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Education

Arts and Entertainment, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn Nets, Events, Sports

Brooklyn Book Festival Line-Up

August 25, 2012

The Brooklyn Book Festival has announced its comprehensive lineup for the first-ever weeklong series of “Bookend Events” that will take place at venues throughout the borough from September 17 through September 23. The seventh-annual event is presented by Brooklyn Tourism and the Brooklyn Literary Council, initiatives of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, with support from AT&T.

It’s billed as the largest free literary event in New York City, with the full schedule here.

Markowitz commented, “Brooklyn has more writers per square inch than almost anywhere else in the country, all contributing to our growing reputation as the epicenter of the literary universe—where authors from across the globe gather each fall for the Brooklyn Book Festival, one of the world’s most prestigious free literary festivals. This year, the Festival expands from four days to an entire week of diverse literary offerings.”

Two events will take place in Brooklyn Heights…
Friday, September 21
“Poets & Passion: A Caribbean Literary Lime Presented by the Caribbean Cultural Theater”
A book party with a decidedly easy tropical flare. The Poets & Passion platform provides an inviting opportunity for audiences to engage Caribbean and Caribbean American fiction writers and poets and positions the writers’ work as part of a larger conversation on issues of identity, aspiration, heritage and the immigrant experience.
Location: St. Francis College, Maroney Theatre, 180 Remsen Street (between Clinton & Court Streets), 7:30 p.m., $5

Saturday, September 22
“American Eco-Poetry: Poetry of Ecological Sanity, Hosted by Daniela Gioseffi”
Join your favorite poets to celebrate the release of ECO-Poetry: American Verse of Ecological Sanity, an e-book published by the nonprofit website poetsUSA.com. Poets, including Myra Shapiro (“I’ll See You Thursday”), D. Nurkse (“The Rules of Paradise”), Colette Inez (“The Secret of M. Dulong”), Fran Castan (“The Widow’s Quilt”), Eliot Katz (“Unlocking the Exits”), Gil Fagiani (“Scarfing”), Juanita Torrence (“Breath-Life”), Maria Lisella (“Amore on Hope Street”), Rob Marchesani, George Held (“After Shakespeare: Selected Sonnets”), Nancy Mercado (“Going to Work”) and Stephen Massimilla (“Forty Floors from Yesterday”) will read selections of their own and others, highlighting issues of environmental sanity and racism, renewable safe energy and life-sustaining wonders of our planet home.
Location: Brooklyn Heights Public Library, 280 Cadman Plaza West at Tillary Street (between Pierrepont and Clark Streets). 2-4 p.m. Free. (poetsUSA.com)


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/46258

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Brooklyn Heights, Real Estate

The High Life: Collegiate Room & Board At St. George’s Weller Residence

August 15, 2012

Ever wonder how much it costs for college students to stay in the St. George Hotel? Kaplan International Centers is offering an end-of-summer residence special at the Weller Residence on 100 Henry Street for the bargain basement price through August 25 of… $320 a week!

Included with a furnished room & private bath are a desk, storage space, bed linens, free high-speed internet, cable TV and mini fridge; as well as a communal kitchen & cooking facilities and basement laundry. Sweet!

Kaplan personifies Brooklyn Heights as “an exclusive, historic neighborhood of beautiful brownstones, cafes, retail shops and lovely parks—a safe and wonderful sanctuary for students to call home. Pure city living without the hustle & bustle”… but misses the boat by also deeming it “a new and upcoming N.Y. neighborhood.” Whoops.

Meanwhile, for Pace University students, room & board for upper-year students at the St. George Weller Residence is as follows: single: $8,425/semester; double or triple studio: $6,760; and double or triple room: $6,660. For first-year students: double: $5,850; or triple: $5,720. In addition, all Pace students are required to purchase a base meal plan for $125/semester, as well as a supplemental meal plan for $925/semester.


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45652

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Brooklyn Heights

Self-Checkout Kiosks Come To Brooklyn Libraries

July 31, 2012

Emulating drug stores and supermarkets, the Brooklyn Public Library has installed self-checkout machines across the borough, including the Brooklyn Heights, Williamsburg, Kings Bay, Highlawn, Mapleton,, Homecrest and Bay Ridge branches.

The library says the automated checkout “dishwasher-sized units” will enable patrons to borrow and return materials more conveniently and efficiently, allowing staff to spend more time engaging with the community, according to a story in the Brooklyn Eagle.

Two self-checkout machines have been in operation at the Brooklyn Heights branch at 280 Cadman Plaza West, for several months. Brooklyn Public Library President & CEO Linda Johnson says the initiative is part of a new model of public service, “one of many innovations including increased access to eBooks and a new books-on-demand Espresso Book Machine at the Central Library.” BPL was recently honored as a leading innovator by The Urban Libraries Council.

Let’s hope they work better than the self-serve check-out kiosks at CVS on Henry Street.

(Photo: McBrooklyn)


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/45030

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Health

New ‘Out Of The Closet Thrift Store’ In Boerum Hill Offers AIDS Services Throughout The Borough

July 26, 2012

Out of the Closet Thrift Store has opened its newest location in Boerum Hill, at 475 Atlantic Avenue. The destination benefits the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. Regional Director Adam Ouderkirk tells DNAInfo.com that the shop will work in the community with other AIDS agencies to provide testing, information and treatment in the borough.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation was founded in 1987 by a group of men in Los Angeles who saw their friends dying of AIDS in the streets and in the hallways of hospitals. They wanted to provide a place to die with dignity and sponsored California legislation that enabled creation of the first licensed HIV/AIDS facility for the terminally ill in that state. Today the Foundation is the largest provider of HIV/AIDS medication in the U.S., according to their website. They also provide medicine and advocacy to people in 22 countries.

Out of the Closet was created to benefit the foundation. Community members donate clothing and accessories and for every item sold, 96 cents of each dollar benefits AIDS prevention and advocacy programs and services. There are several branches in San Francisco and Los Angeles, plus stores in Miami, Amsterdam… and now Brooklyn.

Ouderkirk tells DNAInfo, “We want the Brooklyn community to really own the store and feel that its theirs.” There will be free and confidential HIV testing every day in the store, plus a pharmacy that provides HIV medications.

According to Ouderkirk, while the Brooklyn borough has the third-highest AIDS/HIV rates after Manhattan and the Bronx, it also offers the fewest amount of services.
“Brooklyn was an important place for us to be. And being near the Atlantic Terminal, hopefully people from all over Brooklyn will have access to the store and its services.”

The store’s manager is Carlos Cartayas, who is known as “Peanut.” He says, “We have had several boxes of clothes donated from L.A. but none so far from the Brooklyn. I don’t think people know we’re here yet.” To donate, call 718-614-5949 or drop off clothes any weekday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m at 475 Atlantic Avenue.


Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7638

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Arts and Entertainment, Brooklyn Heights

Brooklyn Heights Library Admits AC System Is Kaput

July 18, 2012

The Brooklyn Public Library has issued a one-sheet apologizing for the continued lack of air conditioning at its Heights branch, and the intermittent shutdown of the Cadman Plaza location as a result. “Please accept our apologies for the periodic closures at the Brooklyn Heights branch. The air conditioning system for most of the building no longer works, resulting in excessively high temperatures. In consideration of the safety of the Library’s patrons and employees, we are monitoring the temperature and closing the building as necessary,” the notice says.

Worse yet, because of the condition and age of the AC system, it cannot be repaired: “The only solution is to replace the entire system, which will take at least several months to complete upon receipt of the replacement equipment.” In its place, the branch is exploring a temporary central chilled water plant on the exterior of the building—which it admits will create “new disruptions related to noise and the smell of a diesel generator that must be refueled frequently”—as well as a timeline of several months to implement.

The library will continue to open the building only when “conditions are safe for the public and library staff,” although evening programs will continue as planned, since its auditorium has a separate AC system.


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/44363

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Brooklyn Heights, Health, Real Estate, Sports

Everyday Athlete Coming To Brooklyn Heights

July 7, 2012

Fitness center “everyday athlete” will open its second Brooklyn location in the Heights this summer at 130 Clinton Street. Tomas Anthony and Alejandra Belmar opened their first zen-centered store in 1998 in nearby Carroll Gardens at 136 Union Street.

According to the company’s website, “We believe fitness is essential and transformative. It also should be purposeful, challenging, joyful and full of play. We teach you how to explore your untapped potential in authentic and empowering ways. (Our) philosophy and methodology is rooted in: positive psychology, expert performance, functional training and “Play Theory,” with customized programs for men & women, kids, performance, outdoor & board sports surfing and snowboarding, recovery & stress reduction and meditation.

The website says the Heights location is opening “this summer.”

(Photo: Chuck Taylor)


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/43600

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Brooklyn Heights

Brooklyn Heights Library KO’d By AC Outage

July 7, 2012

The summer 2012 reading list wasn’t supposed to be quite this steamy. An air conditioning outage at the Brooklyn Heights Library has closed the local branch at 280 Cadman Plaza West for much of the week. The shutdown began at 2 p.m. Tuesday, before the library—which also contains the Business and Careers Library—was officially closed for Independence Day Wednesday and Thursday. Patrons who then discovered that the branch would remain closed until Monday are hot under the collar, according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

A volunteer with Friends of the Brooklyn Heights Library tells BHB, “The AC in the library is broken as it is wont to do every summer. Last Friday it was too hot for the ladies to work even though the library stayed open using fans.”

The cranky AC is hardly an unusual occurrence, according to Eagle reporter Don Evans, who says he’s written about the, uh, condition, many times: “The air conditioning broke down, they had a crew come in to make repairs, then it would happen all over again. On a warm day the staff wouldn’t work, so they closed it. People would go there and discover it was closed, with just a hand-written notice on the door.”

Councilman Steve Levin’s chief of staff Ashley Thompson said his office would be following up to see “how we can fix this. It’s not acceptable if the library closes every single hot day.”

(Photos: Library/Brooklyn Bridge Eagle; Sign/McBrooklyn)


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/43693

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Brooklyn Heights

Collegiate Housing At The St. George: Deluxe Living

July 3, 2012

If you’ve walked past the St. George Hotel outside the 2/3 subway stop on Clark or Henry streets and been curious about what the EHS collegiate residences there offer today’s poor, starving, overworked college students, I’ve got two words to describe it: luxe living.

“You’ll have the time of your life,” EHS suggests. “Our all-inclusive accommodations with fully furnished rooms, fitness centers, laundry facilities, study lounges and state-of-the-art everything will make you feel right at home.” Indeed. Access is available to an 8,300-square-foot student community center located on the building’s main floor, where “you can make dinner with friends in our bistro kitchen, hold a study group in the library, watch a movie in the screening room or play pool while catching a game on a flat screen TV.” There’s also an on-site laundry room and free membership to the Eastern Athletic Club next door.

Rooms are furnished with “designer beds, desks, wardrobes and dressers,” as well as free Wi-Fi, TV with cable, refrigerator/microwave and local phone service. Options: a single, double or triple room, all with private bathrooms.

An email to EHS inquiring about how much it costs to live the high life at the St. George has not yet garnered response. But I can only imagine that most hard-working Brooklyn Heights adults would be so lucky to indulge in such accommodations. And I must wonder: With so many leisure activities showcased, do they actually study, too?


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/43512

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Brooklyn Heights

Heights History: Meet 1912 Brooklyn Historical Society Staffer Mary Ingalls

June 10, 2012

Pleased to meet you, Miss Mary E. Ingalls, an attendant at the Gallery Desk of what was known in 1912 as the Long Island Historical Society, which is, now, of course, the Brooklyn Historical Society on Pierrepont Street at Clinton. While the dress code of the BHS—founded in 1863—may be more casual today, the oak-laden Othmer Library within the National Historic Landmarked building has changed little since Ingalls walked the stacks 100 years ago, where BHS offers the most comprehensive collection of Brooklyn-related materials in existence.

Recently, your BHB scribe was allowed to take pictures inside the majestic Othmer Library. Photos are below. If you’ve never seen it for yourself, this is truly a site to behold. BHS hours are as follows: Wednesday-Friday 12-5 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 12-5 p.m.; closed Monday/Tuesday. The library is open Wednesday through Friday 1-5 p.m.

BHS members free, adults $6, seniors 62 & over $4, teachers and students 12 & over $4, children -12 are free.

(Photos: Chuck Taylor/Ingalls pic courtesy of the BHS Blog)


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42034

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Brooklyn Heights, Events

‘Friends Of Brooklyn Heights Library’ Reignites: But There’s More To Be Done

June 8, 2012

Friends of the Brooklyn Heights Branch Library—which hosted a meeting June 5 to reinvigorate the non-profit organization—reports that the gathering fostered a new slate of Trustees, along with more than two dozen new interested attendees. “We are revitalizing,” reports an enthusiastic Deborah Hallen, who helped organize the FBHBL gathering with President Diana Prizeman.

The Friends will hold its next meeting Tuesday, June 19, at 7 p.m. at the Brooklyn Public Library in the Heights at 280 Cadman Plaza West & Tillary Street, on the second floor youth room. All are invited to join, as it continues to ramp efforts for its community-focused mission: raising money to purchase books, furniture, audiobooks and computers (as well as their ongoing maintenance); sponsorship of author visits & events; Friday book sales; and bringing crucial library issues to the attention of the community and elected officials.

FBHBL is still in the process of launching its website, Facebook page and a dedicated newsletter. For more information on the group and its upcoming meeting, reach out to Deborah Hallen at dmhallen@gmail.com.


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/41935

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