NEXT CONCERT AT DITMAS ACOUSTIC: APRIL 24TH

Megan Jerome, Jean Rohe Trio

Sunday, April 24th, 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Ditmas Acoustic @ The Sanctuary Presents

Megan Jerome

with percussionist Mike Essoudry

and

Jean Rohe Trio

music from North and South America

with guitarist Ilusha Tsinadze and violinist Skye Steele

Admission: $10 (for both sets of music).

For now, food and beverages aren't available for purchase.

The Sanctuary @ Temple Beth Emeth
83 Marlborough Road (corner of Church Avenue; take the Q train to Church Avenue)
www.facebook.com/ditmasacoustic
www.myspace.com/ditmasacoustic

929 AREA CODE FOR BROOKLYN

As of yesterday, Brooklyn has a fourth area code--929-- giving Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island a total of four: 718, 347, 917, and 929. Equipment that currently has a 718 or 347 area code is keeping that code. Most Brooklyn land line phones have a 718 code, but newer lines, including cell phones, have been getting a 347 or 917 area code assigned to them.

Verizon says 

"Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island customers requesting new service, an additional line, or in some cases, moving their service may be assigned a number in the new 929 area code. The 929 area code will co-exist everywhere in Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island with the 718, 347 and 917 area codes."

Verizon promises that "The price of a call, coverage area, or other rates and services will not change."

The Federal Communications Commission says that if you move within your geographic area, local number portability (LNP) allows you to switch telephone service providers--including switching from a wireless, land line, or interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) provider--and keep your existing phone number.

However, if you move outside your geographic area, your number may not be portable.

WEIGH IN FOR THE SUMMER SIZZLE WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE

Summer Sizzle Weight Loss Challenge at Namaste Yoga of Kensington

Saturday, April 16th, 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Tuesday, April 26th, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

 

or by appointment

A BUSY WEEKEND

There's a lot going on in the neighborhood this weekend--both indoors and out!

Saturday, April 16th

• sidewalk sales
• Prospect Park clean-up
• free trees and mulch
• plant swap
• Indian food cooking class
• chocolate and wine tasting
• hand and foot self-treatment workshop
• helping Sean Casey Animal Rescue with the Pup Crawl

Sunday, April 17th

• sidewalk sales
• street tree walking tours
• Indian food cooking class
• the last class in the yoga beginner series

STORES WILL HAVE SIDEWALK SALES ON CHURCH AVENUE, FROM CIA TO FLATBUSH

The Church Avenue Sidewalk Sales are returning this year for four weekends. Restaurants and other stores on Church Avenue between Coney Island Avenue and Flatbush Avenue will set up food and merchandise on tables in front of their stores and offer special deals. Bright yellow posters will show that they're participating in the event.

The four weekends are

• Friday, April 15th to Sunday, April 17th, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.,
• Friday, May 20th to Sunday, May 22nd, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.,
• Friday, June 24th to Sunday, June 26th, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and
• Friday, August 19th to Sunday, August 21st, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The host is the Church Avenue BID.

FUNDRAISER FOR RELIEF EFFORTS IN JAPAN

Dragon Adventure Fundraiser 

Monday, April 18th, 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Join in a fairytale adventure guided by Ben Beardsley, actor and story teller from Tokyo, Japan. Open to children ages five to nine. RSVP is required. Suggested donation of $15 or more. All proceeds to benefit relief efforts in Japan.

Brooklyn Commune
601 Greenwood Avenue, at the corner of Prospect Avenue
(718) 686-1044
e-mail: feedme [at] brooklyncommune.com
http://brooklyncommune.com

CHOCOLATE PAIRED WITH WINE

Chocolate Tasting & Wine Pairing

Saturday, April 16th, 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Meet the people behind ki'Xocolatl fine Mexican chocolates and sample the different flavors as they're paired with wines from neighborhood liquor store Juice Box.

This event is free.

Brooklyn Commune
601 Greenwood Avenue, at the corner of Prospect Avenue
(718) 686-1044
e-mail: feedme [at] brooklyncommune.com
http://brooklyncommune.com

PROSPECT PARK CLEAN-UP

Revitalize Prospect Park
Saturday, April 16th, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Volunteers are needed in Prospect Park to mulch, rake and remove leaves, pick up trash, and paint storage containers as part of New York Cares’ Hands on New York Day. Participants must be age twelve or over.

Enter the park at Lincoln Road and Ocean Drive, and walk on Lincoln Road to the meeting place at Lincoln Road and East Lake Drive.

ONE-DAY CLOSING OF VANDERBILT PLAYGROUND

Vanderbilt Playground will be closed tomorrow--Thursday, April 14th--for minor repairs. It's expected that it'll be open on Friday morning.

If you have questions or need additional information, contact Eric Landau, the Director of Government and Community Affairs for Prospect Park.

phone: (718) 965-8953

fax: (718) 965-6950

e-mail: elandau [at] prospectpark.org

NOT TOO LATE TO SIGN UP FOR MISS KATIE'S ROCKIN' ROBINS MUSIC CLASSES

A few spots are still open for Miss Katie's Rockin' Robins music and movement classes for babies and children through age five. Classes began last week, so the fee for the remaining classes is pro-rated, based on the date your child starts classes. Classes meet on Wednesdays through June 15th; they won't be held on April 20th because of the public schools' spring break, but a make-up class will be held on June 22nd.

Children can take a trial class for $20, which will be applied to the total fee if you register for the remaining classes. To reserve a spot for Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. at Terrace Dance Studio (273 Prospect Park West at 17th Street) or Wednesdays at  4:30 p.m. at Rory's Room (3003 Fort Hamilton Parkway, entrance on E. 3rd Street), send an e-mail to musicwithkatie [at] gmail.com.

SEAN CASEY ANIMAL RESCUE NEEDS HELPERS FOR THE PUP CRAWL

Sean Casey Animal Rescue is participating in the annual Pup Crawl again and needs volunteers to help out. It's on Saturday, April 16th.

Are you a dog lover?  Free on Saturday evening?  It's Pup Crawl time!  Fantastic organizer Joe has asked if we can recruit some lovely volunteers to help out the SCAR team doing some various (easy and fun) jobs to help the event run as smoothly as possible.

We'd ask for you to come around 4:30, and you'd be there until 9 at the latest.  And you get a free shirt!

Some tasks might be -

-- Helping out with registration

-- Greeting people as they enter the park

-- Chatting with participants / pooches / crowd control (fun!)

-- Escorting groups over the bridge (we're going to do a series of groups and would like each group to have a "team leader.")

-- Taking photos on cell phones and tweeting

So, if you're able to come out for a few hours, we'd love to have you!!

The Brooklyn Bridge Pup Crawl (www.thepupcrawl.com) is a nighttime dog parade over the Brooklyn Bridge.  This is the second Pup Crawl and 500 people -- and nearly as many dogs -- are expected this year. The event is a lot of fun and raises funds for SCAR, as well as 4 other rescues -- here in NY, CA and FL. The event was conceived in 2009 to help shelters and rescues because of the one million pets who were expected to lose their homes to foreclosure.

RSVP on SCAR's Facebook Notes page.

Sean Casey Animal Rescue

153 E. 3rd Street, Windsor Terrace/Kensington (between Fort Hamilton Parkway and Caton Avenue)

(718) 436-5163
http://scarnyc.org

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/NY637.html

CYNTHIA KING HONORED BY COMMITTEE FOR EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

Congratulations to Cynthia King--dancer, choreographer, founder and director of Cynthia King Dance Studio, and creator of Cynthia King Vegan Ballet Slippers--for being honored this past Sunday by Committee for Effective Leadership for exemplary leadership and service to her community and to New York City.

Cynthia was recently interviewed by "VegNews." In the interview, "Dancer and choreographer Cynthia King talks about her vegan dance studio and line of cruelty-free ballet shoes." At Cynthia's studio, "children and adults come to learn everything from the five positions of ballet to popping and locking."

On Friday, April 29th, Saturday, April 30th, and Sunday, May 1st, Cynthia King Dance Studio will present "By Popular Demand"--A Fast-Paced Dance Production Featuring New, Original Choreography Performed by Dancers of All Ages--at Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts.

Cynthia King Dance Studio
1256 Prospect Avenue, between Reeve Place and Greenwood Avenue
Windsor Terrace (718) 437-0101
info [at] cynthiakingdance.com
http://cynthiakingdance.com

WEEKEND SPECIAL ON INDIAN FOOD COOKING CLASSES

$25 Indian Food Cooking Classes

Saturday, April 16th, and Sunday, April 17th, 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

A note from Mukti Banerjee

Hi, my friends of Mukti's Kitchen,

A number of friends have suggested that along with my long cooking classes, I also offer short classes for a lower price. I totally understand and appreciate it. Listening to your suggestions, I've decided to offer a short version of my cooking class. I hope you can join now. The short class will be for one and a half hours and will cost $25 per person.

In our hands-on lesson, we'll learn one big dish and one small dish.

Saturday's Menu:

• Chicken Biriyani
• Eggplant Fritters

Sunday's Menu:

• Lamb Curry
• Roti(Indian handmade Bread)

You will get wonderful education and experience in this hands-on class where you will cook these dishes together. I always make sure that you will be applying these techniques in your own meals for your family and friends.

Please RSVP. I need to make preparations based on the actual number of students coming.

Mukti’s Kitchen (run by Mukti Banerjee)
Beverley Road near E. 9th Street in Kensington

http://www.meetup.com/muktiskitchen
http://muktiskitchen.blogspot.com (weekly blog)
phone: (917)-703-3998
e-mail: muktiskitchen [at] gmail.com

COMMUNITY BOARD 12 MEETS TOMORROW

Community Board 12 General Meeting

Tuesday, April 12th, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Community Board 12 will meet tomorrow (Tuesday, April 12th) instead of on the fourth Tuesday because Passover falls on its regular meeting day. Board meetings are open to the public. Meetings begin with a public comment period.

Amico Senior Center

5901 13th Avenue, 3rd floor, at the corner of 59th Street, in Borough Park. Enter on 59th Street.

phone: (718) 851-0800

fax: (718) 851-4140

website: http://www.brooklyncb12.org

e-mail: bk12 [at] cb.nyc.gov 

Chairperson: Alan J. Dubrow

District Manager: Wolf Sender

If you aren't able to go to tomorrow's meeting, please go to the May meeting. The board has agreed to hold the meeting outside of Borough Park. It'll be held in Kensington at PS 230 (1 Albemarle Road, between McDonald Avenue and Dahill Road) on Tuesday, May 24th, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

FELONIES IN KENSINGTON REPORTED TO THE 66TH PRECINCT, APRIL 4TH THROUGH APRIL 10TH

Two felonies were reported to the 66th Precinct for Kensington during the week of April 4th through April 10th:

• Grand Larceny: An unknown person walked up to the victim at the corner of Beverley Road and Ocean Parkway and took his wallet from his hand. No arrest was made.
• Assault: The victim was approached by four men at the corner of Dahill Road and Church Avenue. They asked him what gang he's in. The victim then got into a verbal dispute with them, which led to one of the men striking him in the face and another one stabbing him. Two of the men, both twenty-four years old, were arrested.

RUN TO RAISE MONEY FOR YOUR SCHOOL'S PTA: REGISTER BY APRIL 28TH

Additional information from Brad Lander on the PTA 5-K Fun Run in Prospect Park:

School groups with 20 participants or more split the proceeds from the event, and the more schools that take part, the better we do.

Teams are already in formation at PS 58, PS 39, PS 321, PS 32, PS 29, PS 230, PS 107, PS 154, the Brooklyn New School, MS 447, PS 10, Brooklyn Prospect Charter, PS 9, PS 249, PS 295, PS 261, MS 443, PS 24, MS 442 and MS 51. To find out who is coordinating for your school, or if you school is not on the list and you would like to find out how to start a team, please call Rachel or Jessica in my office at 718 499 1090 or email lander [at] council.nyc.gov.

Online registration is open until April 28th, or you can always register the day of the race in the park.

SUPPORT PROSPECT FARM'S COMPOST SYSTEM

A note from Prospect Farms:

Here is your chance to support Prospect Farm’s continuing efforts to reduce,  reuse and recycle!! Prospect Farm will be installing a 3 bin compost system in 2011 to streamline composting needs, improve your drop-off experience, and accelerate our process of soil remediation. We are working with Ioby.org to raise the funds in Spring 2011.

How You Can Help --> Simply go to http://ioby.org/projects/brooklyn/prospect-farm-compost-collection-bins.

Every dollar donated to this project will be matched by funds from the Brooklyn Community Foundation. We will make double the money in half the time!  Contribute to your ever-growing neighborhood project PROSPECT FARM NOW!

Amount needed: $692. Amount raised, so far: $50.

If you have any questions, send an e-mail to Astri at akingstone [at] verizon.net.

About Prospect Farm
Prospect Farm is "a community group in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn that is working together to grow food in a formerly vacant lot, with the mission toward creating a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farm that can serve our community."

Prospect Farm
1194 Prospect Avenue, between Seeley and Vanderbilt streets
blog: http://prospectfarmbk.wordpress.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ProspectFarmBK
Google group: http://groups.google.com/group/prospectfarm?pli=1
e-mail: prospectfarmbk [at] gmail.com

AMNESTY ON FINES FOR OVERDUE LIBRARY ITEMS

Through April 30th, fines are waived on overdue materials (with some exceptions) borrowed from any of the sixty libraries in the Brooklyn Public Library system. Items can be returned to the customer service desk in any library, no matter which one they were borrowed from.

Click here to find the hours and locations of all of the libraries in the system.

SCHEDULE FOR MUKTI'S HANDS-ON INDIAN COOKING CLASSES

Mukti’s Kitchen (run by Mukti Banerjee)

Beverley Road, near E. 9th Street in Kensington

http://www.meetup.com/muktiskitchen

http://muktiskitchen.blogspot.com (weekly blog)

phone: (917) 703-3998

e-mail: muktiskitchen [at] gmail.com

NEIGHBORHOOD PICNIC IN PROSPECT PARK

Neighborhood Picnic in Prospect Park

Sunday, May 1st, 2:00 p.m.

For its first event, the new meet-up group "Neighborhood Get Together for Kensington, Park Slope, and Windsor Terrace" will be picnicking in Prospect Park. Bring food. Bring things to throw around (frisbees and footballs). RSVP here. Keep an eye on the group's page for an announcement of the exact location.

APPLY FOR A PASSPORT AT THE KENSINGTON POST OFFICE ON A SUNDAY

Passport Fair

Sunday, June 5th, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. 

 

The Kensington Post Office processes passports Mondays through Fridays, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and Saturdays, from 9:30 a.m. to noon--but you can apply for a passport on a Sunday during the Passport Fair. The post office will offer passport application acceptance and photo services.

Kensington Post Office
419 McDonald Avenue, between Church Avenue and Albemarle Road

phone: (718) 436-0164

fax: (718) 437-2676

TTY Service for the hearing impaired: (877) 889-2457

To learn how to apply for a passport, what the fees are, and which payment methods are accepted and to download forms, visit the Postal Service’s website or the Department of State's website.

KWT CRAFTWORK'S MAY SCHEDULE AT RORY'S ROOM

Schedule for KWT Craftwork's 

Arts and Crafts Classes at Rory's Room

May 2011

ages 8 to 11, Tuesdays, 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
5/3: intro to macrame: friendship bracelets & keyrings
5/10: handmade/recycled beads
5/17: intro to macrame: friendship bracelets & keyrings
5/24: heat press t-shirt design(bring a t-shirt with you)
5/31: decoupage picture frames

ages 12 to 15, Thursdays, 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
5/5: decoupage picture frames
5/12: heat press t-shirt design (bring a t-shirt with you)

5/19: intro to macrame: friendship bracelets and keyrings
5/26: handmade/recycled beads

ages 8 to 11, Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
5/14:heat press t-shirt design (must provide own tee)
5/21:decoupage picture frames

To register, e-mail KWTCRAFTWORK [at] GMAIL.COM or call (917) 324-8290.

Classes are $15 each and include supplies. Spots are on a first-come, first-served basis. Classes are limited to 10 students each.

Rory's Room

3003 Fort Hamilton Parkway, Windsor Terrace, a block from Kensington (Use the side entrance on E. 3rd Street between Fort Hamilton Parkway and Greenwood Avenue.)

COMPOSTING INDOORS (YES, INDOORS!) AND OUT

Composting Indoors and Out

Wednesday, April 20th, 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Prospect Farm and Sustainable Flatbush present "Composting Indoors and Out," the third talk in the series "Brooklyn Dirt: Monthly Talks on Urban Farming and Gardening."

Speakers

Jenny Blackwell

project manager for the NYC Compost Project in Brooklyn;

graduate of Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Horticulture Certificate Program

Pieranna Pieroni

Brooklyn Botanic Garden-trained Master Composter;

educator working with New York City public school students

around school-community gardening and ecoliteracy

Downstairs @ Sycamore Bar & Flower Shop
1118 Cortelyou Road, between E. 11th Street and Argyle Road

Must be 21 years old or older.

Suggested donation: $5.00. Proceeds benefit Sustainable Flatbush and Prospect Farm.

Sustainable Flatbush brings neighbors together to mobilize, educate, and advocate for sustainable living in their Brooklyn neighborhood and beyond.

Prospect Farm is a community group in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn that is working together to grow food in a formerly vacant lot, with the mission toward creating a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farm that can serve our community. Prospect Farm is the community leader for the Kensington/Windsor Terrace neighborhood group for the Brooklyn Food Coalition.

TALK TO THE TREES

Street Tree Walking Tour

Sunday, April 17th, 11:00 a.m. and noon

Talk to the Trees at Sustainable Flatbush's 4th Annual Street Tree Walking Tour. The tour leaves from Sacred Vibes Apothecary, 376 Argyle Road, near Cortelyou Road. The first tour leaves at 11:00 a.m. and the second one at noon. The tours are about a mile long, will take 90 minutes to 2 hours, and will end up back at the starting point.

Tour guides: Sam Bishop of Trees NY, gardener Tracey Hohman, and Sustainable Flatbush’s Chris Kreussling (Flatbush Gardener).

A donation of $5.00 is suggested. 

Sustainable Flatbush
(718) 208-0575 
contact form: http://sustainableflatbush.org/contact-us

HORSES AS THERAPY

     Lucara and Merlin                                 Pagi: high five

From GallopNYC:

GallopNYC offers therapeutic horseback riding lessons to children, adults, and school groups. Kensington Stables graciously rents us horses and ponies and allows us to use the rear of the stable for riding.

As one Mom said,

[My child] LOVED his...lesson today. [The instructor] communicated so well with [my child], who had the BIGGEST smile on his face, and I had tears in my eyes repeatedly through the lesson. I felt so proud, as did he! The GALLOP days are the highlight of our week.

We work with children and adults with special needs as well as children with literacy delays, learning disabilities, family problems, or kids who are just having a hard time in life. We also work with veterans, kids in counseling programs, and at-risk kids. Some of our volunteers have a disability.

We offer lesson to 150 riders each week, at three locations, and  rely on about 200 volunteers (as well as 15 or so horses and ponies. The animals don’t exactly volunteer, but they do enjoy the carrots they get as rewards).

The teachers we work with say this about GallopNYC:

It is amazing to watch my unruliest students calm down, my most  scattered students focus, my quietest students shout, and my least  expressive students laugh when they interact with you and the horses.... I feel like we can never do enough to express our gratitude.  --Special Needs Public School Teacher

We see measurable gains in academic skills in our riders, and we also see an increase in confidence and empathy. In a recent New York Times article, Randall Lockwood from the A.S.P.C.A. explains: “…empathy is  essentially innate, but I also think empathy can be learned, and I know  it can be destroyed.” The article states that equine-therapy programs are “one of the most promising methods for healing those whose empathic pathways have been stunted.”

Without GallopNYC, many children with disabilities in New York City would not otherwise have the opportunity to ride horses or to enjoy any animals in a positive, meaningful way. 

Contact GallopNYC at www.GallopNYC.org or (917) 740-4696, or send an e-mail to info [at] GallopNYC.org.

Kensington Stables
51 Caton Place at E. 8th Street

Kensington, Brooklyn
(718) 972-4588
info [at] kensingtonstables.com
http://www.kensingtonstables.com