In 2005, the city approved new upzoning laws for the Greenpoint waterfront, allowing up to 30 stories (pictured: the city's rendering of what the waterfront could look like). Now the Brooklyn Paper reports that developer Dean Palin (the man behind this monstrosity) wants to build a 40-story, 422-unit rental tower as part of a 620-unit development at his 155 West Street property. Brownstoner points out that he "paid a whopping $84,750,000 for the site a......

Photograph by Squid Ink on Flickr So, do you think they hand out good Halloween candy here?......

You didn't think you'd get out of here without some more ADOWABLE doggy costume photos to brighten up this nasty rainy day, did you? These heartwarming shots were taken by Katie Sokoler on Sunday at the McGorlick Park dog costume parade. It would be just too much cute to publish all the photos here—we do have some restraint—so feel free to overindulge at her flickr set. And for the Halloween dog completist, here are our......

For the record, The Queen's Hideaway has closed, following a reportedly raucous closing party Saturday night. Opened about four years ago, the seasonally-minded restaurant put an isolated little corner of Franklin Street in Greenpoint on the dining map, becoming kind of a big deal after a slam dunk review in the Times in 2005. Chef and owner Liza Queen took a break from dismantling her restaurant yesterday to tell us she has no idea what's......

Sure, Greenpoint's newest bar/lounge is an easy target; one glance at the velvet ropes, the movie tchotchkes on the walls, the furniture salvaged from some foreclosed New Jersey McMansion, and one is all too tempted to prophesy the beginning of the end for this charming little stretch of Franklin Street. But after talking with the enthusiastic, well-meaning owner Joe Ariola during the opening weekend, it's hard to be too critical. Also, one gets the feeling......

WNBC reports that the NYPD shut down a drug operation in a Brooklyn meat market--Sikorski Meat Market on Manhattan Avenue. The police had caught the drug dealers on wiretaps referring to "hot kielbasa," and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly explained, "the ‘kielbasa’ was really cocaine, and thanks to outstanding police work it’s no longer available at the meat market." More details: Livery cabs were used for delivering the shipments and "Polish and Dominican crews teamed up......

A rendering of the lobby of Cassandra Cinema. Except for the avant-garde Ocularis screenings in the old Galapagos, North Brooklyn has been a dead zone for movie theaters for years. Why, just the other day the Greenpointers blogger could be heard begging the world to open up a movie theater near her: "I know it will take you years and hundreds of thousands of dollars, but I promise you I will go every Sunday......

This summer came news of a Greenpoint bar called Five Leaves opening and being backed by Heath Ledger (and now by his estate). Urban Daddy has the latest, on the day of the unofficial opening, reporting that "the designer is the man behind Moto, Smith and Mills and Tailor ... The end effect is a bar that Thomas Edison might have built for his buddies. The handmade light fixtures are steel and wire concoctions that......

Responding to pressure from Representatives Anthony Weiner and Nydia Velazquez, the E.P.A. has agreed to conduct “preliminary tests” that could lead to Newtown Creek being named a federal Superfund site, City Room reports. In 1978, the Coast Guard realized that a toxic oil plume in Greenpoint's groundwater had been seeping into the creek. A study the following year estimated the contamination at 17 million gallons and 55 acres wide, but it may actually be closer......

Greenpoint ladies, there's a new doctor in town, or at least an old one with a new marketing campaign. Dr. Leon Nitkin has posted ads for his OB/GYN practice on some "of the newly-renovated buildings on the south side of Greenpoint Ave b/t Manhattan and Franklin. Everything about it says 'please don’t let this man touch your privates, even in a medical context.'" Well, not everyone can be as web-savvy as Dr. Parkinson or his......

Earlier this year, vintners Paul Wegimont and Greg Sandor opened Bridge Urban Winery, an offshoot of their North Fork vineyard. Nestled by the Williamsburg Bridge in a blossoming artisanal corridor that includes Marlow & Sons and Diner, their sleek yet cozy wine bar specializes in strictly New York State wine, as well as food pairings prepared with all locally-sourced ingredients. On Sunday Bridge will host a seasonal, three course Bloody Mary brunch (made with farm......

Last night the Community Board panel voted against recommending a cabaret license for Studio B, something the club has lacked for years – not that that's stopped anyone inside from getting down. At the core of the club's problem are the neighbors, who are now getting as loud as Studio B's late night parties, while running wild with Footloose laws clenched in their fists. Amongst their complaints are the new roof deck, the trash, the......

Studio B has been met with some serious opposition in their Greenpoint neighborhood, and this week they'll be meeting with Community Board 1 to discuss their cabaret license, or lack thereof (they've been operating without one for two years). While neighborhood blogs have been documenting the club's presence, much to the dismay of the people who run it, The Brooklyn Paper now steps in to give the issue some ink -- and they report that......

Heath Ledger, currently in the spotlight for his role as Joker in The Dark Knight, has also posthumously anchored down his Brooklyn presence in a new nautical-themed bar. The designer behind it, John McCormick, also designed one of Ledger's Manhattan hangouts, the Beatrice Inn. Down by the Hipster first reported the Greenpoint bar (located on the corner of Lorimer and Bedford) and has now followed up with some photos of the joint. They note that......

It didn't even take one month for the public to put an end to the wooden girl in Greenpoint. To recap: a street artist put up the piece as a birthday present for his girlfriend, who had moved to Connecticut and was pining for her old neighborhood. Friends and strangers alike were encouraged to pose with the painted lady; the photo project can be found here. By late June, however, she was painted grey......

Miss Heather refers to this scenario she snapped a shot of as "mildly disturbing," but the photo of a man bound and gagged in Greenpoint is seriously unsettling. What landed this man in such a precarious situation? Miss H tells us the scene wasn't just a gag or from a movie shoot...but was very real. While details are unfolding, what is known is that the incident took place at a restaurant in the neighborhood, between......

A street artist named Ry (aka Olympia) emails in asking for a little help with his girlfriend's birthday present, seems he needs the community's participation to yield successful results.Here's the story: My girlfriend moved to Connecticut from Greenpoint last year. She misses it terribly, and constantly pines for the days spent with friends in the neighborhood. So, for her birthday this weekend, on Sunday night I installed a life-sized cutout of her at the......

For over a decade, prankster artist Paul Richard has been attaching art exhibit plaques to fire hydrants and other unlikely objects around New York City and Boston. Now he’s brought the gag to Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, where his latest work is on sale for $145,000. Inquiries may be made on the artist’s website, and a gold star goes to the first commenter who can tell the class what purpose this thing actually serves.......

The eight towering sludge digester eggs at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Greenpoint got even more sci-fi looking last night when the DEP flicked the switch on the new dramatic blue lights illuminating the 145 feet high structures. True to form, New York Shitty was there to get total coverage on the lighting ceremony. And what a wastewater lighting ceremony it was! There was free cake with the digester eggs – which each......

Move over Starbucks! Move over Sleepy's! The newest addition to Greenpoint's Manhattan Avenue is...Duane Reade! The drug store joins two Rite-Aids, but at least Duane Reade can say that it's one of a kind in the neighborhood -- and the only drug store on that block of the street. What did the chain replace? A local pharmacy! At least they have signs in three languages. The new Duane Reade opens on a section of......

When the Bloomberg administration successfully rezoned large parts of Williamsburg and Brooklyn three years ago to facilitate the construction of massive housing condos, the deal came with a promise to deliver lots of new park space. But while the luxury residential buildings are going up, the parks have remained a pipe dream. And local City Councilman David Yassky tells the Post he’s “sickened” that the Bloomberg administration has made “almost zero progress on the......

Street artist Dan Witz has some entertaining pieces around town, mostly on condo walls in Brooklyn and the Lower East Side. Imagine buying the luxury condo of your dreams only to discover one of these alarming scenarios. Witz explains his series, Ugly New Buildings:In the past few years much of my neighborhood in Brooklyn has been torn down to make way for luxury housing. For better or worse it's a whole new street-scape out here.......

The presence of oil in parts of Greenpoint is well documented, but it looks like someone wants the oil to be cleaned up. This morning there was artwork in the Queens-bound Nassau Avenue G stop asking for a stop to the oil spills. The artwork shows drops of oil on the walls of the station, pools of oil collected on the floors, and paper towels for straphangers to clean up the spill. Reader Shannan tells......

Two years ago Studio B promised/threatened to bring Miami to Greenpoint, and for better or worse, the venue/club/bar has delivered ever since. Currently they're raising the bar by creating a palm tree adorned rooftop oasis -- and the neighbors are just thrilled. Last week we asked how long it would take before the local complaints shut down the roof. Today Miss Heather points to the stop work orders the club has received, still during the......

Add a koi pond, some palm trees and a wood patio to a New York roof, and you probably get to raise the drink prices by a few bucks (see: The Delancey). Add those things (minus the koi pond) to your Greenpoint venue, and maybe people will start going (see: Studio B). A press release was sent last week stating: "This May, Studio B will expand to a new full floor rooftop level, featuring an......

The Habitat: This charmingly designed bar and restaurant we reported on a few weeks ago opens tonight. Built almost entirely out of salvaged lumber, The Habitat has achieved a rustic back porch ambiance by building an actual porch next to a wall dressed up with exterior siding and fake windows. Chef Ashley Engmann's small plate menu has empanadas, a pecan mandarin salad, cheeseburgers, and other sandwiches. 12 New York microbrews are on tap. 988 Manhattan......

Forget about street furniture -- as far as sidewalk finds go, finding a metal wheel is the new finding a mid-century armchair! Restless spotted this gem in Greenpoint and reports that it's gone unclaimed for months. It's likely too heavy to throw over ones shoulder, but apparently metal is the hot commodity of sidewalk scavenging these days (he reports that people are often seen "walking from Long Island City across the Pulaski Bridge early......

At last, a gold-encrusted dessert fit for a working class budget. Unlike the $26 pancakes or the $25,000 frrrozen haute chocolate, these little sweets still have a single-digit price tag. They used to be called Tweenkees, but Brooklynite and organic culinary creator Sarah Magid has changed the name to: The Goldies. Magid tells us they're made from "organic dark chocolate sponge cake filled with organic vanillla or espresso whipped buttercream, then covered in organic......

New York City's urban rustic trend keeps on trucking with the newest addition to Greenpoint’s ever-expanding nightlife scene, The Habitat. Housed in an old convenience store and built with lumber salvaged from as far away as Maine, the bar and restaurant will let Brooklynites savor back porch ambiance without having to breathe the air from the nearby sewage treatment plant. The kitchen is located behind what looks to be the exterior wall of a......

Any Greenpoint residents still speculating about renovations to the cavernous space on the corner of Franklin and Green – the one with the big silver garage door and the new lights along the northern wall – now have their answer: A bar called t.b.d. Co-owner Diane Foley explains that she finally gave up trying to come up with a name and just went with what she was using for all the paperwork. The future......