Author: George Fiala

ASPCA building
Land Use, Real Estate

Five historic Gowanus sites could become landmarks before rezoning

For the first time in the face of a proposed city-initiated rezoning, strategic advocacy by the Gowanus Landmarking Coalition – comprised of grassroots, neighborhood and citywide advocates – has led to the proposed calendaring of a set of neighborhood landmarks, prior to the proposed rezoning. “We view this as a great first step by the Landmarks Preservation Commission,” said Gowanus […]

Uncategorized

Cause for sainthood of a former Bed-Stuy priest goes to the Vatican

On June 18, the Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn, accepted the Cause for Canonization of Monsignor Bernard John Quinn. Msgr. Quinn, a champion for racial equality, established the first church for African American Catholics – St. Peter Claver Roman Catholic Church – in Bedford Stuyvesant in 1922. In 1928, Msgr. Quinn established the first orphanage for African American […]

Kids

NYC families and elected officials rally for smaller classes at City Hall

School may be out for the summer, but that doesn’t mean it still isn’t on people’s minds. A large group of parents, students, teachers, advocates and elected officials stood on the steps of City Hall on June 11, demanding smaller class sizes for an hour. They also urged the Department of Education (DOE) and Mayor Bill de Blasio to allocate […]

Bike lane in New York City
Transportation

Uber Pilots In-App Bike Lane Alerts

Uber announced last month that it’s piloting a new, in-app safety feature using publicly available mapping data in three select U.S. cities, including New York. The feature pinpoints where bike lanes and shared roads are in the city, and will encourage Uber drivers to safely coordinate pick-ups and drop-offs away from bike lanes. Riders will receive a push notification informing […]

A small child enjoys playing in a loading bucket at the Touch a Truck Fundraiser
Kids, Transportation

PS 295’s Annual Touch-A-Truck Fundraiser is a wheel success

Families from PS 295 and the South Slope area had the chance to explore and sit behind the wheels of more than 15 special vehicles at the school’s 9th annual Touch-A-Truck fundraiser. The vehicles lined up on 18th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues, this year included an FDNY fire truck, NYPD smart car and van, PSVAC ambulance, DOS garbage […]

Gowanus Canal

EPA and Velazquez talk Canal

Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and the EPA provided updates regarding the Gowanus Canal cleanup at a 2019 Public Superfund Town Hall held May 29. The last town hall meeting, also hosted by the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group (CAG), took place in Nov. 2017. Velázquez spoke first. “The Gowanus Canal is a high-profile Superfund site … because of all of you […]

Adams and NYU Langone Health -volunteers stand in front of a Langone sign. Photo by eGregorio
Sunset Park

Langone opens food pantry

The Family Health Centers at NYU Langone has debuted a new grocery store-like food pantry, called “The Table,” in Sunset Park. This comprehensive program provides a new nutritional resource by offering a diverse variety of food to local residents at no cost. “We were surprised to learn from our screening survey that one in three families in our community ran […]

People dance on Littlefield's Dance floor
Music, Neighborhood Profile

Littlefield celebrates ten years

Littlefield, the performance space located at 635 Sackett St. in Gowanus, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary with a week-and-a-half-long festival that featured live music, comedy shows and dance parties. “We couldn’t fit all our history and programing into one week; there were so many people we wanted to work with,” said co-owner Julie Kim. “We hoped we covered all the […]

Noah Anderson and Katie Wilmorth in a promotional photo for Romeo and Juliet
Carroll Gardens, Theater

Smith Street Stage celebrates a decade of theater in Carroll Gardens

Smith Street Stage (SSS) has produced free Shakespeare at Carroll Park for 10 years. Starting with a five-actor adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, the company always looks for new ways to tell classic stories, making their productions deeply meaningful and easily accessible. Since that inaugural production, SSS has grown to more than 40 artists each year, performing for thousands of […]