Thursday, May 20, 2010

ATTENTION: NYC-EDC Offers Free Graffiti Removal!

The New York City Economic Development Corporation, in partnership with the Mayor's Office and Department of Sanitation, is proud to offer free graffiti-removal services through the Graffiti Free NYC program.
Graffiti Free NYC uses state-of-the-art cleaning trucks to remove over 10 million square feet of graffiti throughout the City each year. Their services are completely free. To access Graffiti Free NYC all you have to do is report graffiti to 311 or here.

BBG Celebrates 100 Years With Bee-Day!; 6/12; 11AM- 6PM

On Saturday, June 12th, 2010 from 11:00 AM- 6:00 PM,

You are invited to join the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for a bee-inspired birthday party for all ages with honey tastings, lectures, presentations, tours and live music throughout the Garden.

Visitors will be treated to live music, including marimba and hammered dulcimer serenades. Activities will range from science demonstrations and hands-on workshops for kids and families to local food vendors purveying bee-inspired sweets. Some of BBG’s most senior scientists and horticulturists will lead tours drawing attention to the Garden’s plant collections and how they support pollinator populations, while BBGs horticulturist will show children how to build homes for native bees. The event climaxes with live performances.

For more information visit here.

Reps. Towns and Clarke Present Academy Night for Educational Opportunities In Service Acads; St. Francis' College; 6/7; 1800

Rep. Edolphus Towns & Rep. Yvette Clarke Present...

Academy Night
Come to learn about educational opportunities in our Nation's service academies! Representatives from every branch of the U.S. military will be available to discuss and answer your questions concerning enrollment, eligibility, and the academic requirements for admission.

Representatives from the-
U.S Merchant Navy Academy
Air Force Academy
U.S Military Academy: West Point
U.S Naval Academy
U.S Coast Guard Academy
-Will all be present.

Time: Monday, June 7th, 2010
1800- 2000 hours (6:00PM- 8:00 PM)
Seating begins at 5:30 PM and the program will begin PROMPTLY at 6:00PM

Place: St. Francis College, Founders Hall
182 Remsen Street (between Court and Clinton Streets)
Brooklyn, NY 11201

For more information please contact:
Ms. Kristia Beaubrun, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke Office- 718-287-1142
Mr. Warren Cohn, Congressman Edolphus Towns Office- 718-855-8018

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

2010 Summer Youth Employment Program - DEADLINE: Friday, May 21st


The Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) provides New York City youth between the ages of 14 and 24 with summer employment and educational opportunities. In 2009, the Department of Youth and Community Development enrolled 52,255 participants and placed them at 8,688 worksites. Participants work in a variety of entry-level jobs at government agencies, hospitals, summer camps, nonprofits, small businesses, law firms, museums, sports enterprises, and retail organizations.


The Summer Youth Employment Program is designed to:

* Emphasize real-world labor expectations
* Increase awareness of services offered by local community-based organizations
* Provide opportunities for career instruction, financial literacy training, academic improvement, and social growth

ATTENTION: Alternate Side Suspended 5/19, 5/20

Alternate side parking (street cleaning) regulations will be suspended on Wednesday, May 19th and Thursday, May 20th for Shavuot. All other regulations, including parking meters, remain in effect.

The 2010 alternate side parking (street cleaning) rules suspension calendar is available on the Department of Transportation website, along with other alternate side parking information.

Monday, May 17, 2010

ATTENTION: Beacon 265 Offers Free Children's Summer Camp

Allow your child to experience a wonderful fun time, while at the same time learn new skills.

Beacon 265's Children's Summer Camp will run from July 6, 2010 until August 20, 2010 from 8:00a.m.- 6:00 p.m. Beacon 265 is all-inclusive and free.

Children of the ages 6-13 are able to attend.

Call 718-237-0852 for more information or to enroll.

The free and exciting new programs for Spring and Summer 2010 include:
-Martial Arts
-Explosive Thunder
-Cyber Chase
-"Stomp the Yard"
-"Dancing with the Stars"
-Film Making
-Spoken Word
-Sports (BASKETBALL & FOOTBALL)
-various education trips

Beacon 265's website can be found here. They are located at 101 Park Avenue RM 227 in
Brooklyn, NY 11205.

NYCC Sanitation Cmte Chair Letitia James Joins Collegues and Advocates To Announce Efforts To Expand Recycling; FG Park; 5/19; 10:30AM

Contact: Nicole Kolinsky 212-788-0260

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

Speaker Quinn, Sanitation Chair James, and Council Member Lappin To Announce Efforts in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Park to Expand Recycling in City’s Public Spaces

Following the introduction of a comprehensive legislative package to expand and improve recycling programs in New York City, Speaker Quinn, together with Sanitation and Solid Waste Management Committee Chair Letitia James, and Council Member Jessica Lappin, will discuss important legislation to significantly expand the number of recycling bins in public locations across the city.

The announcement will take place at Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn which the Administration and the Council selected in 2007 as a location for a public spaces recycling pilot program.

WHAT: Public Spaces Recycling Legislation Press Conference
WHO: Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn
Sanitation and Solid Waste Management Committee Chair Letitia James
Council Member Jessica Lappin
Environmental Advocates
Fort Greene Park– Southeast Corner
WHERE: DeKalb Avenue and Washington Park
WHEN: Wednesday, May 19, 2010
TIME: 10:30 A.M.

BBGD Presents 13th Annual Garden Walk; 6/6; 11AM

The 13th Annual GARDEN WALK is on Sunday June 6, 2010.
Presented by Brownstone Brooklyn Garden District (BBGD) this stroll features 15 private gardens of Clinton Hill, two community gardens and a recently planted serenity garden at Teen Challenge called "Parables, Symbols & Healing."

The walk is from 11AM- 5PM. Advance Tickets are available here.

Day-of tour tickets and a self-guided map are available at the corner of Lafayette & Washington Avenues, just outside the entrance to the G train. At the ticket stand there will be a variety of information tables having to do with Urban Gardening.

All proceeds from the walk go into free fall bulb give-aways & other community gardening projects.

Garden Sitters receive a free ticket to the tour and an invite to the after-party. Sitting for the tour is divided into 2 shifts. Sitters could work from 11AM -2PM or from 2PM -5PM.

If you're interested in sitting, please contact Emily at emilywas@gmail.com.

LIU Presents "Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds" Forum on 5/26; 4PM

The Brooklyn Grandparents Coalition and Long Island University, Department of Social Work, are pleased to co-host and invite you are your children aged 8 and over to a special forum on:

"Healthy Bodies / Healthy Minds"

LUI, Lutney Commons, corner of DeKalb and Flatbush Avenues
Wednesday May 26th, 2010
4:00PM - 7:30PM

Guest speakers, expressive arts workshops, healthy dinners and metrocards
The event is free but registration is required by May 19th.

Please contact Nicole D'Anna at 718-403-2095 or via e-mail at Nicole.Danna@us.ngrid.com to register.

Demystifying Affordable Housing

The South Brooklyn Accountable Development Initiative (a project of Fifth Avenue Committee) presents a bi-lingual workshop to broaden understanding about "affordable housing".

The workshop seeks to answer the following questions, among others, about affordable housing;

  • How do city and federal governments define "affordable"?

  • What is the difference between "affordable housing" and "subsidized housing"?

  • What is New York City's "Area Median Income", why is it important and how does it compare to income levels where we live and work?

  • What type of housing do non-profit developers like FAC develop and how does our "affordable housing" compare with that of a private developer?

Workshops will be held on:
Wednesday May 19th, 6PM- 9PM and Thursday May 20th, 6PM- 9PM
621 DeGraw Street (between 3rd & 4th Avenues).
The workshop is free but you must RSVP! Please call 718-237-2017 ext 114 or email mklein@fifthave.org.

The workshops will be conducted in English and Spanish.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

CM James and BK Elected Officials Express Concern Over NBA's Continued Business Association With Mikhail Prokhorov

May 11, 2010

Mr. David J. Stern
Commissioner
National Basketball Association
645 Fifth Ave
New York, NY 10022

Dear Mr. Stern:

This letter is being sent to express concerns about the National Basketball Association's pending agreement with Mikhail Prokhorov, who seeks to buy the New Jersey Nets basketball team. In a recent interview, you anticipated that Mr. Prokhorov could be sitting among the NBA's team owners during the draft lottery on May 18, despite the possibility that he may have violated United States sanctions against Zimbabwe that have been in place since 2003.

Brooklyn elected officials are disappointed that you are so eager to close the deal with Mr. Prokhorov, as your statement implies, rather than vet the details of a prospective team owner's dealings in a nation run by Robert Mugabe's oppressive dictatorship.

The Nets basketball team is an integral part of the Atlantic Yards redevelopment project - a project that was sold to the public as one that would provide many benefits to New Yorkers, including the creation of thousands of affordable housing units. As elected representatives of the community, we have a significant responsibility to ensure that the public is served through the most honorable means possible.

Congressman Bill Pascrell of New Jersey has asked you to keep your stated commitment to perform due diligence of Mr. Prokhorov and he has called upon the Treasury Department to investigate whether sanctions have been violated. The signers of this letter share Congressman Pascrell's belief that the NBA should hold a higher standard for its business partners than simply avoiding doing business with convicts.

Rep. Pascrell wrote to you explaining that as a 50 percent owner of Renaissance Capital, Mr. Prokhorov is directly connected to the firm's reported sponsorship in June 2009 of an economic forum in Harare, Zimbabwe. Renaissance Capital offered foreign investors special access to government officials, including those on the United States' sanctions list, and is also reportedly a shareholder in CBZ Holdings, one of the largest banks in Zimbabwe. The Government of Zimbabwe is the bank's largest shareholder.

The congressman also made you aware of his findings that Renaissance may have long-standing working relationships with major Russian fraud scheme, based on documents filed last year in the Southern District of New York. The court filings detail Renaissance's connection to a complex tax rebate fraud in Russia through which it is believed at least $106.9 million in taxes paid from a Renaissance-managed investment fund was later embezzled from the Russian treasury through the payment of fraudulent tax refunds.

The public benefits of Atlantic Yards will be hollow if they are achieved with the help of profits gained through fraudulent schemes or a regime that holds no regard for human rights.

We ask that you postpone the NBA owners' vote to ratify Mikhail Prokhorov as owner of the New Jersey Nets until his business background is thoroughly understood.

Sincerely,

Letitia James
Member of City Council, 35th CD

Brad Lander
Member of City Council, 34th CD

Joan L. Millman
Member of State Assembly, 52nd AD

James F. Brennan
Member of State Assembly, 44th AD

Velmanette Montgomery
Member of State Senate, 18th SD

Moving Pictures: Expect More, Pay Less

On Thursday, May 13, 2010, the commercial “TARGET” is scheduled to shoot exterior scenes at Fort Greene Park at Myrtle Avenue and North Portland Street.



Approximate Time: 7am – 8pm

Moving Pictures: Those Goody-goody Smurfs Make Him Sick

On Thursday May 13, 2010, the feature film “The Smurfs Movie” is scheduled to film at the Prospect Park Boathouse on Ocean Avenue and Parkside Avenue.

APPROXIMATE TIME: 7am-2am

On Friday May 14, 2010, the feature film “The Smurfs Movie” is scheduled to film at the Prospect Park Boathouse on Ocean Avenue at Parkside Avenue.

APPROXIMATE TIME: 5pm-7am