Thinking of having a block party like we did?

On the NYC.gov, 311 website, there’s all the information you need if you want to have your block closed to traffic so you can have a block party. You just have to file an application with the Street Activity Permit Office also known as SAPO.

“The Mayor’s Street Activity Permit Office (SAPO) issues permits for street fairs, festivals, block parties, green markets, commercial/promotional and other events on the City’s streets and sidewalks.

“SAPO accepts online permit applications from the public available at E-Apply. If you are unable to apply online, only 2012 paper applications will be accepted and can be obtained at the SAPO office located at 100 Gold Street, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10038. It is recommended that applicants utilize E-Apply as it will allow for real time status updates, the ability to pay the processing fee by credit card, and quicker issuance of permits.

“All street events, including block parties and street fairs, are required to recycle. Non-compliance with recycling regulations is punishable by fines starting at $25 and increasing to $500 for repeat violations.

“Event applications may be submitted online, mail or hand delivered to CECM – Street Activity Permit Office, 100 Gold Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10038.

“Should you require further assistance please call 212-788-756.”

What a well-organized, well-orchestrated and fun block party we had on Park Slope’s Third Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues) today.

It began with an  inflatable space walk, which delighted the children for hours. Later FDNY’s Squad 1 stopped by in a firetruck. The firefighters were wonderful and the kids had a blast climbing on the truck, pretending to drive it, playing with the hose, and posing for pictures.

An open sprinkler was a perfect way to cool off on a humid afternoon. Later in the day there was a pet show and a game of musical chairs.

Throughout the day, neighbors set up stoop sales, barbecues and picnics. In the evening my building got in on the act, and one family made delicious Korean barbecue ribs, burgers and corn on the cob and shared their bounty with everyone.

Gratitude to the block party organizers for making this such a special day on Third Street.

It was interesting for me to observe today’s block party. I say “observe” because as a parent of older children, I felt a little on the periphery because a block party is a child-centered activity and I, alas, am no longer the mother of young children.

A variety of thoughts and feelings fluttered within me throughout the day. One was regret, because my children never got to enjoy a block party on our block. Watching the young children barreling down the middle of the street on bikes and scooters, interacting with neighborhood firefighters, and jumping in and out of an open fire hydrant made me pine.

Too bad my kids didn’t have a day without traffic on Third Street.

I felt old and acutely aware of the passage of time because my kids, ages 15 and 21, are growing up and no longer a part of this street’s street life. Our years of hanging out on the block are over. For the most part, I am happy about that as we spent PLENTY of time sitting in our front yard. Still, it brought up feelings of loss for me.

I didn’t realize quite how many children live on this block. It’s really quite amazing. Young neighbors are just beginning their lives as parents on this street I call home. Funny to be done with those years of my life. But you know what they say, that’s life.

At 8PM, the street returned to normal. The garbage can blockade was removed, and cars were allowed back on the street. The end of a playful urban day without cars on Third Street and the flurry of feelings it brought up.

See: http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/07/14/why-is-this-our-first-block-party/

It is 4;48 in the afternoon and the Associated Press reports that smoke is “billowing” from a fire at South Street Seaport.

There’s a large cloud of smoke over the East River. The two-alarm blaze is being fought by firefighters.

Photo source unknown. Found on Twitter.

The Brooklyn Bridge Park Pop-Up Pool is now open. With water three-and-a-half-feet deep, the 30-by-50-foot pool is quite the cool place to cool off. Photo from McBrooklyn!

Coming soon:  swim lessons for kids will be offered in the morning (at an affordable fee) before the pool opens to the public. Swimming daily 10am–6pm through Sept 3.

Back in September of 2006, I had an allergic reaction to something I ate at Della Femina restaurant in East Hampton. A day or so later I wrote a blog post titled, Itchy Hands and Feet. With 126 comments, it is by far the most commented upon blog post ever on OTBKB. It was posted on my old grey, black and orange site that was hosted on Typepad.

It was a very brief post, about 100 words. But it seemed to resonate with many who have itchy hands and feet for one reason or another. Here’s an excerpt from that post:.

“I had a weird allergic reaction and I have no idea what caused it. My hands and feet itched under the skin. My right eye got swollen and my nasal passages got stuffed up. I had a hard time swallowing and was generally very uncomfortable.

The itching on the palms of my hands and soles of my feet was probably the worst part of it…”

For years, this little post was the TOP Google hit for “Itchy Hands and Feet”. In the last year or so, a bunch of pharma companies figured that out and must have bought the words “Itchy Hands and Feet” so they are now higher ranking then we are.

It isn’t the top hit anymore because a lot of pharmaceutical companies are doing Pay Per Click for “Itchy Hands and Feet.”

Why not. It’s smart Search Engine Optimization.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio released his Worst Landlords Watch List. There are now 330 landlords listed who own a total of 360 buildings.

See if your landlord made the cut. It’s a dubious distinction I’d say.

The site, which is featured on Craigslist.org to assist apartment hunters, also includes an updated list of 255 buildings that have been officially removed from the Watch List because of violations like lead paint, infestations and mold have been addressed.

Four of the landlords are in Park Slope. Watch out.

It’ll be a big day in Park Slope the day the sequel to Prospect Park West, Amy Sohn’s satiric novel about Park Slope moms and dads, comes out.

Her new novel is called Motherland and it’s about five mothers and fathers in Cape Cod, Park Slope, and Greenwich Village, according to the Amazon blurb, “who find themselves adrift professionally and personally.”

This week in The Awl, Amy Sohn has written an essay called “The 40-Year-Reversion” about what happens to contemporary parents when they need to chill out from all the stress and boredom of contemporary parenting.

“Why do moms in my generation regress, whether by drugging, cheating, or going out too late and too often? Because everything our children thrive on—stability, routine, lack of flux, love, well-paired parents—feels like death to those entrusted with their care. This is why they start drinking at wine o’clock, which is so dubbed not only because it coincides with whine o’clock but because it can begin at six p.m., or five, or even four. (Though the four o’clock mothers wind up in A.A.) I know a mom who drinks only on the weekends because she thinks it’s more responsible… but she starts with a mimosa at brunch on Saturday at eleven, and doesn’t stop until her Sunday night television shows are over.

She goes on to discuss her new novel, “The characters are inspired by my neighbors, who seek liberation not through consciousness-raising and EST the way their mothers did, but through Fifty Shades of Grey and body shots. They arrive home from girls’ nights at three a.m. on a weeknight and then complain about hangovers at school dropoff.”

Motherland comes out on August 14th.

Brenda Becker writes today about a young man named Jeffrey Jeune, age 19, who died in Prospect Park on Sunday. Here’s an excerpt. Read the rest at her blog Prospect: A Year in the Park. 

“When a neighbor dies within our realm of “Victorian Flatbush” homes, we e-mail one another, send condolences, reminisce together, attend the wake. If the unthinkable happened and a young person were to perish as Jeffrey did, we would have no need of e-mail; it would be headline news. (In fact, it was, in 2005, when a young man from outside the neighborhood was killed within the historic district of Prospect Park South.)…

“But Jeffrey Jeune vanishes into an ambulance two blocks from my front door.  The crime scene tape flutters and is gone; a few extra cruisers patrol the Parade Grounds for awhile…”

First it was just talk. “I think I’m going to sell the house,” she said. And I didn’t really believe her. We were sitting in Cafe Regular Nord and I thought to myself: Why would you move away from here? What about your friends, the brownstone, the park, the cafes and bars where we’ve been having intense conversations for more than a decade.

What could be better than here? I wondered in my Brooklyn-centric way.

Over time it became obvious that she was serious—and motivated. She was eager to move and she had her reasons. Good ones. She found a realtor, she touched up the house—a little paint here, a little staging there. She scheduled an open house; there was a buyer.

It happened quickly. Elation. Nerves. Excitement. Anxiety. The contract was signed. Then, she had to find a new place to live, in a new town, a new state, more than two hours away.

As the weeks passed, I knew that her excitement was peppered with fear. I saw that her immense energy and bravery was partial cover for the pain of letting go. It wasn’t easy to relinquish the life she’s known for more than twenty years: selling the house where she raised her 16-year-old daughter, leaving the block where she pushed a McClaren stroller, where she helped plan an annual autumn block party, where she walked her dogs, where she had many friends and familiar faces.

Continue reading A Friend Moves From Park Slope →