McCaren Park demonstrators calling for racial justice and police reform this week.
A sixth gathering at McCarren Park in remembrance of George Floyd, the 46-year-old black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis, will continue on Wednesday night at 7 p.m., according to organizers.
A vigil was held in McCarren Park last Friday by five local residents associated with the North Brooklyn Mutual Aid volunteer group. Demonstrations in the park have since grown with thousands of people attending this week holding signs honoring Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade.
“These gatherings were intended to give immunocompromised neighbors, those caring for elderly and those with children a way to stand in socially distanced solidarity with actions across the city, not as an alternative to them,” a representative from NBMA said.
Attendees are encourage to bring a sign, wear a mask or face covering and maintain at least six feet apart to keep with social distancing guidelines; an umbrella might also be a good idea given that Wednesday’s weather forecast predicts rain.
North Brooklyn has not seen the looting and vandalism that has swept across commercial strips in Manhattan such as SoHo following demonstrations.
On Tuesday night, a tense hours-long standoff between protestors and the NYPD on the Manhattan side of the Manhattan Bridge ended when protestors were allowed to exit on the Brooklyn side.
Clarification on what unfolded here. Police presence on both sides of the bridge, but only the Manhattan side was ever blocked off. After attempting to cross into Manhattan but halted by police on that side, the group ultimately dispersed back over to Brooklyn where they are now https://t.co/aquTWHFnEA
Local politicians such as NY Assembly Member Joe Lentol and Senator Julia Salazar have called for the repeal of repeal of 50-a among other measures, to help aid the investigations of cases of police killings and deaths of people in police custody. “Passing these will help restore trust and promote transparency between our communities, the police and our criminal justice system. I am advocating to Assembly leadership to get these bills passed,” Lentol posted on social media.
A citywide curfew from 8 p.m. – 5 a.m. is in effect through the morning of Monday, June 8th.
The exercise equipment at McCarren Park is closed for now.
The piecemeal closure of McCarren Park continued on Tuesday morning when another corner of the park was restricted due to lax so.
Now off-limits is the exercise equipment near the Bayard Street/Union Avenue corner of the park, which despite New York’s pause and social distancing measures drew groups of people sweating it out in close quarters as recently as last weekend.
The McCarren Park basketball court (via Google Maps)
The basketball hoops came down Thursday morning in McCarren Park along with 79 other New York City courts to further deter groups from congregating and to help stop the spread of coronavirus.
The basketball court at McCarren Park is now without hoops
“Social distancing is taking hold with New Yorkers — but we’re seeing some issues when it comes to basketball courts,” Mayor de Blasio tweeted on Wednesday. “If you want to go shoot hoops with your kids, that’s fine. But we can’t have pick-up games. If people don’t follow the rules, we’ll take hoops down.” Continue reading →
NYC Parks and Brooklyn Bazaar co-owners Belvy Klein and Aaron Broudo presented two weeks ago at January’s Brooklyn Community Board 1 meeting on the plan to bring a “family-friendly” restaurant to the rear of the McCarren Park house by spring 2021 following $1.2 million in renovations.
McCarren Park House as it looks today
The goal is to maintain and improve the historic brick structure that was originally built in 1911 and was last renovated in 1938 when the McCarren Park Pool was under construction.
“This will still be a parks-use building as well as a public amenity. People will be able to go into this building and see it, and enjoy it for what it is, and enjoy it both either as a patron or not,” Jonathan Chesley of INCA Architecture said during the presentation. Continue reading →
This Saturday, the Art Heart Bus, run by Greenpoint-based art teacher Moira Tuohy, and tie-dye artist Starhawk will have three tables near McCarren Park with activities for all ages! Look for the colorful bus located on Bedford Avenue close to No. 12th Street corner from 1 pm – 8 pm and bring some art supplies and for a small suggested donation create a tie-dye shirt, paint a planter and make a dream catcher.
Starhawk will be sharing his expertise and demonstrating how to make tie-dye clothing.
You are invited to make own tie-dye, just bring your own shirt (they will have extra shirts as well).
It has been a fairly busy summer for McCarren Park hawk sightings. While many Greenpointers refer to the hawk in the singular, there is perhaps a family of hawks that call the park home. A video of two hawks enjoying a bath in a puddle in the park was shared a few weeks ago, and this morning a tipster shared a video of a hawk devouring a rat on a picnic table in McCarren Park. Continue reading →
A fresh batch of ten “affordable” apartments in Greenpoint and Williamsburg is now open for applications via the NYC Housing Connect website.
Located in the bullseye of the on-going sewer petroleum vapor epidemic, 128 Huron Street in Greenpoint offers three one-bedroom apartments in the lottery; two of the one-bedrooms are priced at $1,999 for one to two occupants with an annual household income between $68,538 – $111,020. The other one-bedroom apartment is $2,250 per month for one to two occupants with an annual household income between $77,143 – $111,020.
Amenities at 128 Huron St. are listed as stainless steel appliances and a balcony. Apply here by July 19th.
Yaki Tiki, a new edition to the A/D/O (29 Norman Ave.) outdoor space launched two weeks ago and merges Japanese yakitori-style cuisine and tiki drinks.
The outdoor grill
Yaki Tiki is a partnership between the Sunday in Brooklyn hospitality team (Todd Enany, Adam Landsman, Exec Chef Jaime Young, and bar director Brian Evans), as well as JT Vuong and George Padilla (formerly of Okonomi and YUJI Ramen).
We stopped by last weekend to try some yakitori skewers and boozy popsicles; everything we sampled was delicious, check out the pictures:
Maitake w sansho lime; shishito w nori, lemon; potato salad
♫ Bateria with Toribio, Mickey Perez and Djoy de Cuba @ Good Room (98 Meserole Ave), 9pm, FREE, More Info # Intro to Plant Parenting: Houseplant Fundamentals @ Greenery Unlimited (91 West St.), 715pm, $25, learn the basics of “right plant, right place” to keep your plants happy and thriving! Buy Tix ♫ DigitalArtNight with Duckwrth, Mndsgn & SadhuGold @ Kinfolk (94 Wythe Ave.), 8pm, FREE, an immersive art and live music experience, More Info ♫ Sooner « Absent City « Irrevery « Shop Talk @ Muchmore’s (2 Havemeyer St.), 9pm, FREE, More Info
THURSDAY 5/30
♦ Movies Under the Stars: Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again @ Bushwick Inlet Park (50 Kent St. Pop-up Park), 8pm, FREE, movie screening outdoors with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop, More Info ♫ Tasha Blank’s Bday + Record Release @ House of Yes (2 Wyckoff St.), 6:30pm, $5 – $25, an epic night of surprise guests, brand new music, nonstop art, live performance + plenty of shenanigans, Buy Tix # Family Style PIATTI Dinner @ Archestratus (160 Huron St.), 7 pm, $50, an endless antipasto, a many course family style Italian dinner of abundant platters, served a few at a time, some warm and others at room temperature.Buy Tix ♫ Morgana @ Brooklyn Mirage (140 Stewart Ave.), 7pm, FREE, Serge Devant, Ryan Crosson, Dinky, Connie, More InfoContinue reading →
♫ Bateria with Toribio, Mickey Perez and Djoy de Cuba @ Good Room (98 Meserole Ave), 9pm, FREE, 
THURSDAY 5/30
