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 information:

1. This Tuesday, April 12, is the monthly 81st Police Precinct Community Council Meeting at 794 Monroe Street, 7:00 p.m. Have a crime or safety concern you'd like to share about your block or surrounding area? Or perhaps you'd just like to know what the precinct has been doing over the past month in the 81. Now is the perfect time. The meeting is open to the public. 

2. On Friday, April 15, from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm, in the Dweck Center at the Brooklyn Central Public Library, Maimonides Cancer Center and Medgar Evers College will host “Celebrate DNA Day 2011.” This Friday will be a day for children, tweens and teens. Join the Human Genome Project Community Conversations Committee for a day of genetic exploration, education and interactive fun. Learn about DNA, your genes, careers in genetics and your family history through arts and crafts, discussions and games, such as DNA Jeopardy.

3. On Saturday, April 16, The Magnolia Earth Tree Center of Bedford-Stuyvesant will host “Queens Who Cook,” a food tasting and fundraiser that features the culinary talents of some of the neighborhood’s best cooks—many of them well-known and active community leaders. Please come out to support the environmental programs of Magnolia Tree Earth Center and sure you get your ticket early. To volunteer as a “Queen Who Cooks,” or for more information, contact Wayne Devonish at wmdkaos@aol.com. 917-297-2365.

4. The opening of the brand-new exhibit at Skylight Gallery in Restoration Plaza is this Saturday, April 16 at 11:00 am. The name of the exhibit is “En Foco’s Exhibition,” and it features photographers who question the traditional role of documentary photography to bear witness, by investigating its subjective, intimate and personal nature. Juror Andy Adams, editor and publisher of Flak Photo, selected photographers Rona Chang, Alex Leme, Susana Raab, Daniel Ramos and Sarah Sudhoff through a national call for submissions. The exhibit will run Wednesday to Friday from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm and on Saturday from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm until July 2, 2011Wednesday. Official opening day:: April 28th, 2011 6:00 pm

5. Also taking place this Saturday, April 16, 1:00 pm, at the Skylight Gallery in Restoration Plaza is “Women’s Viewpoint In Jazz,” a panel of distinguished female artists who will discuss jazz, followed by performance. The discussion is a part of Central Brooklyn Jazz Consortium’s Annual Women’s Viewpoint In Jazz!