Howe’s Brooklyn: Collage Artist Partners with BAM To Welcome Sundance

BROWSING THE ART ON MAC PREMO’S flash web site is a bit like a trip to an old-time amusement park. His art is a little dark, convoluted and quite captivating. This spring, the in-house design team at Brooklyn Academy of Music recruited the multimedia Brooklyn artist to help design an announcement for the upcoming Sundance series that opens next Thursday, May 29. The event will kick off with the NY premiere of “American Teen,” the audience favorite at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Nanette Burstein, born in Buffalo, won Best Director for Documentary at Sundance for this film. Incidentally, Burnstein co-owns the Manhattan bar The Half-King with husband Scott Anderson. Sundance at BAM will include sets of theater and live music. Visit www.BAM.org for tickets and details or www.macpremo.com to see more from the artist.

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PARK SLOPE RESIDENT AND RESPECTED public radio host LEONARD LOPATE has agreed to lend his prominent voice to delivering Brooklyn College’s commencement address on Thursday, May 29. College President Christoph M. Kimmich also announced that in recognition of Lopate’s extraordinary career, and for his insightful, provocative and entertaining inquiry into the varied life of our great city and the world at large, Brooklyn College will present him with the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

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ON MONDAY, Brooklyn Eagle reported that students from Brooklyn Tech High School planned to compete that afternoon in the final round of a citywide business plan competition at Columbia University. Now, we owe the team members further congratulations for their first place win! Kyle Wong, Awad Sayeed, Izra Izrailov, Francesco Nuccio and Charles Naut swept the competition at the first Junior Achievement of New York (JANY) Business Plan Competition with their product, www.mycollegestat.com, an online utility that provides a variety of unconventional college admission data for perspective students. The friends plan to take the web site live and will continue its development while they attend college next year.

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WHAT DO NY STATE ASSEMBLYMEMBER JOAN MILLMAN, the historic Park Slope Food Coop, founding member of Taxi Workers Alliance Desai Bhairavi and classical composer-turned-political and environmental activist Josh Skaller share in common? All received honors from CBID on May 18 as it celebrated its 39th year of political activism at the Montauk Club in Park Slope. CBID didn’t disappoint, and continued the annual tradition of giving a Tarnished Fork Award to a Democrat whose “practices most represent what CBID is not about.” Last year it was given to Vito Lopez; this year’s not-so-lucky winner was Christine Quinn for her role in the ongoing slush fund scandal.

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CHRIS YIP, AN NYPD OFFICER who began to study piano just five years ago, will hold his first solo recital to benefit the 96-year-old Brooklyn Music School where he learned to play. The 28-year-old officer discovered the music school when walking his beat for the 88th precinct in 2004. “My parents always, even now, have believed that playing the piano is only a side hobby that would not get me anywhere,” said Yip. “So, I began working. Having my own job and salary, I bought an electric piano and tried to learn it by myself.” And so he finally has: In the June 7 concert he will perform music from an advanced classical repertoire.

Briefly Noted

JOSEPH G. SPONHOLZ, board member of Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, will be honored at the corporation’s annual benefit June 19 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, along with Gov. David A. Paterson and Deborah C. Wright of Carver Bancorp. As the oldest community development corporation (CDC) in the U.S., BSRC recently celebrated 40 years of service … Army Pfc. Rogelio A. Lamont has graduated from basic infantry training at Fort Benning, Columbus, Ga. Lamont is a 1994 graduate of Clara Barton High School, Brooklyn … Army National Guard Pvt. Stephen Cruz has graduated from Basic Combat training at Fort Sill, Lawton, Okla. Cruz is a 2007 graduate of All City Leadership Secondary School, Brooklyn.