This just in from The Governors
Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC)

This summer, Governors Island is also becoming a
popular place for a wide array of Brooklyn based food and products, artists, and cultural groups. Earlier this
season, Added Value, a non-profit organization based in Red Hook, planted a
three acre sustainable organic farm at Picnic Point. The farm is open to the
public and offers free educational programming for visitors.

Later this summer, Brooklyn’s own Blue Marble Ice Cream will
begin scooping its homemade ice cream out of its eco-friendly trike. In
addition, Water Taxi Beach at Governors Island sells several
products made in the borough, including Park Slope sausages and Six Point Beer.

 “It was great to
get ferry service from Brooklyn going again,” said State Senator Daniel Squadron. “Expanding
service is even better, with more ferries on more days, making Governors Island more accessible for
millions of Brooklynites.  Governors Island has the potential to be the center of a new 21st century harbor park–a Central Park for the center of our
city.  Now even more community members will be able to keep cool in the
harbor this summer and enjoy an afternoon on this spectacular island.”

The Brooklyn Paper reports:

The City Council on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved Mayor
Bloomberg’s plan to redevelop Coney Island, a controversial plan that
the mayor hopes will create a major tourist destination and livable
neighborhood for permanent residents.

Just before the vote, Bloomberg and Joe Sitt, the major landowner in
Coney Island and a longtime opponent of the mayor’s plans, made a
breakthrough in their sometimes-bitter negotiations over a price for
some of Sitt’s large holdings, though a deal was not yet finalized.

The breakthough involves Sitt selling a portion of his valuable
territory to the city, yet retain some for lucrative development of his
own, the New York Times reported.

The Council voted 44–2 on a rezoning package that seeks to transform
Coney Island’s derelict lots into a gleaming city-owned amusement park
surrounded by enclosed attractions like movie theaters, shopping or a
water park for year-round visitors and 4,500 units of housing.

The plan will rezone 19 blocks of Coney Island, much of it currently
limited solely for amusements, though only a few blocks actually have
seasonal amusements on site while vast portions are empty or used for
other purposes due to lax enforcement.

Here is an excerpt from Noticing New York.Testimony to the Empire State Development Corporation:

The Brooklyn Paper had this report:

"Supporters and opponents of the embattled Atlantic Yards project
clashed at two public hearings this Wednesday and an information
session last Wednesday, rehashing familiar arguments over the
controversial mega-project in the wake of a new proposal that would
give developer Bruce Ratner sweeter terms.

"The July 29 hearing at the New York Technical College on Jay Street wasn’t as uproarious as the June 22 session,
where years of built-up frustration erupted from project boosters and
foes who long ago made up their minds on the merits of the basketball
arena and the 16-skyscraper development planned for Prospect Heights.

But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t without excitement.

More than 50 project opponents as well as a who’s who of politicians
and City Council candidates rallied outside the hearing, demanding the
project be halted in the wake of changes approved last month
that would allow Forest City to build the project at a slower pace, pay
the Metropolitan Transportation Authority less money up front to build
for development rights to a smaller portion of the railyards at the
intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush avenues, and to make less-costly
railyard renovations than initially promised.

Loads more at  Atlantic Yards Report and No Land Grab, of course.

My friend Gilly Youner, Develop Don't Destroy board member, does not look happy in the above photo by Ben Muessig.

OPEN HOUSE

Sunday, August 2, 2009
1 pm – 3 pm
For this beautiful house in Kingston that I posted about the other day.

There's so much to love about Block Island and it's the kind of place that deepens with time spent there. Here are some of my recommendations:

WHERE TO STAY:

The Sea Breeze Inn: Quietly considered one of the best Inns on the island, it is idyllically situated overlooking a wildflower meadow, perennial gardens and a swan pond. It is at the crest of Spring Street Hill with  great views of ocean and coastline and is a five-minute walk from the Old Harbor, the ferry, shops and restaurants.

My favorite room is #5, which is in a cute cottage with 5 rooms and two bathrooms (in other words you share the bathrooms with others) #5, a huge room with  ocean views, is great for a writer or anyone who wants to spend a lot of time in the room.

 Room #4, where I stayed this year is somewhat smaller but also very lovely. On the first floor there are three smaller room that are also quite nice.

The Sea Breeze also has quite a few large private rooms with  their own bathrooms.  #10 is the very deluxe cottage and it gets reserved months if not years in advance. Gaby, who runs the Inn for the owners, is absolutely a pro at what she does. Marlene, who is the housekeeper and breakfast maker, is a wonderful person, too. Mary Newhouse, who owns the Inn with her husband, is an abstract painter of some repute. Her paintings grace the walls of the Inn and add beautiful color and gesture to the rooms.

The Rose Farm Inn and The Atlantic Inn also come highly recommended. There are also B&Bs on High Street that people like. My mother once stayed at the Narragansett Inn at New Harbor. 

WHERE TO EAT

My favorite place to eat on this trip was a good old family seafood restaurant called Fin's. They serve fantastic steamers and a really good broiled fish sandwich that is very simple and to the point. They also have Blue Moon beer on tap and it comes with a slice of orange.

On this trip, I also fell in love with Ernie's Restaurant, a breakfast place that is only open from 6am until around 11. They make a great egg and cheese sandwich.

Rebecca's was Alice's favorite  place to get caesar salad, onion rings, fried fish sandwiches, wraps, burgers, french fries and milkshakes.

Eli's is a place for foodies who like a friendly, casual atmosphere with fresh and flavorful dishes. Their bread with garlic and sun-dried tomato spread is a great starter as are the Tuna Nachos, with sushi grade tuna,  creme fraiche, scallions and Asian chips.  The lobster and scallop lasagna, also a mixed metaphor, works big time. The service is great and prices are on par with everywhere else on the island, which is to say pricey but not insane. And you can just have the Arugula and Goat Cheese salad at the bar if you're not that hungry.

Harry's Cafe is also wonderful. They serve a wide selection of flavorful food including seafood dishes, sandwiches and Pad Thai, which seems to be their specialty. What's great is that you can sit outside and take in the harbour view.BYOB.

Three Sisters is the go-to sandwich place that is actually run by three sisters who work hard in their tiny kitchen making sandwiches and wraps with funny names like the Twisted Sister (a turkey sandwich with a bunch of other stuff) the Hippie Sister (a veggie wrap with hummus) and others. You can eat in their great yard with a hammock and picnic tables.

Froozie's is another good sandwich place with a tofu and portobello mushroom vibe. They also serve breakfast and it all tastes very fresh and homemade and is on the porch of the National Hotel.

Juice 'N Java is an Internet Cafe that also serves the best coffee in town. I spent a lot of time there on this trip and they play great music and are open from 6am until 6 p.m.

WHERE TO DRINK

On this trip I tried the Veranda Bar of The Spring House Hotel, the classic old hotel at the top of Spring Street Hill. I always avoided it like the plaque because it gets crowded and noisy on Thursday's, which is Martini Night complete with a live band and hundreds of people crammed onto the porch.   It rained on the one Thursday night I was there so Martini Night was a washout. That said, I did try the Espresso Martini that someone told me about and it's a crazy contradiction in terms but tasty like a White Russian on steroids. Most weeknights it's pretty quiet at the Veranda Bar and you can sit on the porch or on the lawn in a white Adirondack chair and admire the breathtaking view.

ENTERTAINMENT

Friday nights belong to Adrian Hibbs, who performs his original funk jazz at the bar inside The Spring House. His voice is a cross between Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway and he improvises blissfully on a jazzy Wurlitzer organ. Catch this guy before he becomes too famous. He lived in Brooklyn for years and played at the just closed Black Betty, but has since moved to New Orleans, where they really get what he's up to.

Nick's is the bar where everyone goes for two dollar Naragansett beers and to mix, mingle and dance. It's not really my cup of tea but a Rolling Stones cover band, The Blushing Brides, was pretty convincing, raucous and fun last Friday and Saturday nights. 

WHERE TO BUY

The Glass Onion on Water Street carries tasteful vintage meets India meets John Derian meets quasi-Victorian items, featuring interesting jewelry, bags, shoes, books, home items, clothing and more.

Lazy Fish is another fun place that has vintage and new items, books, jewelry, collectibles, lamps made out of kitchen strainers and toasters, antique postcards, small, beautiful beach paintings and Claireware, the wonderful pottery by one of Brooklyn's own.

Island Bound Bookstore: And yes, there is a good bookstore on Block Island. Between the Post Office and Harry’s Café, this full-service
bookstore offers lots of room to relax and browse. Island Bound stocks
the island's widest variety of fine literature for all ages. Readers
will find New York Times best sellers, current pulp and hard-bound
fiction and a generous offering of nonfiction, including titles on
Block Island, boating, cooking, gardening and more. An inviting
children's section offers fun activiites for rainy days. Special orders
welcome.

RENT A BIKE

You can rent a bike just about anywhere on Block Island but we liked the bikes from Rose Beach Bicycle at the Rose Farm Inn. 

POINTS OF INTEREST

The Mohegan Bluffs: Going down to the beach via extremely steep steps is fun; going up is great exercise. The view is energizing and breathtaking.

North Lighthouse: The bike ride to this lighthouse is one of the island's great rides.

Southeast Lighthouse: A really special place with a view.

Monument Beach: Great beach, great swimming

The Farmer's Market: On Saturday morning from 9 am until 11:30 there's local produce, gorgeous flower arrangements, hand- made items like sweaters and quilts, jewelry, abstract paintings and homemade goodies. All while bluegrass duo serenades the crowd.

The Block Island Free Library: Great for a rainy day and Internet access. 

The Zoo:  Near the Atlantic Inn; they've got a llama and a camel.

GETTING THERE

It's easy to get to Block Island from NYC. You just take the Amtrak train to New London, where you can get the ferry to the Island. The ferry dock is just across the tracks from the station. Voila: You don't need a car and can walk to the Sea Breeze and other B&Bs from the ferry on the Block Island side. 

There is almost constant ferry service to Block Island from Pt. Judith, Rhode Island.

You can also get a ferry in Montauk, Long Island but they run less frequently.

THE DOWNSIDE

The island is full of day and overnight tourists in the summer. People rent mopeds and and that can be annoying. That said, tourism is the lifeblood of the Island. For a quieter stay try September or the Spring, both said to be great times to visit and take in the natural beauty of the Island.

Brooklyn Arts Council invites musicians and songwriters to submit an original song about September 11th, the event itself, its aftermath or its effects to the September 11th Memorial Sing Project. A selection of songs will be performed live on September 11th, 2009 at 5pm at a location in DUMBO to be announced in mid-August. All songs submitted will be archived on disc/tape in the Brooklyn Arts Council Folk Arts Archive.

Every year since 2005, BAC Folk Arts has presented an annual September 11th memorial project. Past projects include film screenings, symposia and photo exhibitions all demonstrating the way New York artists, and especially Brooklyn artists, respond to and memorialize September 11th.

The invitation to submit a song is open to musicians anywhere. The invitation is aimed at singer/songwriters, but other kinds of composers should certainly send material. Primary consideration for the performance on September 11th will be given to Brooklyn artists, then to others in the New York Metro area, and beyond. Approximately 30 songs will be chosen for live performance on September 11th, 2009. Deadline for submissions: August 20th, 2009

Visit www.brooklynartscouncil.org for more information, including submission guidelines and the application form.

Even when I'm on Block Island, Scott Turner, the Pub Quiz man of Rocky Sullivan's I've never met comes through with his weekly missive. This one travels far and wide and promises to be quite zany. Brought to you as always by Miss Wit, the great t-shirt designer of Red Hook. CHeck out her site why doncha. The tees are wonderful. 

Greetings Pub Quiz Dog Days Anticipationists…

Maybe it's the middle of summer.  Maybe it's the odd weather – May's chilly winds, June's washouts, July's nearly-every-day thunder rumbling over us.  Maybe it's the economy, which continues to slip-slide away despite forecasters offering tiny tidbits of hope, the way kids tug at their parents sleeves on rainy days and say "isn't there some way we can still have the picnic?  Please?!!"

Or maybe, just maybe, it's Ugly Bat Boy, a cat so unremittingly weird looking, so disconcerting, that all things bizarre seem destined to be his doing.

When good cats go Joan Rivers…

Ugly Bat Boy, lives in a New Hampshire veterinary clinic.  He was brought to my attention by Rocky Sullivan's Pub Quiz attendee James Bowers.   He's the animal world's version of portraits in thunder-and-lighting mansions, the ones whose eyes follow soon-to-be-victims.

According to the piece James forwarded, Ugly Bat Boy "has a nice disposition and real inner beauty."  Which is what separates Ugly Bat Boy from, say, Mayor Bloomberg.

Channeling the mayor: "If I spend enough money running for mayor, people will forget how rich I am."

I'm not saying Ugly Bat Boy is the reason for the Apex of Weirdness currently coursing through everyone's consciousness.  But after this bulleted list, we might have to revisit the perfidious effect of those barely moving eyes on the very core of human existence.

As Ugly Bat Boy has emerged onto the national stage, so too have these oddities erupted:

• The battle between Cambridge PD's Crowley the Arrester and Harvard's Gates the Alleged has smooved into a beery love-in between the clueless cop, the angry professor and the overwhelmed president. It'd be great if Crowley, Gates and Obama met in an undisclosed dive bar, got hammered — really liver-endangering sloshed — and hashed it all out in an maelstrom of alcohol-induced emotional chaos.  No t.v. cameras, no carefully-scripted CYA remarks.  Just pure, raw face-to-face-to-face rip-snortin' hashing it out.

Last week's Ugly Bat Boy weirdness on Dr. Gates' front porch wasn't the actual incident.  It was Sgt. Crowley's initial response that he couldn't be racist because sixteen years ago, he attempted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on dying Celtics star Reggie Lewis.  You know, the classic some-of-my-best-friends-are-cardiac-arrested-black-NBA-stars line.

  
if only Reggie White could be here to see this.

• The Mets, who can't do anything right, today fired Tony Bernazard, their VP for Player Development.  Bernazard has something of a temper.  What kind of temper?  The kind where someone chews out a minor-league team in Binghamton, NY by screaming at them, ripping his shirt off, offering to fight anyone, and calling one player a "pussy" — the man with the temper's word, not mine.

You'd think the cutting ties with this guy would qualify as "doing something right."  The Mets, so good at rescuing defeat from the jaws of victory.  No, in fact, the Mets' general manager, Omar Minaya – himself under fire for the team's performance — blamed Daily News reporter Adam Rubin for the whole thing, inferring that Rubin broke the Binghamton story because the reporter was angling for Bernazard's job.  The bad juju at Tarp Field permeates everything, even with the team on a three-game winning streak, at long last scoring runs galore.  Meet the Mess, Meet the Mess…

Minaya, Rubin.  The scapegoater,. and goat being scaped

• U.S. Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) has announced his retirement.  Bunning says he won't run for another term because he can't afford it.  Now, I'm no fan of Jim Bunning's — he's as regressive as they come.  He once said his opponent was "limp-wristed" and "looks like one of Saddam Hussein's sons."  Nuttier still, Bunning famously said "Let me explain something: I don't watch the national news, and I don't read the paper. I haven't done that for the last six weeks. I watch Fox News to get my information."

It's no loss to see one of Time magazine's Five Worst Senators leave office.  Rather, It's the reason he's leaving.  He can't afford to run.  A public servant, even one as bad as Bunning, shouldn't be leaving public life simply because it's too expensive to run for re-election.  And the zillions of political hopefuls who never even enter this expensive realm?  Each of them a potentially huge loss.  Or maybe not — maybe they would've made Bunning look like Lincoln.  But we'll never know, and that hurts everyone in a democracy — or what passes for a democracy these days.

(left) Jim Bunning, the only man to toss a perfect game at Shea Stadium
(right) Jim Bunning, demonstrating how much a wrist needs to move to not be "limp"

• This isn't weird, and certainly isn't the doing of Ugly Bat Boy.  It's just a very, very, very cool photo of Jane Goodall and her dog.

• Still don't know where Michael Jackson's body is.  There are now a good many websites dedicated to the idea that MJ is still alive.  Well, what rock star isn't, right?

Is this what's inside Jacko's casket?  Moyt be, rrrrabbbit, moyt be…

• Bruce Ratner's point person on the Atlantic Yards travesty, MaryAnne Gilmartin (shouldn't Bruce Ratner be Bruce Ratner's point person on Atlantic Yards, travesty or not?) gave a patently weird, evasive, smug, panicked, confident, in tatters, scripted, flummoxed performance at last week's Community Board hearing in Brooklyn.  This was the latest public forum where the government forces local officials to hold a meeting so Atlantic Yards can get some good press.  When will they learn that "good press" doesn't find Ratner these days — either because his project is in ruins or because Ratner's minions have nothing truthful or even useful to say.  There are other factors, like all the people have been fed up with Atlantic Yards for so long and Ratner's supporters — the ones who actually like the project — being the most-disruptive in the room.

Actually, Gilmartin's lying and obfuscating was pretty entertaining .  She was really out of her league, and again, this is the point-person on Atlantic Yards.  Gilmartin had dozens of cheat-sheets on the dais in front of her.  Sometimes she answered by reading straight off the sheets.  Sometimes she made stuff up.  Sometimes she heard something good in the audience and repeated it into the mike.  Often, Gilmartin just sat there, like the proverbial deer in the headlights, wondering why it was taking so long for that car to get there and wipe her out.

Atlantic Yards' MaryAnne Gilmartin, left, figuring out just why so many people have quit the Atlantic Yards project. (photo by Adrian Kinoch)

This Wednesday — tomorrow — is much bigger, more important community hearing.  You're all invited.  It's during the afternoon and also in the evening.  If ever there was a meeting folks should turn out for — to make your views known, to protest, to really have at Forest City Ratner, government officials or, if you like the project, opponents — this is the one.  It's a crucial time — over the next few months, any number of things can permanently sink Atlantic Yards.

Atlantic Yards needs to be sunk.  Because it would provide few, if any, affordable apartments, newly-created jobs and union jobs, because it would cost taxpayers (i.e. you and me) billions of dollars, because it's been such a scam and corrupt process it makes Boss Tweed look like Walter Cronkite, and because it's the Ugly Bat Boy of real-estate developments.  That's why Atlantic Yards has to be stopped, now, and replaced with a plan that makes good on the promises Ratner can't and obviously won't.

If you head to Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn's website, you'll get all the info you need for Wednesday's big meeting, as well as incredible clips from last week's community board meeting.  Want more info?  Head to No Land Grab and Atlantic Yards Report.

which side are you on, folks, which side are you on?  Brooklyn's, you say?

• Here's a photo I'm laying squarely at Ugly Bat Boy's paws — it's baseball, it's Japan, and it's Ugly Bat Boy's doing.  That's all you need to know:

really, there're pinstripes under the pitcher's uniform…

So there you have it.  Ugly Bat Boy's Pageant of the Weird.  As at any juncture in the march of humanity, this has been a tip-of-the-iceberg exercise.

Thanks to James Bowers and Ugly Bat Boy aiding and abetting Weirdsville U.S.A.'s journey from the ether to your e-mail box.

Even money odds that it's even toastier next week.

I'm in extra innings here on Block Island. Adding a night and two days to my stay was an inspired idea and I am getting close to the home stretch of a decent second draft of my novel.

Yesterday was a good day of writing. The weather was gorgeous and I took a long ride on the Mohegan Trail swelling with joy at the many gorgeous views.

It was with great sadness that I returned my 24-speed bicycle to Rose Beach Bicycle Rental. I'd had it out for a week and that bike was becoming a very good friend and perfect means of transportation. 

The one thing that's not great about Block Island is the less than stellar Internet service. For me that's been a blessing AND I always have my iPhone. But it's also been a source of some anxiety.

Yesterday I had much aggravation connected with trying to email my Smartmom column to Gersh and an article I'm doing for the Associated Press to my editor there.

When I finally gave up, I treated myself to an Espresso Martini on the veranda of the Spring House at sunset. No, I'm not becoming one of those Hemingway-eque alcoholic writers. It was an Espresso Martini for christ's sake—a dessert drink that is sort of relaxing but also enervating. But boy did I have a tough time falling asleep last night.

How many shots of espresso were in that thing?

But glory be what a special island this; I have so enjoyed my time here.

Stay tuned for an Only the Blog Knows Block Island style list of all the go-to spots on the island that I've discovered in my three summers here.

iPhone pix of my writing desk at the Sea Breeze on Block Island

I had breakfast with Tony Avella, NYC Councilman and mayoral candidate, at Donuts in Park Slope. and will be running my profile of him on Thursday.

I also got a press release from him saying he has accepted Bill Thompson’s call for a debate on education issues. I'll keep you posted on that.

In the meantime, read my Breakfast-of-Candidates with City Comptroller and mayoral candidate, Bill Thompson.

Also check out the Public Advocates Candidates Forum toight. There's post about it today on OTBKB.

Smartmom pulled a Skenazy. Big time. She let the 12-year-old Oh So Feisty One and her friend, Luvbud, who is just 11-1/2, take the F train to Coney Island.

Alone.

Take that, Lenore Skenazy! Smartmom let her 12-year-old daughter ride all the way from Park Slope to Stillwell Avenue. To paraphrase Talking Heads, “This ain’t no party. This ain’t no disco. This ain’t no fooling around on the 6 train from Bloomingdale’s.”

This all goes back to when newspaper columnist Lenore Skenazy became Parent Public Enemy Number One when she let her 9-year-old take the subway from Bloomingdale’s to their Upper East Side home.

By himself.

She dared to write about it, and the ensuing hysteria landed Skenazy on all the talk shows defending her seemingly indefensible position. She even got a book contract — all because she let her little baby (just a few years out of Mommy and Me classes!) ride the subway. She must be chastised! She’s worse than that woman who drowned her kids in the tub!

Until Smartmom, that is.

On this glorious July day, Smartmom was already in Coney Island visiting her friend at a rehabilitation hospital on Surf Avenue when she arranged to meet the girls at the subway station. It all went perfectly well: the girls arrived without incident and, with Smartmom, they walked to the Boardwalk.

The girls wanted to ride the Wonder Wheel and the Cyclone and do whatever else girls like to do in Coney Island. And of course, they didn’t want Smartmom around. So Smartmom told them that she’d “disappear” for an hour so that they could be by themselves.

“We’ll meet in front of ‘Shoot the Freak’ at 4:15,” she told them.

Smartmom sat in a Peruvian chicken stand on the Boardwalk, ate an avocado salad and read “Crime and Punishment” while the girls lollygagged around what’s left of Coney Island.

At 4:15, Smartmom met up with them at “Shoot the Freak” and did Skenazy one better. She told them that they could stay in Coney Island until 5:30 and that they were allowed to take the F train home.

All by themselves.

“And remember, don’t talk to strangers — even ones who seem really nice,” she said.

Smartmom went back to Park Slope for her weekly therapy appointment. She kept checking her cell phone to see if there were any texts.

Nada.

When she came out of therapy, she texted OSFO, “Are you coming home now?”

No text this time, just a call.

“We missed our stop,” OSFO said.

“Where are you?” Smartmom asked with growing panic.

“I don’t know,” OSFO said.

“Well, read a street sign or something,” Smartmom said with agitation in her voice.

“We’re at East Broadway and Rutgers Street,” she said.

“You’re in Chinatown in Manhattan. Get on the train going back to Brooklyn,” Smartmom told them.

“We only have one ride left on the Metrocard.”

“Explain what happened to the person in the token booth!”

Smartmom patted herself on the back for that one — that is, until she heard from them a couple of minutes later.

“Can someone pick us up?” OSFO asked.

Smartmom figured that they were probably too shy to ask the token person for a free ride. The girls were standing outside of the East Broadway F-train station. They didn’t sound scared. There was no crying or fear in their voices.

“I’m really proud of you. You’re handling this situation very well,” she told her girl.

Luvbud called her mom, who drove into the city to pick them up.

Later, Smartmom asked OSFO how they missed their stop.

“We were very distracted,” OSFO told her. “And then we realized that we’d been on the train for a long time and we got off at East Broadway. It’s good we got off there, wasn’t it?”

Smartmom knew that the whole thing was a good experience — a teaching moment as they call them. They experienced one of the many “worst-case scenarios” of the New York subway system and lived to tell the tale. They’d missed their stop and realized it wasn’t the end of the world — if you’ve got a cellphone and a bunch of parents willing to pick you up, that is.

Still, Smartmom was proud. Her daughter and her friend were real troupers. They didn’t panic, they didn’t freak out. They used their cellphones and some common sense. Next time, they’d pay closer attention to the subway stops. And now they were ready to conquer the world. By subway or otherwise.

Smartmom was pleased in the end — pleased at her daughter and pleased that she’d given Skenazy a reason to be a bit jealous of her free-range city kid.

I got this email from Save Coney Island:

I'm still on Block Island. The Internet connection as been very spotty so this has been a getaway from blogging, as well as Brooklyn.

My Inbox is full of events and tips in Brooklyn, cultural and poltiical, but for much of the week I couldn't post because of the shoddy connection.

In nearly five years, I haven't taken a break from the blog for more than a day or two. It's a strange feeling not to blog. It's been my daily routine for so long. But it feels like a much-needed break, I guess.

I decided yesterday to spend an extra night on Block Island because I've been getting a lot of writing done here and my new mantra is: finish the book.

Finish the book!

My ability to write here is Pavlovian. My room at the Sea Breeze is a wonderful place to spend days and days. I never get bored of the view out back of the ocean and the salt ponds.

There's been weather galore this week from glorious blue sky days to tropical depressions; great walks and bike rides; interesting conversations with the other guests here and people I've met on the Island. My daughter and her friend were here all last week and they loved para sailing, biking, kayaking, swimming, and the independence that this island affords kids.

Early morning Block Island. I see there's sun today. I will be changing rooms later today and working. Maybe I'll get some steamers at Fins and ride my bike to the Mohegan Bluffs. There's much to do here.

And write. Because today my mantra is: Finish the book!

Bikers in the Saturday morning race that take place weekly in Prospect Park (6:30 'till about 8:30AM).

Photo by Tom Martinez

I liked Marty Markowitz's remembrance of Frank McCourt:

Louise will be on Block Island this week. Expect sporadic reports from Brooklyn, Block Island and other points in between.

Everyone has their Cronkite memories. Heck, we experienced the death of JFK, the Vietnam war, the moon landing and Watergate together.

RIP to the news anchor voice of my youth. In this picture: the day JFK was shot.

Debi Ryan, manager of Vox Pop, just wrote in to say that the cafe in conjunction with One If By Land, Two If By Sea
restaurant in Manhattan, will be hosting Bringing Liberty Home on
Sunday, July 19, 2009 at 1:00 pm.  We will assemble at 17 Barrow
Street, at the One If By Land, Two If By Sea restaurant. I won't be in town but I'd love to be there. Luckily OTBKB Witness photographer Tom Martinez will be on hand to snap photos.

Love is sweet at 20.

My sister suggested we try Dressler on Broadway in Williamsburg for our anniversary dinner and it was a great idea. The restaurant (pictured left) has an elegantly lush decor and is festive without being overly formal. The service is excellent and the food: absolutely wonderful. Especially the Warm Artichoke Heart Salad with fresh cranberry beans, arugula, parmesan and vinagrette.

We didn't try it but they have a tasting menu which is a great deal at $45 for five courses from Monday to Thursday.

I ordered the Grilled Hangar Steak and Braised Short Rib with creamed spinach and potatoes. Hugh had the Halibut, also a great choice with heirloom tomatoes, Kalamata olives and pine nuts but we shared fifty fifty.

We even had cocktails. I had the best Cosmopolitan I've ever had and Hugh thoroughly enjoyed his martini which came with 4 green olives.

The dessert was also excellent. Hugh said his black pepper pound cake with berries was like a great piece of music.

After dinner walking up Bedford Avenue to get the L train I remembered this great bar I went to the night of the New Kings Democrats candidates forum. So we stopped into the K&M Bar on North 8th and Roebling Streeton, watched Betty Boop movies projected on the back wall, drank Sailor Jerry's rum and listened to a great mix of funk music.

Hugh and I toasted each other. Continually. I asked him for the secret to a longtime marriage.

"Choose carefully," he said ever so wisely.

And the answer is: The 36th Street R Train Station.

The winner is: BVIB (Best View in Brooklyn)

BVIB had this to say: "It's been a while since I've been in that station since I'm a bus and local train rider now."

Congrats BVIB. Please email your address to me at louise_crawford(at)yahoo(dot)com so that I can send you your $5 gift certificate to Snice.

Photo by Tom Martinez

This photo by Jamie Livingston was snapped during our wedding reception at the Lotos Club in Manhattan. I am wearing my pretty off-the-shoulder wedding dress, actually a debutantes' dress by Victor Costa from Bergdorf Goodman. Hugh is wearing the double-breasted tuxedo his dad wore to his own wedding. We were married by Rabbi Bert Sigal, the inter-faith rabbi in front of a group of 75 family and friends. Singer Amy Burton and pianist John Musto played music by Schumann during the ceremony. An African umbira player serenaded guests quietly during cocktails. Joel Forrester played his very angular piano jazz during dinner. Later guests danced to the exuberant sound of a Mexican polka trio.

It was a truly great summer night 20 years ago.

This is a picture of us snapped by Jamie Livingston the night before our wedding (July 15, 1989). From left: Betsy, Louise, Teddy and Hugh. It is the middle of the night and we are in the
Emergency Room of Beth Israel Hospital because Hugh was in a car
accident two days before and he thought that "maybe my neck is
broken."  Pre-marital jitters?

He attended the wedding in a neck brace.

This picture was taken by Jamie Livingston, the best man at our wedding, at our rehearsal dinner on July 14, 1989 given
by my mother-in-law at the Rainbow Room. We are seated with our niece
and flower girl, Andrea Robertson.

Soon there will be a new Statue of Liberty gracing the front yard of Vox Pop. Here's a note from Vox Pop manager Debi Ryan: