The Brooklyn Paper reports that, allegedly, there was a million-dollar Adderall and OcyContin drug ring on Carroll Street in Park Slope:
Cops this week collared Pinchas Goldshtein, charging him with conspiracy and criminal sale of a controlled substance stemming from his distribution of thousands of pills that he received in the mail from two suppliers in California and distributing to New York dealers.
As Now I’ve Heard Everything reported on OTBKB yesterday, the Rock Shop, a new music club/bar on Fourth Avenue between President and Carroll Streets, is now open with music.
With Union Hall, The Bell House, South Paw, Littlefield and now the Rock Shop, Park Slope has definitely come into its own as a place to hear rock and roll music.
Skippy, who until recently programmed shows at The Bell House and Union Hall, is the main talent buyer at The Rock Shop.
That’s big news.
I recently read on Brooklyn Vegan that Skippy had a falling out with the owners of The Bell House/Union Hall. Here’s what BV wrote:
Jack “Skippy” McFadden recently controversially parted ways with Union Hall and The Bell House where he was the main talent buyer (booker) since both clubs opened. Well, not only didn’t it take long for Skippy to get another job, he’ll be working just a few blocks from both of his old rooms at Park Slope’s new Rock Shop. The Bowery-affiliated club (which is not part of Bowery Presents) has a show capacity of 120. Jack says “it looks and sounds like a mini Mercury Lounge, but with that new car smell. High ceilings, great sightlines, a very cool and welcoming place for bands and fans alike.” Skippy will be the exclusive booker of the new venue (which I guess means no Diane). He’ll also be bringing bigger shows to other clubs he’s partnering with around the city. He hasn’t named them, but he’ll basically be freelance-booking shows that would have fit into the Bell House, into other venues.
Here’s is the Rock Shop’s July Schedule:
July 9 at 8pm : THE DIRTY GLAMOUR / PHILADELPHIA GRAND JURY
July 10 at 8pm : NECKBEARD TELECASTER / ED VALLANCE / CHRISTOPHER PAUL STELLING
July 13 at 7:30pm : MATT BAUER / SEA OF BEES / FEATHER AND FOLLY
July 14 at 7:30pm : SOFT LANDINGS / DIAMOND DOVES / JARED VAN FLEET
July 15 at 8pm : VIOLENS / BEIGE / TBA
July 16 at 8pm : THE DIRTY GLAMOUR / TBA
July 17 at 8pm : BABE THE BLUE OX / MOON MEN ON THE MOON, MAN
July 23 at 8pm : THE DIRTY GLAMOUR / TBA
July 24 at 8pm : OH YOU DEVIL / TBA
July 27 at 7:30pm : JASON ANDERSON (WOLF COLONEL) & friends
July 28 at 7:30pm : FORGETTERS / MOTHER OF FIRE
July 30 at 8pm : THE DIRTY GLAMOUR / HONEYPOT
July 31 at 8pm : VISQUEEN / THE PENELOPES / TBA
Joanne McFarland: Art in Brooklyn
E/F: The glass or cup (as it were) of coffee: Truth and Rocket Science
Sybilance: Brooklynometry
A for effort: The Spiral Staircase
Freudian slip in draft of Declaration of Independence: Self-Absorbed Boomer
Favor: Water Over Rocks
Proper 8, the Nine-Fold Guide: Old First Blog
Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park (9th Street Bandshell)
Friday, July 9 at 7PM at Celebrate Brooklyn: A supercollider of hip-hop and salsa, dancehall and cumbia, samba and funk, merengue and comparsa, East LA R&B and New Orleans second line, Jamaican ragga and Indian raga, and anything else you might hear driving through the melting pot of Los Angeles with your windows down, Ozomatli returns to their favorite NYC stomping ground. “This is what the block party of the future will sound like.” (PopMatters)
Sunday, July 11 at 6PM at Celebrate Brooklyn: The Roots headline the OkayAfrica World Cup 2010 Finals party to celebrate the first time in its 80-year history the tournament will take place on African soil. With a kick-off by Sahr Ngaujah, the star of the hit Broadway musical Fela!, the show features performances by artists from all corners of the Diaspora, including host Talib Kweli (Brooklyn), Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew (Sierra Leone), Blitz the Ambassador (Ghana), and many others to be announced. Musically omnivorous hip-hop icons The Roots honor the fresh music of Africa jamming throughout th
Film
Through July 29th at BAM: Cary Grant 2. Also at BAM: The Girl Who Played with Fire, Cyrus, I Am Love.
Friday, June 9, at 8:00 PM: Rooftop Films night at the Old American Can Factory: Kickstarter, the crowdsourced-funding site for creative projects, is holding a film festival comprised of shorts and films funded through the website.
Giglio
This Sunday through July 18th: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Feast and Festival of the Giglio (an Italian Williamsburg tradition since 1887) presents the ceremonial lifting of St. Paulinus of Nola, the 65-foot, nearly four-ton tower will be lifted by over a hundred men.
Union Hall 4th Anniversary Celebration
Saturday, July 10 at Union Hall starting at 12 noon: a 1 hour open bar with Reyka vodka lemonades from 1pm-2pm. Reyka vodka lemonades are $5 afterwards. Union Hall is celebrating its 4th anniversary with a BBQ in their garden. Play some games and dance to the soul music from DJ Bug Bear! No cover! Just good times!
Music
Friday, July 9 at 7:30 PM at Zora Space: Jazz on a Summer Night with Jay Rodriguez, saxophone & flute( Two-time Grammy nominatee), Teruo Nakamura, bass (Stanley Turrentine, George Benson, Roy Haynes, Steve Grossman.), Warren Benbow, drums (Betty Carter, Nina Simone, Whitney Houston, Mary J Blige.), Jimmy Sibuy, piano (Junior Cook)
Saturday and Sunday (July 10-11) starting at 3PM at the Bell House: The 4th Annual Annual Psychobilly Luau Weekender, two days of Psychobilly, Rockabilly, Garage, and Trash! Featuring Guana Batz, The Goddamn Gallows, The Hypnophonics, Stellar Corpses, The Othermen, The Rebel Angels.
Saturday, July 10 at 8PM at Barbes: Le Chaud Lapins: Kurt Hoffman and Meg Reichardt cover Charles Trenet songs and other jewels from the French 30’s and 40’s musical traditions accompanying themselves on banjo-ukes.
Sunday, July 11 at 7PM at Barbes: Music from Cairo’s cafe scene of the 1920s, including songs by Umm Kulthum, Zaki Murad and Dawud Husni. The group also plays Laster originals such as Genk, Meta-Doina. With Andy Laster-saxophone and clarinet; Kermit Driscoll-bass; Erik Friedlander-cello; and Curtis Hasselbring-trombone.
Farmers Market and Concert Series in East New York
Saturday, July 10 through August 28th: The East New York Farmer’s Market carries local and organic produce including Caribbean specialty crops like karela, bora, and callaloo. Plus, they’re holding a concert series called “Summer Saturdaze” throughout July and August. Click here for more details! http://www.eastnewyorkfarms.org/
Singer-songwriter Steve Earle said that “Tandy is my favorite NYC band and the first music I ever played on my radio show.” And Grey’s Anatomy picked the Tandy song Home to feature on its January 8th episode last year. Tandy’s sound has been described as ambient folk rock, and I think that’s a fair description. Tandy plays tonight at The Lakeside Lounge. You’ll find full details at Now I’ve Heard Everything.
–Eliot Wagner
I just went to the Con Edison website and learned that Con Edison has restored electrical service to approximately 42,800 customers affected by the intense heat wave this week but they are still asking people to conserve. The following is from Con Edison:
• The company credits its customers for responding to requests for conservation since the heat wave began, thereby reducing the strain on the electrical system and avoiding more outages.
• The company has hundreds of extra crews and support personnel available 24/7 to respond to any service problems that may arise. The company was working to restore service to about 1,800 customers who were without power as of 9 a.m. today.
• Con Edison is distributing dry ice in Sunset Park, Brooklyn to customers affected by power interruptions. Bags of dry ice are being distributed at 60th Street and 6th Avenue. A Con Edison customer outreach van is at this location. Near that location, company crews are working to restore electrical power to residents from 5th Avenue to 8th Avenue between 59th and 61st Streets.
• Con Edison urges customers to report power interruptions or service problems, as well as view service restoration information, online at www.conEd.com, or on their cell phones and PDAs. Customers can also call 1-800-75-CONED.
• If you experience a power outage:
• Turn off all light switches and appliances to prevent overloaded circuits when power is restored. Leave at least one light switch in the on position to alert you when power has been restored;
• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. Each time the door is opened, heat enters and speeds the thawing process;
• Have a battery-powered radio and a supply of extra batteries handy. Have flashlights available for every member of your household;• Listen to your battery-operated radio on for updates on our restoration progress and safety tips;
• Fill spare containers with water for cooking and washing.
Continue reading Power Restored to 42,800, Conservation Still Necessary
It’s funny how my brain works (or doesn’t).
A friend invited me (via Facebook) to a celebration of her birthday on Tuesday night at the Black Sheep Pub. Immediately I assumed she meant a bar/restaurant called Sheep Station on Fourth Avenue at the corner of Douglass Street.
Hepcat and I walked on a very hot night to Sheep Station, a lovely restaurant that is said to have excellent food, including shepherds pie, beet salad, leg of lamb sandwiches and hamburgers.The room is attractive, the light was pouring in and our mouths watered at the site of the tall glasses of beer we saw served to those sitting at the bar.
“We’re looking for a friend celebrating her birthday…” Hepcat said.
Clearly she was not in the restaurant. She was, no doubt, at the Black Sheep Pub.
I asked the waiter if he’d heard of the place…
“This happens sometimes. It’s on Bergen Street near Fifth Avenue…”
The Black Sheep Pub is a tiny bar on Bergen Street between Fifth and Fourth Avenues. It’s very, very dark — like it was invented for people who are allergic to light. There’s a foosball table and a huge video screen that was showing the Mets game.
They serve tasty (and spicy) dirty fries, pulled pork sandwiches and various kinds of beer. They have an amazing juke box selection that is, I believe, free. It said it was stocked by Music Matters, which seemed pretty cool.
Sitting there we heard Springsteen, The Pixies, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs…
It’s no Sheep Station but it is a dark pub worth knowing about.
Funnily enough, my friend, the one who’s birthday it was, had wanted to celebrate at Sheep Station but called it the Black Sheep Pub in the Facebook invite and then realized that she’d made a mistake. When we got to BSP, she told us the story. She’d wanted the beet salad at Sheep Station but had to stick it out at BSP because more friends were on the way.
A good time was had by all.
On Tuesday Hepcat was an accidental fan
On that day he wore a bright orange t-shirt that he almost never wears. He wore it on Monday because of the heat and because the shirt is made out of a special polyester material that stays cool and dry.
Walking down Fifth Avenue he was approached excitedly by another man in a bright orange t-shirt in front of Loki bar. This enthusiastic man, who was also wearing a furry orange hat (and other bright orange regalia) understandably assumed that Hepcat was a fan of the Netherlands World Cup soccer team, which had just won a semi-final match against Uruguay.
The Dutch soccer fan clearly wanted to hug Hugh and maybe pull him inside of the bar for a celebratory beer. Hepcat was, needless to say, a little startled. We were on our way to Sheep Station to celebrate a friend’s birthday. But he figured out what was going on quickly. Hepcat has not been following the World Cup but instantly became a huge fan, albeit an accidental fan, of the Netherlands team.
The grand final of the 2010 South Africa World Cup will feature two teams—Netherlands and Spain—that have never won a World Cup trophy. It is an exciting moment for both countries.
The game is on Sunday, July 11. Stay tuned. Wear an orange shirt if you’re rooting for the Dutch.
In the picture below Rafeal van der Vaart, one of the Duth players, is handed a fake trophy after the game against Uruguay, which the Dutch won. The shirt is almost exactly the same color and style as the one Hepcat was wearing on Monday.
Porch makeover: CasaCara
Bed-Stuy landmarking: Reclaimed Home
Mike and Maddie’s sweet nothings: Apartment Therapy
Stain remedies for furniture: Apartment Therapy
Soon: no more incandescent bulbs at Ikea: NY Times
A summer rental of one’s own: NY Times
Red and blue pop office: Brooklyn Limestone
Two kids and three layer cake: A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn
Night of Riesling at Knitting Factory and seasonal farm stand at Robertas: NY Times
Brooklyn food & drink round up: Brownstoner
10 ways to beat the heat: Serious Eats
Roman pizza on the way: All About Fifth
When I moved to Brooklyn (Windsor Terrace then) in 1986, my answer to the question “what’s the night life like in Brooklyn” was “there isn’t any.” Clearly things have changed a great deal. Over the years Park Slope has acquired a number of places to see live music: Southpaw, Barbes, Union Hall, The Bell House (technically Gowanus but I can still walk there from my place in the center Slope), Bar 4 (which being on the south side of 15th Street is probably Windsor Terrace) as well as Perch and Two Boots.
Tonight, The Rock Shop (their website is still under construction, check them out on Twitter here), a club which opened a few months back on 4th Avenue, begins presenting music. The booker for the club is Skippy McFadden, who until recently was the booker for Union Hall and The Bell House. Tonight The Rondelles and friends show up to play. There will be a “Grand Opening” on August 2nd with a band whose name will not be announced until that day.
–Eliot Wagner
On this very, very hot day, here’s the latest info on equipment problems and reduced voltage in parts of Brooklyn from Con Edison:
Because of problems on electrical cables supplying power to eight Brooklyn neighborhoods, Con Edison has reduced voltage by 8 percent to that area.
• The neighborhoods are Vinegar Hill, Fort Greene, Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill and Cobble Hill.
• The affected area is bounded by the East River on the north and west, South Oxford Street and Fifth Avenue on the east, and Third Street/Fourth Street on the south. The area includes approximately 51,500 metered customers.
• Last night, the company announced voltage reduction in a number of other neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens.
• Company crews are working now to repair the problems. Con Edison has asked customers in the affected areas to turn off electrical appliances to help reduce electricity usage until equipment problems can be resolved.
• The equipment problems in the affected areas have no effect on the rest of the Con Edison system. Con Edison will provide updates to affected customers both directly and through the media as the situation warrants. The company is in constant communication with the New York City Office of Emergency Management.
Zora Space on Friday, July 9th at 7:30PM will be celebrating jazz on a summer night with:
Jay Rodriguez, saxophone & flute( Two-time Grammy nominatee)
Teruo Nakamura, bass (Stanley Turrentine, George Benson, Roy Haynes, Steve Grossman.)
Warren Benbow, drums (Betty Carter, Nina Simone, Whitney Houston, Mary J Blige.)
Jimmy Sibuy, piano (Junior Cook)
The Gate, Park Slope’s very popular indoor/outdoor beer bar on Fifth Avenue and Third Street. has joined the No Stroller brigade. On weekends and holidays at least. Here’s what the sign says:
NO STROLLERS FRIDAY THRU SUNDAY & HOLIDAYS
Sorry Friends, owing to severe stroller and chair overcrowding as of late, we are now enforcing a NO STROLLER policy on WEEKENDS & HOLIDAYS at The Gate
Effed in Park Slope has the pictures.
Brownstoner responds to the Times’ article comparing the cost of living in the Slope with Orange, NJ. Here’s an excerpt:
New York has a reputation for being an expensive town, which of course it is. But the high housing prices and rents don’t tell the whole story. You see, New Yorkers don’t necessarily need cars. And our property taxes are pretty low. Which is why a Times story this weekend comparing the cost of living in Park Slope versus Orange, NJ found that a family of four with a household income of $170,000 could actually live more inexpensively in Brooklyn than Jersey.
It’ll be two nights in a row with Ann Miller. Last night we watched Mulholland Drive directed by David Lynch and tonight we’ll be in the park to see Kiss me Kate at 8:30PM on the turf behind The Old Stone House in Park Slope (3rd Street between 5th and 4th Avenues).
Kiss Me Kate (1953) – A witty take-off on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, this fabulous Technicolor musical stars Ann Miller, with music by Cole Porter, directed by George Sidney.
Brought to you from the Feldman Family weather tower in Park Slope.
Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn ponders frying an egg on the sidewalk. Here’s what he had to say:
The Times City Room threw caution to the wind and tried to fry an egg on the sidewalk. I have to give the reporter Andy Newman credit for venturing outside on a day when only Mad Dogs, Englishmen, and the kebab and felafel carts venture out. While the experiment resulted in some lightly cooked tuna, the eggs proved less than satisfactory. Based on our extensive Google research, the Library of Congress reports that, yes, it is theoretically (damn their eyes – there is that word again) possible to cook an egg on the sidewalk, but it is unlikely that the sidewalk would get hot enough.
LoC reports: An egg needs a temperature of 158°F to become firm. In order to cook, proteins in the egg must denature (modify), then coagulate, and that won’t happen until the temperature rises enough to start and maintain the process.
The City Room was on the right track using a frying pan, since metal is a better conductor of heat than just plopping the egg on the concrete. But wo-be-tide to we New Yorkers should it ever approach that chilling temperature. But standing around trying to fry an egg at 103 degrees Fahrenheit just ain’t gonna cut it.
Once, when our kids were younger, I amused them on a long car ride home from upstate by making nachos: melting little bits of cheese on Doritos using the car cigarette lighter. Now that’s entertainment! (My Better Half was suitably unimpressed.)…
Rosanne Cash played Governors Island on July 4th. With the exception of her and John Leventhal (her husband), all the members of the band were from Brooklyn. You can read a mini review and see some pictures of the show today at Now I’ve Heard Everything.
–Eliot Wagner
I’ve been keeping cool with these cool, interesting movies. All films and TV shows are available at Video Forum (except Clean, which I got on Netflix) on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope (which is a cool, fun place to spend time on a hot day):
Avatar: Loved it more than I expected to!
The Flower of my Secret: Pedro Almodovar at his sweet, funny, visually gorgeous best!
The Chung King Express: Wong Kar-wei’s film about a Hong Kong policeman and his relationship with a zany woman who works at a fast food shop.
In the Mood for Love: An exquisitely elegant and mysterious film by Wong Kar-wei set in 1962 Hong Kong. With Maggie Cheung.
Summer Hours: A beautiful and poignant film about a french family and their country house by Olivier Assayas.
Clean: Another film by Olivier Assayas. This one about a drug addict/mom and her journey to become “clean” with the great Maggie Cheung (not at Video Forum).
Irma Vep: An Olivier Assayas film about the making of vampire movie with Maggie Cheung and Jean Pierre Leaud.
Did I mention that I’ve been obsessed with these TV shows on DVD:
Mad Men: Of course.
Breaking Bad: Awesome TV. About a chemistry teacher who, desperate to make money, operates a crystal meth lab.
Big Love: Chloe Sevigny, Bruce Dern, Grace Zabriskie, Harry Dean Stanton, Mary Kay Place, Ginnifer Goodwin, Bill Paxton, Amanda Seyfried are all part of a great cast in a great series about a polygamous family in Utah.
Double D Pool: a public pool at Nevins Street between Degraw and Douglas Streets in the Park Slope/Gowanus area.
Coney Island: Take the F train all the way to Stillwell Avenue
The Movies: at BAM or the Pavilion
Shop at Target at the Atlantic Mall: It’s air conditioned
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is open Tuesday–Friday: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Closed Mondays
Brooklyn Public Library is always cool
It’s too darn hot,
It’s too darn hot.
I’d like to sup with my baby tonight,
Fulfill the cup with my baby tonight.
I’d like to sup with my baby tonight,
Fulfill the cup with my baby tonight,
But I ain’t up to my baby tonight,
‘Cause it’s too darn hot.
It’s too darn hot,
It’s too darn hot.
I’d like to coo with my baby tonight,
And pitch the woo with my baby tonight.
I’d like to coo with my baby tonight,
And pitch the woo with my baby tonight.
But sister you’ll fight my baby tonight
‘Cause it’s too darn hot.
It’s too darn hot,
According to the latest Report
Ev’ry average girl you know
Much prefers her lovely doggie to court
When the temperature is low,
But when the thermometer goes ‘way up
And the weather is sizzling hot,
Mister Adam
For his madam.
Is not,
‘Cause it’s too, too
Too darn hot,
It’s too darn hot,
It’s too darn hot.
It’s too darn hot,
It’s too darn hot.
It’s too darn hot.
Thursday, July 8th at 8:30PM on the turf behind the Old Stone House: Piper Theater presents: Nocturnes, a chilling new play inspired by the otherworldly tales of John Connolly, one of mystery’s most important new voices. Directed by Piper’s Artist in Residence, Scottish director Nigel Williams.
Best Chills on a Hot Night! says the Daily News
The Brooklyn Paper interviewed Kim Maier of the Old Stone House about why Piper Theater, the al fresco theater company in summer residence at the Old Stone House, decided to ditch Shakespeare this summer for contemporary voices like David and Amy Sedaris.
The Park Slope-based Piper Theatre made a conscious decision to move away from Shakespeare this summer — and it couldn’t have found a better opposite to the Great Bard than the Sedaris Family.
Amy and David Sadaris — one known for her quirky television show, “Strangers with Candy,” the other for his hilariously autobiographical essays — joined forces some years ago to write plays.
One result of that collaboration — “The Book of Liz” — comes to the Old Stone House this month.
“Piper has been doing Shakespeare up until this year, but wanted to move into more contemporary theater,” said Kim Maier, director of the historic Park Slope venue. “The Sedarises are two interesting voices that seemed like they would appeal to a Brooklyn audience.”
That is, if you’re interested in a few choice “-isms,” specifically absurdism and satirism. In “The Book of Liz,” the Liz in question is Sister Elizabeth Donderstock, whose two main character traits are she perpetually perspires and makes fantastic cheese balls — which happens to be the livelihood of her community, the Amish-esque Squeamish. When her cheese ball-making duties are taken from her and given to a sanctimonious new arrival, she decides to leave the comfort of Squeamish and venture out into the “real world.” Once there, she befriends Ukrainian refugees with Cockney accents and gay recovering alcoholic waiters, and finds employment at a Pilgrim-themed restaurant, where they serve items like “I Hate the English Muffins” and “Williamsburgers” (that’s the other Williamsburg).
Wednesday, Jul 7th at 8:30 PM: Kiss Me Kate in Washington Park (AKA JJ Byrne Park, the turf, the Old Stone House) on Third Street between 4th and 5th Avenues:
Kiss Me Kate (1953) – A witty take-off on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, this fabulous Technicolor musical stars Ann Miller, with music by Cole Porter, directed by George Sidney.
Hear Ann Miller sing Cole Porter’s classic heatwave song: It’s Too Darn Hot (which opens the film).
7:30 tonight at Greenlight Books in Clinton Hill: New York author Jennifer Belle (author of Going Down and High Maintenance) reads from her new noe, The Seven Year Bitch, the story of a New York City girl who finds herself in a matrimonial rut.
According to Jessica, Greenlight Bookstore co-owner and Written Nerd blogger: “Belle’s novel delivers a dead-on, raw, and hilarious account of motherhood and marriage, and discovering that the life you have is exactly the one you wanted. Join us for Jennifer’s reading, and discuss the SYB phenomenon over a glass of wine.”
