The Week

June 15

I could start this week’s newsletter with an mawkish essay about how John Starks, a Tulsa kid that bounced between junior colleges and bagged groceries, ending up as the heart of the toughest team with the coolest coach in the NBA cinched me as a childhood Knicks fan from 1,300 miles away during the height of the Michael Jordan era¹.

I could write about every player on this Knicks team having a moment you can point to in these playoffs—something that would not have happened under last year’s coach— a magical team title run punctuated by Jalen Brunson putting an entire city on his back and then collapsing into his father’s arms after the final whistle².

Instead, I simply ask that someone make a high-quality version of this shirt:

Neighborhood Stuff

• Yard Bar update. I got curious as to why they had to close so suddenly. I went so far as to ask someone who definitely knows, and they didn’t want to chat about it. Fine. I got more curious. Here’s a map of who owns what over there:

  

  Graphic design is MY PASSION.

  Not exactly rocket science to come up with a substantial footprint. Three of these colors represent real estate development and investment companies. One represents a controversial Brooklyn landlord and real estate investor. One is a successful restaurateur in Fort Lauderdale. One is a bike. If you run a business on that endcap, I wouldn’t count on your lease being renewed.

• We had another excellent trip to Sushi Koju last Wednesday. For those who spend time out in the Hamptons, Chef Kevin is going to be at the Maidstone Hotel in East Hampton for four seatings across July and August. Glad they’re getting the recognition they deserve, heads up The Hamptons Chronicle.

• Elijah Wood agrees with the Bulletin that the new ordering system for the Alamo Drafthouse sucks. I hope no one tells him (or Blank Check) about the extremely corny “AI-powered experience” they’re hosting that smacks of a CD-ROM choose-your-own-adventure from 1996³.

  

• Shout out to the reader who called the Whole Foods moving into the old Rite Aid on Smith several months ago. I forgot who that was and sorry for never following up, all my DoB inquiries have been dedicated to my own now very-delayed renovation project⁴.

• A city tool kit for local businesses wanting more World Cup exposure can be found here.

  

• Unsolicited Recommendation Corner:

  • Ali Slagle’s cookbook I Dream of Dinner. Low-effort recipes that don’t use a ton of different pots and pans. Whole sections that don’t require turning on the oven. Fast summer meals that clean up quick.

  • Take the Palisades or the Taconic Parkway north whenever possible instead of whatever combination of 87/287/95. If the difference is less than 30 minutes, just do it. If I wore a whoop or an Apple watch while driving I’d be able to supply hard data to support this.

  • Slide into Goodwill or the Salvation Army⁵ every once in a while. I picked up a 1976 copy of Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War, coffee mugs from Russ & Daughters and Micro Center (lol), and a Russian Learner’s Dictionary (is duolingo useless or just me) for about $10 total the other day. The Salvation Army on Atlantic also has this for a Rangers fan in your life with a large gap on their office wall:

    

    Pardon the awful fluorescent bulb reflection, unavoidable.

Fun Stuff

• You can finally get your free tickets for the adidas World Cup Fan Zone at Brooklyn Bridge Park, but tickets are released at noon only for the next day’s event and they go fast.

• Parade on Thursday.

• Free watch parties courtesy of Sound+Fury on Tuesday for France v. Senegal and Norway v. Iraq at Brooklyn Commons park downtown.

• Also at Brooklyn Commons, Kids’ Soccer Village and Watch Party on Wednesday from 3:30-6:00PM. England v. Croatia on the big screen.

• Mosey on down to Prospect Park and catch a Celebrate Brooklyn show over in the bandshell.

• You missed your chance to buy the chair that #1 Knicks fan Taylor Swift sat in while rooting against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. Maybe you can contact the buyer and beat seven grand. For a sat-in chair. h/t to Hell Gate.

• If you’re having trouble tracking down an ice cream truck, head over to Pierrepont Playground in Brooklyn Heights. Maybe ice cream guys should be consulting on this socioeconomic behavior modeling project that NYU and the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership are working on.

• A really fun thing to do is email some upcoming events or items of interest to Boerumbulletin@gmail.com in advance of my upcoming vacation so this doesn’t turn into a travelogue or journal entry.

Civic Stuff

• It’s hot. Energy bills are high. Federal cuts are impacting everything and food pantry visits in the city are up 87% compared to pre-pandemic numbers. Here are some area spots where you can volunteer or donate:

  • The Community Dinner (volunteers prepare and serve a free meal to whoever wants one). 110 Schermerhorn; august.magiera.guy@gmail.com and on follow on instagram

  • Next Step Community Church. 360 Schermerhorn; info@nextstepcc.org

  • The Farragut Pantry. 201 Gold; info@onecommunitynyc.org

  • Vinegar Hill Food Pantry. 228 York; Vinegarhillfoodpantry@gmail.com

• Atlantic Yards 101 at the Central library on Grand Army Plaza. Tuesday from 6:30-8:00pm. As a new development team negotiates major changes with the State this info session will review the project’s history, public benefits, approval process, timeline, and what the future holds. You can also skim the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report (Substack).

• Early voting has begun, find your polling location here.

  

Transit Stuff

• No overnight G train between Bedford/Nostrand and Court Square. Monday to Friday, 9:45 PM to 5:00 AM

• Tradition: no G this weekend between Bedford/Nostrand and Court Square. Starting Friday at 9:45 PM and out until Mon 5:00 AM.

• Monday to Wednesday, 11:30 PM to 5:00 AM, no overnight 2 between Chambers and Atlantic/Barclays.

• Wednesday to Friday, 11:45 PM to 5:00 AM, no overnight 3.

• The 2 will be running slow on Sunday morning from 7:45 to 10:00AM.

This would do numbers on a vibey instagram page. My dog is taking a dump just out of frame.

tfw the renovation is two months behind schedule

Someone, do something with this stone.

Gonna go full tourist soon and walk around the cupola at The Dink

1. Asking a guy which athletes and teams they like and why is 100x more accurate of a personality test than Myers-Briggs or astrology. Which tells you more: ENTP; Virgo; as a 10 year old loved dirty-work power forwards e.g. Charles Oakley, Horace Grant, Larry Johnson.

2. It is, in fact, a little dusty in here.

3. I don’t respond well to copy/pasted pitches written by LLMs. I also don’t have a media kit. If you really want to advertise something in this newsletter, I’m not going to do your job for you.

4. When it’s done and dusted, I will put out a List of Guys we’ve worked with on this, and unless Architectural Digest wants to do a spread I’ll include pictures. It will be behind a paywall, for purposes of privacy and brutal honesty.

5. I know, I know. They’re deeply retrograde and run by a bunch of weirdos playing soldier. At least they’re a registered 501c3 non-profit organization. The same can’t be said for every neighborhood org you might think is a charity 👀👀

This is an active donation link on a website