The Leaning Spire of Park Slope

Have you tried to walk up Sterling Place from the Fifth Avenue Key Food, and found your way blocked by police tape? Or, walking along Sixth Avenue, seen barricades and a Police van and wondered "What have I stumbled into?" No, it’s not a grizzly crime scene, or a film shoot – it’s the swaying spire of St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church.

During the post-Irene wind storm Sunday evening one of the local residents noticed the oxidized copper spire swaying and called 911. After an assessment by the Department of Buildings, a Vacate Order was placed on the Church until they could fully evaluate and stabilize the now angled spire.

On Tuesday structural engineers surveyed the structure and met with the church Pastor as well as members of the Archdiocese of Brooklyn and City agencies to discuss both temporary and permanent fixes. The hope is that by Thursday the contractor will be able to begin work stabilizing the approximately 40 foot tall spire while a plan is written to permanently fix any rotting or damaged wood. And, if lucky, Sterling Place will re-open before Labor Day.

St. Augustine is a beautiful Romanesque Revival church built in 1886 by the Parfitt Brothers and was featured in the 2003 movie Mona Lisa Smile.

~Photo and post by Erika Clark

A Taste of Fifth Avenue

As we all know, Park Slope's Fifth Avenue is home to numerous great restaurants and bars. With such a rich and varied selection, it can be tough to choose just one. Google Places wants to celebrate some of these local spots. Join us on September 15th, 6-8pm, for a Taste of Fifth Ave. Stop by the Google Places table at 269 Fifth Avenue (corner of 1st St. at TD Bank) where they'll offer free tickets redeemable for a food or drink special at a participating business and hand out some Google swag. The first 150 customers will be eligible.

Below is a list of some of the participating businesses, which will also be offering a $5 Taste of Fifth Ave food or drink special (and maybe even some free samples if you stop by):

El Viejo Yayo - 36 5th Avenue
Sky Ice - 63 5th Avenue
Juice Masters - 77 5th Avenue
Los Pollitos - 148 5th Avenue
Kiku - 177 5th Avenue
LOBO - 188 5th Avenue
200 Fifth - 200 5th Avenue
Comida - 230 5th Avenue
Aunt Suzies - 247 5th Avenue
Trois Pammes Patisserie - 260 5th Avenue
Baluchis - 310 5th Avenue
M and S Prime Meats - 312 5th Avenue
El Sito Boriquen - 341 5th Avenue
Colombia - 376 5th Avenue
Coco Roco - 392 5th Avenue
Tacos Nuevo Mexico - 491 5th Avenue
Grills Delight and Juice Bar - 587 5th Avenue
Has-Beans - 620 5th Avenue

Alchemy - 56 5th Avenue

Culture An American Yogurt Company - 331 5th Avenue

Ginger's Bar - 363 5th Avenue

Perch - 365 5th Avenue

Kappa Sake House - 388 5th Avenue

Peppino's - 469 5th Avenue

Timboo's 477 5th Avenue

Edible Arrangements - 500A 5th Avenue

Energy Fuel - 606A 5th Avenue

Sponsored by Google Places, TD Bank and the Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID.
RSVP for the event via Facebook!

To find out what Google Places will be up to next, follow @GoogleNYC on Twitter and on Facebook!

Last Night of Dancing

Okay, this is it. This is the last night of Dancing Under the Stars!

Enjoy one more performance by Rolie Polie Guacamole before the summer ends and the kids go back to school. See you there! The show starts at 6.

Tonight: Square Dancing !

Tonight is the last "adult" night at Dancing Under the Stars (which sadly means that summer is nearly over). It's ending on a fun note, though, with Square Dancing! Join The Backyard Boys with caller Dave Harvey as they get feet moving on Fourth Street, starting at 7 pm.

By the way, if you missed LA Saxy last week, you missed an amazing performance. Luckily, his friend took a great video of some of the tunes. Check it out, below:

Getting Back to Normal

Here are some photos of damage by Hurricane Irene, taken by local Fifth Avenue photographer Erika Clark. If you have photos of your own, post a link in the comments, below, and we'll share them here.

For the most part, life on Fifth should be back to normal, today. We'll let you know if we hear otherwise.

News Round-Up

Your FIPS Guide to Hurricane Irene [FIPS]

10 Things Ted Mann Wants You To Know About His Giant Beer Hall [PS Patch]

Zito’s Sandwich Shop is an Old-school Treat [Brooklyn Paper]

Fleisher’s Park Slope Opening Soon! [Brownstoner]

Song of Summer Ending [PS Patch]

Your Guide to the Best Noodles in Town [Brooklyn Paper]

Upcoming Events (Beat the Hurricane)

Well, it looks like an earthquake wasn't enough. We have a hurricane on the way this weekend. What a fun week!

So, take this opportunity to get out and do something on Fifth before you get stuck inside. Here are some ideas:

• Battle Week: events have been going on all week and this weekend the festivities come to a conclusion. Some of these events could get rained out, so check out the schedule here. or, drop by The Old Stone House to check out their Battle of Brooklyn Exhibit. Gallery Hours 11 am – 4 pm, Sat/Sun.


• Tonight: Uke Night: Suavarinos with special guest openers Sonic (Freddy's Bar), Skill or be skilled & DJBooth present Skyzoo (Southpaw), Classic Metal w/ DJ Malfeasance 9p (The Fifth Estate).


• Tomorrow Night: LAVA-BEARD: NEW BEARD LAVALIER LADY AYE (Union Hall), Live music by Voltera TBA (The Fifth Estate), Randy Johnston / Andi Rae & Animal Pharm/Evil Woman/Amy Steinberg/Jaclyn Dima (Freddy's Bar), Live On Stage NY (Southpaw).

For more events, check out our Google Calendar.

Also, while the weather is still good, don't forget to shop and eat along Fifth Avenue. And where better to wait out a hurricane than at a local bar? Find what you need at the Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID'S online business directory.