I come to you today with sand in my shoes.........

Following the sounds of the Hungry March Band toward City Hall I came upon a much smaller (yet large in spirit!) crowd than I anticipated for the rally to Save Coney Island from condo development. On the steps of City Hall representatives from the Coney Island glitterati (except Dick Zigun) such as Lola Starr, Miss. Coney Island, Miss. Cyclone, The Polar Bear Club, people that grew up in the neighborhood amongst others spoke against a sideshow style banner as the Hungry March Band played on in the background. No politicos to my knowledge were present. Polar Bear Club President Louis Scarcella made an rousing heart felt speech in which he said "I come to you today with sand in my shoes from Coney Island where I swam this morning" and "Stillwell Avenue and the Boardwalk are the crossroads of the world" to lots of cheers. Scarcella spoke of the small time operators that make Coney Island what it is, how the reason people come to Coney is to taste the hotdogs ON THE BOARDWALK from the little guys who have the businesses there. He brought up the question, "Why can we not bring the old Coney Island into the future without destroying it?" My sentiments exactly.When the press conference was over (and I have to say it was mostly press in attendence), The Coney Crowd paraded up Broadway to the surprise of the downtown lunchtime crowd and ended up at a totally random spot amongst the hustle & bustle at that other crossroads of the world, Canal and Broadway.

PROTEST & PARADE to SAVE CONEY ISLAND on FRIDAY!!!!!!

NO CONDOS IN CONEY DEMONSTRATION AT CITY HALL

Friday, March 30th

The true spirit of Coney Island, in all of it's splendor, will rock City Hall !!

Join us on the steps of City Hall in Manhattan as we protest Thor Equities' proposal to build high rise, luxury condos in heart of the Amusement District in Coney Island. Help us to create a grand spectacle to exemplify the true spirit of Coney Island. We will be showing support for the City's position against this rezoning of the Amusement District.

MEET UP 11:00-11:30
at the fountain in front of City Hall

PARADE 11:30-12:00
We will parade around the block and onto the steps of City Hall

DEMONSTRATION: 12:00-1:00
Join us on the steps of City Hall at noon. Please tell the guards that you are attending the "Save Coney Island Demonstration."

SPEAKERS:
Our speakers will include Charlie Denson (author of Coney Island Lost and Found), Richard Eagon (Coney Island Hysterical Society), Louis Scarcella (Coney Island Polar Bears), Dianna Carlin (Lola Staar), Jo Weldon (cultural activist) and other Coney Island scholars and colorful members of the community.

PERFORMERS:
See the spectacle unfold on the steps of City Hall as our list of stunning performers testify to the true spirit of Coney Island. Performers will include the Hungry March Band, the Dazzle Dancers, Tigger, Miss. Coney Island, Angie Pontani will appear as Miss. Cyclone and many other jugglers, clowns, stilt walkers, musicians, dancers, mermaids and much much more!!

AFTER PARTY PARADE UP BROADWAY: 1:00
after the demonstration we will parade up Broadway.

This fabulous event will be hosted by some of New York's most colorful burlesque performers and speakers from the community!! In addition saving our beloved Coney Island, it is going to be loads of fun!!

Glitter!! Face Paint!! Costumes!! Aquatic Spectacles!! Mermaids and more!!

HOW YOU CAN HELP

COSTUMES
We encourage you to express your love of Coney Island in your attire at the demonstration. Feel free to wear a colorful costume, sport your favorite silly hat or crazy sunglasses, bust out those angel wings or mermaid costume, or any other visual expression of the fun and creativity that signifies Coney Island.

SIGNS
Please bring colorful signs that express your love of Coney Island and your hopes for the future redevelopment of Coney Island. You can use a slogan like "No Condos in Coney" or make up your own. The only criteria is that signs cannot be held with a stick or pole. They must be hand held in order to pass security. Get out your markers, glitter and poster paint and have fun!!

SECURITY NOTE:
You will have to go through security to get onto the City Hall steps. The guards are aware that many people will be wearing costumes. This should not create a problem getting through security and onto the steps of City Hall. This demonstration is totally legal and legit.

Heard me some Rock & Roll

at Magnetic Field Cocktail Lounge on Atlantic Avenue, caught The Fleshtones doing their usual highly entertaining, energetic brand of "Super Rock"! The Fleshtones are originally from Queens but now most of them live in Brooklyn, they are one of NYC's original Garage Rock Revivalists (been around almost 30 years!) and still do it better than most. NOTHING will stop the Fleshtones from their choreographed guitar/dance moves or their almost svengali approach to getting the audience to participate! Not many other bands would have grown men doing push ups on the floor of a bar!I recall seeing The Fleshtones open for some hardcore bands in the mid 1980's (I THINK it was the Bad Brains or the Cromags or both) and not even a wall of skinheads with crossed arms across the chest stopped frontman Peter Zaremba from jumping off the stage and shaking his moraccas through their wall of hostility. The Fleshtones have so much material at this point that they did a "stars on 45" style montage of some of their hits on Saturday. A good time was had by all!

It's the First Day of Spring.......

time for regrowth and all that stuff....I was walking along 15th Street yesterday in the early evening and I spotted a huge pile of these "Foam Flower Rose Kits". Now, I just started a part time gig where I am doing Art Projects with the elderly. They LOVE crafts and I am always on the look out for ideas and materials. So I take as many of these kits as I can. This morning as I listen to NPR talk about how serious Global Warming is, I decide in honor of Spring to try an make a rose. I quickly came to the conclusion that the reason they were thrown out was because there is NO POSSIBLE WAY you can make a rose as pictured on the instructions with a strip of 1" foam. Besides who would want a foam rose anyway? Foam production just contributes to global warming...how unspring like!!!They did come to use however as I used the wire and leaf in the package to make these fabulous tissue paper peonies......Happy Spring!!!!!!

This blog seems to be morphing into a neighborhood bulletin board....

Just passing along some more information about the whole Gowanus area developments bag, I got a message from "Frogg" with some info about finding out just what the heck is going on these days, seems to be more and more gloom and doom.

FROGG, Friends & Residents Of Greater Gowanus meets every 3rd Monday. You can join us on March 19th when we will be meeting at the American Can Building on 3rd Street, at 3rd Ave (accross from the Whole Foods Site). Time 6:30. Check posting on doors for room location.

They say "There is much to discuss about Bond Street that goes beyond what is presently being built."

On a personal note I am very saddend by the start of the demolition of Coney Island, this whole redevelopment of Brooklyn just sucks to put it bluntly, Coney Island was one of the last bastions of cheap fun for all, a working persons seaside weekend holiday. A pox on you, Sitt & Thor Equities!!! You don't even have the heart to keep Ruby's, stay tuned for Yankee stadium hotdog and beer prices.....

More Developments on Bond Street

The neighborhood group I blogged about last week now has a name. "Friends of Bond". They are looking for a public space to meet that can hold about 40 people. The nursing home is going under renovation. Any ideas?

ALERT THE MEDIA

because i found these books last night before it started to snow. This is one of those deja vu experiences because i just finished "Buddha" by Karen Armstrong and was thinking about how it was time for a reread of "Siddhartha" which I read back in the teenage years......also this is my SECOND copy of "Science Fiction Terror Tales". I am a sucker for hands with eyeballs......

Developments on Bond Street

I found this flier on the post right smack in front of my house. Some people in the Bond Street area held a meeting about the proposed development that may happen on Bond Street. I went to the meeting to find out what is happening at the Mary Star of the Sea nursing home around the corner. There was a turnout of about 20 people. A mixture of old timers and new comers, mostly home owners, I think I was the only renter representing.

The main concern amongst other things was about how a developer wants to build 400 units in a high rise building right smack across the street from our little strip of buildings on Bond Street between 1rst & 2nd Streets. Traffic, parking & sewage problems seemed to be the main cause of concern. What gets me is our neighborhood is losing basic services everyday. We don't even have a local supermarket anymore and fuhgettabout Carroll Gardens ever getting a Post Office! ! I don't know how the elderly in this neighborhood manage. I suppose Fresh Direct will make a killing (more than they are already) or IF this thing comes to fruition, Whole Foods will be up and running and all the wealthy organic food eaters will never know the difference.

I really don't want this to happen. I have lived on Bond Street for almost fifteen years. There is talk that my building will be knocked down. I miss the old Brooklyn. I'd rather live with the famous Bond Street wild dog packs than people who can spend a million on an apartment.