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October, 2011

  1. HAPPY HALLOWEEN! DOG PARADE VIDEO!

    October 31, 2011 by Jen G

    Have fun trick-or-treating today! Visit the haunted house on Humboldt St. (between Nassau & Driggs) and watch the video of yesterday’s Halloween Dog Parade at Winthrop Park.

    Haunted House on Humboltd

    Haunted House on Humboldt St

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  2. SUNDAY SNAPS: BROOKLYN DIGGERS

    October 30, 2011 by Jen G

    Last Saturday the Brooklyn Diggers held a fun and educational event in Winthrop Park to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the U.S.S. Monitor, built in Greenpoint, during the Civil War. Awesome Greenpoint photographer Emily Raw set up a daguerrotype photo booth. Subjects got dressed up and posed for a few moments, but when these kinds of photographs were taken back then, the long exposures lasted for many minutes. To keep subjects still, Emily explained, their necks were held in place by a metal brace. That sounds delightful! Emily left the brace at home that day, unfortunately. There are a lot more from this awesome set here. More about the Brooklyn Diggers here. Emily Raw’s website.

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  3. Superfunding The Newtown Creek

    October 28, 2011 by Peter

    Over a year ago, on September 27, 2010, the EPA opened a new chapter on the ongoing saga of our polluted waterway by designating the Newtown Creek a federally recognized Superfund Site. This program, which allocates federal money towards research and remediation and aggressively pursues polluters for subsequent remuneration, is contentious because it carries a powerful stigma; however, being on the Superfund list provides our neighborhood with powerful tools for improvement.

    A year later, on October 25th, the EPA invited members of the public to an information session to educate locals on the upcoming plans for the creek.  At the meeting I was told to keep an eye on the website, where data and announcements will be made public.   Officials also informed me that studies into the physical geography of the waterway are set to begin next spring, including bathymetry to determine the exact geometry of the waterway and acoustic studies to find sunken obstructions, among others.

    Following these will be chemical analyses to determine the exact nature of the contamination and identify areas that may still be leaching pollutants into the waterway.  Interestingly – perhaps suspiciously – these studies will be conducted by firms hired and paid for by the polluters themselves, though this will of course be under EPA scrutiny and direction.

    Perhaps the most interesting information I learned was that this process involves coming up with a general cost for the pre-remediation studies – in this case, 25 million dollars for the studies alone, only 5 million short of what the entire remediation effort costs at the average Superfund site – and then leaving it up to the identified polluters to decide amongst themselves who is responsible for what portion of that cost and to fund the studies themselves.  The degree to which individual companies are held financially responsible is based in part on their contributions to the pollution and in part on their ability to pay; the EPA avoids bankrupting companies in pursuing remediation funding.

    This is a long process, and we shouldn’t expect remediation to begin for at least 5-7 years.  I was told – hesitantly, and in no uncertain terms that this was only the widest of estimates – that the cost of remediation would be around 500 million at the absolute minimum.  Ours is what the EPA terms a regional “megasite” due to the nature, extent, and history of contamination.  It’s a dubious honor, to be sure.

    This process will prove pivotal to the future of our neighborhood, so be sure to keep a close eye on the EPA website for updates and future public meetings.  If you have additional questions, contact these EPA representatives for more information:

    Caroline Kwan-Appelman
    Remedial Project Manager – General questions
    Phone: (212) 637-4275
    Email: Kwan.caroline@epa.gov

    Michael A. Mintzer
    Assistant Regional Counsel – Legal questions
    Phone:  (212) 637-3168
    Email:  mintzer.michael@epa.gov

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  4. Lentol on OWS and Homelessness

    by Joel

    Joseph Lentol has been the New York State Assembly Member for Brooklyn’s District 50 (which includes Greenpoint, Williamsburg and Fort Greene) since 1983. He is also Chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Codes, tasked with reviewing criminal justice legislation. He previously served as Assistant District Attorney in Kings County before he began holding elected office in 1972.

    Greenpointers spoke with Lentol over the phone on October 19th about Occupy Wall Street and the homelessness in Greenpoint.

    GP: What are your thoughts on Occupy Wall Street? Have you spoken with any participants?

    JL: I certainly have been thinking about it a lot. Unfortunately, I haven’t spoken to anyone and I didn’t realize until Amy [Cleary, Lentol's Communications Director] told me that you suggested it was a Greenpoint resident who was the person who was pepper-sprayed by the police department. By the Deputy Inspector, I guess. And later featured in the Daily News and New York Times articles.

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  5. Come Together: Fanaberie Windows

    October 27, 2011 by Jen G

    Have you walked by Fanaberie on Nassau lately and noticed the creative window display? It’s up until Thanksgiving and is a marvelous collaboration between store owner Ella, a long-time Greenpointer originally from Poland and Charlotte a Greenpointer originally from Louisiana. Yes, they were not born here and I am calling them Greenpointers. Do you have a problem with it? I don’t care. I don’t want to hear it anymore. The absurd questions (and insults) the website receives. “Are you born and raised in Greenpoint?” one person asked or “Go back to Kansas.” Once and for all, who cares? We all live here and love it. No one choses where they are born, but they do chose where they live and Greenpoint it is. It’s nice to see what can happen when we get along!

    Ella was designing the windows herself until she met Charlotte who was one of her first customers when the boutique opened a year and a half ago. With the help of her employee Ewelina, they create a “unique and friendly environment…so we are not only the store but also a social circle of customers that often are becoming our friends.” This is the perfect environment that fosters such creative endeavors. With a “yearning to do something with no boundaries creatively,” as Charlotte describes, she was inspired to ask Ella about the collaboration. On the Falling for Fanaberie window display Ella says: “I love the outcome of our little collaboration, Charlotte is so creative and she delivered exactly what she promised…In the past every change of the windows generated interest, comments and compliments; and this time specifically we are getting twice as much of compliments!”

    Behind all great work there is a narrative. About the windows Charlotte explains: “It’s a love story. Falling for a summer fling. A transition. A change in seasons. The fling and Fanaberie are interchangeable. I’ve always thought of summer as a season to be free and to meet new loves, and fall is when you get to snuggle down with the most special one you met over the summer. This is a fairly tale. Real life comes what may. The story is personal, and I think that is why it’s been so well received.”

    Perhaps its about falling in love with Greenpoint. I myself am smitten and can relate. When I asked Charlotte why she decided to live here she told me, “I fell in love with the neighborhood, instantly. The vibe of the neighborhood was great. I also love the authenticity of the neighborhood. My neighbor has lived here all of his life, he keeps me up to date with the goings and comings of the rest of the people on our street. I’m friends with the family that owns the corner store. Once I came home late, was hungry with no money, and he loaned me $2 for a slice. The neighborhood looks out for one another. It reminds me of home.”

    Fanaberie
    102A Nassau

    Charlotte’s Websites: Work; Blog; Love

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  6. Halloween Deals

    October 26, 2011 by Jen G

    Go in costume to Dalaga on Halloween and get 10% off your $50 or more purchase during their Speakeasy Halloween Party! More info

    Plus, there will be a $31 Halloween Tattoo Special at Three Kings Tattoo (572 Manhattan) on Halloween from noon-10pm. Choose a design from a flash sheet of images, which won’t be revealed until Halloween day. Get there early to put your name on the list.

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  7. What’s Happening? (10/26-10/31)

    by Jen G

    WEDNESDAY 10/26

    • Poker Unleashed @ TBD (224 Franklin) 7:30 registration, “Play for dogs, & for the Kitty,” proceeds donated to Dog Habitat Rescue, Highrollers Table & Learn to Hold ‘Em RSVP: pokerunleashed (at) gmail.com, More info

    • 3rd Annual Richardson Pumpkin Carve @ The Richardson (451 Graham) 5-8pm, Bring a pumpkin, carve it, get a free beer! Bring extra tools if you can…

    THURSDAY –  SUNDAY

    1st ANNUAL GREENPOINT FILM FESTIVAL
    @ Broadway Stages (222 West) Full Program

    THURSDAY 10/27

    • Melissa Pierson and John Ryan @ Brooklyn Moto (215 N. 10th) 7pm, Explore the pleasures and perils of long-distance motorcycling, the Iron Butts competition, and one man’s mission to outride everyone else with author Melissa Pierson and John Ryan, subject of The Man Who Would Stop at Nothing.

    • BARC Murder Mystery Dinner @ Giando’s (400 Kent) 7pm, $125, Interactive Murder Mystery 3 Course Dinner, Open Bar, Raffle drawing, DJ and Dancing, Buy tickets

    • Dim Sum Happy Hour @ TBD (224 Franklin) 6:30-9pm, Presented by Yummy Eats, DJ Concerned, followed by Quiz Night

    • 15th Annual Brooklyn Public Library Gala: Masquerade Bowl @ Brooklyn Bowl (61 Wythe) 6:30-9:30pm then afterparty, $500, Buy tickets

    * ALL HALLOWEEN WEEKEND *

    • Movies in the Yard @ The Diamond (43 Franklin) 8pm, Fri: Army of Darkness, Sat: Elvira & DJ Bloodbath McGrath, Sun: Psycho, Mon: Halloween (…in the creepy basement!), plus Shufflespook Halloween Competition, a free beer for anyone in a costume, & all weekend $5 Pumpkin/Stout Blend Special

     

    FRIDAY 10/28

    • Stocking Up: How the Grocer and Shopper Can Take Back Food Choice w/Bi Rite Market @ The Brooklyn Kitchen (100 Frost) 6:30pm, FREE,  discuss the path that food takes to our table, and the critical role that grocers play in feeding us More info

    • All You Need is Love - Yoga to the Beatles @ Good Yoga (73 Calyer) 7:30-9pm Reserve

    • Listen Party Issue Rooftop Release Party: Sleeping Outside @ Good Yoga (73 Calyer) 9pm, hear the new issue through listening stations in tents pitched on the roof under the stars, beer by brooklyn brewery, More info

    • Braun of Midnight High Acoustic Set @ Wyne A Bit (200 Franklin) 6-8, free admission

    • Beat Nite (Bushwick) 6-10pm, Galleries stay open late, sponsored by Hyperallergic, Afterparty @ The Bodega More info: Norte Maar, Highlighted Show: CONCRETE SOUND: an installation by Audra Wolowiec @ Norte Maar (83 Wycoff) 6-10pm, a modular series of cast concrete sculptures that accumulate to form muted landscapes RSVP

    • Vintage Vinyl Records Halloween @ The Bedford (110 Bedford) 10pm, Presented by Chills & Fever, Scary records & bloody records with DJ Tony & Cowboy Mark RSVP

    • Night @ Pentagon (251 North Henry) 10pm $5, “A space to begrudgingly feel empty, alone, out of place …Your only sense is smell. A hint of whiskey, the rich stench of leather and tears on the dancefloor. Let’s get apocalyptic.” goth, post-punk, dark wave, industrial, death rock, GOTHS, GAYS, WEIRDOS UNITE

    • Greenpoint Film Festival Afterparty @ TBD (224 Franklin), 10pm

    • Spirit Halloween Bash @ Veronica People’s Club (105 Franklin) Tarot Card Jamboree Happy Hour 4pm-9pm, Spirit Animal Costume Party 10pm, Pizza & Drink Specials, RSVP

    SATURDAY 10/29

    • Town Square’s Halloween Parade & Party @ Polish Slavic Center (176 Java) 2pm, Parade Down Manhattan Ave, Party to follow until 5 pm (ages up to 12 yrs). Arts & Crafts, Food & Drinks, Games, Music. $5, kids must be accompanied by an adult.

    • Haunted House Obstacle Course @ The Gym Park (81 Oak) 11am-6:30pm, ages: 3-12yrs, $5 in advance, $7 at the door More info

    • Red Bull Trick or Treat @ Newtown Barge (Commercial) 5-9:30pm, Free for All Ages, 32 of the most core and respected BMX riders, including Edwin De La Rose, will gather for a contest that will be full of tricks, and for the rider that survives til the end, some much deserved treats. $1 Raffle tickets to win shoes, hats & gear from DC.

    • Halloween Party @ Connie O’s (158 Norman) 7pm, $1 Jello Shots, Music, Kelly is bartending

    • Halloween Costume Contest @ Habitat (988 Manhattan) Midnight, $100 Best Costume Prize

    • Night of the Living Dead @ Mark Bar (1025 Manhattan) Come through the Pearly Gates and be judged by St. Peter. Best costumes get drinks.

    • Halloween Masquerade Dinner & Dance @ St. Stan’s (12 Newell) 8pm until Midnight, $30 in advance, $40 at the door, ADULTS ONLY, drinks, buffet, dance, costumes, Tix at rectory (607 Humboldt or call 718-388-0170)

    • Dia De Los Muertos @ Boulevard Tavern (579 Meeker) 10pm-4am, No Cover, Costumes, DJ Cyclonus, Goth, Industrial, EBM, Dark Wave, Death Rock, Dark 80s More info

    • Halloween Salon Show @ Greenpoint Gallery (390 McGuinness) 8-11pm, Submit you dark & scary work More info

    • Enid’s Halloween Party @ Enid’s (560 Manhattan) 10pm till your dead, prizes for best costume, DJs, free lobotomy with every drink.

    • Greenpoint Film Festival Halloween Party @ TBD (224 Franklin) 10pm

    SUNDAY 10/30

    • Cat & Kitten Adoption Day @ Muddy Paws (447 Graham) 2-6pm, More info

    • District Dog Halloween Parade & Adoption Day @ McGolrick Park, 2pm More info

    • Halloween Party & Parade @ Lutheran Church of the Messiah (129 Russell, basement) $5 per family, 3pm, Parade at 5pm, more info email sm.huggiuns (at) gmail.com

    • Midnight Mass @ Meat Hook (100 Frost) 8pm, $120, food & drinks (no dietary restrictions) RSVP: radevents (at) the-meathook.com

    MONDAY 10/31 – HALLOWEEN

    • $31 Halloween Tattoo Special @ Three Kings Tattoo (572 Manhattan) noon-10pm, choose a design from a flash sheet of seasonal images, which won’t be revealed until Halloween day. Get there early to put your name on the list.

    • Halloween @ Dalaga (150 Franklin) 6-8pm, Roaring 20s speakeasy, bootleggy booze, dress up for 10% off More info

    • Halloween Karaoke Costume Party @ Onyx (278 Nassau) Kings of Karaoke at 10pm plus costume party!

    More fun things to do around town this Halloween Weekend:

    The Skint: Free & Cheap & Spooky & Scary

     

     

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  8. We did it! Newtown Creek Tour

    October 25, 2011 by Joel

    In 1929 the NYTimes wrote that, “People do not travel for pleasure on Newtown Creek.” Those of us on the Working Harbor Committee’s “Hidden Harbor Tour” of Newtown Creek disagreed, as we traversed the 3.5 mile long estuary on a sunny Sunday.

    The Working Harbor Committee (WHC), a not for profit, hosts boat tours all over the NYC area in what one of the day’s MCs called “the sixth borough” – the rivers and waterways surrounding the city. Sunday’s two-hour tour was hosted by members of the Newtown Creek Alliance, a non-profit community group advocating for development and cleanup along the Creek. New development requires cleanup, NCA claims, and would boost employment for Brooklyn and Queens residents along the Creek; as well as decrease the number of trucks trafficking goods on New York’s roadways. (One barge on the waterways, for example, could replace up to 70 trucks on the roadways.)

    As the tour demonstrated, the Creek, which was once the busiest industrial waterway in the US, has a trove of secrets – wonderful and hideous.

    Of the hideous, there is the “black mayonnaise” that rests 10 to 15 feet deep on the bottom of the Creek, which is the accumulation of every pollutant ever dumped there. (Since the Creek receives almost zero fresh water and is barely affected by the tides, the pollution literally does not move, even after centuries.) At some points in the Creek, the water has almost zero oxygen in it; at other points, mutant forms of life have been identified. What else can be expected of the place where Astral Oil began and Standard Oil burned down?

    Of the wonderful: There is the building on the Queens side which one NCA member claimed was where Thomas Edison was building electric cars in 1915. Further wonderfulness: despite the vast environmental degradation, life has begun to come back to the Creek, largely because certain areas have been abandoned by industry. Birds, mussels and fish – if not abounding – are at least present; while some young people even managed to find a spot for an afternoon palaver.

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  9. Harvest of Reason: Paul Duncan

    by Martin E

    Greenpoint Artist Paul Duncan

    With two shows currently up at Greenpoint’s own Alan Nederpelt Gallery and Elizabeth Moore Fine Art in Manhattan, English born and Greenpoint artist Paul Duncan may not be so much a “madman” (as the Nederpelt show titles) as a canny guide through madness. To call Duncan’s paintings and drawings surrealist, wouldn’t be far off, but it would be a lazy stray from what makes his own personal landscapes so particular. Having the actual tour guide walk us through his world – as The Greenpointer was able to at the Nederpelt space – was to enjoy the full experience of being chaperoned through the “hyper-magical,” as the artist puts it.

    With a mixture of recognizable cultural objects and invented characters, the work in the show manages a consistent hodgepodge of initially familiar wanderings that quickly dive into murkier depths.

    “The image needs to step away from the object to another level,” Paul says. With a roguish demeanor and swashbuckler looks, the charismatic artist is well suited to speak in front of his hallucinations. To call the art ‘psychedelic’ would be misuse of another clichéd and inappropriate term (a term all too often stamped on to fantastic imagery). “This territory is not about drug exploration. It’s to do with the mythological element we all carry around with us. With my hand and some paint, I can filter these worlds.”

    In fact the worlds depicted here aren’t really too far from the one we live in. “My trip to India and that region was very profound for me. To walk through the Himalayas and see Nepalese art that I had only seen in books and actually experience these things was extraordinary.” Like his artwork, Duncan’s storytelling can suddenly shift from dreamscape to visceral reality with surprising fluidity. “Well, I also got very ill on this trip after swimming in the Ganges! I lost half my body weight while my stomach swelled. After treatment from a western Doctor I had a chance to go to Goa where the illness returned and I was next found collapsed in the middle of a field. For days I lay on what I thought was surely my deathbed. It was here that I had the experience of being bathed in golden light. Now I’m not as religious man, but I remember that light as an angel. Whatever it was, I felt much better after that!”

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  10. Stunt School

    October 24, 2011 by Mark

    Inside the training center

    While walking my dog on a particularly desolate part of West St., I’ve often wondered about the unassuming “Hollywood Stunts NYC” sign that hangs over an orange alley gate between buildings. My imagination tends to set a scene of an Evel Knievel style crash course on the other side, complete with a row of flaming buses and an alligator pool. This weekend I popped into the Saturday open session to see what it was all about and found something less grandious but way more exciting.

    The training center is located about three quarters of the way down a typical Greenpoint alley, lined with box trucks and wooden palettes. A set of doors opens to an airplane hanger sized space filled with trampolines, gymnastics equipment, and one of those over-sized air cusion things you’d find at the other end of a “Fear Factor” challenge. More tall than wide the space is suited perfectly for the focus of the class, the high fall. Students learn the basics then gradually make higher and higher falls, rolling out of the air cushion below with bragging rights and an adjusted sense of gravity.

    Bob Cotter, founder of Hollywood Stunts

    The man who runs the place, Bob Cotter, has been a stunt man for 25 years. He’s worked on films such as Rounders with Matt Damon and with bands like Bon Jovi and The Rolling Stones. He opened Hollywood Stunts in 2007 in the Bronx, and then moved the center to Greenpoint. As we stood outside of the training center motioned towards a dented-up yellow cab. “We actually shot a car scene for a Norweign television show last week,” referring to his crew of professionals and graduates of the center.

    Hollywood Stunts offers classes in high jumps, the trampoline, fighting for film, as well as one and three week intensives for those more serious about getting into the business. Anyone above the age of ten can sign up and the only other requirement is that you’re in good physical health and have no pre-exising injuries. They offer private group lessons and birthday parties. Check their website for more details.

    Hollywood Stunts NYC
    73 West Street
    Brooklyn, NY
    917-548-5461

    Category Community | Tags: ,,,,,,,, | 2 Comments

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