Bushwick’s Troutman Street becomes hub of nightlife, culture

From left: 442 Troutman Street and the Bushwick Collective at Troutman Street and Saint Nicholas Avenue
From left: 442 Troutman Street and the Bushwick Collective at Troutman Street and Saint Nicholas Avenue

An industrial Bushwick strip is quickly transforming into a hub of nightlife and culture with the addition of a music hall, lounge, urban garden and high-end pizzeria.

Hot on the heels of the two-week-old Rookery bar, four-month-old A.P. Cafe and oldtimer Bodega wine bar, the transforming sretch of Troutman Street between Wyckoff and St. Nicholas avenues is also playing host to Ben Stiller’s latest movie set.

The bustling, newfound popularity of the block, area entrepreneurs told the New York Daily News, is bringing locals both a sense of camaraderie and a financial boost.

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“It’s a movement. We’re not competing because you can only help the other businesses,” Ramon Moralejo, who is opening a bar-lounge called Lot 45 with a 2,500-square-foot urban garden for outdoor drinking come October, told the Daily News. “There are no residences where you could cause a nuisance. It offers a small section where you can create a social environment.”

Only two doors down, Giorgio Voglino plans to open a yet unnamed pizzeria and music venue in a few weeks, and a music hall is to open across the street. Owner Charles Kaim also owns Maracuja bar in Williamsburg.

“We’re all taking a risk on a place in its infancy, but with risk you see what’s happening,” Moralejo told the Daily News. [NYDN]Julie Strickland