Alison Roman's First Bloom coming to Brooklyn Heights
The best croissants in the city are actually in Brooklyn, a tender thriller starring the Gowanus Canal and more.
Happy Friday! Congratulations to everyone who ran the RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon last Saturday. It was the largest half-marathon in New York Road Runners history — and in the country.
Last week, my husband and I watched The Devil Wears Prada 2 at Cobble Hill Cinemas. It’s a sign of the times that Andy (Anne Hathaway) finds her next apartment in the neighborhood (yes, it’s a new build). In Brooklyn Heights, a carriage house off of Love Lane is asking nearly $6 million. Earlier this week, Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale held a stoop sale, and The Ordinary announced it will run a branded bus between Domino Park and Prospect Park for free from May 26 to June 9. I am very curious to try it!
In this issue — Alison Roman is opening First Bloom in Brooklyn Heights this fall; the city’s best croissants are actually in Brooklyn; a tender thriller starring the Gowanus Canal; and more Amazon e-bikes might be coming to the Court Street bike lane.
The Roundup
Our friends at Grand Army Gazette launched an apartment whisper network — a truly genius idea given how many people are finding their next apartment offline. Also, Boerum Bulletin launched a classifieds section.
First Bloom, the Catskills grocery store Alison Roman opened in 2023, is coming to Brooklyn Heights this fall. The cookbook author and food personality wrote in a blog post this week that First Bloom would be “a permanent resident of The Big Apple.” She also shared four job listings (general manager, head chef, head baker/pastry chef and social media manager) stating First Bloom is “opening a second location in Brooklyn Heights.”
After months of pushing the city to open an empty preschool at 129 Van Brunt Street, parents can rejoice. The city announced this week that it will open the school, which has 63 seats. It had reportedly been empty for more than a year, despite the city spending millions on renovation costs and rent.
A new request on the New York Economic Development Corporation’s website gives a glimpse into what the Brooklyn Marine Terminal’s ongoing redevelopment might look like. The request for expressions of interest is for operators and partners to help launch an all-electric cargo barge service between the BMT and a new facility being built in the South Bronx, where refrigerated containers of imported food would travel by water instead of truck.
Brooklyn French Bakers and La Bicyclette won People’s Choice Award and Best Original Creation, respectively, at French Morning-Frenchly’s annual Best Croissant in New York competition this week. Congrats to Mille-Feuille, winner of the jury prize — worth checking out their Prospect Heights location.
The Gowanus Canal stars alongside Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver and Miles Teller in Paper Tiger, which Time calls “a tender thriller” set in 1986 Queens. While we’re on the topic of the canal, 200 people have already taken Voice of Gowanus’ Health Survey, according to the Star-Revue. Click here to take the survey.
Are more Amazon e-bikes coming to the Court Street bike lane? The bikes cost less to operate and are thought to be safer and more sustainable by the city, which means we might be seeing more of them. They are responsible for delivering half of the 10,000 to 15,000 packages dispersed daily from Amazon’s Red Hook warehouse.
The Six Bells’ spring sale features mostly holiday décor and tableware (stock up before hosting season comes back around?). My picks are: this adorable mini tomato tote bag, a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle and a tomato candle.
Bar Ferdinando is selling zipper totes.
Goings On
Dae is popping up at Snow Peak in Williamsburg this weekend.
Queer wine club Chardonngay is having a pre-Pride Month event at Saturn Road on Thursday, May 28.
The Atlantic Avenue BID will hold its annual meeting at Eleventh Hour on Wednesday, June 3 at 10 a.m. There will be catering from the brand-new Sea and Soil location on Atlantic Avenue. Property owners, commercial tenants or residents within the BID’s boundaries can register to become BID members here. You must be a BID member in order to vote at the meeting.
Van Alen Institute will throw its annual Bond Street Bash on Thursday, June 4 from 7 p.m to 10 p.m. The fête celebrates the architects, artists, activists, policymakers and changemakers shaping a community-driven future. Tickets here.
Columbia Street Waterfront Association is hosting a book swap at Urban Meadow Garden, on Saturday, June 6 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
A fundraiser benefiting Red Hook’s Summit Street Community Garden will feature jazz, food and refreshments on Saturday, June 6 at 5 p.m.
F&F’s pizza sessions return Monday, June 15 with Chris Bianco of Bianco Pizzeria and Chris D’Auria of Frank Pepe. Each session is $125 (tickets here) and includes food and drinks. For an extra $50, you can hang out with the chefs at the afterparty.
Littlefield in Gowanus will host About Last Night, a show where people share dating and hookup stories live onstage, on July 30.
One Last Thing
New York Nico interviewed The Green Lady and her husband Robert about their 59-year love story. “I’m warning you: Make the best of it. It goes so quick,” Robert says. ε(´｡•᎑•`)っ 💕
So excited for Allison Roman’s new spot!