Here’s a note from friends of Toby and his family. Toby is very ill with a rare form of cancer.

Dear All:
     Toby’s uncle Yoram wrote a note to us yesterday with more info, and I thought I’d share part of it:
     "This weekend Toby was couch-bound; the energetic, playful, and active Toby of last week succumbed to the reality of chemotherapy.  Toby’s in between the second and third cycles of chemotherapy and his bone marrow is pretty wiped out.  This means that he has very few white blood cells to fight off infections, hemoglobin to carry oxygen to the body (and a prime source of energy), and platelets which clot the blood and prevent bleeding.
     Toby’s skin is covered in crops of purple and black bruises (as a result of too few platelets) and rather than exert himself like a normal four year-old, he prefered to remain motionless on the couch (not enough hemoglobin).
     Toby needs for as many of you as possible to donate blood and platelets, not only before his surgery (scheduled sometime after the third round of chemo), but now too.  If you’re able to please try to get over to Sloan and donate."
     PLEASE NOTE: The ongoing need for Toby will be 2-3 units of blood AND 2-3 units of platelets PER WEEK. To insure a quality supply, this actually means that they need to get twice as many donations as needed. This need will persist FOR MANY MONTHS.  Two more donations are needed for THIS WEEK.
     As a community, this is one of the greatest ways we can support Toby and his family NOW. Please call Mary Thomas, coordinator of the Blood Donor Program at 212-639-3335 or email at thomasfm@mskcc. org. You can also call the Blood Donor Room at 212-639-7648. When you make your appointment, let them know that you are donating for Toby Pannone. (Please consult the earlier Blood Drive email for further details re: eligibility, etc.)
     Also, it would be ENORMOUSLY HELPFUL if you would send an email to us at gmach@psjc.org when you make an appointment, just so we can have an idea that needs are being met.
     This is an opportunity for our community, which shows its love and caring to so many people in so many ways, to help save a life.
     Hag sameach and shalom.

Sarah and Marla

(For ongoing updates, please check: http://www.tobypannone.blogspot.com.)

Here’s a note from Hotel Chelsea Blog:

We met Hugh at the WNBC Blogger meet-up earlier this year, but
unfortunatley didn’t get a chance to meet you. I’m sending this along
because it is about gentrification of the Chelsea neighborhood in New
York and may be of interest to your and your readers.
Recently,
Australian filmmaker Michael Maher read a post on our blog which
inspired him to produce a documentary for ABC.  The documentary aired
last Tuesday but is now online at http://abc.net.au/foreign/content/2007/s1919129.htm

The
documentary speaks to the impact that blogs can make in their
neighborhoods and internationally. We received a lot of supportive
e-mails from Australians who saw the program.  The post that sparked
the documentary is here – http://legends.typepad.com/living_with_legends_the_h/2006/10/new_york_mag.html

 

Thanks for your time.

Debbie Martin

www.hotelchelseablog.com

Hovering on the brink of generic New York Street Fair-dom, the Fifth Avenue Fair still manages to retain its own character, its own flavor.

Yes, the generic stuff probably outnumbers the good stuff. But from Third Street to Union, the fair was at its best as local stores and restaurants strutted their stuff in fron of their storefronts.

Stone Park was serving delicious beer, kielbasa and corn — that looked tasty. There were delicious ribs at Blue Ribbon (3 for $5  dollars). They had beer, too. The line for Blue Ribbon Sushi was especially long so I wasn’t able to sample any of that. Or even see their offerings.

Jonathan Blum, the Bodega artist, a woman selling beautiful African print skirs and bags, someone selling sushi pillows, 3 R Living, Dianna Kane, Scaredy Cat and more, more, more were there to lend their uniqueness to the New York institution of a crowded, noisy streetfair.

Fifth Avenue still does it with style.

OSFO and her friend still prefer the fair above Third Street where they could ride the Space Walk as many times as they wanted. This year, there was a special: $10 bucks for all-you-can-ride instead of $3.00 per ride.

In years past I have spent gazillions on Space Walk rides. This year, I got OSFO the special bracelet and — you guessed it — one ride was enough.

Grrrrrr.

Managed to spend money on lots of lemonade — the day turned out to be sunnier and hotter than expected.

Tired feet, a salty taste in my mouth from too many pistachio nuts, impatient from waiting on line for the King Kong ride in the sun…

We returned home with a splitting headache, too much stuff, including a Razor skooter bought at a Fifth Avenue stoop sale, and a feeling of crankiness…

A nap later, I felt a little better. And it was time to go to the Bill Di Blasio BBQ…

…to see a cartoon frog king (Fiona’s father) with the voice of John Cleese. He sees his life pass before his eyes.

His voice, the cartoon’s facial expressions, the review of a frog’s life…

I enjoyed the movie a lot. Diverting, funny, nice to look at, great cast of voices (Mike Meyers, Antonio Banderas, Eddie Murphy, etc.).

Here’s some information from the Park Slope Civic Council about today’s house tour — a great chance to see that cool modern renovation of a 1895 carriage house/garage on 4th Street and lots of other houses, too.

• Date/Time: Sunday, May 20, 2007; 12 noon – 5:00 p.m.
• General Information: Telephone: 718-832-8227
• Closest subways: Seventh Avenue (Q, B); Grand Army Plaza
            (2, 3) (Directions)
• Tickets: $20 in advance; $25 day of Tour. Ticket
            Sales Information
• Bonus: A
            recital by Dr. Michael Kaminski on St. Francis Xavier’s original Austin
            organ is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.

Continue reading TODAY’S THE PARK SLOPE HOUSE TOUR →

A joint venture of the Brookyn Writer’s Space and Brooklyn Artist’s Gym, Room 58 is now open and they are having an opening party to celebrate and to give people a chance to look at the space.

CELEBRATE THE OPENING OF ROOM 58
            WEDNESDAY MAY 23 7pm – 9pm
            168 7th Street, 3rd Floor
            (ring the Brooklyn Artists Gym bell)
            R/M/F to 4th Ave and 9th Street

Check out the new space, the first of its kind in Brooklyn (if not NYC). I think it’s a great idea and a real solution for writers who are short on space but need to do computer research and talk on the phone. Way to go Scott Adkins and Peter Wallace, both of whom were included on this year’s Park Slope 100.

"For some of our writers, telephone work is essential to what they do," says
Scott Adkins, co-founder of Park Slope’s popular Brooklyn Writers Space
(BWS) and partner in the new Room 58/B.A.G. venture. "BWS is a great quiet
environment for writers of all genres. But for those who also need
traditional office capabilities, Room 58 is ideal."

"There’s a synergy and fermentation that can happen when creative artists
are working in the same place," says Peter Wallace, B.A.G. founder and Room
58 partner. "A new kind of meeting can happen—in the studio, in the lounge,
in the gallery–that can launch a new tangent in someone’s work, or affirm a
direction that seemed tenuous at first."

Anyone want to bartend at the Edgy Mother’s Day Event? Email: louise_crawford@yahoo.com

Brooklyn Reading Works Presents:
THE EDGY MOTHER’S DAY EVENT
ON MAY 24, 2007 at 8 p.m.

THE OLD STONE HOUSE IN PARK SLOPE
Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets
Contact: Louise Crawford: 718-288-4290
www.brooklynreadingworks.com

So what’s an edgy mom? Moms (and one dad) who write fiction and non-fiction about motherhood with smarts, humor, creativity, and a healthy degree of love, awe, skepticism., sarcasm,, irony, and grumpiness.

Don’t miss this stellar group of fiction writers, journalists, poets, and bloggers:

Susan Gregory Thomas (author of “Buy, Buy Baby: How Consumer Culture Manipulates Mothers and Harms Children”), Amy Sohn (“My Old Man” and NY Magazine columnist), Louise Crawford (AKA Smartmom), Sophia Romero (“Always Hiding” and Mom After-Hours Blog), Tom Rayfiel (“Parallel Play”), Mary Warren (AKA Mrs. Cleavage’s Diary Blog) Jennifer Block (“Pushed”), Judy Lichtblau, Alison Lowenstein (“City Baby Brooklyn” and “Mommy Group”), Michele Somerville Madigan (Wisegal).

Five bucks gets you in. Free cocktails. Great fun.

A WOMB WITH A VIEW (May 22 – June 3), by Debra Barsha, a Park Slope composer and music teacher who was included on the Park Slope 100, explores a year in the life of a lesbian’s journey through the process of alternative insemination.

From collecting donor samples in her living room, to having her partner (a NYC police officer) inject her with fertility drugs, to her day-to-day job as a 4th grade theatre teacher in a Brooklyn private school, this primal rush to beat the biological clock is not your ordinary view of conception. As one fashion conscious 5-year-old put it, “all you need to have a baby is an egg and a perm.” Debra Barsha writes and stars in this inventive, uproarious piece filled with storytelling and song. CAP21’s Executive Artistic Director Frank Ventura directs.

COLLABORATIVE ARTS PROJECT
18 WEST 18th STREET
FOR TICKETS: 212-352-3101

Check out Daniel Meeter’s Old First Blog for musings about:

Debbie Almontasser and the Khalil Gibran International Academy controversy

Dead Trees

Squad One

and Cartoons by Julia Durgee

No Land Grab, the media portal for all Atlantic Yards News, has the goods on who got it wrong on the eminent domain media mishap.

I’ve heard the rumors. And they’re heating up again. Gowanus Lounge has the story with some help from The New York Observer’s real estate blog, The Real Estate.

The Brooklyn Paper has the interview with Debbie Almontasser, principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy that will share a building with the Brooklyn School of the Arts and Math and Exploratory Science Middle School.

TONIGHT: The transportation committee of Community Board 6 is meeting to take up DOT’s 9th Street Safety and Bike Lane plan.

A small but vocal group of 9th Street residents don’t want to see this plan go forth. This group seems to have influence on Cmmunity Board 6. According to Streetsblog, “they enlisted the support of State Senator Eric Adams, who represents the two blocks of 9th Street closest to Prospect Park and Assembly Member Jim Brennan, who has written a letter in opposition to the plan despite an overwhelming number of calls, letters and visits to his office in support of it.”

This important meeting will be at 6:30 pm at Old First Church, 729 Carroll Street at 7th Avenue.

Clinton Hill Blog had this funny photograph on her blog on May 15th. She wrote:

"This house on Grand near Park has an
interesting fast food restaurant-esque setup in the front of the
building. Wonder where they got it."

I think her blog is great. I really enjoy it.

This from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle

BROOKLYN — The Municipal Art Society of New York presented Fairway Market at Red Hook with a Masterwork Award for Best Neighborhood Catalyst at its awards ceremony held May 9, at the General Motors Building Fifth Avenue Plaza in Manhattan.
The Neighborhood Catalyst Award “recognizes a new or a newly restored building that is spurring revitalization in the surrounding neighborhood.”

According to The Municipal Art Society, “Developer Greg O’Connell has converted an abandoned, city-owned warehouse into a sought-after Red Hook destination for both local residents and tourists.

Adaptively reusing the building to accommodate a Fairway grocery store, an outdoor café, and apartments, Mr. O’Connell also took full advantage of its unique waterfront location, creating an on-site ferry dock offering NY Water Taxi service on weekends.”

O’Connell remarked that the project has served as an anchor for economic development in the community. Since Fairway opened last May, retailers have increased their business, vacant storefronts along Van Brunt have filled up, and Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies down the street is reporting more walk-in business than in the previous seven years.

“I’m very honored to receive this award, but I feel a bit like that book The Little Engine that Could when I look around and see the other projects in Manhattan that are receiving this award,” O’Connell said. “It’s pretty impressive.”

As part of O’Connell’s team, Susan Doban Architect, PC, was responsible for designing the mid-19th century building’s interior courtyard and 45 apartments above the Fairway Market. The apartments combine residential living with artists’ studios, reflecting O’Connell’s dedication to the creative community.

BABY MAMA WITH TINA FEY, AMY POEHLER AND SIGOURNEY WEAVER

Movie trucks were parked on Seventh Avenue, Garfield and Carroll Street. Craft services was in front of Key Food. They were filming in Community Books Wednesday morning. They were in Tempo on Fifth Avenue in the evening.

Director:
Michael McCullers
Writer:
Michael McCullers
Genre:
Comedy

Plot Outline:
A single professional woman (Tina Fey) opts to hire a surrogate mother (Amy Poehler) so she can have a baby and keep her career on track.

Check out Listen Missy. Photographs, musings, and this post about subway theme songs.

I’ve long thought that subway lines have theme songs, although I haven’t yet gotten them all figured out. I regularly ride a number of lines and they each have their own personality, not just in terms of the kinds of people who ride them–although that’s part of it–but in the train’s general demeanor. Like how the 4/5 at Borough Hall is always reliable although sensitive to crowding if I arrive in the morning 5 minutes in either direction of my usual time, that the 2/3 is like the 4/5’s bratty younger brother, always dirtier and never coming when you call. The G? Hell, forget the G if you actually need to be anywhere on time. If you’re not beholden to the clock, it’s fine, but if you’ve got a class at Mark Morris or a movie or a performance at BAM and you arrive at the station at 7:00 for a 7:30 curtain and the train doesn’t show until 7:25 and you could have walked there faster and ever since you’ve just decided the B63 will do you better, well, the G is the stupid, flakey hippie you can’t help but like a little bit. The F, like the L, hangs with the hipper people, is always crowded and, if you need to catch it during rush hour, good luck to you and don’t be surprised if you’re forced to wait it out, like sitting along the bleacher benches at the school dance in the gym before you get your turn at an awkward slow dance.

Dope on the Slope does a cool shout out for Stoopendous, A Celebration of the Summer Solstice in Park Slope. The event is on June 23rd. Find out all about it from Dope and from Stoopendous.org

Didn’t you always want to know the etymology of stoop?

Flatbush Gardener gathered together just about all the blog and otherwise coverage of last week’s Blogfest. Impressive.

The Hampton Jitney, which provides transportation between New York City and Long Island’s East End, will begin its Brooklyn service Friday evening — picking up passengers between 5:30 and 6 p.m. in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, and two locations in Park Slope.

Though the Jitney has long provided Hamptons service from locations on the Upper East Side and Midtown, this is the first summer season that its buses will pick up passengers in Brooklyn.

Buses stopping in Brooklyn will make stops on the Jitney’s Montauk and North Fork lines only. Return service departs from various East End locations between 5 and 6:30 p.m. on Sundays. An adult, round-trip ticket costs $51.

Read Rob Lenihan’s piece called, The Memory Milll on his blog, , Luna Park Gazette. It is about memory and his Brooklyn house. The text is from a performance piece written by Lenihan and it is quite moving.

My house is so empty there should be an echo.

Oh, there’s plenty of stuff: furniture, closets bursting with clothes, rows of bookshelves.

It’s a two-family house, with three bedrooms, dining room, porch; it’s huge, a relic from a time when they really knew how to build houses.

The only thing the place doesn’t have is people; no people at all. Except me.

My family bought this house in Brooklyn 1948. My grandparents passed the place on to my mom and dad, and now it belongs to their four children. It’s gone through many hands over the last 60 years, but it hasn’t moved an inch.

My mother died five years ago and my father followed her in January. My sister and brothers all moved out years ago, and the last bunch of tenants took off for parts unknown.

I’m the only one here, the master of the house—until we sell it.

I lived most of my life in this place; even when I was living somewhere else. Whether it was Connecticut or Pennsylvania, I was always close enough to dash home whenever I wanted to.

Now I have full run of the place. Every morning I get up, make breakfast, and get ready for work with only the voice of the radio news to keep me company.

At night I come home, eat supper and make sure all the doors are locked and the lights are turned off.

I feel like a sentry at a distant outpost, or one of those Japanese soldiers found hiding in the jungle long after the war ended.

I’m still on duty, bowing to the emperor’s tattered portrait. For years I complained about not having any privacy. Now I don’t have much else.

Here is the complete schedule of this ambitious concert series that makes for great summer evenings in Park Slope. It’s a really amazing and diverse selection this year — something for everyone.

Dope on the Slope is P.O.ed about kids pissing on the streets of Park Slope. And can you blame him?

Yesterday was the third time in less than a month that I witnessed a parent jerk down their toddler’s trousers in the middle of a busy sidewalk so that he could avail himself of the opportunity presented by a nearby tree, and heed the call of nature.
What is totally unfathomable to me is that this delightful tableau unfolded a mere two blocks from Barnes & Noble. I understand the impulse to buy your books from a local, but why not stick it to the man and sneak a leak in their bathroom?

They’ve done it again. The Park Slope Civic Council, that is. The Park Slope House Tour is on for this Sunday. BIG TREAT: Check out the very modern renovation of a former garage/industrial building on 4th Street between 6th and 5th Avenue by a couple of architects. It is something to really admire (and envy).

WHAT: PSCC Annual House Tour
WHEN: This Sunday, May 20, 2007; 12 noon – 5:00 p.m.
INFO: 718-832-8227 and website
SUBWAY: Seventh Avenue (Q, B); Grand Army Plaza (2, 3) (Directions)
TIX: $20 in advance; $25 day of Tour. Ticket Sales Information
BONUS: A recital by Dr. Mich

From Inside Schools:

Parents raise concerns about Arabic school’s new home
A week after giving up on their attempt to place a new dual-language Arabic school in a Park Slope elementary school, Department of Education (DOE) officials came under fire last night at an emergency meeting at the building now slated to take in the school.

The PTA at MS 447, the Math and Science Exploratory School, in Boerum Hill called the meeting after learning that the new school, Khalil Gibran International Academy, will occupy space in the Sarah J. Hale building, which MS 447 already shares with the Brooklyn High School of the Arts (BHSA), beginning in September.

More than 100 parents were joined by a host of school and community leaders, including Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, City Council member David Yassky, and Garth Harries, the CEO of the Office of New Schools, as well as by a few outside agitators aiming to stir alarm about Khalil Gibran’s focus on Arabic culture.

The meeting underscored parents’ anger at the DOE’s pattern of announcing plans without first soliciting parent opinion and by the way that schools are routinely asked to share space with new schools, sometimes compromising their own programs.

“[The] DOE doesn’t have the greatest record lately of really listening to parents,” said Jill Harris, a representative from City Council member Bill de Blasio’s office.

According to a letter to parents from MS 447 Principal Lisa Gioe-Cordi, currently on maternity leave, the school first learned it was being considered as an option for Khalil Gibran at the end of April. On May 8 the decision to place the new school in the building was announced, before school officials could consult parents about the plan. “The school administration was not given a say in the DOE’s decision,” Gioe-Cordi wrote.

Khalil Gibran will occupy the building for two years, using two classrooms and one office space in its first year and two additional classrooms in its second year, DOE officials said. At most, the plan would introduce 120 new students into the building, they said, although the New York Times noted that Khalil Gibran has yet to enroll a single student for its first year.

READ MORE AT INSIDE SCHOOLS

From New York 1:

After a long, hard fight by community members, the city said Tuesday that Engine 204 in Cobble Hill is no longer up for sale.

Brooklyn City Council members and residents have been fighting to keep the property out of the hands of developers since the firehouse closed in 2003. Now, they say, a compromise has been reached.

The city says it will lease the firehouse to a public agency for ten years. That means it could be used as a cultural center, a pre-K, or a Department of Education school annex.

City Councilman Bill de Blasio says the deal gives the city the option to change it back into the firehouse in the future.

“If this lovely, quaint building were turned into luxury housing, that would have been the worst outcome for our community, and thanks to the good work of everyone here, that didn’t happen,” said de Blasio. “A sale, even to a non-profit, would not have allowed for future possibilities, so a lease is clearly better.”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said he would not consider reinstating Engine 204.

“The compromise reached today is a paint-over, just to hold the communities back,” said Danny Murphy of the Uniformed Firefighters Association. “It’s just a day that we really feel that it’s not a win for the UFA, that’s for sure.”

Residents — while disheartened to learn there are no immediate plans to reopen Engine 204 as a firehouse — warmed to the idea of using it as a community space.

“I think it would be a wonderful community effort and a community property if it can’t be used as a firehouse,” said one local resident.

“A community center of any kind would be wonderful,” said another. “We don’t have anything like that in this area.”

It will be a couple years before the process is finalized and someone can move in.

If anyone is near Music Matters or another CD shop, please pick up A Tribute to Joni MItchell for me.

“Prior to this moment, only in our wildest and sauciest dreams could we picture Sufjan Stevens, Björk, and Prince rolling around together.
Nonesuch Records, however, has made our dreams a reality”
-PitckforkMedia.com, 1/03/07

‘A Tribute to Joni Mitchell’, the first major US tribute album to the legendary artist, is set for release on April 24th. Musicians from many genres are represented on the 12 tracks of both rare and quintessential songs from the revered and influential singer/songwriter’s expansive career.

Each performer’s distinct takes on ‘A Tribute to Joni Mitchell’ are true to their own artistry, proving Mitchell’s universal appeal and versatility as a songwriter. Mitchell becomes the thread linking together these otherwise very different musical styles into a cohesive and brilliant creation.

Executive producer and Nonesuch Records President Bob Hurwitz, a longtime admirer of Joni Mitchell, came across the project upon Nonesuch’s move to Warner Brothers in 2004. It was started in the late ‘90s, but never completed. He says:

“I loved much of what I heard from the first group of recordings; the best of the tracks, at least to me, sounded like these artists were singing for an audience of one: Joni Mitchell. They knew she would hear their recording of her song, which has to be one of the most daunting tasks any musician can face.

“In moving forward, I thought that there should be a purpose to every track: each should be a reinvention or an homage, or be performed by an artist who was a part of Joni’s life or whom I knew she admired, or whose life was changed by Joni. Listening to them all, one can only be struck by the incredible craft she brought to these songs, all written as intensely personal statements, yet having the expressive resilience that allows other great artists to find part of their own musical life in her creations.”

Celebrate the beginning of summer on the stoops and sidewalks of Park Slope.

Join your neighbors on Saturday, June 23rd, for a STOOPendous party that is a big as the Slope. Mark the start of summer with your neighbors and friends on your own stoops and sidewalks. Enjoy the summer solstice, the day when the planet earth enjoys the most sunlight during the year.

Your celebration can occur at any time of day, but at 8:31 pm, when the sun sets, the All-Slope-Solstice-Shout-Out will start. Use kazoos, bang pots and pans, swing bells, or play drums. Make a racket to bid farewell to the sun’s long day and to ring in the new season.

For more information and and for suggestions on how-to make a simple, easy stoopendous event go to the STOOPendous web site. You can order STOOPendous t-shirts, totes and more here.

Spread the word.

MAY 19th IS: IT’S MY PARK DAY IN JJ BYRNE PARK

On Saturday May, 19th at 1 p.m. Old Stone House celebrates ten years of great programming with a free concert by Tom Chapin you won’t want to miss. Bring the whole family.

Adult albums and kids’ albums,
contemporary folk and pop, Tom Chapin’s music spans styles and
generations. For more than thirty years and through eighteen compact
discs, Chapin has entertained, amused and enlightened audiences of all
ages with life-affirming original songs told in a sophisticated array
of musical styles. Tom’s remarkable musicianship, great songwriting and
personal warmth shine through whether he’s performing in a concert
hall, an outdoor festival, a school, in front of a symphony orchestra
or in an intimate coffeehouse.
The New York Times calls Tom Chapin "one of the great personalities in
contemporary folk music." He has recorded seven albums of
adult-oriented material, with his eighth in progress. His concerts and
recordings are sparked by strong, intelligent songwriting with clear,
engaging vocals and the intricate, melodic guitar work that has become
his trademark. Tom says: "Mine is not a traditional music, but it comes
from a tradition. My musical heroes are people like Pete Seeger and
Woody Guthrie who wrote and sang real songs for real people; for
everyone, old, young, and in between."

SATURDAY, MAY 19th at 1 p.m. JJ Byrne Park. Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets