SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

This one comes in by way of Queens Crapper, who wrote the perfect blurb:

I like how the reporter and newscasters act like this is something that no one knew about and haven’t been doing for centuries…

I have a lot of nasty things to say about these people and the attitude that Southern Brooklyn is some uncharted wasteland waiting to be explored by Manhattan douchebags. But, well, the diplomatic side of me says I should keep it to myself and instead be grateful that one of our local industries got some good publicity. Let’s just hope it brings some clients down to Sheepshead Bay’s beleaguered fishermen.

2nd Annual Brooklyn Waterfront Epic Ride (Graphic Courtesy of Transportation Alternatives)

How many of us have lived in Brooklyn almost all of our lives and still are not aware that there is accessible waterfront other than Sheepshead Bay? How many of us, thanks to storms that washed out a portion of it, just recently became aware of the fact that there is a well-trafficked bicycle path running through Sheepshead Bay?

Well, thanks to the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, the Transportation Alternatives (T.A.) Brooklyn Volunteer Committee, the Regional Plan Association (RPA), and the National Park Service (NPS) we can put two and two together this Sunday with a moderately-paced (12+ miles/hour) bike ride around the perimeter of Brooklyn’s waterfront. These groups have organized this great ride to highlight “the potential of a fully completed Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway”.

Space is limited, so if you didn’t get to sign up on time, you might want to head out to Sheepshead Bay on Sunday to cheer on the cyclists.

Get the details.

Flyer for Summer 2010 KBCC PAC events.

On Sunday July 18, 2010, the Kingsborough Community College Peforming Arts Center will present Hudson Valley’s acclaimed mask and puppet theater in a special event for kids. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and be a Bright Summer Day, because that’s what the organizers are calling this event.

There will be performances with fantastically painted puppet figures and masked characters. Children ages 5 and up are invited to participate in The Parade of Fishes and a workshop of dancing and movement.

Reservations are not required for the general activities, but due to limited space, reservations are required for the workshop. As of today, there is no more availability for the workshop, but you may be placed on a waiting list, if spots become open. Call the KBCC PAC box office at (718) 368-5596.

View the details after the jump.

With grilling season in full swing, we got Sheepshead Bay’s resident grilling expert, Robert Fernandez, to tell us what are the best public places to cook up some dead animals. Fernandez is the organizer of Grillin’ On The Bay, the city’s only sanctioned BBQ contest, and is the editor of WhiteTrashBBQ, a city-dwellers guide to grilling.

Barbecue season is hitting the high water mark, so it’s time to answer that age old question, “Where can I barbecue in New York City?” And the answer is, “Lots of places.” NYC has over 30 parks where grilling is legal.

Some of my favorite spots in Brooklyn include:

• Manhattan Beach, which has two grilling locations, Oriental Boulevard & Hastings Street and Northeast of Promenade, median adjacent to parking lot (no amplified sound permitted)
• Red Hook Park, Bay Street near Columbia Street
• Prospect Park, which tops all the Brooklyn parks with six locations, but my favorite is by the band shell

In the Bronx, I recommend:

• Crotona Park, Crotona Park East & Charlotte Street (Indian Lake)
• Ferry Point Park, at both the north and south ends of the park
• Van Cortlandt Park, with two locations, my favorite being In front of the pool, Broadway and 242 Street

In Manhattan check out:

• East River Park, Along FDR Drive at East 10th Street but a special permit is required, but I’ve never seen it enforced.
• Wards Island Park, East River & Hell Gate (near the children’s playground)

In Queens pay a visit to Alley Pond Park, Winchester Boulevard & Grand Central Parkway and in Staten Island I frequent Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk and Beach at Midland Avenue and Lincoln Avenue

Of course these are just some recommendations, you can check out the entire list of grilling spots in New York City at the Park’s Department webpage.

Remember; barbecuing or grilling is allowed in designated areas ONLY. No barbecuing permitted under trees. All coals and litter must be disposed in trash receptacles. Please remember to extinguish all coals before dumping them into a trash can. No extra fires please. And if you’re going with a group of 20 people or more, the city requires that you get a $25 permit 21 days in advance.

The SportFishing, Hunting and Outdoor Expo 2010 is headed to the fishing capital of the Northeast United States. That’s us!

Starting at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 9, Floyd Bennett Field will be all set up with exhibitors and news media.

The big trucks will be rolling down Avenue U with their kayaking cargo, so let’s hope they read the recent news about overpass clearance problems or be ready to catch a k-turn.

If you missed the application deadline to be an exhibitor, you can still check out the application for some really surprising facts about our area. For instance, did you know that “60 percent of all hunting licenses in the entire state of New York are purchased by Long Islanders and NYC residents”?

Not much of an exhibitionist, you say? You can pack up the kids, drive off (yes, there’s free parking), and go check out the kayaks, boats and water-related vessels that the trucks dragged in. Check out the website for the full details.

17th Annual SportFishing, Hunting, and Outdoor Expo
Aviator Sports & Events Center – Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, NY
Friday, April 9, 2010 from 3 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 10, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 11, 2010 from 10:00am-6:00pm
Tickets cost nothing, $5, $8, or $10 — depending on your age

Your kids can have a little fun at the library that doesn’t involve books. This Thursday, December 17, 2009, there will be an arts and crafts session at the Homecrest branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.

Here are the details as we received them from the Media-Newswire:

Holiday Arts & Crafts for Kids
Brooklyn Public Library’s Homecrest branch, 2525 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn. Thursday, December 17, 4:00 PM. FREE

Call the library, which is located between Gravesend Neck Road and Avenue V, for details: (718) 382-5924

Photo courtesy of "Beauty Playin 'Eh" via Flickr

With an estimated 200,000 New Yorkers on bikes each day, the city is rapidly becoming a two-wheel mecca. The 650 miles of bike lanes in the city – which may jump to 1,800 in coming years – were recently rated by the Daily News. The paper tasked its reporters with talking to biking advocates, shop owners, and bikers around the city to spotlight the best paths around.

And it’s (semi-)official – they found that the Shore Parkway Greenway offers the best water views in the five boroughs. The seven-mile path runs along Jamaica Bay to the Verrazano Bridge. Beginning in Queens, it winds through Plumb Beach in Sheepshead Bay, offers sterling views of the city’s wildlife reserve, and goes all the way down to the most beautiful bridge in the tristate area (yeah, I said it. Too bad, Brooklyn Bridge). The honor just goes to reinforce how important it is to get the bike path at Plumb Beach restored after suffering damage from Hurricane Ida, which shut down a quarter-mile of the route.

Millenium Development has planned “Active Aging Activities” all this week in honor of International Active Aging Week 2009.

The events listed in the colorful brochure run the gamut from Yoga to Knitting — happening all day around Brooklyn and Queens in parks, community centers, and gyms. The brochure does not make it clear whether the events are free or part of an organized event for paying members. One thing is certain: if you are anywhere near Southern Brooklyn this week, you are sure to encounter some Active Adults doing something fun — whether it be playing in a WII Tournament or Dancing Under the Stars.

This event is running from Monday, September 21, 2009 to Friday, September 25, 2009 and events usually begin at 9 a.m. and continue until late afternoon or evening. There are so many events and so many venues, that you will need to check the brochure or call the organizers for more information.

Millenium Development
Active Aging Hotline (718) 444-0101 Ext. 10
E-mail: ActiveAging@mildev.org
Website with link to full brochure: www.MillDev.org

Events scheduled: Yoga; Billiards; Blood Pressure Screening; Stretch Band Exercising; Exercise in Dance; Healthy Baking; Chair Yoga; Meditation; Wii Bowling/Exercise Class; Staywell Exercise; Silver Sneakers Cardio Circuit; Bridge Tournament; Computer Instruction; Photography; Fitness Walk; Tennis; Puzzlemania; Dancing Under the Stars; Aerobics; Mah-Johng; and more.

A few weeks ago we told you about the Waterpod, a sea-based experiment in sustainable living. Back then, the Waterpod had just sailed in to Sheepshead Bay. It was new – one of its first stops – and we were wide-eyed with excitement over a cool eco-project in our bay.

Well, it turns out living the green-life aquatic is harder than the four crew members imagined.

“It’s been a lot more work than any of us have expected,” Alison Ward, one of the crew who’s been on the boat about six weeks and plans to stay at sea until October, told the Daily News. “I kind of thought we’d just be able to float around.”

According to the article, the Waterpod has been beset by heavy downpours, algae explosions, bugs and – would you believe it? – waves.

To be honest, we’re not all that surprised. Living on the water is rough. And living sustainably is rough. So who woulda thunk putting those two together would’ve been a bitch?

The Daily News says the crew’s chief objective is to get New Yorkers thinking. Well, it’s got me thinking about how, when the destructive edge of climate change sets in, or when zombies take over our inner-cities, I’m not heading to the waves – I’m heading to the hills.

Thanks, Waterpod. In case I wasn’t sure about who to follow when the world begins to fall apart, I now know, I’ll follow the soldiers and the survivalists. Not the artists.

You’d better hurry, though, because just as quickly as it sailed in, it will sail out.*

The Waterpod Project, based out of New York, is a self-sustaining floating home to four artists, a few chickens, and a large array of vegetables. The barge, made from recycled and reused materials found around New York, was built as a collaborative effort by a multinational team of very innovative people in an effort to transform the way we think about living “off the land”, so to speak.

And living “off” land is what this team of artists plans on doing when they are not visiting the shore. They have everything they need for survival on the barge: food, water, power, and waste treatment.

While the facilities are spartan, they meet the needs of the inhabitants sufficiently. When we visited them at their humble abode moored in Sheepshead Bay, they were quite content preparing a snack in the open air kitchen.

With the wide variety of fresh vegetables growing in their various tiers, as well as the eggs supplied by the chickens, the peas in the pod seem to be quite satisfied nutritionally.

They asked us for nothing other than we should let everyone know that their Waterpod will be at Pier 2 (Bedford Ave & Emmons Ave) in Sheepshead Bay until July 5, 2009. And oh, if you should have any extra eggshells that would be welcome, too. The chickens on board will thank you.

There is no admission price, but donations to support the project are welcomed. You can visit the self-sustaining home from Wednesdays to Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Check the Waterpod website for full details and open hours. Get to know three ofthe residents before you enter their living room garden, Mary Mattingly, Eve Tremblay, and Mira Hunter and their artistic expressions at the website.

*Technically, the barge doesn’t have any sails and was pulled in by a tugboat from the Weeks Marine Transportation, Inc. as a donated service.