Here’s a throwback to the 1930s with local author Henry Miller, who once lived at 180 Clinton Avenue, near the corner of Myrtle Avenue. It’s quite apparent that Mr. Miller was not found of Myrtle Avenue when he lived in the area back in the 1920’s. In 1929, he and his wife left Clinton Hill, and Brooklyn all together, and became expats in Paris.
The above passage is from Miller’s novel Tropic of Capricorn. The book was a prequel to Tropic of Cancer and was banned in the United States for over twenty years for being too “obscene.”
We’d like to think that if the author visited Myrtle Avenue today – maybe got brunch at The Runner or enjoyed a cupcake at Brooklyn Sweet Spot – he’d find a little more love for our beloved thoroughfare?
180 Clinton Avenue, between Myrtle and Willoughby Avenues.
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Save-the-Dates for the 16th Annual Art Walk taking place on the weekend of Saturday, May 30th & Sunday, May 31st. See the work of over 50 artists and stroll through rows of elegant brownstones to the warehouses and lofts around the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The self-guided tour of SONYA Artist members takes place in studios and galleries within the neighborhoods of Bed-Stuy, Clinton Hill and Fort Greene, Brooklyn.
SONYA catalog encompasses a full spectrum of disciplines, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography and ceramics, at the emerging, mid-career and established levels of practice. The Art Walk gives viewers an opportunity to meet with artists, and immerse themselves in spaces of creation. Workshops and live events will take place at Corkscrew Brooklyn Wines, dc optics, Gnarly Vines, Move with Grace, Tipsy and other participating merchant spaces as well as outdoors at Putnam Triangle and Fowler Square.
The SONYA Art Walk is FREE, family friendly and open to the public from 12:00pm- 6pm.
RAIN OR SHINE.
For more information: (347) SONYA-70 or visit sonyaonline.org
Sandbox Pack & Ship is a full service packaging and shipping center specializing in individual and small business needs. They are an one stop courier, shipping, packing and freight insurance superstore all under one roof. Have you stopped in recently? You should!
And with a number of age-friendly initiatives, including a senior line and special senior help during each day’s rush, they are great for the entire neighborhood.
Sandbox offers a wide range of land, sea or air options for worldwide shipping, including USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL, with a focus on offering the fastest and most affordable options.
Sandbox also offers mailbox rentals, computer/internet café services, printing and faxing services and packing and shipping supplies. Sandbox Pack & Ship is located at 417 Myrtle Avenue between Clinton and Vanderbilt Avenues.
(718) 928-5538
Brooklyn Based spotlighted Bar Bolinas, the new Myrtle Avenue-based NorCal cuisine restaurant on 4/13. Read the entire article here.
The article give a hearty nod to the eatery’s menu, including shouting out the juicy Bar Bolinas’ burger on Dutch Crunch bread; artichoke small plate with olives, guana padano cheese and celery; seafood sepia skewers with long pepper hots, horseradish and celery; spicy Mexican-influenced pasilla chicken entrée served w/spiragarello, a rabe-like broccoli leaf; and the strawberry fool dessert, sweet berries over a vanilla bean custard and fresh whipped cream.
Oh yes.
Bar Bolinas is located at 455 Myrtle Avenue between Waverly and Washington Avenues; (718) 935-9333.
“Good wine is a good familiar creature if it well used,” stated a good man from Stratford-upon-Avon. And Gnarly Vines is a wonderful place to pick up a bottle or two.
With its focus on sustainably-produced wines and eclectic spirits and wide range of prices to fit all budgets, Gnarly Vines is a go-to place.
Whether winding down after a long workday, sipping throughout a lazy weekend afternoon, enjoy and cheers!
Weekly tastings and as usual, 15% off all wines featured at the tastings. Order by phone or online.
Gnarly Vines, 350 Myrtle Avenue, between Carlton and Adelphi.
Make this Take Our Daughters to Work Day one to remember with this interactive art project from performance artist, Aisha Cousins, this Sunday, 4/19 at Brooklyn Sweet Spot. Make your very own Take Michelle to Work Doll, just in time to take her to the office for Take Our Daughters to Work Day at this free drop-in workshop.
Then use your doll to spark conversations about the ways Michelle Obama’s shift from model “feminist career woman” to model “president’s wife” illustrates the subtle social and psychological obstacles today’s girls will face in their quests to enter the workforce and live out the ideals of Take Our Daughters to Work. Launched last year as part of MARP’s Black ArtStory Month programming, Take Michelle to Work is one of several projects by artist Aisha Cousins exploring important but overlooked aspects of black life during the Obama era.
Brooklyn Sweet Spot is located at 366 Myrtle Avenue between Adelphi and Clermont and can be reached at (718) 522-2577.
Applications are now available for apartments at 490 Myrtle Avenue between Hall and Ryerson, the new 93-unit building where Key Food (name change for the former Associated Supermarket) and TD Bank will be.
20% of the apartments are being marketed as affordable. Applicants must meet eligibility guidelines. The available apartments are broken down in the following way: 7 two bedrooms ($1064/mo); 7 one bedrooms ($877/mo); and 5 studios ($816/mo).
Amenities listed include: a fitness center, reflecting pools with cabanas, a quiet terrace, dog run, bike storage, a vegetable garden, barbeque and dining area and on an premises coin-operated laundry room.
Please note that the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership is NOT affiliated with this building and is NOT involved in the affordable housing application process. Please do NOT contact the Partnership office for information regarding housing applications. For all inquiries, please visit www.nyc.gov/housingconnect or call 3-1-1.
Key Food expects to return to the building within the next several weeks and TD Bank should be in a few months after still.
A second building at 504 Myrtle will be erected directly to the east of 490 Myrtle Avenue at the site where the Pratt Station Post Office used to stand. Plans for 504 Myrtle Avenue reveal that it will be six-stories, with 141 housing units and commercial on the ground floor.
Together, the two buildings, 490 Myrtle and 504 Myrtle, will contain 35,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.
Photos of 413 Myrtle Avenue, between Vanderbilt and Clinton, from 2015 and 1940.
This 1940 photo of 413 Myrtle Avenue, the longtime home of Yummy Yummy Chinese, shows that the space also housed a restaurant 75 years ago. Next door to the restaurant was both a drug store and the Delta Brothers Butcher shop, which now houses Splitty bar.
A new restaurant will be opening this summer in the ground floor space at 413 Myrtle Avenue. The new sit-down eatery will serve a menu that features cuisine from the Oaxaca region of Mexico. The name of the new restaurant has not yet been announced, but the owner says the targeted opening date will be in later summer 2015.
Yummy Yummy Chinese Restaurant closed last month, after serving the neighborhood for several decades. Fortunately, if you are craving classic take-out Chinese food, you can still visit many other options nearby, including: Hardee’s, Chung Chun Kitchen or Kum Kau Restaurant. Click here to view a list of all Chinese restaurants on Myrtle Avenue in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.
Full 1940’s tax photo of 413 Myrtle Avenue.
Interested in more local history? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to catch our weekly #ThrowbackThursday posts.
394 Myrtle Avenue will soon house Starbucks and Chipotle.
Chipotle will be opening a new outpost of their Mexican inspired eatery at 394 Myrtle Avenue, near Vanderbilt Avenue, in Fort Greene. According to an application filed with the Department of Building last week, Chipotle will be taking one of the retail spaces in the former Home and U discount store. It was announced last week that Starbucks will also be opening in the renovated building.
Chipotle has not yet announced a planned opening date.
Additionally, one block away at 413 Myrtle Avenue, another Mexican restaurant is planned. A lease has been signed for a sit-down restaurant to open in the former Yummy Yummy space, between Vanderbilt and Clinton. The yet unnamed restaurant will serve an Oaxacan inspired menu and plans to open in late summer 2015. Read more about the restaurant here.
413 Myrtle Avenue, formerly home to Yummy Yummy, will soon house a new Mexican restaurant.
Lola BKLYN’s menu staples are olive oil and herbs. Southern French inspired, the restaurant is infused with colorful and delicious fare: all fresh ingredients, all the time, including organic eggs, free range chicken, homegrown veggies, sustainable cocoa. Yess.
So many wonderful menu options for brunch, lunch or dinner, such as braised lamb shank, vegetarian fajitas, shrimp salad, oven roasted chicken, fish and chips and the skinny onion rings in the pic above; Minnie on Myrtle (Absolut ruby red, lemon juice and mint served on ice), Lovely Hot Lola (spicy margarita jalapeno infused tequila), Smoke and Stormy (stolen cig rum, ginger beer, lime juice).
Weekly trivia nights, wine specials, live music, mussels a-go go and lobster nights.
Lola BKLYN is located at 387 Myrtle between Clermont and Vanderbilt, (718) 858-1484.
The building that housed the former Pratt Station Post Office has been leveled, making one for a new six-story building.
Last week, the demolition of the one-story building at 504-520 Myrtle Avenue was undertaken in Clinton Hill. The structure was demolished to make way for a new six-story, mixed-use building that will house ground-floor retail with apartments above. The new building will have 20,000 square feet of new commercial space on the ground floor, 141 rental apartments on the upper-floors, and a 115-car parking garage on the lower level.
The demolished building formerly housed the Pratt Station Post Office, which has reopened at it’s new location a few blocks away at 609 Myrtle Avenue, on the corner of Kent Avenue. In addition to the post office, the building at 504 Myrtle Avenue was also home to Fantastic Cleaners, which can still be found only two blocks away at 570 Myrtle Avenue. The Clinton Hill Metro PCS store also moved out of the former building, and is operating down the street at 436 Myrtle Avenue.
The new 504 Myrtle Avenue is being designed by HTO Architects and the developer is Madison Realty, which also oversaw the development of the adjacent 490 Myrtle Avenue, where Associated Supermarket will be returning. Renderings of 504 Myrtle Avenue have not yet been released.
The Emerson Bar on Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill was voted ‘Best Neighborhood Bar’ after a month-long Brooklyn Brackets neighborhood contest created by DNA Info.
The 5-year old bar is well noted for its very laid back atmosphere, spacious backyard and pool table. Co-owner Gina Jankowitz describes The Emerson in the article as “a place where everybody knows your name” and of the backyard she says it “feels like an escape from the city.” Read the complete article here.
The Emerson beat out Brooklyn bars such as Lavender Lake, The Way Station, Alibi, finally the Project Parlor, with over 50% of the total votes cast, to win the crown.
Congratulations Emerson Bar! Thank you DNA Info and all of you who voted!
Stop in at The Emerson anytime. Check out the every day happy hour and live music every Thursday.
The Emerson Bar is located at 561 Myrtle Avenue between Emerson and Classon (347) 763-1310
DNA Info sums it up nicely: ” Lulu and Po has the best thing going between two buns.” Yes!
In a month-long Brooklyn Brackets contest created by DNA Info, neighbors voted LuLu & Po king of the burgers. LuLu & Po beat out popular restaurants like, Peter Luger, Hope & Anchor and Carroll Prime Meats for the crown.
DeBragga beef, caramelized onions and hand-made potato rolls are but some of the simple ingredients used, states Chef Matt in the article and adds that it is “what a burger is supposed to be–it should all melt together into a big, beautiful, juicy sandwich.”
Congratulations LuLu & Po! Thank you DNA Info and voters!
Stop in for a burger or any of the other very delicious menu items at LuLu& Po. LuLu & Po offers a great $15 burger and beer special every Sunday.
LuLu & Po is located at 154 Carlton Avenue, near Myrtle Avenue corner and can be reached at (917) 435-3745.
Chef, author and traveler, Anthony Bourdain and superstar chef and entrepreneur, Marcus Samuelsson have surely talked about the delicious drink, palm wine, in their books and on their television programs. Palm wine, an alcoholic beverage created from the fermented sap of various species of palm tree, is said to especially be a good accompaniment to very well seasoned dishes and pungent cheeses and sweet desserts. It’s reminiscent of white wine with a more earthy finish.
Palm wine is popular in Africa and South Asia and, you can find it on Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn too.
Owa African Market, which is at once an African art, craft and textile store and small grocery import store, has palm wine available for sale. Stop in and pick up a bottle (or two) for dinner tonight.
Owa Afrikan Market is located at 434 Myrtle Avenue between Clinton and Waverly Avenues, and can be reached by phone at (718) 643-8487.
Pet Lovers! Looking for a gift for the furry family friend? With leashes, collars, food, chew toys, clothing and more, NYCPet.com is bound to have just what you are looking for. Visit the Myrtle Avenue location, or order on line.
NYCPet.com is located at 464 Myrtle Avenue between Washington Avenue and Hall Street. Please contact them by phone at (718) 636-3848.
Coffee culture is expanding on Myrtle Avenue with Starbucks coming to 394 Myrtle between Vanderbilt and Clermont Avenues, the home of the former discount store, Home & U in Clinton Hill. Rumors about Starbucks signing a lease have been circling the neighborhood for the past few months and we’ve received confirmations from several parties, but have yet to receive a confirmation from Starbucks directly. Details have not yet been released as to when they may open.
We welcome Starbucks to Myrtle Avenue and look forward to their contributions toward keeping our commercial corridor a special place. We’re proud of our coffee shop culture and invite our visitors to seek out their favorite cup of joe at any of the wonderfully diverse options in the district, from Fort Greene to Clinton Hill.
Below is a list of a few coffee shops that are unique to Myrtle Avenue and you can’t find anywhere else:
Brewklyn Grind Coffee Roasters was founded by three brothers with a love for stellar coffee. Their quest for the perfect cup started in an apartment and became what is now a Brooklyn flagship location. The carefully crafted roasts highlight the nuances of each origin and you can taste it in every cup of 100% Arabica beans. The charming shop offers everything from a pour over to cappuccinos, teas, and local baked goods including Tisserie. Check out the peaceful backyard. Brewklyn Grind Coffee Roasters , 557 Myrtle Avenue between Emerson & Classon, (347) 452-8866
Myrtle Avenue’s collective lifestyle store, Jill Lindsey, houses a coffee & wine bar alongside fashionable clothing, accessories and housewares. The beautifully adorned boutique not only curates events, they also serve a heck of a macchiato. Jill Lindsey brews Irving Farm and has lovely outdoor seating in the backyard. Jill Lindsey, 370 Myrtle Avenue between Adelphi & Clermont, (347) 987-4583
Scrumptious baked goods and top of the line coffee is what you will find at the provisions and pastried-packed Peck’s. The breakfast egg sandwich on a pillowy Portuguese bun is a must0have. Peck’s is the only coffee shop in Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn serving La Colombe. Pecks, 455 A Myrtle Avenue between Waverly & Washinton, (347)689-4971
Pillow Cafe-Lounge proudly serves Irving Farm Coffee. Perfect for a coffee break or a scrumptious brunch, Pillow offers neighborhood favorites like the Huevos Racheros. Owners put extra care into their espresso-based drinks. Try the iced Cafe Mexicana and the Mocha Pillow Shake, their signature smoothie of chocolate-y frothy blend of mocha, bananas, and milk. Pillow Cafe-Lounge, 505 Myrtle Avenue between Ryerson & Grand, (718) 246-2711
With its wide open windows and comfy environ, Pushkin Creperie-Bakery is the perfect place to meet up with friends or slide into a seat with laptop for work or study. The cafe has a wide assortment of coffee and teas, including Turkish coffee. Crepe offerings are both sweet and savory, including the ever popular Mexican, jerk chicken and Nutella and banana. Their baked goods include cupcakes and cookies. Pushkin Creperie-Bakery is located at 541 Myrtle Avenue between Steuben & Emerson, (718) 783-0033
The crew at Red Lantern Bicycles & Café brews different coffees from different countries of origin on a weekly basis. Baristas serve cold brewed, house roasted coffees, and teas. They also serve to die for Fresh ‘Til Death Cafeteria rich, creamy textured house-made raw nut milks, some flavored, such as cinnamon walnut, cashew with fig, raw cacao and Brazil nut. Red Lantern sells pastries from Brooklyn-based businesses and cold beers on tap and bottled. All this, and a full bike shop too! Red Lantern Bicycles & Café, 345 Myrtle Avenue between Adelphi & Carlton, (347) 889-5338
The Joint makes the tastiest Buttermilk biscuits and breakfast burritos. Delicious food can be accompanied with lattes, cappuccinos, cold-pressed coffees and wonderful variety of teas. Try anyone of their fresh sandwiches, including their popular roasted turkey, tasty soups or salads. All of which can be enjoyed in their relaxing backyard. The Joint on Myrtle, between Washington Avenue & Hall Street, (347) 763-1455
Have you stopped into El Cofre recently? If so, you would have noticed the mural on the wall featuring a treasure chest (‘cofre’ is the Spanish word for treasure chest) and the full bar on the side.
The food, thankfully, remains unchanged and as delicious as always!
El Cofre remains a powerhouse of Dominican cuisine, with a diverse menu which includes favorites like baked chicken with mixed veggies and mashed potatoes, fresh fish with a side of tostones (sliced green plantains) or platanos maduras (fried ripe plantains), pollo guisado (stewed chicken); or a plate of rice and beans….so many choices! Most of the heaping plates of delicious cuisine at El Cofre can be shared by two! The $5 and $6 lunch specials are available everyday, 11am-4pm.
El Cofre is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
El Cofre is located at 454 Myrtle Avenue between Waverly and Washington Avenues. They can be reached at 718.935.1153.
Myrtle + Gold, the long-awaited answer to the return of business life at 343 Gold Street, Fort Greene, is now open for business. The 65-seat restaurant, formerly occupied by Palmer’s restaurant, is beautifully designed, with fresh and delicious eats, full bar and sidewalk café for outdoor dining to thoroughly enjoy once the weather has sufficiently warmed up. The restaurant showcases American fare with a thoughtful selection of craft beer, wines and cocktails.
The former head chef of Boulton and Watt of the Lower East Side, Chef Ray Ruiz, helms the kitchen. Some menu highlights include fritattas (pictured below) grilled Berkshire pork chop with mustard greens, crispy brick chicken with fingerling potatoes, and the M+G Burger, which features two Creekstone Farms beef patties, M+G special sauce and American cheese. As Myrtle + Gold owners include both Paul Cacici and Eric Horowitz from The Double Windsor, expect to see the wildly popular signature dish from the Windsor, sriracha honey chicken wings, on the menu. Restaurateurs Theo Maniatis and Lloyd Sherman also serve as owners in this joint venture.
Myrtle + Gold serves dinner daily from 4pm to 12am. Breakfast is served weekdays 7a to 11, followed by lunch on weekdays from 11am to 4pm. Brunch is offered weekends, beginning at 11am. Reservations are not required and take out service is available.
Myrtle + Gold is located at 343 Gold Street, corner of Myrtle Avenue.
These Hands Built, curated by Daonne Huff, is still on view at BLDG 92. This unique piece by Cheyanne Epps and Jose de Jesus Rodriguez was in exhibition during February’s Black Artstory Artwalk. Drawing inspiration from archival photographs of African-American workers sewing flags and building ships as well as the quilts of Gee’s Bend and Faith Ringgold, this patchwork quilt recognizes and honors the physical labor and craft work demonstrated by those African American men and women who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during World War 2.
Opening day at Bar Bolinas in Clinton Hill is this Thursday, March 26th. Come celebrate the restaurant opening from 5:30pm to midnight.
Bar Bolinas is named after a coastal town in Northern California and features cuisine primarily from the same region.
Stop in and enjoy great food, great drinks and meet owners, Chef Nate Smith, Chef Sophie Kamin and Chelsea Altman, much-loved Fort Greene restaurateur.
Bar Bolinas is located at 455 Myrtle Avenue between Waverly & Washington Avenues.
If you too just can’t get enough of Brooklyn Sweet Spot’s delicious, melt-in-your-mouth confections, then do not forget to check out the bakery’s weekly specials.
“Super Tuesdays” feature cupcakes $5.50 for two mouthwatering gourmet-sized red velvet cupcakes or mix and match any of your other mouthwatering full sized favorites for $6.50 each.
“Thirsty Thursdays” spotlights a large array of cocktail cupcakes such as chocolate grand marnier seduction or coconut rum punch.
Brooklyn Sweet Spot is located at 366 Myrtle Avenue between Adelphi and Clermont and can be reached at (718) 522-2577.
Trilok Fusion Arts is holding its 14th annual summer camp for kids between the ages of 2 – 14 years at its location at 143 Waverly Avenue. The summer camp is filled with art, music, dance, theater, cooking, gardening, yoga and meditation. The camp also offers flexibility in students’ enrollment, from two weeks or the full eight week session.
To learn more about our summer camp, click here. Or contact Trilok at (718) 797-1700.
Photo Credit: Trilok Fusion Arts
About Trilok Sschool:
Sanskrit for “three worlds,” Trilok is where the worlds of the family, the educator and the child come together as one. Trilok School offers a unique, progressive approach to educating children while creating a community to nurture a child’s growth. Based on the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, our students are taught compassion for all living things and to resolve conflicts through dialogue. They are also taught respect for the Earth, and to be dedicated to preserving the environment, which is part of Trilok’s mission. In addition, Trilok offers an art-based curriculum where dance, music, weaving and other art forms are part of the weekly curriculum. We have open enrollment for students between the ages of 2 – 10 years.
Learn more about our school here. Sign up for a tour here.
1940’s photograph of 555-559 Myrtle Avenue, between Emerson and Classon.
This 1940 photo shows a stretch of Myrtle Avenue, between Emerson Place and Classon Avenue, in Clinton Hill. The storefront that once housed a meat market is now home to Brewklyn Grind coffee shop. Next door, on the right side of the photo, is home today to Leisure Life NYC and is seen here in 1940 as a plumbing supply store. On the left side of the photo, the Hollywood produce market is shown in operation. This fruit and vegetable market, owned by the Venezia family, opened in 1935 and remained open for more than 72 years, closing when the owners retired in 2007.
This photo was taken by the city in 1940, when the tax department snapped a photo of each and every lot across the five boroughs. Later, an updated photo survey was undertaken by the city in 1980. Photos of any property can be ordered through the city’s Department of Records.
Interested in more local history? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to catch our weekly #ThrowbackThursday posts.
Kiddie Sing-A-Long with Hop-A-Long Andrew
Tuesdays, 11:30am ($10 per family/FREE snacks) The Joint on Myrtle
471 Myrtle Avenue between Washington & Hall
(347) 763-1455
Kid’s Sing-A-Long
Fridays, 4pm-4:45pm Jill Lindsey
370 Myrtle Avenue between Adelphi & Clermont
(347) 987-4583 Various Classes (Dance & Sports)
Jiu Jitsu for Kids Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays, 4:15pm-5pm (Junior Basic)
Mondays-Fridays, 5pm-5:15pm (Junior Advanced)
**Seasonal Parents’ Night Out – movies, games, snacks for kids while parents go out!**
Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
412 Myrtle Avenue between Clinton & Vanderbilt
(718) 403-0067
Haircuts, Candy Facials, Nail Services & Events
Wednesdays & Thursdays: Weekday specials available A Kid’s Dream
549 Myrtle Avenue between Steuben & Emerson
(800) 927-1373 – call for appointments
Toddler + Big People Art Classes
Science Class
Various Sundays, 9:45am, 2pm (call for dates) Jill Lindsey
370 Myrtle Avenue between Adelphi & Clermont
(347) 987-4583
Variety of Classes Ingersoll Community Center
177 Myrtle Avenue between Navy & Prince
(718) 522-5051 – call for schedule
If you know of other family fun events in our businesses, please let us know so that we can help promote to families in the neighborhood! Email us at info@myrtleavenue.org.
Taqueria Tepango was voted a top Brooklyn spot for burritos in a recent Gothamist post titled, ‘The 10 Best Burrito Places in NYC’.
The article states that Tepango is a “burrito mecca where melted cheese caresses thick, fresh tortillas filled with everything from roast pork to shrimp to beef tongue.”
