July 17th, 2007 · Comments Off on Brooklyn Nibbles: Williamsburg Edition
1)Ella Cafe (above) is opening today on Bedford Avenue near N. 7th Street. At least, that’s what the sign says and we hope they make their deadline. It looked like they were working like crazy inside over the weekend to make it, though.
2) Also opening today is Greenhouse Essentials Holistic, the “essential living products” shop at 217 N. 7th Street in Williamsburg. It had appeared to be opening last week, but looks like it was delayed. In any case, it promises skin care products, feng shui textiles, organic facial products including the Eminence line, books, CDs and “MUCH MORE.”
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July 17th, 2007 · Comments Off on Greenpoint Gets Banged: Machine Moves to Newton Street
So, we were walking in Greenpoint north of McCarren Park when we saw a very familiar piece of machinery standing tall over the local buildings. It turns out the big thing that bangs North Brooklyn was on the scene. Specifically, our friend the prodigious Empire Pile Driver, which torments people all over Greenpoint and Williamsburg with the incessant sounds of its banging. Right now, it’s doing its thing at 122 Newton Street in what we like to call The Tahoe Triangle because of the number of buildings being put up there by Tahoe Development’s. In fact, our friend is banging away so that yet another Tahoe building can rise. This one will be a five story companion to its friends on the left and right and up the street.
There is nothing quite like standing in front a three-ton, 80-foot-tall statue being carried down a Williamsburg street, while you are walking backwards shooting photos and praying that the people behind you move and that you do not fall and get trampled. Trust us, it adds some spice to life, particularly because the Giglio–the lift and dance of which we watched yesterday up close–does not stop on a dime. It also moves a lot faster than you would think, given the weight being carried. You can check out our slideshow in the post below too or our full flickr set or the Brookvid we posted below.)
Of course, watching and photographing the lift is one thing, but nothing compares to actually lifting the Giglio, as the looks on the faces of the gentlemen doing the lifting will attest. The Giglio is a piece of old Brooklyn. They have been lifting and carrying one for 120 years on these Williamsburg streets. It is inevitably blazing hot. It is unbearably crowded. It is vaguely dangerous and pretty crazy. We love it. We absolutely love it.
July 16th, 2007 · Comments Off on Giglio Mania #2: The Gowanus Lounge Giglio Slideshow
We shot a lot of photos at the Giglio Lift & Dance yesterday, and posted a full photoset on flickr. You can check it out, if you wish, by clicking here or simply watch the slideshow below.
Comments Off on Giglio Mania #2: The Gowanus Lounge Giglio SlideshowTags:Giglio · Williamsburg
How you feel about what this photo shows depends on whether you view it as an instance of the glass being half empty or half full. Or something like that. On the right is Kyoto, a Japanese restaurant on Smith Street that has just opened. Normally, we would have included this in a Brooklyn Nibbles item, except for the left of the photo. That would be the dry cleaner that is closing. It, in turn, replaced a bodega several years ago, so the long, long line of businesses being priced out of the neighborhood continues. We were told the dry cleaner is closing because–surprise–their rent has gone up and they can no longer afford to stay open.
We were in the process of being tossed out of East River State Park in Williamsburg over the weekend, around with 150 or so other people, at the 7:45 PM closing time. It was a beautiful night and most people were not happy about getting the boot about 45 minutes before sunset. Less happy, however, were the people outside the fence (above), who had come to the park only to find that it was closed. (The early closing and the no dogs policy have been sore points with the neighborhood, even though the park is now open seven days a week.)
In any case, we listened in on some of the discussion between the people standing at the gate and the state park employee telling them the park was closed.
Woman: Every time I come here, the park is closed.
Man on Bike: The city cut a stupid deal with the state.
Woman: I’ve never gotten in here.
Man on Bike: They build million dollar condos and put up this park and no one can come in.
More was said, but we weren’t walking around with our notepad, and only jotted down that part of the conversation. We’re not sure how the state can leave a major new open space in Williamsburg so understaffed that it needs to shoo people out before sunset on beautiful weekend summer evenings.
July 16th, 2007 · Comments Off on Circus Coming to Coney Says They Still Use Elephants
We received an email from Renee Storey, the Vice President for Administration of Cole Bros. Circus, which Thor Equities is brining to Coney Island for a week at the end of July. You might recall that back in May we ran a post dealing with old allegations of animal abuse against the circus. Several of the allegations centered around Cole Brothers’ treatment of elephants and some stories said they no longer used elephants.
Storey writes that it’s “almost laughable” that activist say the circus gave up using elephants yet continue to protest its treatment of elephants. Storey adds that the circus still uses elephants, was never convicted of any charges and that a clown alleged to have sexually abused a child had nothing to do with Cole Brothers. Storey also suggests that PETA has a history of “slaughtering pets” and that it financially supports “domestic terrorists.”
All of which, we might suggest, goes to making Coney Island a much more interesting place than it’s been in the past. We don’t recall talk of elephant abuse, pet slaughter and terrorism in connection with the bumper boats, Go-Kart tracks and batting cages where the circus will operate.
Here’s are some lengthy excerpts from the Storey statement to GL (which also went to the Coney Island Message Board):
It’s almost laughable to read that activists proclaim that Cole Bros. Circus gave up using elephants in 2004, yet continue to protest our continued use of elephants.
Cole Bros. Circus will appear in Coney Island July 30 through August 5th with an outstanding cast of human and animal performers, including elephants. Cole Bros. Circus has never ceased using elephants, either in its own show or at other venues. Animal activists who claim otherwise prove either their disdain for truth in an ongoing effort to mislead the public, or that they are confused by the information provided by organizations that can’t seem to get story straight.
Cole Bros. Circus is committed to responsible use and care of animals and providing wholesome and affordable entertainment in a comfortable and safe environment for American families. Cole Bros. Circus has never been convicted of animal abuse.
Why do certain activists delight in telling the public that the circus was charged with animal abuse but never admits that the circus has always been proved innocent? They don’t want you to know the whole story…
The clown cited on the PeTA website worked at a clothing retail store at a regional shopping mall following his termination by the circus. Along with the parents of the teen-aged victim, he belonged to a group of amateur clowns on Long Island. The alleged incident leading to his arrest and conviction took place in the teenager’s home, reportedly in view of the young man’s father, who videotaped the proceedings. It had absolutely nothing to do with the circus.
Cole Bros. Circus performs background checks on all its employees, plus has established policies and adheres to procedures that ensure the welfare of all patrons, especially children…
Check out petakillsanimals.com, where you will find details of PeTA’s abysmal history of slaughtering pets, and its frightening, financial support of domestic terrorists.
After taking a closer look at PeTA, you might decide to spare your donation and instead spend $17 to go to Cole Bros. Circus when it comes to Coney Island. There, you will see people who truly love animals putting their hearts, hands and money into animal welfare, keeping alive and healthy not only the animals, but the great tradition of the American Circus for years to come.
Those are all the relevant parts of the Storey statement. For more information about Cole Brothers you can click on their web page.
July 16th, 2007 · Comments Off on Giglio Mania #1: A Giglio Brookvid
The final Giglio lift was held yesterday on Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg. Here’s a short Brookvid showing the action. If there’s a problem with the embed or if you just like to watch your vids directly over at YouTube, you can click here.
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Those new bike racks at the Bedford Avenue L Station in Williamsburg? If only every investment the city made proved this productive and popular. Less than a week old, they’re already filled to capacity with not an extra spot to be found. More to come, we hope.
The Brooklyn City Streetcar Company imagines trolleys rumbling through the seaside streets once more, hearkening to the heyday of an amusement district now set to undergo an over $1 billion redevelopment.
The not-for-profit group has been discussing its proposal with city officials, including the Coney Island Development Corporation, a quasi-public agency working on the area’s rezoning plan.
The group proposes the trolley line to run from Dreier-Offerman Park to the West 8th Street subway station, then to Surf Avenue to Keyspan Park, with an eventual extension to the edge of Sea Gate.
Another route could run from Dreier-Offerman to Cropsey Avenue, then to Neptune Avenue, then south to Stillwell Avenue.
Of course, a long time ago, Coney Island had not one, but two east-west trolley lines, one of which ran down Surf Avenue and another that ran between Surf and Mermaid Avenues to Seagate. Other trolley lines ran to Coney from other parts of Brooklyn.
The Liberty Heights Tap Room in Red Hook was recently purchased by Black 47 frontman Chris Byrne. Chris Curen, who sent us this photo, captured it in mid-morph during the week into Rocky Sullivan’s. Mr. Byrne also owns Rocky Sullivan’s on Lexington Avenue. So, now, there are two.
July 16th, 2007 · Comments Off on Borf Gets Tagged on N. 6th Street
The half life of street art can be long(ish) or short. A case in point of the latter is this piece by Borf on N. 6th Street in Williamsburg that appeared on the same wall where a destroy Banksy used to be and where a number of splashings took place. In any case, a piece to its right was roller painted over and the Borf is now semi-tagged.
The streets outside the Lorimer Street L Train stop yesterday were not a particularly happy spot. Nor for that matter was the station itself as hundreds of people got off trains that were terminating at the station so they could take shuttle buses along the L route to Broadway Junction (where they could catch the L again to Canarsie). There were buses and people lined up at Metropolitan and Union Avenues with MTA employees in orange vests using megaphones to direct people. It’s all part of the L Train Weekend Screw Over MTA’s aggressive service improvement plan, which continues through August 6. Fun. If you depend on the L Train to get around you know that service has already been suspended on three different weekends and two weekdays this year.
July 15th, 2007 · Comments Off on Giglio Rides Light Up Williamsburg
Today’s your last chance to see the fascinating lift and “dance” of the Giglio on Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg. (Warning: It tends to be very crowded.) So, if you’ve ever wondered what a five-story statue that weighs three tons looks like being carried down the street, head a few blocks from Bedford Avenue. There’s a Capo Parade at 1PM and the Giglio Lift is at 2PM. Meanwhile, we did a night run through the Giglio neighborhood last night. Here are some pics of the rides and lights.
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July 15th, 2007 · Comments Off on Disconnected in Brooklyn on Craigslist: You Ran Over My Cat, But Maybe We Can Hang?
It is Sunday, which means it’s time for our chosen Brooklyn Missed Connection from Craiglist. All we will say about the one that moves us the most this week is that we are not making it up. No way we could make it up.
You ran over my cat with your fixed gear track bike – m4w – 24 You were the tall, skinny girl in the skinny jeans and winter cap who ran over my cat because you could not stop your fixed gear track bike in time. Don’t you think you should pay my vet bills? Also, I thought you were cute, even if in a stinky and reckless sort of way. Maybe if we get over this hump we can go hang out together and stuff.
Definitely one of our all time favorites.
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July 15th, 2007 · Comments Off on Bastille Day on Smith Street
Today is the Bastille Day Celebration on Smith Street, but Smith’s French spots were decked out a bit for the occasion on the actual day, yesterday. Head on down to Smith and Dean Streets today (7/15) from Noon-8PM for the festivities.
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July 15th, 2007 · Comments Off on Check Out the Fort Greene Hot Dog Cookoff & BARC Fundraiser
The emails about the The Great Hot Dog Cookoff on July that is also a fundraiser for the BARC Shelter in Williamsburg landed in a number of inboxes including ours. The event will take place on July 28 in a Fort Greene backyard, and proceeds will go to benefit the Williamsburg organization that helps many animals and is a no-kill shelter. It’s for hot dog cooking artists and for people who want to eat a ton of them. The sponsor writes:
It’s a goofy event, but people seem to really get into it. Last year people brought deep fryers, smothered dogs in pesto, topped dogs with buffalo wing sauce, all sorts of creative takes on the classic hot dog. Details on the event are up at www.thegreathotdogcookoff.com
We’re still accepting entries for chefs, and selling tickets online (no tickets will be sold at the door.) A $15 ticket/donation gets a guest all you can eat hot dogs and beer, and proceeds will go to the shelter. It’s a family and vegetarian friendly event too!
The event takes place from 3PM to 8PM and there are two categories of hot dogs: regular & “twisted.” According to the website:
The Classic Dog category is the primary category. This is for hot dogs on a bun. You can use different versions of a hot dog, but no sausages. The Twisted Dog category is the side category. This is for sausages, chorizo, franks & beans, dessert dogs, etc. Basically for hot dogs served in non-traditional ways (off a bun) and for things that are hot-dog-like, but not necessarily dogs.
A fun event for one of our favorite local causes.
Comments Off on Check Out the Fort Greene Hot Dog Cookoff & BARC FundraiserTags:Animals · Events
July 15th, 2007 · Comments Off on GL Sunday Brooklyn TV: The Wonder Wheel
Given the news this week about the sale of (so far) part of Wonder Wheel Park, we though we’d put together a little playlist of Wonder Wheel YouTube vids. (The Wonder Wheel itself is a protected landmark.)
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July 15th, 2007 · Comments Off on GL’s Curbed Weekend Wrapup
If you’re a GL reader (and thank you, if you are), you might know that we also do our thing over at Curbed from Monday through Friday. Here’s some of this weeks Curbed goodness from us:
This is one of the more bizarre, yet disturbing, cases of me-tooism that we’ve seen lately. It’s an email from someone in the Park Slope Parents group that was forwarded to us by one of our trusty readers who’s been following the Carroll Park teen “hooliganism” teapot tempest. It concerns the Third Street Playground in Prospect Park and is titled “Teens in Third St. Too,” but is mostly about an eight-year-old killing a pigeon–perhaps intentionally and perhaps not–in the playground. Have a read:
Over the past 2 weeks both my husband and I have observed groups of rowdy teens and young kids (8 and up) in 3rd St., some totally unsupervised, some supervised by adults who did not seem concerned about their behavior. On one occasion a big teenager was running so fast he knocked down a toddler girl hard enough to give her huge raspberries on both her arms. On another occasion, just last week at least a dozen parents, caregivers and 3-5 y o toddlers, who were playing under the big slide at the “store,” watched in horror as an 8 year old boy whacked a pigeon so hard with a stick that he broke the pigeon’s neck. The horrified children looked on as the bird stumbled around trying to walk. Several parents chastised the boy and his caretaker chastised him as well but in a mild way. The cops were called and arrived over 10 min. later but did not get out of their car. The children walked right past them without consequence. The pigeon was eventually removed from the play area by the boy and his caretaker.
What can we do to make the playgrounds safer for all kids (and animals)? It’s only the beginning of summer.
We don’t know about overall safety issues, but we’re thinking the child in question might potentially maybe perhaps have some, uh, issues. Did the “caretaker” tell Park Slope Mommy and Daddy that the Little One whacked a bird, freaked out a bunch of adults and smaller kids? A professional we asked said that kind of cruelty to animals could well be a sign of deep emotional issues and an indication that the child could use serious help.
