Prospect Park Nethermead 11:30 a.m.
El tiempo vuela! Has it been that long? It was five years ago tomorrow that Cafe Enduro opened its doors on Lincoln Road and soon became a popular neighborhood fixture. And it wasn’t long after that sister saloon Lincoln Park Tavern kept the drinks coming later into the night.
Karl Bernholtz, one of four remaining original employees and the current manager, told us that the owners and staff remain committed to the community.
“When we first opened we made a real effort to embrace the diversity of Prospect Lefferts Gardens,” he said. “And now we have a great blend of customers from all around the area.”
(original employees Laura Frenzer, Karl Bernholtz, Alfredo Rugerio)
Bernholtz told PLOG that in the beginning it was businesses like [now closed] K-Dog and Dunebuggy that helped the eatery onto its feet.
“It was like having a neighbor that you could ask for a cup of sugar or to lend a hand,” he said. And in that same tradition, some of the investors in Enduro have quietly backed the new next door location of Blue Roost Cafe. (Bernholtz declined to elaborate for this story).
Customers stopping by the Mexican joint will enjoy an extended happy hour tomorrow until 8 pm and raffles for free bottles of tequila. Feliz Cumpleaños, Cafe Enduro!
PLOG sat down on Friday with three local residents whose lives have intersected with the protests around the country and the national media coverage that has followed. We asked them to share their experiences and thoughts. The following interview is condensed and edited for space.
Daniel Goers, furniture designer, 27, Lefferts Avenue, photo left: First I just want to say that I don’t represent anybody else. I don’t represent any movement. I represent only myself.
Brian/Molly: Agreed.
Brian Russ, musician and teacher, 30, Sterling Street: Everyone is there with their own personal reasons but there is a collective consciousness that brings it all together. Everyone makes the argument that the protesters don’t have a specific issue that they’re about. But I think right now it’s more about how many people are involved and how large the movement is. It’s just the beginning right now.
Molly Miller, CUNY student, 22, Parkside Avenue: I got into this only recently. I went to Zuccotti Park and it was pretty inspiring to see how many people think their voices should be heard. I went to the Brooklyn Bridge on Thursday and the thing that really got to me was how human everyone turned out to be. It was so beautiful to see everyone caring about each other.
Daniel: Everyone asks what the goal of the movement is. Right now we’re at this early stage where everybody is really just starting to talk to each other. We are only now starting a conversation and identifying the issues everyone has. Once all the people in this country are in the conversation then we can begin to identity solutions.
PLOG: You can be unhappy with the current state of things without having a solution.
Daniel: It might be called Occupy Wall Street but the primary chant you hear out there is “We are the 99 percent.” It’s that cry for change. The message is that we are the huge majority of this country that doesn’t have a voice. We want a voice. We need a voice.
Molly: Look how many we are and we still don’t have any representation. So we’re going to do something about it. And if it’s just sitting outside for days and months on end people are going to see that and hear about it.
Brian: I’ve always been a fan of the civil rights movement and what went down in the 60s with the Vietnam protests. But I never felt totally inspired to go out and there and do something like my parents’ generation. Now I totally understand that feeling of getting out there. Everyone has this collective inspiration that something’s wrong. I’ve always wondered “Are me and my friends the only ones who see this?” We gave the banks billions of dollars for no reason. People don’t have healthcare who work everyday. There are no fair wages. It’s only been two months and it’s amazing that this much has happened.
Daniel: The primary accomplishment is that we’ve redefined the conversation that people are having. We’ve gone from kids camping out in the park to being a movement that’s dominating the media and bringing up tons of issues—not just representation and lack of democracy but issues of police brutality, immigration, healthcare and the marginalization of different groups whether they be racial, gender or what have you. The fact that they’re even talking about it means we’re in control and as long as this continues that’s not going to go away.
Molly: I went to the protests with my mother which was interesting since she was a total child of the 60s. She was at Stanford—she was arrested there. It was interesting to get her opinion on that. People kept asking her about it. She said that was about the war and this is about change.
PLOG: What have your experiences been with NYPD?
Molly: Thursday was just insane. There were so many cops. And they were in riot gear! I talked to a policeman last night and he said “We wish we could be on the other side of this but we can’t be.” One cop pulled a group of people to the side and told us that they had a sound cannon set up and that we should make sure to have ear plugs because it can pretty bad for people. And this is a cop that is on the other side of the line standing there with a gun in his pocket and a baton in his hand telling us this because he truly cares and understands where we’re coming from and what we’re trying do. We were at the front and we could see the 99 people who volunteered to [intentionally] be arrested. And they put them on the buses and it was so cool to see them go by because everyone was cheering them on. There was so much love happening. The cops were standing with their arms linked blocking the bridge and finally some guy talked them into letting us cross. He said “Look we’re not going away just let us through peacefully.” And the cops did it. And it was really beautiful to see that happen.
Daniel (above in New York Times photograph): It’s really interesting to hear [Molly] humanize the cops. I have a really hard time with that. A lot of my confrontations with them have been incredibly violent. Just talking about this upsets me because I want to see these people as humans but they all look the same. They all wear a uniform and look like stormtroopers. They have one goal: to control you. And I don’t believe that as civil servants that they have any right to control us unless we are out of line. And I have yet to see a single protester be truly out of line. I have been in some of the nastiest stuff of this movement so far. When we got an alert that [Zuccotti Park] was being raided I couldn’t get anywhere near there. They shut down the subways near the park; they shut down the airspace. There was press with us that couldn’t get through which is why I got photographed. That shot shows me moments before I got pepper sprayed for no reason. There were people getting snatched and grabbed from the crowd for no reason. The only thing we were doing was non-violent peaceful chanting. We were almost running away from the cops because of the level of intimidation and violence we had seen at the front. No one is going to stand around when people are being randomly pepper sprayed and beaten and pushed onto the street. I got hit with batons. And it’s not a fun experience.
Brian: The police brutality I have seen so far has been brutal, immoral, unethical, senseless and absolutely inhuman. It makes no sense to me. Last night I saw someone tackled by an officer and his head got cracked open on the street. We just want to peacefully march. Anyone who has been arrested is a martyr and a hero. There needs to be legal action. I talked to people who had been in protests in the 60s and they said the brutality was nothing like this.
Molly: I have seen the pictures but that upsets me in a whole different way. Maybe the cops [I saw] were so human because there was so much press. The whole reason I was there was to support humanity and the love that I feel. To hear stories like that about people who we are supposed to be protected by is just awful. That really hurts.
PLOG: How do you plan to be involved in the future? Are people supportive of your involvement?
Molly: I feel connected to this. I plan to help the movement in anyway I can and just keep talking about it and filling people in. Other people hear you and are inspired. The majority of people are very supportive about it. I did get one comment from a really good friend that was kind of hurtful. I don’t know if it was sarcasm or that person was being too opinionated but I wanted to say: “I understand that you have a different opinion but can you see my opinion at all? Can you accept or respect that I have a different one?” It was interesting to see that coming from somebody that I thought I would get a positive reaction from.
Daniel: I really believe that the decentralized aspect of this movement is one of its most powerful attributes. That’s what is going to maintain the momentum. It might be important for me to shift my involvement now to something more local. I recently realized that Brooklyn has started its own general assembly. I tell people to just attend meetings. See how the people’s mic works; see how it empowers people to start a discussion and share their voice.
Brian: I’m in a band and recently traveled around the country. And I actually got to go to different movements in the South and the Midwest. Right now I am promoting a major march that will be in Washington on March 24. My goal is to spread the march through social networking. No amount of cops or armed forces can stop us. We need Obama to open his curtain the way Richard Nixon did during the Vietnam protests and see hundred of thousands of people out there.
Molly: It’s important as neighborhood people in this tiny community to find each other and stay connected. Stay together. Even this neighborhood has a lot of people that feel like this and want to get involved but don’t know how. A lot of people that I hang out with say “That’s so cool and I wanted to go but I didn’t feel like I should.” And I tell them to just come with me next time and see. As much as the three of us can stay connected we can do our little part too. One droplet of water…
Daniel: We should have a community event…
Brian: That’s a great idea.
What do you think of the protests? Let us know in the comments. For more information check out Occupy Wall Street or the NYC General Assembly. Interested in creating a local community event? Contact Molly Miller via her email.
When a food truck rolled onto Lincoln last night between Ocean and Flatbush, it may as well have been a UFO landing in the hood. Fancy mobile eateries abound in enclaves like Park Slope and Williamsburg, but the arrival of “Fishing Shrimp” here created an immediate buzz.
Cajoled to visit Prospect Lefferts Gardens by local icon Richard “Buzz” Gross, owner Odeis Stephenson (above right) is testing the waters here on a trial basis. Stephenson’s short stay yesterday hooked enough customers that he quickly sold out of the fresh whiting that he sells, along with other fried and breaded offerings like shrimp, chips and conch. PLOG tried some whiting and shrimp and was impressed with the bright flavors and low grease factor.
“I love word of mouth,” said the new food truck owner. “Take a sample, walk down the street and tell someone about us.”
Future stops by “Fishing Shrimp” can be tracked daily on the van’s Twitter feed. Stephenson will return again tonight and promises more drive-bys if he gets community support.
Haven’t gotten your fill of public art?
Take a walk down Lincoln Road between Flatbush and Ocean Avenue and see “Lincoln Road Serape” on the fence overlooking the subway. We stopped by yesterday as artist Katherine Daniels and friends weaved her work on site.
“I’m a bit of an art history nerd,” she said. “I looked at the bridge and I was thinking of diagonals and diamonds and I came upon some Navajo weavings that I thought were appropriate. I wanted to make a contemporary version of one.”
“I consider myself a sculptor but I use craft techniques,” said Daniels. “I’m weaving and sewing on a large scale and doing it very organically.”
The new piece replaces the popular installation by Crystal Gregory which decorated the area for the past year. What do you think of the new addition? Let PLOG know in the comments section.
The turnout for “The Neighborhood Show” was nothing short of inspiring yesterday afternoon, as hundreds of residents came to view local artworks from more than 50 separate contributors. The reception launched the second part of a month long community show that began with the popular “Between Neighbors” from Brian Fernandes-Halloran.
You can catch the exhibit from now until November 13 at 522 Flatbush Avenue. Monday-Friday 2-8 pm, Saturday 10-8 pm and Sunday 10-6 pm. Weekends will include a crafts market and live music. For the full schedule visit the PLG Arts website.
Several readers have asked if this year’s neighborhood Halloween Safe Walk is the route from last year. The trail is indeed the same and PLOG has created this handy map to send you and your families on your way without encountering any dangerous trolls or hobgoblins. Begin at Flatbush Avenue and Rutland Road and finish at the 71st Precinct on Empire Boulevard. The route is sponsored from 5 to 9 pm. Have fun!
Response to Brian Fernandes-Halloran’s community art show has been so strong that one participant walked off with a large screen television and DVD player last night. No signs of forced entry were found in the theft of equipment that was part of a video installation that shared the views of residents. This follows repeated reports to PLOG of chronic robberies on Ocean Avenue between Empire Avenue and Lincoln Road. A crew of youth reportedly have been using fire escapes to break through windows or remove air conditioners to access apartments. Investigators have told victims that the individuals involved have been identified but police have insufficient evidence to press charges.
We’ve heard so many plans for cafes and such since the closing of K-Dog and Dunebuggy that PLOG presents this handy map to keep track of all your future caffeine needs. A former employee from K-Dog is in talks to open a coffee shop at the former florist on Flatbush (green). Restauranteur Gino Sela is rumored to be opening a bakery next to his pizzeria and trattoria (red). As we reported last week Cafe Pomidor claims to be opening in November (yellow) and The Blue Roost Cafe (blue) announced plans to take over K-Dog’s space and be operating before December. Get your travel mugs ready for winter.
Once the location of Mike’s International Restaurant, 522 Flatbush Avenue has become host to a month long community art extravaganza. The first ten days of the exhibition is called “Between Neighbors” and features work from local artist Brian Fernandes-Halloran. PLOG stopped by the opening reception and spoke to the painter about his unique vision of the neighborhood.
“I started painting people around the area and realized that they were figures but not necessarily individuals to me. I wasn’t taking in my neighbors as much as I wanted,” said Fernandes-Halloran. “So my paintings started to change and became about the distance between us.”
The artist explained that his show began to transform into an opportunity to listen to locals and give them a chance to express themselves. In the gallery, visitors have the opportunity to write notes about experiences on their block, record videos in a “truth booth” and paint a message on a security gate.
“The gate is a metaphor for the transition of getting to know somebody,” he said. “It’s usually a symbol for ‘don’t enter.’ But as with people, sometimes you have to reposition yourself, walk around and be in a place where you can communicate openly.”
It took Fernandes-Halloran more than 18 months to secure a space by working with State Senator Eric Adams and organizations such as PLGNA and PLG Arts. And continuing with the theme of breaking down barriers, beginning October 30 the space will feature “The Neighborhood Show” which will include art pieces from dozens of residents, a craft market, live music and more. Be sure to stop by and take in the sights!
If you were walking down Ocean Avenue last week, you may have been hit by flying lead—and we don’t mean bullets. At 65 Ocean, employees were recorded allegedly scraping lead paint off fire escapes in the front and back of the building with little or none of the safety precautions required by law. A building resident who did not wished to be named told PLOG that workers did not use vacuums and that chips were falling to the ground, into air conditioners and apartment windows.
In this video taken by her husband, two individuals can be seen removing reportedly contaminated paint without any protective gear. Despite a number of attempts to contact the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the tenant says that inspectors were unresponsive or claimed to have not witnessed the ongoing maintenance. While the HPD informed her that 99 percent of fire escapes built before 1970 are covered with lead, the agency somewhat paradoxically will not test outdoor areas. PLOG will continue to investigate this story in the coming weeks.
PLOG 