Preserving Local Retail in Red Hook

Red Hook Info sent out the following email to their list this evening. Sounds like a great event!

Film Screening & Discussion on

Preserving Local Retail in Red Hook

Tuesday, May 5, 2009, 7:00pm

Kentler International Drawing Space

353 Van Brunt Street

Red Hook's small businesses play a crucial role within our community. As the economy shifts and industries fluctuate, it's essential to support local retail, craft and manufacturing, and to develop strategies for retaining these independent businesses.

Please join us for a screening of “Twilight Becomes Night” a short documentary set in New York City, which explores the pivotal role of neighborhood stores in our lives and our communities. The film follows a number of small business owners throughout New York City as they struggle to combat rising rents, chain store competition, and a host of other difficulties facing independent shop owners today.

After the screening, Red Hook resident Perian Carson will lead a panel discussion featuring “Twilight” filmmaker Virginie-Alvine Perrette; Lisa Chamberlain, executive director of the Forum for Urban Design; and Dan Wiley, Southwest Brooklyn community coordinator for Congresswoman Nydia M. Velazquez (NY-12).

This event is free of charge and open to the public.

For more information, please contact

Perian Carson at (917) 864-4943 or

Lauren Belfer at lbelfer{ at } gmail.com.

Action Packed Saturday (5/2/09)

I'm starting to realize as I post things that this Saturday is FULL of things to do. To make it easier on people, here's an easy list with links.....

The Brooklyn Food Conference

Greenway Bike Tour

Mom and Pop Shop walking tour

Indy Bookstore walking tour

BALLFIELDS opening day!!!

Women's Rugby at the ballfields (2 events that go together! Eat huaraches and watch some rugby)

Cobble Hill Playgroup Spring Fair

Your Challenge: Hit as many as you can. We'll give temporary guest blogging privilege to the person who can hit the most of them and provide reviews and pictures.

Greenway Bike Tour 5/2 and other Greenway news

Check out this info from the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative's email blast today:

Register Today! 7th Annual Greenway Bike Tour
Saturday, May 2nd, 10:00AM

There's still time to join our 7th Annual Future Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway Bike Tour, a 10-mile ride at a family pace, starting in Greenpoint and ending at Red Hook’s spectacular waterfront. The tour includes a restroom/water stop at Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, greenway updates, and a loop through the Brooklyn Navy Yard! Thank you to the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for helping to make this event possible. More info and registration

Save The Date for New Views 2009!
Thursday, June 18th, 6:00PM-9:00PM

Brooklyn Greenway Initiative's annual benefit, New Views 2009, brings you to another new waterfront destination on Thursday, June 18, 2009! Join friends, neighbors and fellow greenway supporters at Erie Basin Park in Red Hook, along the route of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. This section was implemented by IKEA Brooklyn just a year ago, and it is the first privately financed section of the greenway to be built.

Honorees include Mike Baker and IKEA Brooklyn; and our Community Partner of the Year, Transportation Alternatives. For event tickets and/or sponsorship information, contact Brian McCormick at bmccormick@brooklyngreenway.org or 718.522.0193.

Donate Now and Help Build the Greenway!

The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway is quickly becoming a reality – please help to sustain the momentum by supporting BGI with a contribution today! You can donate now or mail your check to Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, 145 Columbia Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11231.

The Mom and Pop Shop Walking Tour

There are at least 2 walking tours to choose from this Saturday. One of them, which we posted a while back, brings you to a number of independent bookstores, while another brings you to the Mom and Pop Shops of Court St.

I got this from the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association listserve:

Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association History Project &
Court Street Merchants Association
Mom & Pop Shops of Court Street
- Guided Walking Tour -

12 P.M.
SATURDAY, MAY 2nd
Starting point: Court Street
Sam's Restaurant, Corner of Baltic Street
BROOKLYN

On May 2nd join guide John Heyer, as he takes us through time to explore the rich history and flavors of Carroll Gardens' Historic Mom & Pop Court Street.

The Tour will stop at Court Pastry Shop, D'Amico Coffee, Scotto Wine, Caputo Bakery, Marco Polo Restaurant, Esposito Pork Store, Marietta's, Scotto Funeral Home, Caputo's Italian Specialties, Mazzone Hardware and Hanley’s Bar. You will also learn about former mom & pop shops that have closed and new additions that have contributed to the life of the commercial strip. Many of the shops will be offering tastings, demonstrations and firsthand accounts of the life of the mom & pop shop.

The tour has an approximate length of 2 hours.
$20 day of event
$15 with reservation before day of event
$10 for students and seniors with reservation
To make reservations email CourtStreet { at } CarrollGardensHistory.com

The Kurt Vonnegut Composter

Anyone walking down Columbia just above Degraw over the past couple of days may have noticed the new addition to the greenway side of the block: a public compost bin with images and text related to Kurt Vonnegut all over it.

Neither of the posts i've seen on it (Brooklyn Paper and Mother Nature Network) were able to figure out who to thank for this lovely piece of street furniture, making it that much more mysterious, however my wife and co-blogger reports that it used to actually be on Tiffany Place before being relocated here.

Either way, anything to increase the community's ability to compost is a good thing, especially when done in such a stylish way. I vote that someone funds a collaboration between artists and environmental groups to install similarly styled composters throughout all Brooklyn neighborhoods, parks, and gardens.


**I walked past it today, but didn't have the camera with me, and therefore these images are from the Mother Nature Network

The cover up begins....

Check out today's article in the Brooklyn Paper for a look at the progress of the salt pile cover up and a more in depth look into what went on over the past few days.

Image above from Brooklyn Paper. Anyone else have good salt pictures, cover up or otherwise?

Jazz in June in the Urban Meadow

We are very proud to announce the amazing line-up of jazz concerts coming up in June:

Sunday, June 7

People's Revolutionary Party 2pm

Anne Mette Iversen Quartet 3pm

SPOKE 4pm


Sunday, June 14

Tanya Kalmanovitch Quartet 3pm

SAT Quartet 4pm


Sunday, June 21

Jalopy sponsored Bluegrass Festival 2pm - 5pm


Sunday, June 28

Willie Martinez' La Familia Sextet 2pm

Dave Sewelsen’ Two Daves 3pm

Nick Gianni’s Lotus 9 or Evolution 4pm


Spread the word!

Brooklyn Food Conference in Park Slope this Saturday

Brooklyn Food Conference
on May 2nd
in Park Slope
It's from 9 AM to 9 PM. And it's FREE!

Activities include workshops on many aspects of the politics & culture of food, key note speakers, a parade, lunch from local farms for sale, and so much more.

Make sure to check out THE MARKETPLACE: Over 50 businesses, food artisans, health counselors, non-profits and others displaying their wares and services showing folks what they have to offer the community.

Check out more at: http://brooklynfoodconference.org/

How to become a member of the Urban Meadow

WE’RE LOOKING FOR NEW MEMBERS!

To become a member of The Meadow, you just need to pay a fee of $25.00 which will be good for 2 years.

With membership you will receive two keys: one for the front gate, the second for the tool shed. Inside the tool shed we’re going to stock it with toys, chairs, bbq grill and other useful items.

With the keys comes a little bit of responsibility to help operate The Meadow. An hour or two a month is all we’re asking to help out with some of the following activities depending on you’re interest—help us:

• weed and mow
• open and close the gate
• water the grass and flowers
• clean & maintain the area
• plan and organize activities
• fundraising
• spread the word

For more information on membership and how you can help out the Meadow, please email Jessie Barker or Michael Golub at: urbanmeadow@gmail.com

Salt Pile Update!!!!!

In a less than 24 hour turnaround after last night's meeting, COWNA has received the following update:

Good Afternoon CoWNA,

With the help of Senator Squadron, Councilmember Yassky,
Congressmember Nadler and Brad Lander we where able to bring this to
the attention of the proper authorities. In addition to covering the
pile while no work is being done the Salt will be watered down to
prevent it from blowing into the residential neighborhood. The entire
pile should be removed within a couple days

Thanks,
Tom Gray
District Director
City Council Member Bill de Blasio

I received this via email, and i'm sure it will be posted to COWNA's site shortly as well. Reps. from COWNA are continuing to monitor progress and ask for more details....

Next Steps: Please submit questions about the salt pile

At tonight's meeting regarding the salt pile on the piers along Columbia St., it was decided that the next appropriate step in taking action will be to field questions from residents of the community and present them to our elected officials, as well as to the Port Authority (who controls the piers), and American Stevedoring Inc. (the company that operates the piers through a lease with the Port Authority).

This Friday at 4pm, members of the Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association (COWNA) will be meeting with representatives from the offices of David Yassky (confirmed), Bill De Blasio (confirmed), Daniel Squadron (confirmed), and Community Board 6 (confirmed). Also to be invited (not yet confirmed) are representatives from the offices of Nydia Velasquez, Jerrold Nadler, and Joan Millman.

At this meeting they will presenting the questions that they receive from you, the members of this community. Please send any questions you might have to contact { at } cowna.org where they will be sorted out and compiled for this meeting. All questions should be submitted no later than midday Wednesday.

Please note that the above named parties are very well aware at this point of the adverse effects that people are experiencing (i.e. salt on their cars, salt hitting windows, being hit with salt while walking), and therefore questions regarding who, what, why, when, and how will be more useful.

Stay tuned here and at the COWNA site for updates as this story continues.

Salt piles: Not a new issue!

In a report released by NYC City Council Member David Yassky's office in 2005, waterfront salt piles citywide were included on a list of "10 Waterfront Wastes and Opportunities," or "Non-water dependent uses [that] should be removed from the waterfront and replaced with either water dependent economic development opportunities or other uses that benefit the public, such as parks and open space."

The report then goes on to explain details of each of the 10 uses, and describes salt piles by saying:

Road salt is needed to keep City streets safe and accessible during winter snowstorms but these salt piles do not need to be sited along New York City’s waterfront! Although the City has committed to move or containerize some of these salt piles progress has been slow or non-existent.....

In addition to being a poor use of the waterfront, road salt may be harmful to the environment. According to the non-profit Riverkeeper, road salt typically contains sodium ferrocyanide and a variety of chlorides, which can break down into cyanide and negatively charged chloride ions that are harmful to wildlife, vegetation and aquatic organisms.

Check out the rest of the report, which I found hosted on the Greenpoint Waterfront Association for Parks and Planning

Brigitte Bouquet, local artist, at WORK, local gallery

Artist Brigitte Bouquet, aka BB, is currently showing TRAILS at the WORK Art Gallery. An amazingly intricate set of pieces made of ceramic.

Frozen River

Detail (each coral is made, textured, glazed, and baked separately on the kiln and then assembled)

Grassy Patch (each of these are 120" in diameter)

Detail

Watching Waves

Detail

A Walk in the Woods:



Go check it out! You have until May 31st.
WORK gallery is located on Union Street on the corner of Van Brunt.

To find out more about BB's art visit the following links:

http://web.me.com/bbceramics

www.atelierbb.etsy.com

http://twitter.com/atelierBB

http://twitpic.com/photos/atelierBB

www.flickr.com/photos/wobblyplates/

Parsons MFA at the Art Lot

You can currently admire the works of Parsons MFA students at the Art Lot (corner of Sackett and Columbia, right by Mazzat), curated by Jim Osman.
Here are some pictures:

The front

Front window box detail

Flip side

Greeter girl and sunny-side-up girl (an hommage to the poultry market next door)

Pouf

The artists are Angela Basile, Jill Beale, Daniel Carlson, Wai-Yam Cheng, Jana Flynn, Kyoung Eun Kang, Antoine Lefebvre, Caitlin Rueter, Suzanne Stroebe, Genevieve White.

Brooklyn Women's Rugby in Red Hook!

Brooklyn Women’s Rugby was started two years ago by five players, most of them with no previous rugby experience. A regular Rugby team has fifteen players, and after a lot of work recruiting and practicing to become a competitive team in the New York Rugby League they are up to 25 players and are having their first game this season on their home field in Red Hook.

The team

As you can see from the attached photos, we take our rugby seriously, even if we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Rugby is a complex, full contact game, but it is also supremely entertaining to watch and play, even if you may be uncertain about the rules.

Gillian Sciacca

Public Relations Chair, Brooklyn Women's Rugby

The scrum

The team is very excited to have their first home game next Saturday, May 2^nd, at 11:00 am at the Red Hook Park and Recreation Center.

Spread the word and show up for a good time!

As a French citizen myself, I have been missing the excitement of seeing our national XV de France fight it out against the New Zealand All Blacks, among the many impressive and international teams.

For more informtion: www.brooklynwomensrugby.org

"Salt mountain" coverage from other sites.....

Check out today's articles and posts in the NYTimes, Gothamist, and Curbed about the salt pile.

And if you haven't already, check out the Friday coverage from Brooklyn Paper

Other media sources, including television, have been invited to tonight's meeting, so be sure to show up to B61 bar at 6pm if you are able to!

Emergency neighborhood meeting about the Salt pile

There is an emergency meeting tonight for all residents of the Columbia St. Waterfront community to discuss a plan of action for dealing with the huge salt pile on the pier near Columbia and Kane that has been blowing into the street, hitting people, cars, storefronts, trees and more.

Media has been invited and residents are asked to call as many of numbers below as possible before attending the meeting.

The meeting is at B61 bar at 6 Pm.

The text below is from a flyer that has been taped up around the community:

-------------------
Columbia Waterfront Health Alert!!!

STOP THE SALT PILE MENACE

This has been going on for several days 24/7 without any community notification/info.

Risks to our health by inhaling road salt, and damage to our trees, plants and vehicles may be happening now

*Call American Stevedoring (port operator)
973.522.0999
718.875.0777

(*Call 311

*Call Community Board 6
718.643.3027

*Call your local elected officials
Council Member David Yassky (port)
718.875.5200

Council Member Bill de Blasio (Columbia Street)
718.854.9791


Columbia Waterfront Health Alert!!!

A Salt storm hits Columbia St.

A while back, with the help of COWNA and some photos submitted by local residents, we tracked the overnight growth of a huge salt pile on the piers by Columbia St. Despite neighborhood concern of salt being blown into the neighborhood and efforts by waterfront workers to cover up the pile with tarp, the salt still managed to fly all over Columbia St. yesterday, covering cars and everything else in its path..........

Fortunately for us, we weren't out there at that time yesterday to get hit by it. Head over to Brooklyn Paper to read the accounts of those who were.

Previous coverage here, here, and here.

Dance Theater Etcetera's 16th Annual Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival - June 5th and 6th

Dance Theatre Etcetera’s 16^th Annual Red Hook

Waterfront Arts Festival Arrives June 5^th & 6^th, 2009

Destination Red Hook: We Got What You Need

Brooklyn, NY – (April 24, 2009) Red Hook is the next destination neighborhood in NYC, but not for cheap Swedish meatballs or the newest big box giant. “Destination Red Hook: We Got What You Need,” the theme for this year’s version of the area’s annual summer kick-off, recognizes and celebrates the ‘hood’s many hidden gems. Come to the FREE Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival at Louis J. Valentino, Jr. Park & Pier Friday, June 5^th (6pm-9pm) and Saturday, June 6^th (11am-7pm) to see what (and who) makes this unique waterfront neighborhood tick.

The Festival opens Friday at 6pm with a Youth Kick-Off Event & community sunset picnic with performances by RIOT ACT! Police-Teen Theater Project and South Brooklyn Community High School’s TheaterWorks program. Eat food from local community farm Added Value, prepared by students in SBCHS’s Cook for Life program, as you enjoy a sunset serenade from The Famous Accordion Orchestra. At 8pm the 5^th Annual Red Hook Youth Film Fest begins, screening award-winning films from Brooklyn’s brightest young stars.

Saturday’s Mainstage events begin at 11:00 am. This year the Festival goes local with a loco lineup of sizzling hot artists who have made their names around the globe before coming back home to the BK: tapping, rapping lyricist Joseph Webb (Bring in ‘Da Noise…) and his band Joseph; local favorites, The Red Hook Ramblers; Dr. Drum & Bomba-Yo; and dynamo DJ Chela (lauded as “the hottest female DJ in the country”).

Powerhouse professional companies PurElements: An Evolution in Dance and JoiLynn Productions rep the best the borough has to offer in dynamic movement and dance, while youth groups from around the city strut their stuff to keep up. The day ends with a sunset salsa party to the big band groove of the incomparable Willie Alvarez y Tromborí.

This year’s Red Hook Fest will stress the importance of community unity in the tough economic times we face. Dance Theatre Etcetera, the organization behind the Festival, will jam-pack the park with local resources from community partners: information about job training, health services, smarter banking, and much, much more.

The festival, as always, is FREE to the public, and will also feature kayaking in New York Harbor with The Red Hook Boaters, the best local food, and a host of other family-friendly activities.

# # #

The 16^th Annual Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival

FREE

June 5, 2009 (6pm-9pm) & June 6, 2009 (11am-7pm) Rain date June 7

Louis J. Valentino, Jr. Park & Pier (Coffey St. & Ferris St., Brooklyn, NY 11231)

For more information visit www.redhookfest.org or email jon@dtetc.org (718-643-6790)

For a photo gallery with hi-res images of last year’s festival and this year’s professional artists,

visit www.dtetc.org/gallery.html

Sunset party on Pier 5 - June 4th

Each year, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy hosts a Sunset fundraiser event with music, dancing, food, and more. This year, for the first time ever, that party will be on Pier 5, which will be one of the sections of Brooklyn Bridge Park opening this year.

This sounds like a fun time and will be a sneak preview of how great Brooklyn Bridge Park will be!

Buy tickets here

The Crazy Joe Gallo walking tour

On May 9th, at 1pm, join Freebird Books for a Crazy Joe Gallo walking tour of Red Hook and Carroll Gardens with Tom Folsom, author of "The Mad Ones: Crazy Joe Gallo and the Revolution at the Edge of the Underworld"



The tour will begin at Carroll Park and move to different stops throughout the area.

From the Freebird event description:

Crazy Joe Gallo was immortalized for the blood he spilled on a Mulberry Street curb just outside Umberto’s Clam House on April 7, 1972. But the sidewalks this celebrity gangster more regularly strolled were along the waterfront of Red Hook, Brooklyn, in the vicinity of Freebird Books.

Find out more details, including RSVP info (strongly recommended) at Freebird's site.

And don't forget Freebird's other great events this weekend and next weekend.

Community Yoga at Dance Theater Etc.

Below are details for new Yoga classes being offered at Dance Theater Etc:

Yoga classes at Dance Theatre Etcetera are beginning April 28th, with new (to DTE) instructor, Juliana Klein.

Classes Tuesdays & Thursdays 8-9am.

Yoga mats provided.

All levels of experience welcome!

FIRST CLASS FREE

480 Van Brunt Street

Head over to their Destination Red Hook blog for more details

The Gowanus Canal and the Superfund drama

For those who haven't been paying attention, one of the hottest topics in the neighborhood lately is that the Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed to have the Gowanus Canal added to its list of Superfund sites, the Federal list of hazardous sites given priority and funding for cleanup.

Image from NYTimes

In summary, the State and the Federal Government are pushing for the site to be a Superfund site, while the Mayor and some other city officials are opposed to it, thinking it will get in the way of their existing plans and bring a bad stigma to the neighborhood. Residents seem to have mixed feelings.

For a much more detailed look into the topic, check out coverage in the NYTimes here or The Brooklyn Paper here.

Local citizens are encouraged to get involved in the EPA's public comment process

And if you conclude that you are for it, check out this poster/t-shirt logo that I found over at FoundinBrooklyn:

New distillery to possibly open nearby

With our recent observation of the new drinks district growing in Red Hook and the recent loss of Lenell and her Red Hook rye, it only makes sense for Tom Potter, one of the founders of the Brooklyn Brewery, to open up his newly planned distillery nearby.

According to the Daily News, he plans to start making gin and whiskey and hopes to raise enough money by late June to get the operation going in either Red Hook, Gowanus, or Williamsburg. In Brooklyn Brewery fashion, he plans to include tours and a tasting room in the setup.

Read the entire Daily News article here.

Brooklyn Paper also reports on it here and NY1 has a short video on it here

Pugzee hits the streets

Dave Cortes, a highly acclaimed toy maker who's INUART studio is based in Red Hook, recently released a "street version" of his Pugzee dog figure. Read more about it at SpankyStokes.com and also check out his website here to see all of the other crazy toys he's done, including many famous movie and comic characters.


Image above from Spankystokes

Art book party at Freebird on Sunday

This Sunday, head on over to Freebird to celebrate the release of an art book project that was put together by local resident Robin Ross. The description from the Freebird mailing list is as follows:

Two unique "remarked, remade and reinvented" canvas books in a collaborative artistic project with 48 artists, designers, writers and creators conceived by Robin Ross will be available for their premier viewing on Sunday, April 26, 3 pm to 6 pm

to PREVIEW THE BOOKS:

http://robinross.com/section/78895.html ,A Very Remarkable Book
http://robinross.com/section/78896.html ,Remarked Upon

ABOUT THIS PROJECT:

Robin Ross (our neighbor on Tiffany Place) asked fellow artists to create a "page" in books constructed from the remnants of Robin's own canvases.

A Very Remarkable Book is the result of 26 artitists working upon canvas pages from part of a large canvas Robin painted in 1991 entitled White Painting #4. A second book, Remarked Upon, is the collaboration of 22 different artists made from the painting Door Without the Handle, 1994.

Freebird Books is located at 123 Columbia Street (between Kane and Degraw streets)


Image above from A Very Remarkable Book, care of Robinross.com

A Family Affair returns: 4/25/09 @ Botanica

After testing the waters on different days of the week, A Family Affair is back to its original timeslot of Saturday afternoon.

This Saturday, April 25th, from 12-3pm, head over to Brooklyn Botanica with the whole family to enjoy:

• Kid friendly movies on a large full-wall projection
• Adult friendly cocktails and beers
  
• Snacks and finger food that is friendly for all

There will also be some toys and games available.

Brooklyn Botanica is located at 220 Conover St. (at the corner of Coffey) in Red Hook.

Entry is free!

Fort Defiance to open in May

One by one, new restaurants are opening or getting ready to open in Red Hook, making Gothamist's prediction of a new restaurant row look more and more real.

The first of the group to open was Anselmo's, which we haven't had a chance to try yet but have heard good things (test oven night was packed when we walked by!)

Now, according to Eater, Fort Defiance is getting ready to open its doors in May, serving coffee and lunch at first and moving on to include cocktails and light food at night as well.

Fort Defiance will be located at the corner of Dikeman and Van Brunt, and is being run by St. John Frizell of Pegu Club

If your looking for a bartending/waiting job, check the restaurant's craigslist ad here

Nina Violet at the Jalopy tonight.

Filling in for Tony Scherr this Monday at 9pm at Jalopy is Nina Violet, composer/singer from Martha's Vineyard.

Have a listen…

www.sonicbids.com/chorusofarrows

www.myspace.com/ninaviolet

Red Hook Community Farm events on 4/18

It seems like there's a lot going on this weekend, but these events linked to the Red Hook Community Farm/Added Value are certainly worthwhile

From a blast to their mailing list:

VOLUNTEER
SATURDAY APRIL 18: EARTH DAY CELEBRATIONS
Added Value is partnering with our Friends at the Green Apple Festival to host
Earthday Events. Join us down on the Farm for a day of sowing seeds, weeding
the fields, and building beds. Spend part of this beautiful spring day helping
us kick of the year.
When 9:30 – 3:30
Where: Red Hook Community Farm

Also Saturday April 18th
KIMBERLY VARGAS, ADDED VALUE ALUMNA & CURRENT INTERN
SCREENS HER FILM @ THE FOOD FOR THOUGHT FILM FESTIVAL
If a day out in the sun is not in your plans but you are really excited about
spending a day with other Food Justice activists head to FOOD FOR THOUGHT FILM
FESTIVAL

Our own Kimberly Vargas will be showing her film A Red Hook Lunch and speaking
on a panel beginning at 1:30 in the afternoon. This event is FREE to the public
Directions and the detailed schedule and directions can be found at
http://www.foodfilmfest.com/schedule.html

Local bookstores to be featured in NYC Walking Tour

TheMillions.com is hosting a walking tour of some of NYC's best independent bookstores on May 2, and featured on their list is local Columbia St. favorite Freebird, as well as Bookcourt (our other local favorite). Looking at the bottom of the list on the map, it also appears that the newly relocated Heights Bookstore (on Smith St.) and 12th St Books (on Atlantic Ave).

Check out the google map below for the entire route as well as bookstore mini reviews. Other details can be found at themillions.com.



View The Official Millions' Walking Tour of New York's Independent Bookstores in a larger map

New Art Lot exhibit opening this Saturday

A new group of installations will be opening at the Art Lot this Saturday, 4/18. The new work is all by Parsons MFA students, and they are starting off on the right foot by giving the front of the Art Lot the great makeover above - the pink building facade above is usually just a chain link fence!

I love the touch of the window planters, including labels of chives, lettuce, etc.

The art lot is located on the corner of Sackett and Columbia, right next to Mazzat (a great place to stop for drinks and food after!)

Red's One Year Anniversary Party

One year ago, while taking a Spring stroll through the neighborhood, my family and I happened upon the newly opened Red's Produce and we were warmly welcomed to come in and try it.....

A number of visits and great meals later, we are proud to see that this restaurant has completed its first year and is now better than ever- including a name change to Red's Tapas Bar.

In order to celebrate their first year, they are having a party tomorrow, 4/16, with live music, FREE BAR FOOD from 5-8, $5 Sangrias and wine, and $3 beers.

Check out their ads along Columbia St (pictued above) or their Craiglist posting for more details.

If you go, don't forget to mention how much you appreciated their donation to help make the recent egg hunt possible!

414 Hicks development coming along

Brownstoner snapped the above picture and reports that the development at 414 Hicks (at Warren St.) is moving along as scheduled and will be ready for occupancy in 2010. Check out their post for more details and links to previous posts covering the topic.

There is additional information available at Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Vote for us on Go City Kids

Go City Kids, an award winning website for parents, is planning to launch a local blogs page soon, and we are in the running to be featured!

Check out the page they've set up for us here and leave a rating and/or review. After you're done with that, be sure to surf around the site and see all else that they have to offer from event listings, advice, articles, message boards, and other resources.

Thanks!

Ballfields Vendors will be back May 2nd!

Speaking of the Red Hook ballfields, the much-loved vendors will be back this season starting on May 2nd. This means that we'll have a true full season of enjoying huaraches, pupusas, grilled corn, those delicious fruit drinks, and so much more.

Last year the season got cut short (along with their profits) and they didn't open until July due to the new requirement that the vendors operate out of trucks.

This year with the full season, we'll all have that many more chances to indulge on the food and help support these amazing vendors.

Check out an article in Brooklyn Paper about this here

Inside the Grain Factory

Two guys named Herman and Simon recently went inside the Red Hook Grain Factory, that huge abandoned building that sits along the water by the ballfields, and snapped some pretty amazing photos, which I highly recommend taking a look at.

Check out the photos here (unfortunately they don't allow for them to be shown on other sites!)

Also check out a description of their adventure here

Photo above from doobybrain.com

Signs of Spring pt. 2

All of the flowery trees in our neighborhood have been blooming over the past week or so, and these pictures, posted to our facebook group by local resident Matt, capture the beauty of it all so well

Recap of the first Urban Meadow Spring Egg Hunt

Despite the delay due to rain on Saturday, the first ever Spring Egg Hunt in the Urban Meadow was a great success yesterday. Thanks to all who participated, helped out, and donated. We collected more donations at the event to make future events like this possible.

An extra special thanks to all of the businesses that helped with the event through their donations and other contributions: Everyday Athlete Studio, Woofs and Whiskers, the Coffee Den, Jet Set Salon, Jalopy, Red's Tapas Bar, Old Brooklyn Wine and Liquor, Brooklyn General Store, and Pizzazz Kids. If you find yourself in any of these businesses this week, be sure to tell them thanks!

Here are some of the highlights:

The crowded started gathering at the gate over 10 minutes before the 4:30 start time

When given word, parents and kids raced in with their baskets to find the 200 eggs hidden throughout the meadow (Next year we'll aim to do at least 500!)

When all of the eggs were found, everyone sat down to take a look at their bounty

Woofs and Whiskers then showed up with a real live bunny!And Everyday Athlete Studio gave out balloons while everyone snacked on coffee and treats provided by the Coffee Den

Any local residents or businesses that are interested in helping out, planning, and spreading the word about more events like this, please come to the first open meeting of the Urban Meadow this Saturday at 1 PM or email urbanmeadow[at]gmail.com

Get Dazzled by the 39th District City Council Candidates

The Coalition for Respectful Development (CORD) and the South Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance (SoBNA) are organizing an event on April 25th for local residents to meet and pose questions to the seven candidates for the 39th City Council District (which includes Carroll Gardens, the Columbia Waterfront, and more).

WHEN: SATURDAY APRIL 25TH, 2009

TIME: Begins at 10:30 am PROMPT! Ends at 1:00 pm

WHERE: CARROLL GARDENS LIBRARY AUDITORIUM 396 Clinton St. @ Union St. Brooklyn, NY 11231

See more details at the CORD blog here

*Unfortunately for questions to considered for the event, they have to be received by CORD tomorrow. Sorry for the delay in posting this.

The Red Hook Lobster Pound

Starting on April 24th, Red Hook will become the place to go for what will quite possibly be the freshest Lobsters in NYC, thanks to a new business called the Red Hook Lobster Pound.

Susan Povich, one of the owners of the operation (along with her husband Ralph Gorham) described the process for getting the lobsters as follows:

My husband and I are driving to Maine every week this Spring and
bringing back fresh live Maine lobsters. They will be less that 6 hours off the boat.

We will purchase fresh-catch, full boat runs directly from the lobster-men and women. We sell by the pound, not the sizes of lobster. That way we can keep our prices reasonable.

Pre-orders are advised and preferred. We are open Friday afternoons and close when we are sold out. Prices vary according to the market

Check out their website for more details (including contact info for placing an order):
http://redhooklobsterpound.com/

We haven't had the chance to go check out their new space yet, but check out Pardon Me For Asking to read a description of it and see some pictures, including the one below of the mural that was painted by local artist Jay Crider:

The Spring Egg Hunt in the Meadow is rescheduled due to weather!

We are sad to say that the rain has defeated us!

But let us not despair, we will still have the hunt, the crafts, the balloons, the bunny and the coffee and treats!
(courtesy of the following local businesses: Coffee Den, Jalopy, Jet Set Salon, Everyday Athlete Studio, Brooklyn General Store, Red's Tapas Bar, Old Brooklyn, and Pizzazz)

We are rescheduling for Monday, April 13th, 4:30pm, at the Meadow on President and Van Brunt.

I know many of you will be away, but I'm sure there are still children needing to be out and about during this spring break!

We hope to see you then,

Jessie Barker and Mike Golub
The Cabrini Green Urban Meadow

The first Spring Egg Hunt is only 2 days away!

The weather forecast is disappointing: rain is predicted for Saturday. But we will not be defeated and will attempt to hold the event anyway.
So be brave, protected, and on time to get as many eggs as possible.

Some of our local businesses have been generous and are sponsoring the event:
- Jalopy
- Jet Set Salon
- Old Brooklyn
- Brooklyn General Store
- Red's Tapas Bar
- Everyday Athlete Studio: who will be giving out helium balloons
- The Coffee Den: who will provide coffee and treats
- Woofs 'n Whiskers: who will be bringing a live white bunny for children to pet


However, if it is indeed raining like cats and dogs, we will reschedule it for Monday, April 13th, at 4:30pm.

Casualties in the neighborhood

Two businesses have closed down this past week:

Korhogo 126 on Union street and the Artistry Project on Sackett (between Henry and Hicks) have moved on.



We are very sad to see them go and we hope there won't be any other casualties.

A View From The Hook

There is a new blog in the neighborhood called "A View From the Hook," which will focus primarily on the issue of port emissions. If you've read anything about this topic in the past, you will know that emissions from the cruise ship terminal and the container port operations can have serious impacts on the environment and our health - but also that there are things that can be done to minimize these impacts.

We've mentioned some of these issues on our blog in the past, but "A View From the Hook" will cover them in more detail.

Go check it out.

Squadron Brooklyn Bridge Park Meeting

Daniel Squadron's meeting that was postponed two weeks ago has been re-scheduled for this Sunday:

On Sunday, April 5, State Senator Daniel Squadron will host another public meeting to present his plan for how to make Brooklyn Bridge Park a real, world-class park for our community and our city.

Please join us for the presentation, which will be followed by a Q&A session with Senator Squadron about his proposal.

The meeting will be held at 3:00 pm, Sunday April 5, in the Avram Conference Center, Conference Room A at Long Island College Hospital.

Nightime Bike Racing

The video above is from the Red Hook Night Criterium on March 28, 2009. Check out more details on Bike Blog NYC.

Looks like fun

Red Cherries from the Hook

Did you know that about a third of the country’s maraschino cherries come from right here in Red Hook? Dell's Maraschino Cherry Company, which has been in operation since 1948, was profiled this week in the NYTimes segment "Made in N.Y.C." Check it out here.

You can also see Dell's website here.

Image above from NY Times.

The new face of Brooklyn Collective and General Nightmare

We're a little late on this, but still thought it was worth commenting that the updated storefront of the newly merged Brooklyn Collective and General Nightmare Antiques looks great!

Signs of Spring

Even though the weather has been a little hit or miss overall lately, there have been enough good days to realize that Spring is really here. There have been other signs as well, such as the ones below:

Music in the streets @ JalopyCommunity gardens starting to bloom

....and Easter decorations