Last Monday neighborhood residents were witness to a rare sighting of the locally famous and indigenous/ursine hoops fan, KnickerBear. Standing near the corner of West Street and Greenpoint Ave. crying his hard, marble eyes out with middle fingers raised to the sky, KnickerBear let the north Brooklyn neighborhood know exactly what he thought of it–and of his team’s defense recently getting turned into Swiss cheese by Deron Williams and the rest of the Brooklyn Nets.
West Street's wooden block sidewalk is a common stop on walking tours of Greenpoint; Courtesy of Preservation Greenpoint
Is one of Greenpoint’s most unexpected features—a stretch of historic wooden block paving on West Street near the Greenpoint Terminal Market—in imminent danger? Many say that this is the last place where original wooden paving exists in New York City. These blocks are so rare that one from this section of sidewalk is included in the collection at The City Reliquary. But a new bike path down West Street could mean this final vestige of obscure New York City history will be put on the chopping block. Continue reading →
When I was a kid, I loved to dress up. Crystal crowns, fairy wings, crazy patterned tights, necklaces borrowed from my mother’s drawers, headbands doubled as stylish teleportation devices, silk scarves became dresses for parties in a magical forest, I mean, my parent’s backyard. Wovenplay (190 West Street) recaptures that spirit childhood’s magical sense of imagination.
With an ethereal quality, the shop is cheeky, smart, and fun. I got the scoop on the new digs from owner, Katherine Edmonds. And if you like the kids line, there’s some women’s tees and swimwear coming soon! Continue reading →
With the summer months ahead and significant increase in pedestrian traffic to and from the East River Ferry and Transmitter Park, many Greenpointers are complaining that the Greenpoint Waterfront is filthy. They want the city to put more garbage cans in pedestrian areas and clean up more thoroughly and more often. The Change.org campaign reads:
The streets of Greenpoint, Brooklyn are disgusting, smeared with dog feces and full of garbage. THERE ARE NO GARBAGE CANS in the area. There does not seem to be regular street cleaning despite the street cleaning signs that indicate street cleaning times.
With the growth of the residential developments, businesses moving in (Kickstarter), the East River Ferry nearby and the opening of Transmitter Park, the neighborhood has experienced a significant increase in pedestrian traffic.
Over the past year, residents in our neighborhood have submitted multiple online requests for garbage cans via the Department of Sanitation’s website to no avail. Despite numerous requests by residents, the Department of Sanitation has simply ignored these requests and nothing has been done to rectify the situation.
All individuals signing below are petitioning the NYC Department of Sanitation to provide public garbage cans at all intersections of West Street between Greenpoint Ave and India Street as well as Franklin Street intersections between Greenpoint Ave and India Street. Additionally, the NYC Department of Sanitation should regularly dispose of the garbage in the public garbage cans and provide regular street cleaning to all named streets and surrounding areas.
Brian Binsack, 30, is one of four owners of The End New York in Brooklyn, a new multifunctional creative facility, which combines professional recording and photo studio and a rehearsal room. It has a rooftop space for social event rentals and even art-gallery with paintings and sculptures of contemporary artists.
Binsack signed a lease for the space at the western waterfront on Greenpoint Avenue in February this year, and held the first arts event in May 2011. Later in the fall, the End New York finished the latest makeover works and organized a launch party to introduce their latest addition, a new performance venue.
Binsack is a professional composer converted into a businessman. In a short interview he describes his journey from music to entrepreneurship and approach in making a successful startup in New York City.
