Rachel Trachtenburg’s Sweet 16 Show Dec. 13

Miss Rachel Trachtenburg will be turning 16 and is throwing a birthday party/massive show this Sunday, Dec. 13 at House of Yes in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Rachel appeared on the cover of the very first Time Out New York Kids. But now that's she's turning 16, she's emerging from her family's "indie-vaudeville-conceptual-art-rock-slideshow" band, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, and has formed her own indie-bubblegum band, Supercute, with Julia Cumming and June Lei. All together, they add up to about 40 years old.

She's inviting some friends -- including fellow teenage musical talents Care Bears On Fire -- to the party and onto the stage.

The festivities will include a "Red Carpet/Prom-style" photo shoot and plenty of vegetarian chili corn chip pie.

(Supercute from left: Julia Cumming, Rachel Trachtenburg and June Lei)

Sunday, Dec. 13, 7 p.m., $10 at House of Yes, 342 Maujer St.

Here's Supercute's "The Hula Hoop Song" video:

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Clairvoyant Pop-Up Shop in Williamsburg This Weekend, Dec. 10, 11, 12

Are you lost about what gift to get for that special person who seems to have everything?

Then this is for you: a “clairvoyant” pop-up shop is opening this weekend in Williamsburg. Here's the message we received (by totally normal means) yesterday:

"Let the spirit of giving flow through you and she will guide you to the perfect gift ... We are catering to the customer who just doesn’t know what gift to get for a special friend or relative. Clairvoyant Judith Auora Ryan will be available to read our patrons and select the perfect gift."

Why the clairvoyant? Because, as 303Grand explains, the pop-up shop will offer a range of items from independent retailers, designers and artists – all wrapped in identical white packaging.

You will totally need the clairvoyant to pick out the right gift.

Lest you think that some shopkeeper is planning to pile on the bangles and murmur some mumbo jumbo, think again. Ms. Ryan's clairvoyant credentials are sterling.

More fun: it's a Subports Retail Experiment. From Core77:
"Subports is a new design retail experiment, where customers use text messages to purchase items. This twist frees the shop from a format that requires four walls and a roof, allowing Subports to disperse their wares throughout the city, in fake street bazaars or hidden within book safes."

December 10, 11, 12, 2009
Noon – 10 pm, Daily at 303 Grand St. Brooklyn, NY 11211

Involved in the experience are:

Alleged, Alter, Aaron Linn, Amron Experimental, Article 22, byAMT Inc., Cabinet, City Reliquary, Craighton Berman, Design Glut, GOODyoga, grow house grow, In God We Trust, KIOSK, Plex Design, Studio Vandenberg, Sakurako Shimizu, Mock Supply Company, Other, Music, R&E Praspaliauskas, tinyhearts, Vena Cava

All items will be sold via text message. To pre-register for the event visit http://www.subports.com/signup

To learn more about Subports Retail Experiments check out http://www.subports.com/experiments

Photo: Fortune Teller by myjedilightsaber

http://www.flickr.com/photos/myjedilightsaber/ / CC BY 2.0

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Wash Ave Wonderland Thursdays Coming Up

The Washington Avenue-Prospect Heights Association (WAPHA), a community partnership along the Washington Avenue commercial corridor in central Brooklyn, sent us word that Jamila’s (top photo) and Awedacityt (bottom photo) invite all residents and visitors to Wash Ave Wonderland Thursdays from 6 – 9 p.m. on December 10 and 17.

The event includes complimentary beauty consultations and samples from Divine Connections Hair Spa and ibeauty bar, and delicious hor d’oeuvres from Abigail’s Café and Wine Bar and Udom Thai Restaurant.

Thursday, December 10:
-Awedacity (located at 806 Washington Avenue) will host ibeauty bar & Udom Thai Restaurant.
-Jamila’s (located at 461 Sterling Place) will host Divine Connection Hair Spa & Abigail Café & Wine Bar

Thursday, December 17:
-Awedacity (located at 806 Washington Avenue) will host Divine Connection Hair Spa & Abigail Café & Wine Bar.
-Jamila’s (located at 461 Sterling Place) will host ibeauty bar & Udom Thai Restaurant.

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Hitting Brooklyn Craft Fairs for Holiday Shopping

Craft fairs are a good way to shop Brooklyn and they are more holiday-ish than department stores.

So this past weekend we dragged our sorry selves through the cold rain and hit the always-dependable Brooklyn Friends Winter Festival/Holiday Craft Fair.

We were glad we made the effort. Besides snagging some cool handcrafted wooden bracelets and a T-shirt showing a cat inside a whale, there was delicious food and lots of kids in a holiday mood.

After that we ran over to the First Unitarian Church for the annual Unifair (don't you always think that says Unfair?) to find treasures in the piles of used clothing, jewelry, baked items, etc.

We always go for the books but people were scooping up jeans and assorted knick knacks. The carols around the piano and warm lunch made for good holiday vibes.

There are plenty of holiday craft fairs coming up in Brooklyn this weekend and the next as well.

This weekend, you can pick between the annual craft festival at the Brooklyn Historical Society, the Third Ward Handmade Holiday Crafts Fair, the St. Ephram's fair, and Royale Bar's fabulous flea. Details can be found at the Brooklyn Eagle.

The following weekend -- the final shopping weekend before Christmas -- the Brooklyn Lyceum Holiday Craft Market will bring together more than 60 local artisans for excellent last-minute shopping.

More about the Brooklyn Lyceum's fair here.

UPDATE: Just got word that the Brooklyn Artists Gym is holding a Holiday Art and Gift Sale Sunday, Dec. 13 from 1 - 5 p.m. (continuing to Dec. 23). Opening reception from 1-5 on Sunday the 13th: hot toddies to keep away the cold. Give art and artifacts as holiday gifts.

Photos by MK Metz
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Where To Drop Off Your Gently Used Coats In Brooklyn

We keep saying we've got to drop off those coats that we don't use anymore . . . but where where is it again where we're supposed to drop them off?

Answer: At any of the locations (mostly police precincts) shown on the map above. The live Google map with exact addresses can be found here.

Through the New York Cares Coat Drive, New York Cares collects nearly 70,000 gently used winter coats each December and distributes them to thousands of men, women, and children who would otherwise be cold. You don't need it, someone else does. Simple!

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Meyhem in Bed-Stuy, and More Brooklyn Briefs

- Mayhem broke out in Bed-Stuy last night (Sunday about 9:30 p.m.) when a woman heard a commotion and went outside at Clifton Place and Franklin Avenue. She was shot in the head and killed, a 14-year-old was shot in the leg, and a man was assaulted. abclocal UPDATE: nbcnewyork has more details.

- For sale in Greenpoint: Oxygen. newyorkshitty

- A Neo-Nazi blogger's fate is now in the hands of a Brooklyn jury. Brooklyn Eagle

- The Daily News paired up with IKEA Brooklyn to find the messiest kid's room in town. The prize was a total room makeover, courtesy of IKEA. Here's a video of the disasterous winning room and what it looked like when IKEA was done with it.

- The long-delayed Park Slope Armory’s rebirth as a neighborhood recreation center is now imminent, The Brooklyn Paper says.

- In one of the largest mass demonstrations in recent history, over one million women claiming to have had sexual liaisons with Tiger Woods marched on Washington yesterday. Huffington Post

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Christmas Creche Returns to Brooklyn Borough Hall

The wise men, a shepherd, Joseph, Mary and animals admire the Child in his manger in front of Brooklyn Supreme Court in Columbus Park, Brooklyn Heights.

The creche is installed every year by The Catholic Lawyers Guild of the Diocese of Brooklyn.

- Christmas Creche at Brooklyn Borough Hall 2007

Photo by MK Metz

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'White Collar' Filming at Brooklyn Borough Hall, But Show May Be 'Rethought'

Those bright lights you may have seen Friday afternoon and evening outside Brooklyn Borough Hall were meant to simulate sunshine inside the venerable building, where an episode of "White Collar" was being filmed. (You can just make out one lonely technician huddled atop the lighting platform.)

White Collar is a USA Network crime comedy-drama television series created by Jeff Eastin, starring Matt Bomer as con-man Neal Caffrey and Tim DeKay as Special Agent Peter Burke, according to Wikipedia.

This past Friday's episode was the last for a while; the show will be returning on Tuesday evenings, beginning January 19, 2010.

Now there's controversy over Friday's cliffhanger where everything you thought about certain characters was wrong: The show is being "rethought," reports a commenter on IMDB. "Due to the number of complaints, they're considering rethinking the rest of season one," creator Jeff Eastin tweeted Saturday night. "Trying to prevent that." Twenty minutes later, the Tweet was removed.

Photo by MK Metz

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The Case Against Hannah Senesh's Carroll Gardens Expansion

According to Carroll Gardens CORD, departing Councilman Bill de Blasio will be introducing a bill to amend "old Brooklyn Law" on December 9th. He will be requesting a change that will allow the Hannah Senesh School (in the Google image above) to build a two story structure on a courtyard on a "Place" block, in this case First Place at Smith Street.

These courtyards are specifically protected under old Brooklyn Law from having any structures built upon them.

The Pardon Me For Asking Blog makes a clear case against the Hannah Senesh School's expansion into the courtyard, which the school is presently using for a parking lot.

The "parking lot," PMFA points out, is actually "city owned and protected by a 150-year-old law which states that the unique wide gardens of the neighborhood's Place blocks can not be built on or used for parking.

"The change would amend the old law by excluding the corner of Smith Street and First Place. Hannah Senesh will then negotiate with the city to buy the publicly owned land for a token sum ( $1 has been suggested) and build a two story extension." (See PMFA earlier post with photos.)

The Carroll Gardens Courtyard History Blog posts a copy of the Old Brooklyn law here.

We have nothing against Hannah Senesh, which we hear offers a great education to its students. But there are bigger issues here, as PMFA points out. Carroll Gardeners are pissed, and rightfully so.

BTW, a NYC Lobbyist search shows that Kenneth Fisher was paid $7,500 by the school to lobby these groups in 2008 for the "acquisition of a lot currently owned by the City of New York": Brooklyn Office of City Planning, Office of the Brooklyn Borough President, New York City Council, Office of the Mayor of New York, New York City Department of Transportation. The current building was completed in April 2007.

UPDATE: PMFA blog supplies a letter you can send off to de Blasio and other officials here.

UPDATE: A de Blasio spokesperson and Ken Fisher tell the Brooklyn Eagle why they think the school expansion is a good idea.


- CORD To Brooklyn Councilman de Blasio: "Wish You Were Here"

Photo courtesy of Google Maps.

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Thompson to 'Vigorously' Fight Bloomberg Brooklyn House of Detention Lawsuit

On Monday, Mayor Bloomberg filed a lawsuit against Comptroller William Thompson to force him to sign off on a $34 million contract for an enlarged Brooklyn House of Detention on Atlantic Avenue.

Further details were released Wednesday -- such as the court date, which is set for Dec. 22, just 10 days before Thompson's term ends.

“We will vigorously defend the lawsuit,” Thompson told the Brooklyn Eagle Wednesday. He also said that he acted within his authority “by not registering a contract that was the product of a process that was improper and tainted by favoritism.”

Read the full story here.

- Comptroller Thompson Turns Down Brooklyn HOD Contract - Again
- Judge: Brooklyn House of Detention Can Reopen
- Brooklyn House of Detention Contract Rejected by Comptroller Thompson
- Anti-Jail Rally on Brooklyn Courthouse Steps Almost Didn't Happen
- 'Stop the Brooklyn House of Detention' Rally
- Don't Get Your Pants In a Twist Over Brooklyn House of Detention, Says Eagle
- Brooklyn House of Detention, Now With Retail
- Goodbye Supersized, Butt Ugly Brooklyn House of Detention Condos, Hello Bigger Jail
- Brooklyn House of Detention Forum Thursday -- Commissioner Horn Will Answer All Your Questions
- House of Detention Site May Be 'Most Valuable Square Block in Downtown Brooklyn'
- Brooklyn House of Detention Could Get 'Super-sized'

Photo by MK Metz

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