Brooklyn Heights Blog

NY1 covers The Toy Museum of New York which opened this week on Montague Street:

NY1: Tucked away inside St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn Heights is a treasure trove of toys. The Toy Museum of New York has opened on the second floor of the church, and its one room is packed with hundreds of toys dating back to the 1870s.

“We’re so thrilled to finally show New Yorkers our collection, and we welcome everybody to come and see us,” says Toy Museum founder Marlene Hochman.

All of the items on display are donated, from Lincoln Logs which first debuted in 1916, to an original 1939 View-Master, to a 1950s Lego set. The most recent toys in the collection are from the 1980s.

As previously announced here, the Plymouth Church Yankee Fair will be held at the Church, Hicks and Orange Streets, tomorrow from 10:00 to 4:00, rain or shine. We have just received the following message from the Church: Read more »

Starting this afternoon, the Brooklyn Women’s Exchange (disclosure: your correspondent’s wife is active in the work of the Exchange), a not-for-profit, volunteer organization that provides a marketplace for locally handmade craft goods, including infants’ and children’s clothing, toys, housewares and gifts, and books by local authors or about local subjects, will host its annual “Holiday Thursdays”, during which artists, craftspeople and authors will be present to demonstrate their techniques or crafts, or read from and sign their books. The Exchange is located at 55 Pierrepont Street, between Henry and Hicks. The schedule of events is as follows: Read more »

Five Dutch Days is an annual “celebration of  the continuous influence of Dutch arts and culture in New York City and brings together arts and cultural organizations from across the city,” begun in 2005 by 3 directors of Dutch-American sites in New York City.

Brooklyn’s part in this event commences at 6:00 this Thursday evening, November 12, at Borough Hall, with a welcome from Borough President Marty Markowitz, and a preview of the HOME/LAND art project, a portion of which will be at the Old Stone House this weekend.

Thursday’s festivities then move to the Brooklyn Historical Society, Pierrepont and Clinton, for a viewing of Pages of the Past: The Breukelen Adventures of Jasper Danckaerts.

On Saturday, November 14, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., BHS, along with Studio in a School, will present a workshop for adults and kids beginning with a tour of “Pages of the Past”, after which participants will “create their own journals using paints and pencils with Studio in a School artists.” A $20 ticket gets in one adult and two kids; each additional person is $5.  If you wish to attend, please RSVP to 718-222-4111, ext. 250.

Finally, on Sunday, November 15, beginning at 3:00 p.m., BHS will present a concert by BaroQue Across the River, titled “A Touch of Dutch: Mythical Adventures & New World Journeys”. Admission is $25 for adults, $20 for students and BHS members. Seating is limited; please RSVP to 718-222-4111, ext. 250.

Manhattan has the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MOMA, the Guggenheim and more but Brooklyn Heights has snagged the Toy Museum.  The Brooklyn Eagle reports:

Brooklyn Eagle: Marlene Hochman, founder of The Toy Museum of New York (formally known as The Doll and Toy Museum of NYC) and local public officials will host a preview of the museum’s exhibitions at its new home on the second floor of 157 Montague St., this Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

The museum, which possesses more than 500 toys, has opened a new, unique space to share its treasures with the community. Visitors are encouraged to come and enjoy this charming and magical setting located in historic Brooklyn Heights.

Pierrepont Playground was packed today following the Annual Brooklyn Heights Halloween Parade.  If you were there, please add your photos to the BHB Photo Club on Flickr and we’ll post a slideshow here soon!

Brooklyn Heights Playground Committee will hold their annual Kids’ Halloween Parade this Saturday, starting at 10:00 a.m. at Pierrepont Playground, Pierrepont Street and Columbia Heights. More details are available at the BH Playgrounds website.

For a full list of Halloween fun, check out Cobble Hill Blog.

Kiddie Korner, the new Chabad daycare center on Montague Street, is profiled in The Jewish Week:

The Jewish Week: “We wanted to convey a calm feeling,” says Kiddie Korner Director Shternie Raskin. “We told the architects we were going for a Zen feeling, something that was like a yoga studio.”
While yoga studios have become a dime a dozen in New York, day care centers like Kiddie Korner, where parents can bring children as young as 2 months old, are shockingly rare.

Perfect weather predicted for the Howl-o-Ween charity costume parade, which will begin this Sunday, 1pm, at the Remsen Street entrance to the Promenade. Following the procession up the Promenade, there will be costume judging at the corner of Middagh and Columbia Heights at approximately 1:30pm.

If you and your dog will participate in the contest make sure you purchase your tax deductible entrance ticket ($25) at Perfect Paws (corner of Hicks and Pineapple Street), by Saturday afternoon. More info here.

Lots of prizes and goodies for entrants this year, including Visa gift cards, gift certificates from local restaurants, vets, and other stores.  All event proceeds go to animal-related charities.

If you just want to watch the madness, come on down–it’s free to observe. Bring the kids.  It’s a lot of fun.

As the weather gets crisper, your dog obsessed neighbors’ thoughts turn to the annual Howl-o-Ween Doggie Charity Costume Parade and Contest, organized by Perfect Paws and Friends of Hillside Dog Park.

This year, the event will be held on Sunday, October 25th at 1pm, beginning at the Remsen Street entrance to the Promenade.

It’s free to attend the parade, but if you want to enter your dog the cost is $25. All proceeds will be donated to nonprofit animal  causes, including a portion to Friends of Hillside Dog Park, Inc., which is the nonprofit that advocates for Hillside.

To the amazement and bewilderment of tourists and locals alike, the parade will march to the north end of the Promenade then cross the street at the corner of Columbia Heights and Middagh Street where a team of local celebrity judges will review the contestants starting around 2:00pm.

Fun will be had by all, including prizes and doggie bags for contestants. If you’ve participated in the past, you know what a blast it is. If you’ve never joined, come on down and have a good time.  We’ll have the usual contingent of costumed adults and kids, dolled up dogs, and drag queens.

The costumes are always imaginative and usually hysterical. It’s a fun way to spend a few hours on a Sunday afternoon in the Heights.

Following the judging and the prizes, all contestants and their humans are welcome to burn off the stress of competition at Hillside Dog Park.

Tickets are now available at Perfect Paws at 102 Hicks Street, the corner of Pineapple Street. Tel: (718) 852-6200

You must purchase your ticket at least a day before the event to register your dog.