It is 8:30 in the morning and my son is asleep on the couch. The lights are on and a copy of the new Harry Potter book, THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE, is open to pages 346-347 face-down on his chest. He started reading the book at 1:30 a.m. or so, the time we got back from … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_HARRY POTTER RELEASE
It’s a savings plan of sorts. We put our pocket change into El Pico Coffee cans, those bright yellow and red containers that, when new, hold our brand of strong expresso coffee. The cans fill up quickly placed as they are in strategic locations all over the apartment. Coins spill out of my husband’s black … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_El Pico Savings
Thanks to Brownstoner, for posting this picture and article from the New York Times. I was also interested to read Brownstoner’s comment in italics below. July 5, 2005, NY Times — The massive building plan surrounding a new Nets arena east of Downtown Brooklyn will include a ridge of a half-dozen skyscrapers as high as … Continue reading Gehry & Ratner Show Their Card
The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen ColoniesIn CONGRESS, July 4, 1776 When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of … Continue reading HAPPY BIRTHDAY USA
I CELEBRATE myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. I loafe and invite my soul, I lean and loafe at my ease . . . . observing a spear of summer grass. Houses and rooms are full of perfumes . . . . … Continue reading HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEAVES OF GRASS
NIGHT AND DAY 230 FIFTH AVENUE (at President Street) PARK SLOPE, NY 11215718-399-2161 knightanddame@aol.com Look what I found in my in-box. Robin Hirsch, part-owner of the Cornelia Street Cafe and Judy Joice, owner of the Lion’s Head, have joined forces to bring a Greenwich Village-style eatery and performance space to Park Slope. Well, the Cornelia … Continue reading ONLY THE BLOG KNOWS BROOKLYN RESTAURANTS_NIGHT AND DAY
While in Red Hook last Saturday to see my son’s band at the Liberty Heights Tap Room. my husband and I walked over to nearby Coffey Park, an old Parks Department baseball field that has been transformed into an organic garden. We introduced ourselves to Ian Marvy, the Director of Added Value, the group that … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Sustainable Future
I always cry on my children’s last day of school. They are quiet tears: quickly-brushed- away-tears, or tears – that – get – stuck – in – the – middle – of – your – throat – tears. There is something about seeing the teacher coming out of the building with the children he or … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Last Day of School
by Paul Leschen California TaqueriaOlive VineThai Sky Here I am in North Carolina, on a two week working vacation to Wilmington. I hope they have some Vietnamese food or something down here…too much barbecue makes the food writer go blind. Last week, two friends and I joined one of the two major demographic groups at … Continue reading ONLY THE BLOG KNOWS BROOKLYN RESTAURANTS: Lunchtime Choices
There are at least ten nearly identical limestone apartment buildings on Third Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. Each building has eight apartment units and practically identical apartments. All the buildings have generous front yards, which means that the adults and children who live in these buildings spend an awful lot of time in the … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_It Ain’t Much to Look At
Everyone tells you how boring jury duty is. People feel sorry for you when you tell them that you are on a trial. "Oh," they say with pity. "You poor thing." But no one tells you how emotionally involving a trial can be. No one tells you about the surrogate family you form with your … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_We Have a Verdict
Considered one of the best used bookstores in New York City, Seventh Avenue Books has fallen victim to the truly skyrocketing rents on Seventh Avenue. On July 1, the store is moving out of its location on Seventh Avenue between 7th and 8th Streets and joining its sister-store, Park Slope Kids, on Seventh Avenue between … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Long Live Independent Booksellers
Sometimes I think of the Seventh Heaven Street Fair as the seventh gate of hell, but this year, the booths were better than ever and it wasn’t quite as chaotic as usual. Maybe it was my mood. My sister and I traversed from one end to the other and found quite a few things to … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Seventh Avenue Fair
The window of The Clay Pot is tastefully decorated with gift items for Father’s Day. It’s full of the kind of stuff that men are supposed to like or need: money clips, wallets, watches, cuff links. There are also well-designed radios, a chess timer, a poker set, and a miniature game of roulette. The dad … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Father’s Day
There was tension in the Jury Room Wednesday morning. Juror #1 arrived over 20 minutes late. The 13 of us had to wait for her before we could go upstairs to the court room. "Where the hell is Juror #1? " one of the woman asked aloud. Earlier she had told the group a funny … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Tension in the Jury Room
Today is my son’s 14th birthday. I will, of course, never forget his birth by C-Section at Lenox Hill Hospital all those years. ago. When he came out the nurse shouted: "He’s cute," and I figured that meant he had all his fingers and toes. My husband held him for the forty-five minutes or so … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_BIRTHDAY BOY
Sad news tonight at the Old Stone House wine tastng: A biker died in a traffic accident on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope. Aaron Naparstak, the man who helped convince the local Commerce Bank to rethink the drive-in concept, informed me and a friend about the incident. The accident occurred on Fifth Avenue at Warren … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Biker Dies on Fifth Avenue
Yesterday I learned that squirrels are an increasingly big problem in Park Slope apartment buildings. My story, gleaned from Park Slope Parents, really hit home with a lot of apartment dwellers who wrote to say that they have squirrels in their window boxes, squirrels on their ledges, and in some cases, squirrels in their furniture. … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_White Rabbit
We left the cement beach on Third Street for the real beach in Coney Island. My true reason for the expedition was to lay eyes on the brand new Stillwell Avenue subway station with its 75,000-square-foot glass canopy, made up of 2,730 solar-energy panels,over eight tracks and four platforms, all completely rebuilt. It did not … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_WONDER WHEEL
BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather. MTA WEEKEND SUBWAY ADVISORY: For detailed information about weekend service disruptions from the MTA, go here. CITY NEWS: New Yorkers had a chance to weigh in Friday on the battle brewing over the Great Lawn, as the city Parks Department hosted a public hearing … Continue reading SCOOP DU WEEKEND_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather. CITY NEWS: North Bound Henry Hudson Parkway will reopen Monday morning after a retaining wall collapse, which sent tons of rock and concrete onto the parkway. City opens design competition for memorial for Rockaway crash of Flight 587 in November of 2001. BROOKLYN … Continue reading SCOOP DU MONDAY_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
Friday night they got word. It was almost like a scene from "Forty Second Street," that great depression-era musical, in which the star breaks her leg and the understudy, played by Ruby Keeler, gets to go on. Francesca, a local 14-year-old singer-songwriter, was sick in bed and knew that she wouldn’t be up for her … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Liberty
BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather. FYI: See below for: MTA TRANSIT WEEKEND ADVISORY FOR DISRUPTIONS ON YOUR SUBWAY LINE THIS WEEKEND! TIP: See today’s Here/Say (below, bottom of Scoop Du Thursday) for the text of a letter written by Jane Jacobs to Mayor Bloomberg about the redevelopment of … Continue reading SCOOP DU WEEKEND_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather. FYI: See next post: MTA TRANSIT ADVISOR POST FOR DISRUPTIONS ON YOUR SUBWAY LINE TIP: See today’s Here/Say (below, bottom of Scoop Du Thursday) for the text of a letter written by Jane Jacobs to Mayor Bloomberg about the redevelopment of the north … Continue reading SCOOP DU FRIDAY_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather. FYI: Be one of the lucky 10,000 to get emails from the MTA about weekend subway disruptions. I am. As part of a pilot program, I will now find out if there any problems on train lines. Go to www.mta.info and sign up … Continue reading SCOOP DU THURSDAY_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
My sister flies to Russia next Saturday to meet her daughter, Sonia. Svetlana was her given name and what they call her in the orphanage. But Sonia Rose is the name my sister and her husband have chosen for her. Ducky is her nickname around our house. My daughter came up with that. The only … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE
BROOKLYN WEATHER: What’s it gonna do today? Check here for Brooklyn weather. CITY NEWS: City Officials agreed yesterday to let developers turn the north Brooklyn waterfront into a neighborhood of residential towers with a parklike esplanade along the East River. "The plan, which rivals the ambition and scope of the creation of Battery Park City, … Continue reading SCOOP DU TUESDAY_Weather. News. Stuff to Do.
My post, "The House That Jon Bought" and Hugh Crawford’s photo of the Jonathan Safran Foer and Nicole Krauss’ backyard-to-be seem to be making the rounds in blogland. I just discovered that Curbed the New York Times’ real estate blog, reprinted Hugh’s photo and an excerpt from this blog about the house having great bones … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Space is Power
Tomorrow is the first episode of Brooklyn Reading Works, a reading series curated by me at Fou Le Chakra. Brooklyn Reading Works is just a little thing I threw together at the urging of Mary Warren, owner of that tiny shop and cafe at 411 Seventh Avenue between 13th and 14th Street. Ms. Warren had … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Brooklyn Reading Works.
I’m going away for a few days. My husband will be holding down the OTBKB fort. I’ve prepared a special weekend version of Scoop Du Jour – to keep you all on top of what’s going on in Brooklyn this weekend (wouldn’t want you to miss a thing). So it should, more or less, be … Continue reading POSTCARD FROM THE SLOPE_Gone Fishing