This Labor Day comes with a lot of questions. What is a holiday? Where did summer go? When can I see my friends? What the fuck is happening?

I can’t answer most of those questions. But what I can do is offer some advice to help us all feel better and make that reluctant transition from Summer to Fall a little less painful.

HEY, it’s a Labor Day Weekend Guide! Because whether any of us want to admit it or not, you missed these and I kind of did too.

See below for the best ways I’ve found to feel better, to feel summer, to stay safe, and to support local businesses in all the tastiest ways. It’s your summer and the city isn’t dead and neither are you. So let’s get out there.

Dive Into an NYC Pool

It’s ok, you can go to a public pool. Really, you can. I tested the waters (a few times) and I came out unscathed, and even a little more tan. Think of me as that penguin who gets pushed off into the ocean first to see if there’s a predator waiting to eat the rest of the bunch.
Actually, don’t think of me that way. 

The list of NYC public pools that are open right now can be found right here (my faves are Astoria Pool and K Pool in Bed-Stuy!) and here’s a reminder about this magical oasis in the middle of the East River. Masks are required on the pool deck but not in the water. Sun-penetrable masks can be purchased here to avoid that awkward face tan lines. JK I made that up. Just know you won’t be the only one.*

Hit the Beach, baby.

Will it be crowded? Of course it will be. Is this the first time that you can actually tell people to keep their distance from you and not feel like a total asshole? Yep. 

This is the end of fucking summer. Don’t let anything come between you and that sweet ocean breeze. Choose your beach (obvs there’s a guide for that). Get there as early as possible. Take your clothes off if you want. Don’t tell anyone I told you it was ok.*

Cookout at the Waterfront in Brooklyn Bridge Park

I know, you thought by now you’d finally have the apartment with that sweet sweet backyard and the grill and cookouts every weekend and tons of *socially distanced* friends. It’s ok that you don’t. It’s not ok that you don’t take advantage of the public grills that are available for you, all the time. Host your own cookout for you and your vagabond friends at the foot of Brooklyn Bridge Park, overlooking lower Manhattan and Lady Liberty herself. The grills and tables are first come, first serve, however, there’s a rule that you cannot occupy one grill for more than an hour, and people are usually incredibly generous. You’ll find a way in, and probably a way to double the size of your party and potato salad options. Link to the park is here. Nervous about the idea of “public grills” during a pandemic. STOP. Just stop. The virus isn’t fireproof. Jesus Christ, what were you thinking? Calm down.*

Have an American hot dog and drink an American whiskey at the Moonlight Mile

Here’s something you might not know. Moonlight Mile in Greenpoint has been doing free food with drinks way before Cuomo decided it was cool. For real. Gary’s cookouts on the corner there were one of those things that made Greenpoint so quaint- and also what made this my favorite bar in the hood. So go, get a beer, get a whiskey, get a hot dog, and feel like things are going to be ok.*

Those were the days, at Nowadays

I remember at some point thinking that the Nowadays backyard was a little too big- what if I get lost? What if I can’t find the bathroom? What if I wander off while waiting for my food truck order, never to be seen from or sharing a meal alongside again?

That “some point” was way before any idea of a pandemic was a thing. Now? Well now, I think it’s just the right size. This place feels like home in all of its natural wonder, and they have nightly events including film screenings, pandemic-safe dance parties, lawn games, food, friends, fun, safety. Let’s make sure we keep their doors open by spending plenty of time outdoors, all of the days, at Nowadays. Calendar here.* 

Or basically do the same thing, at a Rooftop Winery

Wine on a rooftop in the Navy Yard with corn hole and that dirty balls game (what’s the proper term for it?) plus fried chicken and after-hours films. This is why we live in New York, and thankfully, Devin’s business plan is somehow pandemic-proof, before that was even a thing. Reserve a spot now, and aim for a sunset slot. Just trust me.*

Have a Picnic in Transmitter Park

But buy your lunch from 21 Greenpoint. Why? Because they had their liquor license taken away indefinitely, that’s why. And that’s not fucking fair. And we all want them to survive. And also, they have a pretty damn good lunch menu. So show your support and let the government know that no matter how hard they try to force ridiculous restrictions upon small businesses and then make a really obnoxious production of shutting them down, we’re stronger than that.*

Or, be the fanciest person at any other picnic.

With this amazing Bento Box. Yeah, I mean, I didn’t think delivery could EVER look this good. Tell your friends to bring their 6-foot long chopsticks and share the magic. Hit up the Sneaky Spirit Social Club and order their new Szechuan Tincture (free delivery in Brooklyn!) and mix up some wild cocktails for your friends. Secure that invite to the next cool event over all of those bitches who show up with White Claw and hummus.*

*WEAR A DAMN MASK.

Let’s face it- we’re in a state of limbo… hoping that another ‘spike’ won’t happen but kind of knowing it will, feeling ourselves visualize the unreality that we now know happening again, seeing the next season of our lives shuddered… decidedly resisting the urge to impulse-buy puzzles.

I don’t know what to tell you. Hell, I don’t know what to tell me. But what I do know is that now is the time to try to somehow feel normal again- while taking all necessary precautions. WEAR A FUCKING MASK. Keep your distance. Wash your hands. But also, try to feel like it’s summertime and we all still live in the best city in the whole goddamn world. Let’s try to feel it, and feel it normally, while we still can.

I’ve found a few good ways. Come on, let’s do this.

Take a Walking Tour with your friends, in Brooklyn

That’s right. I do walking tours. Which means, choose your group, choose a neighborhood, and let me show you what’s so amazing about life in Brooklyn. My tours combine cocktails and local bites, stories and culture and new ways to fall in love with the city again. DM me for more info. Let’s walk around, together.

Book a Virtual Cocktail Class, with all of your friends

Because Zoom feels like it’s kind of drying up (or is it just me?) shake things up by inviting all your friends to make drinks, together! The Sneaky Spirit Social Club wants to come to your house and throw a virtual party with you and all your friends. Learn to make drinks. Stock your bar cart with hand-selected spirits. Feel better about getting drunk at home. Learn more here. Let’s get sneaky together.

See a Concert with City Winery, in Hudson!

Live music isn’t going to be happening in any capacity for a while. That’s why City Winery has swooped in with a new series at their upstate property, complete with concert pods. Yep, that means anywhere from 2-10 people will have their own little socially-distanced pod situated in an outdoor amphitheater, with an option to add “picnic boxes” complete with meats and cheeses and obviously wine. Check their schedule here (I’ll be seeing Chris Thile on 8/15!) 

Rooftop Films’ New Drive-In Theater

Because Skyline Drive-In in Greenpoint has recently caught some heat for being blatantly racially insensitive, and downright overpriced (however… this is New York… why is anyone surprised?) check out Rooftop Films’ new drive-in at the Army terminal. Your $45 price per car (stuff ‘em in!) includes extras like Q&A’s with Andy Samberg after seeing his new film Palm Springs. Get your tickets here.

Spend the Day in Red Hook

Brooklyn Crab and the amazing views at Louis Valentino Jr. Park want you to feel normal again. The two-tiered, always outdoor seated crab shack invites you to have a socially-distanced dinner al fresco, then get a cocktail to-go and admire the unparalleled views from the park down the street. Take a long stroll up toward Brooklyn Bridge Park when you’re done and fall back in love with the city.

Culture Lab LIC

Live outdoor concerts in their parking lot (some even emceed by Michael Che!) that they announce the day-of. Check-in with their Instagram account, wear a mask, bring a blanket, get yourself some culture that isn’t on a screen.

Look but don’t touch at House of Yes

Because you’ve missed the element of unexpected that you can only experience at House of Yes, While we still can’t return to sweaty dance parties and in-your-face performances, they are doing the best they can to bring you that wildness within current restrictions. Book a table for dinner and drinks and expect plenty of seductive surprises, just… stay in your seat. Also, check out their outdoor market that will allow you to browse tons of amazing artisan goods that could have only gotten better during quarantine (right?) Info here.

Turn your Dinner Parties into Picnics

Yeah. Dinner parties are kind of a thing of the past for now, but here’s your chance to really improve your picnic skills. Impress your friends with a charcuterie and cheese board with wine pairing from & Sons Buttery, a Sommelier-owned ham bar and (now) market that has the finest selection of domestic hams and cheeses that will make you forget all about that-time-in-Spain, and instead replace it with a dreamy little picnic in Prospect Park. Or you know, do it with Mekelburg’s and Domino, or the new Azure Market and Transmitter. Or Smorgasburg (order ahead of time!) and the waterfront at North 6th St. Choose your own adventure, and invite your friends. Because dinner parties were getting stuffy anyway.

Spend a Day at the Beach

Like, a full day. Because it’s the best way to spend time with friends with virtually no restrictions. (I mean, if you’re sitting closer than 6 feet to a stranger at the beach, something’s wrong with you) Pack a lunch, grab some White Claws (and have no shame about this), and head out to any of the miles of coastline this city has to offer within about 1.5 hours of anywhere you are. And if you really want an uninhibited experience, check out this piece I wrote about letting it all hang out at Fort Tilden. See you out there

Roosevelt Island Pool, with grills!

Camp out as this candyland of an island paradise, all day. This virtually unknown pool in the middle of Roosevelt Island will have you sun-drenched and nestled between the world’s most infamous skyline and that cool place where you live (Brooklyn), swimming and sipping (they don’t allow you to bring alcohol. It is not hard to bring alcohol.) and even hosting your own intimate cookout. They have two grills and a communal fridge so you can heat those meats only when you’re ready to. Also, there’s almost nothing else to do on the island (ok, ok, the smallpox hospital facade is… there.) so you won’t blink an eye at the $40/$65 (week/weekend) cost of entry. For real, don’t. Just go. Info here.

Rediscover Governor’s Island

Use this amazing guide and spend the day at Governor’s Island. There’s food, breweries, bike trails, amazing views of the city, a wondrous place called Slide Hill, and camping (but sign up QUICK). It’s an amazing way to get out of the city with just a quick little jaunt on the ferry (but reserve your tickets first!)

So freedom is a funny thing right now, isn’t it. We don’t have the freedom to gather together, to leave our homes without covering our faces, to return from 16 states that we might want to visit, to hug, to share secrets, to relax and spend time with our friends.

But there is still a reason and plenty of ways to celebrate our freedom, and how far we’ve come as a city during this pandemic. Show your PRIDE this weekend and celebrate safely with friends. Join one of these marches and feel the necessary, hopeful change that these demonstrations are bringing. And find ways to safely appreciate living in this amazing place, by staying here or getting safely out of town, below.

Celebrate in the City, Carefully

Spend the Days (finally) at Nowadays

Because until the days finally arrive when dance parties are a thing again, let’s all spend our nowadays together by congregating safely in the massive, magical backyard with our friends at Nowadays. They’ll have music and food trucks and cocktails and human beings staying apart but feeling together. Reserve your spot right here and let’s get through these days in the best ways we know how (for now)

Stop Hearing No’s with House of Yes

Because we’ve all been hearing a lot of “no’s” lately, come celebrate the (partial) reopening of House of Yes this weekend! Yes, they’ll have seating outside! Yes, there will be music! Yes, you’ll get live performances! Yes, (as always) expect the unexpected! And… no, there will be no sweaty, crowded indoor dance parties there yet… but YES, let’s all remember the good times until we can crowd together again. Reserve a spot HERE.

Party (safely!) on the Rooftop at Elsewhere

Because there aren’t really many other places we can go, head elsewhere to Brooklyn’s best rooftop where you’ll have to remain distanced (I know, I know… sucks but do it so we don’t end up like Florida) but they will be pumping out the amazing tunes you’ve come to expect from this multi-tiered party Mecca, and we can all jive together in our seats and feel better about feeling almost normal. Plus, fireworks! Reserve your spot here right now.

Dinner and a Romantic Stroll, with fireworks

Le Fanfare and the new waterfront park just 3 blocks from it want you to #savethedates and have a very romantic dinner in their charming backyard. Because let’s be honest- this whole parking-space dining thing is fine but not very intimate. Call ahead to make sure a table is available and then wine and dine and walk it all off together along the water. And yes, there will be fireworks. If not from the city then from its inhabitants that are taking it upon themselves to light things up, nightly.

Join the Good Room 3 Day Virtual Party

Whether you are partying with your quarantine partner or having people over, tune into Good Room’s 3-day virtual party, all to help Good Room staff and some of the amazing artists they support. Tune in here and turn it up, give that disco ball a spin and make a good party even better.

Make Some Sneaky Cocktails

Are you entertaining (safely) this weekend? Impress your guests with these amazing Summer cocktail recipes, from the Sneaky Spirit Social Club (in collaboration with our bubbly friends at Topo Chico!)

Want to learn more? Join Us for a Custom Cocktail Class via the Sneaky Spirit Social Club. Learn more here. 

Get Out of Town

Camp and Swim at Harriman State Park

Because why choose between the mountains and the beach when you an have both? Within an 1.5 hour drive of the city, Harriman State Park has ample camping without too much hiking to access it, plus this amazing beach area with grills too. Get there EARLY early to claim a spot and grill at the beach. Worry about pitching the tent later. Info here.

Bike and Swim at Shirley Chisholm Park

Bike around (you can bring yours or rent one of theirs!) have a cookout on a private(ish) beach area, and feel miles away from the city in this amazing and still fairly undiscovered park. Oh, and just forget all about the whole biggest-landfill-in-the-US part. Really, forget about it. After 60 years of cleaning and stabilizing and endlessly monitoring the land and water around it, this might be one of the safest places in the nearby area to enjoy nature. Info here.

Camp in a Teepee in Cape May

Yeah. I mean, they’re likely all booked up this weekend but sometimes there’s a gap between stays… but at least now you know this is a thing- teepee with AC’s on a campground with tons of activities in a charming little beach town that’s just 2.5 hours from the city. Book now. Or, just channel your inner Native American and burn someone out of their teepee and claim it as yours. (I don’t actually mean this.)

Camp on Governor’s Island

Yep, you can glamp on Governor’s Island. Which, yes, is a little pricey but given the fact that most fun things in the city aren’t available right now, they’re taking every precaution to keep you safe and distanced while having a community experience and being able to roam the island virtually free of tourists. Reserve your fancy-ass tent here.

Mountain Creek Water Park and a stay at the Quality Inn

Water Parks in New Jersey are open and mega-chlorinated. So find yourself a waterproof mask (that isn’t a joke, and it isn’t all that hard to find) and keep your distance from the limited number of other thrill-seekers that they are admitting daily- tickets available here. Get yourself a room at the nearby Quality Inn (just $84/night!) so you can partake in the provisions at the bar at the park. Because nothing goes better with chlorinated water than a little risky-whisky.

Book a Bungalow and Explore the Delaware Beaches

Head to this amazing Airbnb, and experience the hidden beaches (that DO exist!) to avoid the crowds in Delaware. We rented a pontoon boat for the day from Dewey Beach Water Sports to keep ourselves distanced and free from judgement from the obscene amount of White Claws we were all consuming. Check their availability here and book your stay.

Today is Juneteenth – a celebration for the Black community that commemorates the same day in 1865 when Union General Gordon arrived in Texas to announce that slavery had been abolished. And tomorrow is our future. What can we do today to learn, commemorate, celebrate, and move forward together? I’ve pulled together a list of events to help us participate and acknowledge that this day should have been celebrated by everyone a long time ago.

Use this list but for EVERYTHING else, follow @justiceforgeorgenyc including meditations, 5k runs, bike rides, vigils, drum circles, public forums, rallies with art, rallies with musical instruments, and so many other creative and important ways to celebrate and participate.

Learn 

Read this or listen here to the Daily’s very informative podcast.

And this A free and accessible starting point from Dr. Angela Davis

Take a bike ride down to Green-Wood Cemetery. Pack a picnic. Feel the rich history that so many black people have given to our city and country, like Jean-Michel Basquiat, and feel the importance of the Civil War victory, Juneteenth, and how far we still have to come for racial justice. Plus, this intensely moving mural will remind us that even as we enter Phase 2, the virus is still very much a reality. Wear a mask, folks!

March

Activist Valerie Walker is leading the Break The Chains With Love March from Jane’s Carousel on the waterfront. After crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, it’ll stop at the African Burial Ground before continuing to City Hall for a rally and celebration.

Walk or bike in this Freedom Ride through Bed-Stuy to The Southern Comfort to show your support and get a little good-for-the-Soul food too. 

Use These Neighborhood Protest Resources

Bushwick – @assemblywomandavila. At Maria Hernandez Park and Bushwick Daily for daily protest updates.

Greenpoint – @greenpointers for info on vigil’s at McCarren Park and where to head from there.

Williamsburg – @yeswilliamsburg nightly marches leaving from McCarren.

Jamaica, Queens – at Council Member Adrienne Adam’s Office

For everything else, follow @justiceforgeorgenyc

Or use this full map of Protests for George Floyd, worldwide.

Celebrate Virtually

Tune into this virtual Juneteenth event by the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture featuring the founder of the Texas Freedom Colonies Project, Chefs Therese Nelson and Carla Hall, and music from Rootstock Republic.

The BRIC’s Juneteenth: Then and Now, a virtual town hall features artists, journalists, activists, and politicians to help us learn from the past and create a better future, together.

Tonight with Carnegie Hall, a celebration of Juneteenth with performers and speakers. Tune in from 7:30-8:30pm right here. 

Plus tune into this amazing concert Friday with pianist Nnenna Ogwo returns with her ever-brilliant collaborators, Sterling Strings from with Joe’s Pub starting at 7pm tonight!

And with the Public Theater here.

And Nowadays with four hours of Underground Resistance in honor of Juneteenth. Tune in now here.

Give

Last Summer I was lucky enough to see the Public Theater’s version of Much Ado About Nothing with an all-black cast, interpreting this Shakespearean comedy into a very modern reality. The Public Theater continues to support and expose the reality of racial injustices. Follow their lead by supporting them and these amazing organizations.

And celebrate our victories during this movement-  GLITS, an organization that successfully raised over $1 million last week to set up permanent housing for Black trans people. Let’s continue to support them in their future endeavors while also recognizing the need to support additional missions such as Princess Janae Place who works to help people of trans experience maximize their full potential as they transition from homelessness to independent living.

And this very good message from the good people at Good Room: This Friday, June 19th, to commemorate Juneteenth, Bandcamp will be donating their share to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, a national organization that has a long history of effectively enacting racial justice and change through litigation, advocacy, and public education. Head to Good Room’s Bandcamp page to pick up tees, slipmats, totes, and our ‘Alone Together’ Relief Comp, with all proceeds from these sales going to support the club while we’re closed.

Stylist Anthony Payne wants to make you look and feel better.

Because we’re all gettin’ realllll scraggly, local hair magician Anthony Payne has moved his salon beneath the Williamsburg Bridge until we reach whatever phase allows us to get haircuts again… so support this amazing artist and entrepreneur and look better while doing it. Oh, and, he’s donating 100% of your donation-based payment to Black Lives Matter. Look better, feel better, do better. Then go march. Info here.

Celebrate with Dinner and a Movie, with this amazing list of black-owned restaurants and movies that celebrate black history, from the Infatuation.

And this Sunday, CALL YOUR DAD and tell him you love him. Most of us can’t be with our Father’s this Father’s Day, so I’ll plan to celebrate by doing things my Dad likes to do- having a vodka tonic (or two), picking up fresh seafood from Greenpoint Fish, hanging out by the water in Transmitter Park and stealing money from my friends while playing dice.

Last week I promised to use my weekend guides as a resource to get involved in this pinnacle part of history that is necessarily enveloping our borough. Because there is the need to feel this, to act, to show support, to come together to form a new reality and to force this country to change the social fabric that we have been accepting for way too long.

I will continue to update this post with new information, and to provide weekly events that support the Black Lives Matter movement in all its facets, and for the month of July, those that highlight and support the continued mission of the LGBTQ community.

So use this as a resource. Decide what you feel led to do. Find the best way to memorialize, to speak out and to show your city and country that this is unacceptable. But make sure you do something and feel something. This might be the most historic time we live through- so let’s actively live in it.

Here are the ways you should get involved this weekend and for the foreseeable future, until we create a future we want to live in.

Check your neighborhood for protests.

In the words of Marsha P Johnson, an African-American LGBT Rights Activist, “No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us.”

First, make sure you’re prepared.

The police have been aggressively arresting peaceful protestors for a number of reasons, forcing hundreds to spend the night in cramped jail cells nightly, confiscating their phones and belongings (forcing many to have their bikes inevitably stolen) and completely dismissing the threat of COVID-19. Know your rights and be prepared by reading this first. And then, let your voice be heard.

Neighborhood Protest Resources

Bushwick – @assemblywomandavila. At Maria Hernandez Park and Bushwick Daily for daily protest updates.

Greenpoint – @greenpointers for info on vigil’s at McCarren Park and where to head from there.

Williamsburg – @yeswilliamsburg nightly marches leaving from McCarren.

Jamaica, Queens – at Council Member Adrienne Adam’s Office

For everything else, follow @justiceforgeorgenyc

Or use this full map of Protests for George Floyd, worldwide.

Do some research and then donate to help support the cause that speaks to you.

Support and Donate to SATC Campaign for NAACP Foundation

Black Lives Matter Prints by local artist Eva Woolridge, all proceeds go to Bail Out Funds

Make Calls for George – 612.324.4499

Donate to Breonna Taylor‘s family’s GoFundMe here.

And sign Breonna’s petition here.

Support the 15 Percent Pledge – @15percentpledge to help black-owned businesses survive

Look through this very thorough list of Racial Justice Organizations and Resources

Sign Petitions here.

Make the Call – Follow these to make calls for change.

Donate to the cause that speaks to you – blacklivesmatters/donate

Black Women’s Blueprint – Support equality and opportunity for every black woman – @blackwomensblueprint

And see so many more resources HERE and HERE.

Check out these Local Events and Businesses who are Supporting the Movement

Archestratus Fire Wall Community Cookbook

I cannot applaud Paige enough for always evolving and being a prominent voice in our community and city, as a business owner and entrepreneur. She pivoted flawlessly when the pandemic hit by turning her cookbook store/cafe into a contactless-marketplace with lines around the block, and now to help bring us all closer and to focus on the burning issues affecting us all right now, she’ll be publishing “Fire Walk With Us”, the first volume of a community-built cookbook and zine to expose current issues and generate conversation and recipes, with all proceeds going to Black Lives Matter. In her words – “Historically, pamphlets were used as a weapon to inspire much needed political disorder. Let us use OUR pamphlets to create a new system, a new model for investment, and let it also serve as a public space where we take care of everyone” This will be an ongoing project, always donating to BLM. Read more details here and submit your words and recipe to support this movement.

Stylist Anthony Payne wants to make you look and feel better.

Because we’re all gettin’ realllll scraggly, local hair magician Anthony Payne has moved his salon beneath the Williamsburg Bridge until we reach whatever phase allows us to get haircuts again… so support this amazing artist and entrepreneur and look better while doing it. Oh, and, he’s donating 100% of your donation-based payment to Black Lives Matter. Look better, feel better, do better. Then go march. Info here.

Watch Thee Debauchery Ball with Sol Cinema Cafe

Our favorite black-owned cinema in the city is bringing the debauchery to your house this weekend. They’ll be showing this film, a documentary that celebrates black lives sexuality and house music, plus hosting DJs all weekend to help you #revelwithacause – they’ll be donating to help multiple facets of the BLM movement. Tickets and schedule here.

Esme To-Go, all weekend- for a cause.

Local darling Esme immediately pivoted to provide meals for essential workers immediately when the pandemic hit, but felt led to open up their doors last Sunday to provide the community with fried chicken and signature sides with all proceeds going to organizations supporting Police Reform, Legal Counsel and the health of the Black Community. They raised over $11,000 last Sunday alone and have set a goal for this weekend of $50,000- help them get there. They’ll be open for to-go starting Thursday and will be donating 100% of proceeds on Sundays, all month. Info here.

Achilles heel might be the place I miss being inside the most. Somehow, they’re still delivering the warm, comforting feeling of sitting at the bar, sipping red wine out of a juice glass and sampling a few adventurous small plates with one of my favorite to-go menus and donating 25% of all profits to @campaignzero which not only is a substantial sacrifice given the unreliability of restaurant business right now, but it’s one that’s guarantee to taste damn good. Check out their weekend menu here https://www.instagram.com/achillesheelbk/ and don’t forget to throw in a few bottled cocktails. 

Show your Pride Saturday with The Carry Nation

The Carry Nation will be returning for their Good Room residency in your living room! They’ll be hosting a saucy little competition as they face-off against Fatherhood in a DJ-dance party that will have you lip-synching and moving and grooving for 9 hours this Saturday. And if you think you don’t have it in you, you do- you’re in quarantine. You have the energy. And plus, all proceeds from the event will raise money for G.L.I.T.S., an organization that provides housing for the black-trans community. So #revelwithacause and show your pride and power this Saturday night. Info here.

Protest and Party with House of Yes

Stop by House of Yes this weekend to make signs for rallies & protests! They’ll provide materials, just wear a mask and practice social distancing. They’ll also have some legendary HOY decor for sale, and all the proceeds from the sale will be donated to Loveland Foundation’s Therapy For Black Girls initiative. Then march along with them to feel the pride and power of this movement. Keep the party going Saturday night with @soulsummitmusic spinning via the virtual club.

Score Some Vintage Finds for a Cause

Dusty Rose Vintage is allowing one customer at a time to browse through their bins of pure magic, this neighborhood mainstay of vintage discoveries will be donating 20% of sales will go to @eij_org, an organization working to end mass incarceration, excessive punishment and racial inequality. ⁣⁣So go find some threads that will make you stand a little taller as you march this weekend. ⁣

Picnic in multiple parks, for a cause.

You know you’ll be picnicking in the park this weekend, and if you’re not getting ham (and other fine charcuterie and cheeses) first at &Sons and heading to Prospect Park, then sign up to have a Hampton Water picnic. This fancy little rose has teamed up with Versa NYC to be delivering you the picnic of your dreams (or at least one that will impress your friends) and donating a portion of their proceeds to The Bail Project and No Child Left Hungry. Choose your picnic and your park and #revelwithacause this weekend

Take a Look at your Life

Having trouble finding your role in all of this? Use this AMAZING resource to understand how to best use your talents and energy for change.

Seek out the resources we can use to support black-owned businesses.

Source books from your local bookshop or library that will help us understand racism.

Follow these activists and groups that we can follow to help change our influences and thus our conversations- @mspackyetti @nowhitesaviors @soulsummitmusic @yourrightscamp @btfacollective @changethenypd

Examine the small and big changes can we make in our lives, in our social circles, and in our everyday interactions.

Let’s listen to some of our favorite local partners on how they are speaking up and reacting to help us understand how to help. Our friends at House of Yes, The Infatuation, Nowadays, and Archestratus. Make sure that the resources we rely on are doing more to help us all move forward.

I promise to use my voice to help promote and elevate black-owned businesses and voices, and not to let this conversation end until there is change; actual change. I pledge to be a resource to help promote and protect this movement. Here is a reflective piece I wrote about our understandings of cities during times of distress and necessary unrest in an effort to capture this confusion and compassion, in so many words. And here is a list of my favorite black-owned Brooklyn businesses that (I hope) will help you show support. 

Brooklyn, let’s all try harder, together.

As I’ve been trying to pivot to provide you with some sense of normalcy to bring us all together as we are forced to be apart, there is no sense of normalcy anymore. There is the need to feel this, to act, to show support, to come together to form a new reality and to force this country to change the social fabric that we have been accepting for way too long.

Decide what you feel led to do. Find the best way to memorialize, to speak out and to show your city and country that this is unacceptable. But make sure you do something and feel something. This might be the most historic time we live through- so let’s actively live in it.

Here are the ways you should get involved this weekend and for the foreseeable future, until we create a future we want to live in.

Check your neighborhood for protests.

First, make sure you’re prepared.

With this 8pm curfew, cops are aggressively arresting peaceful protestors who are “violating curfew” forcing hundreds to spend the night in cramped jail cells nightly, confiscating their phones and belongings (forcing many to have their bikes inevitably stolen) and completely dismissing the threat of COVID-19. Know your rights and be prepared by reading this first. And then, let your voice be heard.

Neighborhood Protest Resources

Bushwick – @assemblywomandavila. At Maria Hernandez Park

Greenpoint – @greenpointers for info on vigil’s at McCarren Park and where to head from there.

Williamsburg – @yeswilliamsburg nightly marches leaving from McCarren.

Jamaica, Queens – at Council Member Adrienne Adam’s Office

For everything else, follow @justiceforgeorgenyc

Or use this full map of Protests for George Floyd, worldwide.

Do some research and then donate to help support the cause that speaks to you.

Support and Donate to SATC Campaign for NAACP Foundation

Black Lives Matter Prints by local artist Eva Woolridge, all proceeds go to Bail Out Funds

Make Calls for George – 612.324.4499

Donate to Breonna Taylor‘s family’s GoFundMe here.

And sign Breonna’s petition here.

Support the 15 Percent Pledge – @15percentpledge to help black-owned businesses survive

Look through this very thorough list of Racial Justice Organizations and Resources

Sign Petitions here.

Make the Call – Follow these to make calls for change.

Donate to the cause that speaks to you – blacklivesmatters/donate

Black Women’s Blueprint – Support equality and opportunity for every black woman – @blackwomensblueprint

And see so many more resources HERE and HERE.

Take a Look at your Life

What are the resources we can use to support black-owned businesses?

What are the books we can read to help us understand racism?  

Who are the activists and groups that we can follow to help change our influences and thus our conversations? Follow @mspackyetti @nowhitesaviors @soulsummitmusic @yourrightscamp @btfacollective @changethenypd

What small and big changes can we make in our lives, in our social circles, and in our everyday interactions?

Let’s listen to some of our favorite local partners on how they are speaking up and reacting to help us understand how to help. Our friends at House of Yes, The Infatuation, Nowadays, and Archestratus. Make sure that the resources we rely on are doing more to help us all move forward.

I promise to use my voice to help promote and elevate black-owned businesses and voices, and not to let this conversation end until there is change; actual change. I pledge to be a resource to help promote and protect this movement. Here is a reflective piece I wrote about our understandings of cities during times of distress and necessary unrest in an effort to capture this confusion and compassion, in so many words. And here is a list of my favorite black-owned Brooklyn businesses that (I hope) will help you show support. 

Brooklyn, let’s all try harder, together.

Brooklyn, I can’t wait to be dancing and sweating underneath a disco ball with you sometime in the near future.

But until then, here are some things we can do to stop feeling quite so alone, together.

Party From Home

I mean this is kind of the best kind of weekend partying… You can commit to a number of plans, and then do them all a little bit while not wearing pants, and then just fall right into bed without having to decide whether or not you deserve to take an Uber home. And best of all, most of these parties are actually benefitting some group or business, so #revelwithacause all weekend. Get to it.

Or, From a Car! Because There’s a drive-in movie theater in GREENPOINT.

That’s right folks. Before they cover our waterfront with luxury apartment skyscrapers, they’re giving a little slice of that precious land to us. The clever people with Skyline Drive NYC want you to watch films with that iconic skyline in the background, but what they don’t tell you on their website is that you’ll be sitting and watching in the best goddamn neighborhood in the city. So come early, get a cocktail from Citroen, and then post up.

Mister Sunday Wants to Come Over

Starting this Sunday, Mister Sunday will be broadcasted from Nowadays Yeah, I know… it doesn’t feel like summer if we can’t dance and drink and sweat with all of our friends right up against us. And, you know… this whole beach thing. But Nowadays is going to help us feel it as much as possible starting this weekend. They’ll be broadcasting Mister Sunday weekly, so tune in Sunday and make your Memorial Day Weekend feel a little more real.

A Bar Near Me, a fundraiser for your favorite neighborhood spots.

Nothing feels worse than your favorite little local spot closing down (this was pre-COVID, fyi…) but nothing feels better than seeing how they are evolving to support other local businesses who are suffering immensely during this pandemic. Support them supporting us and supporting our fair city through this, through @abarnearme . They’ll be hosting virtual events to make sure there will be doors to open up once we “open back up” Follow along here, and keep an eye out for their next burger pop-up… they sell out fast.

Ron Like Hell with the Good Room and Wrecked NYC

All this restriction makes me want to run like hell… but make staying put more fun this Friday with Ron Like Hell. They’ll be streaming live to help support the good people at the Good Room, so zoom on in and #revelwithacause right here. And buy some amazing tunes and swag too, here. Because showing your support looks good on you, baby. 

Zoom Burlesque with the Love Room NYC

Your living room never looked sexier. Well, I mean, except for that one time… you know what time. Let’s bring it all back and invite The Love Room into your living room and get a little nasty but feel good about being bad. They’re dancing in support of their absolutely lovely project, so let them in. Let’s dance better and feel better. Info here. #spreadloveitsthebrooklynway

Adult Dino Trivia with Atlas Obscura

Because being a nerd for dinosaurs might not have been cool when you were growing up, but now it’s (kind of) cool, thanks to the good people at Atlas Obscura. They’ll be hosting a Dino trivia drinking game zoom so put on those weird footie pjs you still have and pour yourself some Dino punch and impress some people, you little triceratops you. Info here. 

Get Cultured

There is more available at our fingertips right now than ever before, and I don’t mean whatever stockpile of filtered images influencers have scheduled to roll out to you this month. Check out my favorites below and learn something while you’re “stuck inside”.

Get Backstage (in your apartment) with a Magician

Trust me when I say this- there will come a time when you will want to impress your friends again. And a damn good way to impress them every time is with a good magic trick. Go backstage with a magician this weekend with this amazing virtual magic lesson from Atlas Obscura. There might not be anything up your sleeves right now but some residual hand sanitizer, but make sure there’s more there when this is all over. Sign up for a time slot here. 

To Be, or Not to Be, NYC?

If there’s no Shakespeare in the Park does summer even happen in New York? This Is unfortunately a painful question we must all face. But let’s do it all together with the amazing theater the Public Theater is still providing. This Monday they’ll be hosting a virtual performance with a dance party afterward to make us all feel like we’re packed into that replica of the Globe theater, sweating together and fanning ourselves with our programs while we drink plastic cups of rose (man I miss that). Check it out here.

Get Bent, Creatively

You know you’ve been Marie Kondo-ing the hell out of your apartment, and as such likely have a few wire hangers to spare. Make something useful out of them with this amazing video from artist Gego, who was part of the MoMA’ s exhibit Sur Moderno. Why? Because even a completed puzzle won’t look this cool.

At-Home Chef

Put some Koji-Infused Cuisine on the table tonight

Because let’s be honest… you have cooked everything else. Everything. Else. What is Koji? It’s a refined rapid fermentation process used in Japanese cooking which has been perfected by Chefs Jeremy Umansky and Rich Shih using a koji microbe… this microbe has the power to transform pantry staples into umami marvels, and will solve the problem you’ve been having when you try a very ambitious recipe. Tune in Sunday at 8pm, and sign in here first (the second tier level gets you a copy of their book too!) and then brag to your friends that you’re doing cooler fermentation things than they are. 

Build a Box with Rooftop Reds

Your favorite rooftop winery is now the greatest little market in the Navy Yard (that’s right Wegman’s, I said it) Rooftop Wines has evolved to become a one-stop shop for so many local favorites and farmy finds. Each week they add even more options to choose from (craft cheeses! syrups! oh my!) so choose your box wisely and feel good about supporting this and so many businesses. Then make something fantastic out of it.

Martha Stewart wants to Wine and Dine You

SHE STILL WENT TO PRISON. Which makes me respect her wine picks way, way more. Because what do you think she was thinking about while she was in there? Probably all of the good wines she wanted to get white-girl wasted off of. So choose a fancy little recipe from NY Times Cooking and order some of this former-convict selected wines and have yourself an evening.

Get a Move On

Because “shelter in place” doesn’t mean being completely stagnant. You can responsibly keep yourself moving in some very creative ways.

Let’s have some Good Times, Brooklyn

Daily yoga from your favorite little Williamsburg studio that will help you shape up and be a little less rigid during this time of boundaries and rules and limitations. Proceeds go to support their amazing staff, so feel good while you have a good time. Schedule here. 

Yoga + Meditation with New Love City

Get your mind off of things and your body into things this weekend with meditation and yoga. Because we’re never going to get through this without going nuts and gaining the COVID 19 if we don’t try, with intention. Follow along here for the schedule and let’s make ourselves better.

Pilatesbklyn Wants to Help you Shape Up

Let’s all lengthen and strengthen our quarantine bodies so that we can all look good while looking longingly at the beach this summer. Pilates Brooklyn is offering free sessions this weekend to make you look and feel better. Choose a class and tune in via the link in their Instagram here. 

Support Your Neighborhood Spots

Let’s face it- the city will not be the same when we get out of this mess. And in order to help preserve it and make sure we all survive, support @neighborhoodspot in their mission to support small businesses who are shut down at the moment, and look damn good doing it. Buy their merchandise here and feel good repping your ‘hood, in your ‘hood. And then don’t feel like a dork if you wear said schwag to that same restaurant when they reopen- concert tee rules do not apply during a pandemic.

Beer and Pizza with Barano + Domino Park

Make those socially-distanced circles into a very intimate party this weekend with Barano’s new midday beer + pizza deal. Every day, 2-5pm, you can get a hot gonna slice and any beer on tap for $9. Then grab your quarantine buddy and claim your circle at the park and make everyone noticeably jealous of your late lunch decision. Keep up with all of their amazing specials right here

Come have Brunch with Me!

Say whaaat? Yeah, you know I hate brunch. But what I do like is that during this time of social distancing, I get to spend a few hours in a charming little window on Manhattan Avenue and make people happy. And I’ll be doing just that this Saturday. Come, get a Bloody Mary. Get an Aperol Spritz. Get a damn delicious burger, or some carbonara. Get whatever the hell you want, just come keep me company! I’ll make you happy!

Show Your Support

One of the most important ways we can spend our time and hard-earned government paychecks is by funneling that money back into our communities and supporting local businesses. Don’t let them shudder once we all decide to “open back up”.

Buy a Mask, Feed someone in Need

I hate it that people cannot see me smile. But until they can, let our mouths say something about us- like, “I really care about this local business and I want them to survive all of this,” and also, “My mouth just fed some other mouths!” Relix Marketplace is making these amazing masks to help local businesses and food banks. Browse the collection here and keep smiling under there.

Buy Art that Feeds People

Make your home renovations mean something by adding some fresh art to those walls, art that says “I love my community” and “I also give a damn.” Local artist @stevewasterval is selling prints of (mostly) Greenpoint scenes and with the sale of each print, one meal is donated to the North Brooklyn Angels. Order through his instagram and let’s make North Brooklyn (and our walls) a better place.

Help Seniors through Umbrella

We all too often ignore the most valuable members of our society, the seniors that contain within them so much history and wisdom that may go unseen and unheard. And now they’re suffering at disproportionate numbers. Show them that you care by volunteering to help a senior through Umbrella. Even simple tasks can be impossible to execute when you’re trapped in a high-risk nursing home, or simply unable to get out because of fear. Sign up here and show them you haven’t forgotten.

Feed Your Community

Because you’re never going to eat those Vienna sausages. You aren’t. And you’ll be embarrassed if anyone sees them in your cabinet and therefore assumes this is a snack you consume often. Donate your unwanted food and new food you buy at the supermarket just for this cause and that money that you’re still getting either from your employer or Donald J Trump himself (i.e. your own tax money) to local food banks. They desperately need help. Learn more here. 

Hey Brooklyn. We’re all in this together, somehow. Let’s find each other and find hope and find joy this weekend, in our communities and that virtual space where we all exist now. Get to it, below. I’ll see you out there, and in there, and everywhere, Brooklyn.

Party From Home

I mean this is kind of the best kind of weekend partying… You can commit to a number of plans, and then do them all a little bit while not wearing pants, and then just fall right into bed without having to decide whether or not you deserve to take an Uber home. And best of all, most of these parties are actually benefitting some group or business, so #revelwithacause all weekend. Get to it.

Mister Sunday Wants to Come Over

Starting this Sunday, Mister Sunday will be broadcasted from Nowadays Yeah, I know… it doesn’t feel like summer if we can’t dance and drink and sweat with all of our friends right up against us. And, you know… this whole beach thing. But Nowadays is going to help us feel it as much as possible starting this weekend. They’ll be broadcasting Mister Sunday weekly, so tune in Sunday and make your Memorial Day Weekend feel a little more real.

Disco Isn’t Dead, it’s just… in Outerspace.

Jupiter Disco is here to take you and everyone you love to the moon and back and then way way far beyond this Friday night. Your favorite groovy little Bushwick disco paradise will be streaming a live intergalactic party so get movin’ and grooving’ by following along with their instagram. See you out there, and in there, Brooklyn.

Feel Better with Good Room

Make your living room a little bit good-er with Good Room, this weekend. They’re refusing to let you get down by making sure you get down with @fixed_nyc’s JDH at 5pm, and more amazing talent all weekend. Check in with them here and see how good it feels to be bad. Oh and look for me in the feed- I just got a disco ball.

Get Cultured.

There is more available at our fingertips right now than ever before, and I don’t mean whatever stockpile of filtered images influencers have scheduled to roll out to you this month. Check out my favorites below and learn something while you’re “stuck inside”.

All of this, from the MoMA this Weekend.

why don’t you talk about art with Steve Martin, or learn to cook with Anicka Yi, or dive into the literature that will define this very specific time in history, or hear about the beautiful experiments that author Saidya Hartman knows will pull us all through this mess. It’s all coming at ya from the MoMA, so get cultured and feel better, this weekend, right here.

Believe in Magic, at home!

I fucking love magic. And while there are a lot of things that seem like magic right now (the memory of hugging a friend! getting sick of being around your parents! Airplane food!) magician Karan Singh wants to bring the real thingh into your home. Yep. It’s a magic show just for you, or for your zoom! Send a message here to set up a time and be prepared to not believe your screen.

At-Home Chef

We have all been cooking. A lot. And there is nothing more lovely than exploring a new recipe and sharing it with loved ones, or even the roommates that you really pissed off earlier and this is the only way you can think of to say “I’m sorry for being an asshole. I’m losing it.” Here are a few of my pics. Get cookin’, good lookin’.

Paella, because… why not?

Now is the time to try out that very complicated paella recipe. Why? Because El Born is open for delivery and pick-up so that when your attempt at socarrat becomes a big black coat of shame over the past 3 hours you’ve spent in the kitchen, they can swoop in and save the day (with cocktails, too!) Just keep this link handy and of course, good luck.

Because you’ll still never get into Carbone…

Yeah, like not even if you line up now hoping they’ll reopen midsummer. But the good news is, the good people at X-rated Eats have brought us their famous SPicy Rigatoni recipe to make at home. So throw a white table cloth (or sheet) over that kitchen table. Put on a nice dress. Light some candles. Wine and dine yourself. Tell Rich Torrisi and Jeff Zalaznick that they’ve got nothin’ on YOU. (I mean, don’t do that… but do be damn proud of yourself.) Follow along here and don’t forget to get a damn good wine recommendation from Anthony at Duke’s Liquor Box!

Have Your Cupcake and Eat It Too

What better way to finish off an at-home knockoff of a New York classic dish than with another knockoff of a classic dessert? The New York Times has finally  The NY Times finally shared Magnolia Bakery’s cupcake recipe.

Get a Move On

Because “shelter in place” doesn’t mean being completely stagnant. You can responsibly keep yourself moving in some very creative ways.

Let’s have some Good Times, Brooklyn

Daily yoga from your favorite little Williamsburg studio that will help you shape up and be a little less rigid during this time of boundaries and rules and limitations. Proceeds go to support their amazing staff, so feel good while you have a good time. Schedule here. 

Yoga + Meditation with New Love City

Get your mind off of things and your body into things this weekend with meditation and yoga. Because we’re never going to get through this without going nuts and gaining the COVID 19 if we don’t try, with intention. Follow along here for the schedule and let’s make ourselves better.

Pilatesbklyn Wants to Help you Shape Up

Let’s all lengthen and strengthen our quarantine bodies so that we can all look good while looking longingly at the beach this summer. Pilates Brooklyn is offering free sessions this weekend to make you look and feel better. Choose a class and tune in via the link in their Instagram here. 

Get Out (safely!)

It’s (virtually) a Block Party, Brooklyn!

Because we all realize just how important and connected our local blocks are right now (especially at 7pm!), let’s have a good old fashioned block party, reimagined, this Memorial Day weekend. Because if there shall be no cookouts, let their at least be a. Gang of all your local favorites there to help you celebrate and feel more together, while we’re apart. They’re bringing you bites and sips from Oddfellow’s Ice Cream, KahKow, Lemons and Olives, Kings County Distillery, and Duke’s Liquor Box- Plus the Greenpoint-Williamsburg CSA will be at Duke’s, so you and pick up a box and a few bottles at the same time. They’ll have Fashion + Art from Alkemic, Brooklyn Charm (and more!) Plus the connection and community we could all use right now. Tune in, order, pick up, pick yourself up, show your support, and feel better. 

Brooklyn History Bike Ride

This amazing, historic bike ride from the NY Times piece Because all of our hearts are hurting that our city has been completely shaken by this pandemic, it’s a good time to be reminded of all of the things we love about it, and to be enveloped by it, on two wheels. Read this amazing piece that walks you through the amazing history surrounding our magical little borough.

Beer and Pizza with Barano + Domino Park

Make those socially-distanced circles into a very intimate party this weekend with Barano’s new midday beer + pizza deal. Every day, 2-5pm, you can get a hot gonna slice and any beer on tap for $9. Then grab your quarantine buddy and claim your circle at the park and make everyone noticeably jealous of your late lunch decision. Keep up with all of their amazing specials right here.

Celebrate Memorial Day with your (corn)Dog in the Park

‘There will be corn dogs at Five Leaves, and watermelon margaritas. So dig out that USA bandana and wrap it around your face and get yourself a dog and a marg and go to McCarren and recognize that this is as close to a cookout as we’re gonna get, and it’s not that bad. I’m willing to bet they’ll sell out, so get your ass up early. Info here.

Or, be a Polish American this Memorial Day

Visit Dziupla in Greenpoint for AMAZING pierogis, just like grandma used to make (?) and get a FREE soup which let me tell you- their borscht is unbelievable. As in, I think about it often… and I like to think it thinks of me too. Plus, they have frozen margaritas so you can have an official, not too American spread in your socially-distanced area of McCarren Park. Info here.

The Last Humboldt + Jackson Burger is available TODAY only.

In case you missed it, Humboldt and Jackson closed just before the entire city shut down. Which is sad, but the space will reopen to The Meat Hook’s first official restaurant, when the city opens again! While we wait, head to H&J’s burger pop-up TODAY- it’s your last chance to get their famous burger and to mourn the passing of this amazing Williamsburg institution with some double-pattied saucy goodness in your hands. And if you stain your shirt (you likely will) consider it a little piece of history you can keep with you, always.

Come have Brunch with Me!

Say whaaat? Yeah, you know I hate brunch. But what I do like is that during this time of social distancing, I get to spend a few hours in a charming little window on Manhattan Avenue and make people happy. And I’ll be doing just that this Saturday. Come, get a Bloody Mary. Get an Aperol Spritz. Get a damn delicious burger, or some carbonara. Get whatever the hell you want, just come keep me company! I’ll make you happy!

Show Your Support

One of the most important ways we can spend our time and hard-earned government paychecks is by funneling that money back into our communities and supporting local businesses. Don’t let them shudder once we all decide to “open back up”.

Buy Art that Feeds People

Make your home renovations mean something by adding some fresh art to those walls, art that says “I love my community” and “I also give a damn.” Local artist @stevewasterval is selling prints of (mostly) Greenpoint scenes and with the sale of each print, one meal is donated to the North Brooklyn Angels. Order through his instagram and let’s make North Brooklyn (and our walls) a better place.

Help Seniors through Umbrella

We all too often ignore the most valuable members of our society, the seniors that contain within them so much history and wisdom that may go unseen and unheard. And now they’re suffering at disproportionate numbers. Show them that you care by volunteering to help a senior through Umbrella. Even simple tasks can be impossible to execute when you’re trapped in a high-risk nursing home, or simply unable to get out because of fear. Sign up here and show them you haven’t forgotten.

Feed Your Community

Because you’re never going to eat those Vienna sausages. You aren’t. And you’ll be embarrassed if anyone sees them in your cabinet and therefore assumes this is a snack you consume often. Donate your unwanted food and new food you buy at the supermarket just for this cause and that money that you’re still getting either from your employer or Donald J Trump himself (i.e. your own tax money) to local food banks. They desperately need help. Learn more here. 

And here’s a little hope for you.

Yankee Stadium parking lot may become a drive-in movie theater this summer!!! Because if we can’t have baseball, at least we can have movies about baseball outside of a very historic stadium! They’ve announced partnering with Uptown Drive-In to convert that unused lot into a theater and food market, so now’s the time to start sucking up to that friend you have with a car.

And for a super-extensive, ongoing list of what’s going on, check in here.

Hey Brooklyn. We’re going to be ok (I think). Just in case, let’s hedge our bets by doing all of the things I’ve chosen for you to do to keep you sane, this weekend and indefinitely. Check out my weekend picks below, and click here for my ongoing list of how to party, get fit, stay cultured, and show your support, all week long.

Party at Home

I mean this is kind of the best kind of weekend partying… You can commit to a number of plans, and then do them all a little bit while not wearing pants, and then just fall right into bed without having to decide whether or not you deserve to take an Uber home. And best of all, most of these parties are actually benefitting some group or business, so #revelwithacause all weekend. Get to it.

Don’t Try This At Home

But do tune into Secret Loft’s weekly live stream that features an amazing (and usually neon) aerial artist and an in-house DJ that will be a hell of a lot cooler than waiting for weird people with stiff dance moves to pop up on the main screen. They’re streaming on Saturdays right here.

There’s a drive-in movie theater in Astoria.

Because, of course there is. That one neighborhood that you always talk about checking out but when it comes down to it, you have no clue what’s really going on there. Well, what’s going on is that they have larger parking lots than almost anywhere in the city, and one of such lots has been transformed into a drive-in theater. These events don’t happen on weekends,  but you need to tune in and sign up now, and then find a car, quick.

Get Cultured.

There is more available at our fingertips right now than ever before, and I don’t mean whatever stockpile of filtered images influencers have scheduled to roll out to you this month. Check out my favorites below and learn something while you’re “stuck inside”.

Konichiwa, Japan

If we can’t travel, we might as well dream up of all of the vacation plans we might have made and also the cultural hugs we may have received during such trips. So order sushi from your favorite neighborhood spot (don’t forget the sake) and give yourself a virtual tour of this museum and then tell all your friends how truly Japanese you are. (I really think so). Info here, and FYI Kana Hashi in Greenpoint is my pick for sushi!

Frieze Art Fair is Virtually Happening, today!

All the art without the pretension! I gotta be honest- if it wasn’t for the steep entry price and my truly debilitating lack of choosing any outfit that seems worthy of such an art fair, I would have gone to Frieze every single year. But now that it’s available virtually and I can wear literally anything and still feel cool and I can linger around any piece of artwork without being “ahem-ed!” ahead? Well count me in, baby. Frieze is coming to your house and today is that last day. Tune in here.

Beat the Shit out of Coronavirus

Listen to me- you have time. You have time to do the things you never thought you’d have time to do. And here’s one you likely didn’t think about- making a papier-mâché coronavirus and then beating the shit out of it. If you have kids, fill it with candies. If you don’t, little boozy treats will do. Just make yourself feel better by having something to take it out on. Start here.

Shape Up or Ship Out

Because “shelter in place” doesn’t mean being completely stagnant. You can responsibly keep yourself moving in some very creative ways.

Get Down(ward) Locally, Yo!

Listen, we’re all in the same boat- picturing some sort of physical transformation when this all started and knowing that the answer lies in some sort of app. And then, of course, given that we are confined to individual shoe boxes the inspiration wanes and we are left throwing our scales onto the sidewalk (I saw someone do this on Kent Street, today) and just hoping that no one will notice that we’ve gained weight. There’s a better way to go about this, one that makes us all feel less isolated and more confident in our ability to move forward. And it’s right here– with local NYC Yoga classes. Show your support and do something better for your body.

Beam me up, Scotty!

Human Dominos, at Domino Park!

Yep. The park has been littered with individual social-distanced circles, which means, you and yours* can go and sit within designated circles, all 6-feet apart from the other circles. And what will you do in these circles? Here are a few ideas- really, really tight duck-duck-goose; an intimate and likely cacophonous drum circle; double dutch that still won’t work, no matter how badly you want it to; re-enacting that scene from A Little Princess; exactly one round of leapfrog. Anyway, a lot of creativity comes from having restrictions, so tell me, what will you do in your circle? I have a 6-ft tin can phone- so, tell me from the circle behind you. (Hey.)

*quarantine partners

Streets for Humans, coming to your Neighborhood.

Weigh in on this fight online regarding closing streets to car traffic, and then recognize that resistance is futile no matter how many times this guy refers to Greenpoint residents as “mid-western fucks” and then, get out and do that thing where you act like you’re in a car when you’re drunk and only the drive-thru is open… because we can all just walk freely on the (selected) streets now folks. Let your neighborhood feel like a park and let’s all gallop gleefully through the streets because who knows how long this will last. (For real… no one knows)

Explore Brooklyn by Bike!

It’s going to be gorgeous this weekend, and while joggers have come under fire recently, biking is the best way to cover more ground, responsibly, and to see so much more of the borough! The lovely Jacqueline VanDusen via @brooklynbybike has explored (nearly) every single block in Brooklyn by bike. Check out her recommendations for awesome rides here. I’ll see you out there! Especially once streets are closed to cars come may!

Show your Support

Eat Nachos and Support Local Restaurants with Bill Murray and Shaq

There are a lot of ways you can show the restaurants we know and love and that truly make this city what it is- but one super cool way is bringing both Bill Murray and Shaq into Greenpoint TONIGHT to consume a rather ungodly amount of nachos. And if you want to somehow be a part of it, you will simply have to eat a fuck ton of nachos at home, donate to this incredibly worthy cause, and then try to spot bill and Shaq looming around the ‘hood… which, can’t be that hard, right? All the info you can get is right here, but also donate here.

Oxomoco is OPEN.

Yeah. And just when you already thought TACO TUESDAY should maybe stop being lifted by time restrictions, they just came out of nowhere and said, yeah, you right homey. Taco Tuesday can be any day and you don’t have to feel bad about it because they have a Michelin Star that says there’s absolutely nothing bad happening here. Order pronto, things sell out.

Go Get Brunch (and I never say that)

Brunch is no longer (that) annoying because instead of bothering restaurant workers, you’re simply picking up and taking that two-eggs-any-style and 4 different beverage option order straight back into your home, where you have at least two eggs and a frying pan and almost all of the beverage options a human could want. So instead of annoyingly patronizing your favorite brunch spots, supportingly patronize them this Saturday and Sunday and tip them very generously because they have been hungover and had to deal with your hungover ass with a smile. My top picks are Anella, Le Fanfare, and Cafe Alula (good god, that egg sandwich…) but just take a stroll and see who’s around, wanting to feed you. 

Hang in there, Brooklyn. Hang in there, in your apartment, and keep yourself sane and entertained through all of the amazing things happening, this weekend (and ongoing!)

Party at Home

Yas Mama, for your Mother

It’s mother’s day weekend and that means we should all be celebrating where we came from and shaking what our mamas gave us and doing it all for charity this Saturday night, with Yas Mama. They’ll be spinning like mothers from 4-9pm so tune in and, I don’t know, invite your mom. 

Learn to Carry On with the Carry Nation

Because if there is still hope for anything, it’s hope for Carry Nation upholding their monthly residence at your favorite dance club (remember? Dance clubs?) The Carry Nation will be making your living room a lot better with the Good Room, this Saturday. Tune in at 3pm and let’s do bad things together.

The Better Brunch, with Rooftop Reds

I’ve realized my hatred for brunch really doesn’t exist if it’s brunch at home. Because brunch in public involves sitting at a table among your peers who all left the house, put on clothes, and organized an event only to order ‘two eggs any style’; people who somehow need 5 different beverages in order to satiate their thirst, the most noble of which seems to be cava; stroller valets (it’s a thing…) and really hating that bitch at the table who will “just have a beet salad.” But brunch at home just means you’re eating breakfast things whenever you damn well please, and the only thing you should be concerned with drinking is this amazing aperitivo spritz spawned from a rooftop in the Navy Yard. Order yours here and feel good that you don’t have to brunch in public, at least for a while. Let’s party.

Feel the Pleasure times 8 this Friday Night.

Give yourself the pleasure this Friday night of partying, digitally, with Pleasure Jams. This local DJ collective is guaranteed to make your living room look cool, and will make you into a disco queen… even in your jammies. Jam out this Friday to benefit The Mixtape Shop, so tune in here at 9pm and #revelwithacause.

Ongoing

Dance Away the Distance

This weekly social disdance party will bring you closer, socially. Tune in Tuesdays and Fridays at 8pm, and Sundays at 5pm and get down, apart, together. Let your body let out all of the deep distanced woes it’s been harboring for six weeks now. Dance hard, dance long, dance fast. Let it all go, and let ‘dis dance be the one that saves us. Tune in here.

Let the Lot Radio make your Zoom party a Lot cooler.

Because they’re bringing you live sets from local favorites and friends from around the world, so whatever is buzzing in the background of your screen will help mask those awkward silences and let you test your new dance moves in front of a much smaller, and semi-captive, audience. Tune in here and stop by their magical little triangle lot for beer and wine, now reopened!!

Ongoing

Get Wet, Bathhouse-Style.

Because it may be a while until we can immerse ourselves into this sensual palace in Williamsburg, recreate the energy and experience at home. Bathhouse has posted a few great scrub recipes (including one that helps you get rid of old bananas in a much healthier way than making banana bread) and offers you a seductive playlist to accompany your steamy bath session. Drag your quarantine buddy in with you, or go solo. Bring a cocktail. Immerse yourself and escape from whatever real life is now.

Nowadays has live streaming DJs nightly starting at 8pm!

Yep. Every night, it’s virtually Nowadays. Tune in while you’re cooking, while you’re “working”, while you’re getting frisky or doing whatever else you’re doing over there. And dance like no one’s watching because… no one is, except maybe the cat.

Saturday Night Virtual Dance Parties with House of Yes

There are rules for this virtual dance party, and they are rules that you’ll want to follow. You must wear a costume. You must be moving (and not lurking). You must keep the lights up enough to be seen. And pretty much annnnything else goes. Need proof? They got in big trouble with Twitch two weeks ago. So cure that kinky itch of yours and RSVP then tune in at 8pm, every Saturday.

Or, bring your favorite club into your house…

House of Yes IGTV is coming at you nightly, so learn to twerk in the comfort of your own home, get into some amateur burlesque, or see whatever else they dream up. Tune in for all of the weird, wild, and wonderful that you’ve been missing, and thankfully, without that creepy bathroom with all the bugs crawling all over the walls. Info here!

Go on a Neighborhood Bar Crawl, from a safe distance!

Local bars need your support now more than ever. After a string of break-in attempts on Franklin Street this week, BiT favorites Brooklyn Safehouse and Brokenland were both victims of vandalism and robbery recently. So go let these wonderful establishments know you’re there for them. A few other neighborhood favorites that have been victim to the patronage of this #sidewalkregular include Threes Brewing, Brew Inn, 21 Greenpoint, Elder Greene (Open until 10pm daily!!) and Diamond Lil. Air cheers, to you.

Get a Move On

Because “shelter in place” doesn’t mean being completely stagnant. You can responsibly keep yourself moving in some very creative ways.

Explore Brooklyn by Bike!

It’s going to be gorgeous this weekend, and while joggers have come under fire recently, biking is the best way to cover more ground, responsibly, and to see so much more of the borough! The lovely Jacqueline VanDusen via @brooklynbybike has explored (nearly) every single block in Brooklyn by bike. Check out her recommendations for awesome rides here. I’ll see you out there! Especially once streets are closed to cars come may!

Stay Flexible, even while you Stay Put.

I’m a huge fan of the Downward Dog app, but it’s been so much more rewarding to explore and support local yoga studios that are offering free or super low-cost classes- donations always appreciated! For a few of my favorites, check out Yo.Bk, Brooklyn Yoga Project, and Hosh Yoga.

Or, go on a COVID-safe staycation with Collective Retreats

Who says you can’t still travel… our favorite clampers at Collective Retreats have worked to get you safely to their campsites (via private ferry) and have spaced out tents, activities, and mealtimes so that you can talk and share your experience without sharing any potential danger. And this weekend is the perfect weekend to sleep under the stars, right here in your city. Check them out here, and tell them I sent you! See what happens! Then let me know!

At-Home Chef

We have all been cooking. A lot. And there is nothing more lovely than exploring a new recipe and sharing it with loved ones, or even the roommates that you really pissed off earlier and this is the only way you can think of to say “I’m sorry for being an asshole. I’m losing it.” Here are a few of my pics. Get cookin’, good lookin’.

This Weekend

Make Yo’ Mama Proud

By making the most of that weird shit in your pantry. Gastro Obscura and MoFaD will help, with Sunday’s Kitchen Remix! Chef Charlotte Druckman will show you how to make the most of what you have and create a damn impressive meal, straight from your pantry. Tune in at 8pm and feel better about some of the decisions you’ve made all of those times you went to C-Town right after taking a spin class and just mindlessly filled your cart with everything.

Be a Chef without actually Cooking.

Local favorite La Fond has been holding weekly menu contests, meaning you dream up the foods and flavors, and chef Jake will turn it all into magic, for curbside pick-up! See just how culinarily creative you can be, without dirtying one dish. This week’s menu is already set, but submit your suggestions right here.

Queer Soup Making Class and party, Saturday!

Let your soup pot get a little queerer this Saturday with the lovely, local, Liz Alpern of Queer Soup Night! She’ll be teaching you how to make one of her favorite soups and some fresh bread to go along with it. There will be some surprise guests, some surprise quests, some surprise stocks, some surprise flotsam, and an all-inclusive event that is guaranteed to bring more life into your apartment than that formerly scheduled Zoom programming. Sign up here, soup starts at 5:30pm.

Local Chef John Turnbull Wants to Save your Pantry

The chef behind neighborhood newcomer turned favorite Madre will also be accepting the challenge of making a menu out of whatever is currently in your pantry. So before you mask-and-glove-up and prepare yourself to wait in socially distanced lines outside of the grocery store, put him up to the challenge of using what you have. And then let’s all meet for happy hour and get really fucking happy when all of this is over. Check it out here.

Or get let a whole Catering Team into your Pantry

Need some recipe information but want to avoid going to the grocery store? Send a picture of your pantry to the amazing team with @chefanienass and they’ll design a meal for you. You’ll be surprised how much you can do with… (gets up, checks cupboard) Sea Crunchies, cannellini beans, steel-cut oats, chicken stock, and crushed tomatoes! (At least, I hope to be!) Come on, give them a challenge.

Bring Italy into your Home with Opera in the Kitchen

Sign up for an Italian cooking class, live streaming from Chianti! Opera in the Kitchen is one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever been a part of, and taught me so much more about Italian cooking. Plus, they were just selected as one of the top 50 Airbnb Experiences in the world and the top 6 in Italy to be available online to help you get through the quarantine. Open your kitchen up to all of the beauty of Italy, virtually. Sign up here, and then bring your own opera by singing into the spatula (you know how to do it…)

ACME’s Fish Fridays are still happening!

and now you’re actually able to participate! Order online here and then pick-up curbside at 30 Gem Street. Then, cook up something funky using these smoked fish recipes I’ve procured, just for you, my fishy little friend.

Learn to Bake Some Swedish Sweets

I mostly want to come out of this being a much better entertainer… because I want all of you coming over to my house and sharing meals and stories and sitting way too close and reaching over each other and laughing in the same air. And that means, I need to keep expanding my repertoire of party-worthy recipes so you’ll accept my invitations. This one is perfect for a brunch party- nothing says, “I care about you and I love you” than the rich Swedish tradition of cardamom buns. Tune into this baking class via Airbnb and right into a Swedish kitchen and learn how!

Scrub Up All Over.

Handwashing has stopped being fun even with the help of creative TikTokers and Bill’s weekly song on Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me… but skin scrubs still can be, if you learn to make them at home. Sign up for this amazing skincare workshop and slough away all of your sins, and germs, and come out looking cleaner, younger, leaner, and way smoother.

No More Milk Waste

Because nothing is more upsetting than seeing farmers dispose of millions of gallons of milk they can’t distribute to food banks and needy Americans, do your part to use your own almost-too-old milk and turn it into an amazing ricotta. Tune into this ricotta cheesemaking class in Sonoma and stop crying over spilled milk. 

Ongoing

Learn (almost) all of Ovenly’s Secrets

Local favorites Ovenly are sharing some of their unbelievable secret recipes via IGTV daily, so tune in and try your hand at their famous Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies, their Blackout Cake, and (maybe soon?) their Hot Chocolate Cookies. Say thanks by contributing to their employee GoFundMe and let’s keep this amazing bakeshop going. Plus, pre-order your Mother’s Day goodies and send her something sweet!

Milk Bar Baking Hour with Christina Tosi, daily!

Of all the skills I want to have “when this is all over”, top of the list is the ability to make birthday cakes like @ChristinaTosi because that will inevitably lead to more birthday party invites. To do so, I’ve been tuning into her daily baking classes (ok, well, some of them…) and you should too. Then we can both bake cakes together and go to all the parties.

Get On the Sourdough Train.

Yep. Everybody’s doing it. I picked up a sourdough starter from the stoop of a friendly neighbor and I’m happy to share! Let’s show this precarious yeast shortage who’s boss, and try to learn the secrets of our pizza heroes. Just holler at me if you want some, let’s start something together.

Get Cultured.

There is more available at our fingertips right now than ever before, and I don’t mean whatever stockpile of filtered images influencers have scheduled to roll out to you this month. Check out my favorites below and learn something while you’re “stuck inside”.

This Weekend

What Exactly Is Modern Art?

Look forward to a day when you are a much cooler date at the MoMA by participating in their online courses, available for the first time, right now. Instead of saying things like, “I don’t really get it…” you can learn what exactly (kind of) is contemporary art, and impress or annoy your friends in the future. Tune in here and feel better about your future life.

Make Something with Little Hands, in Brooklyn

Even if you don’t have any little hands around, you probably have friends with kids which means their hands are completely full right now- as parents, as teachers, as babysitters, and as everything else they’re trying to manage. Help take one of those weights off of their shoulders with this amazing clay workshop, from Little Hand Brooklyn. Learn to make and model clay from your own home (yeah, just give it up on that sourdough) and shape it into something useable, something wearable, something wonderful. Shape up here and make something happen.

A/D/O is closing at the end of the month…

So take advantage of their amazing global programming while you still can. Like this origami workshop!

Or this daily Italian design discussion called Decameron buy Triennale Milano.

Or this 3-part sustainability course Because when the world opens back up again, let’s try not to shut down the forced progress we made.

Test your Obscure Knowledge Friday Night

Our favorite way to (locally) learn about the world, Atlas Obscura, will be testing your knowledge of all of the world’s strangest facts, with teams from all around the world! Join them for five rounds of brain-teasing trivia and likely just take your best guess, each time, and realize you’re going to learn way more than you’ll win. Sign up here!

Turn Off Netflix, and tune into Ladies Rocking the Lens Fest

This annual festival is not only offering access to all of this year’s amazing films online, but also donating all proceeds to the Global FoodBanking Network and the World Central Kitchen. Get inspired by over 60 award-winning independent films and feel good while keeping yourself entertained this weekend. Netflix will be there when you’re done. Promise. #watchforacause

Find Something that Speaks to you via All Arts

Music, film, theatre, dance, words… yep, you officially have no excuse not to find inspiration via this public media-powered resource that is bringing so much talent and creative energy into your home, every day. Tune in and find something that speaks to you and get yourself out of that creative quagmire and into a new project that makes you feel un-quarantined.

Let Green-Wood Cemetery make you feel Alive

Perhaps it feels odd to appreciate life while sitting among the dead, but taking an afternoon to wander the sprawling grounds of Green-Wood Cemetery will help you feel grounded about this pandemic somehow just being part of the history that humanity has experienced and withstood throughout time. They’ve extended their hours, so pass through the stunning gothic arches and get lost anytime between 7am and 7pm. Oh yeah, and make sure you pass by Boss Tweed’s grave and let him know how much you like Cuomo’s unabashed and relatively uncorrupt leadership.

Admit It, You Miss the Subway

Tune in to live virtual discussions and explore (now) closed exhibits with the NY Transit Museum. Our transit workers are so essential to our city, now and always, and their workforce has been affected exponentially more than other industries by this virus- 68 have now died. Dive into the archives and appreciate this amazing system that connects our city and its citizens, and donate here to help keep the Transit Museum moving, and make your voice heard to make sure that these “bailouts” include money for states and thus the cities and the ways in which we move within them.

Ongoing

Gallery Hop around Chelsea with David Zwirner

These are the Saturday’s I miss most- dodging tourists on the Highline (but still loving every inch of this glorious promenade) and then gallery hopping through Chelsea. David Zwirner wants to bring that energy back and let you visit some amazing galleries, plus tune in to artist interviews and discussions to bring you further inside the art. It’s all here for you, tourist-free. 

Meet Your Friends at the Cinema

So Netflix is now letting all of us go to the cinema together, at home, with this Party feature. Choose a film to watch together, at the same time, with your friends while laughing and discussing the film without being shushhhh-ed by serious theatergoers. If you need help choosing a film, I use a damn impressive bracket system that was dreamt up by a friend to help create an impartial voting system. Holler at me and I’ll explain. See you at the (virtual!) cinema!

Paint Classes through Happy Creative Dig

My favorite little creativity nook is taking their coveted wine paint nights online, for free! Learn to paint alongside a bunch of strangers, virtually, who won’t judge you for refilling your wine glass every time you clean your brush. This Sunday’s lesson hasn’t been announced yet, so just pair it with your favorite bottle and get ready to find Pepper the cat somewhere in the desert. Sign up and see the full schedule here, and choose from general admission (free!) to painter package (have supplies mailed to you!) or ‘Taste of the World’ which includes an assorted food box. Cheers, future painters! or just drinkers with paint-covered hands!

Live, Local Comedy this Weekend!

There is so much good local comedy that you can access from home right now while supporting local artists too. Find some via the Brooklyn Comedy Collective this weekend and have a laugh. We all need it. 

Be a Peeping Tom.

There’s something about the 7pm clap that gives us these little peeks into the lives of our neighbors, through their windows. Local photographer @johnnycirillo has been capturing that magic through this NYC Quarantine portrait series. Scroll through to find someone you likely know, and send him a DM to be captured during your intimately noticeable moments.

Help Dr. Fauci Get Revenge

I’ve never been a gamer, but I have always been one to #revelwithacause and to seek entertaining ways to do philanthropic work. And this, my friends, is a great one. Fauci’s Revenge is a videogame from Brooklyn’s Beat the Bomb team and is a part of the #BeattheVirus campaign to raise $25,000 for NYC Hospitals and first responders, and it’s darkly hilarious. Play now and show your support.

Read more. A lot more.

The New York Public Library has over 300,000 titles available for free download! Become an expert on anything or just really enjoy that reading nook in your apartment that you never use. (Hint: Anything is a reading nook if you read in it). Plus, they’re teaming up with WNYC to make a virtual book club, so now you get books AND friends. Start here.

The New Museum, home delivery!

Sign up for daily content and virtual tours to feed your creative energy and get yourself out of that foggy quagmire. 

Curious? That’s Natural, baby.

Check out the archived photos from the Museum of Natural History because we’re all a little bored of staring at our house pets. Big cats are better. Check out some amazing images of how they put together the dinos (I like to imagine while singing “the leg Bone’s connected to the… HIP BONE!”) and all of those spooky dioramas. Seriously, check them out here. 

Watch old Broadway shows via the Museum of the City of New York. 

Well HELLLOOO Dolly! (I have no idea if that’s part of the play at all… but, I’m about to find out.) The MCNY now has a TON of amazing cultural interests from our city’s history available online, like hundreds of Broadway plays! So stop mindlessly scrolling through Netflix. Watch these instead.

Watch this New York City Documentary on Amazon

Don’t we realize that this city is the reason why most of us are here? Our families, our heritage, our curiosity was all, likely. led to the promise of New York. Our ancestors fought to get here and to make moves here and so many of us have returned to find ourselves here. Don’t let that be lost. Watch this amazing Ric Burns series. Find your heritage here and ask your parents to connect with your eldest living relatives. Let’s carry on the torch. 

Tell Spotify You Have Other Plans.

Because the Met Opera is bringing Opera into your home, every day. Opera everyday via @MetOpera, So tune in and feel cultured, without even dressing up. Different performances nightly, but I guarantee you’ll like them each better than the Pirates of Penzance.

Or, head East from the UWS and travel to Paris instead by tuning into the Paris Opera, for free! Pair with a rich Bordeaux and some foi gras and that beret you’ve never been able to get quite right and sink into your inner Francophile.

Atlas Obscura’s Wonder From Home

All the best ways to get lost and feel better on the internet are waiting for you right here via Atlas Obscura. Because mindlessly scrolling never really led anyone to where they wanted to be anyway, here’s the anti-Instagram black hole.

Show Your (local!) Support

One of the most important ways we can spend our time and hard-earned government paychecks is by funneling that money back into our communities and supporting local businesses. Don’t let them shudder once we all decide to “open back up”.

This Weekend

Buck a Beer at Brouweij Lane, for the North Brooklyn Angels

They’re donating a dollar from the sale of every single beer to help support this amazing local charity. Plus, pre-order your flank steak sandwich and visit their other beer shop, at Greenpoint Beer and Ale! Cheers, you lovely local drinkers!

Bakeri Brooklyn Contactless Pick-Up on Sunday!

This amazing woman-owned bakery who also has by far the best sandwiches in town has just announced a one-day curbside pick-up! Get your orders in ASAP then put on your jumpsuit and bandana and feel a lot happier.

Help Your Community

Download Deed and find volunteer opportunities in your community that will directly help food banks, essential workers, undocumented residents and small businesses, like packing and delivering food and thus spreading joy with the North Brooklyn Angels! Sign up with New York Cares for both community-based and city-wide volunteer opportunities. Can’t volunteer your time? Help the helpers by supporting the restaurants who have transitioned into full philanthropic endeavors but preparing and delivering meals to essential workers. See the list here and help them keep helping.

Rooftop Reds’ Local Shop Keeps Expanding – Now, with puzzles!

Which means this magical little rooftop vineyard has become your one-stop market to help support tons of local restaurants, breweries, distilleries, butchers, and makers. Find their full list here and fill your box with whatever mix of wine, whiskey, beer, kimchi, cured meats, cheeses and sake makes your heart content. 

Get Coffee Locally

Try switching up your daily cup a few times a week by patronizing your local shops. In Greenpoint, neighborhood darlings Odd Fox and The Early just curbily reopened this week, and favorites Cafe Grumpy, Pueblo Querido, Champion, and Sweet Leaf are consistently serving up some of the best beans and brews in this neighborhood that seems to be the Mecca of independent coffee shops and laundromats. Buy a cup, buy some beans, tip your baristas, show them how much you love them… and maybe how much you appreciate the number of hours you’ve sat and slowly sipped on one cup of coffee over an 8-hour “work day”… (Shame on you. Get two!) 

Local Mother’s Day Gifts and Puzzles, at Upstate Stock

Remind your mother of her pride for her child sticking it out in the epicenter up here with some amazing New York schwag- t-shirts, blankets, pennant flags, locally made soaps and candles and hot sauces and so much more. Plus, pick up a puzzle for yourself, and tons of other locally made goods. Visit them at 2 Berry St.

Ongoing

Just when you thought your favorite Taiwanese restaurant couldn’t get any better, they’ve teamed up with a few local chefs and Lichen NYC to provide food weekly to the employees on the front lines at Wood Hull Hospital. Help them help the helpers (and help support their staff by ordering food too!) right here.

Makeup for Lost Time with Zoe’s Beauty

There is no better way to show your support for small businesses than in a way that makes you look, and feel, better. Personally, I think it’s extremely important to make sure our eyes our expressive when they are the only part of our face we can share with the outside world. Our eyes need to say both,“Hi! How are you! I love you! Stay safe!” to everyone we pass, and also, “daaaamn right you can’t wait to see what I’m hiding beneath this hazmat suit” to a select few. The best way to make your eyes talk, your face glow, and your heart feel better for supporting this amazing place is by placing an order (DM them here!) and then picking up, curbside, on Fridays. Orders of $50+ qualify for free shipping. Let’s makeup for lost time, together.

Tend Greenpoint Pick-Up!

Because bringing a little life into your home while in isolation lifts everyone’s spirits. Check out their selection via Instagram and call in an order to pick up!

Step Up your Virtual Cocktail Parties with St. Agrestis + Greenhook Gin Negronis, plus hand sanitizer!

As if I couldn’t love these two distilleries and the magic they make together when stirred in a glass, Greenhook has been donating hand sanitizer to our local sanitation workers, who are ALSO on the front lines but too often forgotten about. Their spirits are available for curbside pick-up or local delivery, get a little tipsy and stay clean while you do it.

Help the businesses that are Helping the Helpers

There are so many AMAZING businesses that are using their resources (supplies, workers, time) to prepare food to donate to essential workers. Which is just about the best reason I can think of to order food from any of the businesses on this list (offering free meals to families in need!) or through this project from the Taralucci family or this one from Jose Andres (although he won my heart as the moment I stepped foot into Mercado Little Spain). Plus, local favorites Pies ‘n Thighs, Van Leeuwen, Dar525, Eagle Trading, Vinnie’s, Bierocracy, Gertie, The Olmsted, and The Wheelhouse are all donating locally, to hospitals, fire departments, and families in need. And as always, the North Brooklyn Angels are always deserving of support, especially now.

Barano Brooklyn, dinner + wine pairing

Offering their full menu and custom wine pairings through neighboring bottle shop Spirit Animal, wine and dine yourself finely tonight. All info here. 

Edouard Massih Quarancatering

This Greenpoint local chef is posting his daily recipes for a homecooked, catered meal to help feed and connect you to your community from the comfort of your own mess-free kitchen. Follow him here and join in this week’s menu options, complete with a mocktail ready and waiting for your favorite liquor to be added.

Archestratus Contact-less Market!

Your favorite cookbook store and cafe has been working with local makers and markets to bring you this, a contactless market open this Saturday! Order online and pick-up right outside of the store, from 1-3pm. 160 Huron St.

Pour one out for your homies…

And please, support your favorite local businesses by contributing to their staff’s GoFundMe. There are 321,000 restaurant industry workers who are now, all, unemployed and potentially without jobs once “all of this ends”. Contribute the extra cash you have in your pocket that you haven’t been using as tips to help them get through this indefinite period of confusion. Le Fanfare in Greenpoint has been my family and livelihood for nearly 3 years now, and also provides the means for me to create all of this, for you. Show your support, to us, to them, to everyone.

Ponyboy Bottled Cocktails and new Mexican To-Go Menu!

Featuring the work of local artists, 10% of each sale goes to the artist. #revelwithacause

For a few other creative ways to show your support, by one of these amazing t-shirts from Moonlight Mile, get some amazing French wines at a discount from Sauvage, and buy one of these charming tote bags from Anella.

And Finally, what to Avoid like the Plague (and the virus) during Quarantine

QuaranteeNYC can Suck It.

Anyone who is choosing to ruthlessly profit as a result of this pandemic can go fuck themselves. And even worse if your marketing is this out of touch. Can I report this disgusting party foul to the Chief of Nightlife? Virtual For-Profit Parties Like QuaranteeNYC which has a dress code, ticket price, VIP tables and bottle service… What the fuck. Please just read what you get with your Premium VIP Table- For $200.00+$13.80 tickets provide private space for you and your company on the virtual premises of Quarantee. You can freely move back and forth between the table and the dance floor(via camera). You will be able to listen to the DJ, watch all performers and artists, and engage with your friends through video chat. A dedicated host will support you in making your virtual clubbing dreams come true. For groups up to 10 guests.

Yeah. Fuck you guys. Instead, choose from ANY of the amazing event options above. Party on, Brooklyn.