5 Things Nets Star Thaddeus Young Needs to Know About Living in Brooklyn Heights

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    Brooklyn Nets player Thaddeus Young bought a $5,400,000 condo in Brooklyn Heights’ One Brooklyn Bridge Park earlier this summer. Apparently he’s already learned that the Atlantic Antic doesn’t make for a fast commute and that Brooklyn Bridge Park is a great place to let the kids cut loose.

    But there’s more to life in Brooklyn Heights. To help Young get hip with the Heights crowd, we’ve put together a handy guide of five things he needs to know about his new ‘hood right now.

    Young’s Kid Won’t Be Affected by the P.S. 8 / P.S. 307 Rezoning
    If you look at the rezoning map, it’s clear that only households living in Dumbo will be impacted by the controversial proposed change. Brooklyn Heights’ P.S. 8 is overcrowded, and the school’s current catchment zone — which includes Dumbo — is one of the largest in Brooklyn. Vinegar Hill’s P.S. 307, on the other hand, has one of the city’s smallest zones, and has room to grow. But many parents object to the plan.

    The Local Public Library Is a Hot-Button Controversy
    The Brooklyn Heights branch of the Brooklyn Public Library is caught in a maelstrom of contention. The BPL has proposed to sell the site at 280 Cadman Plaza to developer Hudson Companies for $54,000,000. Hudson would then build a 139-unit luxury building with a new library at its base, in addition to constructing two affordable housing buildings in Clinton Hill. But some locals vocally oppose the sale of public land, and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams recently “disapproved” the plan, asking for a new strategy to fund the borough’s threadbare library system.

    He Might Meet Hillz at the Gristedes
    Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton’s campaign headquarters are located at One Pierrepont in Brooklyn Heights. Though she hasn’t shown her face around the ‘hood too much since May, Clinton is likely to spend at least some time there in the next two years. Maybe they can have a get-together with other Heights-living famous people like Lena Dunham, Paul Giamatti, and Carrie Russell.

    That Ugly House Down the Street? Yeah, It’s Got Problems
    100 Clark Street is notorious for being the most broken-down home in one of Brooklyn’s priciest neighborhoods. Its saga of decrepitude commenced more than 10 years ago in 2004, when a 10-foot-by-10-foot portion of the facade fell onto the street, leading the Department of Buildings to vacate 14 families from the structure. But that was just the beginning.

    The Best Karaoke Is at Montero’s
    Once named the second-best bar in all of Brooklyn, Montero’s Bar and Grill is a storied spot with killer karaoke. It’s also the last longshoreman’s bar in the borough — and it’s got the ship-themed decor to prove it.

    We could go on about the excellent events at the Brooklyn Historical Society, the saga of the luxurious-but-view-blocking Pierhouse, the pair of towers that are planned to go up next door at Pier 6, and how the neighbors get passionate about porches, but we’ll save it for the next notable who moves to the nabe.

    What would you want Thaddeus Young to know about Brooklyn Heights?

    [h/t: NYP | Photos: Keith Allison via Flickr | Barbara Eldredge]

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