According to the Brooklyn Paper, anti-semitic notes saying “Kill Jews” were strewn on Sixth Avenue in Park Slope. They were found by a woman who brought them to the attention of the 78th precinct. An officer from that precinct turned them over to the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Unit. Here from the BP:

In a stunning display of intolerance, Sixth Avenue in Park Slope was littered with strips of papers reading “KILL JEWS” in capital letters from Fourth to Ninth streets on Wednesday.

Nearly two dozen of the strips were picked up by Karen Guilbert, who had just finished walking her daughter to school.

“It’s so ignorant and hateful,” said Guilbert, who picked up a handful of the same slips back in October. “There are hundreds of kids that walk up and down this street.”

Before she turned the slips over to the police, Guilbert played amateur detective by turning the strips over and piecing them together. All that emerged was that the slips had been cut from a document from a taxi driving school. Yet there were no addresses or phone numbers on the strips that offered any further clues.

“Someone is trying to be a taxi driver,” Guilbert nervously joked. “I sure hope I don’t end up in his car.”

If a child has a learning disability or “special needs” he/she probably has an IEP (Individualized Education Program) at school.

In 2004, the passage of an updated version of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) made parents of kids with special needs key members of their child’s “education team.” Parents now work with the school to develop a plan (or IEP) to insure their kid’s success at school

What is an IEP?

An IEP describes the goals the team sets for a child during the school year, as well as any special support that is needed. As part of this, parents must attend a yearly IEP meeting.  This workshop will help parents communicate calmly and effectively with everyone who has a say in their child’s education.

“On the Same Page: Organizing Documents for an IEP Meeting” is a special workshop this Friday, January 29th from 10 AM until noon for parents.

Presented in collaboration with BCID’s Brooklyn Parent Center, the workshop takes place at District 75 at P77 K 62 Park Place, Brooklyn, NY 11217 (between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue).

Brooklyn Special Needs Consulting is led by professionals with learning disabilities who work for change within the special education system. As adults who have learned to cope with their own disabilities, and with Special Needs children of their own, the BSNC staff knows from personal experience the challenges facing families coping with complicated diagnoses and how parents and service providers can work together toward the common goal of helping the Special Needs child. Their passion is helping both parents and children make their voices heard.

Apparently Hoola Hoop Fitness with Jules Skloot is a very popular class at BAX (Brooklyn Arts Exchange on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope). Extended by popular demand, the class continues on 3 Mondays: February 1, 15, 22  from 6:00 – 7:00 PM.

And there’s a Performance Workshop with the acclaimed Victoria Libertore on Mondays in March on 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 from 7:00 – 9:00 PM.

Explore the BAX website for information about these and other classes including Yoga for Not-For-Profit Employees and Their Friends, Scripts in Progress, and Acting Lab. It’s all part of a special class series for adults.

The Lefferts Gardens Charter School (LGCS) will open in September 2010 serving kindergarten and first grade,  adding a grade per year thereafter.

LGCS is a community-centered elementary school with a unique focus on environmental science. Come hear more at one of their information sessions:

When: SATURDAY Jan. 30th at 11AM
Where: Crown Heigths Library
560 New York Ave. & Maple St.
AND
When: SATURDAY Feb. 6th at 10AM
Where: Flatbush Library
22 Linden Blvd & Flatbush Ave.

There is also a public hearing:

When: WEDNESDAY Feb. 10th at 6PM @ Public Sschool 92
601 Parkside Ave. bet. Bedford and Rogers Aves.

Thursday is home and design day on BB:

All about plaid: Design Sponge

Shopping tour of Williamsburg: Apartment Therapy

She’s the Blogger of Seville for now: Casacara

Garlands of plastic flowers cut from water bottles: Brooklynometry

The best gold cake ever: A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn

This just in from an OTBKB reader:

“My neighbor on 6th Avenue between 1^st and 2^nd street in Park Slope lost her chicken yesterday. It was last seen in my backyard on Tuesday morning before we knew it belonged to someone on the block.  I’m not sure if I am sending this to you to post so we can help her find her chicken or because it’s just funny that she lost her chicken. I can’t tell you how confused I was when I heard and then saw the chicken out my bedroom window.

“Oh yeah, and there is a $20 reward.”

Thanks to Brad Lander for sending out this timely list of community announcements:

CONTRIBUTE TO HAITI RELIEF EFFORTS TONIGHT: I know that so many of you are already involved in many different Haiti relief efforts, but I just wanted to remind you of one opportunity in our community tonight:  a benefit concert at The Bell House featuring Jimmy Fallon, The Walkmen, Ted Leo, and many others.  I will be there, and hope to see you as well. More information at:  http://www.thebellhouseny.com/calendar.php

SIGN UP FOR FREE UNIVERSAL PRE-KINDERGARTEN SEATS: This Friday, January 29, is the deadline to sign up for the city’s free universal pre-Kindergarten program. More than 4,000 UPK seats remain open at public schools, child care centers and community-based organizations and all children who turned four years old between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009, are eligible. Programs can be half-day (two and a half hours, AM or PM) or full-day (six hours and twenty minutes). To find programs with vacancies you can call 311 or click this link to find available programs in Brooklyn : http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/C62FB97C-C0A0-4821-BD9C-4B074184A784/72918/Brooklyn.pdf

HELP A NEIGHBOR IN NEED OF A BONE MARROW MATCH: One of our neighbors, Jennifer Jones Austin (a mother of two children, who has contributed a great deal to our community) has been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.  Her chances of surviving this disease are small unless she undergoes a bone marrow transplant within the next few months. A bone marrow transplant requires a 100% compatible match and unfortunately, Jennifer’s siblings were not a match.  Her best chance of finding a successful match is from a donor of African American or Hispanic descent. She is currently going to the National Bone Marrow Registry to look for such a donor. On Saturday, February 6 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m at 181 Lincoln Place, the National Bone Marrow Registry will be available to sign up potential donors who might be a match for Jennifer or other in-need patients. Even if you aren’t a match for Jennifer, you might be able to help save someone’s life. For more information you can email Lenae: lguarna@aol.com or Jamie:jdmbowen@aol.com. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jennifer and her family.

I am hoping that Councilmember Brad Lander (39th district, which includes parts of Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington, Gowanus and Carroll Gardens) will continue to send out a monthly memo/reflections  to the district.  I for one thinks it’s a great way to stay in touch with the district.

I have been all across our district and back over the last few weeks, stopping by at the first meeting of the year for all three community boards; getting to see the students at New Horizons Middle School on Hoyt Street launch a project to make their school more environmentally friendly; meeting the Bengali community for a celebratory dinner in Kensington; taking part in the Martin Luther King Day of Service at Old First Church in Park Slope; standing with my colleagues Assemblywoman Joan Millman, State Senator Daniel Squadron, and Councilman Steve Levin to protest the cuts to the B75 and B71 buses in Carroll Gardens; attending the opening of the Park Slope Armory; helping get a new beat cop on Church Avenue in Kensington … and of course helping constituents from all across the district as they visit or call our new office, seeking help navigating the often-challenging bureaucracies of our City government.

Continue reading Brad Lander: Reflections on His First 27 Days →

I just heard about something called NY Loves Haiti:

I wanted to let you know about the site, NYlovesHaiti.com, some friends and I launched in response to the tragic events in Haiti.  While we are not medical workers or first responders, we aimed to help make a difference using our skill sets – so we developed the site which lists charities and local events, from hip hop to cocktail parties, being held to benefit Haiti recovery efforts.  We have been floored by the response  and number of people that have attended these events so far and would really appreciate if you would consider posting a short blurb, so that your readers can attend some of these event and perhaps be inspired to hold their own.

An OTBKB reader wrote to me about a fire last night. Anyone know more?

About the fire that was on Carroll St between Henry and Clinton last night- kept the whole block awake and left them without power this morning?  I’d be curious to hear what happened and anxious to hear that no one got hurt!

The Brooklyn Free School, a democratic, free school in Park Slope, just bought a building in Clinton Hill.

According to Brownstoner:

A few weeks ago we reported that Brooklyn Free School had purchased 372 Clinton Avenue, the five-story brownstone that had been on the market for ages. Well, the deal for the 6,500-square-foot property just hit public records, and it turns out that the school shelled out $1.75 million. The building was first listed for $2.5 million in August 2006, according to StreetEasy, and was last asking $1.99 million as of late 2008. The school, which is currently located in the South Slope, says on its website that it is raising money to renovate the building.

Now located located in the South Slope, the school accepts students ages 5 through 15 and there is no set curriculum except the establishment of an “all-inclusive democratic system that runs the school, and the communication of that system to all members of the school.” No grades, no assessments, no homework, at BFS, students are in charge of their education and are trusted to assess themselves and perform any additional work or learning outside of the school that’s in line with their interests.

Last week I reported that Scott Turner, pub quizzer at Rocky Sullivan’s in Red Hook, is moving to Seattle. But he hasn’t left yet. And hopefully he’ll keep sending his “greetings” from the great city of Seattle.

Greetings Pub Quiz Minutiaetistas…

We’re all motivated by simplicities.  Straight-forward declarations of love, joy, excitement, and plans that say, simply, “you’ll dig this.”

“We’re going to Paris!”
“Free pizza for everyone!”
“Bruce Ratner’s giving up!”
“C’mere, big boy…”

…that sort of thing.

Which is why the Obama presidency, thus far, has been a failure.

Everything that seemed clear and obvious when he was stressing HOPE and YES WE CAN.

Now, it’s HOPE FOR MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES MAKING OVER $27,500 BUT LESS THAN $135,000 WITH TWO KIDS WHOSE HEALTH PLANS ARE PROVIDED BY BUT NOT LIMITED TO THEIR EMPLOYERS IN STATES WITH 10% OF THE NATION’S MEDIAN INCOME LEVELS AND WHO ARE ELIGIBLE FOR A NEW $1000 TAX CREDIT ON THEIR RETURN STARTING IN 2014 AT APPROXIMATELY THE SAME JUNCTURE AT WHICH OUR TROOPS WILL BEGIN A PHASED PULL-OUT OF AFGHANISTAN AS LONG AS 30% OF AFGHANI FORCES ARE POSITIONED TO TAKE OVER THE SECURITY CONCERNS IN OVER 50% OF PROVINCES CURRENTLY CONTESTED BY ENEMY COMBATANTS PROVIDED TARP MONIES ARE REPAID AT AN ECONOMY-SPURRING RATE OF RETURN WE CAN!!!

Agendas sure are tricky, in no way easy, and most certainly, not simple.  However, communicating them should be simple. Obama’s inability to pick a message and stick to it is really making a mess of things.

Teddy Roosevelt spoke softly and carried a big stick in the service of imperialism.  FDR formed agencies to provide jobs and build things the country needed, not small tax credits for families that can evaporate a hundred different ways by April 15th.  The recent junk — Reagan’s kill-commies and W’s kill-terrorists initiatives — was clearly laid out, and the giant gears of bureaucracy were retrofitted to grind those plans into reality.

Some will say it’s immature to expect clear, simple directives — that real life is complex and fixing problems doesn’t happen in the snap of a finger.  That’s true.  But just knowing there’s a point to it makes a big difference.

Hmmmmm…

You know what?  This is a all Sherlock comma shit comma no stuff.

Really.

Here’re some other completely obvious things, presented in an orderly bulleted list.

* Bruce Ratner is a turd
* Michael Bloomberg is a wealthier turd than Bruce Ratner
* The Mets haven’t a clue
* Atlantic Yards will disappoint the people who believe in it
* Harold Ford’s kinda hard to pin down
* J-E-T-S
* Coffee is a delicious beverage
* My first ever toy was a Winnie the Pooh bear based on the old A.A. Milne books, not the Disney bear
* I play a Fender guitar with DAYS OF HEAVEN stickered on the back below the year 1916
* Everyone should read The Autobiography of Malcolm X
* Terrence Malick’s new film, Tree of Life, if gonna be spectacular
* Lady Gaga is fun but in possession of a real long shelf life
* The Cincinnati Reds were nicknamed The Big Red Machine because they were the Reds
* Pillow talk can be muffled
* Walnuts are called walnuts because they grow on walls spelled with just one “L”
* I like The Clash
* The Scholastic Book of Lists lists Simple Machines as “incline plane, screw, lever, wheel and axle, pulley and wedge” and Complex Machines as “airplanes, automobiles, cameras, computers, telephones and televisions.”
* Some of the Grateful Dead are
* The U.S. Postal Service’s code for American Samoa is AS
* It’s often fun to say “Jalalabad”
* Brooklyn Brewery still stinks for supporting the Atlantic Yards project
* Many people have seen the film Avatar
* The U.S. Department of Transportation’s new law prohibiting truckers and bus drivers from texting on the road is a very useful
* Apple has a new gadget, a tablet of some sort
* Teenagers seem to like Twilight.  Good for them!
* Port-au-Prince is a frakkin’ mess
* One of the two Mars rovers, Spirit, may never roll again and has shut down to hibernate for the Martian winter.
* Firefly is the greatest television show ever
* For the next two weeks we will hear more sappy crap about what the Saints mean to a still-recovering New Orleans than we can possibly stomach
* The Tickemaster-Live Nation merger will mean concerts will cost more than the car you drive to them
* Randy Newman is the greatest American songwriter of our generation, even if a critic once said he sounds like a frightened water buffalo when he sings
* If you’re rich, you have it made in Michael Bloomberg’s New York — excepting Bernie Madoff, of course

Brought to you by The Feldman family from their weather tower in Park Slope.

Park Slope resident Jenifer Jones Austin is a 42-year-old wife and mother of two children ages 12 and 7 . She has been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Her chances of surviving the disease are slim unless she undergoes a bone marrow transplant.

That’s where you come in.

A bone marrow transplant requires a 100% compatability match. Unfortunately, Jenifer’s siblings were not a match. Her best chance of finding a match is to go to the National Bone Marrow Registry. Her greatest liklihood of success is with a donor of African American or Hispanic descent.

You can help.

On February 6 from 10 AM until 2 PM, you can add your bone marrow to the Registry. Maybe you’ll be a match for Jennifer:

Be the Match on February 6, 2020 from 10 AM until 2 PM. The Berkeley Carroll School. 181 Lincoln Place between 7th & 8th Avenues. Brooklyn, NY 11217

In the New Yorker this week, Ian Frazier in the Talk of the Town covers the scene at Freddy’s Bar in recent weeks. Here are the “key words” the New Yorker posted next to this article online: Freddy Bar & Backroom, Brooklyn, NY, Atlantic Yards, Eminent Domain, Real Estate, Steve de Seve, Homeless Shelters…You get the idea. Here’s an excerpt:

In the windows of Freddy’s Bar & Backroom, a neighborhood place at the corner of Dean Street and Sixth Avenue, in Brooklyn, the neon beer signs hang upside down, as if sending out the international distress signal for bars. Freddy’s Bar & Backroom is indeed in distress, sitting as it does in the “footprint” of the massive, multibillion-dollar Atlantic Yards project, which hopes to turn an odd-shaped patch of land between Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues into a twenty-thousand-seat sports arena, etc. Sipping an ale in a corner booth by the stuffed swordfish, you can almost feel the giant shoe descending from above.

A group made up of Picture the Homeless, FUREE (Families United for Racial and Economic Equality), Fightin’ Freddy’s (patrons of Freddy’s Bar, near the shelter), and City Council member Letitia James, plan to arrest Bruce Ratner on Wednesday, January 27th at 1 PM.

The group say they would like to arrest Ratner “for the moral crime of closing a desperately needed family homeless shelter in the Winter on Martin Luther King’s birthday. We will instead be arresting him to stand trial for allegedly, and possibly admittedly bribing a public official in the State of New York, where such activity is against the law.”

Most importantly, the group’s aim is to get the Pacific Dean Family Homeless Shelter re-opened until Spring. “To this end we intend to see Ratner charged before this coming Friday’s hearing that could give Ratner control of the facility, which he plans to tear down to make a parking lot for the Barclays Center stadium,” says a recent press release.

Close a homeless shelter to make way for parking lot for the Barclay’s Stadium?

That was Forest CIty Ratner’s idea and it’s getting them a tremendous amount of bad press and generating a good deal of community agitation.

To make matters worse, the shelter was closed in the dead of winter, on January 15th, which is Martin Luther King’s actual birthday. Talk about bad timing.

An emergency rally was held the next day at Freddy’s Bar with Crystal Waters, F.U.R.E.E. (Families United for Racial and Economic Equality), Picture the Homeless, the Dean Street Block Association, New York City Council member Tish James, and State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, who pledged to put her body in front of the bulldozers should the shelter be torn down as planned

On Martin Luther King Monday, a vigil was held in front of the day care center to see if Forest City Ratner would reverse its request to close the day care center down.

No response from Ratner was forthcoming. Activists vowed to keep fighting and now they’re going to arrest the man.

Continue reading Wed: Citizen’s Arrest of Bruce Ratner Planned →