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arts and culture

So Much To Do in September in Brooklyn

September: There’s a presidential campaign (are you going to Ohio or Pennsylvania?), the kids go back to school, the adults get serious at work and there’s so much in the way of cultural events in Brooklyn…

Next weekend is GO Brooklyn Art: An event sponsored by the Brooklyn Museum, nearly 2000 Brooklyn-based artists are opening their studios to the community on September 8–9, 2012, from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm. 80 artists in Park Slope will be opening their studios,  including my husband Hugh Crawford, Simon Dinnerstein, Bernette Rudolph, Jonathan Blum and many more. Check the Go website for information and addresses. 

Two Moon Art House and Cafe, located on Fourth Avenue between 3rd and 2nd Streets, is a good starting place for visitors to Gowanus and Park Slope studios. If you start your tour there you will get maps, advice, and all the information you need. Community members registered as voters will visit studios and nominate artists for inclusion in a group exhibition to open at the Brooklyn Museum on Target First Saturday, December 1, 2012.

September 17-22: Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend Events are literary themed events taking place in clubs, parks, bookstores, theatres and libraries culminating with the festival. The Bookends kick-off a long literary weekend with film screenings, parties, literary games and author appearances. For full schedule go here. 

September 20: Brooklyn Reading Works Presents Young Writers Night at The Old Stone House (a Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend Event). Curated by Hannah Frishberg, introduced by Brooklyn Poet Laureate Tina Chang. Free copies of One Teen Story to all participants.

September 23: Brooklyn Book Festival, the largest literary gathering in NYC, an open air marketplace with lots of readings, panel discussions and book signings.

 

Civics and Urban Life

Dizzy’s Worker in Stable Condition at Kings County Hospital

It was sad news Saturday morning to hear that a worker at Dizzy’s, a popular diner-style restaurant in Park Slope, was stabbed outside of the eatery on Eighth Avenue and 9th Street at 2:19AM. The restaurant was closed on Saturday but reopened Sunday for the brunch crowd.

According to news reports, the 41-year-old’s arms, chest and back were punctured by a knife and he was taken to Kings County Hospital. The victim is reportedly in stable condition.

A manager at the restaurant, Catherine Zeppelin, told the Daily News: “Our prayers are with our co-worker, as is the whole neighborhood’s.”

Photo from Park Slope Stoop. 

 

 

 

arts and culture

Season Finale of Breaking Bad at Park Slope’s The Gate

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We arrived early at The Gate to nab a seat to watch the season finale of Breaking Bad. It was the eighth Sunday of watching Breaking Bad with a crowd of mostly young, mostly male locals.

When Hugh and I got there, the room was noisy and crowded and the  TV was tuned to the baseball game. Luckily we managed to find a seat near the door. Someone sitting next to me, a newbie to the Gate’s Breaking Bad watching experience, asked if the place would really quiet down when the show came on. I assured him it would.

At the start of the show at 10PM on the nose, the room went from noisy to hushed in an instant, as the crowd lifted their heads to the two television screens above the bar.

During the first commercial break everyone stayed hushed because AMC showed a trailer for Bryan Cranston’s new movie, Argo, directed by Ben Affleck and starring Cranston and George Clooney.

Last night’s show was mind-blowingly violent and dramatic and, of course, it ended on a cliff hanger that will obsess Breaking Badiacs for an entire year. That is, until the final eight episodes run next summer.

Leave it to Breaking Bad to end the season with Hank, the show’s beloved DEA detective (and Walt’s brother-in-law), sitting on the toilet reading a copy of Leaves of Grass. 

That’s when he has the inevitable “ah ha” moment we’ve been waiting four seasons for. During season five, we’ve watched Walt become nihilistic and evil. Nothing seems to faze him. He’s robbed a train, he’s killed people, he’s been unspeakably cruel to Jesse. Most tellingly, he sat by while an assistant murdered an innocent child.

During the last eight weeks, it was fun and interesting to watch with the Gate crowd. I enjoyed the spontaneous reactions to the show’s most shocking moments:  the gasps, the laughs, the oohs, the Oh Shits, and the head shaking. I learned that the crowd loves Mike, hates, Skylar, currently despises Walt, and has a soft spot for Jesse and Hank.

Thanks to the Gate’s bartenders and owner for making it the pop culture epicenter of the Slope every Sunday night. Rumor has it that they will be showing the entire series, season 1-4, one episode every Sunday night at 10PM

I think it’s a great idea. I will get a confirmation on this and let you know.

 

arts and culture

Caribbean American Parade Today

Starting at 11AM today, the Caribbean American Parade marches, dances and gallavants down Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway. This West Indian carnival, complete with marching bands, steel drum music, colorful costumes and huge feather headdresses celebrates the history, culture, music and food of the West Indies.

Expect big crowds. The event is attended by as many as two million people, and is always loud and noisy. All are welcome to join! It’s a Labor Day tradition in Brooklyn one of the city’s most popular parades.

arts and culture

What Are the Chances? by Liz Starin: Tin Can Phone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You figure that if you really wanted to see them, or they you, someone would have made contact by now.

I was feeling quiet that day, so I didn’t say hi. No matter; I’m sure I’ll see her soon.

To see the others panels in this series by Liz Starin:

http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/08/27/what-are-the-chances-by-liz-starin-an-illustrated-serial/

http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/08/28/what-are-the-chances-by-liz-starin-swimmers/

http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/08/29/what-are-the-chances-by-liz-starin-street-corner/

http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/08/30/what-are-the-chances-by-liz-starin-flowers/

http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/08/31/what-are-the-chances-by-liz-starin-around-the-world/

Liz Starin is an illustrator based in Brooklyn. She doesn’t believe in fate, but she does believe in probability. You can see more of her work at lizstarin.com. 

Civics and Urban Life

Disturbing and Senseless Brutality in North Park Slope

An OTBKB reader just sent word of a very upsetting and violent incident that occurred last week in the north Slope.

On Thursday, Aug 22 at around 11PM, a man was standing on Berkeley Place between 7th and 8th avenues. He was on his iPhone when two women in their late teens approached him and asked him where Central Park was.

As he was telling them that they had the wrong borough, he was jumped from behind by two to three men (late teens, early 20s). He got beaten up very got beaten up very badly and had to go to the emergency room.

Luckily he’s slowly recovering and doing well.

What is most significant about this attack and why it is important to notify others is that it was clearly not a robbery since his wallet and iPhone were not taken nor was it a hate crime assault (the victim was gay) since they didn’t say anything when assaulting him.

She writes: “A couple of my friends suggested that it could have been a gang hazing. Not sure if knowing that it had been a mugging or a gay bashing would have helped my friend, our friends and me feel better about the incident since it could be explained but the fact that it appeared to be just some senseless brutality (with at least four perpetrators involved) is very disturbing.

“Have you heard of incidents of this kind? My friends have all lived in Park Slope for 15+ years and have never encountered this. If it is gang related I’m wondering if certain neighborhoods are being targeted for this kind of activity? I hope that this was just an isolated incident.”

As do I. What a disgusting incident. I am so glad to hear that the victim is doing well.

arts and culture

Breaking Bad Birthday Card: Spell Out Age in Bacon

My husband made me this Breaking Bad birthday card spelling out my age in bacon. I won’t spoil anything if I tell you that Skylar spelled out Walt’s age on a pancake on his 51st birthday a few episodes ago. That was significant because it confirmed that the timeline of the show has been exactly one year since it started four seasons ago.

Hugh will make you or your special someone a Breaking Bad birthday card. For a small fee, of course. Let us know if you want one.

arts and culture

Sleepwalk With Me, a Park Slope Story at BAM

Playing at BAM, Sleepwalk With Me, is an autobiographical film that was an audience favorite at Sundance and SXSW. It stars Mike Birbiglia, who plays a bartender at a Park Slope comedy club. He moves in with his girlfriend and struggles with relationship issues and career issues.

He also sleepwalks and acts out his dreams. At one point he throws himself out a second story window while asleep.

“Both earnest and surreal, this bitterwseet ciné-memoir won an audience award at Sundance and was a selection at SXSW. Features appearances by comics Kristen Schaal, David Wain, Marc Maron, Wyatt Cenac, Carol Kane and more…

Civics and Urban Life

Not Too Much Subway Mishigas This Weekend

There doesn’t seem to be too much subway mishigas this weekend. Translation: mishigas, a Yiddish term, roughly means Insanity or craziness.

I usually check for “service advisories” for the 2/3 lines on the weekends because I always go to the Upper West Side on Sundays to visit my mom to have a nosh and to kibbitz. Those lines seem to be running “normal” this weekend. Phew.

As usual, the F and G train will skip Smith-9th St. all times until fall 2012. Aren’t you getting sick of hearing that announcement?

Manhattan-bound A trains run via the F from Jay St-MetroTech to W 4 St.

Manhattan-bound B trains run local from Sheepshead Bay to Prospect Park.

Coney Island-bound D trains run express from Grand St, Manhattan to 36th St, Brooklyn.

Coney Island-bound Q trains run express from Prospect Park to Sheepshead Bay.

Coney Island-bound Q trains run via the R from Canal St to DeKalb Av.

 Thanks to Park Slope Patch for this information

 

arts and culture

What Are the Chances? by Liz Starin: Around the World

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One time, though, after I’d been dreaming about an old crush, I actually did bump into him at the train station, and we ended up dating for a few months. …It was terrible.

With Facebook, you don’t wonder about people so much anymore. You know who has two kids, and who got transferred to London, and who’s forgone marriage and career for a life of mountaineering.

Liz Starin is an illustrator based in Brooklyn. She doesn’t believe in fate, but she does believe in probability. You can see more of her work at lizstarin.com.

To see the others in this series thus far:

http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/08/27/what-are-the-chances-by-liz-starin-an-illustrated-serial/

http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/08/28/what-are-the-chances-by-liz-starin-swimmers/

http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/08/29/what-are-the-chances-by-liz-starin-street-corner/

http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/08/30/what-are-the-chances-by-liz-starin-flowers/

Civics and Urban Life

Park Slope Branch of Public Library to Reopen in September

The Park Slope branch of the Brooklyn Public library will finally reopen—after being closed since October, 2009—on September 13th, 2012.

Great news.

The building was closed while undergoing the following renovations:

–Installation of a new exterior, American Disability Act(ADA)-compliant ramp and entry door

–Replacement of the existing entrance door

–Installation of a new interior, ADA-compliant elevator

–Provision of new ADA-compliant bathrooms

–New floor finishes

–New interior finishes

–HVAC upgrades

–New lighting

–New public service model including self checks

–New furniture

Park Slope will have a library again. Can’t wait to see all the restoration that they’ve done. For those who don’t know, the library is located on Sixth Avenue between 9th and 8th Street.

It is, I might add, a lovely little library.

Civics and Urban Life

Spraying for West Nile on Central Park West (is Bklyn Next?)

A report from Anne-Katrin Titze:

“Two additional human cases for Manhattan posted by the Department of Health. Cases of West Nile Encephalitis or Meningitis, or Acute Flaccid Paralysis (severe muscle weakness associated with West Nile virus infection).

“Did you know, the Department of Health is spraying Central Park for West Nile Virus? I predict, Prospect Park and the adjacent neighborhoods, coming soon to a spraying.

“Very little action taking place to eliminate stagnant mosquito breeding pools in Prospect Park. The double standard for our urban parks regarding following Department of Health rules and regulations (“Therefore we are encouraging City residents and business owners to take immediate action to eliminate standing water on their property.”) is alarming. West Nile Virus detected week after week in the neighborhoods adjacent to our parks, with no notification to park visitors, i.e. Prospect Park.”

“As you can see, my concerns are/were justified. If many more confirmed cases come this year, it would not surprise me.

BIO:
Anne-Katrin Titze lives in Brooklyn. She is a lecturer of fiction, film, fashion, and fairy tales. She curates film and theatre events, conversations with filmmakers, and panel discussions at Universities and various cultural venues on topics ranging from The Cinema of the 40s in Hollywood and Berlin, ”German Comedies, Are You Kidding? From Lubitsch to Wilder and Beyond”, “The Disquieting Traces of Ibsen in 20th and 21st century Theatre and Film”, to Fashion in the films of Jacques Demy, François Truffaut, and Hitchcock.

Her show on Public Radio International about Disney and the Brothers Grimm won the Gracie Award for ‘Outstanding Talk Show’.

Anne-Katrin is a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator, and when she doesn’t chase leopards, she rescues urban park wildlife in Prospect Park and speaks out for the protection of their habitat.

 

arts and culture

Rolling Stones to Play at Barclay’s Center

To mark their 50th anniversary, the Rolling Stones are going to play two shows at the new Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn. The Stones. THE STONES! I haven’t seen the Stones in years.

I saw the Stones at Madison Square Garden in 1969 on Thanksgiving with my father and sister. Janis Joplin, Ike and Tina Turner and BB King were there. I was 11 years old but I totally got it.

Mick Jagger wore his Jumping Jack Flash suit (see left). It was the most amazing concert ever.

More recently I saw the Stone in 1986 or so with Hugh at Shea Stadium and they put on the most awesome show.

I just read that they’re being paid 25 million to play those two shows and two in London. Still, it is the Stones (and Keith Richards) and I want to see the Stones. In Brooklyn. Yeah.

The dates of these two shows have not been reported yet. Truly, the list grows of shows I might want to see at Barclay’s: Neil Young and Patti Smith, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and now, the Stones.

arts and culture

Is Drinking Liberally Still at Commonwealth?

I had no idea Drinking Liberally chapters was such a big deal. I thought it was a Park Slope thing, a group that meets monthly at the Commonwealth Bar on Fifth Avenue (497 Fifth Avenue at 12th Street).

I’m not sure they’re even doing it there anymore. The last meeting is dated 2009. Hmmm.

Turns out, there are  200+ chapters across the United States run by Living Liberally. At these far flung gatherings, liberal types are watching conventions and debates, hosting candidates and advocates, and serving as “a vital hub of energy and information during the run-up to November.”

If you are interested in hanging out with a bunch of liberals, you can find a gathering near you. Check out your nearby group to watch Conventions and debates with friends, learn about local races and get involved this political season.

Food and Drink

Terroir is No Dive Bar: Elite Winery Coming to Park Slope’s Fifth Avenue

A brand new Terroir, a wine bar with locations in  Tribeca, the East Village, Murray Hill and the Highline, is coming to Park Slope.

Owners Marco Canora and Paul Grieco are bringing their wine bar to what was Great Lakes, a former dive bar on Fifth Avenue and Second Street. It should be open in early September. They’ve been working on that space for months.

This is no dive bar.

Terroir, whose slogan is “the elitest wine bar for everyone”, serves food and fine wine. I couldn’t find a menu but expect pig roasts, cheese and charcuterie.

arts and culture

Paul Ryan’s Playlist: What’s the A-Z of Your iPod?

Last night at the Republican National Convention, GOP Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan compared his iPod playlist to Mitt Rommney’s.

“We’re a full generation apart. And, in some ways we’re a little different. There are the songs on his iPod that I’ve heard on the campaign bus and on many hotel elevators. He’s actually urged me to play some of those songs at campaign rallies. I said, I hope it’s not a deal breaker, Mitt, but my playlist starts with AC/DC and ends with Zeppelin.”

I looked at my playlist this morning. Mine starts with Adele (and then Adrian Hibbs) and ends with The White Stripes and Yo La Tengo.

What’s the A and Z of your playlist? And what does or doesn’t it say about you?

Civics and Urban Life

Most Popular Baby Names: Brooklyn Didn’t Make Cut

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg and Thomas Farley, commissioner of the Department of Health, announced the most popular names registered in NYC in 2011.

Girls? Isabella Sophia, Olivia, Emma, Mia, Emily, Madison, Leah, Chloe, Sofia. And boys? Jayden, Jacob, Ethan, Daniel, Michael, Matthew, Justin, David, Aiden, Alexander.

Brooklyn, which was a popular name for a few years, didn’t make the cut this year .

arts and culture

What are the Chances? by Liz Starin: Flowers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now this woman, a fellow illustrator. We’ve collided in Park Slope, where she lives, and downtown, I think, and at Brighton Beach. I used to wish to run into old friends. We’d laugh at the coincidence and strike up a warm conversation, happy victims of chance.

Liz Starin is an illustrator based in Brooklyn. She doesn’t believe in fate, but she does believe in probability. You can see more of her work at lizstarin.com.

To see the other illustrations in this series thus far:

http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/08/27/what-are-the-chances-by-liz-starin-an-illustrated-serial/

http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/08/28/what-are-the-chances-by-liz-starin-swimmers/

http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/08/29/what-are-the-chances-by-liz-starin-street-corner/

arts and culture, Food and Drink

Barclay’s Center Gets Liquor License With 1AM Cutoff

When the Barclay’s Center opens next month, Levy Restaurants, its food and liquor contractor, will be allowed to sell alcohol but only until 1AM in the morning. Forest City Ratner, developer of the arena, had hoped for a 2AM cutoff.

Well that ain’t gonna happen.

On Wednesday, the New York State Liquor Board voted to approve alcohol sales at Barclays Center until 1AM and no later.

The cutoff is good news for those who live in the surrounding neighborhoods who fear the noise and disruption late night drinking will bring to the area. Like everything connected with the Barclay Center, the fight over the liquor license was contentious.

More than 1000 locals residents signed a petition demanding that the cutoff time be 10PM.

Residents of north Park Slope are braced for the changes the opening of the arena will bring to that area. More than a few homeowners have put their homes on the market out of fear that the arena will change the quality of life over there.

It remains to be seen. The first show at the arena will be Jay-Z who is a part owner of the arena.

 

arts and culture

What Are the Chances? by Liz Starin: Street Corner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s a high school classmate, now a filmmaker, whom I see on the F train sometimes. I’ve come upon a former bandmate both at my grocery store and on a street corner in deepest Brooklyn, where he looked exceptionally lost. 

Liz Starin is an illustrator based in Brooklyn. She doesn’t believe in fate, but she does believe in probability. You can see more of her work at lizstarin.com.

To see the others in this series thus far go to:

http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/08/27/what-are-the-chances-by-liz-starin-an-illustrated-serial/

http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/08/28/what-are-the-chances-by-liz-starin-swimmers/

 

Civics and Urban Life

An Appreciation of Summer in Brooklyn

1. Everyone is away. Or almost everyone.

2. There are parking spaces galore, especially on the weekends.

3. The driving is easy; not much in the way of traffic.

4. The streets are nearly empty; fewer strollers, kids, people (not to be misanthropic, it’s just different).

5. It’s easy to get into restaurants we’ve wanted to try like Bar Corvo and maybe Little Neck, which we’re trying tonight.

6. It’s fun to bop around in neighborhoods I’m not familiar with like Crown Heights.

7. The park is as beautiful as ever.

8. It’s less stressful because things don’t really get going until after Labor Day. No school means no homework which means no nagging, etc.

9. It’s okay to take a nap in the late afternoon when it’s hot.

10. The summer sales are fun, especially when the stuff is really cheap like the warehouse sale Bird had last week.

Food and Drink

Great Meal at Crown Heights’ Bar Corvo

Last night, for my birthday, we went to Bar Corvo, Al Di La’s sister restaurant in Crown Heights. It is slightly more casual, slightly less expensive and no less wonderful than Al Di La.

The friends we went with were concerned that it would be crowded as it usually is. They’ve had to wait an hour to get in there, as you’d expect from a restaurant owned by Al Di La.

Well, because it was a Tuesday night during the last week in August,  it was easy to get a table inside and out in their lovely back garden. And we parked our car right out front.

The food was fantastic. The service, by a waiter I recognized from the Fifth Avenue Al Di La, was fantastic. The experience was lovely. A really special birthday dinner. Funnily enough, it was the birthday of our waiter as well.

I ate the Confit of Duck Leg Confit with roasted peaches (yes, peaches) and it was sooooo delicious. We drank an excellent bottle (or two) of Rose. My husband had the Heritage Pork Chop with grilled greens and creamy polenta ($18). For an appetizer, we shared a Calamari Salad, which was also fabulous.

For dessert (with a candle) I ordered the Creme Freche Panna Cotta with rasberry. Yum.

Photograph from http://ruinista.com/2012/04/04/on-cheating/

arts and culture

Louis CK Pops Up In and Around Park Slope

Seems that Louis CK is a real pop-up kind of guy. First he does a series of pop-up shows at The Bell House on Monday night. Then, as reported by the Community Bookstore, he pops up at the Community Bookstore.

Yesterday’s impromptu shows at The Bell House sold out in three hours. I saw loads of tweets about it and tickets required getting over to The Bell House mid-day. A whole lot of people managed to do that.

Today’s stopover at the Community Bookstore? Maybe he was just buying a book—or location scouting.

Civics and Urban Life

NYPD Cracking Down on Stoop Sales?

What’s all this I hear about the NYPD cracking down on stoop sales? Apparently, someone posted on the Brooklynian that  police shut down a stoop sale on Sunday in front of a building on Flatbush Ave near Grand Army Plaza.

“I told them I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong, and that we have a stoop sale every couple of years and have never had a problem. They asked where I lived and I gestured to my apartment building right behind me. I also said that I wasn’t blocking the sidewalk–since there was probably 10 feet open.

“Then the second cop asked, “Do you have a license?” I replied that I didn’t, but I also didn’t think I was doing anything wrong. I was calm, but after that I sensed that the cops were getting uncomfortable because people had gathered and were observing. So I said, “I’ll pack it up, no problem, officer.”

A license? I’ve never heard of a stoop sale license. I’m sure there’s something on the books about needing a license to sell items on the streets. But boy would it be crazy if they started shutting down stoop sales in Park Slope.

If this is yet another quality of life improvement that Bloomberg is pushing, I’m going to eat my stoop sale. I mean, come on. I know the cops have better things to do.