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Michael Rothenberg, Brooklyn Heights Resident and Public Interest Lawyer, Dies at 47

Michael Rothenberg, Brooklyn Heights Resident and Public Interest Lawyer, Dies at 47

By on February 24, 2012 9:51 pm in Obituaries

Michael Rothenberg, Clark Street resident, lawyer, and advocate for social justice, died yesterday. Continue Reading →

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Montero’s Bar Matriarch Pilar Montero Dies At Age 90

By on January 17, 2012 9:34 am in Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn History, Nightlife, Obituaries

The long-lived Montero’s Bar at 73 Atlantic Avenue announced on its Facebook page the passing of matriarch Pilar Montero, at the age of 90. She died Saturday night, January 14. Pilar and her husband, Joseph, opened Montero’s in 1947, which was once a haven for longshoremen and sailors. Today, it is beloved for karaoke, pool and its rustic knick-knack-packed ambiance. The New York Times said in a 1995 story that Pilar was born in New York’s West Village and first came to Brooklyn as a little girl on the ferry on which her father worked. You can post fond memories on Montero’s Facebook page here.

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After 30 Years, Final Curtain Call For Overtures In January

By on December 21, 2011 11:57 am in Brooklyn Heights, Commercial Real Estate, Obituaries, Shopping

After 30 years at 216 Hicks Street, chic stationery and gift boutique Overtures will be closing in mid-January. According to manager and the designer of its lustrous window displays Jerry Morin, owner Michael Davidson decided to shutter the beloved boutique with an eye on retirement amid a testy economy.

Beginning on Boxing Day, December 26, Overtures will begin a “Goodbye Sale,” with markdowns on its fine selection of gifts, candles, home fragrances, bath and body, paper and party goods and jewelry. The store is open most days from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

New York magazine recently offered a tasty write-up about the destination, saying, “Since 1981, this chic stationery and gift shop exudes the same history-steeped elegance as its picturesque Brooklyn Heights neighborhood. Even typical souvenir items retain a degree of understated sophistication.”

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Dr. Bernard Wasserman, Beloved Veterinarian of Brooklyn Heights, Dies at 91

By on November 14, 2011 10:08 am in Obituaries

BHB reader “Eddy” informs us of some sad news:

NYT: Dr. Bernard Wasserman, 91, of Brooklyn Heights, died November 11. Dearly beloved husband of the late Bernice, cherished father of Harvey and Kim and Andrew and Donna; loving grandfather of Jake and Sarah; beloved uncle, cousin and friend. Graduate of Brooklyn College and Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine, he served in the US Army during WWII and later was a professor at the University of Rhode Island before returning to Brooklyn to open his veterinary hospital. Creative and vivacious, he was an author and artist and enjoyed skiing, tennis, animals, nature and spending time with family and friends. We will miss him deeply. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Michael J. Fox Foundation appreciated. Services, Sunday, November 13, 10:30am, Parkside Chapel, 2576 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn.

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Memorial Service Set Here for Neighbor/Fitness Guru Charlie Dolan

Memorial Service Set Here for Neighbor/Fitness Guru Charlie Dolan

By on October 26, 2011 6:31 pm in Obituaries

Sad news from our inbox this morning. Kevin Carberry informs us that his Uncle Charlie Dolan passed away over the summer.

“I thought you would like to know that Charlie Dolan died on August 15th 2011,” he writes adding, “He was walking with his daughter to a doctors appointment when his life ended. There will be a memorial Mass this Saturday morning at St Charles Borromeo Church at 9:30am.”

Mr. Dolan was somewhat of a fixture at the Eastern Athletic Club as mentioned in our 2008 profile. Fittingly, Carberry tells us that his family will be having a gathering of his friends at 4 pm at EAC [43 Clark Street] on Saturday October 29th, 2011.

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Mary Merz, Willowtown Activist and Architect, Dies at 85

By on September 16, 2011 4:02 pm in Obituaries

This in from Ben Bankson, President of the Willowtown Association:

Willowtown architect and activist Mary Merz died on September 15 after a long battle with lung cancer at her home on Willow Place designed by her and her husband Joe, also an architect. She was 85.

A memorial service is expected to be held late in October at St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn Heights. Continue Reading →

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Hope Reichbach, Levin’s Communications Director, Found Dead in Apartment

Hope Reichbach, Levin’s Communications Director, Found Dead in Apartment

By on April 29, 2011 12:04 am in News, Obituaries

Hope Reichbach, who served as Communications Director for Council Member Stephen Levin, was found dead in her apartment yesterday. She was 22. The Brooklyn Paper reports that “a memorial service is scheduled for noon on Sunday, May 1 at Congregation Mt. Sinai (250 Cadman Plaza West in Brooklyn Heights).” Continue Reading →

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Controversial Attorney Alan Young Has Passed Away

By on April 22, 2011 2:40 pm in Legal, Obituaries

Alan Young, partner in the Busy Chef/Blue Pig controversy has apparently passed away. No cause was given—the only information I have was a letter I received today telling me where to send my rent check (Alan Young was also my landlord) and that he had passed away April 5th. A search of the social security index, however, says that he died March 28th.

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Funeral Information for P.O. Schaberger

By on March 17, 2011 10:08 pm in News, Obituaries

Reader Willowtown Cop has given us information on funeral arrangements for Police Officer Alain Schaberger, of our own 84th Precinct, killed in the line of duty Sunday.

Fredrick J. Chapey & Sons Funeral Home;
200 East Main Street; East Islip, New York 11730
Friday March 18th; 9:30 am
Interment: Long Island National Cemetery;
2040 Wellwood Ave; Farmingdale, New York 11735

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Judge David Trager, 1937-2011

By on January 9, 2011 4:23 pm in Obituaries

Yeshiva World News

The Hon. David G. Trager, jurist, scholar, and Brooklyn Heights resident, died last Wednesday.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle: A Brooklyn federal judge who was renowned for vastly elevating the prestige and academic caliber of Brooklyn Law School while serving as dean (1983-93),
Hon. David G. Trager, has died at the age of 73. Continue Reading →

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Norris Church Mailer Dies at 61

By on November 21, 2010 9:15 pm in Arts and Entertainment, Obituaries

prlog.org

Norris Church Mailer, Brooklyn Heights resident and widow of Norman Mailer, who died three years ago, died today at her home. The cause was cancer.

The New York Times: Norris Church Mailer, a woman bred in the rural poverty of Arkansas who married Norman Mailer and managed his career and family life over three decades while carving out her own niche as a writer, died on Sunday at her home in Brooklyn Heights. She was 61.

She met Mailer when he came to her hometown of Russellville, Arkansas for a book signing, and later became a writer in her own right, publishing a memoir, A Ticket to the Circus, early this year. She was also the author of two novels, Cheap Diamonds and Windchill Summer. She is survived by her son by her marriage to Mailer, John Buffalo Mailer, a son, Matthew Norris, by her previous marriage (thanks to reader Lois for the update), and several stepchildren by Mr. Mailer’s previous marriages.

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Eagle Remembers Frank Spano

By on October 6, 2010 5:08 pm in brooklyn bridge park, Brooklyn Heights, Obituaries

Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Frank Spano of Brooklyn Heights, known for several blocks around as the unofficial “mayor,” died September 23 at the age of 66. The cause was cancer, said his sister Donnie Militello.

According to the Eagle, Spano was, at various times in his life, an altar boy at Assumption Church, an athlete, a doo-wop singer, a soldier, a dockworker, an exterminator, and a building maintenance man, most recently at 145 Henry Street. He was also for a time employed by the Parks Department and involved in the construction of Brooklyn Bridge Park. As the comments following this post indicate, he is remembered fondly by some of our readers.

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Phil Zinkewicz, Actor, Singer, Writer, 40 Year Heights Resident, Dies at 64

By on June 23, 2010 3:48 pm in Obituaries

I was very saddened to see this item:

The Brooklyn Eagle: Philip Zinkewicz, a 40-year resident of Brooklyn Heights known popularly for his acting and singing, but also a financial journalist, died at his Heights home on May 28. The cause was cancer, said his daughter Julianne Johnson. He would have been 65 on July 11.

Back in the summer of 1986 or ’87, I was at the bar of Clark Street Station, an establishment that occupied the space at 78 Clark now taken by Ozu. CSS had managed to attract the crowd that patronized Capulet’s on Montague before its closure, mainly by hiring its popular bartender, Gerry Bose. Anyway, on this particular evening, I overheard a short, stocky stranger with a jaunty moustache, sitting two stools away, say to Gerry, “I’m going to a convention in Chicago next week.” “So am I,” I interjected, “what are you going to?” “The National Association of Insurance Commissioners”, he answered. I almost fell off my stool. “Me, too.” He didn’t look the sort to be going to an NAIC meeting, but rather something more offbeat and creative. “My name’s Phil,” he said; “I write for the Journal of Commerce.” At the time, I was an in-house lawyer for an insurance company in downtown Manhattan, and had moved to the Heights just a few years before. Continue Reading →

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