hat tip bwe; suchmann’s got the original video.

The Brooklyn Paper published an article today interviewing the filmmakers behind “Cult of Sincerity”, a straight-to-youtube feature documenting the lives of a bunch of 20somethings living it out in Williamsburg. In what not only marks the end of the straight-to-DVD route, “Cult of Sincerity” is also trying a different strategy to make back some bills.

The film is totally free, you can view it on youtube, or, catch it on Channel 13 on August 23rd. Don’t have cable or internet? Well, It’s screening at Stain Bar that night as well, where “important scenes in the film were shot”. All the filmmakers ask of you is that you go to aimestreet.com/cultofsincerity and sign up…they get 2 bucks a pop for that and you get free music.

Here’s the trailer, and if looks like it’ll keep your boat afloat go watch the full feature on YouTube.

Read the full article at the Brooklyn Paper, and go watch the film on youtube.

From NY Observer

It’s more or less an open secret, but we’ve learned that the Top Chef cast has definitely been living for about two weeks now in a terraced duplex penthouse in Williamsburg overlooking McCarren Park. So far, the chefs have pretty much kept to themselves, said an extremely well-placed source, leaving around 8 or 9 in the mornings for a soundstage in Greenpoint and coming straight back in the evenings…. 

Though the source would not say which of the two “identical” parkview penthouses the cast is living in, a 1,368-square-foot, 16th-floor unit was sold in April for $1.4 million, according to StreetEasy. (Meanwhile the neighboring unit, 16A, is in contract for $1.295 million.)

According to the duplex floor plans on the 20 Bayard Web site, the first floor has an open-air kitchen, foyer, eating area and living room–with a balcony–and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking McCarren Park and Manhattan. …

So far the cast has remained pretty incognito. Few people from neighboring buildings were even aware Top Chef was shooting in Williamsburg.

“No way,” said the cashier at Urban Rustic, an organic market down the street, who is a fan of the show. “That’s awesome.”

So will the cast do any shopping there?

“That would be cool, but I doubt it,” the cashier said. “They usually give them a budget.”

A street artist put up a piece as a birthday present for his girlfriend, who had moved to Connecticut. Friends and strangers alike were encouraged to pose with the painted lady; the photo project can be found here.

By late June, however, the piece was painted grey and then quickly revived with a Sharpie. Now, not even a month after, it seems that the statue the end, as it was found busted in half over the weekend. It’s a cruel, I wonder if it was personal… maybe not.

Earlier, Brownstoner pointed towards a Benches for Barack Craigslist ad that offers up handmade benches built. From the $40 price tag, $25 goes to the cost of building the bench, while $15 is donated to the Obama campaign. The benches, which measure 18 inches tall and 48 inches long, are delivered for free and can even show up at your doorstep in two hours! 

Photograph from last year’s fireworks by nschaden on Flickr

We hope all of you have a happy and safe July 4th. Whether you’re enjoying tonight’s fireworks display or just a quiet day, take a moment to remember why we celebrate the day.

Here’s the NY Times has an editorial about the meaning of the day. The Post reprints verses by Ralph Valdo Emerson, Walt Whitman and Henry Holcomb Bennett.

Another seldom-discussed but omnipresent Northside icon: the old Mobil gas station sign that’s marked the Williamsburg corner of Berry Street and North 7th since the early ’60s - is gone for good as of this morning. A crew replacing the old half-hearted fence around the former filling station said “some guy who came by” got it, adding “a lot of people are asking about it.”

The shiny new fence, complete with barbed wire top, almost certainly portends the start of the next life for 131 Berry. Although a check of the DOB info site shows no building permits applied for nor issued, the prime location one block west of the Bedford L-train stop - and directly across from Karl Fischer’s soul-sucking Sevenberry condos - can only mean one thing:

Mobil Mews: Full-Service Premium Condominium Living, Filling Up Fast.

Occupancy, Spring 2010

The foundation dig on this one should be fun. At least at the Roebling Oil Fields development over on North 11th (now the Warehouse 11 condos), connecting the blobs meant some detective work. But Mobil Mews begins life as a gas station: DOB “Little E” hazmat restrictions and all.

And as for the iconic Mobil sign - another symbol of Williamsburg’s gritty urban past, soon to be forgotten: tanks for the memories.

www.freewilliamsburg.com

Photo via Ira Monko’s Flickr.

This Sunday marks the annual Gay Pride Parade. This year should be especially celebratory given that same-sex marriage is now legal in California. The march will run from 5th Avenue & 52nd St. to Christopher & Greenwich St. beginning at noon. 

The first NYC Gay Pride March was held in 1970, the year following the Stonewall Riots. The Out at the Center show recently took a look at the history of the parade, which you can watch here.

Returning from the crafts fair I came across several street performers with English accents. However they were fleeing north, so to engage this chap I accused him of being a hipster and managed to capture this image.

Thanks to my Flickr pal wellohorld I found out that our bunny is in fact a chicken! His name is Chicken Nuts (real name is Matthew Silver) and performs as part of the Bedford Circus of Fools. They perform for free on Bedform every Sunday at 1pm!

My guess is that if they don’t start charging pretty soon they’ll be the Bushwick Circus of Fools…

Photographed on June 15, 2008.

www.freewilliamsburg.com

Olafur Eliasson’s Waterfalls start flowing tomorrow morning– perhaps as early as 7am, but sadly, the Circle Line tours of the bay don’t start until Friday. So if you want a good view (or a good picture) of these babies, you’re going to have to view them from land. No problem: we’ve marked the best viewing spots for each one on the map above.

1. Governors Island– this is the toughest one to view without a boat. Best spot is from the piers next to the Maritime Ferry Building at the tip of Manhattan. For a closeup, bring binoculars or a telephoto lens.

2. Brooklyn Piers– for the angle shown above, you’ll need to be on the Manhattan side, on the waterfront by the Helicopter terminal. If you don’t mind seeing the back of the falls, you can get a closeup view from the Brooklyn Promenade, or from Empire State Park, north of the Bridge.

4. Pier 35– this waterfall is best seen from the path right under the FDR that runs alongside the water, or from above, on the Manhattan Bridge Bike Path (north side of the bridge– be careful of bikers!)

A note on timing: in the morning, the light will be coming from the East, so you’ll get better photographs on the Brooklyn side. In the afternoon or at night, the light will be from the west, and the falls will be lit up with lights, so it’s better to shoot from the Manhattan positions. Wherever and whenever you take your pictures, send them to photos (at) gothamist (dot) com, or tag them “gothamist” on Flickr– we’ll put up the best ones tomorrow.