Pool party at the Double D today!

By Meredith Deliso

Suit up — the public pools are open.

On Wednesday, hot Brooklynites (and Mayor Bloomberg) took the first big cannonball of the summer as the city’s 54 outdoors pools opened for the season.

The opening couldn’t be more poignant than at the Douglass-Degraw pool at Thomas Greene Playground — affectionately known as the Double D. Last summer, the Boerum Hill pool nearly closed for good due to budget cuts. But, thanks in large part to efforts from the crawl stroke-loving community, who came out in droves to sign petitions and write letters to their representatives, the pool was saved two weeks later.

“The more people who come show how important it is for the area,” said pool advocate Sam Neely who launched a Facebook group to save the pool, at the time.

With that sentiment in mind, the Friends of Douglass Greene Park is throwing a party today across the street from the beloved pool to celebrate a wet, cool summer once again. There’ll be live music, games and food — just remember, wait 30 minutes after eating until swimming.

Party across the street from the Double D [Douglass Street between Third Avenue and Nevins Street in Boerum Hill, (718) 625-3268], July 2 from 2:30-5 pm. Free. For info, visit www.friendsofdouglassgreenepark.org.

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One big art weekend in Brooklyn

By Meredith Deliso

This spring, art is synonymous with the first weekend in June.

In neighborhoods all across the borough from June 2 to 5, unique festivals will bring dance, music, workshops and, of course, art to the galleries, streets and bars of Red Hook, Bushwick, Downtown and Coney Island. It’s a choose your own arts adventure.

  

Red Hook Fest

Are you ready for the remix? On June 3 and 4, the Red Hook Fest returns to the waterfront, with two days of arts events that encourage audience participation, from photojournalism to drawing. That doesn’t mean it’s all you; performers include La Roka RPM and Full Circle, hip-hop, break-dance salsa mash up; Tato Torres y Yerbabuena, a Boricuan roots band; Paul Josephs and MetroSonics; hip-hop theater duo Climbing PoeTree; and the all-female dance collective INSPIRIT.

Red Hook Fest at PS 15 [71 Sullivan St. between Richards and Van Brunt streets in Red Hook, (718) 330-9280], June 3, 6-9 pm; Louis J. Valentino, Jr. Park and Pier (Coffey and Ferris streets), June 4, 11 am-7 pm. Free. For info, visit www.redhookfest.com.

ArtWalk

In Boerum Hill, ArtWalk takes over Atlantic Avenue on June 4 and 5 with art, live music and restaurant deals. Since forming six years ago, the annual arts festival has gradually spilled out into neighboring galleries and studios, with Downtown, Fort Greene, Gowanus, Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights hosting more than 200 artists at home studios and such diverse sites as Proteus Gowanus, the Micro Museum, Flavor Paper, the Brooklyn Ballet, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and, in a sneak preview, Roulette Brooklyn, which is opening this September.

ArtWalk, June 4-5, 1-6 pm. Locations vary. Free. For info, visit www.artwalk2011.com.

Bushwhack Series and Bushwick Opens Studios

It’s one mad weekend in Bushwick, with the Bushwhack Series from June 2 to 5 and the Bushwick Open Studios from June 3 to 5. The former bunkers down at the Bushwick Starr, with four days of new experimental performance art, while the latter can be found at galleries and street corners-turned-galleries all over the neighborhood. With more than 350 shows promised, they have to improvise.

Bushwhack Series at the Bushwick Starr [207 Starr St. between Wyckoff and Irving avenues in Bushwick, (212) 868-4444], June 2-5 at 8 pm. Tickets $12. For info, visit www.thebushwickstarr.org; Bushwick Open Studios from June 3-5. Venues vary. Free. For info, visit artsinbushwick.org.

Artists Day Out

Maybe it’s a coincidence, but June 4 also happens to be National Drawing Day. To celebrate, Kensington-based artist Sherry Davis is throwing the Coney Island-themed Artists Day Out at Ruby’s on the Boardwalk. Artwork relevant to the area will be shown indoors and out, and artists are invited to add their mark to the fabled bar, which closes after this summer as landlord Central Park Amusement looks to expand its theme park. Fittingly, artists are invited to fight the man and create a “Save Ruby’s” mural inside.

Artists Day Out at Ruby’s [1213 Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island Avenue in Coney Island, (718) 372-9079], June 4, 1-6 pm. For info, visit drawingday.org.

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Art in bloom at Opalia Flowers

By Meredith Deliso

Opalia Flowers is just bursting with color this time of year — burnt oranges, fresh greens, sharp yellows and bright blues — and it’s not just because of the flowers.

The Atlantic Avenue flower shop hosts an exhibition of paintings by Ken Rush, a Carroll Gardens-based artist who has been capturing cityscapes and landscapes for decades, opening this Thursday.

“I was looking for something fresh and different,” said Phoebe Crary, owner of the five-year-old Boerum Hill florist-turned-temporary gallery. “It seemed like a good fit. He’s so prolific.”

The show spans Rush’s career for the past three decades, from his landscapes in Vermont and Massachusetts to his cityscapes in Venice and Brooklyn. It’s called, aptly, “Places.”

“Location has always meant a lot to me, and this show is emblematic of that,” said Rush, who, ironically, is very much a “lifer,” living in Brooklyn for 40 years and teaching art at Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights for 33.

Of the 30 pieces hanging among the peonies, orchids, tulips and roses are his Vermont cottage houses, Massachusetts fields, and moody recalls of the canals in Venice. There’s also on-site portraits of the Gowanus Canal, which is “like a Venetian canal, albeit very polluted,” said Rush, who, during the 1970s and ‘80s, used to set up shop at the Hamilton Avenue bridge or at the edges of the canal itself and paint.

“I love artists like Edward Hopper and Charles Sheeler, and their approach to urban and industrial areas,” said Rush. “I have always been attracted myself to interesting industrial areas, in part for their mood, which is always somewhat forlorn.”

The subway was one of his first subjects when he moved to the city in the 1970s, offering a similar forlorn quality. One series involved bringing his easel down to the Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station, setting up on the closed platforms, often used for film shoots, and capturing the darkly lit station and its passengers.

“They’re very urban, not happy subway paintings,” said Rush, who is very much the opposite of these dark portraits, with his boyish enthusiasm and energy.

For the past 15 years, the artist’s work has focused on conceptual landscapes — places recalled from memory or a feeling that don’t necessarily exist, but are still very much familiar to the urban dweller.

“I try to achieve a kind of universal feeling about a place,” said Rush. “You might look at one of the urbanscapes and say, ‘I know where that is.’ But you really don’t.”

“Places” by Ken Rush at Opalia Flowers [377 Atlantic Ave. between Hoyt and Bond streets in Boerum Hill, (718) 643-9160], May 12-June 10, with an opening night reception from 6 to 8 pm.

Photo by Tom Callan

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Flea season is in full swing

By Meredith Deliso

Spring’s in full swing, and so are flea markets, shopping parties and expansions in this week’s Market Watch.

Spring Craft Market

More than 60 craftspeople will descend on the Brooklyn Lyceum in Park Slope on April 30 and May 1 for its annual Spring Craft Market. There’ll also be music, food and drink to also entertain, but don’t waste this opportunity to score a gift for the mother in your life, as Mother’s Day is fast approaching on May 8.

Spring Craft Market at the Brooklyn Lyceum [227 Fourth Ave. at President Street in Park Slope, (718) 857-4816], April 30 and May 1 from 11 am-7 pm. Free admission. For info, visit www.lyceummarkets.com.

Just for the girls

For the shopping set, here’s a Cinco de Mayo event you can get on board with. Shopping party planner Jovi, The Brooklyn Social brings its popular “Girls Night Out” event to Capri in Bay Ridge on May 5, when you can find dozens of clothes and accessories vendors, as well as nutrition products and fitness professionals, to help you look your best this spring. You can also enjoy a margarita at the open bar, tapas from Hom Boutique and Cafe, and the chance to win prizes.

“Girls Night Out” at Capri [437 88th St. near Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge, (718) 748-1002], May 5 from 6-10 pm. Tickets $30.

Fulton Flea

The Fulton Flea is back for another spring and summer season. Running every Sunday starting May 8, the Brooklyn Plaza Fulton Flea will be home to a variety of artisan goods, products, and and food from local residents and businesses in Fort Greene.

Brooklyn Plaza Fulton Flea [650 Fulton St. between Fort Greene Place and S. Elliott Place in Fort Greene, (917) 364-5648], Sundays starting May 8 from 11 am-6:30 pm. For info, visit www.fultonflea.com.

Steve Alan expands

The old Jodi Arnold space next to Steven Alan on Atlantic Avenue has a new tenant — Steven Alan. Racked reports that the designer is essentially doubling in size in Boerum Hill as it takes advantage of the vacant space next store, which became open when designer Jodi Arnold closed in December, to have his and hers store. Each space, the original at 349 Atlantic Ave., the other at 347 Atlantic Ave., won’t be accessible from the other, but in case you’re shopping for both sexes, they’re still only right next door to each other. The new space is expected to open this week.

Steven Alan [347 and 349 Atlantic Ave. near Hoyt Street in Boerum Hill, (718) 852-3257].

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Brooklyn gets in the swim with Malia Mills

By Meredith Deliso

Several ups and downs in the Market Watch with week, with two big openings and one quiet closing.

Mills sister

Swimsuit season is just around the corner. And right there waving hello is Malia Mills. The swimwear company just opened in Boerum Hill on Atlantic Avenue, bringing in high-end suits for all sizes — with tops and bottoms available for almost every fit. The store also carries accessories, bags, hats, sweaters and scarves for a complete look.

“We create items that we want to pack in our dream suitcase — so women feel like rockstars whether home or away,” said Mills.

Malia Mills (375 Atlantic Ave. between Hoyt and Bond in Boerum Hill, no phone).

DUMBO ‘Industries’

After a sneak peak earlier this month at a sample sale, the Brooklyn Industries in DUMBO is now officially open. In keeping with the location, the store — the brand’s sixth in Brooklyn and 15th nationwide — is modeled as an art installation within a gallery, with white walls, high ceilings and even sculptures.

“We will feature art by artists within the company and we will redesign fixtures and the overall design of the space every six months,” said the company’s aptly named CEO Lexy Funk.

As well as, of course, the brand’s signature hip apparel, accessories and messenger bags.

Brooklyn Industries [70 Front St. near Main Street in DUMBO, (718) 797-4240].

Indie collapse

After four years, the Brooklyn Indie Market — the little local designer marketplace under a red and white-striped tent at Smith and Union streets in Carroll Gardens — has called it quits. The spot took a break during the winter earlier this year, but decided not to continue in the spring, instead evolving into an event/wedding coordination and styling company, Clementine Events. There is currently a For Rent sign on the tent, reports the blog G’Day Brooklyn. So you’ll have to look elsewhere for your eco-friendly notebooks, bib necklaces and mini cupcakes for now.

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Sweet openings

Almost every day it seems a new restaurant has opened in Brooklyn. Here's a look at three of the tastiest:

• Van Leeuwan expanded to its second shop after opening in Greenpoint last year with a ice cream parlor in Boerum Hill, which opened to crowds this past weekend, despite it being February.
• Park Slope has a new espresso bar in the two-week-old Crespella (pictured), which, as the name implies, also specializes in crepes.
• Colonie, the little artisanal restaurant that could, opened in Brooklyn Heights last week, serving all your biodynamic needs.

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Comedy comes to the Linger Lounge

By  Meredith Deliso

Without certifiable comedy destinations like the Comedy Cellar or Carolines, comedy shows in Brooklyn pop up anywhere from the stages of music venues and theaters to the backs of coffee houses and restaurants.

The tradition continues this month, as comedy comes to Linger Cafe and Lounge in Boerum Hill on a regular basis with Tickle Me Brooklyn, a free monthly stand-up comedy showcase hosted by Chris Doucette.

“With antique couches and chairs, Linger is cozy and comfortable,” said Doucette. “When there’s a show, the whole place just radiates energy.”

For the next installment on Dec. 16, Doucette brings along some of his favorite friends, including gifted storyteller Sean Patton (of “Jimmy Fallon” fame), “fiesty redhead” Allison Castillo (a “Comedy Central” regular), Paul Case — who’s heavy on the sarcasm — and Maureen Langan.

“I love this lady,” said Doucette of Langan. “She’s a pro, and you know it from the second she takes the stage.”

Tickle Me Brooklyn at Linger Cafe and Lounge [533 Atlantic Ave. between Third and Fourth avenues in Boerum Hill, (347) 689-4813], Dec. 16 at 8 pm. Free. For info, visit www.lingercafelounge.com.

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Where to shop this weekend

Lots of exciting market news this week, so let’s get right to it.

Jodi Arnold

High-end boutique Jodi Arnold just loves sharing great, local finds with it shoppers. That’s why the Boerum Hill store has curated artisanal products on sale in its store this month, featuring high-quality, handmade goods for a celebration of craft. 

Participants include a variety of handmade goods, including Krystal Bennett Designs’s vibrant, statement making necklaces created using beads and strips of magazine pages (pictured); Little Soap Shop’s body butters and bath salts, including body bars for dogs; Soapwalla’s all-natural body products; and Ugly Duckling Presse’s poetry books from emerging writers. 

Warm up with a freshly brewed cup from the Williamsburg-based Brooklyn Roasting Company, which hand-roasts its coffees daily.

Jodi Arnold [347 Atlantic Ave. at Hoyt Street in Boerum Hill, (718) 858-5580]. For info, visit jodiarnoldnyc.com/features/category/artisanal.

Brooklyn Designers Showcase

You won’t find the Brooklyn Designers Showcase in a hip venue or gallery; rather, local talent shows off its wares at a Brooklyn Heights church. On Nov. 6 at St. Ann’s Church, find one-of-a-kind items such as handmade recycled shopping totes by Old Bag Ladies, as well as stained-glass art and homemade lotions and soaps. So you can wash away your sins?

Brooklyn Designers Showcase at St. Ann’s Church [157 Montague St. near Clinton Street in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 875-6960], Nov. 6 and 27 and Dec. 11 and 18, noon-6 pm. For info, visit www.saintannandtheholytrinity.org.

Module R

There’s a new pop-up in town. In the wake of ModulA.R.T., a temporary design store in DUMBO this past spring, comes Module R, a sister brand featuring modular products and furnishings for the home and office, including wine racks, shelving units, room dividers and housewares that are all customizable. Get yours starting Nov. 5, when Module R pops up.

Module R [400 Atlantic Ave. between Bond and Hoyt streets in Boerum Hill, no phone], Nov. 5-Jan. 9, open Wednesday-Sunday, 11 am-7 pm. For info, visit www.art-rethought.com. 

Yankee Fair  

This one’s fun for the whole family. The Yankee Fair returns to Plymouth Church on Nov. 6, with handcrafted items, antiques, collectibles, and vintage and designer clothing to peruse, as well as children’s rides and games, from pony rides to face painting to a magician providing entertainment. Try your hand at the 50-50 raffle, and you might wind up with even more dough to spend.

Yankee Fair at Plymouth Church [75 Hicks St. near Orange Street in Brooklyn Heights, (718) 624-4743], Nov. 6, 10 am-4 pm. Free admission for adults. Admission to children’s activities $16 for one child, $30 for two, and $40 max per family. For info, visit www.plymouthchurch.org.

Flea markets and sales

These ones are pretty self-explanatory:

• It’s called “$5 on Fifth,” and it’s on Nov. 5 on Fifth Avenue. There’ll be lots of special $5 deals and discounts at participating shops, restaurants and bars. For a merchant list, visit www.parkslopefifthavenuebid.com.

• Flea Market at St. Finbar Center [Bath Avenue and Bay 20th Street in Bensonhurst, (718) 236-3312], Nov. 7, 9 am-3 pm. Free to enter.

• Flea Market Bazaar at the Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church [Flatbush Avenue at the corner of Church Avenue in Flatbush, (718) 451-4764], Nov. 6 and 13, 9 am-3 pm.

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Break that fast at these places

By Aaron Short

For your fast-breaking needs, Brooklyn has it all.

On the day of atonement — Yom Kippur — Jews fast for 24 hours in expiation for sins accumulated the past year.

But the best part is the meal after the solemn holiday, a carbs-heavy, typically diary-centric, supper featuring the best Semetic foods that 4,000 years of diasporic tradition has to offer.

That meal is set for seconds after sundown on Saturday, Sept. 18.

To host the perfect break-fast in the comfort of your own home, pick up some bagels, lox, or prepared noshes from these fine establishments located all over our fine borough. And may you be inscribed in the book of life for another year — now let’s eat.

The staples

Pomegranate, the Midwood supermarket, has been a veritable Mecca of kosher prepared foods since August, 2008. Browse through the 20,000 square feet of aisles for Shabbat candles, frozen dinners and the widest selection of Israeli food products in the city. Pick up some stuffed cabbage, corned beef cured in brine on site or a loaf of olive bread for something a little different this season of repentance.

Pomegranate, [1507 Coney Island Ave. at Avenue L, Midwood. (718) 951-7112]

Fishing around

If you’re leaning towards inviting friends over for a smoked fish spread, go straight to the source. Every Friday morning, on Gem Street near N. 15th Street in Greenpoint, the great Acme Fish smokehouse opens as a retail market. Customers can choose from cold smoked salmon and its saltier cousin, lox, to hot-smoked fish such as whitefish, sable, black cod, and even tuna, all of which are kosher. Acme fish products are available in a number of grocery and specialty stores, as is its tasty Williamsburg-based rival, Service Smoked Fish, under the label Brooklyn’s Best. Don’t be a chub, buy some fish for your friends (or better yet, buy some chub, a smoked fish variety).

Acme Fish [30 Gem St. at N. 15th Street, Greenpoint. (718) 383-8585]. Fridays only.

Holey matters

Lox and bagels are the blessed combination that means that this exhausting holy day is finally over. Narrowing down the best place to buy a bagel in Brooklyn is like trying to win a definitive argument with a Talmudic scholar. It just leads to more questions. And more bagels. We’ve picked three of our favorites: Bagel Hole in Park Slope, which keeps its bagels tasty, crisp and small; the efficient La Bagel Delight, which feeds the Court Street breakfast and lunch crowd; and The Bagel Store in Williamsburg which bakes 1,700 a day.

Bagel Hole [400 Seventh Ave. between 12th and 13 streets in Park Slope, (718) 788-4014]; The Bagel Store [247 Bedford Ave. at N. Third Street in Williamsburg, (718) 218-7244]; La Bagel Delight [90 Court St. in Brooklyn Heights (718) 522-4495].

Let Jay and Lloyd do it

If all that standing and praying has you pooped, head over to Jay and Lloyd’s Kosher Deli on Avenue U at E. 27th Street in Sheepshead Bay for a respite. For 17 years, Lloyd Lederman has been serving sandwiches, latkes and pickles to hungry customers of several generations. Everyone comes for the pastrami on rye, though the brisket and onions and chopped liver sandwiches are good bets for beefing up after your long fast.

Jay and Lloyd’s Kosher Deli and Family Restaurant [2718 Avenue U at 27th Street, Sheepshead Bay. (718) 891-5298]

Montreal Jews

Brooklyn’s newest Jewish-inspired restaurant, Mile End (pictured above) features Montreal-style smoked meat that will likely become a holiday tradition. Owner Noah Bernamoff has been smoking his own meat since January to the delight of foodies in and beyond Cobble Hill. The smoked meat sandwich, filled with gloriously fatty, thick-cut pastrami is a showstopper, but the Ruth Wilensky (salami on an onion roll), and the poulet shaud (pan-roasted half-chicken with home made challah) are also excellent. There may be few places better to break the fast Saturday night — if you aren’t get tempted to sneak over there right after shul for a naughty lunch break.

Mile End Delicatessen [97 Hoyt St. between Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street in Boerum Hill, (718) 852-7510].

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The Atlantic Artwalk is back this weekend

To call it the Atlantic Avenue ArtWalk is a big misleading.

The annual arts and music festival stretches from the bustling thoroughfare all the way south to Union Street, with about 200 artists opening their studios to the masses.

When the festival returns on Saturday and Sunday, it also includes the newly opened Brooklyn Bridge Park in the festivities.

When the ArtWalk started six years ago, it wasn’t nearly as pervasive, with about 30 artists participating and the “walk” about half the size. Today, the festival has ballooned in participants and miles, but the goal has always remained the same.

“ArtWalk started as a way to support both the artist and local business community,” said founder and event producer Lisa Shimamura, of Colab Projects. “This is a rare opportunity for people to visit artists’ personal workspaces, offering sneak peeks at innovative new works in progress, and to ArtWalk and greet with artists.”

In addition to the studio tours, the Artwalk will feature live rock, country and jazz on the streets, special promotions at area restaurants, the rare opportunity to see the Axelle Fine Arts print space on Atlantic Avenue, and self-guided tours curated by people from The Brooklyn Circus, Proteus Gowanus and participating artists.

With all that there is to do, you may need both days to explore Atlantic Avenue — and beyond.

Atlantic Avenue ArtWalk, June 5–6, 1–6 pm. Free. For info, visit www.ArtWalk2010.com.

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Get your own 'key to the city' with this artist's new project

Finally, there’s a key to the city that actually unlocks something.

Unlike those ceremonial souvenirs that the mayor gives to hero airline pilots (go, Sully!) and World Series champions (some Yankees have four of them!), a new art project has taken the spirit of the all-city pass and made something tangible out of it.

For instance, participants in Paul Ramírez Jonas’s “Key to the City” public art happening get a key that unlocks a locker at Gleason’s Gym in DUMBO (pictured), a room in the Brooklyn Museum and steel gates, padlocks, PO boxes, and secret doors all over town.

So how does it work? From June 3-27, the special keys — along with a booklet with information on how to get to participating venues, and what to do once you get there — can be picked up and exchanged between friends in an informal ceremony in a take on the time-honored tradition that bestows symbolic keys to do-gooders and dignitaries.

From there, participants can explore the city at their leisure, using the key to unlock gardens usually off limits to the public, or that door at the Brooklyn Museum concealing a secret painting usually not on display at the museum.

Other participating spots in Brooklyn include Cabinet magazine in Boerum Hill, Gleason’s, and the Coney Island branch of the public library.

The project is not so much about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow — the locker at Gleason’s, for instance, will most likely be empty — but the literal and metaphorical act of unlocking a place that is new or familiar to you, as well as the opportunity to honor a friend with his very own “key to the city.”

“The tradition of the key to the city comes from the age of fortified cities, when a key could open the gates of a city like a home,” said Anne Pasternak, president of Creative Time, the arts group behind the project. “This new version is a functional sculpture that opens urban spaces to the public and honors everyday citizens.”

Because not everyone’s Derek Jeter.

“Key to the City,” June 3-27, at various locations. For info, including how to get a key, visit www.creativetime.org.

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Knock, and the door shall be opened

By Tony Cella

Brooklyn voyeurs, here’s your chance to see how the other half lives — the other half that lives better than you do, that is.

Yes, folks, house tour season is upon us once again. Starting this weekend and through the fall, the cream of the crop in nearly a dozen neighborhoods across the borough will be opening up their doors for those who can’t get enough of unique architectural details, modern home decor or simply meeting new people.

Want in? Here’s your one-stop shop for all of that this year’s self-guided house tours have to offer, from the landmarked homes of Brooklyn Heights to the brownstones of Bedford-Stuyvesant.

TOUR: LiveWorkPlayFortGreene

DATE: May 2

TIME: Noon–5 pm

COST: $20 in advance

STARTING LOCATION: BAM Triangle Park, Lafayette Avenue and Fulton Street

HIGHLIGHTS: Behind-the-scenes tours of BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House, as well as a focus on places where people live and work, such as an artist who has a studio in her home. “It’s a lifestyle that a lot of people are beginning to associate with Brooklyn,” said Hallie Kapner, of the Fort Greene Association.

BASIC INFO: For info, visit www.historicfortgreene.org/house-tour-2010 or call (718) 875-1855

TOUR: Brooklyn Heights tour

DATE: May 8

TIME: 1–5 pm

COST: $40

STARTING LOCATION: 129 Pierrepont St. at Clinton Street

HIGHLIGHTS: An Italianate styled brownstone built in 1865. The current owners have restored the villa-styled building’s double-door stoop, which was removed during the 1950s in favor of a black brick door “the size of a closet,” said Judy Stanton, executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association.

BASIC INFO: For info, visit www.thebha.org or call (718) 858-9193

TOUR: Park Slope Civic Council

DATE: May 16

TIME: Noon to 5 pm

COST: $20

STARTING LOCATION: Poly Prep Country Day School, 50 Prospect Park West at First Street

HIGHLIGHTS: A 1919 Neo-Tudor, one of the last single-family homes built in the neighborhood. “The house has a driveway that leads up to the house because back then, people actually had cars,” said Candace Woodward, of the Park Slope Civic Council.

BASIC INFO: For info, visit, www.parkslopeciviccouncil.org or call (718) 832-8227

TOUR: Boerum Hill tour

DATE: May 23

TIME: 1–5 pm

COST: $20 in advance

STARTING LOCATION: Bishop Mugavero Center, Hoyt and Pacific streets

HIGHLIGHTS: An 1870s Italianate brownstone with flat Greco revival facades and an expansive third floor family room with Scrabble and Play-doh stashed in antique wooden cabinets.

BASIC INFO: For info, visit www.boerumhillassociation.org or call (718) 625-4073

TOUR: Prospect Lefferts Garden tour

DATE: May 23

TIME: Noon–5 pm

COST: $20 in advance

STARTING LOCATION: K-Dog & Dunebuggy, 43 Lincoln Rd. between Ocean and Flatbush avenues

HIGHLIGHTS: The kitchen in a free-standing neo-Georgian two-story English-bond brick home: arched doors lead to a dramatic full-width black and white kitchen featuring high-end European appliances housed in an ingenious triple island design.

BASIC INFO: For info, visit www.leffertsmanor.org or call (718) 284-6210

TOUR: Clinton Hill garden walk

DATE: June 6

TIME: 11 am–5 pm

COST: $15 in advance

HIGHLIGHTS: Symbols, Parables and Healing, a biblical-themed garden run by Teen Challenge, a group that helps keep kids off the streets.

BASIC INFO: For info, visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/107257 or call (718) 852-9283

TOUR: Victorian Flatbush tour

DATE: June 13

TIME: 1–6 pm

COST: $20 in advance

STARTING LOCATION: Temple Beth Emith (83 Marlborough Rd. near E. 15th Street)

HIGHLIGHTS: Legitimate houses; home and garden enthusiasts come from all over the country to tour this suburban oasis.

BASIC INFO: For info, visit www.fdconline.org or call (718) 859-3800

TOUR: Crown Heights North tour

DATE: Oct. 2

TIME: 11 am-4 pm

COST: $20 in advance

HIGHLIGHTS: Artist and artisan homes, historic places of worship and architecturally significant residential buildings.

BASIC INFO: For info, visit www.crownheightsnorth.org or call (917) 748-4664

TOUR: Bedford-Stuyvesant tour

DATE: Oct. 16

TIME: 11 am-4 pm

COST: $15 in advance

STARTING LOCATION: Brooklyn Academy at Marcy and Putnam avenues (tentative)

HIGHLIGHTS: In addition to gorgeous brownstones and limestones, this year’s will feature the Bed-Stuy Bazaar — get started on that holiday shopping early.

BASIC INFO: For info, visit www.brownstonersofbedstuy.org or call (718) 221-2213

— with Elizabeth Dana

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It's the '60s, man

For those mourning the closing of the Brooklyn Museum’s “Who Shot Rock” exhibition, there’s another show in town where you can get your fix of rock photography.

Occupying a storefront on Atlantic Avenue, the new DeCastellane Gallery launched with a bang earlier last month with the opening night of “The Rowland Scherman Project,” featuring the photographer’s iconic work from such 1960s artists as Janis Joplin, Andy Warhol and Bob Dylan (including the iconic picture from the “Greatest Hits” album, for which Scherman won a Grammy, at left).

And his photo of the early Beatles is worth a trip to Boerum Hill just to remember the Fab Four when they were still Liverpool babies.

A collaboration between Scherman, printmaker Bob Korn and conservation framers Dave and Meri Hartford, the project set about preserving and exhibiting the historic images taken by Scherman. Because while these icons may last forever, the prints won’t.

“The Rowland Scherman Project” at DeCastellane gallery [525 Atlantic Ave. between Third and Fourth avenues in Boerum Hill, (347) 599-2017] through April 12. For info, visit www.decastellanegallery.com.

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Rock and roll photography

For those mourning the closing of the Brooklyn Museum's "Who Shot Rock" exhibition, there's another show in town where you can get your rock fix.

Occupying the former Bloomberg Brooklyn campaign headquarters on Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill, de Castellane Gallery launched with a bang earlier this month with the opening night of "The Rowland Scherman Project," featuring the photographer's iconic work from the 1960s of such artists as The Beatles, Andy Warhol and Janis Joplin.

A collaboration between Scherman, printmaker Bob Korn and conservation framers Dave and Meri Hartford, the project set about preserving and exhibiting the historic images taken by Scherman, who won a Grammy for shooting Bob Dylan's "Greatest Hits" album cover.

The show's only up until at least April 12, so don't miss out on this rare opportunity.

The gallery is located at 525 Atlantic Ave. between Third and Fourth avenues. For info, call (347) 599-2017.

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