Everyone is mourning Caputo's and World Cup watch parties in Brooklyn

Hey Neighbors -

Happy Saturday. Who knows where the week went, but somehow it’s Saturday again and I’m fine with that.

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Post #32: Mourning Caputo’s; hometown soccer team wins again; i bet you can’t guess the Gray’s Lady’s fav chocolate bar; big night in Red Hook raises bucks; Liz’s Books April bestsellers; apartment towers are coming to Cobble Hill; 311 actually works!; BK waterfront update; what to do this week?

We all know the big news this week – the sudden closing of Caputo’s Bakery. Texts, photos, and emails from friends and readers asking what happened inundated my phone. 

It took a few days to get the full picture, but according to Michael Turkell of GrubStreet, the oven was spent and it would cost a fortune to replace it. I heard something similar earlier in the week, after a friend sent me a picture of a “Temporarily Closed” sign in the window on Sunday.  However, I heard it had something to do with bringing old wiring up to code.

The expense of making the repairs and closing down for weeks led to the owner to decide to close, a surprise opportunity to spend more time with the family. 

I’ve never seen a business closing generate more attention, with goodbye letters and children’s drawings posted on the front door, and flowers, too.

While I was at the other Caputo’s down the street, I overheard someone behind the counter talking about finding a new source for their bread. GrubStreet reports a similar issue with Court Street Grocers, which buys 6,000 loaves a week. 

“We’re certain we’ll figure out how to get bread we love for our sandwiches, albeit maybe not as much. The sad truth, though, is that our neighborhood will never be the same with Caputo’s in it. We're just hoping that somehow the groundswell of love for the place and its people will result in their somehow reopening (Court St. Grocers IG).”

I will miss the focaccia they introduced about a year ago and the Black and Whites, especially the Black and Whites!

Red Hook FC won last week’s home game 3-2. Tonight’s game is against the reigning 4th division national champions, the New York Renegades from Long Island. 

7:00 PM watch party tonight at The Record Shop on 360 Van Brunt.

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, our fan zone will operate from June 13th to July 19th, the longest of the five boroughs.

Red Hook Initiative had its annual fundraiser last night at Liberty Warehouse. After all these years, I’ve never been to the absolutely gorgeous spot at the foot of Pier 41. The non-profit “nurtures young people in Red Hook to be inspired, resilient, and healthy…” This year, kindergartners living in the Red Hook Houses and attending public schools received $1,000 through the Save for College Program, as part of the Red Hook Initiatives Community Scholarship.  

I finally read Lily King’s, Heart the Lover, which was a bestseller at both Liz’s Book Bar and Books Are Magic a few weeks ago. I also devoured Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Very different books; I highly recommend both!

Here are Liz’s Book Bar’s bestsellers for April:

If you’ve been around long enough, you probably remember when Long Island College Hospital sold a ton of its property in Cobble Hill. Part of the deal required a new hospital, but the other land could be developed. 

Other than the large apartment tower on Henry and Dean, the rest of the land has remained untouched. The structure on the corner of Atlantic and Hicks was demolished, but construction never started. 

That might be about to change. As I reported weeks ago, various parcels recently changed hands and now Rockrose Developer, according to the Cobble Hill Association, has filed paperwork with the city to demolish parts of the enormous “H” building, as it’s often called. CHA is waiting to hear if this will impact the use of the whether the playground. Work could start as early as this summer.

CHA also reports that the empty lot on Hicks and Atlantic is also moving forward. No other details are available.  The original design for this plot was a luxury 20-story building with a concierge, pool, and close to 50 condos. 

If anyone knows the couple behind Eckstrom NYC, I’d love to interview them. I counted more than a dozen mixed-family and single-family homes that the husband-and-wife developers have purchased since they started buying property in Brooklyn. 

Their current Cobble Hill listing at 487 Henry is on the market for an eye-popping $14.25 million, with a purchase price of $4.7 million two years ago. 

How many times have you called 3-1-1, never expecting anything to come of it? Well, I’m happy to report we have success in Cobble Hill! On the heels of the residents successfully working with the Department of Transportation to improve safety on their streets (Columbia/President, Columbia near Van Voorhees Park, Congress near the BQE entrance), 3-1-1 added “no parking” signs by a Congress street driveway to make oncoming cars and bikes more visible when exiting the garage.

Yes, this is not officially Brooklyn news, but some of you might remember that I love chocolate. And while I’m loyal to the Chocolate Room, I often need my store bought chocolate to get me through the week. In one of those news you can use articles, the NYT reviewed chocolate bars and I was surprised by their favorites. 

I’m a fan of Raaka and Hu, the Times? Not so much. Tony’s Chocolonely and Valrhona were the winners. 

I’ve never known what to make of Tony’s because of its packaging. Is it a serious chocolate bar or a gimmick? Turns out the Amsterdam based Tony’s is serious about a lot of things.

It’s an ethically sourced chocolate with clear supply-chain principles, which include paying fair wages and ending child labor. It seems to be working, as the company’s revenue is up 20+% despite a challenging time for the chocolate industry.

They also do custom wrappers. Who knew? And check out this Tony’s pop-up hotel room in Amsterdam that celebrates the sweetest person.

BTW, I tried the dark chocolate and it’s definitely worth buying. 

The Brooklyn Marine Development Corporation, a powerful body overseeing contracts and other critical aspects of the controversial “vision plan,” met yesterday at Borough Hall with all the new members present. 

Local members include: Cobble Hill Association president Amanda Nichols, appointed by the Governor with Rep. Dan Goldman’s recommendation, and James DeFilipis of Columbia St. Waterfront, appointed by Council Member Alexis Aviles (Col. St. Waterfront Association head, Randy Gordon sat in for James y’day). Full board list and more info here.

This proposed project could take a different direction once Mayor Mamdani weighs in with his appointment to head the NYC Economic Development Corporation, the quasi-city agency behind the controversial plan. The new head will send a message about this administration’s priorities, as EDC is, in large part, a real estate development arm of the city, and this proposed project could mean 30+ luxury apartment towers, between 30 and 40 stories, consisting of 6,000 units, with 40% defined as “affordable” by EDC. 

A few highlights: 

There is still time (May 8th) to SUBMIT your written comments about the possible impacts of this proposed plan. Email Emily Spokowski, Mayor's Office of Environmental Coordination, [email protected]

“Your voice is essential to the success of this plan. You are the expert on your community's needs,” says Assembly Member Jo Ann Simon. If you need ideas, please look at the Columbia Waterfront Association comments, the Cobble Hill Association written comments, and ​PortsideNY's template addressing BMT issues, which you can use for ideas.

Things like additional traffic around the BMT and beyond, lack of transportation options, a larger study area given how what happens near the BMT impacts neighborhoods beyond Boerum Hill, lack of sunlight with 40 story-towers, safety and congestion problems on Kane St. as an entrance point to the BMT for construction trucks, impact on rental prices in surrounding neighborhoods with thousands of new luxury apartments, and questions about environmental remediation on old industrial areas. 

Thanks for reading! JLH