Brooklyn, NY Focus

Central Brooklyn Eating Liberally Tuesday October 12

The next meeting of Central Brooklyn Eating Liberally will be Tuesday October 12th at 7 PM at the Haitian restaurant Kombit.

279 Flatbush Ave
Brooklyn, New York 11217
(718) 399-2000

Come join fellow liberals for discussions of local politics and enjoyment of good food.

Last meeting was in August at the French Caribbean restaurant Kaz an Nou and was great! The next meeting will be November 9th and I think we will start our rotation of restaurants over with Born Thai, an excellent Thai restaurant on the same block as Kombit.


NEW BROOKLYN REFORM CLUB: Prospect Heights Democrats for Reform

Interested in politics?
Want to get involved in the community?
Curious about the reform effort in Brooklyn?

Please Join Us Prospect Heights Democrats for Reform

A new political club for the Prospect Heights Area dedicated to serving the neighborhood and bringing real reform to Brooklyn politics

Next meeting:

Sunday, October 17th
4-6pm
80 Underhill Ave. (between St. Marks & Bergen)

Please contact Ede at edefox6@yahoo.com for more info


Mike DiSanto for State Senate:

Democrat Mike DiSanto is running against the Republican obstructionist Marty Golden for the State Senate. Golden has been a prime example of why Albany has been so dysfunctional.

Marty Golden: Still The Worst Representative In Brooklyn

State Senate Candidate Mike DiSanto Endorsed by Planned Parenthood

Mike DiSanto has also been endorsed by:

504 Democratic Club for Disability Rights
American Heritage Democratic Organization
Brooklyn Democrats for Change
Brooklyn Young Democrats
Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club
Lambda Independent Democrats
South Brooklyn Working Families Party Club
Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC
United Americans Democratic Organization

Bring change to Albany. Support Mike DiSanto for State Senate.

Find out more at Mike DiSanto's website


Local Brooklyn News:

Once again, I told you so: This really nails it: Ratner's job promises were full of shit...More: Atlantic Yards Construction Jobs Lag 95% Behind Projections...I was attacked by some union supporters of Ratner's when I predicted this. But sure enough, it came true. Funny how Bloomberg, Markowitz, Bill de Blasio and Bertha Lewis, who all repeated Ratner's lies to us, are awfully quiet now that they have been proven to be either cronies of Ratner's or fooled by Ratner.

Vito Lopez has secret army from his senior center...that is SO totally illegal. No wonder he is under so many investigations. No comment, I assume, from Vito Lopez's recent allies in the WFP.

YET ANOTHER FARE HIKE: M.T.A. Approves Transit Fare Increase...and meanwhile service continues to go down at an astonishing rate...you know what we need? Someone like Larry Silverman (who has taken on Transit mismanagement and fraud before) in the State Senate.

Human Experimentation: Officials Slam 'Callous' Dept. of Homeless Services Program That Uses 200 Families as Test Subjects...in my field it is illegal to experiment on human subjects without oversight and PERMISSION of the subjects. Yet Bloomberg defends experimentation on humans without such permission:
Mayor Bloomberg Goes to Bat for Program That Studied Homeless People

Ratner's Attempt to Raise Cheap Atlantic Yards Cash Seems to Violate Federal Green Card Program

Let's be VERY clear on this one...this would NEVER have happened under Republican control: House FINALLY Passes Bill to Help With 9/11 Health Care

Vito Lopez gets vetoed: Hold on state funds for Brooklyn boss' empire was long overdue

Marty Markowitz and Bruce Ranter selling American jobs to China...Why is Marty Markowitz Going to China to Sell Green Cards With Bruce Ratner?...So much for that job creation Markowitz, Ratner, Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio all promised us. I wonder how the unions feel about this one.

Charter Schools Perform Worse than Public Schools in New Data

Bloomberg education reforms FAIL: With Standards Tightened, Far Fewer New York City Schools Receive a Grade of ‘A’...more: Most Schools Get Worse Grades in City’s Report

Democrat Eric Schneiderman unveils detailed plan to protect veterans and active duty service members from fraud and discrimination

Republican state controller hopeful Donovon in subprime flap...seems Republicans just can't avoid scandal

Once again, folks, I told you so. Bruce Ratner's "promises" proven to be lies: Ratner Abandons 10-Year Timeline for Atlantic Yards...wonder how the unions and Ratner cheerleader Bill de Blasio feel about THIS one...more: KPMG's Fuzzy Math on Atlantic Yards

Vito Lopez Scandals continue: Developers, architects, accountants and security firms cash in after writing checks to Vito Lopez

The WFP scandal continues: Working Families Party Documents Subpoenaed


BROOKLYN BLOGS:

Pardon Me for Asking

NO LAND GRAB

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn

Bed-Stuy Blog

Duffield St. Underground

Brooklyn Streets, Carroll Gardens

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

The Windsor Terrace Alliance is made up of residents, community groups and businesses of Windsor Terrace interested in advocating for our neighborhood.


BROOKLYN REFORM DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZATIONS:

Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats is a community-based Democratic club. CBID has fought for reform and progressive causes since 1968. As a Brooklyn-based Club, we have been instrumental in the election of many candidates for public office. Much of this success was a result of our question-and-answer forums with prospective candidates as well as our extensive on-the-street contact with our constituents.

Staunchly opposed to political corruption, we are proud of our independence and our commitment to progressive reform in city, state and national politics. We are a vehicle for citizen empowerment and making government more accountable to our neighborhoods.

We meet monthly, usually the fourth Thursday evening of the month in the basement of the Park Slope United Methodist Church, on the corner of 6th ave and 8th street, at 7:30pm. All are welcome.

New Kings Democrats (”NKD”) is a new, grassroots organization in Kings County (Brooklyn), New York whose primary mission is to recruit and prepare individuals to run for Kings County Democratic Committee. NKD hopes to achieve the goal of an inclusionary and participatory democracy by making it easy for individuals to run for local, elected office. NKD will serve as a training ground for individuals seeking higher office, and hopes to build and nurture a new group of Brooklyn Democratic leaders.

NKD meets the first Wed of each month, 7pm – 9pm at St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 334 S. 5th St. (btwn Keap & Rodney St.), Brooklyn, NY


Don't want this issue to get forgotten: KEEP WAL-MART OUT OF NYC:

Bloomerg wants to help Wal-Mart open up in NYC even though Wal-Mart has been shown to deliberately destroy small businesses, use illegal immigrant labor paying them slave wages, and treating their workers badly.

I don't mind big chain stores. I like IKEA and CostCo and Trader Joe's in particular. But Wal-Mart has been shown to be bad for communities they open up in.

Wal-Mart has a gender discrimination suit against them still active: Meet the Woman Behind the Walmart Gender Discrimination Suit

Learn about Wal-Mart’s Dismal Record on Worker and Customer Safety (PDF)

Wal-Mart's Wage and Hour Violations (PDF)

HELP STOP WAL-MART AND BLOOMBERG FROM RUINING NYC

Go here to find out more. Bloomberg is a lost cause, but write NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Comptroller John Liu and tell them to stop Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart and Bloomberg are anti-union, anti-small business and anti-community. Let's get our Public Advocate and Comptroller fighting for us!


BROOKLYN CULTURE: Proteus Gowanus
543 Union Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Gallery Hours
THURS & FRIDAYS, 3-6 pm
SAT & SUNDAYS, 12-6 pm

I wrote about this once before, but I really think it deserves more exposure. It is a great art space in an under-utilized, under visited area. From their website:

Proteus Gowanus is an interdisciplinary gallery and reading room housed in a former 1900 box factory located centrally among several vibrant Brooklyn communities. Proteus Gowanus is named after both the Greek sea god who could change form and the neighboring Gowanus Canal, a changing post-industrial waterfront area with a thriving artistic community and a history dating back to the Revolutionary War and earlier.

Proteus Gowanus exhibitions, programs and publications are developed by a core collaborative of artists, writers and workers in other disciplines, with help from an extended community of PG correspondents. Proteus Gowanus also works reciprocally with a group of non-profit partner organizations that utilize the Proteus space and receive proceeds from sales. Proteus Gowanus incorporates the rich, interdisciplinary resources of its non-profit partners into exhibits and programs.

Some regular events at Proetus Gowanus:

Writers, readers and others are invited to join Study Hall and work in our gallery and library spaces from Mondays-Fridays, 10 am - 5 pm.

Every Thursday from 5-8 pm, the Fixers Collective meets at Proteus Gowanus. See Fixers Collective page for details and be sure to fill out the Fix Sheet. $5 donation.

Every Wednesday from 6:30-8:30 pm, the Writhing Society meets at Proteus to practice and discuss writing with constraints. $5 fee.
To join our mailing list, send email to info@proteusgowanus.com


Democracy for NYC in Brooklyn:

Democracy for New York City (DFNYC) is a volunteer-driven non-profit politicalaction committee. We are part of a national coalition of local groups committed to the ideals espoused by Democracy for America, the organization founded by Howard Dean.

We work both locally and nationally to ensure that fiscally-responsible and socially-progressive candidates win elections at all levels of government. We develop innovative ways to advocate for the issues that matter to our members and promote legislation which has a positive effect in our communities. We engage people in the political process and give them the tools to organize, communicate, mobilize, and enact change on the local, state, and national level.

Currently there is only one Brooklyn chapter:

Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn - Meets First Wednesday of every month. 7:00pm, Wyckoff-Bennett Homestead 1669 E. 22nd St. with host Annette Mont and Estelle Glasser.


Drinking Liberally Downtown Brooklyn:

An informal, inclusive progressive social group. Raise your spirits
while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher.
Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place
to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a
book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent
frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk
politics.

# When? First and Third Tuesday of each month, 7:00 pm
# Where? 4th Avenue Pub, 76 4th Avenue


Friends & Residents of Greater Gowanus (FROGG)

We are a community based grass-roots organization advocating for environmentally sound community planning for the Gowanus Canal neighborhoods.

The Gowanus Canal is a very unique resource for our community and all of New York. It has long historal significant as a pre-industrial and industrial transportation waterway in addition to playing a significant roll in the Battle of Brooklyn. This natural tidal estuary connects our urban world to the waters that surround us and opens our city to the natural habitat it was built upon. Even today, it provides an open sky, early industrial/estuary landscape that can not be matched anywhere in our city.

With extensive urban Brownfields and an Aquatic Brownfield standing, we work to see this water way brought back to life with water quality standards that sincerely meet state standards for fishable and contact use; not only for the community but also for local wildlife.

For more information: FROGGcommunity@earthlink.net


PLASTIC RECYCLING IN BROOKLYN:

Recycling of plastics not accepted in the city recycling can be done at the Park Slope Food Co-op at 782 Union Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues)

Bring clean, dry plastic to the Coop's sidewalk during monthly recycling hours. We close up promptly. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the collection end time to allow for inspection and sorting of your plastic:

2nd Sat., 10 AM-2 PM
3rd Thur., 7 PM-9 PM
Last Sun., 10 AM-2 PM.

As of 2/16/09 and until further notice, we collect....

* #1 and #6 transparent plastics (Labels OK. Mouth is wide or wider than the body, meaning NOT bottles.)
* #5 plastic tubs, cups & specifically marked lids and caps. Must be especially clean and dry. (Discard any with paper labels, or cut the labels off.)
* Plastic film and bubble wrap. 100% transparent only -- must be able to see through the plastic. No colored or opaque. No paper labels. Minimal writing OK.

All the above must be brought to the Coop CLEAN AND DRY.

These changes result from a significant decline in the worldwide market for recyclable materials that has affected recycling programs everywhere. Please be patient and cooperate with us as we adjust to these changes, as well as to any further changes that may be necessary.

We are currently updating our literature and will make new fliers available as soon as possible. Or, contact us at plasticrecycling@foodcoop.com.

And on a related note, you can help increase the demand for recycled plastic products by shopping through these companies that specialize in recycled plastic products (including lumber!!).


FOOD CO-OPS IN BROOKLYN:

New Food Co-op Coming to Brooklyn: (info sent to me by a reader)

They are not active yet, but their website is: http://www.foodcoopbayridge.com

They are recruiting new members and looking to open fall 2010.

For more info, and if you want to get in at the start, you can email ( fcbrmembership@gmail.com ), call ( 347-247-8172 ) or follow them on Twitter (twitter.com/thefoodcoop) or on Facebook.

You can also attend New Member meetings to find out more:

Bay Ridge Library
(73rd St & Ridge)
1st Tuesday of each month, 6:30pm
3rd Saturday of each month, 10:30am


Park Slope Food Co-op
782 Union Street
Brooklyn, New York 11215
Phone: (718) 622-0560
FAX: (718) 622-5685
linda_wheeler@psfc.coop
http://www.foodcoop.com/

This is the largest Food Co-op in America. Joy and I are members. Low prices and high quality even if it can be a bit inconvenient at times.

Flatbush Food Cooperative
1318 Cortelyou Road
Brooklyn, New York 11226
Phone: (718) 284-9717
FAX: (718) 284-9719
info@flatbushfoodcoop.com
http://www.flatbushfoodcoop.com/

Established in 1976, and located on Cortelyou Road in the heart of Victorian Flatbush since 1985, Flatbush Food Coop is a community-owned, full-service natural foods store specializing in organic products. We are committed to serving the diverse community in which we are situated, and beyond, by providing goods and services that promote personal and environmental well-being. Like the 300 food coops across the nation with which we are affiliated, we are open to all—it is not necessary to be a member to shop. By joining the Coop, however, you become a joint owner of our business and are able to take additional savings on your purchases. There are opportunities for varying degrees of involvement in the coop, and our member-owners are able to influence the direction of our organization. We are particularly proud that the dozens of ethnic groups in Brooklyn’s most diverse neighborhood are reflected in our staff, our close to 3,000 members, and countless shoppers.