The 2008 Park Slope 100

The 2008 Park Slope 100: 100 stories, 100 ways of looking at the world, 100 inspiring people, places and things. The list is in alphabetical order. There are no repeats from last year. There are always serious omissions. I left two slots open for latecomers. The link above is the list's very own blog.

ARTOBAMA because what a creative and organized group with a great idea, energy and spirit. Heck, you raised $48,000 for Barack Obama at a fun and festive art auction. Yeah!

FLORIAN BALHAUS because you are quietly building an impressive list of movie credits as Director of Photography forThe Devil Wears Prada, Definitely, Maybe, the upcoming Marley and Me and The Time Travelers Wife. Whoa.

MARIATERESSA BAZZI because you've got two sets of twins born one year apart. Enough said right there. They are now 11 and 12 and a great bunch of talented and well-behaved kids. But you are also a spirited, fun, involved person who oversees the recess crowd at PS 321.

BRENDA BECKER because in 2008 you decided to visit Prospect Park every day as an urban adventure (and, not least, as a drug-free antidepressant!), and to chronicle your discoveries. And you're still trying to get to the park every day, and posting about it on your blog, A Year in the Park, a site the New York Times called "witty and engaging" in a profile last July. "It was fun getting some Old Media attention for 15 minutes," comments Becker, "but the real gift was connecting to so many other people, from cyclists to dog lovers, who are also passionate about Prospect Park. The calendar is a way to share that passion."

SALLY BERMANZOHN because you were a labor organizer at the Duke Hospital cafeteria with your husband Paul, who was critically wounded in the Greensboro Massacre in 1979. Currently you are professor and chairperson of the Political Science Department at Brooklyn College, where you research and teach courses on the international phenomenon of truth and reconciliation commissions. And that's not all. You're the author of Through Survivors’ Eyes: From the Sixties to the Greensboro Massacre (2003), for which you received the Brooklyn College Award for Excellence in Creative Achievement. You are also featured in Adam Zucker's documentary, Greensboro; Closer to the Truth.

ANDREA BERNSTEIN because as political director for WNYC and The Takeaway, your reporting of Hillary Clinton’s primary campaign was always top notch, as were your stories from battleground states. Kudos for being one of 12 top U.S. journalists to win a Knight Fellowship at Stanford University in 2006-2007.

CHARLES BLOW because as the New York Times' visual Op-Ed columnist and an award-winning art director, you bring a decidedly visual style to that page, a great writing style and a distinctive point of view.

BROOKLYN FOR BARACK because of the phone banks. And everything else you need to bring Barack to the White House.

BROOKLYN GREEN TEAM because you're a community group in Park Slope devoted to reducing your environmental impact and you inspire others to do the same through small changes which make a big difference. Founded in 2007, your major activities include a blog site with local and national green news, resources, upcoming events, and tips as well as informative emails pertaining to a particular environmental issue such as local food or bottled water. Green Team members include: Jennifer Bartels, Melissa Browning, Amanda Gentile, Noelle Gentile, Johanna Voutounou, and Robert Weinstein.

BROOKLYN MERCANTILE because you've turned your eclectic, fun Fifth Avenue store,which features an attractive mix of home goods and hand-crafted items, into a community workshop for crafters of all stripes.

BROOKLYNOLOGY because you're a blog run by the Brooklyn Public Library and you present a treasure trove of interesting stories and pictures about Brooklyn.

BROOKLYNOMETRY because your take on things is so unusual and eccentric and it’s never boring to read your words or look at your photographs. 

PHYILLIS COOPER because you are da bomb as a physical education teacher and administrator at MS 51, a good citizen of Park Slope and a good Third Street neighbor.

DOUGLAS J. CUOMO because you compose acclaimed and original music for concert and theatrical stages, television, and film. Your music, with influences from jazz, world music, classical, and popular sources, is as personal, distinctive, and recognizable as it is wide-ranging. Your compositions range from well-known television themes — for Sex and the City and Now with Bill Moyers, among others — to evening-length works for theater, including Arjuna’s Dilemma, an opera-oratorio based on the story of the Bhagavad Gita, which was at BAM this fall.

D'VINE TASTE because you've been providing this community with delicious cheeses, breads, middle eastern specialties, condiments, olives, sweets, and more at reasonable prices for many years in a friendly atmosphere with good service and even better conversation while WNYC plays on the radio.

CAITLIN DEAN because you decided to start a non-profit outdoors program, Girl Guides, for sixth through tenth grade girls in Brooklyn. A graduate of Yale University in 2007, you worked for Sen. Dick Durbin on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., but I left your job to start this program.

EDIBLE BROOKLYN because you’re an attractive and well-written magazine that celebrates, defines and honors Brooklyn's diverse cuisine.

JENIFER EPELBAUM because you are trying to help your neighbors, an elderly man and a mentally disabled woman, who are being evicted from their Slope apartment where the woman has resided for 19 years. She writes: "She and her partner have been our neighbors in the Slope for these many years, and as a community, I believe we have a responsibility to make sure they are treated fairly and decently."   

BARBARA ENSOR because you’re the scissor girl, the paper lady, the mad genius and author of Cinderella and Thumbalina.

FAMOUS ACCORDIAN ORCHESTRA because  your quartet spans the traditional and the modern. You perform original material, as well as tunes from many different traditions, including Stephen Foster, Jacques Offenbach, Paolo Conte, Leonard Bernstein, Yiddish, Basque, Italian, Balkan, and beyond.

BRADLEY FELDMAN because your geeky weather tower is working 24/7/365 days a year to bring Park Slopers the temperature, the windchill, the humidity and a live image detailed weather, radar/satellite map, 5-day forecaster and pollen levels. Your weather site is quite a service to the community.

SANDI FRANKLIN because since joining the Center for the Urban Environment (CUE) in 2001, you’ve brought this esteemed 30 year old organization into the 21st century. You’ve honed the agency’s mission, expanded its programming, and cultivated new partnerships to allow CUE to become the leading educational guide to a greener New York City. Under your direction, the Center relocated its headquarters from the bucolic seat of Prospect Park to its more gritty cousin, the Gowanus Canal, on 7th Street— in what is on schedule to be the first green building of its kind in the borough. Under your leadership, you’ve increased discussions around sustainability and access to 'green' education by helping launch the Sustainable Business Network NYC, worked in nearly every school in Park Slope, established three environmentally-themed high schools, and spearheaded Brooklyn's first and largest green conference, Green Brooklyn…Green City. For your efforts you have been awarded "Citizen of the Year" by the Executive Council in 2008 and "Brooklyn Woman of Distinction" by Con Edison in 2003—and changed the lives of thousand of residents from Park Slope to Bushwick by providing them with the tools for greater involvement in the future of their communities.

LEON FREILICH because you truly are the-oh-so-prolific verse responder with your funny and smart observations about national and local politics, as well as daily life in the Slope. Once a day and sometimes 3 or 4, you bring levity, good humor, good sense and poetic craft to the many readers of OTBKB.

ELLEN FREUDENHEIM because you were the author of the first guidebook to Brooklyn in something like 50 years, and then updated twice since. If anyone has done something to help put Brooklyn on the map we think you have.

ANDREW FRIED because you lost your wife suddenly and tragically and we feel for you. You have been very eloquent in your expression of grief on your blog, Fry Guy's Thinkerings. "Our life was going amazingly, like a dream come true. We spent days together and never argued. We kissed constantly and couldn't spend enough time with each other. We laughed, loved, and talked about our future, including our expectant child."

KAREN ROTHMAN FRIED, a beloved teacher at PS 321 known known for her commitment to and appreciation of each and every child in the classroom. Brooklyn Heights born, she received her Master of Science in Elementary Education and Post Master of Science in Reading from Bank Street College of Education and taught 2nd grade at the Special Music School of America as well as 2nd grade at the Lycee Francais de New York before coming to P.S. 321 in 2007.(In memoriam).

PATRICK GASPARD because Barack Obama appointed you national political director of his  presidential campaign and the rest is history.

RICHARD GIN because you are the self-designated photographer of the Brooklyn all-ages music scene and you get the shots that everyone loves. Pictured left Fiasco.

GINO'S COLLISION because you fixed my father's Subaru for a reasonable price and we love the adorable bright orange Fiat 500 that you park right outside. Classy.

CAROLINE GHERTLER because you are the best mom I know and that's not faint praise. I admire your way with S and think she's a very lucky girl to be your daughter. You're a great sister, a great wife, a great daughter and a great friend. All this working full time with crazy hours as a set decorator on cool movies and TV commercials. How do you do it?

FRANK GIORDANO because you are a first class middle school principal at a first class middle school. You return emails faster than any educator in New York and that’s amazing.

MARTY GOLDIN because you run Goldin Management, a well-regarded real estate company based in Park Slope, which specializes in providing customized management plans for Co-ops, Condos and rental buildings You are a great landlord at Montauk Office, the coolest office space in Park Slope (in the coolest building). You're an involved parent, citizen, member of your community and a fun guy to have as a landlord.

MINDY GOLDSTEIN because of the many roles you play in your life, including Joanne in Charlie Libin's indie film, American Combatant, a recurring muse in Jamie Livingston's Photo of the Day project, a wonderful mother, a nursery school teacher at the Plymouth Church School, a specialist in special needs education, a former editor of Pandamonium, PS 321's poetry magazine and a graceful volunteer wherever help is needed.

SARAH GONSER not just because you’re smart, cool, and accomplished but the  real reason is that you embody  what we believe are the best facets to Brooklyn living. You helped a newcomer to the Slope when she needed it most. You invited her to the Ladies Night, for companionship and conversation of some pretty incredible women. but what she represents. One friend writes, "I'd heard that Park Slope was a neighborhood of community and warmth and civic pride, but had not experienced it until I was introduced to it through Sarah.  She captures these incredible attributes in the best, nonsnarky or judgmental, incredible way."

AMY GRAVES, executive director of Brooklyn Children's Theater, because, simply put, Brooklyn Children's Theater is a Park Slope treasure.  You have introduced scores of neighborhood kids to the wonders of musical theater in a setting that brings out the best in our community.You and your team, including several middle school interns, have worked this fall with more than 80 kids from elementary and middle school to create five short yet spirited musicals in a non-competitive, purely joyous productions. Cash donations at the door enable the school to offer "scholarships," so children who can't pay for the program still can find their way onstage.

KATHYRN HARRISON because you write deeply, bravely and honestly about your own experiences in your memoir work and you bring beautifully rendered fictional worlds to life in your novels, including Exposure, Poison, The Seal Wife and The Binding Chair.   

JENNIFER HENRY who blogs as The Henrys in New York because you left a perfectly nice, ordered, well-connected life in arguably the world's most liveable city, to relocate halfway around the world to live in arguably the world's most exciting city. We love to read your take on all the things you are discovering in NYC and Brooklyn. Your enthusiasm is infectious.

FORBES HILL was the retired Chairman of the Department of Media Studies at Queens College. He taught Christian education at the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims and was involved with the Independent Neighborhood Democrats, a local political club. A singer, he was also a member of the Brooklyn Community Chorus, the Congregational Beth Elohim Singers and the Plymouth Church Choir. "For my father, music was a chance to seek truth, experience beauty, relieve suffering, love and be loved and achieve something of lasting worth," said Steffanie Hill Wilchfort, his daughter. (In memoriam).

JOHN HODGMAN because you play the PC guy in those funny Apple commercials and we love your hilarious, and completely fake, trivia books (“The Areas of My Expertise” and the new “More Information than You Require”), your regular appearances as the resident expert on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and your citing of Park Slope as a utopian commune ruled by children.

SARA HOROWITZ, because as executive director of Freelancers Union and CEO of Freelancers Insurance Company you're trying to bring affordable health care to us freelancers. A lifelong resident of Brooklyn, NY, you come from a long line of labor advocates, including your father, who was a labor lawyer, and your grandfather, who was vice president of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union. You studied at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations and later earned a master's degree from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.You are the recipient of a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (also known a genuis award). 

ALISON HOUTTE because you are the flamboyant and fabulous owner of Hooti Couture, a vintage store at 321 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, that specializes in women's and men's clothes and accessories. Before getting into the vintage business you worked as a model for more than 10 years in Paris and Manhattan, appearing in everything from Vogue magazine to a Dr Pepper television commercial—and you still look like one. Your store has been featured in Women's Wear Daily, The New York Times and many other publications

JAKE the panhandler who stands in front of ACE Supermarket on Seventh Avenue and Berkeley Place because you've had a tough life, you always ask so nicely and you have such a big, warm smile.

JOYCE JED AND JANE BECKER because of the hard work and inspiration that led 8th Street between 8th Avenue and the Park to win 2008's Greenest Block in Brooklyn. This was the first time a block in Park Slope won the award sponsored by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The two of you were able  able to unify a block and inspire dozens of people to take an interest in street trees and caring for tree beds and putting up window boxes. You represent the best of Park Slope, their commitment to the neighborhood, and the people who live here.

JOHN TUCKER because we love dinner and brunch at Rose Water, a seasonal American restaurant and we love your commitment to local, regional, organic and sustainable food.

NATE KENSINGER because we know that you're a documentary filmmaker, photographer, film festival programmer and location scout but it's your pictures of the industrial edges of NYC that grab our hearts. Photo left: under the boardwalk.

DEDE KAVANAUGH because some call you the mayor of Park Slope. We loved your costumes for Piper Theater’s production of Midsummer Night’s Dream in Washington Park right down to the Victorian underwear. We notice all the decorative things you do at benefits, weddings, and school events.

PAMELA KATZ because you always have the time to be an amazing friend despite your multi-tasking life as a professor of screenwriting, screenwriter, novelist, superlative mom, excellent conversationalist, voracious reader and backyard gardener.

JEZRA KAYE because in your public speaking workshops you teach how to communicate with power and ease so that people really listen. You’re on the board of directors of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn , and are author of Kicking: Love Poems, which is one woman's grapple with the ever-changing face of love, a jazz singer, a Food Coop member and one heck of a people connector. 

ADAM KLEIN AND ISABEL REBOH because we still can't believe that you moved away from Third Street, your home for 15 years. Each of you in your own way, was an integral part of life in the Slope. We ask: How are you surviving in a small resort town more than an hour from Toronto? We miss running into you both on Third Street or Seventh Avenue. Thanks for the emails, the  excerpts from the Toronto Globe, the literary musings, and the real estate reports. But most of all we envy your new neighbors!

DAVID KONIGSBERG because you're the original idea man whether it's coming up with a great way to raise money for Barack Obama's campaign (Artobama), writing annual reports or painting your gorgeously lush narrative paintings of strange autos, flying machines and imaginary cities.

THE HANDY LANDLORD OF LINCOLN PLACE because you look over your storefronts like a proud papa and are a whiz with power tools. You do your carpentry in front of Stitch Therapy, Paper Love and One of a Find on Lincoln place creating attractive planters and benches, which you then hand paint. Name to come.

PAUL LAROSA because on your blog, The Murder Book 2008, you created a record of all the murders in NYC that appeared in the city’s three newpapers. You’re also a TV producer for CBS’s 48 Hours and a true crime author of Tacoma Confidential and other books.

HEATH LEDGER because it's hard to overestimate what Heath Ledger, the star of The Dark Knight and Brokeback Mountain, meant to Brooklyn. When this Oscar nominated Austrailian actor moved to Boerum Hill it seemed to confirm what we already knew: Brooklyn is a livable place to be whether you're a regular person or a Hollywood celebrity. And he and his wife Michele Williams were just regular Brooklyn stoller people, sipping lattes, walking on Smith and Court Streets. Perhaps most importantly Heath and Michelle were members of the Advisory Board of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn. In this way, they used their celebrity to make people aware of the battle against the Atlantic Yards.

 

CHARLIE LIBIN because you're usually behind the lens as director of photography or camera operator on films like Able Danger, Be Kind Rewind and Neil Young: Heart of Gold. The film you directed, American Combatant was selected for numerous film festivals, including the San Paulo International Film Festival and is now available at Amazone.com. Most of all, we loved that you were on screen as an extra during the party scene in Rachel Getting Married, a film you also worked on.

RABBI ELLEN LIPPMANN because as founding rabbi of Park Slope’s Kolot Chayeinu/Voices of Our Lives you bring a spirit of serious Judaism, spirituality, social activism and human rights to your pulpit. A tireless organizer, you played an instrumental role in the now annual Children of Abraham Faith Walk and more recently have been an outspoken advocate against torture (bringing a petition to our local Congresswoman, Yvette Clark).  How Rabbi Lippmann manages to organize and advocate in addition to leading a thriving faith community is anyone's guess.  Rumor has it that she's getting some help from above.   

THE LITTLE ROOM (at the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School) because you're a nationally recognized program for 3- and 4-year-olds with speech and language delays across Brooklyn and Manhattan. Your fate is unclear but a lot of people are fighting to keep you open.

LIVING ON SEVENTH  because we love your friendly shop and all the beautiful things you've got in there. Eva, you have impeccable taste in home design, accessories and clothing.

LUCY because you sell vintage clothing at the PS 321 Flea Market, because anybody can see the woman has style from that long blond wig against the ebony skin. And you're  willing to share it! Slopers in the know have been fighting over the stash you bring to the flea market at 321 for years now. And you never forget to ask after our kith and kin as you get us to wriggle in and out of your swanky stuff. WIthout you we'd have to walk around naked: Lucy, you are the empress!

THE MIGHTY HANDFUL because you're not just another rock and roll band. You raised more than $8,000 over the last four years for New Orleans and an orphanage for Manila street children in the Phillipines with your annual concerts at the Old Stone House. And on December 19th you've got another one planned this time for a TB vaccine. And let's not forget that you are leading members of the all-ages rock scene in the neighborhood. Nominated by Kim Maier.  

KIRSTEN MARINO of Slope Sports because we love that your shop is always a fun spot for conversation. And when we're buying running shoes there's no one we'd rather talk to or buy from. And thanks for organizing the New Year's Eve run in Prospect Park coming up. Oh yeah, your weekly free running groups are a major addition to the nabe.

JULIE MARKES because you multi-task as a PTA president, a talented photographer and the author of children's books like Good Thing You're Not an Octopus and the ever-popular, Where's the Poop? and all the others from HarperCollins.

RACHEL MAUER because you are the blood and guts of Park Slope Parents. You keep PSP running like a well-oiled machine and that includes the website and two Yahoo! groups! You help local businesses get the word out abotu classes, activities, and community events. We know you don't like being in the spotlight. But you deserve to be here. That's for sure.

JOSEPH M. McCARTHY because when Jim Niesen and Terry Greiss moved the Irondale Theater Center to Brooklyn, they teamed up with you to be their director of development because you are an incredible advocate for any project that you’re involved with. Now you’ve put  Irondale onto the Brooklyn map as a place for strong education and innovative theater, as well as the guardian of the beautiful Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church.

ERIC McCLURE because you are the quintessential ardent civic and community activist who can enter all worlds and lend a steady voice of reason, intellect and comfort. Your civic involvement is invaluable to Park Slopers for the steady hand, integrity and strategic thinking you offer. A skilled community organizer, you walk steady in the worlds of politics, transportation and environmental advocacy, and community development. Effective both in leadership roles and working in the background, you have taken  leadership positions on the Executive Committee of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID), the Executive Committee of the Park Slope Civic Council, both long time fixtures on the Park Slope scene. He also sits on the Steering Committee of the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods (CBN), a newcomer on the block, which has brought together 42 community organizations to advocate for transparency and environmental oversight for development at the proposed Atlantic Yards site. you are also an an active volunteer with Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn. When you saw a gap and a need for vigorous activism in the Park Slope community, you founded what has quickly become a well-known, established fixture in Park Slope—Park Slope Neighbors (PSN). PSN advocates for community dialogue, contextual and environmentally responsible development, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, small businesses and diversity in the community.  And let's not forget the way you utilize your wit and writing skills as part of the team that churns out copious amounts of coverage of the Atlantic Yards fight on the inestimable NoLandGrab.org

MOIRA MELTZER-COHEN because you make everyone feel welcome when they enter Fifth Avenue's Bar Reis and you keep the level of conversation very high. Your Etsy shop, Good Head, is a great place to find knitted hats and gloves. Your qualities as an intellectual, a good drink maker and cultural critic are  obvious to everybody who walks in.

MATT MITLER because for ten years we've loved the black light magic of your Halloween puppet shows in the ground floor window of your apartment on  Garfield Place. Your theater troupe, Diezi, sounds pretty wonderful, too. Not only for the artistry but because the group performs in hospitals and believes that helping others "generates a profound healing effect that not only serves the patient but also strengthens the ensembles work."

THE NEWCOMERS TO SEVENTH AVENUE, including Barrio, Eric Shoes, Pure Essentials, Yogo Monster, Five Guys Burgers, Paper Love, One of a Find, and the Tibetan Store.

NANCY NANCY because you lost the lease on your beloved Fifth Avenue shop that  that was mecca for those in search of funny chotchkas and cards; we understand that you are reinventing yourself and moving on. Good luck to you.

BARACK OBAMA

DAVID PECHEFSKY because you used your experience in the New York City Council to help the new parliament of Sierra Leone. And you peddle your mother (and your 4-year-old daughter) around Prospect Park in your bicycle rickshaw.

The PSP PUPPET MAKING TEAM because you gave the Halloween Parade new life with gradiose puppets that floated down Seventh Avenue this year. Led by Theresay Linnihan of the Puppeteer's Cooperative, helpers included, Kiera, Toby, Brent, Ariel, Holly, Susan, Amber, Joan, Jim, Dalien and Havona. We salute all of you.

NERINA PENZHORN because your well-crafted segments for your series, A Walk Around the Blog on Brooklyn Independent Television really made the Brooklyn blogging community visible.

ANN PRESCOTT because as a kindergarten and first grade teacher extraordinaire you have influenced legions of Brooklyn kids at The Children's House (now Rivendell) and at Packer Collegiate, where you continue to leave your mark.

PROSPECT PARK TRACK CLUB because of the Turkey Trot, the Cherry Hill Run and all the other running events you do in and around prospect Park.

MALLORY Y. RUTLEDGE because with your vast experience as a make up artist, you brought your show to Park Slope by opening the tiny MYR on Seventh Avenue and introduced us to your custom blended foundation and your natural looking beauty products and makeovers for weddings, proms, parties, special events and just for every day. Thanks.

JON SCHAEFER because you’ve hosted and produced the popular shows, Soundcheck and New Sounds on WNYC radio for years. Your program was called "The #1 radio show for the Global Village" by Billboard magazine. Recently, you went to North Korea with the New York Philharmonic and wrote a moving blog about your experiences.

ANNE SCHWARTZ because you were the midwife to Olivia, that feisty pig, confidante to Lincoln, fictional and factual children's editor extraordinaire of Schwartz & Wade at Random House Children's Books, proving profits in publishing keep on coming when we honor children's intelligence and imagination and the deity who is  in  the details.

JON SCIESZKA because your wacky, zany books, including The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! have been translated into a bunch of language, won a bunch of awards and have sold over 11 million copies worldwide. Not bad.

CARLY ROSE SILBERMAN, a 2-year-old South Slope toddler who enjoyed everything her neighborhood had to offer. Going to Wantana for her sticky rice, attending Music Together taught by Kevin, getting fresh buttery croissants at Parco, and lets not forget visiting Annette at Toy Space to get a balloon. A sweetheart who died suddenly with no warning. A tree has been planted and a bench will be made in her honor, next to one of her most favorite of all Park Slope destinations, the 9th Street Playground at Prospect Park. (In memoriam).

LENORE SKENAZY  because you did the unthinkable: you let your 8-year-old son ride the subway home from a department store on the Upper East Side. You didn't expect to get hit with a tsunami of criticism from readers. But you did and you handled it well; you even came out to Park Slope to talk about it.

S'NICE because you decided to give the picturesque corner of Third Street and Fifth Avenue a go and made it the kind of vegan cafe/restaurant, where locals can dine daily, take meetings, work on their blogs and novels, and leave keys for house guests.

ROB SPILLMAN because as editor of Tin House, a bi-coastal (Brooklyn, New York and Portland, Oregon) literary magazine, you publish special issues like the one's devoted to Work and African Literature in Exile. We like how smart and articulate you are especially at the panel at the Brooklyn Book Festival called Movements and Visions of Identity in the African Imagination with African authors,  Binyavanga  Wainaina (Kenya), Patrice Nganang (Cameroon) and Breyten Breytenbach (South Africa). 

DANIELLE SUCHER AND DAVE TURNER because you run Jack, an occasional restaurant at the Brooklyn Lyceum. You blog about food at Habeas Brulee and you run your own law firm. Get down girl.

THE BLOG THAT MUST NOT BE NAMED because, as you wrote, "you were black every day for 33 years; Never a nigger until Wall St. moved to Brooklyn." On your blog, you're funny, nasty and insulting about everyone, including yourself. You say it like you see it and we love you for that.

CHERYL THOMAS because as Event Coordinator at the Old Stone House of Brooklyn you are ever fair and steadfast in your Ever commitment to crowd control, you are OSH's secret weapon for event management. And when bestowed upon you, your brilliant smile and departing blessing of "be careful, be safe" make the world a better place.

JANE TOMKIEWICZ because you've been teaching the Alexander Technique to groups at the 92nd Street Y since 1992 and privately in Manhattan since 1990. You served as the Executive Director of the American Center of the  Alexander Technique from 1996-2008 and are now very pleased to begin teaching group and private lessons in Brooklyn at the Feldenkrais Center of Park at 375 5th Ave (between 5th & 6th).

ELEANOR TRAUBMAN because you are a writer educator, culture maven, and community-builder whose passion is connecting people to each other, and connecting people to tools and resources for living an inspired and effective life. You write that your mission is to "bring people together through the arts, creativity, and humor. It is also your work as a professional organizer that is highly worth noting:  "I assist busy New York women to cut down on clutter and to create systems of organization for home and office." And let's not forget your indespensible leadership of the 2008 Brooklyn Blogfest and your dedication to the The Brooklyn Blogade, a monthly gathering of Brooklyn bloggers. Go girl Go.

SCOUT TUFANKJIANA because of your sweeping, intimate portraits of Barack Obama's historic campaign in  "Yes We Can," from PowerHouse Books.

PEG TYRE because you're a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, who was, until recently, a senior editor at Newsweek Magazine. But your book, The Trouble with Boys, attempts to figure out important and vexing problems: why do boys lag behind girls in academic achievement? Why are schools failing boys? You are a god send to mothers of boys!

MEDUSA SALON because of your inspired fundraising event for Barack Obama called, Up-do’s for Obama. Photos of your Sarah Palin look-alike contest made their way around the world. Good work girls!

 

ED VELANDRIA because you are the subway sketcher. You use a computer tablet and touch pen for your sketches and try to capture people on the F Train. It's your therapy, your meditation, and your chance to home your skills as a talented draftsman. “Everyone is so different, no matter how much you lump people together,” you told the LA Times, who did an article about you last summer. “I guess my ultimate goal is to really capture the soul of a person.”

DARREN VON STEIN because in your shop, Prints Charming, you steer your customers toward frames that makes the  Francis Bacon painting  soar---- or the hand print by our second grader sing---and then lets us imagine we found it ourselves! Like any good frame  you never draws attention to yourself. You don't brag, don't whine, you don't even harge a lot---although you're a master craftsman who has been at this for a couple of decades There's something so darn slopian about this kind of unassuming respect for tradition, not to mention good old neighborliness.

CYNTHIA WADE because you won the Academy Award for your short subject documentary "Freeheld," the story of Detective Lieutenant Laurel Hester, who spent 25 years investigating tough cases in Ocean County, New Jersey, protecting the rights of victims and putting her life on the line. She had no reason to expect that in the last year of her life, after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, that her final battle for justice would be for the woman she loved.

REBECCAH WELCH because as Senior Associate Director of Communications at the Center for the Urban Environment you work hard so that everyone knows and understands what's going over there. You are also involved with the Buy in Brooklyn initiative and you personally contributed to the Community Bookstore in its greatest time of need. You also wrote those wonderful Why Shop Local? profiles of local entrepreneurs, which delighted the readers of OTBKB. For your community mindedness, your environmental smarts, your devotion to local issues, It was a no-brainer putting you on this list

WASHINGTON PARK because thanks to the Parks Department, Boymelgreen Developers, Kim Maier and a a whole slew of pols, you've got game and a new skate park, two new basketball courts, six handball courts, a new dog run, new fencing, gates, pavement and landscaping. And coming soon: a synthetic turf green, new fencing, landscaping and the plaza area opening the view of the Old Stone House to Fourth Avenue.

JOYCE WATSON, the crossing guard at the corner of First Street and Seventh Avenue, with the angelic voice, she will be remembered by students and parents for the lovely way she spoke to the children. Hello beautiful. Good Morning, my sweet angels. Hello lovely lady. In memoriam

MO WILLEMS doesn't live here anymore but we still LOVE the Knuffel Bunny: A Cautionary Tale and Knuffel Bunny: A Case of Mistaken Identity. You brought a small dose of fame to the laundromat on Sixth Avenue and 5th Street (which is under new ownership now).

MICHAEL WINKS (with the beard) because whether you’re writing plays or calling for alcohol-based fuels and a members’ only alternative fuel club to supply fuel made almost entirely from ethanol, an alcohol distilled from grains like corn, you are a creative guy with a lot to say. We loved your play, Baby Love, an absurdist take on contemporary parenting.

GILLY YOUNER because you're a talented architect, a great mom, a board member of the Park Slope Civic Council and Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn and you recently appeared in The Civilians' Brooklyn At Eye Level, a lively performance of theater, music and dance that tookits inspiration from interviews with the real life players in the story of Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Lyceum. And in March you are curating a retrospective of your late father's paintings at an art gallery in Hastings New York

AARON ZIMMERMAN head of New York Writers Coalition, the largest community-based creative writing program in the country.

Comments

[Anonymous]

What about the man with the telescope, Mr. Joe Delfausse, long time Park Sloper, who sets up near the subway entrances or at Celebrate Brooklyn to show people the moon or the rings of Saturn, or the flares on the sun with his special solar telescope? He never tires of sharing his knowledge and passion for something he genuinely loves.

[rg]

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[Nathan Kensinger]

Thank you for this great collection of stories and profiles! I'm honored to be a part of it. There are so many talented people and interesting organizations in Park Slope - I recognize quite a few names on this years list but I am looking forward to getting to know even more in the coming years.