Yesterday was a big, belt-busting day for food lovers in New York City. City noshers were able to hit two great events featuring local artisanal purveyors -- both the New Amsterdam Public Market by the South Street Seaport and the UnFancy Food Show, just a short J/M/Z ride away in Williamsburg. At the New Amsterdam Public Market, the inclement weather didn't keep crowds from waiting for a taste of Bent Spoon Ice Cream or chowing......

If you’ve ever watched acting so bad it made you want to shove the performer offstage and play the role yourself, Suspicious Package is for you. The creators of this clever little production have spared themselves the headache of dealing with actors by casting the audience and turning them loose on the streets of Williamsburg. It happens for just four people at a time, and when you buy your ticket online you cast yourself in one of the roles, choosing either the producer, the showgirl, the heiress, or the private detective....

Galapagos officially changed hands earlier this year, with Matt Roff & Co. now at the helm. With the Galapagos name moving to DUMBO and the artspace under new ownership, there was a contest to name the 70 N 6th Street space (after briefly working under the name Natural Selection). Well, they've finally come to a decision (drum roll please): Public Assembly. Roff tells us that they'll also be holding the official after parties for the......

The knives have barely cooled off from the heated Top Chef Chicago contest, but that Top Chef Lazy Susan just keeps spinning. Amidst news that the next season of the high-stakes cooking show will soon start filming right here in New York City, Eater is pushing a rumor that the cheftestants will be housed in Williamsburg. But if stalking the stabby streets of Billyburg isn’t your speed, you can get guaranteed access to past Top......

Two months ago, Con Ed admitted that the former power plant on Kent Avenue would be demolished (when asked earlier about all the activity at the site, the utility claimed it was just "spring cleaning"), and now it looks like the beautiful, century-old building's final days are here. Photographer Nathan Kensinger, who currently has an exhibit at the Brooklyn Public Library documenting Brooklyn's fading waterfront, took these exclusive photographs of the Powerhouse. From the looks......

After reviewing a new design that one commissioner promised would “rival the Tate,” the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved revised plans for a massive residential and retail development at the disused Domino Sugar Refinery in Williamsburg. One bit of good news is that the iconic Domino sign, which had been missing from previous designs, is now preserved. Brownstoner was liveblogging the hearing and reports that LPC chairman Robert Tierney called it a "brilliant adaptive plan."......

With the Knitting Factory looking for a new home, and Luna Lounge being closed since April, all signs are pointing to the former moving into the latter. In fact, a sign on the front door of the now defunct Luna Lounge says as much. The closing of the doors came with a sad little announcement on April 26th via their MySpace page, stating "Thanks for all the good times, everybody." The venue had only moved......

Mark Gibian's sculpture in Brooklyn (entitled "Crescendo") became the latest part of the Williamsburg waterfront in mid-May; "the four-ton, crescent-shaped stainless steel sculpture was hoisted over the East River and installed on new 400-foot pier that's been constructed at Northside Piers." The sculpture is functional, providing shade and including a bench; the Brooklyn Eagle reports that a shade structure was required under the zoning. While an exact date hasn't been set, the Piers (a direct......

The Williamsburg Stabber, who is more than likely a group of stabbers, has struck again. In April two cops walking the beat told us "the increased police presence was in response to a spate of machete-wielding gang violence" -- well, a lot of good the increased security has done. A tipster writes in to tell us about last weekend's Saturday morning stabbing, which police suspect was part of a gang initiation and in step with......

Joe Franquinha and his father run Crest Hardware store in Williamsburg. In the '90s the shop began hosting a unique art show, which integrated various artists' pieces into the shelves amongst the hardware supplies (watch a video about it on PBS). After a hiatus, they brought the show back this past weekend with a grand celebration, and we highly recommend checking it out. The Crest Hardware Art Show runs through July 11th; now, meet the......

The NY Sun dedicates a whopping 1000+ words to recent Project Runway victor Christian Siriano moving from his tiny East Village apartment all the way across the bridge to Williamsburg. The Maryland-born Siriano chose the renovated 1,400-square-foot loft in part because of its proximity to the waterfront, but was immediately turned off by the graffiti on the outside of his new residence. Softening the unfabulous urbanity, however, is McCarren Park -- he told The Sun,......

When the Bloomberg administration successfully rezoned large parts of Williamsburg and Brooklyn three years ago to facilitate the construction of massive housing condos, the deal came with a promise to deliver lots of new park space. But while the luxury residential buildings are going up, the parks have remained a pipe dream. And local City Councilman David Yassky tells the Post he’s “sickened” that the Bloomberg administration has made “almost zero progress on the......

Street artist Dan Witz has some entertaining pieces around town, mostly on condo walls in Brooklyn and the Lower East Side. Imagine buying the luxury condo of your dreams only to discover one of these alarming scenarios. Witz explains his series, Ugly New Buildings:In the past few years much of my neighborhood in Brooklyn has been torn down to make way for luxury housing. For better or worse it's a whole new street-scape out here.......

From the ashes of the beloved Read Cafe in Williamsburg (that space is now occupied by the decidedly un-funky El Beit coffee shop) comes owner Laurence Elliott's new baby, The Rabbithole. Opening this Sunday, his latest venture is further south but still on Bedford, between South 4th and South 3rd Streets. When we spoke with Elliott back in March, he still had a long way to go turning the former apartments into a restaurant/cafe with......

Katalin Pota (pictured), the actress who played Tony Soprano's housekeeper Lilliana, has been ousted from her Williamsburg loft on Grand Avenue. The building she lived in is owned by Simon Taub, the man who built a wall in the middle of his Borough Park mansion to separate himself from his wife. To rewind a bit, Pota was assaulted back in 2001 in New Jersey while trying to protect a friend from an attacker; the incident......

When we first noted this incoming Brazilian restaurant/bar back at the beginning of January, we incorrectly referred to it as Favela. Turns out it's Miss Favela to you (and us); the South Williamsburg "Brazilian Botequim" is currently in soft opening mode. Co-owner Alain Denneulin (of Soho's French Bistro Felix) tells us they're shooting for an official opening June 2nd. And once Miss Favela is in full swing, they'll be serving lunch and dinner until midnight......

No need to wear your Sunday best (or even comb your hair) today, just roll out of bed and channel your inner-Zombie. Starting at 4 p.m. the NYC Zombie Crawl will take over Williamsburg:What better way to scare all those McCarren Park sun-bathers (who will still be in tight black jeans) then by dressing up like a zombie in the middle of spring, imbibing some mid-day booze, and tromping through the neighborhood. The NYC Zombie......

Quick, what New York City neighborhood has the greatest percentage of obese residents? Wrong! It’s Williamsburg, which is confusing, because everyone knows the only people who live there are the proverbial skinny hipsters. But according to a recent study by the Citizens' Committee on Children, there are, apparently, still some non-hipster residents existing in Williamsburg! And they have children, and 30% of those children’s parents are “unhealthily overweight.” Or could there be a growing number......

Back in January video emerged of an enthusiastic street performer, Matthew Silver, dancing in front of Earwax record store on Bedford Avenue. It seems that a war has been going on since, between the employees of the store and the ever-growing troupe of Silver's clowns (dubbed the BC Fools) that adorn the outside of its shop. Seems the Earwax employees have been dumping buckets of water on the performers (who have gone into the......

Matt Roff & Co. decided not to name their new venue Natural Selection after all...so as Galapagos moves to DUMBO, the space is going to need a moniker that'll stick. And now the naming duties have been handed down to you with their Name Our Space contest. If you win, you'll get to christen the place with a $1000 bar tab (that's like 160 drinks), and you'll get free admission, along with a guest, for......

Since opening last November, the 2,000 square foot Radegast Hall in Williamsburg has been packed with patrons enjoying the massive mugs of beer, the hearty food, and the debate about the old world dirndl peasant dresses worn by the waitresses. (Humiliating or part of the ambiance?) One group strongly opposed to the vintage Czech ensembles are the employees themselves, who say the tight bodices and short skirts are provoking come-ons from grabby drunken tools. Not......

Gawker is stoking the debate over whether street artist Nick Walker is in fact the mysterious millionaire street artist Banksy; we continue to disagree. Nick Walker and Banksy are definitely, positively two different people – although they are both English graffiti artists, and they are friends. Here in New York, Walker’s been a busy bee, branching out from last week’s work in the West Village to Williamsburg, where aptly-named blog Williamsburg is Dead documented......

The Gray Lady slums it out to far East Williamsburg to report on the hipster bohemian squalor of the sprawling McKibbin Street “dorms;” two hulking buildings converted from garment factories to lofts in the late nineties by a trio of savvy Stuyvesant alums. It’s since become a filthy, bed-bug ravaged rite of passage for the young DIY arts set, who pile on top of each other in warren-like lofts more crowded than one of Dan......

Photo via Gowanus Lounge Curbed is reporting on the latest victim of luxury condos: Myrtle the Turtle. Who's behind the act of animal cruelty? All fingers are pointing to the construction workers, who have the same shade of red paint on site at 5 Roebling Street. A neighbor, and friend of Myrtle the Turtle, wrote in:It is obviously intentional because she got such a sustained spray that it has drip marks. The face and......

Photo by davidfg's flickr. On January 20th, residents of 475 Kent in Williamsburg were evicted from their apartments, which were deemed illegal, after the Fire and Buildings Departments found multiple violations (including a matzo factory housed in the building). Some of the evictees weren't going down without a fight, however, and have kept the incident in the public eye through everything from art shows to simply fighting the good fight. And while they spent......

Is Luna Lounge the latest casualty of the Department of Health? Eater reports that the venue "was shuttered on Friday and has yet to re-open." Recently another Williamsburg fixture, Sound Fix, was forced to close its doors after being harassed by the DoH -- they told us the irony of being "shut down for not having a food permit - and WE DON'T SELL FOOD! Ice is considered food in the health dept's eyes, I......

Freshly fried plantain chips and homemade chimichurri sauce start the meal off right Shachis, the Venezuelan spot in South Williamsburg run by Pedro Boyer and his partner Alan Rodriguez. You can snack on the chips while perusing the menu, which specializes in arepas – Venezualan corn cakes – but also offers delightful Latin American entrees incorporating flavors of saffron and piquillo peppers, yuca, and sweet plantains. A handful of simple salads are a gateway......

Last spring, it was announced that Galapagos was being priced out of their N 6th Street digs in Williamsburg, which the club had inhabited permanently since 1998. More recently, TONY hinted that Southpaw owner Matthew Roff planned to sign a lease to take over the space, and today it's been confimed; from a press release:In an exciting development for New York City’s performing arts and music scene, Michael Palms, Matthew Roff, of Southpaw, & Larry......

With Brooklyn rolling out the welcome mat for Babeland, a sex toy shop, it isn't surprising that the borough is the most sex-driven of them all. The Brooklyn Paper reports that Brooklyn is, in fact, "the randiest place in the country." To celebrate, Naughty America, a porn site (though you probably already knew that if you're from Brooklyn), is throwing a party in Williamsburg. The invite-only event at 507 Bar will bring in five of......

Earlier in the week, unconfirmed reports of a knife-wielding assailant had Williamsburg residents on edge; South Williamsburg in particular has been flooded with patrolmen all week, and we’ve heard from readers who say they’ve been written summons for minor offenses like jaywalking. Though the 90th Precinct and the NYPD press liaison are unforthcoming about the dragnet, two officers walking their beat by the future Pies ‘n’ Thighs location on Driggs and South 4th Street told......