17 Comments on From The New York Shitty Inbox, Part I: From Today’s Community Meeting Regarding the Brooklyn Night Bazaar

eagle_teater on Sat, 26th Mar 2011 4:03 pm


I walk my dog down by the India Street pier every day. I would say it is definitely nearing completion and judging by the speed of progress I’d say the pier itself could easily be done by Memorial Day. However, I’m not so sure about the surrounding infrastructure. I have no idea what the final plan looks like but the area is a mess and of course everything still has to be wired for electricity, etc.

Now about this Bazaar. EVERYONE needs to go to the CB1 meetings. Do it.

gradeck on Sat, 26th Mar 2011 4:34 pm


These are fairly accurate accounts of what transpired. The “meeting” was largely intolerable and unproductive due to two factors:
1. That the organizers had no plan or agenda (ie: “We’ll speak for 5 minutes, give you an overview, and then do an organized Q&A”); and
2. That a large number of people were completely rude, disrespectful and appeared to think that shouting incessantly was going to somehow stop this project form happening.

Key pieces of information learned not already reported:

a. The event organizer admitted that while lease terms were “agreed to” the lease for the property was not signed yet;
b. There is a dispute as to what commitment the 94th Precinct has given to their presence in the area at the time of the bazaar. The organizers claimed to have reached out to them and were planning on “hiring” extra officers; some community members claimed that the 94th precinct has made no commitments.
c. There was great concern over the organizers having raised only limited funds ($7k) through “Kickstarter” and that same would be insufficient to pay for the promised security and cleaning. The organizers indicated that the majority of funding was coming out of their own pockets. When questioned about specific costs, they were unable to address those exactly.
d. The organizers specifically claimed that not only would live music stop at 10:00 PM (as per their plan), but that there would be *no amplified sound whatsoever* after 10:00 PM.
e. The meeting on Monday at the Red Star Bar (Greenpoint and West) is being held by the Greenpoint Business Alliance. As one of their representatives stated in the meeting, they have taken *no position* on the bazaar and are still evaluating the proposal. Their meeting on Monday is open to the public for comment.

Some of my own observations:
-Unfortunately, the event organizer did not seem prepared for detailed inquires from the community. My overall sense is that while they are committed to the project, their planning has been less than thorough. One would have expected greater detail about egress, security/safety and noise than was provided. The total lack of an agenda at the meeting didn’t help here.

-Notice to the community was a concern. While several of the residences/apartment buildings in the area got notice of this meeting, many others were upset that they had little advance notice and little detail as to what the plan entailed. While I got the impression that many people wanted to vent at the organizers, the point has merit — outreach is lacking.

-The overall nature of the event seems somewhat fluid. When one resident complained loudly about why the bazaar isn’t held during the day, one of the organizers admitted that perhaps they would consider doing something during the day — on Sundays. Note that the flyers to the community suggested the event would happen only on Friday and Saturday nights.

-The opinions of local residents seem to fall into one of two categories: 1. Those that are totally opposed to the project, no matter what. This included numerous vocal residents who live on Oak Street (btwn West and Franklin) and Calyer Street (btwn West and Franklin). 2. Those who are concerned about the lack of planning and available detail about the project as it currently exists.

Eric on Sat, 26th Mar 2011 6:25 pm


My name is Eric Hall, I’m the General Manager of Red Star and the co-chair of The Greenpoint Business Alliance. I attended today’s meeting at 27 West Street, along with Ed Veneziano (Co-chair of GBA – Cato’s Army Navy).

I’m posting here today because it seems that there seems to be some confusion in regards to the Greenpoiont Business Alliance’s position on this proposed event. I would just like to take a moment to clarify.

We are in the process of polling our members and getting feedback from our neighbors and community members, in an effort to better understand everyone’s feelings and concerns, as well as gauge support and interest. We realize that this event has the potential to significantly impact our businesses and our neighborhood. We’d like to make sure that we cover all the bases and make an informed, educated and socially responsible decision.

Just to be clear the GBA doesn’t have an opinion on this project – we’re at an evaluation stage. To clarify, the GBA represent 86 businesses, our members, and at this point, we have no idea what their position is on this project. We’re meeting on Monday the 28th and this project is on the agenda. Once we come to a unified decision, we will share that publicly.

The Greenpoint Business Alliance, General Membership meeting will be held at Red Star (37 Greenpoint Avenue), on Monday March 28th at 7:30pm. This meeting, as always, is open to all of our members and this particular meeting will also be open to the public. As merchants, we have to keep in mind that our neighbors and community members are also our customers and their feedback on major issues should not be taken lightly.

We will give anyone who wishes to voice their opinion an opportunity to do so. However, we will do it in an orderly and respectful manner. We will have a sign up sheet for anyone who wishes to speak. Each person on the list will be allotted 2 mins of UNINTERUPTED, time to speak. Anyone who has an opinion is more than welcomed to share it, all we ask that it is done in a respectful manner and a timely fashion. This will be an open forum of discussion and evaluation. We will not allow it to turn into a screaming match.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on Monday night!

-Eric

For more information on The Greenpoint Business Alliance, please feel free to visit our web site: http://greenpointbiz.blogspot.com/

missheather on Sat, 26th Mar 2011 10:11 pm


Thanks for the detailed comment, Eric! While I was of the impression GBA did not have a position on this event, some of my readers may not have been aware of this. Look forward to seeing you Monday!

perry on Sun, 27th Mar 2011 2:16 am


I was at the “meeting” today also. It was more like an angry mob then a group of concerned citizens. Yes, the event organizer was totally unprepared, totally unimpressive and mostly vague. The members of the community didn’t do themselves any favor either. Many of them had legitimate questions and worries, but screaming and yelling doesn’t get them answered. Most people just talked over each other and didn’t listen to anything the event organizer had to say….no less what each other were saying. After about 20 minutes of yelling, the group of about 50 or so people, had disbanded into 5 or 6 smallers groups, each with their own agenda.

Someone asked about the event coordinators and their resumes. Aaron Broudo and Belvy Klein are the event organizers. A little internet searching and you’ll find your answers.

Mr Broudo is an attorney for the law firm of Davis & Gilbert. He graduated form law school 4 years ago. So he is not only an inexperienced attorney, but has ZERO experience in managing, running or planning any type of event of this size and magnitude. He answers questions just like a lawyer. Vague, indirect, unspecific and leaves plenty of room for assumptions. No…he is not a Greenpoint resident. He and his wife reside in a cozy, 7,000 square foot home at in Prospect Heights. Not bad for a young couple just starting out, huh? Aaron is the front man and face of the operation. I hope he is more qualified and prepared when he steps in the courtroom, then is was today or he is to run this event.

Belvy Klein is a figure that has been lurking around the Greenpoint/Williamsburg area for quite some time. Working as a band promoter and manager, having loose associations with many small local music venues. He’s had managerial roles and loose associations with venue’s such as Studio B, Gallapegos, Exit and a slew of others. Some of these locations were successful, a few were notorious problematic establishments, others were too small to matter. Mr. Klein’s experience, good or bad, has been limited to smaller venues and events consisting of a couple of hundred people. The Night Bazaar, according to Broudo and Klein, could draw SEVERAL THOUSAND PEOPLE A NIGHT! That’s a pretty big step up. Is he qualified for the task? Me thinks not!

I’m not opposed to the concept of this event. If it were being run by a group that was experienced, reputable and thorough. I’m not sure that Broudo and Klein are any of those things.

I’ll give you a “for instance”. When Broudo was questioned about what his plans were for security, his reply was that they planned to have 12-15 security guards and 1 uniformed police officer. Really? 15 security guards and 1 cop are going to enforce law and order on “SEVERAL THOUSAND PEOPLE” ? Interesting. 15 Navy Seals couldn’t control a crowd that large!

I’m curious as to why a guy who bought a 1.3 million dolllar home, 1 year out of law school is trying to raise $7,000 through the website kickstarter.com, a donation driven, project funding web site? This event seems like a massive and very expensive undertaking. I’m sure it cost a hell of a lot more than 7k to get this project off the ground. Why the need to solicit public donations? Are they so financially strapped that they need an extra 7k to make this happen? If thats the case, then how can we be sure that they’re financially capable of delivering on all the EXPENSIVE promises they’re making? That’s kind of scary. What if they run out of money? Does that mean they will have to cut back on security, sanitation and the promised clean up? What happens then?

I’m glad Eric Hall from Red Star and the Greenpoint Business Association has gotten involved in this discussion. I’ve come to know Eric pretty well over the past few years. I met him as my neighbor long before we ever tried one of his burgers. I live on Greenpoint Avenue and have for the past 20 years! He is a guy that we as his neighbors, trust and respect. He has ALWAYS been an active and concerned neighbor and is ALWAYS available to answer questions and address any issues or concerns. I’m pretty sure most of us have his personal cell phone number and he always reminds us “you have my number, call me anytime, day or night, if there’s a problem or you need anything”. That being said, I haven’t had to call him once in 5 years! Why? Because he make sure there aren’t any problems! Over the past several years Red Star has hosted events that have drawn 1500 people or more. Normally one would cringe at the thought of such traffic on the block you call home. You would think neighbors would be up in arms and he’d be getting skewered all over this blog. Not the case. Not when the person running the event is trusted, knows what they’re doing and how to handle the situation and goes the extra mile to be considerate to his neighbors. The only thing you read about his events are positive and shed Greenpoint in a positive light. They hosted the Brooklyn Wing Competition a few weeks back and there was a line a block long of people waiting to get in. An orderly single file line, with security people posted every few feet, outside, to make sure it stayed that way and several guys running around with garbage bags and brooms, collecting and sweeping up litter, cigarette butts and debris. Not cleaning up after the shit was thrown all over the street and blown down the block. Cleaning BEFORE anything had a chance to hit the street! To me he is an example of someone who is trustworthy, honest, experienced, courteous and professional. I will be very interested in hearing what he has to say about the Night Bazaar at the meeting on Monday. When I spoke to him at the meeting today he said he hadn’t heard enough facts to support or object to the project. He said he would wait until he heard from the other businesses and neighborhood residents before he made any comment.

I think Greenpointers get a bad rap. People are quick to dismiss the concerns of the community and say “these people don’t want anything to change, they will bitch about anything”. That is not true. We just want to know who we’re dealing with, what their qualifications are and how it will effect our daily lives and quality of life.

I’m not opposed to the idea of Greenpoint having an open air night market. I actually think the concept itself is pretty cool. I just think it should be an idea adopted by a group more capable, qualified and experienced to run it. My objection isn’t to the location or the idea. I do object to the people who are planning to run it!

Why can’t a group like the Greenpoint Business Association run an event like this? Or even better yet, a coalition of local groups like GBA, Open Space, Town Square, NAG and Gwapp? I don’t think there would be ANY objection from the community if these groups were proposing this Night Bazaar. At least we’d know that it was going to be run properly, by local people, for local people and by people we trust!

a neighbor on Sun, 27th Mar 2011 4:22 pm


I live on Calyer, a block away. I am not opposed to there being a night market. I like the idea of being able to walk down to the river, to have some riverfront access at night, to get a glass of wine and see some arts & crafts & hear some music. If the market was done right, it would be fabulous. I was a big fan of Return To Light, which brought many many people to the neighborhood until late. I was thrilled to see Le Gamin and Word and Cookie Road and other neighborhood merchants open late and benefiting from the extra traffic in the neighborhood.

I am opposed to the current plans for a market, I am opposed to THIS market run by THESE individuals. Their plans are ill-formed, grandiose and over-ambitious. I am opposed to the current organizers of the market, who strike me as completely unqualified. Their “neighborhood concern” is lip service. They’ve offered no verifiable facts in defense of anything that they have promised.

Aaron Broudo is a poor public speaker. He had no agenda. He clearly expected to be able to give us the marketing ‘spin’ on the market and not be challenged on any point. When asked what his budgeted security costs were, his answer was something like this: “Well, we plan on having 15 off duty police officers, at $28 an hour…” which was not the question. How is it possible that does he not know that number, or have details with him so that he could answer those questions? If he truly doesn’t have those figures, then we should be very worried because he is completely unprepared.

When he was asked how he chose what buildings to leaflet, he said they printed out 200 and then, well, they ‘just ran out’. But yet he insists he is giving adequate community notice.

He’s allegedly putting up his house and his life savings for this project, but yet could not quote costs for security and cleaning. For someone who is allegedly putting up their life savings for this project, he didn’t seem to be very involved or concerned. He did not give one answer that was honest or direct. He did not seem to take into account simple issues that the residents immediately recognized, such as: if you close the bazaar at 2am, that means people will stream through the neighborhood from 2-3am, as well as cleaning crews who will surely not be silent. (Frankly, I think the whole claim of cleaning crews who will sweep the streets from Quay to Greenpoint Ave, from West to Franklin, to be complete BS.)

He seems to think that running shuttle buses will surmount the issue of people driving. It doesn’t surmount the issue of car services and taxis, which caused problems at Studio B. And even when the Orthodox community holds their fund-raiser once a year and runs shuttle buses, there is no parking to be had anywhere adjacent to 27 West Street – with cars double-parked and parked in driveways with abandon. I live here. I see this.

What happens when the Bazaar conflicts with a large movie shoot, like the one we had last week, which took up 12 blocks’ of parking for two days?

Where will all 100 merchants, along with the people who will be serving alcohol and the musicians performing, park? One of the neighborhood merchants said there was going to be vendor parking (very nastily I might add, and I’ll keep that in mind the next time I think about patronizing Brooklyn Label) as though I should have known this already.

I know that many of the local merchants are in favor of the plans. Many of them do not live in the neighborhood and will not be impacted by the market. I felt it was disingenous of many of those who showed up to refuse to identify themselves and their interest or involvement in the plan. If this is all on the up and up, then why not stand up and tell us why you have faith and confidence in the organizers?

personally, I think we’re screwed. I think there is someone else behind this who wants this to happen, so it will happen. But then residents have to band together to keep Broudo honest. Call in every complaint to 311 and the 94ths non-emergency number. Keep in mind who the local merchants are who are backing the bazaar, and make sure they know of your concerns. I’m resigned to the fact that I will have to run my air conditioners every weekend of the bazaar whether I need to or not. Or, move out of Greenpoint.

nobler on Sun, 27th Mar 2011 10:59 pm


Our community shouldn’t be fearful of big ideas. But we should be fearful of bad ideas…particularly if there’s money behind them.

Aaron Broudo’s idea for the Brooklyn Night Bazaar is very interesting. Not for the substance of it–similar markets have already been set up as one off events in Manhattan, Brooklyn and San Francisco–but for the fact that he’s actually openly proposing to destroy what little quiet, calm and lack of crowds the community currently enjoys.

He may not know that is in effect what he is proposing, since he doesn’t live in the community. But, the community has an obligation to make that clear to him. The idea fails because it doesn’t offer anything other than a Faustian bargain for waterfront access. The food vendors, arts & crafts, etc…are a feint meant to draw attention away from the fact that he wants to open an outdoor nightclub on the waterfront. Ahem, remember Studio A? Greenpoint needs more drunks staggering through our neighborhood at all hours of the night like Qaddafi needs more plastic surgery.

But, the community should be thoughtful about confronting Broudo. Things that should be done:

* Demand our local politicians and politicos take a position: Lentol, Levin, even that Lincoln Ressler guy

* Make our concerns known to the property owner, B & H Photo and Herman Schreiber, the company’s president and founder. If city tax records are accurate, then this is his property. He has the right to do as he pleases with it, but he also has the obligation to be neighborly. At a minimum, CB1 should require that he or another B&H representative come forward to vouch for the project–and be accountable should anything go wrong.

* As others have mentioned make these concerns known to all agencies–including the Liquor board–that will be asked to license the activities Broudo outlines.

* Require Broudo make concessions. Demand a 10 p.m. closing time. If he wants a 2 a.m. closing time, liquor sales should terminate at 10 p.m. That shouldn’t be an issue since food, art and music is the draw, rather than booze-right?

* Come up with an alternate plan. How much is B&H asking for five months rent? A couple hundred thousand. The community certainly can’t afford that. But we can seek to get block party permits from the city for West Street and coordinate our own, locally curated, night market, perhaps without the direct waterfront access, but more reflective of the community: low-key, family-oriented and built upon mutual respect.

If Broudo had been thoughtful in approaching this issue, he would’ve considered novel ways to introduce himself to the community. Perhaps by offering pro bono legal services to force Joshua Guttman to open Noble Street, as Guttman is legally obligated to do. Or to get Guttman to repair the dangerous, crumbling facade of his building that has forced the closure of much of American Playground’s play area. But, Broudo didn’t do that. He announced his big idea for our community. He never took the time to understand that the idea as he’s articulated it is bad for the community.

KAA on Mon, 28th Mar 2011 11:34 am


Good points by all.

I was at the meeting and asked two very simple questions: What is your track record and or experience with running events of this type ? Broudo couldn’t / didn’t answer except for pointing out that Klein had booked bands at a few local clubs ….. So we’ve got a crew with a dollar and a dream who’ve booked a few bands – Hurrah !

This event is far from happening !

Does not the Community board have to recommend the Cabaret and Liquor licenses ? The city rarely, if ever, ( in fact I’m not aware of a case ) grants the licenses without Community Board approval / recommendation. This process alone is a way to stop most of the problems at their roots.

I have traded a half dozen emails with Broudo and he seems incapable of answering any real questions.

Here is a portion of one of my mails to him

‘ ……. The only benefit that I can see from yesterday’s meeting is that it allowed a very small number of people to vent. Hurrah !

But as I said to Sam, one of your potential vendors, ‘ This guy can’t even mange the conversation well – how is he going to manage the events ? ‘

Of course, nothing is going to assuage those who are determined to stop this project

And that goes back to the most basic point: Your plans will place an incredible tax on this entire community via noise, traffic, litter, drunkenness and all it’s attendant problems and yet YOU HAVEN’T GIVEN THE COMMUNITY A REASON TO WANT YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL

Good will is a very simple thing – a basic business premise – and but for the exception of few dozen potential vendors – you haven’t created it.

You need to put away the pride that you have in your own vision, get the dollar signs out of your eyes and come up with a reason for which the community as a whole would want to see you succeed. The fact that you haven’t done this nor communicated it speaks volumes. …….. ‘

His reply was:

‘ Please answer honestly. Are you on OSA’s payroll? Thanks.

Best regards,

Aaron ‘

Again, to my mind, a guy who can’t even manage the discussion of his own ideas well certainly won’t be able to manage the actual event(s)

Greenpoint’s Children are Drunk, Freezing: Some dude trying to set up… - The Broker Buddy on Mon, 28th Mar 2011 2:23 pm


[…] Some dude trying to set up a “large outdoor night market” on the Greenpoint waterfront c…. A taste: “[T]he meeting actually began with an older, red-faced woman presenting her 12 year old granddaughter to the guy, shouting, ‘See this girl? She’s 12 years old! I don’t want her coming down here and drinking!’ Meanwhile, said 12 year old girl had NO coat and only a thin top despite the frigid 30 degree temperatures…” [NYS] Monthly Archive […]

ccox on Mon, 28th Mar 2011 3:30 pm


I was also at the meeting and would like to say that the petitions were being circulated by the Greenpoint Coalition not the Open Space Alliance. The Greenpoint Coalition is a grass roots organization that has just formed to STOP the Night Bazaar, and currently is made up of residents of Oak and Calyer Street but it’s quickly growing into a broad based group of all ages and interests. We are hoping that the other local organizations like the Open Space Alliance, GWAP and NAG will join us in protecting the waterfront. You too can join us to prevent 4,000 to 6,000 people from flooding the narrow streets of the Greenpoint Waterfront and jamming the subways every Fri, Sat and Sun from June to October. There aren’t even garbage cans on these streets. To light and power the Bazaar, an area of over 100,000 sq ft, Aaron will use noisy, polluting gas generators, and there is no running water close to the over 30 food vendors and no bathrooms with running water. Aaron also said the sound from his concert won’t pass West Street even though sound is greatly magnified as it bounces off the water. Who can feel comfortable with his ability to size up and run an event of this size and complexity?

Help us stop this wreck: stop27west@gmail.com

carlosdanger on Mon, 28th Mar 2011 4:56 pm


hey cool, they’re already booking shows – http://www.myspace.com/events/View/10303185/The-Black-Twigs/Brooklyn-Night-Bazaar

funtimesUSA on Mon, 28th Mar 2011 5:17 pm


OSA may not be 100% behind the smear campaign, however they are involved. Its in there best interest to see that this market/event does not happen given their current monopoly. All the folks ranting, yelling and making WILD -yes- WILD accusations about what “will” happen to our sleepy (already infested by drunks, booze and drugs) neighborhood are really using the most sinister tactics. Its so sad when projects like this get such a bad rap for making neighborhoods terrible places. HAVE YOUR BEEN TO WEST STREET? At least now the Police will have to go and patrol down there. More people means a more people paying attention to what needs to be fixed in Greenpoint. Parking issues??? Wait…? If you own a car, you are a minority in NYC. I don’t know… this whole thing is very silly. The meeting the other day raised a few well though out legit questions but mostly it was a sad expression of how closed minded people still make policies.

missheather on Mon, 28th Mar 2011 5:39 pm


I’m with you regarding the OSA angle, funtimeUSA. Just look at what they did to JellyNYC.

funtimesUSA on Tue, 29th Mar 2011 8:02 am


Jelly indeed! They will do it here too! Hey… come to think of it… Northside Fest ever go door to door? Did Greenpoint Open Studios go door to door? DId FASHIONS NIGHT OUT go to any Community meetings?

dontcallmewhite on Tue, 29th Mar 2011 12:12 pm


Perry, neighbors, men, women, & children –
Belvy Klein is not a figure, but an actual… human!
And what’s this “lurking around”, shadowy “figure”, “loose affiliations” nonsense?
Is he a spy?? A socialist? A loose nuke??

Plenty of disinformation & outright bs here.
Just to get some actual facts out there:
Belvy NEVER worked at Studio B, Exit, Europa, Coco 66, or wherever else is being intimated here.(We are all well aware of the negative connotations + history that Studio B has in Greenpoint, and it’s completely disingenuous – not to mention UNTRUE – to associate The Bazaar & Belvy with that establishment).
He also has never been “a band promoter” or “band manager.” He has been IN a number of bands – so you got him there.

Now, what Belvy DID do was run Public Assembly from opening date in spring ’08 to late this summer, and prior to that, Galapagos for their final 3 years in Williamsburg before the move to Dumbo. His title at both establishments was General Manager/Program Director.
These are not “loose associations”; they are legitimate job titles at legitimate businesses.

While yes, Public Assembly is a mid level sized club, Belvy did run a very professional, organized, tight ship there. Ask any of the owners, staff, bookers, or promoters and you’ll hear the same.
The fact that he was able to delegate effectively and keep a nightclub (with 3 separate event rooms) thriving 7 nights a week, with little to no community complaints, noise, or police issues does at least show competence and a strong organizational skill set. So if anything, that experience might actually help the Bazaar avoid repeating mistakes of the past.
He has stated that he is well aware of the scope of this project & would make sure the Bazaar worked with appropriate outdoor producers & promoters such as North Side Fest, Mean Red, Scenic, Bowery Presents and others. These are all professional & well respected LOCAL (for the most part)industry people, who have decades upon decades of experience between them. Also – on the live music front, it is very important to remember that the Bazaar is looking to program smaller acts that draw 3 – 500 people, not 3 – 5000.

Whether all this qualifies one to oversee the music components & staffing of BK Bazaar is perfectly valid for debate, but lets at least keep the facts straight.
Just a little clarity folks!

@ funtimes – right on about the OSA!!!

gradeck on Tue, 29th Mar 2011 11:46 pm


I love when people speak in code and with vague insinuations.

Could someone spell this out for the non-insiders? Does the Open Space Alliance have a conflict of interest in taking a position on this Bazaar, or don’t they? Why should your average Greenpoint resident care?

funtimesUSA on Wed, 30th Mar 2011 7:18 pm


Greenpoint I love you, but your bumming me out.

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