Author: GreenpointBlog

Learn more about the importance of fungi on Saturday, October 21 at the Kingsland Wildflowers green roof.

The “Intro to Mycology” workshop will be led by expert Craig Tester.

Here’s a brief description of the workshop:

Fungi are the keystone species that interconnect every facet of life in our world. This class will highlight the supreme influence these ancient and often overlooked organisms have upon our health, society, and environment, and also provide a succinct peek into the Fungal Queendom from the perspectives of ecology, anthropology, pharmacology, and bioremediation.

The workshop will also feature a component that teaches attendees how to perform low-tech and low-cost mushroom cultivation techniques that can be replicated at home.

The event will begin with a tour of the Kingsland Wildflowers green roof.

To RSVP, click here.

Brooklyn residents who want to travel by water during the L train shutdown will now have bigger boats.

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney announced earlier this week that both the MTA and EDC have agreed to enter a contract with NY Waterways to provide ferries with more capacity.

Instead of boats that hold 149 passengers, they will use ferries that can hold 240 passengers each.

Additionally, NY Waterways will be required to have two ferries in constant operation, with a third boat crew ready to go if needed.

So what does this mean? Maloney’s office says each trip is expected to take abut 5.5 minutes from pier to pier, with 8 ferry trips per hour at peak times.

In addition to express buses, bicycling and additional train capacity on other lines, pols hope this will be *somewhat* enough to mitigate the effects of the L train closure.

It’s time to Rock the Pulaski once again!

On Saturday night, join the North Brooklyn Boat Club at its annual benefit party at the Broadway Stages boatyard (51 Ash Street) from 6 p.m. to midnight.

Cost for entry is $5 before 8 p.m., and $10 after (so get there early!)

All proceeds will benefit the boat club’s community programming on local waterways.

Expect drinks, food, music, and fun!

Here’s the band schedule:

• 7 p.m. – The Reverse Engineers
• 8 p.m. – Blacktop Daisy
• 9 p.m. – REvV
• 10 p.m. – Leland Sundries
• 11 p.m. – The Shook Ones

Join NYC Audubon this Saturday for the third annual Kingsland Wildflowers Festival from noon to 4 p.m.

If you haven’t been before, Kingsland Wildflowers is a community project that supports native wildlife here in Brooklyn.

The green roof space also serves educational programming purposes, and is frequently used for lectures and lessons.

Residents and visitors are invited to explore the 22,000-square-foot space and engage with the different activities happening at the festival.

Activities include:

• Tour of green roofs with wildlife and plant experts
• Interactive activities for kids and families
• Food, beer, live music, special dance performances
• Community organizations discussing conservation projects
• 360-degree panoramic views of NYC

For more information, visit the Facebook event here.

G train riders will have to deal with shuttle buses for five weekends this fall.

MTA officials informed Community Board 2 that due to track maintenance and station improvement work, the G train will be out between Bedford-Nostrand Avenues in Brooklyn and Court Square in Queens.

From 9:45 p.m. on Fridays through 5 a.m. on Mondays, the following weekends will be impacted by the work:

• September 7 to 10 
• September 14 to 17
• September 21 to 24
• September 28 to October 1
• November 2 to 3

Shuttle buses will make all G train stops between Brooklyn and Queens.

It looks like the BQX streetcar is happening after all, but you’ll have to wait a decade to hop on.

Earlier today, the de Blasio administration announced that it will move forward with the light rail project, after it completed a two-year feasibility study.

The BQX, or Brooklyn-Queens Connector, is projected to serve half a million riders living along the waterfront, including 40,000 NYCHA tenants.

The new route will connect Astoria, Long Island City, Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Downtown Brooklyn and Red Hook. Sunset Park originally was the terminus, but the city excluded the neighborhood from the new route.

Construction and implementation is expected to cost $2.73 billion. Officials say the project will generate $30 billion of economic impact. The city previously believe they could pay for it with increased property values, but will now seek federal funding.

Luckily, the head of the Friends of BQX is none other than Jessica Schumer, daughter of Senator Chuck Schumer.

An environmental impact study will begin in January, followed by the long public land use process in 2020. If all goes according to plan (and who knows if it will), construction will begin in 2024 and be complete by 2029.

So get ready, Greenpoint residents. A streetcar named BQX may be coming after all!

The Grand Street BID is hosting the Grand Street Fair on Saturday, August 18 on Grand Street between Bushwick and Graham avenues.

The all-day street fair will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

75 vendors will be on site, including bounce houses, face painting, a water slide, merchants and much, much more.

Learn more about the upcoming event here.

Here’s your chance to try new restaurants on Grand Street for great prices.

Restaurant Week returns to East Williamsburg for these next two weeks. Patrons can try two-course lunches for $10-$15 and three-course dinners for $12-$35.

The following restaurants are participating, so give them a try as well:

Some new spots you may want to try are Thompson Brooke, Le Barricou, Grand Morelos and AmmazzaCaffe.

For more information, visit GrandStreetRestaurantWeek.com.

It’s too bad “Coco” was rained out last Friday, but don’t fret!

“Guardians of the Galaxy V2” will be shown tomorrow at 8 p.m. at WNYC Transmitter Park, located at the end of Greenpoint Avenue near the waterfront.

It’s a hilarious movie, filled with action and pop culture references. If you haven’t seen the first “Guardians” movie, it’s a must-watch as well.

Pull up a blanket and chair and enjoy the movie!

SchoolFest 2018 is officially set for Saturday, October 27 from noon to 4 p.m at MS 126 (424 Leonard Street).

The annual event brings together north Brooklyn parents and families and representatives from local schools, including public, private, magnet and charter schools.

It’s a good chance for parents to learn about the options available for their children. This simplifies and demystifies the process by bringing all parties together in a stress-free environment.

Read more about last year’s Schoolfest event at MS 126.

And click here to register for the free event.