2008 Atlantic Avenue Annual Tree Lighting & Holiday Window Design Competition

Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corp board poses with Santa and local children

Karen Zebulon (Member of the Board), Angela Ferrante

(Incoming President of the Board), Sue Wolfe (Member of the Board

and President of the Boerum Hill Association),

and Ian L. Kelley, Esq. (Outgoing President of the Board)

PRESS ADVISORY

Release Date: December 6, 2008
Contact: Michelle Karshan
Telephone: (212) 613-6033 or Michelle.Karshan@gmail.com

Atlantic Avenue Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony a Great Success!

Holiday Cheer and Merriment Abounded Amidst Theme of World Peace

Annual Atlantic Avenue Window Design Competition Winners Announced

Brooklyn, New York – December 6, 2008 – On Thursday December 4th, the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation hosted its annual tree lighting ceremony at the Belarusian Church on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Bond Street in Boerum Hill. Once again, Council Member David Yassky officiated the tree lighting and was accompanied by State Assemblywomen Joan Millman as well as special guest Santa Claus. More than a hundred and fifty people crammed the church’s common room to join in the celebratory holiday events of the evening where the winners of the Atlantic Avenue Holiday Window Design Competition were also announced. See slideshow of the event!

White Christmas lights encircled the room’s columns and framed the stage where Christmas performances by local schoolchildren filled the room with holiday excitement. A chorus from PS 38, under the direction of Choir Teacher Monica Padilla, and the choir and musicians from the 4th and 5th grades of PS 261, under the direction of Emilie Williams and Rocco Oppedisano, enthusiastically performed Christmas songs while the very jolly, and oh so popular, Santa shook his belt of bells along to the classic holiday tunes.

Ian L. Kelley, Esq., President of the Board of the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corp., announced the 2008 winners of the Atlantic Avenue Holiday Window Design Competition as follows:

• First Place: Mai Restaurant at 497 Atlantic Ave between Third Avenue & Nevins Street. Mai’s window was designed by Kristin Austin,
• Second Place: Dig Gardens, 479 Atlantic Avenue between Third Avenue and Nevins Street. Dig’s owner, Chuck Door, designed the window himself.
• Third Place: Opalia Flowers, at their new address, 377 Atlantic Avenue between Hoyt & Bond Streets.
• Honorable Mention: Melting Pot, 492 Atlantic Avenue between Third Avenue and Nevins Street, Blue Marble, 420 Atlantic Avenue between Bond and Nevins Streets, and Downtown Atlantic restaurant, 364 Atlantic Avenue between Hoyt and Bond Streets.
  

On the evening of December 3rd, this year’s judges, Brooklyn playwright Lynn Nottage, Charlotte Phillips, M.D., Chairperson and Co-Founder of Brooklyn For Peace (founded in 1984 as Brooklyn Parents for Peace.), Nancy Doniger, illustrator for over 20 years, and Nicole Pajor, manager of Creative Services for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, viewed the various holiday windows along Atlantic Avenue from Hicks Street to Fourth Avenue spanning Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill. The judges took into consideration original creative concept; use of materials; display technique; merchandising acumen; execution on a holiday theme and eye catching appeal for pedestrians, artistic merchandising and creative window display, aesthetic contribution, while bearing in mind this year’s theme of World Peace.

“We thank all of the Atlantic Avenue merchants and restaurants who participated and especially those who incorporated this year's theme of peace,” wrote Sue Wolfe, member of the Board of the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corp. and President of the Boerum Hill Association, in her post to the Boerum Hill listserv. Wolfe added that, “The judges enjoyed efforts of the building and store owners who lighted the trees on the Avenue - especially the four trees in front of Atlantic Gardens between Third and Fourth Avenues.”

Local stores and restaurants, Pete's Waterfront Ale House, Sahadi's, Damascus Bakery, Betty Bakery, Downtown Atlantic, Govinda Organic Market, Moon Deli, The Moxie Spot, Blue Marble Ice Cream, contributed an abundant and wide array of scrumptious holiday treats making the evening even more enjoyable and festive.

Finally, Wolfe, in her same email to neighbors, urged all to “Please stroll down the [Atlantic] Avenue - the windows are beautiful and the goodies inside the stores and restaurants are very special! Great holiday gifts - whether you purchase items or gift certificates - it's great to support you local neighbors.”

The Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation, originally formed in 1974, is a not-for-profit organization committed to the economic development of the Atlantic Avenue area from Fourth Avenue to the East River waterfront in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to producing the Atlantic Antic, one of New York City's major cultural attractions, and other special events, the organization's activities include implementation of streetscape improvements, historic storefront preservation, and advocacy on issues of importance to the retail and residential community. The Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corp. is charged with bringing to fruition the Atlantic Avenue Master Plan which was conceived by the Atlantic Avenue Leadership Conference, a collaboration of 50 local community groups and businesses including the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation.

Press Inquiries: Contact Michelle Karshan at 347-281-2958, See original press release and holiday poster
Slideshow of events and windows on Flickr
Editors: Photos of Tree Lighting Festivities and Window Winners at Flickr (click on each photo to enlarge and read description)
OTHER INFO: Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation at 718-875-8993
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2008 Atlantic Avenue Tree Lighting & Windows Competition

Release Date: November 13, 2008

Contact: Michelle Karshan

Tel: 347-281-2958

Email: Michelle.Karshan@gmail.com

2008 ATLANTIC AVENUE ANNUAL TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY & WINDOWS COMPETITION TO PROMOTE WORLD PEACE

• Atlantic Avenue Merchants to Incorporate Theme of World Peace in their Holiday Windows Annual Atlantic Avenue Holiday Window Design Competition
• Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony Officiated by Council Member David Yassky
• Christmas Caroling and Musical Performances by PS 38 and 261
• Special Guest Santa Claus will greet the children Judges: Lynn Nottage, Charlotte Phillips, M.D., Nancy Doniger, and Nicole Pajor

Brooklyn, New York - November 13, 2008 – On Thursday, December 4, 2008 at 6:00 p.m., the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation will host this year's Annual Atlantic Avenue Tree Lighting Ceremony at the Belarusian Church, corner of Atlantic Avenue and Bond Street, in downtown Brooklyn's charming Boerum Hill neighborhood. Using this opportunity to join together merchants, schoolchildren, neighbors, community representatives, and peace and children's organizations to deepen and widen the holiday message of world peace, local stores and restaurants are encouraged to weave the message of world peace into their holiday windows.

The Tree Lighting Ceremony & Activities

The annual tree lighting ceremony is a popular holiday event bringing people together from the various neighborhoods (Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Downtown Brooklyn and Boerum Hill) along and around the stretch of Atlantic Avenue running from Hicks Street to Fourth Avenue. The Tree Lighting event is free and open to the public with complimentary holiday treats provided by local Atlantic Avenue restaurants and shops.

Atlantic Avenue's annual tree lighting ceremony and activities will further illuminate our universal desire for world peace by enhancing community spirit through artistic and musical expression and holiday cheer. Children from local public schools P.S. 38 and 261 will lead guests with Christmas carols and musical performances. Santa Claus will also make a guest appearance to participate in the festivities, greet children and receive their Dear Santa letters.

In keeping with tradition, Council Member David Yassky will again join the festivities to officiate the tree lighting. Other local representatives will also be present. A panel of prominent local personalities -- Lynn Nottage, Charlotte Phillips, M.D., Nancy Doniger, and Nicole Pajor -- serving as this year's judges, each in their own way work for world peace. The judges will be present at the tree lighting activities on December 4th to announce this year's winners of the Annual Atlantic Avenue Holiday Window Design Competition .

Annual Window Design Competition

The Annual Atlantic Avenue Holiday Window Design Competition is based on artistic merchandising and creative window display. Awards, in various categories, are given to merchants for their aesthetic contribution to the neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Downtown Brooklyn and Boerum Hill.

Competitors must have their window designs installed by 6 p.m. on December 3, 2008 when the panel of judges will walk along the avenue to view and judge individual store windows based on the following criteria: original creative concept; use of materials; display technique; merchandising acumen; execution on a holiday theme and eye catching appeal for pedestrians.

The panel of judges was selected based on their artistic merit, diligence and accomplishments in the fine, visual and media arts or community development and beautification -- and must live and work in Brooklyn. This year's panel -- also chosen around the theme of world peace -- consists of judges who have demonstrated great interest in the economic and visual development of Brooklyn's commercial districts, and, they all love Atlantic Avenue!

The judges for this year's competition:

Brooklyn playwright Lynn Nottage is the co-founder of Market Road Films. Her current play Ruined is a portrait of the "lives of the women and girls caught in the devastating armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)." Her plays include Intimate Apparel; Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine; Crumbs from the Table of Joy; and Las Meninas. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the prestigious 2004 PEN/Laura Pels Award for literary excellence and the 2005 Guggenheim grant for playwriting, as well as fellowships from Manhattan Theatre Club, New Dramatists and the New York Foundation for the Arts, where she is a member of the Artists Advisory Board. Nottage is an alumna of New Dramatists, a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant" Award and a graduate of Brown University and the Yale School of Drama, where she is currently a visiting lecturer. Currently, she is writing an adaptation of Edwidge Danticat's novel "The Dew Breaker" for HBO Films.

Charlotte Phillips, M.D., is the Chairperson and Co-Founder of Brooklyn For Peace (founded in 1984 as Brooklyn Parents for Peace.) She is a pediatrician practicing in Bushwick, Brooklyn, in the New York City public hospital system with the North Brooklyn Health Network. The mother of two grown daughters, she has lived in Boerum Hill since 1980. Brooklyn For Peace is a diverse network of Brooklynites--parents, non-parents, adults, youth, neighbors—alarmed by the growing militarism of our society and its impact on our lives, as well as the lives of people around the world. They seek to educate themselves, and their community, so that they can be effective in securing a peaceful future. http://www.brooklynpeace.org/

Nancy Doniger has been working as an illustrator for over 20 years, creating digital images and hand made cut and painted paper collages. Her work can most frequently be seen in the New York Times, but she has created artwork for a wide variety of clients, including many in Brooklyn; The Brooklyn Historical Society, The Fund for the Borough of Brooklyn, and Brooklyn For Peace's 'Say NO to War in Iraq Poster. She has illustrated several books for children and adults.

Nicole Pajor is the manager of Creative Services for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF was founded in 1947 to support the work of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) by raising monies for its programs and increasing awareness of the challenges facing the world's children. The oldest of 37 national committees for UNICEF worldwide, they are part of a global effort to save, protect and improve children's lives. http://www.unicefusa.org/about/

The Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation (AALDC), originally formed in 1974, is a not-for-profit organization committed to the economic development of the Atlantic Avenue area from Fourth Avenue to the East River waterfront in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to producing the Atlantic Antic, one of New York City's major cultural attractions, and the annual Atlantic Avenue ArtWalk, the organization's activities include implementation of streetscape improvements, historic storefront preservation, and advocacy on issues of importance to the retail and residential community. The Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corp. is charged with bringing to fruition the Atlantic Avenue Master Plan which was conceived by the Atlantic Avenue Leadership Conference, a collaboration of 50 local community groups and businesses including the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation. http://www.atlanticave.org/

Directions: (2,3,4,5 to Nevins Street, A,C to Hoyt Street, R to Lawrence Street, F to Jay or Bergen Street, buses 61 or 63)

Editors: For images of this year's holiday poster for this event please contact Michelle.Karshan@gmail.com. Images of last year's window competition & tree lighting event at http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=atlantic+avenue+tree+lighting+&m=text

Editors: Please contact Michelle.Karshan@gmail.com for images of unique holiday gifts available on Atlantic Avenue between Fourth Avenue and Hicks Street. For further information, please contact the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation at 718-875-8993

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2008 Atlantic Ave Tree Lighting/Windows Competition

2007 Dig Garden window

2008 ATLANTIC AVENUE ANNUALTREE LIGHTING CEREMONY & WINDOWS COMPETITION PROMOTING WORLD PEACE

Atlantic Avenue Tree Lighting Ceremony to be officiated by Council member David Yassky, Christmas caroling and musical performances by local schoolchildren from PS 38 & PS 261, Holiday Windows Competition winners to be announced, Judges: Lynn Nottage, Charlotte Phillips, M.D., Nancy Doniger, and Nicole Pajor, Special guests include Santa. Refreshments compliments of local restaurants and shops.Thursday, December 4, 2008, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sponsored by Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corp. Further info: 718-875-8993, http://www.atlanticave.org/

Free and open to the public Belarusian Church, 401 Atlantic Avenue, corner of Bond Street, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, NY.Directions: 2,3,4, 5 to Nevins Street, A,C to Hoyt St., R to Lawrence St., F to Jay or Bergen St., #61 & 63 buses