Friday, August 28, 2009

Friday Night Lights - American Can Factory

Events have conspired to keep me from Rooftop Films' wonderful events this season - but no longer. Tonight I am looking forward to taking in some audio-visual entertainment on 3rd Avenue:

FRIDAY, AUGUST 28TH, 8pm
ST. NICK
David Lowery’s debut feature is a pre-teen Badlands, a lush and visceral young American drifter tragedy. Astonishing imagery, evocative soundscapes, heartbreakingly smart and subtle performances, and a story that reveals layer after layer of complexity form a masterpiece of introspection and exploration.

Venue: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory Address: 232 3rd St. @ 3rd Ave. (Gowanus/ Park Slope, Brooklyn) Directions: F/G to Carroll St. or M/R to Union Ave.
Rain: In the event of rain the show will be held indoors at the same location
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Live music by Cameron Hull presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Film
11:00PM–12:30AM: Reception in courtyard including free sangria courtesy of Carlo Rossi sangria
Tickets: $9-$25 at the door or online

Presented in partnership with: Cinereach, New York magazine, & XØ Projects

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Mayor Endorses Gary Reilly's Proposal for F Express / V To Brooklyn

Yesterday Mayor Bloomberg announced a number of proposals for improving transit service (which I'll get into in more detail later).

The headline for the city-wide media is the proposal for free cross-town bus service in Manhattan (a good idea). But the big news for Brooklynites is the Mayor's belated support for enhanced F/V service on the Culver Line in Brooklyn, which I and other transit advocates have been calling for for years. From the Brooklyn Paper,
“Closer to Downtown, you’re talking about a couple of minutes. As you get farther out towards Coney Island you’re talking about potentially saving 20 minutes — that’s huge. But it’s also about the possible alleviation of crowding everywhere,” said Gary Reilly, a Democratic candidate for City Council in Carroll Gardens, who has advocated for years on behalf of the F line. “We need this and we deserve it. It’s a low–hanging piece of fruit.”


Back in 2007, over 4,300 people signed on to my petition to restore F Express service and extend the V line out to Brooklyn. Ben from Second Avenue Sagas, Jen from KensingtonBrooklyn and I have kept the pressure on the MTA and elected officials over the years to ensure that Brooklyn gets these despeerately needed transit improvements when the Culver Viaduct reconstruction is complete - and we led the fight to ensure that the Viaduct reconstruction would include the necessary track and signal work to accommodate express service.

In the summer of 2007, I held a press conference at the Church Avenue F station with Councilmen Bill deBlasio, Simcha Felder and Domenic Recchia, along with Paul Steely White from Transportation Alternatives and Gene Russianoff from the Straphanger's Campaign to demand enhanced F/V service fro Brooklyn.

In these difficult times we need to make the most of our transit infrastructure. The restoration of express/local service on the F/V to Brooklyn is a relatively cheap and efficient way to not only improve the quality of life for tens of thousands of Brooklynites, but also to aid in the revitalization of Coney Island and South Brooklyn.

Brooklyn deserves enhanced F/V service. And our time is coming.

All posts on the F/V Petition

The battle for better transit service is what inspired me to run for City Council - if you care about improving the state of our transit system, visit my campaign website at www.garyreilly.org. Our team is growing every day, and you too can help to make our city a better place to live.