This is one of the entries that will be on display on Thursday.

Just over 30 submissions have been chosen as finalists for the “Brighton Beach Pictured” photo contest organized by the Brighton Beach Business Improvement District, and all will be on exhibit when the winners are announced this Thursday, January 30.

The exhibit is designed to highlight the people, places and spirit of the area, and is being judged by a combination of locals and photography experts. It kicks off at 6:00 p.m. and lasts until 9:00 p.m. at The National restaurant, 273 Brighton Beach Avenue. It’s free and open to the public.

“Brighton is unique and we wanted to challenge photographers to describe that uniqueness,” said Yelena Makhnin, the executive director of the BID, in a press release. “The photos we received are amazing. The talented photographers that responded were up to the challenge and the result is stunning exhibition that provides a multidimensional portrait of a great New York neighborhood.”

The BID posted the best submissions to their website, and it’s being whittled down a little further for the Thursday exhibit by a panel of judges that included photographers Robert Lobe, and Gregory Leshé and Brooklyn Community Board 13 District Manager Charles Reichenthal. Pratt Institute Photography Professor Ellen Wallenstein will select the winning photographs from those on display.

Cash awards of $500, $300 and $150 will be given to the top three photographs, and we’re told there might be some smaller prizes in the works for honorable mentions.

Photo by Erica Sherman

The Brighton Beach Business Improvement District (BID) invites all area shutterbugs to participate in “Brighton Beach Pictured,” a photography competition and exhibition focused on Brighton Beach.

According to the Brighton Beach BID, photographers entering the competition should aim to submit photos that capture the people, spirit, culture, ambiance, excitement and uniqueness of the Brighton Beach area and community.

Photographers may submit up to five images. There is no entry fee.

To enter, go to the contest site, Brighton Beach Pictured, and follow the instructions for registering and uploading images. Images should be jpegs, 72 dpi no larger than 1000 pixels on the largest side.

The deadline for submissions is December 1, 2013.

The project will culminate in an exhibition in January 2014 that will be held at a venue in the community.

Judging will be in two stages.  The panel, made up of photographers Robert Lobe, and Gregory LeShay and Brooklyn Community Board 13 District Manager Charles Reichenthal, will choose the photographs for the exhibition. Pratt Institute Photography Professor Ellen Wallenstein will select the winning photographs that are exhibited.

Cash awards of $500, $300 and $150 will be given to the top three photographs.

There are no restrictions on subject matter, but since the exhibition will be held in a community venue, overtly sexual images cannot be accepted.

Oh, man, look at that food. Surf, meet turf, with a glob of cauliflower heaven to boot.

That’s the dish John Sierp, a firefighter from Ladder 169 on the Brighton Beach – Sheepshead Bay border, cooked up to win the top prize in the Brooklyn semifinal of the Daily News’ 5 Alarm Cookoff at William E. Grady High School.

It’s a pepper encrusted beef fillet, paired with king crab leg, king crab salad on prawn crisps, an heirloom cauliflower and parsley root puree, with a decorative hunk of maple-roasted carrots and parsnips.

“I’ve never made it,” Sierp told the Daily News. “It’s just all stuff I like and thought would be good together.”

Sierp’s dish may have been cooked on a lark, but that wasn’t the case for his chief rival, Jing Kong, an EMS responder stationed in Carroll Gardens. Kong had a well planned buttermilk fried chicken cooked in duck fat and served with mini cheddar waffles and jalapeno rosemary honey.

“I love anything with duck, and who doesn’t love fried chicken?” he asked. Good question, sir.

Both Sierp and Kong are previous winners of the event. Kong won the citywide competition once, two years ago. Sierp has emerged as the Brooklyn semifinal winner three times, including last year’s, which we wrote about at the time.

The food fight wasn’t all fun and games, though. The paper reports that the two trash talked from the beginning, kicking off with Kong faking Sierp out, showing that his beef was burning.

A more modest Sierp conceded that Kong was tough competition. “I’m a little concerned,” he told the paper.

But he needn’t be. He eventually won, with the judges giving the highest praise – keeping the plate for licking even as the staff tried to pull them away.

Now Sierp will go on to compete against the winners from each of the other boroughs on an upcoming episode of Rachael Ray. The winner goes home with a $5,000 prize, a makeover for their firehouse’s kitchen and a Key Food gift card worth $2,500.

John Sierp (Source: worldcares.org)

There is no doubt that the final for this year’s fourth annual 5 Alarm Cookoff, a firefighter cook contest sponsored by the New York Daily News, will not disappoint foodies, especially if local Sheepshead Bay firefighter and competitor John Sierp has anything to say about it.

Sierp, of our own Ladder 169 (2732 East 11th Street), is one of the finalists in this year’s tournament, where his special Warm Orzo Salad with Greek Lamb Meatballs will square off against last year’s overall winner and Carroll Gardens native Jing Kong of EMS Station 32. Kong’s specialties include his carefully prepared Vietnamese Sugarcane Shrimp.

Sierp and Kong are seasoned veterans of this contest, having both made it to the final rounds in last year’s competition, but they will also have to contend with one newcomer, Brooklyn Headquarters EMT Jeanette Lampoon. She made it to the final round with her Arroz Borracho, or drunken rice, a mix of rice, veggies, meat, and beer.

In making it to the final round, Sierp earned high praise from the judges.

“The meatballs just came together extremely well. Everything he did with the pesto and orzo underneath just worked together and came out really great,” judge Joseph Morrone told the Daily News.

The cookoff itself is being held at William E. Grady High School in Brighton Beach and whoever ends up winning will take home $5,000 cash, new kitchen appliances, and a $2,500 gift card from Key Foods.

Seniors. Idols. Senior idols.

Brooklyn’s 6th Annual Senior Idol, a contest that draws upon the talents of local senior citizens, is in the works. Seniors perform before a crowd and a panel of judges to win the title of “Brooklyn’s Senior Idol” and $500 on October 13.

Senator Martin Golden will host the event with the support of Xaverian High School and Chapter #5055 of the AARP.

Judges will select 10 contestants from those who audition to compete in the show.

In 2010, 56-year-old Nunzio Franzese, a Gravesend resident, stole the show with his rendition of “Mack the Knife.” This year, the competition will be even tougher with more seniors expected to audition.

Brooklyn residents age 50 or older are asked to audition on Saturday, September 8 at 10:00 a.m. at Xaverian High School at 7100 Shore Road. There is handicapped accessibility available at 71st Street entrance.

Those trying out for the competition are encouraged to bring a CD or cassette tape accompaniment. A piano is available and participants are also welcome to bring a guitar.

“Every year, Brooklyn’s Senior Idol attracts great talent from our Borough and more and more fans show up to cheer on our contestants at the show. This year, as we begin to plan the 6th Annual, I look forward to another successful event which has come a very popular tradition. So if you can sing, be sure to try out. And if you want to see a great show, be there on October 13,” said Golden.

Tickets for the event are $10.00 and can only be purchased at the door. Proceeds benefit the Xaverian High School Music Scholarship Fund and the purchase of new instruments to support the Xaverian High School music program.

For more information, contact Senator Golden’s office at (718) 238-6044.

Photographers both professional and amateur are invited to enter the “Peace in a Frame” competition for a chance to win money and a spot in an art exhibition.

Judges will be looking for works that “uniquely reflect an effort or a positive outcome of peace building, at a local or global scale.”

The contest is sponsored by the Turkish Cultural Center, the Brooklyn branch of which is located at 245 Avenue U, and is run in conjunction with”Peacebuilding through Education,” an international conference which aims to promote harmony in diverse cultural settings in the United States.

Eight of the top submissions in the contest will be awarded cash prizes. The deadline for submission is August 31.

On My Block Films launched the “Neighborhood Film Challenge” last week, a New York City film festival that invites residents of all five boroughs to construct a one- to five-minute short narrative or documentary film on their block, with a cast and crew of your real life neighbors.

Aspiring filmmakers and those with hidden filmmaking talent who are interested in participating can do so now. This may be your chance to make it big (or at least meet some neighbors)!

From August 1 through October 31, On My Block invites all New York City filmmakers to shoot and upload their videos onto the On My Block channel on Vimeo. During this time, the public may vote for any specific film by liking it on the site. The 30 films with the most likes will move on to be judged on November 6, and the 15 top-scoring films will be broadcasted in a film festival on November 17. Winners of the Best Narrative Film, Best Documentary Film, Best In Show will receive special awards.

So gather your neighbors together, come up with a quirky or original idea, and shoot a short film. Show a sense of community pride and creativity!

The “Neighborhood Film Challenge” gives neighbors the chance to collaborate and connect through the art of film creation. On My Block said they aspire to receive at least 50 films (10 in each borough) and unite 1000 New Yorkers, creating a sense of unity amongst the community.

Participants must sign up on the On My Block site and submit the required information BEFORE films are uploaded. Surf the site for more information regarding submission requirements as well as tips for writing and producing.

For additional inquiries, or to become a sponsor of On My Block, please contact Mary Crosse at [email protected].

And remember, if you make a film, let us know so we can encourage fellow readers to vote for you!

The Council of Jewish Émigré Community Organizations (COJECO) wants to hear any ideas that you may have which add value to the Russian Jewish community.

They are sponsoring a contest in which locals are asked to submit their ideas for a community event, project or venture for a chance to win a cash prize.

Apply by August 10 and a panel of BluePrint Fellowship Alumni judges will determine 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes. The will award $500, $300 and $150. Winners will be announced August 30.

The criteria is as follows:

Your project idea must offer value to the Russian Jewish community, feasible implementation within a year’s time, and a Jewish focus or theme. Possible areas of focus are culture, technology, art, research, travel, education, social justice, fundraising, politics, volunteering, gender, religion, immigration, language, environmentalism, children and families, music and performance, etc.

Anyone from NY is eligible to apply and more than one submission is allowed.

For more information, contact Iryna Gubenko at [email protected] or 212.566.2120.

Chris Llego, a junior at Sheepshead Bay High School, stood before a tribunal of five international criminal court chief justices at the Peace Palace in the Hague, the Netherlands, this past February. In front of an audience of students, teachers, international attorneys, judges and other dignitaries, he delivered an argument in a mock International Court Case (ICC).

The judges, according to Llego, were imposing.

“They looked so wise, advanced and skilled; they were in a whole other league,” he said

Llego was a member of one of two select teams of 16 New York City public high school students in an International Moot Court competition that was held this past February, in the Hague, The Netherlands. Team One from New York City prevailed over teams from around the world, including teams from Russia, Poland, Argentina, The Netherlands, and the home of the eventual second place team, Venezuela.

Llego was a key member of the New York contingent, and was one of three New York City students who participated in the final round.

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Floyd Bennett Field's world with wings insignia on the Administration building's façade. Source: ScoutingNY

Nick Carr, our favorite movie location scout (do you know any others?), posted an exhaustively breathtaking photo essay of Floyd Bennett Field on his website, “ScoutingNY,” a tremendous blog that we were also honored to compete against last fall when CBS New York pitted us against one another in the “local affairs” category for the “New York’s Most Valuable Blogger Awards.”

Carr, who quite obviously did his homework, takes you on a fun tour through historic Floyd Bennett in a way that is very special, juxtaposing his own photos and witty commentary alongside old black and white images from 70-somewhat years ago of New York City’s first municipal airport (the closest one prior to the opening of FBF was Newark — no doubt a considerable schlep).

Go take a look at what Carr put together, and enjoy this unique and comprehensive perspective of one of southern Brooklyn’s most treasured landmarks.