* The 5th Avenue BID is hosting a festival along 5th Avenue - again! So give back to the 5th Avenue merchants and buy something. Lots of items are on sale and discounted. Soak in the sun while walking down the middle of 5th Avenue. No cars!
* Let's Clean Up Sunset Park! Meet in front of the Rec Center in Sunset Park at 9:30 AM to help pick up litter around the park. Check out the website for more details.
* If you are heading over to the Brooklyn Book Festival, don't forget to check out locals Matt and Jessica (see their links on the right) as they moderate a panel with three graphic novelists and host a "comics jam." (The comics jam sounds like so much fun. I wish I could draw more than a shockingly perverse version of Mickey Mouse.) From Matt's weblog:
International Stage (Borough Hall Plaza)
11:00 a.m. The International Graphic Novel.
Three acclaimed graphic novelists who tackle big social and political themes in their work discuss what the form can accomplish, from an international and domestic perspective. Featuring Guy Delisle (The Burma Chronicles), Peter Kuper (Diario de Oaxaca: A Sketchbook Journal of Two Years in Mexico) and Sarah Glidden
Borough Hall Conference Room
1:00 p.m. Comics Jam with Jessica Abel and Matt Madden
A jam comic is an improvised collaborative comic. One person draws a single panel and then passes it on to the next person, who draws a new panel that continues the story. Get ready to draw and collaborate! For teens and adults. Participation limited to 25. (How To Understand Israel In 60 Days Or Less). Moderated by Matt Madden.
Showing posts with label Sunset Park BID. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sunset Park BID. Show all posts
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
BID Street Festivals Through August 2nd
According to the DOT street closures and this site, 5th Avenue from 48th to 52nd will be closed on Sundays from 11 AM to 6 PM for the Sunset Park BID Street Festival. Hope it helps the businesses.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Does the Music Annoy You?
Let me just say that I am an avid fan of The Brian Lehrer Show. He's even my friend on Facebook. Really. But I think that Brian Lehrer had a slow day yesterday. He had a decently long segment based on one of his friend's complaints (a friend who happens to live in Sunset Park!) about the holiday music that the Sunset Park BID has been playing on 5th Avenue since Thanksgiving.
Considering that the Sunset Park BID is not alone in piping holiday music along a shopping avenue, and considering that it also happened last year, it's not really news. However, since I always have WNYC on in the background when I am able, my attention was consumed by the "drama." Of course, there wasn't much drama. Some callers (mainly NOT from Sunset Park) complained about holiday music in general and whether or not it was even legal for the BID to pipe religious music (like Presley's "Blue Christmas") into a public area.
According to Ms. Giordano, of the Sunset Park BID, the music is shared with the shopping community for seven hours a day, and the BID is trying to be sensitive about the volume. I have no idea when it starts or stops, but I'm sure it's not too early or late to be aggravating to late-risers or early-to-bedders.
One caller, a Sunset resident who lives half a block from 5th Avenue, said that it's too loud and she can hear it from her living room. Granted, that would be annoying. And with some warmer weather coming this week, windows might be opening. I also live half a block from 5th Avenue, and I've never heard it from my apartment. (Full disclosure: Some people - like my students and my husband - think I might be hard-of-hearing.)
Is it really that annoying or offensive to hear holiday music in the streets for a month? Personally, I'm not particularly religious. I go to services on Christmas Eve because I like the candles and because my parents appreciate it. I do look forward to hearing The Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping" every year, but I have had quite enough of "Dominick the Donkey." Okay, maybe once or twice a season, even a few "Hee Haws" are okay. I love hearing the first Adam Sandler "Hanukkah Song," but I think the next couple of versions are poor sequels. Would it make a difference if the songs were completely secular? Does "Jingle Bells" count as a non-religious song? How about "Deck the Halls" or "Frosty the Snowman" or "Grandma Got Runover by a Reindeer"? Hmmm. That mentions Christmas Eve, so maybe not.
It could be that just the additional sound on the street is what aggravates those who want the music stopped. But aren't the guys with amps who share their views on Jesu Cristo more aggravating? Those guys I DO hear from my half a block away from 5th Avenue apartment.
I wonder if the Sunset Park BID could get Joni Mitchell's "River" piped in. I'd defend hearing JM to anyone, even Brian Lehrer.
Does anyone else have real opinions about this?
Considering that the Sunset Park BID is not alone in piping holiday music along a shopping avenue, and considering that it also happened last year, it's not really news. However, since I always have WNYC on in the background when I am able, my attention was consumed by the "drama." Of course, there wasn't much drama. Some callers (mainly NOT from Sunset Park) complained about holiday music in general and whether or not it was even legal for the BID to pipe religious music (like Presley's "Blue Christmas") into a public area.
According to Ms. Giordano, of the Sunset Park BID, the music is shared with the shopping community for seven hours a day, and the BID is trying to be sensitive about the volume. I have no idea when it starts or stops, but I'm sure it's not too early or late to be aggravating to late-risers or early-to-bedders.
One caller, a Sunset resident who lives half a block from 5th Avenue, said that it's too loud and she can hear it from her living room. Granted, that would be annoying. And with some warmer weather coming this week, windows might be opening. I also live half a block from 5th Avenue, and I've never heard it from my apartment. (Full disclosure: Some people - like my students and my husband - think I might be hard-of-hearing.)
Is it really that annoying or offensive to hear holiday music in the streets for a month? Personally, I'm not particularly religious. I go to services on Christmas Eve because I like the candles and because my parents appreciate it. I do look forward to hearing The Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping" every year, but I have had quite enough of "Dominick the Donkey." Okay, maybe once or twice a season, even a few "Hee Haws" are okay. I love hearing the first Adam Sandler "Hanukkah Song," but I think the next couple of versions are poor sequels. Would it make a difference if the songs were completely secular? Does "Jingle Bells" count as a non-religious song? How about "Deck the Halls" or "Frosty the Snowman" or "Grandma Got Runover by a Reindeer"? Hmmm. That mentions Christmas Eve, so maybe not.
It could be that just the additional sound on the street is what aggravates those who want the music stopped. But aren't the guys with amps who share their views on Jesu Cristo more aggravating? Those guys I DO hear from my half a block away from 5th Avenue apartment.
I wonder if the Sunset Park BID could get Joni Mitchell's "River" piped in. I'd defend hearing JM to anyone, even Brian Lehrer.
Does anyone else have real opinions about this?
Monday, December 1, 2008
Sunset's Own Tree Lighting
It may not be as grand as the Rockefeller Center tree, but you'll get a better view. On December 4th at 4 PM, the Sunset Park BID and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica will be hosting the Holiday Tree Ceremony at the corner of 60th and 5th Avenue.
There will be music from various groups and schools, and a magic show is scheduled by "King Henry." Also, kids will be able to have their photo taken with Santa from 3-4 PM. Get there early because there are free gift bags, and we've all seen the lines that these events bring with them. Crazy!
Check it out!
There will be music from various groups and schools, and a magic show is scheduled by "King Henry." Also, kids will be able to have their photo taken with Santa from 3-4 PM. Get there early because there are free gift bags, and we've all seen the lines that these events bring with them. Crazy!
Check it out!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Sunset Park Festival is Back!
Get ready for our local street fair! From 11 AM through 6 PM on Sunday, September 14th 5th Avenue will be full of food, music, rides, crafts, and lots of stuff to buy. It stretches from 44th Street to 59th Street, so take a pleasant (if crowded and loud) walk some time during the day.
Two stages (44th and 54th Streets) will have music and dancing. Also, the blow-up rides will be on 45th Street to entertain the kiddies. The Children's Museum will bring reptiles, the Library will bring books, and the FDNY will bring the fire and smoke house that was in the Park over the summer. Children can get ID kits, everyone can check out the Transit Authority's vintage bus, and lots of local community services will share information and sign up volunteers/members. If you get there early, you can even score a hula hoop in honor of the 60th Anniversary of the circular toy.
My personal leaning is to support the really local businesses for food and fun rather than the vendors who come to every street fair and sell the same stuff. But hey, it's your cash.
The Sunset Park Business Improvement District sponsors the festival, and you can see photos of last year's Festival here.
Two stages (44th and 54th Streets) will have music and dancing. Also, the blow-up rides will be on 45th Street to entertain the kiddies. The Children's Museum will bring reptiles, the Library will bring books, and the FDNY will bring the fire and smoke house that was in the Park over the summer. Children can get ID kits, everyone can check out the Transit Authority's vintage bus, and lots of local community services will share information and sign up volunteers/members. If you get there early, you can even score a hula hoop in honor of the 60th Anniversary of the circular toy.
My personal leaning is to support the really local businesses for food and fun rather than the vendors who come to every street fair and sell the same stuff. But hey, it's your cash.
The Sunset Park Business Improvement District sponsors the festival, and you can see photos of last year's Festival here.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Sunset BID Bag of Recyclables but Not Returnables
This was lovingly left behind by someone who collected lots of Poland Spring water bottles. There are also a few Arizona Ice Tea and other non-refundable cans and bottles included. This morning, I spotted a few of our local shopping-cart-returnables-collectors stop and look at the bag, but they didn't take it. It's business, not environmental!
What I want to know, however, is what is a Sunset Park Business Improvement District bag full of recycling doing in a tree well and not in a recycling bin? Who left it there? The bag is in good condition, so I doubt it was swiped by one of the regular collectors. Besides, they know better than to collect bottles that aren't worth five or ten cents.
See what happens when you don't give people monetary incentive? Just one more reason to support NYPIRG's "Bigger Better Bottle Bill." Check it out here. Either way, if it's still there later, I'll stick it in front of my building for pick-up. Can I get ticketed for that?
What I want to know, however, is what is a Sunset Park Business Improvement District bag full of recycling doing in a tree well and not in a recycling bin? Who left it there? The bag is in good condition, so I doubt it was swiped by one of the regular collectors. Besides, they know better than to collect bottles that aren't worth five or ten cents.See what happens when you don't give people monetary incentive? Just one more reason to support NYPIRG's "Bigger Better Bottle Bill." Check it out here. Either way, if it's still there later, I'll stick it in front of my building for pick-up. Can I get ticketed for that?
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