Smallknot: Keeping Park Slope From Turning Into One Giant Herald Square.

For New Yorkers like me, who chose to flee fast and far from suburban places where the fanciest restaurants are Olive Gardens, the best coffee is from the Exxon/Mobile station, and all cutting edge clothing is found at The Gap, I've come to appreciate small, locally-owned businesses. Especially the ones in our own neighborhood. 

Smallknot, a new fundraising program, exists to support and help these businesses do what they already do well (just better). Smallknot is an online fundraising system that allows a community to fund growth projects for small businesses with rewards for each donation level, similar to Kickstarter. 

My first question was this: Why would I give a business my hard-earned dinero? 

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Barack Obama Used to Live in The Slope (and why I think He Should Return)

Image via the NYT

According to this NY Times article, our very own president is practically an ex-Slope resident. Back in the 1980's and shortly after graduating from Columbia University, Barry Obama shacked up with then-girlfriend Genevieve Cook in the top floor of a brownstone on Second Street near 8th Avenue (and yes, there's a President Street joke in their somewhere, which we aren't discussing further).

In the article, NYT writers James Barron and Peter Baker cite David Maraniss's upcoming book, Barack Obama: The Story, which reveals some...ahem...intimate thoughts and memories of Cook and Obama, which were pulled from her journal (PS, she sounds like a total weirdo). I will also note that while reading some of the juicier excerpts, I sort of felt like I just heard my parents making passionate, weird love in the next room. 

So instead of having to deal with that whole mental mess, I've found some reasons why Barack and his fam could easily move back to the Slope if they get bored with that whole White House rigmarole. All of these are based on "100 Barack Obama Facts"(the list is pretty extensive, and I have no idea what kind of crack journalism was done to dig this shit up... but let's go with it). OK, here it is --- 

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Funding the Farm: Applewood Needs Your Help

Image Via Applewoodny.com

We recently reported that the Slope's own APPLEWOOD restaurant owners David and Laura Shea have planned to bring their farm-to-table mentality even closer to home by just owning the whole table AND farm. The couple has completed the intial farm buying, but now are asking for the community's help in funding some other projects at the farm. Utilizing global funding platform Indiegogo.com, the Shea's have set up a $15,000 fundraising goal to complete their operational needs. As of the time of this post, they've raised $5,580 with 35 days to go. 

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No More Sales Tax on Clothing in NYC (let's go shopping!)

I'm from Texas, and once a year, the state offers a weekend of tax-free purchases on clothing and school supplies. On such days, I have witnessed parking-related brawls and a near eye-gouging over a pair of BCBG white jeans. It's kind of like NYC on any culturally-significant parade day (I love you Puerto Ricans, but your parade makes me want to move to the suburbs). Years ago I vowed to never step foot into a retail establishment on sales tax-free days. 

Well once again, New York has trumped Texas and has therefore validated my trek across this fair country to the land of impossibly high rent and hot dogs with toppings like kimchi and organic placenta (OK, maybe not placenta). NY state has spent years going back and forth on the existence of sales tax on clothing items and finally, once again, they've removed sales tax on clothing and shoes costing less than $110 bucks. This is good news people. 

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5 Ways to Get Fit in Park Slope...Minus a Gym Membership

I must confess...I love the gym. 

I like being in a big sweaty room, commiserating with a bunch of strangers about how our fat asses need to be less fat. There's something to that. 

BUT -- not everyone wants, needs, or can afford a gym membership...so we've gotta' come up with some ways to stay fit in the Slope, sans the gym. And if you have a membership at a YMCA or NYSC, you can still add these into your normal workouts to spice things up, like when that Cardio Dance Salsa Boxing class is full.

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