JOIN DDDB IN COURT ON FRIDAY
Let’s take some of that NO-WAY ONE-WAY ENERGY and show up for DDDB’s day in court. Here’s the scoop:
Attorneys representing the 13 plaintiffs in the "Atlantic Yards" eminent domain case will be back in court this Friday, arguing that Goldstein et al vs. Pataki et al should be heard in Federal court rather than at the State level, as Magistrate Judge Robert Levy recommended in a report issued last month. We encourage you all to come out–as you did for the first hearing on February 7th–to demonstrate to the Court how much the community cares about this case and its outcome.
Oral arguments are scheduled as follows:
Friday, March 30th, at 11:00 a.m.*
United States District Court. Eastern District of New York.
225 Cadman Plaza East. Courtroom 4D* Court dates can change frequently. We will notify you if the hearing is postponed.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys believe very strongly that the Federal bench should hear this case, and they’re optimistic that presiding Judge Nicholas Garaufis — who will hear Friday’s arguments — will ultimately agree.
We recommend that you arrive 30 minutes early if you plan to attend the hearing. Please be advised that cell phones, cameras and recording devices are not permitted in the courtroom, and will have to be checked in the lobby. As always, decorum is of the greatest importance inside the courthouse.
We sincerely hope that you will all attend.
PASTOR MEETER ON THE TURTLES OF PROSPECT PARK
This from the Old First Blog by Pastor Meeter.
The turtles are up. They have wakened from their winter slumber, and they are swimming in the Lake in Prospect Park.
I
don’t know this species yet. This is my first spring at this end of the
Park. They are smaller than our turtles at the lake in Ontario.They
swim just under the surface. But they stick their heads out of the
water in that peculiar turtle way, shy and subdued, their eyes and
nostrils showing. Once you spot them you can make out their shells
behind them, right beneath the boundary of water and air.I
wonder where these turtles lay their eggs. It’s wonderful to me that
they survive against the odds. Our Canadian turtles are larger than
these, and when they lay their eggs, they make their laborious journey
up hill to a patch of gravel behind our cottage, dig their holes with
their hind feet, and lay them their. More labor. Turtles in labor.And
then every night, the raccoons come and dig out the eggs. How any
survive to hatch and return to the lake is a mystery to me. For a
couple weeks after laying their eggs, the turtles keep station just off
shore, swimming back and forth in front of the cottage. Are they
sending signals to their eggs? Are they willing them to hatch and find
their way to the lake? Don’t they know what the raccoons have done? Are
there any eggs still left? How is it possible that there still are
turtles in our lake?There are turtles in Prospect Park. And
there are certainly raccoons. You can hear them at night, chuttering in
the trees just inside the fence. They feast on the garbage left in the
cans along Prospect Park Southwest. If I thought this food was enough,
and that they didn’t need to go after turtle eggs, I would be showing
an ignorance of raccoons.And yet the turtles survive. They seem
to have worked out a plan that works for them, against our better
judgment. And they have stuck to it."
SHOULD THE PARK SLOPE FOOD COOP GET RID OF PLASTIC BAGS?
Just a thought. Food Coop-ers would be more than willing, I would think, to do without plastic bags. Seeing Green has a piece today abotu San Francisco’s decision to ban non-reclyclable plastic bags.
"At last, my ex-hometown, San Francisco has passed a bill to ban non-recyclable plastic bags.
The
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 this afternoon to make
the city the first in the nation to prohibit petroleum-based plastic
checkout bags in large markets and pharmacies.On the first of two votes needed for final passage, supervisors
approved legislation sponsored by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi that would
mandate the use of biodegradable plastic bags or recyclable paper bags.
The legislation would take effect in about six months for some 50 large
markets in San Francisco and would apply in about 12 months to large
drugstore chains such as Walgreen’s and Rite-Aid."Hopefully, other cities and states will follow suit," said Mirkarimi."
BROOKLYN BORN MATHEMATICAL GIANT DIES
PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) — A leading mathematician who grew up in Brooklyn and won several of the world’s most prestigious math awards has died.
Paul Joseph Cohen died Friday of a rare lung disease, according to
Stanford University, where he taught for four decades. He was 72.Cohen’s honors were astonishing feats, considering that two prizes were from completely different branches of mathematics.
In 1964 he won the American Mathematical Society’s Bocher Prize for
analysis, and in 1966 he won the Fields Medal, the math world’s
equivalent of the Nobel Prize, for logic. Cohen also won the 1967
National Medal of Science for his work in logic, and he was an honorary
foreign member of the London Mathematical Society.Cohen’s passion was studying extremely difficult, long-standing
mathematical problems, such as the continuum hypothesis, which is
considered central to set theory, the idea that sets of items are the
fundamental objects defining all ideas in mathematics.He shocked the math establishment by proving that the continuum
hypothesis could not be decided. The notion that conventional
mathematics couldn’t prove or disprove concrete and well-known
assertions caused an uproar among academics.Cohen was born April 2, 1934, in Long Branch, N.J., the fourth and
youngest child of Jewish immigrants from Poland. His sister checked out
a library book on calculus for him when he was 9.He grew up in New York and graduated from Stuyvesant High School in
1950. He attended Brooklyn College from 1950 to 1953 but left before
receiving a bachelor’s degree, going directly to graduate school at the
University of Chicago, where he received a master’s degree in 1954 and
a doctorate in 1958.Cohen joined Stanford in 1961 as an assistant professor of
mathematics. He became a full professor in 1964. He retired in 2004 but
continued teaching until this quarter.Cohen played piano and violin and sang in a Stanford chorus and
Swedish folk group. He spoke English, Swedish, French, Spanish, German
and Yiddish.
PARADE TO SAVE CONEY ISLAND: CITY HALL ON FRIDAY
MEET UP 11:00-11:30 on Friday
at the fountain in front of City HallPARADE 11:30-12:00
We will parade around the block and onto the steps of City HallDEMONSTRATION: 12:00-1:00
Join us on the steps of City Hall at noon. Please tell the guards that you are attending the "Save Coney Island Demonstration."SPEAKERS:
Our
speakers will include Charlie Denson (author of Coney Island Lost and
Found), Richard Eagon (Coney Island Hysterical Society), Louis
Scarcella (Coney Island Polar Bears), Dianna Carlin (Lola Staar), Jo
Weldon (cultural activist) and other Coney Island scholars and colorful
members of the community.PERFORMERS:
The Hungry March Band, the Dazzle Dancers, Tigger, Miss. Coney Island,
Angie Pontani will appear as Miss. Cyclone and many other jugglers,
clowns, stilt walkers, musicians, dancers, mermaids and much much more!!AFTER PARTY PARADE UP BROADWAY: 1:00
after the demonstration there will be a parade up Broadway.Glitter!! Face Paint!! Costumes!! Aquatic Spectacles!! Mermaids and more!!
There you have it. You can check out Save Coney Island here
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
WALMART TO NEW YORK: WHO CARES!
Walmart CEO spoke to editors and reporters at the New York Times.
Frustrated by a bruising, and so far unsuccessful battle to open its first discount store in the nation’s largest city, Wal-Mart’s chief executive said yesterday, “I don’t care if we are ever here.”
H. Lee Scott Jr., the chief executive of the nation’s largest retailer, said that trying to conduct business in New York was so expensive — and exasperating — that “I don’t think it’s worth the effort.”
Mr. Scott’s remarks, delivered at a meeting with editors and reporters of The New York Times, amounted to a surprising admission of defeat, given the company’s vigorous efforts to crack into urban markets and expand beyond its suburban base in much of the country. In recent years, Wal-Mart has encountered stout resistance to its plans to enter America’s bigger cities, which stand as its last domestic fronti
er.
POLICEMAN SHOT ON FLATBUSH AVENUE: RECOVERING AT METHODIST HOSPITAL
Were you wondering why there were helicopters circling above the Slope on Tuesday night? Here’s the story from New York 1.
A suspect is in custody Tuesday night for shooting a police officer in the ankle this evening in Brooklyn.
Police say Officer Rory Mangra was struck just after 7 p.m. near the intersection of Dean Street and Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Heights.
Officials say Mangra approached the suspect on suspicion of drug possession. During a struggle the suspect, 22-year-old Kingsley Newland, pulled a .22 caliber pistol and shot Mangra.
Mangra is being treated at Methodist Hospital for injuries that are not life-threatening.
FIRE ON BALTIC AND FIFTH AVENUE: PICS FROM BRIT IN BROOKLYN
Photoblogger, Brit in Brooklyn, was up last night shooting images of a big fire on Fifth Avenue at Baltic Street in Park Slope. No details on injuries, but it was a BIG ONE. 
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
CHURCH: THEATER PIECE AT BAX
See a workshop performance of CHURCH, a theater piece developed at BAX that is having its world premiere at PS 122.
Young Jean Lee’s Theater Company
Friday & Saturday, March 30-31, 2007 at BAX. 421 Fifth Avenue, 718-832-0018
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest.” Singing, dancing, and preaching create a joyous and
breathtakingly beautiful experience in Young Jean Lee?s CHURCH. Lee is a Theater
Artist in Residence at Brooklyn Arts Exchange. With CHURCH, her
signature unpredictability puts the religious and non-religious alike under
the spell in a way that defies and tests the beliefs of both. The
performance marshals the power of a religious service in order to shake up
complacent notions of what religion is and expose the roiling questions
and exhilarating possibilities underneath.
CHURCH is being developed through a residency at Park Slope’s BAX/Brooklyn Arts
Exchange with public funding from various sources.
The world premiere of CHURCH takes place at Performance Space 122, from April 26-May 13, 2007. For more information, visit www.ps122.org.
WHY I READ MRS. CLEAVAGE’S BLOG
See for yourself:
To the person(s) who stole my birdfeeder. I hope it brings happiness to your drab and small life. Enjoy!
This is the text of the note that I pinned to the spot where my birdfeeder used to hang on the tree, affectionately nicknamed the twig, in my front yard. It was my pleasure to listen to the sparrows, swallows and chickadees squabbling over the millet, cracked corn and sunflower seeds early in the morning as I rushed to get ready for work or in the late afternoon while I sat working at my computer.
Their blissful song was like the tinkling of bells or wind chimes, a joyous affirmation of hope and life.
Thank you, you small minded and craven unfortunates for trying to steal my bliss. I’m delighted to mention here that memory is shifty and cunning, that every time you fill my feeder with bird seed or watch the tiny birds milling about its slender perches, you will likely remember exactly how you acquired said bird feeder. Since you are a petty thief, you might have an itty-bitty bit of conscience, which here means your pleasure will be dampened by the ill-gotten gain of my birdfeeder.
I put a dingy, plastic container with seed next to the twig this morning when I got back to 611. My feathered friends still must eat, birdfeeder or no birdfeeder. Perhaps an old takeout container will be less appealing to you people, my charming, thieving neighbors. Or perhaps you are so needy and so unloved and so empty that you will steal that as well.
Cheers! I wish you nothing but unbridled joy! READ MORE AT MRS. CLEAVAGE’S DIARY
WHY I READ AMY RIGBY’S BLOG
Because she writes stuff about stuff I’m into like Hazel Dickens, a legend in folk/country music, who doesn’t have a My Space page.
You know those moments in life where you read a book or see a film or hear a voice that changes the way you look at things? Hearing Hazel Dickens for the first time did that for me. Her recordings, with Alice Gerrard and then solo, were so honest, so close to reality they brought me to tears. Here was a woman conveying hard truth and beauty in the same notes. If I’d never known anything more about her she would’ve still had that effect on me. But when I learned how she’d grown up in a coal mining family, worked day jobs for most of the time she was writing and singing about working people – well, she was someone to look up to in many ways.
Also, Amy Rigby’s daughter is just a little older than Teen Spirit and I appreciate Rigby’s thoughtful musings on what happens when your child goes to college. She’s living in France and her boyfriend just went away for a few days:
But in the night I started thinking “I should go with him. Even if the UK authorities turn me away at the port like they almost did three weeks ago.”
Because I possibly don’t know how to be alone anymore?
Because I’m happy not being alone anymore?
Because when our kids go off to live their own lives, we don’t know what to do with ourselves, even if we’ve spent 18 years scratching and clawing for something that is our own identity, outside of being a parent, but then we realize in fact it was ALL about being a parent, about having somebody to do it for?
And without that, somehow writing a song seems more like…an artistic choice, rather than an imperative, a means of survival. And that freedom scares me.
Shit.
Come back soon Eric, make me laugh, keep me busy and save me from thinking about this stuff!
THE OWNER OF EDIBLE BROOKLYN SPEAKS
Got a nice note from Brian Halweil, co-owner of Edible Brooklyn and Edible East End. He provided a bit more info about Edible Brooklyn, which I am very glad to have. While Edible Brooklyn is an independent magazine, it is part of a network of local food magazines. Here’s his note, which he left in the comment sections. I hope the magazine does, as he says, make it out to Bay Ridge, Sunset Park and Brighton Beach — those are notable food communities. He also mentions a May 16th wine event at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Brian, tell us more.
Thanks for the note about Edible Brooklyn. Actually, Edible Brooklyn is an independent magazine, but it’s part of the national network of local food magazines called Edible Communities, which was started with Edible Ojai (Ojai, California) about five years ago and now includes almost 30 magazines from coast to coast. (Edible Nation is the official blog of the whole Edible Communities network, and it’s managed by Bruce Cole, editor of Edible San Francisco.)
Edible Brooklyn is the sister magazine of Edible East End, which celebrates the food culture of the Hamptons and North Fork. But the whole staff for Edible Brooklyn including editor, writers and photographers are in Brooklyn, and the magazine is available throughout the borough, slowly reaching out to places like Bay Ridge and Sunset Park and Brighton Beach and circulation and demand merits.
Hope to see you at our May 16 local wine event at BAM Cafe.
MOVING THE BOOKCASE
We did a crazy thing yesterday that resulted in all sorts of attempts at home improvement. Beautiful Smile emptied the bookcase in Teen Spirit’s room and the bookcase in the hallway. She wanted to dust them– which was a fantastic idea.
But the plot thickened.
Once all the books were down, I decided to go through them, and help Teen Spirit organize them. His collection of Alice and Wonderland books, his Harry Potters, Series of Unfortunate Events, Narnia, Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, Tin Tin…
I found plenty of stuff in there that didn’t need to be there, including every marble school notebook he’s ever used, which went into long-term storage.
All of this was a many hour process. Luckily he was out babysitting for most of it. He didn’t even get mad at me for helping to organize his room.
The bookcase in the hallway was another matter entirely. I’ve always hated that bookcase and where it wa located — on the wall right before you get to Hepcat and my bedroom. It’s just not that roomy in that part of the hallway — and if there’s more than one person you have to go through sideways.
Also, that bookcase it a junk collector. Somehow it just always ends up that way no matter how many times I clear stuff away. Pencils, action figures, dice, single earrings, outdated Metrocards, business cards we don’t need. You know how that is?
Once the books were removed, I felt a certain freedom. But where to move that dumb bookcase. This apartment is pretty much maxed out in terms of furniture space. Hmmmm.
Eureka. Ah Ha! THE BATHROOM. For towels and toiletries. Okay.
I moved it myself. Quietly. And this bookcase is six feet tall and three feet wide or so. But I didn’t want anyone to see me mid-move because SOME PEOPLE AROUND HERE get very agitated anytime I move ANYTHING.
Change is a big deal for Hepcat, Teen Spirit and OSFO. But I think the white bookcase looks nice in the bathroom with the red and orange towels and only our prettiest creams, perfumes, shampoos, figurines. There’s even a shelf for Kleenex boxes, First Aid stuff, toilet paper, the blow dryer and an odd selection of bathroom reading.
Hepcat thought it might be a little claustrophoic to have it in there. But he didn’t FREAK OUT like he usually does when I make a change.
Some of my changes are pretty good, y’know. Change isn’t always bad, y’know. Now to figure out what to do with all the science fiction books, the auto books that were on that shelf. Seems like we have an awful lot of Stanislaw Lem and Terry Patchett books. Oh well. It’s not up to me to give those away.
BROOKLYN RULES: IN THEATERS SOON
Just heard about this new movie, which will be in theaters on May 18th.
Written by three-time Emmy winner Terence Winter (The Sopranos), Brooklyn Rules is a powerful story of loyalty, friendship, and sacrifice. Set in Brooklyn circa 1985 against the backdrop of John Gotti’s rise to power, the film revolves around three lifelong friends whose different ambitions threaten to shake their enduring bond.
Michael (Freddie Prinze Jr.), the narrator, is a lovable charmer with the soul of a con man who successfully scams his way into the pre-law program at Columbia University. In contrast to Michael’s desire to leave the Brooklyn streets behind, his close friend Carmine (Scott Caan), a handsome lady-killer enamored by the Mafia lifestyle, wants nothing more than to stay there. Rounding out the trio is Bobby (Entourage’s Jerry Ferrara), an endearing cheapskate who longs for a simple life of working at the Post Office and settling down with his fiancée.
While at Columbia, Michael falls for a beautiful young student named Ellen (Mena Suvari), a society girl whom he initially wins over with his preppy schoolboy cover. As their relationship blossoms, leaving the streets behind seems increasingly possible, but when Carmine catches the eye of Caesar (Alec Baldwin), a feared mobster who controls their Brooklyn neighborhood, Michael and Bobby are drawn into that world despite their reluctance to get involved.
Brooklyn Rules comes down to the choices faced by three young men when the right path is not always the easiest to follow, and when being a loyal friend can mean making the ultimate sacrifice.
WHY I READ SOPHIA ROMERO’S BLOG
Because I like her writing and her choice of things to write about. Here she is on the family bed.
I don’t get it. In the Home section of the New York Times just recently, there was an article about children and parents sharing the same bed, otherwise known as the Family Bed. I thought we were so over that already. What is the big deal about the Family Bed? Why is it a deal at all?
I shared a bed with my parents until I was well into puberty, together with my brother who was born some years later. My parents didn’t have a king-size bed, only two twins put together.
There is nothing more comforting and secure than sleeping next to a human body, more so when there are two of them. Sleeping between my parents was simply sublime. I had no need for nightlights, I didn’t need to be read to, and I certainly didn’t need disgusting battery-operated music to put me to sleep. Instead, I was lulled by the sound of their voices in quiet conversation with each other or the pages of Newsweek and Life magazines being turned when they continued to read long after I had dozed off. I particularly loved falling asleep in my father’s armpit, my legs stretched across his in a diagonal line. I had no need for pillows or stuffed animals. I had my parents…READ MORE AT HER BLOG, MOM AFTER-HOURS
OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HAS NEW HOME IN BROOKLYN
The new Office of Emergency Management at 165 Cadman Plaza East was built with part of the $20 billion in federal aid that the city received after 9-11. This Brooklyn building is OEM’s first permanent home since the destruction of the World Trade Center, where it was since 1996. The New York Sun writes,
“The new building is part of the extensive renovation in recent years of Cadman Plaza, the civic heart of Brooklyn: first with the restoration of its landmarked General Post Office, followed by the opening last year of the Federal Building Courthouse, designed by César Pelli.
Civic centers throughout America have always demonstrated a marked predilection for limestone facing, especially in their government buildings. In this regard the OEM, like Mr. Pelli’s new courthouse, does not disappoint. However much its modernist vocabulary might distinguish it from many of its neighbors, the building has a consoling conservatism to its lithic pallor. Although the relative complexity of its façade suggests that this is not your grandfather’s municipal architecture, that complexity politely resolves itself at last within the structure as a whole.”
According to a City Hall press release: “Watch Command personnel maintain direct communication with surrounding jurisdictions and the New York State Emergency Management Office, as well as monitor radio frequencies and dispatch systems for the New York City Police and Fire Departments, and 911 calls. Newscasts from cable and satellite TV are constantly monitored to stay aware of what is being reported locally, nationally and internationally. Additionally, Watch Command tracks New York City weather conditions through the National Weather Service.”
RED EFT GETS A LEFTY FRIDGE: IT’S ENERGY EFFICIENT, TOO
This from Red Eft’s blog Oswegatchie.
“So what?” my husband said. “My mother’s refrigerator is like that.”
“So what what?” was my clever rejoinder. “That doesn’t change the fact that this is a left-handed fridge. You open it with your left hand.”
It wasn’t the only reason I bought it. The other reason was that at 432 kwh/year, our new Frigidaire was the most energy-efficient model in the showroom we visited for a weekend sale guarateeing the lowest prices in town. (We went for a low-water Fisher & Paykel clothes washer, too.)
So far I’m happy with the new fridge. It’s technically smaller than our old one, but I still have trouble filling it, and because it’s new, and no one has spilled raspberry jam or soymilk in it, or covered it with magnets and flyers for things that have already happened or lists of fish we can’t eat or Jewish holidays we fail to observe, it’s neat and shiny.
And it’s a leftie fridge! I am the only leftie in a family of righties, and I like the head game they must have to play ha ha every time they go toward it with their right arm held out and have to switch! I’m going to get me some more energy-efficient left-handed stuff!
NO WORDS_DAILY PIX BY HUGH CRAWFORD
BROOKLYN RECORD: IS BUBBY’S A SINKING SHIP?
Over at the Brooklyn Record, a DUMBO tipster laments that Bubby’s isn’t doing well.
"I am saddened to note what appear to be the early warning signs that
one of DUMBO’s main eateries may be in the early stages of a painful
death," writes in one tipster about Bubby’s, the Brooklyn offshoot of
the successful TriBeCa restaurant of the same name.
More at Brooklyn Record for the six signs that the restaurant may be in dire straits. Don’t panic yet. She could be wrong, y’know.
THE NEVILLE BROTHERS WILL OPEN CELEBRATE BROOKLYN
Surfing around the The Celebrate Brooklyn website I discovered that the Opening Event and Gala Whoopdeedo will be on Thursday, June 14th at 8 p.m. with THE NEVILLE BROTHERS.
The concert is free but
Gala tickets start at $300. and Gala packages from $5000. Neither are
in my league. But hey. The concert is FREE: it’s the party that costs ya
(and is a great fundraiser for a great summer event series if you can afford to participate…what goes around comes around.
The Celebrate Brooklyn website is a great case study for putting the year on calendar events. Last year’s schedule is still up but the year isn’t. It’s hard to tell that these events already happened. They should revise their site a little — because people are going to start checking about this summer. Not to be a whiner…
For info
on gala: sgiannelli@briconline.org
SEEING GREEN ON PULLING THE PLUG
This from Seeing Green
"Well, today is World Shutdown Day, an ominous-sounding moniker that
merely means that you are requested to turn off power-using devices for
the day. Particularly your computer. Since I am writing this on the
morning of the 24th., I am obviously not following the party line…read more at Seeing Green.
SUBWAY DRAWINGS BY ED VELANDIRA
My friend Ed Velandria has been sketching people on the F-train for a long time now. It’s his yoga, his meditation, his way of relaxing while riding the subway.
That time on the subway is his "in-between"; the limbo time between his busy life at home with two kids and a wife and his busy life running a web development company.
With his tablet and his pen, Ed gets to zone out and focus on 
the shapes, colors, textures, patterns expressions of people’s faces.
Not thinking, just drawing, the ride from Seventh Avenue in Brooklyn to Broadway Lafayette in SoHo just whizzes by.
He used to do it with pen and paper. Then he tried using his pocket P.C. Even off the subway, Ed draws incessantly wherever he is on scrap paper, a
napkin, a Post-It note. Now on the subway he uses a HP tablet called a TC1100 with a Wacom pen, which he bought off of a high school student on Craig’s List. The tablet has been discontinued and is only available on Craig’s List or maybe ebay. The tablet is 
touch-sensitive and capable of different kinds of strokes. He uses a paint program he bought for $20. called Art Rage.
At first, Ed was very low key about the pictures. Just some drawings I did on the subway he might say. But overtime, it was obvious that he was quite serious about making these pictures — at least once a day. It’s a habit now, or more precisely, a practice — a ritual to capture the time.
Ed catches his subjects during their in-between time, too. Eyes down, reading, sleeping, iPod listening, they are either going to work or going home.
I love the titles of the sketches: Long Day, Not Really Listening, Goatee Guy, Red Hoody, Intense, Kind of a Mohawk:
It is life lived on the subway — day in, day out. The artist looking, noticing, sketching…honoring the faces before his eyes.
See more of Ed’s pictures on his Flickr website.
REPORTING FROM IRAQ: DON’T MISS THIS INCREDIBLE EVENT AT PS 107
A note from David Grand, organizer of Readings on the Fourth Floor, a monthly book event/fundraiser for the library at Park Slope’s PS 107, arrived this morning in my email.
Apologies to all for the shameless solicitation.
I’ve once again organized four events to help keep the library at PS 107 running, the first of which is this Wednesday: Reporting from Iraq.
If you happen to be feeling utter despair over the state of American foreign policy, just think, who better to further degrade your spirits than George Packer, Jacki Lyden, Michael Moss,and Les Gelb?
On Wednesday March 28th, we’ll be meeting, as usual, on the 4th floor of 1301 8th Ave (btwn 13th and 14th Streets) in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ps107.org.
If, of course, you receive your fill of spiritual annihilation in the quiet of your home, see what’s attached for the events that follow, and perhaps one of these will appeal.
It’s likely I won’t see some of you on any of these dates, which is why this year I’ve devised a way to help you part with your money in exchange for nothing. Should you wake up one morning feeling an overwhelming need to be fleeced, visit www.ps107.org, it’ll link you to NYCharities.org, and there you can shake yourself down for as much or as little as you like. Whatever amount, we’ll take it. The PS 107 bookworms thank you in advance.
CELEBRATE BROOKLYN TIP FROM BROOKLYN VEGAN: ANI DIFRANCO JULY 18th
Thanks to Brooklyn Vegan: Ani DiFranco is performing at Celebrate Brooklyn this summer. The date is July 18th tickets were selling March 20th – March 22nd (so that’s old news, sorry. I don’t even think The Celebrate Brooklyn website has this summer’s schedule yet. The info is on Ani DiFranco’s website.
The Celebrate Brooklyn website does have this bit of info: the opening night gala and fundraising event is THE NEVILLE BROTHERS ON THURSDAY JUNE 14th at 8 p.m. The concert is free but the gala is a big whoopdeedo. Gala tickets start at $300. and Gala packages from $5000. Neither are in my league. But hey. The concert is FREE: it’s the party that costs (and is a great fundraiser for a great summer event series). For info on gala: sgiannelli@briconline.org
CAN YOU LIVE WITH THE VOICES IN YOUR HEAD: EXCERPT FROM LOCAL AUTHOR’S NEW BOOK
An EXCERPT from “Muses, Madmen and Prophets: Rethinking the History, Science and Meaning of Auditory Hallucination,” just published by the Penguin Press, was in yesterday’s New York Times. The author, Daniel Smith, lives in Brooklyn.
BAKE SALE TO SAVE DOMINO SUGAR PLANT
Some Brooklyn residents used some sweet treats to try to help save the Domino Sugar Plant.
Members of the Waterfront Preservation Alliance held a bake sale Saturday night — selling foods they made using Domino Sugar.
The purpose was to raise funds and awareness about the structure
that they’re trying to win landmark status — and keep from being torn
down."We’re hoping that the historically significant buildings of this
site are preserved,” said Alice Rich of the Waterfront Preservation
Alliance. “And we told everyone to write to the Landmark’s Commission
and tell them the buildings are important to them and to the history of
the city.""The plant hasn’t been cleaned; it’s still the way it was when
Domino Sugar walked away from it,” said historian Mary Habstritt. “All
the machinery is still there. There’s still molasses on the floor and
if you walk by you still get this wonderful sugary smell of molasses."The Domino Sugar factory officially closed in 2004 after nearly 150 years in business.
At the time, the American Sugar Refining Company said the cost of operating in Brooklyn was just too high.
OPENING ON MARCH 28th: LANDMARK AND LEGACY
This Wednesday, the show Landmark and Legacy: Brooklyn Heights and the Preservation Movement in America, opens at the Brooklyn Historical Society.
March 28 – September 9, 2007
This exhibit will highlight the social and political history that led
to the designation of Brooklyn Heights as New York City ‘s first
historic district. This six month exhibit will take visitors from the
1950s and the establishment of the Brooklyn Heights Association, one of
the first neighborhood associations in the country, through the
struggle with Robert Moses from building the BQE in the middle of
Brooklyn Heights to the implications of the national landmark and
preservation movement in the present day. Landmark and Legacy has been made possible by American Express.
Location
128 Pierrepont Street
at Clinton Street
Brooklyn, New York 11201
View map
General Information
Phone: 718-222-4111
Fax: 718-222-3794