I think it’s probably just coincidence that  the 92YTribeca sent this out on the heels of yesterday’s MTA rumored announcement that the G-Train extension would be permanent.

Coincidence or not, it sounds like a fun tour if you’re into those sorts of things (I am but I never get around to it. Note to self: do it). On Sat, Aug 11, from 11AM until 2:30 PM (tickets from $35), the 92YTribeca is sponsoring a Walking Tour called the Brooklyn Train Tour.

And it focuses on Brooklyn’s beloved G-train.

The G is the only train in the subway system that doesn’t stop in Manhattan. Durng this walk, you will hop on and off the line from Carroll Gardens to Clinton Hill and Williamsburg , taking in townhouses, campus facilities and other buildings along the way.

Actually, none of the extension stops will be included. Hmmm. Next time.

The guide, John Hill is an architect, blogger, adjunct professor at NYIT and author of Guide to Contemporary New York City Architecture, which looks at more than 200 buildings built in the five boroughs since 2000. Meet in front of The Schermerhorn, 160 Schermerhorn Street , between Smith and Hoyt streets.

In 2009, the MTA added five stops to the G-train route in Brooklyn, including Seventh Avenue, 15th Street and Church Avenue. I for one was shocked the first time I saw a G train at the Seventh Avenue F-train station. Hey, what’s that doing here?

Interestingly, the addition of the five stops never had anything to do with rider convenience or the connecting of previously unconnected neighborhoods. It was all about track work on the F- line that prevented the G-train from doing its turnaround.

As far as the MTA was concerned: when the construction ended, the G-line extension would be history.

Over time, I made use of that G-train. I’d take it to Hoyt/Schermerhorn and connect to the A train into Manhattan or to Bed Stuy. I’d take it to Williamsburg. Like me, riders liked the extra five stops and the convenience and connections they offered. The only negative is when you’re waiting for a F-train into Manhattan and the G-train pulls into the station instead of the F. I have been known to utter: “Damn that G-train.” But there’s usually an G-train close behind.

Business owners along the new route liked it, too. Many local politicians, including Marty Markowitz, state Sen, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Daniel Squadron joined with riders and local businesses to pressure the MTA to keep the five extra stops.

The pressure worked, we’ve got our extra five stops for G-train travel and everybody is happy.

Riders around here LIKED those extra five G-train stops. They connected Park Slope, Kensington and Windsor Terrace to each other to Clinton Hill and Williamsburg. I for one found it very useful.

The MTA said no, it’s got to go. But the riders and pols spoke back.

Well, the people WON. The MTA has agreed to keep those five extra stops. And it’s a big win for straphangers.

NYC Public Advocate and mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio had this to say:

“It’s hard to remember the last time we had good news about transit in Brooklyn. Our message to the MTA was simple: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It looks like we’ve been heard. Keeping these extra five stops is a huge win for commuters and businesses in the Slope, Windsor Terrace and Kensington.”

File this under: it’s a Brooklyn thing but it’s taking place in Manhattan.

Plays by playwrights from Mac Wellman’s Brooklyn College MFA program are being presented in the seventh-annual Bring a Weasel and a Pint of Your Own Blood Festival.

Graduates of the experimental Brooklyn College program, led by the celebrated playwright Mac Wellman, have helped to shape New York downtown theatre over the last 10 years. Alumni of the program include Thomas Bradshaw, Annie Baker, Young Jean Lee and Ken Urban. This festival, now in its seventh year, has been called “a breeding ground for new work.”

How could I not post about something with a name like that.

Location: East 13th Street Theatre, 136 East 13th St
(btwn. 3rd & 4th Ave – 4, 5, 6, N, R train to 14th St, Union Sq)
Dates/Times: Thurs. August 9, Fri. August 10 & Sat. August 11 @ 8 pm
Tickets: $18/15 students, reserve tickets at bringaweasel@gmail.com

Thinking of having a block party like we did?

On the NYC.gov, 311 website, there’s all the information you need if you want to have your block closed to traffic so you can have a block party. You just have to file an application with the Street Activity Permit Office also known as SAPO.

“The Mayor’s Street Activity Permit Office (SAPO) issues permits for street fairs, festivals, block parties, green markets, commercial/promotional and other events on the City’s streets and sidewalks.

“SAPO accepts online permit applications from the public available at E-Apply. If you are unable to apply online, only 2012 paper applications will be accepted and can be obtained at the SAPO office located at 100 Gold Street, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10038. It is recommended that applicants utilize E-Apply as it will allow for real time status updates, the ability to pay the processing fee by credit card, and quicker issuance of permits.

“All street events, including block parties and street fairs, are required to recycle. Non-compliance with recycling regulations is punishable by fines starting at $25 and increasing to $500 for repeat violations.

“Event applications may be submitted online, mail or hand delivered to CECM – Street Activity Permit Office, 100 Gold Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10038.

“Should you require further assistance please call 212-788-756.”

What a well-organized, well-orchestrated and fun block party we had on Park Slope’s Third Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues) today.

It began with an  inflatable space walk, which delighted the children for hours. Later FDNY’s Squad 1 stopped by in a firetruck. The firefighters were wonderful and the kids had a blast climbing on the truck, pretending to drive it, playing with the hose, and posing for pictures.

An open sprinkler was a perfect way to cool off on a humid afternoon. Later in the day there was a pet show and a game of musical chairs.

Throughout the day, neighbors set up stoop sales, barbecues and picnics. In the evening my building got in on the act, and one family made delicious Korean barbecue ribs, burgers and corn on the cob and shared their bounty with everyone.

Gratitude to the block party organizers for making this such a special day on Third Street.

It was interesting for me to observe today’s block party. I say “observe” because as a parent of older children, I felt a little on the periphery because a block party is a child-centered activity and I, alas, am no longer the mother of young children.

A variety of thoughts and feelings fluttered within me throughout the day. One was regret, because my children never got to enjoy a block party on our block. Watching the young children barreling down the middle of the street on bikes and scooters, interacting with neighborhood firefighters, and jumping in and out of an open fire hydrant made me pine.

Too bad my kids didn’t have a day without traffic on Third Street.

I felt old and acutely aware of the passage of time because my kids, ages 15 and 21, are growing up and no longer a part of this street’s street life. Our years of hanging out on the block are over. For the most part, I am happy about that as we spent PLENTY of time sitting in our front yard. Still, it brought up feelings of loss for me.

I didn’t realize quite how many children live on this block. It’s really quite amazing. Young neighbors are just beginning their lives as parents on this street I call home. Funny to be done with those years of my life. But you know what they say, that’s life.

At 8PM, the street returned to normal. The garbage can blockade was removed, and cars were allowed back on the street. The end of a playful urban day without cars on Third Street and the flurry of feelings it brought up.

See: http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com/2012/07/14/why-is-this-our-first-block-party/

It is 4;48 in the afternoon and the Associated Press reports that smoke is “billowing” from a fire at South Street Seaport.

There’s a large cloud of smoke over the East River. The two-alarm blaze is being fought by firefighters.

Photo source unknown. Found on Twitter.

The Brooklyn Bridge Park Pop-Up Pool is now open. With water three-and-a-half-feet deep, the 30-by-50-foot pool is quite the cool place to cool off. Photo from McBrooklyn!

Coming soon:  swim lessons for kids will be offered in the morning (at an affordable fee) before the pool opens to the public. Swimming daily 10am–6pm through Sept 3.

Back in September of 2006, I had an allergic reaction to something I ate at Della Femina restaurant in East Hampton. A day or so later I wrote a blog post titled, Itchy Hands and Feet. With 126 comments, it is by far the most commented upon blog post ever on OTBKB. It was posted on my old grey, black and orange site that was hosted on Typepad.

It was a very brief post, about 100 words. But it seemed to resonate with many who have itchy hands and feet for one reason or another. Here’s an excerpt from that post:.

“I had a weird allergic reaction and I have no idea what caused it. My hands and feet itched under the skin. My right eye got swollen and my nasal passages got stuffed up. I had a hard time swallowing and was generally very uncomfortable.

The itching on the palms of my hands and soles of my feet was probably the worst part of it…”

For years, this little post was the TOP Google hit for “Itchy Hands and Feet”. In the last year or so, a bunch of pharma companies figured that out and must have bought the words “Itchy Hands and Feet” so they are now higher ranking then we are.

It isn’t the top hit anymore because a lot of pharmaceutical companies are doing Pay Per Click for “Itchy Hands and Feet.”

Why not. It’s smart Search Engine Optimization.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio released his Worst Landlords Watch List. There are now 330 landlords listed who own a total of 360 buildings.

See if your landlord made the cut. It’s a dubious distinction I’d say.

The site, which is featured on Craigslist.org to assist apartment hunters, also includes an updated list of 255 buildings that have been officially removed from the Watch List because of violations like lead paint, infestations and mold have been addressed.

Four of the landlords are in Park Slope. Watch out.

It’ll be a big day in Park Slope the day the sequel to Prospect Park West, Amy Sohn’s satiric novel about Park Slope moms and dads, comes out.

Her new novel is called Motherland and it’s about five mothers and fathers in Cape Cod, Park Slope, and Greenwich Village, according to the Amazon blurb, “who find themselves adrift professionally and personally.”

This week in The Awl, Amy Sohn has written an essay called “The 40-Year-Reversion” about what happens to contemporary parents when they need to chill out from all the stress and boredom of contemporary parenting.

“Why do moms in my generation regress, whether by drugging, cheating, or going out too late and too often? Because everything our children thrive on—stability, routine, lack of flux, love, well-paired parents—feels like death to those entrusted with their care. This is why they start drinking at wine o’clock, which is so dubbed not only because it coincides with whine o’clock but because it can begin at six p.m., or five, or even four. (Though the four o’clock mothers wind up in A.A.) I know a mom who drinks only on the weekends because she thinks it’s more responsible… but she starts with a mimosa at brunch on Saturday at eleven, and doesn’t stop until her Sunday night television shows are over.

She goes on to discuss her new novel, “The characters are inspired by my neighbors, who seek liberation not through consciousness-raising and EST the way their mothers did, but through Fifty Shades of Grey and body shots. They arrive home from girls’ nights at three a.m. on a weeknight and then complain about hangovers at school dropoff.”

Motherland comes out on August 14th.

Brenda Becker writes today about a young man named Jeffrey Jeune, age 19, who died in Prospect Park on Sunday. Here’s an excerpt. Read the rest at her blog Prospect: A Year in the Park. 

“When a neighbor dies within our realm of “Victorian Flatbush” homes, we e-mail one another, send condolences, reminisce together, attend the wake. If the unthinkable happened and a young person were to perish as Jeffrey did, we would have no need of e-mail; it would be headline news. (In fact, it was, in 2005, when a young man from outside the neighborhood was killed within the historic district of Prospect Park South.)…

“But Jeffrey Jeune vanishes into an ambulance two blocks from my front door.  The crime scene tape flutters and is gone; a few extra cruisers patrol the Parade Grounds for awhile…”

First it was just talk. “I think I’m going to sell the house,” she said. And I didn’t really believe her. We were sitting in Cafe Regular Nord and I thought to myself: Why would you move away from here? What about your friends, the brownstone, the park, the cafes and bars where we’ve been having intense conversations for more than a decade.

What could be better than here? I wondered in my Brooklyn-centric way.

Over time it became obvious that she was serious—and motivated. She was eager to move and she had her reasons. Good ones. She found a realtor, she touched up the house—a little paint here, a little staging there. She scheduled an open house; there was a buyer.

It happened quickly. Elation. Nerves. Excitement. Anxiety. The contract was signed. Then, she had to find a new place to live, in a new town, a new state, more than two hours away.

As the weeks passed, I knew that her excitement was peppered with fear. I saw that her immense energy and bravery was partial cover for the pain of letting go. It wasn’t easy to relinquish the life she’s known for more than twenty years: selling the house where she raised her 16-year-old daughter, leaving the block where she pushed a McClaren stroller, where she helped plan an annual autumn block party, where she walked her dogs, where she had many friends and familiar faces.

Continue reading A Friend Moves From Park Slope →

Calling all artists.

The Brooklyn Museum is organizing GO Brooklyn Art, a gigantic open studio weekend with a twist.

Brooklyn-based artists are asked to open their studios to the community on September 8–9, 2012. Community members registered as voters will visit studios and nominate artists for inclusion in a group exhibition to open at the Brooklyn Museum on Target First Saturday, December 1, 2012.

Originally the deadline was June 29 but it has been extended and tonight (July 10) is the DEADLINE. Hurry.

You can find out more here. But you must do it quickly. Like I said, the deadline is at midnight tonight.

It’s a lovely summer day. The heat has broken, you can finally turn your air conditioner off. We will, anyway. It’s lovely, lovely day.

According to the weather tower in Park Slope (and there is one), it is currently 80.6 degrees. Go to Current Weather in Park Slope for more info.  This is a community service provided by radio station KK2QQ.

Good Morning! The current weather condition is overcast and Dry.
The current temperature is 80.6° F (High 83.1° F / Low 73.4° F).
The wind is out of the North Northeast at 1.7 mph, gusting at 9.4 mph.
The heat index makes it feel like 79.9° F. The UV index is 8.1.
The humidity is 34%. The barometer is at 29.920 inHg and is Steady (hourly change of +0.00 inHg).

On Saturday at approximately 1:30 PM, a tree, of its own volition, cracked in front of PS 321 right near the main entrance on Seventh Avenue near Second Street. I spoke to a vendor at the flea market on Sunday and she told me that a huge branch cracked “just like that at 1:30 yesterday.”

It wasn’t a lighting storm or a tornado. Can a tree crack from heat exhaustion? Since Saturday, there’s been yellow police tape around the tree to protect the tree and passers-by. It’s quite a sight. Sorry, no pictures yet.

This morning I walked by Good Footing Adventure store at 196 Seventh Avenue in Park Slope (between 2nd and 3rd Streets), which has been closed since Friday afternoon when a roof fire resulted in substantial fire and water damage.

Seems that workers from First Response, flood and restoration specialists, are cleaning the upper floors now. I  heard from the boyfriend of a tenant that the roof fell in from fire and water damage. So there’s a big mess up there.

In front of the building there’s a growing mountain of black contractor bags. Good Footing is still closed, obviously. The tenants on the second and third/fourth floor duplex are not able to occupy their apartments.

The strangest thing. There was a roof fire in that very same building a year ago.