NEW COMMUNITY GARDEN IN KENSINGTON

Newkirk Community Garden is giving new life to the garden spot that had been "Compost for Brooklyn, A community composting project and native plant garden in Kensington, Brooklyn" from 2010 to 2018.

From the garden's website:
"We are revitalizing the garden at Newkirk Avenue and East 8th Street in Brooklyn for our neighborhood, where green space is severely lacking. By improving access to the garden, we hope to make a space where people create deeper connections with each other and with the neighborhood."

Location
Newkirk Community Garden
736 E. 8th Street at Newkirk Avenue
Kensington, Brooklyn, NY 11230
phone: (347) 903-7297
contact form http://www.newkirkgarden.com/index.html#form1-e
http://www.newkirkgarden.com
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1958333187626429
https://www.instagram.com/newkirkcommunitygarden

DRIVING ALERT FOR THE BROOKLYN MARATHON

full marathon course

half marathon course

                    NYCRUNS Brooklyn Marathon & Half Marathon
                             Saturday, October 19th, 7:00 a.m.

Parking, driving, bicycling, and walking problems always accompany the NYCRUNS Brooklyn Marathon & Half Marathon. 

This year, the races, organized by New York City Runs, Inc., will be on Saturday, October 19th, starting at 7:00 a.m. Half marathoners will have 4 hours and 30 minutes to complete their race, and marathoners will have 6 hours and 35 minutes for theirs.

The race kicks off at the Brooklyn Museum on Eastern Parkway. It'll travel through Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Windsor Terrace, and Kensington, and it'll finish in Prospect Park.

From Machate Circle (also known as Park Circle), runners will go south along Ocean Parkway. Half marathon runners will turn around at Quentin Road and full marathon runners will turn around just after Avenue P.

After the turnaround, runners will run north on Ocean Parkway to Prospect Park. At Machate Circle, they’ll enter the park and run nearly the entire way around it along East Drive and West Drive before crossing the finish line on Center Drive.

POLICE PRECINCT PUBLIC MEETING FOR WINDSOR TERRACE AND SUNSET PARK RESIDENTS

72nd Precinct Community Council Public Meeting

Tuesday, October 8th, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

At the 72nd Precinct Community Council's monthly meetings with the public, residents and police officers discuss past crimes and what the precinct is doing to prevent future crimes. Learn what types of crime have been taking place, their frequency, and why they happen.

Members of the public are invited to voice their concerns about crime and tell officers what's on their minds: armed robberies, rape and other forms of sexual assaults, home break-ins, burglaries in local stores, bank robberies, drivers who are speeding or breaking other laws, stolen bicycles, package theft, and any other crimes.

Windsor Terrace and Sunset Park lie within the boundaries of the 72nd Precinct. Everyone who lives or works within those boundaries is invited to attend Community Council meetings. Contact the Community Affairs officers at (718) 965-6326 if you have any questions.

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 8th, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Meetings of the 72nd Precinct Community Council typically take place on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m.

Meeting location
Marien Heim Senior Center
4520 4th Avenue
between 45th and 46th streets
Sunset Park, Brooklyn 

------------------------------------------


72nd Precinct contact information
Phone number: (718) 965-6311
web page: http://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/bureaus/patrol/precincts/72nd-precinct.page
CompStat report (crime statistics): http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/cs-en-us-072pct.pdf
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NYPD72Pct
Facebook page for 72nd Precinct:  https://www.facebook.com/NYPD72pct
Facebook page for 72nd Precinct Community Council: https://www.facebook.com/72nd-Precinct-Community-Council-1611883092371304

ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING

Alternate side parking (street cleaning) regulations will be suspended on Wednesday, October 9th, for Yom Kippur. All other regulations, including those for parking meters, will remain in effect.

OPEN HOUSE WITH ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS AT PROSPECT FARM

Prospect Farm Open House

Saturday October 19th, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The annual Open House at Prospect Farm is a community gathering that celebrates the end of the growing season. It's free, and it's open to the public.

Activities and events for all ages have been planned, including composting demonstrations, bulb planting demonstrations, tours of the garden, music, a scavenger hunt, a crafts sale, and a baked goods sale.

The Open House will be held on Saturday, October 19th, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Prospect Farm is a non-profit, cooperative project in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, that has been working together since 2010 to grow food in a formerly vacant lot. 

Location
Prospect Farm
1194 Prospect Avenue, (by the Seeley Street Bridge) 
Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn
prospectfarmbk@gmail.com
https://prospectfarm.org/ 
https://www.facebook.com/pg/ProspectFarmBK/posts/?ref=page_internal 

FREE OUTDOOR QIGONG MEDITATION SESSION

Qigong Meditation Session

Saturday, October 5th, 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. 

Froggy Park will host a free 45-minute outdoor morning session of qigong meditation with Marisa Carroll, a certified healer-within qigong practice leader. The session will run from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. this Saturday, October 5th.

Qigong is an ancient moving meditation practice that includes simple flowing exercises, calming breathing techniques, gentle self-message, and guided meditation, with the goal of promoting feelings of balance, relaxation, and renewal.

The meditation is open to people at all levels of experience and those with no experience.

You don't need to bring anything with you for the meditation. 

Location
Thomas J. Cuite Park (aka Froggy Park)
19th Street and 11th Avenue
Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn

NYPD'S NEIGHBORHOOD COORDINATION OFFICERS AND A HOMELESS OUTREACH REPRESENTATIVE WILL MEET WITH KENSINGTON RESIDENTS

                     Albemarle Neighborhood Association Meeting
                  Thursday, October 10th, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Guest speakers at next week's meeting of the Albemarle Neighborhood Association will be

• PO Viviane Perrone and PO Karol Smiarowski, 66th Precinct Neighborhood Coordination Officers for Kensington,
• Casey Burke, Case Manager of Breaking Ground (homeless outreach),
• Bert S. Matthiew, manager of Sterling National Bank,
• and, possibly, Assemblymember Robert Carroll.

All residents of Kensington, whether or not you're members of ANA, are invited to attend and participate in this free meeting and ask questions about issues that affect you and your neighborhood.

The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 10th, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., at the Flatbush Jewish Center.

Foodtown and ANA will provide free refreshments.

Location
Flatbush and Shaare Torah Jewish Center
Hanid Room
327 E. 5th Street
at the corner of Church Avenue
Kensington, Brooklyn

FUN FALL FEST, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, AT P.S. 130

                                              Fall Fest
                    Sunday, October 6th, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Fall Fest, a tradition for the Kensington and Windsor Terrace community since 2012, is always jam-packed with fun and adventure. The annual event at the P.S. 130 Upper School is open to all, and it will feature

• haunted house "The Parkside Ghoul,"
• bounce houses,
• pony rides,
• pumpkin decorating,
• mask-making,
• face-painting,
• free arts and crafts,
• henna tattoos,
• Brooklyn Game Lab and icnbrooklyn game tables,
• LEGO activities,
• live music, and
• a performance by Ballet Folklorico Mexicanos Unidos.

Baked goods, beverages, and other goodies will be available for purchase, with funds going to support the PTA.

Fall Fest will take place on Sunday, October 6th, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Haunted House preview tours will be offered on Saturday, October 5th, at 7:40 p.m. and 7:50 p.m. $4 per ticket.

Location
P.S. 130 Upper School
E. 7th Street, from Kermit Place to Caton Avenue
Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn

CLEAN-UP ON MCDONALD AND CHURCH AVENUES HAS BEEN SCHEDULED

Clean-up on McDonald and Church Avenues

Saturday, October 5th, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Do you love a clean Kensington? McDonald Avenue and Church Avenue will get cleaned up this weekend, and everyone in the neighborhood is invited to pitch in!

The Kensington Stewards (TKS) invite you to join your friends and neighbors at Avenue C Plaza (at the intersection of Avenue C and the east side of McDonald Avenue--map), grab a broom and some trash bags, put on a TKS Trash Mob t-shirt, and do an autumn cleaning.

Kensington Trash Mob 2.0 will cover McDonald from Avenue C to the Kensington Post Office as well as Church to the east and west of Kensington Plaza and the F/G Church Avenue subway station.

The Kensington Stewards, who manage the Kensington and Avenue C plazas, are sponsoring this effort to make Kensington beautiful again.

"OUR CLIMATE CRISIS, OUR COMMUNITY" WHAT SHOULD WE KNOW? WHAT CAN WE DO? (A FREE EVENT)

Our Climate Crisis, Our Community:
A Kensington/Flatbush Conversation about

Climate, Community, and Creating Change
Friday, October 4th, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

We are in the midst of a mass extinction event. Scientists say we are experiencing abrupt climate breakdown. We are all threatened by this unprecedented ecological crisis. 

"Our Climate Crisis, Our Community: A Kensington/Flatbush Conversation about Climate, Community, and Creating Change" will cover these topics and concerns:

• The latest climate science and its global justice context
• First person: What the climate crisis means for my family
• What do fires in the Amazon have to do with glacial retreat in Asia?
• Building community ties and resilience in Kensington/Flatbush
• What we can do together to change course.
  

Our neighbors and community organizers Kashif Hussain and Shahana Hanif will join Bhumika Muchhala and Richard McLachlan, climate activists with Extinction Rebellion Flatbush, for this important discussion about everybody's future on Friday, October 4th, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The free event is open to all. It is co-sponsored by Pakistani American Youth Society and Extinction Rebellion Flatbush. 

Event location
PAYS Community Center
1001 Newkirk Avenue, at Coney Island Avenue
Kensington, Brooklyn

LIVE MUSIC TODAY IN KENSINGTON PLAZA (FREE)

The delightful sounds of the hammered dulcimer and hand drums will fill the autumn air at a free live performance this afternoon (Saturday, September 28th) in Kensington Plaza. This will be the first performance in the Music in the Plaza series.

The flowers in the plaza are in full bloom, and seating is available on the plaza's benches and granite blocks.

Members of Mecca Bodega will perform from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Learn more about the percussive-driven band on its website at http://www.meccabodega.com.

Location
Kensington Plaza 
114 Beverley Road (in front of Walgreens)
between McDonald Avenue and E. 2nd Street
Kensington, Brooklyn

TOXINS ARE STILL THRIVING IN PROSPECT PARK LAKE

Toxins flourishing in Prospect Park Lake are still "widespread or lakewide." New York City's Parks Department observed and reported the ongoing condition as recently as September 23rd to New York State's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

The DEC's map shows the location of the HABs throughout the state.

The toxins are "Harmful Algal Blooms" (HABs). The ones found in Prospect Park Lake are blue-green algae blooms or BGA (cyanobacteria). They can make water resemble pea soup. The water can be blue-green, green, yellow, white, brown, purple, or red. It can resemble paint.

Or, mats of blue or green pond scum might be floating on the water surface accumulate along the shoreline.

When the blooms are widespread, they can affect either the entire lake, a large portion of the lake, or most to all of the shoreline.

"Prospect Park's Lake, waterfalls and other water features are fed by the city water supply. Phosphates in the water, which make it safe for us to drink, lead to excessive algae growth." 

            "Prospect Park Alliance Tackles Toxic Algae Bloom"

Every year, starting in June, Prospect Park Lake and other bodies of water in New York State are monitored for blooms weekly. Bear in mind, however, that some bodies of water with HABs might not have been reported to the DEC, so people and animals should avoid contact with all floating mats, scum, and discolored water.

Adults, children, dogs, and other animals should not go into the lake or near the shoreline. Anyone who has been in contact with a HAB should rinse thoroughly with soap and water--or just with clean water, if that's all that's available at the moment.

Anyone who might have been exposed to a bloom and is experiencing any symptoms should get medical help immediately and should also contact the New York City Department of Health (DOH).

Possible effects of the toxins on living creatures are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, skin or throat irritation, allergic reactions, and breathing difficulties. The toxins can also affect the liver and nervous systems if a lot of water is swallowed. Read more about this on the DEC website.

The DEC offers this advice and more:

• Swimmers should be concerned about HABs (Harmful Algal Blooms) in any lake in which they are considering swimming.
• Never drink untreated surface water, whether or not algae blooms are present.
• The New York Freshwater Fishing Guide advises anglers to avoid eating fish caught from areas that have the thick paint-like or pea soup-like coloration characteristic of cyanobacteria blooms.
• HABs cells can stick to animal fur and become concentrated when the animal cleans itself.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says

• If your animal gets in water with a bloom, immediately wash it off with clean water. Do not let the animal lick cyanobacteria off of its fur.

• Call a veterinarian if your animal shows any of these symptoms of cyanobacteria poisoning: loss of energy, loss of appetite, vomiting, stumbling and falling, foaming at the mouth, diarrhea, convulsions, excessive drooling, tremors and seizures, or any unexplained sickness that occurs within a day or so after being in contact with water.

Prospect Park Alliance will be creating a natural filtration system to stem the growth of algae blooms.

PARKING REGULATIONS CHANGE FOR ROSH HASHANAH

Alternate side of the street parking regulations will be suspended on Monday, September 30th, and Tuesday, October 1st, for Rosh Hashanah.

All other regulations, including parking meter regulations, will be in effect. Those are only suspended on these major legal holidays: New Years Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE AT KENSINGTON PLAZA

Kensington Voter Registration Drive

Tuesday, September 24th, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

On the occasion of National Voter Registration Day, Shetu Inc. will register citizens who are eligible to vote. Register as a voter so that you can vote for your preferred candidate in the upcoming primaries and general elections. In addition to voter registration, you can also change your voter registration information and discuss community issues.

Location
Kensington Plaza
110 Beverley Road
between Church Avenue and E. 2nd Street
Kensington, Brooklyn

DON'T BE AFRAID..........TO ATTEND THE HOWL-O-WEEN PARTY AT SEAN CASEY ANIMAL RESCUE

YOU'RE INVITED! SUNDAY, OCT 20th IS OUR 12th ANNUAL HOWL-O-WEEN BARK BLOCK PARTY! You're invited to attend our Halloween fundraiser and adoption event, hosted by Q104.3 Radio DJ Maria Milito. Everyone is welcome, admission is free! On Sunday, October 20th, 12pm-5pm, we will close off the street in front of our shelter (153 East 3rd St, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn) and throw a fun, family-friendly day-long party! *Enjoy games, contests, prizes & activities for adults, kids and pups.   Start planning now for the Kids Costume Contest & Pet Costume Contest! *Face painting and tattoos at the Goblins & Ghouls parlor. * Face painting and games with HAPPY the CLOWN Entertainment * Brooklyn Children's Theatre will host a mask decorating table featuring dog and cat masks and all the tools you'll need to make them super-tacular! * Twisted balloon designs by Flames Cagney of DM Stellar Amusements * Hula-hooper Fannieka Dawkins will perform at 12:30 p.m. and teach a hoop class afterwards.   *Smooch-a-pooch at our Doggie Kissing Booth.    *Take chances on over 70 fabulous raffle prizes! Themed baskets, event tickets, restaurant gift cards, jewelry from Gurhan and lots more!    *DJ music and LIVE performances by   Baron Misuraca's Vampire Lounge, circus performer and comedian extraordinaire Roller Boogies, Kristin West's skating duo Kit & KaPoodle, the Silent But Deadly mimes  and more...   *Visit a variety of animal welfare information tables - including veterinarians, dog training, grooming, dog walkers & pet care - to get expert pet advice.   *Have your family portrait taken by James Morrissey, the official portrait photographer of the Westminster Dog Show, at Brooklyn Bark's Phantasm Photo Booth.   *Taste your way through a smorgasbord of delicious food and sweets. Be sure to make your way to the Der Pioneer table!   * Check out fabulous merch from Funari New York, Lola Star, Vivi S Creations and more!    *Plus, it's our biggest adoption event of the year! Find your newest family member with help from our adoption specialists.  All proceeds from this event benefit Sean Casey Animal Rescue.  We look forward to seeing you there!  For updates, please check out our Howl-o-ween Event page.    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We need lots of volunteers for the day of the event and beforehand to distribute flyers and postcards! Plus we can use some baked goods and a few more raffle prizes. If you would like to donate your time, baked goods or a prize please email maria.bowen@nyanimalrescue.org. Thank you! ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Location Sean Casey Animal Rescue 153 E. 3rd Street between Caton Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway on the border of Windsor Terrace and Kensington (718) 436-5163 nyanimalrescue @ yahoo.com http://nyanimalrescue.org http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/NY637.html https://www.facebook.com/SeanCaseyAnimalRescue https://twitter.com/nyanimalrescue https://www.instagram.com/nyanimalrescue

FLEA MARKET TO BENEFIT EAST 4TH STREET COMMUNITY GARDEN THIS WEEKEND

Fall Flea Market

Saturday, September 21st, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Sunday, September 22nd, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The East Fourth Street Community Garden invites you to find treasures in its "trash" at the biannual flea market. This is the garden's biggest moneymaking event of the year.

This year, the fall flea market will take place on Saturday, September 21st, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and Sunday, September 22nd, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Items for sale will include books, clothing, toys, housewares, and knickknacks. The gardeners will also be selling pumpkins, chrysanthemums, and baked goods.

Two workshops will be offered on Saturday: toddler music at 11:30 a.m. with Joanne Riel of Flying Teapot Music and a writing workshop at 2:00 p.m. with Micky Shorr.

While you're there, see how good the garden looks in the fall.

The garden is open to the public from April through October on

• Wednesdays, 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.,
• Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.,
• Sundays, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and
• whenever the garden gate is open.

Location 
East Fourth Street Community Garden
173 E. 4th Street
between Fort Hamilton Parkway and Caton Avenue
Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn