A roundup of Brooklyn’s cultural offerings this week, from comedy to theater to music to art, and what critics are saying about them.

The post What They’re Saying: live arts in Brooklyn this week, Feb. 4 appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

Industry City welcomed the Year of the Snake on Friday with a colorful Lunar New Year celebration. 

Dozens of Brooklynites rang in the new year alongside a troupe of lion dancers and musicians who roamed through the campus. Lion dances, often performed on Lunar New Year, are thought to bring good luck and good fortune — and Industry City’s lion blessed businesses and visitors alike as it wound through businesses and courtyards.

The celebration ended with a performance in the food court, where visitors surrounded the lion and snapped photos to mark the occasion. Though Lunar New Year itself is only one day, it’s just the start of the Chinese Spring Festival, and Industry City will be decked out with festive art for all of February. 

“The Lunar New Year celebration is one of our favorite annual traditions at Industry City,” said Jim Somoza, Managing Director of Industry City. “Brooklyn’s Sunset Park is home to one of the largest East Asian communities in NYC and we are proud to create spaces to amplify and celebrate the rich culture.”

Somoza encouraged Brooklynites to check out East Asian businesses at Industry City, like DAISO, a “one stop shop” full of Japanese-inspired homewares and other goods; and eateries like Baolala, which features Chinese and other Asian classic dishes with a modern twist, and Japan Village, which is filled with food stalls, a specialty grocery store, and more. 

The Industry City celebration was one of many Lunar New Year celebrations in Brooklyn last weekend. In Sunset Park and Bensonhurst, the streets were filled with light and color as locals threw two separate Lunar New Year parades, each full of music, cultural celebrations, and community awards. 

In a letter, James told health care facilities that refusing to provide the treatments would violate New York’s anti-discrimination laws.

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A Williamsburg contractor was arraigned Monday on grand larceny charges for allegedly stealing $318,000 from a Park Slope couple and spending the money on lavish purchases.

Hayk Safaryan, 43, is accused of accepting payment for a major home renovation project on the couple’s brownstone and performing no work, instead spending the funds on luxury purchases, including a Porsche, designer goods and an Airbnb booking.

Safaryan was arraigned before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on Feb. 3 on an indictment charging him with second-degree grand larceny. He was released without bail and is back in court on April 2.

Lawyers representing Safaryan did not return Brooklyn Paper’s request for comment.

According to an investigation by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, Safaryan, a licensed general contractor at the time, entered into an agreement with the couple in December 2021 to renovate their Park Slope brownstone.

On June 15, 2022, the parties signed a contract outlining demolition, site, and structural work, with the project budgeted at $1.29 million. Two days later, the couple wired a $322,000 deposit to Safaryan’s bank account.

Prosecutors allege that Safaryan spent nearly all of the funds on personal expenses, including a $28,000 down payment for a 2018 Porsche Macan SUV, $17,750 in back rent for his apartment, and thousands of dollars on designer goods from brands like Prada and Alexander McQueen. He also allegedly spent significant sums on hotels, restaurants, bars, and an Airbnb rental in Riverhead, New York.

The DA’s office alleges that Safaryan disbursed only about $4,000 to a company for a site safety plan, leaving the renovation project untouched. It also notes his general contractor’s license expired on Feb. 6, 2023, and was never renewed.

The couple repeatedly demanded their money back, but Safaryan allegedly provided inconsistent explanations for the lack of progress, including claims of an insurance company audit. He reportedly stopped communicating with them entirely by spring 2023. The case was initiated after the couple filed a report with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Action Center.

“This defendant allegedly lined his own pockets by taking advantage of a Brooklyn family who put their trust in him,” District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement. “My office will continue to investigate and prosecute fraud in the home improvement industry and seek justice for those who are victimized by criminal conduct.”

They were just rolling through!

The 22nd annual Idiotarod took off on Saturday, Feb. 1, with decked-out shopping carts and costumed teams shambling through the streets of Williamsburg.

The race — which isn’t really a race — drew slightly buzzed participants to the starting line at Cooper Park, where teams showcased elaborately themed shopping carts scavenged from various parts of the city.

“We are looking for shenanigans,” said Idiotarod volunteer Sarah Janjua. “We are looking for bribes; we are looking for [people] cutting corners.”

Janjua, donning a hard hat and a badge identifying them as a “cart safety inspector supervisor,” was happy to report, “No carts today are up to code.”

Cooper Park’s basketball courts were filled with a cacophony of shopping carts and racers.

The CATZ deli cart, inspired by the famed Katz’s Delicatessen and the Broadway musical “Cats,” was outfitted with a pastrami sandwich-making station.

The Coney Island cart, generously slinging nutcracker shots, featured team members dressed as roller coaster cars, collectively forming the Cyclone coaster.

Members of the Cutie Conservation Coven cart, adorned with tissue paper and tinfoil, described themselves as “recycling good witches that care about the world.” The coven planned to pick up trash along the race route and add it into their cart’s design.

The Cutie Conservation Coven found themselves in a standoff with the Vermin Vanguard, whose team “united the three families: cockroaches, pigeons, rats.” With a cockroach-shaped cart, the Vermin Vanguard had one clear mission: keeping New York dirty.

“We want to keep trash on the street so we can have a life source; we want to keep New York City dirty,” shouted one of the pigeons from the Vermin Vanguard.

At the sound of the whistle, some carts bolted from the starting line, while others opted for sabotage, blocking the park exit. A few moved at their own leisurely pace.

Cash prizes were up for grabs, but judges cared little about which cart crossed the finish line first. “If you’re trying to come in first, you’ve missed the point,” Rody, a longtime event organizer, told Brooklyn Paper.

Style and creativity top the judges’ lists, but there are other ways to tip the scales.

“Bribery is highly valued,” said Dr. Sherry Smith, one of the event’s lead organizers. Smith believes the opportunity for people to unleash their creativity and have fun keeps teams coming back year after year.

“January and February are the worst months of the year. You need something to look forward to, and it’s adults getting to be silly. I love it,” Smith said.

The race operates without a formal budget, relying solely on entry fees paid by participants. Most of those funds go toward cash prizes.

After 22 years, the Idiotarod has kept its DIY, chaotic spirit. The event’s Facebook page is littered with posts about shopping cart sightings for contestants to scavenge. Teams and most organizers typically don’t learn the starting location until the night before the race.

“This proves New York is not dead; we are not a sea of strip malls and chain stores. Culture still exists here,” said Anney Fresh, referee and head judge. “There are still scrappy people who can survive the rising rents and the malarkey going on in this town.”

“It’s important to celebrate life and do crazy stuff.”