The Q at Parkside

(for those for whom the Parkside Q is their hometrain)

News and Nonsense from the Brooklyn neighborhood of Lefferts and environs, or more specifically a neighborhood once known as Melrose Park. Sometimes called Lefferts Gardens. Or Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Or PLG. Or North Flatbush. Or Caledonia (west of Ocean). Or West Pigtown. Across From Park Slope. Under Crown Heights. Near Drummer's Grove. The Side of the Park With the McDonalds. Jackie Robinson Town. Home of Lefferts Manor. West Wingate. Near Kings County Hospital. Or if you're coming from the airport in taxi, maybe just Flatbush is best.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Babysitters - Vetted And Ready to Roll

As I mentioned awhile back, the reinvigorated youth and education committees at Community Board 9 have been dreaming up new outreach efforts. The power trio of Hillary-Amy-Shelley held workshops at Play Kids to train neighborhood teenagers the skills they needed to be responsible babysitters, and last week handed out certificates to those who completed the training. It was very sweet moment - many of the kids were there with families. Babysitting jobs were a great source of income for me as a kid, and for many of us (c'mon, raise your hand out there if you paid for something you really wanted with babysitting money!) So I applaud each and every one of the kids listed below. You've already shown great initiative, and I think that's a sign that you'll make a great watcher-over of a little ones.

The conversation about how much to pay a babysitter is always a bit awkward, especially for someone as young as some of these guys and gals. Keep that in mind, and of course the fact that minimum wage goes up to $9 an hour on April 1. We usually pay $15, for one, sometimes more for two. I have a friends who pay $10. I have friends who pay $30 and health insurance. So as you can see, it can be a bit strange to ask a kid what they charge, cuz they don't necessarily know what their skill set is worth in the marketplace. Just saying it might be worth coming at them with an offer rather than leaving it up to them.

I've included addresses so you know if they're close to your house but not apt numbers for obvious reasons. I also left off last names. I consider this blog to be essentially a bulletin board, so feel free to call directly. But you could also email Amy Albert with questions about individuals, though I highly recommend meeting these young people and giving them a trial, maybe a short assignment first if you're feeling squeamish about younger babysitters?

You know me I'm big into bringing groups of people living in our neighborhood together, and this is one of the coolest ways I can think of to do it. I know people who hire babysitters for twice as much as they probably need to from twice as far away as they need to and it's probably cause they don't know anyone nearby. It's like me and my dang haircuts. Til I started going to Nelson's I was going way out of my way. Now the money stays in the 'hood. Plus I get leads on stories!!! (I'm not always sure I get the best haircut, but I do have a better time and he stays open late).

Here's the list. For more info, contact Amy, the program chair. She may be able to hook up families with the right babysitter.

1316 St Johns Place (347)-985-3966
 99 Wilson Street (347) 382-4156
175 Hawthorne Street (718) 282-8442 

4512 Flatbush Avenue (718) 282 63486
552 Van Sicklen Ave (631) 383-0144
170 Fenimore Street (917) 754-9654
2121Westbury Court (718) 773-2358
191 Hawthorne Street, 718-938-6896
1188 President Street, (917) 402-5106 

2101 Westbury Court (347) 533-7974
78 Fenimore Street (347) 405-9448
159 Hawthorne Street (718) 462-7722
106 Clarkson Avenue (347) 984-9597
78 Fenimore Street (347) 520-0743
216 East 29th Street (917) 856-9457

1236 Dean Street, (718) 564-5164


8 comments:

The Snob said...

Vouching for Tianna C. She's our babysitter's daughter and is a fine young lady. My son (age 5) loves her.

Anonymous said...

is this for real? if i were these girls, or their parents, i wouldn't want this info public :(

tim said...

explain. i thought about it. how is it any different than on a bulletin board at a coffee shop? it's not their personal phones by the way. parents.

Clarkson FlatBed said...

look i'm serious. if you can give me a good reason i'll take them down. I couldn't think of one. I know the readership pretty well. People don't come here to prowl for teenagers. Sad world we live in I guess that people would assume that...


Anonymous said...

not anon from above, but I assume these young women and their parent know that you posted this? I see no harm in the advertising, as lomg as it is consensual. You seem like a thoughful person, Tim, so I assume everything is cool with the parties involved.

People always assume the worse. Bad things happen. One should be careful, but we shouldn't think that bad things are guarenteed to happen. If you know what I mean without goin into it.

Jen

Clarkson FlatBed said...

This is not my program. The whole thing was forwarded to me, with specific instructions, so I'll check to be sure.

But walk through it with me for a second. What do you imagine happening? This is not a call girl service. Any potential parent would meet with the babysitter and their parent. I just don't get where y'all are going with this, but if there's a legitimate reason for taking it down, I'm happy to.

Clarkson FlatBed said...

I'll take down the first names too for now...I've been known to be wrong before, and maybe the organizers need to rethink too.

Anonymous said...

this is Anonymous from above

i think you made the right choice in removing some of the information. it's nice to believe that there's no one intent on hurting others in this world, or that the "readership" is a friendly one - but in this case your "readers" are... anyone. ANYONE online can access the info. do you know me? can you tell from this post that i'm a young woman? because i am. and seeing that information on your blog made my stomach sink.

sure, it is a bummer to feel like you have to be paranoid in this world, but there's a reason why we are taught to not share personal information with strangers, as children. it is confusing for young people to know who to trust. when someone older has information about you, they suddenly seem like an authority figure, which could lead to a dangerous situation.

ie.... someone intent on harming a young girl, already knows their age/name/address/phone - hangs around said address asking those who pass if they are "Jane" or whatever her name may be. girl named Jane stops - "oh you know my address? you know my phone number? my mom said i should go with you?" - this is run of the mill after school special stuff... not paranoid just PRACTICAL.

obviously it's not a call girl service. obviously defensiveness is a ridiculous response. just seems like a bad idea when you weigh cost vs benefit. if i were looking for a babysitter, i'd need about a third of the info offered initially.

safety above all.