Gowanus venue hosts outdoor
concerts and movie screenings
BY BEN VERDE
A Gowanus concert venue
is bringing socially-distant
music shows, movie screenings,
and comedy sets to the
great outdoors!
Littlefi eld, along with the
neighboring al fresco saloon
Parklife, will be offering
drinks and performances under
the stars multiple times
each week, giving Brooklynites
a chance to catch their
favorite performers during
the age of quarantine, said the
venues’ owner.
“We’re lucky to have the
situation we have during the
current state of things,” said
Scott Koshnoodi.
Littlefi eld owners, who
originally opened the Parklife
in the concert hall’s rear yard
in 2017, fi nally welcomed patrons
back to the Gowanus bar
in early August — and now,
CONCERTS
Littlefi eld live at Parklife. 636
Degraw St. near Fourth Ave,
Gowanus. (646) 949-4636.
www.Parklifebk.com. View upcoming
events at www.littlefi
eldnyc.com/calendar/.
they will host the likes of pop
duo Rachael and Vilray, comedian
COURIER L 18 IFE, AUG. 14–20, 2020
Sam Morril, and screenings
of the annual Animation
Block Party festival.
In order to adhere to safe
social distancing protocols,
guests must sit in their reserved
seats, and food and drinks will
be ordered via smartphone to
minimize interaction between
staff and patrons. When entering,
all attendees must sign a
health declaration promising
to wear masks whenever not
eating or drinking, according
to the venue.
Despite all the necessary
precautions and threat of a
rain-out, Koshnoodi says the
venue is happy to be able to
do any form of in-person programming,
and fans are eager
to attend — which has led to
some of their upcoming concerts
selling out well ahead of
time.
And for artists used to playing
packed concert halls, playing
in front of a spaced-out
crowd of only a few dozen may
be strange, but welcome.
“Rachael & Vilray would
normally sell out the Bowery
Ballroom three nights
over, but it makes them feel
good and it makes the crowd
happy,” said Koshnoodi.
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
The Brooklyn Public Library
will open 10 more
branches for grab-and-go services
on Aug. 10, book bigwigs
announced Thursday.
Bookworms will now be
able to pick up and drop off
materials at a total of 17 out of
59 library locations, according
to the August 6 release and the
newly reopened branches include:
Canarsie
Clarendon
Coney Island
Cortelyou
Fort Hamilton
Macon
Park Slope
Stone Avenue
Williamsburgh
The service allows Brooklynites
to pick up books and
other loanable materials
they ordered online or over
the phone in the lobby of the
branches, and drop them back
off them at a return bin at the
entrances.
Patrons and staff have to
wear masks and librarians
will quarantine the books
for 96 hours before returning
them to the stacks, according
to the release. Browsing, inperson
reference, and use of
the library’s computers are all
still prohibited.
The book lender will also
not issue fi nes for late returns
until further notice.
The Kings County library
system opened its fi rst seven
branches on July 13 after three
months of virtual-only services
due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The fi rst slate included
the following branches:
Bay Ridge
Bushwick
Kings Highway
Central
New Lots
Flatbush
Red Hook
The Central branch currently
only offers returns,
as librarians at the monumental
outpost next to Grand
Army Plaza are still working
through a massive backlog of
holds, offi cials said.
Brooklyn Public Library
continues to maintain its virtual
library with e-books, audiobooks,
and programming —
including storytimes for kids,
career services, and access to
language classes via the online
courses website Lynda.
The pandemic closure of
the physical branches has led
the library to issue more than
13,000 e-cards, a fourfold increase
for the same time last
year, according to offi cials.
The grab-and-go branches
are open six days a week, from
10 am to 4 pm on Mondays,
Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays,
and from 1 pm to 7 pm
on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Field of vision
Brooklyn Library adds 10 new
branches for grab-and-go service
BROOKLYN
All booked up!
IN THE AIR TONIGHT: The outdoor venue is currently set up for performances. Photo by Parklife
Brooklyn Public Library will open 10 more branches for grab-and-go service
on Aug. 10. Photo by Kevin Duggan
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