Williamsburg is Dead

Video Footage of NAG Town Hall Meeting

NAG in the Neighborhood from Joe Jackson on Vimeo.

Ralph Nader love in the Burg

Did you see this on Gothamist or in the neighborhood?   It looks like even our own street artists are getting election fever.  Unfortunately this left winger needs to work on his left brain skills, the art is awesome but the piece could use a spell check.

The Lukewarm Seat: City Council Candidate Evan Thies

Evan Thies. Photo by Agaton Strom.

Evan Thies is running for  City Council in Brooklyn's 33rd District, which is basically a gentrification stew consisting of Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Park Slope, DUMBO, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights and Boerum Hill. We talked to the 29-year-old Williamsburg resident and former senior adviser to current council member David Yassky about responsible development, the particular challenges of setting policy for Williamsburg, and working in Hillary Clinton's office.

For those who don't know, what exactly does a city council member do?
The City Council is fundamentally a check to the mayor, and has power to pass laws, amend and pass City budgets, change property tax rates, and control land use in the five boroughs.  Unfortunately, I believe that the Council has ceded much of this power to the mayor, and does not currently do a sufficient job of raising public debate by taking opposing positions to the mayor, and fighting more often for significant changes to the way this City operates.  A stronger Council willing to take on big fights--whether by opposing re-zonings that are bad for our neighborhoods, by halting tax giveaways, or simply by better debating the details of our $60 billion budget--would mean a stronger New York.

What are the challenges in shaping policies for a neighborhood as young and transient as Williamsburg?
The biggest challenge is getting people involved in the political and government processes.  Although more and more people are staying and making a home for their families in Williamsburg, there are still many residents --especially young adults right out of college, in graduate school, or who have just moved here from somewhere else--who aren't yet putting down roots.  We have to make the case to these folks that local government affects their lives every day, and that their only way to make positive change is to get involved.

Camera Phone Diaries: Independent Drawing Gig 4 at Artbreak Gallery

Living in Williamsburg is like riding a waterslide into a pool of rainbows, or maybe it's more like wailing on an electric guitar while traveling across space on a silver unicorn. Anyway, I guess, ultimately, what I'm trying to say is, y'know, it's fun. Like, when you stop by a gallery opening and instead of just tiny cups of beer, there are tiny cups of beer and live punk rock and live drawing by artists. That was the scene last Friday at the opening of Independent Drawing Gig 4 at Artbreak Gallery on Grand Street. The kicker is that I finished the night with a nightcap of oysters and wine at Walter Foods. For one night, I lived like a king. A KING.

OMG College Kids Totes Love Us

I just got this in our comments section. Who wants to skip class and smoke some pot?! Err, all my favorite bands from college are still cool right?

We recently included you in our survey of top blogs for NYU students, many NYU students live in Brooklyn and enjoy reading your blog for events and information. In addition to NYU there are many schools affiliated with our site located in Brooklyn that could possibly benefit from your knowledge of the area. We would love for you to visit our site http://www.collegewikis.com/nyu/topics/top-nyu-blogs Thanks.

Lord of the Pies

I had never seen Enid's so packed, but I guess when pie comes a callin', you got to accept the charges. There were 40-plus pies entered in the apple pie contest and I didn't taste any of them because I'm not really a dessert guy and I had just eaten a huge plate of chicken mole. But I digress. Jonathan Toubin whipped up the crowd with his old-school beats while food got served in stick form. Food on sticks and apple pies? Yup, it was like a county fair except with hipsters instead of fat people. And the winners are ...

Cute As Shit: Fall Screenings at Cafe Grumpy

Greenpoint, you are so precious. What other neighborhood would have a film series based around hoodies and bicycles? This fall my favorite coffee house, Cafe Grumpy, is showing E.T., Goonies, Donnie Darko and Rad. Good times.

Donnie Darko from filmmonster on Vimeo.

Williamsburg Weekend Guide Thing List

It's Friday! Fun! Good times! Oh, but whatever shall you do? We're here to help.

Friday
The Independent Drawing Gig opens at Art Break, an exhibition from artist Linas Jablonskis described as such: "A hybrid of live music and drawing, the exhibition emphasizes the collision of the underground music scene with the world of independent art, a world in which drawing plays a particularly important role."

Over at Momenta Art, artists Erik Moskowitz and Amanda Trager present Cloud Cuckoo Land (2008), a collaborative video and sculptural installation created by the real-life couple loosely based on Aristophanes’ play "The Birds."

Saturday
Brooklynite Gallery presents Time Machine (above) from artists Dain, Various and Gold who examine "the constant comparisons being made to the current art scene and freedom of expression in present day Berlin, as compared to what was going on in New York City in the late 60’s, 70's and 80’s."

Slotcar Fury takes over East Coast Aliens in Greenpoint, letting you test your driving skills on electric slot-car tracks surrounded by DJs, video art and bands playing downstairs.

Sunday
Test your baking skills at Enid's Annual Apple Pie Bake-Off, or at least enjoy the drink specials and tunes from DJ Jonathan Toubin.
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New York Examiner Directs Readers to Long-Closed Capone's for Free Pizza

In a New York Examiner article published two days ago, I read the following:

"The Alligator Lounge (Williamsburg, more info), Capones (Brooklyn, more info) and the Crocodile Lounge (Manhattan, more info) both offer free pizza with each beer you order."

Aside from being grammatically incorrect, there's something else glaringly wrong with that little sentence. As any Williamsburger knows, Capone's has been closed for quite some time now--and if they'd even bothered to look at the link included in the article, which leads to a NY Mag listing with the words venue closed blatantly prefacing the blurb, the Examiner would have found this out. Woops.

Barcade's 4th Anniversary Party Tonight

Tapper is pretty much the greatest videogame ever created by man. Especially the version at Barcade, which--unlike the lame root beer version for home gaming consoles--features Budweiser sponsorships inside the game, the perfect way to indoctrinate future Joe Six Packs. Anyway, tonight Barcade is celebrating its fourth anniversary by opening at 2pm and serving up free burgers and dogs. I'll see you there, nursing away my cold with a delicious Oatmeal Stout and a handful of quarters.