RED HOOK — Searing temperatures this summer have shattered heat records and sent New Yorkers scrambling for air-conditioning.
The next heat wave is just around the corner. So, DNAinfo New York compiled a list of the best places in Sunset Park and Red Hook to take shelter and cool off inside.
Pin Your Friends at Melody Lanes
Do your best Lebowski impression at Melody Lanes in Sunset Park, which offers open bowling seven days a week. Games cost between $6.50 and $8.50 depending on the day and time, and shoe rentals cost $4. Check out the alley's arcade, which includes driving, shooting and prize games. Melody Lanes also hosts leagues, parties and a youth program that offers a free game of bowling every day all year for just $20. To learn more or view the alley's open-bowl schedule, visit the Melody Lanes website.
Melody Lanes. 461 37th St. in Sunset Park. 718-832-2695. www.melodylanesny.com.
Unload at the Bay Ridge Rod and Gun Club
Let off some steam at this indoor shooting range on Fort Hamilton Parkway, which is open seven days a week. Currently employed lawmen such as cops and FBI agents can shoot anytime with a valid ID, but civilians must have a New York City pistol permit, which can only be obtained in person at 1 Police Plaza. The gun club hosts group events and offers a youth marksmanship program for children ages 12 through 17. Visit the club's website for schedule information and more.
Bay Ridge Rod and Gun Club. 6716 Fort Hamilton Pkwy in Bay Ridge. 718-745-1067. www.gusports.com.
Take the Fight Inside
Learn how to stay cool in the face of danger — or simply let your kids loose — at one of four boxing and martial-arts gyms around Sunset Park and Red Hook:
- Sunset Park Martial Arts at 4410 Fourth Ave. has taught karate, judo and jiu-jitsu to children and adults for more than 40 years. Classes are held at night Monday through Thursday, and during the day on Saturdays and Sundays. To learn more, visit the studio's website.
- AmeriKick operates a pair of studios in Sunset Park and Park Slope that teach karate for kids and both karate and mixed-martial arts for adults. Classes are held Monday through Saturday. Check out AmeriKick's website for more.
- Ardon Sweet Science Gym is a no-frills boxing gym at 861 Fourth Ave. in Sunset Park. The gym earned a write-up in the New York Times in 2009, and its owner, Greg Ardon, reportedly trained Hilary Swank for her role as a boxer in "Million Dollar Baby."
- If cardio's more your thing, check out CKO Kickboxing's Carroll Gardens location at 562 Court St. The studio offers classes and one-on-one personal training with workouts that emphasize punching and kicking the heavy bags. For the schedule or to learn more, visit the CKO Carroll Gardens website.
Swing for the Fences
Take batting practice at the Brooklyn Sports and Party Center, which has batting cages, a live hitting and pitching tunnel, and baseball clinics plus a basketball court and large arcade boasting more than 40 games.
Brooklyn Sports and Party Center. 800 Third Ave. in Sunset Park. 718-965-0004. www.3rdavenuesportscenter.com.
Bring Your Game to the Next Level
Give your thumbs a workout at Next Level Arcade at 4013 Eighth Ave. in Sunset Park. This videogame emporium has console games on Xbox and Playstation, plus traditional fan-favorite button-mashers on arcade-style upright machines. The arcade is open until 3 a.m. Friday, and until midnight every other night of the week. Game prices vary.
Next Level Arcade. 4013 Eighth Ave. in Sunset Park. 347-618-8813. www.nycnextlevel.com.
Bar Games
For those who like their games with beer, these bars in Red Hook and Sunset Park offer a wide variety of pub games, from foosball and billiards to board games and pinball. Check each bar's website for more information:
- Bar 718 at 718 Fifth Ave. in Sunset Park
- Botanica at 220 Conover St. in Red Hook
- Brooklyn Ice House at 318 Van Brunt St. in Red Hook
- Mary's Bar at 708 Fifth Ave. in Sunset Park
- Rocky Sullivan's at 34 Van Dyke St. in Red Hook
- Sunny's Bar at 253 Conover St. in Red Hook
Museums and Galleries
From authentic Inuit art imported from the Arctic Circle, to traditional Mexican folk art, Red Hook hosts a vibrant waterfront art colony. Here's a selection of the art spaces that will be open this summer:
- The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists' Coalition gallery space in Red Hook is open to the public every weekend from 1 to 6 p.m. BWAC has installed works in East River State Park in Williamsburg for the organization's 30th annual Outdoor Sculpture Show. Visit the BWAC website to learn more.
- Look North Gallery in Red Hook showcases Inuit art hand-crafted in Greenland and northern Canada. The gallery, temporarily closed for summer vacation, reopens July 20.
- Through July 22, the Kentler International Drawing Space in Red Hook will exhibit "Uncovered: Prints. Selections from the Kentler Flatfiles." The gallery is open Thursday through Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m.
- Metal and Thread in Red Hook promotes local artists' works that show "the hand in an object," such as the "awkwardness of a stitch that is slightly crooked" or "a weld on an iron shelf that lets you see a bit of the person who made it," according to the gallery's website. The gallery is open from noon to "six-ish" everyday except Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Shopping and Swedish Meatballs
If all else fails, there's always Ikea in Red Hook, open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Browse the wares, try the meatballs, ride the free ferry to Manhattan, and recline in industrial-sized air conditioning on the superstore's display sofas, beds and loveseats — all without the hassle of having to assemble anything yourself.
Ikea. 1 Beard St. in Red Hook. 718-246-4532. www.ikea.com
