Rant! Bloomberg Decimating the Libraries!

I don't know how I missed this but it has just come to my attention that our (un)fair Mayor has now decided to close the libraries on the weekends and only keep them open Monday thru Friday from 1 to 6pm. WTF?!!!

Hello Mayor?! Mr. Mayor who is all about education and culture. Excuse me? Close the libraries?!! Now this is going too far. We all can't buy our books at Barnes & Noble you know. The Public Library is one of the last bastions of democracy and equality. Providing knowledge and information - FREE! FOR ALL! Especially with tuition costs soaring, even for distance learning programs and online courses, the library is a chance for someone who can't get a traditional education to learn something.

Yeah, I know, the Mayor hates "free".

The fab Desk Set has info on this unbelievably sad news and advice on what you can do. I already sent my letter to Bloomie and so should you.

*Get this! 943 employees would be laid off. Many branches would offer no weekend service. Imagine your local branch remaining open for five hours a day, five days a week, if we’re lucky. When can you go there? Unless you work there, you probably can’t. And if you do work there, let’s hope you’re not one of the 943!
Also, City Council must approve budget by June 30

And read here in todays' Daily News a 9 year old Carnarsie girl's outrage!

*Info from the Desk Set.

Seems like we have to fight for everything these days.

Superfund the Gowanus!

Please take the time to watch this video to learn more about just why the Gowanus Canal needs to be a designated Superfund site. This film features members Gowanus residents and members of FROGG (Friends and Residents of the Greater Gowanus) and was filmed and edited by Sabine Aronowsky, Peter Pierce and Steve deSeve of Freddy's Brooklyn Roundhouse. This film as well as a few others will be on BCAT television and Manhattan cable through July 8th, times to be announced.

Convinced?

Please click here to sign a petition that will be sent to our local politicians and leave your comments with the EPA.

EPA Talks SUPERFUND on Tuesday

I urge anyone that is wondering just what this is Superfund nomination of the Gowanus Canal is all about to attend this meeting on Tuesday night at PS 32. The EPA has determined that based on SCIENTIFIC DATA that the canal is a danger to most forms of life and NEEDS TO BE CLEANED PROPERLY. They will be at this meeting to inform the community and to take questions about what all this entails.

Also,at this juncture it has just been announced that the City of New York will also be at this meeting as they suddenly have a plan to clean the canal themselves. Has this sudden urge come up due to the potential of a development (condos) slowdown or do you think they really care after NOT all these years? hmmmm.

Here is the info from Community Board 6's flier.


Superfund for the Gowanus?

An informational update by the Environmental Protection Agency on a proposal to designate the Gowanus Canal and environs as a Superfund site, with an update from City officials on their plans to address Gowanus-related environmental conditions.

Recently it had been announced in the media that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering a proposal to designate the Gowanus Canal and environs as a Federal Superfund site. Join us as we hear from EPA representatives directly to find out what a Superfund designation would mean for our community, learn more about the process used to make such a determination, and hear from representatives for the City of New York on the City’s plans to address Gowanus-related environmental conditions.

DATE: Tuesday, May 26, 2009
TIME: 6:30 pm
PLACE: P.S. 32 Auditorium
317 Hoyt Street
(between Union/President Streets)
Brooklyn, NY 11231


More background on the Gowanus Superfund application, process and directions for submitting comment is available on the EPA website here.
(Public comment is due by July 8, 2009.)

Also Pardon Me For Asking has printed analysis on why the canal SHOULD be a Superfund site, click here for the article by Dr. Tom Agnotti, City Limits Magazine.

Who Walks in Lost City

photo by Brian Berger.

Like the fab blog Lost City?

Mix yourself a Sidecar or Gin Fizz and settle into this extremely in depth interview with it's creator, Brookes of Sheffield over at Who Walk in Brooklyn. Brian and Brookes gab about everything from bars, bookstores and of course Brooklyn.

Scintillating!

New Coney Island Blog: Amusing the Zillion

Target, the Coney Island Arcade Cat.

Trish Vita, who describes herself as a "a former carny kid who casts an insider’s eye on the amusement business, Coney Island, and fun places in between" has started a new blog called Amusing the Zillion.

Read her current post telling the real story about why Thor Equities’ Festival by the Sea was cancelled last weekend. Trish spends her summer days working out at Coney Island either at the Coney Island History Project or at a game on Jone's Walk, so you are sure to get the scoop on what is REALLY going on at Coney Island.

Trish also points this out about the current (non) state of Thor's amusement Park that should of been open by now:

"Contrary to the misinformation given out to the media on Thursday by Thor’s pr tools that anywhere from “some” to “half” of the 25 promised rides were being set up at Thor’s “amusement park,” there wasn’t a single new ride set up by Saturday. The Brooklyn Paper, metro, and the NY Post dutifully reported what they were told by Thor’s pr about the rides being set up and it is ABSOLUTELY FALSE."

Go figure, Joe Sitt not tell the truth? Say it ain't so!!!

Any if you are a Coney fan or lover, check out Amusing the Zillion!



Amusing the Zillion

Great Moments in Brooklyn Architecture

The Masonic Temple in Fort Greene was looking quite majestic yesterday.... as it's next door neighbor Queen of All Saint's Church.

Who needs Paris when you got Brooklyn?

Coney Island Icons Opens This Weekend

Photo credit: © Charles Denson

Ever wondered what it was like to ride the Parachute Jump, or how the Wonder Wheel turns, or what drives the Cyclone's lift chain? This exhibit explains it all!

The Coney Island History Project's exhibition center opens for the 2009 season on May 23 with the new exhibition "Coney Island Icons: The Story Behind the Landmarks of the World's Playground."

Archival and contemporary photos, documents, anecdotes, interview, souvenirs and artifacts are used to tell the story of Coney Island's four city landmarks---The Cyclone Roller Coaster, Wonder Wheel, Parachute Jump and Childs Building. The exhibition is curated by Charles Denson, CIHP Executive Director, noted historian and the author of the award-winning book Coney Island: Lost and Found.

Visit the Coney Island History Project's Public exhibition center under the Cyclone Roller Coaster at:
824 Surf Avenue just east of W 10th Street.
FREE ADMISSION for One and ALL!
Open weekends from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day.
Hours are 1 to 6 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays. Also open on Memorial Day and Labor Day, 1-6 p.m.

Back by popular request:
---Interactive Video Interview Booth lets visitors record their memories and impressions of Coney Island for our Oral History Archive and take home a free souvenir photo

---"The Astroland Archives Photography Exhibit: Back to the Future" along with new photos by Charles Denson and artifacts recently donated by Astroland's Albert family.

---"Souvenir Photographs from Sidewalk Photo Galleries," studio portraits of visitors frm the 1870s to the present!

---Take a souvenir photo withour authentic Steeplechase horse from the legendary ride that gave Steeplechase Park its name!

---Among the treasures on display is Coney Island's oldest existing artifact, an 1823 Toll House sign from the days when the toll for a horse and rider to "the Island" was 9 cents!

---A rare circa 1920 Mangels Kiddie Whip car sporting its original paint. It was manufactured at the Mangels Factory on 8th Street in Coney Island by William Mangels, oneof the amusement indsutry pioneers honored in CIHP's Coney Island Hall of Fame.

Visit our website at to learn about our programs, listen to selected interviews at our online Oral History Archive and sign up for e-news about upcoming free events.

For additional info email info[AT]coneyislandhistory.org or phone 718-266-0012

Found In a Book from the Brooklyn Public Library

From another distracted art education student like myself? One more week and a paper to go....aye!

Take Action to Superfund Gowanus

Fund Me I'm Sick!
The canal was having a really bad day on Saturday. After days of rains the surface was amok with visable contaminants. Do you trust that the city should be trusted to clean THIS properly? There are people out there- the Dredgers to name one party who think that the city should be trusted with the money from the federal government rather than the Environmental Protection Agency to clean it! Methinks that all those canoe trips on the toxin ridden waters of the Gowanus has effected their capacity for rational thought. This is RAW SEWAGE not algae!
This was at the other end of the canal on Saturday and all the while canoers were practically sitting on this muck. Yet another reason I think a thorough, comprehensive and scientific clean up should be done by the EPA and not the city!

If you haven't already, PLEASE go to Superfundgowanus.org to submit your comments to the E.P.A and also to sign a petition that is going to our elected officials to show that there are people in the who actually think this is a GOOD thing.

Brooklyn Blogfest 2009 Recap

I went to the Brooklyn Blogfest last night. They had a panel "why we blog" and then you were supposed to go and sort of network with blogs "of your feather", something I failed at miserably, not really knowing what my "niche" is? Am I a "place blog"? a "photography blog" a "social activist" blog? "humor and pop culture" blog? The 16 year old rebel girl in me that still hasn't left my body doesn't like to be classified so I sort sauntered around and eavesdropped. The "parenting" blog group was huge as was the "pop culture & humor" group. The "decorating and craft" (or something to that effect) blog group looked like very earnest bunch. It was hilarious to see the guy from Gothamist who played devil's advocate while on the panel "why we blog" with a big group around him while he gave advise on how to make money off your blog. I love Gothamist and I understand his need to just say stuff to piss some people off at this blogfest. He said something to the effect that there are enough Brooklyn neighborhood blogs and if you want to really get something going (meaning $ mostly) you should band together. Dude that's just you! Don't you know a lot of bloggers are solitary animals living in their own world? Anyway as slightly annoying as he was, he said some things that had to be said to create some controversy.

Kudos to Adrian Kinloch, the Brit in Brooklyn for curating a fab presentation of the work of Brooklyn photo bloggers, so much great work out there! And thanks for including F.I.B!

There were giveaways at the blogfest and I am really enjoying my free sample packets of Jolt energy gum! I skipped the coffee this morning and just had this instead. Each piece equals the amount of caffeine in one cup of coffee. I'm up to 4 pieces this morning so if my typing seems jittery and I am going off on tangents this is the reason. It's good to know that for every pack I buy in the future I will be supporting our troops. I'm wondering if this is the stuff that keeps them going in Iraq and Afghanistan?

A sculpture in the waters of Galapagos, you can's see it but there is an upside down wine glass dangling over the legs, the dives I go to usually do not feature such high art!

The after party was at Galapagos. I had never been in the new space before and it's pretty cool but the acoustics were pretty bad, I really couldn't hear any of the shout outs (when the bloggers get up and announce their blogs) which is why I think most people did not seem to participate. I did fortunately heard correctly when MY number was called during the raffle for the camera. This was like a dream come true, I have been camera-less for the last few months and have been using my sister's camera until I had the extra cash (which never seems to happen) to get a new one, so this was a gift from the blog gods! Thank you!!! I had actually visualized that i already won it before the drawing and it actually worked! I wanted that camera BAD!

One thing that was noticeably different at this blogfest was the proliferation of politicos and their assistants infiltrating the whacky world of the bloggers. Kind of a downer, particularly if it's anti-superfunder David Yassky but please do check out a politician with some sense New York State Senator Velmanette Montgomery's blog when it comes out. I'm going to get all social activist blog on you and let you know that she is someone in Albany that supports the E.P.A cleaning of the Gowanus Canal. And speaking of the Gowanus Canal, I just heard that President Obama is reading Netherland by Joseph O'Neill where someone dies in the canal, I wonder if that helped with the canal nomination? Ok I just went from BlogFest to Creative Visualization to SuperFunding to Obama, blame the tangents on the Jolt folks!

Door on Degraw