All posts by louise crawford

Civics and Urban Life

EMINENT DOMAIN RALLY AT CITY HALL

Lumi of No Land Grab writes: The rally was huge and overflowed the designated area allowed for press conferences and demonstrations.  The mainstream media just yawned.  In case you felt like mentioning, here’s the press release and photos:
Press Release is here:
http://dddb.net/php/latestnews_Linked.php?id=838
Photos are here:
http://www.pbase.com/jonathanbarkey/cityhall
and here
http://britinbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2007/06/eminent-domain-rally-city-hall.html

Civics and Urban Life

100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF UNITARIAN CHURCH IN KENSINGTON

The All Souls Bethleham Church, a Unitarian congregation in Kensington Brooklyn is set to celebrate its 100th anniversary this Sunday.

Special 100th Anniversary Service: join us for a music-filled worship service Sunday, July 1st in the afternoon beginning at 4PM. The service will be held at Trinity Lutheran (just a few blocks away from the Parsonage at the intersection of E. 8th Street and 18th Avenue). A potluck meal and informal reception will following the 90 min. worship service. Several of our own musicians (Terris Krueger, Rev. Matthew Fox, Tom Peters, Erika Kulnys and others) will be participating in this special event.

Postcard from the Slope

ALL NEW YORKERS ENTITLED TO WELL-MAINTAINED PARKS

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This from New York 1:

A study released Wednesday by a parks advocacy group finds that the quality of the typical New York City park is determined largely by whether it is in a wealthy neighborhood or a poor one.

The Citizen’s Budget Commission says parks in the best condition are the ones operated by non-profit groups like the Central Park Conservancy, while the ones in poorer neighborhoods are run by the Parks Department and they are among the worst.

At a panel discussion today, the CBC made several recommendations on how to fix things. One of their recommendations was to allow the Parks Department to keep a larger share of revenue from concessions generated in city parks.

“We think there ought to be some more standard guidelines so that all of the nonprofit partners have the same arrangements with respect to what happens to the money that’s raised in the park from concessions, what the Parks Department will supply them with and what it expects of them,” said CBC Research Director Charles Brecher.

“We’re going to create a strategic plan for every neighborhood from Bensonhurst all the way to the South Bronx and we’re going to say, everybody should live within ten minutes of a park,” said Christian DiPalermo, executive director, New Yorkers for Parks.

“What’s more important is, what kind of a park do you get when you get there? You know, is it clean? Is it well-maintained? Are the bathrooms open? Are the water fountains working? What every New Yorker’s entitled to is a well-maintained park,” continued DiPalermo.

Civics and Urban Life

POWER OUTAGES ON UPPER EAST SIDE, EAST HARLEM AND PARTS OF THE BRONX

My mother reports that she was in the Metropolitan Museum and the lights started to flicker. She saw the lights go out in the Egyptian wing. The class she was attending left the building.

Bronx and part of the Upper East Side and Harlem have been affected. Some traffic lights aren’t working. Subway service is seriously affected.

This from the City Room:

An explosion this afternoon at an electrical substation in the Bronx has knocked out power to 136,700 customers in the Bronx and Manhattan and disrupted subway service on several of the city’s busiest subway lines — the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 and E and V lines on the East Side and the D line in the Bronx — according to officials with the city government and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Yorkville, on the East Side of Manhattan, and parts of the western Bronx were said to be the most heavily affected areas, officials said.

Civics and Urban Life

F-TRAIN RALLY TOMORROW: CHURCH AVENUE STATION

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WHO: Council Members Bill de Blasio, Simcha Felder, and Domenic Recchia; Community Activists, ORGANIZATIONS

WHAT: Rally to Support Petition to Restore Express Service on Brooklyn’s F line

WHEN: 2 pm, Thursday, June 28, 2007

WHERE: Church Avenue Station; Church Avenue and McDonald Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn, New York—Council Members Bill de Blasio (D-Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Kensington), Simcha Felder (D-Midwood, Bensonhurst and Boro Park), and Domenic Recchia (D-Coney Island, Gravesend, Bensonhurst) will stand with community activists and representatives of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and Transportation Alternatives tomorrow, Thursday, June 27, 2007, to rally in support of the restoration of express service on Brooklyn’s F line.

“To let existing transportation infrastructure go unused is a disservice to the Brooklynites who rely on mass transit every day,” says de Blasio.

An online petition in support of restoration launched by community activist Gary Reilly has generated 2,500 signatures in two weeks. “Investments in transit pay off in increased quality of life for everybody,” says Reilly. “Let’s get this done.”

“A remarkable shift in conscious is happening in New York City, with a renewed commitment to strategic planning for the future,” says Felder. “But let’s not allow our focus on the future to distort our sight of what’s right in front of us. The MTA plans to restore F express by 2012. We think it can happen sooner than that.”

“Our communities have been clamoring for expedited express train service for years, and the time has come to listen and respect the needs of the City’s subway riders, who are average, every-day New Yorkers,” says Recchia.

Community Bookstore

DEATH BY CHICK LIT: READING AT THE COMMUNITY BOOKSTORE

This book is fun — great first page. Got this email from author Lynn Harris about her reading on Thursday, June 28th at 7:30 p.m. Community Bookstore on Seventh Avenue near Garfield.

Forgive me if you’ve gotten word of this more than once; I’d blame a computer glitch, but frankly, I’ve just been disorganized.
Anyway, I’m letting you know/reminding you about my reading/signing of
DEATH BY CHICK LIT
this Thursday, June 28th
7:30 PM
at Park Slope’s beloved Community Bookstore on 7th Avenue between Garfield and Carroll.
Would love to see you there / have you join me in supporting the best of the indie bookshops!
Many thanks.
Lynn
www.lynnharris.net

Civics and Urban Life

FATE OF DOMINO SUGAR PLANT DISCUSSED BY LANDMARKS

This from New York 1:

The Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing Tuesday to
discuss whether or not to designate the refinery building at Brooklyn’s
Domino Sugar Plant a landmark.

Community activists and the building’s owner – the Community
Preservation Corporation – want to landmark the refinery building on
the site. Activists, however, want to landmark the entire 11.5 acre
site.

If the commission designates the site a landmark, CPC plans to
develop the building as a residential property under the landmark code.
The corporation says they want to create affordable housing, plus open
park space and waterfront access. They say they need to clear the rest
of site to make their development plans economically feasible.

Preservations say they want the processing plant and several other buildings on the site left alone.

A vote on the matter will take place later this summer.

BROOKLYN READING WORKS

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS: COMMUNITY BOOK STORE READING GROUP

I always get these emails from the Community Bookstore about their readng group. I think this group is called the Underappreciated Books Reading Group. On July 25th, they are starting on Hemingway’s tome: For Whom the Bell Tolls.

To everyone who was at the previous book club meeting last Wednesday, I just want to say “thank you.” Without going into specifics, I’ll just say that the meeting turned my whole day around. I felt so fortunate to be surrounded by such a warm and thoughtful group of people.
Ok, on to important business matters. Our next pick is Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls. It was a close fight between Hemingway and Hamsun, and in the end the American ex-pat defeated the Norwegian by a score of 6-5. But I think Hamsun will be back soon. Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 25th at 7:30 (please note: this is the fourth Wednesday, not the third).
I hope you can make it. As always, we’ll have some form of alcoholic refreshment there. And it’ll be chilled, don’t worry.

Brooklyn Blogfest

THE “ARE BLOGS JOURNALISM?” DEBATE, PETE HAMILL, WNYC

Sewell Chan of The City Room (cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com) listened to the Brian Lehrer podcast. I was on for a few seconds intending to say that Gowanus Lounge is pretty darn journalistic but I never got to say that. Robert Guskind worked at the National Journal before starting GL.

I don’t pretend to be a journalist but I see a value in the on the street, fly on the wall, slice of life variety of reporting that helps create a realistic portrait of New York City.

The geeks here — O.K., that would be me — are finally catching up on a week of podcast listening. A comment from Pete Hamill, the newspaperman and novelist, caught our attention in this June 15 episode of “The Brian Lehrer Show” on WNYC.

SUMMER IN BROOKLYN

OTBKB’S BROOKLYN SUMMER GUIDE 2007

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Click on the icon that says OTBKB: BROOKLYN SUMMER to your right. This is just something I put together in my spare time, inspired by New York Magazine’s Summer issue, which has a daily calendar of things to do in July and August. I noticed there wasn’t much Brooklyn on there though there was tons of Brooklyn in longer articles like The Coast of Brooktopia and Castaway.

I decided to do my own Brooklyn Summer Guide. The exercise: to pick one or two cool, cultural, fun events for every day of July. Lots of nice pix by Hugh Crawfor.

OTBKB GUIDE TO SUMMER IN BROOKLY 2007

Civics and Urban Life

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

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Smartmom dropped OSFO off for her last day of fourth grade 30 minutes. OSFO was late because she was finishing a sock monkey for a friend in the class.

In addition to much learning and personal growth, OSFO learned how to make sock monkeys in fourth grade and she taught a group of her classmates how to do it. She promised someone she’d finish his.

Looking for a Thank You card to give the Parent Coordinator at Community Bookstore, she ran into a parent she’s seen for years at PS 321. She was looking for a Barbara Kingsolver book.

"This isn’t your last day at PS 321 is it?" Smartmom asked.

"Yes it is," she said.

"I thought you had one more…"

"No, this is it. I get teary just thinking about it," she said.

They hugged.

"Fifteen years," she said.

Civics and Urban Life

BLOG OF THE DAY: SUSTAINABLE FLATBUSH

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I met and enjoyed speaking with Anne Pope of Sustainable Flatbush on Sunday at the Brooklyn Blogade Roadshow at Vox Pop.

Not only does she have a great blog but she’s been organizing interesting events in Flatbush like a recent lecture by  Wilton Duckworth and Joan Ewing of Green Phoenix Permaculture.  Afterwards there was a special treat for the late-nighters who stayed to hear Cacau Arcoverde
and Ileana Santamaria perform music and dance from Pernambuco, Brazil!
"We even had a roda de capoeira going for a minute," she writes.

Tune into SF for daily information about urban green living, sustainability, politics, and more.

Civics and Urban Life

TWEEN AND TEEN BLOG GOES LIVE

I got this note from Rebecca Segall, Director of Writopialab, Inc.

Hi there,

I live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and am the founder/director of
WritopiaLab, a community of tween and teen writers in NYC that meets on
the upper west side of Manhattan.

The exciting news: Our blog launched yesterday!

If you have time to check out or website (www.WritopiaLab.org) and blog
www.WritopiaLab.Blogspot.com, we would love to be linked to your fabulous
blog.

Thank you for your time!

Rebecca Segall
Director, WritopiaLab, Inc
www.WritopiaLab.org

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Atlantic Yards

TODAY AT 1 PM: STEPS OF CITY HALL

An Expected Large Crowd of New York City Property Owners, Tenants and
Advocates Unite to Fight Eminent Domain Abuse After Second Anniversary
of the Infamous U.S. Supreme Court Kelo Decision

TIME/DATE: 1PM. Wednesday, June 27.

PLACE: City Hall Steps. Manhattan.

PARTICIPANTS:
Home and business owners, and tenants from:
Prospect Heights, Brooklyn; Duffield St., Brooklyn; West Harlem, Manhattan; Willets Point, Queens;
Councilmembers Tony Avella and Letitia James;
and activists from:
— Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn
— NoLandGrab.org
— Historic Districts Council
— Fifth Avenue Committee
— New York Community Council
— Society for the Architecture of the City
— Willets Point Business Association
— Harlem Tenants Council
— Coalition to Preserve Community
— West Harlem Coalition
— 550 Riverside, 55/69 Tiemann Pl. Tenants Alliance
— Coalition To Save The East Village
— Lower East Side Residents for Responsible Development
— Coalition for a Livable West Side
— Duffield Street Block Association
— Green Party of Brooklyn
— Park Slope Greens
— United Neighbors for Brooklyn
— Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association
— Brownstone Revival Coalition
— Fans for Fair Play
…and more.

Continue reading TODAY AT 1 PM: STEPS OF CITY HALL →

STUFF AND THINGS

SUMMER SOLSTICE SLAM: VIDEO AND ANIMATION

Artist Paul Daniel sent this my way. It sounds really interesting.

2 nights only!
Thursday June 28th, 7-10 pm
Friday June 29th, 7-10 pm

Steuben West Gallery @ Juliana Curran Terian Design Center
Pratt Institute

200 Willoughby Ave
Brooklyn, NY

featuring:
Preeti Belosay
Yi-Ju Chen
Paul F. Daniel
Tage Haun
Justin Maynard
Talissa Mehringer
David Pierce

Summer
Solstice Slam celebrates a collection of work by Pratt Institute alumni
specializing in film and animation.  The works in this show explore
elements of reality seen through surreal and metaphorical lenses. They
create imaginative and unique realities to reflect on the real world.
These works avoid the usage of speech and language and rely on the
expressive nature of music and sound to fulfill thier concepts.  This
exhibition provides a reason for artists and art lovers alike to
coalesce at Pratt Institute for two special nights.

Preeti Belosay’s "Yatra: The Journey" examines the cultural landscape of urban environments in Bombay, India and New York City.

Justin
Maynard’s "Submerged" illustrates an aquatic scene, following a group
of dolphins on a serene quest from the surface to the ocean floor.

Yi-Ju Chen’s "Between Zero and One" provides a peaceful and
beautiful reflection about the gift of life, personified within a
forest environment.

Paul Daniel’s "Through the Corridors" is a
metaphoral story describing a human’s journey through the stages of
life, illustrated with a painterly aesthetic inside of a surreal world.

Tage Haun’s "Human Begin" is a story of a man who breaks away
from a comformist society in a mechanical world to explore the beauty
of nature and self-reflection.

In the "DJ Mayonaise Hands and
Friends: Inaugural Episode", artist David Pierce’s alter-ego DJ
Mayonaise Hands announces his cantidacy for presidency.  The Power
Lunch Artists Collective provides an amusing recreation of the talent
of upper-class art gallery schmoozing.

Talissa Mehringer’s "Lid" explores the transition between the
concious and subconcious, and reveals a mysterious world controlled by
a man’s inner thoughts.

New York 1

CITY FIGHTING INFESTATION OF LONGHORNED BEETLES

This from NY1:

The city has put some new guidelines in place to help fight the infestation of the Asian Longhorned Beetle.

Any residents of Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan who want to dispose
of tree branches or firewood will now have to schedule a pickup by the
Parks Department.

The Department of Sanitation will no longer be disposing of those
items. Officials hope it will slow the spread of the beetle, which
kills trees.

Residents in parts of Staten Island will also have to call for a pickup if their property has been quarantined.

To schedule a pick up, call 311 or log on to www.nyc.gov/parks.

Civics and Urban Life

CONEY ISLAND CYCLONE TURNS 80: FREE RIDES FOR THE FIRST 80 RIDERS

WNYC.org reports that the Cyclone turns 80 today. Listen to the story over there. I just heard that the first 80 riders get to experience the ride for FREE. What about those who are turning 80?

From WNYC.org: Brooklyn icon turns eighty today. It takes a minute forty five
seconds to ride the Cyclone roller coaster, but takes a bit longer to
recover. One man has been in charge of making sure this famous, wooden
thrill ride runs like it did when it opened. Gerry Menditto has spent
half his life operating and fixing the Cyclone. WNYC’s Kathleen Horan
caught up with him on the platform of the roller coaster.

Civics and Urban Life

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AT CB 6

BROOKLYN COMMUNITY BOARD 6 is seeking a qualified individual for the following position:

OFFICE MANAGER (Community Associate title; Full-time position)

Key Responsibilities:
*General office supervision and management;
*Clerical oversight in support of office administrative functions;
*Scheduling, budgeting, inventory control;
*Assist and report directly to District Manager

Requirements:
*Computer skills including, at a minimum, proficiency in MS Word and MS Excel;
*Excellent organization and communication skills (telephone and writing);
*Supervisory and customer service experience;
*Multilingual skills a plus

Interested persons are advised to mail, fax or email a cover letter and resume with salary history by July 20, 2007 to:

Craig Hammerman, District Manager
Brooklyn Community Board 6
250 Baltic Street
Brooklyn, New York 11201-6401

Brooklyn Community Board 6 is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

A full job posting is available as a download at the following link:
http://www.brooklyncb6.org/announcements/