Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn

No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford

The Current Weather in Park Slope

Brought to you by the Feldman Family from their local weather tower.

Issue Project Room Gets $1 Million From Marty For Reno

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has granted $1,133,000 to Issue Project Room's capital campaign to renovate 110 Livington Street. Here is their response:

We are humbled, honored, and inspired to have been selected as grant recipients for capital support.  This award provides us with critical funding towards the $1.725 million necessary to complete a first phase of construction designed to:  bring the jewel box theater space to code; install the necessary systems for soundproofing and performance; make renovations; and begin presenting as early as Fall 2010.

Once renovated, the new space at 110 will be home to more than 4,000 programs reaching more than 1,000,000 people across the next two decades.  We are overjoyed at being so close to realizing this historic opportunity.

Leon Freilich, Verse Responder: Throwing in Toxic Towel

Whole Foods Abandons Gowanus Site
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/27/32_27_mm_whole.html

Throwing in Toxic Towel

What were these guys thinking?
Hired an engineer?
At a watering hole,
He must've been drinking,

Fluid not so Wholesome,
Something Fairway sent?
Something from the canal,
Highly virulent.

A Save Coney Island Frame of Mind

I was out in Coney Island again yesterday visiting my friend at the rehab hospital on 29th Street and Surf Avenue. The more time I spend out there the more attached I get to that incredible part of Brooklyn.

At Amusing the Zillion, a blog started by "a former carny kid who casts an insider's eye on the amusement business, Coney Island, and fun places in between" also has the story of Dick Zigun's video. That blogger also wrote to say that the deadline for changes to the the city's plan is Monday, July 13 and she's trying to get the word out to as many Brooklyn blogs as possible. Go to Amusing the Zillion for more information about how to contact your local councilmember.

In the video, Dick Zigun, founder and artistic director of Coney Island USA and the permanently unelected “Mayor” of Coney, asks YOU to contact your City Councilmembers to deliver the message “Don’t Kill Coney! Fix the Plan!”

“The City came up with an acceptable master plan, but at the same time, a private developer, Thor Equities, came in and purchased most of the property on the south side of Surf Avenue,” Zigun says in the video. “Thor Equities started lobbying and pressuring the city, and suddenly, the plan changed…there are some things in there that are frankly no good, and that’s the plan that’s going to be voted on at the end of July.”

Zigun’s recommendations include moving the 27-story high rises north of Surf Avenue, a change endorsed by the Borough President and Community Board; expanding the acreage for outdoor rides and amusements; and protecting Coney Island’s historic structures instead of creating financial incentives for tearing them down.

Reaction from Vox Pop's Debi Ryan

Debi Ryan, manager of Vox Pop, posted her reaction to the desecration of the coffee shop's Statue of Liberty statue on Facebook:

As I am sure you have all heard by now, the Statue of Liberty that stood proudly in front of Vox Pop has been destroyed. The Statue was used in a disturbing video posted on You Tube. I am not sure why they chose our statue to perpetrate this crime, but a crime it is. It has been stolen and destroyed and used as a message of hate and this situation is being taken very seriously by our law enforcement agencies. Whatever their intent may have been, the outcome is clear. I have every confidence that the miscreants will be found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. While I believe in the right for everyone to say what they think, whether I personally agree with it or not, I do not believe they have the right to destroy someone else's property to do it.

Vox Pop is a community owned coffee shop. We offer fair trade coffees and teas, organic foods, live music, poetry readings, independently published books and a gallery of local artist works. We strive to create a welcoming, open space for people to meet, relax and discuss the world around them. Our broad range of programming includes children's story hour and movement classes, independent film screenings, workshops on sustainability and meditation and even bicycle repair. I am saddened that they chose to target our neighborhood space.

In spite of what you may have read, I am not in fear for my life, I do not feel personally targeted and I don't believe it was trying to shut us up. If they were targeting what we represent, then I guess they were targeting community. Because, to me, that is what Vox Pop represents. And I for one will not let this incident change that. I loved that statue, and I will miss her gracing our garden, standing for our Liberty and our freedom to be whomever we choose to be. While she may be gone, what she symbolizes is still alive and well at Vox Pop.

Noticing New York: Save Coney Island Video

I was over at Noticing New York and saw that he has a video from Dick Zigun, the unofficial but de-facto mayor of Coney Island.

God bless Dick Zigun and hooray for the technology of the internet! A new video outlining the flaws in the City plan and possible solutions has been put together by Coney Island’s unofficial “Mayor” Dick Zigun. With the City Planning Board deadline looming for early next week, this is something Noticing New York readers will want to pass along and have all their friends take action on. Prompt action please!

The video is quickly informative and part of the fun is to see Bloomberg wearing a little king crown.

The new video and other quick-take-action links are available at Save Coney Island.

Tonight: Hamlet in Washington Park at 8 p.m.

 You won't want to miss Piper Theater's production of Shakespeare's Hamlet which opens tonight in Washington/JJ Byrne Park (Fifth Avenue and Third Street). Performances are July 9, 10, 11 at 8 p.m.

OTBKB was at a tech rehearsal a couple of days ago and got these photos.

 

Disturbing Video: Vox Pop's Statue of Liberty Beheaded and Smashed

The missing Vox Pop Coffee Shop Statue of Liberty story takes a gruesome turn.

A video was sent to the NY Daily News on July 4th. Later it was released on YouTube, showing the beheading and smashing of the statue. On the screen appear slogans like "We don't want your freedom" and "Death to America."

"I'm scared. I'm hoping I don't have to fear for my life, but I feel very nervous," Debi Ryan, manager of the Vox Pop told the Daily News. Debi Ryan, manager of Vox Pop, a cafe and performance space known for its progressive politics posted this on her Facebook page: "In spite of what you may have read, I am not in fear for my life, I do not feel personally targeted and I don't believe it was trying to shut us up. If they were targeting what we represent, then I guess they were targeting community. Because, to me, that is what Vox Pop represents. And I for one will not let this incident change that." She did tell the Daily News: "This was clearly politically motivated. Whoever did this is trying to shut us up. They were targeting what we represent," she said.

Tom Martinez, pastor of the All Souls Bethlehem Church viewed the video on a computer at Vox Pop. "The violence against the statue and the way it was carried out is deeply disturbing," Martinez told me in a phone interview.  "The smashing of the severed head after the beheading: I watched it thinking does this look like a prank or something more serious. To me it looks like  something more serious."

It is unknown as to who is responsible for this and why. The NYPD, the FBI and Homeland Security are on the case. "Whoever did it created a background created a background that makes it difficult to tell where it was taped.  It looks like the body of a grown adult carrying out the action. You have to remember the statue is pretty large and very heavy," Martinez said.

The 8-foot fiberglass figure was stolen from the sidewalk in front of the Cortelyou Road coffeehouse in the early morning hours of July 21. A reward of $250 was offered.

No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford

Brooklyn Based: Outdoor Fun and Wilco

Check out Brooklyn Based list of outdoor fun for July 8th through 14th. Here's a sample. But there's lots more over at BB.

Alt-country kings Wilco, out supporting their new, self-title release, play Coney Island’s Keyspan Park with a special opening appearance by indie rock’s beloved Yo La Tengo. Field tickets for the 7pm show are still available.

Leon Freilich, Verse Responder: Mock 'n' Move

    Mock 'n' Move
 
My building's taken in
A family of new partakers
Delivered just this week
By "Movers, Not Shakers.":

The movers are based in Red Hook
And residents noticed the name,
More suitable perhaps
For a group in the rockster game.

Which makes one wonder if
An earlier name drew lookers--
Something on the order
Of Brooklyn's "Red Hookers."

OTBKB Goes Mayoral

Stay tuned for Breakfast-of-Candidates profiles with mayoral candidates City Councilman Tony Avella and Comptroller William C. Thompson.

OTBKB is also trying to schedule a breakfast with Reverend Billy, who is running for mayor on the Green Party ticket.

Tidbits: City Council Candidates (Biviano's Sign, Green Petitioning, Fundraising Deadline)

Doug Biviano, one of the 33's has a new sign at his headquarters on Montague Street on the corner of Hicks Street. Here he is pictured with his wife and three children.

David Pechefsky, the Green 39er, began his official petitioning period in earnest on July 7. I saw him yesterday near the entrance to the Seventh Avenue F-train. Wearing the green Pechefsky t-shirt with his caricature on the front and back, Pechefsky was good-naturedly trying to encourage Independents and Democrats (who didn't sign another petition) to sign on to put a Green candidate on the ballot.

The last big City Council fundraising deadline is on Saturday. That means that Saturday is the last day to donate to your candidate of choice so that New York City can match your contribution with $6 for every $1 raised from City residents up to $175.

OTBKB Music Video: A Musician's Revenge

And now for something completely different.  Musician Dave Carroll tell us that he and his band experienced unfriendly skies when traveling with United Airlines.  Here's what he says:

"In the spring of 2008, Sons of Maxwell were traveling to Nebraska for a one-week tour and my Taylor guitar was witnessed being thrown by United Airlines baggage handlers in Chicago. I discovered later that the $3500 guitar was severely damaged. They didn’t deny the experience occurred but for nine months the various people I communicated with put the responsibility for dealing with the damage on everyone other than themselves and finally said they would do nothing to compensate me for my loss. So I promised the last person to finally say “no” to compensation (Ms. Irlweg) that I would write and produce three songs about my experience with United Airlines and make videos for each to be viewed online by anyone in the world. United: Song 1 is the first of those songs. United: Song 2 has been written and video production is underway. United: Song 3 is coming. I promise."

The moral: don't mess with a musician.

 --Eliot Wagner

No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford

This Saturday: Take the G Train to Williamsburg Art Walking Tour

This sounds fun. And now that the G train stops on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope and goes to Williamsburg (Lorimar Street if I am correct) this event is too easy to get to to miss.

The Williamsburg Gallery Association is hosting walking tours of the neighborhood's cutting-edge art galleries, led by art critic and art tour guide Merrily Kerr. A writer and trendspotter for magazines including Time Out New York and Flash Art, Merrily will take you to see the artwork and exhibitions that make Williamsbug a must-see for art lovers and the art-curious alike. 

The last tour is this Saturday, July 11 at 2 pm. This tour will demonstrate the diversity of Williamsburg's art offerings, from Weimar paintings to avant-garde contemporary. In a quirky apartment gallery or the post-industrial expanse of one of the area's newest and largest art spaces, come explore the unique visions of the city's most creative people.

The tours leave from the WGA table on Bedford Avenue near North 5th Street and will last approximately 1.5 hours. Tickets are just $10 and can be purchased prior to the tour at the WGA table on Bedford Ave., or online through Paypal. Visit the WGA online to purchase advance tickets: http://www.rawmag.org/williamsburgwalks.html. Tickets MUST be purchased by Wednesday, July 8 to reserve a place on the tour. 

For more information about Merrily's tours, please visit www.newyorkarttours.com.

OTBKB Opinion: Give Maura Lorenzen a Chance at Saint Saviour

This morning I received yet another email from the well-organized supporters of principal James Flanagan, the veteran Catholic school principal who was dismissed by Saint Saviour's pastor, Fr. Murphy.

Outraged parents and parishioners are now calling for Fr. Murphy’s removal as pastor because, they say, he fired Principal Flanagan so he could "give a friend the job."

This "friend" of Father Murphy is Maura Lorenzen, the co-director of the Early Childhood Center at Congregation Beth Elohim (ECC).

The parents at Saint Saviour are very angry about losing their longtime principal. And they are enraged about the pastor's autocratic style of leadership and his refusal to take their concerns seriously. It is, after all, a Catholic school, and the pastor does run the show. It must be infuriating to have to succumb to that kind of undemocratic decision-making and feel powerless in the face of it.

That said, the outraged parents obviously don't realize what a gem Ms. Lorenzen is.

My daughter and my niece both attended the ECC and I have an enormous amount of respect for Lorenzen.  Like Flanagan, she is a beloved school administrator and educator, who works well with parents, staff and children.

The idea that she was fired from Congregation Beth Elohim is absolutely preposterous. Lorenzen made the choice to leave the school after a 14-year tenure as co-director. Beth Elohim's Rabbi Andy Bachman wrote into OTBKB to set the record straight:  "I'd like to make very clear, on behalf of everyone at Congregation Beth Elohim (CBE) who deeply admire and respect Maura Lorenzen as an educator and administrator, that Maura was NOT fired from her job at CBE.  Maura is leaving her job to pursue this new opportunity at Saint Saviour and our hearts are heavy saying good-bye!  She has performed her duties for the families in our community for years and years with great integrity and we will greatly miss her," he writes. 

Intelligent, honest, open, and straightforward, Lorenzen has been at the ECC since 1982 and is a highly respected co-leader of an extremely popular Park Slope school.

A graduate of St. Joseph's College with a degree in early childhood education and special education, Lorenzen received her master's degree from The College of Staten Island. Before becoming co-director at the ECC, she taught 2s, 3s,and 4s in the nursery school and co-directed the lower day camp since 1988. In 1995 Maura was appointed the co-director of the ECC (with Jacqueline Israel) where she is very well liked by both parents and staff. Maura is the mother of four sons, the oldest a college graduate and the youngest in middle school.

Putting aside the circumstances of James Flanagan's dismissal, the school is lucky to have such a decent, graceful and wise administrator as their new principal. She is obviously entering a difficult and divisive situation and I feel for her. From my experience as an ECC parent, Lorenzen strikes me as the kind of leader who can handle the tension and will not personalize it. She will, I believe, be able to help that community heal after this painful controversy. 

I must say that I object to the fact that the parents, as part of their efforts to fight their principal's dismissal, are trying to discredit Ms. Lorenzen's background. "Fr. Murphy states that Ms. Lorenzen was the director of a local preschool. That preschool’s site, however, described her role as co-director. He also ignored the fact that Ms. Lorenzen’s background is in Early Childhood Education, not Elementary Education. Eighty percent of the Students at St. Saviour, which goes from Pre-K through 8th grade, are therefore outside her realm of expertise."

While it may be true that Ms. Lorenzen has been co-director of a nursery through kindergarten program, Saint Saviour parents should not underestimate Lorenzen's wealth of experience and wisdom.

They are also, understandably, questioning Fr. Murphy's hiring process.

"Compounding the appearance of a backroom deal is the fact that Fr. Murphy failed to interview qualified veteran teachers at the school and has failed to answer questions sent to him by the president of the Parent School Board about the hiring and selection," wrote one parent in an email.

Backroom deal or good choice? It seems that it is actually a little of both. Certainly Lorezen is a skilled leader and someone who is eminently qualified and prepared to run a school of any kind.

I hope the circumstances of Lorenzen's hiring as principal won't taint her ability to bring her experience and expertise to a school that is in need of good leadership after this painful controversy.

And the protests continue. Tonight parents, alumni, and parishioners of St. Saviour Elementary School will line up again to picket their pastor’s controversial decision.

My heart goes out to most of the players at Saint Saviour. Clearly Fr. Murphy needs to meet with the parents in person and explain his decision and how it was made. Refusing to meet with them is not the answer. While he may not change his mind, he needs to share his reasons for dismissing Jame Flanagan in an open and honest way. Perhaps mediation will be required to help this school community get past this. It is worth noting that principal Flanagan is close to retirement age and was actually planning to retire next year I was told. That said, this all could have been handled in a much more decent way. Perhaps Flanagan can stay on in a transitional capacity as Lorenzen gets her bearings at the school.

Maura Lorenzen begins her tenure at Saint Saviour's under incredibly difficult circumstances. Knowing her as I do, I suspect she will be able to set a positive tone and create an environment that is as open and welcoming of parents and staff and their needs as the one she created at the ECC.

She is a special person. And this school needs someone special to replace the special principal that they lost.

Dr. Strangelove, Hamlet and Tom Stoppard at The Old Stone House

It's a big week at the Old Stone House: Brooklyn Film Works presents: Dr. Strangelove outdoors on Wednesday at 8:30 pm;

And the Piper Theater's production of Hamlet opens July 9, 10, 11 at 8:00 pm and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead opens on July 12 at 8:00 pm.

It's all happening this summer at the field in front of the Old Stone House on Fifth Avenue and Third Street.

Greetings from Scott Turner: Junior High Yearbook

Here's this week's missive from Scott Turner, who runs the Thursday night Pub Quiz at Rocky Sullivan's. Sorry he wasn't on the blog last week. For some reason, Yahoo wouldn't let his email through. We're glad he's back And thanks to our sponsor, Miss Wit,  the Red Hook t-shirt queen.

Greetings Pub Quiz Dance Floor Denizens...

Before getting into the week's business, here's this, from the Rocky Sullivan's staff:

We will be holding a benefit this Friday July 10th  at 7pm at Rocky's.  Heather and Ariel our neighbors across the street tragically lost their first born son Gabriel Neshamah last week after being delivered on his due date but sadly not taking a breath.  We are holding a benefit to raise money for baby Gabriel's burial.  We will be asking a suggested $25 donation.  People who cannot make Friday can always leave a donation in an envelope with the bar staff marked Gabriel.

Thanks in advance for your support.

Rocky's neighbors and patrons are the reason we're still there.  If you can bring something extra this Thursday for Gabriel's journey, that'd be great.

* * * * * * * *

A few weeks ago I reconnected with my best friend from 1972.  Most people have best friends that last lifetimes.  I have Whit and Diane and the Skyline Five.  I'm lucky, and no, you can't force me to choose a single Best Friend.

In 1972, entering 7th Grade at Eastview Junior High in White Plains, I quickly made friends with Ray Schieber.  He'd moved to White Plains from Chicago.  We found each other through obsessive sports fandom and, well, little else.  We made up games throughout the school year, created new baseball teams and leagues for them to play in, took each other on in various baseball board games, plotted all sorts of shortcuts home from school either to his folks' or my mom's apartment.

Ray's mom was wonderfully welcoming, his dad taciturn and methodical in his reading of the Saturday night early edition of Sunday Daily News, and his older sister put up with us, rarely successfully in hers or our minds.

Once we discovered ancient animal bones on the grassy slope leading from the football field to the back of the bowling alley -- ancient until the science teacher we brought them to, Mr. Cutler, let us down easy by saying "well, they might be dinosaurs, but more likely it's one of the neighborhood cats."  On further review, maybe they weren't the biggest oldest or oddest bones every unearthed.

There was a third friend, Scott Robeson.  Our triumvirate coursed through films, photography, sports, current events, Hi-C, bologna sandwiches, slices at the Italian Pavilion on Mamaroneck Avenue.  We made it through the school year with little to no sense that life was anything but friendship and collecting NFL Player Stamps at the local Sunoco.

There's a lot I'll leave out just now -- from the endless eccentric but harmless adventures Ray, Scott and I went on through to the smart, covert and brilliant way Ray tracked me down.  He and his mom are upstate, he's a brilliant and so-far unrecognized artist.  And Scott is a super in a building in Manhattan who several years ago made the papers when he foiled a mugging attempt.

Why the one-year friendship?  At the end of the school year, my mom and her new husband dropped the bomb -- we'd be moving to North Carolina at summer's end.  That kinda sucked.  I missed Ray and Scott and for years we stayed in touch, until we didn't.  We took separate paths, but they were always joined way back there in 1972.

Ray loaned me the Eastview yearbook from our one year together, '72-73.  Here's our class photo.  Since homeroom was with a shop teacher, there are only boys in this photo:

Scott Robeson (top row, far right); Scott M.X. Turner, Ray Schieber (bottom row, last two right)

One more thing.  Do you recognize the kid sitting, far left?  It's David Sanger, the New York Times' Pulitzer Prize winning Washington correspondent.  Back in seventh grade, David was that worst blending of personality disorders -- a Mets fan with the arrogance of a Yankees fan.  That's messed up.  Because I was a catcher in little league, I'd taken a shine to Johnny Bench, my generation's greatest catcher.  (That's still true, by the way.)

David razzed me every chance he could.  He was churlish and annoying and the kill-switch that even kids know to throw when they've gone to far, David either chose not to throw it or never had one installed.  I remember on several occasions really wanting to clock him, but I never did.

That's right.  At least a good half dozen times, I nearly punched out a future Pulitzer Prize winner.

A future Pulitzer Prize winner who deserved it.

Sure, he's won a couple of Pulitzers.  Bet he has fancy seats at Tarp Field, too.

I'm glad Ray found me.  I'll pull out the old Sports Illustrated Baseball game (1972 edition) and we'll see who's still got it.

No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford

July 8: End of Superfund Comment Period

Tomorrow is the end of the Superfund comment period. That means if you haven't weighed in at the EPA website it's time to do so. This was sent to me by CORD, the Coalition of Respectful Development, an activist group in Carroll Gardens that is in favor of Superfund for the clean up of the Gowanus Canal.

The Sunday edition of the Daily News (7/5/2009) featured an article on the Gowanus Canal clean up entitled, "Mud Flies over Gowanus" by Erin Durkin (page 30).
 
It began with:  "It's the battle for the Gowanus Canal."
 
Federal Superfund Director Walter Mugdan was quoted as saying: "I"ve never seen a campaign like this ever, anywhere."
 
Further, "I've never heard of one anywhere."
 
As CORD has been posting, the Bloomberg administration has been stepping up "anti-Superfund status" efforts in the past two weeks along with with a weak, and ill-conceived clean up plan that will ultimately cost the cash strapped NYC tax payers rather than the polluters who will be rewarded rather than punished.  (The EPA will demand that the polluters pay).
 
PLEASE write to the EPA and tell them how you feel about the Gowanus Canal getting Superfund status.  At CORD, we feel that this is by far the best thing that has happened to Carroll Gardens in a long time. There are just two more days until the last public comments will be accepted by the EPA.
 
As we wrote at our blog last Friday: The City is sending their comments and their suggestions to the EPA. You should send yours. Please join us and proudly tell the EPA, “SUPERFUND ME!”

We all have the right, no, the RESPONSIBILITY, to demand that our environment be as healthy as possible! Superfund designation provides the will, the means ,the tools and the experience to make this a reality.

If you have not already done so, please go to. The comment period has been extended to July 8th. For instructions to submit comments go to http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/pubcom.htm or contact Dennis Munhall, Region 2 NPL Coordinator at (212) 637-4343 or munhall.dennis@epa.gov Note Docket #EPA-HQ-SFUND-2009-0063

Madarts: New Gallery Space on 5th Avenue and 10th Street

On Wednesday, July 8th, Madarts Studios will celebrate the grand opening of their new Park Slope art gallery with the exhibition: INTRO.  All forty artists of Madarts are featured in the exhibition to christen their new permanent gallery in the heart of Park Slope: 461 5th Avenue (right on the corner 5th Ave. and 10th Street).

At the exhibition, which opens at 6 pm will continue with a "meet the artists" after-party at Commonwealth Bar just down the street at 5th Ave. and 12th St. 

INTRO gallery hours will be Thursdays through Sundays from noon to 6pm, closing Sunday, August 9th.

 For six years running Madarts Studios has put on shows in the giant warehouse of art studios just south of their new gallery, which is an airy new gallery venue at Fifth Avenue and 10th Street.

Painting by Madarts artist Rebecca Aidlin

Robin's Nest: A Teeny, Tiny Shop in the Laundromat

Hugh and I were walking down Seventh Avenue after the Breakfast-of-Candidates interview with Tony Avella when we saw something akin to a stoop sale in front of the Laundromat near 4th Street. 

On closer look, I saw that it was a new shop within a shop at the Laundromat that spills out neatly onto the sidewalk.

Owner Robbin Farrell teaches Bikram Yoga at two Park Slope studios. A former Peace Corps volunteer she's a well-travelled collector who is selling (or "releasing" as she calls it) merchandise from her trips to Niger, Jamaica, and the Marshall Islands ( where she taught and developed yoga curriculum for the past two years).

Her shop, Robin's Nest, features a various and sundry collection of merchandise, including clothing, pottery, leather bags and more.

"I will be here as long as I'm able in this economy. Hopefully things can work...I'm starting with this nice phase and will transition into yoga merchandise. Releasing things from the past and transition into the future...That's the nesting idea, the image, the logo, three little eggs that will grow," Farrell told me. 

"I am also a longtime Park Sloper. Worked my way through college on 7th Avenue at an art supply store...the one under the drips," she said. 

I Want to Interview William C. Thompson (The Stealth Candidate)

This morning I met with Tony Avella at Donuts Coffee Shop, one of my favorite spots in the Slope. He's running against William C. Thompson in the Democratic mayoral primary on September 15th. During our Breakfast-of-Candidates interview, we talked about this article in the Times' today:

He is rarely on television. He has not begun to advertise. He is far behind in the polls, yet seems in no rush to get going.

The all-but-invisible mayoral candidacy of William C. Thompson Jr., the city’s comptroller, is baffling even to those who wish to see him elected. He has raised $5 million but has been so low key, some Democrats wonder if he is actually running.

And often, when Mr. Thompson travels, he hears the same question: Where have you been?

The incumbent, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, is everywhere: on television, with a $12 million barrage of ads touting his re-election bid; in mailboxes, with a constant stream of glossy literature; and online, with ads popping up on Web sites from Facebook to local blogs.

A woman approached Mr. Thompson in the Bronx not long ago and asked if she would be receiving campaign literature from him.

"Not anytime soon,” he said.

Now I really want to interview him for my Breakfast-of-Candidates series. I've been in touch and his campaign people say he's interested...

Register to Vote So You Can Vote on September 15th and November 3rd

Here's some info from the League of Women Voters about registering for the upcoming election:

You can register to vote at any time during the year, but the last day to register for the September 15, 2009 primary election is August 21, 2009; and the last day to register for the November 3, 2009
general election is October 9, 2009.

To vote you must be a U. S. citizen, a resident of New York City for 30 days by Election Day, 18 years of age by Election Day, and you must be registered.

You can register in person, or mail your completed Registration Form. Your registration is permanent unless you move, change your name, or have not voted for 5 years. You may register at your borough Board of Elections (or any agency participating in the National Voter Registration Act) on any business day throughout the year. Forms are available from your borough Board of Elections (see addresses below), town and city hall, post office, political parties, various state offices, and the League of Women Voters. Click here to print a blank Registration Form. If you are registering for the first time you must provide a valid photo ID.

Green Party Ballot Petitioning Begins July 7

Supporters of Green Party City Council candidate David Pechefsky will be all over the 39th City Council district in an effort to get the 2500 signatures needed to get Pechefsky's name on the ballot.

If you haven't already signed one of the Democratic petitions and you want to see the Green Party on general election ballot, sign Pechefsky's petition.

You can only sign one petition.

Your signature on the petition doesn't mean that you have to vote for Pechefsky in the general election (although you are more than welcome to do so).

Pechefsky's name will not be on the primary ballot on September 15th because that election is for the Conservative, Democratic, Independence, Republican, Working Families parties.

This Morning: Tony Avella Faces OTBKB's Coffee Cup

On Monday morning at a coffee shop in Park Slope, OTBKB is meeting with Queens City Councilman Tony Avella , who is running for Mike Bloomberg's seat.

They'll drink coffee, have some breakfast and talk. It will be interesting to get a sense of this politician who is running against the richest man in New York City.

OTBKB is excited.

OTBKB Music: Sydney Wayser at City Winery Monday Night

Most people just describe Brooklyn's Sydney Wayser as indie or indie-pop.  That mainly tells you what she doesn't sound like (mainstream music).  So I'll try to describe her music for you.  Sydney's main instrument is piano and her band consists of electric guitar, upright bass, drums and toys (toy piano, toy xylophone and some others).  Her songs combine elements of classical, show music, rock and chanson française (Sydney's father is French and she spent some time in Paris growing up).  But the most impressive instrument in Sydney's band is her voice.  Extremely expressive and perhaps a touch breathy, it is the hook that ultimately pulls you into her music.

Sydney's been on my radar for a while now, so I made it over to The Living Room a while back to see her roll out the songs from her new album, "The Colorful."  Among the standouts played before the appreciative crowd  were "La Di Da," "Bells," and a rousing version "Drive In Not Drive Through" (which sounds like it should have the title 1953).

Sydney Wayser, City Winery, 155 Varick Street (between Spring and Vandam Streets), 1 Train to Houston Street or Canal Street; C or E Trains to Spring Street, 8pm, $10.

 --Eliot Wagner

A Morning Dove Laid An Egg On My Air Conditioner: What Do I Do?

I found this in my inbox yesterday. The subject line read: Eggs and Air Conditioner. I was intrigued. It's from the NYC Bird Club list serve sort of a Park Slope Parents of local bird lovers. To read more or to respond go here: http://forums.manhattanbirdclub.com/post?id=3548966

Yesterday a morning dove laid an egg on top of a towel that I rest on my air conditioner. 

The towel is very small and only keeps the drops of other air conditioners from making a loud noise on mine.
I called the bird volunteers and at the time there didn't appear to be a mate and there was no nest so they told me she would most likely not succeed w/ this first egg.

Lo and behold, after a while, a mate appeared and he began to build a nice nest.

HERE'S MY QUESTION.  If I turn on my air conditioner will I hurt the baby egg?  I have been surviving with the fan but my apt is HOT and I can just go buy another AC for another window in another room.

Please send me your thoughts about using the air conditioner.

Katha Pollitt at Bookcourt on Tuesday

On Tuesday July 7th at 7pm Katha Pollitt will read from her new collection of poetry, The Mind-Body Problem at Bookcourt (163 Court Street in Cobble Hill.

Her first collection of poetry in 27 years, the book is a follow-up to the acclaimed "Antarctic Traveller", which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry in 1982.

Pollitt, a Brooklyn Heights native, is perhaps best known for her column "Subject to Debate" in The Nation magazine. She has also published work in The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, Ms. magazine and The New York Times.

Her essays have been published in collections including, Learning to Drive; And Other Life Stories,  Virginity or Death!: And Other Social and Political Issues of Our Time and Reasonable Creatures: Essays on Women and Feminism, nineteen essays that first appeared in The Nation and other journals. Here is the title poem from her new poetry collection

Mind-Body Problem

by Katha Pollitt

When I think of myself I feel sorry not for myself

but for my body.  It was not so direct

and simple, so rational in its desires,

wanting to be touched the way an otter

loves water, the way a giraffe

wants to amble the edge of the forest, nuzzling

the tender leaves at the tops of the trees.  It seems
unfair, somehow, that my body had to suffer

because I, by which I mean my mind, was saddled

with certain unfortunate high-minded romantic notions

that made me tyrannize and patronize it

like a cruel medieval baron, or an ambitious

English-professor husband ashamed of his wife---

her love of sad movies, her budget casseroles

and regional vowels.  Perhaps

my body would have liked to make some of our dates,

to come home at four in the morning and answer my scowl

with "None of your business!"  Perhaps

it would have liked more presents: silks, mascaras.

If we had had a more democratic arrangement

we might even have come, despite our different backgrounds,

to a grudging respect for each other, like Tony Curtis

and Sidney Poitier fleeing handcuffed together,

instead of the current curious shift of power

in which I find I am being reluctantly

dragged along by my body as though by some

swift and powerful dog.  How eagerly

it plunges ahead, not stopping for anything,

as though it knows exactly where we are going.

Tom Martinez, Witness: Kensington Sky

An expansive sky over Coney Island Avenue.  To the right of the Laundromat is a new branch of Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican Restaurant popular with the Kensington crowd. Another branch is located near the Cortelyou Road stop on the Q.

Photo by Tom Martinez

No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford

New: G Train from Park Slope to Williamsburg, Greenpoint and LI City

Here's the word from OTBKB fave Richard Grayson author of I Hate All of You On This L Train.

This morning I was able to get from Williamsburg to Park Slope with only the G train.  Previously I could do that only on weekends when the F service was disrupted, but they put up the "To Church Ave." signs here, replacing the "To Smith/9th St" signs this week, and starting today, people in Park Slope can take one train to Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Long Island City.

 

On Friday night coming home, I saw the G train signs next to the F train ones on the platform on Seventh Avenue.

 

For some of us who travel between the neighborhoods a lot, this is a big deal and a real pleasure.

Chestnut Defeats Kobayashi at Coney Island Hot Dog Contest

OTBKB turns to the Brooklyn Paper for its stellar coverage of yesterday's hot dog-eating contest at Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island. Here's an excerpt. Go here for more.

America continued its dominance at that most-American of sporting events — the world hot dog-eating contest at Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island — as defending two-time champ Joey “Jaws” Chestnut stunned the world by defeating former champ Takeru Kobayashi by a huge margin today.

When all the hot dogs, buns and dog/bun detritus was counted at the end of the 10-minute contest, Chestnut had eaten an all-time record 68 HDBs to Kobayashi’s 64-1/2 HDBs.

The champion was his humble self.

“I have to credit my mom,” he said. “She helped me every night as I was training.”

Tom Martinez, Witness: Erie Cranes

 

First Father's Day Without Monte

Smartmom’s first Father’s Day without her dad wasn’t easy. They always did something special on that night. Usually, her dad — aka Groovy Grandpa — and Mima Cat came over for dinner. While Hepcat cooked risotto or lamb, she and her dad would stand in the kitchen, and he’d tell tales of his college days at U.C. Berkeley, or working at Papert, Koenig and Lois, that 1960s advertising firm where he wrote ads for Robert Kennedy’s Senate campaign, Quisp and Quake Cereals and the New York Herald Tribune.

Groovy Grandpa would gingerly sip from Hepcat’s collection of Scotch (some Oban, Balvenie or Laphraiog) and compare them, like the connoisseur he was. He always gave Hepcat a bottle for his birthday.

Smartmom loved those evenings with her dad at the apartment, especially when her father would sit down at the Casio piano and play his free-form jazz. He had no formal training and couldn’t read music, but somehow he managed to bang out tinkly renditions of some of his favorite Cole Porter songs.

For a Father’s Day gift, Smartmom would usually go to the Community Bookstore and buy him a book on one of his favorite topics like philosophy, jazz, bird watching, or horse racing.

He’d immediately start reading it and confirm that it was a very good choice.

“How’d you know I’ve been wanting to read this?” he would ask.

A couple of years ago, Groovy Grandpa told Smartmom that he wasn’t a big fan of the Father’s Day holiday, but he appreciated the fact that she and Diaper Diva made such a big deal about it. Now Smartmom wonders why he wasn’t a big fan. Or maybe he was just kidding.

Last year, Smartmom didn’t write a column about her dad for Father’s Day because when he first got sick, he asked her not to mention his illness in her column. She thought a Father’s Day column would be too maudlin, sad and elegiac.

About a week later, Groovy Grandpa said, “I thought you’d write a ‘Smartmom’ about me for Father’s Day.”

Smartmom was startled and stricken. There was something so poignant about hearing him say that. So this Father’s Day, she kept flashing on that conversation and feeling guilty and sad.

Truth is, she never wanted to admit to him that she knew he was dying. Now Smartmom feels bad about all the conversations they didn’t have. And terrible that she didn’t write about him last Father’s Day.

Not a day goes by when Smartmom doesn’t think of her dad. There’s so much she never got around to saying. That’s life (or death).

But it still doesn’t make her feel any better.

Smartmom found herself feeling low energy on Father’s Day. In the quiet of Sunday morning, while Hepcat and the kids were asleep, Smartmom went through a box of old letters that her lovable and funny dad wrote to his parents just weeks prior to the birth of Smartmom and Diaper Diva in 1958:

Dear Folks,

Birth is expected in a couple of weeks, and I am pretty nervous about it. Up until now, the idea of a baby (babies) has been pretty much taking them to their first ballgame, dressing them in Eton suits and listening to their first gurgles of gratitude.

But now, the day-by-day reality becomes clearer, and I wonder how we’ll handle such things as squalling nights, plastic ducks all over the bathroom and shelves full of those terrible picture books. To say nothing of colic, uninhibited bowel habits and stubborn refusal to eat. In addition, the idea of pacing the hospital waiting room for hours, without knowing what’s happening to Edna, doesn’t strike me as better than going to the movies.

Oh, well, it will all be over soon and the joy of having them will, I suppose, put the doubts away. Did you like me at first, or did it take a few years?

Smartmom wonders how long it took her dad to like her and her sister. From the black-and-white photos, it looks like he was quite fond of his twin newborns quite early on. But who knows?

There is so much children don’t know about the inner lives of their parents. When you’re young, you can’t even imagine them having a life before you were born. Finding letters, notebooks, and journals is such a powerful way to learn more about the parents you think you know.

The night of Smartmom’s first Father’s Day without her dad, there was no standing in the kitchen hearing vintage stories. There was no jazzy tinkling of the plastic Casio keys. There was no tasting of Hepcat’s special Scotch.

But there were memories. Plenty of them. And the letters. They're no substitute for the man but they offer a coveted insight into what was going on in his head.

Starts July 4th: Fifth Avenue Art and Photo Walk

I was involved in an early planning meeting about this and I'm just really impressed that this group pulled it off so quickly.

The 5th Avenue Business Improvement District (BID) has teamed up with artists from across the borough to sponsor the first annual Art and Photo Walk in Park Slope.

As part of the walk, art installations will be exhibited along Fifth Avenue from Dean to 18th Street and feature a variety of artists. “With computer art, oil paintings, mixed media, ceramic tile, and photography,” explained participating photographer and BID Board Member Erika Clark, “the walk offers a range of artists an opportunity to exhibit their work in non-traditional settings while bringing more people to neighborhood to support the local economy.”

There are over 70 participating merchants, 40 artists and approximately 200 pieces. Artists include Third Street photographer Stanley Cohen, Bernette Rudolph, and Jonathan Blum among many, many others.

 The walk will officially launch on the 4th of July and last until Labor Day. With art as dynamic as the Avenue itself, the public installation promises to bring unique energy to an Avenue long accustomed to setting new trends.

For a map a detailed map of the Artwalk, click here (please note, some details are subject to change).

No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford

The Third Street Playground Awaits

Are Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick Moving to Park Slope?

Just got this email from my pal, Verse Responder Leon Freilich:

If, as the Post says, Sarah Jessica Parker (SJP) and family move into the limestone mansion on Prospect Park West; and if her HBO series is brought back with new episodes, will it be called Sex and Park Slope?

Then I read in Curbed that Jennifer Gould Kalin in the New York Post speculates that Sarah and Matthew Broderick may be the "mystery buyers" of Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany's limestone on Prospect Park West and Carroll Street. That house sold for $8.45 million but nobody has moved in yet.

But look out for the moving trucks and get out the welcome wagons. Sounds like they should be home soon. I happen to know that SJP has been working on a film with Hugh Grant in NYC and on location in New Mexico. And she and her hubby have been waiting for a surrogate to give birth to their twins.

And there's more: Omigod: Curbed also reports that Parker's production company optioned Amy Sohn's book, Prospect Park West, which is a fictional treatment of the celebrity life in Park Slope.

Truth. Fiction. The lines are getting mighty blurred these days.

;

Back By Popular Demand: The Peacock Dress From Dalaga

Dalaga, a 2-year-old boutique on an interesting stretch of Greenpoint's Franklin Avenue, is owned by designer Michelle Mangiliman. The shop features an affordable selection of designer women's and men's clothing, shoes and accessories.

Back by popular demand is the peacock dress, which is $65 and available in black, white and turqoise. They also have pretty floral dresses, black linen shorts and coin medallion necklaces.

The shop is located on 150 Franklin Street in Greenpoint (718-389-4049). And it's open on the fourth of July.

You Gotta See The Wrestler

We rented Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler from Netflix: I didn't expect a movie about wrestling  (and pole dancing)  to be so poetic and lyrical. Mickey Rourke, who looks like he's bionic, plays an unexpectedly gentle (and sad) character named Randy the Ram.

A loser on so many levels, Rourke is a "one trick pony," who needs to figure out how to survive once he retires from the sport. He tries to resuscitate his relationship with his grown daughter played by Rachel Evan Rachel Wood, who hates him for being a consistent no-show. The scenes with Wood are powerful and poignant.  A scene where they dance in an abandoned Jersey Shore ballroom bordered on the corny but managed to be anything but.

Marisa Tomei plays an unexpectedly complex stripper/pole dancer who wants to make something more of her life for herself and her son.

The wrestling scenes are graphic and brutal. Hard to take at times, they are also incredibly interesting.

Subtextually, the movie also tells Mickey Rourke's own life story of a guy who screwed up big time and wants to come back is fascinating and definitely blurs the line between fiction and life.

Tom Martinez, Witness: Erie Basin Park

This  walkway, part of the newly developed waterfront area behind IKEA, runs along the water, out onto a dock so that you can go beneath two towering cranes to the Water Taxi landing.

Photo by Tom Martinez

The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America

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 Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

Continue reading "The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America"

Tom Martinez, Witness: Our Flag Was Still There

New Yorkers preparing for the immigration rally on May 1st (Union Square, NYC).      

Photo: Tom Martinez

The 4th of July in Brooklyn

Loads of cool cultural things to do in Brooklyn this 4th of July Weekend:

 1. Let's start with BAM, that bastion of culture in Ft. Greene:

--BAMcinematek Repertory is presenting a festival of films by Spike Lee, in honor of the 20th anniversary of Do the Right Thing.

--In the first run department: BAM Rose Cinema is showing:  Away We Go, Food Inc. and the new Woody Allen: Whatever Works.Check their website for times.

--The AfroPunk Festival is a-happening at BAM on July 4-6 and it is described thus: "Power to the people! BAMcinématek and Afro-Punk celebrate five years of rejoicing in the revolutionary spirit of July 4th with six days of film, music, and other events that feature themes of Black power, rebellion, and equality."  There's also a skate park: the parking lot by BAM will be transformed into a killer skate park, complete with live music, skating and biking demonstrations, and more. For full details on the Afro-Punk skate park, the Nike SB skate clinic, and the URBANX Battle for the Streets BMX/skate competitions.

2. Now for a little culture on Eastern Parkway: Target First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum on the 4th of July:

Alex Battles and the Whisky Rebellion perform a roof-shaking, joyful medley of country, jump blues, and rock ‘n’ roll. Rain Plan: Rubin Glass Pavilion, 1st Floor. The legendary Mandingo Ambassadors play authentic Guinean music, using their rich melodies and funky moves to get you dancing. Rain Plan: Rubin Glass Pavilion, 1st Floor. Stitch together your own patchwork quilt with fabrics and designs inspired by the diverse cultures of Brooklyn. Free timed tickets (380) are available at the Visitor Center at 5:30 p.m., The Namesake (Mira Nair, 2007, 122 min., PG-13) follows one family as they adjust to life in North America. Gogol, the American-born son of Bengali parents, struggles to find balance between his family’s traditions and his own path. Free tickets (340) are available at the Visitor Center at 5 p.m, Samba Nation takes the musical energy up a notch with its Latin grooves. Rain Plan: Rubin Glass Pavilion, 1st Floor. Cristina Garza, a Student Guide, gives a Sign Language–interpreted talk on Yinka Shonibare MBE.
And there's a dance party, too: Brooklyn-based indie rockers The Shondes keep the evening hot with high-energy, politically savvy rock’n’roll with Yiddish and classical influences. Rain Plan: Rubin Glass Pavilion, 1st Floor.

3. Think Swimming. Think Pools.  About Brooklyn has a nice list of Brooklyn's public pools:

Swimming pools in Brooklyn are open from late June through September 1 (with a few open year-round). Hours are generally from 11am to 7pm, and swimming is free.

4. And what would the 4th of July be without Coney Island's 94th annual Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest? You can watch this crazy, only in Brooklyn event. But get there early because there's always a big crowd. Festivities start at noon on the corner of Surf Avenue and Stillwell Avenue.

5. Vox Pop on Corteylou Road in the Ditmas/Flatbush neighborhood is having an all day Fourth of July Bash, a full day of music and mayhem. Beginning at 3 pm with younger, up and coming musicians, the event will continue through the evening with some wonderful, explosive music. Line up will include Paul Decosta, Syndey and Mack Price, Jake G and Friends, In One Wind, Eric Godoi and the Templates and many more.

6. Music and dancing is the name of the game on July 5th at the BKLYN Yard on the banks of the Gowanus: "From Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend, Eamon Harkin, Doug Singer and Justin Carter will return as resident DJs. Each weekend, they are joined by incredible guests while we get busy eating huaraches, drinking sangria, and dancing it all off.

7. Yes, the Brooklyn Flea is open on July 4th in Ft. Greene and on July 5th in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

8. The Park Slope Farmers Market (Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets) presents a live jazz trio from noon until 2 p.m on July 5th. Little Triumph is a virtuosic Brooklyn based trio that specializes in improvisational Americana music with undertones of jazz and country. The band features Kirk Schoenherr on guitar, Nick Anderson on drums/percussion and Spencer Zahn on acoustic bass.

9. Barbes is chock full of great music programming on July 4th and 5th, including on the 4th at 8 pm: Lucia Puludo A Colombian singer who specializes in a Pan-Latin-American repertoire and classic songs of "broken love": tangos, waltzes and boleros. And on the 4th at 10 pm: The Stagger Back Brass Band presents one hundred and thirty eight years after the Commune, and twenty years after Tiannamen square, come see how a brass band arrangement of l'internationals sounds on Independence day - and then dance to the Coceks, cumbias, waltzes and circus oddities. And on the 5th: French virtuoso Guitarist Stephane Wrembel channels the technique and the fire of Django Reinhardt. He studied for years with the manouche (the French Gypsies) but has also gotten deep into American vernacular musical styles. His weekly sets will mix up the traditional Django repertoire along gypsy swing re-interpretations of standards.

10. 38th Annual International African Arts Festival is all weekend in Commodore Barry Park Navy St, between Flushing and Park Aves, Brooklyn: Hundreds of performers, artists and vendors gather for this weekend-long festival celebrating African art and culture.

11. And here's something in Manhattan: On the 4th in Battery Park (State St, at Battery Place), the River-to-River Festival presents Conor Oberst with Jenny Lewis as his opener. This event is not ticketed, but space is limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The show starts at 3:30. 

Tell me this isn't the awesomist list of stuff to do?

Photo by Brit in Brooklyn

No Words Daily Pix: Photograph by Hugh Crawford

Leon Freilich, Verse Responder: Palin Sets Her Sights

Sarah Palin's announced she's resigning as governor.  --just in.

Palin Sets Her Sights
 
Sarah Palin's grown too big for Alaska;

If you doubt it, go ahead and ask her.

Glamorous and conservative is she,

Mistress of two-faced hypocrisy.

Next, the international arena--

Hook-up with Mark Sanford in Argentina?

Richard Grayson's New Book: I Hate All of You On This L Train

The Brooklyn-based indie publisher Canarsie House has announced the publication of a new book of selected stories by OTBKB fave Richard Grayson, I Hate All of You on This L Train. It features some of the best stories from five previously published Richard Grayson books from the '70s, '80s, '90s and 21st century. This 94-page collection of selected stories is available online for $7.00 plus shipping and handling. Or, for those who don't want to carry it on the subway, the book is available for free downloads and online reading at Scribd.