Nostrand Park – in collaboration with VAMOS Architects, Masai Marketing, NYC Dept of Small Business Services, and desigNYC – is excited to announce the launch of its new pilot program, Destination Nostrand, intended to beautify, promote, enliven, and enhance Nostrand Avenue:

If you are interested in participating, showing off your artwork, opening up your commercial space, have a business idea that you would like to test out, or if you just want to help make sure that Nostrand looks great on the day of, just let us know: http://nostrandpark.com/destination-nostrand/

Special thank you to DANIEL GERGLEY, NICOLE MACIAS, JENNIFER MACCHIARELLI, and GroundUp Designers for their tremendous marketing and promotional assistance!

To view some of the design concepts for DN, check out our gallery below. Since the project is in its pilot phase, we will only be launching 3 of the concepts, but feel free to let us know which ones you like best:

Members of the Lincoln Civic Block Association recently held a rally to protest damage done to their streets, homes and overall quality of life as a result of the unending construction work along New York Avenue and the Lincoln Place corridor.  As buses and trucks rumble along residents have become outraged about having to constantly worry that their homes might collapse or suffer significant structural damage because of the shaking caused by these large vehicles and the never ending stream of construction projects on the street.

Neighborhood Street Rally from Malik on Vimeo.

The presence of District Leader Jesse Hamilton and State Senator Eric Adams at this rally helped the Block Association garner significant media coverage in hopes of getting city officials to listen to the complaints being offered by residents.  Per Hamilton’s prompting, the Block Association will not only deliver verbal complaints to the city, but the association, which produced a petition in the run-up to this rally, is also in the process of organizing a survey that clearly details residents’ concerns.

Local journalist Malik Singleton was on-hand at the rally and documented the day’s events.  The footage below was shot by Singleton in hopes further buoying the Block Association’s efforts to get their voices heard.

We reported earlier that legendary singer – performer, Lady Miss Kier – of Deee-Lite – Grooves in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and we posted her HOT,  new DJ Video.

Now on Saturday, May 28th, the legendary singer will be a Guest Deee-Jay @ BANZAI at The Red Lotus Room – 893 Bergen St., btw Classon & Franklin Ave.,  in Crown Heights, Brooklyn!

www.ladykier.com	www.ladykier.com
Lady Miss Kier On The Wheels Of Steel!!!	Deee – Jay Lady Miss Kier!!!

Muffinhead & Eric Schmalenberger Present:

BANZAI!!!!! Art and Performance Blitz

Special Guest DJ

Lady Miss Kier

Saturday, May 28th 8PM-3AM Memorial Day Weekend

Red Lotus Room – 893 Bergen St.

(Between Classon & Franklin)

Brooklyn, NY 11238

$10 Pre-sale Tickets Available at www.muffinheadland.com

$15 at the door

DJ SCOTT EWALT

VIDEO ART PROVIDED BY -  Ashley Connor and Wonderpuss Octopus

INSTALLATION – “Cabinet of Humanstrocities” Jeff Silverman, Poison Eve, Zazoo + Satori Zhenesse Staniec Heinemann

SPECIAL APPERANCE – Fritz Donnelly and Christina Ewald of HiChristina

Performances:

1. Big Art Group – Penny Arcade, The Illuminator (AlieNation),, enSUBTITLES, Soigné Deluxe, Darlinda Just Darlinda, Celso & Father Julian of Casa De La Blanca, Jonathan Nosan.   Art: Hope Bowers
2. Ryan Brennan
3. Wren Britton
4. Worm Carnevale
5. Bianca Cassidy
6. Samson Contompasis
7. Cameron Daily
8. Soigné Deluxe
9. Mitcheal D. E. Pope
10. Josuha Dreisacker
11. Raphael Fuchs
12. Kathy Grayson
13. Scott Hug
14. Stephan Keating
15. Jeremy Kost
16. Charlie Ledbetter
17. Lindsay Lowe
18. Snow Mack
19. Kevin Mack
20. Caden Manson
21. Chason Matthams
22. Muffinhead
23. Jemma Nelson
24. Wonderpuss Octopus
25. Sean Peirce
26.Jean Marc Ruellan
27. Darrell Thorne
28. Tillett Wright
29. Gerry Visco
30. Jaimie Warren and the Whoop Dee Doo

We’re blogged quite a few times about Bob & Betty’s Food Market – formerly Fisher’s Supermarket pending Grand Opening.

Well, as of this Friday, they’re finally OPEN!!!!!

What are your thoughts and comments on the renovations, food selection, prices etc.?

Fisher’s Supermarket – which is scheduled to reopen this Friday – has been renamed Bob & Betty’s Food Market – in honor of owner Tony Fisher’s parents – the original owners.

The shelves are almost completely stocked with health conscious products – and except for a few minor details, the store looks as though it could open today.

Our picture below, offers a sneak peak at the almost fully stocked shelves at Bob & Betty’s Food Market.

And, if you didn’t have a chance yet, please read our recent post about the owners of Fisher’s Supermarket – now Bob & Betty’s Food Market – over 30 year history serving the ever changing community of Franklin Ave.

ILFA has a great picture of a hand written sign on Bob & Betty’s window, advising customers to follow owner Tony Fisher on twitter for more up to the minute news.

And in the same ILFA post, Nick, also makes an excellent point on “the emphasis for the great event Manuel is planning for Participatory Urbanism at LaunchPad” on  Friday, April 22nd, 6 PM – 8 PM.

Nostrand Park also blogged about the event spearheaded by local urban planner, Manuela Avila. He describes the project  as:  “I’m working on a research-design project called Participatory Urbanism in the neighborhood named “Crown Heights”.

The focus of the project is to start a discussion about public space in the community that has long been neglected and considering the possibility of opening the residual spaces adjacent to the Franklin shuttle as public spaces.”

So, as much as we  love our community being revitalized, revamped and up graded like Bob & Betty’s Food Market, Sweet Basil, Island Thyme, Chavella’s on Franklin Ave.,  Pacific Oasis Cafe, etc. – there is still a true need to join in on Manuel Avila’s discussion on Friday, April 22nd, 6 PM – 8 PM at launchpad – where he will  attempt to address the issues at the opposite end of the spectrum.

Namely the need for:  “STARTING A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE LONG NEGLECTED PUBLIC SPACES IN THE CROWN HEIGHTS COMMUNITY” that are not being revamped, revitalized and/or up graded, and what we as a community can do about it.

It seems like ages ago when we first broke the story that actor Anthony Mackie would be opening a restaurant on Nostrand Avenue.   Well the awning is finally up.  And there are pictures on NoBar’s new Facebook page (not sure how the pool table fits into the profile of a French Bistro tapas bar, but I guess we will find out).  Word is that it will be opening any day now.

This is just one of many changes that has taken place on Nostrand Avenue of late.

Of course, the most exciting developments for us at NP is to see the flowers that we helped plant on Nostrand begin to bloom.

But in addition, there is a new real estate office (actually it is an office that relocated from Pacific Street); the grimy bodega that is on the corner of Pacific Street and Nostrand just overhauled its store front, adding new awning, new windows, new lighting, and some other improvements; the Best Western Hotel has now been upgraded to a Best Western Plus; there is a newly revamped laundromat on St. John’s near Nostrand; there’s a new Trinidadian bakery that has opened on Nostrand near President Street; and there’s a new apartment complex opening on Nostrand and Sullivan.

Are all these  changes in line with, out pacing, or driving broader neighborhood change?  Only time will tell.

Recently, the Washington City Paper published an article entitled “Confessions of a Black Gentrifier”, exploring the roles of black gentrifiers in changing racial and socio-economic landscape of Washington DC.  Though the treatment of this topic in the Washington City Paper city is, to me, a bit trite, I’m glad to see that some of the nuances of this topic are being explored in the media.

In order to really understand and discuss gentrification in a meaningful way, it is important to keep the nuances of race and class into perspective when addressing the topic.  This topic is not always as black and white as it may seem.

There have been some more insightful coverages of the topic:

Essence Magazine – which explores the intra-racial conflicts that arise when black gentrifiers move into a predominantly black, lower income neighborhood.

and

NPR, which features an interview with sociologist, Mary Pattillo, who studied “black-on-black-gentrification” and white on black gentrification and explores the differences, similarities, and effects of both in a book that she wrote entitled “Black on the Block”.

In the NPR interview, she suggests is that one of the major differences between black and white gentrifiers is their connection to the community. She describes the interests of white gentrifiers as being mostly economic, whereas she has found that black gentrifiers have a dual interest – both economic and socio-cultural (i.e. participating in a “renaissance” that they feel connected to).

On another note, one other part of this debate that is often overlooked, is the pivotal role that black landlords (and addition to their white counterparts) may have as gatekeepers in the process of gentrification. This is probably one of the more fascinating parts of the discussion.

(Plug: Our bloggers Abeni G. and Laurel B. are exploring this an other aspects in their “Gentrifying Brooklyn” film … still in production)

A good portion of the landlords around here are older African-American investors, who purchased their places for 5 figures back in the 70s or otherwise inherited them from a relative. But for the house that they own, they might otherwise be considered lower-income. They do have a role to play in the neighborhood changes…

Photo by: Abeni Garrett - All Rights Reserved - copyright 2011

Fisher’s Supermarket is a Mom & Pop type grocery store located at 805 Franklin Ave. at the corner of Lincoln Place. The supermarket has been a stable presence in this ever changing community for over 3 decades.

And their long anticipated, remodeling of the entire store, is almost finished! The owner, Tony Fisher, hopes to open his gleaming new, eco friendly doors around April 1 on a 24 hr, 7 days a week basis!

You can skip the fascinating history of the ever Changing Franklin Ave. and head straight to the portion concerning what the Revamped Fisher’s will be about.

UPDATE – Fisher’s Supermarket has been renamed Bob & Betty’s Food Market in honor of owner Tony Fisher’s parents – the original owners .  You can read our post on that here, after you finish reading about  Franklin Ave.’s fascinating history.

The Ever Changing Franklin Ave.

35 years ago, Tony Fisher’s parents relocated their store to the safer Franklin Ave. from it’s former location, on the much more dangerous and turbulent Washington Ave, a few blocks West.

When they moved to Franklin Ave. in the 70′s, the whole city was in a financial crisis and almost bankrupt. Many communities were still reeling from the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, the Civil Rights movement that had not reached fruition and the Vietnam War.

Washington Ave. was a war zone were many frustrations were vented on the few remaining business left on that Ave.

Franklin Av. and it’s immediate surrounding community – with it’s side streets of factories and warehouses – had always been a solidly blue collar type of community since the huge, old plantations of Brueklen had been sub – divided and sold as land parcels.

Here lived the working class people who either worked for or tolled away in the grand homes of their much more affluent neighbors immediately to the East of Nostrand Ave. – which was then called the St. Marks district – or West of Flatbush Ave in Park Slope.

And even though Franklin Ave.’s racial & ethnic demographic had been steadily shifting since the 1950′s from a mixed community of primarily Jewish, Irish, Italian and a small percentage of Afro-American’s – to a more exclusively Caribbean, African, Afro-American & Latino community – Franklin Ave.’s core economic demographic remained a solidly working class community.

This is the vibrant community that Fisher’s Supermarket opened its doors to in the 70′s.

As the neighborhood continued to change, and many more working class families continued to flee – as a direct result of the the neighborhood becoming a horrible casualty of the crack epidemic in the 80′s – Fisher’s Supermarket refused to move and stayed put.

Even after business after business bordered up it’s doors and closed on Franklin Ave., not to re-open for decades, Fisher’s kept serving the existing community and their diverse and changing needs. From stocking a variety of “ethnic” foods – from the Caribbean, Africa and various Latin countries – to delivering food to their elderly or immobile customers or extending credit to families they knew were in need.

The Revamped & Restocked Fisher’s Supermarket

And in a few weeks – hopefully around April 1, Tony Fisher – son of the original owner – will be finished remodeling the family store.

Fisher’s Supermarket will have a much larger Organic selection, be open 24 hours – as the communities work patterns have changed – and have a focus on fair pricing as Tony wants the revamped Fisher’s to serve the needs of the entire community.

Tony remolded the store with the idea of having a primarily “green” store that’s environmentally conscious and friendly and that has a small town feel with a solid relationship with all the members of the community.

From the produce, the way the store will be lighted and technology used to run the store – the way to refrigerators are cooled etc., will be green and eco friendly.

Fisher’s is only using local farmers from Upstate New York, no more than 50 miles away, to cut down on the supermarket’s carbon foot print.

I eagerly await the grand Opening of Fisher’s revamped and restocked Supermarket!

Chavella, the wildly popular Mexican restaurant on Classon Ave., has a new restaurant – Chavella’s on Franklin Ave. – which is almost ready for it’s Grand Opening!

I passed by yesterday and spoke with one of the workers who said Chavella’s – Franklin Ave should be opening in approximately 2 weeks! Exciting news for the community!

And from the looks of the picture above, besides rehabilitating the original, gorgeous, kick ass, tin ceiling, Chavella’s on Franklin will also have a bar! I wonder how this will affect Franklin Park’s business with two bar/restaurants in such close proximity?

For those in the community who wanted more choices, there are now a number of “sit-down”, dine in restaurant’s to choose from on Franklin Ave.

Sweet Basil, Island Thyme, Keslo, Dutch Boy (though I consider that more of a specialized burger diner than restaurant).., and soon Chavella’s!

I wish them better luck than the short lived Oaxaca a few blocks North on Prospect Pl off of Franklin Ave.

But this begs the question: with all the “changes”/ commercial development taking place recently.., - ILFA did a wonderful in depth write up about this - is the “authentic” flavor of Franklin Ave. being irrevocably changed?