Husband and I stopped into the Brooklyn Lyceum last night to have a snack at Schnack: Express. And boy are we glad we did.

Schnack: Express is a casual hamburger and hot dog eatery in the lobby of the Lyceum.  It is the second outpost of a popular Red Hook snack joint. They serve delicious mini-hamburgers, Angus hot dogs, sandwiches, fries and onion rings. They also have vegan offerings.

My delicious mini-hamburger was made of quality ground meat with great seasonings. Husband ate his angus dog very quickly without offering a bite. That usually means that he’s eating something really good.

The owner of the Lyceum, Eric Richmond, was sitting at the box office table in the lobby. I introduced myself to him by saying, "I believe I owe you an apology for what appeared in my blog." To which he replied: "Oh, YOU’RE the evil blogger." He then laughed and I knew that he was open to having a discussion.

I apologized for writing that the Lyceum is underutilzed. One look at their web site reveals just how much has been going on there. In fact, 100,000 people have attended theater, film and musical events in the last five years.

I asked Richmond why the perception of the Lyceum is so skewed. "Locals in Park Slope don’t pay attention to what’s going on here." I wondered if that has something to do with the Fourth Avenue location. But Richmond thinks it’s something more. In his comment to OTBKB last month he wrote this:

The tough marketing-phobic skin that Park Slopers have precludes many different experiences. A friend of mine nailed it several years ago when we were discussing the difference betwen New york and Chicago. Chicago is a theater town, New York is a fashion town. paraphrased, Chicagoans enjoy the hunt for art, New Yorkers refuse to hunt. That is changing as New York is invaded with the rest of America…

Reviews and listings in the Times, New York Magazine, Time Out New York the Voice and the New Yorker and others have completely passed beyond your view. more likely is that without a million dollar ad capaign to search you out you are completely unable to navigate culture at the sub-broadway, non bar-band levels.

I always find it humorous when I get European tourists who visit because they have seen footage of it on the BBC.

With my series Brooklyn Reading Works, I know first-hand how difficult it is to get Park Slopers to attend cultural events – even if they want to. Jobs, children, dinner, homework, bedtime, lack of childcare makes it hard for people to break out of their daily routines to go out on a weeknight or even on a weekend.

When they do go out they’re usually glad they did feeling renewed and replenished with the experience of art. But getting them to actually do it is hard.

I suspect that as more singles and marrieds-without-children move into the neighborhood the local cultural organziations will enjoy greater attendance. As Brooklyn becomes more of a destination, the pull of Manhattan culture will weaken as Brooklynites recognize the cutting edge activities in their midst.

Living next door to one of the cultural capitals of the world, is hard on any arts group in the boroughs. And yet, Brooklyn offers it’s own brand of quality, cutting edge art – it is as valid and interesting as anything in Manhattan. Just look at Barbes, the Lyceum, Issue Projects Room and The Old Stone House.

About the garbage situation that was alluded to on the blog, Richmond said with some exasperation: "There is only 1 garbage pail on Fourth Avenue between Union and President. I call the Department of Sanitation to complain and they bring 3 more. Then local construction workers dump construction garbage in the pails and make a mess. The Sanitation guys get mad and they take the 3 pails away…"

It’s hard and sometimes thankless work being a community arts organizer. And Richmod deserves the support of his neighbors. I don’t know Richmond at all, but he seems to be going out on a limb to bring vital arts programming to his architectural treasure on Fourth Avenue. With the support of this community, the Lyceum will hopefully continue to thrive. Have a snack at Schnack: Express, check out the Lyceum schedule, and have a look around.

Schnack: Express is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and 5 p.m. until mid-night. Saturday and Sunday it is open from 10 a.m until mid-night.

FYI: On Friday night December 2nd, there will be a Hurricane Katrina benefit and concert at the Brooklyn Lyceum,  featuring Cool and Unusual Punishment and other local teen bands including StunGun, Francesca Perlov and Blue House, among others. It should be a great event and a great way for locals to see what’s going on there.