Bar Hop for St. Patrick's Day on Grand Street

Grand Street has hosted a St. Patrick’s Day neighborhood pub crawl annually for 9 years

Last year’s pub crawl at Redd’s Tavern.

Let’s face it, St. Patrick’s Day in Manhattan is cramped, overpriced, and full of strangers. So, 9 years ago on Grand Street we decided to offer the opposite—the Brooklyn alternative. Join us in the evening on March 17th at 14 of our bars, taverns, and pubs from 5-10pm for unique drink specials from $4 cocktails to free food and cheap whiskey + beer combos.

The lineup this year includes our neighborhood loyal dives Bushwick Country Club + the Second Chance Saloon and newcomers like Landline + Carneval all taking part. The one thing to be certain is that there will be a gem of a special at each spot on your hop.

The highlights, beverage wise—which is what really counts—include Redd’s Tavern with $4 cocktails + $3 shots and the special frozen Irish coffee from Lady Jay’s ($8). Noorman’s Kil which is famous as one of NYC’s best whiskey bars is an ideal location and has a Narragansett & Tyrconnell Irish Single Malt combo ($8) for the night.

As far as eats—Noorman’s Kil and their $2 Tuesday grilled cheeses should be a priority visit, as should Bushwick Country Club for pickle back shots and free hot dogs, and Carneval for empanadas ($5). The Big Whiskey is also serving Irish kitchen specialties for the occasion like a corned beef sandwich ($10) and Reuben ($12).

While this is the 9th year of a St. Patrick’s Day event on Grand Street, the BID will be out on the street + in the bars to keep things fresh. We’ll be handing out party favors at each location while traveling with our special guest Haireola Grande (@haireolagrande) bringing the party spirit of the holiday to you.

Here are the participants and specials for St. Patrick’s Day*:

Burnside (506 Grand) — $4 whiskey shots // $6 Jameson shots & can of lager combo

Carneval (507 Grand) — $5 beer + shot // $5 mixed drinks // $5 empanadas

Redd's Tavern (511 Grand) — $3 well shots // $5 beer & shot combos // $4 cocktail special

The Big Whiskey (524 Grand) — $10 Irish car bomb // $10 Irish coffee // $10 beer + shot // Irish kitchen Specialties (menu)

Huckleberry Bar (588 Grand) — $8 select beer + Jameson combo // $20 buckets (5) of white claw

Noorman's Kil (609 Grand) — $2 grilled cheeses // $8 Narragansett + shot of Tyrconnell Irish Single Malt

Bushwick Country Club (618 Grand) —  $8 frozen vodka thin mint cookie slushy // $8 stout + shot of whiskey // $6 pickle back // free hotdogs

Lady Jay's (633 Grand) — $8 frozen Irish coffee

Crystal Lake Brooklyn (647 Grand) — $6 Harpoon Craic Irish lager draft // $5 Bushmills shots // $5 Brooklyn Lager // $2 off Jameson Caskmates

The Second Chance Saloon (659 Grand) — $10 Jameson shot + Guinness pint combo

4th Down Sports Bar (750 Grand) — $5 shots of Jameson // $5 Guinness

Landline (790 Grand) — $10 Miller High Life champagne bottle + well shot

*Tip not included, only from 5 - 10 pm on March 17th.

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.

Grand Street celebrates 34th Annual Meeting

The BID brought the community together to look back on the year.

Pictured: Cynthia Rogers of Williamsburg Animal Clinic with BID Executive Director Erin Piscopink.

The BID celebrated another year of accomplishments on June 20th at the 34th Annual Meeting. Keeping the neighborhood clean, sharing our community’s stories, planting trees, hosting events, and bringing art to the district, the BID was hard at work keeping Grand Street a premier Brooklyn destination to live, work, and play.

The community also awarded select individuals and businesses who made extraordinary contributions to the district or demonstrated notable commitment to the neighborhood.

The winners are listed here:

Williamsburg Animal Clinic for exemplary advocacy on behalf of small businesses.

Bahia Restaurant for impressive storefront improvements

Spa Ella for showing commendable commitment to the neighborhood by opening a second storefront in district

Find the full annual report here.

Where to dine al fresco on Grand Street

Warm weather is here, make the most of it with these Williamsburg open air eats.

Escape to the garden at Huckleberry Bar for a drink
Courtesy of @huckleberrybar

Huckleberry Bar

This chic bar with seasonally driven craft cocktails + small plates has a garden in the backyard and is perfect for any date night.

Los Tacos McOndo

On the intersection of Grand Street & Union Ave, this conveniently
located and stylish Mexican restaurant + bar offers sidewalk bistro seating adjacent
to public art murals.

Street art facing the outdoor seating at Los Tacos McOndo

Willburg Café

One of only a handful of Grand Street restaurants to offer
sidewalk seating, this diner + café spot offers breakfast all day + bargain
lunch combos.

Dar 525

Mediterranean cuisine sitting in the shaded front patio is perfect for any warm summer day.

Shaded seating at Dar 525

Noorman’s Kil

The whiskey and grilled cheese bar has an open backyard suitable for its regular whiskey tastings and $2 deluxe grilled cheese specials every Tuesday.

Le Barricou

This spot known for its national top 100 brunch, also provides some limited seating tables out front for lucky diners on a first come first basis. Arrive early for not only the fresh air, but for their famous oven
baked pancakes.

Seating for 2 outside Le Barricou

AmmazzaCaffe

The backyard seating at this fine Italian restaurant
provides the perfect atmosphere for a special night out

Family style dining at AmmazzaCaffe
Courtesy of @ammazzacaffe

Haab

The Mexican restaurant offers plenty of vegan options and is
just off of Grand Street on Leonard for a more peaceful lunch affair

Flower plantings + bistro seating at haab

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