OLA and OLPH Schools Saved

Many already know this, but both OLA and OLPH have been saved.

Our Lady of Angels School, at 337 74th St., will be renamed Holy Angels Academy. It will retain local Catholic control and religious instruction on an independent basis, the bishop said.

To operate Holy Angels Academy, a new school board will be organized with the responsibility of raising funds, said Rachel Connelly, OLA Home School Association president. It is unclear about tuition arrangements.

Remaining as a parochial school under diocese supervision will be Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, at 5902 Sixth Ave.

More information to be found at Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

Also, good coverage on this issue in Brooklyn Paper

And keep an eye on OLA Bay Ridge blog, which has a youtube video from the archdiocese on the larger issue of school closings.

A tip to OLA, OLPH and to the Diocese : you need to do a lot more reaching out via blogs and youtube and the internet in general. This will help you reach out to both the people in the neighborhood, but also to the many people from Bay Ridge who now may live elsewhere, but who would be happy to help, financially or otherwise. I'm no internet wizard, but if I can be of assistance, I'll help.

Sunday Music : " Help! ", the Beatles at Shea Stadium

I attended my first professional sports event at Shea Stadium. It was a baseball game of course, and it was the NY Mets of course. In those sixties days, there were nearly no Yankees fans in Bay Ridge. All of us, children of fathers who had followed the Brooklyn Dodgers, automatically had allegiance to New York's new National League team, the one that replaced the NL team that Walter O'Malley ( may he burn in hell ) transferred to California on day in 1958.

We still had black and white TV in our house, so I was somehow astonished at the fact that Shea Stadium was multicolored. The greenness of the grass was astonishing to me. I guess I expected it to be grey, as it was on TV. Shea Stadium was just the most beautiful place I'd ever seen.

Over the years, I've seen probably 200 games at Shea Stadium, maybe more. With family and friends, and at a couple of times solo, I've seen the Mets field good teams and bad times. I even saw the Rolling Stones play there once - a tremendous show. All the fun ended earlier this week. A five month demolition was completed, and Shea Stadium is no more.

The Mets will be playing in a new stadium next year, named Madoff Field or Citibank Bankruptcy Stadium or something. It will be filled with luxury boxes and $10 cups of coffee and there will be armed guards and foaming dobermans to keep the ordinary people out.

But one, there was a Shea Stadium and it was full of life. A lot of great things happened there.

Above, a scene from the Beatles' earthshaking concert at Shea Stadium in 1965.

Support the New York Post!

The Post Apologizes (?) (4 of 4)
Originally uploaded by Tony the Misfit

We've recently seen a fake controversy about a political cartoon that ran in this past Wednesday's New York Post.

In the context of nonstop reporting about a terrible incident about a chimpanzee mauling a woman in Connecticut, Page Six cartoonist Sean Delonas produced a political cartoon where police shot a chimp, and said " They'll Have to Find Someone Else to Write the Next Stimulus Bill "

Some, led by the racist comedian Rev. Al Sharpton have claimed that the cartoon is comparing President Obama to a chimp who is worthy of being shot. That's a lie.

NY Post political cartoons are not known for their subtlety. It's part of their Pier Six Brawl charm. But this cartoon is one of two things- a) a connection to Nancy Pelosi, who with her simian friends did write the slapdash and pork-filled stimulus bill, or b) two, a botched and hastily drawn cartoon that connected the top two issues of the day in a way that does not make sense. My vote is for b.

But this is now a freedom of speech issue. When a boycott is called by Al Sharpton of Crown Heights Riots / Tawana Brawley / Freddys Mart firebombing fame, count me out or, most likely count me in for the other side.

I will make a point to buy the NY Post tomorrow morning and most every morning to come.

Technical Support in Norway / Sweden in the olde days

Perhaps some of our older Bay Ridge Scandinavians remember this!!

Sunday Music: Gilian Welch and Dave Rawlings " Wayside "

Born in Manhattan, and raised in Los Angeles, but you'd never know it. Her musical heart is folkish and southern. She's quite great.

Here, she performs " Wayside ", which she wrote, with her musical partner Dave Rawlings from the album "Soul Journey "

Lyrics to " Wayside ". Just imagine being able to write like this.

Standing on the corner with a nickel or a dime
There use to be a rail car to take you down the line
Too much beer and whiskey to ever be employed
And when I got to Nashville, it was too much soldiers joy
Wasted on the wayside, wasted on the way
If I don’t go tomorrow, you know I’m gone today

Back babe, back in time
I wanna go back when you were mine
Back babe, back in time
I wanna go back when you were mine

Black highway all night ride
Watching the times fall away to the side
Clear channel way down low
Is comin’ in loud and my mind let go

Peaches in the summertime, apples in the fall
If I can’t have you all the time, I won’t have none at all
Oh, I wish I was in Frisco in a brand new pair of shoes
I’m sittin’ here in Nashville with Norman’s Nashville blues
So come all you good time rounders listenin’ to my sound
And then drink a round to Nashville for they tear it down

Back babe, back in time
I wanna go back when you were mine
Back babe, back in time
I wanna go back when you were mine
Hard weather, drivin’ slow
Buggies and the hats in town for the show
Oh darlin, the songs they played
All I got left of lovin’ me

Back babe, back in time
I wanna go back when you were mine
Back babe, back in time
I wanna go back when you were mine

Plane Crash in Buffalo

Plane Crashes in Suburban Buffalo, 49 Dead
Originally uploaded by MashGet

A Continental Airlines plane crashed in Buffalo New York last night, killing all 48 on board and one person on the ground.

A sad detail is reported in the NY Times, below:

"Among those on board was Beverly Eckert, the widow of Sean Rooney, a Buffalo native who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, according to The Buffalo News. She was heading to Buffalo for a weekend celebration of what would have been her husband's 58th birthday, and had planned to take part in the presentation of a scholarship award at Canisius High School that she had established in his honor, the newspaper reported."

I knew Sean Rooney, who was a good guy. We both worked in the World Trade Center.

The poor family.

Key Food - 69th Street Location Update

I know that there has been no activity at the site for some time, but the deal's not dead!

I contacted Key Food, who advised that:

• there will be activity there next week
• the store should open in " a couple of months "
  

Back From London

I flew to London Wednesday morning on business.

Thursday was meetings all day long, followed by a dinner of Argentinian steak.

Friday, visited an American friend who moved to London five months ago, and who loves the place.

Saturday, met up with Alison and Pete Moore at the Churchill Arms ( foreground right is Pete, foreground left is Alison, up top is me )


I took the Piccadilly Line underground to Heathrow - took 30 minutes station to station. Below, the actual train I took as it arrives at Earls Court station at 759 this morning.

The Churchill Arms Entrance

The Churchill Arms Entrance
Originally uploaded by RonDeeView

London is a great city with many pubs. I'll be here on Saturday night

New York City Does Not Follow its Own Law

I am away in the wonderful city of London until Sunday morning.

But the long arm of the law is keeping an eye on the New York City government, which not only does not enforce the requirement that landlords shovel snow in front of their buildings - it does not shovel the snow on property that the city itself owns.

Here, courtesy the Kong, is a photo taken on Wednesday at the overpass by 84th Street and Seventh Avenue. Tuesday's snow has not been shoveled, and is hard packed from walkers.

It had not been shoveled on Thursday either.

London dodged a bullet last night and today. There was major snow in England and Wales, but it went north of here. I missed what could have been a nice show.

Shea Stadium Demolition Rapidly Progressing

( courtesy Stadium Page )

I hate the sight of it. But I can't turn away.

Every few days, The Stadium Page posts another set of photos of the continuing demolition of Shea Stadium. They're really good. But sad.

--
The final remains of Shea Stadium are expected to be torn down by the end of the weekend of February 20th-22nd. (wikipedia)