The Community Bookstore sent word of a new monthly event, which began on Wednesday, November 14th @ 7:30 p.m. and it will continue on the second Wednesday of every month.

Whether beginner or experienced, we hope you’ll join us as we form a literary knitting circle on the second Wednesday of every month.

And really, it doesn’t have to be literary – but maybe it would be nice if it was? We’ll informally gather to knit, learn to knit, help others knit, talk about books and yarn, and maybe swap some yarn too (so bring any skeins you’re dying to get rid of!).

In general, a grand ol’ time. Bring yarn and needles for the project your working on, and if you come next week, you can help decide what our new group should be called. (oh…I don’t know..Literary Knitters? LitKnits? Community Knitters?

Something much more clever than any of these?) Refreshments will be on hand to quench anything that needs quenching.

The Old Stone House has just added new features and content to its website, which now includes great deal of history that readers of OTBKB might find interesting.

The new site includes a great map that overlays a sophisticated digital elevation map that shows the original shore line, and colonial roads and Indian trails, as well as the key milestones of the Battle of Brooklyn.

Imagine quiet farms, forested hillsides (Park Slope), a wide tidal estuary (now squeezed into the Gowanus Canal), and foot-long oysters. Progress has come at a price.

Overall, there much more content on there and definitely worth a look!

For those who don’t know, the Old Stone House is a modern reconstruction of the Vechte-Cortelyou House, a 1699 Dutch stone farmhouse with important ties to American history. It is located in JJ Byrne Park (which has ties to Brooklyn Dodger’s history) on Fifth Avenue and Third Street.

Old Stone House is operated as a historic interpretive center dedicated to its crucial role in the American Revolution and in the evolving histories of Brooklyn, New York and the United States. It is also the site of Brooklyn Reading Works, a monthly reading series and many other local arts events. It also makes a great party space.

The Old Stone House serves as a dynamic community resource through its education programs and events. In addition to historical exhibits open to the public, the House is available by appointment for tours, classes and rentals.

Brooklyn Paper Editor-in-Chief” Gersh was on the scene to witness yet another exchange between the Pigeon Advocate and The Bird Seed Sweeper, who the PA accuses of slaughtering pigeons. Thiis is just getting weird. Here’s an excerpt from the Brooklyn Paper’s report. This is practically the same conversation the Pigeon Advocate reported having with The Bird Seed Sweeper a letter she sent to OTBKB on October 15.

The pigeon-lover (whose name I’m going to withhold for reasons that will soon become clear) met me at the corner carrying a baby pigeon, still bearing the tell-tale yellow hairs of his infancy.

She said she saved the orphaned bird after the weekend massacre. And she also claimed to know who slaughtered these defenseless birds.

“It’s that guy, right over there!” she said, pointing at him.

All I saw was a man sweeping debris in front of his house. But, wait a second, that’s not debris — it’s birdseed!

And the pigeon-lover is running over to him to start screaming. What is going on here? I’d been set up!

“Why are you sweeping up my birdseed?” the pigeon-lover screamed, demanding that I take the man’s picture. “You’re the one who poisoned those pigeons over the weekend! And the press is here!”

The man denied poisoning the pigeons, by the way, but he didn’t deny sweeping up all the birdseed that the pigeon-lover had left.

“Please don’t throw birdseed in front of my house,” he told her.

“My kid is allergic! My kid gets sick from those pigeons.”

“Then you should move to the country!” the pigeon-lover said, drawing very little sympathy from the man (and, frankly, from this child-raising urbanite, too).

“Besides, there are no documented cases of anyone getting sick from pigeons.”

“Can’t you just feed them in the park? This is my front stoop!” he fired back.

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Disclosure: Eleanor is a non-paying advertiser on OTBKB. I put the ad up because I like the idea of what she does.

Photographer Claire Houston sent this report and a photo from her Blackberry to me last night.

I was on my way to Rapunzel Rapunzel for a haircut, and walked right through the maddness of this fire scene.

There were at least 10 fire trucks and other vehicles there.  In the salon, i asked what had happened, and there seemed to be two conflicting stories: either some kids came by asking for money and doused the shop with gasoline and lit it and ran when they didn’t get any, OR some kids threw an explosive (as in a bomb) in the botanica shop and ran. 

My hairdresser said that a guy came by and said he saw three teenagers run down the street and they seemed to throw something and there was an explosion, but the shop owner apparently told the police a different story. 

One of the tenants in the building was a client of the hair salon, and she dropped off her cat in a carrier in the shop while she went back to her apartment to grab some things. 

She came back later and picked up her kitty and was staying at her aunt’s house in Sheepshead Bay. She also said her apartment wasn’t damaged, but her neighbor’s was because the FDNY had to break a hole in her wall, and break a window.

She can go back to her apartment tomorrow.

THIS JUST IN (3:15 p.m. Thursday afternoon):

Gersh Kuntzman got right in the middle of the pigeon war on Eighth Avenue — and tells me to expect a “hot hot hot” column in this week’s Brooklyn Paper.

I am dying to know what’s going on. It will be online in a few hours.

I got this report and a picture from an OTBKB reader, who is a new resident of the Midwood area.

I am a new resident of the Midwood area (just moved in 4 months ago) and I just wanted you to get the following picture and story so that you could warn everybody of what is happening. 

As you can tell somebody decided to steal all 4 wheels of my car at some point on Monday night.  This happened at the corner of East 24th St. and Glenwood Road.  It is not a well lit area and according to neighbors this happened at some point before 12:30 a.m.  (I had left my car at 9:00 pm). 

Therefore this must have happened not that late that night but nobody seems to have seen anything. 

What is worse is that while I took these pictures and I was waiting for the police to file a report 3 other people went by telling me they have had either their windows smashed or their car stolen on that same corner!!!

Apparently everyone knows about the problem, yet things keep happening with an alarming frequency:  one of the persons that told me about his own story of smashed glass pointed at the "still fresh" pieces on the ground…"it happened a few days ago" he pointed out. 

Please feel free to post this picture and any or all the information I just posted.  I just want people and community to be aware of this and that way maybe make the police more aware of it too.

PS I thought this sort of thing only happened on movies from the 70’s…oh well…

Tuesday night, 50 local merchants filled the Community Bookstore to show their support for the BUY IN BKLYN (Shop Local Park Slope) initiative sponsored by the Park Slope Civic Council (PSCC), with the help of Catherine Bohne.

If a community helping its own was the message of the evening, the BUY IN BKLYN yellow umbrellas (see below) could not have been a better symbol. The PSCC paid  for the design and printing of 400 yellow umbrellas to put in local stores. You can
grab one if it’s raining. But bring it back. Scout’s honor.

If there were 50 merchants at the event, there were also 50 non-merchants, including politicians-a-plenty: State Senator Eric Adams, City Councilmember David Yassky, Assemblywoman Joan L. Millman, Representatives of Yvette Clarke and Borough President Marty Markowitz to name a few.

Representing the Brooklyn media was the Brooklyn Paper’s beloved Editor-in-Chief, Gersh Kuntzman and the Brooklyn Paper’s PS I Love You columnist, Wendy Ponte.

Ken Freeman, president of the PSCC,and other representatives from the PSCC, were there in force, as well as Eric McClure of Park Slope Neighbors.

Food and drink were graciously and generously donated by local merchants, including Shawn’s Liquors, Miracle Grill, and Isabelle (a local personal chef). It was all very, very tasty.

There was speechifying, of course. But all the speakers respected the 2-minute time limit, which meant that their message was communicated clearly, eloquently, and in a timely matter.

First up was Ken Freeman of the PSCC, who discussed the importance of local businesses as the foundation of real neighborhoods. Up next was Community Bookstore owner, Catherine Bohne, who described how the neighborhood lent a hand when it looked like her business might go under last year.

Councilmember David Yassky, a strong supporter of this initiative, congratulated the event’s organizers: "Something real, something genuine is going on here. For neighborhoods to be neighborhoods, we have to help and protect the local merchant. This is great first step.”

Yassky went on to discuss core issues like providing health care to small businesses. He told the local merchants: “People are working to help you and you are not alone in the struggle. We will work together to do everything we can to make sure that Park Slope stays Park Slope."

Assemblywoman Joan L Millman saluted the Community Bookstore and encouraged everyone to buy one book. “It’s a great gift, it doesn’t break. There are no batteries, it doesn’t flash and blink. It’s something a child and grandmother can have for the rest of their life. Not only buy a book but buy it right here!”

State Senator Eric Adams brought the point home. “How do we bring in revenue that Manhattan enjoys? How do we let it spill over into the Slope, into Prospect Heights?"

Alan Bronfman, the owner of Little Things and a member of the Park Slope Chamber of Commerce had this to say:

"The wall between neighborhood business and neighborhood residents is coming down. This is a historic idea, a historic occasion. This place is filled with politicians: that’s  extraordinary. This is not about not having national chains. It’s about making the most of what is here by a large group of people who live here.”

Bronfman’s speech added to the convivial atmosphere in the room. “I’ve been  here since 1969 and this is a room full of people I don’t know. I look forward to meeting each and every one of you."

Fans are writing in to say that Sufjan’s show at BAM was great and that Brooklyn Skeptic is just being a, well, a Brooklyn skeptic. Longtime Times’ rock critic, John Pareles, wrote about the show in the Times. But here’s what some readers had to say:

Sabrina writes: Oh, come on! "Blogland" appears to be just one bitter person’s
immature review… or were there others with legitimate critiques?

I thought it was a great show.

Der writes: What did Brooklyn Skeptic expect going to see Sufjan Stevens? If you
don’t know what you’re getting into before going to the concert, don’t
bitch afterwards that it wasn’t what you expected.

I was at the Friday night show. It was a wonderful. The NY Times has
a much more knowledgeable and even-handed review that you can read
here: http://tinyurl.com/22rfml

Here is the letter that the PA sent to Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council members:

The Honorable Michael Bloomberg, Council members:

First off – I should mention  one of the best books that have covered the subject of pigeons in many years, the NY Times best seller, “Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World’s Most Revered and Reviled Bird” by Andrew Blechman – You might find it informative and shattering to many of the disease and other myths promoted by the property owners who do not have an interest in finding solutions for pigeon droppings (cleaning them and/or putting simple deterrents).

http://andrewblechman.com/

More importantly, I am writing to let you know that a ban on feeding pigeons is in direct contradiction to what we as New York State licensed wildlife rehabilitators are taught.  We must provide a "soft release" for newly rehabilitated birds.  This means a reliable source of food for 3 to six weeks after the injured and/or sick bird has been rehabilitated and released.  There are at least half a dozen pigeon and city bird rescue groups in New York City .  We all volunteer our time, energy and resources to the rescue and rehabilitation of our city friends.  We do this for the same reason that vets labor over our sick or injured companion animals – because we care deeply for animals.

http://wildbirdfund.com/

Pigeons are domesticated birds brought to this country in the 1600s for pets, racing, and sport ("pigeon shoots" now illegal — simply lining birds up to kill them).  Many have either escaped or been abandoned to the streets.  They are, in many ways, like stray dogs and cats.  They have little or no ability to survive without human help.  They are herbivores (seed eaters) and as our city became more industrial — little or no wild seed is to be found.  Instead, many happily co existed with people "going to the park to feed the birds" and/or people who noticed they were hungry and threw them a crumb.

When pigeons have no other resource, they end up scavenging in bacteria infested garbage and falling ill.  Then rehabilitators (lucky us) get to nurse them back to health.

Pigeons are not migratory birds – they do not travel farther than a ten block radius from where they are born.  So, contrary to Councilman Felder’s flippant remark, “They can NOT just go to Jersey .”  They won’t.   What they will do is breed more quickly and live miserably, and die sooner.  Pigeons natural life span is 25 years.  Currently in NYC they live (if lucky) 2 years.

The bigger point here is that of human rights.  Who has proclaimed that "pigeon haters" have more political rights than "pigeon friendly" people?  The term "rats with wings" was coined by exterminator companies who benefited from increased sales.  See this link to Colin Jerolmack’s PHD doctorate which explores “the problematization of urban wildlife” and explains how cities changed from pigeon friendly to the current mounting hostility.  Suddenly city birds are “out of place.”  Who says they are out of place?  Why was that not the case only 50 or so years prior?  How and why has this changed so drastically and can’t we question whether this may be unjust?  Colin’s book will be coming out next year:  http://colinjerolmack.com/

Pigeons have nothing in common with disease carrying rodents and we can contract no diseases from them.  They carry none of the diseases associated with rats and, unlike rats, they are not meat eating.  Therefore, pigeons are never prone to “bite the baby in the unattended crib” — as we’ve all heard the horror stories from the slums over time.  So let’s stop the "rats with wings" mantra which supposedly closes the subject.

In fact, we as a culture, have a responsibility to care for these sweet and very exuberant birds — after having spent centuries breeding them for racing — keeping them in domestic situations where they became dependent on being cared for and/or alternately loving, then hating them.  There are many people who enjoy having some contact with nature (many of us don’t have the wealth for that second home out on Long Island ) and want to have an integrated urban scape that includes urban wildlife.

Witness Portland Audubon’s program, "Living With Urban Wildlife" and many of the other Audubon sponsored programs.  For people interested in actual facts on pigeons, Cornell University has a wonderful program, "Project Pigeon Watch" http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/urbanbirds/ubs_PIWMainEN.html
which has been a huge success with local children and college kids.

Human beings have historically demonstrated a need to be connected with nature and with animals.  It could be said that for some it is a critical part of their daily life.  It should not be a "no brainer" to deny some that satisfaction as if we have no rights in the face of industry or property owners (concerned over damages from pigeon waste).  Pigeons cannot survive without human intervention.  They resort to garbage and fall ill.  They don’t stop reproducing; they just live horrible and miserable lives.

For more information please see:http://nycprc.org/
and also

When pigeons are healthy their waste is not watery at all but more like clay pellets.  People who feed pigeons healthy food are actually helping to clean up the streets.  We have an interest in living with our urban wildlife; not banishing them from our cities and towns.

The world is fast becoming a place where extinction is happening at break neck pace, we are losing species that will never be recovered.  While we have a plethora of birds today, the carrier pigeon and the dodo bird are sobering examples of how milions of birds can become no birds at all.

Where do we start?  When do we think that maybe urban planning should be inclusive not only of our buildings, granite, concrete — but parks that enjoy and host squirrels, sparrows, starlings, pigeons — and/or creating better protected areas where these creatures can be safe within our city zones.  We are not all of one mind — witness the many organizations and volunteers who care for these critters.  Instead of punishing those who have been doing what the state should have long ago – namely manage and care for our diverse urban wildlife; we need to work together to find innovative solutions that reflect all New Yorkers, not just those who have property interests and/or hate pigeons.

See:
http://www.satyamag.com/aug05/clearfield.html

I would be happy to come to any meetings which might create a forum for those of us who spend all our time patching up the sick and injured city animals – a meeting which might talk about innovative and happy solutions to this issue rather than this menacing “ban.”  I work with wildlife experts, rehabilitators and animal advocates – all who have many brilliant plans and strategies for creating an urban landscape that can allow us to live with our urban wildlife rather than decimate what little there remains