53 Boerum

Those of us at the 53BP blog and message board wish all our fellow residents a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year.

With the drama of the to-be or not-to-be transit strike still looming, it’s not surprising that some resourceful Downtown Brooklynites are going to try and make some cash off the situation. Check out this “transit strike special” parking spot on the corner of Livingston and Hoyt - only $300 cash per day while the strike lasts! Hurry folks, this deal won’t last. Craig’s List via Curbed

Often when donating to large organizations, you can’t help but wonder, “did my money really go to the cause I wanted it to?”

Worry no more. My lovely 53BP neighbor Tina recently told me about DonorsChoose. “DonorsChoose is a simple way to provide students in need with resources that our public schools often lack. At this not-for-profit web site, teachers submit project proposals for materials or experiences their students need to learn. These ideas become classroom reality when concerned individuals, whom we call Citizen Philanthropists, choose projects to fund.”

I did a search for Brooklyn schools and came up with many interesting projects. Here is a sampling of some in the arts:
> Digital photography program for special needs students
> Frames needed for exceptional student artwork
> Musical instruments for eager students

Help Brooklyn students this holiday season. Please consider donating to one of these wonderful causes!

Happy first official snow day to everyone at 53BP! Bundle up, bust out your Bing Crosby CDs and make some hot chocolate this weekend… (with marshmallows, of course).

The Real Deal reports that construction sites at 230 Livingston Street and 225 Schermerhorn Street (between Hoyt and Bond) will contain a combined 226 housing units and *18,000 square feet* of ground floor retail space. Our neighbors over at the Court House apartments appear to still be looking for some retail tenants. Anybody hear any rumors as to what might move in? My fingers are still crossed for a Trader Joe’s…

I’ve been racking my brain lately as to what to get for my hard-to-shop for friends and relatives. I came up with a list of a few local treasures and thought it’d be nice to share ‘em with my 53BP neighbors and maybe help cross some people off your lists. Here are my picks:

*HAYSTACK* - Eclectic shop with a fantastic selection of gift items. Home accessories, jewelry, housewares, bath products, children’s toys and stationery are just a small sampling of what you’ll find here. Perfect place to shop for moms, aunts, grandmothers or any ladies in your life. Prices are shockingly reasonable, considering the nabe. Haystack, 130 Clinton Street between Joralemon and Livingston

*JACQUES TORRES* - Everybody loves chocolate. Jacques offers a delectable variety of gourmet confections at his factory in DUMBO. A small box of handmade chocolates is a great gift idea for your co-workers. Jacques Torres, 66 Water Street, between the bridges; also in Manhattan, 350 Hudson

*ROCKETSHIP* - For the artist in your life, this is THE place to shop for comics and graphic novels. Don’t be intimidated by the serious, library-like atmosphere… you can take all the time you need reading and thumbing through the hundreds of volumes on their shelves. They also feature work from local artists, including an in-store gallery with prints available for purchase. Rocketship, 208 Smith Street, between Baltic and Butler

*SERIMONY* - This shop may look tiny, but inside you’ll find a huge selection of unique wares handmade by fellow Brooklynites. A fun place to shop for friends… Store owner Karen Van Every’s custom stationery designs, featured in New York magazine, are also available. Serimony, 421 Court Street, between 2nd and 3rd Place

There are some creative juices flowing at 53BP!

One of our fellow residents, *Mikhaela B. Reid,* is a political cartoonist, illustrator and information graphics artist. She cartoons regularly for the Boston Phoenix and Bay Windows. Her work has appeared in an impressive list of publications like the Los Angeles Times, Metro Times Detroit, In These Times, Ms. and The Funny Times. She is also featured as “cartooning’s angry young woman” in the anthology Attitude 2: The New Subversive Alternative Cartoonists, edited by Ted Rall. …But Mikhaela’s talents don’t stop there — she also graduated from Harvard with a degree in Social Anthropology.

Check out her politically-charged (and really entertaining!) cartoons at Mikhaela.net. If you like what you read, you can score some tees, totes and posters of her work at CafePress.

Many of us will be travelling to see family this Thanksgiving, but some folks might be spending the holiday here at home. Of course, no day-of-thanks is complete without the famous Macy’s Parade, which traverses down Broadway from 77th Street to Herald Square. There are several Brooklyn restaurants serving Thanksgiving dinner, including Mancora on Smith Street. After downing all that tryptophan, get your (early) shop on at the Atlantic Center Target on Black Friday - they’ll even give you a 6:00 AM wake-up call from one of 5 “celebrities,” including Kermit the Frog and, um, a Mariachi band?

Wishing all our friends and 53BP neighbors a safe and wonderful holiday!
-Lori & Matthew

I’m always fascinated by what visitors think about New York City. Two Canadian friends of mine, who are huge fans of Manhattan, were in town visiting for the weekend. Hubby and I took them on a grand tour of the nabe here in Brooklyn, including stopping for some pizza at Grimaldi’s, sipping some spicy hot chocolate at Jacques Torres, taking a leisurely stroll along the promenade, and a quick tour of 53BP. Our Canadians were pretty pleased with their first trip ever to Brooklyn, and told us that they had a very different impression in their minds of what Brooklyn might be like. The word they used was “rough.” This was quite funny to us…

What are some myths you’ve had to dispel about Brooklyn?

Today’s New York Post boasts an article (see second item) about the fancy-shmancy Brooklyn Law School dorm across the street from 53BP. The article states, “Feil Hall is a 22-story student residence designed by Robert A.M. Stern *that could be mistaken for a Ritz-Carlton,* with handsome furniture and finishes in 239 units housing 360 students.”

The article goes on to mention all the new buildings going up in the immediate area around Feil Hall, “where residential developers seem to be building on every square inch of land.” Specific mentions include the Court House Apartments, 199 State Street, and the YMCA. Michael Burke, executive director of the Downtown Brooklyn Council, says “…the new projects are turning downtown from a 9-5 business center into a 24/7 community. There are new residents, new life, and it’s all much more vibrant.”