Willoughby Windows Rejuvenate Empty Storefronts

The empty storefronts along Willoughby Street in Brooklyn have become canvases for local artists during the strip's ghost town era. The Daily News notes that the Willoughby Windows art show set up in prime retail space masks the eyesore of an abandoned retail corridor "created when 30 merchants along Willoughby, Duffield and Bridge Sts. were booted by a developer to make room for a glitzy new, $208 million commercial and residential complex." Guess how that plan went? The recession sure is ugly, and artists were sent in to dress up the stalled area.

But not everyone is a fan. 57-year-old Jeff Garguilo had to abandon the Bagel Guys shop last year, and now "a wood-carved print cash register with keys that read 'pink slip' and 'outta luck'—part of the exhibit—has replaced a real register that Garguilo used to fill with cash." Color him unimpressed, he told the paper, "To me this is not an art show. It's painted windows." A passerby declared the project to be "warming," but also stated "It's like putting a Band-Aid on the wound."

Today through 7 p.m. Ad Hoc Art and MetroTech BID are celebrating the windows, like 'em or not. They invite you to "feast your retinae on an afternoon of creative spectaculars. Not only will there be outstanding installations by some of the world's finest artists, there will also be two amazing sets of deep-crate spinning dj's, the St Joseph Step Team, and Lady Circus' stilt walkers and hoopers, with perhaps other special twists if the crowd motivated." That's sure to brighten up the neighborhood, right naysayers? Check out a few windows here—and could Williamsburg be next?