It was the first actual weekend of spring. The first weekend it didn’t rain and out sprouted the stoop salers with their wares: that stuff you don’t really want or need but it looks kind of interesting when you walk by.

And then the after-sale give-away. You can’t even give the stuff away in some cases. But leave a box of books on the street in Park Slope and somebody, somebody will pick it up. OK, they may dump it farther up the street when they’ve had some time to browse that book they thought they were interested in.

But they’re not interested in it anymore. Or maybe they are.

Moi? Smartmom is avoiding stoop sales this season. She’ll look but she won’t buy and that’s a promise.

She won’t even have one of her own. She’s all about just giving it away. Not just for altruistic reasons but because she just can’t bare to have another stoop sale.

OSFO has big plans, however. Stoop Sales-R-Us this season when OSFO gets in the mood. And Smartmom doesn’t mind a bit just as long as the stuff doesn’t come back inside.

I’m just saying I’m just saying.

It was Earth Day weekend and it was so splendid in the park. So green. So pink were those cherry blossoms. And grass. Green. Green. And people kite flying and running and playing soccer n the Longs Meadow and I hear there was some gigantic American flag parchute out there. Never found it but that’s OK.

The day it was so idyllic like something out of, what, our memories of spring in Park Slope in seasons past. Something from Monet or Seurat, something from another century but with new age techno bikes, Healey’s, skates, Razrs, bugaboos, 21st Century looking people basking in their first sunny, warm day at the playground — the sand, the swings, balloons, the toddlers running…

It was the park, the park, omigod, the park. 

This from New York 1:

The city’s last roller rink skated into history Sunday, but skaters
made one final attempt Saturday to keep it from shutting down for good.

A rally was held at the Empire Roller Skating Rink in Crown
Heights. Organizers called on city officials to keep Empire open or
build a new rink.

The rink has been around for more then 60 years and is known for
being the birthplace of roller disco, but it was recently sold and will
soon become a storage facility.

But local skaters say losing the rink will be tough on the neighborhood.

"I really don’t know where the young kids will go after Empire
closes, I really don’t know," said one young patron. "I don’t have that
sense of knowing. But I’ll tell you one thing, it’s gonna bring this
community down. It’s gonna drive a lot of people out, because of
Empire. It’s the only thing that’s really left here, that’s truly
here."

In recent years, the rink has been the subject of many complaints. There was a shooting outside it in January.

Empire’s owner said he decided to close when the city forced him to get rid of Teen Night and his liability insurance went up.

Here’s this week’s Smartmom from the Brooklyn Paper:

Smartmom is wearing new shade of lipstick lately. It’s called “Emerging” and she picked it out at MYR, a make-up shop on Seventh Avenue.

Emerging. It’s the perfect name for the soft burgundy color that goes so well with her skin tone. And it makes Smartmom feel like a butterfly emerging from her schleppy chrysalis in her journey to add a little flair to her appearance.

Hepcat hasn’t said a thing. OK, so he’s a little distracted these days — consulting as a software engineer — but he could comment on her new shade of lipstick, nu?

Truth is, Hepcat has never been one for make-up. Hell, he grew up on a farm. He hates perfume, and he gets all edgy when Smartmom wears foundation or rouge. He says he likes his Smartmom au natural.

Same with her hair. Hepcat doesn’t believe she should color it. Her “blondes-have-more-fun” phase last year left him cold. He actually loves the patch of gray that makes Smartmom look like Susan Sontag.

“I just find it so sexy,” he’s told her again and again.

But Smartmom pays no attention to that man. She’s been covering her gray since just days before her 40th birthday nearly nine years ago. And she likes it that way.

Since Hepcat didn’t notice her new lipstick color, Smartmom got to thinking: Would more radical make-up action get a rise out of him?

She decided to give it a try. Recently, she went back to MYR and decided to buy some eye make-up. The saleswoman helped her pick out a Kohl pencil, mascara, and, would you believe, eye shadow.

When Smartmom got home, she stood in front of the bathroom mirror and used her new pencil to try to make herself look like the Anais Nin character in the film “Henry and June.”

Then she applied the mascara carefully. She’s never had great luck with the stuff. It tends to smear if she rubs her eyes, has a crying jag or a laughing fit. But the MYR brand is smudgeless. Suddenly, Smartmom felt like she was being watched.

“What are you doing?” asked the Oh So Feisty One.

“Just putting on some make-up.” Smartmom replied.

“I like you better without make-up,” OSFO said.

Scram, she felt like saying. I’m in the mood to try something new. Like, is it possible to get some alone time in this apartment?

So, why this sudden desire to do something new with her face? Maybe it was that post on Park Slope Parents titled, “How Did I Get to Be Such a Frump?” that got her going:

“I just turned 50, and am in desperate need of a makeover. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom; can I blame it on that? My makeup and hairstyle is from 10 years ago, and my wardrobe consists of eight pairs of black elastic-waist pants, and different colors of the same Lands’ End shirt. I wish I was joking.”

Ms. Frump went on to say that she wanted to look more polished and professional. Clearly, she could use some SOS in the make-up, hair, and clothing department.

Smartmom immediately did an accounting of all the ways that she has absolutely NOTHING in common with this woman.

First of all, there are at least 15 months between Smartmom and 50.

Second, Smartmom regularly gets her hair cut at a trendy salon on the Lower East Side.

OK, she does wear black elastic-waist pants, but they’re from Eileen Fisher so that doesn’t count.

But most importantly, Smartmom is not now, nor has she ever been, a shopper at Lands’ End. In fact, Smartmom has never even tried on a Lands’ End shirt.

Whoa. Calm down. Nobody ever said that Smartmom and the Frumpette had anything in common. So why the over-reaction?

Well, on one level, Smartmom worries about becoming a frump, too. While she does obsesses about the way she looks (and she loves to window shop at Bird and Flirt), the pressures of her kids, her work, the family’s money situation, and her writing sometimes keep her from having a more, shall we say, polished appearance.

The trouble started after Teen Spirit was born when Smartmom found that she was still wearing her black Belly Basics way longer than she needed to.

Then the Oh So Feisty One was born, and Smartmom became self-employed in the Slope. Why dress up when the only people who see her are her MacBook, her office mate, and her family?

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Whether you’re getting dressed to go to the office, the gym, or a PTA meeting, you can still make an effort to look good.

Case in point: Smartmom’s friend, writer and blogger Mom After-Hours. She’s a bit of a fashion plate, who always looks terrific on Seventh Avenue whether she’s wearing jeans or one of her creatively coordinated outfits.

“Women who are so dedicated to being good mothers, good caregivers, and good partners end up neglecting who they are,” she said last week. “Since when did being a mother come to mean a life of self-denial? Since when did motherhood mean getting rid of stilettos and wearing in their stead, dare I say it, Birkenstocks?”

Stilettos? Smartmom doesn’t have one friend who wears stilettos. But Mom After-hours does have a point. While comfort and efficiency are the buzzwords of Park Slope life, comfortable doesn’t have to mean a lack of creativity or style.

Smartmom felt like calling Ms. Frump. She wanted to tell her to go to MYR to buy some eye shadow. She wanted to tell her to check out the clothes at City Casual, Living on Seventh or Flirt. She wanted to tell her to take a run in the park and meditate. She wanted to meet her for lattes at Sweet Melissa’s and compare shopping woes.

Hepcat still hasn’t noticed Smartmom’s lip color. But he did make a comment about her eye make-up.

“I think that stuff makes you look like a ferret or maybe a raccoon,” he told Smartmom over udon soup.

But Smartmom didn’t care. She is doing it for herself. Just playing around. Having some fun. And when that bathroom door is closed, OSFO now knows she wants to be alone.

Thanks to Gowanus Lounge who did a bang up job of collecting all of Brooklyn’s Earth Day events. It’s a big list cause there’s lots to do on this gorgeous Earth Day.

Streetsblog has a video interview with Bob Kiley, who served as the Commissioner of Transport for London from 2001 to 2006? (Kiley was also chairman and CEO of New York’s MTA from 1983 to 1990.) about congestion pricing in London.

Today, Mayor Bloomberg plans a big speech at the Museum of Natural History at 1 p.m. about congestion pricing, which is part of his Plan NYC, which lays out 127 different ideas to ease global warming and carbon emissions. Here’s a teaser of what’s in tomorrow’s speech.

People argue about global warming. I can’t tell you how fast the oceans will rise, whether they’ll rise. I can just tell you a handful of things: dirty air isn’t good for you to breathe and we aren’t doing our environment any good by dumping all this crap into the air.

You want to solve the energy crisis in this country, you’ve got to either raise gasoline taxes or force manufacturers to make more fuel-efficient cars. That’s the biggest thing you could do.

This from Streetsblog:

Shin-pei Tsay and Lisa Chamberlain have organized a gathering in memory of Jane Jacobs on the anniversary of her death, April 25:

Come raise a glass in honor of Jane Jacobs— a community activist who knew when to don the white gloves, when to get arrested, and when to unwind at the local pub. Speakers: Darren Walker, Vice President of the Rockefeller Foundation, will talk about the first annual Jane Jacobs medals to be announced in June. Alex Washburn, the first ever Chief Urban Designer for NYC’s Department of City Planning, will talk about urban design challenges in 21st century New York.

When
Wednesday, April 25th, 2007 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Where
White Horse Tavern
567 Hudson St. (at W. 11th St.)
Manhattan
RSVP
Everyone welcome — No RSVP necessary

Last night’s Brooklyn Reading Works featured two blogger-mom who write about life, love, and learning with an autistic child and that description doesn’t do justice to the quality of writing and thinking that went on last evening.

Kristin Chew and Mother’s Vox are both scholars and excellent writers, who use their blogs as a way to reflect on their lives and reach out to others and map out a territory that can be profoundly confusing and challenging for parents.

Mother’s Vox writes eloquently of the perils of the diagnostic process and how the very things that are special about your child become pathologized by specialists.

About Kristina Chew’s writing Mother’s Vox writes, "it remains so eloquent and constant in its theme of infinite
affection and gratitude for her sweet boy not in spite of his autism,
but with all of him. Very moving, as ever, and a model for me of how to
live on the other side of hopes — the full instead of the less."

You can read about more about the event on Autism’s Edges. A podcast will be available there soon.

There’s lots to do for Earth Day this weekend in Prospect Park, that park of parks. This sounded interesting on Saturday from 10 – 2 p/m.

But there’s lots more information at prospectpark.org

Hands On New York, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

              Meet at Long Meadow & Endale Arch. Enter Park at Flatbush Avenue & Eastern Parkway.
Spruce up the trees and paths along the nation’s longest meadow in any
urban park with volunteers from the community and New York Cares. (718)
965-8960. Saturday Only.

The Gowanus whale has been nicknamed "Sludgie." Gowanus Lounge reports that "More recently, it has been reported nearer to the Home Depot, which
puts it closer to Hamilton Avenue. Marine biologists are on the scene
and say the whale appears to be in good health."

Gowanus Lounge got the shot. Oh Yeah. Check it out. Experts are now worried that the baby Baleen whale may get caught in Brooklyn waters. I don’t have permission to use it so go on over to GL.

The TV Writers Workbook: A Creative Approach to Television Scripts by Ellen Sandler is just out. Come to her book party TODAY at the Drama Bookstore

April 18th at 6 p.m.
     Drama Bookshop
     250 W. 40th Street
New York, NY

A friend says she’s fun and that the event should be fun.

Here’s the blurb:

Why is TV writing different from any other kind of writing? How will
writing a spec script open doors? What do I have to do to get a job
writing for TV? Writing for television is a business, And like any
business, there are proven strategies for success. In this unique
hands-on-guide, television writer and producer Ellen Sandler shares the
trade secrets she learned while writing for hit shows like "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Coach". She offers concrete advice on everything from finding a story to getting hired on a current series.

Virginia Tech’s student newspaper, The Collegiate Times, reports on the Facebook memorials to the 32 slain students.

For a generation that has grown up with the evolving technology of the
time, it seems most fitting for memorials and prayers to be passed
around through the internet.

Facebook, a social networking site, has been hit with an
influx of recent “groups” created to honor the Tech students caught in
the throes of yesterday’s events.

By searching “Tech Shooting,” 362 groups come up as hits, most
of them dedicated to the memory of the students and their families.

One group created by Tech Student Tim Hall is called “April 16, 2007 — A Moment of Silence” and has 8,712 members thus far.

“It was like having a good dream and waking up in the middle of
a nightmare,” Hall said. “Virginia Tech needed unity. By expressing
what I felt on Facebook, I knew the entire campus would rally and
support the group. We are going through one of those rare times when
every student on campus is feeling the same emotion: emptiness. It was
my way of bringing the university together and showing my classmates
that the entire country supports us. It is truly an amazing way of
watching our beautiful country come together to start the healing
process.”

Each group has a “wall,” which members, after they have
joined, may write on to express their thoughts on topics about the
group. In a five-minute span on the wall for Hall’s Facebook group,
students from Old Dominion University, New York University, Florida
State University, Texas State, Marshall, Christopher Newport
University, University of Miami, Auburn, North Carolina A&T,
Seminole Community College, Rice and SUNY Potsdam all wrote messages
expressing their prayers and condolences to the students of Tech and
the hardships everyone on campus was enduring.

Kara Whipkey joined Hall’s group to honor a friend of hers who had been shot in the massacre.

“I personally joined the group to let everyone who is grieving
know that we are all thinking and praying for them,” Whipkey said. “I
have a friend, Kristina Heeger who is tragically a victim as well, and
I am waiting to hear her status.”

“I just can’t believe something like this has happened,”
Whipkey said. “I really have no words to show how I’m feeling. All I
can really say is that I am praying for the victims and their family
and friends.”

Thousands of students feel the sentiment of Whipkey as well.

One group called “A tribute to those who passed at the Virginia
Tech shooting” is the largest group so far created for memorializing
the victims of 4/16. At 4:00 p.m. yesterday the total members was up to
5,738. By 7:30 p.m., there were close to 31,000 members. The events on
campus have spread their way across international boundaries, the
creator of this group is Paul Jansen: he is in Greece.

Another group created by Michael Leonard, a freshman at Tech,
is called “Virginia Tech Massacre Memorial Group,” “I thought this
would be a good way to increase awareness,” Leonard said.

“I was in lockdown in Torgersen Hall, and I wondered if anyone
had done it. When I got back to my room I decided I would just make one
myself.”

However, not all groups created are in good light. Some
groups, many Facebook members and Tech students have observed, are not
in good taste.

One such group is called, “Duck n Cover … The saga continues,”
where many students have voiced their opinions of the group on its
wall, asking the creator to erase the group entirely.

“I was offended by the nature of that group,” said Alex Weaver, a freshman at Tech.

But groups like these are far and few between. Students and
Facebook members have mobilized themselves on a digital front to show
their support for the Hokies, and everyone touched by the events on
this day in April. Supporters increase by the minute, and the Hokies
hear their heartfelt offerings of remorse.

This from Red Eft’s blog, Oswegatchie, in Kingston, New York.

"We have left-overs when we eat out. Today I had lunch with my three
kids while the spouse was slaving away over a hot laptop at home, so we
brought him some salad, fried rice and shrimp lo mein in one of our new
To-Go Ware Food Serve ‘n Store Set.
This is a handy item that everyone should have with them when they go
out to eat. It’s only $20 and as much as I’m not interested in selling
stuff on my blog, tons of plastic bags and styrofoam crap could be
retired if we all toted one of these cute, aesthetically pleasing
objects with us everywhere we go.

"We had a 65-person Passover
Seder at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Catskills a few
weeks ago and we told everyone to bring their own tableware and they
did! Another woman and I brought cloth napkins and used what glasses
were in the cabinets. It was virtually a zero-waste Seder. All big
events can be done this way and the most interesting thing is that
people are overjoyed to do it.

"Did you know that Berkeley, California, has a Zero Waste Commission?
It used to be called the Solid Waste Management Commission, but in 2005
Berkeley set a citywide goal of zero waste by 2020, and in 2006 they
changed the name of the body in charge of getting to zero.

""If
it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished,
refinished, resold, recycled, or composted, then it should be
restricted, redesigned, or removed from production."

"Is your town doing that?  If not, why not?  Here’s more.

There’s a baby whale in the Gowanus and it’s been identified as a Baleen whale. Here’s the skinny on that kind of whale from Wikipedia.

The baleen whales, also called whalebone whales or great whales, form the Mysticeti, one of two suborders of the Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises). Baleen whales are characterized by having baleen plates for filtering food from water, rather than having teeth. This distinguishes them from the other suborder of cetaceans, the toothed whales or Odontoceti. Living Mysticeti species have teeth only during the embryonal phase. Fossil Mysticeti had teeth before baleen evolved.

Baleen whales are generally larger than toothed whales, and females
are larger than males. This group comprises the largest living animal
species, the Blue Whale. Baleen whales have two blowholes, causing a V-shaped blow.

The suborder contains four families and fourteen species. A list of species can be found below and at the Cetacea article. The scientific name derives from the Greek word mystax, which means "moustache".

There will be a screening of "Brooklyn Matters,’ a must-see documentary about the Atlantic Yards Porject at Old First Church TONIGHT: Wednesday, April 18th at 7:30 p.m. Sponsored by Park Slope Neighbors.

Old First Church
126 7th Avenue in Park Slope
7:30 p.m.
Admission free. Discussion to follow

This from the New York Times:

The chess team from Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn won its fourth consecutive national championship on Sunday, tying with a high school from Arizona. It was the second time in three years that Murrow and Catalina Foothills High School of Tucson were named co-winners of the National High School Championship. Each school earned 22 points in the tournament, which was held in Kansas City, Mo. Alex Lenderman, a Murrow senior who earned 6.5 points for his team, was named national scholastic chess champion, the tournament’s top individual honor.

Alternate side of the street parking regulations suspended today due to storm.

Gowanus Lounge has pictures of the flooded Gowanus Canal.

In honor of this, the 60th anniversary of the day Jackie Robinson integrated baseball at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field, I present this information found at a website called Ebbets Field: Preserving Brooklyn’s Lost Shrine. There’s also information at Ballparks of Baseball.

WHERE IS EBBETS FIELD?

In the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, the official address was 55 Sullivan Place which is located on the corner of Sullivan Place & McKeever Place. This was better known as the famous rotunda entrance. The first base/right field line was located along Sullivan Place. The third base/left field line was located on McKeever Place. Beyond left field is Montgomery Street. Beyond right field/scoreboard is Bedford Avenue. McKeever Place was named in honor of the “Old Judge” Steve McKeever. After McKeever’s death, (March 7, 1938) a ceremony was held at Ebbets Field at which the street, formerly known as Cedar Place, became McKeever Place. What largely gets ignored among historians is that prior to the construction of Ebbets Field another street existed on the site located between Cedar (McKeever) Place and Bedford Avenue. Pine Street, prior to 1913, was indeed on the map. After construction of the ballpark the street was abolished.

Who is Ebbets Field named after?

Charles Hercules Ebbets is the man which bares the ballpark’s name. Ebbets had been with the baseball club since the birth of the Dodgers in 1883. He worked his way up to Dodger President and majority stockholder, when he decided it was time to construct a new ballpark. He began secretly purchasing parcels of land in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn known as Pigtown. Ebbets eventually acquired all the deeds and on January 2, 1912, the announcement was made that a new steel and concrete ballpark would be constructed on the site. On March 4, 1912 the groundbreaking ceremony took place and it was here that the question was posed to Ebbets, “What is the name of the new ballpark?” Ebbets, after giving some thought replied, “Washington Park”, the name of the Dodgers old ballpark. New York Times reporter/friend Len Wooster suggested Ebbets Field, reasoning with Ebbets, “It was your idea and nobody else’s, and you’ve put yourself in hock to build it. It’s going to be your monument, whether you like to think about it that way or not”. Ebbets replied, “All right, that’s what we’ll call it, Ebbets Field.”

On Saturday, thousands of Americans called on their leaders to act immediately to stop global warming. In all 50 states, at more than 1400 iconic places across the nation, people united around a common call to action: "Step It Up Congress: Cut Carbon 80% by 2050."

Organizers estimated a crowd of 1,200 in Battery Park. There were more than 1,400 actions across the country. One reason organizers did not call for a single mass march was to prevent those attending from generating more carbon emissions.
I didn’t see or hear about anything in Park Slope, which surprises me. No doubt there were events I didn’t know about. Please write in and let me know what you did for "Step It Up Congress!"
Go here for a list of coverage of the event all over the US.

Green Uncle Sam from Seeing Green

Remember Steven, formerly of Frajean Hair Salon, who did my hair and make-up for my 30th high school reunion? I wrote about the experience for my Smartmom column in the Brooklyn Paper.

If you have a big event coming up, consider calling Steven. Prior to my high school event, he gave me high and low-lights. On the day of the big whoopdeedo, he styled my hair and did my make-up: it was festive and fun getting ready with Steven.

But even if you’re not going to a special event, call Steve for a hair-cut or color. I am always wary of recommending hair stylists because everyone has a different idea of a good haircut, etc. If you do go to Steven, be clear about what you want. You can even show him a picture. Communication is very important with a new hair stylist.
Steven is now operating out of a salon on Flatbush near Seventh Avenue. I keep running into him on Seventh Avenue and I keep telling him that I’m going to put something about it on my blog.
So here it is on my blog. 
Steven is available by appointment to do women’s cut and styles. Men’s haircuts. Children’s haircuts. Highlights and Lowlights. Base color. Double and single process.
He also does hair extensions/intusions. Hair weaves. Make-up applications. Updo’s.
I want an Updo.
Steven is available for special occasions, weddings, photoshoots, and parties.
Here’s the info:
Hair by Steve
718.398.6472
914.525.6472
hairby_Steve@yahoo.com

A store that sells children’s bedding is going in where Three Peddlers used to be on Lincoln Place (east of Seventh Avenue). I will miss waving at the nice woman at Three Peddlers as I walked to my office on 8th Avenue. However, the new shop has a name like Pickleboot or Bootpickle and looks very pretty and colorful. It is set to open on Saturday April 14th. That’s tomorrow. The shop is right next door to Orange Blossom. That’s a nice trio of stores: Stitch Therapy, Pickleboot, and Orange Blossom.

My hunch is that Three Peddlers isn’t out of business but operating elsewhere. It too was a lovely store that made beautiful curtains and pillows. Anyone know?

Tomorrow I will write down the name of the new children’s bedding store.

These kind of lists are just so obnoxious but they are interesting, too. The spring issue of Granta magazine, Granta 97: ‘Best of Young American Novelists 2’, is devoted to their new work—a revealing insight into a new generation of American writing which shows, beside its talent, what bothers and inspires the imagination of modern America.

What’s notable about the list is how many of the writers were born outside of the United States. How many of these writers live in Brooklyn.

Daniel Alarcón
Kevin Brockmeier
Judy Budnitz
Christopher Coake
Anthony Doerr
Jonathan Safran Foer
Nell Freudenberger
Olga Grushin
Dara Horn
Gabe Hudson
Uzodinma Iweala
Nicole Krauss
Rattawut Lapcharoensap
Yiyun Li
Maile Meloy
ZZ Packer
Jess Row
Karen Russell
Akhil Sharma
Gary Shteyngart
John Wray

Sounds like a big storm is coming our way. This from the New York Daily News:

The New York area will be soaked and wind-whipped by “a storm of history” that could arrive late tonight and stretch over three days, a National Weather Service meteorologist warned yesterday.

Several inches of rain and winds gusting to 40 mph will lash the city in a classic nor’easter, exposing the Long Island and New Jersey shorelines to damaging tidal surges, said Mike Musher, chief meteorologist for the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center in Maryland.

“I would call it a storm of history….If this happened in winter, it would bring us the blizzard of the century,” Musher said.

Gov. Spitzer yesterday put the National Guard on alert for potential flooding and power losses downstate and impassable roads north of the city, where a foot of snow is forecast.

“It is imperative that the public be aware of the potential problems associated with this storm and plan accordingly,” Spitzer said.

The meteorologist said the storm, which has already struck hard in the nation’s midsection, could stall over the city until Tuesday.

In addition, unseasonably frigid air is making its way up from the South, raising the possibility that snow will mix with rain locally before turning to all rain tomorrow, the National Weather service said.

Sunday “is just going to be a miserable day,” Musher said

This from New York 1:
Police are asking for the public’s help in locating a missing Brooklyn woman.
Police say 30-year-old Natasha Kinsale of St. John’s Place was last seen last Thursday going to the public library on Eastern Parkway and Schenectady Avenue.
She is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 160 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
Police say she is in poor mental health, but good physical condition.
They believe she may be in New Jersey.
Anyone with any information on any of these cases you’re asked to call crime stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

Kurt Vonnegut, author of classic American novels of the 1960’s and 70’s, including “Slaughterhouse-Five,” “Cat’s Cradle” and “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater” died last night in Manhattant at the age of 84.

In the obituary in the New York Times, Dinita Smith writes, “Like Mark Twain, Mr. Vonnegut used humor to tackle the basic questions of human existence: Why are we in this world? Is there a presiding figure to make sense of all this, a god who in the end, despite making people suffer, wishes them well?

“He also shared with Twain a profound pessimism. “Mark Twain,” Mr. Vonnegut wrote in his 1991 book, “Fates Worse Than Death: An Autobiographical Collage,” “finally stopped laughing at his own agony and that of those around him. He denounced life on this planet as a crock. He died.””

This from the New York Sun:

A city proposal to put Park Slope’s Ninth Street on a “road diet” — narrowing the busy thoroughfare to two lanes of traffic from four — was approved last night during a board meeting of Community Board 6.

Starting in July, the street will be converted to just one driving lane in each direction, and two five-foot bike lanes, one in each direction, will be added to the traffic mix. The redesign of the street came at the community’s request, after a series of accidents underscored the problems with pedestrian safety and reckless driving along the main corridor.

“The problem here is not the volume of cars, so much as their speed,” the chairman of Community Board 6, Craig Hammerman, said in an interview. Ninth Street is as wide as Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, but carries less than half of its traffic load, according to the transportation department.

In 2005, a sedan careened into Dizzy’s Diner as it maneuvered a sharp right turn off of Ninth Street. Two boys were killed a year before by a truck that turned into a crosswalk on Third Avenue from Ninth Street.

Opponents of the redesign say that cutting down on street space for cars will only aggravate the neighborhood’s parking woes, as residents would not have room to park and unload their vehicles. Transportation department officials said they would seek to modify curb regulations to allow more space for residents to load and unload their cars without double parking.