Media Coverage - 2001

Preservation Brings Commercial Growth
Crain's New York Business, December 10, 2001
By Joan Oleck

When Tom Schutte spotted wreckers tearing cornices off the antique facades of two buildings on Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood back in 1996, he was horrified. "I couldn't believe my eyes," recalls Mr. Schutte, president of the nearby Pratt Institute, a well-known design school.

In the end, though, he did not throttle the building's owner - Gilbert Rivera, chief executive of Park Avenue Building and Roofing Supply - as Mr. Schutte admits he wanted to do. Instead, he ended up converting Mr. Rivera to the cause of commercial renewal through preservation. (Read more at Crains New York Business).

Zaytoons Helps Spruce Up Burgeoning Myrtle Avenue
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 8, 2001
By Gina Osnovich

Next week, the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project (MARP) and merchants on the burgeoning strip will have something new to celebrate. Zaytoons, a Middle Eastern cuisine restaurant that has made its mark on Smith Street, will open up a second shop on Myrtle Avenue.

Cousins and co-owners Ahmad Samhan and Faried Assad say they are very excited about their new location.

Samhan says it's perfect. He lives three blocks away from the new location, 472 Myrtle Avenue, and he is happy to help the community grow. (Read more at The Brooklyn Daily Eagle).

A Light Touch on Myrtle Ave.
The New York Daily News, August 24, 2001
By Melissa Grace

To help spruce up Myrtle Ave., Borough President Howard Golden has pledged $525,000 to put period street lights on the "Main Street" of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.

The new lighting, which is not expected to be in place for at least a year, is meant to improve safety and help local businesses in their effort to ring the once dilapidated commercial strip back to life.

Noting that merchants and the Myrtle Ave. Revitalization Project have already taken great strides in cleaning up the thoroughfare and improving the business atmosphere, Golden said the Borough Hall money is aimed at making sure they succeed. (Read more at The New York Daily News).

Revitalization of Myrtle Avenue, Fort Greene 'Main Street,' Celebrated
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 22, 2001
By Dennis Holt

"It's Myrtle Avenue's time," a smiling merchant said to another smiling street merchant, not in anger or frustration, at a sunlit corner, Myrtle and Vanderbilt, on Tuesday, August 21.

The crowd, which kept growing as passers-by stood on the fringes to see what was going on, was there because Borough President Howard Golden had allocated $525,000 to the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project LDC to build historic period streetlamps along the street's length through Fort Greene and Clinton Hill. (Read more at The Brooklyn Daily Eagle).

Local Elected Officials Toured Myrtle Avenue
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 23, 2001

New York State Assemblyman Joseph Lentol and State Senator Velmanette Montgomery toured Myrtle Avenue in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill on April 16th in a tour organized by the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project LDC (MARP).

Assemblyman Lentol and Senator Montgomery visited with individual Myrtle Avenue merchants involved in the revitalization. (Read more at The Brooklyn Daily Eagle).

Myrtle Mile Gets Boost from Neighborhood Guide
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 14, 2001
By Gina Osnovich

The Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project and the Myrtle Avenue Merchants Association have banded together to put out a neighborhood shopping and services guide that lists the dozens of merchants along the strip.

Myrtle Avenue's slogan, "Have you Shopped the Myrtle Mile Lately," seemingly hopes to boost the area's visibility and attract business. (Read more at The Brooklyn Daily Eagle).

Heart & Soul on the Menu
The New York Daily News, March 5, 2001
By Clem Richardson

The Five Spot Soul Food Restaurant and Supper Club, on the corner of Washington and Myrtle Aves. in Clinton Hill, is a testament to many things, chief among them patience, vision, determination and love.

It's also beautiful - the 2,500 square foot restaurant features a 60 foot-long handmade mahogany bar, a 150 foot state, a 10 foot-long fireplace and an antique pressed-tin ceiling. (Read more at The New York Daily News).

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