Know Thy Neighbor - Celeste Lacy Davis

In a series I'm calling Know Thy Neighbor, I'm embarking on an experiment to get to know y'all better. The rules are simple: to be profiled, you must live or work in the greater North Flatbush area. The boundaries are somewhat malleable, but for sake of simplicity let's say Empire to the North, New York to the East, Church to the South, and Parade Grounds or PP Park to the West. Some might ask why I feel the need to include such a large swath of territory, but to those who've come to call this neck of the woods home, I think you'll see the logic. If not...start your own damn blog! Each person I profile will suggest another profilee, so I don't end up profiling ONLY people I know or meet myself. Sound fair? Let's go!

Yesterday I spent the better part of the afternoon with a fascinating woman named Celeste Lacy Davis. Celeste owns one of the glorious limestone townhouses along Ocean Avenue. She and her neighbors recently won landmark status for their homes - the Ocean on the Park District. It's made up of the 9 remaining houses; had it not been for their work, the area might soon have been a giant construction site a la the apartment building going up to their north.

Say hello to Celeste, pictured here this afternoon in front of her gorgeous home:
Her story has more twists and turns than the Cyclone, but as one hears the narrative of her life unfold, there's a certain circuitous logic to it all. A lifelong New Yorker, Celeste's mother was a guiding force in her budding activism. She's tells a great story of how her misbehaving led to being dragged by her mom to the 1964 Democratic Convention, and she joined the Civil Rights struggle in earnest from that day forward. She took another "left" turn while at Syracuse University and by the early 70's, she was running with the colorful and charismatic characters of the day. She and her husband had a wonderful baby girl named Njemile, and in many ways Celeste's activist life tracked the great convulsions of late 20th Century world politics. As she put it, those were heady times.

A bit of disillusionment later, Celeste found herself looking at an odd advertisement from The New School that said "How to Become a Lawyer in 6 Sessions - $35." Apparently the course was well taught, because within a few years she had graduated CUNY Law -- public interest law of course. Doors opened wide for her in litigation, advocacy and academia. Among her proudest achievements was her work for Planned Parenthood preparing the fabled PP vs. Casey, which narrowly saved the gist of Roe v Wade before a decidedly conservative Supreme Court. She met and worked with many of her heroes through the years. Perhaps inevitably though, she found that many people don't live up to standards of their ideals, including people dedicated to social justice. That tough lesson hardly deters her from her deeply held convictions in the power of people to create change through solidarity.

From 1988 she's been a proud resident of PLG. She shares the unease of some longtime residents regarding changes in the neighborhood, but she knows that she too was once the newcomer. We both commiserated on how some new folks don't want to engage with their neighbors. Eye contact, anyone? Nothing wrong with saying howdy; the worst that can happen is puzzled indifference. And she emphasizes that the story of PLG is NOT equivalent to the story of Lefferts Manor. While she harbors no ill will to the Manor, she feels its important to recognize that the neighborhood should be and feel more inclusive than just the "Lefferts Covenant" area designated by the City. My feeling is, if the Q at Parkside is your hometrain, you're my neighbor, neighbor. And for the sake of togetherness, even you Lincoln Roadsters feel like extended family! (Don't forget to send holiday cards this year.)

Beyond her leadership roles at non-profits, Celeste started a gallery out of her home called the Imarisha Art House that hosted a number of highly regarded shows in the late '90's early 00's. In fact her beautiful parlor floor, a doctor's office once, is still set up as a gallery. As we spoke in the back of that floor you could hear the rumble of our beloved Q/B behind her house. There have been some rough spots in her life lately, but some very cool stuff is on the horizon. Stay tuned. Celeste Lacy Davis is just getting started, y'all.

Know Thy Neighbor - Johnny "Greenman" McBride

In the second of my 98,643 part series "Know Thy Neighbor," I bring you a man, husband and father who might come in handy if you're looking to upscale your garden, yard or stoop. Meet Johnny McBride, and he's a good guy to know.

A former resident of Connecticut, Queens and Park Slope (all 3 won't be held against him), Johnny first made a name for himself as a chef in CT. When he met the beguiling lady of his dreams (now Mrs. Greenman), he threw caution to the wind and followed her down to the big city, where he quickly landed a kickin' gig and cooked for the stars. Something in the kitchen just never quite felt right, so with typical McBride pluck and gumption he radically changed careers (at the ripe old age of 30). He'd always loved plants and the outdoors, so he decided to take some classes at the Botanic Garden and learn from the roots up (as they say in the profession). He landed a job as a horticulturalist/landscaper with the City zoos...you can see his handiwork at our very own Prospect Park Zoo. (Two of his before and afters below).

After he and Mrs. McB had a beautiful baby girl just last year, he STILL found time to ramp up his business - Greenman Gardening. I checked out some "before and afters," as well as some drawings. The guy is good...has a real 6th sense for this stuff. While personally I prefer to fail on my own, I highly recommend him for jobs big and small, since he's as comfortable building whole gardens and walls and water features as dropping by some holiday wreaths and doing plant recommendations and deliveries.

And how did the Q at Parkside become his "HOMETRAIN?" Easy. 450 square feet didn't cut it for a family of three (more to come?), and a rental became available on Clarkson - a floor-thru w/garden. His sweet Portuguese water dog Fischer loved this side of the park anyway, so it was really a no-brainer. Plus, by acting as super for his four-story brownstone, he gets a few bucks off the rent.

Just like my previous profilee, life hasn't always been a bed of roses for this gardener, and there's been grief and struggle like the rest of us. But I'm better for knowing him, and I'll bet you would be too. Give him a holler at: Greenman-Gardening@hotmail.com, or call 917-647-2223.

And yeah, now that the cat's outa the bag, I'll be happy to recommend your services too...if I can verify that you're good! If the Q is your hometrain and you've got services to sell, I'm happy to post about it in the form of a profile. - Clarkson

b&a's:

Know Thy Neighbor - Eddy "E-Props" Petit, Jr.

If you walk Ocean between Parkside and Lincoln, you might very well pass a handsome young man with a five o'clock shadow goatee wearing a Polo Sport winter jacket. In fact, he may look suspiciously like this:

I was lucky enough to be properly introduced to Eddy Petit Jr., a/k/a E Props, and we had a chance to rap (talk, not freestyle - my rhymes are weak these days) just oustide his building, near the drunken Grinch. I really didn't know what to expect, but as chance would have it he dropped some serious knowledge on me about "Q" culture from his unique vantage point.

Where to begin? Well, let's start with the fact that E is a
charismatic dude with a lot on his mind. He's a rapper, holds a Masters degree in Poli-Sci, grew up right here, has Haitian-born parents, and writes a mean blog entry on anything from music to Haitian politics. Check it out - he's got a refreshing perspective on lots of stuff. I think it bears emphasizing that meeting Eddy is proof positive that you never really know your neighbors 'til you talk to them awhile. Full disclosure: there's a lot of young black guys on my block I would love to talk to...but I've made the prudent (or fearful?) calculation that they really don't want to be talked at, especially by a middle-aged white guy in Target attire.

Eddy's got big ambitions, particularly for his entertainment company. He's calling it "Bushel," which I think is pretty awesome since I grew up in Iowa and I like the notion of a hip-hop company named after a large unit of, say, soybeans. And E can rap, as evident in this radio freestyle session with his talented friends Kris Kasanova and "Top & Razz." Locals Rapping There's some great lines here worth ingesting. I like the vibe these guys are stressing, and I like that they're pushing Flatbush as a viable "style."

Two things stuck with me after our too-brief conversation. One was Eddy talking about the schism between Jamaicans and Haitians, particularly when he was growing up. He definitely felt the hate, and told me a story about a Haitian kid getting set on fire by some Jamaican adversaries. Sounds like things have settle down a lot, but I'd love to know more about how different cultures from the Caribbean interact, especially that all-important second generation. Two was his reaction when I asked about gangs. Clearly this question annoyed him, and he said "Everyone's in a gang." And I instantly knew what a silly question it is. I mean, I'M IN A GANG. I've got my friends, my posse, my attitude and my values. The question people really want to know is about crime, and not so much gang on gang, but criminal on law-abiding-citizen. There have been gangs in New York since, well at least since "Gangs of New York." What we all want to know is this: when I'm walking home late at night, is someone going to slit my throat or steal my broach? The violence, for the most part, is territorial and the same stuff that young men argue about worldwide: respect, girls, and money. It's the guns we could do without. As we were talking, a friend of Eddy's walks by who had been shot during that nasty incident at the Parkside Donut shop a couple years back. Really, now, it's the guns, isn't it? If there hadn't been a gun involved, who knows, maybe the worst the slain Brian Scott would have suffered would have been some slingshot wounds to the neck.

I'll update you on E-Props' musical and spiritual quests as I become apprised. He's good people.

Solipsistic Postscript

I'm obviously no expert, but since talking to Eddy the other day I've thought a lot about my own history with hip-hop. As a rock musician and songwriter growing up in the '70s in an all-white college town, it was a real shock the first time I heard REAL funk, a la Ohio Players, James Brown, George Clinton...I got my first taste of it borrowing LPs from the public library. Perhaps that's why I'm still such a fan of the whole library concept - free knowledge and culture for all, don't you know. Rap was magical, first time I heard the real thing. By the time I got a hold of a Grandmaster Flash record as a junior in High School, I was sold. There were two revolutions going on that I knew I didn't want to miss - DIY punk and rap. And the odd places where they intersected seemed perfectly natural to me. (Though I'm still embarrased about how much I loved the Chili Peppers back in the day). In college I had a band called Dolores that hit a nice cross between punk, prog, arty and funk. Two bass players! One of them, a wanna-be from Brooklyn, and he knew the WHOLE STORY, and that made him the envy of us non-New Yorkers. He knew all about DJ culture and freestylin' and MCs and scratchin' and he even knew the Beastie Boys cuz they went to the same (private) school as him in Brooklyn Heights. By then I even had some black friends, so I no longer felt like a total whitebread hick who stumbled on this music like it was from outerspace. On some level, it turns out we were all helping set the stage for the crazy hip-hop world domination phase, witnessed in suburban American high schools parking lots everywhere.

This is probably sounding like a major overshare, but what the hell it's my blog and this was my life.

What was my point,anyway? Oh, it was that the afore-linked clip of E Props and pals freestyling reminded me of what it was I liked so much about the early days of Strong Island rap, like Rakim and Big Daddy Kane and LL and De La Soul. Even if those 2nd generation MC's were cooler than school, there was a real warmth there. If you want a laugh, check out my cameo in the Jungle Brothers video "What U Waitin For." My big moment is around 2'23" in...it was all downhill from there.

Know Thy Neighbor: Duane Joseph

There's a lot to like about "Woodruff I"* resident Duane Joseph. A big guy with a warm countenance, Duane came up to Brooklyn when he was in middle school, from his home country of Antigua and Barbuda.

The island nation may be known for its emerald beaches,but guess what? The tiny country of 85,000 permanent residents, mostly living in the urban capital St. John's, has its own version of Rio's "City of God." and so Duane's folks sent him up to Flatbush for a better shot at a decent life. Living with relatives, for awhile over on Rogers, then on Woodruff, Duane got to know the rough and tumble world of Caledonian Flatbush in the 1990's. He considers himself lucky to have gone to MLK High School on the Upper West Side. His daily journey to and from, plus the good atmosphere at MLK, gave him a bit of insulation from the knuckleheads. He jokes that Crooke Avenue really lived up to its name back in the day, and UMMA Park at Woodruff/Ocean was a real lively scene at night before they put in the playground and gates.

Duane's been involved in efforts to improve the quality of life around him. He cites prodding from Andrew "Mac" McConnell who lives around the corner in the awesomely named Prospect Park East building. Mac's been involved with volunteering for years (he was recently helping us push the Councilman and DOT for traffic calming for Flatbush/Ocean - hey Maddie, what's up with that?). Mac, seeing that Duane had a head on his shoulders, suggested he get involved in local improvement efforts. And he's now very involved with Rudy on Winthrop and his Parkside Prize to re-envision Parkside Avenue.

Duane had some interesting points about the block that I'm following up on (like the extraordinary reality behind the mysterious clan who lives communally at 162 Woodruff...I'm barely containing my excitement to tell you about that one - soon). The street action on Woodruff is pretty wild these days; but Duane's seen a lot in his two decades on the block, so he takes it in stride. One tidbit: apparently the little junk store in the first floor of the building at the NW corner of Ocean/Woodruff? He says it's one of what once were many year-round MAS camp storefronts, where locals spent the entire annum getting ready for Brooklyn's Labor Day J'Ouvert. Steel Drum bands made so much noise back then that Duane led an effort to get them to move off his block. The Trinidadian specialty is delightful to be sure, except at 4AM or when sustained for days on end. I believe Rudy on Winthrop can attest to that fact.

By day, Duane's an executive assistant at a major publishing firm. And he's started his own business providing start-up advice to local businesses. Good luck with everything Duane. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better.

*For those not in the know, folks in PLG often refer to their blocks as the street followed by a number, referring to the distance from Flatbush. So Maple 2, for instance, would mean Maple between Bedford and Rogers. Woodruff I is intended to suggest Woodruff between Flatbush and Ocean...ha ha. Ha ha. Joke. Ha. Me Funny Man!

Know Thy Neighbor's Business: Expression in Ceramics

You know, in my 45 years on the planet I can think of no instances where I expressed myself in ceramics. There may have been a thrown pot or two back in my youth, but I'm pretty sure it was just to get an art teacher off my back. You could argue I was expressing something in ceramics then...resignation or annoyance perhaps. Bottom line, I best stick with English, though I have been known to emote on my trusty six-string a time or two.

I'm setting the stage so you can imagine my disorientation this afternoon, sitting in Lindiwe Kamau's wonderful shop on Nostrand at at Rutland, marveling at the expressive clay figurines and shapes made by kids throughout Brooklyn, each groovy piece perched neatly on the shop's shelves. "Expressions in Ceramics" is Kamau's place of business, and you really must visit or at the very least check out her website: EiC.

She works with kids and adults, and its fair to say that this is just the sort of neighborhood shoppe that makes this a very special place to live indeed. Her workshops are fancied by schools and summer camps, and it's clear from her telling that Ms. Kamau is a passionate practicer of the potting arts. But there's more to Lindiwe, as I shall herein relate...

Here's Lindiwe Kamau in her other role, that as community leader as head of the Nostrand Avenue Merchants Association, with her Assemblyman and mine, Karim Camara: I met her this morning at yet another meetup at Eric's Klubhouse, the State Senators' joint on Flatbush. This was the first time I got full-on excited about the prospect of the neighborhood coming together to make positive quality of life changes, since there was TRUE diversity in the crowd, and I was duly impressed with the seriousness of pretty much everyone in the room. Could a movement be brewing? Senator Adams wants us to take on a project called "Take Back Our Community" to empower just such a mobilization effort. More on that later; but one of the folks at the meeting was Lindiwe, and here's what I learned from my talk with her at her shoppe later on this afternoon.

If you walk down Nostrand, a similarly hectic commercial thoroughfare to Flatbush, you get a very different vibe. It ain't Champs de Elysee, but the wide sidewalks give you room to breathe, and the lack of trash is seriously refreshing. Ma and Pa businesses have at least a modicum of shop-pride about their appearance. I believe you can attribute this is large part to the existence of a healthy Merchants Association, and Lindiwe has helped organize them to near-BID levels (you need 60% participation of shops and landlords for that). She even described a special initiative to create a Rapid Transit bus lane, in from the curb so as not to disturb customer parking. If you're not familiar with the concept of Rapid Transit, or Select Bus Service (there's some in the City, like along 2nd Avenue), it's an innovative way to speed up buses, with amenities like off-site fare payments and Bus Bulbs, which you really must know something about for proper cocktail party conversations at Gatsby-esque gatherings in the Manor, say. Read all about the Nostrand project here: SBS Bus on Nostrand.

So stop in to Expression in Ceramics. Say hi to Lindiwe. Check out her wares. And keep your eyes on Nostrand. As Nostrandamus once famously warned: Don't Cut off Your Nostrand To Spite Your Flatbush.

Know Thy Neighbor - And Vote For Him

Don't know what it is in these Caledonian waters. But I just got an email from Rench of Gangstagrass, a duo that adds to our neighborhood's reputation as the home of genre-splicing crossover music.

With just a day left, you can add your jingoistic vote to Deli Magazine's Artist of the Month calculation. For simplicity's sake, I say go to the Gangstagrass website and listen to a tune before voting. Would you sign a contract without reading it? I thought not. But don't dally. The poll ends tomorrow night.

DISCLAIMER: The Q wouldn't bother recommending anything if there weren't a solid reason to check it out. I ain't no shill and I don't boost for the sake of boosting. These Gangstagrass guys are serious contenders for most ridiculous combination of musical forms - and when it works, it works. Rench's slinky country slide guitar playing clinch's the deal. Not the Rolling Stones, maybe. But a pretty decent showing for "the keepin' it real" side of the park. Rench is at Bedford and Lenox, and yes, that qualifies him as neighbor. Throw rocks at his window and tell him the Q sent ya.

Know Thy Neighbor: Eric "Can-Do" Landau

This neighborhood is so Mayberry, R.F.D. sometimes. So I meet a guy on the Lincoln Road Playground (hey, our kids were there, it was totally innocent). We get to talking, a little gossip, a little kvetching. Pretty soon we're making a date to hook up for coffee at the local counter, in this case the K-Dog, where proprietor Gaby Lowe serves us up hot coffee with a (Brooklyn-style) smile. We grab our drinks, saunter past the happy laughter of children coming out of the homey nursery school (Maple Street), towards the local park. Which just happens to be Prospect Park, which just happens to be where my "date" works as Director of Gov't and Community Affairs. Once we cross Ocean Avenue, you could technically say that he's arrived at work. Nice office, this Prospect Park! And this being Mayberry, R.F.D...we of course run into a mutual friend in a matter of moments. It's like that over here sometimes. And of course, other times, it's more like Kolchak the Night Stalker. But I date myself...speaking of dates, here's my date:

Here's what you need to know about Eric Landau (the full grown man in the picture) personally. He moved to Lefferts Garden from Park Slope a couple years ago, around the time little Beckett (the smaller guy pictured) was born. He's got a second child now, a girl, and a super-nifty wife, who just so happens to be making the time-worn transition from P.R. executive to Episcopalian minister. (That's a post in itself, and maybe someday we'll get around to that. Look out Kimberlee - the Q's got you in his queue).

Eric's grandparents lived in Brooklyn, and years of coming back here from Kingston (NY, not Jamaica) for visits gave him the Brooklyn Bug. After college at Binghamton, our man goes to D.C., interns with the legendary liberal Paul Wellstone not long before he dies in a plane crash (Paul, not Eric) then becomes one of the Washington insiders that all the Washington insiders claim to despise. Frustrated by the "company town" attitude of the nation's capitol, he moved to Brooklyn to be the government guy at Prospect Park. What does that mean he actually does, you'd do well to ask. He develops close relationships with politicians and civil servants, advocating on behalf of the Park to make sure it gets its fair share of attention and resources. He's since added "community affairs" to his title, meaning he heads up volunteer efforts and liases with community groups and park stakeholders. If you care about the park as much as he does, he's a good guy to know, and a fount of info on everything "park." Sure you could call up Emily Lloyd, the new head of the park, but I'd try Eric's office first, since that's his gig - to be on YOUR side, unless of course YOUR side is all about pouring your HOT COALS all over the trees, which was an issue that the Alliance did its best to combat just last year.

Whew! That last paragraph was a mouthful (particularly if read aloud, which I don't recommend).

When I first moved to Brooklyn 20+ years ago, Caledonia PLG's side of the Park was a sad stepchild to the newly resurgent Park Slope coast. It was painfully clear that Slope wheel-squeaking had garnered all the oil. It's only within the past dozen or so years that you can witness revitalized respect for what was once (so I am told) the truly Grand part of Park Prospect. From the lake, to the Boathouse, to the once and future Concert Island, to the once and future Skating Bazaar, to the McDonalds (the eatery preferred by Frederick Olmsted, as I recall), we really got the goods over here. Once the extraordinary Lakeside Project is complete, lookout. Tourists might make the Q at Parkside more popular than the Liberty Island Ferry. And so it is with great relief that I find myself introducing you to Eric not by way of epithet for ignoring our side of the park, but for his able understanding of our needs, in part, because he is ONE of us!

One last word about Eric, or rather the whole Prospect Park Alliance thing, because so few people know what that's really all about. By calling it the "Alliance," it conjures up visions of some kinda advocacy group like, say, Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Actually, the Alliance is also against Drunk Driving, but that's not my point. What the Alliance IS -- is the Administrator of Prospect Park, in the way that a Principal is the head of a school. Period. They run the show day-to-day, and Emily Lloyd is the Principal. Sure, they answer to the Parks Department and ultimately the mayor, much as a Principal contends with the Department of Education and ultimately the mayor. But they manage the City's Prospect Park portion of the parks budget and Prospect Park employees and augment it with funds and employees of their own. That's where you get that whole "public-private" partnership line that we all hear so much about these days, because they pool tax dollars, special gov't funding and private donations. And here's where it gets kinda weird - Emily Lloyd is both President of the Alliance AND Administrator of the Park. Eric told me its simpler than that sounds, but it still gives me a headache just thinking about it.

Look, we the people are basically the beneficiaries of this oh-so-modern arrangement. Instead of calling a faceless bureaucracy when you have a problem with the Park, you get to talk to nice people like Eric. He works with dozens of Community Groups to make sure their voices are heard (through the so-called "Community Committee" or Com-Com), and he helps to make sure the 3,500+ annual PP volunteers have a decent experience.

By the way, if you want to spend some time in the sun and do your part to help the park, here's the page with the deets: PP Volunteers.

Frankly, when I hear the phrase "Public-Private initiative," I usually get annoyed, mostly because there's frequently a copping-out going on from the "public" side of things, or at the very least, a tapping-out of funds. But it finally hit me while listening to Eric that what's REALLY going on is often a matching of money to public interests. Wouldn't it be nice if someone asked YOU exactly how your portion of your taxes should be applied to, say, defense, or health care, or whatever? But no, the government does not ask you to help apportion dollars, and thus you are stuck with the ballot, which is basically just a yea or nea vote on whether your politician is doing the job of spending your money well - or not. That is why it is SO important to get to know these people!

What the Alliance and other public-private partnerships allow you to do is to take some of your personal money and allocate it SPECIFICALLY to the public project that you care about. As an absurd example, say you REALLY REALLY loved the Department of Sanitation (DSNY). You couldn't just write on your tax return "hey, give those garbage men a little something extra from me!" But if there was a DSNY "Alliance," you could donate money directly and expect your curbside service to improve. Dig? And yes, if you happen to understand what the Central Park Conservancy is, then that would be a better parallel.

And here's where that's relevant to you and me. Many years ago, a woman named Shelby White,

pictured here from 10 years back with her investor-guru husband Leon Levy, was born on Crooke Avenue. Yes, OUR Crooke Avenue. She loved Prospect Park as a child, particularly skating at the Lake. And so, years after becoming fabulously wealthy and moving to the Upper East Side, she decides to give $10 million to kickstart the Lakeside Project that is currently ripping up the old Parking Lot and reclaiming tons of park space. But she couldn't just give it to the City of NY and expect them to divvy it out to her wishes. She gave it to the Prospect Park Alliance, and the rest is about to become history.

(Full disclosure, from a totally unrelated part of my life, I actually know Eric Landau's "barber" Dave Hickey personally. That is not a joke, folks - live in NYC long enough and the connections get weird).

Know Thy Neighbor: Sue Pike

Wherein I do my best to describe your neighbor Sue, a totally sweet, smart and sane person who does something for a living that many uninitiated folk would disregard as flim-flam. And that's just the "makeup artist" part of her resume! (buh-dum-ching) Seriously now, I'm not making that up. She really is a makeup artist. But how many makeup artists can also talk to spirit guides and commune with animals?

I'm not being facetious, and I'm not poking fun. Sue's a Reiki Master and she's an animal communicator, and by all accounts, a damn good one. Check out the Reiki Sue page on the myspace for more specific info on what she does and how she does it. If you want to talk reiki, you should probably know at least as much as the bare minimum, which is about what I know. Which is that reiki is a nearly 100 year old practice, started by a way mystical Japanese dude, that involves life force energy known as (the great scrabble word) Qi (spelled also ki or chi). Sue tells me that even some in the medical "establishment" have shown interest in its effectiveness. You may fall into the skeptical camp, but believe me, it's not worth arguing this stuff. Sue's satisfied customers won't be swayed by your tough talk! Let's just say she's not interested in converting the masses; she says either you're open to these ideas or you aren't.

Like any other discussion of matters spiritual, a certain level of respect is due the experiences of others. If, for instance, you were to tell me that God loves you, I'm inclined to agree and leave it at that. If you're certain your earthly body will cease to be, but your soul will live on, I have no skin in the game and needn't argue the point. And if you are inclined to trust in the powers of reiki and spiritual guides from the other, or another, side - both human and non-human - I wholeheartedly endorse a consultation with Sue. Here's the NY Times piece on her, and it does a fair job of 'splaining:

Since the "spirit" belongs by definition outside the realm of the more humdrum senses, I can't empirically tell you ANYTHING about it, since there's nothing to measure but the smile on your face or the furrow of your brow. That's really important for me to remember, especially when my skeptic bone gets a workout, and grows sore like a case of the rheumatiz.

But I've got to admit I'm super intrigued. I've read more than I care to mention on modern religious and spiritual movements. It's a hobby of mine to learn how people relate to the biggest of issues - namely death, grief, meaning and questions of the universe's creation. I have no formal feelings on the matter, just the occasional "man life is weeeeeeird" brain zap. But here's what I've learned, and it's help me make sense of the world in which we currently reside:

The Age of Enlightenment led to many great human advances. And it put knowledge and art in the hands of regular ol' people. The Industrial Revolution, however wealth-creating, led to specialization. And this specialization meant that regular ol' people no longer felt in control of their destiny. They, or rather we, do our little useful jobs, but we're reliant on the greater society and other people's specialized jobs to provide our sustenance, in exchange for money. Ever seen or read Little House on the Prairie? Now THERE'S a straight forward existence. Either get that house built by winter, or you'll freeze yer cheeks off. I for one would last about a month alone in the woods. And how does one fashion contact lenses from tree bark? Used to be humans could manage nearly all the tasks required for survival. That was good for our self-esteem, and I think it was good for our spiritual lives as well. God took care of the big stuff, we took care of keeping ourselves alive. In return for all our hard work staying above ground, he'd let us live out eternity after our tickers gave out.

Humans reacted to the loss of spiritual certainty by adopting any manner of new reactive religions and strategies. Concurrent with the industrial epoch came yer Hasidic Jews, the Charismatic or Pentecostal Christians, the Mormons, the height of the Quaker and Shaker movements, the growth spurt of older Anabaptist traditions like the Amish and Mennonites, Christian Science, and eventually Islamic fundamental revivals. One could argue that Socialism, while officially Godless, was a religion of the same sort - a reaction against the new orthodoxy of capitalism and a return to Eden's ideals.

I'm talking out one side of my ass of course. But I'm getting at a point about how even even those disinclined to seek organized religion made the journey back to the mystic, which is not just a place for Van Morrison to go into, it's a popular destination all around. Mystical isn't just for the whirling dervishes anymore.

Forty or fifty Million Americans now practice or utilize elements of mystical or non-Western spiritual practices in their daily lives, from yoga to crystals to acupuncture to herbs to meditation to reiki to...so isn't this also part of the worldwide "return" to the mystic? To a simpler, more ordered universe? To a more ethical, less insatiably greedy lifestyle and outlook?

I'm sure a left-leaning New-Ager would take umbrage at being lumped in with the evangelical fundamentalists. But maybe the same instinct is at play?

Anyhow, don't count on the Q for answers. Right now, he's too busy eating Girl Scout Thin Mints, straight out of the freezer where they belong.

Know Thy Neighbor: Michael Showalter

Every since writer/comedian/actor Michael Showalter moved onto my block, things have gotten a lot tidier. That's because Michael shares the Q's obsession with trash, or rather the needless gobs of it on neighborhood sidewalks, alleys, corners, tree pits and curbs. Rather than simply complain about it, he regularly and humbly attaches the below pictured prosthetic-robot-garbage- picking-arm and cleans a fair section of our side of the block himself. He doesn't complain, nor does he gloat. He even went so far as to clean mounds of trash from the alley behind us, where folks actively throw their household refuse out their apartment windows. So while I'd love to tell you about the marvelous book he's written, or the TV shows he's penned and starred in, the classic cult summer camp movie he co-made, or the uproariously funny car commercials he recently did, you can read about that stuff on the Google and on his webthingy. To me, he's just neighbor Michael, man with the silver and blue pickerupper gadget depositing Popeye's wrappers into a Whole Foods brown paper bag. Right on, brother.

If you scroll down over these pictures fast enough it looks like he's in the act, sort of like a digital flip-book. Scroll back and forth and you'll get a sense of his "swing," part Tiger Woods part D'Artagnon.

P.S. Mr. S also shares the Q's interest in Trap Neuter Return, the feral cat reduction program that's actually quite involved but SO worth it. Between us we've caught and neutered 20 cats put them back in our yards to live out their kitty lives in peace. There are lots of your neighbors involved in the TNR movement, so if you see someone trapping kitties ask 'em about it. You can feed and enjoy such spayed cats without worrying about adding to the exponential over-population of discarded and wild felines, and they become quite sweet after getting fixed. In fact, I see one at the window (Bootsy) and I'm gonna drop some kibbles on 'er right now.

Know Thy Neighbor: Laura Puemo

There are a purported 50 hair salons from Church to Empire, Ocean to New York, so I finally got up the gumption and went to hang out at one! I found myself in a very cozy den of female beauty tonight - "Laura's African," just off Flatbush on Woodruff. It's small, but the warm vibe makes you feel like you're in a family TV or living room. Laura opened the joint last June, and I pass it nearly every day, so I can see that business is pretty decent. She always has at least two customers getting their hair did. So she draws on lots of her African friends to help out - that's how I met her, through one of her faithful fellow African braiders. I've learned that in Africa, braiding and hair styling is generally a community activity - you braid mine, I'll braid yours. Many girls, therefore, learn the skill from a young age. With the popularity of "weaves" and "perms," even Africans are starting salon businesses over there, since you need more materials and equipment than are found in the typical African home. Laura had a successful business back home, but the real money is here. So she came to the U.S. in 2007, rented a "booth" for a bit, saved up, and opened right here in Caledonian Flatbush. Her rent is modest (barely over a grand a month), so she stands a real good chance of making a nice living for herself.

Laura's from Cameroon, a nation sometimes called Africa's Microcosm, since it's got all the geographical and cultural diversity one associates with the Dark Continent. 20 million people call it home, many of them native French speakers, but with plenty of folk speaking English and (of course) the local Camaroonian. All the Africans I've met speak multiple languages, and what's so impressive is that some of these languages have completely different origins and grammars. I can only imagine what this does to one's dreamlife. Verbs and nouns going every which way!

Anyhow, Laura's good. Really good, according to the two clients I met tonight. She's been doing hair her whole life, and knows all the styles, new and old, traditional and trendy. She charges less than her competitors for her various African braiding styles - box braids and classic or ornate cornrows (or "crows") and extension weaves like the ol' Brazillian Knot. If you're unfamiliar with the black hair industry and its terminology, you should march out and get the Chris Rock documentary Good Hair. It's a great primer for those of us who didn't grow up around this multi-billion dollar industry. (In my case, that place was the largely homogeneously pale population of central Iowa). While talking to the ladies at Laura's, however, I was reminded that Rock's is but one perspective. It might be easy to crack wise about the money African-American women spend on hair enhancements; but worldwide, fashion fells plenty of victims of all races and genders. For some of us it's hair; for others boob jobs and facelifts, for others it's driving the right car or wearing the right shoes or going to the right schools or having the right gadgets. We all get sucked dry in the name of perfection, so who's to fault a lady for trying to look a little more Beyonce? I found it interesting though that by bringing up the Chris Rock movie, the ladies launched into a discussion of whether society thinks black hair is beautiful and whether there's discrimination based on whether a woman wears her hair natty. Bottom line, said Simba Yangala, who was busy helping with a weave: "If you want a proper job, you have to show up with a weave. Black hair freaks a lot of people out. One time I was wearing my 'fro and I couldn't even catch a cab." Food for thought. Seems odd that people would be scared of a woman with an afro. What, they think she's hiding a gun in there??

Me, I just didn't understand what was going on with all these hair salons until relatively recently. I mean, the barber for me has always been a nuisance to endure - all 20 minutes or so. But here in Flatbush, folks take a LONG, LONG time getting their hair weaved or braided or permed. Oh, and by the way, a perm around here is getting your hair "straightened," not curled. When a girl from my high school got their hair permed before the big dance, you knew she was going to smell funny and that she'd probably look a tad like Lil' Orphan Annie. (By the way, just because you're white doesn't mean you can't get in on the action. Heck, Mrs. Q, an attractive white lady herself, got a full-on "crow" happening for a show she was in. It looked real sexy, but taking it out was a disaster. Make sure to get professional help when you unbraid it!)

Around Flatbush, though, a perm means hair straighter than a Chinese rock star. By the way, if you ever wondered what they mean by "Dominican" hair salons vs. more traditional African or African-American, you can read about it in, of all places, the Wall Street Journal.

Back to Laura. She's very cool, very smart, and really proud to own her own business. She works ALL the time, so don't consider this line of work unless you want to LIVE in your salon. She likes our neighborhood a lot, and wouldn't mind living here, closer to work (she's in East New York for the time being). For 10 to 12 hours every day she's our neighbor, and if you need a new do, you know what to do!

Know Thy Neighbor: Lee Duch - the Maverick Man

If you're a curious cat like Q, you've undoubtedly noticed that one business stands out among the chaos of Parkside Avenue's seedy South Side. Actually, come to think of it, they all sort of stand out for one reason or another. The brand new pharmacy trying to make a go of it against a half dozen others. The handmade sign of the French Cleaners. Balde Koin. The unfortunately acronymed Internet Coffee House. The mysteriously renamed "People's Choice." The three half-ass bodegas. And of course, the world's sexiest McDonalds.

No, the real standout of the bunch in my opinion is Maverick Comics, the always bustling business run by Lee Duch, pictured here at the helm of his starship.

A lover of comics and comic book collecting since he first laid eyes on Spider Man, Lee first built Maverick down on Church Avenue but moved up to the Q at Parkside about five years ago. When you walk into the joint it can be a bit intimidating if you're not accustomed to wide-eyed and boisterous enthusiasm of male teen fantasia. While Lee admits there's not much business left in the old collectibles racket, he's paying his bills selling video games and other less literary amusements. He feels the 'hood and business are improving a bit, but it's pretty clear this was not his first choice of retail corridor. Also, it's pretty clear that a busy shop does not always entail a busy cash register.

Still, if you're in the mood for a graphic "novel" or some mindless but visually stimulating interactive hardcore violence, stop in. Actually, if you've got a straight teenage boy relative, this might be a great place to go for a gift. And seriously, take a look at some of the amazing collectible stuff Master Duch has in stock.

Know Thy Neighbor: Leslie Ward - Music Teacher

The Q studied piano for more than 9 years as a young 'un. Got pretty good, if I do say so myself. But the siren song of folk, then rock, then funk, then punk, then new wave then noisy indie-blah-blah suggested that the guitar was way cooler; the drums too. And writing your own songs meant not having to learn ALL the notes. So I left my classical roots behind and set out on a musical career that lasted until it didn't, then resurfaced as a glorified hobby. My band is still together after 20 years (!) and not a day goes by that I don't play songs for my kids or tinkle along on the ivories to a favorite tune. It's a lifelong thing, this music playing, and I'm so grateful now for those long anxious drives out to the country where Mrs. Larsen would shake her head at my lack of practicing. Had someone asked "Little Q, do you want to take piano lessons?" I don't think I would've said yes. Nor would I have stuck it out all those years of painful practice. But I'm so grateful that my folks noticed my interest and proclivity and nurtured it, to the point of making all kinds of rules about practicing. Of course, music is but one of these spiritually fulfilling pursuits. Not every kid is gonna want to play music over the course of a lifetime - maybe it's foreign languages or basketball or swimming or bicycle maintenance or ballet - but for me it was the ol' sharps and flats and I'm thrilled I got in early...like buying Apple when John Scully was CEO.

So I was feeling wistful while talking to a super-swell neighborhood music teacher named Leslie Ward. Leslie teaches privately out of her home on Lincoln Road, and focuses on both piano and steelpan (the national instrument of her childhood home, Trinidad). [When I think about it, they're a wonderful combination to learn if you decided to become ambi-dinstrumentrous - both are technically percussion instruments with things hitting other things - but if you play both you get to transpose the notes from one to another, learning even better how the math of music is all in the frequencies and their relationship to one another.]

If you want to check out Leslie in action, you need only head over to local powerhouse Play Kids on Wednesdays from 4-6PM. Anyone from 4-Adult can take a lesson on the fly for $15! Her one on one instruction is super-reasonable as well, and I think it's a major plus that she has her teaching studio right there on Lincoln Road. More on her website: ydotnot

If you're looking for pedigree, Leslie's got it. After an early education in Trinidad she came up here to attend one of the most prestigious conservatories in the country at Indiana University. The midwest was a bit of a shock to this island girl, but she got the hang of it and made a life for herself here that balanced making and teaching the many kinds of music that she loves. Heck, she was even in a avant gothy punkish outfit in the  early 90's called Maria Excommunikata, which I remember from back in the day. I'm pretty sure her band and mine shared a bill at least once, though I don't think she remembers me - my hair was down to my ass back then anyway and my jewelry was too shiny for most folks to see my face for the bling (hyperbole alert). She's also known for her work with Brooklyn Kindergarten Society, a very cool 120 year old org that provides subsidized pre-K to kids all over the borough. And I have it on good authority that she's EXCELLENT with kids, and tailors her lessons to their needs, speeds, and interests.

There's Leslie, looking pretty serene, making those pans speak and revelling in a beautiful day and her lifelong love of music. Little known facts: geese prefer steelpan playing to everything but food. They also prefer wheat bread to rye, though neither is considered healthy for them by park officials. Geese are also delicious themselves, though park officials also advise against eating "park geese." Park officials themselves are also quite tasty, or so I have read.

Know Thy Neighbors: Robert Kopecky and Sue Pike

There's magic in the waters of Caledonia.

While neighbor Celeste is right to point out that very few Scots remain in Caledonia (whose porous borders are Parkside, Ocean, Caton and the Parade Grounds), there remains a sense of myth and Gaelic-esque wonder. There's also a couple of really big buildings with reasonable rents. Hardly Loch Ness, but intriguing just the same.

I met Caledonians Robert Kopecky and Sue Pike awhile ago, but I had no idea how unusual were their day jobs. I'll get to that in a second. They clearly fall into the camp of relatively recent emgires to the neighborhood, in their case all the way from the Heights of Prospect, beyond the Nethermead and through the Veil of Cashmere. (actual place names, to those unfamiliar with the Park's faerie nomenclature. And who might I ask was Rick of Rick's Place? Must have been from the land of Sodom, considering the proclivities of the good men who casually stroll among its foliage).

An attractive couple in their prime years but married just a few dozen moons, they're super warm and hospitable, shown here in the living room of their gorgeous upper-floor 2 bedroom apartment at 160 Parkside Avenue:

I'm not a real estate agent and this is not Brownstoner.com, but I will tell you that they pay a really reasonable rate for a rent-stabilized place right on the second-greatest urban park in the world. (Listen, I've actually only been to a couple dozen urban parks and can't say for sure who's #1. The Park called Central is definitely not #1, and I'll wrestle you over it). If you're looking to rent around here I'd keep your eye out for places available in this building. Robert and Sue have no complaints, and Robert joined the tenant's association board. In fact, one of the things I find so refreshing about their take on our neighborhood is that they don't qualify their affection. They like the people who live here and don't spend a lot of time complaining about what could be nicer. It's just not their style to bemoan "what is." And while all the good folk of the neighborhood recognize how the neighborhood could improve, the improvements needn't come at the expense of what's already working. And let me tell you what's REALLY WORKING for me! This amazing view, looking south, from their apartment:

Now let me tell you the juicy stuff. Robert's a brilliant illustrator, and has worked in the field for decades. Around the turn of (this) century, he started working as an animation designer, which means if someone comes up with an idea for a show like PBS Kids' Word World, Robert's the one who conjures it to life. Which is exactly what happened. If you don't know the show, check out an episode here. Or if you're linkphobic, here's some nifty pics to get an idea of what WW's all about.

As you can imagine, that's just the latest in a long career of brilliant design and comix making. His website is full of ideas, stories and comics and he's not miserly about sharing them. You could spend a whole day or two with this stuff: RobertKopeckyDesign. But you'd only be scratching the surface of his imagination. For a real trip into Kopecky-ism, check out his massively infotaining blog Art, Faith, and The Koko Lion, wherein our neighbor makes this here QatParkside seem downright trite and visually retarded. As you talk to Kopecky, the conversation is likely to take many unexpected turns, and his Southern Californian drawl (he's from St. Diego) will lull you into thinking he's just a regular dude, which he is, and he way isn't.

Next up, and deserving of her own post, Sue Pike, and her most extraordinary ability to communicate with the other side. By which, I don't mean Windsor Terrace. Try Time-Space Continuum.

Know Thy Neighbor: Saul Bolton

Chester Court remains one of the odd treasures of the neighborhood. A series of Tudor-style townhouses on a cul-de-sac just off the "Low-Line" of the rumbling Q train, Chester is one of those blocks you WANT to walk down on a sunny afternoon, but you'd feel a bit odd doing it. Like Beekman and Westbury and Parkside Courts, Chester is a bit of a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a roti. And of the number of interesting families living down yonder, one of those cute houses belongs to the Bolton family. Never heard of the Boltons of Chester Court? (sounds pretty regal, doesn't it?) Well, the patriarch is heralded worldwide as one of the greatest American chefs - Saul Bolton.

Saul does not look the part of a chef known as one of the pioneering folk who put Brooklyn on the culinary map. When I met him last week for a coffee and chat in the park, he looked more the part of Soundgarden Fan circa 1993 than One-Star Michelin restaurenteur. (Not that I had been expecting Mario Batali,

whose rosy mug I shan't miss if I never saw again, his foppish self depicted to the right for reference. While his signature "crocs" are out frame, I imagine that "sausage muffler" extending all the way to his toes. ewww. Toe Sausage. Ewwww! Though I suspect neighbor Saul could manage to make it quite tasty, even a serving of Mario Batali's toes.)

It seems that after a stint at #7 most hippy school Reed College in Oregon, Bolton saw David Bouley's picture on the cover of a magazine and realized he could not only practice his craft and love for cooking, he could make a nice name for himself doing so. So off to NYC he trekked, to apprentice for the master himself. And after a time, Bolton set up shop in the just-awakening Smith Street in 1999. Mrs. Q and I ate there not long after it opened, and were so impressed we've recommended the place to countless others, never really going back due to restricted funds and pure laziness I suppose. The Michelin Man gave him a star, which unlike record reviews means you've pretty much surpassed every colleague around you for superior food, service and presentation. There's only one other "new" restaurant in all of Brooklyn to earn the coveted "Michelin Star" - Colin Devlin's Dressler out in Billyburg. That's how intense is the competition! (Luger and River get one, but they've been listed for ages apparently).

But I'm not a foodie, and have no desire to watch celebrity chefs prancing about on the TV, cable or otherwise, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that Saul's the kind of smart local dad that you can talk to about just about anything, including Wendy's hamburgers and my own specialty, toasted Monterey Jack quesadillas. I started to realize while talking to Saul that there's a lot in common between the food and music bizzes, and so it's not surprising that "FOOD" has been called the new "ROCK N ROLL," though I can guarantee I've never boogied down to anything made of quinoa or back bacon.  (I'm trying to picture Grand Funk Railroad singing "We're an American Bistro," and the picture's kinda fuzzy, even with my Radio Shack rabbit ear antenna).

But yeah, lately music rags have been really, really into top ten lists, and top 100 lists and complicated rating systems (Pitchfork.com) a la Zagat's. And I'll take it a step further and say that cheffing seems very much akin to songwriting, a craft that I'm still trying to perfect after 35 years at least two hundred completed attempts at "the perfect dish." Clearly Saul Bolton has one of those rare gifts that come along only so often, and he love-love-loves the feeling of putting it all together and getting it just right. The Q's idea of a perfect song? Check out "Daughter" by Loudon Wanwright, III, though of course I'm a little biased given my four-year study in hands-on parenting. "Penny Lane's" not too shabby. "Tangled Up In Blue?" "Everyday" by Buddy Holly?" Just about anything by the young John Prine? "Waiting for the Silent Boatman" or "Can You Get to That?" by Parliament/Funkadelic? "Bye Bye Pride" by the Go-Betweens? "Beep" by Pylon? "Have You Forgotten" by Red House Painters? "Edelweiss?" "Maybe" from the musical Annie? Or beyond Edelweiss, ust about anything by Rodgers and Hammerstein? (Wow, I'm really showing my background now!) Hey, I was in "Oklahoma" twice growing up, playing Jud AND Will, then Emil in "South Pacific." That stuff really stays in your ears like wax!

Bottom line, I think it's pretty darn cool that one of NYC's greatest chefs lives right here among us. He loves taking Dollar Vans, especially after a long night at the restaurant he started, Saul. He's also opened The Vanderbilt (on Vanderbilt!) and Red Gravy (neither on Red Gravy street, nor named after someone named Red Gravy, though I am considering changing my name). If you want to explore Brooklyn's culinary revolution, you'd be well served to try all three.

NOW...to the all-important question that I was so inclined to ask that I forgot during our actual conversation and had to email him later for an answer.

Q's Q: What food could you recommend right here in the neighborhood, if you could choose but one joint?

SB's A: Anything from Scoops- he rocks - ital.

Folks, I don't need to state the obvious. One of the most trusted chefs in town just gave you a rock solid recommendation for a local take-out hole-in-the-wall on Flatbush that also serves fantastic vegan ice cream. If you haven't tried Scoops ital (pronounced eye-tahl, also known as Rastafarian) food, get thee over there and don't be shy. If you need further evidence of Scoops' reputation, there's always this NY Times review.

And to Saul, all I can say is, see you at one of your joints right soon.

Know Thy Neighbor: Noel Hefele

Artist, poet, uncle and Clarkson II resident Noel Hefele paints a mean picture. While his background covers a wide swath of the contemporary artistic ethos, he's chosen landscape as his primary visual medium. Check out this gorgeous painting, to be shown in the group show at the old Mike's International after Brian Fernandez Halloron's solo show (and yes it could be yours if the price is right):

more pics and info at noelhefele.com

I interviewed Monsieur Hefele recently, and his answers were so articulate and considered, and I'm so lazy, I though I'd drop them on you wholesale, with just a couple edits. Look for him on, roughly, November 1 at Mike's International on Flatbush above Lincoln.

What was your training as an artist?

Went to Boston University for 2 years as an Undecided major, where I learned how to paint. I transferred to Carnegie Mellon's College of Fine Art in Pittsburgh. The education there was very conceptually based. I also spent 6 years working in a fine arts research facility at Carnegie Mellon, where we worked on the 3 Rivers in Pittsburgh, running water quality, botany, and geology studies. The aim was to intervene in the redevelopment of the river fronts as Pittsburgh transitioned from industrial use to recreational use. Public perception of the rivers lagged behind the actual ecological health of the rivers. We worked to change that on a countywide level, all the while framing the effort as art in the tradition of Social Sculpture, where artists can create change in society.

I got my MA degree in Arts and Ecology in Devon, England last year, studying landscape, movement and perception. Ecology (study of home at it's etymological root) can be expressed as the study of the relationship between things; people, places, non-humans, and objects. It is a fantastically rich and relevant area to focus upon. 
 


Landscapes! That's an interesting choice in 2011. What led to it?

10 years ago, I never would have believed it myself. I see landscapes as the material manifestation of the relationship between natures and cultures.  Painting landscapes is a way of investigating that form with one of the simplest possible tools (moving colored mud around with a stick; using elements from the land to describe the land.) 

'Climate Change' has entered the public consciousness as an issue of our time. Science is one way of addressing that issue. The arts is another.
I believe in the lure of the local in cultivating a sense of place. I believe sense of place is important if we are ever to go about repairing our relationship to the environment. 

Landscapes resonate with people. It is amazing to me what I can learn about a place when people respond to a painting. That keeps me going back. Everything we do relates to landscape in some fashion. Even this virtual text that I am writing now is rooted to the land somewhere.

Painting itself is an interesting choice—a slow medium in the age of ADHD and the internet. Remember when people used to read books?


How do you juggle making a living with making your art? Do you have a studio?

The short answer would be "poorly" - in both senses of the word. Since coming to NY, I've been tutoring highschool students in Algebra and Geometry. I've also been doing web and graphic design work. I want to move more into teaching, as I find it very rewarding. Combining the two would also be nice. Some years I've done better with my art than with my design work. 

Right now, my sister has allowed me to take over a corner of the apartment to paint in. I also like to go out and paint in the park when I can. Space is at such a premium in the city that it is hard to imagine having a studio at this point in time, although I would hope to have one in the future.

What do you think of Clarkson Avenue and the building in which you live?

Clarkson Avenue is interesting and very different from rural England, where I lived previously. It is busy, dense and loud. I like the wide range of people and cultures that you see. I love how close it is to the Park, where I run and paint frequently. The food is definitely better here!  The history embedded in the landscape is much longer in England. It's amazing how many different styles of buildings are spread out over just a few blocks, yet all of them seem to be only about 100 years old or so. I've developed quite an addiction to Mike's pizza over on the corner of Bedford and Clarkson, my favorite of the pizza joints sampled so far. 

There are these large wallpapered landscapes in the lobby of the building I live. One looks like a tropical destination, and another looks like a golf course. They signify leisure, but are landscapes divorced from our immediate surroundings. Perhaps it signifies a working class mentality when the building was initially decorated. Our apartment looks out over the inner courtyard, a miniature wildlife preserve with a mix of chirping birds, scary squirrels and feral cats, among others.

My neighbors are very friendly. It makes a big difference in to walk out of the building, smile and ask someone how they are doing. It's wonderful to smell the cooking in the warmer months when the windows are open.

Some people have lived in this building for all of their lives. The 'ecology' of the building is tightly woven—family members and neighbors have longstanding relationships and connections to this place. I'm fascinated by the overlap of histories; there are several different populations bringing their unique senses of place to Brooklyn. The histories seem accelerated and condensed; the short history of the US combined with the history of the neighborhood and various immigrant populations creates an interesting mix. Like no other place on earth perhaps, Brooklyn is a tangled knot of multiple cultures and multiple natures that I look forward to exploring.
 
You seem to really enjoy your role as uncle! Anything to share about that?

I'm so grateful to be a part of my nephew Felix's life as a five year old. He has a special way of melting away the stress of the day and reminding me of what is really important in life. He makes me feel more grown-up, but also activates the inner-kid. Each day is so big for a child. Even the small moments are ripe with the chance to create memories. 

He and I walk around the neighborhood frequently. He introduces me to all sorts of folks I would not otherwise get to talk to: a drunk toothless guy who can be a little too rough with him sometimes, a Senegalese store owner who genuinely seems to be his friend, a dvd merchant who gives him the latest pixar bootleg, a trio of stocky mexican children who respond to his "you can't catch me" with audible glee, the t-mobile sales ladies who turn him suddenly shy and sheepish, and his spanish babysitter who cooks amazing ribs...  the list of overlapping worlds and cultures goes on, all within a few blocks.

My nephew is growing up in an environment so completely different than suburban Connecticut, where I grew up. He teaches me spanish words and even slips into an occasional Patois of his own. I admire his ability to approach kids he doesn't know at the playground to enter into a game of tag. Things that would give me pause or intimidate me do not even register in his emergent persona: this is his world and he embraces it openly. Perhaps that is why I love the neighborhood even though I've been here less than a year. I question the boundary between a person and their environment, so seeing Felix interact with the neighborhood overtime has opened my eyes and heart to a layer I would have a hard time seeing on my own.... which is awesome. He is also fantastic art critic: very supportive, yet not afraid to say "I don't like that one, Uncle." When I stay up late working on a new painting, hearing him approve in the morning over his cereal with a "I love it when you make new paintings Uncle" is profoundly motivating. He recognizes what I am painting early, "Uncle, that's a forest! you should put more green..."
 
What will your contribution be to the group show?

I will be showing a few paintings of landscapes that are within walking distance of the show. I also hope to perform a spoken word piece or two (see here or here or here for latent musical experiments).  In addition to helping organize and get the word out, I'm designing the poster for the neighborhood show. 

I'm happy to be showing work in the neighborhood and working with neighbors to make it happen. It's a great feeling to get more involved in the community. Hopefully the show goes well and we can have more events like it in the future. I am excited, as this is my first painting show in NYC!

Geeksta Rap Star - Know Thy Celebrity Neighbor

Pretty much every nerdy dude in America dreams of putting down the protractor and grabbing the mic. But neighborhood resident Damian Hess (alias MC Frontalot) is livin' the dream.

Me, I'm not a fronter, so I'll be straight up with you. Sometimes the internet takes pity on a part-time wanna be journalist like the Q. And frankly, the snowstorm is making me sleepy, so I think I'll let Gothamist's Jaya Saxena (who as far as I can tell gets paid to do just this sort of thing) do the heavy lifting. MC Frontalot in Gothamist.

You may be saying to yourself, yeah, but does he have the goods? Actually, he does, and his tunes are free for the taking. MCF's MP3s. I suggest you check out the first tune, and if you don't hurl, you might end up thanking me for the tip. And let your geek flag fly.