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. 

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.