The reputed local crime boss, John “Sonny” Franzese was recently released from the Federal Medical Center in Devens, Massachusetts. The hundred-year-old reputed member of the Colombo crime family had been serving a fifty year sentence for bank robbery that dated back to 1966. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons confirmed that the Greenpoint native had been the oldest prisoner in Federal custody until his release. He had been paroled at least six times since his 1967 conviction, but always violated his parole, ending up repeatedly back in prison.
Franseze lived for many years locally on Engert Avenue. Mob aficionados credit Franseze with introducing the kiss into mafia family culture. It all started when “Sonny” Franzese and Joey Brancato, both alleged members of the Colombo crime family, bumped into each other on the corner of Lorimer Street and Metropolitan Avenue. As a gesture of peace, they kissed each other on the cheeks. The only thing anybody on Metropolitan Avenue knew was that they had never seen it done before. After the men kissed, it quickly became a mafia trademark. Continue reading →
Franklin St & Greenpoint Ave sunset. Photo: Megan Penmann
According to police, a man was slashed and robbed in McGolrick Park Saturday night around 9:30pm. He had seen someone in a group of people drop a pack of cigarettes and went to return them—only to get his head smashed on a metal bar, slashed on his cheek with a knife and robbed of his iPhone, $250 in cash and a bracelet.
A Paulie Gee’s server was seriously injured after a cyclist struck her on the corner of Manhattan and India. Without insurance, she’s now facing $10k in medical bills and $25k of bills and lost wages combined while she recovers. You can donate to her crowdfunding campaign to help her recover physically and financially. Continue reading →
The Williamsburg Hotel | 96 Wythe Ave.
12pm-6pm, Tea Service and live jazz
Cozy up in velvet banquette seating for tea time between 12pm – 6pm as Katherine Ella Wood sings lighthearted “sunny jazz.” Let her transport you back in time while sipping on premium teas while enjoying sweet and savory bites from the Brooklyn Bread Lab.
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Cherry Point | 664 Manhattan Ave.
Cherry Point is offering up their chef’s table for Mother’s Day brunch and dinner. Call for more info, menu options, and bookings. 718.389.3828
Freehold, via Facebook
Freehold | 45 S 3rd St.
Brunch, flowers and MOMosas starts at 11am.
Please call to make reservations in advance. More info. 718.388.7591
Humboldt & Jackson| 434 Humboldt St.
11am-4pm. $14.99 ALL YOU CAN EAT Mother’s Day brunch party.
Delicious-sounding menu available on their website, and you can make a reservation for parties of 6 or more via email: [email protected]
The sky was shining and the sun glowed on Sunday, April 9th and we were psyched to meet over 2,000 people! You shopped, you danced, you ate sweet treats, you sipped mezcal Palomas, you relaxed with rooftop yoga, you posed for sweet photos, and met local makers.
A shooting and possible police standoff were reported near the intersection of Greenpoint Avenue and McGuinness Boulevard around 2:50 p.m. Monday by passersby and various social media accounts that track NYPD scanners.
Photo of It’s Not Personal co-founders Sara Radin (left) and Vanessa Gattinella (right) at their first workshop at the New Women Space
Sara Radin is a writer and curator living in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Full time, she is the Youth Culture Editor for WGSN. Outside of work, Sara is the co-founder of It’s Not Personal and she has previously curated 20+ events including workshops, pop-up exhibits and more in New York, Los Angeles, Montreal and London.
Recently, Sara and I met to discuss her work in today’s political climate, and about her current project, a growing anthology and collective that creates opportunities for women to share their dating experiences in a positive environment.
McAllister Towing is one of the oldest and largest tugboat and marine transportation companies in the United States and it has deep Greenpoint roots. James McAllister, a native of Cushendall in the North of Ireland, started the company back before the Civil War in 1864 in the Lower East Side. McAllister was starting a tugboat business at just the right time. After the Civil War, New York harbor would boom with business and there was a huge demand not only for tugs, but also for lighters—vessels that could carry industrial goods and raw materials. Locally, the oil business was making Greenpoint the largest place for oil refinery in the country and these oil refiners needed a firm to haul their wares.
McAllister met John D. Rockefeller, the king of oil refining and the President of America’s largest firm, Standard Oil, who contracted McAllister to haul crude oil from New Jersey to Newtown Creek. Before long, McAllister had settled in Greenpoint. His brothers Daniel and William soon joined him and soon they had brought over many of their friends and family from Cushendall and today many of the oldest Greenpoint Irish-American families have roots from Cushendall. James began with a single-sail lighter (a vessel that moves cargo between pier and ship) and named his firm the Greenpoint Lighterage Company. Continue reading →
Greenpoint Hill presents their second exhibition, later, works by Isaac Arvold, which opens tonight! We interviewed Greenpoint Hill’s Kim Brown when she first opened the gallery and retail shop on Freeman Street, and for this week’s Thursday Spotlight we’re showcasing Isaac Arvold, whose exhibited works are the harvest of a month-long artist’s retreat on a rather secluded beach in Costa Rica.
“I wanted to get away, be alone, and just make art,” says Isaac Arvold. “I think I was getting distracted in New York at the time and I wasn’t owning my craft. In my luggage I packed 2 pairs of shorts, 2 tops, sandals, a significant amount of ink accompanied by paper. Lots of paper. My favorite paper. 1,400 sheets of paper. I made my little beach office cabana out of drift wood and various fallen palm fronds. I would strip my bed sheets from my bed bring them to the beach with me and tie the corners to upright sticks which would give me sweet beautiful shade during the day.”
Sometimes working his Brooklyn studio, Arvold will feel the pressure of not having enough time to work on something or not be able to resume right away the next day. That was not an issue on the beach in Costa Rica.
