Find out what's happening in the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill arts community over a drink with South of the Navy Yard Artists (SONYA)! They're hosting a 'social' on Thursday, February 9th at The Emerson (561 Myrtle) at 7pm.

Congratulations to our 2011 Holiday Windows Contest Winners! Drum roll, please....
First Place: Holiday Hookah at Zaytoons, by Natalia Zuckerman
Second Place: Notes at Thai 101 by Leola Bermanzohn
Third Place: Cheers at Anima by Natalia Zuckerman

A very special thanks to all the artists and merchants who participated this season! And, thanks to YOU for voting on our Facebook page. May the rest of your 2011 days be merry and bright!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...holiday windows contest time! This year, we've got 19 windows in total between Classon and Washington Park. Stroll down the avenue to check them out, and vote for your favorite on Facebook. It's easy, just click "like" on the photo of your favorite window. Winning artists and merchants get bragging rights for 2012. We'll annouce the winners on Tuesday, December 20th.

Cross-posting this cool 360-degree tour of the Soundwaves mural under the BQE by artist Ellie Balk. Check it out by clicking here.

Meet artist Tarra Rehounek on Tuesday, November 1st at Connecticut Muffin (423 Myrtle Avenue)! She will be showcasing her patterned designs and greeting cards (also for sale) from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Light refreshments will be served, so grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!

The Nelson Rivas mural going up at Trilok Fusion Center for Arts & Education is almost ready. Nelson Rivas, a Brooklyn-based artist, who also goes by the name 'Cekis', is a highly sought after artist, painting murals internationally.

The Trilok Center for Arts & Education lot is located at the corner of Myrtle and Waverly.

Stay tuned for more information about the mural, the artist and the upcoming artist's recepton at Trilok.

Please join us on Sunday, October 16th to dedicate and celebrate “Soundwaves”, a mural created by artist Ellie Balk and 75+ community volunteers.

At 3:30pm, we'll be at the mural (Park Avenue near Steuben under the BQE) to dedicate it and officially 'cut the ribbon'. Pianist Samantha Bassler (one of the ten pianists whose hands Ellie traced for the design) will be on site playing Moolight Sonata on her keyboard! Afterward, join us at The Emerson at 4:30pm (561 Myrtle) to toast and celebrate this wonderful project! Contact meredith@myrtleavenue.org for more information.

Special thanks to the NYS Department of Transportation for their cooperation in this project.

After just one week, three Myrtle tree guards and one Myrtle bench are fully adopted! Thank you to our generous neighbors, whose donations will be recognized via bench plaques and tree guard signage. Adopt-A-Bench and Adopt-A-TreeGuard funds will go toward 5 years of caring for Myrtle's new street furniture and street trees.

And now we've launched an opportunity for small donors to contribute toward keeping Myrtle green via HelpersUnite, a recently-launched crowd-giving community where you can raise funds for creative and cause-based projects, and sell tickets to your special events, all in one place. You can contribute as little or as much as you want, to help MARP reach its goal of getting all 20 benches and all 20 tree guards adopted.

Visit MARP's HelpersUnite project page to join the effort!

As many of you have seen by now, twenty custom-designed tree guards and twenty tree guard benches were installed on Myrtle Avenue between Washington Park and Classon Avenue. The overall design of the guards and benches is the result of a collaborative process with the Pratt Design Incubator and the local artists who submitted winning designs for the individual, laser-cut panels. Funding for the design phase, which began in 2007, and the first phase of installation came from the NY State Division of Housing & Community Renewal, the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation, NY State Council for the Arts, the Lily Auchincloss Foundation, and the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership Business Improvement District.

Myrtle's new tree guards are both functional and durable, providing opportunities to sit for the avenue's pedestrians, and also serve as Myrtle’s latest public art project, offering a 'canvas' that reflects Fort Greene and Clinton Hill’s creative spirit. The panels for each tree guard were designed by local artists, who were selected through an open call for proposals in 2010. Designs range from graphic patterns to skylines to maps, and some even reference the former Myrtle Avenue elevated train. The guards will serve as protection for the avenue’s street trees, while providing much-needed intermittent seating for pedestrians and those waiting for the B54 bus. Street trees not only bring an aesthetic appeal to the commercial strip, but also play an important role in filtering the air and providing shady respite from the afternoon sun.

Through a program similar to the NYC Parks Department’s adopt-a-bench initiative, we are seeking sponsors to support our greening efforts and to fund street furniture maintenance. Each ‘adoption’ commitment is for 5 years, and costs $2,500 for a tree guard bench and $1,500 for a tree guard (without a bench). Sponsors will be acknowledged on bench plaques or guard signage, as well as on www.myrtleavenue.org. Resources raised through this program will provide supplemental maintenance funding for the street furniture, the tree bed, and the tree itself, including: replacement of damaged bench planks, painting of panels and posts, tree bed weeding and mulching, tree fertilizer, pruning, special tree care, as needed, and tree bed plantings.

A full project history of the Myrtle Street Furniture Design Initiative can be found here.

Adopt-A-Bench & Adopt-A-TreeGuard program details and forms can be found here.

There are still a few spots available for guests to join us at the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership BID Annual Meeting, with guest speaker NY City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. The meeting is on Tuesday, September 27th, from 5-7pm at SoCo, 509 Myrtle Avenue. Drinks and light appetizers will be served. The meeting is open to the public, but RSVP is required.

RSVP at www.surveymonkey.com/s/MyrtleBIDAnnualMeeting2011.

The installation of the first phase of street furniture is complete! Next week we will add the signage decals to the tree guards, and soon we will add soil and mulch to the pits to complete this phase of the project. The guards and benches have received a fantastic response from Myrtle merchants and residents, which is exactly what we had hoped for.

Some in-progress photos can be seen on our Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/myrtleavenue/sets/72157627378621281/

Please join us to celebrate on Monday, October 3rd at Putnam’s Pub & Cooker (Myrtle & Clinton) at 6pm. Interested in 'adopting' a bench or tree guard? We'll also be kicking-off our tree guard sponsorship program that night too in order to help us maintain the tree guards and benches for the next 5 years. RSVP to get two free drink tickets, to Meredith@myrtleavenue.org before September 28th. Hope to see you there!