It was a Grand summer in Williamsburg--Let's recap what happened

Grand Street has changed a lot since May, here’s what you may have missed.

Artist Don Rimx with neighborhood students

7 new murals celebrating our community

The summer kicked off with the painting of Olor a Azucenas, el perfume del barrio at 609 Grand Street by Don Rimx. Simultaniously, Chris Jehly painted Internal View on the gates at 98 Bushwick Ave. Rimx drew influence from the small business community on Grand Street and the Puerto Rican heritage of the neighborhood to produce his work as an ode to the community. Jehly used his style of “in the moment” creativity to create surrealist works reflective of the vibrant and colorful commercial corridor. This project was funded by Council Member Stephen Levin and managed by the Grand Street BID. The BID hired a local curation business Owley to record and produce videos to document the process, which you can see here.

Artist Chris Jehly painting the gates at Grand Seafood

These murals were followed up quickly by the BID partnering with the Lisa Project and Pride NYC to paint 4 Pride inspired murals at 723 Grand Street. Artists Damon Johnson, Paid MSD, Paul Richard, SINNED + Ria Burns-Wilder visited the neighborhood in June to bring each of their unique styles to create an original work to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. You can see their work below. Read our full article here.

Left to right: Paid MSD + SINNED

Damon Johnson returned to the district again in July to complement the BiscoSmith work “SET THE PACE” by painting hummingbirds and flowers on the Western facing wall of Key Food with his style of bright colors contrasting the stark work to its left. Read the story here.

Original work by Damon Johnson

Summer Restaurant Week Triumphs

14 restaurants on Grand Street took part in this year’s iteration of the annual summer foodie event. With prices from $12 to $35, the event offered an alternative to diners in BK who didn’t want to have to travel to Manhattan to enjoy a Restaurant Week. The event drew attention everywhere from national press like the Wall Street Journal to local blogs like Bushwick Daily. With a complete guide to every participating restaurants’ specials, locals were able to find deals at their favorite spots and try something new at a discount. See the guide and full list of menus here.

DOT parking regulations change the roadway

Shot of the new south side bike lane on Grand Street

To accompany the two new protected bike lanes on Grand Street, the DOT has placed new parking regulations designed to finalize the comprehensive plan for the roadway. Here’s what has changed:

Commercial Only Loading Zones have been added mid-block on the North side of Grand Street and at some side street intersections, enforced from 7am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday. The loading zones convert to regular 1 hour metered parking from 4pm to 10pm.

Metered parking has changed on Grand Street from 2 hour to 1 hour and is enforced from 8:30am to 10pm Monday to Saturday.

Meters have been added to the cross streets of Grand at Union, Lorimer, Manhattan, Humboldt, and Bushwick avenues. Side street meters will be 2 hours and enforced from 8 or 8:30am (depending on the block) to 7pm Monday to Saturday.

We’ve also seen increased enforcement on parking in commercial loading zones and bike lanes. To see the fees associated with each violation, click here.

New plantings + tree guards decorate the streetscape

The Hort planting perennials on Grand Street

With funding support from Council Member Reynoso, the BID oversaw the installation of 22 additional tree guards in the district from Bushwick to Leonard along Grand Street. Additionally, the Hort, with funding from the Council Member, planted additional Brooklyn native plants in tree pits throughout the district.

While the summer may be wrapping up, you can still look forward to more neighborhood improvements from the BID. With fall and winter months ahead, you can look forward to expansion of our savings/ discount programming as well as holiday decorations + events in the neighborhood.

Artists paint Pride inspired murals at 723 Grand Street

The BID worked with the Lisa Project to bring art to the neighborhood.

Mural by Damon Johnson

The Grand Street BID celebrated Pride month by bringing more public art to the district. Working with the Lisa Project and their 50 murals for 50 years initiative, the BID invited the group to include Grand Street in the project.

The Lisa Project brought artists Damon Johnson, Paul Richard, PaidMSD, SINNED & Ria Burns-Wilder. This is in addition to the murals commissioned by the BID which brought Don Rimx & Chris Jehly to the neighborhood.

The works take another step in solidifying Grand Street as a home to diversity and inclusion. Coupled with the Puerto Rican inspired mural by Don Rimx, the BID has sought to bring art to the neighborhood representative of our welcoming community.

See the new works on the western facing wall of Farmer Deli at the intersection of Graham Ave & Grand Street.

Works (left to right) by PaidMSD, SINNED & Ria Burns-Wilder.

Chris Jehly paints murals at Grand Seafood

The Brooklyn local artist is painting the gates at 98 Bushwick Ave

Street artists are continuing to come to Grand Street, this time painting the gates around the L station at 98 Bushwick Avenue. The Grand Street BID has commissioned Chris Jehly through the Grand Street based curation company Owley to paint the gates with a series of 3 murals, the first one is shown above.

Jehly is known for his works that are inspired by his immediate surroundings as he paints. On Grand Street, Jehly says that he would like to capture the beat of the neighborhood, and his first work has reflected that with its vibrance and bright colors.

The artist will continue to work on the gates during the weekends throughout the remainder of the month, bringing new elements with each new mural.

In tandem with the new mural by Don Rimx at 609 Grand Street and the Ellie Balk piece at 772 Grand, the BID has made it a priority to bring world class public art to the neighborhood. Watch Chris paint this weekend, and follow us @grandstreetbid and @ow.ley for live updates on the work.

World class art comes to Grand Street

The BID has commissioned artist Don Rimx to paint a mural at 609 Grand Street

Don Rimx has public works in NYC, Puerto Rico + more
Photo credit: @donrimx

Grand Street is about to become a lot more artsy. That is because the BID has commissioned a public art mural to be painted by well-known Puerto Rican artist with Brooklyn roots artist Don Rimx. Using Grand Street building walls as canvasses, the BID has made public art a priority in the past by partnering with Ellie Balk on several “Math Driven Art” pieces.

The work produced by the artist will be inspired by his impression of the neighborhood and informed by a documentary the BID has concurrently produced with Owley by interviewing small business owners + residents on their views of the community. The video will also document the painting process and be released after the completion of the mural.

Don Rimx, who is a former Grand Street area resident, plans to represent the small business community while tying in bright colors + themes of the neighborhood’s own Puerto Rican heritage. The wall will face west towards the Key Food at 609 Grand Street (Noorman’s Kil), replacing a graffiti coated surface.

In tandem with Owley producing a documentary on the community + painting process, the Grand Street Neighborhood Initiative hopes to substantially improve the beauty of the neighborhood, while linking the art with a sense of belonging in a cohesive manner.  

The Grand Street BID coordinated the public mural + video with funding from Council Member Levin.

See press coverage of the mural:

Greenpoint Star

Greenline

News 12

Don Rimx’s artistic influence extends across NYC, as seen in this work in East Harlem