Big news for Brooklyn, our very own Trader Joe’s is set to open Friday, September 26, 2008.

But, alas, there won’t be any of the chain’s signature wine, Two-Buck Chuck. This location won’t be selling alcohol, a company spokesman said. [BrooklynPaper.com]

Littlefield (Brooklyn, NY)

Like we mentioned a while ago, in addition to The Bell House, a second unnamed music venue was also busy being readied for a fall opening in Gowanus, Brooklyn (the up and coming neighborhood between Park Slope and Carroll Gardens). That venue now has a name, Littlefield, and an opening date, November 2008. Here’s the (entire) press release:

A littlefield sprouts in the Gowanus

littlefield is a new performance and art space opening this November in Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood nestled between Park Slope and Carroll Gardens. Housed in an old, 6200-square foot warehouse, littlefield will merge the Gowanus’ industrial past with an organic, eco-friendly future. Green elements include a land-scaped interior courtyard, sound walls formed from recycled rubber tires, and a bar constructed of salvaged bowling alley lanes.

Coupled with an industrial/green aesthetic will be a state-of-the-art sound system designed for live music, film screenings, and art installations. The main system will be based around the latest 3-way loudspeaker arrays by EAW, powered by QSC amplifiers, and digitally controlled via networked Rane processors. The talent buyers will use the sound system’s flexibility to book various events, with live music being littlefield’s most prominent feature. To further maximize sound and still maintain an intimate setting, a moveable partition is designed to separate the main performance space from the bar/courtyard. When the partition is fully closed, the performance space can accommodate up to 200 people while the bar/courtyard can hold up to 100. For larger performances, the partition can be moved to one side and the warehouse can accommodate up to 300 people.

Heading the talent buying will be Maria Porcaro, who is most notably associated with concert promoters I.M.P., producers of the Virgin Mobile Festival U.S., one of the greenest and socially responsible festivals for the past 3 years. Maria is an integral part of artist liaison and operations for this event, which is attended by over 60,000 people. littlefield will also showcase special events including all-ages shows organized by Justin Carl and Nghia Nguyen of FRICTION NYC, who have curated and highlighted the City’s independent music scene, touring acts, and DJs since September 2005.

littlefield’s owners, Julie Kim and Scott Koshnoodi, hope this collection of talent buyers in conjunction with their vision of opening up a diverse performance art space will serve as a beacon for the Gowanus as development begins to rejuvenate the neighborhood. littlefield is located at 622 Degraw Street between 3rd and 4th Avenue.

Blueprint of the club and some Blair Witch style promo videos after the jump.

“Littlefield: A New Performance + Art Space in Gowanus” continued after the jump

The NYTimes decided to write about rock venues again yesterday (July 31), here’s the gist of what Ben Sisario said:

Brooklyn Bowl - A combination 600-capacity music club and 16-lane bowling alley, it will also have a menu created by Blue Ribbon, a chain of restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Built on the site of a 20,000-square-foot former iron foundry built in the 1880s on Wythe Avenue at North 11th Street.

The City Winery - A private winemaking society and live-music space from the founder of the Knitting Factory, Michael Dorf. The first confirmed booking is Philip Glass, who will play four nights in March.

Santos Party House - A 6,000-square-foot, 570-capacity club on Lafayette Street just south of Canal Street whose owners include the rock singer Andrew W. K. and Spencer Sweeney. Santos emulates its combination of underground rock and wild late-night dancing and its street-culture aesthetic.

Le Poisson Rouge - Whose stage and seating can be reconfigured to allow from 250 to 650 people, was extensively redesigned from its days as the Village Gate, which closed in 1993. Various measures have been taken to keep the sonic atmosphere pristine, from a sound system by the architect and designer John Storyk, who worked on Jazz at Lincoln Center and Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios, to having bartenders pre-fill glasses with ice and stir — not shake — mixed drinks. Recent programming has paired the classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein with the singer-songwriter Essie Jain, and Jonathan Kane of the 1980s noise band Swans with the new-music pianist Kathleen Supové.

Galapagos - The pioneering arts space left Williamsburg and reopened in much bigger digs in Dumbo, Brooklyn.
[NYTimes.com]

Here’s what he left out:

The Bell House - The Bell House is the new Gowanus (7th St between 3rd and 4th aves) music venue being built by the owners of Union Hall. The Bell House is set to open this fall.

Second Unnamed Gowanus Venue - Brownstoner recently reported on the construction of a new “drinking and dancing establishment” on DeGraw Street between 3rd and 4th avenues.

TKTS Brooklyn
1 MetroTech Center at the corner of Jay Street and Myrtle Street Promenade.

Hours:
For same-day evening and next day matinee performances:

Monday - Friday: 11am - 6pm
* Matinee tickets are sold on the day before the performance at TKTS Downtown Brooklyn.

By subway:
A, C, F to Jay Street-Borough Hall M, R, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Court Street-Borough Hall, or M, R to Lawrence Street.

By bus:
B54, B57, B61 stop on Jay and Myrtle. The B67 and B75 stop at Jay and Willoughby, just down the block from the booth.

Photo: the real janelle

It seems that many Brooklynites already prefer the reasonable price and comfort of the IKEA bus and water taxi to their local MTA equivalents.

Countless commuters are taking advantage of Ikea’s free bus and ferry - without ever setting foot inside the giant Swedish furniture store that opened last month in the waterfront neighborhood.

The posh, coach-style shuttle buses, equipped with footrests, reading lights and music, are quickly becoming popular with travelers tired of shelling out $2 for overcrowded - and, by comparison, uncomfortable - city buses.
…
Brooklyn News found last week that only eight of 19 passengers on the first shuttle ride entered Ikea - and two of them were employees.

“I’d say before one o’clock, about half the riders from Smith and Ninth Sts. don’t even go into Ikea,” said a bus driver, who added many riders are going to a local methodone clinic for treatment.

Ikea had kind words for those using the free transportation. “We are thrilled that we are providing free transit options for the people of New York to come to Ikea and to come to Red Hook,” said Ikea spokesman Joseph Roth. “We support mass transit, and if people are using our services and not going to Ikea, that’s fine with us as well.” [Daily News]

3rd St in Park Slope

A new Darren Star series is coming to… Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Producers are giving Park Slope the star treatment with a pilot by the same executives who brought “Sex and the City,” starring Sarah Jessica Parker, and “Melrose Place” to TV.

According to industry sources, Darren Star, who created those smash shows, has teamed with Sony and NBC for a proposed series about a group of affluent characters who live in the upscale Brooklyn neighborhood. [NYPost.com]

-Thanks to the super cool Abbey for the tip

Twister at McCarren Park Pool

Photo: heartonastick

McCarren Park Pool Lineup Summer 2008
06/06/08 M.I.A., Holy Fuck (Buy Tickets)
06/10/08 Death Cab for Cutie (Buy Tickets)
06/20/08 Gogol Bordello (On Sale 04/25 @ noon, Buy Tickets)
06/26/08 Devo with Tom Tom Club, Dan Deacon (On Sale 04/25 @ 10am, Buy Tickets)
06/29/08 The Hold Steady, The Loved Ones, J Roddy and the Business (*Pool Party)
07/05/08 Armin van Buuren (Buy Tickets)
07/06/08 Ronnie Spector, The Rabbit Factory Soul Revue, Featuring: Roscoe Robinson, Ralph ‘Soul’ Jackson, Hermon Hitson and Wiley & The Checkmates (*Pool Party)
07/13/08 The Breeders, Matt + Kim, The Whip (*Pool Party)
07/17/08 DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist (On Sale 04/25 @ 10am, Buy Tickets)
07/25/08 Ween (Buy Tickets)
07/20/08 Liars, Fuck Buttons, Team Robespierre (*Pool Party)
07/27/08 MGMT, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Ting Tings (*Pool Party)
08/03/08 Black Lips, Deerhunter, King Khan, Tall Firs (*Pool Party)
08/07/08 The Black Keys, Rogue Wave (On Sale 04/25 @ noon, Buy Tickets)
08/10/08 TBA (Pool Party)
08/13/08 Wilco (On Sale 04/25 @ noon, Buy Tickets)
08/15/08 Regina Spektor w/ Albert Hammond Jr. (On Sale Jun 27 @ noon)
08/17/08 Aesop Rock, Panther, Special Guests (*Pool Party)
08/24/08 TBA (*Pool Party)
08/30/08 Sonic Youth (Buy Tickets)

* None of the Pool Party shows have been officially announced yet, but they have been reported by Impose Magazine.
# Information gathered from various sources including: ProductShopNYC, MySpace and Pollstar