Pineapple Post #4
A snippet of Brooklyn Heights history, in honor of America's 250th.
Around 10 p.m. on August 26, 1776, roughly eight weeks after the united colonies declared their independence, the first shots of the Battle of Brooklyn were fired, aimed at a group of British troopers foraging in a watermelon patch.
The following day, the first and largest single battle of the Revolutionary War unfolded on Brooklyn soil.
On the morning of August 27, British soldiers advanced toward the Americans’ fortified camp on Brooklyn Heights. The Redcoats planned to outflank George Washington’s Continental Army, surround the troops and force them to surrender.
As the Americans retreated toward Brooklyn Heights, one brave contingent decided to fight back. Led by Brigadier General William Alexander, Lord Stirling, a regiment of 400 Maryland soldiers fought against 2,000 British troops in front of the Old Stone House in what is now Park Slope. It was the bloodiest stretch of the battle — 256 Marylanders were killed, and over a hundred others were wounded or captured. The Marylanders’ sacrifice allowed the rest of the Americans remaining in the field to escape across Gowanus Creek and survive.
The fighting only lasted hours. By nightfall, Washington and the remnants of his army were pinned on Brooklyn Heights, the East River behind them, with no clear way out.
On August 29, Washington called a meeting with his generals at the Livingston mansion in Brooklyn Heights. There, he made a decision that changed the course of the war: retreating to Manhattan was the only option.
After dark that night, the evacuation began. “We were strictly enjoined not to speak, or even cough, while on the march,” wrote 15-year-old Private Joseph Plumb Martin. “All orders were given from officer to officer, and communicated to the men in whispers.”
The soldiers started by transferring items — ammunition, cannon, horses and baggage — from their position at what is now Fulton Ferry Landing to boats waiting on the East River. By 10 p.m., soldiers began crossing.
The movement of thousands of men, their equipment and supplies across the East River should have been impossible to conceal. But a thick fog rolled in, hiding the American troops from the nearby British. As Colonel William Smallwood wrote, the evacuation was “happily completed under cover of a thick fog and a southwest wind.”
Washington managed to extricate about 9,500 men with their equipment and supplies, and all but five cannon, before the British realized what had happened.
From one of the final boats, Major Benjamin Tallmadge looked up to see a tall figure in a cloak. It was Washington, leaving with the last of his troops.
Heights Happenings
Adam Driver bought three units in the Standish on Columbia Heights. The Oscar-winning actor and former Marine paid $11.5 million for the sixth-floor units totaling 3,500 square feet, the Real Deal reported. Driver’s Henry Street condo recently hit the market for $5 million, per TRD.
Demolition is complete at 205 Montague Street, clearing the way for a 47-story, 672-foot residential tower. The $550 million development will include 90 rental apartments and 46 condominiums, along with roughly 40,000 square feet of retail. No construction timeline has been announced.
The Brooklyn Heights Association is looking for a local artist to design this year’s community hat. Submissions are due August 1. AI-generated designs aren’t permitted!
Plymouth Cafe has officially closed its doors after 42 years.
Plymouth Cafe at 90 Henry Street. New York is under a heat advisory this week. Cooling centers in Brooklyn Heights are located at St. Charles Senior Center at 55 Pierrepont Street and Brooklyn Heights Library at 286 Cadman Plaza West.
It’s going to be a particularly busy Fourth of July in the neighborhood this year, with the 250th anniversary of independence and the 50th anniversary of the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks. Here’s what to know about access restrictions:
Starting at 1 p.m. on July 4, parts of Brooklyn Heights will be restricted to residents, businesses and authorized guests only, with NYPD checkpoints in place. Residents will need to show ID or other documentation to access restricted streets.
Montague Street up to Hicks will remain open to pedestrians without documentation.
No parking will be permitted in the restricted zone beginning the evening of July 3.
Resident and visitor passes are available by emailing district33@council.nyc.gov with your name and address.
Nearby News
Lonnies in Boerum Hill is opening a cocktail bar next door. An official opening date hasn’t been set, but the bar is expected to open within the next few months.
The location of the new cocktail bar, coming soon. 
The back bar at Lonnies restaurant. A new bar and diner is opening in the former Pitt’s space on Van Brunt Street in Red Hook. Val’s will open this month, according to the Red Hook Star-Revue.
A Brooklyn-based architecture studio transformed a 1931 warehouse in Columbia Street Waterfront into a 4,400-square-foot home.
City & Courts
A former after-school program director at the Brooklyn New School in Carroll Gardens was indicted last week on charges that she stole more than $111,000 in school funds over six years, prosecutors said. Shalisha Jackson, 37, allegedly wrote checks to herself and diverted program funds into her personal account, spending the money on hotel stays, luxury real estate payments, liquor store purchases and other personal expenses.
Twenty-two alleged gang members were charged last week in what prosecutors called one of the largest takedowns in Brooklyn history. “These alleged gang members are responsible for dozens of separate shootings and other acts of violence all across Brooklyn and beyond,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.
A motorcyclist struck 12 pedestrians at Commodore Barry Park next to Brooklyn Navy Yard on Sunday. The 53-year-old driver of the three-wheel motorcycle was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, among other counts.