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BE LOCAL! SUMMER 2017 ISSUE #61

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PROSPECT PARK 

COMING THIS WINTER 

IN PLACE OF THE PAVILION THEATER 

A SUMMER MOVIE UNDER THE STARS 

Catch kid-friendly films selected by Nitehawk this summer at Prospect Park. Presented in 

partnership with Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams and Prospect Park Alliance 

THE NEVERENDING STORY | Wed, July 19 | Live entertainment by DJ Jane Elizabeth 

THE SANDLOT | Wed, July 26 | Live entertainment by Doo Wop band 

MOONRISE KINGDOM | Wed, August 2 | Live entertainment by Morricone Youth 

ZOOTOPIA | Wed, August 9 | Live entertainment by Brooklyn United Marching Band 

THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. RSVP AT PROSPECTPARK.ORG/SUMMERMOVIE


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slope Reader 

park slope 

CONTENTS / SUMMER 2017 

“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation 

must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.” 

— Benjamin Franklin, 1722 

18 [ Reader Profile ] 

Determination 

Our Conversation with Carrie Mumah, Director of Digital and Media 

Relations at Planned Parenthood of NYC / By Meghan Cook 

22 [ Persisting in Park Slope ] 

Let’s make New York City 

a true Sanctuary City 

What you can do / By Roberto Paul 

28 [ The Reader Interview ] 

Activating a Democratic Space 

We talk with Jack Walsh, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival / By 

Mirielle Clifford 

34 [ Park Slope Life ] 

Picture This 

Our Conversation with Don Nuxoll, Creative Director of Rooftop 

Films / By Lindsay Owen 

40 [ Eat Local ] 

Best Outdoor Spaces 

To Eat and Drink this Summer / By Beth Kaiserman 

43 [ Recipes ] 

Olivia’s Kitchen 

The Best Strawberry Shortcake / By Olivia Williamson 

46 [ Dispatches from Babyville ] 

What Happens in the Sprinklers... 

When I think “summer in the city,” I think “sprinklers” / By Nicole 

Caccavo Kear 

50 [ The Great Outdoors ] 

The Promise of Summer 

Get your fitness on in the great outdoors / By Molly Kelleher-Cuff 

56 [ Bending Towards Brooklyn ] 

Life as Yoga: Truth as Resistance 

Yogic wisdom suggests that truthfulness is more than just an aphorism 

to live / By Tatiana Forero Puerta 

58 [ Last Word ] 

Slope Survey 

Martin Medina of Varrio 408 and Rachel’s Taqueria / by Mirielle 

Clifford 

Sanctuary City p 22 

The Promise of Summer p 50 

Women’s March, p 32 

BE LOCAL / office@psreader.com


READER GALLERY “Tree of Life” by Rae Olmi 

RAE OLMI is a full-time mom (and wife, and sister and daughter and friend) and a part-time 

photographer and designer. She studied photography at Parsons and design at Pratt institute. 

She lives happily in Brooklyn with her two daughters and her husband.

14 | park slope reader 

CONTriBUTOrs 

mirielle ambika 

nicole 

tatiana 

clayton 

Olivia 

molly 

meghan 

beth 

robert 

lindsay 

JOIN THe reader, JOIN THe COMMUNITY 

OLIVIA WILLIAMSON I graduated from the French Culinary Institute while still 

in my teens and have been working in some aspect of the food service industry 

ever since. After moving to Park Slope 12 years ago and starting a family I formed 

my meal delivery business, Olivia Cooks For You. Since that time the business has 

grown into also an event catering service for everything from small dinner parties, 

to weddings and large corporate events. Despite food being my business, it’s still 

my passion and joy and I jump at any opportunity to cook for my friends and family. 

MIRIELLE CLIFFORD once heard a poet say that “Brooklyn is the home of every 

new creation,” and she just might agree. Her writing has appeared in One Green 

Planet and Philanthropy News Digest. She has studied poetry with Cynthia Cruz and 

Jean Valentine, and she is a co-founder of Sweet Action, a monthly poetry workshop. 

NICOLE CACCAVO KEAR’S memoir, Now I See You, debuted June ‘14 by St. 

Martin’s Press, and she contributes regularly to Parents and American Baby, as well 

as Salon and Babble in between her dispatches at the Reader. You can keep up with 

her misadventures in Mommydom on her blog, A Mom Amok (amomamok.com). 

A native of Brooklyn, she lives in the Slope with her three firecracker kids, one very 

patient husband, and an apparently immortal hermit crab. 

British-born ROBERT AYERS is an artist and writer who first came to this country 

in 1979. He has seen many changes in the Slope since then and is now delighted to 

find himself living here. 

BETH KAISERMAN is a writer and restaurant worker in Brooklyn. Her work has 

appeared in Highbrow Magazine, Paste Magazine, Examiner.com and The Gotham 

Palate, a local food blog. She likes to cook and tap dance. Her biggest fear is losing 

her ticket at Katz’s because it was scary enough the first time, and she still has 

flashes of pastrami and prison cells. 

TATIANA FORERO PUERTA is a writer, yogi, and teacher. Tatiana has studied Religion 

and Philosophy at University of the Pacific, Stanford University and New York University. 

Tatiana works with yoga teachers and private clients teaching yoga, philosophy and 

nutrition. As a writer, Tatiana’s work deals issues in philosophy, yoga, nutrition and their 

relevance in our daily lives. Her writing has appeared in Assisi Literary Journal, Religion 

and Psychology Research, and JOY: The Journal of Yoga. She can be contacted through 

her website:www.tatianayoga.com 

MEGHAN COOK lives in Brooklyn, NY and currently interns at the New York Review 

of Books. Her aspirations lie in writing television but, for now, any kind of writing will 

do. She likes sketch comedy, Mindy Kaling memoirs, and pretending she can cook. 

MOLLY KELLEHER-CUFF is an actress, writer, and owner of Bumble+Flow, 

a yoga/pilates/fitness company that works out of client’s homes. She has been 

teaching for nearly a decade in Boston and Brooklyn. Her classes and private clients 

enjoy a customized and entertaining work out every session. Her writing has been 

featured in Yoga Everyday Online, and various film projects. She is a member 

of the all-women’s comedy troupe, Broad Comedy. For more on her fitness and 

company Bumble+Flow go to www.bumbleandflow.com, for more on her writing 

and performance go to www.mollykelleher.com and performance go to www. 

mollykelleher.com 

TATIANA FORERO PUERTA is a writer, yogi, and teacher. Tatiana has studied Religion 

and Philosophy at University of the Pacific, Stanford University and New York University. 

Tatiana works with yoga teachers and private clients teaching yoga, philosophy and 

nutrition. As a writer, Tatiana’s work deals issues in philosophy, yoga, nutrition and their 

relevance in our daily lives. Her writing has appeared in Assisi Literary Journal, Religion 

and Psychology Research, and JOY: The Journal of Yoga. She can be contacted through 

her website:www.tatianayoga.com 

AMBIKA SAMARTHYA-HOWARD is a documentary filmmaker and 

communications specialist. Her freelance projects focus on social issues, specifically 

gender, public health, and child rights. After receiving her MFA in Film at Columbia 

University, she went on to shoot and direct art and media projects in Japan, 

Bollywood, and West Africa. She completed the Dharma Teacher Training program 

at the Interdependence Project, a secular Buddhist organization in Manhattan, and 

has taught meditation at Third Root Community Center in Brooklyn and WeWorks. 

She has worked with organizations such as BBC Media Action, UNICEF, and other 

agencies in creating social activism tools and trainings. 

LINDSAY OWEN, a Brit in Brooklyn, is a real estate agent at Brown Harris Stevens 

and the founder of Brooklyn Home, a property, life and style blog. A former midwife, 

and mum to 2 mini-Brits, she moved to Brooklyn in 2010 and has made it her home. 

In her column ‘My Brooklyn’ Lindsay shares her love of Brooklyn, covers Brooklyn 

events, profiles its residents and basically gives Lindsay an excuse to be as nosy as 

possible about Brooklyn goings on. When she’s not selling houses or writing here, 

she can usually be found doing her latest make shift in the Park Slope Food Coop. 

ROBERTO PAUL is a lawyer and writer living in Brooklyn. 

CLAYTON GATES (front cover) lives in Park Slope with his wife and two 

teenage daughters. By day, he manages digital products for NYU’s School of Law. 

Photography has been a consuming avocation since acquiring a 35mm camera in 

1985. Follow Clayton’s feed at instagram.com/brooklens 

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18 | PARK SLOPE READER 

| R E A D E R P R O F I L E | 

DETERMINATION 

Planned Parenthood of New York City 

A Conversation with Carrie Mumah, a resident of Park Slope, and the Director of 

Digital and Media Relations at Planned Parenthood of New York City. 

While Planned Parenthood has increasingly been called to stand at the center of contemporary 

political debates over the legislation of reproductive health care in recent 

years, the organization itself has been around for more than a century. It was founded 

in Brooklyn on October 16th, 1916, by New York native and early feminist Margaret 

Sanger. 100 years later, Planned Parenthood is still servicing countless individuals and 

providing reproductive health care not only across the nation, but around the globe as 

well. 

By Meghan Cook


20 | park slope Reader 

Mumah believes that the long lasting nature of the organization 

is a testament to the value it holds in numerous communities. 

“Our mission is to provide information and health care to all who 

need it, and to promote public policies that make 

those services available to all,” said Mumah. “For 100 

years, we have been a resource for all New Yorkers 

and have empowered individuals to make independent, 

informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive 

lives.” 

For Mumah, her relationship with the 

company began two years ago, when she moved 

from Washington D.C. to New York City. She soon 

started working at the Planned Parenthood at NYC, 

calling the experience “life-changing.” In her two 

and a half years with the organization, Mumah has 

learned boundless information from everyone she 

has interacted with, whether they be “doctors, social 

workers, financial counselors, sex educators, 

activists, [or] patients.” 

One of the most important concepts Mumah has 

learned during her time at Planned Parenthood is 

how indispensible health care really is. “Reproductive 

health care access is so critical to people’s overall 

wellbeing,” said Mumah. “Including everything 

from their physical health, to their mental health, to 

their economic security and being able to live the lives they want 

to live.” 

While Planned Parenthood is often associated with women in 

conversations pertaining to health care access, Mumah asserted 

that they are truly available to everyone. There is a wealth of options 

and services open to anyone who needs them, extending 

beyond birth control measures and including HIV and STD testing 

and treatment. “In NYC, we also recently started offering PrEP, 

a daily pill to help reduce the risk of HIV, as well as transgender 

hormone therapy and vasectomy,” stated Mumah. “Planned Parenthood 

is not just about women’s health—we are here as a resource 

for all people, regardless of their gender identity or sexual 

orientation.” 

Planned Parenthood is able to look beyond the confines of 

gender norms because they believe all patients are worthy of 

the same care. Mumah remarked that is not a matter of defining 

people but rather about ensuring that “all people can lead healthy 

lives, we also need to make sure that the full 

range of reproductive and sexual health care is 

“We’re 

proud to 

be here 

for New 

Yorkers as 

a trusted 

provider 

and anticipate 

being 

here for 

another 

100 years.” 

accessible to everyone, regardless of immigration 

status or ability to pay.” 

When it comes to abortion and contraception, 

thorny topics that often prove difficult to 

navigate, Planned Parenthood’s main goal is to 

provide as much information as they have at 

their disposal and to protect their patients’ reproductive 

rights. Over time, a misconception 

has emerged that women seeking abortions 

are villainous or careless. This concept strips 

women of their humanity while coloring a delicate 

decision as one of calculated violence, 

and Mumah wants to help dispel this myth. 

“There is no single type of person who gets 

an abortion,” Mumah asserted. “The people 

who come to us include people of all backgrounds, 

ethnicities, gender identities, and 

income levels. Some of these people may already 

have children, and others may not. The 

important part to know is that these are people 

who are fully aware of their options and who are making the 

best decision for them and their families. All people should have 

the right to decide when and if to have children, and access to safe 

and legal abortion is a critical part of reproductive freedom.” 

Planned Parenthood has long been aware of their role in the national 

conversation surrounding women’s rights and reproductive 

health care, but the subject has recently endured more scrutiny 

and contention due to the transition of political administrations. 

Mumah assured that regardless of who may reside in the White 

House, their mission of helping everyone in need never changes. 

She stressed that “even as we face attacks, we will continue to fight 

for the communities we serve.” 

Mumah ultimately summed up the history and accomplishments 

of Planned Parenthood in one word: determination. It’s 

this same sentiment that has propelled the company 

forward in the last century and will keep it moving on 

into the next. Mumah acknowledged this notion with 

pride, stating, “We’re proud to be here for New Yorkers 

as a trusted provider and anticipate being here for another 

100 years.” n 

How to help 

Planned Parenthood 

-Educate yourself on reproductive health issues 

-Spread awareness 

-Donate 

-Sign up for email alerts 

-Raise money locally by hosting creative benefits 

-Speak out against hatred, bigotry, and misogyny 

-Go to http://www.ppnycaction.org/takeaction to 

learn more 

Planned Parenthood - Bleecker Street location



[ PERSISTING IN PARK SLOPE ] 

LET’S MAKE NEW YORK CITY 

A True Sanctuary City 

In 1985 in Arizona, a Presbyterian minister learned that a group of refugees fleeing death squads in Guatemala 

and El Salvador was in need of safe passage across the US border. More concerned about their lives than the law 

or the political leanings of his neighbors, he helped them over the border and into his church basement, assuring 

them he would refuse to turn them over to the authorities. In doing so, according to the New York Times, he unwittingly 

spawned the use of a term that has recently come back into fashion: “sanctuary.” 

— By Roberto Paul / Illustration by Heather Heckel —

Let’s show our 

undocumented 

friends, relatives, 

coworkers, 

neighbors, 

and other loved 

ones that when 

we say we’re 

going to do everything 

in our 

power legally to 

protect them, 

we mean it. 

While the anti-immigrant crowd is busy enacting travel 

bans on Muslims, telling Spanish-speakers to “go home” 

even if home is here, threatening to withhold federal 

funding for noncompliance with Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

(ICE) agents, and cheering on agents as they lurk outside 

schools, courthouses, hospitals, and other government buildings for 

families to disband and livelihoods to disrupt, officials in cities in 

California, Massachusetts, and New York have responded by defiantly 

proclaiming themselves “sanctuary cities,” promising protection 

to immigrants and their families. 

In New York, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents 

have in recent months detained a 39-year-old man in Manhattan 

Criminal Court, three people waiting outside Queens Criminal 

Court, a 19-year-old Ossining student on the night of his senior 

prom, and scores of others 

in both city and countywide 

sweeps. In response, local officials 

have beefed up funding 

for immigrant legal services, 

instructed school officials to 

turn away agents without warrants, 

and advised local police 

to no longer grant voluntary 

detainer requests. On the state 

side, the New York Assembly 

has passed or introduced legislation 

barring cooperation with 

ICE (The Liberty Act), granting 

pathways to citizenship (The 

DREAM Act), and allowing 

undocumented drivers to obtain 

licenses (A4050)—though 

some Senate leaders have 

fiercely opposed these bills and 

others like them. 

While these are important 

efforts, and they should be lauded, 

the truth is that they don’t 

go nearly far enough. With this 

in mind, here are three steps 

city and state leaders in New 

York and beyond can take right 

now to become true sanctuaries for their undocumented residents: 

1. Preemptively issue trespass warnings to all ICE and DHS agents and 

employees: 

For decades in just about every city in America, police, prosecutors, 

judges, and an array of staff at different municipal agencies 

have used written and verbal trespass warnings to keep people they 

deem “problematic” or “undesirable” away from parks, schools, public 

housing developments, busses and subways, and they have done it 

under threat of arrest and prosecution. Today, however, when these 

same city leaders in “progressive” enclaves such as Boston and New 

York promise undocumented residents protection, they seem to 

keep forgetting that this powerful legal tool is at their disposal. It’s 

time we remind them. 

Elected officials with the appropriate jurisdiction should immediately 

begin ordering the posting of signs such as the following in 

prominent positions on all courthouses, schools, hospitals, parks, 

pools, ice rinks, busses, subways, bus and subway stations and terminals, 

and all other buildings or facilities where essential local government 

services are offered: 


“Any Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Depart- 

ment of Homeland Security (DHS) employee or agent conducting 

immigration investigation work on these premises without a valid 

warrant signed by a judge in her or his bodily possession is trespassing 

pursuant to NYS Penal Law 140.05 and, if in possession of a 

firearm, NYS Penal Law 140.17.” 

This is an important first step that elected officials can take to 

demonstrate to immigrants and their families that they are serious 

about using all legal means necessary to provide the largest amount 

of physical and geographical protection possible. It’s also something 

that homeowners, landlords, and business owners can do, because 

private property owners have the authority to post written trespass 

warnings prominently on their own premises. The message to federal 

immigration agents in any city claiming to be a sanctuary city 

must be crystal clear: if you are trying to detain and deport our 

friends, neighbors, and loved ones, you’re not welcome here. Go and 

get a warrant, Redcoat, or kick rocks. 

2. End Broken Windows, and criminal and civil enforcement of petty 

infractions: 

Broken Windows, marijuana arrests, turnstile-jumping (known 

officially as theft of services), and other so-called “quality of life” arrests 

have been responsible for funneling thousands of immigrants 

at risk of detention and deportation into searchable criminal record 

and fingerprint databases that contain court dates, places of abode, 

employment details, and other highly sensitive identifying information. 

In February, after ICE conducted a citywide immigration raid 

that landed 40 people in custody, Karina Garcia, an organizer with 

the ANSWER coalition, told the Village Voice: “We cannot claim to 

be a sanctuary city when police flood immigrant communities with 

cops who are racking up summonses and arrests in huge numbers.” 

Ms. Garcia is dead-on. If elected officials in New York and other 

cities want to be taken seriously when they invoke the word sanctuary 

and offer protection to immigrants, they cannot continue to 

support dragnet police practices that substantially heighten the daily 

risk of detention and deportation. The city has proposed back-end 

measures to reduce the number of days of certain sentences to avoid 

triggering immigration consequences, but this is not nearly enough. 

A true sanctuary city cannot—and would not—allow its police department 

to continue indiscriminately funneling immigrants into a 

system that places them in imminent danger of the very thing they’re 

supposed to be protecting them from. 

3. Repurpose the NYPD Gang Division as the Immigrant Protection Di- 

vision: 

According to a 2015 report by Babe Howell, criminal law profes- 

sor at the City University of New York, the NYPD’s Gang Division 

has quadrupled its ranks in recent years despite violent crime being 

at its lowest level in decades. This deployment has occurred in the 

face of a massive body of criminological data showing that a public 

health approach to gang violence is far more effective at preventing 

shootings than law enforcement operations, and that it achieves better 

results at a fraction of the cost. 

In 2016, for example, five employees at an organization called 

696 Queensbridge cut shootings down to zero in 96 public housing 

buildings in Queens for more than a year. If the City of New York 

wants to protect its 3.7 million-plus immigrants who largely live in 

the same areas being targeted by the NYPD’s gang raids—neighborhoods 

like Harlem, East Flatbush, Queensbridge, and parts of the 

Bronx, to name a few—then the city should fund and scale programs 

like 696 Queensbridge with the same power of mandate as police.


A True Sanctuary City 

Properly funding and scaling such programs would allow the city 

to safely and more effectively prevent gun violence while reducing 

the burden on gang division officers to solve entrenched societal 

problems that law enforcement is unequipped to address by nature 

of its job description. A data-driven allocation of public safety resources 

would free up legions of patrol officers for more strategic 

real-time deployment. This would allow them to respond to calls of 

ICE and DHS agents violating trespass warnings, to confirm whether 

or not they have the requisite legal paperwork to be on the premises, 

and to escort them off if not. It would also allow patrol officers to 

respond to calls of agents in the area, so that they could escort those 

at risk of deportation into court when they need to report crimes 

or obtain protective orders, visit city hospitals, and safely drop their 

kids off at school (just imagine the amount of community trust such 

efforts might restore in the NYPD). 

Perhaps more importantly, scaling successful public health intervention 

models like 696 Queensbridge to all of New York’s gun 

violence hotspots would all but eliminate gang-related gun homicides 

and nonfatal shootings citywide. This would free up detectives 

to clear an alarming and growing backlog of unsolved anti-immigrant, 

anti-Black, and anti-Semitic hate crimes that have spiked by 

as much as 100% in New York since November. And lastly, such a 

move would give detectives more time and resources to infiltrate and 

detain white supremacist terrorists before they can kill, as in the case 

of the 28-year-old Baltimore man who killed 66-year-old Timothy 

Caughman in Hells Kitchen in March. 

New York City and New York State have implemented some important 

measures to protect immigrants, but there is still a long way 

to go. Queens Borough President Melinda Katz recently said the 

presence of ICE agents “severely disrupts and obstructs justice”. Not 

only is she right, but her argument also extends by way of logic to 

all essential city services—honestly, can there be anything more disruptive 

to students learning, victims going to court, patients seeking 

medical care, commuters navigating crowded bus and subway platforms, 

etc., than the specter of federal agents lurking around every 

corner trying to snatch people out of crowds without warrants? 

So, let’s get serious, New York. Let’s show our undocumented 

friends, relatives, coworkers, neighbors, and other loved ones that 

when we say we’re going to do everything in our power legally to 

protect them, we mean it. We can start today, by demanding that 

our elected officials implement these three simple steps forthwith. n 

Resources: 

696 Queensbridge 

http://www1.nyc.gov/site/queensbridge/local-resources/ 

healthy-community.page 

ANSWER coalition 

http://www.answercoalition.org/ 

How to Contact your Elected Officials 

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/ 

JOIN THE READER, JOIN THE COMMUNITY

PARK SLOPE READER | 25 

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— THE READER INTERVIEW — 

ACTIVATING A 

DEMOCRATIC SPACE 

Whether you’re enjoying the afro-blues sound of amadou & mariam, waxing nostalgic with talib kweli, or taking 

in a film with live scores performed by the Brooklyn interdenominational choir, the Wordless music orchestra, 

or Brooklyn united marching Band, you’re sure to make some new meaningful memories, big and small, at the 

festival this summer. 

— the reader intervieW With Jack Walsh of the Bric celeBrate Brooklyn! festival —


“ We’re here in Brooklyn. 

It’s different here than 

it is elsewhere. We want 

to be a platform so that 

musicians and artists can 

speak their voice. Many 

times, they’re the best 

activists. “ 

Walsh on the Bandshell stage. Walsh has been with 

the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival for 35 of its 39 

years. Below, picnicing at the bandshell. 

On a rainy afternoon in late-May, the people who make the 

BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival possible continued their 

preparations for the Festival’s 39th season. Jack Walsh, 

who is Vice President of Performing Arts at BRIC and the 

Executive Producer of Celebrate Brooklyn!, welcomed me 

to the Prospect Park Bandshell as the staff closed out for the 

day. Walsh has been with the Festival for 35 of its 39 years. 

We sat down at Dizzy’s Diner to discuss a changing 

Brooklyn, the Festival as a platform for artists’ voices and 

activism, and Walsh’s favorite BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! 

Festival memory. 

Can you walk us through the process of selecting the lineup for 

the summer? How is this summer different from other years? 

Sure. We have a programming team. I serve as the Executive Producer 

and oversee the whole festival, but I really work in partnership with 

Rachel Chanoff, the Artistic Director. Under her there are one or two 

programmers. We feed all the ideas in through Rachel, and she leads 

the programming team that’s doing the booking and reaching out 

to agents. Because of Rachel and our partnership over many years, 

we hope the Festival has an artistic, or programmatic, voice. Even if 

people can’t quite put their fingers on it, they understand that the 

selection process is very thoughtful and intentional. That’s broadly 

how it works. 

This year is different in that, while we’re not wearing our activism 

on our sleeves, a good many of us are pretty active, and upset about 

what’s happening in the country and the world. There is a bit of 

intentional social justice activism in the lineup. That’s a little different 

this year, and as we move into next year for our 40th anniversary 

season, we’ll see a bit more of that intentionality through some 

commissioned projects. Every year we do a post-season assessment 

and talk about what worked, what didn’t and why, looking at data, but 

it really boils down to artistic choices. 

Brooklyn as a borough is becoming more gentrified, the city 

has some of the most segregated schools in the country, and 

the country is divided politically. What can the BRIC Celebrate 

Brooklyn! Festival teach us about bringing people of different 

backgrounds and ideologies together? 

That goes to the heart of the Festival and its origins. We don’t put it 

out there as front and center as we used to, but there is a mission 

statement for the Festival, and part of it is to bring people together 

in a safe, harmonious setting to experience each other’s cultures. 

Brooklyn is still one of the most diverse places in the United States, 

but, as you say, it’s getting more and more gentrified. While we have 

recognized that—we live here and see the changes—we have made a 

more concerted effort to not just program a Festival where you see 

diversity on stage, but to program the Festival so you see diversity in 

the audience. That’s really important. So we put more of an effort on 

marketing and outreach to communities of color, and think about how 

it is we can make sure all feel invited and welcome. That’s something 

we’re very deliberate about, and we’re more or less successful. We’re 

trying all kinds of things to make sure that happens.


Part of BRIC’s mission is to incubate and present new 

work by artists. Do you also think of the Festival as a 

way to incubate new work? 

It is. Because of the scale, it’s different. At BRIC, we have 

a fantastic, smaller-scale program called BRIClab. We give 

artists workspace for over two weeks to develop projects 

and present them in workshops. That’s a way in which a lot 

of work is developed. Because 

of the scale of the Festival, the 

way we can incubate work is 

different. 

Here’s one example from 

this summer’s lineup, which 

addresses the activism piece 

and also how we work with 

artists to help them with what 

it is they want to work on, or 

give them an opportunity to do 

something different. The film 

Selma, which has been out for 

over two years, is an incredible, 

well-done story. The music was 

composed by Jason Moran, a 

New Yorker and jazz composer, who’s now the Kennedy 

Center Artistic Director for Jazz. He’s an incredibly 

accomplished jazz musician whom we’ve worked with and 

presented before. This year we approached him and said 

we’d like to show Selma and have you perform the score 

live. He was intrigued by that, but then let us know it 

The Festival was founded at a time when 

Brooklyn and Park Slope weren’t such fine 

places to be. It was meant to bring people 

together to celebrate Brooklyn, and it was 

part of an effort to “revitalize” Brooklyn. 

included a 35-piece orchestra. He doesn’t get to do that 

often, so we said “why not?” and put a lot of resources 

into it. It’ll be the only time that score will be performed 

live with Jason Moran’s trio and a full symphony orchestra. 

That’s a way in which you can say we incubate work, or at 

least give artists an opportunity to do something different. 

There are other examples, but that one really stands out 

for this summer. 

Hopefully that performance will 

be a way we can get people to 

wake up and think about what’s 

happening with voting rights in 

this country. 

Is there anything you want 

the audience to be especially 

awake to? 

We’re here in Brooklyn. It’s 

different here than it is 

elsewhere. We want to be a 

platform so that musicians and 

artists can speak their voice. 

Many times, they’re the best 

activists. Beyond that, as citizens, we can all be thinking 

about voting rights, even though the restrictive voting 

rights measures taking place in other parts of the country 

aren’t necessarily happening here in New York. But voting 

rights have been challenged on the federal level, which 

allows different states to do less to protect those rights, or 

to be more restrictive in states like North Carolina, which


are now actively trying to make it harder to vote, in ways 

they couldn’t until recently. Here in Brooklyn we can make 

a difference. We can try to get these rights reinstated on a 

federal level. It affects the entire country. Showing a film 

like Selma and celebrating its message is something we can 

do as a Festival. 

We focus on performance, and the experience of 

performance. A lot of organizations would love to be at 

the Festival to solicit, fundraise, or get signatures. We 

don’t do a lot of that, but we’ve consistently allowed voting 

rights organizations, like HeadCount. We feel voting is a 

baseline thing in a participatory democracy. Anything we 

can do to move the dial is a good use of our platform. We’ve 

embraced that for many years. This year, we’re trying to 

lean into it more. 

People in the neighborhood have a very personal 

connection to Prospect Park. What role has the park 

played in the 39 years of BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! 

Festival’s history, as a setting or even as a character? 

I’ve never thought of it as a character. I was born and 

raised in Park Slope, and literally spent my life in Prospect 

Park. People use the Park in ways that are very personal 

to them, and it certainly is a setting for many stories and 

memories. That’s something everyone can relate to. The 

Park has been designed to be and has always been a very 

democratic space. To activate it the way we do with music, 

dance, and film is an incredibly special way to use the Park. 

Most parks are designed to have a place for gathering and 

music. For me, having worked on the Festival for decades, 

Prospect Park is most especially a setting for music. But 

it is a setting for other things, like picnics and gatherings 

with family and friends, important moments big and small. 

What was the most memorable concert in your time 

with BRIC’s Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival? 

I’ve been working on the Festival since 1982, every 

summer. I’ve worked on every single show, except for four. 

That’s over a thousand performances. With that as the 

background, I have to say David Byrne in 2010 was one of 

the best shows we’ve ever done. For me personally, it was 

absolutely thrilling. He was on a tour where he was doing 

a lot of old Talking Heads music. That one is very much at 

the top of the list. 

In terms of others that rise to being super memorable... 

it gets harder after that. David Byrne is at the top for me, 

and after that, there are so many other great ones, and it’s 

hard to choose. Norah Jones was fantastic, in the pouring 

rain, and St. Vincent, and Sylvan Esso, who’s coming back 

this summer. Going way back to my first year, 1982, when 

I was very young, Betty Carter left quite an impression on 

me. She was a jazz singer who lived here in Fort Greene. 

Her performance is up there on the “unforgettable” list, 

partly because it was my first year working the Festival. 

But she was also a legendary and influential performer with 

an impactful career. In the early years of the Festival, we 

presented a lot of jazz singers from Fort Greene, like Max 

Roach, Abbey Lincoln, and others, and I was there for that. 

Those are some of the more recent and earlier shows that 

are especially memorable. 

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In addition to the screening of Selma, what are you 

most looking forward to this summer? 

The closing night show with Youssou N’Dour from Senegal 

will be extraordinary. Youssou is a global ambassador of 

culture. His music at its core crosses boundaries and 

borders. This show is emblematic of what we try to do 

at the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival, to bring people 

together “under the big tent,” if you will. He comes to New 

York every year or so, but this will be one of his first free 

shows in New York. We intentionally programmed it to close 

the season. We’ve been trying to get him forever and finally 

got him. 

Is there anything you’d add for our readers? 

You enter the park at 9th Street and Prospect Park West, 

so in many ways it’s Park Slope’s Celebrate Brooklyn! 

Festival. It is for the whole borough, but there is a real 

special connection to this neighborhood. Many people here 

support the Festival and become members. Our Friends of 

Celebrate Brooklyn! program has a thousand people in it 

who all support the Festival, and many of them live in Park 

Slope. It’s gratifying to see that because it means we’re 

really connecting with people. They feel that connection 

and want to repay the favor by supporting the Festival. 

There are a lot of people who come again and again, which 

is really special. 

I’d say to everyone reading the Park Slope Reader, the Festival 

is there for you, come out, take advantage of it, make it 

your own, support it if you can. Otherwise, come and bring 

your friends, and spread the word. 

Do you have any advice for artists who want to engage 

with those issues of displacement and gentrification? 

Artists have voice, and a platform. What they choose to 

speak about is their choice. But I think that artists can 

move the needle on issues in ways that other people can’t. 

If that’s at the core of your artistic practice: good for you, 

keep it up, get stronger, do it louder. If it’s not in your 

practice, and you’re concerned about issues that affect 

your neighborhood or society, I would say, sharpen your 

pencil, get a bit of a tough skin, and start to put yourself 

out there more. Because, again, artists can say it in ways 

that can encapsulate the message for other people, and 

that has a unique multiplying effect. I just encourage it. If 

you’re already doing it, do it bigger, better, louder. 

It’s interesting. We’ve talked about gentrification. The 

Festival was founded at a time when Brooklyn and Park 

Slope weren’t such fine places to be. It was meant to bring 

people together to celebrate Brooklyn, and it was part of 

an effort to “revitalize” Brooklyn. “Revitalization” was a 

popular word then. Now, the tipping point has come and 

gone. Gentrification has almost come and gone. Now it’s 

more like displacement. That’s happened in Park Slope. 

This place we’re sitting in has been here for a long time, 

but it wasn’t always Dizzy’s. I struggle with that; being born 

and raised here, I’ve seen waves of change. 

Really, change is inevitable. Change is good. But being an 

active participant in the change is key. n


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PARK SLOPE LIFE 

Picture This 

Our Conversation with Rooftop Films 

Creative Director Dan Nuxoll 

Rooftop Films at the Old American Can Factory in Gowanus 

You’re sitting on a rooftop in downtown Manhattan with around 200 other people. It’s an early evening in June and a warm 

summer breeze is blowing as the sun starts to set. The sky around you transforms from blue to every color of pink you can 

imagine framing your 360 degree view of the city in unspeakable beauty. The excitement is palpable as the audience waits 

for the evening’s entertainment to commence– in this case, a very fine (and very funny) documentary about the musician 

José Gonzáles. By Lindsay Owen 

As the sun makes its final farewell and day turns into night, 

Jose himself makes an appearance and treats you and your 

movie going companions to a live acoustic performance of 

his ethereal, hypnotic songs. You feel like you’re one of the lucky 

ones. That you’re in the know. That while it’s business as usual on 

the streets far below you, while people pass the building you sit 

atop, oblivious to this secretive spectacle above them , you’re one 

of the privileged few. 

That was my first experience of a Rooftop Films screening, 

which I attended back in 2012. This gem of a film festival, now 

in its 20th year, has grown bigger and better with every summer 

season. 

At the center of Rooftop Film’s vision is its artistic director, Dan 

Nuxoll. A film director, producer, composer, and Brooklyn local, 

Dan is responsible for curating each year’s cinematic program 

from the over 3,000 submissions the festival now receives annually. 

Currently co-directing a new documentary feature film, Dan 

was recently included in Brooklyn Magazine’s list of The 100 Most 

Influential People in Brooklyn Culture. 

So, for everything you never knew you wanted to know about 

Rooftop Films, here’s Dan Nuxoll himself, who took some time out 

to answer my questions about Rooftop Film’s origins, where it’s 

headed next, and what you can expect from this year’s festival. 

Hey Dan. Now, for those unfamiliar with RTF, can you encapsulate 

the festival and its vibe in a few sentences? 

Sure! Rooftop is a not-for-profit film organization founded in 1997. 

We do a lot of different things in the independent film world, including 

giving out grants and renting and donating equipment 

to other organizations to help them put on their own screenings, 

but the thing we are best known for is the Rooftop Films Summer 

Series. The Summer Series is in many ways a summer-long film 

festival: We screen more than 35 new, independent, and foreign 

feature films from all over the world, as well as more than 100 new 

short films. All of our summer events take place in scenic outdoor 

locations (often, though not always, on rooftops), and we always 

include special enhancements to our events, including live music



performances before all of our screenings, Q and A’s with filmmakers 

after the screenings, and after parties following most of our 

ticketed events. 

The origins of RTF, much like those of the Moth, are the stuff of legend; 

the festival almost seems to have begun by happy accident. 

Can you describe how RTF came to be? 

Yeah, it is true that we definitely did not originally intend to build 

an entire film organization that would still be around 20 years 

later. The very first screening was pretty much organized as a 

one-man-operation by Mark Elijah Rosenberg. He and I went to 

Vassar together and it was 

his idea to show movies 

on rooftops. Back then 

he mostly just wanted 

to show some new short 

films by himself and 

some filmmakers he admired, 

but being just 21 

years old and fresh out 

of college, there wasn’t 

any money to rent a theater. 

He did, however, 

have access to a small 

rooftop above his apartment 

building in the East 

Village, so he lugged a 

16mm projector up to 

the roof and hooked it 

up to his brother’s punk 

band’s PA system and invited 

anyone he could to 

come drink some beers 

and watch some movies. 

The evening turned out great and the next year he wanted to 

do it again, but his landlord definitely wasn’t going to let him use 

that roof again. But along with some friends from high school, I 

had renovated a gigantic 10,000 square foot warehouse space in 

the as-yet ungentrified neighborhood of Bushwick in what would 

eventually come to be known as the McKibbin St. Lofts. We had 

a huge indoor space and an even bigger rooftop, so we built a 

screen on the roof and started doing shows there. That’s where 

we were based for the next five years until I moved out of that 

building. 

We kept expanding our activities, going from one to four to 

eight to sixteen screenings a year, and at that point it had become 

too much work to remain a hobby. We incorporated as a 

non-profit, moved our offices into the Old American Can Factory 

in Gowanus, and continued to expand. So, it wasn’t by any means 

an overnight success, but we certainly have become a much more 

substantial organization than we had originally intended to be. 

At what point over the last 20 years of the program did you realize 

that the festival had become something important for NY moviegoers? 

Hmm. I am not sure that there was any single moment in time. But 

there were certainly some moments along the way. Eventually our 

shows started to become very, very large, and that certainly made 

an impression on us. I remember in 2008 we presented the premiere 

of this fantastic documentary about the LES photographer 

Clayton Patterson and more than 1,100 people showed up, including 

Ed Koch (despite the fact that he was not favorably portrayed 

in the film). That certainly made an impression. 

And there were many other highlights: screening Trouble the 

Water in Harlem Meer, giving a grant to help get Beasts of the 

Southern Wild made, and just generally seeing so many of the 

young NYC filmmakers that we had championed succeed, people 

like Lena Dunham, Benh Zeitlin, and Casey Neistat. With each new 

talent taking the step to the next level we are reminded that organizations 

like our own play an important role in the creative life 

of the city. 

What do you think attracts movie fans to the festival? 

Well, it’s a number of things. I think, perhaps most importantly, we 

prioritize the films and the audience experience and don’t get distracted 

by the other elements that some other festivals are distracted 

by. We are always focused on creating events that are fun, interesting, 

engaging, interactive, and unique, and we try to create as many 

incentives as possible for audience members to come out to our 

shows. 

Of course 

It will always be exciting to us to 

present work by filmmakers that no 

one has yet heard of. It’s our job to 

make sure that people hear about 

them in the future. I hope that never 

changes. 

we work 

very, very 

hard on 

our film 

programming— 

we watch 

m o r e 

t h a n 

3 , 5 0 0 

films every 

year and we only show 3% of them, so the films we are presenting 

are definitely very thoroughly vetted. But, in addition to that, 

we have a fantastic music programmer who finds great emerging 

artists to perform before the films. We have free drinks after most 

of our screenings. And the venues are beautiful, interesting places 

that would be fun places to hang out at even if nothing was going 

on. I think our film curation is excellent, but often people show up 

not knowing much about what they are going to see that night, 

and that’s great. We want to draw people in to discover something 

new and unexpected. 

Can you describe the process of selecting movies for the program? 

What’s your main priority when putting together the 

schedule for each season? 

Rooftop has a pretty big team of people who watch the films. We 

receive thousands of blind submissions each year and also attend 

festivals like Sundance, IDFA, SXSW, and Toronto to track down 

others. We also request a lot of films from filmmakers and producers 

that we have heard good things about. We have a screening 

committee of about thirty paid people and have three full-time 

employees who also work on programming (including myself). We 

sift through all those movies and choose the films we think will 

work best for us. 

The first most important criteria are that the films are new, independent, 

or foreign, and that we think they are great. We are 

particularly interested in films that are innovative and come from a 

fresh perspective. Luckily, we have a young and adventurous audience 

that is excited when we take chances, so we don’t have many 

creative restrictions on our programming. Our audience is willing 

to come out for even experimental films by unknown filmmakers 

because they trust us—which makes our jobs a lot easier. 

But the one thing that differentiates us quite a bit from other 

festivals is that we are more event-based, so we do take things into 

account that other festivals might not. For instance, if there is a

film that could involve an exciting performance component, then 

we are more likely to show that film than a film that doesn’t. For 

this reason we show more music-based films than your average 

festival, and those events are usually pretty special—we’ve shown 

documentaries accompanied by performances by rapper Danny 

Brown, singer-songwriter Jose Gonzalez, and many, many others. 

We also take into account venue; if there is a movie that works 

particularly well at one of our venues, then we are more likely to 

lock that film in. And sometimes we take our show on the road 

to create something special, like when we showed Beasts of the 

Southern Wild in the bayou in Louisiana. 


You’ve expanded the number of screening locations over the 

years. What’s precipitated that and how do you chose new venues? 

We do about 45-60 big screenings a year at this point, starting in 

May and wrapping up in September—usually about 3 or 4 screenings 

a week. We expanded to that number mostly because that 

was the number that seemed to work. Setting up a large outdoor 

screening takes a LOT of work and preparation, so we don’t want 

to put together a full screening unless we really think that the 

event will be special. The last several years we have felt that if we 

did fewer screenings than that we would be rejecting a lot of films 

that we very much love, but, if we did many more screenings than 

that, we felt that the quality of the films and the quality of our 

presentation suffered a bit. So 45-50 shows seems like the right 

number. 

RTF now offers grants to moviemakers to fund the making of independent 

movies. When did offering grants become an important 

goal for the RTF? 

In our early years we wanted to do whatever we could to support 

the filmmakers who had been kind enough to screen with us, but 

back then we really had no money whatsoever. So we decided 

to raise our ticket price by 1 dollar (from $5 to $6!) and we were 

going to put all those extra $1 bills into a fund to give out grants 

to short filmmakers whose work we had shown to help them a 

little bit down the line. Over time that fund expanded as we grew 

as an organization and we also started to bring in sponsors who 

were excited to support the filmmakers as well. We get cash sponsorships 

for our fund from various supporters like GarboNYC, and 

we also are able to award some really generous service grants 

like lighting equipment form Eastern Effects (who are right in the 

neighborhood), camera packages from Technological Cinevideo 

Services, visual effects from Edgeworx, and publicity grants from 

Brigade Marketing. 

Our rationale for giving out grants was that we could get more 

support and do more good by putting resources towards 10 or 15 

grants than if we split it up between everyone, and we think that 

has worked out pretty well. 

Which RTF funded movies are you most proud of? 

There are a lot! This year our grantees had a great deal of success, 

so we are feeling pretty lucky. Kitty Green’s film Casting JonBenet 

premiered at Sundance and just recently made a sensation when 

it premiered on Netflix. Joshua Z Weinstein’s Menashe turned out 

even better than we had hoped and A24 will be distributing it 

in theaters this summer. Ana Lily Amirpour’s film The Bad Batch 

blew up at Toronto and will be released by Neon this summer as 

well. Rachel Israel’s Keep the Change just won best fiction film and 

best new director at Tribeca. So those all came out pretty well.


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But there have been many other fantastic films over the years, including 

some I mentioned earlier as well as Martha Marcy May 

Marlene, Obvious Child, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, and too many 

others to list here. 

Can you describe the average RTF movie goer? 

Well, we move around to about 15 different venues all across the 

city, so the average attendee varies a bit from one location to the 

next. But generally speaking our attendees tend to be on the 

young side, relative to other film organizations. The majority are 

in the 15-40 age range, and most are pretty culturally savvy—not 

necessarily cinephiles, per se, but certainly people who are interested 

and invested in film, culture, music and the arts in general. 

They are also an adventurous bunch, and many people come out 

to shows just to see different corners of the city. 

What are you most excited about for this year’s festival? 

I am really quite thrilled with our program this year. Frankly, we 

have been able to get just about all the movies that I most loved 

this year. But some of my favorites coming up are Dave McCary’s 

hilarious comedy Brigsby Bear, Ana Lily Amirpour’s aforementioned 

The Bad Batch, Jeff Unay’s beautiful documentary The 

Cage Figher, Josh Weinstein’s Menashe, Amman Abassi’s heartbreaking 

Dayveon, and a bunch of great documentaries, especially 

Liberation Day, The Challenge, the Sundance-winning Dina, 

and my very favorite doc of the year, The Work. But come on out to 

everything. I promise you there are no duds this year. 

Where next for RTF? How do you hope the festival will continue 

to grow and evolve? 

Well, the three things we would most like to do are: 

1. Establish a permanent or semi-permanent home at one venue 

with a Rooftop. We will always move around to different locations, 

but none of our current locations are really completely our own, 

so it would be great to get a long-term commitment from a place 

with a great roof. 

2 Expand our programming in less well-off NYC communities. We 

already do screenings in communities that are less culturally wellserved, 

but we would love to get the funding to do more screenings 

in such neighborhoods. I would love it if we could help local 

young people to build their own local screening series. 

3 Expand our screenings in other cities. We have done dozens of 

screenings outside New York, but we have never set up a full series 

in another town. I think that there are a lot of cities that would 

really benefit from what we do, so hopefully we are able to get a 

few more series up and running soon. 

Are there any established directors you’d like to include in the 

festival? 

Well, not really. Our focus has always been and always will be on 

discovering new talent, so the filmmakers I want to bring to the 

Summer Series probably haven’t completed their first feature film 

yet. It’s fun when we are able to present work by more established 

directors that I admire, but it will always be much more exciting to 

us to present work by filmmakers that no one has heard of yet. It’s 

our job to make sure that people hear about them in the future. I 

hope that never changes. 

JOIN THE READER, JOIN THE COMMUNITY

U E A T 

L O C A L V 

venturing out 

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BY BETH KAISERMAN / PICS BY KRISTEN UHRICH & SAMMI MASSEY


The 3’s 

Kristen Uhrich 

T hrees Brewing ( 333 Douglass St.) 

Just named Best Brewery and Beer Bar in NYC by 

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has a great green backyard perfect for wasting time 

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and crisp lagers, while enjoying a great burger from 

The Meat Hook for sustenance. Threes also offers a 

solid wine and cocktail menu. 

P ig Beach (480 Union St.) 

It is how it sounds: a good place to waste away the 

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The Best Strawerry Shortcake 

I have no memory of where I got this recipe in the first place but 

I scribbled it on a piece of Japanese stationary at least 12 years 

ago and have tweaked it over the years to work perfectly for sweet 

shortcakes. Every time I look at that greasy beat up piece of paper 

I think “I gotta write that down somewhere where it can’t get lost”. 

So, now I am... 

By Olivia Williamson 

Recipe 

In a bowl mix together the flour, sugar, 

salt and baking powder. Then cut in the 

cold butter, cut in to small pieces , either 

quickly with your fingers or a pastry 

cutter until it’s a course meal texture. In 

a measuring cup measure out the heavy 

cream and the add in the vanilla. Pout that 

mixture over the flour mix and quickly, 

with as few strokes and possible, combine 

the wet and dry ingredients. Using your 

hands at the end bring it all together in 

a ball and the flatten it out to about 1 1/2 

inches thick. Cut into squares. 4 for very 

large cakes, 6 for medium, 8 small. Place 

on an ungreased cookie sheet, sprinkle 

a little more sugar on top and place in a 

425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. They 

should be golden brown on top. 

Slice up strawberries, squeeze a little 

lemon on them and add some sugar 

to taste for the filling. Make vanilla 

whipped cream. Once the shortcakes 

cool split them in half and put some 

strawberries inside and top with a 

healthy amount of whipped cream the 

replace the top. 

The dough part of this recipe 

also makes a phenomenal cobbler. 

Just mix cut up fruit with a couple 

tablespoons of corn star, sugar and a 

couple tablespoons of melted butter. 

Put in in a baking no dish and the 

crumble the dough over top. Bake 

at 400 for 1/2 hour or until the fruit 

mixture is bubbling and the dough is 

golden brown. •


U E A T 

L O C A L V 

House-roasted, thoughtfully 

sourced beans and fresh, 

seasonal food served daily, 

8am to 7pm. 

If you don’t know, now you know: Salted crack 

caramel will change your life. So will ooey gooey 

butter cake and dozens of other fresh flavors filled 

with yummy ingredients. The folks here are kind 

about letting you try as many as you want and 

watching you have an existential crisis over which 

one to order. 

Blue Marble 

Sammi Massey 

B lue Marble (186 Underhill Ave.) 

Brooklyn’s finest organic ice cream parlor is churning 

out the good stuff for your summer needs. Though 

it has less flavors than other, newer ice cream shops, 

each flavor here is the best version of itself. The 

cookies & cream and the Mexican chocolate are 

highlights; Blue Marble has been doing it right since 

2007. 

Roof Life 

Savor the Summer 

PARK SLOPE READER


Café open 7 days a week at 7am 

Bar open at night 

Live Music: 

Sammi Massey 

Live Jazz Mondays 9:00 pm 

Jazz Jams Thursday 9:00 pm 

Live Reggae Saturdays 8:00 pm 

For the Kids: 

Puppet sing-alongs 

Thursday mornings 

10:30-11:15 am 

Performance: 

Open Mic Night Sundays 6:00-8:00 pm 

Comedy Sundays 8:00-10:00 pm and 

second Fridays 

Art on display and for sale 

Karaoke coming soon! 

837 Union Street • Brooklyn, NY


[ DISPATCHES FROM BABYVILLE ] 

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE SPRINKLERS . . . 

When I think “summer in the city,” I think “sprinklers.” I know Memorial Day is the official start of 

summer, but in my mind, it’s the day they turn the sprinklers on at our local playground. Sprinklers, 

like bubbles, are the kind of thing that hold children in thrall, but hold absolutely no appeal for adults. 

It’s not just young children that delight in sprinklers, either; even kids dancing on the precipice of 

adolescence get into them. I can’t decide if it’s the sort of thing you genuinely lose the taste for, like Pop 

Rocks, or if we grown-ups don’t see the appeal because we don’t partake. Maybe if I gave the sprinklers 

a whirl, I’d find myself shrieking with delight too. 

BY NICOLE CACCAVO KEAR, ARTWORK BY HEATHER HECKEL 

My kids clock a lot of time in the sprinklers in the summer; 

we pop by for a soak nearly every day. Which makes it 

somewhat inconceivable that every time we arrive, I am 

not prepared. I never have any gear. 

It’s as if the sprinklers are a total surprise, every time. 

Like, “Oh wow, look at that. Wish I would’ve known. I 

would’ve brought our stuff!” 

Th e 

sprinklers 

are like 

kiddie 

Las Vegas. 

What 

happens 

in the 

sprinklers 

stays in the 

sprinklers. 

clothed. 

If I were the sort to invoke 

expressions like, “There are two kinds 

of parents in the world,” I might do 

so now. I might suggest there’s one 

kind who always comes equipped with 

bathing suits and towels and even, yes 

-- how do they do it? -- water shoes. 

And then there’s the kind that just lets 

the kids get soaked while fully dressed. 

That would be reductive, of course. 

There are infinitely more kinds of 

parents. I, myself, am the kind that, 

with huge, even excessive effort, 

manages to bring our sprinkler gear 

to the playground 2 to 4 times before 

finding that the whole proposition 

is, let’s be honest, destined to fail, and 

thus, destined to make me feel terrible. 

So about a week into summer, I decide 

we’ll just abandon the ambitious plans 

and be content, again, to get wet while 

The trouble is, once you forgo gear, you enter a hazy 

and perplexing landscape filled with questions. The Rules 

of Sprinkler Conduct are far from clear . . . or instinctive. 

Questions abound. 

Regarding sprinkler apparel: 

If your child is young, is it ok for him or her to go in the 

sprinkler in their diaper? Or underwear? Is the graduation 

to underwear an indication that your child is too old to be 

half-naked in the sprinkler? 

Also, footwear. 

Do they really need shoes in the sprinkler? How long 

do tetanus shots last for anyway? 

And then, water toys. 

If you rinse it out thoroughly, is an abandoned Italian 

ice squeezey cup an acceptable replacement for a water 

pail? 

In point of fact, there is only one thing I know for sure 

about the sprinkler, one golden inviolable rule that must 

never, ever be broken. 

That rule is: 

Do not drink the sprinkler water. 

DO NOT DRINK THE SPRINKLER WATER. 

“Why not?” asked my four-year-old daughter, when I 

bellowed these words at her one afternoon. She was in her 

underwear and a T shirt, barefooted, splashing happily in 

a gargantuan sprinkler puddle at our playground. It’s never 

been clear to me whether these puddles are intentional, 

a purposeful part of the “natural landscape” aesthetic, or 

accidental, the result of unspeakably gross things clogging 

the drain. Either way, it’s not the sort of puddle you 

want your child to submerge herself in. So, my skin was 

crawling when she plopped down right in the middle of it, 

as if she was in an infinity pool in the Bahamas. But when 

she lowered her mouth to the surface of the puddle and 

readied to take a big slurp, I jumped to action. 

“No! Stop! DO NOT DRINK THAT WATER!” 

And she asked, “Why not?” 

“It’s dirty,” I told her. Stupidly. Like a rookie. 

“No it’s not,” she retorted, lowering her head again. 

I guess her thinking was that because she could still see 

through the water, it was clean enough to consume. 

“It’s full of COXSACKIE!” I told her urgently. “You 

don’t want to get coxsackie, do you? Again?” 

When the going gets tough, the tough invoke coxsackie.


I’ve been parenting for over 12 years, and in that time, we’ve 

had our fsir share of inconvenient illnesses. We had emergency 

appendicitis on the eve of an international trip. We’ve had Scarlet 

fever on a trans-continental flight. We’ve had the All-Family 

Stomach Bug on Valentine’s Day. But the time my youngest daughter 

developed coxsackie on our 12-hour drive to North Carolina, well, 

that will live in infamy. It wasn’t something any of us would like to 

repeat. 

I have no evidence that my daughter contracted coxsackie from 

the sprinkler. I’m not an infectious disease expert. I can barely even 

spell coxsackie. But I know the bodily excretions through which the 

virus is transmitted and considering how many kids I’ve seen relieve 

themselves directly into the sprinklers, it seems likely there’s other 

evacuations happening in that vicinity too. 

The sprinklers are like kiddie Las Vegas. What happens in the 

sprinklers stays in the sprinklers. Unless it’s coxsackie. That, you take 

with you. 

So, there will be no drinking of sprinkler water. And besides that, 

well, really anything goes. 

After all, it’s triple digits and this is what we city folk have for 

splish-n-splash fun. This is our seashore. This is our water park. 

It gets the job done, cooling kids off, and it keeps them busy too. 

Whether they’re in swimsuits and water shoes or just barefooted and 

dripping like sewer rats. Either way. 

Nicole C. Kear is the author of Have No Fear! and Sticks and Stones, 

the first two books in The Fix-It Friends, a chapter book series for 

children. You can find our more at nicolekear.com.


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park slope reader | 49


Four and Twenty Blackbirds 

The Promise of Summer 

The promise of summer days (finally!) is here and I couldn’t be more excited! If you are like 

me, you will spend the next three months trying to absorb as much Vitamin D as possible, 

while wearing spf 100. I’ve been known to wait an extra hour for a table outside as to avoid 

the air conditioned icebox of nearly every Brooklyn restaurant (Seriously! Why so cold?). 

While I cannot help you get that coveted outdoor brunch reservation, I can help you find 

exciting ways to spend more time outside getting your fitness on before you queue up for 

eggs benny! 

By Molly Kelleher- Cuff

There is nothing better than the sweet smell of fresh-cut grass, the 

warm sun coating your skin, and the breeze helping to dry your 

sweat as you do your fiftieth squat of the morning, or your tenth 

Chaturanga dandasana as dusk settles. With so much going on in 

the park everyday it issometimes hard to keep up with the events and 

activities, so I’ve done it for you! 


mile jaunt around Brooklyn and Prospect Park! Nothing will get in 

the way of your stride because Jack Rabbit has a place to store your 

personal items! 

WHEN: Thursdays 7pm 

WHERE: Jack Rabbit, 151 7Av 

PRICE: Free 

INFO: Personal items can be left in the store, All paces Welcome! 

MORE: (917) 780-4446 

Prospect Park Track Club hosts group runs three times a week! This 

is a great way to meet with other runners and get involved in the ever 

growing community! This group is wonderfully busy organizing fun 

runs, races, and training events. 

WHEN: Saturdays 8am, Sundays 9am, Wednesdays 7:15pm 

WHERE: Park side of Grand Army Plaza, near where Union Street ends 

PRICE: $25 for the yearly membership 

INFO: pptc.org 

MORE: (347) 927-7825 or contact@pptc.org 

• BIKING 

Prospect Park is a bike rider’s dream! Beautiful scenery, no cars, and 

the wind in your helmet makes for a perfect ride. The best time for 

a quiet ride will be early in the morning before the hustle and bustle 

of the park begins. 

CITI BIKE is a wonderful option if you don’t own a bike or aren’t 

near yours at the time the mood strikes. Citi bikes are available on 

seemingly every corner in Brooklyn. 

• YOGA 

Bend+Bloom,lululemon athletica Brooklyn, and The Park Slope Alliance 

have combined forces to offer classes in the park on Thursday 

nights. Each evening will feature a different teacher who will lead 

students of all levels thru a beautiful sequence as the sunset paints 

the sky. 

WHEN: Thursdays, 7-8pm, June1-August 31 

WHERE: Prospect Park, Long Meadow 

PRICE: Free 

INFO: Bring your own mat, water bottle, and a friend! Participants need to 

RSVP and 

acknowledge waiver at bendandbloom.com/rsvp 

MORE: bendandbloom.com/park-yoga 

PRICE: $12/day unlimited 30 min ride, $163/yr unlimited 45 minute rides 

INFO: citibikenyc.com 

The LeFrak Center at Lakeside rents out a variety of different bike 

types from Surreys to Choppers to Tandems, so you can really take 

advantage of that (hashtag)bike life! Six adults pedaling the same 

bike sounds like a whole new level of family bonding! 

PRICE: Varies per bike type 

INFO: lakesidebrooklyn.com 

Wanderlust is happening in Brooklyn this September! Adidas and 

Wanderlust are teaming up to bring us a yoga triathlon that mixes a 

5k, 90 minute sweaty outdoor yoga, and 30 minutes of meditation. 

There will be extra events and classes from local studios. There will 

also be a market where you can pick up the newest fitness and mindfulness 

products. Bring your yoga mat, sneakers, and sense of play! 

WHEN: September 10, 2017 

WHERE: Prospect Park, The Nethermead 

PRICE: $20-$49.08 

INFO: wanderlust.com/108-events/brooklyn 

• RUNNING 

Jack Rabbit hosts a Thursday night run club! Whether you’ve never 

laced up your sneaks or just placed in your third marathon of the 

year this club is for you! Everyone is welcome to take a two to four


• BOATING 

Prospect Park provides us with sports fields, bike paths, 

grassy knolls, and a pristine lake! Boating rentals are 

available at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside. Types range 

from pedal boats to kayaks. 

WHEN: March 26-September 4, 9am-Sunset and September 

5-October 23, 11am-Sunset 

PRICE: Varies 

WHERE: 171 East Drive off Ocean Ave, Q at Parkside Av 

INFO: lakesidebrooklyn.com/activities/boating 

• SWIMMING 

June 29! June 29! June 29! you can almost here the rally 

cry, as our cities public pools are scheduled to re-open! 

The Douglas and DeGraw pool will again be filled with 

the giggles of children and adults alike. If you’ve never 

been to a city pool there are a few rules that you’ll need 

to be aware of before you show up for your day of splashing. 

No colored t-shirts are allowed on deck, everyone 

must show up with their swim suits on, and each person 

must have an individual lock. No food, unbound periodicals, 

or electronics are allowed at the pools. NYC Pools 

also have free swim classes for all ages, check the site for 

more information about times and availability. 

WHERE: Third Av and Nevins Street 

WHEN: June 29- September, 11a-7pm with a break from 3p-4p 

for cleaning 

PRICE: Free 

INFO: nycgovparks.org 

• PILATES 

Bumble+Flow, a private Yoga/Pilates/Barre/Functional 

Training company is hosting their fusion classes this 

summer in Prospect Park. These classes are infused with 

mat based Pilates, yoga, and old school calisthenics. 

Sweat, stretch, and squat to the sound of birds singing! 

Private or small group sessions also available. 

WHEN: Wednesdays June 14-August 16, 10am, More classes 

adding soon! 

WHERE: Prospect Park, 9th street entrance at the Lafayette 

Memorial 

PRICE: $20, must register for classes via email. 

INFO: bumbleandflow.com 

MORE: 646.883.FLOW(3569)/ molly@bumbleandflow.com 

• FITNESS 

BODIESYNERGY specializes in outdoor group fitness 

workouts and personal training sessions all year round. 

Their workouts include bootcamps, kettlebell fitness, 

run clubs, private training sessions, and babiesynergy: 

a pregnancy and postnatal workout. They truly do have 

something for everyone! 

WHEN: 6.30am, 9:15am, 10:15am, 7pm weekdays & 8am Saturdays 

WHERE: All workouts start and finish at the 15th street entrance 

to Prospect Park (Bartel 

Pritchard Square) 

PRICE: SPECIAL FOR OUR READERS! Try out your first class for


YOGA FOR THE WHOLE YOU 

children adult prenatal postnatal 

• • • 

(new student special 3 classes for $30) 

708 Sackett Street | between 4th & 5th Avenue | Brooklyn, NY 11217 | 347.987.3162 

www.bendandbloom.com


FREE (offer good till: 

August 31, 2017) simply email joanna@bodiesynergy.com to reserve your 

spot and don’t forget 

to mention Park Slope Reader! 

MORE: bodiesynergy.com 

FIT4MOM holds stroller fitness classes, post natal classes, and a run 

club in Prospect Park. This is a perfect way to workout with baby! 

WHEN: Various Times beginning June 5th 

WHERE: Prospect Park, 9th Street and Prospect Park West Entrance 

PRICE: Varies by packages and programs 

INFO: brooklyn.fit4mom.com 

MORE: annacatherine@fit4mom.com / 917-306-8480 

Baby Bootcamp is happening this summer and being hosted by the 

Prospect Park Alliance and YMCA! These various bootcamps are a 

free and fun way to feel fit and strong while taking care of baby at 

the same time! 

WHEN: Various Dates 

WHERE: Prospect Park, LeFrak center at Lakeside 

PRICE: FREE 

INFO: prospectpark.org 

NYC Bootcamp runs their fully adaptable fitness programs in Prospect 

Park. Their group training focuses on weight loss, toning and 

flexibility and uses a variety of props to create new and exciting 

workouts each session. All levels are welcome and modifications will 

be made to support each person individual level. 

WHEN: Saturdays 9am 

WHERE: Prospect Park, 9th Street and PPW Entrance 

PRICE: $20-$25 per session 

INFO: alan@nycbootcamp.com or 917-740-6679 

Fitness Equipment is placed at two locations in the Prospect Park. If 

your doorframe pull up bar isn’t cutting it, head outside! Pushups, 

pull ups, dips, step ups, and even more bodyweight exercises can 

now be easily performed! So save that thousand dollars you were 

going to spend on an indoor gym. Go show off those biceps as the 

saying goes “suns out guns out”! 

WHEN: All Year 

WHERE: Harmony Playground, 11 ST & PPW or P.P. South West,1 6TH ST.Park 

Circle/West Lake Drive 

PRICE: FREE 

INFO: nycgovparks.org/befitnyc/strength search term “strength training 

equipment” 

• HORSEBACK 

Kensington Stables provides us with a whole new way to see the 

park! Go back in time while you ride horseback around a three and 

a half mile trail. Your guide will introduce you to the history of the 

park while you bond with your new best friend. They also host week 

long camps for children ages 6-11 all summer long! 

WHEN: 10am-Sunset, everyday 

WHERE: 51 Caton Place (corner of E. 8th Street) 

PRICE: $42 per person for an hour ride 

INFO: kensingtonstables.com 

MORE: 718-972-4588 

• ROLLERSKATE 

I didn’t think rollerskating could get more fun but then Lola Star’s 

Dreamland Disco opened in the LeFrak center at Lakeside and 

brought their own brand of vintage awesomeness, added prizes, killer 

DJs, made it 21+, and encouraged costumes! Gone are the days of 

oddly stained confetti carpets and the overpowering smells of butter 

drenched popcorn. Your Friday nights just got an upgrade! Sorry, 

Netflix. 

WHEN: Friday Nights April 14- October 13, 7:30pm-10:30pm 

WHERE: LeFrak Center at Lakeside 

PRICE: $30, advanced registration required 

INFO: dreamlandrollerrink.com 

• SPORTS 

Tennis is a wonderful way to keep active and outside in the warm 

weather. Prospect Park is equipped with hard and clay courts for all 

ages and skill levels. Lessons, leagues, summer camp programs, as 

well as special events happen all year long. This summer is finally the 

time to dust off that old racket and serve up some tennis love! 

WHEN: All Year opening 7am-11pm 

WHERE: Prospect Park, 50 Parkside Avenue 

PRICE: Varies by program and ages 

INFO: prospectpark.org search the term “Tennis” 

Baseball, Softball, Football, Soccer and Volleyball all have a home 

in Prospect Park. Be aware, playing an organized sport with more 

than twenty people requires a permit. However, if you are looking 

for something more informal just call up a bunch of your buddies 

and look for a free field! 

WHEN: All Year 

WHERE: Various fields throughout the park 

PRICE: Various per program or permit 

INFO: for youth programs, sfxyouthsports.com or prospectpark.org search 

term “Sports” 

• INSIDE, BUT WORTH MENTIONING: 

Align Brooklyn is throwing a donation based yoga party every second 

Saturday of the summer! They are offering vigorous vinyasa flow 

by donation class accompanied by a live local DJ from 

NYC’s nightlife scene. That’s right! That downward dog never looked 

so happy! 

June 10th - DJ-ed by Daniel Orestes 

Proceeds go to:Planned Parenthood - https://www.plannedparenthood.org/ 

July 8th - DJ-ed by Kevin O’Brien 

Proceeds go to: Make The Road - http://www.maketheroadny.org/ 

August 12th - DJ-ed by Jose Meia 

Proceeds go to: 

Sane Energy Project - https://saneenergyproject.org/ 

I have to end this article now because all this talk of being outside 

has left me with some major fear of missing out. One last note, I can’t 

help but notice how amazing it is to be a Brooklynite for regardless 

of age, income, experience or limitations there truly is a fitness program 

for all of us, just outside our doorsteps! I hope to see many of 

you playing in the park this summer, I’ll certainly be there!


548 Union Street 

Brooklyn, New York 11215 

1-718-965-4222 

tessa@pureenergymartialarts.com


YOGA: BENDING TOWARDS BROOKLYN 

LIFE AS YOGA 

Satya: TRUTH AS RESISTANCE 

“The truth will set you free.” John 8:32 

AS CHILDREN WE ARE TOLD NOT TO LIE. 

TELLING THE TRUTH APPEARS IN MANY OF 

THE WORLD’S TRADITIONS AS A PRINCIPLE 

TO LIVE BY. AND YET, PREVARICATION 

IS UBIQUITOUS; AS ONE OF OUR MOST 

HABITUALLY INGRAINED TENDENCIES, WE 

OFTEN DON’T EVEN REALIZE THE EXTENT TO 

WHICH WE CONTINUALLY LIE. THIS LEADS 

TO THREE QUESTIONS: 1. WHY DO WE LIE SO 

EASILY? 2. WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT 

NOT LYING? 3. HOW DO WE STOP DOING IT? 

By Tatiana Ferero Puerta 

Yogic wisdom suggests that truthfulness is more than just 

an aphorism to live by. This is especially true in our current social 

landscape of alternative facts, post-truth, and general mistrust. The yogic 

view on truth reminds us that honesty isn’t just about facts—veracity is 

indeed not only an act of courage, but also one of resistance. 

We are hardwired to lie. 

Studies have suggested that our innate tendency to lie is often linked 

to the reactive brain, the part of our thought process that causes the fight/ 

flight/freeze reaction when we encounter danger. Lying isn’t restricted 

to Homo sapiens; many of our animal friends are avid at deception: 

chameleons and octopi are expert liars, almost seamlessly blending into 

their surroundings in response to danger. And that’s really the key: lying 

is our camouflage. Yet, whereas animals resort to camouflage as a means 

of protecting their lives, lying for most of us has become habitual and is 

not at all linked with our physical wellbeing. A study in the Journal of 

Basic and Applied Psychology found that 60 percent of people lied at least

once in a ten-minute conversation with a stranger, and a separate 

Cambridge study found that people are more likely to engage in 

dishonest behavior when they feel rejected. Additionally, a study 

titled “Lying in Everyday Life” found that more than 70 percent of 

liars would lie again. 

This type of lying is wholly different from that of our animal 

counterparts; we are clearly not lying out of self-preservation—at 

least not physical preservation. Instead, as psychologist Robert 

Feldman says, “We find that as soon as people feel their self-esteem 

is threatened, they immediately begin to lie at higher levels.” Thus, 

the lying that we typically engage in is aimed at sheltering our egos 

in a habitual way, and, when normalized and shifted to the greater 

social level, has the tendency of becoming quite 

dangerous. 

“Sooner or later 

Why the truth matters 

While there is a stark difference between telling 

a small, personal lie about who ate the last piece 

of chocolate cake and a prominent political figure 

spouting purposely inaccurate data at a crowd 

of supporters, both the impetus and the result 

remain fundamentally the same. Lying becomes 

a form of protecting our interests at the expense 

of creating an erroneous reality for someone else. 

Continental philosopher Martin Heidegger called 

this “facticity.” Through lies, we (consciously or 

unconsciously) create a new facticity for everyone 

else and they base their follow-up actions and 

reactions on this. When we lie, we are essentially 

creating a new, fictional world for those who the 

lie affects. When we lie in our personal lives, we 

affect our immediate circle—our partners, friends, 

or family—but the stakes are exponentially 

increased when lying becomes the fabric of our 

socio-political system and millions of people’s 

perception of reality becomes skewed. As a result, millions of people 

are effectively living different facticities, creating a situation where 

communication becomes a monumental barrier simply because 

we are operating from radically different understanding of what’s 

actually true. 

This isn’t at all to diminish the impact of lying in our intimate 

relationships. The yogic wisdom reminds us that part of the practice 

of yoga is learning to fully be with what is. When we distort reality 

for our partners, we create a chasm between us. In that space of 

separation is where we find dukkah, un-ease, or suffering. This is 

common sense: when we lie to each other we effectively alienate 

one another and the level of trust and intimacy possible in our 

relationships suffers. In the end, whether lying on a personal or 

social level, we are deepening the gorge between us, and thereby 

we are (both individually as well as collectively) suffering more as 

a result. 

Truthfulness, or Satya in the Sanskrit, is perhaps now more than 

ever a revolutionary act of courage. Satya is also the second yama 

in the eight limbs of ashtanga yoga—it’s right at the top of the list 

(right after ahimsa, or non-violence): is just that important. To be 

truthful requires more than correct transmission of facts; authentic 

we become aware 

of the toxicity of 

dishonesty, and we 

become committed 


honesty is really about inquiring and understanding the reasons we 

might feel threatened in the first place, and exploring our underlying 

proclivity to lie. The yogic call to action starts, as always, primarily 

with ourselves: it requires us to sit with, name, and acknowledge 

the uncomfortable elements of our vulnerability that make it so 

easy for us to fabricate alternative realities. When we take the time 

to home in on the truth of why we feel threatened enough to paint 

reality a different color than what it actually is, we might find the 

courage to speak our truth, simply by taking time to be with what’s 

here right now. Somehow when we acknowledge what is in front of 

us, it stops being so scary, so foreign. As we practice investigating 

and expressing our own truth, we become more aware of our 

tendency to prevaricate and when and why we 

do it. Our human penchants are primarily 

based on repeated action and habit. The more 

we do something, the easier it is to do until we 

start doing otherwise and build the opposite 

inclination. Imagine, for a moment, how 

much more intimacy we can experience in our 

relationships if we create a commitment to truth, 

which, like most commitments worth keeping, it 

isn’t an easy undertaking. Truth, it turns out, isn’t 

for the cowardly. 

to truth on a 

The results of our commitment to satya 

As we deepen our commitment to honesty 

greater scale. In 

with ourselves and with members of our 

immediate community, our capacity to be with 

this way, honesty 

truth expands to our outer personas. We then 

start to realize the necessity for a world filled 

becomes an act of 

with honest communication, and recognize the 

importance of the accuracy of facts on a larger 

resistance.” 

scale. It is then that we might take the time to 

do those little-but-now-imperative things, like 

fact-check an article before we post it to social 

media or become educated on the veracity of media sources we 

read. As a result of our exploration into truth, we fortify what Carl 

Sagan so aptly called our “Baloney Detection Kit”, and we start to 

become watchdogs—not only of our own consciousness and our 

ego’s fragility when it is tempted to tell those “little white lies,” but 

also of institutional dishonesties. Sooner or later we become aware 

of the toxicity of dishonesty, and we become committed to truth on a 

greater scale. In this way, honesty becomes an act of resistance, both 

on a personal level against the fragile ego that wishes to coddle itself 

at the expense of others, and against greater movements that thrive 

off the oppression and deliberate spinning of truth for its own gains. 

The teachings of yoga remind us that truth, like lying, is a habit. 

Yet truth, unlike lying, requires the very courageous commitment 

to the exploration of our easily triggered egos and a curiosity to 

explore what lies in the depths of our vulnerably. In other words, 

a commitment to truth calls us to transcend our habitual, reptilian, 

combative brain and instead operate from a place of consciousness, 

both personally and socially. It’s in this space that true presence 

arises, and we become free.


SLOPE 

SURVEY 

Martin Medina 

What brought you to Park Slope? 

I met a woman. 

What is your most memorable Park Slope moment? 

That’s so many moments. I’ve been here almost thirty 

years. There won’t be one, there are just too many— 

opening up in Park Slope on Seventh Avenue, back in 

1990. A good day for you is… Being busy. 

Describe your community superpower. 

Bringing people together and feeding people. Feeding 

people is definitely what I’ve done here. 

If you could change one thing about the neighborhood, 

what would it be? 

Put a beach right next to it. Or, subtract winters. 

What do you think Park Slope will look like in 10 years? 

in 20 years? 

The same, except around us it’ll be built up. 

What were your childhood nicknames? 

Marty. 

The Slope Survey returns for its 5th installment 

with Martin Medina, owner of 

Varrio 408 and Rachel’s Taqueria on Fifth 

Avenue. Medina is commonly hailed as 

the man who first brought Taquerias to 

Park Slope. Here, his California dreamin’ 

helps us kick off summer. 

What is your greatest extravagance? 

My old 1953 Chevy pickup truck. 

If you couldn’t live in Park Slope or in Brooklyn, where 

would you go? 

San Clemente, California. 

Who is your hero, real or fictional? 

There’s so many of them, but I would say Martin Luther 

King Jr. is one of my heroes.

PSR_61

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