Reasons Fifth Avenue Lives Up to The Hype

If you haven't read it already, Gothamist's 100 Reasons Why Brooklyn Lives Up To The Hype is a great reminder of the things that make the borough such an amazing place to live.

Congratulations to Fifth Avenue's Bierkraft, Union Hall, Freddy's Bar, Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. for the mentions and to our friends at The Old Stone House for the "Battle of Brooklyn" mention.

Read the full article here.

Next Week: Piper Theatre Opens at The Old Stone House

July is fast approaching and with it, a new season of Piper Theatre performances begins, outdoors, at The Old Stone House.

The season kicks off on July 7th with "An Evening of Emerging Artists", a fundraising event featuring an "Artist's Market" (showcasing Brooklyn-Made goods), VIP Seats for the evening's opening performance and a cast party featuring Damian Young (Showtime's Californication) and Jan Leslie Harding (Obie Award Winner). Tickets are $40 ($50 at the door) and benefit Piper Theatre.

This summer's opening production will be Moliere's The Miser.

A new adaptation of Moliere’s dark comedy adapted and directed by Welker White. Brother and sister, Cleante and Elise want to marry their chosen lovers but their father, Harpagon, has very different plans. Pushing his children’s interests aside, Harpagon arranges marriages for them with one thing in mind — finding suitable partners without having to part with the one thing he loves the most: his money! Appropriate for ages 8 and up. FREE

Performances run on Thursday and Friday Nights at 8:30 from July 7th - July 22nd. More details here.

Dancing Under the Stars 2011

Dancing Under the Stars was a popular event every week in July and August of 2010 (although the weather didn't always cooperate). This year's program starts on July 5th and the fun has expanded to two nights per week!

On Tuesday nights, adults can dance to live music on 4th Street at Fifth Avenue from 7 to 9 PM. On Wednesday nights, bring the kids down for a special performance by Rolie Polie Guacamole from 6 to 7 PM.

To see a video from one of last year's Dancing Under the Stars events, click here.

The full summer schedule is posted at parkslopefifthavenuebid.com/dancing2011 (still in formation).

Meet-Up With Google Places

We haven't done a meet-up/tweet-up since April (it's been a busy spring) but this Tuesday, June 28th, the "Real BK Nets" (which we are a part of) will be co-hosting a meet-up event with Google Places. Details below:

Google Places is proud to team up with The Real Brooklyn Nets for our next meetup!

The Real Brooklyn Nets exists to help link Brooklyn bloggers and small business advocates with Brooklyn/NYC startup folks. Google's new features are pretty slick, so we're excited they've decided to reach out to our community. We'll be meeting at the fantastic 4th Avenue Pub from 7-9.

Google Places (www.google.com/places) is a new personalized local recommendation engine powered by users and their friends, and they want to buy you a beer. They will be on hand giving out swag and buying drinks for anyone who downloads or shows the Google Places app on their smartphone and does a review on the spot.

They're also giving away brunch for two at applewood! To enter, just go to www.google.com/hotpot, click on "friends list", and add placesnycbknets@gmail.com to your list of friends, then start reviewing. The best reviewer will be selected at 7pm on Tuesday, 6/28, and will win a brunch for two at applewood ($50 value)! For reviews, 3-4 sentences is fine, along with a few things you think is special about the business. Whoever generates the most quality reviews (quality means the reviews are informative, descriptive, and creative--spam reviews won't count toward your totals!) will win. We will pick a winner will based on usefulness and uniqueness. Writing useful reviews could also qualify you to become a Power User and get you more swag and invites to awesome future parties.


So, yeah, it isn't on Fifth Avenue, but we think you'll find the event really interesting, especially if you love technology or if you are a merchant who wants to know more about Google Places. To RSVP, go to eventbrite.com/event/1831649513.

We hope to see you there!

News Round-Up

City Plans Special Commercial District for Fourth Ave. [CG Patch]

Singer unloads Stalled Slope Condo Site [The Real Deal]

How Slopey Are You? [PS Patch]

Shelsky's, Rosarito, Ports Coffee, Milk Street All Certified Open [NY Eater]

Chicken Coops Popping Up In Backyards Across Brooklyn [CBS Local]

Make Music Fifth Avenue -- Night Two

Make Music Fifth Avenue -- Night One

Did you get a chance to check out the performers on Fifth Avenue last night? If not, we managed to catch some performances on video. Here is what we slapped together, late last night (and yes, the opening photo is too blurry). There's more music tonight along Fifth Avenue, starting at 7:00. See you there!

Details at parkslopefifthavenuebid.com/makemusic2011.

Happy Summer, Park Slope!

At 1:16 PM today, summer officially begins! So, stop what you're doing, grab a cold drink, sun glasses and a beach towel and head out to the shore.

If you can't get away this afternoon, though, come celebrate summer with us this evening on Park Slope's Fifth Avenue. Starting at 7:00 PM, there will be live music performances on nearly every block between Dean and 18th Streets. The schedule is below, although it could be significantly altered if storms move through the area in the evening, as predicted.

Tuesday, June 21st, 7-9 pm
Dean Street – Paul Francis Duet (BQCM)
Bergen Street - Tom Chess
St Mark's Avenue – Rick Stone Duet (BQCM)
Warren Street – Jesse Lee Pietroni
Park Place – Alicia Raul duet (BQCM)
Lincoln place – Dave Weschler & Jim Ponzi
Union Street – Bob Goldberg Duet
President Street- Symfinity
Carroll Street – Ron Jackson Duet (BQCM)
Garfield Place- Opera On Tap
1st Street– Stephanie Richards (BQCM)
2nd Street -Jay Cowit
3rd Street – Vera Segond von Banchet band(BQCM)
4th Street- Rolie Polie Guacamole
5th Street – Leo Adamov duet (BQCM)
6thStreet- Joe Cantor
7th Street – Michele Temple duet (BQCM)
8th Street - Dan Strauss
9th Street – Christine Moore duet (BQCM)
11th Street – Rebecca Buxton duet (BQCM)
12th Street- Chris Nourijanian
13th Street- Opera on Tap
15th Street- Mike Bizzie
16th Street- Bryan Nevel
17th Street- Angel Jam Band (Bill Duke/cdc31)

Tomorrow: Make Music New York

Just a reminder that Summer starts tomorrow at 1:16 pm EDT.

To celebrate, the Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID is sponsoring Make Music Fifth Avenue. More than 25 live musical performances are scheduled to take place on Fifth Avenue Street corners between 7 and 9 pm on Tuesday, June 21st and Wednesday, June 22nd.

Now, if only the weather would cooperate. Last year, the weather was perfect. This year, rain is scheduled to move in just as the festivities begin.

Stay tuned for updates!

To view the full list of performances (subject to change and move around if it's stormy outside), go to parkslopefifthavenuebid.com/makemusic2011.

Happy Father's Day!

-from the gang at All About Fifth and the Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID. Enjoy the day, Dads!

Photo via Flickr [pferdey]

News Round-Up

Park Slope’s Best Beer Cocktail: The Michelada [PS Patch]

Young Love on a Low Budget [NY Times]

Urban Legend in the Slope [PS Patch]

Food Fight! Slope Merchants Object to New Truck Rally [Brooklyn Paper]

Recent Changes Along Fifth

More changes on the Avenue and along the side streets this month. Here are the highlights from yesterday's walk:

NEW

Prophesies Gallery: 665 President Street near Fifth Avenue. This is a new, boutique-style storefront gallery with paintings, photos and more. New featured artists and events every month. (see photo above)

Pony: a new women's clothing store appears to have moved into the space occupied by Ashaveza (69 Fifth Avenue). We'll have to do some more investigating when they are open.

Virgin Mobile: has replaced Clear at 84 Fifth Avenue.

Avon: As we mentioned last week, Avon opened a recruitment center at 479 Fifth Avenue.

Closed

Lisa Lobue Hair Salon: While the 512 Fifth Avenue storefront recently closed, they have opened in another location called "Lisa Lobue Studio" at 268 14th Street, near Fifth Avenue.

Harry Bolands: closed down by the Department of Health at the beginning of the month and now "For Sale." More here.

George and Farid Talk Marriage Equality

Marriage Equality has been a big story in New York State over the past few months, so we thought that the video, above, was timely.

George and Farid, owners of Fifth Avenue's Bogota Latin Bistro, have been a couple for more than a decade and they they want to be married, legally, in New York State.

We won't wade too far into the politics involved but we think that, matterless of your personal feelings on this issue, you'll find this video (which they made for Freedom to Marry) is worth watching.

Brooklyn Pride Photos

We're a little late posting these photos. Better late than never, though. The 2011 Parade and Happy Hour looked like two great Fifth Avenue events. Congratulations to everyone involved!

Photos by Betsy Klingenberg

Tunisian Crochet at Stitch Therapy

Fifth Avenue's own Stitch Therapy has been a go-to destination for the borough's handmade culture for years.

On Wednesday, June 22nd, 6:30-9:30 pm, ignore the summer weather and drop by their shop (335 Fifth Avenue) to learn Tunisian Crochet (hey, it will get cold again in about 4 months, don't you worry).

Techniques covered: casting on, estimating size, Tunisian simple stitch, Tunisian purl stitch, seed stitch pattern, working in the round with one or two colors, increases, decreases and binding off.

The class is $60.00, materials not included. Interested? Give Stitch Therapy a call at 718-398-2020.

Happy Brooklyn Pride Day!

Lots going on in Park Slope today, to celebrate Brooklyn Pride 2011! There's a 5K run, a multicultural festival, a special "Kid's Space" and, on Fifth Avenue, a Happy Hour and the Big Parade!

For details on the day's events, go to brooklynpride.org/pride-2011.

As for Fifth Avenue, the Happy Hour is taking place at 32 venues between Dean and 18th Streets from 5 to 7 pm. The Parade starts at 7:30.

Check out the list of participating bars and restaurants, below, to find a favorite watering hole, near you!

The list is also available on parkslopefifthavenuebid.com, on the go, on your smartphone. Just open the url in your mobile browser and follow the instructions to the list!

Happy Hour Participants

O'Connor's
39 5th Ave / Bergen

Black Sheep Pub
428 Bergen / 5th Ave

Melt
440 Bergen / 5th Ave.

Miriam Restaurant
79 5th Ave / Prospect Pl

El Pollito Mexicano
119 5th Ave / Sterling Pl

Los Pollitos
148 5th Ave / Douglass

Nana Restaurant & Bar
155 5th Ave / Lincoln

Babouche
165 5th Ave / Lincoln

200 Fifth
200 5th Ave / Union

Comida Mercado Fresca
230 5th Ave / President

High Dive Pub
243 5th Ave / Carroll

Aunt Suzie's
247 5th Ave / Carroll

Aperitivo
279 5th Ave /1st St

Blue Ribbon
280 5th Ave/1st St

Pete's Pizzeria
289 5th Ave / 2nd St

Baluchi's Indian Restaurant
310 5th Ave / 2nd St

Ginger's Bar
363 5th Ave / 5th St

Bar Reis
375 5th Ave / 6th St

Kappa Sake House
388 5th Ave./ 6th St.

Excelsior
390 5th Ave / 6th St

Coco Roco
392 5th Ave / 6th St

Mezcal's Mexican Restaurant
396 5th Ave / 7th St

Rachel's Taqueria
408 5th Ave / 7th St

Smith's Tavern
440 5th Ave / 9th St

Timboo's
477 5th Ave /11th St

Tacos Nuevo Mexico
491 5th Ave /12 St

Piramide
499 5th Ave / 12th St

Lucky 13 Saloon
273 13th St / 5th Ave

The Fifth Estate
506 5th Ave / 12th St

Black Horse Pub
568 5th Ave / 16th St

Freddy's Bar
627 5th Ave / 17th St

South
629 5th Ave / 17th St

News Round-Up

Up-Skirt Pervert In Park Slope Key Food Foiled By Workers [Gothamist]

Whole Foods Build Given Green Light by Community Board [PS Patch]

'Gossip Girl,' 'The Departed,' 'I Am Legend': Brooklyn Film Locations are Star Attractions on Tour [NY Daily News]

Eat Wieners Inspired By Weiner In Park Slope [Gothamist]

Anthony Weiner is a Park Slope Boy [OTBKB]

Avon Coming to Fifth

For as long as we can remember (which, honestly, isn't that long), the space at 479 Fifth Avenue has been vacant and hidden behind a newish steel roll-gate and Department of Buildings permits.

Yesterday, Here's Park Slope reported that the mysterious space will soon be occupied by an Avon store. It isn't clear whether this will be some sort of new retail shop or an office to help recruit new independent sales people.

Man, it's hard to keep up with the changes on this avenue. Time to take a walk, again, and see what else is new!

This Weekend: Brooklyn Pride

We mentioned it last week but we just wanted to remind you all again: this Saturday, June 11th, is the Brooklyn Pride Happy Hour and Parade on Fifth.

Drop by participating Fifth Avenue bars and restaurants between 5 and 7 pm for specials and deals. The full list is available at parkslopefifthavenuebid.com/happyhour2011.

After the Happy Hour is over, join the amazing Brooklyn Pride Parade as it makes its way from 14th Street to Sterling Place. Yup, it's a night-time parade!

Full details on the days events are available at brooklynpride.org/pride-2011.

Weiners at Der Kommissar

Ok, we promise, this will be the only Anthony Weiner reference on this blog.

When we saw this post on FIPS yesterday, though, we just had to mention it here.

Recently-opened Fifth Avenue eatery Der Kommissar made The Daily News this week for their special "Anthony's Weiners" special. I think that's all we need to say. Read the story for yourself here.

Photo via NYDailynews.com.

Gin in June for The Old Stone House

This Friday, from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, join food historian Sarah Lohman for a gin tasting event to benefit The Old Stone House and Washington Park.

Sample four gins, including two historic gins and two contemporary gins distilled locally in Brooklyn. Lohman will speak on the history of each liquor and mix it into a cocktail from the past. Bar food from the 1880s will also be served. Enjoy fresh bread and butter, pickled walnuts, mushroom ketchup, beef tongue, roast beef, pickled pig’s feet and ham (that's way more interesting than popcorn and nuts).

Sounds like a fun, unique experience and a great way to raise funds for this popular local institution. Space is limited, so buy your tickets here, before the event is sold out!

News Round-Up

Eight Great Moments in Park Slope Food Coop History [NY Racked]

True Cafe Culture at the Newly Opened Couleur Café [PS Patch]

Park Slope Civic Council To Hold General Meeting [Brooklyn Eagle]

Big Traffic Changes in the Works for Atlantic Yards Area [PS Patch]

Serving it up at Naruto Ramen, in Park Slope [NY Portraits]

Make Music Fifth Avenue 2011

Well, it's almost here! June 21st marks the official start of summer (although you wouldn't know that from the weather we are having this week).

June 21st is also Make Music NY day, the annual festival that brings musicians to the streets of New York to welcome the summer season. Last year, Fifth Avenue celebrated in style with musicians stretching from Dean to 18th Street (take a look at the photo set and video posted here).
This year, the event will run on both Tuesday the 21st and Wednesday the 22nd, from 7 to 9 PM.

Save the dates!

Brooklyn Pride Happy Hour

Happy June, everyone! It seems like just yesterday that we were digging ourselves out of giant piles of snow, doesn't it?

Well, things are really going to heat up on Fifth Avenue this month, during the 15th Annual Brooklyn Pride Celebration.

Of course, the parade will take place on Saturday, June 11 at 7:30 pm on Fifth Avenue from 14th Street to Sterling Place. This year, the Park Slope Fifth Avenue BID and Brooklyn Pride will be starting the night off right with the first annual Brooklyn Pride Happy Hour! Participating bars and restaurants will be providing discounts and specials for parade attendees to enjoy, before the festivities start.

For a complete list of participating Happy Hour businesses, go to parkslopefifthavenuebid.com/happyhour2011.

Save the date! It's coming up soon!