Yesterday I heard from Caitlin
Dean, who is starting a non-profit outdoors program, Girl Guides, for sixth through
tenth grade girls.  She is launching a pilot group in Northwest Brooklyn, focused on Park Slope,
and trying to spread the word through as many community networks as
possible. She is hoping that OTBKB’s readers might be interested in the program for their daughters or
other girls they know of! There is a listing of information sessions below.

A bit of background: I graduated from Yale University in 2005 and was most recently
working for Sen. Dick Durbin on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., but I left my job to start
Girl Guides.  For years, my sister and I spent part of our summers in
Belgium, where we have family friends.  There, we participated in
summer wilderness camps with Girl Guides, which is the Belgian
equivalent of Girl Scouts (and actually the name of most countries’
Scouting programs for girls). 

In practice, it’s very different from
Girl Scouts here in America.  For one thing, Girl Guides is a youth
movement, which means that the groups are run by young adults (usually
college-age girls or recent graduates), not parents, and that over
time, the participants learn leadership skills and take on increased responsibility within the
group.  Girl Guides also puts a strong emphasis on outdoor activities
and environmentalism, and it encourages teamwork, cooperation and
communal living over individual recognition (there is no focus on merit
badges, for example).  Activities are held throughout the school year,
usually on weekends (afternoons, day trips and overnights), building up
to a two-week camp in the summer.  Our "camp" is actually just a field
that we transform into a community.  We pitch tents, build our
campsites (literally – the constructions are incredible!), cook over
open fires, hike, play games, sing around the campfire, and learn to
live in nature as a group.  For more information, check out our website at www.girlguidesusa.org.

I have long wanted to make it possible for American girls to
participate in such a wonderful program, and so I have decided to take
on the challenge of starting an American version of Girl Guides.  The
necessary infrastructure for the program is in place, and I am now
looking
for interested girls to participate and schools and community groups to
partner with.  There will be information sessions about the program at
local libraries in mid-November.

Girl Guides was without a doubt one of the best experiences of my
life, and I know it can be a life-changing experience for other girls
as well.  I appreciate your help in getting the word out about this new
and exciting opportunity.

The Where and When

Sat. Nov. 15 10:30-11:30am, Brooklyn Heights Library (280 Cadman Plaza West)
Sat. Nov. 15 2:00-3:00pm, Williamsburgh Library (240 Division Ave.) and
Wed. Nov. 19 6:30-7:30pm, Park Slope Library (431 6th Ave. at 9th St.)

Please RSVP to caitlindean(at)girlguidesusa(dot)org by November 12.

Biographer Valerie Yow will read and discuss Betty Smith: Life of the Author of a Tree Grows in Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Public Library Central branch.

The Where and When

October 29, 2008
7 p.m.
at the Central Library at Grand Army Plaza

I got this email from an OTBKB reader over the weekend:

I have a question. i wonder if you can help me with something. I live on Clinton Avenue behind a noisy club. My neighbors and I have had trouble with the noice coming from the club (crazy loud bass, music and drunk patrons) since they opened…

Councilwoman Tish James has been awesome, but it’s still a persistant problem. Calling 311 doesn’t help, sleeping with 2 fans doesn’t help (three people in my building do this–me, too!). The police suggested that the neighbors form an alliance.

My neighbors and i have created a google group where we can discuss the issue and try to work together to come up with a solution: http://groups.google.com/group/clinton-washington-neighbors-against-noise.

My neighbors and I have made flyers and will distribute them around the area, but any help would be so appreciated.

I’ve lived in the same clinton hill apt for 6 years and brooklyn for nearly 10! i LOVE this borough and am excited about many of the changes in my nabe.

Hey there busy parents, professionals, artists and entrepreneurs, let my friend Eleanor Traubman, a professional organizer, unclutter and organize.

I can tell you from experience: Eleanor is VERY organized and VERY easy to work with. So consider the following:

· Do you have more stuff than space?
· Are you overwhelmed by piles of papers, clothes, or books?
· Would you like more serenity and less chaos in your home or work space

She can help you: Clear your desk. Unclutter your closets
Get your papers in order. Create rooms you and your family love to live and work in.

A professional organizer since 1999, Eleanor assists busy New York women de-clutter and make better use of desks, closets, filing cabinets, and more. She has been featured in Time Out New York, The Brooklyn Paper, Family Circle, The Sun Times Chronicle, and Fitness.

Eleanor is also 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. Her mission is to bring people together through the arts, creativity, and humor. She is Editor of Creative Times, a blog for artists and entrepreneurs, and also helps convene the Brooklyn Blogade, a monthly gathering of Brooklyn Bloggericle, and Fitness.

Eleanor is also 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. Her mission is to bring people together through the arts, creativity, and humor. She is Editor of Creative Times, a blog for artists and entrepreneurs, and also helps convene the Brooklyn Blogade, a monthly gathering of Brooklyn Blogger.

917-499-7395
creativetimes.blogspot.com

The Where and When

Cell phone bank at Al di La Wine Bar
Carroll Street & 5th Avenue
10am to 2pm
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday (not Tuesday)
Oct. 20-24

This from the NY Observer:

Here’s Brooklyn Councilwoman Tish James explaining her vote on the term limits extender bill a few moments ago on the Council floor:

“I believe that this is really all about a legacy—about Moynihan Station, about Willets Point, about the West Side, about Ground Zero, and yes, about Atlantic Yards; and about the displacement of low, moderate and working families in New York City. Let me end by decrying, let the people decide.”
Just in case there’s any ambiguity, she voted “no” on the bill.

The Cobble Hill Association’s green committee has solidified plans for an upcoming electronics recycling drive on November 1st. Here are the ‘tails.

Electronics Recycling –
Saturday, November 1st…. 10am – 4pm
Schoolyard of Brooklyn PS 29, 425 Henry Street, entrance is on Baltic between Henry & Clinton St in Cobble Hill

We will accept Working and non-working:
-Computers (laptop & desktop), Monitors
-Printers, scanners, fax-machines, copiers
-Network devices (routers, hubs, modems, etc.)
-Peripherals (keyboards, mice, cables, etc.)
-Components (hard drives, CD Roms, circuit boards, power supplies, etc,)
-TVs,VCR & DVD Players
-Radios/Stereos
-Cell Phones, pagers
-PDAs,Telecommunication (phones, answering machines, etc.)
-Media (SMALL QUANTITIES of floppies, cd’s, zips, VHS tapes)

-Sponsored by Councilmember Bill DeBlasio, the Cobble Hill Association, and PS 29 PTA

Opera lovers should check out this production of The Marriage of Figaro at the Brooklyn Lyceum.

Brooklyn Repertory Opera’s upcoming performances of “The Marriage of Figaro” on November 1-2, 8-9 and 15-16 at 3:30 PM at the Brooklyn Lyceum Theatre in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

All performances are in English.

Here’s an excerpt from the NY Times about this upcoming meeting of women playwrights and the NYC theater community:

Frustrated by what they describe as difficulty in getting their work produced, enough female playwrights to make a standing-room-only crowd are planning to attend a town hall meeting on Monday night to air their grievances with representatives of New York’s leading Off Broadway and nonprofit theaters.

The gathering was organized by the playwrights Sarah Schulman and Julia Jordan, who have rallied their colleagues to the cause, contending that their male counterparts in the 2008-9 season are being produced at 14 of the largest Off Broadway institutions at four times the rate that women are. More than 150 playwrights appeared at a meeting last month to discuss the issue, and all 90 seats at New Dramatists, the playwriting center where Monday night’s meeting is scheduled, are already spoken for, and there is a long waiting list.

“I personally don’t think playwriting is a gene on a Y chromosome,” said Theresa Rebeck, a playwright whose work (“Omnium Gatherum,” “Mauritius,” “The Scene”) has been produced frequently on New York stages, including on Broadway. She added that there has been a reluctance to confront the issue: “Many of our male peers find the debate intolerable. Men in the community seem to think that everything is fine.”

Tonight come to the Park Slope social event of the year: a benefit costume party for the Old Stone House at the Lyceum tonight. It’s only $40 per person and you don’t have to wear a costume—just dance.

What a fun, festive way to support the Old Stone House, which is operated as a historic interpretive center dedicated to its crucial role in the American Revolution and in the evolving histories of Brooklyn, New York and the United States. It also serves as a dynamic community resource through its education programs and events. In addition to historical exhibits open to the public, the House is available by appointment for tours, classes and rentals.

Who can imagine life in Park Slope without the Old Stone House?

–Outdoor Shakespeare with Piper Theater in JJ Byrne Park. Last summer’s Coney Island-themed Midsummers Night Dream was wonderful.

–Shakespeare Camp with John McEneny; parents are still swooning about what a great time their kids had.

–Brooklyn Film Works with films like The Little Fugitive, The Manchurian Candidate, Moonstruck, What’s Up Doc? and other great films al fresco.
–The Harvest Festival last Sunday, where more than 1,000 kids and adults gathered for pony rides, face painting, costume making and MORE.

–Barbara Ensor’s Thumbalina, Tiny Runaway Bride, an art show currently on view with fanciful fairy tale silhouettes and cut outs.
–Poetry Punch, the Memoirathon, the Edgy Mother’s Day event and other great readings at Brookyn Reading Works.

–Concerts, readings, films, theater, gatherings of all kinds. We love the Old Stone House and it DESERVES this community’s support: Order Your Tickets Now!

The Where and When

Saturday, October 25

The First Annual Makin’ History Costume Party Bash (Costumes not required)

A benefit for the Old Stone House @ the Brooklyn Lyceum

8-11 pm. Tickets: $40

Advance tickets: http: www.nycharities.org

Great lede from the Brooklyn’s Paper Mike McLaughlin:

Maybe they should call it Half Foods.

The supermarket giant Whole Foods has revealed that it cannot
develop its toxic, Gowanus Canal zone site by itself and must now call
in an outside developer to finish the stalled project.

The announcement led to concerns that the long-stalled project, at
Third Avenue and Third Street at the western end of Park Slope, would
expand into a larger shopping center.

“They might want to make this into a bigger project,” said Ken
Fisher, a land-use lawyer and former councilman from Brooklyn Heights.

Such a project would be unlikely to include residential units, as
the land is currently zoned for manufacturing and commercial use only —
and securing a rezoning would be a multi-year effort.

Go to Brownstoner today to see the top 10. I was sorry to hear that I am not a notable blogger in his media section. Oh well. I was the one who started this with the Park Slope 100. Not to mention that I was one of the first Brooklyn place bloggers back in 2004. And then there’s the Brooklyn Blogfest, etc.

Buy hey, I’m not bitter. And I see he gave the Lifetime Achievement Award to the Ortners of Park Slope. They were on my first PS 100 list.

People give me a hard time with my choices for the Park Slope 100 so I can give it back. All in good fun.

That said, the Brownstoner Top 100 is an amazing list. A job well done. An education in Brooklyn politics, development and real estate. Good, good work, Brownstoner. This should be required reading of all Brooklynites. And maybe even a quiz show.

1. Ratner
2. The Walentases
3. Purnima Kapur
4. Tupper Thomas
5. Robert Tierney
6. Moriann Koval and Regina Myer
7. Joe Sitt
8. Magdi Mossad
9. The Media
10. Daniel Goldstein

Brooklyn’s Top 50 Most Influential No. 11-20 [Brownstoner]
Brooklyn’s Top 50 Most Influential No. 21-30 [Brownstoner]
Brooklyn’s Top 50 Most Influential No. 31 – 40 [Brownstoner]
Brooklyn’s Top 50 Most Influential No. 41 – 50 [Brownstoner]

A mime, receiving a donation from a child, pauses as a blind woman walks through her performance space in Union Square.

Photo: Tom Martinez, Witness

Larry David in today’s Huffington Post. Everyone is sending it to me.

I can’t take much more of this. Two weeks to go, and I’m at the end of my
rope. I can’t work. I can eat, but mostly standing up. I’m anxious all
the time and taking it out on my ex-wife, which, ironically, I’m
finding enjoyable. This is like waiting for the results of a biopsy.
Actually, it’s worse. Biopsies only take a few days, maybe a week at
the most, and if the biopsy comes back positive, there’s still a
potential cure. With this, there’s no cure. The result is final. Like
death.

Five times a day I’ll still say to someone, "I don’t know what I’m
going to do if McCain wins." Of course, the reality is I’m probably not
going to do anything. What can I do? I’m not going to kill myself. If I
didn’t kill myself when I became impotent for two months in 1979, I’m
certainly not going to do it if McCain and Palin are elected, even if
it’s by nefarious means. If Obama loses, it would be easier to live
with it if it’s due to racism rather than if it’s stolen. If it’s
racism, I can say, "Okay, we lost, but at least it’s a democracy. Sure,
it’s a democracy inhabited by a majority of disgusting, reprehensible
turds, but at least it’s a democracy." If he loses because it’s stolen,
that will be much worse. Call me crazy, but I’d rather live in a
democratic racist country than a non-democratic non-racist one. (It’s
not exactly a Hobson’s choice, but it’s close, and I think Hobson would
compliment me on how close I’ve actually come to giving him no choice.
He’d love that!)

Bloomberg carries the day. Here from the NY Times:

After a spirited, emotional and at times raucous debate, the New
York City Council voted, 29 to 22, on Thursday afternoon to extend term
limits, allowing Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
to seek re-election next year and undoing the result of two voter
referendums that had imposed a limit of two four-year terms.

The vote was a major victory for Mayor Bloomberg — a billionaire and
lifelong Democrat who was elected mayor as a Republican in 2001, won
re-election in 2005, became an independent last year, and decided just
weeks ago that he wished to seek a third term for himself in 2009 — and
for the Council’s speaker, Christine C. Quinn.
But the intense acrimony surrounding the decision left a sharply
divided Council and could ultimately damage the mayor’s popularity.

The new law, which earlier on Thursday sailed through a committee vote,
limits elected officials to three consecutive terms and applies to all
of the city’s elected officials. It has already begun to upend
municipal politics, reshaping the dynamics of next year’s races.

Remember the Bush Tetras, a post-punk band that played around NYC during the 1980’s? Well, Laura Kennedy, the original bass player, is in desperate need of a liver transplant and a lot of players from the 80’s punk scene are getting together for a benefit to help make that possible. The finale is an all-star jam featuring: Lenny Kaye, Ivan Julian, Rob Norris, Deborah Frost and more.   

The following is a list of the participating bands, in order of appearance:

Bell Hollow

Sediment Club

Mikey IQ

Band of Outsiders

Certain General

Command V feat: PAT IRWIN (RAYBEATS, 8-EYED SPY, B-52’S)

Radio i-ching

Julian Stockdale

Bush Tetras

w/special guests

James Chance & Nona Hendryx

The Where and When

Sunday October 26th
Cake Shop
52 Ludlow Street • LES NYC
Show starts at 7 p.m.

For online contributions: Lklf.blogspot.com

Yesterday I got this email from  Lauren Kurnit, a casting associate for the unscripted series “Nanny 911.” They are currently
looking to cast families in the Brooklyn area.

We
are essentially looking for families who really want or need the
opportunity to spend three or four days working on bettering their
lives with our nanny specialist. Perhaps mom and dad don’t know how to
deal with the public tantrums or wish that they could get through a
meal without a meltdown; our nanny specialist will work with them to
implement structure and create harmony in the home. As we all know,
child rearing doesn’t come with a manual and sometimes a little bit of
outside help is all a family needs.

Please feel free to pass
this information and the flyer (attached) on to any families (single or
two-parent) that you think might be interested. You can feel free to
post it, email it to a mailing list or hand it out – whatever is
easiest for you!

Anyone who is interested in finding out more about the show can feel free to contact me via email (lauren.nanny911@yahoo.com) or 212-404-1842. We also have a website with further information: www.nanny911casting.wordpress.com.

Alternately, interested families can send an email with the following information:
1. Name
2. Address and contact
information
3.
A brief description of the family members. They should be sure to note
the out of control kids and give us examples of bad behavior /why they
need a nanny specialist.
4. A list of the issues the family would like resolved (potty training, tantrums, etc.)
5. Pictures of the family and the home
6. Whether you own or rent your home

Any family who makes it on the show receives $10,000. The length of filming varies between three and four days.

It’s hard to imagine life
in Park Slope without the Old Stone House. That’s why you should think about coming to a benefit costume party this Saturday night. It’s only $40 per
person and you don’t have to wear a costume—just dance.

The Old Stone House is operated as a
historic interpretive center dedicated to its crucial role in the
American Revolution and in the evolving histories of Brooklyn, New York
and the United States. It also serves as a dynamic community resource through its
education programs and events. In addition to historical exhibits open
to the public, the House is available by appointment for tours, classes
and rentals.

And there’s so much more:

–Outdoor Shakespeare with Piper Theater in JJ Byrne Park. Last summer’s Coney Island-themed Midsummers Night Dream
was wonderful.

–Shakespeare Camp with John McEneny; parents are still swooning about what a great time their kids had.

–Brooklyn Film Works with films like The Little
Fugitive, The Manchurian Candidate, Moonstruck, What’s Up Doc? and other great
films al fresco.

–The Harvest Festival last Sunday, where more than 1,000 kids and adults gathered for pony rides, face painting, costume
making and MORE.

–Barbara Ensor’s Thumbalina, Tiny Runaway Bride,
an art show currently on view with fanciful fairy tale silhouettes and
cut outs.

–Poetry Punch, the Memoirathon, the Edgy Mother’s Day event and other great readings at Brookyn Reading Works.

–Concerts, readings, films, theater, gatherings of
all kinds. We love the Old Stone House and it DESERVES this community’s
support: Order Your Tickets Now!

The Where and When

Saturday, October 25

The First Annual Makin’ History Costume Party Bash (Costumes not required)

A benefit for the Old Stone House @ the Brooklyn Lyceum

8-11 pm. Tickets:  $40

Advance tickets: http:  www.nycharities.org

Some pretty Autumn gourds and flowers at Zuzu’s Petals.

Evan Thies, who’s running for David Yassky’s City Council seat just sent me an email about affordable housing in Park Slope.

Affordable housing in Park Slope?

Well, yeah. The Fifth Avenue Committee, with th e City’s Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD), Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Councilmember Bill de Blasio, and local elected officials and housing advocates today to break ground on a major new affordable, supportive housing development in the South Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn .

The five-story building at 575 5th Avenue will house 49 affordable, supportive residential studio units—60 percent of which will be housing for the formerly homeless, and 40 percent of which will be affordable to low-income adults. The building – which will be built where a City-owned parking lot once stood – will also have 1,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space, and is designed to qualify as a LEED Gold development by using environmentally friendly materials and energy efficient mechanicals and building systems.

“This project is a major step forward to keeping this neighborhood and Brooklyn affordable for years to come, and to helping those who need affordable housing the most secure a productive future,” said Michelle de la Uz, Executive Director of Fifth Avenue Committee.  “We are proud to have led this project to fruition, and are thankful for the support of the City’s Department of Housing Preservation & Development, Mayor Bloomberg, our local elected officials – especially Council Member de Blasio – Community Board 7, and local residents.”

Union Square (October 21, 2008)       Photo:  Tom Martinez, Witness Photography

A woman confronts a man who allegedly snatched her purse and fled, only to  be apprehended by two Good Samaritans who witnessed the 
crime and gave chase (Union Square, NYC).

It’s hard to imagine life
in Park Slope without the Old Stone House. That’s why you should think about coming to a benefit costume party this Saturday night. It’s only $40 per
person and you don’t have to wear a costume—just dance.

The Old Stone House is operated as a
historic interpretive center dedicated to its crucial role in the
American Revolution and in the evolving histories of Brooklyn, New York
and the United States. It also serves as a dynamic community resource through its
education programs and events. In addition to historical exhibits open
to the public, the House is available by appointment for tours, classes
and rentals.

And there’s so much more:

–Outdoor Shakespeare with Piper Theater in JJ Byrne Park. Last summer’s Coney Island-themed Midsummers Night Dream
was wonderful.

–Shakespeare Camp with John McEneny; parents are still swooning about what a great time their kids had.

–Brooklyn Film Works with films like The Little Fugitive, The Candidate and The Manchurian Candidate and other great films al fresco.

–The Harvest Festival last Sunday, when more than 1,000 kids and adults gathered for pony rides, face painting, costume
making and MORE.

–Barbara Ensor’s Thumbalina, Tiny Runaway Bride, an art show currently on view with fanciful fairy tale silhouettes and cut outs.

–Poetry Punch, the Memoirathon, the Edgy Mother’s Day event and other great readings at Brookyn Reading Works.

–Concerts, readings, films, theater, gatherings of
all kinds. We love the Old Stone House and it DESERVES this community’s
support: Order Your Tickets Now!

The Where and When

Saturday, October 25

The First Annual Makin’ History Costume Party Bash (Costumes not required)

A benefit for the Old Stone House @ the Brooklyn Lyceum

8-11 pm. Tickets:  $40

Advance tickets: http:  www.nycharities.org 

From our Verse Responder, Leon Freilich. He sometimes writes in prose:

I enjoyed Brookita’s elegy for much-missed Snooky’s.

Its
trademark waiter, Bambi, may have come from Bali, but he couldn’t have
been more of a mock-grouch Jewish waiter, always commenting on
customers’ food choices and appearance. His Staten Island wife and
their daughter may well have been the influence there. My wife and I
always made sure to sit at his station.

We hope he’s doing
well.  On his 25th anniversary at Snooky’s we took photos of Bambi
seated, for once, at a table behind a commemorative cake. 

We
also have video footage of the upstairs party room.  Our son had his
bar mitzvah fete there. Snooky’s catering people were wonderfully
exuberant and helpful. Unfortunately rewinding the tape recently in a
Radio Shack rewinder resulted in an unfamiliar clicking sound.  The
machine had, in returning too forcefully to the beginning, unspooled
the tape. When I took the now-unplayable tape back to the Seventh Ave.
shop, the entire Shack staff pitched in with a collective shrug.

Anybody know where I can resuscitate the dormant footage of my son’s party and Snooky’s Upstairs?

A group of Brooklyn pols is working together to save Long Island College Hospital (LICH). Yesterday, Continuum Health Partners, the parent company of LICH announced that it would terminate one hundred
employees and eliminate another fifty open positions. In
recent months, LICH has submitted plans to close its maternity ward,
pediatrics department, rape crisis center, and dentistry program in an
effort to reduce costs. Here’s today’s press release: 

Without
a sound financial plan for LICH’s future and meaningful community
involvement in this process, Brooklyn residents have no way of knowing
if this is only a cutback in service or the prelude to closing the
hospital. As the population of Downtown Brooklyn
is projected to increase by over 24,000 residents over the next four
years, Long Island College Hospital will play an increasingly important
role in ensuring that Brooklyn residents have access to high quality
health care.

Congresswomen
Nydia Velazquez and Yvette Clarke, Congressman Ed Towns, Assembly
Members Joan Millman, Hakeem Jeffries and Felix Ortiz, Brooklyn Borough
President Marty Markowitz, Council Members Bill de Blasio, Letitia
James and David Yassky, the Cobble Hill Association, the Brooklyn
Heights Association, the Boerum Hill Association, and the Carroll
Gardens Neighborhood Association, together with the doctors and nurses
at LICH, are continuing the fight to keep Long Island College Hospital
as a full-service neighborhood hospital.

 

If you would like to support our efforts, you can:

 

1. Sign the petition online: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/SaveLICH

 

2. Send a letter to Governor Paterson’s office. Just cut and paste from the petition. Then, call 718-854-9791 or email tagray1@gmail.com to see what else you can do.

 

Thank you for your assistance in working to save Long Island College Hospital.

Yelp, which now has an almost daily e-newsletter about Brooklyn (brought to you by Brooklyn Based) called The Daily Yelp, oves the Community Bookstore:

Booklyn has long been immortalized in literature, praised and parsed by authors from Walt Whitman to Hubert Selby Jr. Haven’t read the latest from Paul Auster, you say? This Weekly Yelp highlights the best Brooklyn bookstores to indulge your inner bookworm and wean yourself off of Amazon.

The Community Book Store of Park Slope gets plenty o’ props from Melissa T for their eager-to-please staff who is always "happy to order a book for you if they don’t have it in stock
(although for a smallish store they have a great selection)," and for
their friendly in-store pooch, Todd. Speaking of which, human yelper Todd L declares Bookcourt "tops" in his book for their "smart well-read staff" and "all-around goodness."
 

The Old Stone House
is a major cultural center for Park Slopers. It’s hard to imagine life
in Park Slope without the Old Stone House. That’s why you must come to
the benefit costume party this coming Saturday. It’s only $40 per
person and you don’t have to wear a costume—just dance.

The Old Stone House is operated as a
historic interpretive center dedicated to its crucial role in the
American Revolution and in the evolving histories of Brooklyn, New York
and the United States. It also serves as a dynamic community resource through its
education programs and events. In addition to historical exhibits open
to the public, the House is available by appointment for tours, classes
and rentals.

And there’s so much more:

–Outdoor Shakespeare with Piper Theater in JJ Byrne Park. Last summer’s Coney Island themed Midsummer’s Night Dream
was wonderful.

–Shakespeare Camp with John McEneny. Parents are still swooning about what a great time their kids had.

–Brooklyn Film Works. Did you see The Candidate or The Manchurian Candidate and other great films al fresco.

–The Harvest Festival last Sunday. More than
1,000 kids and adults gathered for pony rides, face painting, costume
making and MORE.

–Barbara Ensor’s Thumbalina, Tiny Runaway Bride art show currently on view with fanciful fairy tale silhouettes and cut outs?

–Poetry Punch, the Memoirathon, the Edgy Mother’s Day event and other great readings at Brookyn Reading Works.

–Concerts, readings, films, theater, gatherings of
all kinds. We love the Old Stone House and they need this community’s
support: Order Your Tickets Now!

This coming Saturday, October 25, come to the First Annual Makin’ History Costume Party Bash

A benefit for the Old Stone House @ the Brooklyn Lyceum

8-11 pm. Tickets:  $40

Advance tickets: http://www.nycharities.org/event/event.asp?CE_ID=3129

From Brownstoner:

Every day this week, we’re going to count down Brooklyn’s Top 50* most
influential people in shaping Brooklyn neighborhoods — by building new
structures, preserving older ones, influencing property values and
quality of life, speaking for thousands, or changing the course of
developments, for example. Instead of listing everyone from Bloomberg
to Bernanke, we mostly stuck with locals. Surprisingly still, by
broadening our definition of influence beyond quantitative factors like
real estate holdings and constituency, the toughest task was keeping
the list down to only 50 (*so we cheated, there’s actually more like 65
people on the list, and it was still hard). Ranking them in order was
also tough, so please take the whole exercise with a grain of salt and
sense of humor. In some cases we considered the type of entity the
person represents, the potential impact of the project he or she is
working on, and the extent of influence over time, distance and the
number of Brooklynites affected. By all means, feel free to give us
your two cents in the comments section. By the end of this week, we
could have 200 people on the list!

Forgive me for not visiting Brooklynometry as much as I usually do. I’ve missed so much. She went to the Gowanus studio tour and fell in love with a certain painter.

I love this painting of a Third Street stoop. Then again, maybe it’s not on Third Street but it looks just like an idealized Third Street stoop. Here from Brooklynometry.

"You know what I loved so much? That paintings of the doll by Joanne Mcfarland
which were on display at her Gowanus studio over the weekend. She loves
to paint this doll that she has, and I love so much to look at it."

Galapagos Art Space is the cool new art space in DUMBO that used to be the cool old art space in Williamsburg. They do an eclectic mix of things. So it’s worth keeping an eye on their schedule. I will keep you posted, too on what’s going on:

Rachel Trachtenburg’s Homemade World
       

All Ages Show: Saturday, October 25th, 3:00 pm
          individual- $10, kid- $7, family- $20

Join
Rachel as she presents her new show, Rachel’s Homemade World. With a
flowery set made by her Mom, Rachel will share some of her favorite
activities such as audience sing alongs, puppet shows, interactive arts
and crafts, environmental messages, and cooking segments complete with
snack time! Arts and Crafts Goodies Supplied!! So be ready to Get
Creative!!

Foating Brothel: Monday, October 27th, 8pm, $5

In this production, five actors tell the story of a ship full of
convict women pulled out of their world in the underbelly of London and
thrust into the helm of a ship sailing to a unknown continent where
they will begin their lives anew.

This epic journey is performed entirely within the confines of a 3’x6′
platform that the actors never step off of. With the help of a few
everyday objects, they transform the playing space from the bustle and
noise of London, to the dank bilge of a ship and the harrowing voyage
across the sea to a new world.

At a time when the public can step into a movie theater and be amazed
by the results of big budgets and special effects, audiences are
reminded why theater is exceptional and extraordinary: the actors amaze
the audience by telling an epic story from a small wooden platform.

This press release is hot off the press from the Brooklyn Optimist:

A broad coalition
of elected members of the Kings County Democratic County Committee joined
forces today with Brooklyn Council Member Letitia James on the steps of City
Hall to demand that any changes to the City’s term limits law be put before the
voters to decide.

"The only
way to extend term limits is to put the power back into the hands of the
people, though holding a referendum," said Council Member Letitia James (D-Fort
Greene, Clinton Hill). "I believe 8.2 million people trump 51 [City Council]
Members."

Morgan
Pehme spoke on behalf of a diverse group of his fellow County Committee Members
from all throughout the borough of Brooklyn. "We are
here to honor the promise we made to the people of Brooklyn
when we stood before them on Primary Day and asked them to entrust us with
their votes," said Pehme. "We promised our neighbors that, if elected, we would
work for them, not for ourselves. Every candidate makes this pledge when they
run for office, and yet we are gathered together today before a building filled
with elected officials who have failed to honor this covenant with the people.

The
afternoon press conference was a follow-up to an open letter sent to
the City
Council on October 9th, signed by 35 Members of the Kings County
Democratic County Committee
who oppose a legislative change to the City’s term limits law. The
letter received strong support from the Committee Members’ constituents
and
requests from other Members of the County Committee to add their names
to the
list of signees.