Shameless Plug for a Band

Readers -

Head on over to Amie Street to check out Greg Smith and the Broken English. Their first album release was #1 on the Amie Street charts for a while, and is holding steady at #4.

"On Amie Street, the community determines the price of music. Every song starts cheap (or even free!) and increases in price up to 98 cents as more and more people purchase it.

This ensures that you get music at a sensible price. If you find cheap songs or albums, that means they're new to the site and/or undiscovered; conversely, when you pay top price for an album, you know that a lot of people think it's really good."

Community Board 6's Craig Hammerman Honored for 20 Years of Service (and interviewed!)

Anyone who has attended a Community Board 6 meeting no doubt appreciates the hard work, even temperament and quick wit of District Manage Craig Hammerman. Personally, I think that Craig's biggest strength is his ability to stand above the heated discussions that the meetings frequently devolve into and offer advice and support to both sides of a discussion. although he has mulled entering politics in the past, he has not yet taken the leap and I think the district is better because of it.

From Courier-Life:

"There is no such thing as a perfect development project. And the larger a project is, the greater the range of costs and benefits. I didn’t agree with all of the projects that came to us and while we can stand on principle, and often do, that’s little consolation to a person who needs your help. Change happens whether we want it to or not. I accept things which I cannot change, and change things which I cannot accept. 

This district has undergone some very real, major changes to its physical landscape in the past 20 years. Cumulatively, we’ve see projects that have reconnected the community to the waterfront like the Erie Basin evidence vehicle facility, Valentino Park and Pier, IKEA and Fairway in Red Hook. Twenty years ago there was zero public access to the Red Hook waterfront. That was, and is, and important community value. Now, it’s a whole new story."

Brad Lander Becomes our Councilman

Newly elected Councilmember Brad Lander took his oath in Prospect Park on Sunday. Lets hope that Mr. Lander is a little more progressive, open and thoughtful than his predecessor. From Courier-Life:

"In his speech, Lander cited three challenges that his district faces: recovering from the economic crisis while preserving neighborhoods, preserving and strengthening schools, subways and parks, and renewing the public’s faith in local government.

“I believe that the solution begins in building partnerships between government and the public, that insist both on real results, and on democratic engagement,” said Lander. “This balancing act takes longer, to be sure. Quality systems to measure accountability take discipline and data. Meaningful democratic engagement takes patience and openness.The combination is all too rare.”"