Brokelyn

What do you want to see here next summer?

It’s no secret that Brokelyn has a well-documented pro-outdoor summer movie bias. So here’s your chance to join a team that gives us something to look forward to during those bleak winter months: the Volunteer Film Committee for Syfy Movies With A View at Brooklyn Bridge Park is looking for new members! The group is made of film buffs, film professors, professionals and dedicated amateurs who meet three times during the winter to debate the film choices for the season. Then, they help run each film night in July and August. Email Alison Hughes to apply: the deadline is Nov. 30!

Free wifi has been creeping its way across public parks ever since the city announced the initiative this summer: McCarren Park  became the first to go online in September. Today, AT&T flipped the service on in two more: Pier 1 at Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Picnic House at Prospect Park (along with Marcus Garvey Park in Manhattan in Harlem, where you can go for some non-BK marathon watching). Fort Greene and Herbert Von King parks are slated to get wifi next. How well does it work? Brokelyn’s Meredith Olson took her laptop to McCarren to put it through the paces. See her findings here!

Even Biebs can't resist a good Instagram

Do you hear that giant sucking sound? That’s the sound of the waning days of summer being drained into the chilly fall basin. But instead of storing your energy just to complain about snow and cold, you should be spending it taking advantage of the sweet free summer offerings before it’s too late. If you like horror movies, grab a date and forRosemary’s Baby at Brooklyn Bridge Park on Thursday or the equally terrifying Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never on the beach at Coney Island on Tuesday. Wednesday gives us another Secret Science Club at The Bell House on the topic “Flower Power!” Free music this week includes Wavves and Dum Dum Girls at East River Park on Thursday, with the House of Vans playing host to Converge and Touche Amore on Wednesday (get there early!). If all that is getting you stressed for the end of summer, you can always relax with free Community Warm Yoga class at Sacred on Saturday.

Photos: saying goodbye on Moe’s last night [FG Patch]
How to NOT get hired at Vinnie’s pizza [Gothamist]
Win tickets to the Book of Mormon [the skint]
Whole Foods Brooklyn construction (sort of?) underway [Brownstoner]
Video catches “mystery engagement” in BK Bridge Park [Village Voice]
Urban Design Week collecting your ideas for a better city [UDW]
Gas prices have cabbies clamoring for fare hikes [Daily News]
Hailing a car service on the street to remain illegal, for now [NYT]
Journalism and horticulture top list of most useless college degrees [FishbowlNY]

Movies with a View in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Photo via Eileen O'Donnell on Flickr

Nothing gets us as excited for summer as when all the free event listings start filling the inbox, and today we got news on one of the best: the nine free movies that will be shown at Brooklyn Bridge Park from July 17-Sept. 1, all of which are New York themed. Before long, thoughts of digging out your doorstep day after day will seem like ludicrous nightmares as we recline on a blanket under the humid stars, pull snacks from a picnic basket and revel in Woody Allen’s Manhattan against the beautiful backdrop of the city skyline. See the full schedule below. Read the rest of this entry »

In the grand tradition of Citi Field, Staples Center and Doritos Hail to the Cheese Colbert Report campaign, Brooklyn Bridge Park could soon have a corporate name. The gorgeous park — home to free movies, yoga classes, kayak outings and general good times — may sell naming rights to cover the estimated $16 million annual upkeep, reports NY1. The 85-acre park would be the first time even part of a New York City park carried a sponsor’s name (the idea came from Chicago’s Millennium Park, where sponsors pick up half the cost). Other options being considered to pick up the tab include building more high-rise condos. So we wondered: what name would you want to see on Brooklyn’s showpiece park? Some of our suggestions below: Read the rest of this entry »

Photo by Etienne Frossard

It’s a little difficult to recommend anything outdoors this week, but we’ll just put the stuff out there, and you gauge the risk. Tonight, Jul. 6, the Fitness Guru is holding a free hour-long Pilates mat class in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The park’s Conservancy runs a slew of events and programs (some of which, you might have heard of), and this is the first of the weekly Tuesday-night Pilates classes that continue through August. The 7 p.m. classes are open to all skill-levels, and they’re held at Pier 1. Registration, which is required, starts at 6:30. And you can “rent” a free mat with ID. Who knows? With the heat, it could be a private lesson. More info here.

Photo by Etienne Frossard.

You’re surely aware by now of the some of the great stuff the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy is responsible for. Where else can you watch iconic films while you picnic under the shadow of an iconic bridge? But did you know the conservancy hosts a bunch of other free programming, like educational classes, park-stewardship events, waterfront workouts, boating, bird-watching and seining the river? Of course, all this doesn’t come cheap. So tonight’s your chance to pitch in at the conservancy fundraiser and ensure the East River gem keeps the pleasant nights flowing for years to come. Read the rest of this entry »

Believe it or not, the affordable big-screen movie isn’t dead. And by affordable, we mean FREE. This summer, Brooklyn’s home to at least a half dozen spots where you can take in a good-old cinematic experience without cracking the wallet. Check out these venues where you can get sticky seats, rowdy crowds… and a movie, no snack-smuggling or cash transaction required. Read the rest of this entry »

TONIGHT: The Met Opera summer recitals bring soprano Joyce El-Khoury + more to Coffey Park (Red Hook) Free, 7 p.m.

TOMORROW: Check out the floating ecohabitat/art installation the Waterpod, docked in Brooklyn Heights thru 8/17. Free, all day.

TOMORROW: Kayak the Cove off of Brooklyn Bridge Park, (also 8/22, 29). Free. 2 to 6 p.m.

SUNDAY: Go deep + prowl the world’s oldest subway tunnel at the Atlantic Avenue tunnel tour (rsvp quickly!). $10-15, 11 a.m. + 1:15 p.m.

TUESDAY: Iceland’s rootsy Mugison plays all 5 boros for amnesty international. Pete’s Candy Store. Free, 11 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Lynchian love story Wild at Heart, (Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern) @ McCarren Park. Free. Movie plays at dusk;  gates open at 6.

Listings brought to you by the skint.