The Downtown Brooklyn Thread

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Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO, Vinegar Hill, "BoCoCa" (Boerum Hill/Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens), Red Hook, Metrotech.

Destroy: whatever cockfarmer came up with "BoCoCa." For crying out loud. At least "DUMBO" is in all-caps and its acronym spells out the name of a flying elephant.

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 20:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I forgot Fort Greene!

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 20:58 (twenty-one years ago)

this thread is Newyorkist.

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 20:58 (twenty-one years ago)

this BOARD is Newyorkist!

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 21:00 (twenty-one years ago)

boo york

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 21:05 (twenty-one years ago)

From now on, this thread is going to be Reginist.

Hee-yaw!

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 21:07 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.uregina.ca/kinesiology/campusrec/National%20Curling%20Championships/Contact%20Information/i_love_regina.jpg

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 21:08 (twenty-one years ago)

oooofff course you do.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/14/nyregion/14boco.html

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 21:14 (twenty-one years ago)

And yet another competitor has entered the scene. Frank Galeano, who works with Mr. Natoli, has recently introduced CoWaDi, for Columbia Waterfront District, the strip of restaurants and shops along Columbia Street.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 21:17 (twenty-one years ago)

we've taken that logo. you guys can't use it anymore.
from now the "I (heart)" is solely the doman of Regina. It was decided in the UN.

― The Huckle-Buck (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 21:17 (twenty-one years ago)

that "regina" cursive font is so 1985!

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 21:20 (twenty-one years ago)

it looks like it should have "featuring special guest paula poundstone" written under it.

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 21:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Okay, Regina, great. Start yer own thread.

I live in Downtown Brooklyn, matter of fact, and we're territorial. Everything on the west side of Gold Street, from Flatbush to the BQE, then south of the BQE to Cadman Plaza West and Court Street, is downtown, including Metrotech. Draw the southern border where you would like... Atlantic?

Classic: it might as well be another city that you live in. Lots of subways. If you're willing to walk 20-25 minutes, tons of restaurants in three utterly distinct neighborhoods. The Hillside dog run.

Dud: No grocery stores, except for that miserable Associated in Concord Village. No late night food or booze. Walking along Tillary Street, especially where it crosses Jay.

― Dickerson Pike (Dickerson Pike), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 21:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Nothing says "This week at the Regina Comedy Bunker: Robert Klein and Sam Kinison" more than that logo

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 21:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I've always wondered: What's the actual neighborhood designation for the Metrotech and Fulton St. areas? The Flatbush Extension around DeKalb (where Junior's is) -- is that technically Fort Greene?

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 21:51 (twenty-one years ago)

It seems like no one's all that quick to assign names to those parts of Brooklyn (I've heard everything surrounding Metrotech -- Bridge St, Adams, Lawrence, Jay, etc -- given the "Metrotech" shorthand, but it must have been something before that).

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 21:57 (twenty-one years ago)

This board is Californist.

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 21:58 (twenty-one years ago)

This board! This board! This board is on fire!

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 21:59 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm assuming that no clever names have been assigned because those areas seem super-resistant to spiffing up. i knew some people who had a new condo apt. for a while on lawrence street, and the urban renewal on that side of court street just did not take off.

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 22:01 (twenty-one years ago)

The "Columbia Waterfront District" designation is soooooo wrong and pointless. It's still Carroll Gardens; it just picks up on the other side of the BQE and goes down past Hicks another block to Columbia St. It's not worth giving it a new name. Search: The bus that follows that route to Red Hook. Destroy: Just about everything else on Columbia St.

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 22:10 (twenty-one years ago)

official development/rezoning plans for downtown brooklyn

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 22:33 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/gif/dwnbklyn2/edc-6.jpg

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/gif/dwnbklyn2/dcp-2a.jpg

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 22:35 (twenty-one years ago)

The Flatbush Extension around DeKalb (where Junior's is) -- is that technically Fort Greene?

I would say Fort Greene ends at Flatbush, yeah.

Bruce Ratner can eat a bag of dicks.

― hstencil, Tuesday, 16 March 2004 22:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I'd draw a line around the hindquarters of LIU, and stick that with Metrotech/Downtown Brooklyn. All LIU offers to Fort Greene is a view of the athletics field and parking lot
.

― Dickerson Pike (Dickerson Pike), Tuesday, 16 March 2004 23:49 (twenty-one years ago)

one year passes...

So I've lived in this city my whole life and I know bupkis of Downtown/South Brooklyn. While I've dipped a toe in most of the neighborhoods (never Brooklyn Heights!), I've only done so when called there for particular purposes, and have never done enough walking around to get a feel for any of them (excepting perhaps our mini-Red Hook tour).

So I think I need to start being a tourist in my own city. Which neighborhoods to see separately or collectively (for instance, if Downtown/Fulton/Metrotech belong to a surrounding neighborhood, which one is it?) and in what order? Which streets to walk?

(note that the same is true for Park Slope and the park itself, but I won't ruin the integrity of the thread alone)

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 29 May 2005 18:00 (twenty years ago)

I've totally avoided the Brooklyn Heights/ Montague Street neighborhood as well, gabbneb, so I have absolutely no idea. It always seemed to me like a little slice of, say, New Haven got misfiled in Brooklyn.

My knowledge of "downtown" Brooklyn extends to, essentially, Albee Square Mall on Fulton St.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Sunday, 29 May 2005 23:13 (twenty years ago)

But wouldn't "South Brooklyn" be, like a long bus ride away from there?

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Sunday, 29 May 2005 23:14 (twenty years ago)

south brooklyn is actually another name for red hook.

― Did the glacier in the library bounce today? (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 30 May 2005 00:24 (twenty years ago)

and red hook is what they used to call carroll gardens until the racist italians decided they didn't want to be associated with the "ghetto" part of red hook.

― Did the glacier in the library bounce today? (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 30 May 2005 00:25 (twenty years ago)

but to answer gabbneb's q: brooklyn heights is beautiful but it's not much of a destination spot. the restaurants are mostly okay middle-class neighborhood places (because that's what stays in business) but nothing really worth traveling for.

court street is the main drag for cobble hill/carroll gardens, and that's a slightly hipper, younger demographic. yuppie-mom twee. lots of maclaren strollers and pet-grooming stores. carroll still has a couple of old-holdout italian restaurants and bakeries; they're probably not in any danger of closing because if they've survived this long, they're owned by the mob. (the amazing latticini barese is sadly no more, though.)

boerum hill/smith street is past its prime, but faan and the boat bar are there.

fort greene is great. just absolutely super-great. if you're gonna be a tourist in any neighborhood, do it there.

― Did the glacier in the library bounce today? (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 30 May 2005 00:35 (twenty years ago)

HOWEVER, if you like barbecue, one of the best bbq places in the city just opened up on henry street. i'm addicted to their sauce and i wish they'd deliver some out here.

http://www.brooklynmenuguide.com/menupages/140.php?id=140

― Did the glacier in the library bounce today? (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 30 May 2005 00:38 (twenty years ago)

the promenade is one nice thing about teh heights.

ft. greene just got a weird new solar cafe place!

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 03:32 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, that cafe in FoGre rules.

― Community Cornerstone (deangulberry), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 03:35 (twenty years ago)

it didn't open when you were supposedly in new york, dingleberry

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 03:36 (twenty years ago)

I was just in NewYo this weekend.

― Community Cornerstone (deangulberry), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 03:37 (twenty years ago)

sure

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 03:39 (twenty years ago)

NuYo (rican)

― The Pinup Girls of YANK (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 03:40 (twenty years ago)

JBR, I hang on your every word. Spending the next five days in an apartment (an empty apartment!) in Park Slope, like, near 5th St. and 5th Ave. Will need interesting places to walk. Plz advise further.

― slightly more subdued (kenan), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 04:40 (twenty years ago)

go drink lots of beer here:
http://www.go-brooklyn.com/html/issues/_vol27/27_07/200fifth2.html

― The Pinup Girls of YANK (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 04:42 (twenty years ago)

It's a deal.

― slightly more subdued (kenan), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 04:43 (twenty years ago)

if you plan on going for a nice walk in the 'slope, may i suggest greenwood cemetery? i walked around there for an hour yesterday and wasn't bored one bit. it's right down the street from you! (5th ave. at 22nd st.-ish)

― joseph (joseph), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 04:47 (twenty years ago)

I love me some cemeteries. Good plan.

― slightly more subdued (kenan), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 04:49 (twenty years ago)

then you'll adore this one. it's MASSIVE. also: lots of famous people interred within its gates (leonard bernstein, wild bill hickok, boss tweed, to name a few)

― joseph (joseph), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 04:52 (twenty years ago)

i love that the correct spelling is "green-wood" (with the hyphen). it looks so stilted and wrong. the cemetery is terrific for birdwatching, if you're into that at all.

― The Pinup Girls of YANK (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 04:54 (twenty years ago)

my friend calls it RAMBO--Right After the Manhattan Bridge Overpass

― waxyjax (waxyjax), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 14:36 (twenty years ago)

Prospect Park, dood. And the zoo therein. THEY HAVE RED PANDAS. My GF lives at 21st between 6th&7th, and I will soon live there as well. There's a good taqueria on 5th and 20th street (and if you eat there they'll give you fresh chips & yummy spicy sauce [though not what we gringos would call salsa, necessarily]).

― Ian John50n (orion), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 15:06 (twenty years ago)

5th and 20th is kind of sunset park, right? the chinatown there is supposed to be amazing.

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 15:10 (twenty years ago)

Walk down Flatbush to Grand Army Plaza, maybe up Eastern Parkway to the Botantical Gardens/Brooklyn Museum too. I live around there. It's pretty neat.

― Candicissima (candicissima), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 15:11 (twenty years ago)

breakfast or lunch at tom's diner is a good idea while in that area.

― lauren (laurenp), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 15:16 (twenty years ago)

sunset park is more the 40s, i think.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 31 May 2005 17:53 (twenty years ago)

Skipping 2698 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Plenty of non rich people in Brooklyn and queens w cars.

― dan selzer, Tuesday, 29 October 2019 22:48 (six years ago)

four months pass...

Frank's is closing; last human bar I know of near BAM

https://brooklynbuzz.com/the-legendary-franks-cocktail-lounge-in-ft-greene-brooklyn-closing-for-good-as-owners-sell-the-building-just-blocks-from-bam/

― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 11 March 2020 12:14 (five years ago)

rip

― lag∞n, Wednesday, 11 March 2020 12:37 (five years ago)

fuuuuck

― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 11 March 2020 13:18 (five years ago)

There's also Moe's about a block away but I def prefer Frank's, this is a real loss

― Josefa, Wednesday, 11 March 2020 16:31 (five years ago)

On a positive note, Gage & Tollner will reopen this Sunday after being closed 16 years. The new owners are intending to keep it essentially old school. Looks like the beautiful interior has been preserved.

― Josefa, Wednesday, 11 March 2020 16:53 (five years ago)

i've been hearing a little bit about that behind the scenes and through the grapevine, and it sounds positive - -- one of the people involved is the guy behind Fort Defiance in Red Hook, which is a great bar, so that's promising. i did peek through a gap into G&T a couple weeks back and the interior looked fantastic.

― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 11 March 2020 16:54 (five years ago)

Is O’Connor’s on 5th ave still there ?

― calstars, Wednesday, 11 March 2020 16:59 (five years ago)

No, it's a different bar called McMahon's now

― Josefa, Wednesday, 11 March 2020 17:01 (five years ago)

Looks like the beautiful interior has been preserved.

― Josefa, Wednesday, March 11, 2020 12:53 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

beautiful interior is a city landmark, which is why the arby's that was there was so goofy

― Its big ball chunky time (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Wednesday, 11 March 2020 18:26 (five years ago)

if anyone has tips for best availability of sanitizer/rubber gloves in/around Kensington/Ditmas Park/Slope lmk

― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 14 March 2020 15:07 (five years ago)

Neergaard @5th Ave/9th St was selling mini Purell bottles out of a cardboard box near the front register but there were only about three left late Thursday night (& they're marked up).

Someone told me Save-On Fifth @5th Ave/8th St was being accommodating with this kind of stuff, but I suspect that mainly what they have is the non-alcohol based Handi Wipes. Maybe they have something behind the counter.

― Josefa, Saturday, 14 March 2020 16:05 (five years ago)

thx Josefa, I go to Neergard frequently

― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 14 March 2020 16:08 (five years ago)

three months pass...

rip my gym

Building collapse on the corner of Union at and Court St... really hope no one is hurt @NYPDnews pic.twitter.com/mMjVJgQkvY
— Anton Tsimbler (@atsimbler) July 1, 2020

― mookieproof, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 21:09 (five years ago)

Whoa. It was an active gym until shutdown?

― Josefa, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 21:11 (five years ago)

does that cyclist have ... a monkey on their back?

― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 21:32 (five years ago)

it's been closed since march because of the virus; not sure why it chose now to fall apart

― mookieproof, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 21:46 (five years ago)

it looked like there were apartments above the gym?

Before pic.twitter.com/42uU9EuTR3
— Luca Powell (@lucapowellCUNY) July 1, 2020

― ACABincalifornia (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 22:04 (five years ago)

pretty sure that’s all gym — there were multiple floors (plus stuff in the basement)

― mookieproof, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 22:09 (five years ago)

despite the facade

― mookieproof, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 22:10 (five years ago)

dang, I don't think I've ever seen a building collapse like that

― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 22:27 (five years ago)

Since 2005, inspectors with the city’s Department of Buildings have issued at least eight fines to the building’s owner for large cracks throughout the property, including a 40-foot “bulge” on the wall facing Union Street, according to city records.

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 1 July 2020 22:35 (five years ago)

supposedly there was one person inside, who escaped with minor injuries (!)

― mookieproof, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 22:55 (five years ago)

when i lived in ft greene the building next to me partially collapsed while i was home

― lag∞n, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 23:08 (five years ago)

it was loud, basically the face fell off of it, while there were guys working on it on scaffolding, who some how didnt fall even those the shit got all bent, i looked out my window at them from like 5 ft away seconds after it happened, they were all extremely wtf

― lag∞n, Wednesday, 1 July 2020 23:10 (five years ago)

walked by there twice today. of all the buildings in the neighborhood to collapse i would not have picked that one on its face

― Its big ball chunky time (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Thursday, 2 July 2020 01:06 (five years ago)

six months pass...

Walked by where Rose Water used to be in Park Slope and saw that it's gone - I used to love eating there when I lived a few blocks away, but the owner apparently closed it in November 2019 to go work for a non-profit, so he couldn't have picked a better time to get out of the restaurant business.

― birdistheword, Thursday, 21 January 2021 08:35 (four years ago)

Rose Water was discussed a bit in the "Redd's Roster of Restaurants" thread at the time it closed. One of my favorite restaurants in the Slope for many years. Was heartbroken by its loss, with the silver lining that the owner never had to struggle with pandemic fallout.

― Josefa, Thursday, 21 January 2021 15:45 (four years ago)

the barge containing material dredged out of the Gowanus has now also fallen into the Gowanus https://t.co/GKrz2ugQLi
— Tim Donnelly (@timdonnelly) January 26, 2021

― mookieproof, Wednesday, 27 January 2021 19:10 (four years ago)

Omg
Gravitational pull of the sludge is undeniable

― calstars, Wednesday, 27 January 2021 20:57 (four years ago)

strong "nyc not dead" energy imo, feels like a very old school piece of news

― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 27 January 2021 21:56 (four years ago)

just let the sludge be in the canal if thats what it wants

― lag∞n, Wednesday, 27 January 2021 22:53 (four years ago)

BARGE PURGES SLUDGE, SINKS SANK SUNK

― the serious avant-garde universalist right now (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 28 January 2021 02:05 (four years ago)

HELPLESS SLUDGE IN TOPPLED BARGE

― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Thursday, 28 January 2021 02:10 (four years ago)

SLUDGEBURN ‘21

― calstars, Thursday, 28 January 2021 02:22 (four years ago)

eleven months pass...

TIL Brooklyn Inn and WCOU Radio/Tile Bar have the same owner.

― The Door into Summerisle (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 5 January 2022 23:44 (three years ago)

Brooklyn Inn is a cool place - that’s the old one on the corner, big space, used to have a pool table, right? Haven’t been in a minute.
Not familiar with the other one

― calstars, Thursday, 6 January 2022 14:29 (three years ago)

Tile Bar is in the EV, what was it like 7th st and 2nd ave or something? Had a decent jukebox.

I have mixed feelings about Brooklyn Inn though I know it's a classic. It's also the bar that appears in Motherless Brooklyn.

When I lived in brooklyn and would go to bars I found the crowd there to always be a bit older, a bit wealthier, more like a hipster yuppie longstanding brooklyn vibe. I had friends for whom that's their local.

― dan selzer, Thursday, 6 January 2022 14:38 (three years ago)

1st. Jukebox was good, maybe not quite as good as the one at Downtown Beirut.

― The Door into Summerisle (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 6 January 2022 18:07 (three years ago)

In the east vil my spots were Blue and Gold and scratcher.

― calstars, Thursday, 6 January 2022 21:31 (three years ago)

B-b-but what about The Lismar Lounge?

― The Door into Summerisle (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 6 January 2022 21:44 (three years ago)

I think Alex in NYC blogged about a lot of these places.

― The Door into Summerisle (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 6 January 2022 21:44 (three years ago)

I went to the tile bar for like 20 years, lived on 4th and 1st… I would very often play "caroselambra" (which is the closest thing to Wyatting you can do for LZ cuts) and PJ's "A Place Called Home"…

― veronica moser, Friday, 7 January 2022 01:43 (three years ago)

I went there for many years without living in that neighborhood, but not for quite as long as you did.

― The Door into Summerisle (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 7 January 2022 02:19 (three years ago)

three years pass...

Jonathan Lethem’s Brooklyn Crime Novel seems like it’s full of incredible Downtown Brooklyn detail over the years.

― 35 Millimeter Dream Police (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 21 June 2025 23:30 (four months ago)

one month passes...

Hotel St. George overhang thing fell down today

― 35 Millimeter Dream Police (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 3 August 2025 18:16 (two months ago)

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/brooklyn-awning-collapse-st-george/6357720/ Brooklyn Heights awning comes crashing down on sidewalk – NBC New York

― 35 Millimeter Dream Police (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 3 August 2025 18:17 (two months ago)

woop

― Its big ball chunky time (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Sunday, 3 August 2025 18:19 (two months ago)

Reminds me of that massive curved one on 3rd ave and 19 st

― calstars, Sunday, 3 August 2025 20:57 (two months ago)

two months pass...

they put a bike lane in on court street from brooklyn heights down to the bqe . . . but instead of taking out one of the two parking lanes, they took out one of the two traffic lanes and now it's chaos and honking every afternoon

naturally there's already a lawsuit

― mookieproof, Thursday, 30 October 2025 20:42 (two days ago)

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