Chalkboard outside Exit 9
The East Village and the Lower East Side, both rich in LGBTQ and drag history, are essential neighborhoods to party in this Gay Pride weekend (and oh, what a week it’s been), and Williamsburg has recovered enough from Brooklyn’s own celebration earlier this month to be ready for round two. Read on for our lineup of Pride picks, including a Madonna dance party, a camp-themed rave, and not one but two rooftop pool parties at the Thompson LES Hotel.
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(Photo: Daniel Maurer)
Hey, hey: we just spotted this neon signage going up on the corner of Second Avenue and East First Street in the East Village, where Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken is set to open in late July, according to a construction manager.
Speaking of Brooklyn-Manhattan empires: Greenpoint’s Café Grumpy appears to be on a slow, steady course of dominating Manhattan. Last month, Café Grumpy Time’s Square was announced – and now? Looks like they’re set to arrive at Grand Central Station. [The Real Deal] More →
The line outside McCarren Park Pool, one day after opening. (Photo: Natalie Rinn)
This morning, a line of eager swimmers stretched half the length of McCarren Park Pool and poured onto the sidewalk. Why so many people on day two? Probably because everyone read about the opening . According to a cop on hand, the pool’s unofficial website flubbed up, marking today as the season opener. The pool’s location in “romantic, downtown Greenpoint” (see mildly NSFW screenshot below) is maybe also not the most accurate.
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Nice one, guys. (Photo: Daniel Maurer)
Scaffolding has gone up in front of Mary Help of Christians Church and demolition work has commenced at the rectory next door, but hey… at least the contractor’s logo is in keeping with the spirit of the place?
The small group of ex-parishioners who still pray the rosary in front of the 96-year-old church on East 12th Street are really going to have to hope for a miracle now: Bedford + Bowery has discovered that a few days ago, the Landmarks Preservation Commission rejected calls for an archaeological study to be conducted, making it all the more likely that Doug Steiner, who bought the property for $41 million back in November, will demolish it and replace it with an 80/20 mix of market-rate and affordable housing.
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There are customers and then there are Regulars.
Mari de Monte at Black Rabbit (Photo: Erbu Yildiz)
The kitchen of the Greenpoint apartment that 28-year-old Mari de Monte shares with her cat, Nina Simone, just happens to look into the backyard of her favorite bar: Black Rabbit. She’s so big on the place, she has a tattoo of its logo on her arm.
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Proposed Commercial Street Expansion (Photo: Natalie Rinn)
“Yes, there is a gigantic sandwich landing on Greenpoint,” said Ward Dennis. “The question is how can we make it better?”
During a community workshop last night at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (an invitation to a water treatment plant? how could we say no!?), the co-chair of Neighbors Allied for Good Growth managed to make us super hungry while talking about two housing developments – known as Greenpoint Landing and 77 Commercial Street – that already have full approval to add over 5,000 apartment units and more than 170,000 square feet of public open space to Greenpoint’s northern shores. Construction begins next year.
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Folks sure seem to feel strongly about the 7-Eleven bound for Avenue A. (Photo: Phillip Pantuso)
A 7-Eleven opens once every three hours, according to Scott Teachenor, market manager for 150 of them around the city and Long Island. “We’re the largest retailer in the world,” he told residents of the Seward Park Housing Co-Op last night. “I’m kinda proud of that.”
At a sometimes contentious meeting to discuss the store’s second Lower East Side branch — slated to open next month at 403 Grand Street — co-op residents raised questions about everything from late-night robberies to the Kelvin temperature of the store’s light bulbs.
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Moishe’s Place (Photo: Natalie Rinn)
If you were deep in the heart of South Williamsburg Monday night, you might’ve come across a baffling scene: four Hasidim stood outside 868 Bedford Avenue, chanting loudly in protest against the grand opening of Moishe’s Place, a kosher take-out and delivery restaurant that — in addition to falafel, soups and salads — serves a Shabbos menu on Thursdays.
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A 28-year-old man was shot to death in Bushwick early this morning. No suspects have been arrested. [DNAinfo]
A man in a station wagon drove into the front gates of Tompkins Square Park in the early hours of the morning. [EV Grieve]
Really disturbing, strategically placed alligator limbs have been found strewn across Williamsburg. [NY Daily News] More →
Cleanup early this morning. (Photo: Alexandra Glorioso)
We’ve got an update for you about the incident that closed down Alaska last night. Skyler Insler, co-owner of the Bushwick drinks den, describes it as a “freak electrical fire.”
“Only a portion of the bar was damaged,” he told us. “Since the fire was in the wall, they had to tear a lot of the wall and ceiling down to extinguish it. I don’t think it will be months, maybe weeks.”
Insler said he was grateful for the fire department’s “amazingly fast” response and that nobody was hurt. “I think we’ll have a big party when we re-open, so looking forward to that!”