parents organizations/community groups

This is my first time posting so apologies in advance if I flub it....

Anyhow, welcome (soon) to C.H. I don't know of any formal parent groups, but I'm a relatively new mom and I know a handful of other folks in the area. I think this is a great neighborhood to raise a kid. How old is your child?

Meeshka, first welcome to the neighborhood!!!

Now on to your questions. Our little deduction is already in elementary school, so I'm not as up on the newborn early childhood happenings in the neighborhood. That said, I'd start at the Children's Museum. Its a gathering for a lot of folks with younger than school-aged kids during the week and you may find some folks there who are more in the know. The park behind it is great, with a new playground that was refinished a couple of years ago. While the older kids and adults have the basketball courts the area near the playground is strictly the under-10 crowd. It’s also pretty widely used by the entire community including large Hassidic families that wander over from Eastern Parkway so their kids can play.

There is no Y in the neighborhood. The closest is the Bedford Y on Bedford and Monroe in Bed Stuy. If you don't have a car you can catch the bus on New York Ave and it will drop you right at the corner. It is in the midst of a renovation which includes the construction of a new building, but my understanding is that they still have a limited class schedule of offerings in one of the old buildings that still remains. Call them to see whats happening.

Most of the programming for kids is offered through the neighborhood churches. I grew up in Bed Stuy and we did scouting, played on athletic teams and participated in youth groups that were sponsored by the local churches. If you are a church-goer I'd encourage you to check out the local churches and synagogues, and if not, consider them anyway as most of the churches didn’t require kids to be members in order to participate.

If you aren’t religious but are adventurous you may want to attend services at some of the local churches anyway. Many of them are beautiful, having been built back at the time the neighborhood was created.

As far as community groups, you’ll see postings on this site for many of them like the precinct council and the community board. There are a million community groups, political clubs, not-for-profits, and block associations, so just keep your eyes peeled and you should not find it too difficult to get involved.

Finally, as a lifelong Brooklynite, I can say that there are many things missing in this neighborhood. However, one of the things that I enjoyed about living in Brooklyn was going to other neighborhoods to participate in activities. It allowed me to learn about where I lived, and to appreciate the similarities and differences of New York neighborhoods. That said, you may have to go to PS, PH, BoCoCa or elsewhere to find what you are looking for. Hope all of this helps.

Subject: Re: parents organizations/community groups

Kevin_on_Putnam wrote: [quote=Meeshka]I'll be moving to CH in the end of the summer and was wondering if there are any parents organizations or community groups I could join? I want to meet other parents in the neighborhood and also get to know my neighbors.

I would be happy to suggest Soda Bar as a worthy organization to join. Your child(ren) can clean the lower shelves and you can join the other parents in long sessions of attitude adjustment.

Wow low blow :shock:

Subject: Re: parents organizations/community groups

Anonymous wrote: [quote=Kevin_on_Putnam][quote=Meeshka]I'll be moving to CH in the end of the summer and was wondering if there are any parents organizations or community groups I could join? I want to meet other parents in the neighborhood and also get to know my neighbors.

I would be happy to suggest Soda Bar as a worthy organization to join. Your child(ren) can clean the lower shelves and you can join the other parents in long sessions of attitude adjustment.

I'm sorry, but that went right over my head... what exactly are you talking about? What's Soda Bar? Is this some sort of insult? (I'd like to know whether or not I should act offended)

Thank you so much for the tips, homeowner and bklynbonnie. Our new home will be close to the Children's Museum, so I definitely plan to check it out. One thing I've learned in my short time being a mom is that once you get yourself around other parents, it's relatively easy to make friends.

No insult intended at all, it was a lame attempt to be funny. I have great respect for any parent trying to raise children in the city. Good luck

http://www.musicforbrooklyn.com/
is the link for Music for Aardvarks, which takes place at (among other places) Soda Bar on Vandrebilt.