Union Square is about to get even more fun this summer.

Popular Lower Manhattan brewery Torch & Crown will bring its beloved brews to Union Square this summer with a pop-up starting on May 11 and running through November.

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Torch & Crown will set up shop in the historic Union Square Pavilion with a variety of hand-crafted drafts. A few stand-outs on the menu will include Almost Famous, a smooth, bright, aromatic hazy IPA packed with peach and grapefruit notes, and Share House, an easy-drinking crisp ale made for summertime.

In this open-air, dog-friendly space, you can order a beer while people-watching and soaking up the warm weather. Plus, the brewery will serve food made with local ingredients sourced from Union Square’s famous Green Market located right outside the pavilion every week. 

“What we love most about beer is the community, and Torch & Crown’s mission has always been to serve every gathering bringing New Yorkers together. Moving into summer, we’re thrilled to continue this ethos with the launch of our new location in one of Manhattan’s most vibrant and lively hubs, Union Square. With its open-air design and centuries-old history, the Union Square Pavilion is the best place for an outdoor pint on a beautiful day with friends, family, and pets (dogs are welcome!),” John Danztler, co-owner and CEO of Torch & Crown, said in a statement.

Danztler said he hopes the space will “serve as New York’s backyard.”

In addition to the Union Square location, Torch & Crown will also take over the legendary Best Pizza & Dive Bar in the Hamptons for Torch & Crown Montauk. This location will debut on Memorial Day weekend and will be open on weekends only.

Dantzler founded Torch & Crown with his friend Joe Correia after the duo started home brewing as teenagers when their fake IDs got confiscated at an East Village bar. The young brewers started winning awards for their brews (which their dads had to accept on their behalf). During a trip to Ireland, the friends decided over a pint of Guinness that they’d someday open their own brewery. In the fall of 2020, they opened Torch & Crown, which was at that time Manhattan’s first and only production brewery. Since then, Bronx Brewery and That Witch Ales You have opened up brewing operations in Manhattan as well, adding to the craft beer scene in NYC.

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Harlem Bespoke: Word of mouth has it that September is the first proposed debut date for the Harlem Trader Joe’s location on 125th Street by Lenox Avenue.  With that said, things are always delayed a couple of months so may by December of this year will be a better bet.  This $242 million uptown development will also have a Civil Rights museum and affordable housing on the 126th Street side of the 17-story building but many are anxious to have the super popular affordable grocery store to open.   The only information we really have is that the original poster on the plywood back in 2021 mentioned that the completion date for the site will be in July 2023 and an optimistic estimation might be sometimes in the fall of this year for Trader Joe’s.   More details on what is happening at 121 West 125th Street can be found in our past post: LINK

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The community came out to celebrate the life of Thomas “Blood” McCreary, Black Panther/Black Liberation Army member, at a tribute at the Schomburg Center in Harlem on April 28. Hosted by Dequi Kioni-Sadiki and Jamal Joseph, the event featured a libation by Cyril “Bullwhip” Innis, with remarks from family members, friends, and comrades; a presentation by Zayid Muhammad; and a cultural performance by Jamal Joseph’s Impact Theatre Company.

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A journey that spanned more than two decades reached a joyful moment last month with the release of the film “Sweetwater,” which tells the story of Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, the second African American player to sign an NBA contract. The film, written and directed by Martin Guigui, covers Clifton’s journey from a star with the Harlem Globetrotters to his historic career with the New York Knicks.

In the mid-1990s, Guigui, an acclaimed musician, composer, and producer, was in his car, listening to a Knicks game on the radio. “The idea just hit me,” he said. “I love stories I’ve never heard about before. I asked myself, ‘Who was the Jackie Robinson of basketball?’”

His research took him to libraries, particularly at Columbia University, which Guigui was told had extensive historical archives related to New York City. On a visit to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, he discovered the 1989 NBA Encyclopedia, which referred to three players: Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper, and Clifton. 

“I met with journalist Pete Hamill, who shared a plethora of information related to this story and it kept pointing at the NBA and the team owners battling in the late 1940s to break the color line,” Guigui said. “It also pointed to Joe Lapchick (coach of the Knicks, 1947–56). I did more research and I was able to track down Dr. Richard Lapchick, Joe’s son, and he shared incredible stories. I was a sponge.”

Clifton died in 1990, but Guigui spoke to Lloyd about that time in the early 1950s. Cooper’s widow and son also provided information, as did Clifton’s daughter. “As soon as I had enough material, I felt it was more of a cultural story than a basketball story. That’s when I decided this is meant for cinema,” Guigui said. 

He wrote a preliminary treatment in 1996 and the first draft of the script in the early 2000s. The final script went through 62 drafts as the project garnered interest over the past two decades, but it took until 2022 for it to actually be filmed. 

Actor Everett Osbourne plays Clifton. In his initial audition tape, he dressed and moved like Clifton. He subsequently proved his acting chops and connection to the role. 

“We received hundreds of submissions, including NBA players, former NBA players, and wonderful actors,” Guigui said. “I felt it had to be a physical and a spiritual connection. It had to either be an athlete who had acting chops or a talented actor who could really play basketball. I didn’t want a stand-in or a stunt double…Everett was meant to be.”

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* This article was originally published here

The Mets’ 5-3 victory over their National League East rival Atlanta Braves on Monday night was just their third win in the previous eight games. They began a three-game series on the road on Tuesday night versus the Detroit Tigers with a record of 16-13. The second-place Mets were three games behind the 19-10 first-place Braves in the NL East. They dropped the opener of Monday’s day-night against Atlanta  9-8. 

Due to heavy rain this past weekend, the Mets’ scheduled games against the Braves on Saturday and Sunday were canceled. Their current struggles are the result of underwhelming starting pitching and inadequate production from players such as outfielders Mark Canha and Starling Marte. Meanwhile, the Mets’ highly touted rookies, Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez, are trying to find their way in the big leagues. 

In Monday’s loss, Denyi Reyes started Game 1 for the Mets and pitched only one inning after giving up five earned runs—three on a home run by Braves catcher Sean Murphy. The Mets’ bullpen tried to keep the team in the game but in the top of the seventh, reliever Jeff Brigham gave up Murphy’s second three-run homer, which extended the Braves lead 9-5. The Mets went on to win the nightcap as starter Tylor Megill did just enough, allowing four hits and three earned runs in 5.2 innings.

After the game, good news came when it was announced that 2022 AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander will make his Mets debut tonight versus the Tigers, the team with which he broke into Major League Baseball in 2005 after being drafted by the Tigers with the second overall pick in 2004. Starter Max Scherzer was scheduled to return last night after serving a 10-game suspension for having what was deemed an illegal substance on his glove in his last start on April 19. 

The Mets will come back to Citi Field this weekend to host the Colorado Rockies for three games and travel to Cincinnati to face the Reds next Tuesday through Thursday.

The Yankees lost three out of four games against the Texas Rangers on the road last Thursday through Sunday, where they were outscored 24-8, the most lopsided coming on Sunday afternoon as starter Nestor Cortes delivered his worst start of his Yankee career. The 2022 All-Star went 4.2 innings, surrendering seven runs, including three home runs in a 15-2 bashing.

The Yankees began a three-game series Monday in the Bronx, playing the Cleveland Guardians with a 3-2 defeat—their fourth in a row. Righty Domingo German was stellar, pitching an 8.1 inning gem, holding the Guardians to one run on two hits. But reliever Clay Holmes couldn’t hold the 2-0 advantage and Cleveland scored three runs in the top of the ninth. 

On the same day, as if being in last place in the AL East wasn’t bad enough, the Yankees placed last year’s American League MVP Aaron Judge on the 10-day injured list due to a hip strain. Conversely, the team activated outfielder Harrison Bader. The 28-year-old Bronxville (Westchester County) native injured his left oblique in spring training on March 8 and had been recovering since. 

The Yankees went into Tuesday night’s game with a record of 15-15.

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* This article was originally published here