A Day in the Heights with Michael

Last week, I was in New York with my younger son, Michael.  We were there to see his dad, my ex-husband, who is ill.  It was such a luxury to have time alone with Michael.  The weather was glorious, so I asked Michael if, after seeing his dad, he would be interested in going to Brooklyn Heights for the afternoon.  The Heights is where we lived when Michael was born and I thought he’d enjoy seeing the building he was brought home to 30 years ago.  I also have had a craving for Grimaldi’s pizza ever since leaving the States, so lunch at Grimaldi’s was on the agenda.

First some history.  Brooklyn Heights has been a prominent area of Brooklyn since 1834. Directly across the East River from lower Manhattan, it occupies a plateau on a high bluff that rises sharply from the river's edge.  A prominent feature of the neighborhood is the Promenade, a 1,826-foot-long platform and pedestrian walkway cantilevered over the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway with spectacular views of Lower Manhattan's skyline and the New York Harbor.

Brooklyn Heights

The neighborhood is noted for its low-rise architecture and its many brownstones, most of them built prior to the Civil War. It also has an abundance of notable churches and other religious institutions. In 1965, a large part of Brooklyn Heights was protected from unchecked development by the creation of the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, the first such district in New York City. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. 

I moved to Brooklyn Heights in the summer of 1971, just after graduating from college.  I had a summer job at the Brooklyn Museum, as well as friends who lived in the Heights, and so it made sense to live there. My first apartment was a studio on Clark Street for which the rent was $200/month!  After two years in the Clark Street studio, I moved to 34 Remsen Street, a classic brownstone where I had a beautiful apartment and the most wonderful neighbors (but that’s a whole other story).

34 Remsen Street

I left the Heights in 1978 (London and law school), but returned in 1987 when husband Pat and I rented a delightful apartment in a carriage house on Grace Court Alley.  It had a beautiful garden that we shared with our landlords who owned the brownstone on Remsen to which the carriage house belonged.

13 Grace Court Alley

Grace Court Alley decorated for Halloween

We loved Grace Court Alley….it was quaint, quiet….almost like a little village….we knew most of our neighbors, and it was where we lived when Patrick was born.  With Patrick’s arrival, it became obvious that we needed more space, so we purchased a duplex on Willow Street, and it was to this apartment that we brought Michael home in 1994.

115 Willow Street

One of my favorite parts of the Heights is the Promenade.  A place to walk, jog, read a book, enjoy the majesty of NY Harbor….to the south, the Statue of Liberty, Governor’s Island, the Staten Island Ferry, and all of lower Manhattan….to the north, the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, South Street Seaport, Empire State Building and all of Manhattan.  The Promenade itself hasn’t changed, but the area under it and along the river most definitely has.  Gone are the warehouses and container ships. The gritty industrial landscape has been replaced by Brooklyn Bridge Park, an urban park developed by New York City and State over an 11-year period, from 2010 to 2021 (we left the Heights for Connecticut in 1994).

On the Promenade.....

View of Brooklyn Bridge Park and lower Manhattan from the Promenade

Looking north to the Brooklyn Bridge from the Promenade

After strolling along the Promenade we made our way down to Fulton’s Landing for lunch at Grimaldi’s…and the best pizza in NY or, in my opinion, anywhere!  When we lived in the Heights, we did take-out twice a week….Chinese and Patsy’s pizza.  We found almost comparable Chinese in Connecticut, but nothing even came close to Patsy’s (now Grimaldi’s but the pizza is the same).  The thing about Patsy’s/Grimaldi’s pizza is the thin crust and fresh ingredients all baked to perfection in a coal brick oven. 

Walking down to Grimaldi's....Fulton Landing

Though still on Front Street, Grimaldi’s is now located in a large warehouse-type building.  Though it was after 2:00 on a Friday, there was a short queue and an outside maître d’ with an earpiece controlling the queue.  After 10 minutes, we were directed to the third floor and a window table.  We split an arugula salad to start….completely unnecessary, particularly since we ordered the prosciutto arugula pie….I had plenty of greens.  And the pizza did not disappoint….still the best!  Michael agreed….pretty high praise from a professional chef.

The third floor dining room

Our pie.....

That's a thumb's up.....

Patsy’s pizza craving satisfied, we walked down Front Street to the park. The area is much more commercial than it was 30 years ago, but Bargemusic and the lovely River Café are still there. 

Brooklyn Bridge

Park area around the River Café

Short on time (we wanted to end our day by walking across the bridge into Manhattan), we walked under the bridge to Emily Warren Roebling Plaza, a large flexible public plaza space, with expansive views south to NY Harbor and north to the Manhattan Bridge, midtown and the upper east side.  In writing this, I learned that Emily Roebling was the wife of John Roebling’s son, Washington.  When John died suddenly in the middle of the building of the bridge, Washington was appointed chief engineer.  When, 3 years later, Washington became disabled by “caisson’s disease” (now known as the “bends” or decompression sickness), Emily assisted her bedridden husband in overseeing the completion of the bridge, reviewing construction plans, visiting the site and meeting with contractors and bridge officials.  Some have said the bridge would never have been completed without her. 

Underbelly of the bridge....

Lower Manhattan

NY Harbor.....note Statue of Liberty between the piles on the far left

Manhattan Bridge

The park continues north to the Manhattan Bridge

I wish we had had more time to explore the park, which in addition to the plaza under the bridge, includes engineering features such as a water garden used as a storm-reclamation system, a series of hills to block noise from the BQE, and several piers with sports and entertainment facilities.  As we were walking to the bridge, I caught a glimpse of a carousel and pointed it out to Michael.  It wasn’t until we were actually walking across the bridge and saw the carousel enclosed in a protective structure that I remembered that it’s the carousel from the now-closed amusement park in my hometown, Youngstown Ohio! 

Stock photo of the Idora Park carousel relocated to Brooklyn

Carousel from the bridge....

I could not believe how many others were walking across the bridge that glorious fall afternoon.  It has unfortunately become a tourist attraction, complete with vendors selling everything from hotdogs to

t-shirts….what a shame, as walking across the Brooklyn Bridge used to be a fairly solitary affair.  But I suppose it’s to be expected with Brooklyn’s ascendance in popularity. And even with the crowd, it was still a pleasure to walk with Michael from one borough to another on such a magnificent, historic structure, surrounded by natural and man-made beauty....

Michael and I were not alone.....

North and Manhattan Bridge

South and NY Harbor

End of a perfect afternoon in Brooklyn with Michael....