Clarkson Avenue Block Party on Sunday

The Q at Parkside is inviting the world to join them on Clarkson Avenue between Flatbush and Bedford this Sunday for their block party. Check out the flyer for all the details.

It looks like fun; we'll probably swing by in the morning.

Keep your eyes posted to this space for more information about the Hawthorne Street block party, which is coming in September.

Wednesday: Puppet Show for Kids at the Flatbush Library

The geniuses behind last year's Hawthorne Street Block party performances of City of Hamburgers are returning to the neighborhood as part of the Brooklyn Public Library's Make A Splash! Summer Reading Program Celebration.

Alphabet Arts will be performing The Giant Squid and the Seagull, a shadow puppet show by Kali Therrien & Mandy Weiss at the Flatbush branch of the Brooklyn Public Library (22 Linden Blvd. btwn. Bedford and Flatbush (gmap)).

The play is based on the children's book of the same name by Sgott Mackenzie, which I hope will be available at the show.

The Giant Squid and The Seagull show
Wednesday, 8/18 at 2pm
Flatbush Branch, Brooklyn Public Library
***FREE!***

PLG-based nonprofit Alphabet Arts is thrilled to welcome Kali Therrien and Mandy Weiss to its family of talented artists. Kali and Mandy will present their shadow puppet show, "The Giant Squid and the Seagull," as well as some other fun and surprises, at the BPL Flatbush branch on Wednesday, 8/18 at 2pm to help the kids celebrate their accomplishments in Brooklyn Public Library's Summer Reading Program. Raffle prizes from Sesame Workshop; Electric Company; Penguin Young Readers; and more...

Hand puppetry lessons, a sing-along, and other fun surprises with Kali and Mandy will follow the show. You can let them know you are coming by responding to their Facebook event.

The Alphabet Arts crew will be back at the Hawthorne Street block party as well. When we find out what they'll be doing, we'll be sure to let you know.

Bubble Tea in PLG (Almost)

Is Mulberry Street too far for your bubble tea fix? Is the Sunset Park Chinatown too inconvenient since you sold your car? Not to worry - you can now get bubble tea as close as Caton Avenue.

Green Lake (795 Flatbush (gmap)) has bubble tea, homemade (?) flavored iced teas and smoothies. I don't know how long they've been selling these things but it is new to me, so it goes on the blog. I was in a hurry, so I judged a book by its cover - the menu seems to be pretty standard Chinese take-out. If, however, it has more of an authentic-Chinese / dim sum thing going on please tell me in the comments. (Seriously. Please tell me this!)

Fact that may be interesting to only me: In Googling for a restaurant link, I learned that there is a town called Brooklyn on the shore of Wisconsin's Green Lake.

New Neighborhood Blog: The Q at Parkside

I'd like to welcome The Q at Parkside, a blog for people "for whom the Parkside Q is their hometrain," to the Brooklyn blogging family. The blog is run by Clarkson resident Tim Thomas, who has lived in the neighborhood with his wife (and now daughter) for 7 years.

The blog has hit the ground running, with a comparison of our four neighborhood grocery stores and a review of Melany, a Dominican restaurant on Flatbush and Lenox (gmap) that I wasn't aware of (and will now be checking out). He also beat me to joking about the DNA testing ads on the dollar vans, which I obviously waited too long to poke fun at.

In addition to blogging, the Thomases started the Clarkson FlatBed block association, which apparently kicked off strong: there will be a clean-up day on June 4 and a block party in August.

Welcome aboard, Q. Don't take too much of our traffic.

(Image via The Subway Nut)

New Block Association for Clarkson Avenue

Tim Thomas and Parker Lutz have announced the launch of Clarkson Flatbed, a new block association for Clarkson between Flatbush and Bedford. They're kicking things off on Saturday, with a block-wide beautification day. Anyone and everyone on the block is invited to come to an inaugural meeting this Saturday, May 15, at 4 pm. Items for the agenda include planting flowers in tree pits, organizing a block party, cleaning sidewalks, and setting up a Neighborhood Watch program.

Block associations are a great way of meeting people and building better neighborhoods, so get to it, people!

Incident on Parkside and Flatbush Tonight

We're not exactly sure why police cars were backed up at Parkside and Flatbush this evening, but I have a hunch that it might be from this:

Police in Brooklyn shot a woman after she refused to drop a knife.
It happened just before 7pm Monday on Parkside Avenue in Flatbush.
Police responded to the call of an emotionally disturbed person.
Once inside, they confronted the 31-year-old woman and told her to drop a knife that she was holding, and sprayed her with pepper spray.

(The article doesn't state a location on Parkside, though, so don't quote me.)

205 Parkside Fined For Damaged Facade

Moses Fried, noted slumlord of 205 Parkside Avenue, is in the news again…. and no, I'm not talking about the recent shutdown on one of his illegal hourly "hotels."

An anonymous neighbor, a local hero of sorts, complained to the Department of Buildings about 205's cracked facade and the DOB issued a stop work order. Fried responded by installing scaffolding along Parkside Court and the complaint is now resolved. But hopefully neighbors will stay on the case.

RELATED:

205 Parkside Available For Free?
Fried Responds To Free Building Prank

Gandhi: New Indian Restaurant Coming to Bedford

King of Tandoor is about to get some competition. A flyer (a lot of flyers, actually...) showed up on my doorstep yesterday from Gandhi, a new Indian restaurant that opens tomorrow (March 10). Gandhi will be at 2032 Bedford Avenue, between Parkside and Clarkson.

Gandhi is operated by the same people responsible for Joy in Prospect Heights. I am a big fan of Joy and am glad to have them in the neighborhood. Gandhi will have the same menu as Joy but the prices in PLG will be a bit lower.

The website isn't up yet but should be soon. Gandhi will be open from noon to 10PM (10:30 on Friday and Saturday) and, of course, will have delivery (718-282-7012 / -7016).

Book Documents a Year at a PLG Public School

While pecking around at Amazon, I was surprised to find Ms. Moffett's First Year: Becoming a Teacher in America (2004).

That the book follows the year in a life of a New York City Teaching Fellow wasn't what grabbed me. The surprise was where that teacher was working: at PS 92, right around the corner on Parkside.

The book was written by a New York Times reporter, Abby Goodnough, and much of it appeared in the Times' Metro section back when. It follows a first-year Teaching Fellow a decade ago, when PS 92 was considered one of the city's most troubled schools. (It no longer is, as Dept. of Education reports show a great deal of improvement.)

I don't know much about the book or PS 92, but I ordered a copy. If anyone else is interested in reading and discussing it, book-group-style, email me and let me know (brooklynite282 (at) gmail).

KA Deli's New Middle Eastern Menu

I am always hoping for more restaurant options in our neighborhood so I was pleasantly surprised last week when a menu showed up in our mailbox listing Middle Eastern goodies. I was a little surprised, since I thought I - or someone - would have noticed a restaurant under construction until I realized that it was KA Deli (on the NW corner of Flatbush and Clarkson) that had added baba hummus to the usual egg sandwiches and cold cuts.

A neighbor got there first and recommended the char and marinade on the chicken kebabs, though he suggested getting a platter since the sandwich was a bit sloppy. On Saturday night we had some friends over for dinner and went by to pick up an assortment so that we could see for ourselves.

The menu doesn't have any prices, which is a little disorienting, but I can tell you this: two chicken kebabs over rice with salad, two kofte kebabs (ground lamb and beef) over rice with salad, babaganoush, tabouleh, and a half-dozen stuffed grape leaves cost $25 and easily fed four adults (three thin, one fat) and what little amounts the three toddlers were willing to try.

In general, we were all pleased. The kebabs were very good, particularly the kofte. The baba ganoush and tabouleh were both great (though Carrie thought the baba had a little too much acid). The rice was a bit bland but well cooked. It may be a better option for lunch/early dinner until they get a sense of how popular this is because they've been out of hummus both times we've tried to go.

Short answer: a welcome addition to the neighborhood and I look forward to going back to try the falafel.