swissmiss pointed to the 10 minute lectures which “hopes to provoke dialogue on impossibly large topics in a short period of time.” Interesting concept and even more interesting subject matter.

On June 5th, Forrest Hylton spoke on How Ghetto Brooklyn Got Gentrified. You can listen to an audio recording on the site.

It’s an educational 10 minutes and, considering we spend a considerable amount of time discussing when and how our neighborhood will gentrify, surprising. For one, I didn’t realize that the “ghettos” were so recent. Forrest also provides some horrifying details like the proposed method of “burning out” the “sick” neighborhoods by literally cutting funding for firefighting support.

Look closely, people. That’s our corner (our house is just beyond the awning). That is a man with a life-size stuffed Scooby Doo trying to hail a cab. Cabbie was not having it.

Despite Tung’s sour face, Franklin Park has proven to be a very good bar and a great hangout steps from our house.

Every time we learn of a new bar or non-Caribbean restaurant* opening up even slightly near us we rejoice. Surely this time it means the tide is turning!

We were so excited when the super-tasty Mexican restaurant opened nearby. And it’s since become the old standby. I mean, they’re BYOB - does it get any better?

But we’re especially excited about the impending arrival of Abigail’s Wine Bar which is set to open in the bottom floor of a posh new condo building. Even better - this place is steps away from Susan & Mark’s condo.

* Please note that we have nothing against the Caribbean restuarants in our neighborhood. In fact, we regularly indulge in a little veggie roti. But a little variety never killed anyone.

This weekend was the infamous West Indian Parade in Crown Heights. Our whole neighborhood goes insane with music, food and fabulous outfits. The main parade is on Eastern Parkway on Monday. These pictures are actually of the junior parade that took place on our street Saturday morning.