Here’s a recap of just a few of the events, organizations and members who have made 2023 great.
Grateful for our Amazing Outdoor Spaces
Our local parks and playgrounds are our oasis amongst the concrete. PSP truly could not do what we do were it not for the wonderful spaces and organizations we partner with. From fabulous parks, playgrounds, public spaces, museums, libraries, and organizations that run them, these spaces welcome our members and contribute to the rich tapestry that is Brooklyn. From the halloween parades to harvest festivals to outdoor movies, outdoor concerts, we continue to love showing up, blowing bubbles, and spreading fun and crafts in the great outdoors to help families enjoy ALL of Brooklyn.
Park Slope Parents members enjoyed so many events hosted by the Old Stone House this year, including our outdoor clothing swap; Lalopalooza and Suzi Shelton concerts; Dads soccer and basketball; babywearing events (look for more of those!) and, of course, our WONDERFUL PSP Clothing Swap (next one in the spring!).
We had our Summer Fridays in Prospect Park, SHOWTIME® movies under the stars, and so many wonderful picnics, meet-ups, and walks. Thanks for your wonderful space!
How many times did our baby/toddler groups meet up in this great space? 250? 300? What a great urban jungle to meet up and bond with others.
Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy
Donations to BBPC help keep their great programming flowing, including their Kite Festival, Harvest Fest, Summer Movies, exercise classes, and so many wonderful family events!
NOTE: The budget for NYC Parks is slated to be cut. You can help by donating to these great green spaces. Use the links provided to give generously to the spaces you have used over the past year. Even $10 (a sliver of what you’d spend on a music class), will help keep these places thriving through budget cuts. If you have a minute, sign up for the email for New Yorkers for Parks – an organization trying to help keep the budgets from being further cut.
Other amazing partners
- Green-Wood Cemetery (gotta love our new parent stroller tours!)
- Brooklyn Museum of Art (with even more stroller tours happening in 2024)
- 5th Ave BID (open streets, tree and menorah lightings)
- Myrtle Avenue BID (Summer Nights)
- BRIC (and the Prospect Park Celebrate Brooklyn concerts)
- The Carroll Gardens Nanny Association (helping both nannies and employers do the right thing and hosting Nanny Appreciation Day)
- Josh K, our Barclays connection (providing discounted, group tickets to the NYLiberty, Nets, Disney on Ice, Harlem Globetrotters)
Thankful for our Experts - From Webinars to Mental Health Check-ins
Dana Szarf from Casa Parenting is our go to expert for all things Preschool, 3K, PreK, Kindergarten, Elementary and Middle school. Joyce Szuflita from NYC School Help continues to calm us by answering important questions on our email groups and doing school talks. Deena Maerowitz helped us prepare us and our kids for the college journey.
Lending their expertise to our future we were able to look to our futures.
- Rachel Garrett helped us grow meaningful careers.
- Kate Mangino helped us understand that Equal Parenting is not about a manager/employee relationship between partners.
- A Better Balance helped us understand our workplace rights.
- The Specialists at NYP-Methodist helped us potty train our kids.
- Bill Smith helped us understand how to fund (hopefully) college.
- Janet Raiffia helped us revitalize our resumes.
- Thinking Caps helped us with executive functioning.
- Laura Fischer & Shannon McNulty helped us with our estate planning.
- ISAAGNY helped us understand how to raise more compassionate kids.
- Theresa Linnihan helped us make Giant Puppets.
- Lisa Damour and BUGS school helped us understand the emotional lives of teenagers.
- Rachel Lotus helped us talk about sex with our kids (it’s not just one talk).
- HRP Mamas partnered with us on a number of talks to help us with mental health, breastfeeding and more.
We had help trying to keep our kids and ourselves mentally healthy and safe.
- Small Brooklyn Psychology and the team (with Mandi White-Ajmani at the helm) helped us with anxiety, ADHD, and talking to our kids about weed.
- Dr. Amy Baker helped us co-parenting with a toxic ex.
- The Motherhood Center helped our expectant parents look for signs of mental health issues before and after birth.
- Heights and Hills helped us manage our lives as caregivers to our aging parents.
- The Jed Foundation helped us with our kids’ mental health as it relates to their use of technology.
Shout out also to Brooklyn Public Library (especially the Park Slope location) for hosting us with our webinars, clothing swaps, and language storytimes. Special thanks also to the folks at the FBI for both the Internet Safety and Elder Fraud webinars. Special thanks to James Henry who hosted our Green-wood Cemetery Stroller Tours.
Our Awesome Musicians who entertained us throughout the year: Suzi Shelton, Hopalong Andrew, and Lavender Blues.
Since one of our missions is to give kids more independence (which will ultimately help their mental health), a special shout to Let Grow and Lenore Skenazy for partnering with PSP on a number of webinars and our Summer of Independence. Give your 5+ kids a bit of freedom every week using their Let Grow Project to guide the way!
Businesses we LOVE
So many venues welcomed our PSP members with open arms and allowed us to commune with each other in a wonderful, warm setting. PLEASE support these great establishments!
Platinum Meetup Spots!
- Sixpoint
- Brookvin
- Sip & Play
- Winemak'her
- That Bar
Gold Meetup Spots!
- Black Forest
- 390 Social
- DSK Un Posto Italiano
- Pasta Louise
- Beer Street South
- Winner (in the park and on 7th Ave)
- Brewers Row
- Wild East Brewer
- Elk Cafe
- Nitehawk
- Greenwood Park
- Dean Crossfit
- Polly’s Cafe
- Bee's Knees
- Logan's Run
- The Armory
- Simple Loaf
- Milk & Honey (RIP)
- Dirty Precious
- R&D Foods
- Franklin Park
- Alta Calidad
- Ogliastro
Special Shout Out to our ONLINE Advertisers. To all of the businesses who bought advertising to help keep our staff and our initiatives going strong. Their support keeps our membership fees low. When you support our advertisers, you support Park Slope Parents.
Grateful to our Members– the heart and soul of Park Slope Parents
PSP “411” events. These events involve members coming and telling others about their experiences involving anything from becoming a dad (Dad 411), going back to work (Back to Work 411), or giving birth (Birth & Beyond 411). We had a dozen of these events and appreciate the time and attention that our “Been There, Done That” folks gave to help others. Special thanks to Brendan Hackett for facilitating Dad 411. Helpers included Allyson D, Ria H, Adrienne C, Jacki R, Andrea S, Jen T, Mary S, Simmi M, Dan J, Amanda Z, Tiffany L, Heather P, Ayush and Amy, Erin K, Benjamin L, Calli KP, Juliette MM, Eveline C, Ruthie J, and Reneya F.
Career networking. We have over 20 career networking groups, from finance to law, tech to therapists, to editors to architects and more. We had over 50 meetups this year during the daytime and after work hours. We also had a “AMA” (ask me anything which was a big hit and which we’ll do more in 2024! These events have champions, and we appreciate Michelle K, Rebecca B, Alizah R, Jennifer K, David P, Soren K, Aja S, Mandi W-A, Racheli M, Rachel L, Alexis W, Jocelyn F, Emily MB, Ada, Mari B, Jennifer C, Allie E, Mark R, Bex, S and so many more more!
Our Other Parenting Groups: PSP has over 150 Parenting Groups, Specialty Groups, and Career Groups that reflect a wide range of hobbies, interests, backgrounds, family configurations, and professional fields. As always, our members who organize meetups keep these groups vibrant and active. WOMBATS (wonderful older mothers of babies and toddlers) bonded with the help of Elizabeth W, Joanne W, and Karena W. Game night was more fun with the help of Chris R and Artis B. Activists help organize change for good with the help of Camile W and Suz M. Book clubs happened because of Andrea R and Eileen G. The grandparents got together on Zoom and in person because of Judy S, Beverly K, and Sylvia PS. There are more than 200 OTHER people to thank for making Baby Group meetups, Single/Divorced/Separated Group meetups, Toddler Group meetups, Stay at Home Parents Group meetups happen.
Special Shout out to the PSP Clothing Swap Organizers! These folks help manage the 80 organizers, the 650 participants, the 100 or so donators, and so much more! The next one will be here soon-- Spring 2024!
The Fabulous PSP Team
As always, a special shout-out to the Park Slope Parents Team. Did you know that Park Slope Parents has a member-to-staff ratio of about 1,400 to 1? Our team continues to go above and beyond, supporting this amazing community.
Dorothy deftly handled in-person and Zoom events, taking last-minute sign-ups in stride, sharing venue recommendations with members organizing meet-ups, and providing personalized attention to the many amazing folks who presented with us in webinars and workshops.
Sean was a troubleshooter extraordinaire for all things membership, helping new sign-ups get where they needed to go and creating a seamless experience for all.
Talya lent an editorial eye to emails, social media, and online content, maintained PSP’s homegrown Yellow Pages (our Reviews section), coordinated media sponsorships with local orgs, and lent a hand to the events and membership teams on various initiatives.
Rachel continues to help businesses and members get connected through advertising. She also approves messages on the Classifieds and Advice Group, helping everyone get great deals and have great exchanges.
Colleen and her amazing attention to detail keeps us on track and consistent. Her awesomeness in documenting PSP’s every move is magical!
Samantha Fox van Putten was key in helping PSP with its brain trust– the PSP Clothing Swap playbook, website, and so many dropped balls that keep the juggle in order.
The Nanny Moderator has the job (and historical knowledge) to make sure that nanny/employer relationships on our Classifieds are above board as well as accurate. Also new is the salary transparency law requiring employers to disclose rates so nannies know what to expect.
The PSP Anonymous Post Moderator deserves a special shout out, being a mediator between hard situations and advice from members. The APM helped members tackle all sorts of issues in 2023, including breast cancer support, kids with anxiety, sleep issues, toddler rage, calming down at night, hormone therapy, feeling lonely, grief therapy, marriage advice, and so much more.
Special Shout Outs
Dr. Philippa Gordon once again came through with lots of great information about any number of issues, from pediatric urologist recs to endocrinologists to ticks. She also helped blow the whistle on places not giving pregnant folks their RSV vaccines.
Special shout out to Emily Gould and her coverage of Park Slope Parents turning 21!
