Free Williamsburg

The Williamsburg Brooklyn-based culture guide to New York and beyond.

De Blasio signed bill to create Office of Nightlife on Tuesday at House of Yes

By

Finally, smaller DIY venues in New York will receive some support from the city. Tuesday night at House of Yes,  Mayor de Blasio signed a bill that will create a Nightlife Office for the city with its own Nightlife Mayor and a 12-member committee. Marky Ramone and jazz bassist Ron Carter where in attendance to show their […]

“Office of Nightlife” taskforce run by a “Night Mayor” may lend a hand to NY’s DIY scene

By

We’re all tired of lamenting the closures of our favorite DIY venues. Shea Stadium. Aviv. Don Pedro. DBA. And the list goes on. Thankfully, Bushwick’s cool councildude Rafael Espinal is working to create a task force to help DIY spaces and smaller venues thrive: The bill introduced Thursday by City Councilman Rafael Espinal would create […]

Bushwick Inlet Park will finally be completed

By

The mayor’s office announced that the 12-year promise to complete Bushwick Inlet Park, made initially by former mayor Bloomberg, will finally be fulfilled. The land, costing the city $160 million, was purchased from developer Norman Brodsky who would not give it up until he got a “good” price for it (he was initially offered $100 million […]

Sunset Park-to-Queens streetcar plans deliver excitement and concerns

By

At a meeting on Wednesday addressing the Brooklyn-Queens Connector (aka the de Blasio Streetcar) Councilman Antonio Reynoso proposed Bedford Ave be closed to traffic to encourage more visitors to the area. (Not that we need any more.) The bustling thoroughfare Bedford Avenue could be turned into a pedestrian plaza and a right-of-way for the proposed […]

Times says Bushwick Inlet Park could cost another half billion in "ransom" money

By

Better late than never, the Times has finally tackled the Bushwick Inlet Park controversy. Adding up the numbers, they write that the city — which has already spent $225 million on the park — is a “textbook study in civic entropy and how public developments go awry.” And $225 million is just the beginning. The […]

Forget the park we were promised…. suspicious CitiStorage fire site to be sold to developers

By

This is not a huge surprise — money talks in this town. But still, fuck this guy and the bureaucrats who will let it happen. A partnership between the real estate investment groups Midtown Equities and East End Capital has secured an option to purchase the most closely watched development site in Brooklyn, according to […]

Nearly one hundred sites including Green-Wood Cemetery could lose their landmark preservation status without public hearings

By

Of course, this is just confirmation that developers call the shots in New York these days. We’ve already lost The Domino Sugar factory to the whims (and wallets) of Two Trees. Green-Wood Cemetery and Long Island City’s iconic Pepsi sign could be next: The Landmarks Preservation Commission plans to remove almost 100 sites and two historic districts […]

Mayor's office gets additional affordable housing for Domino despite Two Trees’ "skillfully framed" PR campaign

By

From a press release sent by the mayor’s office: [Two Trees] will provide an additional 110,000 square feet of affordable housing as part of the project, for a total of 537,000 square feet of affordable housing. The proposal will create 700 affordable apartments covering a range of incomes, including a significant number of units sized […]

Big baby Jed Walentas — who's Daddy built DUMBO — threatens to revert to hated Domino Sugar plan

By

Turns out Jed doesn’t like de Blasio’s insistence on creating more affordable housing in Williamsburg. Like any pampered man-child, he’s decided to throw a temper tantrum should his Domino Sugar rezoning requests fail to be approved: The mayor’s administration is insisting that the developer add even more space for affordable housing and, as a result, […]