From the blog, A Year in the Park, where Brenda Becker documents her daily discoveries in the mystical heart of Brooklyn.

After school, the Third Street Playground sat deserted under a bleak sky. Not a toddler, mommy or nanny in sight; no strollers, juice or Goldfish crackers; just the patter of cold rain on fallen leaves. I imagined where they are instead, the crew that fills this place with happy shrieks on sunny days. Maybe struggling into leotards for ballet class; slumped under the plastic stroller cover, watching the Christmas lights roll by; peeling off parkas and heading for the couch and cartoons; spread out on the floor coloring next to a companionably hissing radiator in an old brownstone. But not playing outside, not today.

Someone on Park Slope parents wanted to spread the word about this scam.

A while ago several people wrote about a guy who
buzzed people’s doors claiming to be a supplier for
Con Edison.  I think he then tried to get money if
people opened the door. 

Well, today he buzzed my downstairs buzzer and said the same thing. 
When I said all the meters were downstairs, he insisted that
he needed to come in and see me.  I said no and did
not go downstairs to talk to him.

Please be aware that this is going on in the slope
again.

Tonight is part 2 of the Snowflake Celebration so tell your friends and neighbors about it.

And don’t let the weather stop you. It’s gonna be a party on Fifth and Seventh Avenues. Stores will be open until 10 p.m. for Christmas shopping and frivolity, including ice sculptures, caroling and waffles from the Wafel and Dinges truck.

This is a win-win for everyone.

–You  get discounts and special treats and a festive atmosphere while shopping until 10 pm.

–The shops get the local business they desperately need.

–The neighborhood economy is boosted by the mutual show of support. Sound good?

Local merchants once again throw open their doors to stay open late
and create a holiday atmosphere, enabling you, the people of Park
Slope, to do your holiday shopping . . . here! Each participating
business will stay open until 10pm and  offer some special
promotion – Could be a sale, could be a giveaway, raffle, carolers,
snow machine (it’s been done!), mulled wine, special hors d’oeuvres,
etc. etc. The listings of participants grows daily!!!

Last
year we had 150 participating businesses — who knows what will happen
this year!?! In the current and impending economic climate, it’s more
important than ever to keep our local economy strong and healthy, so
let’s get together and Keep it Local!

Peaches, the woman who runs the readings at the Park Slope Barnes and Noble, introduced author and "famous minor TV personality" John Hodgman with these well-chosen words:

"You remind us that genius is sexy and intelligence is cool…"

Hodgman, dressed in a khaki colored suit and sneakers with bright orange laces, good naturedly greeted the crowd at the event to promote his new book, All the Information You Require, a follow-up to his bestseller (which he described as garbage) The Areas of My Expertise, fake trivia books with information drawn from Hodgman’s well-stocked imagination.

The crowd was decidedly young (20-40). And devoted. Quite a few wore glasses, as Hodgman noted, and donned blazers. Many came out because of Hodgman’s frequent appearances on The Daily Show. And of course, because of his role as the PC guy in those funny Apple commercials.  "I play a human-shaped computer. I’m a mentat."

"As you can see, I’m not wearing a tuxedo," he told the crowd. Apparently he’s been donning a tuxedo, given to him by an editor at GQ Magazine, at readings across the country.  But since he was in his hometown, he was dressing down.

"The children run things around here," he said. And his child had picked out the shirt/tie combo he was wearing. He then spoke directly to the kids in the audience.

"I salute you. I hope I didn’t offend you." He then asked a young boy in the audience.  "If I have your permission, may I continue? This is Park Slope."

He went on to read the hilarious chapter of the new book about "the small Utopian commune known as Park Slope, where there are leafy streets, good schools, and strong neighborhood spirit cemented by the fact that we are all silently judging each other."

According to Hodgman, all are equal in Park Slope except the children, who are all-powerful and capable of psychically exploding your head. "The neighborhood was founded by exiles from Manhattan in 1990, who were expert at the time honored art of gutting brownstones."

Hodman’s timing and droll way with word  had the crowd laughing all the way through the Park Slope chapter, which seeks to correct certain myths about this much-maligned neighborhood.

"Do we crawl on all fours and allow dogs to hold the leashes?" he asked the crowd. "Only before 9 in the morning."

"Do we wear secret magic underwear?" he queried. "Are we dirty?" He then described a secret cleansing ritual that requires Park Slopers to bathe in baby spit.

Hodgman is deadpan, wacky and wildly absurd always staying in character as the man who knows too much or at least pretends to know all the information you require.

Despite B&N asking him not to do a Q&A because of the number of people who wanted their books signed, Hodgman insisted on taking questions, because he was in his home turf and he loves to do so; he really showed of his ability to be funny on the spot.

"I want to thank you and everyone on The Daily Show for helping me survive the last 8 Bush years," one audience member announced.

"I think you would have muddled through," Hodgman said without missing a beat.

The crowd roared.

Here are just some of  Adrian Kinloch’s photo from the event yesterday commemorating the fifth  anniversary of the announcement of the Atlantic Yards, where the  Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods called for a complete state and city audit of the stalled project

Speakers included NYS Senator Velmanette Montgomery (pictured in the upper left photo on the far right) and NYC Councilmember Letitia James (upper left photo on the left) and Daniel Goldstein (below right) of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.

As reported in the Brooklyn Paper, there is now a white painted ghost bicycle chained to a street sign on the corner of President Street and 8th Avenue near the site where Cobble Hill resident, Jonathan Millstein died in September.

Cycling activists locked a white-painted bicycle to a street sign at
the corner of Eighth Avenue and President Street in Park Slope on Dec.
2, turning the site of a fatal crash into a makeshift memorial.

Biking advocates from the New York City Street Memorial Project
installed a plaque and a “ghost bike” — adorned with plastic flowers —
on the corner where 50-year-old cyclist Jonathan Millstein lost his
life after colliding with an empty school bus on Sept. 10.

Picture by Don Wiss for the Brooklyn Paper.

Always happy to hear from the folks at Cog & Pearl, that most interesting Fifth Avenue store, which sells all manner of designerly objects, jewelry, home items, clothing and more made of recycled and re-purposed materials. I assume they will be participating in the Snowflake Celebration tonight so that you can buy local, buy late.

Hi everyone,

We recently added some new items to our online store, including a couple of Elizabeth Soule’s
box-framed Little Zoo polaroids,
patina brass and gold-fill jewelry by Virginia Galvan,
Hand Soap–literally–by Foliage, and Adam Frank’s new Lumen design. Of course there’s lots more, so we hope you’ll have a look. Enjoy!

Please note: To ensure delivery by December 24, place your order by noon on Friday, December 19.

All best for a healthy and happy holiday season,

Kristin and Seth

Toni Rowe, a 97-year-young artist,  loves to paint and create.  She grew up in Greenwich Village above a blacksmith shop that repaired
wagon wheels and remembers gas lights prior to the dawn
of electricity. 

She takes a weekly art class on 14th Street at her late husband’s Union.

She is a member of the All Souls Bethlehem Church in Kensington where Martinez is minister.

Photo by Tom Martinez

I’ll be listening to him on WNYC public radio!

An OTBKB reader wrote in to say this.

On my way home tonight I noticed that the gate for Kiku Sushi on 7th
between 10th and 11th Street was halfway down–perfectly positioned to
hide the giant yellow CLOSED BY ORDER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH sign
that was posted on the window. 

It seriously grates (no pun intended) when restaurants try to hide their health code violations…so I came straight up and emailed you! Hope you can find some space to get this info out.

Note from OTBKB: I just want to add in the name of fairness that it’s important to find out what the actual violation was. It could be something gross or something like a problem with their garbage (which is gross) but it doesn’t mean there’s rodent poop in the soup or anything.

Anyone know the details?

Lots of news from the Community Bookstore. Sales are up 50%, which is amazing. They’ve got a new website. They’re going to be open late during the Snowflake Celerbation on December 11th and their website has a HUGE list of gift books. Oh, they’re having a holiday party on December 21st at 7 p.m.

Here’s the word from owner Catherine Bohne.

Ho, ho, ho (or hee hee hee and a bumper of ‘nog) . . . The season is upon us once again, and here is the bookstore’s quasi-annual round up of ideas for books we’d like to get, anyhow.  We hope it may help you in list-making endeavors, but in any case, we had a lot of fun putting it together, and now it’s yours to do with as you will.  It’s posted on our website  (www.communitybookst ore.net, under “Messing About”) where you can download extra copies to print.  ALSO, under the “Get Books” section (our new on-line store) there’s a ‘Holiday Newsletter’ link in the left-hand navigation, which takes you to the same list of books linked to books in print, with full ordering capability – so you can look at the covers, read more about ‘em and have things shipped directly to your friends, family, and followers all over the country.  Any books ordered this way are 10% off, and orders costing more than $50 get free shipping

We will be having a Holiday Party, starting at 7pm on Sunday, December 21st.  It’s the first day of Hanukkah, and the end of the last weekend before Christmas, so it’s going to be a bit of a funny catch-bag celebration, but what more appropriate for our extended bookstore family?  I’ve been rereading Anne of Green Gables, and am accordingly a bit entranced with the idea of “Concerts” – evenings in which the community comes together and parades their various personal talents, whether for singing, reciting uplifting pieces, or setting “tableaux” (Faith, Hope & Charity, anyone?).  Oh – speaking of which, there’s usually the premise that something’s being done for charity, so perhaps we could make the evening a drive for Toys for Tots? 

Come one, come all, and bring a small gift to donate to the many in our city who can’t afford ‘em.  So far, we know that there will be the obligatory (as far as I’m concerned) reading of A Child’s Christmas in Wales, and we have some rumors of music, too.  I don’t see why we shouldn’t set aside a time for singing all together (what are holidays, without Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel stuck in your head?).  Don’t forget we have a piano, too, so the possibilities are, if not endless, at least manifold!  As you perhaps know, the bookstore staff are usually pretty much well on the way to comatose with exhaustion by then, so any help with setting up or pot-lucking would be appreciated – just email me at catherine@community bookstore. net if you’d like to be involved!

Of course, any production of the Slant is also an opportunity to update you on the State of the Store, about which so many of you are kind enough to enquire.  I suppose that some of you reading this will have stumbled on it (and us) by chance, while some of you haven’t heard any news since the last Slant, whereas some of you may well be kindred spirits and bookstore habitués, and some of you are possibly already aficionados of our fourth, new, and finally functional website, so It’s a Little Confusing to know where to start . . . but the thumbnail is this:

This Bookstore, now in its 37th year of continual operation (well, I mean, we close at night, most of the time, but you know what I mean), is one of the oldest surviving Independent Bookstores in NYC.  It’s a long and tangled (not to say sometimes garbled) history, with concomitant ups and downs, but the latest dramatic chapter began with the Great Crisis of 2007, in which we (I) admitted, somewhat inadvertently, to the world at large, that the store was in the last throes of complete failure . . . and what happens?  The neighborhood rallied round emphatically and firmly.  We found ourselves with 20 fabulous and self-appointed advisors, who put together a rescue package, which in turn led to 12 equally fabulous investors, and the short of it is that the store was put gently back on its (little cat) feet, and away we’ve sailed.  After 7 quite horrible years of tightening every belt that exists in the complicated machinery of the store, mostly to no avail, the last year and a half has been a giddily unfolding dream of calmly proceeding modest success.  Our inventory has been tripled, things are getting fixed, we’ve built a fantastic website, and sales are up almost 50% . . .

And it’s been a very great pleasure to use this success as a platform from which to think of creative new ways to give back to the neighborhood (which is our home, which is to say is we-all !) It’s been a ball to organize the Snowflake Celebrations, the First Annual RestaurantTour, to start the Community Forum, and to generally meddle with helping everyone undertake whatever good we can.  Then what happens?  The economy has to go and crash.   It’s enough to make you quote Mehitabel (“Archie – why does life have to be one damn litter after another?”).  Well, we’ll see.  Sales do seem to be down a little, but in a business of our scale, that’s not hard to make up – research last year revealed that if our most loyal customers shifted an additional 5% of their book-buying to Community, that would be enough to put us solidly in the black.  So without haranguing you to shop more than you want to or can, I would just urge you, as ever, to be quietly conscious that little decisions about where to spend what you do spend can add up to make a significant and effective difference on a local level.  So without further ado . . .

 
Markowitz, Bloomberg, Pataki, Ratner, Schumer (Dec 10, 2003)

I got this in an email from Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.

Five years ago today, December 10, 2003, Forest City Ratner officially unveiled
its Atlantic Yards proposal. Bruce Ratner, joined at Brooklyn Borough Hall by
Borough President Markowitz, Senator Schumer, Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki,
announced his plans to build the massive project extending east from the intersection
of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues, in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

(NoLandGrab
is
wishing the billionaire’s boondoggle a Happy Birthday Atlantic Yards, unfavorably
comparing the progress of the project to that of a five-year old child who would
be toilet-trained and in pre-school by now.)

Bruce Ratner announced that his new arena for the Nets–the team he had just overpaid
to purchase–would open to the public in 2006. The project
overview released by Forest City Ratner on that December day read, on page
5: "Arena development to begin at the end of 2004, with completion
set for the summer of 2006."

Here’s more from Scott Turner of Rocky Sullivan’s in Red Hook. He runs the weekly pub quiz  over at that cozy bar and writes these great emails that I share with you.

What the hell’s in the
water that powerful people drink?  Either it makes them arrogant and
corrupt, or it leads them down the path of Haircuts of the Damned.

With Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, it’s both…with a vengeance.

I and many of you live in Brooklyn, where both political malfeasance (see Yards, Atlantic, boondoggle) and bizarre coiffage are pretty common.

Chicago, with its infamous ward system, the place where
"vote early, vote often," if it didn’t originate there, it sure took
root.  Chicago, the Second City.  Chicago, in Carl Sandberg’s words:

Hog Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders

It’s all that.  Not to conflate ol’ Big Shoulders with the Blaggy the
Governor’s operation in Springfield.  Still, stormy husky brawling
apples don’t fall that far from the tree.

As
you may have heard by now — it’s today’s big breaking domestic news
story — Gov. Blagojevich has been arrested and charged with an endless
cornucopia of corruption allegations

One of Blagojevich’s transgressions was trying to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat.  "Unless I get something real good for [Senate Candidate 1], s–t,
I’ll just send myself, you know what I’m saying?" 

Later,
he fine tuned his message.  The senate seat, he said, "is a f—ng
valuable thing; you just don’t give it away for nothing."

[Those timid hyphenations cleverly camoflaging out cuss words come from the transcripts of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s press conference today.]

Patrick f—ing Fitzgerald, f—ing bada-s stomping Blagojevich’s weak s—t press conference

Pretty sure the right-wing blogosphere’s collective head is exploding, trying to link Blagojevich
with our next prez.  Well, it’s fun for ’em, like the sugar-rush
excitement of kids on a school field-trip, walking up to the museum’s
front door.

There’s plenty more in the Rod Blagojevich Bag of Goodies.  So, so much more.  Stuff about getting Chicago Tribune newspaper board members fired, something about the Chicago Cubs, a children’s hospital.  Across the board wackiness.

Here in Brooklyn, there’s a valuable lesson in all of this: write laws that make corruption legal.  Mayor Bloomberg
strongarms with money, power, greed, arrogance and pure all-out bully
tactics — seemingly all covered by laws written for people like him by
people like him.  His beneficiaries include the Yankees, Mets, Bruce Ratner,
big developers, and local politicos willing to trade votes for pork, no
matter how few of their constituents get to actually feast on the pork.

What, him worry?

There’s
a second, sadder construct: people don’t get angry, so enjoy your
ill-gotten gains.  We’ve let Bloomberg gut this city’s soul,
infrastructure, schools, budgets, social programs, and every
development site in the five boroughs.  Some of us have risen up, but
not enough.

Blooomberg’s not as smart as everyone thinks — he’s certainly not
the big-business miracle-worker his carefully-cultivated image claims.
Tell me…what kind of society do we run when Blagojevic gets hauled in
for selling senate seats, but Bloomberg walks free after selling our
neighborhoods, infrastructure, our present and our childrens’ future
for far more than Blagojevic ever hoped to clear?

Here are some big books a big special someone that the Community Bookstore is recommending. You can order online or just walk into the store and BUY.

Tales of Chekhov by Anton Chekhov (Ecco, $150.00): 13 Beautiful Books in a Big ol’ Box! The most comprehensive collection of his stories, including both the hits and
the brilliant-but- lesser-known, showcasing Chekhov’s humor and
insight. Featuring critical essays and reminiscences by the likes of
Nadine Gordimer, Susan Sontag, and Russell Banks.

Hidden Letters annotated
by Deborah Slier and Ian Shine (Star Bright Books, $35.00): A
profoundly moving collection of letters and photographs from a young
Dutch man’s life during World War II, found in 1997 after remaining
hidden for decades. This book details the war-time story of a family in a manner we have not seen since Anne Frank’s diary.

An Irish Florilegium by Wendy Walsh (Thames & Hudson, $125.00): A gigantic lapful of a book, requiring two strong arms to lift. 48 hand-tipped color plates reproduce delicate original watercolor illustrations of both wild and garden flora. Includes an introduction on the history of plant collecting and horticulture in Ireland and individual notes to each plate.

Lapham’s Quarterly, Vols 1-4 ($100.00): A
box set of the first four issues (Winter through Fall, 2008) of Lewis
Lapham’s newest and most ambitious enterprise, including the almost
immedjetly hard-to-find “States of War” issue (el numero uno).

Verses and Versions: Three Centuries of Russian Poetry Selected and Translated by Vladimir Nabokov (Harcourt, $40.00): One of the great writers, critics, and minds of the 20^th
century – Nabokov knew his Russian literature. For fans of poetry or of
Russia , this collection includes work most of us have never read.

Jewish Museums of the World: Masterpieces of Judaica by
Grace Cohen Grossman (Universe, $50.00): 10 lbs of beautiful book form
a comprehensive and staggering catalogue of myriad artifacts from
Jewish cross-cultural history, as well as the history of preserving
them, featuring beautiful full-color illustrations from museums spread
all over the world.

Lalanne(s) by Daniel Abadie (Flammarion, $125.00): An enormous and beautiful retrospective of the French sculptors who have been working and exhibiting together since 1964. It’s
all here, from the rhinoceros-desk and the onion-watch, to brass and
wool sheep benches, from bathtub-enclosing hippopotami, to the delicate
and weird finger sculptures . . .

The Complete Ripley Novels Boxed Set
by Patricia Highsmith (Norton, $100.00): Finally collected together in
a bea-yoo-tee- ful boxed set, these novels follow the chameleon Tom
Ripley through his thoroughly murderous and bizarrely seductive
escapades, which both implicate and goad us into sympathizing with this
most “debonair confidence man.”

The Printed Picture by
Richard Benson (MoMA, $60.00): Follow the physical, scientific, and
cultural evolution of the printed image, from the Renaissance up to
tomorrow, with this delectable art school textbook qua coffee table
book.

Join the War Resisters League for a Celebration of Peace & Justice: The 43rd Annual Peace Award to the Grassroots Movement to Save  New Orleans

Recognizing that the post-Katrina tragedy in  New Orleans was made immeasurably worse by the diversion of  U.S. resources to a cruel war and that the organizers struggling to recover the city for its residents are a part of the broader effort to resist that war.

And Special Musical Guests:
Steve Earle, Singer-songwriter and activist
Allison Moorer, Singer-songwriter
Atephanie McKay, R & B recording artist
Jan Bell & the Cheap Dates, Americana-folk-blues band
and more.

The Where and When

December 12, 2008
Brooklyn Lyceum
227 4th Avenue
Brooklyn ,  New York
42 -$60 General Admission;  $25+ Low Income *
Reception with Stephanie McKay and Steve Earle: $150 (Event included)
Proceeds go to WRL’s work at home and abroad!  Limited Space. To make reservations, call 212.228.0450 or visit warresisters.org

This photo is just a taste. Doug Jaeger jumps for the Pipolatti Rist exhibit on view right now at the MoMA!

Continue reading Today: Public Jump at the Museum of Modern Art →

Yesterday was the three month anniversary of my father’s death and when I met my sister at Connecticut Muffin she was listening to Schubert’s last string quintet on her iPhone.

My sister has enjoyed listening to that beautiful piece of music ever since she found the CD at my dad’s upstate house in October; the case was on the table in the living room near his CD player.

She decided that my father must have been listening to it the last time he was in the house in June.

It was the last piece of music Schubert wrote before he died. We think this ravishingly sad and lyrical piece, with its sweeping harmonies and disparate moods, was one of my dad’s favorites.

Maybe he was listening to it last June precisely because it was the last piece of music Schubert wrote before he died. Or maybe that’s just a coincidence.

My sister gets teary listening to it. She put the ear plug in my ear yesterday at the cafe and I also got teary.

"You know it’s the three month anniversary," she said. "December 7th."

Listening to the music, I had that soaring sense of connection with my dad I have when I listen to music. It’s like the CDs and records he left behind are imbued with his life. He lives on through the music that he was so passionate about.

"Can you hand me a napkin," I asked feeling self conscious about crying in the cafe.

After a while I took the ear plugs out. It was time to sit and drink coffee and get on with our day.

Here’s a new concept:

Carrotmob, a NYC environmental group, is holding a "reverse boycott" at Tarzian Hardware.

So what does that mean?

The group will bring hundreds of shoppers to Tarzian on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, where they are expected to spend thousands of dollars at the family owned store.

Tarzian has agreed in advance to put 22 percent of the day’s profits towards energy improvements such as upgraded lighting and heating.

Carrotmob, a global volunteer group, has already staged events in San Francisco and other cities.

If you are interested in seeing this "reverse boycott" come on over to Tarzian on December 14th. See for yourself how Carrotmobbers green Tarzian.

Top of the morning, I realize we don’t have any milk for coffee so I go downstairs to Mrs. Kravitz’s to see if she has any.

"I’m all out," she said. "But I’m going to the Met and will pick some up for you."

That sounded great but I needed some milk fast. So I took my tall glass to our neighbors on 2 and they filled it up with 1% milk. Their apartment smelled deliciously of home fries.

Borrowing milk: That’s one of the great things about apartment buildings…

Hepcat made the coffee too strong as he often does, using that killer Bustello Expresso for some really deep, dark coffee.

It needed a lot of milk.

Mrs. Kravitz came up to deliver the milk and I poured her a cup of coffee and we launched into a long discussion of middle school because her daughter is in 5th grade and embarking on that transition.

Then it was time to meet Diaper Diva and Ducky at PS 321 for the Craft Fair.

It was strange and fun to be in the school again since I am no longer a parent there. I kept having these PTA guilt pangs because I wasn’t helping out at the food or craft areas.

Phantom guilt.

Then I remembered that I wasn’t a member of the PTA anymore and it would be inappropriate for me to help out.

That meant I could browse the many tables of jewelry, knitwear, sock monkeys, artwork, bags and more guilt-free.

It was great to see old mom friends: faces I haven’t seen in a while. I can’t imagine ever feeling like a stranger inside that school.

My sister’s daughter will start there next year. So I will be connected with the school for another six years.

That’s a nice thought.

Hey everybody: the annual 2008 PS 321 Holiday Craft Fair Park Slope is Today. That’s right. TODAY.  Starts at 11 am.

I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

–Over 80 artists
–Extraordinary hand crafted creative gifts
–Decorations for the holiday season
–Family fun
–Gourmet food
–Kids make-your-own craft area to
keep the little ones entertained while the big people shop
–indoors rain or shine
–Free admission

The Where and When

The 2008 PS 321 Holiday Crafts Fair
PS 321
180 Seventh Avenue at 1st Street

  Brooklyn is CHANGING (and fast!)

From
Atlantic Yards to high-rise condos, the future of central Brooklyn is
under construction right now. Take a look—at eye level—at the people
and places that make this place what it is and what it will be. This
lively performance of theater, dance, and music takes its inspiration
from interviews with the real life players in the story of Brooklyn:
residents both old and new, community activists, developers, politicos
and others.

Brooklyn at Evey Level is a project of the
acclaimed theater company The Civilians in collaboration with Urban
Bush Women, Michael Hill’s Blues Mob, neo-soul singer Grace Kalambay,
local youth from the Atlantic Terminal Community Center, Brooklyn Tech,
and more.

With:
Marsha Stephanie Blake
Melanie Nicholls-King
Gregory McFadden
Keith Randolph Smith
Joaquin Torres
Colleen Werthmann

The Where and When

Thu, Dec 4 at 8pm
Fri, Dec 5 at 8pm
Sat, Dec 6 at 3 & 8pm
Sun, Dec 7 at 3pm
The Brooklyn Lyceum
Pay-What-You-Can
227 4th AvenueLimited seating! Visit brooklynateyelevel.org to reserve seats or call 212.730.2019. For more information, visit thecivilians.org or urbanbushwomen.org.

The ever helpful and informative Craig Hammerman of Community Board 6 sent this note from ABC about  Friday’s filming of the TV show Ugly Betty in the Slope.

ABC Studios East will be filming scenes in this area for the third season of the show, UGLY BETTY. We will be working in the area on Friday, December 5th 2008 between the approximate hours of 5pm-6am.

In order to facilitate filming, we will need to hold parking for filming and for equipment trucks beginning Friday December 5, 2008 at 7:00am. The streets affected will include:

·           7th Avenue between Union Street and 1st Street

·         President St between 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue

We are aware of the inconvenience caused by our activities and apologize in advance.  If you have particular concerns (scheduled deliveries, parking difficulties, construction, accessibility needs, etc.) that must be addressed, please call the Locations Department at (718) 906-3400.  We will do everything possible to find a mutually agreeable solution

You won’t want to miss this event if you live in Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy or Prospect Heights and you’re looking for a pre-school for your kid:

The Preschool Round-Up Open House, is an afternoon event in which local preschools and programs for toddler and pre-school aged children will provide materials and information about their programs.  Many parents are unaware of the rich and varied choices in our community. Come and learn about some of these choices and ask questions.

–This event is for all parents in the community.
–Sorry, no day care will be provided
–Admission is free

The following schools have been invited to participate:

The Brooklyn Brownstone School
Carousel Children’s Center
The Dillon Child Study Center
Emmanuel on St. James
Fort Greene Clinton Hill Cooperative
Green Hill School
Hanson Place Child Development Center
Juguemos a Cantar
Maple Street School
Mango’s Place Daycare
Montessori Day School of Brooklyn
My Babies Footprints Child Care
Prospect Academy Group Family Day Care
Prospect Kids Academy
Purple Peacock Nursery School
Stuyvesant Heights Montessori
The Language and Laughter Studio
Little Sun People
TriloK Preschool
Union Temple Preschool

The Where and When

Saturday, December 6th from 12 – 3 pm
105 Lexington Avenue
between Franklin and Classon Avenues
If you have questions, please contact:
Andrea Yarrington
Ayarrington(at)gmail(dot)com

Apologies to the late Borough President JJ Byrne. But JJ Byrne Park is Washington Park now. Got it? Located
on Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets, the park has been officially renamed, restoring it to its true place in American history as the site of the first battle of the
Revolutionary War.

The playground, however, will now be called JJ Byrne Playground.

In the shadow of the Novo, the new Fourth Avenue high-rise condo,
Brooklyn politicians, officials and locals gathered to commemorate the
renaming of the park and to cut the ribbon on the completion of the
first phase of work, which includes a new skate park, two new
basketball courts, six handball
courts, a new dog run, new fencing, gates, pavement and landscaping.

I arrived just as Borough President Marty Markowitz was about to
speak. That means I missed the welcome from Parks Commissioner Adrian
Benepe and the Pledge of Allegiance led by second graders from PS 321

"Borough presidents don’t get no respect. Borough President JJ Byrne
had the whole place to himself. But I think he would understand our
naming it for the father of our country. If he had to yield, he would
yield to that," Markowitz told the crowd.

"About Kim Maier [the executive director of the Old Stone House] you
can’t say no to her when she flashes that smile. There’s not a public
official who can say no."

City Councilmember Bill De Blasio, who was up next, spoke to the historical significance of the day.

"The renaming of this park helps us to think about the history of
this place and what it means. What happened on this historic site is
important for the whole world to understand. To the children of PS 321
I ask: if the the Maryland 400 had not held off the British here we’d
all be talking with a British accent. What a sacrifice people who
fought made. It was a make or break moment in American history. An
inspiration…"

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, a lively master of ceremonies,
then introduced Kim Maier, who was beaming. Today was truly a dream
come true for the executive director of the Old Stone House, who has, with her board of directors, reinvigorated the Old Stone House and the Park.

"It such a special day for us and such a beautiful park," she said.

Borough Commissioner Julius Spiegel, dressed as George Washington, had this to say:

"I have a newfound respect for our forefathers. It’s painful to wear
these boots. And how do you keep the hair out of your mouth?"

After the speeches there was a countdown, led by Commissioner
Spiegel in a hearty Brooklyn accent, and a ribbon cutting ceremony. And
then a skateboarder, dressed in Revolutionary War gear, came roaring
down the new skateboarding ramp and broke through a banner that said, Washington Park.

Now that was cool.

Later there was groundbreaking for the next phase of the
project, which includes a synthetic turf green, new fencing,
landscaping and the plaza area opening the view of the Old Stone House
to Fourth Avenue.

I just heard from Susan at Sage Spa about their unique way of giving back to those in need in the community.

I’m hoping you’ll help us get the word out.  Sage Spa has
a charity program every year during the holidays.  This year we are
giving free massages to needy persons and are asking everyone to submit
deserving candidates.  These candidates can be people with illness in
the family, deaths, financial losses, etc. 

We hope to give back by
letting four people have a time to be taken care of here in our peaceful
environment.

The Where and When

Susan Stratton, owner
Sage Spa
405 Fifth Ave. Brooklyn NY 11215
718 832 2030
s.stratton(at)sagebrooklyn(dot)com
www.sagebrooklyn.com

The next generation of samba soul!

Featured artists: CéU, Curumin, Bebel Gilberto, José González, Otto, João Parahyba (from Trio Mocoto)
Backing band: Kassin +2, Moreno, Domenico, Money Mark, Janja Gomes, Jorge Continentino, Carlos Darci, Zé Luis
Music Directors Kassin & Mario Caldato, Jr.
Video Design: Multiplicidade

An all-star benefit tribute to the music and culture of Brazil, Red Hot + Rio 2 salutes
Samba Soul, the post-tropicália movement of the 70s that merged
elements of North American soul music with Brazilian rhythms. Mixing
samba with R&B, soul with baião, pioneering artists like Jorge Ben
Jor and Tim Maia signaled a cultural awakening that changed the
direction of Brazilian music forever. The concerts at BAM bring
together the newest generation of Brazilian and international artists
who represent the legacy of this influential musical style.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit BrazilFoundation’s AIDS-related projects.

The Where and When

BAM
Red Hot and Rio
December 4&5

Earlier this week, I received an email from Andrew Fried, the husband of Karen Rothman-Fried, the young PS 321 teacher who died tragically on November 15th.

In it he thanked family, friends, and members of the community for their support during an exceptionally difficult time.

It is an amazing testament to the love for me and Karen that the amount of emails, notes, and telephone messages I received is so numerous I am unable to answer them all individually.I hope, therefore, you understand and excuse my use of this mass email. I will try in the coming weeks to email and call you all separately. I also wanted to take a moment and to tell you all a little more about what happened.

I emailed Andrew and asked him if I could put the letter on OTBKB and he said he needed to think about it. This evening, I got another email from Andrew. He told me that he decided to  start his own blog called  http://fryguysthinkings.blogspot.com
– "which has a long post I wrote about how Karen and me met/reconnected
and the events on the day of her death." He also said I could excerpt any part of it for OTBKB.  

On November 15, my 37th birthday, Karen took me to a
matinée of Speed the Plow and then dinner at Aquvit in Manhattan. It
was a perfect evening. The next morning began as a normal Sunday. We
relaxed for a little while, read the newspaper, and then went to my
mother’s apartment to meet up with the family and say hi. We had a
little brunch and then went for a walk in our neighborhood. We had
dinner reservations for later that evening with my mother, brother, and
sister-in-law, but at around 2 we decided to grab a bite because Karen
needed to eat regularly through the day due to the pregnancy. There is
a little Columbian restaurant we’d passed many times and always wanted
to try. We decided this was the day for it. We shared a few small
dishes and it was wonderful. Karen enjoyed eating, whether it was haute
cuisine, like the night before, or just really great down home cooking,
like Cafe Bogota. At the end of the meal, when the waiter brought the
check, he also brought a comment/mailing list card. Karen remarked how
much she liked the meal – rating it a 10 – and asked the waiter for a
pen to filling out the card. This is when my life went from a dream to
an unimaginable nightmare.

Karen had just begun writing when she
suddenly stopped, sat bolt-upright, and looked at me with wide open
eyes. I thought she was goofing around and asked what was wrong. She
said nothing, but kept her eyes fixed straight ahead and slumped
forward onto the table. I immediately knew something was wrong and got
up and went to her side. I took her head from the table and pulled her
to me. Her eyes were still wide open and unresponsive as she slide
lower into the chair. I began to scream for help as she fell against
me, out of her chair, and onto the floor with me. I continued to yell
for help as people came to assist and began dialing 9-1-1. She was not
breathing, nor was she struggling or moving at all as she lay on the
floor. The first police officers arrived within a matter of minutes,
with fire fighters and EMTs immediately following. I was ushered out of
the restaurant by the police officers as I heard someone call for a
defibrillator. My world was tumbling out of control.

Time stood
still and accelerated all at once. I sat on the sidewalk with two of
the police officers as the EMTs continued working inside and was asked
questions intermittently – was she on any medication, any medical
history, etc. – but could not get any information in return. This was
obviously frustrating at the time, but in hindsight I understand that
the attention was on rendering aide to Karen and not to answering my
questions. I was then led to a police car and driven to the hospital.
The ensuing minutes/hours are a blur. I was ushered into a quiet room
with my entire family, who had been called by a bystander who took my
cellphone and asked if there was anyone she could contact for me.
Doctors initially came in to say Karen was being worked on still and
that James, our son, had been delivered by emergency cesarean section
and taken to the NICU. They had no word on either one’s condition.

A
short time later the doctors returned, accompanied by the hospital
chaplain, and told me that Karen could not be revived, never regained
consciousness, and was dead. My life shattered as those words were
spoke. I fell to the floor in agony. Every muscle and fiber of my body
crying out in pain. Even now I can feel my chest constrict from the
memory as I type.

My nadir was yet to be reached. After a little
more time passed the doctors came once more to tell me that although
they were able to get a pulse from James (with the aide of medication),
he could not be saved and died as well. The world’s collapse around me
was complete.

My family, each one feeling their own devastating
grief, surrounded and supported me. They had all found such happiness
and joy in Karen, as an individual and not just the woman who meant
everything to me, and she had become an immediate and adored member of
my family.

I was then taken to see Karen one last time and then
upstairs to see and hold my son for the first and only time – I never
held him while he was alive. As many of you I am sure know, to try and
put into words what I was feeling is an impossibility. It is a
devastation that literally transcends comprehension.

It is still
impossible for me to believe what has happened; the horror of the day
plays over again and again in my head. An autopsy revealed no evident
cause of death, i.e., it was not a brain aneurysm, blood clot, etc. The
medical examiner is continuing its evaluation, but it could be weeks
until more is known, if ever. Indeed I am accepting the very real
possibility that a medical explanation for what happened might never be
known, just as there is no knowing what the metaphysical explanation
is. This reality is bearable only because I was with her when it
happened and can assuage my pain with what I saw for myself in that
horrible moment. I am 100% certain that she died instantly at the
moment she looked at me and before slumping to the table. She didn’t
struggle for breath or show other signs that she was in pain. It was,
as she said as recently as that morning when we saw the end of the
Godfather where Marlon Brando has a heart attack while playing with his
grandson, the way to go — quickly and doing something you loved. In
this case, Karen was with me, across the table from me, having just
finished a meal that she rated a 10 and described as sublime.

.