Civics and Urban Life

NEW ELECTION SAYS MATHIEU EUGENE

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This from New York 1 about the continuing brouhaha about Mathieu Eugene, the winner of last month’s special election for City Council in Brooklyn, who still can’t take office under the current rules. Now he’s calling for a second shot at the seat.

"I will not enter [the City Hall] door behind me  under this cloud," said Eugene.

Following questions about his residency, Eugene is now calling for a second special election in the 40th district.

"I won’t be able to properly serve the community under these
conditions,” he said. “We will not bog down this body with a lawsuit
that challenges its authority. That is not how I choose to enter
elected office.”

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn applauded Eugene’s move and a
spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg says once the mayor has received
a written request from Eugene, he will call for a special election.

According to the Board of Elections, the first available date for a
new special election would be April 24th. Another election would cost
about $400,000.

Postcard from the Slope

STATE SUPREME COURT RULES THAT RATNER DOES NOT HAVE RIGHTS TO SOME AY PROPERTIES

This from New York 1: For in-depth analysis go to Atlantic Yards Report.
 

Just days after a dozen buildings at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards site
were cleaned for demolition the State Supreme Court ruled Wednesday
that the developer does not have rights to some of the properties.

This decision terminates the leases Forest City Ratner bought from
another developer — who had a contract under Prospect Height’s
property owner Henry Weinstein.

The judge said the leases of two buildings had been passed off to Ratner without Weinstein’s approval.

Full control was given back to Weinstein.

An attorney for Ratner says Weinstein plans to appeal the decision.
He also says Ratner does not think this will have any impact on the
progress of construction.

postcard from the coast

HOMELESS RATE REACHES NEW HIGH: COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS REPORTS

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In a report released yesterday by the Coalition for the Homeless, the number of
homeless families in NYC climbed to 9,287 in February — a new record.

The total number of homeless New Yorkers grew
by 11 percent in the last year; the number of homeless families and children grew by
around 18 percent each.

These sobering statistics come midway through Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s five-year plan to combat homelessness.

“When something has been implemented and as gone this wrong, what
we need is for Mayor Bloomberg to step up, admit that the mistake has
been made, and to take corrective action immediately,” Mary
Brosnahan Sullivan of the Coalition for the Homeless told New York 1.

The report also says that the number of single
adults entering the shelter system has dropped for the second year in a
row.

READ THE REPORT HERE

Postcard from the Slope

FAMILY PLANNING PIONEER CELEBRATED AT THE OLD STONE HOUSE

New York  University professor Esther Katz is the leading expert on family planning pioneer Margaret Sanger, who was placed on trial for opening the famed Brownsville Clinic here in Brooklyn just over 90 years ago.  Katz, who recently edited the third volume of the four-volume The Selected Papers of Margaret Sanger, published by Illinois University Press, will be the featured Herb Yellin Memorial lecturer at the Old Stone House of Brooklyn on Wednesday, March 21, at 7 pm. 

Sanger – reformer, activist and crusader for women’s rights – was a fascinating and complex personality whose life exemplifies the exceptional circumstances and sacrifices still confronted by women today.  Tickers are $5 and include refreshments.  Books will be available. 

Herb Yellin, the first chairman of the board of trustees of the Old Stone House of Brooklyn, helped sow the seeds for a new appreciation of the major role that Brooklyn has played in the development of this country.  This lecture series is dedicated to him, and his abundant curiosity and energy.

The Old Stone House is in JJ Byrne Park, between 3rd and 4th streets, just off Fifth Avenue , in Park Slope, Brooklyn .  For more information, please call 718-768-3195, or visit the Old Stone House website at www.theoldstonehouse.org.

Civics and Urban Life

THE NARROWING OF FOURTH AVENUE

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Excerpts from a public letter from Kevin Burget, a local filmmaker, about changes to 6th and 7th Avenue traffic and THE NARROWING OF FOURTH AVENUE, which may be the real reason behind the DOT’s proposal. Here he lays out his objections to the proposed DOT changes.

A summary of the proposed changes follows, but in even more of a
nutshell:  The proposal is to turn 7th and 6th avenue into one-way
streets to handle the traffic overflow from a proposed NARROWING of 4th
avenue, the main route into Park Slope and much of Brooklyn
from outside the city.  This will do so much to erode the local nature
of our neighborhood I can’t begin to express it.  Park Slope will
become a drive-through neighborhood host to traffic trying to ride the
green carpet of one-way traffic lights on their way to and from
destinations such as Atlantic Yards.  If you agree with the assessment
that follows please try to get the word out.  I know that you steer
clear of things political, at least as a bookstore owner, but I do
think the neighborhood is effectively about to be steamrollered by
these proposed changes, and that does something to addle my own life of
the mind.  It’s not simply a matter of old stodgy Park Slope being
unwilling to welcome new neighbors.  I am all for changes that make
sense and continue to promote community.  I think you’ll find these
don’t.  Let me know your thoughts if you can.  The most important
upcoming moment to confront this is:
New York Methodist Hospital      
506 6th Street
(7th & 8th Avenues)
Auditorium
Thurs. March 15

ANYWAY, if you don’t know it already…. here’s the rap that I’ve
posted to Park Slope Parents.  The Park Slope Civic Council and Park
Slope Neighbors Group are in agreement:

 

The plan: 

 

The NYCDOT’s forthcoming proposal to reinvent Park Slope’s streets is to me big news and very worrisome.

 

  http://www.streetsb log.org/2007/ 02/28/dot- to-propose- radical-new- traffic-plan- for-park- slope 

 

It
seems to play transparently right into the hands of the developers
putting up new buildings along 4th avenue, as well as those developing
Atlantic Yards, while running roughshod over Park Slope in a way that
will forever change the character of the neighborhood, making it in
effect a runway or service road for these new developments.

 

  The proposal is to do three things:

1) Narrow 4th avenue 

2) Make 6th avenue run one-way north

3) Make 7th avenue run one-way south 

 

As to 1) narrowing 4th avenue:  4th
avenue has always been one of the main industrial arteries into most of Brooklyn
from outside the city.  As such it carries an enormous amount of
essential traffic, much of it heavy trucks providing goods and
services.  The decision to NARROW 4th avenue by eliminating 2 out of
its 6 lanes (1/3 of its capacity) could not be more wrongheaded. A
stadium hosting sports events is going up and tens of thousands of new
rental units.  Narrowing the one barely viable conduit into Brooklyn
from the outside beggars belief.  The only possible winners here are
perhaps thought to be the new tenants in the buildings along 4th
avenue, because they will have a little less street under their noses.
But that street will be like a clogged artery guaranteed to be filled
round the clock with smog and traffic. 

 

Which
brings us to 2).  Any incoming trucker in his right mind faced with a
NARROWED 2-way 4th avenue will of course want to get OFF 4th avenue at
the earliest opportunity, which according to this plan will be about at
23rd street at which point the trucker will turn up 2 blocks to 6th
avenue where he/she will be able to ride the green carpet of one way
traffic lights all the way to Flatbush. So 6th avenue, now a very
local-oriented tree-shaded residential avenue will be turned into a de
facto truck route.  Most of Park Slope will suffer here from swift and
hurtling truck and car traffic trying to ride the green lights.  This
has historically made such avenues more forbidding, less local, and
much more dangerous.  A comparison has been made to 8th avenue or PPW,
which some feel are not so bad for the character of their traffic, but
these avenues have never been tasked with a fraction of the kind of
traffic that this plan will bring to 6th and 7th avenues.

 

7th avenue, under this plan, will become the exit route of choice for all heavy traffic leaving much of Brooklyn
and Atlantic Yards.  Again, given the choice of 2-way traffic lights or
1-way, any experienced driver, whether of a truck or car, will opt for
the express.  7th avenue will become the route of choice.  Its existing
character will be decimated as a result. Doing this to Park Slope’s
historical main street will make it so much more noisy and less
friendly for pedestrians that I predict store and restaurant owner’s
will suffer. Pedestrians will want to flee the noise and frenzy, and
cars won’t want to stop or even linger because of the crushing momentum
of the traffic they find themselves in.  Its character will be more
akin to Flatbush, say, (although even Flatbush is 2-way…) 

             

Postcard from the Slope

NEW SCIENCE CURRICULUM FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

This from WNYC

NEW YORK, NY March
07, 2007
—The city will introduce a new science curriculum this fall. The
program will be phased in, beginning with grades three, four and six at
a cost of $60 million over the next two years.

REPORTER:
Seventeen-year-old Rafael Klein-Cloud goes to Brooklyn Tech, a school
lauded by Mayor Bloomberg as an example for other schools in science.
Klein-Cloud says he always excelled in the subject area because he was
encouraged to have a good time.

KLEIN-CLOUD: My teacher was
pointing out that a lot of kids are afraid of science. It’s not like
something you can just read, there is a lot of memorization. If you get
exposed to it in real-life situations, you might get a different
experience and learn to love it.

REPORTER: The city will also
spend $444 million to upgrade its labs. After the new curriculum is
introduced, science tests will be used to decide which children get
promoted to the next grade.

    

Postcard from the Slope

DOT: CHANGES TO 6TH AND 7TH REQUIRE COMMUNITY SUPPORT

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Streetsblog reports that changes to Seventh and Sixth Avenue require community support. Well, that’s NOT gonna happen. That community board meeting on March 15th at Methodist Hospital should be quite the event. Be there or be ONE WAY. Here’s a quote from the press office at the DOT. More info from Streetsblog. 

DOT would like to change Sixth and Seventh Avenues to one-way streets
to simplify the turning movements at intersections along the Avenues
which would enhance safety for pedestrians and motorists. DOT would
also make adjustments to the traffic signal progression along Sixth
and Seventh Avenues and narrow the travel lanes on Seventh Avenue to
keep vehicles from exceeding the speed limit. These plans need
community board support and if the community doesn’t support these
proposed changes we will not move forward with them.

Postcard from the Slope

PARK SLOPER SUES LANDLORD OVER BEDBUGS

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I don’t like to think about them. I didn’t even want to put this story up on the blog But it is a Park Slope story and I figured — I can be brave…

This from 1010 WINS

Ellyn Gliksman-Sullivan lived in Park Slope for almost 25 years, but
had to evacuate her apartment in 2006. Attorney Alan Schnurman, who
represents
Gliksman-Sullivan said that eight months ago she awoke covered in
bites, and doctors diagnosed her as having been attacked by bedbugs,
and she went home to discover hundreds of them had infested her home.

Schnurnan said she notified her landlord, who had an exterminator do
"cursory spraying," but that the problem persisted. She left because
she was afraid to stay and couldn’t sleep knowing the apartment was
infested, and because the landlord and building management did nothing
further to help, her lawyer said.

Gliksman-Sullivan has been commuting four hours a day to her Manhattan job from her home in Upstate New York.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Kings County Supreme Court against
the owner, Manhattan Eight Corporation and Isaac Wade, the managing
agent.

Postcard from the Slope

MID CENTURY MODERN IN KENSINGTON

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Yesterday I went to Kensington and finally figured out where Kensington is. Oh — let me re-phrase, I thought I knew where Kensington was — near the Parade Grounds, the Kensington Stables, etc. But I didn’t realize Ocean Parkway near Church Avenue was considered Kensington. And then when I walked to the Ft. Hamilton Parkway F-train station it all came together.

And I kind of loved it over there.

A friend is selling a cool apartment in a mid-century modern brick building on Ocean Parkway. Built in 1959, the seven-story, elevator building is 70% owner occupied. The residents are a mix of people who moved in in 1959 and much younger newcomers who were priced out of Manhattan, Park Slope, etc.

The apartment is really cool. Very mid-century modern. It would be perfect if we didn’t have two kids and a Hepcat who takes up so much space. It’s got two nice-sized bedrooms, a nice living/dining area and two, count em, two bathrooms.

Probably the biggest sell about the apartment is the light — it’s a corner apartment on the 7th floor and it has 14 windows. I loved that. It also has Lots of closet space.

The owner is a reader of OTBKB so if you’re interested email me and I will email her. The price is very reasonable (in these crazy times, that is).

The current owners have done a beautiful job decorating the place. The bathrooms have been nicely renovated and the kitchen’s renovation pre-dated the current owners.

Civics and Urban Life

FREE TICKETS TO BABY LOVE THIS SUNDAY

FOR READERS OF OTBKB: free tix for BabyLove this Sunday March 11th @ 5:30pm. 
Email for tix: christen@christenclifford.com

WHAT:
BabyLove
What happens when your infant son becomes The Other Man?

WHEN:
Saturday, March 10th @ 1pm
Sunday, March 11 th @ 5:30pm (free tix for this show).
Tuesday, March 13th @ 7:30pm
Friday, March 16th @ 7:30pm

WHERE:
part of FRIGID New York at The Kraine Theater
85 East 4th Street
(between 2nd and 3rd Aves)
first floor, no wheelchair access

DISCOUNT!
SmartTix CODES (regularly $14):
BBYLV  $9.00 any show
2FOR1  $7.00  March 7th @9pm only
http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showcode=BAB4

Infants on laps welcome! Sex toy giveaways!

Written and performed by Christen Clifford
Directed by and developed with Julie Kramer
Choreography: Julie Atlas Muz

WINNER!!! BEST OF FRINGE! 2006 San Francisco Fringe Festival

"Comically provocative! …revelatory and a comfort to other new parents….The uninhibited Clifford delves into some taboo topics with uncommon frankness and disarming charm. It’s daringly personal and, in Clifford’s unabashedly generous performance, as engaging as it is provocative."
– San Francisco Chronicle

"An extremely gifted talent!  One of the most original new voices to come out of New York City in years.   Her warmth, intelligence and killer wit …bring out the humanity in even the most outrageous situations."
-Catherine Burns, Artistic Director, the Moth

"BabyLove is the most important piece of feminist theatre since The Vagina Monologues."
-kulturevermitterlin

"Smart, sexy and funny!  Clifford is a wonderful storyteller and she performs with such truth and authenticity that by the end everyone in the audience wants to be her little one."
-Mladina (like the Eastern European Village Voice)

"Christen Clifford is a fabulous writer and performer! BabyLove goes to places about motherhood that few would dare explore. Speaking the unspeakable is one of my favorite art forms and Christen has the guts to put BabyLove on stage, outing another one of society’s dirty little secrets."
-Betty Dodson, PhD, author of Sex for One

ABOUT THE SHOW: Clifford’s true stories expose sex and motherhood with refreshing candor and humor; by exploring the intimate, she illuminates the universal.  A solo play with choreography by burlesque star Julie Atlas Muz and directed by Julie Kramer (Best of Fringe for Give Me Shelter, It’s a Hit!), BabyLove had its world premier in Ljubljana, Slovenia and was SOLD OUT and won BEST OF FRINGE at The San Francisco Fringe Festival in 2006.  Developed in part through Hourglass Group’s Solo Lab.

ABOUT CHRISTEN CLIFFORD:  Clifford has performed at Classic Stage Company, The Culture Project, The Public Theatre and been a mainstage storyteller at The Moth. She has published in Salon.com, Nerve.com, Blue, and Everything You Know About Sex Is Wrong (Disinfo).  Clifford is a member of The Association for Research on Mothering as well as The Society for Scientific Study of Sexuality and is the winner of the 2006 New School MFA nonfiction writing competition.  More info: http://www.christenclifford.com

STUFF AND THINGS

READINGS ON THE FOURTH FLOOR: REPORTING FRM IRAQ

READINGS ON THE FOURTH FLOOR returns with what sounds like an incredible 
event, a great fundraiser for the PS 107 library AND an important way to 
acknowledge the beginning of the 4th year of the war in Iraq.

Readings on the 4th Floor returns for its third season. It starts up
again March 28th with Reporting from Iraq, a panel discussion with
George Packer, author of Assassin's Gate, Jackie Lyden of NPR,
and Michael Moss of the New York Times. Moderated by Leslie Gelb from the Council on Foreign Relations.

Tickets this year can be purchased online at www.ps107.org.

All proceeds benefit the library at PS107.
.

Civics and Urban Life

HIGH SCHOOL VAGINA CONTROVERSY

4 Comments

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This from the blog, The Hall Montior (Keeping an Eye on Education), about a school in Westchester where three girls were suspended for reading a passage from Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues.

Three students have been suspended for saying the word “vagina”
during an Open Mic Night Friday at John Jay High School in Cross River.
School officials had warned the girls they would be reprimanded if they
said the word while reading a selection from Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues

The
girls had divided the reading into thirds, but all joined together in
saying the word “vagina,” which appeared only once. The girls each must
serve a one-day, in-school suspension.

Here’s what they read:

“My short skirt is a liberation
flag in the women’s army
I declare these streets, any streets
my vagina’s country.”

Meanwhile,
classmates have expressed outrage over the suspensions, saying that a
school should be a place where students have the right to express
themselves. They plan to make t-shirts and posters to protest the
school’s decision.

Do you think the students should have been suspended?

Picture by Strph on Flickr

Civics and Urban Life

ADDITIONS TO NATIONAL RECORDING REGISTRY: ROLLING STONES, HOWL, NATIONAL DEFENSE TEST, VELVET UNDERGROUND, SARAH VAUGHAN

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Every year the Librarian of Congress chooses a variety of sound
recordings to include in the National Recording Registry. The
recordings are nominated by members of the public and a panel of music,
sound and preservation experts, the library’s National Recording
Preservation Board. The 2006 additions to the registry are:

–”Uncle Josh and the Insurance Agent,” Cal Stewart (1904).

–”Il mio tesoro,” John McCormack, orchestra conducted by Walter Rogers (1916).

–National Defense Test, September 12, 1924 (1924).

–”Black Bottom Stomp,” Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers (1926).

–”Wildwood Flower,” The Carter Family (1928).

–”Pony Blues,” Charley Patton (1929).

–”You’re the Top,” Cole Porter (1934).

–”The Osage Bank Robbery,” episode of ”The Lone Ranger” (Dec. 17, 1937).

–Address to Congress, Dec. 8, 1941, Roosevelt (1941)

–Native Brazilian Music, recorded under the supervision of Leopold Stokowski (1942).

–”Peace in the Valley,” Red Foley and the Sunshine Boys (1951).

–Chopin Polonaise, op. 40, no. 1 (”Polonaise militaire”), Artur Rubinstein (1952).

–”Blue Suede Shoes,” Carl Perkins (1955).

–Interviews with William ”Billy” Bell, recorded by Edward D. Ives (1956).

–”Howl,” Allen Ginsberg (1959).

–”The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart,” Bob Newhart (1960)

–”Be My Baby,” The Ronettes (1963).

–”We Shall Overcome,” Pete Seeger (1963) recording of Pete Seeger’s June 8, 1963, Carnegie Hall concert.

–”(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” Rolling Stones. (1965)

–”A Change Is Gonna Come,” Sam Cooke (1965).

–”Velvet Underground and Nico,” Velvet Underground (1967).

–”The Eighty-Six Years of Eubie Blake,” Eubie Blake (1969).

–”The Wailers Burnin,” the Wailers (1973).

–”Live in Japan,” Sarah Vaughan (1973).

–”Graceland,” Paul Simon (1986).

Postcard from the Slope

FILM BASED ON JHUMPA LAHIRI’S BOOK OUT ON MARCH 9th

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The movie based on Jhumpa Lahiri’s book, The Namesake, is set to open on March 9th. But before you see the movie (and you must, it’s directed by Mira Nair) Brooklyn blogger Pardon Me For Asking says, READ THE BOOK. 

Before the March 9th opening of the movie "The Namesake" which is based
on Jhumpa Lahiri’s book of the same name, I urge everyone to read the
original.
Yes, I may be partial to Lahiri . Not only is she a
fellow Brooklyn resident, she is also an active opponent of the
Atlantic Yards project (see below) and a Barnard Graduate. Most
importantly, her writing is achingly beautiful. " The Namesake" is the
story of two generations of the Ganguli family and their transition
from Calcutta to Cambridge, Massachusetts. It’s the classic story of
immigration and assimilation.
Though this story is about an Indian
family, it is my story too. Elegantly written, ever so restrained,
Lahiri perfectly invokes the sense of loss the newcomer feels, the
desperate attempt to hold on to one’s culture and customs and what
happens to the next generation which tries so hard to be American, just
to realize that it will forever be a blend of two cultures.
I
don’t know how good the movie is. I am not even sure I want to see it
for fear that it will rob me of the image I made myself of the
characters. I can only suggest that you read this little gem yourself.
To read a passage of the book, follow this link:
http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/extra/bl-namesake.htmpardonmeforasking.blogspot.com/2007/03/recent-great-reads.html

Civics and Urban Life

WHY ONE WAY NOW? DOT HAS AN ANSWER (?)

1 Comment

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So you’re wondering why the DOT wants to change Park Slope traffic patterns NOW? Some people say it has to do with the Atlantic Yards. Even David Yassky says it has something to do with the Atlantic Yards. But here’s what the DOT press office had to say (reported on Streetsblog).

"This idea has been considered for years and since Sixth Avenue was
repaved last year and we have not yet installed permanent markings,
this seems like a good time to make these changes."

photo by anamsingh on Flickr

Postcard from the Slope

MORE DELICES DE PARIS GOSSIP

6 Comments

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So what is the deal with Delices de Paris, the bakery on Ninth Street between 6th and 5th Avenues?

Here’s OTBKB’s take on it:

Zana’s Cafe opened on Seventh Avenue in the space next to Smiley Face Pizza. It is owned by Rosana, co-owner of Delices De Paris on Ninth Street.

Signs went up in the window at Delices De Paris saying that the two places were not connected. "Do not be fooled…"

Rumors spread about a nasty break-up between Zana and her husband, the baker at Delices de Paris. They still owned the place together but…

Then I heard that the Health Department shut the original place down.

I heard a rumor that the couple was back together — I thought that sounded odd.

I heard another rumor that Rosana bought out her husband and the place is set to re-open soon.

Anyone know what’s going on over there? Here’s a tip from an OTBKB reader:

there here have been many signs on that window since. Also some
apparent signs of improvement within since Rosa took over. I’m just sad
they’re closed for now, doing some of the needed improvements many of us
have noticed. Now I have to walk all the way up to 7th to get my morning
latte and almond croissant. Just as good as always… but no place to
sit down. Maybe they should put stools in.

Picture by Erglantz on Flickr

Civics and Urban Life

I LIKED ALTERNADAD’S RESPONSE TO DAVID BROOKS

This from Neal Pollack, author of Alternadad.

Today’s bilious David Brooks column
in the New York Times may have intended to be the last word on the
"hipster parenting" trend, but I think it will have an opposite,
galvanizing effect. There are certainly some annoyng cultural
signifiers afoot, mostly having to do with clothing items and the
occasional pretentious mix tape, but deep undercurrents run through
this generation that Brooks could only begin to understand…

I wonder how long it’s been since this "patio man"-praising "bobo",
who lives in a cosseted corner of Philadelphia’s Main Line, has had to
worry about drug-dealing in his neighborhood, or whether or not his
kids were going to get a good education, or if an innocent visit to the
doctor was going to send him into thousands of dollars of debt.
Probably never, I’m guessing. Every family but the most wealthy is up
against a wall in George Bush’s America. "Hipster parenting," despite
some very superficial fashion frosting, is actually a conservative
pushback calling for the return to primacy of truly traditional
American family values.

I’m proud to be part of this generation of parents, which is trying
to regain cultural control of its lives from corporate entertainment
conglomerates (or at least influence certain corporate-entertainment
decisions). The entrepreneurial energy has only begun to assert itself.
I see parents remaking children’s fashion, yes, and children’s music,
but also piling tons of energy into helping save our sagging
public-education system, trying to reclaim decent childhood nutrition
from a deep Cheetos-dug hole, and generally trying to assert their
cultural identity in a world that denies them anything but beleagured
"soccer mom" or "diaper dad" labels….

Read more at Neal Pollack dot com.

Postcard from the Slope

BEST OF NEW YORK 2007: MORE BROOKLYN

Here’s the Best of New York, Sorted by Neighborhood

New York magazine just published their Best of New York issue, and all kinds Brooklyn establishments are among their top picks. But not so many from Park Slope. And I guess Barbes was from 2006. Here are the two Park Slope wins. Is that it?

The Gate
Get It Together!

                                    

Postcard from the Slope

INTERNET COMPUTERS AT PARK SLOPE COPY

2 Comments

I am posting from the window of the Park Slope Copy Shop (Seventh Avenue between President and Carroll). They have two new Internet computers that are quite easy to use — just slide your credit card and VOILA. You can even bank unused minutes.

Pat Salmon suggested that I post a blog entry from here.

It’s kind of cool blogging from here staring at the facade of Old First Church and the traffic on Seventh Avenue. Watching mid-day Park Slope pedestrians walk by.

$2.00 for 10 minutes, $8.00 for 60 minutes. It makes sense to spend an hour here…

Postcard from the Slope

PARK SLOPER LAUNCHES DATING SITE FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

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There’s nothing else quite like it. Park Sloper Lesley Topping took the plunge and created something that answers a very important need.  C is for Cupid, is an an alternative online dating service for people whose lives have been
affected by cancer. Founded in 2007 by a seven year cancer
survivor, C is for Cupid knows that everyone copes differently with cancer. They want to provide a comfortable and fun environment for their members  to find love,
romance and new friends. Tell your friends about it.

JOIN AN EXTRAORDINARY NEW NETWORK OF SURVIVORS BUILDING FROM THE GROUND UP AND FIND SOMEONE SPECIAL.

C is for Cupid – the new dating service for people whose lives have been affected by cancer. Founded by survivors, our goal is to provide a comfortable and confidential environment for our members to connect with compatible singles and friends. So if you’re ready for romance, a special relationship, or just want to meet new friends who can “relate,” register with us and have a look around.

C is for Cupid is a profile-dating service for adult cancer survivors seeking companionship and romantic relationships. We do not provide medical information or advice about cancer-related issues.

Postcard from the Slope

MASH UP: TASTES LIKE CHICKEN ART SPACE

MASH UP
TASTES LIKE CHICKEN ART SPACE (In EAST WILLIAMSBURG) 300 Morgan Avenue, 11211
OPENING RECEPTION  MARCH 9    8 – 10 P.M.

The chosen curators each select four artists, and bring some of there work to the gallery. Then, the work is mashed up into new works, completely taking the artists work out of its original context. The final works of art are created by the curators themselves, demonstrating the pressure and sometimes overbearing presence that can exist in the relationship between the curator and the artist. This relationship can bring out the best in the artist and the curator, and at its worst, strip the artist of their identity in their own work. The delicate balance between artist and curator is then underlined by taking their relationship to an extreme point.

featured artwork: ernest concepcion, rory donaldson, paul duncan, mike estabrook, david frye, ghetto picasso, brian higbee, faten kanaan, shanan kurtz, jen kim, catherine lasota, pam lins, doreen mccarthy, lorenzo pace, kate parnell, linda post, matthew siegle

curators: j. guerrero, vandana jain, jim nolan, michael rader

Civics and Urban Life

YEHUDAH GLANTZ AT JEWISH MUSIC CAFE

SATURDAY MARCH 10TH AT PARK SLOPE’S JEWISH MUSIC CAFE
DOORS OPEN 8:45PM
COVER $20

This next show at the Cafe is absolutely not
to be missed. JMC is honored and extremely
excited to host one of today’s most exciting
and creative Jewish musicians on the world
touring circuit. Nominated  for Best
Peformer at the Oyhoo Jewish music awards,
YEHUDAH GLANTZ continues to bring
audiences to their feet all around the globe.
YEHUDAH  is a true renaissance artist
bound by a vision to expand Simcha (joy)
and Emuna (faith) on a universal level.
Come to the JMC and experience for
yourself the excitement and energy that this
amazing artist brings to every performance
and venue!
http://www.yehudaglantz.com

LIVE MUSIC AT
THE JEWISH MUSIC CAFE
401 9TH STREET
PARK SLOPE
BROOKLYN

Postcard from the Slope

DRINKING LIBERALLY: COMMONWEALTH BAR

1 Comment

I get emails about this all the time. I think it’s a bunch of liberal and left of center political types getting together at the Commonwealth Bar discussing politics. I’ve always meant to go. It’s a national organization. This is the Park Slope branch. In these times, we should all be drinking liberally…

Greetings Liberal Drinkers —

Monthly Meeting at the Commonwealth Bar. 

****************
Drinking Liberally, Park Slope
Wednesday March 7
7:30-10pm
Commonwealth Bar
12th St and 5th Ave
****************

Emilie and Anthony

Postcard from the Slope

PREP FOR DEMOLITION UNDERWAY

Crews got started on the demolition of a dozen buildings in downtown
Brooklyn Monday to make way for the Atlantic Yards development project,
which includes a new basketball arena for the Nets.
This from New York 1.

The first phase of the demolition is expected to take two to three
weeks to finish. Workers will start by removing hazardous materials
like asbestos.

The entire job is expected to take five months.

The buildings being torn down include five on Pacific Street, three
on Flatbush Avenue, two on Vanderbilt Avenue and one each on Dean
Street and Atlantic Avenue.

Construction of the new Nets arena is set to begin this fall. It’s
the centerpiece of the $4 billion project, which still faces lawsuits
and strong neighborhood opposition.

Postcard from the Slope

MARCH 15: COMMUNITY BOARD MEETING ABOUT DOT PROPOSAL

As news of a proposal to change 4th, 6th, and 7th Avenues gets around the Slope, a
location has been selected for the Community Board meeting on 
March 15, 6:30 pm, to discuss these drastic changes to the neighborhood. 

Here's the full info from the community board website,
http://www.brooklyncb6.org/calendar/?current=28-Mar-07#15

Mar 15     Transportation
Presentation and discussion of a proposal by the Department of
Transportation to convert 7th Avenue (between Flatbush Avenue and
Prospect Avenue) from a two-way street to a one-way southbound street
and 6th Avenue (between Atlantic Avenue and 23rd Street) from a
two-way street to a one-way northbound street.

Presentation and discussion of a proposal by the Department of
Transportation to eliminate one northbound and one southbound travel
lane from 4th Avenue (between Dean Street and Prospect Avenue) and
replace them with improved left-turn turning lanes.
 
   New York Methodist Hospital
   506 6th Street
   (7th & 8th Avenues)
   Auditorium
 
   6:30 PM

Civics and Urban Life

BROOKLYN TECH STUDENTS HONORED FOR TEST PREFORMANCE

This from New York 1:

Some city high school students scored big on a difficult national
science test and got an extra prize out of it Tuesday: the mayor showed
up to congratulate them. NY1’s Education reporter Michael Meenan filed
the following report.

"Think big and you’ll never fall short of your dreams,” said Kimberly Laughman, a senior at Brooklyn Technical High School.

Laughman delivered those words as she was honored Tuesday along
with 21 other African-American high school students, for scoring well
on a national science test.

"We have a number of students joining us today who did extremely
well on the Advanced Placement biology exams last year,” said Mayor
Michael Bloomberg at the ceremony.

The students scored a three or higher out of a possible five last
May on the exam, making Brooklyn Tech number one in the nation for
black students excelling on this test.

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