Have you come to terms yet with losing McCarren Pool as you've known it for the past few years? It's time to move on, because last night the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the new plans for the space. Expect all that stuff you've been hearing about and seeing in renderings: ice skating rink, pool, cafes, umbrellas and other resorty type things. As we noted last month, there will still be performances, and the Brooklyn Paper......

Well, that's that. McCarren Pool – the giant Robert Moses-era landmark that's been revived as a music, theater, dance and film venue after decades of neglect – hosted its last free 'pool party' yesterday. The Bloomberg administration has allocated $50 million to renovate the pool for swimming, restore the historic bathhouse building, and build a year-round recreation center that is to include a skate park and an ice rink. After three years of presenting free......

The Pool Parties have Begun! Last Sunday marked the first of many epic Sundays this summer at McCarren Pool. Despite some crazy weather all afternoon, with beautiful sunny stretches interrupted by apocalyptic monsoons, the skies stayed clear for the Hold Steady's headlining set. While there are persistent rumors about an eventual pool renovation, which would relocate these free parties, this summer will go off as planned. Upcoming shows include sets from The Breeders, MGMT, Liars,......

Yesterday Javier Téllez brought some wildlife to McCarren Park Pool for a new project based on the blind men and the elephant. Beulah (pictured) is apparently "39 years old and loves gumdrops, apples and empty pools," not unlike many Greenpoint/Williamsburg residents (though a tad older). NYC Art in the Parks has more info on the Creative Time project:Javier Téllez, Games are Forbidden in the Labyrinth November 2007 McCarren Pool, Brooklyn Artist Javier Téllez brings......

Bookeaters Return! What started off as an excellent concert lineup just got better and better as the date approached. The additions of Spoon's Britt Daniel and Kevin Drew were a bonus treat. Music, reading and charity aside, perhaps the biggest wow moment was show headliner Jim James' new closely cropped haircut. The My Morning Jacket front man sheared his trademark Muppet locks since the last time we've seen him about. Not that it affected the......

Disco Biscuts Bring Something Different to the Pool Sick of all that boring "indie" music polluting your fresh Greenpoint air this summer, Mr. cynical anonymous Gothamist commenter? Well maybe you prefer the jam-trance mania of the Disco Biscuits instead! No? Well a whole crowd of people did, comfortably filling McCarren Pool earlier this week with people who (no joke) bought their tickets on 4/20 @ 4:20 in the afternoon. Those in attendance seemed to have......

McCarren Park Pool is getting a $50 Million makeover. Do you have a before and after image in your head? Well the NYC Parks Department wants your opinion as they ponder the design and future programming of the pool. Take their survey here. The OSA (Open Space Alliance) has been working with the Parks Dept and between two community planning sessions, surveying at a concert and at McCarren's track & field they have surveyed 500......

THEATER: The annual Soho Think Tank Ice Factory, arguably New York’s most impeccably curated theater festival, has been hosting an exhilarating array of new shows every weekend since July 4th . Starting tonight you can sink your teeth into Vampire University, in which “a struggling vampire family descends on an evangelical college in the Midwest, the dad’s mid-life crisis of immortality triggers a desire to come back to life and the gulf between first and......

Suckers may be saying they can take out Adam Horovitz, but after all these years with The Beastie Boys – it’s now two decades since License To Ill dropped! – he’s still rocking steady. Having just released The Mix-Up, a new all-instrumental album, the three are set to drive the lane like Evan Bernhard with a trio of NYC shows in as many days. Tomorrow night and Thursday they’ll do two of their more familiar......

COMEDY: This weekend marks the 9th Annual Del Close Marathon. Del Close, if you don't know by now, "was the driving force behind improvisational comedy in Chicago for over 30 years influencing Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Mike Myers, John Belushi, Chris Farley and the Upright Citizens Brigade to name a few." The annual weekend began after Del's passing in 1999. All Weekend // Various Times // UCB Theater [307 W 26th St] // $10 shows,......

EVENT: If you haven't taken a trip back to the Summer of Love yet, head over to the Whitney tonight for the exhibit and enjoy their Whitney Live event. DJ Scientific and Dana Leong will be providing the tunes. Friday // 6pm // The Whitney [945 Madison Ave] // Free with museum admission MUSIC: Tonight at the Seaport Music Festival Menomena and Beat the Devil will rock the sun down. Menomena "makes experimental rock that......

Thousands of people line McCarren Pool on Sundays, standing in place of where water used to be. This summer JellyNYC's Sunday Pool Parties are continuing, in what has become an instant summer tradition. We headed over there for the first time this season on Sunday to see Man Man, Illinois, Dengue Fever and enjoy some ice cream. We chatted with some of the folks involved, too. Check it out. And be sure to check......

Who doesn't love the ice cream man? Not many people. Which is why Matt Allen is pretty popular, since he is, after all, THE Ice Cream Man. Allen drives around the country handing out free frozen treats - so far his travels have taken him (and his '69 Chevy ice cream truck affectionately named Bessie) from St. Jude Children's Hospital to Bonnaroo to McCarren Park Pool (where he'll be this Sunday). Recently, we asked him......

READINGS: Russell Simmons has written a self-help book and will be at Border's today promoting it (okay, now all of this recent noise he's making makes more sense)! It's called "Do You! 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success." None of the laws include any of these three words. 1pm // Border’s [100 Broadway] // Free As we mentioned a few weeks ago, Tim Gunn will be reading from......

There may be March Madness in the air, but East Village Idiot has the cure for New Yorkers who can't get behind the NCAA: March Radness, which take 64 disparate NYC moments/ people/ objects/ stores/ trends/ nonsense and sees who will reign supreme. Some key matchups are:Bloomberg Region - The U.E.S Crowd (seeded 7) vs. The B&T; Crowd (10) - Trans Fat (1) vs. Rats at Taco Bell (16) Isiah Region - The Knicks......

Pela Rocks the Merc, V-Mars Last Friday night, after snagging a standby ticket to the Arcade Fire proved impossible, the second best place to be was at the Mercury Lounge for the sold out headlining set by one of the most promising local bands we've got in this here town, Pela. We got in right before the band started up and are pleased to say that they continue to live up to every expectation......

Even though the streets are covered with icy slush right now, soon enough we'll all be sweating again in the giant empty cement pool at McCarren. There's a group that wants to make sure we are able to enjoy the pool events for years to come, and they've started Pool-Aid. Their website states: "Poolaid is a place where lovers of McCarren Pool can come together to get information about the pool and take action......

-- Apparently the Astoria Blackout was just the tip of the iceberg: Gotham Gazette has a pretty horrifying look at the current state of NYC infrastructure. -- Anorexic Brooklynites, we've found your perfect apartment! -- 106 degrees in Hell's Kitchen? That sounds about right. And how about some smoking Pslope manholes? -- That is one angry looking kitty! -- More followup on that big jewel heist in Soho yesterday: two crooks were nabbed, but......

So we've been racking our brains as to what excuse Gothamist had at a music festival in Chicago, but we were there nonetheless and had an absolute blast. Compared to the mess that was Mccarren Pool on Saturday night, the Pitchfork Music Festival went off without a hitch. There was plenty of cheap beer, water and food for all. We spent a lot of time hanging out near the Fuze beverage tent, which provided shaded......

PARTY: Superheroes are all over the big screen this summer, so come celebrate one of the originals. Lynda Carter: A Celebration of the Birth and Life of a Wonderful Woman is a party going on tonight with Shakey and Justin Carter (from Nublu). They invite you to come celebrate the 55th birthday of Wonder Woman! There will be a best Wonder Woman costume contest and "revelers are also invited to bring a record of their......

Well, I think we all have a new favorite outdoor venue. Yesterday, on a picture perfect Sunday afternoon, thousands flocked to the long abandoned Mccarren Pool in Williamsburg for a free concert from Post-Punk mainstays Les Savy Fav. It was as a New York summer weekend should be. Endless stretches of dirt and concrete filled with beautiful people of all ages out to enjoy the weather. On one side was a frequented slip and slide,......

Japanther is: Ian Vanek, Matt Reily One of the most well respected and truly underground bands in New York, Japanther rarely play traditional venues. You find them in warehouses, lofts, restaurants, basements, bedrooms, bathrooms...anywhere you can squeeze two guys, a bit of equipment, and a mass of sweaty fans. The Bass and Drum Art/Noise/Punk duo are one of the most revered live acts in New York, and this weekend we have two chances to......

- Really? NYU banned showing those controversial Danish cartoons at a campus talk called "Free Speech and the Danish Cartoons?" - Four teens are being charged in that NYU hit and run. - The Post and one spicy divorce lawyer go after the restaurant they like to call "Toxic on the Green." - Thinking about how to use, and not use, the McCarren Pool. - Shockingly,Eliot Spitzer doesn't think Pataki shows "leadership." And? -......

Gothamist really enjoyed our visit to Noemie LaFrance's Agora at the McCarren Pool complex in Greenpoint this week. We were exicted to hear the performance has been extended until Saturday night, so you still have a chance to catch it. Tickets are $15-30 online, but Noemie's Sens production team has given us 15 tickets to give away free-- you can use them at any of the three shows between tomorrow and Saturday (Weds, Friday,......

Last night, Gothamist headed over to McCarren Pool in Greenpoint to watch Noémie Lafrance's Agora. Lafrance, a site-specific choreographer, and her team of more than 30 dancers transformed the pool, which was closed since 1983, into a giant 50,000 square foot stage. While she does make beautiful use of the space, we think it could have been much better in a space maybe half the size. That said, it's worthy of checking out, if......