The Park Sloper
Issue #21 · October 15, 2026
Park Slope this week: Gowanus Open Studios, Problem Baker's cookies on Fifth Avenue, and Macario heads to the East Village
Gowanus Open Studios turns 30 this weekend, and this year it spills into Park Slope: more than 90 sites, free, Saturday and Sunday afternoon. On Fifth Avenue, a cookie shop is on the way and a New Orleans restaurant just opened. And on Sunday morning you can help build the puppets for this month's Children's Halloween Parade.
Victor, founding editor
01 · This week
Problem Baker is coming to Fifth Avenue
Husband-and-wife team Bilal and Nawal Rashid are opening their second cookie shop at 473 Fifth Avenue, between 10th and 11th Streets, later this month. The first opened on Staten Island in September 2025. Expect small-batch cookies (red velvet Oreo, matcha, ube, pistachio knafa) and specialty coffee. "Nawal is the Baker. Bilal is the Problem," they told Park Slope Pulse.
Park Slope Pulse · 473 5th Ave · opening later in October
Macario is leaving Fourth Avenue for the East Village
The Guadalajara-style sandwich shop known for its lonches bañados is moving to 167 Avenue B within the next couple of weeks. Chef-owner Marshall Dean told Park Slope Walk the neighborhood "just wasn't the fit he had hoped for." If you've been meaning to go, go soon.
Park Slope Walk · 463 4th Ave at 11th St
Voodoo Queen is open on Fifth Avenue
A New Orleans-style restaurant from the team behind Bogota Latin Bistro is now open at 147 Fifth Avenue, between St. Johns and Lincoln Places.
Park Slope Pulse · 147 5th Ave
Local schools and nonprofits: the Civic Council's grants are open
The Park Slope Civic Council is taking applications for its 2027 Community Grants, $500 to $1,500 each, for a specific project or general operating costs. Schools and nonprofits serving greater Park Slope can apply through November 25. Last year the Council gave out more than $10,000.
Park Slope Civic Council · deadline Wed Nov 25
02 · Worth a visit
Sat Oct 17 and Sun Oct 18 · noon to 6pm ET · Gowanus and nearby · Free
More than 400 artists open their studios across more than 90 sites this weekend, in Gowanus and now into Park Slope and Carroll Gardens too. You can talk with the artists, see work in progress and buy directly. Some studios are in new affordable spaces created under the Gowanus rezoning. Grab the map and participant list from Arts Gowanus before you go.
03 · One vetted pick
Best established local for Park Slope · NYS DEC registration #2912 active · from our exterminators guide
The longtime local. Ecology has run since 1973 and keeps a dedicated Park Slope, Clinton Hill and Fort Greene service page, so it knows how brownstone blocks are built. Park Slope Parents reviewers call it reasonably priced, efficient and careful to avoid dangerous chemicals. For mice, it leans on low-toxic methods and Xcluder exclusion, which seals the gaps they use to get in. Skip it if you want a single-problem specialist, like a bed-bug-only firm: Ecology is a broad general exterminator.
This is the time of year mice start looking for a way inside. This pick comes from our exterminators guide, where every firm holds a New York State pesticide-business registration we confirmed in state records. Nobody paid to be there.
See the pick →04 · The calendar
Open Studios is above. Here's the rest of the weekend.
Sat Oct 17 · 10am to noon ET · Audubon Center, Prospect Park · Free
Learn to bird during fall migration
A Brooklyn Bird Club member leads a beginner's walk from the Audubon Center. All ages and experience levels, no registration, and a few loaner binoculars. Kids under 12 need an adult.
Sat Oct 17 · 2pm to 4pm ET · M.S. 51, 350 5th Ave
Kids Town Hall with State Sen. Andrew Gounardes
Students ask their state senator about the issues that matter to them, then visit a resource fair with the Brooklyn Public Library, Girl Scouts, NYU Langone's CPR basics and more. A parent or guardian is required. The BPL Bookmobile will be there, so bring a library card or sign up for one.
Sat Oct 17 · 7:30pm ET, doors 7pm · Union Hall, 702 Union St · 21+ · Tickets on Eventbrite
Chris Gethard and Dave Ross before Fest
The comedian and his friend warm up at Union Hall before heading to Fest, the Gainesville music festival they call their second home.
Sun Oct 18 · 10am to 1pm ET · Old Stone House, 336 3rd St · Free
Build puppets for the Halloween parade
White Bird runs a free, all-ages puppet workshop at the Old Stone House, making puppets for the Park Slope Children's Halloween Parade. Drop in any time in the window; there's an optional RSVP.
Sun Oct 18 · 11am to 6pm ET · Breeze Hill, Prospect Park
Smorgasburg's Diwali: Festival of Bites
Smorgasburg's Sunday market goes Diwali, with a lineup of South Asian restaurants and chefs, Diwali specials from the regular vendors, and performances through the day.