Three cars were impacted by the tree: The one closest to the downed trunk was apparently illegally parked (and seems to have suffered little to no damage), while one on the far side had its back windshield smashed.

As of 9 a.m. Thursday, no crews had yet come to start clearing the debris. The tree—which still had plenty of green leaves—was anchored against the edge of 33 Remsen Street; the building appears to be a-okay, although the scene where it uprooted is one dramatic eye-popping sight. More pics below.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/51578

This dispatch from a BHB reader:

A large tree just came down at approximately 9:50pm this evening on Remsen Street. It was growing right alongside the building at 33 Remsen and fell across the road on top of at least three cars, with one parked in front of 34 Remsen taking the brunt. A firefighter is already on the scene with a chainsaw at 10:05pm. The tree still had most of it’s leaves and, weighed down by the wet snow, it came down in a gust of wind. The root ball doesn’t appear to have damaged 33 Remsen, which is amazing given how close to the building it was growing.

DEVELOPING… Larger photo after the jump:

Tree down on Remsen Street. Photo by BHB Reader Matt

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/51567

Filming for feature flick “Delivery Man” will take place near and along the Promenade on Tuesday, October 23. The NYPD Tow Unit will begin removing all vehicles at 10 p.m. tonight, Monday, October 22. The specifics: both sides of Montague Terrace between Remsen Street and Montague Street; and both sides of Pierrepont Place between Pierrepont Street and Montague Street.

The movie: “533 Kids Productions will be shooting a feature film during Fall & Winter 2012, centering on a middle-aged man whose life is turned upside down when he learns he has fathered 533 children through sperm donation. When a few hundred of the children express an irrepressible need to meet their father, he must decide whether to step up and reveal his identity.”

For questions or concerns regarding the shoot, call 533′s Location Department at 646-513-2360.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/49557

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/49306

Following Tuesday’s BHB post about Brooklyn Heights being potentially overtaken by a multitude of film shoots, there was certainly plenty of ongoing action we witnessed along Montague Street, the Promenade, Montague Terrace, Pierrepont Place and Remsen Street on Wednesday and Thursday. It’s a red cone zone, for sure—along with associated mammoth vehicles taking up gobs of parking spaces and humming like a herd of Fresh Direct trucks. More pics below. (Photos: Chuck Taylor)

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/49175

And we thought it was just us. A few weeks ago some thug stole our hubcaps from our car parked on Columbia Heights. Add that to the random cars we’ve seen on blocks around the area and this reader dispatch to what appears to be a War on Cars in Brooklyn Heights:

Remsen Street tires slashed! My girlfriend moved my car today, only to find it had a slashed tire. She then walked up and down the block (near the corner of Remsen and Hicks) and found that 4-5 other cars had slashed tires.

Unbelievable!

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/48987

The New York Foundation for the Arts’ (NYFA) International Composers Exchange is offering composers from different nations artist-in-residency opportunities in New York to advance their careers through seminars, creative exchanges and performances. On Saturday, October 13 at 8 p.m., five Dutch and New York acts will collaborate in concert at Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral, 113 Remsen Street in Brooklyn Heights. Tickets are $15, or $12 for members and students.

The performance concludes the first International Composers Exchange, in which the five Netherlands artists worked in residence with some of NYC’s “most dynamic young ensembles and artistic institutions. The concert presents the result of this international collaborative work, with a great variety of styles and media, ranging from jazz to chamber music to video installation,” according to the organization.

The October 13 ensemble will showcase the world premiere of a new work by Michael Edward Edgerton, a leading specialist of extended vocal techniques, as well as a piece by composer and NYFA scholar Eve Beglarian, who will soon be heading to the Netherlands as part of the second round of the International Composers Exchange.

Featured artists include: Sander Breure, Witte van Hulzen, Mise-En Ensemble (dir. Moon-Young Ha), Jeremiah Runnels, Ekmeles Ensemble (dir. Jeffrey Gavett), Thanasis Deligiannis, Eve Beglarian, Michael Edward Edgerton and Yedo Gibson. See their bios here.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/48804

Update: Following last evening’s hearing, a majority of the Community Board 2 Land Use Committee voted to approve the new owner’s request for a variance to re-convert the Bossert to transient hotel use. The matter will now go to the full Community Board for consideration. We’ll keep you posted.

David Bistricer, buyer of the Bossert Hotel, was on hand for this evening’s hearing before Community Board 2′s Land Use Committee on his application for a variance to reconvert the grande dame of Montague to a “transient hotel.” While he didn’t speak, his attorney and several consultants offered these assurances: (1) it will be a hotel–indeed, a “sophisticated and upscale” (but not too upscale) hotel–not a dorm; (2) the beautiful lobby won’t be altered, but will become home to a first-class restaurant; (3) there will also be dining on the roof, but it will be very quiet; and (4) their studies of likely increases in traffic from guests arriving by taxi, limo or private car (they have an arrangement with Quick Park for valet parking service) and from delivery trucks indicate that the impact, compared with present conditions under Watchtower ownership, is not “significant.”

So, who liked it? The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, citing, among other things, the new owner’s “commitment to local hiring”; Glenn Markman, co-owner of Heights Cafe and soon-to-open Della Rocco’s, who said it will attract more business and perhaps more people to move to the Heights; Karen Johnson (who discovered she had a namesake in the audience), who “feels confident it will be done correctly”; the Montague Street BID, whose Executive Director, Brigit Pinnell, said the real comparison to be made was with alternative uses for the building, which include a dorm, a social services facility, or medical offices; and Borough President Marty Markowitz, whose spokeswoman said it will “help Downtown Brooklyn’s business community to thrive.”

Who had doubts? Brooklyn Heights Association Executive Director Judy Stanton asked what controls are in place to assure that this will be, and remain, a first class hotel. Consultant Jeff Klein said that the design, level of service, and room rates should do the trick. Ms. Stanton then noted that if the projections were wrong, there could be a large increase in taxi traffic. She also said she was concerned about guests arriving by private car; in particular, that they might have to wait in idling cars for valet service. Spokesmen for the buyer said that the assumptions made in the environmental assessment were “very conservative”, and that guests reserving rooms would be asked if they planned to arrive by private car, so that valet service could be scheduled to meet them.

Other cautionary messages came, unsurprisingly, from people living in the Bossert’s immediate vicinity. Several people from 200 Hicks Street expressed concerns. Richard F. Ziegler said the planned re-conversion “could be an asset [to the neighborhood] or an absolute devastating nightmare.” He found the statements made by the buyer’s attorney and consultants “confusing,” and said the residents of 200 Hicks had retained “high priced counsel” to represent their interests in the variance proceedings. Gretchen Dykstra, former City Commissioner of Consumer Affairs, expressed great concern about the rooftop lounge and dining area. She noted that a rooftop lounge at the Empire Hotel, also owned by Mr. Bistricer’s company, had become a venue for parties with DJs and loud music that went late into the night. When local residents complained, they were told that the owner wasn’t responsible; the space was leased to the organization[s] giving the parties. Kay Desai said more information was needed, and her husband, Rohit Desai, sternly warned Committee members that their failure to demand such information could be in violation of law.

Other neighbors with cautionary messages were David Green and Nils Larson, both Remsen Street residents. Mr. Green noted that the valet parking operation would result in an increase in traffic on Remsen because cars being taken from the hotel to Quick Park would have to go that way. Mr. Larson, a recent high school graduate, said he had grown up in Brooklyn Heights and always loved the neighborhood’s serenity. He has two much younger brothers who, because the local streets are safe, are able to walk to school and to squash lessons. He fears that the increase in traffic generated by the hotel may end that.

Photo: Brownstoner.

Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/42752