The Park Sloper
Issue #8 · July 16, 2026
Park Slope this week: King George falls again at the Old Stone House, fumes linger at a Gowanus school, and Royel Otis at the bandshell
Two hundred fifty years on, the neighborhood is still tearing down King George. The Old Stone House ran its annual reenactment Sunday, papier-mache statue and all, with the grievances updated for 2026.
Less festive: a year into the fix, the state says fumes are still getting into P.S. 372 by the canal. And Sunday the World Cup final takes over the neighborhood's back rooms and beer gardens. Here's the week.
Victor, founding editor
01 · This week
The Old Stone House tears down King George again
For the fifth year, the Old Stone House reenacted the July 9, 1776 toppling of King George III's statue at Bowling Green: a papier-mache replica covered in gold origami paper, a candy-filled head, and the Declaration of Independence read aloud by four volunteers. Visitors wrote this year's grievances on the statue before it came down; ICE, book bans, and Super PACs made the list.
Brooklyn Paper · held Jul 12
A year in, P.S. 372's fume problem isn't fixed
State officials told P.S. 372 parents that the ventilation system installed to keep petroleum fumes, chiefly benzene, out of the Carroll Street school's annex basement works as designed, and that contamination is still getting in anyway, likely through the basement walls. More testing and more ventilation are planned, possibly stretching into the next school year.
Gothamist · P.S. 372, Carroll St
Treasure Trunk Theatre opens on 7th Avenue
The children's theatre outfit, thirteen years running with studios in Cobble Hill and Prospect Heights, opened a South Slope home at 408 7th Avenue between 13th and 14th on July 14: classes from baby to preteen, camps, after-school with pickup, and full-scale kid musicals.
Park Slope Pulse · 408 7th Ave
02 · Worth a visit
291 Nevins St, Gowanus · opened June
Hidden Rivers, a beer bar on the canal side
Patrick Watson and Michele Pravda, with partner Dhruv Mohindra, opened Hidden Rivers at 291 Nevins Street between Union and Sackett in June: twelve rotating taps from independent East Coast breweries, cocktails and wine, snacks, and a back garden that earns the trip on a July evening. It's Gowanus, canal-adjacent, and better for it.
03 · You asked
Q. Who fixes a retaining wall?
A reader asked our site concierge about retaining wall repair this week. That's structural work, so it goes to a general contractor with real structural and concrete scope, not a handyman: from our vetted general contractors guide, JBJ Renovations is the fit, with heavy structural, concrete, and foundation work as its lane.
Asked via the site concierge · Jul 10
04 · One vetted pick
Best storefront for lockouts and rekeys · DCWP license active · from our locksmiths guide
A real storefront at 672 4th Avenue on the Greenwood side of the Slope, not a call-center listing with a borrowed address: lockouts, rekeys, lock changes, key duplication down to hard-to-find blanks, and automotive keys cut and programmed. Proprietor Miguel Sang's DCWP locksmith license (#0794753-DCA) is active through May 2027; we checked. Skip them for enterprise access control or a big building's master-key system; that's Paragon's lane in the guide.
July is peak moving season, and the first job in a new place is making the old keys useless. This week's pick is from our locksmiths guide: every shop on it traces to a currently-active NYC DCWP locksmith license, and nobody paid to be there.
See the pick →05 · The calendar
Sat Jul 18 · 7:30pm ET · Prospect Park · Ticketed benefit
Royel Otis: a benefit at the bandshell
The Australian indie-pop duo headlines a ticketed benefit supporting Celebrate Brooklyn's free programming, with Chicago's Ax and the Hatchetmen opening.
Sun Jul 19 · 12pm ET · Prospect Park Carousel
National Ice Cream Day at the Carousel
The Carousel leans into National Ice Cream Day on Sunday afternoon. Bring the kids; the horses have seen stickier.
Sat Jul 18 · 10am ET · Green-Wood Cemetery, 500 25th St
America250 trolley tour at Green-Wood
Green-Wood's Fourth of July trolley tour rolls the America250 theme through the cemetery's revolutionary-era grounds.
Mon Jul 20 · 7:30pm ET · The Bell House, 149 7th St, Gowanus · Ticketed
Stephen Colbert's Late Show writers step out from behind the desk for a night of comedy of their own at the Bell House.
Sat Jul 18 · 12pm ET · Prospect Park
Accessible Art Tour for Disability Pride Month
An accessible art tour through the park, part of Disability Pride Month programming.