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Page Six, PHOENIXBrooklyn Art SceneBoosted by Hill FeteAs we see it, the Brooklyn Cultural Renaissance means the coming of the Masterworks Laboratory to Brooklyn Heights as well as the arrival of the Chelsea Theater at the Brooklyn Academy of Music; the Park Slope Galleries showing neighborhood artists while the Brooklyn Museum Community wing exhibits the work of residents from all around the borough. The new movement relates to the Brooklyn Symphony playing for the Clinton Hill community at the same time the Brooklyn Philharmoma performs to a more varied audience.The center seems to hold because the corners are being covered %u2014 because the creative spirits in the borough are concentrating on cultural concerns in their own neighborhoods as well as on the programs of the larger emporiums.Events this week in Cobble Hill give more credence to our contention of this parallel move. Under the guidance of Bill Pyles and Gypsy Laurie, and through the generosity of Father Luis Quiroga, Vicar of Christ Church, that area South of Atlantic Ave. is offering a week iong celebration of the arts, to culminate in a lavish ball in the French style %u2014 complete with music created by local players.Visitors so far have been moved by the spirit - the beauty of the. presentations at Christ Church, and PHOENIX, too, applauds the imagination of the festival planners as well as the Indian dances of Mari de la Soudiere, Mary Inwood%u2019s Anthem, and the painters, sculptors, craftspeople and photographers whose works are on display. Congratulations too, to all our fellow believers in South Brooklyn.It%u2019s A CrimeFrom the sound of the story elsewhere in the PHOENIX this week, it would appear that the urban Development Corporation (U.D.C.) and the city will come to the conclusion that if the StateSchermerhorn Housing Development is to proceed to construction within the coming year, it will probably do so with a much smaller number of units for low and moderate income families than had been previously negotiated.If this kind of agreement emerges, it will be a very poor reflection indeed on the community participation processes that have been built into U.D.C. The fact that the project is well advanced in the planning now and that there have been few meetings of the Community Advisory Committee (C.A.C.) would suggest that either the U.D.C. was taken by surprise by the Nixon announcement of a freeze on housing subsidies (and if they were, they were the only operation in the housing field that was), or U.D.C. and the city deliberately withheld from the C.A.C. and its constituent groups the hazy nature of the commitment that was being given locally.We hope to see the housing happen: Boerum Hill needs it; Downtown Brooklyn needs it. But it is sad indeed that such an exciting new government agency as U.D.C. should be given freedom from bureaucracy and red tape, then be allowed to cynically bypass the community participation components built into its operations.PUBLISH ED EV ER Y W EEK BYA D V O C A T E PRESS, INC.,a -------: J _ _ %u00bbM ich ae l A. Armstrong, Publisher132 CLIN TO N ST.,B R O O K LY N 11201TFI A 4 'l_ m *loTHINGS ARE LOOKING UP DEPARTMENT (Atlantic Avenue): The face of this block between Hicks and Henry Street has been changing over the past few years and more changes are in store as this new high-rise building of Long Island College Hospital nears completion and brings more people into the area. New shops have opened on this end of Atlantic Avenue in the past months, the most receni of which is the Flower Pot, which moved here from further east on the Avenue. Gallery 91 opened here last year.ApplyTo BuildPlaylotsMayor John V. Lindsay urges community groups to apply immediately to Playlots Project to develop vacant, city-owned lots into small playgrounds, sitting areas, and basketball courts.The program is jointly sponsored by the Mayor%u2019s Office of Neighborhood Government and the Department of Highways. Priority for spring construction will be given to those groups whose requests are received before March 1. Requests will continue to be considered during the year.An eligible lot must be cityowned, less than 50%u2019 by 100%u2019, available for at least five years and have a minimum of construction problems. In addition, there must be evidence of need for recreation space and of community support.Playlots are constructed by contractors under the supervision of the Department of Highways and are maintained by the Manhattan Bowery Project%u2019s Project Renewal.Playlots are designed to be low budget and make temporary use of vacant lots which are awaiting future development. The project cooperates with community groups and enlists their interests and desires in planning the neighborhood playlots.Playlots Project now maintains over 80 playlots in the city. The program received a matching grant dFrom the IT S. Housing and Urban Development Open Space Land Program to develop additional sites this year.%u201cThe Playlots Project has turned debris-filled vacant lots into much needed recreation spaces for our communities. With strong community participation in their design and creation, playlots have mscte s big difference to blocksContinued on Page nShow RIn ReducingCrimeThe 84th Precinct, after showing significant results in reducing the crime rate in and around Downtown Brooklyn, is hard at work cutting to cut the figures even more in 1973. Here are some of the Anti-Crime Programs in Force:%u2022 Crime Prevention Officer Robert Farentino is conducting a year-long education program among small shop owners in Downtown Brooklyn. Participating storekeepers will get a store security survey, suggestions on preventing shoplifting, and insurance information.%u2022 The banks of the area are cooperating in handing out literature on %u201c con games\elderly shoppers. Patrolman Farentino also hopes banks will mark their rooftops with their street addresses to aid in helicopter patrol efforts.%u00ab The Anti-Crime Team, headed by Sgt. Frank Romano, has expanded by four additional patrolmen. The team will continue the precinct%u2019s decoy operation and Manpower Distribution Analysis to control crime pockets in the area.%u2022 The precinct mounted patrol will specifically aim at curbing crime in parking iuu>, a bicycle paiiu! will be started in the spring; and foot patrolmen will continue surveillance work in the major shopping streets.(Reprinted from the Feb. 1973 issue of Downtown Brooklyn, Newsletter of Downtown Brooklyn Development Association, Edited by Monica Surfaro).