LIT KNITS AT COMMUNITY BOOKS

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.

NEW IMPROVED WEBSITE FOR THE OLD STONE HOUSE

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.

MORE PIGEON NEWS FROM BROOKLYN PAPER

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.

FIRE ON WARREN STREET AND FIFTH

Fire_on_fifthave
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.

WHEEL STEALERS IN MIDWOOD

Img_2789
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…

9/11 CONSPIRACY FILM NOIR MADE IN DITMAS PARK

A month ago, I sat next Charlie Libin, a cinematographer friend at a dinner party, and he told me about an interesting new film he worked on called, Able Danger, that was filmed in the Ditmas Park neighborhood.

One of the filmmakers got in touch with OTBKB yesterday:

Hey Louise,

I saw your mention of our film “Able Danger” and was wondering if you
wouldnt mind putting a link to our site up.

www.abledangerthemovie.com

– that would be great….

Charlie Libin told me that the story is about a character loosely based on Sander Hicks, who owns Vox Pop. The film does not have a distributor. I am happy to see that they’ve really improved their website.

Here’s the blurb from IMDB: Tom Flynn, the idealist owner of a left-leaning radical café/bookstore and the quixotic publisher of a hard hitting 911 conspiracy expose, finds himself entangled with a mysterious Eastern European beauty, Kasia, who is on the run from strong hand of a global 911 cover up.

In this contemporary take on film noir. When Tom is implicated in the murder of his friend and employee, he is forced to unravel Kasia’s complex web of lies. As it turns out, Kasia possesses the smoking gun that proves the identities and methods of the real architects of 911, and Tom Flynn is willing to die to expose the truth.

ROOKIE NYC BAKER OF THE YEAR: EMILY ISSAC OF TROIS POMMES

Ed Levine on NY Eats has this spectacular shout-out for Trois Pommes, Park Slope’s newish Park Slope bakery. Kudos to Emily!

I’d like to give a special shout-out to the person who is the hands-down choice for New York Rookie Pie Baker of the Year.

Emily Isaac of Trois Pommes Patisserie makes an apple pie and a cranberry apple streusel pie that are crazy good, that are so fine they guarantee Ms. Isaac entry into the Pie Baker’s Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Her pumpkin pie is also quite good, but it has too much allspice in it for me. Her Key Lime pie may not be very Thanksgivingy, but it is awesome nonetheless. Emily understands that a great pie starts with a light, flaky, golden brown crust, which holds a not-too-sweet, not-too-mushy filling.

Trois Pommes:
260 Fifth Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Phone: (718) 230-3119

VANISHING SOUTH SLOPE ON JEREMIAH’S VANISHING NEW YORK

JVNY says the South Slope is becoming condo city. The subtitle of Jeremiahs blog is: The Book of Lamentations: a bitterly nostalgic look at a city in the process of going extinct.

Here’s an excerpt. Read more here.

Park Slope’s South Slope, for example, is rapidly becoming condo-ized. Over the past year, at astonishing speed, sleepy little blocks long made up of working-class, aluminum-sided townhouses, brick and tar-paper tenements have been systematically leveled and rebuilt to look like the rest of the former city.

GOWANUS LOUNGE IS TALKIN’ CONEY ISLAND ON BRIAN LEHRER TODAY

Gowanus Lounge will be discussing Coney Island on the Brian Lehrer Show.

In case you haven’t had your fill of Gowanus Lounge today, you can check out today on the Brian Lehrer Show. We’ll be on at 11:40AM, although the segment could be on at 11:40AM. We’ll be talking about one of our favorite topics: Coney Island redevelopment. The segment is called “Is the Future of Coney Island Set?” Listen in at 93.9 FM or 820 AM

NY EATS: BEST THANKSGIVING PIES

Ed Levine of NY Eats says quite a few of the best pies in the NY area are in Brooklyn. Check out this great list.

Corner (formerly Yura), Upper East Side
Two Little Red Hens, Upper East Side [note: what about Lady Bird Bakery? in Bklyn]
Clinton Street Baking Company, Lower East Side
Community Kitchen and Juice, Upper West Side
Sweet Melissa’s, Park Slope and Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
Trois Pommes Patisserie, Park Slope, Brooklyn
Soutine, Upper West Side
Little Pie Company, Hell’s Kitchen and Grand Central Station,
Sarabeth’s, Upper West and East Sides and in Chelsea Market
Duane Park Patisserie, Tribeca
Wimp’s, Harlem
Mitchel London’s, Fairway, Upper West Side, and the Upper East Side
Bubby’s, Tribeca and Dumbo
Baked, Red Hook (I had a killer piece of apple pie there recently)
Briermere Farms, Riverhead, Long Island
Round Swamp Farm, East Hampton, Long Islan

A HUGE ICE SKATING RINK FOR CONEY ISLAND: I MUST BE DREAMING

This from New York 1:

When New Yorkers think of Coney Island, they think of the summer – the
beach, the boardwalk, the rides – but now the city has plans to attract
visitors to the area during the winter too.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave a sneak peak of the city’s plans for
re-developing Coney Island last week, and now it has been confirmed
that those plans include a 40,000 square foot skating rink that would
be bigger than Wollman Rink in Central Park.

The rink would be built at the base of the Wonder Wheel and will be converted into a sailing pond in the summer.

MAN STABBED TO DEATH IN FRONT OF HIS PARK SLOPE HOME

This from the Daily News:

The
victim – whose family has not been notified of his death – was fighting
with Antonio Bruno, 29, on 12th St., between 5th and 6th Avenues, at 8
p.m. Monday, a police source said.

The victim was stabbed once in the chest and taken to Methodist Hospital where he died of his wound a short time later.

Police
responding to the scene arrested Bruno and found a knife at the scene.
Bruno, who was treated at the same Brooklyn hospital for minor
injuries, has a lengthy rap sheet dotted with drug arrests, the police
source said.

Charges against Bruno are pending, officials said.

TOP 50 REASONS TO SHOP LOCALLY IN BROOKLYN

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.

_igp5755Representing 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."

CLEVER DOC WANTS TO KNOW: ARE YOU TAKING RISKS?

Here’s the latest from CLEVER DOC. Today she’s wondering if you’re eating right. CLEVER DOC is Dr. Linda Hawes Clever, MD, the founder of Renew and
an internist who specializes in occupational medicine. She is one smart woman. This is the 7th of 10 questions she asks as a way to help you re-think
your quality of life and find meaning and vitality. Here are the first six if you missed them:


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?

 Bill Walsh, the great football coach, advised his players to, “Get out of the comfort zone.” Who wants to do that, since we have to slave to get into the comfort zone?    

And what zone are we in anyway? In the groove, in the comfort zone— or in a rut?

In the groove, we’ve got rhythm. A flow prevails over rock that’s in our way. The Force is with us. We know both accomplishment and joy.

There is nothing wrong with comfort, of course. It beats misery any day. But comfort — like a rut — can be dangerous. We may be satisfied with “satisfaction,” a much lower standard than “excellence.” Comfort borders on complacency and lets us deny danger or forget to design Plans B and C. Comfort can teeter perilously close to boredom and paralysis.
What do we do about being stuck, since getting out of the comfort zone means taking a risk?

What does it take, to take a risk?

Sticking out our neck takes guts and self confidence. We  have those or we wouldn’t  get up in the morning. Taking a risk takes thinking about past experiences and what we’ve learned, plus gathering information, assembling allies, having conversations, planning (including Plans B and C), designing rewards (even for small steps forward). Pretty soon, as a friend once commented, “It’s not jumping off a cliff; it’s stepping off a curb.”

7. When did you last feel bold enough to take a risk?

Within the past week (4 points)

1 – 2 weeks ago (3 points)

3 – 8 weeks ago (2 points)

3 – 6 months ago (1 point)

Can’t remember (0 points)   

SWEET MELISSA IN FOOD CHANNEL COMPETITION

Melissa Murphy is the owner of the  Zagat-rated Sweet Melissa’s, OTBKB’s favorite patisserie and hang for latte and oatmeal with her sister and friends.

I loved Sweet Melissa’s even before it came to Park Slope; I used to meet a friend for tea there when it was just a tiny store on Court Street in Cobble Hill, which opened in 1998.

What a selection. What incredibly delicious and beautifully presented dessert items. That place just blows me away.

Recently, Murphy competed in the Food Network Challenge: “Edible
Ornaments” which was filmed at The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa in Asheville, North Carolina. The resulting show will premiere
at 8 p.m. Nov. 25 on the Food Network.

Murphy was one of four chefs/designers selected from around the county to decorate an 8-foot holiday tree with
“Edible Ornaments.”

The contest consisted of three categories: Garlands, Ornaments and Tree Toppers. All had to reflect the show’s theme: Holiday Memories."

Let’s all root for Sweet Melissa’s and watch the show (while eating a Sweet Melissa Pommier or Madeleine) on November 25th (that’s the Sunday after Thanksgiving).

BOTSTEIN ON DOE REPORT CARDS

Leon Botstein, president of Bard College and associated with the Bard High School Early College on Houston Street in Manhattan,  which was originally given a C grade, told the New York Times in an interview that the DOE report cards are “reductive” and
“depressing." The DOE is reconsidering Bard’s grade.

   The New York Times writes:

"The Bard high school is unique
within the city, as the only high school where all graduates leave with
a two-year associate degree. Nonetheless, Mr. Botstein’s basic argument
is being echoed throughout the city by educators and parents at some
schools that, like his, are nontraditional and high-performing. They
say that while the new rating system, which is driven by standardized
test scores, may be a good way to measure whether schools are imparting
basic knowledge, it is less useful and even harmful on the higher end
of the performance spectrum."

BOTSTEIN QUOTES (as told to the New York Times):

“You
have a system that is broken and that is failing, and they are
desperately trying to improve it. But don’t throw the baby out with the
bath water.

"There are a couple of places, and we’re one of
them, that really do something different and well."

“Not all plants are weeds,” he said, “so why are you spraying insecticide on the whole thing?”

“Let’s say we’re a vegetarian restaurant and you’re telling me our meat
is not good. I’m telling you we don’t serve meat. We’re not in the meat
business.”

 

BERLIN WITHOUT WALLS AROUND TOWN

Don’t miss the tail end of the Station-Wide, Multi-Platform, Full Body Immersion into the Berlin Philharmonic and Its Extraordinary City

Friday, November 2 to Wednesday, November 14, 2007

WNYC salutes Berlin’s re-emergence with "Berlin Without Walls," an unprecedented 13-day multi-media festival celebrating the culture and music scene of this city. "Berlin Without Walls" complements Carnegie Hall’s "Berlin in Lights," an ambitious international festival built around the Berlin Philharmonic’s 17-day residency in New York, with Sir Simon Rattle conducting.

Schedule: A complete schedule of Berlin Without Walls on air programming
Soundcheck on Site: Berlin Blog: Follow Soundcheck in Berlin in a daily blog that gives a behind-the-scenes peek at their musical and cultural adventures.

"Berlin Without Walls" is made possible, in part, by the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This program is also supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

BROOKLYN BEAT RIFFS ON TODD HAYNES’ DYLAN FLICK

For the rest of this review, you’ll have to go to Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn. I am dying to see the movie and enjoyed BB’s review very much.

You might expect that the prospects of seeing the first dramatic film
on Bob Dylan might lead to nothing less than 99% aniticipation. And so
it was, when the lights went down at the screening of I’m Not There by
Todd Haynes , the audience excitment and anticipation was palpable. But
the film itself is not Ray or The Cole Porter Story or Walk the Line.
As much as fans would hope for something that would help unravel, or at
least prepare a Unified Field Theory of Bob Dylan, one must remember
that even his own two films, the 7os release, Renaldo & Clara, and
Masked & Anonymous which he co-wrote with its director, Larry
Charles, (who also directed Borat), merited "Turkey", "Bomb" or zero
stars in the leading film review texts.

IN DEFENSE OF SUFJAN AT BAM

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

TO MAYOR BLOOMBERG FROM THE PIGEON ADVOCATE

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

Serving Park Slope and Beyond