Author Archives: Chad Purkey

Fork Cafe re-opens this weekend, 5/4!

Fork Cafe_reopening

Fork Cafe at 507 Myrtle Avenue re-opens tomorrow, 5/4 with a revamped look and menu. At the kitchen’s helm is Chef Quincy Garner, with restaurant experience in Asian and Cajun cuisine.

The former comfy character of Fork Café remains but is amped up to a higher level with its now full bar, patio space also with full bar and additional seating up front. “We’re really excited about Fork Café and can’t wait to share our new look and menu! It’s truly designed for people to stop in and maximally enjoy!,” shared Kim Price, Fork Café owner.

Garner’s menu includes brunch and dinner specials served 6 days per week. Some menu items include: (appetizers) smoked asparagus, sautéed kale and (big plates) Cajun-Asian inspired chicken and cheese croquettes (hoisin mushroom gravy, Israeli couscous and arugula), buttermilk fried chicken on cheddar cheese waffle biscuit and the house salad; fresh day boat scallops (cashews, corn, kale, blue cheese butter and cherries); seared pork belly (pineapples, sweet basil, cinnamon bread); Asian beef ribs (asparagus, creamy white cheddar grits) and (small plates) Chinese chicken dumplings (spicy aioli), pineapple walnut shrimp, mussels (madras curry broth and toast) and Philly cheese steak (cheddar cheese, house aioli).

Fork Café is located at 507 Myrtle Avenue between Ryerson and Grand. Please call 718.622.3675 (FORK) or better yet, just stop in!

Cinco de Mayo Celebration at Lola BKLYN!

cinco de mayo_lola bklyn

Cinco de Mayo is this coming Sunday (5/5, of course)! It celebrates the Mexican Army’s victory at the Battle of Puebla. Folks all over the world commemorate the day, in Mexico and outside of Mexico. It can arguably be said that many folks who hail from or reside in the historic city where the battle took place, Puebla, Mexico, really have a handle on knowing how to celebrate the day big time.

Psst, Lola Bklyn’s’s executive chef is from Puebla.

Garden party at Lola Bklyn! Music, brunch specials, $4 Coronas or grab a bucket of Coronas with friends for $16 and receive complimentary taquitos. Check out the full menu of delicious food and drink here.

Lola BKLYN is located at 387 Myrtle Avenue. They can be reached at 718.858.1484.

And the patio’s open too! Stop in at Pillow Cafe-Lounge!

pillow cafe_fiesta salad

Have you tried the fiesta salad at Pillow Café-Lounge? You should!

The fiesta salad is a delish dish which includes black beans with corn and avocado tossed in a lime vinaigrette dressing on a bed of greens. Whew–hit the spot, hit the ball out of the park, hit the high note–you get us.

Check out Pillow’s menu, which includes a variety of fresh, delicious salads, sandwiches, breakfast, cold, hot and specialty drinks. And with weather like today’s–sit out and enjoy the wonderful back yard space.

Pillow Café is located at 505 Myrtle Avenue between Grand and Ryerson. Please call to order: 718.246.2711.

Sneak Peek: Leisure Life NYC opens this weekend!

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Leisure Life NYC, a fine men’s clothing line specializing in leather goods and accessories, is planning a soft opening this coming weekend at 559 Myrtle Avenue!

This husband and wife-owned venture is oozing with style. Check out the finely tailored varsity jackets with pleasingly placed pops of color in the finest of places, across the forearms, on the elbows, on the pockets, at the collar and waist.

Leisure Life will carry clothing and accessories by many local Brooklyn designers as well as exhibit visual art by local artists on its walls. Please stop in to say hello to these first time-entrepreneurs.

Leisure Life is located at 559 Myrtle Avenue between Emerson and Classon Avenues.

May Day @ Cielo Bar — stop in for the Mayweather v. Guerrero Fight, 5/4!

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In addition to having great food and drink, Cielo Bar is fight central, having provided viewing opportunities for key boxing matches since they’ve opened. Next up, toe-to-toe, ding ding: Mayweather vs. Guerrero on May 4th!

Eight time, five-division world boxing champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather and six time and four-division world champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero will go toe-to-toe at the MGM Grand in Vegas in what’s dubbed “May Day: Mayweather vs. Guerrero.”

Enjoy the fight on the big screens w/great food, great company and terrific drinks. Check out the happy hour specials:

$5.00 Mojitos / Caipirinhas / Margaritas

$5.00 Well Drinks / Red & White Wines and Sangria

$24 Pitchers (Sangria, Mojitos, Margaritas, Caipirinhas)

$3 Beers

Cielo Bar is located at 476 Myrtle Avenue. Give Cielo a call for more info:(347) 529-4143, but best thing — stop by!

2 drink minimum

Bike the Branches, Saturday, May 11th

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On Saturday, May 11th, the Brooklyn Public Library invites you to Bike the Branches! This fun and rewarding one-day bike ride gives you a chance to choose your own route to experience Brooklyn’s diversity (‘Along the Waterfront’, ‘Brooklyn in the Movies’, ‘Architectural History’, ‘Brooklyn Eats’ and ‘Literary Brooklyn’)–and the BPL’s network of 60 branches–all while helping to raise critical funds for the Brooklyn Public Library.

Between 10am and 5pm on the day of the ride, get your official “passport” stamped at the branches you visit, and then enjoy Central Library’s Finish Line Celebration from 5pm to 7pm at Grand Army Plaza. You can sign up to ride (or walk or run!) as an individual or with friends, family or co-workers, and ask your community to pledge their support by sponsoring your ride.

Choose your route, visit the BPL branches and explore the borough in a new way!

Click here to register today!

An Evening with Mark Bittman, New York Times Food and Opinion Writer

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All are invited to this exciting event and opportunity to support the Brooklyn Food Coalition (BFC).

Mark Bittman, New York Times Food & Opinion writer, will speak on “The Future of Food” and will address how we can eat for the health of our bodies and the planet.

All Proceeds go to support the Brooklyn Food Coalition: Working Toward A Healthy, Just, and Sustainable Food System For All!
– General Admin tickets are $20
– Limited amount of student tickets for $10
– VIP Dinner & talk for $175 includes: a 4-course meal, wine, a signed copy of Mr. Bittman’s new book “VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 p.m. to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health…For Food”, and entry to the talk

Purchase your tickets here.

Where: Long Island University in Downtown Brooklyn
Arnold and Marie Schwartz Athletic Center
1 University Plaza (DeKalb and Flatbush Avenues)

When: April 30th

Time: 6PM

Need more info? Visit the BFC website here.

Join Us For a Free Jane’s Walk in Wallabout this Saturday!

Jane's Walk Header

Enjoy the neighborhood this weekend by participating in a Jane’s Walk through the historic Wallabout neighborhood! Jane’s Walk, founded on the principles of urbanist and author Jane Jacobs, offers an opportunity for locals to get together to meet, share, learn about and appreciate their neighborhood. The Wallabout walk will be one of more than 100 offered around the city on the weekend of May 4-5.

The Wallabout walk will begin at 12:00 at the Prison Ship Martyrs’ Monument in Fort Greene Park and end in front of 99 Ryerson Street. No registration is required.

The walk will explore the Wallabout neighborhood, located in northern Brooklyn near the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and discuss its 380+ year history as a community. The walk will lead past neighborhood landmarks and explore how these places, and the famous residents associated with them, represent the community’s social development over the centuries. The stories will discuss the area’s first European settlers, its role in the Revolutionary War, the area’s 19th century industrialization, famous residents such as Walt Whitman, and the neighborhood’s decline and how these past events and people have defined the revitalized neighborhood we see today.

Find more info on The Municipal Art Society’s website.

You are in good hands at Clinton Hill Animal Clinic!

dog breath

Dog breath? Yeah, seriously, check that dog breath! Dr. Dendtler and Dr. Johnson share that it can be an oral health problem. Pet owners, have you checked out Clinton Hill Animal Clinic? Dr. Dendtler and Dr. Johnson have 30+ years of knowledge and experience.

Whether in need of wellness exams and vaccines, diagnostic testing, blood analysis, urinalysis, fecal exams; surgery (soft tissue and orthopedic), allergy testing; digital x-rays and sonogram service, intravenous fluid therapy; domestic and international travel certificates (USDA), spay, neuter and declaw; cat boarding, arthritis management, anesthesia and vital signs monitoring or a whole lot more, please give them a call.

Clinton Hill Animal Clinic is located at 476 Myrtle Avenue and can be reached at 718.623.3999.

Family fun at P.S. 20 tonight, Friday, 4/26 at 6:30pm!

Prince Achmed

P.S. 20 offers family fun tonight! The $3 admissions gets you popcorn, pizza, soft drinks, a historic 1926 animated film and a parent’s creativity! Stop in the check out Prince Achmed, a silent film with live piano music by Ursel Schlicht tonight, Friday, April 26th, starting at 6:30pm.

The adventures of Prince Achmed is a film by Lotte Reiniger, inspired by tales from “One Thousand and One Nights.” Prince Achmed is the oldest surviving animated feature film (1926). Filmmaker Lotte Reiniger invented a silhouette animation technique similar to shadow puppets. PS20 parent Ursel Schlicht creates an improvised soundscape using objects on the inside of the piano, inspired by both the cardboard techniques Reiniger used for the film and the magical surreal scenes of the movie.

P.S. 20 is located at 225 Adelphi Street, just off of Willoughby.

Young Writers Present at BLDG 92 for National Poetry Month, Sat., 4/27

Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month. Tomorrow, Saturday, April 27th from 3:00pm to 4:00pm is a local celebration, stop in and check it out.

BLDG 92 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard presents ‘Finding Your Voice: Young Writers Celebrating Freedom.’ Enjoy a reading of new poetry and prose by talented young writers, ages 7 thru college (Keanu Stowe, Ardelle Stowe, Iyanu Miller, Najaya Royal, Aliah Gilkes, Jaya Samuel, Keredin Samuel, Jamila Wright), mentored by Angeli Rasbury. This public program is supported by The Walt Whitman Project.

Light refreshments.

Free admission.

Zaytoons Restaurant Goodness, Yum!

falafel sandwich2

Yummm, just had a falafel sandwich for a late lunch at Zaytoons Restaurant, 472 Myrtle Avenue. Looks like NearSay is on the same page–in today’s article on Zaytoons they ask if you know what falafel is. Our answer is a resounding–yes! Those warm, flavorful, filling pillows of chickpeas on a freshly-made pita, with tahini and wonderful veggies and spices. Oh yeah!

Don’t forget to check out Zaytoons upcoming event, the Magic of Belly Dance dinner and performance on April 28th!

Zaytoons is located at 472 Myrtle Avenue between Washington Avenue and Hall Street. Please call (718) 623-5522 for details.

 

Cookie Decorating Contest and Local School Fundraiser at Le Petit Bakery

Le Petit Bakery_Cookie Contest Flier

Calling all kid artists and cookie lovers! Le Petit Bakery at 354 Myrtle Avenue is holding a cookie decorating contest on Sunday, May 5th. Please sign up in advance at Le Petit Bakery (by April 27th) so that they are able to prepare supplies for you! The cookie decorating contest will take place between 1pm and 3pm. Okay, more of the details:

For who?

Grades 1-2: contest is 1pm-2pm

Grades 3-4: contest is 2pm-3pm

*Judging will take place after each time slot.

How to participate:

The cost to enter is $10 (in advance) or $12 (at the door/day of event). 25% of proceeds will go towards supporting Arts & Letters Academy)

Prizes:

1st prize: winning cookie will be duplicated and sold at the bakery

2nd prize: $10 gift card

3rd prize: $5 gift card

Le Petit Bakery is located at 354 Myrtle Avenue between Adelphi and Carlton. Please call 718.875.6500 for additional information.

Citi Bike Share Info Meeting, 4/24

Bike Share Flyer_April 24

Come out and get information and ask questions on the Citi Bike Share Program.

When: Meeting is Wednesday, April 24th from 6:30pm to 8:30pm.

Where: Benjamin Banneker Academy, 71-77 Clinton Avenue.

Please call Alfred Chiodo at Council Member Tish James office for more information.

An Evening with Mark Bittman, New York Times Food and Opinion Writer

bittmanFinal_letter_c_03-resize1

All are invited to this exciting event and opportunity to support the Brooklyn Food Coalition (BFC).

Mark Bittman, New York Times Food & Opinion writer, will speak on “The Future of Food” and will address how we can eat for the health of our bodies and the planet.

All Proceeds go to support the Brooklyn Food Coalition: Working Toward A Healthy, Just, and Sustainable Food System For All!
– General Admin tickets are $20
– Limited amount of student tickets for $10
– VIP Dinner & talk for $175 includes: a 4-course meal, wine, a signed copy of Mr. Bittman’s new book “VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 p.m. to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health…For F…”, and entry to the talk

Purchase your tickets here.

Where: Long Island University in Downtown Brooklyn
Arnold and Marie Schwartz Athletic Center
1 University Plaza (DeKalb and Flatbush Avenues)

When: April 30th

Time: 6PM

Need more info? Visit the BFC website here.

Call crimestoppers if you have any info on missing teen, Tiffany Ortiz.

tiffany

From Fort Greene Patch:

Tiffany Ortiz was last seen at approximately 8:30 a.m. at a home on Saint Edwards Street near Park Avenue on April 20th. Police are asking for the public’s help in finding a 13-year-old girl who went missing Saturday morning in Fort Greene. Ortiz stands 5-feet-tall, weighs 90 pounds and has short black hair.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto Crime Stoppers’ website atwww.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to CRIMES (274637), then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

Photo Credit: NYPD

The People’s Hollywood 411 Service Directory: small businesses, filmmakers, musicians, take a look!

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Trayce Gardner, founder and executive director of the Brooklyn Young Filmmakers Center (BYFC) has created what she calls the ‘People’s Hollywood.’

The People’s Hollywood project connects small grassroots film productions (mostly short films or web series episodes with budgets under $5000) with locations (especially small business locales), crew, and allied artists (music and other art) to help with both production and marketing.

BYFC is in the process of creating a directory to match filmmakers, allied artists and locales (business owners). If you are an interested filmmaker, musician, artist or small business located in Fort Greene or Clinton Hill (Fort Greene and Clinton Hill small businesses are the pilot group for now), please take a moment to complete the following surveyif you interested in directory inclusion. Also, take a moment to view the videos on participating small businesses, including three located on Myrtle Avenue businesses (Omar from Falafel House, Janet from Kappella’s Salon, Mark from Mark’s Gourmet Burgers).

Please email or call Brooklyn Young Filmmakers Center at service@wearebyfc.org and 718.935.0490 for further information.

Clinton Hill design stars in today’s New York Times! Congrats Teman and Teran!

Teran Evans

So great to see interior and jewelry designers, Teman and Teran Evans in today’s New York Times! The 6 foot-plus, Harvard grad school-educated identical twins are featured in an article in the newspaper’s ‘Great Homes and Destinations section’ titled, ‘I’ll Be Your Mirror.’ The article discusses their design aesthetic and experience of living together since the womb.

We’ve been fans of theirs since they were on HGTV’s Design Star. And we thank them for being BIG supporters of shopping local Fort Greene and Clinton Hill. LOVE running into them at the post office and Ruthie’s and Clinton Hill Hardware and Thai 101 and The Polish Bar of Brooklyn…you get the idea.

Congrats Teran and Teman!

Earth Day Celebration at Green in BKLYN

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Celebrate Earth Day this SUNDAY, APRIL 22 with Green in BKLYN located at 432 Myrtle Ave!

EARTH DAY SCHEDULE:
•12-1:00pm: Spoonable Saucy Caramel & Brooklyn Roasting Company Coffee
A taste of Spoonable’s saucy caramel and a cuppa joe from the Brooklyn Roasting Company and you’re tasting the best of both while supporting local businesses. Wake up! Time to eat local!

•1:30-2:30pm: Fresh Fanatic
Fresh Fanatic, the all natural, local and organic market and cafe samples an array of fresh deserts and dips made in-house plus tasty cheeses and sandwich platters. All from Mother Earth!

•3:00-4:00pm: Myrtle Eats Fresh
Myrtle Eats Fresh will share recipes, talk local foods & hand out samples of treats from local farms and folks. Grow and eat)local!

• 4:30-5:30pm: Super Foxy Sweets Vegan Fudge & Raaka Virgin Chocolate
Raaka Chocolates and Super Foxy Sweets will be handing out their locally made virgin chocolate & vegan fudge. A sweet little celebration of local treats & sweet Mama Earth!

• All Day: Pick a Prize…
Spend $43 or more (for Earth Day’s 43nd year) and be entered in our raffle for awesome eco-friendly treasures – foods & other treasures from our treasured earth!

“We hope you’ll join us for some (or all) of the fun on Earth Day. We love Earth Day, we love being here & we love you!” – Elissa @ Green in BKLYN.

Visit the store online at www.greeninbklyn.com

TONIGHT!! 35th District City Council Forum & Voter Registration Drive

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The Ingersoll Resident Association, in partnership with the Walt Whitman and Farragut Resident Associations, will host a City Council Forum & Voter Registration TONIGHT, Thursday, April 18th at the Ingersoll Community center located at 177 Myrtle Ave. Voter registration begins at 6:30PM and panel discussion with City Council candidates at 7PM. All are welcome!

Supermarkets as common spaces for all people — Judith Fourny at Gnarly Vines!

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Paris-born, Brooklyn-based artist, gilder and curator, Judith Fourny, had supermarkets heavily on her mind over a year ago when she approached Associated Supermarket on Myrtle Avenue between Washington Avenue and Hall Street about the use of their discarded sales posters.

“I love the fact that supermarkets are a common space for all people. They are a common space for everyone, regardless of socio-economic status or culture. They serve all of our basic needs. It is a destination for all of us,” shared Judith.

In an untitled photographic series which includes thirty 18″ x 24″ posters, Judith takes photos of people in front of supermarket posters.

Click here for Judith’s website. Judith works out of her Brooklyn Navy Yard studio. The artist says she has “always been inspired by the beauty in human relationships” and uses art as a medium to reveal their hidden brilliance.

Judith’s series of posters will be up through May 5th at Gnarly Vines, 350 Myrtle Avenue between Carlton and Adelphi.

Water Towers Photo Exhibit at The Joint on Myrtle, opening on Sat., 4/20!

Have you caught the new artwork up at The Joint on Myrtle yet? Stop in and check it out!

Author and photographer, Ronnie Farley, exhibits some of her most recent work, ‘New York Water Towers.’

The art opening, a garden party and soiree, will take place Saturday, April 20th from 6pm-10pm at The Joint on Myrtle (471 Myrtle Avenue between Washington Avenue and Hall Street). Stop by to celebrate the arrival of Spring and Ronnie’s artwork.

 

Joint the_watertower_art show

Here’s more about the exhibit from Ronnie:

New York Water Towers is a twenty-year project documenting New York City’s water tanks, to be published as a monograph this year. Through photographs and informational text, this body of work examines the relationship between the built-up environment of urban people and their vital water supply.

Water towers are contemporary relics containing a sacred substance, “the elixir of life,” hidden in plain view amongst the brick, mortar and steel of man’s creation. The more these gentle giants become hemmed in and disappear from view, replaced by a higher and higher skyline, we lose one visual reminder of a connection to the natural world and the delicate balance of our existence.

In a city teeming with human life and activity, these water towers are the umbilical cord to our survival. It is my intent with this work to inspire a more visceral approach to water, away from commoditization for industrial expansion and urban growth, towards understanding it as a key life-support for all living things on Earth.

Park Avenue Update: Daylighting Approved for 7 Locations

DOT approved our request to install “daylighting” regulations at seven locations on Park Avenue!

Parked cars near the approach of an intersection can obstruct the visibility of drivers and pedestrians crossing that intersection. Daylighting is a safety measure where parking is restricted within 20-30 feet of the approach to an intersection, allowing drivers and pedestrians a better field of vision. Daylighting can improve safety for both pedestrians and drivers alike.

Following are the locations where DOT will install “no standing” regulations within the next 90 days: Westbound Park Avenue at the approach to North Oxford Street; Eastbound Park Avenue at the approach to Waverly Avenue; Westbound Park Avenue at the approach to Waverly Avenue; Eastbound Park Avenue at the approach to Ryerson Street; Westbound Park Avenue at the approach to Grand Avenue; Eastbound Park Avenue at the approach to Grand Avenue; Eastbound Park Avenue at the approach to Steuben Street.

The Park Avenue Safety Plan was published in the summer of 2012, after a multi-year community-led effort. Stay tuned for more updates…

Day ‘n Night Gourmet Grocery Store opens at 480 Myrtle Avenue!

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Day ‘n Night Gourmet Grocery store is open for business! After a long wait and build-out, the commercial life returned to the 480 Myrtle Avenue storefront this past Saturday.

Stop in and shop! Say hello to Billo(who formerly owned the 99 cent store at the same location) and his business partners in this new venture.

The store carries a wide variety of groceries, milk, eggs, bread and cheese, gourmet popcorn, chips and other snacks and soft drinks. Additionally, the store includes a salad bar, a fresh juice bar and fresh fruit smoothies section, a sandwich section (bread, rolls, heros, bagels, wraps), lottery and so much more, stop in! What more is in store? Backyard seating and fresh produce selection in front. Local college students gets 10% off with ID.

Visa, MasterCard and EBT payments welcome. Free delivery (w/minimum $10 purchase).

Day ‘n Night Gourmet Grocery is located at 480 Myrtle Avenue, near Hall Street. Call 718.230.4516 for further detail.

Nikki’s Beauty Supply store having huge sale, closing

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Nikki’s Beauty Supply Store at 510 Myrtle between Ryerson and Grand is having a huge sale, 30% off everything in the store. Hair pins, rollers, makeup, hair colorings, blow dryers, tweezers, shampoos and conditioners…Nexus, Aveda, Biolage, Infusium, Miss Jessies, Paul Mitchell, Joico–everything must go.

Nikki’s is located in the lot (which also includes Associated Supermarket) slated for construction/redevelopment. All of the businesses located in this lot must relocate by the end of the month.

Please call Nikki’s for more detail: 718.789.6374.