Friday night was no ordinary party in Brooklyn--with Potluckers in the lead, a subway car full of whooping kids traded in hipster wear for flapper costumes, cigarettes for party blowers, and Williamsburg for Brighton Beach.

The rendezvous was no exception to Potluck (aka Symposium) House's tradition of random revelry. Previous subway takeovers by Columbia's special interest housing group featured a Dalmatian costume, a run-in with the NYPD, and a group of sailors looking for kicks on their last night before departure. (The Facebook event reminded invitees "not to bring anything that will get you arrested!").

Tomorrow kicks off Memorial Day weekend, and the city is likely to fill up with tourists while New York locals try to skip town anyway—and anywhere—they can. Bwog's doing our part to help you out by suggesting a few public transportation-friendly, relatively close beaches.

Beach: Belmar Beach, NJ
How to Get There: Take the NJ Transit New Jersey North Jersey Coast Line from Penn Station. The train stops at Belmar, but it's about a fifteen to twenty minute walk through Victorian-style neighborhoods to the beach from the train station.
Duration of Transit: 1.5 - 2 hours
Dining Options: Ice cream, hot dogs, chicken fingers and the like are available right on the beach. For dinner, go to Klein's Seafood Market. It's right on the water, and though the live music features mostly poorly-performed reggae-influenced classic rock covers, it's bearable when you sit outside by the wharf. The seafood is fresh and delicious, and priced fairly reasonably.
What's To Do: There's not too much to do in the way of boardwalk activities, so bring a book and an iPod. There's a gift shop or two that sell clothing, sunblock, and waterproof cameras, but that's about it. In terms of swimming, the water's still fairly cold, so bring accessories for non-aquatic fun like Frisbees or cigarettes/flasks.
Fellow Beach Patron Hook-Up Potential: The crowd was mostly older (40-year-olds with their children) and native Jersey high-schoolers. So, not very high, unless that's your bag.
Unofficial Bruce Springsteen Song: "Kitty's Back"

Free food, free beer, and political pep talks. The Bwog got a summer job working for the New York City Council, and is squeezing it for all it's worth.

A couple of Columbia alumnae are planning a fundraiser for Councilman Eric Gioia, who is running for New York Public Advocate. It's at Water Taxi Beach, a dance venue by night and a beach-with-bar by day. You can wriggle your toes in the finest imported white sand, take in the view of Manhattan, and consider whether to make a contribution.

5-8pm, Wednesday, July 11th.

Directions:
Subway: take the 7 train to Vernon/Jackson and walk on 50th Avenue towards Manhattan. Turn left onto 2nd Street and continue to Borden Avenue, even with the Waterfront Crabhouse. Turn right towards the waterfront, and you are there.
Water taxi: find the pier on the East River at 34th Street, and catch a water taxi at 4:47, 5:39, or 6:32.

RSVP (to make sure there will be enough freebies) to:
misslindseysummers@gmail.com

If only they had a Slip n' Slide...

The College Republicans held a global warming beach party on the lawn to the east of the steps today to protest the recent screenings on campus of the Al Gore film "An Inconvenient Truth".

In an email, Chris Kulawik described the mission of the party: While global warming poses a great debate for our generation, a majority of Republicans would disagree with the Columbia administration; they do not believe Al Gore is the sane, realist voice capable of presenting an unbiased account of the issue at hand.

Continued after the jump...