Brooklyn Heights Blog

Lost City’s Brooks of Sheffield writes about Fortune House [82 Henry Street] and “who goes there” today at Eater NY:

EaterNY:  Though all the patrons seem to be from the extreme immediate area, there are two customer worlds at Fortune House. The old people tend to take a table. Elderly couples who linger over a glass of red wine at the end of their meal like they’re at Le Bernardin. Mothers being taken out to dinner by their middle-aged sons and daughters. Old friends hashing over their ailments. Solitary, white-haired gentlemen who nurse multiple Martinis. Meanwhile, the young worker bees—running-panted, ear-budded, iPhoned—come in for take-out, waiting for their order on the long cushioned bench by the cloudy fish tank. An exception to this rule was a single hipster couple—thin, bearded, confidently cool guy, and his less certain girlfriend, in black bangs, babydoll dress and many bracelets—who dined in. They alone weren’t having dinner in a Chinese restaurant. They were “having dinner in a Chinese restaurant.”

Since starting BHB in 2006,  I have made it a point of expressing my admiration for Brooklyn Paper publisher Ed Weintrob whenever the subject of  ”hyperlocal” media comes up.   Visionaries like him, the late great Paul Sidney from WLNG and Dan’s Papers founder Dan Rattiner have all had an influence on my world view as a “publisher” in the 21st century.   All of them understood that being a good neighbor is the most important aspect of being in the local media business — and a little showbiz doesn’t hurt either.

Today, Ed writes about founding the Brooklyn Paper in 1979 on their website. It’s worth reading:

Brooklyn Paper: As I sat with a cadre of believers in Minsky’s Bar on Remsen Street back in 1978, envisioning a new kind of Brooklyn newspaper with the simplest of monikers, we strategized for the future — but certainly not for 30 years. We were young and somewhat reckless, and 30 years was a lifetime.

BHB  entertainment newshound Inna Chumikova sent us a photo and video of yesteday’s fake car crash on Cranberry and Willow Streets shot for the FX drama Damages. She comments, “Driver of the car was quite dizzy after crash other than that
everything went smooth.” Video after the jump. Read more »

The Danish Seamen’s Chuch [102 Willow Street] will hold its annual Danish Fair today and tomorrow.  Get yer Glogg on!

Photo by Aki Tuccu

A P.S. 8 parent  files this dispatch about last night’s reading event to benefit the school: Read more »

Photos by Karl Junkersfeld

A BHB tipster writes in:

Nothing yet on the yellow Health Department signs adorning Le Petit Marche?

Matthew Parker comments:

Earlier this morning I walked by Le Petite Marche on Henry St. There are two Board of Health signs on the front windows ordering the restaurant closed.

I saw workers inside cleaning up.

NYC  Department of Health public records show that the restaurant racked up 23 violation points on November 11.   Read more »

Rezso Kasztner, a Jewish-Hungarian journalist who helped Jews escape Nazi occupied Hungary but later was wrongly accused of collaboration with the Third Reich by an Israeli court — leading  to his assassination – is the subject of a biopic by Gaylen Ross of  Brooklyn Heights.

The Brooklyn Eagle interviews Ross this week.   It notes that she was able to track down and interview Kasztner’s assassin, Ze’v Eckstein, for the film.

Killing Kasztner: The Jew Who Dealt with Nazis, is currently playing at Cinema Village in Manhattan.

BHB tipster “TF” ran out in the rain to catch opening day at Iris Cafe at 20 Columbia Place.  He says, “I can’t wait to go there for lunch. It’s adorable and the people were super friendly.”

FX drama drama Damages will “reenact a car crash” in the vicinity of Willow and Cranberry Streets on Thursday (11/19) according to a notice distributed in the area on Wednesday.

Read the entire memo after the jump. Read more »

Flickr photo by Tom Rupolo

What’s on your mind? Comment below!