N16mag.com along with N16 Magazine were invited by Hackney Council on 22 January to take photographs of the interior of the splendidly redecorated and refurbished Stoke Newington Town Hall and Assembly Rooms on Church Street. On 4 February N16 Magazine interviewed Hackney Mayor Jules Pipe and Deputy Mayor Karen Alcock (picture below) about a number of local issues, including the Assembly Rooms and Town Hall, and the interview will be published in the next issue of the magazine, available across Stoke Newington and neighbouring areas on 25 March.

From the beautifully restored Council Chamber, through to the magnificent atmospheric space of the Assembly Rooms, the sheer craftsmanship and intricacy of everything from the Art Deco furnishings, ceilings and flooring to the doors, lights and windows,as well as the original wall clocks, can only be described as spectacular. It is now open to the public. It's well worth a visit, so get there as soon as you can.

Click on the image below for more info and exclusive images.

MORE PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE INTERIOR >

Between 27 and 30 January, the Town Hall and Assembly Rooms re-development hosted 'Reveal', a celebration of some of the best and brightest in Hackney to celebrate the re-opening of this amazing building.

On Wednesday 27, the architects Hawkins Brown described the building's restoration. On Thursday, the Health in Hackney Fair presented all you need to know about health and well-being in Hackney, while the same evening featured Foot Prints with young musician Richard Walters and friends on strings, guitar and piano. On Friday there was a free tea dance (for 'older people' they say on the Council website - what is wrong with younger people drinking tea and dancing? Stereotypes are really unhelpful and offensive. Once we're past 25, we are all more or less the same age). Refreshments were provided between1pm and 4pm in the Assembly Hall. In the evening, fab local music promoters Blow the Fuse hosted a free jazz and soul party and dance, featuring Stokey jazz guitar supremo Deirdre Cartwright's band Electric Landladies (see Electric Landladies story above).

On Saturday, the Seeds of Change exhibition asked how we secure a sustainable future? What, in Hackney? Well, I suppose we had better make an effort. The Studio Upstairs exhibition was a free exhibition showcasing the work of an arts community based in Dalston Culture House.

Nice to see the Assembly Rooms - and the Town Hall Chamber - back in action again.

Hackney Council is now taking bookings for the Grade II listed, Art Deco Assembly Rooms, for music, dancing, performance, parties and receptions of all sorts. There will be room for 550 people standing, plus a balcony for another 100 people and a bar. This is great news for the area, and provides us with a major venue at last. A longer article on the Assembly Rooms appears on page 3 of issue 43 of N16 Magazine.

For more info contact the Council on 020 8356 5505. All photographs by David Green (www.davidxgreen.com).