park slope 100

HAVE YOU SEEN THE PARK SLOPE 100?

I keep running into people who have seen it. Have you? Look here.

The Park Slope 100: 100 stories, 100 ways of looking at the world, 100 inspiring people, places and things

I’m still proof reading and finding mistakes: but the Park Slope 100
has gone LIVE. As new information pours in, I flow it in. As I find
mistakes, I fix them. For something like this I could really use an
assistant. Thanks for the responses so far.

Remember:

–The list is in alphabetical order

–There are no repeats from last year

–The list has its own weblog: www.otbkb.com/the_park_slope_100

 

Brooklyn Papers

PS I LOVE YOU: SHOP LOCALLY SHE SAYS

OTBKB friend and fave, Wendy Ponte, pens the Brooklyn Paper’s PS I Love You column and she did some FUN local shopping recently. Here’s an excerpt. Read more here.

I have decided that this year I am going to do as much of my holiday shopping right here in Park Slope as I can.

I
made this decision for virtuous reasons. The Park Slope Civic Council
says that when you buy from local merchants, more of every dollar stays
in the community than if you use that same dollar at the neighborhood
Starbucks or Barnes & Noble.

Plus, if more people would buy locally and shop online less, there will be more choices and lower prices in the smaller stores.

But
I discovered an even better reason to shop locally. It’s funny! Funny
as in humorous, amusing, and good for a whole bunch of laughs

Postcard from the Slope

PS 321 CRAFT FAIR TODAY

The PS 321 Craft Fair is happening today starting at 11 am at the school on Seventh Avenue and 1st Street.

This is one of the best craft fairs in Brooklyn. Typically a great many talented artisans show up there. I always spend too much. But that’s a good thing, I guess. Support the school, support the crafts people.

The fair is big fun for kids because there are tons of hands-on craft activities for kids of all ages. OSFO usually spends the entire day there making things.

My brain is mush and I can’t think of any names of the artists who are usually there but here goes:

There’s Susan, who paints painted scarves is usually there (She wasn’t there this year). Claireware (not this year) and the women who makes those groovy bell bottoms for kids (and American Girl Dolls). Tiki Pant, that’s it. (She was there). And the elegant European woman who make gorgeous painted wallets, photo books and card holders. Last year a teacher at PS 321 was selling adorable sock monkeys, and there’s the woman who sells exotic pictures from around the world. And my fave: Marlene’s Lost and Found with her cool, vintage looking decoupage boxes.

I am dumbed down and tired after the Park Slope 100, I guess.

park slope 100

2007 PARK SLOPE 100

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The Park Slope 100: 100 stories, 100 ways of looking at the world, 100 inspiring people, places and things

I’m still proof reading and finding mistakes: but the Park Slope 100 has gone LIVE. As new information pours in, I flow it in. As I find mistakes, I fix them. For something like this I could really use an assistant. Thanks for the responses so far.

Remember:

–The list is in alphabetical order

–There are no repeats from last year

–The list has its own weblog: www.otbkb.com/the_park_slope_100

–There are many serious omissions. Send names for next year.

Other Bloggers

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE STRANGER ON SCHERMERHORN STREET?

Where oh where can he be asks Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn:

Well, it has been three days and he is gone. I am convinced the Wandering Stranger of Schermerhorn Street has moved on. Incredibly, since even before I first posted about his arrival on Thursday, September 20, 2007, he has been seated in just about the same spot, on the block outside the parking garage. His plastic trash bags filled with who knows what (cash ? trash ?) are still there for now, neatly piled, where he last left them, only now there are empty coffee cups and soda bottles stacked on them by passersby. Soon they will be gone.

Read more here.

New York 1

BROOKLYN BRIDGE GOING GREEN

This from NY 1:

The Brooklyn Bridge’s necklace lights will soon be replaced with energy-efficient bulbs in an effort by the city to reduce carbon emissions.

The project is one of 132 short term initiatives announced by the city, aimed at reducing the city’s carbon footprint by 30 percent within the next ten years.

“We are not just planning something for the future, we are starting it and we are demonstrating that we can do something about it short term,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “And, you know, if you do a little bit each day after a period, you will look back and you will be shocked at just how far you have come.”

Other projects include putting energy efficient bulbs in 25,000 street lights and replacing police and fire emergency response vehicles with new hybrid SUVs.

New York 1

THE CITY: 132 WAYS TO REDUCE CARBON FOOTPRINT

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This from NY1:

In an attempt to reduce the city’s carbon footprint by 30 percent by 2017, the Bloomberg administration unveiled 132 short-term projects Wednesday aimed at reaching the goal.

Among those projects are replacing police and fire emergency response vehicles with new hybrid SUVs, and replacing the necklace lighting on the Brooklyn Bridge with more efficient lamps to reduce carbon emissions.

“We are not just planning something for the future, we are starting it and we are demonstrating that we can do something about it short term,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “You know, if you do a little bit each day, after a period you will look back and you will be shocked at just how far you have come.”

The Bloomberg administration is dedicating ten percent of the city’s energy budget, or $80 million, to the initiatives. A comprehensive long-term energy reduction plan is expected to be announced this summer.

park slope 100

HERE IT IS: THE PARK SLOPE 100

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I bring you: THE 2007 PARK SLOPE 100. It has its very own weblog accessible on the right hand side of this page. See the logo >>>>>>>> 

The list is in ALPHABETICAL order.

It’s still a work in progress. There are still misspellings, missing names, missing pictures, missing info, broken links. But all that will be fixed in the hours and days to follow. Please send in any corrections.

This year’s Park Slope 100 feels more topical than last year’s. It includes names that have come up on OTBKB, on
Seventh Avenue, on Fifth Avenue, in the zeitgeist over the past year. 

100 stories, 100 ways of looking at the world, 100 inspiring people, places and things.

The Park Slope 100 is itself a work in progress. It’s a crazy thing to do. So reductive. So incomplete. As I’ve said before, the idea of a list like this is inherently
subjective, flawed, and wildly controversial (even annoying).

But it’s
fun to do if only as a way to record life in this neighborhood in an
interesting way.

EDUCATION

JUDGE RULES AGAINST ALMONTASER

This from NY 1:

A federal judge ruled Wednesday afternoon that the city can move
forward with plans to appoint a permanent principal for the city’s
Arab-language school.

The Khalil Gibran International Academy’s former principal, Debbie
Almontaser, had asked for an injunction which would have blocked the
city from moving forward with its plans.

"His honor took a very detailed analysis of all of the facts," said
James Lemonedes of NYC Law Department. "He considered everything very,
very well, and he gave a very detailed analysis of all the applicable
law."

Almontaser claims the Department of Education violated her First
Amendment rights by forcing her to resign after she came under fire for
refusing to condemn a t-shirt with the word intifada on it.

The judge said that statements made by government employees during
the course of their duties are not protected by the First Amendment. He
also said that it was reasonable to assume that putting her in the
position as principal of Khalil Gibran would make it hard for the
school to fulfill its duties.

Her lawyers claim that Almontaser did and said nothing wrong.

"We have a woman who was told to speak to the press when she doesn’t
want to, she’s essentially mandated to speak to the press, when she
does, they don’t like what she says and they fire her," said her
attorney Arthur Levine. "No case stands for that proposition. I think
[the judge’s] interpretation of the Supreme Court decision is flat out
wrong

Civics and Urban Life

ENOUGH: ANOTHER CYCLIST KILLED

5 Comments

This from NY Metro:

MANHATTAN. A bicyclist riding down Sixth Avenue died yesterday after
being struck by an open car door and then run over by a passing truck,
police said.

David Smith, 63, was thrown from his bike after striking the
door at about 9 a.m. in front of 989 Sixth Ave., near 36th Street.
Smith was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.

“He was an avid cyclist and rode his bike to work every day,”
said Smith’s partner, Rev. John Moody, who has retired from Trinity
Church on Wall Street. “He had all sorts of lights and safety things on
his bike. When he’d ride home at night, people would sometimes say,
‘Hey lights,’ because he had so many lights on his bike.”

Moody said he and Smith, a recording engineer at Triton Sound on West 43rd Street, had been partners for 36 years.

park slope 100

PARK SLOPE 100: LATER TODAY

I am still putting the finishing touches on the Park Slope 100. It will be up early this afternoon.

This year’s Park Slope 100 feels even more like the story of this
community. The list is topical. It is full of names that have come up on OTBKB, on
Seventh Avenue, on Fifth Avenue, in the zeitgeist of Park Slope.

100 stories, 100 ways of looking at the world, 100 inspiring people, places and things.

As I said last year, the idea of a list like this is inherently
subjective, flawed, and wildly controversial (even annoying). But it’s
fun to do if only as a way to record life in this neighborhood in an
interesting way.

park slope 100

THURSDAY IS THE DAY: PARK SLOPE 100

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The 2007 Park Slope 100 will be rolled out on Thursday, December 6th.

Last year’s list was what I call foundational, as it included a diverse and essential list Park Slope’s movers, shakers, and notable individuals. Of course a list like that has to be incomplete. There are only 100 slots. It’s reductive by nature.

That first list contained the obvious names that come up when you think of Park Slope in the last few years. Names like: Paul Auster, Pastor Meeter, Fonda Sara, Chris Owens, CHIPS, Al Di La, Steve Buscemi and Jo Andres, Kim Maier, Stitch Therapy, Catherine Bohne, Two Boots, Jonathan Blum, The Dinnersteins and more.

While many of the names were very well known, some were unfamiliar or unexpected. They were the behind the scenes people like Thomas Parker, the barista at Connecticut Muffin, Hillary at Shawn’s Liquors, Alan Berger the brains behind the Brooklyn Free School, Eric the beloved toddler swim instructor at Eastern Athletic. and neighborhood watch-woman, Jackie Connor, who died last year.

Foundational. In some ways, it was the surface layer, the first pass. Even as I was publishing last year’s I knew there were so many more people to recognize.

But that’s the beauty of doing a list every year. No names will be repeated year to year. It’s a cumulative list. This year we have the Park Slope 200. Then it will be the PS 300, 400. In 2010 it will be the Park Slope 500, an on-going list, a story of this neighborhood in these times.

This year’s Park Slope 100 feels even more like the story of this community. It’s topical. It’s names that have come up on OTBKB, on Seventh Avenue, on Fifth Avenue, in the zeitgeist of Park Slope.

100 stories, 100 ways of looking at the world, 100 inspiring people, places and things.

As I said last year, the idea of a list like this is inherently subjective, flawed, and wildly controversial (even annoying). But it’s fun to do if only as a way to record life in this neighborhood in an interesting way.

Postcard from the Slope

ENERGY EFFICIENT LED’S LIGHT GRAND ARMY PLAZA

I saw the klieg lights on Monday night but I missed the ceremony. Were you there when Bloomberg flipped switch on a holiday lighting installation at Grand Army Plaza in Prospect Park?

We love the GAP lights. And guess what? They’re energy-efficient LEDs. That’s right. The lights that are being used to illuminate the Bailey Fountain and a tree underneath the Sailors and Soldiers’ Memorial Arch at Grand Army Plaza are ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY.

Lights in the fountain create the effect of flowing water. Lighting of the tree features mutliple colors.

The lights will be shining through January 14, 2008.

The Fort Hamilton Marching Band and the All City High School Choir joined Bloomberg and Marty at the ceremony.

Postcard from the Slope

NOTIFY NYC: PILOT PROGRAM FOR EMERGENCY PUBLIC INFO

On Tuesday, Mayor Bloomberg announced the launch of Notify NYC, a pilot program to deliver emergency public information by email, text messages and reverse-911 alerts in four City community districts.

You sign up for Notify NYC through www.nyc.gov and receive information about significant emergency events in four pilot communities: Lower Manhattan, the Northeast Bronx, the Rockaways, and Southwest Staten Island.

No Brooklyn? What’s the story here? After last summer’s tornado, we should have been included.

New York 1

SUBWAY OFFICIALS ISSUE SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS

This from New York 1:

Subway officials and workers issued dozens of safety recommendations Tuesday following two deadly accidents on the tracks earlier this year.

NYC Transit teamed up with the Transport Workers Union Local 100 to release 63 safety measures they say should be implemented. This comes in the wake of the April deaths of track workers Daniel Boggs and Marvin Franklin.

Government studies and employee input were considered in making the recommendations.
They include a streamlined flagging system and quieter machines so workers can hear incoming trains.

Labor officials say it’s already a good sign that the union and the agency were able to cooperate.

“The exercise was a joint exercise between labor and management, and the emphasis was on changing culture and behavior rather then ascribing blame,” said TWU Local 100 President Roger Toussaint.

Boggs was killed April 24th while crossing the tracks at Columbus Circle. Five days later, Franklin was killed by a G train in Brooklyn.

Postcard from the Slope

SNOWFLAKE NEWS: BUY IN BROOKLYN LAUNCHES SHOP LOCAL

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On the evening of Thursday, December 13th over 100 businesses from 7th Avenue to 5th to Vanderbilt will stay open until 10 p.m. and offer special discounts, promotions, and in-store refreshments to local shoppers.

And tht’s not all.

According to organizers, the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music will perform concerts in front of their building on 7th Avenue, carolers will wander the streets, and a handful of snow machines promise to dust the sidewalks with a wintry mix. Here’s the latest press release from the Buy in Brooklyn team.

“The Chamber of Commerce is proud to be able to organize an event that supports small businesses while fostering a sense of community,” said John Tarzian co-organizer and owner of Tarzian Hardware. Signs of that community feeling are everywhere. Many restaurants and bars, for instance, (already open late) have agreed to do special complementary cocktails or food ONLY if clients show a receipt from a fellow local merchant.

“People are really getting into the spirit,” said co-organizer Catherine Bohne and owner of the Community Bookstore—whose earlier recycling umbrella idea has taken a new and festive twist in this phase of the “Buy in Bklyn” campaign— “we’re hoping this becomes a very special evening.”

Conceived by a group of community leaders who wanted to translate the widespread concern over growing displacement of local businesses into action, the aim of the Buy in Brooklyn initiative remains high. Whether reintroducing Park Slopers to the quality services and products available just around the corner or—more ambitiously—raising awareness about the important role small businesses play in the local economy, organizers hope to build critical connections between merchants, non-profits and the communities they serve. “The Park Slope Civic Council’s joining with the Park Slope Chamber of Commerce demonstrates how easy it is for residential and business neighbors to work together,” argued Allen Brafman, owner of Little Things Toy Store. Buy in Brooklyn is inclusive by definition, forging new ties between North and South Slope and businesses along 4, 5th and 7th Avenues. Now all organizers need is for the community to come out and show their support.

“As I see it, in a few years the Snowflake Celebration will grow into a neighborhood institution in the same way that the Halloween Parade has developed,” said Brafman, “I am proud to say that Little Things Toy Store together with Tarzian Hardware were among the first retail sponsors of that parade. And again, today, I am proud that we are among the first to be involved in Park Slope’s next neighborhood tradition.”

“Pundits may have predicted that New York City will be steeped in chain stores by the year 2030,” explained co-organizer Rebeccah Welch, “but I think Park Slope can show the rest of the city another more inclusive and diverse vision of our future local economy.”

Clever Doc

CLEVER DOC WANTS TO KNOW: WHAT’S YOUR SCORE?

Now it’s time to  total you score. Your answers help measure how deftly you juggle your commitments. For more information about this test go to the RENEW-O-METER.


Do You Laugh Enough?
Are You Still Learning?
How Angry Are You?
Do You Feel Trapped?
Do You Talk to People?
Are You Eating Right?
Are You Taking Risks?
Are You Refreshing Your Body and Spirit
How Often Do You Consider Your Aspirations When You Make Decisions?
Are you Encouraging To Others?

 If you’re in the 31 – 40 point zone, you’re a superstar; the 0 to 19
zone suggests that you have too many balls in the air. High, low, or in
between, this check-up can make you aware, lead to reflection and
conversations, and stir you to make plans and take action. If you
missed the others here they are.

How’d you do?

Civics and Urban Life

LIST OF PARTICIPATING SNOWFLAKES

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See the list of businesses who will be participating in the Snowflake Celebration on December 13th. All stores will be open until 10 p.m.

Pass the word onto neighbors and friends. And stay tuned for a website listing participating merchants and promotions.

Participants To Date

3R Living
4PLAYBK
A. Cheng
Applewares
Applewood
Apropos Cafe
Area Kids
Artesana
Asha Veza
Aunt Suzie’s Restaurant
Bar Reis
Bierkraft
Big Nose Full Body
Big Zuzus Petals
Bird
Biscuit
Black Pearl
Bob & Judi’s Collectibles
Brooklyn Conservatory of Music
Brooklyn Frameworks
Brooklyn Industries
Bump Brooklyn
Buttercup’s PAW-tisserie
Canaille Bistro Francais
Chip Shop
Chocolate Girl
Cog & Pearl
Community Bookstore
Convivium Osteria
Diana Kane
D’mai urban spa
E Lingerie by Enelra
Eidolon
Element Beauty Lounge
Elementi Restaurant
Extraordinary
Fifth Eye Optix
Firefly
Flawless
Flirt
Ginza
Glowing Results of NY
Good Footing
GRAB Specialty Foods
Hand of Glory Tattoo
Honeybee & Me
J&R Electronics/Television
JackRabbit Sports
La Vedette
Leaf & Bean
Leaf-n-Bean
Lighthouse Tavern
Lily
Lion in the Sun
Little D. Eatery
Little Things Toy Store
Little Zuzus Petals
Lobo
Lolli
Long Tan
LuLu’s Cuts and Toys
Maggie’s Threads for Kids
Mandala Tibetan Store
Melt Restaurant
Memories Out of the Box
Miracle Grill
Miriam Restaurant
Music Matters
Naidre’s Café
Nana
North of New Orleans NoNo Kitchen
Oko Frozen Yogurt & Tea
Old Stone House
Orange Blossom
Otto
Park Slope Fitness Collective
Patio Lounge
Photofaction
Private Stock
Prospect Wine Shop
Razor
Romp
Root Stock & Quade
Rose Water
Salonbohemia
Second Helpings
Serene Rose
Sette
Shoe Mine
Sip
Slope Sports
Slope Suds
Sprout Kidz
Stitch Therapy
Sweet Charity
Sweet Melissa
Tabeel Aromatherapy Gifts and Salon
Tarzian True Value Hardware
The Artful Place
The Clay Pot
The Gate
The Lighthouse Tavern
The Treasure Chest
Top Dog Shop
Toy Space
Under The Pig Antiques & Collectibles
Visions
Voulez-Vous
Warren Lewis Realty
Willie’s Dawgs
Zilli

STUFF AND THINGS

TROUBLING TRAJECTORIES: HUMAN DIEBACK

My friend Carlton Schade will be speaking THIS THURSDAY about Human Dieback. If you don’t know what that is you should definitely come hear the first of three talks he is giving about the enormity of the human predicament, and why the 21st century will likely be known as the Dieback Century.

Troubling Trajectories: On Course for a Human Dieback this Thursday,

Dec. 6 at 8:00 p.m
at the Old Stone House (Third Street and Fifth Avenue)

Civics and Urban Life

LET ME BRAG ABOUT MY PAINTER: BROOKLYN PAINTING COMPANY

David Atkin/Brooklyn Painting Company painted my office a gorgeous shade of green. I love it so much. David is a fine arts painter and very good at COLOR.

He was recommended by someone on Park Slope Parents. He’s very careful, tidy, and reliable. And the room looks GREAT.  Here are the details:


David Atkin/ Brooklyn Painting Company

They have reasonable rates and are insured and specialize in interior painting of both commercial and residential spaces.

They also do plasterwork and decorative painting and light construction.  They paint single rooms or whole Brownstones.

For more information and rates contact David Atkin  tel:347 432 5068
377 Hoyt Street Brooklyn, NY 11231

New York 1

BROOKLYN HEARTBREAKER INDUCTED INTO THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME

This from NY 1:

The man who orchestrated the Brooklyn Dodgers’ move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles will be enshrined in Cooperstown.

Walter O’Malley was among five old-time baseball figures elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee Monday.

He assumed control of the Dodgers in 1950, and oversaw the development of a team that won four pennants and its first World Series soon after.

But O’Malley, who passed away in 1979, is best known for moving the team out west when he could not secure funding for a new stadium in Brooklyn.

Among the Brooklynites who are steaming over the news is Borough President Marty Markowitz. He says even 50 years later, the loss of the Dodgers is still a sore subject.

“This is the way the Baseball Hall of Fame shows respect to Brooklyn? I just would say ‘fuggetaboutit!'” said Markowitz. “The truth of the matter is that Robert O’Malley along with Robert Moses were the major reasons why our beloved team was taken out of Brooklyn, thereby hurting and breaking the hearts of Brooklynites for generations to come.”

As a compromise, Markowitz suggests that the Baseball Hall of fame also admit Gil Hodges, the Dodgers first baseman. Hodges hit at least 30 home runs for five consecutive seasons and played in six World Series with the Dodgers.

Civics and Urban Life

DON’T FORGET TO SNOWFLAKE: DECEMBER 13TH

SNOWFLAKE CELEBRATION:


That’s the night you’re gonna shop til you drop on Seventh and/or Fifth Avenue in Park Slope. The stores will be open until 10 p.m.

BROOKLYN READING WORKS:
You’re also gonna stop in for wine, hot cider and some jazzy words from novelist Jason Weiss and jazz/spoken word artist, ROY NATHANSON.

It’s Brooklyn Reading Works at the Old Stone House. Fifth Avenue and 3rd Street at 8 p.m. Come for some or all of the show. It should be GREAT.

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO

AU CONTRAIRE: THE OCCASIONAL NOTE FROM PETER LOFFREDO

Here’s something from our pal Pete of Full Permission Living.

Good news for the anti-therapy crowd from Gallup.com: "Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats or independents to rate their own mental health as excellent, according to data from the last four November Gallup Health and Healthcare polls. Fifty-eight percent of Republicans report having excellent mental health, compared to 43% of independents and 38% of Democrats. This relationship between party identification and reports of excellent mental health persists even within categories of income, age, gender, church attendance, and education."

Wow! What does this mean?

Libby Spencer at the Newshoggers takes umbrage:

"I’m betting the numbers reflect mostly the 30-percenters who still think Bush is a great president. Of course those Republicans think their mental health is fine. They’ve somehow managed to learn to live with a level of cognitive dissonance that would make most people’s head explode. The rest of us aren’t feeling so good ourselves because we see what the Bush administration is doing and don’t find it acceptable on any level. That’s the trouble with living in reality. It tends to dampen the old peace of mind when you see everything that was once great about this country being incrementally destroyed."

Well, I agree somewhat with Libby that living in denial can give one a temporary feeling of sanity, and that facing the realities of how those whom we trust to run our government, corporations, schools and health care industry are actually incompetent or corrupt or both is very depressing. Where I disagree with Libby is around the notion that our not feeling all right is about "everything that was once great about this country being incrementally destroyed."

Everything that is insane about America today has always been there. A country initially founded on the genocide of its native people by religious zealots who thought it was acceptable to burn women they declared witches, while developing our new economy on the backs of slaves was never sane. Liberals and "Movement Democrats" take a bit too much satisfaction in past accomplishments.

The bottom line is that the end of slavery only accelerated other forms of insidious racism, while the "successful" sufferage and feminist movements have still not produced a woman president. Why not? Because real change cannot be effected by politics, not even "good" politics.

The most idealized movements of the past that were supposed to change things in fact gave us the likes of Richard Nixon (twice!), right in the heart of the Sixties. His Watergate led to only one brief term for the likes of Jimmy Carter, but was followed by 20 out of 28 years of nutty Republicans in the White House, including 2 terms for Ronald Reagan, the king of "I’m Okay; You’re Okay" conservativism, and 2 terms of the indefinably infantile George W. Bush.

Real change only comes from one person at a time evolving their consciousness – by peeling back the layers of denial, challenging their own ego-driven selfishness and narcissism, and developing the genuine empathy that comes from fully feeling all of one’s emotions. Easy? No. Does it require a lot of self-work that most people would rather not do? Yes. But doing whatever it takes to become sane in an insane world is still better than the alternative – being a Republican who feels good about himself!

[For further information, see my 3-part series: "FALSE CLARITY TO GENUINE CONFUSION TO GENUINE CLARITY" on my blog: http://fullpermissionliving.blogspot.com/

Peter Loffredo

Serving Park Slope and Beyond