BABY MAMA WITH TINA FEY, AMY POEHLER AND SIGOURNEY WEAVER

Movie trucks were parked on Seventh Avenue, Garfield and Carroll Street. Craft services was in front of Key Food. They were filming in Community Books Wednesday morning. They were in Tempo on Fifth Avenue in the evening.

Director:
Michael McCullers
Writer:
Michael McCullers
Genre:
Comedy

Plot Outline:
A single professional woman (Tina Fey) opts to hire a surrogate mother (Amy Poehler) so she can have a baby and keep her career on track.

This from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle

BROOKLYN — The Municipal Art Society of New York presented Fairway Market at Red Hook with a Masterwork Award for Best Neighborhood Catalyst at its awards ceremony held May 9, at the General Motors Building Fifth Avenue Plaza in Manhattan.
The Neighborhood Catalyst Award “recognizes a new or a newly restored building that is spurring revitalization in the surrounding neighborhood.”

According to The Municipal Art Society, “Developer Greg O’Connell has converted an abandoned, city-owned warehouse into a sought-after Red Hook destination for both local residents and tourists.

Adaptively reusing the building to accommodate a Fairway grocery store, an outdoor café, and apartments, Mr. O’Connell also took full advantage of its unique waterfront location, creating an on-site ferry dock offering NY Water Taxi service on weekends.”

O’Connell remarked that the project has served as an anchor for economic development in the community. Since Fairway opened last May, retailers have increased their business, vacant storefronts along Van Brunt have filled up, and Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies down the street is reporting more walk-in business than in the previous seven years.

“I’m very honored to receive this award, but I feel a bit like that book The Little Engine that Could when I look around and see the other projects in Manhattan that are receiving this award,” O’Connell said. “It’s pretty impressive.”

As part of O’Connell’s team, Susan Doban Architect, PC, was responsible for designing the mid-19th century building’s interior courtyard and 45 apartments above the Fairway Market. The apartments combine residential living with artists’ studios, reflecting O’Connell’s dedication to the creative community.

Flatbush Gardener gathered together just about all the blog and otherwise coverage of last week’s Blogfest. Impressive.

The Hampton Jitney, which provides transportation between New York City and Long Island’s East End, will begin its Brooklyn service Friday evening — picking up passengers between 5:30 and 6 p.m. in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, and two locations in Park Slope.

Though the Jitney has long provided Hamptons service from locations on the Upper East Side and Midtown, this is the first summer season that its buses will pick up passengers in Brooklyn.

Buses stopping in Brooklyn will make stops on the Jitney’s Montauk and North Fork lines only. Return service departs from various East End locations between 5 and 6:30 p.m. on Sundays. An adult, round-trip ticket costs $51.

From New York 1:

After a long, hard fight by community members, the city said Tuesday that Engine 204 in Cobble Hill is no longer up for sale.

Brooklyn City Council members and residents have been fighting to keep the property out of the hands of developers since the firehouse closed in 2003. Now, they say, a compromise has been reached.

The city says it will lease the firehouse to a public agency for ten years. That means it could be used as a cultural center, a pre-K, or a Department of Education school annex.

City Councilman Bill de Blasio says the deal gives the city the option to change it back into the firehouse in the future.

“If this lovely, quaint building were turned into luxury housing, that would have been the worst outcome for our community, and thanks to the good work of everyone here, that didn’t happen,” said de Blasio. “A sale, even to a non-profit, would not have allowed for future possibilities, so a lease is clearly better.”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said he would not consider reinstating Engine 204.

“The compromise reached today is a paint-over, just to hold the communities back,” said Danny Murphy of the Uniformed Firefighters Association. “It’s just a day that we really feel that it’s not a win for the UFA, that’s for sure.”

Residents — while disheartened to learn there are no immediate plans to reopen Engine 204 as a firehouse — warmed to the idea of using it as a community space.

“I think it would be a wonderful community effort and a community property if it can’t be used as a firehouse,” said one local resident.

“A community center of any kind would be wonderful,” said another. “We don’t have anything like that in this area.”

It will be a couple years before the process is finalized and someone can move in.

From Inside Schools:

Parents raise concerns about Arabic school’s new home
A week after giving up on their attempt to place a new dual-language Arabic school in a Park Slope elementary school, Department of Education (DOE) officials came under fire last night at an emergency meeting at the building now slated to take in the school.

The PTA at MS 447, the Math and Science Exploratory School, in Boerum Hill called the meeting after learning that the new school, Khalil Gibran International Academy, will occupy space in the Sarah J. Hale building, which MS 447 already shares with the Brooklyn High School of the Arts (BHSA), beginning in September.

More than 100 parents were joined by a host of school and community leaders, including Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, City Council member David Yassky, and Garth Harries, the CEO of the Office of New Schools, as well as by a few outside agitators aiming to stir alarm about Khalil Gibran’s focus on Arabic culture.

The meeting underscored parents’ anger at the DOE’s pattern of announcing plans without first soliciting parent opinion and by the way that schools are routinely asked to share space with new schools, sometimes compromising their own programs.

“[The] DOE doesn’t have the greatest record lately of really listening to parents,” said Jill Harris, a representative from City Council member Bill de Blasio’s office.

According to a letter to parents from MS 447 Principal Lisa Gioe-Cordi, currently on maternity leave, the school first learned it was being considered as an option for Khalil Gibran at the end of April. On May 8 the decision to place the new school in the building was announced, before school officials could consult parents about the plan. “The school administration was not given a say in the DOE’s decision,” Gioe-Cordi wrote.

Khalil Gibran will occupy the building for two years, using two classrooms and one office space in its first year and two additional classrooms in its second year, DOE officials said. At most, the plan would introduce 120 new students into the building, they said, although the New York Times noted that Khalil Gibran has yet to enroll a single student for its first year.

READ MORE AT INSIDE SCHOOLS

They’ve done it again. The Park Slope Civic Council, that is. The Park Slope House Tour is on for this Sunday. BIG TREAT: Check out the very modern renovation of a former garage/industrial building on 4th Street between 6th and 5th Avenue by a couple of architects. It is something to really admire (and envy).

WHAT: PSCC Annual House Tour
WHEN: This Sunday, May 20, 2007; 12 noon – 5:00 p.m.
INFO: 718-832-8227 and website
SUBWAY: Seventh Avenue (Q, B); Grand Army Plaza (2, 3) (Directions)
TIX: $20 in advance; $25 day of Tour. Ticket Sales Information
BONUS: A recital by Dr. Mich

Dope on the Slope is P.O.ed about kids pissing on the streets of Park Slope. And can you blame him?

Yesterday was the third time in less than a month that I witnessed a parent jerk down their toddler’s trousers in the middle of a busy sidewalk so that he could avail himself of the opportunity presented by a nearby tree, and heed the call of nature.
What is totally unfathomable to me is that this delightful tableau unfolded a mere two blocks from Barnes & Noble. I understand the impulse to buy your books from a local, but why not stick it to the man and sneak a leak in their bathroom?

Here is the complete schedule of this ambitious concert series that makes for great summer evenings in Park Slope. It’s a really amazing and diverse selection this year — something for everyone.

Read Rob Lenihan’s piece called, The Memory Milll on his blog, , Luna Park Gazette. It is about memory and his Brooklyn house. The text is from a performance piece written by Lenihan and it is quite moving.

My house is so empty there should be an echo.

Oh, there’s plenty of stuff: furniture, closets bursting with clothes, rows of bookshelves.

It’s a two-family house, with three bedrooms, dining room, porch; it’s huge, a relic from a time when they really knew how to build houses.

The only thing the place doesn’t have is people; no people at all. Except me.

My family bought this house in Brooklyn 1948. My grandparents passed the place on to my mom and dad, and now it belongs to their four children. It’s gone through many hands over the last 60 years, but it hasn’t moved an inch.

My mother died five years ago and my father followed her in January. My sister and brothers all moved out years ago, and the last bunch of tenants took off for parts unknown.

I’m the only one here, the master of the house—until we sell it.

I lived most of my life in this place; even when I was living somewhere else. Whether it was Connecticut or Pennsylvania, I was always close enough to dash home whenever I wanted to.

Now I have full run of the place. Every morning I get up, make breakfast, and get ready for work with only the voice of the radio news to keep me company.

At night I come home, eat supper and make sure all the doors are locked and the lights are turned off.

I feel like a sentry at a distant outpost, or one of those Japanese soldiers found hiding in the jungle long after the war ended.

I’m still on duty, bowing to the emperor’s tattered portrait. For years I complained about not having any privacy. Now I don’t have much else.

If anyone is near Music Matters or another CD shop, please pick up A Tribute to Joni MItchell for me.

“Prior to this moment, only in our wildest and sauciest dreams could we picture Sufjan Stevens, Björk, and Prince rolling around together.
Nonesuch Records, however, has made our dreams a reality”
-PitckforkMedia.com, 1/03/07

‘A Tribute to Joni Mitchell’, the first major US tribute album to the legendary artist, is set for release on April 24th. Musicians from many genres are represented on the 12 tracks of both rare and quintessential songs from the revered and influential singer/songwriter’s expansive career.

Each performer’s distinct takes on ‘A Tribute to Joni Mitchell’ are true to their own artistry, proving Mitchell’s universal appeal and versatility as a songwriter. Mitchell becomes the thread linking together these otherwise very different musical styles into a cohesive and brilliant creation.

Executive producer and Nonesuch Records President Bob Hurwitz, a longtime admirer of Joni Mitchell, came across the project upon Nonesuch’s move to Warner Brothers in 2004. It was started in the late ‘90s, but never completed. He says:

“I loved much of what I heard from the first group of recordings; the best of the tracks, at least to me, sounded like these artists were singing for an audience of one: Joni Mitchell. They knew she would hear their recording of her song, which has to be one of the most daunting tasks any musician can face.

“In moving forward, I thought that there should be a purpose to every track: each should be a reinvention or an homage, or be performed by an artist who was a part of Joni’s life or whom I knew she admired, or whose life was changed by Joni. Listening to them all, one can only be struck by the incredible craft she brought to these songs, all written as intensely personal statements, yet having the expressive resilience that allows other great artists to find part of their own musical life in her creations.”

My friend, artist Lori Loebelsohn, creates painted Life Cycle portraits. They are a beautiful gift for a bar mitzvah, a wedding, a birthday or any special occasion. Her prices are very reasonable and the paintings are a lovely gift for someone special. On her website, she writes:

Life cycle events, such as births, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, sweet sixteen’s,
confirmations, weddings, and anniversaries, are the markers, the
milestones that shape and define who we are.  It is at these times that
we pay attention to what we value, what we’ve accomplished and where we
are going.

    Unlike
a traditional portrait, which shows what a person looks like at a
particular moment in time, Life Cycle Portraits tell a more detailed
story.

The interests, passions, talents, accomplishments, even the day-to-day
routines of a person can be included in a Life Cycle Portrait, a truly
multi-dimensional tapestry that expresses the essence of a person.

A Life Cycle Portrait for a family member or friend is a cherished gift.
A loving tribute, it is an opportunity to pause, reflect, and select the
most meaningful moments in that person’s life.

From New York 1:

Parents in Brooklyn are meeting on Monday night to debate the Department of
Education’s plan to place a new Arabic Academy in their school
building.

The Khalil Gibran International Academy is finding opposition from
some parents at the Math and Science Exploratory School in Boerum Hill.

The PTA vice president at the school says her parents are more
concerned with the issue of space than with the mission of the new
academy. The Math and Science School already shares space with the
Brooklyn High School of the Arts.

The president of the teachers union said she welcomes the creation of the new school as long as there’s room for it.   

MAY 19th IS: IT’S MY PARK DAY IN JJ BYRNE PARK

On Saturday May, 19th at 1 p.m. Old Stone House celebrates ten years of great programming with a free concert by Tom Chapin you won’t want to miss. Bring the whole family.

Adult albums and kids’ albums,
contemporary folk and pop, Tom Chapin’s music spans styles and
generations. For more than thirty years and through eighteen compact
discs, Chapin has entertained, amused and enlightened audiences of all
ages with life-affirming original songs told in a sophisticated array
of musical styles. Tom’s remarkable musicianship, great songwriting and
personal warmth shine through whether he’s performing in a concert
hall, an outdoor festival, a school, in front of a symphony orchestra
or in an intimate coffeehouse.
The New York Times calls Tom Chapin "one of the great personalities in
contemporary folk music." He has recorded seven albums of
adult-oriented material, with his eighth in progress. His concerts and
recordings are sparked by strong, intelligent songwriting with clear,
engaging vocals and the intricate, melodic guitar work that has become
his trademark. Tom says: "Mine is not a traditional music, but it comes
from a tradition. My musical heroes are people like Pete Seeger and
Woody Guthrie who wrote and sang real songs for real people; for
everyone, old, young, and in between."

SATURDAY, MAY 19th at 1 p.m. JJ Byrne Park. Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets

Celebrate the beginning of summer on the stoops and sidewalks of Park Slope.

Join your neighbors on Saturday, June 23rd, for a STOOPendous party that is a big as the Slope. Mark the start of summer with your neighbors and friends on your own stoops and sidewalks. Enjoy the summer solstice, the day when the planet earth enjoys the most sunlight during the year.

Your celebration can occur at any time of day, but at 8:31 pm, when the sun sets, the All-Slope-Solstice-Shout-Out will start. Use kazoos, bang pots and pans, swing bells, or play drums. Make a racket to bid farewell to the sun’s long day and to ring in the new season.

For more information and and for suggestions on how-to make a simple, easy stoopendous event go to the STOOPendous web site. You can order STOOPendous t-shirts, totes and more here.

Spread the word.

At the Blogfest, I heard that Issue Project Room, the performance space on the Gowanus Canal next to theCarroll Street Bridge is looking for a new space. Housed in a former oil silo, it is one of the most dramatically located performance spaces around.

For those who don’t know, Issue Project Room is a very special place.  ISSUE Project Room is a special place. I have seen quite a few incredible events there and think it has added immeasurably to the cultural life of the Park Slope/Gowanus area.

Here I quote the blurb on the IPR website: "In its brief history it has earned
      a place as one of the most respected art and performance spaces in NYC
      for its consistent presentation of new and artistically challenging material.
      Its unique location – a two-story silo in a post-industrial margin of Brooklyn’s
      Gowanus Canal- and its encouraging curatorial attitude have created an
      atmosphere that feels special to musicians, writers, artists and audiences,
      making every performance, in a sense, site specific. Spaces like Issue
      are the springs that feed our culture as a whole. The uniqueness and productivity
      of the New York City arts scene, including its pop variations, are directly
      related to the work done in small experimental venues like IPR."

I heard from my reliable source the move has something to due with the fact that the Gowanus Canal’s flushing system is shutting down for repairs for an extended period of time and the big stink that will ensue.

IPR would like to find a space in the area. Director Suzanne Fiol is a survivor and I am certain that she will secure a new space for IPR and that it will thrive for a long time to come.