Around Brooklyn: Building sold that housed popular Bay Ridge diner

February 7, 2020 Editorial Staff

The setting sun seen from WNYC Transmitter Park. Photo: Lore Croghan/Brooklyn Eagle

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Building sold that housed popular Bay Ridge diner

A Third Avenue building that housed a popular diner for 40 years has been sold for $2.1 million to a Bay Ridge buyer, according to the Brooklyn Reporter. The Lighthouse Diner, which was located on the ground floor of the building for several years, is now closed. But there has been a diner, with several changes of ownership, at that location for 40 years, according to Bob How, president of the Merchants of Third Avenue. The 3,000-square-foot building at 7506 Third Ave. officially changed hands on Dec. 16. A Mexican restaurant will move into the diner space, according to Axxis Real Estate, a broker that handled the sale of the building to Bay Ridge-based Alrassi Real Estate.

Brooklyn Legal Services opens Bed-Stuy branch

Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A, located in Williamsburg, opened a new office on Fulton Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant earlier this month, according to Patch. Officials with the group stressed that although the office itself is new, Legal Services A has represented clients in Bed-Stuy for many years. The organization, which mainly provides affordable civil-law and housing-related help, opened 51 years ago as part of a national push to provide legal services to low-income neighborhoods.

Republicans, conservatives slam new bail reforms

After a young woman was choked and nearly raped inside a bathroom at the 95th Street subway station in Bay Ridge on Jan. 27, Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis was the only lawmaker to attribute the incident to the state’s new bail reform law, according to the Brooklyn Reporter. Calling bail reform a “get-out-of-jail free card,” Malliotakis, a Republican, contended at a press conference on Feb. 6 that it “puts all New Yorkers at risk.” She was joined by New York Conservative Party Chair Jerry Kassar, Brooklyn Conservative Party Chair Fran Marrone, local community leaders and representatives of law enforcement. For another viewpoint, see page 3.

MTA to reopen long-closed entrances at Bedford-Nostrand

The MTA plans to open two long-closed entrances at the overcrowded Bedford-Nostrand Avenues station on the A and C lines, according to the New York Post. Around 36,000 riders per day enter and exit through two staircases in either direction at the station, which is on Fulton Street. The reopening of the entrances as well as the passages that connect them to the station will ease overcrowding and create a connection between eastbound and westbound platforms, MTA officials said. The entrances were closed during a period of ridership and population decline in the city, the Post said. Since then, population growth in Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights has increased the station’s daily ridership by 15 percent.

Developers seek office building on event space’s site

Developers are seeking to build a nine-story office building where the media company Vice currently operates an event space, said the Brooklyn Paper. The owners of the single-story warehouse at 307 Kent Ave. want to replace the space currently rented by the event company Villain, which is owned by Vice Media, to fit the Williamsburg area better. The new building is projected to include retail space on the ground floor, medical facilities on the second and part of the third floor, and offices on the other floors, said James Bright, a spokesperson for the developers.

Park Slope Barber closes after 117 years

Park Slope Barber on Seventh Avenue opened in 1903 and went on to become one of the area’s oldest continuously operated businesses, according to the Brooklyn Paper. The Fiumefreddo brothers — John, Angelo and Vito — inherited the barbershop from their father, who bought it in 1948. Angelo died two years ago, Vito moved to Florida several years ago, and now John, 74, has announced he’s closing up shop. The Brooklyn Paper said the barbershop’s most difficult time was during the hippie era, when many young men stopped getting haircuts.

Illegal weed club shut down by cops

Officers from the Brooklyn North Vice Squad are being praised for shutting down an illegal club in the borough, according to News 12 Brooklyn. NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison congratulated the officers after they seized $100,000 worth of marijuana, thousands of dollars in cash and a loaded pistol. Ten out of the 50 people that cops found in the club — which was located in the basement of an apartment building — were arrested.

Rose seeks to rename post office for Mother Cabrini

U.S. Rep. Max Rose (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-Staten Island) last week saw the House pass his bipartisan legislation to rename the Dyker Heights Post Office as the Mother Cabrini Post Office. Before the vote, Rose spoke on the House floor in support of the legislation, which was co-sponsored by the entire New York delegation. “Mother Cabrini will always be a shining example of our country’s commitment to the less fortunate, particularly immigrants to our country,” said Rose. Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini was born in Italy in 1850, became a nun, then was asked by the Pope to go to New York to help struggling Italian immigrants. She organized classes for the immigrants, helped to found a hospital on the Lower East Side for them and more.

Deutsch makes about-face on Sheepshead bike lane

Southern Brooklyn Councilmember Chaim Deutsch, who said last year that he would oppose any bike lanes in his district, last week pressured Department of Transportation officials to get one of those very bike lanes finished, according to Streetsblog. “I really want to have a concept of this and try to have it done. Why was it pushed back?” Deutsch asked DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg at a City Council hearing on Jan. 29, referring to a cycle path in Sheepshead Bay. Deutsch complained that a bike lane on Emmons Avenue was deleted from a list that the DOT planned to construct this year.

Seven Grain Army to invade Bedford-Stuyvesant

The closed but fondly remembered Scratchbread bakery in Bedford-Stuyvesant will return as Seven Grain Army, according to New York Eater. Details on the new restaurant are scarce, but owner Matthew Tilden — who is still looking for one more investor — confirmed that he hopes to open this year. In addition to Scratchbread’s famed bakery items, such as pizza bread, sticky buns and grits, Seven Grain Army will also feature new items. Tilden told New York Eater that he’s “poised and ready” to open the store as soon as he gets another $100,000 of capital to invest.

Developer plans new apt. house in Clinton Hill

The Daten Group last week revealed the first rendering of a new apartment building it plans to build at 540 Waverly Ave., Clinton Hill, according to New York YIMBY. The building would include 135 rental apartments, 40 of which would be reserved for affordable housing, as well as 6,000 square feet of retail and a 56-car garage. The Daten Group purchased the site from Verizon New York for $17.25 million in December. Verizon would continue to operate a small office space on the property. The site is currently occupied by several unused one-story warehouses and garages.

Permits filed for six-story building in Sunset Park

Permits have been filed for a six-story apartment building at 824 60th St. in Sunset Park, according to New York YIMBY. The site, between Eighth and Ninth avenues, is two blocks from the N train’s Eighth Avenue subway station. Simon Lee, under the name Lee Continuum Management, is listed as the owner, while Shimming Tam of S.M. Tam Architect is listed as the architect of record. The building is slated to have eight residences, most likely condos, New York YIMBY said.

Compiled by Raanan Geberer