Story Pirate event at PS 58 on 11/20

On Friday, 11/20, the PS58 PTA brings the Story Pirates to Brooklyn and they
are opening the event up with welcome arms to the entire community!

Details from the organizers:

For months our PS 58 kids have been busy writing stories for the Pirates
review. After reading all of our stories, the Pirates will select a sampling
of them and turn them into short plays. Each Story Pirates show is 100%
original, with the kids being the original authors each performance!
This show is NOT just for PS 58 families. We open our doors to the entire
community and welcome anyone who enjoys theater, improv, comedy and creative
art forms! The Pirates are super talented and unique. I guarantee you've
seen nothing like them! Come see what they've done with us and spread the
word. Maybe someday they can land their boats on your school shore!

$15 General tickets, pay through credit card online
Doors at 6:30 pm, show at 7 pm
http://tinyurl.com/yaaoyeo

$20 Reserved tickets, with front row seating AND dinner are available
mornings in the PS 58 school lobby only, available for the first 100
customers. Doors at 6:00 pm, show at 7 pm

Thanks to Kingfisher books, EVERY child attending this performance will
receive a Pirate book of their choice FREE.

This will be a 1 Hour show.
100% of profits go directly to the PTA to fund PS58 programs and events year
round.

PS 58: Carroll St between Court and Smith, Brooklyn NY 11231
Subway: F/G trains, Carroll stop
Bus: B71, B75

The Concrete Plant fight continues

Despite Red Hook's new concrete plant nearing completion, the neighborhood fight against it continues on.

The NY Times published an article about the struggle last week, saying:

So the plant, which is nearing completion, has spurred protests in this split-personality neighborhood. The clouds of dust stirred up could be quite literal: What mostly worries opponents are the airborne particles they say the plant will scatter to the yellow-and-blue Ikea next door, heavily used baseball fields across the street, and a 2.75-acre farm nearby on a former playground.

“There’s a certain irony that we have a mayor talking about no smoking in parks, but he has no problem allowing the construction of a concrete plant that would shower cement dust on children in the park,” said John McGettrick, a co-president of the Red Hook Civic Association.

Seven hundred people signed a petition opposing the plant, and 70 residents picketed on a rainy September day, with children in dust masks holding signs that said “Honk 4 No Cement.”

But city officials, who want to preserve factories and the jobs they provide, have declared a swath of Red Hook that includes the plant site an industrial business zone. Ikea, less than pleased, realized there was nothing it could do....

Read the rest of the article here or some Gothamist coverage here

Also be sure to check out a more detailed, neighborhood based, commentary by A View From the Hook that includes a detailed map of the area.

Freebird Party11/15: Red Hook Chickens, Six Point, and Moxie

LAST FREEBIRD PARTY OF THE YEAR!

Sunday, November 15, 2-4 pm

In conjunction with the New York Independent Book Week (not to mention the present management's 2-year anniversary), Freebird will join forces with WORD Bookstore in Greenpoint to encourage our patrons to B-61 it (along the route of the future Greenway) between neighborhoods for a sampling of Brooklyn authors and food.

Freebird will host John Bemelmans Marciano, Freebird customer and author of the recently released work, Anonyponymous. John lives in Red Hook and will be supplying free range chickens raised in his next door lot (you can see pictures of it in this NY Times article from a few months ago). The chickens will be "moxied" till they are tender and falling off the bone. And by "moxie," they mean roasting a few with a half-filled can of Moxie soda, a process was tested at the Freebird labs earlier this week (Note: Freebird is the only place in NYC to carry Moxie). Six Point beer will be on hand to wash it all down.

WORD will host the Brooklyn author/illustrator duo of Randall and Peter de Sève (who will read and sign copies of their new book Duchess of Whimsey) and offer up grilled cheese sandwiches and milk from local vendors of the Greenpoint Food Market.
---------------
Freebird interviewed their featured author, John Bemelmans Marciano, about his book and the chickens. That interview appears below:

So what is an anonyponym?

An anonyponym is an anonymous eponym. When you have a person whose name becomes a word but you never heard of that person, both the word and the person are anonyponymous. Think Jules Leotard, Charles Boycott, Etienne de Silhouette.

What were your determining factors for these words?

Anonyponyms cannot be defined absolutely, as everyone's knowledge is different. Take the case of 'hoover'. When an older person talks about hoovering something up, they do so with the knowledge that Hoover made vacuum cleaners; a younger person uses the word free of that context. The older person is using an eponym; the younger one an anonyponym.

Who didn't make the cut?

The Earl of Sandwich, who has become famous for his very obscurity.

Would "moxie" qualify?

Absolutely. A certain Lieutenant Moxie discovered a rare sugar cane-like plant in South America from which is made the near-magical elixir that is contained in each can of Moxie. Whether Lt. Moxie is real or fictitious, he is still anonyponymous.

Tell us about the chickens. What kind are they?

They are called 54-day chickens. This is a case of a breed being named after its expiration date. I don't have a word for that yet.

Were they easy to take care of?

It was a shared project, and my share had less to do with the caring part. (And even less with the eating, as I'm a vegetarian.) On the days I did have to take care of them, I would have to say no, not easy. Fifty chickens is not easy.

Would you recommend others do this?

I definitely recommend raising your own food. For myself I recommend a lot fewer chickens.

Where did they meet their fate?

At the Yeung Sun Live Poultry Market on the corner of Columbia and DeGraw.

Would you do it again?

Yes and no. I want to raise chickens again, but ones that make food, not that are food.

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

Freebird Books
123 Columbia Street (between Kane and Degraw streets)
http://www.freebirdbooks.com/directions.html


Images above from NYTimes and Wikipedia

Honey, I Shrunk Red Hook video

A video has been released about the "Honey I Shrunk Red Hook" project by Luis Blackaller and Andy Cavatorta that appeared at Lucky Gallery this past August.



This art project and installation - described on Lucky's site as a little Red Hook in the big Red Hook - is such a great concept, and the video does a great job of documenting it.

Check out Lucky Gallery's site for more great installations and events.

Made in Red Hook: Yankee Confetti!!!!

Anyone attending the Yankee parade tomorrow will get sprinkled with a little something from Red Hook.....

According to NY1, local company Atlas Materials will be providing the confetti for the parade:

Atlas Materials in Red Hook, Brooklyn is donating recycled confetti strips for the celebration. They say parades these days are much more environmentally friendly than ticker-tapes of the past.

"What we're doing here today is taking 1,200 pounds of shredded, recycled paper to be delivered to the buildings of Lower Manhattan to start the process of what kind of paper should be thrown from the windows tomorrow. It will all be cleaned up by the sanitation department and recycled yet again. So this is going to be a green parade," said John Cioffi of Atlas Materials.

A video of the confetti being made at Atlas, as well other info about the parade, is over at the NY1 website here (still no embedding NY1?)

“Surviving the Economic Downturn in Cobble Hill” 11/9 @ LICH

Cobble Hill Association Fall General Meeting to Feature Panel Discussion, “Surviving the Economic Downturn in Cobble Hill”

With New York City’s unemployment rate at a reported 8.9% and with under-employment estimated at 17%, many Cobble Hill residents have been affected by the economic downturn , especially with so many working in the fields of finance, media, and law that have been hard-hit. The Cobble Hill Association’s Fall General meeting will feature a panel discussion on coping strategies for this difficult economic environment. It will be held on Monday, November 9, at 7:30 pm at Long Island College Hospital, 339 Hicks Street (at Atlantic Ave) at the Avram Conference Room A.

Featured will be an expert on local real estate, William S. Ross, Director of Development Marketing, Halstead Property; co-owners of two successful neighborhood businesses, Henry Zook of BookCourt at 161-163 Court Street and Michelle Mannix of Ted & Honey café at 264 Clinton Street at Verandah Place; and Lauren Young, Personal Finance Editor, of BusinessWeek.

About the Panelists:

Michelle Mannix, co-owner of Ted and Honey at 264 Clinton Street at Verandah Place, is a lifelong foodie who came to the culinary world after spending several years in corporate America working in human resources and marketing. After being laid off from her job as Director of Marketing Partnerships and Promotion for Loews Cineplex Entertainment, Michelle took her career in a different direction. She attended the New School for culinary arts, completing the Master Class in professional cooking, catering, and Italian. She was asked to be the assistant to the Chef Instructor in the next Master course. Michelle then worked as a line cook and prep cook in Danny Meyer’s Café 2 in the Museum of Modern Art. In 2008, she and her brother, Chris Jackson, opened Ted and Honey. It became such an instant hit that when they added a public rest room, New York Magazine listed it as “Brilliant” in their approval matrix! Michelle, her husband, and their new baby, Jackson, live down the block from Ted & Honey in Carroll Gardens.

William S. Ross, Director of Development Marketing for Halstead Property, has over 25 years of real estate experience. An expert in both residential and commercial realty, Bill was the owner of William S. Ross Realty in Cobble Hill until he sold to Halstead. He is an expert on New York City's complicated zoning laws, and Landmarks Preservation regulations. Bill has been involved in many major building conversions and new developments where his ability to work with architects on floor plans and layouts and his understanding of the market is invaluable. Bill is a lifetime resident of Brownstone Brooklyn.

Lauren Young is a department editor for BusinessWeek’s Personal Business section. She joined BusinessWeek in October 2003 after working as a senior writer at SmartMoney. Ms. Young also covered mutual funds for the Dow Jones Newswires and was a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal. Her articles have appeared in many publications including The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Houston Chronicle, The Wall Street Journal Europe, USA Today, and T. Rowe Price Investor. She currently blogs about investing and parenting issues for BusinessWeek and is a frequent guest on major network television and radio programs. Ms. Young lives in Cobble Hill with her husband Jon Gordon, a patent lawyer, and her son Leo, who is in kindergarten at P.S. 29.

Henry Zook has co-owned BookCourt at 161 – 163 Court Street since 1981. Rated a 10 out of 10 by New York Magazine and voted the “Best Bookstore Expanding in the Face of a Vanishing Industry” by the Village Voice in their October 2009 “Best of New York” issue, the store is more than just a bookstore. Along with co-owner, Mary Gannett, and son Zack, Henry has created a destination where you can find an excellent selection of fiction, non-fiction and children’s books and literary magazines. The store offers readings from well-known authors - E.L. Doctorow and Jonathan Lethem among the writers featured in the past two months. There are weekly events for children and young adults including readings, story hours, and one of a kind events like a midnight release party for the last Harry Potter book. BookCourt has recently expanded to better serve their fans, ignoring the common wisdom that Barnes and Noble and Amazon are the only business model for book sellers.

PS 29 and PS 8 Seek Local Crafters and Artisans

PS 29 and PS 8 are hosting their first-ever Toy and Gift Fair on Saturday, December 5^th from 10 a.m-4 p.m. at PS 29, 425 Henry Street, between Baltic and Kane Streets. They're looking for local artisans or crafters interested in selling their handmade wares at our event.

The table rental is only $50 and we welcome artists’ collectives and co-sponsored tables. You can find more details about the event on the vendor application on THIS page of PS29Brooklyn.org. Table fees can be paid HERE.

Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Lisa at PS29PTA@gmail.com or Alex, 718 488 8855, alex@forkandpencil.com.

Cobble Hill Bike Ride 11-8 / Greenway Cleanup 11-14

2nd Annual Cobble Hill Bike Ride
Sunday, November 8th, 11am - 2pm
The Cobble Hill Association and Brooklyn Greenway Initiative are hosting a 10-mile casual bike ride that will start at Cobble Hill Park and pass through Brooklyn Heights , Dumbo, the Columbia Waterfront District, Red Hook, and Carroll Gardens then loop back to Cobble Hill. There will be several scenic rest stops as we ride along mostly calm streets with some light vehicular traffic. Bike marshals will travel alongside, as well as a mechanic for any urgent bike repairs needed. It may be chilly so please dress accordingly. Cyclists should bring helmets and observe all the proper rules of the road.

Ride is FREE, simply RSVP to cobblehillbikeride(at)gmail.com.
Space is limited to 50 riders maximum. Preference will be given to those who register ahead of time, as well as Cobble Hill Association members. Ride starts from Verandah Place at Cobble Hill Park .


...........and don't forget about monthly Greenway cleanups!

Columbia Street Greenway Clean-Up
Saturday, November 14th, 10:00-11:30AM
Join us for our regular monthly cleanup of the greenway route along Columbia Street ! Tools and gloves are provided, and all ages are welcome!
For more info or to volunteer, contact Brian: bmccormick(at)brooklyngreenway.org

Reminder: SIgn the traffic petition!

Please remember to sign the Columbia St. traffic calming and safety petition this week.

Currently, there are petitions available for signature at:

The Coffee Den (Union and Hicks)
Everyday Athlete Kids (Columbia b/w Carroll and Summit)

This petition will serve to follow up to letters sent by COWNA in the past, and serve as an important first step in demonstrating community buy-in of the issue to elected officials, the DOT, and other city offices. Some elected officials have responded favorably to emails we've sent them, but we need to keep the issue alive and show them that it really matters to us.

Anyone who would like to volunteer to collect signatures, either on the street, in their buildings or otherwise, please let us know.

Also, if any other business has printed petitions to have available on site, please let us know and we will direct people your way as well.

UPDATE: You can also view the petition here and print out for collecting signatures from your friends and neighbors:

Columbia Street Traffic Petition

Mother Cabrini/Meadow Halloween Photos & Thanks

Thanks to everyone who came out to Mother Cabrini Park and the Urban Meadow this past Saturday for the 8th annual Halloween party!

We'd especially like to thank the following businesses for their support of the event through their contributions of money, food, supplies, or time:

Everyday Athlete Studio / Everyday Athlete Kids
Cook Smarter (for the healthy treats!)
Denise Fasanello Floral Design
Coffee Den
Old Brooklyn Wine and Liquor Co.
Red's Tapas Bar
Brooklyn General
Jalopy
Cozy Quarters
Stop 1 Deli
Margaret Palca Bakes
The Word on Columbia St.
... and the members of the Urban Meadow who volunteered baked goods and time!

We have so many great businesses in the neighborhood that support these great FREE events at the playground and at the meadow, so show your support for them as well by shopping locally and mentioning your appreciation the next time you drop by!

Also thanks to Joan Millman, Daniel Squadron, and Brad Lander for coming out to the event and paying attention to our community!

{several photos above provided by Launa B.}