on the walk home, originally uploaded by sixeight. Gowanus Lounged is biased, but we are not the ones that have named the Gowanus a “romantic symbol,” which is a designation with which we wholeheartedly concur. No, the title has been bestowed by the Brooklyn Downtown Star and the Greenpoint Star, which have published a rocking […]

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Behold the J Condo in Dumbo, which will top out at 33 stories. It’s now around 25 stories and looking a little on the tall side from ground level. That’s the Beacon Tower–which briefly held the title of Dumbo’s Tallest Building–on the right.

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Anybody who shops for cameras online knows that there are an inordinate number based in Brooklyn that advertise impossibly low prices on equipment. The game is that to get the ridiculously low price on, say, the Nikon D70, you have to buy outrageously priced packages of “accessories.” Not buying the accessories often means not getting […]

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When the switch is thrown and the Parachute Jump–Brooklyn’s Eiffel Tower, if you will–lights up tonight, it will mark another chapter in the long and storied life of a structure that has been through good times and bad. The Parachute Jump was built for the 1939-40 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows and the Fair’s guidebook […]

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The Empty Vessel Project–the revived WWII rescue boat being converted to community use on the Gowanus–celebrates its first birthday on Saturday with a party on the Big G that is certain to rock. The boat is docked on the west side of the canal at the foot of First Street, one block south of Carroll […]

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Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related blog entries and news stories. The photo above is a detail of an old street mural in Williamsburg, on North Seventh Street, between Kent Avenue and the East River: Light the Parachute [coneyislandshortcakes] Landmark Parachute Jump to be Lit Up Friday Night [NY1] Stars, Art Brut Head Up […]

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The city’s long promised effort to bring wi-fi to city parks is moving in fits and starts. Two of the wireless hotspots promised by the end of August will be in Prospect Park, at the Picnic House and the Boat House, as noted on the map above. All told, there should be 18 operational hotspots […]

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There’s a new spot opening in Park Slope on Sunday, July 9. It’s called Union Hall and it’s located at 702 Union, above Fifth Avenue. The owner’s myspace blog says they’re opening around 6 and describes Union Hall as “a brand-spankin’ new bar, located in lovely Park Slope, Brooklyn. you’ll find me just off 5th […]

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It’s a short week, but there’s no lack of activity to report in the ongoing War for the Hearts and Minds of Brooklynites over Atlantic Yards. First, No Land Grab reports that the Park Slope Food Coop will be screening an 18-minute short film called “A Walk Through the Footprint” on Friday (July 7) at […]

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Gowanus Lounge was interested to find an article in the NY Times about the Thor Equities $1 billion Coney renovation plan. The story contained several interesting nuggets hinting at the shape of the redevelopment plan. The plan’s focus is the blocks south of Surf Avenue from 12th to 15th Streets. Some of the area is […]

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The third and final issue of the Brooklynite, which has folded, is currently online and has some interesting Brooklyn stories worth a look, as did its first two print issues. It saddens us that Brooklynite couldn’t make a go of it, but reminds us that publishing real, paper magazines is a tough business. The NY […]

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Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related news stories and blog entries. (The photo above is the 2006 version of the Giglio on Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg, photographed on July 3): Suitcases: Story of Park Slope Bomb Scare [OTBKB] Weekly Food and Drink Roundup [Bklyn Record] Latest Brooklyn Boom: Failure of Glossy Magazines [NYSun] Cleansed […]

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In the It Must Have Been a Wild Fourth of July category, Curbed got and posted the following e-mail that went out to residents of an undisclosed Prospect Heights condo today: Residents and their guests are not allowed to engage in sexual acts on the roof or in any other area outside of the privacy […]

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Hats off to Brownstoner for breaking the (depressing) news that one of our favorite Gowanus businesses, the Gowanus Nursery may get kicked out of its home because of land sale. Writes Brownstoner, who has adorned his garden with Gowanus Nursery greenery: The bloom is off the rose at 102 3rd Street. From what we hear, […]

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Last week, we noted the cool blog created by the proprietors of the Coney Island Shortcakes Stand that opened in May in front of Cha Cha’s on the boardwalk. Today, after going to Coney to sample one of their shortcakes (tough job, that), we have the review. In a word: Excellent. They are the perfect […]

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Brooklinks is a selection of Brooklyn-related blog items and news stories. The photo above is, of course, last night’s fireworks over the East River below the Brooklyn Bridge: Live Blogging the Coney Hot Dog Eating Contest [Gothamist]Coney Island on Comeback Trail [Asbury Park Press]At Coney Island Freaky Side Still Shows [LATimes]Down by the Boardwalk, a […]

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Gowanus Lounge’s favorite New York feast, the Giglio Festival at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church on Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg kicks off tomorrow night (July 6) at 7PM. It runs for two week through July 16. Even though GL got terribly suckered at one of the, um, games of chance at the Giglio Feast […]

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We admit that we’re a bit overly focused on what could happen to Brooklyn, and all of New York City, in a hurricane. But did you look closely at the Office of Emergency Management‘s hurricane evacuation map when the revised version came out last week? If you did, you will have noticed exactly how much […]

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Brooklinks is a daily selection of Brooklyn-related news stories and blog items, today also advancing prayers that thunderstorms stay away from us during the fireworks tonight: Where the Muskets Once Roared (Old Stone House, P. Slope) [NYT] Today is July “Pour” [NYPost] Handicapping Hot Dog Contest [Gothamist] Eat Hot Dogs! [coneyislandshortcakes] July 4 at Coney: […]

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Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

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What to do after you’ve watched people stuff their faces with hotdogs and before the fireworks? Get back on the F Train and get thyself to DUMBO for the Fourth of July DUMBO Block Party. It’s happening from 2pm – dusk on Pearl Street between Front and Water Streets and is billed as an “all […]

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If you’re at all familiar with Coney Island’s history, you’ve seen photos of Coney back in its heyday when it could draw 1.5 million people on July 4. If you’re not inclined to hit Coney today for the famous Eating of the Hot Dogs at Nathan’s (starts at noon, Kobayashi defending his title), we offer […]

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It was hot yesterday, so Gowanus Lounge decided to take it out on the water by hopping on New York Water Taxi and doing the grand tour of Brooklyn and Manhattan from the water, a three-hour tour, give or take. It was especially appealing because of the stop in Red Hook that was added a […]

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Here are a few cool Fourth of July-related links with some useful info and ideas for the Fourth, in case you haven’t already come across them. Fourth of July: Fireworks, Extreme Hot Dogs & Cruises [newyorkology]Fourth of July Guide [7online]Fireworks Viewing Spots [NYDN]Coney Island Pig Out [OTBKB]Fourth of July NYC Guide [About NYC]Vitamin Steve’s Fourth […]

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By now, we know the drill: A major new retailer opens its doors in Brooklyn and–whether its Target in the Atlantic Terminal or Lowe’s in Gowanus or Fairway in Red Hook–a significant part of the population acts as though it is the Second Coming. Gowanus Lounge has seen the Brooklyn New Store Zombie Look before–glazed […]

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