Local photographer and director Jackie Roman has been documenting the changing culture and cityscape of our East River waterfront for more than a decade. This Friday evening (7-10pm) at Quimby’s Bookstore (536 Metropolitan Ave), she will be showing large 16×20 and 11×17 prints from her ongoing project, which depicts street scenes and cityscapes of the rapidly developing Greenpoint waterfront.
Huxley Envelope Factory as seen from the waterfront at India Street, photo by Jackie RomanThe Domino Sugar factory, photo by Jackie Roman
She describes her images, saying: “A vista of Manhattan’s skyline taken from the roof of a factory building on Clay St. in 2010 is framed by trees, years before construction would begin on the “Greenpoint Landing,” a dramatic mega-complex of ten residential towers. A photo taken from the India St. ferry landing shows the single-story Huxley Envelope Factory—it contrasts with an abstract of the same site taken during the construction of a 40-story mixed-use condo building. These pictures, and others on display, are supplemental to the book Old Domino which documents the closings of DIY music and cultural spaces around the neighborhood’s historic Domino Sugar Refinery.”
“Correa, a resident of the Bushwick houses with thirteen prior arrests, was identified by witnessses as the man who killed Carroll, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said Monday.”
Yesterday, Greenpoint residents gathered in Transmitter Park, McCarren Park and on rooftops and sidewalks to witness the solar eclipse. People crafted eclipse viewers and camera obscuras out of junked up booze boxes, shoeboxes, cereal boxes and discarded Amazon parcels. Hopefully no one burned their retinas. Here are some scenes from around the ‘hood:
Photo by Johnny CirilloPhoto by Johnny CirilloPhoto by Johnny CirilloPhoto by Johnny CirilloPhoto by Johnny Cirillo
Anti-Nazi Rally in McGolrick Park. Photo by Julia Moak
After White Supremacist Neo-Nazis carried out terror and violence in Charlottesville, Va. last weekend, the nation has been grappling with the pervasive reality, and deeply real threat, of White Supremacy. On August 14, such hate hit close to home, right here in Greenpoint. BKLYNER reported that a Greenpoint resident found a business card advertising the neo-Nazi hate group, New Order, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, near McGolrick Park. The fascist organization also recently left their card at a bus-stop near Graham and Driggs Avenues.
Marc was the first in a lineup of speakers to open the event. In his speech, he drew a distinction between aggression and self-defense, stressed the right of civil disobedience, and had a message for hate groups: “haters who would come here, or plan to borough in here, hear us. Every time you plant a seed of hate, we will dig it up with our bare hands, and remove it from Brooklyn grounds. And when you plant another, we will band together, and dig together, and together, we will remove the next one…and when we are done, and you are gone, we will clean our soiled hands, and extend them to each other, and get back to the Brooklyn business of empathy, dignity, compassion, and enlightenment and solidarity, and equality and love.”Continue reading →
Back in 2008, an Australian-American restaurant/bar opened on Bedford with its primary claim to fame being that Heath Ledger (RIP) had been involved in its conception. Now, Five Leaves is closing in on nine years in the neighborhood and is still one of the most popular spots around. It’s burger and pancakes are institutions on the New York dining scene and that weekend brunch wait hasn’t gotten any shorter. This doesn’t mean that they want to rest on their laurels though. If you’ve stopped by this year, you may have noticed both the food and cocktail menus changing ever so slightly towards a little more seasonality. They’re definitely giving the locals a good reason to stop by for dinner.
Five Leaves did always have a seasonal and organic angle to their menu, but when Chef Warren Baird took the helm in the kitchen towards the end of 2015, he knew it was time to step up their game a little bit. The local and sustainable movement has grown a lot in the past few years. Now, producers and consumers are more aware of our food systems’ environmental impact. But, luckily, consumers are also more willing to trust a chef when presented with unique dishes, like blue catfish done up Szechuan-style. Continue reading →
New(ish) art gallery Point Green (260 Java Street) is hosting a multidisciplinary groupart show opening tonight (8/17), called TREMORS, in response to recent political and social upheaval, with a portion of proceeds going to charities nominated by the artists (including the ACLU and Planned Parenthood among others). Tonight’s opening (6-9pm) will include performances by Nyssa Frank and DeDeeDame. On Saturday from 7-11pm they’ll host a night of music and dance, with performances by Ninjasonik, Howardian, Jocko Weyland, Cathy de la Cruz, and DM Kinch. Scott Sternbach and violinist Andrei Matorin will host an artist talk & performance on August 30th from 6 – 10 PM. Continue reading →
Kate McQuillen greets me from the driveway of her charming and noteworthy Greenpoint house, directing me into the garage where her fluorescent printmaking studio is set up. Her companion Kassie, a sterling herding dog, is attentively surveying the area and happy to have another to look after. The inherent New York City ankle weights have already slipped away, leaving us to speak candidly in Kate’s kaleidoscopic space. While we talk, the garage door remains open and Kate periodically greets her neighbors passing by. I feel as if I have crossed a portal into an alternate dimension, or at least am no longer in the city.
Kate and her dog Kassie in her Greenpoint garage studio. Photo: Ian Hartsoe
Greenpointers: When were you first exposed to art as a child?
Kate McQuillen: My dad studied painting in graduate school, and during my childhood worked as a graphic designer in Boston. We always had an art studio in the house, which allowed me the opportunity to experiment with literal cut and paste tools like transfer paper. I’d imagine this is what initially pushed me into printmaking. I think of printmaking processes as the perfect place between design tools and fine art tools. I always had a lot of interest in drawing, but was never super into oil paint. I think my new work is taking on a form reminiscent of paintings, but I can still use the printmaking tools I’ve grown to know and love.Continue reading →
Budin’s Secret Licorice Latte Photo by Lucie Levine
New York has run on coffee since at least 1668, when the first written reference to the drink in America noted that New Yorkers were imbibing a brew made of roasted beans flavored with sugar, or honey and cinnamon. Following the Civil War, our beloved borough became the center of the national coffee trade. By the turn of the 20th century, 86% of the nation’s coffee docked in New York Harbor, and John Arbuckle’s plant on John Street in DUMBO roasted more coffee than any other building in the world.
Today, Brooklynites are pioneering the “third wave” specialty coffee craze, and our local roasters are flavoring their drinks with a lot more than sugar or honey and cinnamon. In the name of investigative journalism, I set out to sample some of that local flavor. In Greenpoint alone, that means turmeric, lavender, licorice and other assorted delights. These are not your average pours and they’ll run you more than a regular coffee, but if you’re looking to splurge on something special, read on for Greenpoint’s most exciting coffee concoctions. Continue reading →
