So who were among the 27,000+ runners signed up for the Airbnb Brooklyn Half Marathon this past Saturday? What were the newsworthy stories that ran (excuse the pun) at the largest half marathon event of America 2017? So popular was the event that it sold out in a staggering 26 minutes. The 27,440 who completed the point-to-point race started by the Brooklyn Museum and ended in Coney Island at the boardwalk. Participants included Karlie Kloss (fashion model for Vogue, Victoria Secret and Taylor Swift’s music video ‘Bad Blood,’ among others), filmmaker Casey Neistat and more. Those running for a cause included the Team For Kids (TFK) supporting NYRR Youth Programs, Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Fred’s Team (for children with leukemia), and many more. And then there were the fun runners. The man and woman who began the race single and sprinted through the finish line as a married couple. Having been running buddies for the last half-decade, Krissa Cetner and Alexander Salazar tied the knot at around six miles in at Prospect Park. As Salazar noted, “Marriage is like a marathon, it’s not a sprint. There’s a lot of years ahead of you in a marriage and sometimes you’re both really into it and can push each other and sometimes the other partner has to help pull you through whatever challenge lies ahead. You both have to keep each other motivated in a race and in a marriage.” And for those who needed a bite to eat after the event, the good news was that they could do so in the reopening of a former Childs restaurant, which has been transformed into a huge food hall with “locally sourced” wholesome choices and plenty of Coney charm. Any runners who decided to try out the new eatery got a voucher for 21 percent off of the next time they...
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Now there is yet another reason to head down south to Coney Island. Within the historic walls of a sprawling Spanish revival building along the boardwalk, five restaurants are competing for customers in a creative new take on dining called Kitchen 21. The five eateries are Parachute Bar, Community Clam Bar, Test Kitchen, The Café and Boardwalk & Vine. As can be deduced by the names, there is quite a variety within the premises. Four of the restaurants are situated on the huge ground floor, offering casual café dining, a traditional bar, an oyster bar, and full meals. If you’ve come for the view of the magnificent Atlantic Ocean, that can be afforded upstairs on the rooftop deck. According to general manager of Kitchen 21 Jim Coughlin, the upstairs will be used as the VIP space for events taking place right next door at the Ford Amphitheater. When not hosting VIPs the roof becomes Boardwalk & Vine, a wine bar with eight types on tap, also serving beers and other forms of alcohol. “Kitchen 21 has something for everyone to enjoy, with year-round dining now and the wonderful local Brooklyn energy,” said one observer. The establishment is scheduled to open on May 21st, just in time for the Brooklyn Half Marathon, whose finish line is traditionally in Coney Island, at the...
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Last Friday was a rough day in New York due to flooding caused by almost non-stop rain at the end of last week. Among the various incidents around town, in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn a railing fell as well as a large part of a retaining wall. The collapse occurred right below the Gowanus Expressway, closing much-used 17th Street. Engineers were quickly brought to the scene to make the needed repairs. Luckily there were no injuries associated with the incident. “I pass here at least three to four times a day, and I’m amazed. I can’t believe how lucky we all are by someone not passing by there and getting hurt at the time that it fell down,” said a Gowanus resident. “It looks ridiculous. It’s rusted out. It was an incident waiting to happen.” Hamilton Avenue took up the slack with the closure of 17th Street, causing major traffic slow-downs. The Office of Emergency Management said that they expected the road to re-open by late Friday evening. In Staten Island the rain caused damage to some private residences, with flood waters flowing on Bay Street rushing into the street’s storm drains. Midtown Manhattan was not immune to flood damage, with large puddles accumulating on street corners, and high water levels found on the West Side Highway. In one case a school bus filled with students had trouble navigating the watery road. Again, no one was hurt. Another incident involved a FDNY truck, which ended up taking assistance from helpful citizens who stood in the rain directing traffic around the disabled truck, getting soaking wet in the process. It was a very bad day for one motorcyclist whose wheels ended up under water. Help for this biker simply came too little, too...
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In order to perfect their roles in an upcoming play, Yeshivah of Flatbush students are paired with survivors willing to recount their experiences during World War II. The annual Witness Theater program brings several of the high school’s seniors together with one of eight Holocaust survivors in order to conduct research for their end-of-year performance. The students and the witnesses meet once a week, and it benefits the students, the survivors, and ultimately the audience watching the play. Survivor Ernest Biederman lost his brothers and sisters during the Holocaust, and his wife of 68 years just last year. “I lost my wife this last year, and it was very sad for me,” Biederman said. “I came here and feel like I’m alive again.” The students portray those survivors’ stories more vividly as a result of their personal connection with them. “I have brothers and sisters that I lost when they were their age,” Biederman added, referring to the students he mentored. “It’s been more than 70 years, and I never forget them.” The Witness Theater program is organized by Selfhelp Community Services, and will culminate with a performance at the Museum of Jewish...
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You can’t be from Brooklyn and not love pizza. So it is only logical that a local pizzeria is in the running for Best Pizza in America. According to the Daily Meal, a food blog that has already published “The 101 Best Pizzas in America,” New York’s best pizza place is Di Fara Pizza in Midwood, Brooklyn, run by restaurateur Dominco DeMarco. “Domenico DeMarco is a local celebrity, having owned and operated Di Fara since 1964,” the Daily Meal writes. “Dom cooks both New York- and Sicilian-style pizza for hungry New Yorkers and tourists willing to wait in long lines and brave the free-for-all that is the Di Fara counter experience.” “Yes, it’s a trek, and sure, Dom goes through periods when the underside of the pizza can tend toward overdone, but when he’s on, Di Fara can make a very strong case for being America’s best pizza,” the site says. Di Fara is named on the blog’s latest list: “The Best Pizza in Every State.” The intro to the list explains that the American pizza scene is becoming more competitive and of higher overall quality. “There are plenty of states with pizzerias that have never found their way into the ranking, including Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Wyoming,” the site says. “Today, those states are finally getting the credit they deserve.” Want to try a slice of “The Best Pizza in New York?” Trek down to Avenue J and East 15th Street and get yourself a part of the...
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