Food for Thought: Weekend Links

(the work of local craftspeople on sale at Built in Brooklyn - see previous post for more details)

Apologies for the lack of posts, it's finals time in the ILFA world (though if anyone would like to read a rough draft of a 4,000-word essay on historical approaches to emancipation, I suppose I could post that). In lieu of more thoughtful commentary (I flatter myself), I offer the lazy blogger's solution: links! 

- After harassing and groping a woman on the Franklin Avenue Shuttle, a 39-year-old Queens man was caught because the woman he chose to harass snapped a photo of him and passed it on to the NYPD and the media. Having spoken to far too many women who've been sexually harassed or assaulted on the train (and, unfortunately, to a few who have tried to report these attacks to MTA employees or even transit cops and gotten nothing but shrugs in response), I'm glad to see the system actually working, and I salute the woman who had the wherewithal to photograph this creep and follow through with reporting the incident (sometimes a very long, draining process). 

- There's an uproar brewing over the extradition of a local Hasidic man from Israel to NYC to stand trial for a hate crime in the assault of an African-American man. While I know nothing about the case beyond the linked article (and thus can't really speak to it) the incident took place in the context of Shomrim policing, which has long been a feature of Crown Heights but has come under fire recently in a number of contexts. In Israel, one national news network has responded with a profile of the Shomrim's work in Crown Heights, available (with video) here. 

- On a more positive note, the Brooklyn Ink ran a nice profile of the folks at Seeds in the Middle, whose programming targets youth from the many sub-communities of Crown Heights. 

- Gun violence continues in CH, with a livery cab driver the latest victim (though, mercifully, he seems to have survived a beating and three gunshot wounds) on Monday. Incidents like these highlight the importance of the work that SOS Crown Heights is doing in our community. Frequent contributor MikeF shared this report of their first year on Brooklynian, and it's well worth a read. Meanwhile, in another Chicago-Brooklyn exchange (SOS Crown Heights is based on Chicago's CEASEfire), a local criminologist has developed an anti-violence program with the Chicago Police Department, (link recommended earlier in the week by a reader).

- Finally, a reader wrote in to note the planting of trees up and down St. Marks between Classon and Franklin, a welcome addition to a strip that's rapidly shifting from post-institutional malaise to residential comfort (and where the city has invested in a new affordable housing development). Street trees are wonderful for many reasons - glad to see them going up! 

Readers will notice that the last two tips were submitted by followers. As always, ILFA loves correspondence, so keep 'em coming!

Support Your Small Businesses and Local Artisans This Saturday

I realize last weekend was the big-time shopping weekend, but I skipped that (if I wanted to get pepper-sprayed, I'd just go down to Zuccotti). However, ILFA still needs to get some gifts for friends and family, and given the handle of this blog, local gifts are the order of the day. For those in a similar boat, some suggestions:

- Check out the Built in Brooklyn Craft Fair (flyer above) from 12-6pm on Saturday at LaunchPad. They've got great items from local craftspeople, including cards and other goodies from Planet Ert, which are also available at Lily and Fig during the week (as pictured above). 

- If you haven't been inside lately, Owl and Thistle General Store keeps adding great new stuff, and Time Out New York just put them on their list of "Ten Best New Gift Shops." Here's what the TONY folks had to say:

Owl and Thistle General Store
If you want to practice responsible consumption this holiday season, Keri Cavanaugh’s eco-friendly spot is the place to go. A diverse selection of environmentally sustainable and direct- or fair trade products that are perfect for your green-minded comrades fill the quaint store’s wooden shelves. Anna Built houndstooth earrings made from vintage tin cans ($28) and Webbedware reversible geometric pendant necklaces ($48) will satisfy the green-minded jewelry lover. Foodies will appreciate McClure’s Bloody Mary mix ($9), organic Taza Mexican chocolate discs ($5), or salt and pepper shakers affixed to old Matchbox cars ($14). Impress your dad with a Paradise Body Shop wooden shave set ($35), and make sure to grab a roll of Elum driftwood-patterned gift wrap ($8) to prettify all of your holiday offerings. 720 Franklin Ave between Park and Sterling Pls, Crown Heights, Brooklyn (347-469-0432, owlandthistlegeneral.com)

- Pick up some old-timey candy for stocking stuffers at The Candy Rush, just to get Dad going about the candy store in his old neighborhood where whatever you got him cost a nickel . . .

- Finally, over on Classon, Park Delicatessen never disappoints for unique local gifts. Some examples below:

Its beginning to look and smell a lot like the holiday season around here. Lights all along Washington ave, fresh cut cedar and holly in the shop this morning. 

Here are some gift ideas that will inspire any kid, young or old to create something.

Valentine Paper Dolls

Each paper doll comes with 15 items of clothing that make over 20 outfits.
Add your own color and designs to totally customize.
All of the clothing is Valentine's most popular designs from previous collections.


Packaged in a sturdy reusable envelope.
Hand made and designed in house.
$18

Graffiti Train coloring book

Back for it`s 3rd year. One of our most popular items
Features 14 Pages of freight trains to do your art on.
Spiral bound on durable 110lb stock.
A Park Delicatessen exclusive
$22

Salad Bar Taking Shape

It's not a great photo, but the salad bar in the former Brooklyn Inkspot space on Franklin just south of Park is taking shape quickly. Announced at the October CHCA meeting, the place will have all manner of veggie delights. Anyone have any word on when they're slated to open? A salad would be great after a weekend of heavy eating . . .

Built in Brooklyn Craft Fair Saturday

If you're looking to shop this weekend, skip the manic Black Friday stampedes and spend tomorrow recovering and enjoying a martini at the new Barboncino bar. The get up on Saturday and head for the Built in Brooklyn Craft Fair at LaunchPad, where you can score fantastic goodies from local merchants from 12-6pm.  

Storefront Stuff: LaunchPad, Park Deli, Barboncino

(RAFT at LaunchPad, Fall Centerpieces from Park Delicatessen)

LaunchPad's been ringing in the Thanksgiving holiday with morning performances of "Observer Observed: An Abstract Occupation" from RAFT this week. They also announced last week that they're now home to a yoga worker cooperative that will be providing regular classes from Sunday - Wednesday morning, noon, and night on a sliding scale ($7-15 per class), with work-study options available as well for those with limited cash flow.

Over on Classon, Park Delicatessen has great fall centerpieces - if you're a Thanksgiving guest, skip the umpteenth bottle of wine and get some killer flowers for your hosts.

And for all those who'd rather sip than shop on Black Friday, Barboncino has just announced that their bar opens Friday. 

Weekend Links

(Franklin the Turkey at the Prospect Park Zoo, Sixpoint Comes to Bob & Betty's)

 - Great to see so many people from the neighborhood out marching yesterday. The Avenue was well-represented out there.

- It was fun, also, to come home to free samples from Sixpoint Brewery at Bob & Betty's last night.

- The Prospect Park Zoo has a turkey named FRANKLIN! Incredible. You can see Franklin (named for Benjamin Franklin - as the Avenue, presumably, is as well - who suggested the wild turkey as our national bird) at the Zoo this weekend and next, if you're looking for some kid-friendly entertainment.

- Finally, if you're doing Thanksgiving locally and want to keep things healthy and tasty, let Juice Hugger Cafe help you out. The new natural foods spot on Rodgers has a complete meal and/or sides (all vegetarian) available for delivery on Turkey Day. See the flyer below or head to their website for more details.

Occupy Everywhere Thursday

(The faces of New York City policing - Ray Kelly looking like a Bond villain while clearing Liberty Square and a "white shirt" on the rampage during Tuesday morning's purge, via the NYTimes)

To commemorate the two-month anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, and in response to the Bloomberg-ordered police raid on Liberty Square (which included the direct disobedience of a court order and has reduced a "public space" to a heavily-garrisoned police park), there is a huge slate of events planned for tomorrow around the city. Complete information can be found here for the whole city, and here for Brooklyn in particular.

There are hundreds of good reasons to take part tomorrow, but if you're sitting in Crown Heights and you need a reason to go, I offer these two:

1. We read a lot about how fast Crown Heights is changing/gentrifying/revitalizing/etc (on this blog as much as anywhere), but the fact remains that newcomers and longtime residents alike are hardly plutocrats. Walking down Franklin yesterday, I passed a woman who was saying to her friends, "I was priced out of Fort Greene, I was priced out of Clinton Hill, and pretty soon, I'll be priced out of this neighborhood." Moreover, regardless of whether you've been in Crown Heights 4 days or 40 years, you can't miss the ugly specter of massive inequality and a broken-to-nonexistent social safety net in Crown Heights, largely because Bloomberg et al have been all too happy to push poverty to the boroughs so that places like Zuccotti Park can remain spotless. It's an issue that affects all of us here, and it's one that the powers that be are only too happy to ignore unless its right under their noses, as it will be tomorrow.

2.. Police brutality (see the 2nd photo above) is an enormous problem in communities in Brooklyn, including Crown Heights. It's sad that it takes an occupation of a park near Wall Street to draw city- and nationwide attention to New York's paramilitary policing when city residents have been dealing with it on a daily basis for years, but still, it's good to have the issue on the table, as it most certainly will be tomorrow.