Has anyone checked out any of the “Tiki Disco” events? If you haven’t, you absolutely want to make your way to Bushwick(Morgan L stop) on Sunday for the opening of their 3rd season at Roberta’s. It started out with three friends(Andy Pry, Lloydski, Eli Escobar) just spinning for their pals and neighborhood locals. Now it’s insane! I’m talking lines out the door insane.
If you want to make sure you get in, I would suggest showing up before the 2pm start time. Their parties tend to reach capacity within the first hour. Be prepared for a full 8 hrs of dancing to classic house and disco mashed with some of the tasteful sounds of the present. Party ends around 10pm. Lets all pray and knock on as much wood as possible that the Sun has been kind to dear old mother nature and she has nothing to cry about this weekend. (more…)
The big news from Bushwick this morning is that 29-year-old police officer Kevin Brennan will live after getting shot in the skull last night. Brennan is currently at Bellevue Hospital in critical but stable condition. The officer had responded to a call at the Bushwick Houses, a housing project bordered by Moore Street, Humboldt Street, Bushwick Avenue, and Flushing Avenue.
The shooter fled the scene at around 9 p.m., prompting a full fledged manhunt through the area that necessitated hundreds of police officers, dogs, and helicopters.
Twitter users knew something was wrong. “yeah I heard sirens all night, i guess there were hundreds of cops looking for the dude,” tweeted @hamm3r_time. “DO NOT GO OUTSIDE. There is a massive manhunt,” wrote @GunGirlNewYork. “Hostage negotiation team just rolled up, SWAT surrounding the building #bushwick” posted @uncleguito.
Police eventually caught and arrested 21-year-old Luis Ortiz, who was also wanted for a January 1st murder.
The Bushwick Houses was constructed in 1960 and consists of eight buildings that house 2,962 residents.
While Occupy Williamsburg hogs most of the media attention – especially this week following Saturday night’s “Occu-Party” – the movement has an organized neighbor to the east that’s worth knowing about. Occupy Bushwick holds frequent General Assembly meetings and other events, with one happening tonight at KAVE in Shops at The Loom. According to the group’s official website, tonight’s event will start at 7 p.m. with a meet and greet and a technology teach-in, followed by the GA meeting at 8. The Loom is on Flushing and Knickerbocker.
Occupy Williamsburg and Occupy Bushwick are both busy preparing for the national “General Strike” on May 1st.
In case you haven’t heard of Steve Duncan, he’s a “guerilla” historian and photographer who has made a name for himself exploring parts of New York City that you probably didn’t even know existed. In the latest installment of his Undercity documentary series with filmmaker Andrew Wonder, Duncan hops over a barbed wire fence, pries open a manhole, and climbs down to the ancient sewage extension tunnels below Bushwick.
Well, the tunnels aren’t quite “ancient,” but they date back to the bygone days before brunch at Northeast Kingdom and whiskey shots at Tandem, before Brooklyn was even a part of New York City. In the 1880s when the sewer extension was built below Knickerbocker St., the area was known for its breweries. The tunnels carried wastewater from the breweries to the East River, Duncan explains in the clip, ankle deep in (clean) sewage water.
The whole outing is illegal, but Duncan provides a special view into our historic city. More on Gothamist.
The Brooklyn-based “psych folk” threesome, SoftSpot is playing tonight at Big Snow Buffalo Lodge, a newer venue in Bushwick.
Softspot was off touring most of September, after the release of Nous, a Cassette release limited to 100 copies, which dropped September 3.
Since they’ve been back they’ve played Glasslands, DBA, and a few other clubs, filling the usual spots with their ethereal, evocative melodies.
Sarah Kinlaw’s haunting, airy vocals seem to float over the music as it steadily builds, driving forward with help from her longtime collaborator and multi-instrumentalist, Bryan Keller. Along with Andrew Spaulding (aka Ca$h Bundles) the trio the produces a dreamy, yet passionate and high-energy sound that truly captivates.
Going to art openings is a lot of fun, and a great way to get to know and hang out with the local and visiting artists that are part of what makes north Brooklyn the kind of place we like to call home.
I support independent, original art, and I wish I had the money to patron so many of the artists I know and love. Unfortunately, I can usually only afford to buy the occasional piece, which makes me happy, but I’d love to be able to do more.
Do you like going to art shows? Have you always wanted to purchase more original, even local, pieces of art?
Listen up readers to the east! Our kindred bloggers over at Bushwick BK just posted the results of their “Bushwick Supermarket Sweep 2011“. The Bushwick BK team went on an investigation to compare the grocery price points of about 29 different supermarkets in Bushwick. In each store they bought the same 5 items–Milk, Bread, Eggs, Bananas, and a can of beans and below are the average prices by neighborhood of that basket:
Average food basket prices by neighborhood
E Williamsburg (above Flushing): $10.08
N Bushwick (Flushing to Myrtle) $9.15
S Bushwick (below Myrtle) $8.60
Ridgewood $8.37
Junior’s Food Outlet off of the Halsey stop came out on top of the lowest total at $6.79 and, surprise, surprise, Brooklyn’s Natural was the most expensive clocking in at a whopping $16.25.
This week, Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Bushwick will be off the friggin’ hook when Northside Festival 2011, Williamsburg Walks and Crest Fest 2011 simultaneously inundate our fair towns with music, art, film, food and ideas.
Here’s a quick resource guide for navigating your way through all the awesomeness:
Four-Day Badges If you were lucky enough to score one before they sold out, your Northside badge will grant you access to EVERY show on a first-come, first-served basis.
Badges are available for pickup at Northside Headquarters, located at 240 N. 12th St. in Williamsburg (between Union and Driggs).
Bring a photo ID and drop by during any of the following open hours:
Thursday, June 16 12pm – 10pm
Friday, June 17 12pm – 10pm
Saturday, June 18 12pm-8pm
Sunday June 19 12pm-5pm (more…)
Although my experience of the venue was less anarchist and more casual DIY fun, Alternet provides an intimate portrait of the 13 Thames lifestyle. The “punk house in deep Bushwick, [where] a collective of punks lives a communal lifestyle that shuns government greed, while their music and art blast government corruption” made news last year when police raided the space.
According to the Alternet author:
At 13 Thames, one might meet a Trinidian black metal kid who grew up in Bed-Stuy, a punk rock woman mechanic who worked for six years at a law firm, a dreadlocked community gardener, or an interestingly “off” German man. They come together to accept people that society fails and rejects, and they pride themselves on open-mindedness. And then they party – often with a conscience. They throw film screenings, noise, metal, and punk shows, art galleries, showcasing whatever parcel of the underground they deem cool enough.
This is pretty bohemian though. Read the whole story at Alternet.
Has anyone checked out any of the “Tiki Disco” events? If you haven’t, you absolutely want to make your way to Bushwick(Morgan L stop) on Sunday for the opening of their 3rd season at Roberta’s. It started out with three friends(Andy Pry, Lloydski, Eli Escobar) just spinning for their pals and neighborhood locals. Now it’s insane! I’m talking lines out the door insane.
