Igloo, by Robert Aguilar

The weather meant business again today. Robert Aguilar sent in a picture of this shelter from the storm down on 56th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. It looks like at least a few kids down in Sunset Park enjoyed their snow day. Sunset Park Stills also added another nice shot to its collection.

Sunset Park got nearly 15 inches, NY1 reported. This was the biggest storm this winter. Alternate side parking rules are suspended tomorrow, by the by, and no trash pickups for now, in case you were wondering…

Have more images of Sunset Park after SnowtoriousBIG? Send them in to sunsetparkchron@gmail.com

Good afternoon. It’s Monday. Not too much in the news at the moment, but a few things to put on the calendar:

*Schools! That word alone is usually enough to rile someone up. In Sunset Park’s crowded classrooms, education is of particular concern. Several of Brooklyn’s biggest names will next week offer parents, politicians and interested parties an opportunity to offer opinions about Brooklyn’s school system. The information is below. I hope to see you there.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, State Senator Daniel Squadron, Assemblywoman Joan Millman, and Councilmembers Letitia James, Brad Lander and Steve Levin will convene a town hall meeting to discuss the city’s public education system. The event will take place on Wednesday March 3, from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. in the courtroom at Brooklyn Borough Hall. We hope that you will come out, share your ideas, and help forge a community partnership to build a stronger foundation for parental involvement in our schools.

For more information or to RSVP for this event, please contact Chris Black at the Public Advocate’s Office, 212-669-7200 or cblack@pubadvocate.nyc.gov

*Feelings on Fourth Avenue? The Park Slope Civic Council will sponsor a forum,  “The Future of Fourth Avenue,” on Thursday, March 4, at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Park Slope.

The Council has previously voiced concern that Fourth Avenue is marginal to the rest of the neighborhood just north of Sunset Park. Borough President Marty Markowitz in his recent state of the city hoped to change the character of the thoroughfare, and rechristen the wide (and recently deadly road) “Brooklyn Boulevard.”

*Community Board 7 will hold a Public Hearing Monday, March 15 at 6:30 pm at the Board Office on the corner of Fourth Avenue and 43rd Street. It has to do with a city-owned property by the South Brooklyn Army Terminal. I’ll try to find out more. For the moment, see below for more information:

APPLICATION #C100204PPK – In the matter of one city-owned property, generally bounded by 39^th Street (1^st & 2^nd Avenues) and the western portion of 2^nd Avenue, from 37^th to 29^th Streets (Block 622, p/o Lot 1),  in the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT), restricted to parking and accessory use only

*Sunset Park Stills has some beautiful new images up, including some Lunar New Year-themed shots. Take a look!

Flushing this week hosted the big-time festivities for Chinese Lunar New Year, but “Brooklyn’s Chinatown” saw some action, too. On Eighth Avenue last Monday to have a bowl of new-year’s noodles (long noodles=long life), I happened upon a miniature dragon parade Lion Dancers parade, put on by a group of young people associated with the Freemasons. These snakey, multi-legged creatures are a staple of the Lunar New Year’s parades–dragons have a long symbolic history in China, and are considered auspicious. Dragon’s are indeed auspicious, but as Frank pointed out below, these are lion dancers. As always, thanks to readers for keeping SP Chron on the straight and factual.

2010 is the year of the Tiger. If you’re a Tiger (born in 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998 or 2010) you are kind, given to deep thinking, sympathetic and, apparently, a bit hot-tempered. For those among us not born under the sign of the “dynamic and powerful” big cat, which is usually associated with big changes and social disorder, “2010 is likely to be a turbulent year—on both a global and a personal level,” (this according to Yahoo!, mind you, which also offers tips for navigating this years’ ups and downs).

I hadn’t gone to Eighth Ave expecting to take photos so the images are rather b-grade, but I thought it worth a post regardless. Do you have New Year’s images from around town? Pass them along to sunsetparkchron@gmail.com. For a look at some truly stunning images of China ringing in the New Year, check out the Boston Globe.

For something closer to home, here’s a short video:

Despite the winter cold, a few brave souls still make it onto the courts in Sunset Park.

Sunset Park Stills posted another fantastic shot of the neighborhood post-Snowpocalypse. Make sure to take a look at the blog.

Rob Aguilar was kind enough to send this in, and with a quickness. You can check out more of his photographs on his blog.

Sunset Park(ing). Who doesn’t love a clever pun?

Evan Sklar, the photographer who did the great series in Sunset Park a few weeks ago, doesn’t mind him one. In his most recent blogpost, dubbed “Sunset Parked”, he returned to focus on the neighborhood’s well-wheeled set.

The subject is apt. The colorful characters in the neighborhood like this plumbing truck (?!) certainly merit a double take.

You wouldn’t know to look at these bright subjects, but parking brings out the fierceness in local residents. I’ve mentioned commuter vans raising the ire of some, but locals who live on the east side of Fifth Avenue get heated about parking in general. Orange cones and garbage cans double as parking-spot holders. More than one argument has broken out over prime curbside real-estate. Parking problems stemming from street sweeping policies in the neighborhood also get car-owners riled up (more on that soon).

Do you know of a Sunset Park ride that missed its 15 minutes? Send a picture to sunsetparkchron@gmail.com.

Brooklyn-based photographer Evan Sklar went shooting in Sunset Park this weekend, and caught this video-arcade patron doing the same.

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