Tag Archives: community

arts and culture

Happy 10th Anniversary: Fort Greene Park Summer Literary Festival This Saturday

This Saturday will be the 10th annual Fort Greene Park Sumer Literary Festival sponsored by the New York Writers Coalition, one of the oldest and most inspiring community writing programs in the United States.

Killer stoop sales, the Brooklyn Flea, and the saucy return of Habana Outpost are just a few Fort Greene staples in summertime. But when it comes to a community tradition in this ever-changing neighborhood that readers and writers from all generations flock to, there’s very little that matches the power of NY Writers Coalition’s Fort Greene Park Summer Literary Festival.

Young writers from the NYWC summer youth workshops in Fort Greene Park will share their powerful poetry and prose alongside some of the city’s most beloved writers: Five Quarterly co-founder Vanessa Gabb; Lit Fest vets Danny Simmons and Sapphire; BlackGirl Mansionauthor Angel Nafis; and prize-winning poet and children’s author Willie Perdomo. The Master of Ceremonies is music journalist and WFMU deejay Gaylord Fields.

This event is free and open to the public and takes place at Fort Greene Park’s Prison Ship Martyrs’ Monument on Saturday, August 23 at 2:00 p.m. (Rain Venue: BRIC Media House Ballroom at 647 Fulton Street). An after party will follow at 4:30 p.m. at Greenlight Bookstore (686 Fulton Street). Come meet the writers – and invite your friends!

Civics and Urban Life

Best Window Boxes Says Greenest Block in Brooklyn

Pop quiz: What’s the best window box in Brooklyn?

Now, that’s a tough call. There are many thousands of them. Too many. And so many pretty ones. There’s definitely an art to it. Some people have the touch (or the green thumb plus the color/design sense).

So how do you win such a contest. First, you’ve got to enter the contest to be considered. It helps to belong to a Block Association but I don’t think it’s essential. Still, it’s not like some judge-person is going to check out every window box in the borough.

These window boxes created by the Arky’s at 487 10th Street in Park Slope are very pretty indeed. Sadly, they’re trapped behind the window bars. And they tied for First Place. Check out the other winning window boxes and other categories at the Greenest Block in Brooklyn website. 

 

Civics and Urban Life

Park Slope Block Has First Ever Block Party

Talking to some longtime residents of my block, I have confirmed that there has never been an official block party with a street closing on Third Street between 6th and 7th Aenues.

“311 has made things so easy. Now you can find out how to do things we never knew how to do before,” said one Third Street resident of more than twenty years.

I’d always heard that you couldn’t close off a two lane street.

“That’s not true, we were lazy,” she said.

In the past there were mini-block parties, three or four buildings would get together and there would be food, music, musical chairs and a talent show.

“The woman who organized this, she did a good job,” another neighbor said.

Civics and Urban Life

Produce a Special for Brooklyn Community Access TV

Not everyone has time to create a weekly television show, or even a bi-weekly or monthly series for Brooklyn’s community access television network.

But BRIC, Brooklyn’s community access television organization, wants you to know that this shouldn’t stop you from submitting your content to air on Brooklyn’s community access television network. If you have a 28-minute or 58-minute piece that you think the borough of Brooklyn will want to watch, give them a call and request an appointment to air what we call a “Special.”

Special time slots don’t occur on a regular basis, so you don’t have to commit to submitting content on a rigorous schedule. Create your program in an amount of time that best fits your schedule, give them a call to arrange a Special time slot, and watch your program on the BCAT TV Network. Pretty simple.

According to BRIC, many of their regular users submit specials that can air during one of the station’s programming quarters. In fact, you can submit as many as 4 programs within a 13 week period. For more information, visit their website or call 718-683-5605 to arrange an appointment with their Programming Department so you can get your Special time slot.