City Councilman Steve Levin (D-Williamsburg) supposedly cut a deal with Domino developers that will have them lowering the proposed height of the two towers from 40 floors to 34, and still include 660 affordable-housing units. So, get ready for a few thousand new neighbors (could be a while though…)!
The concession did not at first appease Councilman Steve Levin (D–Williamsburg), who initially wanted the project cut by 600 units. Domino initially resisted, saying that each floor of luxury housing that is cut from the project — already expensive because much of the former sugar is a city landmark — would cost the developer $5 million.
But a last-minute plea from Mayor Bloomberg, convinced Levin to soften his stance. And Domino caved after a late petition drive by industrial landowners near the project site triggered a requirement that the Council pass the project by a supermajority instead of a simple majority. A source said that Domino supporters were worried that they might not have enough votes under the new circumstances.
Ladies and gentlemen, I write you today with esteemed honor, buoyed by an overwhelming sense of relief, as it’s breathlessly being reported by Eater that yes, there is now a fully functioning mechanical bull in Williamsburg.
We’ve made it. How we got this far without our frattier types rocking away their warm, sweaty nights on the hinds of history is beyond me. Where did all the cowboys go? It doesn’t really matter, as here is where they will go now: Viva El Toro, a new restaurant right next to Radegast. Eater got a quick look:
A pop in revealed a long bar with a few TV’s showing baseball to a sparse Monday night crowd. But that’s when it came into view. At the top of a small set of stairs was the machine that changed North Williamsburg forever. El Toro. A mechanical effing bull.
Please send all pictures of hipsters on bulls to our tipline. It’s what’s right for the country, the neighborhood, and you.
Tomorrow at Mercury Lounge, these two lovely ladies will be crooning to their heart’s content and one lucky reader will be there with a friend for FREE– just head over to our Facebook page and comment it up for your chance to win. CALLmeKAT played an awesome but sound issue-riddled show during Northside with Au Revoir Simone upon the trio’s personal request after playing with KAT overseas. We’re excited to give her a listen without the bass soaked sounds of the Warsaw. Check out the video for “My Sea” below:
On Tuesday, June 29th the jazz and blues group Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra are releasing their full length album Honker. To celebrate their release, Ethan Lipton is giving away a pair of tickets to their show at Union Hall this Wednesday to one lucky winner. To enter, just tweet at FREEWilliamsburg (@freedubya) the following message:
I love @freedubya but would love them more if they gave me free tickets!
The winner will be announced Tuesday evening via Twitter. For everyone else (winners included) you can download two Ethan Lipton songs “You Were Right + It’s OK” and “When You Die” featuring Matt Berninger of The National!
If you don’t win the Wednesday tickets, don’t fret as there are two other FREE shows Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra will be playing in New York:
Tuesday, June 29th at The Living Room, 7PM (two sets)
Wednesday, June 30th at Union Hall, 8PM (two sets)
Thursday, July 1st at Rockwood Music Hall, 8PM (two sets)
Last night FREEWilliamsburg hosted its Northside Showcase at Brooklyn Bowl featuring Keepaway, Hooray for Earth, Oh Land, Glass Ghost and The Babies! Thanks so much to everyone who came out to celebrate Northside with FREEWilliamsburg and hope you had as much fun as we all did!
Woods and Vivian Girls side project The Babies kicked off jam packed night with their retro-pop and lo-fi sound. Duo Glass Ghost played an engrossing and mildly ambient set and even poked of their sound juxtaposed with the bowling alley setting.
The gorgeous Oh Land danced around on stage in a Christopher Kane for Topshop crocodile printed crop top and a wolf hat (worn especially for the occasion) and enchanted the audience with her catchy electronic drum hooks.
Hooray for Earth (who were recently touring with Indie sweethearts The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and lo-fi Surfer Blood) launched into a killer set that rocked plain and simple. To close the night, Keepaway fresh from opening for Yeasayer at the Gone to Governor’s showcase played an upbeat set of dance fusion music and teased the crowd with the opening beats of their single, “Yellow Wings”– smirking, “Not yeetttt!”
To learn more about the bands that played last night, read their respective FREEWilliamsburg interviews here: Keepaway, Hooray for Earth, Oh Land, Glass Ghost and The Babies. Also, be sure to check out pictures from the night in the gallery below!
It was Saturday evening at Northside Festival headquarters, and Andrea, the Festival’s rather charming young publicist, was merrily working away handing out badges, staffing the tables and so forth, when in entered a “goateed, stringy-haired gentleman” who, she alleges, proceeded to get pissed off and “go on a rant about how we closed too early the previous night.” But they were open for 10 hours? Then, this happened:
Shit devolved from there and I finally asked him to step aside when a Swedish couple came in to ask a question about the festival. As I was speaking with them, he walked towards the Heineken bar in the back, repeatedly kicked at something and grabbed a bottle of Southern Comfort that was on the counter. I screamed “Sir, get the FUCK out of here,” and he basically obeyed, taking the bottle outside and smashing it on the sidewalk before storming northwards up Bedford Avenue. The Swedish couple looked horrified and I had to mouth an apology to them because by then I was already calling the police.
The cops showed up, descriptions were given, but without a name, there wasn’t much the NYPD could do. So they left. Later that night, Andrea realized she had entered his name in her computer while looking for his badge information, and it was still there, right in the browser’s search bar. Bingo! (more…)
So many chances at love this past weekend, yet so many missed connections. The past few days have seen a surge in close encounters as Northside Festival-goers met eyes, hipsters bought iPads, and a man with a luscious beard rocked one lucky lady’s world. Here’s a quick recap of your weekend’s missed connections. Go forth and find your loves.
I Was Crying in McCarren, You Approached (WFM) – link
It’s warming to see kindness still exists in this sometimes cold-blooded city, as evident by this listing from a 20-year-old girl. She, the poster, found herself sitting alone, crying into her iPod on an otherwise joyful day in McCarren Park, when you approached and simply asked, “Are you alright?” She wasn’t, but your question helped her feel “a little less alone.” Nice job. Best the part is, your buddy answered her ad, writing, “I was sitting in the same group as the guy who approached you. All of us in that group has been in the same situation. We have all felt lost and alone. It’s a painful place to be. Keep your head up.”
Do you have a tattoo that says “Portland” on your right arm? Do you also work for the Northside Festival or L Magazine? Have you ever considered removing your right arm because of a “Portland” tattoo, which I think you should do? If so, you’re in luck! This poster is a girl who worked the festival as a photographer for an unnamed music publication. She thinks you’re adorable and wishes she said hello. Give her a shout and see what lies beneath the press badge. (more…)
