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A new (and brighter) day may be dawning for Brooklyn’s Hotel Bossert

Scaffolding comes down — and the ‘gem’ of Brooklyn Heights gets new financial backing

March 12, 2023 Mary Frost

The entrance to the venerable Bossert Hotel at Montague and Hicks streets. Photo: Lore Croghan

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The despised scaffolding — aka “sidewalk shed” — blighting the landmarked Hotel Bossert at 98 Montague St. in Brooklyn Heights is finally coming down, thanks to Councilmember Lincoln Restler’s office in concert with the New York City Department of Buildings.

The scaffolding has been up for two and a half years, blocking views of the stately columns, lovely arches and dozens of lions heads for which the elegant hotel is known.

The removal of the scaffolding may symbolize brighter days ahead in more ways than one for the beleaguered but fabulous 282-room hotel.

The Commercial Observer reported on Feb. 10 that the Bossert’s owners, the Chetrit Group, may yet stave off foreclosure on the hotel with the addition of two new business partners: hoteliers Ian Schrager and Ed Scheetz. The partners are seeking to raise $26 million to reposition and rebrand the property as Schrager’s Public Hotel brand.

In September 2022, the Brooklyn Eagle reported that a foreclosure auction had been scheduled for Dec. 12, 2022.

After pressure from Councilmember Lincoln Restler’s office, the scaffolding that has surrounded the beautiful Bossert Hotel on Montague Street for years is finally coming down. The hotel also has new financial backing. Photo: Mary Frost

The auction was halted, however, when Chetrit Group presented a new business plan that included the new partners, according to Commercial Observer. The parties are working to extend the loan for an additional two years with the intention of obtaining refinancing after the hotel opens as a Public Hotel.

The hotel company describes its Public Hotel brand as “Refined, sophisticated, smart and simple, yet flamboyant and provocative, all at the same time.” Schrager’s Public Hotel on Chrystie Street in Manhattan gets high marks on Tripadvisor, with rave reviews for the service and its “incredible” rooftop.

It sounds like a good fit: During the 1920s and ’30s, the Bossert’s rooftop nightclub, called the Marine Roof, was also a popular gathering place, and radio stations broadcast the big bands that played there.

Local businesses, the Brooklyn Heights Association and the Montague BID have long expressed the desire for the hotel to reopen and bring fresh vitality to Montague Street, which has experienced its own economic turnaround over the past year.

Just thankful the scaffolding is gone

Pedestrians walking along the sidewalk in front of the hotel on Saturday couldn’t remember the last time they saw its beautiful facade.

One couple guessed it was five years. Another man (actually, it was Lincoln Restler’s father) guessed it had been 15 years. (A bit of an overshoot, but to be fair, it seemed like 15 years.)

The scaffolding has been up since September 2020, originally for routine facade inspections. Its removal was delayed, however, by the hotel’s foreclosure proceedings.

Street sheds lower quality of life, can be a safety concern and can depress the economic vitality of a street. Neglected scaffolding is such a problem in New York City that the Manhattan Borough President’s office last week issued a strategy report called Shed the Shed.

As the years went by with no action, community members, including the Brooklyn Heights Association, reached out to Councilmember Restler’s office. After getting no response from the building owner, Restler’s office directly contacted the contractors. At the same time, they pushed DOB to deny extending the scaffolding permit. The contractor was finally convinced to take down the scaffolding.

The dingy scaffolding surrounding the lovely Hotel Bossert is finally coming down — and good news may be in store on the hotel’s financial front as well. Photo: Mary Frost

“I’m thrilled that the scaffolding at the Bossert Hotel has finally come down thanks to advocacy from our office and oversight from the Department of Buildings. Finally getting this scaffolding removed and ultimately reopening the Bossert are key components of our efforts to revitalize Montague Street,” Restler told the Eagle.

“I’m beyond grateful for the tireless efforts of Arvind Sindhwani from Councilmember Restler’s office to make this happen,” Brooklyn Heights Executive Director Lara Birnback said.

“Next step for any fairy godmothers or fathers out there — please get this historic gem open again for the community and visitors to enjoy!” Birnback added.

The Montague Street BID said in a tweet, “At long last, the scaffolding is off the Bossert hotel. Special thanks to team @lincolnforcouncil and everyone involved in making this happen. We look forward to seeing what’s next for Brooklyn’s former Waldorf-Astoria.”