Stoop Sales, Block Parties, & Bikes! The PSP Guide to Pre-Summer Fun.

• 
• 

Details

Parent Category: Newsflashes

Category: Newsflash

Spring has sprung and it's time for three of our favorite Brooklyn springtime traditions: Stoop Sales, Block Parties, and Bike Rides.

Here is some great wisdom on all three of those perennial BK topics. Have fun! Sell some stuff! Boogie down your block! Enjoy the breeze on your back as you bike with your BFFs. 

STOOP SALE INFO: 

Check out these informative guides to making stoop sale exchanges GREAT:
- The PSP Guide to buying great stuff at Stoop Sales.
- The PSP Guide to hosting a Stoop Sale.

Email your Stoop Sale info to the on Thursday and we'll post it, and also pull together a summary to send out to folks - weather willing of course.

BLOCK PARTY INFO:

Check out different ways to make your BLOCK PARTY GREAT! This page also includes fun ideas for kids at block parties. If you give us a heads up, Park Slope Parents will try to stop by with some Giant Bubbles! Email . 

BIKING INFO: 

 Here are the RULES OF THE ROAD for bikers from the DOT. 

Here’s a list of BIKE TIPS from the DOT. This page includes: 

· Bike Maps 

· Bike Map App 

· Bike Network & Stats 

· Bike Parking 

· Bike Safety 

· Bikes in Buildings 


Have you heard about the 
Leading Pedestrian and Bicycle Interval Pilot Program - aka "LPI?" 
Here's the scoop: 

NYC DOT is conducting a pilot program to allow cyclists to proceed during a Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI). DOT is installing temporary signage at intersections that already have an LPI. With these signals, people on foot are given advanced time ­­of seven to eleven seconds ­­to cross before drivers may proceed through the intersection or make turns through crosswalks. Cyclists will still be legally required to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. Pilot locations will include intersections along Atlantic Avenue, 4th Ave, and Smith Street in Brooklyn as well as Roosevelt and 34th Avenues in Queens, and 2nd and 9th Avenues in Manhattan. Here's a full list of Leading Pedestrain Interval locations.

NYC DOT distributes up to 325,000 copies per year of the New York City Bike Map, which contains the most important rules of the road highlighted in the Bike Smart Guide. Bike Smart: The Official Guide to Cycling in New York City is a helpful handbook with information on making your cycling safer and easier, including tips on using newer bike facilities such as protected lanes and bike boxes.

Helmets
Everyone should wear a helmet while riding. DOT fits and gives away the official New York City bicycle helmet at events throughout the city. Call 311 to schedule a fitting. In order to receive a helmet you must: be present, learn how to properly fit and wear a helmet, and sign a waiver (a parent or legal guardian must sign for children under 18). Find the next helmet fitting on the Events Calendar

DOT's 'Don't Be A Jerk' bike safety campaign humorously highlights the essential dos and don’ts of safe, responsible biking. According to DOT's 2010 Sustainable Streets Index, commuter cycling increased 262% in New York City from 2000 to 2010. With more bikes on the road, smart cycling is even more crucial to making New York City's streets safer for everyone using them.
Learn more about DOT's bike Safety Campaign: Don't Be a Jerk!

NYC Biking Laws:

Cyclists have all the rights and are subject to all of the duties and regulations applicable to drivers of motor vehicles. Here's a complete list of New York City bicycle rules.

Here are the basics:  
Ride in the street, not on the sidewalks (unless rider is age 12 or younger and the bicycle's wheels are less than 26 inches in diameter). 

• Ride with traffic, not against it. 

• Stop at red lights and stop signs. Obey all traffic signals, signs and pavement markings, and exercise due care to avoid colliding with pedestrians, motor vehicles or other cyclists. At red lights, wait for the green unless you see a sign that says “BIKES USE PED SIGNAL.” 

• Use marked bike lanes or paths when available, except when making turns or when it is unsafe to do so. If the road is too narrow for a bicycle and a car to travel safely side by side, you have the right to ride in the middle of the travel lane. Bicycling is permitted on all main and local streets throughout the City, even when no designated route exists. 
• Use a white headlight and a red taillight, as well as a bell or horn and reflectors. Safety Tips 
• Ride in a straight line, obey traffic signs and signals, and do not weave in and out of traffic. Riding predictably reduces your chances of a crash with a motor vehicle. 
• Look, signal and look again before changing lanes or making a turn. Establish eye contact with drivers. Seeing a driver is often not enough. Make sure drivers see you before executing a turn or riding in front of a turning car. 
• Watch out for car doors. Be prepared for the possibility that a car door may be opened in your path. When possible, leave room between yourself and parked cars (4 feet is generally recommended) so that you can avoid a door that opens unexpectedly. 
• Stay visible. Wear brightly colored clothing for daytime riding. At night, use reflective materials and lights. 

• Use your bell. Your bell alerts drivers, pedestrians and other cyclists to your presence, it is required by law. 

• Don't wear earphones. By law you may wear one earbud, but keeping your ears clear is a much safer choice. 

• Wear a helmet. Helmets are required by law for children age 13 or younger and working cyclists, helmets are a good idea for cyclists of all ages. 
For Children on Bicycles 
• Children under age one cannot be carried on a bicycle. 

• Children must be carried in a properly affixed child carrier. 


Now go forth and sell on your stoop, party on your block, and bike the neighborhood!

Making the Best Family Memories

• 
• 

Details

Parent Category: Newsflashes

Category: Newsflash

Article sponsored by:

How do we make the best memories for our children? Is it always the exotic vacation or lavish gift that becomes indelible? Or are the best memories sometimes the simple shared moments that happen in the breaths we take in our busy lives? Creating funny characters and voices while reading to our kids. Making pancakes for dinner or doing wild dance parties in pajamas. Here are some unique ways we can create wonderful memories throughout our children’s lives.

Un-Holiday Traditions
Whatever your holiday traditions are, we’re sure you do them just right! You are the dreidel diva, the valentine artisan, the fireworks master. Beyond those sturdy roles, though, there may be a favorite annual experience you could transform into a singular family tradition, whether on the water, on the diamond, in the heavens: a visit to the dragon boat races in Queens, with some delicious dumplings; a trip to Coney Island for a Cyclones game; a solstice journey to Midtown to see Manhattanhenge. Name your own. It can evolve into a shared lifelong family rite.

Family Sport
There is no guarantee that your kids will be into the same sports you are, but you've got a better shot if you build slowly and stay open to their feedback. The idea is to ward off whining, frozen-footed flailers and cultivate the ski buddies of your dreams. Take lessons together – golf, tennis, skiing, skating, swimming – and show them that lifelong learning includes the body as well as the mind. Stop along the way to watch some ants, dip your toes in a stream, or, literally, smell the roses. We’ve heard about some smart (and well-prepared) parents who created a “magic mountain” by hiding sweets and tiny gifts along the route of a challenging hike. The children were amazed – and into hiking.

Thanksgiving Every Sunday
Almost every family talks a bit about gratitude on Thanksgiving. Some don't wait for November, saying a prayer every night or on one night before dinner. All are beautiful traditions. If you don't already observe such a ritual, why not make one out of a weekend meal? It doesn't even have to be about gratitude – you can make it whatever you want. Some families call it the GFQ – the Great Family Question. The question, or item, can change weekly so it doesn’t get boring. Guess what Mom had for lunch, recount the week's funniest moment, or tell everyone your favorite new word. Kids remember these weekly conversations, and they offer time for reflection in our busy lives.

Break the Rules
Even babies (especially babies?) are thrilled when social norms are broken. You start singing and your six-month-old thinks it’s hysterical. Anytime you can safely break the rules and create your own unique family moment automatically becomes a magical memory. Making a big sheet cake that everyone gets to eat with their hands. Putting your clothes on backwards or having magic carpet rides on the floor with towels. Letting all the stuffed animals sit on the stoop to watch the world go by and painting the walls with finger paints before they get repainted. Camping out on the living room floor. Once, on a vacation, we drove to our rented house with a stuffed animal under each windshield wiper taking in the scenery. The kids still talk about it.

Buck Hill Falls is a haven for families seeking a unique sense of community connection with recreational amenities and social experiences. Nestled in 4500+ acres of old growth forest in the Pocono Mountains, Buck Hill has a 27-hole golf course, youth summer camp, ten tennis courts, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, two lawn bowling greens, 40+ miles of hiking, snowshoeing, and biking trails, 2+ miles of fly fishing streams, and over a dozen other four-season recreational offerings.