photo via thetimes

As part of the 2013 Northside Festival (June 13-16) Solange will be playing McCarren Park on June 16th. The Walkmen will also be playing a show in McCarren the day before as part of the festival. Tickets for both shows are free, but you have to RSVP HERE for The Walkmen, and HERE for Solange. Be sure to get there early for Solange to see My Midnight Heart (shameless shout out to friends from back in the day) who are opening along with Petite Noir and Cable.

- @joshmorrissey

Starting on July 10th the outdoor movie series SummerScreen returns to McCarren Park (Bedford and N. 12th). Todd P will be curating the yet to be announced music lineup for SHOWPAPER. The first five movies are listed below, and you can vote for the final movie here.

July 10
Can’t Hardly Wait

July 17
Pee Wee’s Big Adventure

July 24
The Craft

July 31
The Goonies

August 7
Speed

August 14
Audience Pick!

- @joshmorrissey

Do you remember venturing out to/in Williamsburg every Sunday, rain or shine for the Jelly Pool Parties at the once defunct McCarren Park Pool? (more…)

Chrissie64's flickr

We told ourselves we were going to take a break from posting horror stories about the McCarren Park Pool after it’s first week of long lines, fights, theft, increased police presence, and feces. But the pool made news again hours ago when the NYPD had to use pepper spray against bathers before shutting down the site.

The Daily News has video of the incident, but not a whole lot of details. Apparently around 6:15 p.m. unruly teens began forcing their way into the pool, which was at capacity. Both lifeguards and police tried to stop them, to no avail. That’s when things got ugly. A police officer may have tried to forcibly remove a teen, causing his cohorts to “come rushing in.” The cop responded with pepper spray.

Three arrests were made and the incident gets added to the list of reasons why no one is happy about this pool.

Cruel Intentions

Here’s the full line-up:

July 11
Cruel Intentions
With music by Colin L. Orchestra and Indian Jewlery

July 18
Raising Arizona
With music by Dustin Wong (of Ponytail), Tim Harrington (of Les Savy Fav), and Talk Normal

July 25
Dirty Dancing
With music by Vaz, Prince Rama and a surprise guest

August 1
Princess Bride
With music by PC Worship, Soft Circle and Extreme Animal

(more…)

A Walk in the Park

Today marks a week that the newly renovated McCarren Park Pool has been open and boy oh boy what a week it’s been. In response to the attacks on lifeguards, assault on police, and theft –  not to mention the bad press – police have moved in with full force. A Walk in the Park reports that twenty officers were on site on Tuesday, as well as more park security personnel.

Despite Tuesday’s increased police presence, two more lockers were broken into that day. Tensions also flared when certain individuals were denied entry.

While we doubt the rocky start will mar the $50 million project, we can’t help but think back to the violence that caused the pool’s shutdown in 1984. Here’s how The New York Times described the site in 1990 after it had been closed for some years:

“Now it sits crumbling, a huge and lonely bulwark against the Manhattan skyline, devastated by neglect, vandals and drug addicts who regularly breach its walls since the pool was closed seven years ago…

Renovation was to have begun in 1984, but was halted by the objections of residents living near the pool, who wanted it closed for good. They contended that the pool had become overrun by thousands of teen-agers and had become a haven for drug dealers and prostitutes.”

There were also at least two drownings, one in 1969 and one in 1977.

A Walk In The Park

On Sunday we told you about how the McCarren Park Pool was off to a rocky start, including an incident in which teens attacked a lifeguard who told them not to do backflips. Well it looks like that was only the beginning. Another fight went down yesterday and this time the NYPD was called in and two officers were sent to the hospital.

According to Gothamist, police responded to a call around 5:15 p.m because of another dispute between lifeguards and bathers over doing backflips. A brawl ensued and one officer got punched in the face and another injured his/her wrist.

Sources speculate that the M8-13 MS-13 gang may have been involved. The police arrested three people and charged them with assaulting an officer, disorderly conduct, and inciting to riot. According to city parks blog A Walk In The Park, there are just two police officers per shift for 1,500 swimmers. Four lockers were also broken into on Monday and at least one woman’s purse was stolen.

People, please follow the rules and be nice to the lifeguards. Or maybe just avoid the pool all together.

Brooklyn Vegan's Instagram

It’s been four days since the McCarren Park Pool’s big reopening and things have gotten off to a rough start. Thursday’s event featured a well-intentioned ceremony by Mayor Bloomberg, but he kept referring to the park as “McClarren” and only mentioned its location in Williamsburg, not Greenpoint. The pool should have opened at 11 a.m., but reports say it didn’t open until 1:30 p.m. Lines stretched forever and were excruciating because of the heat and small children.

Perhaps one could have expected Thursday’s opening to be chaotic with everyone wanting a piece of that first swim. But conditions on Friday grew even worse when teens attacked lifeguards over a dispute about doing back flips. The incident resulted in an early closure for the pool.

Things seem to have quieted down this weekend, but we’re guessing that once people see the rules for the pool (the same for public pools all over the city), they may think twice about going. Here are some of them:

-Only bathing suits can be worn on the pool deck (white tee shirts over suits are ok)

-No one with bandages is allowed in

-You must shower in the locker room before swimming

-No electronic equipment - including cell phones – is allowed on the pool deck (you must lock in a locker and bring your own lock)

-No alcohol

If you’re ok with ditching the alcohol and iPhone for a few hours – which might not be the worst thing – check out our McCarren Park Pool site for more info.

Courtesy Gina Pollack

The McCarren Park Pool may be reopening this month with a fancy spray shower beach and tropical cerulean blue paint, but it’s evolution since closing to swimmers in 1984 has been anything but picturesque. But Brooklyn-based photographer Gina Pollack found beauty in the breakdown and in an exhibit opening this Friday, June 8th, Pollack displays images of the pool as it may soon be forgotten.

“The images capture the decaying pool after 28 years of abandonment,” Pollack told FREEWilliamsburg. “I chose to show the photos the same month that the pool is re-opening to draw attention to the structure’s interaction with the changing neighborhood.” The photos are from fall 2009 when Pollack climbed over a construction fence, eager to capture the pool at that moment in time.

The exhibit opens on Friday at The One Well (165 Greenpoint Ave.) and will run for one month. Admission is free. Friday’s opening reception is from 7-10 p.m.

(more…)

Google Maps

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.