Kings County Nurseries in the NY Times

The best thing about having locals who work in the media is that the media notices your neighborhood. So it is today as the New York Times has a feature on Kings County Nurseries written by new Hawthorne Street resident Sam Dolnick.

A stalwart in the neighborhood, Kings County Nurseries has been at 625 New York Avenue between Fenimore and Rutland (gmap) for 55 years. The article tracks the changes in what the Merola family has sold as the neighborhood has changed around it, from Italian to Caribbean to the current wave of gentrification. (I know it is tempting to say that I am using a euphemism for white but I don't know how my Asian friends would feel about this honorary whiteness.)

Earlier this Spring, Kings County generously sold discounted barrels for the Hawthorne Street block beautification project. And while we're talking about discounts, if you go to their website you can print out a coupon for 10% off of purchases over $20.

Now get outside and plant something. (You should wait until Fall - unless you want what you plant to die. -- Ed.)

Hawthorne Block Association Meeting Thursday, July 15 at 7 pm

If you're on the block of Hawthorne between Flatbush and Bedford, you are cordially invited to the next block association meeting, this Thursday, 7 pm, at the Church of the Evangel (on Bedford, between Hawthorne and Fenimore). We're going to be planning the September block party. Come one, come all!

Feral Caturday: Update on Spike

BROOKLYN, NY - A cat that had been rumored missing or worse has shown up on the deck of Hawthorne Street once again. Spike, one of the founding members of the Feral Crew, has returned to his gang after a lengthy disappearance.

The strange disappearance of Spike had been causing the residents of Hawthorne Street Central and the surrounding buildings much agita, owing mostly to the presence of Cow, a large confrontational newcomer. [Photo not available] Cow had long been suspected in Spike's disappearance but never formally charged.

Spike returned this morning hungry, gaunt, and slightly wary of his old friends, Blackie and Tanner. Former Feral Crew member and current HSC resident Ethel welcomed him back more warmly. Cow showed up and began harassing Ethel, however, so we still have our eye on him. (Or her; we've never gotten close enough to find out.)

We'll provide an update when Spike calms down and gives a full report on his whereabouts.

(Yes, I know it is Sunday, but Feral Caturday is a day that exists independently of your mere human calendar. Also, this post wouldn't have been possible yesterday.)

Meals For Moms Offers Support for Parents of Newborns

Shortly after moving into her new home on Parkside Avenue in the fall of 2008, Nicole Fabri decided to organize local moms to cook for neighbors with newborns. Her project, Meals for Moms, took off in February 2009, when a neighbor of hers gave birth.

The idea was something Fabri experienced first hand back when she gave birth to her son Marius three years ago in Michigan: a local moms group brought her family meals and offered emotional support and guidance. Fabri wanted to do the same thing in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, partly to get to know more local families, and partly for karmic reasons: to help moms through what can often be a very difficult time.

"I remember one time when I hadn't slept in weeks," Fabri told me. "I was still in my pajamas, wearing the top halfway over my head, and looked like an insane person, when this other mom showed up."  Despite the awkwardness, the other mom's help was a real boon. "She was really sweet, and it turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to create a bond between mothers."

Photos: (TOP) Karen Oh, shown with her newborn son, Cherokee (born 6/17), is one of the beneficiaries of Meals for Moms. (BELOW) Nicole Fabri, founder of Meals For Moms, and her son, Marius.

Since Meals For Moms' launch, the group has grown to 20 cooks and is now serving its eighth mom, Karen Oh.

"It has gotten so big that in the last month that we've reorganized to minimize stress on the cooks," said Fabri. She has divided the group into two smaller groups, and each team serves one mother. On average, each cook makes a meal about once every 3-4 months, and each new mom gets about 10 meals.

Meals For Moms is always looking for volunteers. If you'd like to get involved; or if you're pregnant, live in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, and would appreciate the free service, please contact Nicole at nicole.fabri (at) clearenergybrokerage.com.

Public Meeting This Thursday To Discuss Provident House

Want to sound off on the proposed development 329 Lincoln? Here's your chance, courtesy of the Lefferts list:

UNIFORM LAND USE REVIEW PROCEDURE PUBLIC HEARING
The Borough President will hold a public hearing in the
President's Court Room,  Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn,
Commencing at 5:30 P.M. on Thursday, July 8th. 2010

Calendar Item 2
Providence House 1
329 Lincoln Road
UDAAP Designation – Land Disposition
Special Permit
Community District 9
100325 ZSK – 100326 HAK

P-Funk and Ohio Players Playing Free Show in Wingate

If you have plans for next Monday night, July 12, now is the time to break them -- unless, of course, your plans are to go to the George Clinton/Parliament Funkadelic and Ohio Players show at Wingate Field.

If Wingate Field rings a bell, that's where Curtis Mayfield was electrocuted back in the 1980s. It's the venue just east of our fair neighborhood, on Brooklyn Avenue between Rutland and Winthrop (gmap).

The show is free and starts at 7:30, but lines tend to be slow and gruesome, so get there early. You may also want to bring folding chairs.

The show is part the of the Martin Luther King Jr. Free Concert Series. Also slated to perform: Salt-N-Pepa, Naughty By Nature, and Slick Rick on August 2, and Aretha Franklin on August 9. Take that, Celebrate Brooklyn!

New Restauant Alert: JJ's Jamaican Restaurant

There is nothing like a Google Alert to remind a post you've been meaning to write remains unwritten. Today's alert was a new Yelp review for JJ's Jamaican restaurant in the remodeled space formerly occupied by Gordon's Jamaican Bakery at 711 Flatbush, just north of Parkside (gmap).

I haven't been inside but it's an attractive place, particularly for a primarily take-out restaurant. The renovation moved the counter to the back and opened up the front space for seating. When I get a chance to actually eat there I'll have more to say about the food... but the guy on Yelp liked it.

Image via Jason S. on Yelp.

And So Ends Our World Cup Coverage

 Ghana loses to Uruguay on penalty kicks in the most brutal fashion I've ever seen.

Justice is denied. My condolences to our friends at Meytex.

Image via AP Photo/Fernando Vergara

Nature Reclaims the Lincoln Road Tower Site

When I moved to PLG, the site at 27 Lincoln Road was a crumbling building - one I charmingly referred to as a "festering rathole" - hidden behind construction fencing as the Lincoln Road overpass was being refurbished. The building was purchased by Henry Herbst who, amid considerable controversy, planned to turn it into a gleaming 23-story glass tower. The building was demolished and then the economy exploded. To nobody's surprise, the building hasn't progressed since the demolition. The only apparent work to date has been the PLGArts Wall Mural project.

There was a break in the wall a few weeks ago, though, and I was able to reach my phone in and snap a picture of the inside of the site. There is always something a little beautiful about the way nature reclaims spaces after people abandon them (like, for example, the pre-renovation High Line).

I have since noticed that there is a glass window cut into the fence on the side of the lot facing Flatbush Avenue, so if you are interested in taking a closer look you are free to do so.

It's OK to Root For Ghana Again!

The US might have been eliminated from the World Cup last week but, because we lost to Ghana, PLG still has skin in the game. You can cheer with your neighbors at Meytex at least one more time when Ghana takes on Uruguay today at 2:30.

I forgot to mention the celebratory scene outside of Meytex - where it has always been OK to root for the Black Stars - after Ghana's 2-1 victory on Saturday but it was wild. Fans of the victors poured onto the street cheering, blowing vuvuzelas and waving flags. Traffic on Flatbush - particularly northbound - was a mess because of the revelry.

The best scene was when a police car finally pulled up alongside the double-parked party cars to ask them to move along and get Flatbush moving again. The crowd surrounded the car, laughing and cheering, and draped the Ghanaian flag across the windshield. You could tell that the policemen's hearts weren't really in breaking up the party.

You can read some reports on what it was like to see the Ghana - US match at Meytex here and here and a report on the Australia game from someone other than me here. As long as Ghana is alive, Hawthorne Street will continue to root on the Black Stars.