When we were picturing the Ikea Shuttle, we were thinking of mini-bus type vehicles. The buses now cruising the streets of Park Slope, Gowanus and Red Hook, however, are a little bigger than that. Here’s one of the shuttles outside of Ikea on Saturday parked outside of “Ikea Plaza,” aka Beard Street. Today’s times has […]

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The Red Hook Vendors sort of came back on Saturday with five of them appearing at a block party at Coffey Park in Red Hook. The pupusa stand was there (minus the insane lines of late last summer and fall) as well as four others.

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Some of the Red Hook Vendors were back yesterday, but not at the Ballfields. Five of the vendors were at a block party in Coffey Park, near the Red Hook Houses. By the time we got there, thunderstorms had come through and the crowd was diminished. Nonetheless, people were on hand getting pupusas (no lines) […]

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[Photo courtesy of Vaduzuvant/flickr] This sofa comes to us from Coffey Street in Red Hook, a Brooklyn neighborhood that is soon to be a source of the Street Couches of the Future once Ikea opens its doors. It comes from our Gowanus Lounge Photo Pool. Click here to see the original photo.

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Here’s a selection of photos from the Red Hook Ikea preview yesterday of both the interior of the store, the exterior and the waterfront esplanade.

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There was an abundance of herring, salmon and other fish–not mention a lot of dessert–at yesterday’s media preview of the new Ikea on Beard Street, which will open at 9AM on June 18. The store will be Ikea’s 35th in the U.S. and the fifth in the tri-state area. Store Manager Mike Baker focused on […]

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We checked in on the debut of “What’s the Hook?” at the Kentler Gallery on Van Brunt Street in Red Hook on Saturday and found the photo show–which is culled from pics taken last August and submitted via flickr–is loaded with superb photos of the neighborhood. The photos will be up around Red Hook through […]

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The Red Hook Ikea won’t even be open for another 17 days, but we have our first Ikea Missed Connection to share as our Sunday Brooklyn Missed Connection of the week. It involves lust among the workers setting up the store. Here is is: We work in the new, big blue and yellow building in […]

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The Red Hook Ballfield Vendors had expected to be open by Memorial Day, but they weren’t. Spokesperson Cesar Fuentes says: “We cannot start until the city approves our permits [and these are] being processed as we speak. Unfortunately, that can still take a couple more weeks before we are given a go. Realistically speaking, we […]

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There is something interesting in the window of the former Schnack on Union Street: “According to some new signage, owner Jim Mamary (also owner of a vast number of establishments throughout the BK including Pomme de Terre, the Farm on Adderley, and the new Oyster Bar) and his co-owners owe the landlord upwards of $11,000 […]

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“Brooklyn pigeons have got it good these days. On Kane Street, they’ve found a cozy home under the scaffolding at the Rat-Squirrel House, with no one to kick them them to the curb. Meanwhile, on the corner of Richards and Coffey in Red Hook, some happy birds have made themselves at home in the very […]

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Have you joined our Gowanus Lounge Flickr Pool? Are you already a member? We welcome your contributions! And, don’t forget to tag those pics “gowanuslounge.” [Photo courtesy of arichman33/flickr] This is Red Hook’s Metal and Thread on Van Brunt Street, courtesy of our GL Photo Pool.

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Make sure to check out Ed Levine’s “Ikea Hack,” whose basic premise is that people in Manhattan and elsewhere can take advantage of some transportation supplements that will be coming with the opening of Ikea in Red Hook in a few weeks to check out the Ballfield Vendors. Ikea, of course, will have Water Taxi […]

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There is activity on Van Brunt Street in Red Hook in both the storefront that was Pioneer Inn and at 360. “As for 360, it’s for rent. Still looks like 360 inside. But there’s a new message, emblazoned on a t-shirt, hanging in the window: ‘Stop and Think.’ Stop and think about what? About renting […]

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A Hole in a Fence, which deals with a pre-Ikea Red Hook, is having its first screenings this month. It will be showing on May 29 at 7PM aboard the Waterfront Museum barge on Pier 44 in Red Hook. Per an email, “It will be followed by a discussion on the future of the New […]

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With the Ikea Red Hook set to open next month, a documentary called A Hole in a Fence by D.W. Young will be having its first local screenings soon, including one in Red Hook on May 29 at the Waterfront Museum Barge on Pier 44 (next to the Fairway). It will also screen on Wednesday, […]

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The Hamilton Avenue Bridge is being partly shut down at night for more work. Per an email from Community Board 6 District Manager Craig Hammerman: “I thought you might be interested in the following announcement from the Department of Transportation…Reconstruction of the Hamilton Avenue Bridge over the Gowanus Canal. Two Week Partial Bridge Closure: Starting […]

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“Outside the store, most of the trees and grass are in place, benches are scattered about the waterfront and lighting is set up. Inside, hundreds of staffers are unpacking merchandise and setting up room displays. We’ll be bringing you coverage from inside and outside the store throughout the day, so settle in—it’s going to be […]

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Given that one of the big selling points of the new Ikea in residents was the jobs it would make available for local residents, one of the huge questions is how many residents the store has hired. Jotham Sederstrom takes a stab at the subject in today’s Daily News. We say “stab” because Ikea’s policy […]

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Craig Hammerman, the district manager of Community Board 6, said that IKEA has been a good neighbor, listening and addressing concerns. “There were certain conditions that the community board had imposed on its land use review and IKEA has lived up to all of the conditions,” said Hammerman.–NY1

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If you’ve ever wanted to camp out an Ikea store before it opens, your chance is coming next month. The Ikea Red Hook opens on June 18, and Racked and Amy’s New York Notebook lead us to their webpage about the big camp out opportunity: Customers can begin lining up at IKEA Brooklyn at 9:00 […]

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[Photo courtesy of rembklyn/flickr] This was the sunset scene one recent night on Columbia Street on the waterfront in Red Hook where things were looking very orange.

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[Photo courtesy of Trina356/Gowanus Lounge Pool/flickr] Here’s a little taste of the Brooklyn Motor Inn life from Red Hook courtesy of the Gowanus Lounge Photo Pool on flickr. We must say we’ve always enjoyed that little triangle of landscaping outside. Who says there are no lodging options in Red Hook?

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Have you joined our new Gowanus Lounge Photo Pool on flickr yet? We’d love it if you do and if you’ll tag the Brooklyn photos that you want us to see “gowanuslounge.” Thanks!!! [Photo courtesy of limonada/flickr] This photo of a red door, white wall and no parking sign comes from our new favorite thing: […]

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The great Columbia Street digging project, which has been going on since October, 2005, seems to be nearing an end. At least, the final wretchedly torn up stretch is being repaved. The project is finally slated to wrap up this spring. In the meantime, our Carroll Gardens correspondent reports another delightful episode of “Don’t Take […]

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