Back in 2001, Brendt Barbur got struck by a city bus in NYC while riding his bicycle. Seventeen years later his brainchild, The Bicycle Film Fest, sets up in nearly 100 cities around the globe and celebrates our favorite two-wheeled mode of transport in film, art and music. And, parts of this year’s phenomenal six day fest will be held in North Brooklyn! Read on for more details about what’s going on in our ‘hood during the event (including the free and open to the public opening night BBQ). Check out the BFF site for a full schedule of events.
WHAT: Summer Popsicle Pop-Up WHEN: Weds June 13th | 2:30pm-4pm WHERE: McGolrick Park (rain location: inside Park Church Co-Op 129 Russell St) INFO: After school fun and sweet treats for kids! Come by, cool off and learn about Park Church Co-Op’s community events and events for kids and families.
Pastor Amy in front of the Park Church Co-Op on Russell Street.
If you’ve ever been to a dance party, a concert, a reading, or a farmers market in Greenpoint, chances are you’ve been to the Park Church Co-op at 129 Russell Street. Greenpoint’s coolest church has been leading cultural venue as well as a space of spirituality and worship since it began its mission as a New Start Ministry in 2015. Now, the church is soliciting donations to continue its work.
Earlier this year, the Co-op was slated to lose funding from the Lutheran Church in America and shut its doors. Thankfully, the Church was granted a reprieve to continue operating til the end of 2018. With that deadline approaching, The Park Church Co-op has launched a campaign “designed to increase the number of worshipers attending Sunday services as well as to generate more giving from the community-at-large to continue and expand the church’s outreach programs.” The goal is for the Park Church Co-op to be fully self-sustaining through donations by the end of 2018. Continue reading →
Shared Living, Better Living @ADO (29 Norman Ave), 6:30pm, FREE, A lively panel discussion about the challenges and opportunities presented by shared living, More Info ♦ Paint Nite @ Sick Willie (174 Meserole Ave), 7pm, $65, Our Social Painting Instructor guides you step-by-step through the featured painting in about two hours. Buy Tix ^ Okoyomon / Hamilton / Hodson @Spoonbill Series (99 Montrose Ave), 7pm, FREE, A reading curated by Coco Fitterman, More info * TRIVIA NIGHT @ Archestratus (160 Huron St.), 8pm, FREE, Trivia with our news editor! Expect categories to be various, beer innumerable, arancine aplenty, RSVP
THURSDAY 3/29
# Passover Seder Potluck @The Park Church Co-op (129 Russell St), 6pm, FREE, More Info. Blending Herbal Smokes @Catland (987 Flushing Ave), 7pm, $20,In this workshop we will discuss the various herbs which are safe to be burnt and inhaled to manifest our highest intentions, Buy Tix ☺ New Comedy Project With Greenport Harbor Brewing @ The New Work Project (97 North 10th St), 7:30 pm, $10, Comedians you’ve seen on Comedy Central, Conan, MTV & more join us at The New Work Project for a night of comedy and free refreshments provided by Greenport Harbor Brewing, Buy tix ♫ The Rocket Queens (GNR Tribute), Wildstreet, FerreTT @ St. Vitus (1120 Manhattan Avenue), 7:30pm, $8-12, Buy tix ♦ Gentrification Express Screening @Sunview Luncheonette (221 Nassau Ave), 7:30pm, FREE,”Gentrification Express: Breaking Down the BQX” and other short films, More Info
Pastor Amy in front of the Park Church Co-Op on Russell Street.
Since it opened its doors in 2015, the Park Church co-op has been a unique space for both community gathering and worship in Greenpoint. Pastor Amy Kienzie describes the church as “more a new start ministry than a traditional Lutheran Church,” and that non-traditional approach has helped make the Park Church Co-op a welcome and beloved fixture in the neighborhood. The Co-op is well known for opening its doors to non-religious community events such as farmer’s markets, concerts, No Lights No Lycra dances, Drag Queen story hours and even a pop-up library.
Recently, it looked like Greenpoint was going to lose this vital and welcoming space. Pastor Amy’s last sermon was set for April 15th, as the Lutheran Church in American declined to continue grant funding the ministry at the Park Church Co-op. In reaching their decision, the Bishop’s office maintained that the Park Church Co-op didn’t have a large enough membership to warrant continued funding.
While the current congregation is small, 12-15 people on any given Sunday (with 40 people at Thursday Compline services, and growing to at least a hundred people at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve), it is deeply connected to the space and to the community. Member Suzanne Green explains, “we’re vey candid and open here.” That inclusivity attracted her to the Park Church Co-op. She comes all the way from Fort Greene to be involved because she appreciates Pastor Amy’s non-traditional approach. “When you’re actually involved,” she says, “the message is so much closer to what’s actually happening in your own life.” And that involvement extends to the community, and into McGolrick Park in particular. Partitioner Lana Bliss, from Sunnyside, says, “There’s nothing better than in the springtime walking over here and walking through the park. And the farmer’s markets out there, it’s just beautiful.”
The passion of Park Church partitioners seems to have moved the Bishop’s office to grant a reprieve! Pastor Amy told us on March 19th that that the congregation will have a 9 month probationary period with funding to try and grow in funding and worship numbers! In that time, the congregation on Russell Street will try to make its unique approach to spirituality a sustainable part of the community that will hopefully have a home in Greenpoint for years to come. Continue reading →
We all know the Twelve Apostles’ reactions to Jesus’ resurrection. From joyous celebration to Thomas the Doubter’s human skepticism, you might say their responses were the original OMG. But it was women who first encountered Jesus outside the tomb, and men considered their reports “ides tales.” Greenpoint’s Park Church Co-Op, the liberal Lutheran church focused on radical love and inclusion, is reclaiming these female voices, defiantly (and hysterically) calling men’s history of outshining female voices “mansplaining the resurrection.”
Citing the #metoo movement as an opportunity to empower women’s voices that are often overshadowed in the Bible, Park Church Co-Op (129 Russell Street) will commemorate this Holy Week — the day’s leading up to Jesus’ resurrection — by bringing together artists from varying cultural and religious backgrounds to discuss themes of justice and gender. Curated by Concetta Abbate and Pastor Amy Kienzle (one of Brooklyn Magazine‘s Top 100 Influencers), this Friday’s exhibit opening, from 6 to 10 PM, jumpstarts a week of events that blend art, religion, and activism. The exhibition will continue through April 1, Easter Sunday.
As with any wholesome and hip church, all are welcome.
Brooklyn-based singer songwriter Holly Miranda has a new album dropping this week, on February 23. Mutual Horse (on Dangerbird Records), her first release since 2015, brings a fresh batch of songs showcasing her distinctive songwriting, voice and guitar playing. Miranda is touring and will be playing her album release party in Greenpoint on March 22nd at the Park Church Co-op (129 Russell Street). Coincidentally, the venue is closing its doors in a few months, so it’ll be an opportunity to hear her voice in a truly unique place. The lead single from Mutual Horse, “Exquisite,” features Kyp Malone (of TV On The Radio), and it has a super cool animated video (above). A preview of the track “Golden Spiral” is up on SoundCloud.
This is Miranda’s fourth full-length album and one that features a new direction through the many collaborations that contributed to the sound and feel of this record. Her collaborators on Mutual Horse include Kyp Malone (TV on the Radio), Shara Nova (My Brightest Diamond), Josh Werner (Dr. John, Lee Scratch Perry), Jared Samuel (Yoko Ono), Jim Kirby Fairchild (Grandaddy, Modest Mouse), Maria Eisen (Underground System), and Matthew Morgan (Built to Spill, Modest Mouse). Continue reading →
Groove into your most psychedelic hippie attire and get into a mellow mood – on Sunday, February 11 from 1-7pm, we’re going back to the 1960s at the Greenpointers Winter of Love Valentine’s Market. The Greenpoint Loft (67 West Street) will become our sky high Woodstock stuffed with more than 60 local vendors, FREE fun activities, live music, food & drink plus plenty of positive vybz.RSVP here!
Flip Cupid the bird and celebrate singledom at the skint’s Third Annual “It’s Friday, I’m (Not) in Love” Anti-Valentine’s Party on Friday, February 9th at littlefield (635 Sackett St).
Hug yourself and sway as the aptly-named DJ Gordon Gloom (Feeling Gloomy, YDH2S) spins songs of heartache and desire from the 80s to today. Purge your emotional baggage with our cleansing anti-love ritual. Use our photo booth to show the world (and your exes) how much better you’re doing on your own. Lubricate yourself with themed drink specials.
Dress in black. All black. Only black. Creativity will be rewarded. $7 in advance, $10 at the door. Buy tix[sponsored]
WEDNESDAY 2/7
^ Author Talk: Thomas Werner “The Fashion Image” @ A/D/O (29 Norman Ave), 6:30pm, FREE, Acclaimed curator, former owner of Thomas Werner Gallery, Photography Program Director at Parsons School of Design, and Editor-at-Large of Paris-based IRK magazine, Werner shares his insight into the fashion design process, More info ♫ The Warhawks // The Nuclears // Not Amused // Edna @ Sunnyvale (1031 Grand St), 7:30pm, $10, Buy tix ♫ Dervisi @ Troost (1011 Manhattan Ave), 8pm, FREE, Bittersweet melodies of passion and hashish from the old-time Greek Rembetika underworld, More info ☺ Limited Resources 14 @ Muchmore’s (2 Havemeyer St), 9pm, $6, Featuring Guillermo Pizarro (Philly), Richard Kamerman, Sandy Ewen, & Chris LiButti, More info
THURSDAY 2/8
# Scandinavian Spirits @ MOFAD (62 Bayard St), 6:30pm, $30, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland share a spirited history of drinking traditions—most notably around aquavit. Learn about the world of Scandinavian spirits and the traditions that have grown up around them, Buy tix ♫ Girlpool @ Brooklyn Steel (319 Frost St), 8pm, $18, Buy tix # Same Same But Different @ Magick City (37 Box St), 7pm, $40, We are collaborating on a Cambo-Chino mashup of scents, flavors, and traditions to celebrate two distinct cultures that share the same passion for family, fun, and good food. (And pickled things.), Buy tix ♫ Whitney Fierce x Elle Dee @ Rose Gold (96 Morgan Ave), 10pm, FREE/$10, More infoContinue reading →
WEDNESDAY 3/28
THURSDAY 3/29
FRIDAY 3/30 
