Leave it to Brooklynites to imagine new and creative ways to meet up and make new friends. Called PopUpBrooklyn, it is the largest d-i-y dinner party in the country. Party goers signed up, paying $35 per person for the opportunity to share a meal outdoors with about 6,000 other participants. The most recent event’s locale was not even known to the crowds until only three hours before a 5pm launch time. The $35 cover fee gets you tables, chairs, music and the venue, provided by event planner Hand Made Events, while participants bring their own food and table decorations. There is a push to have everyone clothed in white. One participant, who has attended four such gatherings was excited: “It’s a great sense of fun,” said Tiana Walton, from Kensington. “All your friends come out and you meet new people on line and we all have a great time.” Another dinner guest, Michael Hellerman from Newark said, “It’s always a different location and they had a strategy because they thought it was going to be at one location and then they had to adapt.” The latest party took place in Red Hook on Pier 12 with great views of lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. Before this the party has been in Prospect Park, while the next one is planned for Governor’s...
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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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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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In general, “Art imitates life,” but sometimes it is the other way around. That is the case when it comes to Brooklyn mural “Not One More Death.” Painted in the summer of 2007 by artist Christopher Cardinale at Third Avenue and Butler Street in Downtown Brooklyn, the mural was dedicated to the memory of children who had been killed in road accidents. The deaths were especially prominent at or near crosswalks. The mural was painted in partnership with a mural-supporting non-profit group called Groundswell, and an advocacy group which works to reduce fatal car accidents, called Transportation Alternatives. At the ceremony that took place on the day the mural was dedicated the Department of Transportation announced it was going to put into place new traffic measures along Third and Fourth Avenues to slow things down a bit. They added curb extensions and other devices, and now, ten years later, there are speed bumps, 20mph signs, and cameras watching for speeding cars. The mural has the distinction of being one of the first times street art worked to persuade government to respond immediately and tangibly to a serious neighborhood issue. “When we focus on children who were lost in needless preventable traffic crashes, it galvanizes everyone’s advocates, cities and the public to understand how important it is to re-envision our streets where families are,” Kim Wiley-Schwartz, assistant commissioner for education and outreach at the DOT, said. “It’s very fair to say that [the mural] was a catalyst for the conversation and has kept the dialogue going with the community.” Not many people know what Brooklyn looks like to a bird, but one muralist wanted to bring that special, elevated viewpoint to the pedestrians standing on the ground. Artist Vince Ballentine began designing a mural featuring the Brooklyn Bridge in December, 2016. Now the mural is finished and is available for viewing for anyone visiting at or living in Flatbush Gardens, an apartment complex at 1402 Brooklyn Avenue. Ballentine says he wanted to paint a scene...
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In an effort to reduce waste, which runs rampant in restaurants, one Brooklyn eatery is using its leftovers to create some mighty fine meals. At 21 Greenpoint, Sunday dinner will run you $21 per person, and you can bet on some delicious surprises coming your way, all made from the ingredients that did not get used the previous week. Some of the five to eight courses you could be treated to could include: mushroom pesto flatbread pizza or seafood stew. Sunday’s menu is there not only to please its customers, but to also combat the waste of food, says owner Homer Murray, Bill Murray’s son. Across the country an incredible 50 percent of all produce is thrown away. That means about 60 million tons, or $160 billion worth of food just goes to waste every single year. “We’re concerned with the idea of food waste — all the stuff that gets thrown away,” Murray says. “It seems like a crime against humanity, to see this food being tossed...
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