The Williamsburgh Library is participating in North Brooklyn Reads
What book should North Brooklynites read together this year? The Brooklyn Public Library is currently seeking votes to answer that question and has curated a neighborhood-centric list of titles to pick from; you have until Friday (tomorrow) to vote in the “North Brooklyn Reads” poll.
The list of literature to pick from includes works from local authors such as Greenpointers’ Geoff Cobb, whose The Rise and Fall of the Sugar King tells the story of the American sugar industry and the Havemeyer family’s world famous Domino factory. “It is a tale of greed, crime, wealth, power and corruption, but it is also the story of Williamsburg, Brooklyn,” the book’s description reads.
A landmark Grenpoint building makes an appearance on the list with Kate Christensen’s The Astral: A Novel. In the book, poet and Astral (yes, that Astral) resident Harry Quirk attempts to save his failing marriage and win his wife’s heart back amongst a backdrop that is all too familiar for Greenpointers.
Solos by Kitty Burns Florey is set in Williamsburg where a mystery unravels according to the official book description:
Emily Lime and her equally palindromic dog, Otto, live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (zip code 11211), in a warm community of friends and fellow artists. Her life becomes more complicated when she falls in love with Marcus, a dog-walker and fellow Scrabble nut, whose father is Emily’s shady ex-husband who wants the lovable Emily dead. A mystery unravels, a valuable lost cache of paintings is found, and Emily’s life changes in ways she could not have anticipated.
Hipster Death Rattle by Ritchie Narvaez also set in “uber-hip” Williamsburg, is a gruesome murder mystery:
Murder is trending. Hipsters are getting slashed to pieces in the hippest neighborhood in New York: Williamsburg, Brooklyn. While Detectives Petrosino and Hadid hound local gangbangers, slacker reporter Tony Moran and his ex Magaly Fernandez get caught up in a missing person’s case—one that might just get them hacked to death
The Bushwick, Leonard, Williamsburg and Greenpoint (upon opening this spring) libraries will participate with readings of the chosen literature:
The Greenpoint library is poised to open this spring after a series of construction delays and a meeting with the library’s official volunteer group is scheduled for next week.
Rendering of the Greenpoint Library (via Marble Fairbanks)
Rendering of The Greenpoint Library (107 Norman Ave)
The Greenpoint Library’s (107 Norman Ave.) Community Advisory Committee will meet next week in Greenpoint for a status update on the progress of the new library and for volunteer information.
The new Hunters Point Library opened last week (courtesy of Queens Public Library)
As the completion of the new Greenpoint Library has been pushed back a couple of months from the expected October opening date due to construction and permitting issues, the Hunters Point Library opened last week at 47-40 Center Boulevard, a quick ride across the Pulaski Bridge.
Rendering of the Greenpoint Library (courtesy of marble fairbanks)
Construction workers told Greenpointers last week that work on the Greenpoint Library would likely not be completed until the end of November. Continue reading →
A public forum on the Greenpoint Library (107 Norman Ave.) will take place tonight at the Pencil Factory building (61 Greenpoint Ave, 6th floor) at 7 p.m.
The note posted on the Brooklyn Public Library’s website regarding tonight’s meeting reads: Continue reading →
Rendering of the Greenpoint Library (courtesy of Friends of Greenpoint Library)
A public forum on the construction progress of the new Greenpoint Library (107 Norman Ave.) will take place later this month.
The neighborhood’s only public library closed in July 2017 and construction was originally expected to finish in the winter of 2018, but the discovery and removal of asbestos in the former foundation and related delays have pushed the expected completion to this fall.
Greenpoint Beer& Ale and Knick Knacks Brooklyn are teaming up one more time before the year is over and they’re going all out on October 21st for #crabfest#round3! They will be offering UNLIMITED SNOW CRAB LEGS with an order of SHRIMP, POTATOES and CORN for 75 MINS! ($65 per ticket – drinks a la carte) Get your fill, you don’t want to be the one left out! Check out the ticket link and pick your session. See you there! Buy tix [Sponsored]
WEDNESDAY 10/17
♫ The O’My’s @ Rough Trade (64 N 9th St.), 8pm, $15, Buy Tix ♫ Big Thief@ Brooklyn Steel (319 Frost St.), 8pm, $22, Buy tix ♫ Sontag Shogun, Christopher Tignor, Anastasia Clarke @ Arete Venue and Gallery (67 West St. #103), 8pm, $15, An evening of abstract sentimental music (for lovers and loners alike). All artists performing new music from forthcoming releases and improvisation, More Info ♫ ALBERICH, Geography Of Hell, DJ Becka Diamond, DJ JonBenet, DJ Guilt Attendant @ St. Vitus (1120 Manhattan Ave.), 11pm, $10, Buy Tix
THURSDAY 10/18
♦ Nicolas Holiber: Birds on Broadway Audubon Sculpture Project @ Kingsland Wildflowers (520 Kingsland Ave.), 5:30pm, $15 suggested, Learn about an ambitious public-art project set to line Broadway with 12 larger than life bird sculptures next year, more info * Pints for Paws @ Brouwerij Lane (78 Greenpoint Ave.) 6pm, $5 raffle ticket, hourly raffle to benefit BARCS Animal Shelter, More info # COPENHAGEN FOOD with author Trine Hahnemann @ Archestratus (160 Huron St.), 7pm, FREE, Get a free glass of Glögg with the purchase of the new cookbook Copenhagen Food: Stories, Traditions and Recipes, More info ^♥ The Poetry Brothel: Season of the Witch @ House of Yes (2 Wyckoff Ave.), 7pm, $50+, immersive cabaret featuring poetry, burlesque, live music, vaudeville, aerials, visual art, magic, and mysticism, with newly integrated themes, performances and installations at each event. Buy TixContinue reading →
On June 23rd, the new library will begin the “Greenpoint Oral History and Community Scanning Project,” an initiative designed to highlight and document Greenpoint’s relationship with the natural environment. Anyone who has lived or worked in Greenpoint is welcome to share both memories and memorabilia related to local environmental history.
According to Acacia Thompson, Greenpoint Outreach Archivist for the Brooklyn Public Library, “People are welcome to bring in photos, documents, ephemera, and any physical item we can photograph and digitize that informs the history of Greenpoint’s environment. All manner of items are welcome – for example, flyers from environmental events from the 1990s, t-shirts and photos from marches, medical bills documenting asthma, and sustainability projects from area school children.” Additionally, you can schedule an oral history interview to share your experience with the local environment. Continue reading →
Both the McGolrick Park Playground and the Greenpoint Library are under construction, so where can you take the little ones for a bit of fun? Every Sunday in January at 1pm, a Children’s Librarian from the Brooklyn Public Library will be at the indoor McGolrick Park Winter Farmers Market (inside the Park Church Co-Op, 129 Russell St) for a storytime and kids’ craft session. Participation is free and open to the public. The Winter Farmers Market runs every Sunday from 10am to 4pm through April 29th, inside the Park Church Co-op.
WHAT: Kids Storytime and Crafts WHERE: 129 Russell Street, Greenpoint (inside Park Church Co-op) WHEN: Sunday, January 14th, 21st and 28th at 1pm WHO: pre-school and elementary-age kids and their families HOST: Down to Earth McGolrick Park Farmers Market
WHAT: OpenHouseGCEF! WHERE: McGolrick/Winthrop Park, Russell St. and Driggs Ave. WHEN: Saturday, October 14, 11am-3pm (NOTE: If heavy rain the 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. event will be cancelled!)
If you haven’t heard about the Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund, it’s the silver lining resulting from our neighborhood’s heavily industrious past—the disastrous Exxon oil spill, which leaked between 17-30 million gallons of oil into Newtown Creek over the course of several decades. The state was awarded millions of dollars ($19.5 mill to be exact), to be earmarked toward grants for Greenpoint-based environmental organizations. Since the GCEF was established in 2011, 46 grants totaling $16.8 million have been awarded to 40 projects, and the fund has leveraged an additional $37.6 million in matching contributions from grantees.
WEDNESDAY 10/17
THURSDAY 10/18
