Brooklyn Film Works went ahead as planned on Tuesday night despite reports of a 40% chance of showers after 8 p.m.

In the scorching hot weather, our teenage tech crew worked quickly and got everything set up.

Raising the screen is always an adventure. It takes about six strong people to lift it off the ground and position it against Greg’s Rubbish Removal truck. Dan, who is one of the teens, likes to secure the screen from the top of the truck.

A nice sized crowd gathered to watch Duck Amuck and Moonstruck. About ten minutes into Moonstruck, we noticed lightening in the distance. Ever optimisitc, we hoped that the storm wouldn’t start until after the movie. Then the wind started and there was the rumble of distant thunder.

About one hour into the movie (Cher and Nicholas Cage were at the Metropolitan Opera together) Kim Maier announced that we were going to have to turn off the movie. The audience got off the lawn in the nick of time. Our tech team quickly moved the equipment indoors just before the big rain came.

A large group of us were standing under the projection cabana. Someone said, "Why are we out here, why aren’t we in the house?" Then someone said, "Why don’t we carry this cabana to the house." So everyone grabbed pole and the entire group moved across the lawn underneath the cabana, which was like a gigantic umbrella. It was funny.

During the lightening storm, a large group of us waited inside the house before taking the screen down.  "We don’t want to be handling tall aluminum poles during a lightening storm," Hepcat said. The kids were getting tired. Finally, in the hard rain, the group of us went out to the truck and carried the 12 x 15 ft frame away from the truck and let it drop onto the lawn. Then the screen, which has about 80 webs and gromits, needed to be untied from the frame.

We all got soaking wet. But it was kinda fun in a way. OSFO said she’d rather be boiling hot than soaking wet." We walked back home in the rain vowing to watch the rest of Moonstruck someday soon.

The Empire State Development Corporation signed off on the plan to turn the Atlantic Yards into a stadium and high rise development. It now goes before the public for review.

It’s gonna cost $4.2 billion, which is nearly $700 million more than last predicted due to rising construction costs.

From the city and state: $100 million for infrastructure improvements. On top of that, the state will kick in $637 million in tax-exempt bonds to help the developer move forward with construction, which will create a new home for the New Jersey Nets.

The state think the investment is worthwhile saying that Ratner’s project would create $1.4 billion in tax revenue above the public contribution.

The plan calls not just for an 18,000-seat arena, but for 16 buildings that would be used for housing, offices and stores.

In order to do this, developers have proposed seizing buildings through eminent domain.

For More: Gowanus Lounge

The Park Slope Food Coop rarely ever closes. But on Tuesday it was closed due to a power outage.

Monday evening, the lights in the Coop started flickering. Then they went out. The cause: a fire below street level caused by the heat conditions. There were 100 people in the Coop but noone could take their food because the cash registers weren’t  working. There were shopping carts full of food all over the place.

On Tuesday there was a sign on the door that said: Coop Closed. Some staff members came to work to give perishables to City Harvest and CHIPS and to do what work they could without electricity: no air conditioning, no computers. The Coop reopened at 4 p.m

Today at the Coop, everything seemed back to normal but it was more crowded than usual for a Wednesday mid-day.

The New York Sun seemed to think the Coop’s power outage was noteworthy. They put it on the front page of Wednesday’s newspaper.

The Crown Princess, a cruise ship based in Red Hook, Brooklyn, experienced some massive difficulties in the high seas yesterday. This from the NY Times.

In an instant, passengers aboard The Crown Princess cruise ship went
from sunbathing to clutching whatever they could as the massive ship
rolled heavily to its side, throwing everything not nailed down against
the deck and walls.

”Another 20 degrees and I would have been in
the water,” said Alfred Caproni, of North Adams, Mass., who was on his
balcony on the ninth deck. ”All the water from the pools was coming
right over the edge. It was like Niagara Falls. There were dozens of
people with bleeding noses.”

The Crown Princess was 11 1/2 miles
southeast of Port Canaveral en route to New York late Tuesday afternoon
when its crew reported problems with the steering equipment and the
113,000-ton ship listed hard to one side, Coast Guard Petty Officer
James Judge said.

It slowly came back up, leaving a scene of
terrified passengers scattered across its decks, halls and casino, then
headed for the port.

It’s 1,400 pages long and the Environment Impact Statement for the Atlantic Yards Development Project is in and it sounds BAD. Some of the findings: a new school would be needed to handle all the
children. The buildings will block views of the Williamsburg Bank building. Dozens of crowded intersections would be choked with more
traffic. Brownstone neighborhoods would find themselves in shadow. The
city’s sewer and water systems would face new challenges. Need a parking space on one of the game days: Forget it.

All in all: not a pretty picture. And the costs are astronomical.  Read more at

The New York Times

No Land Grab

Gowanus Lounge

The fact of the matter is this: it was a sweltering hot day on a Sunday in the middle of July. That 2000 people felt passionately enough to come out and protest Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project is a big deal.

I ran into a friend today who said he just couldn’t get himself over to the rally.  I was also unable to attend. But Hepcat did go over and took pictures. I’m sure a lot people felt the way my friend did. They may oppose the plan but that doesn’t translate into showing up at a demonstration.

Some people don’t like being part of demos. They don’t like chanting or singing "We Shall Not Be Moved." Some don’t believe demonstrations do anything. Some feel helpless; that the Ratner project is a fait accompli.

Hey, I was a kid in the sixties and I went to many anti-war rallies and later pro-choice demos in Washington. I get teary singing, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"

But not everyone is comfortable with that, not everyone can identify with the activist mentality.

Apparently DDDB was expecting many thousands more people. But I have to say, the scheduling of the demo on a Sunday in the summer may not have been the best idea.

It’s New York. In July. People can barely drag themselves out of their air-conditioned apartments. And many more were away for the weekend or at the beach.

Apathy?  Maybe. People will come out for an anti-war protest. But an anti-development rally might be a harder thing to get passionate about.

And yet, many of us are passionate about this community, the architecture, the scale, the history, and the quality of life. All of these things are worth being passionate about.

And we certainly don’t think a for-profit developer should be allowed to determine the future of Brooklyn. What about traffic? What about scale? Quality of life? The historical architecture in downtown and brownstone Brooklyn? What about affordable housing?

Developers shouldn’t have the power to do this. It’s disgusting and yet it is the way things have always gotten done in New York CIty.

I am proud that so many Brooklynites are rising up to say: ‘We’re sick and tired and we can’t take it anymore.’ Stop destroying our city for your profits! Let’s have parks not condos. Let’s think about the future of our borough and shape it in a meaningful and livable way.

There are other ways people can register their opposition to the Ratner plan. They can give money in support of DDDB. They can go to No Land Grab and find out how to write to politicians, etc.

There are ways other than demonstrations that people can be counted as part of the cause.
In this age of inclusivity, there must be many points of entry for people to get involved in something they believe in. Even from afar.

No Land Grab blogger, Lumi Rolley, appeared at the rally in full colonial garb and on horseback (left). Her sash said: "One if by land grab."

Lumi attended the Brooklyn Blog Fest with her blogging partner-in-crime, Amy. It was great to meet them. Their spirited and activist blog is a major player on the Ratner opposition front, which provides daily  information and news that most of the media neglects.

Photo and info found on Atlantic Yards Report

Early Saturday morning, Fonda Sera, owner of Zuzu’s Petals, was standing on a ladder attaching long, flowing puple ribbons to the lamp post on Seventh Avenue and Carroll Street. As I walked by, a Zuzu’s employee said, "Come back at 11 for the dedication."

An hour later, Council Members David Yasky and Bill DeBlasio, Bernard Graham, members of the NYPD, FDNY, shopkeepers, and many familiar Park Slope faces gathered to witness the unveiling and dedication of Jackie Connor’s Corner, a street sign in honor of a very special resident, which was covered with white paper until the moment it was dramatically pulled down with a string.

Jackie Connor, who died in the spring, was sometimes called the Mayor of Seventh Avenue. She used to sit on the steps of Old First Church or push a shopping cart up and down the avenue. Some thought she was a street person but she was really organizing, agitating, fighting for the rights of the little guy, the streets, and the community of Park Slope.

Civic minded doesn’t even begin to describe Connor, who cared deeply about this neighborhood, which was where she was born and raised. Everyone knew her and she knew everybody; she kept the police abreast of what was going on on Seventh Avenue by cell phone. And she had her pet peeves like flyers on lamp posts, which she waged a one-woman campaign to remove.

Two years ago, Connor was on the street in front of Zuzu’s Petals minutes after  fire that ravaged that store, Olive Vine and a Korean market early one morning. Fonda will never forget Connor’s unswerving support during what was a devestating time for her and her business.

Connor lived with with her husband in a Park Slope apartment and raised her family here. Her daughter is a reporter for the New York Daily News. She was at the ceremony on Saturday with her newborn baby.

After the ceremony, the event quickly became a photo op for the politicians posing together and with members of the community. You can’t blame them for trying to take the credit for getting the approvals necessary to make this street sign a reality so soon after her death. But the real credit goes to her family and friends who were eager to memorialize Connor in a meaningful way.

But talk about immortality. In the years to come, people will walk by that street sign and wonder who Jackie Connor was. Maybe there should be a plaque that tells the story of her life. Then people will know the person behind the name on the northwest corner of Carroll Street.

A stylish and tasteful antique furniture store has arrived on Fifth Avenue. Specializing in mid-century Swedish furniture, as well as a hand-picked selection of other periods, Posey Baker, also features large figurative paintings and abstracts. The new store is located at 167 Fifth Avenue near St. John’s in the space that used to be what I called the Frida Kahlo store.

Talk about a change of atmosphere. The Frida Kahlo Store was all about deep reds, Frida’s intense, somber image, Mexican pottery, and Day of the Dead objects d’art.

Posey Baker, named for the owner’s grandmother, is a whole ‘nother ballgame. On display in the shop are light woods, beautiful colors and patterns, polka dot pillows, appealing letter press stationary, and crystal wine glasses. Karin McNair, the shop’s owner, even has some kitchy American glass swans that somehow manage to look very elegant in her shop.

Worth a visit, the prices are reasonable (not cheap, mind you). But McNair  obviously has a great eye and will be bringing in an ever-changing selection of interesting antique furniture.

The look: Mid-century Swedish with other periods mixed in. Some whimsy. Lots of color. Very appealing.  And don’t buy that chair I want to buy. Oh go ahead, I don’t think we have room for it.

Hot weather can ne dangerous for the city’s elderly. Symptoms of heat exhaustion to be aware of include: nausea, dizziness, weakness, muscle cramps and clammy skin.

New Yorkers who experience any of those symptoms are advised to call a doctor immediately. Heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke.

New Yorkers without air conditioning are advised to keep their apartments well-ventilated or head to a mall or to the movies for some air conditioning.

Some other tips to keep in mind:

# Avoid the sun and strenuous activity outdoors

# Drink plenty of fluids

# Avoid caffeine and alcohol

# Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothes that cover as much skin as possible in the sun

# Wear sunscreen, SPF 15 or higher

# Never leave children, pets or the elderly in a parked car during peak heat hours

# Check on your elderly neighbors