*Do charter schools mirror the city? The New York Times found that Latinos are underrepresented in charter schools as compared to their presence in public schools citywide. Given the raging battle over charter schools, you could see that as good or bad…thoughts? (P.S. Don’t miss the interactive map.)

*Cutbacks at the MTA are mixing up bus routes through Sunset Park—the B37 and B70 will diverge from their well-known paths, and many aren’t happy about it, the Brooklyn Eagle reports.

*The Eagle takes a look back at “Operation Blockbuster,” the big South Brooklyn crack bust of 2008

*Legit or scam? The diet product Herbalife has carved out a firm foothold among immigration groups. Feet in Two Worlds reports.

*Mayor Michael Bloomberg at the end of May announced a huge biotech facility will go into the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park. The Wall Street Journal gives some additional background on the mayor’s startup projects.

*In case you haven’t found your spot yet, the Brooklyn Eagle has links to suggestions for the best spots to watch the World Cup.

This is an opporunity not only to learn, but also to educate others about what you think is happening with gangs in Sunset Park. Whether you are associated with a community organization, a school, or have faced gang issues yourself, this is a chance to tell the community what you think is important.

See the announcement below from Community Board 7:

The 72nd Precinct, Community Board #7 Brooklyn, Community Based Organization and Churches are working together to combat Gangs in OUR Community

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A CHANGE

GANG AWARENESS FORUM

GANG VIOLENCE IS DESTROYING LIVES AND

DEVASTATING FAMILIES IN OUR COMMUNITY

THE PURPOSE OF THIS GANG FORUM IS TO:

• REACH OUR KIDS • INFORM THEM OF THE DANGERS OF GANG LIFE • OFFER POSITIVE ALTERNATIVES TO GANGS •

THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 2010

6:30PM

OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP CHURCH

545 60TH STREET (GYMNASIUM)

FEATURING:

GANG THEATER PERFORMANCE

COMMUNITY RESOURCE

PERSONAL TESTIMONY FROM FORMER GANG MEMBERS

SPECIAL GIVEAWAYS:

GAMES

RAFFLES

AND MANY OTHER SURPRISES

COME AND JOIN US!

PARENTS WELCOME

Local News:

*The only man convicted of Malcolm X’s shooting was released from prison this week and went home to Sunset Park, The Brooklyn Eagle reports.

*This blog did a piece about “going green” in low-income communities. Elizabeth Yeampierre of UPROSE spoke about some of the problems that crop up in Sunset Park.

Local Eats:

*Folks at Time Out New York got hungry, and, armed with a dollar, came to Sunset Park to get its fill.

*In other foodie news, a “chowhounder” (yes, I said it) tells us that if you time it right, you can see those dim-sum rice noodles made down on Eighth and 61st.

City News:

*The MTA is looking to make some major cuts, the Daily News reported, cutting about 750 jobs, mostly from the bus division.

*The Bloomberg administration has announced plans to overhaul the city’s special education system. The plan hopes to downscale the number of special education classrooms, shifting from a decades-long approach that separated children with learning disabilities into their own programs.

*There’s been quite a look at Sunset Park schools of late. Yesterday, the New York Times did a story about P.S. 172, the little elementary school that could. Despite challenges that tend to stymie efforts to score high on tests (low-income students, English language learners and kids with learning disabilities) the Fourth Avenue school regularly outperforms its neighbors in Carroll Gardens and Park Slope.

*This follows the recent Daily News story on the long waiting list at P.S. 105.

*Things are happening in Sunset Park proper. The Community Board last week announced plans to revamp the “big slab” that serves as a baseball/soccer field. Stay tuned for a more detailed post this week.

*The Times last week also chronicled one of more than one hundred Latino evangelical Christians who appear to have been scammed by a Red Hook pastor.

*Sarah DiGregorio of the Village Voice has been on the eat again. Check out her piece on the new hand-cut noodle shop in Sunset Park.

*The Daily News reported that P.S. 150 has the longest wait list in the city, due largely to demand from Chinese families who have moved into Sunset Park in recent years.

*Police at the 72^nd Precinct think they may have caught the burglar who has been targeting and stealing from Chinese residents who live the 40s and 50s, and driving up the burglary rate, Inspector Jesus Raul Pintos said last week.

*The lack of Brooklyn-bound toll on the Verrazano has some people worked up, including local owners who have trouble parking in Sunset Park, the Eagle reported.

*The weekly park sweeps at Lets Clean Sunset Park! are back up and running. Want to join in? Check out the website to keep up to date.

*Thanks to the Brooklyn DA, Haitians in need of clothing after the earthquake will soon be sporting a load of designer knockoffs confiscated last year from a Sunset Park storage facility, according to the Post.

*Councilwoman Gonzalez held a leadership summit last week, the Eagle reports. She also brought together a group to talk about the somewhat contentious issue of legislation on vendors along Fifth Avenue. Details on that to come.

*Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Quinn last week announced the New York City Waterfront Vision and Enhancement Strategy (WAVES), “a citywide initiative that will create a new sustainable blueprint for the City’s 578 miles of shoreline.” Sunset Park obviously has a good bit of that waterfront. I haven’t had a chance to look through it carefully, but I’ll report back on the details of the plan.

*Picturing Sunset Park: Check out a kind of unusual shot I stumbled upon here, and good shot of Chinatown here.

*Frank of The Sunset Park Blog noted a couple of new Italian places in the neighborhood, and made a well-deserved plug for staying in (the neighborhood) when going out to eat.

*Things have been cooking, sprouting and…shopping…over at Sunset Parkour. Take a look out how her seedlings are progressing, and her note on Sunset Park’s recent meh ranking in NYMag’s list of “most livable” New York neighborhoods. Eh, they can keep Park Slope.

*Got any other news? Send it along…

*Did you make it to the Department of Transportation’s Brooklyn Greenway meeting on April 8? Streetsblog did, and brought back this report. Everyone agrees that the proposition of a waterfront greenway poses a challenge for the neighborhood, but also a huge boon in an area with little open space. Have opinions on the proposal? Leave a comment!

*The story of Michael Romero, 32, who was shot and killed by plainclothes police after a struggle over a gun, continues. Police now say they identified themselves as NYPD before Romero took out a gun. (He apparently said “You want to see my ID? Here’s my ID!” before taking out his silver .357 Rossi). Romero’s aunt says her nephew was “good” but “sick,” Gothamist reports. Romero was shot in the shoulder, and pronounced dead on arrival Lutheran hospital. Police found a second gun and a large bag of marijuana in the possession of the ex-con, who had 34 arrests on his record.

*The Sunset Park Rec Center has free baseball and softball leagues this summer. You can find more information here.

*State Senator Eric Adams cares about you—and your pants. The former NYPD captain has started a “stop the sag” campaign, advising those who rock their waistbands low to “raise your pants! Raise your image!” Indy Posted seemed like a fan, but kids in Crown Heights, where most of the billboards have gone up, were skeptical. Thoughts?

*Those of you rushing to the theater to see the new Liam Neeson movie After.Life but have an eerie feeling of déjà vu—Green-Wood Cemetery has a cameo in the drama that takes on age old theme of the the-not-quite-dead from the inside of a mortuary.

*The Village Voice’s Sarah DiGregorio chowed down at Wong Wong Noodles.

*Sunset Park Stills made good use of the recent night weather—there are some lovely new shots of the neighborhood on the blog.

This notice about the baseball and t-ball league at the Rec Center came over the transom this week. Seems like a great summertime activity for kids around the neighborhood:

Sunset Park Recreation Center has a baseball and t-ball league open for registration right now. Coaches are volunteers (if you’d like to help let them know that as well). The uniforms are also free. The only thing you’d have to pay for is the recreation center membership ($25-50). The membership includes axis to the gym, computer lab and other activities like yoga in addition to the baseball league.

The center is located in the park 7th ave and 43rd street 718-965-6533. The best thing to do, however, is go there in person rather than call.

Sunset Park Chronicled is overdue for a news update. Below are a couple of links to the latest news about Sunset Park, but it’s just a teaser. Stay tuned for more in the next few days:

*There has been talk for a while about the 14-mile Green way slated to connect Greenpoint to Sunset Park. The Department of Transportation this week announced that it will hold community workshops in conjunction with the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative and the Regional Planning Association to educate the neighborhoods about the bike and pedestrian path. Sunset Park gets its own, which will take place Thursday, April 8 at 6:30pm at St. Michael R.C. Church on Fourth Avenue and 42nd Street.

*Images of the Sunset Park waterfront featured in a show in February called Gentrification: The Pink Elephant Speaks, a recent art exhibit at The Museum of African Diasporan Art. You an read about the show at the Indypendent, and others that capture the lesser known sites in New York City.

*The New York Times took a tour around Sunset Park. Anything you didn’t know? Anything left out?

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!

* Protests, lawsuits and contentious conversation have followed the announcement the city plans to shutter 19 schools for poor performance. The city has since 2002 closed 91 schools, many large high schools that have reopened as smaller and charter schools. A recent New York Times article offers insight into some of the city politics behind these closures. The new comptroller, John Liu, is adding his two cents–he questioned the school vote when he appeared last week on Local 237 President Greg Floyd’s new radio show, the Daily News reported.

* Other school issues have hit close to home. The Brooklyn Eagle last week covered a meeting about the slated consolidation of students from District 13 (Fort Green, Downtown, Park Slope) and District 15 (Sunset Park, Red Hook, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace). The building that houses P.S. 133 will be rebuilt, and students from Sunset Park’s overcrowded schools will join them in a new, larger building. “Sunset Park is in a crisis situation,” James Devor, president of CEC-15, a governing body for District 15, told the Brooklyn Eagle. But not everyone was pleased with the plan. The Eagle reports race issues bubbled up, with parents from P.S. 133 worried that their 300 children would get short shrift after the arrival of 660 students from District 15, who are predominantly white.

* Though the Bloomberg administration has touted its success slashing fat and fillers, the Daily News reports lunches may not be as healthy as they look. Cheese sandwiches, mozzarella sticks and pizza still make regular appearances on school menus. These dishes feature unpronounceables like azodicarbonamide (a bleach used in food), the maligned high-fructose corn syrup, and processes food with high levels of fat and salt.