In Wednesday’s New York Times, Forest City Ratner tried to put a positive spin on Tuesday night’s  contentious hearing at the New York School of Technology in downtown Brooklyn. "I think it’s a wonderful discussion that we’re having," said James P.
Stuckey, Forest City Ratner’s executive vice president for development,
who spoke to reporters outside the hearing. "Given that there’s been so
much discussion about the public process, and so much discussion about
whether or not people are going to be heard – here we are tonight, and
hundreds of people have come out to be heard."

Yah. If Forest City Ratner is willing to modify and streamline their mega-development plan for downtown Brooklyn than discussions like this one will prove to be worthwhile. But if it’s just an exercise in letting the people be heard while the developers and big money interests do what they will then…it’s a sad state of affairs and a bloody waste of time.

Not surprisingly, things got a tad rambunctious at last night’s public hearing about the environmental impact of a basketball stadium and 17 other buildings in downtown Brooklyn as proposed by Forest City Ratner.

Marty Markowitz, was one of serveral speakers who was shouted down. Markowitz, the borough;’s president and the project’s leading cheerleader described the project as "a
wonderful addition to Brooklyn."

But opponents outnumbered supporters. "If and when ground is broken for this
project, there will be no turning back, no second chances. The
surrounding community will feel its effects for decades." Eric McClure, a member of Park Slope neighbors a group that opposes the project, told the New York Times. "Nothing less than the future of Brooklyn depends on a thorough,
comprehensive and effective environmental review."

There seems to be no end to reasons why the project, as it stands now, is a lousy idea. I happen to love the work of Frank Gehrey, especially his early work in Venice, California and I’d be  thrilled to to have something on the order of the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts (2003) at Bard College in Brooklyn. 

However, I always felt there was something cynical about the way Forest City Ratner packaged their rather overbearing (possibly ruinous) vision for downtown Brooklyn in the fancy wrapping of a Frank Gehrey building. He knew the Frank Gehry name would entice a lot of people around here.   

Of course it would. Gehry is, in my opinion, a really interesting architect. His work would be a welcome addition to any cityscape (and New York City really should get one). But judging by the Atlantic Center and Atlantic Mall, architectural excellence is not Ratner’s main interest. And issues of scale, contextuality, livability, light, and congestion just don’t seem to factor into Ratner’s frame of reference.

Street congestion, asthma and gentrification were only a few of the
concerns raised. One speaker, Alan M. Rosner, said that the planned
arena’s soaring glass walls would endanger pedestrians on the street in
the event of a terrorist attack. Another, Lumi M. Rolley, who has a
blog devoted to the project, raised the issue of "reflected light,"
which she described as an environmental hazard rooted in Mr. Gehry’s
use of titanium panels in his buildings."

This was the first of two planned hearing, last night’s hearing was sponsored by the Empire State Development Corporation, the
agency charged with guiding the Atlantic Yards project along the long
path toward final approval by the state.

MAYOR BLOOMBERG AND CONGRESSMAN OWENS ANNOUNCE THE RECONSTRUCTION OF EASTERN PARKWAY BETWEEN WASHINGTON AVENUE AND GRAND ARMY PLAZA

$5.9 Million Project to Improve Pedestrian Safety and add Landscaping, Lighting, and Benches

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Congressman Major R. Owens today joined Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall, Prospect Park Alliance President Tupper Thomas and Robert Witherwax of the Eastern Parkway Cultural Row Neighborhood to announce a $5.9 million reconstruction of Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway, between Washington Avenue and Grand Army Plaza. The reconstruction plan, developed with the Prospect Park Alliance, will restore Frederick Law Olmsted’s and Calvert Vaux’s vision of a beautifully landscaped median along the Parkway and Prospect Park that affords vistas of Grand Army Plaza.

"The reconstruction of this important stretch of Eastern Parkway will make it significantly safer for pedestrians and motorists and more attractive for residents and visitors alike," said Mayor Bloomberg. "After years of discussion and planning, funding is now in place to begin the process of narrowing some of the roadway and creating a more spacious, beautiful and accessible pedestrian space. I want to especially thank Congressman Major Owens and Tupper Thomas for their commitment and dedication to this important project."

"The proposed renovation will improve the safety and accessibility for pedestrians and bicyclists to three of the most magnificent institutions in Brooklyn: the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Brooklyn Public’s Central Library," said Congressman Owens. "Supporting pedestrian and vehicular safety is crucial for these institutions that are witnessing a renaissance in Brooklyn."

Continue reading PRESS RELEASE ABOUT EASTERN PARKWAY IMPROVEMENTS →

SOUVENIR DE PRINTEMPS, a new recording from Harbinger Records, celebrates the music of Yvonne Printemps, an enormously popular French singer and actress from the 1920’s to the 1940’s.

Born in 1895, Yvonee Printemps was dancing in revues at the Folies Berg

Tuesday, October 18, 6-7 PM, sculptor Ellie Murphy will discuss bioGRAPHY, her site  specific installation  in the Lobby Gallery of the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza.

"In June of 2005, I began to visit each of the 60
libraries of Brooklyn Public Library, starting with the DeKalb library,
closest to my home. I took with me my partner, Simon, and our
4-year-old son Malcolm Edgar Heathcote.

I continued to take Malcolm to
each of the Brooklyn libraries, checking out a book, which I read, and
recording our visit with a photograph of Malcolm. The resulting
sculpture, created from these borrowed materials, is meant to map the
personal experience of one individual in the context of the common
cultural community-fusing the stories we share with the ones that are
ours alone."

I was on Fifth Avenue above 9th Street today: my therapist is up in that vicinity. I didn’t have time to go to 13th street to check out the vacant Salvation Army store but I did see it out of the corner of my eye from 11th Street.

After therapy, I ordered a latte at Cafe Regular and pondered the tragic events of a few weeks ago at the Delores and Alex Beauty Shop next door, where the owner was killed by a jealous lover who then proceeded to shoot himself. A murder suicide, it was a pretty grisly affair; very sad. People crowded across the street the day it happened. I overheard a number of them say that she was a very nice woman. There was a candlelight vigil for her organized by Safe Haven, a local domestic violence group, in front of PS 321 last Friday night.

On my way home from therapy, to decompress, I often stop at Jeans Express, my favorite discount, fashion knock-off clothing store on Fifth. The place pulls me in every time – their stock changes weekly and their prices… Everything in the store is under $24 dollars and most things are between $4.99 and $12.99.

I’ve bought corderoys, yoga pants, t-shirts, pajama bottoms, button down shirts and hippie skirts for me and boxers and socks for my son. If it’s in "vogue," they’ve got it at cut rates.

I struck up a conversation with the young Indian man who is always behind the counter:

"Did you hear that a Gap is coming to Fifth Avenue?" I asked in a near whisper.
"No, I didn’t know that," he said, his eyes lighting up.
"You didn’t hear?" I said excitedly.
"No. Where is it going to be?" he said, clearly very interested.
"on the corner of 13th Street where the old Salvation Army used to be." I said.
"That’s on the other side of the street, right?"
"Yes," I said realizing that he doesn’t get out much from behind the counter if he has to ask where the Salvation Army was."
"Well, that’s good for me. Very good for me. More competition. It’s going to be good for me." he said.

Later at the playground in JJ Byrne Park I met my sister who was pushing Sonya on a swing and hanging out with a good friend who is a real estate broker in the neighborhood.

"Have you heard about the Gap going in on Fifth Avenue?" I said figuring she’d probably have even more info about it.
"I read about it on your blog, heard about it from you. I hope it’s true. I’ve already told a lot of people."
"I have a great source. She lives on 13th Street."
"Did they take the For Sale sign down?" she asked.
"I’m not sure. I tried calling Gap public relations in San Francisco…" 

The conversation trailed off. She thinks I should rent a storefront up there and open a cafe.

I actually did call the Gap corporate offices in San Francisco before my therapy session and asked the receptionsit for the public relations department. She connected me to a voicemail in marketing. It didn’t sound like the right person to talk to about a new location in Brooklyn.

I will call San Franciso later on, maybe tomorrow. As always, will be sure to keep everyone posted.

I haven’t gotten my hands on the new Zagat Survey 2006 nor have I been able to find out if any Brooklyn restaurants made it into the top 50. But thanks to to So New York, I was able to get a preview of what’s in there. It seems that Park Slope’s Applewood, Tempo, and Brooklyn Fish Camp (pictured at left) are mentioned this year.

I’m wondering if The Grocery, Smith Street’s surprise winner from last year was a top contender again this year.  That was the big Brooklyn restaurant excitement last year. And you still can’t get in there on a Friday or Saturday night. -OTBKB

From So New York: On Monday Zagat Survey released its 2006 New York City Restaurants guide. The newly-minted edition contains ratings and reviews for over 2,000 restaurant based on roughly 5.4 million meals eaten by a record 30,911 Zagat surveyors across all five boroughs. In addition, the guide spotlights new trends driving the world’s finest culinary scene:

Big Winners: At the top of the charts are the "world class" Le Bernardin (Top Food for six of the last ten years) and the "magical" Gramercy Tavern (Most Popular for three of the last five years). Daniel placed first for Decor and second for Food. Most dramatically, Thomas Keller’s per se in its first full year vaulted to number three for Food and number one for Service — perhaps justifying Keller’s recent decision to add an automatic 20% gratuity to all tabs. When Food, Decor and Service scores are combined, per se nets the highest overall average of any restaurant.

Restaurant Boom: It was an exceptional year for New York food lovers with 247 noteworthy restaurant openings compared to only 83 closings — the strongest showing since before 9/11. Standing out among the newcomers are devi, The Modern, Alto, BLT Prime, Perry Street and Nobu 57. Moreover, survey participants report that they are eating out more and spending more than they did one year ago. "One of the great joys of being a food loving New Yorker is that the culinary scene is regularly being remade," said Tim Zagat, CEO of Zagat Survey. "There’s a dynamism and creativity in New York that surpasses all of the seventy other major cities where we do surveys."

All Corners of NYC: Dining in the outer-boroughs has continued to soar. Fifth Avenue in Park Slope houses eight impressive newcomers including Applewood, Brooklyn Fish Camp and Tempo. The number of Bronx eateries in the guide has doubled from 12 to 25, in part due to an effort by borough president Adolfo Carrion. As a result, the new guide has added such Bronx standouts as Pasquale’s Rigoletto and Jake’s Steakhouse to the list, which is headed by perennial favorite Roberto’s. Reflecting the improving quality of dining outside Manhattan, nine outer borough restaurants made it into this year’s Top 50 Food rankings.

Continue reading MORE ON ZAGAT AND THE “OUTER BOROUGHS” →

A new show by Brooklyn aritist David Konigsberg is always a cause for celebration. An artist whose paintings and prints I adore, his new show,   OVERLAND, opens at Chelsea’s Allen Sheppard Gallery opening on November 3rd. Well worth the trip to Manhattan.

Allen Sheppard Gallery
530 West 25th Street
3rd Floor
Thursday, November 3, 2005
6-8 PM

Margaret Neill, curator, Kentler International Drawing Space, Brooklyn NY, wrote this about his work, and included him in a 2002 show called "4-Sight."

"David Konigsberg bridges the divide between art and real life in narrative paintings and works on paper that are both objective and conceptual. His style is soft and approachable, and he invites the viewer into an appealing pictorial landscape. Konigsberg comes to his art from the point of view of a writer and brings literary traditions to painting in the form of reoccurring symbols and characters. These take the form of airships, swimmers, men in suits and other figures, acting singly or in groups.

Nature is usually the backdrop, but sometimes it takes center stage in landscapes such as "Field Across the Road" and "Cloud Like Plummeting Sheep." His technique of using creamy paint scumbled over a warm ground is especially evident in works in which image and ground are embedded in an atmospheric space. His use of surface is also apparent in works on paper, including "Farm Rows" and "Snap, with Friend," two monoprints that have been layered with pastel.

Konigsberg’s work occupies a nether world of image and memory in his very personal narratives, which are not meant to be deciphered but experienced as emotional possibilities. As viewers, we become involved in the artist’s drama, a universal one, of what it means to be human. For Konigsberg, the path is pleasurable and visually enticing, and a journey through his work is worthwhile."

Isabelle Huppert is making her New York theaterical debut at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, in "4.48 Psychosis," a play by Sarah Kane. It is the story of a young woman’s mental breakown and suicidal thinking. The playwright killed herself in 1999.

Isabelle Huppert is on stage for the entirety of the play, in what is being described as a "tormented performance."  "When desperation visist," the character says, "I shall hang myself to the sound of my lover’s breathing."

Isabelle Huppert has starred in the films of Truffaut, Godard, Diane Kury, and other great French directors. Her films include (in no particular order): Heaven’s Gate, Every Man for Himself, I Heart Huckabees, Entre Nous, The Piano Teacher, Going Places, The Lacemaker, Violette, Madame Bovary, and so many more. From October 17 to November 23, 2005, the Museum of Modern Art will be screening many of the films of this "intense, lithe, and passionate woman considered to be one of  cinema

A GAP Kids is coming to Park Slope. According to one source, a friend who lives on 13th Street, GAP had been looking for a large space in Park Slope for five years and have now purchased the building on the corner of 13th Street and Fifth Avenue that, until recently, housed a Salvation Army; they’ve  also purchased the building next door.

This may come as a surpise to those who think of Fifth Avenue above 9th Street as a strip of discount clothing stores, bodegas and credit furniture joints.

But the times they are a-changing on Fifth. Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin Robbins has set up shop between 9th and 10th. An Eckard Drugs is on the corner of 9th Street and Washington Mutual Bank,  a well-reviewed Indian restaurant called Kinara (between 10th and 11th) are also new arrivals, not to mention all the cell phone stores.

For years Slope residents have wondered why there was no GAP in Park Slope. To many, Seventh Avenue seemed an ideal location for a store. One explanation went that  weekday pedestrian traffic on Seventh was not sufficient to make it economically viable for a national chain.  Many local vendors used to complain that nobody liked to part with their money on Seventh Avenue (they saved it for shops in Manhattan). Back in the 1980’s there was a Benneton on Seventh Avenue but it closed after a few years.

That was then this is now. Seventh Avenue has Aersoles, Rite Aid, Starbucks, Radio Shack, Barnes and Noble and…

I suspect that a lot of national chains are studying the new Aersoles shop on Seventh Avenue above Union Street. If that shop does well, my guess is other national brands will follow: the shopping malling of Seventh Avenue awaits us perhaps.

Fifth Avenue does have quite a few national brands like Payless, Mandee, Dunkin Donuts, and Eckerd Drugs, McDonalds (on 9th off of Fifth) and it seems to be a thriving commercial strip.

So here it comes: A GAP in Park Slope. I hope it’s a good GAP and not one of those second rate GAPs like the one they had on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights for years. My guess is that it will be a good one, because it’s going to get a lot of publicity as the first one in the Slope. It may well be one of the more sucessful Gaps in the New York City area.

And why not? There’s a lot of money here and a lot of babies, kids and teens who need blue jeans, cool t’s, and other up-to-the-minute garb.

From the New York Sun. By Ruth Graham

The wait for a table at Sripraphai, a Thai restaurant in Woodside, Queens, could change starting today, when the 2006 Zagat Survey arrives in stores. On Friday evening it was less than 10 minutes, but this year, Zagat has put the neighborhood joint on its list of the top 50 best restaurants in the city.

Queens is not the only borough the new survey is likely to benefit: Nine of the 50 restaurants are in the outer boroughs, compared with six last year and three in 2004.

"The shift toward the outer boroughs has been accelerated in the past year," the survey’s co-founder, Tim Zagat, said. "If you look at the indexes of Brooklyn, Queens, etc., it’s a really substantial number. It wasn’t half that a few years ago." There are 20 more outer borough restaurants listed this year than last – 256 out of 2,003 total.

The slim guidebook ranks restaurants on a scale of 30, as voted on by diners. Editors then sum up voters’ comments in short, quotation-heavy paragraphs. Sripraphai (pronounced see-PRA-pi) has long received enthusiastic reviews from critics, good Zagat food rankings, and the adulation of diners. It’s now likely to get a lot more notice, as a top-50 entry in the Zagat guide can turn a beloved local spot – even one that Manhattanites have to use a map to find – into a destination.

The Bronx borough president, Adolfo Carrion Jr., says it’s "great news" that the number of Bronx restaurants listed has more than doubled from last year, to 25 from 12. That’s partly a result of his own very public campaign: Since restaurants are listed only when enough diners rank them, the Bronx Tourism Council handed out information cards at popular restaurants asking diners to vote online to get their favorites on the list. Mr. Carrion also took Mr. Zagat on a whirlwind eating tour, showing off 10 of the borough’s best spots in a bid to have more included on the original ballot.

"Part of our challenge," Mr. Carrion said, "is getting people in our great city to leave the central business district, to go to places in addition to the center of Manhattan for entertainment and food and art and culture."

He said there’s room to improve on the guide’s Manhattan-centric listings. "Maybe what we need to do is do an ‘Adolfo’s list,’" he joked. "I think it’ll have many more than 25 restaurants."

Despite the increased number of listings outside Manhattan, however, Zagat voters still like the island’s restaurants best. On the Most Popular list, derived from voters’ picks of their five favorite restaurants, Gramercy Tavern holds the top spot and Union Square Cafe is no. 2 for the second year in a row. In 2004, the restaurants, managed by Union Square Hospitality Group’s Danny Meyer, were in reverse positions. Together, they’ve held the top two spots for the last seven years. Only two of the restaurants among this year’s 50 Most Popular are located outside of Manhattan, and one (Blue Ribbon) has outposts in both Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Mr. Carrion soon will have another guidebook to monitor for signs of Manhattan favoritism. The prestigious Michelin Guide will publish its first-ever North American edition, a New York City guide, next month. It will boast a red cover just a few shades brighter than Zagat’s familiar burgundy. Mr. Zagat said he is not concerned and has made no changes in anticipation of the European invasion. "I always think it’s good to have more good guides come, but we haven’t done anything differently," Mr. Zagat said.

When Michelin arrives, Mr. Carrion said he will be ready. "We’re going to have to baptize them," he said. "Just as the Zagat folks got it, I hope they get it, too."

<>

In the mood for another how-to parenting book? Two Korean-American sisters have come out with a new book that should inspire lots of conversation among the mom and dad set in Park Slope.

In "Top of the Class: How Asian Parents Raise High Achievers – and How You Can Too" (Berkley),  Dr. Soo Kim Abboud and Jane Kim, two Korean-American sisters, advise parents who want
successful children to raise them just as their parents did – in strict
households in which parents spend hours every day educating their
children, where access to pop culture is limited, and where children
are taught that their failures reflect poorly on the family.

This approach is common in Asian countries and among many
immigrant groups in the United States. "It runs counter to an American
culture that celebrates if not venerates self-expression and the
freedom of youth. (This is, after all, the country that invented the
teenager." writes the New York Times.

The sisters note that students
of Asian descent make up about 25 percent of undergraduates at top
universities like Stanford and Penn (and 41 percent at the University
of California, Berkeley), even though Asians are less than 4 percent of
the population, and that as of 2002 Asian-Americans had a median
household income about $10,000 higher than the national average.

My only complaint is that they never do any of their groovy fundraising events in Brooklyn. Oh well. If you can’t make it to the show, check out the new collection on Fifth Avenue.

The Brooklyn
Superhero Supply Company, a drop-in tutoring center on Fifth Avenue between 5th and 6th Streets in Park Slope and sponsored by Dave Eggars’ McSweeney’s Magazine,
unveils its "spring 2006 collection" at a benefit in Manhattan.

It’s for a great cause. The drop-in tutoring center at the Superhero Supply Company is a great resource for school kids. The workshops for kids, teens, and adult are also said to be great.  And the shop is a wildly imaginative and fun place for kids and adults.

Participating
designers at the Superhero fashion show include Zac Posen, Marc Jacobs, and Behna z Sarafpour. "Models" include Amy Sedaris and
"Daily Show" correspondents Ed Helms, Samantha Bee, and Rob Corddry.
The event also includes superhero-themed readings and come dy.
Highlights include "Edna Mode," the cartoon fashion designer from "The
Incredibles," who will deliver her predictions for the upcoming season.

Author and "Incredibles" voice artist Sarah Vowell relates her
experiences of being invisible. Thursday, 8 p.m., Symphony Space, 2537
Broadway at 95th Street, 212-864-5400, $25 general, $75 for event,
silent auction, and wine reception.

Continue reading SUPERHERO FASHIONS →

650 business leaders and celebrities will participate in the annual principal for a day program. Organizers
moved the date from April to October so partners can volunteer all year.

"It’s not just skipping a day from work to do volunteer work," said
Janet Corcoran, president of Public Education Needs Civic Involvement
In Learning, the nonprofit that runs the program. "It is making a real
difference."

For executives, getting into classrooms is a hands-on opportunity to
help their future workers and customers. They see principals as fellow
leaders in need of resources and fresh perspective that educrats can’t
provide.

At In-Tech Academy in the Bronx, a Microsoft manager signed up to be
principal last April and, with the help of two colleagues, developed a
summer program for students to visit his office once a week.

Stephen Gordon, senior business strategy consultant for the high-tech
giant, will return as principal this week and plans to help teens
upgrade their Web sites.

"We helped open their eyes to the possibilities in the business world," he said.

JetBlue Chairman David Neeleman paired with Beach Channel High School
in Queens and advises staff on airline-career classes. In return, the
school band will play at an inaugural flight.

At least three-quarters of the leaders at this year’s events are repeating, Corcoran said.

Others who will participate Thursday are talk-show host
Tony Danza, comedian Steve Harvey, Virgin Records CEO Matt Serletic,
Nets President Brett Yormark and People magazine publisher Paul Caine.

If anyone is interested in adopting a pet from New Orleans, a teacher at PS 321 knows a vet who is down there who may be bringing some cats and dogs back to Brooklyn. If you are interested, e-mail me at louise_crawford@yahoo.com.

On the way to B’s birthday party on Smith Street, we wondered how old she was. We didn’t even realize it was a big birthday. Didn’t realize it was the big birthday. That birthday.

The guest of honor looked beautiful and cool in a vintage black and white polka dot dress over jeans with tall cuffs.

"I didn’t want to do the big bash thing. I wanted something smaller," she said.

Twenty, probably more, friends gathered at The Social Club, a truly cool bar on Smith Street that was at one time an Italian men’s social club.

It still has the brown forbidding door; a private "Do Not Enter" vibe. Inside it looks like something out of a Brassai photograph. Paris. 1934. Low light. Early jazz on the juke box.

"How do you know B?" was the night’s conversational ice breaker as friends tried to figure out who the other friends were. It was a six degrees of separation kind of crowd, with intersections, connections:

"YoulookfamiliarDon’tyouknowIt’sbeenawhile…"

A man recognized my husband. "Did you live on the Lower East Side?" he asked. Turns out they both went out with the same woman. At different times.

B. handed out free drink cards, her old "What’s Shakin?’" business cards with her old phone number from when she lived on Charles Street in the West Village.  "I’ve got hundreds of these" she said "Just give ’em to Ivan, the bartender for free drinks. Leave a tip, though."

The cards are left over from the days she was buying and selling vintage salt and pepper shakers. Now she’s got salt-and-pepper hair, a great cut, a wonderful significant other, a house upstate, 40 acres and a…

Who could ask for more? An organizer, an enthusiast with many passions and many devoted friends, B. is non-pareil.

Sitting in a dark corner of The Social Club, sipping a shot of Limonella (after a Cosmopolitan and a Diet Coke), I surveyed the crowd of friends and friends of friends and concluded that we’re a  little more settled now. Comfortable in our own skin even if we are as confused as ever. We’re braver. Been through a lot. Ballsier. More realistic. Practical. We look pretty darm good. We’re confident or maybe just a little less insecure. Shit, why not. If not now, when?

Happy Birthday B.

Wednesday at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Berkeley Place, a London Plain tree fell on a red car that was parked on the street.

A friend, who was walking down the street with her daughter just as the tree was falling, said that it made an alarmingly loud boom.

The tree, like many trees on the block, had been leaning dangerously for a long time. The NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, which has jurisdiction over all trees growing in the public right of way including trees along streets, had been notified about the problem by block residents.

The incident occurred in the middle of Berkeley Place between Seventh and Sixth Avenues, the site of a lively block party this past weekend.

The trees on Berkeley Place were planted 20 years ago. When they were young trees, an ice storm caused damage to many of them, which may explain why the trees lean into the street the way they do. But the trees survived and add a beautiful, if dangerous, leafy canopy over the block.

Luckily no one was hurt on Wednesday. It would have been a real disaster had someone been in the  car or if the tree had fallen on a passerby.

The fallen tree has been removed from the block. The red car is still in its parking place. The owner has not yet returned to see his destroyed vehicle.

photo by Wendy Ponte

Found this on:   Cousin Lucy’s Spoon. Thanks Savta Dotty.

The religion thing. It nags at me: Nag. Nag. Nag. Especially during the Jewish high holy-days.

It’s not like I grew up religious or anything. Mine was a secular
Jewish upbringing on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. In other words,
I was brought up by atheist Jews who were, nonetheless, very committed to
their Jewish heritage.

That meant Passover seders and the occasional trip to a synagogue for
a service or a Bar Mitzvah. When I was ten years old, my  parents
decided that my sister and I needed to go to Sunday school. They wanted to "give us some of that old time religion," I guess.

Whatever. It seemed hypocritical to me. And yet, it was probably a good experience even if we weren’t happy about it.

Having to go to Sunday school meant no more Sunday morning bike rides in
Central Park a cherished weekly family activity. Biking to the Sheep’s Meadow,
the Bandshell, the boathouse was one of the great pleasures of my
youth. Sitting in the basement of a synagogue discussing anti-semitism and Zionism was not.

We dropped out after a year.

And yet. And yet. Since childhood, I’ve yearned for a spiritual
connection. For reasons I don’t really understand, I wanted to fast on
Yom Kippur, to eat only matzoh during the 8 days of Passover, to see the Hanukkah candles glow night after night. I once kissed a Bible after it fell on the floor.

I believe it was some sort of spiritual connection I was after. No
doubt I felt exceedingly Jewish and exceedingly connected to the
history and the culture. But I guess I wanted more. And as a parent, I
have struggled to instill a sense of Jewishness in my inter-faith
children. I have tried to give them a real sense of their roots, their
history, their connection to Judaism.

I think I have suceeded to some extent. While my kids do celebrate
Christmas with their Presbyterian relatives out in California, they
also celebrate many Jewish holidays with their Jewish relatives in New York. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. They know that I meditate daily: a practice I value deeply and they have grown used to the small Buddha figurines around the apartment and my Tibetian singing bowl. This will either
create great confusion or a multi-cultural melange that will be quite
valuable.

For me, I have never really found what I was looking for or an institutional religious environment I felt
comfortable in. And believe me I’ve tried. Over the last many years,
I’ve been a wandering Jew on the high holy days, going from one
synogogue to the next, seeking an environment for me and my family that
I wanted to make a commitment to. I won’t name names, but I’ve been to
quite a few congregations in Brooklyn, many of which were excellent.

But still, something keeps me from being anything more than a high
holy-day Jew. That’s when the urge hits me. Nag. Nag. Nag. I never
make plans in advance or make a reservation. But I usually find myself
on the eve of Yom Kippur racing off to a Kol Nidre service somewhere.
It’s my favorite service of all — for the music and the solemn, deep
spirit of the evening.

The ritual of atonement seems essential to me. To take stock of the past year and atone (if not to God, then to myself) for what I am not proud of. It’s such an important way to start the year; to help yourself grow as a human being.

So this Wednesday night as usual, I felt the urge to participate.  I thought about it on and off all day and at 7 p.m., I
googled Kolot Chayenu and found out that the Kol Nidre service was set
to begin at 7:30.

Kolot Chayenu is a progressive Park Slope congregation of 250
members which bulges to such a big size on the high holydays, that
they rent the Mission for Today Church on Sixth Avenue between
3rd and 4th Streets right around the corner from me.

Fortunately, my daughter wanted to come along and we dressed up and ran
over there in a teeming rain. We got there just as the service was
beginning and saw a lot of people we knew; there was a warm and familiar feeling in the room. We were lucky enough to find a seat in the last rown right behind a
pillar. Still we were able to hear the cantors beautiful voice. There were other singers, as well as a violinist and a clarinet player.

My daughter got antsy about an hour and a half into the service; it was uncomfortable sitting on my lap. Last
year she lasted the full three hours. I didn’t get to hear the most
beautiful and moving part of the music, but I enjoyed what I heard and,
as usual, I was glad to be there.

This year, as usual, I felt part of and not part of the service at Kolot Chaynu. I guess that’s  how I take my Judaism.  I am comfortable with marginality: that sense of belonging and not belonging (how Jewish) at the same time. Something compels me to connect with my fellow Jews on
this night so that I can hear the stirring  melody of Kol Nidre. Even if it means
racing out of the apartment just minutes before the service: something compels me to belong.