Checking Out Greenpoint, Brooklyn

 

In this video Tom Delgado shows you around Greenpoint, Brooklyn, making introductions to some local neighborhood leaders and business owners.

 

The Toy Museum of New York

The Toy Museum of New York is based in downtown Brooklyn, and offers workshops, performances and webinars.

The Toy Museum, which opened in 1999, has entertained and educated over 100,000 students. The museum is an educational institute chartered by The University of the State of NY Education Department, a NYC Department of Education Vendor and a registered charity.

The museum offers a traveling educational outreach program that visits schools and provides workshops for children, adults and seniors.

After 20 years of educating about the history of toys, The Toy Museum of NY is producing a new children’s television show. The pilot episode launched in February and features classic toys, new toys and their inventors.

Visiting The NY Transit Museum

Have you visited the New York Transit Museum in downtown Brooklyn?

It’s a wonderful museum for visitors of all ages. Current exhibits include:

17th Annual Holiday Train Show—This train show includes a miniature model of Grand Central Station and miniature subway train sets.

Ticket to Ride is an exhibit that showcases the different tickets, tokens, and passes that were used to pay travel expenses.

Underground Heroes: NY Transit in Comics, an exhibit that explores how NY’s transit system has been featured in comic books.

Special activities are often available, including vintage holiday rides on the Nostalgia Train.

For younger children, there are a variety of hands-on activities in the Discovery Room, making the New York Transit Museum a wonderful place to visit, learn, and explore! 

Brooklyn Children's Museum

Looking for an educational, indoor activity?

Visiting the Brooklyn Children's Museum will help you keep your kids entertained with a variety of hands-on activities.

The children's museum offers a sensory room, a color lab and a large variety of interactive exhibits. Fun and learning are combined in this wonderful museum.

Keep in mind that the Brooklyn Children's Museum is closed on Mondays and offers free admission ("pay what you wish") every Thursday from 2 to 6 pm, and on Sundays from 4 to 7 pm.

Enjoy the museum this winter!

The Polar Bear Plunge

The Polar Bear Plunge took place on New Year’s Day and was a chance for adventurous swimmers to raise money for a good cause.

The 115^th annual Polar Bear Plunge invited swimmers to jump into the frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Swimmers raised over $55,000 for the Coney Island community. Money was earmarked towards creating a cleaner and environment and improved quality of life for Coney Island Residents. The Coney Island community is a neighborhood with a high poverty rate that is still recovering from Superstorm Sandy.

Founded in 1903, the Coney Island Polar Bear Club is the oldest winter bathing organization in the United States. They swim every Sunday from November through April.

History of the Kensington Public Library

The Kensington Public Library opened in January 1908 with a collection of only 400 books. In 1912, the library expanded and moved to 771 McDonald Avenue, where it remained for the next 48 years.

 By 1960, the Kensington Library, having outgrown its previous location, moved to Ditmas Avenue. Its renovation garnered national interest because Kensington was the first branch to have air-conditioning and children’s furniture in the children’ section.

In November 2012, the Kensington Library re-opened after additional renovations. The library was designed to be environmentally-friendly and was praised by the Art Commission of New York for its successful integration of green design.

Located in a residential area, the Kensington Library is based on the concept of daylight, and most of the library is bathed with natural light, creating a pleasant environment for readers.

Brooklyn Restaurant Group Gets New Head Chefs

The Brooklyn restaurants owned by Andrew Tarlow are generally regarded as some of the biggest shapers of Brooklyn's local dining climate. They are also responsible for the exposed brick and mortar trend that has since become international. Over recent months, Tarlow's empire has been through some changes, with new chefs entering the kitchens of all of his restaurants, which include Diner, Marlow & Sons, Reynard, Roman's and Achilles Heel.

Aside from the new chefs, whom we'll address soon, former Diner chef Caroline Fidanza is returning to the scene as culinary director for the restaurant group after closing her popular sandwich shop Saltie.

Achilles Heel has appointed former pastry sous chef Desire Tuttle, while Reynard's kitchen will now be run by Christina Lecki. Patch Troffer from San Francisco will manage Marlow & Sons, and Roman's former sous chef Frank Reed was promoted earlier this year. Adam Baumgart will take over Diner.

Tarlow said: "These people have a distinct voice, and we more or less have been in the process of changing menurs every day. I think you can see everybody's own touch- I would hope so. I don't want Patch to be making Ken's food. But, I think there's a stylistic approach that they fit into for those restaurants."

"If I would say where the future should go, the story should be about them (the chefs), because they're doing the hard work. I walk around and get complimented for their hard work. They're not in the dining room, so it's hard for them to get the compliments, but it's interesting," Tarlow added. "It's just not me."

Shower Bus for Homeless Underway in Brooklyn

Last week, Brooklyn President Eric Adams announced a new project aimed at restoring dignity and respect to local homeless people. His administration, Brooklyn Community Services, or BCS, is joining forces with Turning Point Brooklyn to build a mobile dual-shower bus for the homeless. 

The project will cost $385,000, $308,000 of which will be funded by Adams’ capital budget for Fiscal Year 2018, and another $77,000 will be donated by the City Council. The converted bus will take a year to complete, and will join Turning Point Brooklyn’s “We Care About You” campaign which provides showers, clean towels, shampoo and soap, shaving kits, socks and underwear, laundry services and other amenities in Sunset Park. 

The shower bus will aim to help those in other locations. 

“We are going to target those locations where homeless are located. We’re going to go to food pantries, hospitals, different locations where we find homeless going to try to find some type of basic shelter,” Adam explained. “You cannot get a job if you can’t walk into a space to deal with your basic hygiene needs. You can’t sit in a classroom, you can’t get on the train, a bus, if you can’t deal with your basic hygiene needs.

“This bus is going to become a symbol where our homeless men and woman will be able to identify a safe space not only to clean themselves, but to also start the process of holding on to their dignity,” he added.

New Brooklyn Business Offers Real-Time Train Updates in Local Stores

A Brooklyn startup has tied its success to local subway delays. The company, called The NYC Train Sign company, creates LED real-time train countdown signs for stores, bars, restaurants and even homes using commuter data. Based in Bushwick, the company was founded by Timothy Woo in 2016 when he realized that unreliable L train schedules and poor cellphone service often left people waiting at subway stations for much longer than necessary. 

The goal of the startup is to help people take control of their schedules by knowing exactly when their train is going to arrive. NYC Train Sign co-founder and head of marketing Dara Denney explained that the intent is not to "hate on the MTA," though the "system needs to be fixed to improve the average New Yorker's quality of life. NYC Train Sign was created to take back some control we lose while dealing with delays, stalled trains and trains that never come."

According to Woo, more than 15 stores currently have one of the signs on display. Online sales have also soared since last month.

Local businesses have stated that the signs have helped to support their business as well.
"Customers might squeeze in another round because they can see that they have the time," explained Pizza Party owner Kristen North. "It's a no-brainer. I just think of all the times I've left a bar just to end up sitting on the subway platform for the amount of time if could have taken me to have another drink."

Houdini Kitchen Laboratory partner and manager Massimiliano Bartoli added that the signs are particularly beneficial during the winter. "In cold weather, people wait until the last minute to go to the subway," he said. "It's a great idea. It's like the cherry on the cake when you see it."

Revamps Planned for Brooklyn Parks

New York City is launching a project to renovate public spaces, and several parks in Brooklyn are getting a makeover! The first three are to be Bartlett Playground and Pen Triangle in Williamsburg and Lewis Playground in Bed Stuy, with community meetings already being held to determine the next spots as well.

Alexander Wang Fashion Show Comes to Brooklyn

Alexander Wang's Spring 2018 New York Fashion Week runway show is underway in Brooklyn! Top WangFest models include Kendall Jenner, Kaia Gerber and Bella Hadid.

Greenest Block in Brooklyn Announced in NYC

The Greenest Block in Brooklyn is a contest held by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. More than 20 years old, the competition measures the green-ness of all Brooklyn streets, and this year's winner was Stuyvesant Avenue. Nestled between Bainbridge and Chauncey, this block does not appear to be dramatically more green than any of its neighbors.

Nina Browne, community program manager at the botanic gardens, runs the contest and trains the judges each year. In a visit to Stuyvesant Ave. for the New York Times, Browne explained that a winning block's title comes from more than just its vegetation level; it comes from its citizen participation.

"It boils down to people more than plants," she says. "It's where you get that tangible sense of love. Which block felt the most unified? Where is that sense of community really most palpable? That's urban resilience right there."

"It's really about people power," she added. "It's a testament to what people can do, despite not having dirt to dig in."

Stuyvesant Ave. block captain Serge Vatel explained that the communal goal is "to set the bar for the entire Stuyvesant Heights."

"It's our lobby," he added. "It's the gateway to our neighborhood-- the first block people see on their way to work in the morning. It's like a watermark for our neighborhood: It tells everyone, new and old, 'This is our standard of leaving.'"

Island Escape at Trendy Brooklyn Bar

If the Brooklyn heat is getting you down, you don’t need to look far for an island respite. A Tropical Bar called the Diamond Reef is making a splash in NYC with an outdoor Island-themed patio complete with tiki torches, fairy lights and cocktails. Opened by the owners of cocktail lounge Attaboy in March, this downplayed venue is easy to go to and easy to like. 

Island getaway

Decorated with tropical print wallpaper, wood panels, glass bricks and teal accents, the bar sets a true contrast to its surroundings: the Bedford-Stuyvesant industrial zone. Background music, patio furniture and a wide selection of craft beers successfully provide an immediate getaway without much effort.

All mixed up

Throughout the day the Diamond Reef offers a fun family experience with space for children to run around, while at night the pace winds down to compliment the Reef’s famous drinks, which include the frozen slushy ‘Penichillin’, the ‘Booze and Juice’ and the ‘Spicy Flamingo’. The crowd is mixed, a healthy combo of hipsters and suits all there to enjoy the summer-y atmosphere.

Composting Grows in Brooklyn

This coming month the number of people in Brooklyn participating in the newly launched composting program will be doubling.

More composting means less landfilling.
GARBAGE SCOWS BRING SOLID WASTE, FOR USE AS LANDFILL, TO FRESH KILLS ON STATEN ISLAND, JUST EAST OF CARTERET, NJ

In the fall of 2013 Windsor Terrace became the first Brooklyn neighborhood to receive special composting trash receptacles. About six months later, in the spring of 2014, several neighborhoods were added to the pilot program: Sunset Park, Greenwood Heights, South Slope, Park Slope, and parts of Gowanus.

Now it’s time for Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and the Columbia Street Waterfront District to join up. The parts of Park Slope and Gowanus that were not included before will also be included. To see if you are part of this new stage in trash collecting, go to the website of the NYC Department of Sanitation where you can find a PDF with a map of the newly expanded area.

All households participating in this composting program will receive compost bins to place on the street next to their trash and recycling bins. Curbside collection is due to begin during the week of October 5, except for the added areas in Gowanus and Park Slope. In those areas collection of compost will begin the week of October 26.

Brooklyn Real Estate Booming

Brooklyn Buildings Booming

Since 2011 finding an affordable dwelling in Brooklyn has become increasingly difficult. In neighborhoods like Clinton Hill and Red Hook prices have soared from $120 per buildable square to $212 in 2014.  In Williamsburg and Greenpoint we see the same kind of rise, from $107 to $209. Even in low income areas such as Bushwick, Crown Height and Bedford-Stuyvesant prices are almost doubled from $51 to $93 per square foot.

With such soaring prices developers are searching elsewhere in Brooklyn for more affordable projects. Some of the newbies to the building boom are Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Flatbush and Kensington.

“I always want to be more on the affordable side,” said developer Eli Karp. 

Karp was explaining why he was moving his work to some of Brooklyn’s budding, under-developed neighborhoods such as Prospect Lefferts Gardens and Flatbush.

“Most of the land I bought in Prospect Lefferts Gardens I bought for $40 to $65 per square foot,” he said, “whereas in Crown Heights, people are asking close to $100 or over.”

Making money on the development is not a sure thing, however. Lower priced areas are generally not in great demand, and it is not always known if that will change just because someone builds a new building.

“Are you going to be able to rent those units? Are people going to appreciate the value you’ve put in those projects?” Karp said.

Another problem for builders is opposition from neighborhood residents who may be unaccustomed to new building development.

“There are long-term residents in a lot of these marketplaces who may not completely embrace the new construction,” said David Maundrell, president of the brokerage firm Aptsandlofts.com.

Maundrell pointed out the case last summer of the Hudson Companies’ high-rise at 626 Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. A community group had filed a lawsuit which had temporarily halted construction on the 23-story tower. Since the developer was in compliance with all the relevant zoning and construction laws, the suit was dismissed, but not before Hudson Companies incurred added expenses to their project.

“Some people have made fortunes,” on such projects, a Hudson Companies principal David Kramer explained. But, he said, “You never know what’s going to happen.”

Newly Renovated Loews Theater Set to Open in January

Ever since the intended restoration of the Loew’s Kings Theater in Flatbush was announced last year, excitement around the project has been growing. Known as one of only five “Wonder Theaters” in New York and New Jersey, the advancing restoration, due to conclude in January 2015, will bring the theater back to its glory days of 1929.

On the way to its former splendor: The Loew's Kings Theater-Photo courtesy of Matt Lambros

The theater has been closed and abandoned since 1977, but after a year of work it will be brought back to the look and feel of its “sumptuous interiors inspired by the Palace of Versailles and the Paris Opera House.”
The 3,000-seat theater, Brooklyn’s largest, will become a cornerstone of Brooklyn culture, with more than 200 performances scheduled each year, “including music, dance, theater and comedy.”
A press release stated that:

"The Kings Theatre will serve as both a cultural and economic cornerstone for the Brooklyn community, presenting more than 200 performances annually—including music, dance, theatre, and comedy—providing a resource to foster and support creativity in the area, creating jobs and attracting thousands of visitors to the neighborhood."

Photographer Matt Lambros has been chronicling the progress of the re-birth of the Loew’s ever since his first, pre-renovations photograph he took in 2011. Lambros has been keeping a blog, After the Final Curtain, which not only covers the progress of the Kings Theater, but also reveals the state of other crumbling performance spaces. With the help of the Theater Historical Society of America Lambros will publish a book on the subject in early 2015.