Add another uniquely wacky Brooklyn event to the already massive to do list this weekend (see also: GoogaMooga, Litquake, etc.). On Sunday, May 20, the “world’s strongest men” will return to tear, bend and demolish their way through Coney Island for the first time in over 60 years. (more…)

Via Flickr's Chris Goldberg.

In the carefree summer days of the late 90s/early aughts, I’d lean back against the one-win-choice wall of my ratty boardwalk stand, stare into the ocean and imagine taking a three-month hiatus from whatever adult job I’d end up with to come back to do this every summer. That was pre-MTV invasion of course, before reality TV ruined Seaside Heights for me, and before I realized I might get actually get a Fun Real Job. But those were some wonderful, strange summers, and even though Coney Island isn’t the shiniest boardwalk around, it’s not too late to try the boardie life for yourself: Coney Island is holding a big job fair tomorrow and Thursday, where they’ll be looking to hire summer employees for Luna Park, Scream Zone and Nathan’s Famous, as Amusing the Zillion reports. (more…)

Roll em if you got em.

We won the battle for gay marriage in New York, and Occupy has been hibernating, but there’s one thing that still gets us sticking it to the man in Brooklyn: inhaling tobacco! Raising a leafy middle-finger to the city’s efforts to shut down shops who exploit a loophole in the law that lets them avoid city taxes, another roll-your-own smokes place opened in Sheepshead Bay last month, Sheepshead Bites reports. Green Leaf (not that green leaf) Smokes is the latest shop where you can get cigs for as little as $3 a pack, but it probably won’t last long: the blog reports the nabe’s other cheap cigs place already closed, and the city sent these guys a cease-and-desist letter too. So unless you have a trip to South Carolina planned, get down there and stock up on your cheap lung-busters.

Green Leaf Smokes is at 1326 Sheepshead Bay Road in Sheepshead Bay.

Photo via Sheepshead Bites

If there’s a DIY project that can be capitalized upon, it’ll eventually show up in Brooklyn, especially if it feeds an expensive addiction for barely $3. The borough’s first roll-your-own cigarettes store opened last week, Sheepshead Bites reports. Like Build-A-Bear for carcinogens, customers stuff empty cigarette tubes with rolling tobacco using on-site machines. This new concept store (which we first talked about here) circumvents federal and local taxes, offering customers a miraculous $3.25 pack of cigarettes, all without visiting the dodgy cheap-cigarette bodegas or driving out to a reservation. But is it legal? (more…)

Workout without paying out. Photo via Flickr's arubow4

Joining premiums, monthly fees, equipment purchases, training sessions, class packages and website memberships can leave you chiseled, toned and broke as a joke. The average New Yorker spends $81 a month on personal care (namely fitness), but that doesn’t show the cost of the many New Yorkers who don’t devote any assets to fitness. Fortunately savvy Brokelynites know you don’t have to pay ANYTHING to get killer fitness results thanks to our beautiful borough before the weather turns too bad. I’m not a personal trainer or doctor,  but I do love fitness and think spending a fortune on it is crazy. Join me as I take advantage of some of our borough’s most beautiful and well-appointed outdoor workout venues, won’t you? (more…)

Let's take you out to the ball game

Look for ways to do good in Brooklyn and you’ll feel like you’re at Smorgasburg with five bucks in-hand: So much choice, such meager resources. But what if someone came to you and said “Here, take these food tickets, have a ball. And, oh yeah, you’ll also be helping out 35,000 needy Brooklyn folks”? That’s sort of what we’re offering here: Brokelyn’s teaming up with CAMBA, one of BK’s largest nonprofits, to give away two pairs of Cyclones fun packs (including tickets, a Cyclones cap, hot dog, chips and drink) for a CAMBA benefit/Brooklyn Cyclones game July 28. It’ll be a night to raise funds and awareness for CAMBA’s programs and services around Brooklyn —and this organization’s benevolent tentacles reach all over the place. (more…)

Not sure what the talent is, but there's a glass, so... Photo by Flickr's Elena Mattasoglio

Everyone has a talent, but if yours is professionally useless, dangerous or offensive, there’s a good chance it’s gone unrecognaized. It’s like, everyone has time for art openings and your roommate’s band, but when it comes to your knack for juggling torches, forget about it. Come July, that might very well change, and if your talent is cool enough, you could win cash! Who is this benefactor who wants to reward your circusy talents? It’s Thirsty Girl Productions, the host of this year’s 2nd Annual Coney Island Talent Show, which will take place on the Coney Island boardwalk July 30. (more…)

It's time to light the lights/soak up the AC

What is it about seeing a movie during the day that feels like you’re beating the rat race system with your hooky playing ways? It’s all the much better in the summer, when you wake up in a puddle of your own sweat, especially if you’re the family friendly type looking for cooling activities for your brood that don’t involve $1 tuna fish and wilted salad. If you’re game for getting up early to beat the heat, Sheepshead Bay’s Regal Cinemas has your hooky plans: a 9-week morning family friendly movie festival where all films are just $1. The full schedule below: (more…)

Your Brighton beach bike tour is waiting. Photo by Flickr user cfourcalvin.

Holy crap you guys: the rain is stopping and the sun is going to come out this weekend. We’re not in London anymore and since it’s going to be sunny and 78 degrees, we should all stretch our legs and get our adventure on with a wondrous bike ride. Better yet — one with a full day of activities that will only cost you $20? Come take a magical virtual bike tour with us, surprise your date and discover some Brooklyn awesomeness with the first installment of our self-guided Brokelyn Bike Tour series: ping pong, pirozhkis and beach sunsets edition. (more…)

2010 photo by Jackie Roman via Siren Fest

Hope you enjoyed Brooklyn’s biggest free music festival while it lasted: The Village Voice announced last night it killed the Coney Island Siren Festival in favor of a new one called 4 Knots at the South Street Seaport in hip, young downtown Manhattansburg. Siren was a summertime tradition (albeit a hot and sweaty one, like all good music fests) but perhaps its death is symbolically parallel to the overall mucusy sickness of Coney’s attempted rebirth. The two-stage fest over the decade featured Ted Leo, Built to Spill, Frightened Rabbits, TV on the Radio, M.I.A. and the New York Dolls among many others. Says the Voice: “Siren had a fantastic 10-year run, but the 4 Knots Festival will replace it on the Voice’s summer-show docket. Embrace change!” No lineup has been announced yet, so we’ll see.