JellyNYC—perhaps fed up with the politics and their "fake non-profit" overlords hassling them at their home-away-from pool, AKA the East River Park Police State—are on the cusp of announcing a new summer concert series. (Yes, the Big Show will still go on at the state park.) There aren't a lot of details yet, but it sounds like they're trying to get back to their roots of laid-back semi-DIY free shows. more ›

The bitter Williamsburg Bike Lane War is about to enter its second year, and is already the longest bike lane war in New York history. It doesn't show any sign of winding down either, certainly not along the bitterly contested battle line of Kent Avenue, where the DOT's attempts to work out a compromise between cyclists, drivers, local business owners, residents, and Orthodox Jews have been repeatedly stymied. The latest salvo comes from residents along Wythe Avenue, one block of east of Kent, where noisy southbound trucks have been rerouted since Kent was made one-way. more ›

Williamsburg cyclists got a new bike lane on Bedford Avenue yesterday morning, but they lost one last night when dozens of cars obstructed the cycling path on Kent Avenue. Just hours after biking activists repainted a cycling path on Bedford Avenue that was recently removed by the city, the equally controversial Kent Avenue bike lane was blocked by parked cars for a major Hasidic celebration. more ›

Just when it seemed like the hoopla over bike lanes in Williamsburg had come to a close, Gothamist has learned that the Department of Transportation is planning to remove a 14-block section of the Bedford Avenue cycling route. A spokesman said that the agency will remove the "small portion" of the bike lane between Flushing and Division avenues in South Williamsburg "as part of ongoing bike network adjustments in the area." more ›

The DOT unveiled its latest plan [pdf] to resolve Brooklyn's Kent Avenue bike lane wars at a packed community meeting Wednesday night, and guess what? Not everyone is pleased about the proposal, which would turn part of Kent, a heavily-trafficked two-way truck route, into a one-way, northbound street. Business owners and residents have decried the bike lanes ever since they were installed last fall because they came at the cost of precious parking spots, and members of South Brooklyn's Satmar Jewish community who were said to chafe at the influx of immodestly dressed female cyclists. more ›

A radical compromise could defuse the raging controversy over the Kent Avenue bike lane in Williamsburg. According to the Brooklyn Paper, the DOT is considering turning a section of heavily-trafficked Kent Avenue into a one-way, one-lane, northbound roadway between Clymer and North 14th Streets. Sources say this would appease residents who've been outraged over the parking spaces that were sacrificed to accommodate the bike lanes last year. The proposal, which would resemble the dedicated bike lanes on Ninth Avenue and Grand Street in Manhattan, would create parking lanes to serve as a buffer for a protected two-directional bike lane on the waterfront side. (A dedicated bike path on Kent has been a long term goal of the Brooklyn Greenway initiative.) The DOT is reportedly meeting with Williamsburg groups about the plan, and Transportation Alternatives spokesman Wiley Norvell tells us, "This looks like a win-win for everybody." Even die hard bike lane opponent Leo Moskowitz—who you'll recall from that infamous, illegal detour sign on Kent—is embracing the idea, telling Brooklyn Paper, "We are coming to a conclusion that benefits everyone." Could a group hug between Orthodox Jews and Brooklyn cyclists be far behind? more ›

Around 1:30 a.m. alerts came in about a "fire in a factory/restaurant" on Kent Avenue (map) in Williamsburg. Word is coming in now that the "early morning fire gutted a landmark Northside diner, causing damage to an adjacent arts collective at Kent Avenue and Metropolitan." The establishment suffering extensive damages is the former Miss Williamsburg Diner (more recently 718), with the two-story building next door getting less scathed. more ›

Emotions were high last night at Brooklyn's first CB1 meeting of the year. The ongoing controversy over the Kent Avenue bike lanes and the recent, sudden dismissal of Teresa Toro, who had chaired the Transportation Committee, inspired members of the local community to crowd the small room at the Swinging 60's Senior Citizens Center, waiting for their chance to speak to the board. more ›

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A piece in The New York Times today shows that that the residents of 475 Kent are not prepared to go quietly after their recent eviction due to fire safety violations. Even the landlord of the owner of the nearly block-long building near the Navy Yard in Brooklyn wants his tenants back in and is cooperating with them to that end. more ›

Michael Lappin, CEO of the managing company for what is being called the "New Domino", responded yesterday to our questions about the proposed project via email.

The iconic Domino Sugar sign is not included in these renderings. [We photoshopped it back in, above.] Is there any plan to preserve that somewhere at the site? We are making every effort to save the sign. We are looking at different engineering solutions regarding the “where and how.” It’s a complex problem.

A week after the illegally converted-for-residential use warehouse 475 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg was evacuated by city agencies, due to building violations including an illegal matzoh bakery (and combustible grains being stored in the basement), the building will be padlocked this afternoon at 4PM. There will be a "solemn observance of the shutting of a great arts community," according to a press release we received. More details:

Come and show your support for the 200+ displaced tenants of 475 and the live/work community as a whole. more ›

On Sunday Gowanus Lounge received frantic emails from tenants in a blocklong loft building at 475 Kent Avenue in South Williamsburg who were being suddenly tossed out into the frigid night by the FDNY; we went to the building on Monday morning and talked to some of the shell-shocked residents as they moved out, one of whom told us, “Sheila [Properties] owns the whole lot and I don’t want to speculate but there’s a reason they want to empty the whole lot.” more ›

Over 150 residents of an eleven-story building at Kent Avenue in South Williamsburg were evacuated yesterday after the Fire Department and Buildings Department found a number of violations. The building had been illegally converted to residences and a matzoh factory, complete with two silos of (highly combustible) grain in the basement. A neighboring building was cited as well, and the violations ranged from non-working standpipes (which firefighters use to deliver water to fires), illegal partitions, blocked exits, inoperable sprinkler systems and others, including the illegal grain silos for the unauthorized basement bakery. more ›

Last month rumors of an Apple Store in Brooklyn started to spread, and now there's some news on where the store may land. more ›

It's one thing to read that developers who have the Domino Sugar Factory property in Brooklyn want to build 2,200 apartments. It's another thing to actually see renderings of what that could look like. The city's Department of Planning put a draft Scope of Work for the project online, in anticipation of public scoping meeting on July 31, 2007 from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM and from 6:00 PM to 8:45 PM. more ›

EVENT: BKLYN DESIGNS 2007 kicks off today. The design expo will not only provide the latest trends and lots of fabulous things for your home - but all day panel discussions, interviews and of course parties, after parties and much more. more ›

What better way to get out of the cold than to party in an art gallery? This Saturday there are two—count ’em, two—Brooklyn galleries sticking their tongues out at the weather and celebrating art with live music and festivities. And the best thing is, you don’t have to chose between them because they’re at different times: first, head to Secret Project Robot for the opening reception of Cameron Michel’s “A New Polymorphous Reality,” then make your way to 3rd Ward for The End of Ice. Read on for details involving grog and light-up costumes. more ›

Waiting for Kent Avenue to Be Finished, by Ben500. more ›

The band originally broke up in 1992 when they were just on the cusp of mainstream success, they reunited in 2004 (it didn't seem like they were gone for over a decade). The film includes footage of rehearsals and warm up shows - gearing up for the reunion tour. It also documents the other side of music, the life and lifestyle of a touring band - and we're guessing the demons being battled on The Road (ie: Kim Deal staying sober). more ›

You may recall the story of Brooklyn's Kent Avenue Orthodox synagogue-- it was built last month in only two weeks, at a cost of more than two million dollars. The city authorities slapped a stop-work order on the site after a worker was injured, but the Satmars ignored it, and finished the build on their own timeline. The papers said that the interior was going to take another month to finish, but if you look at the video above, the synagogue seems to already be in full use, and packed to the rafters with followers of Aaron Teitelbaum. The Brooklyn Record opines: more ›

THEATER: Mike Daisey, the versatile, unpredictable monologuist (and onetime Gothamist interviewee), has revealed a lot about his own past and personality over the course of his years of performing and writing. Now, in the last entry of the season at Galapagos' "Evolve" series, he's going after new material -- a select array of "Great Men of Genius" other than himself. Last week he explored the life more ›

Bam! The Mayor used his veto power to "support landmark status" for a Brooklyn warehouse in Williamsburg. The City Council had approved to remove landmark status for the Austin, Nichols Warehouse at 184 Kent Avenue (read this Gotham Gazette story about it) last week, paving the way for the building to be converted to condos. City Councilman David Yassky told the NY Times that the Mayor's sudden decision to go landmark happy was "to curry favor with preservationists after refusing to landmark 2 Columbus Circle. Now they'll milk it and really try to get political credit." What, politicians trying to get political credit? Shocking! more ›

For some of you this weekend marks the launch of fashion week, for others there's a big game on Sunday. Whether you're in couture or sweatpants we have some suggestions on what you can do over the next few days: more ›

Andrew Krucoff, Rhythm Guitar more ›