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Park Slope

Park Slope

Location:
Neighborhood in northeastern Brooklyn, bounded north by 4th and Flatbush Avenues, to the east by Flatbush Avenue and Prospect Park West, to the south by Prospect Park West and 15th Street and to the west by 4th Avenue.

Description:
Park Slope is known for its vibrant cultural community and is considered one of Brooklyn's major cultural centers. It takes its name from its location on the western slope of neighboring Prospect Park. The neighborhood has many historic buildings, hip restaurants, bars, and retail stores, as well as close access to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Central Library (as well as the Park Slope branch) of the Brooklyn Public Library system. Many famous writers, actors, and musicians live in Park Slope

Racial Makeup

Park Slope neighborhoods:

I. Significant Neighborhood Institutions:
1. Prospect Park (with the numerous amenities already listed on your website).
2. Main Branch of Brooklyn Public Library and several smaller branches within the neighborhood
3. Brooklyn Museum - portions of which are newly refurbished
4. Brooklyn Botanic Garden - containing a wonderful cherry tree esplanade, a beautiful and peaceful Japanese garden, and children's garden
5. Saturday Farmers' Market at Grand Army Plaza
6. Music School on Seventh Avenue with regular weekend performances
7. Fifth Avenue (joining Seventh Avenue) containing many new, small, individually owned shops, great restaurants and galleries
8. PuppetWorks, a puppet theater on Sixth Avenue, and a range of other theaters and cultural amenities
9. Park Slope Food Coop - Member owned, run and staffed grocery store with 11,000 members
10. Fifth Avenue Committee - a community development corporation dedicated to preserving affordable housing, employment for low-income and working people and providing many other services to the community in the interests of preserving an economically diverse and affordable neighborhood
11. A special trolley leaving from Grand Army Plaza takes people to the Brooklyn Children's Museum
12. Outdoor flea market every Saturday at P.S. 321

II. Good Transportation Links Many New York City subway lines serve various portions of the neighborhood: the 2, 3, N, R, Q and F lines have stops in the area. There are also a number of buses.

III. Lots of independently owned small businesses including at least three independent bookstores. Some stores, e.g. several ice cream places and a muffin store have quite a bit of seating outside. Because there are lots of places to stop and sit it's a great neighborhood to walk around in.

IV. Lots of Annual Events:
1. The Fifth Avenue Street Fair - every spring
2. The Halloween Parade on Seventh Avenue
3. The St. Patrick's Day Parade
4. The Labor Day West Indian Parade (on Eastern Parkway but ends at Grand Army Plaza)
5. Gay Pride Parade
6. Philharmonic in Prospect Park
7. Summer performances at the Bandshell in Prospect Park

STORY:

I've been living in my neighborhood since I was about 5 or 6 years old. I love my neighborhood. It has everything that I can want. I have pizzerias and all types of restaurants from Chinese to Mexican food. I have a lot of memories in this one pizzeria called Smiling Pizza. In junior high school I always used to go there and get a slice with my best friend. We would always caught up and tell each other how our day went. This pizzeria became somewhat of a hung out spot for us. We spent many hours there just talking and laughing. This pizzeria gave us a place to go after school.

Smiling Pizza:

My Community

My Community

Park Slope:

Council Member: Bill DeBlasio (District 39)

Click here for information about Bill DeBlasio.

New York City Senator:

Senator William J. Larkin Jr.

Click picture for information about William J. Larkin

President of the Borough of Brooklyn :Marty Markowitz

Click picture for information about Marty Markowitz

District Manager: Craig R. Hammerman

Click picture for information about Craig R. Hammerman

Assemblyman José R. Peralta

Click on the picture for information Jose Peralta

-- Explain and demonstrate how one of your elected officials supports your community.

Council Member Bill de Blasio has dedicated his life to public service. From working for the parents of Community School District 15, to serving at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, to managing Hillary Rodham Clinton's successful run for U.S. Senate, he fights the tough fights and wins.
Elected in 1999, de Blasio served as a member of Community School Board 15, where he helped spearhead some of the most comprehensive reforms in the city. District 15 was the first in New York City to cap first grade class size at 20 students and is establishing universal Pre-Kindergarten. De Blasio worked with other Board members to give parents a choice by establishing middle school academies that create smaller, more personal learning environments for students, and was part of an effort to reinvent John Jay High School.

Throughout his career Bill has worked to build affordable housing and keep neighborhoods affordable for working families. Before he joined the New York City Council in 2001, Bill served in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) aiding then Secretary Andrew Cuomo. In the New York City Council Bill has won legislative and land-use victories that have led to the construction of thousands of units of affordable housing throughout Brooklyn. As Borough President Bill's first priority will be to build and preserve affordable housing. Bill's Plan to Make Brooklyn More Affordable for Working Families: Putting City Land to Work: As Borough President, Bill will conduct an inventory of all unused and underused public land. He plans to maximize affordable housing in the development of vacant land and in the construction of new public facilities like libraries and public schools. Already Bill has put these principles into action. In the Council he led the fight to ensure that at least half of all units built at Public Place in Carroll Gardens will be affordable to low, moderate and middle income families and worked with his colleagues in the City Council to help the Fifth Avenue Committee turn an underused parking lot in Park Slope into supportive housing for seniors, persons with HIV and young people aging out of foster care. Leveraging Private Development to Build Affordable Housing: In the City Council Bill played a key role in reforming New York's zoning code and tax laws to create incentives for developers to build more affordable housing. Bill led the fight to close a longstanding loophole that gave tax breaks to developers of luxury housing. Under the new law, developers in most of Brooklyn will no longer qualify for tax abatements unless their projects set aside 20% of all units as affordable housing. Over the next ten years these reforms are expected to generate 20,000 new units of affordable housing. Inclusionary Zoning: Bill has also been a leader in the fight for inclusionary zoning – requiring developers to set aside affordable housing in order to build to maximum height. So far voluntary inclusionary zoning has been implemented in Greenpoint-Williamsburg and 4th Avenue in Park Slope, spurring the construction of hundreds of new units of affordable housing. As Borough President Bill plans to make inclusionary zoning mandatory in all Brooklyn neighborhoods.

On the City Council Bill has been a leader on environmental issues. As Brooklyn Borough President, Bill will work to maximize recycling opportunities in schools, offices, and homes.

• Recycling Electronic Waste: Bill has sponsored multiple electronic waste (e-waste) recycling events throughout Brooklyn, giving members of the community an opportunity to dispose of toxic electronic equipment in an environmentally sound way. Bill has introduced legislation in the City Council, Intro 104, that would require manufacturers of electronic equipment, such as TV's and computers, to set up a free system to collect and recycle these goods. This would help ensure that toxic materials like lead and mercury – commonly found in computer monitors andTV's– don'tend up in our air and water.



• Say No to Styrofoam: Bill has introduced legislation, Intro 609, that would ban the use of Styrofoam in New York City. Styrofoam is the widely used term for Polystyrene foam, a substance which doesn't biodegrade and essentially has no expiration date. Bill's legislation would prohibit city agencies and city restaurants from using Styrofoam. As Borough President Bill will continue to encourage the use of green products and cut down on unnecessary waste.

To preserve our neighborhoods Bill believes we also need to invest to keep them clean. While on the City Council he has improved trash pickups, cleaned up notoriously dirty thoroughfares and brought bigger better garbage cans to streets throughout his district.

• Cleaning up Church Ave and 7th Ave: For the past two years, Bill has secured funding in the budget to partner with the Doe Fund to clean up Church Avenue and 7th Avenue from 3rd Street to 14th Street.



• More Trash Pickups: As growth exploded along 5th Avenue in Park Slope, Bill was able to increase trash pickups to twice a day from just once a day – keeping the neighborhood clean. As Borough President, Bill will increase trash pickups in the neighborhoods that need it most.



• Bigger, Better Garbage Cans: Everywhere you look in Bill's district you'll see new oversized trash barrels. In this year's budget, Bill won funding for twenty-three more. As borough president, the bigger, better garbage can will be available in every neighborhood.



• Teaming up with local businesses to keep streets clean: Bill has been a strong advocate for forming a BID on 5th Avenue in Park Slope. A Business Improvement District (BID) is a formal organization composed mainly of local merchants who all agree to contribute to improving neighborhood services and appearance. BIDs deliver supplemental services such as sanitation and maintenance, public safety and visitor services, marketing and promotional programs, capital improvements, and beautification for the area - all funded by a special assessment paid by property owners within the district. As borough president, Bill will work with small businesses and community leaders to bring BIDS to neighborhoods where they're needed most.
• SUPPORTING LOCAL INSTITUTIONS
• Bill believes that strong vibrant community organizations are a crucial element of building a stronger Brooklyn.

• On the Council Bill has secured funding for Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Brooklyn tourism center, Prospect Park Alliance, the Brooklyn Arts Council, local museums and civic associations, the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Martin Luther King Concert Series, among others.



• Bill had led the charge in transforming the Park Slope Armory, which had been used since the 1980s as a municipal homeless shelter, into a community recreation center that will serve the needs of children, adults, and senior citizens.



• In addition to serving as a Little League Coach, Bill has helped fund local organizations that keep kids active, like the Prospect Park Baseball Association, which administers a youth baseball and softball league for kids in Prospect Park. Bill also helped to fund the Playground Associates in Prospect Park, the Prospect YMCA's fitness program, and the new YMCA pool.

~NO VACANCY: PARK SLOPE'S PARKING PROBLEM

Residents of Park Slope, Brooklyn are very much aware that traffic is on the rise and parking is scarce; a new study reveals these two problems are closely linked. No Vacancy: Park Slope's Parking Problem and How to Fix It reveals that curbside parking spaces on 7th Avenue are filled to capacity. As a result, nearly half of all traffic is simply "cruising" block after block searching for a parking space.

Conducted by Transportation Alternatives, a transportation advocacy group, the study reveals:

• On average, 94% of the area's metered parking spaces are occupied, with nearly 100% of spaces occupied at peak periods. Occupancy rates at non-metered spaces average 95%
• Nearly one in every six vehicles parked along 7th Avenue is illegally parked, with the rate of illegal parking rising exponentially as the curbside fills
• Nearly 2/3 of local traffic is circling the block cruising for parking

"This study shows that Brooklynites are suffering from needless traffic and dangerous illegal parking that could be easily eliminated through inexpensive improvements like market-priced Muni-Meters and residential parking permits."
Much of Park Slope's traffic could be eliminated through better management of curbside parking spaces. The first ever study of "cruising" in Brooklyn, and only the third in New York City, "No Vacancy" provides neighborhood merchants, residents and officials with the basis for market rate pricing along commercial corridors, and resident parking permits on adjacent side streets.

African American lives 2

African American Lives....The History
Link To Website : http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/aalivestoolkit/

Task: Feb. 13 channel 13 9pm Questiions to answer:
1. Who is doctor Henry Gates?
2. Choose an interviewee and discuss the followiing:
The historical events of his or her famiily
The historical significance of his or her family.

1. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University, as well as director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research.
2. The interviewee that i picked was Chris Rock.
In March 1865 , Julius Caesar Tingman enlists with the U.S. Colored Troops after twenty-one years as a slave. Tingman, Chris Rock's great, great grandfather, remains in the army until 1866. In the 1940s Alan Rock, Chris Rock's grandfather left South Carolina to go to New York City where he became a cab driver and preacher. These historical facts about Chris Rock family holds a great significance to him because he knew knew this information before. He found out that his great, great gradnfather had been in the army.

The other America

The Other America was a speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 4, 1967, at a meeting of Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church in New York City.

1. In this speech Martin Luther King Jr. talks about two americas. He talks about betrayal and silence.

2. The radio broadcaster mentions this speech goes beyond the civil rights agenda. This is so because the Vietnam war doesn't have anything to do with the civil rights movements. The Vietnam war didn't even occur in the United Stated so it does go beyond the civil right agenda. As Martin Luther King Jr. interaction with the nation grew he began to see that there were larger issues that America needed to think about.

3. Dr. King speaks against the War in Vietnam. He said that the war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit, and if we ignore this sobering reality we will find ourselves organizing clergy- and laymen-concerned committees for the next generation.

What Is Your Life's Blueprint?. Speech by Martin Luther King Jr.

What Is Your Life's Blueprint?

Six months before he was assassinated, King spoke to a group of students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia on October 26, 1967.
I want to ask you a question, and that is: What is your life's blueprint?
Now each of you is in the process of building the structure of your lives, and the question is whether you have a proper, a solid and a sound blueprint.
I want to suggest some of the things that should begin your life's blueprint. Number one in your life's blueprint, should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your worth and your own somebodiness. Don't allow anybody to make you fell that you're nobody. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has ultimate significance.
Secondly, in your life's blueprint you must have as the basic principle the determination to achieve excellence in your various fields of endeavor. You're going to be deciding as the days, as the years unfold what you will do in life — what your life's work will be. Set out to do it well.
And I say to you, my young friends, doors are opening to you--doors of opportunities that were not open to your mothers and your fathers — and the great challenge facing you is to be ready to face these doors as they open....
And when you discover what you will be in your life, set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it. don't just set out to do a good job. Set out to do such a good job that the living, the dead or the unborn couldn't do it any better
If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. If you can't be a pine at the top of the hill, be a shrub in the valley. Be be the best little shrub on the side of the hill.
Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If you can't be a highway, just be a trail. If you can't be a sun, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.
— From the estate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Final thoughts:
I believe that this speech made by Martin Luther King Jr. is important because it talks about your life's blueprint. It makes you think about your future plans and the different opportunities that we now have.

Questions:
1. After reading the speech "What's your life's blueprint?" by Martin Luther King Jr. What is your life blueprint??
2. How has this speech affected you or your future plans?
3. What are your final thoughts about these speech?