City councilman Stephen Levin speaks during press conference.
“There is a no more senseless or inhumane action than to leave a body in the street,” declared city councilman Ydanis Rodriguez at a news conference earlier today at the Greenpoint intersection where 27-year-old Neftaly Ramirez was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver early Saturday morning.
(flyer via Point Green / Facebook)
Tümbiverse
Opening Thursday, July 27 at Point Green, 7 pm to 11 pm. On view through August 5.
Despite what you may think, “Tümbiverse” isn’t a weird German futuristic version of Tumblr. It refers to painter Michael Bianchino’s sweeping and immersive “technicolor portraits” that invite all types of self-expression. He won’t be the only one creating art, as Bianchino and co-curator Jasmine Williams have asked 20 innovative folk to do what they do alongside his vibrant mini-worlds. The result is expansive, featuring textiles, video art, sculpture, performance art, voguing, and even a living doll experience courtesy of Toshi Salvino.
On the last day of the exhibition, the band Confetti Armor will lead a hands-on workshop on “blanket forts as ritual practice,” which will surely justify any of the times your mom said you were wasting time making a blanket fort growing up. Uh, mom, I was doing important ritual work. And if you’re hungry for even more art in a Greenpoint photo studio, earlier in the week Point Green will also be showing How This Has To Be Told, a 35mm slideshow of photos by Martha Naranjo Sandoval that interrogates old photos and the power they have. More →
Cooper Park residents Guillermo Nunez and Maria Albarado enjoying a free meal © Kasper van Laarhoven
A $340,000 “Angelmobile” has started cruising the streets of North Brooklyn, handing out free meals in Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Bushwick. The state-of-the-art food truck– funded in part by Norman Brodsky, the entrepreneur who drew ire from community activists when he held out on selling his valuable waterfront property for parkland— is more than just a mobile soup kitchen. Inside, it has an office space where a rotating array of neighborhood organizations can dole out social services.
Flying Lotus with mic, George Clinton in hat. (Photo: Daniel Maurer)
We warned you that Flying Lotus’s debut feature, Kuso, would be one of the grossest, weirdest movies in recent memory. Sure enough, after last night’s Rooftop Films screening an audience member had just one question for FlyLo.
“Why?”
WEDNESDAY
(image via Ground Floor Comedy)
Ground Floor Live
Wednesday, June 7 at Brooklyn Bazaar, 9 pm: FREE
Ground Floor Comedy, an online space for comedic videos and newsletter listing IRL comedy shows in Brooklyn and beyond, will be putting on their first live show tonight at Greenpoint’s Brooklyn Bazaar. There’ll be sketch, improv, and other absurdities from a silly group of comics and performers, many of which will be familiar faces if you’ve ever been to the Annoyance or new weekly series RUDE at South 4th Bar.
The whole affair is guest hosted by Mo Fry Pasic and Tim Platt, who always bring a special something to shows. If you come early at 8pm, there will be a “meat themed variety show” to spotlight new voices in the comedy scene, and I love a good themed show.
THURSDAY
Paul Alexander by Valentin Xtravaganza (via Howl Happening / Facebook)
Inside Out Upside Down
Thursday, June 1 at C’mon Everybody, 8 pm: FREE
Movement Research shows typically happen in places formally designated for performance, where people gather in chairs and observe dance pieces and exit when they are done. Tonight, they’re switching it up. As part of their annual Spring Festival, curated by Laurie Berg, Monstah Black, and Amy Khoshbin, dancers and movers and beyond will be congregating at Bed-Stuy bar C’mon Everybody. There, the night will shift in between performance and party, as a variety of movement artists, DJs, MCs and more explore the question: “What is the role of the club in activating a community and creating a cross-cultural blend?”
The night’s performers include Richard Kennedy, Tendayi Kuumba, and Larissa Velez-Jackson of the group Yackez. In addition to dancers and DJ sets, there will also be a special MC workshop led by producers from “nightclub hybrid” Jackie 60.
Contempt (Le Mepris, 1963).
However, there are some things to look forward to in the summer. One of them is Films on the Green. Cinema buffs – and francophiles – will want to mark their calendars for the popular outdoor film series, which returns June 2nd and runs through the 7th.
Renters, rejoice!
A new bill meant to hold New York landlords criminally accountable for harassing tenants was introduced today by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
It’s no secret that some landlords are less than easy to deal with. Because of high population and demand, New York City is a landlord’s playground. As a result, tenants are sometimes taken advantage of and suffer in shoddy living conditions.
(Photo courtesy of Hamish Smyth, Order)
If you’re the kind of person who delights in debating the relative merits of font serifs or reminiscing about the heyday of subway sign design then you may have a new place to congregate with the like-minded. The founders of Greenpoint-based design firm Order recently opened Standards Manual– to their knowledge New York’s only specialty graphic design bookstore.
