After a long shutdown, indoor dining was allowed at 25% capacity in late September 2020, only to be shut down again in December, leaving restaurants to resort to take-out, delivery, and outdoor dining only. People wondered whether outdoor dining would remain viable with winter settling in. But, as with most things, New Yorkers were underestimated.

Here was the scene along restaurant row on Henry St. on Saturday night, when the temperature was a brisk 40 degrees with a “real feel” of 37. At Henry’s End, Henry Street Ale House, Bevacco, and Noodle Pudding, there was nary an empty table outside.

At a cozy corner table at Henry’s End, Sophia Stutzer and Joel Wesley were just starting their dinner, dressed in their winter coats and hats. When asked “May I take a photo of you for the neighborhood blog?” Sophia responded, “Only on one condition… if you mention that it’s Joel’s birthday.”

It was Joel’s birthday and they had come from Prospect Heights for a celebratory dinner. The dishes on order were the chicken breast stuffed with spinach and goat cheese for Sophia, and the blackened lamb sirloin for Joel. When asked whether there was a threshold temperature that would keep them from dining outside, Sophia said, “It’s not really about the temperature, it’s about the elements, like rain, snow, and wind.” As for the birthday boy, he hadn’t expected the weather to be so windy that night, but the table-side heat lamp and canopy tent were helping to keep him comfortable.

Let’s keep it up Brooklyn Heights and support our local restaurants, whether by take-out, delivery, or dining al fresco in our cozy winter hats. -Brooklyn Heights Blog

(We’re a little late with this news, but…) Brownstone Brooklyn Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon officially threw her hat in the ring as a candidate for Borough President, making the case for herself to be the first woman to hold the office. (Simon participated in both of CPN’s Town Halls featuring our elected officials.)

“It’s time for a woman Borough President in Brooklyn. I will work with the community to bring us together and move us forward,” said Simon in a statement.

The pol has served in Albany’s lower chamber since 2015, representing the 52nd Assembly District that spans Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Gowanus, Park Slope, Vinegar Hill, and the Columbia Street Waterfront District. -The Brooklyn Paper

SimonForBrooklyn.com

One-fifth of Montague storefronts empty amid COVID crisis

The unofficial “Main Street” of New York’s first historic district should be a dream location for popular retail stores and restaurants, but the street has been plagued by vacancies for decades. Now, amid COVID-19, the bottom is falling out.

“I will not easily forget those early weeks of the COVID shutdown when we were going out once a week, and Montague Street was completely deserted,” Erika Belsey Worth, president of  the Brooklyn Heights Association, told the Brooklyn Eagle recently. Worth, an architect, moved to Montague Street with her husband and their two sons in 2001.

“As I walk down the street now, the many darkened storefronts are a reminder of that emptiness, and a warning,” Worth said. “A flourishing Montague Street is important to Brooklyn Heights, and now is a critical time to focus on both bringing it back and making it better.”

BHA has been grappling with the issue of Montague Street for years. Now the organization, in cooperation with the Montague Street Business Improvement District and others, is using this down time to develop a comprehensive plan to revitalize the neighborhood’s commercial streets once the city reopens for business. More to come. -Brooklyn Eagle

Cadman Towers Board President Toba Potosky is running for the City Council seat that will be vacated by Stephen Levin next November. He explains why he’s running on his campaign website: “I got my start in community organizing 16 years ago advocating for affordable housing. I saw too many people left out of a system that was created for them. So, I drafted a bill to increase income eligibility to include teachers, nurses, and city workers. That bill (S8501) became law in 2013. 

Just talking about affordable housing isn’t enough. I am working with city agencies to modify an existing program that will jumpstart real affordable housing opportunities for low, moderate and middle-income New Yorkers. But I’m just getting started. Our city faces immense challenges. We expect our leaders to provide us with a road map forward.  That will be my priority on day one.” Read entire statement on Toba’s official site https://www.toba2021.com

This afternoon your correspondent had to walk from his residence to the bank, which entailed going the length of Montague Street. Along the way, he snapped some photos of storefronts either emptied, about to be emptied, or, in one instance, newly occupied, since the outbreak of COVID-19. This doesn’t purport to be an exhaustive survey, but should give a feel for the extent of the pandemic’s effect. Word has it that the Ann Taylor Loft store, at the corner of Montague and Henry, is soon to be closed. Read full story: http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/92104

CPNers on the North side of the building are watching as construction has gone vertical at 30 Front Street, a 26-story mixed-use building in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Designed by Hill West Architects and developed by Fortis Property Group, the 270-foot-tall building will contain 74 apartments, averaging 2,400 square feet apiece.

Now the first two levels of the superstructure are in the process of being formed, with an extensive assembly of metal scaffolding supporting the newly constructed floors, columns, and walls. Most of the vertical activity is taking place on the eastern half of the property. The start of the ground-level core walls is also occurring, and concrete formwork can be seen in position around the center of the site with additional steel rebar sticking up above.

There will still be some time before 30 Front Street begins to gain prominence above DUMBO and the roadways that lead to and from the adjacent Manhattan Bridge. When complete, the structure will certainly stand out on the skyline, thanks to its distinctive sail-like massing as seen in the preliminary rendering posted on the construction fence. According to permits, 177,900 of the building’s 360,000 square feet will be allocated to residential use, followed by 72,500 square feet for community facilities. The remaining area will likely be used for the proposed parking facility, which has a capacity of 416 vehicles. The 22nd and 26th floor will be home to full-floor units, while two duplex penthouses will span the 24th and 25th floors. Amenities include a residential lounge, a sauna and spa, a yoga room, and a sixth-floor swimming pool that will sit adjacent to recreational space.

A completion date was posted on the construction board for December 2021. – NY Yimby

The long-awaited new Brooklyn Heights public library branch at Cadman Plaza W. won’t open until next summer, a year later than originally scheduled, due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the borough lenders.

“The finalization of the design and the complexity of the project added some time to the schedule as did delays due to the pandemic,” said Brooklyn Public Library spokeswoman Fritzi Bodenheimer in a statement Thursday. “This included the initial stoppage of work along with delays when the work resumed (for example having fewer workers on site due to social distancing or waiting for manufacturers/supplies to get back up to speed).”

The fresh set of stacks will open at the lower three floors of the new 38-story luxury condo building at Clinton and Tillary streets dubbed One Clinton after BPL bigwigs sold off the old branch there for $52 million in 2014.

At a recent presentation to Community Board 2’s Youth, Education, and Cultural Affairs committee, library officials presented a slate of new renderings for the incoming 26,000 square-foot branch, which will be the largest outpost in the system outside of the Central Branch in Prospect Heights. The book haven will have a main hall cutting through the ground floor of the building from Clinton Street to Cadman Plaza W., along with a quiet reading room, David Woloch, executive vice president for external affairs at the library, told the civic panel on Oct. 28. Read entire story: https://www.brooklynpaper.com/new-bheights-library-branch-opening-postponed-for-a-year-due-to-covid/

Local officials honored trailblazing Brooklyn Heights World War II veteran Katherine Horton at the Brooklyn War Memorial in Cadman Plaza Park Wednesday.

Horton, who in October turned 100 years old, enlisted in the United States Navy in 1944 and was one of the first Black women to be allowed to study at the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, which paved the way for women and people of color to be part of the armed forces, according to one state official and fellow veteran.

The Cadman Park Conservancy honored Horton, a resident of nearby Cadman Towers, along with the tens of thousands of borough veterans at the organization’s annual Veterans Day ceremony. There, one of the organizers and a neighbor of Horton’s said he only found out recently that the she served during World War II. Read entire story: https://www.brooklynpaper.com/wwii-veteran-veterans-day-2020/

Have you been to Cardinal Market on Henry Street yet? They’re working hard to become a neighborhood option for yummy bites like Tuscan Kale Salad, Crispy Sweet Potato Sliders, Open Face Grilled Cheese and Curried Potato & Egg Taco. They’re now serving Breakfast daily and All Day Sunday Brunch from 11 to 7. For more info, visit https://www.cardinalmkt.com

Editor’s Note: Ooooops. Too late. They have decided to close until further notice.

Co-founder of the reform-oriented political club New Kings Democrats and former Mayor Bill de Blasio staffer, Lincoln Restler, launched his campaignfor City Council Thursday, joining the seven-way race to take over Councilman Steve Levin’s seat after the legislator’s term-limited out of office at the end of 2021. The 36-year-old Brooklyn Heights native, who now lives in Greenpoint, kick-started his campaign on Oct. 1 — which Politico first reported — with a focus on affordable housing. In addition to Adams, Restler will face off against Benjamin Solotaire — another staffer of the lawmaker — along with candidates like Greenpoint activist Victoria Cambranes, Brooklyn Heights resident (Cadman Towers Board President) Toba Potosky, Legal Aid attorney Stu Sherman, and Brooklyn Heights activist April Somboun. – Brooklyn Paper