Arts & Entertainment

Atlantic Ave. holiday window design competition winners revealed

December 8, 2020 Editorial Staff
Photos courtesy of Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corp.
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From brooklyneagle.com

On the eve of Dec. 1, five distinguished arts personalities walked the length of Atlantic Avenue and its side streets from Fourth Avenue to Hicks Street to judge the windows of participating stores and restaurants, under the auspices of the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation.

Allison Prete, Jed Rothstein, Steven W. Standard (Strafe), Adam Suerte and Johnny Thornton gathered at 6:30 p.m. outside the AALDC’s office, where Sue Wolfe, the organization’s vice president, was waiting to brief the judges and provide them with clipboards and pens to take notes during their trek along the main avenue through Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights.

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Their mission was to search for the best holiday windows, taking into consideration design, originality, creativity, etc. Following their 1.5-mile walk, the judges came to an agreement about the winning windows, bringing to the table their collective years of enormous and varied creativity for which they earned national and international acclaim.

The first-place winner: Gumbo.

Allison Prete is a documentary filmmaker who has produced and directed films for television and theatrical release and was awarded the Municipal Arts Society’s highest honor, the Brendan Gill Award, and a MacDowell Colony Fellowship. Prete served on the board and as vice president of the NY Film and Video Council and as juror for the Brooklyn Arts Council’s film festival and the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy’s Movies With a View film series.

Jed Rothstein is an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker specializing in hard-to-get stories from around the world. His last film, The China Hustle, premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival before opening globally. Forbes called it “the most important film of 2018.” Rothstein’s “Killing in the Name” received an Oscar nomination.

Steven W. Standard, known as Strafe, is a composer, producer, musician and artist whose “club classic” hit song “Set It Off” was at one time hailed as “the most sampled song of all time” by Billboard Magazine. Strafe is the co-owner of the Hard Soul Boutique store on Atlantic Avenue in Boerum Hill.

The second-place winner: Collier West.

Adam Suerte is co-owner/founder of Brooklyn Tattoo and founder of Urban Folk Art Studios. While tattooing is his chosen trade, Adam works in various mediums, including painting, illustration, printmaking, comic book making, product and t-shirt design, etc.

Johnny Thornton is an artist whose work utilizes several mediums and is exhibited widely. Thornton is the Gallery Director of Established Gallery in Brooklyn and is also the executive director for Arts Gowanus, working to support, promote, and advocate for local artists and a sustainable arts community in Brooklyn.–>

“Shop and Dine” offers discounts and incentives from participating stores and restaurants through Dec. 13 along 1.5 miles of Atlantic Avenue and its side streets from Fourth Ave to the waterfront, running through Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill. There are more than 150 storefronts of shops and restaurants along this strip.

The third-place winner: Someday Bar.

Atlantic Avenue is famous for its diverse and wide range of shops and restaurants. The majority of the stores sell their offerings on their websites, as well as through curbside pickup. These stores are interspersed by delicious food specialty shops and restaurants – many of which have outside seating as well delivery and pickup.

The section of Atlantic Avenue covered by the AALDC runs from Atlantic Terminal to the waterfront, and is a short distance from Brooklyn Bridge Park, the commuter ferry, the cruise ship port and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Atlantic Avenue is a vibrant shopping area attracting local shoppers as well as international travelers. The area is rich in cultural institutions including art museums and dance, music and theater schools. Many visiting musicians, theatrical personalities and athletes from nearby Barclays Center enjoy the restaurants and bars along Atlantic Avenue.


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