Popular 'Open Street' In Prospect Heights Closes For The Season

PROSPECT HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A popular destination in the city's Open Streets: Restaurants program has closed for the season in Prospect Heights, with the hopes of returning next year.

A stretch of Vanderbilt Avenue — which closed to cars on the weekends starting in August — had its last weekend as an "Open Street" the Sunday before Thanksgiving after the volunteers and businesses involved considered its viability in the coming winter months.

The Open Streets: Restaurants program allows local organizations to close the street to cars during designated times to allow restaurants to set up outdoor dining in the roadway.

The Vanderbilt restaurants and the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council, who helped run the Open Street, decided it was best to close it at least until next year.

"It was a great success for our businesses over the last fifteen weekends, and popular with residents and visitors," PHNDC Secretary Gib Veconi told Patch in an email.

"At the time the City announced Open Streets: Restaurants would be made permanent and year-round, we discussed the duration of the season with restaurants owners and found a drop off in interest in serving in the roadway during December, January and February. We also found a reduced desire on the part of our volunteers to work in those months."

The closure came as a surprise to at least some Brooklynites this past weekend, who had not heard about the plans to close the dining destination.

PHNDC had announced the upcoming closure in a bulletin before Nov. 22, though the Department of Transportation had not yet put out a notice about it as they did with another Open Street on the Upper West Side.

Vanderbilt Avenue isn't the only Open Street that will close as the colder months begin.

It is one of at least three in Brooklyn — including Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights and a stretch of Fifth Avenue from 45th to 47th — that have been taken off the Department of Transportation's list.

DOT said the Montague Street and Fifth Avenue removals were also decisions of the local organizations. Montague Street ended in September after polling restaurants and Fifth Avenue, similar to Vanderbilt, is on hold for the winter.

"We appreciate their assistance and will continue to work with them on plans for next year," a spokesperson said. "While a few of our partners have decided to wind down for the year DOT intends to support any partner who wants to remain in place during the winter months."

They did not immediately respond to questions about how many Open Streets across the five boroughs will be put on hold for the winter.