My friend Ed just sent this picture of that big rainstorm outside.

I wrote this on November 30, 2004 when my son applied to public high school. It was published on my first blog, Third Street. It’s actually nice to have a written memento of that day.

He did it: it’s done. The application is filled out. Signed. Dated Smartmom, Hepcat and Teen Spirit managed to select 12 public high schools and order them according to preference. The guidance counselor has it.

Hepcat didn’t sleep a wink last night. Teen Spirit’s high school application was only part of the anxiety running rampant in his mind. Last week his hard drive crashed. So in addition to worrying about Teen Spirit’s future and the family’s money situation, Hepcat was trying to figure out how he was going to print up 50 pictures or more without a computer for this weekend’s photo sale.

Smartmom popped up at 6:30 am and saw only OSFO in the bed — Clever Grandma was sleeping in OSFO’s room. No Hepcat. She looked everywhere for him. It’s not a huge apartment so that didn’t take long. She checked Teen Spirit’s bed twice — maybe Hepcat crawled in there. Nope. Was he on the green leather couch where he sometimes ends up? Negative. She checked to see if his camera was in its spot — was he out taking pictures of the dawn? Nope. Camera on the table in the living room.

Hmmmm. Where did Hepcat go? It’s time to fill out Teen Spirit’s high school application. Procrastination time is OVER. He wouldn’t run out over this, up and leave, end it all…

Finally the front door opened at around 6:45. Hepcat had to re-park the car because the city begins repaving Third Street and all cars had to be moved.

Mystery solved.

So they argued. Hey, isn’t that what everyone does when they’re stressed? The argument didn’t take hold so they moved on. And thus began the final lap of the high school application process. They started slow, but gained momentum. By 7:15 they were really going strong. Insideschools.com was open on the laptop, names of schools were being bandied about: Ever heard of…what does it say about…what are the statistics on…oh shit, we still need an eleventh choice…

Continue reading A Palpable Feeling of Relief: High School Choices Form 2004 →

This Coming Dec 9,10,11,12,16,17,18 the Brooklyn Lyceum will present a Holiday run of “a Charlie Brown Christmas” performed by Pig Brooch Inc. and featuring a live Jazz trio playing Vince Guaraldi’s famous soundtrack. More information and tickets are available here on their website.

A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn

Pumpkin pannacotta with gingerbread crust: A Kitchen in Brooklyn

Ditmas Park pub crawl: Ditmas Park Blog

Snowflake food specials: All About Fifth

Brooklyn food and drink round-up: Brownstoner

Prime 6 gets a rendering: Here’s Park Slope

If I’m a little frazzled today it’s because today is the day that my daughter (with our help) is required to fill out the High School Program Choices form, where she will carefully print the program code, program and name of all the high schools she’s interested in—up to 12 choices.

Suffice it to say, we’re all feeling more than a little stress. As of this morning my daughter still wasn’t sure, which school she wants to put in her all-important number one spot.

The decision about where she ends up is, ultimately, made by a computer using a complex algorithm that weighs various elements and is so complex few can really explain it (so I’m not even going to try).

If you’ve been following OTBKB’s High School Tour Confidential series, you know that the NYC public high school admissions process is a highly competitive ordeal that, in a sense, pits kid against kid, for the coveted spots in the coveted schools. Some schools require assessment tests, portfolios, essays and interviews while others require auditions for art, drama, dance or music. Some rely on test scores and grades. All of them look closely at attendance and punctuality.

Over coffee this morning, I sat with two other 8th grader moms at Sweet M’s and we spoke of the relief we’d feel when this process is over. There will be relief when we hand in the form, for sure, but it ain’t over until it’s over

Handing in the form is actually just the beginning of the next phase. The waiting. In late winter or spring we will finally find out where are children are going to school next year.

At Sweet M’s we laughed and reminisced about the high school tours. But mostly we expressed weariness and frustration. We went over the various schools we’d seen. We laughed some more. It was a nice bit of sharing and venting over coffee.

Continue reading High School Tour Confidential: Making Our List →

As a new feature: I will end each day at 5PM with the last line of a book that is lying on a nearby shelf.

“As you look at our beautiful, beautiful faces, there’s no getting around it. There is something there that can’t be denied.”

The last line from Third Girl From the Left by Martha Southgate

I just read in the Brooklyn Paper that the Old Stone House was burglarized on November 21. The burglar stole two computers, which were, fortunately, backed up, and $200 from a safe.

“It’s disconcerting that someone would want to steal from a community group,” Kim Maier told the Brooklyn Paper.

Are you hungry for some stir fried fiction, fresh baked poetry and deep dish prose? On Thursday, December 16 at 8PM come feast on a succulent bounty from writers who use food as metaphor, motif and mnemonics of meaning. Bring an appetite for good writing and real snacks by Chef Ame Gilbert, who will be preparing tasty treats for you to enjoy.

This event is a benefit for the food pantry at St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church in Park Slope. You are invited to donate what you wish. Suggested donation is $5, which includes snacks by Ame Gilbert and wine. Feel free to give more for those in need.

The writers on the literary menu include: Greg Fuchs, Jim Behrle, Louise Crawford, Michele Madigan Somerville, Peter Catapano, Sophia Romero, Amy Gilbert and more…

The Old Stone House is located at Fifth Avenue and Third Street in Park Slope. For more information go to theoldstonehouse.org or brooklynreadingworks.com

High school inside Junior High: Gerritsen Beach

Student killed in DUI: Sheepshead Bites

Carroll tree lighting on Friday: Pardon me for Asking

Remembering Curtis Cookie Rogers: The Local

Dumbo linkage: Dumbo NYC

Brothers from the Bottom ticket giveaway: Bed-Stuy Blog

Downzoning Boerum Hill: Clinton Hill Blog

North 6th Street: NY Shitty

Rally for immigration reform: Bushwick BK

Setting up a B&B in your brownstone: Effed in Park Slope

So, Hearst Publishing executive Cathie Black, a woman who has rarely if ever stepped inside a NYC public school, got her waiver and will be the next chancellor of the nation’s largest public school system.

Strange as it may sound, it sort of makes sense considering Mayor Bloomberg’s preference for corporate managers with little or no specific expertise in public service.

He himself was a media mogul with no political experience when he became mayor of New York City. Joel Klein was also a relative novice when he was crowned NYC school’s chancellor 8 years ago.

Like likes like. In other words: Bloomberg understands the corporate mindset and believes that big organizations, whether they are school systems or media companies, need superstar managers. Given that he has mayoral control over the NYC school system, that’s his prerogative. (I actually believe in mayoral control because I think someone has to be in a charge of such a large, unwieldy system).

But what about the many parents, teachers and administrators who say a chancellor should be an educational visionary? They’re a little bit right and a little bit wrong. The job of running a ginormous educational system, that serves more than one million students at 1,600 schools with 135,000 employees (including teachers, administration and others), is largely a managerial job. However, it does seem to me that that person should, at least symbolically, have expertise in education and a commitment to what teachers do and how children learn.

I mean, it is a school system after all.

Because Black lacked these qualifications there was, understandably, a huge public uproar. It was a real “We’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore” moment. More than that, I think it was the last straw for a public exasperated by an autocratic mayoral style that sometimes feels like the rule of a dictatorial personality who espouses: my way or the highway.

This time, a majority of people, as well as David Steiner, New York State Commisioner of Education, and a panel of experts (picked by the commish) disagreed with the-Mayor-who-would-be-king. This time, people spoke out loud, clear and repeatedly and the mayor was forced to rethink his plan.

It may be a sign of Black’s superstar managerial smarts that it was her idea to promote deputy chancellor Shael Polakow-Suransky to the new position as her educational deputy.

Continue reading Cathie Black’s Waiver and the Continuation of a Testing-Based Public School System →

As a new feature: I will end each day at 5PM with the last line of a book that is lying on a nearby shelf.

“Ah, Bartleby! Ah, Humanity!”

The last line of Bartleby The Scrivener, a short story by Herman Melville in a special Melville House edition.

Just announced on WNYC: Hearst Executive Cathie Black got her waiver from the David Steiner, the New York State Commissioner of Education. With Shael Polakow-Suransky as Deputy Chancellor, Black, a media executive with no personal or professional experience with public schools, is set to be confirmed as chancellor of the nation’s largest public school system. In a 12-page letter Steiner explained why he gave Black the nod: “Despite her lack of direct experience in education, I find that Ms. Black’s exceptional record of successfully leading complex organizations and achievement of excellence in her endeavors, warrant certification for service in the New York City School District, where she will have the support of a team of experience educators, including a single person serving as Senior Deputy Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer.”

Remember Doug Biviano? In 2009 he ran for City Council in the 33rd District (and lost to Steve Levin) and later challenged incumbant Assemblywoman Joan Millman in the 2010 primaries. He may have lost both races but he’s not in hiding.  Not by a long shot.

Biviano sent word of an upcoming public hearing about Brooklyn Bridge Park that he says is vital. He forwarded a letter to me from Roy Sloane, president of the Cobble Hill Association, urging residents, who want their voices and viewpoints heard on the subject of Brooklyn Bridge Park are invited to come to two public comment meetings on Tuesday, November 30th at 6 PM at Long Island College Hospital and again on Thursday, December 9th at 6 PM at St. Francis College on Remsen Street.

At issue are the high rise condos that are being proposed near the park as a source of revenue for the park. According to Sloane, “These public meetings are critical to demonstrating yet again the importance of our parks, the real value they provide to the livability of the city, and to the actual dollars they “put back” into city coffers. The rise in DUMBO values since their part of the park opened is evidence enough of a park’s tax value. A recent proposal offered by community members to negotiate a deal with the Jehovah Witnesses to develop their soon-to-be-abandoned buildings close to the park, for the benefit of park financing  is gaining traction. Other park funding models, including Senator Squadron’s park increment recapture proposal (named the PIRC plan) also offer relief from the draconian condos inside park borders plan.”

Click on read more to read the full letter from Roy Sloane, president of the Cobble Hill Association about the importance of this hearing.

Continue reading Nov 20 & Dec 9: Public Comment Meetings on Brooklyn Bridge Park →

A tour group called The  Levys’ Unique New York has teamed up with our friends over at Ditmas Park Blog to create the first of many  events. This one sounds great: The Ditmas Park Pub Crawl, Walking Tour and Trivia Contest and it all happens on Saturday, December 10th.

On that night there will be a nighttime walking tour of the gorgeous, landmarked streets of Victorian Ditmas Park. Then, at three different pub stops, answer tricky trivia questions that cover architecture, pop culture, Brooklyn history and more while learning about this timeless neighborhood. Additionally, your $15 fee includes one taco from Cortelyou Rd mainstay Cinco de Mayo.

Your tour guides are The Levys’ Unique New York! – a high-energy, well-reviewed, and entertaining family, who run a New York City tour guide company out of the Levy family house on Marlborough Rd; they’re not just locals – they’re natives! Bar stops will include both old and new – 773 Lounge, Solo & Sycamore will all offer discounted drinks to trivia tour takers.

Clearly, they know Brooklyn and they’re the people you want to tour Ditmas Park with.

Click on read more to see the details of this fun sounding evening event:

Continue reading Curious About Ditmas Park? Do the Walking-Trivia-Pub Crawl →

Craig Hammerman, District Manager of Community Board 6, just got a note from Matt Mobley, who works for Whole Foods in some capacity, and he sent it my way. The above picture is courtesy of Whole Foods.

Seems that Whole Foods is planning to go ahead with the development of their first Brooklyn Store on Third Street and Third Avenue in the Park Slope/Gowanus neighborhood. Frankly, I thought that project was dead in the (very, dirty canal) water what with the Superfund status of the Gowanus Canal and all that. I’d heard that Whole Foods would be helping to pay for some of the Superfund clean up but now they’re talking about coming to the area. Again.

According to the letter, Whole Foods has “fully cleaned the site under the strict guidelines of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’snow.” They have reduced the size of the original plan by 25% and it will now be 52,000 square feet with a 40 ft public esplanade and “a 20,000 square foot greenhouse located on the roof of the store that will grow fresh, organic produce right on-site!”

They also plan to uild the store above-grade (i.e. above ground level) rather than below-grade, which will require a variance from the Board of Standards and Appeals due to the high water table and requirements of the Superfund cleanup).

The two-story, 19^th century brick building, which was the former offices of Edwin C. Litchfield, 19th century landowner, who bought up much of Park Slope, situated at the property’s corner at Third Avenue and Third Street (and is not owned by Whole Foods Market) will, as always promised, remain in place. Whole Foods will make some improvements to that building.

Whole Foods has also reduced the size of the parking lot from 460 spaces to 248 and they’re doing away with a separate parking structure.  Click on read more to see the letter from Mobley to Craig Hammerman.

Continue reading First Brooklyn Whole Foods Back on Track →

Did you know that one of the best college water polo teams in the country is right here in Brooklyn? Note: the picture above, from the New York Times,  is of the 2007 St. Francis water polo team. Some members may still be on the current team.

St. Francis College, a small liberal arts college in Brooklyn Heights (with the motto: a small college with big dreams) has one hell of a water polo team. So good, that there’s a rally today to support the team coming off their Eastern Championship victory. (Among the special guests are Serbian National Team Coach and Olympic Bronze Medal Winner Dejan Udovicic). Now the Francis College Men’s Water Polo preps for the NCAA Final Four on December 4 and 5.at 12:00pm.

The amazing St. Francis men’s team is composed of players from five countries; the United States, Serbia, Hungary, Croatia and Sweden.

Besides coming together to form one of the best teams in the country, this melting pot of players also boasts the highest G.P.A. of all Water Polo teams two years in a row. Go team!

Who: St. Francis College Men’s Water Polo Team, Serbian National Team Coach
What:  Rally to Support Team Before Going to NCAA Final Four
Where: Peter Aquilone Court
180 Remsen Street, Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201
When: Monday, November 29
12:00 – 1:30pm
FREE & Open to the Public

Eat Pie and Shop is PS 29’s fundraiser/pie competition that’s judged by a who’s who’s list of Brooklyn foodies like Gail Simmons editor of Food and Wine, Francois Payard of Payard Bakery, Dannielle Kyrillos of DailyCandy, and local restauranteur Jeff Lederman of Boca Lupo (amazing bread pudding), Strong Place and Nectar.

The event will also feature 20 local vendors selling arts and crafts, including Mike Sorgatz, a painter and Art in Brooklyn blogger, who will be selling pie portraits (pictured above). Sorgatz will also be selling limited edition prints of New York cityscapes. The event is on Sunday, December 5th from 11am-5pm at PS29, 425 Henry Street (between Baltic and Kane Streets) in Brooklyn.

Cathie Black to get waiver: Inside Schools

Opponents of Cathie Black consider law suit: It’s a Free Country

Who is Shael Polakow-Suransky? NY Times

Heights Cinema owner was Ponzi schemer: Brooklyn Paper

Suspicious car fires on 14th Street: Here’s Park Slope

City hoping to rescue Coney Island 8: New York Post

Smelly plan to link Brooklyn parks: New York Post

Shopper hit Fulton Mall for holidays: Brooklyn Eagle

Arrival of Aeropostale & H&M signals shift for Fulton Mall: NY Daily News

A national day of listening: The Local