The long anticipated return of the McCarren Park Pool - which opened in 1936, closed in 1983, and hosted some of the best summer concerts between 2005 and 2008 – is scheduled for June 28th with a ceremony at 11 a.m. According to Geoffrey Croft of the group NYC Park Advocates, the pool will accommodate 1,500 swimmers. Renovations to the pool, recreation center, bathhouse, and entry arch cost $50 million. Some of the rec center may even open in time for Memorial Day on May 28th.
Amenities at the new facility will include a volleyball court, beach, and spray showers. The rec center will have a basketball court, weight room, dance studio, cardio room, and “multipurpose community space.” Make sure to keep an eye out for decorative wood panels, which developers recycled from the Coney Island boardwalk.
As we previously posted, locals can enjoy the space year round, as the city has put out a call for proposals to turn the pool deck into an ice skating rink in the winter.
Enjoying the warm weather this week? Well friends, don’t be fooled by global warming- it’s not summer quite yet. Here, in no particular order, are 10 summertime activities to mark in your calendar and start getting pumped for:
10. Kickball- Hardcore kickball fanatics already know that May 6th is opening day, but here’s a head’s up for all of you newbies out there. Sign up now if you’re interested in joining a team and prepare for a summer full of glory, camaraderie, and frequent Turkey’s Nest runs.
9. Brooklyn Flea- The eclectic shopping mecca will grace the East River Waterfront with its presence once again when it reopens on Sunday, April 8. That weekend also marks the return of Smorgasburg on Saturdays at the waterfront, which promises to be as mouthwatering as ever with favorite vendors including Porchetta and People’s Pops making a comeback.
8. Baseball-The Mets kick off their season on April 5th, which means those sweaty summer baseball games are just around the corner. It’s only a matter of time before you’ll be dodging stray baseballs in McCarren park.
7. Waterfront Concert Series- The new location is confirmed, and the season kickoff is June 1st. Now all we need is a band line up! (more…)
Ft Tilden, taken by Flickr user Graham Coreil-Allen
Did you hear? The Brooklyn Paper and L Magazine are reporting that Brooklyn’s beaches are full of raw sewage. That’s right, as you can see below, the National Resources Defense Council is reporting that between 4% and 9% of the times water from Coney Island beaches was sampled, the levels of bacteria exceeded the state limits. That means if you swim in Coney Island you have a 4%-9% chance of getting pink eye, dysentery, or not being able to wash that raw-sewage feeling off of your skin for weeks.
The recent addition of “hipster institutions” Roberta’s, The Meat Hook, Caracas, Vinegar Hill House, Babycakes and the “haughty” Blue Bottle Coffee (Hey! That’s my San Francisco-hometown coffee you’re fucking with) to the Rockaway Taco concession contingent are apparently bringing in the Chloë Sevigny look-alikes and debates on whether “steampunk can be called a lifestyle.”
Although the working class locals have yet to complain about the temporary summer influx of irony and jorts, the article follows on the heels of The New York Times’ own report of the tattooed, Wayfarer masses. With all this high-profile coverage, it is only a matter of time before one interviewee’s astute observation that “the boardwalk is the new Bedford Avenue” becomes less tourist attraction and more anti-gentrification assault.
Also, in general, do surfers qualify as hipsters? I haughtily think not.
Could this be real? First and foremost you should probably listen to THIS while reading this post…you know, for “atmosphere.”
Both Curbed and the Village Voice have reported that the ever mysterious “+Pool” project is an actual possibility. +Pool is probably the coolest (literally) and most summer useful projects to date: the pool (in the shape of a plus sign) will float on the east river and filter the river’s water– so it will be LIKE swimming in the East River but without fear of infection. The project has teamed up with an engineering company and their kickstarter page is up and running, check it out and become a “backer” of this amazing project (they need $25,000 by July 15th to make this a possibility).
In another bit of culture clash, members of Williamsburg’s Hasidic Jewish community are posting fliers around Southside reminding women not to show too much skin this summer.
Following a decree from the Central Rabbinical Congress, known for enforcing strict dress codes, the Yiddish language signs instruct orthodox Jewish women to refrain from wearing tank tops, short skirts, or any clothing to tight, or too skimpy. Clothing evidently isn’t the only issue of decency and virtue taken up by the congress. According to The Brooklyn Paper:
Last month, members of a neighborhood modesty group stapled posters to lampposts warning women against talking on cellphones in public and urging them to move to the other side of the street when a man is walking on the sidewalk.”
Williamsburgers are no strangers to a few differences in cultural tradition. Over the years debates about bike lanes, billboards, rent, and woman’s rights have shown us the challenges of living in such a diverse city, and the importance of understanding and communication.
Did you hear? Everyone’s favorite cat-lady band, Best Coast, jumped on the Planned Parenthood train this week, putting out a video about why the group is so important and announcing they’ll play a benefit show with country-punk group Those Darlins this summer.
As if you needed a reason aside from the fact that this is the only not-sold out (well not yet) show the band is playing in NYC this summer, tickets to the show are a direct donation to the Planned Parenthood of New York City Action Fund, which does important things like make sure we don’t have politicians in office that hate your lady parts.
Smorgasburg is launching this Saturday! There is going to be so much delicious food along the Williamsburg waterfront. The New York Times just posted a list of all the vendors confirmed to be in attendance.
Here are our goals with Smorgasburg: directly connect local/NYC purveyors with regional farmers/producers; make good, fresh, affordable food accessible to as many people as possible; provide purveyors and farmers with a platform to sustain their businesses; and create a market that makes eating and buying food fun, democratic, and easy.
Read the full list of vendors and their descriptions over at The Times. And maybe start fasting now, because you’ll be stuffing your face all day on Saturday.
Ah, Northside Festival is all grown up and proved it with a very professional press event today at Bourough Hall. They even had Borough President Marty Markowitz there, who seem extra excited about the event.
“There is a new sheriff in town,” Markowitz said, talking shit on SXSW before handing out pins that spelled out “Brooklyn,” Dodgers style.
Among the 10398403 announcements, they confirmed Beirut, Sharon Van Etten, Deer Tick, Twin Sister and Javelin will be playing the four day fest this June 16-19. More bands should be announced in the coming weeks.
Beyond the music scene, there is also the first DIY film competition and Northside Open Studios going down. L Magazine (the people behind this whole she-bang) also managed to slip in a magazine launch, appropriately called Brooklyn Magazine, a quarterly debuting next week. Everything you could possibly want to know can be found at their Northside site.
Free Williamsburg will be taking part again with a musical showcase. Have a band that you think would be a good fit? Email us then.
