In the latest e-newsletter from Park Slope Neighbors, there's a good description of the DOT's plans to change Prospect Park West into two way vehicle traffic and a two-lane bike lane.

While the group views this proposal as "a big win for safer, calmer Park Slope" they support a different plan.

Who knew politics could be such fun?

On Saturday I attended the Dazzle Me Forum, a chance for the citizens of Carroll Gardens to see and hear the candidates for the City Council in the 39th District at the Carroll Gardens Public Library.

I was really looking forward to the event because I loved the name of it and the spirit in which it was conceived. Some candidates joked that they might sing or tap dance. But nothing like that happened. Still, I was not disappointed. 

"These
men all want to work for us as our representative on the NYC Council," the organizers wrote in their press release. "Do you have questions you would like to ask? Do you have concerns and
want to choose the best person for this job? Here is your
opportunity!!: They invited members of the community to submit questions.

Rita, one of the organizers and a member of Community for Respectful Development (CORD), introduced the forum and was one of the moderators. She said the idea  was to think of the candidates as hungry job applicants and the community as the boss.

"If I'd known they were hungry I would have brought Italian food," one community member yelled out. Much laughter ensued.

On the small, make-shift stage in the basement of the library sat the five Democratic candidates and the Green candidate (who will face the winner of the democratic primary in the general election in November). Present were Gary Reilly, John Heyer, Josh Skaller, Bob Zuckerman, David Pechefsky (Green) and Brad Lander. They all wore Dazzle Me buttons and seemed in good spirits. On the wall behind them, there was a spiffy handmade sign created with purple magic markers and sparkles that said, Dazzle Me Forum. The questions submitted by members of the community were wrapped like fortune cookies and came out of an Easter basket with colorful dangling ribbons.

The format was interesting. The moderators asked each candidate an individual long question. The candidate was given about five minutes to respond. Then the others were able respond or add their thoughts in one minute or so. There was also time for audience questions.

Probably the most discussed issue was Superfund designation for the Gowanus, a subject near and dear to the Carroll Gardens neighborhood. Public Place, a large affordable housing project planned for the south bank of the Gowanus was also discussed in depth. Other hot issues included ULURP, the city's land use process; the MTA; ways to keep the community involved in the political process; bridge tolls; reform of the City Council and whether to accept campaign money from developers and lobbyists. Economic support of local businesses and industry was briefly touched on. Education was barely discussed at all.

Were there winners and losers? It's hard to say. It was a friendly event where all the candidates were able to shine. It was not contentious or nasty at all as most of the candidates are more or less in the same ballpark on most of the issues.

There are differences, of course: differences in approach, differences in style, personality and personal history. Perhaps the most contentious moment came after Josh Skaller criticized what he called a lack of community involvement in the development of Public Place and compared it to the Atlantic Yards project. Brad Lander, who has been involved in the development of Public Place, strongly disagreed and countered with "It was one of the best processes I've seen. Community members reviewed it. Several people in this room reviewed it  It is night and day from Atlantic yards. Let's use the right examples as models."

That's about as contentious as things got. But there was a lot of subtext there, too. Skaller and Lander are often mentioned as the front runners but there are significant shades of difference between them in terms of personality and approach. Lander has a statesmanlike quality and is tremendously likable when he speaks about issues. Skaller, a community activist and former president of Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, is more of an outsider/provocateur and probably the more rebellious and strident of the two. Unlike Lander, he has little experience actually working on grassroots community development and affordable housing. But from the outside in, he knows the subject well and has been endorsed by Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn and Norman Sigal of the Civil Liberties Union.

I knew that Lander and Skaller would be the strong candidates to watch. But this is an impressive group and they all had something to offer. John Heyer was probably the biggest surprise. He is impressive in his ability to connect with an audience. Articulate, easy to listen to and engaging when he speaks, he had some members of the Carroll Gardens crowd in the palm of his hand quite a few times during the forum (a local boy, maybe he brought a lot of friends and family). He is probably the most conservative of the group. An assistant to Borough President Marty Markowitz, he manages to be both old school and new school Brooklyn. A fifth generation Carroll Gardener he honors the history and character of that neighborhood. On issues like Superfund, he's wary of the federal governments ability to actually pay for the project and come through in a timely manner. He wants  the Gowanus cleaned quickly and seems to trust the developers to do the job.

The Green candidate, David Pechefsky, was also impressive and very likable. Knowledgeable on certain key issues, extremely smart, analytical and honest, he's the only candidate with any real experience in the City Council (he worked in the central office of the council for 10 years and has expertise in budget, economic and housing issues). When the subject turned to reform of the City Council David was able to intelligently stir  up the conversation and contribute insight. I noticed that all of the candidates were really listening to him when he talked about some of the inherent problems in the CC. "There are structural problems with the Council," David  told the audience. "The speaker has all the power and you have to contend with that." Perhaps the best exchange of the forum and a testament to how impressive David is on the subject of council reform, was when Lander told the crowd "If I'm elected I'm going to hire David to help me." David turned to him and said, "How much are you going to pay me?"

Pechefsky won the respect (and applause) of the crowd when he declined to speak about Public Place. "I know this isn't a great thing to say at a job interview but I haven't really done my homework on this and I need to study the issue more. I'd be happy for anyone to fill me in."

Bob Zuckerman, the executive director of the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation (GCCDC) and Gowanus Canal Conservancy (GCC), was asked by a member of the audience why that group honored the architect who is designing and developing Claret House on Court Street, an unpopular building project. That was a fairly uncomfortable moment for Zuckerman, who hedged by saying  that they honored the architect for his work on Public Place and not Claret House. A member of Community Board 6, Zuckerman, while knowledgeable, is not
wonky when it comes to the brass tacks of housing, development and
transportation issues. He is, however, the candidate who likes to toss around creative, "out of the box" ideas.  "When I'm elected I'm going to get a book mobile and I'll call it the Zuckmobile and every week I'll visit one  of the neighborhoods in the district. It will be a mobile office."

"Will it sell stamps?" someone in the crowd shouted out.
"Stamps. That's a great idea." Zuckerman said.
"How about a mini-supermarket," someone else said.
"A mini-supermarket, too."

Gary Reilly, an attorney who has worked in environmental law, is a community activist with a passion for transportation and livable streets. He is not a forceful speaker but he does have a good command of the issues and is a very smart guy. There was not one moment in the forum when he seemed unprepared or unfamiliar — in detail — about the issues at hand. And he did show some fire when talking about not supporting Bloomberg's third term and transportation issues. While trusted and well-liked in Carroll Gardens, he was the least memorable of the group during the forum.

Discussion of Superfund status for the Gowanus was a real litmus test for the candidates. While all, of course, agree that the Gowanus Canal should be cleaned they don't all agree how it should get done. It is my impression that at this point in time NO ONE really knows what the EPA is promising yet and that's a key factor in all of this. I have the feeling that if the EPA promises the money in a timely manner, most of the candidates (except maybe Heyer) would support that.But that's a big if and it's a very complicated process.

Lander impressed me when he explained that the facts are still unclear and he's not sure what it all means yet. But about one thing he's sure: "Superfund without resources and without money is a lose lose," Lander told the crowd.

Skaller on the other hand seems ready to hand the process over to the EPA unequivocally as he doesn't trust the city or the developer to take care of it. He is adamant that the canal be cleaned before usage (residential or industrial) is decided. He believes that if usage is determined in advance there is an inherent conflict of interest that will seriously get in the way of getting the job done in the most thorough and safe way possible.

Heyer is definitely on the fence about the EPA. As someone who grew up next to the Canal, he wants it cleaned in the best and fastest way. Does he mean that it should be done by the city and developers? "I want it clean. I want it clean as soon as possible," he told the crowd.

He off-handedly expressed concern for the health hazards of living near the Gowanus Canal. "I've got all the fingers on my hands. But there have been three miscarriages in my family and quite a few members have succumbed to cancer."

This motivated a question later on from Tina, one of the organizers of CORD, who said, "Something you said really made me nervous. I live near the canal. Is anyone in the Health Department studying the health hazards of living near the canal?"

"No, I don't think so," Heyer answered.

There was a really interesting discussion about affordable housing and whether the candidates support ANY project that promises to have it.

Gary Reilly brought up the problem of developers building towers with promises of affordable housing "but in the fine print there are no promises." He also said that there is rarely any concern for infrastructure like fire,  police, hospitals and schools.

Lander, who has devoted his life to affordable housing as the head of the Fifth Avenue Committee and currently working at the Pratt Center, believes that the community must be involved in the process to create affordable housing. "We must meet early and often. There's a need to preserve it and create it."

Skaller returned to his theme of holistic development and the need for community voices to be heard:  "The road to affordable housing does not lie with luxury housing."

Pechefsky called the Atlantic Yards "the poster child for an awful project that was sold on the promise of affordable housing." He believes "that model needs to be revisited."

About transportation, the  mild mannered (and pleasantly smart) Gary Reilly is at his most passionate. "Subway service cuts and fare hikes are the worst thing to happen to working people." He mentioned Robert Moses and the one thing he did right:  "Making sure that there funds dedicated to maintaining infrastructure."

Zuckerman has a plan for residential parking fees. "It'll cost something like $10 a month to park in your neighborhood and the money will go to neighborhood jitneys that will get people from their homes to public transportation."

Pechefsky made the point that the $400 tax rebate promised to tax payers should have been put toward the MTA. "Now that could have been a real debate in the City Council. The city could have put that money (something like $250 million) into the MTA and it would have taken care of their problems."

Skaller, who believes that big projects like the Atlantic Yards and Yankee Stadium, are a big waste of city money, said that there is a "priority deficit" in the city and there's a need "to spread the pain around." He told the crowd: "The MTA is the heartbeat of the city and there should be no cuts to subways or buses. The city needs control of the MTA not politicians in Albany."

Heyer had strong feelings about this topic, too:  "Does anyone trust  the MTA? There's no oversight of  the MTA. We pay enough in taxes, we should get public transportation," a sentence that got a big round of applause. "And about bridge tolls: only if you have money can you go to Manhattan in a car? Manhattan is not a luxury, it is one of the five boroughs."

About stimulus money for the Atlantic Yards, the candidates all agreed that it was a travesty. "It's absurd," Skaller stated forcefully. "The need for stimulus for small business is greater than any need for Atlantic Yards." 

About small business and manufacturing in the district, Zuckerman thinks the Gowanus area should be turned into the first green business cooridor in New York City. "It's a perfect opportunity to create a place to manufacture products needed for green building, wind power, solar, etc."

And what to do about all the unfinished building projects, that in this economy, may go bankrupt and will remain unfinished for years to come. Ideas were bandied about.

Lander said that he'd recently met with the City Council and they're coming up with a plan about what to do with 23 Caton in Kensington, the residential tower that was fought by the community (and necessitated the closing of a horse stable there). He mentioned that there's a risk of overpaying developers. "But if you get the price right, it can be made into affordable housing."

Reilly concurred, "It's not right to pay someone out for their mistakes."

Probably the best question of all came from the community. "Are we just a bunch of whiners?"

Pechefsky tackled that one first and  made the point that the 39th District does, in some basic areas, have smaller problems than other areas. "We have great schools where other communities have terrible ones." He thinks this enables the City Council representative to tackle some of the bigger, city-wide issues.

Heyer: "If a baby is whining there has to be a reason. It's the City Council member's job to listen to the voices of the community."

Reilly: "They call you a whiner only when they want to marginalize your opinion and your position
."

Skaller: "I am astounded when people say that. I thought that was the purpose of all of this."

And I must say, Lander had the best response of all: "It not whining, it's dazzling. What a great neighborhood we live in. The parks, the streets, we know our neighbors. We need to protect, defend and make our communities better."

Okay. Winners and losers. Hmmmm. I asked the elderly woman next to me if she had a favorite and she said, "I can't tell they're all so impressive." In another post I will be picking favorites and giving the candidates some advice…

I've been listening to NPR and keeping track of  what's being said about the Swine Flu scare.

At a White House news conference Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano assured the nation  that steps are being take to minimize the effects of this outbreak. .

She told people to think of it as a "declaration of emergency preparedness."

"Really
that's what we're doing right now. We're preparing in an environment
where we really don't know ultimately what the size of seriousness of
this outbreak is going to be."

 Here were some precautions that were offered at the White House press conference::

Consistent message: Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands.

If you're sick with fever or flu like symptoms: Don't go out; don't travel on airplanes; keep your children, if they are sick, at home.

This is from the AP :

Officials reported 20 U.S. cases of swine flu in five states so far, with the latest in Ohio and New York. Unlike in Mexico where the same strain appears to be killing dozens of people, cases in the United State have been mild — and U.S. health authorities can't yet explain why.

"As
we continue to look for cases, we are going to see a broader spectrum
of disease," predicted Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We're going to see more severe disease in this country."

At a White House news conference, Besser and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano sought to assure Americans that health officials are taking all appropriate steps to minimize the impact of the outbreak.

Top
among those is declaring the public health emergency. As part of that,
Napolitano said roughly 12 million doses of the drug Tamiflu will be
moved from a federal stockpile to places where states can quickly get
their share if they decide they need it. Priority will be given to the
five states with known cases so far: California, Texas, New York, Ohio and Kansas.

Napolitano
called the emergency declaration standard operating procedure — one was
declared recently for the inauguration and for flooding. She urged
people to think of it as a "declaration of emergency preparedness."

"Really
that's what we're doing right now. We're preparing in an environment
where we really don't know ultimately what the size of seriousness of
this outbreak is going to be."

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov

I think the most dazzling thing about Saturday morning's Dazzle Me Forum in Carroll Gardens for the City Council candidates running in the 39th District was the way it was conceived and conducted by CORD (Coalition for Respectful Development) and SoBNA (South
Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance)

There was such a refreshing atmosphere of fun and good humor. Yes, the issues are real and divisive in Carroll Gardens. Think Superfund designation, Toll Brothers, Public Place. But somehow this event managed to be a good-natured exercise in local democracy.

And there was even a decent turnout though not as large as the organizers expected. You can blame the weather for that. Yesterday was a ravishingly beautiful day and again and again the candidates thanked the audience for coming out and sitting in a library basement when they could be outside frolicking in the sun.

But that's what it was all about:  bunch of dedicated citizens curious about the people who will be their closest link to city government.

The problem is that events like these attract the same people again and again. The bulk of community members never find out about these forums or feel motivated to attend them. And that's not because they're not well publicized. There's just a certain apathy about local politics and a tendency to be overwhelmed by the day-to-day.

And that makes sense. Time is limited, there's much to do. And events like these probably sound like just another boring debate. Who knew they could be such fun? And that's where the dazzling comes in. The organizers really created  an interesting, lively format for the event complete with sparkly homemade posters, buttons that said Dazzle Me, a be-ribboned Easter basket full of good question,  and a generally convivial atmosphere.

Still, ignorance is bliss on a glorious spring day. Many people in district 39 aren't even aware that there's a City Council election coming up. And among those who do, many don't know who's actually running.

A lot of people think Bill deBlasio (39th) and David Yassky (33rd) are running for third terms. The fact is deBlasio is running for NYC Public Advocate and David Yassky is running for City Comptroller.

Another thing: Isn't it strange that Park Slope is divided into two districts. On Third Street, I'm in the 39th and my sister on PPW and 1st Street is in the 33rd. PS 321 is in the 39th. The Community Bookstore is in the  33rd.

That's why OTBKB is covering both the 39th and the 33rd districts and trying to familiarize readers with the 12 men and one woman (in the 39th and the 33rd combined) and one Green, who are vying for those two seats in the Democratic primary on September 15th. That means that much of the campaigning will occur during the summer months when many people go  away. You get back from summer vacation and it's two weeks until the election.

And that's a problem. Because the 39th and 33rd are Democratic districts, for
all intents and purposes the candidate will be elected in the primary
because whichever democrat wins the primary will surely beat the
Republican in the general election.

So in the next weeks, the candidates will be going door-to-door to meet the  citizens of the 33rd and the 39th. Some of them have already been doing just that. In June (as designated by the Board of Elections) they'll be gathering signatures to get themselves on the ballot. If you do find yourself face-to-face with one of these guys or the one woman, Jo Anne Simon in the 33rd,  strike up a conversation and try to get a feeling for the type of person he or she is.

FYI: The Green candidates has to wait until July to get signatures to get his name on the ballot. The system is really stacked against the Greens (and other parties I assume) in our assertively  two-party  democracy. Another caveat: you can only put your signature on one petition. The Democrats should have no trouble filling their petitions with names. But if you want to see Green on the ballot, save your signature for July.

I was dazzled on Saturday. Dazzled by the look and feel of the forum. And excited to get a close up view of how the 39th candidates express themselves; how they looked on stage; their comfort level with the issues; their articulation of their core values; their experience and their opinions on the matters of concern to the district.

Today there's a candidates forum in Boro Park. The Green candidate wasn't invited. I wish I could be there. But I can't. Too much other stuff to do.

If you are, I'll see you there. It's this morning from 10:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the public library in Carroll Gardens. Organized by the Coalition for Respectful Development.

I love the name of this event and it perfectly characterizes the
feisty energy of the neighborhood activists who have organized this.

CORD (The Coalition for Respectful Development with SoBNA (South
Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance) have invited  the seven candidates who
are running for the City Council seat in the 39th District to a special
event called, the Dazzle Me Forum. Because this is in Carroll Gardens
the issue addressed may focus on this area but this should still be of
interest to voters from other neighborhoods.  

When: Saturday, April 25th

Time: Begins at 10:30 a promptly. Ends at 1:00 pm

Where: Carroll Gardens Library Auditorium at 396 Clinton St. @ Union St. Brooklyn, NY 11231

Here's how the organizers are framing this event:

These
men all want to work FOR US as our representative on the NYC Council.
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS you would like to ask? DO YOU HAVE CONCERNS and
want to choose the BEST PERSON POSSIBLE for this job? Here is your
opportunity!!

We
are taking your questions from now until April 15th. Your submissions
will become part of the event. If you would like some of your concerns
addressed…please submit your question(s) to:

Via email: CGCORD@GMAIL.COM
or via phone: 347-661-8819All questions (duplicates excluded) will be
submitted to the candidates on the day of the event. If you are
interested in attending we strongly recommend that you reserve a seat
as soon as possible. You may do so by using either the email address or
the phone number above.

Light refreshments will be served immediately following the "interviews"

I just discovered the Global Climate Blog that has information about anti-idling laws. Here's an excerpt from a post about NYC's anti-idling law called Introductory Number 631-A.

As reported in today's New York Times, Fresh Direct has agreed to buy new, improved trucks that are equpped with shutoff systems so that they won't be idling in front of your building anymore.

Where there's a will there's a way. OR: where there's a crack down you really see some action. Why didn't they do this sooner. Probably because the new trucks are expensive…

An investigation into Fresh Direct revealed that the company's trucks were violating anti-idling laws. That's the law that says a car or truck cannot idle for no longer than one minute.

Anti-idling laws were already on the books. But Bloomberg in 2009 strengthened them by reducing the number of minutes from three to one minutes.

Even at three minutes, Fresh DIrect has been breaking that law for a long, long time. They idle for much longer when they make multiple deliveries on one block. Those trucks can sit there for upwards of 15 minutes at all hours of the day and night.

Yay for Andrew Cuomo for pursuing this investigation and  making this happen. He told the New York Times that idling is bad for public health and the enviornoment. But it also wastes fuel. Fresh Direct is paying $50,000 in fines  for violating state and city anti-idling laws. 

But guess what? The refrigeration noise that also bothers people will not be shut off. Well, there's no law against refrigeration noise AND you don't really want Fresh Direct to have to turn the refrigeration off because that would be gross.

Still, those shutoff systems are a great idea. I think it is the idling that's very annoying and I for one am thrilled that this is happening.

The proposal by Jed Walentas of DUMBO's Two Trees Managment to build a 325-unit tower on Dock Street has a lot of people up in arms. Block the Brooklyn view of the Brooklyn Bridge?

You gotta be nuts to do that.

Local community groups oppose it. Even The National Trust for Historic Preservation has spoken out. But this week, the City Planning Commision, under the leadership of Commisioner Amanda Burden, still voted to go ahead with the plan — with a few minor cuts. The 10-story wing of the building would lose two to three stories.
That's the part that's  closest to the bridge and the side most likely
to obscure views.

Two to three stories? That's it?

Shirley McRae, the Brooklyn representative to the City Planning Commission and the former chair of  DUMBO's Commuity Board 2, told the Brooklyn Paper
that even with the cuts in height the building is TOO TALL. “The tower would still loom over the bridge and significantly obscure views,” she is quoted as saying.

Author David McCullough, who wrote The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972), has a column in this week's Newsweek, and had this to say. 

The most long lasting of great American works, the structure
destined "to convey some knowledge of us to remote posterity," said a
New York writer long ago, was "not a shrine, not a fortress, not a
palace, but a bridge."   That was in the spring of 1883, 126 years
past, when the completed Brooklyn Bridge
opened to the most exuberant public celebration of the era, complete
with the president of the United States, Chester A. Arthur, leading the
grand parade on foot from New York to Brooklyn over the bridge high above the East River.

"The
Great Bridge" was news everywhere. It was the moon shot of its time, a
brave, surpassing technical triumph, and more. For it was besides a
great work of art and a thrilling overture to the high-rise city in
America. Its giant granite towers stood taller by far than anything on
the New York skyline, taller indeed than any structure in all of North
America then. Over the years it has been photographed more than
anything ever built by Americans. It has been the inspiration for
songs, poems, paintings, no end of personal reminiscences and
thesetting for scenes in movies. It has remained New York's most
famous, best-loved landmark…

…In the years since, its importance has seldom ever been doubted or
seriously challenged. The sanctity of its own space has been unviolated
by and large. Until lately. Now, alas, plans are proceeding to build an
18-story luxury apartment building within a hundred feet of the bridge
on the Brooklyn side. (A vote in the process is expected this week.)
The building, as proposed by the Two Trees Management Co., would stand
184 feet high and just about ruin the view of the bridge from on shore,
as well as the view from the bridge looking toward Brooklyn—in other
words, the view for just about everyone except those living in the
apartments. To permit such a project so close to the bridge would be a
shameful, inexcusable mistake. There is no other way to say it.

Would
we wish to see an 18-story building go up beside the Statue of Liberty,
or next to Independence Hall in Philadelphia, or beside the Washington
Monument? Of course not.

I agree with McCullough 100%. Why should views of the bridge just belong to people rich enough to afford an expensive condo? That bridge belongs to the world and blocking views of it to citizens on the Brooklyn side is a crime. 

Hopefully this Newsweek piece will further convince the politicians and powers that be that this project should not go ahead as planned. David McCullough is set to meet with Borough President Marty Markowtiz. Brooklyn booster Markowitz of all people must understand the historical, emotional and spiritual power of that bridge. To block it is to block Brooklyn's place in the public imagination.

Down with Dock Street. Down. Down. Down.

Today is Friday and Hugh will be at the Old Stone House from 4-6 p.m. if you want to drop by. Hint hint.

You
are cordially invited to the opening of Essence and Accident:
Photographs by Hugh Crawford at the Old Stone House on April 28, 2009
from 6-8 p.m.

Hugh
Crawford's photographs of the city, rural ground, trees and water are
passionately formal evocations of the visually serendipitous landscape
of rural California and Brooklyn. His close studies of airplanes and
trees have the intricate and expressionistic quality of a Jackson
Pollock. In Crawford's pictures of Coney Island in the snow, the faded
amusement park site is transformed into a moonscape of fake palm trees
and the scrappy relics of a bygone era. His extreme close-ups of water
reveal an abstract world of mood and motion that are meditative and
supremely seductive.

The Where and When

Essence and Accident: Photographs by Hugh Crawford

Opening Party on April 28th from 6-8 p.m.

The show runs through June 30th

The Old Stone House

Fifth Avenue and Third Street in Park Slope.

For information and directions

The gallery is open on weekends and by appointment:

(contact hugh @hughcrawford.com).

Park Slope artist Cordula Volkening died on Wednesday of brain cancer.

"My work as an artist is to supply language that is unpretentious and
allow stories to be told without using tried-out recipes. Once the
visuals are created, I become a viewer just like anybody else and
surrender to the unique response that each visual solicits."

Painter Cordula Volkening died on Wednesday of brain cancer. A memorial is being planned. She is survived by two children ages 13 and 17. 

There was an article about Cordula Volkening in the New York Times a few months ago alongside this photograph by J.B. Reed and a video called "A Paintbrush and Nothing to Lose."

More
than a year ago, I got an email from a friend, who was Cordula's neighbor. She told me that Cordula, a visual artist, had been diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer.

Doctors told her she had three months to live.

What
sounded like a terrible tragedy was actually a life affirming story of
art triumphing over adversity. Despite the cancer, Cordula devoted herself to her wild, expressionistic paintings; she seemed to have an
incredibly passionate attitude about the end of her life and what she wanted to accomplish. 

For obvious reasons, I included her on the Park Slope 100 for being an inspiring artist and person.

Here's her Park Slope 100 blurb:

Cordula Volkening because with a diagnosis of stage 4 brain
cancer you decided to quit your job and devote yourself to your
painting. "Hey, I got advanced brain cancer – my system kicks me in the
butt and screams: Be your authentic self or you are going to die sooner
not later. Any questions?"

I wrote about her again in June 2008 because she was having a show
called Would You Like an Invitation to My Destination? at the Brooklyn Artists Gym.

At the time I wrote:

Cordula is real hero in my
book, a wild, brave heart, for not letting her disease get in the way
of her desire to make paintings. Sadly, the tumor makes it impossible
for her to speak.

Cordula underwent  two rounds of brain surgery and was in an 
experimental clinical trial. The tumor impaired her ability to
speak, but it did not keep her from making great art.The following is from the Times:

Ms. Volkening even tried a special experimental study at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell
hospital, which involved spending her days with electrodes attached to
her head. But by last March, the tumor was back and doctors operated
again, which damaged her speech capacity, and last September, doctors
found a second, inoperable tumor and said that heavy chemotherapy could
give her a few more months but probably would leave her without the
energy to paint.

Reading the article,  I was heartened by the fact that she was still alive—and that she was still painting. After all, doctors told her she only had three months to live. Cordula had other ideas.

39th District Council member Bill de Blasio, who is running for New York City Public Advocate, opposes Superfund status for the Gowanus Canal,

"We're being sold a bill of goods," he told the New York Daily News. "There isn't necessarily
money attached. … How can you call it Superfund if there's no fund?"

He also supports the Toll Brothers Development that has divided the neighborhood.

"We, locally, have gotten our act together. The city's doing the right
stuff. … The Toll site will get cleaned up," de Blasio said, charging
the feds would just "get in the way."

The Toll Brothers have said they will pull out of the site if it is designated a Superfund site. They want to build luxury townhouses, condos and a park and have promised to clean up the canal.

The question that is dividing the community now: Who do you trust to thoroughly clean a highly toxic canal that is rich in contaminated sediments? The federal government or a private developer (with the support of the city)?

As I understand it, the Superfund will not oversee or pay for clean up of the contaminated ground around the Gowanus and will not begin clean up until that has been completed.

Who cleans that? Questions. Questions.

Tonight join me at Brooklyn Reading Works (BRW), for another great event you won't want to
miss. Raina Washington, recipient of the Audre Lorde and Creative Writing awards at Brooklyn College, curates an evening of exciting new writing by
writers from the MFA program at Brooklyn College.

As usual, it's all happening at the Old Stone House in Park Slope (Fifth Avenue and Third Street) at 8 p.m. A $5 donation is appreciated and includes blender drinks and snacks.

Maisy Card was
born in Jamaica but raised in Queens New York. She is happily now a
resident of Brooklyn. She is a second year writer in the Brooklyn
College MFA program and a member of the Brooklyn Writers Space. Maisy’s
work explores characters and reinvents memories of life in Jamaica.

Andy Hunter has
served as editor-in-chief of various publications, including The
Brooklyn Review, Mean Magazine, and Lollapalooza Magazine.  In 2005,
his short fiction won the James Kirkwood prize, and in 2008 he obtained
his Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College. He
is working on his first novel.

Kristen Meinzer
is a Brooklyn-based writer. She received a BA in cultural studies and
comparative literature from the University of Minnesota in 1999, an
interdisciplinary MA in public history and consumer culture from NYU in
2005, and an MFA in fiction writing from Brooklyn College in 2008.
While at Brooklyn College, she served as Associate Fiction Editor of
the Brooklyn Review, and was a recipient of the Himan Brown Award in
Creative Writing. In 2008, she was granted a fellowship with the
Willard R. Espy Literary Foundation. Kristen's current project,
entitled The Year Of Asking (www.theyearofasking.com), documents her
attempts to receive something everyday, and receive it for free, for an
entire year.

Felise Nguyen was unworriedly
conceived in Saigon then born with some difficulty in San Francisco
then raised with much difficulty in Houston.  She has chronic
difficulty answering the question, Where are you from?, except when
she’s traveling, in which case she easily answers “Brooklyn”.  She is a
graduate of Barnard College, and the University of Chicago Law School
where she was taught by Martha Nussbaum and Barack Obama.  She has
every intention of receiving her M.F.A. from Brooklyn College this
May.  She currently divides her time between working as a legal analyst
and seeking a cause larger than herself, which should be easy because
she is very small.

Raina Washington never though
she’d live to see the day when ass cleavage is no longer a big deal.
She was recently a NYC Teaching Fellow, where she was not only allowed,
but paid to teach English to 6th graders. She is slowly getting her
brain back. Raina likes to raise the dead in her writing – giving new
voices to people from long ago. All writing is a kind of love letter to
these folks. Her work has appeared in Tarpaulin Sky and The Olive Tree
Review. Raina’s play “Reading the Meter” was performed at the Little
Theater at Dixon Place. She has received the Audre Lorde and Creative
Writing awards. Raina has a coveted writing MFA from Brooklyn College.
Please wish her well as she moves to Washington DC this summer.

Katia Kelly, who runs the great Carroll Gardens blog, Pardon Me for Asking, decided to take some out-of-towners to Two Toms for that real Brooklyn food experience. Read her story. Here's an excerpt:

Chilled by global warming? Starved for information about its effects on your food? Come to the Brooklyn Food Conference and hear activist Anna Lappe, co-founder of the Small Planet Institute and author of Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen, talk about how the winds of climate change are affecting the global food supply and what you can do about it.

For a look at the mouth-watering and though-provoking menu of talks, workshops, and activities for adults and children at the Brooklyn Food Conference, visit brooklynfoodconference.com

The Brooklyn Food Conference
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
John Jay High School (7th Avenue and 4th Street)
and activities for kids at PS 321 (180 7th Avenue at 1st Street)

This Thursday at Brooklyn Reading Works (BRW), another great event you won't want to
miss. Raina Washington, recipient of the Audre Lorde and Creative Writing
Awards at Brooklyn College, curates an evening of exciting new writing by
writers from the MFA program at Brooklyn College.

As usual, it's all happening at the Old Stone House in Park Slope (Fifth Avenue and Third Street) at 8 p.m. A $5 donation is appreciated and includes blender drinks and snacks.

Maisy Card was
born in Jamaica but raised in Queens New York. She is happily now a
resident of Brooklyn. She is a second year writer in the Brooklyn
College MFA program and a member of the Brooklyn Writers Space. Maisy’s
work explores characters and reinvents memories of life in Jamaica.

Andy Hunter has
served as editor-in-chief of various publications, including The
Brooklyn Review, Mean Magazine, and Lollapalooza Magazine.  In 2005,
his short fiction won the James Kirkwood prize, and in 2008 he obtained
his Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College. He
is working on his first novel.

Kristen Meinzer
is a Brooklyn-based writer. She received a BA in cultural studies and
comparative literature from the University of Minnesota in 1999, an
interdisciplinary MA in public history and consumer culture from NYU in
2005, and an MFA in fiction writing from Brooklyn College in 2008.
While at Brooklyn College, she served as Associate Fiction Editor of
the Brooklyn Review, and was a recipient of the Himan Brown Award in
Creative Writing. In 2008, she was granted a fellowship with the
Willard R. Espy Literary Foundation. Kristen's current project,
entitled The Year Of Asking (www.theyearofasking.com), documents her
attempts to receive something everyday, and receive it for free, for an
entire year.

Felise Nguyen was unworriedly
conceived in Saigon then born with some difficulty in San Francisco
then raised with much difficulty in Houston.  She has chronic
difficulty answering the question, Where are you from?, except when
she’s traveling, in which case she easily answers “Brooklyn”.  She is a
graduate of Barnard College, and the University of Chicago Law School
where she was taught by Martha Nussbaum and Barack Obama.  She has
every intention of receiving her M.F.A. from Brooklyn College this
May.  She currently divides her time between working as a legal analyst
and seeking a cause larger than herself, which should be easy because
she is very small.

Raina Washington never though
she’d live to see the day when ass cleavage is no longer a big deal.
She was recently a NYC Teaching Fellow, where she was not only allowed,
but paid to teach English to 6th graders. She is slowly getting her
brain back. Raina likes to raise the dead in her writing – giving new
voices to people from long ago. All writing is a kind of love letter to
these folks. Her work has appeared in Tarpaulin Sky and The Olive Tree
Review. Raina’s play “Reading the Meter” was performed at the Little
Theater at Dixon Place. She has received the Audre Lorde and Creative
Writing awards. Raina has a coveted writing MFA from Brooklyn College.
Please wish her well as she moves to Washington DC this summer.

Once again we are thrilled to have this missive from Rocky Sullivan quiz master, Scott Turner. And this week he even sends us a picture of himself. Nice to put a face to a name, eh?

Greetings, Pub Quiz Alamo Memory Merchants…

Brooklyn is Brooklyn.  It's unlike anywhere else.

To be unlike anywhere else, a place has to be a lot like everywhere else.

It then takes that gumbo and cooks up the vibe that renders a taste found nowhere else.

That's why Brooklyn and Texas are two very rough, prickly, vibrant, extravagant feathers of the same extraordinary bird.

Today's Bolt From The Blue Comparison arrives in service of this week's Rocky Sullivan's San Jacinto Day Pub Quiz.  This Thursday Texas is the topic of the Quiz's Music Round, Photo Round and Guest Round, all helmed by Texas native Rachell Turner — no relation, but be assured that at least one of us told gullible classmates that Nat Turner was a distant relative.

The Battle of San Jacinto — war, patriotism, and a really good Pub Quiz event

Yeah…a lot of Brooklynites and Texans might be aghast.  But remember — this isn't lumping together.  That's cattle-car uncomfortable.  Or NYC studio-apartment cramped.

No, this is a celebration of the confluences of the weird and
eccentric — plus a few tawdry scoundrels who deserve the bright red
target they've painted on their own backs.

We begin with…

Attitude.  Brooklyn and Texas are incredibly attitudinal.  From Marty Markowitz's dopey "Leaving Brooklyn — Fugheddaboudit!" signs to "Don't Mess With Texas," both places have a hopped-up sense of self.

Beer.  Both locales' suds have made the rest of the world very happy.  Brooklyn gave up its Brewing Capitol of America crown in the 1950s, but before that Piels, Rheingold and Schaefer all
called Brooklyn home.  Sadly, the borough's current best-known brand,
named after the borough, is an enthusiastic supporter of Bruce Ratner's disastrous Atlantic Yards project.  In Texas, Shiner Bock, Pearl and Lone Star are beloved brews that make the Lone Star State very, very unlonely.

Insane stadiums.  Ratner's disintegrating Barclays Nets
arena is insane.  But that's not the comparison here.  Rather, it's the
100,000 domed realm that Brooklyn and Texas reach across the aisle
for.  Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley wanted to build a 100,000 seat geodesic dome designed by Buckminster Fuller.  Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has built a 100,000 seat dome.  Insane.

Scales of Grandeur.  Texas' affinity for big, bigger, biggest
is legend.  Brooklyn, for all of its little-guy championing, has a
latent and always emerging hunger for The Big.  Markowitz's bizarre Manhattan envy is just Brooklyn's latest love-of-large proclivity. A century ago Coney Island's grand amusement parks were juggernauts.  The Brooklyn Navy Yard during WWII employed 70,000 24 hours a day.  And there's that Nathan's hot-dog eating contest every Fourth of July.

Immigrants.  Brooklyn and Texas have reaped the fruits of people
from other lands.  Despite all the back-patting, neither place is as
opened armed as we like to think or need to be.

Jackalopes and jackass politicians.  Neither Texas nor Brooklyn has a living jackalope, but at least in Brooklyn they're allowed to be off-leash in Prospect Park
before 9 a.m.  As for jackass politicians, we have both in droves. 
Recent times alone have been damaging.  Much of Texas is proud of George Bush and his Crawford cartel, and Governor Rick "We're Seceding From Obama's America" Perry.  Brooklyn?  Texas' infatuation with Bush, Perry, Phil Graham and Tom DeLay is more than matched by Brooklyn's bizarre and self-victimizing love of Michael Bloomberg.

Texas jackalope and jackass

Brooklyn's equivalents, in Prospect Park and 1 Metro Tech

phalluses, comma, big.  Brooklyn wins this competition, but just by a…hair.

churches.  Brooklyn is the Borough of Churches, and there's a rumor making the rounds that Texas itself is taken with religion.

accents. 
Texas and Brooklyn accents always used to turn up together.  Usually in
World War II movies.  Generally, the Brooklyn guy died before the Texas
guy.  Today, the classic Texas accent is alive and well.  Brooklyn? 
Fading, but still there.  Arrivals from elsewhere pick up Texas
accents, but in Brooklyn, they don't.

the Runaway Scrape vs. The Battle of Brooklyn.  In 1836, Sam Houston's
ragged army retreated from Mexican forces and deployed a scorched-earth
policy behind them.  In 2009, Bruce Ratner's ragged forces retreat from
community opposition, the bad economy and his own incompetence,
deploying a scorched-earth policy in Prospect Heights.  Houston's
forces emerged victorious and the Republic of Texas is formed.  Here's where the similarity will likely end.

Sam Houston, architect of the Runaway Scrape, and the architecture of Bruce Ratner's own Runaway Scrape

There're dozens more.  But the time has come to get this Quizmail into the mail.  Let me know what I've left out — I'll send out your Brooklyn-Texas suggestions in the next Quizmail.

Brooklyn…Texas: Different…Yet Not.

* * * * * * * *
Before we get to last week's wrap-up, a note about something exceptional.  Two weeks ago, during a round on Easter, I asked this question: "Which five colors do Peeps come in."  Most teams got all or most of the colors — yellow, white, pink, lavender and purple.  A number of teams insisted — insisted — that green is also a Peep color.

The Rocky Sullivan's Green Peeps Defence Committee was right, and I was wrong.  Green Peeps were introduced in 2007, the newest kids on the Peep block.

How wrong was I?  A package was waiting for me last week at
Rocky's.  I opened it to discover a five-pack of green Peeps and a note
from Anne Olivia Bauco.

Dear Scott,

Anne:  I don't think
you're a crazy-pants, complete or even partial.  I'm glad you proved
you were right in the most undeniable way possible — physical proof
sought out, purchased and delivered.  Thanks, Anne, for standing up for
yourself and everyone I left in the lurch.

The Quizmaster and the five tiny marshmallowy horses he should have ridden in on.

At 27, John Heyer is the youngest of the City Council candidates for the 39th District, but in many ways he's an old soul. The only candidate born in the district, Heyer is a fifth generation Carroll Gardener, who has been involved in local politics since he was 14-years-old and has a deep interest in the history of his neighborhood.

I met John and his wife, Maria, for breakfast last week at Joe's Coffee Shop, an institution in Carroll Gardens and a great place to run into long time locals. John, of course, knew practically everyone in the place and our conversation was punctuated with greetings to neighbors and friends.

Knowing his neighborhood past and present is key to Heyer's candidacy and who he is. Last year, he even  helped to curate an exhibition about Carroll Gardens for the Brooklyn Historical Society. He is currently planning a tour of the neighborhood's mom and pop shops, a chance to share his intimate knowledge of local history. 

He and his wife are currently buying a house in Carroll Gardens, moving out of the family apartment building where he grew up with his parents and grandparents. "I had a nightmare last night that I was stuck in the middle of the woods," he told me. "I think that was about my fear of not being able to get the house."

Heyer attended Xavarian High School in Bay Ridge and caught the political bug when he worked for Assemblywoman Joan Millman and the late Assemblywoman Eileen C. Dugan in his spare time. He cites them both as mentors and strong influences. 

At Fordham University, Heyer studied political science and theology and considered going to divinity school after college. He says he likes theology almost as much as he likes politics and devotes a great deal of time to service at his church, Sacred Hearts – St. Stephen, where he mentors kids in the Sacred Heart Youth Program.

But there was the tug of politics and public service he learned working with Millman and Dugan. Heyer briefly considered law school but decided instead to become a certified funeral director. He currently oversees 160 funerals a year at the Scotto Funeral Home, owned by Buddy Scotto, founder of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, an important figure in local politics. 

I, of course, was fascinated to hear what it takes to become a funeral director.

"You learn about cosmetology, anatomy, chemistry, embalming, bereavement psychology, small business and accounting," Heyer told me about his studies in a program associated with St. John's University.

Heyer, who was wearing a dark suit because of a funeral later in the day, is serious about his work at Scotto's. "It's not just the business of the dead, it's about the living and you have to be sensitive."

At the age of 23,  Heyer got the call from Borough President Marty Markowitz that changed his life. For nearly four years he has been assistant to Markowitz, a job that has taught him "how government works." While he doesn't agree with Markowitz about everything, Heyer does have great respect for his boss and firmly believes that Marty's support of Atlantic yards is not cynical. "He really thinks it's good for Brooklyn."

I asked Heyer what he thinks about the controversial project: "Certain aspects are too large. But I do think Brooklyn should have a national team."

From Marty Heyer has learned the key to a certain kind of local politics. "Marty knows that politics is about presence. Look at his schedule. In June he attends 16 graduations a day. He is many people's one-on-one connection to government."

So, I asked Heyer, what qualifies you, at the age of 27, to be a city council member?

"I am an expert on the district.  I know where it's been and where it needs to go. I was born here, it's where I grew up."

But it's his youth, Heyer says, that enables him to relate to young families that are more and more making Carroll Gardens their home. Heyer's wife Mia, is a lovely young woman, who works as a kindergarten teacher in Kensington, and is a member of Community Board 6. There's also a baby on the way.

Heyer like many of the candidates says that he's an advocate for livable neighborhoods. I asked him to specify because the phrase gets bandied about all the time.  "Livable means to keep each neighborhood distinct. A neighborhood isn't about brownstones, it's about characters."

Affordable housing is another buzz word that Heyer, like most of the other candidates, uses frequently. "There should be a place for everyone who wants to be here." Later he tells me: "No one one should want to move away. No one should have to move away."

He also wants to bring industry back to the Gowanus. "If we want industry we have to be smart about it. Small artisan businesses. Look at the Brooklyn Navy Yard."

So what about Superfund status for the Gowanus? I got the feeling that Heyer is suspicious about it and not sure why it has come up so suddenly. He also isn't really sure who actually pays for the clean up and wonders if it will mean more delays to the development of the area. (We spoke before the EPA community forum about Superfund status on April 14th and I'm curious how Heyer feels about the matter now).  

About the Toll Brothers luxury condos and townhouses? Heyer seems to like it. He's has some issues with it but likes the park, the residential element, and the inclusion of affordable housing.

Talking to Heyer you do  forget that he is only 27-years-old as he seems to have lived the history of Carroll Gardens from the immigrant days of his great grandparents to the 1970's when neighborhood activists like Buddy Scotto and others organized the first block associations to plant trees, revitalize the neighborhood and organize safety patrols.

From John, I learned about the four Brooklyn churches that were demolished because they were on the path of Robert Moses' BQE and the renaming of Carroll Gardens (named for Charles Carroll the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence).

By the end of breakfast I was fascinated by this amateur historian who has been working in politics since he was a teenager and is now a close associate of Marty Markowitz. Older than his years, Heyer is smart, enthusiastic and a strong proponent for preserving the character of historic neighborhoods.

Playwright Lynn Nottage's won the Pulitzer Prize, announced Monday, for Ruined, her play about the women of a Congolese brothel owned by an earth mother named Mama
Nadi..

"I wanted to tell the story of these women and the war
in the Congo and I couldn't find anything about them in the newspapers
or in the library, so I felt I had to get on a plane and go to Africa
and find the story myself," Nottage told the Associated Press.  "I
felt there was a complete absence in the media of their narrative. It's
very different now, but when I went in 2004 that was definitely the
case."

The drama currently is on view at
off-Broadway's Manhattan Theatre Club and is a co-production with
Chicago's Goodman Theatre.

Approximately 100 people  braved the inclement weather Monday night to participate in the first forum for candidates for City Council in the 33rd District (that includes the North Slope, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, parts of Carroll Gardens, Vinegar Hill, Williamsburg and Greenpoint.

The event, held in the auditorium of St. Francis College on Remsen Street, was sponsored by Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, was my first chance to eyeball and hear all the candidates in the 33rd. As you know I've had breakfast one on one with all the candidates in the 39th District.

So who was there? Six of the seven candidates, a smattering of local press, and interested citizens of the 33rd District.

And who are the candidates? Issac Abraham, Ken Behr, Doug Biviano, Ken Diamondstone, Jo Anne Simon and Evan Thiese. Steve Levin is also a candidate but he was not in attendance.

I could give you a quickk snapshot of each of the candidates but I am still processing my impressions and trying to decipher my notes.

More later.

I just heard from one of the organizer of the Kids Food Fair which
is part of the Brooklyn Food Conference

The conference is on May 1 and there are two sites for this ambitious event: adult and teen
events are at John Jay HS (Seventh Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets) and will run all day from 9-5 and end in a
dinner/dance.  And the Kids Food Fair runs from 11-3 at PS 321 (180 Seventh Avenue). 

She provided me with a  list of activities for the did's events at PS 321 so you can see all the great activities they're offering.  For more information on the whole thing, you can
log onto brooklynfoodconference.org.

The following is a list of events for kids at the Kids Food Fair at PS 321
All children must be accompanied by an adult, please!

Keeping Chickens in the City: A Community Gardner Shares His Chickens and Expertise
Gregory Anderson, Walt L. Shamel Community Garden

Big Feast: A Menu-Building Game Using Food from the Farmers Market
Sarah Poten, Greenmarket Youth Education Project, CENYC

Making Yummy Guacamole!
Laura Stanley, The Sylvia Center

Breakfasts For Babies: Wholesome Baby Food From Around The World To Your Kitchen
T.I. Williams, Educator and Activist

Bread-ucation: Learn, Create and Interact with the Bakers of HotBread Kitchen
Jessamyn Waldman, HotBread Kitchen

Puppet Show: Alicia’s Adventures in Bodegaland
Anna Sobel, Talking Hands Theatre

YOGA!
Jen Henriquez, International School of Brooklyn
Amy Quinn-Suplina, Bend and Bloom Yoga
Lauren Maples, BijaKids

‘Ask Me’ Clinic: Educated Advice on Food, Health, Nutrition and Allergies
Danielle Green, Brooklyn College
Maurice Washington, Maurice Healthworks
Nancy Tanney, Mother and Kindergarten Teacher, Brooklyn Friends
Sung Uni Lee, Holistic Health Educator and Chef
Lillian Hope, Mother and Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, New York Presbyterian Hospital

Sweet and Savory Muffins: A Cooking Activity
Nadia Rohrs, Occupational Therapist, PS 261
Eila Masur, Occupational Therapist, PS 321

Farm to Table: An Art Mural Painting Activity
Isabel Cruz, PS 27 Art Teacher

Go, Slow, Whoa!: A Physical Exercise Activity
Dina Lipkind, MS, RD, CDN; Yeled V’ Yalda Early Childhood Center-Eat Well, Play Hard in Community Project

Butter Churning and Apple Cider Making
Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum

Making Vegetable Summer Rolls
Ellen Barker, Go! Healthy The Children’s Aid Society

Urban Organic Farming: A Seed Sprouting Tutorial
Anastasia Andreyeva, Brooklyn College
Alex Sherman, Brooklyn College

What Does Hunger Look Like?: Learning about World Hunger
Shelton Walker, Mercy Corps

Let’s Make Ice Cream!
Farmer Rick, Ronnybrook Farms

Story and Art Activities from the Librarians of the Brooklyn Public Library
Lana Adlawan,
Lauren Anduri,
Janet Conton
Rakisha Kearns-White

Wiggly Worm Composting
Michelle Piano, Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment
Janet Pedersen, Children’s Book Author, Illustrator, and Composting Enthusiast

Scavenger Hunt for a Sustainable World
Barry Weinbrom, Environmental Educator

A Fair Trade Chocolate Tasting: Smell and Touch Real Cacao Beans and Learn How Chocolate Is Made
Ruthie Orland, Equal Exchange

Letter Writing Campaign/Art Project
Claudia Friedetsky, Parents for Climate Protection
Jacqueline Smith, Parents for Climate Protection

Dinneropoly: Travel the World to Gather a Sustainable Dinner
Katherine Borowitz, Green Mom
Marietta and Peter Brill, Green Parents

Story Pie: A Tasty Series of Readings and Activities
Robert Weinstock reads Food Hates You, Too and Other Poems and leads a poetry workshop

Emily Goodman reads Plant Secrets and we’ll plant a pizza garden

Janet Pederson reads Pino and the Signora’s Pasta and we’ll draw food portraits!

Green Smoothies!
Amie Hamlin, New York  Coalition for Healthy School Food

Brooklyn Bees: All about Beekeeping in the City from Brooklyn’s Own Artisanal Urban Honey Maker
John Howe, Brooklyn Bee

Acrobatics!
Big Apple Circus Afterschool Kids, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Film Preview: What’s on Your Plate? A Provocative New Documentary about City Kids Exploring Their Place in the Food Chain.  Includes Q & A with the film’s stars Sadie Rain Hope-Gund and Safiyah Kai Russell Riddle

Hip Hop Applesauce: Cool Moves from STATIC
Tilden High School’s Hip Hop Dance Troupe

That's Tuesday night at Issue Project Room. Doors open at 8 p.m. Show begins at 8:30. And what a reading it will be with music by Hal Wilner, Sean Lennon, Yuka Honda, Trevor Dunn  and Doug Weiselman.

Issue Project Room at the Old American Can Factory
232 3rd Street, 3rd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11215

Telephone: 718-330-0313

This Thursday at Brooklyn Reading Works (BRW), another great event you won't want to
miss. Raina Washington, recipient of the Audre Lorde and Creative Writing
Awards at Brooklyn College, curates an evening of exciting new writing by
writers from the MFA program at Brooklyn College.

As usual, it's all happening at the Old Stone House in Park Slope (Fifth Avenue and Third Street) at 8 p.m. A $5 donation is appreciated and includes blender drinks and snacks.

Maisy Card was born in Jamaica but raised in Queens New York. She is happily now a resident of Brooklyn. She is a second year writer in the Brooklyn College MFA program and a member of the Brooklyn Writers Space. Maisy’s work explores characters and reinvents memories of life in Jamaica.

Andy Hunter has served as editor-in-chief of various publications, including The Brooklyn Review, Mean Magazine, and Lollapalooza Magazine.  In 2005, his short fiction won the James Kirkwood prize, and in 2008 he obtained his Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College. He is working on his first novel.

Kristen Meinzer is a Brooklyn-based writer. She received a BA in cultural studies and comparative literature from the University of Minnesota in 1999, an interdisciplinary MA in public history and consumer culture from NYU in 2005, and an MFA in fiction writing from Brooklyn College in 2008. While at Brooklyn College, she served as Associate Fiction Editor of the Brooklyn Review, and was a recipient of the Himan Brown Award in Creative Writing. In 2008, she was granted a fellowship with the Willard R. Espy Literary Foundation. Kristen's current project, entitled The Year Of Asking (www.theyearofasking.com), documents her attempts to receive something everyday, and receive it for free, for an entire year.

Felise Nguyen was unworriedly conceived in Saigon then born with some difficulty in San Francisco then raised with much difficulty in Houston.  She has chronic difficulty answering the question, Where are you from?, except when she’s traveling, in which case she easily answers “Brooklyn”.  She is a graduate of Barnard College, and the University of Chicago Law School where she was taught by Martha Nussbaum and Barack Obama.  She has every intention of receiving her M.F.A. from Brooklyn College this May.  She currently divides her time between working as a legal analyst and seeking a cause larger than herself, which should be easy because she is very small.

Raina Washington never though she’d live to see the day when ass cleavage is no longer a big deal. She was recently a NYC Teaching Fellow, where she was not only allowed, but paid to teach English to 6th graders. She is slowly getting her brain back. Raina likes to raise the dead in her writing – giving new voices to people from long ago. All writing is a kind of love letter to these folks. Her work has appeared in Tarpaulin Sky and The Olive Tree Review. Raina’s play “Reading the Meter” was performed at the Little Theater at Dixon Place. She has received the Audre Lorde and Creative Writing awards. Raina has a coveted writing MFA from Brooklyn College. Please wish her well as she moves to Washington DC this summer.

On Wednesday, April 22 at 7 p.m. Anne Waldman, who has published over forty volumes of poetry, directed St. Mark's
Poetry Project, and co-founded the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied
Poetics will read at the Stephan Dweck Center at the Central Library. Brooklyn-born Martin Espada has published thirteen books in all as a
poet, essayist, editor and translator will also be reading.

The Stephan Dweck Center
Brooklyn Public Library (at Grand Army Plaza)

OTBKB has four free tickets to see Nina Violet at Jalopy tonight. Let me know if you are interested.

Nina an intriguing new artist from Martha's Vineyard, is a songwriting machine who sings and plays a half dozen instruments. She is part of Willie Mason's ("Oxygen") band and has opened for Radiohead with Willie in the UK.

www.myspace.com/ninaviolet

Another great event at Brooklyn Reading Works that you won't want to miss.

Raina Washington curates an evening of new fiction by Brooklyn writers.

April 23rd at the Old Stone House at 8 p.m.
Fifth Avenue at Third Street

A $5 donation includes blender drinks and refreshments.

Photo of voice activated blender by PM Tarrone