Community members meet with District 33 Participatory Budgeting Coordinator Benjamin Solotaire Tuesday night at the Greenpoint Library.
Participatory budgeting meetings have been happening all week, and there’s more to come. You can submit your ideas here or attend a meeting in person (click here for a schedule). Get a piece of that $1.5 mil!
In light of several assaults that allegedly occurred near McGolrick park recently, a community meeting was held Thursday night at the Park Church Co-Op (129 Russell St.) Concerned citizens asked questions of several attending officers of the 94th Precinct and then brainstormed ways to make the community safer. Greenpointers attended the meeting and we will have an update coming soon!
Askew One and Yvette Vexta working on their mural for The Greenest Point
Funny stories, Mozart in a Loft, a choreography competition, a street art rooftop party, and a “roof (farm) to plate” pizza party… here’s your weekend roundup!
Also? Ted Leo is playing BK Night Bazaar, Morrissey is playing Kings Theatre, but you knew that already. Y’all love that Morrissey!
Summer Stories is a monthly comedic storytelling series hosted by City Reliquary in Williamsburg. Come enjoy one of Brooklyn’s quirkiest museum, grab a drink at our donation based bar, and hear some of the city’s best comedians, writers, and storytellers present personal anecdotes with a new theme every month.
Hosted by NYTVF’s Kady Ruth Ashcraft & Alise Morales, this month’s theme is “Back To School” and will feature Meghan Ross (Slop Sandwich), Alyssa Limperis (The Scene), Pat Regan (UCB), Ian Adams (ISTDM Podcast), Sydnee Washington (The Warm Up), Steven Poletta (UCB), Catherine Cohen (UCB), and Gary Richardson (Don’t Think Twice).
Four of Wands exterior; all photos via Four of Wands
Four of Wands Wellness Collective (349 Leonard Street) is a self-care studio in Williamsburg, where people can find different kinds of holistic treatments, classes, handmade gifts, and a community space. Owner and Licensed Massage Therapist Daru Oda wanted to create a space for doing “what makes you happy. We forget to do things that are fun or to expand our minds. At Four of Wands, we can take care of ourselves for an hour.”
Last week, we received several messages from concerned community members about two assaults in Greenpoint. A possible rape that occurred just two blocks from McGolrick Park happened around 2:30AM on September 13th. The next day, a woman reported that she was knocked to the ground by a group of teenagers nearby around Driggs and Humboldt.
The meeting description reads: “A number of violent and harassing incidents have happened recently around our community. This is a meeting to discuss how to proceed in creating a safer neighborhood, sharing concerns and brainstorming impactful solutions. We will not solve this problem overnight, but solidarity will help us to move forward.”
According to Gothamist, the details of the incidents are still “thin and preliminary” and DNAInfo reported that no rape has been reported as of Monday according to Pete Rose of the 94th precinct. That said, we as Greenpoint residents are incredibly alarmed by these assaults.
“hello to my nyc community – I just ran into an old friend who had a beyond horrible thing happen to her a few days ago and I must spread the word. She was walking to the deli on Sutton street bt driggs and nassau, near mcgolrick park, and was attacked and raped by a group of teenagers who stabbed the side of her neck with a knife. She is beyond lucky to be alive. I haven’t heard anything or seen any signs around the neighborhood about this, so I am using facebook to spread the word. I know a lot of you live in that area, and you should be aware of this! Please be careful out there! And if anyone has any information that may be useful in this – if you have heard other stories like this in the past few months – anything! just let me know and I will pass it along to her so she can get it to the police.”
The NYPD has an interactive crime map of the city you can view here. Again, it bears repeating that if you or someone you know has been the victim of rape or sexual assault, you can call the Safe Horizon Rape and Sexual Assault hotline 24/7 at (212) 227-3000. If you have information related to the incident, reach out to the 94th Precinct Detective Squad at (718) 383-8495 or the main line at (718) 383-3879.
We will continue to update as we learn more. In the meantime, if you have any tips or other concerns, please comment or email us directly at news@greenpointers (Erik), contentmanager@greenpointers.com (Megan), and editor@greenpointers.com (Julia).
Want to support your favorite candidate and get some sweet art to hang on your apartment walls? A neighborhood sidewalk fair—featuring artwork from dozens of well-known contemporary artists—will raise money for Hillary Clinton and the down-ticket Senate and Congressional candidates this weekend in Williamburg.
HUMBOLDT STREET FOR HILLARY: DEM JAM 2016will take place from 2-6 pm on Humboldt Street between Skillman and Jackson in Williamsburg, 3 blocks from the Graham Avenue L train stop this Sunday, September 25.
T-shirt design by Wendy White
This charming D.I.Y. event will feature all kinds of homemade food (including Exotic Hot Dogs: Chicago, Kimchi & Muffaletta, Vegetable Ban Mi, BBQ Brisket & Carnitas Buns
Fruit & Veggie Skewers, A Cornucopia of Homemade Baked Goods and Candies, Togarashi Popcorn, Little Kids’ Lemonade), beverages and bake sale items, strolling fiddlers and ukelele players, beanbag games designed by artist David Sandlin, beautiful crafts by Renee Riccardo, Rhonda Wall, Robin Goldwasser and others, t-shirts designed by Wendy White and silkscreened on-site by Kayrock Screenprinting, art book sale by Paul Laster, and a silent auction of works by many contemporary artists. Continue reading →
Citizens of North Brooklyn looking to ameliorate their community have three opportunities this week to directly affect some change through New York City Council’s Participatory Budgeting program. As described on the City Council’s website, Participatory Budgeting is “a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget.” Each year, NYC council members decide whether they want their districts to participate in the PB process, and then spend a year organizing public meetings, speaking to members of their communities and getting an idea of what sorts of projects citizens need and want most.
Thanks to City Council Member Stephen Levin, the opportunity is being afforded to District 33, which includes Greenpoint and Williamsburg. This year, there’s $1.5 million dollars allocated. You’ve got three opportunities this week to go pitch your own ideas and hear ideas of fellow community members. The schedule for the remaining meetings is as follows:
Monday, Sep. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Spanish Church (161 South 3rd St.)
Tuesday, Sep. 20 at 6:00 p.m. at The Greenpoint Library (107 Norman St.)
Thursday, Sep. 22 at 6:30 p.m. at The Actor’s Fund (160 Schermerhorn St.)
Tuesday, Sep. 27 at 6:30 p.m. at WeWork Brooklyn Heights Office (195 Montague St.)
Wednesday, Sep. 28 at 6:30 p.m. at Independence Towers Community Center (114 Taylor St.)
Volunteer-run farm and gathering space Bushwick City Farm (354 Stockton St. @ Lewis Ave) is hosting their second annual fundraiser this Sunday afternoon, September 18th.
“Come enjoy a delightful day of music, drinks, and Chicken Sh*t Bingo—win cash prizes and gift certificates from local businesses! Plus: face painting, Cargo Bike hay rides, a piñata, and more – fun for the whole family! How does Chicken Sh*t Bingo work? We feed our chickens a sumptuous meal and let them loose on a life-size game board. Attendees buy squares (two for $5!), and wait for the birds to do their business. If your square is deemed defecation-worthy, you win an awesome prize!”
There are exactly 10 cool things happening and around Greenpoint this weekend. Eleven if you count Bill Murray bartending at 21 Greenpoint, but that doesn’t count, does it? There are at least 10 cool things happening this weekend.
I double dog dare you to get to more than three of these events. Choose wisely!
Brooklyn Craft Company (165 Greenpoint Avenue), formerly situated in the Pencil Factory, has moved to a brand new home! To celebrate, they are throwing a grand opening party this weekend, September 10 & 11 with free DIY activities! We caught up with co-founder/owner Brett Bara about how they started, where they’re going, and plans for the new shop. Continue reading →
Some friends and I were sitting out on the grass in Transmitter Park one warm June evening watching a film when we were approached by a young woman campaigning for Emily Gallagher, who was running for the position of Female District Leader of the Democratic Party. Most people, even people who follow politics closely, would not know there was even a Female District Leader, let alone what the job entailed. But I was familiar with the position because Peter McGuinness, the legendary Greenpoint Democratic Boss and the namesake for McGuinness Boulevard, owed his rise to power to his Female co- leader, Margaret Conlon.
A District Leader is an unpaid position in the local Democratic Party, representing the neighborhoods of Greenpoint, North and South Williamsburg on issues regarding judicial nominations and elections. At the end of World War I, McGuinness, had grown fed up with the inertia of local Democratic politicians, but he had never gone to high school and needed someone’s help to write letters to the editor criticizing the party establishment. He turned to Conlon, a poet as well as a skilled prose writer, who helped McGuinness write a series of highly provocative attacks on the corruption and inertia of the local political machine and the letters hit home. Thanks in large part to Conlon, she and McGuinness in a shocker were elected as local Democratic Party leaders and they served effectively for years, bringing a number of positive changes to our area and making history. Continue reading →
Citizens of North Brooklyn looking to ameliorate their community have three opportunities this week to directly affect some change through New York City Council’s Participatory Budgeting program. As described on the 
