Media Coverage - 2005

Tasty New African-Fusion Restaurant Debuts on Carlton Ave
Fort Greene-Clinton Hill Courier, April 25, 2005

The latest entry into the expanding world of cuisine in the Myrtle avenue area is abistor, a cozy and intimate new restaurant with a clean silhouette of classic white walls, modern black furniture and an open kitchen at 154 Carlton Avenue just off Myrtle. The restaurant features African fusion specialties and is open for lunch and dinner, Tuesday-Friday from 12-10pm. Brunch is served on the weekends from 11am to 4pm.

The Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Business Improvement District is a Boon for Women-Owned Businesses
The Brooklyn Eagle, March 10, 2005

Over the last several years, Myrtle Avenue has experienced an impressive transformation. From a neighborhood struggling to retain its businesses to a vibrant commercial strip supporting new business growth, this neighborhood has made quite a turn-around. Its revitalization has included the opening of a number of new women-owned businesses. Recently, business owners took an important step to support the growth of the commercial strip by forming a new Business Improvement District (BID). BIDs are public/private partnerships where property and business owners choose to make a collective contribution to the maintenance, development and promotion of their commercial districts. (Read more at The Brooklyn Eagle).

Body of Work: Clinton Hill Entrepreneur Makes Bath and Body Products in her Boutique
The Brooklyn Papers, March 5, 2005
By Erin Marie Daly

When a desperate mother brought her eczema-ridden infant into Karen’s Body Beautiful, a natural body-care products store in Clinton Hill, owner Karen Tappin Saunderson knew just what to do.

“I tell people that I’m not an herbalist or a doctor,” she told GO Brooklyn. “I just read a lot of books.” In this case, she custom-made a southing lotion, from a blend of non-irritating ingredients such as ginger and rosemary to relieve the baby’s symptoms. (Read more at The Brooklyn Papers).

Period Touch Adds Flavor to Myrtle Ave. in Fort Greene
The Brooklyn Eagle, February 24, 2005

Myrtle Avenue received a Valentine’s Day gift this week when the Department of Transportation began the installation of historic-style streetlights on February 14.

The lights will be placed along the commercial corridor between Flatbush Avenue Extension and Classon Avenue, and are expected to take up to two months to fully install, assuming the weather cooperates. (Read more at The Brooklyn Eagle).

Granny Grub
The Brooklyn Papers, February 19, 2005
By Tina Barry

Who is Maggie Brown? Is she the unsinkable Molly, a.k.a. “Maggie,” who stayed afloat after the titanic went down? If so, her inimitable spirit is present in this Clinton Hill restaurant that bears her name.

If another Maggie played muse to this cafes’s creation, then I imaginied a bawdy babe with a tattoo or two who would have donned a leather mini, and gotten free drinks just for looking good and being smart as hell. (Read more at The Brooklyn Papers).

Pratt’s New Store Will Color Worlds
The Daily News, February 6, 2005
By Joyce Shelby

Brooklyn Artists shopping for supplies and books don’t have to trek to Manhattan anymore: Pratt Institute has just opened a 15,000-square-foot store in Clinton Hill. Prattstore, at 550 Myrtle Avenue, a block from the institute’s main campus, will serve students and professionals.

“The artist community seems to be moving to Brooklyn,” said Don Condrey, the store’s general manager. “This is a good marriage between them and us. The store features high-quality lines of paints catering to professionals, such as Old Masters, though most students can’t afford them, Condry said. (Read more at The New York Daily News).

New Myrtle Avenue PrattStore is Brooklyn’s Largest Art Supply Store
The Brooklyn Eagle, January 13, 2005

Pratt Institute yesterday opened the doors of a major source of art supplies and art and design books for the Pratt community as well as for the public, at 550 Myrtle Avenue. The new, 15,000-square-foot Prattstore – nearly five times the size of the current one – is located at the corner of Myrtle Avenue and Emerson Place, one block from Pratt’s Brooklyn campus.

“Prattstore will be a tremendous resource for our students as well as for the community,” said Pratt President Thomas F. Schutte. “The opening of Prattstore and the recent establishment of the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Business Improvement District are exciting developments that will promote the economic revitalization of our neighborhood,” adds Schutte, who also is board chairman for the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project, the local business development organization that he helped to establish after moving to Clinton Hill in 1993. (Read more at The Brooklyn Eagle).

Neighbors Look Forward to Myrtle Avenue Residential Development
The Brooklyn Eagle, January 13, 2005
By Linda Collins

Construction has not yet begun on a new 29-unit brand new condo development at Myrtle and Clermont Avenues in Fort Greene but demolition of an existing three-story building and site clearance of two adjoining vacant lots has taken place, a spokesperson for the developer said this week.

A project of BRP Development operating as Myrtle Clermont LLC, and with a proposed design by Danois Architects, the building will be six stories with 29 apartments above ground floor retail and office space of about 7,000 square feet. (Read more at The Brooklyn Eagle).

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