Community members meet with District 33 Participatory Budgeting Coordinator Benjamin Solotaire Tuesday night at the Greenpoint Library.
Participatory budgeting meetings have been happening all week, and there’s more to come. You can submit your ideas here or attend a meeting in person (click here for a schedule). Get a piece of that $1.5 mil!
In light of several assaults that allegedly occurred near McGolrick park recently, a community meeting was held Thursday night at the Park Church Co-Op (129 Russell St.) Concerned citizens asked questions of several attending officers of the 94th Precinct and then brainstormed ways to make the community safer. Greenpointers attended the meeting and we will have an update coming soon!
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 news@greenpointers (Erik), contentmanager@greenpointers.com (Megan), and editor@greenpointers.com (Julia).
Citizens of North Brooklyn looking to ameliorate their community have three opportunities this week to directly affect some change through New York City Council’s Participatory Budgeting program. As described on the City Council’s website, Participatory Budgeting is “a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget.” Each year, NYC council members decide whether they want their districts to participate in the PB process, and then spend a year organizing public meetings, speaking to members of their communities and getting an idea of what sorts of projects citizens need and want most.
Thanks to City Council Member Stephen Levin, the opportunity is being afforded to District 33, which includes Greenpoint and Williamsburg. This year, there’s $1.5 million dollars allocated. You’ve got three opportunities this week to go pitch your own ideas and hear ideas of fellow community members. The schedule for the remaining meetings is as follows:
Monday, Sep. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Spanish Church (161 South 3rd St.)
Tuesday, Sep. 20 at 6:00 p.m. at The Greenpoint Library (107 Norman St.)
Thursday, Sep. 22 at 6:30 p.m. at The Actor’s Fund (160 Schermerhorn St.)
Tuesday, Sep. 27 at 6:30 p.m. at WeWork Brooklyn Heights Office (195 Montague St.)
Wednesday, Sep. 28 at 6:30 p.m. at Independence Towers Community Center (114 Taylor St.)
The North Brooklyn Community and Elected Officials at the steps of City Hall
“The city can’t just rest on its laurels and say it made an offer,” said State Assemblyman Joe Lentol on the steps of City Hall, where the North Brooklyn community alongside elected officials turned up the heat on an already sweltering summer day for Bushwick Inlet Park. It’s because the $100 million offer that the city made to acquire the last remaining parcel of prospective park land expired yesterday, Monday, August 8.
This puts the future of all 28 acres of open space in a precarious position and Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park is not taking it lying down. With impassioned chants of “Where’s our park?” and a series of speeches by community leaders and elected officials, they demanded that Mayor de Blasio does what it takes to deliver the waterfront park that was promised 11 years ago. Continue reading →
If you’ve been to Goodyoga, you know they’re doing something right. Their app makes class sign-up easy, their down-to-earth teachers blend alignment with humor, and their prices beat everywhere else. What you may not know is that Goodyoga is promoting physical and emotional health for instructors by changing their business model.
As of the first of the year, they’re offering full-time employment with benefits to their yoga teachers. This may signal a new direction for the yoga industry, with concerned teachers and studio owners who see the current industry standard of employing teachers as Independent Contractors as broken. Meanwhile, more than one yoga studio has been audited by the Department of Labor over the practice. Continue reading →
A burst pipe leaves a giant hole in the ground on Calyer Street in Greenpoint.
Residents and businesses on Franklin and Calyer in Greenpoint have already been having a tough week with sporadic water shutoffs by the city due to construction. And to add insult to injury, this morning around 3am a water main burst on Calyer Street between Franklin and West, causing a gaping hole in the middle of the street.
The incident was an obvious emergency, but residents and business owners are distressed that the previous water shutoffs over the last week were served with less than a 24-hour notice.
To celebrate the funding and the beginning of the program, the National Wildlife Federation invited community members to Cafe Edna’s on Nassau Avenue for drinks and delicious snacks. Assemblymember Joseph Lentol, principals from participating schools, local environmental groups, representatives from City Councilmember Stephen’s Levin’s office, and the GCEF were all on hand to join the night’s festivities. Continue reading →
It’s always good to end the year with a bang, so I am extremely excited to announce that Greenpointers is sold!
Julia Moak, a native New Yorker and Greenpoint resident is the new Owner of Greenpointers. Please welcome her aboard!
There was quite a bit of interest in this sale from other local publishers and talented creative teams. But in order to keep the soul of this business alive and its neighborly point of view in tact, I was hoping to find a community minded individual who has a vested interest in Greenpoint. I found Julia.
Over brunch at Five Leaves’ amazing House Made Ricotta, I found Julia to be intelligent, enthusiastic, energetic and full of great ideas for Greenpointers. She comes from a technology start-up background, so look forward to updates and improvements on the website. Julia strongly values the arts and local businesses and does most of her socializing in the 11222, so I’m sure you will see her around town. And meet Julia at the next Greenpointers Valentine’s Market on Sunday February 8th! Hopefully she will bring along her “jorkie” pup Ella, too.
When I bought Greenpointers from Justine three years ago you gave me a chance and have been incredibly supportive since. Thank you. I have been profoundly touched by this community and so many talented amazing individuals who call Greenpoint home. I’ve been able to do things I’d never imagined I could, like the Gasper & Son documentary among countless other creative projects and events. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I won’t be totally out of the picture just yet because I will be working with Julia to transition the business for a few months.
If you want to catch any of my west coast mule riding or owl hugging antics follow me on Instagram @jengphoto, Tumblr and my website jengpywell.com.
I will remain a huge fan and supporter of Greenpointers and I hope you do, too. I look forward to seeing what Julia creates and feel confident that with the support of readers and the community she can bring Greenpointers to the next level!
66 Clay Street - possible site of new homeless shelter.
New York City just hit a milestone you might not have heard about. The amount of homeless people living in shelters is 57,665 people – a new record. According to a report released in October, New York’s homeless population grew last year, with almost 68,000 people without a permanent residence–all this while the number of luxury apartments for sale in Manhattan doubled in the last year. Meanwhile, homelessness is down across the country.
In the wake of this new reality, New York City’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS) announced a new homeless shelter will open in Greenpoint at 58-66 Clay Street. The shelter will be operated by Home Life Services, Inc. and will shelter 91 homeless adult families. A timeline for opening has not been set.
Citizens of North Brooklyn looking to ameliorate their community have three opportunities this week to directly affect some change through New York City Council’s Participatory Budgeting program. As described on the 
