Pam was a staff reporter at Bklyner, covering North-Western parts of Brooklyn between 2016 and 2019. She also writes about art at arthag.typepad.com.
Brooklyn Heights
BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK – The NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission [https://www1.nyc.gov/site/lpc/index.page] (LPC) rejected Starling Architecture [https://www.starlingarchitecture.com/]‘s design for a new restaurant pavilion that will be built adjacent to the 1926 Marine Fire Boat Station at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Via Starling Architecture’
Announcements
BED-STUY/DOWNTOWN/SUNSET PARK – Tax Day is Monday, April 15. If you haven’t filed your taxes yet—and need help doing so—Food Bank For New York City [https://www.foodbanknyc.org/] has set up tax assistance sites across the five boroughs offering free tax preparation service to low-income
Arts & Culture
DOWNTOWN/CONEY ISLAND – The New York Preservation Archive Project [http://www.nypap.org/] is hosting its third annual Preservation Film Festival [http://www.nypap.org/nypap-presents-the-2019-preservation-film-festival/] April 2nd to May 3rd, screening contemporary documentaries and historic classics across the five boroughs. The selected films address current themes such as climate
Business
GOWANUS – Gowanus Souvenir Shop [https://gowanussouvenir.com] and From Here To Sunday hosted a housewarming party Saturday afternoon to welcome a new vendor into their Union Street storefront. Even Keel, maker of all-natural handcrafted bath and skincare products, officially joins the Gowanus Souvenir family. L-R: Gowanus Souvenir founder Ute Zimmermann;
News
5th Street, outside the EPA’s Gowanus Canal Superfund Cleanup staging site (Photo: Pamela Wong/Bklyner) * On Thursday morning the operator of a 5 train rescued a 12-year-old boy [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/nyregion/boy-rescued-subway-tracks.html] who was discovered on the subway tracks near Hoyt Street station
Arts & Culture
CARROLL GARDENS – After 35 years at the historic ASPCA building at 233 Butler Street in Gowanus, the vintage guitar repair shop and showroom RetroFret [http://retrofret.com/] has moved west to Carroll Gardens. Vintage guitar with inlay design on neck, RetroFret, 87 Luquer Street (Photo: Nathan Haselby)The business’s
community
RED HOOK/GOWANUS – Karen Blondel is a familiar figure to anyone who has attended the countless Gowanus rezoning meetings [https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/plans/gowanus/gowanus-updates.page#navigation] over the years. The bold, outspoken advocate can command a crowd as she did in February during NYC Department of
Brooklyn Heights
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS – Ahead of Wednesday night’s BQE Town Hall [/local-groups-organize-bqe-town-hall-wed-april-3/] hosted by the Brooklyn Heights Association [https://thebha.org/events/event/townhall-meeting-on-bqe/] (BHA) and A Better Way NYC [https://www.facebook.com/ABetterWayNYC/], Mayor de Blasio announced that a panel of experts has been assembled to evaluate the options
Columbia Street Waterfront
COLUMBIA STREET WATERFRONT – The developer proposing to upzone 41 Summit Street and two adjacent sites on Hamilton Avenue withdrew the ULURP application prior to the NYC City Council [https://council.nyc.gov/] subcommittee vote scheduled for Tuesday, April 2. Via Columbia Waterfront Neighbors presentation to City Planning Commission“After much
Business
GOWANUS – An Ontario-based brewery will open its first stateside facility at 519-529 3rd Avenue (between 12th & 13th Streets) in Gowanus. Collective Arts Brewing [https://collectiveartsbrewing.com] has signed a 15-year lease for the 16,000-square-foot space, Commercial Observer [https://commercialobserver.com/2019/03/canadian-collective-arts-brewery-heads-to-gowanus-for-first-us-outpost/] first reported. The new brewery
Boerum Hill
BOERUM HILL – Reading can introduce children to new worlds, educating and entertaining them as they develop a skill that will be crucial throughout their lives. If their reading skills lag behind those of their classmates in school, it can often be difficult for them to catch up. READ 718, 420
Business
PARK SLOPE – A new addition to the 5th Avenue dining scene will be joining the 50-plus food establishments at this year’s A Taste of Fifth [https://www.facebook.com/events/566643780468375/] food festival on Wednesday, April 10. Lizzie King’s Parlor, 75A 5th Avenue (Photo: Nathan Haselby)Lizzie King’