Archives

Brooklyn Heights, Events

Bird Buffs Gather At BBP This Saturday, June 30

June 27, 2012

This Saturday, June 30, Audubon New York aficionados will guide “birders” and bird enthusiasts on a walk through Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 1. The educators will teach attendees how to spot and identify common and popular NYC feathered friends. The event takes place from 10-11 a.m., and is free to all enthusiasts. More information is here. A second bird-watching tour will gather Saturday, August 18.

Last year, BHB’s Claude Scales went on a similar bird tour of Pier 1; his report, with photos, is here.


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/43059

From the Web

Open Thread Wednesday: June 27, 2012

June 27, 2012

Well, hot dog! It’s another Open Thread Wednesday. What’s cooking in your mind that you can’t wait to share with your Brooklyn Heights Blog brothers and sisters? (Photo: Chuck Taylor)


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/43031

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Food

Starbucks Deems Fulton Street Mall a Worthy New Locale

June 27, 2012

While it’s certainly no problem getting a morning java fix in Brooklyn Heights, a new Starbucks is coming to Fulton Mall, at 348 Fulton Street, next to Bank of America and across from Shake Shack. Obviously, the ubiquitous chain is demonstrating belief in the rapidly gentrifying Downtown Brooklyn nabe.

In May, the Heights’ Bucks relocated to 134 Montague Street from its former location at 112 Montague. Meanwhile, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports that the new location has posted signage and appears to be nearly ready to open inside. It’s located in a one-story building that most recently was home to men’s clothing store Porta Bella, and has 1,334 square feet of floor space.

Already over the past month or so, the area’s onetime primary shopping mecca has welcomed the Gap Factory Store, with Century 21, TJ Maxx, H&M and the massive multi-use City Point on the way.

(Photo: McBrooklyn)


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/43022

From the Web

Nydia Velasquez Over Ben and Jerry’s

June 27, 2012

CHB reader “Stephen” sends us this dispatch and photo regarding Tuesday’s primary:

Walking to work this morning I saw this (attached) and it made me wonder why Nydia feels she is above all others (club promoters, musicians, artists, etc) who get fined and/or arrested for posting bills. Isn’t this a form of vandalism? Post No Bills?

Just thought this would be an interesting point of conversation. I wonder what Nydia’s take on vandalism is.


Source: Cobble Hill Blog
http://cobblehillblog.com/archives/7436

From the Web

Arts and Entertainment

In Other News: Coney Island Mermaid Parade

June 25, 2012

The Brooklyn Bugle looks at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade through the eyes of photographer Tim Schreier as well as the “Twittersphere”.  Check it out here.


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42972

From the Web

Real Estate

Movie Production Assistant Escapes the Lower East Side for Brooklyn Heights

June 25, 2012

Real estate blog Brick Underground reports this week about “Kathryn” a Seattle transplant who moved to the Big Apple to pursue a career in the movie business.  Initially landing here on the Lower East Side, she quickly found that her work schedule didn’t mesh too well with the 24/7 Snookification of the area. “At any given hour, I could walk less than a block to anything from a speakeasy to meeting “Jersey Shore” wannabe’s at a bridge-and-tunnel bar.”  She adds, “At 5 am, I wasn’t drunkenly balancing between my high heels and my friends. I was fighting those exact drunk people for a cab to get to movie sets.”

Quicker than you can say “non-starter” Kathryn found a share on Montague Street and happiness here in Brooklyn Heights (with the caveat that Crumbs doesn’t hold a candle to LES hot spot Sugar Sweet Sunshine).  She makes note of something WE should try sometime, “Brooklyn Heights is convenient, but my absolute favorite has to be that I can call Lucali’s Pizza and during the time it takes to pick up some wine and walk to Carroll Gardens, they’ll usually have a table ready and waiting for me.”


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42965

From the Web

Food

Post Piles on Brooklyn Heights Hot Dog Vendor Bender

June 25, 2012

BHB pal/NY Post scribe Kate Briquelet takes Chuck Taylor’s BHB post about the hot dog vendor who dared to set up shop on Montague Terrace to a wider audience today in the tabloid’s online and print editions. (Editor’s note: The Brooklyn Eagle reports that the vendor – or any vendors – are not permitted by law in that vicinity, making his ouster less a function of calls to 311 and blog comments and more of NYC laws.  A city document cited by the paper clearly states that vendors are not permitted anywhere on Montague Street between Court and the Promenade.)

Montague Street Hot Dog Dude relishes his ephemeral moments in Brooklyn Heights. (Photo: Chuck Taylor)

NY Post: Every hot dog has its day — except in Brooklyn Heights.

Snooty weenie meanies scared off a new hot dog vendor after he’d done only a few hours of business, slamming his street meat as “disgusting food.”
The brave cart-pusher parked on Montague Street near the promenade at 10:30 a.m. last Saturday. By that afternoon, so many locals had called the cops that an officer gave him a ticket and shooed him away.
“He was a nice young man trying to make a living, but in this neighborhood everything is a protest,” said a longtime resident who watched the scene unfold from Montague Terrace.

“He said something like, ‘Well, this is life.’ He packed up his belongings and left.”
He hasn’t been back — but days later, anonymous neighborhood residents were still spewing their venom against him on the Brooklyn Heights Blog.

The piece goes on to quote many of the 60 comments made on the story here  focusing on those who went hog wild on the intrepid (or clueless?) vendor.  As of press time, no comments have been made on the Post’s story.

However what we’re really concerned about is – ahem – BHB’s close-up:

Chuck Taylor, a blog correspondent who welcomed the vendor in a controversial online post, couldn’t believe the piping hot reaction.
After all, the Heights hasn’t seen a street vendor at the end of Montague Street for years.

“People need to step back and realize nobody owns a New York City neighborhood,” said Taylor, a 12-year resident of the Heights. “It is to be shared by all who call it home and all who visit.”

“If something so minuscule as a hot dog vendor raises the ire of the neighborhood, that’s what I’d call snobbery.”

Mohamed Hmidat, who owns the permit for the cart, but doesn’t sell franks himself, said his employee will steer clear of the neighborhood.

“If they don’t want him there, they don’t want him there,” Hmidat said. “He’ll just find a new spot.”


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42954

From the Web

Events

Coney Island Boobies: The Mermaid Parade 2012

June 24, 2012

A half million folks crowded Coney Island today for the 30th annual Mermaid Parade. The beloved march of self expression is a rite of summer in Brooklyn and this year was no exception. Check out reactions from around the Twittersphere or whatever the kids today are calling it as well as Brooklyn Bugle photos by Tim Schreier.

(Featured photo by Tim Schreier)

Created with flickr slideshow.

Brooklyn Heights Promenade Saturday Sunset Serenade

June 24, 2012

As the sun set westward, the Brooklyn Heights Promenade boasted a full house of spectators, taking in the beauty of a perfect summer day. More below the jump. (Photos: Chuck Taylor)


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42928

From the Web

Brooklyn Heights, History, Landmark Preservation

If The Bossert Indeed Becomes A Hotel Again, Here’s Your Rooftop View

June 23, 2012

During the Community Board 2 Land Use Committee hearing June 20, the Bossert was approved to return to its status as a hotel (it now goes before the full Board). Among plans that buyer David Bistricer has in mind for the newly “sophisticated and upscale” hotel are a first-class restaurant and intimate dining on the rooftop. The photo above—taken from the roof of 62 Montague Street—offers a vista of the west side showing the immensity of the 14-story Hotel Bossert, as well as the rooftop area (larger image below the jump).

The Bossert at 98 Montague Street was built in 1909 by Brooklyn lumber magnate Louis Bossert as an apartment hotel and, in fact, housed a number of the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1950s. During the 1920s, its Marine Roof offered a two-level restaurant showcasing a consummate view of Manhattan and much of Brooklyn. According to The New York Times, former presidents, mayors, governors and debutantes flocked to the restaurant, designed to look like a two-tiered promenade deck of a ship. In 1949, the Bossert’s rooftop destination closed due to disrepair.

As is well known in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood, the Jehovah’s Witnesses Watchtower Society began leasing the building in 1983 and bought it five years later. The organization restored the property to Landmarks standards, including the roof, which had collapsed, as well as its ornate 2,500sf lobby, which includes five custom chandeliers and a series of three-story marble columns (which Bistricer maintains he will not touch).

The Times article says that Jehovah’s members who have proselytized or completed international missionary work, have been eligible for up to three nights of accommodations free of charge, three meals included.
Above: The view looking west from on high…
(Photos: Chuck Taylor; lobby: New York Times; lower lobby: BHB)


Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42894

From the Web