The frame for a large Coney Island tent that will be used for a flea market this summer. You can see the Parachute Jump in the background.
Photo by Tom Martinez
All posts by louise crawford
This Week and Next at the Community Bookstore
Loads to do as usual at the Community Bookstore on Seventh Avenue between Garfield and Carroll.
On Tuesday, May 19th at 7pm
Philip Fried reads poetry from Cohort
Cohort, with
its three-poem introduction and book-length sonnet sequence, draws inspiration
from the sonnet’s origins to update it for the Digital Age. Linked from its
earliest days with legal proceedings and a modern psychology of conflicted
love, the sonnet held together what wanted to fly apart. Petrarch miniaturized
the standoff of forces in the oxymorons he used to characterize his divided
emotions—sick health and freezing fire. Acknowledging this tradition of warring
but tightly bound forces, Fried re-conceives the contemporary sonnet as an
arena where fragments of self and samples of lingo play off against one
another. And coloring these contests is a love intrigue that implicates the
reader.
On Wednesday, May 20th at 7:30 pm
The Nonfiction Book Group discusses Nicholas Doidge's The Brain that Changes Itself
For our next
book, the Nonfiction Book Club will turn from nature around us to nature within
us, as we read Norman Doidge’s The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of
Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science.
Like Oliver Sacks and Stephen Jay Gould, Doidge is the rare writer who
is both adept at explaining science and entertaining in the process. Join us as
we explore the concept of neuroplasticity — the concept that the brain can
change itself according to need and that, far from having a single human
nature, we are in fact extremely malleable. As Globe & Mail puts it, “You
don't have to be a brain surgeon to read it — just a person with a curious
mind.”
And next week:
–Tuesday, May 26th at 7pm: An evening of poetry with GC Waldrep and Jennifer Kronovet
–Wednesday, May 27th at 7:30pm: Modernist Book Group discusses Nancy Mitford's Love in a Cold Climate
Brooklyn Students Paint Ft. Greene Pavement
In what is being called the first ever of its kind in New York City, Livable Streets Education teamed up with Community Roots Charter School and PS 67 and got a helping hand from New York Cares
to paint a magnificent street mural on St. Edwards Street in Fort
Greene, Brooklyn. The project, which was designed by art students, was
done with the blessing of NYC Department of Transportation
under their new Urban Art Program initiative. These short term, art
projects on city assets under their purview are now referred to as “Arterventions” by the DOT.
As you’ll see the students, teachers, volunteers and neighborhood
residents all pitched in to bring the street to life, courtesy of
tweleve vibrant colors. And as the event was wrapping, trucks from a
Million Trees NYC appeared and started planting trees on the block.
How’s that for good karma?
Check out the video: Brooklyn Students Paint the Pavement.
New Blog on the Block: Amusing the Zillions
Get out the welcome wagon and bring some frozen margaritas, chips and salsa on over to the new blog on the block: www.amusingthezillion.com, which went
live over the weekend
Blogger Tricia Vita grew up in the amusement business and has a background in journalism. She works in Coney Island at the History Project and last year began photographing what was happening and sending info to Gowanus Lounge and Curbed. She writes:
"After Bob Guskind's death, I realized I had to launch my own Coney Island blog
this season. I had really started blogging on my flickr. Apparently that's the
way Guskind started too, I remember Jake Dobkin of Gothamist mentioning it at Bob's memorial. I can't tell you how many times I think, when
something crazy happens, like Thor Equities tents being the wrong
tents and having to come off, oh, Bob is laughing at this up
there in bloggers heaven. I will do a post dedicating my blog
to Bob in the near future.
this season. I had really started blogging on my flickr. Apparently that's the
way Guskind started too, I remember Jake Dobkin of Gothamist mentioning it at Bob's memorial. I can't tell you how many times I think, when
something crazy happens, like Thor Equities tents being the wrong
tents and having to come off, oh, Bob is laughing at this up
there in bloggers heaven. I will do a post dedicating my blog
to Bob in the near future.
In
addition to redevelopment issues, I plan to post about fun things to
do, beloved attractions, favorites, etc."
addition to redevelopment issues, I plan to post about fun things to
do, beloved attractions, favorites, etc."
Nancy Soyer: Dog Walker and Painter
I went to high school with Nancy Soyer and it has been fun over the years to see her in the neighborhood with her dogs.
Nancy Soyer is a long time dog walker and resident of Brownstone
Brooklyn. She’s a also professional Dog Portrait artist who’s paintings
have been featured in the New York Times, Oprah, Domino, Traditional
Home magazines and others. Her day job has been a perfect way to spend
quality time with her canine muses.
You just have to see Nancy at work to see that her dog walking business is a labor of love. Pet
owners have described Nancy as trustworthy, fun, energetic, reliable,
warm and tender. Sensitive pets don’t respond well to changing
caregivers.
Nancy works to develop relationships with each dog.
References are available upon request.
Greetings from Scott Turner: The Rabid Obstructionists
Here he is, Scott Turner, writer/designer and Rocky Sullivan's pub quizman with more analysis and agita about issues of interest to readers of OTBKB.
Greetings Pub Quiz Rabid Obstructionistas…
Wow. This morning, the New York Daily News has really laid its Atlantic Yards cards on the table. As usual, they're covering their crap hand with over-the-top bluffing.
In an editorial, the Daily News' board slammed "rabid obstructionists" for fighting Bruce Ratner's superblock project. Apparently the News doesn't want you going to court if they don't like why you're
going to court. Constitutional rights really get in the way when
they're someone else's bag, baby. Those same rights could still delay
the Atlantic Yards project anywhere from months to years. In the Daily News' worldview, the Voice of the People they like the best is no voice at all.
Anyway, who are these insidious obstructionist nogoodniks whose
foaming at the mouth is enough to coat a runway for an emergency
landing?
Why, people who've figured out that Ratner's innocuous Jobs Hoops & Housing is really Pink Slips, Blight and Lies.
People who, facing the backs government officials have
turned on them, did what the nation's stated ideals urges all of us to
do — protest, write, organize, fight, litigate, reach out, implore,
investigate, report, analyze. The thing that was so popular in the
1770s, lobbing cannonballs at tyranny. Of course, if democracy comes
too close to upsetting Michael Bloomberg's gilded applecarts,
standing up to tyranny is no longer a celebrated thing. Citizenry
Speaking Out become Rabid Obstructionists.
Great ideas, folks — just keep 'em back in your times. Thomas Paine, Malcolm X, Mother Jones
People who've done the simple math the News refuses
to do, shining light into restricted backrooms to see all of Ratner's
plans, not just the stage sets he wants us to see. In the current
economic crisis, Atlantic Yards is hanging on by the skin of its teeth
to a fraying thread of nearly broke financial backers that's
papercliped to the world economy's teetering house of cards.
People who, regardless of their initial impressions, dug
beneath Ratner's glossy veneer and glimpsed something far uglier than
the emperor being naked: a bunch of little men with Napoleon complexes wearing Brooklyn Nets jerseys.
We're ALL Number One! December 10, 2003
This is the kind of stuff one expects from civic cheerleaders like Marty Markowitz, Bertha Lewis, the ESDC and Mayor Bloomberg — "brutal weirdness," as Norman Oder
calls it.. Their job descriptions include the mandate stating "you
will be forced to pompously gesticulate in support of initiatives
favored by powerful interests, i.e. 'friends in high places.' Do not
let ragged, outmoded constructs such as democracy, community or equality distract from this mandate."
Weirdly, of gravest concern to the Daily News' editorial board isn't the Atlantic Yards plan's:
- lack of affordable housing (there's no schedule or financing for it);
- lack
of newly created jobs (Ratner's 2003 promise of 10,000 is now down to a
several hundred and a job-creation cost 2 to 4 times above the city's
average); - lack of union construction jobs (one-tenth the original promise);
- lack
of predicted cash benefits to the city (devoured by everything from the
bad economy to shady PILOT financing that has repeatedly soaked
taxpayers nationwide); - the South-Bronx-in-the-70s conditions in the project's footprint (created only over the last five years by Ratner's scorched earth policies).
No…the News civic-minded editors are pissed that LeBron James won't be signing with the Nets. It's good to see they've got their priorities straight. Next week we can expect a News editorial critical of anti-war demonstrators because new Bob Hope-style reviews can't play in Basra.
Again, it's the Daily News' editorial board at issue here.
They have, simply, given up on journalism's most basic tenets — to dig
out the facts, report them, and where opinion is voiced, base it on the
facts they've uncovered. There is simply nothing factual to
substantiate the News' half-decade's worth of pie-in-the-sky boosterisms of the Atlantic Yards project.
Amazingly, some of the News' beat reporters and columnists have managed to do their job and look underneath Ratner's and Bloomberg's p.r. boulders. The O'Keeffes, Gonzalezes, Lupicas, Sederstroms are just the current staffers who've stayed the journalist's course.
Of course, opinion is opinion, its beauty and conceit being its
inability to be pinned down. That always gives the Opiner the upper
hand.
It'd be one thing if the Daily News wrote "gosh,
we'd sure feel groovy about the Nets coming to Brooklyn." But they
don't leave it at that, instead conflating prognostications and fact in
a lazy, unethical and a slippery slope operation. It traps everyone
who comes across it — the editors, the paper's readers, and most of
all the city the newspaper claims it's The Hometown Paper of.
"But Turner, what about Atlantic Yard opponents? Don't they
do the same thing?" On occasion, sure. But the vast majority of
reporting, analysis, press releases, reports, blogs, and even opinion
pieces have been based on the Ratner's own numbers, the city's own
history of dealing with these projects, and quotes from all the
parties involved. What do opponents base their opposition on? These
are numbers that again and again don't compute. It just takes putting
them under the microscope.
That would be the microscope still gathering dust in the editorial rooms at the News, Post and New York Times — the last an actual business partner with Bruce Ratner.
The Atlantic Yards project has become Brooklyn's own Terry Schiavo
case. The Atlantic Yards project is dead. Of course, Ratner will
still try to build something, but those seductive, vast numbers of
newly-created jobs, affordable housing, union construction jobs, and
the gleaming new city-within-a-city that would make Brooklyn into a
world-class destination — none of that was ever going to happen, and
now it never will. The economy, community opposition, and Ratner's own
incompetence have seen to that.
Bruce Ratner..the making of a Destination.
Ironically,
the one Atlantic Yards component that Ratner is throwing all of his
dwindling fiscal and political capital into is the most frivolous of
all — the basketball arena. It would create few jobs beyond part-time
low-paying slots, and provides no housing at all, never mind affordable
housing. Remember, those are the things — jobs and housing — that
neatly bookended "hoops" in Ratner's
said-often-enough-it'll-become-fact mantra.
The jobs and housing are what attracted support from politicians,
the media, and a few lonely community groups (a couple of whom actually
existed before the project was uncorked). Now those jobs and
apartments have mostly vanished, replaced with a basketball palace and
decades of economic studies showing that sports stadiums and arenas
don't benefit cities that pay for them. Why on God's green
earth — such that it still is — are local politicians refusing to
pull the plug and start over with something that will work.
"Oh, c'mon, that'll take another decade." It doesn't have to. For
one, the genie's out of the bottle developing this area. And two,
there are plans ready to go for the Atlantic Yards footprint. City and
state government officials whose chief goal should be improving
Brooklynites' lives rather than greasing Bruce Ratner's skids should
refocus on why they were elected and paid by taxpayers.
Leaving Bloomberg's and former Governnor Pataki's hubris
behind, the process could be streamlined. Despite these lean economic
times– and in some ways because of them — innovative planning and
building can still happen. Many pieces are in place, but until Governor Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg shift gears away from the Atlantic Yards project, those pieces could start to rot like FEMA's infamous unused trailers down by Gulf Coast.
The UNITY Plan — one of the pieces in the post-Ratner era. Got it if you want it.
Ratner is not the only option. It's insulting for Bloomberg and
others to insist he is. Where's that civic pride, the fawning over all
talent here in New York? That's the question to ask when Atlantic
Yards' developer is from Cleveland, the chief architect is from Los Angeles, the landscape architectis from Philadelphia, the chief construction management firm is also from Phily and the arena's naming-rights sugardaddy is from London. Civic pride — merely a convenience filed away in the stack of Bloomberg's skyscraper of fallacies and contrivances.
Of course, gosh, never mind all of that. LeBron…we lost LeBron!
Brooklyn looks headed for another dark age. Housing, schools, jobs,
transit, health care, infrastructure…all of those pitfalls, we'll
survive. We're Brooklynites.
But losing LeBron? I dunno, man…that's tough. At least that's what New York's Hometown Newspaper tells me.
One of my coping mechanisms? My next band will be called The Rabid Obstructionists.
Smartmom Raises Her Glass To New Bar — The One Across From The School
Here's this week's Smartmom from the award-winning Brooklyn Paper:
What a bunch of teetotalers in Park Slope. That was Smartmom’s
reaction upon hearing that there was a brouhaha brewing on Park Slope
Parents list-serve because the owner of Bar Toto, a restaurant that
serves — gasp — wine and beer, planned to open a new restaurant across
the street from PS 107 on Eighth Avenue.
It turned out that only one person was making noise about the
restaurant, which most everyone else was eagerly looking forward to.
“I have no children currently enrolled at 107, however nor would I
want my children entering and exiting the building with a bar in plain
sight,” wrote the man, whose name Smartmom is concealing only because
she’s nice.
The response was swift from other parents in the group.
“There are two other bars within one block of 107 — and I never had
to shoo away beer-drinking second graders from my stoop,” wrote one
pro-Bar Toto person. “I also never noted any raucous adult drinking,
especially between the hours of 8:30 am and 3 pm. I have seen many 107
students eating at these establishments with their parents in (gasp!)
plain view of the bar!”
Eighth Avenue Mom also posted in favor of the bar.
“I have no problem having my child see people enjoying a glass of
wine in a sidewalk cafe,” she wrote. “I see no harm in having my child
enter or exit school with a bar ‘in plain sight.’ We live in New York
City; there are bars everywhere. More important, I would prefer to
welcome a new business rather than take the opposite approach:
protesting before it opens on the specious notion that it is inherently
bad.
“It’s not as though our neighborhood has been over run with nuisance bars,” she concluded.
About 10 parents added their approval. The original poster, apparently shamed, did not respond publicly again.
Still, the mini-crisis was plenty annoying. Heavens to Betsy! Can
you imagine a restaurant that serves wine and beer opening near a
school in New York City?
Think of the moral fiber of those poor children. They might see
someone drinking a glass of wine. Their tender sensibilities could be
destroyed forever.
Smartmom had such a negative reaction to the notion of a “Park Slope
Temperance League.” She is leery of the demonization alcohol that has
grown out of the culture of 12-step-programs.
Yes, alcoholism is a bad thing; it ravages lives and destroys
families. But there is such thing as responsible drinking. A glass of
wine with dinner is not “The Lost Weekend.”
So let’s be reasonable. Bar Toto across the street from a school is
not a public health issue. A bar/restaurant is not a crack den. For
Buddha’s sake, it’s a popular local eatery. A bistro. Think steak
frites, paninis, Caesar salad and, yes, wine.
And not every glass of wine leads to a raucous frat party on the street.
The man who got his knickers in a knot about Bar Toto can rest
assured. The State Liquor Authority has regulations about these sorts
of things. Hard liquor can not be served within 200 feet of a school,
but a restaurant can get a beer and wine license.
Smartmom is living proof that it’s not such a big deal for the kids
to see the adults drinking. Back in the 1960s and ’70s, Smartmom’s dad
would have a glass of Scotch when he got home from the advertising
agency (she can still hear the tinkling of ice cubes). Her mother would
join him on the white couch in the living room with a mix of gin and
orange juice.
It’s not like they got crazy drunk or anything. It just smoothed out
some of the sharp edges that accumulated during the day. It was her
parents way of getting some R&R before dinner.
On New Year’s Eve 1969, Groovy Grandpa let Smartmom, Diaper Diva and
their friend, Best and Oldest, have a sip of champagne as the ’60s
turned into the ’70s. Gag. It tasted like medicine.
They were only 11 years old, but Smartmom will never forget what fun
it was to taste a grown-up drink on that memorable night — even if it
was awful.
So was Smartmom damaged?
Well, everyone knows that she’s damaged. But it’s not because she
was surrounded by adults who drank hard liquor, or because she played
bartender and sipped champagne on New Year’s Eve.
For one thing, she never developed a drinking problem. She remembers
drinking beer at the West End Bar, a defunct jazz club near Columbia,
when she was in high school. And there must have been alcohol at high
school parties. When she got to college, she used to go to a happy hour
at a Holiday Inn and drink White Russians with her best friend. But
Smartmom liked the free shrimp and the mozzarella sticks more than the
creamy drink.
Yes, Smartmom is the first to admit that she likes her Chardonnay
and her weekly Margaritas with her writer’s group at Le Taq. Smartmom
likes to be light-headed and loose; she likes to feel a little buzz
every now and then.
And Teen Spirit and the Oh So Feisty One have seen Smartmom and
Hepcat finish off a bottle of wine at dinner, and have seen Hepcat’s
single malt Scotch bottles like Balvenie, Oban, Lagavulin and Laphroaig.
Will they be damaged?
Probably not. But they will learn to drink — and post on Park Slope Parents — responsibly.
Breakfast-of-Candidates (33rd Edition): Evan Thies
Evan Thies, the 29-year-old candidate for City Council in the 33rd district, was sitting at a small cafe table reading the Daily News and the Post, when I walked into Ozzie's on Fifth Avenue. He got up and gave me a kiss
"Kissing reporters, eh?" I said. "And babies, too?"
"No babies. People don't much like politicians lunging for their babies anymore," he said with his characteristic drollness.
I had coffee with Thies last year at the Seventh Avenue Ozzie's. It wasn't an interview just a meet and greet. This time I had my notebook ready and once I had my first cup of coffee of the day we launched into a lively discussion of Thies' childhood.
Doctors and politicians figure prominently in Thies' life. His father, a doctor, was born in Queens. His mother, who has a doctorate in psychology, was born in New Hampshire.Theis, who was born in Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan, grew up in New Hampshire near his mother's childhood home.
At the age of 6, Thies was struck with Fibromatosis, a chronic disease characterized by benign soft tissue tumors that can be very painful and disfiguring. Thies was homebound during the worst of the disease, which was treated with chemotherapy. When he was 11-years-old, he and his mother wrote and passed a bill about independent educational programs for children with chronic diseases. He remembers walking around the state capital in Concord talking to politicians about this issue.
But politics was nothing new for young Thies. His grandmother, Mary Mongon, was appointed by President Ronal Reagan as New Hampshire's Commissioner of Health and Human Services.
During her time as commissioner, AIDs was spreading like wildfire. Thies' grandmother, a former nurse, decided that the sensible thing to do was to distribute information pamphlets and condoms.
According to Thies, New Hampshire's Governor John Sununu "freaked out" about the condoms and asked her to stop immediately. "You'll have to fire me," she told the governor. This was front page news in New Hampshire newspapers.
Despite the fact that Sununu called for Mongon's dismisaal, she got the funding she needed to distribute the condoms and actually cut transmissions of new AIDs cases in New Hampshire, Thies tells me proudly. "She's the reason I fell love with government and believe that it can be idealistic and effective."
By the time Thies was in high school, his Fibromatosis was in remission (if that's the word). He founded his high school newspaper and studied journalism and political science at Syracuse University. A reporter for The Daily Orange, Syracuse University's daily student newspaper, Thies covered the Schumer/D'Amato senate race in the general election and says it was "a great experience."
During college, Thies took time off to intern at Scripps Howard New Service in Washington to cover the 2000 presidential primaries. But by senior year in college Thies knew he wanted to be "on the other side of the notebook."
"I'm too impatient for journalism," he told me. I asked him what he meant.
"If you understand government and think you'd be good at it, drop what you're doing and run for office," he told me.
So, what does it mean to be good? "Integrity and the ability to stick to your beliefs," he said quickly.
After college, Thies worked Hillary Clinton's Western New York State senate office and then moved down to New York City without a job but with the strong desire to work in city government. He considered law school but after an accidental meeting with Councilmember Yassky on the streets of Boerum Hill, Thies was offered a job.
It was 2002 and Thies describes Yassky's office as a laboratory for ideas. "He helped me to understand how powerful a good idea can be. He taught me that you have to work very hard, know every fact, take any meeting you can to get an allie and get to know your dissenters."
After four years in Yassky's office, Thies decided he wanted to be the man to replace his boss. With the support of his wife Beth, an advertising executive he met at Syracuse University, Thies threw his hat into the ring. He is quick to point out that while he has deep respect for David Yassky, he disagrees with him on a number of issues including the Atlantic Yards (Yassky was a major equivacator) and the repeal of term limits (which Yassky supported).
As someone who knows the way the City Council works, it's not surprising that reform of the City Council is his top issue. As part of this, Thies believes that the NYC budget and the way that it is decided (i.e. the mayor and the speaker have all the power; City Council members have very little) has to change.
"The City Council could provide a system of checks and balances much like the federal system. This means more transparency, line by line vetoes and the power to submit amended budgets. I want to see equal power with the mayor regarding the budget and how it's done," Thies told me.
According to Thies, it is the way the City Council functions (or doesn't) that affects everything, including development and land use issues. A key part of the problem is the huge amount of power given to the speaker. Thies tells me that there is a culture of fear of reprisal at the City Council if you cross the speaker.
"Christine Quinn has NOT wielded this power as harshly as others," Thies says. But the fear of losing your committee seat, your budget, etc. is real.
Not surprisingly, Thies has a long punch list of reforms for the City Council. But what about ideas that will be meaningful to the voters of his district? Like development…
"We have to put an end to ready, fire, aim development which has put us in serious trouble," Thies tells me. To remedy this Thies has developed something called 360 Degree Planning that would require developers to take into account how a plan would affect schools, transportation, the environment,
housing costs, open space, and general infrastructure."
The economy: Thies wants to see a resurgence of small industry in Brooklyn. 'Its been beaten all the way back," Thies says. Mom and pop shops and freelancers ("which are also small businesses," he tells me) are also a concern.
And education: Like the other candidates, Thies recognizes the shortage of classroom space and believes there needs to more parent/teacher involvement in the system.
About mayoral control of the Department of Education: "Mend it don't end it" is Thies' mantra. He believes that there should be an Independent Education Office to provide checks and balances to what the Mayor is doing and a reduction to the size of the Mayor's Department of Testing and Accountablility, which has an oversized budget.
An hour passes quickly and we've been chatting for an hour-and-a-half before we leave Ozzie's and walk to Thies' car (yes, he has a car). There are a lot of doorbells to ring over the next month, more candidate forums to attend and a lot of hands to shake in his effort to win the votes of the 33rd District.
But that's the world he's comfortable in. Thies, who has a deceptively low key manner, isn't always the most forceful when expressing his ideas, but he is someone who understands politics. As a kid he advocated for the rights of chronically ill children and watched his grandmother talk back to the governor. As a college student he followed a statewide senate race for his college newspaper and reported on the presidential primaries in 2000. Later he worked for Senator Hillary Clinton.
In New York City since 2002, he learned even more working as an aide for David Yassky. As he says, if you understand government and believe you'd be good at it…
Even if he is only 29-years-old and has no intention of kissing babies. Not in this race anyway.
CC Candidate Steve Levin Says He Will Show Up at Williamsburg Debate
Big news! According to the Brooklyn Paper, Steve Levin, one of the candidates for City Council in the 33rd district (David Yassky's seat) plans to participate in the Williamsburg Forum this week.
So far Steve Levin has missed three campaign forums in the district. The candidate, who is chief of staff to the county Democratic Party
chairman, Assembly Vito Lopez, was recently endorsed by the labor union 32B.
Sponsored by the New Kings Democrats, the debate is on Tuesday, May 19th at 7:00 p.m. at the Harry Van Arsdale High School Auditorium (enter on Roebling St). 257 North 6th Street.
OTBKB Music: Monday and Tuesday Recommendations
Monday: Same as last week: Amy Speace (8pm) and Milton (9pm). The
Living Room, 154 Ludlow Street (F Train to Second Avenue; Use the First
Avenue exit)
********
Tuesday: I've caught Emily Zuzik playing around town for the past
couple of years, but never in Brooklyn. On Tuesday night she'll remedy
that situation and play Union Hall as part of the Brooklyn Songwriters
Exchange. Let's take a look at Emily first before we talk about the
BSX program:
The Brooklyn Songwriters Exchange May show (as always, FREE) features:
Twice As Bright
"A power-pop explosion fueled by hooks you'll swear must grow on trees
outside the singer's Brooklyn window. Like Paul McCartney, only
blonder" ~ Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Emily Zuzik
"Strong and confident, a fun-filled zigzag through r&b, blues, pop,
and rock, deploying every vocal styling and nailing every inflection,
growl, and coo." – Village Voice
Special Guest Jessica Pees
Jessica Pees is an 11-year old singer-songwriter with wisdom twice her
age. She is the youngest BSX performer ever and she will kick off the
show with a short set of her raw, original tunes.
Tuesday, May 19, Union Hall, 702 Union Street (just off Fifth Avenue), 7:30 doors / 8:00 show
–Eliot Wagner
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
Breaking: Appelate Court Rules Against Home, Business Owners and Tenants in Atlantic Yards Eminent Domain Lawsuit
At a time when many local politicians and citizens would likely describe Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project as the biggest real estate boondoggle in NYC development history, a New York State Appellate Division (Second Department) panel of 4
judges ruled against nine Brooklyn homeowners, business owners and
tenants who had filed a lawsuit to stop New York State from seizing
their homes and businesses by eminent domain to benefit developer Bruce
Ratner for his indeterminate and uncertain development proposal known
as Atlantic Yards in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. (The ruling in Goldstein et al. v. Empire State Development Corporation is here.)
judges ruled against nine Brooklyn homeowners, business owners and
tenants who had filed a lawsuit to stop New York State from seizing
their homes and businesses by eminent domain to benefit developer Bruce
Ratner for his indeterminate and uncertain development proposal known
as Atlantic Yards in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. (The ruling in Goldstein et al. v. Empire State Development Corporation is here.)
The plaintiffs will appeal the ruling to the Court of Appeals.
It is any surprise that Borough President Marty Markowitz, who refuses to admit that he may have been wrong about what many believe is a misguided and out-of-scale project, is thrilled. The way that the local community was left out of the decision making on this project and land use considerations were sidestepped is considered by many to be corrupt and undemocratic. Markowitz just sent out his press release:
“The unanimous ruling by the State Appellate Division once again
affirms the numerous public benefits of the Atlantic Yards project—during
these difficult economic times and into Brooklyn’s bright
future—including the creation of affordable housing, solid union jobs, and
permanent employment opportunities to meet the demands of new residents and
visitors to the future Barclays Center. Today’s decision marks a
significant step forward in the dream of bringing professional sports and a
world-class facility back to our borough, and Brooklyn’s shovels are, and
have been, ready. So, let’s pick them up and get to work!”
affirms the numerous public benefits of the Atlantic Yards project—during
these difficult economic times and into Brooklyn’s bright
future—including the creation of affordable housing, solid union jobs, and
permanent employment opportunities to meet the demands of new residents and
visitors to the future Barclays Center. Today’s decision marks a
significant step forward in the dream of bringing professional sports and a
world-class facility back to our borough, and Brooklyn’s shovels are, and
have been, ready. So, let’s pick them up and get to work!”
In its decision, the court wrote: “We
find that, on the record in this case, the condemnation does not
violate the Public Use clause of the New York Constitution because it
cannot be said that the public benefits which the Atlantic Yards
project is expected to yield are incidental or pretextual in comparison to the benefit that will be bestowed upon the project’s private developer.”
Breakfast-of-Candidates (33rd Edition): Jo Anne Simon
Finally it's time for the candidates in the 33rd District to face the coffee cup of OTBKB.
My breakfast with the only woman running for City Council in the 33rd (and the 39th for that matter) was at Daisy's Diner on Fifth Avenue near 9th Street.
The daughter of a stay-at-home mom and a salesman, Jo Anne Simon, one of five children, grew up in a small house in Yonkers (with one bathroom) where, as a child, she learned the necessary art of sharing and working together.
At Daisy's Simon ordered coffee, no breakfast. At first she seemed no-nonsense and serious. Over time I've learned that she is also good humored and warm. Following her lead, I too ordered coffee, no food.
For some reason we were skittish with one another at first so I nervously launched into my questions; I knew we had a lot to cover in our one hour together.
The first in her family to go to college, Simon studied speech pathology at Iona College in New Rochelle. In 1976 she received a master's degree in education of the deaf at the Gallaudet University in Washington and began working at the Perkins School of the Blind and Deaf in Fairfax County.
It was in the classroom with the deaf, where Simon developed her passionate interest in issues pertaining to the education of those with disabilities. This was in the 1980's when the disabilities rights movement was just getting off the ground.
Simon spent many years in the classroom but at a certain point decided to move on. She pursued a doctorate in clinical psychology at Long Island University but realized mid-way that sitting in an office as a counselor didn't suit her personality.
"I wanted to be more of a participant," she told me.
Clearly, Simon is not a person who is afraid of changing course. Next she tried a job on Wall Street, a valuable experience in the business sector. During that time, Simon considered pursuing an MBA but finally decided to get a law degree.
"The law is very broad. You can do anything with it. Law as a rigor is superior to a MBA because of its broader spectrum of areas," Simon told me.
I found myself simultaneously awed and exhausted by Simon's career trajectory. She strikes me as the kind of person who is constantly refining her sense of what she wants to do and what she is capable of achieving.
I felt humbled and inspired.
At one point in the conversation I said something like: "And did you get married and have kids at some point during all this?" The feminist in me felt sort of silly about that. Interestingly it was one of the first things to come up with the male candidates. Simon didn't really take the bait and said little. I think Simon has grown children (she is in her late fifties) but she didn't mention at breakfast that she is married to Bill Harris, owner of Renaissance Properties, a real estate brokerage firm.
At Fordham University Simon studied for her law degree at night while working on Wall Street by day. Yeesh. Hanging around with Simon really makes you feel like a slacker. And it's not like she even drinks that much coffee.
After law school, Jo Anne represented a plaintiff, a law student with a learning disability, in a case about modifications for the Bar Exam. Simon won this case five time but the Bar Examiners appealed the ruling 5 times; the courts continued to rule in favor of Simon's side of the arguments.
"It was an amazing experience," Simon recollected and clearly it exemplifies Simon's characteristic determination and stamina. Even at Daisy's Diner, her mutli-faceted intensity and drive was palpable.
Many disability and education cases followed and ultimately Simon established a a specialized disability civil rights law firm in Downtown Brooklyn. She is also adjunct Assistant Professor of Law at
Fordham.
So when did Simon have time to become a neighborhood activist?
That's a good question. But as a resident of Boerum Hill in the early nineties, there were plenty of quality of life issues to get hot and bothered about. My guess is that she naturally rose to a leadership position in the Boerum Hill Association (and was president of that group for a time) and worked her way up to become Democratic District
Leader and State Committeewoman for the 52nd Assembly District
It's no surprise that Jo Anne became a strong voice in her community. Never underestimate her energy level or her passionate need to fix what she sees wrong around her. Just take a look at all the groups she is currently or has been associated with in the past (from her website):
Boerum Hill Association (1993-1999), Chair: Traffic
& Transportation and Land Use Committees (1999-2005); Atlantic
Yards Committee (2004-present), Co-founder, Downtown Brooklyn Coalition, a confederation of communities ringing downtown Brooklyn; Founding
member, BrooklynSpeaks.net, Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods, Friends
of Douglass/Greene Park; Hoyt-Schermerhorn Task Force, Immediate past Chair, Gowanus Community Stakeholder Group and Gowanus Expressway Community Coalition, Founding
member, Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD), an
international organization of professionals serving postsecondary
students with disabilities, President, New York Branch -International Dyslexia Association, Member, Independent Neighborhood Democrats, Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, Lambda Independent Democrats of Brookly, Executive Committee, 504 Democrats, the country's oldest political club focusing on disability issues, New York State Office of Court Administration, Americans with Disabilities Act CommitteChair, Committee on Legal Issues Affecting People with Disabilities, Association of the Bar of the City of New York (2000-2003)
Simon's participation with all those groups at all those meetings explains why she is so committed to the art off listening. She strongly believes in putting all parties into the same room together. "Someone who is elected to office can work with everyone."
The danger of being involved with all those groups is that her opponents can say: "Why do you support a group that _____(fill in the blank). Joanne has clearly made herself a part of many conversations. A feminist with strong progressive views on education, responsible development, affordable housing, transportation and transparency in government, she strikes me as less of an ideologue and more of facilitator and pragmatist. At the candidate's forums she's been characterized (by one of her opponents) as an equivocator about Atlantic Yards and Superfund designation for the Gowanus Canal.
: Interestingly, she does NOT articulate a stand on Atlantic Yards on her website. It does say she has signed a pledge to Uphold Accountable Development Principles and she's organized numerous neighborhood groups to "bring the community to the table."
About Superfund, it sounds like she hasn't made up her mind. "If the Superfund comes with money I'm for it," she said at a recent forum.
A project that seems to excite her is the renovation of Thomas Green Park between DeGraw and Douglas Streets (where the Douglas Street Pool is located. Simon wants to see the park reclaimed, renovated, and updated (much like Washington Park/JJ Byrne Playground). In a neighborhood where there is limited green space, that one square acre of park is well worth enhancing.
Impressive. Energetic. Smart. Pragmatic. Those words descibe Simon, who seems to be refining and improving her public presentation skills. An advocate of collaboration and giving voice to all viewpoints at the table, Simon is credible as a city leader, especially with her strong passion for education and the legal rights of the learning disabled.
Brownstone Voyeur: All the Details in Boerum Hill
BROWNSTONE VOYEUR is a joint project of casaCARA and. OTBKB. Look for it every Thursday on both sites.
THIS HAS BEEN MY comfortable home away
from home for the past two weeks. It’s my dear friend Nancy’s brick row
house in Boerum Hill, and it’s classic.
Built around 1870, the house retains many of those coveted Victorian “details,” including spectacular plaster work in the dining room (painted an historic blue-gray), original pocket doors with etched glass, an over-the-top pier mirror, right, between the front parlor windows, a black marble mantel in Eastlake style, long four-over-four parlor windows, and wood floors so old and thin if they’re sanded one more time they’ll turn to sawdust. For more text and more pictures go to: casaCARA
New Blog on the Block: All About Fifth
There's a new blog on the block. Get out the welcome wagon and bring over some deviled eggs or layer cake. It's a blog about Park Slope's Fifth Avenue and it's called, All About Fifth. Here is an excerpt from their Meet the Merchant series, which will also appear on OTBKB. The interview is by Rebeccah Welch. Have a read and wander over there and say hello. You'll be glad you did.
Here is the first in a regular series of interviews that will highlight
local leaders in the business and nonprofit sector along the Avenue.
This is an interview with Fonda Sara, owner of Zuzu's Petals.
Where are you from originally?
I
grew up by the ocean in Belle Harbor, New York. A year ago, I moved
back to my childhood home full time.I spent the first half of my life
running away from home and the second half finding my way back.
How long have you been on 5th Avenue and what made you chose the location?
Zuzu's Petals moved to 5th Avenue in November 2004 after a fire in the
restaurant next door burned us out of our home of 33 years on 7th
avenue. We chose this location because of the sunny outdoor space
behind the shop, the proximity to our customer base, and the new
residential development between 4th and 5th Avenues.
What, typically, is the most popular Mother's Day flower and has that changed over time?
Hands
down it's lilac and peonies for Mother's Day…both are in season and
tap into some universal nostalgia for the gardens of our childhood.
Some people say that there is an instinctive bond between human beings and nature. Do you agree?
There is no separation between human beings and nature. Some of us are
more attuned to the changing of the seasons and growing things, but all
of us are connected to nature.
Read the rest at All About Fifth
Transform Your Divorce: A Workshop and Support Group for Women
A very good friend of mine is offering this workshop for women called, Transform Your Divorce: A Workshop and Support Group for Women. Sign up now, it starts on May 28th. That's soon!
* Move beyond just "surviving" the process of divorce, and begin to create a
new life on the other side
* Develop a community of support from other women who are going through
similar experiences
* Find new ways to deal with fear of the future
* Begin to listen to your own inner voice for guidance
Each participant will receive a one-on-one personal coaching session with
workshop facilitator, Wendy Ponte, CPC, a certified Transformational Life
Coach.
This pilot program will meet for 6 Thursdays beginning on May 28th between
7:00 and 8:30 PM in Park Slope.
To register, or to get more information, call 646-339-4071 or e-mail
wp@brooklyncoach.com
Rosemarie Hester, Learning Specialist: Paying Attention to Attention
Years ago, teachers used to tell students to “put on their thinking caps.” It seemed to me that students, like all people, were already always thinking, so what were teachers really trying to tell us to do?
After years as a teacher, I understand that the directive was about getting out of our own thoughts and into the teacher’s lesson. It was about engagement with something outside of ourselves.
In fact, this is always the first step in the multi-step process of taking responsibility for school work. The other steps include planning, execution or follow-through and self-checking.
To engage, often we must overcome anxiety, sometimes leaning into an area of discomfort. Once engaged, we must make a plan. Once we have a plan, we must follow-through. Once, we’ve followed through, we must check to see if we have done what was required. During the self-check stage, we make changes and improvements.
This set of management skills is what psychologists and others refer to as “executive function.” Some students benefit from thinking of themselves as “their own boss.” Others think of themselves as both the boss and the employee; they must give–and take– direction. However one visualizes or discusses the process, the point is this—large projects need to be broken down into smaller pieces, and each piece needs to be managed as its own endeavor.
It’s Not That I’m Bitter: Book Giveaway
I'm giving away books again and this is one you're gonna wanna get. Written by the hilarious Gina Barreca, author of Babes in Boyland, They Used to Call Me Snow White, but I Drifted and I'm With Stupid, It's Not That I'm Bitter or How I Learned to Stpp Worrying About Visible Panty Lines and Conquered the World (St. Martin's Press) is a collection of "deliciously quotable essays" that relate to women, especially those who've reached the ripe old age of 40 and above.
So what's it about?
Well, this professor of English and Feminist Theory writes sharply, wittily and intelligently about chin hair and tweezers; the reason every woman believes she's crazy; the possibility that the glass ceiling may just be a thick layer of men; why there's no King Charming; how bras don't ever fit and why are ther no tutus in XL.
And don't you love the reference to Dr. Strangelove in the title.
Above all: Barreca's book will make you laugh at yourself and the world. The book is getting raves from places that matter like Publisher's Weekly:
"Fans of Nora Ephron's 'I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts
on Being a Woman' will find humor along with serious insights about
women and aging in Barreca's latest challenge to women to 'stop
obsessing over hymens, husbands, and hangnails and once again direct
our attention outward to the larger issues of… the creation of
genuinely significant opportunities for women in all workplaces.'
on Being a Woman' will find humor along with serious insights about
women and aging in Barreca's latest challenge to women to 'stop
obsessing over hymens, husbands, and hangnails and once again direct
our attention outward to the larger issues of… the creation of
genuinely significant opportunities for women in all workplaces.'
And Booklist Review:
"While some may debate whether Barecca's collection of short essays
are painfully funny or humorously painful, many will agree these
eminently readable pieces will have people laughing out loud, then
sighing thoughtfully. Her observations as a 50-ish woman focus on
life's sexual inequities: 'If women had tufts growing from our noses
and ears, men would bring exorcists to the house…Professionals to
drive the evil spirits from our bodies.' And on the subject of age:
'Once we hit forty, women have only about four taste buds left: one for
vodka, one for wine, one for cheese, and one for chocolate."
Send an email to me: louise_crawford AT yahoo DOT com with your name and address if you want a book.
This Sunday: The Fabulous Fifth Avenue Fair
Blogfest Videos From Blue Barn Pictures
Tonight: Edgy Mother’s Reading at The Old Stone House
Third Annual Edgy Mother's Day
Tales of Motherhood without Sanctimony
Join acclaimed playwright Diana Son, journalist Beth Harpaz, novelist Mary Morris, and five other notable mother-writers for a fun reading over a much-needed glass of wine, just a few days after Mother’s Day.
From aggrieved moms of pot-smoking teens to fed-up new mothers of colicky infants, these writers will shock, amuse, and entertain you, and they won’t make you eat your vegetables before you get your glass of wine. .
Hear them at Brooklyn Reading Works’ Third Annual Edgy Mothers Reading at the historic Old Stone House in Park Slope, Brooklyn, on Thursday, May 14th at 8:00 pm. Louise Crawford runs Brooklyn Reading Works and the Edgy Mothers Reading curators are Sophia Romero, Amy Sohn, and Michele Madigan Somerville.
The complete line-up:
Jill Eisenstadt, author of From Rockaway and Kiss Out
Beth Harpaz, author of 13 is the New 18 and other things my children taught me while I was having a nervous breakdown being their mother and The Girls in the Van
Mary Morris, author of Revenge, Vanishing Animals, The Bus of Dreams, and The Lifeguard Stories
Jenny Offill, author of Last Things and editor of Money Changes Everything
Sophia Romero, blogger, The Shiksa from Manila and author of Always Hiding
Amy Sohn, author of Run Catch Kiss and the upcoming Prospect Park West
Michele Madigan Somerville, poet and author of WISEGAL and Black Irish
Diana Son, playwright of Stop Kiss and Satellites
Location: Old Stone House
Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets
Phone: 718-768-3195
7:30 p.m.: Open bar/Wine donated by Shawn Liquors
8:00 p.m.: Reading
Suggested contribution: $5 to benefit Old Stone House
Reading is open to all – not just mothers – though please leave children at home
picture by /www.flickr.com/photos/originalcenz/2990458503/in/set-72157608554646411/
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
A Funny Thing Happened at the 33rd District Council Forum (They Forgot to Invite Steve Levin)
On a warm Tuesday night, a small crowd trickled into the 33rd district candidates forum at PS 282. At 7 p.m., (when the event was scheduled to begin) representatives of the Park Slope Civic Council, sponsors of the event, were just putting up their banner in front of the stage in the school auditorium. Three of the candidates were introducing themselves to individuals in the crowd; the rest didn't arrive until ten past.
Word traveled around the room that Steve Levin, who works for democratic leader Vito Lopez (seemingly the Darth Vader of Brooklyn politics) would not be in attendance. Rumors began to circulate immediately. He didn't attend the Brooklyn Heights forum at St. Francis College claiming that he had "a fund raising event that night.
What was going to be his excuse this time I wondered.
Steven Summerstein, a Civic Council member in a tidy gray suit, bounced into the room holding a letter and whispered intently to Ken Freeman, president of the Civic Council. The man then told the audience that he was a member of the Civic Council and took full responsibility for neglecting to invite Steve Levin.
Forgot to invite him?
Summerstein told the crowd that as consolation, he offered Levin the opportunity to fax him his "opening statement" and Ken Freeman agreed to let him read it during that segment of the program.
Freeman, who wore a bright red Civic Council t-shirt and jeans, ran the forum with the grudging leadership of a P.E. teacher. "Everyone on stage. Candidate: get up there." Eric McClure of Park Slope Neighbors was the expert time keeper and members of the audience were asked to submit questions "which will be a lot more interesting than my questions,": Freeman told the small crowd.
OPENING STATEMENTS
Freeman told the candidates that they had two minutes for opening statements. "Go," he said brusquely to Evan Thies, who was sitting on the far right. A former aide to David Yassky, he opened with "Government is the most powerful and effective forum we have…" and recited a list of issues, includingExxon Mobil oil spill in Greenpoint that he "worked on" while in Yassky's office.
Jo Anne Simon, the only woman on the stage, said she was running "to give voice to people whose voices haven't been heard." In a sense she was speaking literally as she is a civil rights lawyer who advocates on behalf of the deaf, the learning disabled and the handicapped.
"Government is where the rubber meets the road. Where you have a voice. I want to listen to you, listen to you listen to you."
I counted. She said it three times.
Next up was Ken Diamondstone, a developer of affordable housing who calls himself "the seasoned progressive" of the group. Reading from his notes he intoned seriously, "I want to make New York free of its pay-to-play and slush fund culture." He cautioned those in attendance to notice the important differences between the candidates (translation: Jo Anne Simon and I disagree on a lot). "The Gowanus Canal is a Superfund site. Let's not risk another Love Canal." Later he said he was one of the first to speak out against the Atlantic Yards. "It's been a land grab from the start."
Ken Baer, an environmentalist, who chaired the Sierra Club in Brooklyn and Manhattan, decided to do his opening statement on the floor of the auditorium (as opposed to on the stage) because "I'm a grass roots kind of guy and I don't want to fall off the stage and break a leg."
Rim shot.
I thought we were in for a little candidate stand-up but Baer regained his dignity and quickly outlined his priorities including, community control of development; the down-zoning of Fourth Avenue; the creation of business incubators in all boroughs; and lighting a fire under the Landmarks Preservation Commission to triple the size of Park Slope's landmark district.
Issac Abraham, the first Hasidic candidate to run for City Council told those assembled with a believable fierceness that he's willing to stand up to the mayor and the speaker. Born in Vienna, "Schwarzenegger and I are from the same place but we haven't spoken since."
Rim shot
Abraham, who has some Borscht Belt charm, can be quite captivating. His calling card is his 35 years of volunteerism in Williamburg, including work as an EMT for the Volunteer Ambulance service there and leadership on behalf of tenant's rights. .
Finally, Summerstein read Levin's polite statement from the auditorium floor. He said he was going to paraphrase a bit by which he meant turning Levin's first person voice into a third person voice as in "Levin was a community organizer in Bushwick; the organizer of a lead safe house program and instigator of an anti predatory lending program in a community that was red-lined by traditional mortgage brokers."
WHAT'S THE BIGGEST ISSUE IN PARK SLOPE?
Abraham, who is clearly unfamiliar with brownstone Brooklyn, got the nod from Freeman to answer this first question: "parking, housing and housing." Ken Baer recited his mantra of community control of development, downzoning of Fourth Avenue, lack of school seats, and the landmarking of the southern part of the Slope.
Diamondstone said to be careful if the DOT tries to turn 6th and 7th Avenues into one-way streets again. "It happened in Bay Ridge," he said ominously.
Simon cited development and its attendant consequences, economic dispairty, small business, traffic and preservation were tops for her.
Thies described his proposal for the 360 Degree Planning Process, which would require a discussion about infrastructure, education, affordable housing, transportation and parking before development begins.
PLANS TO DEMOLISH PS 133 ON FOURTH AVENUE
Next up was a question about plans to demolish P.S. 133, a 100-year-old school on Fourth Avenue at Butler Street. The School
Construction Authority (SCA) wants to build a new building in the footprint of the existing school, the schoolyard and a community garden The Gothic-style building is currently being
considered for the state's list of historic places.
All of the candidates oppose the demolition off PS 133. Diamondstone attacked the SCA and the way that it "operates in secret with no oversight…Their process is unknown to us, to all of you…the planning of new schools has be be determined by the folks in this room."
YES AND NO QUESTIONS
I love the rapid fire yes/no questions. The candidates didn't seem to actually believe that Freeman really meant yes or no and he was particularly good at reminding the candidates of that.
Mayoral Control:
–Most of the candidates said something like "Mend it don't end it," which was Thies' line. Ken Baer is opposed.
Gowanus Superfund status?
–All support it except Jo Anne Simon who still isn't sure if Superfund will actually fund it.
Cars in Prospect Park?
–All said no except Abraham.
Residentail Parking?
–All said yes.
Congestion Pricing?
–All yes.
East River Tolls?
–All yes except Abraham
Term Limits?
All said yes to term limits.
SUFFERING OF LOCAL BUSINESSES
Diamondstone, like most of the candidates, believes in some kind of commercial rent control as a way to stem the loss of mom and pop shops. Baer supports commercial rent stabilization (stabilization or rent control, which one is it, does it matter?) and asking people to refrain from shopping at Costco and other large box stores. Abraham said, erroneously, that Park Slope has no merchant associations. "They need one here so you're not one little voice, one bodga, one little cleaners." Thies also supports commercial rent control as a way to keep business local. "When local business takes in $1 they send it out to the community." He also talked about micro loans for small businesses and reminded the audience to remember that freelancers are also small business people and they need help sustaining annd growing their businesses.
SHOULD CITY COUNCIL BE A FULL TIME JOB?
Most of the candidates agree that the job of a City Council member should be a full time. Diamondstone said he's already taken himself out of the day to day running of his affordable housing development business. Jo Ann Simon said that her nationally recognized law firm needs to stay open "because it is serving an important purpose." So I guess she plans to still keep her day job.
DISCUSSION OF YASSKY'S PERFORMANCE
At this point in the forum, things got fiesty and fun. Needless to say, Abraham had a lot to say: "In eight years Yassky never called, never responded to Williamsburg's crime, garbage, tenant issues. He was never there. It's good — that he's leaving."
Diamondstone started slowly with: "Yassky likes to have it both ways on issues." But then he got going and didn't let up: "When he was running for congress he was pro-Atlantic Yards because he was taking development money for the campaign. After he lost that campaign, he suddenly got religion and opposed the project…at one of the first meetings about Atlantic Yards he spoke for ten minutes and finally someone said, 'so which side are you on?' And Yassky said, "If it's a good project I support it, if it's a bad project, I don't."
The Yassky bashing was a little awkward for Thies, who worked for the council member for five years. "I am proud of the work I did with David Yassky…but we disagree on a lot of things. I disagreed strongly on Atlantic Yards and his vote against term limits." Thies added that he thinks he was a good council member and will be a good comptroller.
THE CANDIDATES ASK THE QUESTIONS
Freeman reprised the hit question of the 39th district Civic Council forum, the opportunity for the candidates to pose a question to one of the other candidates (plus a quick rebuttal). None of the candiates expected it for some reason. Thies told me that Freeman told him that they might not do it. No one was prepared; maybe that's why it made for some interesting fireworks.
Thies asked Simon why the Independent Neighborhood Democrats (IND), a group that she is affiliated with, endorsed John Heyer for Council in the 39th District as he is anti-choice and anti-same sex marriage.
Simon was incensed. She claimed that IND has not endorsed anyone. "I am pro-choice. I am not an officer in IND. And they are not supporting John Heyer."
Simon's question went to Evan and it was payback time. "Will you continue to head a committee on Community Board 1? My question goes to the propriety of being on that board. Thies' reply: "The Community Board doesn't have binding power in the land use process."
Touche.
Diamondstone directed his question to Simon: Develop Don't Destroy wants to take Atlantic Yards away from Forest City Ratner (FCR). Brooklyn Speaks, a group you helped to form has said on its web site that if there are dramatic changes to the Atlantic Yards project, Forest City Ratner can keep control of the project. Why do you support this?
Simon, who was now clearly on the defensive (and sick and tired of having to defend positions she doesn't hold) wondered why he neglected to mention Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods which Simon thinks helped to expand the discussion. "Everyone needs to be at the table to talk to each other."
ARE YOU NOW OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN AN OWNER OF A CAR?
Cars are so un-P.C. these days.
Baer asked Diamondstone if he owned a car and when does he use it. Diamondstone said that he has a 1991 5 speed turbo car (he didn't say Volvo but it's a Volvo, right?) and he uses it to travel to Vermont with his partner to visit his nieces and nephews. (Having a gay partner may outweigh the stigma of having a car). The other candidates admitted to using a car to get around on the campaign. Baer told the audience that he takes the G train to get to places like Williamsburg.
"Bravo. You must have more trust in the MTA than I do," was Abraham's comic comeback.
Finally, Abraham question went to Evan: "You talk about working for Yassky. I work for the people for no pay…Just because you're a passenger on a plane, does that mean you can be a pilot? I've worked on every issue in Williamsburg wtihout getting paid. You got paid and I congratulate you." Abraham clearly had it in for Thies because of his affiliation with Yassky.
"I'm sorry you couldn't make it to those meeting and that you didn't get the service you were looking for," Thies said somewhat officiously. "We've met you many times over the years. Yes, I got paid to do public service, which is something I believe in. I've worked inside and outside the City Council. I've also worked for Senator Clinton and Andrew Cuomo…There are too many people on the council who have no idea how the council works. I wouldn't want to elect someone who will spend the first few months looking for the bathroom.
"I didn't show up?" Abraham said angrily. "There are thousands of events every night in New York City. I wasn't invited. There were major environmental health issues,tenant issues, faulty elevators, I represent 5000 families and your boss never showed up."
MY PEN STOPPED WORKING
I know, I should have asked Noticing New York, who had a pocketful. But it was time for the closing remarks and instead of writing I decided to listen and look.
In his low key way, Evan talked about reform of the City Council process as key to getting many of his goals accomplished. Simon talked about the unique way that women work t
ogether. "We have a tensile strength." Diamondstone said that his progressive core values have a place on the Council. Baer says he'll represent the issues that matter to this neighborhood. And Abraham said he has the strength to talk back to the King and the Quinn.
NOTEBOOK CLOSED/ SOME THOUGHTS
Kudos to Ken Freeman, Eric McClure and others from the Civic Council for conducting the forum in an thoughtful and efficient way and ending at EXACTLY 9 p.m.
About the candidates: this is a contentious group and that came out big time at last night's forum.
–There's antipathy between Diamondstone and Simon. Or should I say, Diamondstone digs at Simon every chance he gets. He seems intent on exposing her as a hypocrite regarding her stance on the Atlantic Yards and Superfund. They've obviously been in community politics together for a long time and have a history of disagreements. I heard that at one time they were friends and allies. And that can make for an even more intense animosity.
–There's nasty from Abraham toward Thies, who he views has Yassky's paid operative. From Abraham's vantage point in Williamsburg, Yassky was out of pocket unless something terrible happened like when 5-year-old Jacob Neuman died last summer while trying to escape from a
jammed elevator in the Taylor-Wythe housing complex in South
Williamsburg. Tenants have been complaining about those elevators for years. According to the New York Times, the elevators were set to be completely overhauled in 2004, but the
work was delayed because of budget cuts. Abrahams wants a proactive council member not a reactive one.
–There was some nasty between Thies and Simon when he asked her about IND's support of John Heyer for City Council in the 39th. According to Simon, Thies was mis-informed. I will look into that. He seemed to be jumping on Diamondstone's "Simon is hypocrite" bandwagon.
–Simon understandably gets agitated when she is asked to defend viewpoints she doesn't hold (or doesn't want to hold anymore). Maybe a little too agitated. Perhaps she needs to rehearse a way to respond that doesn't make her look quite so apoplectic.
–Baer stays out of the frey. Interestingly he made many more substantive points than he did at the previous forum. Even his: "Are you now or have you ever been the driver of a car?" question was fairly good natured. Luckily he ditched the Eliot Spitzer joke (I stood up to Eliot Spitzer even before he wasn't standing up…" ) that was so embarrassing last time.
UNSOLICITIED ADVICE:
Thies: You can be way more than just Yassky's guy. A little more inspiring. please. Lead with your family passion for public service, your interest in reforming the process, your experience and your interest in small business and freelancers.
Simon: It's easy to get agitated when you're being asked to defend yourself all the time. But you need to find a way to take the high road and lead with your passion for education, neighborhood preservation, and core belief in the collaborative process.
Diamondstone: Your core values are good and you've been fighting the good fight for a long time. But your politics of attack may backfire because people may not be as interested in longtime vendettas as you think. Lead with your good ideas, your core values and your progressive ideals.
Baer: Your presentation has improved. Keep going. Stay on issues and less of the stand-up style that can make you seem unserious.
Abraham: You are fierce and clearly know how to speak truth to power. But your issues don't translate beyond Williamsburg. Do your homework about the rest of the district and show how you can be fiesty for the whole constituency.
ALL IN ALL
Not a very inspiring Forum though there was some drama which
definitely adds to the entertainment value. Stay tuned for upcoming
Breakfast of Candidates with the 33s. I've already done Thies and Simon
and I look forward to Baer, Daimondstone, Abraham, Levin and Bivano.
And what about Bivano? Where was Bivano? Is he still in the race or did Summerstein
forget to invite him, too ? A Brooklyn Heights resident, he's an
engineer/businessman who is Brooklyn-born and bred. Lived in Colorado
for years and then came back because he loves the idea of public
education and wanted to educate his kids here. At the last forum he was
articulate, forceful and impressive.
OTBKB Music: Jill Sobule Comes to the Nabe
Jill Sobule always stands out. Growing up, she was the only Jewish kid
in Catholic school. In the mid 90s, she had a hit with I Kissed A
Girl (not the same song as the Katy Perry one). And lately, she decided to raise the money on her own for her
latest album from her fans. She asked for donations, which were sorted
into levels. Sure, there was the usual Gold, Silver and Platinum, but
there were also many other levels ranging from Unpolished Rock (on
the low end) to Weapons-Grade Plutonium (on the high end). It only took 58 days to raise the money.
That album, California Years, was released last month and now Jill is
on the road, touring behind it. Tonight, this former Brooklyn resident
who has been living in Los
Angeles for the past few years, brings her blend of character studies,
satire, sharp observations and inspired covers to Park Slope. Union Hall, 702 Union
Street (just off Fifth Avenue), 7:30 (doors).
–Eliot Wagner
Greetings From Scott Turner: Meet the New Mets Stadium
Whoa. Our cup runneth over with coverage of the new Mets stadium from our friend Scott Turner, writer, designer and Rocky Sullivan's Pub Quiz planner. As usual this post is sponsored by MissWit
, a Brooklyn tee-shirt company.
Greetings, Pub Quiz Carrie Prejean Society Members…
Meet the Mets, meet the Mets/Step right up and greet the Mets…
The opening lyrics to the New York Metropolitan Baseball Club's fight song, older than the club itself.
"You know" said Diane George, my wife, as the old tune reverberated through Citi Field, the Mets ridiculously overhyped and underwhelming mallpark, "you can't really step right up and meet the Mets anymore."
That, friends, is the last time you'll see that corporate stadium name used in this space.
In the Mets' two previous homes — the Polo Grounds and Shea Stadium
— anyone could meet the Mets. Any ticket holder sitting anywhere
could journey down to the field level seats and watch batting practice,
try for autographs, crowd close to the dugouts, smell the freshly
watered turf, chase an errant batting practice ball fouled into the
stands, exchange a greeting with players from both teams, and in
general see what Major League Baseball is like up close. When
batting practice was over, the batting cages were rolled away and the
announcement wafted through the stadium: "Batting practice is over.
Please return to your seats." Which everyone did.
In the Mets' new stadium, only the rich get to experience this
pre-game ritual. Everyone else is invited "to watch batting practice
from your ticketed seat."
And that is pretty much all you need
to know about who the Mets covet and who they could care less about in
the new post-Shea Stadium era.
But this being the Rocky Sullivan's Pub Quiz Quizmail, and me being me, there's a lot more to prattle on about. So strap yourself in…it's gonna be a bumpy ride.
I'm already on record as being really sore at the Mets about:
- the death of Shea;
- the hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars that paid for the new stadium;
- the endless contrivances that make the new stadium feel more like a baseball theme-park mall than a place to watch baseball;
- the ugly alliance with Citi Corp;
- the clear embrace of rich fans at the expense of working-class fans;
- the vilification of business owners across the street in the Iron Triangle; and
- the obscenely expensive tickets;
In other words, the manyfold aspects of the Mets' nasty and soulless policy making lo these last several years.
The ballpark itself? I didn't wanna be one of those foamy-mouthed protesters outside The Last Temptation of Christ.
Protester "THIS MOVIE IS SACRILEGIOUS!"
Interviewer: "How do you know? Have you seen it?"
Protester: "NO!!! AND I'M NOT GONNA!!!
Inverviewer: "Then how do you know it's sacrilegious?"
Protester: "BECAUSE IT IS!!!"
Up
to this point, it's been fair play to critique the Mets' malfeasant
policies. They've done so many bad things — culturally, politically,
fiscally. But the ballpark itself had to wait until I saw it in person.
That happened this Sunday past.
Diane's from Pittsburgh, a diehard Buccos fan. We took the opportunity to purchase a single pair of tickets to witness the Mets-Pirates clash. $45 for two ducats on a Sunday afternoon in May somewhat well after the turn of the century.
It was a gorgeous day: sunny, crisp, maybe a little chilly when the
breeze turned to wind. That's always been an issue out at Willets
Point. Still, a really beautiful day.
…and the place was
several thousand seats short of full-to-the-brim. It's a troubling
trend for the Mets — a sparkling brand-new "world class home of the
New York Mets" (their oft-repeated phrase), a beautiful mid-May weekend
afternoon, a team on a six-game winning streak, a metropolitan area of
18 million people and all the world's tourists coming to the Big Apple,
and the Mets couldn't fill a 45,000 seat venue.
It's gotta be more than simply "the economy." But that's a good
place to start. How many people are simply reticent to buy into what
is now a luxury item — a baseball game.
The Mets have diluted
the actual game, possibly past the final retrieval point. A half-dozen
restaurant clubs patterned after business-class lounges at
airports..multiple food courts with endless varieties of trendy
cuisine…mall stores galore…kids games sequestered away from the
actual field…a never-ending procession of corporate promotional
tie-ins involving text-messaging, cell-phone-photo uploading, Pepsi Party Patrols and video-game contests.
So perhaps there were more fans in the house than it appeared.
These days at major league stadiums, "in the house" doesn't guarantee
"in the seats."
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner,
at the height of his insufferable bully-boy arc, waxed malpoetically
about "putting fannies in the seats." Nowadays, MLB owners don't care
about yours or my fanny, unless they're right next to the wallets in
our rear pockets.
The new Mets stadium was weirdly quiet on Sunday. And this was on
a day when the home team created some excitement with an 8-4 win.
Shea's ballpark buzz has gone missing. Theories have been advanced:
fewer people total (57,000 capacity reduced to 45,000), fewer raucous
fans due to the paucity of affordable seats, fewer kids (see
affordable seats, paucity), the empty seats in the money-bags sections,
and the huge number of in-stadium opportunities to not watch the game
at all. When there was cheering, it sounded more like an encore at the opera than the roar Shea used to generate.
It is believed that they're having the same problems at that new joint atop Macombs Dam Park in the Bronx.
Before
this gets to far on, there are some positives. The new stadium is
obviously designed for baseball, not the multipurposes of so many
stadiums in the '60s (all gone now). The Mets have made some efforts
at the whole thing being more "fan-friendly." (Though replacing ushers
with polo-shirted "SECURITY" bruisers works surprisingly poorly as a
"fan-friendly" touch.) And early in its first season, fans are excited
to see the new place.
But the new stadium is run through with misfires, miscalculations
and poorly executed strategies. There's no way this place is a
"world-class home of the New York Mets."
For starters, what's
that mean, "world class"? Can this new place host bullfights, sumo
tournaments and UN General Assembly meetings? Is there an
international body that gives out "world class" accreditation?
If there's one new-stadium descriptive the Mets throw around like beads from a Mardi Gras
float, it's "intimacy." The problem is that the Mets, their
announcers, the media and a lot of fans confuse "intimacy" with
"smaller," or "proximity." Just because a venue isn't as big as its
predecessor or has fewer seats, doesn't make it more intimate.
Say you're having a drink at at bar. A hottie the very next stool
over is also having a drink. Just because you're inches apart doesn't
mean the two of you are intimate. A lot more needs to happen before
"intimate" comes into play. In fact, a lot of classic stadiums weren't
intimate at all — fans were a long ways from the action, or the joints
were simply functional and pedestrian, and nothing more.
In fact, the new edifice's biggest intimacy destroyer the Saturn-V
screeching of the new stadium's loudspeakers. Good frakkin' grief!
The Mets in 2009 are loathe to let fans simply take in the game.
Advert after advert, before and during the games, fill every moment of
downtime. Fans aren't trusted to absorb the game on our own.
Baseball's a sport that lives and breaths nuance and subtlety. That
makes for a lot of downtime. At the post-Shea palace, that means
relentless ear-splitting at-bat music, Just For Men commercials, text-messaging contests and theme-songs for every conceivable situation. An afternoon at the new Shea — or TARP Field, as my friend and fellow Spunk Lad John "Reggie Mental" Sharples calls it — is like watching a game in a subway station as the express train passes by.
Except louder.
By the way, if you don't like the new stadium's insidious corpo name, you can wear your displeasure by visiting No Mas — a Brooklyn tee-shirt company that follows our beloved MissWit
in the run for the sassy roses. A percentage of the sales on this item
goes to local food banks. I've been told that 700 of these babies have
flown off the shelves. Good for the food banks, bad for Citi.
Much
has been made about all the food options at the new stadium. I can't
report on it. I'm a diabetic vegetarian with no interest in trendy
Manhattan restaurants like Shake Shack, and a recession-era lack of
money to spend on them at a baseball game. If a day at the ballpark
includes waiting in line for this, you'll love the Mets new home:
As for the shopping opportunities…well, that darned baseball game got in the way, and I never did make it to haute couture locations like,well, let's have the Mets website describe the Touch by Alyssa Milano Shop:
Ladies looking for a dash of fashion with their sports will find
themselves at the Touch by Alyssa Milano Shop. With everything from
tank tops and hoodies to jewelry and purses, Touch brings a feminine,
stylish approach to sports apparel inspired by actress and lifelong
baseball fan Alyssa Milano. Every item in the store sparkles, shines
and is sure to impress!
"whoever wants to know the hearts and minds of America had better learn Alyssa Milano" — Jacques Barzun
The Mets and the MTA have
come together to make every straphanger's arrival at the new stadium an
awe-inspiring epic vista. The old approach from the subway to Shea:
…and the new, improved stadiumscape:
Goodness…Mets owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon and the MTA have really outdone themselves with this collaboration.
Once inside the new stadium's Jackie Robinson Rotunda
— named in honor of a desperate bid to deflect criticism over
corporate naming rights. This sign is the last time anyone who can't
afford $400 tickets will be led to believe they have access to all
levels of the new stadium
Looking more like the Lincoln Memorial
than a baseball stadium, the Mets spoon feed fans with Robinson's
message. The "Arbeit Macht Frei" placement of Robinson's
message…yeah, a little hamfisted.
At each and every game, fans are crazy to have their photo taken with a gargantuan plastic "42."
You can pose with baseball greats Roberto Clemente In Pittsburgh, Ernie Banks in Chicago, Stan Musial in St. Louis…
and in the Mets' Epcotian Jackie Robinson Rotunda…you get plastic numbers. If the Wilpons know anything, it's how to pay tribute to a great American.
lookin' good, Jackie Robinson's numbers, lookin' good!
Want to see Jackie Robinson himself? The Mets have afforded him pride of place over there, um, somewhere…
The Mets are very excited about the new stadium's airy, open concourses…
As first reported in Paul Lukas's brilliant Uni Watch, the new stadium's Bottled Beer stands sell — wait for it…wait for it — canned beer. YES!
As we head up to our upper-deck– er, "Promenade" seats, another set of gates to another exclusive ticketed-entry-only club fades into the distance…
After searching desperately for food I could afford, I finally found a stand offering something in my price range!
Coming dangerously close to an actual beautiful view of Flushing Bay, the Marina and it's odd Candela Structures,
and the charismatic whimsy of planes taking off and landing, the
Wilpons erected a massive advert board with scores and information that
only sporadically detract from the Budweiserian granduer.
Hey, how'd this bird get better seats than we had?
On the plus side…Pittsburgh Pirate LF Nyjer Morgan's excellent stirrup socks.
This was the seating situation during the first inning. That's a lotta green seats costing the Wilpons a lotta green
What
kinda view do $20 tickets get you? Well, sons and daughters, if you're
very lucky, you too can watch the Mets through a metal'n'glass balcony
thingy between you and home plate…and first base…and if you stop
leaning forward, the pitcher's mound.
kinda view do $20 tickets get you? Well, sons and daughters, if you're
very lucky, you too can watch the Mets through a metal'n'glass balcony
thingy between you and home plate…and first base…and if you stop
leaning forward, the pitcher's mound.
And
while it was awfully nice for the Mets to place storm windows between
the action and the fans, it was harder to see through the constant
parade of fans…
.
Annie Reiser, Rocky Sullivan's Pub Quiz's Hollywood Guest Round
expert, has also taken in a game at the new stadium. What'd you think,
Annie? "Nice bathrooms," she replied. And they are. Of course, these
flushless Olympic torch-shaped commodes were really special. Fans are
expected to only pee on the wall below the orange line.
…and here I am, happy to have spent the day in the Mets' new digs.
There you have it. Enjoy the new stadium, Met fans.
After all…you paid for it.
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
Brooklyn Developer Files for Chapter 11
No, not that developer. But I did just read on The Real Deal that Fred Deutsch, the developer of a four-story residential
building at 338-342 22nd Street
in the Greenwood section of Brooklyn,
filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday.
The bankruptcy filing said the liabilities
for LD Development were between $10 million and $50 million while
assets were between $1 million and $10 million.
The
Brooklyn project had a stop work order served on April 30, which
remains in effect, the city Department of Buildings Web site said.
This Week for the Civic Minded in Park Slope
Thanks to Park Slope Neighbors for these reminders:
1) Reminder: Candidates Forum for 33rd City Council District
Race, Tonight, May 12th, 7 p.m. at PS 282
2) Park Slope Civic Council's 50th Anniversary Park Slope
House Tour, this Sunday, May 17th
House Tour, this Sunday, May 17th
3) Gowanus Canal Presentation by the U.S. EPA, Tuesday, May
26th, 6:30 p.m.
26th, 6:30 p.m.
4) Bone Marrow Donor Drive at Prospect Park YMCA, this Sunday,
May 17th
May 17th
5) Reminder: Public Hearing on the P.S. 133 DEIS, this
Thursday, May 14th
Thursday, May 14th