You’ve had this conversation before: a friend describes someone from Greenpoint, “a young white dude, covered in tattoos,” but that’s every guy in Greenpoint and needs some elaboration. She continues with “beard, rides a bike,” and you’re still stumped.

The Greenpointer I am describing is 18 year old Derek Atson, an enthusiastic and friendly young guy who was born and raised on Monitor St. He proudly shows off his huge chest tattoos of the old Greenpoint tanks and the G-train. And he raps about the neighborhood he loves.

His stage name is Can’t Stop Atson and he recently won a Def Jam Showcase, an esteemed accomplishment for any budding MC.

He was 17th to perform out of 35 contenders. At first worried because the place was empty, the room soon became packed with his own Greenpoint fans, family and friends. “Everyone was wearing my shirt. I rocked the crowd,” Atson said.

The win entitles him to a meeting with the Def Jam. I asked if he wants to get signed with the label but Atson thinks strategically about his career moves at this early stage. If he gets signed now he gets $1 million cash up front for a 3 year commitment, but what if next year he could make $10 million on his own?

Not an impossibility given social media’s overnight success stories. And it’s where his rap career took off. “I began writing quotes for Facebook and decided to turn them into songs,” he said.

What he hopes comes out of the meeting is “connects” to get introduced to other people and to play more shows.

Music, especially rap music, is a big part of Atson’s life. “I grew up around it, it’s urban. Brooklyn is urban. My father would listen to it. My brothers would listen to it. Everyone would listen to it.”

“My whole family is Greenpoint oriented,” Atson explained as we chatted on a bench in McCarren Park.

His father Rick has been a Greenpoint DJ for 30 years and is founder of the non-profit 5 Boro Basketball League, and his brother is a local music producer and helps manage his new career. Atson’s proud Mom shares his music on Facebook everyday.

Atson told me that growing up in Greenpoint “was the best… I grew up on the ‘other side.’ For me, there is either that side over there – Winthrop or McGolrick and there is this side which is near Milton Park… All my memories are from Milton Park,” also called American Playground.

What does a 19 year old Greenpointer rap about? “No gangster stuff, ” he said, “That’s not me. I rap about Greenpoint. I rap about playing basketball, hanging out with my friends, how music is my life.”

Despite his love for Greenpoint, some criticize the area for not being a rough enough neighborhood for a rapper. “Some people say it’s soft. It’s where I’m from so why wouldn’t I want to put Greenpoint on the map? It’s not gangster or tough. I don’t want it to be gangster. I love where I live,” Atson said.

On being a white rapper, Atson said, “I love it. People don’t judge anymore. You have to be better. There’s a lot of black whack rappers. If you’re a white whack rapper you’re going to get destroyed.”

Asked if he would ever live anywhere else he said, “I don’t want to move anywhere.”

The only thing he wants is a huge Greenpoint sign, like the one Sunnyside has.

Check out Can’t Stop Atson’s music video below for his song “Music is Life” all shot in Greenpoint and all his social media links.

Facebook.com/CantStopAtson
Youtube.com/Atsonmusic
Soundcloud.com/CantStopAtson
Twitter.com/CantstopAtson
Instagram@CantStopAtson
CantStopAtson.blogspot.com

CAFÉ GRUMPY TOTE – $14

Café Grumpy – 193 Meserole Ave

Already loved by GP locals, Café Grumpy is almost famous for it’s reoccurring role on ‘Girls’ as the place of work for Hannah and [real life Greenpoint fixture] Ray. This tote is sure to impress by displaying a dual appreciation for artisanal coffee and local pop culture.

GREENPOINT TERMINAL WAREHOUSE TEE – $38

Alter – 140 Franklin St

A major neighborhood fixture, the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse is a place of mystery and history. Originally established as the largest rope factory in the country, this structure has seen some of the best and worst of our neighborhood’s past, from a women-fueled 1910 riot to a 2003 Santacon after party (dubbed the Sick Santa Explorathon). Get in a nostalgic spirit by rocking one of these – just be sure to know something about the establishment first.

BROOKLYNSKI NECKLACE – $55

In God We Trust – 70 Greenpoint Ave

Add some love to your layers with this brass-etched Greenpoint signage necklace made by local jewelry designer ‘Brooklynski’. Available in both black and white on 16″ chains. Bonus: Half of all proceeds go to funding arts programs at Brooklyn public schools.

GREENPOINT TEE – $14.95

Cato’s Army & Navy – 654 Manhattan Ave

Maybe the best gift on the list, this comfy tee comes in 4 colors and ranges in sizes from Small to 2XL. It is sure to suit anyone from your Great Aunt Margo to your obese cousin Timmy.

GREENPOINT PHOTO BOOK – $25

Kill Devil Hill, 170 Franklin St

Compiled by Greenpointers’ owner, Jen G., this photographic journal of our beloved ‘hood makes a perfect coffee table book – slash – conversation starter. Mosey on over to Kill Devil Hill to show GP some love while dually helping to support our beloved boss.

WORD TOTE AND TEES – $8 & $20

Word, 126 Franklin Street

Show off your nerdy know-how by supporting our amazing local bookshop with the purchase and sporting of either of these versatile products. Think a T-shirt isn’t versatile? Think again. Try wearing it under a blazer paired with skinny jeans and pumps (OK – go ahead and add the horn-rimmed glasses) and voilà, geek chic.

LIVE POULTRY SLAUGHTER TEE – $20

G – Spot (Online)

We found this T-Shirt designed by Greenpoint artist Chris Smith AKA Subtexture at the recent Greenpoint Gallery Night. The copy on the website reads: “Celebrate gentrification and the taste of fresh chicken with this shirt!” When asked why it doesn’t read “Live Poultry Laughter” as the actual sign on Greenpoint Ave reads since vandals erased the S, Chris said – “because that isn’t funny!”

Have you ever wondered about the little elementary school at the corner of Norman and Eckford Streets? Three fun facts you should know: it was formerly a hospital; it is the oldest continually operating elementary school in Brooklyn; and the first ever benefit for the art education at PS 34 The Art Party happens this coming Wednesday May 22, 2013 at 7pm at From The Source (69 West St).

The community is invited to this exclusive preview of our annual PS 34 art show that will feature live performances by Greenpoint-based artists The Hugh Pool Band, Jack O’Neill, and Shahla Atlas.

Some of the items available by silent auction will be works by respected artists Jean Pagliuso, McDermott & McGough, David Armstrong, and Felipe Mujica, as well as jewelry from Fitzgerald Jewelry of Williamsburg. There will be food and cocktails courtesy of local businesses, so skip dinner and come early.

Come meet your neighbors, purchase amazing art, eat, drink, and dance in support of art education at PS 34 this Wednesday, May 22nd. Tickets at $40 and can be purchased at Cup at (79 Norman Ave), Greenpoint Toys (738 Manhattan Ave), or at the door.

For more information go to The Art Party web site, and join the Facebook event for the latest updates!

The articles, by Winifred Curran (Department of Geography, DePaul University) and Trina Hamilton (Department of Geography, SUNY University at Buffalo) advocates a “just green enough” idea that “makes room for continued industrial use and blue-collar work, where cleanup does not automatically or exclusively lead to the ‘parks, cafes, and a riverwalk’ model of a green city.”

“Just green enough” coincides with “just clean enough,” wherein “as much of the environmental hazard as possible is removed in order to assure community health while still allowing for industrial uses on the waterfront for the explicit purpose of maintaining the area’s working-class population.”

Greenpoint’s industrial history dates back to the beginnings of the industrial era, pre-Civil War, when oil-refining operations began to populate a little estuary of the East River – Newtown Creek. Greenpoint historian Mitch Waxman, who was interviewed for the articles, has said that, “Newtown Creek has been a jobs engine” and “in 1900 it had 2 million jobs compared with today when there’s about 18,000 jobs within a half mile of the creek.”

Greenpoint’s activist history dates back at least as far – perhaps further, given that Greenpoint was a large farm and many slaves were used to work the farm, Kings County being the largest slaveholding county north of the Mason-Dixon prior to 1825. (Slaves rebel often, after all, and if that’s not activism I don’t know what is.)

Later, in 1891 the Brooklyn Smelling Committee voted Long Island City one of worst smelling places in New York, quite in agreement with then recent articles from the New York Times.

How has Greenpoint’s industrial working-class history intersected with its activist and middle- to upper-class gentrifying history? And “who gets to decide what green looks like?”

As the articles take pains to make clear, the cross-pollinating of these two worlds in Greenpoint is atypical. Authors Curran and Hamilton point out that typically when a neighborhood is gentrified, the process is:

-          Gentrifiers move in

-          Prices rise, forcing out the most vulnerable long-term residents

-          Gentrifiers, equipped with privileges and professional connections/skills, agitate for a cleaner, “greener” neighborhood

-          Prices are driven up further, the neighborhood changes, forcing the remaining long-term vulnerable out

-          The neighborhood is “green,” but few of the original inhabitants that suffered the pollution are around to enjoy the place “greened”

But in Greenpoint, something different has happened and is happening. Instead of being in two separate worlds with separate goals, long-term neighborhood activists* worked with new gentrifying activists and in so doing changed the narrative of what is possible in a gentrifying neighborhood. One not slight example is the ongoing remediation of the Greenpoint Oil Spill, which was ignored by Exxon Mobil when the Coast Guard discovered it in 1979; largely ignored again by Exxon Mobil even when talks with NY State led to an agreement to begin cleanup in 1990; somewhat heeded when Exxon Mobil began to trudge its feet on cleanup under pressure from activists and NY State in 2006; and finally action began with the Superfund designation in 2010.

“It is not enough to simply bemoan the process of gentrification and displacement in Greenpoint.” To do so might fulfill what is derisively meant by the term “hipster” in these parts. Fortunately, we have predecessors and contemporaries showing us what else is possible. “Activists in Greenpoint challenge the notion of gentrification as a complete and total neighborhood transformation and the notion of gentrifiers as necessarily always antagonistic to long-term residents’ interests.”

In short: ”The fact of gentrification does not have to be the end of the story.” As Greenpoint continues to show, it’s up to us to decide.

* Mentioned are Mitch Waxman, Laura Hoffman, Christine Holowacz and Phil DePaolo, although two dozen locals were interviewed as part of the research for the articles; local organizations consulted include Newtown Creek Alliance, Riverkeeper, Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center, Newtown Creek BOA, and Community Board 1. 

To procure PDF copies of these very difficult to obtain articles, email Trina Hamilton at: trinaham@buffalo.edu; or Winifred Curran at: WCURRAN@depaul.edu

If you’re looking for a productive morning in the great outdoors of Greenpoint, grab your gardening gloves and show up at the 61 Franklin St garden tomorrow – Saturday May 18 at 9:30am – and get to work!

RSVP

Due to rain last weekend, the Electronic Waste Recycling Event was rescheduled to tomorrow, Saturday, May 18, 2013 from 11am-5pm.

Don’t just chuck your old cell phone and laptop into the trash. Help divert New York City’s electronic waste from landfills! Our own local Green Chip Recycling company recycles your old electronics so they never end up in landfill.

Drop off your broken and unwanted electronics for recycling to the Go Green! Festival at McCarren Park this Saturday. Spread the word about electronic recycling and help make every day Earth day!

All electronic waste will be recycled locally in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Green Chip Recycling is an R2/ISO14001 company with a zero landfill policy.

Any questions can be sent to info@greenchiprecycling.com

Sponsored post courtesy of Green Chip Recycling.

Officially Open in Greenpoint:

Achilles Heel (180 West St) We saw it finally opened on Instagram via @mfade. Tarlow considered the history of the Greenpoint waterfront when he designed the menu and space. According to Grub Street, Achilles Heel is “a café and bar meant to evoke the always-open grocery and drinking spot that once sustained Greenpoint dockworkers at its West Street address between 1900 and 1960.” Grab a coffee and a fresh snack sourced from Marlow & Daughters on your way to the Ferry and enjoy an afternoon Hemingway Daiquiri or a glass of wine near the piano after a long day at the office. Coming soon… a New England Style Clam Chowdah!

Torst (615 Manhattan Ave) A fancy beer bar for beer nerds. This spot was great for an after work beer and a delicious cheese plate. The beer list is extensive and the tapping system is state of the art. As described on Gothamist: “Tørst offers a selection of 21 draft and 200 bottled beers, including rare, international brews not seen before now in the States … the guys installed a custom-built draught system called the Flux Capacitor, which allows individual draft lines to be temperature and pressure customized for specific beers, plus a system that allows for four different temperature controls.” Like I said, it’s for beer nerds.

Jimmy’s Diner (92 Calyer St) Formerly Calyer, Jimmy’s Diner #2 has opened up literally overnight! This photo sent to me by Paulie Gee. The menu will be similar to the Union Ave location. Get ready for mac n’ cheese, fried chicken and perhaps some key lime pie?!

Spina (107 Franklin St) It’s a flower shop slash coffee shop and get this  -the coffee is BLUE BOTTLE! Spina’s main business is social event planning, but after a visit to Italy and San Francisco, owner Paul Tsang and his partner Vanessa Chinga-Haven decided to start serving coffee in the new Franklin St space because, “coffee is aromatic and flowers are aromatic,” Paul told Greenpointers. How lovely.

Broken Land (105 Franklin St) I have been spying on the shutdown Veronica People’s space and late one night last weekend we ran into the owner in front who said they were going to open that night for a few hours, even though they are still waiting on a few things like artwork and a huge terrarium to flank the door. Seems like it will be a chill bar with nice cocktails, beer and wine. Look out for a future terrarium class there!

Alameda (195 Franklin St)  According to contributor Kerry it’s a “killer” cocktail bar by the Haslegrave Brothers, with a drink called The Roberto Burns she described as like “sex below deck,” and a pleasing edibles menu, with a $9 burger and roasted fruit and goat cheese baguette.

Propeller Coffee (984 Manhattan Ave) Open in the former Beata Delicatessen, reader @lizful sent us this photo and said, “The space is beautifully large and light-filled and the cappuccino was perfect.” We love that they preserved a little bit of Greenpoint history by keeping the old Beata sign intact. Really excited to sample an espresso! Can Greenpoint have too many coffee shops?

River Styx (21 Greenpoint Ave) – We snagged this menu sneak peek from @TheMeatHook on Instagram. The website says “See You Soon!,” but that’s not what the NY Times says… “from the team behind Brooklyn’s Roebling Tea Room, which opened last night on a quiet, riverside street in Greenpoint — is not: another neighborhood eatery that takes itself too seriously” The menu that features burgers, lamb wrapped in grape leaves, chicken liver tortillas and ramp raviolo, plus some really interesting cocktails.

The Bounty (131 Greenpoint Ave) A new seafood restaurant that according to the 
website  is serving classic cocktails, small plates and a raw bar with a full menu coming soon. Back in April, The Bounty told Eater they’d be ”serving seafood from the North Atlantic region, made with a hint of Southern charm … like crab cakes, whole grilled fish, a raw bar (oysters, clams, etc), a burger, and eventually, when blue crabs are in season in the Chesapeake, Maryland-style steamed crabs.”

Coming Soon:

Little Dokebi (85 Driggs) Greenpointers on “the other side” of McGuinness are excited for this. A sign on the door reads: “Little Dokebi, Korean Street Food, June!”

Fornino (847 Manhattan Ave) Look out for this second location to open either this Monday or next Monday!

A few things to consider when making hummus…

Dry vs Canned Chickpeas:

I use both interchangeably based on the time available. I used to have this notion that I could only be proud of my hummus if I used dry chickpeas but after many taste tests I notice more of a difference in texture than in flavor. I do alter the recipe a bit depending on which route I take. I use more oil, chickpea juice, vinegar, salt and pepper when using dry chickpeas. In this case, you are starting with a cleaner chickpea juice so you have more room to play around with adjusting the quantities of ingredients. An added bonus of using dry chickpeas and the cooking method below is you get to serve the hummus warm! On the other hand, when using canned chickpea juice there are already a bunch of flavor enhancers so their is less room to play around.

Chickpea Preparation: 

Hummus Recipe With Dried Chickpeas
-Bring a medium sized pot of water to boil
-Add 1lb bag of chickpeas, let boil for a couple of minutes
-Remove from heat and let sit in hot water for 1 hour
-Rinse chickpeas with fresh cold water
-Add chickpeas back to pot, cover in new fresh water and return to boil for another hour or until tender
-Drain and save cooking liquid

Hummus Recipe With Canned Chickpeas:
Open can and save chickpea juice

Roasted Garlic Preparation:

Roasted garlic is an essential part of life this recipe. If you think one bulb of garlic sounds intense then you have never experienced the mellow, nutty awesomeness of roasted garlic. Prepare it while boiling the dry chickpeas or before adding everything into the food processor.

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Cut off the top of the garlic bulb  and make sure to exposure the tops of all the cloves
-Place the topless garlic bulb in the center of aluminum foil square cut side up
-Drizzle the top of the garlic with 1 Tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, salt and pepper. (You will use the roasted garlic oil in the hummus – so don’t skimp!)
-Fold foil tightly up around the top of the garlic.
-Place in the center of the oven rack and bake for around 30 minutes
-After the garlic cools, gently squeeze the cloves out of their shells, directly into the food processor with other hummus ingredients

Victoria’s Hummus:

15 oz of cooked or canned chickpeas (prep instructions above)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 Tablespoon Tahini
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1-2 teaspoons Rice Vinegar
1 bulb of roasted garlic (recipe above)
Smoked Paprika
Salt & Pepper

Place chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, roasted garlic (make sure to add in all the oil from the foil!), olive oil, rice vinegar and a few splashes of chickpea juice in food processor. You can always add more liquids later, so better to be conservative.

Blend and check consistency and taste.

For super smooth and creamy, add in a bit more oil and chickpea juice.

Add a couples of sprinkle of smoked paprika.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Scoop hummus out of food processor and into serving dish. Drizzle the top with oil and sprinkle paprika.

ENJOY!

There are more events in our weekly calendar. Submit Greenpoint events, too!

THURSDAY 5/16

☺ Funny Story @ Brooklyn Brewery (79 N.11th St) 8pm, $10, an evening of beers, laughs and weird times featuring, Amy Sohn (Park Slope chronicler), Ed Gavagan (NPR’s The Moth Radio Hour), Maude Sernas (line cook, farmer, tattoo artist and lurker) and Anton Shuford (comic), More Info
♫ No Joy / Weekend / Grand Resort @ Glasslands Gallery 8:30pm, $10, RSVP
♫ DJ HemingYeh and Cormac McBootay @ Manhattan Inn (632 Manhattan Ave) 11pm, FREE, Brooklyn’s favorite/only literary DJ duo returns spin a mix of Northern soul, post-punk, ’70s/’80s, old school rap and hip hop RSVP

FRIDAY 5/17

♦ Elliott Sharp: Foliage @ Reverse Space (28 Frost St) 5/17-5/26, 7-9pm, Musicians perform Sharp’s Foliage: a long-form graphic music score that offers abstract instructions allowing for infinite possible interpretations, RSVP
♥ Broke City: Body Language / BFG / Sleepyhead / Figgy @Bizarre (12 Jefferson St, Bushwick) 10pm, FREE, RSVP

SATURDAY 5/18

• Go Green! Greenpoint Festival @ McCarren Park, 11-5pm, FREE, Recycle your electronic waste, eco-friendly and educational displays, health & wellness tips & demos, arts & crafts, children’s activities, live music, More Info
• Spoons, Toons & Booze @ Nitehawk Cinema (136 Metropolitan Ave) 11:30, $15, an afternoon of animated childhood favorites such as DuckTales, The Smurfs, Looney Tunes and Scooby-Doo plus choice of sugary cereal, regular brunch menu; and a full bar, More Info
* North Brooklyn Takes the Cake @ The Brooklyn Kitchen (100 Frost St) 6-9pm, $15, Cupcake bake off to benefit NAG! Come to compete or just to eat and drink, prizes, RSVP
♫ Love as Laughter / Starlight Girls / Birthdays / The Feverbreakers / Honduras @ Shea Stadium (20 Meadow St) 8pm, More Info

 SUNDAY 5/19

• The Punk Rope Games @Newton Barge Playground (Commerical & Dupont Streets) 10am-1pm, $80 per team, suggested, feature teams of 4 in costume competing in 9 events, After Party @ Diamond Bar 1:30-4pm, More Info
• Circuit Building and Bending Workshop & BBQ @ The Living Gallery (1087 Flushing Ave) Noon-5pm, FREE, Learn how to build and bend your own instruments, materials will be available and bring grillables, RSVP
♦ Language Objects: Letters in Space, 1970 – 2013 @Southfirst (60 N6th St) Opening 4-6pm, FREE, a retrospective exhibition tracking the evolution from early typewriter-generated forms to more recent four-color drawing poems in the work of American poet Robert Grenier, More Info
♦ Arts in Bushwick Benefit @ Grace Exhibition Space (840 Broadway, 2nd fl) 6-9pm, FREE, 50 BOS participating artists will be showing in this years Benefit preview and art sale, More info
♫ Shark? / The Woolen Men / Lame Drivers / Hippy @ Shea Stadium (20 Meadow St) 8pm, $8 RSVP

♥ Mac & Movie @ Miles (101 Wilson Ave) 6-11pm, FREE, Free mac and cheese (6-8pm) plus watch the Beastie Boy’s film Awesome; I… Shot That! More Info

TUESDAY 5/21
♦ WagMag Benefit @ English Kills Gallery (114 Forrest St) 7-9pm, $20 Admission, $200 Artwork Raffle Ticket, guarantees an artwork, supports WagMag, Buy Tix
♫ Ingrowing / Gride / Ahumado Granujo / Mother Brain @ Saint Vitus (1120 Manhattan Ave) 8pm, $10, RSVP

*  Greenpointers’ Pick
♫ Music
♥  Pheremones likely
♦  Art Event
☺ Comedy Event
#  Foodie Event

Due to rain last weekend, the Electronic Waste Recycling Event was rescheduled to this Saturday, May 18, 2013 from 11am-5pm.

Help divert New York City’s electronic waste from landfills!

So many phones, laptops and televisions end up on the curb when they can instead be recycled. Our own local Green Chip Recycling company helps prevent your old electronic junk from ever being sent to a landfill.

Drop off your broken and unwanted electronics for recycling to the Go Green! Festival at McCarren Park this Saturday. Spread the word about electronic recycling and help make every day Earth day!

All electronic waste will be recycled locally in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Green Chip Recycling is an R2/ISO14001 company with a zero landfill policy.

Any questions can be sent to info@greenchiprecycling.com

Sponsored post courtesy of Green Chip Recycling.