*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.

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!

Sunset Park Alliance for Youth will roll out a program to help young people earn their GED and find a job.

The “S.P.I.N” program offers computer training, resume writing help, job placement assistance, GED referrals and an opportunity to gain academic skills. The Alliance’s program is geared towards people between the ages of 16–24 and not in school.

Sunset Park Alliance, headed up by former Community Board 7 Chair Randy Peers, is made up of six community-based agencies–Center for Family Life, Fifth Avenue Committee and Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, Lutheran Family Health Centers, Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow, Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation and Turning Point. They together serve over one thousand young adults in the community, according to a press release by the Sunset Park Alliance.

Interested? You can find out more or RSVP to: info@sunsetparkalliance.org or 718-788-2305

Orientation is Thursday, Feb. 11, groups start on Wednesday, February 17th

Sunset Park Alliance for Youth, 783 4th Avenue (at 27th Street)

Sunset Park-based non-profit the Center for Family Life has a new initiative called The Cosmetology School Project. Targeted at low-income individuals, the program hopes to provide a path to full-time employment for New Yorkers currently un- or underemployed.

Training will begin at one of two four-week training sessions, the first in February and another in April. Participants then enroll in an eight month cosmetology program. Applicants must be 17 or older, and hold a high school diploma, GED or demonstrate math and reading skills at an 8th grade level.

The program is completely free of charge. To find out more, you may visit the website or call 718-633-4823.

A Brooklyn principal has reprimanded a Sunset Park science teacher for selling to students copies of a book that purports to “recognize and combat satanic attacks; and recognize those serving Satan, and bring them to Jesus Christ,” the New York Daily News reported.

Read the full story