The Day: An Abandoned Home, a Movie Screening and a Neighborhood Artist

Summer will be upon us in a little over two weeks. For now, enjoy the comfortable spring weather in the nabe. (Photo by Chris Dell)

Good morning, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.

Yesterday brought beautiful weather to the nabe that is expected to stick around today and tomorrow. You can also expect the clouds to roll in by Friday, when there is a chance of showers, according to the National Weather Service. As you walked around in the sunshine, we saw some of you snapped a few shots of local sights. We also saw that some of you spent the sunny day playing double dutch in Fort Greene Park. If you’ll be out enjoying the weather these next couple of days, don’t forget to bring your camera and submit your shots to The Nabe’s Flickr group.

Some residents of Washington Avenue are frustrated about an abandoned home on the block – 475 Washington Avenue – which they say is an eyesore, dangerous and an invitation to criminals, Fort Greene Patch reported. “On our block is a house that is abandoned, derelict and decrepit,” Suzanne DeBrango, president of the Wa-Greene Block Association told Patch. “The back is falling apart and we are concerned for safety if it falls. This house is on the same side of the street as P.S. 11; children walk in front of it every day to go to school.” The Terracrg Commercial Realty Group indicates that a two-story building extension has collapsed and that the property is in need of serious work. Any future changes to the building, which is worth $1.4 million and part of the Clinton Hill Historic District, would have to be reviewed by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, Melissa DiBella, vice president of sales and marketing with Terracrg told Patch.

P.S. 20, located on Adelphi Street between Willoughby and DeKalb Avenues, will hold a screening of “Up With Me – Getting Out Isn’t Staying Out,” a film produced by parent Greg Takoudes. The film, showing on Friday at 6:30 p.m., follows a student who wins a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school, but struggles to maintain his relationship with his girlfriend and best friend from East Harlem. Non-professional teens helped shoot the film in their own apartments with their own family members and friends cast in some of the roles. While parents watch “Up With Me,” children can separate to watch the movie “Wreck it Ralph” in the gym. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for kids. Pizza, popcorn and drinks will be served, but kids are encouraged to bring blankets of their own.

Rafael Leonardo Black, 64, a Clinton Hill hermit and artist, recently got some recognition for the artwork he produced in his home studio for more than three decades, The New York Times reported. He drew and sculpted often, with some of his works combining ancient and modern culture, including piece depicting Shirley Temple as a sphinx. Last month, Manhattan gallery owner Francis M. Naumann mounted “Insider Art,” an exhibition of 16 works by Black. The items sold very quickly, though prices ranged from $16,000 to $28,000. “People liked them, people who know art,” said Black, who previously earned a living as a typist in a law firm, a salesman at Gimbels and Macy’s, a school secretary and now a part-time hospital receptionist.
If you’ve ever caught the G train where it passes through the nabe on Fulton Street, Clinton-Washington Avenues or Classon Avenue, you’ve most likely waited for the train at least a few times. You probably also know that the G is shorter than other trains and that its route doesn’t pass through Manhattan. With all of this in mind, musical comedian Rob Paravonian wrote an ode to the G train, which he made into a music video and posted on YouTube. Check out the video and a post about it on The New York Observer.