It was a Grand summer in Williamsburg--Let's recap what happened

Grand Street has changed a lot since May, here’s what you may have missed.

Artist Don Rimx with neighborhood students

7 new murals celebrating our community

The summer kicked off with the painting of Olor a Azucenas, el perfume del barrio at 609 Grand Street by Don Rimx. Simultaniously, Chris Jehly painted Internal View on the gates at 98 Bushwick Ave. Rimx drew influence from the small business community on Grand Street and the Puerto Rican heritage of the neighborhood to produce his work as an ode to the community. Jehly used his style of “in the moment” creativity to create surrealist works reflective of the vibrant and colorful commercial corridor. This project was funded by Council Member Stephen Levin and managed by the Grand Street BID. The BID hired a local curation business Owley to record and produce videos to document the process, which you can see here.

Artist Chris Jehly painting the gates at Grand Seafood

These murals were followed up quickly by the BID partnering with the Lisa Project and Pride NYC to paint 4 Pride inspired murals at 723 Grand Street. Artists Damon Johnson, Paid MSD, Paul Richard, SINNED + Ria Burns-Wilder visited the neighborhood in June to bring each of their unique styles to create an original work to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. You can see their work below. Read our full article here.

Left to right: Paid MSD + SINNED

Damon Johnson returned to the district again in July to complement the BiscoSmith work “SET THE PACE” by painting hummingbirds and flowers on the Western facing wall of Key Food with his style of bright colors contrasting the stark work to its left. Read the story here.

Original work by Damon Johnson

Summer Restaurant Week Triumphs

14 restaurants on Grand Street took part in this year’s iteration of the annual summer foodie event. With prices from $12 to $35, the event offered an alternative to diners in BK who didn’t want to have to travel to Manhattan to enjoy a Restaurant Week. The event drew attention everywhere from national press like the Wall Street Journal to local blogs like Bushwick Daily. With a complete guide to every participating restaurants’ specials, locals were able to find deals at their favorite spots and try something new at a discount. See the guide and full list of menus here.

DOT parking regulations change the roadway

Shot of the new south side bike lane on Grand Street

To accompany the two new protected bike lanes on Grand Street, the DOT has placed new parking regulations designed to finalize the comprehensive plan for the roadway. Here’s what has changed:

Commercial Only Loading Zones have been added mid-block on the North side of Grand Street and at some side street intersections, enforced from 7am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday. The loading zones convert to regular 1 hour metered parking from 4pm to 10pm.

Metered parking has changed on Grand Street from 2 hour to 1 hour and is enforced from 8:30am to 10pm Monday to Saturday.

Meters have been added to the cross streets of Grand at Union, Lorimer, Manhattan, Humboldt, and Bushwick avenues. Side street meters will be 2 hours and enforced from 8 or 8:30am (depending on the block) to 7pm Monday to Saturday.

We’ve also seen increased enforcement on parking in commercial loading zones and bike lanes. To see the fees associated with each violation, click here.

New plantings + tree guards decorate the streetscape

The Hort planting perennials on Grand Street

With funding support from Council Member Reynoso, the BID oversaw the installation of 22 additional tree guards in the district from Bushwick to Leonard along Grand Street. Additionally, the Hort, with funding from the Council Member, planted additional Brooklyn native plants in tree pits throughout the district.

While the summer may be wrapping up, you can still look forward to more neighborhood improvements from the BID. With fall and winter months ahead, you can look forward to expansion of our savings/ discount programming as well as holiday decorations + events in the neighborhood.

New Damon Johnson mural brings color to Key Food

Damon returned to the neighborhood for his second piece on Grand Street

The mural can be seen at 575 Grand Street

Damon Johnson returned to Grand Street for the second time in a month’s span to paint his signature graffiti art flowers + hummingbirds. The artist who was once a Grand Street neighborhood resident is now based out of Portland, and completed the work while visiting.

Working closely with Damon and Key Food, the BID facilitated the effort to make the space available for the mural to be painted. The art now brings color and vibrancy to a wall often tagged with graffiti.

This piece is now the 10th new mural on Grand Street in 2019, creating a street art collection that more faithfully reflects the large community of artists the neighborhood has fostered for decades. With the growing collection of murals, Grand Street will likely see continued attention from future artists looking to admire or break into the NYC street art world.

The mural now sits next to the installation from fellow New York artist BiscoSmith, and complements Damon’s other work at 723 Grand Street, bookending the central part of the district.

You can find the work on the eastern facing wall of 575 Grand Street in Williamsburg. Tag pictures of the mural with @damonnyc and @grandstreetbid.

World class art comes to Grand Street

The BID has commissioned artist Don Rimx to paint a mural at 609 Grand Street

Don Rimx has public works in NYC, Puerto Rico + more
Photo credit: @donrimx

Grand Street is about to become a lot more artsy. That is because the BID has commissioned a public art mural to be painted by well-known Puerto Rican artist with Brooklyn roots artist Don Rimx. Using Grand Street building walls as canvasses, the BID has made public art a priority in the past by partnering with Ellie Balk on several “Math Driven Art” pieces.

The work produced by the artist will be inspired by his impression of the neighborhood and informed by a documentary the BID has concurrently produced with Owley by interviewing small business owners + residents on their views of the community. The video will also document the painting process and be released after the completion of the mural.

Don Rimx, who is a former Grand Street area resident, plans to represent the small business community while tying in bright colors + themes of the neighborhood’s own Puerto Rican heritage. The wall will face west towards the Key Food at 609 Grand Street (Noorman’s Kil), replacing a graffiti coated surface.

In tandem with Owley producing a documentary on the community + painting process, the Grand Street Neighborhood Initiative hopes to substantially improve the beauty of the neighborhood, while linking the art with a sense of belonging in a cohesive manner.  

The Grand Street BID coordinated the public mural + video with funding from Council Member Levin.

See press coverage of the mural:

Greenpoint Star

Greenline

News 12

Don Rimx’s artistic influence extends across NYC, as seen in this work in East Harlem