Your nanny was playing very aggressively with your daughter today and encouraging the other children to play along. The nanny was splashing herself with her water bottle and splaying sprinkles of water on the other children at Harmony Playground. The nanny was also dancing very wildly and using a lot of hip intonations that made me uncomfortable. Not at all appropriate to be showing a five year old how to gyrate and dance like a nincompoop all around a public park.

Read More About the Very Spirited Nanny

Our favorite local film series, Rooftop Films, returns to the roof of the Old American Can Factory at Third Avenue and Third Street in Gowanus tonight (6/14). Tonights program is INDUSTRIANCE Short Films: Eminent Domain. Shorts program co presented by XO Projects. Dynamic short films about communities in flames and on the cusp. Then, next Saturday, June 21, there’s the New York premiere of the feature documentary, The Women of Brukman (Isaac Isitan | Canada & Argentina): “The Brukman garment workers in Argentina take control of their factory during the 2001 financial crisis, winning a radical victory for worker-owned industry.” The full schedule is here. There are Friday shows atop Automotive High School on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg. If you haven’t been up to the roof to see a film, we highly recommend it. Tickets are $9 at the door and $6 in advance. The film program starts at sundown, there’s music beforehand and a nice view of the back of Hotel Le Bleu.

Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related information and images:

· Boy Hit by Van in Marine Park [NYP]
· Teacher Job Fight at Closing Brooklyn High School [NYDN]
· Meet Elsie Freeman, Age 110 [NYP]
· Rep. Kucinich Asks IRS to Wait on Atlantic Yards Finance Approval [AYR]
· Block Parties and Curmudgeons [Bed-Stuy Banana]
· Friday PUPS Photos [Clinton Hill Blog]
· Brooklyn Pride is Today [Flatbush Gardener]
· Rolls for Sale on Smith Street [BK 11201]

“Some would say that the recent rash of posting on the message board Brooklynian is an ominous sign for the once thriving Brooklyn periodical. A poster going by the handle AWP11201 has posted thirteen new threads in a single hour consisting of direct cut and pastes of the leading line and a link to the paper’s website. Some might call this shilling, and an obvious attempt to drum up readership for what may quite possibly be a failing website and a leading indicator of the end of a Brooklyn institution. Or not.” Some discussion follows in the thread.–Brooklynian

[Photo courtesy of Miss Heather]

You get two guesses as to which Brooklyn neighborhood this collection of cups and other things come, and if you say “Greenpoint,” you are quite correct.

“One week, two more hotels planned for Gowanus.” Part of warehouse on Third Street is being converted to a hotel and a lot of DeGraw Street between Third and Fourth Ave may become a 10,000 square foot property. All told there are nine hotels underway or planned. You must check out the Gowanus Hotel District Map.–Brownstoner

[Photo courtesy of nine6sevenfour/flickr]

There’s no indication where nine6sevenfour, who put this nice image into our Gowanus Lounge Photo Pool, shot it other than “Brooklyn,” but it’s very cool. If you haven’t joined our flickr pool yet and started tagging your photos “gowanuslounge,” please do. We’d love to see your pics and to post some of them.

Never let it be said that the lack of Certificate of Occupancy or, even, a Cabaret License is an obstacle to a good neighborhood club as a very good time could apparently be had at Studio B’s new rooftop garden. “Yep. They’re sure paying attention to the fact that they have no cabaret license and have no certificate of occupancy for that second floor, aren’t they?”–Neighborhood Threat

Here’s a very nice vid of Isaac Hayes performing Shaft at Celebrate Brooklyn on Thursday night.

“Brooklyn music venue Luna Lounge has been closed since April, and it doesn’t look like they’ll ever open again. Not as Luna Lounge anyway. As you can see by the sign that is posted on the door of 361 Metropolitan Avenue (AKA LUNA LOUNGE), ‘Knitting Factory Entertainment plans to open a bar w/ live music’ at that location. This wouldn’t be a second Knitting Factory. This would be the only Knitting Factory after the Manhattan location finishes up its lease in its endangered Tribeca location.”–Brooklyn Vegan

[Photo courtesy of amb*r/flickr]

There’s no indication of which neighborhood these backyards are from, but the photo does manage to pick up the essence of spaces that are hidden from the view of everyone but the people that live in the buildings.

We are seeing the makings of a warm day from the Brooklyn Weather Observatory. The forecast calls for it to be “very warm and humid with times of clouds and sun.” The high will be 88 and it will feel like 93. Tonight will be “Mostly cloudy and humid with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm” and a low of 69.–Accuweather

[Photo courtesy of Miss Heather]

This is how they have fun on West Street in Greenpoint on sultry pre-summer days–against a building wedged into the shade, sitting in a tiny child’s pool.

We got a reminder about a screening of Lavender Lake, a documentary about our favorite Brooklyn canal, the Gowanus, via both the Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus (FROGG) and the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association (CGNA). The screening takes place tonight (6/13) at 7:30PM at Spoke the Hub, which is located at 295 Douglass Street between Third and Fourth Avenues. The suggested donation is $5. More info about Spoke the Hub here.

Given the fact that we always enjoy a focus on construction safety, there’s something compelling about this YouTube vid that shows two-by-fours crashing down in South Williamsburg. Heads up.

Parents, students, and teachers come together to run, raise funds, and protest budget cuts. Hundreds of parents, students, and teachers will meet up in Prospect Park to run, walk, and stroll 5k for Brooklyn’s public elementary schools on Friday night, June 13th. As budget cuts of $450 million loom, teams from the PS10, PS29, PS39, PS 107, PS 139, Brooklyn New School (PS 146), and PS 295 will join forces to run, raise funds jointly for their schools, and challenge the Bloomberg Administration’s proposed cuts. Funds raised from the run will be shared equally among participating schools, with 50% of the total split equally amongst all the schools that participate, and 50% divided up based on the size of the schools. The run is also supported by the United Federation of Teachers. The starting bell sounds at 7 p.m. (registration begins at 6 p.m.) at the Lincoln Road entrance to Prospect Park. Walk-up registration is welcome.

For more info, visit brooklynpta.org.

Here’s our regular weekly post from the Center for the Urban Environment about the great tours they run:

Park Slope South – Southern Exposure. Sunday, June 15 – 3-5 pm – with Matt Postal. Explore Park Slope’s numbered streets, heading south from the Litchfield Villa. Both older and more architecturally varied than the blocks to the north, we will discuss the neighborhood’s rich history. We’ll pass handsome townhouses, impressive schools and religious structures, as well as the Ansonia Clock Factory, which once produced ten thousand timepieces each day. Meet southeast corner Prospect Park West & Third Street. Take the F train to Seventh Avenue, exiting at Eighth Avenue, or the 2/3/4 to Grand Army Plaza and walk south along Prospect Park West.

“In conjunction with the mayor’s plan to make New York City a more sustainable environment, Transportation Alternatives is pushing to take the 2007 automobile restrictions to the next level by making Prospect Park completely car-free. In fact, Car-Free Prospect Park is one of Transportation Alternatives major campaigns. If all goes well, Prospect Park will be car-free this summer. It is likely that cars will be permitted to drive through the park during the allocated hours at summer’s end. However, a successful car-free summer in Prospect Park will serve as a test case through which a more conclusive goal is advocated: a permanent end to cars in Brooklyn’s crown jewel.”–Green Brooklyn

The excellent Coney blog Kinetic Carnival, which covers Coney like no other, is reporting that the popular Coney Island fishing pier “could be closed off to the public as early as end of this June. And the boardwalk end of Labor Day.” KC writes:

The city had originally planned to begin repairs on the strip of businesses where Ruby’s Bar, Cha Cha’s and Lola Staar sit. But after speaking with various owners in a meeting a couple of weeks ago, they decided to start with the pier and then to continue with the remaining parts of the boardwalk right after the Labor Day weekend. The city had advised business operators to close up for the winter on the Tuesday following that weekend to allow for the work to begin. However Ruby Bar is hoping to stay open until October considering the uncertainty of the city’s actual plans since they keep hearing things and things don’t happen.

There is a check presentation today with some state money for the repair project. The timing has not been confirmed by the Parks Department.

There are not one, but two, street fairs in Park Slope this weekend. The first, the Brooklyn Pride Festival, takes place on Prospect Park West between Ninth Street and Bartel Pritchard Square on Saturday. The second one, the Seventh Heaven fair on Seventh Avenue will take place on Sunday. The Seventh Avenue Fair is huge, stretched from nearly 15th Street to Flatbush Avenue. While a number of local businesses set up shop, it definitely has the feeling of a more generic New York City street fair.

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[Photo courtesy of Alex Richman Photography]

There’s a new summer treats option in Windsor Terrace. Per photographer Alex Richman, who sent his photo and this info: “New ice/gelato place went up on 16th street off of Prospect Park West in Windsor Terrace. Its called Lia’s. It is next to Brooklyn-Real real estate and liquor store. It was pretty tasty. They have lots of flavors including sugar free.”

Here are some images from last night’s Opening Reception for Celebrate Brooklyn. Several hundred people turned out at the event, which raised more than $300,000. Isaac Hayes spoke briefly and there were remarks by a host of officials, including Borough President Marty Markowitz. The bandshell was dedicated in honor of the late Harvey W. Schultz, a former Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection.

The model is the new Marine Park Community Center for which ground is being broken today. Per a press release, it’s “the Parks Department’s first state-of-the-art Green Building. With solar panels, a geo-thermal heating and cooling system, and a planted roof, this building is an example of the City’s commitment to an environmentally-friendly 21st century.” The center will be named after Carmine Carro, the late President of the Marine Park Civic Association and will have multi-purpose rooms for recreation and community programs. It’s an $11 million project.

The legendary Isaac Hayes opened the 30th Anniversary season of Celebrate Brooklyn last night, running through a set of soul and R&B classics that climaxed with his classic, Shaft. Mr. Hayes, who suffered a stroke several years ago, got a helping hand getting on and off the stage, but held his own, standing, as he conducted his band through Shaft and came out to do an encore.