Hills & Gardens: Recycling; a House of Stories

February 29, 2012 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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By Trudy Whitman

The periodic E-waste recycling events at PS 29 in Cobble Hill have been successful endeavors that help community members bond through a good cause. Added to the mix at the last event was a truck that shredded documents and a used clothing table. After relieving our home of an old monitor, some useless peripherals, two boxes of documents, and a bag of clothing that never made it to Goodwill, I left the playground feeling like a good citizen.

One of the partners in these E-waste events is the Lower East Side Ecology Center, which has now made it easier than ever for Brooklynites to dispose of working and non-working electronics by opening a permanent recycling site nearby. The center is at 469 President Street at Nevins and can be reached by telephone at 718 858-8777. The drop-off hours are Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wednesdays from noon to 7; and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The free service is available to residents, small businesses, and non-profit organizations. Whether equipment gets reused or recycled, data security is guaranteed, and donations of usable equipment are tax deductible. For a list of accepted materials, visit www.lesecologycenter.org.

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According to the Cobble Hill Association blog (cobblehillassociation.blog spot.com) , two creative Brooklyn types — artist Leon Reid IV and documentary producer Julia Marchesi — have teamed up to suggest the addition of an eye-catching element to Cobble Hill Park on Clinton Street and Verandah Place. The two are dreaming of a structure that would be called 100 Story House, a six-foot-tall miniature brownstone that Reid would build for the park and fill with 100 books for loan on the honor system. The books would be available to readers by simply unlatching the sculpture’s windows and making a selection.

The two artists certainly do not lack for creativity and initiative. What they don’t have is enough money for the project or the approval of the Department of Parks. For the first of these needs, they have launched a Kickstarter campaign. (Go to www.kickstarter.com to see a video of the imaginative concept and pledge, if the idea grabs you.) When I last checked, 100 Story House had 199 backers who had pledged $12,251 of the $13,000 goal, but a deadline looms.

Regarding the blessing of the Parks Department, Reid and Marchesi have taken the Scarlett O’Hara approach, saying they will worry about that later.

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The latest strategy of The Brooklyn Strategist was to move. First introduced to the community at The Commons Brooklyn, a skill-sharing space at 388 Atlantic Avenue, The Brooklyn Strategist is the brainchild of Jon Freeman who left a job as a neuroscience researcher to open a center devoted to all types of board and card games. Its new home is in Carroll Gardens at 333 Court Street between Union and Sackett streets.

When I interviewed Freeman last spring, he explained that although the center did sell games, his focus was on game playing. There are all types of life lessons to be learned over a game board or deck of cards, Freeman told me at the time, such as sportsmanship, patience, the advantages of team playing, and how to strategize to achieve a goal. Freeman added that he did not favor games that depend on luck, preferring those that foster negotiation and dimensional thinking.

The Brooklyn Strategist offers after school clubs for children seven and older as well as vacation and summer camp. In addition, it functions as a social club with some evenings and weekends devoted to drop-in play for adults. For information about clubs and operating hours, visit www.brooklynstrategist.com or call 646 470-3556.