Greenpoint
Brooklyn restaurateurs swap epic food-failure tales for Red Hook small-business relief
In addition to stories by Brooklyn chefs and restaurant owners, there were food vendors (among them Frites 'N' Meats, Dreamscoops, and Anarchy in a Jar); a raffle (prizes included a box of kombucha from Mombucha and a gift card for BrisketTown); and “speed networking” for food professionals, sponsored by Work It Brooklyn. The website Brooklyn Based co-sponsored the event. If it were possible to OD on the Brooklyn brand, this was the place to do it. More
Still no Williamsburg trains, but the G and L train tunnels are now dry
The G and L train tunnels, which just yesterday were still flooded, have now been pumped dry, the M.T.A. announced. More
Trainless Brooklyn: Williamsburg and Greenpoint stew as the M.T.A. turns to the G and L
Unlike their counterparts in Staten Island and Rockaway, Williamsburg and Greenpoint residents emerged from Sandy largely unscathed.
Nevertheless, their patience with the city's otherwise widely lauded transit recovery efforts is growing thin. More
A skeptic calls for speed-camera experimentation on McGuinness Boulevard
Thanks to "all of the accidents and deaths," Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, a one-time speed camera skeptic, on Wednesday renewed his call for the traffic-calming devices along McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint.
"I think that it’s about time we tried it," he said. More
(4)In Greenpoint, an all-day film fest will honor late French filmmaker Chris Marker
Light Industry, known for its weekly events series, has invited a number of artists, professors and critics to deliver introductory remarks and remembrances. More
Robert Anasi's memoir of Williamsburg in flux
On a tour through the neighborhood, Anasi pointed out some landmarks featured in the book, like the enduring Greenpoint Tavern and Veracruz restaurant, as well as the site of the legendary L Café, now Brooklyn Bagelsmith. “This used to be a Mafia restaurant," he said, passing a weathered three-story brick building on Kent Avenue. "But it was hardly ever open for business. A bunch of prostitutes were found dead around here, and the theory was that the owners had them killed.” More
Karolina Waclawiak on her debut novel, the immigrant experience, and Russian gangsters
She’s now telling her own stories, in a new book just out from Two Dollar Radio, titled How To Get Into The Twin Palms. Her deceptively slim debut novel focuses on Anya, a young Polish-born woman living—and attempting to fit in—in a mostly Russian neighborhood in Los Angeles. In many ways Anya wants what most women want: both passion and acceptance. She craves the exclusivity of a nearby nightclub: the Twin Palms. When one of the local bad-boy gangster types starts hanging around outside of her apartment, she sees a way to gain entrance to the club. More
The bad old days at McCarren Park Pool
As a teenager, Drexler, who grew up in Williamsburg and now lives in Middle Village, said he and his friends would jump the fence after the pool closed for the day. “There’d be a hundred kids in there after hours, indulging in alcohol and marijuana,” he said. Most nights, the police would drive by and see them in the water. “But if we weren’t causing trouble, they’d just keep driving,” he said. “It was a different society in those days.” More
(2)Respite, and a little roughhousing, on the opening weekend of McCarren Park Pool
“Eventually our child will be a teenager,” she said. “Teenagers still need somewhere to hang out, so this is a good place for them to go because it’s free if you’re under 17, and they can use the recreation center. It’s a good place for them to go to stay out of trouble as long as they use it in the right way.” “But I don’t think it deterred anybody from coming because they’re just teenagers; that’s going to happen when you live in the city,” she said. More
(1)The 'drastic miscalculation' that stalled the greening of Greenpoint-Williamsburg
On a hazy Monday morning, Rami Metal, a City Council aide who’d borrowed his girlfriend’s creaky blue bike to give me a tour of the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront, gestured to a parking lot full of white-and-blue MTA Access-a-Ride vans and said, “A beautiful park, right?” More
(1)Following whitefish, the appetizing staple, from the Great Lakes to Greenpoint's Gem Street smoker
Nearly a century old, Acme is the largest smoked-fish producer in the country, processing up to eight million pounds of fish every year. The company sells its own line of smoked salmon, whitefish, sable, herring, and more to restaurants, delis, supermarkets, and bagel shops across the country, and wholesale to dozens of stores, from Zabar’s to Costco. And Acme does nearly everything by hand, in a squat brick warehouse just minutes from the bustle of Williamsburg. More
(1)Is Greenpoint ready for national television audiences? MTV says yes, with some sprucing up
The show follows 20-something Jason Strider (Peter Vack) and his friends through the tribulations particular to their age and neighborhood. The upright and responsible couple Stacey and Eric (Elizabeth Hower and Jordan Carlos) are finishing med school and law school, respectively, while Tina (Kim Shaw) and Jason stumble through hook-ups, failed relationships, and mid-twenties malaise. Superficially, the show seems like another instance of an MTV teen/twenties sex-and-sentiment dramedy (cf. Undressed, Skins, and even the past decade or so of The Real World). In the pilot, Jason commiserates with Tina over his inability to get laid and ends up taking a girl home from the bar, after which she borrows a pair of his pants and leaves him with a fake phone number. His yearning after said pants and the girl who wore them—and all the stymied possibilities and disappointment they represent—constitutes the emotional through line for the show. Neither boyfriend jeans nor ex-girlfriend jeans, they're mere hook-up jeans. More
Wandering Kiwi Liam Finn takes up residence in Brooklyn, slays it
"I realized that I had gotten used to playing live and moving around and being stimulated," the multi-instrumentalist told me. "Being in one place and being isolated was probably like going cold turkey off a drug, which was adrenaline. I was afraid I was missing out on the life I had created over here touring I’ll Be Lightning. Ultimately, I’ve felt a lot more at home just being here for the past few months." More
On a Sunday afternoon in Greenpoint, 'Avant-Brunch' tests the market for 'grown-ass shit': Music and a sit-down meal
“I wanted to do something that’s not standing at Death By Audio with a P.B.R. in your hand, organizer Chris Weingarten said. "We’ve been doing that for 15 years. This is so rare. You’re in a different state of awake at 1 p.m. on a Sunday than you are at 11 p.m. on a Thursday. I’m stressed because I have to go to work the next day. My feet hurt, my back hurts. Here, you’re more relaxed. There’s nothing getting in the way of you and the music. Sit. Enjoy.” More
(1)The WORD bookstore bestseller list, annotated
Unlike Spoonbill & Sugartown, North Brooklyn's other independent bookstore, the place called WORD is a hike from the L train stop at Bedford Avenue and North 7th Street, the beating heart of Williamsburg. It's in a quiet corner of Greenpoint among furniture stores and small restaurants, so the clientele is strictly local. More
