All posts by louise crawford
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
Tom Martinez, Witness: Framed
Framed by thousands of empty frames, an employee of a frame shop on Seventh Avenue lights up and juggles.
Pols Urge Little Room to Relocate!
Local politicians urge Little Room (Brooklyn Heights Montessori) Board of Trustees to consider hiring a consultant to help them find a way to relocate program.
The feeling seems to be that this well-regarded program for children with language processing issues is just too good to disappear. Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, State Assemblywoman Joan L. Millman, State Senator-Elect Daniel Squadron and Council Members de Blasio and Yassky had this to say:
"While we are thankful that The Little Room has a home through the end
of 2010, we are concerned about the November 2009 deadline imposed by
the Board to shut the program down if a viable alternative location is
not found. This is not a sufficient amount of time to identify,
secure, and raise the necessary funds to renovate a new location,
especially since a full-time director is still needed. We are asking
the Board of Trustees to extend its self-imposed deadline to August of
2011 and to explore hiring a consultant to aid in rapid relocation of
the program.
What Issues Matter to You?
Brad Lander, who is running for Bill De Blasio’s City Council seat, wants to give OTBKB readers a heads-up on his first piece of campaign mail,
which they are mailing to likely voters in the district this week.
which they are mailing to likely voters in the district this week.
In fact, you may receive one.
Yes, it’s true: it’s election season again. This time on the local political scene. Once again you’ll be getting loads of snail mail and email. Groan.
As
you’ll see, Lander’s snail mail includes a tear-off survey and asks people to share their
thoughts with Brad. But if you put that piece of mail in the junk mail recycling, you can also answer the survey online, too.
The
goal, says Brad, is to hear what issues matter to people in the district (on
how to respond to the current economic/fiscal crisis, but also on
broader issues). Another goal is to dentify people who are interested in the
campaign.
In addition to the mailing, they’ve got an online presence as well:
— The survey is up at www.bradlander.com/survey
— It’s linked from Lander’s facebook politician page as well, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brad-Lander/10356181156?ref=s
Evan Thies and David Yassky: Less Street Cleaning Would Save NYers Parking Time, Money & Stress
Today Evan Thies, who is running for David Yassky’s City Council seat, has an op-ed in the Daily News written with David Yassky, who is running for NYC Comptroller, about opposite side of the street parking. Thies is currently the Sanitation and Environment Chair of Community Board 1 in Brooklyn.
They make an interesting point. The streets may not to need to be cleaned as often as they are.
According to Thies and Yassky, the Department of Sanitation could save New
Yorkers time, money and stress by cleaning New York’s dirty
streets—not its clean ones.
Reduce the number of times a week we’d have to move the car? Is that possible? It certainly would be an amazing quality of life improvement. Here’s the editorial from the Daily News. See what you think:
The ritual is as much a part of being a New Yorker as loud noises and high prices. Once, twice, or four times a week, most of us with cars do the opposite side of the street parking dance; moving our car from one side of the street to the other to avoid the street cleaner and a big ticket. It’s annoying. But it’s necessary to keep the streets clean, right?
Not necessarily.
Last year, Community Board 6 became the first area of the City to beat back parking regulations that they believed to be overly onerous. They argued effectively that if the streets in their neighborhood were well above the cleanliness standard on a two-day-a-week cleaning schedule per side, then a once-a-week schedule should be enough to get the job done. The City agreed, and new parking signs went up all over Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Red Hook.
After that victory we took a look at North Brooklyn and found that the neighborhoods of Community Board 1 also met the City’s standard for CB6 of three straight years of 90% “acceptable clean streets”. Surely, we thought, the same rules would apply, and opposite side parking would be reduced. But now it turns out there is a different, harder-to-reach standard. The Department of Sanitation has divided community board districts into smaller individual sections, and is requiring that every single one stay above 90% for the parking to be changed community board-wide.
Last year, the City’s annual clean streets average was an immaculate 94.3%—the highest mark ever achieved, and a number which continues to be pushed higher. Clean streets are important, and all New Yorkers appreciate the tireless work of our Sanitation Department. But there still must be a mechanism in place for neighborhoods to limit the frequency of opposite side parking so that New Yorkers aren’t burdened needlessly, and money isn’t spent pointlessly.
We propose that, once a year, when the City reports the cleanliness ratings for each sanitation section, those sections which have reached a rating of 90% clean or above for three consecutive years should be brought up for review. Local community boards and City Council members could then make recommendations, and the Department of Sanitation could make changes based on their suggestions. This would free up resources for problem areas with low ratings and reduce the overall resources the City now uses.
If this system were in place this year, 184 of the 234 sanitation sections across the City would be up for review, and thousands of car owners could be saved the wasted time and gas they spend moving from one side of the street to the other. This would prevent needless pollution that triggers asthma attacks. It would also mitigate the traffic risks to pedestrians and bicyclists that double parking can create.
Perhaps most importantly, reducing the amount of street cleaning in low-need areas would save taxpayers money. At a time when all New Yorkers are tightening their belts to ride out the recession, and the Sanitation Department is already cutting back on essential services such as trash pick-up, a more efficient street cleaning program could net millions of dollars a year in critical savings to plug the deficit or pay for cleaning in the neighborhoods that really need it.
Of course, reducing opposite side parking is not a cure-all. A recent study by Transportation Alternatives showed that charging more for curbside parking helps businesses, and that residential parking permits can help reduce traffic. Reducing the amount of time when there is no parking for street cleaning from the typical 90 minutes to a more reasonable 30 minutes would also be a step forward. We should consider taking these steps as well toward making New York a more livable city for New Yorkers.
The Department of Sanitation should implement our proposal to save New Yorkers time, money and stress. Let’s clean New York’s dirty streets—not its clean ones.
.
Deep Throat Dies
Announced today in the NY Times:
W. Mark Felt, who was the No. 2 official at the F.B.I. when he helped bring down President Richard M. Nixon by resisting the Watergate cover-up and becoming Deep Throat, the most
famous anonymous source in American history, died Thursday. He was 95
and lived in Santa Rosa, Calif.W. Mark Felt, left, with reporters in Washington in 1980. Mr. Felt and
Edward S. Miller, right, were fined $8,500 for approving illegal
break-ins.His death was confirmed by Rob Jones, his grandson.
In 2005, Mr. Felt revealed that he was the one who had secretly supplied Bob Woodwares of The Washington Post with crucial leads in the Watergate affair in
the early 1970s. His decision to unmask himself, in an article in
Vanity Fair, ended a guessing game that had gone on for more than 30
years.
The Oh-So-Prolific-One: Leon Freilich/Verse Responder
CHICAGO-UNBOUND
The embattled governor of Illinois
Is nothing worse than a naughty boy
Whose habit is outraging grown-ups
With statements he declines to own-ups.
When Blagojevich talks of contributions,
The thin-skinned rage of prosecutions
As if this noble public servant
Weren’t merely being fervent
In placing sky-high values
on
The trust that seats of power spawn.
To prove his honesty to the skeptic
And demonstrate he’s antiseptic
Blagojevich intends to appoint
A man for the U.S.senate joint
Against whom no one certainly
Will cast the charge of bribery:
Himself. No money will change hands–
Gold Rod’ll be serenaded by bands,
Becoming what tabs’ll be calling "Blago,"
The little-boy senator from Chicago.
Council Passes Snow Day Alternate Side Parking Rules Suspension
Here’s the press release with the Bill de Blasio spin:
Today, the City Council passed a bill which will suspend alternate
side parking rules during snowstorms, when the Department of Sanitation
(DOS) has to suspend its street sweeping activities. Councilmember Bill
de Blasio released the following statement on the bill’s passage:
"We all know how hard it is to find a parking spot in the City, and in inclement weather it can be nearly impossible. Once there is a lot of snow on the ground, we can’t expect residents to be able to move their snowed-in cars to a new spot. Fining them for not doing so when alternate side parking rules are in effect is completely unfair. Suspending
alternate-side parking rules when there is enough snow to require
plowing of City streets is a common sense measure that will benefit
thousands of New Yorkers this winter, and I am proud to have supported
it today," said Councilmember Bill de Blasio.
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
Another Late Night for Shopping on Fifth Avenue
I just got this reminder from Fonda at Zuzu’s about late night shopping tonight on Fifth Avenue. Other stores will, of course, be open, too. Zuzu’s is located between 5th and 6th Streets on Fifth. Brooklyn Mercantile, Serene Rose, Razor, Get Fresh, PYR, the new wine shop (with tastings!!!) will also be open.
Dearest zuzushoppers…..
If it does not rain, snow or sleet tonight. we will have our third
late evening sip and shop at The Big.
Have some nice red wine, a bit of cheese, and bread while you gift
gather with the zuzus. call us to confirm by 5 pm. we can hold anything
you have your eye on till you get there.
see you later.
fonda
The Little Room to Stay Open Until August 2010
I ran into a friend who’s son is a student at Brooklyn Heights Montessori and she told me that the school, a haven for 3- and 4-year-olds with language and visual processing issues, will stay open until August of 2010.
This is good news for the children and staff already in the school but a huge loss for the Brooklyn educational landscape.
And it’s the second pre-school in brownstone Brooklyn to announce its plans to close this year. We know it’s expensive to run a school. But what’s the deal here?
Dane L. Peters, the head of BrooklynHeights Montessori, told the New York Times that The Little Room required a subsidy
of more than $100,000 a year to make up the difference between the
program’s expenses and about $1.2 million in annual reimbursements from
the state.
Parents at the school are obviously relieved that the school is not closing at the end of this school year but still slightly vexed by the school’s handling of the matter.
Great Gift for Parents of Teens and Tweens: 13 is the New 18
A new book by Park Slope’s Beth J. Harpaz. 13 is the New 18 And other things my children taught me while I was having a nervous breakdown being their mother could be just the thing for those parents of tweens and teens on your gift list. Order it from the Community Bookstore.
Beth Harpaz figures there’ll be no Generation Gap when her kids become teenagers. After all, she grew up in the ’60s and ’70s. She’s seen everything! But when her son has a bar mitzvah and turns 13, suddenly her life goes from hosting pizza parties for 12-year-olds to monitoring the MySpace page where he claims he’s 22 (even though his photo shows him standing next to Bugs Bunny at Six Flags).
She joins Facebook to spy on him, but he refuses to friend her. (No matter, she finds hundreds of friends of her own and ends up addicted to it.) She remembers being teased about her “highwater” pants as a kid, but she just can’t accept her son’s argument that without $100 sneakers, he might be bullied for having uncool shoes. As she tries to decipher lyrics to rap songs and text messages with mysterious codes like NM JC, she starts wondering if she’s failed as a mother, or if all of this is just a normal part of growing up in the 21st century.
When she finds some scary secrets in her son’s room and starts getting calls from school about his behavior, she’s afraid to ask the Perfect Mommies she knows for advice, so she turns to a variety of unconventional sources: the Sopranos, Erma Bombeck, and most of all, Google, her guru and oracle. By the time her son turns 14, he’s grown out of a lot of the things that worried her – and she’s learned a lot about raising teenagers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “Harpaz has an engaging voice, and her outlook on everything from teen fashion to Facebook is fresh and funny.”
“I wonder sometimes if there’s something to the old superstition about the number thirteen. Maybe that superstition was originally created by the mothers of some tribe who noticed that in their children’s thirteenth year, they suddenly became possessed by evil spirits” – from 13 Is the New 18.
Romemarie Hester, Learning Specialist: Power Hours in Park Slope
Rosemarie Hester is a Learning Specialist living and working in
Brooklyn. A learning specialist can often pinpoint where and why a
child is stalled and offer a tune-up that sends a child on his or her
way.
As a Learning Specialist focused mostly in Park Slope, Rosemarie has her finger on the pulse about kids, families and reading/writing
instruction.
She asked me if I would be interested in running a weekly column. Of course I am.
I thought this column could be a real service to OTBKB readers because Rosemarie is aware of the full
range of issues and themes in education and can mix up the columns,
so that they are not all just about the nuts and bolts of providing
support. There are many directions in which to take this idea. Here is Rosemarie’s first column.
The process of learning to read and write is scattered with ‘red light/green light moments’ — moments in which a child can either move forward or experience some sort of confusion, no matter how bright the child, literate the family or good the school.
If you sense your child is ‘stopped at a red light,’ there are a few things you can do.
–Help him or her to look at the first two or three letters of a work in order, literally saying the names of the letters out loud. Often, the child is then able to finish the word.
–Learn the seven different types of syllables with your child and help him or her to divide words by syllable, always stopping at unfamiliar words rather than rushing through them. Here are the syllable types:
Closed, as in cat, Ted, sit, cot, cut
Magic E, as in rake, eke, fine, rote, cute
,
Open, as in no, so, ze-ro, hel-lo
Consonant LE, as in wig-gle, pur-ple, bun-dle
Final Stable na-tion, station, na-ture, cul-ture
Bossy R or-der, form, form-er, corn, fern
Vowel Pairs Au-gust, team, rain, field, group
–also very useful to have a pencil handy when reading for marking in a text. (If that is not an option, have a xerox copy available, with enlarged text, if that is appropriate) Child or parent can learn to loop under syllables which will train the eye through practice. Most words are combinations of different syllable types.
These three strategies will be useful for many kinds of learners if practiced in small sessions and repeated over time. Think of these as your child’s ‘power hours,’ for education is certainly empowerment! More next week about how to support your child’s learning.
Ad Hoc Snowflake on Seventh Avenue
This is Catherine from the Community Bookstore.
Hi Everyone: Quick dash from the world of holiday retail, just to let you know that not to be downcast, disheartened or
defeated (to use words beginning only with a D), many retailers
(including us) are staying open late tonight, too, and still doing fun
stuff . . . it’s a little ad hoc, so harder to tell who is and isn’t
participating, but you can find out more by checking www.buyinbrooklyn. com . . . Come See us!!!!!
Lotsa,Catherine
See the Bay Ridge Christmas Decorations
Actually it’s a day trip to Bay Ridge from Brooklyn Based. And it concludes with a 6 pm tour of Bay Ridge’s famously elaborate Christmas decorations and lights.
Why Shop Local?
This is this year’s final installment of Buy in Brooklyn’s "Why
Shop Local?" series. The campaign has had the misfortune of rainy weather over its
two year tenure, particularly this year. But many businesses are extending sales this Thursday as well.
In the end—regardless of the weather or season, the importance
of shopping local remains a critical component of community health. Whether you come at it locally or globally, keep
investing in what matters to you—the returns will always be real.
Tara Hodgens is representing the
owners of Timboos 5th Ave 11th Street. She will be
participating in Buy in Brooklyn’s Snowflake Celebration during the
first three Thursdays in December by hosting live music and Happy hour
prices all night til closing.
Q: When did you
open for business and why did you choose Park Slope?
A: Opened in
1969, I am fourth generation Park Slope (with a fifth generation after me!) My great grandfather on my father’s side passed
away when my grandfather was 3 of the few epidemic. He was a Hodgens, his
mother remarried Andy Murphy who raised him. He owned the Midway bar
which was somewhere by Prospect Ave. My Nana’s parents, my great grandfather
and grandmother lived down 11th street by 4th Ave. Family lore has it
that they owned a speakeasy before prohibition came to an end. I was
born on top of Timboos and the rest is history.
Timboos Factoid: They have been a
local establishment for 40 years. In fact, they have a few locals that
have been customers for all 40 years of Timboos’ long history.
Q: Which of the Sustainable Business
Network NYC’s "Top Ten Reasons" to shop locally resonate most
with you & your business?
A: Reason #2 Our
one-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of Brooklyn’s distinct character.
There have only been 3 owners since establishment including Timboos. We
have been a family bar, where people feel comfortable when they walk through
our door like they are home. When people visit Timboos, they feel s. So
many families have moved out of the neighborhood. They usually stop
by Timboos when they come back to visit.
Shop Local Factoid: When residents are
asked to name their favorite restaurant, café or shop, it’s typically a unique local
business.
"Why Shop Local?" is a communication initiative of the Buy in
Brooklyn team. To learn more about Park Slope’s Buy in Brooklyn campaign, visit
their website at http://www.buyinbrooklyn.com/
The site, with its ever-growing list of participants and partners is updated
regularly.
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
Thursday Dec 18: Savory Syllables on Sustenance. Writers on Food
DECEMBER 18 at 8 pm: FEAST, Savory Syllables on Sustenance. Writers on Food
Brooklyn Reading Works presents Feast, Savory Syllables on Sustenance. Writers on Food. Curated by Michele Madigan Somerville. With Tom Rayfiel, Ame Gilbert, Nava Renek, Sharon Mesmer, Sohpia Romero, Michele Madigan Somerville and Louise Crawford.
A
benefit for the Helping Hands Food Pantry. Suggested donation: $5 (but
pay what you wish). Includes drinks and snacks.
The Where and When:
Feast: Writers on Food
Thursday, December 18, at 8 p.m.
The Old Stone House
in Park Slope’s Washington Park (formerly JJ Byrne Park). Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets
718-768-3195 or 718-288-4290.
The 2008 Park Slope 100
The 2008 Park Slope 100:
100 stories. 100 ways of looking at the world. 100 inspiring people,
places and things. The list is in alphabetical order. There are no
repeats from last year. There are always serious omissions. I left two slots open for latecomers. The link above is the list’s very own blog.
ART OBAMA because you were a creative and organized group with a great idea, energy and spirit. Heck, you raised $48,000 for Barack Obama at
a fun and festive art auction. Yeah!
FLORIAN BALHAUS because you are quietly building an
impressive filmography as Director of Photography forThe Devil Wears Prada, Definitely, Maybe, the upcoming Marley
and Me and The Time Travelers Wife. Whoa.
MARIATERESSA BAZZI because you’ve got two sets of twins born
one year apart. Enough said right there. They are now 11 and 12 and a
great bunch of talented and well-behaved kids. But you are also a
spirited, fun, involved person who oversees the recess crowd at PS 321.
BRENDA BECKER because in 2008 you decided to visit Prospect
Park every day as an urban adventure (and, not least, as a drug-free
antidepressant!), and to chronicle your discoveries. And you’re still
trying to get to the park every day, and posting about it on your blog,
A Year in the Park,
a site the New York Times called "witty and engaging" in a profile last
July. "It was fun getting some Old Media attention for 15 minutes,"
comments Becker, "but the real gift was connecting to so many other
people, from cyclists to dog lovers, who are also passionate about
Prospect Park. The calendar is a way to share that passion."
SALLY BERMANZOHN because you were a labor organizer at the
Duke Hospital cafeteria with your husband Paul, who was critically
wounded in the Greensboro Massacre in 1979. Currently you are professor
and chairperson of the Political Science Department at Brooklyn
College, where you research and teach courses on the international
phenomenon of truth and reconciliation commissions. And that’s not all. You’re the author of Through Survivors’ Eyes: From the Sixties to the Greensboro
Massacre (2003), for which you received the Brooklyn College Award for
Excellence in Creative Achievement. You are also featured in Adam
Zucker’s documentary, Greensboro; Closer to the Truth.
ANDREA BERNSTEIN because as political director for WNYC and
The Takeaway, your reporting of Hillary Clinton’s primary campaign was always top notch, as were your stories from battleground states. Kudos for
being one of 12 top U.S. journalists to win a Knight Fellowship at
Stanford University in 2006-2007.
BILL DI BLASIO, City Council member and neighborhood advocate. Have you never been on this list?
CHARLES BLOW because as the New York Times’ visual Op-Ed columnist and an award-winning art director, you
bring a decidedly graphic style to that page, a great writing style and
a distinctive point of view.
BROOKLYN FOR BARACK because of the phone banks. And everything else you did to bring Barack to the White House.
BROOKLYN GREEN TEAM
because you’re a community group in Park Slope devoted to reducing your
environmental impact and you inspire others to do the same through
small changes which make a big difference. Founded in 2007, your major
activities include a blog site with local and national green news,
resources, upcoming events, and tips as well as informative emails
pertaining to a particular environmental issue such as local food or
bottled water. Green Team members include: Jennifer Bartels, Melissa
Browning, Amanda Gentile, Noelle Gentile, Johanna Voutounou, and Robert
Weinstein.
BROOKLYN MERCANTILE because
you’ve turned your eclectic, fun Fifth Avenue store,which features an unusual mix of home goods and notions into a community
workshop for crafters of all stripes.
BROOKLYNOLOGY because you’re a new blog run by the Brooklyn Public Library and you present a treasure trove of interesting stories and images of Brooklyn.
BROOKLYNOMETRY because your take on things is so unusual and interesting and it’s never boring to read your words or look at your photographs.
COOL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT / THE MIGHTY HANDFUL because
you’re not just rock and roll bands. CUP raised $6,000 for New Orleans and for an orphanage for street children in Manila with annual concerts at the Old Stone House.
And on December 19th The Mighty Handful (with the help of CUP alums and moms) did it again: this time in support of action.org, advocacy to control TB internationally. And let’s not forget that CUP was a pioneering member of the
all-ages rock scene in the neighborhood.
PHYLLIS COOPER because you are da bomb as a physical
education teacher and administrator at MS 51, a good citizen of Park
Slope and Third Street neighbor.
HERMINE CHARLES AND GILBERT MIDONNET because you’re entrepreneurial and community minded and your shops, Serene Rose and Razor, combine elegance with a sense of fun. We know you comb Park Slope for the best of local artists, artisans and craftspeople.
DOUGLAS J. CUOMO because
you compose music for concert and theatrical
stages, television, and film. Your music, with influences from jazz,
world music, classical, and popular sources, is as personal,
distinctive, and recognizable as it is wide-ranging. Your compositions
range from well-known television themes — for Sex and the City and Now
with Bill Moyers, among others — to evening-length works for theater,
including Arjuna’s Dilemma, an opera-oratorio based on the story of the
Bhagavad Gita, which was at BAM this fall.
D’VINE TASTE because you’ve been providing this community
with delicious cheeses, breads, middle eastern specialties, condiments,
olives, sweets, and more at reasonable prices for many years in a
friendly atmosphere with good service and even better conversation
while WNYC plays on the radio.
CAITLIN DEAN because
you decided to start Girl Guides, a non-profit outdoors program or
sixth through tenth grade girls in Brooklyn. A graduate of Yale
University in 2007, you worked for Sen. Dick Durbin on Capitol Hill in
Washington, D.C., but left your job to get this inspired project off the ground.
EDIBLE BROOKLYN because you’re an attractive and well-written magazine that celebrates, defines and honors Brooklyn’s diverse cuisine.
JENIFER EPELBAUM because of your efforts help your neighbors, an elderly man and a mentally disabled woman, who are being evicted from their Slope apartment where
the woman has resided for 19 years. You wrote: "She and her partner have been our
neighbors in the Slope for these many years, and as a community, I
believe we have a responsibility to make sure they are treated fairly and
decently." Nicely put.
BARBARA ENSOR because you’re the scissor girl, the paper lady, the mad genius author of Cinderella (As If You Didn’t Already Know the Story) and Thumbalina, Tiny Runaway Bride and headmaster of the Little School of Moving Pictures.
FAMOUS ACCORDION ORCHESTRA because your quartet spans the traditional and the modern. You perform original material, as well as tunes from many different
traditions, including Stephen Foster, Jacques Offenbach, Paolo Conte, Leonard
Bernstein, Yiddish, Basque, Italian, Balkan, and beyond.
BRADLEY FELDMAN because your geeky weather tower is working
24/7/365 days a year to bring Park Slopers the temperature, the
wind chill, the humidity and a live image detailed weather,
radar/satellite map, 5-day forecaster and pollen levels. Your weather site is quite a service to the community.
SANDI FRANKLIN because since joining the Center for the Urban Environment (CUE) in
2001, you’ve brought this esteemed 30 year old organization into the
21st century. You’ve honed the agency’s mission, expanded its
programming, and cultivated new partnerships to allow CUE to become the
leading educational guide to a greener New York City. Under your
direction, the Center relocated its headquarters from the bucolic seat
of Prospect Park to its more gritty cousin, the Gowanus Canal, on 7th
Street— in what is on schedule to be the first green building of its
kind in the borough. Under your leadership, you’ve increased
discussions around sustainability and access to ‘green’ education by
helping launch the Sustainable Business Network NYC, worked in nearly
every school in Park Slope, established three environmentally-themed
high schools, and spearheaded Brooklyn’s first and largest green
conference, Green Brooklyn…Green City. For your efforts you have been
awarded "Citizen of the Year" by the Executive Council in 2008 and
"Brooklyn Woman of Distinction" by Con Edison in 2003—and changed the
lives of thousand of residents from Park Slope to Bushwick by providing
them with the tools for greater involvement in the future of their
communities.
LEON FREILICH because you truly are the-oh-so-prolific verse
responder with your funny and smart observations about national and
local politics, as well as daily life in the Slope. Once a day and
sometimes 3 or 4, you bring wisdom, levity, good sense and poetic craft to
the many readers of OTBKB.
ELLEN FREUDENHEIM because you were the author of the first
guidebook to Brooklyn in something like 50 years, and then updated
twice since. If anyone has done something to help put Brooklyn on the
map we think you have.
ANDREW FRIED because you lost your wife suddenly and
tragically and we feel for you. You have been very eloquent in your
expression of grief on your blog, Fry Guy’s Thinkerings. "Our life was going amazingly, like a dream come
true. We spent days together and never argued. We kissed constantly and
couldn’t spend enough time with each other. We laughed, loved, and
talked about our future, including our expectant child."
KAREN ROTHMAN FRIED, a beloved teacher at PS
321 known for her commitment to and appreciation of each and every
child in the classroom. Brooklyn Heights born, she received her Master
of Science in Elementary Education and Post
Master of Science in Reading from Bank Street College of Education and
taught 2nd grade at the Special Music School of America as well as 2nd
grade at the Lycee Francais de New York before coming to P.S. 321 in
2007. In memoriam.
PATRICK GASPARD because Barack Obama appointed you national political director of his presidential campaign and the rest is history.
RICHARD GIN
because you are the self-designated photographer of the Brooklyn
all-ages music scene and you get the shots that everyone loves.
Pictured left: Fiasco.
GINO’S COLLISION because you fixed my father’s Subaru for a reasonable price and we love the adorable bright orange Fiat 500 that you park right outside. Classy.
CAROLINE GHERTLER because you are the best mom I know and
that’s not faint praise. I admire your way with S and think she’s a
very lucky girl to be your daughter. You’re a great sister, a great wife, a great daughter and a great friend. All this working full
time with crazy hours as a set decorator on cool movies and TV commercials. How do you do it?
FRANK GIORDANO because you are a first class middle school
principal at a first class middle school (New Voices) and you return emails faster than
any educator in New York and that’s amazing.
MARTY GOLDIN because you run Goldin Management, which provides customized management plans for Co-ops,
Condos and rental buildings You are a great landlord at Montauk Office,
the coolest office space in Park Slope (in the coolest building).
You’re an involved parent, citizen, member of your community, and a fun
guy to have as a landlord.
MINDY GOLDSTEIN because of the many roles you play in your life,
including Joanne in Charlie Libin’s indie film, American Combatant, a
recurring muse in Jamie Livingston’s Photo of the Day
project, a wonderful mother, a nursery school teacher at the Plymouth
Church School, a specialist in special needs education, a former editor
of Pandamonium, PS 321’s poetry magazine and a graceful volunteer
wherever help is needed.
SARAH GONSER not just because you’re smart, cool, and
accomplished but the real reason is that you embody what we believe
are the best facets to Brooklyn living. You helped a newcomer to the
Slope when she needed it most. You invited her to the Ladies Night, for
companionship and conversation of some pretty incredible women. but
what she represents. One friend writes, "I’d heard that Park Slope was
a neighborhood of community and warmth and civic pride, but had not
experienced it until I was introduced to it through Sarah. She
captures these incredible attributes in the best, nonsnarky or
judgmental, incredible way."
AMY GRAVES, executive director of Brooklyn Children’s Theater,
because, simply put, Brooklyn Children’s Theater is a Park Slope
treasure. You have introduced scores of neighborhood kids to the
wonders of musical theater in a setting that brings out the best in our
community.You and your team, including several middle school interns,
have worked this fall with more than 80 kids from elementary and middle
school to create five short yet spirited musicals in a non-competitive,
purely joyous productions. Cash donations at the door enable the school
to offer "scholarships," so children who can’t pay for the program
still can find their way onstage.
KATHRYN HARRISON because
you write deeply, bravely and honestly about your own experiences in
your memoir work and you bring beautifully rendered fictional worlds to
life in your novels, including Exposure, Poison, The Seal Wife and The Binding Chair.
JENNIFER HENRY who blogs as The Henrys in New York because
you left a perfectly nice, ordered, well-connected life in arguably the
world’s most liveable city, to relocate halfway around the world to
live in arguably the world’s most exciting city. We love to read your
take on all the things you are discovering in NYC and Brooklyn. Your
enthusiasm is infectious.
FORBES HILL was the retired Chairman of the Department of
Media Studies at Queens College. He taught Christian education at the
Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims and was involved with the Independent
Neighborhood Democrats, a local political club. A singer, he was also a
member of the Brooklyn
Community Chorus, the Congregational Beth Elohim Singers and the
Plymouth Church Choir. "For my father, music was a chance to
seek truth, experience beauty, relieve suffering, love and be loved and
achieve something of lasting worth," said Steffanie Hill Wilchfort, his
daughter. In memoriam.
JOHN HODGMAN because you play
the PC guy in those funny Apple commercials and we love your hilarious,
and completely fake, trivia books (“The Areas of My Expertise” and the
new “More Information than You Require”), your regular appearances as
the resident expert on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and your description of Park Slope as a "utopian commune ruled by children."
SARA HOROWITZ,
because as executive director of Freelancers Union and CEO of
Freelancers Insurance Company you’re trying to bring affordable health
care to us freelancers. A lifelong resident of Brooklyn, NY, you come
from a long line of
labor advocates, including your father, who was a labor lawyer, and
your grandfather, who was vice president of the International Ladies’
Garment Workers Union. You studied at Cornell University’s School of
Industrial and
Labor Relations and later
earned a
master’s degree from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.You
are the recipient of a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Fellowship (also known a genius award).
ALISON HOUTTE because you are the flamboyant and fabulous owner of Hooti Couture,
a vintage store at 321 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, that specializes in
women’s and men’s clothes and accessories. Before getting into the
vintage business you worked as a model for more than 10 years in Paris
and Manhattan, appearing in everything from Vogue magazine to a Dr
Pepper television commercial—and you still look like one. Your store
has been featured in Women’s Wear Daily, The New York Times and many
other publications
JAKE the panhandler who stands in front of ACE Supermarket on Seventh Avenue and Berkeley Place because you’ve had a tough life, you always ask so nicely and you have such a big, warm smile.
JOYCE JED AND JANE BECKER because of the hard work
and inspiration that led 8th Street between 8th Avenue and the Park to
win 2008’s Greenest Block in Brooklyn. This was the first time a block
in Park Slope won the award sponsored by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
.The two of you were able able to unify a block and inspire dozens
of people to take an interest in street trees and caring for tree beds
and putting up window boxes. You represent the best of Park Slope with your commitment to the neighborhood and the people who live here.
NATE KENSINGER because we know that you’re a documentary filmmaker, photographer, film festival programmer and a location scout but it’s your pictures of the industrial edges of NYC that grab our hearts. Photo left: under the boardwalk.
DEDE KAVANAUGH because some call you the mayor of Park Slope.
We loved your costumes for Piper Theater’s production of Midsummer
Night’s Dream in Washington Park right down to the Victorian underwear.
We notice all the decorative things you do at benefits, weddings, and
school events.
PAMELA KATZ because you always have the time to be an amazing
friend despite your multi-tasking life teaching screenwriting, writing screenplays, writing novels, being a superlative mom, an excellent conversationalist, a voracious reader, and a backyard gardener.
JEZRA KAYE because in
your public speaking workshops you teach how to communicate with power
and ease so that people really listen. You’re on the board of directors
of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn , and are author of Kicking: Love Poems, which is one woman’s grapple with the
ever-changing face of love. You’re also a jazz singer, a Food Coop member and one heck of a people connector.
ADAM KLEIN AND ISABEL REBOH because we still can’t believe
that you moved away from Third Street, your home for 15 years. Each of
you in your own way, was an integral part of life in the Slope. We ask:
How are you surviving in a small town more than an hour from
Toronto? We miss running into you both on Third Street or Seventh
Avenue. Thanks for the emails, the excerpts from the Toronto Globe and the literary musings. But most of all we
envy your new neighbors!
DAVID KONIGSBERG because
you’re the original idea man whether it’s coming up with an inspired way raise money for Barack Obama’s campaign (Art Obama), writing annual
reports or painting gorgeously lush narrative paintings of strange
autos, flying machines and imaginary cities.
THE HANDY LANDLORD OF LINCOLN PLACE because you watch over your properties like a proud papa and you’re a whiz with power tools. You do your creative carpentry in front of Stitch Therapy, Paper Love and One of a Find on Lincoln Place creating attractive planters and benches, which you then hand paint. Name to come.
PAUL LAROSA because on your blog, The Murder Book 2008, you
created a record of all the murders in NYC that appeared in the city’s
three newspapers. You’re also a TV producer for CBS’s 48 Hours and a
true crime author of Tacoma Confidential and other page turners.
CHARLES LIBIN because you’re usually behind the lens as
director of photography or camera operator on films like Able Danger,
Be Kind Rewind and Neil Young: Heart of Gold. Your film, American Combatant, was selected for numerous film festivals, including the San Paulo
International Film Festival and is now available at Amazon. Most
of all, we love that you were on screen as an extra during the euphoric party
scenes in Rachel Getting Married, a film you also worked on.
RABBI ELLEN LIPPMANN because as founding rabbi of Park Slope’s Kolot Chayeinu/Voices of Our Lives
you bring a spirit of serious Judaism, spirituality, social activism
and human rights to your pulpit. A tireless organizer, you played an
instrumental role in the now annual Children of Abraham Faith Walk and
more recently have been an outspoken advocate against torture (bringing
a petition to our local Congresswoman, Yvette Clark). How Rabbi
Lippmann manages to organize and advocate in addition to leading a
thriving faith community is anyone’s guess. Rumor has it that she’s
getting some help from above.
THE LITTLE ROOM because you’re a nationally recognized program for 3- and 4-year-olds with
speech and language delays and one of the things that makes the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School special. Your fate is unclear but a lot of people are fighting for you. Update: I hear they’ve decided to keep you through the spring of 2010. Your ultimate closing is a loss to the educational landscape of Brooklyn.
LIVING ON SEVENTH because we love your friendly shop and all
the beautiful things you’ve got in there. Eva, you have impeccable
taste in home design, accessories and clothing.
LUCY because you sell vintage clothing at the PS 321 Flea
Market and anybody can see the woman has style from that long
blond wig against the ebony skin. And you’re willing to share it!
Slopers in the know have been fighting over the stash you bring to the
flea market at 321 for years now. And you never forget to ask after our
kith and kin as you get us to wriggle in and out of your swanky stuff.
WIthout you we’d have to walk around naked: Lucy, you are the empress!
COOL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT /
THE MIGHTY HANDFUL because
you’re not just another rock and roll band. You raised more than $8,000
over the last four years for New Orleans and for an orphanage for street children in Manila with your annual concerts at the Old Stone House.
And on December 19th you’re doing it again: this time in support of TB vaccines. And let’s not forget that you are leading members of the
all-ages rock scene in the neighborhood. Nominated by Kim Maier.
KIRSTEN MARINO of Slope Sports because
we love that your shop is always a fun spot for conversation. And when
we’re buying running shoes there’s no one we’d rather talk to or buy
from. And thanks for organizing the New Year’s Eve run in Prospect Park
coming up. Oh yeah, your weekly free running groups are a major
addition to the nabe.
JULIE MARKES because you multi-task as a PTA president, a talented photographer and the author of children’s books like Good Thing You’re Not an Octopus and the ever-popular, Where’s the Poop? and all the others from HarperCollins.
RACHEL MAUER because you are the blood and guts of Park Slope Parents.
You keep PSP running like a well-oiled machine and that includes the
website and two Yahoo! groups! You help local businesses get the word
out about classes, activities, and community events. We know you don’t
like being in the spotlight. But you deserve to be here. That’s for
sure.
JOSEPH M. McCARTHY because when Jim Niesen and Terry Greiss moved the Irondale Theater Center to
Brooklyn, they teamed up with you to be their director of development
because you are an incredible advocate for any project that you’re
involved with. Now you’ve put Irondale onto the Brooklyn map as a
place for strong education and innovative theater, as well as the
guardian of the beautiful Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church.
ERIC McCLURE because you are the quintessential ardent
civic and community activist who can enter all worlds and lend a steady
voice of reason, intellect and comfort. Your civic involvement is
invaluable to Park Slopers for the steady hand, integrity and strategic
thinking you offer. A skilled community organizer, you walk steady in
the worlds of politics, transportation and environmental advocacy, and
community development. Effective both in leadership roles and working
in the background, you have taken leadership positions on the
Executive Committee of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats
(CBID), the Executive Committee of the Park Slope Civic Council, both long time fixtures on the Park Slope scene. He also sits on the Steering Committee of the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods (CBN),
a newcomer on the block, which has brought together 42 community
organizations to advocate for transparency and environmental oversight
for development at the proposed Atlantic Yards site. you are also an an
active volunteer with Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.
When you saw a gap and a need for vigorous activism in the Park Slope
community, you founded what has quickly become a well-known,
established fixture in Park Slope—Park Slope Neighbors (PSN).
PSN advocates for community dialogue, contextual and environmentally
responsible development, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, small
businesses and diversity in the community. And let’s not forget the
way you utilize your wit and writing skills as part of the team that
churns out copious amounts of coverage of the Atlantic Yards fight on
the inestimable NoLandGrab.org
MOIRA MELTZER-COHEN because you make everyone feel so welcome when they enter Fifth Avenue’s Bar Reis and you keep the level of cocktail conversation very high. Your Etsy shop, Good Head, is
a great place to find hats and gloves. Your qualities as an
intellectual, a cultural critic, a knitter and a good bartender are obvious to all.
MATT MITLER because for ten years we’ve loved the black light
magic of your Halloween puppet shows in the ground floor window of your
apartment on Garfield Place. Your theater troupe, Diezi, sounds pretty
wonderful, too. Not only for its artistry but because the group
performs in hospitals and believes that helping others "generates a
profound healing effect that not only serves the patient but also
strengthens the ensembles work."
THE NEWCOMERS TO THE SLOPE, including Barrio, Playa, Babeland, Eric Shoes, Pure Essentials, Yogo Monster, Five Guys Burgers, Paper Love, One of a Find, the Tibetan Store, Primo Atto, Bussaco…more to come
NANCY NANCY because
you lost the lease on your beloved Fifth Avenue shop that was mecca for those in search of funny chotchkas and cards; we understand that you are
reinventing yourself and moving on. Good luck to you. And keep in touch.
BARACK OBAMA
DAVID PECHEFSKY because you used your experience in the New York City Council to help the new parliament of Sierra Leone. And you peddle your mother (and your 4-year-old daughter) around Prospect Park in your bicycle rickshaw.
The PSP PUPPET MAKING TEAM because you gave the Halloween Parade
new life with gradiose puppets that floated down Seventh Avenue this
year. Led by Theresay Linnihan of the Puppeteer’s Cooperative, helpers
included, Kiera, Toby, Brent, Ariel, Holly, Susan, Amber, Joan, Jim,
Dalien and Havona. We salute all of you.
NERINA PENZHORN because your well-crafted segments for your
series, A Walk Around the Blog on Brooklyn Independent Television
really made the Brooklyn blogging community visible.
ANN PRESCOTT because as a kindergarten and first grade
teacher extraordinaire you have influenced legions of Brooklyn kids at
The Children’s House (now Rivendell) and at Packer Collegiate, where
you continue to leave your mark.
PROSPECT PARK TRACK CLUB because of the Turkey Trot, the Cherry Tree Run and all the other running events you do in and around prospect Park.
MALLORY Y. RUTLEDGE because you opened tiny MYR on Seventh Avenue and we love the custom blended foundation and your natural-looking cosmetics and make overs for weddings, proms, parties, special events and
just for every day. Thanks.
JON SCHAEFER because you’ve hosted and produced the popular
shows, Soundcheck and New Sounds on WNYC radio for years. Your program
was called "The #1 radio show for the Global Village" by Billboard
magazine. Recently, you went to North Korea with the New York
Philharmonic and wrote a moving blog about the experience.
ANNE SCHWARTZ because
you were the midwife to Olivia, that feisty pig, confidante to
Lincoln, fictional and factual children’s editor extraordinaire of
Schwartz & Wade at Random House Children’s Books, proving profits
in publishing keep on coming when we honor children’s intelligence and
imagination and the deity who is in the details.
JON SCIESZKA because your wacky, zany books, including The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! have been translated into a bunch of language, won a bunch of awards and have sold over 11 million copies worldwide. Not bad.
CARLY ROSE SILBERMAN, a 2-year-old South Slope toddler who
enjoyed everything her neighborhood had to offer. Going to Wantana for
her sticky rice, attending Music Together taught by Kevin, getting
fresh buttery croissants at Parco, and lets not forget visiting Annette
at Toy Space to get a balloon. A sweetheart who died suddenly with no
warning. A tree has been planted and a bench will be made in her honor,
next to one of her most favorite of all Park Slope destinations, the
9th Street Playground at Prospect Park. (In memoriam).
LENORE SKENAZY because
you did the unthinkable: you let your 8-year-old son ride the subway
home from a department store on the Upper East Side. You didn’t expect
to get hit with a tsunami of criticism from readers. But you did and
you handled it well; you even came out to Park Slope to tell the tale.
S’NICE because you decided to give the picturesque corner of
Third Street and Fifth Avenue a go and made it the kind of vegan
cafe/restaurant, where locals can dine daily, take meetings, work on
their blogs and novels, and leave keys for house guests.
ROB SPILLMAN because as editor of Tin House, a bi-coastal (Brooklyn, New York and Portland, Oregon) literary magazine,
you publish special issues devoted to themes like Work and African
Literature in Exile. We like how smart and articulate you are
especially leading panel discussions at the Brooklyn Book Festival especially the one called: Movements
and Visions of Identity in the African Imagination with African
authors Binyavanga Wainaina, Patrice Nganang and Breyten Breytenbach.
DANIELLE SUCHER AND DAVE TURNER because you run Jack, an occasional restaurant at the Brooklyn Lyceum. You blog about food at Habeas Brulee and you run your own law firm. Get down girl.
THE BLOG THAT MUST NOT BE NAMED because, as you wrote, "you were black every day for 33 years; Never a nigger until Wall St. moved to Brooklyn." On your blog, you’re funny, you’re nasty and you insult just about everyone, including yourself. You say it like you see it and we love you for that.
CHERYL THOMAS because as Event Coordinator at the Old Stone House of
Brooklyn you are ever fair and steadfast in your Ever commitment to
crowd control, you are OSH’s secret weapon for event management. And
when bestowed upon you, your brilliant smile and departing blessing of
"be careful, be safe" make the world a better place.
JANE TOMKIEWICZ because you’ve been teaching the Alexander Technique to
groups at the 92nd Street Y since 1992 and privately in Manhattan since
1990. You served as the Executive Director of the American Center of
the Alexander Technique from 1996-2008 and are now very pleased to begin
teaching group and private lessons in Brooklyn at the Feldenkrais
Center of Park at 375 5th Avenue.
ELEANOR TRAUBMAN because you are a writer educator, culture maven, and community-builder whose
passion is connecting people to each other, and connecting people to
tools and resources for living an inspired and effective life. You write that your mission is to "bring people together through the arts, creativity,
and humor." It is also your work as a professional organizer that is highly worth noting: "I assist busy New York women to
cut down on clutter and to create systems of organization for home and
office." And let’s not forget your indispensable leadership of the 2008 Brooklyn Blogfest and your dedication to the The Brooklyn Blogade, a monthly
gathering of Brooklyn bloggers. Go girl Go.
JOHN TUCKER because we love dinner and brunch at Rose Water,
a seasonal American restaurant with a commitment to local,
regional, organic and sustainable food.
SCOUT TUFANKJIANA because of your sweeping, intimate portraits of Barack Obama’s historic campaign in "Yes We Can," from PowerHouse Books.
PEG TYRE because
you’re a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, who was, until recently, a
senior editor at Newsweek. But your book, The Trouble with Boys, addresses some important and vexing questions: why do boys lag
behind girls in academic achievement? Why are schools failing boys? You
are a godsend to mothers of boys!
MEDUSA SALON because of your inspired fundraising effort for
Barack Obama, Up-do’s for Obama. Photos of your Sarah Palin
look-alike contest made their way around the world. Good work girls!
ED VELANDRIA because
you are the subway sketcher. You use a computer tablet and touch pen
for your sketches and try to capture people on the F Train. It’s your
therapy, your meditation, and your only chance to draw during a very busy day. “Everyone
is so different, no matter how much you lump people together,” you told
the LA Times, who did a front page article about you last summer. “I guess my
ultimate goal is to really capture the soul of a person.”
DARREN VON STEIN because in your shop, Prints Charming,
you steer your customers toward frames that make the Francis Bacon
painting soar—- or the hand print by our second grader sing—and
then lets us imagine we found it ourselves! Like any good frame you
never draw attention to yourself. You don’t brag, don’t whine, you
don’t even charge a lot—although you’re a master craftsman who has
been at this for a couple of decades There’s something so darn slopian
about this kind of unassuming respect for tradition, not to mention
good old neighborliness.
CYNTHIA WADE because
you won the Academy Award for your short subject documentary
"Freeheld," the story of Detective Lieutenant Laurel Hester, who spent
25 years investigating tough cases in Ocean County, New Jersey,
protecting the rights of victims and putting her life on the line. She
had no reason to expect that in the last year of her life, after she
was diagnosed with terminal cancer, that her final battle for justice
would be for the woman she loved.
REBECCAH WELCH because as Senior Associate Director of Communications at the Center for the Urban Environment you work hard so that everyone knows and understands what’s going over there. You are also involved with the Buy in Brooklyn initiative and you personally contributed to the Community Bookstore
in its greatest time of need. You also wrote those wonderful Why Shop
Local? profiles of local entrepreneurs, which delighted the readers of OTBKB. For your community mindedness,
your environmental smarts, your devotion to local issues, It was a no-brainer putting you on this list
WASHINGTON PARK (formerly JJ Byrne Park) because you got a new name and thanks to the Parks Department, Boymelgreen Developers, Kim Maier and a a whole slew of pols, you got game—and a new skate park, two new
basketball courts,
six handball courts, a new dog run, new fencing, gates, pavement and
landscaping. Coming soon: a synthetic turf green, new fencing,
landscaping and the plaza area opening the view of the Old Stone House
to Fourth Avenue.
JOYCE WATSON was the crossing guard at the corner of First
Street and Seventh Avenue, with the angelic voice, she will be
remembered by students and parents for the lovely way she spoke to the
children. Hello beautiful. Good Morning, my sweet angels. Hello lovely
lady. In memoriam.
MO WILLEMS even though you don’t live here anymore we still LOVE the Knuffel Bunny: A Cautionary Tale and Knuffel Bunny: A Case of Mistaken Identity. You brought a small dose of fame to the laundromat on Sixth Avenue and 5th Street (which is under new ownership now).
MICHAEL WINKS (with the beard) because
whether you’re writing plays or calling for alcohol-based
fuels and a members’ only alternative fuel club to supply fuel made
almost entirely from ethanol, an alcohol distilled from grains like
corn, you are a creative guy with a lot to say. We love your play,
Baby Love (performed at Brooklyn Reading Works), an absurdist take on contemporary parenting. Photo courtesy of the Brooklyn Paper.
GILLY YOUNER because you’re a talented architect, a great
mom, a board member of the Park Slope Civic Council and Develop Don’t
Destroy Brooklyn and you recently appeared in The Civilians’ Brooklyn
At Eye Level, a lively performance of theater, music and dance that
took its
inspiration from interviews with the real life players in the story of
Brooklyn. And in March you are curating a retrospective of paintings by your late father, Chaim Herbert Youner, at the Upstream Gallery in Dobbs Ferry.
AARON ZIMMERMAN because you run the New York Writers Coalition, the largest community-based creative writing program in the country. And we love your beliefs:
"Everyone is a writer, regardless of prior writing experience and
formal education;
Through encouragement and support, people grow as writers and
artists;
In the value of the uniqueness of every individual’s voice;
Each person’s experiences are a source of strength and power as a
writer and an artist;
In creating and maintaining a non-judgmental, open and respectful
community where everyone is encouraged to support and listen to each
other and to take risks and grow as writers;
Each person, through writing, can shape and influence the lives of
others; and
We can achieve social change by providing access and opportunity for
all writers, regardless of race, ethnicity, class, age, gender, sexual
orientation and physical ability."
And that, Dear OTBKB readers, is the fitting end to this year’s Park Slope 100.
Tom Martinez, Witness: Toni at The Farm
Toni painted a picture today during her art class in which she made several distinct layers of sky, much like the paintings
that were on display at The Farm. She commented on the similarity and seemed to enjoy it.
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
Marty, Bill, Christine, Joan, David and Daniel Express Concern Over the Closing of The Little Room
This joint letter Christine Quinn, Marty Markowitz, Daniel Squadron, Joan Millman, David Yassky
and Bill de Blasio went to the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Montessori School.
December 15, 2008
Helene Banks
President, Board of Trustees
Brooklyn Heights Montessori School
185 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Dear Ms. Banks:
We are writing with serious concern regarding the fate of the Little Room program. As
described in Sunday’s New York Times, and as we have heard from parents and members of our
community, the Little Room is a high-quality, award-winning special education program for pre-
school children. We want to underscore the importance of preserving such a vital service for
Brooklyn residents.
As we understand it, the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School Board is planning to meet on
Tuesday to decide the future of the Little Room. We hope the Board will strongly consider
keeping the program and embracing the Little Room as part of the mission of the school.
At a minimum, we ask the Board to make a strong, clear commitment to ensuring the long-term
survival of the Little Room. Because public funding undergirds the program, we feel there is a
strong public interest in ensuring that the Little Room continues to survive and thrive. We
believe this would entail keeping the program at Montessori through the summer of 2011, and
hiring a new director capable of guiding the Little Room through a transition to another location.
We also ask for the opportunity to meet with the Board briefly prior to your discussion on
Tuesday so that we may present our concerns in person.
Mary Cooley of the office of State Senator-elect Daniel Squadron will serve as contact person
for the undersigned as a group. You can reach her at mary@danielsquadron.org or 646-472-
5712, or you may reach any of us at our offices.
We look forward to working with you, the affected parents and members of the community to
formulate a solution that preserves the Little Room and the essential services it provides for the
children who need them.
Sincerely,
Christine Quinn,
Marty Markowitz,
Daniel Squadron
Joan Millman
David Yassky
Bill de Blasio
Photography by Rudolph Vernaz-Colas: Lock and Key
OTBKB Endorses Caroline Kennedy for Senator
I support Caroline Kennedy for senator mostly because I think she has what it takes to be a great New York politician: brains, dignity, determination, and ethics.
So I’m curious about what this woman born one year before me would do with the job. I suspect she would fill it with grace and maybe even brilliance.
Yes, I am an admirer. We’re practically relatives. Well, not really.
But in a symbolic way: we grew up together. My sister’s name is Caroline after all. And we both wear our hair straight with a side part.
I vividly remember the images of Caroline and John John in the White House. I feel like I was aware of them as a young kid.
Of course I remember when her father was killed. Who can forget those days when my parents were tuned non-stop to those awful images of Jack and Jackie in the car, the solemn images of the funeral, LBJ being sworn in and little John John’s unbearably poignant wave at the funeral.
It was the first "television event" in my life. And I felt the tragedy in a small way even though I was only five-years-old.
So I am sort of a Caroline groupie. I’ve always admired the fact that she seemed like a serious and wonky member of the family; she doesn’t go in for all the personal dysfunction that some of the Kennedy’s seem to display.
It was cool when she married Edwin Scholossberg, her big, Jewish intellectual, who was geeky with an interest in creating interactive media and art installations.
Then she wrote two scholarly books with Ellen Alderman called In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action and The Right of Privacy.
I felt for her as she grieved her brother. They were very close and she looked ruptured for years after.
And more recently she worked to raise money for NYC public schools and was an early and influential supporter of Barack Obama. The following is from an op-ed column she wrote for the New York Times called "A President Like My Father .
I have spent the past five years working in the New York City public
schools and have three teenage children of my own. There is a
generation coming of age that is hopeful, hard-working, innovative and
imaginative. But too many of them are also hopeless, defeated and
disengaged. As parents, we have a responsibility to help our children
to believe in themselves and in their power to shape their future.
Senator Obama is inspiring my children, my parents’ grandchildren, with
that sense of possibility.
I like that she would be the first Kennedy women to actually hold an elected office.
I like that she isn’t a fashion plate like her mom but that she has nice, classic style. And she hires cool architects to design her houses. She’s low key and private and she lives the kind of life I’d like to live if I was rich and famous.
In other words, she seems to have values, dignity and honesty (and loads of money). My guess is that like so many she’s inspired by Obama and wants to be part of public life—and that’s why she wants to be the first female Kennedy to join the family business. She writes:
I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me
that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have
found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a
new generation of Americans.
In my gut I trust Caroline Kennedy and feel strongly that her intelligence, her powers of reason and her restraint would make her a great senator for New York City.
And it’s not just because we grew up together.
Slope Couple Now Homeless: City Did Not Offer Housing
Here’s an update from Jenifer Epelbaum, the Slope resident who has been advocating on behalf of Frances and Frank, a local couple recently evicted from a St. John’s Place apartment building and offered a $40,000 settlement (which in a special needs trust). The woman is mentally disabled and the man is elderly.
Epelbaum’s note contains sad news. The couple, who were refused housing by the city’s "Eligibility Investigation Office" yesterday, now have nowhere to live. They spent the night riding the subway to stay out of the rain.
The elderly man and woman I wrote to you about were transported by car
today to the homeless intake facility in Manhattan. They were taken
there by the guardian for the woman (a social worker representing the
legal guardian to be precise). I was permitted to come along as well,
since the couple wanted me there for comfort and assistance.
The
staff at the intake facility were exceptionally kind and helpful.
However, after about an hour of waiting, the couple and the woman’s guardian were called into the "Homeless Diversion Unit."There we met
with a very nice woman who asked to see the papers documenting the
homelessness. After reading the "Notice of Settlement" and other legal
papers the guardian provided, she told the couple and the guardian that
she did not believe the couple would be found eligible for shelter. She
pointed at the $40,000 settlement and asked why that money could not be
used now to shelter the woman. She also asked about the woman’s
government support checks (also apparently now controlled by the
guardian).I
had to leave after about four and a half hours of waiting, before the
couple and the guardian were seen by the next person, whom I was told
would be from the "Eligibility Investigation Office."During the
long wait, I asked the guardian’s representative why the couple was not being housed temporarily in a hotel with money from the settlement.
He replied that he appreciated my advocacy on their behalf, but he
preferred to wait and argue the case of their eligibility for a
homeless shelter. I was sorry I had to leave before the matter could be
resolved, but I had to return to Brooklyn to pick up my youngest child
from school.I was busy this evening with another of my
children, and returned home late to very sad news. The couple did not
receive housing from the city. The woman (who is mentally impaired) I
am told stormed out in frustration after much waiting. The message I
received is that they are riding the subway tonight, for shelter from
the rain.They
are out of their home, and Frances does not control her government
support checks nor the settlement, which was due to be paid into a
special needs trust (the $40,000 agreed to if she left her home by
12/15). Frank has tried valiantly to assist Frances in meeting the
terms of the settlement, since she stood to lose much of the settlement
if they failed to leave by 12/15.Frank is 74. He is a native
New Yorker, born on Elizabeth Street in Manhattan. He is a kind and
intelligent person who is devoted to Frances. Frank served our country
as a member of our armed forces, and he performed his duties honorably
and bravely at that time. He serves honorably and bravely again, this
time assisting his companion Frances, who appears to have been forsaken
by everyone else, including our legal system.Jennifer Epelbaum
NY Mag Reasons to Love NY: Red Hook Wine
It’s #32. Here’s an excerpt from NY Mag:
Wine distributor Mark Snyder is determined to restore the faded
tradition of Brooklyn winemaking—once practiced routinely in kosher
wineries and Italian-American basements—and to utterly transform it.
And he’s doing it in Red Hook, with Long Island grapes. If that’s not
zany enough, consider his co-conspirators: Bob Foley of Robert Foley
Vineyards, maker of cult Napa reds like his signature Claret and
Charbono, and Abe Schoener, whose quirky Scholium Project label claims
East Coast devotees like chef Colin Alevras, who’s been helping out in
Red Hook in his spare time. Even in this year of the urban winery, with
the more commercial City Winery and Bridge Vineyards opening in Soho
and Williamsburg respectively, the prospect of Foley and Schoener
fermenting and blending wines in an unmarked Red Hook storefront might
be the oenological equivalent of Alice Waters opening a little café on
Van Brunt Street. Unexpected, bizarre, and more than a little thrilling.
Tomorrow: The Park Slope 100
Racing to get it done.
Gift Deals at Brooklyn Based
Read Brooklyn Based today. They’ve got a bunch of gift deals from local stores you might be interested in.
During the downturn, everyone deserves a deal. So Brooklyn Based hooked up with a dozen
plus discounts at local stores and sites so you can save on your last
minute shopping spree, including Fred Flare, Corduroy Kid, Word Bookstores, Space Craft and the Greene Grape.
No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford
