BK Southie » 2010 September

Art opening in Sunset Park on Wednesday

Posted by Brian Hedden at 12:00 pm Sunset Park

Sep 282010

In Hot Pursuit (oil on paper) by Danny Simmons. Photo by Mark Blackshear. The Simmons painting will be part of the “Wheels Within Wheels” exhibit at Sunset Park’s Tabla Rasa Gallery.

The Tabla Rasa Gallery will be hosting a new art exhibition – Wheels Within Wheels, paintings and works on paper by abstract expressionist painter Danny Simmons. Simmons is the Chairman of the New York State Council on the Arts. More about Simmons:

Older brother of hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons and rapper Joseph Simmons (“Reverend Run” of Run DMC), he is the founder and President of the Rush Arts Gallery. In addition, Simmons converted part of his loft in Brooklyn into the Corridor Gallery. Along with his brother Russell, Simmons established Def Poetry Jam, which has enjoyed long-running success on HBO. He received a Peabody Award for TV and a Tony award for the Broadway version of Def Poetry. Simmons is also the founder and Vice-President of the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, a non-profit organization.

The opening reception for “Wheels Within Wheels” is Wednesday, September 29, from 6:00-8:30pm. The exhibit runs through December 4.

Tabla Rasa Gallery is located at 224 48th Street in Sunset Park (near the corner of 2nd Avenue). R-train to 45th Street.

Mosque protest and counter-protest in Sheepshead Bay

Posted by Brian Hedden at 9:00 am Sheepshead Bay

Sep 282010

The Brooklyn Paper reported on a demonstration this past Sunday between roughly 200 opponents and 100 supporters of the Voorhies Avenue mosque:

Most anti-mosque speakers were quick to defend themselves from the charge that racism or anti-Islam sentiment motivates their ongoing battle against the four-story proposal — but the signs they carried and the rhetoric they used told a different story.

A sampling of the aforementioned signs and rhetoric:

“People from the mosque will be praying in the street. People living on the block will have to step over them.”
“The mosque is founded by a very scary organization and the Constitution does not guarantee the right of a foreign nation to build a mosque in our country.”
“We don’t need to watch Sheepshead Bay get raped by people using the Constitution who are not even from this country.”
“Hamas Kills, MAS gives them money. They have blood on their hands.”
“People coming from outside of the community to protest are just causing trouble. It is not their issue, it is a local issue that involved traffic and parking problems.”

Yes. Traffic and parking problems. I totally got that.

UPDATE: Please also see this story from Sheepshead Bites, a more reputable publication than the Brooklyn Paper.

Thursday: CUNY panel to discuss future of Coney Island development

Posted by Brian Hedden at 7:00 am Coney Island

Sep 282010

The CUNY Graduate Center in Midtown Manhattan is hosting a panel discussion regarding future Coney Island development. The president of Zamperla USA (the ride manufacturing muscle behind the new Luna Park) will be part of the panel, along with a former Disney veep known in Coney circles for his work on the 2008 Imagine Coney concept and the author of Coney Island: The People’s Playground.

I would very much like the panel to focus on Coney’s achievable future, and not re-hash the zoning battle that was fought – and lost – by amusement advocates last year.

You see, the success of the 2010 season for Luna Park has not completely overshadowed the uncertainty over the future of the greater Coney neighborhood. The “Save Coney Island” organization is still fighting against the demolition of historic buildings on Joe Sitt’s side of the demarcation line, and they recently released a rendering for the proposed reuse of the Coney Island Bank Building – one of the Sitt-owned buildings slated for demolition – as a Bowery Ballroom-style music hall. It’s called The Banker’s Ballroom, after America’s well-known affinity with the finance sector.

I like it! I’d love to see that happen! But I also don’t care anymore.

I really don’t. Continue reading »

Candidate campaigns in Brooklyn

Posted by Nick at 11:17 am Politics

Sep 272010

Are you disgusted with the current state of our economy? Does the weak dollar..inflation …or recession fears keep you awake at night? Have you recently lost your job?..Lost hope? Well, there is good news… a plan..a new deal … one that will bring prosperity back to our way of life.. Dave Gold is running for New York State Governor.. See what Dave believes in, stands for and ask any questions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRwTknBsLWo&layer_token=c0191abdf91f9c26
www.youtube.com/davegoldshow

Things I wish Brooklyn had: its own newspaper

Posted by Brian Hedden at 7:00 am Kvetch

Sep 272010

The list of things I wish Brooklyn had is pretty short, because let’s be honest – Brooklyn has almost everything. Which makes this one thing it doesn’t have all the more shocking.

I wish Brooklyn had its own newspaper.

The papers we do have – the Times, the Daily News, the Post – they give some love and attention to Brooklyn, as they do for all boroughs and suburbs in the region. And that’s cool – I wouldn’t change that! But Brooklyn has enough going on in terms of news and events to warrant its own publication, one that covers everything from the Greenpoint north to the Manhattan Beach south.

And I think its a real disappointment that we don’t.

It’s the one thing I genuinely envy Staten Islanders for – their news daily, the Staten Island Advance. It’s got enough regional news to keep you superficially informed of the happenings off Richmond County’s shores – assuming you wouldn’t just pick up the Times or the Daily News for that. But most of the paper is dedicated to hardcore coverage of the happenings of the Forgotten Borough.

And it’s a real shame that they have that and we don’t, because really, how much news does Staten Island really have to offer?

There’s been a huge vacuum for our own version of the Advance in Brooklyn. I suppose that vacuum is the main reason why neighborhood blogs are so popular here. There’s a large supply of news and a large demand for it, but the distribution of news has been dependent on regional papers. The Internet has vastly reduced the barriers to entry to the distribution network, and vastly increased the number of people who can take part in it. There aren’t so many neighborhood bloggers in places that already have adequate news coverage, or don’t really have that much going for them in the first place. In Brooklyn, you see lots of neighborhood bloggers.

I know this isn’t the kind of economy where newspapers spring up from holes in the ground, but maybe one of the existing newspaper companies would like to try a Brooklyn-based spinoff? With the advantages the Internet provides, there must be some competent news organization that’s willing to give it a try. It’s unlikely the region’s main papers would do it, since they would, in large part, be competing with themselves. Maybe the Staten Island Advance would like to leverage its borough-level expertise and start a second paper in Brooklyn?

Who will be the first to try a Brooklyn-focused newspaper?

Eddie Money playing Aviator Centerstage Saturday night

Posted by Brian Hedden at 9:00 am Events, Music

Sep 242010

Eddie Money will be playing at Aviator Sports complex this Saturday night for a Wounded Warrior Project benefit.

I will admit to having forgotten this song until I was doing some quick research for this article.

But I’m glad I remember it now. Eighties’ music rocks.

Prices range from $25-$45 – see the Aviator web site for details.

Saturday: Annual Apple Festival at Wyckoff House

Posted by Brian Hedden at 7:00 am East Flatbush, Events

Sep 242010

The Wyckoff House will play host to its annual Apple Festival this Saturday, September 25, from noon to 4pm. I went to the event last year – lots of fun. There is the freshly pressed apple cider and the apple fritters prepared in the old tyme fashion. Also arts and crafts for the kids! Or the kids in all of us adults. And once again, the Jug Addicts will be providing the musical entertainment (video from last year’s Apple Festival).

The Wyckoff House (5816 Clarendon Road) is directly served by the B47 bus from Kings Plaza, with nearby service provided by the B8 from Dyker Heights and the B7 from the Kings Highway Q-train station (Brooklyn bus map).

This Weekend: 10th Coney Island Film Festival

Posted by Brian Hedden at 9:00 am Coney Island, Events

Sep 232010

The 10th Coney Island Film Festival is this Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Sideshows by the Seashore building on Surf Avenue and W. 12th Street.

Tricia over at Amusing The Zillion has put together a far better preview than I could have ever managed, but there are a few things I wanted to point out before sending you her way:

Tickets are available through the Internet until 5pm today. After that, you must get them at the box office, which takes cash only.
Most individual programs are $6. The Warriors (Saturday at 10:30pm) is $10, as is the Sunday day-pass. The Friday night screening and party is $25, and the full festival pass is $45.
The Friday night screening is 7:30 with an opening party at 9:30. Saturday screenings start from 1pm to 10:40pm, and Sunday screenings start from 1pm to 6pm. Full schedule is here.

OK, go over and check out Tricia’s preview, now!

MTA: Double-screw you to South Brooklyn this weekend

Posted by Brian Hedden at 7:00 am MTA

Sep 232010

Different weekend, same old sh**. Photo by Brian Hedden.

Q-train riders: Screw you! Reminder there are no Q-trains between Prospect Park and Stillwell Avenue. There are two shuttle bus services that replace the trains: a route that runs local stops between Prospect Park and Kings Highway, and also a route that runs express from Prospect Park to Kings Highway, then local from Kings Highway to Stillwell Avenue. See our prior story for full weekend deets, and Sheepshead Bites for mid-week service changes.

R-train riders: Screw you, too! No R-trains in Brooklyn this weekend – all service terminates at Whitehall Street. The N-train will pick up the slack with stops at all local stations north of 59th Street, but Bay Ridgers will have to settle for shuttle buses between 59th Street and 95th Street. If there’s any good news to be had from this, unlike earlier this year when the service suspension coincided with the Fifth Avenue festival, at least the MTA was kind enough to schedule this around the Ragamuffin Parade and Third Avenue festival, set for the weekend of October 2nd and 3rd.

Mayor annouces amusement park drew 400,000

Posted by Nick at 12:26 pm Coney Island

Sep 222010

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced today that Coney Island’s amusement park drew more than 400,000 visitors this summer, more than any summer since Steeplechase Park closed in 1964. In May, as part of the City’s Coney Island Revitalization Plan, the City and Central Amusement International opened Luna Park – a new 3.1 acre amusement park featuring 19 traditional and cutting-edge state-of-the-art rides. The new park drew more than 400,000 visitors, who took more than 1.7 million rides during its inaugural season, and it helped bring about Coney Island’s most active summer in decades. More than 14 million people visited Coney Island’s Beach and Boardwalk – almost four times as many as in 2009. Based on Luna Park’s success, the City and Central Amusement International announced plans to extend the 2010 season by three weeks through the end of October, with new programming, which will feature Halloween themes, to debut on October 15. The second phase of Luna Park – the Scream Zone – is on track to open for summer 2011 with an additional four rides. Among its new program offerings, Luna Park will debut Nights of Horror at Luna Park on Friday, October 15. Nights of Horror at Luna Park – featuring an interactive haunted maze – will include costumed characters lurking throughout the park, lighting, sound effects, and scenery guaranteed to give goosebumps to even the bravest amusement goers. Nights of Horror will run on weekends through Sunday, October 31, 2010 and conclude with the inaugural Coney Island Children’s Halloween Parade sponsored by Council Member Domenic M. Recchia, Jr.

Read entire press release from the mayor

MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES MORE PEOPLE VISITED CONEY ISLAND