Biba’s beer garden at East River State Park, soon to be taken over by over 20 New York State breweries this Saturday. (Photo: Biba Williamsburg)
Some people think every month is a good beer month, and why shouldn’t it be? If you like good beer, drink good beer all month long. But it’s officially July Good Beer Month (yes, it’s actually called that) and as part of it we get to quench our thirst for suds at the first annual New York State Food and Beer Expo. Presented by BIBA of Williamsburg and The Good Beer Seal, you can try over 40 different beers from 20 different New York State microbreweries. There’ll also be burgers, brats, pickles and other local foods from New York State farms and producers. General admission starts $10, though if you pony up $20, you’ll get two beer tickets, and if you pay $55 in advance, you get 10 beer samples, five food samples, a souvenir glass, and other perks including “exclusive indoor bathroom access.” After your third beer, you may be happy you did.
This place was built on the backs of me and my friends, my fellow tenants of 110 Kent Avenue who lived there despite it not being zoned for residential. Even Mark Nagawiecki Sr.’s brother and his wife and young children were living there. We were all promised kitchenettes that were never created. We discovered Mark was not paying our Con Edison bill even though we were paying him, so the building was largely cold in the winters. And he never returned several of our security deposits. I was a witness at court for another tenant to try to get hers back and she was awarded its return, which of course was never adhered to. Mark Sr. is what New Yorkers call a slumlord. He cheats people and threatens them with wrongful evictions. The office spaces that were once our apts have crappy construction with really rough flooring with holes, old electrical wiring, and drafty windows. My friends and fellow tenants and I stuck together to rise up for our rights and were subsequently evicted. Biba was sadly built on the backs of those of us Williamsburg artists who merely needed a good, cheap place to live and were treated like dirt.