Found in Brooklyn

Virgin de Guadelupe Parade

2011-12-10T18:03:00.001-05:00

This parade was rambling down Broadway beneath the J/M train at the Marcy Ave. stop at the foot of the Williamsburg bridge. Elaborate masks and costumes, live music and lots of people marching in plain clothes behind the truck decorated with balloons and the image of the Virgen de Guadelupe. I wish I had time to stop and see the whole thing, I caught this by chance on my way to work at 9:30 this Saturday morning!

The Virgin de Guadelupe is one of the strongest images in mexican culture, she is said to be the "Mother to all of Mexico". The official day in her honor is December 12th. Read more about her here.

Twilight Icon

2011-10-23T22:44:00.005-04:00

Kentile Floors may be closed due to the fact that they produced floor tiles that were loaded with asbestos but the sign remains and is known to anyone who takes the F train or lives in the Gowanus area.

Read about more about their history here.

NYPD Protecting Delmonico's on Wall Street

2011-10-16T14:22:00.002-04:00

Let them eat steak!

Electric Haircut by Nelson in Dumbo

2011-09-26T18:41:00.005-04:00

Nelson cuts the hair of volunteers with his amplified scissors.

Wish I had taken a photo of the Mom taping her daughter's mouth shut in the chair, that girl will be telling her therapist that one in a few years!

I'm a liar. I'm back. Albeit sporadically and with mostly photos.

Good Bye!

2011-02-13T13:33:00.013-05:00

I do believe that this will be F.I.B's last post. I would like to thank you all for stopping by because you people out there are the only reason I have kept it up for the past year or so. There were times when I was really into the blog but now unfortunately it has become more of an obligation and that's no fun at all. I think I prefer to be a blog reader rather than a blog writer. I started F.I.B in retaliation to a blog (which shall remain nameless) that I thought was godawful and these days I think F.I.B has been going in that direction as well. This blog started as a photography blog and I also wrote more about music and personal stuff. It took a different turn when I learned that they wanted to build condos in my neighborhood of Gowanus and it became more politically active in a local sense. While I am still interested in local political action, I just can't keep it up via the blog anymore. Between the Gowanus and the Atlantic Yards,I think I'm tired. The Gowanus has gotten it's Superfunding (yay!), Bruce Ratner has gotten his stadium(boo!) and life goes on. Now the big issue is Coney Island and I don't think I have the heart to cover that anymore although I will continue to be active in that fight. Besides there are people who do a way better job than I ever could, just check out the list to the right. I have met many cool people through the blog and have connected with my community in a way that probably wouldn't have happened without it. Thanks to all the other blogs for giving me mucho blog love through the years via linkage and all that, I have always appreciated it. Anyway I am babbling..I'm not accepting an Oscar here! When I started this blog I would of never thought it would go for four years, it's been pretty much the only consistent thing in my life-thanks for reading!

*This photo is the first photo I ever posted and variations of the same area of the block have been on F.I.B countless times. (Four years later those metal things next the fire hydrant are still bent)

"Bang A Gong" Paintings by Nancy Drew Opening Saturday in Freddy's "Silver Room"

2011-02-10T08:36:00.017-05:00

Artichoke - 2010

Freddy's Bar is extremely proud to announce the launch of its art space "The Silver Room" with an exhibition of paintings by Brooklyn-based artist Nancy Drew, entitled "Bang A Gong".

I have to personally add to this official press release that Nancy's glitter fabulous paintings are a beautiful sight to behold in Freddy's new silver backroom. Nancy Drew's medium is GLITTER and FLOCKING. What is flocking, you may ask? Flocking is soft and fuzzy, sort of like velvet but more like the stuff that carnival prizes are made of. Ms. Drew has also has contributed much to the allover design of the new Freddy's, in addition to this exhibit, she has done a glittering "erotic" wallpaper installation in the back vestibule of the bar as well as many other flourishes in different areas allover the bar and backroom.

Anyway read on about this show from Freddy's press release.

"A group of paintings from both her "Artists Series" and "Porn Series" will be included in this mini-retrospective. Spanning the last ten years of Nancy Drew's production, each year is represented by a single painting. Painted in her signature materials of flock and glitter, imagery culled from 20th Century Ab-Ex masterpieces and contemporary video porn boxes is feminized and beautified beyond easy recognition, into levels of high camp and cultural relevance. The resulting artistic transpositions can't help but turn the aims of their sources on their ear. Rendered in plush flocking and sparkly glitter, the original meanings have been entirely recast and transformed in Drew's works, with equal doses of humor and reverence. Ms. Drew is a veteran of the NY art scene, as well as a few controversies concerning her highly-regarded 'cover versions' of abstract expressionist masterworks.

Drew's artwork has been featured in solo and group exhibitions at many venues both locally and internationally, including the Brooklyn Museum, the Chelsea Museum of Art, Artists Space, Exit Art, Roebling Hall, White Box, NYC; as well as Real Art Ways, Hartford CT; Albright College, Reading, PA; and the Kyrgyzstan National Fine Arts Museum, Kyrgyzstan Republic."

Opening: Saturday, February 12th, 7 to 9 pm
Show will be upFebruary 12th thru March 28th

WHERE: The Silver Room at Freddy's Bar
627 Fifth Avenue (between 17th & 18th Streets)
South Slope, Brooklyn

Fulton Street

2011-02-09T09:38:00.005-05:00

I have a fondness for close-out stores and wandered into this huge whacked out one on Fulton Street the other day. The ambiance? There were strips of newspaper all over the floor and distorted music played over the stereo. Among this island of misfit toys are hundreds of this Star Wars figurine, whom I have no idea is. I think they were 4 for a dollar. See that macrame looking belt sloped over the back? You can get EIGHT of them for a dollar and just as I was thinking "who would buy this?", I saw a lady snap that bargain up. I also found this new thrift store with an ESCALATOR right next store to Macy's. It's called UNIQUE and everything is sized, organized and cheap. I didn't get any clothes but I did score a Nina Hagen album for 99 cents.

A Tiny Taste of Freddy's Opening Night

2011-02-08T17:48:00.008-05:00

I think I have just about recuperated from last weekend's opening of Freddy's new home on 5th Avenue. My photos came out blurry and all I have is about 13 seconds of spirited dance floor footage during Les Sans Cullotes's set before someone actually took me DOWN. Yes. And I have the scratches down the entire side of my body to prove it!

I also went on Superbowl Sunday and saw a fab all girl punk/metal band called Out of Order from Queens. They played during half time. Wish I thought to recharge my camera that day. The image of them playing with that ridiculous half time show behind them was priceless. Anyway loved them, I'll take them over the Black Eyed Peas any old day.

It's mellowed out since Saturday. They open at 11am, ample time to stop by and hang out without the maddening crowd.

Check out their list of events at the website and make a point of watching Donald O'Finn's new Freddy's video, it's brilliant. All that here.

Freddy's Bar Opens Tonite!

2011-02-04T12:14:00.011-05:00

Since today is F.I.B's birthday I am tooting my own horn and showing a bit of my contribution to Freddy's. This is just a portion of one of the 2 bathroom doors.

I don't think there is anyone who loved the old Freddy's that doesn't know this at this point but tonite is the big par-tay. I expect it to be a madhouse but in a good way! The bar actually quietly opened LAST night with The John Pinamonti Band being the first performers to play the backroom. I don't think the new location and newish decor will change the heart of Freddy's. All the love and attention put into the bar to make it unlike any other by staff and friends of Freddy's shines through and I believe will bring them great success. Besides isn't it good luck to open on Chinese New Year? I guess Freddy's horoscope sign is the White Rabbit. Makes sense because the place sort of has an "Alice in Wonderland" vibe, you have to go to see what I mean, I am having trouble verbalizing what I mean!

Also! I just realized today is the 4th Anniversary of F.I.B! I held my first anniversary party at the old Freddy's and Les Sans Cullotes played that too as well as The Susquehanna Tool & Die Co. & the Anabolics! And an "Found in Brooklyn" themed art show on top of it all. Honestly I don't think there was any other place where I could of pulled that off so easily, Freddy's gave me the date and allowed me to run with it. Thanks Donald!

See you there!
Freddy's Bar: 627 5th Ave,between 17th and 18th Street in the South Slope.

Doors open at 5pm. Bands start at 9pm. The Magpie, Brute Force, Les Sans Cullotes.

Officially Toxic! E.P.A Releases Results of Gowanus Canal Investigation

2011-02-02T12:07:00.009-05:00

Much of this was known but now that it is OFFICIAL and in more detail hopefully this will deter organizations such as the Gowanus Dredgers from encouraging people to have contact with the water and land around the canal.

From the E.P.A's press release:
"EPA Investigation of Gowanus Canal Identifies Widespread Contamination, Health and Ecological Problems; Hundreds of Samples find PAHs, PCBs, Heavy Metals and Other Toxins.

(New York, N.Y.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has completed its investigation of the Gowanus Canal Superfund site in Brooklyn, N.Y. The investigation confirmed the widespread presence of numerous contaminants in the canal and identified the sources of contamination. The investigation also identified characteristics of the canal that will influence future plans for a cleanup. A companion human and ecological risk assessment found that exposure to the contaminants in the canal poses threats to people’s health and the environment.

“The findings of the investigation of the Gowanus Canal confirmed that contamination of the urban waterway is widespread and may threaten people’s health, particularly if they eat fish or crabs from the canal or have repeated contact with the canal water or sediment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck. “The next step is the review of options for cleaning up the Gowanus, so we can move ahead with a full-scale cleanup of the canal that will result in a revitalized urban waterway.”

EPA’s investigation confirmed the widespread presence of more than a dozen contaminants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and various metals, including mercury, lead and copper, at high levels in the sediment in the Gowanus Canal. PAHs and metals were also found in the canal water. PAHs are a group of chemicals that are formed during the incomplete burning of coal, oil, gas, wood, garbage, or other organic substances. PCBs were used as coolants and lubricants in transformers, capacitors, and other electrical equipment. PCBs are suspected carcinogens and can have neurological effects. PAHs are also suspected carcinogens.

The human health risk assessment of the Gowanus Canal found that people are at risk from exposure to PCBs if they consume fish and crabs caught in the canal. People coming in regular contact with water and sediment from the canal could be at risk from exposure to PAHs. Several contaminants were found in the air directly around the canal, but not at levels that present an unacceptable risk.

EPA’s ecological risk assessment revealed that organisms living in the sediment of the Gowanus Canal could be at risk because of contamination in the sediment, primarily PAHs, but also because of PCBs and metals. Ducks may be threatened by exposure to PAHs in the canal’s sediment and heron could be at risk from eating contaminated fish.

The results of the investigation, referred to as a remedial investigation, are in a draft report which is available for public review online and at the EPA’s document repository in Brooklyn. Links and locations are provided below. Based on the results of the investigation and the human and ecological risk assessment, EPA will commence work on a study that will outline all of the options for addressing contamination in the Gowanus Canal. This study, called a feasibility study, will take place over the coming months. It is anticipated that a draft feasibility report containing an assessment of all options will be completed by the end of this year.

EPA’s investigation also confirmed that a combination of historical and ongoing sources have contaminated the Gowanus Canal. Past industrial activities along the canal contributed a large amount of contaminants that were found in layers of sediment below the surface. A number of industrial facilities are among these sources, including three former manufactured gas plant sites along the Gowanus Canal. Uncontrolled discharges of sewage, storm water and other types of discharges into the Gowanus continue to contaminate the canal.

The remedial investigation identified several site-wide issues to be addressed before cleanup activities can proceed. The stability of the bulkheads abutting the canal could be threatened by dredging activities that could be used to remove contaminants. In addition, debris of various sizes is pervasive in the canal, including sunken vessels near the 4th and 6th Street basins. During the investigation, EPA collected and analyzed more than 500 samples of sediment from the Gowanus Canal and more than 80 water samples for the presence of various contaminants. EPA also collected more than 200 fish, including striped bass, eel, white perch and blue crab, to analyze their tissue for contaminants. Air samples were collected at street level and at heights at which people would breathe while boating on the canal.

Eighty-eight ground water and soil monitoring wells were installed along the canal to study the ground water influence on the contamination and to obtain data about the possible sources of contamination from the properties abutting the canal. Sixty-five of these wells were installed by EPA; 14 wells were installed by New York City on city-owned properties and nine wells were installed by National Grid on its properties. The city and National Grid, potentially responsible parties at the site, collected and analyzed the water and soil samples collected at their properties under EPA oversight.

EPA added the Gowanus Canal to its Superfund National Priorities List of the country’s most hazardous waste sites in March 2010 after meeting with government and elected officials, business representatives, representatives of civic organizations and community members, and reviewing more than 1,300 comments on its proposal to list the site."

To read EPA’s remedial investigation of the Gowanus Canal or for more information on the canal, click here. Or visit EPA’s document repository at the Carroll Gardens Library at 396 Clinton St. in Brooklyn, New York.

There will be a public meeting discussing the EPA's findings on February 23 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at PS 32 at 317 Hoyt Street in Brooklyn, New York.

More Snow Noir

2011-01-30T21:49:00.003-05:00

Today on Columbia Street

2011-01-27T22:37:00.006-05:00

Groovy VW hippy bus stranded near Freebird Bookstore and nobody *dug* them..bummer.

RETROFUTUROLOGY @ the Observatory

2011-01-24T21:00:00.012-05:00

RETROFUTUROLOGY:
How the Past Saw the Present // How the Present Sees the Future

OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, January 28, 8 PM

"Observatory is pleased to announce our new exhibition, RETROFUTUROLOGY, a group show of visual art, curated by the Hollow Earth Society (Ethan Gould & Wythe Marschall, Founding Colonels).

About the show: To have an imagined future, you must simultaneously have an imagined present and an imagined past…

A DeLorean decked out in flashing lights and wires: A modest-budget promise that, yes, the technologies of our age can puncture the time barrier! Where to go? A rowdy 1950s? A steampunk 1890s?

Our visions of the future are nested. Our conception of time is hyper-real.

This is the process on which the present runs.

Come see contemporary art that investigates futures-past, futures-possible, and other nestings."

Featuring paintings, sculptures, and other works by many artists, including: Adrian Agredo, Tracey Atkinson, Emi Brady, bunny M, Jon Burgerman, Chiezo, Devon Clapp, Jesse Corinella, Rachel Debuque, Derrick Dent, Matt Duffin, Ethan Gould, Andrea Hendrickson, Richard Herzog, Andy Hunter, Patti Jordan, John Lee, Haydex Li, Benjamin Mayock, Marianne McCarthy, Megan Murtha, George Pfau, Nick Raynolds, Matthew Robinson, Sean Star Wars, Tom Sarmo, Rachel Schragis, Joelle Shallon, Greg Shelnutt, Niko Silvester, Melissa Stern, Lisa Temple-Cox, and Robin Treadwell.
In addition to this show Observatory is constantly hosting all sorts of interesting events with emphasis on the what some might think bizarre (you know taxidermy, skull collecting, Aquatic Ape Theories.. stuff like that)many sell out quickly so try and reserve if you can!

For instance on Friday, February 4th it's "The Secret History of the Ouija Board": A talk and visual presentation by Mitch Horowitz.

Click here for the schedule.

Observatory
543 Union Street at Nevins
Brooklyn, NY 11215
observatoryroom.org
observatoryroom [at] gmail.com

ON VIEW: Friday, January 28 – Friday, March 5, 2011
HOURS: Thursdays & Fridays 3–6 PM, Saturdays & Sundays 12–6 PM

If you go, be sure to check out the Paradise 2 Show in the Proteus Gowanus space while you are there!

Snow Noir

2011-01-23T23:11:00.005-05:00

This is F.I.B's 800th post. Crazy.

150 Days Till Summer

2011-01-20T18:11:00.005-05:00

"The Double-D" Pool.

Freddy's Bar Re-Opens February 4th!

2011-01-17T20:03:00.016-05:00

This time it's official with a date and everything! I have seen the inside and can vouch that it is quite like no other place, it's got elements of the old Freddy's but it's been taken up quite a few notches. Here is the official press release in it's entirety.

"Freddy's Bar is very proud to announce its Re-Opening on Friday Feb 4th.

On this special night the doors will open at 5 pm, and will close at 4 am.

The headline music act of Les Sans Culottes will go on at midnight, with opening acts of Apple recording artist Brute Force and eclectic world roots band The Magpie kicking things off.

An exhibition of glitter and flock paintings by N.Y artist Nancy Drew will be on display.

The new bar is not the old Freddy's, but many items did make the long journey from demolition to re-birth, including the original prohibition era red mahogany bar, the old booths and tables, and a few special items as well. The “Chains of Justice” will still grace our bar as a reminder of our fight against eminent domain abuse and the power of the community bond. The video art of Donald O'Finn will still be prominently featured. The decor is unique and vibrant, a mixture of old and new, antique Hollywood Regency chandeliers, steam punk accents, vintage wallpaper as well as handmade erotic wall-paper and permanent art installations from local art stars like Nancy Drew and Steve Pauley. The stamp of co-owner/artist Donald O'Finn is evident almost everywhere you look, from the fish tank sunk into a wall with giant albino frogs to the barn wood wall constructions and oversized gothic frame mounted to a flatscreen TV.

The entire bar has been created almost exclusively out of re-cycled, found or hand made objects, with next to nothing being purchased “New,” Thus we are “Green.”

We have been built by the community, thus we are for the community. The creation of this bar is owed to the hard work of the new owners (all previous staff members), and especially to the generous efforts of other staff members and many a bar regular, who all pitched in with innumerable hours of contribution. Owned by staff and built by regulars - the old guard is out and the new guard is in, the inmates now run the asylum.

The Music!
LES SANS CULOTTES: "The seven-headed beast from the hardscrabble streets of Menilontant," Brooklyn-based francophonic rockers, LES SANS CULOTTES, made their US debut at Freddy's Bar back when Freddy's was the preeminent domain of a pre-eminent domain Prospect Heights.

BRUTE FORCE: Apple Records recording artist, currently on "Come And Get It, The Best of Apple Records," and Bar None/Sony, Confections of Love, teams up with Steve deSeve, drums, Andy Mattina, bass, Jon Keay, guitar and Daughter of Force, vocals...to perform The Best of Brute Force.

THE MAGPIE: Moody and gritty old world roots music sourcing every corner of the globe for influence.
* See The Magpie at Cafe Steinhof this Wednesday night!

The Artists!
NANCY DREW: NY Artist Nancy Drew has created permanent installations of handmade flocked & glittered wallpaper, a Pollock-esque floor painting, Clyfford Still-esque painted silver walls, as well as an endless video loop "Bill - The Drinking Cat." Bust Magazine said “Nancy Drew caused quite a stir with two NYC solo shows…masterpieces bursting with intriguing tactile surfaces and layered with sparkly girl power.“
“Painted in her trademark glitter and flocking on canvas, Nancy Drew’s painting embrace and amp up the notion of ‘retinal art’ by making it vibrate with familiar if unexpected associations. -- Christian Viveros Faune, Village Voice

STEVE PAULEY: Artist Steve Pauley has made a site-specific granite engraving specifically for Freddy’s. It is a re-construction of the original Freddy's men’s room graffiti, faithfully carved into a wall-mounted 100-pound piece of black granite.
Holland Carter of The N.Y. Times calls Pauley's granite engravings “striking and unorthodox.”

LISANNE McTERNAN (that's me!): Designed and collaged 2 bathroom doors with cult and camp media imagery for the new Fred's. Her work can currently be seen at Proteus Gowanus, Brooklyn, NY.

DONALD O'FINN: Donald O’Finn’s cult art videos are the product of re-purposing and re-contextualizing appropriated media samples. They have been shown nationally and internationally and most recently enjoyed a solo exhibition in Berlin Germany.

“Donald O’Finn’s feverishly edited encyclopedically strange video collages…” Village Voice – Best Of 2001 – 2008

“The most tripped out and intelligent re-cuts of movie clips, commercials and various other resources you can imagine.” OpenAchedemic.org

The new Freddy's Bar is located at 627 5th Ave,between 17th and 18th Street in the South Slope. It is one block from the Prospect stop on the R train, and 8 blocks from the 4th Ave and 9th Street stop on multiple trains.

Thank you
Freddy’s Bar
The new owners:
Matt Khun
Matt Kimmett
Donald O’Finn

"Paradise 2" Opens at Proteus Gowanus - Saturday

2011-01-13T22:59:00.014-05:00

Proteus Gowanus is a jewel of a spot residing in an alley on Nevins Street off of Union Street. I happen to have a drawing in this show and hope you guys check it out sometime!

The details....

Please join us at Proteus Gowanus as our investigation into Paradise,

in all its infinite variety,continues to unfold through art, artifacts and books.

Saturday, January 15 at 7 pm
Proteus Gowanus presents the opening reception of the 2nd Paradise exhibition,
featuring the work of 15 artists, designers and architects.
Some of these works examine the inward aspect of Paradise,
evoking states of happiness, exaltation or -- less heavenly --
the struggle to achieve perfect inner harmony.
Others have turned toward the future, imagining urban utopias,
culinary perfection and even the rendering of heaven itself.

We hope this eclectic gathering ignites your curiosity, and
instigates further investigation!
In the coming months, we will host more events exploring Paradise
through music, food, philosophy, architecture, religion, nostalgia and technology.
We invite you to attend and contribute your own thoughts and ideas
to our yearlong project.

Contributors to Paradise 2
Diane Bertolo

Micheline Gingras
Marcia Hillis
Leslie Kerby
Peter Ketcham
Tom Klinkowstein
Patricia McDonough
Lisanne McTernan
Eva Melas
Joseph Motroni
Adine Sagalyn
Erik Schurink
Theo Stewart Stand
Terreform One
Kit Warren

Proteus Gowanus is located at 543 Union, between Nevins Street and the Union Street Bridge, entrance is on Nevins.

First Street

2011-01-10T01:10:00.003-05:00

Repetition

2011-01-06T00:45:00.003-05:00

Or Empire Bud Light

In case you were wondering.....

2011-01-03T21:46:00.002-05:00

Luna's Tire has moved down 4th Avenue

Another Year

2011-01-02T11:31:00.004-05:00

View from Windsor Terrace, Prospect Park 2011.

Preservation Support for the Gowanus Awarded by Historic District Council!

2010-12-28T21:03:00.011-05:00

I am happy to learn that the hard work of a Gowanus neighbor of mine has paid off. This person, who chooses to remain anonymous, has been tirelessly working to get the Gowanus Urban Industrial district considered for preservation since before the Toll Brothers knocked down the Blades-Forman Lumber Company warehouse at the end of 2nd street near the canal (which should of been landmarked) back in December 2007.

Contrary to what many developers say, there are many beautiful buildings in the Gowanus which exude their own unique industrial revolution era charm. The type of charm which has vanished from other parts of Brooklyn and other parts of the city and needs to stay. The Gowanus district spans from Butler up to Hamilton Avenue and is bordered by Hoyt and 4th Avenues. It really is quite larger than most people think. Since 4th Avenue has been partially destroyed and marred by some pretty fugly condo buildings it is a bit of a relief that an agency in NYC actually cares about maintaining what is so special about the Gowanus corridor.

The Gowanus has been chosen along with 5 other neighborhoods in the five boroughs by the New York Historic District Council as part of a program called "Six to Celebrate". The other neighborhoods chosen are Bedford-Stuyvesant,Jackson Heights, The Bowery, Mt. Morris Park and Inwood.

Here are the details from the New York Historic Distict Council's website.

"The six, chosen from applications submitted by community organizations, were selected on the basis of the architectural and historic merit of the area, the level of threat to the neighborhood, strength and willingness of the local advocates, and potential for HDC’s preservation support to be meaningful. Throughout 2011, its 40th anniversary year, HDC will work with these neighborhood partners to set and reach preservation goals through strategic planning, advocacy, outreach, programs and publicity.

“Neighborhoods throughout New York are fighting an unseen struggle to determine their own futures. By bringing these locally-driven neighborhood preservation efforts into the spotlight, HDC hopes to focus New Yorkers’ attention on the very real threats that historic communities throughout the city are facing from indiscriminate and inappropriate development.” said Simeon Bankoff, HDC’s Executive Director. “As the first list of its kind in New York, the Six to Celebrate will help raise awareness of local efforts to save neighborhoods on a citywide level.”

Read more at the Historic District Council's website here.

Blizzard Greetings from Found in Brooklyn

2010-12-27T15:09:00.013-05:00

F.I.B failed to address the holidays this year. Soooo may this blizzard be the beginnings of good luck, health, happiness and prosperity being forcefully blown into your New Year!
My block here in the Gowanus, which is a fire truck route from the Red Hook Station did not see a snowplow until 11:30 am this morning. It was strange not hearing continuous plows throughout the night as done in all other storms. What's up with that? I have a feeling Bloomie is going to get an earful on this one. Just sayin'...And here is Hoyt Street completely forgotten at 1:30 in the afternoon. And no trains running in Carroll Gardens either...I am glad I did not have to be anywhere. I feel for you all that had to walk all the way over to 4th Avenue and Union to catch the R today.When I returned to the quiet almost country like tranquility of the Gowanus area I was lucky to hit the bridge at the moment the sun shone through the little holes of the rusty old corragated fence by the bridge.
Our own version of Stonehenge right here in the Gowanus!

* More photos at my Gowanus flickr set.

Third Avenue Icon

2010-12-19T19:44:00.002-05:00

Shop Proteus Gowanus for Cool Gifts this Sunday

2010-12-17T12:09:00.007-05:00

Tired of the usual schlock? Want some thought provoking and also utilitarian gifts? Get away from the maddening crowds to the serenity of Nevins Street in Gowanus. Check out the art in the galleries while your at it...dig the list of examples below to get an idea of what the aesthetic of Proteus Gowanus is all about!

From their press release:

You are cordially invited to the Proteus Gowanus All Day Holiday Shopping Party!Sunday, December 19, 12-6 pm

"Are you searching for unusual, offbeat, unique or peculiar gifts to give for the holidays?

Are you dreading the slog through mall and mayhem with the accompanying auditory torture of repetitious holiday music?

May we suggest you attend our all day (12-6 pm) Holiday Shopping Party and solve your shopping problem while drinking grog and listening to unusual, offbeat and peculiar holiday music.

Shopping at Proteus Gowanus is intellectually stimulating, likely to result in conversation and often amusing.

Among the many gifts you might find here are:

Umbrella Bags made by the Fixers Collective - $25
Reflective Vests for Uninsured Bikers - $20
10 Postcards of the Gowanus from the past 100 years - $25
A Pocket Cloud, complete with silver lining - $18
Felted Angels- $25, Enameled Jewelry - $40 - $85, and Knitted Slippers - $35
from the Republic of Georgia
Taxidermy Mice adorned with wings and costumes - $70
Fone Art Figures - $50-$150
Miniature Library Furniture made from library catalogue cards - $20-$35
Songs of Lewis and Clark, a CD - $18
Colored Blocks from the Learning Materials Workshop - $30 and up
Handmade Book Brooches - $30
A wide assortment of new and rare books
Plus books published by Proteotypes, our publishing arm,
including the newly released:
A Little Common Place Book - $15.00
The perfect gift for the itinerant thinker"

www.proteusgowanus.com
Where: 543 Union Street down the alley off Nevins

Plane Crashed in Park Slope 50 Years Ago Today

2010-12-15T11:11:00.009-05:00

I found these proofs of the event in a collection of old photos that were in my possession. Here is the story on what happened.

"You Are Real": A Salute to the Mars Bar-A repost from 7/7/07.

2010-12-11T00:04:00.011-05:00

The Mars Bar is the latest old school place that is getting the wrecking ball, although not really old in the old sense of the word, the Mars has been around since the late 1980's and has been the last hold outs of the type of east village bar where the punks, the postal workers, the homeless,the artists and all matter of people in between mingled. Things and conversations happen in that shoebox of a place that frequently seemed like hallucinations. It kind of stepped in where another 80's era east village bar, Downtown Beirut left off. Anyhow, it's closing. I don't care what the owner Hank says, the developers are probably not "good guys". Another bar that went on the chopping block this week was Max Fish on Ludlow Street. Also not really old but old compared to everything else on the block. I guess they were the beginning of the onslaught.

Anyway this is a post I did about 3 years ago saluting the Mars or as I like to spell it Marz.
How I spent my 7/7/07.
Man, am I glad I didn’t go to that drumming thing over at Brooklyn Bridge Park yesterday! Sounded like it turned out to be an over crowded nightmare. It was sort of fascinating to me that the Boredoms had managed to attract such a crowd. Was it the Boredoms or the hype of the importance of the date 7/7/07? OK I just answered my own question, clearly it was the latter….What did we do on 6/6/06? Does anybody remember?! On 7/7/07 I could NOT get out of bed or out of my house, it must have been the centrifugal force of the sun telling me to stay home and meditate or simply exhaustion. So, after the sun set I ventured out and it was quite a lovely evening.

A friend was in town from LA and wanted to meet at the Motor City Bar on Ludlow Street in Manhattan. I ventured out into the 7/7/07 night to join Margie aka Vena Virago and CalmX (long time East Village resident and artist).Well, we lasted about 10 minutes before fleeing. The saturday night bar scene on Ludlow Street is pretty soulless. The music at Motor City was loud yet you still couldn’t hear it. SO the three of us old timers ended up at the Mars Bar, one of the or shall I say THE ONLY old school cheap punk rock NYC bar left. It is now surrounded by what else? Luxury condos! The ugliest tall tower glass and metal kind with Whole Foods just a hop skip and a jump away. The Marz is still doling out the cheap drinks (2 really strong vodka drinks and one beer = $11.00)has ranting bartenders, (this evenings hostess started complaining at the top of her lungs when someone put some jazz type music on…’WHO PUT THIS SH*T! ON!!” Of course she intercepted it and put on what SHE wanted to hear, “Too many creeps’ by the Bush Tetras) and a cast of regulars right out of “Midnight Cowboy” mixed in with an eclectic bunch of others. There is a lot of coming and going at the Marz Bar (it is a total “I’m waiting for my man’ bar, IF you know what I mean) but it's sort of a punk rock "Cheers" for all the "black sheeps" of the family to feel at home.

I salute you Marz Bar, long may you continue to be a zit on the airbrushed cityscape that our town has become. You are REAL.

See the original post here.

Last Week to See "In the Footprint: The Battle Over Atlantic Yards"

2010-12-06T13:03:00.005-05:00

This show about the Atlantic Yards fiasco has gotten rave reviews and it is the last week to see it performed. I just know you all want to see Marty Markowitz being played by a basketball!

WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
The Civilians presents the world premiere of In the Footprint, a new play with music at the Irondale Center in Fort Greene. The site of the future Atlantic Yards Project, including the Barclays basketball arena, is located two blocks away from the theater where In the Footprint chronicles the conflicts surrounding the largest land development project in Brooklyn's history. This lively theatrical production is inspired by interviews with the real-life players in the controversy, representing many different perspectives: Daniel Goldstein, residents of Prospect Heights and Fort Greene, political leaders such as Letitia James and Marty Markowitz, members of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, union members, and project supporters such as ACORN's Bertha Lewis.

This show is the culmination of a two-year long company investigation. The creative team listened to Brooklynites from Borough Hall to barber shops to gain insights into both the Atlantic Yards drama and the ongoing story of gentrification. The company previously presented a week of sold-out workshop performances at the Brooklyn Lyceum in 2008 under the title Brooklyn at Eye Level. In the Footprint, along with several pre- and post-show dialogues, will examine the conflicts that erupted in the case of the Atlantic Yards through to their current resolution in an attempt to discover how the fate of the city is decided in present-day New York and what can be learned from this epic and ongoing story of politics, money, and the places we call home.

The Atlantic Yards development project was first proposed in 2003 by real estate developer Forest City Ratner. The construction plan includes a basketball stadium for the New Jersey Nets, high-rise condominiums, and new commercial spaces, and the demolition of established local businesses and existing homes. The groundbreaking for the development project occurred in March, 2010 after seven years of negotiations, legal battles, and community protests. The New York Court of Appeals' decision permitted the use of eminent domain.

Post show speakers this week are:
December 6 at 7PM: BrooklynSpeaks: The Future of Atlantic Yards
*USE THE CODE FUTURE when purchasing tickets to the show on December 6th and a portion of the ticket goes to support continuing legal action challenging the Atlantic Yards development process.
December 7 at 8PM: Letitia James , New York City Council Member (Invited)
December 9 at 8PM: Stacey Sutton, Urban Planning Professor at Columbia's Architecture Grad Dept.

Also! NEIGHBORHOOD NIGHTS are special performances for Brooklynites! If you live or work in Brooklyn, use the code NEIGHBORHOOD when purchasing online or at the box office for $20 tickets to Tuesday 8PM and Saturday 2PM shows! They all include a Post-Show Event (schedule HERE)!

Go to the Civilians website to read much more, view videos, read reviews here.

Reminder: Serious Whimsy Group Show Opening this Sunday 6 to 9pm at Littlefield in Gowanus

2010-12-04T18:46:00.002-05:00

"The artists in this show are driven --these objects are the inevitable manifestation of their unique, often obsessive drives. "

I would also like to add that I am in this show and I invite you all to come to the opening!

This show is curated by Cat Weaver of the Art Machine blog. Artists in the show include: Gail Rothschild, Justin Gignac, Kit Warren, Mark DiBattista, Stephanie Homa and Sztuka Fabryka.

When: Sunday, December 5th from 6 to 9pm.
Where: Littlefield Art & Performance Space - 622 DeGraw Street, between 3rd & 4th Avenues.
A Free Event
Click here for more information.

Gowanus Flood Prevention

2010-12-01T21:36:00.008-05:00

A tire, a log and sandbags will hopefully do the trick. Sort of looks like some sort weird art installation of a strange bed except it's not,these are cellar doors being battened down on Carroll Street.

Anyway it's old news at this point that Whole Foods is now saying that they are going to start to set up shop on 3rd Street after years of delays. It's a well known and documented fact that the area that surrounds the site and around Gowanus Canal sits in a flood zone (hence the need for the Root Hill Cafe to go the measures that they do) It should be interesting to see what happens when Whole Foods puts their foundation in, it will be sure to fill with water whenever it rains. That site was full of water until a couple weeks ago, it was like a little swamp most of the time. Anyway I saw foundation flooding happen repeatedly on the Scarano building on Bond Street and it took YEARS to finish that stupid looking thing. So, in closing I really hope that the D.E.P really did magically re-mediate the toxic plume that runs (or ran?) beneath the soil on the site for the sake of the construction workers health and also the local communities.

"Serious Whimsy: Group Show Opening Sunday at Littlefield in Gowanus.

2010-11-29T00:11:00.005-05:00

Sad Irony on Thanksgiving Eve

2010-11-24T21:40:00.005-05:00

This blew my mind today when I passed by the Montauk Club.

They did NOT vacate yet! Ruby's Open This Saturday

2010-11-19T11:10:00.004-05:00

Coney Island Lover/Tour Guide Captain Bob wants you to help SAVE RUBY'S!.

I do not know the details as to whether, Ruby's Bar and Grill got an extension on their eviction orders or not but I would just like to get the word out that Ruby's will be open tomorrow- Saturday, November 20th from 11am on. is supposed to be sunny tomorrow, go and show your love and support for a business that should remain.

Continue to call your elected officials and spread the word about this petition.

List of Elected Officials and Involved parties.

Marty Markowitz ("Mr. I love Brooklyn" STILL has not said anything publicly)
askmarty@brooklynbp.nyc.gov
718-802-3700

Domenic M. Recchia, Jr
drecchia@council.nyc.gov
718-373-9673

Zamperla amusements
zamperla@zamperlausa.com
973-334-8133 ext 201

Coney Island Development Corporation
212-312-4233
info@thecidc.org

Christine Quinn
212-564-7757
cquinn@council.nyc.ny.us

Third Street

2010-11-17T21:30:00.002-05:00

Farewell To Paul's Daughter? Hope Not.

2010-11-14T15:53:00.013-05:00

I attended the party for what may be but hopefully not the last weekend Coney Island icon snack bar Paul's Daughter this past Saturday afternoon. As a thank you EVERYTHING was on the house. Hot dogs, french fries, cotton candy, lemonade, beer - all gratis as a thank you to customers from the Paul's Daughter family.
Oh man these signs are so beautiful..what will happen to them?

A F.I.B commenter on a previous post about the party and described the scene, it pretty much sums up the feeling;" It was such a beautiful day at Coney today, and the party at Paul's Daughter was so gracious. The food was free, and very delicious - such generosity of spirit. I hope they don't have to leave Coney - that a miracle happens."
Ruby's was also open again this weekend and I heard a rumor that food was going to be free at another business that has been evicted, The Gyro Corner, today (Sunday).

Show your support for the small family businesses of Coney Island who have stuck it out through the years, please sign this petition.

Snyder Avenue

2010-11-11T22:15:00.005-05:00

The Diplomat Lanes on Snyder Avenue between Flatbush and Bedford Avenues has been closed for a few years but the signage remains.

"Paul's Daughter" Party * Saturday * Coney Island Boardwalk * Show Your Support* Free Eats

2010-11-10T16:55:00.013-05:00

Paul's Daughter (formerly Gregory & Paul's)is the snack bar that has been in front of the former Astroland (now Luna Park) for 41 years with the iconic happy hamburger man on the roof, the beautiful hand painted signs and serves up classic Coney Island food, you know, the kind that the new UPSCALE restaurants will mimic and charge double for.

They are having a party this Saturday afternoon at 12:30 pm and they saying the food will be "on the house".

Show your support and pay your respects. It may be one of the last times you will see it in all it's glory.

Photo from Paul's Daughter family's collection on their Facebook page

And also a reminder- SIGN THIS PETITION!

Last Call (perhaps) at Ruby's Bar & Grill.

2010-11-07T20:41:00.027-05:00

Michael Sarrel, bartender, co-owner

You can say that again sister...

This past Saturday was perhaps the last day of business at Ruby's Bar & Grill. I got there in the mid afternoon and missed the heartfelt speeches made by Coney Island historian, Charles Denson and bar founder Ruby's daughter, Melody Sarell, which you can watch here.

Myself, I felt angry and sad that this place may very will be taken away from Coney Island along with Paul's Daughter (there over 40 years), Gyro Corner, Shoot the Freak, Cha-Cha's, Beer Island and the Grill House. It didn't seem real, the Ruby's family were gracious to the very end and worked as if it was any other day. I had a few words with Ruby's son-in-law, co-owner and bartender, Michael Sarrel before I left and I asked him how he felt, he said he felt "happy and sad" and I said I felt angry and why did he feel happy? He said that he was happy with how they were going out- if this was the end-with a nice crowd with the right people and he thanked me for coming before continuing to pack away the outdoor furniture for perhaps the very last time. A class act.

Still I am mad. I am mad that the people who have stuck out through the bad times in Coney Island and SHOULD BE LANDMARKED are being asked to leave. Authenticity is being sacrificed for most likely a re-creation. Will the new places have old photographs of Coney Island and hand painted signs? I would put money on it that they will. But they won't be THE REAL THING. They will be simulations in corporate chain restaurants. UP SCALE is the word Italian developer and evictor Zamperla,is loving to use, when describing what they "envision for Coney Island".

As Ruby's daughter Melody said in her speech, Ruby's is still not going down without making some noise. Please sign the petition if you haven't and pass it on to anyone you may know. Ruby's and all the evicted businesses are important parts of the flavor of Coney Island and we can't just let C.I become another mall without a fight.

Sign the petition here.

More photos of Ruby's can be seen here.

The REAL Coney Island.

2010-11-06T00:23:00.002-04:00

Paul's Daughter, originally uploaded by lisanneMcT.

This is a photo of real people enjoying Coney Island. BUt noooooooooooo a European company says that this is not what Coney is about. THIS does not fit into "their vision" of Coney Island.

Excuse me but THIS is why people love Coney Island. Hand Painted signs, family run businesses, hot dogs, sausage and peppers, knishes, french fries and beer.

I am still so upset about the recent eviction notices to all the businesses on the boardwalk.

Tomorrow may very well be (although I am hoping otherwise) the last day that Ruby's Bar and Grill is open.

GO and show your support if you can tomorrow and if you haven't already SIGN THIS PETITION!

Zombie Librarians Converge at City Hall

2010-11-03T20:13:00.008-04:00

Wondering how the Zombie Librarian walk over the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall on Halloween to protest possible budget cuts went? I figured since I received comments in a recent blog post about the state of the libraries like the following, some of you might be interested.

F.I.B reader Ben Franklin said,
"Props to the Brooklyn Collection for making do as they can but BPL is already being treated shamefully-- I won't even get into the highly variable state of the branches-- but everyone should be ashamed, and furious, the situation has gotten so bad."

These photos and review of the day are from the group Save NYC Libraries .
" Over 50 zombies converged at Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn to moan about new cuts to library budgets in NYC. “More Libraries, More Brains!” they grumbled, shambling across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall in support of maintaining library funding at it’s current level for the remainder of the fiscal year. The local zombie community has been under threat of a severe brain shortage following recent cuts to library services, and they fear starvation if new cuts are allowed to go through.

Midyear budget adjustments are projected to cut a further 5.4% from local library budgets, resulting in continuing cuts in service hours on weekends, materials budgets, and more layoffs.

If even the undead community supports library services, we must be doing something right. let’s prevail upon our elected officials to make sure that libraries remain fully funded so we can continue to provide the essential services and community that New Yorkers have come to rely on."

Go to their website for more information on the budget cuts and more photos of the zombie march.

Help Save Ruby's Bar & Grill

2010-11-02T22:06:00.007-04:00

I still have not heard much news on any changes in the evictions happening on the Coney Island Boardwalk. Many people are wondering what they can do to help. The only thing I know of so far is this petition put together by friends and patrons of Ruby's Bar and Grill. Please sign it here.

*This message just came in via a comment from Ruby's Host, a name I recogonize from the Coney Island Message Board about a rally happening this Saturday out at Ruby's on the boardwalk. Message is as follows:

"RALLY TO SAVE RUBYS and TELL ZAMPERLA, MARKOWITZ, CIDC, RECCHIA & BLOOMBERG HOW WE FEEL ON NOV. 6th ANYTIME AFTER 1 pm - RUBYS WILL BE OPEN - COME ON OUT!"

See you there!

Also please contact the following elected officials and businesses and tell them why these evictions are wrong.

Rubys has been told they have 15 days to get out. If you want to see them stay they need your help please CALL or send letters to:

Central Amusement International

49 Fanny Road
Booton, NJ 07005
ATTN: Valerio Ferrari & to Mayor Bloomberg

Marty Markowitz
askmarty@brooklynbp.nyc.gov
718-802-3700

Domenic M. Recchia, Jr
drecchia@council.nyc.gov
718-373-9673

Zamperla amusements
zamperla@zamperlausa.com
973-334-8133 ext 201

Coney Island Development Corporation
212-312-4233
info@thecidc.org

Christine Quinn
212-564-7757
cquinn@council.nyc.ny.us

You can also continue to check in to Coney Island watchdog blog Amusing the Zillion as I am sure Tricia Vita will hopefully have more information as the week goes on as well as The Coney Island Message Board.

This message just came in via a comment from Ruby's Host, a name I recogonize from the Coney Island Message Board about a rally happening this Saturday out at Ruby's on the boardwalk. Message is as follows:

"RALLY TO SAVE RUBYS and TELL ZAMPERLA, MARKOWITZ, CIDC, RECCHIA & BLOOMBERG HOW WE FEEL ON NOV. 6th ANYTIME AFTER 1 pm - RUBYS WILL BE OPEN - COME ON OUT!"

Cherished Mom & Pop Businesses Booted from the Coney Island Boardwalk

2010-11-01T16:19:00.024-04:00

This business with it's beautiful signs needs to stay!
Today nine out of 11 businesses on the Coney Island boardwalk received letters from Italian amusement company, Zamperla/CEI, which leases the property from the city. These tenants have lost their leases and have only until Nov. 15 to vacate the property. Businesses that received these letters are all part of the heart and character of Coney particularly Ruby's and Gyro Corner. These businesses are all family run and are being asked to leave in 15 days after years of business. The only ones allowed to stay are Nathan's and Lola Starr boutique.

First it was Freddy's now it's Ruby's!

This is just so wrong. These businesses are what make Coney Island, CONEY ISLAND! What? Are they going to open a bar that is *like* Ruby's, with vintage looking photos of Coney Island along the walls, while Ruby's, which has been on the boardwalk for 76 years, has the REAL THING? Can we please be SPARED an "upscale" Coney Island? The reason I LOVE Coney Island is that it is NOT upscale and also because of its' unique energy that generates from the combination of being a place for ALL New Yorkers (not just the rich) and the presence of the family owned businesses on the boardwalk. This just kills me because I know whatever businesses that they end up putting in there are probably going to just replicate what they are replacing while taking away the authentic patina built up through the years.

I am not one to be nationalistic but this time I am making an exception. How can the city allow a European owned company to execute "their vision" of what they think Coney Island should represent?!

The Atlantic Yards project also extinquished cherished family run businesses and also happens to have foreign investors (from Russia). Excuse me but do I see a pattern here? Is the future of New York going to be outsourced?

Read more at Amusing the Zillion and The Daily News.

Second Street

2010-10-28T08:18:00.004-04:00

Zombies Walk to City Hall for Librarians!

2010-10-27T14:17:00.010-04:00

From Save NYC Public Libraries.

Join us on October 31st for our Librarian Zombie Walk to City Hall!!!

"So it’s time for mid year budget adjustments. What’s that you say? I thought we were done until next year! Nope. The mid year budget adjustment will result in a further cut of 5.4%. These new cuts will result in even less service hours and more layoffs.

Our library budgets have already been cut to the bone, and these further reductions in funding will just degrade library service further. We’ve already lost Saturday Service in most of the city. It’s likely these cuts will be the end of what we have left. So those working parents taking their kids to the library on the weekend? Tough, not open. Can’t return your books during the week because you work 60 hours just to live? Tough, closed on the weekend.

What does any of this have to do with zombies? Well, without libraries there are simply no brains, and zombies need to eat brains to live. So New York’s zombie librarians will be walking across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall this Halloween to protest these drastic cuts to their food supply."

Meet us in the circle at the west end of Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn, next to the High Street A, C Station at 11am on October 31st.

Gowanus News: First C.A.G Meeting Recap.

2010-10-27T12:05:00.010-04:00

I attended the first C.A.G (Community Advisory Group) meeting at the American Can Factory building at 3rd Street & 3rd Avenue last night. I never thought that I would see the day when the cast of characters seen for the last couple years at the many community board meetings and court hearings (it all began with the Toll Brothers) would now be sitting together discussing the future of the Gowanus. The large group of 57 C.A.G members represented all sides and opinions on the issue of the Gowanus Canal and it’s many stakeholders included avid anti-Super Fund/pro-development people such as Buddy Scotto, the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation, members of groups that avidly fought for Superfunding such as F.R.O.G.G, The Park Slope Neighbors Association, C.O.R.D as well as academic representatives such as C.U.P (Center for Urban Pedagogy), Pratt Center of Community Development, local residents and business owners.

The evening began with EPA spokesperson Walter Mugdan doing a rundown on the timeline of the Superfund process. He anticipated that the whole thing will take 10 to 12 years with time for problems and delays factored in his estimate. He said the mud at the bottom of the Gowanus Canal is what put the canal on the Superfund List. The water quality of the canal is effected by the quality of the mud, which is full of toxic sediment which was measured by parts per hundred instead of parts per trillion making the Gowanus one of the most toxic bodies of water in America.

At the moment the EPA in the “Remedial Investigation” phase and has found that the mud at the bottom is 5 feet high in some areas of the canal, so dredging will be the order of business. This brought up the issue of C.S.O’s (Combined Sewage Overflow) which is the city’s concern. The sewage will continue to flow into the canal, which will continue to dissolve into the toxic mud, so how long will dredging last before it piles up again? Maintenance will be needed and I believe think that is a whole separate issue.

Mugdan gave kudos to Project Manager, Christos Tsiamis, for finishing the first phase of the Remedial Investigation which would normally take about 2 years in 10 months. Mugdon said that they should be finished with the Remedial Investigation phase by the end of the year and a full report will be available when finished. They hope to have a proposed plan by early 2012 and this plan will have a 60 day public comment period, then they hope to have a remedial design plan in 2013.

After the rundown of the time line, C.A.G members were put into discussion groups, the stakeholders were given seating assignments which created diversity in opinions in each group. The main concerns of the groups at this point seemed to regard impartial communication between the C.A.G and also how to release information to the public.

The one thing I have to say though is that although the C.A.G is diverse in its’ viewpoints, it was not really diverse as it was about 98% white, which, the last time I looked around the neighborhood of the Gowanus does not really match up to the reality of who lives in the neighborhood.

Read more details about the meeting at Pardon Me For Asking who also happens to be a C.A.G Stakeholder.

Garbage Can Ghoul

2010-10-26T23:26:00.002-04:00

Found on Union Street

2010-10-25T20:20:00.002-04:00

It's Official. Freddy's Bar & Backroom Is Rising Again!

2010-10-24T13:31:00.016-04:00

This will most likely be where the performance area will be.
Bruce Ratner and his Atlantic Yards boondoggle may of physically squashed Freddy's Bar & Backroom in the end but they did not extinguish the will to keep Freddy's Bar going.

I was happy to hear about the new lease signing last week and to also visit the NEW location of Freddy's Bar this past Saturday. It is located in the old Ellis restaurant space at 627 Fifth Avenue between 17th and 18th Streets in the south slope.

Former Manager of the old Freddy's,Donald O'Finn, now part owner of the NEW Freddy's released this statement:

"The lease has been signed, We signed on the evening of Oct. 21, 2010. The opening of the doors is contingent on the speed and accuracy of both the State Liquor Authority and the Department of Buildings, as well as the embrace of Community Board 7.

The inmates now run the asylum."

The space is quite large and plans include a music/performance area with a stage and space for art exhibits. It also has a small backyard and a fully functioning kitchen. The former owner of the original Freddy's is out of the picture and the new Freddy's is a joint partnership between Donald O'Finn, Matt Khun and Matt Kimmett, the two former being previous Freddy’s bartenders.

As Donald O'Finn said before the closing of the old Freddy's, "Freddy's is not an address, it is an idea." And it was my impression on Saturday that the new Freddy's has every intention in continuing to present that idea with free live music and events every night of the week in the same uniquely open and collective manner as the old Freddys. Ideas were being thrown around about how to eradicate the quite hideous metalesque Ellis exterior, where to put the stage and where to have art exhibits. Hopefully the next steps will go quickly as the new owners are antsy to open up and get back behind the bar A.S.A.P!

Stay Tuned!

Smith Street "Festivale Des Soupes" Saturday

2010-10-22T11:02:00.016-04:00

A Festivale Des Soupes. Yes PAY ONE PRICE to sample soups from many restaurants along Smith Street tomorrow. Only 5 dollars!! It is a benefit for the new Culinary Arts Program at the High School for International Studies (Baltic Street between Smith & Court) and the SBLDC which is the Community Partner in this great new High School Program in Brooklyn.

They will also be having a contest and award "Gold, Silver & Bronze" Soup Ladles in each category of clear/consomme, pureed/veloute, and peasant style soups.

The "celebrity" judges will include a Chris Schonberger -Associate Food Editor for Time Out NY Magazine , Ariane Daguin - the owner of D'Artagnan Charcuterie Products, Linda La Violette - a pioneer in Gourmet Foods in our neighborhood and others.

Don't worry there will be no Campbell's soup served! Some of the restaurants participating are Lunetta, Bar Tabac, Apartment 138, Raga, Cibao, Pane e Vino, Robin des Bois, Athena, El Nuevo Portal, Verde, Bombay Dream, Provence en Boite, Chestnut, Savoia, Zaytoon's, Sue Perette, Cubana Cafe, Bino, The Jakewalk, Union Smith Cafe, and Seersucker.

When: Saturday 10/23/10 from 1PM to 4PM.
Where: Along Smith Street from Atlantic Avenue to Carroll Street.
Cost: $5.00 per person, $10 for a family unit, people get wristbands that entitle them to samples of 20 soups from the participating Smith Street restaurants.

*Warhol Soup Can images photo from MOMA archives.

Jimmy McMillan for Governor

2010-10-19T01:27:00.011-04:00

RENT IS TOO DAMN HIGH.
FINALLY someone that has cut all the bullshit. Although he has been around for a while and I have seen him at various NY political events, I was astounded to see that he made it into NY State Governor debate last night.

He has F.I.B's official endorsement. When was the last time there was ANYBODY fighting for the basic rights of the people or ants who help Bloomberg (and I know I am being a localist here) run his city? Yet cannot afford to live here anymore? Paladino? Cuomo? C'mon....the man is RIGHT. There IS nothing else to talk about.

Click here to learn more and listen to his brilliant music.

On the Outside Looking In.

2010-10-14T22:43:00.011-04:00

Barney's Coop has arrived, get your hors d'oeuvres while they last!

Back in November of 2007 I predicted the opening of Barney's on Atlantic Avenue in a blog post where I praised the meditative qualities of the Salvation Army.
I said:

"How long will this one on Atlantic Avenue be here? How long before it turns into Barney's Brooklyn? How boring would that be? Very."

While the new Barney's co-op did not move into the Salvation Army space I wasn't too far off the mark. I have to say they always have great windows particularly at Christmas and it's has always been a dream of mine as an artist to work with the fabulous Simon Doonan. In fact I met him once at the John Bartlett fashion show I went to during the snowstorm last year and basically acted like a babbling idiot. I loooooooove his book, "Confession of a Window Dresser".

But Barney's is a place i would rather visit in what I like to call "money making Manhattan". You know, the thing I like about Brooklyn is that stuff like this isn't here. And now it is. Whatareyougonnado. Trader Joes is around the corner. When I go there, I feel like Margaret Meade. Women leaving their pocketbooks unattended in shopping carts,with Nannies in tow, being waited on by overly friendly un-Brooklyn like Trader Joe employees. I guess they get good wages and benefits to make them like that or perhaps they are given Ecstasy upon the start of their shifts. It's the new Brooklyn. Not bad, but sort of hollow.

Salvation Army Forever!!! Read that old post in it's entirety here.

CREEPSHOW at the FREAKSHOW Begins This Weekend at Coney Island

2010-10-14T13:00:00.012-04:00

I experienced Creepshow at the Freakshow two years ago and was so scared that I had to take a year off! If you like your Halloween scary, this is for YOU! Creepshow at the Freakshow in Coney Island really is creepy, especially the part when they take you down into basement, you get the feeling that there really are a lot of ghosts in the bowels of the Coney Island USA building. It's also alot of fun and like everything else that happens at Coney Island USA, completely unique. This years theme is "The Ride Inspector's Nightmare".

From the press release:

"THE RIDE INSPECTOR'S NIGHTMARE is an interactive show (allow 45 minutes for the complete experience) that tours various rooms at the Coney Island Sideshows by the Seashore building generally not available to the public such as the damp creepy basement, back stairs, etc.

Audience members will take a "tour" of several amusement park ride "NYPD Crime Scenes" including a deadly collapsed roller coaster and will meet living-dead performers along the way including drunken incompetent ride inspectors, creepy ticket sellers and lots of dead and decapitated bodies of innocent tourists. At the conclusion of the show, the audience will also get to partake in a courtroom trial of the negligent ride inspector and will be sworn in for horrific jury duty. "

CREEPSHOW AT THE FREAKSHOW is Coney Island’s original Halloween extravaganza and one of the best haunted tours in all of New York City. This year, the rides at new Luna Park will be open weekends during the October run of the show. Come see what the New York Press called "not only the best and wildest haunted house in town, but the smartest as well."

CREEPSHOW AT THE FREAKSHOW can be found at Coney Island USA,

1208 Surf Ave. Corner of Surf Avenue and West 12th Street

Dates and Times:
Friday, October 15, 7pm - Midnight
Saturday, October 16, 5pm - Midnight
Sunday, October 17, 5pm - 10pm
Friday, October 22, 7pm - Midnight
Saturday, October 23, 5pm - 9pm
Sunday, October 24, 5pm - 10pm
Monday, October 25, 7pm - 10pm
Tuesday, October 26, 7pm - 10pm
Wednesday, October 27, 7pm - 10pm
Thursday, October 28, 7pm - 10pm
Friday, October 29, 7pm - Midnight
Saturday, October 30, 5pm - Midnight
Sunday, October 31, Halloween!, 4pm - Midnight

All tickets $10 at the door. Parent or Guardian must accompany anyone 13 and under.

Go to the website here.

Read about F.I.B's visit to the Creepshow when the theme was Phantom of the Dead Presidential Wax Museum here.

"Portraits" Opens at Brooklynite Gallery featuring NYC artist Gaia plus Sten & Lex from Italy this Saturday

2010-10-12T22:07:00.010-04:00

The Brooklynite Gallery has a new show called Portraits which will be featuring work from local NYC street artist Gaia and an Italian duo called Sten & Lex who do street art in Italy. You may of seen Gaia's stuff around the city, he likes to do animal imagery and he initially does them in woodcut but then paints in details with a brush. Anyway, I have always admired his work and I think it will be a good looking show. You are all invited to the opening which is happening on Saturday night.

Check out the Brooklynite Gallery's website for more information on the artists and all that.

Brooklynite Gallery is located in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn at 334 Malcolm X Blvd.
Located 2 blocks from the A or C subway to Utica Ave. stop.
Hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 1pm to 7pm.

Fantastically Creative Obsessive Compulsive

2010-10-11T17:35:00.015-04:00

Crocheted bike by Olek.
And speaking of bikes, many of you out there may have seen these crocheted bikes around town. I spotted this one Wooster Street near Canal in Manhattan, I found out via a photo someone posted on facebook that these are done by a Brooklyn based Polish born artist named Olek. It says on her website that "Olek can be found in her Brooklyn studio with a bottle of spiced Polish vodka and a hand rolled cigarette aggressively re-weaving the world as she sees fit." Love it. Her work is friggin' wild! These bikes ain't the half of her work and I am happy to see that she has an insane looking show going on that I am most definitely going to be checking out this week.

The show is at: Christopher Henry Gallery, 127 Elizabeth Street, NYC
Closes October 17th.

Click here for her website for details and to see all sorts of documentation of her work.

Boxed in on the Brooklyn Bridge

2010-10-10T23:34:00.009-04:00

Corrugated metal walls along a portion of the pedestrian/bike path over the Brooklyn Bridge made me feel claustrophobic the other day. It probably feels worse during busy rush hour times. There are more tourists than ever on the bridge, most of them are completely oblivious to others around them and biking over is becoming a real drag. I think I will be taking the Manhattan Bridge for now on!

A moment at the Bell House

2010-10-07T23:17:00.003-04:00

The fast fingers of Art Gody of the Vibrators on bass guitar.

Coney Island Eulogy?

2010-10-06T22:39:00.016-04:00

After the end of a wonderful summer at Coney Island it is easy to forget the battles between the historic preservationists and the big buck developers. The dreary weather has suddenly brought it all back into play.

Faber's Fascination on Surf Avenue finished out the summer forever this year. Housed in one of the oldest, if not the oldest building in the Coney Island Amusement area, I have learned via the Coney Island watchdog blog Amusing the Zillion that the building has had water pouring off the second floor of Henderson's Hotel which shares the structure since yesterday and owners Thor Equaities hadn't bothered to send someone over until about 36 hours later to look at it even though they had been notified. The situation is dangerous and the building could collapse. A.T.Z is calling this "neglect in progress" and has said 'The Henderson Building has already suffered so much damage from the “pre demolition,” it’s like watching an old person being slowly tortured to death. Save Coney Island, which has proposed re-purposing the building, might as well go ahead and start planning a New Orleans style funeral for the Henderson Music Hall right now. Read the whole story with a video of the situation here.

In the meantime, check out this video made by Coney Island native and friend Justin Wishnik, which features Faber's Fascination and is sadly called Coney Island Eulogy.

Is the First Brooklyn Dodger Stadium Being Torn Down for a Parking Lot?

2010-10-03T21:55:00.017-04:00

I was dismayed to see that a section of Washington Park, the original home of the Brooklyn Dodgers located at 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street has been demolished. This is the site of one of the oldest baseball stadiums in America, the Dodger's played there before moving to Ebbett's Field. It opened in 1890 and closed in 1914. George Washington camped out at that site during the Battle of Brooklyn and the stadium was named in his honor. The building is now owned by Con Edison and word on the street is that it is going to be turned into a parking lot. I blogged about this back in December and my "distraught friend" who alerted me to the goings on at the site has spoken to various NY preservation agencies. They say that they have spoken to the NYC landmarks commission and that they said that it "was really not worthy of saving" and that the NY Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation said it is "just a remnant". Aren't remnants things that need preserving? What's wrong with preserving a MAJOR remnant of baseball history? Why does it need to be turned into a PARKING LOT of all things?!This is what the now partially demolished side of the building looked like before the deed was done, along the Third Avenue side. You can see by the shape of the bricked in windows that it was a stadium at one time.This side of the stadium was the left field side.This is what it looks like now. Anyway just putting it out there. I would love it if there was a way to stop it from turning into another parking lot. Not for nothing but just who needs to park there anyway? Last time I checked there was (and always is) plenty of parking on 3rd Street between 3rd Avenue and the bridge.

A Rare Occurrence

2010-10-03T19:11:00.009-04:00

Still not sure if this was a dream or not...this car gleamed!

The Vibrators & The Waldo's at Bell House Saturday

2010-10-01T11:10:00.007-04:00

One of my favorite bands from the 70's british punk explosion are The Vibrators and I am please to find out that they are making a rare appearance at the Bell House this Saturday. Openers are New York's own The Waldos featuring Walter Lure formerly of The Heartbreakers. Also playing are The 45 Adaptors.

The fab Mr. Lee will be spinning the tunes starting at 9pm in the front lounge and in between all this fine live music all evening long.

Doors open at 10:30, I like that! Tickets are 12 bucks...a bargain!!!!!!

The Bell House

149 7th Street

Brooklyn, NY

More Stuff Happening in Gowanus this Weekend

2010-09-30T15:37:00.008-04:00

OK not only do we have the AGAST open studio tour, the e-waste recycling on Bond Street but now I have just heard that Jerko the Gowanus Water Vacuum is going to be docked at the end of 2nd Street on the canal. Jerko is " a salvaged houseboat that has been transformed into a laboratory and showspace for do-it-yourself sustainability projects."

Get there at 1:30 if you want to pre-register for a tour of Jerko. Go to the website for more info on all the projects that the Jerko crew are working on. There are some photos on the website and I swear in one of them, there is a guy with his hand in the water...yikes!

Tour at your own risk people! Go to the website here

There is also some sort of Green Sustainability type fair going on on Third Street between Bond and Hoyt Streets on Saturday afternoon. Proteus Gowanus will be there with a table top replica of their Hall of the Gowanus. Check it out!

Links to the other happenings on Saturday:
AGAST open studios here.
E-Waste Recycling here.

Coney Island Film Festival #10 Wrap

2010-09-29T22:39:00.004-04:00

Bambi the Mermaid performs to the Andrew Sisters at the opening party for the Coney Island film festival.

Once again the opening films and following party was a smashingly entertaining affair that did not disappoint. Sideshows by the Seashore knows the meaning of entertainment. Burlesque, fire eaters, exotic snake handlers, human blockheads...now THAT's a party! You all better go next year!

The winners of the festival have been officially announced, and I am happy to say that I was lucky enough to see quite a few of them. Congratulations to all!

2010 Award Winners
Best Animation - Birth - Signe Baumane
Best Experimental - My Own Private March - Howie Alex
Best Silent Film - Loop-da-Loop and Giuseppe - Jason R. Jaworski
Best Horror Film - Alice Jacobs is Dead - Alex Horwitz
Best Music Video - "This Town" Gambit - Randy Scott Slavin
Best Documentary Short - The Faux Real - Suzanne Hillinger
Best Documentary Feature - Dirty Martini and the New Burlesque - Gary Beeber
Best Short - Flat Love - Andres Sanz
Best Feature - Satan Hates You - James Felix McKenney
Best "Made in Coney Island" - Last Summer at Coney Island - JL Aronson

Also! I just want to let you know that there is more burlesque happening this Thursday and Friday, and it's well worth the trip, they've got thee best in the business in that place!

Click here for the schedule and more details on that and many other events.

Urge to Purge? Recycle Books & "E-Waste" This Saturday.

2010-09-28T21:41:00.017-04:00

Have old cel phones, broken ipods etc? Get rid of your unwanted and broken electronica or "e-waste" this Saturday.

This event is hosted by the Lower East Side Ecology Center, click here to find out more details and a complete list of what will be excepted and what will not.

Where: Bond Street between 3rd & 4th Streets.
When: 10 am to 4pm.

Then you can donate your unwanted books for a good cause at the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza. The even is hosted by Better World Books and will raise money for the Brooklyn Public Library as well as global literacy initiatives.

There will be music by Lost in the Stacks (great name!) and the event will also include a used book sale.

When: Saturday, October 3rd from 10 am to 3pm.
Where: Brooklyn Public Library Plaza at the Main Branch -10 Grand Army Plaza.

Art , Commerce & the Gowanus Open Studios (AGAST)

2010-09-28T15:03:00.009-04:00

The poor dear....trapped inside the BO Concept Store window during the Dumbo Arts Festival.
Cocooning? Pod people? What's it all about? Probably brought people into the store, that's what!

Next Saturday is the unfortunately named but excellent A.G.A.S.T open studios in Gowanus, a bit more casual and less slick, it's a great way to actually go inside the studios of the many artists who are inhabit the Gowanus and actually SMELL the paint (that is, if they paint). I love the voyeuristic aspect of it. It's a fab opportunity to be able to go into the great buildings in the area such as the one on Union & Nevins and the big warehouse on 9th Street by the canal amongst many others. Some of the studios are even in people's row house apartments as well. As an artist, I really enjoy seeing the process part of art making, there is more to a work of art than just the finished piece and I find that checking out the vibe in the artist's studio and seeing what is hanging on their walls, hearing what they listen to and perhaps seeing sketches and stuff like that really gives you so much more of a window into just what drives an artist to make something.

It is usually 2 days long, this year it is just on Saturday, October 3rd, from noon to 6pm.

Click here for more details.

Inside Gleason's Gym

2010-09-27T01:02:00.005-04:00

The Dumbo Arts Festival brought loads of people to Dumbo over the weekend. I have to say even though I went into a bunch of the galleries and studio's, it was a bit too "slick" and organized for me. I guess I just crave grit because the high point of the checking out the Dumbo Art Festival was having the opportunity to go inside of Gleason's Gym.

Gleason's is world famous for training the World Champion boxers. From Cassius Clay to Jerry Cooney to Mike Tyson and all the greats before, in between and after, they all have passed through Gleason's doors at some point. And guess what? Many of the boxers are artist's too. It really doesn't surprise me.

No one was was working out that afternoon and the open space's walls were covered with photos of boxers and newspaper clippings of boxers who have trained at Gleason's.

The rings had art displayed along the ropes. Hardly anyone wandering around Dumbo that crowded afternoon seemed to notice the piece of paper taped to the front of Gleason's that they were also a part of it.

Snack bar inside Gleason's. If this was in a gallery, this would be called an "installation", yawn. Sorry artsy people, this is real. It actually functions. Imagine that?!

This is the third incarnation of Gleason's, they started in the Bronx, then to Manhattan and then in moved to this location on 77 Front Street in D.U.M.B.O in the early 80's. Long before it before West Elm and the like.

Back when it was "dangerous", I recall traveling from Astoria to attend some art thing in a warehouse down there in about 1987 and walking the streets alone trying to find it and as the subway roared over the Manhattan Bridge over my head, I thought, "If something happens to me around here, no one would hear me scream!" Obviously things have changed, there was an abundance of well heeled people toting fancy designer shopping bags yesterday. I guess that's progress?

Click here to read about the history of Gleason's gym.

Click here to find out how you too can work out there.

P.S- Excuse the wonky layout, blogger has been out of whack lately....

So many festivals, so little time!! All happening NOW!

2010-09-25T13:21:00.025-04:00

The amazing Angelica performing last night at the Coney Island Film Festival kick off party.

I know, I know, I am talking about the weekend AS it is happening but whatever...F.I.B once again attended the fab kickoff for the Coney Island Film Festival and if the opening films were any indication of what else to come on the programs, it would be worth your while to check the festival out. It goes until Sunday night so there is still time. Get some sun and catch a flick!

Schedule and info here!

So hard to pick what to do because this weekend not only is the film festival happening but the Dumbo Arts Festival and also the Atlantic Antic!

Dumbo Arts festival goes until Sunday. It has all sorts of art and music happenings. The schedule and all info is here.

Atlantic Antic runs the length of Atlantic Avenue from Hicks Street to 4th Avenue. F.I.B tends to hang out around the Last Exit bar where Les Sans Culottes perform every year as they do this year with sets at 2 & 4pm.

Coney Island Film Festival 10th Anniversary this weekend! Brooklyn Boy Darren Aronofsky Honored!

2010-09-20T12:47:00.001-04:00

The Coney Island Film Festival held at the fab Coney Island USA on Surf Avenue is one of the most unique film festivals in the world. The location of the festival, put together yearly by the talented Rob Leddy, is condusive to the fun spirit of the festival. As the press release says, "The festival's ties to carny culture are undeniable."

I highly recommend going to the kick off opening party as I have for the past four years. For 25 bucks you get to see the opening films, be entertained by the finest burlesque and sideshow entertainers in the USA and partake in a buffet and open bar which is also included. The films shown at the Coney Festival run the gamut; humor, oddities, shock, horror and films that take place in Coney are prevelant but you never know what you might see! A few of the programs are already sold out, and at 6 bucks a program that is not surprising.

And dig this! On Sunday, September 26th at 5pm inside the Coney Island Museum, the festival organizers will honor South Brooklyn born auteur Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, The Wrestler, The Fountain, Requiem for a Dream, Pi). Immediately following the ceremony, the festival will screen Aronofsky's harrowing masterpiece Requiem for a Dream.

Click here to see what is playing when and get your advanced tickets! For 45 clams you can go to the opening party AND see all the movies (except for Saturday nights screening of the Warrior's which you also do not want to miss!) You will also find info about how to get there and other stuff to do in the area if you haven't been.

Coney Island USA : 1208 Surf Ave. Brooklyn, NY, Coney Island!

TIckets can also be bought on the day of screening and can be purchased at The Coney Island USA Gift Shop/Box Office -718-372-5159.

F.I.B coverage of Coney Island Film Festival gone by are here.

Third Avenue Night

2010-09-16T11:32:00.005-04:00

Lots of automotive repair shops on Third Avenue..I was shocked to see a Chevy Chevette, not a car known for it's longevity! I think you can have it for $1600.00.
Icon of Third Avenue.
This bus parks all over the Gowanus, who ARE they? Reminds me of when I briefly lived in the upper Haight of S.F and buses like these were de rigueur.
READ is still here but all kinds of cluttered these days.

The Day the Gowanus Went Day-Glo

2010-09-14T09:55:00.009-04:00

Let's pretend that that psychedelic pattern in the Gowanus Canal water (that has taken on an seriously almost artificial green hue lately) are not "floatables" (stuff that comes from the outflow of the sewers into the Gowanus) but an abstract painting with a little Rousseau like palm leaf thrown in for a compositional effect.

Sunset Over NY Harbor on 9/11/10.

2010-09-13T00:50:00.006-04:00

The weather was just like it was on "that day" 9 years ago. Perfect with a crystal blue sky. I was invited to a picnic on Governor's Island and I have to admit, I was a little nervous about going somewhere where the only way out was by boat. Last year, 9/11 passed by quietly. This year it did not. But the day did pass peacefully if you avoided lower Manhattan and eclipsed with this sunset, the clouds dramatic and glowing. A sky that seemed like it was honoring the people that didn't make it home that day nine years ago.

"Paradise" Show opens Friday @ Proteus Gowanus

2010-09-09T19:04:00.018-04:00

This image is not in the show! Just looked Paradise-like to me...

Proteus Gowanus is unique in that they pick a theme and go with it all year; curating three shows within the theme. I really like the theme they have this year....Paradise!

From the gallery's press release:

"Whether a garden of innocence or a heaven that only the chosen few can enter, the concept of paradise has entranced us across cultures and eras. In stark contrast with the daily grind, Paradise calls to us and we respond with our imaginations. Pliny the Great added to his idyllic description of the Islands of the Gods:

"These islands, however, are greatly annoyed by the putrefying bodies of monsters,
which are constantly thrown up by the sea."

And this is, indeed, the paradox of paradise: for every heaven, there must be a hell.

This year, Proteus Gowanus will explore the theme Paradise, examining the light and
the dark sides of this alluring word and inviting our friends and visitors to join us as we roam with irony, sensuality and longing in search of paradise."

Paradise Artists:
Angelo Bellfatto, Diane Bertolo, Svetlana Boym, Dominique Cooper, Ernst Haeckel, John Hudak, Okay Karadiyalar, KC Lack, Eva Melas, Lado Pochkua, Lance Rutledge, Adine Sagalyn, Erik Schurink, Suzan Shutan, Suzanne Silver, Josh Stern, Robert The, Friese Undine, Kit Warren, Audra Wolowiec

When: Friday, September 10, 6:30-8:30 pm
543 Union Street down the alley off Nevins Street

Click here for the gallery's website.

Third Street Eye

2010-09-08T21:02:00.003-04:00

Carroll Street F train stop.

Found in Red Hook

2010-09-07T00:07:00.006-04:00

Red Hook Lane is one of the loveliest blocks in the neighborhood. After a row of beautifully maintained houses, this unmaintained house featured some beautiful art.
Anyone know who the responsible party is? Is it Elbow Toe?

"Let Me Ascertain You: Atlantic Yards"-September 10th @ Joe's Pub

2010-09-05T22:11:00.009-04:00

These are not the actors in the show, these are the real people that this perfomance is based on.Photos credit Jonathan Barkey/pbase

I received an email about this performance at Joe's Pub on Friday, September 10th. It's a precursor to "In the Footprint" which will happen at the Irondale Center in Fort Greene in the fall. Let Me Ascertain You: Atlantic Yards explores the many voices of an urban community facing industrial-sized growing pains.
This particular performance on Friday includes monologues taken from interviews with Brooklyn residents, community activists, and politicians, including Marty Markowitz, Bertha Lewis, Daniel Goldstein, Jonathan Lethem and Letitia James.

The details:

Let Me Ascertain You: Atlantic Yards
Friday, September 10 at 9:30 PM
Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater
425 Lafayette Street, New York
Tickets: $15

To learn more, visit TheCivilians.org.

To purchase tickets, click here.

The Rockaway Riviera

2010-09-02T22:46:00.008-04:00

Rockaway Beach near Beach 16th Street. I don't know WHAT the Ramone's were talking about because I found Rockaway Beach very hard to reach (at least from Brooklyn)but well worth it once you make it. The waves this afternoon were powered by Hurricane Earl. Surf's UP!

Found in Coney Island...

2010-08-30T20:47:00.005-04:00

My eagle eye found this golden plaster elephant in a shadowy alley in Coney Island last Friday night. I would love to know where it came from. The elephant was double sided and had tusks and jewels. It was broken off of something. From a ride? From a fortune tellers lamp? All I know is that it was very Aladdin like. Elephants are supposed to bring good luck, so I made a wish and left it where I found it. The next day when I passed by, it was gone.

Michael Jackson Birthday in Prospect Park

2010-08-30T01:12:00.018-04:00

You can't really tell but there was a group of completely random people doing the "Thriller" dance routine in this photo.Scene from the Michael Jackson birthday party in Prospect Park
F.I.B has been entertaining visitors from another continent for the past week. At first we went into Manhattan and did the usual touristy things but they were cool enough to realize that Brooklyn was way more interesting and man was I glad! Anyway, normally I would not of gone to this event, because I felt that Michael Jackson was such a tragic figure. Going to this event blew my mind cause it put everything into perspective.

We walked into the Nethermead Meadow when my favorite Jackson 5 song, "Stop (the life you save may be your own")was blasting over the excellent sound system and my cynicism left me immediately. As a child of the 70's I watched all the variety shows and especially the Jackson 5 cartoon every Saturday morning. My childhood memories and the brilliance of this song and then the thoughts about how tough is must of been for him to be a star from such a young age were swarming around in my brain.

To walk into a middle of one of the most beautiful parks in the world, amongst the most beautiful people in the world (Brooklynites!)on a picture perfect summer day was like a dream. My friend from the continent (OK, England.) was shocked that people were so high without alcohol...maybe that came later, I heard Snoop Dog showed up but the time we were there from about 1 to 3:30 was all peace, love and grooviness. Happiness and great dancers abounded.

You know, I don't have any money. I am not a brownstone brooklyner. I am unemployed at the moment without the benefit of unemployment insurance. I am selling things I find on the street on Etsy and ebay. I guess the best thing I have in my life right now is that I live in one of the greatest places in the world. This summer, one of the hottest I can remember since the 1980's has been really good. I did nothing but free things and have spent alot of time at the beaches. When I showed my friend around, I kept running into people I knew in random places and my friend kept saying that people seemed "free" here. Maybe she just had her vacation goggles on, but, I think she is probably right.

P.S- F.I.B just got her NY State Art Teaching certification (K-12)in the midst of a hiring freeze (no thanks to Bloomberg). If anyone has job leads at charter or private schools, please send them my way!

Mention F.I.B-pay only $6.50 at the Brooklyn Heights Cinema!

2010-08-27T23:16:00.011-04:00

Skip the corporate multiplex and support a fine local independently run movie theater that is feeling a little neglected lately because the Brooklyn Heights Cinema has extended an amazing discount on admission to Found in Brooklyn readers.

Just tell the person manning the ticket booth that you heard about this on Found in Brooklyn and you will only have to pay $6.50 instead of $10.00!!! The email from them says and I am quoting "anyone who is referred by your blog gets tickets for 6.50$ -- any show, anytime, any day. All they need to do is mention that they got this from your site."

Your patronage will help to keep this local business which is supportive to local filmmakers (they recently hosted the Brooklyn Film Fesival) alive! So go! And buy some popcorn while your at it!

Brooklyn Heights Cinema
70 Henry St., Brooklyn, NY tel: 718.596.7070
Subway: A/C to High Street or 2/3 to Clark Street

Joseph Mariano Paintings on view at The Fall Cafe

2010-08-18T22:58:00.006-04:00

The Gowanus Canal

Joseph Mariano, a local Gowanus artist will have his work hanging at the Fall Cafe starting Friday. The show will be up until September 28th. Joseph likes to paint en plein air , meaning in the open air and I often see him riding his bike near the canal on route to paint. Although he is a Gowanus resident, I know that he also ventures to other urban natural spots like the Jamaica Bay area. Anyway, Mr. Mariano's paintings are quite delightful, so go check them out at Smith's Street only non commercial coffee house.

The Fall Cafe is located at 307 Smith Street between President & Union.

Found in Long Island City

2010-08-12T20:40:00.004-04:00

Not sure if this is an art project being that I spotted it in the "arty" area of L.I.C...but this shawl, poncho or whatever sure looked nice in that Tree of Heaven

Closing Party at We-Are-Familia Pop Up Gallery * Friday

2010-08-11T18:16:00.009-04:00

I received this from the people at We-Are-Famila who have been holding art shows in a pop-up gallery on Atlantic Avenue for the past few months. What is a pop-up gallery? Its a gallery in an unused store front, that's what! Anyway, they are holding a closing party for their latest exhibit showing the art of Jacob Williams.

From the press release:

Please join us for the closing of a solo exhibition featuring sculpture and collage by Jacob Williams. Williams, who has exhibited with Deitch Projects and the former Diesel Denim Gallery lives and works in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Using traditional figures, iconic imagery, anime and cartoon characters; his work reflects and celebrates the strangeness and extremes of the human spirit.

We-Are-Familia POP UP! Gallery and Event Space
539 Atlantic Avenue (between 3rd & 4th Ave)

Friday the 13th

7 to 10 PM

White Lies on Union Street

2010-08-10T22:01:00.005-04:00

Wednesday Night Flick on Tanker in Red HookFerry Tales

2010-08-09T00:44:00.015-04:00

Last week I had the pleasure of finally seeing that movie made in 1998 about the Gowanus Canal, Lavender Lake. I saw it in one of the most amazing and appropriate settings, on the deck of tanker, Marie Whelan, docked down in Red Hook. The event was hosted by Portside, New York. First off, I would like to comment on the movie. It was very well made and as a Gowanus resident it was fascinating. It was basically about the history of the canal and about well known Carroll Gardens resident and local funeral home owner Buddy Scotto's personal crusade to clean the canal and about his vision to turn it into the next San Antonio "River Walk". Buddy seemed sincere, although he mentioned "development" a lot. It is sort of shocking 12 years later that when people (the EPA) have stepped in to sincerely clean the canal, he took the side of the Toll Brothers and the city...but that's ancient history!

This week's tankerFlick is Ferry Tales. Sounds like fun!

The details:

"Hop aboard the Mary A. Whalen for the screening of Ferry Tales, the 2003 documentary nominated for an Academy award in 2004 A film by director Katja Esson, Ferry Tales takes place in the Ladies Powder Room of the Staten Island Ferry. It is a sneak peek into a culture that only happens 30 minutes a day in the women's bathroom….a place where no men are allowed. As they put on their make-up, they are transformed from housewives to businesswomen, from mothers to lawyers, from sisters to socialites. The women who step inside this room leave their race, social status and net worth at the door, sharing their most intimate secrets, solving each other’s problems or just dishing up the latest ferry gossip. What starts as funny anecdotes turns into a deep and moving account as these women, one by one, draw each other out, solve one another's problems and dish up the latest ferry gossip. "

Seating will begin at 8:30, and the movie will start at 9.

Printed Tickets are not mandatory, though reserving a ticket online is preferred.

Click here to reserve.

PS- When I went last week the first 40 people got a free beer. You are welcome to bring your own food and drink as well. The setting is fantastic. The skyline, the Statue of Liberty, an old tanker, the moonlight...a truly unique experience.

Where? Pier 11, Atlantic Basin, Red Hook (Pedestrian entrance at Pioneer & Conover)

Check out other events at Portside New York here

Couch & Lamp

2010-08-08T15:56:00.000-04:00

Gowanus News: F.R.O.G.G Receives TAG Grant from E.P.A

2010-08-05T19:35:00.009-04:00

F.I.B would like to congratulate F.R.O.G.G (Friends & Residents of the Greater Gowanus)on being awarded the Technical Assistant Grant from the E.P.A! F.R.O.G.G has tirelessly worked for years fighting for the environmental rights of the Gowanus Canal with absolutely no commercial interests whatsoever. I would like to think that their concerns and tenacity were the force field that suddenly brought the E.P.A's attention to the Gowanus Canal and the subsequent Superfund nomination which became a reality. Unlike other groups whose affiliation with the canal and whose priorities seemed to be tied with "development", F.R.O.G.G's has always been about clean water and clean land. That's it. Pure and simple.

The T.A.G grant was conceived in 1980 when Congress wanted to ensure that the people whose lives were affected by abandoned hazardous wastes would have a say in actions to clean them up. This grant means that F.R.O.G.G will sort of be the go between the EPA during the Superfund process and the community. All I can say is that the E.P.A chose the right people for the job. F.R.O.G.G is and always have been completely transparent and actually live in the neighborhood that they serve.

I have been to F.R.O.G.G. meetings and I can tell you that no decision is ever made without the mutual concent of all members and I am absolutely positive that this will remain their modus operandi when working with the community during the Gowanus Canal clean up.

Viva la F.R.O.G.G!

Chuckie Takes a Ride

2010-08-02T21:45:00.004-04:00

Ponderosa Stompin'

2010-08-01T20:18:00.018-04:00

F.I.B checked out the Ponderosa Stomp Detroit Breakdown on Saturday and got re-baptised by some fine american rock and roll. All of these originators still got their mojos working. Who did I see? 60's Girl group, The Velvelettes (Needle in a Haystack, Really Sayin' Something), mid 80's punk garage, The Gories (Nytroglycerin), 60's Farfisa Godz, ? & the Mysterians (96 Tears), Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels (Sock it to me baby, Devil with the blue dress but his gimmee shelter medley was a real downer i have to say..featuring a piano AND a drum solo that seemed to go on for hours) and a "pre-punk" metal trio from the early 70's called Death who were a real treat to hear. A big highlight was a surprise appearance by the lengendary Ronnie Spector! Here she is joining ? on "96 Tears"!

Hey Hey here are the Gories!

Lucky Gallery Closing Party * Friday * Red Hook

2010-07-27T16:03:00.005-04:00

Sad to hear that Lucky Gallery in Red Hook is closing it's doors. They are having a closing party blowout on Friday night.

Here's what they have planned:

On July 30th, 7-12pm is the closing party for the final exhibition “Arc Angle” and for Lucky Gallery. “Arc Angle”, is a full scale (floor-to-ceiling), atmospheric installation featuring 13 New York City based artists.

Curated and directed by Yagil in collaboration with Amy Weng, the installation includes sculpture, video, music, painting, poetry, and photography, from thirteen artists, including Benjamin Ayers, Jeremy Holmes, Michael Kondel, Emily Gosweiler, Timothy Shipman, Andrew Rowley, A.M. Breakups, Krystal Kaler, Claire Dickinson, Patrick Lamothe, Ani Sevag, Kelsey Bozler and Kipton Hinsdale.

This is a celebration of more than a year of Lucky exhibitions and events and includes musical performances by Yagil, Mighty Alpacas, Comadante Zero in collaboration with visual artist 0h10M1ke and from Boston, the Gondoliers. In between sets enjoy the sounds of DJ Spacey Sissick who will end the evening with sweaty dance party and with ongoing performance by Boston peformance artist Heidi Jane.

Beer and wine will be provided with special drink specials over the course of the night. Come and say goodbye, buy a Lucky Gallery t-shirt, and enjoy an evening of some of the best entertainment South of Brooklyn in the tropics of Red Hook!

You can check out more details about the artists involved here.

Brooklyn Bridge Park the other night...

2010-07-26T20:17:00.004-04:00

John Turturro is from Brooklyn, no? Next Thursday's film is Hitchcock's "Rear Window", which, I think will look quite spectacular in this setting. The Dude!

Artic Blast From the Past

2010-07-20T21:57:00.001-04:00

Morbid Ink: Field Notes on the Memorial Tattoo * Tuesday @ the Observatory (it's a lecture)

2010-07-19T20:09:00.012-04:00

"Love lasts forever but a tattoo lasts six months longer."

The Observatory continues to host unique lectures and events presented by Morbid Anatomy DESPITE the heat...tomorrow night is a lecture about Memorial Tattoos!

The details:

Morbid Ink: Field Notes on the Human Memorial Tattoo
An Illustrated lecture with Dr. John Troyer, Deputy Director, Centre for Death and Society, University of Bath

"In 1891, Samuel F. O’Reilly of New York, NY patented the first “…electromotor tattooing-machine,” a modern and innovative device that permanently inserted ink into the human skin. O’Reilly’s invention revolutionized tattooing and forever altered the underlying concept behind a human tattoo, i.e., the writing of history on the body. Tattooing of the body most certainly predates the O’Reilly machine (by several centuries) but one kind of human experience remains constant in this history: the memorial tattoo.

Memorial tattooing is, as Marita Sturken discusses the memorialization of the dead, a technology of memory. Yet the tattoo is more than just a representation of the dead. It is a historiographical practice in which the living person seeks to make death intelligible by permanently altering his or her own body. In this way, memorial tattooing not only establishes a new language of intelligibility between the living and the dead, it produces a historical text carried on the historian’s body. A memorial tattoo is an image but it is also (and most importantly) a narrative.

Human tattoos have been described over the centuries as speaking scars and/or the true writing of savages; cut from the body and then collected by Victorian era gentlemen. These intricately inked pieces of skin have been pressed between glass and then hidden away in museum collections, waiting to be re-discovered by the morbidly curious. The history of tattooing is the story of Homo sapiens’ self-invention and unavoidable ends.

Tattoo artists have a popular saying within their profession: Love lasts forever but a tattoo lasts six months longer.

And so too, I will add, does death."

Dr. John Troyer is the Death and Dying Practices Associate and RCUK Fellow at the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath. He received his doctorate from the University of Minnesota in Comparative Studies in Discourse and Society in May 2006. From 2007-2008 he was a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Comparative Studies at The Ohio State University teaching the cultural studies of science and technology. Within the field of Death Studies, he analyzes the global history of science and technology and its effects on the dead body. He is a co-founder of the Death Reference Desk website and his first book, Technologies of the Human Corpse, will appear in spring 2011.

Click here for their full on calendar of equally fascinating and offbeat events.

When: Tuesday, July 20th at 8pm
Where: 543 Union Street at Nevins St.
Enter through Proteus Gowanus gallery, in the alley off Nevins St.
Admission: 5 bucks.

D.E.P Press Conference in Gowanus * Monday 10:30 AM

2010-07-18T15:40:00.014-04:00

Just passing along this info. You know those pipes that appeared in the Gowanus a while back that later were submerged and are marked by those floating balls? Apparantly they have successfully added enough oxygen into the canal to sustain the temporary shutdown of the Flushing Tunnel. I hope so because the canal has been smelling and looking nastier than I have seen in years!

The Department of Environmental Protection is holding a press conference to announce that this is so. The community is welcome to attend and to hopefully find out more.

As per their email:

Community Notice: DEP Completes Key Milestone at the Gowanus Canal

Please join the New York City Department of Environmental Protection for a press conference on Monday, July 19, 2010 at 10:30 A.M. at 213 Douglass Street, Brooklyn. There, Deputy Commissioner of Sustainability Carter Strickland will announce the successful operation of the temporary Oxygenation System. This key milestone which will add oxygen to the Gowanus Canal during the planned shutdown of the Flushing Tunnel.

This work is being undertaken to support the $140 million Gowanus Facilities Upgrade, which will decrease the number of combined sewer overflows to the Gowanus Canal. The upgrade is scheduled for completion in summer 2013.

When: Monday at 10:30 AM
Where: 213 Douglass Street (near Nevins)

Proteus Gowanus Closing Party & Book Sale * Sunday *

2010-07-17T17:30:00.012-04:00

"Nocturnal Tidal Occurrences"-Lisanne McTernan 2010

Proteus Gowanus is closing down for the summer after tomorrow. It's your last chance to check out the current Underwater New York show which, yours truly (see above) has a piece hanging in. If art is not your thing, perhaps buying books is!

Here are the details as per Proteus Gowanus:

Please Join Us to Celebrate our Summer Closing
with Jazz, Wine and a Big Book Sale

This Sunday, July 18 from 12-3 pm

A wide and eclectic assortment of mostly used books from Reanimation Library, Cabinet Magazine, Morbid Anatomy Library, Observatory, Proteotypes and Proteus Gowanus will be on sale

Proteus Gowanus will be closed from July 19 through Labor Day. Study Hall will reopen September 6 and the gallery will open the following weekend. Meanwhile, the Writhing Society will continue to meet on Wednesdays at 6:30 pm and the Fixers Collective on Thursdays at 6:30 pm. Observatory, Reanimation Library and Morbid Anatomy Library can be visited by appointment. Observatory will continue to host programs throughout the summer.

Hope you can stop by!

Proteus Gowanus
543 Union Street – entrance down the alley off Nevins

Who Needs the Hamptons?

2010-07-17T14:01:00.037-04:00

F.I.B is still alive but moving kind of slow in this heatwave. I cooled off at Fort Tilden the other day. Amazing how it is located within New York City (on the Rockaway Peninsula, Queens) limits yet so ghostly, peaceful and natural. If it were not for the distant hazy skyline of Manhattan in the background, I would of thought I was on Fire Island or Cape Cod or something.
Fire Island does not have structures like this, which were built to protect New York Harbor from foreign invaders. The appearance of it amongst the greenery reminded me of that scene in "Planet of the Apes" when Charlton Heston comes across the bombed out Statue of Liberty on the beach. Although not as dramatic (not many can top Charlton in that department) Fort Tilden has that kind of vibe.The insides of these structures have been bombed with some of the best graffiti I have seen around. Everything looked fresh.You quickly forget about those last vestiges of urbanness once you get past the remains of Fort Tilden and you are left with a peaceful, natural beach. On the the late afternoon I was there, there were hardly any other humans to be found. And the few that were there were au natural.

To learn more about Fort Tilden click here.
F.I.B stayed till the sun set and found upon leaving the beach that the buildings on the grounds of Fort Tilden were no longer ghostly and had come to life. There was a lot going on! On Thursday nights the Rockaway Artists Alliance has a free open mike starting at 8pm and there seemed to be some punk rock bands getting ready to go.

And! Upon seeing some men wearing skirts it was learned that the final dress rehearsal going on for "A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum" by the Rockaway Theatre company. It's playing for the next couple of weeks. Click for the schedule here. I am sorry I missed their production of one of my favorite movies, Cactus Flower! The Odd Couple is coming up next!

Hope you are all keeping cool! You don't need to be rich to go to the beach, all you need is $4.50 or a bike to get you to Coney, Brighton, Riis Park, Fort Tilden and Rockaway Beach! While the beaches at Coney and Brighton are great for people watching and eating food and drink from the various vendors (both legal and illegal), the beaches in the Rockaways offer a more calming natural experience. Also!The pools are free! F.I.B has been swimming laps at the Double-D pool in Gowanus. Click here for a full list of NYC pools.

Between the beaches, the pools, the free outdoor concerts and movies, you have no excuse to complain that you are "stuck in the city this summer!"

New Mask!

2010-07-05T23:44:00.006-04:00

This scene is right out of a Love and Rockets comic book...

These photos were actually from last summer, my camera is broke and I feel naked..Coney Island was packed out over the 4th of July weekend, wish I could of shared it with you!

Bare Bones in Bushwick

2010-06-30T17:03:00.007-04:00

Not only is the art amazing on this old building, the building itself has so much character. The ornate carved wood moldings, cornices and even the wood covering the windows are so weathered and beautiful. Would love to go back in time and see this house about 100 years ago.Can anyone clue me in on the artist? This was on or around Bogart Street in Bushwick.

New Bomb Turks Blow Out the Bell House

2010-06-28T12:43:00.010-04:00

Still recovering from the fantabulous New Bomb Turks reunion show at the Bell House last Saturday. The heat has F.I.B unable to describe the sheer magnitude of their amazingness, so watch the video below as words are really not necessary!

Also. Ever get your stomach bit after a show at a club? This fellow did. Read all about that and mo' here.

video by Fancy TV.

"Hand Across The Sand" at Coney Island.

2010-06-27T13:54:00.007-04:00

F.I.B stumbled upon the "Hands Across the Sand" protest against off shore oil drilling at Coney Island yesterday, which was part of a nation wide action that occurred along the beaches at noon. About 350 people participated on the shores of Coney. One of the organizers who hails from Rockaway, said she was motivated to take part in this event when she heard that there is talk of drilling off the shores of the Rockaway peninsula!

While the event sort of reminded me of that old "I'd like to give a world a coke" commercial, these folks were doing the reverse, they were not selling anything but the idea that corporations are destroying our waters.

Read and see images about the event on the oil tainted beaches of Penescola, Florida.

And sign the petition asking President Obama to Move beyond oil.

"Alice" this weekend during BOCOCA Festival.

2010-06-24T23:15:00.005-04:00

The BOCOCA Festival is still happening and as I am a sucker for anything "Alice in Wonderland"- like, I thought this play looked like it might be interesting. There are several performances over the weekend at a venue called the Archip Gallery Theatre on Court Street.

Here is the description from producers Fallen Swallow/Laughing Pigeon:

"Alice, tells of a young woman struggling within her own wild imagination as the real world around her crumbles. A mother tormented by her own ghosts, a father distracted, a brother trying to keep it all together, a friend she can't let in, and Alice must make a choice: up or down?

The play Alice takes audiences to new worlds and different dimensions of reality through the use of video, sound, movement, and traditional theatrical storytelling techniques."

Where: Archip Gallery Theatre at 498 Court Street
When: Friday, June 25th at 6:00 pm, and Saturday, June 26th at 8:30 pm.

Check the schedule for all the events happening during the BOCOCA festival here.

Underwater New York Show at Proteus Gowanus

2010-06-24T11:32:00.013-04:00

Newtown Creek 3 by Nate Dorr

Proteus Gowanus Gallery has a show up in conjunction with Underwater New York to conclude their season of curation on the theme of "transport". Lots to look at Proteus Gowanus, they've got galleries within galleries (The Observatory, The Hall of the Gowanus, The Reanimation Library, The reading room), a real gem. It's open Thursdays through Sundays until July 17th when they will close for the rest of the summer.

As per Underwater New York's website:

Transport III with Underwater New York

June 12 – July 17, 2010
Proteus Gowanus

"We like to think of Underwater New York as a creative conduit between artists and a landscape of underwater objects and phenomena, encouraging a new consideration of the waters that surround, splice and serve our city. Extracting directly from the arteries of transportation that have shaped New York since its start, we invite artists to imagine previously unconsidered depths. Some incredible artwork has already come of this exploration, and we’re thrilled to announce an upcoming exhibit of new and existing work in collaboration with Proteus Gowanus.

Proteus Gowanus is an interdisciplinary gallery and reading room located on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. A collaborative project, the gallery develops exhibits of art, artifacts and books that revolve around a yearlong theme linking the arts to other disciplines and to the community. Transport, the theme for 2009-2010, is an exploration of How We Get There in the never-ending journey toward our destinations.

On view will be artwork inspired by the city’s underwater landscape, work ranging from paintings to letterpress prints to stories in bottles, from photographs to artist books to installations."

Proteus Gowanus
543 Union Street – entrance down the alley off Nevins

*I would also like to add that I am thilled to have a drawing in the show. Check it out and tell them F.I.B sent you.