2009 PLG House Tour Coming Soon

Usually I hear about this first from Bob Marvin but the New York Times had a roundup of house tours around town and included the May 31 PLG tour. Per the Times:

Eleven houses will be open from noon to 5 p.m., including a 1907 limestone house renovated with a mix of pocket doors, antique chandeliers, an exercise room and a contemporary galley kitchen; a 1911 townhouse with original Arts and Crafts interior details and a staircase decorated with vintage maps; and the home of the 2006 Silver Award winner of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, which has a back garden with two waterfalls, charming seating areas and winding paths. Infants in front packs only. Tickets, $25, at K-Dog & Dunebuggy Cafe, 43 Lincoln Road (between Flatbush and Ocean Avenues). Advance tickets, $20. Information: (718) 284-6210 or (718) 462-0024 and at leffertsmanor.org.

As the NYT said, there is a more information at the LMA website, including this important note for parents of young children:

Note: Children under 12 years of age and photographs are not permitted inside tour houses. Infants in front packs only, will be allowed inside the houses.”

There is also a lot about the tour houses, the owners and a feature on Axel Hedman, designer of the row of houses on Ocean Avenue seeking Historic District designation.

NYT on 75 and 99 Ocean Avenue

There's a neat feature on a couple of Ocean Avenue buildings that rent to musicians in today's New York Times. About 40 musicians live in the two buildings—because the landlord likes it that way. You can read all about it here.

Hawthorne Street Declares War on Skeeters!

Every August, our backyard transforms into the most popular spot for mosquitoes in all of Brooklyn. (Or at least it seems that way.) I can go for a walk in Prospect Park and not get bitten, but dare I step out back for 5 minutes and I'm covered with welts. So this year I'm urging my neighbors to join me in declaring WAR ON SKEETERS. Now is the time for action, people—in spring, before all the skeeter eggs hatch.

The most effective way to lower the skeeter count is to remove any area where water pools in your yard—gutters, flower pots, bird baths, piles of leaves and other garden debris, garbage cans and the like. Even small cracks can incubate hundreds of skeeters if left wet for a few days. Want to stop these pests? Cleaning up and removing standing water will do more to reduce their population than $1,000 bug zappers—and won't cost you a thing. 

For more info, see the U of Kentucky skeeter page.

Brooklyn Public Library fundraiser

Fundraisers are a dime a dozen these days but if I had to vote I'd vote for throwing your spare dimes to the Brooklyn Public Library. Due to the budget shortages, the library is faced with cutting hours and services. But you can help—and drink some quality brew at the same time. The Brooklyn Vanguard, Brooklyn Public Library's young donor group, is having a party nearby in Crown Heights (or Prospect Heights, if you're a realtor). 

Thursday, May 14, 2009
6-9 pm
Franklin Park Bar and Beer Garden
618 Saint Johns Place (near Franklin Avenue)

DJ Cosmo Baker will spin
Enjoy donated complimentary hors d'oeuvres, wine and beer. 
$40 advance/$50 door

To purchase tickets, visit http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/support/vanguard or contact Maggie Beaute-Lucien at 718.230.2465

UniverSoul Circus: cruel to animals?

We've never cottoned to the whiners who complain about the noise from UniverSoul Circus, which runs on our side of the park for two weeks every spring. Kids love the circus and, hey, what's two weeks? But  Flatbush Vegan has a different beef: the blog claims UniverSoul is among the circuses that treat animals cruelly. A list of allegations compiled by PETA dates back to 1997. Of course, half of what PETA says you can, as a rule, disregard, but USDA reports have confirmed some nasty stuff. Most recently, "A U.S. District Court judge who viewed videotape of UniverSoul elephant exhibitor Carson & Barnes’ animal care director Tim Frisco beating elephants with bullhooks and shocking them with electric prods."  That was in 2005, however, and the problems since then have been relatively mild.

Does anyone who went to the circus this year care to comment?

On Location in PLG

A friend tipped us to a film crew shooting a scene on Winthrop yesterday and was able to get some pictures. I was not so fortunate, as they caught me trying to snap a few shots of the set and shooed me far enough away that I didn't get anything good. The two African-American women are in the cast; I don't know what anyone else is doing.

According to the filming permits, the working title for the film is Ayita, Ayita. The Google tells me nothing about this movie, so if you have any information about it, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks, Laura.