A Festival of Art from the Ancient to Modern at the Park Avenue Armory

Painted Wooden Egyptian Male Statuette from Phoenix Ancient Art

One of the highlights of spring in New York is most certainly the Art and Antiques Dealers Show NYC. This extraordinary celebration of art showcases a huge variety of work, from the oldest artifacts, which can be literally thousands of years old on display at the Phoenix Ancient Art booth, to more modern fare at presenters such as Clinton Howell who specializes in 19th century period pieces.

This year’s show was held from May 1-5 at the Park Avenue Armory and featured almost 60 galleries and dealers with their best objects d’art out for the scrutiny of the public. Collectors, art lovers, or just plain curious people who enjoy the unusual and beautiful gathered together to peruse a collection of art brought together in one of the most eclectic and varied displays possible to imagine.

Also part of the show was a fundraiser on opening night. This benefit preview was sponsored by 1stdibs.com and raised money to support the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The Art and Antiques Dealers Show is a yearly event not to be missed. Check it out next spring.

Police Rescue Man From Brooklyn Bridge Jump

Police Engaging Man on Brooklyn Bridge Tower

After receiving a call on Saturday that a man was standing on the Manhattan tower of the Brooklyn Bridge threatening to jump, NYPD arrived at the scene, donned harnesses, and climbed up the cables to talk the man down.

First to arrive at the bridge were detectives Keith Connelly and Gregory Welch. Without hesitation they put on harnesses and began the climb to the top of the tower. According to police reports the detectives waited until Sergeant John Flynn joined them before engaging the man.

The police spoke with the “jumper” for over an hour before he decided to come off the bridge with the policemen. The man agreed to descend safely after the officers “were able to ascertain the man’s concerns and issues.” He came down without a struggle with Emergency Service Officers after the man was convinced that they would help him get the aid he was seeking.

When the group reached the safety of the road the 52-year old black man, whose name was not released yet, was brought to Bellevue Hospital for an evaluation.

Lander’s District Chooses Where the Money Will Go

Brad Lander

In Councilman Brad Lander’s Brooklyn District a new experiment with democracy is underway and looking good. Over the weekend 2,812 residents of Kensington, Cobble Hill and Park Slope voted in what was the second election in New York City known as “participatory budgeting.”

The idea behind participatory budgeting is that the people in the neighborhood who are closest to the issues which are most important to them decide directly how their own tax money is spent.

Here’s how it works: Neighborhood residents came up with 24 proposals to put before the voters, and the voters chose among these 24 the six projects which will be prioritized for funding in New York’s 2014 budget. The budget of $1 million will be adopted in June using city capital promised by Lander.

The following projects were chosen by the voters to receive a part of the $1 million:

1. P.S. 230 will receive $180,000 to install 34 Smartboards in the school together with MacBooks. The school serves high-needs students. Many of the 1,300 pupils are also learning English as a second language.

2. The Carrol School, P.S. 58 will have eight bathrooms renovated using $110,000 of the budget. The last time the school was renovated was 1954.

3. Carrol Gardens/Windsor Terrace Library will receive $75,000to fund 29 new adult and preschool computers. The purpose is to support community needs for internet and computer competence and literacy.

4. Church Avenue will receive $300,000 worth of traffic and pedestrian safety upgrades. Sidewalks will be extended and crossing distances reduced on Church Avenue at the Coney Island Avenue and McDonald Avenue intersections.

5. P.S. 179 will receive $115,000 to upgrade the school’s technology infrastructure.  Twenty-seven Smartboards will be installed to help this underserved school which serves a high-needs population of English language learners, special education students, and gifted students as well.

6. New trees will be planted in the 3rd Street Green Corrider to help control rainwater runoff. Using a budget of $170,000, ten new trees with enhanced tree pits will be placed in Gowanus from Bond Street to Third Avenue. Drainage during storms should be improved while bringing shade and beauty to this section of Brooklyn.

“I am amazed by the turnout and cross-community collaboration we saw over the last week,” said Councilman Lander. “After one of the more trying years in our city’s history, it would be easy to divide into factions and work against each other for funding for our corner of the city.  But New Yorkers are showing a better way forward and are working together to make the tough decisions that make all of our communities stronger.”

Those who would like to see all 24 projects which were proposed can turn to Brad Lander’s web site.

Brooklyn Writer Brings Family Lore to Life in Second Novel

Amy Shearn of Brooklyn

Brooklyn author Amy Shearn took a bit of her family history and transformed it and enlarged it into her second novel, which will be launched in Park Slope on Tuesday April 2, at 7pm at the powerHouse on 8th.  An additional book launching will take place on April 14th at the Lark Café in Ditmas Park at 6pm.  

The book, entitled “The Mermaid of Brooklyn” is based on the story of Shearn’s grandmother, Jenny Lipkin, which is also the name of the heroine of the book. The real-life Lipkin was forced to support her family on
her own, without the assistance of her absentee husband. The fictional Lipkin is faced with similar difficulties.

The character is a former magazine editor who is married to a gambler who disappears one day. She is now faced with the prospect of supporting her family on her own in a Park-Slope walk-up. Jenny is overwhelmed with her responsibilities, becomes desperate, but eventually finds her strength with the aid of a magical mermaid.

District Attorney Hynes Honors Brooklyn’s Finest Women

Kings County DA Charles Hynes

Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes honored 33 women of Brooklyn for their extraordinary service to their communities at the seventh annual “Extraordinary Women” event held on March 5, 2013.

Hynes declared that these women worked hard for years to improve the lives of those around them. They should be, and are, considered great role models for others, displaying a large degree of selflessness, dedication and compassion for their communities.

Among those extra-special women was June Rodrigues of Ditmas Park. In 2008 Rodrigues began to volunteer for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI.) Back then East Flatbush’s branch of NAMI had only two support groups. From the beginning Rodgrigues was dedicated to improving the lives of people with mental illness. It was one of her most cherished goals to improve the services available for them through education and advocacy.

Rodrigues is largely responsible for many of the most basic programs available through NAMI at the Kings County Hospital. Those include NAMI’s Peer-To-Peer, Family-to-Family, and NAMI Conexion, a support group for mentally ill Spanish speaking adults.

"It is an honor for me to recognize these women for their outstanding work, which benefits all the people of Brooklyn," Hynes exclaimed.

The 33 women were also given the special designation of “Special Ambassador” in their communities.

 "The women come from neighborhoods throughout Brooklyn.  The honorees all have one thing in common," Hynes said. "They make Brooklyn a better place to live.”

Special Programing at Brooklyn Museum Every First Saturday

Known as “Target First Saturdays,” the Brooklyn Museum opens its doors every first Saturday of the month from 5pm until 11pm. (The regular Saturday hours are 11am-6pm.)

Visitors to the Museum on the first Saturday of each month (excluding September) can expect to enjoy free programs including both art and entertainment. There are crafts projects for visitors to participate in, artist talks, tours of the galleries and other exciting activities.

Check the Brooklyn Museum’s website for details of upcoming programs. As implied in the name of the program, the popular department store “Target” is a sponsor, along with the Wallace Foundation Community Programs Fund,DLA Piper US LLP, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The Ellis A. Gimbel Trust, National Grid, and more.

Kensington to Welcome Branch of Zarsha Leo

Nightlife in Kensington has just been raised by a notch or two with the addition of the trendy, upscale restaurant-bar franchise Zarsha Leo into the neighborhood. Older singles can utter a sigh of relief, as they no longer have to cross a river to enjoy a great night out. Great food, a large selection of wines, local beers, beer on tap and cocktails draw in the crowds, while the big-screen TVs tuned to the most exciting sporting events happening anywhere in the world, keep them there.

Evan Burschkopf is the CEO of this New York-based franchise. He has been experiencing great success with his Manhattan locations, and is expecting no less from Brooklyn.

“I have great faith in my Brooklyn brethren that they will patronize Zarsha Leo to the same extent as their Manhattan cousins. Coming originally from Brooklyn myself, I feel a close connection to my stores here, and hope the locals will get to feel the same way,” confessed Burschkopf.

Expanding Choice at Savor Brooklyn

Now one of Windsor Place’s newest cafes will be offering a dinner menu in addition to their beloved cup of coffee or marvelous mocha. Savor Brooklyn, at 199 Windsor Place, began to serve dinner last Sunday evening, and where dinner is a glass of wine can’t be far away.

Savor opened last November to a shaky, or shall we say, windy beginning, but has since established itself as a place to warm up and enjoy the nice view behind the café’s over-sized front windows while sitting back with a wonderful hot beverage.

Until owner Helen Traversi organizes a regular fixed menu she will be offering a rotating selection of special plates with an emphasis on pasta. On Sunday patrons had a choice of either Bolognese sauce or penne with mushrooms. As for a heavier fare, pork tenderloin with roasted peppers was also available.

Savor also now has a beer and wine license. Traversi would like to create a wine list which is small but well-chosen, with three white varieties and three red. Cava, a type of sparkling wine, will also appear on the list. As for the beer, Traversi is looking forward to pleasing her patrons, and is inviting them to visit Savor’s Facebook page to vote for their favorite beer that comes bottled.

Great Brooklyn Activities Coming Up Soon

It’s almost Valentine’s Day-are you ready? If not here’s an idea which sounds as fun as it is useful. This Saturday, February 9 head on over to the LARK Café and enjoy some good music while you create your own personal love notes to spread around on that special day dedicated to love. Be there by 12pm for something a bit different.

Deborah Buck, Brooklyn Philharmonic Concertmaster, will present the history of classical music in Brooklyn at the Dweck Center of the Central Library. The talk will begin at 7pm on Wednesday evening February 6th. Children under the age of 6 years will not be allowed to attend.

Its almost Purim, the holiday celebrated by the Jewish people with costumes, masks, feasting and drinking. Come and see what all the excitement is about at the Kings Bay Y at Windsor Terrace on Sunday, February 24th at their annual Purim Masquerade.  The day is designed for families with costume contests, yummy hamentashen, and the packaging of about 2,000 food baskets for fellow New Yorkers in need. Pack it Up for Purim begins at 10:30am and should end at about 12:30pm, enough time to return home and enjoy a traditional family Purim meal.

Come visit the Audubon Nature Center in Prospect Park and find out the answers to your most pressing nature questions like: Where do squirrels get their food in the winter? How do birds keep themselves warm in the winter? And lots more. Prospect Park on February 18 and 19.

Stolen Car with Torah Scroll Worth $30K Found

A scribe who had recently repaired a valuable torah scroll had left the scroll in his rented car over the weekend, and when he returned to get his car, it was gone, along with the scroll inside.

Rabbi Benyamin Tamaiev was quite upset about the missing torah:

“I feel very bad. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep,” Tamaiev said.

Tamaiev leads a congregation which rents space in a synagogue on the 3700 block of 18^th Avenue, right where Kensington and Flatbush meet. On Friday afternoon he arrived in the neighborhood in his rented 2007 Toyota Corolla, parked it on the dead-end side of Avenue I, and went to his congregation to celebrate the Sabbath. Tamaiev was careful to hide the key near the vault where the main ark is. Tamaiev was particularly careful because the valuable torah scroll was locked inside the car.

According to Tamaiev’s daughter Judy the scribe was planning on returning the scroll to its owners in Queens on Sunday.

“It was already fixed. He was going to deliver it on Sunday,” Judy Tamaiev said.

Unfortunately the car disappeared sometime on Saturday, and was reported stolen on Saturday night at around 6pm.

Apparently the thief also took money from the synagogue’s charity boxes. It is likely that the thief was not aware that there was a $30,000 torah scroll in the trunk of the car, in addition to five sets of tefillin, also worth hundreds of dollars.

“He feels like somebody died; like he wants to die,” Judy Tamaiev said. “Terrible.”

A $3,000 reward was offered for the safe return of the torah scroll, and on Monday the police received a tip that led them to the location of the stolen car, which was less than one mile from the car’s original location. The car, scroll and tefillin were all recovered undamaged by 3pm on Monday.

New York State Assemblyman Dov Hilkind, who had pleaded for the safe return of the scroll expressed relief that the torah was recovered unharmed.

“The safety and sanctity of a Torah scroll means a great deal to our community,” Hikind said in a news release. “The speedy recovery of this sacred scroll is a testimony to our ability to work together and the dedication of our extraordinary Police Commander Mike Dedo. Every last one of us will sleep easier tonight.”

Daniel Straus NYU Supporter

Straus Institute for the Advanced Study of Law and Justice

Institutes of advanced studies are found at some of the world’s most renowned universities. In the United States those at Stanford and Princeton come to mind, but in New York it is the Straus Institute for the Advanced Study of Law & Justice, established with the help of 1981 NYU alumnus Daniel Straus and his wife Joyce G. Straus, which sets the standard for high level research and scholarship.

The Institute for Law and Justice sees its mission as two-fold:

• Although the academic focus is directed at issues touching on law and justice the institute seeks to draw academics, scholars and thinkers from a wide array of backgrounds, including the social sciences and the humanities, and from all over the world.

• Research and delving deep into issues is not looked at as the pristine purview of  academics cloistered in their ivory towers. On the contrary, the Straus Institute is determined to integrate top quality academics and intellect with community service and dedication to the public good. This mission fits perfectly with the general mission of NYU: that is to be “a Private University in the Public Service.”

Each year the Straus Institute identifies an issue or issues which are of vital concern to society and uses that issue as its annual theme. When the theme is defined then a large portion of the Fellows in the Institute are directed to work in these areas. This is done with the goal of having the Fellows make an important contribution from the University to the general society, thus fulfilling its mission.

Busses Back to Bringing Babes in Brooklyn

Brooklyn Bus Routes Making a Comeback!

Not just ‘babes’ but anyone else who has been missing several key bus routes which were cut during the  lean years beginning in 2010, can now rejoice in their imminent return and restoration.

Seven bus lines in the borough are slated for resurrection, announced the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and some new routes are going to be created in Northern Brooklyn and Downtown, in addition.

Beginning as of January 6 commuters were able to partake in “one-seat service” from the IKEA in Bushwick on the B57; more convenient rides between Bay Ridge and the “People’s Playground” on the B64; and a re-established connection between Prospect Park and Downtown on the B48.

The following routes will experience an improved service:

•    B4- Full-time service is coming back; for those interested in traveling between Bay Ridge and Sheepshead Bay, this is great news.
•    B39- Coming back is the daytime route of the run between Williamsburg and Manhattan.
•    B24- On the weekend this line will take you from Williamsburg to Queens and back.
•    B69- Have something to do in Kensington over the weekend? This route between Downtown and the hottest neighborhood in Brooklyn is coming back!

So what happened? Did the MTA get some moolah from a long lost cousin? Nah. MTA officials say that they have been saving money through cost-cutting and passenger fares.

“[The service increases] are paid for with increased revenue generated by additional ridership on the MTA system, as well as savings from the MTA’s continued rigorous efforts to contain costs,” a press release issued last summer said.

Music Collective Releases Benefit Album to Help Occupy Sandy

All Funds Raised by "The Storm is Passing Over" will go to help Hurricane Sandy Victims

Produced in only two weeks, Kensington’s Mason Jar Music released “The Storm is Passing Over” to help raise funds to benefit the work Occupy Sandy is doing to help people harmed by October’s ravaging storm, Hurricane Sandy.

The goal of MJM is to “Preserve Analog Principles in a Digital Age,” and works hard to retain the techniques and other special qualities of the not-so-long-ago past. In the case of “The Storm is Passing Over” MJM gathered together some of today’s best independent folk singers to record fifteen classic American folk songs dealing with ‘storms.’

Money raised from the sales of the album will go directly to Occupy Sandy, which is a leading organization doing relief work for many of Sandy’s victims in and around New York City and the tri-state area.

Included among the folk artists participating on the album are Roseanne Cash, Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck, Town Hall, Tift Merritt, and more.

Recorded in just 14 days during December, some of the artists performed from the comfort of their own homes which were in locations around the world, including Nashville, Portland and Paris. Most of the artists however came to the Kensington recording studio of MJM, collaborating with  co-founders Dan Knobler and Jon Seale.


For a donation of only $5 visitors to http://thestormispassingover.com/ can receive a digital download of this heartfelt album knowing that all of their money will be used to help victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Councilman Levin Seeks Slowdown in Neighborhood Film Shoots

October and November this year saw a relentless stream of film crews descending on the otherwise quiet streets of Brooklyn Heights. In the past two months alone 14 different productions have brought chaos to the historic, tree-lined streets as filmmakers use this brownstone-filled area as the backdrop for TV shows and motion pictures.

“I understand and respect the fact that the movie and television industry provides revenue for the city and employs a number of New Yorkers, but residents of a single neighborhood, especially one that is primarily residential, like Brooklyn Heights, should not have to bear the burden of on-street filming on an almost daily basis,” said Councilman Stephen Levin.

“The people who live in this community should be able to freely walk down the sidewalk, park on the street, and bring their children to the local playground without constantly dodging film crews,” Levin added.

Councilman Stephen Levin

Filming requires streets to be closed, parking spaces to be absconded and other inconveniences imposed on residents, and now those residents are standing up to the onslaught with the help of Levin. The councilman, who represents Brooklyn’s District 33, contacted the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting in order to place all of Brooklyn Heights on the City’s list of “hot spots.” This listing will place a hold on filming until a more reasonable schedule for filming can be implemented which impacts less on the lives of the neighborhood’s residents.

Brooklyn Heights is not the only place the film industry has been encroaching on. Film crews have been shooting in Windsor Terrace and Kensington of late as well. Some of the major projects filming in these neighborhoods include a Vince Vaughn comedy called “Delivery Man,” a Martin Scorsese star vehicle called “The Wolf of Wall Street,” and a few TV shows such as “Elementary” and “Boardwalk Empire.”

Sandy’s Victims Get Helping Hand from United Cerebral Palsy of New York

Schevone Williams

Gravesend, Brooklyn resident, thirty-two year old Schevone Williams, who has cerebral palsy, lost almost everything when her apartment was inundated with flood waters from the torrential forces of Hurricane Sandy.

Using a specialized device to communicate Williams explained what happened.

"My apartment was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy,” said Williams. “I lost everything my hospital bed, my motorized wheelchair and all of my clothes.”

In addition to her specialized equipment which makes her life possible as a person with cerebral palsy, she also lost the ordinary objects everyone needs in their home, such as her major appliances including her refrigerator, stove and washing machine.

Williams, who is dependent on her $17,000 wheelchair for mobility, was at home when the flood waters entered, bringing in debris from the outside, and threatening to drown her.

“The Fire Department actually rescued Schevone, that’s how serious it was for her,” says Amy Bittinger the director of Family Support Services with United Cerebral Palsy of New York City.

According to Bittinger UCP of New York had to come to the aid immediately of many clients who were at risk during Sandy. Now there most pressing concern is finding Williams a replacement wheelchair.

“We were able to get her a loaner manual chair with proper positioning and we were able to get her augmentative communication device working again,” says Bittinger.

The Kensington branch of United Cerebral Palsy of New York has many visitors with a range of disabilities due to the popularity of their innovative “tech works” room. The room offers the latest in technology to help ease some of the challenges of having cerebral palsy or other disabilities, including iPads, which can help with communication. There is also a mobile van which visits different locations throughout the city to publicize the latest assistive technologies.

“This way we can go to communities that can’t come here and tabling events and be able to show products at those events,” says Liz Voluz, the director of Assistive Technology.

United Cerebral Palsy of New York has been answering the phones non-stop since Sandy devastated so many lives, helping people with disabilities get their lives back on track by getting their hi-tech equipment replaced. Workers at UCP New York say that Williams should have a new wheelchair before Christmas.

Environmentally Friendly Library Opens in Kensington

Brooklyn opened its most green library to date last week when the new Kensington Library opened its doors to the public. On hand to celebrate the event last Wednesday were city officials joining library staff.

The building was constructed from scratch for $16 million, the first Brooklyn library to have that honor in almost 20 years. The building is an environmentally concerned book-lover dream come true.

The building has LEED Silver certification and features some really neat features such as large front windows and a skylight to enhance the use of natural light and reduce the need for artificial lighting.

Sculptures powered by the rays of the sun hang down from the ceiling near the windows, spinning around when the sun is shining brightly.

In addition the spanking new library has 24 computers for public use; three iPads; and an assortment of spaces for story hours for children and community meetings for adults.

The new Kensington Library is located at 4207 18th Avenue. Come visit and see its high-tech amenities in action.

Chinese Development in NYC

Xinyuan Real Estate Company recently purchased a 216 unit condominium building in Brooklyn, NY, at a cost of $54.2m, making its first ever development in America. The firm plans to spend an additional $200m on this project. It is anticipated that sales thereafter will be between $250 and $350 million.

Xinyuan Real Estate Company is also looking for other projects in America.  The idea is to sell close to half of the units it builds to Chinese investors. According to Omer Ozden, (a partner at Beijing Capital, the private equity arm of the Beijing municipal government), Chinese investors it seems, are more likely to purchase buildings from Chinese developers in the US, than their American counterparts.  Chinese investment in American real estate has been growing steadily, with a focus on residential properties.

New York private equity is becoming increasingly popular for Chinese investors.  In recent years, the government in China has been making attempts to deflate the local housing bubble.  In order to achieve this, it has limited permission of property purchases.  Thus the Chinese who want to invest in real estate are instead turning to America.  Indeed, as the National Association of Realtors’ report noted, residential sales for the year ended in March saw $9bn in American residential sales from the Chinese.

The city of New York is also gaining popularity for Chinese investors as that is one of the places where they would like to live (along with LA, San Francisco and Miami).  Thus as Ozden noted, these investors are purchasing properties that they will seek to rent out or use as second homes or places for their children to stay while studying abroad.  In the past, Chinese investors have had a harder time locating the right property in America, as navigating US culture has not been so easy.  Thus Xinyuan Real Estate Company is now providing a great solution for Chinese looking to participate in New York private equity deals.

Brooklyn Rentals Rare as Sandy Victims Look for Housing

Some of Sandy's Damage in Rockaway 

Lorraine Massoni and her three children were forced out of their Rockaway home by severe flooding in the wake of the devastation wreaked on New York by Hurricane Sandy. Since then the family has been staying with friends and relatives while they look for alternative digs for herself and her children. But so far she has only run into a brick wall.

“I have reached out to I can’t even tell you how many Realtors,” Massoni, 44, said as she drove around Brooklyn in her rented minivan with her children. “They tell you they have places, they say, ‘Let me talk to the landlord and see if they take dogs,’ then nothing. They don’t even call you back.”

Massoni recently looked at a two-bedroom flat in Kensington renting for a pricey $2,150 per month. The price is almost double the $2,495 she received from a federal relief agency to cover two months’ rent. And the Kensington place is, at 1,200 square-feet, about half the size of her Rockaway home- not big enough for her family of five. Massoni will just have to keep looking.

She is not alone in her frustrating efforts to find an alternative living arrangement that does not involve sleeping on a friend’s pull-out bed or staying in a relative’s guest room or basement. Rental vacancies in Queens and Brooklyn are about 2 to 3 percent, a low number causing heartache for many displaced New Yorkers.

“It couldn’t be worse timing,” says Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel Inc. in New York. The market in Brooklyn is tight partly because banks are reluctant to write mortgages, so few renters are buying a home and moving out, he said. With hotel occupancy rates at high levels, Miller said, “there are just not a lot of places to stay.”

Food Co-Op May Be On Its Way to Kensington and Windsor Terrace

After Windsor Terrace’s only grocery store was bought-out by a pharmacy, people there and in nearby Kensington were left with no convenient way to purchase food. Since necessity is the mother of invention, the residents have come up with the idea of bringing a food co-op into their neighborhood as an answer to the question where will the food come from.

It appears that support for this idea has been building in recent weeks among the people of the neighborhood.  Ever since Walgreens bought out Key Food in June, organizers have been trying to get a food-buying group started. Last Tuesday night their efforts got an extra push when more than 100 people showed up for a meeting in support of the idea of a food-buying group for the residents of Kensington and Windsor Terrace.

No seats were left for meeting participants, showing organizers that their efforts have finally been rewarded.

“Going into the meeting, we were all thinking, ‘This may not sail,’ ” said organizer Jack O’Connell, 68. O’Connell added that he was “flabbergasted” by the hefty crowd that showed up at the Knights of Columbus Hall on 10th Avenue.

Listeria Found in Herring Product from Kensington

Herring Recall in Light of Listeria Contamination

A Kensington, Brooklyn food manufacture was forced to recall a herring product after it was discovered that Listeria monocytogenes were present in the food.

The company, Four Seasons Dairy, is located at 255 58th Street in Brooklyn. An announcement was made by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets that “Fillet Atlantic Recipe in Oil,” a Four Seasons herring product was being recalled.

The herring was packaged in a one-pound clear plastic tub with a white plastic lid. On the bottom of the item a label shows an expiration date of 12/11/12. The FDA says that the food product was being sold in a variety of New York City locations, but did not specify as to any names of shops.

So far no one has reported any illnesses as a result of the Listeria contamination, but the potential for harm is great. Listeria monocytogenes can cause serious and even deadly infections in young children, elderly and frail people and others who have weakened immune systems.

For those who are strong or who have intact immune systems the possibility of illness is high, including fever, stiffness, nausea, stomach pain, and diarrhea. In pregnant women the infection of Listeria can cause miscarriages and stillbirths.

Anyone in possession of “Fillet Atlantic Recipe in Oil” from Four Seasons Dairy should throw the product away or return it to the store where it was bought. Consumers with questions can call 718-567-7877.