Closed-Open-Closed: Is Le Petit Marche Brooklyn Heights’ Brigadoon?

By on November 23, 2009 11:06 am in Food, Government, Health

We reported, in an update to a Saturday post, that Le Petit Marche had reopened, and that the DOH closure notices on the window and door had been removed or covered by colorful holiday posters. Below is a photo taken by your correspondent at about 4:30 p.m. yesterday:

BHB photo by C. Scales

BHB photo by C. Scales

Although not visible in the photo, people were inside, drinking and conversing, at what appeared to be a private party. This morning, by contrast, the decorative signs on the window and door were gone, and, as shown in the photo below taken at about 8:45 a.m., the DOH closure signs were once again visible.
BHB photo by C. Scales

BHB photo by C. Scales

Has LPM become the Heights’ answer to the fantasy, now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t Scottish village, Brigadoon?

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18 Responses to Closed-Open-Closed: Is Le Petit Marche Brooklyn Heights’ Brigadoon?

  1. Cranberry Living November 23, 2009 at 11:42 am #

    I don’t think the Dept. of Health stickers were ever removed. I think LPM simply placed the holiday signs over the Dept. of Health stickers when they were opened for business yesterday.

    I just don’t see how if LPM was shut down by the Dept of Health on Thursday it was able to re-open on Sunday. Wasn’t it required to fix its violations, file an affidavit with the Dept. of Health, and then schedule a new inspection before it could re-open? Was it able to do all of this by Sunday?

  2. cat November 23, 2009 at 12:02 pm #

    Have mice been nibbling at the lower right corner of that DOH sign?

  3. Homer Fink November 23, 2009 at 12:04 pm #

    CL – the signs were removed yesterday, check the top photo and re-read Claude’s report.

  4. Cranberry Living November 23, 2009 at 12:11 pm #

    Homer, I saw for myself yesterday. The holiday decorations were placed over the department of health stickers yesterday and the decorations were removed at the end of the day. Just the Department of Health stickers remain as of last night. Those are not new stickers.

  5. Homer Fink November 23, 2009 at 12:21 pm #

    Didn’t say they were new, saying they were taken down or made invisible for public view. Is that legal?

  6. Matthew November 23, 2009 at 12:23 pm #

    This is very shady. I’ll pass on patronizing LPM again.

  7. Cranberry Living November 23, 2009 at 12:25 pm #

    I can’t speak to the legality of what’s going on. I just think it’s strange – why are the signs even there if the Department of Health has given them authorization to re-open? I think a call to the Department of Health might be in order to get some clarification.

  8. Claude Scales November 23, 2009 at 12:27 pm #

    I’ve reworded the post, as well as yesterday’s update, to reflect the possibility that the DOH signs were obscured rather than removed.

  9. Homer Fink November 23, 2009 at 12:27 pm #

    Our reporters are on the story now. Updates will be posted soon. Would be great if LPM management would be willing to speak on the record to tell their side of the story. DOH never mentioned “clerical errors” to us when they provided comment on Friday.

  10. Cranberry Living November 23, 2009 at 1:15 pm #

    I walked by LPM a little while ago. There was a person in a Department of Health and Mental Hygiene jacket looking around inside. Is this the re-inspection that LPM needs before it re-opens? I can’t speak to that, but if so, it probably means they were open yesterday in violation of the closure order.

  11. AEB November 23, 2009 at 2:02 pm #

    Our own culinary Brigadoon…..

  12. AEB November 23, 2009 at 2:23 pm #

    (Oops! Could have sworn “Brigadoon”was absent from the original(?) head.

    (Well, here’s to the power of the Brigadoon effect….)

  13. nabeguy November 23, 2009 at 3:07 pm #

    If it was a private party, then doesn’t that mean the restaurant was not open to the public? It could have been the owners and their friends making use of the space. How ironic would it be if they came down with a case of ptomaine?

  14. xochi November 23, 2009 at 6:51 pm #

    they are jeopardizing their future. if the yellow signs are removed or obscured, the doh can pull their license and not issue another (under the current entity – loophole); when an establishment is closed by the doh, they cannot open for any type of business, personal or not.

  15. brooklyns finest November 24, 2009 at 11:56 am #

    Sometimes the DOH under special circumstances will allow an establishment to open for a private party that was already previously booked before the inspection took place.
    That is a fact.

  16. brooklyns finest November 24, 2009 at 12:01 pm #

    and further more NYC is infested with mice especially with these old buildings and train stations near by.
    Lets give them a break they never had any problems in the past and were always very highly rated.
    Give them the benefit of the doubt people. All the restaurants down there have exactly the same problem.
    I think the DOH made and example of a good restaurant and hopefully people dont judge too harshly.

  17. Jazz November 24, 2009 at 12:29 pm #

    Doh said party was not allowed.

  18. brooklyns finest November 24, 2009 at 3:52 pm #

    Regardless of the fact if it was allowed or not. If you think all of those restaurants down there don’t have the same problems you are kidding your self. This city is a red tape mess.