As Boro Prez Marty Markowitz likes to say at this time of the year, "Foodies, the wait it over." Brooklyn's Restaurant Week: Dine-In Brooklyn kicks off MONDAY! Dine-In Brooklyn is a 10-day affair, March 11 thru March 21.

This are six Myrtle Ave area restaurants offering brunch, lunch and dinner deals during the week. Brunch will cost $20.13 for two, lunch is $20.13 for one, and dinner will be $28 for one. Beverages, tax, and tip not included in prices. Please note whether restaurants are participating in brunch (B), lunch (L) or dinner (D). Participating Myrtle Avenue area restaurants include:

LOLA BKLYN (B, L, D) 387 Myrtle Avenue (Clermont & Vanderbilt) (718) 858-1484 www.bistrolola.com

FIVE SPOT SUPPER CLUB (B, L) 459 Myrtle Avenue (Waverly & Washington Avenues) (718) 852-0202 www.fivespotsoulfood.com

LUZ (D) 177 Vanderbilt Avenue (Myrtle & Willoughby) (718) 246-4000 www.luzrestaurant.com

MAGGIE BROWN (D) 455 Myrtle Avenue (Waverly & Washington) (718) 643-7001 www.maggiebrownrestaurant.com

MOJITO CUBAN CUISINE (B, L, D) 82 Washington Avenue (Park & Flushing) (718) 797-3100 www.mojitocubancuisine.net

PUTNAM'S PUB & COOKER (D) 419 Myrtle Avenue (Vanderbilt & Clinton) (347) 799-2382 www.putnamspub.com

Mr. Wesley Fagan was one of a handful of community greats honored by Fort Greene Association last year during Black History Month. He passed away just days before at the age of 101.

Mr. Fagan's accomplishments included serving in WWII, playing with many jazz greats such as Noble Sissle and Dizzy Gillespie as an accomplished horn player (clarinet, flute and saxophone, Juilliard grad) and working his way up from messenger to Director of the Photo Office at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where he served two decades until the the BNY's closing in 1966.

The photographic works of Mr. Fagan are on exhibit at the Brooklyn Navy Yard BLDG 92 throughout the month of February. Please stop by and view them. For more information, BLDG 92 can be reached at 718-907-5992.

photo courtesy of the Brooklyn Navy Yard

We are thrilled to present Black Artstory Month on Myrtle: A Celebration of African American Art, Culture and Creativity to coincide with February’s recognition of Black History! The month’s events include art exhibitions, film screenings, lectures, performances and hands-on art making activities taking place in the businesses along Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn in partnership with Brooklyn-based arts organizations.

We're highlighting and honoring the contributions African Americans have made, and are making, within the arts community. Black Artstory is a community effort, featuring collaborations with local businesses, local artists and organizations across the color field that are inspired by or share correlations with African American culture. The full calendar of events is on our website, and stay tuned for weekly posts about upcoming events throughout February. Highlights include:

- Myrtle Windows Gallery show, “A Patchwork Story” in eight Myrtle Avenue Storefront windows, with accompanying lecture by Dr. Myrah Green, Executive Director of Art and Culture in the Office of Government and Community Affairs at The City College of New York (CUNY) on the presence of African symbols in North American quilts (Saturday, February 23 at 4pm).

- A night of performance with Trumpeter Roy Campbell Jr. and theatrical readings of the words of poet James Baldwin, pioneering dramatist Alice Childress and emerging playwright Thais Francis; sponsored by JACK at Five Spot Soul Food Restaurant (Tuesday, February 5 at 7pm).

- An Afternoon of interactive reading and artmaking for kids ages 4+ presented by FOKUS at Dee and Ricky’s (Saturday, February 9, 9am).

- A talk by Black Professionals in the Film Industry (Tuesday, February 19, 6:30pm - 9pm), an all ages workshop devoted to Family Storytelling through film (Sunday, February 10, 1:30pm - 4pm), and a conversation exploring the differences and similarities between The Wizard of Oz and The Wiz (Tuesday, February 26, 7pm - 9pm); all sponsored by Brooklyn Young Filmmakers at Trilok Fusion Center for Arts and Education.

Additional events include art exhibitions sponsored by South of the Navy Yard Artists and Coup d’etat Arts, short film screenings by ACT NOW Foundation and MOCADA at Ingersoll Community Center, family-friendly art-making workshops by SONYA and FOKUS, a lecture on the state of Menswear Style by Randal Jacobs, and conversations on the roles barbershops and food play in creating community sponsored by FOKUS.



image: D. Huff, Black Flag

Come celebrate the beginning of 2013 on Myrtle Avenue! As Myrtle Avenue in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, and its 160 small businesses, were fortunately spared any major damage from Hurricane Sandy, MARP has decided to put its proceeds from our New Year's Fundraiser to the small businesses of Red Hook and the ReStore Red Hook Initiative. If you haven't had an opportunity to volunteer, donate, or otherwise help out some of your fellow New Yorkers most impacted by Hurricane Sandy, now's your chance.

Please join us at MARP's 'Celebrate the New Year' fundraiser for a selection of food, an open bar, and merry conversation at the brand new downstairs space at Putnam's Pub & Cooker, at the corner of Myrtle and Clinton Avenues

Monday, January 14th, 5:30-7:30pm
In the brand new downstairs space at Putnam’s Pub & Cooker, 419 Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.
Details and tickets ($35 or $50 w/ a ReStore Red Hook t-shirt!) available here:
http://myrtleavenuebrooklyn.eventbrite.com/

For the kids!

Inspired by a precision model of the Brooklyn-built USS Monitor currently on display at the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center’s BLDG 92, this Gingerbread Shipbuilding event challenges kids to construct a gingerbread version (which will be “commissioned,” then displayed throughout the holiday season). Pastry chef, Christopher Sanchez from Myrtle Avenue's (354 Myrtle Avenue) Le Petit Bakery from Clinton Hill’s Le Petit Bakery will be on hand along with model shipwright Dan Pariser to oversee the proceedings.

In addition to building supplies, kids will be given ship-shaped gingerbread cookies to munch. Families are encouraged to bring a new unwrapped toy or game, which will be donated to families affected by Hurricane Sandy. At 1pm on Sat., Dec. 15, at the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center’s BLDG 92 (63 Flushing Ave., corner of Carlton Ave. $15 for kids, parents free. ;-) For info, visit bldg92.org/events.

Myrtle Village Green, a neighborhood association, that recently gained access to a closed Department of Environmental Protection Water Tunnel shaft site on Myrtle Avenue and is in the process of converting it into a community space, is hosting a Fall Health Fair on Sunday 10/28/12 2:30-5PM! Everyone is welcome - composting workshop at 2:30, free health screenings, yoga workshops, live music and much more! Join in and share the event with friends!

Where: 636 Myrtle Avenue between Kent and Franklin
Time: 2:30- 5PM
Contact: Robyn Smith - rsmith@imagineexhibitions.com

Didgeridoo workshop this Sunday, October 14th at Trilok Fusion Center for the Arts at 143 Waverly Avenue, just north of Myrtle Avenue.

The workshop will take plac;e from 1:45p to 4:15p.

Contact Leroy T. Smith at 917.941.6857 or ltsmith44@gmail.com for further information.

Admission is $25.

The didgeridoo, a wind instrument, was developed by indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1500 years ago. According to Wikepedia, is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe."

We're really excited about this first-ever theatrical production at the Brooklyn Navy Yard's BLDG 92 -- The History of Launching Ships!

The play debuted last night and will continue thru October 28th. Theatergoers can present programs or ticket confirmation order confirmations to a list of participating Myrtle restaurants to receive dinner discounts.

From the website:

"A History of Launching Ships is the first-ever theatrical production at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. This site-specific production will lead audiences through the three-floor museum over the course of the performance, stopping to watch scenes among BLDG 92's exhibits. The Yard’s spirit and elements of its history act as seeds for the play’s mysterious story of four women isolated together inside the gates of a Naval Commandant’s home on the banks of an unnamed bay. Playwright Avi Glickstein has used the story of real-life Revolutionary heroine Elizabeth Burgin and archival materials from BLDG 92’s collection, as well as the gothic New York tales of Washington Irving, as a jumping-off point to create a uniquely American, ghostly tale of his own that echoes the Yard’s history as a center of innovation, reinvention, and sacrifice in service of a larger purpose."

In the winter of 1779, a woman named Elizabeth Burgin defied New York City’s British occupiers by helping hundreds of patriots escape from prison ships anchored offshore of what is now the Brooklyn Navy Yard. With a bounty on her head, she fled the city. A History of Launching Ships, a new play by Avi Glickstein, joins Burgin during her flight from the British and places her in the middle of a fantastical tale that echoes the gothic stories of Washington Irving. The play, commissioned by Polybe + Seats and written for the unique environment of The Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at BLDG 92, tells the story of the three women who take Burgin in and hide her. Each woman seeks an escape from her own reality, and, together, they realize that the only way to freedom might be on a ship they build themselves.

The one and a half hour performance will involve some walking and standing on the part of the audience; ramps and elevators will be available.

Click here for further info.

Show your programs or ticket order confirmations at the following Myrtle restaurants for pre- or post- dinner discounts:

CakeJoy Bakery 364 Myrtle btw Adelphi and Clermont

Le Petit Bakery 354 Myrtle btw Adelphi and Carlton

Cielo Bar 474 Myrtle btw Washington Avenue and Hall

Putnam's Pub & Cooker 419 Myrtle btw Vanderbilt and Clinton

Mark's Gourmet Burgers 441 Myrtle btw Clinton and Waverly

The Emerson 561 Myrtle btw Emerson and Classon

Pushkin Creperie & Bakery 541 Myrtle btw Steuben and Emerson

Mojito Cuban Cuisine 82 Washington Avenue btw Park and Flushing

Sans Souci Restaurant & Bar 330 Myrtle btw Washington Park and Carlton

Kum Kau Restaurant 463 Myrtle btw Washington Avenue and Hall

Anima Italian Bistro 458 Myrtle btw Waverly and Washington

Waza Sushi & Ramen 485 Myrtle btw Hall and Ryerson

Los Pollitos III 499 Myrtle btw Hall and Ryerson

Dee & Ricky's 503 Myrtle btw Ryerson and Grand

Soco 509 Myrtle btw Ryerson and Grand

"Are you ready to rock-rock y'all, to the beat y'all? Keep on and you don't stop rockin' on." Okay, not exactly a freestyle, but thanks to Salt N Pepa for the inspiration.

Teens, Adults -- open mic night at the Brooklyn Public Library's Walt Whitman Branch is this Wednesday, August 22nd from 6:00pm to 7:30pm.

Stop in! Perform or recite poetry, spoken word or freestyle it. Feel free to bring your own verse or, don't worry, the librarians at Whitman will have something on hand for you.

Stop in or give the Whitman Branch a call at 718.935.0244 to sign-up in advance.

The BPL's Walt Whitman Branch is located at 93 St. Edwards Street, just north of Myrtle (between Myrtle and Park).

The 8th Annual Fort Greene Park Literary Festival is this Saturday, 8/18! Join young writers ages 7 to 18 from the New York Writer's Coalition summer workshops and acclaimed writers Jessica Hagedorn, Tayari Jones, and Earl Lovelace for an afternoon of readings in Fort Greene Park: This Saturday, August 18th at 3 PM. Free!