About Sarah Portlock

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The circus is in town

On Thursday, the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus will perform in Columbus Park, in front of Borough Hall, from 11 am to 1 pm. Watch as performers juggle, swallow swords, walk on wires, and do comedy. For more info visit, the Shop Downtown Brooklyn website. Share this Story: Tweet

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Yassky upsetsky on stalled buildings

We got the following email from Councilman Yassky’s community liaison, Rami Metal, today. If you want more information or have questions, call the Councilman’s office at 718-875-5200, x14 for Metal. The full letter is attached as a pdf here. In response to the Department of Building’s recent publication of all the stalled construction sites in […]

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Citizens Union debate Tuesday night

The Citizens Union will host a debate for candidates for the 33rd district City Council seat on Tuesday night from 6:30 to 8 pm. The event is held at St. Francis College, in its Founders Hall (180 Remsen St., between Court and Clinton streets). The seven candidates — Isaac Abraham, Ken Baer, Doug Biviano, Ken […]

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NYS Senate renews mayoral control of schools

This just in — the State Senate has voted 47 to 8 to renew legislation that allows Mayor Bloomberg to have control over the New York City schools. According to the Times: (More at the Observer’s Politicker blog and Daily News Daily Politics blog) The legislation largely leaves the mayor’s total power over the schools […]

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New restaurant on Columbia Place

BHB caught up with Andrea Mocci and Giovanna Fadda yesterday, who are the new leaseholders at the former River Deli at 34 Columbia Place, at the base of Joralemon Street. The couple, who moved to New York from Sardinia nearly three years ago, hopes to open an Italian restaurant or café in the spot by […]

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Happy arboreal news

Last summer, a miscommunication among gardeners led to a mob-like hit on two local trees: these juniper trees at the corner of Remsen and Hicks streets were buried alive in concrete. But local activisits — including the Brooklyn Heights Association — lept to action, reached out to local media, and saved the trees. We checked […]

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Reconsidering —again — 72 Poplar

Owners behind the 72 Poplar Street conversion project have been sent back to the drawing board once again. Last week, the Landmarks Preservation Commission “strongly recommended” that the owners behind a plan to convert the former precinct house into a rental building rethink their designs. “The commissioners felt that the addition was too big and […]

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1-800-MATTRESS Out

The brick-and-mortar outposts of the 1800Matress.com company are closing down nationwide after the company filed for bankruptcy in March, now marking yet another vacant storefront on Montague Street. Sleepy’s then acquired the telephone and Web properties of Dial-a-Mattress in a $25-million deal, but shuttered its remaining 20 showrooms, according to a Montague Street Sleepy’s salesman […]

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Tazza sidewalk café back “soon”

Notice that the Tazza café on Henry Street, near Atlantic Avenue, is missing its sidewalk café? An owner told BHB this morning that there was some confusion over zoning and the café had to reapply for its sidewalk café license, but now things are clearing up. “It should be back towards the end of the […]

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84th Precinct party on Tuesday night

The annual police anti-crime fair, National Night Out Against Crime, is Tuesday night and the 84th precinct will host its event at Borough Hall from 6-9 pm. The auxiliary police band will perform, Community Affairs officer Sal Ferrante will barbecue hamburgers and hotdogs and serve ice cream, and there will be pony rides and face […]

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