Accordion music, knishes, and egg creams, along with our Heather Quinlan, greeted upwards of 100 guests at the Brooklyn Heights Cinema this evening to see a preview of Heather’s work-in-progress film If These Knishes Could Talk. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz was on hand to give a short talk on the Brooklyn accent, which he, naturally, considers the true American speech (never mind those people who say the real McCoy is found in Buffalo). He also described how one of the best kosher delis in Brooklyn has passed from Jewish to Italian to Egyptian Muslim hands, while remaining kosher. Marty was treated to a birthday knish with candles.

During a Q&A session after the screening, Heather was asked what she plans to add to the film. She said she hopes to travel to New Orleans to interview speakers of the Yat dialect, which is similar to “Brooklynese”, and to East London, to interview speakers of the Cockney dialect, which she sees as the closest British analogue to a New York accent.

Brooklyn Heights Cinema owner Kenn Lowy prompted enthusiastic applause at the close of the event when he announced that the Cinema will be around for some time, as the landlord has said he wants to do the right thing.

Don’t forget: Tonight, February 9, The Brooklyn Bugle/Brooklyn Heights Blog is presenting a special preview of BHB contributor/filmmaker Heather Quinlan’s If These Knishes Could Talk, “The Story of the New York Accent,” at the Brooklyn Heights Cinema from 6:45 to 8:00 p.m. Knishes and egg creams will be served. (buy tickets here).

Quinlan will host a Q&A before the screening of this special 25-minute version of her work-in-progress. All ticket sale proceeds will go to the completion of the full-length film.

The condo project at 20 Henry Street is at last hitting the marketplace after years of delays. Final polishes are taking place at the former Peaks Mason Mints building, known as the Candy Factory, with asking prices between $450,000 and $2.56 million for studios up to 4 bedrooms. The building includes 24 lofts (six of them penthouse units, at $2+ million), with an additional 14 units in an adjacent modern structure on Poplar Street scheduled to wrap by summer.

An article in today’s Wall Street Journal reminds us of the building’s history: The former industrial space was built in 1885 as the base of candy makers Mason Mints and Mason Dots. In the 1970s, it became housing for artists under the state’s Mitchell-Lama subsidized-housing program.

Artists lived in studios there until the program ended in 2004. Developers Urban Realty Partners bought the site in 2007, but weren’t able to finish a conversion to condos after the imminent financial crisis. Los Angeles-based Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund stepped in and took over the project in 2010, alongside plenty of legal drama.

When plans were first announced that the factory was slated to become a condo development, the Brooklyn Heights Assn. wanted 20 Henry’s garden to remain open space, the WSJ adds—which is now the site of the new 14-unit modern building. BHA executive director Judy Stanton says she still prefers the garden to the new building, but is glad the factory is finally ready for new homeowners: “I’m sure it will attract families.”

Brokerage firm Stribling & Associates is marketing the project, and says that 20 Henry St. already has an 800-applicant waiting list.

(Photos: Wall Street Journal)

Brooklyn Heights resident Björk has launched a combination concert & performance art event in support of her new album “Biophilia,” at the New York Hall of Science in Queens. If you missed her opening set Friday, she will encore Monday 2/6, Thursday 2/9, Sunday 2/12 and Wednesday 2/15.

The performance offers Björk accompanied by novel musical instruments, including four 10-foot pendulum-harps and a MIDI-controlled pipe organ, as well as a 24-piece Icelandic female choir and visuals from Biophilia Apps. The new album is a multi-media experience, available in collaboration with Apple here.

Björk will also collaborate with the New York Hall of Science in an upcoming three-week “Biophilia” education series, featuring interactive science and music workshops for middle-school children. Topics include the scientific concepts at the core of “Biophilia’s” songs, including crystalline structures, lunar phases, viruses and more.

The New York Hall of Science is located at 47-01 111th Street, Queens: 718-699-0005. Tickets for the concert, which range from $75 to $150, are available here.

Admission is $20 for a family of four ($5 each additional); and $10 for CAFF or Brooklyn Historical Society members. The meeting point is BHS at 128 Pierrepont Street.

Pre-registration is required. For tix, click here.

In the BHB post a week ago about the new 80-unit building at 75 Clinton Street & Montague (on right) going rental, a healthy debate blossomed here between the architectural charms of its facade versus the new 40-unit residential building one block down at 101 Clinton Street & Joralemon (left). You guys took each building to task, with typical opinionated passion.

So let’s put up your dukes, BHB followers. We invite a full-on discussion about the merits—or not—of each property. The Corcoran link for 75 Clinton is here. 101 Clinton doesn’t appear to have a dedicated site yet, since it’s still under construction. You are welcome to add whatever you’ve seen, heard or linked to.

Please keep it clean, friends.

Warbling Icelandic recording artist and Brooklyn Heights neighbor Björk, who bought a pad on Henry Street with filmmaker hubby Matthew Barney in 2009, has released new album “Brooklynphilia.” No, wait, that’s not right: It’s “Biophilia.” She appeared on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” January 31 to rap about the project and perform tracks.

According to USA Today, the recording is—historically—the “first app album,” in collaboration with Apple. Its iTunes link explains that “Biophilia” comprises “a suite of original music and interactive, educational artworks and musical artifacts,” and is released as 10 in-app experiences accessed “as you fly through a three-dimensional galaxy that accompanies the album’s theme song ‘Cosmogony.’” Say what?

Perhaps you can figure out what that means as Björk attempts to explain it to Colbert via clips at USA Today’s Pop Candy blog here.

The Brooklyn Paper: Preservationists hailed the city for protecting a slew of Romanesque Revival and Beaux-Arts structures, including the tiered co-op 75 Livingston St., which housed some of the designation’s most vocal opponents.

“We’re thrilled,” said Judy Stanton, executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association, the powerful community group that helped push for the district. “The opposition exaggerated the negatives. This is going to be good for Brooklyn as a whole and very good for Downtown and Court Street.”

According to the Brooklyn Paper story, Council Members Steve Levin and Brad Lander, both of whom voted for the designation, received assurances that proposed changes to buildings within the district would be given expedited consideration by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and that the LPC will “be flexible” with requests from residents of 75 Livingston.

Plymouth Church is hosting The Bandana Splits, “a concert for kids and their grown-ups,” on Saturday, February 11 at 11 a.m. The female trio’s signature is reminiscent of classic girl groups, a la the Ronettes, Caravelles and Andrews Sisters.

The concert is described on the Plymouth Church website, as: “Three young women meet in Brooklyn, discover their love for singing and girl group harmonies and wow NYC audiences with their charm and talent. Now they’re ready to take it to the next level: a concert for Brooklyn kids.”

Tickets for the event are $10, with a $30 max per family. Plymouth Church is located at 75 Hicks Street between Hicks and Henry streets.

Check out more about the Bandana’s at their website here.

The piece goes on, “No one has claim to freeze New York’s ever-changing silhouette” and claims that the buildings’ “demolition and replacement would, frankly, be quite beautifying. Here is a landmark case of abusing the landmarking process.”

Good luck: Prices range from $2,800 to $7,000 a month. Marketing Directors VP of Sales Angela Ferrara, the building’s marketing firm, says Invesco decided to take advantage of the “booming” rental market.

Before plans were approved in 2007 to go residential, 75 Clinton Street was a bankruptcy court. Is there a waft of irony there, perhaps?

The article did however emphasize the luxurious chambers of the presiding Justice and the extreme competition for being selected to fill the upcoming vacancy.

According to the NYTimes: “Judges say there is such a backstabbing competition to get the attention of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who is expected to fill the vacant position by spring, that fully half of the court’s 19 judges have applied for the job.”

On a personal note, it was almost exactly 18 years ago today, that I was sworn into the New York State Bar on a very snowy January morning.  At least there is now a permanently installed ramp, which they didn’t have back then!

Key endorsements for the landmark designation—which runs along Court Street, from Montague four blocks south to Livingston—were voiced by the council’s Subcommittee on Planning, along with Councilman Stephen Levin, who represents the area.

In a joint statement with Councilman Brad Lander, who heads the subcommittee, Levin said, “After close consideration, we believe this new historic district will strengthen the character of Downtown Brooklyn, allowing for new development and growth like the new retail space planned for the Municipal Building [next to Borough Hall] while preserving the graceful, historic, early-generation skyscrapers that make it Brooklyn’s civic center.”

Lander and Levin added that they intend to ask the city to ease rules for storefronts and work with Livingston Street residents “without imposing hardships on co-operators.”

The district was first proposed to the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2010 by the Brooklyn Heights Assn. and other preservation groups and since, has fostered snarky opposition from the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Brooklyn Law School, Court-Livingston-Schermerhorn Business Improvement District and similar groups.

Once again, REBNY president Steven Spinola tore the initiative to pieces in a New York Post article today: “Not only is this an inappropriate use of landmark designation, but it will end up costing the city much-needed tax revenue and jobs. This is another case of the city landmarking away its economic future.” As well, in a direct mail campaign blanketing the neighborhood, REBNY claimed, “In these economic times, when every dollar counts, landmarking threatens to send Court Street back to the ‘bad old days’ of empty storefronts and dirty streets.”

City officials refute that the designation only sets guidelines overseen by Landmarks to ensure that construction blends with the neighborhood.

NBC’s upcoming mid-season replacement “Smash,” must be counting on a ratings boon when it launches Feb. 6 at 10 p.m. The show’s crew returned to film in Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO Monday. Seen: lead Katharine McPhee, and episode guests Uma Thurman and Jerry O’Connell. The latter pair was photographed with the “Kill Bill” star playing a courier and landing a punch upside Jerry’s face after she handed over a package.

The musical series, which NBC has been teasing for months, surrounds casting and preparation for the launch of a Broadway show about the life of Marilyn Monroe. The show’s impressive cast also includes Anjelica Huston, Debra Messing and Brit actor Jack Davenport. Behind the scenes are executive producers Steven Spielberg and “Chicago” and “Hairspray” producers Craig Zadan & Neil Meron, with original music from composers Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman (“Hairspray”).

This isn’t the first time “Smash” has swooped down in the Heights. The show filmed on Sidney Place in October.

For NBC’s promo, look here. iTunes is also offering a free download of the pilot episode here. See the Heights anywhere?

The Brooklyn Paper: “There are a lot of people who want to keep it around,” said Lowy, who hopes to find a new home for the theater if the building can’t be saved. “It makes it easier to move forward knowing we have all this support.”

The story also quotes landowner Tom Caruana’s architect (not named) as saying “plans for the site are not yet ready to be shared.” Architectural historian Francis Morrone, author of An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn, who the article says “is working with the [Brooklyn] Heights Association on an in-depth history of the building”, is quoted thus: “It’s an intact piece of history, …A major part of what makes Brooklyn Heights what it is is this historical physical fabric.”

The plans of the development company that bought 72 Poplar Street, the former NYPD building (see photo), will be considered at the meeting of the Executive Committee of Community Board 2 tomorrow (Monday, January 23) evening, starting at 6:00, at the Library Learning Center, room 515, of Long Island University, at DeKalb and Hudson Avenues.

According to the developer, as quoted by C.B.2:

Application is to extend the existing fourth floor, construct a new fifth floor addition, set back the rear wall by five feet to achieve legal light and air requirements, construct new rear façade, install new accessible ramp at Poplar Street entrance, create new window and door openings at east and west facades, and construct a one-story rooftop addition on adjacent garage.

Molly Smith Metzler, a playwright who lives in the Heights with fellow theater scribe Colin McKenna, is featured in a Sunday Los Angeles Times profile January 22. Her play “Elemeno Pea,” opens Feb. 3 at South Coast Repertory. The Tony-winning professional company in Costa Mesa, Calif., is regarded as one of America’s foremost producers of new works.
“Pea” is based on a woman she met while working at a yacht club on Martha’s Vineyard soon after college. “Everyone hated her. She was so demanding,” Smith Metzler tells the Times about the character of Michaela, the downward-spiraling diva who drives much of the comic action. She got to know the woman and “when I saw her life up close and personal, I felt very sympathetic. I had never seen a sadder person in my life, who had more money than God.”
In “Elemeno Pea,” the 33-year-old Juilliard-trained playwright “dramatizes both the seduction and the repulsion as Simone, personal assistant to the exacting, increasingly needy Michaela,” the Times reports. Other characters include Michaela’s middle-class sister, Devon; Simone’s swaggering, idle-rich boyfriend, Ethan; and a dryly impertinent handyman, Jos-B.
In the piece, Smith Metzler also discusses the disastrous launch of her off-Broadway debut, “Close Up Space,” a comedy-drama starring David Hyde Pierce and Rosie Perez, which runs through Jan. 29 at Manhattan Theatre Club.
Read the Los Angeles Times story here.

The Real Estate Board of New York is amping its drive to derail the still-tentative landmarking of 21 buildings in downtown Brooklyn, by sending out a mailing to thousands of area residents urging them to bend City Council’s ear against the newly proposed historic district. In addition, on Friday, REBNY sent a letter to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn urging the Council to rethink the decision.

All landmarked districts require final approval from the City Council and mayor within 120 days. The Council vote is slated for Feb. 1, with two hearings scheduled next week.

Preservationists had claimed victory last September when the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously approved the “Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District,” a cluster of highrises built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries along Court Street and the corners of Joralemon, Remsen and Montague Streets around the already landmarked Borough Hall. Commission Chairman Robert B. Tierney noted then that “the buildings had a central role in Brooklyn’s development and illustrate an important chapter of New York City’s history.”

But a number of property owners, local landlords and developers were vehemently opposed, claiming it would drive up costs and impede retail redevelopment. Mike Slattery, SVP of the Real Estate Board of New York, sneered in September that the buildings “have little architectural and historic significance and distinction.”

In an article published in Crain’s Business New York January 18, Steve Spinola, president of REBNY, further belittled the district: “The city continues to landmark away its economic future. We want the people in the area to know landmarking will cause a lack of investment in buildings.”

Detractors argue that the designation puts a financial burden on landlords, who have to obtain additional permits and pay extra fees for any changes or upgrades on their properties. REBNY surveyed owners of roughly 750,000 square feet of space within the proposed historic district, and predicted property owners and retail tenants will incur $4.7 million in additional costs over the next several years as a result of landmark regulations and rules, according to the letter obtained by Crain’s.

“Some owners were prepared to make an investment in their buildings, but now they have a noose around their neck because it will cost them more money,” added Spinola.

Brooklyn Heights Assn. president Judy Stanton has stated that the landmark designation “is necessary to protect those buildings from being torn down—it does not prevent redevelopment. It has been a longstanding regret we did not get a district sooner.”

Brooklyn Heights-based artist, gardener, musician, author, sculpturist and overall creative guru Ford Rogers is whetting the artistic appetites of visitors at popular Italian eatery Noodle Pudding—at 38 Henry Street—with a dozen of his original paintings on display through February.

Rogers is well known in the neighborhood for designing the one-acre Bridge Harbor Heights Garden on Poplar Street between Hicks and Henry, home to 300+ plant varieties, which he designed nearly 20 years ago. Ford received the Brooklyn Heights Association’s Community Service Award for his horticultural efforts. His work was featured on the Brooklyn Heights Blog in July 2009.

Meanwhile, his artwork and sculptures have been displayed in NYC, Orlando, Nashville and Providence, R.I., while the New York Salmagundi Club honored Rogers for his acrylic-on-wood sculptures. Add to that his series of voodoo-inspired dolls and decorative items, including furniture, lamps and computer equipment. His works are heralded in private collections throughout North America and Europe.

As if that’s not enough, Rogers has also published three cookbooks: on citrus, nuts and olives. And overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge, he has a studio where he produces music, which has been used in a Dutch film and in a number of gallery installations.

Among Rogers’ works on display at Noodle Pudding are internationally inspired “Lima Fruit Vendor,” “Iceland Kirkja,” “Iceland Farm” and images of Svartifoss and Reykjavik in Iceland.

Evan Hughes will discuss his recently published book Literary Brooklyn, which examines the connection between writers and Brooklyn as a place and identity. Edgar Garcia will discuss Walt Whitman, one of the authors featured in Literary Brooklyn, particularly Whitman’s role in Brooklyn’s publishing history. This event is part of BHS’s spring series, Inventing Brooklyn, which examines key people that have influenced Brooklyn’s past and present and highlights cultural trends that have roots in Brooklyn’s rich and diverse history. This event is free and open to the public.

This Saturday, January 21, BHS will present a guided tour of their building:

Come explore our beautiful landmark building. Designed by architect George Post and built in 1881, Brooklyn Historical Society’s building was ahead of its time. Using the latest technology, Post created a magnificent structure with amazing craftsmanship. On this guided tour you’ll learn not only about the building as an architectural gem, but you’ll also find out the “more than meets the eye” history of one of Brooklyn’s premier cultural institutions. This tour is free with museum admission and open to the public. Admission is always free for BHS members. This tour is part of BHS’s Brooklyn Walks and Talks program series.

Museum admission (for non-members) is $6 for adults; $4 for seniors over 62, students over 12 (college students must show ID), and teachers; and free for children under 12.

News 12 did a feature from the Brooklyn Heights Cinema, where they interviewed me about “If These Knishes Could Talk”, and a few lucky matinee customers about the New York accent. They also put in a plug for the upcoming Knish/New York accent film fundraiser. (Glad my mascara held, it was quite a windy day.) Hope you like the segment and hope to see you all there February 9th! With news of the possible closing of the Brooklyn Heights Cinema, it’ll be good to rally the troops and show the theater some love. Video after the jump.

Brooklyn Heights Cinema owner Kenn Lowy has written this guest post in response to the news that the building may be demolished to make way for a 5-story residence.

“So the news is out: the Brooklyn Heights Cinema building is going to be demolished and a 5 story condo will take its place. A lot of people have asked me if I knew this could happen? The answer is yes. When I met with the landlord last year he told me there was a good chance he would develop it. So I had a choice, let it close or move forward and take my chances. Actually, there wasn’t a choice for me because this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. If I succeeded at making it better and growing the business, then I knew I could continue it elsewhere if it came to that. I wanted to make it more of a destination adding music, comedy (coming in February) and silent films with live music and you (my neighbors) have been very supportive.”

“Back to the demolition of the building. Our lease runs to June 30th, so we’ll be at this location for a while longer. The landlord is a decent guy and has told me we’ll be able to stay until he’s ready to move forward with his plans. That could be July, or it could be December. Either way, we’re looking for a new home in the area and with any luck, we’ll close in one location and open in the other seamlessly (like the Knitting Factory and St. Ann’s). We do things other cinemas can’t or won’t do, and that’s why I bought it, to do something different. We played Battle for Brooklyn for months and next month we’ll be showing local filmmaker Heather Quinlan’s “If these Knishes Could Talk” (a work in progress). We’re not slowing down or going anywhere for a while.

“For now, the best thing you can do is continue to support us. Without your support, there is no going forward. If you have any ideas or suggestions, come in and tell me your thoughts. Unlike any movie theater I’ve ever been to, the owner (me) is usually here and actually wants to talk to you.”

Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Following what one person described as “an exhilarating” discussion on the value of contextual vs. contemporary architecture in a historic district, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) yesterday asked the design team of a proposed new five-story, five-unit building at 30 Henry St. in Brooklyn Heights to consider making some additional changes.

The story notes that Brooklyn Heights preservationist Otis Pratt Pearsall and Brooklyn Heights Association President Jane McGroarty and Executive Director Judy Stanton all urged the Commission to reject the proposed design and require something contemporary and distinctive. BHA member and architect Jonathan Marvel is quoted as saying, ““We implore you to inspire, to delight, to raise the bar on originality.” But Park Slope resident and preservationist Clem Labine said the site doesn’t need a “starchitect” building that would be “dissonant and disruptive.”

The Commission’s legal counsel said it didn’t have the power to require “a particular style.”

Brooklyn Paper: Next Wednesday, building owner Tom Caruana will present plans for a new structure at 70 Henry St. at Community Board 2’s Landmarks Committee — an early step in gaining city permission to demolish an edifice in the landmarked neighborhood, according to District Manager Rob Perris.

The article quotes Caruana as unwilling to reveal details of his plans, but saying he will “move forward” as soon as possible. Lowy is quoted as saying he will do whatever is necessary to keep the Cinema going, even if he has to move it to DUMBO.

The Brooklyn Bugle/Brooklyn Heights Blog is pleased to announce that we’ll be presenting a special preview of BHB contributor/filmmaker Heather Quinlan’s If These Knishes Could Talk on February 9 at the Brooklyn Heights Cinema (buy tickets).

Quinlan will host a Q&A before the screening of this special 25 minute version of her work-in-progress. All ticket sale proceeds will go to the completion of the full length version.