This coming Monday, April 22, is Earth Day. The Brooklyn Heights Association has notified us of many celebratory activities this Saturday, April 20 taking place near Brooklyn Heights. The Atlantic Avenue BID is having a celebration on Hoyt Street between Atlantic Avenue and State Street from noon until 3:00 PM on Saturday. The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership will host many activities at a car-free Albee Square from 11:00 AM until 3:30 PM. Nearby, at City Point, there will be a Wind Energy Party for Families from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM. Governors Island will have activities for all ages from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Governors Island is accessible from Brooklyn Heights via ferry, leaving from and arriving at Pier Six, Brooklyn Bridge Park, near the foot of Atlantic Avenue. The schedule is here.

On Sunday, April 21 from 10:00 AM until noon the Cadman Plaza Conservancy will hold a Mulchfest at the Juneteenth Grove, Cadman Plaza West at Tillary Street. Gloves and supplies will be provided.

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One of the many rewarding aspects of living in this neighborhood is that Center for Brooklyn History is at our doorstep.

This Friday through Sunday (April 19 – April 21), CBH is hosting University Open Air, which provides “immigrant teachers, professors, and academics, who were trained outside of the U.S., an opportunity to share their knowledge with the public by welcoming students to enjoy free classes.”

Here are some of the offerings:

Healing: Meditation on the Three-Syllable Mantra. A Simple Method of Healing Oneself and Others taught by Dr. Chok Tenzin Monlam from Tibet.

Makings Music From Our Surroundings taught by Matteo Liberatore from Abruzzo, Italy.

Unlocking Subconscious Potential: Empowering Emotional Wellness and Stress Management taught by Liuba Kostanda from Ukraine.

Chinese Tea Ceremony taught by Julia Adams from Beijing, China.

Sound Map of Salsa Music in New York taught by Marcelo Arroyave from Colombia.

Check out all of the courses and register at this link.

University Open Air is a Brooklyn Public Library program in conjunction with the Prospect Park Alliance.

We have been advised by the NYC Department of Transportation that a single lane of the Queens bound portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway from Atalantic Avenue to Sands Street will be closed from midnight to 5:00 AM starting today and continuing each night through Friday, May 10. The Queens bound entrance ramp from Atlantic Avenue to the BQE will also be closed during these times.

The New York Police Department’s 84th Precinct, which covers Brooklyn Heights, will have a Community Council Meeting, to which all are invited, this coming Tuesday, April 16 starting at 6:45 PM at the 84th Precinct, 301 Gold Street. The “[a]genda items include a Cop Of The Month presentation, review of crime statistics to date, and Q&A.” Thanks to Brooklyn Community Board 2 for the tip.

This weekend — late evening Friday, April 12 to early morning Monday, April 15 — the only service at Court Street or at the N/R platforms at Jay Street-MetroTech, will be Brooklyn bound, as Manhattan bound N (late night) and R (daytime) trains will be re-routed to the Q line between DeKalb Avenue and Canal Street. There will also be no 3 train service all weekend, but 2 and 4 trains should be running normally. For those traveling to or from Brooklyn or Manhattan, 4 trains will make all 3 stops between Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center and New Lots Avenue and 2 trains will make all 3 stops between 96th Street in Manhattan and Franklin Avenue-Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn.

The following work week, late nights Monday, April 15 to Tuesday, April 16 and Tuesday to Wednesday, April 17, there will be no service at Clark Street or at the 2/3 platforms at Borough Hall, as 2 service will be suspended in both directions between Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center and Chambers Street, and 3 trains do not serve Brooklyn late at night. 4, A, N, and R trains should be running normally.

These are the PLANNED service changes for this weekend and for the following week. Always check MTA Info for unplanned service changes that may affect local service or service on other parts of your trip, or for planned service changes that affect stations to or from which you may be traveling. You can also get real time service alerts: register here.

Stop the Chop NY/NJ advises us that on Tuesday, April 16 starting at 10:00 AM the New York City Council will hold a hearing on proposed legislation that would ban unnecessary (tourist and charter) helicopter flights, including all such flights to or from the Downtown Heliport directly accross the East River from Brooklyn Heights, and the 34th Street (East Side) Heliport, which generates much traffic that passes above or near the Heights. There will be a 9:00 AM rally in City Hall Park before the hearing. You may testify in person at the hearing, participate by Zoom, or, if work or other commitments prevent it, submit written testimony. Full details on how to participate are on Stop the Chop’s website here.

Photo Credit: Stop the Chop NY NJ

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Theater 2020, the award winning professional stage company under the joint artistic direction of Brooklyn Heights residents Judith Jarosz and David Fuller, will present Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music (see cast photo, courtesy Theater 2020) for a short run from Thursday, April 18 through May 12 (16 performances only) at the Mark O’Donnell Theater, 160 Schermerhorn Street. From Theater 2020:

Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, A Little Night Music is a celebration of love and second chances. This Multi TONY Award winning musical is a longtime favorite of Sondheim and all musical theater lovers everywhere. Featuring some of Sondheim’s most beloved melodies, the story follows the adventures of renowned actress Desirée Armfeldt, and the colorful characters in her life. Filled with much emotional churning, soul searching, and comedy, in the end, the plot twists unravel, true love reigns, and the summer night smiles. Best suited for ages 10 and up

There’s a full schedule and you may purchase tickets here.

This weekend — Late Friday evening, April 5 to early Monday morning, April 8 — there will be no 4 train service to or from Brooklyn and, since 5 trains do not serve Brooklyn on weekends, no service at the 4/5 platforms at Borough Hall. 2, 3, A, C, N, and R trains should be running normally. For those traveling to or from Brooklyn, 2 and 3 trains will make all 4 stops beteween Borough hall and Franklin Avenue-Medgar Evers College, and 3 trains will make 4 stops betwween Franklin Avenue and New Lots Avenue. Those traveling to or from the East Side of Manhattan may change between 4 trains and 2 or 3 trains at Fulton Street.

The following work week — Monday morning, April 8 through Friday evening, April 12 — there will be no Brooklyn bound service at York Street in DUMBO, as Brooklyn bound F trains will be re-routed to the A/C line between Jay Street-MetroTech and West 4th Street-Washington Square. This, of course, means more Brooklyn bound service at High Street. Late nights Tuesday to Wednesday through Thursday to Friday there will be no 3 train service. 4 trains will make all 3 stops between Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center and New Lots Avenue. On the late nights Wednesday to Thursday and Thursday to Friday there will only be Manhattan bound service at Court Street and at the N/R platforms at Jay Street-MetroTech, as Brooklyn bound N trains will be re-routed to the Q line between Canal Street and DeKalb Avenue, and there will be no R train service in either direction between Whitehall Street in Manhattan and 59th Street in Brooklyn.

These are the PLANNED service changes for this weekend and for the following week. Always check MTA Info for unplanned service changes that may affect local service or service on other parts of your trip, or for planned service changes that affect stations to or from which you may be traveling. You can also get real time service alerts: register here.

The New York City Department of Transportation has announced that the Queens bound lanes of the Brookyn-Queens Expressway will be closed between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street from early morning Saturday, April 13 to early morning Monday, April 15 to accommodate repair work. During that weekend expect much more traffic on our principal southbound thoroughfare, Hicks Street, and likely more on Clinton Street.

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This coming Monday afternoon, April 8, Brooklyn will be under an almost total solar eclipse (see photo). The Brooklyn Heights Library will host an eclipse watch gathering for teens in the Juneteenth Grove of Cadman Plaza Park, at Cadman Plaza West and Tillary Street. Participants will be given free eclipse viewing glasses. The viewing event begins at 3:00 PM and ends at 4:00. Go early to get a paper plate on which to write your worries. After the eclipse, you can tear it up.

Photo: Brooklyn Public Library

The Brooklyn Heights Association has announced that Jeremy Lechtzin is the new President of its Board of Governors. His President’s Message is here. According to the BHA:

He is an architectural historian and technology lawyer. Jeremy focuses his history work on early Brooklyn, currently writing a data-driven analysis of every house built in Brooklyn Heights and creating a digital map of the lost streetscape of the Village of Brooklyn as it existed in 1816.

He was honored as one of the BHB Ten for 2021 “for his passion for and vast knowledge of Brooklyn’s architectural history.” He also had a guest post on BHB in 2011 opposing construction of a “too massive” townhouse at 27 Cranberry Street. The Landmarks Preservation Commission denied plans for its construction.

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Lechtzin

BHBlogger Caroline Koster has done it again, publishing another beautifully written op-ed in the New York Daily News. It’s a “Lenten essay about free speech and the privilege of listening,” inspired by a recent visit with her mother-in-law who said, “God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason!”

Caroline discusses the disruption of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s speech at the Brooklyn Heights Association annual meeting, and a recent experience at the Public Theater during the play “The Ally,” when two audience members stormed out noisily shouting “Never forget Oct. 7!” An excerpt:

No teapot or stew will heal humanitarian crises that hurt us all. No coat drive will forever warm today’s cold world. Noisy theater grandmas are a far cry from silencing a senator. A disrupted neighborhood meeting is a laughable inconvenience to any community ravaged by death, hunger and war. A shelter night with a poor New Yorker has a short shelf-life. My community curry won’t save a soul. Diapers and sweatpants will be used up by summer.

But as we move through Easter, Ramadan and Passover, we can swap disruption for compassion and listening.

These long Lenten weeks reminded me that any prayer for resolution surely starts with God’s gift — whichever one you worship — of two ears and just one mouth.

Be sure to read the full op-ed at this link.

Photo by Caroline Koster.

This Easter weekend — Friday evening, March 29 to Monday morning, April 1 — should be a “green light” weekend, as there are no planned cancellations, re-routings, or station skips directly affecting service at local stations. Once again, 2 trains will be on a reduced service schedule — every 12 minutes.

The following work week — Monday morning, April 1 through Friday evening, April 5 — late nights Monday to Tuesday through Thursday to Friday there will be no G train service between Hoyt-Schermerhorn and Church Avenue. To get to or from G train stops, use the F train to or from Church Avenue. Coney Island bound F trains will be skipping all stations between Jay Street-MetroTech and Church Avenue. To get to these stations take a Coney Island bound F to Church Avenue and take a Manhattan bound F back to the skipped station.

These are the PLANNED service changes for this weekend and for the following week. Always check MTA Info for unplanned service changes that may affect local service or service on other parts of your trip, or for planned service changes that affect stations to or from which you may be traveling. You can also get real time service alerts: register here.

According to New York YIMBY developer Jonathan Landau has filed for permits to construct a 47 story mixed commercial and residential building at 205 Montague Street (see photo from Google Maps). While the building now there fronts on Montague, it extends along Cadman Plaza West to Pierrepont Street. It presently houses TD Bank’s branch. Word is that TD will move to another space on Montague. We suspect, and hope, that it will be the space at 183 Montague, formerly occupied by Citibank, which has a pre-built banking layout.

While we don’t have a rendering of what the new building, to be designed by Hill West Architects, will look like, Brownstoner did an illustration of a 700 foot tall building, the maximum allowed for the site. The proposed building is to be 672 feet tall.

One matter of historical note: the building that stood on the site of the present 205 Montague, and that had the address 215 Montague, held the headquarters of the Brooklyn Dodgers until they moved to L.A., and was where the Dodgers made history by signing Jackie Robinson, the first Black baseball player to be signed to a Major League contract. There’s a plaque on the present 205 Montague commemorating this. We presume the new owner will preserve it and put it on the new building.

The Brooklyn Heights Association’s annual Egg Hunt will be held this coming Saturday, March 30 at Pierrepont Playground (entrance near corner of Columbia Heights and Pierrepont Street) starting at 11:00 AM. There’s always a long line, so plan to arrive early. There will also be a bake sale. If you would like to participate in it, please sign up here.

Photo: The Seasonal Home.

Subway disruptions this weekend — Late Friday night, March 22 to early Monday morning, March 25 — are minimal. Late nights Friday to Saturday, Saturday to Sunday, and Sunday to Monday there will be no 4 train service at Borough Hall, as 4 trains will not be going to or from Brooklyn during these hours. 2 trains should be running normally, except that from early morning to early evening Saturday and Sunday they will be on a reduced schedule. 3 trains, which normally do not serve Brooklyn late at night, will fill in for the 4 during the late nights, running to and from New Lots Avenue. If you’re traveling to or from Manhattan you can switch between the 4 and the 2 or 3 at Fulton Street.

The following work week — Monday morning, March 25 to Friday evening, March 29 — there will be no late night service at Clark Street or at the 2/3 platforms at Borough Hall, as 2 trains will not be running between Chambers Street in Manhattan and Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center, and 3 trains do not serve Brooklyn late at night (except on the preceding weekend). 4, A, C, N, and R trains should be running normally. Late nights Monday to Tuesday through Thursday to Friday there will be no G train service between Hoyt-Schermerhorn and Church Avenue. To get to or from G train stops, use the F train to or from Church Avenue. Coney Island bound F trains will be skipping all stations between Jay Street-MetroTech and Church Avenue. To get to these stations take a Coney Island bound F to Church Avenue and take a Manhattan bound F back to the skipped station.

These are the PLANNED service changes for this weekend and for the following week. Always check MTA Info for unplanned service changes that may affect local service or service on other parts of your trip, or for planned service changes that affect stations to or from which you may be traveling. You can also get real time service alerts: register here.

So two guys walk into a bar—the Lapin Agile (“Nimble Rabbit”) in Paris circa 1904. If it sounds like the beginning of a joke, it is—or at least the latest play at the Heights Players. Picasso at the Lapin Agile, written by comedian Steve Martin, is up next at our beloved neighborhood theater. Come to Willow Place April 5-14th. Tickets are available here.  Come and meet Pablo Picasso, Albert Einstein and many more before they are anybody special and talk about art, science, inspiration, love and promise of what is to come! Will there be any women? Let’s find out.

Come and see a wacky, absurd comedy that explores possibilities—plus a visitor from the future who shakes things up in his blue suede shoes. I know I bought my tickets.  Buy yours here! See you soon at the Heights Players. Tickets are $20, $18 for seniors. Possibility: free.

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As reported by the Eagle, this Wednesday evening, March 20, the “acclaimed storytelling nonprofit The Moth” will be at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, corner of Clinton and Montague streets, for an event in which “[f]ive storytellers will take the stage to tell tales of finding real beauty in moments when our lives change forever — for better or for worse.”

Books Are Magic will be at the event, selling copies of The Moth’s newly published story collection, A Point of Beauty: True Stories of Holding On and Letting Go. Doors open at 6:30 Wednesday evening; storytelling begins at 7:30. There’s more information and buy tickets here.

Sure and begorrah, St. Patrick smiles on us with what, barring as always unforeseen incidents, should be another “green light” weekend, with no planned cancellations, route changes, or station skips directly affecting service at local stations. There will be less frequent service from morning to evening Saturday and Sunday in both directions at Clark Street and at the 2/3 platforms at Borough Hall as 2 trains will be running on a reduced schedule — every 12 minutes. Meanwhile, there will be more frequent R train service in both directions during daytime Saturday and Sunday. Keep in mind that the High Street entrance to the A/C lines will be closed for some time while escalators are repaired. Either cross Cadman Park to use the escalators at Adams Street or use the Jay Street-MetroTech station.

The following work week (Monday morning, March 18 through Friday evening, March 22) late nights Monday to Tuesday and Tuesday to Wednesday there will be no service in either direction at Clark Street or at the 2/3 platforms at Borough Hall because 2 service will be suspended between Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center and Chambers Street, and 3 trains do not serve Brooklyn late at night. 4 trains will make 2 train stops between Borough Hall and Atlantic Avenue. Late nights Monday to Tuesday through Thursday to Friday there will be no G train service between Hoyt-Schermerhorn and Church Avenue. To get to or from G train stops, use the F train to or from Church Avenue. On the late night Wednesday to Thursday there will only be Manhattan bound service at Court Street and at the N/R platforms at Jay Street-MetroTech, as Brooklyn bound N trains will be re-routed to the Q line between Canal Street and DeKalb Avenue, and there will be no R train service in either direction between Whitehall Street in Manhattan and 59th Street in Brooklyn. On the late night Thursday to Friday there will be only Brooklyn bound service at these stations, as Manhattan bound trains will be on the Q line and R trains won’t be running in either direction.

These are the PLANNED service changes for this weekend and for the following week. Always check MTA Info for unplanned service changes that may affect local service or service on other parts of your trip, or for planned service changes that affect stations to or from which you may be traveling. You can also get real time service alerts: register here.

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From St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church:

As we noted in our post about the BHA Annual Meeting, the Montague Diner, which will occupy the space at 148 Montague Street formerly home to the Happy Days Diner, is slated to open this coming Friday, March 15. Grub Street gives us a preview of the new interior (see photo by following the link; note, it’s only “free for a limited time”), which its owners, some show people and some restaurant pros, intend to have “the look and feel of Great Depression era coffee shops and restaurants.” The article also gives a glimpse of the projected menu. Breakfast will be diner staples like “pancakes and eggs”; the dinner menu will depart from typical dinerdom with offerings like “olives, roasted chicken, steak frites.” Initially the owners (perhaps carrying out the “Depression era” theme) didn’t think a TV would be appropriate, but they are reconsidering after the father of one of them insisted there had to be a TV so he could watch Giants games.

Updated with photo: Mary Kim for BHB

Despite steady rain last Saturday afternoon, an almost full house was present at the McKinney Chapel of the First Unitarian Congregational Society for the Repast Baroque Ensemble’s concert “Telemann, The Faithful Music Master”. The musicians who participated are, left to right in the photo: Gabe Shuford on harpsichord, guest artist Jeffrey Girton on violin, Sarah Stone on cello, and Natalie Kress on violin.

The concert consisted entirely of music by the German Baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767), although it presented a variety of styles. These ranged from traditional Baroque through Polish dances, heroic marches, and “burlesque.” Each musician got at least one “star turn”: Ms. Kress in the Polish dances, in which she rhythmically slapped her violin with the bow, a technique called col legno; Mr. Girton in the Violin Sonata in A Major; Mr. Shuford in the “Ouverture burlesque” for solo harpsichord; and Ms. Stone in the Cello Sonata in D Major.

Repast will return to Brooklyn Heights on Wednesday evening, May 22, with “Shipwrecks and Sea Shanties.” More details here later.