Our Blog
-
Mitchell’s Soul Food
To Whom It May Concern: I am the manager of Mitchell’s Soul Food Restaurant, a restaurant that has been serving customers for 40 years, located at 617A Vanderbilt Avenue. The Vanderbilt Avenue Open Streets has caused a significant decrease in sales on Sundays, previously our busiest day of the week. In fact, if we needed…
-
Chrysanthemum Rare Teas & Flowers
To Whom it May Concern, I am the owner of Chrysanthemum Rare Teas & Flowers. I own the building and initially I rented it to a doctor for six years but then I took it over. In 2012, I opened the shop. We are a tea and flower shop here to serve the community. Our…
-
Revamp of Grand Army Plaza and Prospect Heights: Have Your Say
Flatbush Avenue Survey The DOT is proposing various lane changes to Flatbush Avenue running from Downtown Brooklyn to Grand Army Plaza. The proposed plans are available here. Review the plans and provide your feedback on the various designs at this survey link. Grand Army Plaza and Prospect Heights Public Realm Survey In addition to redesigning…
-
Street Tagging
At the end of March 2024, after continued dismissal of community input, someone tagged the various boulders and platerns. Given protests by some community members to the graffiti, within 4 days, the city went ahead and removed the tags only on these items leaving other items on Underhill tagged and untouched. See comparison images below.…
-
House of Hair
To Whom It May Concern: I am the owner of the House of Hair, a beauty salon located at 615 Washington Avenue, and am writing to let you know that I strongly oppose Vanderbilt Avenue Open Streets and the changes made to Underhill Avenue. These initiatives have a significant negative impact not only on my…
-
Pooch Purrfect
To Whom It May Concern: I am the owner of Pooch Purrfect at 789 Washington Avenue. In addition to selling pet supplies, we run a doggy day care and boarding facility. The Vanderbilt Open Streets and the Underhill Bike Boulevard have negatively affected my business. Having to travel from Washington Ave to pick up clients’…
-
Washington Transmission
To Whom It May Concern: I am the Proprietor of Washington Transmissions Inc. Our repair shop has been on Washington Avenue for over forty years. We have seen a lot of changes in this neighborhood over the years. The Vanderbilt Open Streets and Underhill conversion has made it harder for us to do business. We…
-
BK Sub
To Whom It May Concern, I am the owner of Brooklyn Sub. I started the business 21 years ago. Since Open Streets and the installation of the Underhill Bike boulevard, I have seen unwelcome changes in the neighborhood. I live in Long Island and need to drive to work every day. My mother lives in…
-
Art Bar and Cafe
To Whom It May Concern: I am co-owner of the Art Café and Bar located at 884 Pacific Street. I’m writing because I am displeased with the un-announced changes made to Underhill Avenue. As a business owner located on Underhill Avenue (our business has entrances on both Pacific Street and Underhill Avenue), I expect to…
-
Foodtown
We are Foodtown of Prospect Heights located at 632 Vanderbilt Avenue Brooklyn NY and we are writing to inform you that we OBJECT to Vanderbilt open streets. We are a large supermarket that has served our community for almost 40 years and we have watched this neighborhood grow and develop. During COVID quarantine and for…
-
656 Laundromat
To Whom It May Concern: I am the manager of the 656 Laundromat on 656 Vanderbilt Avenue. I am writing because I am opposed to having the Vanderbilt Open Streets continue in 2024. On Friday afternoons, even though Open Streets do not officially start until 5:00pm, barricades are put up at 4:40pm. This traps buses…