Martynka Wawrzyniak, a Polish-born local artist driven by a creative vision, recently learned that local history eerily repeats itself. Researching Greenpoint history for her local site-specific artwork, she learned she was following in the footsteps of another Greenpoint Polish woman whose quest to create a local monument decades ago amazingly mirrored her own efforts.
Martynka is currently working on a community-engaged public art project, celebrating the disparate cultures comprising North Brooklyn. Her work titled Ziemia (which means earth in Polish), created in collaboration with local residents, invites locals to contribute soil from personally meaningful locations that symbolize their identity. Ziemia will take the form of a three-foot diameter ceramic orb sitting atop of a native plant meadow in McGolrick Park. Grenpoint clay will serve as the materials for the orb and the mix of soil contributed by residents will be used for the glaze. The piece will function as a collective community portrait, embodying the many Greenpoint homeland and migration stories. You can follow along with the sculpture’s progress on Instagram. Continue reading →
It’s almost Summer, y’all. May has finally hit, and the McGolrick Park Farmers Market is making its seasonal debut this Sunday (5/7) from 10am-4pm. This weekend about ten vendors will be selling lots of delicious veggies, fruit, herbs, and pantry staples, with more vendors joining the mix as we cruise into summer. Support your local farmers and foodmakers and hit up the market!
Year-To-Date Traffic Collisions 94th Precinct as of Jan. 25 2017, data via NYPD TrafficStat
Local residents are concerned after a recent uptick in traffic accidents and injuries. A 14-year-old boy was struck by an out of control driver on Manhattan Avenue and seriously injured last week. Two weeks ago, an elderly man was killed on Grand Street following a hit and run. And there was a report a few weeks back of a four-year-old getting struck by a box truck near McGolrick Park—we’ve heard the boy is ok. According to the NYPD, in the 94th Precinct collisions are up by 27%, and collisions with injuries are up 122% over last year, and our year has just begun. Neighbors have decided to mobilize and are meeting tonight (Jan. 25) at Greenpoint Beer & Ale (7 N 15th St.) from 7-9pm to discuss traffic safety. Check out the Facebook event here.
Trees dropped off at Transmitter Park. Someone left theirs in a plastic bag – please don’t do this!
As of last week, we started seeing trees pile up at McCarren Park, some with lights and stands still attached, which is a big no-no. Here’s what you need to do to get your tree ready for recycling!
The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, the New York City Department of Sanitation , and GreeNYC are hosting the annual MulchFest this Saturday and Sunday January 7th and 8th, where trees are turned into mulch for the city’s parks and plantings. You can drop off your Christmas trees to recycle them into wood chips. These wood chips are used to nourish trees and plants on streets and gardens citywide. Or, take home your very own bag of mulch to use in your backyard or to make a winter bed for a street tree. More than 30,000 trees were recycled last year.
You can bring your tree to McCarren Park at Lorimer and Driggs on January 7 and 8 from 10am to 2pm. They’ll chip your tree, and give you your very own bag of mulch! McGolrick Park (at Monitor and Driggs) and Transmitter Park are both operating as tree drop-off sites, so you can bring your tree there but it won’t be chipped there (so no free bag of mulch). Please remember to remove all lights, ornaments, tinsel, stands and netting before bringing the tree to a MulchFest chipping or drop-off site. Bags will be provided if you wish to take some free mulch home. Continue reading →
There is a famous quote related to English architect Sir Christopher Wren: “If you seek his monument look around you.” The same could be said in Greenpoint of Peter J. McGuinness, the local ward boss who ran Greenpoint from 1923 to 1948. McGuinness profoundly altered Greenpoint and his many achievements are still visible everywhere.
How did you get to Greenpoint? If you arrived by subway it was McGuinness who secured the G train in 1933. The original route of the crosstown train did not go through Greenpoint, but McGuinness complained so loudly the route was changed. Did you drive over the bridge at Greenpoint Avenue? McGuinness also got that for our area in 1929 by being the firmest supporter of Mayor Jimmy Walker. Continue reading →
Today is your chance to learn about the toxins lurking underneath the area surrounding our beloved McGolrick Park.
The New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is holding a public meeting to answer your questions about the Meeker Avenue Plume. State reps will be on hand to talk about the ongoing investigation at the site outlined in black on the map above.
The information session takes place today (Thursday, December 1st) at the Polish and Slavic Center located at 176 Java St., from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Several weeks ago, disturbing news of a sexual assault that allegedly occurred on Sutton St. near McGolrick Park broke on social media and rattled the Greenpoint Community.
The assault allegedly occurred around 2am on September 13, two blocks east of McGolrick Park. According to a post that was shared extensively on Facebook, a 34 year-old woman was walking to a deli on Sutton between Driggs and Nassau when she was attacked and raped by a group of teenagers, suffering serious injuries including a knife wound to the neck.
The social media reports of the incident shook the traditionally peaceful area of Greenpoint surrounding McGolrick Park and prompted local activist Emily Gallagher and Park Church Pastor Amy Kienzle to organize the Greenpoint Task Force, a coalition with regular meetings for concerned community members.
The first of these meetings occurred Thursday, September 22 in the basement of the Park Church Co-op. It was attended by nearly 100 members of the community, as well as several representatives of the 94th Precinct, including Captain Stefan Komar, Community Affairs Specialist Norberto Rivera, and Special Operations Lieutenant Matthew Delaney.
Captain Komar answers questions at the first community meeting.
During the course of the meeting, citizens asked questions of the police regarding the alleged sexual assault. What they were told was frustrating, as Captain Komar recounted several inconsistencies and roadblocks in what had been reported to police. Continue reading →
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 [email protected] (Erik), [email protected] (Megan), and [email protected] (Julia).
Located in the heart of Greenpoint is a park named for longtime neighborhood advocate Monsignor McGolrick, an Irish pastor who became a major community figure in the late 1800s. These days, the Greenpoint area has a new community leader. Her name is Konstancja Maleszyńska.
She works for the Open Space Alliance for North Brooklyn, a non-profit that partners with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation to help “fill the gaps” that result from underfunding and understaffing within the city department. One of her current projects is organizing monthly “Saturday Sweeps” of McGolrick Park, where neighbors can come meet one another and work together to pick up litter. Continue reading →
WEDNESDAY 7/07 * Outdoor Cinema @ Socrates Sculpture Park (32-01 Vernon Blvd) 7pm, FREE, Film Forum & Rooftop Films present The African Queen, More info ♫ Rootless Residency @ Muchmore’s (2 Havemeyer St) 8pm, FREE, With Hipro / Tidal Channel / Peter Seligman / VJ Jim Tuite, RSVP
THURSDAY 7/08 ^ The 50-Year Mission: A Star Trek Launch Party @ Villain (50 North 3rd St) 7pm, $29.99, join WORD for a party to celebrate the release of Ed Gross’s The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek, More info ♫ The Wild Honey Pie Presents @ Union Pool (484 Union Ave) 7:30pm, FREE, With The Dig / Marvelous Toy, RSVP ♫ Sewer Rats Bk @ Tender Trap (66 Greenpoint Ave) 8:30pm, $8, With Love Spread / Deli Girls / Lance Blisters, RSVP
