First the bad news…

Heath, of course: That was tragic to hear.

475 Kent: How cruel and insensitive of the city, ordering a mass eviction on an 18-degree Sunday night. We’re staying tuned to Gowanus Lounge for the updates — and are totally dismayed by commenters calling tenants there whiny hipsters.

UPDATE: 3rd Ward has opened up its space as a “refugee camp” for everyone forced out of 475 Kent. Call 718-715-4961 for more info.

Groping: For all the women in Bed-Stuy (and elsewhere) getting groped and cat-called, we commiserate, because nothing — not yelling back or wearing sweats — seems to help. The most creative solution offered? “Act like a retard… just cross your eyes and walk with a limp.”

The Good News…
Provisions: Finally, a serious gourmet food store within walking distance for folks in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, that stays open till 9 pm every night! The cheese and produce will come in the next 2 weeks, but the dry goods, fresh breads, Balthazaar pastries, coffee, fresh meat and Wild Edibles fish are all in the house. BB picked up a beautiful piece of Arctic Char last night ($13/lb.), then brought our receipt to the Greene Grape wine store and redeemed our 5% discount. (The deal stands if you spend $10 or more in Provisions.) It opens at 7 am weekdays, 8 am weekends. (718-233-2700; www.greenegrape.com)

Christine Sciulli’s light installation at Ch’i: We mentioned it in brief last week, but this really is a must-see show. Once your eyes adjust to the dark, networks of strings affixed floor to ceiling become visible, with blips of light moving across them. We appreciate the concept, but to us it appears as shooting stars, or photons traveling across circuits, or headlights on a highway, just before the plane lands. Sciulli’s “video carpet” in the adjacent room is mesmerizing, too.

Edible Brooklyn: The winter issue is out, and we’re loving it, particularly St. John Frizell’s piece on the Brooklyn Cocktail’s resurgence. Often overlooked because the ingredients are hard to come by, and because it is a similar yet sub par version of the Manhattan, a few local restaurants are serving their own renditions: Franny’s, The Brooklyn Social, iCi, Chestnut, Lodge and Flatbush Farm. (Cocktail historian Dave Wondrich described his version at the end of this post.)

Club Card: The Brooklyn Paper wrote about the relatively new 4th Ave. beer bar, Pacific Standard, and its new membership card, which entitles you to things like an all-night happy hour. It’s a cute gimmick on its own, and further inspiration for our soon-to-be realized Cockail Club. (More on that soon!)

Opinion Section
Ork Posters generously agreed to make 100 limited edition Brooklyn posters in BB’s colors. Would you like one of these prints, priced at $35? Or would you wait until they restocked their $22, black and white or blue and white posters? Click to download a bigger version, then let us know… It will influence our decision.

475 Kent photo by Jared Swafford. Provisions photo by Melanie Flood.