Vines & Voices 043: 124 years. Then a note on the door.
One thousand neighbors (!) with whom to grieve this loss, and more.
Welcome to Vines & Voices, your weekly look at life across West Brooklyn. Curated by CSJ, this free newsletter brings together the local news and goings-on shaping our neighborhoods, plus a few extras worth knowing. Have a tip, a story idea or something you think deserves attention? Write to us at info@courtstreetjournal.com. Your voice helps shape the story.
The Comfort of a Neighborhood Bakery
Caputo Bakery warmed the neighborhood for 124 years. One hundred twenty-four 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.”
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.
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.
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.