A stressed Mamdani watched Game 4 in Bed-Stuy

Hey all and welcome to our second edition of Bed-Stuy Stoop, a weekly newsletter covering Bed-Stuy and Clinton Hill.

Read on for Mayor Mamdani looking concerned during Game 4, a chat with the owner of new children’s pre-loved clothing store Cosmo, $5 flowers to fund surfing lessons and the Juneteenth Black Bookstores Crawl.

The Knicks pulled off the impossible and came back from 29 points down to win Game 4 by one, and Bed-Stuy Stoop is writing this newsletter to the chants of “Let’s Go Knicks” and car horns out the window.

Earlier in the night it was a more somber affair. Bed-Stuy Stoop tried to go to Singers bar to watch the game hosted by city council member Chi Ossé, after his viewing party in Herbert Von King Park got cancelled due to thunderstorms.

The storms never really came but the queue to get in to Singers was a few dozen long.

Why would anyone spend half the game lining up in the hope of maybe eventually making it in? (The bouncer made it clear, no one was getting into the backyard).

Well, it turns out Mayor Zohran Mamdani was there.

The mayor watched the game with Chi, Eon Huntley (a former PTA president who is running for state assembly, representing Bed-Stuy) and Jabari Brisport (Bed-Stuy’s state senator who is running for re-election).

And it was tense for our normally grinning mayor.

“He kept grabbing his chin like that. Looking very concerned,” filmmaker Reid Rohling, who had also headed to Singers to see the game, told Bed-Stuy Stoop.

Rohling said the mayor was also smiling, taking selfies with people and “just chatting it up.”

“People were excited he was there. And surprised he stayed as long as he did,” Rohling said.

“The vibe was a bit dire at halftime when he left.”

Instead of lining up to hang with the new Mr Outside (he watched the Knicks comeback at Peg’s Cavalier in Ridgewood) Bed-Stuy Stoop went in search of other best viewing spots in the nabe.

Despite Ossé’s viewing party in Herbert Von King being officially cancelled, someone still set up an incredible spot with a projector against the handball courts.

A small and quiet crowd was watching, with one very dedicated fan regularly shouting that despite being down 25, the Knicks were definitely going to win. Bet he had the best night ever. His “Knicks in 5” chants did not take off at halftime — but that will be an excellent viewing spot for Game 5.

Another primo spot: the heinous building on the corner of Classon and Greene.

Speedy Romeo and Radicle Wine did the best thing possible with the unsold building across from them, and used it as a screen to project the games this week.

For those unaware, this building has been wildly despised in the community ever since it was unveiled over a year ago, its bedrooms overlooking the street.

Someone even put up a museum plaque on the wall last May, declaring it an art piece titled “New York City Housing Crisis, 2025”. (If you did this, please contact me!)

The price is constantly dropping, now it’s listed for $3.85 million.

Bed-Stuy Stoop watched Game 4 at this spot and there were some technical issues, but it was a beautiful moment when finally the connection came back. Last night was even more thrilling.

At last this building feels like it’s giving something to the neighborhood, and not just uniting us in hate.

Other good spots: big crowd at The Swan on Bedford. Madres, located inside Shipwreck on the corner of Lexington and Nostrand, had a relaxed family-friendly vibe — and good whiskey lemonades. Hatch on Tompkins (the old Bed-Vyne Brew location) looked fun and had a big screen. Plus, several very impressive DIY set-ups where people dragged a projector outside their house and watched with their neighbors.

Bed-Stuy Stoop stuck to western and central Bed-Stuy last night, let us know in the comments the best spots for eastern Bed-Stuy.

This Saturday night is going to be wild. KNICKS IN FIVE!

Cosmo, a children’s vintage clothing store — think a curated selection of pre-loved kids clothes and some select handmade options — opened this week on Malcolm X Boulevard.

Bed-Stuy Stoop visited Cosmo on Wednesday and met owner Shanna Cooper, a local mother of an 11-month-old. The idea is that clothes will recirculate locally, giving you somewhere to both buy and sell a nice piece that might only fit a few times before your kid outgrows it.

“I genuinely believe that every neighborhood should have something like this” Cooper said.

The store is a lovely Pinterest-y space: a beautiful custom lantern, curtains made of vintage handkerchiefs, toys artfully scattered and nice patterned sofas that would be ideal for lounging and breastfeeding.

Bed-Stuy Stoop was surprised at first to find Carter’s onesies and Target clothes amongst the more expected pricier linen bloomers and color-block overalls. But that’s exactly the point, noted Cooper.

“We are gentrifying the neighborhood by building this space, and so I think part of the phase of pre-build out, pre-signing the lease was very much talking to all of my neighbors, and people who have been here much longer,” Cooper said. That meant keeping some things at lower price points and hiring local staff as retail workers.

She, along with co-founder Caley Clocksin, wanted to make sure any parent could walk in and find something. “Everyone can come in here: there’s $3 t-shirts, there’s fancy occasion stuff.”

They try to avoid buying things that are overly gendered — “we’re not doing a lot of trucks and dinosaurs” — instead focusing on stripes, fun patterns, timeless design, organic materials and special pieces. Bed-Stuy Stoop would desperately love for dinosaurs to be seen as gender neutral, akin to leopard print being a neutral. Some brands they stock and are always keen for: Makie, Bobo Choses, Quincy Mae, Rylee + Cru, Little Planet by Carter’s and Zara.

You can bring in clothes your kids outgrew to sell, they offer 25% cash immediately via Venmo or Zelle or 50% store credit that never expires. Cosmo is also working with Still Good, a local organization that recirculates items for families, and once a month will be co-hosting a free store outside. This month’s, on June 20, will be summer focused.

On Friday at 11:30am they’ll host the popular Jazz Baby music class for infants, and are hoping to do other events — birthday parties, mothers groups, kids yoga, art classes.

“I think there are businesses that are gentrifying, but are trying to be still woven into the history and respectful of the history of what was here once before, and all the beautiful parts of community that still exist here,” Cooper said. “That’s also why I’m excited for it to be a community space too, and I’m requesting that people tell me what they want to see happen here.”

• Beloved bar Dynaco has begun its rebuild after being closed following a fire in January.

• Barker, a new cafe on Nostrand, got a star and chosen as a critics pick by the New York Times.

• A new 11-story building is being built and another is underway for a two-building project on the parking lot of Brooklyn Gardens on Fulton, that will eventually contain 297 apartments.

• Gladys Books and Wine has been raising money to flood-proof its space.

Shout out to one of the Neal boys — they already sell handmade coasters at Clementine Bakery — who was raising money for surfing lessons by selling bunches of flowers outside Clementine on Sunday. Just $5 for a small bunch, $10 for a bigger one. Expect to see him back out there in coming weekends.

• Friends of Macon Library are hosting a book sale at the library June 13 from 11am-4pm. All proceeds go to the library and there will be books for all ages.

• The Tompkins Avenue Merchants Association is debuting a new summer series called Second Saturdays, with activities and shopping every second Saturday, starting June 13. Bed-Vyne Wine & Spirits will be offering free tastings from 3-8pm.

• Whole Neighborhood Garden on Bedford Ave are hosting a Garden Grooves: Pride Edition on June 13, from 3-7pm. Music by The Queer Vinyl Collective.

• Greene Acres Garden on Franklin and Greene is hosting Nafisa’s Community Meal, where “Nafisa is sharing small bites from her Bengali home cooking” from 12-2pm.

• The NYC Juneteenth Black Bookstore Crawl is starting tomorrow and running until June 19, encouraging you to visit 10 Black-owned bookstores across the city. Numerous local bookstores including Gladys and BEM are participating — head in and grab a “passport” to participate.

• Welcome Home bakery is hosting its first Book Club on Friday.

Bed-Stuy Stoop launched one week ago (check out our interview with Pulitizer Prize-winning Nikole Hannah-Jones if you missed it) and already have over 1,000 subscribers. Thrilled to have you here. If you like what we’re doing so far, we encourage you to upgrade to a paid subscription — currently $50 annually or $5 per month. Expect that a combination of subscriber only content and free content will be available in the future.

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Until next week. LGK!