Archive for: williamsburg
Broke but in love? Bowling at the Gutter in Williamsburg might be your best cheap date move for Valentine’s Day. At least Time Out NY thinks so:
Early (love) birds have a better chance of scoring thanks to the retro rates at Williamsburg’s first bowling alley in nearly half a century, The Gutter (200 North 14th St between Berry St and Wythe Ave, Williamsburg, Brooklyn; 718-387-3585, thegutterbrooklyn.com). Before 8pm, don rented lace-ups ($4 for two pairs) and hone your stance at one of eight ’70s-style lanes ($6 per game)—snapped up from a Midwestern factory—all while swigging $5 Genesee Cream Ales. Treat the night’s winner to a pizza party at Fornino (187 Bedford Ave between North 6th and 7th Sts, Williamsburg, Brooklyn; 718-384-6004), seven streets away. Nosh on a large bianca pie ($19), draped in ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, and chug Peroni beers ($10 for two) before gamely asking for a rematch.
Online retailer Jane’s Closet is going offline and picking Williamsburg’s fashion district (the North 6th Street corridor between Bedford & Kent) to make their debut. Their boutique will be located at 60 North 6th Street near the Music Hall of Williamsburg and Kent Ave.
“We’ve been eyeing Williamsburg for some time,” said founder Jane Rim. “It is a unique neighborhood filled with a great blend of people and shops. I’m confident a Jane’s Closet customer will feel right at home here. We saw that the location at 5in1 Studios was available and knew we found our first home. The storefront is small, intimate, and within the shopping district of Williamsburg. 5in1 Studios has a history similar to ours in displaying up-and-coming designers.”
If you don’t feel like schlepping, they’ll still be happy to take your orders online.
Bushwick Inlet Park’s victory against TransGas sets the stage for a dramatic and much welcomed transformation on the changing Williamsburg waterfront.
The news that TransGas Energy has exhausted their appeals to build a powerplant on the Williamsburg waterfront is being high-fived by neighborhood boosters like Borough President Marty Markowitz, Williamsburg residents like Jane Pool, Assemblymember Joseph Lentol and Christine Holowacz of the Greenpoint Waterfront Association. While expected after previous rulings against TransGas, it nonetheless puts the final piece of the new Williamsburg “Riviera” into stark relief. From tentative approval of Rose Plaza near Kent and Division to the relatively positive response of the $1.5 billion dollar Domino Sugar complex, Williamsburg’s waterfront is transforming itself rapidly into something unrecognizable just a few years ago.
Critics are calling it the Miami-fication of the once sleepy industrial North Brooklyn waterfront during very uncertain economic times, but at least this Bloomberg-era transformation includes plenty of consideration for community and outdoor space. It wasn’t just neighborhood activists fighting TransGas, but many city officials as well, and in a few years a dirty, possibly toxic creek (that we’ve hopped the Kent Ave fence and fished in) will turn into something of a jewel for the neighborhood. We couldn’t be more excited, and thankful.
You’d think a recession and housing crash this deep would wipe the chutzpah off most developers’ faces, especially in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a nabe which first enjoyed the biggest real estate buzz and now shoulders the most “stalled projects” of any in New York City. Yet chutzpah is the only way to describe a proposed $1.5 billion dollar, 2,200 unit, 11-acre, residential complex centered around an old Domino Sugar factory in Williamsburg’s south side. Of course, the developer, Michael Lappin didn’t forget to bear gifts as the public review begins. First he throws in a very generous 30% affordable housing mix. That would mean 660 units set aside for low to moderate income residents.
Comparable development projects along the Riviera de Williamsburg have previously offered 20% affordable housing, along with a few bells and whistles like a public esplanade. Then again, the New Domino Sugar project is even more ambitious than Schaefer Landing, Northside Piers and the Edge put together. The tallest of the buildings would be as tall as 40 stories and according to Brooklyn11211, the biggest news is the addition of 100,000 square feet of proposed office space along the Grand Ave end. We predict this might in fact be the most controversial element. Is South Williamsburg a future destination for morning reverse commuters to head to work? Which industries do they have in mind to lure? Does this portend a train stop a little closer to the water than the JMZ’s Marcy Ave? Oh well, there’s still time to negotiate everything since completion wouldn’t happen until sometime around 2021 — yes, 9 years after the apocalypse. By the way, if you’re not familiar with the area, the Domino Sugar factory sits on a beautiful waterfront view that hasn’t been open to the public in 150 years, (save for one special Sunday last October).
While there’s general concern about the mammoth nature of the project, we, as residents of Williamsburg’s South Side, can’t help but long for sustainable development to take advantage of the many wonderful waterfront views and a particularly convenient location at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge. We’re also digging that whole Tate Modern look. Here’s hoping the community activists lobby for invigorating, publicly accessible community space we can all enjoy, both outdoors on the waterfront and inside the complex itself. We wouldn’t mind a movie theater either.
Savalas, is like it’s namesake, sexy in an ugly kind of way. Trashy with an old school Epson projector showing weird 70s movies and subprime Bedford Ave location, it’s popular with yet-to-be indoctrinated hipster youth who like to dance, and according to Kristina Marino’s The Downtown Diaries, a new party blog we’re digging, it threw a rager the week before Xmas thanks to DJ MSB. Yes, there’s always some drunken dancing and flirting happening at Savalas, but according to TDD:
“the bartender jumped up on the bar, grabbed the whiskey bottle and started pouring shots down into the crowd. People were on the bar dancing, this one guy took his shirt off… shit like this does not happen in Williamsburg. This was the first time I’ve seen people straight up rage in this part of town.”
DJs with dead crowds take note, “electrohouse/dubstep/mashups” instead of the usual hip hop/90’s might just do the trick.
photo via The Downtown Diaries
The New York Herald is seeking a multi-media savvy editor with a sharp eye for finding a good story ahead of the pack. We are moving towards an editorial focus on art, culture, dining, media, trends, with bread and butter reporting of bars and restaurants, real estate development, and personal interviews and profiles of the many interesting, rising stars that make up this fine city. We are seeking a reliable and imaginative editor who can not only spin a witty line but also engage in deeper investigation when the opportunity arises.
We are looking to find someone with multi-media interest, e.g. combining video with the story and connecting with audiences through social media. Please contact us in confidence and if possible provide examples of any current work (blog, videos, etc) along with salary requirements. Thanks!
Williamsburg Moonshine has a nice ring to it, we always thought there’s always been a bit of Appalachian DIYness about these here neck of the woods. Now two fellas see gold in that sweet, sweet water. No it won’t be Maker’s Mark, so sayeth Grub Street, but it won’t cost as much either. Under the banner of Kings County Distillery David Haskell and Kentucky native Colin Spoelman will be selling to Williamsburg, than the rest of the world, double-destilled whiskey, bourbon and apparently straight up moonshine. Their studio space is at 35 Meadow Street (off Grand/Morgan) in case you can’t wait for the Liquor Authority’s approval.
The Woods, (48 S. 4th between Wythe/Kent – no sign), is getting and giving good buzz in its first month of opening. Foodie blog PlateoftheDay.com admires its great selection of cheap beer, including Schlitz, Schaefer, the ubiquitous Pabst, and yes, Colt 45. There is alot to like about a $6 Jamison and Bud combo, a taco truck serving $2 tacos, a proper DJ on the wheels of steel and an opening promotion of free beer ’til its gone. The Village Voice calls the view just beneath the Williamsburg Bridge, “charming”, and we like the what owners James Jadic, Jason Radich, David Rosen and Matt Relkin have in mind, a “multi-functional space..where we can have bands, DJs, and other community-based events like talent shows and stuff.”
Commenters have noticed a resemblance to “Union Pool”, and dissed the slightly slow taco truck food service – but Union Pool doesn’t hold a monopoly on affordable priced drinks and a low-tech vibe with outdoor space. It’s also a little far for those who inhabit Williamsburg’s South side. Winters might be tough for a place this far from the train (JMZ is closest), but we’re pretty sure The Woods will be jamming along with neighbor Miss Favela during the warmer months.
photo credits: (top) PlateoftheDay, (bottom) Village Voice via Puja Patel
McCarren Pool, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. With an official groundbreaking featuring Mayor Bloomberg and Brooklyn borough chief Marty Markowitz, it appears the ambitious future $50 million McCarren Pool really is happening. The original pool opened in 1936 and closed down in 1984. Here are some pics via architects Rogers Marvel PLLC of how the renovation will transform the old pool. Unfortunately we’re looking at a Spring, 2012 opening. Does it really take that long to build a swimming pool?
It’s a sad state of affairs when “stalled projects” and “abandoned Brooklyn” become new buzzwords, at least among those who trade in real estate news gossip in our fine city. Yet, it’s hard to deny all of these construction pits that have been lingering for far too long – even with new City incentives to finish what they started, there’s just not enough financing and demand around to get these things up.
Williamsburg along with the rest of the City is suffering from a huge economic and real estate meltdown and the growing number of stalled projects is becoming a bad joke for Williamsburg haters. Yet, we doubt this will deter everyone from the 11211, which prior to its yuppification was home to those more comfortable with the apocalypse then baby strollers. There’s always a good side and a bad side to this reversal of fortune, and for those who longed for Williamsburg’s yesteryear, now is the time to jump on abandoned mattresses and reclaim the neighborhood.
photo: “stalled” project across Miss Favela (which is still partying like its 1999) in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
credit: Brooke Moreland
