photo by Angela J. Cranford

For one night every week, bingo fans of Bushwick head to the Wreck Room, an auto-mechanic’s wet dream of a bar located at the corner of Flushing and Evergreen. With wall decorations made up of old car parts and seats from the back of reclaimed minivans, the Wreck Room’s vibe is unexpectedly welcoming. I came in shortly after 9pm, the official start of Monday Night Bingo, and grabbed a spot at a corner seat with what I was hoping to be a sure winner. But yet, in the end, B-I-N-G-O proved elusive as ever.

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Here’s some stuff I have inklings and semi-confirmation on:

*A huge warehouse at Knickerbocker and Flushing is right now under renovation into a Bedford Minimall-like retail and art center. The developer has not yet decided on a final layout. A snippet of one possibility is above.

*Two upscale/organic grocery operators are fighting over space at the Wyckoff Exchange. One wants two “bays” of the five available, the other wants three — the third would be so there is room for a wine shop.

*Also at the Wyckoff Exchange, it’s rumored that a rock-climbing gym was sniffing around looking for space — but they may have settled on an armory in Park Slope. Which is fine with me. Can you just imagine the insufferable frat douchebags invading our sensitive arty hipster hub? (Cuz you know they already are).

*The vacant Scaturro block on Knickerbocker and DeKalb is slated to become lofts and nice ground floor retail.

*A creperie and café is in the pipeline for Bushwick within the year, if all goes to plan.

*Jane’s bar now has its building permits, and serious plumbing work is underway. Scheduled opening is pushed back to September.

Jane Virga squealed as we entered her gigantic red garage on Troutman Street, whose 2500sqft she is fashioning into a neighborhood bar. She rushed around the space, showing me where the kitchen would be, then whirled around to indicate the space where “a lot” of bathrooms will be. In the process, she banged her knee “funny bone” on some kind of machine — another injury to add to the list which includes hurting her elbow while sandblasting the walls.

She breathlessly showed me the plans for the space — art studios in the back, kitchen/storage/prep area in the middle, and the bar itself toward the front. The current garage door will be transformed into a massive window looking out onto the former epicenter of Bushwick’s crack trade, soon to be swarming with the artists, hipsters, and yuppies of the neighborhood.

She expects the bar, which as of yet is not named, to be open by June. It will serve a basic burger, and “hippie food” that will change daily. Given the propensity of entrepreneurs to misestimate the regulatory climate, let’s say October.

More info as it comes!

As some of you may know, Steve, the owner of Goodbye Blue Monday, has a ton of bills from his recent cancer treatment. The Village Voice did a bit on his problems and hopefully a big part of the solution to them: the big benefit at Silent Barn this past Saturday.

The rumor is confirmed: Northeast Kingdom is opening a lounge in their basement possibly next week. I saw the owner lugging heavy stuff down into the basement hatch last week; an employee told me it will be “cute.” This is good news for those of us who loathe clubs and are a little tired of bars. A cool lounge with music you can easily talk over, where you can booze it up with friends in a relaxed atmosphere — at least that’s the vision in my head. We’ll see how it pans out. Don’t fuck up, NEK!

Two Bushwick institutions were awarded “Best of NYC” in the Village Voice this week:

Goodbye Blue Monday for “Best Place To See Great Up-and-Coming Bands Before They Embrace Their Own Hype”

Trees Not Trash for “Best Reason To Take Up Gardening”

Congrats to both winners and here’s hoping that next year’s awards features even more Bushwick businesses (which will hopefully be open by then).

Goodbye Blue Monday is not going to be what you expect. If there weren’t a certain elegance to the rusty junk outside the storefront, you wouldn’t really be able to tell the difference between it and any of the other junky places on this depressing stretch of Broadway.

Inside is a mega-high-ceilinged shop — to the left, some computers and the bar; to the right, an absolute clusterfuck of mismatched tables and chairs. Not in a bad way, mind you. But the scene is jarring. The walls are encrusted with paintings and a bunch of seemingly random objects.

At GBM, the official line is that everything is for sale. I asked about the chairs and tables, and I could practically see employee Drew’s brain shoot off a Homerian “D’oh!” “That’s the house furniture,” owner Steve Trimboli said. “Anything but that is for sale.” If you have ideas that you’re going to swipe something amazing and rare at GBM for a song, think again: Steve knows how much his stuff is worth. Classic 50s lamps that “you’re not gonna get” elsewhere, will cost you a few bills. But there’s something here for every budget, if not every taste, and you could spend $5 or $700 for an item.

This place doesn’t just have a show every single night, the shows consist of four separate acts! And just in case you thought you could saunter in and book your band any night you fancy, they’re not hurting for talent — they’re booked solid two months in advance. Steve told me a story about a metal band and a jazz band who played on the same night: the metal violinists played with the jazz band and later on, the jazz members played with the metal band. His somewhat freeform booking system makes for a truly eclectic mix of music each night.

This place is so indie, the coffee comes from an old Bunn behind the counter — “oh, let me put a fresh pot on.” The small coffee is a buck. Don’t expect it to be better than 7-11, not that that’s why you would come here. Drew offered me an espresso soda she fished from the door of a fridge much like one your dad might have in his garage. They are planning a kitchen at some point in the future, but for now, enjoy a rice krispie treat or a brownie. Alcohol is also served, including PBR for the hipsters. Is your jappy cousin in town? Worry not, they have prosecco.

A recurring theme with business owners in Bushwick is complaints about municipal red tape. A stamp for this, a certificate for that, an inspection next month. Steve’s experience has been no different, but I did notice that the city’s meddling fingers are noticeably absent from the “sculpture garden” in the back yard: a menacing tangle of rusty metal just barely out of the way of drunken patrons. Depending on your philosophy of life it’s either a tetanusy nightmare or a bohemian dream.

Steve ran a somewhat similar place called Scrap Bar in the East Village of the 80s. He has personally subsidized the operations of GBM since 2005, and this year it’s finally paying off. “I am breaking even for the first time in two years — the neighborhood is beginning to take hold.” Drew has noticed “a hell of a lot of new residents lately” — something we have all been noticing in Bushwick approaching the new school year. The shows draw 40-50 people a night, and there are always a few people in there drinking coffee and using the free wifi during the day.

Steve at the computers	stage	bathroom decoupage	storefront

Goodbye Blue Monday is sure to be an anchor in the newly assertive Bushwick hipster community in the years to come. Check it out while it’s cheap!

1087 Broadway between Lawton and Dodworth

(See past observations on the forum.)

The Brooklyn Paper visited Morgantown this weekend for its piece entitled “Bush-where?” They briefly reviewed all the places we’re already sick of (just kidding! no but seriously) after making an attempt to wade through the East Williamsburg-Bushwick label feud. Brave.