The Day: Make Music New York and Stuffed Raccoons

Good morning, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.

Did you see our multimedia special report “Two Fort Greenes,” which examines the evolution of Fort Greene? Our reporters worked hard to find nine different stories that dive beneath obvious signs of gentrification to find new bellwethers in the changing neighborhood. You can see all their reporting on our project website.

• Make Music New York, a day of 1,000s of free concerts across all five boroughs, announced a handful of its shows coming up on June 21. Although the list doesn’t give us a taste of the local venues, there are bound to be dozens — and we can’t wait to find out all the details. To stay on top of all the breaking news on the event, follow the MMNY blog or look for updates on The Nabe.
• Are you gearing up for The Brooklyn Flea this weekend? If the rain wraps up by Saturday, you’ll have the chance to meet some new stuffed friends at Hazel Village. The stuffed toy vendor, which makes the children’s book-inspired animals with organic materials, was featured on The Flea’s blog. Owner and stuffed animal creator Jane Van Cleef said her favorite character is a raccoon named Gwendolyn, a pick we’re sure our local raccoons would be OK with.
• Pratt Institute‘s film and video program has found a new home, DNAinfo reported yesterday. A screening room, a recording studio, mixing rooms, sound stages and more improvements are planned for 15,000-square-feet of space at 550 Myrtle Avenue, which is currently home to the Pratt Store. The building will be gut renovated to complete the upgrades, which the college anticipates to be completed by fall 2014 if all goes according to plan, the blog reported.