Fall Celebrations
You can help beautify your neighborhood at the Fall Civic Sweep, one of the Park Slope Civic Council’s most popular events. This year’s edition takes place on Sunday, Oct. 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., beginning at M.S. 51 on Fifth Avenue between Fourth and Fifth Streets.
Volunteers will get together to paint over graffiti, mulch trees, plant daffodil bulbs, rake leaves, and pick up litter, among other projects. Greg’s Express will be at the Sweep to accept your old televisions, computers, toasters, and other unwanted electronic devices for recycling. The Civic Council will supply all the tools and have refreshments at the ready. Vincent Cross & Good Company will also be on hand to for some great bluegrass music.
The Sweep is taking place alongside the fifth annual Harvest Festival, at the Old Stone House in nearby Washington Park, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There’ll be lots of fun for all — farm stands, pony rides, a petting zoo, face painting, monster making, music, clothing and costume swaps, and more. The Old Stone House, the Park Slope Farmer’s Market, the Park Slope Civic Council, and Park Slope Parents are sponsoring. If you want to help out at this all-volunteer event, e-mail susanfoxpsp@gmail.com.
Boo! Boo, I Said!
Get ready for a fun Halloween 2010 in Park Slope for the whole family. The main event for Oct. 31 will be the Annual Park Slope Civic Council Children’s Halloween Parade, the largest such parade in the United States, which will start at 6:30 p.m. with a new route, beginning at Seventh Avenue and 11th Street. The parade will continue up Seventh, turns left on Third Street, and ends at the Old Stone House, where the revelry continues until 9 p.m.
The Civic Council’s Halloween Costume Contest will take place before the parade, at 4 p.m., in front of the Secondary School for Law, Journalism, and Research, at Seventh Avenue between Fourth and Fifth Streets. Costume categories range from “best theme” to “best classic character” to “best use of materials.” Winners will be given banners to display in the parade.
The Civic Council, the Park Slope Chamber of Commerce, the Park Slope Farmer’s Market, Park Slope Parents, the Old Stone House, the Fifth Avenue BID, and the Puppeteers’ Cooperative are teaming up to make the Oct. 31 festivities magical and memorable. This year’s theme is “Fairy Tales,” so be ready for princesses, fairies, gnomes, ravens, and sprites running through the neighborhood!
Anyone interested in volunteering should contact visit our website.
Keep an Eye on Atlantic Yards
The construction of Atlantic Yards will have huge impacts on the many neighborhoods it borders. The Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council is launching a “Construction Watch” that will collect important data about those repercussions. The Park Slope Civic Council is one of the civic organizations cosponsoring the initiative.
This initiative will coordinate community volunteers to monitor these changes. The information acquired will be used to engage the government agencies overseeing the project’s implementation to ensure they are doing their job effectively. The watch will also put solid information in the hands of elected officials and community boards about the project’s effects on Brooklyn neighborhoods.
Anyone with a concern about Atlantic Yard’s impacts on air quality, noise, or traffic can help, even if you have limited time and expertise. For more information, contact Peter Krashes at pkrashes@earthink.net.
Grant Season
The Park Slope Civic Council is now accepting applications for grants to be awarded to local groups for projects in the arts, education, youth programs, and civic improvement. The grants are funded by the Civic Council’s annual House Tour, and are awarded to schools, charities, cultural institutions, and other organizations benefiting the Park Slope community.
Two types of awards are available: regular grants, $500 or less that can be used with existing resources or as seed money for new projects; and one Community Builder grant, approximately $2,000 to help a new project of special merit that could not proceed without the Civic Council’s help.
Deadline for applications is Oct. 11. For more information and a downloadable application form, go to www.parkslopeciviccouncil.org/grants.
New News Is Good News
Civic News and the Civic Council’s website will be undergoing some exciting new developments over the next few months. The October issue of the newsletter, for example, will be an online-only edition; the next print edition will appear in a new format later this year. For updates, visit the Civic Council’s website at www.parkslopeciviccouncil.org, or send your e-mail address to editor@parkslopeciviccouncil.org.
from the September 2010 Civic News