ENDANGERED WATCH: THE PARK SLOPE CHARACTER

Wherefore art thou, oh crazy black lady weaving and cursing your way down 8th Ave in your circa 1980s spandex leotard and leggings? And you, opera-singing falsetto dude? Have you headed to South Beach for the winter with the wind of your high notes beneath your wings? I have nobody to yell "give it a rest, Beverly Sills" out the window at in your absence.

Sure, we still have the good-natured Linda, the awesomely dykey dog walker. And that Starbucks fixture who wears the same black and white uniform every day. We've got that rad, super sweet homeless dude who stands in front of Ace Supermarket.  And I think the guy that looks like an Elvis impersonator is still around. Oh, and my downstairs neighbor smoker Bob! Can't forget him. [ed. note: and don't forget Norma! She was fun].

But all these characters are bordering on extinction. And the huge influx of whole-grain yupster BREEDERS and BALLERS isn't helping matters.

Helmet headed, once-a-week beauty salon biddies haven't been sighted in years. Old guard Brooklynites with accents and Lorraine tattooed on their necks are vanishing. Where is my dad's bud Ronnie Sunshine when I need him? Now, he was a character: had been on rent strike in PS for about 20 years when last I saw him.

Show me your eccentrics. Bring on the wacked. I need to know they're still among us.

Anyone who sends us a photo of one of the missing will win a special FIPS prize, says Erica.