Wythe Hotel

The long-anticipated Wythe Hotel finally opens on Tuesday and according to its website, it “has rooms for artists, friends, brewmasters, musicians, concertgoers, mothers, brothers, grandmothers, bowlers, interns, twins, engineers, vignerons, and chefs.” That just about covers the major demographics of gentrified Brooklyn (aside from dog walkers, bathtub whiskey distillers, and locavores).

The hotel offers eight types of rooms, including ones that are “lofts,” “band rooms,” and “historic.” Many of these rooms offer “industrial detailing” like pine wood ceilings and exposed brick, all of which date to 1901. Check out descriptions of some of the rooms after the jump.

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joonyounglee's flickr

The War on Brunch continues this morning and the hipster brunch-goers have lost an important battle: Lokal, the perpetually crowded bistro at the intersection of Nassau, Bedford, and Lorimer, is facing a citation for breaking a rule that states that sidewalk cafés cannot operate before noon on Sundays.

Lokal’s owners will go in front of a judge on June 11th. Despite all of the neighborhood’s brunch places, Lokal is the only one to receive a citation so far.

Tom Burrows, the public safety general for the area’s Community Board 1 is the main voice behind the battle against early morning brunch spots. Burrows’ main concern is that outdoor eating crowds the sidewalks for Sunday churchgoers.

It was just a matter of time before gentrified Brooklyn got its own Portlandia spin off, even if unofficial. Here is a video making the rounds today with a pretty amusing storyline (the pains of going from neighborhood to neighborhood in search of plans), although some jokes tread on pretty well-worn territory.

Looks like there is another clip in the series, posted three months ago.

NYCSummerStage flickr

Update: The good people at Friends of the East River State Park have pointed out that these concerts are at East River Park in Manhattan, not East River State Park in Williamsburg. Sorry for the confusion, but these shows are still worth checking out across the river!

While disgruntled neighbors were successful in moving the Waterfront concerts out of East River Park, the City Parks Foundation announced today that its SummerStage series will be returning to the venue. CPF released its full schedule for the summer, which includes 12 dates at East River Park. This will be SummerStage’s third season there.

The 12 events include dance, comedy, and music. Click here for the full schedule, including the major Central Park shows.

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Specialty pizza chain Two Boots is giving away free samples of their The Dude pizza (Cajun bacon cheeseburger pizza topped with tasso ham, andouille sausage, ground beef, cheddar, and mozzarella) right now. If you’ve never been to Two Boots, the chain was started by two filmmakers in the Village in the late ’80s. Today’s The Dude samples – named after the protagonist in The Big Lebowski - is one of their many special pizzas named after movie icons. One of the locations even doubles as a video rental store.

Stop by any of the Two Boots locations between 4:20 (ahem) and 6pm for your free half-slice. Closest to North Brooklyn are the ones in Park Slope and on Avenue A in the Village.

Aux.tv

Tupac Shakur’s surprise hologram performance at Coachella last weekend made headlines (although it wasn’t really a hologram). But what if the entire lineup consisted of holograms, bringing back performers and reuniting groups long since gone? That’s the thinking behind this imaginary hologram-only Coachella line up from Aux.tv, which includes Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, and Mozart.

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Ben Stiller snapped this photo outside of the G train in Greenpoint and posted it to his verified Twitter account yesterday.

Stiller was in the neighborhood shooting The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which according to IMDB is about “a timid magazine photo manager who lives life vicariously through daydreams [and] embarks on a true-life adventure when a negative goes missing.” It’s a loose remake of a 1947 film. A daydreaming magazine photo manger? Sounds about right for Greenpoint (although maybe not for Stiller.) The film stars Stiller, Kristin Wiig, and Adam Scott.

In other Greenpoint on-location news, if you’re wondering what that pile of Christmas trees near Berry Park is, that was from a shoot for an upcoming Paul Rudd movie.

FREEWilliamsburg

FREEWilliamsburg

It looks like construction has started at Williamsburg Park, the site of this summer’s waterfront concert series. Here’s a view of the lot from earlier today, with several Parks department vehicles and what appears to be an enormous drill.

The organizers’ call for proposals states that “construction may not penetrate the existing asphalt,” so we’re guessing that this work is being done by the Parks department to prepare the site before the production company moves in.

Shop, Drop & Drink is tomorrow, Saturday 4/7, a Williamsburg-wide shopping event and bargain hunt through local bars, shops, and galleries.

Participants will have access to discounts, performances, and special events at 50 businesses, including Bird, In God We Trust, Life:Curated, Jumelle, Shoe Market, Catbird, The Commodore, and Momofuku Milk Bar.

The event is centered around the Domino Smart Guide app, which lets participants view a map and target their favorite stores and bars. Taking a picture of a desired item and posting it to Facebook will unlock the special deal for that item. You can download the app from Domino here.

More info after the jump.

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The Brooklyn Paper reports that the city is considering a proposal to do away with the portion of Union Ave. between Driggs and Bayard that runs through a section of McCarren Park. Those behind the proposal believe that the 33,800 square ft. space can create a more united park and hope the “demapping” and rezoning can happen this summer.

As Brooklyn Paper notes, the stretch of Union Ave. is currently home to a year-round greenmarket. It’s unclear whether the market will continue to operate in the new space or move to a new location.