Two events exploring our changing neighborhood tonight

As mentioned in the post below, Safe in This Place is putting on a public performance for community members tonight at 7:30pm at St. Teresa's, where they'll tackle questions of safety and security in the changing area along Franklin Ave. ILFA will be there, but I also wanted to pass along another event that's tackling similar questions tonight in Bed-Stuy, a Pratt Area Community Council Happy Hour discussion with the theme of "Neighborhood in Flux" at The Outpost (whose name alone suggests a certain vision of urban pioneering that's worth unpacking). Read on for more info (copied from their blog):

Neighborhood in Flux A Happy Hour Discussion at Outpost Lounge Thursday, March 8, 2012 (7pm-9pm) click here to see all upcoming events

Come join us for happy hour and an informal panel discussion around the changing character of Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, Bed Stuy and surrounding neighborhoods. Panelists include writer Naima Coster, whose writing on gentrification in Fort Greene was published in the New York Times; visual artist and photographerValerie Caesar, whose work was shown in MOCADA's "The Gentrification of Brooklyn;" and Deb Howard, PACC's Executive Director and neighborhood resident for 38 years; moderated by Lincoln Restler, Committeeman for Brooklyn's 50th Assembly District. Enjoy happy hour beer/wine specials and hors d'oeuvres from Outpost. This event is free and open to the public. Friends of PACC Presents Neighborhood in Flux: A Happy Hour Discussion at Outpost Lounge Thursday March 8, 2012 (7-9pm) Outpost Lounge - 1014 Fulton Street between Classon and Downing Clinton Hill, Brooklyn RSVP by email or on our Facebook Event

Friends of PACC is a group of residents, community members and community activists that support PACC's programs through volunteering, organizing and attending outreach events, and promoting awareness of PACC's mission and work throughout the community. Friends of PACC have the opportunity to volunteer their time and expertise, meet like-minded people, build relationships in the neighborhood and become knowledgeable about issues in the community. To join Friends of PACC email Annie Raife.

Safe in this Place Public Performance Tomorrow

Safe in This Place, a Franklin Avenue Theater and Dialogue Project that has been bringing residents together to talk about the meaning of safety and security in Crown Heights for the past eight weeks, hosts their public performance tomorrow night (Thursday) from 7:30-9:30pm at St. Teresa's (563 Sterling at Classon). Read on for more information:

Safe in This Place: A Franklin Avenue Theater and Dialogue Project

invites you to join us for a public performance and dialogue about what it means to be safe in this neighborhood

Thursday, March 8, 7:30-9:30pm

at St. Teresa of Avila church, 563 Sterling Pl. (at Classon) (map)

For 8 weeks, residents of Crown Heights, Brooklyn have used theater to engage in dialogue about what it means to be safe. They have raised questions about community, race, class, gentrification, power, police, diversity, and change. In this interactive public sharing of the project, the group members will perform pieces of theater and engage the audience in a continued dialogue about these questions. 

Free! Refreshments will be served.

RSVP or questions to safeinthisplace@gmail.com or 347-762-9439

On facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/400857699931421/

Please pass the word along to anyone you know who might be interested in attending.

Local culinary vets to open restaurant in former Franklin Roadhouse space

At the Franklin Avenue Merchants meeting last night, ILFA had the pleasure of meeting Jacques Belanger and Lev Gewirtzman, the business partners who've taken over the old Franklin Roadhouse space at 688 Franklin (pictured above). The Crown Heights residents have ample experience in the restaurant world between them, and after meeting with CB8 tonight, they're aiming to be open in 5-6 months, offering American casual fare that focuses on seasonal ingredients. No word yet on what the space will look like (as one local designer put it about the Roadhouse, "They really needed an interior decorator") or what it will be called, but with Gueros thriving and the always-popular Bombay Masala just a few doors down, Franklin and Prospect is rapidly becoming a hot culinary corner, and methinks this new spot will be eagerly anticipated (A Slice of Brooklyn does appear to be on the way out, for which ILFA sheds a sentimental tear, but the sale of their lease, signed a few years ago for what's now a prime corner location, should hopefully help the owners get a fresh start somewhere else). Read on for their complete press release:

Jacques Belanger and Lev Gewirtzman have just signed the lease at 688 Franklin Avenue (formerly Franklin Roadhouse). The still unnamed restaurant will feature a 15 seat bar, a 50 seat main dining room and an additional 20 seat backyard deck. The menu will be American casual with a focus on seasonal ingredients, local meat and fish, in house charcuterie and raw bar. They plan to open for dinner 7 days a week and brunch on weekends.

Jacques and Lev are both veterans of the New York dining scene. A native New Yorker, Lev is presently serving as the Chef de Cuisine at Ouest, Tom Valenti’s Upper West Side bedrock of fine dining. He has worked under Tom Valenti as the Executive Chef at The West Branch and Executive Sous Chef at ‘Cesca. His food has been featured in Art Culinaire, The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living and New York Magazine where The West Branch was awarded “Best Fish and Chips” and a “Top 10 Sandwich” for their Cuban.

Jacques is presently serving as the Executive Chef at MP Taverna, working with owner Michael Psalakis. He previously won rave reviews in the New York Times and from food reviewer Gael Greene for his work at Bar Luna. He collaborated with Lev as the Chef de Cuisine of The West Branch and as Sous Chef at Ouest.

The design is to be done by Nico Arze who did work on Tertulia, The Box London and Masak. Construction is in the hands of Matt Maddy (No.7 and Weather Up).

Jacques and Lev are both Crown Heights residents and are hoping to be open in 5-6 months.

Two For Tuesday: Bikes and Beats

Two local events to check out today. First, the NYC Department of Transportation is holding a bike sharing workshop at Medgar Evers College tonight at 6pm and again at 7pm. See below for more info:

NYC DOT Bike Share Workshop

The NYC DOT Bike Share program will be presented.  Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss the project, review proposed Bike Share station locations, comment on the benefits and drawbacks of proposed locations, and suggest other  locations.

Tuesday March 6
Sessions at 6:00 & 7:00 PM
Medgar Evers College
1650 Bedford Avenue
President's Conference Center, B1008

For more info contact:
Zephreny Parmenter, Borough Planner,
NYC Dept. of Transportation:
http://www.nyc.gov/bikeshare
zparmenter@dot.nyc.gov
718-222-7250

Later in the evening, swing by Franklin Park for a live show from up-and-coming Brooklyn rapper Illustrate, courtesy of Secondary Sound. 

Zelda's: Coming This Saturday

Nestled in a tiny storefront on Franklin's hottest block (between Park and Sterling), Zelda's has been turning heads since they put in their new see-through gate and revealed their lovely french door facade last week. After tonight's Franklin Avenue Merchants meeting, Brooklynian's MikeF/whynot and I got a quick tour of the new place, which looks as charming inside as it does out. 

Husband-and-wife team Kate and Michael, who named their cafe for their baby daughter (they're also the organizers of the Crown Heights North Parents Group - stop in and ask them about it if you'd like to join), are aiming for a soft opening this Saturday, and they've got big plans for the vest-pocket space. Featuring tiny tables and cozy seating, Zelda's will serve espresso drinks, pastries, and fresh bread from Blue Duck Bakery by day, and wines and bottled beers by night, once they get their licensing in order. With a long wall of upholstered bench seating and matching stools that tuck neatly underneath, the seating certainly will be intimate, and the owners are embracing that ethos, promising a break from "laptop monoculture" (even a tablet would take up most of one of their little round tables) that will offer such homey touches as space to store your own mug and wine glass, conversations with local authors, and, instead of the typical NYC bagel, hearty slices of toast with a range of toppings. 

With 739 Franklin looking closer and closer to finished and 3D's under construction, it won't be long until every storefront other than the churches and Had Associates on that block has undergone at least a minor renovation, all in under four years (and all the storefronts will be occupied). The storefronts between Eastern and Park are rapidly filling up - will this mean more development further north (and south across the parkway) on Franklin, or will competition get tight for choice spots in that four-block district? We'll know soon enough. 

Weekend Links: Stork Opens

(photos of Stork and Zelda's via Franklin Avenue Merchants)

The weekend's already rolling, of course, but better late than never. To start, Stork is open  "Ffor business, adding another new shop to Franklin's hottest block (between Sterling and Park). Those with little ones, share your reviews! Meanwhile, Zelda's, a teeny-tiny spot that will offer coffee, pastries and (once they get their licensing sorted out) wine in the evenings is nearing completion next door, and plans to open in two weeks (no word yet on whether the servers will be dressed like this). 

- In foodie news, Crown Heights keeps bringing in the rave reviews and awards, with local favorite Super Wings reclaiming the "Best Wings in Brooklyn" crown they won in 2010. 

- As I write this, local bike activists are out surveying Crown Heights to figure out locations for bike racks - thanks to all those who volunteered! As Prospect Heights Patch reports, there's also a meeting about bike sharing coming up this Tuesday.

- Finally, it's First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum tonight - tonight's event celebrates "Fierce, Phenomenal Women" (appropriate both because March is Women's History Month and because the Brooklyn Museum has one of the most interesting collections of feminist art anywhere, including Judy Chicago's "The Dinner Party.")

Local Artist Jean Seestadt Featured on Brooklyn Street Art and Huffington Post

(photos © Jaime Rojo via Brooklyn Street Art)

Local artist Jean Seestadt was featured today on arts site Brooklyn Street Art, whose editors also posted their profile in the Huffington Post's arts section. Seestadt, known to ILFA readers as "the lady," installed another one of her site-specific works on paper at The Candy Rush this past Saturday. ILFA has it from a reputable source that there may be more such works to come.