Brooklyn Today: Mar. 12, 2012

March 12, 2012 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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Good morning. Today is the 72^nd day of the year. It is the birth anniversary (1922) of American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac, pioneer of the beat movement. He is best known for his novel On the Road (1957), which celebrates non-conformism, free sexuality, jazz and Zen Buddhism. His later books include The Dharma Bums, The Subteranneans and Dr. Sax, among others. By the mid-1960s, Kerouac had fallen victim to alcoholism, was increasingly at odds with his fellow beats over his political conservatism, and rarely left his home. He died in 1969.

Well-known people who were born today include actress Barbara Feldon (“Get Smart”), singer Marlon Jackson of the Jackson 5, presidential candidate Mitt Romney and civil rights leader Andrew Young.

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This evening at the powerHouse Arena, 37 Main St., DUMBO, from 7 to 9 p.m., public art presenter Creative Time presents a talk on the book Living as Form, a survey of more than 100 socially engaged art projects from around the globe created during the last 20 years. …

Today at noon, the Parks Department will present its Coney Island Boardwalk proposal to the city Design Commission at 253 Broadway, Manhattan, fifth floor. The controversial proposal aims to replace the boardwalk’s wooden planks with new planks made of a wood-like plastic material, with a center median made of concrete for emergency vehicles. …

ShopRite holds a yearly contest among its stores to see which one can raise the most money to support food banks in the communities that ShopRite serves, using donations at check-out counters and in-store events. This year’s top winning store is ShopRite of Brooklyn, and three store employees will be honored on special-edition Cheerios boxes to be sold throughout the chain. The box will be unveiled at 11 a.m. today at a ceremony at ShopRite of Brooklyn, 1808 McDonald Avenue.