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By Julianne Cuba

Brooklyn Daily

Don’t put all of the eggs in one basket!

Kids of all ages hunted for colorful Easter eggs and won tasty prizes — like cotton candy — during Our Lady of Grace Church’s annual egg hunt in Gravesend on March 12. And one youngster had so much fun filling up her basket that she wanted to bring the eggs home with her, said her grandmother.

“It was my first time there, and I took my two granddaughters,” said Helen Barraclough, grandmother to 1-year-old Aaliyah Walker and 6-year-old Sarina Barraclough. “Aaliyah had fun, she wouldn’t let go of one of the eggs, but they said we could take it home.”

Another toddler — 2-and-a-half year old Kaylin Lam — wanted to spread the Easter love and share all of her eggs, her father said.

“She was so excited. She picked a lot of eggs, she tried to count them, and then people tried to grab her eggs,” said Kenny Lam. “She was sharing the eggs with the kids.”

Despite some feisty youngsters trying to steal what the Easter Bunny brought, the event was a huge success and a lot of fun, said Barraclough.

“I thought it was very well organized and really nice,” she said. “I really like the way they did it, and I will definitely be going back.”

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By Julianne Cuba

Brooklyn Daily

They were pitted against each other — for a cause!

Students from three Brooklyn schools took the stage on March 12 to show off their singing and dancing talents during the third annual Brooklyn Sings! event — a fierce, yet friendly, inter-school sing competition to raise money for cancer research. And this year, Midwood High School took home the gold for the first time, though everyone sung their hearts out, said one of the event’s coordinators.

“It is always nice to see the students interact with one another and perform. The performances were all great, and inter-sing always makes the students step up the bar,” said Gabrielle Pucci, student activities coordinator at James Madison High School — where the event was held.

Almost 500 students from the three high schools — Midwood, Edward R. Murrow, and James Madison — performed during the competition, raising more than $15,000 for the American Cancer Society, and bringing the three-year total to more than $50,000, said an event coordinator.

“It was really terrific, in three years we raised over $50,000,” said Relay for Life organizer Joe Gillette. “It was very exciting.”

Showcasing student creativity and talent dates back to 1947, when Brooklyn high schools hosted their own respective inter-grade student-run-musicals, known then as just “Sing!”

The tradition was resurrected three years, and a little competition was added to the mix to bring students from the neighboring schools together, said a senior advisor from James Madison High School.

“They wanted to bring back community and unity to the local high schools,” said Marla Rutter, who attended Midwood growing up. “All three did very well and each school has their own tradition. And the kids were great sports cheering and supporting each other.”

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By Dennis Lynch

Brooklyn Daily

It is a battle of the baristas!

New York’s best coffee art creators are foaming at the mouth to compete in a no-holds barred latte art competition at the Coffee and Tea Festival New York City in Greenpoint on March 19. The 32 competitors will use milk and espresso to form flowers, portraits, and artsy swirls in their cups, despite a series of challenges designed to give them the jitters, a competition organizer said.

“The size of the cups might change for example, or you will have to pour a latte from several feet up into a cup on the ground, so you have to be versatile,” said Shaak Shatursun, of Cafe Grumpy, the sponsor of the event.

The roughly 90-minute competition will have multiple one-on-one rounds, narrowing down the coffee field to a final emperor of espresso. The hot pouring action will be projected onto a large screen, so audience members can get a close look at the results at the same time as the judges.

The competition’s three judges will score the competitors based on creativity and on the technical aspects of their work, including how crisply their foamed milk contrasts with the espresso, Shatursun said.

Winning the competition has its perks — first place prize is $500, and second place is a trove of caffeine-loaded goods from festival vendors.

One competitor, a manager at Cafe Grumpy’s Grand Central Terminal location, said he will roast the competition with his consistency.

“I’ve been working on making it really symmetrical and adding a lot of layers — it’s not really something specifically fancy, just working on the perfect tulip,” said Alex Kim.

The foam feud is part of a two-day festival of caffeinated beverages, with demonstrations, seminars, and tastings from 60 vendors.

Those who watch the latte throwdown can keep up their coffee consumption by slurping down the works of art once they have been judged, Shatursen said.

“We hate to throw them out, so if anyone wants to drink them they are up for grabs,” he said.

The Coffee and Tea Festival New York City’s Latte Art Throwdown at Brooklyn Expo Center [72 Noble St. at Franklin Street in Greenpoint, (631) 940–7290, www.coffeeandteafestival.com/nyc]. March 19 at 1 pm. $25. Festival lasts March 19–20, noon–6 pm.

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By Joseph Staszewski

Brooklyn Daily

Telecommunications appeared to have already secured a city title after grabbing a 15-point advantage after the first quarter — but holding the lead ended up being tougher that gaining it.

With its leading scorer fouled out in the closing minutes, the Yellow Jackets’ saw its lead shrink to three, but the team’s was able hold off Frederick Douglass Academy 54–51 in the Public School Athletic League Class A boys’ basketball title game at St. Francis College on March 13. Telecom refused to lose.

“We didn’t come here for no reason,” guard Devin Ballour said.

The Lions slowly battled back by starting the second quarter on a 7–0 run led by Steven Cherry, who finished with a team-high 12 points.

But Telecom’s defensive pressure, led by Ballour, set the tone for the game and kept the Yellow Jackets ahead 31–21 lead the half. The the fouls began to pile up.

Telecom’s Thomas Farrell led the team with 15 points, securing the game’s Most Valuable Player award. However, the junior would eventually foul out with 2:42 left, moments after Ballour (10 points) fouled out — putting the team in a dangerous place.

With a resurgent Lions team fighting back and Telecom not playing as well on the defensive end, its lead shrank with time expiring.

“Every time we would score a basket we wouldn’t even be paying attention,” Ballour said. “They would just run up the court and draw the foul or lay it up.”

St. Francis College began to rumble, as the packed house seemed to rally behind the Lions. A 13-point lead shrank with every stop and the place got louder and louder. Frederick Douglass (21–1) won the fourth quarter 16-6, but fell three points short. Clutch free throws from senior guard John Brown would seal the game for Telecom (21–2) with 13.1 seconds left. Brown finished with 11 points and Matthew Smiley added 10 of his own. The veteran Yellow Jackets – who have no underclassmen on the roster – found a way to hang on.

“Our experience down the stretch helped.” said Telecom coach Chris Weil.

Telecom won the rematch of last year’s quarterfinal, despite shooting 14-for-31 from the free-throw line. The team advances to face Elmont in the state Federation semifinals March 18 at the Times Union Center in Albany.

The Yellow Jackets, whose baseball team win the city title in 2013, now have a hoops crown to call their own.

“[The championship] is big for the program and it’s big for the school,” Weil said. “We have a very good baseball team but we’ve always been in the mix in basketball. I knew eventually we would get something and we got it today; that’s all that counts.”

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By Julianne Cuba

Brooklyn Daily

It’s a street divider.

A Marine Park street that sits at the border of two police precincts is an enforcement dead zone, say residents who claim police ignore their pleas to make sure there are boots on the ground.

Residents of Stuart Street living across the road from Marine Park say cops from the 63rd Precinct are routinely seen on patrol inside the park’s borders, but won’t help with problems on their side of the street — because houses there are in the 61st Precinct. And, they claim, police from the 61st rarely answer their calls to talk about crime during monthly Marine Park Civic Association meetings.

“Stuart Street is never considered a concern,” said Stuart Street resident Louis Geritano.

Residents complained that the biggest problem they have are with drivers speeding down the block and blowing through the stop sign when coming to or leaving the park, and wannabe park-goers dangerously backing down the street when looking for a place to leave their car instead of driving around the block.

But police from the 61st Precinct said residents are welcome to bring up their concerns at that precinct’s monthly Community Council meetings, where they usually get a chance to speak directly with the captain and hear what else is going on.

“We want them to come to the council meetings, we want them to come to hear everything that’s going on in the precinct,” said Officer Sammy Shaya, who helps out with community relations.

But Geritano said he believes it’s the precinct’s responsibility to make more of an effort to make residents feel more comfortable, he said.

“How many nights a week am I going to go to meetings?” he said. “I don’t think I should be running out when the problem is in my neighborhood. They should be coming to us.”

To that, Shaya said it’s easy to get in touch with the precinct to register complaints — by calling.

“It’s not fair for a resident to have to wait a month to have a problem addressed,” he said, “They have my number, they can call me at any time.”

The community affairs team at the precinct can be reached at (718) 627–6847.

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By Joseph Staszewski

Brooklyn Daily

South Shore is approaching rarefied air.

Top-seeded South Shore handily won its second straight Public School Athletic League Class AA girls’ basketball crown with a 55–39 victory over No. 2 Francis Lewis in the final at Madison Square Garden on March 12. The Vikings have been to six of the last eight title games and are position to put itself along side storied the leagues’ other storied programs.

“Today when you talk about New York City PSAL girls’ basketball, you go August Martin, you go Murry Bergtraum and I think you can put South Shore as next up in line,” said coach Anwar Gladden.

The Vikings are not there yet. August Martin won 12 city titles and Bergtraum won 15 straight before being knocked off by Lewis in 2013. But it is time to start talking about the potential South Shore dynasty in the making. The Vikings have just one Public School Athletic League loss in the last two years and were unbeaten this season after losing All-American Brianna Fraser, winning all but two games by double digits.

“When it was their opportunity to step up, we dominated the PSAL from start to finish this year. We went undefeated. Today was just the icing on the cake as far as the PSAL.”

His club will have a good chance to continue that trend. South Shore loses just two seniors in Jordan Washington and Aliesha Thomas and returns four sophomore from this year. Washington fully understands what is back and knows more help is always on the way.

“We have like five more juniors and they are going to step up and get another chip,” she said. “And [Gladden] has more players and I think they can keep doing well.”

It wasn’t always this way. Just four years ago it was South Shore who was the other wrong end of the Bergtraum’s 15th crown and lost to Lewis at Barclays Center in 2013 – four straight final losses. Now that they are on top, Gladden understands the expectations are high and what it is like being the team trying to chase the top dog.

“I feel for those guys on the other side because I know what that feeling is like,” he said. “You put in the hard work and dedication for a whole season. I don’t wish that on anybody.”

Now as the hunted he said his league opponents have nothing to lose playing him, just like their was no shame losing to Bertgtraum at the Garden because a Lady Blazers win became as sure a thing as death and taxes. Learned to deal with expectation winning is a much different experience.

“It’s pressure,” Gladden said. “You know you are the dominant team. You know you are the best team. You got over the hump. The pressure is on. You just got to continue to push these young ladies to live up to those expectations.”

If they do the pressure will grow, but so will the number of trophies in the collection. The dynasty to be will become a reality.

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By Dennis Lynch

Brooklyn Daily

Let their voices soar!

Students at PS 1 in Sunset Park showed off their choral chops on March 10 as the 8- to-10 year-old choristers neared the end of an eight-week course with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus called “Ready Set Sing” — and their hard work showed, said one program leader.

“They have so much energy, in a good way, and they’ve channeled it through singing,” Brooklyn Youth Chorus manager and program co-condutor Eric Williamson said.

The 22 young women involved with the program at PS 1 learned proper vocal techniques, ear training, and even how to read scores — much of the same skills taught to students with the Grammy-winning chorus.

Many students in the after-school program go on to successfully audition to join the chorus, Williamson said.

Williamson and his co-conductor Elizabeth Woodhouse taught the students at PS 1 the calypso folk song “Shake the Papaya Down,” a South African Zulu language song “Thula Klizeo” and the environmentally-conscious song “Keep it Good.”

The Brooklyn Youth Chorus also runs “Ready Set Sing” at PS 93 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, PS 15 in Red Hook, and The Bed-Stuy Restoration Corporation each semester of the school year.

All of the singers in the program will perform together at a choral festival alongside older students with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus at Excellence Boys Charter School (225 Patchen Ave. between Macon and Macdonough streets) on May 7 at 3:30 pm. The show is free and open to the public.

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By Julianne Cuba

Brooklyn Daily

He wrote the sounds of silence.

The cacophony of Coney Island’s Boardwalk — the roar of the Cyclone and crashing of the waves — takes center stage in the new, lavishly-illustrated children’s book “The Sound of All Things.” The book’s author, who will appear at the Brooklyn Public Library on March 19, based the story on his memories of growing up with a deaf mother and father in 1930s Brooklyn.

“Write about what you know maybe is true,” said Myron Uhlberg, now 82. “On self-examination, what I did know is growing up with two deaf parents in Brooklyn. Of course I have to write about Brooklyn because that’s what I knew.”

“The Sound of All Things” — Uhlberg’s seventh published book — focuses on a typical weekend from his childhood, spent on Coney Island with his parents. During these expeditions, Uhlberg’s father would ask him to translate the sound of the Boardwalk, to “explain what things sound like, things he could never hear,” he said.

The book’s focus on noise made creating the images a difficult task, said the book’s illustrator.

“Given that it’s a book about sound, it was a challenge to try to figure out ways to use visual stimulants in the painting to show sound,” said Ted Papoulas, a former Brooklynite who now lives in New Jersey.

Papoulas researched old photos of Brooklyn streets and of the Boardwalk in order to created his paintings of Coney Island in the 1930s. Papoulas said that it required a careful process of “thinking of each page and what had to be depicted, and adding details and textures to it to make the scene come to life.”

Uhlberg — who now lives in California — and Papoulas will meet for the first time at the Brooklyn Public Library event on March 19. During the book’s publication process, they communicated by email and phone.

While he is in Brooklyn, Uhlberg plans to head back to Coney Island and chow down on some Nathan’s hot dogs on the Boardwalk. He is also excited to share the Brooklyn he grew up in with readers, because so much of that world has changed, he said.

“The book is my Christmas present, or birthday present, to the Brooklyn that I once lived, and I remember, and will never forget,” he said.

“The Sound of All Things” at the Brooklyn Central Library Dweck Center [10 Grand Army Plaza between Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway in Prospect Heights, (718) 230-2100, www.bklynlibrary.org]. March 19 at 1 pm. Free.

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By Dennis Lynch

Brooklyn Daily

You too can help prevent sinkholes!

Leaky pipes have ruptured two southern Brooklyn streets in recent weeks, and local officials say they are a giant gaping reminder that residents must sink some cash into sewer and tap-line insurance now so they don’t end up paying the price of repairing them — and the hassle of giant craters in their roads — in the future.

“Get the insurance so you’re not hesitant to get work done if you need it, because it can be a costly, costly expense,” said Councilman Vincent Gentile (D–Bay Ridge). “This could keep happening more and more as the pipes and systems become older and older.”

A massive asphalt aperture tore through on 79th Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues in Bay Ridge on March 12 — just weeks after two separate ruptured lines created a sinkhole on 56th Street in Sunset Park.

Gentile drove over the latest sinkhole himself before it completely collapsed, and called police to cordon off the area that afternoon — possibly averting further disaster, as no cars or people were ultimately damaged by the depression.

But many still suffered — utility workers shut down gas, water, and electricity to residents on the block, and didn’t turn them back on until 11 pm that night. Transportation workers had largely filled the puncture back up by 8 am the next morning.

Homeowners are responsible for maintaining the tap-water and sewer lines from their property out to the city’s main underneath their street, and a leak or break can cost thousands of dollars to fix.

The Department of Environmental Protection offers an insurance service through American Water Resources that customers can tack on to their monthly bill, and will then provide repairs in the event of a disaster like a sinkhole. Fixing a broken water line can otherwise set a homeowner back $5,000 and replacing one costs around $8,000, a department spokesman said, but added that regular inspections can help prevent a sinkhole from happening in the first place.

“Property owners are encouraged to ask their plumber to periodically inspect their service lines for damage or signs of deterioration,” he said.

But even the most conscientious citizen sewer stewards can’t thwart sinkholes completely — a 20-foot-wide sinkhole opened on the same Bay Ridge block in 2012, but that was the due to a broken sewer main, which is the city’s responsibility.

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By Dennis Lynch

Brooklyn Daily

Bay Ridge should prep for a new school.

A developer filed paperwork last week to build a six-story schoolhouse on a former auto parts shop on 89th Street, and it may house an extension of the Bay Ridge Preparatory School, the Courier has learned.

Permits, first reported by the awesome real estate news outlet New York Yimby, show plans for two squash courts and 29 classrooms, along with typical facilities including a cafeteria, gymnasium with locker rooms, and an auditorium. The school’s footprint would occupy almost the entirety of the 10,000 square foot lot, according to the permits.

Records for the property dating back to 2014 list the Bay Ridge Preparatory School as the holder of the mortgage for the development company 429 LLC, which has the same phone number of address as Allied Properties, whose architect filed the permit to build the school.

The lot is three blocks from the 86th Street R train station and a stone’s throw from the PS 104 and PS 185 Annex located on the corner of Fourth Avenue. Other nearby public schools include PS 264 Bay Ridge Elementary School for the Arts across Fourth Avenue on 89th Street and PS-IS 104 The Fort Hamilton School on Fifth Avenue and 92nd Street.

The lot is part of a five block area stretching to Fort Hamilton Triangle zoned for commercial businesses including repair shops, car washes, and warehouses. The prospective school’s block is home to a car dealership, another repair shop, a gym, and a bank.

Bay Ridge Preparatory is a kindergarten through 12th grade private school founded in 1998 with two locations, a lower school at 8101 Ridge Blvd. between 81st and 82nd streets; and an upper school at 7420 Fourth Ave. between 74th Street and Bay Ridge Parkway.

Bay Ridge Prep did not return two calls for comment.

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By Dennis Lynch

Brooklyn Daily

Thrill-seekers who can’t wait to risk life and limb on the Cyclone at Luna Park’s opening day on March 20 — or any time this summer for that matter — will be riding on a newly rehabilitated icon. The wooden roller coaster got a fresh coat of red and white paint in preparation for this summer and it looks better than ever, Coney Island’s unofficial mayor said.

“In my 37 years in Coney I’ve never seen it looking this good,” said entertainment impresario Dick Zigun. “I’m thrilled about it.”

The Cyclone is a city landmark, so the Landmarks Commission had to certify that all the rehabilitation work was in line with the Cyclone’s original 1927 design. The park’s owners have also replaced sections of track on the nearly half-mile long roller coaster during the off-seasons over the last five or so years.

That means riders this year will get the best ride on the Cyclone since the its first brave riders strapped in to its cars almost 90 years ago. But worry not — just because the Cyclone looks brand new, it still feels as raw and white-knuckle as ever, Zigun said, even if it looks a little less dangerous than before.

“People always joked that part of its fun was that it was rickety and ‘dangerous’ but that’s just not been true,” he said. “I think a lot of that false reputation was based on peeling paint and superficial rust stains.”

Borough President Adams, Councilman Mark Treyger (D–Coney Island), Assemblywoman Pam Harris (D–Coney Island) and state Senator Diane Savino (D–Staten Island) will attend the opening ceremony at Luna Park at 11:30 am on March 20. The first 150 folks who show up will get free egg creams courtesy of Brooklyn Seltzer Boys.

Luna Park season opening ceremony (1000 Surf Ave. between W. 10th and W. Eighth streets in Coney Island). March 20, 11:30 am. Free.

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By Julianne Cuba

Brooklyn Daily

Parents’ anger with the co-location of two Southern Brooklyn public schools and Coney Island Preparatory Charter School boiled over Tuesday night when they unloaded on city Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina at a town hall meeting hosted by the head of the city’s public schools at IS 228 in Bensonhurst.

Students at Coney Island Prep — a publicly funded but privately run charter school — have been learning the three Rs within the confines of IS 281 in Bensonhurst and IS 303 in Coney Island for the last few years. Parents initially fought to stop the city from allowing the charter school to occupy space within public schools when the plans to do so were announced in 2011, and they have been fighting to keep it from expanding ever since. Now they say the city must stop cramming students into the shared buildings where they claim they force kids to take impossible “Common Core” exams in crummy conditions.

“How can our children take a city-wide test — in a lunchroom? It is so uncomfortable,” said Lisa Addeo, president of the IS 281 Parent Teacher Association, who says her seventh-grader has complained about his school’s congestion.

Parents also said they were frustrated that the city seems to be favoring the charter school, allowing it to outnumber and outrun the public school in which it’s housed. And the co-location is not only claustrophobic — it feels segregated, teachers told the Chancellor during the meeting.

“We’re asking you to reconsider the co-location at IS 281,” said Theresa Cardazone, a teacher at the school. “It’s really like segregation, it’s not equal, and the kids know it.”

The Chancellor told parents that of course all students are equal, and said it’s the parents who need to work together to make the cohabitation work by finding common ground in services such as after-school programs.

“It’s the one place that’s most successful in convincing charter schools and public schools to work together,” she said.

But Addeo was not satisfied with that response, and so she continued to lodge complaints at the Chancellor about the school’s unhealthy overcrowding.

“What about in the gym? It’s so overcrowded, what do we do about that?” Addeo said, before she was told her time was up and she could write down all of her questions on note cards that would be collected later.

Overcrowding wasn’t the only issue parents leveled at the chancellor — the controversial Common Core standards are impossible to meet, and are ruining children’s education, one angry parent who refused to give her name said.

“I feel that my child is being robbed out of a quality education,” she said. “Common Core and state testing, I know you are an advocate for it, and I respect that, but in my opinion, it’s doing more harm than good.”

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By Julianne Cuba

Brooklyn Daily

It’s the ghost town of Sheepshead Bay.

Homeowners have for years been abandoning many of the bungalows within Sheepshead Bay’s Sandy-swept “Courts” — a corpse of a sub-neighborhood five feet below street-level off Emmons Avenue between E. 29th Street and Batchelder Street — and now one of its hold-outs is finally ready to give up on an area he once considered a paradise, but now says is something much less.

“It still looks like a war zone,” said Jimmy Schneider of Mesereau Courtt, whose lived in Sheepshead Bay for 40 year and has now put his home on the market. “It’s a shame, I’ve lived here my whole life.”

Rampant with cats making their homes under piles of garbage and construction, the houses within the Courts — many built back when Sheepshead Bay was a sleepy beach and fishermen’s town — have been left to rot since the superstorm blew threw, and with no street lights to brighten up the area at night, the neighborhood has become a feeding ground for drugs, according to Schneider.

“With all the drug dealing going on — I’m not going to put my family at risk,” he said.“Look how they’re dumping garbage in all these houses. Nobody does nothing.”

And the government hasn’t done enough to help through its controversial Build-It-Back program, said Schneider.

But a spokesman for the city-run federally funded recovery effort challenged that, claiming construction has just begun on 23 homes, and has already been completed on 54 in Sheepshead Bay.

But many residents — like the Schneiders — have chosen to just leave, abandoning their homes now boarded up with wood and peppered with mold.

Schneider said he raised his family in the Courts and hates to leave, but claims it’s just not worth it to stay.

“I can’t believe how they just forgot about us,” Schneider said. “Everybody just forgot about our neighborhood. It breaks my heart to leave, but I can’t stay like a prisoner in my own house.”

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By Shavana Abruzzo

Brooklyn Daily

Great cultures don’t need a hard sell, and the wacky subway posters painting Muslims as live wires are off track for preaching tolerance in America, when 10 of the 17 worst violators of religious freedom in the world today are Muslim nations, reports the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The billboards fall flat, thanks to sheepheaded slogans:

• Muslims are “coming to strike with hugs so fierce, you’ll end up calling your grandmother and telling her you love her.”

• “The Ugly Truth About Muslims: They have great frittata recipes.”

• “Grownup Muslims can do more pushups than baby Muslims.”

Yawn.

Campaign creators and Muslim comics Negin Farsad and Dean Obeidallah say their advertisements will “inspire people to remember why bigotry and hate towards any religion or race is harmful to everyone,” but the dazed duo is barking up the wrong tree. President Obama has spent two terms patronizing hostile Muslim nations, and the latest FBI figures report only 154 hate incidents against Muslims in 2014, but a whopping 609 against Jews, who top the annual list and typically shrug off the anti-Semitism.

Farsad and Obeidallah know the Muslim brand is contaminated or they wouldn’t be defending it with a billboard campaign, but it will require more than a dog and pony show to eradicate the deep Islamo-association with radicalism, terrorism, misogyny, oppression, violence, dictatorships, and other contemptible conduct.

Muslims with public platforms should be exploring:

• Why many Muslims have an aggrieved view of the West while choosing to live in Western nations.

• Why many Muslims blame Western policies for their own lack of prosperity, instead of government corruption, lack of education, and radical Islam.

• Why many Muslims chant “Death to America” and call Jews descendents of “apes and pigs.”

Hokey subway posters trying to make Muslims out to be mellow fellows fall flatter than an Islamo-frittata because a community spawning a vast terror industry — and then ignoring it — is no laughing matter.

Follow me on Twitter @BritShavana

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By Joanna DelBuono

Brooklyn Daily

Taxes rising, dissatisfaction with the government, war in a foreign land, and a fractured political party. Sounds like today don’t it?

Nah — just 1968.

In 1968 the Democratic Party faced chaos after the assassination of its frontrunner, Robert Kennedy, at the hands of Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian national. The Civil Rights movement was dealing with the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., and our young men were burning their draft cards and fleeing to Canada faster than a Lear jet. Lyndon B. Johnson, a democrat, would not seek re-election and then-Mayor Daily failed at holding the protesters at bay in Chicago, in the contentious summer of 1968.

History is repeating itself 48 years later. This go round it’s Rahm Emanual who was unable to hold the lines in Chicago at a Trump rally. There is chaos in the Republican party, and Donald Trump is proving very hard to get rid of.

I ask myself, what is it about Donald Trump that scares the pants off of every politician that ever walked in any state from sea to shining sea? Democrat or Republican, no one wants Trump. Not sure, and I’m no expert, but I think it’s because he doesn’t play well in the sandbox.

At the first debate Trump was the only candidate asked to swear that he would not seek to run as an independent if he did not get the nomination. The press played along and at the CNN debate he was coerced into agreeing to that. So afraid he would steal their thunder from those that played the game for so long. When he promised that he wouldn’t, the pols heaved a sigh of relief, he would soon be gone.

But the joke’s on them because at the last debate — on the Ides of March — he’s still standing with only two of the original 17 nominees remaining.

Not for nuthin, but in 44 A.D., when Julius Caesar wouldn’t play with the boys in the sandbox, the senators just picked up knives and stabbed him to death. Being much more civilized in 2016, the senators this time around just changed the instrument from the pointed knife to the poison pen. Et tu, Republicans?

Follow me on Twitter @JDelBuono.

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By Joanna DelBuono

Brooklyn Daily

Sheepshead Bay

Oh, happy day!

Wedding bells chimed for Frances Rose Avvento. The borough daughter wed the man of her dreams — Aaron Rella — and sealed the deal with a kiss on March 5 at St. Mark’s Roman Catholic Church in Sheepshead Bay, in front of family and friends.

The happy couple scooted off to a rollicking reception at the Park Savoy Estate in Florham Park, New Jersey, and danced the night away with thrilled parents, Frank and Camille Avvento, and Amelia and Eugene Rella.

The newlyweds are honeymooning by the light of the silvery moon in Hawaii, and then plan on setting up digs on Staten Island, where they will share many, many years of wedded bliss together.

Standing O wishes Frances and Aaron a long and happy life, and offers this Italian toast, “May your years together be like a loaf of Italian bread, long and full of dough.”

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By Dennis Lynch

Brooklyn Daily

The Saint Patrick’s Day party can’t be stopped by a little thing like St. Patrick’s day being over!

The fun keeps going this weekend, when Brooklyn’s largest Saint Paddy’s Day parade takes over the streets of Bay Ridge on Sunday.

Thanks to daylight savings time, it is still light out at 7 pm, but no need to wait until sunset to get your party started — the all-girl rock ’n’ roll outfit SheRox takes the stage at Red White and Brew (8910 Fifth Ave. between 89th and 90th streets) at 4 pm on Saturday. This is the one spot of non-Gaelic entertainment on the agenda this week, so kick back and enjoy the music and decidedly non-Irish margaritas for $5 until 8 pm.

Then, what better way to celebrate on St. Patrick’s Day Parade Eve than with the president of the parade committee? His imaginatively-titled band Frankie Marra and His Band will throw down at Greenhouse Cafe (7717 Third Ave. between 77th and 78th streets) at 10 pm. Marra may be stepping down as prez this year, but he will step out bright and early for the parade the next morning — so you have no excuse for missing it!

The parade starts at 1 pm on Sunday, so grab your shillelagh — to use as a walking stick, of course — and march to Third Avenue! Look for bars along the route with “official headquarters” banners outside, where you can get a drink, info on marchers and bands in the parade, and buy raffle tickets, which organizers will call at the review stand on 77th Street.

Alongside the parade, the Wicked Monk (9510 Third Ave. between 95th and 96th streets) will celebrate in its own way. Traditional Irish ramblers Jameson’s Revenge and New York’s “thirstiest Irish band” (self-proclaimed ) Shilelagh Law will tear up the stage at the Monk. The party starts at noon — an hour before the parade kicks off — and ends at 10 pm. Stick around all night and you will be feeling Jameson’s Revenge in more ways than one!

Or step-dance your way to PC’s Bar (7215 Fifth Ave. between 72nd and 73rd streets) for an after-party featuring the James Riley Band. They go on at 4 pm and will be playing Irish songs all afternoon. And nothing is more Irish than a good deal on beer, so enjoy $3.50 pints of Brooklyn Lager.

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By Joanna DelBuono

Brooklyn Daily

Downtown

Pulitzer in the making

Borough President Adams celebrated Brooklyn’s youngest published author, 9-year-old Anaya Lee-Willabus, last month, as part of his Black History Month celebration.

The beep hailed the legacy of the borough’s African-American community leaders and said, “This Black History Month, in Brooklyn and beyond, let us reflect on all those that have carved the path toward progress that we walk today.”

Adams added it was most important to renew our commitment to support the next generation of would-be leaders.

“They seek to climb the mountains we have yet to ascend,” he said.

Anaya’s book, “The Day Mohan Found his Confidence,” is the first book by the prolific Mill Basin girl, and tells the tale of Mohan and the many challenges he faces at home, as well as school. Mohan discovers that having family and friends that believe in him, and making the effort to do his best, can result in accomplishing the unexpected.

Other honorees included actor and activist Jamie Hector of Crown Heights, and keynote speaker Colvin W. Grannum, president and chief executive officer of Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation.

Brooklyn Borough Hall [209 Joralemon St. at Court Street in Downtown, (718) 802–3700].

Fort Greene

Tax help

The Accounting Society at Long Island University Brooklyn is hosting its annual participation in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. The tax preparation program will be offered on Fridays on March 18, and 25; April 1, 8, and 15; and on Saturdays on March 19 and 26; and April 2 and 9 — from 10 am to 3 pm.

The program is available for those with annual incomes of $51,000 or less, and is offered in Vietnamese, Mandarin, Hindi, Russian, Bengali, Urdu, and other languages.

Students assist taxpayers in preparing federal returns: 1040EZ, 1040A, 1040 (Schedules A and B), and forms 2441 and 8863. State returns that can be prepared include IT 200 and IT 201. Taxpayers must bring valid photo ID, Social Security cards for themselves and any dependents, and all records from 2015, including W-2 and 1099 forms. They should also bring copies of last year’s tax returns, if possible.

To request an appointment call (718) 780–4062 or email bkln-accountingsoc@liu.edu.

Long Island University [1 University Plaza in Fort Greene, (718) 488–1000].

Bay Ridge

It’s a Genesis beginning

Standing O sends kudos to all the students in the Genesis program at Xaverian Middle School that participated at the New York City National History Day competition. The students presented their projects that drew connections from the National History Day themes of exploration, encounter, exchange to their independent research projects at the Museum of the City of New York.

Seventh-graders included: Daniela Benitez, Faith-Ann Cusack-McPartlin, Juliana D’Onofrio, Lacey Rose Delucia, Alexander Eriquez, Catherine Kindschuh, Jacob Goell, Jacqliene Mangini, Kristina Markovinovic, Michael Palumbo, James Poss, Antonietta Raymond, Teresa Spieler, and Gabrielle Venegas.

Eighth-graders included: Vanessa Minniti, Matthew Hayes, Elizabeth Lambrakis, Alessandra Priante, Daniele Priante, Maria Rotolo, and Emma Seitz.

Eight projects placed in the top three in their categories, recognized by an expert panel of judges for their outstanding research and projects. First- and second-place winners will represent New York City at the New York State competition in Cooperstown, NY, on April 18. Those include first-place Kindschuh and Mangini; second-place for Palumbo, and Spieler; and third-place for Hayes.

Standing O wishes all the winners good luck on April 18.

Xaverian Middle School [7100 Shore Rd. and 71st Street in Bay Ridge, (718) 836–7100].

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See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.

By Joanna DelBuono

Brooklyn Daily

Midwood

Roll out the crash cart, the Emergency Room Department at New York Community Hospital is sporting a brand-new look. After a very long year of meticulously planned moves and changes, the first-floor renovations are complete.

President and chief executive officer Barry Stern, along with members of EMS, Hatzolah and private ambulance companies, snipped the ribbon on the ambulance triage area at the unveiling on March 10.

Hospital bigs discussed the expedited triage process that will reduce both ambulance triage time and patient wait time at the state-of-the-art department. The renovation increases the capacity of the acute treatment area and provides an open, modern environment for the doctors and staff.

Physician Annada Das, the director of the emergency room department, said, “We are poised to become the best Emergency Department in Brooklyn!”

The healing facility is already in the top tier amongst Brooklyn Hospital, when it comes to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; MS Patient Satisfaction Surveys of the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems.

Crains recently reported that New York Hospital had the best patient safety in the Hospital Acquired Condition scores in the whole city.

Congrats, New York Community Hospital — here’s a shout-out!

New York Community Hospital [2525 Kings Hwy. at E. 26th Street in Midwood, (718) 692–5300].

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Brooklyn Daily

Greenlight Bookstore’s pick: “All Tomorrow’s Parties” by Rob Spillman

This memoir is like a mix tape, with the music recorded off the radio with a bit of commercial or static. “All Tomorrow’s Parties” opens at an underground rave in an abandoned subway station, then fragments between Spillman’s youth in West Berlin and Baltimore, summers spent with his father in Colorado, and his early 20s when he returned to a newly re-united Berlin. Consider it a love letter to youth and to finding yourself.

— Jess Pane, Greenlight Bookstore [686 Fulton St. between S. Elliott Place and S. Portland Avenue in Fort Greene, (718) 246–0200, www.greenlightbookstore.com].

Community Bookstore’s pick: “Steelwork” by Gilbert Sorrentino

Gilbert Sorrentino was a brilliant chronicler of local voices, and “Steelwork” is his ode to the Brooklyn tongue. Set between the years 1935 and 1951, this novel in non-chronological snapshots follows the life of a Bay Ridge neighborhood and its residents, as they slowly atomize in the wake of World War II and the greed-driven post-war economy. Family meals, drunken carousing, petty crimes, ball games in the street — all are rendered sacred and profane through Sorrentino’s loving, funny, and deeply human portraiture.

— Hal Hlavinka, Community Bookstore [43 Seventh Ave. between Carroll Street and Garfield Place in Park Slope, (718) 783–3075, www.communitybookstore.net].

Word’s pick: “Inferno” by Eileen Myles

This autobiographical novel chronicles the time in Myles’s life when she moved to New York City and discovered herself, both as a lesbian and as a poet. It blurs the line between memoir and fiction, and uses poetry to propel the story forward in really unexpected ways. The language is so gorgeous, I marked my copy up with underlines and exclamation points all over the darn place.

— Andi Talarico, Word [126 Franklin St. at Milton Street in Greenpoint, (718) 383–0096, www.wordbrooklyn.com].

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