A thread on Park Slope Parents about waterbugs offered all kinds of interesting solutions to what can be a vexing and unpleasant problem:

Thanks to everyone for the advice about what to do with Gregor the Waterbug
and his friends.There were lots of suggestions, the most common being to
plug up ALL holes in the kitchen, get a cat, and remove any water source,
pretty much in that order.

The suggestions are pasted below. Following the suggestions are
recommendations from a very interesting website I found that has non-toxic
remedies for ANY pest, including bed bugs, ants, and even furry pests. I
pasted his suggestions for non-toxic baits for roaches, plus the link to the
website, as well. The site itself has more information than you will
probably ever need (and certainly ever want), but there were great ideas.
He does sell his own brand of non-toxic pest repellent but he has lots of
ideas besides his product. And at the very end is a recipe for roach bait
you can make yourself using boric acid. It is much less toxic than
pesticides but still can harm children or pets, so do be careful with that
one.

SUGGESTIONS:

–Buy some caulk and expanding foam sealer, and seal EVERY hole in your
kitchen. Plumbing cut outs, the hole in the wall to the stove, everything.
Then be sure never to leave puddles of water or wet sponges or dishes with
water in the sink. Mop up everything every night. They want water more than
food.

–An exterminator told us to pour bleach in our sink drains. This keeps them
from swimming up through the pipes. Also, I believe Diatomaceous earth can
be sprinkled around the floor. Apparently it abraids and dries their bodies
and kills them. The problem with it is it kills good insects too (like
spiders). It’s non toxic. You can buy it on line. I think Gardens Alive
has it.

–We also have a few of these dinosaur sized “visitors” each summer. Our last
one even took flight! I usually send the cat after them (if she’s not
already in pursuit), but apparently catnip and/or Osage orange both work as
roach repellent. The catnip can be placed in sachet bundles around target
areas, as can Osage orange halves. Neither is toxic, as far as I know, and
you can even make catnip tea for yourself if this issue has caused you to
have a nervous stomach! (I used to drink it before exams).

–If there’s any paper (newspapers, open recycling bin, in the kitchen, get
rid of it. They love paper.

–The small black, pepper-looking things are roach poo. If there’s a lot,
there’s a large colony in your house. Also, set your alarm for 4 AM and take
at look at your apartment. That’s when they are most active.

–I had a large infestation of waterbugs and roaches in my kitchen. They were
everywhere, especially behind the stove. We took everything – everything,
including the stove – out of the kitchen. Got non-toxic sealant in the
“grease gun” can and went to work. We sealed every hole and joint in the
room. It took almost three days (we had a kitchen with lots of cabinets),
but that effectively eliminated the roaches without poison. You may need
joint compound (comes in a tub of various sizes and is applied with a
trowel) for the larger holes. The exterminator won’t want to do this job, so
it’s best if you do it. It’ll cost less and you’ll do a better job.

–Years ago when I lived in Wash. Hts, I had many roaches. I learned to live
with them. Then one day I saw a mouse, too! That was too much. I bought
one of those sonar things to get rid of the mouse (ask at a hardware store.)
It worked, and, even better, it seemed to get rid of the roaches, too.

–Here is the website I found, and the recommendations for baits and
repellents:

http://www.stephentvedten.com/27_Roach_Control.pdf

–Make a roach dough by combining ½ c. powdered sugar and ¼ c. shortening or
bacon drippings. Add ½ c.

onions, ½ c. flour and 8 oz. baking soda. (Don’t forget to add some roach
droppings.) Add enough water

to make a dough-like consistency. Make balls of bait and put them wherever
you see roaches.

2. Mix one clove garlic, one onion, one tablespoon of cayenne pepper and 1
quart water. Steep for

one hour, strain, add a tablespoon of liquid soap and spray it around the
house for ant and/or roach control.

3. Place bay leaves or talcum powder or baking soda around cracks in rooms
or spray with diluted Safe

Solutions, Inc. Enzyme Cleaners.

4. If you find a roach infestation in a computer, radio, t.v., etc., simply
place the entire item/appliance in a

sealed plastic bag for 1 month. The roaches will die from dehydration. Or
simply put in a black bag in the

sun on a 70o F. day for a few hours.

5. Mix 1 c. borax and ¼ c. black pepper and ¼ c. shredded bay leaves;
sprinkle to repel roaches. *Keep this*

*mix off all food and/or dishes.*

*Roach Bait Comment: *Virtually any roach bait will continue to secondarily
kill cockroaches as they cannibalize

those that have died, eating the poisoned baits. This chain can continue for
some time, so one properly

placed (boric acid) bait can kill several dozen roaches.

**Safe Solutions products may be purchased online at:*

*http://www.safesolutionsinc.com*

This list is generously put together by Rachel at Park Slope Parents and it’s a big help to all. For the specific times and other details on any event listed, please go to http://www.parkslopeparents.com and click the appropriate date on their calendar, located on the upper left side of the screen.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Puppetworks Presents Jack & the Beanstalk At 12:30pm & 2:30pm

NYC Waterfalls

International African Arts Festival

ARTY Facts At The Brooklyn Museum @ 11 Am & 2pm

Storytime At Court Street Barnes & Noble

PLG Arts Performs This Short Version Of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

Intro To Birdwatching At The Audubon Center

Kidtoon Films At The Pavilion

Fulton Art Fair

Lefferts House – Qult Exhibit & Workshops

Freedom Strut At Lefferts Historic House

Nature Crafts At The Audubon Center

Ezra Jack Keats Story Hour At The Imagination Playground

Early American Crafts & Game – Lefferts Historic House

Hootenanny Art House – Open Family Art Studio

Prospect Park Audubon Center – Discover Tour

Target First Saturday At The Brooklyn Museum

Sunday, July 6, 2008

NYC Waterfalls

International African Arts Festival

Brooklyn Museum – Arty Facts At 11am & 2:00pm

Prospect Park – Lefferts Historic House Quilt Exhibit & Workshops & More!

Fulton Art Fair

Kidtoon Films At The Pavilion

Puppetworks Presents Jack & the Beanstalk At 12:30pm & 2:30pm

Ezra Jack Keats Story Hour At The Imagination Playground

Summer Songs & Stories At Lefferts

Early American Crafts & Game – Lefferts Historic House

Prospect Park Audubon Center – Discover Tours, 3pm

PLG Arts Performs This Short Version Of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

According to the New York Times, there has been a pate of muggings in recent months on the border of Clinton Hill and Bedford-Stuy. The Times reports that “people walking or biking alone have been attacked with punches, kicks — and in one case, a baseball bat — and then had their cellphones or purses stolen before they could recover.; Turns out that Nica Lalli, author of the book, Nothing, Something to Believe In, was a mugging victim. She was also on last year’s Park Slope 100.

On June 10, Nina Lalli was mugged as she walked from Fort Greene to her home in Bedford-Stuyvesant, she said in an interview. As she walked past a group of teenagers at the corner of Willoughby Avenue and Walworth Street, she said someone hit her on the back of the head, and she fell to the ground. After she was kicked several times, the teenagers fled with her purse. (Ms. Lalli, for all her bruises, was lucky in one respect: a good Samaritan followed the attackers in a van, and somehow, retrieved Ms. Lalli’s handbag. “He was like Superman,” she said.)

Needless to say there is much coverage of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest . You probably can’t beat the Brooklyn Paper’s bite by bite coverage. Here’s an excerpt:

“Joey Chestnut, the greatest eater in modern history and, perhaps of all time, outdid even himself on July 4 at Coney Island, tying former six-time world champ Takeru Kobayashi with 59 hot dogs and buns in the 10-minute contest — and then shoving down five more HDBs in an unprecedented one-on-one stuff-your-faceoff to beat Kobayashi by mere seconds.”

Gowanus Lounge has loads of pictures.

The photo is by Vidiot

Brooklyn Beat actually left the borough for a brief sojourn upstate. Here’s an excerpt from his report on Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn.

At the foot of the Adirondacks, Saratoga Springs, NY, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, USA. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word “Saratoga” is known to be a corruption of a Native American place name, authorities[2] disagree on what the exact word was, and hence what it meant.

More interesting is the meaning of the word ‘Adirondacks.’ It is an Anglicized version of the Mohawk latilontaks (ratirontaks), meaning they eat bark, a derogatory name which the Mohawk historically applied to neighboring Algonquian-speaking tribes. When food was scarce, the Algonquians would eat the inside of the bark of the white pine. The Mohawk word is composed of several morphemes, as is usual in the language: lati, a third-person plural masculine agent prefix; lonta, an incorporated noun root for ‘bark’; k, a verbal root for ‘eat’; s, an active state aspect suffix.

Saratoga is a resort town, artistic but less bohemian than Woodstock or even New Paltz to the south. The racing season in late July and August brings a big crowd of horse enthusiasts and the Saratoga summer set.

The fourth of July was a big to-do in town. Many businesses close altogether or close early for the holiday. Lots of folks downtown along Broadway celebrating in pubs and restaurants that are open. Then, a trail of locals, tourists, kids, punk music fans, guys with Lacoste shirts and massive watches, starts to make its way downtown toward Congress Park, at the end of Broadway. There, it was a little bit of “Ain’t That America” (to someone from NYC, it seemed scripted by Rod Serling, a blast from the past), as a brass band played patriotic music, folks sat out on blankets on the grass, waiting in the twilight for the fireworks display. No irony here. Locals told us that last year the fireworks display was rained out so it was held on Labor Day instead. It is a small town fourth of July. Ain’t that America?

McBrooklyn has a list for great fireworks viewing. The show begins at dark

You couldn’t find a better Brooklyn location to watch New York City’s Fourth of July fireworks than the new pop-up park at Pier 1 — and if you’re a veteran who received an invitation from the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs, you’ll be there. Veterans and their families will have front row seats for the big blast — and who deserves it more?

Literally. Today there’s a cover story in the Los Angeles Times about my neighbor and friend, Ed Velandria. Reporter Erica Hayasaki, a staff writer for the LA Times, who lives in Brooklyn, discovered Ed in a story on OTBKB. She wrote and asked how to get in touch with this man who draws on the F-train. I was thrilled to hear that she wanted to bring the story of Ed to her readers in LA. Here’s an excerpt. To see more of his pictures go to Ed Velandria’s Flickr site.

By Erika Hayasaki, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

The F train howls to a stop, and the subway sketcher boards a front car, its windows clouded with white spray paint, its benches filled with characters. Ed Velandria takes a seat, pulling a computer tablet and touch pen from his black backpack.

He skims the crowd as he listens to Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” through his iPhone earbuds. Velandria has 20 minutes to draw on this ride from Brooklyn to Manhattan, and he is searching for his next muse.

Tall, dark-haired and unassuming, Velandria is a corporate graphics guy with a family and a brownstone in Brooklyn. He drew his first illustration in third grade — a pumpkin. The moment marked his love for drawing, but for more than a decade he rarely did it for enjoyment. His career got the best of him; his creativity slipped away.

Two years ago, he bought a computerized painting tablet on Craigslist and carted it along on his ride to and from work, sketching people he found interesting. The tablet is the size of a thin phone book, and its touch pen simulates dozens of brushes and pencils, blending colors with thick and thin strokes directly onto the computer screen. He uploaded YouTube instructional illustration videos on his iPhone and studied them on breaks.

He found Flickr, a Web community for image collections, and posted his . Fans found him and sent messages or posted his drawings on their blogs. He came across subway sketchers from Toronto, Berlin, Paris. They formed an online family, commenting on each other’s work.

Just like that, Velandria, 45, found his creative self again. Subway sketching in the modern technology world became his therapy, and his obsession.

On the F train just after 10 a.m., five deaf teenage boys speak in sign language, and a chubby man in a yarmulke and Navy blazer stares. Two middle-aged Asian women sit across the aisle. One has a marble-sized mole on her chin, and the other tilts her head back at an awkward angle, her eyes closed. Velandria fixates on the sleeping woman, and his right hand dances across his tablet. The song in his ear changes to Jewel’s “Who Will Save Your Soul.”

The deaf boys notice and hover behind Velandria in fascination, signing rapidly to each other. The man in the yarmulke rises from his seat and leans over Velandria’s shoulder, watching the swirls of yellow, green and gray fuse into the contours of the woman’s face. The train stops, and a man in a striped Adidas shirt and khaki slacks gets on. “Good morning ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention please?” he announces, walking slowly down the aisle. “If anyone on this train could spare any change, please help me out with a dollar, a dime, even a penny.”

The sleeping woman wakes up and gets off a few minutes later, unaware that she has become a work of art soon to be displayed to the world online. The man in the yarmulke takes her seat, as if waiting for Velandria to draw his portrait next. Velandria settles instead on a shaggy-haired young man holding an iced coffee and reading Esquire.

The train stops at Broadway and Lafayette in Soho, and Velandria packs up his tablet with its two nearly complete portraits.

“That’s what’s enjoyable,” he says, once outside the station. “You don’t know how long they will stay. You don’t know if they will get pissed off..

.

It’s, like, a tradition on OTBKB to run this on the fourth of July:

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred. to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Fonda of Zuzu’s Petals wrote to say that they found a new member of the Zuzu team. Sounds like they got someone great. Here’s the note from Fonda.

Danielle  has been training at The Big for the last few weeks. She is an ace at flower prep and makes handheld bouquets with great attention to color and combo.

Her working knowledge of plants comes from a passion for growing things and years of tending both a Community Garden patch and  Orchid collection at home.

All you regulars, stop by to give her the warm zuzushopper welcome.

And here’s news of what’s in the shop this week:

We made a score with some crimson threadleaf Japanese Maples. 3 sizes from $120-$450.
All our late flowering shrubs and perennials are fat and full….Beauty Berry…both gold leaf and green, Chartreuse Hypericum,Variegated Caryopteris, Pink Flowering Abelia, Dwarf Crepe Myrtle.
Lots of Annuals that will bloom all Summer…Angelonia, Abutilon, Fuschia, Torenia, Moon Vine, Passion Flower, Oxalis in 3 colors, Bidens, Rose Impatiens.

In the Edibles, we still are giving away our Tomato starts for free. Our 4" Everbearing Strawberries are covered with flowers and fruit (which we snack on while watering)
In Herbs we have some gorgeous Thyme, Rosemary, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Mint and Sage.
Enough?

We are hoping Friday will prove to be a better Beach Day than the Weatherpersons predict. Little Zu will be closed this weekend as i said before.

Big Zu will be closed Friday so Lorraine can go to the beach and open again Saturday and Sunday. There are a mass of heat tolerant Fresh Cut Flowers inshop…pictured below: Giant Green Centered Sunflowers, Alstroemeria, Gerber Daisies and lots of interesting foliage.
And Roses Roses Roses

Definite Visible Data

You want to borrow a DVD?
It isn’t friendship I lack
But you may know as some folks do
Nobody gives them back.

So no, I just can’t lend you one
Despite your likely groans–
The DVDs that you see here
I acquired by loans.

Justice Robert J. Miller of State Supreme Court, ordered that a Red Hook Fence that separates the Red Hook Recreation Area from the Henry Street Basin be removed within 90 days. Here’s what the Judge said, as reported by the New York Times:

“the fence significantly and unreasonably restricts the common use of the waterfront and does not serve the public good.”

Adrian Benepe, commissioner of the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation, told this to the Times:

“Red Hook Park is a popular neighborhood destination which offers both active recreational opportunities including handball, basketball, soccer, and fitness, and passive recreation including strolling along the park grounds, communing with friends, and relaxing on a park bench. The removal of the fence opens up Brooklyn’s picturesque waterfront and gives Brooklyn residents and New Yorkers another reason to visit this fabled community park.”

Transportation Alternatives is offering a $6000 prize for the best design of a “post-automobile street” for the intersection of Fourth Avenue and 9th Street.

Transportation Alternatives announces the launch of “Designing the 21st Century Street,” an open design competition that will challenge New Yorkers to safely accommodate pedestrians, bicyclists, transit, trucks and cars on the same “complete street” – something that still eludes New York City street design. Those interested in entering must register by July 18th and submit their entries by August 18th.

“Cities in the 21st Century are competing to be the greenest, most livable, most sustainable places possible, and we can’t do that until we have better streets,” says Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. “This design competition is about unleashing the talent of New Yorkers and developing those streets today.”

The competition focuses on the intersection of 4th Avenue and 9th Street in Brooklyn, a dangerous crossing that divides surrounding neighborhoods and inhibits street life. Competitors must re-imagine this intersection as a healthy, safe and sustainable street that serves pedestrians and bicyclists first, while functioning as a transit hub and truck route.

The jury includes artists, architects, City commissioners and local residents with a fierce interest in seeing their neighborhood streets become safer and more vital. In particular, the expertise of Danish planner, Jan Gehl, and former NYC Department of Transportation Commissioner “Gridlock” Sam Schwartz will ensure the viability of finalists as a potential template for New York City’s unique street.

Someone on Park Slope Parents thinks she’s being scammed but wanted to check with PSP first. It’s a strange story. Is this a typical scam?

Has anyone on this list been a victim of an apt scam? We found a “too
good to be true” apt that is vacant, the owner is in London and needs
to rent it out asap, but she has the keys with her and will mail them
to us, etc.

Since we have friends who have been scammed before, I am
extremely skeptical. And we cant afford the monetary lose. Is there
anyone willing to share their experience with me and any red flags I
should be looking for? I am refusing to hand over any money until I
have the keys but I wonder if somehow she has the keys to this apt but
isnt the real owner, is that possible?

Thanks for any and all help!

You won’t want to miss this event at the Community Bookstore on July 8th at 7 p.m.

Fresh from their sold-out engagement at Joe’s Pub, vocalist Capathia Jenkins, songwriter/performer Louis Rosen and writer Nikki Giovanni will make a special appearance at the Community Bookstore in Brooklyn to celebrate their acclaimed new PS Classics CD, “One Ounce of Truth: The Nikki Giovanni Songs.”
One Ounce of Truth was hailed by The New York Times as “earthy, tuneful songs…a continually shifting musical patchwork of blues, folk, jazz and pop…sly, playful observations that take an off-center, positive view of life and love.”
The CD combines the sultry and soaring voice of Capathia Jenkins with the inspired melodies and arrangements of composer Louis Rosen into a fresh and enthralling thirteen-song mix of jazz, blues, soul, classic pop and American roots music. Jenkins’ powerful and sensitive performances blend with Rosen’s music – alternately delicate and exultant, and always highly melodic – in exploring those most universal of human experiences: friendship, lust, love and loss. It’s a lush and memorable collection based on the vivid words of Nikki Giovanni, the renowned American writer and poet recently chosen as one of Oprah Winfrey’s “Living Legends.”

Bloomberg News wrote, “In the poet Nikki Giovanni…the blissful collaboration of composer Louis Rosen and singer Capathia Jenkins has found a kindred spirit, and the combination has charm and beauty to spare….The performers are as good company as you could wish for.”

“Giovanni writes in a style that is both direct and sophisticated, with a point of view that is thoughtful, soulful and always surprising,” says Rosen. “Equally important, her words sound right sung in a popular style with a strong rhythmic groove as the foundation. My goal while writing and arranging the songs was to make the music and words play so naturally together that the listener assumes they were written together as music and lyrics.”

Pastor Daniel Meeter shares his wonder with the natural world in Prospect Park. He’s got pictures, too.

There’s an orange tree in Prospect Park. Pastor Daniel Meeter of Old First Church, has pictures of it and some information about it.

Well, not an orange tree exactly. But Prospect Park has an Osage Orange tree.

They are native to the American West.

This one stands at the waymeet just down from the Nethermead Arches.

This one is a good size. The species is not typically towering tall, not compared to other trees, including the ones around it. But this one is doing very well, and looks very healthy.

The young osage oranges are just beginning to grow on it. I wonder if they are edible?

Here’s a statement from City Councilmember Bill De Blasio about the deat of Emin Elizabeth Green, who died in the waiting room of Kings County Hospital. She was ignored by hospital workers until after her death.

City Hall— Councilmember Bill de Blasio released the following statement on news of the conditions surrounding the death of Esmin Elizabeth Green in the psychiatric emergency room of Kings County Hospital Center in Brooklyn on June 19, 2008:

“I am deeply troubled by the lack of attention and care that Esmin Elizabeth Green received in the hours leading up to her tragic death. It is unconscionable to leave patients waiting almost twenty-four hours without providing adequate care, and inhumane for hospital employees to ignore obvious signs that a patient is in need of immediate medial attention.

“The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation’s decision to reduce wait times and institute required fifteen minute checks on all patients in the Kings County psychiatric emergency room is a step in the right direction. However, we cannot wait for another tragedy before making important policy changes.

“We must ensure that similarly unacceptable conditions and patient care policies are not in place at any other hospital in the City, and that hospitals have adequate staff to provide the necessary level of patient care. I am committed to working with my fellow Councilmembers and relevant City agencies to identify the extent of inadequate staffing in City hospitals, and to develop potentially life-saving solutions.”

Eugene Patron of Prospect Park also sent word of this marvelously fishy event that begins on July 16th:

Young anglers will cheer as NYC Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Brooklyn Cyclones mascot Sandy the Seagull release a largemouth bass dubbed R.H. Macy into the water. Whoever catches R.H. Macy will win a great fishing trip for the whole family on a boat ride from Sheepshead Bay!
The contest is sponsored by Macy’s Foundation
The contest runs from July 16 – July 20. Daily contest hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There are no rain dates. The competition is open to children 15 years and younger. Individuals can sign-up at the contest. Groups of 10 or more must call (718) 287-3400 x114 to register. Admission is free and equipment and instruction is provided.
Prizes will be awarded daily to those who haul in the big catches from Brooklyn’s only freshwater lake. Before casting their lines, all participants attend a free, fun and educational workshop led by Prospect Park Audubon Center educators and the Urban Park Rangers.
Directions: News vehicles can enter the park at any entrance and follow the Park Drive to the Audubon Center. To reach the Prospect Park Audubon Center on foot, enter the Park at Lincoln Road & Ocean Ave, or Flatbush Ave. & Empire Blvd. (Willink entrance) and follow the directional signs. By train: Q, S, or B to Prospect Park Station

Gowanus Lounge calls him the Oracle of Prospect Park. But for me, Eugene Patron is simply the last word on everything that goes on in that great park like this concert by the Philharmonic Orchestra on July 14th at 8 p.m. and these fun sounding events at the Lefferts Historic House.

Each year, the New York Philharmonic returns to Prospect Park’s Long Meadow Ballfields for an amazing free concert under the stars. This year’s program will include Mozart’s Divertimento in D major, K.125a; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4; and Sibelius’ Finlandia. Alan Gilbert will conduct; Sheryl Staples and Michelle Kim will be featured on violin.

A fireworks display rounds out the evening. The concert space features a state-of-the-art sound system with a wireless broadcast network and 24 15-foot speaker towers. Park concessions will be on hand, selling hot dogs, ice cream, and other great summertime refreshments.

Enter the Long Meadow at 9th Street and Prospect Park West or Bartel Pritchard Circle/15th St.

For Alliance Members at the Arborist Level and above, we offer V.I.P. seating with complimentary soft drinks and more. Call (718) 965-8965 for information about VIP seating.

For all other information, including weather-related concerns, call the New York Philharmonic concert information hotline at (212) 875-5709

He also sent word about an interesting sounding event in the Park on July 4th an 5th at the Lefferts Historic House. Interestingly, in the 19th century, July 5th was a day to celebrate the end of slavery.

The spirit of independence fills Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. For many years in the 19th century, July 5 was a day to celebrate emancipation with parades and festive dinners. Saturday, July 5 at the Lefferts Historic House there will be a special celebration to mark the anniversary of the end of slavery in New York State.

2:00pm – Illustrated talk by historian Dr. Sherrill D. Wilson, who will explore the experience of Black New Yorkers of the 1820s and 30s.

3:00 pm – Musical Performance: Heritage Organic Percussion uses instruments from Africa to play traditional, dynamic rhythms.

4:00 pm – Parade: Join a noisy and proud march recalling the days of the first generations of free African- Americans in New York. Lead by master storyteller Tammy Hall.

All afternoon, from 1pm to 4 pm enjoy crafts on the lawn: gourd shaker workshop, make your own rice rattles, bead necklaces, paper hats and enjoy ice treats

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Again, thanks to Verse Responder, Leon Freilich, who sent this along.

Not only is “1776” the best musical drama ever made, it’s the only one Richard Nixon had a role in. He screened the completed movie in the White House before its distribution in 1972 and loved it. Except for the song “Cool, Cool Considerate Men” in which Deep South conservatives urge the need to go “Always to the right, always to the right.”

Nixon took his unhappiness to Jack Warner, the producer, who obligingly cut it from the film. And that was Nixon’s always-to-the-right part. In the DVD, though, the song’s restored–and that’s probably what’ll be shown tonight at Byrne…

Read the op-ed in yesterday’s Daily News by Evan Thies, candidate for David Yassky’s City Council seat. A former aide to Yassky, Thies is a member of Community Board 1. Thies is appalled; the city is slashing $300 million from the Department of Education, which will mean overcrowding and a dearth of much needed resources. At the same time, there are no planned cuts to the DOE’s Office of Assessment and Accountability, the love child of Chancellor Klein and Mayor Bloomberg.

The budget passed Sunday for the new fiscal year will slash the Department of Education by $300 million, largely by taking money directly out of schools. Yet, the same budget includes an untouched allocation of $8 million for staff at the department’s Office of Assessment and Accountability – the mayor’s pet project to monitor students and schools – and another $23 million for operating expenses such as tests.

Although the status quo in our city’s schools needed – and still needs – to be changed, and I applaud the mayor especially for his previous dedication to improving our school system, as well as Speaker Christine Quinn for her valiant try in this budget to restore funding, it is alarming that the mayor’s nonessential and expensive accountability experiment won out over less-crowded classrooms and desperately needed resources for students.

If cuts had to be made to the education budget, as the administration says that it did – though I disagree that they must – certainly we should start with suspending or reorganizing parts of, or the entire, unnecessary accountability and monitoring programs while we work to restore the department’s budget to full funding.

The mayor, unfortunately, seems to disagree. These cuts were to be even deeper in the mayor’s original proposed budget, but the City Council managed to restore a third of the funding. And though the operating budget for the Office of Assessment Accountability would be cut modestly next year, it is unclear exactly how or where this money would be spent.

Monitoring and testing at schools has so far had mixed results. The aggregate scores of city schoolchildren on federal tests have been flat or have declined during these first years of the assessment experiment. Scores from state-administered tests have improved, but that could be merely the result of the degree of difficulty of the tests varying from year to year…

The video showing a woman dying in a waiting room at Kings County Hospital is very disturbing. The fallout continues. Here’s an excerpt from NY1:

Several employees at Kings County Hospital have been fired after a disturbing videotape surfaced showing a woman dying in a waiting room, while workers did nothing.

The New York Civil Liberties Union released the video, which was taken two weeks ago. It shows 49-year-old Esmin Green slumping out of her chair and going into convulsions as workers and fellow patients walk by her. She had been in the hospital’s psychiatric ward waiting area for more than 24 hours. She was later pronounced dead.

The NYCLU also says hospital workers fudged the time scale of the incident on Green’s medical records.

Now the group says the hospital, which is run by the city, will give patients in the waiting room a checkup every 15 minutes, and limit the number of patients to 25 at a time.