G Runs to Church Avenue Starting Sunday, July 5

And the signs are going up. Now let's pray that the G train will be more frequent!

One more note about Williamsburg Walks this week

At the risk of turning this into a single issue blog...

This Saturday Williamsburg Walks will celebrate Independence Day with street and board games, a barbecue, and more! Come out for volleyball, table tennis, frisbee, or any other (safe, non-disruptive) street game you want to bring. We will also provide tables and chairs perfect for your favorite board game. Just bring games and something for the Southside CSA's barbecue for a great neighborhood Fourth of July Celebration!

If you want to organize a tournament for your favorite game contact Gregor at williamsburgwalks@gmail.com for more information.

We also need volunteers to make the event a success. If you're in town this Saturday, help make a difference in your neighborhood by helping us set up or break down the event this weekend or next weekend. Water, snacks, and a free t-shirt will be provided. Email our volunteer coordinator Rima for more information at karimeh.shamieh@gmail.com.

Special Independence Day Williamsburg Walks, Plus Some Media Love

Read the articles that include mentions about Williamsburg Walks in the New York Times and the NY Post.

Play in the Street with Williamsburg Walks on the Fourth of July

Williamsburg's Bedford Avenue, from North 4th Street to North 9th Street, will be open to pedestrians on July 4th from noon to sunset, as part of a special Independence day Williamsburg Walks.

This Saturday, July 4th, Williamsburg Walks will offer several opportunities to enjoy the holiday weekend and play street games on five car-free city blocks. Come out for volleyball, soccer, and table tennis, or bring your own games as we will be providing tables, chairs, and plenty of street space.

Come to enjoy:

• Art from the Williamsburg Gallery Association;
• Family-oriented fitness classes by the Greenpoint YMCA;
• An old fashioned picnic by the Southside Community-Supported Agriculture;
• Free yoga classes by Yogalilly with the Classical Yoga Lifestyle Institute
• The "civic block" where visitors will learn how to get involved in organizations that contribute to making the neighborhood a better place;
• Numerous unique dinning and shopping experiences.

Williamsburg Walks, initiated by community members and organized this year by Neighbors Allied for Good Growth and The L Magazine, is a temporary pedestrianization of Bedford Avenue intended to create open space and promote community in North Brooklyn.

Williamsburg Walks is held on Saturdays from started on June 6th and will end on July 11th. This year the event has hosted thousands of residents and visitors who enjoyed a car-free Bedford Avenue. More information is at williamsburgwalks.org.

Williamsburg Walks is Saturday

Join us on Bedford tomorrow for Williamsburg Walks. Programming and more information are on the Williamsburg Walks website.

We got a nice shout out from Fox 5's morning program today

Eat REALLY Local

If you need some fresh veggies midweek and don't want to go to the city for the Union Square Greenmarket, but you can't wait for Saturday's McCarren Park Greenmarket, head over to the Automotive High School Farm Stand! The students have been nurturing their garden all year and now the neighborhood can enjoy the harvest--all the money goes to support the garden, the cooking club, and a farm trip for the students. The stand is open Wednesdays from 4–7, in front of the school, on Bedford between North 12th and Lorimer.

Right now they have hydrangea bouquets, garlic scapes, lavender flowers, lots of herbs, and rhubarb. Coming soon: tomatoes, cukes, flowers, onions, potatoes and much much more.

Photo courtesy Jenny Kessler

NAG Supports Updated Kent Avenue Redesign

NAG's Transportation Working Group advocates for safer streets and better/safer transit options in North Brooklyn. The Department of Transportation recently presented its updated redesign plan for Kent Avenue to Community Board 1 (view the presentation here.) The Transportation Working Group responded with the following letter to Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn, expressing our support for the plan and making recommendations for improving pedestrian safety, prioritizing the future Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, and minimizing the potential impacts of a truck traffic reroute.

To volunteer with the NAG Transportation Working Group, please contact transportation@nag-brooklyn.org

Dear Commissioner Sadik-Kahn:

Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (NAG) is a community-based advocacy organization serving North Brooklyn. On behalf of the residents of this neighborhood, we want to thank the Department of Transportation for your efforts to resolve the issues surrounding the redesign of Kent Avenue and let you know that we strongly support the new design.

We appreciate your listening to community suggestions in response to the implementation of the first redesign. We also appreciate your commitment to safe cycling and future realization of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, which will be an asset to our community. We are particularly excited about increased connectivity between Bedford and Kent Avenues and increased safety for cyclists via the floating lanes. We are also pleased to see that the new plan restores loading zones for our local businesses.

However, we still have a few concerns that we would like to address. The foremost of these is pedestrian safety. As you know, Kent Avenue is quickly changing from an industrial to a residential street. In addition, the East River State Park, particularly with its increased programming in the summer months, regularly draws large crowds including families. We need more attention to this increase in pedestrian traffic immediately -- many intersections, such as N. 8th (at the entrance to the park), N. 4th, and N. 14th, would almost certainly qualify for traffic lights now. The community simply cannot wait for another lengthy study -- the danger is already there. We also urge that the final design narrow the crossing distance on Kent for pedestrians as much as possible.

In addition, we request that the DOT replace only the number of parking spaces that will be available upon completion of the greenway, and look into placing planters within the buffer as a preview of the greenway's landscaping.

Finally, as you are aware, there is much concern in the neighborhood about the truck traffic that will be rerouted to Wythe Avenue and North 11th Street. We encourage you to implement traffic calming measures, such as stop signs, traffic lights, neckdowns and/or road diets on these streets, and to maintain open communication with the community during and after the plan's implementation to assess the implications of this rerouting.

We thank you again for your attention to this issue and we look forward to a dialogue with you as this project moves forward.

Sincerely,
Lacey Tauber, Kevin Vincent, Michael Freedman-Schnapp, and Alexandra Sweet
NAG Transportation Working Group

image via Gowanus Lounge

Sign the Pool Petition to Keep McCarren McCarren!

As you may have read, there is a plan going around the Parks Department to sell the naming rights to several New York Park facilities, including McCarren Pool. While the Parks Department keeps saying that the plan is only in the preliminary stages and that McCarren may or may not end up on the "For Sale" list, local pro-pool activist group Poolaid is getting ahead of the game and collecting signatures against the renaming of McCarren Pool. (Poolaid was created by myself and by NAG co-chair Michael Freedman-Schnapp, along with Beka Economopoulos and others).

You can sign the petition online here, or at the NAG table at Williamsburg Walks--on the Nortwest corner or North 7th and Bedford. Below is the Poolaid statement regarding selling the naming rights.


STATEMENT AGAINST
THE RENAMING OF MCCARREN POOL

In 1809 the Parks Department named McCarren Park after Patrick Henry McCarren, a local politician responsible for many of the parks and green spaces in Greenpoint and Williamsburg. In 2009, the centennial year of McCarren’s death, the Parks Department wants take that name back by selling the naming rights to McCarren Pool.

It’s a terrible idea. Here’s why.

• North Brooklyn has fought for years to get MCCARREN pool reopened. We didn’t fight to for the right to swim in AT&T pool, AmEx pool, or any pool but McCarren Pool.

• McCarren Pool is already paid for, by taxpayers. The pool was built with taxpayer money and is being renovated with taxpayer money. The corporation would be contributing nothing to our community, but gaining great benefits. Other things in other parks, like Wollman Rink, are named for their *benefactors*, for those who donated the money for the facility. McCarren is already named for its benefactor, Patrick Henry McCarren.

• McCarren Pool is famous because of our local promoters, our local bands, and our citizens. It was longtime residents like Jelly NYC and bands like TV on the Radio who made McCarren into a premier destination, written up in national magazines, not some multinational corporation.

• Patrick Henry McCarren is an important part of local history. He is responsible for many of the parks we have today, and for the building of the WIlliamsburg Bridge. He also had ties to the sugar industry and the Havemeyer family, who owned Domino Sugar. Greenpoint and Williamsburg are undergoing extraordinary changes—every day, physically, we see our history going away. Patrick Henry McCarren, with his connections to local landmarks and local history, should be used as a teaching tool, not be erased from the pool that bears his name.

• Greenpoint and Williamsburg have already gotten a raw deal from Parks. We haven’t gotten the parks we were promised in the rezoning. The waterfront is still fenced off. It is wrong to sell the open space we do have, that we fought for, to a corporation.


Please sign and forward the petition to keep McCarren named McCarren.
You don't need to live here to sign it.

Williamsburg Walks on June 20th - CANCELED

Feel free to be singing in the rain, but there won't be any walking in the rain. Due to the particularly bad weather forecast for tomorrow, we are forced to cancel the Williamsburg Walks.

"Um, Peter? This computer can't open a PDF... and it doesn't seem to have Word or Excel, either."

NAG can guide you through the process of securing Section 8 housing, write a grant for the local town hall building, or forge collaborations with politicians, academics, and local residents, but when it comes to wireless routers, upgrading operating systems, or increasing RAM, we need help!

*Sigh* If only there was a gallant computer-literate NAGer out there somewhere! Someone who just gets all this computer stuff and can whip us into shape in a mere afternoon (or less)! You know the type we're talking about: those guys who get together with their computer friends over a beer to geek it up about Linux or the latest wireless gadgets, and who gave up the mouse ages ago in favor of the command window. It wouldn't take much for a computer fella (or gal) to fix us up, good as new, so then maybe the tripping hazard which is our wired internet connection could be retired.

In all seriousness, the NAG office could use some help updating its computer and internet resources. The good news is that we don't expect it to take a lot of time or energy on your part. What we really need is someone out there who knows his/her way around a motherboard enough to help us figure out how to do some pretty routine things, such as:

• Convert to a wireless router and help choose and install wireless cards, as needed
• Update an old computer to a later Windows operating system
• Install more memory, etc in said old computer, as needed
• Perform routine maintenance

Let us know! Call the office at 718-384-2248 or email info -at- nag-brooklyn -dot- org

-Rima

Weekend Stuff!

Williamsburg Walks NAG and the L magazine bring you week two of the Bedford ped-fest, where we close off the street to vehicular traffic and invite the community to make the most of it. Come and lounge at the cafe-style tables, check out what local organizations are up to--you can even take home a kitten! This week is extra high energy because it coincides with the L's Northside Festival, a four-day extravaganza of music and art. (John Vanderslice is tonight at Music Hall of Williamsburgh!)

Crest Fest The annual art show at Crest Hardware on Metropolitan has expanded this year with more food, bands, and the usual installations of hardware-themed art throughout the store. It's free--all proceeds from sales of food, etc., will go to benefit Macri Park. Saturday at noon, goes all day.

Mini-Golf in Bushwick This is just extremely rad.

Local heroes El Puente, in concert with a coalition of other organizations and Councilmember Robert Jackson, are rallying to preserve anti-dropout funding in the city budget. We all benefit from keeping kids in school. Here is what El Puente does with their funding:

El Puente is a community-based youth and community development
organization that serves over 1,200 youth ages 6-21 and their
families from primarily the most at-risk communities in North Brooklyn. Serving students from
over 75 Brooklyn schools (including its own NYC public HS, the El Puente Academy for Peace
and Justice) from all 12 Brooklyn school districts that span 13 City Council Districts (33, 34, 35,
36, 37, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47 & 48), El Puente successfully engages youth in a
comprehensive, holistic membership-driven program. Our nationally recognized model includes
1-on-1 mentoring, academic support services, college/vocational prep, pre-professional arts
training, health/wellness support & civic engagement opportunities. Family support includes
immigration counseling, social service referrals and adult GED/ESL classes.

DATE: Wednesday, June 10, 2009
TIME: 2:30 P.M. - 4:00 P.M.
LOCATION: Meet at El Puente 211 S. 4th Street, Williamsburg
We will travel by subway to join hundreds of students & families to rally on the steps of City Hall.

For more info, contact Theresa Doherty tdoherty@elpuente.us

Save Your Community Board -- Rally Tomorrow

Your community board needs you! While it's true that the city's CB system is flawed, it is still one of the best and most effective routes available for community activists like ourselves to interact with City government. Mayor Bloomberg has proposed cutting $35,000/year from the boards' already-meager $200,000/year budget, which covers all employees, office expenses, etc. This will mean layoffs of essential staff, and will dramatically affect boards' ability to function effectively.

As anyone who has attended a community board meeting knows, boards are charged with a wide range of tasks - from providing constituent services, to reviewing City plans and proposals. They also have a City Charter mandate to undertake comprehensive planning for their districts; however, most boards lack the technical expertise and the finances necessary to do this. Community boards need MORE support from the City to function effectively, not less.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, along with the other 4 BPs and all 59 community boards, will rally tomorrow at 11am at City Hall to urge the City Council to fully restore community board funding for the coming fiscal year. Join them and let the Council know that you support your community board!

Williamsburg Walks!

Williamsburg Walks had a successful kick-off yesterday! The NAG and Town Hall tables couldn't hold a candle to puppies and pottery demonstrations (see below), but still a great time was had by all!

See you the next 5 Saturdays- the event is every Saturday until July 11.

In the meantime, enjoy the pictures from June 6:

Walking Down Division Street

I had the chance to talk to a friend's urban photography class at the Greenpoint YMCA's PS 16 Afterschool last week and had a lot of fun. I spoke to the kids about how neighborhoods change, then we took a walk around Division Street to see how different areas of the neighborhood had been impacted by the urban renewal program the City did in the 1940s & 50s to build highways and housing projects.

A photo comparing the urban renewal area north of Division to the older buildings south of Division:

A photo of the Williamsburgh branch of the Public Library that was cantilevered over the BQE.

Cristian helped me take these photos of stores on Lee Ave:

-Michael

Williamsburg Walks is Back Tomorrow, Saturday June 6

The event runs noon to sunset, Bedford Avenue, N4th to N9th Streets.

And we've got the schedule of programming up. Learn about local food from the Southside CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture), view art presented by the Williamsburg Gallery Association, acoustic music presented by the L Magazine, or exercise with your kids in a streetside class presented by the Greenpoint Y!

More information is at www.williamsburgwalks.org. Also see the article in today's Metro.

We could still use a few volunteers, especially in the late afternoon, so contact williamsburgwalks@gmail.com if you want to help.

June 4: Brooklyn Day & Rent Party at Teddy's Bar & Grill

Thursday, June 4th, from 7pm on, celebrate Brooklyn Day at Teddy's (N8th & Berry Street), with a night of all Brooklyn music, hosted by D.J. "d", Borough President Marty Markowitz, and special guests, including legendary Brooklyn recording artist, "Set-It-Off" Strafe, spinning his own mixes, Councilman David Yassky and other borough celebs.

It is also Teddy's monthly Rent Party, where raffle sales benefit, 50 % to the winner, for their rent, and 50% to the Town Hall building around the corner. Raffle tickets sell for $2 each, or 3 for $5.00.

June 4: Safer Streets for Walking, Biking, and Driving

Join us at the Diamond Bar (43 Franklin Street), Thursday June 4 at 7:30pm to write letters to the city and elected officials asking to improve proposed plans for Kent Avenue and the Pulaski Bridge.

At the last Community Board Transportation meeting, we heard updates from the DOT about the Kent Avenue redesign, and the new design plan for the Pulaski Bridge. You can download the Kent presentation here, which essentially involves making traffic one way, with a "floating" 2-way bike lane, separated from traffic by a buffer and parked cars/turning lane. The Pulaski plans are not available online yet, but basically involve some striping and signage to encourage a safer interaction between pedestrians and cyclists on the pathway.

We want to support the general impetus behind both plans, but we have a few specific improvements we want. More immediate attention is needed to safe walking and crossing Kent Avenue and the Pulaski Bridge needs a study that will ultimately lead to more space for walking and biking long-term.

Contact transportation@nag-brooklyn.org to let us know if you're coming.

Will PoolAid Man Ride Again? Parks Department Puts McCarren Pool Up For Sale

After all the time and energy PoolAid (founded by NAG board members Michael Freedman-Schnapp and Mikki Halpin) and other community groups spent getting McCarren Pool reopened, we were shocked to read in the New York Post (via Brooklyn Vegan) that the naming rights to McCarren Pool are up for sale. Yes, for only $3 million, a corporation can erase years of history and community use and put their name on our pool.

This is utterly wrong. We at NAG, along with everyone else, would like to know why this is happening--to our pool and not to any others. (Other places up for grabs include a track and field house in Staten Island and a sports facility in Chelsea.)

The renovation of McCarren has been fully funded. Our community is not for sale.


We've left messages for the Parks Department and the mayor's office, asking:

Is this true?

How were the facilities that are for sale selected?

Why was there no community input?

Why is McCarren for sale, since it was fully funded?

Why is the money going to the city general fund and not to our underfunded parks? It could be used to build the parks we were promised and didn't get!

Is the Parks department at all sensitive that companies like Exxon Mobil could seize this opportunity to further attempt to whitewash their image and try to make us forget the damage they have done to this community?

ADDENDUM: Just got off the phone with Phil Abramson from the Parks Department. He said that the Post got hold of a preliminary list and the program is still in the planning stages. I asked how the items on the list got on it, and he couldn't comment, except to stress that it is a preliminary list. He said that many facilities in the city are named for donors, citing Wollman Rink. I pointed out that the Wollman family had actually paid for all of Wollman Rink, and that selling off McCarren is totally different, that the name has a community history, it is a name we fought for when getting the pool reopened. He said that the park would still be named McCarren, just not the pool.

I asked if there would be any community input to this process and he said he wasn't sure--later he said that after the RFP is issued that there would be community input. I asked about the timeline for this and again he wasn't sure. I asked why the money would be going to the general fund and not to our community. He said the city needs the money to pay for firefighters and public services in this economy. He also said several times that this might not happen because possibly no one will come up with the money.

Abramson was very nice, but I have the feeling this is like when McCarren Pool was almost given over to Clear Channel as an exclusive vendor--it wasn't until we found out and protested that it was opened up to community groups and anyone who wanted to program a show. It is the people who live here, and local businesses like Jelly NYC who made McCarren Pool famous, and we would like for it to remain our pool. Not for sale.

Speak Out On The Rezoning, Wednesday June 3

Ward Dennis, NAG board member and chair of CB1's land use committee, is urging those who can to attend the next hearing about the contextual rezoning at the City Planning Commission:

The City Planning Commission hearing for the Greenpoint/Williamsburg contextual rezoning is next Wednesday, June 3rd. There have been a few new developments that warrant our attention. 1) the Marino Tile building development on Graham Avenue (across from the CB1 offices) is trying to vest a 12-story tower; 2) another tower currently under construction on Franklin Avenue is trying to vest as many floors as possible; and 3) someone has been posting fliers in Greenpoint trying to get homeowners worked up over the zoning.

Given all this, it is particularly important that the community gets as many supporters as possible out to the hearing next Wednesday. The message is simple - the rezoning is important, and it should be done as quickly as possible.

Please come out and testify next Wednesday. The hearing starts at 10:00 am, and will be held at 22 Reade Street (corrected) in Manhattan (two blocks north of City Hall, near the Brooklyn Bridge 4/5/6 and Chambers Street J/M/Z subway stops.

Note: The DCP website gives the time as 10 am. Sorry for the confusion.

Williamsburg-Greenpoint Parks Lose $112 Million of Promises

Hot on the heels of Where's My Park? Day, the New York Post is reporting on the shortfalls of the Parks Department. The city's revised capital plan has cut $338 million from parks--and that is just since the preliminary budget in January. Parks throughout the city are affected, and many promised parks from PlanNYC are being put off or cancelled altogether.

The city blames "the economy" for the PlanNYC broken promises, but for North Brooklyn, the promises were made long before the economy took a dive. We were promised these parks as part of the rezoning--we've got the towers, where are the parks? The financial crisis may be a convenient excuse now, but if there had been any movement when the coffers were full, it would not ring so hollow.

Speak out about our need for parks! Watch this space for more actions from our Open Space Committee, and send your thoughts to the mayor, the parks department, OSA, and local newspapers and media outlets.

Williamsburg Walks Returns for Summer 2009 June 6th!

The L Magazine and Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (NAG) have partnered this year to organize Williamsburg Walks 2009. We invite North Brooklyn residents, visitors and merchants to celebrate the community on a pedestrianized Bedford Avenue.

Key Details

What: Williamsburg's lively main drag will be closed to cars and fully open to pedestrians

When: Every Saturday from June 6th to July 11th, from noon to sunset.

Where: Bedford Avenue from North 4th to North 9th Streets. All cross streets will be open to traffic. Northbound B61 will re-route up Berry Street.

More information is at http://www.billburg.com/walks, including a "StreetFilm" about last year's program.

Programming

This year, we're hoping to make the event even more enjoyable for the neighborhood--feedback was collected during the successful 2008 season that has informed many of this year's improvements. To more fully activate the streetscape, area non-profits and businesses will be organizing events and activities--urban gardening, children's classes, bike safety classes, performances, and many more.

If you are interested in offering non-amplified programming for one or more of the blocks in Williamsburg Walks, contact us at williamsburgwalks@gmail.com.

We Need You to Volunteer!

Williamsburg Walks is also a great opportunity to support the community. We need people to help set up and clean up after the event each Saturday, as well as helping us publicize it beforehand. Click here to learn about volunteering this summer.

Contributions

If you or your organization would like to contribute to Williamsburg Walks (organize activities, donate street furniture, etc.), please email williamsburgwalks@gmail.com.

94th Precinct Community Council Meeting

For those who couldn't make it, once again Miss Heather has done the community a valuable service by documenting what happened. Discussion of crime stats, the death of Violetta Kryrzak, and more.

Note to the person who left a comment last week regarding drug dealing and problems in their building on the south side: You didn't leave any contact information, and I would love to speak with you further and see if some progress can be made. Email us at blog@nag-brooklyn.org--Mikki

Where's My Park? Photos!

Thanks to all who came out and represented for Where's My Park? Day! The indefatigable organizers, Emily Gallagher and Dewey Thompson, had a great turnout for the event, which featured the Rude Mechanical Orchestra, ghost picnics and zombie soccer players, as well as intelligent advocacy at each stop from community activists. More info later--in the meantime, here is a link to some images.

Photo by Sarah Hampton

Events this Week

Monday (today): 94th precinct community council meeting, 7:30 pm
Capital One Bank basement, 807 Manahattan Ave. Enter on Calyer

Tuesday, May 19: 33rd District City Council debate, 7:00 pm
Harry Van Arsdale H.S. Auditorium, North 6th Street & Roebling

Where's My Park?!?

Working with our friends GWAPP, Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park Barge Park Pals, Friends of Transmitter Park, Park Moms, the People's Firehouse, the Rude Mechanical Orchestra and our friends at Assemblymember Joe Lentol and a Representative from Council Member David Yassky's office, we asked the City "Where's My Park?!?" yesterday.

Because of the public attention that was brought to the promises from the 2005 rezoning going unfulfilled, the City has made a new round of committments to speed up access to waterfront parks. These commitments were made to the community by the Parks Department in an email from North Brooklyn Parks Administrator Stephanie Thayer:

- Manhattan Avenue Street end greening is open to the public as of today.
- Northside Piers (at North 5th St/Kent Ave.) will be open 7 days per week within the next two weeks.
- Transmitter Park will be opened for use this summer, with interior fencing that provides as much safe site access as possible.
- We are working to improve Newton Barge Terminal Park to provide waterfront views this summer.
- Mayor's office will proceed with an independent study to further the relocation of the MTA.
- Parks Dept. will hold regular public listening sessions about the parks commitments of the rezoning.
- We will break ground on the first phase of Bushwick Inlet Park, a soccer field, between North 9th and North 10th, in June.

More images of the event:

Phantom children playing in the phantom Bushwick Inlet Park



Phantom children in the phantom Transmitter Park @ Greenpoint Ave.


Christine Holowacz & Emily Gallagher at 65 Commercial Street A/K/A the MTA Site




Assembly Member Joe Lentol and Phil Depaolo



The Rude Mechanical Orchestra





Michelle & Jim Rodecker bearing the NAG Banner

Photos by Rachelle House and JD Fox

The MTA Fix

We are waiting to see how the details pan out, but we are relieved that the State Assembly, State Senate and Governor acted this past week to prevent the worst fare hikes and transit cuts that would have been necessary had no solution been formulated.

The downside of this agreement is that it only partially rights the ship of the MTA and it does so on the backs of transit riding households with a 16% increase in the base fare. As additional money is needed in the near future, the state government needs to recognize that transit riders and employers have already shouldered their share of the burden.

The long-term fiscal status of the MTA is questionable, especially when it comes to having the cash to invest in the urgent capital needs of the system. Therefore future fixes need to better balance the brunt in such a way that helps people make better transportation choices. Whether it is a land tax, a congestion fee, a bridge toll, a gas tax or some other idea we haven't heard of yet, we will need a more equitable funding structure similar in spirit, if not substance, to that proposed by the Ravitch Commission.

We're glad that we will be able to get to work tomorrow, but worried that we won't be able to get there so easily in the future.

Where's My Park Day?!

We'd love to pitch in on "It's My Park! Day," but our parks are missing! Don't let the city get away with giving us towers and traffic without the promised open space and the waterfront!

Join us for a terrifying tour of our not-parks! If we don't ask, loud and clear, we may never get the parks we deserve and that were promised by the city in the agreement to allow development of our waterfront.

Dress as if you had a park! Recreational equipment and musical instruments recommended.

12:30pm Join us for sign-making and crafts at the NAG Office (N 8th and Kent)
2 pm The tour begins at What-Should-Be-Bushwick-Inlet-Park--Kent Ave and N. 14th St.

Yassky Rally For MTA Site

As a complement to "Where's My Park?!? Day," Councilmember David Yassky is calling attention to the City's failure to make the MTA site into a park. From his office:

Councilmember Yassky is holding a "Rally for a Waterfront Park in Greenpoint!" on Thursday, May 14th (that's this Thursday) to remind Mayor Bloomberg about his promise to create a park on the MTA site located at 65 Commercial St.
Four years later: "Where's Our Park!"

Rally for a Waterfront Park in Greenpoint!
Thursday, May 14th
Steps of City Hall
1:30 pm Sharp
(take the 4, 5, or 6 subway to Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall )

Join Councilmember Yassky, your neighbors and friends and tell Mayor Bloomberg,
"We want a waterfront park not a parking lot!"

The Crash of Condo-Burg

NAG organizer Ryan Kuonen is featured on Work Only, a web TV show by Shanna Maurizi that focuses on "art and politics, from [their] secret headquarters in Brooklyn and San Francisco." (Emphasis added)

Friday May 15: Make the Pulaski Safe for Everybody!

PULASKI BRIDGE WALK - RIDE - RALLY!

~With pathway feeling the crunch, walkers and bikers rally for more breathing room~

Friday, May 15 @ 6 pm - evening commute
Jackson Avenue and 11th Street, Long Island City (Queens entrance to Pulaski Bridge)
March, ride, and rally for safer conditions on the Pulaski Bridge

After Party at the Creek, 10-93 Jackson Ave, LIC, Happy Hour until 9:00 p.m. Closest Public Transportation: 7 Train to Vernon/Jackson or B61 Bus to Jackson Ave and 11th Street

Rezoning Turns Four Today--Are You Celebrating?

Today marks four years since large portions of Williamsburg and Greenpoint were rezoned. We've got a lot of new buildings, not enough new parks, and a whole lot of questions and issues left to be resolved. NAG is dedicated to making sure that the city keeps the promises made during the rezoning, as well as fighting for affordable housing, preserving neighborhood character, and creating publicly accessible open space.

NAG board member Ward Dennis has a great overview of rezoning-related issues on his blog Brooklyn 11211. What do you think? Has your block changed for the better or worse? Do you have to leave for work earlier and earlier because the train is so crowded? Do you think the police are overwhelmed by the demands of the new demographics? Chime in in the comments, email us, or come to a NAG meeting to share your thoughts.

And if you want to join the fight to get our community its due, turn out for Where's My Park? Day this weekend!

Guys and Dolls opens Thursday!

The Automotive High School production of Guys and Dolls opens Thursday, May 14th and has two more shows on Friday the 15th and Saturday the 16th. All shows are at 7 pm in the Automotive High auditorium.

Automotive has come a long way, thanks to dedicated teachers and administrators who put in long hours turning the school around. The music and drama departments have only been around a few years and have made a huge difference in school spirit and fostering a sense of achievement and responsibility in the kids. Plus, they put on a really great show--come out and show your support!

Gentlemen (and Ladies), start your composting

If you're like me, you've been dropping your banana peels and carrot ends in a bucket and taking it to the North Brooklyn Compost Project in McCarren Park. They could use some help this weekend getting ready to open up, so check them out and support them on "In Our BackYard" (ioby.org)!

Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park: May 11

If you're interested in Where's My Park?!? Day on Saturday the 16th, you might also be interested in...

Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park Meeting
Monday May 11, 2009
7pm @ Greenpoint Reformed Church
136 Milton Street
RSVP to bushwickinletpark@gmail.com

Come learn about how to take our future 28 acre waterfront park from a fantasy to a reality.

-Learn more about Where's My Park Day on May 16th
-Plan garbage clean ups and other community outreach activities along the future Bushwick Inlet Park
-Letter writing and other ideas for advocacy
-Volunteers needed to help with the website & other activities

Get Out and Meet Your Neighbors This Weekend!

Three great, free events.

Friday night: Williamsburg Gallery Association’s neighborhood-wide art party
6–9pm
Neighborhood wide

Get a map here. I got this info from TimeOut: Participating spaces include 3rd Ward (195 Morgan Ave between Meadow and Stagg Sts, 3rdward.com), Art 101 (101 Grand St between Berry St and Wythe Ave, art101brooklyn.com), Parker’s Box (193 Grand St between Bedford and Driggs Aves, parkersbox.com), Front Room (147 Roebling Ave between Hope St and Metropolitan Ave, frontroom.org), Like the Spice (224 Roebling St between South 2nd and 3rd Sts, likethespice.com), Capricious Space (103 Broadway between Bedford Ave and Berry St, capriciousspace.com), Artbreak (195 Grand St between Bedford and Driggs Ave, second floor; artbreakgallery.com) and more than a dozen others. Troll through the art, dance your face off (there’s an 8pm tribute to Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen, and New Order at Like the Spice) and drink yourself silly before trucking it over to Zebulon (258 Wythe Ave between Metropolitan Ave and North 3rd St, zebuloncafeconcert.com; $4) for a killer after-party with guest DJs.



Saturday: Fifth Annual Bicycle Fetish Day
12-6 p.m. City Reliquary, 370 Metropolitan Avenue
City Reliquary is throwing a block party for your bicycle. At their fifth annual Bicycle Fetish Day, there will be bike related events including awards and celebrations of bicycle culture, bike artwork, bicycle rides, and bicycle beautification stations to spiff up your wheels. Food and beer will be available for purchase. An afterparty in City Reliquary’s spacious backyard will follow later that night.


Note: This is a great, kid-friendly event, and if you aren't familiar with the City Reliquary, you should be, run by a local fireman and some other community-boosters, it is a great source of local history and perhaps even more importantly, fun.

Sunday Night: The Yes Men Fix the World and Bhopal Survivors
6-8pm
The Change You Want To See Gallery
83 Havemeyer St, at Metropolitan Ave

This Sunday survivors and activists from Bhopal will join us for a special preview screening of The Yes Men Fix The World (dir. Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, Kurt Engfehr, 2009), a new film in which they appear.

The Yes Men Fix The World follows a couple of gonzo political activists as they infiltrate the world of big business and pull off outrageous pranks that highlight the ways that corporate greed is destroying the planet. The film begins with the Yes Men's famous 2004 impersonation of a Dow Chemical spokesperson on BBC World News. In a broadcast that reached 300 million people, they took responsibility for the world's largest industrial accident, causing Dow's market value to drop $2 billion in less than a half hour.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal Disaster. More than 23,000 have died as a result of the catastrophic gas leak and ongoing water contamination. To this day, residents and allies around the world continue fighting to force the company responsible to make amends. Key organizers from Bhopal will lead a Q&A about the campaign after the screening. This will be their first occasion to watch the film in which they are featured.

CB1 Public Safety Committee Meeting Thursday

This is probably a good place to go if you want to discuss the high-speed chase and its violent aftermath, and discuss communication strategies before the precinct meeting on the 18th.

May 7, 2009
6:30PM
CB #1's District Office
435 Graham Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(Corner of Frost Street)

May 16th: Where's My Park?!? Day

Remember the 2005 Greenpoint-Williamsburg Rezoning? In it, we were told that in exchange for enormous buildings along the water front we would recieve a number of parks and open spaces to relax in, to get up by the water, to play soccer, to do whatever we please!

Not one park has been completed, not one has been opened.

So while the rest of New York City is celebrating "It's My Park Day!" on May 16th, NAG and GWAPP will be instead asking, "Where's My Park?!?" in an act of community awareness and civic action.

Bring your kids and your grandmas to the NAG Office (N 8th and Kent) at 12:30p to make some pro-park crafts and picket signs, and then join us at 2:00p at Bushwick Inlet (N 14th and Kent) as we march down past several of the promised parks' locked gates. The day will end with a block party full of music, games, refreshments, and community... in a parking lot.

Come help us make a scene! It's the only way we'll unplug the City's deaf ears across the river.

33rd District Council Race Debate

Come join the New Kings Democrats as they host a debate between the candidates for the Democratic nomination for the City Council seat in the 33rd District. The 33rd District includes Greenpoint, Brooklyn Heights, parts of Park Slope, Williamsburg, downtown Brooklyn, and Boerum Hill.

Tuesday, May 19th, 7:00-8:30pm
Harry Van Arsdale H.S. Auditorium
North 6th Street & Roebling

Turnout in the council election on September 15th is going to be very important to make sure that our neighborhoods get the resources they deserve! The candidates are: Isaac Abraham, Ken Baer, Doug Biviano, Ken Diamondstone, Steve Levin, Jo Anne Simon, and Evan Thies.

News Roundup

Last week a high-speed chase in Greenpoint ended tragically, with the death of Violet Krzyzak, a 38-year-old mother. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones. Here are some stories about the incident.
Streetsblog
Greenpointers

NAG Board member, CB1 member, and Brooklyn 11211 blogger Ward Dennis says there is a way to solve the Kent Ave bike lane drama and he is one of the few we trust on this topic.

The North Brooklyn Public Art Coalition announced the artists for the India Street Mural project.

The park at the end of Manhattan Avenue (TPateoMH? Terminus Park? Anything?) is finally open. Miss Heather has photos, and this writer was there yesterday! It is lovely.

Real estate stuff: Northside Piers price cuts, and some at 273 Berry. The Love Chapel is for sale. (Someone buy it! We need more theaters!)

Once again, Celebrate Brooklyn celebrates by not having any events in North Brooklyn, despite featuring our artists and musicians. It's fun anyway. Here's the lineup.

Upcoming Events: Mark Your Calendars!

We will have more about these events in the days to come, but block out the time now--you won't want to miss them!

May 14, 15, 16: The Automotive High School Musical! This year it's "Guys and Dolls"
May 16: Where's My Park? Day
May 17: Bike Safety Workshop "Train the Trainers"
May 18: 94th Precinct Community Council Meeting

Note: Neighborhood Watch is looking for a blogger! If you are a good writer and care about the community, email us some clips and ideas. blog@nag-brooklyn.org

Williamsburg Walks Monday, Fundraising Concert Tuesday

Thanks to everyone who came out to our housing forum on Saturday. Our staff, volunteers and partner organizations deserve a round of applause for putting on such a diverse and engaging event!

But NAG's work hasn't stopped. We have two events coming up this week that we'd love to see you at. Help us...
Make this summer's Williamsburg Walks a success by coming to our forum on Monday
and then...
Fund the North Brooklyn Story Project by rocking out at Union Pool on Tuesday

Monday April 27
Williamsburg Walks 2009 Informational Meeting
GIVE YOUR OPINION + GET INVOLVED

Monday, April 27, 7:00pm
Swinging Sixties Senior Center
211 Ainslie Street @ Manhattan Ave

L Magazine and Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (NAG) are partnering this year to organize the 2009 Williamsburg Walks. We are going to build on last year’s success and celebrate the community on a sunny pedestrian Bedford Avenue. The event is scheduled to take place every Saturday in June and July - starting June 6th - from noon to sunset.

This year, we are hoping to make the event even more enjoyable for the residents, merchants, and visitors of North Brooklyn. We realize from the feedback collected in 2008 that there is room for improvement. This is why we invite you to join us so you can give your opinion and share your concerns, as well as help us make this year a success! Williamsburg Walks is also a great opportunity to actively support the community. Come and learn about the many volunteer opportunities we'll have.

Questions?
Contact the NAG office at 718-384-2248 or williamsburgwalks@gmail.com



Tuesday April 28
North Brooklyn Story Project Concert Fundraiser

To support our North Brooklyn Story Project, an effort by our volunteer organizers to collect oral histories from residents, NAG is throwing a benefit concert at Union Pool featuring Rebecca Schiffman, The Blue Album Group and The Roulettes.

Tuesday, April 28, 8:00pm
Union Pool
484 Union Ave @ Meeker
$5 Suggested donation

Housing Forum Tomorrow, Saturday 10a-4pm

Join Us Saturday April 25th
Greenpoint-Williamsburg Housing Forum

Featuring a keynote speech by Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez (NY-13)

Facing eviction? Rent too high? No Heat?

Come hear community leaders speak about the future of your 
neighborhood (and the history too!)

Saturday, April 25th, 2009
10 am-4:30 pm
Boricua College, Northside Campus
186 North 6th Street (between Bedford & Driggs)

Speakers, Workshops, Community Resources & Food!

Schedule of Events

10:30-11:30
Stories from the Neighborhood
Affordable Housing Opportunities in NYC
Neighborhood Project: Community Mapping.

11:30-12:30
Affordable Housing, Community Preservation, and our Neighborhood. 
Featuring Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez

12:30-1:30
How to get repairs in your apartment. (English & Spanish)
How to form a tenant association. (English & Spanish)
Neighborhood project: How to build a better protest.
Lo que un inquilino necisita saber en espanol (What renters need to 
know)

2:00-3:00pm
Community in Action: Screening of "Metropolitan Avenue" Documentary
Rent Regulation Primer
Loft Tenants, Housing Rights, and Community Displacement
Guide to Housing Court (English with Polish translation)

3:30-4:30pm
Community in Action: The Story of the Berry St. Houses Take-Over
What Co-op Shareholders need to Know By Rolando Guzman of St Nicks
Guide to Housing Court (En espanol) By Brooklyn Legal Corp A. Learn 
the basics of housing court.
Rent Regulation Primer in Polish

Click here for more information about the event.

In the News

Williamsburg Walks is coming back this summer (NY Daily News)
Join us at a forum to give us your ideas, feedback and to volunteer, Monday April 27th 7pm at 211 Ainslie Street

The Pulaski Bridge needs a physically-separated bike lane to eliminate conflicts between walkers and cyclists (Greenpoint Star)

Aaron Short notes how Greenpoint is and is not living up to the first syllable of its name (Short Takes/Greenpoint Gazette)

Our project with People's Firehouse to convert Engine 212 to a community center rolls on (Greenpoint Star)

Our North Brooklyn Story Corps project is gaining steam (Greenpoint Star)

The race to replace David Yassky on the City Council is heating up (City Hall)

Neighborhood Housing Forum to Highlight Tenant Rights & Community History

Lets face it, Greenpoint and Williamsburg are not what they used to be. Factories have been replaced with modern lofts, new restaurants, and boutiques. Old tenements and warehouses disappear daily, as luxury condos spring up in their place. Unfortunately, the economic and cultural transformation of this neighborhood is leaving behind the very residents which have sustained this community thru its more difficult times and who have also contributed to its most recent revitalization. With rents doubling and landlord harassment on the rise, tenant advocacy services and community education is often the only recourse that individuals and families have when faced with the possibility of losing their home. Tenant advocates can't be everywhere at all times -- educating people about tenant laws can go a long way towards making sure they are enforced.

At the same time, even local community organizers agree that it's impossible to ignore the vibrancy and energy of having a diverse community as in Greenpoint/Williamsburg. What is needed is continuity and mutual understanding in the neighborhood; for both new and long-time residents to get to know and appreciate each other. The need to emphasize both the housing needs of our diverse community and to seek common ground between new and old residents has led to the development of the first Greenpoint/Williamsburg Housing Forum.

The forum will be held on Saturday, April 25th from 10am to 4:30pm at Boricua College. 186 N6th. Between Bedford & Driggs. There will be talks by community organizers who grew up in the neighborhood, local politicians addressing the issue of affordable housing, documentary screenings, and workshops on a variety of topics in english, polish and spanish. Check out the full schedule below...

10:30-12:00: Stories from the Neighborhood. By NAG Affordable Housing Group. Community organizers who were born in Greenpoint & Williamsburg talk story about the neighborhood. Speakers include Jim Rodecker who will tell the story of the battle aganist all the illegal dumps and the fight to get the Northside a waterfront park; Carol Kulikowski who will share the powerful story behind the affordable housing units @ Northside Gardens; and Patrick DiCanio who will share the stories behind the Italian immigration to Williamsburg, the Feast every July, and the impact and love the Italian community has for all of the new happenings in our neighborhood.

10:30-11:30: Affordable Housing Opportunities in NYC. By Filip Stabrowski of North Brooklyn Development Corp. This workshop will discuss various affordable housing opportunities in NYC, including NYCHA project housing, Mitchell-Lama buildings, affordable housing lotteries, Section 8, SCRIE, and DRIE. Criteria for eligibility and information on how to apply to different programs will be provided.

10:30-12: Neighborhood Project: Community Mapping. Walk-in workshop. By NAG Affordable Housing Group. Do you like maps? Enjoy a nice stroll around the block with your camera? Are you constantly surprised by some new building on the street? Plug into a project to map displacement, new buildings, active and inactive construction sights, neighborhood blight, and other housing and community issues. Become part of the team that is making a community map of Greenpoint & Williamsburg. (This is not a formal, timed workshop but a continual opportunity to learn about the mapping project, meaning you can walk-in during the hours stated. If you can't make that time, info about the project will be available all day at the NAG community table.)

11:30-12:30: Affordable Housing, Community Preservation, and our Neighborhood. Alison Cordero of St. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation Corp. and Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez will discuss the state of affordable housing and the issue of neighborhood preservation in the Greenpoint-Williamsburg community.

12:30-1:30: How to get repairs in your apartment. (English & Spanish) By Jerry Urbaez & Cathy Pinto of Los Sures. Learn your rights as a tenant to live in habitable conditions and what actions you (as an individual and collectively in your building) can take to get the services and repairs you are entitled to. The Warrant of Habitability will be reviewed, tenant initiated Housing Court actions (HP and Article 7A) will be explained as well as rent strike procedures and "repair and deduct" rules.

12:30-1:30: How to form a tenant association. (English & Spanish) Debbie Medina & Annie Vega of Los Sures. Learn your rights as tenants in a building to form a tenant association, to hold meetings in your building, and the advantages to working together to assert your rights for building improvements, and to prevent displacement.

12:30-1:30: Neighborhood project: How to build a better protest. By Kurt Hill of Peoples Firehouse Inc. Learn how to organize a protest and how to make simple props for different actions, like informational picket-lines, sit-ins, rallies, protest marches, etc. This workshop will also cover how to write a press release, how to deal with the media and police, and the permit process for marches and sound equipment.

12:30-1:30: Lo que un inquilino necisita saber (En espanol) By Jacqueline Aristy of St. Nicks.

2-3pm: Community in Action: Screening of "Metropolitan Avenue" Watch an inspiring doc from 1986 about a group of women who strive to combine new roles and old values in our rapidly changing society. This film introduces a group of low-income working class families who must go up against developers who want to bulldoze their neighborhood to put up a shopping mall, an act which would leave many of them without a place to call home. The doc shows what life is like in this close knit neighborhood; the friendships between families, the celebrations, the problems caused by racial tensions, cuts in municipal services, etc. We also see their organized protests and their pleas to various elected officials. In the end their actions save their neighborhood as a group of "traditional' homemakers from varied ethnic backgrounds rise to the challenge and become leaders in the effort to save their community.

2-3pm: Rent Regulation Primer By Jacek Bikowski of North Brooklyn Development Corp. Do you know if your building in rent regulated? If it was built before 1974 and has more than 6 units, there is a large chance that your unit is stabilized. Come learn your rights...

2-3pm: Loft Tenants, Housing Rights, and Community Displacement By the NAG Affordable Housing Group. This workshop will give an overview of the history of live/work loft tenancy in Williamsburgh/Greenpoint, focusing on the extension of the New York City Loft Law to the outer boroughs in the 1980s and subsequesnt court rulings affecting live/work loft tenants.

2-3pm: Guide to Housing Court (English with Polish translation) By Brooklyn Legal Corp A. Learn the basics of housing court.

3:30-4:30pm: Community in Action: The Story of the Berry St. Houses Take-Over By Barbara Schliff of Los Sures. Have you been following the stories of squatters and foreclosures across the country wondering if that could ever happen here...Well, come hear about the last time it went down in Williamsburg. Learn how a successful, but risky community action was conceived and undertaken and the short and long-term results. The Berry St. Houses is an 82-unit NYCHA project located in the Southside of Williamsburg. When it was set to open, the community was not about to allow business as usual regarding waiting lists, quotas, and who would get to live there---they decided to take action to get their fair share of housing...

3:30-4:30pm: What Co-op Shareholders need to Know By Rolando Guzman of St Nicks

3:30-4:30pm: Guide to Housing Court (En espanol) By Brooklyn Legal Corp A. Learn the basics of housing court.

3:30-4:30pm: Rent Regulation Primer in Polish By Jacek Bikowski of North Brooklyn Development Corp. Do you know if your building in rent regulated? If it was built before 1974 and has more than 6 units, there is a large chance that your unit is stabilized. Come learn your rights...

There will also be an all day community "fair" with tables and propoganda from various community groups. Come join the fun and drop in for any part of the day and learn more about the housing issues that affect all of us in the community.

Seedballing Makes NPR!

We were just on NPR for our Guerilla Gardening project. We had a fun Sunday walking around with Margot Adler and dropping seedballs in some underloved spaces.

Neighborhood organizations across the U.S. that want to improve the environment are using a surprising weapon: seed balls. It's a technique for planting in abandoned places and often inhospitable land that was developed in Japan by Masanobu Fukuoka, a pioneer in "natural farming."

The technique has worked its way to Brooklyn, N.Y. In the Greenpoint neighborhood on a recent Sunday afternoon, a small group of activists walked the streets carrying paper bags filed with little balls made from clay, compost and seeds. They are members of a local group called NAG, or Neighbors Allied for Good Growth. They drop the balls on dirt piles and throw them into abandoned lots...

Gallagher says that seed balls allow people to take control of their small piece of the planet. She says walking around on a Sunday morning throwing seed balls is fun and easy.

"I think it is really important to break down these larger tasks — of taking back our neighborhoods and cleaning up our open spaces — into tasks that are completely doable," she says.

Check out the story, audio available online at 7pm

Tweeting

We set up a NAG twitter account. Come check it out and follow us at http://twitter.com/nagbrooklyn

Affordable Housing Forum: Saturday April 25th

Saturday, April 25th, 2009
10 am-4:30 pm
Boricua College, Northside Campus,
186 North 6th Street (between Bedford & Driggs)

Speakers, Workshops, Community Resources & Food!

Come hear community leaders speak about the future of your neighborhood (and the history too!)

• Forming tenants associations
• Rent over-charges for stabilized units
• Legal issues
• Maintenance and services
• Loft issues
• Stories from the neighborhood
• Literature and hand-outs available
• Some sessions in Spanish and Polish

UPDATE: SCHEDULE FOR CONFERENCE HAS BEEN RELEASED

Sponsored by the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Tenant Anti-Displacement Collaborative

• Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (NAG)
• People's Firehouse
• Los Sures
• St Nicholas NPC
• Churches United
• Brooklyn Legal Services Corp A
• North Brooklyn Development Corp

With generous support of many local businesses

Coverage of NAG Town Hall meeting last week

The Greenpoint Star: NAG Groups Making Positive Changes

Greenpoint Gazette: NAG Gets Organized

Williamsburg Courier story is not online.

Creating More Open Space for North Brooklyn

The guerilla gardening activities have gotten off to a great start with our placing wildflower seeds in abandoned lots throughout the community. We are continuing these efforts and planning a "Where's My Park?" Day on May 16th to ask the city where the new waterfront parks we were promised during the 2005 rezonings are.

Open Space Group meeting: April 6th, place TBA.

Contact Emily openspace@nag-brooklyn.org

Williamsburg Walks 2009 Information Meeting

GIVE YOUR OPINION & GET INVOLVED

Join NAG and the L Magazine at

WILLIAMSBURG WALKS 2009 INFORMATION MEETING
Monday, April 27, 7:00pm
Swinging Sixties Senior Center
211 Ainslie Street @ Manhattan Ave (Map)

L Magazine and Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (NAG) are partnering this year to organize the 2009 Williamsburg Walks. Last year's event was in many regards a success thanks to the support of the driving forces of the community.

The 2009 Williamsburg Walks is going to build on last year's success and celebrate the community on a sunny pedestrian Bedford Avenue. The event will be taking place every Saturday in June and July - starting June 6th - from noon to 9 pm.

This year, we are hoping to make the event even more enjoyable for the residents, merchants, and visitors of North Brooklyn. We realize from the feedback collected in 2008 that there is room for improvement. This is why we invite you to join us so you can give your opinion and share your concerns.

Williamsburg Walks are also a great opportunity to actively support the community. Come and learn about the many volunteer opportunities.

Questions?
Contact the NAG office at 718-384-2248 or williamsburgwalks@gmail.com