7th Annual Columbia Waterfront District Tree Lighting

Show the love to our fantastic neighborhood by......... eating free food, dancing to awesome music, and winning fun prizes! 

December 13, 6pm-7:30pm, marks the Columbia Waterfront Tree Lighting Party, hosted at the Human Compass Garden by Carroll Gardens Association Inc. 

There will be yummy food provided by outstanding and generous restaurants including Mazzat, Jake's BBQ and Brooklyn Southern, toe-tapping fodder by the Dan Kurfist Trio, and, of course, a beautiful Christmas tree. Into fire trucks? Well, the FDNY local 202 will be escorting none other than Mr. Santa himself to the party, complete with surprises for the little ones.

To view the poster and see more information go to:

http://www.carrollgardensassociation.com/7th-annual-columbia-waterfront-district-tree-lighting-on-friday-december-13th-from-6pm-to-730pm/

Park Bagels: Six Months Out and Already a Neighborhood Staple

When Stefano Mannino came to Red Hook last winter to size up some for-sale kitchen equipment offered by the then going-out-of-business South Brooklyn Bagel Cafe at 75 Hamilton Avenue, he had no idea he was heading towards the resting place of his third Park Bagels branch. As soon as he saw the

incredible location and space left by the previous business, however, he signed on the dotted line and started to build.

And lucky for us: a little over six months after their opening day, the cafe is doing a roaring trade in fresh, made-to-order breakfast and lunch fare, provided by some of the friendliest people in the City.

The bagel cafe has become a go-to spot for the longshoreman who work the nearby Red Hook cargo docks (the only operational dock left in Brooklyn--all the rest are on the New Jersey side of the Hudson), locals and commuters on their way to and from work, moms, dads, caretakers and kids, as well as those of us who simply cannot resist a good bagel, sandwich or cup of coffee.

Stefano Mannino

Speaking of coffee, if you have already been here and you think their brew is something to rave about, you’re not the only one. “99% of people say our coffee is amazing”, says Stefano Mannino, owner, with the remaining 1% coming in on the “too strong” side of the tracks. Their sourcing team went through over 100 different brands before finding the perfect one, and have settled on a selection that will simply melt your soul. An easygoing $1.25 (plus tax = about $1.36) gets you a cup of regular coffee, and $2.00 will place a delicious, nutty, ka-powwwerlicious espresso into your hands.

All three Park Bagels locations were opened and are run by Mannino, with the help of his two brothers, Vinny and Frankie. Mannino opened his first cafe in 2004 on 86th Street in Brooklyn, and last May he cut the tape on a Staten Island location just a few steps from the Saint George Ferry Terminal.

Vinny Mannino

The Red Hook menu is still being finalized as they continue to take into account all the suggestions and requests being made by patrons, so keep an eye out for exciting new items. Recently added: french toast. They offer tofu cream cheese and soy milk for the dairy-averted, and are currently working on a couple of vegan dishes as well.

Plans are under way to revamp the two already well-used seating areas, and are projected to be ready for spring 2014. The aim, says Mannino, is to make the cafe and garden “more of a destination” with greenery, an inviting, open design, twinkling lights, and easy stroller access. Those with kids, take note!

Park Bagels

75 Hamilton Ave.

Brooklyn, NY 11231

Hours:

M-F 6am-5pm

Sat 7am-3pm

Sun Closed

Red Hook Fest (May 30 - June 1) Begins Festivities Tonight!

This evening kicks off the festivities for the 20th Annual Red Hook Fest! 

This free 20th annual festival's theme and truly Red Hook's undercurrent in the past months has been "Rebuild, Restore, Rebirth: Resilience after Sandy."  The annual Red Hook Earth and Surf Parade has even been reborn this year - after an 11 year lull! Check out their website www.redhookfest.com for more info.

Festivity Lineup:

• Thursday, May 30th from 6pm - 8pm at the Miccio Center (110 West 9th St) - Youth Kick-Off Event

• Friday, May 31st from 6pm - 9pm at PS 15 (71 Sullivan St)  - Community BBQ & Dance Party

• Red Hook Rebirth Parade begins from Coffey Park (Richards St & Pioneer St) at 10 am on Saturday, June 1st  

• Saturday, June 1st from 12pm - 7pm at Valentino Pier & Park (Coffey St & Ferris St) - Mainstage Performances
• Brown Rice Family - Winners of the 2012 Battle of the Boroughs
• Gangstagrass -  Emmy nominated for the theme song on FX's Justified ('nuff said! I love that song!)
• Camille A. Brown & Dancers - Dance... Amplified!
• Avenida B - Live Salsa Dura Band
• Nicholas Leichter Dance - NYC based company with performances in 50 cities and 12 countries 
• The Hungry March Band - Street brass march band from Brooklyn who will lead the Parade

The mainstage performances will take place at Valentino Pier & Park and the festival will include special activities such as free Kayak rides in New York Harbor thanks to the Red Hook Boaters and other various fun and activities for all ages sponsored by community partners. 

Brooklyn’s Waterfront Development: A Discussion May 10th

Ever want to know more about our waterfront? Join Brooklyn Waterfront Research Center as they offer a chance to delve into how it runs and what has changed and what will change in a breakfast talk with Richard Bearak, Director, Land Use, Brooklyn Borough President’s Office on May 10th from 8:30am to 10:00am at CityTech (CUNY): 300 Jay Street, Room N119.

While the event is free, reservations are required. More info can be found on Brooklyn Waterfront Research Center's website.

Brooklyn Collective Holiday Party Tonight

Brooklyn Collective is hosting a holiday party tonight from 6 to 9pm with a raffle to benefit Sandy victims in Red Hook. 

Here are the fabulous local artists selling their work at Brooklyn Collective this season: http://www.brooklyncollective.com/artists.html I found the perfect presents for four people on my list this week!

Brooklyn Collective
212 Columbia Street Brooklyn, NY 11231
(718) 596-6231

Beautiful Veggies

This summer I joined a CSA group for the first time. The Urban Meadow partnered with Just Food to provide fresh produce direct from a local farm. We've also been getting eggs and there has been talk of cheese and coffee. Here are my photos from the first pickup day two Saturdays ago.

For more information check out the Urban Meadow Community Supported Agriculture program site.

Rally to End Tourist Helicopter Noise in Brooklyn - 5/15/11!

Join State Senator Squadron, Congressman Nadler, Congresswoman Velazquez, State Senator Montgomery, Assemblywoman Millman, Councilmember Levin and Councilmember Lander

at a

Rally to End Tourist Helicopter Noise in Brooklyn

Sunday, May 15 - 1:00PM

Pier 6 Brooklyn Bridge Park

(at the end of Atlantic Avenue)

Join your neighbors, community leaders and local elected officials to rally to end all tourist helicopter flights from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport. Brooklynites from DUMBO to Red Hook have put up with this nuisance for too long!

Rain or Shine!

Questions? - please contact

Senator Squadron's Office

718-875-1517 or adelisi@nysenate.gov

Clockworks Puppet Theatre opens on Columbia St this weekend!

Check out the facebook page here
or
Check out the official website here

Columbia St. Tree Brigade strikes again! Saturday, 4/30

Come help beautify the community and protect local trees by participating in the "Columbia Street Tree Brigade" this Saturday, 4/30/11 starting at 10am. We will be focusing our efforts this time around on Columbia St. between Union and Hamilton (last year's events covered Atlantic to Union).

Mulch and tools are being generously provided by the Partnership for Parks. Donations of used newspaper and cardboard are more than welcome - as this can be used for extra weed protection!

All ages are welcome - last year the kids loved it!

Saturday, 4/30/11
10 AM - until supplies run out
Meet at Woodhull and Columbia

The Columbia St. Tree Brigade is a project of the COWNA environment committee.

Bayou n Brooklyn Music Festival- May 6th and 7th - at Jalopy

First Annual Bayou n’ Brooklyn, NY, Music Festival is May 6th and 7th 2011 at Jalopy Music Theatre. It features two nights of ongoing performances by the renowned Cajun musician Jesse Lege, Bayou Brew, Cleoma’s Ghost, ZydeGroove, and Cathoula Cajun Band.... and surprise guest artists, plus Community Jam Sessions and Workshops to bring driving force Cajun waltzes and two-steps to novice and experienced musicians.

Tickets
$12 Advance / $15 Door
Both Days: $24 Advance / $30 Door
Workshops: $25

Check out http://www.bayou-n-brooklyn.com/ or http://www.jalopy.biz/ for more details

Last chance for Urban Meadow CSA registration!

There are still spaces left in the Urban Meadow Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA), but the deadline for registering is April 16th! If you have been thinking about it, or if this is your first time reading about it, now is the time to act!

Email urbanmeadowcsa { at } gmail.com to get signed up. Also check out the Urban Meadow CSA blog for details about membership, FAQs, links, pictures, and much more!

The season runs for 22 weeks from June to October. The price for the season is $450, and includes a weekly selection of vegetables from Ant Hill Farm.

Eat healthy, support local farmers, and reduce your impact on the environment!

4th Annual Red Hook Jazz Festival in the URBAN MEADOW

Once again the Urban Meadow will be hosting the Red Hook Jazz Festival in June 2011. This is the fourth year of a homegrown jazz festival featuring an amazing line-up of mostly local talent. When we say local we mean they mostly live and work in NYC but these musicians regularly play all over the country and the world - and we love that they also play in their own backyard. The RHJF is known for great music, a laid back vibe, an outdoor setting, and family friendly good times. Adults pay $5 for 5 hours of music each day and kids are free.
Come out for two days of musical fun in the sun. Link to the Urban Meadow website for complete details on this and other activities at the Meadow this year.

Sunday, June 12 1PM - 6 PM
ON DAVIS' FAMOUS ORIGINAL DJUKE MUSIC PLAYERS
pete barr (drums), nick gianni (baritone sax & flute), welf dorr (alto sax), cavassa (bass), ibrahiim muhamad (percussion)
VINNIE SPERAZZA/MATT BLOSTEIN BAND
vinnie sperrazza (drums), matt blostein (sax), jacob garchik (trombone), geoff kraly (electric bass)
MARCO CAPELLI PROJECT
THE WEE TRIO
james westfall (vibraphonist), dan loomis (bassist), jared schonig (drummer)
ANDREA WOLPER TRIO
andrea wolper (vocals), ken filiano (bass), michael howell (guitar), michael T.A. thompson (drums)
JEFF NEWLETT’S NEW TRAD
jeff newell (sax), isrea butler (trombone), dan peck (tuba), brian woodruff (drums)

Saturday, June 18 - 1PM - 6 PM
RENKU
michael atias (sax), john hébert (bass), satoshi takeishi (percussion)
STEPHANE WREMBEL’S DJANGO EXPERIMENT
stephane wrembel (guitar), koran hasanagic (guitar), richard lee (percussions), ari folman cohen (bass)
JEFF DAVIS BAND
oscar noriega (alto sax/clarinet/bass clarinet), kirk knuffke (cornet), jon goldberger (guitar), matt pavolka (bass), jeff davis (drums/compositions)
JOSH SINTON’S HOLUS-BOLUS
josh sinton (sax), jon irabagon (sax), jonathan goldberger (guitar), peter bitenc (bass), mike pride (drums)
INGRID LAUBROCK TRIO
ingrid laubrock (sax), tom rainey (drums), dan peck (tuba)

For up to date announcements on the RHJF, visit Facebook/RedHookJazzFestival.com. For directions to the Urban Meadow go here http://urbanmeadowbrooklyn.blogspot.com/p/directions-to-urban-meadow.html

Image above from the Urban Meadow blog

Petition to have the salt pile removed!

As anyone living on the North end of the neighborhood knows, the salt pile is growing yet again. Some neighborhood residents have begun to circulate a petition, one of many efforts to have the pile removed over the past several years. Please read and sign the petition here:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/removethesaltpile/

In the past, the uncovered salt pile has been known to blow salt around the neighborhood leaving a film of salt on cars, in yards, and on windows. It also causes a lot of noise throughout the night as workers unload salt onto the pile.

Image above from the petition site.

Urban Meadow CSA registration is open for the 2011 season!

The Urban Meadow Community Supported Agriculture Program (CSA) is pleased to announce share availability for the 2011 season, which will run from the first Saturday in June through the last Saturday in October. If you're interested, please hurry and get in contact, because we expect slots to fill up quickly!

The cost of a share is $450 for the season and includes a delivery of vegetables each week from Ant Hill farm. Please note that a small number of subsidized shares are available. Inquire about membership or any other details using the links and information below.

Check out the new Urban Meadow CSA website here for more information.

The membership flyer link, including contact info, is here

Info on our partner farm is here

The new Urban Meadow CSA twitter account is here

And finally, more info on CSAs can be found here at Just Food's website

Columbia Street Greenway Clean-up - March 12th

Please join Brooklyn Greenway Initiative and their friends at Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association for the first monthly clean-up of the year along the Columbia Street segment of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. Tools and gloves provided, all ages welcome! Meet at Brooklyn Greenway Initiative’s office, 145 Columbia Street, on Saturday, March 12th. Clean-up runs 10:00AM-12:00PM.

To RSVP or for more info contact Brian at bmccormick@brooklyngreenway.org.

Columbia Waterfront Park Meeting on February 2nd

As many people have heard over the past few years, there is a new park planned for the space along the West side of Columbia Street between Kane and Degraw, which sits adjacent to the current stretch of the Greenway in our neighborhood. There is now a planned public meeting to discuss the community's vision for the space, which is extremely exciting! The details from an email sent out by the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative are below:
------
What: Columbia Street Open Space Visioning Meeting
When: Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011, 6:30-8:30 PM
Where: The Union Street Star Theater, 101 Union Street

Join Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, Regional Plan Association, and your neighbors as we begin the visioning for a new public open space on Columbia Street between Kane and Degraw Street

When the Van Brunt Street reconstruction and the Gowanus Flushing Tunnel construction are complete, the 80-ft deep area on the west side of Columbia Street is planned to become an open space element of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. It is one of three open space nodes that we are either designing or commencing the community visioning process

On February 2nd, we will share the background research that has been compiled to date and invite you to share your ideas for the kinds of improvements and facilities that would be most beneficial to the Columbia Waterfront community

Please RSVP to info@brooklyngreenway.org with Columbia St Open Space I the subject line. We will send you a link to background information to help prepare you for the discussion on February 2nd.

Rally for Shore Power - TOMORROW AT NOON!!

There will be a rally tomorrow in support of shore power (aka cold ironing) at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal tomorrow. Please come out and show that our community cares about pollution and local air quality!

Details about the rally and the issue can be found in the email from Councilmember Lander and Senator Squadron below. Additional details on the topic can be found at A View From the Hook

Photo from South Brooklyn Post via A View From the Hook

Dear Neighbors,

Please join us Monday at noon for a press conference and rally in support of bringing "shore power" to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

Along with the community we have been pushing for shore power for a long time — now we are holding this "Stop Choking Brooklyn" rally because we can't wait any longer!

Switching to shore power — so that ships can hook up to the electric grid instead of idling their engines in port — would stop tons of unnecessary and life-threatening pollution, which is equal to thousands of cars idling.

The Port Authority and the Environmental Protection Agency have obtained $15 million in funding to build the necessary infrastructure. However, for shore power to become a reality, the Economic Development Corporation, which operates the cruise terminal, Carnival Cruise Lines which uses the terminal, and New York Power Authority, which delivers electricity to the terminal, need to come to a final agreement about the price of electricity.

Join us on Monday to rally for an agreement now, so the work needed to bring shore power to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal can begin and idling cruise ships stop choking Brooklyn!

---

We're going to be holding the event on Monday. Here are the specifics:

• What: Tour of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal
• When: Monday, January 3rd, noon
• Where: corner of Van Brunt Street and Pioneer Street

There will be free surgical masks for everyone to wear in order to highlight just how much pollution is caused by the ships currently.

I hope you'll join us on Monday as we rally in support of a cause that will make our community an even better place to live.

Thank you,

Councilmember Lander and Senator Squadron

Breuckelen Distilling Co. and Kings County Distillers Tasting at dry dock - 12/11/10

Breuckelen Distilling Co. and Kings County Distillers Tasting at dry dock wine + spirits

Saturday, December 11^th, 2010

4:00pm to 7:00pm

Meet the master distillers of Breuckelen Distilling Co. and Kings County Distillers as they each sample their spirit together at dry dock wine + spirits on Saturday, December 11^th, 2010 from 4:00pm to 7:00pm, free. Following the tasting, Fort Defiance, located at 365 Van Brunt Street, will spotlight cocktails featuring these local spirits.

Breuckelen Distilling Co makes gin from organic New York grains in their Sunset Park warehouse. The spirit is entirely hand crafted from grinding the grain to blending the botanics, including juniper, ginger and rosemary. More information is available at www.brkgin.com.

Kings County Distillery is New York City’s first legal whiskey distillery since prohibition. They make un-aged corn whiskey (aka moonshine) from organic New York corn and barley from Scotland in very small batches. They make 2.5 gallons of whiskey a day and are currently putting some barrels aside for a spring release. Find out more at www.kingscountydistillery.com.

Rolie Polie Guacamole at Bait and Tackle on 12/4

Rolie Polie Guacamole will be performing at Bait and Tackle on 12/4/10. The show is catered to kids 0-100, so there should be something for everyone to enjoy, no matter what the age group.

Check out the video below for Rolie Polie Guacamole's take on "This Land is Your Land"



Bait and Tackle is located at 320 Van Brunt Street.

Alternatives to Housing in Brooklyn Bridge Park - public hearings and COWNA statement

Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Committee on Alternatives to Housing, with the assistance of Bay Area Economics Consulting, is conducting two public hearings to solicit comments from the public on alternative sources that could be relied upon to finance the on-going operations of the park in lieu of revenues from the Pier 6 and John Street development sites.

Members of the public are invited to attend and testify and encouraged to submit written comments.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010, 6pm – 8pm
Long Island College Hospital, 339 Hicks Street
Avram Conference Center, 1^st floor

Thursday, December 9, 2010, 6-pm-8pm
St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street
Founders Hall Atrium, 1st Floor
------------------------------------
The Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association (COWNA) is issuing the following statement in response to this issue:

Our neighborhood is growing, there are more young families every year and there is enormous demand for recreational space for all ages and in all seasons.

The Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood looks forward to the completion of the park, which will become a cherished amenity.

We appreciate the challenges in getting the park built and maintaining it going forward. However, we fear that fundamental principles are being compromised by the proposal to locate private housing in the park in order to generate income for maintenance.

We oppose the development of housing and hotels in the park. We feel that the park should contain only such uses as can be utilized by all visitors. Our communities need recreation and relaxation space - the Brooklyn Bridge Park is a unique opportunity and we look forward to working with all stakeholders to identify sources of revenue that will sustain the park's ongoing operations as an alternative to the proposed housing.