August 22-28-Brooklyn NY-Family, Earthquake and Hurricane Irene

Dearest Readers,
What a week in Brooklyn! Drove across the Manhattan bridge last Monday into the DUMBO section of town and on to my daughter's apartment in Clinton Hill. Crisp, sunny days at the start of the week. Not much art on my agenda, but plenty of fun with my grandson Roman, and plenty of excitement from Mother Nature along the way.


This is the hanging plant in my daughter’s apartment that swung back and forth along with the whole brownstone during Tuesday’s earthquake. The epicenter was in Richmond, VA, but we felt it gently rocking up here. The effect was confusing, then a bit nauseating as it continued in slower and slower cycles for perhaps 45 seconds. Nothing fell off of shelves or hit us on the head.


This is my precious family out for lunch at Anima Italian restaurant in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn. Daughter Semra, me, Daddy Erik, and grandson Roman.
The area is close to Pratt Institute and Fort Greene Park. More pictures follow of their house, and Roman with his friends Ava and Dominick at Fort Greene Playground, Dad and Roman at Graziella’s (best pizza in Brooklyn), and Roman flying the ride-em plane on DeKalb Avenue next to a sidewalk café.










It’s crowded in the apartment. Semra, Erik, Roman, me, Etta, Destro the rottweiler, and Neptune the indoor cat share about 800 square feet–two bedrooms, a living room, galley kitchen, foyer and cozy bathroom. Etta searches relentlessly for the kitty who has found a hiding spot in the apartment. Etta has claimed one couch and the air mattress as her territory, growling at Destro when he approaches her Etta-Zones. All’s well.


Meet my University of Vermont college roommate, Syrette Dym. We walked the High Line Park, a very cool public landscaping project on an old elevated industrial rail line in the meat-packing district and Chelsea areas. We overlooked the city and New Jersey, then descended a stairway for lunch. It was dead city on the ground around Chelsea.
The galleries are closed for installation of new shows for the Fall after the August hiatus. I had planned to subway into Manhattan this weekend to museum hop, but all buses and subways are shut down as of noon Saturday because of possible flooding during Hurricane Irene. She hit us at high tide, which was bad timing on her part.


So, my family and I survived Irene. It turned out to be a windy wet mess, with lots of downed tree limbs, but not as disastrous as predicted. Here's what she looked like around 6AM this morning when the eye was drawing near. Not bad!


Yesterday we battened down the house hatches...Erik taped big Xs on the windows to hold any shattered glass during the expected high winds.


We stocked up on essentials like coffee, wine, beer, milk, water, toilet paper and Chef Boy-ar-dee. We’re located in Evac Zone B, second in line after Evacuation Zone A, but we were able to stay at home, and the power stayed on. The only problem was a roof leak in a corner of the living room.

Tomorrow (Monday) morning, inshallah, if the roads are passable out of NYC, I’ll set sail in the red Scion to deliver glove art to H2H artists in DC and Bethesda, with a sleep over at artist Kate Kretz’ house in Silver Spring MD.

Cheers all...I’m headed home.