The Comfort of a Neighborhood Bakery

Caputo Bakery warmed the neighborhood for 122 years. One hundred twenty-two years.

It’s difficult to imagine what it takes to own and operate a family-run business for five generations and more than a century. The dedication, focus and humility needed to show up every day, even on the days you don’t feel like it, because people are counting on you — because they need their daily bread.

CSJ was the first to share news of the closure, on Monday afternoon. Thank you to reader JRapps for tipping us off. James Caputo, fifth generation owner-operator, had taped a farewell message to the neighborhood on the bakery’s front door, which has since been flooded with heartfelt responses and “we miss you’s.”

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The news came as a shock. Customers and businesses that sourced from Caputo’s were left blindsided by the abruptness of it, and speculation spread quickly online. James and his father John told 1010 Wins that they were closing the bakery so that James could retire.

A review of city records offers no support for rumors that the closure was due to health code violations. The building at 329 Court Street is owned by James and John themselves, ruling out a landlord dispute as a factor. The Department of Buildings records show several low pressure boiler violations dating back to 2009, a paperwork compliance issue common in older buildings.

A note: Caputo Bakery is not affiliated with Caputo’s Fine Foods, the Italian grocery at 460 Court — two separate families, two separate Court Street institutions.

Court Street Grocers, which sourced bread from Caputo’s for 14 years, shared their own farewell this week. The relationship began just after Hurricane Sandy, when James showed up with bread while every other supplier was unable to deliver. When they told him they hadn’t found the right roll for their heroes, he came back days later with exactly what they’d described, and tweaked the recipe for years after. “Any success we’ve had has been intertwined with theirs,” they wrote. “Man do they deserve a break.”

A huge hole has opened up at 329 Court Street. We wish the Caputo family a wonderful retirement, and I’d be remiss not to say I hope someone takes over the place and fires it up once more.

A Thousand Neighbors

CSJ crossed 1,000 subscribers last week! This number means a lot to me not because of what it says about growth, but because of what it represents: a thousand people who care about this neighborhood enough to invite this newsletter into their inbox every week. Thank you for reading, for sharing and for making CSJ what it is. We’re just getting started.

The Roundup

Timothy Brown, the Boerum Hill man beaten by NYPD detectives inside a liquor store near Hoyt and Baltic Streets, is now suing the city for $100 million. Brown, a home health aide and licensed security guard who was mistaken for a drug suspect, said at a press conference this week that he had no idea who the officers were before they grabbed and began punching him. His attorneys say the officers also failed to activate their body cameras, a violation of NYPD protocol.

Montero Bar shared a heartfelt farewell this week as the family prepares to pass the torch. “You weren’t just customers, you were part of our community and our family,” wrote the Montero family in a note to regulars — a fitting goodbye to a bar that has been an Atlantic Avenue institution for generations.

Red Hook Barrel Yard, a 40,000-square-foot waterfront complex at 185 Van Dyke Street featuring a winery, cidery and cocktail bar, opens May 9. The space uses ingredients grown exclusively by New York state farmers and has partnered with Brooklyn seafood restaurant Lundy’s (whose mozzarella sticks are apparently all the rage) for a waterfront menu. A distillery is set to follow later this year.

The Brooklyn Marine Terminal Development Corporation held its first open public meeting Thursday, marking a shift in transparency after the planning process for the 122-acre site was widely criticized for lacking public input. The EDC has committed to posting notices, materials and transcripts for all future task force meetings in advance. A reminder that public comments on the BMT Draft Scope of Work are due May 8 — next Friday.

Mayor Mamdani announced this week that NYC’s FIFA World Cup fan events will be free, reversing a plan from the Adams administration to charge admission. Brooklyn’s official fan zone will be at Emily Roebling Plaza in Brooklyn Bridge Park, running the full duration of the tournament from June 13 to July 19. Some residents near the park have raised concerns about the overlap with Fourth of July fireworks and the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations.

Bora Bora Smoothie Cafe in Cobble Hill has closed, citing high rent in a note posted to its front door. Thank you to reader Ryan Tammaro for tipping us off. A second note, apparently left by a third party, appeared alongside it claiming the closure was due to seven months of unpaid rent — though CSJ has not been able to independently verify that claim.

Cobble Hill novelist Teddy Wayne kept a secret from his wife — also a novelist, also in the apartment — while writing his new thriller The Au Pair, about a middle-aged Brooklyn writer who cheats on his spouse with the au pair. He kept the plot from her as he wrote. She loved it.

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Goings On

• The Garden Club is celebrating its grand opening today, May 1, with a slew of activations that kick off at noon.

• The Poetry Society of America is accepting submissions for Storefront Poems, a project that will install up to five winning poems in the window of its Smith Street office for the month of August. Submit a single unpublished poem of 10 lines or fewer here.

• Gage & Tollner is hosting a special benefit dinner on Tuesday, May 5 honoring the legacy of Chef Edna Lewis. The evening celebrates the 50th anniversary of Lewis’ cookbook The Taste of Country Cooking and tickets include a copy of the anniversary edition. Reserve your seat here.

• The Gowanus Canal Conservancy is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a party at Powerhouse Arts on May 7, honoring Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and the Gowanus Oversight Task Force, with a DJ set by Questlove and performances by Slavic Soul Party and Dionne. Get your ticket here.

• Atlantic Avenue is hosting a Day of Design on May 16 as part of the NYCxDESIGN festival, with corridor-wide programming offering an in-depth look at the district’s shops and studios. RSVP here.

• The Longest Table, a blocklong communal picnic featuring a table set for 700 people, returns for a second year in Brooklyn Heights on Saturday, May 16. RSVP here.

• Storm King Art Center has announced its summer live music lineup, with open-air performances from Kim Gordon (June 20), Black Country, New Road with Horsegirl (June 21), Devonté Hynes Ensemble (July 11) and Sun Ra Arkestra (August 15).

• Master bakers Graison Gill, Natasha Pickowicz and Patrick Shaw-Kitch are reuniting at Brooklyn Granary & Mill for the third edition of Old Grains of New York, a weekend-long intensive on whole grain baking. The class runs the weekend of July 25 and explores how flour connects to identity, origin and flavor. Get your ticket here.

• Neighbors & Makers, a street fair celebrating local makers, families and community, is coming to Smith Street on Saturday, October 17.

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One Last Thing

I’ve been subscribing to A.Word.A.Day — a newsletter that lands in my inbox every morning with a new word — for more than a decade. This week it sent me one that felt made for this neighborhood: pizzaiolo (peet-suh-YO-lo), meaning a pizza maker. Given that we live in what I’d argue is a pizza capital, and that Prince Street Pizza just opened on Smith last week — Naughty Slice goes off, backyard is beautiful — I couldn’t resist passing it along.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Caputo Bakery was in business for 124 years. It was established in 1904 and ran for 122 years.

New in the Neighborhood

My husband and I visited Bar Ferdinando last Friday evening. A food critic had arrived just before us, adding to the overall excitement. At the bar, young men in baseball caps and women in tube tops gabbed with one another. We ordered quite a few things; my favorites were the pane e panelle and the gamberi all’aglio e peperoncini. Also, the cheesecake dessert was not to be missed.

Did anyone visit Prince Street Pizza on opening day yesterday? I want to hear how it was! It looked like a movie. Also, what was Brooklyn Strategist will soon be Light Switch, a café by day and wine bar by night, The Strong Buzz reports.

Elsewhere

Sam’s Restaurant, a red-sauce Italian American institution dating back to 1930, is being refreshed. Georgia Fulton, a 12-year veteran of Long Island Bar, is in the final stages of renovating the space after six months working alongside owner Louis Migliaccio. With investment from Joel Tompkins, Long Island Bar co-owner, and Sam Premutico, a Sam’s regular, the restaurant will preserve key elements — the brick oven pizza, vintage murals, wooden telephone booths — longtime patrons love, while brightening the space, adding barstools and paring down the menu. Sam’s will maintain its longstanding relationships with Court Street stalwarts: bread from Caputo Bakery, meat from Staubitz Market and cookies from Court Pastry Shop.

Two NYPD officers have been placed on modified duty after a video showing them beating a man inside a liquor store near Hoyt and Baltic Streets in Boerum Hill went viral. The officers were conducting a buy-and-bust operation when they pursued a man into the store. Footage shows punches, bottles knocked from shelves and blood on the ground. The Brooklyn DA has since dropped the charges filed against the man. Commissioner Tisch called the video “upsetting” and said the Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating. Mayor Mamdani also weighed in, calling the officers’ conduct “extremely disturbing and unacceptable.”

A new Crain’s report adds a wrinkle to the Brooklyn Marine Terminal debate: Brad Lander, who is now running for Congress against Rep. Dan Goldman and has publicly questioned the $3.5 billion redevelopment plan, reportedly lobbied key task force members to support it last fall. Randy Mastro, former deputy mayor and ex officio chair of the BMT Development Corp., said he was “surprised to see him flip-flopping now.” Lander denies he lobbied or pressured anyone. The primary is June 23.

Two new city initiatives are putting green infrastructure front and center this spring. The Mamdani administration announced a $4.5 million, three-year pilot on Earth Day to train New Yorkers with histories of incarceration, homelessness or substance abuse for careers in stormwater management. The Gowanus Canal Conservancy is a supporting partner. Separately, the city unveiled its first-ever Urban Forest Plan, a long-term strategy to expand tree canopy coverage to 30 percent citywide by 2040, prioritizing neighborhoods with high heat vulnerability. Red Hook is already part of the story: more than 400 trees were lost to saltwater damage after Hurricane Sandy, and 176 have since been replaced, with hundreds more planned.

A Boerum Hill 3-K childcare site that had been shuttered since 2022 opened this week. The city had paid $5.1 million in rent for the site over the past four years.

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Goings On

• The deadline to submit public comments to the NY State DEC on a developer’s remediation plan for the Citizens Gas Works site — which community advocates say inadequately addresses contamination at the highly polluted Gowanus site slated for 900-plus residential units, a school and senior housing — is tomorrow, April 25. To submit, email aaron.fischer@dec.ny.gov with the subject line “Comments For C224012.” Voice of Gowanus even drafted email copy you can use.

• Harris Home on Henry Street is hosting Electric Lady Florals for an Earth Week pop-up with fresh bouquets and single stems tomorrow, April 25. A portion of sales will go to BloomAgainBklyn, a nonprofit that redistributes unsold flowers to vulnerable New Yorkers.

• Hoyt Street’s open street goes car-free from noon to 3 p.m. tomorrow, April 25 for an Earth Day celebration with free plant giveaways from the Horticultural Society of New York and kids’ activities from The Nature Company.

• Books Are Magic is hosting two story times tomorrow, Saturday April 25, a.k.a. the final day of the Brooklyn Indie Store Crawl. The first will be led by Harmonica Sunbeam and Drag Artists for Expression NYC, followed by a social justice-themed story time led by Mona Damluji.

• Literary editor Grace Perri Barnes is leading a five-week salon-style seminar on Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian at Index Greenpoint kicking off Tuesday, April 28. Tickets are available on a sliding scale starting at $180.

• The Red Hook Community Farm, Resilient Red Hook and Brooklyn Outdoor Service Guides are hosting a Riverkeeper Sweep cleanup at Valentino Pier Park next Saturday, May 2. Volunteers will collect trash and log what they find as part of a data collection initiative that informs Riverkeeper’s advocacy for policies reducing single-use plastic waste. Register here.

One Last Thing

A wood-shingled Brooklyn Heights home, believed to date back to 1790 and filled with Donald Judd furniture, is on the market for $4.9 million. Owner Elisabeth Cunnick is a former art dealer who used to run A/D Gallery, which specialized in utilitarian objects by artists like James Turrell and Richard Tuttle. She was also the sole New York dealer of Donald Judd furniture, which explains all the pieces in the home.

Notes on a Screening

On Monday, I took the train from Carroll Gardens to Park Slope to catch the Gowanus Current screening at Nitehawk — a nearly sold-out show for a documentary that came out this time last year. As revealed in a post-screening Q&A, filmmakers Jamie Courville and Chris Reynolds shot 400 hours of footage over a decade, editing it down to about 90 minutes. There’s no narration, just vignettes of Gowanus in action: protests, construction, city planning meetings, ferry tours revealing how many gallons of sewage are dumped into the canal every year (377 million). I’m not sure the phrase “black mayonnaise” will ever leave my mind — nor should it.

Elsewhere

A Columbia Street Waterfront District Montessori school, where infant tuition can top $32,000 a year, says it has been unexpectedly shut out of a community garden. Elite Minds Montessori says volunteers at Urban Meadow, a GreenThumb garden at President and Van Brunt Streets, changed the locks without warning last July. When the school pushed back, a garden board member suggested a donation of $250 to $500 to regain entry. Elite Minds founder Laurie Torres called the situation “disappointing and hurtful,” telling NY Post that the school had been made to feel like “second-class citizens.” The Parks Department has since stepped in, as tying donations to access isn’t something garden volunteers are permitted to do.

Lots of movement in Gowanus’ food scene this week.

• Our friends at Grand Army Gazette broke the news that Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is closing after 15 years.

• Italian restaurant Café Mars will transform into an izakaya for a month starting May 6.

• Delivery-only restaurant Orbital Kitchens looks to become a go-to quick-service option in the neighborhood.

Impact, a group fitness studio, is preparing to open a sixth location on Smith Street in Carroll Gardens.

A six-story, mixed-use building in Carroll Gardens is set to open this fall. 420 Court Street, an L-shaped property on the corner of Second Place, will produce three condo units and about 4,000 square feet of retail space.

A three-year-old girl was critically injured earlier this month, when she ran out of her home in Sunset Park into oncoming traffic.

A woman’s corpse was pulled out of Red Hook waters last Saturday afternoon, near where a dead man’s body was found last month.

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Goings On

• The Brooklyn Bookstore Crawl, in which Liz’s Book Bar and Books Are Magic are participants, kicks off tomorrow, April 18.

• Urban Meadow Community Garden is hosting a clothing swap tomorrow, April 18 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be a composting lesson and a Maha Rose-led tie-dye workshop.

• Columbia Street Waterfront Association is hosting a clean-up day and scavenger hunt tomorrow, April 18 (Sunday, April 19 if it rains) from 10 a.m. to noon.

• Brooklyn Heights Association’s annual Spring into Service event, a day of volunteering, returns next Saturday, April 25. Activities include street tree care, mulching, litter cleanups and sandwich-making for the community fridge.

• The MTA is hosting a series of interactive workshops on the proposed Interborough Express, the light rail line that would connect Brooklyn and Queens. The first is Tuesday, April 28 in Elmhurst, with Brooklyn sessions to follow in May.

• Our Friend, Jean: Early Works of Jean-Michel Basquiat, an exhibition exploring the artist’s pre-studio years, opens at The Bishop Gallery in Bed-Stuy on May 16, during Frieze Week.

• New York Theatre Company is bringing The Circuit — an immersive silent disco ballet inspired by Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde — to the streets of Dumbo, with performances running May 15 through June 29. Audiences receive wireless headphones on arrival and follow performers through a live original EDM score, spoken dialogue and internal monologues that only they can hear.

One Last Thing (Actually, Two)

This NY Mag video puts Salter House cofounder Sandeep Salter through a “how New York are you” quiz, which is my personal nightmare, though she handles it beautifully. Also, the NYC Ferry Instagram account is doing something truly unhinged with its Reels (I mean that as a compliment).

On CSJ

I had the privilege of profiling the Caputos of Caputo’s Fine Foods, a fifty-year-old Carroll Gardens institution where mozzarella is still made fresh every hour. I spoke with Frank Caputo and his sons Joseph and Franco about how Giuseppe Caputo bought the building outright in 1976 for double its market value, why Frank turned down a job at Chase Bank to join the family business and what brought Joseph and Franco back full-time in 2020. It’s a story about family, foresight and a neighborhood that takes care of its own — and based on the reaction so far, many of you already love the Caputos! Read it here.

Elsewhere

• Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig have left the neighborhood without so much as a goodbye. The couple recently sold their Cobble Hill home for $11.8 million, having sold the next-door property they also owned last year. I thought I’d run into James Bond at least once, but no such luck!

• Lindsay Lohan, Kit Harington and Shailene Woodley have been filming Count My Lies, an upcoming Hulu series, in Brooklyn Heights. The show is based on Sophie Stava’s 2025 suspense thriller about a compulsive liar who fakes her nursing credentials to land a nannying job for a wealthy couple with a dangerous secret.

• Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co.’s revamped Bar Bruno is now open, featuring a new menu with seafood additions.

• Gowanus: it contains multitudes. Work on The Westmark, a two-tower residential complex, is wrapping up. There are 603 units between both towers, as well as 51,000 square feet of commercial space and two parking garages. The complex is also running an affordable housing lottery for 325 Bond Street, one of the two towers: 67 units are available ranging from $903/month studios to $1,142/month two-bedrooms, with income restrictions applying.

• The city towed and scrapped a beloved Gowanus landmark overnight on Wednesday, April 1 — no joke. The bright green “monster mini” truck that had sat outside New Millennium Motors on 3rd Avenue since 2019 was a memorial to the shop’s late owner, Andreas Stylianou, who was struck and killed by three cars in front of his business that year. His widow Maria had decorated it for every holiday, locals posed with it for photos and neighborhood kids called it the “pickle car.” The city said it was towed because it had no license plate or VIN number, and was recycled before the family was notified.

• The mixed-use building that houses Chase Bank’s Carroll Gardens branch, 390 Court Street, has sold for $6.1 million. Cobble Hill Ballet previously occupied the upper floors.

• One lane of the Staten Island-bound BQE will be closed over four upcoming weekends, likely starting mid-to-late May, as the Department of Transportation continues rehabilitating the southbound deck over Old Fulton Street. The work was originally set to begin April 11 but has been pushed back; the exact start weekend will be announced closer to the date.

• Our friends at the Red Hook Star-Revue attended a March community meeting at Sacred Hearts and St. Stephen Church about the NYC Economic Development Corporation’s Vision Plan for the Brooklyn Marine Terminal (the proposal that would bring 35-to-45-story residential towers to the Columbia Street Waterfront and Red Hook). “The meeting was supposed to enlighten us on how to give compelling testimony about the environmental review process to the EDC. But our time would have been better spent watching Netflix,” wrote reporter Lisa Gitlin. Read the dispatch here.

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Goings On

• Enrollment for Green Thumb’s Cobble Hill CSA program is now open. The share is $673 for 27 weeks of organic produce, running June 9 to December 8, with pickups at Christ Church. Learn more here.

• The Garden Club, a women-owned cannabis dispensary, opens today at 227 Smith Street.

• City Foundry is holding its bi-annual Studio Sale this weekend, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Think: Discounted vintage furniture, lighting, art and décor.

• The annual Spring Street Fair descends on Court Street, from Union Street to 9th Street, on Sunday, April 12. While you’re out, Black Gold Records (between Luquer and 4th Place) will hold its popular $1 music sale.

• Friends from the Canal, a series of vibrant inflatable sculptures by Brooklyn-based artist duo Mookntaka, comes to Gowanus starting Wednesday, April 22. The works are designed to encourage connection and play and will be on view at Cafe Mars, Union Channel and Wyckoff Gardens, presented by Van Alen Institute.

• The Atlantic Avenue BID kicks off its fourth season of Hoyt Open Streets with an Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 25 from noon to 3 p.m. Stop by for free plants courtesy of the Horticultural Society of New York, kids’ activities with The Nature Company and composting and containerization info from the NYC Department of Sanitation.

• Arts Gowanus, the nonprofit that advocates for and supports artists in the Gowanus community, has announced a packed 2026 season. Coming up: the fifth annual Tower Show opens Thursday, April 23 at Union Channel and runs through Sunday, May 17; The Other Art Fair runs Wednesday through Saturday, April 16 to 19 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard; and the Patterns Gala, the organization’s largest annual fundraiser, takes a Venice theme this year and is set for Thursday, May 21 at Union Channel. Read the full lineup here.

• Public Address, a public art exhibition conceived by artist Alex Strada — the inaugural Public Artist in Residence with the NYC Department of Homeless Services and the Department of Cultural Affairs — has taken up residence in Columbus Park, next to the Kings County Supreme Court building in Downtown Brooklyn. The show features handwritten reflections and drawings by people impacted by homelessness, including children’s drawings of family members and faraway roads through mountains. It runs through summer.

One Last Thing

Books Are Magic founder Emma Straub’s new novel American Fantasy released this week. To celebrate, Straub has teamed up with Lassen & Hennigs, the beloved Brooklyn Heights deli institution that has been family-owned and operated since 1949. Buy her eponymous salad there and get a discount on the book — a very Brooklyn way to launch a novel.

Who They Are
A family-run Italian specialty food shop that has anchored Carroll Gardens since 1973. Founded by Giuseppe Caputo, a native of Mola di Bari, Italy, and now run by his son Frank and grandsons Joseph and Franco.

What They Do Best
Fresh mozzarella, made by hand in small batches every hour. It’s been the shop’s signature since day one — soft, creamy and nothing like the supermarket version.

What to Order
The mozzarella, always. The Italian Combo sandwich. Beyond that, the handmade pastas and raviolis, available in a rotating roster of fillings, are not to be missed. Pick up a jar of sauce, some imported olive oil and a wedge of cheese while you’re at it.

Why We Go Back
Someone will call you sweetheart. Frank, Joseph or Franco will ask how you’re doing and actually want to know. The shelves reward browsing (there’s always something you didn’t know you needed). And the mozzarella, made fresh that hour, is reason enough on its own.

Good to Know
Closed Mondays. Merch available in-store.

Caputo’s Fine Foods
460 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231
718-855-8852
www.caputosfinefoods.com

Read: The Caputo’s of Caputo’s Fine Foods

It’s the early Eighties, and Frank Caputo is weeks away from starting his first job. He’s accepted a position at Chase Bank that will put his computer science degree from DeVry University to good use.

Only he’s about to call Chase to tell them he won’t be starting after all.

“They asked me if I got a better offer. I said, ‘I’m going into the family business,’” Caputo recalls. “I have no regrets.”

Forty years later, Frank Caputo still arrives before the customers do. He makes his first batch of mozzarella in the early morning quiet, the same way he has since 2001, when his father handed the shop over to him.

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Coming Up on CSJ

Few Carroll Gardens institutions have roots as deep as Caputo’s Fine Foods. Next week, I’m sharing the story of how Giuseppe Caputo left Mola di Bari for Brooklyn in 1972 — and how his son Frank has spent the last four decades carrying that tradition forward, one batch of fresh mozzarella at a time. It’s a story about family, a neighborhood in flux and what it looks like to bet on a place.

Elsewhere

• The deadline for public comments on the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Draft Scope of Work was extended this week to May 8 — a hard-won victory for the community. Residents and elected officials successfully pressured the EDC to push back the deadline, hold in-person community meetings, brief the Development Corporation and Advisory Task Force, and extend the comment period to 30 days after the community has been briefed on submitted proposals.

• Did anyone vote on which city fixes Mayor Mamdani should address as part of Municipal Madness? The Sunset Park item — “install dog waste bag dispensers” — made me think of that one block that racked up dog poop complaints during the snowstorms.

  • Separately, Mamdani was in Sunset Park earlier this week to announce major upgrades to the city’s street drainage system.

• Ingas Bar is opening a second restaurant, Lonnies, in Boerum Hill at Pacific and Bond.

• Bloomberg Law reports that a federal court rejected a motion by TDA Industries, a roofing materials company, to avoid responsibility for cleaning up the Gowanus Canal. This ruling is one of several within a larger National Grid suit.

• The city has completed a $24 million facility in Gowanus that will store six million pounds of road salt, house 75 plow blades, and — via rooftop solar — generate its own power. The site also includes a composting facility operated by Big Reuse that can process 600,000 pounds of food scraps and yard waste annually. The project clears the way for a 4-million-gallon underground sewage storage tank, part of the Gowanus Canal Superfund cleanup, with excavation set to begin this spring.

• The Hunger Games director is selling his Cobble Hill townhouse, which features an excavated basement with a movie theater and gym. While reporting on local real estate trends, I’ve heard that luxury clients are buying townhouses and “digging down” — adding lower levels to make room for gyms, saunas, wine cellars, all kinds of opulence. More on that soon.

• Li-Lac Chocolates, a chocolatier that first opened in Manhattan in 1923, is opening a counter inside Sahadi’s on Atlantic Avenue. Legacy business big link!

• In celebration of Wikipedia’s 25th year, City Tech in Downtown Brooklyn held a conference, where conversations were dominated by artificial intelligence.

• Take Me With You shop is opening its space for retail residencies at the Ace Hotel in Downtown Brooklyn.

• After months of searching for a new permanent home, vintage Danish furniture business Lanoba Design is moving into a 9,500-square-foot space in Clinton Hill. Their new store at 6 Waverly Avenue opens on April 11.

• A semi-pro soccer football club in Red Hook, the New Yorker says Court Street Grocers’ meatless Vegitalian sandwich is a must-try and more from Ward 6’s latest dispatch.

Goings On

• The Red Hook Interim Library is teaching blackout poetry on Monday, April 6 from 11 a.m. to noon. Blackout, or erasure, poetry is created by removing words from an existing text and framing the result as a poem.

• Liz’s Book Bar’s monthly event series includes a women’s writing and wine workshop on Thursday, April 9.

• Third Time’s the Charm will teach families how to make pizza together on Thursday, April 15. Tickets are about $29.

• This year’s Red Hook Regatta will feature both a 3D-printed boat race and a general DIY boat race when it returns in May.

One Last Thing

Japanese hospitality group Hoshino Resorts is opening a ryokan, or traditional Japanese inn, upstate in Sharon Springs. Soho House is also opening a farmhouse in Rhinebeck. Catch me upstate next year, living my best life as a woman of leisure (˘ ˘ ˘)

A Thought This Friday

I keep thinking about the plane and firetruck collision at LaGuardia Airport Sunday night. Mere seconds were at play. We’re often told that flying is the safest mode of transportation, though media coverage over the past few years would suggest otherwise. Sending warmth and light to the families of the Air Canada pilots.

Hot and Delicious!

Two Fridays ago, I posted a scoop in our subscriber chat: Prince Street Pizza is coming to Smith Street. The pizzeria seems to be ignoring my outreach, though earlier this week, I saw The Carroll Gardens Times post an image of a flyer with the pizzeria’s logo. When I spoke to Tania Apolinar of Taqueria Ramírez earlier this month, she said her architect is also working on the Prince Street spot. More to come.

Elsewhere

• A local dad is using social media to get city officials to open an unused preschool facility, community pushback on the idea that new apartment construction alone will solve NYC’s housing affordability crisis and more from Ward 6’s latest dispatch.

• Grub Street spoke with Sal Lamboglia about the highly anticipated opening of Bar Ferdinando, slated for April 15. The revamped spot will be an all-day bar, opening at 11 a.m. and serving baked goods (focaccia, included), Lamboglia’s seafood salad, panelle and rice balls until dinner, the menu for which is still being decided.

• Third Time’s the Charm in Red Hook is hiring pizza cooks, hosts and bartenders.

• Our local community board, CB6, passed a resolution calling for a big change in how parking tickets are handled. Right now, the NYPD is in charge of handing them out, but the board thinks the NYC Department of Transportation would do a better job enforcing the rules and wants to see the responsibility handed over.

• The median rent for an apartment in Brooklyn was $4,296 per month in February, according to a report released by Corcoran Group, with new rental buildings in Gowanus, Red Hook and Carroll Gardens driving interest in West Brooklyn.

• The Brooklyn Museum’s African Art Collection is finally getting a permanent home. A $13 million renovation will give the collection its own dedicated space and connect it to the museum’s Egyptian art galleries.

• Earlier this week, Council Member Shahana Hanif teamed up with the Interfaith Center of New York to host a summit pushing back against the Trump administration’s ongoing ICE raids in immigrant neighborhoods and the mass deportations that have been upending communities across the city.

• Ongoing development in Gowanus: 491 Baltic Street is preparing to break ground on a 14-story residential building that will house 79 rentals, a quarter of which will be affordable. Over at 264 Butler Street, demolition on a former warehouse is almost complete.

• This spring, the team from Grand Banks is set to launch Fireboat — a retired FDNY fireboat docked at Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Guests can expect Caribbean-inspired food and drinks, including frozen cocktails served straight from the vessel’s original fire cannons and hose connectors.

Goings On

• Park Slope’s “No Kings” march will begin at 1 p.m. tomorrow, March 28 at Garfield Place.

• Orphan Guitars in Carroll Gardens is spring cleaning: All new guitars are 20 percent off until Tuesday, March 31, among other deals.

• Earlier this week, NYC EDC held two virtual public sessions to review responses to the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI), which could shape alternative plans for the site’s future. If you missed them, the written commentary period on the environmental review is still open until Tuesday, March 31. Send yours to Emily Spokowski, espokowski@moec.nyc.gov, before EOD Tuesday.

• Tatter Blue Library is hosting two hands-on workshops, led by artist Aitor Saraiba, who will guide students through free-form embroidery to create a personal textile talisman using a curated materials kit. The workshops take place Friday, April 3 and Saturday, April 4. I was genuinely mesmerized by this video promoting the event.

• Brooklyn Church is hosting an Easter Egg scavenger hunt in Carroll Park on Saturday, April 4.

• Powerhouse Arts’ Brooklyn Fine Art Print Fair returns for year two on Thursday, April 9 to Sunday, April 12. Tickets are now on sale, starting at $15 for a one-day pass.

• Liz’s Book Bar and Books Are Magic will participate in the annual Brooklyn Bookstore Crawl, kicking off Saturday, April 18 and running for a week.

One Last Thing

My husband and I are addicted to Ramblin’ Chick’s chicken nuggets. After sampling the menu at a press preview, we went back two more times that same week just for nugs and fries. (My husband has gone back at least one more time without me, though I have been away this week, so maybe there have been more visits.) The vanilla milkshake with peanut butter is also ⋆. 𐙚 ˚

On CSJ

Taqueria Ramírez, whose tacos cause lines to form outside its Greenpoint shop, is coming to Carroll Gardens. Co-owner Tania Apolinar told CSJ that she and Giovanni Cervantes are renovating 267 Smith Street, across from Bar Bête, with plans to open at the end of this year or early next. The new spot will have a charcoal base oven so she and Cervantes can make tacos al carbon. Read the full scoop here.

I first shared news about Taqueria Ramírez moving into the neighborhood in our paid subscriber chat last Friday. Join us there to be part of the conversation and catch news early.

Elsewhere

• Did you know Michael Shannon is in an R.E.M. tribute band? Ward 6 covered this, the battle royale for the Brooklyn waterfront and more in their latest dispatch.

• Lots of news about Gowanus this week. A public meeting about the cleanup of 459 Smith Street, a heavily polluted former fertilizer and manufactured gas plant site, focused on whether the project should be overseen through the Brownfield Cleanup Program or designated a state Superfund site, a decision that would determine who pays for the cleanup. The lot is next to the Smith - 9th Sts subway station and across from Brooklyn Granary & Mill. Developers continue to buy up sites and businesses are moving into the surrounding area faster than the State and National Grid, who’s currently overseeing the cleanup, can reach a resolution. And as luxury developments rise, locals are advocating that the Carroll Street Bridge, a historic landmark that will soon reopen after closing for repairs in 2021, be for pedestrians and cyclists only.

• Strong Rope Brewery closed its Gowanus taproom, though the one in Red Hook remains.

• An 11-year-old girl named Chloe passed away earlier this month from cardiac arrest related to hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Her family is raising money for funeral and hospital costs via GoFundMe, with about $16,000 more to go.

• The body of a 15-year-old boy, Thomas Medlin from Long Island, was found in Red Hook waters earlier this month. He had been missing since January and was last seen on the Manhattan Bridge.

• Brownstone gym District is hiring a part-time operations manager and member of the front desk team.

• About 40 staffers at Downtown Brooklyn’s New York Transit Museum are moving to unionize.

• A Brooklyn Paper op-ed says that nurses at The Brooklyn Hospital Center have gone more than 40 days without health insurance because management stopped contributing to their benefits fund.

• Marchigiano restaurant Cremini’s, our first Index installment, has crafted a tasting menu of the signature dishes from Italy’s Le Marche region. They also recently introduced gluten-free pasta.

• Outline’s Spring Summer 2026 Catalog is a gorgeous portrait of Gaby Hoffmann as a modern woman of leisure, building a life of hobbies and luxuriating in the space between obligations. I personally love the idea of a pilates teacher showing up to class wearing Cecilie Bahnsen and Issey Miyake Pleats Please. What a look!

• While we’re talking about clothes, I am tickled by this moody little tomato cap and matching tiny tote. The Six Bells promoted these and other tomato-themed items in a newsletter called “Hang On, Moody Tomato,” a play on Pink Martini’s “Hang On Little Tomato” album.

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Goings On

• Women-owned, Brooklyn-based womenswear brand M.Patmos is having a sample and overstock sale today through Sunday, March 22 at The Delta, 210 Court Street.

• Van Alen Institute’s upcoming programming includes a talk on designing homes for single people (March 26); a gallery tour of The House Transformed, the Princeton School of Architecture’s exhibition exploring modern domestic architecture (April 4); a talk by the exhibition’s curators on what matters most in home design (April 13); and a panel discussion on designing for caregiving (April 28).

• Brooklyn Marine Terminal: A reminder that written commentary regarding anything you think should be further examined — flood protection, displacement, truck traffic jobs, as Voices of the Waterfront suggest — must be submitted by Tuesday, March 31 by emailing espokowski@moec.nyc.gov and HSemel@cityhall.nyc.gov.

• Gowanus Current will screen at Nitehawk on April 13, one year after its release.

• The Columbia Street Waterfront Association is hosting a community cleanup and scavenger hunt on April 18 from 10am to 12pm at 134 Sackett Street.

• The Green-Wood Cemetery will unveil its greenhouse and education center at a grand opening on April 18. The greenhouse is meant to drive more traffic to the cemetery by offering exhibitions, workshops, research and events.

• Tickets for Red Hook Initiative’s 19th Annual Taste of Red Hook, taking place April 30 at The Liberty Warehouse, are now on sale. The event features food and drink from local businesses in support of RHI’s youth and community development programs.

One Last Thing

It’s a good week when my favorite Sagittarius in the neighborhood* enters the chat. Mark Iacono shut down the “it’s the water” pizza theory on the Growing Up Italian podcast.

*who also makes pizza and owns 400 white T-shirts

Tania Apolinar confirmed with CSJ that she and fellow co-owner Giovanni Cervantes are renovating the retail space at 267 Smith Street, previously occupied by Oculus 20/20, which has since decamped to Court.

Read more

Good Eats in the Neighborhood

As the weather warms (kind of), and my desire to venture out of my home intensifies, I have found myself eating my way through the neighborhood. Last Friday, I treated myself to the sardine sandwich special at Frankie’s Spuntino. A delight (so much so, I could have eaten two)! Then on Wednesday, I took my brother to 6 NYC for the restaurant’s one-year anniversary tasting menu. My coverage of 6’s opening last year marked CSJ’s first post on Substack, and the beginning of significant growth for this newsletter. My husband and I have also found our new favorite neighborhood pizza: the pinsa at Cremini’s. The La Bomba dessert is also *chef’s kiss* — I was craving one last night and stopped by just for that.

Elsewhere

• A stretch of blocks in Carroll Gardens may become a State Superfund Site, Ward 6 reports. The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation is looking into the four-block area spanning Nelson to 4th Place from Court to Smith. The DEC “identified dangerous cancer-causing soil vapors in the rectory and main building of St. Mary Star of the Sea Church (where Al Capone also celebrated his wedding)” back in 2024, when they were investigating the source of toxic solvents often associated with dry cleaning, Ward 6 reports. More from Ward 6 here.

• CardVault, a sports cards and memorabilia retailer Tom Brady invested in, opened a store near the Barclays Center at 80 Flatbush Ave this week.

• City lawyers have admitted that the Brooklyn Marine Terminal task force is purely advisory and cannot legally approve the vision plan it voted on back in September. This clarification of the task force’s role came out of a lawsuit filed by Columbia Street Waterfront District residents, who said the city violated the New York Open Meetings Law by not allowing the public to be part of the task force meetings.

• Powerhouse Arts is hiring for a few positions — a part-time visitor services coordinator, a greeter, a house manager and a barista-slash-bartender.

• NYU Langone opened a free health clinic offering first aid visits, vaccinations and even primary healthcare to students of Harbor Middle School and Summit Academy Charter School in Red Hook.

• NYC’s free early-education program for three-year-olds is releasing 1,000 new seats this fall, including ones in DUMBO, Downtown Brooklyn, Cobble Hill and Vinegar Hill. This news comes alongside recent reporting from NYPost, which found that 27 preschool sites, including one on Van Brunt Street in the Columbia Street Waterfront District, remain unopened despite NYC spending $400 million to develop them.

• The Carroll Gardens Library is expected to reopen this summer after construction delays caused it to miss its big renovation reveal back in July 2025.

• A warehouse fire in Sunset Park injured two firefighters on Wednesday morning.

• A GoFundMe page supporting local dog walker and trainer Csaba, who died of pancreatic cancer last year, has raised more than double what it set out to.

Goings On

• Jason Saft, designer and founder of Staged to Sell Home, will sell antiques, design objects, ceramic and visual works at a Collector’s Market on Saturday, March 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 80 39th St., Suite 22-302 in Industry City. Saft held a similar event last year, curating 1,100 pieces from his collection of more than 150,000. The items will be staged in “fully realized vignettes,” Saft told Surface. Entry is free.

• The Brooklyn Seltzer Museum’s second annual SeltzerFest returns to Industry City this Sunday, March 15, with unlimited tastings, comedy, klezmer, family programming and a high-stakes egg cream competition. Last year’s festival sold out with 700 attendees. It looks like this year’s event has also sold out, though you can watch via livestream.

• The NYC Economic Development Corporation is hosting a fourth community scoping meeting regarding the draft scope of work for the Brooklyn Marine Terminal on Monday, March 16. Register for the virtual meeting here.

• The Center for Brooklyn History will screen Women Laughing, a documentary exploring humor through the work of New Yorker women cartoonists, on Wednesday, March 25 in honor of Women’s History Month.

• The Brooklyn Heights Association is hosting an egg hunt and bakesale on Saturday, March 28.

One Last Thing

Martin Bisi of Voice of Gowanus, the grassroots organization advocating for the neighborhood’s cleanup, went on Subway Takes, Kareen Rahma’s viral show, to raise awareness of the city’s plans to build low-income housing and a school on toxic soil in Gowanus. VoG recently released a health survey conducted with NYU examining how the health of locals has been affected by longstanding toxicants in the area. Just this week, developers secured a hefty loan to build a residential tower in the Gowanus Wharf.

On CSJ

Two pieces of news, both with smashburger tie-ins:

• Dae is closing at the end of April. If you haven’t yet tried their smashburger, go and report back. They will relocate, so more to come.

• Ramblin’ Chick, a new fast-casual spot from the founders of Ample Hills Creamery, will serve chicken smashburgers from 512 Court Street starting March 19.

Elsewhere

• Ward 6 reported from the first of five Rental Ripoff hearings organized by Mayor Mamdani. Their latest dispatch also includes a helpful summary of the BQE cantilever debate.

• Voice of Gowanus initiated a health survey to determine whether and how locals “have been affected by chemicals known to be in the local ground and air.” VoG previously prompted the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to conduct a soil vapor intrusion investigation, finding 38 properties in need of remediation.

• Mayor Mamdani appointed Diya Vij, a vice president at Gowanus-based Powerhouse Arts, to lead the Department of Cultural Affairs.

• Bar Ferdinando sets an opening date of April 15; Allison Roman shouts out Tera Mera; cocktail bar Shania’s Max Bet takes over from Dirty Precious in Gowanus; and Pitt’s closes in Red Hook.

• Hamilton’s Philippa Soo is selling her Brooklyn Heights loft; Stacy London is selling her Carroll Gardens home; an affordable housing building will bring 302 units to Gowanus; and the Jehovah’s Witness Watchtower could be rezoned to include more housing.

• Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest was such effective marketing for this penthouse at the Olympia DUMBO, which just sold for $16.25 million.

• TW: This entry is about home break-in and sexual assault. Early last Thursday morning, a man broke into a woman’s home in Carroll Gardens, dragged her outside and forcibly kissed her on the mouth.

Goings On

• Fellow Substacker Dad Mag is hosting a meetup at Talea Cobble Hill tomorrow, March 7 from noon to 4pm. Grab a beer and learn more about the growing community of parents and families in the neighborhood.

• DoBeDoUs will teach people how to make ceramic goods tomorrow March 7 as part of an afternoon art retreat series.

• An important community gathering regarding traffic and pedestrian safety on Columbia Street: NYC Department of Transportation Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Keith Bray will hear directly from you about how to make Columbia Street safer. There have been several crashes along Columbia, including a 10-year-old girl who was hit by a car while crossing at President last fall. The hearing takes place Tuesday, March 10 at 6pm at Jalopy Theatre (315 Columbia Street). Bring examples, ideas and a willingness to make the street safer for all. RSVP here.

• Another Brooklyn Marine Terminal Environmental Review Info Session takes place Wednesday, March 11 at 6pm at Sacred Hearts Church Cabrini Hall (125 Summit Street). This is an informational session to learn more about the BMT project proposal and review process and to ask questions. There will be a virtual scoping hearing on March 16, and as a reminder, March 31 is the deadline to submit written commentary.

• Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse is hosting a wool felting session next Saturday, March 14.

• Industry City will host a new EDM festival, Why Not Now?, taking place Saturday, May 23 to Sunday, May 24.

• Sting’s fall tour dates include six shows at the Brooklyn Paramount.

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One Last Thing

A TechHive writer vibe-coded a dashboard showing the location of trains at the Carroll Street subway stop. A suggestion: could someone vibe-code us a Saturday reservation at Red Hook Tavern?

Ample Hills Creamery founders Jackie Cuscuna and Brian Smith have traded scoops for griddles with Ramblin’ Chick, a fast-casual concept centered on chicken smashburgers. The Strong Buzz first reported on the project last summer. On Monday, signage went up at 512 Court Street ahead of the restaurant’s March 19 opening.

The menu features chicken smashburgers, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets with housemade sauce, kale salad, chicken chili and skin-on fries with seasoning, followed by soft-serve, shakes and floats for dessert. Prices range from $4.50 for fries to $11.99 for a double-stacked burger. The patties are made from Bell & Evans ground chicken, seasoned and marinated in-house. Nuggets are prepared from scratch rather than frozen. Soft-serve is made in-house, and shakes are hand-spun to order.

“The burger is one of America’s great culinary icons,” Smith said in a press release. After two years of recipe testing in pursuit of the ideal crispy, juicy chicken, he wondered whether the evolution of the American burger was chicken. “When you grind it fresh, season it boldly and smash it on the griddle until it crackles, something special happens,” he said.

Cuscuna and Smith largely renovated the space, a former sushi restaurant, themselves. Drawing inspiration from Woody Guthrie lyrics, Cuscuna described Ramblin’ Chick as “a celebration of American reinvention, Brooklyn spirit and the ever-winding road that connects us all.”

Cuscuna and Smith first made their name with Ample Hills Creamery, the Brooklyn-born ice cream company that grew into a multi-location brand with celebrity buzz before financial struggles, bankruptcy and investor clashes led to the founders losing their stake in the business they created. You can read more about that chapter via The Strong Buzz and more about Paulie Gee’s, soon to open in Ample Hills’ former Gowanus space, here.

Dae opened at 385 Smith Street in 2023. The cafe’s stainless steel and plywood interiors and expertly curated homewares selection distinguished it from other neighborhood staples, making it as much a place to linger as a stop for aspirational caffeinated indulgences.

“We are a respite from the hustle and bustle of urban life and within our walls, we ask guests to pause and savor the intention with which its bites, libations, and home goods were created,” the website reads.

Cafe staples include a purple sweet potato latte laced with uji matcha, a salted honey houjicha, a caffeine-free mugwort drink with cool mint undertones and a reishi hot chocolate infused with the so-called mushroom of immortality. The homewares section is equally considered, with white twisted candles, chainmail coasters, thin-stemmed coupe glasses and cloth-covered tissue box covers placed on wooden display tables.

In the evenings, the drink menu shifted seamlessly into fashion-forward cocktails, thoughtfully selected wines and well-crafted soft drinks, with a food offering to match. If you haven’t yet had the smashed burger and fries, consider this your last call.

Evoking cafes seen in Seoul, Korea, the interiors and stylized drinks were so carefully conceived that influencers began flocking there almost immediately, prompting management to institute a ban on indoor photography and video in an effort to preserve the atmosphere.

CSJ is told that Dae will relocate, though location and timing have yet to be determined. We will share updates as we learn more.

Snow, Snow… And More Snow

This BKMag headline summed up how many of us felt about the blizzard earlier this week. I channel this New Yorker cartoon when I say — hang in there, friends. Spring is coming!

The Weekly Edit

• Ward 6 Brooklyn tried Marco Polo for the first time; shared an update on the reopening of the Brooklyn Public Library’s Carroll Gardens branch; covered the neighborhood’s struggle with the new one-hour metered parking and more. Read the full dispatch here.

• Trudie’s Tavern, the forthcoming restaurant from the team behind Gertie, is opening soon in the space where Buttermilk Channel used to be. The restaurant posted to Instagram this week to share a high-level menu preview — supper, cocktails, raw bar and rotisserie.

• High Beam is hiring a sales and relationships manager to assist with expanding its wholesale partnerships.

• Monday’s blizzard caused a tree branch to fall on parked cars in Carroll Gardens.

• Easy Aerial, a drone maker based at the city-owned Brooklyn Navy Yard, says political pressure tied to Mayor Zohran Mamdani helped prompt the Navy Yard’s decision not to renew its lease after seven years. The Yard denies the claim, citing compliance issues instead.

• 350 Hicks Street, an empty Cobble Hill lot that was once a parking garage for the since-closed Long Island College Hospital, has been acquired by developers for $29.5 million.

• Red Hook Tavern has been rated one of the toughest places to get a reservation in New York City. Infatuation recommends lining up around 4:30pm to snag a seat.

• The most expensive residential sale in Brooklyn — a $15 million renovated townhouse — closed in Brooklyn Heights this week.

• An affordable housing lottery for a nine-story development at 335 Bond Street opened this week.

• The Malin, a coworking space opening this spring in Brooklyn Heights, is now accepting memberships, which range from $350 to $950, per month.

• My invitation to the vinyl listening party Diptyque threw at Public Records last week obviously got lost in the snow.

• Guy Fieri: big Defontes fan.

• June Wine Bar will begin serving brunch on the weekends starting March 7.

• Portland, Oregon now has its very own Brooklyn Bridge.

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Goings On

• Camptopia, Brooklyn Bridge Parents’ annual camp fair, takes place tomorrow, Feb. 28 at the Brooklyn Basketball Training Center.

• Planted Cafe will start screening films set in NYC on Saturdays and Sundays at 7pm.

• One Girl Cookies is hosting a Sicilian dinner on Sunday, March 1 from 6pm to 9pm.

• Books Are Magic is revamping its subscription offering with Helen’s Wines to be quarterly. Each box includes a wine pairing and a backlist fiction paperback selected by Emma Straub. Sign up by March 4 to get the next drop.

• Saturn Road will showcase art from LGBTQ+ artists citywide starting March 30. The deadline to apply is Friday, March 6.

• A pretzel stacking competition’s 199th iteration will take place at Littlefield in Gowanus on Thursday, March 12.

• Brooklyn Granary Mill unveiled a new series of classes, beginning with one on Baking & Cooking with Ancient Grains on Saturday, March 28.

One Last Thing

Have you heard of the Red Hook cocktail? It’s a little bit of Manhattan and a little bit of Brooklyn, with “a bittersweet bite.”

On CSJ

The Hellboy is coming to Gowanus, though not soon enough to save us from the potential foot of snow we’re getting this weekend.

When I called Paul Giannone last week to learn more about the new location (formerly Ample Hills Creamery), I asked, “Is this Mr. Giannone?” He said, “No. It’s Paulie Gee!” A perfect response.

Read more here

Elsewhere

• A Sunset Park block reportedly received the most complaints — 28 since the snowstorm — of not-picked-up dog poop in the city.

• The Red Hook Star Revue obtained a copy of the anecdotal survey that preceded the Court Street bike lane redesign.

• The Center for Brooklyn History has been taking stock of artifacts — everything from Civil War medals and vintage menus to wax mannequin eyes and ceramic pen holders — borough-wide for a searchable, digital catalog set to launch this spring.

• City Councilmember Alexa Avilés is seeking feedback from Red Hook locals on the proposed rezoning of a commercial building into a mixed-use building.

• SoHo House is heading upstate to Rhinebeck, where it has received approval to open a resort and spa.

• Tourists are hanging their trash on metal spans of the Brooklyn Bridge. Between that and the dog-poop saga, I’m starting to think it’s time to bring back public shaming.

• The NYTimes uncovered a hidden park under the Brooklyn Bridge, where nine acres of potential shops, restaurants and green spaces remain unrealized.

• Georgian restaurants are opening across the city, including in Brooklyn, where Chama Mama is expanding from Brooklyn Heights to Greenpoint and Bushwick.

• Curtis Sliwa joined Substack this week, sharing how EDM music carried him through the mayoral race.

Goings On

• Dweller and New York rapper-producer MIKE have curated a stacked bill featuring GIGGS, Junglepussy, 454, Anysia Kym and dj blackpower at Pioneer Works tomorrow, Feb. 21.

• Loafers Cocktail Bar is teaching people how to shuck oysters this Sunday, Feb. 22.

• Princeton School of Architecture’s exhibition The House Transformed, exploring alternative concepts for collective living and caregiving, opens at Van Alen Institute on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

• Brooklyn Bridge Parents put together a guide to Purim celebrations for Brooklyn families.

• NYTimes reporter Jazmine Ulloa is hosting a reception for her new book, El Paso: Five Families and One Hundred Years of Blood, Migration, Race, and Memory, on Monday, March 2 at Fort Greene’s Greenlight Bookstore.

• The Six Bells Countryside Inn is kicking off a placemaking series in March.

• Powerhouse Arts’ Brooklyn Fine Air Print Fair will return to Gowanus in April.

One Last Thing

Steven Soderbergh’s 63-day residency at Nitehawk is underway. Each night opens with a happy hour pouring 500-year-old Bolivian booze, then one of the nine films that most influenced him — from Notorious to Fargo to Lost in Translation.

Inside, we share neighborhood observations from West Brooklyn, restaurant recommendations, practical tips, cultural finds and the small details that make everyday life feel a little richer. I also post thoughts as they come up, playlists, questions and things I’m noticing along the way.

Think of it as a low pressure exchange. A place to swap notes, share ideas and stay inspired together.

If you haven’t joined yet, I’d love to see you there.

Join chat

How to get started

1. Get the Substack app by clicking this link or the button below. New chat threads won’t be sent sent via email, so turn on push notifications so you don’t miss conversation as it happens. You can also access chat on the web.

Get app

2. Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and you’ll see a row for my chat inside.

3. That’s it! Jump into my thread to say hi, and if you have any issues, check out Substack’s FAQ.

As the original Greenpoint location enters a new chapter under different ownership, founder Paul Giannone is helping shape the brand’s next evolution alongside former employees Kyle and Logan Driscoll. The team has taken over what used to be Ample Hills Creamery space at 305 Nevins Street. They plan to open a two-level pizza shop with a full bar, second dining room and rooftop deck this spring, or as soon as a long-awaited gas meter arrives.

Read more

Introducing CSJ Index

This week, we launched CSJ Index, a new editorial series highlighting the restaurants, shops and neighborhood establishments shaping life across West Brooklyn. Think of it as a living guide, built through concise mini-profiles that capture what makes each place essential.

We’re kicking things off with Cremini’s, the city’s only restaurant dedicated to the cuisine of Italy’s Le Marche region. Elena Salati cooks, Riccardo Massetti hosts, and together they turn family recipes into something deeply personal and unforgettable. Start with the olive all’ascolana. Stay for the pasta. Don’t skip dessert.

CSJ Index is free to read and will continue to grow as new entries are added.

Read more here

The Weekly Edit

• Proposed changes to the Gowanus Green cleanup agreement are drawing concern from residents and local officials, who worry the revisions could reduce National Grid’s financial responsibility and weaken environmental protections at the heavily contaminated site.

• Pratt Institute architecture students partnered with Red Hook locals to imagine the future of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, presenting proposals that center climate resilience, affordability, stronger transit connections and a maritime economy rooted in community needs. Their plans are a reminder that thoughtful, community-driven planning is possible when time and care are part of the process. This one is giving the Edith Farnsworth House by Mies Van Der Rohe:

• Cops have been cracking down on retail theft in Brooklyn Heights and Downtown Brooklyn.

• A new cocktail bar called Pony’s NYC is opening in Red Hook.

• Vietnamese bakery Bạn Bè closed its storefront on Jan. 31 and will continue operating online for the time being.

• Red Hook bakery Frø brought its popular Danish rye bread to Meadow Lane this week.

• Michelin-starred chef Eric McCarthy is set to open a second restaurant focused on Malvan cuisine, expanding on the success of Indian Table just down the street.

• Mayor Mamdani made a surprise appearance at the Brooklyn Museum’s First Saturdays program honoring Black History Month.

• Following Trump’s summer travel bans, Le Monde published a photo gallery spotlighting Yemeni shopkeepers in Carroll Gardens and throughout Brooklyn.

• Benito Bowl, a.k.a. Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance, featured Brooklyn icon Toñita.

• The Center for Fiction is hiring a Development Manager.

What to Do for Valentine’s Day

• A sauna festival descended on the Williamsburg waterfront yesterday and will run until March 1. There are guided sauna rituals, breathwork, yoga, sound baths, aromatherapy sessions and more.

• The Six Bells Country Inn’s Valentine’s Weekend prix-fixe brunch includes a matinee screening of Lady & The Tramp at the nearby Rosendale Theatre.

• Tres Belle Spa is running a Valentine’s facial special featuring aromatherapy and an organic 23-carat gold treatment.

• Visit Love Lane in Brooklyn Heights.

• A new photo installation at Borough Hall, Brooklyn’s Finest: Legends in Focus, celebrates the borough’s role in hip-hop history through iconic portraits by photographers including Jamel Shabazz, featuring artists from The Notorious B.I.G. to Jay-Z.

One Last Thing

Every member of the band Geese trained through School of Rock, including one at the Park Slope location. The music program famously inspired the Jack Black film.

Who They Are
The city’s first and only restaurant dedicated to Le Marche cuisine. Run by couple Elena Salati, a former architect from Piemonte who once ran a wedding catering business, and Riccardo Massetti, a former communication manager and Marche native.

What They Do Best
Olive all’ascolana, or in Salati and Massetti’s words, “Nonna’s recipe that started everything:” fried, stuffed olives in four handmade variations — classic, gorgonzola, ‘nduja and vegetarian.

What to Order
Start with the olive ascolane followed by a regional pasta — Pasta Le Marche or Lasagna Vincisgrassi are staples. The Cotoletta Milanese with Marche Twist is a must for the main dish. End with La Bomba, a warm donut with Nutella and Chantilly, or the Cremini, a crispy, fried custard with lemon cream. For those who prefer savory desserts, or for larger parties, throw in an order of the Pinsa Romana flatbread.

Salati will often prepare dishes inspired by family recipes or “what’s exceptional at the market that morning,” so ask about the specials. The wine list, curated by Massetti, is full of Marchigiano gems like Verdicchio, Pecorino and Lacrima di Morro d’Alba.

Why We Go Back
There is no staff. Salati cooks, Massetti hosts. The simplicity creates a radical intimacy that just works, a closeness that sustained Cremini’s through the pandemic with the support of its community.

Every dish is made fresh daily by the pair, and their love story is palpable. Salati won over Massetti after learning his Nonna’s secret recipes – Olive all’Ascolana and the Cremini dessert. Opening a restaurant dedicated entirely to Marchigiano cuisine was their shared dream, now fully realized.

Good to Know
Closed Tuesdays. Quantities are limited. Weeknights are quieter with more time to chat. There’s a private room for events and a hidden back garden.

Cremini’s
521 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231
929-305-2967
www.creminis.com