Ponsonby News

18/02/2025

It’s pub quiz night at your new Grey Lynn local, The Surrey Pub, every Wednesday 7pm – 9pm. First night Wednesday 26 February 2025.

Test your Trivia knowledge and enjoy some delicious kai and refreshing beverages.

Free entry
Register your team on the night
Prizes!

The Surrey Pub
465 Great North Road
Grey Lynn

15/02/2025

Rainbow Pride Parade Ponsonby 15/2/25 - great parade and the weather was ok for most of the time.
#

15/02/2025

See you at 7.30pm tonight

14/02/2025

It’s on again - today’s rainbow pride parade - the fun starts at 7.30pm and the weather looks good. Pictured with me are our friends Lance and Charlie from last year’s event. See you on the strip.

14/02/2025

As seen outside the Ponsonby Community Centre…as the Beatles once sang ‘love is all you need’… we couldn’t agree more

14/02/2025

ANZ hijacks Valentine’s Day with Love Stinks pop-up to expose romance scams

This Valentine’s Day, ANZ Bank New Zealand (ANZ) has specially created ‘Scammers Blooms’ to serve as a pungent reminder that, when it comes to love, things might not be as they seem.

What might appear beautiful on the surface could be rotten underneath - much like a romance scam.

The one-day only ‘Love Stinks’ pop-up flower shop in Ponsonby Central, is giving away flowers with an unexpectedly unpleasant fishy scent; designed to leave an unforgettable impression and to shine a light on romance scams.

In the past year alone, Payments NZ reported an overall loss from New Zealanders of $194.2 million due to romance and relationship scams and fraud . A serious issue in New Zealand, ANZ sees around three cases of customer loss a week from romance or friendship scams. But the real figure is likely higher.

“Romance scams do not discriminate.

They impact all age groups and genders, and often victims are too embarrassed to come forward. At ANZ, we wanted to break down the barriers and encourage Kiwis to talk more openly about this insidious crime — how easy it is to be duped. It’s important we raise awareness around what to look out for and what to do,” says Alan Thomsen, ANZ’s Head of Customer Protection.

Visitors to the Love Stinks shop will learn how to spot the red flags of romance scams early. A creative Valentine’s Day card delivers practical tips on safeguarding themselves and their loved ones from fraudsters who prey on trust and vulnerability. Just as a bad smell lingers, the impact of falling for a romance scam can have lasting consequences.

These scams typically start on social media or dating apps, where fraudsters craft fake relationships, manipulate emotions, and ultimately convince victims to send money. A key challenge is that victims are often manipulated into trusting the scammer completely, making it difficult for family members and banks to detect the fraud early on.

New data from ANZ reveals the extent of romance scams in New Zealand:
● Over 95% of romance scams begin online, often on social media platforms.
● Scammers don’t discriminate, targeting Kiwis of all ages.
● Victims are evenly split between men and women.
● ANZ sees around three cases a week where customers have suffered financial loss from a romance or friendship scam.
● For romance and relationship scams the average customer loss is around $13,500 compared to $2,500 for other types of financial scam.

“Romance scams can be hard to spot, and fraudsters are calculated and use psychological tactics to build trust before striking,” says Alan Thomsen, ANZ’s Head of Customer Protection. “The ‘Love Stinks’ pop-up is a way to hijack people’s attention on a day about love and spark important conversations about how Kiwis can identify and protect themselves from these scams.”
ANZ urges Kiwis to recognise the tell-tale signs of a romance or friendship scam:
● Emotional manipulation: Fraudsters often declare love quickly, creating a false sense of trust while isolating victims from friends, family, and even their bank.
● Avoiding in-person meetings: Romance scammers make excuses to avoid meeting face-to-face or video chatting.
● Requests for money: Scammers fabricate emergencies or personal crises to convince victims to send funds. Never send money to someone you haven’t met in person.

Doing these things can help protect you from romance or friendship scams:
● Keep personal information and photos private to avoid extortion.
● Do your research — use reverse image searches to identify copied or manipulated pictures or check for recently opened social media profiles.
● Use Confirmation of Payee to check the name of who you intend to pay paying matches the account name.
“This Valentine’s Day, ANZ’s looking to help protect more Kiwis from heartbreak and financial loss,” says Thomsen.
To learn more about romance scams and how to protect yourself, visit ANZ’s scam safety page: https://www.anz.co.nz/banking-with-anz/banking-safely/recognise-scams-fraud/types-scams/romance-scam/

14/02/2025

Flexible work spaces in the heart of Ponsonby...

Join the vibrant Bizdojo community in the heart of Ponsonby and connect with a global network of over 3,000 locations in 120 countries!

Enjoy flexible work options, collaborate with like-minded individuals, and thrive in a space designed to fuel your success.

Reach out to Binh at [email protected] or text 027 426 2256 to have a trial day and level up your workspace in 2025.

12/02/2025

Auckland Transport plan to disregard past public consultation in 2018 when 3400 locals signed a petition so we need to say NO again.
Say: NO TO SURREY CRESCENT ‘IMPROVEMENTS’
NO CYCLEWAY NECESSARY
Email - [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected]

The planned, unnecessary cycleway from the Grey Lynn Village end is:
> Surrey Crescent alongside the kerb, pushing parking out into the narrowed road.
> moves to the footpath, both sides, at the crossing by St Columba Church
> Old Mill Road moves to the berm (Speedway side)
at the Bullock Track & stays on the footpath (northern side)
> stops just after the Old Mill / Garnet Road roundabout in the reconfiguration we objected to.
> It's a prelude for Garnet Road 'blood sandwich' to link to the badly designed Meola/Garnet roundabout.

To see what the plan is outside your home: https://haveyoursay.at.govt.nz/97322/widgets/452508/documents/299878

For more information read this article in the Ponsonby News https://ponsonbynews.co.nz/blogs/news/at-is-resurrecting-grey-lynn-blood-sandwich

10/02/2025

Those nice people at Woolworths just dropped off an early Valentine’s Day present for us - who doesn’t love tomatoes, basil (Fawlty) and spaghetti? Feeling the love ❤️ 😍🙏 that’s dinner sorted x

10/02/2025

Hey style lovers... New season stock from top New Zealand, Australian, and international designers in sizes 14+ is arriving now.

“Our lovely fashion gurus Julia, Jahna, and Bea can't wait to welcome you at their Newmarket store, 22 Morrow Street.”

07/02/2025

whirlpool bath is coming to Ponsonby in the old space once occupied by SPQR. 🙏😍🙏😍

07/02/2025

A must see for Beatles’ lovers…

03/02/2025

Want to be notified when the next issue of Ponsonby News goes live? Email me [email protected] you will be added to our ENews list.

03/02/2025

Our new issue is now published. We hope you like it...this is our digital format - we are updating our website and are fully online - let us know what you think and please sign up for our EDMs.

https://issuu.com/ponsonbynews/docs/ponsonby_news_february_2025

Ponsonby. Anyone not heard of us. We are Auckland's most talked about part of town. Email us to be placed on our email EMag list. [email protected]

29/01/2025

Te Rimutahi – Ponsonby Civic space, February 2025 Update

Happy New Year 2025 to you all!
And what a great year it is going to be with Te Rimutahi due for completion in May this year. The Community-Led Design Group is delighted and extremely grateful to mana whenua who have generously gifted the name Te Rimutahi. The Waitematā Local Board formally received this taonga at their business meeting on 10 December 2024. We thank mana whenua and acknowledge their tāria te wā and kaitiakitanga (long-term thinking and guardianship) of the project. Ngā mihi nui.

Cassidy Construction’s team restarted work on-site in early January. Under the retained canopy roof, foundations are being installed to lay the wooden floor within the precast concrete edges that are already in place. This space will become the Urban Canopy and it will provide an all-weather area for markets, performances, events, and so on. Universal access has been included in the design of this raised area, with a precast concrete 1:12 accessible ramp leading up from Ponsonby Road. All the spaces of Te Rimutahi have been designed to be accessible.

The steelwork of the Green Discovery Room, the Pergola structure (parallel to the Dizengoff Cafe wall), and the wall itself are being painted and the tiles laid. The Pergola will have a long timber bench seat fixed to the structure with planter boxes behind. The selected plants in these planters, with the support of steel lattice wires, will green and soften the perimeter wall.
The steel planters are in place and the precast linear bleacher seats and retaining garden levels, are now mostly all in situ with the Green Room area at the (western) rear of the site, formed. Te Rimutahi is taking shape with a generous layout and enough space to accommodate multiple activities, concurrently.
Bravo!

At the time of writing the roadworks and street improvements, to ensure accessing Te Rimutahi is safe and easy, are planned to take place from Monday 20 January.
Stage 1 (Southern side) 20 Jan – 10 Feb
Stage 2 (Northern side) 17 Feb – 24 March.
This work involves the construction of a raised pedestrian crossing and the Ponsonby Road pavement improvement work.

So get excited!
This previously unloved and dilapidated site is being transformed into a beautiful and multi-functional civic space. Te Rimutahi will be the common ground that enables everyone to come together; to rest, relax and recreate. A place to meet new people or catch up with old friends, to enjoy some of the many activities, exhibitions & markets that the space will be able to host. These are the very things that build and nurture community and it is why Te Rimutahi is exactly the infrastructure and amenity the community has reliably and consistently shown that they want and need here. The development of Te Rimutahi will create a new focus for the neighbourhood and will be an attractor to the Ponsonby area, which will support our local businesses.

Te Rimutahi will be an urban oasis that will be good for the people, good for the environment, and good for Tāmaki Makaurau.

Future generations will enjoy the shade of the trees we are planting here. Bring it on!

For more information or to contact the Community-Led Design Group, please see our website: 254ponsonbyrd.org.nz or our pages; Ponsonby Park, or 254 Ponsonby Road.

26/01/2025

First look at some of the things on offer at our Garage Sale on Sat Feb 1st!
8:30am - 1pm
Ponsonby Community Centre 20 Ponsonby Terrace

23/01/2025

Lost Cat - Herne Bay

Chico has been lost in Shelly Beach Road. His owner is desperate to get the little man back.

He's clearly a bit of a character and strolls into neighbours for a chat and will then appear in someone's room window.

As his owner says, "He helps Sheryl with the apartment gardening, was forever sneaking into the basement garage to sit on all the cars and Adrian & Frankie still talk about the day Chico gave them his sunshine because they'd lost theirs. Chico is a good neighbour if he respects you."

His owner is desperate to get him back. Please call Amanda on 021 726 729.