NO WORDS_Daily Pix by Hugh Crawford
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford
SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
GRAB BAG_BROOKLYN AND BEYOND
HAND-PICKED_DON’T MISS
SIDE PANELS: This way <<<<< and that >>>>> Links to Essential Brooklyn. Check out HelloBrooklyn.com for movie times, Brownstoner.com for real estate and renovation blogging, Brooklyn Bomb Shelter for borough news from a seasoned reporter, Daily Heights a chatty, informed community blog for Prospect Heights and MORE.
This is gossip with absolutely no malicious intent. So bear with me as I try to be discreet sharing this absolutely scrumptuous story.
For a couple of years, I have noticed a lovely man and his son on my block. He is divorced and seems to have custody of the young boy, who is about nine years old. They play soccer in front of their building and other ball games. I see them sometimes doing homework at the cafe. The mother is sometimes around – she comes by to pick up the boy once a week and on weekends. It is always so strange when a woman doesn’t have custody of her child. Sad to say, it raises suspicions in me – what is the matter with this mother that she isn’t with her son?
But I have a soft spot for this father – he seems to take such good care of his boy. And he seems so serious with his sensible green parka and the studious look on his face.
Last summer, a divorced woman with four, yes four, children moved into their building. There is something very sweet about this woman – she always says hello and has a fairy tale pretty face. Sometimes she looks overwhelmed, infused with a "do I have the energy get through this day" look. But mostly she looks like she enjoys "homeschooling" her two younger children while the other two attend our local elementary school. Recently I’ve noticed the dad: he takes care of the kids on the weekends.
For months, I’ve harbored fantasies that this divorced man and this divorced woman would fall in love. I’ve noticed that they do a lot of things together with their kids. It’s sweet to see the man’s son play with the woman’s four children in the yard – an instant family for this only-child, soccer whiz. The combined families walk to school together often and I once saw the father and mother standing underneath the same umbrella, which was for me a sign of latent intimacy.
Well today it happened. I saw them hug. Really hug. Like two people in love. And I swooned. It’s the Brady Bunch come true – a relationship for the parents, siblings for the little boy, and one more brother for the already bulging sibling-group of four.
I may be making this up. Maybe it was platonic hug, a "it’s a hard day" kind of hug. Maybe there is no romance at all.
But for me, it was so gratifying to see my dream become a reality. It looked like the real thing and it made my heart leap a little every time I thought about it.
Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB
BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather.
FYI: It’s Good Friday. There is no school today. No alternate-side-of-the-street-parking either.
CITY NEWS: Court orders FDNY to release 9/11 audio tapes. Read all about it at New York 1.
_The remains of three more World Trade Center victims were identified this week. They may be the last until new technology is developed. Read all about it at New York 1.
_The City’s Department of Education sent out test prep guides to NYC teachers filled with wrong answers, typos and grammatical mistakes. The first big typo was right on the cover: Mathematics Planning for the Forth Grade. "Tweed has no problem with excessively criticizing teachers for failing to meet its picayune mandates, but then it produces a test prep manual riddled with errors and misspellings," said Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers. " The hypocrisy is stunning."
BROOKLYN BEAT: A teenager was stabbed in the stomach by an older man on the Northbound R platform at the Ninth Street subway station in Park Slope. Apparently the two were having an agrument. The teenager was taken to Lutheran Hospital. Read all about it at New York 1.
_Two students have accused a teacher at Brooklyn Tech High School of sexual harassment. Read all about it at New York 1. Read all about it at New York 1.
_A tree fell on elevated subway tracks in the Bronx and cut off #4 subway service in Bronx on Wednesday evening. Read all about it at New York 1.
_City Council tries to block conversion of Plaza Hotel.
_FDNY to implement new procedures for safety ropes. This comes after a fatal fire in January in which two firefighters were killed and four others were seriously injured when they jumped out a fourth story window.
Grand Rebbe Naftuli Halberstam, a highly respected Brooklyn Hasidic leader was laid to rest in a cemetery in New Jersey. Thousands attended his Brooklyn funeral. Read all about it at New York 1.
_Brooklyn receives $1 million to spruce up Fulton Street. Congresswoman Nydia Valazquez was able to secure the money from the Transportation Appropriations Bill and a local developer. Improvements include better lighting, signage, sidewalks, and landscaping. Read all about it at New York 1.
_Brooklyn woman suing the Daily News for its Scratch ‘n Win fiasco. The woman was led to believe that she won $100,000 in prizes. Sunday the news informed its readers of a misprint. "Our dreams were shattered. Our high was brought down to an extreme low," said Stewart.
_A sanitation worker was shot while working on a Brooklyn Street. He was wounded by a richocheting bullet during an argument with a gun between two men on the street. Another man was wounded as well.
_A student at Brooklyn’s New Utrecht High School was shot by a gun that went off in his book bag during an English class.
2500 runners ran the Brooklyn Half-Marathon from the world-famous Coney Island boarwalk to the Nevermeade in Prospect Park. Ivan Marionda, age 29, from New York City, won the race in 1:10:37. THe top female runner was Michelle Bleakley, age 37, in 1:20:58. Thomas Deaver, age 29, a wheelchair runner, finished the race in 1:41:28.
_English ex-pats love Brooklyn says the City section in the New York Times. Mini Coopers, Fish and Chips joints and British accents are cited as proof that there’s a British invasion of brownstone Brooklyn. Interesting fact: the Park Slope zipcode has one of the largest numbers of Mini Cooper owners in the country. The owner of Curry Source, an Indian "takeaway" in Boerum Hill, told the Times’ reporter: "Brooklyn is America without tears."
IT’S FRIDAY: All sorts of eggsperiments for the kids at the Audubon Center in Prospect Park. Egg arts, egg crafts, and egg games. Noon until 4 p.m.
"The Misfits," the John Huston masterwork. Screenplay by Arthur Miller. Starring Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, Clark Gable and Thelma Ritter. Playing at the Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Branch.6 p.m. and it’s free.
_A Good Friday candlelight procession led by the Bishop of Brooklyn and Queens. Bring a candle. Starts at Shallow Junior High School, 65th Street and 16th Avenue. 8 p.m.
"Play Without Words," a dance theater piece by Matthew Bourne at BAM. Tonight through Saturday. 8 p.m.
THIS WEEKEND: Purim Festival at the Brookyn Lyceum. Sunday March 27th. Music by Golem and Jonathan Bayer. (see hand-picked below).
The Gallery Players present: "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)." 199 14th Street. 8 p.m. Great for older kids.
The Brooklyn Philarmonic presents "Kurt Weill Goes Brooklyn" Ute Lemper is vocal soloist. At BAM 30 Lafayette Avenue. Saturday. 8 p.m.
Catpathia Jenkins and Park Slope resident Louis Rosen perform their song-cycle based on the work of Maya Angelou at Joe’s Pub. Sunday 6 pm.
WORTH TAKING A LOOK: The SECOND GRADE ART SHOW at Starbucks. Seventh Avenue between 1st and Garfield Place. The children’s Romare Bearden-esque cityscape collages will be up all month.
THIS SOUNDS COOL: From the New York Times: "Sears Beverley Road, an Art Deco cathedral of commerce christened by the soon-to-be-first-lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1932, has seen better days. The Macy’s-size display windows that faced Bedford Avenue and Beverley Road have long since been cemented over. The Munchbox is not exactly a beauty spot, either. The plants in gold hangers are plastic, the fluorescent lighting somehow both harsh and dim, the feeling of windowlessness palpable. But where else in this land can you dive into a generous plate of allspice-laced snapper beneath corporate-morale-building signs urging the meeting of sales quotas ("Can You Bring Home the Gold?") and framed letters from satisfied vacuum-cleaner customers? And on the PA system: ‘Attention all customers, attention all Sears associates. Our Sears cafeteria is now open for lunch. We have boneless stewed snapper fish, stewed chicken, callaloo and saltfish, a delicious homemade cowfoot soup.’ The Sears cafeteria is open to the public.
HERE/SAY: "To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." – e.e. cummings, 1955
NO WORKS_Daily Pix by Hugh Crawford
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford
SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
GRAB BAG_Brooklyn and Beyond
HAND-PICKED_Don’t Miss
SIDE PANELS_Links to Essential Brooklyn. Check out Hellobrooklyn.com for movie times >>> and Brooklyn Bomb Shelter for news <<<<< and Brownstoner <<<<< for real estate renovation blogging.
Second grade girls can be pretty mean. What they call Grade Recess over at my daughter’s elementary school might just as well be called "Lord of the Flies."
Is it diabolical or just developmental?
My daughter has been coming home with stories that would make your skin curl. And she’s no innocent victim. But I worry that she is being manipulated into mean girl behavior by alpha girls that don’t seem to know better.
My girl seems a bit confused by it all. "She makes me be mean to people I actually like," says my daughter about another girl who seems to be the center of the action. "I really hate her but I also want to play with her…" My daughter adds, obviously confused by the attraction and repulsion she feels toward this girl. It’s a double bind.
I am struggling to figure out what to do. I’ve talked to her teacher and some other parents who have girls in the second grade. One mother, who has older girl, has been through it before and says that you have to do a lot of work at home to counteract what going on. You can’t necessarily change the world of the playground but you can instill moral and ethical thinking in your child.
One or two moms have tried to speak to the mother of the most alpha girl of all but the mother doesn’t want to get involved. "Leave me out of this," she told one mom. "Let them figure it out for themselves."
While that is often my attitude about more benign childhood squabbles, this seems to be a problem of a different magnitude. What goes on in that playground is settting the groundwork for emotional baggage that could last a lifetime.
This is my first exposure to the world of mean girls. Sure there were some meanies when I was a kid but I didn’t get pulled in. I better read the books, see the movie, do a little homework. Time for a little consciousness raising for mom and daughter. You can’t start too early, I say. Can’t start too soon.
Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB
BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather.
FYI: 8th grade students and parents will be finding out today what public
high school they got into. At MS 51, the letters are being handed to
students during last period. Good Luck to all. It’s been a long ride…
CITY NEWS: The remains of three more World Trade Center victims identified. They may be the last until new technology is developed.
_ A tree fell on elevated subway tracks in the Bronx and cuts off #4 subway service in Bronx on Wednesday evening.
_City Council tries to block conversion of Plaza Hotel
_FDNY to implement new procedures for safety ropes. This comes after
a fatal fire in January in which two firefighters were killed and four
others were seriously injured when they jumped out a fourth story
window.
_Bobby Short, classy and cosmopolitan jazz singer and pianist, who
frequently graced the keys of the Cafe Carlyle died of Leukemia on Monday
_Transportation Altenatives, an advocacy group for New Yorkers,
gives the city passing if not great grades for its performance as a
city hospitable to bikers.
_212, the area code with so much cache, will soon be available on cell phones. But who cares? 718 is way cooler.
_On Saturday, activists protested the Iraq
War on its second anniversary on the streets of New York and Brooklyn.
Three men and five women were arrested in front of a military recruiting station at 41 Flatbush Avenue. Read all about at Brooklyn Bomb Shelter. Tens of thousands protest across Europe.
_Report says one-third of city’s fourth graders are in danger of failing. Read all about it at NY1
_NYPD named nation’s best dressed police force. Read all about it at NY1
_New York’s favorite hawks, Pale Male and Lola, are expecting at least two little hawks.
BROOKLYN BEAT: Two students have accused a teacher at Brooklyn Tech High School of sexual harassment.
_Brooklyn receives $1 million to spruce up Fulton Street. Congresswoman
Nydia Valazquez was able to secure the money from the Transportation
Appropriations Bill and a local developer. Improvements include better
lighting, signage, sidewalks, and landscaping.
_Brooklyn woman suing the Daily News for its Scratch ‘n Win fiasco.
The woman was led to believe that she won $100,000 in prizes. Sunday
the news informed its readers of a misprint. "Our dreams were
shattered. Our high was brought down to an extreme low," said Stewart.
_A sanitation worker was shot while working on a Brooklyn Street. He was
wounded by a richocheting bullet during an argument with a gun between
two men on the street. Another man was wounded as well.
_A student at Brooklyn’s New Utrecht High School was shot by a gun that went off in his book bag during an English class.
_Mayor Mike Bloomberg joined marchers at the Brooklyn Irish American parade in the rain.
_Coney Island’s Astroland opened on Sunday, two weeks earlier than
usual. Visitors will arrive from the newly renovated Stillwell Avenue
train station. Coney Island draws more than a million visitors per
day in nice weather.
_More than a 130 new buildings are being planned in Williamsburg and
Greenpoint, as well as large-scale development on the waterfront.
_Over 2500 runners ran the Brooklyn Half-Marathon from the world-famous
Coney Island boarwalk to the Nevermeade in Prospect Park. Ivan
Marionda, age 29, from New York City, won the race in 1:10:37. THe top
female runner was Michelle Bleakley, age 37, in 1:20:58. Thomas Deaver,
age 29, a wheelchair runner, finished the race in 1:41:28.
_English ex-pats love Brooklyn says the City section in the New
York Times. Mini Coopers, Fish and Chips joints and British accents are
cited as proof that there’s a British invasion of brownstone Brooklyn.
Interesting fact: the Park Slope zipcode has one of the largest numbers
of Mini Cooper owners in the country. The owner of Curry Source, an
Indian "takeaway" in Boerum Hill, told the Times’ reporter: "Brooklyn
is America without tears."
_Barrier installed at exit ramp at the Verrazano Bridge after accident. Read all about it at NY1
_ Marty Markowitz writes in response
to a recent New Yorker cover: "Marcellus Hall’s illusletters tration of Adam and Eve
being cast out of Manhattan by the hand of God is to be commended for
its prominent placement of the Brooklyn Bridge, the world’s most
beautiful. I am concerned, however, that my copy of the issue may have
been missing a second panel, in which the couple realize that what
awaits them on the other side of the bridge is not a dark cloud of doom
but the promised land itself. High rents might push some residents out
of Manhattan, but we Brooklynites welcome these emigres with open arms
to our better quality of life, our unrivalled diversity, and maybe even
a nice brownstone. Just as Saul Steinberg’s famous westward view from
Ninth Avenue exaggerated Manhattanites’ perspective in 1976, your East
River scene in 2005 misleads by rendering gloom where there should be
a glow; crossing the bridge is actually a blessing in disguise.
Besides, what better than the hand of God to direct you toward the most
divine bagels and lox?"
_From an article called, "School Auction as Economic
Indicator," in today’s New York Times: "The Berkeley Carroll School in
Brooklyn combines the groovy independent film vibe –the "Sopranos"
star Steve Muscemi offered a tour of the set – with local color. One
family paid $4,000 to have lunch with Marty Markowitz at Bamonte’s in
Williamsburg. "The place is quintessential Brooklyn," said Henry
Trevor, an assistant head of school." At Packer, someone paid $100. for
a gift certificate to a company "dedicated to the spreading of sexual
enlightenment throught the promulgation of chosen playthings."
IT’S THURSDAY: "Play Without Words," a dance theater piece by Matthew Bourne at BAM. Tonight through Saturday. 8 p.m.
_Cook’s Companion hosts its annual series of spring wine tasting nights with a tasting of South African wine. 197 Atlantic Avenue. 7 p.m.
_Debra Schultz, the author of "Going South: Jewish Women During the Civil Rights Movement" will be reading at the Grand Army Plaza branch of the Public Library this evening at 7 p.m.
WORTH TAKING A LOOK: The SECOND GRADE
ART SHOW at Starbucks. Seventh Avenue between 1st and Garfield Place.
The children’s Romare Bearden-esque cityscape collages will be up all
month.
THIS SOUNDS COOL: Purim Festival at the Brookyn Lyceum. Sunday March 27th. Music by Golem and Jonathan Bayer. (see hand-picked below).
Catpathia Jenkins and Park Slope resident Louis Rosen perform their
song-cycle based on the work of Maya Angelou at Joe’s Pub. March 27th.
6 pm.
_From th New York Times: "Sears Beverley Road, an Art Deco cathedral of commerce christened by
the soon-to-be-first-lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1932, has seen better
days. The Macy’s-size display windows that faced Bedford Avenue and
Beverley Road have long since been cemented over. The Munchbox is not
exactly a beauty spot, either. The plants in gold hangers are plastic,
the fluorescent lighting somehow both harsh and dim, the feeling of
windowlessness palpable. But where else in this land can you dive
into a generous plate of allspice-laced snapper beneath corporate-morale-building signs urging the meeting of sales quotas
("Can You Bring Home the Gold?") and framed letters from satisfied
vacuum-cleaner customers? And on the PA system: ‘Attention
all customers, attention all Sears associates. Our Sears cafeteria is now open for
lunch. We have boneless stewed snapper fish, stewed chicken, callaloo
and saltfish, a delicious homemade cowfoot soup.’ The Sears cafeteria is open to the public.
HERE/SAY:
"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and
day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which
any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." – e.e. cummings, 1955
NO WORDS_Daily Pix by Hugh Crawford
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford
SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
HAND-PICKED_Don’t Miss
SIDE-PANELS_ Links to Essential Brooklyn. Check out Brooklyn Bomb Shelter <<<< HelloBrooklyn.com >>>>> and all the other fun links.
There’s a nasty virus going around. My son has had a high fever on and off since Saturday. 102, 103 temperatures for four days running. What a siege.
The poor guy: he’s tired, listless, and glassy-eyed. His lips are chapped and his nose was bleeding this morning when he woke up.
Fortunately, he’s really pleasant when he’s sick. Lots of pleases, thank yous and I don’t want to bother you. He’s not used to being sick but he does it quite well. But this virus makes him so tired he can’t really do anything but lay in bed and sleep.
In our house, being sick means we take out the wooden tray and the bell. Ring, ring, ring, We serve the sickone in bed. Soup, sandwiches, whatever. Being sick is all about the tray and the bell. And room service.
I have pleasant memories of being sick as a child: laying on the couch watching daytime television (Leave it to Beaver, Make Room for Daddy, I Love Lucy, etc.). My mother brought me chocolate eclairs, and Matzah Ball Soup from Williams Bar-B-Que on Broadway.
But being sick like this isn’t much fun. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s actually looking forward to going back to school. Well, maybe no. Not that.
In the meantime, recovery is the main thing. Tomorrow we take him to see his doctor. And before that: lots of liquids, Vitamin C, tender loving care and flufffed up pillows.
Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB.
BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather.
CITY NEWS: Subway service was back to normal after a fire at the Atlantic Avenue Station disrupted Tuesday’s morning rush hour.
_Two polls show that Ferrer is leading in mayoral race against Bloomberg.
_FDNY to implement new procedures for safety ropes. This comes after
a fatal fire in January in which two firefighters were killed and four
others were seriously injured when they jumped out a fourth story
window.
_Bobby Short, classy and cosmopolitan jazz singer and pianist, who
frequently graced the keys of the Cafe Carlyle died of Leukemia
yesterday.
_Transportation Altenatives, an advocacy group for New Yorkers,
gives the city passing if not great grades for its performance as a
city hospitable to bikers.
_212, the area code with so much cache, will soon be available on cell phones. But who cares? 718 is way cooler.
_On Saturday, activists protested the Iraq
War on its second anniversary on the streets of New York and Brooklyn.
Three men and five women were arrested in front of a military recruiting station at 41 Flatbush Avenue. Read all about at Brooklyn Bomb Shelter. Tens of thousands protest across Europe.
_Report says one-third of city’s fourth graders are in danger of failing. Read all about it at NY1
_NYPD named nation’s best dressed police force. Read all about it at NY1
_New York’s favorite hawks, Pale Male and Lola, are expecting at least two little hawks.
BROOKLYN BEAT:
Brooklyn receives $1 million to spruce up Fulton Street. Congresswoman Nydia Valazquez was able to secure the money from the Transportation Appropriations Bill and a local developer. Improvements include better lighting, signage, sidewalks, and landscaping.
_Brooklyn woman suing the Daily News for its Scratch ‘n Win fiasco. The woman was led to believe that she won $100,000 in prizes. Sunday the news informed its readers of a misprint. "Our dreams were shattered. Our high was brought down to an extreme low," said Stewart.
_A sanitation worker was shot while working on a Brooklyn Street. He was
wounded by a richocheting bullet during an argument with a gun between
two men on the street. Another man was wounded as well.
_A student at Brooklyn’s New Utrecht High School was shot by a gun that went off in his book bag during an English class.
_Mayor Mike Bloomberg joined marchers at the Brooklyn Irish American parade in the rain.
_Coney Island’s Astroland opened on Sunday, two weeks earlier than
usual. Visitors will arrive from the newly renovated Stillwell Avenue
train station. Coney Island draws more than a million visitors per
day in nice weather.
_More than a 130 new buildings are being planned in Williamsburg and
Greenpoint, as well as large-scale development on the waterfront.
_Over 2500 runners ran the Brooklyn Half-Marathon from the world-famous
Coney Island boarwalk to the Nevermeade in Prospect Park. Ivan
Marionda, age 29, from New York City, won the race in 1:10:37. THe top
female runner was Michelle Bleakley, age 37, in 1:20:58. Thomas Deaver,
age 29, a wheelchair runner, finished the race in 1:41:28.
_English ex-pats love Brooklyn says the City section in the New
York Times. Mini Coopers, Fish and Chips joints and British accents are
cited as proof that there’s a British invasion of brownstone Brooklyn.
Interesting fact: the Park Slope zipcode has one of the largest numbers
of Mini Cooper owners in the country. The owner of Curry Source, an
Indian "takeaway" in Boerum Hill, told the Times’ reporter: "Brooklyn
is America without tears."
_Barrier installed at exit ramp at the Verrazano Bridge after accident. Read all about it at NY1
_Brooklyn rapper Lil’ Kim guilty of perjury in connection with 2001 murder. Read all about it at NY1
_City is facing $10 million in lawsuits from cyclists who say their
broken bones were caused by injuries caused by the bumps on the
Williamsburg Bridge. City officials are taking a closer look at this
problem. Read all about it at NY1
_ Marty Markowitz writes in response
to a recent New Yorker cover: "Marcellus Hall’s illusletters tration of Adam and Eve
being cast out of Manhattan by the hand of God is to be commended for
its prominent placement of the Brooklyn Bridge, the world’s most
beautiful. I am concerned, however, that my copy of the issue may have
been missing a second panel, in which the couple realize that what
awaits them on the other side of the bridge is not a dark cloud of doom
but the promised land itself. High rents might push some residents out
of Manhattan, but we Brooklynites welcome these emigres with open arms
to our better quality of life, our unrivalled diversity, and maybe even
a nice brownstone. Just as Saul Steinberg’s famous westward view from
Ninth Avenue exaggerated Manhattanites’ perspective in 1976, your East
River scene in 2005 misleads by rendering gloom where there should be
a glow; crossing the bridge is actually a blessing in disguise.
Besides, what better than the hand of God to direct you toward the most
divine bagels and lox?"
_From an article called, "School Auction as Economic
Indicator," in today’s New York Times: "The Berkeley Carroll School in
Brooklyn combines the groovy independent film vibe –the "Sopranos"
star Steve Muscemi offered a tour of the set – with local color. One
family paid $4,000 to have lunch with Marty Markowitz at Bamonte’s in
Williamsburg. "The place is quintessential Brooklyn," said Henry
Trevor, an assistant head of school." At Packer, someone paid $100. for
a gift certificate to a company "dedicated to the spreading of sexual
enlightenment throught the promulgation of chosen playthings."
IT’S WEDNESDAY: Liquid Language performance of poetry and open-mic at the Seventh Avenue Barnes and Noble.
"Play Without Words," a dance theater piece by Matthew Bourne at BAM. Tonight through Saturday. 8 p.m.
WORTH TAKING A LOOK: The SECOND GRADE
ART SHOW at Starbucks. Seventh Avenue between 1st and Garfield Place.
The children’s Romare Bearden-esque cityscape collages will be up all
month.
THIS SOUNDS COOL: Purim Festival at the Brookyn Lyceum. Sunday March 27th. Music by Golem and Jonathan Bayer. (see hand-picked below).
Catpathia Jenkins and Park Slope resident Louis Rosen perform their
song-cycle based on the work of Maya Angelou at Joe’s Pub. March 27th.
6 pm.
_From th New York Times: "Sears Beverley Road, an Art Deco cathedral of commerce christened by
the soon-to-be-first-lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1932, has seen better
days. The Macy’s-size display windows that faced Bedford Avenue and
Beverley Road have long since been cemented over. The Munchbox is not
exactly a beauty spot, either. The plants in gold hangers are plastic,
the fluorescent lighting somehow both harsh and dim, the feeling of
windowlessness palpable. But where else in this land can you dive
into a generous plate of allspice-laced snapper beneath corporate-morale-building signs urging the meeting of sales quotas
("Can You Bring Home the Gold?") and framed letters from satisfied
vacuum-cleaner customers? And on the PA system: ‘Attention
all customers, attention all Sears associates. Our Sears cafeteria is now open for
lunch. We have boneless stewed snapper fish, stewed chicken, callaloo
and saltfish, a delicious homemade cowfoot soup.’ The Sears cafeteria is open to the public.
HERE/SAY: "I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired." Fannie Lou Hammer, Civil Rights Activist
NO WORDS_Daily Pix by Hugh Crawford
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford
SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
BROOKLYN THINKERS_
FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD_Weekday lunch on Seventh Avenue
HAND-PICKED_Don’t Miss
SIDE PANELS_Links to Essential Brooklyn. For movie times, click on
"Hellobrooklyn.com" to the right >>>>>
As I put on my sneakers this morning, preparing to take another run, I took a long, hard look at those well-worn shoes. My blue and white nylon Sauconys with the small hole in the right toe and the frayed thread around the edges are like old friends. We’ve been through so much together.
I also put on my official Brooklyn Half-Marathon t-shirt that I got with the New York Road Runners Club registration bag. My race number is already in the special cabinet in the living room where we put small, special things.
The looming question now is what next. Do I train for the New York marathon or just keep on keeping on with light training three or four times a week. There are shorter races and other half-marathons to do. A friend mentioned a half-marathon in Central Park for women over 40 and there’s always the Faster Five course at Jack Rabbit.
I told a stranger with a Caribbean accent I befriended on the course as we turned into the final stretch: "Now that you’ve done this you can do anything in your life." She smiled and ran ahead to the finish. I never saw her again.
Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB
BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather.
CITY NEWS: SUBWAY SERVICE RESUMES AFTER TRACK FIRE IN BROOKLYN. A fire at the Atlantic Avenue Station disrupted the morning rush hour. At 11:00 on Tuesday – the 2,3,4,5 lines seem to be running.
_Two polls show that Ferrer is leading in mayoral race against Bloomberg.
_FDNY to implement new procedures for safety ropes. This comes after a fatal fire in January in which two firefighters were killed and four others were seriously injured when they jumped out a fourth story window.
_Bobby Short, classy and cosmopolitan jazz singer and pianist, who frequently graced the keys of the Cafe Carlyle died of Leukemia yesterday.
_Transportation Altenatives, an advocacy group for New Yorkers, gives the city passing if not great grades for its performance as a city hospitable to bikers.
_212, the area code with so much cache, will soon be available on cell phones. But who cares? 718 is way cooler.
_On Saturday, activists protested the Iraq
War on its second anniversary on the streets of New York and Brooklyn.
Three men and five women were arrested in front of a military recruiting station at 41 Flatbush Avenue. Read all about at Brooklyn Bomb Shelter. Tens of thousands protest across Europe.
_Report says one-third of city’s fourth graders are in danger of failing. Read all about it at NY1
_NYPD named nation’s best dressed police force. Read all about it at NY1
_New York’s favorite hawks, Pale Male and Lola, are expecting at least two little hawks.
BROOKLYN BEAT: A sanitation worker was shot while working on a Brooklyn Street. He was wounded by a richocheting bullet during an argument with a gun between two men on the street. Another man was wounded as well.
_A student at Brooklyn’s New Utrecht High School was shot by a gun that went off in his book bag during an English class.
_Mayor Mike Bloomberg joined marchers at the Brooklyn Irish American parade in the rain.
_Coney Island’s Astroland opened on Sunday, two weeks earlier than
usual. Visitors will arrive from the newly renovated Stillwell Avenue
train station. Coney Island draws more than a million visitors per
day in nice weather.
_More than a 130 new buildings are being planned in Williamsburg and
Greenpoint, as well as large-scale development on the waterfront.
_Over 2500 runners ran the Brooklyn Half-Marathon from the world-famous
Coney Island boarwalk to the Nevermeade in Prospect Park. Ivan
Marionda, age 29, from New York City, won the race in 1:10:37. THe top
female runner was Michelle Bleakley, age 37, in 1:20:58. Thomas Deaver,
age 29, a wheelchair runner, finished the race in 1:41:28.
_English ex-pats love Brooklyn says the City section in the New
York Times. Mini Coopers, Fish and Chips joints and British accents are
cited as proof that there’s a British invasion of brownstone Brooklyn.
Interesting fact: the Park Slope zipcode has one of the largest numbers
of Mini Cooper owners in the country. The owner of Curry Source, an
Indian "takeaway" in Boerum Hill, told the Times’ reporter: "Brooklyn
is America without tears."
_Barrier installed at exit ramp at the Verrazano Bridge after accident. Read all about it at NY1
_Brooklyn rapper Lil’ Kim guilty of perjury in connection with 2001 murder. Read all about it at NY1
_City is facing $10 million in lawsuits from cyclists who say their
broken bones were caused by injuries caused by the bumps on the
Williamsburg Bridge. City officials are taking a closer look at this
problem. Read all about it at NY1
_ Marty Markowitz writes in response
to a recent New Yorker cover: "Marcellus Hall’s illusletters tration of Adam and Eve
being cast out of Manhattan by the hand of God is to be commended for
its prominent placement of the Brooklyn Bridge, the world’s most
beautiful. I am concerned, however, that my copy of the issue may have
been missing a second panel, in which the couple realize that what
awaits them on the other side of the bridge is not a dark cloud of doom
but the promised land itself. High rents might push some residents out
of Manhattan, but we Brooklynites welcome these emigres with open arms
to our better quality of life, our unrivalled diversity, and maybe even
a nice brownstone. Just as Saul Steinberg’s famous westward view from
Ninth Avenue exaggerated Manhattanites’ perspective in 1976, your East
River scene in 2005 misleads by rendering gloom where there should be
a glow; crossing the bridge is actually a blessing in disguise.
Besides, what better than the hand of God to direct you toward the most
divine bagels and lox?"
_From an article called, "School Auction as Economic
Indicator," in today’s New York Times: "The Berkeley Carroll School in
Brooklyn combines the groovy independent film vibe –the "Sopranos"
star Steve Muscemi offered a tour of the set – with local color. One
family paid $4,000 to have lunch with Marty Markowitz at Bamonte’s in
Williamsburg. "The place is quintessential Brooklyn," said Henry
Trevor, an assistant head of school." At Packer, someone paid $100. for
a gift certificate to a company "dedicated to the spreading of sexual
enlightenment throught the promulgation of chosen playthings."
IT’S TUESDAY: At the Brooklyn Botanic Garden tonight a workshop in informal flower
arrangements. Learn how to arrange flowers in interesting containers
found around the house. 6 p.m. at the Garden.
"Play Without Words," a dance theater piece by Matthew Bourne at BAM. Tonight through Saturday. 8 p.m.
WORTH TAKING A LOOK: The SECOND GRADE
ART SHOW at Starbucks. Seventh Avenue between 1st and Garfield Place.
The children’s Romare Bearden-esque cityscape collages will be up all
month.
THIS SOUNDS COOL: Purim Festival at the Brookyn Lyceum. Sunday March 27th. Music by Golem and Jonathan Bayer. (see hand-picked below).
Catpathia Jenkins and Park Slope resident Louis Rosen perform their
song-cycle based on the work of Maya Angelou at Joe’s Pub. March 27th.
6 pm.
_From th New York Times: "Sears Beverley Road, an Art Deco cathedral of commerce christened by
the soon-to-be-first-lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1932, has seen better
days. The Macy’s-size display windows that faced Bedford Avenue and
Beverley Road have long since been cemented over. The Munchbox is not
exactly a beauty spot, either. The plants in gold hangers are plastic,
the fluorescent lighting somehow both harsh and dim, the feeling of
windowlessness palpable. But where else in this land can you dive
into a generous plate of allspice-laced snapper beneath corporate-morale-building signs urging the meeting of sales quotas
("Can You Bring Home the Gold?") and framed letters from satisfied
vacuum-cleaner customers? And on the PA system: ‘Attention
all customers, attention all Sears associates. Our Sears cafeteria is now open for
lunch. We have boneless stewed snapper fish, stewed chicken, callaloo
and saltfish, a delicious homemade cowfoot soup.’ The Sears cafeteria is open to the public.
<>
<>
HERE/SAY:
"When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.
Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of
man. And (unlike subsequent inventions for man’s convenience) the more
he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product
of man’s brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and
of no harm or irritation to others. Progress should have stopped when
man invented the bicycle." Elizabeth West, Hovel in the Hills
NO WORDS_Daily Pix by Hugh Crawford
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford
SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
BROOKLYN THINKERS_News Survival Kit by Oswegatchie
FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD_Weekday lunch on Seventh Avenue
HAND-PICKED_Don’t Miss
SIDE PANELS_Links to Essential Brooklyn. For movie times, click on
"Hellobrooklyn.com" to the right >>>>>
Birthdays.
Been there. Done that. And what a weekend it was. In addition to my daughter’s eighth birthday, we also celebrated my brother-in-law’s 50th.
For my daughter, Sunday was Birthday, Day 3. My mother and I treated her and two friends to tea at the American Girl Doll Cafe; reservations were made two months in advance. Party of five, plus three dolls: Marisol, Molly and Elizabeth.
The cafe is decorated with black and white striped wallpaper and pink walls. They provide special striped seats that attach to the table for the dolls, as well as tiny black and white striped teacups and saucers. For the dolls.
That’s what I said. For the dolls.
The girls enjoyed ladeling spoonfulls of pink lemonade into their doll’s cups. My daughter asked if she could keep her doll’s cup and saucer but the waitress said, "Sorry, no. Those stay here."
Tea for the humans is a three story platter of tea sandwiches, jello boats, pudding in chocolate bowls and chocolate chip cookie scones with fluffernutter. Then dessert. All the items are named for various American Girl dolls.
The girls had a heavenly time. As did I with my glass of decent Chardonney. The wait staff treated the girls and the dolls like princesses, and the live harpist played "Yellow Submarine" and "My Favorite Things," as well as other classics.
Later, it was on to Peter Lugars, that classic Brooklyn steakhouse known for its rude waiters and tough-love service in the shadow of the Williamsburg Bridge. Eight of my brother-in-law’s best friends gathered to wish him the very best on this momentous day. Toasts, laughs, many bottles of red wine fueled a carnivorous evening of red meat and high spirits.
The older I get the more I realize how important it is to celebrate these happy milestones. Hear, hear, parties are a good thing: a chance to honor and toast those we love.
Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB
CITY NEWS: On Saturday, activists protested the Iraq
War on its second anniversary on the streets of New York and Brooklyn.
Three men and five women were arrested in front of a military recruiting station at 41 Flatbush Avenue. Read all about at Brooklyn Bomb Shelter. Tens of thousands protest across Europe
_212, the area code with so much cache, will soon be available on cell phones. But who cares? 718 is way cooler.
_Report says one-third of city’s fourth graders are in danger of failing. Read all about it at NY1
_NYPD named nation’s best dressed police force. Read all about it at NY1
_New York’s favorite hawks, Pale Male and Lola, are expecting at least two little hawks.
BROOKLYN BEAT:
Mayor Mike Bloomberg joined marchers at the Brooklyn Irish American parade in the rain.
_Coney Island’s Astroland opened on Sunday, two weeks earlier than usual. Visitors will arrive from the newly renovated Stillwell Avenue train station. Coney Island can draw more than a million visitors per day in nice weather.
_More than a 130 new buildings are being planned in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, as well as large-scale development on the waterfront.
_Over 2500 runners ran the Brooklyn Half-Marathon from the world-famous
Coney Island boarwalk to the Nevermeade in Prospect Park. Ivan
Marionda, age 29, from New York City, won the race in 1:10:37. THe top
female runner was Michelle Bleakley, age 37, in 1:20:58. Thomas Deaver,
age 29, a wheelchair runner, finished the race in 1:41:28.
_English ex-pats love Brooklyn says today’s City section in the New
York Times. Mini Coopers, Fish and Chips joints and British accents are
cited as proof that there’s a British invasion of brownstone Brooklyn.
Interesting fact: the Park Slope zipcode has one of the largest numbers
of Mini Cooper owners in the country. The owner of Curry Source, an
Indian "takeaway" in Boerum Hill, told the Times’ reporter: "Brooklyn
is America without tears."
_Barrier installed at exit ramp at the Verrazano Bridge after accident. Read all about it at NY1
_Brooklyn rapper Lil’ Kim guilty of perjury in connection with 2001 murder. Read all about it at NY1
_City is facing $10 million in lawsuits from cyclists who say their
broken bones were caused by injuries caused by the bumps on the
Williamsburg Bridge. City officials are taking a closer look at this
problem. Read all about it at NY1
_ Marty Markowitz, the
president of the borough of Brooklyn, got his two cents into the New
Yorker this week. On the letters to the editor page he writes in response
to a recent cover: "Marcellus Hall’s illusletters tration of Adam and Eve
being cast out of Manhattan by the hand of God is to be commended for
its prominent placement of the Brooklyn Bridge, the world’s most
beautiful. I am concerned, however, that my copy of the issue may have
been missing a second panel, in which the couple realize that what
awaits them on the other side of the bridge is not a dark cloud of doom
but the promised land itself. High rents might push some residents out
of Manhattan, but we Brooklynites welcome these emigres with open arms
to our better quality of life, our unrivalled diversity, and maybe even
a nice brownstone. Just as Saul Steinberg’s famous westward view from
Ninth Avenue exaggerated Manhattanites’ perspective in 1976, your East
River scene in 2005 misleads by rendering gloom where there should be
a glow; crossing the bridge is actually a blessing in disguise.
Besides, what better than the hand of God to direct you toward the most
divine bagels and lox?"
_From an article called, "School Auction as Economic
Indicator," in today’s New York Times: "The Berkeley Carroll School in
Brooklyn combines the groovy independent film vibe –the "Sopranos"
star Steve Muscemi offered a tour of the set – with local color. One
family paid $4,000 to have lunch with Marty Markowitz at Bamonte’s in
Williamsburg. "The place is quintessential Brooklyn," said Henry
Trevor, an assistant head of school." At Packer, someone paid $100. for
a gift certificate to a company "dedicated to the spreading of sexual
enlightenment throught the promulgation of chosen playthings."
IT’S MONDAY: Learn how to better communicate with your child at this parenting workshop at Families First. 250 Baltic Street. 718-237-1862
_At Barbes" "Native Land," shown as part of their Traveling Cinema Series. 376 Ninth Street. 7 p.m. Live music at 9 p.m.
<>
WORTH TAKING A LOOK: The SECOND GRADE
ART SHOW at Starbucks. Seventh Avenue between 1st and Garfield Place.
The children’s Romare Bearden-esque cityscape collages will be up all
month.
THIS SOUNDS COOL: Purim Festival at the Brookyn Lyceum. Sunday March 27th. Music by Golem and Jonathan Bayer. (see hand-picked below).
Catpathia Jenkins and Park Slope resident Louis Rosen perform their song-cycle based on the work of Maya Angelou at Joe’s Pub. March 27th. 6 pm.
HERE/SAY: "Brooklyn is America without tears." – the owner of Curry Source, an Indian takeaway in Boerum Hill.
NEWS SURVIVAL KIT
How do you stay in touch with what is going on outside your community?
How often do you consult your news sources? How do you feel afterwards?
How do you respond? The answers to these questions can affect your
mental and physical health and form the basis of your media activism.
Many of us struggle to have a positive response to news affecting
people we don’t know. On the other hand, sometimes that far-off
sounding, mysterious entity
NO WORDS_Daily Pix by Hugh Crawford
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise G. Crawford
SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
BROOKLYN THINKERS_News Survival Kit by Oswegatchie
FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD_Sunday Brunch
HAND-PICKED_Don’t Miss
SIDE PANELS_Links to Essential Brooklyn. For movie times, click on
"Hellobrooklyn.com" to the right >>>>>
I’d vowed never to have a party at Melody Lanes. The "You can’t hear yourself think" noise level gives me a headache just thinking about it. But my daughter wanted a bowling party and a bowling party it was. Besides, it’s better than having a party at home. Not to knock at-home birthday parties: they’re usually the most creative and memorable. Great for the kids but the parents need a keg of Margaritas afterwards.
Today’s group of eight-year-olds – six girls and one boy – were fun and fairly easy to manage. A volatile mix of personalites: yes. But a great bunch. They all knew how to bowl and for the most part they really seemed to enjoy themselves.
I have learned from 14 years of birthday parties that the birthday child can be expected to have a melt-down sometime during the party. This can be exasperating for parents – you’re going out of your way to give the kid a great day and they come undone.
Think about it: the prolonged anticpation and excitement is bound to exhaust a kid both mentally and physically. True to form, my daughter did have a few moments of sulkiness – the other kids weren’t paying attention to her, someone was being mean, you know the drill. But it passed and she did manage to have a good time.
It was a great partry, even if it was at that noisy place, and a great way to celebrate eight years in the life of our girl.
BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather.
CITY NEWS: Activists protested the Iraq War on its second anniversary in the streets of New York and Brooklyn. Tens of thousands protested across Europe
_212, the area code with so much cache, will soon be available on cell phones. But who cares? 718 is way cooler.
_Report says one-third of city’s fourth graders are in danger of failing. Read all about it at NY1
_NYPD named nation’s best dressed police force. Read all about it at NY1
_New York’s favorite hawks, Pale Male and Lola, are expecting at least two little hawks.
BROOKLYN BEAT: Over 2500 runners ran the Brooklyn Half-Marathon from the world-famous Coney Island boarwalk to the Nevermeade in Prospect Park. Ivan Marionda, age 29, from New York City, won the race in 1:10:37. THe top female runner was Michelle Bleakley, age 37, in 1:20:58. Thomas Deaver, age 29, a wheelchair runner, finished the race in 1:41:28.
_English ex-pats love Brooklyn says today’s City section in the New York Times. Mini Coopers, Fish and Chips joints and British accents are cited as proof that there’s a British invasion of brownstone Brooklyn. Intersting fact: the Park Slope zipcode has one of the largest numbers of Mini Cooper owners in the country. The owner of Curry Source, an Indian "takeaway" in Boerum Hill, told the Times’ reporter: "Brooklyn is America without tears."
_Barrier installed at exit ramp at the Verrazano Bridge after accident. Read all about it at NY1
_Brooklyn rapper Lil’ Kim guilty of perjury in connection with 2001 murder. Read all about it at NY1
_City is facing $10 million in lawsuits from cyclists who say their
broken bones were caused by injuries caused by the bumps on the
Williamsburg Bridge. City officials are taking a closer look at this
problem. Read all about it at NY1
_ Marty Markowitz, the
president of the borough of Brooklyn, got his two cents into the New
Yorker this week. On the letters to the editor page he writes in response
to a recent cover: "Marcellus Hall’s illusletters tration of Adam and Eve
being cast out of Manhattan by the hand of God is to be commended for
its prominent placement of the Brooklyn Bridge, the world’s most
beautiful. I am concerned, however, that my copy of the issue may have
been missing a second panel, in which the couple realize that what
awaits them on the other side of the bridge is not a dark cloud of doom
but the promised land itself. High rents might push some residents out
of Manhattan, but we Brooklynites welcome these emigres with open arms
to our better quality of life, our unrivalled diversity, and maybe even
a nice brownstone. Just as Saul Steinberg’s famous westward view from
Ninth Avenue exaggerated Manhattanites’ perspective in 1976, your East
River scene in 2005 misleads by rendering gloom where there should be
a glow; crossing the bridge is actually a blessing in disguise.
Besides, what better than the hand of God to direct you toward the most
divine bagels and lox?"
_From an article called, "School Auction as Economic
Indicator," in today’s New York Times: "The Berkeley Carroll School in
Brooklyn combines the groovy independent film vibe –the "Sopranos"
star Steve Muscemi offered a tour of the set – with local color. One
family paid $4,000 to have lunch with Marty Markowitz at Bamonte’s in
Williamsburg. "The place is quintessential Brooklyn," said Henry
Trevor, an assistant head of school." At Packer, someone paid $100. for
a gift certificate to a company "dedicated to the spreading of sexual
enlightenment throught the promulgation of chosen playthings."
_The MTA threatens to
sue the owner of F Line Bagels, a small corner shop on Smith and Ninth
Street underneath the F-train, if he doesn’t remove all subway
decoration in the shop. Faried Assad, the owner, spent over $1000.
on the MTA’s own website buying subway memorabelia to decorate the
store. Assad received a Cease and Desist letter from the MTA that
informed him that the F-train logo is a registered trademark. The
letter gave him until March 16th to respond.
IT’S SUNDAY: BROOKLYN IRISH AMERICAN PARADE is Sunday starts at 1 p.m. at PPW and
15th Street. They march down 15th Street to 7th Avenue and down 7th to Union Street and back over to
PPW. Expect traffice problems as Seventh Avenue is closed to cars and buses are re-routed.
_Composer and Park Slope resident, Louis Rosen and vocalist Capathia
Jenkins perform a SONG CYCLE based on the work of Maya Angelou. Tonight at Joe’s Pub at 6 p.m. (see Hand-Picked below).
At the Brooklyn Academy of Music, "Play Without Words" a DANCE-THEATER PIECE by Matthew Bourne. Starts March 15th through the
_THE WOOSTER GROUP performs House/Lights at Art at St. Anns.
WORTH TAKING A LOOK: The SECOND GRADE
ART SHOW at Starbucks. Seventh Avenue between 1st and Garfield Place.
The children’s Romare Bearden-esque cityscape collages will be up all
month.
THIS SOUNDS COOL: Purim Festival at the Brookyn Lyceum. Sunday March 27th. Music by Golem and Jonathan Bayer. (see hand-picked below).
HERE/SAY: "Much as I like owning a Rolls-Royce, I could do
without it. What I could not do without is a typewriter, a supply of
yellow second sheets and the time to put them to good use." John O’Hara
NO WORDS_Daily Pix by Hugh Crawford
POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_by Louise Crawford
SCOOP DU JOUR_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
SIDE PANELS_Links to Essential Brooklyn. For movie times, click on "Hellobrooklyn.com"
Just back from a pre-birthday and pre-race dinner at Two Boots. Carbo loading for me and Pizza Face for the girl. We’re both ready for our big day
<>
The race begins on the boardwalk at 8 a.m. The group is supposed to meet the team at 7:15 for last minute information and advice from the coach. That means calling Eastern Car Service at 6:30 to ferry me and two friends over there.
After I run 13.1 miles, the fun begins. She’ll be a big eight year old. And I’ll be someone crazy enough to have run a half-marathon.
The coach told us to get a great night’s sleep on Thursday because no one ever sleeps well the night BEFORE a race – pre-race jitters and all. Still, I’m going to try to catch a few winks tonight. My daughter is already asleep, exhausted from anticipation about all that other stuff in her mom’s closet. I’m jittery too with anxious visions of the Boardwalk, Ocean Parkway, the Prospect Expressway pulsing with the strides of thousands of runners. Including mine.
Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB
BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather.
CITY NEWS: Report says one-third of city’s fourth graders are in danger of failing. Read all about it at NY1
_NYPD named nation’s best dressed police force. Read all about it at NY1
_New York’s favorite hawks, Pale Male and Lola, are expecting at least two little hawks.
BROOKLYN BEAT: Barrier installed at exit ramp at the Verrazano Bridge after accident. Read all about it at NY1
<>
_Brooklyn rapper Lil’ Kim guilty of perjury in connection with 2001 murder. Read all about it at NY1
_City is facing $10 million in lawsuits from cyclists who say their
broken bones were caused by injuries caused by the bumps on the
Williamsburg Bridge. City officials are taking a closer look at this
problem. Read all about it at NY1
_ Markowitz, the
president of the borough of Brooklyn, got his two cents into the New
Yorker this week. On letters to the editor page he writes in response
to a recent cover: "Marcellus Hall’s illustration of Adam and Eve
being cast out of Manhattan by the hand of God is to be commended for
its prominent placement of the Brooklyn Bridge, the world’s most
beautiful. I am concerned, however, that my copy of the issue may have
been missing a second panel, in which the couple realize that what
awaits them on the other side of the bridge is not a dark cloud of doom
but the promised land itself. High rents might push some residents out
of Manhattan, but we Brooklynites welcome these emigres with open arms
to our better quality of life, our unrivalled diversity, and maybe even
a nice brownstone. Just as Saul Steinberg’s famous westward view from
Ninth Avenue exaggerated Manhattanites’ perspective in 1976, your East
River scene in 2005 misleads by rendering gloom where there should be
a glow; crossing the bridge is actually a blessing in disguise.
Besides, what better than the hand of God to direct you toward the most
divine bagels and lox?"
_In an article called, "School Auction as Economic
Indicator," in today’s New York Times, "The Berkeley Carroll School in
Brooklyn combines the groovy independent film vibe –the "Sopranos"
star Steve Muscemi offered a tour of the set – with local color. One
family paid $4,000 to have lunch with Marty Markowitz at Bamonte’s in
Williamsburg. "The place is quintessential Brooklyn," said Henry
Trevor, an assistant head of school." At Packer, someone paid $100. for
a gift certificate to a company "dedicated to the spreading of sexual
enlightenment throught the promulgation of chosen playthings."
_The MTA threatens to
sue the owner of F Line Bagels, a small corner shop on Smith and Ninth
Street underneath the F-train, if he doesn’t remove all subway
decoration in the shop. Faried Assad, the owner, spent over $1000.
on the MTA’s own website buying subway memorabelia to decorate the
store. Assad received a Cease and Desist letter from the MTA that
informed him that the F-train logo is a registered trademark. The
letter gave him until March 16th to respond.
_Brooklyn Democratic leader faces corruption charges. Read all about it at NY1
THIS WEEKEND: THE BROOKLYN HALF-MARATHON starts on the Coney Island boardwalk at 8 a.m. Run or come cheer your friends and neighbors. Start on the Coney Island Boardwalk at West Second
Street. Head west on the boardwalk to a turnaround at 36th Street, and
then return east. Exit the boardwalk at West 10th Street and continue
east on Surf Avenue. Turn left/north onto Ocean Parkway to Prospect
Expressway to Park Circle. Enter Prospect Park at Park Circle and head
east on South Lake Drive. Continue around the northern end of the park,
returning south on West Drive. Turn left/east onto Hill Drive and
left/north onto East Drive. Turn left/west on Central Drive to the
finish.
_BROOKLYN FREE SCHOOL
OPEN HOUSE on Saturday March 19th From 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the
school: 260 16th Street between 4th and 5th Avenues. Writes school
director, Alan Berger: "See first hand the only school in New York City
where students self direct their own learning and have an equal say in
running the school. brooklynfreeschool@msn.com
_Music for Aardvarks
founder, David Winestone sings ULTRA URBAN KID’S SONGS at PS 58 on
Carroll Street between Smith and Court Streets. Saturday 3/19 at 3 p.m.
$10. per person. Children under 2 free. Hear MFA classics like: "City
Kid," "Bagel," "I was Walking with my Mom Down Avenue A."
Saturday is FAMILY DAY AT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM. Free admission and lots of fun activities for kids.
At the Brooklyn Academy of Music, "Play Without Words" a DANCE-THEATER PIECE by Matthew Bourne. Starts March 15th through the 29th.
SUNDAY: It’s Bagpipe Time. BROOKLYN IRISH AMERICAN PARADE is Sunday. Parade starts at 1 p.m. at PPW and
15th Street. Marches down 15th Street to 7th Avenue and down 7th to Union Street and back over to
PPW.
_Composer and Park Slope resident, Louis Rosen and vocalist Capathia
Jenkins perform a SONG CYCLE based on the work of Maya Angelou. Tonight at Joe’s Pub at 6 p.m. (see Hand-Picked below).
WORTH TAKING A LOOK: The SECOND GRADE
ART SHOW at Starbucks. Seventh Avenue between 1st and Garfield Place.
The children’s Romare Bearden-esque cityscape collages will be up all
month.
THIS SOUNDS COOL: Purim Festival at the Brookyn Lyceum. Sunday March 27th. Music by Golem and Jonathan Bayer. (see hand-picked below).
HERE/SAY: "Begin conservatively, and don’t waste energy
weaving around others. Your "chip time" will reflect when you cross
the start line – not when the gun goes off. GO a few seconds slower
than projected race pace for the first 4-5 miles, gradually picking it
up if you feel good. Hold that pace until mile 10. Once you’re in the
park, pace according to how you feel. Don’t fall into the trap of
going out too fast. I fully expect that you’ll feel relaxed and the
pace will seem easy for the first part of the race, but if you pick it
up too soon, you’ll pay for it later." Jon Cane, Coach of the Jack Rabbit Half-Marathon group.
by Sherill Tippins. Available at your local independent bookseller.
Stay tuned for a book review in OTBKB….
VALENTINES
Portraits by Hugh Crawford
Opening on April 2, 2005. 3 p.m. until…
Fou Le Chakra
411 Seventh Avenue