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Hasidic Art Gallery Opens in Crown Heights
A Hasidic Art Gallery, called the Betzalel Gallery, just opened in Crown Heights at 567 Empire Boulevard. The opening reception featured drawings and watercolors by the Jewish artist Itshak Holtz. WNYC covered the new space, the first of its kind in the neighborhood, and said: “The throwback references here depict a simpler time, when families were large and lived in the Old World shtetls of Eastern Europe. It’s not quite Soho, but on Empire Blvd. and Kingston Ave., situated next to a laundromat.” The director and curator moved Betzalel from Borough Park to be closer to his clientele. The most expensive painting is asking $175,000, other paintings start from $3,000. Check out the Facebook page here.
Brooklyn’s Hasidic Art Scene Expands with New Gallery [WNYC] GMAP
05/24/2012 2:00 PM
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Closing Bell: Inside Loew’s 46th Street Theater
The very cool blog After the Final Curtain posted photographs of the Loew’s 46th Street Theater, a theater built in 1927 now fallen into disrepair. It was built as the first atmospheric theater in New York City, designed to look like “a night sky in an Italian garden.” Clouds were even projected across the ceiling. According to ATFC, “the 2,675 seat theater was acquired by the Loew’s Corporation in August 1928, and closed so renovations could be made to the sound equipment. It reopened on September 10, 1928 as the Loew’s 46th Street Theatre.” In the 1940s the “night sky” effects fell into disuse. In 1970 the space became an independent movie theater, later that year it reopened as a concert hall and hosted bands like the Grateful Dead and the Bee Gees. That closed in 1973, and it has been used for furniture storage since. This isn’t to be confused with the Loews King Theater on Flatbush Avenue, currently under renovation.
Loew’s 46th Street Theatre [After the Final Curtain]
05/21/2012 4:00 PM
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Section of Eastern Pkwy Mural Gone at Development Site
Yesterday morning DNAinfo reported that the section of the mural surrounding the development site on Eastern Parkway and Franklin Avenue was in the process of being taken down. The photo above shows what the Eastern Parkway section of the site looked like as of around 2:30 p.m. yesterday. The mural was supposed to come down starting Tuesday, but that did not happen. The latest rendering for the 62-unit project, which was recently purchased by new investors and may see the beginning of construction in earnest sometime soon, can be seen here, though it’s possible that it is out of date. The section of the mural on the Franklin Avenue side of the site is still intact. While some in the community no doubt feel sad about the mural being removed, it is terribly exciting that a long-stalled hole in the ground will one day—hopefully sooner rather than later—be the site of new construction in which families can live.
Weeks After $8.2 Million Sale, Franklin Avenue Bob Marley Mural Comes Down [DNAinfo]
Mural to Make Way for Building on Franklin Ave? [Brownstoner]
The Latest Look for the Big Eastern Pkwy/Franklin Ave Site [Brownstoner] GMAP
Big Lot at Eastern Pkwy/Franklin Finally Sells for $8M [Brownstoner]
05/17/2012 10:00 AM
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New Mural Going Up at Sands Street Gate
There’s an large mural going up now on the Sands Street Gate, courtesy of the Groundswell Community Mural Project. (Here’s our interview with the founder of Groundswell, Amy Sananman.) The organization brings together kids, artists, and volunteers to paint artwork around NYC. This particular mural is the work of 4th and 5th Graders from PS 307. It’s in celebration of the history of the Brooklyn Navy Yard and will be unveiled June 3rd. The Navy Yard’s Andrew Kimball, who brought the mural to our attention at a Community Board 2 meeting last week, also mentioned that the restoration of the Sands Street Gate, which has been ongoing for quite some time now, should wrap soon.
05/16/2012 2:40 PM
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Film Retrospective Showcases Old Vox Pop Owner
Brooklyn filmmakers Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley will screen their film Horns and Halos tomorrow at the Brooklyn Heights Cinema. The documentary film follows the controversial Lower East Side publishing company Soft Skull, the owner of which later ran the Cortelyou Road Vox Pop (a saga in itself). This is part of the RUMUR Retrospective, a Brooklyn-based production studio screening its films at the Brooklyn Heights Cinema every Thursday in May.
05/16/2012 2:15 PM
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Mural to Make Way for Building on Franklin Ave?
On Sunday, the Crow Hill Community Association sent out the following message: “After over 2 and a half years, our beloved neighborhood mural is being partially dismantled. We have just been informed by the developer of the site that they are taking down the Mural on the EASTERN PARKWAY side of the site. If you want your panel- you must come tomorrow morning at 8am to get it. Talk to Tom on the construction crew- by the way- he was nice enough to give us a heads up that they were coming down. If you are there they will do their best to take the panel down with out damaging it too much…. If you want a panel that is not yours- Ithat may be ok too….but check with the artist….If you can’t come at 8am- you can come later- the panels will be set aside for the day- they just might not be in great shape.” We stopped by the site yesterday afternoon, which is on Eastern Parkway and Franklin, and although a couple of the panels on the Eastern Parkway side had been removed, the contractors on the job said they would be put back into place because “we need to hide the site.” Murals are always wonderful displays of community creativity, particularly so at stalled construction sites, but when the mural does eventually come down for the 62-unit project that is in the works, a building with people living in it is always better than a neglected hole in the ground. Click through for a couple more photos of the mural as it was looking yesterday at 3:30 p.m.
The Latest Look for the Big Eastern Pkwy/Franklin Ave Site [Brownstoner] GMAP
Big Lot at Eastern Pkwy/Franklin Finally Sells for $8M [Brownstoner] (more…)
05/15/2012 9:30 AM
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Come on, Let’s Celebrate!
In case you missed it on the apx 1 million other outlets that have had the news over the past couple days, this year’s Celebrate Brooklyn! line-up has been announced, and it’s pretty sweet. No Feelies, Dylan or Belle & Sebastian, but there are still plenty of tasty picks.
Celebrate Brooklyn! 2012 [BRIC]
05/10/2012 12:00 PM
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Closing Bell: New Drips on 7th Avenue
Today Here’s Park Slope writes about the new art installation up at 200 Seventh Avenue, between Second and Third streets. The owner of the building is an artist and designer who has outfitted his home with “drips” since the late 70s. This is the eighth series of drips to go up over the years. As HPS says: “Light blue and goopy-looking, they keep with the organic theme; these ones even appear to have tails and horns. Just one more thing that makes our neighborhood awesome.”
New Set of “Drips” Installed at Mark Ravitz’s 200 Seventh Avenue [Here's Park Slope]
04/30/2012 4:00 PM
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Signage Up at BAM’s Fisher Building
Check out the new signage up at BAM’s Fisher Building! The renovation and expansion of the building should be complete within the year. There will be a new 250-seat performance space, a 100-seat rehearsal space, and offices. You can see another shot of the building addition after the jump.
A Peek at the Progress on BAM’s Fisher Building [Brownstoner]
BAM’s Fisher Building Loses Some Scaffolding [Brownstoner]
BAM! Close-Up on Fisher Building Construction [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: BAM Addition [Brownstoner] GMAP
BAM Breaks Ground on Fischer Building [Brownstoner]
LPC Signs Off on New BAM Performing Arts Building [Brownstoner] (more…)
04/27/2012 2:40 PM
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Broker Envisions a Music District for Industry City
It’s been reported that Sunset Park’s Industry City, which has 6 million square feet of warehouse space geared toward creative tenants, has had a hard time finding tenants. (Not surprising, perhaps, give how huge the complex is.) But Crosstown Realty broker Jon Brooks thinks the warehouse space may have potential as a future music district, and he has started marketing it as such. The manager of Industry City gave Brooks around 60,000 square feet to play with and agreed to fund at least half of the build-out once space was leased to a music business. So far Brooks is in the leasing stage for 10,000 square feet of space and is in talks with another tenant interested in rehearsal space. In his words: “Musicians will have access to cheap rehearsal, recording, production space. Also the idea is to have music equipments shops, music event businesses, in the building as well.” The idea is that the increased foot traffic will also bring in ground-floor commercial space.
Industry City Has Trouble Luring Tenants [Brownstoner]
04/25/2012 10:30 AM
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A Rendering for the New St. Ann’s Warehouse
Here are the plans St. Ann’s Warehouse is proposing to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for its new location at 29 Jay Street. The changes to the building are minor (the theater company is only signing a three-year lease) and include signage, lighting changes, and a door installed in the existing garage door. St. Ann’s hopes to open up the 19,000-square-foot space for performances this November.
St. Ann’s Warehouse is Heading to the LPC [Brownstoner]
St. Ann’s Finds a New House in Dumbo [Brownstoner] GMAP
Image by Flyleaf Creative, Inc
04/25/2012 9:30 AM
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Barrier Beautification for Three Brooklyn Locations
Pictured above is the new mural gracing 600 feet of concrete wall along the Manhattan Bridge bike lane approach in Brooklyn. The design is by artist Abby Goldstein, who, in DOT’s words, “aimed to reflect the natural world and the rhythm of the built environment in her design.” The mural was painted by volunteers with the Department of Transportation this past weekend for New York Cares Day. Besides the mural along the Manhattan Bridge, Tillary Street between Cadman Plaza West and Adams Street and Columbia Street between Atlantic Avenue and Congress Street also received artwork. Click through for another picuture and images of the designs now on all the barriers. (more…)
04/24/2012 2:40 PM
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Music Venue/Artist Space Planned for Former Burg Factory
Today the Observer reports on a non-profit music venue/rehearsal space/recording studio/club/restaurant opening at 80 North 6th Street, at Wythe, in a former sawdust factory. The 12,900-square-foot space (to be called the Original Music Workshop) will accommodate a 2,200-square-foot performance hall, geared toward, as the Observer says, “music of all types for all ages.” But the space is being designed to be versatile and will provide an “A-to-Z support structure” for artist who want to rehearse and record. There will also be a two-story, independently-owned restaurant and two full bars. The $15.6 million project began construction in December of last year and will hopefully wrap December of 2013. The project is designed by Brooklyn-based firm Bureau V, also designing this affordable new build nearby. See a few more renderings of the OMW after the jump.
Is an Unconventional Music Venue with a Jagged Design the Last Hope for Williamsburg’s Art Scene? [Observer] (more…)
04/24/2012 12:00 PM
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Closing Bell: A New Mural Now at Franklin and Park
A reader sent in this picture of a new mural going up on Franklin Avenue, between Park and Sterling Place in Crown Heights. Is doesn’t look finished yet, but is shaping up to be quite different than the rich baby mural right around the corner.
04/11/2012 4:00 PM
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St. Ann’s Warehouse is Heading to the LPC
Later this month Dumbo’s St. Ann’s Warehouse heads to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for permission to renovate its new home at 29 Jay Street. The application is to “alter the facade, and install signage and lighting.” According to a Wall Street Journal article on the matter, the theater company hopes to open at 29 Jay this November. The organization’s space is 19,000 square feet, which is 5,000 square feet larger than the current location. St. Ann’s is leaving its current home after the landlord took back the space and a court ruling prevented the theater from relocating to the Tobacco Warehouse.
St. Ann’s Finds a New House in Dumbo [Brownstoner] GMAP
04/09/2012 10:30 AM
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Art Installation Now at Smith/Bergen Intersection
On Wednesday the Department of Transportation installed a temporary art installation at the intersection of Smith and Bergen streets, called “Battle Pass – Revolution II.” It’s by the artist Sasha Chavchavadze. The mast and weather vane commemorates the Battle of Brooklyn. The Trader Joe’s site nearby was actually the hill where it was said Washington surveyed the arriving British troops. The hill was razed by the British because it was an important look-out spot. As the sign on site says: “This installation was inspired by the ‘Liberty Pole,’ a ship’s mast planted by Revolutionaries as a symbol of protest, and by Walt Whitman’s poem about the battle, ‘The Centenarian’s Story.’” Of course, this isn’t the first time Whitman’s poetry made an appearance in public art. Click through for a close-up photo of the weather vane. (more…)
03/30/2012 2:00 PM
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Meet Williamsburg Park, the New Concert Venue on Kent
Via Brooklyn Vegan, some rendering porn of what the new OSA venue at 50 Kent will sort of look like this summer: “Goodbye state park Williamsburg Waterfront. Welcome city park Williamsburg Park. Located less than a block away from last summer’s venue, between North 11th and North 12th at 50 Kent (I hope they book 50 Cent), Williamsburg Park is the new outdoor Brooklyn venue that will host OSA-presented concerts this summer in Williamsburg. The new space won’t have a water view, but it also won’t have a caged off beer area or state troopers walking around. And unlike at Williamsburg Waterfront, all money raised at Williamsburg Park will stay in the city. There will be food and, as mentioned, beer. With a capacity of roughly 7000 people, the work-in-progress Williamsburg Park will host as many as 20 shows this summer, with about 1/3 of them being free. There might be other things happening there too (they still have a lot to figure out). You can see artist renderings of the space above, though those are not final sketches. In fact, there will definitely not be a raised viewing platform right in the center of the space.” Click through for more of the renderings. The first show will be in mid-July.
Welcome Williamsburg Park @ 50 Kent [Brooklyn Vegan] (more…)
03/28/2012 2:40 PM
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Steiner Studios Expands, Vies to Become ‘Hollywood East’
The mayor and other officials made appearances at a press conference at the Navy Yard yesterday for the ribbon cutting of five new sound stages at Steiner Studios. Via the official press release: “‘A little over a decade ago, New York City struggled to attract the lucrative production industry to film here,’ said Mayor Bloomberg. ‘Now the City is such a popular and prosperous home to hundreds of films and television shows, we have to work hard to keep up with the demand for stages and production facilities. These new soundstages at Steiner Studios will create jobs, and expanding our workforce development programs with new grants will help the next generation of production professionals start their careers on the right track.’” Steiner now has double the number of sound stages it did before, with the new ones adding 45,000 square feet of space. You gotta give it to Marty, though, who probably had the best quote of the day, as noted in the Eagle: “‘Forget La-La Land,’ said Borough President Marty Markowitz. “Steiner Studios and Brooklyn are ‘Hollywood East.’” And, finally, the ribbon cutting also came with news that the “Made in NY” Production Assistant Training Program, operated by nonprofit Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, will be co-locating its activities at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The program has a high success rate for training people to get employment as PAs, and the vast majority of its graduates are minorities. Numerous movies and TV shows film or have filmed at Steiner, including “Boardwalk Empire” and “Bored to Death.”
Steiner Studios Opening Five New Sound Stages Today [NYO]
Steiner Studios Opens Five New Sound Stages [Crain's]
Steiner Studios, ‘Hollywood East,’ Expands Facilities [Eagle]
Photo by Edward Reed via
03/27/2012 9:00 AM
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Closing Bell: The Mosaic on Wyckoff Street
Today the Brooklyn Bureau profiled the artist behind the house mural at 108 Wyckoff Street, a work in progress of ten years. Susan Gardner, the artist and Boerum Hill resident of 40 years, began the mural in earnest after the September 11th Attacks. “It was one of those things that seemed to change the tilt of the world,” she told the Brooklyn Bureau. “Once I started [the mural], I couldn’t stop.” Now she spends every summer expanding upon the artwork. (She plans to work on it for another ten years.) There are a few good stories about passerbys stopping for a picture and people leaving broken plates and beads on her doorstep. And one lady tells Gardener, “I don’t know what it is, but when I’m feeling down, I come by this house. And like that, I’m feeling good again.”
Brooklyn Edges: A Mosaic Grows as Boerum Hill Changes [Brooklyn Bureau]
03/26/2012 4:00 PM
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adam_dahill
May 21, 2012 | 02:16 PM