Civics and Urban Life

BROOKLYN MATTERS SCREENING IN FT. GREENE

1 Comment

Screening February 21. 7pm That’s this Wednesday night.
Presented by: Fort Greene Association and Society for Clinton Hill.

Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School
357 Clermont Avenue
(btwn Greene & Lafayette) [Map]

The film will be preceded by a reception and followed by a panel discussion.

Panelists (all in the film):
Tom Angotti
Director of the Hunter College Center for Community Planning & Development
Editor of Progressive Planning Magazine.

Bob Law
Activist, Entrepreneur

Ron Shiffman, FAICP, Hon.AIA
Professor, Pratt Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment
New York City Planning Commissioner [1990-1996]

Praise for Brooklyn Matters
“It
can be difficult to clearly communicate to the public the relevant
details and urgency of such a complex and fraught project. For this
reason, Brooklyn Matters is particularly welcome; the film is a clarion call on an issue of great significance.”
-Richard Moe, National Trust for Historic Preservation

“Brooklyn Matters
is a remarkable film that slowly, quietly, calmly reveals the extreme
ugliness at the heart of one of the most ill-conceived mega-development
schemes in New York history.”
-Francis Morrone, Architectural Historian

Civics and Urban Life

BLACK DONNELLYS IRISH CRIME DRAMA ON NBC

4 Comments

Got this email from someone at NBC. It’s about a new show. It’s going to go on after OTBKB fave Heroes. I guess it’s replacing Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (which we liked flaws and all).

Since your blog covers news and events in Brooklyn , I wanted to let you know about a new show called Black Donnellys that will be premiering Monday February 26 on NBC at 10 pm EST! You might have seen or heard about this show being filmed at locations around the city.

Black Donnellys is a crime drama set and filmed completely in New York City . It is the story of four Irish brothers and how their relationships are tested as they get more involved in the world of organized crime. The show is very reminiscent to a younger version of HBO’s hit show “Sopranos” with a camaraderie similar to the guys from HBO’s “Entourage.”

I noticed that you like the O.C., so wanted to share with you that Olivia Wilde who starred on the show as Alex Kelly (Marissa’s lover) also stars in Black Donnellys. Her character, Jenny Reilly, is the love interest of one of the Donnelly brothers.

The show was written and produced by Bobby Moresco and Paul Haggis, the award-winning team behind “Crash” and “Million Dolllar Baby”. The story was inspired by Bobby Moresco’s experiences growing up in Hell’s Kitchen.

 

 

Civics and Urban Life

WINTER FESTIVAL ALL WEEK IN PROSPECT PARK

1 Comment

VACATION WEEK AND YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO? JOIN THE CLUB

Winter Festival in Prospect Park: Kids are invited to check out a nature film fest at the Audubon Center, play historic indoor games at the Lefferts Historical House, and skate the days away at the Wollman Rink.

The Audubon Center at the Boathouse and Lefferts Historic House are open 12 – 4 p.m. all week. The Tennis Center is open 7a.m. – midnight.

The Wollman Rink is open on February 19 through 22 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., and from 2 – 6 p.m; on February 23, you can skate from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.

New York 1

NEW JERSEY BECOMES THIRD STATE TO OFFER CIVIL UNIONS FOR GAY COUPLES

5 Comments

This from AM New York:

For gay couples and gay rights activists, it figures to be a day of celebration and lament. With the law in place, New Jersey is becoming one of just five states to offer all the legal benefits of marriage to gay partners.

The state, though, stopped short of calling the institutions marriage.

Civil unions emerged in New Jersey out of four years of litigation and a whirlwind few weeks of political dealmaking late last year.

In October, the state Supreme Court ruled that gay couples in the state were constitutionally entitled to all the benefits of marriage, but left it up to lawmakers to decide the details.

Instead of following Massachusetts, the only state that now allows gay couples to marry, the state Legislature chose to offer civil unions, as Vermont and Connecticut permit.

At least few hundred of the state’s estimated 20,000 gay couples _ those who have civil unions or marriages from other states or nations that allow them _ were automatically considered to be in civil unions in New Jersey at 12:01 a.m. Monday.

Joan Hervey and Linda Geczi of Plainfield went to Canada to get married. For them, the recognition in New Jersey is mixed _ Hervey was glad to be getting the benefits of marriage, but is disappointed that New Jersey doesn’t consider them married.

“It’s just weird,” Hervey said. “It’s a weird place to be.”

The first civil union ceremonies were scheduled for the first minutes of Monday morning, when couples who have civil unions or marriages from elsewhere could reaffirm them in New Jersey.

At least one couple was planning such a ceremony. Steven Goldstein, the chairman of the gay political group Garden State Equality, and his partner Daniel Gross became the first gay couple featured on the wedding pages of The New York Times.

In 2002, the Teaneck couple had a wedding ceremony in Canada and a civil union ceremony in Vermont.

Goldstein said that even though he and Gross would have the benefits of a civil union in New Jersey because of their Vermont union, it might simplify matters in an emergency to have a certificate from New Jersey as well.

For couples who are not already in civil unions, there is a 72-hour waiting period after applying for a license _ just like with weddings.

Town halls in Asbury Park and Lambertville _ both communities known for welcoming gay residents _ were planning to open at midnight Sunday so couples could apply for licenses in time for ceremonies scheduled for early Thursday.

“It doesn’t necessarily matter to be first,” said Thomas Mannix of Asbury Park, who was planning one of the early morning ceremonies for Thursday with Kevin Pilla, his partner since 1983. “What is important is we want to take advantage of what’s being offered.”

The arrival of civil unions does not figure to end the debate over whether New Jersey should allow gay couples to marry, or even all the implications of civil unions themselves.

Some mayors, including Steve Lonegan of Bogota, have said they won’t perform civil union ceremonies. The state Attorney General’s Office says mayors can get out of performing the ceremonies if they don’t do any weddings, but if they take all wedding requests, they must take them from gay couples as well. Those who are picky about which weddings they perform are in a legal gray area, the state says.

Gay rights advocates say that making civil unions marriages would alleviate much of that confusion.

Conservative activists, though, are circulating petitions aimed at persuading lawmakers to amend the state constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. Voters would be required to have a say before the constitution can be amended.

Gay rights advocates, meanwhile, are promising to push the Legislature to allow gay couples to marry. Some are also considering filing lawsuits asking state courts to find that civil unions do not go far enough toward ensuring equal treatment for gay couples

Civics and Urban Life

A BROOKLYN LIFE DOES SOME HOUSEKEEPING

Nice new logo and a bit of housekeeping over at A Brooklyn Life. She calls it Sidebar fun.

So it’d been a while since I’d paid attention to my sidebar links, and today I got a proverbial bee in my bonnet. I’v broken the Brooklyn links into two categories: Goo Brooklyn and Good Brooklyn Lives. The first set linking t more neighborhood-focused blogs, the second linking to th many fascinating lives people live in Brooklyn.

EDUCATION

CITY COUNCIL TASK FORCE NEEDS YOUR HELP

City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn has convened a Middle School Task Force to develop a blueprint for improving NYC’s middle schools.

Task Force members
represent key stakeholders in the Middle School system: Students, Parents, Teachers, administrators and advocates.

The Task Force needs your input as to how middle schools need to be improved. Please tell us what you think at http://www.nyccouncil.info/middleschools/sendcomments.cfm

For more information or to receive updates about the Middle School Task Force, please
visit www.nycmiddleschools.org

BROOKLYN READING WORKS

THREE WRITERS, THREE INTERESTING STORIES: BROOKLYN READING WORKS

Brooklyn Reading Works this Thursday at 8 p.m. Three Writers, Three Interesting Stories. The Old Stone House Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets.

CARLA THOMPSON,  an award-winning freelance writer and filmmaker, invites readers to travel the clay and paved roads of Montgomery, Alabama in her first book, a memoir, Bearing Witness: Not So Crazy in Alabama.

In Bearing Witness: Not So Crazy in Alabama, the Harlem native meets an itty bitty beauty queen, a redemptive ex-con, and a wheelchair-bound quiz kid among others and discovers that the American South is a complex intersection of race and class filled with people who go about the business of living the best way they can.

BRANKA RUZAK was born and raised in the steel and rubber belt of northeastern Ohio, the youngest daughter of Croatian and Slovenian immigrants. Her passion for words and music was sparked as a child, where she spent many hours listening to her father’s stories and playing Croatian folk music in his tamburitza orchestra. Her current studies in Hindusthani classical music, as well as her enthusiasm for Indian novels, textiles and a good cup of chai have taken Branka further afield to India. Always an avid traveler, her essays and poems are journeys to different times and different places. Her essays “Hungry Heart” and “Mothballs: A Chemical Memory” is from a growing collection of writings about family, culture and travel..

MRS. CLEAVAGE,  author of the blog MRS CLEAVAGE’S DIARIES, is a single mother who lives in  a cluttered apartment in East New York. She is saucy, opinionated, creative, and a smarty-pants – not necessarily in that order. Her blog is her story, live and unedited from Brooklyn.

New York Times

RECORD MART IN TIMES SQAURE STATION COMING BACK

Remember that cool record store that used to be in the Times Square subway station blaring latin music during rush hour (and other times, too)? Well, after eight years, it’s coming back to the station. Just the other day I was reminiscing about that record store. I for one am glad it’s coming back. Here’s the story from the New York Times.

A lot of things have changed since 1999, when a legendary store that sold Latin music in the Times Square subway station shut down to make way for a major station renovation, but few things have changed as drastically as the music business.

So it is with a noteworthy combination of bravado, recklessness, nostalgia and faith in the future that the store, once a mecca of Latin music that drew aficionados from around the world, plans to reopen this spring after an absence of eight years.

The signs announcing the store’s revival appeared this month on a shuttered storefront inside the station, and to old customers who had never forgotten, it was like hearing a favorite song from long ago: “The return of Record Mart!” the signs trumpeted. “(That store in the subway.)”

Civics and Urban Life

NO LAND GRAB: ON ‘FOOTPRINTS’ SHOW

No Land Grab ran this piece about the Footprints show at the Brooklyn Public Library which is causing lots of controversy about what it left out. Read more here.

Since when is “hagiography” on par with pornography? We’re not sure, but we know it when we see it.

The controversy over the Brooklyn Public Library’s possible censorship of the Footprints art exhibit now turns to Jay Kaplan, director of the Brooklyn Public Library’s programs and exhibitions. According to The New York Times, Kaplan “called the rejected painting of Mr. Goldstein ‘hagiographic.’” This makes us wonder if Kaplan has taken a casual glance at the current Footprints exhibit.

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines hagiography as “biography of saints or venerated persons.” Wikipedia’s explanation begins by stating plainly, “Hagiography is the study of saints.”

Hanging in the main gallery of the Central Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library is the most blatantly hagiographic portrait of the entire original “Footprints” collection, the oil painting of Joseph Pastore by Claire Wieting (click image to enlarge). Pastore, a 62-year-old retiree, is a 40-year resident of Dean Street and a plaintiff in the eminent domain lawsuit against the City and State of NY and developer Forest City Ratner. Earlier this month, his photo ran on the cover of the commuter daily AM New York, where he was featured with three other property owners who have held out against Ratner’s attempts to take their property for the arena-housing complex called “Atlantic Yards.”

Postcard from the Slope

PEEK-A-BOO KIDS RELOCATES

3 Comments

Peek-a-Boo Kids has moved into its new location on Seventh Avenue on the corner of Berkeley Place. The children’s shoe emporium, which also carries a full supply of Kitano baby and toddler ware, is in a smaller storefront now but it’s a much more attractive setting for their cheerful and colorful wares.

Natural light pouring in, the shop looks much more like a Park Slope-style children’s store now. The old shop just didn’t have much character. But they did have a great selection of shoes. The clothing leaned toward the European and pricey — and a little fancy.

It seems that in the new, smaller shop they’re going to emphasize the shoes and the Kitano selection, a very winning combination.

Civics and Urban Life

JET BLUE CEO SPEAKS

2 Comments

This from the New York Times:

The founder and chief executive of JetBlue Airways, his voice cracking at times, called himself “humiliated and mortified” by a huge breakdown in the airline’s operations that has dragged on for nearly a week, and promised that in the future JetBlue would pay penalties to customers if they were stranded on a plane for too long.

David G. Neeleman said in a telephone interview yesterday that his company’s management was not strong enough. And he said the current crisis, which has led to about 1,000 cancelled flights in five days, was the result of a shoestring communications system that left pilots and flight attendants in the dark, and an undersized reservation system. Until now, JetBlue and its low fares have enjoyed overwhelming popularity and customer satisfaction ratings.

Smartmom

SMARTMOM: IT’S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN

2 Comments

Here’s this week’s Smartmom from the Brooklyn Paper:

Snow was in the forecast. Valentine’s Day was coming (it’s Hepcat’s
least-favorite Hallmark holiday). And in the middle of everything,
Smartmom found out that one of her paying projects has been
substantially downsized.

Smartmom has the blues and she’s got ’em bad.

Yeah. Yeah. One door opens and another one closes. But try telling
that to Smart Tuition when it comes calling for the $3,500 she still
owes for Teen Spirit’s Bay Ridge Prep schooling.

Not to mention the stack of bills on the dining room table mingling
with last night’s dirty dinner plates that she couldn’t bring herself
to clean.

And Buddha forbid that Hepcat pick up a dirty plate and take it to
the kitchen sink (forget putting it in the dishwasher — that would be
beyond the beyond).

And don’t even get her started on OSFO or Teen Spirit.

She’s asked them again and again to remember to clear the table. But
far be it from those entitled sycophants to be considerate of Smartmom
on her worst night in months.

Obviously, Smartmom is feeling very Rodney Dangerfield-like at the
moment. She don’t get no respect from her kids or her husband. Truth
is, she don’t get no respect from nobody. Life sucks and she can’t take
it anymore.

Slow down, Smartmom. You’re getting a little carried away. It’s not like anyone is having such a good time these days.

Take Mrs. Cleavage. Last month she was laid off from her job as an executive assistant at a high-powered non-profit.

She sobbed all the way home on the 2 train.

“What a nightmare. I hate public displays, but I could not keep it
together,” she told Smartmom over white chocolate cake at the Cocoa Bar.

When Mrs. Cleavage, a single mom, got home, she called her
therapist. “He now stands even less of a chance of being paid for his
services. I sobbed through that phone call.”

Then there’s Smartmom’s friend, Tall and Lanky, whose daughter was
injured in a school circus arts class and had to spend two days in the
pediatric ICU with a spleen injury.

And Divorce Diva’s life makes Smartmom’s travails look like a day at
Canyon Ranch. Last month, she broke her foot walking down the stairs
and has been on crutches ever since.

Then, she discovered that she and her daughter were infested with
head lice. After two $300 visits from the Orthodox Jewish Ladies Lice
Brigade (www.licebusters­nyc.com), they are lice free. To make matters
worse, her daughter contracted pinkeye — from her stepsister no less.

Just when she thought things were getting better, her 10-year-old cockatiel, Jackie, got deathly ill.

Saturday night after midnight, Divorce Diva placed Jackie in her
grandmother’s sewing basket and took Eastern Car Service to the Animal
Medical Center’s emergency room in Manhattan. The beloved cockatiel was
dead by 11 am.

Rest in peace, Jackie.

So Smartmom should stop her bellyaching. In the scheme of things, it
could be worse. She could have a broken limb, a head full of lice, a
child with a spleen injury or a hysterical crying jag on the subway.

But life is not a game of comparative misery. We all get to be as nasty as we wanna be. No matter how bad or good the reason.

And Smartmom really doesn’t have a good reason. She’s got two great
kids — who refuse to use the hamper and leave their clothing on the
bathroom floor.

She’s healthy — even if can’t bare to look at the bathroom scale anymore and seems incapable of going running in the park.

She’s got a wonderful husband — who comes home late from work, walks straight
to his computer, and continues working until the wee hours of the
morning. Plus he probably forgot to give her a Valentine’s Day gift
(really, what’s so hard about going to the Clay Pot?).

Lastly, she loves what she does — but she’s not making enough money.
And she needs an agent. And she has all these aspirations, all these
goals and sometimes she doesn’t know how to go about meeting them.

Truthfully, the best thing Smartmom has going in her life right now
is the new high-definition, flat-screen TV on which she and Hepcat
spent too much money and on which she watches re-runs of her new
favorite show, “Scrubs.”

Yes, all is right with the world when Dr. Perry Cox, the
curmudgeonly, caring, and wildly funny John McGinley, rants about
everything that’s wrong with his life, the residents he oversees, and
the quality of care at the surreal Sacred Hearts Hospital.

Smartmom can relate. Life sucks. What can you say. “Scrubs” is a really great show. You should watch it sometime.

Postcard from the Slope

PRESIDENT’S DAY ON MONDAY

In honor of President’s Day a number of businesses and services will be closed Monday.

–Financial markets, banks, government offices, and schools will be closed.

–There will also be no regular mail delivery or garbage and recycling pickup.

–Alternate side parking rules are suspended, which should give those still digging out of the snow a break.

–Because of the holiday, subways and buses are running on a weekend schedule.

Postcard from the Slope

MORE HEPCAT ON CARS AND PARKING

Hepcat feels vindicated. Actually, I made that up. But he does think that Bloomberg’s decision to cancel all parking tickets from the day after the Valentine’s Day snowstorm was reasonable. Very reasonable. And it shows that Bloomberg is listening to his 311 calls.

Because there were a lot of pissed off people.

Hepcat grew up in California on a 300 acre farm. They never throw out cars on that farm. His uncle kept a barn full 1959 Chevrolets. "He had about 60 of those Chevy’s with the big monster fins on them," Hepcat says.

His other uncle kept a barn full of Porsches. Hepcat is a Porsche man.

So, parking wasn’t much of an issue for Hepcat’s family. But after being in New York for almost 30 years, he is starting to get used to alternate side of the street parking. "It’s very annoying but they do need to clean the streets."

Hepcat likes cars a lot. But he thinks that they’re more interesting as cultural artifacts than as transportation. This surprises me as he’s traveled cross country by car more than twenty times.

Thing is, he just doesn’t like driving in New York. Consequently, the only time he uses the car is for moving things that are too heavy to carry (like Teen Spirit’s mega bass amp) or leaving town. And he also uses the car to move it to the other side of the street every week or so.

We almost never use the car to get around Brooklyn. That’s what car service’s are for. And subways and buses, of course.

Postcard from the Slope

JET BLUE MAY HAVE LOST A LOT OF FANS

3 Comments

I am a huge Jet Blue fan — and I’ve been very vocal about it. So you can imagine my confusion  about their  lousy performance during the Valentine’s Day snowstorm. How dare they act like a regular airline?

Full disclosure: my downstair’s neighbor, Phizz was one of those stuck at the airport on Friday. She, too, is a huge Jet Blue fan. She flies out to California frequently. Heck, she’s practically bi-coastal. I’m guessing she didn’t make it to California, yet. I hope she does. I’m wondering how she feels about Jet Blue now.  Phizz? 

Sure, I’ve heard about other airlines trapping passengers in planes on the tarmac for hours and hours — but Jet Blue always seemed above all that. Jet Blue was the alt airline, the airline that really tried to empathize with their passengers, the airline that was thinking outside of the box and doing things right. What happened? Are they getting too big for their blue britches and beginning to act like other airlines?

I am curious to see their attempt at damage control. My fantasy is that they’re working around the clock to figure out ways to avoid something like this happening again. They were the airline that locked the cockpit door after 9/11 and gave out free hand lotion and other fun things from  Bliss after the liquid bomb scare.

Let’s see what they do now.

Postcard from the Slope

CLUB LOCO: FOR TEEN’S ONLY

1 Comment

They are oh-so-serious at Club Loco about not letting adults, especially parents, into the well-supervised shows at Old First Church on Seventh Avenue at Carroll Street.

Wouldn’t you know — Smartmom wanted to be a fly on the wall. She wanted to see how many people had gathered at Old First Church  for the second teen-only music event.

The bouncer asked for my I.D. Then he realized his mistake. I was told no adults allowed.

I knew that. I was so busted. But, but, but: I just want to see my son’s band. Plus he’s part of the organizing committee of these  events (and I’m just a proud mom).

Really, I was just curious. And you know what happened to that cat. I got to eavesdrop on the concert for like five minutes and then I had to go.

They had a big crowd and I bet the music by Dulaney Banks, Cool and Unusual, and The Floor is Lava! sounded great.

I wouldn’t know.  Next event for teens only: MARCH 24th. 7:30 p.m. High School I.D. required for entry.

Postcard from the Slope

THE COMMUNITY BOOKSTORE NEEDS OUR HELP

The other day, Catherine Bohne, the owner of the Community Bookstore, explained to me the dire straits that her bookstore is in.  The situation is far worse than I imagined. The store, located on Seventh Avenue between Carroll and President Street, is seriously under-financed and things cannot go on this way.

There was, however, a silver lining to her story. 

And that’s what Catherine wanted to tell me the day she pulled me aside to talk. Catherine has reached out to the community she loves for help. And they have heeded her call.

Many neighbors and friends are meeting next week to put their heads together and brainstorm about the financial future of the bookstore. Some good financial heads have been brought in already and there is hope that help, in the form of a "thinking outside of the box" financial plan, is on the way.

Hey, this is Park Slope. We can do anything.

A more recent missive from Catherine reflects her growing optimism that the store can be saved. In it she writes, "This store isn’t going to die…there is simply too much love.

I want to remind Catherine that there is no shame in reaching out for help. Many a great New York independent bookseller has had to reach out to the book-buying public. The city is littered with the skeletons of fabulous independent bookstores that are no more. Books and Co. a glorious bookshop on Madison Avenue next door to the Whitney Museum, comes to mind. Let’s not let the Community Bookstore suffer a similar fate.

If you are interested in helping the Community Bookstore (or even investing money) email me at louise_crawford@yahoo.com

Civics and Urban Life

YOU GOTTA LOVE THE COMMUNITY BOOKSTORE

How can you NOT love a bookstore that has a Jewish Philosophy Reading Club and a Underappreciated Book Club? Come on.

 

Tuesday, February 20, at 8pm:

 

Jewish Philosophy Book Club: Martin Buber‘s I and Thou

 

 Please join us at the next Jewish Philosophy Book Club meeting, where we’ll be discussing Martin Buber‘s I and Thou . Written in 1923 and immediately recognized as a classic, I and Thou
has had such a profound influence in the field that almost every Jewish
philosopher since Buber is compelled to address his ideas in one way or
another.  It should make for interesting discussion. Everyone is welcome. 

 

 

 

Wednesday, February 21, at 7:30pm:

 

Unappreciated Book Club: D. H. Lawrence‘s The Lost Girl

 

An interesting Lawrencian journey of self-discovery and (no surprise) sexual awakening, The Lost Girl has not received nearly the same kind of critical attention as many of his other novels….  Until now! The
Unappreciated Book Club will convene to discuss the merits of this lost
classic, and perhaps to sip a little wine and enjoy some pleasing
conversation as well.  All are welcome.  

 

 

 

Any questions, please email me at joshua.milstein@ gmail.com . Hope to see you there!  

Postcard from the Slope

PS 321 MOURNS JIM FERRETTI: A GOOD, GOOD MAN

2 Comments

PS 321 mourns Jim Ferretti, staff computer specialist, AV-guy and essential person at PS 321. He died on Valentine’s Day of heart failure. He leaves behind his wife, Leslie Ferretti, a retired PS 321 teacher and ceramicist, and his son, Michael.

“Jim’s impact on our community is enormous and full of love and goodness,” says Marge Raphelson, the Parent Coordinator at PS 321.

He will be remembered by thousands of teachers, administrators, kids and parents, who appreciated his generosity of spirit, and can-do attitude during the many years he was associated with the school.

Jim started working at PS 321 in the fall of 1993 as a parent volunteer. When the school received a large donation of computers from A.I. Corp, they needed someone who understood how to assemble them. “Jim came and gently took over…I turned the basement workshop over to him—lock, stock and barrel,” recalls Mary Sue Lindley, who runs PS 321’s Computer Lab.

Born August 23rd 1949, Jim was a regular guy who loved children almost as much as he loved fixing and building things. When he was younger “he always had grease under his nails and car motors in the middle of his room,” remembers Francesca Pope, a friend and PS 321 parent, in a note posted on a school bulletin board.

In recent years he built a pottery studio for his wife and was always happy to lend a  hand when friends and family needed help with their computers.

Jim was also the person responsible for the annual slide shown shown at the fifth grade graduation, probably the most touching feature of the graduation ceremony.

He was also a musician remembered for his artistry on the 12-string guitar.  As recently as Saturday afternoon, he played a show celebrating the 40th anniversary of the school with Frank McGarry, Bill Fullbrecht, and other teachers.

As parents learned about Jim’s death, they gathered in the Parents Office to share their memories. He was a good, good man,” Raphelson said. "He was so modest with a quiet kindness. He’d never say no and he could fix just about anything.”

Civics and Urban Life

FEDS TRY TO STOP STARRETT CITY SALE

This from NY 1:

The federal housing secretary was in Brooklyn Friday where he vowed to
keep housing affordable at the Starrett City complex.

Alphonso Jackson says he’ll review the recent sale of the complex
to see whether it threatens the city’s low-income housing market.

“The Statue of Liberty does not have engraved the words well-off, high-income, or six figure [salaries],” said Jackson.

It is up to the Department of Housing and Urban Development to step
in and reverse the sale of the East New York housing complex.

"This country made a commitment to places like Starrett City," said
Jackson. "This is a commitment that has been honored for the entre 30
year existance of Starrett City and I ,for one, will not pull back
now."

Critics believe new owner Clipper Equity has to have a plan to
price out tenants or it won’t be able to make a profit off the $1.3
billion purchase of the complex.

The new owners say they’re committed to preserving affordable housing.

State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo also says the main buyer, David
Bistricer, has a State Supreme Court injunction against him, barring
him from certain real estate transactions for life. Cuomo plans to
enforce this injunction.

"This purchaser has a long and troubled history in housing and a
record of tenant abuse that goes back over a decade," said Cuomo.

In a statement, a lawyer for Clipper Equities says Bistricer is allowed to sell units on a case-by-case basis.

Many residents of the complex are embracing the support of local
politicians like Cuomo and Senator Charles Schumer, and encouraging
them to continue their efforts.

“Please try to keep the building,” said 85-year-old resident Lessie Everett.

Starrett City is the largest federally-subsidized housing development in the country.

Postcard from the Slope

WANTED ARECIBO: BUT I REACHED THE KRAVITZ’S BY MISTAKE

Friday I was trying to get a car service for my son to get to his school in Bay Ridge. Eastern Car Service wasn’t answering their phone — which usually means they are super busy.

So I decided to call Arecibo, the next best car service in Park Slope. I am one of those people who remembers phone numbers for years and years.

I haven’t called Arecibo in more than a year but the number came to me. They picked up right away.

"Hello," the dispacther said.

"I need a car," I said.

"I don’t have a car. Mine is stuck in the snow. I can’t drive it,"

And I’ve just reached my downstair’s neighbor, Mr. Kravitz, by mistake. Oops. I guess I’m not so great at remembering phone numbers anymore.

I coulda sworn that was Arecibo’s number. Their number really is:
718-783-6465 (it’s nothing like the Kravitz’s phone number).

PS I ended up calling Eastern and they picked up.

Civics and Urban Life

NO PARKING TICKETS FOR THURSDAY SNOW DAY

This from NY1:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made an about-face on parking tickets issued to drivers whose cars were stuck in the snow after Wednesday’s storm.

The city has now decided to forgive all alternate side parking tickets for Thursday, and Friday.

The mayor’s decision to keep alternate side parking rules in effect following the snow storm drew serious criticism. Many drivers argued the ice and snow made it nearly impossible to dig their cars out.

The mayor said Thursday that moving cars was important for the plows to do their job.

"In retrospect, in some parts of the city, there was not that much snow and in other parts there probably was an imposition,” the mayor said on his morning radio show today. “We did get a lot of calls and listened very carefully to what the Sanitation Department heard, what our community assistance unit heard, we took a look at the call that came in to 311 and … this morning I instructed the Department of Finance to waive any Alternate Side of the Street parking tickets for yesterday and today."

Before this news spread, many New Yorkers worked hard Friday to dig their cars out of the snow.

"I wish I had known this morning, then I could have went to my knitting circle and not spent the last half hour digging out which was really hard," said one driver, Monica Gutierrez.

“It makes no sense,” said another driver, Harry Youssios. “It’s obvious people can’t take their cars out of the snow. Why wouldn’t they suspend the parking?”

Tickets issued on Wednesday during the storm still have to be paid.

Tickets from today and yesterday will be automatically taken out of the city’s computer

Civics and Urban Life

NORMAN ODER ON BROOKLYN FOOTPRINTS SHOW AT LIBRARY

Norman Oder was none too pleased with the "Brooklyn Footprints" show at the Brooklyn Public Library. See here:

The “Footprints” controversy: omission of work less disturbing than lack of captions
I found the newly re-mounted “Brooklyn Footprints” exhibition at the Brooklyn Public Library dismaying, but not so much because the library rejected some politically-charged pieces and claimed, disingenously, “Our interest in this exhibition is in documentation, not advocacy.”

(The New York Observer broke the censorship story, which has been followed up by NoLandGrab, Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) and the Brooklyn Paper, among others. Is it censorship? Probably in part.)

Even more disturbingly, the library exhibition lacks footnotes that link the artwork to the inevitable political context regarding the proposed Atlantic Yards footprint. There are no descriptive captions, so the “documentation” is quite sketchy. For the relatively few who can see more into the photos, drawings, and paintings, that’s not a problem; for everyone else, it is.

Even for those of us in the know, Conor McGrady’s drawing (right) seems oblique. In a caption, he contends: “These drawings refer to the removal process at the core of the Atlantic Yards re-development."

Serving Park Slope and Beyond