Williamsburg is Dead

Uh Oh, Gang Initiation Today in Williamsburg

Err, don't want to frighten anybody, but I heard this on the Tumblrvine and it's damn scary:

I don’t usually feed into the culture of fear, but this is pretty important. I work at a school in my community called El Puente and we have been advised that the Bloods are having their initiation today. They actually have it every year at this time. However, the threat is very real today and they have said that they will be targeting young women. All the local schools have been notified and are sending children home and canceling after-school programs as we have. If you know anything about the Bloods you know that they tend to slash people on initiation. If you’re coming to Williamsburg, please think twice about it. And if you still must come then please be aware of this.

-email forwarded from a friend.

UPDATE: Is this just an urban legend? Williamsboard debates! Also, tonight there have been reports of murderers calling ... from inside the house!

UPDATED UPDATE: From NYC The Blog:

Just spoke with the 90th Precinct in Williamsburg, the officer who spoke has not heard anything about cancelling after school programs in the neighborhood, but did note that they have a beefed up presence in the neighborhood due to information about increased gang activity and the rumors mentioned above. No answered the phone at either number called for El Puente Academy on S.4th St.

Happy Halloween Williamsburg

You're all dressed up like Sarah Palin with nowhere to go. Don't worry, we're here to help.

• Check out a free screening of Donnie Darko at Cafe Grumpy as part of their "Hoodies, Wheelies and Movies" series. Starts at 7pm.
• 3rd Ward is having an all-night Halloween bash featuring DJs aplenty, live hip-hop, the twenty piece Candombe Carnival Drum Troop and even and live acts of fire and circus stunts. Starts at 10pm, $20 at the door.
• MGMT plays at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. This is obvs sold out, unless your Halloween costume is Music Hall of Williamsburg Staff Member.
• Todd P is having a big holiday bash at Danbro Studio Warehouse (268 Meserole St in Bushwick) featuring Matt & Kim, Ponytail, the Homosexuals, Fiasco, DMBQ and more. Doors at 8pm, $12-$15
• Nate Hill unveils his disturbing exhibition of taxidermy monsters constructed completely from actual dead animals. I know, gross right? But this shizz has free beer and it's BYOB so you won't even notice you are in a room full of dead things. Silent Barn, 915 Wyckoff Ave, 7pm-Midnight. 
• Papa B Studios throws a Halloween party with DJs from Gogol Bordello, a costume contest and some free booze. Starts at 9pm.

O'Death Play Tonight at Music Hall of Williamsburg

Bust out the moonshine and break out the fiddle--O'Death is in town. These local boys are like an instant hootenanny and definitely worth checking out tonight at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Also, check out their new album "Broken Hymns, Limbs and Skin."

Pies 'n' Thighs Co-Owner on the TV

Carolyn Bane, co-owner of my most favoritest Williamsburg restaurant in the history of the universe, was on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" The Pies 'n' Thighs co-owner didn't win (she lost on a Grand Theft Auto question) but at least she walked away with $1,000. Don't worry Carolyn, I will personally buy $1 million worth of fried chicken when you reopen.

[Eater]

Italians Forced to Say "Arrivederci" to Williamsburg

Curbed points to an interesting article in Block Magazine about Williamsburg's Italian families being priced out of the neighborhood, as well as some who are cashing out on their suddenly very valuable properties.

"With property value increasing, many Italians are selling their houses too, he says. A lot of them have moved to Queens, Harlem, New Jersey, Staten Island and Long Island as high-income families flowed into Williamsburg. “The big difference between now and the post-World War II era is that, this time, there is no renewal,” analyzes Joseph Sciorra. “The ones arriving are the hipsters and the artists, but they don’t identify with the Italian working class of the past.”

As sad as it is to lose a longstanding community, the fact is that immigration, along with a higher cost of living, has a part to play in this saga too. In the past, Italian immigrants would take the place of other Italians who moved out to Long Island, but for obvious reasons this isn't really the case anymore. Demographics change, immigration patterns change--in New York, no neighborhood ever stays the same for long.

This was one of the most depressing quotes for me:

"Many Italian businesses and individuals deplore a lack of communication with the newcomers: “A lot of the new people don’t shop in the neighborhood,” says Manna. “They go to Manhattan. I would say that 10-15 percent shop in the neighborhood.”

New residents who move to Williamsburg simply because it is close to Manhattan are obviously going to shop in Manhattan. If you can, try to support local businesses like the excellent Mario & Sons Meat Market and the Napoli Bakery.

Hopefully, one day, hipsters and Italians will live in peace.

"Others think that the growing “hipster” community will eventually adapt to the Italian way of life: “The new people are not ignorant people. They have good jobs. They are educated,” says Addeo. “When we had the Questa [a symbolic distribution of bread in the streets of Brooklyn on the first Saturday of the Feast], a new boutique had opened on Skillman Ave. The owner was not a neighborhood person but she was selling old-style lemonade,” he recalls. “There is hope that the new people will conform. If you educate them, they will be supportive of the Italian customs and help preserve them.”

[Block Magazine via Curbed]

Free Shows Make Jesus Smile

Welcome, Canadians! Born Ruffians play the catchy indie rock that we've all grown to love/hate by now. Played out? It won't cost you anything to find out tonight at Sound Fix Records. The band plays a free set at 7pm.

Workin' For the Weekend

The True Believer, Kelli Miller, video installation

Friday
Tonight, Cinema 16 returns to Bushwick's Starr Space (108 Starr Street) for the captivating and macabre stop-motion animation of the Brothers Quay with a live soundtrack by Darkbloom and free Radeberger Pilsner. Doors open at 8:30pm, $7 cover.

Brooklyn-based band Stars Like Fleas plays Union Pool.

In Chelsea, the New York Art Book Fair returns for an entire weekend, selling all kinds of contemporary art books, zines and more.

Saturday
Wye Oak, Cut Off Your Hands, Laura Gibson and a bunch of other bands play a free daytime show at Glasslands (289 Kent) starting at 1pm.

Noah Loesberg and Kelli Miller open an intriguing gallery show over at Vertexlist (138 Bayard St). Think fantastic interpretations of mundane objects like giant smoke detectors and renderings of computer circuit boards. Opening reception from 7pm-10pm.

Sunday
Indulge in what some say is a magical fruit at the Underground Chili Cook-off at Barcade at 8pm.

Interview with Motorino Chef Mathieu Palombino

Have you been to Motorino (319 Graham Avenue) yet? It's fantastic. All the ingredients taste absurdly fresh; Chef Mathieu Palombino even makes his own mozzarella every morning. Check out my interview with him over at The Feedbag.

Matt Leines Book Signing Tomorrow

Tired of cramped, sweaty CMJ shows? Head over to Desert Island Comics tomorrow and meet Matt Leines, who is having a book release party for "You Are Forgiven." The New Jersey-based artist has been doing some pretty cool stuff ever since he graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, combining themes from non-Western art with modern pop culture, all with an incredibly intricate style.   

Opera Coming to Williamsburg

Good day, fellow Williamsburg residents! 'Tis a fine day for an opera, don't you think? Why, I just heard from Constable Higgins that the McCaddin Memorial Theater is set to reopen on Berry Street, betwixt South 2nd and Third Streets. The first production for the 600-seat theater will be L'Oracolo, by Franco Leoni, on Nov. 6-8. Huzzah! More info with OperaOggiNY.

[via NAG]