Brokelyn

We didn’t choose the Brooklyn Public Library as last night’s raffle-cash recipient because it’s the sexiest cause around, or the hippest or the most sincere. We chose the BPL because few things are more quintessentially Brooklyn, or more fantastically free, than the public library system. The cash-strapped institution’s facing a $20.6 million funding reduction that could, in a few months’ time, close more than a dozen branches and put hundreds of librarians out of work. This weekend, not for the first time, some of our borough’s most loyal bibliophiles will try to do something about it—with a 24-hour read-a-thon, where, they’re saying, “We Will Not Be Shushed.” Read the rest of this entry »

There’s some cosmic injustice afoot when libraries are forced into rummage sales and rallies to keep their doors open. The Brooklyn Public Library, as you might know, has been facing a gauntlet of slashed-hours and proposed budget cuts that could remove $20 million in city funding, eliminate 363 jobs and shutter 16 branches. Not good news for the hallowed institution that, you know, lends free books and all. So how can you help? Get out and show your support, obvs. And do it tomorrow. Read the rest of this entry »

Greenpoint artists, your Brooklyn Public Library branch is calling. The Friends of Greenpoint Library are seeking local art to stock the library’s spring benefit: an art show and silent auction this Saturday, May 1. The show is called the Greenpoint 100, and the organizers are looking for 100 under-appreciated (or fully-appreciated) Greenpoint Gauguins to help line the walls. All you artists will get some love and maybe even a cash prize, and the library will get some much-needed support. Non-artists should stop by too and, you know, actually bid on something. Read the rest of this entry »

Use this and get a discount at a dozen local businesses.

Brooklyn dealhounds, keep your library card handy! The Brooklyn Public Library system has teamed up with more than a dozen local businesses to offer special discounts to cardholders. The current list of “Community Partners” runs the gamut from restaurants (Sunset Bagel, Usual Diner, Ozzie’s Coffee & Tea), travel (hotel le bleu, All Car Rental), spa treatments (for you at Truly Kneaded Home Spa, and for a furry friend at Fanci-Pooches & Purrs Spa Boutique), retail shops, and more. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo courtesy of MyTwoCensus.com.

So we’ve been meaning to post about these census-taking gigs that pay around $20 an hour, and just today a thoughtful and generous tipster writes in to tell us that Brooklyn is currently facing a shortage of census takers. He also tells us how to apply. Kind tipster, please take it away:

“I am currently working for the 2010 Census, and the local office based on Fulton St, which covers the neighborhoods reaching from DUMBO to Clinton Hill & Prospect Heights—Red Hook to Sunset Park (and everything in between) is currently facing a shortage of applicants for Enumerating jobs in this region. Read the rest of this entry »

Come for the lecture on Mexican Modernism, leave with free tickets to the Museum of Modern Art. Put on your listening shoes for the Brooklyn Public Library’s art appreciation lecture tomorrow, Jan. 23, at Grand Army Plaza; stay until the end, fill out a survey and you’ll receive a free five-person pass to the MoMA ($100 value, and good for the Tim Burton exhibition). Seems like a bribe, we know, but the lecture itself does sound pretty cool.

Tomorrow’s free 4 p.m. talk will be with MoMA’s Diana Bush on art created during and after the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1917. Bush will cover the works of Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and others. And next Saturday, Jan. 30, also at 4, Bush’ll be back (as will the free ticket opportunity) for the multimedia work of Gabriel Orozco. If the talks whet your appetite for a trek to the museum, the pass will soften the blow of the subway fare. Info here.

Prospect Park Carousel photo, Amy Rathgeb.

If you think the Carousel, zoo and acres of romp-worthy fields make Prospect Park a child-friendly place, well… you’re right, and there’s about to be more for the summer. Starting today, and on every Friday through August, the park will host Heart of Brooklyn’s Family Fridays, a weekly day of animals, education and snacks at the park’s Children’s Corner (entrance at Ocean Ave., Flatbush Ave. & Empire Blvd.). Read the rest of this entry »

Life before cable. Photo by Getty Images.

I canceled my cable a few months ago. It had to be done—my Cablevision bill was $124.67 a month. But you can’t expect a girl to live without TV: If you prick me, do I not bleed? Yes, I can stream many, many things on my laptop, but I have a lovely—and massive—32” Sony Trinitron across from my couch. Also, I have the bad habit of checking my email while I’m watching things, and that’s hard to do when everything is happening on one screen.

With a little maneuvering, however, I’m getting most of my favorite programs and an almost unlimited trove of films for roughly $18 a month, which means I’m saving around $1,250 a year. Read on for my easy three-step-no-cable survival strategy. Read the rest of this entry »