5 Things You Should Know This Week

"5 Things You Should Know" may turn your opinion of Mondays around, with information to jump-start you into a productive week. Be the first to know about parking changes, traffic changes, important meetings, and the hottest events in Bed-Stuy. After all, there's no better way to arm oneself than with 

1. Today, March 28, at 11:00 am, noted poet and fiction writer Sapphire will read from her work during the “Voices of the Rainbow: Celebration the Oral Tradition” series at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus. Sapphire is the author of the best-selling novel, “Push,” about a brutalized Harlem teenager. “Push” has won many awards ans was the basis for the Golden Globe-nominated film, “Precious.”

2. Today, March 28, at 6:00 pm, at the Skylight Gallery in Restoration Plaza, City Limits Magazine celebrates the launch of its Brooklyn issue, entitled, “Brooklyn: the Borough Behind the Brand.” There will be a community cocktail event, which is free and open to the public. Guests will experience an evening of sophisticated art and entertainment, with complimentary wine and hors d'ouevres provided for attendees, in addition to door prizes from Target, The Brooklyn Historical Society and The Prospect Park Zoo. Please join City Limits as we celebrate Brooklyn in the company of the borough's most dynamic civic, business and artistic leaders.

3. The New Fiscal Year begins this Friday, April 1st.  And although New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and top lawmakers agreed on a budget last night, they have decided to stick close to the governor's proposals for spending cuts without new taxes, including letting the millionaire’s tax expire in December 31st. It appears likely that the money that was taken out of the budget that would close senior centers will be restored fully. However, there are still several city programs that will be cut. And Mayor Bloomberg says this budget cuts state aid "more than ever before" and that the amounts added in the agreement "are merely a fraction necessary to avoid additional layoffs and cuts in the city's budget." You have between now until Friday to call your state legislators (Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Velmanette Montgomery) and voice your support or concern.

4. On Saturday, April 2, from 9:00 am to Noon, at the Quincy Senior Residence, 625 Quincy Street, The Bridge Street Development Corporation will host a spring Impact Zone breakfast. The Topic: A Toolkit for Revitalizing Your Block Association. Participants can learn how their association can participate in projects, such as:

• The Greenest Block Competition
• The Neighborhood Resource and Safety Expo
• How to form a block/tenant association or alliance
• Bed-Stuy Green Day

5. On Saturday, April 2, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Skylight Gallery in Restoration Plaza, there will be two events targeted to empowering women in the community: a “Young Sisters Stand Up/Speak Out Workshop,” and a “Sisters Healing Circle.”

Young Sisters Stand Up/Speak Out—A morning of workshops and holistic sessions for teenage girls to address a variety of topics, ranging from self-defense, self-esteem and confronting and dealing with sexual abuse in their communities.

Sisters Healing Circle-- This event is an open invitation for women of color to come together in efforts to experience collective meditation and healing exercises around trauma and sexual violence. The healing circle is meant to provide a safe, nurturing and open forum to both address and release past experiences, while actively participating in a community nurturing activity to help facilitate and manifest a collective healing.