Hepcat and I had a nice dinner after OSFO’s parent-teacher conference last night at the Second Street Cafe on Seventh Avenue and 2nd Street.

The well-run restaurant is owned by two locals with lots of experience in the restaurant business.

We haven’t had dinner in there in ages. We’ve been there for breakfast and lunch but not dinner. Seems that there’s a new menu (about a year old) with lots of choices.

For dinner, they offer an extensive menu of sandwiches, entrees, green market entrees and specials. They also have a deal where you can order four interesting side/appetizer type dishes for $12.00.

That’s what I had. It was so fun to order. I had Chicken Satay, Crab Cakes, Brussel Sprouts and Mashed Potatoes.

It arrived on a large, white rectangular plate and was beautifully presented. Almost like a sushi platter but with Second Street comfort food.

Hepcat had venison with delicious potatoes and turnips, which he enjoyed.

The Second Street has an extensive wine list.

Simone Dinnerstein (left), the daughter of Park Slope fine artist, Simon Dinnerstein and educator, Renee Dinnerstein will perform this Sunday November 19th at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was featured recently on WQXR:

Named in a September article The New York Times as one of five artists "on the cusp of promising futures," Brooklyn pianist Simone Dinnerstein is presented this Sunday afternoon in the "Accolades for Pianists" series at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ms. Dinnerstein’s program comprises works by Bach, Beethoven, Schumann and Copland. It’s program of works with depth and substance, much like Ms. Dinnerstein herself, as WQXR’s  Jeff Spurgeon discovered in this conversation with her. Click
here to listen this interview in MediaPlayer.

November 19, 2006

Simone Dinnerstein

Copland Piano Variations
Schumann Kinderszenen, Opus
15
Beethoven Sonata No. 32 in C
Minor, Opus 111
Bach—French Suite No. 5

Call 212-570-3949 for tickets.

Only New York recital


3:00 p.m.
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
Single Tickets: $20

I ran into a friend on Seventh Avenue who was walking with his little four-year-old boy. The child is a student at the Park Slope Childcare Collective, a school located in the Seventh Avenue church that recently had a fire.

Somehow I didn’t put two and two together.

Seems that the school had to relocate because the church is being renovated. Luckily, quite a few local institutions, including Old First Reformed and PS 321 have made space for the PSCC kids and teachers.

What a drag for parents of kids to have this kind of disruption during a school year. Pre-school is a hard enough transition for little two, three, and four-year-olds.

The renovation at the church will take six months. The school is currently looking for a temporary space to use until their space is fixed up.

Nice to see that the community reached out to help the collective, a day care that’s been around as long and probably longer than I’ve been in Park Slope.

The child pictured has nothing to do with the PSCC. She was photographed by Hugh Crawford.

This from NY 1:
Although the Stillwell Avenue subway station recently got a
multi-million dollar renovation, trash and graffiti are what greet
visitors to Coney Island once they get to the street. But developers
envision a grand new entrance for the area. Something like a tower of
water with a light show and an observation deck overlooking a
magnificent amusement park.

“It’s this ‘wow’ of an introduction,” explained architect Stanton
Eskstut. “An orientation to everybody that well, you’ve just arrived,
wait until you see what else there is.”

Eskstut has been hired by development company Thor Equities to help
transform ten acres along the Coney Island Boardwalk. Included in the
plans are movie theaters and an indoor water park, and the first major
roller coaster to be built in the city since the Cyclone in 1927. The
ride will take coaster enthusiasts through buildings.

“What we’re sketching right now is to how to bring it into the
water park, bring it around the cinema lobbies, and integrate it around
the carousel,” said Eskstut.

The carousel will be a three-story centerpiece with canopies
overhead and glass walls for use year round. The idea is to change
Coney Island from a seasonal to a year round destination, complete with
hotels, restaurants and stores.

“It’s going to be a place that’s a constant show, where lights,
water, color, and sound is integrated throughout every corner, every
block,” said Eskstut.

Developers say the new park will enhance the landmark rides and
provide a bridge between Keyspan Park on one end of the strip and the
New York Aquarium on the other. The aquarium will soon undergo its own
renovation. By year’s end a committee is expected to choose which of
three designs will become the new exterior for the aquarium.

“The concept behind these designs is to find a way to enhance the
aquarium as the eastern anchor of Coney Island,” said Cynthia Reich of
the NY Aquarium.

Planners for both projects say they will make sure the boardwalk is
incorporated into their plans. Thor Equities said creating its vision
could cost $1.5 billion and wants the approvals process to start early
next year so that construction can begin. The hope is to have a new
amusement park by the year 2011.

Pix by the master himself, Hugh Crawford

There seems to be no end of interest in the pink house on Garfield Place. Does that house have a publicist. This from Sunday’s CIty section of the New York Times.   Personally, I love it because it exemplifies the human need to differentiate oneself from the pack.

The brownstone at 233 Garfield Place in Park Slope has the same
carved wood door as the house next door, at No. 235, and the same
stonework as the house at No. 237. What makes No. 233 unique, as
everyone in the neighborhood well knows by now, is something rather
less subtle: its color.

Or is magenta the word for 233 Garfield Place?

 
   

The house has been pink for
decades — since before the Park Slope Historic District was created in
1973 — but turned a brighter shade a few months ago when its owner,
Bernie Henry, gave it a new coat of paint.

“Now,” said Craig
Hammerman, district manager of Community Board 6, “it’s a really bright
magenta. It used to be a softer, pastel-type pink.”

Ever since
Mr. Henry, who is 90, had the house repainted, it has been a magnet for
reporters and attention-seekers. Neighbors rattle off the names of
local television stations that have sent camera crews, and the house
has even attracted its own tourists, as Anne Joseph, who lives on the
next block, discovered when one of them stopped her partner on the
street.

“He said: ‘We’re driving around; we’re from Staten
Island; where is that pink house?’ ” Ms. Joseph recalled one morning
recently.

As for why the house was painted pink in the first
place, Mr. Henry, reached by phone, shed little light on the matter.
“So what’s wrong with the house?” he said. “I’ve been through that
already. Why are you asking me about it? Get somebody else’s house.”

In
the professional opinion of Ken Herbert, a Manhattan resident who the
other day was sitting on the stoop of a nearby brownstone and who owns
a flooring and painting company that was renovating the neighboring
building, the house is “bubblegum pink,” and is one of the strangest he
has seen. But Mr. Herbert

This from NY 1:

A mailman was robbed while on duty this afternoon in Brooklyn.

It happened just before 3 p.m. in Sheepshead Bay. Postal officials
say someone snuck up on the carrier while he was delivering mail on
foot and grabbed two bundles and ran off. The mailman was not injured.

Postal inspectors are investigating, but so far they have not released any details about the suspect. 

THREE GREAT WRITERS at the Old Stone House. Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets. 8 p.m.

Elissa Schappell is the author of USE ME, which was a finalist for a Pen/Hemingway award. She is co-editor with Jenny Offill of THE FRIEND WHO GOT AWAY and the forthcoming MONEY CHANGES EVERTYTHING. The  co-founder of TIN HOUSE with Rob Spillman and Win McCormick, Elissa also writes the HOT
TYPE column in Vanity Fair.

Ilene Starger, is a poet whose work has appeared in
Bayou, Oyez Review, Georgetown Review, and numerous other magazines.
She was a finalist for the 2005 Ann Stanford Prize.

Darcey Steinke is the author of SUICIDE BLONDE (chosen as a New York Times notable book of the year), UP FROM THE WATER and JESUS SAVES.

Come one, come all. You won’t want to miss this one.

Pitt
told Esquire magazine (October edition) Brangelina nuptuals are on hold until legal restrictions are lifted in the U.S. and
”everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally
able.” So he probably doesn’t want to get married in wax either.  This from the New York Times:

Organizers of a fantasy wedding on the Las Vegas
Strip between Hollywood’s hottest unmarried couple got cold feet.
Madame Tussauds nixed the plan to stage a depiction of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt tying the knot after a representative for Pitt protested, representatives for the actor and the wax museum said Monday.

”I
personally found it a little odd that they were re-creating a wedding
that never really happened,” said Cindy Guagenti, Los Angeles-based
spokeswoman for Pitt. ”As Brad’s representative, I found it
disturbing.”

Adrian Jones, general manager of the wax museum at
the Venetian resort, said in a statement that the decision was made to
not cross the stars.

”Since Madame Tussauds enjoys excellent
relationships with the celebrity community, we made our own decision
not to create the wedding scene,” he said.

The Brangelina wedding had been scheduled Wednesday to mark the unveiling of a Jolie wax figure. Pitt’s already got one.

The scene would have had wax figures of George Clooney,
standing in as best man, and the Rev. Robert Schuller, pastor and
president of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif., officiating.

Wax witnesses would have included the likenesses of the likes of Elvis, Liberace, John Wayne, Bugsy Siegel, Frank Sinatra, Ben Affleck and Luciano Pavarotti.

Instead, Jolie’s wax figure will be introduced Wednesday, without the wedding bells.

Guagenti
said Pitt was unaware of Madame Tussauds’ plans. He and Jolie were with
their three children in Mumbai, India, where Jolie is filming a movie
about slain journalist Daniel Pearl.

Looks like Kiwi, the Seventh Avenue dress shop, is set to re-open in its new space today or tomorrow. I saw the Kiwi ladies pushing a clothing rack up Seventh Avenue from their old shop on Seventh near Berkeley to their new space where Soundtrack used to be (on Seventh Avenue between Carroll and President).

The opening of a new shop on Seventh Avenue is such a big deal. Especially if it’s not a real estate firm. The windows are always covered with brown paper to enhance the suspense.

Ooooh. What kind of store is this going to be? What’s it going to look like?  Ooooh.

Seventh Avenue is our urban theater. We all walk up and down that street so often, it’s like being tuned to the same channel and there’s a new show.

Oooooh.

Word has it that Kiwi is spending upwards of $8000 per month on rent. That’s a lot of moola. They are a popular store and they’ve already moved from a side street to the main drag. This move could be the tipping point for them. I hope they don’t have to raise their already heady prices.

Everyone I knows likes their clothing especially their corderoy pants and sweaters. They’re local designers and entrepreneurs so we’re happy about that. My one complaint, they’re a little pushy when you walk in. I like to shop very quietly with very little interaction (I am very self conscious when I shop).

One friend said they always say that whatever she tries on looks FANTASTIC. But knowing her, it probably does look FANTASTIC.

Whatever. Shop and support local talent. Good luck Kiwi ladies in your new digs. 

Something clicked at Liberty Heights Tap Room Saturday afternoon as all four teen bands played their hearts out and each presented a very unique sound. The New York Times was there so expect a piece in the Style section soon. With pictures. This scene isn’t just cute anymore. These are talented kids, who are taking their music very seriously. Impressario Steve DiPatula seemed stoked – he genuinely likes to support the kids who have made his stage their home away from home.

Cool and Unusual: In their longest set ever, they were tight and melodic. They alternated between their  polyrhythmic  instrumentals and complex, well-crafted originals. The vocals were spot-on and the bass and drums were, as always, cool and unusual. Highlights included: 2L, the Test, Rain Song and the Odyssey. They brought back an old favorite cover,  "Where is My Mind" which sounded great.

Dulaney Banks: Think Janis Joplin singing with Robert Johnson and you’ll get some idea of this incredible vocal and blues guitar duo (Kane Balser and Julia Banks Harris). Handpicked work songs from Alan Lomax’s collection, lots of blues, some originals and a really dirgey, down and dirty,  "Me and Bobby McGee."

Fiasco: In a 40 minute instrumental set, they improvised like free jazzers banging, strumming, picking, reverbing and changing instruments. Quite impressive the way they held it together and held the attention of the audience.

Jet Lag: An edgy Jimi Hendrix vibe with the intense and lanky Luca Balser on vocals. He even played piano at one point. With tight bass, drums, and guitar, they are good to go as one of the new major bands in this thriving teen scene.