The Times writes up the French bistro on Argyle and Newkirk, which it says is set to open in February, though the story makes it seem a bit as though it's opening in a war zone, as opposed to on a fairly placid, if shabby, stretch of Brooklyn.
Usually, it is the harsh yellow of the crime scene tape that catches the eye, its cold, crisp snap in the wind a universally understood sign of recent unpleasantness.
But at the corner of Newkirk Avenue and Argyle Road in Brooklyn, amid countless bodegas and Laundromats and Chinese takeout joints, it was not the yellow tape alone that drew attention this week, but what stood behind it.
A French bistro. A common enough sight in Brooklyn, but the first of its kind on this stretch of Newkirk in Ditmas Park, and suddenly a symbol on a cold Sunday morning of the way the old neighborhood bumps up against the new.
The address, 1301 Newkirk Avenue, belonged, until September, to a shabby bodega.
The transformation since September is stunning. What occupies the corner now looks as though it had been lifted gingerly from a country lane in Provence and placed here, across the street from a house bearing graffiti that reads “Crack Pott.”
The restaurant is scheduled to open in the middle of February, barring any more crimes like the one last Sunday morning, a shooting with no connection to the place and sketchy details that became clearer as the week continued.
They did get some details on that shooting, though -- we live a few blocks away, so maybe I'm missing something -- it's not like people are getting shot there every day.
At 6 a.m. last Sunday, a 32-year-old man named Anthony Jimenez of East 10th Street in Brooklyn shot Navid Ahmed, 29, of Rugby Road, five times on the corner of Newkirk and Argyle.
Mr. Ahmed had his gallbladder removed in emergency surgery at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, and suffered liver damage, but he is in stable condition and signed a complaint charging Mr. Jimenez with attempted murder, the police said.
Mr. Jimenez was arrested on Sunday, but the police did not offer a reason for the shooting.
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I've been watching the progress of the bistro for awhile now and it is very cute.
Yellow and blue tiled floors, exposed brick and wainscoting. Last week an artist was painting reproductions of French food & wine posters in the spaces between the beveled mirrors.
I did walk by the yellow tape last Sunday morning on the way to the train and the cops said there had been a shooting.
I would remind everyone that we have had a shootout right at the Tot Lot at Argyle and Cortelyou not so long ago that one our neighbors got caught up in. The bodega at Argyle and Cortelyou is no less “shabby” than the one being replaced by the bistro.
Our neighborhood is still in transition and I’m sure the bistro will not only be a welcome business but an agent for change.
I am glad to see Allison and Gary take another chance on the neighborhood and look forward to eating there.
I am more than thrilled for this restaurant to open and and I have high hopes for its impact on the neighborhood! I love the fact that Jim Mamary is opening a business in the neighborhood in which he lives!
As far as the NY Times article is concerned, I was frustrated and confused by its tone. I have lived in the neighborhood for 10 years ( five spent on Westminster at the corner of Newkirk). While this area is fantastically mixed in terms of race, class, ethnic origin, religion, etc, it is also a pretty regular place where people live quite comfortably and happily. While this neighborhood does not bear much resemblance to the suburban town I grew up in ( thank god!!), it is not a bullet-addled war zone either. It's just another section of New York City where s**t happens sometimes, and a lot of other regular stuff is happening all the time. One thing I will admit, however, is that Jim Mamary is going to have invest in a lot of touch up paint to keep the facade grafitti-free, but I feel confident it will be worth it!
Thank heavens for Jim Mamary! Let's hope the opening of this restaurant heralds the opening of many more new businesses in and around Newkirk. I'd love to see places like this opening in Newkirk Plaza, where outdoor seating would be a no-brainer. The area around that subway stop could be its own little European-style plaza. It's ripe for new businesses, with lots of young couples and families moving into the neighborhood. Many thanks, Jim.
Just to clear up any confusion this is from NY Magazine.
"Gary Jonas and Allison McDowell, the owners of the Farm on Adderley, are planning on opening a small bistro on Newkirk Avenue, currently best known for its laundromats and ill-stocked Indian groceries. The two will be operating partners with Pacifico and Patois owner Jimmy Mamary. We asked McDowell about it, and she explained the plan: “It’s going to be tiny. We’re not doing a big, family-friendly neighborhood restaurant there. It’ll be more grown-up, European, but there won’t be a liquor license, just beer and wine. We’d like Tom Kearney, our chef at Adderley, to do the menu, but that’s still up in the air.” So, apparently, is the name: We’re suggesting the Barn, but only because Lentils & More is worse.
A bit off tangent: I have a friend who works for a bank and knows the person who scouts for locations. I have told my friend it would be useful to have a real bank location in our vicinity. In fact, my friend said it took a good 3 yrs to finally find a place to open in Boro Park (it's not yet open). Why? Because they need a minimum of 5,000 sq ft. to bring one in. However, if anyone knows of such a space, my friend's co-worker is open to looking into it.
Of course, this is if anyone's interested in seeing such a thing in the area.I know there are a lot of sentiment on this board to keep the neighborhood "undeveloped". Thought I'd just put it out there just the same.
We had hoped to have a bank on the ground floor of the new condos on Cortelyou but the plans changed and there won't be any retail there that I know of.
There are two banks at the Newkirk plaza, just a block and half from the bistro, a Chase and the other is an Independence, I think. They are across from each other on the Foster end of the plaza.
i would move my accounts to any bank that decides to open on cortelyou road... yes - i know there is a chase and something else in the newkirk plaza - but i live near cortelyou and it's a bit of a hike w/kid in tow and there is no parking over there - should i go by car; Commerce is just as out of the way - even more so ...
Walking is good for you and parking near Newkirk Plaza is never a problem for me.
Being a pedestrian in NYC is quite dangerous and I always have trouble finding parking near Newkirk.
Check out that Volvo in the pic... yes, it's mine.
I hope people will support this place to encourage more restaurants and businesses like it to open up. I have a feeling it will be packed!
If the police would have a stronger presence in the Newkirk area - a permanent patrol stationed near the subway stop - that would go a long way towards making the area safe. I got off of the subway at 11 PM one night last week after work and there was not a cop in sight. Few businesses opened. Until more places like this one are open late, we need a good police presence to make the innocent, hard-working people feel safe enough to walk in their neighborhood. It will happen, and all it will take is one or two more officers on a regular patrol in that area.
I lived on 5th Avenue in Park Slope and saw this happen. The cops were there until the businesses came in. Once there was more of a nightlife - restaurants - providing "eyes on the street" there was less of a need for a regular police presence.
Gentrification will come, and the neighborhood will feel safer, but the police have to lead the way. Ultimately, putting one cop on the street at all times will be less costly than having 10 cops responding to crimes.
The problem with that corner is right there in the center of the picture. That payphone attracts all kinds of creeps. It should be removed or at least watched by police.
The payphone will probably attract fewer "creeps" when there are people eating at sidewalk tables or waiting outside to be seated.
anonymous -- bank branch
I contacted a couple of banks hoping to interest them in opening a branch on Cortelyou Road. I was in touch with the site-development people at Commerce Bank. They seemed interested. But then Commerce had some problems and entered into a deal to be taken over.
Its expansion plans seemed to have ended with the takeover deal and the departure of the CEO.
I also went to Jim Brennan's office on Cortelyou to ask for his involvement. Nothing happened.
Several years ago there was a bank branch on the Ocean Avenue side of the subway line. But I think that branch closed just in time to miss the real estate boom in the area.
What's going to occupy the ground floor in the new building on the corner of Cortelyou and Stratford?
Maybe the Flatbush Food Coop would give up some space in the Associated site for a bank branch. Supermarket bank branches are common.
Because it seems almost every commercial stretch in NY City has too many bank branches, it's hard to believe there is not one bank branch on Coney Island Avenue from the Commerce Bank at Prospect Park to Washington Mutual at Avenue J. And no branches on Cortelyou.
Given the number of businesses along these routes and the population in the area, the absence of bank branches is surprising.
Payphones.
Payphones are trouble. Two forms of business are conducted from payphones like the one by the new restaurant:
Drug sales and prostitution
Around the corner is Rugby Road, a relatively high-crime block.
Really? I've been in the nabe for 9 years, but then I'm not really out on the corner of Argyle and Newkirk at 6AM. Strange.
There are some new condos opening up on Newkirk and 17th, I think. That should add to the demand for restaurants like this.
Isn't that old gas station/garage on the corner of the Plaza for sale? Smells like high priced condos to me...
banks: There was a bank on cortelyou a long time ago. What happened to it?
I also heard that the bottom half of the condos on cortelyou will be a doctor's office or something like that.
Well the restaurant will either attract more perps looking for easy marks or stop the perps from committing crimes.
It could go either way.
The bank on Cortelyou was located on the corner of E 16th where the laundry is now located. It closed because it was a Chemical Bank that was taken over by Manufacturers Hanover which was then taken over by Chase.
12:07pm It will take several years to see the type of gentrification we see in williamsburg, park slope and cobble hill.
This nabe is way too spread out for it to happen overnite. There are many, many apt. buildings that are either rent controlled, section 8 or rent stabalized. There are also plenty of dollar shops, bodegas, laundromats, etc.-that service the community. I particularly like this type of diversity. It brings a life to the nabe.
The condo on Newkirk that would be a tough sell. That block has always been a hot spot-even with the security cameras. Have you ever walked it on a hot summer night? It's noisy.
I think it will take less time than you think. Granted, the dollar stores and other low-end businesses aren't going to disappear overnight, especially if their owners also own their buildings, but I can tell you that there is a huge demand for nicer restaurants and other services in the neighborhood. Landlords aren't dumb. If they know they can get higher rents from a kids clothing store or a coffee shop than they can get from a 99 cent store or a bodega, they'll gladly kick the latter businesses out the next time their leases expire. (2nd St Cafe just closed in Park Slope, possibly due to high rents. It's only a matter of time before someone realizes that the families in Ditmas would gladly support a restaurant like that if it opened around here.)
A lot of people are moving to the areas around Cortelyou and Newkirk from Park Slope and other "gentrified" areas of Brooklyn. (Cue Park Slope hater comments now.) My family, like many others I know, simple could not afford to buy in the Slope, Carrol Gardens, Cobble Hill, etc. We bought near Newkirk and have extra money for home improvements and more. We want safe and clean streets, diverse businesses, and a variety of businesses and other things that make a neighborhood great. We'd also like to feel safe walking around later in the evening, and having restaurants like this one mean that there will be more people on the streets later at night. (And I'm sure the police will make sure the restaurant and its patrons are well protected. Say hello to your neighborhood cops and thank them for patrolling the neighborhood when you get a chance.)
As for "this type of diversity" around the plaza, I beg to differ. Right now, Newkirk was TWO dollar stores and TWO banks. Two dollar stores is hardly diverse. Also, I wonder what kind of community is serviced by the jewler/pawn shop or the somewhat seedy video store. However, Almac hardware is great. Lo Duca pizza is fantastic. The Mexican burrito place is pretty good. And the Dunkin' Donuts is certainly one of the newer and cleaner in the city. Newkirk is also going to have this French bistro in a matter of weeks. I'll bet that when that place is busy for a few months, more people will realize that the neighborhood can support more than just laundromats and bodegas. Jim Mamary may decide that the neighborhood can support a second place. Who knows. So, yeah, it's great to have places where all types of people can afford to eat and shop, and no one wants good, hard-working people to not be able to get the things they need, but I wouldn't call the shops in the area diverse.
I look forward to the new restaurant and I'd love to see more of a mix of businesses (A real video store would be nice).
But speaking as one who grew up in a rent controlled apartment, there's nothing wrong with rent controlled, rent-stabilized and Section 8 apartments. Those are the toe-holds by which those who make less than, say, $100,000 a year stay in the city and raise families. The point, as one of the posters above noted, is to have a mixed neighborhood, with services for all of those in the neighborhood. I would prefer not to walk around my (relatively new) neighborhood fantasizing what it will look like when cleansed of a majority of the inhabitants.
and for the record, that video store at Newkirk may be less than clean, it's not skeevy. The owners are very nice and they keep more than a few interesting DVDs in their stock.
The neighborhood should certainly not be cleansed of its current inhabitants, or any of the good, hardworking people who make the neighborhood diverse. But, poor or rich, white or black, Section 8 or new condo, everyone deserves a safe, clean neighborhood. Right now, Newkirk underserves those who, by choice or by necessity, get off the subway late at night, or who want a place to walk around after dark. Not that it's a war zone, by any stretch, but there's room for improvement.
I would bet that there are more than a few low-income people who, even though they might not eat at the French bistro, are still excited about its arrival. It means one more local business owner who has a vested interest in keeping the neighborhood safe.
A neighborhood succeeds when people across class lines, work together to make it succeed. I'm happy that yuppies want to eat at a bistro in my neighborhood and I'm happy about the people of all classes who just want a nice, safe place to live. I think that's what this area mostly is and still can be.
Peace in our time. I completely agree with the last comment. The point is to develop a neighborhood that looks better and offers better services, to the various and many ethnicities and classes in the 'hood.
For what it's worth, while I WOULD like to see many more businesses along Newkirk, I walk back across that corner (Marlborough and Newkirk) every night, and I've yet to have a problem. My older son as well often comes back at quite late hours, without a incident. Though of course you keep your radar tuned up ...
The summer strikes me as safest of all, as the Pakistani bodega (an ethnic salad blender, that) offers a pretty lively neighborhood hub.
If he's still looking for an appropriate, but French, name, how about "La Nouvelle Eglise"? You know...New Church...Newkirk...lame? cool?
ooh, I can't wait to try out this restaurant! Am going to be moving to the nabe very close by shortly.
Since others have mentioned it, I'm curious why folks need a bank locally? Since starting to do my banking online, I have set foot in a bank maybe once in the past 5 years. Is a physical branch needed? Really just curious.
10:02,
I don't like to bank on-line. I'm with WAMU bank. I can get my mini-statement from the ATM. No need to speak with tellers.
why do we need a bank? so we don't get charged $2/3 by the bank I'm using and another $2 from my own bank when I withdraw cash. ATMs from all banks would be welcome. forget the large locations. they need to consolidate those bank atms like they do these "riese restaurants" where you find all the crappy fast food in one condensed location (pizza hut, burger king, kfc).
Why can't they just put 5 atms from 5 banks together in one place?? (yeah, I know, they want to charge the fees for the location for using their bank).
The last thing I want to see is more banks pop up in New York. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
what do you mean "MORE"??? there's none as far as I'm concerned in this area. i'd rather see a bank than an MDF furniture store.
There are some on Newkirk Plaza, this has been discussed earlier in this thread. If that's "far" to you, you must not live in Ditmas Park.
I think for the crowd living near Church, it's a little far.
That shootout wasn't in the tot lot. It was several years ago, and it was at the bus stop. The target was someone getting off he bus. It was in the evening. Not that I'm saying there's a right time for a shooting, but I don't think we should give the impression that someone was running around shooting people in the Tot Lot.
Le Coin whould be an ecellent name for this "corner" bistro.
RE: Anon 9:24 AM
Must you be so smarmy and self-centered?
Ditmas Park is not a small area. One could live quite far from the Newkirk banks. And it's possible a large number of people in Ditmas do not have their money at those banks on Newkirk.
For the crowd on Church:
Wash Mutual- 833 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, NY
Citibank- 885 Flatbush Ave # 1, Brooklyn, NY
Northfork Bank- 927 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, NY
Plus more...
There are plenty of banks around.
To 12:22:
Ditmas Park is, in fact, a small area between Newkirk and Dorchester, east of the train tracks. This restaurant is in Ditmas Park West. The crowd living near Church are quite a ways from Ditmas Park
Victorian Flatbush map:
http://marykayg.com/html/vic_flatbush.html
Yesterday, a small part of the American Dream ended when the shareholders of Commerce Bancorp approved its $8.5 billion sale to Toronto-Dominion bank.
The CEO/founder voted no.
When Vernon Hill founded Commerce in 1973 at age 27, with one office, nine employees, and $1.5 million in capital, he had no idea the company would grow into a $50 billion, 470-branch success story. For that matter, he didn’t know the bank would introduce innovations into the retail banking business, such as night and weekend hours and free coin-counting, that would become standard practice in many parts of the country.
Maybe Toronto-Dominion will open a branch on Cortelyou.
3:07:
Interesting. So by your map and MKG, everyone who's been living west of Dorchester and south of 16th st, should NOT consider themselves dwellers of Ditmas Park but should clarify themselves by living in Ditmas Park West. Sorry, but I don't go by such self-serving realtors'/developers' borders of made-up names. As far as I can tell before they arrived, it was all Flatbush.
According to you and MKG, this blog, if truly of ONLY the Ditmas Park map (a la MKG web site), should reposition itself to adhere to that map (Something I doubt is the blogger's intention). Or, rename itself to: ProspectParkSouthBeverleySquare WestBeverleySquareEastDitmasParkWestDitmasPark.blogspot.com
Pardon me for my onerous offense for including people on Cortelyou or near Church Ave. as part of "Ditmas Park".
It's still all Flatbush.
I'm in West Midwood (between Foster and H, west of the tracks), but when people ask where I live, the answer is 'Flatbush.'
And as far as the real estate offices are concerned, it's all Ditmas. Everyone knows that boundaries get moved around as neighborhoods gentrify. Witness areas that are now called Park Slope or the area called Carroll Gardens West, which is more like Red Hook. It happens as places like this open up and the neighborhood cleans up.
I still like Buisson Epaté (Flatbush) for this place if Gary's still looking for a name.
Ok, here we go again. The various names, PPS, DP, DPW, may have been created by some self-serving Real Estate agent, but it was a bunch of turn of the20th century folk, not MGK!!! There is historic precedence for the individual names, and they do help in terms of breaking down what is a pretty large geographic area (Flatbush). They are also of value to the architectural historian. Yes, it's all Flatbush. But it's just an early take on what private communities do all the time these days... Oak Hills, Wisteria Gardens, Shady Palms.... blah blah blah.
10:54
you really should do some research about this area of Flatbush because you would find that the different names, beverly sq west, ditmas park west, etc have been around a lot longer than Mary Kay.
11:31 - Can you read? That's exactly the point I was making. The names were given by the original developers of each sub-section. T. B. Ackerson gave BSW, BSE and Fiske Terrace; Louis Pounds, Ditmas Park West; Dean Alvord, PPS, and so on...
I have done very extensive research on the history of this neighorhood, btw.
If a developer creates a new development, they have a right to call it what they want. This holds true whether the development was created 100 years ago or one month ago. The Dutch called a part of the area that they settled in Brooklyn, Flatbush. I am sure that the Native Americans had a name for this same area that predated the Dutch names. The cavemen probably had a name for it before the Native Americans. So whatever.
Keeping to the original content of the thread (dare I do such a thing?), does anyone have any better idea of when the the bistro is actually opening?
I read someplace that the plan was for a Valentine's Day opening, but I haven't seen anything official.
I maintain that train plaza has long been bad news. If it's really changing, I'll be happy to see it.
There's a place that was being redone in Newkirk plaza...it has a maroon/red border around the store and three or four lights above it (it's close to the hardware store). Does anyone know what is happening with this space?
The place with the red lights used to be a market named Cha's, which closed and re-opened as another market, and then closed again abruptly. As of a few months ago (right after the second closing of that space), a worker at Kim's fruit & veggies market on Newkirk Ave said that one of the restaurants from the other side of the plaza would be moving into it since their rent was increasing significantly.
I don't know which restaurant he was referring to (i think the fish or chicken) -- nor if it is actually going to happen!
Either way, there's an empty storefront and i think we need to lure in a sidewalk cafe. Any ideas on this front??
Also, any word on the car lot on newkirk plaza?
Any confirmation on the opening? Valentine's Day is fast approaching.
A sidewalk cafe would be great! Newkirk could certainly use another business that's open late at night. It would be very welcome!
Karol wrote;
"I maintain that train plaza has long been bad news.
Sure Nick's Newkirk Staion wine store, Ace Hardware, a good bagel place, the place where I get my eyeglasses.
Yep it's "bad news!
Maybe,
Miss Right Wing Hack;
http://www.alarmingnews.com/
"PR consultant for right-leaning politicians and causes"
you can get the Shrub to bomb it into submission.
Oh, and the only two banks within walking distance.
Bad News!
That's a great wine store! Great selection. Also, Lindeman's florist has been there forever.
And the barber shop where my son and I get our cuts, and the newstand/convenience store where my kids buy their candy since we don't want them going into the drug dealer place at the NW corner of Rugby and Foster, and the jerk chicken place my parents like when they visit.
Yeah Newkirk Plaza is real bad news.
Newkirk Plaza ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!
Blogger Karol of AlarmingNews.com is the debater from the Lolita Bar who bested Sander Hicks in the debate/slam about 9/11 and the insane conspiracy theories that have arisen.
To be clear, the audience acknowledged she was right -- she said the conspiracy theorists are out of their minds.
"Blogger Karol of AlarmingNews.com is the debater from the Lolita Bar who bested Sander Hicks in the debate/slam about 9/11 and the insane conspiracy theories that have arisen.
Whoop-de-doo!!
Not much of challenge there.
She is still paranoid of her own "nabe" and a right winger who will be crying in her Merlot come 1/20/09.
much as I'd like to support local mom'n'pop businesses, the bagel store on the plaza is a disappointment. The bagels are stale and musty and the store could do with a spring clean. Thank god for Dunkin Donuts...
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