MotherSister Brooklyn

July ended on a thickly humid note, but temperatures were actually cooler than average in the city. Now they’re inching back up for August, and I’m in full-on summer eating mode.

I don’t munch much when it’s hot outside, and The Scamp is capricious and picky generally, so I’ve been fussing around to find easy eats — dishes that can be prepared in half an hour or less, while I keep an eye on the little one — that feel satisfying and light. So far, I have two winners. The first is quinoa salad: Cook the quinoa and mix it in a dressing of lime juice and zest, vegetable oil, unsalted butter, sugar, salt, and pepper; add some chopped tomato, scallions, cilantro, and black beans. The second is a one-pot salmon and brown rice dish: Poach a salmon filet in vegetable broth, set it aside, then cook some brown rice, shallot, parsley, lemon, water, and unsalted butter in the broth; after the rice is cooked, add the salmon and stir. Both reheat really well and work as a quick snack or a main.

I’ve been resisting the dark side, having traded Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie for Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, but B&J’s have got me in their clutches again. They came calling first for The Hub, who succumbed to the Peanut Butter Cup. And now, I’ve gotten wind of this:

CelebStoner gave it what dear Willie prolly considers a high honor: It made the Munchies Alert.

I’m in trouble, y’all.

I’m a magazine junkie. Somewhere in my parents’ attic is the entire run of Sassy, as well as some late ’80s/early ’90s editions of Details and The Face. I also couldn’t resist junk-food equivalents like Right On!, Seventeen, Mademoiselle, and Vogue. I’ve generally curbed my habit to quality reading — Granta, Wax Poetics, The New Yorker — but occasionally I break down and buy some fluff to scowl at. My latest favorite object of derision is Cookie, which made the mistake of sending me a subscription invitation a month ago; I scrawled a kiss-off to the editor on it and returned it in their generously provided SASE. Of the many reasons I loathe Cookie, one is undoubtedly their apeing of superior mags, one of which is the now-suspended Violet.

Violet was the brainchild of Carolyn “Keki” Mingus, who wanted to create a magazine for people with children that didn’t assume they’re all Stepford wives and husbands. Yes, the cover subjects included the likes of Juliette Binoche and Donovan Leitch, but it covered them in a way that suggested that they’re muddling though parenthood and trying to create a good life for their kids like the rest of us. You could indulge in a little aspirational lifestyle reading without feeling completely sick to your stomach by the time you reached the last page; best of all, it took it for granted that children and parents come in all colors and deserve to be represented. Like Milk, but American, rainbow-hued, and less cool-cool obsessed.

Unfortunately, a year ago, subscribers received a postcard notifying them that publication was being suspended. Seeking an update, I caught up with Keki, who explained that her financial backer abruptly pulled out, leaving their in-a-garage operation in the lurch. She sounded pretty down about the situation, but talks with a new possible investor are ongoing and there may be some positive news in a month or so. Subscribers seem content to wait; Keki said that only two had requested their money back. Back issues of the original four-issue run are still available though the Violet website (but be patient — orders are filled once a month).

Why am I on about this? It’s just a parenting magazine, right? Well, I sometimes feel that issues surrounding our children are the last bastion where racism is tacitly allowable. (Look no further than the American school system, from daycare to academia, if you claim not to know what I mean.) Media representations of children and family — especially in magazines — reflect, on a basic level, what is considered adorable, desirable, supportable. As I wrote to Cookie’s editor, brown people have money and love their children, and I’m not interested in supporting any enterprise that actually works to pretend we don’t exist. So here’s hoping that Violet makes a much-needed return, on the double.

A Philly girl and a mom of three, Marcie Bohan reminds me of my godmother Rose: Both are neighborhood connectors of a kind that’s woefully rare to find these days, friendly, funny, and on-the-go. Marcie and mom-of-two Gabrielle Napolitano-Swift have just opened the best new shop in the neighborhood, Still Hip, a sunny clothing/toy resale joint with much-needed space for kiddie classes — an idea long overdue given the local baby boom. “Something’s in the water in this neighborhood,” opined Gabby, who’d been told by her doctor that she would have to undergo advanced fertility treatments to have children. Until, that is, she started looking for a place in Fort Greene. “We found a two-bedroom after looking for two years — the price was right — and then I found out I was pregnant.” Officially open only a few days at this writing, Still Hip appears to be a hit already: A steady stream of neighborhood parents and grandparents dropped in during the short time I was there, scoring an $8 Sprewell Knicks jersey for The Scamp and chatting with the ladies for a MotherSister Minute.

GABBY (at right)

LIVING HERE SINCE: 2002.

WHY FORT GREENE/CLINTON HILL: When we were looking, we decided we wanted to start a family and this is exactly where we wanted to do it.

FAVORITE PLACE IN THE AREA: Choice — I just love going there. Nu Yu Spa. Underwood Playground.

MIKE’S COFFEE SHOP OR PRATT COFFEE SHOP: Pratt. Bigger, easier, and the food tastes better. It’s much better for kids — they have high chairs and you can take a stroller in.

TIPS OR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Pay attention to the parking regulations (we have some overzealous meter maids around here). And look for art everywhere because you’ll find it!

MARCIE (at left)

LIVING HERE SINCE: 2002.

WHY FORT GREENE/CLINTON HILL: We needed more space (with one baby and another on the way), and we fell in love with the Graham Home for Old Ladies.

FAVORITE PLACE IN THE AREA: My house. And Underwood Park.

MIKE’S COFFEE SHOP OR PRATT COFFEE SHOP: Definitely Mike’s. My kids know it and just run right in.

TIPS OR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Get out there, get in the playgrounds, walk around, go to the library. This is the easiest neighborhood to meet people in.

Still Hip is at 283 Grand Avenue, between Lafayette Avenue and Clifton Place (tel. 718/398-0008). The shop is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11am to 6pm (from 10am in the autumn).

Saturday, July 28
Soul Cool Music Fest in Fort Greene Park
From noon to 8pm
Free

A Drama of Jealousy/Dramma della gelosia, starring the incomparable Monica Vitti (puttin’ the hurt on a couple of turkeys named Marcello Mastroianni and Giancarlo Giannini), at BAM
Showtimes 2, 4:30, 6:50, and 9:15pm
Tickets $11

Sonic Youth performs Daydream Nation at McCarren Park Pool
From 7:30pm
Tickets $34

Sunday, July 29
Social Dress New Orleans unveiled at Socrates Sculpture Park
Around 2pm
Free

TV on the Radio at McCarren Park Pool
From 3pm
Free (with RSVP)

Wild Style 25th Anniversary Reunion at Central Park Summerstage
From 7pm
Free

Wednesday, August 1
The Secret Science Club: “It’s Hot Hot Hot” at Union Hall
From 8pm
Free

“Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story” on WNET ch13 (NYC)
From 9 to 11pm
Free (viva public tv!)

There have been some interesting articles on the death of compelling magazine cover design recently, but I wish someone would take up the torch for good book cover design. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems book jackets are truly terrible now, especially in the United States.

I’ve become much more deliberate about my book acquisitions for my personal library, more of a true book collector. I don’t want any old edition taking up valuable shelf space in my home, and I don’t want any old ugly edition, either. And yet, that’s what’s being churned out: Even esteemed hardcovers by name authors — what, Murakami can’t get no love?! — are being published with jackets that look better suited to your average $5.99 drugstore-rack pocketbook. An example?

I set out to purchase a copy of Christian Jungersen’s enticingly well-reviewed The Exception. This novel of considerable heft, which tackles man’s inhumanity to man head-on, is jacketed for U.S. sale thusly:

I mean, seriously. The plot has four women at its center, and there’s a crime involved — so of course there needs to be breathy, imperiled-looking women on the cover with blood-red slashes and stains. My goodness, who would pick it up otherwise? It’s so cheap, and so cheapening, that there was no way I was going to support the sales/marketing genius (and based on first-hand knowledge of the inner workings of book cover approval in your average NYC publishing house, believe me when I tell you that’s who is in charge) who rubber-stamped it. So I did what I’ve often found myself doing: searched for a U.K. edition, since historically they’ve maintained some sense of refinement, some respect for the reader’s intelligence. I was a little discouraged to see this paperback edition, though.

Does it need the “Office Politics Can Be Deadly” tagline? The bodies in chalkline? If I’m literary-minded enough to pick up this 500-plus-page book, does your design need to spell out a reductive summary for me like the 11 o’clock news? It’s just as well, as I’m trying not to buy paperbacks, but man! how the mighty have fallen. Et tu, my peeps in Ol’ Blighty? Anyway, this is what will be on my shelf in a couple of weeks:

Le sigh.

If you care about this stuff as much as I do, get lifted by visiting Book By Its Cover.

[ETA: It’s interesting to see the various worldwide covers for The Exception; the original Danish cover is to the far right on the shelf. The French cover is even worse than the U.S. cover, for crying out loud. Can’t wait to see what the Italians do with it; the good folks at Minimum Fax know from cover design, but it’s in Mondadori’s hands.]

Saturday, July 21
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on sale
at Unnameable Books
From midnight to 1am or so

Really Really Free Market at St. Mark’s Church, 2nd Ave. & 10th St. in Manhattan
From noon
Uh, free

Dan Zanes & Friends at Prospect Park Bandshell
From 5pm
Free!

Sunday, July 22
Benefit Block Party on Grand Avenue between Lafayette and Clifton Place
From noon to 5pm
Free

Monday, July 23
Animation Around the World program at BAM
6:50pm and 9:15pm
$10

So I stopped by Gallery Hanahou to pick up my beloved Assunta, and besides interviewing Kana and Gabe, I got a sneak preview of “Summer Sanctuary,” which opens tomorrow. Koko Nakano, Executive Creative Agent and Vice President of CWC International, guided me through the works, which were created specially for the show’s theme of imaginary summer escapes.

The illustrators include Chris Long, who uses Technicolor tones in his tropical scenes; Lotie, whose ink drawings feature nature teeming and rampant; Yuka Katagiri, who weaves intricate lines that seem to undulate as you study them; APAK!, a husband-and-wife team whose universe I’d love to escape to on a hot July day; and Marcus Oakley, whose works for the show include an irresistible owl. They’re all really great, but I think my personal favorites were Team Macho’s collage-like imagery (pictured above) and IMAKETHINGS’s killer skateboard decks (pictured below).

Tokyo-based CWC has been repping illustrators in New York since 1999, and it’s exciting to see Gallery Hanahou highlight an art that’s comparatively underappreciated in the U.S. Try to make it to the “Summer Sanctuary” opening reception tomorrow, July 19, from 6 to 9pm; rsvp to info@galleryhanahou.com. If you can’t make the opening, stop by before August 31 for a visual break from the steamy city.

Pictured from left to right: Gabriel Smith, Anna Hrachovec, Makiko Sasanuma, Koko Nakano, and Kana Togashi. Gallery Hanahou is at 611 Broadway, Ste. 730 (tel. 646/486-6586). Open Monday through Friday from noon to 6pm, Saturday by appointment only.

If you passed Kana and Gabe on one of the neighborhood sidewalks, you might assume they’re part of the newer hipster contingent who discovered the area upon matriculating at Pratt. You’d be mistaken. While they are 21-year-old fine arts students — Kana at Pratt, Gabe at Cooper Union — they grew up in Fort Greene and have watched it change dramatically. Gabe, who attended P.S. 20 and lives on Fort Greene Place, is especially concerned about the real estate development (quite understandable, since his childhood home is now in the shadow of the Forte condos). “Change has to happen,” he allows, “but I think in the process history has to be thought about.” Kana and Gabe were classmates at LaGuardia and now work part-time at Gallery Hanahou, which recently mounted the excellent Stina Persson show. They generously spared a few moments — precious ones, as the gallery’s new show opens on Thursday (more on that TK) — and indulged me and a cranky (teething) Scamp for a MotherSister Minute.

KANA

LIVING HERE SINCE: 1992. We moved here from Park Slope. My mom bought a house with whatever money she could come up with. After she bought it, everything [in the neighborhood] started changing.

WHY FORT GREENE/CLINTON HILL: My mom didn’t exactly like Park Slope. She wanted someplace with more subway access. It was a dirty house, but she loved it.

FAVORITE PLACE IN THE AREA: This is hard….I always liked walking down South Portland — I used to roller skate there because the sidewalks were smooth — and then going from there to Fort Greene Park. [Of places that no longer exist:] I did like Video Basket a lot — they had rare movies. And Cambodian Cuisine, for my Asian noodle cravings.

MIKE’S COFFEE SHOP OR PRATT COFFEE SHOP: Usually I go to Pratt, but I try to go home [to eat] as much as I can to save money.

TIPS OR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: I think it was a better place for me to grow up than Park Slope. I had neighborhood friends. It would be nice to maintain that community, neighborhood feel for the children.

GABE

LIVING HERE SINCE: 1986. I’ve lived in my house all my life. I live at home now because I’m still in school, and I love the neighborhood.

WHY FORT GREENE/CLINTON HILL: My mom’s originally from the Bronx and my father’s from Cleveland — I’m not sure why [they chose the neighborhood]. The brownstones were affordable.

FAVORITE PLACE IN THE AREA: [He thinks for a long time.] I guess Fort Greene Park, right where the stairs are. That’s a nice part of the park to sit down and relax. Also, Academy Restaurant — it’s a nice diner, and it has a lot of nostalgic value [for me]. Also, BAM Park. [Of places that no longer exist:] Spike’s Joint.

MIKE’S COFFEE SHOP OR PRATT COFFEE SHOP: I don’t know either one, so I’d say neither.

TIPS OR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Try to take walks around the neighborhood, without a destination, and enjoy the architecture and the scenery. It’s my favorite thing to do.

You can check out what these crazy kids — whose relaxed, creative, and warm-hearted vibe embodies everything I love about this neighborhood — are up to on the Internets at KanaKateTogashi.com and GabrielSmith.org.

MotherSister is a family woman, y’all, and Fosse is for the children. Don’t believe me? Here’s your future proof.

Nothing wrong with spending a moment of your Sunday in the church that Fosse built, with the High Priestess Gwen Verdon. Thanks for the tip, Anuja.

[Photo from danceheritage.com via Wikipedia]

Saturday, July 14
Bastille Day Celebration at MoCADA, with children’s activities and French food
Free

Big City, Big Trees Celebration at Brooklyn Botanic Garden
From noon to 4:30pm
Free

Sunday, July 15
“Feeling Not So Fresh” by Radical Performance Group
at Union Square East, Broadway and 16th Street, Manhattan
From 1 to 8:20pm
Free

According to Clinton Hill Blog, a Bigelow Chemists-style place called Teleos Apothecary is opening in the neighborhood soon. There’s a kerfuffle in the comments section about whether an organic, holistic health care place is what the neighborhood really needs. What I’ve always wondered about Fort Greene and Clinton Hill is (1) why do we have multiples of certain luxury businesses, such as bagel places (now 3), boutique wine shops (3, with a 4th coming soon), doggie stores (2, down from 3), and hair/nail salons (at least 6 I can think of effortlessly) when there are plenty of more basic shops that would be welcome here; and (2) why don’t the existing practical businesses (grocery stores, pharmacies, hardware stores) step up their game to keep up with the changing demographics of the neighborhood?

Really, I’m asking. Can someone tell me? This holistic health care spot, for example — it’s a pharmacy. It’s a pharmacy selling organic goods, herbs, and homeopathic remedies, but it’s still a pharmacy (just one that won’t fill your Western doctor’s prescriptions, apparently). The owner of this new holistic place says she doesn’t intend to sell anything with “synthetic” ingredients, but even Bigelow and Ansonia in Greenwich Village aren’t that pure — they got rent to pay. Can this neighborhood sustain a Elephant-style pharmacy? Likewise to the guy thinking of opening an all-green cleaning supplies store: His neighborhood competition is Karrot, the Mets and Associated, Greene Farm, Target, and Fresh Direct, not to mention other nearby stores also dedicated to green products. Sometimes I think people are reading too many New York Times articles to garner ideas for their business plans.

On the other hand, existing local businesses certainly deserve the competition. Customer service is notoriously bad in NYC, especially in Brooklyn, and some Fort Greene/Clinton Hill retailers and restaurants have behaved like they have captive consumers for too long. Why don’t Greene Pharmacy, Prospect Drugs, Behren’s Pharmacy, Fine Care Pharmacy, or Myrtle Pharmacy simply start selling homeopathic remedies and hire a staff member who knows something about them? Why doesn’t Beezu actually sell basic and commonly needed children’s clothing and toys instead of, like, the same five overpriced things (in different colors, mind) by the same three suppliers? Why don’t the Mets and Associated improve their fruit and cheese sections? Perhaps I shouldn’t question; after all, they’re committing some of the major business mistakes, and yet their doors are still open, so obviously they’re servicing somebody just fine.

In any case, I for one don’t mind the principles of retail experience finally coming to the neighborhood, as long as it trickles down from the frivolous places I’ll browse but rarely buy in to the stores I actually need on a day-to-day basis.

I love Buttercup Bake Shop, Sugar Sweet Sunshine, and the rest of their cupcake-slingin’ ilk, but the to-go food trend I really wish would catch on is the crêperie. (For a place nicknamed “French Greene,” where you can’t throw a stone without hitting a French speaker, you’d think we’d have at least one amongst the bistros.) Gridskipper’s “New York Crêpe Escapes” maps a handful of places in the city to get your crêpe fix; I frequent two of them (Palacinka and Shade), but neither comes close to being as good as my favorite crêperie on the planet, A la Bonne Crêpe in Paris. Once I’m off the plane in that town, it’s one of the first three places I go, and I have the same thing every time: the Nordique, a crêpe with smoked salmon, lemon, and crème fraîche. Perfection.

I make do locally with Le Gamin’s smoked salmon crêpe. I think they’re crazy expensive (as is Noo Na, their sister Korean restaurant across from their Prospect Heights location on Vanderbilt Avenue), but they deliver to southern Clinton Hill…and it’s cheaper than a plane ticket to Paris.

The past couple of weeks have been a bit hard on the ol’ ego. I bypassed an on-ramp (read: turned down an unsolicited job offer) to continue to hang out with The Scamp and freelance; my reward has been a special show of toddler appreciation, as The Scamp is expressing his negativism hourly with a scream so high-pitched it makes our Tribble tremble. Added to that, The Hub’s jet-setting to and fro a Major European Capital and fitting in social engagements between business meetings. (Upon hearing about this trip, my brother — who knows me ever-so-well — chuckled and said, “Jealous, huh?”) Suddenly, a year after leaving my own jet-setting job, I’m understanding why some women simply can’t do the primary caregiver thing.*

I wasn’t happy about leaving my last job, which I loved — my 45-hour weeks flew by, the travel fed my need for a regular change of scenery — but wasn’t flexible for someone with any ongoing personal responsibilities. (Pamela Stone’s new book, Opting Out?, goes a long way to sum up the situation in which I found myself.) One of my former colleagues expressed disappointment that I was quitting, since “so few of us” — translation: blacks, and black women especially — find ourselves in any visible position of authority. But forced to choose between dedication to my job — a job that could’ve dumped me out at any time — and dedication to my son, there was no contest. It’s not a decision I regret, but it isn’t without its complexities, one of which is residual anger that I had to make it in the first place.

I adore The Scamp, and I’m lucky to have the choice to be his full-time teacher, yadda yadda, poignant disclaimer here, humble acknowledgment of luxury of choice, blah blah. Yeah, I know. That’s why I decided to do it; that’s why I thank my stars when I open my eyes every morning and lay my head down at night. It doesn’t change the fact that I’m still as ambitious and competitive (with myself) as I was before The Scamp arrived, and I have to find positive channels for that, especially as he grows into his own life. As I’ve discovered, it’s not just a matter of taking a time-out for a couple of years — I need to totally reconceptualize my professional goals. And finding time to do that between freelance assignments and a toddler demanding attention every minute he’s awake (from about 6:30am to 9 or 10pm, save a 45-min. nap) ain’t easy.

On the good days, I shrug off the “You’re not the nanny!” double-takes, think about joining Mocha Moms and MomsRising, bake cookies, coordinate a playgroup, whistle while I work. On the bad days, I pop Tylenol and Calms Forte, wander around muttering “I coulda been a contenda,” and curl up in the fetal position in The Scamp’s crib while he trips the Tribble. Mostly I try to remember that I may yet have it all — just not all at once.

*(Can’t bear the term “stay-at-home parent.” I can’t think of a more claustrophobic way to put it.)

A week ago, The Hub arrived home with a CD in his hands. This was interesting for two reasons: (1) The Hub, bleeding edge guy that he is, almost never handles CDs anymore; and (2) the recording, New Voice, was the debut release of our songbird neighbor, Kendra Ross. We’ve seen Kendra around, and she is — as one of our building guards puts it — always “friendly, quiet, [and] keeps it movin’.” Which is why the same guard was shocked to see how Kendra turned out the Highline Ballroom last week during her CD release party — “L’il Kendra was up there shakin’ her hips!” — and we were totally impressed with her pipes. The Hub’s favorite track seems to be “New Voice,” while I’ve been groovin’ on “I’m So OK” (she takes it to church for a minute), “Can I Keep It?” (featuring Talib Kweli), and “Man You Love Blues,” three tracks that really show off her range. She is understandably busy in the flurry of her record’s release, but I caught up with Kendra for a MotherSister Minute.

LIVING HERE SINCE: I moved to Clinton Hill the summer of 1994, right before my sophomore year at NYU. I started out on Clinton and Gates then moved to [our building] in August 1995.

WHY FORT GREENE/CLINTON HILL: My roommate at the time and I chose Clinton Hill because it had a little bit of everything. It was homey and residential yet edgy and artsy, and overall it was a nice mix of ghetto and bourgeois…what we call “boughetto”!

FAVORITE PLACE IN THE AREA: That’s hard….I love Joloff (the West African restaurant at St. James Place and Fulton Street) because that family has been feeding me forever…and always with a smile on their faces! Mike’s [Coffee Shop] is of course a weekend breakfast staple for me, but I love the new spot Soule — the shrimp roti is to die for! I also love my church, Brown Memorial. Oh! and this place isn’t technically considered Clinton Hill — more like Prospect Heights — but you’ve got to try Cheryl’s [Global Soul] at Underhill and St. John’s Place. Very cool!

MIKE’S COFFEE SHOP OR PRATT COFFEE SHOP: A resounding MIKE’S!

TIPS OR SUGGESTIONS ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Once you are blessed enough to get a nice place here, don’t let anyone displace you! I really hate that a lot of my friends have had to move further into Brooklyn because of the crazy rent hikes and landlord pressure. It’s such a beautiful community. No matter where I am in life, I want to have a place in this ‘hood.

Kendra Ross’s New Voice is available now via her website. You can also find cuts enhanced by her voice (quite unforgettably on “Won’t You Stay” with Talib Kweli, as well as the ROOFTOP compilation) on iTunes.