the Pavilion. However, being a public place and being a movie theater in New York City in particular, there is always a risk of getting bed bugs. That is why we have routine checks and treatments as suggested by the extermination company. It is a major concern, and if bed bugs were ever to be discovered in the theater, we would not sit idly by. The theater would temporarily close while we rectify the situation.

arts and culture

OTBKB’s Weekend List: Feb 4-6!

Hey, it’s Friday and the weekend is hovering. Time to make some plans. Time to get out there and have some FUN! Like, how about Marketa Irglova (of Swell Season fame) playing with Aida Shahghasemi at Zora Space. I didn’t even bother listing Neko Case at The Bell House on Sunday night YES! “This Tornado Loves You” at the The Bell House). because it’s sold out. But there’s plenty of other things to do. Click on read more for all the essential details.

Continue reading OTBKB’s Weekend List: Feb 4-6! →

arts and culture

Parent’s Anniversary

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I always post this piece on February 3rd. It was originally published on February 3, 2005 on my old blog, Third Street (which was the original OTBKB).

Today is the anniversary of Smartmom’s parents. February 3rd. The date is etched in her mind. She and her sister would go to the same gift shop year after year to buy their anniversary gift. West Town House smelled of bath soap and sachet. It was just a block and a half from their Riverside Drive apartment. They’d browse for an hour or more. With only a few dollars folded in their small hands, they’d find something to buy: maybe a stone paperweight or a letter opener, which the owner would gift wrap in green paper and a black ribbon bow.

Smartom’s parents aren’t married anymore. They’ve been separated since 1976. But February 3rd still stops her short. And while they’ve been separated for longer than they were together, February 3rd means only one thing: the beginning of something that later came to an end.

Manhattan Granny showed OSFO her wedding album a few weeks ago. A large, white, leather-bound book, the black and white photographs present Smartmom’s parents on their ceremonial day. In a simple and elegant, calf-length gown, Groovy Grandma looks like Audrey Hepburn; her hair is close-cropped like Hepburn’s too.

Groovy Grandpa, with no trace of the beard that would later define him, looks pleased with himself and his bride. Their parents gather around them – mythical parents, they are all dead now. They look happy for this union, for this coming together.

Later, OSFO said, “Grandma doesn’t look like herself,” Maybe she didn’t recognize her 78-year old grandmother as a beautiful young bride. Maybe she was surprised to see her grandparents together; she’s never seen them that way. It probably seemed strange; a little out of whack.

Continue reading Parent’s Anniversary →

Civics and Urban Life

Dr. Amy Glaser: Pediatrics for Adolescents

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The big news a few months ago was the split between two partner pediatricians in Park Slope  (Drs. Glaser and Gordon). Here Dr. Glaser describes her new Only Adolescents practice from my article in Park Slope Patch. While still a pediatrician,  she’s now offering special care for adolescents ages 13-22 two afternoons a week.

Dr. Glaser will be writing a weekly column on adolescent health care issues on OTBKB starting in the coming weeks.

Park Slope may be known for its stroller gridlock, but what happens when those babies become teenagers and have special health care needs?

One of Park Slope’s most popular pediatricians, Dr. Amy Glaser, is attaching a new shingle to her Eighth Avenue office.

“Only Adolescents” is the name of her recently opened, part-time practice for, well, only adolescents age 13-22.  “I believe that this will reinforce the needs of young adults for privacy and confidentiality, creating a new, closer and more productive patient-doctor relationship.” Dr. Glaser told me over coffee at Cousin John’s.

With a fellowship in adolescent medicine, many years experience as a local pediatrician and master diagnostician, and two adolescents of her own, Dr. Glaser, who recently split with her longtime business partner, Dr. Philippa Gorden, is uniquely suited for the job.

Over the years, Dr. Glaser has worked with adolescents at The Door, the Elmhurst Adolescent Clinic, Barnard Health Service, Soho Adolescents and El Puente and has long worried that adolescents fall through the cracks between pediatric care and adult medicine.

“With teenagers, there’s often a hidden agenda,” she said. “A teenager complaining of a stomach ache may really want to be measured to see if his growth spurt has finally come. A teenager who needs help for his or her pregnant ‘friend’ may seek the wrong pathways without easy access to the right ones.”

Continue reading Dr. Amy Glaser: Pediatrics for Adolescents →

arts and culture

The Last Line: strout

“”All gone,” she said. He kissed her cheek, and put her head against his neck. And everything seemed remarkable, the familiar scent of his child, the snarl in the back of her hair, the quiet house, the bare birch trunks, the snow on his face. Remarkable.”

From Abide with Me by Elizabeth Strout

Civics and Urban Life

Jonathan Schell: If the world has a heart, it beats now for Egypt

From Jonathan Schell in the Nation

If the world has a heart, it beats now for Egypt. Not of course, the Egypt of President Hosni Mubarak—of the rigged elections, the censored press, the axed Internet, the black-clad security police and the tanks and the torture chambers—but the Egypt of the intrepid ordinary citizens who, almost entirely unarmed, with little more than their physical presence in the streets and their prayers, are defying this whole apparatus of intimidation and violence in the name of justice and freedom. Their courage and sacrifice give new life to the spirit of the nonviolent, democratic resistance to dictatorship symbolized by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. That event in fact symbolized a longer wave of revolutions that, spreading like a brushfire, swept dozens of dictators out of power, from the Philippines in 1986 to Poland in 1989, through to the early twenty-first century. But that global contagion had seemed to be flagging recently. Now, dictators all over the world are on their guard again. In Saudi Arabia, the monarchy is looking over its shoulder. Yemen is on notice. In China, the word “Egypt” has been censored from the Internet: the Egyptian autocrats removed the Internet from Egypt; the Chinese autocrats removed Egypt from the Internet.

Civics and Urban Life

EPA: Gowanus Is Not Healthy for Children and Other Living Things

You already knew it.

All you have to do is smell the Gowanus or stare at its water to know that it’s toxic beyond belief. But today the Environmental Protection Agency confirmed that the local waterway is rife with cancer-causing chemicals and toxins that are unhealthy to children and other living things.

The report released today is the first part of a federal investigation into what makes the canal so toxic, which will be followed by a $500-million clean-up of the canal.

They don’t call it a Superfund site for nothing.

According to the report: “The contamination … is widespread and may threaten people’s health, particularly if they eat fish or crabs from the canal or have repeated contact with the canal water or sediment,” EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck said today.

The three hot spots of contamination are: Metropolitan Works, at 12th Street and the canal; Fulton Municipal Works, at Degraw Street and Third Avenue; and Citizens Gas Company, at Smith and Fifth streets.

The EPA will hold a public meeting to present and discuss the findings of the remedial investigation on February 23 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at PS 32 at 317 Hoyt Street in Brooklyn, New York.

You can view the report at www.epa.gov or in person. You can also see it at the Carroll Gardens Library.