Read why Morgan over at the Brooklyn Optimist is against term limits. I’m not sure how I feel about the issue so it’s very interesting reading over there. Here’s an excerpt.

The Queens Tribune calls it "tyranny". "Never has the city seemed so nakedly for sale," writes Newsday. The good government group Common Cause wants the Mayor investigated for
using "his position in a prohibited manner to obtain personal advantage
in a quid pro quo deal with Ronald Lauder." Even the Mayor himself said
(back in 2005): "I think it would be an absolute disgrace to go around the public will."

But
still the City Council and Mayor Bloomberg are less than two weeks away
from pulling off the most shameful power grab in the history of New
York. This is the time for all New Yorkers to stand up and save our
City from the naked ambition of our elected officials.

Despite Congress’ best efforts it looks like we’re stuck with the
financial crisis for a while. And if that has you thinking twice before
ducking into Diane Kane or Loom for a bit of retail therapy, take
heart. New vintage clothier BDV
bows at booth E-29 at the Brooklyn Flea this coming Sunday Oct. 12, and
by the looks of it, the collection, pleasing to the eye and wallet,
harks back to the better days of decades gone by. Who knows, maybe a
little sartorial escapism is just what we all need.  If you agree,
there’s 1940s Hollywood film star elegance (slip into the John
Wannamaker dressing gown) on the racks as well as Mad Men—esque cropped
jackets and pencil skirts, and even vibrant 1970s floral dresses just
begging to be taken to South Beach—or the Gowanus Yacht Club before it
shuts down for the season.

Photo by Tamarmosh

The Where and When

Sunday, October 12
10 am – 5 pm
BDV at booth E-29
The Brooklyn Flea
@ Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Fort Greene
Lafayette Ave. between Clermont and Vanderbilt Ave.

Julie Markes, the co-president of the PS 321, sent me some sad news this morning, which she asked me to share with OTBKB readers.

Joyce Watson, the wonderful crossing guard who used to cross kids to PS 321 from the corner of First  Street and Seventh Avenue, passed away this week.

She will be remembered by students and parents for the lovely way she spoke to the children.

"Hello beautiful," she used to say.  I can hear her melodic voice in my head. I always thought it would be a good idea to record her.

Did anyone ever record her voice?

Hers was a lilting, musical voice full of endearments for the children: "Good Morning, my sweet angels" "Hello lovely lady." "How are you today, handsome?"

She was a much a part of our mornings as cereal for breakfast, conversations with friends outside of the school, waiting on line for a coffee at Connecticut Muffin.

Do you remember any of her endearments? If you do please send them in. Otherwise, they will become the lost art of this wonderful crossing guard.

I’m not sure how long Joyce was the crossing guard but I feel like she was there for the entire 11 years that I was a parent at PS 321.

Every morning and every afternoon, there she was (until she left more than a years ago when she took sick). That lovely voice, that cheerful demeanor, those endearing phrases addressed to the children.

Her funeral is Friday, October 9, at 11am.  It’s at Queen of all Saints
Church at 300 Vanderbilt Ave.  Near the corner of Lafayette Avenue.

Good bye sweet angel, thank you for the civility your brought to our mornings.

At BAM this weekend: Woyzeck By Georg Büchner with music by Nick Cave. Performed by Vesturport and The City Theatre and directed by Gísli Örn Gardarsson. Sounds interesting.

A
man thrashes violently in a gigantic water tank, his limbs akimbo, his
face a mask of sheer terror. Welcome to Woyzeck’s world as imagined by
Iceland’s breakout actor/director Gísli Örn Gardarsson—a place that,
thanks to the hyper-athletic cast, explodes with energy. Set to a
rollicking score by cult rock legend Nick Cave and The Dirty Three’s
violinist Warren Ellis, this is a Woyzeck for the angst-ridden
21st-century, a stunningly visceral take on Georg Büchner’s classic
tale of honorable intentions gone tragically wrong.

Frantic to
support his mistress and her young son, Woyzeck succumbs to a series of
gruesome scientific experiments which only increases his mounting
paranoia and fear that his Marie is having an affair. She is, of
course, with the Drum Major, a charismatic sadist who swings menacingly
from a trapeze, baiting and beating the hapless Woyzeck. The
black-cloaked chorus intones forebodingly, bearing witness to all that
unfolds. It’s too much. Woyzeck is pushed to the brink and, thanks to
Gardarsson and his intrepid company, we go along—mesmerized and
breathless—to the inevitable, watery finale.

The Where and When

October 15, 17, 18 at 7:30 p.m.
BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House
Running time: 90min, no intermission
Ticket: $20, 35, 45, 60

I had the pleasure of attending the Kol Nidre service at Congregation Beth Elohim last night, the eve of Yom Kippur.

Rabbi Andy Bachman delivered a thoughtful and thought-provoking sermon about religion, transparency, and architecture. It was fascinating. The sermon, from which this is an excerpt, is titled: The Transparent Synagogue.

Read the rest at his blog, Ideas (the blog is subtitled: Thoughts
during the day in the life of Rabbi Andy Bachman building community at
Congregation Beth Elohim). I am so glad he put this sermon online (it is just one more element of "the transparent synagogue).

One usually ends a Drash on Yom Kippur with such a wish; but this
year, more than ever, we need to reassure ourselves that in our time of
great uncertainty, the sustainability of our our Tradition and what it
offers us–not just in the piety and seriousness of these Days of Awe
but also in times of trouble in our nation and the world–our Tradition
can shelter us, our People can comfort us, and our Synagogue can
provide something of a structure to use in building our lives anew in
this Season of Renewal.

Structure is a good thing–even for the
most free of spirit. It says everything about our values. Our words are
a structure; our Torah a scaffold of our beliefs and values.

I
married a couple recently–they are both architects, in their early
thirties. When this couple first walked into our Congregation–two
structures as profoundly beautiful as they are in need of repair (like
our great nation) they were in awe. Just as people should be when they
walk into a place that Jacob himself found awesome as he awoke from a
dream and called the spot “Beit Elohim. How awesome is this place and I
did not notice!” They noticed, and said so, and after first thinking
they’d get married in the picnic house in Prospect Park where they had
booked their reception, they opted to build their own Chuppah, get
married in our Chapel, and then go eat in the Park. It was a class
move.

The Chuppah’s was all about transparency–there was a
steel structure which held a modestly opaque silk that was illustrated
and adorned with digitally rendered red and white flowers. It was both
the Chuppah and the “idea of the Chuppah.” I really enjoyed standing
there.

Their Ketubah–the marriage contract–bore the same
qualities. A friend designed it with an abstract illustration. When I
looked at it, I could see a couple, the woods in the Park, or, from
another angle, nothing but pleasant execution of drawing skill. The
heading was the Hebrew date, rendered in traditional language, followed
by their own uniquely written vows to one another. And at the end they
had declared their union to be a “valid acquisition of one another.”
That notion is taken directly from the Talmud–though in Traditional
Judaism, only the man acquires the woman. Here, their mutual
acquisition, their commitment to one another, to their shared values,
and to the Jewish Tradition, was all part of the transaction.

For
me, the fascination and pride in this encounter is two-fold. One, the
overall engagement with the Tradition. I admit it’s my line of work but
hey, that’s a good thing. Two, is the fact that one member of this
couple grew up as a relatively unaffiliated Reform Jew and the other
member of the couple is not Jewish. But Judaism and the structures of
Judaism, the infrastructure of Judaism, the architecture of Judaism,
not only speaks loudly and to the hearts of such seekers but provides
the foundation upon which these people have begun to design and
construct their lives. But we know that–that’s why we’re here. We’ve
had the date circled in our calendar for a long time. Notwithstanding
my friend Allen, who called me today from LA and when I said I couldn’t
talk too long because I was preparing for Yom Kippur, he joked, “but
that’s not for six months!” It reminds me of the actor Jeffrey Tambor’s
joke on Garry Shandling’s Larry Sanders show a few years back. When
being interviewed about his desire to study Judaism more seriously with
his rabbi (whom he had a big crush on) Tambor’s character, Hank
Kingsley was asked if he observed Judaism. “The major holidays,” he
offered. “Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and the 4th of July.’”) Even for
those most “outside” the fold, the structure remains.

Our two
buildings here at Beth Elohim were constructed at the dawn of the
twentieth century. And this sanctuary still has a foot firmly planted
in the 19th century to be sure. Around Grand Army Plaza, next to our
neighbor Union Temple, the architect Richard Meier is completing a
decidedly twenty-first century building made of glass and white steel,
a paragon of transparency, constructed on the principles, as he put it,
of Louis Kahn’s tradition of the “architecture of occasion.” Meier says
that such buildings “encourage public gatherings and contemplation,
inspire creativity, give pleasure, and infuse both visitors and
occupants with a sense of event.”

“Encourage public gatherings
and contemplation, inspire creativity, give pleasure, and infuse both
visitors and occupants with a sense of event.”

Sounds like a great mission for a synagogue and a great reason to be Jewish.

It’s
a sign of our post-modern era and our digital age that we have the
ability to both deconstruct but also rebuild the idea of what it means
to be Jewish while at the same time holding on to what we firmly
believe are the Eternal Values of Jewishness and Judaism. This is the
adaptability factor–a quality all good historians credit for Judaism’s
survival.

Transparency means something today. We are hearing
calls for it in government, in how our schools are run, in business
(God knows we need it especially in business) and in religious life as
well. It seems to be a standard now by which people assess and judge
their affiliations. A century ago the Rabbi was rather distant and
opaque. He stood upon this Bimah, high above and far removed from the
people below. In the sixties that began to change with the shift toward
greater folkiness and proximal nearness. Rabbi Sack was to most, Rabbi
Sack. Rabbi Weider was to most, Jerry. That says alot about a
generational shift toward accessibility, further democratization of the
Tradition, and an intimacy that served as a counter-weight to the
distant and fear-inspiring models of leadership from of old.

For those wondering what’s happening with those burned out storefronts on Seventh Avenue between Union Street and Berkeley Place here’s some news.

It seems that site, which used to house Zuzu’s Petals and Olive Vine and a Korean market is in the process of being developed.

Oh yeah, we knew that. But things seemed to be stalled for so long I was wondering what was going on.

Turns out that the new owners and architects of that site presented their plans to the Landmarks Commission on October 8th. They should be hearing back in the next few months I’m guessing.

The new building will replace the fire damaged structure currently on that site at 79 and 81 7th Avenue.  I remember seeing plans for that site. It’s set to be a condo with a large storefront. As I remember it’s got a red brick loft building look with large windows.

Does anyone know anything else about this new building and the process?

Joyce Szuflita, who runs the blog, My Sidewalk Chalk, has this good news to share for those looking for a spot  in a public Pre-K programs NOW.

That Joyce, she is a major resource for educational info of all kinds. Check out her highly informative blog. While you’re over there you can read about the Brooklyn Prospect Charter School.

The DOE announced that there are a few spots left in public pre-Ks for 
this fall. All children who are 4 years old by Dec. 31 are eligible 
to enroll in a UPK program. The deadline to enroll is Oct. 31.

You can  go to the DOE UPK information page to get availability by District 
and to find out about enrollment. The list says that Agnes Humphrey 
may have full day seats, PS 38 may have full day seats, PS 130 may 
have am and pm, and PS 131 may have pm. There are also CBO’s that may 
have spots.

http://schools.nyc.gov/ChoicesEnrollment/PreK/default.htm
Joyce Szuflita

Brooklyn Beat of Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn wrote this inspiring post yesterday, a gorgeous autumn day.

An amazing day in Brooklyn Heights. The graceful rays of the autumn
sun, the air temperature just perfect, brought out the lunchtime crowds
to the Tuesday Greenmarket on Cadman Plaza near Brooklyn Borough Hall
and the Supreme Court Building. Tomatoes, fruits, flowers, dozens of
types of fresh fall apples (with many to sample), baked goods, and of
course, pumpkins and gourds as a reminder that autumn is here. The
crowds are quiet, almost contemplative, of nature’s bounty and the
pleasure of a Fall afternoon. I don’t always get out of the office at
lunchtime, although I know I should. But a fantastic day like this,
almost lets you forget for a moment, almost, about politics, economics,
and the like, and just revel in the simple pleasure of being another
working stiff on a lunch break, on a lovely day, surrounded by natural
colors, in Brooklyn Heights, New York.

Brooklyn Reading Works presents Poetry Punch, a festive, fun,
celebratory group reading of poets curated by Michele Madigan
Somerville.

And, yes, there will be punch. Lots of punch.

This year’s reading really packs a punch with Bill Evans, Jeff
Wright, Joanna Sit, Ilene Starger, Will Nixon, Louise Crawford and
Michele Madigan Somerville. Says Michele: "The poets on the bill are
all very high interest, high energy poets: juicy, libidinous, good
performers, not dry."

Bill Evans: "I always think if God were a New York
poet he’d sound like Bill. Bill is funny and speechifying in a
philosophical yet embracing way.

Jeff Wright: "He used to call himself a "new
romantic" came up as a boy wonder among New York School and Beat
legends, edited Cover Magazine for a long time, has a bunch of books
and chap books out, and writes lush, sexy, surreal and funny — he’s a
latter day troubadour! In sillier moments I have referred to Jeff as
"The Dean Martin of the Downtown Poetry Scene"

Joanna Sit: "Chinese born Medgar Evers Professor Joanna Sit is a middle-aged knockout who writes like an Irish woman high on Absinthe."

Ilene Starger A New York-born poet whose work has
appeared in such publications as Folio, Georgetown Review, Paper
Street, Oyez Review, Oberon and Ibbetson Street. Ilene’s brand new
chapbook Lethe, Postponed will be published in August 2008 by Finishing
Line Press. She is currently putting together her next collection of
poems.

Michele Madigan Somerville: The author of Wisegal
from Ten Pell Books: "A multilingual hardrock reverie…going upside
your head to whisper whipsmart secrets about cracked-out big-city
survival.” She runs the Ceol Poetry Series at the Ceol Pub on Smith
Street.

Louise Crawford: Louise runs OTBKB and Brooklyn Reading Works. She will read from her unpublished collections, Therapy and Anarchists Don’t Return Phone Calls.

Will Nixon: His book, My Late Mother as a Ruffed
Grouse (FootHills Publishing), offers poems inspired by his experiences
growing up in the Connecticut suburbs, then living in Hoboken and
Manhattan as a young man, and finally moving to a Catskills log cabin.
His previous chapbooks are When I Had It Made (Pudding House) and The
Fish Are Laughing (Pavement Saw). His poems have also appeared in many
journals, including Rattle, The Ledge, Slipstream, Wisconsin Review,
Tar River Poetry, and others. His work has been nominated for a
Pushcart Prize and and listed in The Best American Essays of 2004. He
now lives in Woodstock.

The Where and When

Thursday, October 16th at 8 p.m.
Brooklyn Reading Works at the Old Stone House
Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets
It’s the stone house in JJ Byrne Park
$5 donation appreciated. Punch and light refreshments will be served.

One of Brooklyn’s top "teen" bands, Fiasco, is set to release an album on IMPOSE Records. Listen to  the a capella version of their song, "Oh You Horny Monster." It’s a knockout (the instrumental is pretty great, too). Sunday, October 12 at 8 p.m. is the all-ages release party at Death by Audio (all details on the bands MySpace page).

The album has already been reviewed by Lost at Sea Magazine:

"With no lyrics, no love songs, and no choruses, Native Canadians is
the type of album to play while driving around smashing the mailboxes
of senior citizens or pissing your name in the snow of some neighbor’s
front lawn, with cheap beer in hand, only to turn around and see your
buddies drive off. At under twenty-two minutes, Native Canadians is as gloriously brief as adolescence and close to being just as furious and fun."

And Pitchfork Media loves their music video:

"Aw, man, I used my lazy ‘lose your lunch’ quip too soon today. Dizzying colors mix with dizzying, combustible guitars– and plenty more fake blood– in this video for Fiasco’s instrumental "Oh You Horny Monster", from the Brooklyn band’s upcoming debut LP, Native Canadians. Like the Ventures covering Rachmaninoff, Fiasco let their guitars buzz and sting, although the drums are more mathematically precise, and the whole thing is more inclined toward herky-jerk tempo changes and volatile outbursts. Director Carlos Charlie Perez concentrates on colorful comic-book graphics and some blood-spattered, motionless dudes, and he also gives us glimpses of a couple of familiar comic-book heroes. If this makes your monster horny, do a better job chaining him under the bed."

Gowanus Lounge is back in the saddle. His coverage of real estate and development in Brooklyn was sorely missed. Here he offers an explanation for his absence. It seems that he was set to to partner up with someone but things didn’t work out.

Gosh. He made it sound like someone died. Or it was the break up of a romance.

Glad to hear it was just the demise of a business relationship; but that can be pretty devastating, too. Sounds like GL was trying to grow the blog and also alleviate some of his own work load. Now he’s looking for stringers, interns, and tipsters to help him out.

And now, a few words of explanation. I have always preferred to keep GL as a place for news, observation, images and analysis, but I’d like to offer some insight about what happened. Life events left me no choice but to suspend GL for a time. I had hoped to partner with someone and create a very formidable news team in Brooklyn and beyond. This person was part of the GL team for a long time and is still deeply missed. The real point, however, is that blogging is a huge commitment of time and energy and requires a lot of focus. GL takes up an additional 6-8 hours a day beyond our “day job” at Curbed. It has always been a labor of love. So, it was time to endure some turmoil and reassess. All that having been said, I can no longer sit back and walk past neighborhood news and ignore it. So, I resuming posting with hope that GL will continue to grow.

.

Catherine from the Community Bookstore sent this my way (for which I am grateful). She describes David Mahfoud, the creator of this gigantic American flag, as “Bookstore family” and someone I would probably want to know about. She’s right.

Two years ago I started making a large American Flag. The process of making it has been convoluted, and keeping and bearing it has been difficult and consuming – most difficult though, has been saying what the flag means and why it was made.

I have muttered and muddled a host of explanations over the past two years, some of which were nearly accurate: this is the flag of the American Left; it was to be hung from the Brooklyn Bridge to force the Authority to apprehend itself; it is for this, for playing in; America is a good idea.

The truth, or what is nearer the truth, is simpler.

I made the large flag because I wanted, or needed, an object – some material place – to which I could affix hope.

Usually when we think about hope, we think about a distant situation – something to move towards. But hope is near – it acts on our present – our immediate posture. In hoping, we orient ourselves – we make our first slight movement towards realization.

Please come to Mending Bee for Change – an event made to generate, collect, and focus hope – a fundraiser for the Barack Obama campaign for America. It is clear to me that Barack is not a perfect candidate, and it is for this reason that now, this month, I urge you to join me in hoping with him and for his presidency.

Meet us in Union Square this Friday night at 8pm, where we’ll be holding the large American Flag, and talking to people about Barack Obama and America. At 8:30 we’ll depart with the flag, and make a small parade towards Brooklyn Bridge Park, where we’ll use the flag as a venue for a benefit concert.

Then, after a good night’s sleep, meet us on Saturday October 11th in Prospect Park between noon and dusk. We’ll be mending the large American flag, collecting donations for Obama’s campaign, and commitments to phone bank and visit swing states like Pennsylvania and Ohio

.

The Where and When

Friday, October 10 at 8 p.m.
Union Square
There will be a parade with the flag to Brooklyn Bridge Park

Saturday October 11
Between noon and dusk
Prospect Park (he’s not specific where)

As reported on NY1 and elsewhere, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum says that teens are having a tough time getting emergency contraception at city clinics this year compared to last. She says only one third of Health and Hospitals Corporation and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene clinics provided same-day emergency contraception.

Health and Hospitals Corporation officials are making changes based on the report Gotbaum says. Department of Health officials say anyone looking for emergency contraception can call 311 or visit nyc.gov/health.

One of my heroes, Alice Waters founder of the Berkeley restaurant, Chez Panisse, and a pioneer of the local food movement, will be on Leonard Lopate Show today at noon (WNYC.org)

Also note this event, which is part of the NYC Wine and Food Festival.

Tara Parker-Pope and Alice Waters will be participating in a panel discussion
“Beyond Chicken Nuggets: How to Raise a Healthy Eater”
Sun. Oct. 12th from 12:00-1:30 PM
HIRO Ballroom, 88 9th Avenue (Between 16th and 17th Sts.)
For tickets and more info, go here

For the umpteenth year in a row (honestly, we’ve lost track of the number), we’re presenting our ever-popular Celebrate the State dinner. As usual, you can expect a theme, a menu and wine pairings that explore the broad autumnal bounty of the Empire State. This year’s subtext is Game, and Chef Marcellus Coleman has been working hard to source game meat, fish and fowl from around NY, and he’s promising an exciting card.

Please reserve asap, as tix for this event always sell out quickly. $95, all inclusive of tax and service. The Special Ticket Hotline number is 718-783-3800. (Please remember that we’re terribly old-fashioned, in that we take reservations, and sell tickets, only over the phone. We’re exploring other options and hope to have an internet-based system in place by 2015.)

The Where and When
Thursday, October 23rd at 7 p.m.
Rosewater Restaurant
Union Street near Sixth Avenue

Two You Tube videos you won’t want to miss:

Israelis for Obama

Sarah Silverman and The Great Schlep

Brought to you by the Feldman Family from their local weather tower.

This weekend: Openhouse New York means you can go inside all those places you’ve always wanted to go inside. Check the OHNY schedule. In Brooklyn you can see:

–the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment;
— the Pratt Institute’s 1898 neo-Georgian Caroline Ladd mansion;
–Tom Otterness’s sculpture studio
–Floyd Bennett Field. It’s best to plan ahead, as space is limited at some locations, like
–the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church
–BAM
–Brooklyn Borough Hall
–Brooklyn Historic Society
–Brooklyn Lyceum
–Brooklyn Museum
–The City Reliquary
–Green-Wood Cemetery
–Mark Morris Dance Center
–The Montauk Club
–Row House Revival and MORE

Earlier today, Mayor Mike Bloomberg announced that he has changed his mind about the term limits law ant that he will seek a run for a third term as mayor citing the need for good leadership during this economic crisis as an important reason.

“The good news is that we have
planned for a slowdown in New York, but we may well be on the verge of
a meltdown,” Mr. Bloomberg told the crowd, “and it’s up to us to rise to the
occasion.”

"A third term is a challenge I want to take on for the people of New York.”

Jezra Kaye, Park Slope’s public speaking guru is offering some terrific workshops.

September Special extended: You can book an individual coaching session (phone or in-person) at 20% off! Sign up now! Join Jezra Kaye for these upcoming workshops:

Speak with Impact! (a Women’s Intensive)
This Saturday, October 4th, 10AM-6PM, Providence RI (if you know anyone in Providence).

Presentations that Persuade (for Men and Women)
Wednesday, October 15th, 6:30-9PM, NYC
at a special economic anxiety price–$30!**

Speak Like a Woman (Powerfully!)
for Executive Women and Women in the Public Eye
Saturday, November 15th, 10AM-6PM in NYC

Mayor Mike plans to announce on Thursday morning that he will seek a third term as mayor, according to three people who have been told of his plans…Read more in the Times.

You know I like lists (Park Slope 100, anyone?). So when I saw the article this week’s 40th anniversary issue of New York Magazine, What Matters Most, who’s the most important New Yorker of the last 40 years, I was all over it. And you just know I had to give it a go. Hey guys, I reserve the right to make changes to my list.

Please send me your list:

Louise’s list (off the top of her head)

1. John V. Lindsay, mayor of New York City from 1966-1973; he closed Central Park to traffic for bike riding on the weekends.

2. Gloria Steinem, founder of Ms. Magazine and leading American feminist.

3. Joseph Papp, founder of the Public Theater and Shakespeare in the Park.

4. Florent, owner of Restaurant Florent, a 24-hour French bistro/diner on Gansevoort Street (now closed).

5. Brian Lehrer, live radio talk show host whose show is an amazing resource for information and opinion about NYC politics and civic life.

6. Diane Arbus, a photographer who captured a dark view of New York City life on the edge.

7. Havey Lichtenstein, whose 32-year tenure as Executive Director of BAM, made Brooklyn a destination for cutting edge theater, music, dance and performance.

8. Joe Holz, one of the founders of the Park Slope Food Coop. Nuff said.

9. Jane Jacobs, author of The Death and Live of Great American Cities.

10. Anna Deavere Smith, for her one-woman show about the Crown Heights riots, Fires in the Mirror.

Extras: Jonas Mekas, Woody Allen, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld, Spike Lee, Phil Schapp, Lucy Calkins…

Here’s Hugh’s list (off the top of his head)

1. Andy Warhol

2. Truman Capote

3. Diana Vreeland

4. Leo Castelli

5. Milton Glaser

6. Lou Reed

7. Lester Bangs

8. John Lindsay

9. The McNallyBrothers

10.Keith Haring

11. Sam Wagstaff

I got this email from an OTBKB reader and was thrilled to learn about this photographer’s Face of Brooklyn project. It’s really cool.

I’ve lurked on your blog for quite a while, and realized that you might be a good person to pass this along to.

My wife, Nora Herting, has been taking portraits of people in Brooklyn parks as part of a project for the Brooklyn Historical Society. The idea being that the people in the portraits will gift them to the Historical Society Archives. I thought you might be interested.

http://www.faceofbrooklyn.com/

On October 3 come to Art Obama, a silent auction of over 100 small works by American artists to support the election of Barack Obama and down-ticket Democrats. Proceeds benefit the Obama Victory Fund. Donations also accepted for ActBlue, a clearinghouse supporting progressive House and Senate candidates nationwide. Space is limited, and pre-registration for this event is strongly recommended.

The Where and When
Friday, October 3, 2008
7 to 10 pm (bidding 7 to 9 pm)
62 Eighteenth Street, 5th Floor, Brooklyn, NY
$25 at the door

That’s the name of a new show at the Brooklyn Historical Society on Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights. It’s a lovely place, which has beautifully designed exhibits and this one sounds interesting.

Brooklyn’s neighborhood storefronts have the city’s history etched in their facades. Each store is as unique as the customers they serve and are run by owners who share a commitment to provide a special service. Many shops are lifelines for their communities, vital to the residents who depend on them for a multitude of needs. Yet such shops are disappearing on a daily basis as their neighborhoods rapidly change. Photographer-curators James and Karla Murray have scoured Brooklyn to observe “mom and pop” businesses from humble neighborhood stores tucked away on narrow side streets to well-known institutions on historic avenues.

Through panoramic photographs, portraits of individual storefronts, and illuminating interviews with shop owners, this exhibition reveals how neighborhood stores help set the pulse, life, and texture of their communities.

The Where and When
Brooklyn Historical Society
128 Pierrepont Street at Clinton Street
September 10-December 28, 2008
The museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
Weekdays open 12-5, weekends 10-5

An OTBKB reader sent word of a new album from the owner of Song, a fave Park Slope Thai restaurant. Sure, Song is named Song, but who knew the owner was also a “kick-ass rocker.”

I wanted to introduce you to a kick-ass rocker out of Brooklyn, Ariel Aparicio, who I thought you might be interested in blogging about.
Ariel is a Brooklynite at heart (though Cuban-born and Miami-raised); not only making his home in BK, but also home for the 2 successful Thai restaurants he owns: Joya in Cobble Hill, and its sister establishment Song, in Park Slope.
Ariel’s vocal stylings run the gamut from the ultra-cool Iggy Pop & The Stooges-style mumblings, to Bowie-esque pop-punk precision, to the modern-rocker style of Julian Casablancas of The Strokes.
Ariel’s new album, All These Brilliant Things, is set for hard release at the end of October

.

This is the press release from Develop Don’t Destroy.

BROOKLYN, NY— A State Appellate Court* panel has rejected the Empire State Development Corporation’s (ESDC) motion to dismiss Goldstein et al. v. Empire State Development Corporation—the Atlantic Yards eminent domain lawsuit filed by nine property owners and tenants with properties in the footprint of Forest City Ratner’s foundering megaproject proposal. The case was filed on August 1st of this year.

The ESDC unsuccessfully tried to dismiss the petitioners’ case, which charges that New York State’s use of eminent domain to seize private homes and businesses for developer Forest City Ratner’s (FCR) Atlantic Yards project violates the New York State Constitution’s public use, due process and equal protection clauses, as well as low-income resident requirements.

The petitioners’ victory is a major setback for FCR and the ESDC. FCR President/CEO Bruce Ratner recently told The New York Times that he plans to “break ground” in December. Ratner does not own the land he needs to build his proposed arena and skyscraper project, and is attempting to have New York State seize the land for him by eminent domain.

“Though Ratner claims that he’ll ‘break ground’ for his Atlantic Yards proposal in December, he cannot do so unless New York State uses eminent domain to seize the owners’ and tenants’ properties and give them to him as planned. But the plan is now in doubt,” said Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn Legal Director Candace Carponter.

The Court has given the ESDC until October 15th to file its answer to the petitioners’ complaint. According to the normal briefing schedule, petitioners will then file their brief on January 15th, 2009. The ESDC would reply in mid-February and petitioners would file their answering brief at the end of February. Oral argument would then most likely be scheduled for sometime in March or April and a decision would presumably come somewhere between late spring and fall of 2009.

“The seizure of my clients’ homes and businesses is unconstitutional. We are pleased that the Court has recognized the merit of our case and will now hear the arguments in full,” said lead attorney Matthew Brinckerhoff of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP. “We are confident that when we finally have our day in court, we will show that New York State’s condemnation and seizure of my clients’ homes and businesses for Forest City Ratner’s enrichment violates New York’s Constitution.”

The initial complaint to the Court and the briefs on the motion to dismiss for Goldstein et al. v. Empire State Development Corporation can be downloaded at: www.dddb.net/eminentdomain

The Court’s order denying the motion to dismiss can be found at:
www.nycourts.gov/reporter/motions/2008/2008_84057.htm

And the Brooklyn Paper has the story. Here’s an excerpt:

Acclaimed local filmmaker Spike Lee will set up an annex of his famed “40 Acres and a Mule” film company in DUMBO, The Brooklyn Paper has learned.

“Spike Lee is coming to 55 Washington Street in DUMBO,” said a spokeswoman for Two Trees Management, the David Walentas-owned company that owns half the neighborhood.

High rents had forced the “Malcolm X” director out of space at 124 DeKalb Ave., where he had been for 22 years, and into another space it already owned around the corner on South Elliot Place.

“Got priced out, the rent raise was insane,” Lee told The Brooklyn Paper in April.

An OTBKB reader sent this email. I also noticed that Root Stock & Quaid looked closed (paper on the window closed). What happened? Anyone know

There’s a sign on Rootstock & Quaid that they are closed because of the fire. I hadn’t heard anything about a fire there or read anything about it. What’s the story there?

A nice guy in a Hawaiian shirt welcomed me at the door. Once inside I took in the grandeur of the landmark bank building that is now a grocery store, albeit a super fun grocery store.

Ceilings that touch the sky, huge gorgeous windows. Space, space, and more space. It’s a surreal environment to buy groceries in.

And what fun it is to shop there. The hand-picked employees are a lively, friendly group. Okay, so the guy at the front door makes silly jokes, he means well. The people wandering around with tastings in the aisles were well informed and friendly, too.

And the product: Well, it’s Trader Jones. Organic produce and meat. Kooky snack products. Great frozen foods. Fascinating condiments. Excellent desserts. Vitamins and interesting body care products.

It’s sort of like the Food Coop with a sense of humor and way more junk food.

If you haven’t spent time at a Trader Joe’s before you could spend hours at this one just exploring the unusual merchandise. Just about everything from ketchup, mayo and pickles to frozen Mandarin chicken or Salmon roulette is Trader Joe brand.

I got there around 1 p.m. and the store was still bustling with people who’d walked over from downtown Brookyn during lunch hour. At around 2 p.m. the check out line was much shorter. I got through in less than five minutes which was impressive considering how crowded the store was.

And here’s what I got. Mind you we already have favorite Trader Joe’s items because of all the time we spend in Northern California where Trader Joe’s is everywhere (with WINE, mind you). That’s the only thing I miss at the Brooklyn store: that Two Buck Chuck.

–Ginger, Almond and Cashew Granola (Hepcat’s fave)

–Trader Ming’s Mandarin Orange Chicken (frozen)

–Cilantro & Chive Yogurt Dip

–Trimmed and cooked (and pre-washed) Green Beans

–Olive Tapenade

–Corn Tortilla Multi-Seed Flat Breads

–Low Fat Chocolatey Cats Cookies For People (OSOF’s fave)

–Organic Maple Syrup Grade A Dark Amber ($5.99 for 12 oz)

–Strawberry Preserves