Despite the protestors who prevented Senator Kirsten Gillibrand from speaking (see previous post) at the Brooklyn Heights Association’s Annual Meeting, much else was accomplished. As reported by Mary Frost in the Eagle, BHA president Koren Volk (photo), whose term ends soon, although she will remain on BHA’s board of directors, gave an account of BHA accomplishments over the past year, but focused her talk on the ongoing challenges and opportunites facing the neighborhood. She noted that the Federal Department of Transportation had rejected the NYC DOT’s request for funding to reconstruct the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway’s cantilevered section below Brooklyn Heights, and credited this to community opposition, including that of the BHA. She announced the launch of the BQE Environmental Justice Coalition, which will unite the Heights with other communities along the BQE to the north and south in concerns about the highway’s environmental impact. The launch event will take place at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, April 10, at the triangle at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and 16th Street.

Ms. Volk also spoke about the BHA’s “Public Realm” initiative, noting that a survey conducted by the BHA showed support for improved pedestrian access on Montague and other neighborhood streets. She said the BHA is committed to, as the Eagle story reports: “expanded sidewalks, more loading zones [to reduce double parking], traffic calming measures and ‘daylighting’ at intersections.” She credited City Council Member Lincoln Restler, who was present, along with the Cadman Park Conservancy, and the city Department of Parks for the replacement of the artificial turf in the park, and thanked dog owners for keeping their pets off the new turf. Ms. Volk also praised new businesses opening in the Heights, and announced that the Montague Diner, taking the former Happy Days Diner space and becoming a “bistro” during evening hours, will open on March 15.

There was a question and answer session during which, as the Eagle reports, it was asked “what’s happening with the Bossert Hotel (no one knows), and if a new homeless shelter is planned in the neighborhood (not that the BHA is aware of).” BHB stalwart Andrew Porter asked if more bishop’s crook lampposts would be installed in the North Heights. He was told that a contract was going out to bid, but it could be some time before any new lampposts are installed.

The meeting concluded with the Civic Service Awards, which were presented by Heights resident and former WNET-13 staff announcer Tom Stewart. One went to the Brooklyn Public Library in honor of its “Books Unbanned” program, which allows electronic access to books banned locally anywhere in the nation. It was accepted on behalf of BPL by Rachel Tiemann, librarian and branch manager of BPL’s Brooklyn Heights Branch. The other award went to The Service Collective, organized by two Heights moms, Sarah Robertson and Amanda Jones, who wanted ways for their kids to engage in community service. Through The Sevice Collective, kids are now, as the Eagle story notes, active in projects “from filling the community fridge, to gardening, shopping for homebound neighbors and creating ‘adopt an animal’ cards for local shelters.” Ms. Jones accepted the award. The Service Collective was also honored as one of the BHB Ten for 2023.

“Whenever Happy comes to me for a cuddle I whisper my thanks to him for all he has done for Maya.”

Thus began Naomi Shrenzel’s story about her son Maya and their kitten Happy, a story of how the kitten and the boy changed each other’s lives, a story that won $50,000 for the Brooklyn Cat Cafe, a grant that will help the Cafe continue to change the lives of humans and animals in our community.

Maya began suffering from panic attacks when he was in fourth grade, attacks that got so bad that Maya stopped eating and drinking; his health deteriorated to the point that he was at risk of hospitalization.

“When Maya was distracted, he was much calmer,” wrote Shrenzel, “so we decided to try feline friends.”

“We visited the Brooklyn Cat Cafe and saw a group of five kitten brothers. We fell in love and brought our foster boys home. They were tiny, fitting into one carrier. Four brothers quickly ran out to explore. The lone kitten left was Happy, the smallest and weakest of the bunch. Maya’s heart melted as he joined Happy on the floor to coax him out of the carrier. In that moment, our child, who needed such patient, gentle caretaking, began his own journey as a caretaker.”

Both Happy and Maya thrived, the mutually beneficial relationship helping them both grow stronger and more confident. Now in 10th grade, Maya recently experienced a night-time panic attack, but gone were the fearful, desperate reactions from the past.

“’I remembered to do my breathing and I went and got Happy, he stayed with me,’ Maya said with pride.”

You can read Maya’s full story here, and the story of the Cafe’s 2023 win here.

Each year, Petco Love in partnership with BOBS® from Skechers® sponsors a campaign that calls for pet adopters to share how their adopted pets have changed their lives for the better. This is Brooklyn Cat Cafe’s fourth consecutive win, and the Cafe is one of 25 nationwide winners from thousands of entries.

“What makes our rescue work rewarding is that cats like Happy find homes where they not only thrive, but also make a positive difference in the lives of the people who love them,” said Anne Levin, Executive Director of Brooklyn Bridge Animal Welfare Coalition and Brooklyn Cat Cafe. “There are far too many sick kittens like Happy still on the streets of New York City. This lifesaving investment from Petco Love will help us to save many more lives and provide needed services to other rescue groups trying to do the same.”

Since its founding in 2007, the Brooklyn Bridge Animal Welfare Coalition, the nonprofit that runs Brooklyn Cat Cafe, has rescued nearly 10,000 cats, creating nearly that many happy endings for New York City’s at-risk cat population. In addition to the cafe and adoption program, BBAWC also offers We offer low-cost spay/neuter services for owned pets as well as surgical and medical services to rescuers working with homeless cats.

Follow the Cafe and its adorable feline inhabitants on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

Mary Frost’s Eagle story contains what she calls some “chilling” information about the City Department of Transportation’s and Mayor Adams’s plans for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway beyond the urgent repair work now underway. The bad news for Brooklyn Heights is that these plans would include demolition of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade (although it would eventually be replaced by “something bigger and better”) and temporary removal of the bridge that carries Columbia Heights over the BQE, along with the Harry Chapin Playground and part of Squibb Park. This would eliminate direct access by foot, bicycle or auto, from the Heights to the Fulton Ferry District, DUMBO, and the northern parts of Brooklyn Bridge Park, including the new skating rink and Jane’s Carousel. It would also deny Heights dog owners any practicable access to the Hillside Dog Park. The purpose of this is to create clearances that would accommodate larger trucks (although ones that would supposedly comply with the now enforceable weight limits, presuming those limits, which could protect a rebuilt BQE from future damage, would remain in effect).

The good news is that we have allies. Communities all along the BQE to our north and south, as Ms. Frost reports, have a common interest in avoiding the increased air pollution and noise from an expanded BQE. We also have allies in the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, Borough Hall, the City Council, and the State Senate and Assembly. The national Public Interest Research Group has, responding to a nomination by the Brooklyn Heights Association, included the proposed expansion of the BQE among its “Highway Boondoggles of 2023.” A newly formed group, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Environmental Justice Coalition, has sent an open letter to Governor Kathy Hochul with this request:

We urge your office and agencies to work together to (1) release any recently submitted grant applications for federal funding, and (2) create a comprehensive community-led plan centered on racial justce and equity that addresses the environmental and health impacts of air pollution, reconnects our communities, and meets our climate targets.

I suppose we could have a debate, but I’d win: there’s really nothing more Fall than Halloween in Brooklyn Heights. And with a world going sideways, we need community, small humans and canines in costumes, Fall lovers and spectators, pumpkins, homemade treats and gratitude in this harvest home. This Saturday, October 28th, is shaping up for a good dose of all of those things in the neighborhood. 

Now, there are many options, but I’m partial to at least part of the day being spent at Plymouth Church’s historic Yankee Fair. It’s back post-pandemic!  Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 75 Hicks Street, with Orange Street closed off for kid rides and booths.

I’ll be there early slinging Roebling Lattes and Promenade Fogs—my fancy names for toting along my beloved milk frother to top off standard church coffee and tea with foam—at my booth—Brooklyn Loaves + Dishes.  Stop by if you want to talk neighborhood stuff and nosh on magic bars and poppy seed bread between visits to the book sale, vintage clothing, history tours, chili lunch, sing-alongs and pumpkin crafts.

BloomAgainBklyn will be there spreading flowers and joy too! 

Profits go to Heifer International for world food relief so track down your Venmo password.

Alas, my kids have outgrown the BHA’s annual Brooklyn Heights Halloween Parade, which also kicks off on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Clark Street, traveling down the Promenade. Don’t miss it! Please indulge me a little Parade nostalgia—a personal Eras Tour—starting with my #1 favorite family costume creation: 

a homemade Empire State Building and Miss Liberty circa 2000.

It was an innocent time.

Little did we know the next Halloween, we’d need Batman or something,.. anything…to carry us through Gotham’s darkest days.

Halloween of 2001 was somber. Our homemade Batmobile had a flag license plate. Neighbors flooded local firehouses, reeling from September 11th losses, with donated candy and community warmth. We paraded our wagons and Batmans and Barbies, princesses, pirates and Power Rangers, ghouls, dinosaurs and puppies to pay respects to the real superheroes–our first responders.

And our community somehow carried on. 

Young neighbors at the Hicks Street Firehouse–October 31, 2001.

Until eventually, we were able to gaze upwards again.

This Saturday, with so many choices, how about a circuit of the neighborhood? You could stop in at Plymouth’s Yankee Fair for your latte, pick up a HandMade Booth knit cap or one of my vintage NYC subway map ornaments made while watching messed up news this week (and if we’re honest, mostly by my husband James, a local architect and waaaaay more skillful with the Modge Podge).

Get an early look at the trunks of vintage jewelry donated for this year’s sale and then stroll to the Promenade for the BHA Parade at 11 a.m. and down to the event-filled Montague BID Open Streets for games and demonstrations. Then make your way back to Plymouth for a community lunch of pulled pork and vegan chili, and an Underground Railroad history tour.

Or, start at the Parade, linger on Montague Open Streets and come by Yankee Fair in the afternoon in time for Raymond Trapp and his jazzy friends to warm you up at the 2 p.m. community singalong. I hear they’re playing Sweet Caroline! Watch kids bounce away the sugar. Or grab a last minute costume at the Underground Thrift Store. By then, the Trinkets and Treasures booth may have gone half price and the book sellers will be begging you to fill a bag on the cheap.

At Brooklyn Loaves + Dishes, I’ll sell you my famous Kentucky Derby pie—bipartisan this year with Brooklyn and Kentucky bourbon—for your Thanksgiving (they freeze well!) And, you can shop the frozen food aisle for dinner—applesauce, pesto from basil grown in Red Hook, holy bread pudding with bourbon sauce, French commando onion soup and Uncle Frankie’s Beef Bourguignon.

I’ll give you an ice pack so you can finish off your late afternoon along Montague Street, maybe even ending at the Cocktail Co-op at Clinton and Henry for an adult beverage from a local merchant.

Yankee Fair has been building tradition in Brooklyn Heights for years.

Check out these vintage posters.

I’ll throw in a free latte or pretzel rod if you mention this post! For the healthy eaters, I adorned some with dark chocolate, chia and hemp seeds, so no excuses.

Or try a sample of  Brooklyn Granola– because we are all a bit sweet and a bit salty, sometimes nutty, sometimes nutritious— and all mixed into this together.

Whatever you do this weekend, soak in Brooklyn Heights at Halloween. I’ll see you out there. I’m grateful for our community of warmth where we stand together, in the toughest days, costumed up as needed, and counting on each other.

Follow the Brooklyn Heights Blog and follow me at Insta: kostercaroline75 and X: @aikenkoster © 2023 Caroline Aiken Koster. All rights reserved.

For the first time in many weeks, no rain is being forecast for this Saturday, October 28. Open Streets Montague, presented by the Montague BID, promises to be a “SPOOK-tacular” pre-Halloween event, with local merchants inviting trick-or-treaters; free pumpkins while they last from a Pumpkin Patch; Halloween themed games, fitness, and dance events; music by Brooklyn’s own youth band JAW from 3:00 to 4:00 pm between Henry and Hicks; and a preview of the Brooklyn Folk Festival (coming November 11-13; details here later) featuring Caroline Kuhn from 2:00 to 3:00 pm between Henry and Hicks and from 3:00 to 4:00 pm between Clinton and Henry. The Brooklyn Women’s Exchange, 137 Montague (below the UPS store) from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm will feature a demonstration of woodcarving by Dennis Taylor. and from 2:00 to 4:00 pm Brooklyn Slime will be in front of the store to allow you to “sample some slime, learn some slime tricks and see the latest fall collection.” Photographer Amy Gibbs will be near 125 Montague from noon until 4:00 pm to photograph you, your children, or your pets. As always, there will be an adults only “Cocktail Co-Op” where you may take your drink (and food) from any local source to enjoy. It will be between Clinton and Henry from noon unti 6:00 pm. There’s a complete schedule of activities and locations here.

It might be the dog days of summer, but this August, Cat Cafe is the place to be.

The first full moon of the month–one of two supermoons!–happens on August 1, so head over to the Cafe on Tuesday from 7-9pm for an evening of tarot, yoga, and reiki that will benefit the new Single Cat Room, enabling the Cafe to help more vulnerable cats.

The event is 21+, $50 if you buy tickets in advance, $60 at the door.

Kitten parties! Feeling a dearth of baby felines in your life? Attend or host a kitten party at the Cafe. For $50, you get an hour of playtime with the Cafe’s littlest residents to play, cuddle, and photograph the babies, while also helping them get used to being around humans. Tickets and more info here.

Merch! Monday, July 31 is the last day to purchase Anti Social Cat Person shirts and hats, available in a variety of sizes, colors, and styles. Check them out here.

The Cat Cafe is located at 76 Montague Street; follow the felines on Facebook and Instagram.

In Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker sci-fi trilogy he imagined something called an “SEP field.” A spaceship surrounded by such a field became invisible because it was “Someone Else’s Problem.” The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, it seems, isn’t covered by a single SEP field, but by a multiplicity of them, depending on the point of view. For those of us living near the triple cantilevered portion it is an environmental problem consisting of air pollution, noise, and vibration. For those living elsewhere who rely on the BQE to commute by car, and for businesses that rely on it for delivery or shipment of goods, it is a problem of maintaing and possibly improving traffic flow. To them our environmental concerns are SEP, as are their transportation concerns to us. The City’s Department of Transportation is required to take environmental matters into consideration, but its principal concern, like that of the drivers and business owners, is traffic flow. Those living north and south of the cantilevered portion would like to see the impact of the BQE on their neighborhoods minimized, perhaps by covering the trenched parts or by burying the elevated ones. A complicating factor is that those parts of the BQE are under state control, while the “central” part from Atlantic Avenue to Sands Street is under city control. This means that different sets of elected and administrative officials, who may have different concerns, must be involved in reaching any comprehensive solution.

A particular matter of concern for Brooklyn Heights, Fulton Ferry Historic District, and DUMBO residents and businesses is the Department of Transportation’s plan, described in Mary Frost’s Eagle story, to take down the “bridge” that carries Columbia Heights over the BQE in order to raise it a few inches to accommodate larger trucks. This would also entail destroying the Harry Chapin Playground, which DOT says will be replaced with an improved version. For the duration of the demolition and re-construction it would block direct access between the Heights on one side and on the other the Fulton Ferry Historic District and DUMBO, as well as the northern parts of Brooklyn Bridge Park, including Jane’s Carousel. It would also block access between PS 8 and the Park, and deny use of the Hillside Dog Park to Heights residents and their pets. All this is not to mention the extreme discomfort the demolition and reconstruction process will cause residents of the North Heights. Former DOT Commissioner Hank Gutman is quoted by Ms. Frost as describing this plan as his “favorite proposal for sheer chutzpah.”

Already home to dozens of cats, the Brooklyn Cat Cafe will soon be able to accommodate even more homeless felines, thanks to a $165,000 grant from the New York State Companion Animal Capital Projects Fund.

The Cafe will use the money to develop the second floor of its home at 76 Montague Street, enabling it to expand its operations and work with specialized felines populations. The expansion will include a nursery for mama cats and kittens; a room dedicated to cats who have been infected with the contagious feline leukemia virus; and a space for single, adult cats.

The room for FeLV-positive cats will be the first such feline accommodation in New York City.

The Cafe is also going to build a outdoor public catio, also the first of its kind in the city.

The additional space will enable cats that can’t be housed in the Cafe’s main space to interact with people and have freedom of movement.

The Cafe’s parent organization is the Brooklyn Bridge Animal Welfare Coalition, and in 2020, BBAWC opened a discounted rescue veterinary clinic for cats at the Cafe. In 2021, BBAWC opened a deeply discounted spay/neuter and surgery clinic for cat rescuers and low-income cat owners. Part of the grant money will fund additional space and medical equipment for these services.

The Cafe expects the grant to cover half the cost of its expansion plans, and in order to secure the funds, BBAWC will need to raise the other $165,000 by the end of August of this year. A new event space connected to the catio will be available to rent for private events, helping generate revenue for rescue operations. The Cafe also accepts donations.

 Since 2006, when BBAWC was established, it has rescued more than 7,000 cats and more than 100 other animals. More than 6,000 animals have been placed in permanent homes and over 1,000 cats have been TNRed (trapped-neutered-returned).

“We are very grateful to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets for this critical funding. The new space will provide shelter cats that cannot be housed in Brooklyn Cat Cafe’s main space with better enrichment and more opportunities to socialize with people, leading to quicker adoptions and increasing our ability to rescue other cats waiting for intake,” said Anne Levin, Executive Director of Brooklyn Bridge Animal Welfare Coalition and Brooklyn Cat Cafe. “In addition, the new medical equipment and veterinary space will allow us to treat rescued cats more quickly and make them available for adoption sooner.”

“Our current space doesn’t allow the public to meet leukemia positive cats or many single adult cats,” said Julia Rosenfeld, Managing Director of Rescue. “People will be able to play with these cats on a sunny outdoor catio, or in a spacious new event space, and hopefully take home a feline friend they might not have considered before.”

Visit catcafebk.com or follow on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Cat Cafe.

According to Rebecca Baird-Remba in the Commercial Observer, a “[n]ational veterinary chain”, GoodVets, has committed to lease 2,899 square feet at 125 Montague Street (photo, by C. Scales for BHB) for a veterinary hospital expected to open about one year from now. We presume the 2.899 square feet are the former Ann Taylor LOFT space on the building’s street level. With Chama Mama preparing to open in the former LPQ space, this means the ground floor of 125 Montague will be occupied for the first time in about two years.

Money can’t buy you love, but love can get you money– $50,000 to be exact.

Andrew grew up afraid of animals, so the Brooklyn Cat Cafe was not exactly a dream date location for him. But when his girlfriend Colleen suggested that they visit, he reluctantly went along.

A petite dilute Tortoiseshell with a badly injured eye, Capricornia was rescued from the Bronx and took up residence at the Cafe on Montague St. And perhaps with the unerring instinct of a feline who can spot a cat-wary human, she jumped right into Andrew’s lap.

Skinny, scraggly, and sick, she had required no small amount of care, vet visits, and medication to regain her health. She commanded–and demanded–attention with her raspy, loud meow.

“In that half hour visit, something inside me changed forever,” recalled Andrew in a post on Petco Love’s Facebook page.

The man who had decreed to his girlfriend Colleen that their home must be pet-free now scoops litter and heats up Capricornia’s food for her, delighted to have added another family member. Then he made another big decision.

“I never expected it would be a cat who would make me look up and see it was time to make our new family permanent, but there I was with a diamond ring waiting to ask Colleen if she would give me and Capricornia our forever home.”

That story earned $50,000 for the Cafe from Petco Love as part of the foundation’s Petco Love Stories, an annual campaign that asks pet adopters to share how their new companions have changed their lives. Only 18 awards are given annually.

“Our Petco Love Stories campaign is in its tenth year, and there is no end to the amazing, emotional stories of how pets change our lives,” said Petco Love President, Susanne Kogut. “These winning Love Stories capture the love we all feel for our pets. They celebrate the lifesaving act of pet adoption and the unconditional bond we share with our pets who enrich our lives in so many ways.”

Capricornia was one of over 1,200 cats rescued in 2022 by Brooklyn Cat Cafe, which since opening in 2016 has welcomed more 100,000 visitors. In 2021, the Brooklyn Bridge Animal Welfare Coalition, the organization that runs the Cafe, took in more cats than any organization in the city except Animal Care Centers, the city’s municipal shelter. The Cafe operates one of the largest in-home foster programs for cats in New York City, and in 2020, BBAWC launched a discounted veterinary clinic for cat rescuers at Brooklyn Cat Cafe, following in 2021 by the opening of a deeply discounted spay/neuter and surgery clinic for cat rescuers and low-income cat owners.

“We are so happy that after such a hard journey, Capricornia has helped create a loving family of her own,” said Julia Rosenfeld, Managing Director of Rescue at Brooklyn Cat Cafe. “There are too many cats like Capricornia on the streets of New York City and this grant from Petco Love will help us to save many more lives and provide needed services to other rescues trying to do the same.”

For more great stories and photos, visit catcafebk.com or follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Or better yet– head over to 76 Montague St. and find a Capricornia of your very own.

Photos provided by Brooklyn Cat Café and used with permission

Open Streets Montague, sponsored by Montague Street BID and the Brooklyn Heights Association, returns this Saturday, September 10 from noon to 7:00 PM. All parked cars must be moved from Montague between Clinton Street and Hicks Street before noon; an emergency lane will be open during the event. This Saturday’s Open Streets will feature a number of activities for dogs and their owners, including a blessing of the dogs by Canon John Denaro of St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church at 1:30, a “pawty” presented by PupScale Events from 1:00 to 3:00, also from 1:00 to 3:00 portraits of dogs with or without owners by a professional photographer, a “dog agility and ask the trainer” session with DogboyNYC from 2:00 to 4:00. From 1:00 to 5:00 Little L’s Pet Bakery’s “all natural artisan dog treats” and Whiskey and Woof’s “candles inspired by dog and human relationships” (promising “no wet dog smell”) will be for sale. All day long Sammy at Pet’s Emporium, 103 Montague, will greet you and your pets with treats and many good things for sale.

There will be many other activities in addition to the many dog themed events, including a potluck dinner party featuring games and taekwondo presented by Champion Martial Arts, 151 Montague, and Montague Street BID from 12:30 to 3:00, and a concert and dance party presented by St. Ann & the Holy Trinity from 3:00 to 6:00. A full schedule of activities and more information is here.

Update:

Last night at 12:30 a.m., Romeo returned home after two nights out on the town. He devoured his food, drank a lot of water and purred for an hour. Then he became his usual crabby self again. We’re so happy he’s back!

Where wert thou, Romeo??

A neighborhood family’s adored cat Romeo is missing. From the family:

Romeo is a very curious 2 year old Siamese cat, who sometimes is let out in our garden. Last night, Romeo sneaked out and ventured further away. He should have his collar, and is chipped. Please call or text (646) 301-3880 if you see him. We miss him!

The family lives on Henry St. near the corner of Clark St. on the Clark’s Diner side. Romeo was last seen around 7:00 p.m. He has never left his family overnight. Let’s bring this beloved feline family member back home!

You might remember that Rocco & Jezebel for Pets on Pineapple Walk was set to close with owners Andrea Demetropoulos and John Marcolini retiring. Great news for their clients and the community: Jo Batista and Steve Perez are here to save the business.

Jo worked for Andrea and John for six years and when a potential buyer fell through, Jo brought up the idea of taking over. But she knew she couldn’t do it alone and asked longtime friend Steve to be her business partner. “Steve didn’t have experience working with animals, but I knew he loved animals. And he has experience handling inventory and in business in general. He’s also very tech savvy. Steve’s someone I’ve known for years and I totally trust him. Asking him to join me is the best decision I’ve ever made.”

Asked how the first month under the new ownership has been, Jo said, “It’s been great, super busy. I’m already well-known in the community and have a good relationship with the customers. They know that I take really good care of their animals, so we’ve gotten a lot of support. Being able to take over Rocco & Jezebel has been an honor and a blessing. Andrea and John have been like parents to me and I appreciate everything they’ve done.”

Steve added, “When Covid hit, the company I worked for as a sales manager closed. So I was looking to open my own business when Jo called me. I hadn’t worked with animals, but I had pets my entire life – dogs, cats, frogs, parakeets, iguanas. I knew we’re not going to get rich doing this, but we’re best friends and we both love animals. I love this community too. It’s such a beautiful neighborhood. We can work 9, 10 hours a day and go home happy.”

Steve Perez with Nicki Calfee and Daphne

Customer Nicki Calfee stopped in with her 1 ½ year old dog Daphne. “I stop in to buy food and treats, but mostly for dog care. If we need to board Daphne, this is the place we go to. Everyone here is so kind and loving to Daphne. When I leave Daphne here, I know she’s safe, happy, and well cared for. I was pretty upset when I thought they were going to close for good. There really isn’t any place like it in the area, where we can leave Daphne to get such good care.”

Another longtime customer Kelly Maina said, “We’re so thrilled that Jo and Steve are at the helm and so excited to see how they’ll build upon the Rocco & Jezebel legacy. Jo’s been taking care of our dog Banjo since he was a puppy, and she’s like family to us. Small businesses like these are the heart of the community, and it’s a joy and a relief to know we’ll continue to have a trusted neighborhood spot for all our pet’s needs.”

Let’s wish Jo and Steve the best and support our local small businesses.

After 13 years in business on Pineapple Walk, Rocco & Jezebel for Pets will close for good at the end of July. The blog spoke to owners Andrea Demetropoulos and John Marcolini about their decision to call it quits.

Was it the pandemic? “That was part of it,” said Andrea, “but it was my daughter Hillary’s death that led to the decision. I also had a mini-stroke in April, and at the age of 69, it’s become too much. We have incredible customers who are very unhappy with this decision, but they also want me to take care of myself.” John added, “Business has been terrible anyway. There are a lot of well-to-do people in this neighborhood who took off last year, and the ones who stayed started ordering online.” Was it the rent as well? “Everyone asks that,” said Andrea, “but our rent is great. Our landlord even gave us a break for 5 months last year.”

Andrea and John put the business up for sale, but they’ve not had a committed buyer yet. If anyone reading is interested, the price is $350,000 and includes cages, grooming equipment, kennels, shelving, washer and dryer, kitchen, cat room, and air conditioner.

Meanwhile, there’s a clearance sale until the end of the month. All inventory, including toys, carriers, clothing, booties, leashes, harnesses, collars, beds, and grooming supplies, are all 50% off.

Good luck and happy retirement to Andrea and John.

It’s time to pawty!

Five years ago, the Brooklyn Cat Café opened its doors on Atlantic Avenue. So successful that it quickly outgrew that space, the Café moved to 76 Montague Street two years later, significantly expanding its operations, and in 2019, more than 30,000 people from around the world visited the Café, with hundreds more attending private events and classes.

Walking into the Café brings a rush of sheer delight: the gamboling kittens in the terrarium (which you can watch on a live camera 24/7); the feline sentries who come to check out the new visitor; the blasé older cats who look at you skeptically, wondering whether you’ve brought treats.

When the pandemic hit last March, I signed up to be a Café driver and travelled to four of the five boroughs to pick up and deliver foster and adopted cats and kittens. I dropped off and picked up cats from several borough veterinary clinics, who support the Café by offering lower-cost vet and dental care and spay/neuter services. I watched people weep with joy as a new pet was delivered to them and with happy sadness as one of their fosters left to go a permanent home.

Closed for six months in 2019 as a result of the pandemic, the Café lost 85% of its revenue even as it continued its vital work to help New York City’s felines. A recipient of grants from the ASPCA, Petco Love, and GS Humane, the Café went into overdrive, finding foster and adoptive homes for hundreds of cats. As a result of the funding, the Café was able to launch a low-cost, pop-up veterinary clinic and will soon open a low-cost spay/neutr clinic.

Some eye-popping numbers:

• In 2020, over 1,100 cats went through the Café’s foster network.
• More than 1,000 cats were daopted in that time period (compared to 430 in 2019)
• There are currently 150 cats in the Café’s foster system, and 350 have been adopted so far this year.

Visitors to the Café this weekend will be entered to win a free one-hour private kitten party, a free one-hour visit for two at Brooklyn Cat Café, or a Turning Five and Feline Fine 5 Year Anniversary Benefit T-shirt. All visitors will receive cat-ear headbands and can purchase vintage Brooklyn Cat Café T-shirts for $5 while supplies last.

Tickets are also available for Turning Five and Feline Fine, a virtual five-year anniversary benefit featuring Seth Meyers, Téa Leoni, John Doman, Lance Reddick, Reshma Shetty, Ophira Eisenberg, Laura Brown and more guest stars to be announced soon. The event will stream at 7 pm on June 3rd. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased at fiveyears.catcafebk.com.

Brooklyn Cat Café is open Friday – Sunday, 12 pm – 7 pm. Cost is $10 per person per half hour and advance reservations are required at catcafebk.com/reservations.

Find them on social media. Even better…find them on Montague Street, and celebrate and support this neighborhood gem.

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Twitter

Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Cat Café

As we noted last week, the Cat Café is collecting clean towels, blankets, sheets, and pet beds for NYC’s Animal Care Centers. Initially slated to wrap up on Aug. 28, the drive has been extended until this Friday, September 4. 

In addition, the Café is seeking donations of newspapers, either tied up or in bags, which volunteers use in their trap-neuter-return work.

You can drop off items at the Café from 10am – noon and 6 – 8pm.

The Café is at 76 Montague Street, between Hicks St. and Pierrepont/Montague Place.

You can follow the Cafe on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and ACC on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

The city’s municipal animal shelters–which are required to accept any animal brought to it–are in need of clean towels, blankets, sheets, and pet beds.

Our own Cat Café is coordinating collection, saving you a trip to the borough shelters.

You can drop off items at the Café until Friday, August 28, from 10am – noon and 6 – 8pm.

The Café is at 76 Montague Street, between Hicks St. and Pierrepont/Montague Place.

You can follow the Cafe on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and ACC on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Since mid-March, I’ve been delivering cats.

Not in the “giving birth” kind of delivery, but in the “ordering delivery” sense, when someone wants/needs something and someone else brings it to their door.

As people began working from home, they wanted a furry companion beside them, or they had the time to devote to a new pet, or they wanted to do something good at a time when everything felt awful.

So our beloved Cat Cafe was flooded with requests to foster cats and kittens, and I had the absolute pleasure of delivering the coveted felines to their humans.

Now, four months into our bizarre new world, the consequences of Covid are less pleasant.

• In March, the ASPCA shut down its spay/neuter program, which provided free surgeries, testing, and vaccinations to rescue programs and certified TNR (trap-neuter-return) personnel–the program spayed/neutered hundreds of cats a day. During the four-month suspension of the program, a lot of cats that would have been rendered reproductively useless this spring have instead indulged the call of nature, resulting in a kitten explosion.
• As summer approached, many (more) New Yorkers left the city, reducing the number of available people to foster/adopt.
• The city animal shelter system, Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC), which is required by law to take every animal brought to it, has drastically reduced intake since the beginning of the pandemic shutdown in mid-March and is referring the public to small, private rescue groups (like Brooklyn Bridge Animal Welfare Coalition, which runs the Cafe), usually run by single individuals or a few people, paying costs mostly out of pocket.
• ACC has stopped doing spay/neuter surgeries, so rescue groups that pull animals from the shelter are having now to pay the costs themselves. There are limited private veterinarians that offer discounts and those that do have very limited appointment spots. Rescuers who were getting spay/neuter and vaccines for free are now paying $100 – $200 per cat, when they can get an appointment.

How has this affected the Cafe and BBAWC?

• Through the end of June 2020, BBAWC and the Cafe took in 539 adoptable animals and adopted out 440. These numbers match the number of animals the organization helped in all of 2019.
• In 2019, they were able to trap-neuter-return 239 cats; so far this year, they’ve been able to TNR only 86.
• Their veterinary costs last year were about $75,000, a number they have already exceeded this year.
• In 2019, nearly half of the 14,000 cats taken in by ACC were transferred to private rescues. Before COVID, all of those cats would have been spayed/neutered before being released to a rescue. Now, many are released to rescues intact.

Because many of the big, well-funded shelters in New York City work only with adoptable animals, small rescues are fielding constant requests from people finding homeless cats and kittens in their neighborhoods, many of which are feral and unsuitable for adoption. These small, independent rescues rely on donations, fundraisers, and volunteers to do their work.

How can you help?

• Of course, you can donate. All donations are fully tax-deductible.
• Adopt!
• Not ready for that commitment? You can foster, too.
• Become a volunteer driver. It’s an easy, contactless way to help, and you get to explore neighborhoods all over NYC.
• Share this post on your own social media channels.

The Cafe itself is still closed under Phase 4 restrictions, but you can keep up with its residents and needs on both Instagram and Facebook.

While the good folks at the Brooklyn Cat Café have continued to rescue and care for animals over the last month, it has, like so many other neighborhood businesses, been closed to the public and suspended its popular classes.

But no more! In partnership with AirBNB Experience, the Café will begin offering its popular Stretch and Snuggle class online. The Café has been chosen by AirBNB as one of a small group of non-profits that the platform is featuring through a series of “social impact experiences.” The Café’s classes have nearly 100 five-star reviews (scroll down).

Instructor Ashley Soomai will lead participants through active stretching activities to lengthen and strengthen your body, providing plenty of time to stop and cuddle with whatever pets may be joining you. Café resident cats and rabbits will also join the class.

At a time when most of us are more sedentary than we’d like, the class will offer the chance to help you prevent injuries and increase energy, toning your body and your mind.

Cost of the class is $19 (benefitting both the instructor and the Café). Once you sign up, you’ll receive a link and instructions on how to join the class.

Classes will be offered:

Monday, April 20, 6:00 – 7:00 pm

Wednesday, April 22, 8:00 – 9:00 pm

Thursday, April 23, 5:00 – 6:00 pm

Sunday, April 26, noon to 1:00 pm

Thursday, April 30, 5:00 – 6:00 pm

Sunday, May 3, noon to 1:00 pm

Reserve your spot here, and follow the Café on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Cat Café

For the last several weeks, I’ve been transporting cats from the Café to and from foster and adoptive homes. As people have been required to stay home, many have decided that it’s the perfect time to foster or adopt a new pet.

Now, the Café is providing support for people who already have pets and who may be in personal or financial difficulty as a result of Covid-19. Below is a press release introducing the Café’s latest initiative, NYCFoster.org.

In partnership with Cat Castle and Brooklyn Fat Cats, our Cat Cafe has established the NYC Covid Pet Plan, an emergency foster network for New York City’s non-profit animal rescue organization to provide assistance for pet owners adversely affected by COVID-19.

At nycfoster.org, pet owners in NYC will have access to tools to help them create an advance plan for their pet should they become too ill to care for them. Pet owners will also be able to apply for temporary pet fostering should they become hospitalized or lose housing. Pet owners experiencing temporary economic distress can apply for limited assistance with pet food. Current service areas are in Brooklyn, Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx but may expand as other rescue groups join the coalition.

“This type of environment can put a tremendous strain on our neighbors and friends. We want to ensure that not only are humans cared for – but that contingency plans are enacted to ensure the wellbeing of our furry friends,” said Anne Levin, Executive Director of Brooklyn Cat Cafe and Founder of NYC COVID Pet Plan. “NYC COVID Pet Plan will provide much needed support to pet-owning families affected by COVID-19 and take some of the strain off overburdened city shelters. During this time of immense stress, we want to support our neighbors to our greatest ability.”

NYC COVID Pet Plan is seeking fosters, volunteers, and rescue partners. For those interested in participating in the coalition, or accessing resources provided, please visit nycfoster.org.

Photo: Cat Café alum Gwen happy in her new home

]]> http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/90733/feed 0 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/90425 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/90425#comments Tue, 17 Mar 2020 15:08:23 +0000 http://brooklynheightsblog.com/?p=90425

Working from home? Schooling from home? What better time to bring a furry friend in as a foster?

You definitely need some company now that you’re cooped up, and now that the kids are home, they can learn all about the care and feeding of a foster feline (or four).

Our own Brooklyn Cat Cafe is seeking both fosters and transport help. Not ready to take in an animal? Have a car? You can transport cats and supplies to their new foster homes…minimal human contact, maximum good for the community.

Also, it gets you out of the house for an hour or two without having to be in close contact with humans.

Do it for Pumpkin…

Application to foster a cat

Roster of cats available to foster

Application to transport 

Check out the Cat Cafe on

Instagram

Twitter

Facebook

A welcome report from Fidget’s owner:

“She’s home!!! She’s an old lady and I’m so happy that she’s safe and warm. I have no clue where she went for 2 days!”

Here she is, sleeping on her owner’s chest minutes after returning.

This feline beauty has been missing since earlier today. Fidget is gray and white and was last seen at Hicks and Joralemon. Call 917 741 1685 if you see her.

[Warning: Do not read this while eating, or if you generally have a weak stomach.]

Long time readers may recall the dog poop vigilante of 2011 who took matters into her own hands and taped signs around two lumps of dog feces left on Hicks St. reading, “Pick up your sh*t or don’t have a dog” and “What kind of lazy person leaves dog sh*t?” Why was she driven to such extreme measures? Her one-year-old almost picked up a log with his bare hands.

This morning, while walking through Cadman park at about 9:00 a.m., I came upon a fresh, still-wet pool of dog diarrhea that showed a half-hearted, shameless, and narcissistic attempt at clean up. If you’ve ever been to Cadman park on a nice day, you’ve seen the masses of kids rolling around on the turf.

I mean, look at that. I couldn’t just leave that there for someone’s toddler to roll in it or grab at it. So, I marched to the field office behind the monument and spoke to a Parks worker. She was very nice and grateful for the heads up and said, “We’ll be clearing the litter soon anyway.” Not trusting how long that would take, I went back home, printed a sign, and covered up the biohazard. By that time, there were already four tiny tots toodling around on the turf.

Asked for comment, the O.G. dog poop vigilante said, “It’s nice to see that someone has carried the torch to keep curious toddlers safe from disease in the Brooklyn Heights community.”

To the very selfish, very reckless offender: The EPA classifies dog poop as a toxic pollutant in the same category as chemical and oil spills. If your dog is sick and has diarrhea, I’m guessing it’s even more hazardous. Do you really need a lesson on zoonotic diseases given the recent news?

To all dog owners who use Cadman as a dog run before 9:00 a.m.: Please look out for each other. As one reader commented in the past, “If you see sh*t, say sh*t.”

Yuk it up this Thursday, November 14, when the Cat Café on Montague Street hosts a comedy night from 7:00 – 8:30 pm. Tickets are $20.

Comedy not your thing? Then join those flexible felines on Wednesday nights for a yoga/stretch/snuggle session, in which you’ll learn how to use active stretching to help lengthen and strengthen your body. Proper stretching helps prevent injuries, increase energy and contributes to the body being in balance. Cats will participate at their leisure, and students may stop, drop and cuddle as needed. Ages 14 and up. Every Wednesday from 7 – 8pm. $25/session.

Photo courtesy of the Brooklyn Cat Café

Looking for something a little more adventurous? Like, oh, maybe, climbing in a terrarium to help socialize kittens? The Friday night Kitten Party is for you! Cuddle, play, fed, and photograph the youngest residents of the Café, which will provide kittens, toys, a Polaroid camera…and a bottle opener. Bring yourself, and “any drinks that would make this kitten party even more fun.”  21 and over, please. $50, 7 – 8pm.

It may be only November 12, but you’re lying if you say you’re not already thinking about holiday presents. Why not some merch for the feline-lovers in your life?

Photo courtesy of the Brooklyn Cat Café

And remember: every dollar you spend at the Café helps support its work in rescuing, caring for, and finding homes for Brooklyn’s cats.

Finally, for the artistic among you…

The Café will host a Feline Film Festival next March. Short film submissions must relate to cats or cat rescue and be no longer than 20 minutes. These should be narrative pieces, not just videos of cats, and documentaries, parodies, comedies, film noir, drama or horror are all welcome.

Cat video submissions should be under five minutes, and no creatures (humans or animals) should be harmed or treated cruelly in any of the submissions.

Winning clips will be screened during the Festival, March 25 -29 in Brooklyn, NY. Prizes will be announced and awarded at a reception on Wednesday March 25. Winners and honorable mentions will be screened in a theater Friday and Saturday March 27 & 28.

You can find the Café on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

10/3 UPDATE: A BRIDGE TOO FAR

Alba was found around 10:00 am this morning (Thursday) IN MANHATTAN by a good samaritan walking her two pit bulls in East River Park near the Manhattan Bridge (yes, Alba crossed the bridge!) Luckily the adventurous pooch was still wearing her collar and the dog-loving saviour contacted her owners immediately. Alba’s ecstatic and grateful family has this message for everyone who pitched in during the search, “Our community is amazing…thanks for the help. Love u all!” and  P.S. “Make sure your dog has old fashioned tags!”

Now, if we could just find a home for the adorable senior Maltese, Dolly…

Alba is a chipped mixed-breed rescue pup from Puerto Rico who found her fur-ever home here in Brooklyn Heights. Unfortunately, she slipped out of her harness at about 1:30 pm today (Wednesday) near the Promenade.

Alba was last seen near Henry & Pineapple and again at Cadman Plaza at around 2:30 pm.  Alba is very a friendly and sweet but will easily run if spooked. If you have a sighting or find Alba, please call her worried family at 917-564-9031.

Help us find Alba! Thank you.

From the good folks at Brooklyn Heights Veterinary Hospital:

For health reasons, a BHVH client needs to find a new home for her 13-year-old Maltese. This photo may be a few years old, and Dolly herself is dealing with some health issues: skin allergies and bad teeth. And, of course, she’s a senior girl.

This sweet dog needs a place to live out her golden years. Check out the BHVH Facebook page or website if you’re interested in learning more or contacting them about adopting.

Come on, BH, we can do this, for both a neighbor who must be inexpressibly sad and a little dog likely bewildered by the sudden changes in her life.

Early Monday afternoon, this text message (which I’ve edited for clarity) hit my phone:

Dear valued customers,

This is Mike, the owner of Clark Pet. Due to the very high rent of Clark Pet store, the store is moving to DUMBO, to my giant big branch store named Pet Promise located at 140 Plymouth St. under the Manhattan Bridge. The store is doing full service grooming, boarding, cat sitting, etc. To book a grooming appointment or to have free delivery, you can call or text 347 – 247 – 4963.

By early Tuesday evening, the store at 57 Clark Street was virtually empty, and Mike was both overseeing and participating in the major clean-up and moving operation.

“The new store is huge!” he said enthusiastically, after some obvious disgruntlement at the $11,000 rent now expected for the Clark Street space into which he moved in 2008.

According to the Pet Promise website, the facility also offers self-washing facilities, if you want to wash your own dog without getting soap all over the bathroom.

The phone number at Pet Promise is 718-852-7208.

Not long ago, the North Heights was home to three pet shop/groomers. Let’s hope Rocco and Jezebel and Pets Emporium can both stick around for a while.

Photo by Teresa Genaro

Not into the big game this Sunday? The Brooklyn Cat Café is offering an alternative: the chance to watch Hallmark’s Kitten Bowl on a 10-foot screen while enjoying a real live Kitten Bowl with the Café’s resident.

The Café has procured props and toys from the real Kitten Bowl set, and light snacks and drinks will be provided.

Originally scheduled from 2 – 4pm, that showing sold out and a second screening has been added from 5 – 7pm.

(Just what, you may be asking, is the Kitten Bowl?)

Hosted by the Hallmark Channel, the Kitten Bowl is a nation-wide adoption event, featuring adoptable kittens gamboling on a miniature football field, with commentary from animal advocate Beth Stern, actor Dean Cain, and former NFLer Rodney Peete. They will be joined by former NFL running back Rashad Jennings and former quarterback Boomer Esiason.

Individual tickets are $30; $100 for a group of four. Proceeds support the Café’s adoption and rescue effort. In the last month, 50 cats have been adopted.