Help in Haiti: Public Officials Offer Ways to Help Relief Efforts

By Nicole Brydson

“Brooklyn is the ‘Caribbean Capital of America’—by some counts, we have the largest Haitian population in the United States—and our hearts go out to our Haitian brothers and sisters in need,” said Borough President Marty Markowitz and Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham. “Brooklyn and Haiti share the common motto ‘In Unity There is Strength,’ and Brooklynites have been united once again—as we were in 2008 following a series of devastating hurricanes and a tropical storm—in opening up their hearts, wallets and pantries to the victims of this catastrophic earthquake. Our office will be working closely with the Caribbean community in the days ahead to lend support to Brooklyn and New York City-based relief efforts.”

To find out what you can do to help relief efforts in Haiti, call 311 or visit Brooklyn-Usa.org.  If you are trying to connect with a loved one in Haiti, call the U.S. State Department hotline at 1-888-407-4747.

Will New York Join the Race to the Top?

By Beth Fertig

Beth Fertig, a senior reporter on education for WNYC, continues her Reader in Residence series with us this month with her second of four posts about literacy and education in New York. The author of Why Cant U Teach Me 2 Read?, Ms. Fertig tackles the issue of federal education funding this week under the Obama Administration’s Race to the Top program.

Found Footage: Mike V & The Brooklyn Banks

By Nicole Brydson

Shot last month, this seven minute short features skateboarder Mike Vallely lamenting the soon to be shuttered Brooklyn Banks, a lengendery NYC spot for generations of skater kids at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. The Downtown Express reported last October that “The city plans to use the internationally known Brooklyn Banks skate park as a staging area during the Brooklyn Bridge reconstruction, which is starting later this year and will last until 2014, said Ralph Musolino, a district manager for the city Parks Dept.” The city plans to shutter the area beginning this Friday, January 15, and it will remain closed until 2014.

Community Activists are Brooklyn’s Newest Council Members

By Nicole Brydson

As the local political dust of 2009 settles, Brooklynites will begin to see their city council choices at work (or not) in the new year.
Former councilman Bill deBlasio ascended to the role of public advocate this month, and stood with some of the council’s newest members to announce his intentions of reform for the office. “You have to engage the grass roots, and my office will be the leading edge of that,” he told the New York Times, of his desire to train city residents as community organizers. Now, residents of our fine borough will see the representation of three new incumbents whose rise to local leader began in the very same place.

WNYC’s Beth Fertig On Literacy

By Beth Fertig

An excerpt and note from journalist and author Beth Fertig, senior reporter on education for WNYC Radio, New York’s NPR affiliate, from her book, ‘Why Cant U Teach Me 2 Read? Three Students and a Mayor Put Our Schools To The Test.’

Get Gay Travel: A New Way to Get Gay in the New Year!

By Douglas Calhoun

While you might only afford to dream of your next getaway in this very cold post-holiday season, the folks at Get Gay Travel – a group of young travel know-it-alls who are catering to the queer travel community – are planning to transform the way gays and straights alike get from state to state or country to country. Queerespondence was able to grill Get Gay Travel’s President Ari Warshawsky to find out what they are all about and to also get some hot destination picks, so whether you’re jetsetting or roadtripping there is a thrilling adventure in your (not so distant) future!

Home for the Holidays: A Holiday Edition of Queer Brooklyn Interiors

By Douglas Calhoun

This week of cheer post-Christmas and pre-New Years is always a good time. Hosting friends and toasting away last year’s dead-end jobs or high expectations is always a real pleasure. This is a time when your home is a critical oasis from slushy snow boots, pushy shoppers and honking cars, and making a home in this town is a true task. Getting over the loud streets, the blaring music, or the crazy neighbors leaves making your space a reflection of your own taste a tiring adventure. Some of the queer folks of Brooklyn have a real skill making their spaces true escapes in this crazy town. I was able to get some beautiful shots of these homes thanks to the exceptional work of photographer Michael Popp. Oogle these fabulous interiors after the jump.

The Best Book: A Modest Proposal to Save Publishing

By David Bukszpan

The Best Book (McSweeney’s, $24.95) takes everything you want from a book and combines it with everything everyone else wants, producing quite simply the single best book of all time.

RIP Kirkus Reviews: Why You Probably Won’t Be Missed

By David Bukszpan

It was announced this week that the biweekly magazine Kirkus Reviews is closing its doors at the end of the year. I’m not saying that Kirkus didn’t have its place: indeed, I generally valued the thoughtful nature of not only Kirkus’s reviews, but their openness to paying attention to books that other prepubs often ignored out of hand. And if nothing else, the more reviews anything receives, the higher the odds that its qualities will be appreciated.

Horse’s Mouth Won’t Be Pigeonholed

By Karen Bolipata

Hours before his bandmates were due to arrive at Public Assembly, Tavo Carbone shared his musical influences, his affinity for the glockenspiel and just what Mister Rogers and Horse’s Mouth have in common. (Note: the revelation left me so befuddled I found it unnecessary to have it further explained.) Wrap your head around it after the jump!

In Streamlining Public Healthcare Option, ‘You Don’t Need All That Paper’ Said Officials

By Karen Bolipata

Applying for public health insurance, a process that normally takes up to three months, can now take two weeks or less with Health Plus’s new paperless enrollment. “We all know this is the future,” said Borough President Marty Markowitz at a press conference this week, calling it “a big step toward achieving what we hope will be some form of universal health care.”

Aeroplane Pageant Flies Up The Charts

By Karen Bolipata

After searching for Aeroplane Pageant all night at Brooklyn The Party last week at Public Assembly, I found them at the table furthest from the stage, where they had been sitting for quite some time. The members, all six of them, towered over this diminutive reporter as they simultaneously answered questions, shared moments of deep insight and rarely gave a straight answer. Read ‘em after the jump!

The Fearsome Sparrow Evolves in Brooklyn

By Karen Bolipata

Minutes before performing at Brooklyn The Party last week at Public Assembly, the fearsome sparrow gave me an insight into their creative process, whether their music has evolved since they first formed, and what’s next for them. Though reluctant to tell me what their latest single, “maryland,” is really about, they did divulge that, despite the name, it’s not about the state. Find out more after the jump!

Brooklyn The Party At Public Assembly A Hit!

By Nicole Brydson

Thanks to everyone who came out to BrooklynTheBorough.com’s almost birthday to celebrate our brand new features at Public Assembly on December 2. We were excited that so many Brooklynites came out to support this independent brand, and we hope you will continue to show your support and trust BTB as a source for all things Brooklyn. Click through to read more about our terrific performers and view the party pictures!

12 Tips For Holiday Book Buying: Give that Gladwell/McCollough/Coelho Routine a Rest Already

By David Bukszpan

Well can you believe it, folks, it’s December already. And with Black Friday and Cyber Monday and One Last Chance at Free Shipping Tuesday, it’s already Why Haven’t You Done All Your Shopping By Now Wednesday. So before it’s too late (I’m Already Sick of Hearing About Gifts and It’s Only Thursday), let’s go shopping! (Yay!) For books! (Grumble, grumble…)

Itziar Barrio: Basque Wildcat Marks Her Territory in Bed-Stuy

By Nicole Brydson

How and why did Basque artist Itziar Barrio end up creating a public billboard art installation on the corner of Nostrand Avenue and Fulton Street in Bed-Stuy? Barrio spoke with us about the concept of her irreverently engaging piece, and why the ideas surrounding art and community are more universal than local.

Yes Ma’am: Artist Kelli Anderson On Designing For The Yes Men

By Kat Irannejad

Kelli Anderson is a painter, illustrator, photographer, letterpress operator, art history scholar, and a graphic designer; a proper polymath for the 21st Century. But more recently, the New Orleans native has been cutting her teeth as a guerrilla visual communicator. Brooklyn The Borough was fortunate enough to catch up with her, to find out more about her background, her vast and varied body of work, and how she ended up a diabolical creative mastermind in Brooklyn.

A Vanderbilt Goes to The Vanderbilt

By Cait Weiss

Brooklyn The Borough felt it was about time to send a Vanderbilt to Vanderbilt Avenue. And what better place to kick-off this adventure in gentrification, family history, and neighborhood love than with dinner and drinks at The Vanderbilt in Prospect Heights.

Viva Variety! Artist J.T. Yost Spreads the Wealth

By Kat Irannejad

Brooklyn The Borough enjoyed a raucous chat with the Yost, where we found out more about his work, his move to Brooklyn, and why the mural he’s been working on for his soon-to-be born daughter features a pigeon and an everything bagel. Trust us, it will all come together.

BAM’s Next Wave Art Showcases Artists Across Disciplines

By Lauren Raheja

Open through December 20, BAM’s Next Wave Art, the visual component of the Next Wave Festival showcases works across disciplines. The festival’s featured art includes a video installation, sculpture, graphite drawings, and oil paintings in the lobby of the Howard Gilman Opera House and the adjoining Leonard Natman Room, but the exhibition also spills over into the BAMcafé, the BAMcafé Gallery, and the BAM Harvey Theater.

Undusted: Mark Twain’s “The Strangest Thanksgiving Sentiment Ever Penned”

By David Bukszpan

Welcome to the first installment of Undusted, a series that will feature interesting but long-neglected or even forgotten pieces of writing that deserve another look. It’s writing that has aged well, even if no one has perused the curves of its S’s in a while. Like the rest of the BtheB literary posts that will constitute the section known as The Read, Undusted items may or may not have anything to do with Brooklyn.*

At any rate, the following interview with Mark Twain appeared in the New York World Sunday Magazine on November 26, 1905, and describes what Mr. Twain, aka Mr. Clemens, was thankful for on this American holiday. Click through to read it in its entirety.

Queer in The Kitchen: Squashing It With Local Chef Jessie Gold

By Douglas Calhoun

Local chef and musician Jessie Gold has been cooking for almost an entire lifetime. The Brooklyn resident has established some local celebrity and a pretty savory cooking gig at locally owned and operated Ortine in Prospect Heights. A sturdy bike, a flare for the fabulous, and a penchant for cooking make it obvious Jessie is going places. As we kick off the holiday season this weekend, and friends and family come together around their dinner tables, I thought I’d ask for some cooking help from a master, and luckily it got me some yummy perspective from this talented chef.

At Brooklyn’s First Luxury Condo Auction, Agent Advises ‘Buyer Beware’

By Karen Bolipata

TreeTop Development claimed victory at their first luxury condo auction last week, despite its abrupt ending. “It seems like they changed the rules midstream,” said a potential buyer. “You don’t set the conditions and then change the rules when you’ve attracted all the people.”

More details on the auction and its aftermath after the jump!

Amy Sohn Yells About Hollywood Liberals, Takes Harvey’s Name In Vain

By Staff

Last night Amy Sohn crossed Brooklyn’s psychic divider – Flatbush Avenue – into Crown Heights. At Franklin Park’s Reading Series, the Park Slope maven read from her book Prospect Park West, which has caused a stir among the swanky slope set.

After reading a passage from her novel that takes place at Southpaw – whose investors also own Franklin Park – she read a passage that references a character’s fixation on Roman Polanski, which was written and released before the 76 year-old director was jailed recently on a 30 year old charge of statutory rape. Sohn made sure the crowd knew she doesn’t share that fixation with her character. Watch the video after the jump.

The Civilians Delve Into Divorce On Stage

By Nicole Brydson

Matthew Maher is a brave man. Along with three other members of the Civilians investigative theater troupe, based here in Brooklyn, Mr. Maher interviewed his parents about their marriage and subsequent divorce for a new project entitled You Better Sit Down: Tales From My Parents’ Divorce.

The show will run at Galapagos Art Space in Dumbo from November 12-14 and will be filmed and edited for online release. Mr. Maher will portray his own parents’ story, as will fellow actors Caitlin Miller, Jennifer Morris and Robbie Sublett. The show, director Anne Kauffman, aims to be a unique event in the world of theater, and promises to “reveal the stories behind the statistics.” Mr. Maher tells us about it, after the jump.

VIDEO: Jonathan Lethem Christens Greenlight Bookstore

By David Bukszpan

The unofficial present-day Bard of Brooklyn stopped by Greenlight Bookstore last night to christen the borough’s newest independent bookshop. Jonathan Lethem, author of such notable Brooklyn titles as Motherless Brooklyn and Fortress of Solitude, read a portion of his new Manhattan-based novel, Chronic City, to a packed house as latecomers squeezed through the door like rush-hour riders on the 4 train. Watch our exclusive video from the event after the jump.

It’s National: The Genesis of The Long Count

By Nicole Brydson

Over the weekend, The Long Count, an indie rock opera featuring music by The National’s Bryce and Aaron Dessner and visuals by artist Matthew Ritchie, played its last performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave festival. Watch our exclusive video from the BAM artist talk where the Dessner brothers explain the genesis of their first symbolic symphony.

Love Your Bartender: Scott Gold, Char No. 4

By Cait Weiss

Brooklyn is a borough of bars and rumor has it, we have many other things too. Be that true or not, Brooklyn is a unique hub of distinct neighborhood taverns, each filled with its own pack of fiercely dedicated locals. It’s no surprise, then, that Brooklyn is also a borough of bartenders. In Love Your Bartender, we’ll take a look at men and women who stand out as they stand behind our Brooklyn bars. We’ll also find out where they choose to let their hair down, and let someone else pour the pints for a change.

Three’s A Crowd! Ahead of Election Day, Third Party Candidate Still Alive In Bed-Stuy

By Nicole Brydson

Mark Winston Griffith, 45, a native New Yorker and long time resident of Bedford Stuyvesant, ran against Councilman Al Vann along with seven democratic party challengers during the primary season, and since losing sought the endorsement of the union-backed Working Families Party and will appear on the ballot on November 3. His third party candidacy has built momentum in a race that has historically been settled on primary day.

Senator To Citizens: What Can You Do For Your Borough?

By Nicole Brydson

At a local meeting on crime, the message was clear: citizens, engage your community and get involved or these tough times will only get worse.