I got to the Seventh Avenue Barnes and Noble late because it’s hard getting two fourth graders out of the house when they’re having a great playdate.

But get there we did. And by 5:45, there was a standing room only crowd in the basement near the cookbooks.

The kids were having a great time. As was the MC, PS 321 parent John Elrodt, who did a superb job in that role. Funny, enthusiastic, and encouraging to each kid as he/she made his way up to the microphone, John gave them the choice between a PS 321 baseball cap or a beret to wear while they read.

No one had a problem with that. The kids seem to love reading their poems. Some read LOUD. Some read soft. Some had MEMORIZED their poems. Some had not.

It was a beautiful thing. To hear the expression of these kids in such a free, fun, and open way. The opposite of pretentious: the event was inclusive, inviting, and very inventive.

The audience cheered, clapped, and snapped their fingers (in faux beatnik style) after each reader. Some of the poems were from this year’s Pandamonium, the school’s poetry magazine, which includes a poem from every child in the school. A couple of parents got up and read poems they had memoirzed at children or written themselves.

Fourth grader, Charlie Schine, read his Pandamonium poem:

IMAGINE THAT by Charlie Schine

Observing kids imagine
They don’t see me
Their imagination
has overtaken them
They’re running through lava
or falling from big heights
or maybe even going back
in time
I remember that
because I too
had a huge imagination
that overtook me
We all had huge imaginations
Then it starts
to fade
like smoke.
As your age goes up
your imagination
goes down
but some people
are fortunate
Some adults have their imagination
still
They are the lucky ones
The ones that keep their imaginations
And here’s some important advice
for you
Don’t ever
forrce yourself
not to imagine
If you do
you might
Never
imagine
Again
Imagine That

And don’t forget to buckle your seatbelt.  Here’s an excerpt. Read more at the Brooklyn Paper.
Dana Rubinstein was the scribe on this one:

Still hobbling from his nearly fatal car accident in April, New
Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine has poached beloved police-beat reporter Lilo
H. Stainton from The Brooklyn Paper to be his new press secretary.

The governor’s office made the announcement on Tuesday.

Before
joining The Brooklyn Paper staff in 2005, Stainton, 37, worked for six
years as a reporter in Gannett’s capital bureau in Trenton. Earlier,
she was a staff reporter on central Jersey’s Home News Tribune and the
New York Daily News.

While at Gannett, Stainton won two New
Jersey Press Association awards and one National Headliner Award for
Public Service for individual and team coverage of pay hikes in the
executive and legislative branches of the New Jersey government.

She
had been working for The Brooklyn Paper for nearly two years when she
got a call “out of the blue a couple weeks ago from a friend … in
Democratic politics down there,” she said.

And the Brooklyn Paper has the story.

Last night at the Park Slope Civic Council meeting, Kim Maier, executive director of the Old Stone House and "watchdog journalist" Norman Oder were presented with the Lovgren Professional Award and the Lovgren Volunteer Award respectively. 

No Land Grab’s Lumi Rolley presented the award to Norman Oder, who runs the Atlantic Yards Report and Susan Fox, of Park Slope Parents presented the award to Kim.

Kudos to Kim and Norman!

In other news, the Park Slope Civic Council endored Mayor Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan.

A rocker kid from the band, the Defenestrators got into trouble at the Liberty Heights Tap Room last week And the Brooklyn Paper’s Ariella Cohen was there. She thought it was just grand and writes: "I had to give the graffiti kid some credit. I mean, at least he’s
learning that playing the part of a punk comes with more dire
consequences than a hefty iTunes bill."

Read more.

Weather from 1010wins:

Forecasters are calling for high temperatures in the low to mid 90s.

The National Weather Service office in New Jersey is issuing a heat advisory for the urban sections of Mercer, Gloucester, Camden and Burlington counties from noon till 8 p.m. Friday.

Forecasters say the heat will combine with humidity to make it feel uncomfortable.

Officials say people should drink plenty of water and avoid prolonged exposure outside to ward off the dangers of heat-related stress.

What about Brooklyn Reading Works, Piper Theater, The Little School of Moving Pictures, historical and educational events and a great party space at the Old Stone House?

Then support the Old Stone House by attending a ravishing musical event. Capathia Jenkins and Louis Rosen perform  South Side Stories. JUNE 16 at 8 p.m. at the Old Stone House on Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th. 40 bucks gets you a great show, a lot of good karma for supporting free arts in the Park, as well as champagne and light refreshments.
Here’s a note from Louis
DEAR BROOKLYN FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS:
I wanted to let you know that my splendid collaborator, Capathia Jenkins (a 2007 Drama Desk Award nominee), and I are scheduled to perform our second benefit concert on behalf of The Old Stone House on Saturday night, June 16th. The proceeds will go to supporting The Old Stone House’s rapidly growing arts programming, including this summer’s Piper Theatre at OSH production of Macbeth, Brooklyn Film Works and the excellent Brooklyn Reading Works.

The performance will mark the Brooklyn concert premiere of the songs from our recently released and highly acclaimed debut recording, South Side Stories, songs of youth, coming of age and experience, inspired by the Chicago neighborhood where I grew up. We’ll also be offering a "sneak preview" of a excerpts from my newest work for Capathia, Giovanni Songs, on words by the renowned poet Nikki Giovanni. Capathia and I will be joined by two splendid musicians, the pianist Kimberly Grigsby, and Dave Phillips on acoustic and electric bass.
The evening is being billed as a "Champagne Cabaret," which means champagne and dessert will be served at 8 pm, and the concert will begin at 8:30. Last year’s benefit sold out as the room only holds 90 people so we hope that you make the scene.

The Old Stone House is at J. J. Byrne Park at 3rd Street and 5th Avenue.
Tickets are $40 in advance, $45 at the door.
Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.nycharities.org, or you can RSVP by calling 718 768 3915.
By the way, the South Side Stories CD s now available for downloading at www.itunes.com, www.rhapsody.com and most other online sights, as well as available for purchase at www.cdbaby.com, and in Park Slope at the Community Bookstore on 7th Avenue.
Best Regards,
Louie

Michael Ruby + Nancy Graham
poems, prose + a collaboration based on Samuel Beckett’s Texts for Nothing
June 21, 2007
8 pm
The Old Stone House in Park Slope, Brooklyn
JJ Byrne Park on Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Street
$5.00 includes light refreshments

Thanks Dana Rubinstein for writing such a nice piece about Stoopendous in the Brooklyn Paper. She explains how the summer solstice event came about and gives fun details about what’s being planned. One note: the All-Slope Solstice Shout-Out will not be limited to KAZOOs. You can make a whole lot of joyful noise any way you want to. By the way, have you seen any of the gorgeous posters, designed by Good Form Design, yet?

Park Slopers will celebrate the longest day of the year by sitting
on their stoops and blowing kazoos — part of the first annual
“STOOPendous” party to celebrate Brownstone Brooklyn’s trademark
feature.

On June 23, the neighborhood-wide stoop party will (at
least its organizers hope) culminate in an 8:31 pm, kazoo-blowing,
all-Slope solstice shout-out.

Technically, summer solstice falls
on June 21. But Thursdays aren’t all that convenient for full-on
sun-worship, with most adults basking in the fluorescent lights of
sun-starved office buildings, and children growing pale in school.

So Saturday it is. And what a stupendous STOOPendous it will be.

The idea stems from a brainstorming session held earlier this year by the Park Slope Civic Council.

“This
was overwhelmingly the most popular idea at the brunch,” said Council
President Lydia Denworth, whose recollections were interrupted by
sneezing (spring equinox allergies).

“It’s important and exciting
to celebrate the community we have, and this is such a Park Slope way
of doing it,” said Denworth. “These are the kinds of things that help
build the spirit of the community, which helps when you have to do
other stuff, like the hard work of advocacy.”

Even though the
Civic Council is underwriting the event with $1,250 worth of
advertising and kazoos, Denworth herself won’t be sitting on her stoop
on STOOPendous day.

“Unfortunately, I have a long-term commitment
to go visit my mother,” said Denworth. “I’m really sad. But I will be
blowing my kazoo from Maryland.”

Not so Susan Fox, a trustee on
the Council and the founder of Park Slope Parents, who will be hosting
a meet-and-greet in her building’s courtyard.

“Our building
doesn’t really have a stoop,” said Fox. “But STOOPendous is going to be
everything you can think of. Some blocks will have a street-wide stoop
sale. … Some people are having wine and cheese on their doorstep. Some
people are bringing out the chalk. We are planning a children’s art
show.”

Lest anyone think this is another example of Brooklynites
romanticizing the past, the stoop has always been a prized possession
and symbol of Brownstone Brooklyn, according to Simeon Bankoff,
executive director of the Historic Districts Council.

“The
wonderful thing about stoops is that they became this semi-public space
where you could sit,” said Bankoff of the stairways fronting the
late-19th-century rowhouses. “In Park Slope, you didn’t really have
yards. It was like a porch.”

Whether this inaugural 21st-century STOOPendous is a success, however, remains to be seen.

“If
you build it, they don’t necessarily come,” said Fox. “At this point,
the next three weeks will be all about getting people excited and
interested.”

The Atlantic Yards lawsuit was dismissed yesterday. Check out Atlantic Yards Report and No Land Grab for the gory details. Here’s an excerpt from AYR.

In an emphatic yet potentially questionable decision, U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. GaraufisGoldstein v. Pataki,
the federal lawsuit challenging eminent domain that Atlantic Yards
opponents have considered their best hope for stopping the project.

In his decision,
Garaufis ruled that even if public benefits—including new tax revenues,
housing, jobs, and the elimination of blight—are less than promised,
they’re sufficient to overcome allegations that the project is a
sweetheart deal benefiting developer Forest City Ratner.

“Because
Plaintiffs concede that the Project will create large quantities of
housing and office space, as well as a sports arena, in an area that is
mostly blighted, Plaintiffs’ allegations, if proven, would not permit a
reasonable juror to conclude that the ‘sole purpose’ of the Project is
to confer a private benefit,” Garaufis wrote. “Neither would those
allegations permit a reasonable juror to conclude that the purposes
offered in support of the Project are ‘mere pretexts’ for an actual
purpose to confer a private benefit on FCRC.”

Despite the
setback, the plaintiffs, 13 owners and renters whose properties lie in
the southern segment of the 22-acre footprint, outside the longstanding
Atlantic Terminal Renewal Area (ATURA) that encompasses the Vanderbilt Yard, vowed to appeal.

yesterday dismissed

Hepcat and I were saddened to learn that the owner of Seventh Avenue Books in Park Slope is selling the business. We went in and talked to Tom Simon about his very personal reasons for doing so. He plans to run a small reviewer copy book business from his home.

Afterwards, Hepcat and I had some fun thinking about buying the shop. We decided that we’d have a nice section for collectable photography books, and maybe even a photo exhibition space. We’d enlist my mother, who used to run the bookstore at the International Center of Photograpy. She could manage the shop, as she knows all the ins and outs of selling books. For inventory, we could begin with my father’s enormous collection of used books…

The shop is, according to Tom, PRICED TO SELL. I don’t know any more of the details but if you’re interested email Tom: seventhavenuebooks@aol.com

well…

after a very pleasant six years, i have decided, due to family and other issues important to me, to move on, and wish to sell this store, which makes a rather nice profit.

should you or others care to acquire it for a very reasonable price, please let me know.

however…

if i am not able to find a buyer, i plan to close down shop sometime mid to late summer.

yours truly,

thomas george simon, prop.

One of the things that breaks Tom Simon’s heart about the book business, and it’s endemic to most retail businesses, is shoplifting. For fun, Tom, who is the owner of Seventh Avenue books in Park Slope, decided to write A GUIDE FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO STEAL OUR BOOKS. It’s funny, it’s sad. But most of all, it’s exasperating.

A guide for those of you
who steal our books…

1a) You don’t so much take our books as you rob
us of our peace of mind. Think about how unfair
it is to take something so valuable from us, day
in, day out.

1b) You know you’re dishonest, and yeah, a thief,
so should you ever while among family or friends
find fault with Bush or Cheney or some other
scoundrel, the cosmos will likely quietly snicker
at your obliviousness.

2) If you have to take something, try to make it an
older, less expensive book. Our markdown area
is a good place to start. If you don’t know where
that, is just ask.

4a) If you take something really neat, try to leave a
note behind so we’ll know it’s gone and won’t
waste time if someone asks us for it.

4b) Take the Michener rather than the Proust. Not
that there’s anything wrong with Michener….

5) While taking books, please try not to enjoy the
music we play, or the cartoons. That would be
gluttony.

6) Recent studies at both Stanford and Yale have
confirmed that shoplifting leads to premature
incontinence, often as early as the mid-thirties,
and Depends are too bulky to conceal in a canvas
bag or under your shirt.

7) Best wishes to you and yours; reciprocation
gratefully accepted.

St. Francis Xavier’s Action Youth Center a non-sectarian community based program in Park Slope, Brooklyn dedicated to supporting the positive growth and development of children and youth seeks a Program Director to manage the effective delivery of programs. Responsible for daily operations, fiscal oversight, fundraising and staff supervision the ideal candidate will have a deep commitment to and interest in supporting children, youth and their families. Candidates should have a Bachelors Degree and preferably a Masters Degree in some form of Human Services or a related field. Experience developing and implementing programs in a youth serving organization desired. Full time position/ part-time will be considered for the right candidate. Please send your resume/cover letter to SFXYP Search, Community Resource Exchange, 42 Broadway, NY, NY 10004. Fax: 212-616-4994. E-mail: sfxypsearch@crenyc.org.

Ben Greenman, a writer and editor at The New Yorker, sent me this nice note today. He’s reading at Community Bookstore tomorrow and he wants to get the word out to readers of OTBKB. In other words: come see him read at 7 pm.

And here’s the clincher: he’s giving away FREE BALLOONS. That’s right, you’d heard me. FREE BALLOONS.

“I’m a local author and a regular reader of your blog. I have a reading tomorrow night at Community
Bookstore. Should be funny, or sad, depending on what I read. It would be great if you could list it, but even if you can’t, you should come. Bring people. I’ll keep the actual reading part short.”

Here’s a blurb about the book:

From the author of Superbad and Superworse, a new collection of stories about giving, wanting, and the wonders of love.

A Circle Is a Balloon and Compass Both is a collection of stories about love, the most elusive and problematic of all phenomena. With a mix of traditional, literary prose and bold — some might even say irresponsible — experimentation, Ben Greenman explores the ins and outs of modern romance. Expect tears, nudity, and recrimination.

Both familiar in their humanness and wholly original, these imaginative stories take us all over the map in time, place, and circumstance. From the halfhearted summer affair between a part-time bartender and a married doctor in a Miami hotel to the cryptic pseudo-erotic love letters to a friend who is “more than a friend,” we experience the love of pop songs, the love of cohabitation in Chicago, and love that is so transporting it takes us to the moon—literally.

Here’s a blurb about the author:

Ben Greenman is an editor at The New Yorker. His short fiction has appeared in the Paris Review, Zoetrope: All Story, McSweeney’s, Opium Magazine, the Mississippi Review, and elsewhere. He lives in Brooklyn.”

Just got this in the old in-box.

Washington, DC—U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke (NY-11) has signed on to the House Resolution 333, calling for impeaching Richard B. Cheney, Vice President for high crimes and misdemeanors. The resolution sets forth the articles of impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney that if passed, will begin the process for impeachment.
“This Administration has continued to erode the trust of the American people and enough is simply enough,” stated Rep. Clarke.
H.Res. 333 was introduced to the House of Representatives by Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio on April 24, 2007, and asserts that the vice president manipulated intelligence to make the case for going to war with Iraq, falsified a connection between Iraq and al-Qaeda, and has threatened aggression against Iran.
“When the American people voted on November 7th, they asked for a change in direction by electing the Democratic party in the House and Senate. I have heard the loud cries of my constituents, and they want accountability. My support of HRes 333 reflects the voices of the residents of central Brooklyn.”

THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AT BARNES & NOBLE

Come hear PS 321’s kids read their own poetry or a favorite poem by a favorite poet. Buy books and support PS 321.

From 5:30 – 6:30 P.M, the first ever P.S. 321 Open Mike Night at Barnes and Noble (downstairs by the cookbooks).

There will be a real M.C., chairs for an audience, and a MICROPHONE. There will be summer reading book lists available. Bring a voucher for 10% off your purchases Friday, Saturday and Sunday (June 8, 9, 10). Vouchers will be handed out at Brooklyn Night tonight and they are available in the Parent Center. Sign up to read at the open mike hour in the Parent Center, or just show up! A percentage of net sales for these three days will be donated to the P.S. 321 P.T.A.

The Brooklyn Eagle reports:

As one potential residential development site in Park Slope changes
hands, another goes on the market. This one, a 5,464-square-foot vacant
lot at 225 Fourth Ave., between Union and President streets, has an
asking price of $7.6 million, according to Ken Freeman of Massey Knakal
Realty Services of Brooklyn, who is representing the seller.

“The owner has decided he doesn’t want to build on the lot himself,
which is why he is selling it,” said Freeman, who added that there are
tentative plans drawn up for the seller for a 12-story building
designed by Joseph P. Trivisonno, a Staten Island architect.

Barbara Ensor, director of the The Little School of Moving Pictures, is offering August workshops for kids: CLAY ANIMATION CLASSES FOR AGES 6 – 16.

Historically, there’s not much for kids to do in August in Park Slope. Barbara Ensor is here to remedy that situation in her wonderfully animated, wildly creative and utterly inspiring way!!

It’s a win win for you kids who get to make MOVIES at the Old Stone House. Find out more: littleschoolofmovingpictures.com

Club Loco, Old First Church’s monthly music night will continue next year. And that’s good news for Park Slope.

The whole thing has been great experience for the kids who volunteered and/or attended events. The organizers (a committed group of teenagers and adults) met for a meeting the other night to strategize how to get the word out for next year and how to make the shows even better.

In a phrase: OPEN MIC.

Next year’s music shows will be preceded by an open mic for all kinds of acts — poets, jugglers, singer/songwriters, dancers, actors. There will be a sign up and a 10 minute time limit. The rest is up to the talented kids…

There’s also going to be a Club Loco benefit in September. Look for a Club Loco table at Seventh Heaven on July 17th for information about events and getting involved.

Also at Seventh Heaven: Club Loco will present bands who’ve performed at CL, including Cool and Unusual, Banzai, Play, and Tola. It’s all in front of Old First. On the 17th. All day. So stop by.

Owners of the Cocoa Bar are trying their sucessful dessert/cafe formula—chocolate, chocolate, andm ore chocolate—on the Lower East Side in Manhattan.

They’ve opened their second store on Clinton Street. Anyone been there?

Someone over at Starbucks must have located the radio station or found the CD. Because at 8 p.m. they were playing Paul.

I’m not sure what time they started. The store was required to play Paul’s new album, Memory Almost Full, all day. But in the morning, they weren’t doing it.

In other Paul news, the New Yorker has a profile of Paul.

An OTBKB reader wrote to be about the Brooklyn Food Group, a roving supper club that launched earlier this year. Their next event is June 9th and there are still a couple of seats left. Here’s here note:

I’ve been an OTBKB reader since I moved to the borough just over a year ago — I especially liked reading about your experiences in the last week with the Extremely Cute Kitty. In fact, my boyfriend and I were inspired to get our own cat from the Animal Rescue Network!  (Maybe it’s the same one?)
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know about the Brooklyn Food Group, a roving supper club that launched earlier this year (I’m in charge of logistics). Our next big event is coming up this weekend (June 9) and we still have a couple of seats left, which can be reserved by visiting our website, brooklynfoodgroup.blogspot.com. We are a down-to-earth crew serving delicious food (ingredients purchased as much as possible at local greenmarkets) and we work hard to ensure our events are a blast for all who come to them.
This next event is going to be in Cobble Hill and costs $40.  I thought your readers might be interested as I think OTBKB and the BFG appeal to the same kind of people: unpretentious folks who love to enjoy fine things, and to enjoy them with their neighbors. We’re also looking for people who’d be willing to host BFG events in the future, but right now we’re mostly looking forward to Saturday night and hope a few more interesting people who like good food will choose to join us.