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Need more evidence that Lil’ Kim missed the Burg’s baby boom? Stop by Willy Bee’s (302 Metropolitan Avenue) early on a Saturday afternoon. Navigate the maze of strollers at the entrance, order-up some tasty breakfast items, and be simultaneously entertained at the bluegrass brunch and awed by the vast numbers of hipster graybeards passively parenting their tiny loved ones.
Pay close attention and mixed-in with the hurly-burly you’ll hear these young moms and dads share war stories and exchange first-hand advice. These parents share the communal cabin fever new parenthood comes with, and Willy Bee’s supplies an environment that allows them to unwind, network, and shoot the shit while their kids romp and, if old enough, rough house.
On your visit you just might catch me, a once freedom-loving freelance artist now fulltime servant to a miniature martinet, amid the crush of caregivers fawning over their young. Or possibly bopping their heads to some G-rated Junior Mafia supplied by the crazy cool kids behind the counter that act as house DJs.
Willy Bee’s isn’t the only establishment that has me staying local lately. Flying Squirrel Baby (96 North 6th Street) keeps my toddler looking natty without burning holes in my pockets every clothing size he outgrows.
There’s always a friendly face behind the counter and bargain priced ‘gently used’ clothing on the racks. This two-year-old store saves folks muku bucks while actively promoting a non-consumerist parental lifestyle.
Sam and Seb (208 Bedford Avenue) celebrates four years in Williamsburg this year. This store is the Indie-Rock to Flying Squirrel’s Topical Folk. The store offers cool clothing items that satisfy little kids’ inner fashionistas.
If it were possible to take a trip back in time via Doc Brown‘s DeLorean with the line of credit on their Amex cards untouched, and their current sensibilities in tact, these are the clothes they would buy themselves.
Judith Velosky-Martel – half of Flying Squirrel Baby’s dynamic duo and a mother of three-year-old twins, and Simone Manwarring of Sam and Seb took a few moments away from their busy schedules to share a few thoughts on their respective stores and the changed neighborhood.
Judith believes that it’s the relaxed and friendly atmosphere that draws parents to her store. “Kids can play while parents shop,” she says. “People come mostly, though, for the inexpensive and useful items. A lot of our clientele love to reuse items and find that second hand is way more interesting than new.”
Simone thinks it is more than eclectic range of items her store carries that pulls in potential shoppers. She also mentions the unique sensibility of the store. “There is a lot of information for parents in the neighborhood on services that are available, schools – there is always an opinion flying around.”
“I suppose the new baby trend is for our children to appear very streetwise, urban, cosmopolitan,” says Simone of the local kids’ trends. “Whether it is how the baby looks or the outings and functions that [they] may attend, I think [metropolitan] children tend to have a more adult experience of childhood.”
In her view on things, Judith doesn’t offer a tangible fad, but a more philosophical one. “I don’t think it’s a new trend,” says Judith, “but in general the artists in Williamsburg try to pick activities for their children that will also excite the creativity of the parent like kids yoga, Streb gymnastics, music classes and other artistic outlets.” She reasons that it is possible that these parents are encouraging this expression as a substitution for lost studio time.
When it’s time for some parent/kid interaction, Judith stays local with “ Music for Aardvarks [at Willy Bee’s] - their favorite. Soundance at the Stable (281 North 7th Street), dance class. Story time at the Library on Devoe Street (81 Devoe Street).”
Simone hits the rails. “We do a lot of little train adventures,” she says, “whether it be up the Hudson River to Cold Spring or to the Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. I try to get them into nature as much as possible, in the summer we go the beach, nothing is more pleasurable than to see your children relating to the land without any obstacles. I like for them to be able to embrace their freedom whenever possible as they have a lifetime to be restricted.”
“I feel like nothing is a secret in Williamsburg anymore,” offers Simone when asked to reveal any ‘best-kept secrets’ she knows of. “When it comes to babies we are all so hungry for the next great thing to come along without having to drag ourselves into the city with children and strollers in tow.”
That said, Simone did think of a place. “I discovered one today but it is more for the mummies who have a newborn and need some quiet tea time and a bite to eat, not really a place for your roaming toddler, I think it is called the Roebling Tea Room (143 Roebling Street – Entrance on Metropolitan Avenue). I met a friend there today who has a newborn and it was perfect.”
Judith also knew of one not-so-popular place parents should check out. “I’ve heard that there is a good playgroup on Mondays at a yoga center on Franklin in Greenpoint,” she shares. “There is also a good kid-friendly cafe nearby.”
These two stores represent both sides of the current crop of parents residing in our Brooklyn community. Parents Joe the local geriatric lackey calls “the hippies”, and parents’ books like Alternadad and City Baby Brooklyn anoint “the hipsters”.
Right now with homegrown establishments such as these it is easy for me to enjoy the virtuous perks of being one of Williamsburg’s pioneering parents. Before the drone of the jackhammers die down, the L train loses it’s conductors, and the cranes stop swiveling. Once that’s over with you can expect the obligatory ‘Stroller Parking’ signs at every Starbucks, Mc Donald’s and The Gap along the length of Bedford Avenue, which will render Williamsburg the new North Slope.
I’ve rewritten a few of Kim’s lyrics to better fit the neighborhood she hollered at. “The map has been redrawn where I live,” she now raps in my imagination. “Better have a stroller-pass when you cross that bridge. Welcome to Billburg!” As the thugs, the yuppies and their toddling kids all do the Brooklyn-bounce at this summer’s block party.
+ also published in 11211 magazine
[scroll down to read Pt. 1]
. The novel follows Baby, a 12-year-old girl who lives with her loving but ineffectual junkie father Jules in Montreal. “My biggest fear was that it would fall into the category of ‘a dark portrait of troubled kids’, whereas I thought about it as a love poem to children. I tried to build a literary, magical childhood.” - metroNY
