All posts by louise crawford

Coverage of MTA hearing/Vote on Atlantic Yards, With Video

The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority met yesterday and voted 10-2 to allow Forest City Ratner to stretch paments for the Atlantic Yards over 22 years. Norman Oder at Atlantic Yards Report has coverage of the hearing and a video. Here's an excerpt:

A warning by veteran Assemblyman Jim Brennan that they were
squandering their assets, a recommendation of caution by the
Straphangers Campaign, and even a request by the Atlantic
Yards-supporting Regional Plan Association that the deal be
renegotiated, the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
(MTA) yesterday voted 10-2 to allow Forest City Ratner to stretch payments for the Vanderbilt Yard over 22 years, at a generous interest rate, and
to build a smaller railyard worth $100 million less than originally
promised. A diminished temporary yard could persist  more than twice as long as originally planned.

Michael Cunningham & Jim Shephard Electrify New Brooklyn Lit Mag

4936_106302961024_652426024_2059762_7800494_a So I ran into Scott Lindenbaum, one of the co-publishers of the newly launched Electric Literature No. 1.  On sale now at the Community Bookstore and elsewhere in Brooklyn and Manhattan, the first issue features fiction by Michael Cunningham and Jim Shepard

Some of you may know Scott because he used to work at the Community Bookstore. He got his MFA from Brooklyn College and is now teaching some interesting course over there.

What's neat about the publishers of Electric Literature is that they're strangely optimistic about literary publishing,

That's because they've got a multi-platform approach. Electric Literature No. 1 is "streamlined for all mediums: you can read it as a DRM-free e-book, wirelessly download for your Kindle, pop open on your iPhone on the way to work, or simply slip into your back pocket as a paperback.

Wow.

And what a line-up of good writing. Electric Literature’s Summer 2009 debut anthology features the
first published excerpt from the forthcoming novel by Pulitzer
Prize-winning author Michael Cunningham (The Hours, Specimen
Days).

The issue also showcases new fiction by some of America's most
innovative and important contemporary writers, including Jim Shepard, T Cooper, Lydia Millet, and Diana Wagman.

Stay tuned for a video blurb about Electric Literature No. 1.

Paul Auster Inducted Into Brooklyn Botanic Celebrity Path

Do you know the celebrity path in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden?

Since 1985, more than 160 Brooklyn notables, including Walt Whitman,
Jackie Gleason, Woody Allen, Barbra Streisand, Norman Mailer and Gil Hodges,
have had their names embedded in an 18-inch by 24-inch concrete paver and
decorated with a stylized leaf outline cast in bronze. Each paver also contains
a bronze medallion of the Brooklyn
Bridge , encircled by the
phrase, “The Greatness of Brooklyn Is Its People.”

I think Paul Auster was pleased: “I've lived in Brooklyn for the
better part of my adult life and it’s nice to know that this paver will
be sitting in the Botanic Garden long after I’m gone,” said Auster.

Moe, Curly and Shemp Howard, also known as The Three Stooges and former borough president Howard Golden were also inducted.

Brooklyn Docs at Dweck Center Tonight: Streisand, Librarians, Trinidad

Curator Aziz Rahman, director of the Brooklyn Film and Arts Festival, just called to tell me about his new series called "Brooklyn in Film." Great topic, don't you think? Tonight is the first event at 7 p.m. at the Brooklyn Public Library (central branch) in our all time favorite space, the Dweck Center.

This will be an ongoing series presented by the  Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival in partnership with the Brooklyn Public Library’s Brooklyn Collection Department. The program is titled “Brooklyn in Film” and all screenings are at the Brooklyn Public Library main branch at Grand Army Plaza.

These remarkably compelling films have been selected by Aziz Rahman, director of the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival from the BPL’s own Brooklyn Collection. The Brooklyn documentaries being screened vividly convey Brooklyn’s uniquely complex and vibrant cultural heritage through several decades, ranging from the 1960’s to 1980’s.

When:  Wednesday, June 24th, 2009, at 7:00pm – 8:45 pm.
Where:  Dweck Center for Contemporary Culture Brooklyn Public Library main branch at Grand Army Plaza

Trinidad in Brooklyn   -  (1985)   Experimental film shot by Sol Rubin in a hypnotic style documents the fervor of the Caribbean Day Parade in Crown Heights interspersing joyous celebrants, enthralled observers, local Hasidim and intermingled communities taking in the festivities.

Who Grows in Brooklyn  – (1969) Follows a bookmobile and the dedicated librarians who bring books to the inner city. Shows people of all ages using the bookmobile and becoming knowledgeable about the Brooklyn Public Library system.

Incident on Wilson Street  – (1964)  A special education teacher, Pegi Gorelick at P.S. 16 in Brooklyn and her fifth-grade students face a crisis when one of the students, a girl, assaults another teacher. The girl, who has a cleft palate, is often hurt by cruel remarks by other children. The story involves parents, teachers, and students as they gain an understanding of the causes of the crisis, and work to improve the situation.

 I Remember Barbara -  (1981) Director Kevin Burns  connects with Brooklynites of all stripes as they weigh-in on the legendary Barbra Streisand they once knew. Opinionated hairdressers, former schoolmates, music aficionados, beachgoers, cops, look-alikes, and others analyze and speculate about Barbra, and the influence of her Brooklyn roots on her persona.

Tidbits: City Council Candidates (Petitions, David, Brad, Doug and Evan)

You've probably seen volunteers all over Brooklyn (and Manhattan) with their brown clip boards and green petitions. 

Green candidate David Pechefsky (in the 39th district) was at Seventh Heaven on Sunday in his new green campaign t-shirt that has a hysterically funny illustration of him on the front. If you want to sign the Pechefsky's petition you'll have to wait for July 1. The Greens have to get a minimum of 2,500 names on their petitions, unlike the Dems and the Repubs who only need 900. If you would like to see Pechefsky's name on the ballot in November, here's what he thinks you should do: "In June when
the Democratic candidates are collecting signatures, DO NOT SIGN their
petition because the rules state that you can only sign the petition of
ONE candidate!

Pechefsky is just back from two weeks doing consulting work
in Nepal and Liberia. His assignment was to help strengthen the
effectiveness of the national legislatures in those countries in their
role in the annual government budget process.

Brad Lander, one of the 39ers, sent word that he is joining with a group of parent leaders from schools in Park Slope, Carroll
Gardens, and Windsor Terrace will join together to highlight their
efforts to make schools more sustainable, healthy places. It's at the Old Stone House on Thursday June 25th at 11 am. The group plans to call ont he DOE to adopt the following polices: Ban Styrofoam in the schools; Dramatically improve recycling; Get the junk food out; Support innovative efforts by students, parents, educators, and staff. The Old Stone House in on Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets.

Doug Biviano, one of the 33's, wants people to help him celebrate the end of the schoo year on  Friday, June 26th from 6:00 – 9:00 PM, at 89 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights (at the corner of Hicks St. and just a couple blocks from the beautiful
Brooklyn Heights Promenade).  For a suggested donation of $10 come have
some wine and hors d'oeuvres.

Jo Anne Simon, also one of the 33's, wants neighbors, who care about children with special needs, to sign COPAA's petition in support of the IDEA Fairness
Restoration Act (H.R. 2740), a bill that would permit parents who prevail
in due process and litigation to recover their expert witness fees. Few
parents can afford the high cost of paying technical, medical, and other
expert witnesses themselves; by contrast, school districts can use
taxpayer dollar to pay for experts or use staff on their payroll. In
2006, the Supreme Court decided that parents could not be reimbursed for
expert witness fees in Arlington Central School District v. Murphy. The
Murphy decision has made the playing field unlevel and unjust for parents
who are forced to pursue due process. H.R. 2740 will override this
decision.

Tonight, Wednesday, June 24 at 7 p.m., Williamsburg residents will be joining together to help campaign, and organize in their neighborhood for Evan Thies, one of the 33's, at 187 Greenpoint Avenue, Brooklyn

Greetings from Scott Turner: The Lessness of Senses

Here's the latest from our man in Red Hook, Scott Turner. Did I forget about you last week? Huge apologies to the quizmaster over at Rocky Sullivans. And did I mention, Scott Turner's column is sponsored by Miss Wit, maker of groovy t-shirts.

Greetings Pub Quiz Straphanger Renegotiation Combine…

On the first day of summer, which was also Father's Day this year, Google ran this cruel, taunting, graphic above their search-box:

Happy Father's Day!

No matter your start-date for summer — the societal Memorial Day Weekend or the scientific June 21st — this was supposed to be an oft-repeated tableau by now.

Instead, we've gotten a steady diet of this:

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/2530739.jpg

It's been so bad that they were squeegeeing putting greens at the U.S. Open out on Long Island.

109th US Open on the Bethpage Black Course

I know the faithful at Bethpage Black were stressing something fierce.  Golf with squeegees.  What is  the world coming to?

Well, in Brooklyn it's coming to this: Bruce Ratner is really broke.  Or really arrogant.  I'm going with both.  Normally, you'd beat up a big shot with those two things. 

The MTA?  It's using 'em to beat itself senseless.

The lessness of senses covers the unbelievable sweetheart deal Ratner has conned the MTA's Finance Committee into giving him. For the rail yards Ratner desperately needs to build the Atlantic Yards
project, the MTA now says he can pay taxpayers less, build less, and
take forever on both counts.  This comes at the same time Ratner's
lobbying for more tax breaks, tax-free bonds and direct subsidies.

…for a project that won't provide appreciable, if any, affordable apartments or newly-created jobs.

Ratner:
"Listen, I'm really attracted to your daughter, Brooklyn.  Yes, I have
beaten her, cheated on her, cleaned out her bank account, demolished
her self-image, driven away suitors who truly love and respect her, and
over the past five years lied, cajoled, exaggerated, broken promises,
taunted and abused her."

MTA: "Well, yes son.  You're a fine young man.  Listen, we'll cover
the cost of the wedding.  Run along, now, that pretty little thing's
making a fierce racket."

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/nyregion/25mta-480.jpg
MTA Chair Dale Hermmerdinger (r.), who busied himself with his Blackberry during DDDB's Dan Goldstein's presentation before the MTA board this week.  A real people's man, that Dale…

I'm amused these days thinking about a remark someone made at Rocky's
a couple of months ago.  Things weren't going well for Bruce Ratner. 
Community opposition, the crashing economy and Ratner's own
incompetence had brought the Atlantic Yards project to a halt.  Hadn't
killed it, mind you, but halted it was.

Noticing my Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn badge, a gentleman said "C'mon, man, whattya want?  The project's dead. You want his head on a pike, too?"

Only
if it would end the madness that is the Atlantic Yards project.  Once
and for all.  But Bruce Ratner, the zombie who doesn't know he's dead,
just keeps coming and keeps coming, so selfish and self-absorbed is
he.  And that's why the project's not packing the moving van for
Kaputsville.

Bruce Ratner
Mr. Beg Borrow and Steal himself — life's easier without a sense of shame.

As
it stands, the MTA — the same one always threatening to cut subway and
bus routes, services, repairs and new capital projects — is feeling so
flush and happy that it's letting Bruce Ratner pay $20 million for a
property the MTA had originally valued at $214 million.

For a property that another developer offered $150 million for when Ratner was offering only $50.

For a property that currently has ten tracks and Ratner's design will leave a growing system with only seven.

For a property that Ratner will be allowed to pay off during the next twenty-two years as fare hikes jump and services get cut, so warns the same MTA honchos bending over backwards to accommodate Bruce.

Why do we stand for this?  Why do you?  Why do I?

Seriously.  It's never been legit to say "hey, I don't live
anywhere near where this is being built.  It won't affect me."  An
estimated $2 billion in taxpayer money being handed to Ratner says
otherwise.  So does the MTA's budget gap — or as the MTA's point
person on this mess, Gary Dellaverson calls it, "a mismatch of receipts."

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/nyregion/23lives.span.jpg
Gary Dellaverson — smashing unions or smashing Brooklyn, it's all the same to him.

Other people in the world get super-duper loud when things go badly (see Iran,
elections, ruh-roh!!).  There's no comparing the fight against Atlantic
Yards to the fight for democracy in Iran, so relax, I'm not.

It'd be awfully swell, though, if straphangers just jumped the turnstiles en-masse
and said "you know, MTA, your service hasn't been so good, lately.  I'm
just re-negotiating my subway fare.  Just like Bruce Ratner did with
you.  You understand, right?"

The tireless, smart folks at both NoLandGrab and AtlanticYardsReport
make a good point: Ratner really frakkin' needs that rail yard.  The
MTA doesn't need jack from Ratner.  So how come it's Ratner whose
calling all the shots?

To quote Firefly's disturbed but prescient bounty hunter Jubal Early, "does that seem right to you?"

No…I didn't think so.  Me neither.

http://www.fireflywiki.org/img/jubalearly.jpg
Jubal Early — fictional, but still asking the right questions

It gets better.  According to today's Reuters:

New York's Metropolitan
Transportation Authority proposed selling $600 million of
notes, its first short-term borrowing since the 1990s,
according to agency officials at a Monday finance committee
meeting.

The sale, if approved by the full board, would be
underwritten by Barclays.

The debt would be repaid by some of the state tax revenue
that the mass transit agency, the nation's biggest, shares in.
That money mainly is paid to the MTA in December. The notes
also would be backed by new taxes the state approved for the
MTA, including a tax on the payrolls of local employers.

To
review — the MTA, while letting Ratner screw them, is employing
cash-raising desperation measures not seen in twenty years. These
fast-and-sloppy measures are being funded by Barclays, the same former slave-trade and apartheid enablers who are paying Ratner $400 million to put their name on now-Gehryless Nets arena.  And the MTA would pay off their debt to Barclays by dipping into state tax revenue meant to help the MTA operate.

Barclays helps out an MTA destitute in part because Ratner is
stiffing it though he has plenty of money on the table from…wait for
it…Barclays.

Who's outraged by this?  A lot of New Yorkers, actually.  One of 'em is Queens Council member Tony Avella, the guy the Democrats should be uniting behind to run against Mayor Bloomberg this fall.  Avella's campaign released this late today:

AVELLA CALLS FOR ATLANTIC YARDS PROJECT TO BE SCRAPPED

The MTA today announced that Bruce Ratner, the developer of
the controversial Atlantic Yards project, will be allowed to defer $80
million of the $100 million total he has agreed to pay for the site.
The final installments will not be paid until 2031. The MTA board
members who will meet tomorrow to vote on the revised agreement were
given only 48 hours to review the complex documents.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3118/2463973135_888f459781.jpg

photo by Tracy Collins

“It
only points out how this project should never have been approved in the
first place,” said Council Member and Mayoral candidate Tony Avella.
“It's time to kill this monster once and for all.”

“This project would tear the fabric of Brooklyn for many generations to come,” Avella said. “It must be stopped.”

Time to start talking re-negotiation, fellow straphangers.  Time to start talkin…

39 Volunteers from Ohio Begin Restoration of Historic Brooklyn Church

5282832 Park Slope's Old First Reformed Church will begin the restoration of its historic sanctuary with the help of 39 volunteer workers, from a sister church near Columbus, Ohio. The volunteers, 30 youth and 9 adults, from New Hope Reformed Church of Powell, Ohio arrived on Saturday, June 20, and will stay at the church for the week, where they will sleep, eat, and work, work, work on the restoration. They will also have some free time to enjoy the neighborhood.

Designed by George L. Morse, the large, gothic revival structure of Old First, was dedicated in 1891. The interior decoration is considered one of the finest examples of arts and craft design in the United States. Currently the renovation plan is to do some interior painting. Pastor Meeter with committee members, worked with local interior designer and church member, Elaine Beery, to select the colors. Ms. Beery researched historical church records, and evolved a plan to restore the walls to their original color and palette of earth related, Florentine tones. Paint hues of these exact colors still exist in historic collections by modern paint manufacturers and an exact matching has been achieved. We thank the group from Ohio for donating their time and donating the paint!

Through the Reformed Church’s Project Samuel, volunteer groups work both on church renovations and in shelters, soup kitchens, and mission projects. The Ohio group's first trip to Old First was in 2005. Two groups from Illinois have helped us, one from Minnesota, one from Ontario, and a group from Wisconsin made two trips, and renovated the church's majestic thirty-foot chandelier last year.

The massive structure is offered back to the community as a spiritual sanctuary for every person, and for hospitality for the arts. The community is invited to stop by the church and watch the renovation in progress this week. Those who have already visited have been amazed at the vaulted ceiling, coffered with intricate flocked stenciling and gold fleur de lis. Among the treasured stained glass windows, are two made by the Tiffany Studios. Come see and say hello to our volunteers.

Today on Breakfast of Candidates (33rd Edition): Stephen Levin

Today Stephen Levin faces OTBKB's coffee cup. A major in classics at Brown Univeristy, Levin has wonky good looks and a boyish, disarming manner. His father's cousins are Michigan's Senator Carl Levin and Congressman Sander Levin and he's Vito Lopez's chief of staff. Lopez, who is often portrayed as a Darth Vader figure in Brooklyn politics taught the 29-year-old Levin about "knocking on doors, talking to as many people as possible, the
importance of having a command of the issues, and having empathy for
the people," Levin told me. A pragmatist, Levin believes that for for every problem there is a solution that is not readily apparent."

And in case you missed these from the 33rd:

Breakfast-of-Candidates: Doug Biviano. Expect the
unexpected from Biviano. A civil engineer with degrees from Cornell
University,  Biviano works as a superintendent in Brooklyn Heights
apartment building and as New York State Coordinator for
presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, whose politics of peace are a
strong influence. Biviano has lived the skiers life in Colorado and
sailed the Inter-Coastal Highway with his wife installing solar panels
on a boat he barely knew how to sail.

Breakfast of Candidates: Jo Anne Simon.  Her career trajectory from teacher of the deaf to disability rights attorney will make you feel like a slacker  and
wonder how she had time to become such a strong voice in her community
and the female Democratic District Leader and State Committeewoman for
the 52nd Assembly District. A proponent of the art of listening, she
believes that there's a place for all viewpoints at the table and that
"someone who is elected to office can work with everyone."

Breakfast-of Candidates; Evan Thies.
A former aide to City Council Member David Yassky, Thies also worked in
Hillary Clinton's upstate senate office and for Andrew Cuomo. Raised in
New Hampshire, public service was the family business and his
grandmother, Mary Mongron, was appointed by NH governor John
Sununu to be New Hampshire's Commissioner of Health and Human
Services. Struck as a child with Fibromatosis, a chronic disease, he
was
homeschooled during the worst of his illness. When he was 11, he and
his mother wrote and passed a bill about his disease. Evan studied his
twin interests, political science and journalism, at Syracuse
University but knew that he was called to public service like his grandmother.

Breakfast-of-Candidates: Ken Diamondstone: A lover of diner food, Diamondstone runs an affordable
housing business with an emphasis on "nice spaces for low prices." He
could have made a killing in the real estate biz but instead stuck to
his principles. Affordable housing is clearly Diamondstone's passion
and through his
business he has been able to translate ideals into action. He is
also a member of three local Democratic clubs and an early opponent of
Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project. For Diamondstone, who is
openly gay and lives with his longtime partner, Joe, the rights of the
LGBT commuity is high on his list of
priorities. But so is the environment. As chair of the Brooklyn Solid
Waste Council he was involved with the Zero Waste Coalition and passage
of NYPIRG's Bigger, Better, Bottle Bill.

And here are the 39ers:

Breakfast-of-Candidates: Gary Reilly. At 34 he's not quite the youngest of the candidates (John Heyer beats
him on that score) but he's plenty wet behind the ears and full of
enthusiasm about public transportation and other issues that affect voters.

Breakfast-of-Candidates: Bob Zuckerman. A long-time politico, Bob is currently
executive director of the Gowanus Canal Community Development
Corporation and  Gowanus Canal Conservancy.  He remembers the night
Richard Nixon was elected in 1968 (he was 7-years-old) and one of his
heroes is Harvey Milk.

Breakfast-of-Candidates: Brad Lander, The intellectual of the group, Brad has two master's degrees and
a BA from the University of Chicago. He made his mark running
community organizations like the Fifth Avenue Committee and Pratt
Center for Community Development, advocating for affordable housing and community sustainablility.

Breakfast-of-Candidates: Josh  Skaller. A former computer music composer at
Harvard, it was Howard Dean's presidential campaign that jumpstarted
his interest in electoral politics. As president of the Central
Brooklyn Independent Democrats, he learned to facilitiate dialogue  and
manage strong personalities. Running on a community empowerment
platform with a strong interest in the environment and smart
development, Josh is proud to be refusing donations from  real estate
developers.

Breakfast of Candidates: John Heyer: An assistant to Borough President Marty Markowitz, Heyer is the only candidate for City Council born in the 39th district. A
fifth-generation Carroll Gardener, his twin passions are politics and
theology. He works as a funeral director at Scotto's Funeral home and
his knowledge of the history of the neighborhood runs deep though he is
only 27 years old.

Breakfast-of-Candidates: David Pechefsky. The Green Candidate, Pechefsky worked for 10 years in the central staff of
the New York City Council. With a master's degree in public policy and
experience advising local governments in Africa, Pechefsky knows how the
City Council works from the inside out and has ideas about how it could
better serve the people of New York City.

Breakfast-of-Candidates (33rd Edition): Stephen Levin

Stephen Levin faced OTBKB's coffee cup at Ozzie's on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope. At 9:15 in the morning, the humidity was already high but Levin arrived good-natured and cheerful after campaigning at the Borough Hall subway stop. By way of an introduction, he handed me a campaign brochure, a button and a campaign pen, which I needed because the pen I brought was out of ink.

We ordered coffee and talked easily for 90 minutes or so.

I had to be honest. I told Levin point-blank that he was being portrayed, disparagingly, as "Assemblyman Vito Lopez's guy." And Assemblyman Lopez is probably one of the most demonized—and powerful Democratic figures in Brooklyn.

"At your first candidates forum I expected you to come in wearing a black cape or something." I told him.

But Levin has something like wonky good looks. Small framed and skinny, he's got a boyish, friendly face and in a blue button down shirt and a tie he has a  disarming, low key manner.

Still, there's no denying that Levin is Lopez's chief of staff. But where some see Lopez as a Darth Vader figure with a sometimes corrupt approach to politics, Levin sees Lopez as "a great teacher and someone who taught him strategy and the value of running an on-the-ground campaign."

Levin has other important mentors, too. His father's cousin is none other than Carl Levin, the Senior United States Senator from Michigan and the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

And his father's other cousin (and Carl's brother) is Congressman Sander Levin, Democratic representative from the 12th congressional district in Michigan, where he has served since 1983. In fact, when Levin was first contemplating his run for City Council he called cousin Sander (and his wife) for advice.

"We talked about the district. The issues. He wanted to know my chances of winning and what I've been doing.  After listening for about an hour they said 'Yeah, do it. Sounds like a good idea.'"

Born in 1980 (no, that is not a misprint), Levin grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey. His father is a lawyer, who served in Vietnam as part of the Marine Corps and his mother is an art teacher. At home, Levin and his brother "were encouraged to be curious, open and to follow our interests. My parents encouraged hard work and intellectual curiosity," Levin told me.

History was also a topic that was often discussed at home. "My dad always emphasized the back story, the importance of history and getting the full facts. If we were talking about the Vietnam War, he'd bring up French colonialism. There's always more to the story."

So it's no accident that Levin majored in classics at Brown University. "Classics gives you a perspective. There are many parallels with modern life. History is a great teacher," he told me.

The attacks on September 11th, which occurred when Levin was a junior in college, convinced him that he wanted to be involved in public life. After graduation from Brown Levin came to NYC and searched for a job in politics or the non-profit sector.

That's when he landed a temporary stint working on  Lopez's re-election campaign where he "basically went out for coffee and did clerical work." But over time he learned Lopez's approach to campaigning which involves  "knocking on doors,  talking to as many people as possible, the importance of having a command of the issues, and having empathy for the people," Levin said.

After Lopez's successful run, Levin got a job with a lead safe house program in Bushwick. He looks back very fondly on that experience, where he was an advocate for families whose children's blood tests revealed high and dangerous levels of lead. The law requires that these families move out of their homes immediately until the problem is rectified. The safe house was needed as a temporary refuge for families who faced this temporary dislocation. "I got very involved in people's lives and helped to walk them through the bureaucracy."

Around that time, Levin also ran an anti-predatory lending program in
Bushwick, where, he says, he helped to organize homeowners and teach them about lending practices that were "decimating the
neighborhood with foreclosures."

In 2006, Levin became Lopez's chief of staff. "Vito trusts me and lets me flourish on policy. He's been a tremendous help and a great teacher." Clearly, Levin was expecting the negativity about Lopez going in to his City Council run but he refuses to speak disparagingly of his boss and mentor.

Levin has been canvassing the 33rd district, "from Grand Army Plaza to Newtown Creek" since January and has learned that there are "no short cuts to talking to people and learning what they care about."

When Levin talks about meeting senior citizens, his empathy for people's lives really comes through. "It's heartbreaking. They live on fixed incomes and pensions. There's a long waiting list for Section 8 housing. When a city is run like a business it loses its human face. I want to help people," he says. "I see a lot of people out there in need."

Levin describes himself as a very practical person. "I believe that for every problem there is a solution that is not readily apparent."

Suddenly Levin stands up and walks to a bookshelf across from where we're sitting. He pulls out a book called Breathing for a Living: A Memoir.

"This is my good friend from college," he says of the author of the book, Laura Rothenberg, who died while at Brown of cystic fibrosis. The coincidence of finding this book at Ozzie's provides Levin with an opportunity to talk about what he learned from his friend.

"Life is precious. Time is limited. It really puts thing in perspective. Laura was fearless not shrinking. She had an inner strength."

Clearly, Levin has an inner strength, too. He's smart, well educated and very, very young. But he knows a lot about history and like his father and his relatives Sander and Carl, Levin wants to extend the family legacy of politics and public service. I don't get a very ideological feeling from Levin or the sense of a strong, political agenda. He strikes me as someone who wants to fix things one problem at a time as he believes, pragmatically, that there's a solution to every problem.

At the end of 90-minutes it was time for me to run as I had an interview scheduled with Ken Baer over at Cousin John's on Seventh Avenue…

 

OTBKB Music: Take Your Pick

There are three worthwhile shows tonight, two of them free. I'll look at them in chronological order.

Milton Band50 First up at 6pm at the somewhat unheralded Newsong Series @Bryant Park
After Work
is OTBKB Music favorite Milton.  As previously noted Milton
is the name of a band (as well as the band leader) playing well crafted roots
rock/americana.  Expect to hear about former girl friends, stars, piano
players and New Orleans.  Milton's 2008 album, Grand Hotel, was one of
that year's best and you cannot go wrong checking out Milton tonight.

Milton, Bryant Park stage at 42nd St. near 6th Avenue (B, D or F to 42nd Street) 6pm, free.

Ian Hunter Next at 7pm is Ian Hunter
You probably know the name but if you don't you've probably heard the
songs All the Young Dudes, Rock 'n' Roll Queen and All the Way to
Memphis by Ian's original group, Mott the Hoople.  Of course Ian has
been on his own now for a while and has continued writing rock classics
like Once Bitten Twice Shy, Central Park 'n West and Cleveland Rocks. 
Ian has a new album, Man Overboard, coming out in mid-July.  Expect to
rock.

Ian Hunter, River to River Festival at Rockefeller Park (1,2,3,A or C to Chambers Street, walk west to park) 7pm, free.

Camera Obscura Finally at 8pm is Camera Obscura.  The band is from Scotland, as are
many indie bands these days, but CO is in NYC often, so often that I've
missed seeing them three times (not tonight though).  You can call them
chamber pop if you like, and they sort of remind me of the 70s group
Renaissance  just a bit, although Camera Obscura is certainly not as
baroque.  So I look forward to see lead singer Tracyanne Campbell tell
us about My Maudlin Career and hear what else Camera Obscura has up its
selve.

Camera Obscura, Webster Hall, E. 11th Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues
(N, Q, R, W, L, 4, 5, 6 to Union Square, walk from station to Webster
Hall), 8pm, $20.

–Eliot Wagner

Reward Being Offered for Return of Brooklyn’s Statue of Liberty

A just completed poster about the 8 ft. Lady Liberty statue that went missing in the early hours of Monday morning from The Vox Pop Coffee Shop in Ditmas Park states that a reward is being offered for its return.

"Help restore our local beacon of democracy! If you have see her or have any info please call: 718-940-2084."

These posters are being printed and will be papered all over the neighborhoods near the location of the coffee shop. The amount of the reward was not specified.

Lady Liberty Still Missing from Brooklyn’s Vox Pop Coffee Shop

June 19, 2009 42_2(3) The Lady Liberty statue stolen from the Vox Pop Coffee Shop in the early morning hours of Monday morning is still missing. The police have been notified and staff and customers of the coffee shop are taking matters into their own hands by posting fliers and trying to get the word out far and wide.

The statue in question is an 8 ft replica of the Statue of Liberty, which usually stands outside Vox Pop, the popular local cafe in Ditmas Park.

Lady Liberty has been a fixture in the neighborhood for a long time. It was recently refurbished by a Ditmas Park local, who added a solar powered torch. As reported on OTBKB it was reinstalled as recently as last week.

That's what's so shocking. No one can figure out how or why anyone would take the statue. "Whoever
took it must have planned this out. It was no simple prank because she
was bolted into five foot wooden anchors, and wouldn't have fit into an
ordinary size car or van," said Debi Ryan, who runs Vox Pop.

Photo Tom Martinez


Who Stole Lady Liberty?

June 19, 2009 84 It's the big mystery of Ditmas Park today. Staff and customers of Vox Pop Coffee Shop are wondering how and why someone would steal their 8 ft tall statue of Lady Liberty.

The statue disappeared during the early morning hours of Monday morning. Debi Ryan, who runs the cafe was shocked, "Everyone was so happy that she was restored,' she said of the recently refurbished statue.

Ryan and others are in the process of creating a flyer and will paper the neighborhood in the days to come. If you know anything about the missing lady liberty please get get in touch with OTBKB (louise_crawford(at)yahoo(dot)com.

Photo Tom Martinez

Ratner Gets New Deal From the MTA

The Brooklyn Paper reports on a MTA finance committee meeting this morning, where the MTA decided give Bruce Ratner a good deal.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will move ahead with a
massive public bailout of the struggling Atlantic Yards project,
changing the project’s financing to save developer Bruce Ratner
hundreds of millions of dollars.

The MTA’s finance committee met this morning to discuss a new deal
for the developer, who had originally promised $100 million for rights
to build over the Vanderbilt railyards in Prospect Heights, but would
now pay just $20 million up front for the prime eight-acres.

The remaining $80 million would be paid out, at 6-1/2 percent
interest, over the next 22 years, said MTA Chief Financial Officer Gary
Dellaverson, who presented the package to the committee.

Ratner had originally gotten the railyard rights for less than its
MTA-appraised value because he also promised $345 million in
infrastructure improvements to the MTA facility.

Under the new deal, which is expected to be rubber-stamped by the
full MTA board on Wednesday, Ratner would make just $147 million in
railyard improvements.

A Tree Dies in Brooklyn

She was the largest tree on one of the most tree-lined blocks in Brooklyn. Third Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues) in Park Slope, Brooklyn has lost one of its own.

The New York City Department of Parks began the job yesterday and closed the block to cars due to "Emergency Tree Removal." Here are some pictures taken by Eliot Wagner on Monday morning in the midst of that job.

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Breaking News: The Statue of Liberty Stolen from Brooklyn Cafe

IMG_7703-2 The Vox Pop Coffee Shop in Ditmas Park Brooklyn was vandalized last night and the victim was Liberty. Lady Liberty.

An eight foot replica of the  statue of Liberty stood outside the popular local hangout and had recently been restored by local artist Renie Weinstein.

A stunned Vox Pop owner Debi Ryan had one question this morning as she opened the cafe. Why? "Everyone was so happy that she was restored."

Vox Pop opened four and a half years ago but it was about to go out of business when Ryan  came along and saved it, turning it into a 'for profit neighborhood collective" . That means The Vox Pop is actually owned by the neighborhood residents. 

The statue has been part of the neighborhood for years. But when the need for repairs became obvious, neighborhood resident Weinstein took up the work in his nearby home.

A few days ago, he  delivered a scrubbed up, restored Lady Liberty — equipped with a 21st century solar powered torch– ready for decades of pleasure and patriotism.  Patrons of the cafe were elated.

"Whoever took it must have planned this out. It was no simple prank because she was bolted into five foot wooden anchors, and wouldn't have fit into an ordinary size car or van", said Ms. Ryan as she surveyed the damage. Resident Tom Martinez said, "this is such a window into our little neighborhood. Everyone loved it". Now Martinez, who is a minister at a local church, says he and others are planning to flood the neighborhood with pictures of the missing statue. "looking for lady Liberty in Ditmas Park. Last seen at the Vox Pop Cafe".  The Cafe's sign looks over the empty spot and promises "Books, coffee, democracy".

Picture: NYPD Officer Baez takes the report of the stolen statue from Vox Pop manager, Debi Ryan.       Photo: Tom Martinez

Rain Stays Away for Seventh Heaven Street Fair

I got out there at 11 am just as the vendors were setting up. It's my favorite time before the crowds. And crowds there were. My 1 p.m the street were packed and it looked like vendors were doing a decent business. 

Highlights:

–Music in front of Old First Church, including young folk singer/country wailer Michael Daves. There was also a group called the Meeter Soul 6. 

Bookman –Children's book authors in front of the Community Bookstore, including Nina Crews, Melanie Hope Greenberg, Barbara Ensor and Jenni Offill. 

–The very talented jeweler Rebecca Sheperd of the Urban Alchemist collective shared a booth with Nine Cakes, tiny, pretty delicious looking cup cakes. 

MisswitMiss Wit was out there selling her original and custom designed t-shirts  including: Stimulus Bill, Nobody Like a Smart Alec and I'm a Big Fan of You Work. 


ArtisteAlexander Milenkovic had a nice booth of his paintings and prints (which he personalizes with a sketch on the back when you buy one).  

Ttintin –Kristin Raphael selling her handmade Ttintin children's dresses in beautiful vintage-looking fabric. 

TitiTiki Girl Shop with her groovy girl bellbottoms and dresses; also her American Girl Doll clothing. 

Insiders New York with their leather accessories printed with New York City images like the Cyclone, Love Lane, Imagine, and more. 

Bernette Rudolph with her graphically gorgeous prints.

–Kathy Malone was out there with her Fofolle designs and the Brooklyn Indie Market. 

Moim was serving short ribs and kimchi with rice. Delicious for $8. 

Jack Rabbit was selling high-end running shoes for $40. 

–Slope Sports was selling discounted merchandise and used toys to benefit the Park Slope Childcare Collective 

Bodega –Josh Goldstein and his Bodega NYC paintings was there as always. I love his work. 

–The petitioners were out in force.

–Many of the City Council candidates were out. I spotted Jo Anne Simon, Ken Diamondstone and Ken Baer. 

–Green candidate David Pechefsky, just back from Africa, was there in one of his fantastic green t-shirts. Where do we get one?

–Many friends and neighbors were out and about…

OTBKB Music: An Evening with George Usher

GeorgeUsher George Usher is not a household name.  But he has been playing in
bands, writing songs producing other musicians since he hit the New
York area more than 30 years ago, including the
Decoys, Beat Rodeo, Richard Barone, Kate Jacobs, The
Schramms
and Edward Rogers  George's songs work well no matter how they are arranged or
rearranged: Laura Cantrell chose George's song Not The Tremblin' Kind
to be the title cut of her debut alt country record.

George's work over the last decade has a decided power pop sheen to
it.  If you like The Byrds' brand of jangle, you'll definitely like
George.

Tonight George will play his songs on guitar and piano.  He'll probably
feature songs from his forthcoming album, Your and Not Yours, which is
due in September.  But I'm sure he'll also play some of his older songs too.  George up close and personal is always a worthwhile event.

George Usher, Lakeside Lounge, Avenue B and 10th Street, 9:30 (F Train
to 14th Street, transfer to either the 14A or 14D bus, exit at 10th
Street (14A) or 11th Street (14D) and walk to Avenue B). No cover.

 –Eliot Wagner

Thoughts About My Dad on Father’s Day

32_06_smartmomvictim03_i Father's Day without my dad. It's not easy. We always did something on this day. Often he and my stepmother would came over for dinner and we'd eat Hugh's risotto or lamb. My dad would take a few sips from Hugh's collection of scotch (some Oban, Balvenie or Laphraiog) and we'd stand in the kitchen and talk. I loved those dinners with my dad at my house. Especially when my father sat down at the electronic piano and played his free-form version of jazz. I usually bought him a book I though he'd enjoy from the Community Bookstore — something about philosophy, jazz, birds, or horse racing.

What did I get him last year?

Why can't I remember what we did last year?

Yup. I'm missing my dad on Father's Day. He told me that he wasn't a big fan of the holiday but that he appreciated the fact that we made such a big deal about it. I wonder now why he wasn't a big fan. Or if he was kidding.

And I'm feeling bad, bad, bad. Last year I didn't write a Smartmom column about about him on Father's Day. That's because early on he'd asked me not to mention his illness in the column and I guess I thought a Father's Day column might be maudlin and sad and too elegaic. In some ways, I never wanted to admit to my dad that I knew he was dying. I think we acknowledged it by not acknowleding it. It makes me sad to say that but it's true (I think we were very close that way). Also, Gersh, the editor of the Brooklyn Paper published, a piece by a dad about Father's Day instead of Smartmom. After the fact my dad said, "I thought you'd write a Smartmom about Father's Day." I was startled and stricken. There was something so poignant about him saying that. I forget now what I said. Now I just keep flashing on that conversation and feeling so very sad.

There's so much I'd like to ask him now that I never got around to say. That's life (or death) I guess.

Here is an excerpt from a  letter my lovable and funny dad wrote in
1958 to his parents just weeks prior to the birth of my sister and me.
My stepmother gave me boxes of letters from my dad to his parents. They
are absolute gems and I treasure them!

Especially this letter. It's amazing being inside his head just before that momentous event

Dear Folks,

Birth is expected in a couple of week and I am pretty nervous about it. Up until now the idea of a baby (babies) has been pretty much taking them to their first ballgame, dressing them in Eton suits and listening to their first gurgles of gratitude.

But now, the day by day reality becomes clearer, and I wonder how we'll handle such things as squalling nights, plastic ducks all over the bathroom and shelves full of those terrible picture books. To say nothing of colic, uninhibited bowel habits and stubborn refusal to eat. In addition, the idea of pacing the hospital waiting-room for hours, without knowing what's happening to Edna, doesn't strike me as better than going to the movies.

Oh, well, it will all be over soon and the joy of having them will, I suppose, put the doubts away. Did you like me at first or did it take a few years?

My job is about as eventful as Death Valley on a slow Tuesday. It's really the most boring place in the world and what reason I can't tell. The people are all nice, the accounts are not bad, the office is pleasantly bathed in southern light and the coffee wagon appears twice a day. But it's boring. I feel bored driving up in the morning and bored as I leave at night. Maybe it will get better. Maybe it's my mood about the babies that's causing it. The twins are all I can think of and writing ads only seems silly in comparison…

Photo of me looking at a picture of my dad, Monte Ghertler, from the Brooklyn Paper.

Steve Job’s Liver Transplant

Like everyone else I've been wondering what's been going on with Steve Jobs, founder and CEO of Apple Computers. Well, it turns out that he had a liver transplant. There's info at  Apple 2.0 blog:

Who leaked the story? Daring Fireball’s John Gruber, remarking on how unusual it is for the Wall Street Journal
to run a front page news item without offering any information about
its source, suggests three theories: 1) A healthcare provider, without
Jobs’ permission, 2) Apple’s (AAPL)
public relations department, with Jobs’ permission, or 3) someone on
Apple’s board of directors, without Jobs’ knowledge or permission.

It says something about the state of the news media today that it was a
blogger in San Francisco, not a reporter in Memphis, who seems to have
tracked down Steve Jobs’ Tennessee whereabouts.

Today: Seventh Heaven and Make Music New York

–Today, rain or shine: Seventh Heaven, the annual Seventh Avenue Street Fair, is chock full of special events, including the Scavenger Hunt (go to the Park Slope Chamber of Commerce tent on Seventh Avenue between Garfield and Carroll near the Community Bookstore and Little Things). There will also be readings by children's book authors and
more local artisans than ever.

My
friend and neighbor Bernette Rudolph, will take to the street his
Sunday with her gorgeously graphic work (pictured). She writes: "The SUN WILL SHINE
!!!!!
Come see me on 7th Ave. in the Slope between 2nd
& 3rd street."

–Also rain or shine: Sunday is the third annual Make Music New York celebration.  Previously noted in OTBKB has been the Accordion Forest and Singalong, now moved to The Bell House, part of that celebration.  Pierre at The Gigometer has provided OTBKB Music with a list of some of the other better performances today:

Juliet Echo (8:00pm) – First Avenue and Houston Street
And The Revellers Fell (6:00pm) – Grand Ferry Park
Maggie Doucet (3:00pm) / Stephen Clair (4 – 5:30pm) – Kill Devil Hill
Joséphine (3:00pm) – Urban Cottage
Lili Roquelin (1:00am) – Astoria Music Shop
Alicia Jo Rabins (6:30 -8pm) – Riverside Park
Athena Reich (1 – 2pm) – La Perla Garden
Tamara Hey (4:00pm) – 2nd Ave and E 10th St
Joe Thompson and the Comfortable Catastrophes (1:00am) – City Hall Park
Cassis and the Sympathies (5:30pm) – Tavern on the Green
Karen Mantler (2:00am) – DeSalvio Playground
Bill Popp and The Tapes (3 – 4pm) / Little Kitten Space Girl (5:30
-6pm) – Washington Square Park
Stephane Wrembel (1:00pm) – Fada Restaurant
Venice Beach Muscle Club – Coney Island
Her Vanished Grace (11:30am ? 12:15pm) / Rebecca Pronsky (2:45 ?
3:30pm) / Sharon Van Etten (5:30 ? 6:15pm) – Sackett St Block Party
Daru Oda (noon – 3pm) – Inspired Design
Hot Box (5:15pm) – Spike Hill
Matt Singer (5:00pm) / Willie Breeding (7:30pm) – Bar Matchless
The Scandinavian Half-Breeds (4 – 6pm) – Lovin' Cup
Randi Russo (4:00pm) / Lorraine Leckie (5:00pm) – Pass Out Record Shop
Amanda Monaco (4:00pm) – The Creek

(For more information about the bands or venues listed above, check The Gigometer)

 –Eliot Wagner