COWNA Meeting tomorrow at Jalopy

A general meeting of the Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association will take place tomorrow at 7pm at Jalopy.

Items on the agenda include:

- The salt pile on ASI's piers

- A presentation of Senator Squadron's plans for Brooklyn Bridge Park

- Venetia Lannon, VP of the Economic Development Corporation will present their plans for the Atlantic Basin on Wednesday, July 1st, at CoWNA's General meeting held at 7 PM at Jalopy (315 Columbia Street).

I strongly recommend that people try to make it out to this meeting, as all three items on the agenda are very important. The EDC presentation in particular should be quite interesting, as it seems many of the good pieces of the plan that was presented a while back have been quietly stripped away. Check out Red Hook resident Adam Armstrong's blog "A View From the Hook" for his take on EDC and Port Authority meetings that he's attended over the past couple months regarding the Cruise Terminal and the Container Port, as well as any other Port related issues.

----------------
*****Also - since neither of us can go due to scheduling conflicts, we'd GREATLY appreciate it if someone that does go could take some notes on the discussion and presentations and send them our way.

Enoteca on Court presents the 'Wine Film Festival"

We haven't had a chance to try Enoteca on Court yet, but between hearing good things and the creative wine-themed film festival going on this month, we're bound to make it there soon. A sign I saw recently outside of the establishment boasting free mini pizzas with purchase of drinks at the bar doesn't hurt either.

The fesitval, which started this past Sunday, will feature wine-themed movies on each of the next four Sundays. The shows start at 7:30 and are held in the restaurant's garden. The movies that will be shown are as follows:

July 5th - Sideways
July 12th - Mondovino
July 19th - The Secret of Santa Vittoria
July 26th - A Walk in the Clouds

Check out their site for film descriptions and other details

Ferries and Farms at Governor's Island

Image from Governor's Island Preservation and Education Foundation

Down at the end of certain streets and piers, or when the trucks and container stacks at the Marine Terminal aren't blocking the view of others, it can be easily seen that Governor's Island is REALLY close to our neighborhood. Despite its closeness, however, it hasn't always been the easiest place to get to.

That all recently changed with a new free ferry service that leaves from Fulton Ferry landing on weekends. Head on over to the Gov. Island website for schedule information and event listings for the island. Make sure to check the site before you go though, because the ferry doesn't always run.

In related news, the folks over at Added Value/The Red Hook Community Farm have recently opened a second farm at Governor's Island! Crops should be ready for sale sometime in late July, and proceeds will go towards providing stipends to local youth that work at the Red Hook farm, reports the NYTimes.

Image from NYTimes

We've got some catching up to do.....

The last few weeks have been SUPER busy in our lives outside of this blog, and as a result, the contents and frequency of our posts have both been lower than our usual standard. Below are some of the stories that we missed or are late on, in no particular order. Links to the places that got to the stories in a more timely fashion are included.

-----------------------------

• Brooklyn Paper reported that Van Brunt is going to get more garbage cans (finally!!!). We think that Columbia St. and the surrounding streets could use more too, since one often has to walk for several blocks to find one, and the few there are often overflowing.

• Red Hook and Carroll Gardens will also be getting more bike lanes! Brooklyn Paper reports that a popular 9th St. lane will be extended from 3rd Ave. to Hamilton Ave. and continue there for one block to provide a connection to Clinton St. (for a safer path towards the Brooklyn Bridge). New 2-way lanes will also be added on Columbia between 9th St. and Bay St in conjunction with new diagonal parking spaces and medians for safer street crossings.
  

• And just when you thought Red Hook was catching a break with the new garbage cans and bike lanes, the Daily News reports that its also going to be the home of a huge new concrete plant - raising fears over potential noise, pollution, and traffic.

• NY Mag reports that Laurent Brunacci, of Pit Stop fame, is now the head chef of the new restaurant at Hotel Rivington in Manhattan, LEVANTeast. While this sounds great for Laurent, what will become of Pit Stop? It doesn't ease our worries to see an ad for the restaurant in the window of Cozy Quarters on Union

• Tom Folsom, author of the Gallo gang book "The Mad Ones" and guide of the recent Freebird sponsored Joe Gallo walking tours appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart a couple weeks back. Check out the video here

• A new bi-weekly column about Red Hook called "Hook Lines: Life and Property in Red Hook," written by local resident Sadie Stein, will now be appearing in the New York Observer. We're curious to see where she takes it.

• WPIX 11 reports that the sound of love-making by Mockingbirds is driving Carroll Gardens residents crazy. Apparently the Mockingbird population has been on the rise in recent years, and by the sound of it, it will continue to do so.
  

The last concert of our Jazz in June series is this Sunday!

Starting at 2pm:

Willie Martinez’s La Familia Sextet

Dave Sewelson’s The Daves

The Saul Bellows

Bring the family, friends and the kids!

There will be lemonade, watermelon, cookies, as well as iced coffee and tea from the Coffee Den and treats from Red's Tapas Bar — all to raise money for the meadow and support musicians.

Be sure to make it!

Dance party at WORK - Sat, June 27th, 7pm

Apothecary (detail)

If you haven't seen it yet, this is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to check out DISASTER KIT, by Trevor Babb.

take shelter

DISASTER KIT DANCEPARTY

SATURDAY 27 JUNE, 7PM

SPACE: Dancefloor / Filmscreen / Disasterware

PROVISIONS: Wheatgrass / Summer Spirits / Aguas frescas

DEMOS: Woodchop / Firelight / Alpineering / Archery

Water Porter

Trunk

Food Crates

Press release: Stormy Skies Can’t Dampen Greenway Gala!

Over 200 supporters of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway came together on June 18^th at IKEA’s Erie Basin Park in Red Hook to celebrate the greenway’s progress and to recognize three honorees, all of whom have been instrumental in moving the greenway forward this year.

New Views 2009, the annual benefit hosted by Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI), was saved by quick action from the IKEA staff and BGI volunteers, who moved the entire event under the garage next to the new greenway segment at Erie Basin Park. Rain and wind had ripped two tents and left standing water at the original event site two hours before it started. BGI co-founders Brian McCormick, Meg Fellerath and Milton Puryear expressed their appreciation to the gathered guests for their support and their help in making the greenway vision a reality.

Despite the weather, the evening was characterized by good humor. Jon Orcutt, Senior Policy Advisor to NYC DOT Commissioner Jeanette Sadik-Khan, introduced Christopher O. Ward, Executive Director of the Port Authority by saying, “I bet this is the first time Chris Ward was honored in a parking garage.” Mr. Ward, who during a prior tenure at the Port Authority was also instrumental in helping the greenway said, “I was involved in this project 15 years ago. I had no idea then that it would become as big as it has.” Mr. Ward and the Port Authority were recognized for making additional space available for the greenway along Degraw and Van Brunt Streets.

Jeannette Nigro, Vice President for Economic Development of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce recognized IKEA Brooklyn and Mike Baker, Store Manager, on behalf of Carl Hum, the Chamber’s president. Ms. Nigro said, “We commend IKEA, Mike Baker, their entire team, the community residents who make up the IKEA staff, and Brooklyn Greenway Initiative for their investment in the Brooklyn waterfront, making it one of the most progressive green neighborhoods for residents and businesses in Brooklyn.” IKEA’s 6-acre Erie Basin Park, designed by landscape architect Lee Weintraub, includes a section of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway.

Teresa Toro, Transportation Committee Chair of Community Board 1 and one of last year’s honorees, introduced Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives (TA). She said, “TA Brooklyn Committee members play a major role in the efforts to improve the Pulaski Bridge, to implement the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists, to promote best practices for sharing the streets to all users and to minimize cuts in transit services for communities with limited transit options.” Mr. White acknowledged BGI by saying, “If all of our community partners were like Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, we’d have it all done by now.”

New Views 2009 honorees received an autographed copy of Walking Brooklyn by Adrienne Onofri, as well as a complete kit for repairing bicycle flat tires donated by R&A Cycles. Recycle-a-Bicycle also donated a BMX bike that was raffled off at the end of the evening.

The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway is now a NYC DOT project. Preliminary design and engineering is expected to begin this year using federal funding secured by Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez. When complete, the greenway will be a 14-mile continuous landscaped route with separate paths for pedestrians and cyclists. Funding for planning the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway is provided by the New York Department of State Division of Coastal Resources with funds provided under Title 11 of the Environmental Protection Fund. The NYS funding is sponsored by the Office of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

BGI also announced the release of the 2^nd edition of A User’s Guide to the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. Major funding for the greenway guide was provided by the J. M. Kaplan Fund, Independence Community Foundation, and Brownstoner. The guide is free and it can be requested by going to BGI’s

Check out website.

THE LITTLE STREET THAT COULD DOES IT AGAIN!!

It is time for Smith Street Funday again!

Sunday June 28th from 11AM to 6PM

Message from the organizers:
"Smith Street’s Annual Festival is not just coordinated – it is ”curated”. We start with a street full of special shops with an eclectic variety of things you will want to wear, consume, eat, or otherwise enjoy – and to that we add our BOCOCA neighborhood art and craft talent, interests and collections, plus the independent designers, the joie de vivre and only the finest region-wide assortment of vendors of merchandise you will really want to bring home.

We are eight blocks long – deliberately not the longest or the biggest because we aim to bring you quality in Brooklyn’ most exotically perfect bazaar!! We also aim to bring you fun – with lots of music and entertainment. For example – both Tony’s Hardware and the Salsa Salon will have live Latin Bands and attract some great dancers. Angry Wade’s, Ceol and Rocketship will also all give lots of local bands and talent a chance to show off all day long.

And of course we will have “Stinkfest” once again in front of Smith & Vine sponsored by the wine shop and its sister and brother shops – “Stinky Brooklyn” the cheese and gourmet shop, and “The Jakewalk” Bar & Snacks venue. They are sponsoring a full day of entertainment on a stage, surrounded by tables and seating and a gourmet street food menu:. From 11-1 PM great children’s entertainment., Music from 1-2PM At 2PM NYC’s One and Only Third Annual Cheese Eating Contest 3- 5:30PM Music returns with a variety of great local talent.

Stroll, shop, and sample along Smith Street from Bergen to Union Streets."

Red Hook Pool to open this weekend!

The Red Hook Park Pool, located on Bay Street between Clinton and Henry Streets will open for the season on Saturday June 27th and be open every day through Labor Day, September 7th. The pool will be open each day from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m, and 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Summer is here in spite of the awful weather.

Fix the Ditch!!

Image from SouthBrooklyn.net

Last week, the NYC Economic Development Corporation released an RFQ (Request for Qualifications) for a study that will look at ways of minimizing impacts of the "ditch" portion of the BQE, which the EDC site describes as:

Ways to mitigate its noise and pollution, and reconnect communities on both sides. Solutions may include beautification projects such as green planted buffers, overhanging walkways and/or pedestrian crossing bridges. Ultimately, this project will benefit the community and enhance the surrounding region by developing a pedestrian transportation network, improving air quality, decreasing noise pollution, expanding recreation options, and providing safe pedestrian access to and from the nearby waterfront Columbia Street area.

According to an email sent out to the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association list by Craig Hammerman (Community Board 6 District Manager), this study is being funded by a $300,000 grant that was secured by Congressmember Nydia Velázquez, with the support and encouragement of Community Board 6 and local civic groups.

Information on the RFQ is available here

Responses are due by 7/8/09 so please spread the word! It would be great to see ANY improvement on this section of the BQE - which we are all familiar with by walking over or along it everyday.

An article by the Brooklyn Paper points out that this RFQ is far less ambitious than previous designs that considered possibilities such as decking it over (see below), but still ANY improvement will be great.

Image above from Dland Studio via The Brooklyn Paper

Ysolda Teague at Brooklyn General this Sunday

Attention knitters:

Sunday June 28 from 12-5pm

Ysolda Teague will be at Brooklyn General to talk about Whimsical Little Knits, show us
knitted samples from the book and hopefully knit a little.


Copies of WHIMSICAL LITTLE KNITS will be available for purchase and signing.

To find out more about Ysolda check out her blog.

Calexico is opening today! Send us your reviews!

At long last, Calexico is opening today at 11am!
We are predicting a mob of some kind!

A note on the door informs us that it will only be open at lunch this week as they are training their staff.

Please send us pictures and reviews to archive this historic day.

Enjoy!

COWNA meeting rescheduled

Due to double booking at Jalopy the Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association has been rescheduled for Wednesday July 1st.

COWNA Meeting - 6/24 - 7pm at Jalopy

Please mark your calendar for the next COWNA (Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association) General Meeting, which will be on Wednesday June 24th at 7pm

Location: Jalopy, 315 Columbia Street (between Woodhull & Rapelye Streets).

Some of the items on the agenda are:

- The salt pile on ASI's piers

- Phoenix Beverages taking over Piers 7 and 11

- Senator Squadron's proposal for Brooklyn Bridge Park

Check out their site for more details

Calexico to open Tuesday 6/23!!!!!!!!!

It actually seems official this time!!

NYMag has the official scoop here.

The article says:

When the doors finally open, they’ll serve the items you know and love as well as crack-sauce–laden torta and salad versions, plus new dishes such as shrimp and grits and daily specials such as ribs and tamales (the base menu is still coming together). When the beer-and-wine license comes in, there’ll be micheladas too, but during the BYOB phase, expect Mexican sodas and daily aguas frescas.

Yet another great concert coming this Sunday, June 21st, at the Urban Meadow!

Sunday, June 21st
2-5pm Jalopy sponsored bluegrass festival

Featuring:
The Dust Busters - "these guys will blow your head off. They are one of the best groups I've ever seen" - Lynette, from Jalopy.
The Saul Bellows - klezmer style bluegrass.
And more...

If you haven't been to one of the concerts yet, this one is not to be missed!
We hope to see you there!

Some pictures from the first concert:

Carroll Park's 2009 kids' Concert Series

Hip Hop classes at Dance Etcetera

DTE is committed to expanding its space into a multi-use community arts center, and part of that plan involves eventually having an entire series of programming on Saturdays. We're beginning with hip hop dance classes, for students of all experience levels, taught by a pair of wonderful dancers and teaching artists.

Details are available here.
Plus: If you sign up for the whole trial series- six classes- you will receive one class free!

"Drawing together" a free art program by K.I.D.S. in Red Hook

"Drawing Together"
Free Weekend Art Making Workshops for Families

Saturday June 13, 20, 27 & July 11
10:30-12

What is it?
Led by Kentler's Art Education team of professional Teaching Artists "Drawing Together" is an opportunity for families to work together to explore contemporary art on view in the gallery through games, art making, poems, outdoor explorations and more!! Programs are designed for ages 4 and up.

Please visit their blog for more information.

Where is it?
353 Van Brunt Street between Wolcott and Dikeman Streets.

To pre-register:
Call 718.858.5072 or email omcquarrieo@gmail.com and speak to Program Manager Mollie McQuarrie. Please arrive 5 minutes early.

Who are the Teaching Artists?
Kate Baird
lives in Brooklyn and works as a teaching artist for the Guggenheim Museum and the Kentler International Drawing Space. She received an MFA from the University of Chicago in 2005. Her paintings, drawings and prints explore ideas about place and the natural world and can be seen at katebairdart.com.

Meghan Keane
is a Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary artist inspired by hair, gender, microscopes, and the unexpected beauty of things. She is currently a Visiting Artist at the Brooklyn College Art Department Printshop. Her work can be seen at meghankeanestudio.com.

Many thanks to Independence Community Foundation for funding this program.

Rooftop Films presents Persona Non Grata

Rooftop Films presents:

Prosecuted as a rebel.
Banned as a priest.
Committed as an artist.
Loved as a father.
An inspiring documentary—co-funded by Rooftop Films - about the filmmaker’s father, Franz Wuytack, a radical left-wing Belgian missionary in the slums of Venezuela in the 1960s. With a new liberal movement sweeping Latin America, and people like Wuytack needing to continue the fight for social justice in the US and around the world, this film is crucially relevant today.

Persona Non Grata by Fabio Wuytack
Date: Saturday, June 13th
Venue: Roof @ Old American Can Factory
Address: 232 3rd Street @ 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
Tickets:$9-$25
Presented in partnership with: Crunch, Cinereach, New York magazine & Brooklyn Technical High School

The Brooklyn Collective Summer Showcase opening Friday June 19

The Brooklyn Collective Summer Showcase

presented by Brooklyn Collective and General Nightmare

Friday June 19, 2009

196 Columbia Street

(between Sackett and Degraw)

7-11pm

Please join us as we unveil new summer collections from over 20 local artists and designers!

Jenny Belin
Terraplane R. Marquez
Miki Horii
Courtney P. Hewitt
Lewis Henry Nicholas
Tessa Williams
David Aloia
Jess Yam
live from bklyn
Rachel Goldberg
Modulari
Alexandra Batsford
CharlieDoes
AshiDashi
Milton Carter
Happy Clay
Toby Upton
Species by the Thousands
LanVy
Tattoo Girl Lingerie

Cocktails by John Pomeroy will be served throughout the evening

For further info please visit

www.brooklyncollective.com

www.generalnightmare.com

Reminder: Jazz in the Meadow kicks off this Sunday!!!!!

More details available here

Fundraiser for PortSide NY - Saturday, 6/13

PortSide NY is hosting an event on 6/13 that will help them raise funds for their future home in the Atlantic Basin (at Pier 11, next to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal). This will be a publicly accessible space on the waterfront offering art, history, and cultural programs, tours and other events on the oil tanker Mary Whalen and other visiting vessels, and general waterfront themed activities. The image below is a vision of what the on-shore indoor space might look like.

Go to the event and support this great future community space on the waterfront!

Sat 6/13/09, 6-9pm
Tickets $50
At Brooklyn Lyceum (227 Fourth Avenue at President Street)
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Tickets available here

The event will include a large-format multimedia installation, robust cheese + charcuterie, beer and wine.

Their release about the site is as follows:

PortSide NewYork is thrilled to announce that we are soon to get our first publicly accessible home, your new home on the waterfront. The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is negotiating directly with PortSide NewYork to create a home for us in Atlantic Basin, next to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. This will include a berth for the Mary Whalen, a pier where we will host visiting vessels of every description, and an interior space that will house programs and interpretive spaces. Visible from PortSide will be huge cruise and container ships, gantry cranes at work, tugboats, charter, excursion and historic vessels.

Proceeds from PortSide’s first fundraiser will support planning and interim programming in Atlantic Basin.

There will also be an online auction of the following items:

(4) tours for two led by American Stevedoring up to the top of a gantry crane in the Red Hook containerport (government-issued photo ID needed to enter port). See the port from a spectacular vantage point!

(30) Tickets (in several packages) on SeaStreak ferry from Manhattan to Sandy Hook, NJ beach where nearby offerings include historic military base, Victorian seaside towns and a nude beach.

(2) tickets aboard NYC’s largest sailing charter vessel, and the newest one in town, The Clipper City. At 140’ long, this topsail schooner will take your breath away!

A piece of Red Hook history! 1916 six-burner Lafayette wood/coal cookstove from a house on Dikeman Street.

(1) dinner for two with waterbloggers Tugster and Bowsprite, Will Van Dorp and Christina Sun, two charming harbor savants, at a harborside location TBD.

2 hour introductory private blacksmithing lesson taught by Marsha Trattner at She-Weld, Van Dyke Street, Red Hook, NYC’s first and only blacksmithing classes.

Morgan 24 sailboat (reserve must be met)

Youth Kick-off event for the Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival Canceled due to rain!

The organizers are trying to relocate to tomorrow as many events as possible. You can call them for details at (718) 643-6790 or check out their blog for updates.

Don't miss the festival tomorrow at Valentino Park, 11am-7pm, the weather should be perfect!

Circus Sundays at the Waterfront Museum

The Circus will be returning to the Red Hook waterfront this year. Head down to the Waterfront Museum and Barge every Sunday in June to check out professional performers from around the globe. Tickets are $18 for adults and $12 for kids.

More info at the Waterfront Museum site.

Opening Reception of Disaster Kit at WORK - June 12 @ 7:30pm

DISASTER KIT installation by TREVOR BABB sponsored in-part by the Brooklyn Arts Council. www.dzastrkit.com.

Opening Reception FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 7:30PM, featuring a live performance by Matthew Worth, Baritone Vocalist.

ARTWALK 2009, on Atlantic Avenue, June 6th & 7th

This weekend, June 6th and 7th, is the sixth annual Atlantic Avenue ArtWalk.
ArtWalk is a self-guided tour of open artist studios and area exhibitions, a range of public art projects, special events, with local merchants hosting a range of artwork and events. ArtWalk provides a relaxed setting for dialogue, collecting, and for artists to discuss current bodies of work, while offering viewers a glimpse into the creation process.

ArtWalk includes artists across all media, participatory events, film, public art, live music, and activities for families and children of all ages. Visitors can enjoy exhibits, view and buy work, meet the artists and sample the Avenue's restaurants, shops and bars at their own pace. To add to the weekend festivities, local businesses host receptions while area restaurants and bars offer special rates to ArtWalkers throughout the weekend.

Also available: CURATED TOURS

Get an inside look at favorite spots, unique points of interest, and secret haunts in the ArtWalk neighborhood. Take a short, self-guided tour of the ArtWalk area "curated" by Sasha of Proteus Gowanus; Ouigi of The Brooklyn Circus; Brooklyn historian, Erik Fortmeyer and fine artists Chris Piazza and Mac Premo.

Check out their website for more information.

All the events are free and open to the public.

A drive-in by WORK

On an empty lot at union st. & Van brunt

SUNDAY, JUNE 7 AT SUNDOWN

A DRIVE-IN II will occur Sunday night June 7th, 2009 at Approximate Dusk at the empty lot across the street from WORK Gallery: 65 Union Street @ Van Brunt, Brooklyn, NY.

A DRIVE-IN is a distinguished un-authorized projection party held sporadically at an empty lot in Red Hook, Brooklyn since 2008. Brought to you by WORK Gallery & CLEARCHANNEL (Walker Waugh, Jessie Stead & David Gatten).

The evening will feature casual outdoor projections of new and used 16mm film & video by different people onto big white semi-abandoned trailers. There will also be intermittent live music and other surprises, specific program TBA. No automobiles are required at A DRIVE-IN II. All transportation forms welcome especially rollerskates and rickshaws and cars too if you have one.

Watch a demo from the first A DRIVE-IN: http://www.jessiestead.com/adrivein.html

New Views 2009 Greenway Party to be held June 18th in Red Hook

Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI) will hold New Views 2009, its 4^th annual benefit for the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, on Thursday, June 18^th, 6:00-9:00PM at IKEA Brooklyn’s Erie Basin Park. Join BGI’s Board, Host Committee and Greenway supporters for a Swedish smorgasbord, drinks and music along the first privately funded and maintained section of the planned 14-mile Greenway. The party will be held under a restored gantry crane, surrounded by water on three sides.

IKEA Brooklyn and Mike Baker, Store Manager will be honored as BGI’s Corporate Partner of the Year for providing public access along the Erie Basin waterfront with the implementation of a divided 18-foot path, part of the planned route for the Greenway. Over 9,000 plants and 558 trees line the 6.5 acre Erie Basin Park, which was designed by Lee Weintraub and opened just a year ago.

Christopher O. Ward, Executive Director of The Port Authority of NY & NJ, will be honored as BGI’s Government Partner of the Year, recognizing the Port Authority’s commitment to providing right-of-way for the Greenway around the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. Transportation Alternatives will receive BGI’s Community Partner of the Year award, for their outstanding advocacy and outreach.

BGI along with its partners and supporters have a great deal to celebrate this year, most importantly the commitment by the New York City Department of Transportation to develop a master plan for the full 14-mile Greenway route, which will then qualify it as a city capital project. Both the Erie Basin Park segment and the Columbia Street segments of the Greenway opened within the past year, and in April of this year, BGI announced an additional $2.5 million in federal funding secured for capital construction.

New Views 2009 is Brooklyn Greenway Initiative’s principal opportunity to expand public awareness and raise the operating funds necessary to support the Greenway. Please join Brooklyn Greenway Initiative and keep the momentum going!

Tickets start at $60 and are available at www.brooklyngreenway.org . Brooklyn Greenway Initiative is a 501c3 non-profit organization. Please contact Brian McCormick at bmccormick@brooklyngreenway.org or 718.522.0193 with any questions. Sponsor deadline is Friday, June 12 for logo inclusion in event program and materials.

Don't Forget: The 16th Dance Theater Etcetera Waterfront Arts Festival - June 5th & 6th

Destination Red Hook: We Got What You Need

Come to the FREE Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival at Louis J. Valentino, Jr. Park & Pier Friday, June 5^th (6pm-9pm) and Saturday, June 6^th (11am-7pm) to see what (and who) makes this unique waterfront neighborhood tick.

Friday at 6pm:

• Youth Kick-Off Event & with performances by RIOT ACT! Police-Teen Theater Project and South Brooklyn Community High School’s TheaterWorks program.

• Community sunset picnic: Eat food from local community farm Added Value, prepared by students in SBCHS’s Cook for Life program, as you enjoy a sunset serenade from The Famous Accordion Orchestra.
  

• At 8pm the 5^th Annual Red Hook Youth Film Fest begins, screening award-winning films from Brooklyn’s brightest young stars.

Saturday’s Mainstage events begin at 11:00 am:

• This year the Festival goes local with a loco lineup of sizzling hot artists who have made their names around the globe before coming back home to the BK: tapping, rapping lyricist Joseph Webb (Bring in ‘Da Noise…) and his band Joseph; local favorites, The Red Hook Ramblers; Dr. Drum & Bomba-Yo; and dynamo DJ Chela (lauded as “the hottest female DJ in the country”).

• Powerhouse professional companies PurElements: An Evolution in Dance and JoiLynn Productions rep the best the borough has to offer in dynamic movement and dance, while youth groups from around the city strut their stuff to keep up.

• The day ends with a sunset salsa party to the big band groove of the incomparable Willie Alvarez y Tromborí.

Check list for the festival:

An empty stomach to enjoy the picnic on Friday.

A beach blanket to lounge on the grass all day Saturday (don't forget sunscreen!).
Lotion to keep your hands healthy in spite of intense clapping.

A swimsuit to take a free kayak ride in New York Harbor.

Your dancing shoes for Saturday's evening-ending salsa party.
A water bottle to stay hydrated.

Hope to see you out there!

Our public libraries need our help!

Message from one of our neighbors and readers:


"Like many of you, my family and I are frequent visitors to our neighborhood library -- in our case, the Carroll Gardens branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, on Union and Clinton Streets. We can't say enough good things about what a fantastic resource it is - for books and music and DVDs, for research materials, for free children's and family programs, and much much more. And in this tough economy, library use is at a record high -- the New York Public Library reports 17.5 million visitors over the past year -- as people take advantage of libraries' job search services, free Internet access, and classes teaching new skills.

But as you may know, the city's three library systems (Queens, Brooklyn, and NYPL) are facing a devastating 22% budget cut proposed by Mayor Bloomberg. According to Library Journal this would mean 943 employees laid off, a big cut in the materials budget, and a severe reduction in hours, including the elimination of weekend service at many branches. I've spoken to one of the children's librarians at the Carroll Gardens library, who said the branch faces staff layoffs and would reduce service to just 5 hours a day on weekdays.

More details of the proposed cuts here:
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6656778.html

Here is how each library system would be affected, according to their websites:

Brooklyn Public Library:
- faces $17.5 million in budget cuts
- eliminate as many as 272 positions (1 out of every 4 full-time employees)
- reduce service to 5 days a week at most neighborhood libraries, with limited or no weekend hours
- buy 185,000 FEWER books, DVDs, and CDs

New York Public Library:
- faces $28.2 million in budget cuts
- no more six- and seven-day service (most would go down to 4 or 5)
- reduce average weekly hours from 52 to 32
- eliminate thousands of programs for children
- 3.4 million FEWER visits (680,000 from children/young people)
- 5 million FEWER circulated materials

Queens Library:
- has sustained $5.6 million in cuts and is facing $11.8 million more in cuts this year
- lose 6-day service, which they fought so hard to restore
- every library closed all weekend long
- some libraries with less than 5 days of service
- all programs and services (including after-school and ESOL programs) reduced
- fewer books, DVDs, and other library materials available

The City Council must approve the proposed budget cuts by June 30. If your local library is important to you, please consider going to ALL of the following links to make a donation and to send a message to your elected officials. Let them know we expect them to stand up for our libraries!

Brooklyn Public Library
Send a message: https://bpl.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/adv/helpus.aspx
Donate: http://brooklynpubliclibrary.org/support/shelves/

New York Public Library
Donate and/or send a message: http://www.nypl.org/donate/

Queens Library
Donate and/or send a message: http://www.savequeenslibrary.org/
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Last game of the season for the Brooklyn Women's Rugby Team

The last game of the season is this Saturday, June 6th, at 11:00 am. It'll be at the fields they're usually on, Field 3 in Red Hook Park, across from the intersection of Bay St. and Hicks St.

Here are some hilarious pictures of the last game: the players were all wearing prom dresses, and not many gowns were left standing:

Before the game: all pretty

Roughing it: Notice the t-shirt

Wow

Hope you can make the last game!