AP Smith

Ten Years of Music in Williamsburg 2002-2012: An Oral History

June 20, 2012 By AP Smith Leave a Comment

Musicians, promoters, and influencers in Brooklyn (left to right): A.P. Smith (Chief/Bodega), Joe Ahearn (Silent Barn / Showpaper / Clocktower Gallery), Conrad Carlson aka DJ Dirty Finger (Black Label Bicycle Club), Pat Noecker (RAFT / These Are Powers / Liars), Edan Wilber (Death By Audio), Carlos Valpeoz (Bikes In The Kitchen), Michelle Cable (Panache Booking). Photo by Benjamin Lozovsky

Ten Years of Music – A Williamsburg Oral History: 2002-2012

Tod Seelie, 33, moved to Brooklyn in 1998 to go to Pratt Institute in Clinton Hill because it was the least expensive school that accepted him. And that says a lot considering the annual tuition was $30,000.

The Considerate Cyclist: The current state of cycling in NYC

May 9, 2012 By AP Smith Leave a Comment

Photo by Allen Yin

The Accident Investigation Squad

Last month, Council Member Stephen Levin put forward legislation, paired with an open letter to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, that would require the NYPD to follow the state law requiring cops to investigate collisions involving bicycles that result in serious physical injury. Currently, the NYPD is only mandated to investigate collisions where the police believe “death is likely.” In addition, the Accident Investigation Squad (AIS) employs only 23 officers who are responsible for investigating fatal accidents citywide. Levin’s proposed legislation would increase that number to 380.

Rushing the Growler on Beer Street

March 13, 2012 By AP Smith Leave a Comment

Interior of Beer Street. Photo by Allen Ying

Growlers, or half-gallon bottles of draught beer, date back to the late 1800s, when folks bought fresh beer from a pub and took it home in small, galvanized pails or buckets. Through WWII, young children would bring pails of beer from pubs to factories at lunchtime, or home to their parents for dinner, a practice called “rushing the growler.”

Though no one knows for sure why they were called “growlers,” one theory has it that they were named for the rumbling noise of CO2 escaping through the lid, while another claims the moniker came from the grumbling stomachs of hungry factory workers waiting for their lunchtime beer.

Lorcan Precious, owner of Beer Sreet. Photo by Allen Ying

Zablozki’s — A Classic Bar in the Making

March 13, 2012 By AP Smith Leave a Comment

Ali and Ari Zablozki, owners of Zablozki’s Bar, and their dog Millie. Photo by Ashley Corbin-Teich

Zablozki’s has been a neighborhood fixture since 2004, before the Williamsburg gold rush, back when its neighbor, Sweetwater Restaurant, was still the punk dive Sweetwater Tavern.

Before the flood, Williamsburg had a small town feel, and only a few bars provided for the locals: Sweetwater, Rosemary’s, Union Pool, Teddy’s, Brooklyn Ale House… just a smattering of watering holes compared to the swampland we know today.

Become a CUP-aholic, Cup Coffee in Greenpoint

February 8, 2012 By AP Smith Leave a Comment

Barista Orion Jenkins prepares a Brazilian blend coffee to go. Photo by Benjamin Lozovsky

As hard as we work, as much as we run around, as fast as the world turns these days, that first coffee in the morning can be a calm in the storm, an almost pious way to begin the day. For many people, our first interaction of the day is with a local barista. You’re just barely awake, maybe even a little late, it’s cold and the sun is bright and you enter Cup, closing the door behind you. As your eyes adjust to the light the barista says, “Hey, Andy.”

That’s Cup, a friendly, welcoming coffee shop no bigger than a Brooklyn bedroom, or a single-car garage, which was the location’s previous incarnation. Co-owners and husband and wife Bianca LeRoux (30) and Jeremy LeRoux (37) converted the pair of single-car garages on Norman Avenue nearly three years ago, first founding Cup, and then Brooklyn Mac next door.