SB Children's Garden Pics.

The South Brooklyn Children's Garden, on the corner of Sackett and Columbia Streets, has come a long way.  They had a bake sale last weekend and the turn out was really great!  We took a pic of their spread of baked goods as well as hot foods at the table in the background and took this opportunity to take some more pictures of the garden's recent improvements as well.  They've decorated for fall, putting out bails of hay to sit on.  The picture at the very bottom shows the gardening tool area with freshly decorated pumpkins drying. 

Beer Garden!

What does this neighborhood need?  Really good Chinese food? Yes. A delicious Indian restaurant? Sure.  Well, while we're waiting for those two wishes to come true how about a beer garden? Yes, please!  This beer garden and restaurant (pictured above in the early stages) is coming to Summit and Columbia Street.  We'll share more info as it comes our way.

La Bottega on Columbia.

We are so sad to see Caselnova go.  They were our neighbors at 215 Columbia and the food was delicious.  The new sign up says a place called La Bottega will be opening in this spot.  This Italian Restaurant, which serves mainly paninis, has several locations throughout New York.  Good news for those of you who are gluten free, they have entire menu dedicated to you. 

New Liquor Store on Columbia.

With the Clockworks Puppet Theater out of the space for a while now, 196 Columbia has opened up with a new tenant.  It's a wine and liquor store.  It's been having it's grand opening for the last week or so.  We were definitely sad to see something like the puppet theater (such a unique and creative place) go but hopefully these new tenants will do well here!

Brooklyn Herborium on Columbia.

We saw this signage in the window of 275 Columbia Street.  It's an herb and skincare shop started by two Brooklyn moms, Molly and Emma.  Right now they have a really nice website, where they sell their products.  This is the first storefront for this online company.  About the products? They say on their website that they "want to make the world a better place for our children, a cleaner safer place, one where we don’t have to constantly stress about products and chemicals that we expose them (and ourselves) to". 

Honeydew Drop Childcare on Columbia Street.

257 Columbia Street, which used to be the little postal store, has had a new tenant on the second floor for a little while.  Although they aren't quite open yet, Honeydew Drop is taking calls and answering questions about their daycare, 718-855-2548.  The company has daycares and preschools in other areas of Brooklyn.  This place on Columbia is called Honeydew Little Stars and they'll be taking ages 4mos-2yrs.  For more info visit their website.

New Restaurant coming to Columbia Street.

192 Columbia has been vacant for a little while now.  It used to be Kotobuki Bistro and has been sporting this sign (above) that says "Cesar's Garden Restaurant", which will be a Greek restaurant.  There's no sign of any work being done there when we took this photo last week it was the middle of the day on a weekday and the gate was down.  We'll keep an eye out for any changes and if anyone hears of any opening dates or has more info please share!

Martial Arts On Columbia.

We recently blogged about a martial arts studio at the corner of Columbia and Sackett called Aikido.  We noticed a few days ago that only a few blocks away, at 157 Columbia, another martial arts studio is opening up.  It's called Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu  and it looks like thay'll be opening up fairly soon.  The website, which you can check out here, indicates that the studio is coming soon and from the signage on the window it looks like they'd like people to start signing up for classes pretty soon.  This place already has a handful of locations around Brooklyn.  From the looks of their website the practice seems intense, although they do have a juniors class.

Aikido coming soon.

It's amazing how much Columbia Street is growing and changing.  Every time we walk down this stretch there is a new place opening up.  Coming soon to 205 Columbia is Aikido of South Brooklyn.  It's a martial arts studio for ages youth to adult and all different levels.  A vintage store used to occupy this space.  The new studio, which is moving from DUMBO, will open up by October 1st.  For more info you can check out their website.

Chio on Columbia.

117 Columbia, formerly Casa Di Campagna, has a new tenant.  Also an Italian restaurant, Chio focuses more on Mediterranean fare.  We'd passed by several times and weren't sure what was going to open in that spot.  The picture above is from a week or so before the opened.  The menu is fresh and dynamic.  In our own Mary Gaglio's words, who was one of the first to try it, "it's so delicious, everything we had was great".  And with nothing over $20, it's pretty moderately priced.  Anyone else had a chance to try it?  Tell us what you think!

New Diner on Columbia Waterfront!

We're very excited about this new place on Columbia Street right across the street from our office!  Water's Edge Diner has been in the works for a while.  They had a lot of work to do on the interior and they've completed, have opened their doors (pic above) and are bringing light to Columbia Street (pic below)!  It's always good to have a neighborhood diner and this area hasn't had one for a long time.  It's the ultimate comfort food for New Yorkers.  We think they'll do well. 

Fireballs in Gowanus.

If you hear some loud explosions in the area tomorrow, don't be alarmed.  We received this notification yesterday.

Notification issued 8/21/12 at 1:00 PM. Tomorrow, August 22nd, the filming of a movie will simulate an explosion with a fireball effect on private property near Columbia Street and Gowanus Bay in Brooklyn. The stunt will happen once during the hours of 2-4pm; FDNY will be on site. 
 
I hope these notifications are reaching the masses though.  A few people who we talked to hadn't heard anything about it and it would a pretty scary thing to hear...and even worse to see from afar.  So, we're spreading the word.  Please share this!

The Children's Garden!

We reported back in May that the lot at Sackett and Columbia is set to be turned into a children's garden.  We were very excited when we found out and couldn't wait to see the eyesore of an empty lot be transformed into something great for the community.  We don't have to wait any longer! Alright, well, maybe a little bit longer.  But,  as you can see in the pic above, the transformation has begun and folks were working on it last weekend.  A lot of people came to help out.  Man, we love our hood!  The Columbia Street Children's Garden is on it's way!

Nine Cakes on Columbia.

We stopped by the specialty cake shop at 155 Columbia Street the other day to see how they were doing and they looked hard at work.  They have been in the space for a couple of years now and they seem to be doing very well.  They get really good reviews on yelp.  Customers talk about the cake being delicious and beautiful (one said "The cake was the star of the party!").  Most also comment on how wonderful owner, Betsy Thorleifson, was throughout the whole process.  One thing we didn't know about the shop is that they not only make cakes for special occasions, like weddings and whatnot, but they have everyday cakes as well that are pretty decently priced.  So, if you're interested in a cake for a special occasion or just a cake to celebrate it being a Monday you can check out their website at http://www.ninecakes.com/.

More on Pok Pok...

We've been reading articles regarding Pok Pok, our favorite neighborhood Thai restaurant, lately.  First check out the pic above that we saw on Eater New York.  This was taken on a Saturday night recently and shows a line to get a table stretching down the block before the sun had even set.  This brings us to another article in the NY Times which recently reviewed Pok Pok and gave it two stars (in case you're unfamiliar with the Times restaurant reviews that is good).  These two stars have made the already packed restaurant even harder to get into.  We had called that Saturday night, coincidentally, and the wait was close to 3 hours long.  The third bit of info we heard recently had to do with the fact that they now have outdoor seating, which is cool but apparently doesn't get you a table any faster.  Will we ever be able to enjoy the delicious Thai food again without having to camp out for hours???

Pop Paradigms at Art Lot

Art Lot, at 206 Columbia Street and Sackett, had an opening reception last Saturday for their new exhibit and they had quite a turn out.  It was packed when we stopped by, took the pic above, and checked out the exhibit.  It will be around until July 22nd so if you missed the reception you still have plenty of time to visit.  It's called Pop Paradigms and is curated by Aimee Burg and Natalia Zubko.  Catherine Telford-Keogh, Nate Heiges, Lorraine Duaw, Kyla Chevrier, and Marin Abell are the artists.  You have a month and a half.  Go see it!

BBQ at PortSide PopUP

The grand opening of PortSide's PopUp mini-museum and gallery is this weekend, which coincides perfectly with fleet week.  They're having a backyard BBQ to celebrate and the neighborhood is invited.  Here's what they had to say about it:

We'd like to celebrate with a small circle of friends in BBQ party in the backyard of 145 Columbia Street on Monday 5/28 around 6:30pm and would like to invite you!

 

We'll cover the beer and wine. Please bring something for the grill, a side dish, or a dessert.

Please RSVP to portsidenewyork@gmail.com if you'd like to attend!

Columbia Connector Meeting Tonight

Do you want to be involved in your community? Yes? Then come out tonight for an important meeting concerning the Columbia Street Connector project. Join your neighbors at 6:30 tonight at The Red Hook Initiative, 767 Hicks Street. Here's some more information we got from an email about what to expect at the meeting.

Monday evening’s presentation will include a design vision for the Columbia Street Connector, the stretch of Columbia Street between Lorraine Street and the Erie Basin Pier, including the Greenstreet at Halleck, in Red Hook. Options will be presented for greening the corridor, calming traffic, connecting residents to the waterfront, and connecting the Red Hook neighborhood to the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway route.This stretch of Columbia Street has low traffic and wide sidewalks. The land uses in the northern three blocks are mostly industrial and commercial and the pedestrian experience there and on the Esplanade could be improved significantly with vegetation and other treatments.

Because this is an important junction with the greenway, Brooklyn Greenway Initiative and Regional Plan Association seek the Red Hook community’s input on what improvements would be desirable to make this an attractive route and destination for Red Hook residents. In April 2011, Red Hook community members met to develop a plan to improve this part of the neighborhood. At the March 19, 2012 report-back meeting we will update you on the progress of the plan and how we can work with you to get it implemented.

Update on Pok Pok.

Back in October we were very excited to share with you that leases had been signed for a Thai restaurant, Pok Pok, to move into the space at 127 Columbia Street. Well, things are coming along and we wanted to share a little more info, including the photo above of the new signage. Originally a critically acclaimed restaurant that still exists in Portland, Oregon, Pok Pok's cuisine is mainly Northern Thai. It's a lot different from the other Thai restaurants in the neighborhood. They're especially known for their delicious ribs and wings. You can check out the menu from their Portland Restaurant here. Along with the new storefront there was a sign in the window basically telling the neighborhood who they are and that they are happy to be here. We're happy to have you!

Santa At MikNic!

Hey everyone, Santa going to be at MikNic's tomorrow from 1-4pm! Bring your kids and your cameras!