New Year's Eve To Do

A lot of people, if not most, wait until last minute to make New Year's Eve plans.  Well, if you haven't made any plans yet but still want to go out maybe we can help.  Here are a few suggestions.

1. Hang out in Red Hook!  Because of Red Hook's limited transportation you can avoid tourists and huge crowds by hanging at one of the many awesome bars in the nieghborhood.  They are sure to have a good amount of people (pretty awesome people if you ask us) to mingle with without being suffocatingly crowded.

2. Brooklyn Buschenschank is having a champagne toast at midnight along with their normal menu, which is perfect for noshing on all night, and their awesome beer selection.  They are taking reservations but also are excepting walk-ins, so you may want to give them a shot.

3. MikNic Lounge is having a New Years Eve party.  We think this bar, located on Columbia Street, is the neighborhoods best kept secret.  It's a great space with great music but usually isn't too crowded.  It's a perfect place to go tonight to ring in the New Year.

We hope this helps! Have a wonderful and safe night!

Party at Bell House tonight!

We think you may need to practice your partying skills for New Years Eve.  So before you party like it's 2013 you may want to go to tonight's event at The Bell House (149 7th st in Gowanus), "Party Like it's 1999".  It starts at 9pm and runs until 3am.  If you've got cabin fever or have family in town that you'd like a break from, this party is perfect.  More below from the event's facebook page.


Party Like It’s 1999: The Post-Christmas Edition. You won’t hear any Christmas songs, just the best of 1990s rock, pop, dance, R&B and hip-hop that get you shaking off those post-holiday blues. And as always, it’s free in the Main Event Hall at The Bell House!

Take Root is Fully Open.

The storefront, Take Root, on Sackett Street has been halfway open for a while.  They were supposed to open the dining half, we thought, months ago but only the yoga studio was up and running.  Well, earlier last week they had the balloons out and the "noshery" was open.  For those who haven't heard of this new place here's the concept.  It's a shared space, part yoga studio, part snack shop, part tasting dinner parlor I guess you'd call it.  The snack menu is below and the tasting menu for the 10 person max seated dinners are probably ever changing.  the price for now is $85 per person.  We're very interested to see how this place does.  We hope well, of course.  It is an interesting idea and if it goes well we may see more businesses sharing space in the future.  Is your New Years Resolution going to be "Try new things?"

Fun tonight at Jalopy!

Roots & Ruckus is a weekly night of old-time, folk and blues music at Jalopy Theater, 315 Columbia Street.  If you have family in town for the holidays this event is perfect.  It's fun, family friendly and gives you a warm fuzzy feeling while you watch these talented musicians playing banjos, guitars, washboards, tub-basses kazoos and harmonicas at this very intimate theater.  The show begins at 9pm tonight.  If this sounds awesome but you can't go tonight you can go any other Wednesday, and it's free too!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas from everyone here at Realty Collective.  If you're looking for something to do today we suggest walking down to the Brooklyn Promenade! It's one of our favorite things to do and reminds us how lucky we are to live in such an amazing place...plus it's a great way to walk off all those cookies you've been indulging in.  And if you go after dinner the view is spectacular.  The Manhattan skyline is like the ultimate Christmas light show!  Well, we hope you are yours are well and enjoying the holiday season! 

Holiday Show/Dance Party Tonight!

Some of you may be hitting the sack early tonight, setting the milk and cookies out, and getting ready for Santa to come.  Yet, some of you may not be celebrating tomorrow at all and others still are celebrating but would prefer to do so on little sleep, a slight hangover, and some awesome memories from the night before still rolling around in their heads.  For these last two sets you may be interested in the Special Night Train Holiday Show and Dance Party with Wyatt Cenac!  It starts at 8pm, doors at 7:30 at Littlefield and tickets are $8 at the door.  Other guests include David Cross, Janeane Garofalo, Michael Che, Claudia Cogan, DJ sets by TED LEO and DANNY GLOVER, + more!

Last Minute Holiday Shopping!

Okay, it's crunch time and you need to find a creative and awesome gift for the stragglers on your list.  What do you do?  Well, the first step is head to Red Hook and see if you can't find something in one of the many wonderful boutiques up and down Van Brunt.  Grab some lunch and a sweet snack while you're there.  If after that you still have to finish off that list you may want to consider going to one of these holiday fairs this weekend. 


Brooklyn Craft Central Market at Littlefield, 633 Degraw Street Dec 22nd &23rd  11am-5pm

Brooklyn Night Bazaar, 45 North 5th St. in Williamsburg.  Dec 21st & 22nd  6pm-midnight

Brooklyn Flea, Skylight One Hanson space at the former Williamsburg Savings Bank, near Atlantic Terminal and Brooklyn Academy of Music. Not a holiday fair but has extended hours for the holidays.  Dec 22nd and 23rd 10am- 6pm.

Christmas Caroling Tonight!

First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn in Brooklyn Heights invites everyone to join their choir tonight for a night of caroling.  After caroling you can warm up by the fire with snacks and drinks too.  If this sounds like a fun night then join them tonight at 7pm.  Meet at the Sanctuary at 124 Henry Street and be ready to belt out some Christmas songs...or just murmur and enjoy soaking up the Christmas spirit around you.

New Chipotle.

Only blocks from the Chipotle located on Montague, another one has sprung up at 140 Court Street near Trader Joes.  This makes a lot of sense since every time we've been to the Montague location their has been a line almost out the door.  They do very well for weekday lunches.  This space was "for lease" for a very long time and we got used to walking by seeing the empty store, which used to be the pet store Beastly Bite but moved across the street.  Then out of nowhere it transformed into a Chipotle and looks nearly ready to open.  Five Guys didn't do so well when they expanded from Montague to Court but only time will tell for Chipotle.

Newtown Memorial Fund.

When tragedy strikes an immediate reaction within the community is "how can we help?".  We've definitely been feeling and hearing people talk about this in the wake of the recent horrors that transpired at Sandy Hook Elementary.  We can't even imagine how the victim's families and the residents of Newtown are feeling right now.  We are all grieving in our own community on a smaller scale and have been searching for ways to reach out, in addition to attending one of the several vigils around Brooklyn last weekend.  We recently heard about this memorial fund and thought we'd share it with you.  Click here to learn more or to donate.

MadeinNYC.org

When doing your holiday shopping this year you should keep this website in your hearts and mind.  The products sold on this site are directly from manufacturers located along the city's waterfront who were hit hardest by hurricane Sandy.  Man of these manufacturers lost inventory, supplies, and equipment and need your help.  Read more about it below.


You can help these businesses to rebound and rebuild from the disaster by shopping through www.MadeInNYC.org.  Made In NYC has compiled a Holiday Directory with a growing list of businesses who manufacture products ranging from cupcakes to couture dresses and sell their products directly to consumers online. We’re working to help these businesses get back on their feet by asking New Yorkers (and others) to support them by ordering products NOW for the holiday season through our new Holiday Directory.  You can help keep production lines rolling and employees working during this sensitive time by shopping Made In NYC.

If you are a local manufacturer and want to add your business to the holiday directory, click here.

Restore Red Hook Tattoo and Art Show Reminder!

Just a quick reminder that this benefit for small businesses in Red Hook (all proceeds going to restoreredhook.org) will be this Sunday, December 16th at Kidd Studios 133 Imlay St. 11231 Brooklyn, NY from 2pm-8pm.  Be there!  More info, including a flash sheet of tattoos, from the event's facebook page is below.



"...its going to be a great event in a very unique art space for a great cause! Come on down, shop, eat, grab a drink, hang out, buy art, get tattooed! Confirmed musical guests so far, Brothers N.Y.C."

Made in Gowanus Tour.

The first "Made in Gowanus Tour" will be kicking off this weekend.  Owner and producer, Dom Gervasi, has been giving his "Made in Brooklyn Tours" for a while now, focusing on different areas like Dumbo and Williamsburg.  You can add Gowanus to the list starting Saturday.  The groups he takes out are pretty small and it looks like this one is already sold out.  But don't worry, there will be more to come.  Just keep an eye on this website.

Toy Museum on Smith!

The Toy Museum of NY is now located at 180 Smith Street.  This place looks really cute and perfect for the family neighborhood.  They not only have the museum part of the space but they also have classes, including a theater class, plays, and birthday parties.  Although, they were said to have moved in a couple of months ago, a lot of people in the neighborhood weren't aware, probably because they have a second floor space above Ecopolis Cafe.  Well their signs are out and we'll be visiting soon!

61 Local Gingerbread Block Party!

As they did last year, 61Local had a holiday party that consisted of building a gingerbread house and having drinks and hanging out.  The difference this year? Instead of merely a house they built a gingerbread block!  It wasn't completely finished when we took this pic but mostly.  It's beautiful isn't it?  Probably pretty yummy too!

Red Hook Tree Lighting Tonight!

Okay so it's rainy and there may not be that winter chill in the air that makes you feel like the holidays are coming.  We have something that might help.  Come out tonight to Coffey Park and absorb some holiday cheer!  From 5:30-7:30pm you can celebrate with the annual tree lighting while drinking the warm holiday beverage of your choice (apple cider or hot chocolate, sorry no hot toddies).  There will be caroling, hanging with neighbors and friends, of course, a tree raffle and gifts for children!

Two Smith Street Staples Gone.

We saw a couple of signs back to back on Smith Street earlier this week.  One at 193 Smith, NY Perks, and one at 195, formerly Robin De Bois.  These two places have been around for a while and have both now closed.  NY Perks was a nightclub/bar that received mixed reviews on yelp and you may not have even noticed it walking by because you could never see inside the tinted windows.  It now has a for lease sign out front.  Right next door, Robin De Bois also got mixed reviews but you couldn't help but notice it because it had some really crazy window displays.  That space, as you can see above, will soon be a brick oven pizza restaurant.  We'll see what's to become of the space at 193 Smith.

Winter Festival in Red Hook?

There was a great blog about Red Hook's small business community on Grubstreet a few days ago and while reading through the stories, mostly of community members coming together to help one another out, but also of the difficulties owners have faced and some are still facing in reopening their businesses, we couldn't help but feel heartbroken all over again.  We've written a couple of blogs about how now more than ever people should be flocking to Red Hook instead of staying distant.  In this Grubstreet blog we read something about a possible winter festival in the works for Red Hook and thought "What a great idea!".  We haven't been able to find any more info than this small mention so we assume it's in the early stage of development but we'll definitely keep you updated as we get news.  Until then please tell everyone you know, "Come out to Red Hook, go shopping, have lunch/dinner. get some drinks!!!"

Rum and Raisin.

This new store on Smith is called Rum and Raisin. Cute name!  It's taking over the space that used to be Smith Pet Food at 188 Smith Street between Dean and Pacific.  According to a twitter feed we found, this is the fifth location of this "fashion forward women's clothing store" but on their facebook there is only one other location listed.  Check out their page and see what to expect.

CAG Meeting tonight.

There will be a Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group (CAG) meeting that is open to the public tonight starting at 6pm.  Senior level official from the NYSDEC will be there to discuss canal clean-up.  You'll have an opportunity to get some questions answered as CAG will be collecting questions and asking them as time permits.  For more info on what to expect read the excerpt below from a CAG email about the meeting.  


December 4 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at PS 32, 317 Hoyt Street, Brooklyn.

Your presence at this meeting will help demonstrate the community’s strong support for a comprehensive clean-up of the canal.  The CAG will be asking NYSDEC officials pointed questions about the state’s role in the enforcement of Clean Water Act requirements to eliminate sewage overflows, whether and how the state is coordinating with EPA’s Superfund cleanup process, and other issues of vital importance to a proper clean-up of the canal and protection of public health.

NYSDEC is the only agency that has the right to review and provide comments to EPA on EPA’s Superfund clean-up plan prior to its release, which is expected by the end of 2012.  The CAG encourages a strong public turnout at this meeting to show NYSDEC the community’s concern that the clean-up be done right. 

Festivities in Carroll Park!

Carroll Park has a couple of holiday events coming up.  One is a live radio play of "A Christmas Carol" presented by The Smith Street Stage.  It should be a fun and festive event and tickets are a requested donation of $10 for adults and $8 for children.  For more info you can check out their website.  Another event coming up is the annual Holiday Tree Lighting on December 7th followed by a party at the park house.  That starts at 6pm.  If it's the same as last year you can expect hot chocolate, caroling and Santa!