Civics and Urban Life

RESCUE DAWN IS ONE POWERFUL MOVIE

Hepcat used his iPhone to look for what movies are playing in town but we still couldn’t get excited about much that’s out there.

We considered Ocean’s 13.

We were curious about tear fest, Evening, based on the Susan Minot novel and starring Vanessa Redgrave, Meryl Street, Glenn Close and every major female actress you can think of and her daughter.

The reviews were mostly awful.

There’s something called Meet the Dwights about a female comedian with English actress Brenda Bleythen.

Finally we noticed something about Rescue Dawn in this week’s Entertainment Weekly. It was number one on The Must List: 10 Things We Love This Week. Directed by Werner Herzog it stars Christian Bale and Steve Zahn in a gripping drama about Viet Nam era POW’s.

All I can say is WOW. This film gripped me from the get-go. A masterful portrayal of the eccentric POW Dieter Dengler and the relationship that develops with fellow POW Duane, played by Zahn, I was in "shock and awe" for much of the film, which has disturbing scenes of torture, worms, snakes, leaches, and human cruelty that is hard to take. 

Here’s what the Times’ critic had to say.

Mr. Herzog’s movie reimagines his 1997 documentary, “Little Dieter Needs to Fly,”
as a drama of imprisonment, survival and perseverance. Although
financed independently, it superficially resembles the likes of “Papillon” and “The Great Escape.”
With its straightforward narrative, which observes Dengler being shot
down during his first mission over Laos; surviving torture, isolation,
confinement and starvation; and hatching a daring breakout, “Rescue
Dawn” seems a departure from Mr. Herzog’s “Aguirre, The Wrath of God,”
“Fitzcarraldo,” “Grizzly Man” and other cautionary tales of visionary madmen.

Civics and Urban Life

HEALTH AND WELLNESS THERAPIST WRITES POETRY, TOO

A friend wrote to tell me about Myra Klockenbrink, a Holistic Health and Wellness Therapist, who leads prouduce tours around the Park Slope Food Coop. She also  writes a heath and wellness newsletter that you can subscribe to (718-858-0238).

Here is one of her poems:

Dinner is done
the birds chortle as they settle in
and the squirrels have ceased their scrambling
and gone — where is it they go?
here and there fireflies signal to one another
incandescent even with the moon shining huge
and improbable over the rooftops

Seize a reason to be outside
invent a cause, fulfill a fantasy
make a profit if you must
   but find a way out

Take your desk to the stoop
shower in the downpours
pull out a mattress
reinstate the constitutional
and walk in the evening
with someone you love
tell them what lies in your heart

It’s easy to cook out of doors
after dinner while the grill is still hot
lay some apricot halves on foil
and dot them with butter and
cane juice crystals

let them cook until the sugar bubbles
serve them with sheep’s milk yogurt
maybe a spoon of granola

You can feel the night grow still
the birds have stopped
the trees themselves seem to rest
talk about the meaning of this life
now is as good a time as ever

    

    

Civics and Urban Life

STRAINS ON ELECTRICAL SYSTEM REPORTED BY CON ED

The City Room reports that Con Ed ssued a statement at 7:38 a.m. “urging all
customers in the East Midtown area of Manhattan to discontinue their
use of non-essential electrical appliances and equipment until problems
on electrical cables can be resolved following yesterday’s steam-main
rupture.” The steam-main rupture killed one person and injured 30. 

Although there are no power failures reported yet, the utility is reporting strains on its electrical system.

The area affected includes roughly 14,000 customers — a term that
includes businesses and apartment buildings as well as households —
from East 39th to 57th Streets and from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive
to Park Avenue.

The utility said it had asked managers of big commercial buildings
to reduce their power consumption. Con Edison is asking residents in
the area not to use washers, dryers, air conditioners “and other
energy-intensive equipment” during peak hours of 1 p.m. to 6 p.m and to
turn off lights and televisions when not in use.

MORE AT THE CITY ROOM

Postcard from the Slope

INSIDE THE GATE: WOO HOO

I walk past the Gate many times a week. The Gate on Third Street at the corner of Fifth is Park Slope’s premiere outdoor watering hole.

In the summer it looks like such fun. A real beer garden, people sit outside and drink, smoke, talk, laugh.

I’m never in a position to stop. Running here, running there. Errands. Walking with OSFO. Going to Hollywood Video.

There’s never time to stop.

But last night we said, WHY NOT. Let’s go to the Gate.

"I could go for an Arrogant Bastard," Hepcat said.

So that’s what we did. They were out of Arrogant Bastard, Hepcat’s favorite beer on tap so he had something else which he said was hoppy. I had a Diet Coke but I shoulda had a beer and took many sips of his, which was cold and delicious and just perfect after the parched scenes in Rescue Dawn.

WE DID IT. We sat in the open air patio and were just like all the fun-looking people I see day and night when I walk past the Gate.

But this time I was inside, I was inside the Gate. Not outside looking in.

Civics and Urban Life

WALKING WITH A PHOTOGRAPHER

It’s not the quickest way to get from point A to point B.

I know.

Readers, I’m married to one. A photographer, that is. Last night after Rescue Dawn at BAM, we slowly walked home after midnight. It was a night that said: take pictures of me. And Hepcat obliged.

It took forever.

Hepcat was stirred by the new buildings around BAM and the way the moon, the way the streetlights lit the scene.

Click click. He looked up at the sky…

Blue night sky, street light blur. Click. Click. Traffic. Color. Light. Click. Click.

Sometimes I get tired of waiting. I mean, COME ON: LET’S GET GOING ALREADY.  Often I am a half a block ahead by the time I realize he has stopped to take a picture.

This is our life.

We walked up Fourth Avenue and then traversed to Fifth. Past midnight, Fifth was quiet and dark for much of the way to Third Street. 

"Wait till you get to the number streets," Hepcat said knowingly.

Sure enough, at First Street Fifth Avenue livens up considerably with Bonnie’s Grill, Blue Ribbon Sushi, Blue Ribbon, Puppets, and other late-night spots.

Click. Click. Click. Hepcat clicked away. He walks, he looks, he takes pictures. That’s the photographer’s life.

Stop and go. Come on already. Impatiently standing on streetcorners. That’s the life of the  photographer’s spouse. My life.

That’s my life.   

Civics and Urban Life

MOIM: NEW KOREAN RESTAURANT JUST OFF SEVENTH AVENUE

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I’ve been dying to try Moim, the new restaurant in a space that used to be a Chinese laundry on Garfield just east of Seventh Avenue.

I happen to love Korean food and frequent an inexpensive Korean lunch place near Union Square called Manna.

I was eager to see how Moim’s cooking compared to the food I enjoy over there. I was also dying of curiosity about the beautifully designed restaurant that quietly sprung up a couple of months ago.

I’d peeked in few times and it looked very intriguing.

Well, something very special has come to Park Slope and it has an interesting Park Slope twist to it.

Moim is owned by a Korean couple who live in Park Slope. He is a CFO of a Queens hospital and she is the restaurant’s chef. They bought the brownstone that Moim is in and did a MAJOR renovation to the space where the Chinese laundry used to be.

But that’s not all. The owners dug a new foundation in the former backyard and added an elegant back room for the restaurant and a patio for dining alfresco. The addition also houses the wife’s high tech kitchen.

Not only did this couple put an enormous amount of money into the restaurant but also real architectural elegance and Asian style. For the extensive renovation, they hired a well know Tribeca architect and he did an incredible job.

Stone, black brick, Asian screens: beautiful architectural touches abound. Moim, which means "gathering" Korean is an exceedingly nice place to be.

Enough about the decor. The food and service were very good. The moderately priced menu is a a mysterious collection of Korean classics and what I think must be new Korean cuisine.

We had a delicious crab salad as an appetizer but we smelled spare ribs and other delicious smelling small plates going to a table near us.

I throughly enjoyed my Dol Sot Bi Bim Bop, vegetables, meat and rice served in a steaming hot stone rice bowl. The food continues to cook while you eat. Unlike Manna, Moim stirs in a spicy red sauce and other condiments that you must add at the lunch place. I sensed that what I was eating was an authentic but slightly more sophisticated interpretation of what is basically Korean homecooking.

Hepcat had O Lee Gui duck breast with goji berry and asian vegetables. He didn’t give me a bite and it disappeared quickly. Usually a sign that he’s enjoying his food.

According to New York Magazine, "Chef-owner Saeri Uyoo Park has cooked at Spice Market, Café Gray, and
the Modern, but here she mines her own Korean background for dishes
like kimchee stir-fry with pork and tofu, and steak tartare with Asian
pear and pine nut."

The restaurant was lightly attended when we got there around 8 p.m. But at around 9 pm a group of about 20 mom friends gathered for a "mom’s night out" were sitting at a very large table near the front. The restaurant was quite full by the time we left.

Moim is still waiting for their liquor license but will have wine and cocktails. There’s a lovely bar near the front. The kitchen closes at 11 p.m., remarkably late for a Seventh Avenue eatery.

On so many levels, Moim may be one of the most sophisticated restaurants ever on Seventh Avenue. It’s bringing a cuisine unfamiliar to many in Brooklyn, lots of new flavors, new tastes, new textures.

I have nothing but high praise and high hopes for this lovely effort by locals to bring something so elegantly new to Park Slope’s main street with moderate prices and excellent food.

Moim is located at 206 Garfield Pl.,
Brooklyn, NY 11215

Just east of Seventh Ave.

718-499-8092

Civics and Urban Life

THE RETURN FROM BLOCK ISLAND

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Caution. Don’t spend eight days alone on Block Island at the idyllic Sea Breeze Inn with its sunrise view of the ocean and salt ponds, a hammock, and a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit and muffins, if you ever plan on coming home.

Re-entry is pretty brutal.

The manager, Gaby, had to peel me out of there.

"Should I call you a cab," she said when it was time for me to go to the ferry.

"I guess," I said wanting her to do anything but.

Maybe I’ll miss the boat. Maybe I’ll have to spend another night. Maybe…

But it wasn’t to be. The driver showed up promptly and delivered me to the New London high-speed ferry at the docks.

The ferry ride is a perfect decompression zone. Out on the top deck, the wind blew my hair in all  directions and no one could tell that the tears in my eyes were tears of regret for having to leave my island paradise.

The Amtrak station in New London is just steps from the ferry and on the meditative train ride, I slept and read and thought back on my week spent finishing a new draft of my novel, eating delicious fish at the island’s best restaurants Eli’s and Harry’s), taking my rented Raleigh bicycle for a spin up and down the hills of the island, running 2 miles and back to the Southeast Lighthouse, writing daily postcards to OSFO at camp, and reading (The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud and Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirosky) sitting on an Adirondack chair at the Sea Breeze.

The cab I took from Penn Station with my big suitcase, computer, and bag of gifts for the family, took longer than the train ride from say, Bridgeport to Penn Station. First I thought the cabbie was purposely taking the longest and stupidest route to Brooklyn:

He went across some side street in the 20’s to the FDR and down to the Brooklyn Bridge. He said he was doing it because there was too much traffic on 7th Avenue and Broadway.

Duh, there was congestion a-plenty on the FDR and we were literally stopped dead in our tracks while a work crew on the Brooklyn Bridge packed up.

Finally got home an hour after leaving Penn. The meter read: $36.00, an unheard of fare from Penn Station to Park Slope. I mean, have you ever paid so much?

I tried to be very Zen about the ride, tried very hard not to lose it and say to the driver: serves you right for taking the FDR.

All of that did not bode well for my re-entry, which was pretty rocky. Things got worse before they got better. But seeing Hepcat and Teen Spirit (OSFO is still away at camp) and a glass of wine with Mrs. Kravitz at the Third Street Cafe, helped a bit.

A walk down Seventh Avenue. Dinner. The outdoor film in JJ Byrne Park. Slowly I got my  bearings.

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Block Island is feeling farther and farther away. 

Brooklyn Film Works

MOVIES AL FRESCO IN PARK SLOPE’S JJ BYRNE PARK

Enough about what makes Park Slope annoying. What about some of the great stuff that goes on here?

Like Brooklyn Film Works in JJ Byrne Park, for instance, which is produced by Kim Maier and the Old Stone House and curated by Bill, whose last name I don’t know at the moment, but who has selected a great group of movies for this year. Last night’s show was so much fun.

What crazy chemistry: mid-life Mae West and a young Cary Grant. A little May-December magic. And it’s the film with the famous line "Beulah, peel me a grape."

"I’m No Angel," is chock full of fabulous one-liners, deep, gutteral sounds by Mae West and of course her famous, Why don’t you come up and see me sometime?"

That was last night at Brooklyn Film Works and a crowd of about 50 gathered on the lawn in JJ Byrne Park

As always, there was a fantastic short, a Betty Boop flick, that makes you want to watch all the Fleisher Brother’s cartoons.

The famous BFW’s screen, designed by Showman Fabricators, looked great leaning against the Greg’s Express truck. The state-of-the-art video projector, donated by Scharff Weissberg, makes a beautiful picture.

People brought lawn chairs, cloth to lie on, food, friends. There’s a hot dog concession by Willie’s Dawgs. Just two more Tuesday in July screenings left.

NEXT WEEK: "What’s Up Doc?" Peter Bogdonovich’s 1970’s screwball comedy with Barbara Streisand and Ryan O’neal is a funny one with an uproarious chase scene up and down the streets of San Francisco. The very 1970’s-ness of the film should be fun.

TUESDAY JULY 24 at 8:30. DON’T MISS IT. There are only two more. The last show, Duck Soup with the Marx Brothers is on TUESDAY JULY 31

Smartmom

SMARTMOM: INGMAR BERGMAN TIME OF LIFE

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It’s that Ingmar Bergman time of life. Smartmom isn’t sure what’s
gotten into her, but for the past few weeks she’s been hooked on Ingmar
Bergman movies.

Not only is she in a Bergman state of mind, she’s
in a Bergman time of life. And she doesn’t mean peri-menopause. It’s
just that she wasn’t expecting her kids, or herself, to grow up quite
so fast. And she certainly wasn’t expecting her gradual dosage
reduction from the anti-depressants to make her pine so strongly for
somber, slow-moving films on deep, existential themes.

The Oh So
Feisty One’s imminent departure for sleep-away camp — and the
half-empty nest that it will precipitate — has also prompted Smartmom
to consider the meaning of life a la Bergman and spend inordinate
amounts of time in her air-conditioned bedroom watching his deep,
subtitled DVDs.

The end of the school year probably didn’t help
Smartmom’s mood either. The last couple of weeks have been a real
cry-a-thon, what with end- of-year parties, picnics and saying goodbye
to friends.

On the morning of the last day of school, Smartmom
went into the Community Bookstore, where she ran into a woman she knows
from years of drop-offs and pick-ups. She had a forlorn look on her
face.

“This isn’t your last day at PS 321 is it?” Smartmom asked.

“Yes it is,” she said.

“I thought you had one more child…”

“No, this is it. I get teary just thinking about it,” she said.

They hugged.

Their
interaction had Bergmanesque stillness. She could imagine huge Sven
Nyquist close-ups of their sad, tortured faces and the slow
choreography of their hug.

Even if you’re not seeing the world
through Ingmar Bergman glasses, the fact that life seems to be passing
at a breakneck speed could get you feeling that way.

When did
Smartmom’s kids grow up so quickly? The day before yesterday, Teen
Spirit was a spunky 2-year-old (and Smartmom has the pictures to prove
it) obsessed with the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History and
his Ocean Alphabet Book. Wasn’t he?

And it seems like 10 minutes ago that OSFO was a 10-month-old taking
her first steps or jumping off the couch and getting a bloody lip.

How
did this happen? More importantly, whose idea was it to fill her
Netflix queue with films like “Fanny and Alexander,” “Persona,” “Scenes
from a Marriage,” “Cries and Whispers,” etc?

She has only herself (and the passage of time) to blame.

The other day, OSFO walked in on Smartmom while she was Bergman-watching.

“Why do you keep renting these French movies?” she asked.

“They’re not French,” Smartmom answered not taking her eyes off the screen.

“What are they?”

“Swedish…”

OSFO was halfway down the hall before Smartmom even got a chance to explain the difference.

Smartmom
actually thought OSFO might enjoy “Fanny and Alexander,” Bergman’s
magical portrait of a Stockholm family that has plenty to celebrate and
much to cry about. But it got her sleeping faster than a tab of
Benydryl.

The other night, when Hepcat took OSFO to see
“Fantastic 4” at the Pavilion, Smartmom indulged in Bergman’s early
masterpiece, “Persona.” Slow, deep, penetrating, there are somber
scenes in a mental hospital and carefully composed black and white
shots of two women alone on an island their identities beginning to
merge.

It was during a neighbor’s BBQ that Smartmom found herself
upstairs watching, “Scenes from a Marriage.” Although she could hear
the kids playing Double Dutch and making S’mores, Smartmom couldn’t
drag herself away from Bergman’s slow, talky 1973 television film about
a so-called perfect marriage, which slowly unravels on the screen.

By
the time Hepcat came upstairs she was ready to kill him or at least
have a long, anguished talk about the state of their marriage.

“You
know, I feel like you’re having an affair with your new iPhone,” she
felt like telling him. “OK, so I’m not nearly as young, petite, and
well designed as that versatile little phone. But doesn’t 18 years of
marriage mean anything?”

Smartmom is pretty sure he’d rather whisper sweet nothings into its ear than hers.

Finally,
the other night Smartom watched “Cries and Whispers,” Bergman’s sad,
beautiful film about the death of a woman in a large house surrounded
by her sisters and an adoring nursemaid. The film has a striking color
palette with an emphasis on the color red. When one of the sisters cuts
her private parts with a piece of a broken wine glass Smartmom knew
she’d had enough.

That’s it, Smartmom said aloud to no one.

Smartmom
knew it was time to enter her post-Ingmar Bergman phase (quick change
the Netflix queue before “Wild Strawberries” and “The Seventh Seal”
gets here).

Smartmom was revived: she’d had enough of the meaning of life and it was time to have some fun.

When
the film was over, Smartmom packed up the DVD and put it, appropriately
enough, in its red envelope. She left the apartment and took a
life-affirming walk to Seventh Avenue passing more than one neighbor
walking their dog. She admired the pansies in a neighbor’s front
garden, eavesdropped on a young couple walking hand in hand, stared up
at the moon and into the windows of both Seventh Avenue Books and Park
Slope Books.

Smartmom felt her Bergman mood lifting. His filmic
art had definitely dovetailed with her own mid-life miasma. But she was
ready for something a bit more fun.

Enough is enough, Smartmom thought as she dropped the envelope in the mailbox at the post office.

Anyone in the mood for “Dumb and Dumber?”

Civics and Urban Life

YOU CAN’T GET TOO FAR FROM BROOKLYN: WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

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I stayed at the Sea Breeze, an idyllic inn on Block Island, in their one "group house," five rooms with two shared bathrooms.

It’s an absolutely lovely place and the shared bathrooms keep the price down.

It’s fun, too because breakfast is a nice social time at 8:30 or so when the guests come down to a a colorful buffet of fresh cantaloupe, blueberries, nectarines, strawberries, and kiwi, delicious coffee, and muffins, croissants, and bagels (with butter, jam, cream cheese).

Cup3d_2
And the breakfast even has a Brooklyn buzz: the Sea Breeze uses Claireware coffee cups!

Guests gather at the picnic table or Adirondack chairs in the outside area that faces the ocean. Need I say more?

The other morning, a nice woman came downstairs from the second floor. I had seen her husband a couple of days earlier. He had an urban vibe; a distinctly New York look. She was packing up, getting ready to leave after a week on the island.

"The party’s over," she said. "Time to get back."

Where do you live, I asked her.

I could feel it:  Brooklyn, she said. 

"I live in Brooklyn, too." I said excitedly. "Which part?"

Williamsburg, she said.

We talked a bit about re-entry. She said it’s hard to re-adjust to Williamsburg after Block Island. Quite a contrast.

"Williamsburg is fun, isn’t it?" I said.

"Williamsburg is basically a construction site these days," she said.

I know what she means.

Continue reading YOU CAN’T GET TOO FAR FROM BROOKLYN: WHERE ARE YOU FROM? →

Civics and Urban Life

EXPLORING BROOKLYN BY BUS: THE B-24, THE BROOKLYN BOOMERANG

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Once again, Richard Grayson takes us on a wild ride on a bus line in Brooklyn.

One of the weirdest bus routes in Brooklyn stops around the corner from
me.  It’s the B24, officially the Greenpoint/Kingsland Avenue route,
and it’s the only bus line that connects two adjoining Brooklyn
neighborhoods with an incredibly roundabout route through Queens over
an interstate highway.  It’s a pretty short ride from its beginning in
Williamsburg to its end in

Greenpoint, about 35 minutes – and today I discovered that I can
actually walk it faster because the bus route resembles a boomerang.

When I got on at the Williamsburg Bridge Plaza bus station on Broadway,
I asked the driver if anyone in their right mind actually takes this
bus from here to Manhattan Avenue.
He smiled and said, “Yeah, you can get there much more directly if you
just transfer for the B43, but some people do prefer the scenic route.”

"Okay,” I said.  “I just didn’t want you to think I was crazy.”
I needn’t have worried, because that role was taken by one of the other
passengers who got on at the first stop: a group of about fifteen
middle-aged whites and Hispanics, with one young Hasidic man.  We had
barely gone up the few blocks of Rodney Street, along one side of the
highway where Moses parted Williamsburg when a male voice shouted out:
“FUCK DISNEY!”

After we turned on Metropolitan Avenue, the same voice shouted out: “FUCK THE DEMOCRATS!”
I couldn’t discern who it was and braced for the next shout, wondering
who else would be singled out for opprobrium.  But it never came.
Whoever it was – and I thought the Hasidic man was staring at me as if
he assumed I was the theme park-hating Republican – for the rest of the
ride this person remained as quiet as a mouse (presumably not Mickey).

Continue reading EXPLORING BROOKLYN BY BUS: THE B-24, THE BROOKLYN BOOMERANG →

Community Bookstore

COMMUNITY BOOKSTORE: HARRY POTTER PARTY PREPARATIONS IN FULL SWING

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The preparations have begun for another Harry Potter release extravaganza at the Community Bookstore. The team there is trying to top their last party two years ago. That will be a tough one to top. But it sounds like they’re taking this one to the moon. Here’s the news straight from the store’s owner, Catherine.

Greetings & Salutations, Everyone!
 
Just
so you know, the battle plans are progressing nicely.  It’s going to be
an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING party.  I, and my dimunutive (sp?) helpers,
started planning a couple of months ago, with the result that — not
what you might expect (that everything’s totally prepared way ahead of
time) — everything’s gotten exponentially more extensive and
over-the-top.
 
If you’ve been to the last
three parties, you’ll know that we’ve added something every time.  But
let me be the first to tell you, that this time we’ve gone seriously
NUTS.  The pre-party party of lining up should be utterly wonderful.
We have, not ONE, but TWO horses coming, and J.W.’s driving
to PA tomorrow to secure a motherload of sparklers and other
child-friendly pyrotechnics.  And that’s just the beginning.
 
And for AFTER midnight, well —
the store’s going to be incredible.  We’re adding a Dark Arts Center, a working Quidditch Pitch (well, our version — seriously crazy and fun — flying balls.  No really.) . . . and lots of other stuff.  But I mean lots of other stuff (battling wizards — REALLY!!!)  Well, I think it will all work.  As ever, it’s all home-made, so you’ll bear with us if some of it is a little bonkers?
 
ANYHOW
— the subtext reason for writing this is to say a couple of things:

Number One — I wanted to make sure you all know that because we have
so many reservations for the book, we’re sadly limiting attendance to
people who’re getting the book (with their attendant guests/handlers/
house elves).  It’s going to be a squeeze getting everyone in here, and
it just doesn’t seem fair for the people who are paying full whack for
the book not get first shot at enjoying it all.  I, of course, wish
everyone in the world could come, because it’s going to be the most
magical thing I can imagine . . . but there just isn’t room.  It’s
going to be a squeeze, as it is.

 
Secondly,
it’s looking like we could still use some extra help, so if anyone
wants to volunteer to be part of making all the magic, please call the
store and talk to me.  We can always use more people with performing
abilities to entertain the line, we could use a couple extra bodies to
set up inside, and there’s one or two things we could use help with,
after midnight, during the party inside (anyone want to dish up Potions
in Snape’s Dungeon?).
 
Finally, if anyone out
there knows (or are) journalists, we’d kind of love for the party to
get covered.  It should be amazing, and it seems a pity not to have it
reported.
 
Okay.  That’s it for now.  Thank you so much for your excitement and
enthusiasm.  It’s great to have such support and encouragement for the unleashing of our imaginations . . . .
 
See you then!
 
Much love,
Catherine.

                                       

 
Postcard from the Slope

AN IMPORTANT NOTE FROM ISSUE PROJECT ROOM

Dear Friend.

I am writing to you today  to ask your help in establishing a permanent
home for ISSUE Project Room. In its brief history, ISSUE Project Room,
has become one of the most respected  art and performance spaces  in
New York City. Programs like Theremin Society,  Points in a Circle, The
Independents, and Littoral, have earned us a reputation of presenting
new and artistically challenging work. Our programming is our greatest
strength.

After two years of performances in its silo on the Gowanus Canal, ISSUE
is ready to move  to larger, centrally-located permanent home.To
successfully undertake such a move, ISSUE’s board has recently
announced a $350,000 capital campaign.,

I am asking for your support! I want to stress the urgency  of my
request, with the hope that you will write a check or make an online
donation as soon as you receive this letter. The urgency stems from a
unique  and  wonderful opportunity for ISSUE to move into a new, rent
free space in one of the most beautiful buildings in downtown Brooklyn.

ISSUE is one of two finalists for this architecturally significant 
property, but it must demonstrate the financial capability to develop
the space if it is to secure the lease.

To meet  this goal we are raising money by several means: donor
solicitations, grant requests and fundraising benefits, To kick off the
campaign, there will be a drive to meet a generous $25,000 matching
grant made by an anonymous donor.

In support of this opportunity to secure the best possible space  for
experimental performance in Brooklyn, this  donor has made a $25,000,
one -for- two matching grant to be met by August 1st.  For every dollar
we raise, up to $50,000, between now and August 1st, ISSUE Project Room
will receive 50 cents.  If we raise $50,000 by August 1st, ISSUE will
get the entire $25,000 match.  Following announcement of the match last
week, ISSUE has already received $10,000. My goal is to raise another
$25,000 this coming week.

ISSUE will be meeting with the property’s developers on July 24th. It
is crucial to our success that we have this money in hand in time for
this meeting. Nothing could better help ISSUE in making its case to the
property’s developers than to be able to walk into the meeting saying
we have met the match!  Successfully closing this first phase of the
campaign before the deadline will inspire large  donors, corporations
and foundations.

I know  you understand the importance of helping places like ISSUE
Project Room, one of the few vibrant spaces supporting experimental
performance.  I am particularly appealing to you because you are our
artistic community. It’s especially important that our audience and
supporters who have participated in helping to make ISSUE the
outstanding place that it is show their support at this time. If
everyone who has enjoyed ISSUE over the last 4 years gives  just $25 we
will raise over $15,000. Write a check for whatever you can as soon as
you receive this e-mail.  Every bit  helps, and we want ISSUE’s new
home to be a place infused with the love and energy of many supporters,
whatever their financial capability.

I’d also like you to call five friends, send them copies of this
letter, and ask them to support ISSUE as generously  as you have.  If
you or your friends would  like to know more  about ISSUE, I’m happy to
speak with you. You can contact me at 718-812-1129, or
suzanne@issueprojectroom.org. What would New York City be without 
experimental art?  I’d rather not think about it!  So, please become an
ISSUE donor, and  help us meet our match today.

Sincerely,

Suzanne Fiol
Founder and Artistic Director

Civics and Urban Life

WHEN BROOMSTICKS WERE KINGS

Jason Cusato,  Brooklyn filmmaker
and founder of Park Slope
Films, is a finalist in
the Independent Features Film
Festival. 

The
Independent Features Film Festival, the first hybrid online/theatrical film
festival of its kind, started with over 200 films online, where film fans from
across the world voted on for their favorite films. The finalists, including
Cusato’s film and 20 other finalists, will be screened at a theatrical festival
taking place at Tribeca Cinemas from July 27-29. At the festival, attendees
will have a chance to vote on which of the 20 films they think is the best.
The winner (along with online winner- Alleyball) will receive a
theatrical distribution in several independent movie theaters across the
nation.

Here
is some info on Cusato’s film and the time it will premiere:

Friday,
July 27, 2007

7:30
pm-  When
Broom Sticks Were Kings (27 min) Directed by Jason Cusato

Stickball,
A sport born on the streets of Brooklyn, Street teams competing only for glory
and bragging rights.

“When
Broomsticks were King” is a tribute to Brooklyn Stickball and the
hero’s who played. Told in a documentary style, this comedic tribute
relives this forgotten sport in all its glory.

Postcard from the Slope

PROBLEM WITH PET STORES SELLING PUPPIES

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I got this email from Hillary, my favorite blue haired cashier at Shawn’s Liquors. She is one of the Park Slope 100 and a passionate lover of animals.

I’m sending out a mass email to everyone I know who has pets or
doesn’t but loves animals. A new pet store at 255 Flatbush right before
6th Ave (where Yaba used to be) has just opened.

Most people know that
pet stores get their puppies from puppy mills or backyard breeders.
These dogs are kept in deplorable conditions, no genetic testing is
done to ensure healthy puppies which leads to sick puppies. It came to
the attention of some members of Brooklynian.com,
after much debate one member went in to speak to the owner.

She
approached the owner very politely and was treated terribly. The owner
told her he didn’t care where the puppies came from and she didn’t look
like she could afford to buy a dog anyway.

He also told her he already
called the police about the "harassment" of people discussing his store
on a public forum. There is much more information on the Brooklynian
website, I’ll put the link below. I’m hoping to get the word out to as
many people as possible about this store. Ethical breeders do not sell
their puppies to pet stores. I’ll include a few links that I posted on
the thread so everyone can see why I (and many others) have a problem
with a pet store selling puppies. Thanks for reading, you guys are all
great!

Take care,

Hillary
(Blue/purple haired cashier)
 
P.S. Hope no one thinks I’ve crossed the line by emailing, but I
think you all know how crazy I am about animals. Sorry if it’s not cool!
Postcard from the Slope

LIBERTY HEIGHTS TAP ROOM HAS NEW OWNER AND NAME

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BREAKING NEWS: Sounds like Steve Deptula has sold Red Hook’s famed Liberty Heights Tap Room to the owner of Rocky Sullivan’s in Manhattan.

I’ve heard about Rocky Sullivan’s over the years. In addition to being a bar, it’s thriving literary showcase, as well as a music club.

The Manhattan location of Rocky Sullivan’s  will be closing.

The location of Rocky Sullivan’s Tap Room is 34 Van Dyke Street at Dwight in Red Hook.

Steve will stay on to run the Rockin’ Teens Showcase about to begin it’s fifth season. Here’s the news straight from Steve.

I’m writing you today to tell you that I have passed LHTR on to new owners. I am now enjoying my new role as landlord only. The new name of the establishment is Rocky Sullivan’s Tap Room. The new owner is Chris Byrne formerly of the Irish rock band Black 47. He has a bar/music venue in Manhattan also called Rocky Sullivan’s that will close in August and Rocky Sullivan’s Tap Room will take over. Not much at all has changed with transfer of ownership as the menu is still the same and RSTR is still family and kids friendly, and will be open six days a week with a vibrant live
music scene. Even better news is that I’ve been asked to stay on as organizer and conductor of the monthly Rockin’ Teens events resuming this September 15th for an unprecedented 5th season!

Those of you that want to play the Sept. 15th show please let me know ASAP.
Have a great summer!

 
               
               

 
Civics and Urban Life

OPEN MIC WITH A SOUL: ALL SOULS BETHLEHEM CHURCH IN KENSINGTON

Got this from my friend Pastor Tom Martinez:

Hey Friends,

We’ve started an "Open Mic with a Soul," which is open to everyone 
with a poem or a song or a comment
that touches on spirituality or has a justice message.  Everyone’s 
welcome.
We hold it at my little house church (All Souls Bethlehem Church, 
www.asbc.org), which is located at
566 E. 7th St. between Cortelyou Rd. and Ditmas Ave (also between the 
Q train and F trains).
Call if you want more info.
And please help spread the word.
We’d love more interfaith energy!
Peace,
Tom
718-915-2600

Postcard from the Slope

PARK SLOPE BRIDAL DRAMA: NO GROOM ON 4TH STREET

8 Comments

It happened on 4th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. On Sunday morning around 9 a.m. A friend lives on the block. She happened to be away but she heard the story from her neighbors.

A woman, dressed in a beautiful and elaborate bridal gown, sat on a ledge above the door an old house on 4th Street.

It wasn’t her house. She owners are elderly, from what I understand.

She just sat there and refused to leave. She was holding a box (a wedding gift?) She was asked to leave repeatedly. The police were on the scene, as were reporters from the Brooklyn Paper and many neighbors, some taking pictures.

I believe the Fire Department finally had to take her down on a ladder .She resisted and screamed at this point. But did come down.

These are the details I have pieced together from my friend’s account. She wasn’t even there Do you know more? Do tell.

Continue reading PARK SLOPE BRIDAL DRAMA: NO GROOM ON 4TH STREET →

Civics and Urban Life

YOU CAN’T GET TOO FAR FROM BROOKLYN: CLAIREWARE

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Bowl2j_2
The first day I was on Block Island I had to kill an hour before checking into my room. So I wandered around the historic, touristy section of town and went looking for lunch.

I went into a cool shop call Lucky Fish and right up front on display there were beautiful plates and bowls by Park Slope’s own Claireware.

It warmed my heart. Claire’s work is unmistakable, colorful. She calls it urban folk pottery. I almost wrote urban fold poetry.

"I know the woman who makes those," I said proudly.

"Some friends of her came in here once and told us about her," the shopkeeper said. "We have other work by RISD artists."

Oh, that’s the connection. She probably went to the Rhode Island School of Design. And I’m in Rhode Island.

I wandered around the shop and admired many things.

"Hey, I love your taste in things," I told the shopkeeper. "Where should I have lunch?"

She told me about a place called Froozies. Order the Pond-something sandwich. It’s great, she said. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it…"

I did. And it was soooo tasty.

The next morning at my Inn, in the breakfast breakfast, there it was, again. A Claireware mug.

You can’t get too far from Brooklyn

Postcard from the Slope

IT’S ME, AGAIN

I had to change rooms at the Inn where I am staying so I lost the wireless I was stealing from someone in the house next door.

I tried and I tried to get it in the other room — but the room just wasn’t oriented right. But I took it as a sign.

No Internet for a few days. It’s always a good thing.

Then the old room was vacant for a few hours, so I snuck back in. Checking email. Checking on the blog.

How it everyone? Do tell.

Postcard from the Slope

GARDEN WALK IN DITMAS PARK TODAY

Flatbush Gardener reports that today there is a garden walk in Ditmas Park that you won’t want to miss. Rain or shine.

Ditmas Park Garden View on Sunday, July 15. The strolling tour is from
4-6 pm, rain or shine, and will feature approximately a dozen gardens
in private homes along East 16th to East 18th Streets, between Newkirk
to Dorchester. The final garden stop will also include drinks and
refreshments. A raffle drawing for three hand-held, battery operated
sprayers (hot weather essentials) completes the event.

Postcard from the Slope

THE BLACKOUT OF 1977: SEND ME YOUR RECOLLECTIONS

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Today is the 30th anniversary of the Blackout of 1977. I emember it like it was yesterday. Except I wasn’t even in New York City. I was in Paris reading about it in the Herald Tribune.

I was on a two-month cycling trip through England and France with a friend. It was an amazing trip through gorgoues scenery. What an experience.

We’d finally made it to Paris and were living it up in a modest hotel near the Luxemborg Gardens. Food. Art. Walks around the city. It was my first time in Paris and I was enthralled.

But when word hit Paris of the Blackout, I felt conflicted, I felt split. I felt like I should be back home with my family and friends.

The pictures in the French  newspapers of the city of my birth were frightening and strange: the city was exploding with looting and rage. It was a defining moment, something I wanted to witness for myself. There is something exciting about a crisis in New York; the way people come together and come apart.

I was a kid during the blackout of 1965. My sister, mother and were visiting friends in another apartment in our building when the lights went out. We waited with our mothers for the
fathers to walk home. The apartment lit by candle light was magic. As kids, it was a night of play in the darkness with an undercurrent of: Will everything be alright?

 

The City Room has amazing pictures of that day in 1977 when the lights went out and the city sunk into darkness and mayhem.  Take a look. It will take you back to a completely different and time.

Thirty years ago tonight, the lights went out: building by building,
block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood. Officially, the 1977
blackout lasted only 25 hours. But it left devastated neighborhoods and
hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. It quickly became a symbol
of New York’s malaise, arriving as it did when the city was just
starting to climb out of near-bankruptcy.

I also missed the more recent blackout a few summers ago. I was in a dentist’s office in Modesto having emergency root canal. The dental surgeon said: "Do you know what’s going on in New York City?"

My heart took a nose dive. This was just a couple of years after 9/11 and my thoughts went immediately to Ground Zero and the devestation of that day.

If you have recollections of the blackout of 1977, do tell. I will post them.

GUEST BLOGGER

THE GREAT HOT DOG COOK OFF: JULY 28TH

Got this in my in-box this evening. It’s a fundraiser for BARC, the animal shelter in Williamsburg. OSFO and I visited there a few months ago. It’s a great place.

I’m a fan of your site (and your column) and thought you and your site might be
interested in a culinary event I’m running this month, July 28th in my
backyard in Fort Greene. It’s a hot dog cookoff competition
that also doubles as a fundraiser for BARC Animal Shelter in Williamsburg.
Its my second annual cookoff and its shaping up to be quite an event.
It’s a goofy event, but people seem to really get into it. Last year
people brought deep fryers, smothered dogs in pesto, topped dogs with
buffalo wing sauce, all sorts of creative takes on the classic hot dog.
Details on the event are up at www.thegreathotdogcookoff.com

We’re still accepting entries for chefs, and selling tickets online (no
tickets will be sold at the door.) A $15 ticket/donation gets a guest
all you can eat hot dogs and beer, and proceeds will go to the shelter.
It’s a family and vegetarian friendly event too! Any help in promoting
this event would be great! And if would be wonderful if you wanted to
come to the event… and even compete!

GUEST BLOGGER

OTBKB EXCLUSIVE: WHAT “WALKING BROOKLYN” HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE UNDERBLOGGED NABES

Catch_of_the_day_for_sale_sheepshea
Here’s another great idea for a Brooklyn walk from Adrienne Onofri, author of WALKING BROOKLYN.

Last Sunday’s Times story about Brooklyn blogs, which prominently featured OTBKB and its founder, Louise Crawford, discussed the “underblogged” neighborhoods of our very bloggy borough. To give these communities a little blog coverage, let me tell you about some sights on the Walking Brooklyn routes. What’s mentioned here are just a few of the things to discover and enjoy while walking in these neighborhoods.

13th_regiment_armory_closeup_top
Bedford-Stuyvesant: New York City’s only landmarked tree, the
Magnolia Grandiflora…the statue of Robert Fulton that used to lord over
the ferry landing…a block of Hancock St. with several residences by
Montrose Morris, Bed-Stuy’s preeminent architect of the Gilded Age…the
Alhambra and Renaissance, Morris’ stunning apartment houses
side-by-side on Nostrand…a “medieval castle” built as the National
Guard’s 13th Regiment Armory.

East New York: New Lots Reformed Church, built by Dutch farmers in 1823, with a graveyard full of names now found on Brooklyn street signs (e.g., Van Siclen)…the onion-domed Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, dating to 1835…colorful block-spanning murals with such themes as social justice and neighborhood history.

Sheepshead Bay: a landmarked Spanish Mission-style building constructed for the largest restaurant in America (the original Lundy’s, which seated about 2,800, was best known for its bargain-priced “shore dinner,” and closed in 1979)…docks where you can buy the freshest fish in the city—right off the boats, just caught (see photo)—around four in the afternoon.

Bushwick: the intersection of Bushwick Ave. and Grove St., with handsome late-19th-century mansions at every corner—a reminder that this avenue was once the prestigious address (known as “the Boulevard”) of brewing magnates, other tycoons and, from 1918 to 1925, the mayor of New York, John Hylan…St. Barbara, a massive, elaborately ornamented, twin-towered white church akin to something you’d see in Europe.

Canarsie: jutting into Jamaica Bay, Canarsie Pier, where in centuries past Rockaways-bound vacationers would disembark train for boat and commercial fishermen hauled in clams and oysters…Paerdegat Basin, where boat owners dock their babies and the public can canoe for free, courtesy of Sebago Canoe Club.

Flatbush: suburban splendor (as I call it in the book), in the form of large, beautiful turn-of-the-century homes—with lawns but no fences—many of them built for early planned communities like Prospect Park South whose aesthetic-minded developers designed streets with landscaped medians and set rules barring any two houses from being alike. The area’s known as Victorian Flatbush, though the houses are not strictly Victorian in style.

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