Brooklyn Born

Photo Wednesday 061913: East Side Access Edition

2013-06-19T01:09:00.004-04:00

This is a tunnel carved out by a giant mechanical earthworm.

(Photo: MTAflickr)

Actually it's a tunnel boring machine and it's what has been chewing through granite under and inside of Manhattan island. So weird that the machine itself ends up buried forever in the last tunnel it creates. This PhotoWednesday picture comes from the MTA's collection of tunnel project images and it's very impressive that this and more is going on under our collective feet.

NYCHA reports "Unexpected" budget cuts could close Public Housing Community Centers

2013-06-13T15:00:00.001-04:00

NYCHA (New York City Housing Authority) is facing an "unexpected" budget shortfall of over $200 Million dollars or 11% of it's operating budget. NY1 reports that as a result of this surprise, "a spokeswoman for the agency says the federal government's sequester cuts will affect every part of the housing authority's budget. She says that without a new source of revenue, "difficult decisions are unavoidable.""
http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/183540/nycha-budget-clobbered-by--205m-in-federal-cuts

NYCHA Senior and Community Centers which provide resources for public housing residents could be forced closed as a result of this, which would negatively impact thousands across the City. I won't rant about how unacceptable it is that an action taken by the federal government months ago suddenly results in an "unexpected" shortfall because it's already happened and it's better to focus on fixes.

To that end, the City Council has scheduled a last-minute budget hearing on Thursday to address the unexpected shortfall. Let your Council member know you want them to find a fix that keeps those Community Centers open, and if it's not too much to ask figure out how to better monitor budgetary situations so $200 Million "unexpected" shortfalls don't happen.

Photo Wednesday 061213 : Rose Night Edition

2013-06-12T13:02:00.002-04:00

The Brooklyn Botanic(al) Gardens held its "Rose Night" members event this past June 5th with picnicking, pageantry and music provided by the period appropriate musicians of the "Dew Drop Society"(pictured above). They were awesomely fun, I half expected F. Scott Fitzgerald to be tapping his toe behind a tree whilst taking notes.

I took more than a few photos that night. The lighting and fashions of some really made for some throwback imagery and that's a little of the point of the event.

Rose Night (if you haven't checked the link above) is a celebration not only of the beauty of June blooming roses of all shapes, sizes and colors, but it's also a call back to the era the Rose Garden was dedicate, back in 1927.

In addition to music and roses the annual event consisted of kids events, beverages, (including a rose-like florally fragrant vodka martini which was a fave) and a hat contest. Attendees were encouraged to wear period clothing and at least go all out with the hats. I spotted and spoke with a few Easter Parade alums who came bespoke in their bonnets.

(Winner of the Hat Contest pictured above. Congrats!)

I didn't quite understand the mechaniations of the hat contest, but it was won, fun was had, and there was enough Flappers, Charleston steppers and kids in what seemed to devolve into a conga line to bring smiles to everyone's faces.

There's so many photos, and I really got into adjusting them to push the period look further) that I couldn't decide which to show so below's a slideshow of the best views I saw that night, Enjoy:

Can't wait till next year. And if you're a fan of Brooklyn Botanic Garden events in general, you don't have to wait for one. Their calendar is full of nearly daily happenings so check em out.

They make DOUGH but don't call them doughboys

2013-06-07T19:00:00.001-04:00

DOUGH!! Bed-Stuy's crown seat of fried confectionary delight is cram-packed with shoppers at of 6:50pm. It could be their delicious multi-optioned namesake doughnuts or it could be that today is national doughnut day (really?) it it could be their in-store sweepstakes offering the winner 4 free doughnuts for a year.

It's all three. Even actions of tropical God do not deter the faithful, as attested by the soaked-to-the-bone masses, pictured below.

Yesterday I spotted their delivery van far from its Lafayette ave home, and in taking that as some sort of good omen.

Dough is open until 9 tonight when entries for the sweepstakes end, so come down and see if you can live out the Homeric Dream.

P

Photo Wednesday 060513 | Memorial & Rose Night Edition

2013-06-05T14:31:00.000-04:00

As a kid I noticed these one day when I decided to read them instead of passing them as I had hundreds of times previously. It was shocking to me that they had been laid decades ago, and in brought up a cheesy yet civic-prideful sense of happiness in my elementary school self. So today's Photo(s) for Wednesday come from Eastern Parkway.

The plaques were created and dedicated for Brooklyn residents who perished in "The War to End All Wars". Many of America's WWI soldiers were laid to rest overseas and so memorials like these were dedicated across the nation. Down the western end near the Museum new benches, widened sidewalks and a bike-lane have been added. Parking signs were reposted today. Included and repositioned are the World War I memorial placards.

Over the years tree root growth, erosion and occasional vandalism have disturbed the placards and I'm happy to see there refurbishing was part of the Eastern Parkway makeover. Each placard is aligned next to a tree as they were originally. A subtle memorial as was originally intended.

Eastern Parkway the nation's 1st parkway built in 1866 expressly for "pleasure-riding and scenic driving" by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux has been undergoing successful remodeling and refurbishing for years now and it's looking great.

From wikipedia's Eastern Parkway Entry:

The world's first parkway was conceived by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in 1866. The term parkway was coined by these designers as a landscaped road built expressly for 'pleasure-riding and driving' or scenic access to Prospect Park (also designed by Olmsted and Vaux). To these ends, commerce was restricted. The parkway was constructed from Grand Army Plaza to Ralph Avenue (the boundary of the City of Brooklyn) between 1870 and 1874. Olmsted and Vaux intended Eastern Parkway to be the Brooklyn nucleus of an interconnected park and parkway system for the New York area. The plan was never completed but their idea of bringing the countryside into the city influenced the construction of major parks and parkways in cities throughout the United States.^[4]

Speaking of trees and thoughts of days past in the vicinity of Eastern Parkway; Tonight is the Brooklyn Botanic(al) Garden's Member's Rose Night, were attending members will be treated to music in celebration of the era in which the Cranford Rose Garden opened in 1927.

From the Garden's website:

Enjoy live ragtime and jazz with Dewdrop Society. Don your best bonnet to participate in our second annual hat contest—kids can make their own at our specially equipped craft table. Picnicking is permitted and a cash bar will be available.

I'll be the one in the top-hat. Be a member enjoy the Garden. Cheers!

Missed it Mondays 060313 - Bushwich Open Studios 2013

2013-06-03T12:15:00.002-04:00

Bushwich Open Studios the massive open invite local artists put out to the public, ringed by a schedule of musical events and parties was this past weekend and that's the subject of today's Missed it Monday feature.

(Above "Bushwhich" 2013 Digital media: flier art, recontextualized googlemap, bedazzled with confusion. 36"x96". $9,000. or you could just steal it.)

Because I missed it. Because Bushwich is literally far out, and well, I couldn't find it.
yeh... I know.

I decided to trek from Crown Heights over and it never fails to shock me how much longer it takes to get to Bushwich central, than it takes to get to almost anything in Brooklyn not sitting on the shoreline. I've lived in or traversed about 75% of this borough in my years and i still can't find my way through Bushwich's layers. I rode in circles so lost even google's servers could clear my confusion.

I was specifically trying to get to a few artists studios and before I even left the apartment I was caught in a self-induced whirlwind of confusion worried that I got the date of the mermaid parade wrong and it was somehow going on yesterday, or that perhaps dance african hadn't ended and i was missing something and nagging appetite led cravings for Brooklyn Crab or Smorgashburg, while at the same time my mind was filled with certain dread that it was 1st saturday which i love except that, well i go to bars near by and can't find my favorite seat, after the sea of humanity flows down from the Brooklyn Museum's cultured hilltop.

In short I was suffering for the luxury of living in one of the most awesomely dynamic places on earth Brooklyn on the edge of summer. (yeh 1st art world problems, woe is me)

Of course this is just the beginning. Celebrate Brooklyn hasnt even started, June is just opening, there's even a Zombi Crawl on the calendar (why...) so as it is most every summer there will be something great, worthwhile and possibly magical happening every weekend in Brooklyn from now until its time to take my sweaters back out of cider infused mothballs (what you don't do cider, c'mon son, biological loss prevention at it's finest) so yeh that.

So now I pretend I went to the Bushwich Open Studios, instead of wandering the streets like a person off their meds in a foreign country and one Artist person i want to mention is Coby Kennedy.

here's some of Coby's recent work:

(above from cobykennedy.com : ©Coby Kennedy)

Why because beside intending to see his creation space, Coby's a dope artistic-muthernucker and one of the peoples who studio was open in bushwich this past weekend and I've seen much of his recent work is a melange.. (nah I'm not finishing that sentence)

Heres what Coby's recent work says to me, "the world ended, you missed it, we're still here and now with nothing to lose, lock and load." and they say that with practical objects crafted as much from raw materials and street architecture as imagination and they're likely to make you wonder if you'll have enough ammo in the after life.

So what have we learned, (you, probably that I can write an egregious run-on sentence like no one's business) and me that maybe it's time I get over the time specific hype of events and realize the true mission of open studios events, to introduce people to cool artists who because of social-economic pressures work (and often live) way the fuck out on the fringe (where the rainbow ends) and just visit some artists studios regardless of what the date is. Annnd I came across more wild condos, crevasse dwelling subcultures and thick tree lined streets than I give Bushwich credit for. A photographic revisit is in the works.

Unnecessarily Provocative Hasidic Driver Threatens Cyclist Life in Williamsburg

2013-06-01T13:43:00.004-04:00

Why?

Video footage from a cyclist shows a rider uneventfully traveling down the street, until a motorist decides to harass him in a life threatening way.

The video from the rider's handlebar mounted GoPro camera shows he's headed through Williamsburg on Wallabout St. (according to the video). He's riding with the flow of traffic, on the one lane two way street. A mini-van pulls ahead of the cyclist and rather than continue forward, attempts to block his way, leading the cyclist to be squeezed between the minivan and parked cars.

Watching I'm thinking, "So okay the cyclist gets past the mini-van. Things like that happen, not so bad". Then the mini-van comes back, not for a second, but a THIRD time on the same block clearly trying to force the cyclist off the road.

It should be obvious but if it's not the cyclist's life is in jeopardy from this point in the video until he's able to stop. There is very little room to navigate and it's not easy to ride straight or stop in this situation without being hit by the minivan or hitting the parked cars. If the cyclist falls injury is almost certain and even fatal injury is possible. Despite all the light debate about the BikeShare program, there are life and death realities that accompany every bike rider in this city even those who (as the cyclist seems to) follow the rules of the road. As the Ghost-bikes all over the city show, a cyclist have almost no protection on the streets especially against a mini-van.

The driver, still empowered by something, comes out, verbally threatens the cyclist and after continued antagonizing of the cyclist, attempts to detain him (which is illegal so far as I know) not allowing him to leave. Roadrage is bad enough but holding someone against their will without legal authority? Where does this driver get the impression he can do this? Maybe it's because he had backup.

At this point other Hasidic men arrive and block the cyclist from leaving. Passing motorists partially blocked during this episode (its a one lane two-way) try to help the cyclists and eventually the situation improves somewhat.

The cyclist does a great job of keeping calm, pointing out the facts, recording the incident and calling 911. Apparently this happened a few weeks ago, I learned about it from from the site brobible.com (really? "Bro-Bible"? urh.. okay), their link is here: http://www.brobible.com/life/article/biker-brooklyn-bullied-hasidic-jews

Watch the video, it's a real asshole bit of aggression. Personally I've experienced some aggression from members of that community riding on the streets in Williamsburg, but nothing ever on this level. And it's clearly one asshole not an entire community that brings this life-threatening situation on a seemingly innocent person. It's one asshole, who then gets support from his community in the form of the Hasdic men who show up and attempt to detain the cyclist and they do so without questioning what the driver is doing or how the situation occurred. That sucks because the men who came could have helped resolve this situation instead of supporting it. It's ironic, unquestioned support is how mobs are formed.

Hopefully this will be followed up on and driver made to be responsible.

PhotoWednesday 052813 : City Boy, Citi Bikes Edition

2013-05-29T12:11:00.000-04:00

(Photo by: Jason Scott Jones)

Today's Photo Wednesday today comes from a the Dance Africa Street Fair outside of BAM which had a new visitor this year, the sometimes ubiquitous CitiBikes of the new and endlessly photographed BikeShare program. My first impression upon encountering the bikes was about the same as the kid above, glee.

Immediately I thought myself brilliant for thinking the bikes are a ride unto themselves, "hell they're a flash-spin-class waiting to happen!", I thought. "Geez, I'm clever" I mused, wearing my shoulder joint out from my back slaps. Then I saw this:

©TheNewYorker (illustration: Marcellus Hall)

So... ah, yah. I guess at least it means for at least one brief provable moment, the erudite minds behind the NewYorker and I aligned. Seriously though, who's down for the flash spin class?

I never considered that a city full of stationary bikes (for those not willing to plunk down for the ride) could be so much fun. I expect video to follow from all corners of the bike sharing city. Maybe even my own..

For what it's worth I noticed this is my 400 post and the blog has been going from 6 years which is slightly more math than I'm willing to average out but yeh, theres that. Enjoy your May, it's soon to part.

Memorial Day 2013: Dance Africa - Coney Island & Silverlinings

2013-05-24T16:20:00.000-04:00

After several Summer starter weekends (Alliteration!) the Grand Opening is here and it's gonna be a bright sunn- hey wtf?!

Ah it's gonna be a dank gloomy overcast affair. Wheee.

So while the views may not be all fun and the sun like Memorial Day weekends past (above) Coney Island will be open, the rides will be churning and considering the damage wrecked on the shores after Sandy, this is still a time to get out and celebrate. If you need any more encouragement (you people..) There are many of the same weekend festivals goings on, Smorgasburg, Brooklyn Flea, The Lewis Avenue Flea in Bed-Stuy, and of course that annual favorites of Brooklyn culture:

DANCE AFRICA at B.A.M.!

Here's some pics from the Dance Africa Festival of years past:

For those who don't know the yearly festival features a series of musical, theatrical, and all around dynamic events at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and this weekend will be complimented by street vendors of everything from clothing to home furnishings to some of the best Pan-African-Caribbean-American food you'll find in New York City.

From the website: "Created by Chuck Davis in 1977, DanceAfrica—the nation’s largest festival dedicated to African dance—brings together dance, music, film, and an array of community events for an exhilarating celebration of culture from Africa and its diaspora."

So here's my silver-lining take away; I'm counting on the less than perfect weather to shorten all those foodlines from WillyB to Brooklyn Academy of Music. Yum! Plus a Birthday Party for DJ "Uncle" Ralph McDaniels, can't be a certain type of Brooklynite and miss that!

Check BAM for more details. Running May 17- May 27th

Drawer Dropping - Mr Weiner, please, holster that Mayoral bid.

2013-05-24T11:53:00.000-04:00

Sigh, look at the headline up there.

Is that what brought you here? Is that all it takes to titillate our minds, motivate our hands, get us to the box, the ballot box? Mr. Weiner, I think you're hoping so.

Anthony, you've disgraced yourself. How can seriously run for Mayor as anything other than a testament to the enduring chutzpah of a born and bred New Yorker?

Mayor. Mayor? No.

Can I see you as flaunter of the deadly duo, collective amnesia/public apathy? Yes. Poster child for Fuggedabout it? Good God, Yes!

Look at that headline. You've knocked off any other reference to "weiner" from google's image search. Doesn't that tell you something? All press isn't actually good press.

Ya know, I'd much rather be blogging about setting the waters of the Gowanus Canal ablaze as luxury hotels are built on it's banks. But you Sir demand my attention and I say, serious Mayoral candidate? GTFOHWTBS!

Brother Weiner, as a man, the urge to introduce and master your Johnson, on-toward the young female masses, is one I struggle with everyday. Every, day. But c'mon man, you went so far across the red line, yours must have looked like a traffic cone. You successfully diverted progress (albeit temporarily) from national political discourse with your package displaying scandal. Then your handling of it, the dodging, the lies, the righteousness, made it worse by a factor of at least two.

No matter how iDeviced-Zombized we are, all it takes it one finger swipe to bring it all back.

Mr. Weiner, I enjoyed you as a Congressmen. I liked that tenacity was an understatement in describing you. You were the Democratic pit-bull, barking loudly and intelligently on the Sunday talk shows. Not only unafraid to snarl, spew, and spit at the Bush administration, but you communicated the clear sense that if you were loosed from your chain you'd bite the shit of him and take out Cheney with your last growl.

But friend, let us be reasonable. You're not getting elected. Part of your reintroduction came with the self-admitted ticking time bomb that in the days to come "women may come forward with more emails, photos, DMs". Really.

I get it. You and some consultants ran a poll that says the current Mayoral candidates are weak. Duh hard to be strong when one guy sucks the air out of the office for twelve years. Now you want to suck up much oxygen from the candidates. Some whom, I'd really like to see have a clean shot at the office (Bill De Blasio). So you yours did some math that says you can get a run-off and worm your way in. You won't. You will distract from serious questions I have about Speaker Quinn (three terms eh, okay...) and you won't get elected.

You already felt so embowered to do what you want that you besmirched a woman who besides being wholly in your corner; wife, mother, partner, is highly intelligent (how did you get her?) and dare I say it, pretty darn foxy (TO SAY THE LEAST). You felt so embolden that in the face of your lies you chose to circle the wagons and ignore your party's (polite at first) calls for you to resign. And now you feel so singular that after all that you want to distract New York City away from more suitable candidates. I get it, you are an island.

Okay big shot, run as an independent. Clearly you think you're a hot-dog.

Happy Memorial Day weekend all, and enjoy your weiner roasts.

Photo Wednesday 05/22/13 : Belove! Beware! CitiBike Share Edition!

2013-05-22T17:41:00.000-04:00

By now if you live in Manhattan or northern Brooklyn (that's ~~Greenpoint~~, Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights, D.U.M.B.O., Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bedford-Stuyvesant, for the noobs : ) ...you've probably heard or seen the Bike Share docks provided by Citibank.

The Bike Share program starts next week for those members who've signed up for the annual program.

The program in short allows a user to take one of the hundreds of bikes available at sites the aforementioned areas and ride as result of a pre-paid membership or one the spot payment. The idea is to share, not hang on to, so the bikes have no lock, you're expected park the bike the bike share dock closest to your destination. Members can hop on a bike an bring it back as many times as like during the span of their rental, be it a week or a year.

I caught the Bike Share-Elves in action last month as they were installing the docks and I'm blown away with how many docks there are and how much coverage there is in the initial neighborhoods.

Of course this being New York, and the subject being related to Bikes people wouldn't feel complete without complaints. Mostly from people who see the program as being a clear sign that the Four Horsemen will be wearing helmets and navigating Bike Lanes.

Fueling some complaints I've heard and read is the fact that no one loves Citibank. Let's face it, they're fairly unlovable. But in this case I don't see any effective other way than for a corporation in need of loving to fund the startup costs. So far to my eyes, it's working, I've counted six bike rental stations, with at least 20 docks within one mile in Fort Greene & Clinton Hill. I've seen more over in midtown and financial district, so if you just consider commuting there's seems to be a potential for a lot of usage.

The other big complaint is that the bike docks are taking away from the city, in terms of culture and (heaven-forbid) parking spaces. People said the same thing about cars taking spaces from horses. I've witnessed a few places where I wish the bike docs weren't on the sidewalk (Lafayette Av between Hanson and Fort Greene Pl) but overall we're in a transforming city and world. Parking spaces are not a right, (which we all know living in New York) and I'd pick a bunch of bikes over a bunch of cars in most cases.

Regarding the parking spaces, I can't understand when people who don't even have a license to drive complain about parking, but hey we're New Yorkers. When I asked those complaining they said it's the cost of revenue from those parking spaces that they were upset about. So even though that only makes sense for spaces with parking meters, I checked with some people in the bike-share know, and they informed me that Citibank is paying the city for the use of the parking spaces. There, happy?

Besides the number of bike docks that have gone up in less than a month's time, I'm impressed by the bike itself (above), which looks just all purpose enough to be a good ride for most, and sturdy on the streets. citibike's site has details on the bikes the docks and all the membership options.

The rental bikes come with a bell and front and rear lights that work without batteries (the motion of the wheels power them) so you'll be street legal. In case you didn't know an under reported law was passed a few years back making it illegal for an adult to ride a bike in NYC without a bell and lights. Here's a link to additional rules for bike riding in NYC.

At first I found it surprising that there are no bikes in the massive bike parking lot behind the Barclays Center, then it hit me, Barclays is a bank too. Funny I thought they all colluded.

So I can't wait for the Bike Share to kick-off next week. I'll be rocking my t-shirt (special for early joiners) and ready to roll. I'm sure there will be hiccups, shortages of bikes in some areas, just like when all the cabs are in one section of the city, and yes, someone will steal a bike, probably several. All that aside the gains for the city (and the Citi) far out weight the negatives, at least until a bike dock threatens the life of your loved one, but no matter what The NYPost says, that didn't happen.

So NYC you got a ticket to ride?

Photo Wednesday 5/15/13 : Political Illumination Edition

2013-05-15T15:27:00.001-04:00

Golden Swatch of Brooklyn Borough Hall, originally uploaded by b'klynborn.

Golden Swatch of Brooklyn Borough Hall

Brooklyn: It Ain't Where Ya From It's Where Ya At.

2013-05-13T11:05:00.001-04:00

"It's funny how money changes situations."

That line (which is opening lyric of Lauren Hill's) doesnt really express what I meant, what I'm thinking is it's funny when diverse sides of issues get broken down into their extreme aspects and then those extreme aspects are positioned against each other.

"Can it be that it was all so simple?"

Brooklyn was simple (wasn't it) just twenty years ago. It was the sample place it is now, rich with history (the Revolutionary War and Brooklyn Dodgers had still happened here, despite it being the Brooklyn of twenty years ago) but back then Brooklyn was so simple to peg into a whole.

It was full of beauty, Brownstones and Botanic Gardens, and danger; Brownsville shootings, beef fed beat-downs and random robberies at best. Taxi's? No, never. Had no restaurants. This was of course a judgement made by the Manhattan minded and dwelling. So did we have restaurants? By those standards nope. The restaurants in the borough went largely unseen and those visible from across the river (River Cafe & Peter Luger's) didn't belong to the Brooklyn geography they occupied (hell River Cafe is ON the river) a Micheline starred restaurant may brush up against Brooklyn suggestively in those days, but occupy, heavens no. If you wanted cheap rent and long commute and the implied danger from topics listed above, you went to Brooklyn. Once in a while a concert grew in Brooklyn that non-Brooklynites and some locals would be needlessly be nervous about attending. There was a college, somewhere, that was decent for art, or music, or science or occasionally an NCAA Basketball bracket. Which is how people I spoke with described Pratt, Brooklyn College & LIU respectively.

Basically Brooklyn was simply thought of back in the day. It wasn't a simple place it just conjured simple impressions, which lead usually to simplistic and short conversations.

Today much real estate, printed, virtual, and physical is given to the great discussion of Brooklyn, and what that means, should me, did mean, will mean. Damn B your therapy bills must be crazy.

New York Magazine ran this article with the cover copy "Brooklyn is Finished" written by Mark Jacobson back in Autumn and I wanted to tack on my comments to the piece, in this blog. It didnt bother me that I never got to it because the article in my opinion didn't need my two cents or anything it stands in my mind as the best expression of what Brooklyn was through differing eras, what it became, where it is now, and what stays unique and constent about this place.

A friend sent me this article "The Ins and Outs" written (I presume) by some of the many talented and encamped J-School grads that are easy to find around Frankin Avenue's Crown Heights these days. It's a good micro focused piece reflecting the dynamic causality and impact of large scale gentrification in the short period of time that has passed. It's very good too.

And on Friday the Grey Lady herself dedicated much space and writing talent to this piece, titled Brooklyn, the Remix: A Hip Hop Tour. Also a great piece which seems in part inspired by this art piece (in which a variant of street artist, fabricated faux street signs with classic location specific hiphop lyrics written on then, and then the artists mounts those street signs on existing poles in the name-checked neighborhoods and streets. Many of those streets have since dramatically changed often for the lifestyle betterment of some, so there is an added contrast & impact of the installations.

Personally I want to imagine a creative coup within the Grey Lady led by writers who live in the borough and had grown weary of under-informed pieces written about Brooklyn, published in her name, I'm looking at you Real Estate section. But I digress.

The New York Times piece covers various Hip Hop landmarks and emotional sign posts of their own, around the Borough. There's mention of old Sarah J. Hale nicknamed Sarah Jail because of it's often less than civil students, which is on a stretch of dean street that is now tony and gentrified. There's a reference to the Plaza movie theater on Flatbush near Park Place which became the Plaza Twin, then the Pavilion and finally now, an American Apparel store. In the article the person who invokes the movie theater reflects with irony that he say "Do The Right Thing" in that spot.

It's a testiment to the lightning rod that Franklin Avenue has become, the 180º turn around it's undergoinf that all three pieces make references to Franklin in the case of the New York Mag article it was where the writter's grandmother lived some 50 years before code words like "Craft Beer" & "Artisanal" became synonymous with Franklin.

I was sucked into the online New York Times comments following their article. One comment by a reader going by "IRS" seemed to whine a lament, writing:

I am getting sick of articles like these. I understand the nostalgia with how life "used to be" in NYC. My neighborhood is the epicenter for some of my favorite hip hop. I get it. What people fail to acknowledge is that their NYC of the past is just a blip on the overall story of the city as a whole. This city has changed EVERY DAY, since its inception hundreds of years ago, and that is what makes it so beautiful.

People need to stop complaining and holding on to some rosy memory of what NYC "was," because "it" isn't coming back... Furthermore, those same people clamoring for the city to go back to its "gritty" days, that so many yearn for, are the same people who will complain the most when all of the street crime returns right along with it and they're afraid to walk down the street without looking over their shoulders.

It is time NYC to get over it and move on. Our city will be better for it.

I find that comment interesting because I hear it alot. It's one thing to say the past does and doesn't matter, but I'm impressed by the amount of residents ( I presume them to be new) who think it's time for people to stop having reminiseces. What an intersting suggestion, thought policing.

The conversation of this moment's Brooklyn is only halfway finished. Obviously the borough, city, country and much of the world will go on changing whether we like it, want it or not.

I think the impetus for all the dialogue is most eras take longer to switch and show visible signs. I myself often write that all these changes clearly started back in the late 70's right after the smoke cleared from the looting aftermath of 77's blackout. But the speed of change in Brooklyn, has been blinding and that's why we can't stop talking about it, besides all the other details that go into the conversation. The way a magic trick or lightning is fascinating and elicits fascinated analysis is partially because in the blink of an eye it's so dynamically different. And in Brooklyn the focus and who different groups are impacted is so extreme. There really was no breather before or after the crack era. Brooklyn was not much different that the rest of the city in 1970. By 1980 there were more extreme differences. By 1990 more so and by 2003 you could wallpaper your studio apartment with articles proclaiming Brooklyn the new Manhattan. By 2013 on some streets it is.

It's the change, its the speed, it's the cultural and socially effected and disconnected.

Basically, no one cared enough to think as deeply and consistently as people do now about Brooklyn. But I thought the NY Mag article and the NY Times HipHop remix article does a great job of pointing out a key detail of the neverending Brooklyn discussion. It's not that we want to go back to the gritty days specifically, its not that we want to close the artisanal cheese shops, its that we dont want to be resigned to the past, and a negative one at that, while we continue to live here. We who were in Brooklyn lived and exprienced like everyone else and in some cases we mined and polished social and culutral riches that are exploited and enjoyed today, in our borough and we wonder if the way we were generally ignored back then isn't happening now.

Nobody wants to be forgotten or ignored, especially not while we're still here.

And now I found what I was tying to say through the poetry often born of these Brooklyn streets.

Planet, Earth, was my place of birth
Born to be the soul controller of the universe
Besides the part of the map I hit first
Any environment I can adapt when it gets worst
The rough gets goin, the goin gets rough
When I start flowin, the mic might bust
The next state I shake from the power I generate
People in Cali used to think it was earthquakes
Cause times was hard on the Boulevard
So I vote God and never get scarred and gauled
But it seems like I'm locked in hell
Lookin over the edge but the R never fell
A trip to slip cause my Nikes got grip
Stand on my own two feet and come equipped
Any stage I'm seen on, or mic I fiend on
I stand alone and need nothin to lean on
Going for self with a long way to go
So much to say but I still flow slow
I come correct and I won't look back
Cause it ain't where you're from, it's where you're at
Even the (ghetto)

-Rakim

Community Board 8 (Crown Heights) Meeting tonight 6:30 Topic: Rezoning!

2013-05-09T18:15:00.000-04:00

UPDATE The community board 8 has voted unanimously to approve the current rezoning proposal, however its important to note that the current propsoal is essentially a draft and changes can be made to it.
One of the main changes requested by the residents who spoke is that the voluntary option included in the current plan (allowing developers to decide whether or not to provide affordable housing) be changed to mandatory.
Also during the meeting the new Commanding Officer of the 77th Precinct was introduced, he and his family are long term residents of Crown Heights which is covered by the 77th.

Additional issues discussed during the meeting included permissions for new and existing food establishments and votes for board positions.

My twitter feed @BklynBornBlog has details posted as the rezoning issue was being discussed.

Posted at 6p (prior to voting)

I'm positing exactly the text from the I Love Franklin Avenue Blog just to spread the word quickly about tonight's community board meeting to discuss rezoning in Crown Heights.

I wanted to write a detailed post about the pros and cons of the discussion, but here's my super-condensed opinion. Landmarking is good for Crown Heights. It will promote more of what long term residents truly want in the neighborhood, while being less invasive a process than some long time residents seemed to believe (based on the community meeting I attended, held on April 16th).

Come on out if you're in the hood. Speak up, make your voice heard.

UPDATE After attending the meeting, I came to the belief that the plan should be adjusted to make developers requirement to provide affordable housing mandatory instead of voluntary.

Crown Heights has proven itself to be a desired money maker for developers. In my opinion and in light of the facts that voluntary inclusion options provide very poor results, I believe developers don't need incentives to build they need restrictions to keep them from excluding exactly the type of working class taxpayers that have been the heart of Crown Heights for decades.

From I Love Franklin ave Blog:

Community Board 8 holds its public hearing on the proposed rezoning of "Crown Heights West" tonight at 7pm. Complete info is copied from their website below.

The Crown Heights West Rezoning proposal will be discussed for the third time at CB 8's Housing/ULURP Committee meeting on Thursday May 2, 2013, 6:30 p.m. at CenterLight Health Systems/CNR, 727 Classon Ave @ Park Place.
Written comments are invited and can be faxed ahead to the Board office at 718-778-2979, or emailed to info@brooklyncb8.org.
The Public Hearing on the proposal will be held Thursday, May 9, 2013 during the regularly scheduled full Board meeting that starts at 6:30 p.m. The meeting willl be held at Berean Missionary Baptist Church, 1635 Bergen Street, corner of Rochester Avenue.
*******

The Department of City Planning announced on March 18, 2013 that it is moving ahead with the process to contextually rezone a portion of western Crown Heights, at the request of Community Board 8. The proposed rezoning will encompass 55 blocks with the aim of preserving their historic character, promoting affordable housing and improving retail in the area. The goal of zoning will establish limits for building height and commercial areas; it will also offer incentives for affordable housing development along Franklin and Bedford avenues. ”The rezoning of western Crown Heights builds on our commitment to protecting the character of Brooklyn’s distinctive residential neighborhoods,” said Commissioner Amanda Burden in a prepared statement.

“This comprehensive rezoning proposal, developed in close consultation with the community and elected officials, will reinforce the neighborhood’s historic brownstone and row house blocks. It will also ensure new development is appropriately scaled along the area’s transit rich corridors and provides opportunities for affordable housing in select locations.” Community Board 8 has 60 days to review the proposal. Then it goes on to other City agencies. A map of the proposed rezoning is on the jump below, or you can view it on the City Planning website. To view the entire presentation and not just the overview of the project, click here.
To also download the Environmental Assessment Statement, and get additional information on the Crown Heights West Re-zoning Proposal, you can view it here. (Please note that it is a large document that takes a while to load.)

Crown Heights Rezoning Overview [NYC City Planning]

Photo Wednesday 5/8/13 : CosPlay Edition

2013-05-08T17:00:00.001-04:00

Creative CosPlay @ BBG Sakura Matsuri 2013, originally uploaded by b'klynborn.

It's fun that CosPlay has found an annual home in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Sakura Matsuri Festival.

I have so many great pics from that day I can fill a year of Wednesdays with them.

Costumed escapism can be so much fun.

How are YOU not like yourself?

Via Flickr:
BBG Sakura Matsuri 2013

Soul of Brooklyn 2013 Begins with Brooklyn adoptees Les Nubians & Blitz The Ambassador

2013-05-05T04:03:00.000-04:00

Les Nubians @ Fulton Park in Brooklyn Sat May 4th, 2013 Photo: BrooklynBorn

"Soul of Brooklyn" 2013 a cultural program of the of MoCADA (Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts) began with a Afropolitan Block Party in Bedford-Stuyvesant concluding Saturday night with a free live concert by international recording artists Les Nubians and Ghanian recording artist, Hip-Hop lyricist and nearly one man band Blitz The Ambassador. All recent residents of Brooklyn. They were backed by a dynamite actual band of brass and musical brawn.

Despite some technical hiccups which set back the start of the show (the well worn soundcheck phrase "HeyYup" offered often through the troubleshooting by a man wearing a "M.I.T." sweatshirt was both titillating, tedious and will ring in some parts of ears forever.)

Blitz led the concert, taking the assembled hundreds on a "flight" through his personal African Diaspora view through family gatherings, and governmental collapse. The sound-expedition was interwoven with bombastic lyrics, familial recollections and pan-genre musicality.

Les Nubians' set flowed from a song with Blitz. Stepping out from the collaboration Les Nubian offered to take the crown on a cultural journey through their brand of soulful R&B which made them international chart climbers with hits like "Makeba". Blitz took back to the stage amping an already swaying crowd into full on celebration and a good ol' fashion three count dance lesson.

Blitz The Ambassador @ Fulton Park in Brooklyn Sat May 4th, 2013 Photo: BrooklynBorn

Under the Blitz's influence hundreds swayed left, right and left again turning one of Bed-Stuy's most accessible parks (being bracketed by the Utica A/C station) into a classic house party stirring the chilly Spring night with the homegrown social warmth renown throughout the Diaspora.

The concert & cultural season is just starting so check with Soul of Brooklyn, Celebrate Brooklyn & SummerStage to stay in the know!

Photo Wednesday 05/01/13: Plant Sale Edition!

2013-05-01T14:08:00.000-04:00

May 1st and April's showers, delivered!

Today's Photo Wednesday comes courtesy of the very photogenic Brooklyn Botanic Garden, I couldn't stop taking pics of the tulips, they're amazing!

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is also having a PLANT SALE TODAY & TOMORROW 5/2 so don't delay get on down and get some of the best most beautiful flora from the experts.

There's also a LOT of cherry blossoms and early roses in bloom too. Enjoy!

Crown Heights, a tale of two cities at least

2013-04-30T09:55:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Facebook I've learned of an episode of gunfire in Crown Heights on Crown St. near Utica Avenue which makes it the Eastern side of Crown Heights to some or as long term residents would recognize the part of Crown Heights furthest from the warm glow of the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.

Yesterday I learned from reading the IloveFranklinAve blog of a shooting that wounded a man on Franklin Ave & St Johns Place.

Two shootings in one area in less than a week may very well provoke the worn conversation among new comers of whether Crown Heights is "going back" to something dangerous and negative. I hate that conversation. it's simplistic, reactionary not supported by facts and I hate the what it implies and what the conversation omits, namely that for some crown heights residents hard times never ended.

Crown Heights is a large area. It measures two miles long by a mile. Part of it is seeing a boom of new activity shops that were redundant are having their rents raised by their owners in the hopes of attracting the next artisanally prepared cash cow. Vacant spaces are being cleaned up for the same in the areas around Franklin, Bedford & Nostrand Avenues. Personally I think the new consumer options are great and the process by which their made unfortunate and sometimes unfair.

This past weekend while enjoying the sun and sounds of teens playing in Brower Park on Brooklyn Avenue near Prospect Place I noticed across the street on the wall of a school annex a mural created in 2009 by high school students and the non-profit Groundswell dedicated to the problem of gun-violence. Gun violence never stopped being a problem for many in Crown Heights.

Despite all the fuss about things of relative little consequence like bike parking spaces, there are people in Crown Heights who are working class, and spend much of their time trying to make ends meet in a section of the neighborhood that doesn't get the New York Times and New York Magazine coverage so generously bestowed on the Crown Heights just one mile west.

Meanwhile on commercial strips like Kingston and Utica Avenues (between St. Johns & Atlantic) there is nearly the opposite situation with some addresses looking ready to collapse under the weight of time and disregard.

It's nearly a tale of two cities. Go ahead, google "Crown Heights Shooting" see which comes up first and which has more listings. The Franklin Ave shooting barely comes up. I doubt that's the story anyone wants to tell of gentrified Franklin Ave. The story of the shooting near Utica Ave is hard to miss.

You have one Crown Heights where owners decide to unleash building improvements and investment spurring increases in city services, police protection, beautification, bike racks and the other where many commercial and rental owners haven't made investment possibly because they're waiting for a community different from the current one, to take root. This is a big part of why it's destructive and simplistic to sub-divide Brooklyn neighborhoods as has been commonly done and at a hyper rate for the last ten years. Once there was Crown Heights. Now there is Prospect Heights, Crown Heights and there appears to be attempts at making distinctions between West & East Crown Heights. Before I drag out my soap box to shout about the past when a resident didn't need geographical distinctions to the name of their neighborhood, because they knew their neighborhood, I'll bring up what I think the bigger issue is. Changing the name of the "improved" part of a neighborhood only increases the likelihood that the "unimproved" part of the neighborhood won't get better.

Imagine braking your leg and rather than give aid to it, you cut it off. That's what happens if points East of Kingston Avenue (to pick a street) become unhinged from Washington, Classon & media daring Franklin Avenues. Separating one part of Crown Heights from the other means separating the stories that are told of those places, and those stories become the public realities. So shooting on Franklin get's a certain type of media attention if for no other reason than it's contrary to the expectations now existing (and reported) for Franklin Avenue. While a shooting near Utica is reported as the same old song.

The conversation I've heard after almost every violent crime is committed in this neighborhood of over 150,000 people is "Is it going back?!?" The reality is there are a lot of people who never got to go forward.

Crown Heights will have occasional violent episodes, just like most New York City does. Those tragedies when they occur will less a harbinger of new comer doom than a sign that long term residents are still struggling in crisis.

THIS WEEKEND - Cherry Blossom Festival/Sakura Matsui @ Bklyn Botanic Garden

2013-04-26T11:29:00.001-04:00

Spring brings blossoms and none more cherry that the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's.

Sakura Matsuri translates to Cherry Blossom Festival (but you knew that all ready) and the weekend event features all day events. You can witness and participate in everything from Japanese Tea Services, a custom of the Cherry Blossom festivals, to music and botanical presentations.

Sakura Matsuri at BBG is a great melange of nature lovers taking in the spring blossoms, expat spouses uplifting their traditional culture for their kids while adorable to over the top Costplayers ignore the tea and go straight for living out their Dragon Ball, Naruto, Bleached, Little Monstered fantasies.

The Cherry Trees have been in bloom for little more than a week now (as you'll see in the slide show below) and right on time for this weekends mega Sakura Matsuri Festival.

It's also a great opportunity to see all the additions the BBG has made in the past few years like the new, beautifully designed modern entrance and visitor's center pictured above.

One of three entrances is at 200 Washington Avenue, accessible by the Prospect Park Q,B,S station and from the Eastern Parkway 2,3 (The Franklin ave 2,3,4,5 will also get you to the Botanic Garden but it adds an extra block of walking)

がんばって！

Finally Friday

2013-04-19T11:02:00.001-04:00

Been a long week, and I've yet to post about the positive community meeting regarding rezoning and landmarking proposals in Crown Hts or the many new businesses blooming on Franklin Avenue or the hundreds of bike share docks popping up all over northern Brooklyn but that's what's on my mind. Here's some pics in the meantime:

Crown Hts Landmark & Rezoning Meeting TONIGHT

2013-04-16T13:09:00.001-04:00

A major proposal for landmarking and Rezoning in Crown Heights is happening tonight (Tuesday) at St Teresa's Church 563 Sterling Place, corner of Classon Av.

The meeting is to discuss the proposals submitted by the Community Board.

All are invited especially folks living and working in Crown Heights.

Weekend One-Liners 4/13-4/14 - Happenings to Check this weekend in Brooklyn

2013-04-14T10:48:00.000-04:00

Weekend One-Liners! 4/13-4/14

Habana Outpost's Big Annual Earthday Re-Opening Event happens this weekend! "Corn & Cuban" Sandwiches! Eco-Friendly info and the happy swarm of neo-Buppies, Yuppies, Hipsters and young dudes hanging on the corner trying mack are back! I still love this place now in it's eighth year. even though it can be a trend-trafficjam. I can't wait! Check for more info check cafehabanablog

Smorgasburg while open to it's second weekend of 2013, I arrived last week round 2p and couldn't get through to some of the good looking vittles, this week I'm ampted to be early. For more info check http://www.smorgasburg.com/Smorgasburg.com

Saturday & Sunday The Brooklyn Children's Museum has a slate of events including "Superhero Science" and Block Parties:

Superhero Science! 11:00, for 4 and up, Bend light, get x-ray vision, and discover optical illusions with Cyclops. It’s a new super science adventure every week!"

Block Party11:30, for All ages Let your imagination soar to new heights while you explore a unique assortment of blocks to play with. Build an imaginary castle with foam blocks, map out a new neighborhood with wooded ones, or use cardboard blocks to create whimsical patterns. "

And this is not a weekend event but next Tuesday 4/16 there will be a major meeting by the Crown Heights Community Boards to discuss rezoning efforts intended to improve the structure and preserve the positive history of the neighborhood. I'll post more about it next week but get a head start and check http://crowhillcommunity.org/projects/landmarking-and-rezoning-meeting/ for more info.

Got a Brooklyn weekend event you want posted? Email us at umbrooklynborn @ gmail.com

Fort Greene Park History Open to the Public, Bring the Kids!

2013-04-12T14:32:00.000-04:00

Remember when the week was sunny and lovely? That all ended Wednesday. I ran the bike through some errands and came upon Fort Greene Park.

Fort Greene Park in addition to being Brooklyn's first official park & one of the larger islands of nature in the city, is a historical landmark. If you've lived in or around Brooklyn long enough you likely know something of that history. Between the Sailor's & Soldier Martyrs crypt, it's location in an historic neighborhood, it's monumental tower, once again lit each night Fort Greene Park history is hard to miss.

The first time I rode to the top I was about 17 and the city emerged upward as I climbed the park's summit. It was a cinematic reveal. This past Wednesday's sky was full of blue and warm with light, I wanted to experience the city that way, as a wide vista. The metal, glass and panorama of the city is different now but the view didn't disappoint.

What has been easy to overlook for me at least is a structure at the top of the park less monumental but vital and packed with historical artifacts. It's the comfort station, that has become the Fort Greene Park Visitor's Center. Before making off to the next errand it dawned on me nature was calling and the public restrooms in the Visitor's Center were the reason I was there.

The Visitors Center a neoclassical structure that was built in 1908 with the Monument. I'm embarrassed to say I only know it as the best free bathroom in Fort Greene. But to get to the bathrooms you need to enter and pass through the Visitor's Center and then Wednesday for the first time I really looked around and found over 200 years of history just waiting for me to notice it.

American Revolutionary period flags hang prominently from the ceiling.

Muskets and their small metal ammo are in cases around the park house, and very interesting is that many of the artifacts like the musket rounds were found in the park some as recently as in 2005.

This canon was used by the British Army during revolutionary times.

The map above shows the 1873 park layout along side today's layout.

I gained all this knowledge from the Parks Department workers who were friendly hosts and happy to share the park's history. Even going so far as to show me the park turtle (he's been under the weather) and the pelt of a squirrel.

I won't lie, I thought the squirrel hide was gross, but interesting in that once upon a time in this very city that hide would be a form of currency.

Do yourself, a favor and stop on by the Fort Greene Visitor's Center it'd add to your perspective and possibly an even greater appreciation of Brooklyn.

For more information on Fort Greene Park and it's year long schedule of events check the Fort Greene Park Conservancy's website at http://www.fortgreenepark.org/

Photo Wednesday 04/10/13 : Spring Sunkist Edition

2013-04-10T20:26:00.001-04:00

Before tonight's deluge there was sun and warmth. And during these last few days of warmth I snapped this photo of two people basking in the warming glow of the sun and each other.

Despite the occasional rain, spring is in the air.

Bedtime for Brooklyn Bars?

2013-04-10T12:04:00.002-04:00

Last Call? (probably not the last time that's used in the relation to this story, let's make it a drinking game!)

No one likes a drunk, except other drunks trying to score with the drunk. Bartenders don't even like drunks, they're often literally more trouble than their worth. So if forcing bars to close at midnight on weekdays as Community Boards in Prospect Heights, Crown Heights (same thing) Williamsburg & Bushwich are reported (by Gothamist and DNAinfo) to be trying to do, would reduce the disruptive drunk population in our streets, then by all means Community Boards, save us from this scourge.

Community Boards in my opinion are trying to have a say in what has been a fairly one way action of new businesses, many of them bars in communities that were without new and especially outside the community businesses. The bars understandably want to and say they need to stay open on otherwise slow week day nights to be in business. Bar owners also cite the fact that throughout the city bars are open until 2-4am. Speaking as usual for myself, hasn't Freddy's (one of the bars cited in the Gothamist article) suffered enough already after having their decades old bar demolished to become a bike parking lot for the Barclays Center?

Seems like community board push back to me. Most if not all of the bars mentioned in the articles are on commercial streets that have a level of noise and business that comes from traffic, 24hr stores and other shops, are the bars that big a problem? Are bars infringing on Brooklyn's bedroom communities?

What do you think?