Two weeks ago, it was proposed at a community board meeting that the waterfront concerts held by the OSA in Williamsburg be moved... two blocks from the current location. The proposal was to appease neighbors, who are complaining about the summertime concerts and overflow of attendees into the streets in their neighborhood. After all, it's all fun and games until nitrous-huffing zombies are outside of your window. more ›

Change was in the air following one woman's account of nitrous-fueled zombie hippies taking over her block after a Widespread Panic concert on the Williamsburg waterfront this summer. Last night a Community Board meeting was held to address the location, and it seems the Open Space Alliance (who host the concerts) and CB1 have come to an agreement: future events will be held a couple of blocks away, at a vacant lot on Kent and North 11th Street. more ›

After a Williamsburg local dashed off a colorful open letter to the Open Space Alliance regarding the "lawless drug nightmare" that "erupted on [the] street after Saturday night's Widespread Panic" concert, we talked to two attendees for their side of the story. And lo and behold, it's a little bit different and a lot lighter on the zombie imagery. more ›

Here we go again! Community Board 1 (more like Complaining Board 1, eh?) is trying to strong arm the Open Space Alliance into cutting back on the number of outdoor concerts they're holding on Williamsburg's waterfront this summer. Last night the board's parks committee voted to limit the number of large-scale concerts at East River State Park, by cancelling five shows and reducing capacity from 6,500 to 5,000 people. That's a nice wish list, but it ain't happenin'. more ›

[UPDATED BELOW] Last night one part of the Williamsburg community rose up against another, possibly more "social" part of the Williamsburg community. This all went down at the CB1 meeting, where much of the night was spent discussing that proposed moratorium on all new liquor licenses in the area (more on that later). The shocker came at the end of the meeting, however, when community board members voted unanimously to ban all concerts from the Williamsburg Waterfront! more ›

Just days after the Open Space Alliance (OSA) sent out a finger-pointing press release announcing the final Pool Parties show was canceled, thanks to JellyNYC's inability to pay the bills, another press release has been sent out. This time it's from Chuck Schumer's camp, and declares that the Senator "has brought the two sides together to resolve the dispute that threatened the final concert." Thanks, Dad! more ›

Time to towel off! The Open Space Alliance (OSA) and JellyNYC have been sparring all season over the Pool Parties held on the Williamsburg waterfront, and now the last show of the summer has been canceled. JellyNYC started the parties five years ago at McCarren Park Pool, and more recently the OSA (which has a lot of influential board members) has been taking control. Following the publication of an interview that Jelly co-founder Sarah Hooper did with NPR, the OSA folk released a fightin' words filled press release through their lawyer (also an OSA board member) last night. It says, in part: more ›

Since the Open Space Alliance has stepped in, there's been a lot of whispering about what's going on with the Pool Parties—the summer concert series created by JellyNYC. It began five years ago at McCarren Park Pool, and has since moved to the East River State Park. The concerts have remained free to the public during each transition, but they aren't free to put on, and NPR recently found out from Sarah Hooper—the co-owner of JellyNYC—that they come with a pricetag of around half a million bucks. more ›

This year the Open Space Alliance (OSA) has taken over production aspects of the Pool Parties in Williamsburg, making a number of changes and giving the summer concert venue at East River Police State Park a more corporate makeover. Today the Brooklyn Paper reports on one of those changes: you can't bring in your own water. more ›

Is McCarren Park getting an expansion? An advocacy group is currently attempting to convince the city that it should, by way of closing part of Union Avenue (between Driggs and Bayard). According to the Brooklyn Paper the group would ideally like to see that stretch of street closed off to cars permanently. more ›

The Brooklyn kickballers have a new opponent this season: twenty freshly planted baby trees! The Brooklyn Paper reported yesterday that the leafy obstacles were planted as a part of Mayor Bloomberg's Million Trees program, and affect all three kickball fields. Allegedly the city chose that spot in order to restore the area to Gilmore Clark’s 1936 design. They told us about how in the past "McCarren Park was decimated by the Asian Long Horn Beatle crisis and lost more than 50% of it's tree canopy coverage." more ›

Last year as the the McCarren Park Pool parties were coming to an end forever (not forever), we talked to JellyNYC organizer Sarah Hooper about where they might revive their series this summer. At the time she told us that they were working closely with the Open Space Alliance, Parks Department and Marty Markowitz’s office to find a new space, but no matter what, the show will remain free and they'll always have a Slip n' Slide. Well, it's all happening people. more ›