Donate a Coat to a Family in Need

Red Hook Playgroup & Jalopy are co-organizing a coat drive! The drive is running now through December 21st. People can bring their clean & gently used coats (child or adult) to Jalopy at 315 Columbia Street during their hours of operation (noon to midnight). The coats will benefit Brooklyn Families in need this winter.

Eat Pie and Shop at P.S.29 December 8

On Sunday December 8th, PS 29 is hosting its fifth annual Eat Pie and Shop holiday event. It's a pie social, celebrity-judged pie contest, artisan gift fair, professional portrait studio and children's activity (face painting, kids' choice pie contest, batiking) wrapped into one awesome family event.

Eat Pie and Shop at PS29
Sunday December 8, 11am - 4pm
425 Henry Street, between Baltic and Kane
www.eatpieandshop.org

* Pie Social: Taste delicious homemade and premium pies for $5 a slice or 5 for $20. Both sweet and salty options, so come for lunch and desert. Plus frozen custard from Shake Shack.
* Celebrity-judged pie contest: At 1pm, Gail Simmons, judge of “Top Chef,” Melissa Clark, food columnist for the New York Times and other kitchen pros will name the best pie of the pie contest. Come toast the winner and taste the winning pie.
* Artisan Holiday Gift Fair: Take care of your holiday shopping while the kids do crafts. More than 30 vendors from Brooklyn flea markets will be displaying and selling their handmade goods, including jewelry, clothing and beautiful paper products as well as books and classic toys from fork + pencil.
* Children's Crafts and Activities: Face painting, glitter tattoos, batiking and a Kids Choice pie contest of kid baked pies.
* Professional Portrait Studio: You can get a portrait of your child/children taken during the event. $30 for one high-resolution image which you can print, email, gift to grandparents, etc.
* Toys for Tots: U.S. Marines will be on hand to pick up all donations of holiday gifts.

All proceeds go to PS 29 programs. For more information, contact ps29eatpieandshop@gmail.com or visit www.eatpieandshop.org.

Help Red Hook Strategize for the Future!

TOMORROW, November 19, 7-8:30pm
New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program at the Miccio Community Center 
(110 West 9th Street between Henry & Clinton St.)

The NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program is helping communities impacted by Superstorm Sandy to rebuild and become more resilient through innovative community-driven plans that consider current damage, future threats to community assets, and the community's economic future. Over the past several months Red Hook's Community Committee has taken the community's input and with the help of our Planning Advisors, have identified and documented the Needs and Opportunities, local to our waterfront community.  You can see the final document published here - http://stormrecovery.ny.gov/nyrcr/community/red-hook. 

The Event will be a series of round table discussions so we can talk, neighbor to neighbor about our visions, and ideas, and explore our future reconstruction. 

The next step is to create a set of Strategies, linked to our Needs and Opportunities. These Strategies will lead to specific projects to help us reach our resilient community goals. Identifying these Strategies is critical to laying the foundation, and we need your voice and input.

Visit the Red Hook Community Reconstruction Program website for more information about the program, project and up to date process at redhookcrp.wordpress.com.

Join the conversation using #NYRising
Twitter.com/NYStormRecovery
Facebook.com/NYStormRecovery

If you want to provide more detail and input, see this interactive map where you can give detailed ideas on the shape of Red Hook's future: http://redhook.nyrisingmap.org/page/about

Informational Meeting about Rules and Regs for Bars and Restaurants

We love our local bars and restaurants, but living near a popular hangout can sometimes bring noise and other disturbances. Brooklyn Community Board 6 will host an informational meeting for Columbia Street Waterfront District residents on Monday night at the 76th Precinct. In an effort to better understand the rules and regulations governing restaurants and bars in our districts, representatives from the 76th Police Precinct will be on hand to answer any questions in respect to noise and other related issues. 

DATE: Monday, November 18, 2013
TIME: 7:00 pm
PLACE: 76th Police Precinct, 191 Union Street (between Henry and Hicks Streets)

Paper Shredding, Electronics Recycling, Rummage Sale and Bake Sale to Benefit Open House Nursery School

Protect Your Identity. Help Your Community. SHRED IT!
WHEN: Saturday, November 16, 10am-2pm
WHERE: Open House Nursery School, 318 Warren Street (between Court and Smith)
WHAT: Paper Shredding, Electronics Recycling, Rummage Sale and Bake Sale!

To raise funds for the school and as a service to the community Open House will have a professional shredding truck parked outside the school. Bring old bank statements and other confidential papers for shredding. In addition, we will collect small electronics for recycling. There will even be a rummage sale and delicious baked goods!

DOCUMENT SHREDDING. $10 for the first box/bag and $5 for each additional. ALL DOCUMENTS SHREDDED WHILE YOU WATCH!

RUMMAGE SALE. Come by and rummage for clothing and other treasures. All unsold goods will be donated to Wearable Collections.

ELECTRONICS. Acceptable items include inkjet/laser printer cartridges, GPS, iPhones, iPods, digital cameras, MP3 players, headphones, iPads and other tablets, and laptops. All items will be recycled responsibly.

All proceeds support Open House Nursery School and their financial aid program. Open House Nursery School is proud to be one of the few preschools in the neighborhood to provide financial aid. Part of their mission is to support families with limited income, as well as those who may encounter a sudden unexpected economic downturn.

Halloween Fun in the Neighborhood

You're invited to our neighborhood Columbia Waterfront Halloween Party and Parade on Sunday, October 27 from 10:00am to 12:30pm at Mother Cabrini Playground. Starting at 11 am, the Underground Horns band will lead the neighborhood costume parade. Come in costume, bring percussion instruments and get ready for a good time. 

This event is organized by volunteer members of the Urban Meadow Community Garden. Face painting, baked goods, coffee and hot chocolate and Urban Meadow t-shirts will be for sale with proceeds benefiting the Urban Meadow.Cabrini Playground and the Urban Meadow are on President Street between Columbia and Van Brunt.
http://urbanmeadowbrooklyn.blogspot.com/




Love Thy Pet's Halloween Party is Saturday, October 26 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm.
Bring your costumed pet between 1 and 2pm for the costume contest.
Guess the weight of the Pumpkin for a chance to win the door prize!
Enjoy cake, coffee, dog cake, and Doggy Goody Bags.
You can also get a free, professional photo shoot of your dog in costume, taken courtesy of Taryn Truese-Smith.
Love Thy Pet is at 164 Union Street (between Hicks & Henry)
http://lovethypetbklyn.com/
718-596-2399

Clayworks on Columbia's Children's Clay Class presents The Halloween Show
in the Clayworks Gallery Window October 30 - November 10. 

http://clayworksoncolumbia.org./

Spooooky... what other Halloween events are happening in the hood? Please let us know in the comments. Happy halloween, everyone!

How would YOU spend $1 million in the neighborhood?

Our City Councilmember Brad Lander's Participatory Budgeting process has begun! There is still time to submit ideas for improvements to the neighborhood. On the District Council 39 PB website you can post an idea, see what your neighbors are proposing, and support or comment on their ideas. The deadline is November 3rd. 

Through Participatory Budgeting, community members propose ideas and vote for how to spend at least $1,000,000 of the public budget in our Council District. If you have an idea about how things could work better in your community, share it on the map. Check out the guidelines to see what ideas can be funded. Your idea will be then reviewed, alongside all the others, based on its feasibility, the need it would address, and the number of people it would benefit. The top projects will be put on a ballot, and next April, all residents of the 39th Council District will be able vote on which to fund.

Go forth and make a real difference!

Rhombus Space -- New Gallery in Red Hook

www.rhombusspace.com

183 Lorraine Street

3rd Floor of the Art Spaces/Studio Complex
Red Hook

Jessica Campbell, YEAH NO TOTALLY, 

varying materials and size, 2012/2013

Poetry Slam exhibit (closed)

Ann Stewart, Tethering Corollaries II,
etching and aquatint on paper, 18 x 24"
Fine Lines exhibit (open Oct. 18)

Samuel Jablon, Poet Sculpture, variable 

dimensions, enamel on plywood, 2013

Poetry Slam exhibit (closed)

Katerina Lanfranco -- artist, curator and founder of Rhombus Space, in Red Hook -- is excited to be able to showcase and promote the work of artists whom she sees as truly contributing to the contemporary art dialogue. She opened Rhombus Space on September 20th of this year, and just wrapped up the space's first show, Poetry Slam, which closed Sunday, October 13. The show explored four artists' use of text in their visual art, and pieces included paintings, drawings, sculpture, installation and video. Featured artists were: damali abrams (lower case intentional), Jessica Campbell, Samuel Jablon, and Mwamba-Salim Wilson.

Lanfranco says that what gives Rhombus Space it's strength is "the dialogue that emerges from the grouping in each show", and invites people to not only focus on the individual artists and works, but on how they interact, how they compliment and inform each other.

Rhombus Space's forthcoming show, Fine Lines, is slated to open October 18, and aims to carry patrons "between familiar form and elegant abstraction" by exploring line as the primary artistic element and building block of the works shown. Featured artists will be Helen Dennis, Nils Folke Anderson, Jason Peters, and Ann Stewart, each of whom utilizes architectonic design and architectural references in their work, with the aim to bring the world of line and shape that is all around us into new and unexpected perspectives. Works will range from painting, drawing and printmaking to photography and sculpture.

Lanfranco is also hugely pleased to announce that the gallery will be participating in the Gowanus Open Studios event this weekend. The event is free, and will be open October 19 and 20, 12-5pm. Many of the other spaces and studios in the 183 Lorraine Street complex will be opening their doors for the event, so bring some snacks, some friends, yourself (or any combination thereof!) and enjoy some great hours of art absorption.

A few more teasers from Fine Lines:

Nils Anderson, Untitled, Acrylic on canvas, 7"x21"

Nils Anderson,Bench, Painted wood, 17"x13"x48"

Helen Dennis, Grand Central, NYC, photographic drawing, 40 x 48"

Jason Peters, untitled, silver ink on black paper, 11 by 11 by 16.5

Poetry Slam (closed)

September 20 -- October 13, 2013 

More information about this show and the artists can be found at:
http://rhombusspace.blogspot.com/2013/09/rhombus-space-presents-poetry-slam-w.html

Fine Lines
October 18 -- November 17, 2013
Reception: Friday October 18
6:00-8:00 PM
More information about this show and the artists can be found at:
http://rhombusspace.blogspot.com/2013/10/rhombus-space-presents-fine-lines.html

Gowanus Open Studios
October 19 -- 20, 1013
12:00-- 5:00 PM
More information about this event can be found at:
http://artsgowanus.org/gowanus-open-studios

Red Hook Playgroup Tours Now Available

Red Hook Playgroup is a progressive preschool founded by Red Hook parents, and the school has become an active part of our community. They are members of the community gardens and take their kids to Mother Cabrini Playground and field trips in the neighborhood. Priority is given to Columbia Waterfront and Red Hook residents, and they are now scheduling tours for families interested in applying for the 2014-2015 school year. Tours will take place from October to early December. See teachers and their classrooms in action, learn about RHP's educational philosophy and approach, and discuss any questions you have about the program and policies with RHP's Directors.

Visit www.redhookplaygroup.org to find more information and an application form. Once your form is submitted, you will receive an email within a few days confirming your tour date. 

Red Hook Playgroup is located at 295 Columbia Street between Woodhull and Summit. 

Brooklyn Collective 9th Anniversary Party

The Brooklyn Collective on Columbia Street is celebrating their 9th anniversary with a party on Friday night! Welcome 40 new collections from local artists and enjoy complimentary cocktails, live music and raffle prizes. 

Friday, October 4, 6-10pm
Brooklyn Collective
212 Columbia Street, Brooklyn, NY

http://www.brooklyncollective.com/