News From Brooklyn

No, I have not found a place to live and that is a problem. I underestimated the degree of difficulty in relocating here by myself without feet on the ground to help. One price of all learning is time. I’m learning about the ‘territory’ but it takes time and the cost is high in terms of hotel living.

While I may appreciate worry and concern, please don’t send me ‘what’s up’ messages. I don’t have time to respond to them and they are of no value to me. Any constructive suggestions, however, are very much appreciated.

Many of the apartments in my price range are in predominantly black neighborhoods. Some of you can figure out that I’ve been living in an essentially all black neighborhood. That’s not a problem. It’s just not what I’d like for the long term. I don’t like living in a homogeneous society of any kind whether it be old, young, white, or materialistic. A couple of neighborhoods of interest at this point are Bay Ridge and Prospect Heights near BBG, the museum and the park.

I can’t compete with the earning power of young people, so I’m tying to use my financial resources by offering some amount of rent prepayment. Hell, if the situation were right I’d prepay the whole annual lease. One way or another a lease is a financial commitment.

Heather made a good suggestion about relocating to a cheaper hotel close to the PATH in NJ. I’m thinking about moving over to the HOJO at Newark Airport and see how long it takes to get to and from Brooklyn. I’ll probably do it in the next day or so.

The other unplanned factor is my knees. The pain is not relievable at the end of the day after I’ve been out apartment hunting even with my Darvon prescription. I’ve stopped carrying my laptop and will buy a backpack. Hopefully that will help to some degree.

I have no regret about being here but I’ll surely be glad to look back at this time when it’s a dim memory. There’s no doubt in my mind that there’s NYC DNA in my soul. I believe it was implanted at a very early age (before 5) when we lived in Brooklyn. I always liked working in NYC even when the commute time was outrageous from Farmingdale, LI and then from Princeton/East Windsor NJ.

Incidentally, I do not know the status of the plants at this time. I’m attempting to arrange an appointment or phone conversation with Principal Margie Baker.

Thank you to those of you who have been contributing supportive and constructive suggestions. They are very much appreciated.

BFN, Almost Brooklyn Bob

News From the Trenches

This is how I often feel. This is no place for wimps.

I went to my storage unit yesterday to get some warmer clothes (1 bus, 2 subway trains & 2 hrs round trip). I feel akin to a WWII G.I. when I’m walking these mean streets hauling luggage.

Before embarking on this crazy adventure, I speculated on how my creaky old knees would hold up to lots of city walking. What I didn’t foresee was subway stairs down and back up. Stairs are the worst for my osteoarthritic knees, that’s for sure. I’ll be glad to be in my own apartment and free of luggage. I’ll buy a good carry bag for my laptop and stuff. This combo shoulder/back pack looks like a cool solution.

On the advice of good friend, I’m a hosteller for the first time in my life. I checked out of the HOJO and took a long subway ride to the historic Hostelling International New York building on Amsterdam Ave & 103rd St.

I’m checked in to a 6-bed male room and I’m now camped out in the lounge with my laptop. The furniture is quite interesting. The ‘couches’ are about a foot off the floor. This stuff is obviously made for young people, the main occupants of the room right now. The room is abuzz with young voices (mostly female). I may not be able to get up but it’s great for my knees, which are stretched out in front of me. My laptop battery is warming my aching legs. Maybe I’ll stay here all night. It’s a lot nicer than my room.

Yesterday I checked out a couple of apartment shares and met some nice people but have decided to look for a single occupancy studio. Stairs are one of the issues driving the decision. I can manage maybe one flight of stairs with railings but a ground floor or elevator apartment would be far better.

Who knows I may be living in Bay Ridge where we lived (age 5) before moving to Malverne, L.I. I’ve seen studios there on Craigslist that are within my budget.

Hey Heather, if you’ve got time I’d welcome your offer to help comb through Craigslist.

The plant lab story has really just begun rather than ending. Apparently the temporary storage in her science lab created some heartburn for Ebbets Field Middle school principal Margie Baker. Even though I now understand the reasons it’s unfortunate. She certainly did a good deed for me that I’ll long remember.

The complicating issues are that I am not certified by the NYC Board of Education to be in contact with city school children. Nor do I have any kind of agreement or contract with the D.O.E.

Principal Baker is working with her superintendent on getting the ‘mini-labs’ (individual plant racks) distributed to 9 other schools in their district. There is also a possibility of me becoming a “Learning Leader”. It would involve a background check and some classes. The program is designed for parents however, so we’ll see what happens. I would welcome doing whatever necessary to become a badge credentialed volunteer.

At present I’m not able to even get in to the lab and water the plants. I’ve spent some time with science teacher Sherlyne Gilles explaining about sub-irrigation, etc. She gets it of course but is now stuck with the job of watering the plants. I say ‘stuck’ because it was never my intention that anyone other than me would have the chore of watering all of the plants. It’s no problem, however, for a science teacher and students to maintain the plants contained in one ‘mini-lab’. Oh what a tangled web we weave.

This room which was becoming uncomfortably loud just emptied. It was not a cross section of world travelers. I realized they were all college age, asked and found out that the group was from Ryerson University in Toronto. They just left for their flight home. I know about Ryerson because of their green roof work. Toronto is a culturally rich city I’d like to visit one day. Pete Kaiser, a Malverne H.S. classmate, lives there.

Time to get something to eat.

BFN BB

Toto, I’ve a Feeling We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

This was my view while eating a MacDonalds grilled chicken sandwich close by to the Ebbets Field Middle School. There’s an SUV burning behind the fire engine. Look just below the Ladder 113 sign and you can see the flames. At one point they were shooting up higher than the truck.

I sat there wondering about the shock the owner would have retuning and seeing this.

After a while another SUV made a u-turn and parked behind the burned out one. It’s difficult to see that the men are wearing yarmulkes. It’s obviously their car.

Soon the NYPD arrived on the scene. Was this a hate crime of some sort? Cars don’t usually ignite by spontaneous combustion. I’d love to read the police report on this since I couldn’t hear the conversation. Wadda ya think?

So here’s an example of photo journalism while sitting in a MacDonalds. Only in New York! These photos are a good example of why NYC is the street photography capital of the world. Go on Flickr and you’ll see. There are a flock of talented photographers walking the streets with their cameras at the ready.

Incidentally, my truck was parked only a few spaces away last Saturday.