Palace Reclaiming Its Throne Revamped Kings Theater to Reopen in Jan
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LOOK FOR BREAKING NEWS EVERY WEEKDAY AT BROOKLYNPAPER.COM Yo u r Neighborhood — Yo u r News® BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260–2500 • Brooklyn, NY • ©2014 Serving Brownstone Brooklyn, Williamsburg & Greenpoint AWP/12 pages • Vol. 37, No. 35 • August 29–September 4, 2014 • FREE Brooklyn Brine: These guys make pickles in Gowanus Snubbed! — and that’s pretty darn Brooklyn. Not But they get our only do they have the gall to make an edi- BUILDING THE BRAND seal of approval ble product so near to a toxic waterway, New certifi cation defi nes what it means to be made in Brooklyn By Matthew Perlman but their flavors include whiskey The Brooklyn Paper sour and fennel beets. We think their The new “Brooklyn Made” certi- funky take on classic food is wor- fication is just getting off the ground, thy of a stamp. and it is up to individual companies Mark Jupiter: This guy is a cus- to apply for it. Still, the inaugural tom furniture maker in Dumbo who crop of certified-made-in-Brook- uses reclaimed mate- Branding lyn products had some glar- rial to create sweet Brooklyn ing oversights. Here is a looking places to list of companies so Brook- plop your keister lyn we can’t believe they and stow your stuff. By Matthew Perlman didn’t make the cut. It is the perfect mix of art The Brooklyn Paper and handiwork that we have come Just how Brooklyn is your com- Brooklyn Brew- to expect from designers working un- pany? ery: This was the biggest der the Brooklyn Bridge. And some That was the question the Brooklyn Brooklyn brand missing of the wood he uses has roots run- Chamber of Commerce posed to busi- from the list. We under- ning deep into the veins of borough nesses claiming to be Brooklyn to the stand that most of the beer history — such as redwood taken core. Its new “Brooklyn Made” certi- is made elsewhere, but from old water towers and heart pine fication is an effort to define exactly Steve Hindy and his salvaged from a defunct Brooklyn how Kings County a company is — crew bet on Brooklyn sugar refinery. with the “most Brooklyn” operations before everyone else This ubiquitous getting a gold star! knew how cool we Sweet’N Low: sweetener is made on Cum- At the top of the list was Michael’s are. And it is not like berland Street near the of Brooklyn, a national purveyor of all its beer comes from Navy Yard. The upstate — some tasty pasta sauces (or gravy, but that’s a story family operation for another day) whose owner said his brews come straight first started pack- outta Williamsburg. new designation separates him from aging the sweetener the posers. New York Shaving in 1957. We think it “So many products come on to the Company: This Benson- would be awesome if market that have nothing to do with hurst mom-and-pop makes hand– every one of those tiny pink packs Brooklyn,” said Michael Cacace, who blended shaving soaps, colognes, were to bear the “Brooklyn Made” runs Michael’s out of Sheepshead Bay. and shaving acces- logo. It would remind everyone who “They just slap a ‘Brooklyn’ label on sories that appeal uses the sugar substitute how sweet it.” to old-school Brooklyn is. Cacace knows there is a lot in a name, Photo by Jason Speakman Brooklynites Coney Island: Okay, so maybe especially for his sauces. WISH YOU WERE HERE: Boundless Brooklyn makes models of Brooklyn icons, including one of the and hipsters this would not be eligible for the seal “People want a piece of Brooklyn,” Kentile Floors sign, held here by the company’s co-founder David Shulman. For more on the little piece alike, with old- of approval offered by the Chamber he said. “Through our products and by of the old skyline, see story on page 10. sters looking to re- of Commerce. But we think that’s eating our foods.” capture the smooth- wrong. The thrills, chills, and weird The first crop of gold-certified A couple of bigger names landed of counter tops which operates out of Chamber’s panel then looked at a num- ness that only a straight razor can memories produced by a trip to the Brooklyn businesses included a cor- on the silver list, including the three- the Navy Yard. ber of factors to determine “Brook- produce, and newbies impressed People’s Playground can only be made nucopia of makers and shakers such as dimensional printing company Mak- To be eligible for a Brooklyn seal, lyn-ness” — and ranked companies as by shears used to trim their 19th- in Brooklyn. It gets our Brooklyn Brooklyn Soda Works, American Archi- erBot, which has offices Downtown companies had to be headquartered gold, silver, or bronze based on how century mustaches. Made stamp, without question. tectural Window, and a custom guitar and a production facility in Sunset in Brooklyn and make something, so much production is done in the bor- company called Femenella Custom. Park, and IceStone, a manufacturer service providers did not qualify. The See BRAND on page 10 Palace reclaiming its throne Revamped Kings Theater to reopen in Jan. By Noah Hurowitz director. “I really think people are doors in 1929, just months before The Brooklyn Paper going to fall in love with it.” the stock market crash that set off It is becoming a palace fit for Ace Theatrical Group made the Great Depression. Movie-go- Kings. a deal with the city in 2012 to ing was more of a high society The completely renovated restore the theater, with half of experience then, Wolf said, and Loew’s Kings Theatre will re- the funding coming from taxpay- the theater reflected that, dressed open in January after nearly 40 ers, and that deal authorized the to the nines with marble floors, years of neglect turned around by group to operate the Kings for walnut wood walls, and massive two years and $94-million worth 55 years. chandeliers modeled after those of elbow grease. Wolf predicted an eclectic mix in Paris’s opera house and the of programming at the Kings, Palace of Versailles. And when audiences once Photo by Matt Lambros saying he hopes to cater to the A mainstay of Flatbush, it again stream through the doors (Left) The chandeliers at the Loew’s Kings Theatre, seen community as well as bringing closed in 1977, and time was of the new Kings Theatre, they in its heyday, weigh about 2,000 pounds each. (Above) in out-of-town acts to attract au- not kind to the shuttered movie will get a taste of its former op- Inside the theater today. The chandeliers are presumably diences from across the city. It house, leaving it a husk of its for- ulence, including a massive and being spruced up off-site. ornately decorated lobby, seven will host community and faith- mer self when construction began ing amount of the regal fitting re- said Wolf. “There was a hole in chandeliers weighing about a ton based events, musical acts span- in January 2013. Thieves had ab- mained in place, including much one side of the roof, and a section each, and lush red carpeting. ning genres, and any entertainer sconded with light fixtures, mil- of the original walnut walls and of the balcony had fallen.” kicked back to the new year. nal look and feel of the theater, “This was once the pride and who can fill its 3,000 — yes, 3,000 dew had destroyed drapes, and marble floors. Still, renovations We reported in March that the “Historical restoration is a but we are also updating and add- joy of the neighborhood,” said — seats, he said. water damage took its toll on much dragged on. theater was slated to reopen in complicated process,” Wolf said. ing new fixtures.” Matt Wolf, the theater’s executive The picture palace opened its of the plaster work. But a surpris- “It was in a bad state of decay,” November, but that has now been “We want to preserve the origi- — with Carla Sinclair STOPPING FOR SENIORS Beep wants crossing guards for older Brooklynites too By Matthew Perlman The crosswalk workers cur- He also said he would like to The Brooklyn Paper rently put in around 20 hours see more guards on the streets if Crossing guards aren’t just for per week, and make an average possible. There are currently 883 kids anymore! of $15,000 a year, according to borough-wide , his office said. Brooklyn’s senior citizen pop- the union that represents them. The Beep wants his plan to ulation will be able to live even And with new contracts about to become part of the city’s Vision longer if a plan to let the city’s be negotiated, a union head said Zero initiative, which hopes to re- army of crossing guards leave this plan is a chance for guards to duce pedestrian fatalities to zero. their posts after the morning cash in while helping out. That plan cites being struck by “This initiative would get them school rush and head to high- a vehicle as the second-leading more hours,” said Donald Nes- traffic geezer areas to help old- cause of injury-related death for bit, vice president of the munici- seniors. And it notes that such in- timers cross dangerous intersec- pal employee union’s local chap- cidents account for a third of pe- tions comes to fruition. ter. “It will help them out, it will Borough President Adams says destrian traffic deaths.