So you’re wondering why the DOT wants to change Park Slope traffic patterns NOW? Some people say it has to do with the Atlantic Yards. Even David Yassky says it has something to do with the Atlantic Yards. But here’s what the DOT press office had to say (reported on Streetsblog).

"This idea has been considered for years and since Sixth Avenue was
repaved last year and we have not yet installed permanent markings,
this seems like a good time to make these changes."

photo by anamsingh on Flickr

Every year the Librarian of Congress chooses a variety of sound
recordings to include in the National Recording Registry. The
recordings are nominated by members of the public and a panel of music,
sound and preservation experts, the library’s National Recording
Preservation Board. The 2006 additions to the registry are:

–”Uncle Josh and the Insurance Agent,” Cal Stewart (1904).

–”Il mio tesoro,” John McCormack, orchestra conducted by Walter Rogers (1916).

–National Defense Test, September 12, 1924 (1924).

–”Black Bottom Stomp,” Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers (1926).

–”Wildwood Flower,” The Carter Family (1928).

–”Pony Blues,” Charley Patton (1929).

–”You’re the Top,” Cole Porter (1934).

–”The Osage Bank Robbery,” episode of ”The Lone Ranger” (Dec. 17, 1937).

–Address to Congress, Dec. 8, 1941, Roosevelt (1941)

–Native Brazilian Music, recorded under the supervision of Leopold Stokowski (1942).

–”Peace in the Valley,” Red Foley and the Sunshine Boys (1951).

–Chopin Polonaise, op. 40, no. 1 (”Polonaise militaire”), Artur Rubinstein (1952).

–”Blue Suede Shoes,” Carl Perkins (1955).

–Interviews with William ”Billy” Bell, recorded by Edward D. Ives (1956).

–”Howl,” Allen Ginsberg (1959).

–”The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart,” Bob Newhart (1960)

–”Be My Baby,” The Ronettes (1963).

–”We Shall Overcome,” Pete Seeger (1963) recording of Pete Seeger’s June 8, 1963, Carnegie Hall concert.

–”(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” Rolling Stones. (1965)

–”A Change Is Gonna Come,” Sam Cooke (1965).

–”Velvet Underground and Nico,” Velvet Underground (1967).

–”The Eighty-Six Years of Eubie Blake,” Eubie Blake (1969).

–”The Wailers Burnin,” the Wailers (1973).

–”Live in Japan,” Sarah Vaughan (1973).

–”Graceland,” Paul Simon (1986).

This from the blog, The Hall Montior (Keeping an Eye on Education), about a school in Westchester where three girls were suspended for reading a passage from Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues.

Three students have been suspended for saying the word “vagina”
during an Open Mic Night Friday at John Jay High School in Cross River.
School officials had warned the girls they would be reprimanded if they
said the word while reading a selection from Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues

The
girls had divided the reading into thirds, but all joined together in
saying the word “vagina,” which appeared only once. The girls each must
serve a one-day, in-school suspension.

Here’s what they read:

“My short skirt is a liberation
flag in the women’s army
I declare these streets, any streets
my vagina’s country.”

Meanwhile,
classmates have expressed outrage over the suspensions, saying that a
school should be a place where students have the right to express
themselves. They plan to make t-shirts and posters to protest the
school’s decision.

Do you think the students should have been suspended?

Picture by Strph on Flickr

This from Neal Pollack, author of Alternadad.

Today’s bilious David Brooks column
in the New York Times may have intended to be the last word on the
"hipster parenting" trend, but I think it will have an opposite,
galvanizing effect. There are certainly some annoyng cultural
signifiers afoot, mostly having to do with clothing items and the
occasional pretentious mix tape, but deep undercurrents run through
this generation that Brooks could only begin to understand…

I wonder how long it’s been since this "patio man"-praising "bobo",
who lives in a cosseted corner of Philadelphia’s Main Line, has had to
worry about drug-dealing in his neighborhood, or whether or not his
kids were going to get a good education, or if an innocent visit to the
doctor was going to send him into thousands of dollars of debt.
Probably never, I’m guessing. Every family but the most wealthy is up
against a wall in George Bush’s America. "Hipster parenting," despite
some very superficial fashion frosting, is actually a conservative
pushback calling for the return to primacy of truly traditional
American family values.

I’m proud to be part of this generation of parents, which is trying
to regain cultural control of its lives from corporate entertainment
conglomerates (or at least influence certain corporate-entertainment
decisions). The entrepreneurial energy has only begun to assert itself.
I see parents remaking children’s fashion, yes, and children’s music,
but also piling tons of energy into helping save our sagging
public-education system, trying to reclaim decent childhood nutrition
from a deep Cheetos-dug hole, and generally trying to assert their
cultural identity in a world that denies them anything but beleagured
"soccer mom" or "diaper dad" labels….

Read more at Neal Pollack dot com.

SATURDAY MARCH 10TH AT PARK SLOPE’S JEWISH MUSIC CAFE
DOORS OPEN 8:45PM
COVER $20

This next show at the Cafe is absolutely not
to be missed. JMC is honored and extremely
excited to host one of today’s most exciting
and creative Jewish musicians on the world
touring circuit. Nominated  for Best
Peformer at the Oyhoo Jewish music awards,
YEHUDAH GLANTZ continues to bring
audiences to their feet all around the globe.
YEHUDAH  is a true renaissance artist
bound by a vision to expand Simcha (joy)
and Emuna (faith) on a universal level.
Come to the JMC and experience for
yourself the excitement and energy that this
amazing artist brings to every performance
and venue!
http://www.yehudaglantz.com

LIVE MUSIC AT
THE JEWISH MUSIC CAFE
401 9TH STREET
PARK SLOPE
BROOKLYN

Quoted in New York 1:

"I’m very worried because you know what this really is? This is
Atlantic Yards coming home to roost in the neighborhood,” said City
Councilman David Yassky.

This from the NY Daily News:

Inspiration came to Crystal Granderson-Reid and Janai Nelson four years
ago during a playdate with their toddlers in the Prospect-Lefferts
Gardens section of Brooklyn, where they both live.

"We were thinking about all the wonderful cultural exposure that our
children get here, and the world we want to create for them," Nelson
said. "We thought that there were just no products that reflect the
diversity of our neighborhood – ethnically, socially, economically,
everything – so it would be a fantastic idea to come up with a product
that represents that."

Encouraged by a television show about mothers with great ideas, the friends decided to embark on a business venture together.

"We thought: ‘This is something we can do. Why not us?" Nelson said. READ MORE AT THE DAILY NEWS.

Q&A

What has been your biggest challenge?

Granderson-Reid: "Our biggest challenge has been finding the right partner. Meeting up with FAO, we definitely got a great start in things."

What would you do differently?

Nelson: "We would have loved to have been on the
market on the market sooner … but we really just operate from a
positive perspective. We learn from each experience."

What was your biggest surprise?

Granderson-Reid: "How creative two people together can be, and how creative we are as a team."

Nelson: "It’s always a new and fresh feeling when people see the product and have such a positive reaction."

Where do you want to be a year from now?

Nelson: "We want to walk down the street and see kids
of all different backgrounds holding a [Brownstone Buddies] doll of
another background … and having a full appreciation of themselves and
every other kid around them."

Granderson-Reid: "We see us being a prominent brand in the marketplace."

This from New York 1:

Two main avenues in Brooklyn may soon get a makeover as the city
pushes to convert them to one-way traffic. It’s an idea that’s already
stirring up controversy. NY1 Borough reporter Jeanine Ramirez filed the
following report from Park Slope.

Seventh Avenue is a bustling commercial strip in Park Slope with
bus routes, schools and a hospital. There are double parked cars and
traffic gets backed up.

Now to help ease congestion, the city transportation department
wants to make Seventh Avenue one way and do the same to Sixth Avenue.
It’s a plan that’s drawing mixed reaction from residents.

"It’s an unpopular idea because it’s completely unsafe,” said one
area resident. “It’s going to turn Park Slope, which is a residential
community, into one that’s full of traffic."

"I think it’ll ease the flow and I think it’ll be safer for pedestrians. I think it’s a great idea," countered another.

The plan would make Seventh Avenue one way southbound between
Flatbush and Prospect Avenues and Sixth Avenue one-way northbound
between Atlantic Avenue and 23rd Street.

"I’m very worried because you know what this really is? This is
Atlantic Yards coming home to roost in the neighborhood,” said City
Councilman David Yassky…

READ MORE AT NY 1.

This from New York 1:

Some city high school students scored big on a difficult national
science test and got an extra prize out of it Tuesday: the mayor showed
up to congratulate them. NY1’s Education reporter Michael Meenan filed
the following report.

"Think big and you’ll never fall short of your dreams,” said Kimberly Laughman, a senior at Brooklyn Technical High School.

Laughman delivered those words as she was honored Tuesday along
with 21 other African-American high school students, for scoring well
on a national science test.

"We have a number of students joining us today who did extremely
well on the Advanced Placement biology exams last year,” said Mayor
Michael Bloomberg at the ceremony.

The students scored a three or higher out of a possible five last
May on the exam, making Brooklyn Tech number one in the nation for
black students excelling on this test.

This from NY 1:

A dozen buildings in Downtown Brooklyn are being cleaned for demolition
to make way for the Atlantic Yards project, which includes a new
basketball arena for the Nets.

Crews will be on site today to begin removing hazardous materials
like asbestos, which is expected to take two to three weeks to finish.
The entire job is expected to take five months.

The buildings being torn down include five on Pacific Street, three
on Flatbush Avenue, two on Vanderbilt Avenue and one each on Dean
Street and Atlantic Avenue.

Construction of the new Nets arena is set to begin this fall. It’s
the centerpiece of the $4 billion project which still faces lawsuits
and strong neighborhood opposition.

With the eminent domain lawsuit still pending, Forest City Ratner is scheduled to begin demolition next week. This from NY1:

Demolition work is scheduled to begin
next week on 12 buildings in order to make way for the Brooklyn
Atlantic Yards project and the Nets’ new basketball arena.

The job will begin with the removal of hazardous substances like asbestos, which is expected to take two to three weeks.

Developer Forest City Ratner says the entire job is expected to take five months.

The buildings to be demolished include five on Pacific Street,
three on Flatbush Avenue, two on Vanderbilt Avenue, and on each on Dean
Street and Atlantic Avenue.

Ratner says minority-owned firms are being paid $2 million to handle the demolition.

Construction of the new arena for the Nets is set to begin this
fall, along with thousands of apartments, commercial buildings, and a
hotel.

The city and state have both given the green light for the $4 billion project.

Opponents say this work is premature, since eminent domain lawsuits are still pending.
            
            
       

Seeing Green is appalled at the proposal to turn Fifth and Seventh Avenues into one-way "Eighth Avenues." Here’s an excerpt from his blog.

Walk along Court or Smith streets in Carroll Gardens and you will
notice one salient fact: cars speeding by. The lights are timed to
allow cars to go by without stopping, and although the speed limit is
not very high, it gives the perception that cars rule. With
two lanes of traffic, cars vie for that extra car-length so they can
get faster through the area. That’s more or less the norm in most
places, even our pedestrian-friendly New York.

Contrast that with 5th and 7th Avenues a half-mile away, which are
two-way streets, 5th with bicycle lanes for much of its length. Yes,
trucks double park. Cars bunch up at the non-timed lights (you can’t
time lights in both directions, thankfully.) Yes, you have the slow
parkers and parking cruisers and the occasional SUV from hell, but
what’s different is that everybody has to go slow, exactly because it’s
not setup for free cruising.

Check out the Streetsblog story about proposed changes to Park Slope Streets and the many, many comments (53 and counting).

Did you know that the new film "Gray Matters" was directed, written, and produced by Park Sloper Sue Kramer. She would appreciate any support anyone in the Slope can give the
film this coming weekend.

Kramer says that the The Village 7 in Manhattan (66 Third Avenue at 11th Street) is the best place to see it. She will be there on Saturday night introducing the two screenings (7 p.m. and 9:40 p.m.).

PLOT OUTLINE FROM IMDB: "They finish each other’s sentences, dance like Fred and Ginger, and
share the same downtown loft–the perfect couple? Not exactly. Gray and
Sam (Heather Graham and Tom Cavanagh), are a sister and brother so
compatible and inseparable that people actually assume they are dating.
Mortified, they both agree they must branch out and start searching for
love. He’ll look for a guy for her and she’ll look for a gal for him.
But when Sam finds his perfect mate in Charlie (Bridget Moynahan)
Gray’s life turns inside out."

MC Loews Village 7 – 66 3rd Ave., New York, NY – Map
11:15  1:55  4:20  7:00  9:40

To learn more about the film
go to www.graymattersmovie.com

by Louise Crawford

Having a kid changes everything. Sure, people have been doing it for
eons, but when it happens to you, it’s like it’s happening for the very
first time.

And when it happens to you — and you live in Brooklyn — everybody needs to hear about it.

Most new parents are content to capture every moment of junior’s life
on film or video. But in  Brooklyn, there are almost as many writers as
there are Bugaboos — and book contracts don’t grow on trees—so many
moms are discussing their children, marriages and lives on their own
blogs.

With hundreds of mommy Web logs in Brooklyn alone, you
have to wonder how healthy it is for parents to tell-all on the
Internet. How will it be for the kids when they discover that mom’s
been sharing their secrets with the world?

But then again, given that we live in a media-driven world, they probably won’t care.

“That’s
where we are right now with everything,” observed Judy Antell, an
editor at Brooklyn Parent. “The whole celebrity culture we have now,
where you know everything about everyone, has moved on to parents.”

Mary
MacRae Warren is a single mother who lives with her 9-year-old son in a
cluttered East New York apartment from which she has run the blog,
“Mrs. Cleavage’s Diary,” since January. A self-described smarty-pants,
the saucy and opinionated former Park Sloper Warren uses the blog as a
creative outlet, as well as a way to deal with the highs and lows of
parenting.

Like many bloggers, Warren likes to live her life out
loud. “My family was always appalled at how open I was about
everything,” said Warren. “My parents argued all the time and I was the
blabbermouth who told the whole neighborhood.”

She still loves to have an audience. And telling stories is a way to get in touch with how she is feeling.

“In
a way, the blog is a homage to my mom,” Warren said this week over
coffee in Park Slope. “It’s a way to sort out what it means to be a
parent.”

Warren, a tall, busty blonde with a penchant for
colorful clothes and bright red lipstick, grew up in North Carolina
with a mother who stayed at home. “She was an artist and a really
creative person, but she was stifled by her kids.”

Still, she
managed to be quite a multi-tasker. “She gardened, she cooked, she
painted, she made cupcakes,” Warren recalled. “It was like I had June
Cleaver to live up to, which is a high standard to meet as a parent.”

After
her divorce in 2005, Warren started her blog as a way to kick and
scream about her life as a sole breadwinner and parent — a far cry from
the model she grew up with.

“I don’t pretend to be super mommy,”
she said. “I let it all hang out: the good, the bad and the ugly. There
are some nice moments with my son and some really crappy ones, too.”

Another
Brooklyn blogger, Sophia Romero, is the author of the critically
acclaimed novel, “Always Hiding,” about a family of illegal immigrants
from the Philippines. On her blog, “the Shiksa From Manila,” Romero has
created an online persona who explores the inter-faith, inter-ethnic
identity of her family, and does so with humor and verve.

Not all
blogs, however, are light-hearted, some deal with challenging aspects
of parenting. For example, Special Focus, a blog written anonymously by
a Brooklyn mom, chronicles the life of the writer, her twelve-year-old
daughter who has Asperger’s Syndrome and ADHD and her son who has
central auditory processing difficulties and, like his sister,
distraction and focus issues. Special Focus takes the reader on a
journey through the maze of special education and medication, as well
as the ups and downs of family life with special needs children.

“As
with most kids with special needs, my child’s constellation of
idiosyncrasies fall sloppily inside and outside of all the boxes of
possible diagnoses,” she wrote.

And it’s not just moms turning to their keyboard for a little relief.

The
Blog Fathers, a group site of some of the best dad bloggers around,
including Laid Off Dad, Adventure Dad, Because I’m Your Father and Mr.
Nice Guy, provides a compelling, funny and uncensored look into life as
a modern dad.

Brooklyn’s Mr. Nice Guy has been blogging since he
found out that his wife was having morning sickness and, even though
now his daughter is nearly three, he’s still going. His funny, snarky
posts cover everything from kiddie bathroom habits to caregivers, the
Brooklyn Target and beyond.

With interest in blogging, and the
popularity of “mom lit” books, on the rise, Families First, a
parent-run, non-profit organization in Carroll Gardens has started
offering a class called “Memoirs for Moms.” Teaching local ladies how
to start writing their own stories of motherhood, instructor Mary
Harmon, helps mothers reach more deeply into “the day-to-day joys and
emotional turning points of motherhood,” according to the course
description.

Harmon’s writing exercises are designed to stimulate
self-discovery, helping students create a “meaningful” snapshot of
motherhood.

While meaningful sounds nice, it’s clear that plenty
of moms are finding their own meaning in blowing off steam for a
community of concurring readers.

Though sometimes it seems that
the blogging can go too far. As Mrs. Cleavage wrote on a recent post:
“I took the kids ice skating one afternoon and filled page after page
of my journal with my cramped scrawl. The children were blessedly
occupied, and I was also.”

She blogged about how she keeps a journal? If that isn’t meta, what is?

This from New York 1:

This weekend, a group of high school students from Brooklyn are traveling upstate to defend their title as the best chess teams in the country. NY1’s Cheryl Wills filed the following report.

Whether you call them geeks, oddballs, or geniuses — this quirky group of teens are to high school chess what Michael Jordan is to basketball: there is no one better.

"It’s exhilarating, I mean you just get to be in the spotlight like this all the time," said Mikhail Furman, a chess player at Edward R. Murrow High School.

And members from Edward R. Murrow High School’s chess team are in the spotlight year after year.

Since 2004, they have successfully defended their title as National High School Champs — beating the best teen chess players in the country.

They are so popular that writer Michael Weinreb has written a book about them. It is appropriately called "the Kings of New York."

“It’s their competitiveness,” said Weinreb. “It’s kind of the heart and that dedication to the game and never wanting to give up."

Murrow High School does not have any athletic teams, but the chess team more than makes up for it. The trophy case can hardly hold all of their awards and honors, including a photo of them meeting President George W. Bush in 2004.

You know those tiny shops on Seventh Avenue between St. Johns and Lincoln? Where Olive Vine is located? Well, there’s a tiny new restaurant that’s got people excited. It’s called Chiles & Chocolate, where they serve "comida mexicana not tex-mex, cal-mex or any other am-mex."  They call it authentic Oxacan cooking. Here’s what they have to say in the menu:

"Chiles and chocolate have been an integral part of the cuisine of southern Mexico for thousands of years. The recipes here are a mix of those passed down from generation to generation as well as new interpretations and popular street food items. The flavors, smells, and textures here are those that we grew up with and we are excited to share them with you!"

Chiles & Chocolate is tiny — there can’t be more than ten tables. They also do take-out and delivery (I think). I ordered a chicken quesadilla and fire roasted corn on the cob. Both were delicious — and decidedly different from your typical Mexican restaurant fare.

The menu looks great. Give it a try — if you can get in. The restaurant, which is owned by the by the owners of the Artisanna furniture and jewelry stores (two locations on Seventh Avenue) has been getting very crowded at dinner time.

While very tiny, the decor is lovely with brown walls with green trim, rust metal mirrors, and ornate, dark wood tables and chairs.

Try their special Hot Mexican Chocolate with essence of chipolte.

They also have Cafe Chiapas — coffee with a hint of cinnamon. 

And for dessert: Pastel tres Leches, the most popular dessert in Mexico, a Mexican Tiramisu. Or how about: Sweet carmelized baby bananas served with chocolate sauce (I am so ordering that next time).

Open Mon. to Thurs: 11 am until 10 pm
Saturday: 10 am – 11 pm
Sunday: 10 am to 10 am

54 Seventh Avenue
718-230-7700

New York magazine and BRIC’s Rotunda Gallery Present
THE STOOP SERIES
with
Writers Jonathan Lethem and Stephen Wright
featuring music by DJ Rekha
Thursday, March 1 at 7 pm
33 Clinton Street in Brooklyn Heights
Guest Moderated by
Boris Kachka, New York magazine contributing editor

New York, NY – New York magazine, in conjunction with BRIC’s Rotunda Gallery, presents the fifth installment of The STOOP Series on March 1 featuring a discussion with writers Jonathan Lethem and Stephen Wright. New York magazine contributing editor Boris Kachka will moderate the free public talk.

Jonathan Lethem, who was raised and still resides in Brooklyn’s Boerum Hill, is the author of several novels, including New York Times bestseller and “Editor’s Choice” pick The Fortress of Solitude and Motherless Brooklyn, for which he received the National Book Critic’s Circle Award. Lethem is also the author of the short story collections Men and Cartoons and The Wall of the Sky, The Wall of the Eye, and an essay collection, The Disappointment Artist. His new novel, entitled You Don’t Love Me Yet will be on sale March 13.

Stephen Wright, a New York City-based novelist, is the author of The Amalgamation Polka, Meditations in Green, and the road novel Going Native. Educated at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Wright has taught writing classes at Princeton, Brown, and The New School and has been called “a bright star in the literary sky” by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The STOOP Series discussion will be followed by the monthly STOOP SLAM, featuring music by DJ Rekha. Complimentary drinks from Brooklyn Brewery and Johnnie Walker Blue Label will be served. DJ Rekha (Rekha Malhotra) was born in London and raised in Queens and Westbury, Long Island, and is one of the pioneers of New York’s South Asian music scene. She founded Basement Bhangra and continues to be instrumental in introducing the sounds of Bhangra and British Asian music to North America. Rekha has been featured in the Village Voice, New York Times, Times of India and Daily News, in addition to magazines like Billboard, New York, and Stress.

Streetsblog says the Department of Transportation has plans to turn Seventh and Sixth Avenues into one-way streets. OMIGOD. That’s big, I mean, BIG Park Slope news.  Streetsblog, Aaron Naparstek’s blog, broke the story yesterday. Here’s a response from the DOT.

DOT has proposed changing 6th and 7th Avenues to one-way streets which
we believe will have many benefits including simplifying the turning
movements at intersections to make it safer for pedestrians crossing
the street and narrowing the travel lanes on 7th Avenue to encourage
vehicles to travel within the existing speed limit. DOT also proposes
making these changes in conjunction with a plan that would remove a
travel lane in each direction on 4th Avenue (between 17th and Dean
Streets) using this space to improve the existing left turn bays.

If you are interested, plan to attend a presentation and discussion of a proposal by the Department of
Transportation for improvements designed to enhance pedestrian
mobility, access and comfort at the Grand Army Plaza.

Presentation
by the Department of Transportation of a plan to install two-way Class
II bicycle lanes and roadway markings for left-turn turning lanes along
9th Street between 3rd Avenue and Prospect Park West.

Presentation by the Department of Transportation of a plan to install Class III bicycle routes in Red Hook

Thursday, March 29, 6:30 pm.
Old First Reformed Church
729 Carroll Street
(Corner of 7th Avenue)

Ten years ago rocker Amy Rigby released the critically acclaimed CD, Diary of a Mod Housewife, which is now out in a special 10th anniversary edition and available on her website. The former East Villager now lives in France, where she writes a blog called, Little Fugitive In France.  An OTBKB reader gave me a heads up about one of her posts. Very touching.

"Let me take a break from being that guitar totin’ woman of the world
and wallow in sentimental mother-mode for a minute: I miss my daughter
so much sometimes! I walk around feeling a little glum and wonder
what’s wrong with me. Then I look at the clock and it’s about ten to
three and it hits me – I should be dropping everything to pick her up
from school and give her a ride somewhere. But I don’t have to anymore.

I try calling her but of course she’s in class, or out doing
some fun, exciting, young adult thing that perhaps she’ll tell me about
when I do reach her. I find myself checking her myspace page, or even
her friends’ pages, just to get a sense of being around her. I think
"This is really pathetic" but then it occurs to me that I’m doing the
equivalent of going and sitting in her room, looking at her stuff and
and then wistfully shutting the door. But our stuff’s in storage so I
look for her in cyberspace – sometimes modern life is very weird. And I
wonder how other parents deal with this empty feeling that comes and
goes. I hope she doesn’t read this, but I think I’m safe in assuming
that she has better things to do than trawl the internet finding out
what I’m up to."

I went to Boston to see my friend, opera singer Amy Burton in a sold-out performance of "The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny" at Opera Boston, a small, edgy, high-quality opera company dedicated to performing innovative repetoire and rarely seen works  This production was directed by the very gifted stage director Sam Helfrich. Burton in the role of Jenny was sublime.

The show seems to be having its moment with productions in Boston, Los Angeles, and Boston. With its libretto by Bertolt Brecht and a score by Kurt Weil, this strange and dark story of a city of pleasure overcome by a hurricane has prescent themes that resonate with our time.

I went with my friend, Pam Katz, who has written a novel published in Germany and yet to be published in the United States called "And Speaking of Love," a fictional account of the life of Lotte Lenya (who was married to Kurt Weil). To imagine this dark vision of humanity being performed in the early 1930’s in Berlin gives me chills. It was a gift to see this deeply striking show performed Boston on Tuesday night

Here’s an accurate eview by Keith Powers in the Boston Herald:

   

What happens in Mahagonny, stays in Mahagonny. Kurt Weill’s tragicomic and ironic opera “The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny,” with its trenchant libretto by Bertolt Brecht, was given a sensational opening performance by Opera Boston under the baton of Gil Rose Friday evening at the Cutler Majestic Theatre.
    Written in the late ’20s, “Mahagonny” tells the story of a city, similar to Vegas, on immoral steroids. Founded by three criminals on the lam, Mahagonny is a haven for decadence, where its residents give themselves over to whoring, gluttony, fighting and drinking.
    Sounds like fun, huh? Through the sardonic lens held up by the Weill/Brecht collaboration, the excesses explored in this mythical city – set in California – bring mostly misery to its residents. One man eats himself to death. A boxing match ends with the loser dying. The biggest crime – seemingly the only crime in Mahagonny – is failing to pay a bar bill, which also ends in death.
    Throughout it all, the music was rapturous, especially the ensemble pieces. And the stars, notably Daniel Snyder as Jimmy MacIntyre, the aforementioned deadbeat who gets executed, and Amy Burton as Jenny Smith, his high-priced hooker/girlfriend, sang with distinction. Boston regulars Stephen Salters (Bank Account Bill) and Frank Kelley (Fatty the Bookkeeper) also gave notable performances.
    But it truly was the scantily clad ensemble (this performance could easily double as a bachelor party) that stole the show. Weill has a gift for setting soloists against chorus, and this opera is full of riveting trios, quartets and even larger groupings.
    Rose had his hands full, with half a dozen soloists, a chorus of 20 and an orchestra that features unusual instrumentation (for an opera, at least) including a trio of saxophones and an accordion. He’s a skilled leader, and the opening-night performance was paced as smoothly as if it were the end of a long run. The single set, featuring Dumpsters and port-o-sans, added a comic flavor to the generally dark themes. Generally the acting and blocking were good, although at times the stage was overcrowded and emphasis was swallowed up by confusion.
    Opera Boston has done fine work in its few short seasons, filling a repertory void by presenting works on the fringes of standard opera. “Mahagonny” continues that fine tradition.

Continue reading OPERA BOSTON: MAHOGONNY →

This from the Daily News:

Nearly half the traffic in Park Slope is created
by drivers cruising around for parking spots due to jam-packed curbs,
according to a new study unveiled yesterday.

"What we have now is the equivalent of a Russian bread line," said Paul
Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, the
advocacy group that conducted the study.

"Except instead of bread, it’s parking, and instead of peasants
standing in lines, we have cars circling the block," White said.

The study – titled "No Vacancy" – found an average of 95% of the
parking spots on the main commercial drag on Seventh Ave. between Union
and 12th Sts. were occupied. It also found that one in six vehicles in
the neighborhood was parked illegally.

"We need to apply market solutions to our streets, and this is where we
start," said White, who rode away on a bicycle after yesterday’s press
conference to unveil the 21-page report.

Major findings of a new study on the lack of parking spaces in Park Slope by the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives.

This from Jeanne Ramirez at New York 1:

A hill in Sunset Park is one of the highest points in Brooklyn —
offering panoramic vistas of Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, and the
harbor.

But soon the view of Lady Liberty could be obstructed. Digging has
already begun for a high rise planned here, on the site of a former
parking lot.

"We were not consulted. We were not even given any information,”
said Loretta Holmes of the Sunset Park Alliance of Neighbors. “The only
way we realized it was our houses were shaking."

Residents convinced the Buildings Department to issue a stop-work
order for complaints including construction after hours, lack of proper
permits, and structure stability.

And they formed a coalition called Sunset Park Alliance of Neighbors.

"To put up a 12 story and plus monstrosity of this size and this
nature on a block with so many low-rise family buildings is unjust and
unfair," said David Galarza, a member of SPAN.

"We’re not going to let this developer come and develop all of a
sudden,” said another SPAN member, Johnny Trelles. “They have to come
and work with the community because we’ve been here 30, 40 years."

Most homes in the neighborhood are three stories. The tallest
structure, seen for miles, is the tower of Saint Michael’s Church —
but the proposed building would rise higher that that.

Plans filed with the Department of Buildings at this location
include more than 30 units of housing along with a day care center and
medical facility.

Residents say the local community board should have been on top of
this, especially after it helped another part of the district — the
area of Greenwood Heights — get rezoned to limit the height of new
construction just last year.

"We should have been having rezoning done as soon as the other
neighborhoods were done,” said Tom Murphy of SPAN. “They just let it
lag."

But Community Board 7 says it cannot initiate a zoning change, only
support residents who ask for it. The board says the City Planning
Department has to step in for change.

City Planning says it will look at whether a zoning change is
warranted. In the meantime, the developer says he is resolving the
permit issues and plans to resume construction as early as next week.

In Sunday’s Times, the  neo-conservative Op-Ed writer and enthusiastic supporter of the US intervention in Iraq (on moral grounds, no less) ranted against hipster parents in his article, “Mosh Pit Meets Sandbox.”

“Can we please see the end of those Park Slope Alternative Stepford Moms in their black-on-black maternity tunics who turn their babies into fashion-forward, anti corporate, indie infants in order to stay one step ahead of the cool police,” he writes. Read more at the Times — but you need Times Select.

Now wait a minute! Brooks, known for rampant generalizations and his penchant for clever coinage, isn’t talking about the Park Slope that Smartmom knows and loves. 

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

Saturday night, Teen Spirit’s band, Cool and Unusual Punishment, played
Club Loco, a monthly event for teens organized by teens at the Old
First Dutch Reformed Church in Park Slope.

Smartmom found out the
hard way that they are oh-so-serious at Club Loco about not letting
adults, especially parents, into the well-supervised event at the
church, which is located on Seventh Avenue at Carroll Street.

To oversee the event, the church has a bouncer, a 30-something technical director, and a cadre of 20-something chaperones.

But to attend, you must be in high school — and prove it by showing a high-school ID.

While
the Club Loco show got underway, Smartmom, OSFO, and Hepcat ate dinner
without Teen Spirit. Afterwards, Smartmom put on her pajamas and
watched the family’s new high-def, flat-screen television in their cozy
living room.

But then, without warning, it came over her: Shakes.
Sweats. Uncontrollable curiosity. The urge to leave the house on a
freezing cold night.

Next thing she knew, Smartmom was stripping
out of her pajamas and putting on her jeans. It was like someone else
was in control of her body. At first, Smartmom didn’t know what was
happening or why.

But then she figured it out. She was having an
attack of Fly-On-The-Wall Syndrome and was desperate to see what Teen
Spirit was doing.

Old First Church. Must. Go. To. Old First Church, said a voice inside her head.

So at 9 pm, Smartmom told OSFO and Hepcat that she was going to take a stroll down Seventh Avenue.

“What are you, nuts?” Hepcat said.

“I’ll pick up the Sunday Times,” she spit out.

As
Hepcat went back to his computer, Smartmom donned a big red hat, a
scarf, an oversized down coat and big, unfashionable winter boots.
Nobody would ever recognize her.

When Smartmom got to the church,
the bouncer asked for her high-school ID. She almost hugged the guy.
Then he realized his mistake.

Smartmom was, like, so busted.

“No adults allowed,” said the young woman who was selling tickets.

Smartmom
knew the rules. But she tried to talk her way into the show
nevertheless. Nervously, though, because she was afraid that Teen
Spirit might see her.

“My son is one of the teen organizers of Club Loco. I just wanted to see his band play…”

Smartmom
was careful not to mention her son’s name. The young woman had pity on
Smartmom and told her that she could stand for a few minutes near where
they were checking coats.

Smartmom sat on a cold folding chair as
Dulaney Banks, a local blues duo with a singer who sounds like Big Mama
Thornton, finished its set. A woman, who Smartmom could tell was well
over 20, checked coats.

“I’m a member of the congregation,” the
woman said. “And the only reason they let me help is that I don’t have
children. They really don’t want parents in here.”

Smartmom felt the need to explain herself.

“I
haven’t heard my son’s band in quite a while,” she said. That was
mostly the truth. But the real truth was far weirder than that.

Fly-On-The-Wall
syndrome afflicts parents who are having a tough time accepting that
their children are growing up. Teen Spirit is 15 and doing all kinds of
things that have nothing to do with Smartmom.

In other words, he’s got his own life now.

It’s
a strange feeling. Seems like yesterday, he was a tiny baby at Lenox
Hill Hospital, and needed Smartmom to do everything for him.

For
years and years, they were joined at the hip. Except when he was at
school. After school, she would sit and wait as he went to baseball and
soccer practice, took clarinet and bass lessons, attended a musical
theater workshop.

She accompanied him to playdates, movies, museums, and doctor’s appointments, even video arcades.

But
everything’s different now. He has friends whose parents Smartmom
doesn’t even know. He takes the subway by himself. He visits friends on
the Upper West Side. He goes to shows at the Knitting Factory.

He
even goes out to eat at Oshima Sushi. All. By. Himself. And it kills
Smartmom that she’s not as big a part of his life anymore.

Sure, she sees him at home. They talk. She watches as he does homework, as he IMs his friends, as he eats dinner.

They watch “Scrubs” re-runs together.

They chat first thing in the morning as he eats breakfast and gets ready for high school.

Don’t get her wrong: she’s proud that he’s an independent, self-sufficient, interesting person with an interesting life.

But
she’s got Fly-On-The-Wall syndrome. And there’s not much she can do. No
cure has been discovered yet (except, perhaps, time).

So that
explains why she was sitting in the dark sanctuary of Old First Church
listening to her son’s band through a wall, relieving an uncontrollable
urge to be within spitting distance of her offspring.

But you know what happened to that cat.

Smartmom knew to keep her visit short. Beside, it was freezing cold in there.

Teens
were pouring into Club Loco as Smartmom left the church incognito.
She’s sure that the rest of the show with Dulaney Banks, Cool and
Unusual, and The Floor is Lava! was great.

But she wouldn’t know.
She was back on Seventh Avenue before you could say “Fly-On-The-Wall
syndrome” picking up a Sunday Times at the Starbucks.

Here’s a big shout out:

The Second Annual Brooklyn Blogfest will be on Thursday May 10th at 8 p.m. at the Old Stone House located on Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets in Park Slope.

Theme: The Impact of Brooklyn Blogging

There will be special speakers, photo bloggers, an open mic (sign up soon), refreshments from a top notch Brooklyn eatery. Lots of time to meet and greet.

Donation (Tip Jar): $5.00 (to defray costs).

Did the Times’ headline writers call Egan’s Op-Ed, "A Developing Story" to get Norman Oder’s goat?

A developing story? It’s the biggest development project in the history of Brooklyn and Brooklyn bloggers like Atlantic Yards Report and No Land Grab have been covering it for ages — like 38 months. Egan’s excellent Op-Ed was the first one of its kind published on that coveted page.

In fact, Norman Oder started his blog as a way to monitor the New York Times’ coverage of the AY. And then, his blog became so much more. Here’s the post that introduced his blog: 

From today onward, my reportage, analysis, and commentary on the Atlantic Yards project will appear here at the Atlantic Yards Report.

This blog, originally dubbed TimesRatnerReport, was conceived to accompany the 9/1/05 publication of my report The New York Times & Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards: High Rises & Low Standards. I thought a blog could help track and comment on the response to my report.

The report has not yet spurred the Public Editor of the New York Times to assess the newspaper’s coverage of the Atlantic Yards project. However, I do think my criticisms have contributed to a somewhat better performance by the media, including the Times.

Moreover, the report and the research behind it have served as a base for an evolving blog. While I initially emphasized media analysis and commentary, I now include much more original reporting.

A developing story? HA. Sure, it’s a cute headline. But this is a story that has been comprehensively covered by Norman Oder at Atlantic Yards Report. Was that a jab?

Read what Norman Oder  (AtlanticYardsReport) said at Saturday’s Grassroots Media Conference.

I’m the most mainstream person sitting on this panel, and I don’t think
there’s a contradiction between using mainstream training and
experience in the service of grassroots media.

In fact, I think
that grassroots media, held to professional standards, can be more
intellectually honest and more responsible than the mainstream media.

I
try to read everything. I read all the press. I read the documents
regarding Atlantic Yards. There’s lots of information in documents.
That was the lesson from I.F. Stone in the 1950s and that’s still true today.

Read, read, read more: at Atlantic Yards Report

Willie’s Dawgs, the HOT NEW hot dog restaurant on Fifth Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets in Park Slope (same street as the Pink Pussycat) is finally open.

Willie’s is owned by a couple who were in the movie business but wanted to do something else with their lives (I like the backstory already). They spent many months on the stylish renovation. I thought the place would never open.

This is no ordinary hot dog stand. They’ve got challah buns and other kinds of rolls for the dogs, as well as a full menu of toppings. You can choose a beef, turkey, chicken or tofu dog.

I read in New York Magazine that they’re using Karl Ehmer all-beef, natural casing franks, which will be
served on home-baked buns (challah, rye, or multigrain), with sides
like Yonah Schimmel’s knishes and house-made fries and onion rings.

I ordered the Heidi (the dogs are named for dogs the owner know, I think), which has swiss cheese, kraut and German mustard.

I didn’t eat it — Hepcat was starving and he finished off the whole thing. OSFO had a plain dog with ketchup.

The decor is colorful, stylish , and fun (see above)  with a big hot dog mural on the back wall. There are also interesting photo/collages by KC Bailey of dogs, who were rescued.

They’ve only been open a few days.

I read this at New York 1 but for the real story go to Atlantic Yards Report.

A federal judge on Friday recommended tossing out a lawsuit meant to block developer Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project.

The suit, which was filed last year, claims that taking property away under eminent domain is unconstitutional.   

U.S. Magistrate Robert Levy says the federal court should stay out of the case because it is a local matter.

A U.S. district judge has the final say on whether the suit will be thrown out.